Part 13 (1/2)

In this condition they reached the island of Mauritius, refitted the Victory, and left that place with the following inscription written upon one of the walls: ”Left this place on the 5th of April, to go to Madagascar for Limos.” This they did lest any visit should be paid to the place during their absence. They, however, did not sail directly for Madagascar, but the island of Mascarius, where they fortunately fell in with a Portuguese of seventy guns, lying at anchor. The greater part of her guns had been thrown overboard, her masts lost, and the whole vessel disabled by a storm; she therefore, became an easy prey to the pirates.

Conde de Ericeira, Viceroy of Goa, who went upon the fruitless expedition against Angria the Indian, and several pa.s.sengers, were on board. Besides other valuable articles and specie, they found in her diamonds to the amount of four millions of dollars. Supposing that the s.h.i.+p was an Englishman, the Viceroy came on board next morning, was made prisoner, and obliged to pay two thousand dollars as a ransom for himself and the other prisoners. After this he was sent ash.o.r.e, with an express engagement to leave a s.h.i.+p to convey him and his companions to another port.

Meanwhile, the pirates received intelligence that a vessel was to the leeward of the island, which they pursued and captured. But instead of performing their promise to the Viceroy, which they could easily have done, they sent the Ostender along with some of their men to Madagascar, to inform their friends of their success, with instructions to prepare masts for the prize; and they soon followed, carrying two thousand negroes in the Portuguese vessel.

Madagascar is an island larger than Great Britain, situated upon the eastern coast of Africa, abounding with all sorts of provisions, such as oxen, goats, sheep, poultry, fish, citrons, oranges, tamarinds, dates, cocoa-nuts, bananas, wax, honey, rice, cotton, indigo, and all other fruits common in that quarter of the globe; ebony of which lances are made, gums of several kinds, and many other valuable productions. Here, in St. Augustine's bay, the s.h.i.+ps sometimes stop to take in water, when they make the inner pa.s.sage to India, and do not intend to stop at Johanna.

When the Portuguese s.h.i.+p arrived there, they received intelligence that the Ostender had taken advantage of an hour when the men were intoxicated, had risen upon them, and carried the s.h.i.+p to Mozambique, from whence the governor ordered her to Goa.

The pirates now divided their plunder, receiving forty-two diamonds per man, or in smaller proportion according to their magnitude. A foolish jocular fellow, who had received a large diamond of the value of forty-two, was highly displeased, and so went and broke it in pieces, exclaiming, that he had many more shares than either of them. Some, contended with their treasure, and unwilling to run the risk of losing what they possessed, and perhaps their lives also, resolved to remain with their friends at Madagascar, under the stipulation that the longest livers should enjoy all the booty. The number of adventurers being now lessened, they burned the Viceroy, cleaned the Ca.s.sandra, and the remainder went on board her under the command of Taylor, whom we must leave for a little while, in order to give an account of the squadron which arrived in India in 1721.

When the commodore arrived at the Cape, he received a letter that had been written by the Governor of Pondicherry to the Governor of Madras, informing him that the pirates were strong in the Indian seas; that they had eleven sail, and fifteen hundred men; but adding, that many of them retired about that time to Brazil and Guinea, while others fortified themselves at Madagascar, Mauritius, Johanna, and Mohilla; and that a crew under the command of Condin, in a s.h.i.+p called the Dragon, had captured a vessel with thirteen lacks of rupees on board, and having divided their plunder, had taken up their residence with their friends at Madagascar.

Upon receiving this intelligence, Commodore Matthews sailed for these islands, as the most probable place of success. He endeavored to prevail on England, at St. Mary's, to communicate to him what information he could give respecting the pirates; but England declined, thinking that this would be almost to surrender at discretion. He then took up the guns of the Jubilee sloop that were on board, and the men-of-war made several cruises in search of the pirates, but to no purpose. The squadron was then sent down to Bombay, was saluted by the fort, and after these exploits returned home.

The pirate, Captain Taylor, in the Ca.s.sandra, now fitted up the Portuguese man-of-war, and resolved upon another voyage to the Indies; but, informed that four men-of-war had been sent after the pirates in that quarter, he changed his determination, and sailed for Africa.

Arrived there, they put in a place near the river Spirito Sancto, on the coast of Monomotapa. As there was no correspondence by land, nor any trade carried on by sea to this place, they thought that it would afford a safe retreat. To their astonishment, however, when they approached the sh.o.r.e, it being in the dusk of the evening, they were accosted by several shot. They immediately anch.o.r.ed, and in the morning saw that the shot had come from a small fort of six guns, which they attacked and destroyed.

