Speaker 1: Chapter twenty seven of Buccaneers and Pirates of Our Coasts.
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Speaker 1: Buccaneers and Pirates of Our Coasts by Frank R. Stockton,
Speaker 1: Chapter twenty seven A six weeks Pirate. About the time
Speaker 1: of Steve Bonnet's terminal adventures, a very unpretentious pirate made
Speaker 1: his appearance in the waters of New York. This was
Speaker 1: a man named Richard Worley, who set himself up in
Speaker 1: piracy in a very small way, but who, by a
Speaker 1: strict attention to business, soon achieved a remarkable success. He
Speaker 1: started out as a scourge upon the commerce of the
Speaker 1: Atlantic Ocean. With only an open boat and eight men.
Speaker 1: In this small craft, he went down the coast of
Speaker 1: New Jersey, taking everything he could from fishing boats and
Speaker 1: small trading vessels until he reached Delaware Bay, and here
Speaker 1: he made a bold stroke and captured a good sized sloop.
Speaker 1: When this piratical outrage was reported in Philadelphia, it created
Speaker 1: a great sensation, and people talked about it until the
Speaker 1: open boat with nine men grew into a great pirate
Speaker 1: ship filled with roaring desperadoes and cutthroats. From Philadelphia, the
Speaker 1: news was sent to New York, and that government was
Speaker 1: warned of the great danger which threatened the coast. As
Speaker 1: soon as this alarming intelligence was received, the New Yorkers
Speaker 1: set to work to get up an expedition which should
Speaker 1: go out to sea and endeavor to destroy the pirate
Speaker 1: vessel before it could enter their port and work havoc
Speaker 1: among their merchantmen. It may seem strange that a small
Speaker 1: open boat with nine men could stir up such a
Speaker 1: commotion in these two great provinces of North America, But
Speaker 1: we can try to imagine the effect which would be
Speaker 1: produced among the inhabitants of Staten Island, or in the
Speaker 1: hearts of the dwellers and the beautiful houses on the
Speaker 1: shores of the Delaware River, by the announcements that a
Speaker 1: boat carrying nine desperate burglars was to be expected in
Speaker 1: their neighborhood. We can better understand what the people of
Speaker 1: New York and Philadelphia thought when they heard that Richard
Speaker 1: Worley had captured a sloop in Delaware Bay. The expedition
Speaker 1: which left New York made a very unsuccessful cruise. It
Speaker 1: sailed for days and days, but never saw a sign
Speaker 1: of a boat containing nine men, and it returned disappointed
Speaker 1: and obliged to report no progress. With Warley, however, progress
Speaker 1: had been very decided. He captured another sloop, and this
Speaker 1: being a large one and suitable to his purposes, he
Speaker 1: took possession of it, gave up his open boat, and
Speaker 1: fitted out his prize as a regular piratical craft. With
Speaker 1: a good ship under his command. Captain Warley now enlarged
Speaker 1: his sphere of action on both shores of Delaware Bay
Speaker 1: and along the coast of New Jersey. He captured everything
Speaker 1: which came in his way, and for about three weeks
Speaker 1: he made the waters in those regions very hot for
Speaker 1: every kind of peaceable commercial craft. If Warley had been
Speaker 1: in trade, his motto would have been quick sails and
Speaker 1: small profits for by day and by night. The New
Speaker 1: York's Revenge, which was the name he gave to his
Speaker 1: new vessel, cruised east and west and north and south,
Speaker 1: losing no opportunity of levying contributions of money, merchandise, food,
Speaker 1: and drink upon any vessel, no matter how insignificant it
Speaker 1: might be. The Philadelphians now began to tremble in their shoes,
Speaker 1: for if a boat had so quickly grown into a sloop,
Speaker 1: the sloop might grow into a fleet. And they had
Speaker 1: all heard of Portobello and the deeds of the bloody buccaneers.
