The Washington times., 1925-03-17
RELATES
TALE Of RUM
PIRACY
Ship Raided by Hijackers and
Looted OFF U. s. Coast,
Navigator Says
BY DAVID NJ. CHURCH,
International News service.


LONDON, March IT,. American
rum pirates" out.plrate the pirates
of the Spanish Main. il all that
Captain J. T. Tweedie says Of them
is true.
Captain Tweedie is back In Lon.
don after an adventuresome ex.
perience with pirates of Rum
Row and hopes that he will never
again have to encounter such
pirates.
Tweedie says that he signed on
the good ship Veronica at Bremen,
as chief officer, with no intention
of becoming q rum.runner, for
articles of agreement were~ signed
for a voyage to Melilla. While ct
sea orders were given to tho ship
to proceed to Bermuda, thence to
a point twenty-five miles south OF
Montauk Point. New York.
Off Montauk a number of speed
boats came out and took $500 cases
of whiskey ashore and then trouble
began, Tweedie says.
Spying Out Strength
"A representative OF the pro-
moters and another man came
aboard to arrange for the purchase
OF the remainder OF the cargo,
Captain Tweedie said.
1.-THE former asked what protec-
ton we could give him, and he was
told we had three revolvers and one
rifle
1T was agreed that he should go
ashore and charter q schooner to
fetch the remainder OF the cargo.
Three days later a speed boat came
alongside, and / received an indi-
viduaI who represented himself as
a prospective buyer, and showed
him to the captains cabin. An
other man came aboard. apparently
sick, and / gave him some whiskey
and then went on deck to prepare
to discharge the cargo.
ITO my amazement | found my
self covered by two guns and was
ordered to put my hands up. The
next thing / noticed was the crew
were covered with nine guns direct
ed from the pirateA' BOAT. The cap
tain and myself were locked and
barred in the petty officers mess
room.
Pirate Chief Brutal.
After two days Imprisonment
the pirate mate ordered me art,
where / met the pirate captain.
"'I want you to do something for
me-, he said. You play straight
game with me and / will with you.
while l was taking a sight ana
working out the position of the ship
the guns were fixed on me all the
time.
"For six days we were cruising
about waiting for schooner 10
come. When it was sighted was
a. a night il
was let out and ordered to help dis
charge cargo. Our crew was put to
the same task, and working at the
point of the revolver the whole
time we got about 5000 cases
aboard the schooner, then she LETT |
US.
Back to my prison I went. al
most starving. The pirate mate
then told me a revenue cutter hao
been sighted. You'll get two years |
the same as u.s. he said, and / told |
him l wasn't sorry, for anything
was better than what / was under
going. For reasons I can only hint |
at the revenue cutter cleared OFF. |
Got Sailing Order. I,
Three days later three'masted |
schooner came alongside and all |
lanOS were OIuSICu AhLO LAO AA~A~' |
to again discharge cargo. was
weak and the work soon exhausted !
me. All the sympathy 1 got was |
a kick. / tried to work, but Tell. |
For that 1 was given a blow on /
the nose and lay streaming in |
blood, not caring if the pirates kill
ed me. 1 don't know when the
pirates left us, for / was still ly- !
ing in the hold, bleeding profusely !
1T was hoisted out of the hold |
and on deck found a notice from |
the pirate captain telling us what |
course to take and adding: I am !
going to follow you. We have !
machine gun and will riddle the
whole ship If you dare to disobey.
Our ship was in an awful state. !
The pirates had taken out the |
shafting of the engine, broken the |
compass and only left us sail pow |
err. Ill provisioned, and with our |
crew disillusioned, we were event |
ually picked up and towed into |
Halifax.
mo more rum pirates for me.