The easy access to the
harbor of New-York, the number of
hiding-places about its waters, and the
laxity of its newly organized government,
about the year 1695, made it a great
rendezvous of pirates, where they might
dispose of their booty and concert new
depredations. As they brought home with them
wealthy lading of all kinds, the luxuries of
the tropics, and the sumptuous spoils of the
Spanish provinces, and disposed of them with
the proverbial carelessness of freebooters,
they were welcome visitors to the thrifty
traders of New-York. Crews of these
desperadoes, therefore, the runagates of
every country and every clime, might be seen
swaggering in open day about the streets,
elbowing its quiet inhabitants, trafficking
their rich outlandish plunder at half or
quarter price to the wary merchant; and then
squandering their prize-money in taverns,
drinking, gambling, singing, carousing and
astounding the neighborhood with midnight
brawl and revelry. At length these excesses
rose to such a height as to become a scandal
to the provinces, and to call loudly for the
interposition of government. Measures were
accordingly taken to put a stop to this
widely extended evil, and to drive the
pirates out of the colonies.
Among the distinguished individuals who
lurked about the colonies, was Captain
Robert Kidd, [Footnote: His real name was
William Kidd.] who in the beginning of King
William's war, commanded a privateer in the
West Indies, and by his several adventurous
actions, acquired the reputation of a brave
man, as well as an experienced seaman. But
he had now become notorious, as a
nondescript animal of the ocean. He was
somewhat of a trader, something more of a
smuggler, but mostly a pirate. He had traded
many years among the pirates, in a little
rakish vessel, that could run into all kinds
of water. He knew all their haunts and
lurking places, and was always hooking about
on mysterious voyages.
Upon the good old maxim of "setting a
rogue to catch a rogue," Capt. Kidd was
recommended by the Lord Bellamont, then
governor of Barbadoes, as well as by several
other persons, to the government here, as a
person very fit to be entrusted to the
command of a government ship, and to be
employed in cruising upon the pirates, as
knowing those seas perfectly well, and being
acquainted with all their lurking places;
but what reasons governed the politics of
those times, I cannot tell, but this
proposal met with no encouragement here,
though it is certain it would have been of
great consequence to the subject, our
merchants suffering incredible damages by
those robbers.
Upon this neglect, the lord Bellamont and
some others, who knew what great captures
had been made by the pirates, and what a
prodigious wealth must be in their
possession, were tempted to fit out a ship
at their own private charge, and to give the
command of her to Captain Kidd; and to give
the thing a greater reputation, as well as
to keep their seamen under better command,
they procured the king's commission for the
said Capt. Kidd, of which the following is
an exact copy:
William Rex,
"WILLIAM THE THIRD, by the grace of God,
King of England, Scotland, France and
Ireland, defender of the faith, &c. To our
trusty and well beloved Capt. ROBERT KIDD,
commander of the ship the Adventure galley,
or to any other, the commander of the same
for the time being, Greeting: Whereas
we are informed, that Capt. Thomas Too, John
Ireland, Capt. Thomas Wake, and Capt.
William Maze or Mace, and other subjects,
natives or inhabitants of New-York, and
elsewhere, in our plantations in America,
have associated themselves with divers
others, wicked and ill-disposed persons, and
do, against the law of nations, commit many
and great piracies, robberies and
depredations on the seas upon the parts of
America, and in other parts, to the great
hindrance and discouragement of trade and
navigation, and to the great danger and hurt
of our loving subjects, our allies, and all
others, navigating the seas upon their
lawful occasions. Now KNOW YE, that we being
desirous to prevent the aforesaid mischiefs,
and as much as in us lies, to bring the said
pirates, free-booters and sea-rovers to
justice, have thought fit, and do hereby
give and grant to the said Robert Kidd, (to
whom our commissioners for exercising the
office of Lord High Admiral of England, have
granted a commission as a private
man-of-war, bearing date the 11th day of
December, 1695,) and unto the commander of
the said ship for the time being, and unto
the officers, mariners, and others which
shall be under your command, full power and
authority to apprehend, seize, and take into
your custody as well the said Capt. Thomas
Too, John Ireland, Capt. Thomas Wake, and
Capt. Wm. Maze or Mace, as all such pirates,
free-booters, and sea-rovers, being either
our subjects, or of other nations associated
with them, which you shall meet with upon
the seas or coasts of America, or upon any
other seas or coasts, with all their ships
and vessels, and all such merchandizes,
money, goods, and wares as shall be found on
board, or with them, in case they shall
willingly yield themselves; but if they will
not yield without fighting, then you are by
force to compel them to yield. And we also
require you to bring, or cause to be
brought, such pirates, free-booters, or
sea-rovers, as you shall seize, to a legal
trial, to the end they may be proceeded
against according to the law in such cases.
