The oldest existing print of Boston harbor as it appeared in the time of Sir William Phips, showing the kind of ships in which he sailed to find his treasure.The oldest existing print of Boston harbor as it appeared in the time of Sir William Phips, showing the kind of ships in which he sailed to find his treasure.
The oldest existing print of Boston harbor as it appeared in the time of Sir William Phips, showing the kind of ships in which he sailed to find his treasure.The oldest existing print of Boston harbor as it appeared in the time of Sir William Phips, showing the kind of ships in which he sailed to find his treasure.
Never was there so haunting a reference to lost treasure as this mention of that gold table that went down with Governor Bobadilla. The words ring like a peal of magic bells. Alas, the pity of it, that Sir William Phips did not live to fit out a brave ship and go in quest of this wondrous treasure, for of all men, then or since, he was the man to find it.
Bobadilla was that governor of Hispaniola who was sent from Spain in 1500 by Ferdinand and Isabella to investigate the affairs of the colony as administered by Christopher Columbus. He put Columbus in chains and shipped him home, but the great discoverer found a friendly welcome there, and was sent back for his fourth voyage. He reached Hispaniola on the day that Bobadilla was sailing for Spain, in his turn to give place to a new Governor, Ovando by name. Bobadilla embarked at San Domingo in the largest ship of the fleet on board of which was put an immense amount of gold, the revenue collected for the Crown during his government, which he hoped might ease the disgrace of his recall.
The Spanish historian, Las Casas, besides other old chroniclers, mention this solid mass of virgin gold which Peter Martyr affirmed had been fashioned into a table. This enormous nugget had been found by an Indian woman in a brook on the estate of Francisco de Garay and Miguel Diaz and had been taken by Bobadilla to send to the king. According to Las Casas, it weighed three thousand, six hundred castellanos.
When Bobadilla's fleet weighed anchor, Columbus sent a messenger urging the ships to remain in port because a storm was imminent. The pilots and seamen scoffed at the warning, and the galleons stood out from San Domingo only to meet a tropical hurricane of terrific violence. Off the most easterly point of Hispaniola, Bobadilla's ship went down with all on board. If this galleon carrying the gold table, besides much other treasure, had foundered in deep water, it is unlikely that Sir William Phips would have planned to go in search of her. If, however, the ship had been smashed on a reef, he may have "fished up" information from some other ancient Spaniard as to her exact location.
The secret was buried in his grave and he left no chart to show where he hoped to find that marvelous treasure, and nobody knows the bearings of that "mighty shelf of rock and bank of sands that lie where he had informed himself."
[1] In order to make easier reading, this and the following extracts from Cotton Mather's narrative are somewhat modernized in respect of quaint spelling, punctuation, and the use of capitals, although, of course, the wording is unchanged.
The Isles of Shoals, lying within sight of Portsmouth Harbor on the New Hampshire coast, are rich in buried treasure legends and rocky Appledore is distinguished by the ghost of a pirate, "a pale and very dreadful specter," whose neck bears the livid mark of the hangman's noose. This is a ghost in whose case familiarity has bred contempt among the matter-of-fact islanders, for they call him "Old Bab" and employ him to frighten naughty children. Drake's "Nooks and Corners of the New England Coast" narrates in the proper melodramatic manner the best of these traditions.
"Among others to whom it is said these islands were known was the celebrated Captain Teach, or Blackbeard, as he was often called. He is supposed to have buried immense treasure here, some of which has been dug up and appropriated by the islanders. On one of his cruises, while lying off the Scottish coast waiting for a rich trader, he was boarded by a stranger who came off in a small boat from the shore. The visitor demanded to be led before the pirate chief in whose cabin he remained closeted for some time. At length Blackbeard appeared on deck with the stranger whom he introduced as a comrade. The vessel they were expecting soon came in sight, and, after a bloody conflict, became the prize of Blackbeard. The newcomer had shown such bravery that he was given command of the captured merchantman.
"The stranger soon proved himself a pirate leader of great skill and bravery and went cruising off to the southward and the coasts of the Spanish Main. At last after his appetite for wealth had been satiated he sailed back to his native land of Scotland, made a landing, and returned on board with the insensible body of a beautiful young woman in his arms.
"The pirate ship then made sail, crossed the Atlantic, and anchored in the roadstead of the Isles of Shoals. Here the crew passed the time in secreting their riches and in carousing. The commander's portion was buried on an island apart from the rest. He roamed over the isles with his beautiful companion, forgetful, it would seem, of his fearful trade, until one day a sail was seen standing in for the islands. All was now activity on board the pirate; but before getting under way the outlaw carried the maiden to the island where he had buried his treasure, and made her take a fearful oath to guard the spot from mortals until his return, were it not 'til doomsday.
