WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.399 --> 00:00:04.960 Chapter twenty nine of Buccaneers and Pirates of Our Coasts. 2 00:00:05.759 --> 00:00:09.320 This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in 3 00:00:09.359 --> 00:00:13.880 the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please 4 00:00:14.000 --> 00:00:21.039 visit LibriVox dot org. Recording by Lucy LaFaro, New South Wales, Australia. 5 00:00:22.239 --> 00:00:26.399 Buccaneers and Pirates of Our Coasts by Frank R. Stockton, 6 00:00:27.800 --> 00:00:34.000 Chapter twenty nine. A pirate from boyhood about the beginning 7 00:00:34.039 --> 00:00:38.399 of the eighteenth century. There lived in Westminster, England, a 8 00:00:38.479 --> 00:00:41.079 boy who very early in life made a choice of 9 00:00:41.119 --> 00:00:45.880 a future career. Nearly all boys have ideas upon this subject, 10 00:00:46.039 --> 00:00:48.600 and while some think they would like to be presidents 11 00:00:48.679 --> 00:00:52.039 or generals of armies, others fancy that they would prefer 12 00:00:52.159 --> 00:00:56.399 to be explorers of unknown countries, or to keep candy shops. 13 00:00:57.479 --> 00:01:00.479 But it generally happens at these youthful ideas are never 14 00:01:00.560 --> 00:01:03.320 carried out, and that the boy who would wish to 15 00:01:03.359 --> 00:01:06.599 sell candy because he likes to eat it, becomes a 16 00:01:06.640 --> 00:01:10.599 farmer on the western prairie, where confectionery is never seen, 17 00:01:11.359 --> 00:01:15.840 And the would be general determines to study for the ministry. 18 00:01:16.319 --> 00:01:20.159 But Edward Low, the boy under consideration was a different 19 00:01:20.239 --> 00:01:23.319 sort of a fellow. The life of a robber suited 20 00:01:23.400 --> 00:01:26.879 his youthful fancy, and he not only adopted it at 21 00:01:26.920 --> 00:01:29.840 a very early age, but he stuck to it until 22 00:01:29.879 --> 00:01:33.799 the end of his life. He was much stronger and 23 00:01:33.879 --> 00:01:37.200 bolder than the youngsters with whom he associated, and he 24 00:01:37.280 --> 00:01:40.319 soon became known among them as a regular land pirate. 25 00:01:41.480 --> 00:01:45.560 If a boy possessed anything which ned Low desired, whether 26 00:01:45.599 --> 00:01:48.760 it happened to be an apple, a nut, or a farthing, 27 00:01:49.560 --> 00:01:52.519 the young robber gave chase to him and treated him 28 00:01:52.560 --> 00:01:56.680 as a pirate treats a merchant vessel which he has boarded. 29 00:01:57.439 --> 00:02:00.000 Not only did young Low resemble a pirate in him 30 00:02:00.040 --> 00:02:03.480 his dishonest methods, but he also resembled one in his 31 00:02:03.719 --> 00:02:07.840 meanness and cruelty. If one of his victims were supposed 32 00:02:08.159 --> 00:02:11.280 by him to have hidden any of the treasures which 33 00:02:11.319 --> 00:02:15.280 his captor believed him to possess, Low would inflict upon 34 00:02:15.400 --> 00:02:19.560 him every form of punishment which the ingenuity of a 35 00:02:19.599 --> 00:02:23.560 bad boy could devise, in order to compel him to 36 00:02:23.599 --> 00:02:27.599 confess where he had concealed the half penny which had 37 00:02:27.639 --> 00:02:30.719 been given to him for holding a horse, or the 38 00:02:30.759 --> 00:02:35.400 ball with which he had been playing. In the course 39 00:02:35.439 --> 00:02:38.879 of time, this young street pirate became a terror to 40 00:02:38.960 --> 00:02:42.120 all boys in that part of London in which he lived, 41 00:02:42.800 --> 00:02:46.879 and by beginning so early, he acquired a great proficiency 42 00:02:47.319 --> 00:02:51.680 in dishonest and cruel practices. It is likely that young 43 00:02:51.800 --> 00:02:56.639 Low inherited his knavish disposition, for one of his brothers 44 00:02:57.560 --> 00:03:01.719 became a very bold and ingenious the things Anne invented 45 00:03:01.759 --> 00:03:05.840 a new kind of robbery, which afterwards was popular in London. 