The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1898-08-25

leath and hung the parrot to one of
the beams of the cabin. !
As the long boat with Josiah Marsh
and his crew aboard ran down through
the Mona passage they met the British
frisate Courier and gave her the news.
They had left the pirate craft 40 miles
behind them, but the +; glisnnan was
prompt to go i'll search. Tie AIneri- !
cans asked that they might be taken !
IA board and serve until the Black Devil
was destroyed, and their request was
the pirate captain had entered her
capture on the log, and had added that |
he should cruise for week between
Puerto Rico and the I:arbadoes. Acci- |
dent had changed his plans, however.
AS his craft lay alongside the Snow
their rigging became entangled and
the Black Devil had her fore topmast
sprung She came to anchor under
the lee of one of the Virgin islands to
repair damages, and had just got all
auIaut when the Courier hove i'll sight.
The inglishman knew that he must
disguise his ship if he wished to get
near the Spaniard. AS he took up the
pursuit. he began to overhaul his top
hamper. and after Il few hours the
smart fri"ate looked rs sloycnly as
any merchantmen at'oat. The pirate
let herself be oyerhaued to within Il
mile before she flew the black flag. and
rs the emblem tloated to the mast head
she fired The first gun. She mounted
T. guns and had d crew of lis men.
The frigatc mounted ii guns and had a
crew of 40.
1t was not many minutes before the
pirate found tha, he had been tricked.
He would then have got away, but the
breeze fell and be was under the guns
Of the Courier. The only thing to
The credit of the Black Devil was the
fight she made against superior force.
Capture meant the halter, and for two
long hours the pirates stood up to their
work At the end of that time she had
lost upwards of 50 men, half her guns
were dismountcd. and the brig had
been huIled so often that there was
five feet Of water in her hold. She was
still fighting when the frigate ran her
aboard and poured 80 men on to her
decks. In ten minutes they had pos
session. But little of value WAS found
aboard the brig. as she had just re-
turned to her cruising ground. but
many of the articles removed are to be
| found in the Brit ;Sh museum to-day.
| She was regularl; fitted out with a
stock Of implements of torture. Be
. tween decks there MAS a large cauldron
! set in hrickworl>. and close by a stock
| Of seven barrels -; Oil. She lad thumb
screw; by the dozen, spiked boots, the
racks and benches used in the inquisi.
ton, and indeed nothing was lacking in
The torture line.
/ Only 2S men Of the pirates crew
lived to be taken prisoners. Among
! them was her fourth or fifth captain
whose name was Alvarez. He was {;
man of 30, and no greater tiend sNc'
lived lie was the last man to give in
and was SO severely wounded that fo1
some days it was a question whether
he would live or die. The brig was 81
badly knocked about that she found
cred, and the friyatc landed he pirate
in Jamaica for trial. They were ;
staggering. boas.ing, detinat lot. No
one of them would turn kings evi
dence, nor did any fear death. In col'
blood and knowing it would be use'
against them, the captain, mate an
several of the crew made statement
which held them up as veritabic devils
The captain had only engaged in tw
! captures. and both vessels were Eng
lish, One carried 4 crew of -, and tn
other of IS men. lie boasted that ever
man had been tortured to death, an
that some had lived six hours afte
their torture commenced. He sal
that with his own hand he had cut 0.
the ears, toes and fingers of mel
chant captain, aud then spiked hir
down on his own deck with no les
than IA ship nails.
The mate had been with the bri
from the outset of her career. 1t too
| him two days t o make his confession
/. All the implements of torture were
, his charge, and he was the one who d
, rected their application. lie said b
f had been the death of 100 EngiisI
French and American sailors, an
: there was sufficient corroborative ev
, dence to prove that he was not boas
: ing. The first capture made by tt
, Black Devil when she started OF
= wus the ship Plymouth Rock. OF Saler
5 Irtil the final capture of the pirate
' the fate OF this craft was 4 myster
t although it was generally believed til;
e sh. had sprung a leak and foundered
$ a gale AT sea. That devil Of a mat
{ chuckling over The memory as if
y reiished it, told of capturing the sh
Il off San Salvador. and of tortuEil
:. seven of her crew with his own hand
/ One Of them was flung into the caldre
g of boiling Oil, and his struggl'
t sulashed the oil iltc the fire and nea
n ly caused the loss of the brig. II