And we do hereby command all our officers,
ministers, and other our loving subjects
whatsoever, to be aiding and assisting to
you in the premises. And we do hereby enjoin
you to keep an exact journal of your
proceedings in execution of the premises,
and set down the names of such pirates, and
of their officers and company, and the names
of such ships and vessels as you shall by
virtue of these presents take and seize, and
the quantities of arms, ammunition,
provision, and lading of such ships, and the
true value of the same, as near as you
judge. And we do hereby strictly charge and
command you, as you will answer the contrary
at your peril, that you do not, in any
manner, offend or molest our friends or
allies, their ships or subjects, by colour
or pretence of these presents, or the
authority thereby granted. In witness
whereof, we have caused our great seal
of England to be affixed to these presents.
Given at our court in Kensington, the 26th
day of January, 1695, in the 7th year of our
reign." |
Capt. Kidd had also another commission,
which was called a commission of reprisals;
for it being then war time, this commission
was to justify him in the taking of French
merchant ships, in case he should meet with
any; but as this commission is nothing to
our present purpose, we shall not burthen
the reader with it.
Previous to sailing, Capt. Kidd buried
his bible on the sea-shore, in Plymouth
Sound; its divine precepts being so at
variance with his wicked course of life,
that he did not choose to keep a book which
condemned him in his lawless career.
With these two commissions he sailed out
of Plymouth in May, 1696, in the Adventure
galley, of 30 guns, and 80 men; the place he
first designed for was New-York; in his
voyage thither, he took a French banker, but
this was no act of piracy, he having a
commission for that purpose, as we have just
observed.
When he arrived at New-York, he put up
articles for engaging more hands, it being
necessary to his ship's crew, since he
proposed to deal with a desperate enemy. The
terms he offered, were, that every man
should have a share of what was taken,
reserving for himself and owners forty
shares. Upon which encouragement he soon
increased his company to 155 men.
Captain Kidd burying his Bible.
With this company he sailed first for
Madeira, where he took in wine and some
other necessaries; from thence he proceeded
to Bonavista, one of the Cape de Verd
Islands, to furnish the ship with salt, and
from thence went immediately to St. Jago,
another of the Cape de Verd Islands, in
order to stock himself with provisions. When
all this was done, he bent his course to
Madagascar, the known rendezvous of pirates.
In his way he fell in with Capt. Warren,
commodore of three men of war; he acquainted
him with his design, kept them company two
or three days, and then leaving them, made
the best of his way for Madagascar, where he
arrived in February, 1696, just nine months
from his departure from Plymouth.
It happened that at this time the pirate
ships were most of them out in search of
prey; so that according to the best
intelligence Capt. Kidd could get, there was
not one of them at that time about the
island; wherefore, having spent some time in
watering his ship and taking in more
provisions, he thought of trying his fortune
on the coast of Malabar, where he arrived in
the month of June following, four months
from his reaching Madagascar. Hereabouts he
made an unsuccessful cruise, touching
sometimes at the island of Mohila, and
sometimes at that of Johanna, between
Malabar and Madagascar. His provisions were
every day wasting, and his ship began to
want repair; wherefore, when he was at
Johanna, he found means of borrowing a sum
of money from some Frenchmen who had lost
their ship, but saved their effects, and
with this he purchased materials for putting
his ship in good repair.
It does not appear all this while that he
had the least design of turning pirate; for
near Mohila and Johanna both, he met with
several Indian ships richly laden, to which
he did not offer the least violence, though
he was strong enough to have done what he
pleased with them; and the first outrage or
depredation I find he committed upon
mankind, was after his repairing his ship,
and leaving Johanna; he touched at a place
called Mabbee, upon the Red Sea, where he
took some Guinea corn from the natives, by
force. After this, he sailed to Bab's Key, a
place upon a little island at the entrance
of the Red Sea. Here it was that he first
began to open himself to his ship's company,
and let them understand that he intended to
change his measures; for, happening to talk
of the Mocha fleet, which was to sail that
way, he said, "We have been unsuccessful
hitherto; but courage, my boys, we'll make
our fortunes out of this fleet"; and
finding that none of them appeared averse to
it, he ordered a boat out, well manned, to
go upon the coast to make discoveries,
commanding them to take a prisoner and bring
him to him, or get intelligence any way they
could. The boat returned in a few days,
bringing him word, that they saw fourteen or
fifteen ships ready to sail, some with
English, some with Dutch, and some with
Moorish colors.
