The pirates own book : $b authentic narratives of the most celebrated sea robbersEllms, Charles
History
The pirates own book : $b authentic narratives of the most celebrated sea robbers
Ellms, Charles
Pirates
We will now return to the pirates. While at Prince's Island, Capt.
Gilbert bought a magnificent dressing case worth nearly a thousand
dollars and a patent lever watch, and a quantity of tobacco, and
provisions, and two valuable cloth coats, some Guinea cloth and black
and green paint. The paint, cloth and coats were intended as presents
for the African king at Cape Lopez. These articles were all bought with
the money taken from the Mexican. After arriving at the Nazareth, $4000
were taken from the trunk, and buried in the yard of a negro prince.
Four of the pirates then went to Cape Lopez for $11,000, which had been
buried there. Boyga, Castillo, Guzman, and the "State's Evidence,"
Ferez, were the ones who went. Ferez took the bags out, and the others
counted the money; great haste was made as the musquitoes were biting
intolerably. $5000 were buried for the captain in canvas bags about two
feet deep, part of the money was carried to Nazareth, and from there
carried into the mountains and there buried. A consultation was held by
Capt. Gilbert, De Soto, and Ruiz, and the latter said, if the money was
not divided, "there would be the devil to pay." The money was now
divided in a dark room and a lantern used; Capt. Gilbert sat on the
floor with the money at his side. He gave the mate about $3000, and the
other officers $1000, each; and the crew from $300 to $500, each. The
third mate having fled, the captain sent him $1000, and Ruiz carried it
to him. When the money was first taken from the Mexican, it was spread
out on the companion way and examined to see if there was any gold
amongst it; and then put into bags made of dark coarse linen; the boxes
were then thrown overboard. After the division of the money the pirates
secreted themselves in the woods behind Cape Lopez. Perez and four
others procured a boat, and started for Fernando Po; they put their
money in the bottom of the boat for ballast, but was thrown overboard,
near a rock and afterwards recovered by divers; this was done to prevent
detection. The captain, mate, and carpenter had a conversation
respecting the attempt of the latter, to blow her up, who could not
account for the circumstance, that an explosion had not taken place;
they told him he ought to have burst a barrel of powder over the deck
and down the stairs to the magazine, loaded a gun, tied a fish line to
the lock and pulled it when he came off in the canoe.
[Illustration: _View of the Negro village on the river Nazareth, and the
Panda at anchor._]
The Panda being manned by Capt. Trotter and an English crew, commenced
firing on the town of Cape Lopez, but after firing several shots, a
spark communicated with the magazine and she blew up. Several men were
killed, and Captain Trotter and the others thrown into the water, when
he was made prisoner with several of his crew, by the King, and it
required considerable negociations to get them free.
[Illustration: _Burying the money on the beach at Cape Lopez._]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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