Speaker 1: Chapter thirty two of Buccaneers and Pirates of Our Coasts.
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Speaker 1: by Frank R. Stockton, chapter thirty two. The Real Captain
Speaker 1: Kidd William Kidd or Robert Kidd, as he is sometimes called,
Speaker 1: was a sailor in the merchant service who had a
Speaker 1: wife and family in New York. He was a very
Speaker 1: respectable man and had a good reputation as a seaman,
Speaker 1: and about sixteen ninety, when there was war between England
Speaker 1: and France, Kidd was given the command of a privateer,
Speaker 1: and having had two or three engagements with French vessels,
Speaker 1: he showed himself to be a brave fighter and a
Speaker 1: prudent commander. Some years later he sailed to England, and
Speaker 1: while there he received an appointment of a peculiar character.
Speaker 1: It was at that time when the King of England
Speaker 1: was doing his best to put down the pirates of
Speaker 1: the American coast, and Sir George Belmont, the recently appointed
Speaker 1: governor of New York, recommended Captain Kidd as a very
Speaker 1: suitable man to command a ship to be sent out
Speaker 1: to suppress piracy. When Kid agreed to take the position
Speaker 1: of Chief of Marine Police, he was not employed by
Speaker 1: the Crown, but by a small company of gentlemen of
Speaker 1: capital who formed themselves into a sort of trust company
Speaker 1: or society for the prevention of cruelty to merchantmen. And
Speaker 1: the object of their association was not only to put
Speaker 1: down pirates, but to put some money in their own
Speaker 1: pockets as well. Kid was furnished with two commissions, one
Speaker 1: appointing him a privateer with authority to capture French vessels,
Speaker 1: and the other empowering him to seize and destroy all
Speaker 1: pirate ships. Kid was ordered in his mission to keep
Speaker 1: a strict account of all booty captured, in order that
Speaker 1: it might be fairly divided among those who were stockholders
Speaker 1: in the enterprise, one tenth of the total proceeds being
Speaker 1: reserved for the King. Kidd said. Heiled from England in
Speaker 1: the adventure a large ship with thirty guns and eighty men,
Speaker 1: and on his way to America he captured a French ship,
Speaker 1: which he carried to New York. Here he arranged to
Speaker 1: make his crew a great deal larger than had been
Speaker 1: thought necessary in England, and by offering a fair share
Speaker 1: of the property he might confiscate on a piratical or
Speaker 1: French ship, he induced a great many able seamen to
Speaker 1: enter his service. And when the adventurer left New York,
Speaker 1: she carried a crew of one hundred and fifty five men,
Speaker 1: with a fine ship and a strong crew. Kid now
Speaker 1: sailed out of the harbor with the ostensible purpose of
Speaker 1: putting down piracy in American waters. But the methods of
Speaker 1: this legally appointed marine policeman were very peculiar, and instead
Speaker 1: of cruising up and down our coast, he gaily sailed
Speaker 1: away to the island of Madeira, and then around the
Speaker 1: Cape of Good Hope to Madagascar and the Red Sea,
Speaker 1: thus getting himself as far out of his regular beat
Speaker 1: as any New York constable would have been had he
Speaker 1: undertaken to patrol the dominions of the Khan of Tartary.
Speaker 1: By the time kid reached that part of the world,
Speaker 1: he had been at sea for nearly a year without
Speaker 1: putting down any pirates or capturing any French ships. In fact,
Speaker 1: he had made no money whatever for himself or the
Speaker 1: stockholders of the company which had sent him out. His men,
Speaker 1: of course, must have been very much surprised at this
Speaker 1: unusual neglect of his own and his employer's interests. But
Speaker 1: when he reached the Red Sea, he boldly informed him
Speaker 1: that he had made a change in his business and
Speaker 1: had decided that he would no longer be a suppressor
Speaker 1: of privacy, but would become a pirate himself, and instead
Speaker 1: of taking prizes of French ships only which he was
Speaker 1: legally empowered to do, he would try to capture any
Speaker 1: valuable ship he could find on the seas, no matter
Speaker 1: to what nation it belonged. He then went on to
Speaker 1: state that his present purpose in coming into these oriental
Speaker 1: waters was to capture the rich fleet from the Mocha,
Speaker 1: which was due in the lower part of the Red Sea.
