The pirates of the New England coast, 1630-1730

by George Francis Dow; John Henry Edmonds

FOOTNOTES

[169] Voyages and Travels of Capt. Nathaniel Uring, London, 1726.

[170] Calendar of State Papers, America and West Indies, 1696-1697, pp. 260, 262.

[171] “It was at the island of St. Thomas that the famous Captain Avery, or some of his companions, disposed of the greatest part of the rich goods taken in a ship belonging to the Mogul, about forty years ago, when the magazines on the Island were so excessively crowded with rich Indian goods that they were not entirely emptied in twenty years after, though they generally sold them at low prices; and it was by this accident that pieces of Arabian gold, which were properly speaking Pagodas, were long current in the West Indies under the name of Sequins, for they knew not what to call them, at the rate of about six shillings. And nutmegs, cloves, sinnimon and mace were likewise bought very cheap for many years after.”—John Harris, Collection of Voyages, London, 1739.

[172] Some of Avery’s pirate crew were afterwards taken in England and brought to trial on Oct. 19, 1696, but acquitted for lack of sufficient evidence.

[173] Calendar of State Papers, America and West Indies, 1696-1697, p. 636.

[174] Channing, History of United States, Vol. II, p. 266.

[175] Massachusetts Hist. Society Colls., 3d series, Vol. VII, p. 209.

[176] Madagascar; or Robert Drury’s Journal, London, 1729.

CHAPTER XX
Pirate Life and Death

The company of men on board a pirate vessel, especially during that great period of activity in roving following the Peace of Ryswick in 1697, well illustrate in their relations with one another, the main features of that ideal commonwealth where everything is held in common and where everyone has an equal voice in public affairs. As in every well-ordered government it is necessary to have leaders, so in pirate companies there must be captains, quartermasters, gunners, boatswains, and other officers, but none may remain in authority after having lost the confidence and support of the company. This appears in a speech made at the time Bartholomew Roberts was elected a pirate captain.

“Should a Captain be so sawcy as to exceed Prescription at any time,” said one of the pirate Lords, “why down with Him; it will be a Caution after he is dead, to his successors, of what a fatal Consequence any sort of assuming may be. However, it is my Advice, that, while we are sober, we pitch upon a Man of Courage, and skill’d in Navigation, one, who by his Council and Bravery seems best able to defend this Commonwealth, and ward us from Dangers and Tempests of an instable Element, and the fatal Consequences of Anarchy.”

The successful captain of a pirate vessel must possess qualities of leadership and a dare-devil courage, for nothing will so quickly brand a pirate leader and lose for him the support of his crew as an appearance of cowardice,—a show of the white feather. Sometimes it may be no more than a difference of judgment, but failing in the loyal support of a resolute company no captain can last very long. This is shown in the case of Capt. Charles Vane who defied Capt. Woods Rogers’ men-of-war at New Providence in 1717, but the very next year when he fell in with a French man-of-war off Cape Nicholas, his company was divided as to what course to pursue. Vane was for making off as fast as possible being of the opinion that the Frenchman was too strong for them. The quartermaster, John Rackham,[177] was of a different opinion saying, “That tho’ she had more Guns, and a greater Weight of Mettal, they might board her and then the best Boys would carry the Day.” At last, although the majority were for attacking, Captain Vane exercised his right to settle the dispute, for his power by universal agreement was absolute in time of chase, and so the brigantine showed her heels to the Frenchman and outsailed her. But the next day the captain’s decision was made to stand the test of a popular vote and he failed of support. A resolution was passed branding him a coward and deposing him from command. He was given a small sloop with a supply of provisions and ammunition and sent off with all those who did not vote for boarding the French man-of-war.

The captain of a pirate company was generally chosen for his daring and dominating character and for being “pistol proof.” Among hardened pirates the one who went the greatest length in cruelty and destructiveness was looked upon with a certain amount of admiration. The captain had the great cabin to himself but any man had the right to use his punch bowl, enter the cabin, swear at him and seize his food without his finding fault, except as between men; but this rarely happened.

