Chapter 15

A TRAGIC INCIDENT

And now we must turn to an occurrence that was rather more tragic than the last, though the smugglers had only themselves to blame.

The reader is already aware of the practice existing at this time of actually rowing contraband across from France to England in large boats pulling four or more oars. As one who have myself rowed a craft most of the way from Calais to Dover in a flat calm, I cannot altogether envy the smugglers their job. However, on May 11, 1818, Captain Hawtayne, commanding H.M.S. _Florida_, was cruising in the English Channel on the look-out for contraband craft. Evidently he had received certain information, for at eight o'clock that evening he ordered Mr. Keith Stewart, master's mate, to man one of the ship's boats and to intercept any boat that might leave the French coast that looked at all of a suspicious nature.

This order was duly obeyed. A galley was observed some time before, which had no doubt aroused Captain Hawtayne's suspicions. This galley had been seen to come out of Calais harbour and to be rowed towards the westward. But she must have spotted the _Florida_, for she very shortly put back. But before long Mr. Stewart's boat fell in with another craft--a long white galley named the _St. Thomas_. This was now about 1 A.M., and for a time the _St. Thomas_ had the impudence to pretend she was a French police boat. When descried she was about five or six miles to the N.N.W. of Cape Blanc Nez, and was steering to the westward. The night was dark, for the moon had disappeared behind a cloud as Mr. Stewart's boat came up alongside and hailed the strange craft. He began by asking what boat she was. The steersman replied by inquiring what boat Mr. Stewart's was. The latter answered that it was the King's boat.

At that time the _St. Thomas's_ sails were up, and now Mr. Stewart ordered the steersman to lower them. He made no answer, but, turning round to his crew exhorted them to pull quickly, saying, "Give way, my boys, give way." Thereupon the smugglers cheered and pulled as hard as they could. Mr. Stewart again ordered the steersman to lower sail, adding that should he fail to do so he would fire at him. But this did not awe the _St. Thomas_. "Fire and be damned," answered the steersman. "If you fire, I will fire. We are as well armed as you are." Stewart held his hand and did not fire, but ordered his men to pull closer. Coming alongside, he addressed the steersman, saying it was absolutely essential that he should examine the _St. Thomas_ and that he knew they were Englishmen, adding that he was unwilling that there should be any bloodshed by firing into the boat.

With this the _Florida_'s boat pulled up on the other's quarter, and the bowmen hooked on with the boat-hook. The _St. Thomas's_ steersman knocked the boat-hook away and threatened to shoot the bowman if he did not let go. For a short time thereafter the boats separated and drifted apart. But a second time his Majesty's boat pulled up alongside, and Mr. Stewart jumped forward into the bows and ordered one of his own men to stand by ready to accompany him on board. The steersman of the other, however, was determined, and resisted Stewart's attempt, at the same time presenting a pistol and threatening to shoot the officer if he advanced one step further.

On that the men of _St. Thomas_ ceased rowing, drew in their oars, and rushed aft to where the steersman was standing in the stern. Matters began to look ugly, and being convinced that these men were bent on desperate resistance, Mr. Stewart was compelled to fire with his pistol at the steersman, who immediately fell. Stewart instantly leapt aboard, but was nearly jostled into the sea by two of the enemy. He ordered the whole of this crew to go forward, but they declined to obey, and followed this up by threatening that if they still refused he would have to use his sword and cut them down. The only member of his own crew who had already got aboard as well was his coxswain, and owing either to himself or the action of the coxswain in stepping from one boat to the other, the two craft had drifted apart, and for a time there was considerable risk that the men, who were obvious smugglers, would fall on these two. But the naval officer had already cut down two of their number with his sword, and after that the rest went forward and were obedient. The _St. Thomas_ was rather a large craft of her kind. Additional to her sails, she rowed five on one side, six on the other, and also had a steersman, the additional oarsman being no doubt placed according to the tide so that his work might in some measure counteract the great leeway which is made by small vessels crossing the strong tidal stream of the English Channel.

