The Age of Piracy.

Auckland Star, Volume VII, Issue 1971, 3 June 1876, Page 6 (Supplement)

The Age of Piracy.

THE FAMOUS BUCCANEERS OF THE WEST INDIES.

JEAN LA.FITTE THE FiIEEBOOTER.

HORRIBLE CRUELTIES, PRACTICED B¥ THE SAVAGE SEA ROBBERS.

THIS PIRATES OF THE PAST, Ere,

INTRODUCTION

[From a paper read by J. S. Slooper, before tho Boston Historic-Gloacalo^ical Society.] In my remarks to-day before this Society, ' I propose to treat of the system of piracy which was carried on for nine or ten y?ars in the West Indies, after the treaty of peace belween Great Britain and the United States. That period has been appropriately styled ' Tho Ago of Piracy,' and it was so indeed. During tho war of 1812, quite a number of so-called ' patriotprivateers,' some with commissions and .some with none, congregated at a harbor in Barataria, a small island not far from tho mouth of the Mississippi. They semn to have formed a sort of jointstock company, and carried on an extensive and lucrative business. They had for their chief the notorious outkuv Jean Lalittc, and plundered skips on the ocean, and smuggled their ill-gotten gains into New Orleans. Avowedly they preyed only on the Spaniards, but undoubtedly committed piratical depredations on vessels of ull nations. This nest of pirates was broken up in October, 1814 ,by Commodore Patterson of the United States ]N ravy. Their flotilla in the harbor at the time consisted of ten fast-sailing schooners, fully armed, ' manned and equipped. These vessels were all captured and destroyed ; all their warehouses and dwelling-housrs wore burnt. But the outlaws, numbering eight hundred or a thousand, took to their boats and escaped. The

WHOLE BODY OF SCOUNDRELS Soon after _ joined General Jackson's army, and did good service as artillerists nt tLo battle of New Orleans, for which they received from the Executive a full pardon for all their misdeeds, And what became of these men, hardened by crime and habituated to lawless aces and scenes of violence and bloodshed? Privateering was on the wane, but open and avowed piracy would furuisa moans and opportunity of indulging their fiendish propensities. Many hastened to those ports where they could continue that course of life that was congenial to their habits and dispositions. The ports of Cuba were open, the Government of that colony was wonk and showed no disposition to molest them, andsymspathizmg friends and agents furnished every facility that could be wished. Their number increased. They were soon followed by desperadoes aud outlaws of every clime and nation—some of whom had served au apprenticeship to slave-

ship 3 and privateers—and thus the capture and plunder of defenseless merchant ships the maltreatment, and sometimes murder of whole crows, became, after a time, established as a system in tho Caribbean Sea and the Griilf of Mexico, and was prosecuted on a colossal scale, which can hardly be conceived of at the present day. Some

BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF SCENES That were at that period enacted in these waters will give but an imperfect idea of the number and barbarity of the outrages that were pro pet rated. As early as tho year 1815 a pilot-boat schooner was captured in the Gulf of Mexico by the United States schooner Firebrand, and carried into New Orleans, where the crew were imprisoned, This vessel showed a patriot flag, was full of men, and armed with a twelve-pounder amidships, swivela, muskets, etc. It was preteuded that she was a privateer, but the Captain could show no commission. This schooner fired two shots at tho Firebrand, taking her for a merchantman, and was undoubtedly a pirate. In 1815, 181G and 1817, a number of British and American vessels were boarded and robbed in the neighborhood of Cuba by armed boats and schooners under the flag of some (so-called) republic struggling for existence, and also by vessels and boats which defiantly flaunted the black or blood-red pirato flag, with its terrible symbols in tho center. In the monch of March, 1817, a large pirate schooner on tho edge of Salt Cay Bank, captured a Dutch ship laden with a valuable cargo. The pirates plundered the ship of §10,000 in specie and rich goods of immense value, treated the Captain and crew in the most barbarous manner, then sent them adrift in the ship's boats, and set the vessel on fire. In 1818, the