We cannot account for this sudden change
in his conduct, otherwise than by supposing
that he first meant well, while he had hopes
of making his fortune by taking of pirates;
but now weary of ill success, and fearing
lest his owners, out of humor at their great
expenses, should dismiss him, and he should
want employment, and be marked out for an
unlucky man; rather, I say, than run the
hazard of poverty, he resolved to do his
business one way, since he could not do it
another.
He therefore ordered a man continually to
watch at the mast head, lest this fleet
should go by them; and about four days
after, towards evening, it appeared in
sight, being convoyed by one English and one
Dutch man of war. Kidd soon fell in with
them, and getting into the midst of them,
fired at a Moorish ship which was next him;
but the men-of-war taking the alarm, bore
down upon Kidd, and firing upon him, obliged
him to sheer off, he not being strong enough
to contend with them. Now he had begun
hostilities, he resolved to go on, and
therefore he went and cruised along the
coast of Malabar. The first prize he met was
a small vessel belonging to Aden; the vessel
was Moorish, and the owners were Moorish
merchants, but the master was an Englishman;
his name was Parker. Kidd forced him and a
Portuguese that was called Don Antonio,
which were all the Europeans on board, to
take on with him; the first he designed as a
pilot, and the last as an interpreter. He
also used the men very cruelly, causing them
to be hoisted up by the arms, and drubbed
with a naked cutlass, to force them to
discover whether they had money on board,
and where it lay; but as they had neither
gold nor silver on board, he got nothing by
his cruelty; however, he took from them a
bale of pepper, and a bale of coffee, and so
let them go.
A little time after he touched at
Carawar, a place upon the same coast, where,
before he arrived, the news of what he had
done to the Moorish ship had reached them;
for some of the English merchants there had
received an account of it from the owners,
who corresponded with them; wherefore, as
soon as Kidd came in, he was suspected to be
the person who committed this piracy; and
one Mr. Harvey and Mr. Mason, two of the
English factory, came on board and asked for
Parker, and Antonio, the Portuguese; but
Kidd denied that he knew any such persons,
having secured them both in a private place
in the hold, where they were kept for seven
or eight days, that is, till Kidd sailed
from thence.
However, the coast was alarmed, and a
Portuguese man-of-war was sent out to
cruise. Kidd met with her, and fought her
about six hours, gallantly enough; but
finding her too strong to be taken, he
quitted her; for he was able to run away
from her when he would. Then he went to a
place called Porca, where he watered his
ship and bought a number of hogs of the
natives to victual his company.
Soon after this, he came up with a
Moorish ship, the master whereof was a
Dutchman, called Schipper Mitchell, and
chased her under French colors, which they
observing hoisted French colors too; when he
came up with her, he hailed her in French,
and they having a Frenchman on board,
answered him in the same language; upon
which he ordered them to send their boat on
board; they were obliged to do so, and
having examined who they were, and from
whence they came, he asked the Frenchman who
was a passenger, if he had a French pass for
himself; the Frenchman gave him to
understand that he had. Then he told the
Frenchman that he must pass for captain, and
by----, says he, you are the captain; the
Frenchman durst not refuse doing as he would
have him. The meaning of this was, that he
would seize the ship as fair prize, and as
if she had belonged to French subjects,
according to a commission he had for that
purpose; though one would think, after what
he had already done, he need not have
recourse to a quibble to give his actions a
color.
Captain Kidd attacks the Moorish
fleet.