As all was now quiet on board, Mr. Stewart searched her and found she was laden with kegs, which, said the crew, were filled with tea and tobacco, these kegs being as usual already slung for putting ashore or sinking. Later on it was found that out of this crew no less than six were English, besides one man who had been born at Flushing of English parentage, though he called himself a Dutchman. The rest were all foreigners. No one can read such an incident as this without regretting that they should have ever led to slaughter. It is a serious thing to take any man's life when there is no warfare, and it is still more dismal if that man is of the same nationality as the one who deals death. If the whole of the _St. Thomas's_ crew had been killed there could have been no blame on Mr. Stewart, for he was only carrying out his orders and acting in self-defence. The smugglers were fully aware they were in the wrong, and they were responsible for any consequences that might accrue. The officer had given them ample warning, and he had only used severe measures when absolutely compelled.

But there is a more satisfactory side to this regrettable incident, which one is only too glad to be able to record. The man who had been so badly wounded desired to speak to Mr. Stewart, and when the latter had approached him he turned to him and said:

"You've killed me; sir, I'm dying."

Mr. Stewart saw that this was perfectly true, and that the man was in no sense exaggerating.

"Well, I'm sorry for it," he said, "but it was your own fault."

"Yes," answered the dying man, "I know that, but I hope you won't make things worse than they are. I freely forgive you."

This was the steersman who had so strenuously opposed the boarding of the _St. Thomas_. We can quite sympathise with the feelings of Mr. Stewart, and be thankful that those lawless days of violence have long since passed. If you talk with any of the Revenue officers still living who were employed in arresting, lying in wait for, receiving information concerning, and sometimes having a smart fight with the smugglers, you will be told how altogether hateful it was to have to perform such a duty. It is such incidents as the above which knock all romance out of the smuggling incidents. An encounter with fisticuffs, a few hard blows, and an arrest after a smart chase or a daring artifice, whilst not lessening the guilt of smuggling, cannot take away our interest. Our sympathies all the time are with the Revenue men, because they have on their side right, and in the long-run right must eventually conquer might. But, as against this, the poorer classes in those days were depressed in ignorance with low ideals, and lacking many of the privileges which no thinking man to-day would refuse them. And because they were so daring and so persistent, because they had so much to lose and (comparatively speaking) so little really to gain, we extend to them a portion of our sympathy and a large measure of our interest. They were entirely in the wrong, but they had the right stuff in them for making the best kind of English sailormen, the men who helped to win our country's battles, and to make her what she is to-day as the owner of a proud position in the world of nations.

Ten of these twelve men were taken as prisoners to the _Florida_, and the _St. Thomas_ with her cargo still aboard were towed by the _Florida_ into Yarmouth Roads, and there delivered to the Collector of Customs. She was found to be a 54-foot galley--a tremendous length for an oared craft--with no deck, and rigged with three lugsails and jib, her size working out at about 11 tons burthen. On delivering the cargo at Yarmouth it was found that there were altogether 207 kegs. The ten uninjured prisoners were taken before the Yarmouth magistrates, and the two whom the officer had cut down were sent on shore immediately the _Florida_ arrived in that port. The English steersman, to whose case we call special attention, died, two others were fined £100 each, two were sent to gaol, and one, who was the son of the man who died, was liberated, as it was shown that he had only been a passenger. The man who had been born of English parents at Flushing was also set free, as the magistrates had not sufficient proof that he was a British subject.

