Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1897-11-10
UNBER n BLACK
FLAG.
How Edward Low Terrorized
the New England Coast
nv THE DAYS OF PIRACY
His Career Was Probably the Most
Bloody Ever Known I'm ALI the Dark
Annals of Buccaneering.-SOm Stir
ring Adventures.-Decds of Revolt.
ing Cruelty.

The first 20 years of the eighteenth
century was the golden age of piracy
on the American seas, and one of the
boldest buccaneers of that period was
Edward Low, whose crimes and daring
adventures won him a lasting name in
every European colony in the western
world. According to contemporary
chronicle, which has been unearthed
by the antiquarian of the ST. Louis
Globe Democrat, Low was an English
man and was born unders the shadow
of the great Westminster cathedral in
London.
He entered upon his naval career
very early in life, and after following
the sea for number of years drifted
to Boston, where he sought to earn an
honest living by learning the rigger's
trade. Business was slow, however,
and Low, not being appreciated at the
head center of Puritanism, took to the
sea again, taking passage in vessel
bound for the bay of Honduras. A
short time after reaching this place
Low had a difficulty with one of the
ships officers, and few nights later
the watch found the officer dead in his
cabin, stabbed through the heart.
Low then found it would be conducive
to his future health and happiness to
make himself as scarce as possible.
He accordingly left the ship in small
boat with II companions who had
agreed to follow his desperate fortune.
Putting boldly out to sea, they soon
met with a small unarmed merchant
man, which they captured, and run
ming the black flag to the masthead
they declared war against the world.
The desperate company then deter
mined to make their way up the great
highway of commerce along the New
England coast. They were not disap-
pointed in their calculations. They
had not been on the coast many days
before a richly laden Rhode Island
schooner hove in sight. Low had her
under his guns in a few minutes and
after her surrender p1undered her and
cut away the rigging to prevent her
carrying the news of the outrage into
the coast. He then sailed away to the
south, and in this movement he Showed
wisdom, for Notwithstanding her dis
mantledconditiont the plunderedschoon-
q da har int Tel
sent the governor a full account of
Lows exploit. The alarm was in
stantly given, and before many hours
two vessels were armed and at sea in
search of the bold sea robber. But
Low was not to be caught. He was
leagues distant before the news of his
exploit reached the governor, and in
few days the armament returned with
out having had even a shot at the fly
ing buccaneer.
Continuing in southern1y direction
until he conceived all danger was over,
Low again sailed north until he
reached Port Rosemary, where Is un-
suspecting merchantmen lay at
anchor. Dashing in among them with
his ''bloody ensign Haunting in the
breeze, he ordered their surrender.
The terrified sailors instantly hauled
down their colors, and after relieving
them of all their va1uab1es he sailed
away with his hold full of rich plum
der.
Soon after this event Low met with
a misadventure which came near rid
ding the world of his obnoxious and
expensive presence. While near the
Azores he took an English vessel, and
as a punishment for showing fight he
proceeded to butcher the crew as so IN
as he was able to board her. Among
the passengers on the i'll fated bark
were two Portuguese, with whom he
INDUCED some sport for the amuse-
ment of his men, swinging the unfor-
tunate fellows up TO the yardarm sew
eral times and lowering them to the
deck before they were dead. While
engaged in this refined sport one of
his men slashed at a prisoner standing
by with cutlass, and missing his aim
smashed Low on the lower jaw, laying
open his cheek and exposing his teeth.
Upon this the surgeon was called, who
Immediately stitched up the wound,
but Low finding fault with the opera
ton the surgeon, being tolerably
drunk, as it was customary for every
body to be, struck Low such blow
with his fist that it broke out all the |
stitches and then bid him sew up his |
chops himself and be ID, so that |
Low made very pitiful figure for
some time after.
TEis accident, however it might |
have affected his personal comfort, did |
not abate one bit of his brutal energy. |
A few weeks later, having captured a |
Portuguese ship, he put the crew to
the severest torture to make them dis |
close the whereabouts of some treasure |
which he believed to be on board. |
Finally, after enduring excruciating |
torture, the Portuguese captain con-
fessed that while fleeing from the
pirate he had hung a box containing
II, 600 moidores out of the cabin win
dow and had thrown it into the sea
when he saw that caDfure was iuevita-