46 00:03:07.800 --> 00:03:11.719 This brother grew to be a tall fellow, and it 47 00:03:11.840 --> 00:03:15.800 was his practice to dress himself like a porter, one 48 00:03:15.840 --> 00:03:18.719 of those men who in those days carried packages and 49 00:03:18.759 --> 00:03:24.039 parcels about the city. On his head, he poised a basket, and, 50 00:03:24.120 --> 00:03:27.719 supporting this burden with his hands, he hurriedly made his 51 00:03:27.800 --> 00:03:32.639 way through the most crowded streets of London. The basket 52 00:03:32.719 --> 00:03:36.000 was a heavy one, but it did not contain any 53 00:03:36.120 --> 00:03:40.680 ordinary goods, such as merchandise or marketing. But instead of 54 00:03:40.719 --> 00:03:44.439 these it held a very sharp and active boy seven 55 00:03:44.520 --> 00:03:48.479 years old, one of the younger members of the Low family. 56 00:03:49.599 --> 00:03:52.800 As the tall brother pushed rapidly here and there among 57 00:03:52.840 --> 00:03:56.319 the hurrying people on the sidewalks, the boy in the 58 00:03:56.360 --> 00:03:59.639 basket would suddenly stretch out with his wiry young arm 59 00:04:00.599 --> 00:04:03.000 and snatch the hat or the wig of some man 60 00:04:03.039 --> 00:04:06.319 who might pass near enough for him to reach him. 61 00:04:07.000 --> 00:04:09.800 This done, the porter and his basket would quickly be 62 00:04:09.879 --> 00:04:13.800 lost in the crowd. And even if the astonished citizen, 63 00:04:14.719 --> 00:04:19.519 suddenly finding himself hatless and wigless, beheld the long legged Low, 64 00:04:20.240 --> 00:04:23.439 he would have no reason to suppose that that industrious 65 00:04:23.480 --> 00:04:26.519 man with the basket on his head had anything to 66 00:04:26.560 --> 00:04:30.439 do with the loss of his head covering. This new 67 00:04:30.480 --> 00:04:34.959 style of street robbery must have been quite profitable, for 68 00:04:35.000 --> 00:04:38.040 of course the boy in the basket was well instructed 69 00:04:38.399 --> 00:04:41.639 and never snatched at a shabby hat or a poor 70 00:04:41.680 --> 00:04:45.120 looking wig. The elder low came to have a good 71 00:04:45.199 --> 00:04:48.480 many imitators, and it happened in the course of time 72 00:04:48.560 --> 00:04:52.240 that many a worthy citizen of London wished there were 73 00:04:52.319 --> 00:04:55.879 some harmless way of gluing his wig to the top 74 00:04:55.920 --> 00:04:59.439 of his head, or that it were the custom to 75 00:04:59.439 --> 00:05:02.720 secure the hat by means of strings tied under the chin. 76 00:05:04.120 --> 00:05:07.160 As the neblow grew up to be a strong young fellow, 77 00:05:07.839 --> 00:05:12.079 he also grew discontented with the pilferings and petty plunders 78 00:05:12.399 --> 00:05:16.120 which were possible to him in the London streets, and 79 00:05:16.279 --> 00:05:20.079 so he went to sea and sail to America. He 80 00:05:20.199 --> 00:05:23.639 landed in Boston, and, as it was necessary to work 81 00:05:23.759 --> 00:05:28.639 in order to eat, for opportunities of a dishonest livelihood 82 00:05:28.759 --> 00:05:32.560 had not yet opened themselves before him, he undertook to 83 00:05:32.639 --> 00:05:35.759 learn the trade of a rigor. But as he was 84 00:05:36.160 --> 00:05:40.279 very badly suited to any sort of steady occupation, he 85 