When a captain was chosen there was usually some little ceremony on conducting him to the cabin. After the election had taken place, a complimentary speech would be made expressing the desire that he would take the command as the most capable among them and on his accepting he would be led into the cabin in state and seated at a table with only one other chair and that at the lower end. This was reserved for the company’s quartermaster who then would seat himself also and tell the captain in behalf of the crew (whose spokesman he was) that having confidence in him they all promised to obey his lawful commands. Then taking up a sword, the quartermaster would present it and declare him captain, at the same time saying, “This is the commission under which you are to act; may you prove fortunate to yourself and us.” The guns would then be fired with a charge of round shot and a rousing three cheers given in honor of the new captain. The ceremony would end with an invitation from the captain to such as he wished to have dine with him and an order for a large bowl of punch for every mess.

THE
TRIALS
OF
Five Persons
For Piracy, Felony and Robbery,
Who were found Guilty and Condemned, at a Court of Admiralty for the Trial of Piracies, Felonies and Robberies, committed on the High Seas, Held at the Court-House in Boston, within His Majesty’s Province of the Massachusetts-Bay in New-England, on Tuesday the Fourth Day of October, Anno Domini, 1726. Pursuant to His Majesty’s Royal Commission, founded on an Act of Parliament made in the Eleventh and Twelfth Years of the Reign of King William the Third, Entituled, An Act for the more effectual Suppression of Piracy; And made Perpetual by an Act of the Sixth Year of the Reign of our Sovereign Lord King GEORGE.
BOSTON: Printed by T Fleet for S Gerrish at the Lower End of Cornhill. 1726.

The captain had usually a sort of privy council which was composed of certain of the officers and older and more experienced sailors and these were sometimes distinguished by the title of “Lord.” The captain’s power was supreme in time of chase or action. He then had the right to strike, stab or shoot any man who disobeyed his orders. He also had power over prisoners and could condemn them to ill usage or set them free but this power did not extend to cargo or captured vessel for then the property interests of the company were concerned.

The quartermaster came next after the captain in exercising authority over the affairs of the pirate company. He was chosen with the approval of the crew who could claim authority in this way through him, except in time of battle. At discretion he could punish any of the men for insubordination, by blows or whipping, which no one else might do without standing in danger of receiving the lash from the ship’s company. In a way he was the trustee for all and was usually the first on board a prize. For small offences, too insignificant for a jury, he was the arbitrator. If any of the crew disobeyed his commands, plundered when plundering should end, or failed to keep their weapons in good order, the quartermaster then might punish them. He was the manager of all duels and in fact was the magistrate of the company.

Pirate craft usually sailed under what was known as “the Jamaica Discipline,” a commonwealth or form of government that originated among the West India privateers or buccaneers. All pirate companies also adopted codes of laws or “Articles,” as they were called, to govern their actions and these were signed and sworn to by all. These “Articles” varied somewhat in form and substance but in general included the following obligations, viz:—

I

Every man had a vote in all affairs of importance and equal title to all fresh provisions or strong liquors that had been taken and might use them at pleasure unless a scarcity made it necessary to vote a restriction for the common good.

II

Every man was to be called in turn, as entered in the quartermaster’s list, to go on board prizes, because on such occasions each was allowed a shift of clothing from the captured stores. This was in addition to the common share in the plunder of the prize. If any man, however, defrauded the common store of the company, in plates, jewelry or money, to the value of a piece of eight, the punishment was to be marooned on some uninhabited island or shore and supplied with only a gun, a few shot, a bottle of water and a bottle of powder, and there to starve or escape if possible by some unexpected good fortune. If a man robbed another of the same company, the ears or nose of the guilty party might be slit, after which he sometimes would be put ashore, not on an uninhabited island, but where he was sure to encounter hardships.

III

No gaming for money at cards or dice was allowed under any circumstances as likely to lead to fighting and death.

IV

All lights and candles must be put out before eight o’clock at night and after that hour if any of the crew continued drinking they were to do it on the open deck. This rule in relation to drinking was not observed on board a number of the pirate ships. The snapping of arms and smoking of tobacco in the hold was also forbidden on board most ships.

V

Every man must keep his gun, pistol and cutlass clean and fit for service. This rule was seldom broken for its necessity was recognized by all. Moreover, there was always more or less competition between men over the beauty and richness of their arms. When an auction was held “at the mast,” sometimes as much as £30 or £40, would be bid for a pair of fine pistols. These were slung into bright colored sashes worn over the shoulders in a manner peculiar to the pirates, giving a very showy appearance to the swaggering individual.

