The herald., 1895-07-20

reported to have said, 1.-THE penalty for a
pirate's life should not bo less than death.
for 1t is the fear of fclon's death that
keeps dastardly men out of the service
Those ashore who cheat widows and rob
orphans and arc just bold enough to op-
press their neighbors because they are too
poor to seek justice would be robbing at
sea. A crowd of rogues would be plum
dering If pillage had no dangers, mcr.
chants would be detorred from vonturing
4 valuable cargo aloat, freebooting would
be trade not worth following. Tho re-
wards of piracy are only for the brave!'
Such were the reputed sentiments of
this remarkable person, who clearly knew
what she was about when she elected to
sail under the jolly Roger
But even under the black flag the little
god may throw his darts, and 1t came to
pass that one day Captain Rackham'A
company received an addition in the per
son of q handsome young carpenter. He
was one Of the crew of prize" and he
elected, like Mary, to throw in his lot
with the pirates, who were truly glad to
have him, since carpenters were not very
plentiful in "the SERVICE, and it was
often difficult enough to effect repairs
Mary at once fell over head and ears in
love with him, and she did a desperate
thing in order to secure his attention.
One day there was quarrel among the
crew, which ended in one of them chal.
Longing the carpenter to fight a duel
Mary knew that such encounters alway.
ended in the death of one of the combat
ants, and she determined to prevent her
beloved from fighting. 80 she deliberate
ly fnsulted his challenger before the whole
ships company, and on being challenged
In turn insisted that the last insult
should he wiped out before the FIRST. As
cavalry soldier sho had acquired re-
markable skill with the sword, and she
knew that she was superior to any ordi-
nary antagonist She met her man, she
fought and after a few passes ran him
through and laid him dead at her feet.
This exploit naturally led to explana-
tions with the carpenter, with the result
that they became man and wife. Thus
were there two married couples on board
this strange pirate craft, and nobody knew
of the fact but the two couples themselves
Not only that, but these two women
pirates were the most adventurous and
courageous members of the whole Grew
There was little of the woman about either
of them, but Mary Read was the moro
womanly and sentimentally inclined of
the two. She was probably also the more
emotional, as she was also the more deep
in her affections
They were both condemned along with
the rest of the pirate gang, but wers re-
prieved on their sex being made known.
Mary Read died in her cell soon afterward
For Anne Bonney intercession was mads
by influential colonists who had known
her father, and who remembered her in
her innocent girlhood. She was released,
and her subsequent history is unrecorded
1t is said that she showed no emotion at
the execution of her husband, whose body
was hung in chains on Rackham cay,
along with his two chief officers as ter
Tor to all freebooters. After ornamenting
Rackham cay for couple Of years the glib
bet was swept away in the great hurricane
Of 1872, and on n portion of the wreck of
the scaffold a negro. who had been washed
overheard from one of the vessels in the
harbor, hoated ashore.
Thus the last use of the notorious pirate
was to save a life after his own death.
Since then all trace of Rackham and his
companions has disappeared and the
name is on5y known to navigators of our
time as Indicating one of the landmarks in
making Port Royal What became of the
children of these two remarkable couples
Is not recorded. In 1929 the capture of
the notorious Zargonaza, with her desper
ate crew of ruffians commanded by Ara
gomez, marked the end Of buccaneering
and picarooning in these waters On that
occasion the gibbet on Gallows point was
extended to hold 16 freebooters in row.
st. Louis Republic.