A few months prior to the above occurrence Lieutenant John Wood Rouse was in command of his Majesty's schooner _Pioneer_. On the 11th of January 1817 he was cruising between Dungeness and Point St. Quintin, when his attention was drawn to a lugger whose name we may state by anticipation was the _Wasp_. She appeared to be making for the English coast on a N.W. bearing, and was distant about six miles. In order to cut her off and prevent her from making the shore Lieutenant Rouse sent one of his men named Case with a galley to cross her bows. At the same time he also despatched another of his boats under the care of a Mr. Walton to make directly for the lugger. This occurred about 10 A.M., and the chase continued till about 3.45 P.M., when the schooner came alongside the lugger that had, by this time, been seized by Mr. Case. Lieutenant Rouse was then careful to take bearings of the land, and fixed his position so that there should be no dispute as to whether the lugger were seized within the legal limits.

On capturing the lugger, only two persons were found on board, and these were at once transferred to the _Pioneer_. To show what liars these smugglers could become, one of these two said he was a Frenchman, but his name was the very British-sounding William Stevenson. The other said he was a Dutchman. Stevenson could speak not a word of French, but he understood English perfectly, and said that part of the cargo was intended for England and part for Ireland, which happened to be the truth, as we shall see presently. He also added that of the crew of eight three were Dutchmen and five English, for he had by now forgotten his own alleged nationality.

Prior to the arrival of Mr. Case's boat the lugger had hoisted out her tub-boat and rowed away as fast as the waves would let her, with all the crew except these two. She was found to have a cargo of tobacco and tea, as well as Geneva, all being made up into suitable dimensions for landing. On examining the ship's papers it was indicated that she was bound for Bilbao in Spain. But these papers had evidently been obtained in readiness for such an occurrence as the advent of the schooner. When it is mentioned that this lugger was only a large galley with absolutely no deck whatever, and capable of being rowed by ten men, it was hardly credible that she would be the kind of craft to sail round Ushant and across the Bay of Biscay. "Was she calculated to carry a cargo to Spain?" asked counsel at the trial two years later. "I will risk my experience as a sailor," answered one of the witnesses, "that I would not have risked my life in a boat of that description."

But, unfortunately for the smugglers, there was discovered on board a tin box which absolutely gave their case away. In this tin box was found an instructive memorandum which it requires no very great ingenuity to decipher, and ran something as follows:--

"For B. Valden.

From Tusca Tower to Blackwater Hill, allowing half a point for the tide.

For W. Martensons Glyn.

From Tusca N.E. until Tara Hill bears N.W.

10 pieces of chocolate 10 gulders. 10 pieces of gays[20] 10 ditto.

A proportion of G., say one-third, and let it be strong as possible. A vessel coming in the daytime should come to anchor outside the banks. At Clocker Head, Bryan King. At the Mountain Fort, Henry Curran. And Racklen, Alexander M'Donald."

Now anyone on consulting a chart or map of the south-west and west of the British Isles can easily see that the above was just a crude form of sailing directions to guide the ship to land the goods at various places in Ireland, especially when the box also contained a paper to the following effect:--

"The Land's End to Tusca 135 miles N.N.E. A berth off Scilly 150 N.E.3/4N."

The ship was to take such goods as mentioned to the above individuals, and here were the landmarks and courses and the division of the goods. "A proportion of G," of course, referred to the amount of Geneva, but the gentleman for whom it was intended did not get it "as strong as possible." Not one of these places mentioned was within hundreds of miles of Bilbao, but all the seamarks were to guide the mariners to Ireland. Tara Hill, Tuscar Rock and so on were certainly not Spanish. But these instructions were by no means uncommon. They were technically known among smugglers as "spot-notes," that is to say, indications of the spots where the goods were to be landed. When Stevenson found that his captors had become possessed of these papers he was considerably confused and embarrassed, even going so far as to ask for them to be given back to him--a request which was naturally declined.

The lugger was taken captive into Dover, and Stevenson, being an Englishman, was committed to gaol in the Dover town prison, from which he succeeded in escaping. The Dutchman was let off, as he was a foreigner. The men who had rowed away in the tub-boat escaped to France, having taken with them out of the galley one parcel of bandanna handkerchiefs. The rule in these cases was to fine the culprit £100 if he was a landsman; but if he was a sailor he was impressed into the Navy for a period of five years.