"The strange sail proved to be a warlike vessel in search of the freebooter. A long and desperate battle ensued, in which the cruiser at last silenced her adversary's guns. The vessels were grappled for a last struggle when a terrible explosion strewed the sea with the fragments of both. Stung to madness by defeat, knowing that if taken alive a gibbet awaited him, the rover had fired the magazine, involving friend and foe in a common fate.
"A few mangled wretches succeeded in reaching the islands, only to perish miserably one by one, from hunger and cold. The pirate's mistress remained true to her oath to the last, or until she had succumbed to want and exposure. By report, she has been seen more than once on White Island—a tall shapely figure, wrapped in a long sea cloak, her head and neck uncovered, except by a profusion of golden hair. Her face is described as exquisitely rounded, but pale and still as marble. She takes her stand on the verge of a low, projecting point, gazing fixedly out upon the ocean in an attitude of intense expectation. A forager race of fishermen avouched that her ghost was doomed to haunt those rocks until the last trump shall sound, and that the ancient graves to be found on the islands were tenanted by Blackbeard's men."
It is more probable that whatever treasure may be hidden among the Isles of Shoals was hidden there by the shipmates of a great scamp of a pirate named John Quelch who fills an interesting page in the early history of the Massachusetts Colony. In proof of this assertion is the entry in one of the old records of Salem, written in the year 1704:
"Major Stephen Sewall, Captain John Turner, and 40 volunteers embark in a shallop and Fort Pinnace after Sunset to go in search of some Pirates who sailed from Gloucester in the morning. Major Sewall brought into Salem a Galley, Captain Thomas Lowrimore, on board of which he had captured some Pirates, and some of their Gold at the Isle of Shoals. Major Sewall carries the Pirates to Boston under a strong guard. Captain Quelch and five of his crew are hung. About 13 of the ship's Company remain under sentence of death and several more are cleared."
By no means all of the bloodstained gold of Quelch was recovered by this expedition which went to the Isles of Shoals and it is more likely to be hidden there to this day than anywhere else. Quelch was a bold figure of a pirate worthy to be named in the company of the most dashing of his profession in the era of Kidd, Bradish, Bellamy, and Low. His story is worth the telling because it is, in a way, a sequel of the tragedy of Captain Kidd.
In 1703, the brigantineCharles, of about eighty tons, owned by leading citizens and merchants of Boston, was fitted out as a privateer to go cruising against the French off the coasts of Arcadia and Newfoundland. On July 13th of that year, her commander, Captain David Plowman, received his commission from Governor Dudley of the province to sail in pursuit of the Queen's enemies and pirates, with other customary instructions. There was some delay in shipping a crew, and on the first of August theCharleswas riding off Marblehead when Captain Plowman was taken ill. He sent a letter to his owners, stating that he was unable to take the vessel to sea, and suggesting that they come on board next day and "take some speedy care in saving what we can."
The owners went to Marblehead, but the captain was too ill to confer with them. He was able, however, to write again, this time urging them to have the vessel carried to Boston, and the arms and stores landed in order to "prevent embezzlement," and advising against sending theCharleson her cruise under a new commander, adding the warning that "it will not do with these people," meaning the crew then on board.
Before the owners could take any measures to safeguard their property, the brigantine had made sail and was standing out to sea, stolen by her crew. The helpless captain was locked in his cabin, and the new Commander on the quarter-deck was John Quelch who had planned and led the mutiny. Instead of turning to the northward, the bow of theCharleswas pointed for the South Atlantic and the track of the Spanish trade where there was rich pirating. Somewhere in the Gulf Stream, poor Captain Plowman was dragged on deck and tossed overboard by order of Quelch.
A flag was then hoisted, called "Old Roger," described as having "in the middle of it an Anatomy (skeleton) with an Hourglass in one hand, and a dart in the Heart with 3 drops of Blood proceeding from it in the other." When the coast of Brazil was reached, Quelch and his men drove a thriving trade. Between November 15, 1703, and February 17, 1704, they boarded and took nine vessels, of which five were brigantines, and one a large ship carrying twelve guns. All these craft flew the Portugese flag, and Portugal was an ally of England by virtue of a treaty which had been signed at Lisbon on May 16, 1703. What became of the crews of these hapless vessels was not revealed, but the plunder included salt, sugar, rum, beer, rice, flour, cloth, silk, one hundred weight of gold dust, gold and silver coin to the value of a thousand pounds, two negro boys, great guns, small arms, ammunition, sails, and cordage. One of the largest of the brigantines was kept to serve as a tender.
Two weeks after theCharleshad taken French leave from Marblehead, her owners, surmising that she had been headed toward the West Indies, persuaded Governor Dudley to take action, and letters were sent to officials in various islands instructing them to be on the look-out for the runaway privateer and to seize her crew as pirates. Quelch was a wily rogue, however, and kept clear of all pursuit, nor was anything more heard of theCharlesuntil with extraordinary audacity he came sailing back to New England in the following May and dropped anchor off Marblehead. His men quickly scattered alongshore, and gave out the story which he had cooked up for them, that Captain Plowman had died of his illness while at sea, that Quelch had been obliged to take command, and that they had recovered a great deal of treasure from the wreck of a Spanish galleon.
