Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1898-11-10
TH1EF-TAKER BECOMES THIEF.
The Bold Sea Robber, Capt. Kidd,
-. Sailed Under a Commission to go.
III \. ~. -. Put Down Piracy.


@.:sr Put Down PiFacy.
: William Kidd, or Robert Kidd, as he
is sometimes called, was at first a sail
or in the merchant marine service who
hada wife and family in New York.
He'Was avery respectable man, and
hadsa good reputation as seaman
and about 1890, when there was war be-
tween England and France, Kidd was
put in command of priva teer, and in
two or three Z, engagements with
French vessels he showed himself to
be. brave fighter and a prudent com
mander. t.5 f'"vst IL l#t.&i'5&t ~.
Some years later he sailed to Eng
land, and while there he received an
appointment of peculiar character
It was at the time when the king Of
England was doing his best@to put
down the pirates of the American
coast, and Sir George Bellomont, the
recently appointed governor Of New
York, recommended Capt. Kidd as a
suitable man to command ship to be
sent out to suppress piracy: When
Kidd agreed to! take the position Of
chief of marine police he was lot EN-.
ployed by the crown, but by small
company of gentlemen of capital, who
formed themselvessinto sort of trust,
company or Society for the Proven
ton of Cruelty to Merchantmen, and
the object of their association was
not only to put down pirates, but to
put some money in their own pockets
as we'll. 4. r. i'-.5>: a. ~ -. g.;,i-ff,,
Kidd was furnished with two com
missions, one appointing him pri'
vateer with authority to capture
French vessels, and the other EN-.
powering him to seize and destroy all
pirate ships Kidd was ordered to
keep a strict account Of the booty
captured on his cruise, in order that
it might be fairly divided among those
who were stockholders in the enter;
prise, one-tenth of the total proceeds
being reserved for the king. ~.. b. .s5
Kidd sailed from England in the
Adventure, a large ship with 80 guns
and so men, and on his way to Amer
lea he captured French ship which he
carried to New York: ; Here he ar
ranged to make his crew great deal
larger than had been thought sneces.
sary in England, and by offering a
fair share of the property he might
.confscate on piratical or French ships,
he induced great many able seamen
to enter his service, and when the Ad
venturer left New York she carried
crew of $50. ..- "se.
With a fine ship and strong crew,
Kidd now sailed out of the harbor
apparently to put down piracy in
American waters; but his methods
were very peculiar, for instead Of
cruising up and down our coast, he
gayly sailed away to the island of Ma
deira, and then around the Cape of
Good Hope to Madagascar and the
Red sea, thus getting himself as far
out of his regular beat as any New
York policeman would beif he should
walk a beat in the dominions of the
khan of Tartary.
By the time Capt. Kidd reached that
part of the world he had been at sea
for nearly year without putting
down any pirates or capturing any
French ships. In fact, he had made
no money whatever for himself or the
stockholders Of the company that had
sent him out. His men, Of course e,
must have been very much surprised
at this unusual neglect of his own and
his employers interests, but when he
reached the Red sea he boldly in
formed them that he had made a.
change in his business, and had de-
cided that he would be no longer sup
pressor Of piracy, but would become
a pirate himself, and instead of taking
prizes of French ships only--which he
was legally empowered to do-he
would try to capture any valuable ship
he could find on the seas, no matter to
what nation it belonged. He then went.
on to state that his present purpose
in coming into those oriental waters
was to capture the rich fleet from
Mocha which was due in the lower pa rt.
Of the Red sea about that time. The
crew Of the Adventure readily agreed
to become pirates. r. Stock
ton, in ST. Nicholas.
Muscles of the Head.
81 The head has x muscles olght for