Speaker 1: About that time. The crew of the Adventurer, who must
Speaker 1: have been tired of having very little to do and
Speaker 1: making no money, expressed their entire approbation of their captain's
Speaker 1: change of purpose and readily agreed to become pirates. Kid
Speaker 1: waited a good while for the Mocha fleet, but it
Speaker 1: did not arrive, and then he made his first venture
Speaker 1: in actual piracy. He overhauled a Moorish vessel, which was
Speaker 1: commanded by an English captain, and as England was not
Speaker 1: at war with Morocco, and as the nationality of the
Speaker 1: ship's commander should have protected him, Kid thus boldly broke
Speaker 1: the marine laws which governed the civilized world and stamped
Speaker 1: himself an out and out pirate. After the exercise of
Speaker 1: considerable cruelty, he extorted from his first prize a small
Speaker 1: amount of money, and although he and his men did
Speaker 1: not gain very much booty, they had wetted their appetites
Speaker 1: for more, and Kid cruised savagely over the Eastern seas
Speaker 1: in search of other spoils. After a time, the adventure
Speaker 1: fell in with a very fine English ship called the
Speaker 1: Royal Captain, and although she was probably laden with a
Speaker 1: rich cargo, Kid did not attack her. His piratical character
Speaker 1: was not yet sufficiently formed to give him the disloyal
Speaker 1: audacity which would enable him, with his English ship and
Speaker 1: his English crew, to fall upon another English ship manned
Speaker 1: by another English crew. In time his heart might be hardened,
Speaker 1: but he felt that he could not begin with this
Speaker 1: sort of thing just yet. So the adventure saluted the
Speaker 1: Royal Captain with ceremonious politeness, and each vessel passed quietly
Speaker 1: on its way. But this conscientious consideration did not suit
Speaker 1: Kid's crew. They had already had a taste of booty,
Speaker 1: and they were hungry for more. And when the fine
Speaker 1: English vessel of which they might so easily have made
Speaker 1: a prize, was allowed to escape them, they were loud
Speaker 1: in their complaints and grumblings. One of the men, a
Speaker 1: gunner named William Moore, became actually impertinent upon the subject,
Speaker 1: and he and Captain Kidd had a violent quarrel, in
Speaker 1: the course of which the captain picked up a heavy
Speaker 1: iron bucket and struck the dissatisfied gunner on the head
Speaker 1: with it. The blow was such a powerful one that
Speaker 1: the man's skull was broken, and he died the next day.
Speaker 1: Kid's conscience seems to have been a good deal in
Speaker 1: his way, for although he had been sailing about in
Speaker 1: various eastern waters, taking prizes wherever he could, he was
Speaker 1: anxious that reports of his misdeed should not get home
Speaker 1: before him. Having captured a fine vessel bound westward, he
Speaker 1: took from her all the booty he could, and then
Speaker 1: proceeded to arrange matters so that the capture of this
Speaker 1: ship should appear to be a legal transaction. The ship
Speaker 1: was manned by Moors and commanded by a Dutchman, and
Speaker 1: of course Kid had no right to touch it. But
Speaker 1: the sharp witted and business like pirate selected one of
Speaker 1: the passengers and made him sign a paper declaring that
Speaker 1: he was a Frenchman and that he commanded the ship.