VI

No women were allowed on board and if any man induced a woman to go to sea in disguise he was to suffer death. When a vessel was captured if a woman was found among the passengers a sentinel was placed over her immediately to prevent ill consequences from so dangerous a cause for quarrels. As a rule, boys were not allowed in pirate companies but exceptions to this rule sometimes occurred.

VII

To desert the ship or to abandon quarters in time of battle was punished with death or marooning.

VIII

No man was permitted to strike a member of his company while on board ship. All quarrels must be settled on shore, with sword or pistol, the quartermaster acting as master of ceremonies. The usual rule was for him to attempt a reconciliation but if the difference could not be healed without a fight he would go ashore with such assistants as he thought proper and after placing the meh back to back they would walk apart the number of paces agreed upon and at the word of command immediately turn and fire. If both missed, they might fall to with cutlasses and the man who drew first blood was declared the victor.

IX

No man was allowed to talk of breaking up their way of living until each had shared £1000. In case a man lost a limb or was otherwise injured there was to be an allowance made to him out of the common stock in proportion to his injury. These amounts varied with the company but a leg was usually estimated as worth eight hundred to a thousand pieces of eight.

X

The captain and the quartermaster each received usually two shares in a prize; the master, gunner, and boatswain, a share and a half, and the other officers, a share and a quarter. The men had a share apiece.

XI

All the larger pirate vessels carried musicians—trumpeters, drummers and fiddlers, and these men were given a day off on Sunday.

When a vessel was captured the likely men among the prisoners would be solicited by the quartermaster or captain to join the pirate crew and sign the “Articles,” and young and active men who refused to sign would sometimes be compelled to join the company in the hope that later they might have a change of heart and in any event be of service in navigating the vessel. This was called “forcing,” and when the captain or fellow-seamen of the forced men reached shore, an advertisement was oftentimes inserted in a newspaper, stating the circumstances so that in case the forced men were taken while on board a pirate vessel they might point to the advertisement as evidence of their innocence.[178]

The flags on pirate vessels were intended to strike terror to the hearts of mariners and usually displayed a white skull and cross-bones on a black ground. Sometimes the skeleton of a man was depicted, usually styled at the time “an anatomy.” Sometimes a livid heart pierced by an arrow dripping blood was displayed. Small pirate companies contented themselves with a plain black flag without device. Capt. Howell Davis for lack of something better hung aloft “a dirty Tarpawlin,” while attacking a French vessel near Hispaniola. He afterwards used a black flag as did his associate La Bouse. Blackbeard sailed under a black flag along the Carolina coast but Major Stede Bonnet about the same time used “a bloody flag” and Captain Worley, who was on the same coast in 1718, flew “a black ensign with a white Death’s head in the middle of it.”

Captain Roberts at first used a black flag which he called “the Jolly Roger,” although this term did not originate with him, but afterwards becoming enraged at the many attempts made by the governors of Barbadoes and Martinico to take him, he ordered a new jack to be made with his own figure portrayed standing on two skulls. Under one were the letters A. B. H. and under the other, A. M. H., signifying “A Barbadian’s Head” and “A Martinican’s Head.” When Roberts sailed into Whydah in January, 1722, he had a “black silk flag flying at the mizen peak and a jack and pendant of the same: The Flag had a Death in it, with an Hour-Glass in one Hand, and cross-Bones in the other, a Dart by it, and underneath a Heart dropping three Drops of Blood. The Jack had a Man pourtray’d on it, with a flaming Sword in his Hand, and standing on two Skulls.”

Frequent mention has been made of the cruelty and destructiveness of pirate captains. They often sank or burned the vessels that they took. Sometimes it was done to prevent news of their presence getting abroad before they were ready to sail for some other hunting ground. Sometimes they lacked men enough to navigate their captures and at other times the pirate captain would be displeased at the prolonged defense or flight of the captured master. Sometimes the fate of a fine ship and rich cargo was decided by a caprice or through sheer destructiveness. Frequently enquiry would be made among the crew of a captured vessel if their captain was a good master and kind to his men and when a favorable answer was made such a captain would be let off more easily.