Speaker 1: The Governor of Pennsylvania, recognizing the impending danger and the
Speaker 1: necessity of prompt action, sent to Sandy Hook, where there
Speaker 1: was a British man of war the Phoenix, and urged
Speaker 1: that this vessel should come down into Delaware Bay and
Speaker 1: put an end to the pirate ship which was ravaging
Speaker 1: those waters. Considering that Warley had not been engaged in
Speaker 1: piracy for much more than four weeks, he had created
Speaker 1: a reputation for enterprise and industry, which gave him a
Speaker 1: very important position as a commerce destroyer, and a large
Speaker 1: man of war did not think that he was too
Speaker 1: small game for her to hunt down, and so she
Speaker 1: set forth to capture or destroy the audacious Warley. But
Speaker 1: never a wary of any kind did she see. While
Speaker 1: the Phoenix was sailing along the coast, examining all the
Speaker 1: coves and harbors of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, the New
Speaker 1: York's revenge put out to sea, and then proceeded southward
Speaker 1: to discover a more undisturbed field of operation. We will
Speaker 1: now leave Warley's vessel sailing southward and go for a
Speaker 1: time to Charlestown, where some very important events were taking
Speaker 1: The governor of South Carolina had been very much afraid
Speaker 1: that the pirates in general would take some sort of
Speaker 1: revenge for the capture of Steed Bonnet, who was then
Speaker 1: in prison awaiting trial, and that if he should be executed,
Speaker 1: Charlestown might be visited by an overpowering piratical force, and
Speaker 1: he applied to England to have a war vessel sent
Speaker 1: to the harbor. But before any relief of this kind
Speaker 1: could be expected, news came to Charlestown that already a
Speaker 1: celebrated pirate named Moody was outside of the harbor, capturing
Speaker 1: merchant vessels, and it might be that he was only
Speaker 1: waiting for the arrival of another pirate ship to sail
Speaker 1: into the harbor and rescue Bonnet. Now the Charlestown citizens
Speaker 1: saw that they must again act for themselves and not
Speaker 1: depend upon the Home government. If there were pirates outside
Speaker 1: the harbor, they might be met and fought before they
Speaker 1: could come up to the city, and the Governor and
Speaker 1: the council decided immediately to fit out a little fleet.
Speaker 1: Four merchant fevessels were quickly provided with cannon, ammunition and men,
Speaker 1: and the command of this expedition would undoubtedly have been
Speaker 1: given to mister Rhett had it not been that he
Speaker 1: and the Governor had quarreled. There being no naval officers
Speaker 1: in Charlestown, their fighting vessels had to be commanded by civilians,
Speaker 1: and Governor Johnson now determined that he would try his
Speaker 1: hand at carrying on a sea fight. Mister Rhett had
Speaker 1: done very well, why should not he? Before the Governor's
Speaker 1: little fleet of vessels, one of which was the Royal
Speaker 1: James captured from Bonnet, was quite ready to sail. The
Speaker 1: Governor received news that his preparations had not been made
Speaker 1: a moment too soon, for already two vessels, one a
Speaker 1: large ship and the other an armed sloop, had come
Speaker 1: into the Outer Harbor and were lying at anchor off
Speaker 1: Sullivan's Island. It was very likely that Moody, having returned
Speaker 1: from some outside operation, was waiting there for the arrival
Speaker 1: of other pirate ships, and that it was an important
Speaker 1: thing to attack him at once, as it was very
Speaker 1: desirable that the pirates should not be frightened away before
Speaker 1: the Charlestown fleet could reach them. The vessels of the
Speaker 1: latter were made to look as much like mere merchantmen
Speaker 1: as possible. Their cannon were covered, and the greater part
Speaker 1: of the crews was kept below out of sight. Thus
Speaker 1: the four ships came sailing down the bay, and early
Speaker 1: in the morning made their appearance in the sight of
Speaker 1: the pirates. When the ship and the big sloop saw
Speaker 1: the four merchantmen vessels sailing quietly out of the harbor,
Speaker 1: they made immediate preparations to capture them. Anchors were weighed,
Speaker 1: sails were set, and with a black flag flying from
Speaker 1: the topmast of each vessel, the pirates steered toward the
Speaker 1: Charlestown fleet and soon approached near enough to the King William,
Speaker 1: which was the foremost of the fleet, to call upon
Speaker 1: her captain to surrender. But at that moment Governor Johnson,
Speaker 1: who was on board the Mediterranean and could hear the
Speaker 1: insolent pirates shouting through the speaking trumpet, gave a preconcerted signal.
Speaker 1: Instantly everything was changed. The covers were jerked off from
Speaker 1: the cannon of the pretended merchantmen. Armed men poured out
Speaker 1: from the holds. The flag of England was quickly raised
Speaker 1: on each one of them, and the sixty eight guns
Speaker 1: of the combined fleet opened fire upon the astonished pirates.
Speaker 1: The ship, which seemed to be the more formidable of
Speaker 1: the enemy's vessels, had run up so close to her
Speaker 1: intended prey that two of Governor Johnson's vessels, the Sea
Speaker 1: Nymph and the Royal James, once so bitterly opposed to
Speaker 1: each other, but now fighting together an honest comradeship, were
Speaker 1: able to go between her and the open sea, and
Speaker 1: so cut off her retreat. But if the captain of
Speaker 1: the pirate ship could not get away, he showed that
Speaker 1: he was very well able to fight, and although the
Speaker 1: two vessels which had made him the object of their
Speaker 1: attack were pouring cannon balls and musket shot upon him,
Speaker 1: he blazed away with his cannon and his muskets. The
Speaker 1: three vessels were so near each other that sometimes their
Speaker 1: yard arms almost touched, so that his terrible fight seemed
Speaker 1: almost like a hand to hand conflict. For four hours,
Speaker 1: the roaring of the cannon, the crushing of timbers, the
Speaker 1: almost continuous discharge of musketry were kept up, while the
Speaker 1: smoke of the battle frequently almost prevented the crews of
Speaker 1: the contending ships from seeing each other. Not so very
Speaker 1: far away, the people of Charlestown, who were standing on
Speaker 1: the shores of their beautiful harbor, could see the fierce
Speaker 1: fight which was going on, and great was the excitement
Speaker 1: and anxiety throughout the city. But the time came when
Speaker 1: two ships grew too much for one, and as the
Speaker 1: Royal James and the Sea Nymph were able to take
Speaker 1: positions by which they could rake the deck of the
Speaker 1: pirate vessel, many of her men gave up the fight
Speaker 1: and rushed down into the hole to save their lives.
