The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-11-15
From tie Outing Magazine for Nov'


 Der.
 THE capture of the pirates of the
 NY Mexican was an extraordinary
 manifestation of the long arm of justice. A short time after the return of the brig to Salem the ship Cleaner sailed for the African coast. Her con- mander, Captain Hunt, happened to carry with him copy of the Essex Register, which, under a date of October, 1892, con- tained the statement of Captain Butman, in which he described in detail the model, rig and appearance of the pirate schooner. Captain Hunt perused the statement with lively interest and without doubt kept a weather eye out for rakish black schooner with a white streak, as he laid his course to the southward. He touched at the island of St. Thomas and while at anchor in the harbor saw topsail schooner come in from seaward. The stranger anchored near by, and Captain Hunt sat on ills quarterback with copy of the Essex Register in his fist. The more he studied, first the journal and then the schooner, the stronger grew his sus- picions that this was the sea robber that had gutted the Mexican. There was her large maintopmast, but with no yards or sail on it;'' ~'her mainsaiI very square at the head, sails made with split cloth and all new" and "the large gun on a. pivot amidships," the brass 12-pounders cleaning from her side, and E'about 70 men who appeared to be chiefly Spaniards and mulattos."
 Having digested these facts, Captain Hunt went ashore and conided in an old friend These two invented an excuse for boarding the schooner and there on tho deck they spied two spars painted black which had been stolen from the Mexican. Captain Butman had told Captain Hunt about these black spars before they parted in Salem. The latter at once decided to slip his cable that night take the Cleaner to sea and run down to the nearest sta- ton where he might find English vessels. There was a leak somewhere. for just be- fore dark, the suspicious schooner made sail and under heavy press of canvas fled for the open sea. As she passed within hailing distance of the Cleaner a hoarse voice shouted in broken English that if he ventured to take his brig to sea that Anight, he and his crew would have their throats slit before daylight. Captain Hunt stayed in harbor. but his chagrin was frightened when he saw a British frigate come in almost before the schooner had sailed beyond sight. Man ming boat he hurried aboard the frigate and told the commander what he knew about the Mexican and what he more than guessed about the ralxish schooner. The frlgate put about and made sail in chase but the pirate eluded her in the night and laid course for the African coast.
 Some time after this the British brig Curlew, Capt. Henry D. Trotter, was cruising on the west coast of Africa, and through the officers of the frigate which had chased the pirate out of St. Thomas she received the story of the Mexican and 0 description of the schooner. Captain Trotter cogitatcd and recalled the appear ance of schooner he had recently mo- ticed at anchor in the river Nazareth, on the African coast, where slavers were wont to hover. The description seemed to fit SO closely that the Curlew sailed at once to investigate. When she reached the mouth of the river Captain Trotter with a force of 70 men in boats, went up stream and pulled alongside the schooner at daybrealz ready to take her. l by storm. The pirates, however, scram- bled into their own boats, after setting l fire to their schooner, and escaped to the | shore, where they took refuge in the swamps and could not be found. A few days after prize crew had been pu