Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1888-03-29
a BOLD succANEER.
Romantic story of an Ocean Highwaymzn
Who Turned HeranIr.

Romantic story OF an Ocean HIghwaymzn
Who Turned Hermit
A vessel from Honolulu recently
brought the news of the death of a man
whose history is rs thrilling as that of
any pirate king of yellow covered liter
ature. Twenty-Five years ago he was
a pirate king as brave and as wicked
as pirate kings always are. Since then
he has been a hermit. In the days Of
wickedness ard power he commanded
A vessel called the Red Cloud, stanch.
unusually fast, and furnished with
powerful guns Periodically this craft
disappeared from the seas, and in her
place would come another, all in SOM
Der black, and named the Black Cloud
This piece of theatrical effect, which
cost nothing more than n little paint.
had its expected influence upon the SUI
perstitious minds of the sailors who
were sometimes sent in pursuit OF the
vessel. Most of them fully believed
that there was something uncanny
about the craft. and that her captain
had supernatural help. In those days
he was the terror of the South Pacific
seas, and the British Government set
big price upon his head. Hundreds
of attempts were made to capture hin
by fair fight and by traps. and by every
means that could be devised. But he
eluded all the traps, came out ylctorl-
Gus in all the fights, and in every case
sailed away with the traditional scorn-
full laugh of the pirate king. He had a
Spanish name which nobody remem-
bers now, and he was supposed to be-
long to that nationality, although he
spoke Spanish. English, French and
German all with equal fluency.
At last young English nobleman.
loving adventure and DESTROYS of the
reward, undertook to capture him.
After cruising around in the Pacific for
some time he came late one afternoon
directly upon the Red Cloud. The
buccaneer spoke the Englishman, ask
ing where she was bound and what she
had on board. The reply was that they
were looking for the pirate, that they
knew they were talking to him. and
that he had better give himself up at
once. In an instant bright lights APP
peared all over the Red Cloud, and her
captain answered in good English: II
will sec you in - first" Then 4
cannon ball whizzed through the air,
but it was aimed too high and passed
above the vessel IL will see YOU
there" shouted back the Englishman,
and broadside from his guns aimed
low sent the Red Cloud to the bottom
of the sea. But the buccaneer escaped,
and not long afterward he and two of
his crew appeared in rowboat on the
barren Island of Molonkini. which is
near the East Mau islands of the Hawai-
ian group. 1t is small. barren,
rocky place, uninhabited. There his
two companions even left him, and
there he lived alone for twenty-five
years. Since his landing there he was
called only Morrotinnee, the native
name for the island.
A sailor who has been going to and fro
from the Sandwich Islands for ten or
twelve years learned all he could about
Morrotlnnee, and says he was much
liked and feared by the natives. They
carried to him all the delicacies to be
found in the kingdom, and enabled
him to live life of ease and luxury.
They said he was a tall man, big and
commanding. with voice like thunder
so powerful that they firmly believed
he could cause the wind to rise or the
water to subside. They would not al
low white men to go near the island il
they could help it, probably because
they had been so commanded by him.
and when he died they buried him near
the place where he had lived, with
much mourning over his departure
San Francisco Letter.