Speaker 1: Then both the Charlestown vessels bore down upon the pirate
Speaker 1: and boarded her, And now there was another savage battle
Speaker 1: with pistols and cutlass. The pirate captain and several of
Speaker 1: his crew were still on deck, and they fought like
Speaker 1: wounded lions, and it was not until they had all
Speaker 1: been cut down or shot that victory came to the
Speaker 1: men of Charlestown. Very soon after this terrible battle was over,
Speaker 1: the waiting crowds in the city saw a glorious sight.
Speaker 1: The pirate ship came sailing slowly up the harbor, a
Speaker 1: captured vessel, with the Sea Nymph on one side and
Speaker 1: the Royal James on the other, the colors of the
Speaker 1: Crown flying from the masts of each one of the three.
Speaker 1: The other pirate ship, which was quite large, seemed to
Speaker 1: be more fortunate than her companion, for she was able
Speaker 1: to get out to sea, and spreading all her sail,
Speaker 1: she made every effort to escape. Governor Johnson, however, had
Speaker 1: no idea of letting her get away if he could
Speaker 1: help it. When a civilian goes out to fight a
Speaker 1: sea battle, he naturally wants to show what he can do,
Speaker 1: and Governor Johnson did not mean to let people think
Speaker 1: that mister Rhett was a better naval commander than he was.
Speaker 1: He ordered the Mediterranean and the King William to put
Speaker 1: on all sail, and away they went after the big ship.
Speaker 1: The retreating pirates did everything they could to effect escape,
Speaker 1: throwing over their cannon and even their boats in order
Speaker 1: to lighten their ship, but it was of no use.
Speaker 1: The Governor's vessels were the faster sailors, and when the
Speaker 1: King William got near enough to fire a few cannon
Speaker 1: balls into the flying ship. The latter hauled down the
Speaker 1: black flag, and without hesitation, lay to and surrendered. It
Speaker 1: was plain enough that this ship was not manned by
Speaker 1: desperate pirates, and when Governor Johnson went on board of her,
Speaker 1: he found her to be not really a pirate ship,
Speaker 1: but an English vessel, which not long before had been
Speaker 1: captured by the pirates in whose company she had visited
Speaker 1: Charlestown Harbor. She had been bringing over from England a
Speaker 1: company of convicts and what were called covenant servants, who
Speaker 1: were going to the colonies to be disposed of to
Speaker 1: the planter's were a term of years. Among these were
Speaker 1: thirty six women, and when the South Carolinians went below,
Speaker 1: they were greatly surprised to find the hold crowded with
Speaker 1: these unfortunate creatures, some of whom were nearly frightened to death.
Speaker 1: At the time of this vessel's capture, the pirate captain
Speaker 1: had enlisted some of the convicts into his crew as
Speaker 1: he needed men, and putting on board of his prize
Speaker 1: a few pirates to command her. The ship had been
Speaker 1: worked by such of her own crew and passengers as
Speaker 1: were willing to serve under pirates while the others were
Speaker 1: shut up below. Here was a fine prize taken with
Speaker 1: very little trouble, and the King William and the Mediterranean
Speaker 1: returned to Charlestown with their captured ship, to be met
Speaker 1: with the shouts and cheers of the delighted citizens, already
Speaker 1: excited to a high pitch by the previous arrival of
Speaker 1: the captured pirate sloop. But Governor Johnson met with something
Speaker 1: else which made a stronger impression on him than the
Speaker 1: cheers of his town's peace. And this was the great
Speaker 1: surprise of finding that he had not fought and conquered
Speaker 1: the pirate Moody without suspecting such a thing. He had
Speaker 1: crushed and utterly annihilated the dreaded Warley, whose deeds had
Speaker 1: created such a consternation in northern Waters, and whose threatened
Speaker 1: approach had set the thrill of excitement all down the coast.
Speaker 1: When this astonishing news became known, the flags of the
Speaker 1: city were waved more wildly, and the shouts and cheers
Speaker 1: rose higher. Thus came to an end in the short
Speaker 1: time of six weeks the career of Richard Worley, who
Speaker 1: without doubt did more piratical work in less time than
Speaker 1: any sea robber on record. End of recording, end of
Speaker 1: Chapter twenty seven recording by jayre Foley Beach, South Carolina.
Speaker 1: Buccaneers and Pirates of Our Coasts by Frank R. Stockton