| Show lipsom from last vol of we tue of CAPT THE COLONIAL PIRATE some years before while the war was still raging there had bad been loud coi cor plaints plaines in the city that even yi en privateers of oe st malos maies and dunkirk caused less molestation molesta tien tieu to trade than any other of marauders the engish eng ish navy was fully employed in the chanuel channel Cn annel annei in the atlantic and in iii the mediterranean the indian i ocean meanwhile swarmed with pirates of whose rapidity and cruelty frightful stories were told many of these men moen it was said came from our north american colonies and carried back to those colonies the spoils gained by mime dime adventurers who durst not show themselves in the thames I 1 aund a ready market for their ill gotten spices and stuffs at new york even tiie tile puritans of new eng land who in sanctimonious austerity surpassed even their brethren of scotland dp accused of conniving at the wickedness which enabled them to enjoy abundantly and cheaply tile the produce of indian looms and chinese tea plantations in 1095 1605 richard coote earl of bellamont bellemont Bel lamont an irish peer who sat bat in the english house of commons was vas appointed governor of new york and mass massachusetts ile he was a man of eminently fair character upright courageous and independent though a decided whig hr he had bad distinguished himself by bringing 0 before the parliament at westminster west minster some tarran ical acts done clone by whigs ga at dublin and particularly ticul arly the execution if it is not rather to be called we tue murder of gafney before bella mont sailed for america william spoke stron strongly lie ite to him about the rree iree booting which wa was s t the d disgrace disgrace of the tha colonies 44 I 1 send you my lord to new york 11 he sa said I 1 d because all an honest and intrepid man is wanted to put these abuses d alwn ian and because I 1 believe you to be su such chaman a man Bal bel Bellair ont exerted hi himself myself to justify the high ofir opinion ion lon which the mughal lune iune had formed of him IL I 1 was mas soon known at new york that the governor who had just arrived from england was bent on the suppression of piracy and some colonists in irl whom he placed great confidence suggested to him what they may perhaps have bave thought the best mode of attaint that object T there ere was aas then in the settlement a veteran mariner named lV illiam wiliiam kidd ile lle had pissed passed most of his life on the waves had distinguished 0 himself ly by his seamanship had bad had opportunities of snowing showing his valor in action with the french and had retired on a commet competence ence no man knew the eastern seas belcer betler lie he was perfectly acquainted with all the haunts of the pira edw prowled v e between e the e adeo oo 00 hope and the t e traits straits of malacca and aud an a he h e would undertake if he were entrust entrusted edwi with th a single I 1 ship of thirty ther thir or forty guns to clear cl earthe cleanthe th e inan indian ocean of the whole race the bri ga litinas of the rovers were numerous no doubt but none of them were large one man of war which in the royal navy would hardly rank as an a fourth rate raie would easily deal deai with them all in elony siony blon bion and the lawful spoils of the enemies of mankind would more mail maii defray the charges of the expedition bellamont bellemont Bel lamont iamont was charmed with this plan and recommended it to the king the king referred it to the admiral admiralty V the toe admiralty raised difficulties such as are arc pi perpetually raised by public boards when any deviation whether for the better jorfor or for the worse from the established course of proceeding is proposed it then occurred to bella mont thattis that uia favorite scheme might be carried into effect without any cost to the state A few public spirited men might easily fit out a pi ivateen which would soon make the arabian gulf and the bay of bengal secure highways for trade ile he wrote to his hia frienda in enni Enzi edgland england and impi imploring 0 remonstrating complains comp laing of their lamentable want of public spirit six thousand pounds would be enough that sum would be re repaid ai di and repaid with large interest from the sale bale a e of prizes and an inestimable benefit would be conferred cd on the kingdom and on the world his arg urgency dency succeeded shrewsbury and romney contributed oxford thou though 0 b as first lord of the he be had been unwilling to send kidd to the indian ocean with a kings ship consented to subscribe a thousand pounds somers subscribed a thousand A ship called the adventure galley was equipped in the port of london and KL klad kiad