The boys' book of buccaneers

by A. Hyatt Verrill

“Far more money has been spent in searching for treasure than ever was lost,” declared Mr. Bickford. “There was the Peruvian treasure supposed to have been hidden on Cocos Island—a vast fortune in church plate, holy vessels and coin which was taken away to prevent it falling into the hands of the enemy. Innumerable expeditions [[197]]have set out to find it but none have succeeded, although many have claimed to possess maps of the spot. But during the years that have passed, the island has altered, there have been landslides, and, if we are to believe the most reliable reports, the treasure lies buried under thousands of tons of rock and earth that has fallen from the mountainside. And as far as known the treasures that were lost when the Dons hurriedly sent it away from Old Panama to prevent it falling into Morgan’s hands has never been found. Some day some one may stumble upon it, but the chances are that it will remain lost to the world forever.”

“Then all these stories about Captain Kidd’s treasure are just yarns,” said Fred regretfully. “And you said he wasn’t even a pirate.”

“If Captain Kidd had possessed one-hundredth of the treasure he is supposed to have buried he would have been the most successful pirate who ever lived,” declared Mr. Bickford. “There is nothing to prove that Captain Kidd ever had any considerable treasure and the little he had was secreted on Gardiner’s Island and recovered by the men who employed Kidd and for whom it was intended. No, your old hero Kidd was not a pirate nor a buccaneer. On the contrary, he was a much [[198]]maligned man, a weak, rather cowardly chap, who was the tool of unscrupulous adventurers and paid the penalty for crimes that never were proved against him. And yet, strangely enough, he became noted as the most famous of all pirates and his name is a household word and the epitome of piracy. It is one of the most astounding examples of unwarranted fame and misconception on record, and so firmly fixed in the mind of the public is the erroneous idea that Kidd was the most notorious of pirates that not one person in a thousand will listen to reason or pay the least heed to documentary evidence or historical records proving he was no pirate at all.

“It is the hardest thing in the world to down tradition and oddly enough the more false tradition is the harder it seems to be to correct it. Despite everything, Kidd will, no doubt, continue to remain the favorite pirate of romance and story, and to the end of time Kidd’s treasure will still, in imagination, be buried here, there and everywhere along the coasts.

“We scarcely ever hear of ‘Blackbeard’s treasure,’ of ‘Morgan’s treasure’ or of ‘Bonnet’s treasure,’ although each and every one of those rascals was a pirate and took vast sums and may [[199]]have buried their loot for all we know. But always it is Kidd’s treasure, although the poor fellow never had any to bury.

“As a matter of fact, Captain William Kidd was a respectable and honest sea captain, a native of Greenock, and was so highly respected for his integrity that he was given a commission to suppress piracy by King William the Third of England. The commission was addressed to ‘our trusty and well-beloved Captain William Kidd of the ship Adventure, galley’ and was dated 1695. The royal warrant went on to authorize Kidd to destroy and hunt down ‘divers wicked and ill-disposed persons who were committing many and great pyraces to the great danger and hurt of our loving subjects.’

“Kidd, being impecunious, was backed by several rich and influential persons in Massachusetts and New York, among them Lord Belmont, the governor of Barbados, who saw in the capture of pirates and the taking of their ill-gotten loot a chance for large profits.

“The Adventure set forth on her mission in May, 1696, with a crew of one hundred and fifty-five men and cruised here, there and everywhere searching for piratical prey. Unfortunately pirates [[200]]seemed very scarce, Kidd’s crew became mutinous and clamored for excitement, and the next thing that was known, word came to the authorities that the Adventure had attacked and taken a Moorish ship called the Queda Merchant. Furthermore, reports had it that Kidd had taken possession of the prize, had transferred his men, guns and other possessions to the Queda and, having sunk the Adventure, had gone a-pirating in the Moorish ship. At once he was branded as a pirate and a price put upon his head. All unwittingly Kidd sailed into Santo Domingo in his prize and there learned that he was looked upon as a pirate and was wanted by the authorities.

“Without hesitation, Kidd purchased a sloop, left the Queda in port and sailed as fast as possible to Boston to explain matters. He was, of course, rather doubtful of his reception and before throwing himself on the mercies of the authorities he secreted the few valuables he had on Gardiner’s Island, sent word to his sponsors, and after a consultation in which they agreed to stand by him and clear him of the charge of piracy, he gave himself up.

“Kidd’s explanation was frank and simple. He claimed his crew, a gang of thugs and cut-throats, [[201]]had mutinied, had made him prisoner and of their own volition had captured the prize, and that the Adventure, being rendered unseaworthy in the action, had been abandoned, and the men and their belongings transferred to the Moorish ship. He also testified that his men had threatened to shoot him if he did not accede to their wishes and that during the time of the capture of the ship he had been locked in his cabin. He was questioned as to what became of the valuables, supposedly worth seventy thousand pounds sterling, which were on the Queda and in reply swore that the men had taken it and made away with it. In the end, to make a long story short, the trial simmered down to a charge against the unfortunate Captain of having killed a gunner named Moore, who was a member of the Adventure’s crew. Kidd frankly admitted he had killed the fellow by striking him over the head with a bucket, as Moore had been mutinous and had led the men in their scheme to turn pirates. Throughout these preliminary hearings, Kidd’s wealthy sponsors had deserted him. They saw that they would become involved; and poor Kidd found himself without friends or money and even deprived of the rights to produce documentary evidence of his statements. Heavily [[202]]manacled, he was sent to England and tried on the charge of piracy and murder at Old Bailey in May, 1701.