Speaker 1: When this statement had been sworn to before witnesses, Kid
Speaker 1: put the document in his pocket, so that if he
Speaker 1: were called upon to explain the transaction, he might be
Speaker 1: able to show that he had had good reason to
Speaker 1: suppose that he had captured a French ship, which of
Speaker 1: course was all right and proper. Kid now ravaged the
Speaker 1: East India Wall with great success and profit, and at
Speaker 1: last he fell in with a very fine ship from
Speaker 1: Armenia called the quadag Merchant, commanded by an Englishman. Kid's
Speaker 1: conscience had been growing harder and harder every day, and
Speaker 1: he did not now hesitate to attack any vessel. The
Speaker 1: Great Merchantman was captured and proved to be one of
Speaker 1: the most valuable prizes ever taken by a pirate, for
Speaker 1: Kid's own share of the spoils amounted to more than
Speaker 1: sixty thousand dollars. This was such a grand hall that
Speaker 1: Kid lost no time in taking his prize to some
Speaker 1: place where he might safely dispose of her cargo and
Speaker 1: get rid of her passengers. Accordingly, he sailed for Madagascar.
Speaker 1: While he was there, he fell in with the first
Speaker 1: pirate vessel he had met since he had started out
Speaker 1: to put down piracy. This was a ship commanded by
Speaker 1: an English pirate named Culliford, and here would have been
Speaker 1: a chance for Captain Kidd to show that, although he
Speaker 1: might transgress the law himself, he would be true to
Speaker 1: his engagement not to allow other people to do so.
Speaker 1: But he had given up putting down pirates, and instead
Speaker 1: of apprehending Culliford, he went into partnership with him, and
Speaker 1: the two agreed to go pirrating together. This partnership, however,
Speaker 1: did not continue long, for Captain Kidd began to believe
Speaker 1: that it was time for him to return to his
Speaker 1: native country and make a report of his proceedings to
Speaker 1: his employers. Having confined his piratical proceedings to distant parts
Speaker 1: of the world, he hoped that he would be able
Speaker 1: to make Sir George Bellamont and the other stockholders suppose
Speaker 1: that his booty was all legitimately taken from French vessels
Speaker 1: cruising in the east, and when the proper division should
Speaker 1: be made, he would be able to quietly enjoy his
Speaker 1: portion of the treasure he had gained. He did not
Speaker 1: go back in the adventure, which was probably not large
Speaker 1: enough to carry all the booty he had amassed, but
Speaker 1: putting everything on board his latest prize, the Quadag Merchant,
Speaker 1: he burned his old ship and sailed homeward. When he
Speaker 1: reached the West Indies, however, our wary sea robber was
Speaker 1: very much surprised to find that accounts of his evil
Speaker 1: deeds had reached America, and that the colonial authorities had
Speaker 1: been so much incensed by the news that the man
Speaker 1: who had been sent out to suppress piracy had become
Speaker 1: himself a pirate that they had circulated notices throughout the
Speaker 1: different colonies urging the arrest of kid if he should
Speaker 1: come into any American port. This was disheartening intelligence for
Speaker 1: the treasure laden Captain Kidd, but he did not despair.
Speaker 1: He knew that the love of money was often just
Speaker 1: as strong in the minds of human beings as the
Speaker 1: love of justice. Sir George Bellamont, who was now in
Speaker 1: New York, was one of the principal stockholders in the enterprise,
Speaker 1: and Kid hoped that the rich share of the results
Speaker 1: of his industry which would come to the governor might
Speaker 1: cause unpleasant reports to be disregarded. In this case, he
Speaker 1: might yet return to his wife and family with a
Speaker 1: neat little fortune, and without danger of being called upon
Speaker 1: to explain his exceptional performances in the Eastern seas. Of course,
Speaker 1: Kid was not so foolish and rash as to sail
Speaker 1: into New York Harbor on board the quadav Merchant. So
Speaker 1: he bought a small sloop and put the most value
Speaker 1: portion of his goods on board her, leaving his larger vessel,
Speaker 1: which also contained a great quantity of merchandise, in the
Speaker 1: charge of one of his confederates, and in the little
Speaker 1: sloop he cautiously approached the coast of New Jersey. His
Speaker 1: great desire was to find out what sort of a
Speaker 1: reception he might expect, so he entered Delaware Bay, and
Speaker 1: when he stopped at a little seaport in order to
Speaker 1: take in some supplies, he discovered that there was but
Speaker 1: small chance of his visiting his home and his family,
Speaker 1: and of making report to his superior in the character
Speaker 1: of a deserving mariner who had returned after a successful voyage.