The yarn was fishy, the men talked too much in their cups, and the owners of theCharleswere not satisfied with Quelch's glib explanation. They laid information against him in writing, and the vessel was searched, the plunder indicating that the lawless crew had been lifting the goods of subjects of the King of Portugal. The first mention of the affair in theBoston News-Letterwas in the issue for the week of May 15, 1704:
"Arrived at Marblehead, Captain Quelch in the Brigantine that Captain Plowman went out in. Is said to come from New Spain and have made a good Voyage."
Quelch was a good deal more of a man than Captain Kidd who skulked homeward, hiding his treasure, parleying with Governor Bellomont at long range, afraid to come to close quarters. A strutting, swaggering, villain was John Quelch, daring to beard the lion in his den, trusting to his ability to deceive with the authorities. To have run away with a privateer, thrown the captain overboard, filled the hold with loot, and then sailed back to Marblehead was no ordinary achievement. However, this truly artistic piracy was so coldly welcomed that a week after his arrival had been chronicled, he was in jail and the following proclamation issued:
"By the Honourable THOMAS POVEY, Esq., Lieut. Governour and Commander in Chief, for the time being, of Her Majesties Province of the Massachusetts Bay in New England.
A PROCLAMATION
Whereas, John Quelch, late Commander of the BrigantineCharlesand Company to her belonging, Viz, John Lambert, John Miller, John Clifford, John Dorothy, James Parrot, Charles James, William Whiting, John Pitman, John Templeton, Benjamin Perkins, William Wiles, Richard Lawrance, Erasmus Peterson, John King, Charles King, Isaac Johnson, Nicholas Lawson, Daniel Chevalle, John Way, Thomas Farrington, Matthew Primer, Anthony Holding, William Raynor, John Quittance, John Harwood, William Jones, Denis Carter, Nicholas Richardson, James Austin, James Pattison, Joseph Hutnot, George Pierse, George Norton, Gabriel Davis, John Breck, John Carter, Paul Giddens, Nicholas Dunbar, Richard Thurbar, Daniel Chuly, and others; Have lately imported a considerable quantity of Gold dust, and some Bar and Coin'd Gold, which they are Violently suspected to have gotten and obtained by Felony and Piracy from some of Her Majesties Friends and Allies, and have Imported and Shared the same among themselves without any Adjudication or Condemnation thereof to be lawful Prizes; The said Commander and some others being apprehended and in Custody, the rest are absconded and fled from Justice.
"I have therefore thought fit, by and with the advice of Her Majesties Council, strictly to Command and Require all Officers Civil and Military, and others Her Majesties loving Subjects to Apprehend and Seize the said Persons, or any of them, whom they may know or find, and them secure and their Treasure, and bring them before one of the Council, or next Justice of the Peace, in order to their being safely conveyed to Boston, to be Examined and brought to Answer what shall be Objected against them, on Her Majesties behalf.
"And all Her Majesties Subjects, and others, are hereby strictly forbidden to entertain, harbour, or conceal any of the said Persons, or their Treasure, or to convey away, or in any manner further the Escape of any of them, on pain of being proceeded against with utmost Severity of Law, as accessories and partakers with them in their Crime.
Given at the Council Chamber in Boston the 24th Day of May in the Third Year of the Reign of our Sovereign Lady ANNE, by the Grace of GOD of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland, QUEEN, Defender of the Faith, etc. Annoque Domi. 1704.
T. POVEY.
By Order of the Lieut.Governor and Council,Isaac Addington, Secr.GOD Save The QUEEN."
The editor ofThe Boston News-Letter, commenting on the foregoing fulmination, saw fit to qualify his previous mention of Quelch's voyage, and announced under date of May 27:
"Our last gave an Account of Captain Quelch's being said to Arrive from N. Spain, having made a good Voyage, but by the foregoing Proclamation 'tis uncertain whence they came, and too palpably evident they have committed Piracies, either upon her Majesties Subjects or Allies.... William Whiting lyes sick, like to dye, not yet examined. There are two more of them sick at Marble head, and another in Salem Gaol, and James Austin imprisoned at Piscataqua."
An ancient map of Jamaica showing the haunts of the pirates and the track of the treasure galleons.An ancient map of Jamaica showing the haunts of the pirates and the track of the treasure galleons.
An ancient map of Jamaica showing the haunts of the pirates and the track of the treasure galleons.An ancient map of Jamaica showing the haunts of the pirates and the track of the treasure galleons.
