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Show One of the Last of the Pirates A' LTHOUGI1 the Eighteenth century cen-tury was the heyday of buccaneers bucca-neers along the American coast, robbing rob-bing on the high seas was not entirely en-tirely stamped out in Colonial days, and one of the problems which the new republic faced after the Revolution Revolu-tion was the suppression of sporadic outbreaks of piracy. As late as 1SIU a pirate was hanged in New York city, and his story is an interesting one. Charles Gibbs was his name and he was a farmer boy, born in Rhode Island Is-land In 1794. He ran away to sea and enlisted on the American war sloop. Harriet. He saw action in the fight with the British ship Peacock and was one of the crew, commanded by the heroic Lawrence (of "Don't give up the ship !" fame) In the fight between the Chesapeake and the Shannon, who was taken to England as a prisoner. After Gibbs' release from the famous Dartmoor prison, he opened a shop called the "Tin Pot" which soon became be-came a rendezvous for "abandoned women and dissolute fellows." These outcasts soon helped the American drink up all his profits, and he was compelled to go to sea again, this time as a member of the crew of a South American privateer. Gibbs led a mutiny, mu-tiny, seized the vessel and turned pirate. pi-rate. He sailed to Cuba and began plundering ships near Havana and slaughtering the crews. Then with booty totaling more than $30,000 In gold he returned to New York and decided to retire to private life. He next went to Liverpool Liver-pool on a pleasure trip, but fell In with "a designing female," one of the first harpies of trans-Atlantic passem-er travel, and lost all of his money, "so In 1830 he took to piracy again He shipped as a seaman on the brlr Vineyard, plying between I'hilutlol phia and New Orleans. On the voyage. In which the Vine yard was carrying a cargo of molasses cotton and $54,000 In specie (;u,b3 again led a mutiny and murdrVed the captain and the mate. Then the crew set lire to the ship, scuttled It .i took to their boats. They landed Barrow Island where they burled the!, money in the sand. Gibhs planned to return later carry his loot' away, but he .wan c lured taken to New York for u , and there hanged In is.il. |