00:05:40.399 --> 00:05:44.120 soon quarreled with his master, ran away, and got on 86 00:05:44.160 --> 00:05:48.680 board a vessel bound for Honduras. For a time he 87 00:05:48.800 --> 00:05:52.399 earned a livelihood by cutting logwood, but it was not 88 00:05:52.560 --> 00:05:55.040 long before he quarreled with the captain of the vessel 89 00:05:55.360 --> 00:05:59.560 for whom he was working, and finally became so enraged 90 00:05:59.560 --> 00:06:03.000 that he tried to kill him. He did not succeed 91 00:06:03.120 --> 00:06:07.160 in this dastedly attempt, but as he could not commit murder, 92 00:06:07.519 --> 00:06:10.720 he decided to do the next worst thing, and so, 93 00:06:10.879 --> 00:06:15.199 gathering together twelve of the greatest rascals among his companions, 94 00:06:15.839 --> 00:06:19.319 they seized a boat, went out to the captain's schooner, 95 00:06:19.639 --> 00:06:22.920 which was lying near shore, and took possession of it. 96 00:06:24.000 --> 00:06:27.839 Then they hoisted anchor, ran up the sail, and put 97 00:06:27.879 --> 00:06:31.240 out to sea, leaving the captain and his men who 98 00:06:31.279 --> 00:06:34.279 were with him, to take care of themselves the best 99 00:06:34.279 --> 00:06:37.680 that they could, and live on logwood leaves if they 100 00:06:37.720 --> 00:06:42.920 could find nothing else to eat. Now, young Low was 101 00:06:42.959 --> 00:06:46.199 out upon the ocean, in possession of a vessel and 102 00:06:46.319 --> 00:06:50.199 in command of twelve sturdy scoundrels, and he did not 103 00:06:50.439 --> 00:06:53.639 have the least trouble in the world in making up 104 00:06:53.680 --> 00:06:57.560 his mind what he should do next. As soon as 105 00:06:57.560 --> 00:07:01.079 he could manufacture a black flag from materials he found 106 00:07:01.079 --> 00:07:05.319 on board, he flung this ominous ensign to the breeze 107 00:07:05.800 --> 00:07:10.519 and declared himself a pirate. This was the summit of 108 00:07:10.560 --> 00:07:14.120 his ambition, and in this new profession he had very 109 00:07:14.120 --> 00:07:17.839 little to learn. From a boy thief to a man pirate, 110 00:07:18.199 --> 00:07:22.199 the way is easy enough. The logwood schooner, of course, 111 00:07:22.399 --> 00:07:26.160 was not provided with the cannon, cutlasses, and pistols necessary 112 00:07:26.199 --> 00:07:31.720 for piratical undertakings, and therefore Low found himself in the 113 00:07:31.759 --> 00:07:35.480 position of a young man beginning business with a very 114 00:07:35.519 --> 00:07:39.680 small capital. So, in the hopes of providing himself with 115 00:07:39.720 --> 00:07:43.480 the necessary appliances for his work, Low sailed for one 116 00:07:43.480 --> 00:07:45.959 of the islands of the West Indies, which was a 117 00:07:46.000 --> 00:07:49.879 resort for pirates and there he had very good fortune, 118 00:07:50.160 --> 00:07:53.360 for he fell in with a man named Louth, who 119 00:07:53.480 --> 00:07:57.720 was already well established in the profession of piracy. When 120 00:07:57.759 --> 00:08:00.600 Low sailed into the little port with his home made 121 00:08:00.720 --> 00:08:05.160 black flag floating above him, Lootha received him with the 122 00:08:05.199 --> 00:08:10.240 greatest courtesy and hospitality, and shortly afterwards proposed to the 123 00:08:10.319 --> 00:08:15.680 newly fledged pirate to go into partnership with him. This 124 00:08:15.839 --> 00:08:19.480 offer was accepted, and Low was made second in command 125 00:08:19.560 --> 00:08:22.600 of the little fleet of two vessels, each of which 126 00:08:22.759 --> 00:08:26.879 was well provided with arms, ammunition, and all things