As soon as Governor Dudley returned to Boston, a few days later, he issued a proclamation to reinforce that of the Lieutenant Governor, and one paragraph indicated that the case of John Quelch was moving swiftly toward the gallows.
"And it being now made Evident by the Confession of some of the said Persons apprehended and Examined, that the Gold and Treasure by them Imported was robb'd and taken from the Subject of the Crown of Portugal, on which they have also acted divers Villainous Murders, I have thought fit," etc.
It was believed that several of the crew had scampered off with a large amount of the treasure, for Governor Dudley laid great stress on overhauling sundry of them, mentioned by name, "with their Treasure concealed." In his speech at the opening of the General Court on June 1, he stated:
"The last week has discovered a very notorious piracy, committed upon her Majesties Allies, the Portugal, on the coast of Brazil, by Quelch and company, in theCharles Galley; for the discovery of which all possible methods have been used, and the severest process against those vile men shall be speedily taken, that the Province be not thereby disparaged, as they have been heretofore; and I hope every good man will do his duty according to the several Proclamations to discover the pirates and their treasure, agreable to the Acts of Parliament in that case made and provided."
Dudley was as energetic in pursuit of the runaway pirates as Bellomont had been, and theNews-Letterrecorded his activities in this wise:
"Warrants are issued forth to seize and apprehend Captain Larimore in theLarimore Galley, who is said to have Sailed from Cape Anne with 9 or 11 Pirates of Captain Quelch's Company."
"There is two more of the Pirates seized this week and in Custody viz. Benjamin Perkins, and John Templeton."
"Rhode Island, June 9. The Honorable Samuel Cranston, Esq., Governour of Her Majesties Colony of Rhode Island, etc., Having received a Proclamation Emitted by His Excellency Joseph Dudley, Esq. General and Gov. in Chief in and over Her Majesties Province of the Mass. Bay, etc., for Seizing and Apprehending the late Company of Pirates belonging to the BriganteenCharles, of whom John Quelch was Commander, By and with the advice of the Deputy Governour and Council Present, issued forth his further Proclamation to Seize and Apprehend said Pirates, or any of their Treasure, and to bring them before one of the Council, or next Justice of the Peace, in order to be conveyed to the town of Newport, to be examined and proceeded with according to Law. Commanding the Sheriff to Publish this and His Excellencies Proclamation in the Town of New-port, and in other Towns of the Colony. Strictly forbidding all Her Majesties Subjects and others to conceal any of them or their treasure, or convey and further their escape, on pain of being proceeded against with utmost severity of law."
"Marblehead, June 9. The Honorable Samuel Sewall, Nathanael Byfield, and Paul Dudley, Esqrs. came to this place yesterday, in obedience to His Excellency the Governour, his Order for the more effectual discovering and Seizing the Pirates lately belonging to the BriganteenCharles, John Quelch Commander, with their Treasure. They made Salem in their way, where Samuel Wakefield the Water Baily informed them of a rumour that two of Quelch's Company were lurking at Cape Anne, waiting for a Passage off the Coast. The Commissioners made out a Warrant to Wakefield to Search for them, and dispatched him away on Wednesday night. And having gain'd intelligence this Morning that a certain number of them well Armed, were at Cape Anne, designing to go off in theLarimore Galley, then at Anchor in the Harbour, they immediately sent Men from the several adjacent Towns by Land and Water to prevent their escape, and went thither themselves, to give necessary orders upon the place."
"Gloucester, upon Cape Anne, June 9. The Commissioners for Seizing the Pirates and their Treasure arrived here this day, were advised that theLarimore GalleySail'd in the Morning Eastward, and that a Boat was seen to go off from the head of the Cape, near Snake Island, full of men, supposed to be the Pirates. The Commissioners, seeing the Government mock'd by Captain Larimore and his officers, resolved to send after them. Major Stephen Sewall who attended with a Fishing Shallop, and the Fort Pinnace, offered to go in pursuit of them, and Captain John Turner, Mr. Robert Brisco, Capt. Knight, and several other good men voluntarily accompanied him, to the Number of 42 men who rowed out of the Harbour after Sun-sett, being little Wind."
"Salem, June 11. This afternoon Major Sewall brought into this Port theLarimore Galleyand Seven Pirates, viz., Erasmus Peterson, Charles James, John Carter, John Pitman, Francis King, Charles King, John King, whom he with his Company Surprized and Seized at the Isles of Sholes the 10th. Instant viz. four of them on Board theLarimore Galley, and three on shoar on Starr Island, being assisted by John Hinckes and Thomas Phipps, Esqrs., two of her Majesties Justices of New Hampshire, who were happily there, together with the Justices and the Captain of the Place. He also seized 45 Ounces and Seven Penny weight of Gold of the said Pirates. Captain Thomas Larimore, Joseph Wells, Lieutenant, and Daniel Wormall, Master, and the said Pirates are Secured in our Gaol."
