CHAPTER XXIV.
The Pirate's Manuscript.
ISLAND IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN, October, 1781.
In grief and sorrow, and great bodily pain, I write these lines,fearing that I shall not recover from my wounds, and that death willsoon seize upon me. I ask Christian burial for my bones, and that Godwill forgive me my many sins.
I was born an Englishman and passed an adventurous life till, in theyear 1778, I found myself, after a life of villainy and piracy, captainof the armed brig "Rover," at the age of thirty-three, and cruisingin these seas. It would take too long and be of little interest torelate how through years of bloodshed I had arrived at this eminence.It is enough to say that for the last ten years of my life I havespared neither man, woman, nor child, and that God in his power hasat last brought this retribution upon my head. I could relate scenesof horror, and hairbreadth escapes, that would not be believed orcredited, therefore I skip them all and come to the causes of my beingimprisoned on this desolate island. The brig that I commanded had onmany occasions been successful in preying upon the Spanish galleons ofthis coast, and many a South American city had even been put undercontribution; but to the immense wealth and plunder thus obtainedwas to be added still another capture. On the morning of the 14th ofAugust, 1781, the brig "Rover" lay in near the coast of South Americawaiting for the passage of two galleons, loaded with treasure from theNorthern mines of El Dorado, for Valparaiso. From spies in that cityI had found out that the treasure was estimated at twelve millions,in gold and silver bars, and that these galleons were armed with sixeighteen-pounders each, and with a crew of Spaniards and natives,numbering sixty men. Two long weeks had we been lying near the coaststanding out in the morning, and in towards the evening, waiting forour prey; when, on this fatal morning, after heading seaward forfour hours, we discovered the enemy on the horizon to the northwest.The "Rover" was a strong, well-built brig of three hundred tons,and was manned by one hundred and twenty human devils, drawn fromall nations, but mostly Englishmen, with a few South Americans andnatives. We carried eight eighteen-pounders, and one long thirty-twopivot gun amidships. Our vessel was fast and a splendid sea-boat. Wewere favored with a wind from the southeast, which put the enemy toleeward of us, and we boldly clapped on all sail to come up with him,which perceiving, and also that we had the weather gauge, the cowardlySpaniards put up their helm and kept off before the wind, hoping tooutsail us; but before they commenced this manoeuvre we had approachednear enough to be sure that they were what we had been waiting for, andtherefore, rigging out stu'nsails on both sides, we bowled along beforethe wind to the northwest, after the retreating enemy.
It was soon apparent that the "Rover" was the faster sailer, and alsothat one of the galleons was a much better sailer or better handledthan her consort; for we were coming up hand over hand to one of them,whilst the other, some two miles ahead, held her own much better. Aswe neared the sternmost and lagging galleon, we commenced firing fromour bow-chasers, but without apparent effect. I think to this day thatif the two had kept together they might possibly have beaten us off,but, separated as they were by their own cowardice, they would, I feltconvinced, fall an easy prey to our designs. As we gradually nearedthe galleon, the crew of the "Rover" became more and more excited; andthe cursed thirst for gold, and subsequent license and revel that wassure to follow its acquisition, glowered in each countenance. The timehad come for our usual unholy rites, and, ordering up the steward, theusual cask of brandy was hoisted to the deck, the contents poured intotwo large tubs, and one of them transported to the quarter deck, whilstthe other was left at the main hatch, and, at a preconcerted signal,the two bow-chasers were discharged at the enemy, the black flag runup to the mizzen peak, and all hands called upon to splice the mainbrace, or in other words, to craze their brains by partaking of thefiery liquor poured out before them; the quantity on the quarter deckhaving been mixed with gunpowder, to be distributed at the guns duringthe coming conflict as I might deem best or proper. We were now rapidlyadvancing upon our prey, but none of our shot seemed to have takeneffect and as yet she had made no reply.