THE PIRATE SHIPS “ROYAL FORTUNE” AND “RANGER” IN WHYDAH ROAD, JANUARY 11, 1722
From an engraving in Johnson’s “General History of the Pirates,” London, 1725

Bartholomew Roberts, one of the most successful and level-headed of the pirate captains who plagued shipping during the first quarter of the eighteenth century, sailed into the harbor of Trepassi in Newfoundland, the last of June, 1720, with black colors flying, drums beating and trumpets sounding. There were twenty-two vessels at anchor in the harbor and every man on board fled ashore at sight of the pirate ship. Roberts burned or sank every vessel except one, which he manned, and then ruthlessly destroyed all the fishing stages of the poor planters, depriving inoffensive men of their means of livelihood with absolutely no attendant advantage to himself. It was this same crew that captured the ship “Samuel,” Captain Cary, a few days later. She was from London bound for Boston with a rich cargo. These furies opened the hatches and swarmed into the hold armed with axes and cutlasses and cut and smashed all the bales, cases and boxes they could reach and when any goods came on deck that they didn’t want to carry aboard their ship, instead of tossing them back into the hold they threw them overboard. Captain Cary was told “that they should accept no Act of Grace; that the King and Parliament might be damned with their Acts of Grace; neither would they go to Hope’s Point, to be hang’d up a sun drying, as Kidd’s and Braddish’s Company were; but if ever they should be overpowered, they would set Fire to the Powder, with a Pistol, and go all merrily to Hell together.”[179]

“Walking the plank” was a diversion practised at a later day among the West India pirates whereby their victims were blindfolded and forced to find a watery grave at the end of a plank thrust out from the vessel’s side. But this was not original with them for in the days of the Roman empire when the Mediterranean pirates took a ship they frequently would enquire if any on board were Romans and when found the pirates would fall down on their knees before the citizens of that illustrious nation, as though asking pardon for what they had done. Other deferences would be shown until their captives actually grew to believe in their sincerity. When that point was attained the outlaws would hang the ship’s ladder over the side and with great show of courtesy tell their victims they were free to leave the vessel in that way. The shock to the unfortunate Romans always greatly amused the pirates who then would throw them overboard with much laughter.

Since those early times when men first effected crude forms of government to guard and control their relations with each other, the pirate has been looked upon as a common enemy. In the days of the Roman empire neither faith nor oath need be kept with him. However, “might made right” in those days, as in later times, and when large bodies of successful sea rovers set up an organized state or government that assumed a somewhat permanent form, after a time they would be recognized by existing nations and granted the right of legalized warfare with diplomatic and commercial intercourse. The Mediterranean and the Baltic were nurseries for growths of this character and as late as 1818, European nations were paying tribute to the corsair governments on the Barbary coast.

Piracy was considered among Englishmen a kind of petty treason until about the year 1350, when it was made a felony by law and it has remained so ever since. In 1536, during the reign of Henry VIII, the laws relating to piracy were defined by Act of Parliament and the forms of trial, executions of sentence, etc., were established and with slight modifications were in force in New England during the period covered by the preceding chapters. By the practical working of this statute curious applications sometimes developed. An Englishman captured from a foreign vessel flying the flag of a country with which England was then at war, was declared to be a pirate and so dealt with; but a subject of a country at war with England, if taken on board an English pirate vessel, was not deemed to be engaged in piracy but in actual warfare.

Here are some of the laws at that time, relating to piracy, abstracted from the “Statutes of the Realm.”

“If Letters of Marque be granted to a Merchant, and he furnishes out a Ship, with a Captain and Mariners, and they, instead of taking the Goods, or Ships of that Nation against whom their Commission is awarded, take the Ship and Goods of a Friend, this is Pyracy; and if the Ship arrive in any Part of his Majesty’s Dominions, it will be seized, and for ever left to the Owners; but they are no Way liable to make Satisfaction.

“If a Ship is assaulted and taken by the Pyrates, for Redemption of which, the Master becomes a Slave to the Captors, by the Law Marine; the Ship and Lading are tacitly obliged for his Redemption, by a general Contribution; but if it happen through his own Folly, then no Contribution is to be made.

“If Subjects in Enmity with the Crown of England, are aboard an English Pyrate, in Company with English, and a Robbery is committed, and they are taken; it is Felony in the English, but not in the Stranger; for it was no Pyracy in them, but the Depredation of an Enemy, and they will be tried by a Martial Law.

“If Pyracy is committed by Subjects in Enmity with England upon the British Seas, it is properly only punishable by the Crown of England, who have issued Regimen & Domininum exclusive of all other Power.

“If Pyracy be committed on the Ocean, and the Pyrates in the Attempt be overcome, the Captors may, without any Solemnity of Condemnation, hang them up at the Main-Yard; if they are brought to the next Port, and the Judge rejects the Tryal, or the Captors cannot wait for the Judge, without Peril or Loss, Justice may be done upon them by the Captors.

