The Book of Pirates and Highwaymen (3 page)

Roche taking upon himself the command of the vessel, Andrew Cullen was to pass for a merchant, or supercargo; but then they bethought themselves, that they were in danger of being discovered by the papers in the ship, relating to the cargo, as bills of landing, &c.; therefore they erased and took out the name of the French master, and instead thereof, inserted the name of Roche, so that that it stood in the ship’s papers, Peter Roche, master; that then having so few hands on board, they contrived if they met any ships, to give out, that they had lost some hands by their being washed overboard in a storm, and by that means screen themselves from being suspected of having committed some such wicked act, by reason of the small number of hands on boards; and also that they might prevail with some ship to spare them some, on consideration of their pretended disaster.

In going to Cadiz they were in distress by the weather, and being near Lisbon they made complaint to a ship, but obtained no assistance. They were then obliged to sail back for England, and put into the port of Dartmouth; but then they were in fear lest they might be discovered; therefore, to prevent that, they resolved to alter the ship, and getting workmen, they took down the mizen-mast, and built a spar deck, and made rails (on pretence that the sailors had been washed overboard) to secure the men. Then they took down the image of St Peter at the head of the ship, and put a lion in its place, and painted over the stern of the ship with red, and new named her the May Snow. The ship being so altered that they thought it could not be known they fancied themselves pretty secure; but wanting money to defray the charge of these alterations, Roche, as master of the vessel, and Andrew Cullen, as merchant, applied themselves to the officers of the customs for liberty to dispose of some of the cargo, in order to pay the workmen; which having obtained they sold fifty-eight barrels of beef, and having hired three more hands, they set sail for Ostend, and there having sold more barrels of beef, they steered their course to Rotterdam, disposed of the rest of the cargo, and took in one Mr Annesley, who freighted the ship for England; but in their passage, in a stormy night, it being very dark, they took up Mr Annesley their passenger, and threw him into the sea, who swam about the ship a long while, calling out for life, and telling them they should have all his goods, if they would receive him again into the vessel; but in vain were his cries!

After this, they were obliged to put into several ports, and hearing there was an enquiry made after the ship, Roche quitted her at Harve de Grace, and left the management to Cullen and the rest; who having shipped other men, sailed away to Scotland, and there quitted the vessel, which was afterwards seized and brought into the river Thames.

Some time after this, Philip Roche came to London, and making some claim for money he had made insurance of, in the name of John Eustace; the office was apprised of the fraud, and he was arrested and flung into the Counter from whence directing a letter to his wife, she shewed it to a friend, who discovered by it, that he was the principal villain concerned in the destruction of Peter Tartoue, and the crew. Upon this an information was given to my Lord Carteret, that the person who went by the name of John Eustace was Philip Roche, as aforesaid; and being brought down by his Lordship’s warrant, he stiffly denied it for some time, notwithstanding a letter was found in his pocket, directed to him by the name of Roche; but being confronted by a Captain of a ship, who knew him well, he confessed it, but prevaricated in several particulars; whereupon he was committed to Newgate upon violent suspicion, and the next day was brought down again at his own request, confessed the whole, desired to be made an evidence, and promised to convict three men worse than himself. Two were discovered by him, who died miserably in the Marshalsea, and Roche himself was afterwards tried, (no more being taken,) found guilty of the piracy, and executed.

The Manner Of Executing The Russian Pirates on The Volga

The Volga is, or used to be, frequently infested with pirates, who go in gangs of thirty, forty, or sometimes eighty persons; they make use of row-boats, which carry from twenty to thirty hands, and furnish themselves with fire-arms: their general practice is to board immediately; but where they apprehend a brave resistance they seldom make an attack. Hence few of the Russian merchants transport any cargo of value down the river, without a convoy. These robbers appear mostly in the spring, when the Volga being overflowed, they can the more easily escape a pursuit. The soldiers, who are occasionally sent after them, are ordered to take them alive, from the apprehension that allowing them to kill might prove fatal to the innocent through the strong temptations to plunder with which the soldiers are actuated.

The punishment of these wretches when taken is not less dreadful than the cruelties they commit. A float is built, whereon a gallows is erected, on which is fastened a number of iron hooks, and on these they are hung alive by the ribs. The float is then launched into the stream: and the orders are given to all the towns and villages on the borders of the river, that none, upon pain of death, shall afford relief to any of the wretches: but put off the float if it runs ashore. Sometimes they are met by their partners in wickedness, who, if they have any hopes of their recovery, take them down, otherwise they put an end to their misery by shooting them; but if they are caught in these illegal acts of mercy, they are themselves hung up without the ceremony of a trial. It is said that one of these miscreants had the good fortune to disengage himself from the hook, and though naked and trembling with pain and loss of blood, he got ashore, when the first object he saw being a poor shepherd, he had the cruelty to beat out his brains with a stone, and then to take his clothes. These malefactors sometimes hang thus, three, four, and sometimes five days alive. The pain generally produces a raging fever, wherein they utter the most horrid imprecations, and implore the relief of water, or some small liquors.