ad took command ile he carried with him besides the ardi hajy letters of marque a commission under the great seal empowering him to seize pirates lant land and to take them place where they mim mig might bo b dealt with according to law whatever right the king might have to the goods found in the possession of these malefactors he granted by letters patent to the person who had been at a the expense of fitting out the expedition tion reserving to himself 0 only llly illy one tenth part of the gains of the adventure which was I 1 to be paid into the treasury with the claim of merchants to have back the property of which they had bad been robbed his majesty of course did not interfere ile he granted away and could grant away no BO rights but ills his own the press for sailors to man the royal navy t was at that time so hot bat kidd could not obtain his full complement of hands in the thames ile he crossed the atlantic visited new york and there found volunteers in abundance bun dance at lengh th in february 1097 1697 he be sailed from the hudson with a crew of more than a hundred and fifty me men and in a july reached the coast of madar madagascar it is possible that kidd may at dirst first have meant to act in accordance with his instructions but on the subject of piracy he be held leid the notions which were then common in the north american colonies and most ot of his bis crew were of 0 the same mind lie he found himself in a sea which was constantly traversed by rich and de fenceless defenceless merchant ships and he be had to determine whether he would pi plunder tinder those ships or protect them the gain which might be made by plundering them was immense and might be snatched without the dangers of bf a battle or the delays of a trial the rewards of protecting the lawful trade were like y ato to be comparatively small such as they were they would be got only by first fighting with desperate ruffians who would rather be killed than taken and by then instituting a proceeding and obtaining a judgment in a court of admira admiralty it y the risk of if being called to a severe reckoning might not naturally seem small email to one who had seen many old buccan living in ardit and comfort in new york and boston kidd soon threw off the character of a privateer and became a pirate ile he established friendly communication and exchanged arms and ainu allu arr arn niton with the most notorious of those rovers whom his hig commission authorized authorised him to destroy and made war on those peaceful traders whom he was sent to defend he began by robbing Mussi and speedily proceeded from to armenians Armen ians and from armenians Armen ians to portuguese the adventure galley took such quantities quantities uan titles of cotton and silk slik sugar and nei nee coffee cinnamon and pepper that the very fore mastman received receiver from a hundred to two hundred pounds each and the captains shareef share bhare of the spoil would have enabled him film to live at home as an opulent gentleman with the rapacity kidd had bad the C cruelty of et his hig odious calling ile he burned houses bouses he massacred peasantry his prisoners were tied up and beaten with naked cut lasses in order to extort information about their concealed hoards one of bis his crew whom hom he had bad called a dow dog W was provoked into exclaiming e in an agony of remorse yes I 1 am a doo dog dog but it was you that have m made me so go kidd in a fury struck the man dd dead news then travelled very slowly from the eastern seas to england but in august 1698 it was known in england that the ad venture ure galley from which so mu h had bad been hoped was the terror of the merchants of surat sarat and of the villagers of the coast of Ma malabar malahan lahar it was wag thought probable that kidd would carry his booty to some colony orders iverel were therefore sent from whitehall to the 90 governors of the transmarine possessions of the crown directing them to be on the watch i for him ile he meanwhile having burnt burrl this his ship and dismissed dismiss pd most roost of hla his men who ea easily found berths in the sloops of other pirates returned to new york with the me means an s as lie he flattered himself of making his peace and of living in ap splendor lendor lie he had bad fabricated abed a ion lon long iong rot roi romance nInce to which bellemont bellamont Bel lamont naturally unwilling to believe belleve that he be had lad been duped and had bad been the means of duping others iwas at first disposed to listen was favor but the truth soon came come ot the governor did his duty firmly and kidd ars placed it n close confinement till orders arrived from the admiralty that he should be sent to england lie he was subsequently exec exe uld cud |