In short, he took the cargo, and sold it
some time after; yet still he seemed to have
some fears upon him, lest these proceedings
should have a bad end; for, coming up with a
Dutch ship some time after, when his men
thought of nothing but attacking her, Kidd
opposed it; upon which a mutiny arose, and
the majority being for taking the said ship,
and arming themselves to man the boat to go
and seize her, he told them, such as did,
never should come on board him again; which
put an end to the design, so that he kept
company with the said ship some time,
without offering her any violence. However,
this dispute was the occasion of an
accident, upon which an indictment was
grounded against Kidd; for Moor, the gunner,
being one day upon deck, and talking with
Kidd about the said Dutch ship, some words
arose between them, and Moor told Kidd, that
he had ruined them all; upon which Kidd,
calling him a dog, took up a bucket and
struck him with it, which breaking his
scull, he died next day.
But Kidd's penitential fit did not last
long; for coasting along Malabar, he met
with a great number of boats, all of which
he plundered. Upon the same coast he also
fell in with a Portuguese ship, which he
kept possession of a week, and then having
taken out of her some chests of India goods,
thirty jars of butter, with some wax, iron
and a hundred bags of rice, he let her go.
Much about the same time he went to one
of the Malabar islands for wood and water,
and his cooper being ashore, was murdered by
the natives; upon which Kidd himself landed,
and burnt and pillaged several of their
houses, the people running away; but having
taken one, he caused him to be tied to a
tree, and commanded one of his men to shoot
him; then putting to sea again, he took the
greatest prize which fell into his hands
while he followed this trade; this was a
Moorish ship of 400 tons, richly laden,
named the Queda Merchant, the master whereof
was an Englishman, by the name of Wright;
for the Indians often make use of English or
Dutchmen to command their ships, their own
mariners not being so good artists in
navigation. Kidd chased her under French
colors, and having come up with her, he
ordered her to hoist out her boat and send
on board of him, which being done, he told
Wright he was his prisoner; and informing
himself concerning the said ship, he
understood there were no Europeans on board,
except two Dutch and one Frenchman, all the
rest being Indians or Armenians, and that
the Armenians were part owners of the cargo.
Kidd gave the Armenians to understand, that
if they would offer anything that was worth
his taking for their ransom, he would
hearken to it. Upon which, they proposed to
pay him 20,000 rupees, not quite £3,000
sterling; but Kidd judged this would be
making a bad bargain, wherefore he rejected
it, and setting the crew on shore, at
different places on the coast, he soon sold
as much of the cargo as came to ten thousand
pounds. With part of it he also trafficked,
receiving in exchange provisions, or such
other goods as he wanted; by degrees he
disposed of the whole cargo, and when the
division was made, it came to about £200 a
man; and having reserved forty shares to
himself, his dividend amounted to about
£8,000 sterling.
The Indians along the coast came on board
and trafficked with all freedom, and he
punctually performed his bargains, till
about the time he was ready to sail; and
then thinking he should have no further
occasion for them, he made no scruple of
taking their goods and setting them on
shore, without any payment in money or
goods, which they little expected; for as
they had been used to deal with pirates,
they always found them men of honor in the
way of trade; a people, enemies to deceit,
and that scorned to rob but in their own
way.
Kidd put some of his men on board the
Queda Merchant, and with this ship and his
own sailed for Madagascar. As soon as he had
arrived and cast anchor, there came on board
of him a canoe, in which were several
Englishmen, who had formerly been well
acquainted with Kidd. As soon as they saw
him they saluted him, and told him they were
informed he was come to take them, and hang
them, which would be a little unkind in such
an old acquaintance. Kidd soon dissipated
their doubts, by swearing he had no such
design, and that he was now in every respect
their brother, and just as bad as they; and
calling for a cup of bomboo, drank their
captain's health.
These men belonged to a pirate ship,
called the Resolution, formerly the Mocha
Merchant, whereof one Capt. Culliford was
commander, and which lay at anchor not far
from them. Kidd went on board with them,
promising them his friendship and
assistance, and Culliford in his turn came
on board of Kidd; and Kidd, to testify his
sincerity in iniquity, finding Culliford in
want of some necessaries, made him a present
of an anchor and some guns, to fit him out
for sea again.
The Adventure galley was now so old and
leaky, that they were forced to keep two
pumps continually going; wherefore Kidd
shifted all the guns and tackle out of her
into the Queda Merchant, intending her for
his man-of-war; and as he had divided the
money before, he now made a division of the
remainder of the cargo; soon after which,
the greatest part of the company left him,
some going on board Capt. Culliford, and
others absconding into the country, so that
he had not above 40 men left.
He put to sea, and happened to touch at
Amboyna, one of the Dutch spice islands,
where he was told that the news of his
actions had reached England, and that he was
there declared a pirate.