necessary 127 00:08:27.240 --> 00:08:31.160 for robbery on the high seas. The partnership between these 128 00:08:31.199 --> 00:08:34.720 two rascals did not continue very long. They took several 129 00:08:34.799 --> 00:08:38.840 valuable prizes, and the more booty he obtained, the higher 130 00:08:38.879 --> 00:08:42.480 became Low's opinion of himself, and the greater his desire 131 00:08:42.600 --> 00:08:47.080 for independent action. Therefore, it was that, when they had 132 00:08:47.120 --> 00:08:51.200 captured a large brigantine, Low determined that he would no 133 00:08:51.320 --> 00:08:54.960 longer serve under any man. He made a bargain with Lootha, 134 00:08:55.519 --> 00:08:59.200 by which they dissolved partnership, and Low became the owner 135 00:08:59.240 --> 00:09:03.159 of the brigantine. In this vessel, with forty four men 136 00:09:03.200 --> 00:09:06.200 as a crew, he again started out in the black 137 00:09:06.240 --> 00:09:09.840 flag business on his own account, and parting from his 138 00:09:10.000 --> 00:09:15.080 former chief officer, he sailed northward. As Low had landed 139 00:09:15.080 --> 00:09:17.759 in Boston and had lived some time in that city, 140 00:09:18.120 --> 00:09:21.039 he seems to have conceived a fancy for New England, 141 00:09:21.600 --> 00:09:25.240 which however, was not at all reciprocated by the inhabitants 142 00:09:25.279 --> 00:09:28.879 of that part of the country. Among the first feats 143 00:09:29.039 --> 00:09:32.399 which Low performed in New England waters was the capture 144 00:09:32.399 --> 00:09:34.639 of a sloop about to enter one of the ports 145 00:09:34.679 --> 00:09:38.240 of Rhode Island. When he had taken everything out of 146 00:09:38.279 --> 00:09:41.559 his vessel which he wanted, Low cut away the yards 147 00:09:41.559 --> 00:09:44.480 from the masts and stripped the vessel of all its 148 00:09:44.480 --> 00:09:48.320 sails and rigging. As his object was to get away 149 00:09:48.320 --> 00:09:51.159 from these waters before his presence was discovered by the 150 00:09:51.159 --> 00:09:54.879 people on shore. He not only made it almost impossible 151 00:09:54.919 --> 00:09:58.159 to sail the vessel he had despoiled, but he wounded 152 00:09:58.200 --> 00:10:01.240 the captain and others of the peaceful, so that they 153 00:10:01.279 --> 00:10:04.919 should not be able to give information to any passing craft. 154 00:10:05.840 --> 00:10:09.120 Then he sailed away as rapidly as possible in the 155 00:10:09.159 --> 00:10:13.320 direction of the open sea. In spite, however, of all 156 00:10:13.440 --> 00:10:16.799 the disadvantages under which they labored. The crew of the 157 00:10:16.879 --> 00:10:21.039 merchant vessel managed to get into Block Island, and from 158 00:10:21.080 --> 00:10:24.799 there a small boat was hurriedly rowed over to Rhode Island, 159 00:10:25.320 --> 00:10:29.440 carrying intelligence of the bold piracy which had been committed 160 00:10:29.559 --> 00:10:33.360 so close to one of its ports. When the governor 161 00:10:33.399 --> 00:10:36.639 heard what had happened, he quickly sent out drummers to 162 00:10:36.720 --> 00:10:39.679 sound the alarm in the seaport towns and to call 163 00:10:39.759 --> 00:10:43.480 upon volunteers to go out and capture the pirates. So 164 00:10:43.639 --> 00:10:46.919 great was the resentment caused by the audacious deed of Low, 165 00:10:47.279 --> 00:10:50.200 that a larger number of volunteers hastened to offer their 166 00:10:50.200 --> 00:10:54.200 services to the governor, and two vessels were fitted out 167 00:10:54.200 --> 00:10:57.679 with such rapidity that although their commanders had only heard 168 00:10:57.679 --> 00:10:59.960 of the affair in the morning, they were ready to 169 00:11:00.200 --> 00:11:04.720 sail before sunset. They put all on sail and made 170 00:11:04.720 --> 00:11:08.360 the best speed they could, and although they really caught 171 00:11:08.480 --> 00:11:11.600 sight of Low's ship, the pirate vessel was a swifter 172 00:11:11.759 --> 00:11:14.799 craft than nose in pursuit of her, and the angry 173 00:11:14.879 --> 00:11:18.159 sailors of Rhode Island were at last compelled to give 174 00:11:18.279 --> 00:11:22.960 up the chase. The next of Low's transactions was on 175 00:11:23.039 --> 00:11:27.799 a wholesale scale, rounding Cape Cod and sailing up the coast, 176 00:11:28.360 --> 00:11:31.960 he at last reached the vicinity of Marblehead, and there 177 00:11:32.000 --> 00:11:35.440 in the harbour called in those days Port Rosemary, he 178 00:11:35.519 --> 00:11:39.600 found at anchor a fleet of thirteen merchant vessels. This 179 00:11:40.000 --> 00:11:43.000 was a grand site, as welcome to the eye of 180 00:11:43.039 --> 00:11:45.759 a pirate as a great nugget of gold would be 181 00:11:45.799 --> 00:11:48.840 to a miner, who, for weary days had been washing 182 00:11:48.919 --> 00:11:52.639 yellow grains from the pay dirt which he had laboriously 183 00:11:52.720 --> 00:11:55.799 dug from the hard soil. It would have been easy 184 00:11:55.840 --> 00:11:58.639 for Low to take his pick from these vessels quietly 185 00:11:58.720 --> 00:12:01.399 resting in the little harbour, for he soon perceived that 186 00:12:01.480 --> 00:12:04.080 none of them were armed, nor were they able to 187 00:12:04.120 --> 00:12:08.200 protect themselves from assault. But his audacity was of an 188 00:12:08.240 --> 00:12:12.960 expansive kind, and he determined to capture them all. Sailing 189 00:12:13.000 --> 00:12:16.600 boldly into the harbor, he hoisted the dreadful black flag, 190 00:12:16.720 --> 00:12:20.840 and then, standing on his quarter deck with his speaking trumpet, 191 00:12:21.279 --> 00:12:24.320 he shouted to each vessel as he passed it that 192 00:12:24.399 --> 00:12:27.200 if it did not surrender, he would board it and 193 00:12:27.320 --> 00:12:31.360 give no quarter to captain or crewe. Of course, there 194 00:12:31.440 --> 00:12:34.080 was nothing else for the peaceful sailors to do but 195 00:12:34.240 --> 00:12:38.480 to submit, and so this greedy pirate took possession of 196 00:12:38.639 --> 00:12:42.080 each vessel in turn, and stripped it of everything of 197 00:12:42.159 --> 00:12:45.879 value he cared to take away. But he did not 198 00:12:46.000 --> 00:12:49.279 confine himself to stilling the goods on board these merchantmen, 199 00:12:50.200 --> 00:12:53.799 as he preferred to command several vessels instead of one. 200 00:12:53.879 --> 00:12:56.559 He took possession of some of the best of the ships, 201 00:12:56.919 --> 00:12:59.639 and compelled as many of their men as he thought 202 00:12:59.639 --> 00:13:03.320 he would need to enter his service. Then, as one 203 00:13:03.360 --> 00:13:07.000 of the captured vessels was larger and better than his brigantine, 204 00:13:07.399 --> 00:13:10.200 he took it for his own ship, and at the 205 00:13:10.240 --> 00:13:13.279 head of the little pirate fleet, he bid farewell to 206 00:13:13.399 --> 00:13:17.639 marble Head and started out on a grand cruise against 207 00:13:17.639 --> 00:13:21.759 the commerce of our coast. It is wonderful how rapidly 208 00:13:21.840 --> 00:13:26.519 this man Low succeeded in his business enterprises. Beginning with 209 00:13:26.600 --> 00:13:29.919 a little vessel with a dozen unarmed men, he found 210 00:13:30.000 --> 00:13:33.320 himself in a very short time at the head of 211 00:13:33.360 --> 00:13:37.480 what was perhaps the largest piratical force in American waters. 