PIRATES BECAME NUMEROUS, Bold, and audacious. Many vessels were robbed. Money was the article they chiefly sought, and when they could find no money or other valuables they wreaked their vengeance on the unfortunate officers and crews. In June, 1818, the schooner George Armistead, belonging to Baltimore, bound to Havana, was overhauled by an armed vessel under the patroit flag. The officers and crew were treated in tic most inhuman mariner. They beat the Captain, knocked down the men, put a knife to the throat of a passenger, and compelled him to give up his money. It was afterward learned that this vessel was a privateer named the Young Spartan. She subsequently put into Savannah, where all on board were arrested and thrown into prison. In 1810 the seas in the vicinity of Cuba seemed infested with pirates. They made their appearance on the south side of the island, and in the Windward Passage between Hayti and Cuba, and their vessels for a time found a safe refuge among the creeks and bays on the coast of Cuba in the Old Bahama Channel. In this year several piracies were committed, off the mouth of the Mississippi by the emissaries of the noted Mitchell, who had established himself with a gang of a hundred desperate scoundrels in Barataria. But this nest was broken up by the United States forces in October of that year. A fast-sailing schooner called THE " CONTRADICTION," Belonging to Baltimore, was captured by a Wge manued with these wretches near the coast of Cuba, and the vessel Tas taken possession of and armed to aid in currying on their fiendish operations. They commitedm'iny shocking barbarities. A man and his wife were captured in a fishing-boat. After amusing themselves by cruelly tormenting the mau, they shot him through the head. It in unnecessary to speak of the fate of the woman. This pirate vessel was soon afterward captured by a British cruiser and carried into New Providence. The Captain and the crew were tried, found guilty and hanged with exemplary promptness. In some cases, when the pirates required recruits, the unfortunate crews of captured vessels were invited to join the miscreants. Some, to save their lives, assented, but the greater number of the sailors promptly refused, and, with their throats cut, were speedily thrown into the sea! In December, 1819, a memorial was addressed to President Monroe, asking the decided action of the Government in suppressing the numerous piracies in the West Indies, and giving a list of forty-four vessels robbed and other piratical exploits, copied from one newspaper in that year. This memorial was signed by Arnold Wells, Thomas Perkins, John P. Aplhrop, James Hall, Nathaniel Goddard, and Francis J. Oliver —all Presidents of insurance offices in Boston, names well remembered at this Jay. No attention appears to have been given to this petition. Piratical outrages continued to increase, indeed, this was but the beginning of a chapter of crime on the ocean, which, for atrocity, has hardly a parallel, uud which might have been then suppressed if our Government had listfucd to and heeded the timely representations of these memorialists. But the officers of the few United (States vessels constituting our squardroa op

THE WEST INDIA STATION Were not neglectful of their duties, but were indefatigable in their endeavors to protect our commerce, by cheeking piratical depredations. In June ]820, sixteen pirates, who had been captured by our cruisers, were tried in New Orleans, found guiltyandsenteuced tobehanged, Threats were thrown out by their associates and friends of such a character that the Governor had to order out volunteer companies

to p_atrol the streets until the pirates were executed. In September, 1821, three American vessels—the schooner Milo of Bristol, Ehode Island, and brig John, both bound to Matanzas, and the sloop Collector of Rhode. Island, which was outward bound —were captured at the entrance of the Bay of Matanzas by a large open launch, which had been fitted out at Matanzas and was manned by a dozen, or fifteen ruthless scoundrels, armed with muskets and cutlasses. They killed the Captain and two men belonging to the schooner and took all the money and valuables they could find. They murdered tho whole crew of the brig and set the vessel on fire. They plundered the sloop, cruelly beat and maltreated the crew, half killed the Captain to make him confess where money was concealed, set the vessel on fire and abandoned her, making off with their booty. The crew fortunately succeeded iv getting out the long-boat and got safely back to Matanzas, and gave information of pirates being in the offing.

THE AMERICANS IN PORT

Immediately communicated these facts to the Governor, and called upon him for decisive action. After some delay lie was prevailed upon to allow the Americans to arm themselves and go outside in search of the pirates. Three large boats were accordingly manned, mostly by officers of American merchant vessels, and cruised in the offing thirty hours, but without falling in with the pirates. They, however, fell in with an American brig bound for Matanzas. This brig was armed with two carriage guns, muskets and boarding pikes, and when tho boats made their appearance, pulling directly for the brig, with the evident intention of boarding, the captain got his guns in readiness to give a warm reception to the piratical launches, as he very naturally took them to be. But, fortunately for the men in the boats, his courage failed as tte crisis approached, and he concluded to make no resistance, hoping to be more easily let off in consequence. The boats ranged alongside, and he soon found himself boarded, not by a set of blood-thirsty pirates, but by a band of his own countrymen, who, when they saw the brig's armament and preparations for defence, shuddered at the danger, which, by the cowardice of the captain or of the crew, they had so narrowly escaped. In October, 1821, Lieutenant Kearney, in the United States brig Enterprise, fell in with

A FLEET OF PIRATICAL VESSELS Off Cape Antonio, the western extremity of Cuba, and captured three schooners and a sloop while they were engaged in robbing an English ship and brig. They had also just taken possession of the Aristides of Boston. The pirates abandoned their own vessels and prizes, and took to their boats, and, although followed by the boats of the Enterprise, which kept up a hot fire upon them from muskets, they mostly escaped. In December, 1821, several vessels were boarded by pirates and plundered, just outside the harbor of Havana, almost under the guns of the Moro Castle. It was known in Havarw that three small vessels.had been fitted out from the Reglas, an_ island in the harbor, avowedly for piratical purposes. More than one hundred persons belonging to the Eeglas were believed to have been concerned in this abominable enterprise.

The Spanish cruisers on the Cuban station seemed indifferent and strangely inactive. There was no protection for the defenceless mariner except what he could derive from the public armed vessels of the United States and Great Britain. The Cuban Government thus far made no effort to check the frightful extension of the piratical system. When appealed to, the authorities shook their heads, and referring to the Mexican, Artigan, Carthagenian and Buenos Ayres privateers that tiad been built in Baltimore and owned and fitted out of American ports to cruise against the Spaniards, acknowledged the lex TALioKis, gravely saying, ' So much for so much.' Matanzas was one of the STRONGHOLDS OF THE PIRATES.

