River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1879-07-10

NaHNS tooN Pi"Sc betWGtn the crew ana
| the talr ladies of the neighbmhood, at the
Chief magistrates house. Our hero. COM
| PEELED to are in the festivities. made the
acquaintance of young Spanish beauty,
Seraphlna. who seems to ave excited a
reciprocal attachment in his heart These
Arcadian delights OF music and dan. no
and hobnobbing of Spanish authorities
with corsairs were followed by the sale on
i board the schooner of the briggs cargo, the
! love-making Gu Smiths part to Seraphina,
and his promises of marriage if she would
aid his escape, and wound up by furious
| tight between two Of the pirates, one being
stabbed. smith was order !, despite his
/ protesttionS, to act as sur con, the cap
tam admitting no plea of ignorance, and
| the unhappy captive had to stanuch and
bandage as best he could The cause of
| the quarrel was investigated. One wound
ed man informed his captain that the 9th
er had formed plot to assass nate him.
! The crew simultaneously rushed down,
] cut off the poor wretch's legs and arms
| it'll blunt Ratchet and threw him over
board. Such was Smiths first experience
of pirate customs, and Vhile he still shud-
dered the captain told him this would be
| his fate if he concealed information from
him.
| Tee schooner eruised out TO sea, and ut
| last came back TO harbOr Out to meet
! Ter came the chief mate, witt that por~
ton Of the crew who ad been left behind.
! These were implicated IN the assassina-
1 ton plot. a whit" handkerchief was held
up to decoy them, and, " hen close, IA vol
4 ley fired among them. But one man sur
Vved, and he was doomed by the cap
! IN 10, Il J., IVA
ner of the Cuban pirates. For three hours
| . boats crew was occupied in rowing up
and down narrow bush-fringed chan
mel, the unhappy victim beng stripped
naked and pjniOned in the boat while
mynads Of mosquitoes and sand-tlies ho-
vered round and closed on his flesh. Says
Srlitn: 1--WE uad scarcely been half an
hour in this place when the miserable
man was distracted with pain; his body be-
gan to swell, and he appeared one COM
plete bhstct from head to foot His
voice failed, his features became undis-
tinCuishablc, and III this condition they
broug him bac2. e captain nd the
boat moorcd, and ordered six muskets
to be fired at the dying man. He only
tainted a pig OF iron was fastened
found his neck and he was flung into
he sea
So ended this specimen Of vengeance;
and next came the turn Of Aaron Smith
to feel the captains cruelty. Refusing to
beard a merchants brig, the rage Of the
corsalr was So great with his captive, that
he had him tied to the mast, IA circle of
powder strewn around him, "A train laid,
and match applied to it. The blaze
burst up, Tapped the unhappy man in its
embrace. and, his clothes all on fire, he
fell inscnsihle. Recovering, he found
himself unable to move both hands and
{ legs Iacerated, and, in fact, the bones lay
bare, and large blisters on various parts
of his body
Compassion was excited in the heart of
one of the crew, who showed Kindness
and attention to the unfortunate prisoner.
The latter, ia the pain he was, was made
to make sails, to act as surgeon and even
to mount the rigging, by the cap
tain, whose brief fits of human
ity ended in bursts Of ferocious
threats. About this time collision oc-
, Cured between some survivors OF the
"chief ue - gang (who lurked IN the
woods mar the harbor in which the
! schooner constantly maze her heGd-gar-
ters) and the crew. The friendly magis-
: trate, before referred to, was wounded,
and the multilated Smith was carried on
: mattress two miles inland to house
/ to dress the officials wounds. Here he
saw the charming daughter, Seraphlna,
! again, and hopes of escape were INDUCED
, in by both TO lull suspicion, he affect
ed reluctance to go ashore, which pro-
7 duccd compulslon One day, on his re-
+. turn, one of the gang" was captured by
the boats ere =, exposed to the sand-tlies,
half maddeued, blindfolded, tied to a
tree and shot, ere their return to their APP
proving captain and comrades
. Other unhappy traitors were made tar
gets Of, tied to trees, and bets INDUCED
in as to hitting or missing them. All
these things Smith was compelled to
} witness silently on peril of his life, while
f his own MANNED, tortured limbs forcibly
| reminded him of his captUr's state of
mind. A Dutch vessel was next captured
and her cargo taken, while Smith was
made to act as the surgeon About this
time he met with Seraphina, on one OF
his visits TO her father, and was oveTjoyed
TO hear she bad arranged matters for their
flight. Some days elapsed, t feverlsh
} nope in the prisoners mind making him
unable TO- remain quiet. While thus on
tcntcr-hooks he witnessed another scene
Of murder The French cook of the
Dutch vessel, teased by his cap
tors, seized Ratchet and wounded
one The rest simultaneously plunged
their knives into his body, and flung him,
still breathing, overheard. Again Smith
was to become the injured pirate sur
geon. Two more prizes were taken, and
then the famous Rio grew too hot to hold
the pirates. Five gun-bOats were ordered
down by the Governor Of Havana fact
of v hich the friendly magistrate duly in
formed the pirate captain. The cOTsair
eludcd The llotilla (Which seems 10 have
shown little Ical to capture herr and re-
manned for three weeks off the Morilla,
where a Frrnck vessel as captured by
her. The piates plundcred her cut away
her miZzcn- mast and starboard main rig
ging, and IN this condition magnani-
mously TUNED her adriit to pursue her
voyage.
Returned 30 the old anchorage the
storm having blown over the schooner
lay inactive. The pirate captain (who,
by the Way according TO his crews ac-
count, hail murdered twenty men with
his own l.andl, fell i'll. Smith, forced to
prescribe, put an opiatc into some arrow
root and while the captain slumbercd
and the crcw got drunk stole into the
canoe Of some fishermen who were
abroad, cut der loose and steercd for liza
vana. Two nights and day in tins
frail cockle-shell he trayersed the ocean,
while, as he says, ''the wind blew from
the south est, and Niiat appeared to me
to he 4 special providence, continued to do
so the whole tlay--a thing very unusual
in that climate" He reacacd Havana,
and alter bnarding ship commanded by
an ola acquaintance, went ashore. Rec
ognized 10y Spanish officer who had
been prisoner on board the
schooner, unfortunate man was
seized and fling iutoa dungeon swarm
ing with verm1n, and kept pri5-
oner for iisc weeks, though few COM
forts were got for him by a friendly Span
| lard. IL was then handed over 20 thc
British admiral who, be bitterly com
/ plains, Ind put him in double irons. lie
seems to have been treated az FIRST Htiti
| great severity During The whole voyage
he was, although freed from fetters, kept
with a sentry over him to prevent his
! speaking tO any one On arrival home
/ he was takcp to London, committed Tor
trlal indicted, tried and acquitted, the