The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1894-05-13
WERE IN OPEN REVOLT.
,s,1rxmExro or FACTS TsATREAD
LIKE FICTION.
.D,cTculty Occurred Among the crew
The Mate ami Passenger N'''e"' "''"
she Mad res We're Hung.

More ti1n quarter ga N'
.,o execution OF the three Spanish pirates
v.ix pcpc. and euro OF whom an a0-
.,rt Was given in these columns some
,..ks aso. another prosecution Tor inc
cam, crime took place I'm Richmond
.-,ts incurred before the United states
district Court, over which Judge James
ID HALLIBURTON then presided. The Incl
..,. ~ ,bis case were not as dramatic
nor, those connected with the fate OF
brcc spaniards. Besides this, Rich
-l seventy years ago, was a small in
SD town. and the occurrence or any
s rrtouard event deeply affected the
.r.r.t.rts.
-.. .>ruton OF an ordinary criminal
tr itself bad enough, but when It
.ua that a pirate was 10 be pun
.r ..N much more intense was the
.r. Everybody had a. horror Of
..bclllous children were fright
IN. -ubmission at their very names;
lions OF the young We're en-
. stories OF them and even old
read with morbid pleasure ac-
these dreadful scourges OF The
..c the three criminals whose
- occurred I'm Richmond. In 1871,
first real pirates ever seen
d.. inhabitants, were regarded by
monsters in human shape. who
r.t DE too severely dealt with. for
... .r..,ues they had practiced. Notwith-
..rc the emotions thus excited
-t this class Of offenders. touch
. ue romantic often condoned the
-.t. of their crimes.
r. d. certain extent they were heroes;
...r turbulent and daring careers. the
,..-ed poetry OF the element upon which
.... f-lol the dangers Of the deep, fas-
...t.3 che imasination. and TO some eN-
frt Afforded apologies for their way
v-4 and criminal lives. And then, when
t.ev appeared in the pages of romance
how the picturesque came In 10 lend us
charm 10 the scene.
The bloody and relentless hero was Civ
en- the advantage of such accessories as
attracted the eye and pleased the ian
rr He appeared either In the garb OF
the turbaned Turk. the fierce and swar-
fhv Spanard or the light Corsair, with
his flowing draperies his bejeweled cim-
eter. and his traditional palace on the
shores Of the blue Mediterranean. OF
his class I'm the western world, was
blackboard. who for so many years DOM
mated the waters OF colonial Virginia
and tie Carolinas. SO was Kidd. the en-
fefprising and ubiquitous terror oi me
Atlantic coasts. from Cape Cod 10 the
West indies and the Spanish main; ara
the two Lahttes the pirates OF the Mex
lean gulf the elder OF whom was known
as Emperor of Barataria." from whose
stronghold OF that name on the coast
OF louisiana he had succeeded In dictat-
ing the commercial policy Of the newly
purchased territory.
ITS DAYS HAD PASSED.
But the DAYS Of the pirate had gone
lie was no longer the pet OF poesy or
the creature of romance So soon as the
anplication of steam 20 navigation be-
came a success the low raklng chpper'
and the swift sailing latteen became
myths Of the past.
The two culprita Of whom we are now
t1 speak were not Of the class just des-
.rhld II pirates at ALL they We're OF
o.. purely commercial order, without a
--...~IiOn Of the romantic 10 mitigate
t.- ,uIearity and coaIseness OF their sup
r.-.1 crime The facts were as follows.
Edward clements and Thomas Reid
We're TWO common sailors. thaI Shppeu
at Elizabeth City. Va. I'm the schooner
d. b. Lindsey, Capt $. ). Riggs, Douhu
r.r mort i'm the West India Islands.
Clements was an American, born IN oiie
oi the Northern States, and Reid was
"a native of ireland Some time after
the vessel had lett Virginia, and Whiie
off the Island of Trinidad, a diihculty
occurred among the crew, resulting li'
She ce.th Of the mate and passenger
The kiling OF these two men took place
an tho 9th of January, 1850, and Was
traced by the captain to the hands OF
Clements and Reid. Since the day they
were shipped these two men had doA
nothing 90 excite suspicion. ana up 10
that time had appeared 20 be good ana
efficient seamen. Hence the captain c9uid
not divine what their motive mad beeh
in killing the two men Under the CIR
cumstarCte. he considered il his duty 90
pot the mel under arrest, until the mat
ter could be- investigated according 10
law. Instead of yielding TO the authors
" Of the captain. they not only resist
cd. but made attempts TO Kill him, or
ans one else who came 10 his assistance.
Originally. there were seven persons on
the vessel including the passenger me
death Of the mate and the passenger lett
fyc on board Three Of these, the Cap
tin. the cook and one seaman, had
charge Of the vessel, while Clements and
Reid were en- open revolt Under these
circumstances the safety Of the crew and
vessel were seriously endangered should
they be cvertaken by stormy weather.
ANXIOUS TO ESCAPE.
Clements and Reid were anxious to IS
cape from the vessel. and for this pur-
pose had made several attempts 10 seize
tho only boat az hand. This the Cap
.iu resisted. hoping that some passing
vessel might yet be signaLed, an ofdtr
That the two offenders might be secured.
4 the meantime the Captain and sail
.- had been driven by Clements and Reid
t take refuse in the cabin below the
Deck Pistol shots had been frequenNs
exchanged between the two hostile par
r.- but with no serious results. Matters
v.-. now getting worse and worse; the
vessel was slowly drifting over the sea
r- Captain could neither command MS
U.--. nor secure the mutineers. CleIn-
-..s therefore once more demanded pos
session OF the boat. accompanying the
demand with "a threat to scuttle the YES
and destroy an on board il II were
'lsai. To this the Captain was forced
family. 20 assent.
$40 this time be- had control Of the boat
10 hung upon the davits at the stern OF
vessel. because from his cabin win
d." he could shoot anyone attempting
lower il into the water. Upon his
... ing not 10 fire upon Clements or
.I they took possession of the boat
. prepared 10 escape from their float
r prison. Having secured a supply Of
visions and water, they Jeff the
schooner In charge OF the Captain. one
.lu. and the cook and set out upon
unknown sea. concentrating them
selves that at last they had escaped
... sequences OF their crime. How
ssHr '0ted in this anticipation, viii