Vessels bound to tliafc port, or which had just left the harbor, were often plundered, and outrages heaped on the crews. Goods known to have been taken from American vessels at sea were openly exposed for sale iv the shops, and ruffians, notorious as pirate chieftains, whose hands had been deeply imbrued in blood, were seen walking the streets, lounging about colfee-houses, and gathering information to subserve their diabolical purposes. There was abundant reason to believe that in 1822 and 1823, after the death of Governor Mahy, and before General Vives was appointed Governor-General of Cuba, the acting Governor of Matanzas was in league with the pirates, and for a liberal consideration winked at their crimes and encouraged their outrages. In January, 1522, the pirates experienced a severe rebuff. Commander Eamagc of the United States brig Porpoise, sent iv his boats to break up a nest of pirate vessels in a small bay or cove on the north coast of Cuba. These pirates had robbed a number of American vessels off C'ipe AntGnio. The expedition was successful. Six of their schooners were burnt—the only remaining one, a fine vessel of sixty tons burden, completely armed and equipped, was retained for the use of the American Government. The whole establishment was broken up. ' Of the 150 pirates who manned the vessels a number were killed, a few were captured, but the rest escaped to the shore iv their boats. Their business

was managed m a systematic ffi .,, After robbing vessels off Cape ff they brought the goods to this,Vj/! mon rendezvous, from which thel shipped them to Havana, where they disposed of by their agents. I v thl part of 1822 %ea

TWENTY-ONE PIRATES Who had been captured by our m vessels and carried into New nT were tried, convicted, and sentenced^ hanged, but were subsequently r^' by James Monore, President 2 United States. Some of these m en } afterwards met with on the i!* Cuba and boasted of the clem en '! which they had been the 2?! objects. In less than thirty din?? they had been set free they4re?t?! old trade-robbery and murder Jl high seas. Such ill-timed dei 1 exhibiting a weakness never m S by Julius Cjßsar in his dealings »?* banditti, while it encouraged thTl^ to continue their fiendish operations * disheartening to those gallant office^ men who, in our National vessels? freely exposing their lives and tifi night and day to break up the J&! establishments and bring the villil^ justice. That policy" may 3! pronounced a mistaken one which l 7 to the pardoning of red-handed muti? and pirates. The fear of 2? punishment tor such crimes adds I! I security to life and property on thel When captured, tried and foJndJ the sentence of the law should not oS pronounced, but executed on such £ wuhoat fail and without delay as? punishment for iniquity, and a t J example to others. Yet misplacedp J thropy often throws a shield over the 1 hardened criminal, and ingenious pr e £ are.demed.aad influences of the? powerful character invoked to arrest f progress of justice, and snatch fS exemplary punishment the «JJ scoundrels 'that ever scuttled ship on a throat.' On the 15th of May lffi thebrigAurilla,of N ewYSk 2bi to New Orleans, having a mm bS passengers on board, among whom 11 several women, was fallen in with by !

TWO PIRATICAL SCHOONERS Heavily armed, off Salt Gay. The W was anchored on the Bank, and plunde! of cargo, and all the valuable articles 1 longing to the passengers. The offic and men were beaten, tortured, some them half hanger to induce them J discover where'any treasure was concetU and the women were outraged in a mm! too horrible to be imagined; About ffi middle of June, 1822, some wreckers M in with a ship ashore near fi um Cay J of the Eastern Bahamas, the crew of 4il had been murdered, their bodies haokd to pieces and hanged in the rigging A brig was also fallen in with, drifting iw near the same place, with the hatchwatj broken open, the cabin stripped of is desks and trunks, pools of blood on | decks, and not a living; creature on boaii In July, 1822, the sloop Blessing, Capfaj Smith, belonging to Jamaica, wasboaidii by a pirate schooner off Cape Cruz,. ft pirate captain was a Spaniard, the cm was of all nations and colors. Tfe carried the captain and his son. and two! his men on board the schooner, and i sisted on their confessing that there n money on board the sloop. When assiwj that such was not the case, they croel? beat and flogged the captain. Finely s plank was run out on the side, of lie schooner, upon which the unfortunatemu was compelled to walk. As ho readied the end they tilted the plank and li dropped into the sea—an old piratical custom known as

'WALKING THE PLANK.?' When in tie water, the Captain began to swim, and the pirate chief called ton musket and shot him while throwing up his hands and imploring for mercy. "1 son, only fourteen years of age, on wite ing the fate of his father, burst intoffi agony of sobs and tears, which so enraged the pirate that he knocked him opii head with his musket, took him Jjy'ti heels and tossed him overboard. The sloop was then set on fire, and the crew, ate much ill-usage, were set adrift in. aleij boat, but were soon afterward picked f, by a trading vessel and carried into Bui! Morant. In October, 1822, the Unifel States sloop-of-war, Peacock, Commanto Cassin, off the Bay of Honda, about if miles west of Havana, fell in with Hi British Government schooner, SpeeM which was attacked by a fleet of piratifll vessels, and would undoubtedly havetai captured and all hands massacred, kti not been for the timely appearance of tbe Peacock. Captain Cassin opened Jl broadsides on the pirates, and four ofW: vessels were sunk ot captured and twenty* five men made prisoners' Many ota were killed in the action, and some escapri in their boats. Two of the schooners WJ run ashore by the pirates and the crew fled to the woods. About this timei" brig PatroitofNew York. Captain HoracJ T. Jacobs, in a passage fromHaytitoM'; Orleans, was chesed off Cape Antonio b-i a pirate schooner, well armed, and p' a crew of forty or fifty men. The wW Captain Jacobs was on board, a young P; beautiful woman to whom he had recently been married, and he determined that it should never fall alive into the hands» pirates. His ship's company consisted" himself, two mates, six seamen,; a c* and a boy. His officers and crew* and all, were bent on fighting their MO' less enemy, and got ready their means'* defence, consisting of one carriagt B"P|

