Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1910-08-24
A NARROW ESCAPE HAD
Captain Clark's Ships Had Real
Live Pirates Aboard All
WayFrOm The Tropics
ALL SENT TO BALTIMORE
Dereadful Bold Bad Followers OF Can.
tain Kidd Turned Over To Federal
Authorities

Not since Captain Kidd, the original
/ high-tariff man, sailed the high seas
has Ye Ancient City been in such
cose touch with real live pirates as
when in the early hours of this morn
ing the revanue cutter Apache passed
just outside of Greenberry Point
bound for Baltimore with five of these
blOod-drinking, high-binders of the
bounding main aboard.
They were all bound and gagged
and in double irons below decks.
however, and the Capital office and
the State House, as well as the coun-
ty Jail and the valiant police force.
were in no real danger. The five
followers of the Skull and cross
bones, insignia of Captain Kidd,
were brought to America from
Horta aboard the ships of Captain
Clark's Naval Academy ,-actice
squadron.
The flagship Iowa was a>',ed by
wireless to stop at Horta long enough
where the alleged pirates + been
watched bg soldiers for fear they
would climb over the side OF the jail
with cutlass in teeth and scare the
children. The Iowa had 500 mid
shipmen returning from their sum
mer cruise, but despite the chance cf
bringing disturbing influence abo;.
the ship, the captain consented ID
take the prisoners off, and later re
ported their presence by wireless tele-
graph to Annapolis.
The men are described a being Will
lam r. Albert, Charles Mitchell. Ed
ward W. Lila, Charles Turner and
George White, sailors, who set out
from New Bedford, Mass, a respect
able neighborhood on the good ship
Pedro Verala, but who it is alleged
made the captain walk the plank and
took charge of the ship.
As yet the details are scarce and it
is not known how many buckets of
blood or ingots of gold were found on
the five sea dogs. Until this time
no member of the well-known Turner
family had been known to be pirate
and some doubt is entertained as to
the true identity of the men. Such
a thing as "Pirate MITCHELL is also
However, Major John Philip Hill,
United States District Attorney for
Maryland, accompanied by Marshal
Padgett, United States Commission
er Bond and several of Mr.. Padgett's
staff, set out on the Apache from
Baltimore yesterday morning to meet
the Iowa.
Dispatches from Washington state
that the men were originally taken
in Portugal, where they had attempt
ed to hold up Portuguese ship at
sea, and thence were sent to Gibral-
tar In New Bedford, after the
shock of discovery had somewhat dis
sipated, it was learned that the ship
Pedro Verala is owned by Mr.. Antoine
Sylvia, of that city, and was former
ly the revenue cutter James Camp
bell.
During her many years of service
with the Government she was never
known to become pirate. In 1876,
after blameless career, she was con-
verted into whaling schooner and
with crew of eighteen men put out
to sea regularly. She was SO feet 6
inches in length and stout ship.
Theres seems to be question as to
whether the men are pirates or mutt
neers. If they seized no ships, as
some dispatches say, but simply took
charge of the Pedro Verala and tried
to sell her, they will be charged with
mutiny If they did try to sail under
the skull and cross-b bones and all ate
their food without forks, then it is
plainly piracy.
The penalty for piracy in the
halcyon days was the "yard-arm.
Tbs consisted of hanging the pirate
by the neck to one of the parts OF the
ships rigging which projected over
the water. The unfortunate pirate
danced in the air until he went to
join other dead malefactors of con-
siderable wealth and influence.
In the law of nations it is provided
that pirate does not deserve the pro-
lection of any flag. An armed ship of
any nation may capture a pirate ship
and despite the flag it pay sail under
and proceed to deal with the pirates.
1t is provided, however, that the
pirates must be brought to trial. No
one can be hanged without this for
mality Mutineers are different. If
1 they kill captain they may be tried
for murder.