There must be many a reader who is familiar with some of those delightful creeks of Devonshire and Cornwall, and has been struck with the natural facilities which are offered to anyone with a leaning for smuggling. Among these there will rise to the imagination that beautiful inlet on whose left bank stands Salcombe. Towards the end of June in the year 1818 William Webber, one of the Riding officers, received information that some spirits had been successfully run ashore at the mouth of this harbour, "a place," remarked a legal luminary of that time, "which is very often made the spot for landing" this class of goods.

Webber therefore obtained the assistance of a private in the 15th Regiment, and early in the evening, as he had been informed that the goods were not yet carried away, but still were lying deposited somewhere near the beach, proceeded to the spot. He and the hussar arrived at the place about nine o'clock on this June evening and managed to conceal themselves behind a hedge. They had not very long to wait before they heard the sound of some men talking, and a man named James Thomas was observed to remark:

"We couldn't have had a better time for smuggling if we had lain abed and prayed for it."

Through the openings in the hedge Webber and the hussar could see the outline of the delinquent, and the voice was more than familiar to the Riding officer. We can readily appreciate Thomas's ecstasy when we remark that it had now become rather dark and a sea-haze such as frequently comes up in fine weather after a hot day was beginning to spread itself around. For some time longer the two men continued to remain in their hiding-place, and then heard that Thomas and his accomplice had become joined by a number of other people. The sound of horses' hoofs being led down to the beach was also distinctly heard, and there were many signs of accelerated activity going on. Presently there came upon the ears of the Riding officers the noise which proceeds from the rattling of casks, and from some convenient hiding-place, where they had remained, these were at last brought forth, slings were prepared, and then the load was placed on the backs of the several horses.

At this point, deeming that the time had come to interfere, the Riding officer and the hussar crept out from their place of concealment and advanced towards the band of smugglers. But, alert as hares, the latter, so soon as they realised their own danger, took to their heels and ran helter-skelter away. Thomas, however, was too wrath to hasten, and began to curse his men. He began by complaining that the kegs which had been brought forth were wonderfully "slack," that is to say they were not as full as they might have been, hinting that someone had been helping himself to their contents of spirits. "If you had brought these a little sooner," referring doubtless to both horses and casks, "we should have been three miles on our way home."

But scarcely had he finished his sentence than the last of his band had fled, leaving him behind with both horses and casks. He was promptly arrested and eleven months later prosecuted by the Attorney-General.

Because the smugglers were so frequently assisted in their work by those night signals to which we alluded some time back it had been made a penal offence to show a light for the purpose of signalling within six miles of the coast. Arising out of such an offence, John Newton and another found themselves prosecuted for an incident that occurred about the middle of December 1819. The comparative seclusion of that big bight which extends from the Bill of Portland to the promontory well known to many readers as Hope's or Pope's Nose, was much favoured by the smuggling fraternity. This West Bay was well out of the English Channel and the track of most of his Majesty's ships, and there were plenty of hills and high ground from which to show friendly signals to their comrades. Rattenbury and Cawley, as we related, had in vain tried to land their cargo hereabouts, though there were many others who, before the Revenue cutters became smarter at their duty, had been able to run considerable quantities of dutiable goods in the vicinity of Sidmouth and Lyme.

