The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1898-08-25
}I|}f}y}!yI|}!I}!}Y}}T
-
THE"BI ACK DEVIL =" s
Being Tale of Spanish Pirate Brig. $
By CHARLES B. LEWIS. =

Being Tale of Spanish Pirate Brig.
By CHARLES B. LEWIS

One who has read up on the times
and adventures of Morgan, Drake, Van
Horn. Montbars and other frcebooters
who tiourished in the last half of the
seventeenth century by preying on
Spanish commerce, must admit that
they We're a lawless lot, and that they
allowed neither human life nor hard
knocks to stand in their way. AS for
cruelty, however, the instances are
rare. They fought without counting
the odds, and when they had captured
Il gaileon or Il town their prisoners had
nothing to fear in the way of personal
violence.
In the year 1901, as may be found in
the archives of England and America,
Spanish brig called the "Black Devil
made her appearance N the Caribbean.
She had a career of five years. and
changed captain and crew half a dozen
times. and it is estimated that she de-
stroyed 40 vessels and killed 500 sailors
and passengers. There was hardly
port on the American coast which did
not furnish "A craft as victim and it
was known to a certainty that 81 Eng
IlSn Itll lhto HtI
clutches to be plundercd and sunk and
their crews sent to death. The French
were also heavy sufferers, and there
finally came day when it was decided
to send out mcn-of-war to hunt the
Black Devil to her doom. One was
dispatched by each government, and
the brig took the alarm and disap-
pearcd for a few months. She was
said to have been lost at sea. and the
English frigate was the only craft
which hung on and waited for her to
rcappear.
Before telling you what happened
when the Courier met the Black
Devil, it will hc well to give "A few par
ticulars of the pirates career. You
will find them among the records of
Greenwich hospital, as well as in the
archive, of the English war depart
ment. Perhaps the first capture made
by the pirate was that of the Ben and
Mary, of Hull. She was headed up for
Jamaica when attacked, and althoug!
a trader she made Il good fight before
she was captured. Joseph Sanders was
seaman aboard, and the only one
who escaped, and in his written state
ment he SAYS that Of the Is men com
prising the crew, seven were killed be
fore the pirate got alongside. AS the!
boarded the merchantmen they Gu
down four others, although they hat
surrendered. Of the seven others 81,
died of torture. 1t was early III the
morning when the capture was made
and all day long the pirate was trans
ferring cargo and torturing the men
They We're taken one by one and hung
up head downwarls-ga Will
knives-ears cut Off and tingernail
pulled out with pincers. and their tor
lures made to last as long as possible
Late in the afternoon Saunders wa
called out lie was he last left alive
AS lie was left free for 4 moment h.
dashed three or four men aside an'
sprang overheard, and although h
was fired upon many times he swat
away unhurt, and for the next ,
hours driftcd about on box Whlc
had formed part of the cargo.
4 French merchantmen called tn
Prince was captured with u crew c
90 men. After she had been piul
dered the pirate bored holes in her bot
tom and sailed away, but she was com
up with before she sank by Il shi
called the Swiftsnre, of Boston.
was found that the crew had been OIL
tureu to death. In the case of tn
Fair Wind, of London. some of til
crew we're crucificd. The crew of
inI iyIf n
about water-logged, had been hung t
the yar,larms by the feet, and son,
of them had probably lived for da
or two before death came. The pira
spared neithcr man, woman nor chill
and the destruction he created was s
great that one wonders why his cas-
was not more sharply attended t
There came IA day, however, as hay
said, when a vigorous search for hi
was entered upon.
The three men-of-war sent out q
,ided the Caribbean between them al
made careful search, and the Blac
Devil made her escape and was n'
heard of for months. When she hf
reason to believe the coast was Gle;
again she TettiI Htu. htl III 81 Va dP'ul
led to her destruction. One afternoo
in the year 1865, as the Jane Snow,
New buryport, bound for the West 1
dies, had sighted Puerto Rico, the
rate brig appeared TO windward. 81
had been so often described that the
was no mistaking her. Josiah Mar:
was skipper of the Snow, and his ere
numbered l2 men. As he had no GU
aboard. and as the craft was sio
sailer, he ordered over the long bo
and every body got into her and II
Snow was abandoned. The pirat
chased the long boat for couple
hours, 5ut as the wind was light th
could not come up with her. 1h'
they returned to pick up the Sno
She was loaded with slaves and iu1
ber, and there was little or nothl
aboard of her the fellows could ma
use OF. They dared not set her