"Gloucester, June 12. Yesterday Major Sewall passed by this place with theLarimore Galleyand ShallopTrialstanding for Salem, and having little wind, set our men ashore on the Eastern Point, giving of them notice that William Jones and Peter Roach, two of the Pirates had mistook their way, and were still left at the Cape, with strict charge to search for them, which our Towns People performed very industriously. Being strangers and destitute of all Succours, they surrendered themselves this Afternoon, and were sent to Salem Prison."
"Boston, June 17. On the 13th. Instant, Major Sewall attended with a strong guard brought to Town the above mentioned Pirates and Gold he had seized and gave His Excellency a full Account of his Procedure in Seizing them. The Prisoners were committed to Gaol in order to a Tryal, and the Gold delivered to the Treasurer and Committee appointed to receive the same. The service of Major Sewall and Company was very well Accepted and Rewarded by the Governour.
"His Excellency was pleased on the 13 Currant to open the High Court of Admiralty for trying Capt. John Quelch, late Commander of the BriganteenCharles, and Company for Piracy, who were brought to the Barr, and the Articles exhibited against them read. They all pleaded Not Guilty, excepting three, viz. Matthew Primer, John Clifford, and James Parrot, who were reserved for Evidences and are in her Majesties Mercy. The Prisoners moved for Council, and His Excellency assigned them Mr. James Meinzes. The Court was adjourned to the 16th. When met again Capt. Quelch preferr'd a Petition to His Excellency and Honorable Court, craving longer time which was granted till Monday Morning at Nine of the Clock, when said Court is to sit again in order to their Tryal."
Newspaper reporting was primitive in the Year of Our Lord, 1704, and we are denied further information of the merry chase after the fleeing pirates and their treasure. One would like to know more of that adventure at the Isles of Shoals and what the fugitives were doing "on shoar" at Starr Island. The trial of Quelch and his companions was recorded with much more detail because it had certain important and memorable aspects. It will be recalled that Kidd and his men were sent to England for trial by Bellomont for the reason that the colonial laws made no provision for executing the death sentence in the case of a convicted pirate. The difficulties and delays and the large expense incident to the Kidd proceedings were among the considerations which moved Parliament, by an act passed in the reign of William III, to confer upon the Crown authority to issue commissions for the trial of pirates by Courts of Admiralty out of the realm. Such a commission was finally sent to Lord Bellomont for the trial of pirates in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. Another document of the same kind, granting him this power for New York, arrived there after his death.
These rights were confirmed by Queen Anne, and in her instructions to Governor Dudley she expressed "her will and pleasure that in all matters relating to the prosecution of pirates, he govern himself according to the act and commission aforesaid." The trial of Quelch was the first to be held by virtue of these authorizations, and therefore the first capital proceedings against pirates in the New England Colonies. A special court was convened, and an imposing tribunal it was, comprising the Governors and Lieutenant Governors of the Provinces of Massachusetts Bay, and New Hampshire, the Judge of Vice Admiralty in each, the Chief Justices of the Superior Court of Judicature, the Secretary of the Province, Members of the Council of Massachusetts Bay, and the Collector of Customs for New England.
The sessions were held in the Star Tavern, on the present Hanover Street of Boston, and Quelch was tried first, "being charged with nine several articles of piracy and murder." He was very expeditiously found guilty and sentenced to death, after which nineteen of his company, in two batches, were dealt the same verdict. From this wholesale punishment only two were excepted, William Whiting, "the witnesses proving no matter of fact upon him, said Whiting being sick all the voyage and not active," and John Templeton, "a servant about fourteen years of age, and not charged with any action." These were acquitted.
There are preserved only two copies of a broadside published in Boston in July of 1704 which quaintly portrays the strenuous efforts made to save the souls of the condemned pirates who must have been men of uncommonly stout endurance to stand up under the sermons with which they were bombarded. This little pamphlet may serve as a warning to venturesome boys of the twentieth century who yearn to go a-pirating and to bury treasure.
An Account of the Behaviour and Last Dying SPEECHES
Of the Six Pirates that were Executed on Charles River, Boston side, On Fryday, June 30th. 1704. Viz.
Captain John Quelch, John Lambert, Christopher Scudamore, John Miller, Erasmus Peterson, and Peter Roach.
The Ministers of the Town had used more than ordinary Endeavours to Instruct the Prisoners, and bring them to Repentance. There were Sermons Preached in their hearing Every Day; And Prayers daily made with them. And they were Catechised; and they had many occasional Exhortations. And nothing was left that could be done for their Good.