Commanding silence fore and aft, I ordered more sail crowded upon the"Rover," and stood on till we were nearly alongside, and not a gunshotdistant, and then, having brought all the eighteen-pounders to thestarboard side, had them loaded with grape and canister. I orderedin sail, running in all the stu'nsails, and clearing the deck foraction; but at last the enemy seemed to have waked up, for, whilstthis was being done, she poured into us her broadside, killing andwounding several of the crew, but doing no further damage, and thenimmediately came to the wind, close hauled on the starboard tack. Wefollowed rapidly, but, as all the guns were on the starboard side, Iran under her lee rather than try to keep the weather gauge, and atshort pistol distance sent the contents of eight eighteen-poundersinto her sides and rigging. The result was to have been anticipated:down came her top hamper and light sails, and she lay a wreck upon thewater. Shooting ahead in the "Rover," I shortened sail, and, crossingher fore foot, held my vessel with the main topsail to the mast andpoured in six broadsides of canister and grape, raking the enemy foreand aft, to which she could not reply with a single gun, and at thetermination of which she lay a complete wreck upon the bosom of theocean. Without a moment's delay the main yard was squared away, and,turning upon her heel, the "Rover" made all sail for the other galleon.It was four hours before we came up to her so as to be within shot,when a discharge from our pivot gun cut away some of her top-hamper,so that we commenced overhauling her rapidly; but this one, althoughshe had run away in the commencement, now evidently meant fight, andshe replied to our broadsides with bravery and vigor, so much so thatI saw that there was nothing for it but to board her and carry herby assault, as we were being cut up in a fearful manner, and my crewdropping at each discharge. Seeing this, I sung out to the helmsman,"Lay her alongside," and, with a crash, we in a few moments struck herfore chains, having the weather gauge, and in a moment were securelylashed together. Mounting the taffrail, I sung out "Boarders away," andjumped upon the deck of the galleon, followed by my crew. It was withthe same results I have so often seen before: no mercy, no quarter, anddown under the blows of the cruel Rovers soon fell the Spaniards, andthe galleon was ours. It was time, as she was evidently commencing toleak badly. Some of the crew were ordered to the pumps, and the mainhatch was burst open, and, under threat of instant death, the positionof the treasure was pointed out by the Spanish captain. The amount,estimated at some seven millions, was passed by sixty hands as fast aspossible to the hold of the "Rover," down the companion way; and, whenall was over, freeing the brig from the galleon, I took position nearto her, crashing into her broadside after broadside, till she, with herwounded, dying, and living, sank beneath the waves. We had scarcelyfinished our awful work when night set down upon us, and, taking thebearings of the other wreck, we moved slowly forward toward her undershortened sail, so as not to pass her in the darkness. Upon musteringthe crew it was found that twenty-seven had paid the penalty of death,whilst seventeen were seriously wounded, and twenty-one slightly.
When morning broke, there lay the other galleon, not one mile distantbroad on our weather bow. We soon came up to her and saw that sheshowed no signs of life, and, hauling off, we commenced repairinginjuries that we had suffered in the conflict with her consort, and,having everything in as good order as possible, ranged up alongsidepreparatory to boarding, and in fact made fast with grappling-ironsto the wreck; but not a man opposed us. Pouring in upon her decks,and questioning the wounded still on board, we ascertained that allremaining alive--not over twenty in number, it seemed--who were notwounded so as to be unable to do so, had escaped during the night inthe shallop and made for the coast, trusting to the mercy of the searather than to ours. We soon had the bullion we were after exposed toview and rapidly transferred to the "Rover," which amounted, by thereckoning of the wounded Spaniards, to about five millions, so that the"Rover" had actually under hatches the enormous weight of s
ome eightytons in solid silver, and twenty-five tons in gold, all in bars, so asto overflow the usual stronghold and necessitate stowage in the hold,as one might stow cargo.
Having helped ourselves to all the casks of wine and brandy on board,we cut adrift from the wreck, and in spite of the cries of the woundedupon her decks, by numerous well-directed broadsides sent her to thebottom of the ocean, where dead men tell no tales. After this horridcrime was perpetrated, we set sail upon the "Rover" to the southwardto avoid any vessels that might be sent for our capture, as I madeup my mind that we should keep well to sea and out of the way of alltraffic till search for us had been given up. To this end I steeredin a direction out of the track of all known land, till on the 15thSeptember, in the morning, we discovered this unknown island deadahead, and, finding that it showed no signs of being inhabited, Ipassed around to the southward and eastward to see if there was a goodbay for anchorage, determined to allow the crew to go on shore and havetheir carouse, if such was the case. We soon opened this bay, wherethis is written, and, having sent a boat on shore and ascertained thatthere was good fresh water and evidently no inhabitants, I brought the"Rover" well into the bay and anchored her in six fathoms.
