The record., 1912-09-12

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that he will say, tsa$S,x' Ia III
Captain Kidd" ISsag 5''s "a
AS matter Of tectTfEX/ /l<TH,
fact. Kidd WAS n WENN
very third rate sOrt ~ ~
Of pirate. net 10 be CAPTAIN fND D
compared in viilaiHy, exploits and
wealth 10 dozens OF captains who
are today forgotten. A doggcrcl song
C"Nfy Name Was Captain Kidd. as
Saliei'D and the foolish belief that he
bnried vast treasures somewhere near
Now York are the two things that
have made Kidd immortal.
In the latter part OF the seven.
tcen,h century the American coasts
swagmcd with pirates who spoiled sen
commerce and blocked travel. KinG
William III Of England sent lord
Rcll0mont TO New York as governor,
with orders to stamp ont pracy.
Bcllomont liked the idea Of combin-
irg duty with profit. So. with Robert
Livingston ard other rich. shrewd
New Workers. he formed a company
TO mako money ont of crushing tho
pirates. \ powerful warship was to
ho fitted out and sent against tho
frcebooters. They and their plumber
were to be seized. and the profits of
the enterprise divided between the
company and the king.
Next, pel'omont and Livingston
looked about for the right sort of man
to captain their warship. Livingston
suggested a right worthy and honest
mariner" William Kidd By name.
Kidd was the son Of q Scotch clergy
man who is said 10 have suffered mar
tyrdom. The fright worthy and hon
est mariner" had for more than thirty
years followed the sea, fighting
against England's French foes. thrash
ing pir%es and in many ways nrov-
iDg - rsa 20 the colonies
time tl6Scl ne n5U-rTTrred an5 Was
living quietly in New York.
Kidd was made n shareholder in
Rellomont's company, took command
of the thirty-gun galley Adventure
and set forth on his pirate-chasing
task. He bore with him a commission
from the king. made out 10 'our well
beloved and trusty William Kidd"
After an unimrortant capture or two,
he vanished. For a time nothing WAS
heard. directly. from him. Then came
ugly rumors that shaped themselves
into facts.
It seemed that the swell beloved
NkT,Ilia,a LiIdo Inins~
thin"s that tended 10 make him neith-
er trusted nor beloved. In short. he
end his crew, who had been sent to
destroy piracy. had themselves be-
come pirates and were holding up and
rohhing merchant ships This news
aroused tremendous excitement. Pub
lie feeling ran dangerously high.
Many people even hinted that Bello-
mont. Livingston and the rest had Sc.
cretly formed riratical company and
were only waiting TO gather TIE
spells. Rellomont, thoroughly scared,
reported the bad tiGinGs To tho king,
who received them with horror-real
or assumed-and who, In 1858. or
dered every British port TO be on the
lookout for Kidd's capture.
Meanwhile the "well-beloved" 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 sT0.-
Gao worth Of treasure and with crew
of forty. He touched at Oyster Bay,
l.. T.. sent for a New York lawyer and
opened negotiations with Bellomont.
1t is supposed Bellomont sent word
that the captain had nothing to fear,
for Kidd landed and went on July 1,
[ 1899, 10 Roston to talk matters over.
/ There Bellemont arrested him and
/ packed him off 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
/ lieye that $4,000 conid not represent
all his rlunder and Eat he must have
buried part Of the treasure. There is
no reason for thinking 90 Yet the
rumor has lived for over 200 years.
Kidd. meantime, was placed on trial
in England. He denied that he had
/ ever consented 10 be pirate and said
/. his crew had bHlied him into It. Hc
could not be convicted OF piracy. even
by court which for some mvaterlous
reason rushed his trial through Will
SUSPICIOUS haste and lack Of justice
But he was found guilty of having
killed a mutinous sailor named VIII
ian Noon by hitting him over the
bead with o bucket. For this crime
Kidd WIS condemned TO death. He
was hanged on May Il, 1901, will
rine Of his crew. at Execution Dock
London.
70 this day st canaot Re definitely
fHrvn whether Captain Hi3l we- ,
Ec.rui-5s 1la san. threatened iato Ul
UilIlac piracy b. g. TlGtiGous crew, cI
VE2thsr he was The llaat guard &C
cCmelice Of q band Il fiEauciars VIII
useJ him for their own ends and tho,
di-oWH"d him. Tho haste and iuiuH
tjco Of his trial led some 10 think hi
speedy execution was needed to hucl
a pirate scandal that would have in