On Fryday, the 30th of June, 1704, Pursuant to Orders in the Dead Warrant, the aforesaid Pirates were guarded from the Prison in Boston by Forty Musketeers, Constables of the Town, the Provost Marshal and his Officers, etc, with two Ministers who took great pains to prepare them for the last Article of their Lives. Being allowed to walk on foot through the Town, to Scarlet's Wharf: where the Silver Oar being carried before them, they went by Water to the Place of Execution being crowded and thronged on all sides by Multitudes of Spectators. The Ministers then spoke to the Malefactors to this Effect:
"We have told you often, yea, we have told you weeping, that you have by Sin undone yourselves; That you were born Sinners; That you have lived Sinners; That your Sins have been many and mighty; and that the Sins for which you are now to Dy, are of no Common aggravation. We have told you that there is a Saviour for Sinners, and we have shewn you how to commit yourselves into his Saving and Healing Hands. We have told you that if He Save you He will give you as hearty Repentance for all your Sins, and we have shewn you how to Express that Repentance. We have told you what Marks of Life must be desired for your Souls, that you may Safely appear before the Judgment Seat of God. Oh! That the means used for your Good may by the Grace of God be made Effectual. We can do no more, but leave you in His Merciful Hands."
When they were gone upon the Stage, and Silence was Commanded, One of the Ministers Prayed as followeth:
"Oh! Thou most Great and Glorious LORD! Thou art a Righteous and a Terrible God. It is a righteous and an Holy Law that thus hast given unto all, but what would soon have done the worst things in the World. Oh! The Free-Grace! Oh! The Riches of that Grace, which has made all the Difference! But now, we cry us. To break that Good Law, and Sin against thy Infinite Majesty can be no little Evil. Thy Word is always True, and very Particular, that Word of thine which has told us and warned us, EVIL PURSUETH SINNERS. We have seen it, we have seen it. We have before our Eyes a dreadful Demonstration of it. Oh! Sanctify unto us, a Sight that has in it so much of the Terror of the Lord!
"Here is a Number of men that have been very great Sinners, and that are to Dy before their Time, for their being wicked overmuch.
"... But now we cry mightily to Heaven, we Lift up our Cries to the God of all Grace, for the Perishing Souls which are just now going to Expire under the Stroke of Justice, before our Eyes. We Mourn, we Mourn, that upon some of them at least, we do unto this minute see no better Symptoms. But, Oh! is there not yet a Room for Sovereign Grace to be display'd, in their Conversion and Salvation? They Perish if they do not now Sincerely turn from Sin to God, and give themselves up to the Lord JESUS CHRIST; They Righteously and Horribly Perish! And yet, without Influences from above, they can do none of those things which must be done if they do not perish. Oh! let us beg it of our God that He would not be so Provoked at their Multiplied and Prodigious Impieties, and at their obstinate Hardness under means of Good formerly afforded them, as to withhold those Influences from them. We cry to thee, O God of all Grace, That thou wouldst not Suffer them to continue in the Gall of Bitterness and Bond of Iniquity, and in the Possession of the Devil. Oh! Knock off the Chains of Death which are upon their Souls; Oh! Snatch the prey out of the Hands of the Terrible.
"... Discover to them, the only Saviour of their Souls. Oh! Dispose them, Oh! Assist them to give the Consent of their Souls unto His Wonderful Proposals. Let them dy Renouncing all Dependence on any Righteousness of their own. Alas, what can they have of their own to Depend upon! As a Token and Effect of their having Accepted the Righteousness of God, Let them heartily Repent of all their Sins against thee, and Abhor and cast up every Morsel of their Iniquity. Oh! Let them not go out of the World raging and raving against the Justice of God and Man. And whatever part of the Satanick Image is yet remaining on their Souls, Oh! Efface it! Let them now dy in such a State and such a Frame as may render them fit to appear before God the Judge of all. What shall plead for them?
"Great GOD grant that all the Spectators may get Good by the horrible Spectacle that is now before them! Let all the People hear and fear, and let no more any such Wickedness be done as has produced this woeful Spectacle. And let all the People beware how they go on in the ways of Sin, and in the paths of the Destroyer, after so Solemn Warnings.
"Oh! but shall ourSea-faring Tribeon this Occasion be in a Singular manner affected with the Warnings of God! Lord, May those our dear Bretheren be Saved from the Temptations which do so threaten them! Oh! Let them not Abandon Themselves to Profanity, to Swearing, to Cursing, to Drinking, to Lewdness, to a cursed Forgetfulness of their Maker, and of the End for which He made them! Oh! Let them not be abandoned of God unto those Courses that will hasten them to a Damnation that slumbers not! Oh! Let the men hear the Lord exceedingly, We Pray thee! Let the Condition of the Six or Seven men whom they now see Dying for their Wickedness upon the Sea be Sanctified unto them...."
They then severally Spoke, Viz.