This small fort was erected by the Dutch East India Company a few weeks before, and committed to the care of 150 men, the one half of whom had perished by sickness or other causes. Upon their pet.i.tion, sixteen of these were admitted into the society of the pirates; and the rest would also have been received, had they not been Dutchmen, to whom they had a rooted aversion.

In this place they continued during four months, refitting their vessels, and amusing themselves with all manner of diversions, until the scarcity of their provisions awakened them to industry and exertion.

They, however, left several parcels of goods to the starving Dutchmen, which Mynheer joyfully exchanged for provisions with the next vessel that touched at that fort.

Leaving that place, they were divided in opinion what course to steer; some went on board the Portuguese prize, and, sailing for Madagascar, abandoned the pirate life; and others going on board the Ca.s.sandra, sailed for the Spanish West Indies. The Mermaid man-of-war, returning from a convoy, got near the pirates, and would have attacked them, but a consultation being held, it was deemed inexpedient, and thus the pirates escaped. A sloop was, however, dispatched to Jamaica with the intelligence, and the Lancaster was sent after them; but they were some days too late, the pirates having, with all their riches, surrendered to the Governor of Portobello.

ACCOUNT OF THE LYNN PIRATES

_And Thomas Veal, who was buried in his cave by the Great Earthquake_.

In the year 1658 there was a great earthquake in New-England. Some time previous, on one pleasant evening, a little after sunset, a small vessel was seen to anchor near the mouth of Saugus river. A boat was presently lowered from her side, into which four men descended, and moved up the river a considerable distance, when they landed, and proceeded directly into the woods. They had been noticed by only a few individuals; but in those early times, when the people were surrounded by danger, and easily susceptible of alarm, such an incident was well calculated to awaken suspicion, and in the course of the evening the intelligence was conveyed to many houses. In the morning, the people naturally directed their eyes toward the sh.o.r.e, in search of the strange vessel--but she was gone, and no trace could be found either of her or her singular crew. It was afterwards ascertained that, on the morning one of the men at the Iron Works, on going into the foundry, discovered a paper, on which was written, that if a quant.i.ty of shackles, handcuffs, hatchets, and other articles of iron manufacture, were made and deposited, with secrecy, in a certain place in the woods, which was particularly designated, an amount of silver, to their full value, would be found in their place. The articles were made in a few days, and placed in conformity with the directions. On the next morning they were gone, and the money was found according to the promise; but though a watch had been kept, no vessel was seen. Some months afterwards, the four men returned, and selected one of the most secluded and romantic spots in the woods of Saugus, for their abode. The place of their retreat was a deep narrow valley, shut in on two sides by craggy, precipitous rocks, and shrouded on the others by thick pines, hemlocks and cedars, between which there was only one small spot, to which the rays of the sun at noon could penetrate. On climbing up the rude and almost perpendicular steps of the rock on either side, the eye could command a full view of the bay on the south, and a prospect of a considerable portion of the surrounding country. The place of their retreat has ever since been called the Pirates' Glen, and they could not have selected a spot on the coast for many miles, more favorable for the purposes both of concealment and observation. Even at this day, when the neighborhood has become thickly peopled, it is still a lonely and desolate place, and probably not one in a hundred of the inhabitants has ever descended into its silent and gloomy recess. There the pirates built a small hut, made a garden, and dug a well, the appearance of which is still visible. It has been supposed that they buried money; but though people have dug there, and in many other places, none has ever been found. After residing there some time, their retreat became known, and one of the king's cruizers appeared on the coast. They were traced to their glen, and three of them were taken, and carried to England, where it is probable they were executed. The other, whose name was Thomas Veal, escaped to a rock in the woods, about two miles to the north, in which was a s.p.a.cious cavern, where the pirates had previously deposited some of their plunder. There the fugitive fixed his residence, and practised the trade of a shoemaker, occasionally coming down to the village to obtain articles of sustenance. He continued his residence till the great earthquake in 1658, when the top of the rock was loosened, and crushed down into the mouth of the cavern, enclosing the unfortunate inmate in its unyielding prison. It has ever since been called the Pirate's Dungeon. A part of the cavern is still open, and is much visited by the curious.

