The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1907-02-25
Villagers Take Last Look at
Face Of Their Hero.
HELPED CATCH TWO PIRATES
William johnson, in 1890, Assisted in
Capture of Buccaneer Gibbs, Last
Present City of New YOrk-StOry of
landing and Burial of the Booty.

Johnson" Uncle Billy died late Satur-
day night, Just worn out with the wear
and tear and the hard knocks Of well on
10 ninety-eight years
Every chick and child in Canarsie and
ali along the Flats knew the old man.
There he goes Tommy" they would
say. That's Uncle Billy. Caught two
bloody pirates. Caught EN- with red
caps and their black boards. He did. by
gum"
Which wasn't strictly true. but pretty
close, and the awed youngsters would
trOt home and dream at night of the
little. wrinkled, old man dragging of to
execution 'the bloody pirates" red caps
black boards, and all, pounding them with
his cane, like as not.
As a matter of right. therefore. the
villagers and their friends from far and
near went to look at Uncle Billy as he
lay in his walnut coffin with a look on
his face as if he had got pretty tired of
life and wasn't sorry he was through
with it, The body lay in the prim and
speekless front parlor Of the home Of Mrs,
Edwin L. Rowland.
The mOuTners sat very stiffiy on straigh-
backed haircloth chairs admiring the
floral anchors and other floral tributes
u the deceased.
Was Born i'm 1900.
Uncle Billy was born in Railway, n.
J., on December q, 1909. When he was
boy he went to Canarsie, and stayed
there the rest Of his life. When he was
eighteen OF twenty years old he went to
work with an older brother. named John,
who had a fishing shack on Barren Isl
and. and it was at that time that the big
event in Uncle BiIly's life came along.
On the night of November o, 1850, a
cold, wet night, the two brothers had
gone to their hunks. when there was a
hard rapping on the door of the shack
and a gruff voice ordered them to get up
and open the door. There were two men
outside, one of them white, the other
mulatto. both seafaring men by the look
Of them, and an evil-loOking pair.
Both carried pistols, and the white man
had long knife stuck in his leather belt.
They wanted a horse and cart. and they
wanted it quick, they told the brothers,
John and William johnson John had
what they wanted, and told them they
could have it. Offering to so along and
help them move some property they said
they had in a boat on the beach They
told John to mind his own affairs, and
went away with the horse and cart.
Maybe it was two hours later when
they came back, tired and with their
hands covered with mud. This time they
brought a boy with them, and asked for
lodging for the night Next morning
the white man handed John Johnson a
small sack Of Mexican dollars. For
that, SAID he. you can. maybe keep a
close tongue in your head"
John and William agreed TO divide the
dollars. and went together to q place on
the beach above high water mark. where
they buried the sack of silver, and mark
ed the spot with seaweed. Next morning
when the younger brother went to the
place to have q look at the treasure il was
gone He accused his brother and sister
in-law of stealing it, and there was a
quarrel William quit the shack and went
TO Canarsie.
Finds Pirate In BarrOOm
He had had a suspicion ali along that
the silver came from smugglers or
pirates, One night he went into Samuel
Leonard's hotel. near the beach, and in
the bar were the hard-faced white man.
the mulatto, the boy, and another sprawl
ed out in their chairs, hammering the
table tops with their fists, and drinking
great glasses Of rum and water. The bar
was full Of fishermen. drinking in the
stories.
Young johnson broke in on them.
They're pirates" he shouted. sea
thieves and murderers, like as not"
There was d great row. tables over
turned, bottles smashed, a few heads
broken, but the four were too drunk to
be dangerous and they were secured by
the fishermen. Then Browning, the boy,
lost his nerve and confessed
The white man was Pirate Gibbs, with
a reputation of his own along the coast,
and a price on his head. The muIatto
was Wansley. one of Gibbs mates Gibbs
and Wansley had shipped at New Or
leans on the brig Vineyard having learned
that the ship was carrying S54. 900 In Mex
lean money for Stephen Girard, the
banker, of Philadelphia. When the brig
was of the Jersey coast, Gibbs and
Wansley murdered Capt Thornby and
Mate William Rogers, and terrified the
four members of the crew into joining
them. They scuttled the ship, loaded the
treasure into the long boat and jolly and
made for the Long Island shore
jolly Boat Is Svvamped.
Gibbs. Wansley. a man named Daniels.
and the boy got to Rockaway Inlet safe
~. but the jolly boat was swamped. and
the men in her, weighted down with their
pockets full of money, went to Davv
Jones. It was Gibbs and WansIey that
went to john JohnsOns fishing shack and
got the horse and cart. They buried the
treasure somewhere on Barren Island
no man has ever found where
Justice of the Peace Van DYKE took
them into custody. Wansley escaped and
took to the woods, but was quickly re-
captured by c posse. Daniels and Brown
rig turned States evidence. and when
the United States government took the
prisoners and tried them. their evidence
sent the pirate and his mate 20 the gal
lows. The hanging took place on Bed
loe's Island on April - 1871, the last
execution Of pirates in this city.
Uncle Billy never took drink in his
life, but he smoked steadily up until a
few years ago
His funeral will be held at . O'Clock
tomorrow afternoon, and his body viii
be buried in the Canarsie Cemetery. which
was the site of the Indian village not so
many years before he went to CanaTsie
Families Driven Out ny Flames.
New York. Feb. CA fire which did
about $4,000 damage and made several
families homeless started early This
morning in tho plant Of the Barnes Brass