\ £wa7~mounted at the stern, and a Ken muskets and boarding pikes. I THE PIRATE SCHOONER Lupin the wake of the brig, with Iff sprit and bows studded with men Sd to board, and fired a volley of '■nfketry which fortunately did no execui and was replied to by a discharge 5 the biff (ran and musketry under the Etion of Mr. Johnson, the chief mate, "Si swept the bowsprit of the schooner tdid fearful execution among the pirates. Wn was fired three times, when it 5 dismounted and rendered useless. I pirates made three attempts to board, ■Jwere gallantly repulsed, every man \ Jing desperately for his life. Iho tner finally got clear of the brig and I ered off, when only seven men could Ken on her deck. The slaughter . I Jut have been terrible. In the heat of I J engagement, while bravely repelling i Orders, Captain Jacobs was struck in I L forehead by a musket-ball and died a I days afterward. Mr. Walker, the ■ tond mate, was killed during the action, j Mr Johnson, the chief mate, was '■ Handed in the thigh, but nevertheless deeded in navigating the brig safely to fa Orleans. The brig Hannah, ot ' iiladelphia, was boarded by a pirate in itsamo neighborhood, and plundered of Suable articles. Her crew were treated A extreme cruelty. The Captain, his ■.•other and five passengers were roasted jorder to make them confess there was ,} B ey on board. They were afterward : listen and hacked with cutlasses. In Member, 1822, Lieutenant Allen of the fjited States schooner Alligator, while jiatanzas harbour, received intelligence ii't several American vessels had been jptured by pirates and carried into a Jirje bay about fifteen leagues east of ! jfjtanzas. Lieutenant Allen got tho ! jtooner under way at once and proi up. | THE OLD BAHAMA CHANNELfjrard the bay, where the vessels were jitained. On entering the bay, a number ([vessels were seen at anchor, and among li'sm was a schooner of formidable size jid armament, and her deck crowded with sea. On the approach of the Aligator ]li schooner slipped her cables, got out iieeps, and endeavoured to escape up the jip, Three of tho Aligator's boats were gnediately manned, one of which was jmmanded by Lieutenant Allen in person, (d gave chase to the pirate schooner, jaich hoisted the bloody flag and opened lire on the boats with round and grape iiofc. The boats gained on the schooner, lien other piratical craft came to her lijistance. Several men in the boats were Hied and wounded, and Lieutenant Allen, jhile standing up and bravely urging his nm to exert themselves and range alongile the pirate, received two wounds, one tfahich was by a musket shot through to body, that caused his death in a, few liars. The pirate schooner was boarded md captured, but most of the crew escaped lithe shore in their boats. On boarding lat vessel the red flag was found nailed •othe mast, and trains were ignited, leadig to the magazine, but were fortunately fecove'red in time to prevent the vessel fern being blown up. It was subsequently pertained that the pirates had fourteen an killed and a large number wounded in the action. The American vessels that rare thus rescued proved to be the ship William Henry, of New York, brigs Sarah lorrill, and Iris, _of Boston, and two schooners, one of which belonged to Salem. lie Alligator returned to Malanzas with tie rescued vessels, where the remains of Lieutenant Allen were buried with, the honours due to his gallantry and rank. Shortly after the above affair, three pirate schooners were seen cruising between Point Yeasos and Havana. Two Amerieaa vessels were known to have been robbed, and the unfortunate crews, after Wing been terribly beaten and tortured, lere lashed to the standing rigging and THE VESSELS SET ON FIRE. The bring Belvidere, Captain Lamson, bund from Hayti to New Orleans, easily beat off three launches full of men, off Capo Cruz. Proceeding on her wav, the Selvidcre, off Cape Antonio, was chased ty a pirate schooner, armed, and with a irew of thirty or forty men. The ichooner soon came up. with the brig, and loisted the black flag with a death's head tad cross-bones, and fired a gun. Hanging up alongside, until within hail, the pirate ordered Captain Lamson to leave to, and poured in upon his brig a tolley from muskets and blunderbusses. la the meantime, on board the Belvidere, i twelve-poundcarronade, crammed to the mouth with grape and canister, was carefully pointed, and the covering removed which had concealed it from the pirates. It was fired, and, with the addition of a well-directed volley from a dozen muskets, made dreadful havoc among tho sea-robbers. At the first discharge, the pirate Uaptain, who was easily distinguished by his dress and authoritative manner, was seen to fall, and many ot his men. At the third discharge, the pivot gun of tho pirate was dismounted. He still kept up a faint fire from muskets and blunderbusses, but soon dropped astern. There he received a terrible cutting-up from a brass threepounder, loaded with round shot and forty musket balls, which effectually silenced him. He soon after sheered off, with not a dozen men on deck. The Belvidere in this spirited engagement lost only one man, who was shot through the bad; another was. slightly wounded.