The truth of it is, his piracies so
alarmed our merchants that some motions were
made in parliament, to inquire into the
commission that was given him, and the
persons who fitted him out. These
proceedings seem to lean a little hard upon
Lord Bellamont, who thought himself so
touched thereby, that he published a
justification of himself in a pamphlet,
after Kidd's execution. In the meantime it
was thought advisable, in order to stop the
course of these piracies, to publish a
proclamation, offering the king's free
pardon to all such pirates as should
voluntarily surrender themselves, whatever
piracies they had been guilty of, at any
time before the last day of April,
1699--that is to say, for all piracies
committed eastward of the Cape of Good Hope,
to the longitude and meridian of Socatora,
and Cape Cormorin; in which proclamation,
Avery and Kidd were excepted by name.
When Kidd left Amboyna he knew nothing of
this proclamation, for certainly had he had
notice of his being excepted in it, he would
not have been so infatuated, as to run
himself into the very jaws of danger; but
relying upon his interest with the lord
Bellamont, and fancying that a French pass
or two he found on board some of the ships
he took, would serve to countenance the
matter, and that part of the booty he got
would gain him new friends--I say, all these
things made him flatter himself that all
would be hushed, and that justice would but
wink at him. Wherefore he sailed directly
for Boston laden with booty, with a crew of
swaggering companions at his heels. But no
sooner did he show himself in Boston, than
the alarm was given of his reappearance, and
measures were taken to arrest him. The
daring character which Kidd had acquired,
however, and the desperate fellows who
followed like bull-dogs at his heels, caused
a little delay in his arrest. He took
advantage of this to bury the greater part
of his immense treasure, which has never
been found, and then carried a high head
about the streets of Boston. He even
attempted to defend himself when arrested,
but was secured and thrown into prison. Such
was the formidable character of this pirate
and his crew, that a frigate was sent to
convey them to England for trial.
Accordingly a sessions of Admiralty being
held at the Old Bailey, in May 1701, Capt.
Kidd, Nicholas Churchill, James How, Robert
Lumly, William Jenkins, Gabriel Loff, Hugh
Parrot, Richard Barlicorn, Abel Owens and
Darby Mullins, were arraigned for piracy and
robbery on the high seas, and all found
guilty except three; these were Robert
Lumly, William Jenkins and Richard
Barlicorn, who proving themselves to be
apprentices to some of the officers of the
ship, and producing their indentures in
court, were acquitted.
The three above mentioned, though they
were proved to be concerned in taking and
sharing the ship and goods mentioned in the
indictment, yet, as the gentlemen of the
long robe rightly distinguished, there was a
great difference between their circumstances
and the rest; for there must go an intention
of the mind and a freedom of the will to the
committing an act of felony or piracy. A
pirate is not to be understood to be under
constraint, but a free agent; for in this
case, the bare act will not make a man
guilty, unless the will make it so.
Now a servant, it is true, if he go
voluntarily, and have his proportion, he
must be accounted a pirate, for then he acts
upon his own account, and not by compulsion:
and these persons, according to the
evidence, received their part, but whether
they accounted to their masters for their
shares afterwards, is the matter in
question, and what distinguishes them as
free agents, or men that did go under the
compulsion of their masters; which being
left to the consideration of the jury, they
found them not guilty.
Kidd was tried upon an indictment of
murder also, viz. for killing Moor, the
gunner, and found guilty of the same.
Nicholas Churchill, and James How pleaded
the king's pardon, as having surrendered
themselves within the time limited in the
proclamation, and Col. Bass, governor of
West Jersey, to whom they surrendered, being
in court, and called upon, proved the same.
However, this plea was overruled by the
court, because there being four
commissioners named in the proclamation,
viz. Capt. Thomas Warren, Israel Hayes,
Peter Delannoye, and Christopher Pollard,
Esquires, who were appointed commissioners,
and sent over on purpose to receive the
submissions of such pirates as should
surrender, it was adjudged no other person
was qualified to receive their surrender,
and that they could not be entitled to the
benefit of the said proclamation, because
they had not in all circumstances complied
with the conditions of it.
