The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1890-05-30
STORIES OF PIRATES.
Depredations PERFORATED by These
Highwaymen Of the Seas
Along the American Coast Early This
Century-Wreck of the Whido-Capt-
ure and Execution of Crew That
Attacked Brig Mexican.

ure and Execution of Crew That
Attacked Brig Mexican.
"Were you ever acquainted with any
one that had been captured by pirates?'
was asked bluff old sea captain of
the North shore few days ago
''Oh, yes, good many in my day.
was the reply, land some of the stories
they told were enough to make the blood
run cold in your veins. One in awhile
there was an amusing incident how
ever.
81 remember one old fellow named
Swan, who was about when l was a boy,
who was said to have been captured five
times in as many ships by the same
pirate. He was probably one of the
homeliest men that ever lived, so was
easily recognized. Finally, the last
time he was caught the pirate rushed
up to him and yelled:
"You ugly, cross-eyed son of a sea-
cook, are you here? Well, I'll let you
90 just this once, but if ever catch
you again I'll cut you up into inch
pieces
'Swan was so frightened that he never
went to sea again"
1t seems almost incredible that less
than sixty years ago the capture of mer-
chant vessels at sea by pirates was of
frequent occurrence. Nor Is it possible
to conceive the dread and terror inspired
in the minds of seamen by the mere
mention of the name.
For more than century and a half
New England merchant vessels had been
plundered from time to time and their
crews maltreated and murdered. The
coast itself had given unwilling shelter
to many of the most noted desperadoes,
and many suspicious-looking craft had
sailed into the harbors under cover of
darkness, and then before morning broke
as mysteriously disappeared.
Captain Kidd, although dead, was an
awe-inspiring tradition. Quelch and his
piratical crew had been pursued the en-
tire length of the shore, from Marble
head to the Isle of Shoals, and when
captured confined in the Jail at Salem
and taken to Boston for trial and execu-
ton.
These were evolutionary events.
But what of that? Was not the house
still standing in Marblehead in which
one of the pirates found refuge, and did
not the ever-shifting sands of Cape Cod
furnish indisputable evidence of the
wreck of the Whido, commanded by the
noted Sam Bellamy, one of the most
desperate pirates of his day? The story
of that shipwreck is worth relating
even now.
The Whido, carrying % guns and 100
men, had captured several Is of
the coast of Massachusetts. Bellamy
placed seven of his men on board one OF
the prizes, intending to turn her into a
pirate craft. The men immediately be-
gan carousal, which ended in al
hands becoming stupidity drunk, and
falling into sound sleep. While in
this condition they were discovered by
the master of passing vessel, AMI when
they awoke they found themselves un
expectedly in Cape Cod harbor.
Five of the pirates succeeded in af
fecting an escape, and Captain Cypriar
Southwick was sent in search of them
The Whido soon after was overtaken by
violent storm, and was dashed t.
pieces on the table land of Wellfeet
every person on board the Inflated ship
with two exceptions, perishing in the
waves The sea was so violent that i
forced its way across the cape, ant
made a channel so wide that Captain
enabled to row through it in a whale
boat. The bodies of 102 pirates, thrown
along the shore by the storm, wer,
picked up and buried. OF those capt
ured, six were tried by special cour
of admiralty. convicted and executed il
Boston.
From the clearness of the water an,
the whiteness of the sandy bottom oh
jects are seen at great depth in tn
region where Bellamy's crew persisted
For more than century after the ship
wreck the great caboose of the Wild
was sometimes discovered, as the looS
sand in which it was embedded wa
shipped from place to place by tn
agitation Of the sea.
But the seafaring men OF New En-
gland had little need, at the beginnin
of the present century, to recur to ira
ditions of remote events of the pas,
The pirates were an ever-present reali
ty. Ships sailing to the West or Eas
Indies. the coast of Africa or Sout
America, wherever and wheneve
bound. were in constant danger of bt
ing intercepted and captured. Repor,
were received daily Of piracies in tn
West Indies and on our Southern sea
board. To render the reports more ez
asperating was the prevalent belief tina
the pirate ships were fitted out i
American ports. They were fast-sai
ing cruisers, which as soon as they wer
at sea hoisted what was called tn
Artigas flag, and proceeded on cruise c
murder and robbery.
The island of st. Bartholomew was
nest of pirates, into which their plunde
was easily introduced, and every facil
ty afforded for the disposal of their i'll
gotten pelf. At one time there were
Of these vessels known to be scourin