Captain Grozer, in a schooner belonging to Boston, loaded with molasses, left Matanzas one morning bound home. A few miles outside the bay, a

SMALL, RAKISH-LOOKING SCHOONER Was seen coming down before the wind with her decks full of men. The second mate, whose name was Alfred .Hill, since well-known as a respectable shipmaster belonging to Portsmouth, represented to Captain Grozcr that as tho schooner was undoubtedly one of the pirate cruisers that infested the coast, and were now in the habit of murdering tbe crews of vessels that they captured, it was their daty to act on the defensive and fight them to the death. As if to give weight to his remarks, the strange vessel now hoisted the black flag. Unfortunately there were no arms on board, not even a musket. Capt. Grozor thought it would be folly to make any attempt at resistance, and promptly obeyed the orders of the pirate to heave to. A boat was launched, and in a few minutes a gang of the ferocious ruffians, armed to the teeth, stood on the deck of the American vessel. While the pirates wero coming alongside, Mr. Hill quietly slipped below into the steerage, thence into the hold, and concealed himself among the cargo. The pirates called for the Captain's papers, inquired for money and valuables, but getting none of any consequence, beat tho officers and crew, and ordered them all into the forecastle. After ransacking tho vessel, the officers and crew wore brought on deck, one at a time, and led aft to the gangway, where their throats were deliberately cut by these demons in human shape ! The second mate, from his hiding place in the hold, listened with agony to the prayers and supplications of his unfortunate shipmates for mercy. NOT ONE WAS SPARED.

Captain Grozer was the last man who was murdered, after having pleaded earnstly and eloquently for life. The pirates were aware that one of the crew had concealed himself in the hold, and sought for him in vain. Hill remained in his hiaing-place for a couple of hours, supposing from noises produced by the flapping of the sails that the pirates were still on board ; but on finding that the hold was half full of water he became alarmed, and cautiously ventured on deck, where he soon assertained that he was tho only person on board and no vessel was in sight. The deck was slippery with the blood of his massacred companions, but their bodies had been thrown into the sea. Tho pirates had broken in the lumber port to scuttle the schooner, which was rapidly sinking. Hill lost no time in lashing a few spars together to form a sort of raft, upon which he embarked as night was approaching, with the hope of reaching the Cuban shore, then in sight from the dock. He succeeded in his attempt after much labor and peril, and the next morning landed on the coast about twenty miles from Matanzas. He was treated, with kindness by the planters, and furnished with means for reaching Matanzas. These repeated atrocities caused a sensation throughout not only our own country, but the civilized world. Memorials and. petitions poured into Washington from all quarters, urging vigorous action on the part of our Government. The pressure was such that the

AUTHORITIES AWOKE FROM THEIR

LETHARGY, And soon after the meeting of Congress in December, 1822, a bill was adopted authorizing the equipment of a formidable flotilla to cruise against the pirates. This flotilla, besides the vessels already on that station, consisted of the steamer Sea Gull, the Decoy store ship, eis*lit small schooners, named the Ferret, Weasel, Greyhound, Terrier, Beagle, Fox, Jackal and Wildcat, and four barges, which bore the names of Mosquito, Sandfly, Gnat, and Gallinippor. Commodore David Porter was appointed to the command of the squadron in the West Indies. He sailed the following February, and reached Matanzas on the 28th of March 1823. He lost no time in despatching his vessels in various directions to protect the mariner in those seas. The schooners wero of light draft of water, and could be propelled by sweeps in a calm, and, although unsafe and very uncomfortable sea boats, were well calculated for cruising amid the cays and reefs and bays which were frequented by the pirates. One or more of this flotilla was stationed at Matanzas or Havana to give convoy to vessels bound through the Gulf Stream or Gulf of Mexico. The shores of Cuba at this time swarmed with pirates, who eager for booty, had hastened there from all parts of the world—the scum and lees of every nation. When fast-sailing schooners could not be had, they captured vessels off'the principal harbours in open boats. The brig Alert was boarded in this way off Moro Castle, plundered of valuable articles, and the Captain and two men were murdered. A French vessel was captured under similar circumstances, and the ship's company and passengers were tortured in a shocking manner to compel them to surrender money or other valuable property. There was reason to believe that several vessels were boarded within sight of the harbour of Havanna, and the crews murdered. The pirates were now so numerous and bold that they did not confine their operations to the waters which washed the shores of Cuba, Piratical vessels now appeared in the New Providence Channel, and several vessels were robbed within sight of Stirrup Cay, on the Bahama Bank. They were also mot with in the Gulf oi Mexico. In March

1823, the brig, Belisarius, of Kennobunk, Captain Clement Perkins, was boarded by A PIRATICAL SCHOONER,

