Show hy ELMO H SCOTT WATSON U 1928 1926 western watern newspaper union he was almost an ideal pirate MANY respects copt capt john IN was the ideal pirate that Is to say bay some gonie of the incidents in his career road read like the story at 0 a buccaneer in some blood und thunder piece of fiction arid and this a man arnin born in the furl ritan tail colony of massachusetts 1 in I 1 1703 jolin john was one of the crew or 0 the brigantine charles it a vessel which had been fitted out by some of the leading citizens of boston to go BO on a priva private ering cruise in canadian waters soon after afler leaving marblehead marbled the crew mutinies mutinied muti nied d locked the captain in ills his cabin find and chose for their commander then they threw tile the captain overboard and sailed south nere the pirate ot of fiction first enters the picture for the flag which lie holsted hoisted was the old roger and in t the lie middle ot of it was an anatomy with an hourglass in one hand and a dart in the heart beart with three drops ol of blood proceeding from it on the other off the coast of brazil they captured no less than nine portuguese ships from which they took a great amount of 0 valuable booty then had the insolence to sail back to marblehead divide the plunder among the crew who landed and quickly prepared to return to their homes but word of 0 their their crimes had preceded then and nn an exciting nian man hunt bunt was soon boon on within a week captain and his mates had been captured and sent to boston la in june 1704 he be was sentenced to death and from on in old pamphlet we read how the time was spent bet between Neen his trial and execution tile ministers of the town used more than ardt nary endear endeavors ors to instruct the prisoners and bring them to repentance there were sermons preached in their hearing every day and prayer dally daily made with them and they were catechised catechi sed and they had bad many occasional exhortations and nothing was left that could be done for their good on june SO 1 0 a strange procession wended bended its way through the streets of 0 boston town at the head marched a man mail carrying a silver oar the emblem of a pirates execution behind him came a company ot of musketeers and in the midst of these walked a little group of wretched downcast men captain pirates the captain however was an exception with it a great show of 0 bravado he stepped to the edge of the platform after he had bad mounted the steps and with his hat bat in hand band and bo bowing to the left and right lie he harangued the spectators and ironically warned them aga against bringing money into new engh Eny and lind to be hanged for it so the career of the almost ideal pirate ended unrepentant and audacious to the last |