Well folks, as promised, I've got another little story (all
true as can possibly be verified), concerning a pirate in the 17th century on the northeast coast of the States.
There was a chap in New England who started his working life as a fisherman and sailor as many did in that far distant age and environment. He picked up valuable skills, knowledge and experience that would 'help' him very much in his later, more nefarious career choice. As such, he earned the then reputation as a dependable person for hiring as a crew member for any voyage.
At the time, as was the case for many, many years the East Indies (as well as the West),was being plagued by corsairs of ill-repute of many varied backgrounds. The British had sent one of its ships to try and combat this problem. "The Adventure" as it was known, had a fair-weather captain onboard who, at the first opportunity, went ashore with his officers to hunt on the pretext of getting water and supplies for the ship. This wannabe pirate who had been hired as a boatswain, had been making plans with other undesired crew about how they were "wasting their lives and efforts" under a woolly captain and his officers.
Well, he was placed in temporary control whilst the others were ashore, and seeing his chance, he had the cable cut and put
The Adventure to sea...
His first act as 'captain' was to get two sailors to make a flag with the necessary signage to declare, openly, their intent. Once the "Black Flag" was raised, it was game-on for the cutthroat desperadoes. They made back for the east coast of the States and were determined to loot, burn, pillage and destroy anything that crossed their path. Now this rogue captain wasn't stupid, he had a twenty-gun ship and knew that the word would be out to apprehend them, so he only looked for prizes where he'd outgun the opposition and not encounter any resistance.
Sure enough, their first target turned out to be a merchant ship which provided much in way of booty for these sea-robbers. The pirates couldn't believe their luck. In addition to looting
The Adventure which had nine chests of Spanish dollars, they found aboard the merchant ship, rich traders from the East with gold, jewels and pearls that they were hoping to exchange in Europe for goods...
For a period of 3-4 years, this pirate crew, found prize after prize because they always but always went after ships knowing their limit and never trying to fight it out or show any bravado or putting into any port where they might encounter serious difficulties with the authorities. By showing caution, ensuring discipline and being very discreet, they had an extraordinary run...
Knowing that all successful 'reigns' come to an end, Mr Pirate Captain and his crew wanted to somehow go home with their wealth and not have to face any consequences. As a precaution, the captain landed on or near a place called Montauk Point on Long Island with a small cohort of his fellow criminals, and they buried some of their loot as an 'insurance' policy whilst they tentatively tried to see what the current climate was for those wishing to renounce their piratical ways.
The Adventure by now was unseaworthy and the captain sent some of his crew to purchase a sloop from Rhode Island where he thought they'd be safe as that particular community always welcomed those with ill-gotten gains to spend. Well, as one's luck surely takes a turn at some point, the pirates were seized, charged and jailed in Newport as in their absence Great Britain had stepped-up its efforts and did not take kindly to one of its ships being seized with such large resources onboard and the officers made to look like idiots.
The pirate captain now knew that the authorities were making moves against him and his small crew so it was necessary to try and keep a low profile. He scuttled
The Adventure , setup a base on an isolated island called Block, and then proceeded to tell his men that it was now necessary to disband and go their separate ways. Some agreed with him but others had become fully taken with the life of piracy and elected to continue their careers as such. The unrepentants bided their time on Block and managed to buy a sloop which was passing the island for a generous sum. As a last "cheerio" to their ex-colleagues, they landed the captain and his adherents at various points on the coast and bid them farewell. By ones, twos and threes, the pirates slipped away with bags of valuables slung over their shoulders...
At small farms and settlements, they bought horses and made their way inland and back to their families/homes/communities in a secretive manner without trying to attract any attention...
Now the captain wasn't a fool and knew it would be extremely difficult for him to resume his former life, so attempted to try and buy influence and political goodwill. He contacted a friend of Earl of Bellomont (of Captain Kidd infamy) who was the governor of New York, to see if there was any possibility of amnesty. The mistake the captain made was he made a huge "gift" to the earl's friend rather than to
him, and the thoroughly corrupt earl was furious. He sent a message to the captain that
all pirates, active and retired, were being seized, charged and hanged.
Word also reached the now nervous, jittery and stressed captain that most of his former crew had been seized in Connecticut, New York and Rhode Island- including those that hand wanted to continue roaming the seas. Furthermore, the captured pirates were being forced to show where they'd deposited any goodies, what was left and most worrying for the captain, where the authorities could find
him...
The captain realised that it was too "hot" for him to hang around and made haste for Boston.
But, alas, now as then, wealth and envy and corruption are very good bedmates, and the captain was traced and captured. The captain was jailed awaiting transportation to England with his faithful personal servant. But as Lady Luck would intervene again, the guard at the jail was a distant relative of the captain, and one summer morning, the cell was empty...
No doubt the gold bars helped the jailer to provide some assistance...
The earl made a terrible uproar about this 'affront' to British justice (he was still extremely upset that the captain had the temerity to give the "gift" to the earl's friend rather than to him). At this time the earl was in a predicament with the Captain Kidd fiasco and was facing repercussions from London and needed to show he had a grip on the situation in the States. The captain had fled into the interior with his man-servant and was living with some Injuns and partaking of their hospitality. Well, alas, one of the Injuns who was a visitor to Boston heard about the reward offered for the two outlaws and did his civic duty by reporting them...
Sure enough after this second capture, the captain was jailed where a certain ex-gentleman called
William Kidd was being kept at His Majesty's pleasure for transportation back to England for trial and their inevitable date with the hangman. Every ruse was used to try and get The captain to reveal where he had deposited the majority of his ill-gotten gains which were in the form of Spanish dollars, gold bars and gems. The captain was resigned to his fate and knew of the duplicity of the avaricious earl and refused to even entertain any visitors.
The captain, Captain Kidd and other pirates were sent to England and hanged early in the 1700s as there was much controversy about illicit deals and agreements concerning the king himself about licensing piratical activity in the pursuit of gaining ever more wealth.
This is where it now gets interesting...
This captain had cached some valuables at Montauk Point along with some of his men, and this had been discovered by the governor's men. The captain had also paid a huge bribe to the earl/governor's 'friend' in a vain attempt to get himself a reprieve from the pirate charges against him. He'd also had some of his wealth on his person when living as a fugitive...what became of the bulk of his wealth that he simply couldn't carry around...?
When Captain Kidd had written to the authorities in the vain hope of escaping the hangman, was it his own treasure he was referring or that about someone else's he'd heard about?
Furthermore, after the captain was swinging from a rope on the Thames river in London alongside poor old Kidd, a friend of the captain came forward on the east coast of the States claiming that the deceased captain had met him whilst a fugitive, and had given him a "chart and instructions to be passed to his family in the event of my certain demise..."
Is there more to this than meets the eye....
IPUK