Off Camseaclty. The pirates demanded money. Captain Perkins imprudently denied having any on board. The pirates then beat him and stabbed him in several places- One of the crew having given information where money was concealed, the pirates proceeded to murder the Captain in the most cruel manner. They cut off two of his limbs, and continued to torturo him as long as life remained. The mate was inhumanly beaten and stabbed, and tho crew shockingly maltreated. The brig was robbed of everything valuable which they could carry off, and abandoned by the pirates. On her wayto New Orleans she fortunately fell in with somoAmerican vessels and received

assistance. For a short time the appearance of Commodore Porter's flotilla

checked to some extent tho outrages of the pirates on the water, and they commenced a system of robberies on the land. Bodies of men, well mounted and armed, plundered plantations, and robbed and murdered people in the interior of the island of Cuba, and even made raids on the city of Havana, and robbed ships at anchor in the harbor. The Government of Cube, the provisional fthcad of which, after the death of Don Nicholas Mahy, in July,, 1822, was the Calo Subaltcrno, Don Sebastian Kondelan, was powerless to protect even their own people from the outrages of this countless host of land and water banditti. Don Francisco Dionisio Viveg, having been appointed Governor-General of Cuba, arrived in May, 1823, soon after Commodore Porter reached the coast, and immediately began to adopt measures for crushing out this banditti and giving protection to life and property. But the pirates had so strongly established themselves in their strongholds, in unfrequented places, with emissaries in the principal sea-ports, that the work was a tedious and difficult one, Mtid many months elapsed before the waters in the neighborhood of Cuba were free from piratical cruisers. In June, 1823, Captain Smith of

THE SLOOP-OF-WAR "HORNET," Learning that piratical depredations had been committed off Matanzas, caused Lieutenant Platt and a number of seamen to be transferred from the Hornet to a merchant brig, and thus disguised, tocruise off that port and entrap the pirates. After remaining several days on that station and meeting no piratical vessels, Lieutenant Platt entered tho harbor, waited on the Actin^Goveraorof Matanzas and made knowr the object of his visit, and solicited his co-operation. But so far from meeting with sympathy and assistance, he was grossly insulted by that official, who denounced Commodore Porter and the officers and men belonging to his squadron as a set of pirates, and vilified them by outrageous epithets ! Commodore Porter, on being informed of the conduct of the Governor, addressed an official noto to General Vives, to which a polite answer was returned, and the Governor of Matanzas, who had been more than suspected of having for a long time been in loague with tho pirates, was removed from office. In July. 1826, two of the American barges, the Gallinipper with Lieutenant Watson and eighteen men, and the Musquito, with Lieutenant Inman and ten men, while on a cruise through the Old Bahama channel, entered Jiquape bay, where Lieutenant Allen was killed. Seeing a large armed schooner under way, and full of men, the barges pulled toward her. The schooner rounded to, run up the bloody flag, fired her pivot gun in defiance, and then filled away, steering directly for the shore. When close in with the beach she anchored with a spring upon her cable, thus presenting her broadside in the barges, and commenced a heavy but

INEFFECTIVE FIRE OF CANNON AND MUSKETRY. The men in the barges now redoubled their labors at the oars, and the pirates, knowing that their pursuers would soon be alongside and springing on their decks, did not wait to cross weapons, but jumped overboard and commenced swimming to the shore. The sailors in the barges gave three cheers, and raising the rallying cry of ' Allen! Eevenge his death !' dashed in among them before they reached the land, cutting and slashing in the most vigorous manner whilo the doomed wretches were swimming in the water or struggling on the beach. The sailors were terribly excited, and having the enemy within reach of their cutlasses, and believing that if any were captured they would be pardoned by the President of the United States, were determined to do their work thoroughly, and no prisoners were made ! After the battle—if such it might be called—was over, the lifeless bodies of 27 of the pirates were found in the shallow water near the shore, and it was known that 15 or 20 hud been mortally wounded and sunk in deep water some distance from the beach. The captured schooner was armed with a long 12-pouuder on a pivot, and four 0-pound, ers, beside swivels, blundors busses and muskets, and had on board between fifty and sixty men, coma an' c II y a notorious ruffian by the title of * Diaboio,' or ' Little Devil.' This imp of darkness was killed in the action, and hardly half a dozen of his meri escaped. In this year, 1823, while our barges were breaking up the nests of pirates on the north side of Caba, our small schooners were cruising along the southern shores, where many fiendish

scenes had been enacted. The schooner Greyhound, Lieut. Kearney, and Beagle. Lieutenant Newton, after scouring the shoals and bays to the eastward of Trinidad, anchored near Cape Cruz, in a bay which was a famous resort for pirates. A boat was sent towavds the shore to reconnoiter, and was fired upon by men concealed among the bushes. The boat returned, and five boats were promptly manned, and proceeded toward the beach to effect a landing, but they were met not only with VOLLEYS OP MUSKETRY,

But by a cannonade from heavy guns planted on a hill at some distance from the beach. The schooners were now warped in, and opening a fire from their carriage guns, covered the landing of the men. The pirates retreated through the underbrush and trees to their defenses on the hill.but wore soon dislodged and scattered. A cluster of houses, the dwellings of the pirates, wore burnt. The large guns, and a great number of muskets, pistols, cutlasses, etc., were captured, and eight boats, suitable for boarding vessels in the offing, were destroyed. A cave 150 feet in length was discovered, in which was found an immense amount of plunder, consisting of dry goods, women's dresses, silks, laces, broad cloths, etc. Human skeletons were also found there, supposed to bo those of unfortunate prisoners who had been ruthlessly murdered. Some articles of value were brought away, and the remainder were destroyed. A number of the pirates were killed by the boats' crews when they landed, and also by the attack on the fort, but the greater part fled to i the bushes and escaped. In the early part of 1824, owing to the vigilance of our squadron, and the British cruisers on the coast, and the energetic course adopted by General Vives, piracies became less frequent, and some vessels belonging to the American squadron were withdrawn. But it soon appeared that ' the snake was only scotched, not killed,' and piratical depredations were renewed and carried on along the coast of Cuba with as much energy as ever.

