Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1897-01-28
THE LAST BLACK FLAG.

AAS 4bSS |N't''O
run from London to Australia as a
passenger packet was the Ruby Castle,
and you may call it curious coinci-
dence when l tell you that she was the
last ship, so far as is known, to be at
tackled by pirates in the South Allan
tic. The adventure created good
deal of talk at the time, but has often
been woven into story, but, as | was
one of the apprentice boys on board
the packet and saw and heard all,
think | can give you many new par
ticulars.
1t was advertised that the Ruby Cas-
tie was making a last trip, and, as she
had always been favorite craft, and
as the passenger money had been scaled
down considerably, she had list OF
seventy cabin passengers and about
two hundred emigrants. Her crew
consisted of some sixty men, and she
was armed to protect herself from any
thing but a man-of-war AS no craft
on the line had been interfered with
for several years, and as the cruisers
boasted of having swept the seas OF
pirate craft, there was talk of dlsarm-
ing the Castle before she sailed. But
for the protestations of some of the
cabin passengers this would have been
done and her fate would have been
something for all England to shudder
over
Things never went better with any
of the big liners until we were south
of st. Helena, and the beginning of
our troubles was the sight Of brig
which stood out to US from the Atrl-
can coast. She was first seen at eight
o'clock of a fine morning, and though
a few glasses were turned upon her
she excited but little interest. | heard
Captain Wilson say that she WAS an
American merchantmen, and, so far
as the glasses could tell us, all was
we'll with her. We were therefore
considerably surprised when she ap-
preached within two miles Of us and
showed signal of distress and checked
her way. The wind was falling at the
time, and before we were quite sure
about the flag, it had fallen fiat calm
The two crafts were left a mile apart
and boat was ordered down from the
Ruby Castle to pull across the inter-
val and give heed to the appeal. The
men were tumbling into her when
young woman, who had been carefully
observing the stranger through the
glass, called Captain Wilson attention
to the fact that she carried guns and
that part of her crew had been sent
below. Other glasses soon revealed
other suspicious things, and while no
one took the stranger for pirate,
there was a fear that she might be a
craft in possession of convicts or a
mutinous crew. The second mate, who
had charge Of the boat, was instructed
not to board, but to ask and answer
questions from safe distance and then
return and report His crew pulled
away, and after few minutes was
close enough to the stranger fol con-
versation. Her captain, of whose ma
tionality they were not clear, reported
her the French brig Celeste, bound
from the Mauritius to Brest A week
previous he had been driven to the
east by a gale and his craft had sprung
a leak, and he had lost four of his crew.
The leak had been stopped, but he was
short of water and provisions, and
wanted both from the packet. He
was too short handed to come for them,
but would pay well if they were sent
aboard.
When the mate returned and re-
ported he added to the above that the
brig was certainly armed and evident
lv a new and fast craft. There was no
sign of her having been through a
gale, and, taken altogether, the i'm
preston was that the captain was lying.
Captain Wilson's humanity prompted
him to offer every assistance, and yet
the mates report determined him tc
make no move until the Celeste should
send boat aboard and make further
explanations. She certainly had boats,
and two men could easily row her cap
tain aboard US. l do not think the
Castle would have been put in state
of defence but for the passengers.
Many of them became nervous. and to