“If Merchandize be delivered to a Master, to carry to one Port, and he carries it to another, and sells and disposes of it, this is not Felony; but if, after unlading it at the first Port, he retakes it, it is Pyracy.

“If a Pyrate attack a Ship, and the Master for Redemption, gives his Oath to pay a Sum of Money, tho’ there be nothing taken, yet it is Pyracy by the Law Marine.

“If a Ship is riding at Anchor, and the Mariners all ashore, and a Pyrate attack her, and rob her, this is Pyracy.

“If a Man commit Pyracy upon the Subjects of any Prince, or Republick, (though in Amity with us), and brings the Goods into England, and sells them in a Market Overt, the same shall bind, and the Owners are for ever excluded.

“If a Pyrate enters a Port of this Kingdom, and robs a Ship at Anchor there, it is not Pyracy, because not done, super altum Mare; but is Robbery at common Law, because infra Corpus Comitatus. A Pardon of all Felonies does not extend to Pyracy, but the same ought to be especially named.

“This Act shall not prejudice any Person, or Persons, urged by Necessity, for taking Victuals, Cables, Ropes, Anchors or Sails, out of another Ship that may spare them, so as they either pay ready Money, or Money worth for them, or give a Bill for the Payment thereof; if on this Side the Straits of Gibraltar, within four Months; if beyond, within twelve Months.

“If any natural born Subjects or Denizons of England, commit Pyracy, or any Act of Hostility, against his Majesty’s Subjects at Sea, under Colour of a Commission or Authority, from any foreign Prince or State, or Person whatsoever, such Offenders shall be adjudged Pyrates.

“If any Commander or Master of a Ship, or Seaman or Mariner, give up his Ship, &c. to Pyrates, or combine to yield up, or run away with any Ship, or lay violent Hands on his Commander, or endeavour to make a Revolt in the Ship, he shall be adjudged a Pyrate.

“All Persons who after the 29th of September, 1720, shall set forth any Pyrate (or be aiding and assisting to any such Pyrate) committing Pyracy on Land or Sea, or shall conceal such Pyrates, or receive any Vessel or Goods pyratically taken, shall be adjudged accessary to such Pyracy, and suffer as Principals.

“All Persons who have committed, or shall commit any Offences, for which they ought to be adjudged Pyrates, may be tried for every such Offence, in such Manner as by the Act 28 Henry VIII, chapter 15, is directed for the Tryal of Pyrates; and shall not have the Benefit of the Clergy.”[180]

The enforcement of the English statute relating to piracy was variously interpreted in the colonial courts and local enactments sometimes superseded it in actual practice. Previous to 1700, the statute required that men accused of piracy should be sent to England to be tried before a High Court of Admiralty. Pound, Hawkins, Bradish, Kidd and other known pirates were accordingly sent in irons to London for trial. But the difficulties and delays, to say nothing of the expense, induced Parliament by an Act of 11 and 12 William III, to confer authority by which trials for piracy might be held by the Courts of Admiralty sitting in the colonies. On the other hand, the Massachusetts Court of Assistants, in 1675, found John Rhoades and others, guilty of piracy and sentenced them to be “hanged presently after the lecture.” This was in accordance with an order adopted by the Great and General Court on Oct. 15, 1673. When Robert Munday was tried at Newport, R. I., in 1703, it was by a jury in the ordinary criminal court, in open disregard of the King’s commission.

Governor Bellomont in a letter to the Council of Trade, described the situation in Massachusetts in 1699, as follows:—

“A pirate cannot suffer death in this province, and what to do with Bradish’s crew and Kidd and his men, I know not, and therefore desire your orders. The reason why their Act, that was approved in England, will not reach the life of a pirate is this: Piracy by the Law of England is felony without benefit of clergy and punishment with death. Here there’s no such thing in practice as the benefit of clergy; neither is felony punishable with death, but by their law the felon is only to make a three-fold restitution of the value of the offence or trespass.”[181]

The Courts of Admiralty held in the colonies were composed of certain officials designated in the Royal commission, including the Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, the Judge of the Vice-Admiralty for the Province, the Chief Justice, the Secretary, Members of the Council and the Collector of Customs. Counsel was assigned to the accused to advise and to address the Court “upon any matter of law,” but the practice at that time was different from the present. Accused persons in criminal cases were obliged to conduct their own defence and their counsel were not permitted to cross-examine witnesses, the legal theory at the time being that the facts in the case would appear without the necessity for counsel; that the judge could be trusted to see this properly done; and the jury would give the prisoner the benefit of any reasonable doubt.