—I—Captain John Quelch. The last Words he spoke to one of the Ministers at his going up the Stage were,I am not afraid of Death. I am not afraid of the Gallows, but I am afraid of what follows; I am afraid of a Great God, and a Judgment to Come. But he afterwards seem'd to brave it out too much against that fear; also when on the Stage first he pulled off his Hat, and bowed to the Spectators, and not concerned, nor behaving himself so much like a Dying man as some would have done. The Ministers had in the Way to his Execution much desired him to Glorify God at his Death, by bearing a due Testimony against the Sins that had ruined him, and for the ways of Religion which he had much neglected; yet now being called upon to speak what he had to say, it was but this much.What I have to say is this. I desire to be informed for what I am here. I am Condemned only upon Circumstances. I forgive all the World. So the Lord be Merciful to my Soul. WhenLambertwas Warning the Spectators to beware of Bad Company,QuelchjoyningThey should also take care how they brought Money into New England, to be Hanged for it!
—II—John Lambert. He appeared much hardened, and pleaded much on his Innocency; He desired all men to beware of Bad Company; he seem'd in a great Agony near his Execution; he called much and frequently on Christ for Pardon of Sin, that God Almighty would save his innocent Soul; he desired to forgive all the World. His last words were,Lord, forgive my Soul! Oh, receive me into Eternity! Blessed Name of Christ, receive my Soul.
—III—Christopher Scudamore. He appeared very Penitent since his Condemnation, was very diligent to improve his time going to, and at the place of Execution.
—IV—John Miller. He seem'd much concerned, and complained of a great Burden of Sins to answer for; expressing oftenLord, what shall I do to be Saved!
—V—Erasmus Peterson. He cryed of injustice done him, and saidIt is very hard for so many lives to be taken away for a little Gold. He often said his Peace was made with God, and his Soul would be with God, yet extream hard to forgive those he said had wronged him. He told the Executioner,he was a strong man, and Prayed to be put out of misery as soon as possible.
—VI—Peter Roach. He seem'd little concerned, and said but little or nothing at all. Francis King was also brought to the place of Execution but Repriev'd.
Printed for and Sold by Nicholas Boone, at his Shop near the Old Meeting-House in Boston. 1704.
ADVERTISEMENT.
There is now in the Press and will speedily be Published: The Arraignment, Tryal and Condemnation of Captain John Quelch, and others of his Company etc. for sundry Piracies, Robberies and Murder committed upon the Subjects of the King of Portugal, Her Majesties Allie, on the Coast of Brasil etc. Who upon full Evidence were found guilty at the Court-House in Boston on the 13th of June 1704. With the Arguments of the Queen's Council and Council for the Prisoners, upon the Act for the more effectual Suppression of Piracy. With an account of the Ages of the several Prisoners, and the Places where they were Born.
TheNews-Letterwas less inclined to vouch for the pious inclinations of these poor wretches, and gravely stated that "notwithstanding all the great labour and pains taken by the Reverend Ministers of the Town of Boston, ever since they were first Seized and brought to Town, both before and since their Tryal and Condemnation, to instruct, admonish, preach, and pray for them: yet as they had led a wicked and vicious life, so to appearance they dyed very obdurately and impenitently, hardened in their Sins."
Be that as it may, the figure of bold John Quelch on the gallows, bowing to the spectators, hat in hand, was that of no whimpering coward, and one admires him for that grimly sardonic touch of humor as he warned the silent, curious multitude to take care "how they brought money into New England, to be hanged for it." Among these devout and somber Pilgrims and Puritans who Listened to that singularly moving prayer, tremendous in its sincerity, were more than a few who were bringing money into New England by means of trade in rum and negroes, or very quietly buying and selling the merchandise fetched home by pirates who were lucky enough to keep clear of the law. The Massachusetts colonists dearly loved to make public parade of a rogue caught in the act, and to see six pirates hanged at once was a rare holiday indeed.
These only of the number convicted and condemned were hanged. All the others were pardoned a year later by Queene Anne at the recommendation of Governor Dudley, with the exhortation "that as they had now new Lives given them, they should be new men, and be very faithful and diligent in the Service of Her Majesty; who might as easily and justly have ordered their Execution this day as sent their Pardon." As one way of turning pirates to some useful account, these forgiven rogues were promptly drafted into the royal navy as able seamen, and doubtless made excellent food for powder.
Although a large part of that hundred weight of gold was successfully concealed by Quelch and his comrades, either buried at the Isles of Shoals, or otherwise spirited away, enough of it was recovered to afford a division of the spoils among various officials in a manner so suggestive of petty graft as to warrant the conclusion that piracy was not entirely a maritime trade in Puritan Boston. Every man Jack of them who had anything whatever to do with catching or keeping or hanging Quelch and his fellows poked his fingers into the bag of gold. It seems like very belated muck-raking to fish up the document that tells in detail what became of so much of the Quelch treasure as fell into the greedy hands of the authorities, but here are the tell-tale figures:
"To Stephen North, who kept the Star Tavern in which the trial was held, for entertainment of the Commissioners during the sitting of the Court of Admiralty, and for Witnesses, Twenty-eight pounds, Eleven shillings, and six pence.