This being done, a detail of the crew was made to build this hut formy accommodation. The weather being cool, and thinking that we hadfound a splendid stronghold for the future, I commanded several goatsto be landed, and as my men strolled hither and thither they wereinstructed to plant a sweet potato once in a while, of which we hadplenty on board, and some seeds of the tobacco plant were also planted,I believe, at nearly the other side of the island, near some river. Imade up my mind that this should be our rendezvous in the future, forI could not find the island put down upon any chart, and I believedit utterly unknown. I made known my resolves to my subordinates, andthey to the crew, which seemed to please them much; and now, havinggotten everything in readiness and a watch set aboard the vessel, casksof brandy were hoisted from the hold and landed upon the island. Tothese were added a large stock of provisions; and an enormous tentwas erected of spare sails. Details by lot were made of men to cook,and a watch to keep guard in the vessel, and then for three days alldiscipline was relaxed, and drunken orgies too fearful to be relatedcommenced, at the end of which a new detail of the most sober was madefor the watch on the ship and the cooking, when the same recommenced.During these six days I withdrew with one servant from all this intothis hut that I had ordered built, and passed the time as pleasantlyas I could, with trips once in a while to the vessel and back. Each dayI received the usual report of so many men killed in drunken brawls orso many wounded; but I never moved a finger to stop the affray, feelingthat this was the best way to allow them to work off their bad bloodand passions. It was, however, on the seventh day that I saw causefor alarm, and, alas! too late. I had noticed that there seemed tobe some trouble brewing, and that my second in command, when he cameto make his daily report, had not the air of respect that he used tohave, and that the reports of serious fights were more frequent thanon former carousals of a similar nature. Why, here were some five menkilled and seven wounded since we had been on the island, and uponinquiry I found that they were all men whom I knew were devoted tome, if a pirate may use that term. All at once it flashed upon mybrain that my second in command was inciting the crew to my downfalland his own elevation. In fact, the matter was made too apparent onthat very day; for, after hearing the report, I was sitting at thedoor of this hut when an unearthly confusion and din commenced at thelarge tent and the air was filled with the report of pistols (all gunsbeing positively forbidden on shore), and shouts and cries of men interrible earnest mixed with the screams of the wounded. I buckled onmy cutlass and picked up my two pistols, and, calling upon my servantto follow me, made for the tent; but before I arrived there I was metby a retreating body of my men who were making for my hut, crying out,"Treason, treason, treason!" followed by another portion of the crew,at the head of whom was my second in command, all disguise now thrownoff, cheering his part of the crew on to my destruction. I gatheredabout me the retreating men loyal to me, and we faced the rest. Thefirst man who advanced I shot dead, the second also, and the day hadalmost turned in my favor when, with a well-directed pistol-shot andwith a curse mingled with the report, my rival brought me to theground, the ball having passed through my chest and out at the back. Ifell to the ground, and in one instant my prestige of years was gone.When I say gone I mean that it was so far gone that it barely saved mylife, for the men still stood quite firm upon my side, when, with thewit and talent worthier of a better cause, my rival moved between theconflicting lines and called for a truce, uttering at the same time thefollowing words: "Now look a-here, shipmates, what is the use of ourcutting each other's throats any more? There lies your late captain,still alive to be sure, but good for nothing more. I am bound to becaptain of the 'Rover,' and you see I have more men to back me, and ahead to them also, than you have. What's the use of our cutting eachother's throats when we have some ten or fifteen millions to spend?If you don't like to give in I only admire you the more for it; andif you will join my side and lay down your arms, I promise before youall not to injure one hair on the head of our late captain, but toleave him here on this island without further molestation. Come, thatis a fair offer. You have done enough for honor. Do you accept? Why,who have you on your side that can navigate a vessel? Who will giveyou as much liberty and money as I will? We will live in common, andhave no more of this damned supposed superiority. But as for CaptainSutland, dead or alive, he and I can't sail in the same vessel again.I will do all I say, and swear it,"--and amidst the wildest cheersof excitement and drunken enthusiasm, I found myself lying desertedand, as I believed, bleeding to death. After some little hand-shakingand congratulations, however, I was, by order of my rival, carriedcarefully to this hut, where my wound was examined by the doctor andproclaimed not necessarily mortal. Food and water in profusion, fuelfor my fire, and anything that I should naturally require during myconvalescence, should it ever take place, was, with the recklessgenerosity of sailors, piled up near me; and with a few farewellsfrom some who really cared for me, I was left alone, my whole crew,under the command of their new leader, working like beavers to takedown their tent, get on board and to sea, and thence to some haven ofrest, where they could as quickly as possible squander the wealth socriminally acquired. They had placed me upon my wooden bed, so that Icould look out of the open window upon the bay and ship, and see theirdeparture. It was nearly sundown before they had everything ready, andwith a heavy heart I heard them at work weighing the anchor, leaving mealone to solitude, my outraged God, and probably death.