In May, 1821, several vessels were boarded and robbed off Matanzas by men in open boats. Off Cape San Antonio an English man-of-war's launch was attacked by a piratical sohooner which had captured several vessels, and was roughly handled. The Lieutenant in command was killed, and threo of the seamen, and others wounded. The crew of the launch, however, succeeded in carrying the schooner by boarding, and as no prisoners were reported, it is fair to presume that they received the treatment they so richly deserved! Aboub this time piracies were also numerous in the neighborhood of Porto Rico, in the Sail Rock Passage, and the Mone Passage.

THESE OUTRAGES Were committed by armod men in open boats, the scoundrels emulating the wickedness of their brethren in Cuba— murder being often added to the crime of robbery. In October, 1824, Commodore Porter, learning that a large quantity of valuable goods of which pirates had robbed American vessels, had been carried into Foxardo, a small seaport on the eastern end of Porto Rico, sent the schooner Beagle to investigate the matter. But the Spanish authorities took umbarge, would allow no foreign interference, aud even threw the officers of the Beagle into prison. On learning this Commodore Porter, after the officers were released proceeded to Foxardo, landed two hundred men, took possession cf the place, and at the point of the bayonet compelled an humble apology. In this the gallant Commodore's zeal outran his discretion. The Court at Madrid complained of this violation of international law ; the Commodore was recalled, tried by court-mar-tial, and sentenced to suspsnsion from duty for six months. Commodore Porter believing himself uDj'ustly treated, immediately resigned his commission in the United States service, and accepted the command which was tendered him of the Mexican IS avy.

THE COBAN PIRATES, At this period, manifested especial hatred to the small and defenceless British traders on the coast, and many instances of robbery and violence might be given. The Endeavour left Lionto^o Bay, in Jamaica, in quest of turtle among the small bays on the south side of Cuba, and was boarded by a pirate. As one of the sea-robbers stepped on board, an honest dog, not liking his looks, showed symtoms of hostility, and was quickly killed. The master of the sloop imprudently exhibited dissatisfaction at the act, and was told that he should be served in the same way. The ruffian then plunged bis long knife into the body of the Englishman and threw him overboard. The wounded man still being able to swim, the pirate seized a musket and shot him through the head. Three others of the crew were murdered. One only escaped by jumping overboard and swimming ashore. In June, 1824, the schooner Thetis, of ISTew York, had a hard and successful fight with a gang of pirates near Manzanilla, on the south side of Cuba. The pirates came out from under the land in three large boats and attacked the schooner. But the schooner had arms on board, and the captain was a brave and resolute man, and knew how to use them. He gave the cut-throats a warm reception. Ten of the pirates v*3re killed while attempting to board, and a larger number wounded; a few only reached the shore. The schooner Merea-

tor, of New York, during the Summer was captured by pirates off the harbour at Matanzas. A Spaniard, who was a passenger, was pinioned and

HOISTED UP BY THE NECK, To estort information in relation to the concealment of money. He was subsequently put on shore. His nationality saved his life. The vessel had a cargo on board insured for §50,000, but was never heard of afterward., She was undoubtedly plundered and scuttled and the crew murdered. In October, 1824, Commander Skinner, in the TJniied States schooner Porpoise, after convoying a fleet of merchantmen out of Matanzas, stretched off to the eastward in the old Panama channel, although he had received no information that piracies had been recently committed in that neighborhood. Fe manned his boats and placed them under the command of Lieutenant Hunter, with instructions to examine the inlets about Point Yeasos, Camriosa and other places which had long been notorious as the haunts ofs pirates. JS Tear Point Yeasos the boats "captured a piratical schooner and several boats that had evidently been taken from American vessels. Off Camriosa they captured another schooner, after a long chase, but most of the crew escaped to the shore. The piratical vessel was in the act of