Trials occupied but a short time and executions generally took place within a few days after the sentence of the Court was pronounced. During the interval the local clergy labored with the condemned to induce repentance and all the terrors of Hell were pictured early and late. Usually, the prisoners were made the principal figures in a Sunday spectacle and taken through the streets to the meeting-house of some prominent minister, there to be gazed at by a congregation that crowded the building, while the reverend divine preached a sermon suited to the occasion. This discourse was invariably printed and avidly read by the townsfolk, so that few copies have survived the wear and tear of the years. From these worn pamphlets may be learned something of the lives and future of the prisoners as reflected by the mental attitude of the attending ministers.

The day of execution having arrived, the condemned prisoners were marched in procession through the crowded streets safely guarded by musketeers and constables. The procession included prominent officials and ministers and was preceded by the Marshal of the Admiralty Court carrying “the Silver Oar,” his emblem of authority. This was usually about three feet long and during the trial was also carried by him in the procession of judges to the court room where it was placed on the table before the Court during the proceedings.[182]

Time-honored custom and the Act of Parliament, as well, required that the gallows should be erected “in such place upon the sea, or within the ebbing or flowing thereof, as the President of the Court ... shall appoint,”[183] and this necessitated the construction of a scaffold or platform suspended from the framework of the gallows by means of ropes and blocks. When an execution took place on land, that is to say, on solid ground easily approached, it was the custom at that time to carry the condemned in a cart under the cross-arm of the gallows and after the hangman’s rope had been adjusted around the neck and the signal had been given, the cart would be driven away and the condemned person left dangling in the air. In theory, the proper adjustment of the knot in the rope and the short fall from the body of the cart when it was driven away, would be sufficient to break the bones of the neck and also cause strangulation; but in practice this did not always occur.

In the winter of 1646, a case of infanticide was discovered in Boston by a prying mid-wife and when the suspected mother was brought before a jury and caused to touch the cloth-covered face of the murdered infant, the covering was instantly stained with fresh blood. Then the young woman confessed. This was the medieval “ordeal of touch” which was practiced in Massachusetts as late as 1768. The young mother was condemned to death and Governor Winthrop relates in his “Journal,” that “after she was turned off and had hung a space, she spake, and asked what they did mean to do. Then one stepped up and turned the knot of the rope backward and then she soon died.”

When pirates were executed on a gallows placed between “the ebb and flow of the tide,” the scaffold on which they stood was allowed to fall by releasing the ropes holding it suspended in mid-air. This was always the climax of the spectacle for which thousands of spectators had gathered from far and near. Six pirates were hanged in Boston in 1704 and “when the scaffold was let sink, there was such a Screech of the women” present that the sound was heard over half a mile away. So writes Samuel Sewall, one of the judges who had condemned the pirates to execution.

Not infrequently the judges of a Court of Admiralty had brought before them for trial, a pirate whose career had been more infamous than the rest. A cruel and bloody-minded fellow fit only for a halter,—and then the sentence to be hanged by the neck until dead would be followed by another judgment,—dooming the lifeless body of the pirate to be hanged in chains from a gibbet placed on some island or jutting point near a ship channel, there to hang “a sun drying” as a warning to other sailormen of evil intent. In Boston harbor there were formerly two islands—Bird island and Nix’s Mate—on which pirates were gibbetted. Bird island long since disappeared and ships now anchor where the gibbet formerly stood. Nix’s Mate was of such size that early in the eighteenth century the selectmen of Boston advertised its rental for the pasturage of cattle. Today, every foot of its soil has washed away and the point of a granite monument alone marks the site of the island where formerly a pirate hung in chains beside the swiftly flowing tides.

NIX’S MATE, BOSTON HARBOR, IN 1775, WHERE CAPTAIN FLY WAS GIBBETED IN 1726
From an engraving in the “Atlantic Neptune,” Part III, London, 1781, in the library of the Massachusetts Historical Society

MONUMENT ON THE SHOAL, FORMERLY NIX’S MATE, IN 1637 AN ISLAND OF MORE THAN TEN ACRES
From a photograph made about 1900