Norwich bulletin., 1921-07-30
CLANS CAPT. KIDD WAS NOT X PIRATE

Shrewbury (Secretary of Stateo Eei-
 lomont and the straw men. to whom
 the kings grant of treasure was later
 made, did not contribute cent The agreement specifically stated that when
 the work was accomplished he was to bring his prizes to Boston, in New Eng
 land, without touching at any port or harbor. "Captaiu Kidd was specially com |
 missioned to take Thomas Too and cth- CTS American pirates in the Indies, and l
 granted general letters of marque. Los ing most of his crew through the press gang. he proceeded to New York to complete the same, where he arrived on July 4, 16s6. On Sept. s. 1896, with
 crazy vessel and crazier crew, he ! proceeded on his mission, but pirates | were scarce and to prove them so | they had to be caught red-handed. The West Indies. Cape of Good Hope. the | Indian Ocean and the Red Sea were
 visited in turn where he met a Portu- guese man of war, where he defeated in a running fight, and lost 50 of his men in one week with sickness. Then he took a Moorish ship of 200 tons and 1 a Bengal merchantmen of 500 tons,
 both having French passes and being i lawful prizes He proceeded to Boston with his prizes, stopping at Madagas- | car on account of the leaky condition of his galley. Here 97 of his men de- serted, sunk the smaller of his prizes
 and sailed off with the Culamore. a l pirate, in the Moca Frigate, leaving him with the Adventure Galley and the Adventure Prize (formerly the l Quedah Merchant) and thirteen of his crew. After five months wait for wind and crew, he sailed for home. and arrived at Antigua. April 1, 1899, where most of his crew then left him. Unable to proceed further in the Prize, he left
 her in cove in Hispaniola, and dis
 posing of part of his treasure, purchas- ed sloop, the San Antonio, came to New York and then to Boston, through the trickery of BellomOnt, who prom [ iSed him safe conduct. With the rem nant of his crew he was arrested, sent f to England, tried for murder and pira- cy, convicted and hung on Execution Dock, Friday, May 23. 1701, to satis-
 fy the political exigencies of the times. l It was either Lord Bellomont. the l Lord Chancellor. the first Lord of the 2 Admiralty, the Secretaries of state or f Captain Kidd, and under the circum-
 stances he had no chance. Collusior = and perjury are plainly evident in his
 trial; the French passes which would ' have cleared him of the piracy charge , though produced in the admiralty
 court, and any such court would have ], recognized the right of a sea captain T 1 to kill the leader of two mutinies or : l the suspicion of the third. The leas Q said about BeIiomont.s action in tn, :. matter the better. He fooled Kidd, hi ' fooled his council, and the worst of i q is, he allowed it in his letters to tn, e Lords of Trade
 l. The Captain Kidd of today is composite pirate, made up of all whl e frequented our shores from 1887 t e 1887. Propaganda of the worst kin.
 blackened the reputation of a man o
 whom a recognized English authorit. = says: It may be well doubted wheth
 CT any man in equally trying circum
 stances has ever been truer to hi E trust
 E We have had some real pirates o the second generation, on this coas 4. Captain Thomas Pound, pilot, pirata le cartographer' and Captain of the Roy ot al Navy, in four year, 16s7-i6e1, wh T. started piracy to get a Kings Fri is gate, which resulted in actual pirac es and hanging. Captain Avery, who wa
 reputed to have carried the daughte ,r of the Great Mogul and set up king ,- dom, but who starved in Massachusett le with diamonds in his pocket, was out l. pirated by the merchants of Bristo is England, and died of starvation. Car L tain Samuel Bellamy, who lost hi i- Ile6ls 1SO men an043U-tVu or treasure o ia the back of Cape Cod in 1T17 and fur n nished Cotton Mather with a horribl
 example. Captain Blackboard a black ,I, guard of the first water, who held tt N Carolinas and the governor of Mort
 Carolina in the hollow of his hand, bl T was finally taken by a lieutenant V the Navy in an unarmed sloop wf nt brought Blackbeard's head into VI, " ginia on the point of his bowspri nt Ann Bonney and Mary Read lady D ny rates who wore trousers, who came th the same end as the men. Capta. m Edward Low of Boston, who turned D ng rate at the Bay of Honduras in n.
 and took 140 vessels in 20 month m but deserted his consort, Charles Hi ce ris of Boston. in an engagement wi CT a British man-of-war which result, " in the hanging of 26 pirates at Ney .s- port in two hours, and last, but n en least, Captain Bartholomew Robert ey who took 490 vessels in three yea be and being killed in action, was throw to overheard by his own crew in all l.
 regalia on his dying request. And tn, nd the great American public persists ys calling Captain Kidd pirate and s- searching for his treasure, which do o1 not exist