Adventures of Morgan, The Prince Of Free-booters

Morgan was the son of an opulent Welch farmer; who, by the ferocity of his character, the strength of his mind, the extent and duration of his achievements, as well as by his success, has perhaps surpassed all the other freebooters.

He at first embarked as a common sailor; in which capacity he went to Jamaica, and in a short time became connected with the West Indian corsairs. By one of their commanders, an old freebooter named Mansfield (who was likewise an Englishman), he was patronised; and in a little time so distinguished himself by his brilliant actions, that Mansfield appointed him his vice-admiral, and died soon after, in 1688. This was the era of Morgan’s first enterprises. None of his comrades disputed the command with him; and he shortly became possessed of the means of rendering himself, in consequence of his singular genius and intrepidity, one of the most famous chieftains of the free-booters.

After he had made some successful cruises, he persuaded his men not to squander their money foolishly, but to reserve it for great enterprises. To this suggestion many of them acceded; and, in a few months, he had a fleet of twelve sail, of various sizes, and seven hundred men; with whom he visited the southern parts of the island of Cuba, and determined to attack Puerto del Principe, which was situated in the interior of that island, at some distance from the southern coast.

It may not be irrelevant here to state a few brief notices concerning the island in question. Cuba, the largest of the Antilles, is two hundred French leagues in length, by fifty in its greatest breadth. It contains several mountains, in which are abundant mines of copper, silver, and gold. The city, which Morgan purposed to attack, was opulent, populous, and at a distance from the shore; and, till the present period, had been preserved from being plundered by the pirates.

There was on board their fleet a Spaniard, who was an expert swimmer, and who effected his escape by plunging into the sea. By this man the governor was informed of their plan. He therefore hastily took defensive measures, alarmed the inhabitants, and marched with eight hundred men to meet the free-booters. He merited a better fate. After four hours desperate fighting, his forces were completely defeated, and himself lay dead on the field of battle. The city continued to defend itself for some time; the inhabitants barricaded their homes, and fired from the windows. Their efforts were in vain. The free-booters threatened to set their city on fire, and massacre their women and children. They were constrained to surrender.

Morgan was extremely vexed to find that, during the battle, they had carried off their most valuable effects. The tortures inflicted upon them could not compel them to disclose where they had concealed them. The little that remained in the town was regularly plundered. All the Spaniards of both sexes, including even children at the breast, and also the slaves, were shut up in the church, where most of them perished with hunger. The pirates required a double ransom of them; one for their persons, if they did not wish to be transported to Jamaica; and the other for their city, if they wished to save it from total destruction. Four prisoners went into the woods, there to collect the sums exacted, either from the inhabitants or by other means. They returned soon after, with assurances that the whole should be paid; they requested only a respite of fifteen days, which Morgan granted. But on the following morning a Negro was brought to him, who was the bearer of a letter, written by the governor of Santo Yago, to some prisoners; in which he recommended them not to hurry themselves in paying the ransom, but to amuse the pirates under different pretences; and promised that he would himself shortly come in person to their assistance.

Morgan carefully concealed the contents of this letter, but announced to the prisoners that he would not wait longer than the following morning. In consequence of their representations, and under the apprehension of being continually attacked by large bodies of troops, he was content for the moment, with five hundred cattle. He took, however, six of the principal inhabitants as hostages; and the free-booters set sail.

They were extremely displeased with the inconsiderable amount of their booty, which, exclusive of some commodities, did not exceed 50,000 piasters. Disputes arose, in consequence of which a Frenchman was killed by an Englishman. The national animosities were re-excited (for the body of the free-booters consisted entirely of English and French), the two proceeded even to blows. In order to appease this tumult, Morgan ordered the murderer to be put in irons, and solemnly promised to give him up to a court of justice at Jamaica. With this act of impartial justice the French were but imperfectly satisfied. They were inconsolable for the little profit which their last expedition had produced; and they disapproved of that to which it was proposed to conduct them. Some of them wished to act themselves: they took, therefore, one of the ships on their own account, and separated with testimonies of friendship. On their departure, Morgan offered prayers for their success, and repeated his promise that the assassin should be legally punished. He kept his word; and on arrival at Jamaica, the Englishman was tried, convicted, and executed.