Darby Mullins urged in his defence, that
he served under the king's commission, and
therefore could not disobey his commander
without incurring great punishments; that
whenever a ship or ships went out upon any
expedition under the king's commission, the
men were never allowed to call their
officers to an account, why they did this,
or why they did that, because such a liberty
would destroy all discipline; that if any
thing was done which was unlawful, the
officers were to answer it, for the men did
no more than their duty in obeying orders.
He was told by the court, that acting under
the commission justified in what was lawful,
but not in what was unlawful. He answered,
he stood in need of nothing to justify him
in what was lawful, but the case of seamen
must be very hard, if they must be brought
into such danger for obeying the commands of
their officers, and punished for not obeying
them; and if they were allowed to dispute
the orders, there could be no such thing as
command kept up at sea.
This seemed to be the best defence the
thing could bear; but his taking a share of
the plunder, the seamen's mutinying on board
several times, and taking upon them to
control the captain, showed there was no
obedience paid to the commission; and that
they acted in all things according to the
custom of pirates and freebooters, which
weighing with the jury, they brought him in
guilty with the rest.
As to Capt. Kidd's defence, he insisted
much on his own innocence, and the villainy
of his men. He said, he went out in a
laudable employment and had no occasion,
being then in good circumstances, to go a
pirating; that the men often mutinied
against him, and did as they pleased; that
he was threatened to be shot in the cabin,
and that ninety-five left him at one time,
and set fire to his boat, so that he was
disabled from bringing his ship home, or the
prizes he took, to have them regularly
condemned, which he said were taken by
virtue of a commission under the broad seal,
they having French passes. The captain
called one Col. Hewson to his reputation,
who gave him an extraordinary character, and
declared to the court, that he had served
under his command, and been in two
engagements with him against the French, in
which he fought as well as any man he ever
saw; that there were only Kidd's ship and
his own against Monsieur du Cass, who
commanded a squadron of six sail, and they
got the better of him. But this being
several years before the facts mentioned in
the indictment were committed, proved of no
manner of service to the prisoner on his
trial.
Captain Kidd hanging in chains.
As to the friendship shown to Culliford, a
notorious pirate, Kidd denied, and said, he
intended to have taken him, but his men
being a parcel of rogues and villains
refused to stand by him, and several of them
ran away from his ship to the said pirate.
But the evidence being full and particular
against him, he was found guilty as before
mentioned.
When Kidd was asked what he had to say
why sentence should not pass against him, he
answered, that he had nothing to say, but
that he had been sworn against by perjured
and wicked people. And when sentence was
pronounced, he said, My Lord, it is a
very hard sentence. For my part, I am the
most innocent person of them all, only I
have been sworn against by perjured persons.
Wherefore about a week after, Capt. Kidd,
Nicholas Churchill, James How, Gabriel Loff,
Hugh Parrot, Abel Owen, and Darby Mullins,
were executed at Execution Dock, and
afterwards hung up in chains, at some
distance from each other, down the river,
where their bodies hung exposed for many
years.
Kidd died hard, for the rope with which
he was first tied up broke with his weight
and he tumbled to the ground. He was tied up
a second time, and more effectually. Hence
came the story of Kidd's being twice hung.
Such is Captain Kidd's true history; but
it has given birth to an innumerable progeny
of traditions. The report of his having
buried great treasures of gold and silver
which he actually did before his arrest, set
the brains of all the good people along the
coast in a ferment. There were rumors on
rumors of great sums of money found here and
there, sometimes in one part of the country
sometimes in another; of coins with Moorish
inscriptions, doubtless the spoils of his
eastern prizes.
Some reported the treasure to have been
buried in solitary, unsettled places about
Plymouth and Cape Cod; but by degrees,
various other parts, not only on the eastern
coast but along the shores of the Sound, and
even Manhattan and Long Island were gilded
by these rumors. In fact the vigorous
measures of Lord Bellamont had spread sudden
consternation among the pirates in every
part of the provinces; they had secreted
their money and jewels in lonely
out-of-the-way places, about the wild shores
of the sea coast, and dispersed themselves
over the country. The hand of justice
prevented many of them from ever returning
to regain their buried treasures, which
remain to this day thus secreted, and are
irrecoverably lost. This is the cause of
those frequent reports of trees and rocks
bearing mysterious marks, supposed to
indicate the spots where treasure lay
hidden; and many have been the ransackings
after the pirates' booty. A rocky place on
the shores of Long Island, called Kidd's
Ledge, has received great attention from the
money diggers; but they have not as yet
discovered any treasures. |
