The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1880-03-12
Captain Kidd.

subject of an essay read Dy DouSlaS
Campbell at the st. Nicholas CLUB OF
New York, the author taking the ground
that Kidd, instead of a freebooter and
murderer, as he is painted, was, IN
reality. a LOYAL subject of the King, and
fell a victim to the political persecution
of his friend and Wing patron, Lord
Somers, by the Tory lords, who came
into power in the last days of William
TIT. Kidd was by birth an Irishman or
Scotchman flor both Goth countries
claimed him) who distinguished himself
as a privateer commander in the war
against the French, and with the wealth
acquired from privateering settled in
New York. His house was in Liberty
street. near Nassau. = During the Lister
anarchy, which preceded the arrival of
the Earl of Belmont, Kidd rendered the
city valuable services, for which. the
Governor and Assembly presented him
with 915O. So great was his reputation
as successful naval officer that the
colony of Massachusetts,, in 1851, tried to
hire him to take charge of an expedition
against a privateer which vas then
ravaging the coasts. Piracy and free
booting had then grown to most
alarming extent, especially in the Indian
Ocean. Many of them were sOi-dlst0nt-
priyateers from New York and other
American colonies, who, beginning with
the pursuit of French and Spanish ships,
in the end extending those operations to
those of all nations. 1t was to put down
these "Red Sea men" as they were
called, that Kidd was sent out in the
Adventure galley with his crew of scape-
graces and desperados. Among his
patrons and partners in the expedition
were Somers, Halifax, and the powerful
Whig Lords, and even the King himself
offered to invest $4,000 in the undertak.
ing. Arrived at the Indian Ocean, Kidd
found his insubordinate crew more
ready to take sides with the pirates than
to fight them. He captured some vessels
which he claimed were sailing under
French papers. It was his misfortune
that his mutinous crew prevented his
taking them before prize court. After
the capture of the Quedagh, merchant,
owned by Moors, and which was made
the basis of the principal charge against
him, ninety of his crew deserted him
and joined the pirates. The others en-
deavored to persuade him by threats to
turn pirate and take the Royal Captain,
an armed English ship, which was sail
ing in his company. Kidd steadily re-
fused, and in an alteration growing out
of the affair, he struck William Moore,
one of his petty officers, over the head
with bucket, inficting fatal injuries.
He was recalled to Boston, where Lord
Bellmond took his papers containing the
French papers of the ships he had
captured, and which he was never after
able to obtain, though his life depended
upon their production. While he WIS
gone the Wings had suffered defeat in
the parliamentary elections, and Tory
minister had come in, eager to revenge
themselves on the Wing chancellor,
Somers, by proving Kidd pirate and
then impleading Somers for having
Kidd's commission. Kidd, who had now
assumed the dignity of State prisoner,
was taken to England i'll the man-of-war
Active, which had been dispatched to
bring him. The Lords of Admiralty,
the sworn enemies of tn Lord Chancel-
lor, subjected him to long and tortuous
examination, in which they strove to in
duce him to implicate the Lord Chancel-
lor in his transactions, but without
effect Kidd's fidelity was not to be
shaken. On the Both Of March, 1701, he
was ordered for trial at the old Bailey,
and two days later Simon Harcourt, the
Tory leader in the House of Commons,
introduced the resolutions impeaching
Somers. The former articles, which
were not submitted till two months later,
after Kidd trial and conviction, charged
the Lord Chancellor with being impli-
Gated with civilian Kidd, person of
evil fame and reputation, and since that
time convicted of piracy Kidd was
really hanged in order to carry out the
impeachment of Somers His trial, in
which he was denied access to his papers
1,xya of To- Jc
and Kings consul, all anxious for his
donviction, was monstrous farce. Even
his two sailors, who turned informers,
were forced to admit, on cross-examina-
ton, that Moore was killed in an angry
alteration and in manner that showed
no premeditation or intention to cause
death Kidd was denied counsel, was
hampered by legal tricks, and brow
beaten and overpowered by the six
partial judges on the bench and the five
cunning lawyers opposed to him. His |
trial was 'trailroaded." 1t began May
8th, two verdicts, one of murder" and |
the other "piracy," were brought in on |
the 9th, and on the 18th, three days fol-
lowing, Kidd was hanged in Execution |
Dock. The impeachment of Somers,
which the Tories had thought to carry, |
by the aid of Kidd's death, failed, the |
house OF LOruS tuTOWluS OUG Uue |
articles. History has done full justice
to the character of the great Wing Chan
cellor, while that of his friend, William
Kidd, the New York sailor, has for six
generations rested under undes erved
ignominy.
SOME ITALIAN CosTUMEs-The costumes
of Scanno are very beautiful; also the
embroideries and carpets, especially the
old ones. The people spin, weave and
dye all their clothing. 1t is mostly of
wool of the richest colors which are con-
trasted in those fine, abrupt, skilful har-
monies of the Orientals. The head
dress of the women is strangely shaped
wool cap with white linen one under it,
and the ear tabs of the linen turned up
over the rich-hued wool. Jackets, petit
coats, aprons and stockings are of differ
ent colors, deep but vivid blues, green's,
reds, all falling together in effect most
harmoniously. When the Scanno women
90 on the mountain paths they gather up
their gay petticoats under girdle and
skip like chamois up and down the
rocks, showing their legs above the knees
like ballet dancers. But the legs are
cased in long, bright-colored woolen leg
gings, the feet of which have mule-skin
soles. The fiesta dress of the men and
is very gay. The woman's cap is
pretty. The top is of blue or
purple satin. This is bound around the