About this time occurred an incident which has given rise to all the
stories regarding the buried treasure of Captain Kidd. The disturbed and
anxious pirate concluded that it was a dangerous thing to keep so much
valuable treasure on board his vessel which might at any time be
overhauled by the authorities, and he therefore landed at Gardiner's
Island on the Long Island coast, and obtained permission from the
proprietor to bury some of his superfluous stores upon his estate. This
was a straightforward transaction. Mr. Gardiner knew all about the
burial of the treasure, and when it was afterwards proved that Kidd was
really a pirate the hidden booty was all given up to the government.
This appears to be the only case in which it was positively known that
Kidd buried treasure on our coast, and it has given rise to all the
stories of the kind which have ever been told.
For some weeks Kidd's sloop remained in Long Island Sound, and then he
took courage and went to Boston to see some influential people there. He
was allowed to go freely about the city for a week, and then he was
arrested.
The rest of Kidd's story is soon told; he was sent to England for trial,
and there he was condemned to death, not only for the piracies he had
committed, but also for the murder of William Moore. He was executed,
and his body was hung in chains on the banks of the Thames, where for
years it dangled in the wind, a warning to all evil-minded sailors.
About the time of Kidd's trial and execution a ballad was written which
had a wide circulation in England and America. It was set to music, and
for many years helped to spread the fame of this pirate. The ballad was
a very long one, containing nearly twenty-six verses, and some of them
run as follows:--
My name was Robert Kidd, when I sailed, when I sailed,
My name was Robert Kidd, when I sailed,
My name was Robert Kidd,
God's laws I did forbid,
And so wickedly I did, when I sailed.
My parents taught me well, when I sailed, when I sailed,
My parents taught me well when I sailed,
My parents taught me well
To shun the gates of hell,
But 'gainst them I rebelled, when I sailed.
I'd a Bible in my hand, when I sailed, when I sailed,
I'd a Bible in my hand when I sailed,
I'd a Bible in my hand,
By my father's great command,
And sunk it in the sand, when I sailed.
I murdered William Moore, as I sailed, as I sailed,
I murdered William Moore as I sailed,
I murdered William Moore,
And laid him in his gore,
Not many leagues from shore, as I sailed.
I was sick and nigh to death, when I sailed, when I sailed,
I was sick and nigh to death when I sailed,
I was sick and nigh to death,
And I vowed at every breath,
To walk in wisdom's ways, as I sailed.
I thought I was undone, as I sailed, as I sailed,
I thought I was undone, as I sailed,
I thought I was undone,
And my wicked glass had run,
But health did soon return, as I sailed.
My repentance lasted not, as I sailed, as I sailed,
My repentance lasted not, as I sailed,
My repentance lasted not,
My vows I soon forgot,
Damnation was my lot, as I sailed.
I spyed the ships from France, as I sailed, as I sailed,
I spyed the ships from France, as I sailed,
I spyed the ships from France,
To them I did advance,
And took them all by chance, as I sailed.
I spyed the ships of Spain, as I sailed, as I sailed,
I spyed the ships of Spain, as I sailed,
I spyed the ships of Spain,
I fired on them amain,
'Till most of them was slain, as I sailed.
I'd ninety bars of gold, as I sailed, as I sailed,
I'd ninety bars of gold, as I sailed,
I'd ninety bars of gold,
And dollars manifold,
With riches uncontrolled, as I sailed.
Thus being o'er-taken at last, I must die, I must die,
Thus being o'er-taken at last, I must die,
Thus being o'er-taken at last,
And into prison cast,
And sentence being passed, I must die.
Farewell, the raging main, I must die, I must die,
Farewell, the raging main, I must die,
Farewell, the raging main,
To Turkey, France, and Spain,
I shall ne'er see you again, I must die.
To Execution Dock I must go, I must go,
To Execution Dock I must go,
To Execution Dock,
Will many thousands flock,
But I must bear the shock, and must die.
Come all ye young and old, see me die, see me die,
Come all ye young and old, see me die,
Come all ye young and old,
You're welcome to my gold,
For by it I've lost my soul, and must die.
Take warning now by me, for I must die, for I must die,
Take warning now by me, for I must die,
Take warning now by me,
And shun bad company,
Lest you come to hell with me, for I die.
It is said that Kidd showed no repentance when he was tried, but
insisted that he was the victim of malicious persons who swore falsely
against him. And yet a more thoroughly dishonest rascal never sailed
under the black flag. In the guise of an accredited officer of the
government, he committed the crimes he was sent out to suppress; he
deceived his men; he robbed and misused his fellow-countrymen and his
friends, and he even descended to the meanness of cheating and
despoiling the natives of the West India Islands, with whom he traded.
These people were in the habit of supplying pirates with food and other
necessaries, and they always found their rough customers entirely
honest, and willing to pay for what they received; for as the pirates
made a practice of stopping at certain points for supplies, they wished,
of course, to be on good terms with those who furnished them. But Kidd
had no ideas of honor toward people of high or low degree. He would
trade with the natives as if he intended to treat them fairly and pay
for all he got; but when the time came for him to depart, and he was
ready to weigh anchor, he would seize upon all the commodities he could
lay his hands upon, and without paying a copper to the distressed and
indignant Indians, he would gayly sail away, his black flag flaunting
derisively in the wind.
But although in reality Captain Kidd was no hero, he has been known for
a century and more as the great American pirate, and his name has been
representative of piracy ever since. Years after he had been hung, when
people heard that a vessel with a black flag, or one which looked black
in the distance, flying from its rigging had been seen, they forgot that
the famous pirate was dead, and imagined that Captain Kidd was visiting
their part of the coast in order that he might find a good place to bury
some treasure which it was no longer safe for him to carry about.
There were two great reasons for the fame of Captain Kidd. One of these
was the fact that he had been sent out by important officers of the
crown who expected to share the profits of his legitimate operations,
but who were supposed by their enemies to be perfectly willing to take
any sort of profits provided it could not be proved that they were the
results of piracy, and who afterwards allowed Kidd to suffer for their
sins as well as his own. These opinions introduced certain political
features into his career and made him a very much talked-of man. The
greater reason for his fame, however, was the widespread belief in his
buried treasures, and this made him the object of the most intense
interest to hundreds of misguided people who hoped to be lucky enough to
share his spoils.
There were other pirates on the American coast during the eighteenth
century, and some of them became very well known, but their stories are
not uncommon, and we need not tell them here. As our country became
better settled, and as well-armed revenue cutters began to cruise up and
down our Atlantic coast for the protection of our commerce, pirates
became fewer and fewer, and even those who were still bold enough to ply
their trade grew milder in their manners, less daring in their exploits,
and--more important than anything else--so unsuccessful in their illegal
enterprises that they were forced to admit that it was now more
profitable to command or work a merchantman than endeavor to capture
one, and so the sea-robbers of our coasts gradually passed away.
***