Speaker 1: Some people in the village recognized him, and the report
Speaker 1: soon spread to New York that the pirate Kid was
Speaker 1: lurking about the coast. A sloop of war was sent
Speaker 1: out to capture his vessel, and, finding that it was
Speaker 1: impossible to remain in the vicinity where he had been discovered,
Speaker 1: Kid sailed northward and entered Long Island Sound. Here, the
Speaker 1: shrewd and anxious pirate began to act the part of
Speaker 1: the watch dog who has been killing sheep. In every
Speaker 1: way he endeavored to assume the appearance of innocence and
Speaker 1: to conceal every side of misbehavior. He wrote to Sir
Speaker 1: George Bellamont that he should have called upon him in
Speaker 1: order to report his proceedings and hand over its profits,
Speaker 1: were it not for the wicked and malicious reports which
Speaker 1: had been circulated about him. It was during this period
Speaker 1: of suspense, when the returned pirate did not know what
Speaker 1: was likely to happen, that it is supposed by the
Speaker 1: believers in the Hidden Treasures of Kyd that he buried
Speaker 1: his coin and bullion and his jewels, some in one
Speaker 1: place and some in another, so that if he were captured,
Speaker 1: his riches should not be taken with him. Among the
Speaker 1: wild stories which were believed at that time and for
Speaker 1: long years after, was one to the effect that Captain
Speaker 1: Kidd's ship was chased up the Hudson by a man
Speaker 1: of war, and that the pirates, finding they could not
Speaker 1: get away, sank their ship and fled to the shore
Speaker 1: with all the gold and silver they could carry, which
Speaker 1: they afterwards buried at the foot of Dunderberg Mountain. A
Speaker 1: great deal of rocky soil has been turned over at
Speaker 1: different times in search of these treasures, but no discoveries
Speaker 1: of hidden coin have yet been reported. The fact is, however,
Speaker 1: that during this time of anxious waiting, Kid never sailed
Speaker 1: west of Oyster Bay in Long Island. He was afraid
Speaker 1: to approach New York, although he had frequent communication with
Speaker 1: that city and was joined by his wife and family.
Speaker 1: About this time occurred an incident which has given rise
Speaker 1: to all the stories regarding the buried treasure of Captain Kidd.
Speaker 1: The disturbed and anxious pirate concluded that it was a
Speaker 1: dangerous thing to keep so much valuable treasure on board
Speaker 1: his vessel, which might at any time be overhauled by
Speaker 1: the authorities, and he therefore landed at Gardner's Island on
Speaker 1: the Long Island coast, and obtained permission from the proprietor
Speaker 1: to bury some of his superfluous stores upon his estate.
Speaker 1: This was a straightforward transaction. Mister Gardner knew all about
Speaker 1: the burial of the treasure, and when it was afterwards
Speaker 1: proved that Kid was really a pirate, the hidden booty
Speaker 1: was all given up to the government. This appears to
Speaker 1: be the only case in which it was positively known
Speaker 1: that Kid buried treasure on our coast, and it has
Speaker 1: given rise to all the stories of the kind which
Speaker 1: have ever been told. For some weeks, Kid's sloop remained
Speaker 1: in Long Island Sound, and then he took courage and
Speaker 1: went to Boston to see some influential people. There, he
Speaker 1: was allowed to go freely about the city for a week,
Speaker 1: and then he was arrested. The rest of Kidd's story
Speaker 1: is soon told. He was sent to England for trial,
Speaker 1: and there he was condemned to death not only for
Speaker 1: the piracies he had committed, but also for the murder
Speaker 1: of William Moore. He was executed, and his body was
Speaker 1: hung in chains on the banks of the Thames, where
Speaker 1: for years it dangled in the wind, a warning to
Speaker 1: all evil minded sailors. About the time of Kidd's trial
Speaker 1: and execution, a ballad was written which had a wide
Speaker 1: circulation in England and America. It was set to music,
Speaker 1: and for many years helped to spread the fame of
Speaker 1: the pirate. The ballad was a very long one, containing
Speaker 1: nearly twenty six verses, and some of them run as follows.
