The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-08-07
HANGED BY A SHARK.
STRANGE STORY OF CAPTAIN
BRIGGS AND HIS PIRATE CRAFT.

Prove It-Documents fn II Museum
at Kingston which Tell the Queer
est of All Nautical Tales.
Kingston, jam. letter in Chicago Inter
Ocean.
There Is no spot in the Western hemi-
| sphere richer in romantic history than the
island of Jamaica During the weeks while
! Kingston has served the newspaper CORE
| spoudents who have been watching the
! Cuban blockade as the only door to the
outside world, d few of these veracious ro-
mances have been unearthed. one of them
/ came to light a few days ago It is wrap
| ped up with a bundle of yellow, water
washed documents which hang on the wall
of the Kingston museum, under the printed
| legend, THE Shark Papers"
In July 1899 Capt. Briggs, an American
whose Christian name does not appear, fit
ted out the schooner Nancy in the city Of
Baltimore, ostensibly for trade with the
| Dutch West Indies. 1t appears shat he
took out his papers for Curacao. The crew
consisted of seven men besides himself.The
vessel was of light burden and built on
the model of those clipper ships for which
|
The Nancy never reached Curacao. on
the way south she stopped in at one of the
Bahama islands, where she took on board
some small cannon and arms for her men.
| At the time the Caribbean and the ada
cent waters were filled with great fleets
of sailing vessels. These peaceful vessels
afforded a splendid chance for spoliation
to any craft armed and manned for that
| purpose.
! In less than a month after Capt. Briggs,
| in command of the Nancy, left Baltimore
| for Curacao, news reached Kingston that
| a piratical schooner was in the adjacent
! waters levying tribute on merchantmen.
| The description of this schooner was such
| as subsequent writers like Marryatt and
| Russell have made familiar. She was "a
| fore-and with a black huh and rak-
| ing masts. She lay low in the water, and
| forward she carried swivel gun, known
| as a long tom.
Stories of her speed and the character of
! her crew melted the spirit of a number
| of English sailors then in the harbor of
| Port ROYAL Ii was before that beautiful
| port was destroyed by an earthquake
| George III was still monarch of England,
| and all the war vessels were known as
"his majestys ships" Conspicuous among
these ships was the war covert Sparrow,
| commanded by Capt. Roberts From the
| Governor of Jamaica Capt. Roberts re-
| ceved instructions to &c out and look for
! the mysterious stranger reported in the
vicinity of the French possessions in
| Hayti.
Capt Roberts, who was a typical Eng
lish sailor and in command of a splendid
| ship, at once made sail for the scene 'of
! the reported depredations. Within a week
he came in sight of two vessels, one evil
IDENTIFY in pursuit, and the other in flight;
| the former vessel answered in every way
to the description he had received of the
| piratical American schooner. While under
a full head of sail the pursuing schooner
! carried no flag; the vessel being pursued
| had at the foremost the Stars and Stripes.
| AS soon as the English man-of-w came
! in sight the pursuing schooner tried to
make for the shore, but she was soon over
| hauled a shot from the Sparrow forcing
her to stop her way, and to permit boat
| to be sent aboard
Capt. Briggs asserted that his mission
was peaceful that he was an American
sailor, and that he had his clearance pa
pers from Baltimore 10 the Dutch port
| Of Curacao The officer from the Spar
row demanded to see the Nancy's papers
but they We're not forthcoming, nor could
Capt. Briggs find them.
Under the circumstances, the only course
left the commander of the Sparrow was to
take the Nancy to Kingston, charged with
piracy. Under the maritime laws then and
now prevailing, if the vessel were con
! demned as a pirate the officers and crew
would be executed, and the ship and cargo
would be turned over as a prize to the
captors.
Through all these proceedings Can't
Briggs cOmpOrted himself with the utmost
coolness He claimed that the port from
which he sailed, his destination and his
purpose were entirely legitimate When
asked for his papers to substantive his
claims, he boldly asserted that they were
lost through no connivance of hts own.
Capt. Briggs and his crew were arraign-
ed before the high court of admiralty of
the island( charged with piracy. The
American consul used all the power al his
command TO show the innocence of his
countrymen. Briggs himself made a de-
Tense even more able than that of the
consul He was a cool, handsome, intel
llgent man, whose manner impressed the
court and spectators with his honesty end
sincerity.
Briggs was quick to see that while the
absence of his papers might tell against
him. the Englishmen could not convict
him of piracy unless these papers were
in their possession.
The American pirate conducted his own
case. When asked to explain why he was
So far out of his course when overhauled
by the Sparrow, he said
my vessel is only 300 tons. We reach
ed the west end of Cuba on our way south
when we were struck by the return trade
winds, and were forced up to the south
ern extremity of Hayu. / was not ac-
quaiuted with that coast, nor had I charts
that would enable me to make a harbor
The vessel which Capt. Roberts claimed
1 was in pursuit of I was simply trying
to overhaul in order to obtain water. This
vessel 1oated the American flag, and when
1t is asked why l did not do the same /
have only to say that there are only
three times when the captain Of a rner-
chairman is compelled to show his flag; |
the first is on entering a port, the second !
is on leaving a port and the third when |
signaling a ship al sea. The vessel I was !
trying to overhaul In order to obtain |
water could not have seen my flag. Tor
any Gag simply because 1 was approach |
ing her head on. She may have mistaken |
me for pirate, but It is for the court |
to say whether, a choOner like the Nancy, |
with only seven men and the captain on |