Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1890-05-30
STORIES OF PIRATES.
Depredations Perpotrated by These
Highwaymen of the Seas
Along the American Coast Early This
Century-Wrecko of the Whido-Capt-
ure and Execution of Crew That
Attacked Brig Mexican.

Were you ever acquainted with any
one that had been captured by pirates?"
was asked a bluff old sea captain OF
the North shore few days ago.
'Oh, yes, a good many in my day."
was the reply, "and some Of the stories
they told were enough to make the blood
run cold in your veins. Once in awhile
there was an amusing incident, how.
ever.
II remember one old fellow named
Swan, who was about when | was 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 sea-
cook, are you here? We'll, I'll let you
go just this once, but IL ever catch
you again III 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 il it possible
TO conceive tho dread and terror insnirod
In the minds of seomon bv tho mara
mention of tho name.
For mona thop na,.,,r,, oua ME-
New England merchant vessels had been
Numbered from time 10 time and tbair
crows maltreated and nurdernd M
coast itself had giyen pn,ytlIinr sho1tan
to man, of the most noted dos1eradocs
and MANY suspicious-loolfiny craft hod
| sailed into tbe barhora n,der go. ~
darkness, and then before morning hrolro
as lnysteriouslv disanpeared
! CantnIn Kidd althourb doad ,,as -,
awe.insnirinr tradition onnlch ana III
piratical crew had boon pprsued tho On.
tire lenyth of the Shore FROM Narh1n-
head To the Isle of Shoals and When
captured confined in the iail al Salan
and taken tn Roston for trial and ayoo,,-
tion.
These wore nra-reyo1ntioror,, a,,o,,t,
But what OF thai? WAS not tho house
still standing in Marblehead in which
one of Tho pirntes fund refupo ana dia
not the eyep-shiftina sands If Cane Cod
furnish tnaisputable evidence of tbo
wreck of the Wbido commanded bv Tho
noted sam Beuamv one of tha oost
desperate nirates of his davp Tho e+o-,
OF that shipwreck is worth rel,tipo
even now.
Tho Whido CARVING o9 pnpa and teo
men. had captured several sells off
the coast of Massachusetts pel1ar,r
r1aeoa sovor ~ ii II -
the prizes intending Ia arm horir+o
nirate craft Tho man i,nr,o5ia4o1,,I h,
gan carousal which endaa ~ all
hands becoming stnpidl, drm,l, -
falling into a aonna slcon Whi,o ~
this condition thav uara disoo,,on,1 ~,
the master of a passinp vessel ami whey
they awake tbev found tbo,asel,as nv,
exnectedly in Cane Cod barhor
Five Of the nira,na auccnodoa - 80
fectinp an escane and Can+ai, c.,
Southwick was sent in Search ~ +,,,,'
The Whido soon after was overtolye, b,,
a violant storm an6 wae a.sbad +1
pieces on the table land of Wellaeo+
every person on board the m -fatad shi,,
with two executions. nerishipy In tba
waves The sea vac "a violent 49, ~
forced it's wav across the came and
made a channel so wida that Contnir
Southwick, who arrived soon after, was
enabled to row through it in whale
boat The bodies of l02 pirates, thrown
along tho shore by the storm, were
picked up and buried. OF those capt
ured, six were tried by special court
of admiralty, convicted and executed in
Boston
From the clearness Of the water and
the Wilderness of the sandy bottom OBJ
iects are seen at great depth in the
region who're Bellamy's crew persisted.
For more than century after the ship
wreck the great caboose of the Whido
was sometimes discovered, as the loose
sand in which il was embodied was