SHOOTING THE PIRATE CAPTAIN.--PAGE 286.]
Lying on my bed of pain, I saw the topsails mastheaded and everythingmade ready for a start, and as the sun sank to rest in the west,shedding a glow upon the waters, the "Rover" got under way and stoodout to the southward and eastward, leaving me upon this desolateisland to live or die. I knew what would be the eventual end of theirreckless career, for I knew that the pirate who had superseded me,although of great animal courage, had very little education, and thathe was wanting in the art of practical navigation. The sun had not beendown an hour before the whole heavens changed their appearance, anddark clouds from the southward commenced to overcast the stars. Thewind began to moan amongst the trees, and the sea to give forth thatsolemn sound or breathing that often forbodes a storm. In less thanthree hours it was blowing heavily from the southeast, the directionthe vessel had taken to clear the island, and exactly opposite to thelight northwest wind that had in the first part of the evening waftedher off the island's coast. At midnight it was blowing a hurricane, andstill I gazed from my bed through the open casement towards the sea.There was not much rain, and what there was did not reach me, my bedbeing some distance from the window of the hut. At this time, in spiteof my misery and the fever of my wound, I, after drinking a draught ofwater placed beside me, fell asleep, or rather dozed, from which I wasawakened by the so
und of guns,--yes, great guns. Wounded, feverish, asI was, I moved in my bed to glance into the outer darkness. The tempestwas raging with increased fury, and as I looked into the inky blacknessseaward, not more than four miles distant as I should judge flashed thedischarge from a cannon, and in a moment after, the dull but deadenedreport met my ear. I kept my eye fixed upon the spot, for I knew that,if it came from anywhere near the same spot again, the "Rover" was ona reef, and that there would be little hope for her. In a few minutesanother flash occurred, and I saw that it was in the same situation.Good God, and had your retribution met them then so suddenly? I saw inmy mind at once the actual state of affairs as readily as if I had beenon board.
The "Rover" had stood to the southeast with a fair wind, and all thecrew under their new master, being without discipline, had allowedthemselves to be caught by the gale from the opposite direction withall sail set, or too much at least; that she had either been takenaback and lost her masts at once, weakened in previous conflicts, orelse, before she could be squared away before the blast, been caston her beam ends, and for safety had had them cut away. After which,unmanageable with a drunken crew and an incompetent master, she haddrifted in the trough of the sea, back slowly but gradually towards theanchorage she had just left, until, brought up upon some sunken ledgeoutside the harbor, she was pounding out her life upon the jagged rocksconcealed beneath the water. This was, I felt, the case, and would anybe saved to be my companions on this desolate island? I knew that not aliving soul would be left to tell the tale. The mighty roar of the windand the noise of the surf on the beach, with the groaning of the trees,extinguished all hope.
No more firing was heard, and nothing but the blackness of nightsurrounded me, and the cry of the angry blast filled my ears. I becameinsensible and fell back in my bed without life or motion. When I againopened my eyes, the light of a bright spring morning flashed upon them,and although the wind had gone down, the angry rush of the surf wasstill to be heard thundering upon the shore; and there, yes there, notfar at sea, and plainly beneath my sight, and in full view, lay part ofthe hull of the once famous "Rover," dismasted, dismantled, and beatingher ribs out upon an outer bar or reef. I saw that she could not lastlong, and that no human being could have survived the preceding night.I should have said that, before the pirates sailed, they had buried themen who had been killed upon the island; but I saw plainly that manybodies would now be swept on shore that would never see Christian orany other burial but that of the white, glistening sands of the beach,and the maws of insatiable sea monsters; whilst I thought even, thevessel was fast breaking up under my eye, each mighty wave, hitting herseaward bulwark, was thrust high into air, passing over and buryingher in an ocean of spray and water such as no handiwork of man couldlong resist. At each succeeding appearance, masses of the hull haddisappeared, and it was only a question of time how soon some twelvemillion of dollars in gold and silver, guarded by a crew of some eightyresolute men when in their senses, who had gone before, would be buriedin the ocean forever. I could not take my eyes from the scene, butmechanically felt for my jar of water with one hand, whilst I kept myattention fixed upon the wreck.
