The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-11-24
From the Boston Advertiser.

Career.
From the Boston Advertiser.
1t is years since the whitened bones of
Capt Kidd, bleached by the sun and the
storms of many seasons, crumbled from
their iron manacles into the sluggish waters
OF the Thames. Years have flown into the
space Of eternity sincs other pirates pur-
sued their lawless and Dlood-thirsty calling
along the summer seas of the Spanish main,
deprived treasure laden ships of countless
wealth, sent hundreds of bold and hardy sea-
mon to their doom, and finally falling into
thestern hands of justice, suffered the pun
ishment prescribed by the law of nations.
Nothing is now left to tell that they ever
existed, save history and the legends of the
seashore, which, however, are so firmly
rooted in the minds of the jewellers along
the surf-beaten coast of the Atlantic that
even TO this day, there are thousand mys-
| FERROUS crevices in the boulders on the
shore, In out-of-the-way holes on the beach,
and dark and curious cayerns in the rocks
which are pointed out to the tourist as the
hiding places of piratical treasure.
There is no doubt much evaporation and
| untruthfulness in such stories of the sea
rovers as are handed down to the present
generation, but that they plundered, muir
| dered and greatly deteriorated the ship
ping industries of the world is beyond
doubt.
! A slight enumeration of the most noted
of these enemies of society, their cruel
| atrocities and their plundering exploits upon
the high seas is the purpose of this article.
| Capt. Robert Kidd was perhaps the most
| widely known of the pirates. He was an
| Englishman by birth and first sprang into
| of h,
| Jams war, when he commanded privateer
| in the West Indies. and by several adventur-
| Gus actions earned the reputation of being
| an exceptionally brave man. About this
time pirates were creating great havoc
| among the merchant vessels trading be
tween Europe and the new world, and
| Capt. Kidd being recommended by Lord
Bellamore, then governor of Barbados,
and by several other prominent people of
| the island, as fit man for the command of
| a government ship to be employed in cruis-
| ing against the pirates, he was commissioned
by the king and given command of small
vessel called the Adventure, of thirty guns
and eighty men. The commission was
| dated Jan. &c, 1886 and sets forth that as
| Capt. Thomas Too, John Ireland, Capt.
| Thomas Wake, and Capt. William Mace aud
other subjects, natives of New York and
| elsewhere, in our plantations in America
| have associated themselves with divers
| Others wicked aud ill-disposed persons. and
| do against the law of nations commit many
and great piracies, robberes and depreda-
| ton on the seas upon the ports of
America" the grantee of the commission
was fully authorized to apprehend, seize and
| take into custody all such persons.
Kidd sailed from Plymouth in May 1896,
| for New York, but after an unsuccessful
cruise which lasted almost two years, dur
ing which time he cruised around the Cape
| of Good Hope to the Indian ocean, his pre-
v!ouS hopes of winning a fortune in the ak
| ing of pirates We're dispelled and one day
| when off Bab'S Key, a little island near the
| entrance to the Red Sea, he gave the first
intimation of his design TO turn pirate him
self. His men assented right willingly to
their captains proposal, and accordingly
| the new-made pirate determined to cruise
| along the Malabar coast, by which route the
| Mocha fleet usually sailed. Four DAYS later
the feet, numbering fourteen vessels and
conveyed by Dutch and an English man
o'-war, hove in sight, and Kidd, making an
| attack on one of the vessels, brought the
Dutch man-o'war uDon him, which, being a
much more powerful vessel, forced Kidd to
crowd on all sail and bear away. Thus his
first piratical venture proved unsuccessful
| and he continued his cruise along the Mala-
| bar coast. For some time he sailed about
these waters and took several French ships,
| which, however, by the Commission Of
| Reprisal," which he also held, he had no
| right to do. 1t was while in this region
that the murder of the seaman Moor,
which has become famous in song, took
place.
A Dutch ship having been sighted. the
crew were for taking her, but Kidd ject-
ed, as he began TO grow penitent of mis-
hastily taken course in becoming an cut
| law. A mutiny arose, but Kidd declared
that If man left the ship to board the
| Dutchman he should not be allowed to re-
turn. This had the effect of quoting the
crew, and though the Adventure kept com
pany with the Dutchman for several DAYS.
she was not molested. Moor was the gun
nor of the ship, and one day shortly after
losing sight of the craft just mentioned, ne
| began to converse with Kidd Cd the sub ect,
| The discussion grew hot, and Moor accused
Kidd of running the ships crew, whereupon
Kidd called him dog, and SEEING buckst
| struck the gunner on the head with such
force as to break his skull
After this incident he gave himself I'D to
cruel, relentless expedition against all
merchant vessels, and he was attended
with much success, rapidly growing rich
from the plumber of his nefarious trade
Piracies east of the Cape of Good Hope
had become SO frequent, that a proclama-
ton was issued, offering free pardon to all
those who would surrender themselves be-
fore the last of April $685. but in this
proclamation Capts. Kidd and Avery, an
other notorious pirate, were excepted by
name Soon after Kidd sailed for New
| York with large amount of booty, he not
having previously heard of the proclama-
ton, but no sooner had he arrived than by
Lord Ballamore's orders ne was seized and
put in prison. A number of his men had
forsaken him in Madagascar, and they ar
irving at New York on other vessels, and
hearing of the offer of pardon, surrendered
| themselves to the law.
In 1701 all the prisoners were taken to
| England and tried at the Old Bailey. where
Kidd was not only indicted for piracy, but
| for the murder of Moor.
OF the eleven tried, eight were found
guilty and sentenced to death, but the re-
manning three, being apprentices, were dis
charged. In May, 1701, the executions
took place at Execution Dock, and the
bodies of the pirates, hung in chains, were
to be seen for many years after
Capt. Conduit, an Englishman born at
Plymouth, carried on depredations on the
merchant ships plying between the West
Indies and Europe. While acting as quar-
termaster of New York pirate vessel, he
attacked, single handed an Indian, who out
of a spirit of revenge had collected large
quantity of powder and arms in the yes
sells held with the determination of blow
ing her UP. Conduit had his arm broken by
a shot from the Indians gun, but succeeded