This rock is situated on a lofty range of thickly wooded hills, and commands an extensive view of the ocean, for fifty miles both north and south. A view from the top of it, at once convinces the beholder that it would be impossible to select a place more convenient for the haunt of a gang of pirates; as all vessels bound in and out of the harbors of Boston, Salem, and the adjacent ports, can be distinctly seen from its summit. Saugus river meanders among the hills a short distance to the south, and its numerous creeks which extend among thick bushes, would afford good places to secrete boats, until such time as the pirates descried a sail, when they could instantly row down the river, attack and plunder them, and with their booty return to the cavern. This was evidently their mode of procedure. On an open s.p.a.ce in front of the rock are still to be seen distinct traces of a small garden spot, and in the corner is a small well, full of stones and rubbish; the foundation of the wall round the garden remains, and shows that the spot was of a triangular shape, and was well selected for the cultivation of potatoes and common vegetables. The aperture in the rock is only about five feet in height, and extends only fifteen feet into the rock. The needle is strongly attracted around this, either by the presence of magnetic iron ore or some metallic substance buried in the interior.

The Pirates' Glen, which is some distance from this, is one of Nature's wildest and most picturesque spots, and the cellar of the pirate's hut remains to the present time, as does a clear s.p.a.ce, which was evidently cultivated at some remote period.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _The Dungeon Rock and Pirate's Cave, at Lynn, Ma.s.s._]

HISTORY OF THE LADRONE PIRATES

_And their Depredations on the Coast of China: with an Account of the Enterprises and Victories of Mistress Ching, a Female Pirate_.

The Ladrones as they were christened by the Portuguese at Macao, were originally a disaffected set of Chinese, that revolted against the oppression of the Mandarins. The first scene of their depredations was the Western coast, about Cochin China, where they began by attacking small trading vessels in row boats, carrying from thirty to forty men each. They continued this system of piracy, and thrived and increased in numbers under it, for several years. At length the fame of their success, and the oppression and horrid poverty and want that many of the lower orders of Chinese labored under, had the effect of augmenting their bands with astonis.h.i.+ng rapidity. Fishermen and other dest.i.tute cla.s.ses flocked by hundreds to their standard, and their audacity growing with their numbers, they not merely swept the coast, but blockaded all the rivers and attacked and took several large government war junks, mounting from ten to fifteen guns each.--These junks being added to their shoals of boats, the pirates formed a tremendous fleet, which was always along sh.o.r.e, so that no small vessel could safely trade on the coast. When they lacked prey on the sea, they laid the land under tribute. They were at first accustomed to go on sh.o.r.e and attack the maritime villages, but becoming bolder, like the Buccaneers, made long inland journeys, and surprised and plundered even large towns.

An energetic attempt made by the Chinese government to destroy them, only increased their strength; for in their first encounter with the pirates, twenty-eight of the Imperial junks struck, and the remaining twelve saved themselves, by a precipitate retreat.

The captured junks, fully equipped for war, were a great acquisition to the robbers, whose numbers now increased more rapidly than ever. They were in their plenitude of power in the year 1809, when Mr. Gla.s.spoole had the misfortune to fall into their hands, at which time that gentleman supposed their force to consist of 70,000 men, navigating eight hundred large vessels, and one thousand small ones, including row boats. They were divided into six large squadrons, under different flags;--the red, the yellow, the green, the blue, the black and the white. ”These wasps of the Ocean,” as a Chinese historian calls them, were further distinguished by the names of their respective commanders: by these commanders a certain _Ching-yih_ had been the most distinguished by his valor and conduct. By degrees, Ching obtained almost a supremacy of command over the whole united fleet; and so confident was this robber in his strength and daily augmenting means, that he aspired to the dignity of a king, and went so far as openly to declare his patriotic intention of hurling the present Tartar family from the throne of China, and of restoring the ancient Chinese dynasty.

But unfortunately for the ambitious pirate, he perished in a heavy gale, and instead of placing a sovereign on the Chinese throne, he and his lofty aspirations were buried in the yellow sea. And now comes the most remarkable pa.s.sage in the history of these pirates--remarkable with any cla.s.s of men, but doubly so among the Chinese, who entertain more than the general oriental opinion of the inferiority of the fair s.e.x. On the death of _Ching-yih,_ his legitimate wife had sufficient influence over the freebooters to induce them to recognize her authority in the place of her deceased husband's, and she appointed one _Paou_ as her lieutenant and prime minister, and provided that she should be considered the mistress or commander-in-chief of the united squadrons.