"To Lieut. Gov. Usher, Expenses in securing and returning of James Austin's Gold from the Province of New Hampshire, Three pounds, ten shillings.
"To Richard Jesse, Sheriffe of New Hampshire and his Officers and under keeper, for charge of keeping the said Austin, expenses in his sickness, and charge of conveying him into this Province, Nine pounds, five shillings.
"To Mr. James Menzies of Council for the Prisoners on their Tryal, as signed by the Commissioners, Twenty Pounds.
"To Henry Franklyn, Marshal of the Admiralty for the Gibbet, Guards, and execution, Twenty-nine pounds, nineteen shillings. Later forty shillings added to Thomas Barnard for erecting the gibbet.
"To Samuel Wakefield, Deputy Marshal of the Admiralty, for charges in apprehending several of the said Pirates, Four Pounds, five shillings and six pence.
"To Mr. Apthorp and Mr. Jesse, two of the Constables of Boston for their service about apprehending the said Pirates, forty shillings.
"To the Constables of the Several Towns betwixt Bristol and Boston for apprehending and conveying of Christopher Scudamore, two pounds, eighteen shillings.
"To Captain Edward Brattle, charges on a Negro boy imported by the said Pirates, Twenty five shillings.
"To Andrew Belcher, Esq., charges for Clothing of the Witnesses sent to England with Larrimore and Wells, charged as accessories, seven pounds, eighteen shillings.
"To Paul Dudley, Esq., the Queen's Advocate for the prosecution of the said Pirates, preparing the said Tryal for the press, supervising of the same, and for his service relating to Captain Larrimore, in the whole, Thirty-six pounds.
"To Thomas Newton, Esq. of Council for the Queen in the said Tryal, ten pounds.
"To Mr. John Valentine, Register, for his service on the Tryal and for transcribing them to be transmitted to her Majesty's High Court of Admiralty in England, Thirteen pounds.
"To Mr. Sheriffe Dyer, for his service relating to the said Prisoners, Five pounds.
"To Wm. Clarke of Boston, for Casks, shifting and landing the Sugar and other things piratically and feloniously obtained by Captain Quelch and Company, and for storage of them, Thirteen pounds.
"To Daniel Willard, Keeper of the Prison in Boston, toward the charge of feeding and keeping of the said Pirates, Thirty pounds.
"To Andrew Belcher, the Commissary-General, an additional sum of five pounds nine shillings and six pence for necessary clothing supplied to some of the Pirates in prison.
"To Major James Sewall for his pursuit and apprehension of seven of the Pirates, and for the gratification of himself, Captain Turner, and other officers, one hundred and thirty-two pounds, five shillings."
The town and bay of Tobermory, Island of Mull. The treasure galleon is supposed to have gone down in the place indicated by the cross at the right hand side of the photograph.The town and bay of Tobermory, Island of Mull. The treasure galleon is supposed to have gone down in the place indicated by the cross at the right hand side of the photograph.
The town and bay of Tobermory, Island of Mull. The treasure galleon is supposed to have gone down in the place indicated by the cross at the right hand side of the photograph.The town and bay of Tobermory, Island of Mull. The treasure galleon is supposed to have gone down in the place indicated by the cross at the right hand side of the photograph.
The commissioners, Sewall, Byfield and Paul Dudley, received for their expenses and services, twenty-five pounds, seven shillings, and ten pence.
Finally, there were given to the captains of the several companies of militia in the town for Boston, "for their charges and expenses on Guards and Watches on the Pirates during their Imprisonment, Twenty-seven pounds, sixteen shillings, and three pence: to Captain Tuthill, for his assistance to secure and bring about the Vessel and goods from Marblehead, five pounds; to Mr. Jeremiah Allen, the Treasurer's bookkeeper, for his care and service about the said Gold and goods, five pounds; to Constable Apthorp and Jesse, for their services, a further allowance of three pounds."
The amount of the "royal bounty" given the Governor as his share of the pirates' booty, is not recorded. If the belief of those of their contemporaries who best know the Dudleys may be relied on, the fees and emoluments officially awarded them were by no means the extent of the profits from their dealings with the pirates and their treasure. When Cotton Mather quarreled with Governor Dudley a few years later he did not hesitate to intimate this charge pretty broadly in the following passage in his memorial on Dudley's administration:
"There have been oddCollusionswith the Pyrates of Quelch's Company, of which one instance is, That there was extorted the sum of about Thirty Pounds from some of the crew for liberty to walk at certain times in the prison yard. And this liberty having been allowed for two or three days unto them, they were again confined to their former wretched circumstances."