RCHASING AN AMERICAN BRIG, When discovered by Lieutenant Hunter, and was armed with one long pivot-gun and abundance of small arms, and on board were found nautical instruments, trunks of clothing, rigging and sails, three sets of American colors, a medicine chest, etc., being conclusive proof that several vessels must have been captured and plundered. Stains of blood upon the clothing and on the decks and other circumstances gave rise to the belief that the crews of the vessels captured by the pirates had nofc only been robbed, but murdered. In March, 1825, the boats of the steamship Sea Gull and the British frigate Dartmouth, acting in concert, captured a piratical schooner about sixty miles east of Matanzas. The schooner was armed with four guns and abundance of small arms, and had a crew of thirty men. The action lasted about ten minutes, when a number of the pirates being killed or disabled, they attempted to reach the shore by swimming, but nearly all were sabered while in the water, or shot as they reached the beach. A few days after this the Sea G-ull fell in with a small schooner, the crew of which was ascertained to be tli3 same monsters who had burned the whole crew of a brig belonging to Wiscasset a fow weeks previous. But the villains escaped to the shore and concealed themselves among the mangrove bushes. The figure-head of a missing American ship was found on board the schooner, and on the shore, near the spot where the pirates had disappeared, the bodies of thirteen men were found tied to trees and perforated with bullets ! In this year, 1825, an Americrn vessel belonging to Boston was

CAPTURED BY A PIRATE

Vessels manned by Spaniards, in the Atlantic. The officers and crew were treated with great cruelty, after which the sailors were made 'to walk the plank,' but the Captain, mates and supercargo were reserved for a more horrible fate. They were bound, taken on board the piratical vessel, and in turns tied in a standing position to the taffrail to serve as targets for the pirates while trying their skill with the pistol. This pirate vessel was afterward captured and carried into Cadiz, where her officers and crew were tried and executed. During the trial these horrible details were given. In May 1825, a British Government cutter of small size had a severe action with a large piraticd schooner off the Bay of Matanzas. Ten of the pirates were killed intheaction, and others wounded, when the schooner surrendered. The remainder of the pirate crew were sent to Havana, where they were promptly tried and garroted. This gang of pirates was notorious for the outrages of which they had been guilty. They had assisted in capturing a number of Americans, vessel|andmurderingalltheir crews. Comparatively few cases of piracy occurred after the Spring of 1825. The pirates were zealously pursued and hunted by American and British expeditions, not only on the sea, but on tke land. Their haunts were broken up and THE VESSELS DESTROYED.

Many had been taken prisoners and promptly banged in Porto Kico, Cuba, Jamaica, and new Providence, and some in the United States. But I regret to say that many who were captured by our brave officers and men in perilous naval expeditions were allowed to go unhanged through a mistaken sense of humanity on the part of the President of the United States. Some were pardoned on the singular condition that they should immediately quit this country, which they were glad enough to do, and in a few weeks returned to their old haunts and pursued with, redoubled ferocity their Hellish occupation. One of the last'official acts of President Monroe was to pardon seven pirates who had been captured red-handed on the coast -6T Cuba, sent' to Savannah, tried, found guilty, an d sentenced to be hanged! Commodore Warrington, who succeeded Commodore Porter in command of the West India squadron, in a dispatch dated Havana, August 29, 1825, furnished" the' "following gratifying intelligence : 'If the pirates are now in force on either side of Cuba they have concealed themselves so effectually

as to prevent detection. The orderly conduct of the fishermen, the steady pursuit of their occupation and absence of all suspicious persons induce a belief that these outlaws are not at present collected in any force." This announcement was everywhere received with gladness. ' The reign of terror' in the West India seas was at an end, and the mariner could now pursue his useful occupation with no apprehensions of finding piracy and murder prominent among the perils of the sea. It is not likely that such scenes as I have described, so numerous and systematic, will never again be witnessed on the ocean. The slave trade for many years was a nursery of pirates. The men engaged in that abominable trai'So became hardened in iniquity, and were early initiated in ways leading directly to the worst of crimes. The slave trado is now abolished forever, and it is devoutly to bo hoped that privateering, or the demoralizing system of legalizing armed ships—whether public or private—to plunder, sink, burn, and destroy defenseless merchant vessels on the ocean, and which the keenest casuist must admit in closely akin to piracy, will soon be ranked among the evils that no longer exist. Great credit is due tho officers and seamen of our navy for tho skill and intrepidity they displayed while ordered on the important and dangerous service of suppressing piracy in the West Indies. Some of the most promising officers and deserving seamen were killed while battling with tho pirates, or cut off by yellow fever in Key West or Havana. Tho names of others, who faithfully performed their duties and survived

tho ponls of the service, are among

the brightest which are recorded in tho annals of tho American navy. It will bo inferred, from tho facts which. I have stated, that in almost every case of piracy that occurred, a few resolute men, in vessels armed with swivels, muskets, and boarding-pikes, and trained in their use, could have successfully defended themselves and beaten off tho enemy. Pirates are always cowards and unwilling to risk their livos. At the commencement of these piratical operations, numbors of

British, French, and Dutch ships wore

captured and robbed. But as piracy bocame more frequent, vessels belonging to other nations than tho United States wero suifieiently armed to bid defiance to these banditti; and wore soldom annoyed, even a show of means of defense often proving sufficient protection. The commerce of the Unitod States was

probably greater in those seas than that

of all other nations combined, and it is ftptrange that onr merchants should have sent in that direction ships laden with valuable) cargoes, and manned with brave men, without any means of protecting themselves from- piratical attacks. It is strange that individuals or companies would bo willing to insure vessels and cargoes thus usprotected; and it is still more strange that skillful and intelligent •shipmasters and faithful seamen could be found to navijpjte #lioso seas withaut even a musket, cu&sss or boarding-pike to defend themselves when attackod.