On the afternoon of this winter's day two small sailing craft had been noticed by the Preventive shore officers to be tacking about near the land, but did not appear to be engaged in fishing. It was therefore reasonably supposed they were about to run some contraband ashore after dark. A Mr. Samuel Stagg and a Mr. Joseph Pratt, stationed at Sidmouth in the Preventive service, were all the time keeping a smart look-out on these boats, and somewhere about five o'clock in the evening launched their oared-cutter and rowed off towards them. After a chase they came alongside the first, which was named the _Nimble_, and boarded her. They found therein three men consisting of John Newton, John Bartlett, and Thomas Westlake; but as they searched her and found no trace of any casks or packages of tobacco, the Preventive men left her to row after the other craft. It was now, of course, quite dark, and there was blowing a nice sailing breeze. Scarcely had they started to row away before the _Nimble_ hoisted sail and by means of flint and steel began to make fire-signals, and kept on so doing for the next half hour. This was, of course, a signal for the second boat, and as soon as the latter observed these signs she also made sail and hurried away into the darkness of the bay. It was impossible for the officers to get up to her, for they would stand every chance of losing themselves in the vast expanse of West Bay, and the craft might take it into her head to run down Channel perhaps into Cornwall or eastwards round to Portland, where goods often were landed. Therefore deeming one craft in arrest to be worth two sailing about in West Bay, they went back and seized the _Nimble_. The three men, whose names we have given, were taken ashore, tried, and found guilty. But as illustrative of the times it is worth noting that John Bartlett had before this occurrence actually been engaged for some time as one of the crew of that Revenue cutter about which we spoke some time back in this very bay. And so, now, "for having on the high seas, within six miles of the coast, made a certain light on board a boat for the purpose of giving a signal to a certain person or persons," he was, in company with his two colleagues, condemned.

That the age of lawless mobs was by no means past, may be seen from the incident which now follows. It had been thought that the Act which had been passed, forbidding any boat built to row with more than four oars, would have put a considerable check to activities of the smugglers. But these boats not only continued to be built, but also to be navigated and used for the contraband purposes. The Revenue officers of the district of Christchurch, Hants, had reason in April of 1821 to believe that a boat was being constructed in their neighbourhood of such dimensions and capable of being rowed with such a number of oars as made her liable to seizure. Therefore, taking with them a couple of dragoons, two of these Revenue officers proceeded on their way to the district near Milton, which is, roughly speaking, the centre of that bay which is bounded on one side by Christchurch Head, and on the other by Hurst Point. They had not arrived long at their destination before it was found that about thirty men had concealed themselves in an adjoining wood. The officers had found the boat they were looking for in a meadow, and were about to seize it.

It was found to be covered over with sails, having been hidden in the meadow for safety's sake, for since it was made to row seven aside it was clearly liable to forfeiture. One of the two officers now went off to fetch assistance, and whilst he was away two of the smugglers came forth and fraternising with the two dragoons, offered them some brandy which they drank. In a short while both soldiers had taken such a quantity of the spirits that they became utterly intoxicated and helpless. One of the two smugglers then gave a whistle, and about thirty men issued forth from the wood, some of them in various forms of disguise. One had a deer's skin over his face, others had their faces and hands coloured with blue clay and other means. These men angrily demanded from the solitary officer the sails which he had removed from the boat, but their requests were met by refusal. The mob then seized hold of the sails, and a tussle followed, whereupon the officer threatened to shoot them. He managed to retain hold of one sail, while the mob held the other and took it away.

About three o'clock in the afternoon the other officer returned with the Lymington Preventive officer, two Custom House men, and three dragoons. They found the intoxicated soldiers, one of whom was lying prostrate on the field, while the other was ludicrously and vainly endeavouring to mount his horse. The seven men now united, and got a rope by which they began to remove the boat from its hiding-place, when a great many more people came on to the scene in great indignation. As many as fifty, at least, were now assembled, and threats and oaths were bandied about. During this excitement some of the crowd cut the rope, while a man named Thomas Vye jumped into the boat, and rather than see her fall into the hands of the enemy, endeavoured to stave her in.

The remainder of the story is but brief. For, at last, the seven men succeeded in pulling the boat away in spite of all the crowd's efforts, and dragged it even across a couple of fields, where there was a road. Here a conveyance was waiting ready, and thus the boat was taken away, and at a later date Vye was duly prosecuted by the Crown for his share in the proceedings.

FOOTNOTES:

[20] "Gays" was evidently trade slang to denote bandanna silk handkerchiefs, which were frequently smuggled, and some of which were found on board.