The Book of Pirates and Highwaymen (20 page)

He begged them to give him some water to quench his thirst, and desired them to liberate the farmer and his family, who had been shut up all this time in the straw magazine. He declared that they were innocent, and distributed money amongst them. He suffered himself to be searched and bound patiently; some poison was found on him, which he said his companions had prevented him from taking. In prison, he appeared to be interested for the fate of some of his partisans, begging that they might not be persecuted, and declaring that they had been forced to do what they had done. He had entertained some hope till the moment when he was placed before the Council of War, and refused permission to speak to General Church. He was condemned to death. On his arrival at the place of execution, Ciro wished to remain standing, but was told to kneel; he did so, presenting his breast. He was then informed that malefactors like himself were shot with their backs towards the soldiers; he submitted, at the same time advising a priest, who persisted in remaining near him, to withdraw, so as not to expose himself.

Twenty-one balls took effect, four in the head, yet he still breathed and muttered in his throat: the twenty-second put an end to him. This fact is confirmed by all the officers and soldiers present at his death. ‘As soon as we perceived,’ said a soldier very gravely, ‘that he was enchanted, we loaded his own musket with a silver ball, and this destroyed the spell.’ It will easily be supposed that the people, who always attributed to him supernatural powers, were confirmed in their belief by this tenacity of life which they considered miraculous.

King James IV And The Scottish Banditti

During the early part of his reign almost the whole of the country was infested (as it had been during the reigns of his predecessors) with innumerable hordes of banditti and robbers; who, having taken up their residence in the dark caverns and gloomy forests of the Highlands, often conjured together and sallied forth in considerable numbers upon the unguarded husbandman and villager, or benighted and unwary traveller. Many dreadful anecdotes are upon record relative to these lawless bands, who having grown powerful and insolent, in consequence of the supineness or insufficiency of the government, which, during those dark days, possessed little real power – even bearded the monarch in his very palace.

Their criminal offences at last arrived at such a pitch, that king James, soon after his accession to the throne, resolved, if possible, utterly to extirpate them. This he nearly accomplished – but the task was too Herculean for him to effect; what he left undone, his successor fully completed; and we consequently hear but little of these freebooters after this period. The daring deeds, dreadful crimes, and bloody cruelties, of which they were guilty, appear to have equalled in monstrosity those committed by the banditti of the Alps, the Carbonari of Italy, or the Forestmen of Ireland. For their lawless depredations the rocky glens, deep ravines, gloomy forests, and yawning chasms of the Highlands of Scotland were well suited; and the strong holds which they possessed, and which were always guarded with the most wary caution, rendered their abodes inaccessible to the stranger.

King James IV possessed an innate courage which rendered him superior to every feeling of fear or terror; and in the early part of his government, perceiving the increasing power of these desperadoes, and that their deeds became more fearful and glaring, he determined at every risk to bring them to that justice which had so long been exerted for the removal of the evil. For this purpose he would wander disguised for days among the gloomy woods and recesses of the Highland mountains, and make such observations as were necessary for the fulfilment of this design. In the course of these lonely excursions, he often fell into dangerous snares and fearful perils, from which nothing but his own extraordinary boldness, presence of mind, and promptitude of execution could possibly extricate him.

He was once overtaken by a violent storm of thunder and lightning, and the night being pitchy dark, excepting when the vivid gleam shed a flickering light over the dreary wastes of the forest, he was compelled to take shelter in a cavern near Wemys, which is one of the most remarkable antiquities of Scotland. Having advanced a considerable way into it, the king discovered a number of men and women of uncouth dress and appearance ready to begin to roast a sheep, by way of supper. From their place of abode, and mysterious and cautious whispers he began to suspect that he had not fallen into the best of company; but, as it was too late to retreat, he requested hospitality till the storm was over. They granted it, and, after some consultations by signs, they invited the monarch, whom they did not know, to sit down, and take part with them. They were a band of these outlawed desperadoes whose deeds filled every heart with terror. As soon as they had finished their repast, one of them presented a plate, upon which two daggers were placed in the form of a St Andrew’s cross, telling the king, at the same time, that this was the dessert which they always served to strangers; that he must choose one of the daggers, and combat with him whom the company should appoint to attack him. The king did not lose his presence of mind, but instantly seized the two daggers, one in each hand, and plunged them into the hearts of the two robbers who were next to him; and running full speed to the mouth of the cavern, he escaped from their pursuit, through the obscurity of the night, and the horrors of the storm. The king arrived safe at his residence, and without delay deputed a sturdy band to seize upon these outlaws.– This was accordingly done, and the whole of them were hanged without mercy.