212 00:13:38.799 --> 00:13:41.399 What might have happened if nature had not taken a 213 00:13:41.440 --> 00:13:45.000 hand in this game, It is not difficult to imagine. 214 00:13:45.759 --> 00:13:49.080 For our sea board towns, especially those of the south, 215 00:13:49.720 --> 00:13:52.759 would have been an easy prey for Low and his fleet. 216 00:13:53.759 --> 00:13:56.840 But sailing down to the West Indies, probably in order 217 00:13:56.879 --> 00:13:59.679 to fit out his ships with guns, arms and ammunition 218 00:14:00.159 --> 00:14:04.279 before beginning a naval campaign. His fleet was overtaken by 219 00:14:04.320 --> 00:14:08.440 a terrible storm, and in order to save the vessels, 220 00:14:08.799 --> 00:14:12.679 they were obliged to throw overboard a great many of 221 00:14:12.759 --> 00:14:16.919 the heavier goods they had captured at Marblehead. And when 222 00:14:16.960 --> 00:14:19.080 at last they found shelter in the harbor of a 223 00:14:19.120 --> 00:14:22.240 small island, they were glad that they had escaped with 224 00:14:22.279 --> 00:14:27.320 their lives. The grasping and rapacious Low was not now 225 00:14:27.440 --> 00:14:30.639 in a condition to proceed to any rendezvous of pirates 226 00:14:31.080 --> 00:14:34.080 where he might purchase the arms and supplies he needed. 227 00:14:34.720 --> 00:14:37.919 A great part of his valuable plunder had gone to 228 00:14:37.960 --> 00:14:41.279 the bottom of the sea, and he was therefore obliged 229 00:14:41.360 --> 00:14:46.480 to contend himself with operations upon a comparatively small scale. 230 00:14:47.159 --> 00:14:50.840 How small and contemptible this scale was, it is scarcely 231 00:14:50.919 --> 00:14:55.480 possible for an ordinary civilized being to comprehend. But the 232 00:14:55.519 --> 00:15:00.279 soul of this ignoble pirate was capable of extraordinary baseness. 233 00:15:00.840 --> 00:15:03.840 When he had repaired the damage to his ships, Low 234 00:15:03.919 --> 00:15:07.559 sailed out from the island, and before long he fell 235 00:15:07.600 --> 00:15:10.320 in with a wrecked vessel, which had lost all its 236 00:15:10.399 --> 00:15:15.039 masts in a great storm and was totally disabled, floating 237 00:15:15.080 --> 00:15:18.679 about wherever the winds chose to blow it. The poor 238 00:15:18.720 --> 00:15:22.240 fellows on board greatly needed succor, and there is no 239 00:15:22.320 --> 00:15:25.240 doubt that when they saw the approach of sails their 240 00:15:25.279 --> 00:15:28.440 hopes rose high. And even if they had known what 241 00:15:28.480 --> 00:15:31.080 sort of ships they were which were making their way 242 00:15:31.120 --> 00:15:35.320 toward them, they would scarcely have suspected that the commander 243 00:15:35.399 --> 00:15:39.639 of these goodly vessels was such an utterly despicable scoundrel 244 00:15:39.919 --> 00:15:43.200 as he proved to be. Instead of giving any sort 245 00:15:43.240 --> 00:15:46.320 of aid to the poor shipwrecked crew, Low and his 246 00:15:46.519 --> 00:15:49.720 men set to work to plunder their vessel, and they 247 00:15:49.759 --> 00:15:53.200 took from it a thousand pounds in money and everything 248 00:15:53.240 --> 00:15:57.159 of value which they could find on board. Having thus 249 00:15:57.240 --> 00:16:01.360 stripped the unfortunate wreck, they departed, leaving the captain and 250 00:16:01.519 --> 00:16:05.639 crew of the disabled vessel to perish by storm or starvation, 251 00:16:06.279 --> 00:16:09.639 unless some other vessel manned by human