The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1912-06-13

are today forgotten. A doggerel song
C"My Name Was Captain Kidd, as T
Salied") and the foolish belief that he
buried vast treasures somewhere near
New York are the two things that
have made Kidd immortal.
In the latter part Of the seven
teenth century the American coasts
swarmed with pirates who spoiled sea
commerce and blocked travel. King
William ILL., OF England sent Lord
Bellomont to New York as governor.
with orders to stamp out piracy.
Bellomont liked the idea Of combin-
ing duty with profit. So, with Robert
Livingston and other rich, shrewd
New Workers.. he formed a company
70 make money out OF crushing the
pirates. A powerful warship was to
be fitted out and sent against the
freebooters. They and their plunder
we're to be seized, and the profits Of
the enterprise divided between the
company and the king.
Next, Bellomont and Livingston
looked about for the right sort Of man
to captain their warship. Livingston
suggested right worthy and honest
mariner" William Kidd by name.
Kidd was the son of a Scotch clergy
man who Is said to have suffered mar
tyrdom. The right worthy and hon
est mariner" had for more than thirty
years followed the sea, fighting
against England's French foes, thrash.
ing pirates and In many ways prov
ing Of use to the colonies. At that
time (1696) he had retired and was
living quietly In New York.
Kidd was made a shareholder in
Bellomonts company, took command
Of the thirty-gun galley Adventure
and set forth on his plrate-chasing
task. He bore with him a commission
from the king, made out to "our we'll
beloved and trusty William Kidd"
After an unimportant capture or two.
he vanished. For a time nothing was
heard, directly. from him. Then came
ugly rumors that shaped themselves
into facts.
1t seemed that the "well beloved
and trusty William Kidd" was doing
things that tended to make him neith
er trusted nor beloved. In short. he
and his crew, who had been sent to
destroy piracy. had themselves be-
come pirates and were holding up and
robbing merchant ships. This news
aroused tremendous excitement. Pub
lie feeling ran dangerously high.
Many people even hnted that Bello-
mont, Livingston and the rest had Sc
cretly formed a piratlcal company and
were only waiting to gather the
spoils. Bellomont. thoroughly scared.
reported the bad tidlngs to the king.
who received them with horror-real
or assumed-and who, In 1885, or
dered every British port to be on the
lookout for Kidds capture.
Meanwhile the "wellbeioved" Kidd.
cruising the Spanish Main. heard OF
the plan to arrest him. Leaving his
large ship near Hayti. he FASTENED
northward In a sloop laden with $10-
900 worth Of treasure and with crew
of forty. He touched at Oyster Bay.
L. l.. sent for a New York lawyer and
opened negotiations with Bellomont |
It Is supposed Bellomont sent word |
that the captain had nothing TO fear, |,
for Kidd landed and went on July I. |
4 699 to Boston to talk matters over. |
oil ,npt tAI Nd
packed him OF to England to stand |
trial. Then the company sent to the |
pirate sloop and seized the treasure:
AS Kidd had started out to do such !
great things the public grew to be-
lieve that $4,000 could not represent
all his plunder and that he must have
buried part Of the treasure. There Is
no reason for thinking so. Yet tho !
rumor has lived for over 200 years.
Kidd, meantime. was placed on trial
In England. He denied that he had
ever consented to be pirate and said
his crew had bullied him into It. He
could not be convicted Of piracy. even
by court which for some mysterious
reason rushed his trial through with
suspicious haste and lack Of Justice.
But he was found guilty Of having
killed a mutinous sailor named Will
lam Moon by hitting him over the
head with a bucket. For this crime
Kidd was condemned TO death. He
was hanged on May "a, 1901. with
nine OF his crew. at Execution Dock.
London.
To this day It cannot be definitely
known whether Captain Kidd was q
harmless old man. threatened into un-
willing piracy by a mutinous crew. or
he was the blackguard ac-
of a band Of fnanciers who
used him for their own ends and then
iisowned him. The haste and injus-
ice Of his trial led some to think his
speedy execution was needed to-hush
, pirate scandal that would have fn-
volved some OF the highest names In
England and in the colonies.