Adventures of Morgan, Prince Of Free-Booters – A Wicked End To A Long Career

They halted about half-way from Chagre; when every freebooter was called upon to affirm by oath, that he had not appropriated to himself the slightest portion of the plunder. Notwithstanding the oath was taken, the suspicious Morgan demanded that the clothes and portmanteaus of the whole troop should be minutely examined, one after another. In order to obviate any thing that might be offensive in these commands, he underwent an examination first; and lest any thing should escape the strict search to which he himself had submitted, he stripped off his own boots. From this rigorous inquiry none of his companions in arms durst shrink, although very many of them, particularly the French, murmured loudly with much bitterness at such a proceeding.

The execution of the chieftain’s orders was committed to the officers, who discharged them with extreme severity. Even the fusees were taken to pieces, lest any precious stones should have been secreted between the iron and the stocks. This excessive mistrust excited the indignation of some of the free-booters to such a degree, that they threatened Morgan with death; but the majority of voices was against them, and supported a measure which the common interest seemed to require. In this point of view, every thing was lawful; every thing was commanded on one part, and tolerated on the other. Morgan, who knew how to unite address with imperious arrogance on some occasions, had recommended to the officers to take silently away the concealed articles their inquiries might have discovered, without divulging the transgressors of the law. These manoeuvres produced the desired effect, and the general tranquillity was not disturbed.

At length, on the 9th of March, 1671, the free-booters reached Chagre, where they found all things in tolerable order, excepting that most of their comrades had expired for want of proper assistance. From Chagre Morgan sent all his prisoners in a ship to Porto Bello, which city he threatened with total destruction, unless it was redeemed with a very heavy ransom. To this requisition it was answered, that not a single halfpenny would be given; and consequently that he might do whatever he pleased. Morgan’s threats were never in vain. He caused all the cannon belonging to the fort to be conveyed on board his own ship, with which he destroyed the walls, caused the houses to be burnt, and destroyed every thing which could not possibly be carried away.

The expedition was now terminated; and it only remained to make a division of the booty, which was valued at four hundred and forty-three thousand two hundred lbs. weight of silver, at a rate of ten piasters per pound. On this occasion Morgan behaved like a shameless robber towards those very comrades who had so quietly submitted to his examination, and who had brought into the common chest every thing they could have appropriated to themselves, to his detriment. He allowed the most flagitious spoiliations, causing a vast quantity of precious stones to be set apart for his own use; so that each of his companions in arms, or rather each of his accomplices in all his tortures and cruelties, received, as a reward for so many fatigues and dangers, only to the value of two hundred piasters for his own share.

The free-booters expressed their displeasure in violent murmurs; they reproached Morgan to his face for not bringing the most precious articles into the general mass, and charged him with applying them to his own use exclusively. The charge was certainly well-founded; a great number of articles, which many of the pirates had brought in, having disappeared at the time of making the division. To these complaints were added others of equal weight; which would, at some moment or other, excite a mutiny: but the faithless chieftain was not at all disposed to grant any satisfaction to the malcontents. He did not, however, wait for the breaking out of the rebellion; and in order to reconcile every difference, he went secretly on board his own ship, and set sail with three other vessels, whose commanders had been equally dishonest as himself with regard to booty, and who were in consequence devoted to him. The remainder of the fleet was left behind. Furious at finding themselves so shamefully abandoned, the other free-booters determined to pursue Morgan, and immediately attack him; but they were entirely destitute of provisions, and every other necessary article. They were therefore obliged to dispose themselves into small troops, in order to procure sustenance by pillaging the coast of Costarica, and afterwards resume their route from different quarters. But this plan was frustrated by a variety of accidents which occurred; nor did they succeed in re-entering Jamaica till a long time had elapsed, and after they had encountered infinite difficulties.

Notwithstanding his fortunate exploits and his laborious exertions, Morgan did not yet think of relinquishing the stormy profession of piracy; and, although he had lately conducted himself so unfairly towards his comrades, still he was certain to meet with others who would co-operate in his future expeditions. He therefore conceived a new project, which entered into all his views, and was to render his successes more solid. He proposed to convey a certain number of men to the island of St Catherine, to fortify it carefully, and to render it the residence of the free-booters. This plan was on the eve of being carried into execution, when an English ship of the line arrived at Jamaica with dispatches, which were a thunderbolt to the free-booters. The governor of the colony was recalled home to answer for the protection he had given those ‘blood-thirsty and plundering rascals,’ and the officer who was to succeed him was then on board. No sooner had the latter landed, then he published, in every port under British dominion, the king of England’s determination to live for the future in a good understanding with the Spanish monarch and his subjects in America. And a very severe prohibition was therefore issued, forbidding any free-booter to quit Jamaica with the design of attacking the Spanish possessions.