Evening star., 1898-07-30
THE SHARK PAPERS
How They Convicted a Baltimore
Captain Of Piracy.
RECOVERED IN A MIRACULOUS WAY
They Were Brought Into Court at
the Last Moment.
HUNG AT THE YARD ARM

Special Correspondence of The Evening Star.
KINGSTON, July 29 1898.
| 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
| spondents who have been watching the
| Cuban blockade as the only door to the out
| side world few Of the veracious romances
| have been unearthed. One Of them came to
light few days ago. 1t is wrapped up
with bundle of yellow, water-washed doc
uments which hang on the wall of the
| Kingston museum under the printed legend
''The Shark Papers,"
The story connected with 1.-The Shark
| Papers is SO remarkable that it would be
impossible to believe 1t were 1t not all TO
be found in the authentic papers and sworn
statements of Kingston court records To
Americans it has a special interest, since it
relates the trial and taking off of the last
| American pirate brought to book in the
| West Indies 1t has all been verified and
| is known to be absolutely true. This is the
| story:
In July. 1799 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 that 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
| Baltimore was famous at that time.
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 adjacent
| waters were filled with great fleets of sail
| ing vessels. These peaceful vessels afford
| ed splendid chance for spoliation to any
craft armed and manned for that purpose.
Pirate King.
| In less than a month after Capt Briggs.
in command Of the Nancy, left Baltimore
| for Curacao news reached Kingston that
piratical schooner was in the adjacent
waters levying tribute on merchantmen
The description OF this schooner was such
| as subsequent writer's like Marryatt and
| Russell have made familiar. She was a
| fore-and- after, with black hull 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
| ber crew incited the, spirit of a number of
| English sailors then Mn the harbor of Port
Royal: 1t was before that beautiful port
was destroyed by an earthquake. George
| Ill was still monarch of England and all
| the war vessels were known as His Mai
| eSty Shlps. conspicuous among these
ships was the Sparrow, commanded nv
capt Roberts. From the governor of ia
malca Capt. Roberts received Instructions
TO go out and look for the mysterious
stranger, reported in the vicinity of the
french possessions in Hayti
Capt Roberts who was typicsI Emo
Hsn Salicr and in command of a splendid
snip, at once made sail for the scene of
the reported depredations. Within a
week he came in sight of two vessels one
eVloentiy In pursuit, and the other in
hight; the former vessel answered In every
way to the description he had received Of
the piratical American schooner While
unuer full head iof sail, the pursuing
chooner carried no flag; the vessel being
pursued had at the foremast the Stars and
Stripes. 8.-n. -
AS soon as the English man-of-war
came In sight the pursuing schooner tried
to make for the Shore but she was soon
overhauled, shot from the Sparrow fore
ing her to stop her way. and to permit a
p cat to be sent aboard.
The Captains Claim.
Capt. Briggs asserted that his mission
was peaceful: that he was an American
sailor, and that he had his clearance pa
pers from Baltimore to the Dutch port of
Curacao The officer from the Sparrow de-
manded to see the Nancy's papers, but
they were not forthcoming nor could
Capt Briggs find them
Under the circumstances, the only course
left the commander of the Sparrow was to
piracy. Under the maritime laws then and
now prevailing, IL the vessel were con-
demned as pirate, the officers and crew
would be executed and the ship and cargo
would be turned over as prize to the
captors.
Throughout all these proceedings Capt
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 substantiate his
claims he boldly asserted that they were
lost through no connivance of his 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 at his
command to show the innocence of his
countrymen. Briggs himself. made de-
feEse even more able than that of the con-
sui. He was a cool. handsome, intelligent
man. whose manner impressed the court
and spectators with his honesty and sin
cerity.
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:
A Plausible story.
MY vessel Is only. 300 tons. We reached
the west end of Cuba on our way south,
when we were struck by the return trade
winds. and were forced up to the southern
extremity of Hayti. I was not acquainted
with that coast, nor had I charts that
would enable me to make a harbor. The
vessel which Capt. Roberts claimed was
in pursuit of 1 was simply trying to over
haul in order to obtain water. This ves-
sci floated the American flag, and when 1t
is asked why did not do the same I have
only to say thaffhefe are only three times
when the captain 6f a merchantmen is
compelled to show Ms flag; the first is on
entering porte 1.-THE second is on leaving a
port, and the Third when signaling a ship
at sea- The vessel riwas trying to overhaul
in order to obtain water could not have
seen my flag, nor aiiy flag, simply because
l was approaching her head on. She may
have mistaken he for pirate. but 1t is for
this court to say whether schooner like
the Nancy. with only seven men and the
captain on board, fs at all calculated for
piratical expeditions
The words and manner of Captain Briggs
impressed the court very strongly, and
even the captain ofpfhe Sparrow. although
originally sure of bis ground, began to
feel that he mad pade a mistake The
judge asked Captain Briggs how it hap