Speaker 1: Name was Robert Kidd when I sailed. When I sailed,
Speaker 1: my name was Robert Kidd. When I sailed, my name
Speaker 1: was Robert Kidd. God's laws I did forbid, and so
Speaker 1: wickedly I did. When I sailed. My parents taught me
Speaker 1: well when I sailed. When I sailed, my parents taught
Speaker 1: me well. When I sailed. My parents taught me well
Speaker 1: to shun the gates of hell. But gainst them, I rebelled.
Speaker 1: When I sailed. I'd a Bible in my hand when
Speaker 1: I sailed. When I sailed, I'd a Bible in my hand.
Speaker 1: When I sailed, I'd a Bible in my hand. By
Speaker 1: my father's great command, and sunk it in the sand.
Speaker 1: When I sailed, I murdered William Moore as I sailed.
Speaker 1: As I sailed, I murdered William Moore. As I sailed,
Speaker 1: I murdered William Moore and laid him in his gore,
Speaker 1: not many leagues from shore. As I sailed, I was
Speaker 1: sick and nigh to death when I sailed. When I sailed,
Speaker 1: I was sick and nigh to death. When I sailed,
Speaker 1: I was sick and nigh to death. And I vowed
Speaker 1: at every breath to walk in Wisdom's ways. As I sailed,
Speaker 1: I thought I was undone as I sailed. As I sailed,
Speaker 1: I thought I was undone. As I sailed, I thought
Speaker 1: I was undone, and my wicked glass had run. But
Speaker 1: health did soon return. As I sailed. My repentance lasted,
Speaker 1: Not as I sailed. As I sailed, My repentance lasted.
Speaker 1: Not as I sailed. My repentance lasted, not my vows.
Speaker 1: I soon forgot. Damnation was my lot. As I sailed,
Speaker 1: I spied the ships from France as I sailed. As
Speaker 1: I sailed, I spied the ship from France. As I sailed,
Speaker 1: I spied the ships from France. To them. I did
Speaker 1: advance and took them all by chance. As I sailed,
Speaker 1: I spied the ships of Spain as I sailed. As
Speaker 1: I sailed, I spied the ships of Spain. As I sailed,
Speaker 1: I spied the ships of Spain. I fired on them
Speaker 1: a main till most of them was slain. As I sailed,
Speaker 1: I'd ninety bars of gold as I sailed. As I sailed,
Speaker 1: i'd ninety bars of gold. As I sailed, I'd ninety
Speaker 1: bars of gold and dollars manifold with riches uncontrolled as
Speaker 1: I sailed. Thus being overtaken at last, I must die.
Speaker 1: I must die. Thus being overtaken at last, I must die,
Speaker 1: Thus being overtaken at last, and into prison, cast and
Speaker 1: sentence being passed. I must die, farewell the raging Main.
Speaker 1: I must die. I must die, farewell the raging Main.
Speaker 1: I must die, farewell the raging Main. To Turkey, France
Speaker 1: and Spain. I shall ne'er see you again. I must die.
Speaker 1: To execution Doc, I must go. I must go to
Speaker 1: execution doc. I must go to execution doc. Will many
Speaker 1: thousands flock, but I must bear the shock and must die.
Speaker 1: Come all, ye young and old, see me die see
Speaker 1: me die. Come all, ye young and old, see me die.
Speaker 1: Come all, ye young and old. You're welcome to my gold,
Speaker 1: for by it I've lost my soul and must die.
Speaker 1: Take warning now by me, for I must die, For
Speaker 1: I must die. Take warning now by me, for I
Speaker 1: must die. Take warning now by me, and shun bad
Speaker 1: company lest you come to hell with me, for I die.