After looking and dozing for hours, I again fell asleep, and when Iawoke it was nearly sundown, and yet the cruel sea was beating over theremains of the hull, which were greatly diminished, and I bethoughtmyself--weak, sick, and feverish as I was--to line the position frommy hut before she had wholly disappeared. This I did by moving my headand body slightly till I brought the frame of my southerly window onits southeasterly side to range with a small fir-tree that stood somethirty feet distant, which was in a line with the wreck. I scratchedwith my thumb-nail a mark upon the window-frame where my eye glanced,and upon the trunk of the tree I picked out a small peculiar branchwhich aligned upon the wreck. I then, with my right hand, cast somewood that was within my reach upon the fire not far distant, and,over-exerted by all this, fell again into slumber and unconsciousness.It was well into the next day before I regained my senses, and my firstglance was for the brig, but not a vestige of her was to be seen,although the ocean was as calm and blue as an inland lake, and nothingbut my bearing told me the place where she had gone to pieces.
My wound was a very peculiar one. It will be remembered that the ballhad passed completely through my body, breaking no bone, and onlyinjuring my left lung above the heart and just under the shoulderblade. I had not lost much blood, and the doctor, when he left me,gave me strong hopes of recovery, if I could lie perfectly still forat least a week. On this morning I found my fever much better andmy appetite returning, and my wound much less painful, but stiff. Icrawled from my cot with the greatest care, and renewed my fire fromthe hidden hot ashes, and soon had a good blaze; for it was chillyduring the nights, although I had ample bed-clothing of all kindsheaped about me. I remained in bed for three days more, when I musteredcourage to leave my cot and stagger to a chair, where I sat down nearthe fire. I remained here during the day, and at night crept back againto the bed and closed the shutter of my open window (the door and otherwindow had been closed during all my sickness) and dropped to sleep.The next day I was able to move about quite well, and the orifice ofmy wound in the back had healed, but the front still discharged andwas not closed. I was troubled with a hacking cough, but with theexception of this, on the tenth day, could waddle around, and eveninto the open air, and procure some of the pure spring water near thehut. Thus I went on till the first of October, getting better andbetter each day, and making rapid progress towards health. The firstexcursion I made was towards the shores of the bay, but not a signof my late comrades in crime could I discover. I also carefully cutupon the fir-tree, with my knife, a notch deep and enduring in thetrunk, that lined or ranged upon the place where the wreck had lastbeen seen by my eyes, and at the exact height to have the range piercethe water at the very spot, not more than four or five miles distant.After these two first cares, I began to look about me and see what Ihad to live upon. My arms were left me, as also was a small bottle ofink that I had brought on shore to keep the daily account of the crew,tides, etc., and several sheets of parchment. These, with my pipe, alittle tobacco, quite a quantity of ammunition, my cutlass, a tomahawk,and knife, formed my little store. To be sure I had my wooden cot-bedand plenty of bedding, but this was all. I knew that sweet potatoeshad been planted upon the island in several places, and that at leastthree female and one male goat had also been landed; and as I was fastgetting tired of my dry bread and salt provisions, I commenced takingsmall trips upon the seashore, bringing home eggs, fish, oysters,mussels, etc., and thought at one time that my troubles were all over,and that my wound was healed, but as the orifice closed, I commencedto cough more violently than before, and in the morning my throat wasfilled with phlegm. And as the middle of the month advanced, I becameweaker and weaker, and felt that my end was near, or, if not, it wasimportant that I should guard against all accidents, and for thatreason I have written this short memoir of my life and placed it here,to stand as a witness for me, in case of accident or death, that mysolitude and wound have brought me to a proper state of mind to view mylife with utter abhorrence, and to pray to God in my poor miserable wayto forgive me, if it be possible to forgive so great a sinner as I. Onthis, the 20th of October, 1781, I place this jar in its resting-place,having had the hole to receive it long excavated. I am too weak to evenget in and out of my bed, and have spread my clothing upon the floor ofmy hut, where I can move about easier in the night and get at anythingI may want. I close this history here, and I ask all good Christiansto pray for my soul should God take me away. It will take me days nowin my weak state to cover this up so that the weather and water cannotreach it. I feel that my days are numbered. May the finder of my richesmake good use of them, and give largely to the poor, and have massessaid for the repose of the blood-stained soul of
THOMAS SUTLAND.