beings and not 252 00:16:09.840 --> 00:16:14.279 pitiless beasts, should pass their way and save them. Lo 253 00:16:14.559 --> 00:16:19.879 now commenced a long series of piratical depredations. He captured 254 00:16:19.960 --> 00:16:24.120 many merchantmen and committed the vilest cruelties upon his victims, 255 00:16:24.759 --> 00:16:27.480 and in every way proved himself to be one of 256 00:16:27.519 --> 00:16:30.960 the meanest and most black hearted pirates of whom we 257 00:16:31.120 --> 00:16:35.159 have any account. It is not necessary to relate his 258 00:16:35.320 --> 00:16:39.799 various dastardly performances. They were all very much of the 259 00:16:39.840 --> 00:16:43.879 same order, and none of them possessed any peculiar interest. 260 00:16:44.840 --> 00:16:48.480 His existence is referred to in these pages because he 261 00:16:48.600 --> 00:16:51.240 was one of the most noted and successful pirates of 262 00:16:51.279 --> 00:16:56.200 his time, and also because his career indicated how entirely 263 00:16:56.240 --> 00:16:59.879 different was the character of the buccaneers of previous days 264 00:17:00.240 --> 00:17:03.519 from that of the pirates who in the eighteenth century 265 00:17:03.919 --> 00:17:09.839 infested our coast. The first might have been compared to 266 00:17:09.880 --> 00:17:14.119 bold and dashing highwaymen, who at least showed courage and daring, 267 00:17:14.799 --> 00:17:18.599 but the others resembled sneak thieves, always seeking to commit 268 00:17:18.640 --> 00:17:21.400 a crime if they could do it in safety, but 269 00:17:21.559 --> 00:17:24.720 never willing to risk their cowardly necks in any danger. 270 00:17:25.720 --> 00:17:28.480 The buccaneers of the olden days were certainly men of 271 00:17:28.559 --> 00:17:32.519 the greatest bravery. They did not hesitate to attack well 272 00:17:32.640 --> 00:17:35.759 armed vessels manned by crews much larger than their own, 273 00:17:36.640 --> 00:17:40.039 and in later periods they faced cannon and conquered cities. 274 00:17:40.960 --> 00:17:45.079 Their crimes were many and vile, but when they committed cruelties, 275 00:17:45.119 --> 00:17:47.759 they did so in order to compel their prisoners to 276 00:17:47.839 --> 00:17:51.839 disclose their hidden treasures. And when they attacked a Spanish 277 00:17:51.960 --> 00:17:55.720 vessel and murdered all on board, they had in their 278 00:17:55.759 --> 00:18:00.400 hearts the remembrance that the Spanish naval forces gave no 279 00:18:00.559 --> 00:18:05.319 quarter to buccaneers. But pirates such as Edward Lowe showed 280 00:18:05.440 --> 00:18:10.680 not one palliating feature in their infamous characters. To rob 281 00:18:10.839 --> 00:18:14.160 and desert a shipwrecked crew was only one of Lowe's 282 00:18:14.160 --> 00:18:18.640 contemptible actions. It appears that he seldom attacked a vessel 283 00:18:18.759 --> 00:18:22.359 from which there seemed to be any probability of resistance, 284 00:18:23.279 --> 00:18:26.880 and we read of no notable combats or sea fights 285 00:18:26.920 --> 00:18:30.559 in which he was engaged. He preyed upon the weak 286 00:18:30.640 --> 00:18:35.319 and defenseless, and his inhuman cruelties were practiced not for 287 00:18:35.359 --> 00:18:39.279 the sake of exhorting a gain from his victims, but 288 00:18:39.359 --> 00:18:43.960 simply to gratify his spite and love of wickedness. There 289 00:18:44.000 --> 00:18:46.799 were men among Low's followers who looked upon him as 290 00:18:46.839 --> 00:18:50.079 a bold and brave leader, for he was always a 291 00:18:50.079 --> 00:18:53.319 blusterer and a braggot, and there were honest seamen and 292 00:18:53.400 --> 00:18:57.000 merchants who were very much afraid of him. But time 293 00:18:57.119 --> 00:18:59.880 proved that there was no reason for anyone to so 294 00:19:00.160 --> 00:19:03.319 pose that Edward Low had a spark of courage in 295 00:19:03.440 --> 00:19:07.240 his composition. He was brave enough when he was attacking 296 00:19:07.279 --> 00:19:10.000 an unarmed crew, but when he had to deal with 297 00:19:10.119 --> 00:19:14.000 any vessel capable of inflicting any injury upon him, he 298 00:19:14.200 --> 00:19:19.200 was a coward. Indeed, sailing in company with one companion vessel, 299 00:19:19.519 --> 00:19:23.119 for he had discarded the greater part of his pirate fleet, 300 00:19:23.759 --> 00:19:27.839 Low sighted a good sized ship at a considerable distance, 301 00:19:28.480 --> 00:19:32.759 and he and his consort immediately gave chase, supposing the 302 00:19:32.839 --> 00:19:36.880 distant vessel might prove to be a good prize. It 303 00:19:37.000 --> 00:19:40.559 so happened, however, that the ship discovered by Low was 304 00:19:40.640 --> 00:19:44.680 an english Man of war, the Greyhound, which was cruising 305 00:19:44.720 --> 00:19:48.359 along the coast looking for these very pirates who had 306 00:19:48.400 --> 00:19:52.720 recently committed some outrageous crimes upon the crews of merchant 307 00:19:52.759 --> 00:19:57.559 vessels in those waters. When the two ships, with the 308 00:19:57.559 --> 00:20:01.160 black flags floating above them, and and their decks crowded 309 00:20:01.200 --> 00:20:05.160 with desperate fellows armed with pistols and cutlasses, drew near 310 00:20:05.200 --> 00:20:08.400 to the vessel, of which they expected to make a prize. 311 00:20:08.920 --> 00:20:12.440 They were greatly amazed when she suddenly turned in her 312 00:20:12.519 --> 00:20:17.599 course and delivered a broadside from her heavy cannon. The 313 00:20:17.680 --> 00:20:21.759 pirates returned the fire, for they were well armed with cannon, 314 00:20:22.279 --> 00:20:25.720 and there was nothing else for them to do but fight. 315 00:20:26.200 --> 00:20:30.519 But the combat was an extremely short one. Low's consort 316 00:20:30.720 --> 00:20:34.079 was soon disabled by the fire from the man of war, 317 00:20:34.599 --> 00:20:37.880 and as soon as he perceived this, the dastardly Low, 318 00:20:38.200 --> 00:20:41.960 without any regard for his companions in arms, and with 319 00:20:42.039 --> 00:20:46.119 no thought for anything but his own safety, immediately stopped 320 00:20:46.119 --> 00:20:49.799 fighting and setting all sails, sped away from the scene 321 00:20:49.799 --> 00:20:53.279 of combat as swiftly as it was possible for the 322 00:20:53.319 --> 00:20:57.240 wind to force his vessel through the water. The disabled 323 00:20:57.279 --> 00:21:02.319 pirate ship was quickly captured, and not long afterwards twenty 324 00:21:02.359 --> 00:21:06.240 five of her crew were tried, convicted, and hung near Newport, 325 00:21:06.759 --> 00:21:10.759 Rhode Island. But the arrant Low escaped without injury and 326 00:21:10.880 --> 00:21:15.039 continued his career of contemptible crime for some time longer. 327 00:21:15.720 --> 00:21:18.400 What finally became of him is not set down in 328 00:21:18.480 --> 00:21:22.759 the histories of piracy. It is not improbable that if 329 00:21:22.799 --> 00:21:26.200 the men under his command were not too brutally stupid 330 00:21:26.759 --> 00:21:31.799 to comprehend his cowardly unfaithfulness to them. They suddenly removed 331 00:21:31.799 --> 00:21:35.319 from this world one of the least interesting of all 332 00:21:35.440 --> 00:21:44.960 base beings. End of Chapter twenty nine.