Speaker 1: It is said that kid showed no repentance when he
Speaker 1: was tried, but insisted that he was the victim of
Speaker 1: malicious persons who swore falsely against him. And yet a
Speaker 1: more thoroughly dishonest rascal never sailed under the black flag
Speaker 1: in the guise of an accredited officer of government. He
Speaker 1: committed the crimes he was sent out to suppress. He
Speaker 1: deceived his men, he robbed and misused his fellow countrymen
Speaker 1: and his friends. And he even descended to the meanness
Speaker 1: of cheating and despoiling the natives of the West India
Speaker 1: Islands with whom he traded. These people were in the
Speaker 1: habit of supplying pirates with food and other necessaries, and
Speaker 1: they always found their rough customers entirely honest and willing
Speaker 1: to pay for what they received. For as the pirates
Speaker 1: made a practice of stopping at certain points for supplies.
Speaker 1: They wished, of course, to be on good terms with
Speaker 1: those who furnished them, But kit had no ideas of
Speaker 1: honor toward people of high or low degree. He would
Speaker 1: trade with the natives as if he intended to treat
Speaker 1: them fairly and pay for all he got. But when
Speaker 1: the time came for him to depart, and he was
Speaker 1: ready to weigh anchor, he would seize upon all the
Speaker 1: commodities he could lay his hands upon, and without paying
Speaker 1: a copper to the distressed and indignant Indians, he would
Speaker 1: gaily sail away, his black flag flaunting derisively in the wind.
Speaker 1: But although in reality Captain Kidd was no hero, he
Speaker 1: has been known for a century and more as the
Speaker 1: Great American Pirate, and his name has been representative of
Speaker 1: piracy ever since. Years after he had been hung. When
Speaker 1: people heard that a vessel with a black flag, or
Speaker 1: one which looked black in the distance flying from its rigging,
Speaker 1: had been seen, they forgot that the famous pirate was dead,
Speaker 1: and imagined that Captain Kidd was visiting their part of
Speaker 1: the coast in order that he might find a good
Speaker 1: place to bury some treasure which it was no longer
Speaker 1: safe for him to carry about. There were two great
Speaker 1: reasons for the fame of Captain Kidd. One of these
Speaker 1: was the fact that he had been sent out by
Speaker 1: important officers of the crown who expected to share the
Speaker 1: profits of his legitimate operations, but who were supposed by
Speaker 1: their enemies to be perfectly willing to take any sort
Speaker 1: of profits provided it could not be proved that they
Speaker 1: were the results of piracy, and who afterwards allowed Kid
Speaker 1: to suffer for their sins as well as his own.
Speaker 1: These opinions introduced certain political features into his career and
Speaker 1: made him a very much talked of man. The greater
Speaker 1: reason for his fame, however, was the widespread belief in
Speaker 1: his buried treasures, and this made him the object of
Speaker 1: the most intense interest to hundreds of misguided people who
Speaker 1: hoped to be lucky enough to share his spoils. There
Speaker 1: were other pirates on the American coast during the eighteenth century,
Speaker 1: and some of them became very well known, but their
Speaker 1: stories are not uncommon, and we need not tell them here.
Speaker 1: As our country became better settled and as well armed,
Speaker 1: revenue cutters began to cruise up and down our Atlantic
Speaker 1: coast for the protection of our commerce. Pirates became fewer
Speaker 1: and fewer, and even those who were still bold enough
Speaker 1: to ply their trade grew milder in their manners, less
Speaker 1: staring in their exploits, and, more important than anything else,
Speaker 1: so unsuccessful in their illegal enterprises that they were forced
Speaker 1: to admit that it was now more profitable to command
Speaker 1: or work a merchantman than to endeavor to capture one.
Speaker 1: And so the sea robbers of our coasts gradually passed away.
Speaker 1: End of Chapter thirty two, end of Buccaneers and Pirates
Speaker 1: of Our Coasts by Frank R. Stockton