Part 7
The noise of the oars attracted the attention of the sentry, and he and the captain both fired at us, without effect, and the store-ship Lexington, which was lying close by, fired a gun loaded with grape, which struck the boat just as we landed, knocking it all to pieces, but doing us no injury. As soon as we landed, we made for the woods, being obliged to pass a fort filled with American soldiers, who fired upon us without effect, so that we were enabled to reach the shelter of the wood unharmed.
We remained in this wood for a few days, and then travelling on, we reached the city at night, where we stole horses and made for the mines.
We had not ridden far before we met two travellers, who were returning from the diggings. As they approached us, we stopped; and when they were about passing us, we drew our pistols, and bade them stand and deliver. They made no resistance, but quickly transferred such dust, nuggets, and other valuables as they had about them to our keeping, when we bade them good day, and allowed them to proceed upon their journey.
Arriving at the Salina plains, we stopped at a house over night, where we committed a robbery, and continued our journey the next day to the gold mines.
On our arrival there, we went about from claim to claim, and from diggings to diggings, adding to our store of dust by robbery and murder; and though we were perfectly reckless of consequences, and carried on our operations in the boldest manner, we escaped detection, though we did not avoid suspicion, and were more than once in danger of expiating our crimes by sentence of Judge Lynch.
I have no doubt that during this period, many of the crimes attributed to the notorious Joaquin, and other robbers, were committed by us; but the devil, whose work we were so industriously doing, seemed to protect us, and for more than a year we pursued our career of blood and crime with impunity.
Having by this time accumulated sufficient dust to satisfy our desire, besides that which we had squandered in gambling in the various mining towns and districts, we made our way to San Francisco.
We had as much gold as I could lift from the ground with one arm, which, upon our arrival in San Francisco, we exchanged for coin, and then commenced a long period of debauchery and licentiousness.
Every bar-room was at that time a gambling-place. The laws were loosely administered, and the only code really recognized was that of might.
Among the lawless, there were none more lawless than I; among the profligate and depraved, none more so than I; among the reckless and desperate, none were more reckless or so desperate as I and my companion.
The bar-room, the brothel, and the monte table, were the only attractions for us, and for six months we led the life of demons, leaving no bad impulse, no fiendish purpose, no gross passion, nor any wicked design, ungratified or unaccomplished.
After our money was all gone, and we began to be marked and suspected, we shipped on board of the brig Josephine—a Spanish vessel, bound for Valparaiso, and having on board a large amount of treasure, consisting of gold dust and Mexican doubloons.
One night, while we were coasting down, myself and partner having completed our arrangements, armed ourselves, and going into the cabin, gagged and bound the captain and officers, and placed them in a boat, compelling the crew to follow, leaving us in possession of the ship.
We then collected all the treasure, which we placed in the boat we had reserved for ourselves, when we scuttled the vessel and set fire to her.
What became of the officers and crew I never heard, but the owners of the brig Josephine, should they ever read my narrative, will learn, for the first time, the news of her real fate.
After seeing the vessel burn to the water’s edge, we pulled away, and favored by fine weather, we arrived within a short time at Mazatlan, having in our possession nearly or quite a hundred thousand dollars in dust and doubloons.
Here we purchased a hotel and bowling alley, and for a year and a half carried on business, occasionally indulging in my old propensities, and never missing a chance of appropriating to my own use such property or effects belonging to the travellers who stopped with us, as I could lay my hands on, occasionally taking to the road and waylaying those whom it would have been imprudent to have robbed while they were in the town.
But though our business flourished, and we might, had we exercised ordinary prudence, have grown rich and lived honestly, our propensities for gambling, carousing, and every sort of vile dissipation, ran away with our ill-gotten gains, and by the time eighteen months had elapsed, we were forced to abandon our hotel and take to our old business of robbing and murdering, until we were forced to fly to escape punishment, and once more took to the highway.
The scene of our operations was the road leading from the mines, where we stopped the mules, murdered the conductors, and took such silver as they had in charge.
We came by these means into possession of large amounts of silver in bars, which being altogether too heavy for transportation, we were obliged to bury, and went back to Valparaiso.
At Mazatlan there lived a Chinaman by the name of Bill Cassa. He kept a public house, and being a reckless, unprincipled sort of fellow, and fond of money, although he was already rich, we selected him to become the purchaser of our hidden wealth. So, putting up at his hotel, we commenced sounding him, and finding his curiosity and avarice excited by our hints of hidden treasure, we at last offered to guide him to the spot where it was buried, provided he would pay us a sufficient sum of money in gold for the secret.
He agreed to this proposition, but the cunning fellow refused to take any money with him upon the journey, so that we were obliged to depend upon his honor for keeping any bargain he might make with us after seeing the amount of silver we had for sale. Had he taken the money with him, we should have been obliged to look for another customer, for we should have murdered him and possessed ourselves of all he had. I suppose his confidence in us was not over large, and so he would not consent to give us anything until after we had shown him the spot where the silver was buried, and should have returned to Mazatlan. We started with him at night, and by morning reached the spot. After examining the silver, which must have been worth at least a hundred and fifty thousand dollars, he agreed to give us $25,000 in gold for it. We consented to this, and going back to Mazatlan we received our money, and went to Valparaiso, where we opened a boarding-house, but at the end of a year we had gambled and spent nearly all our money, and so took again to our old career, working on the road between Valparaiso and the mines, where we robbed the mule trains as before, murdering the conductors, and thus coming into possession of a very large amount of silver in bars. After we had accumulated as much as we thought would serve our purpose, we went to a small village called Sueda, in the neighborhood of the mines, and there sold the buried metal to a Spanish merchant, named Don Juan Alte, for $15,000, when we returned to Valparaiso and took passage on board the bark Maria, of Baltimore, Captain Mattison, bound to Rio Janeiro.
Nothing of particular interest occurred on our voyage to Rio, but after staying there six or seven weeks, and spending nearly all our money in gambling and debauchery, we took the road between Rio and Montevideo, where we robbed all worth robbing, and murdered all who resisted us.
There is many a whitened skeleton bleaching by that roadside now, on the same spot where it fell by my murderous hand; and the traveller, as he rides along, sees many a place where the grass grows taller and greener than that which surrounds it; but he little dreams that its roots are enriched by the blood shed by me. If I should travel that road now I should have plenty of ghostly company, for, though dead men tell no tales, and are but dead to all the world beside, to me they are now living horrors, and will insist in keeping company with me.
I remember one day that, a few miles from Montevideo, we attacked a man and three women, all of them being on horseback. We robbed them, and should have killed them all, but the women were beautiful, and for once I allowed my heart to yield to the soft feeling of pity, and we did not murder them.
I shall never forget the look of these poor frightened creatures kneeling at my feet, praying me to be merciful, while my partner, Tom Stone—that was his name, I do not think I have mentioned it before—stood a few feet off, with his pistol at the head of the man who was gradually divesting himself of everything valuable he had about him.
One of the women wore half-a-dozen magnificent diamond rings, and the other carried two gold watches set with diamonds, besides other trinkets of great value. These I made them take off, and give to me; after which, I intended to have ravished and then killed them; I hallooed to Tom to get rid of the man, and come and toss for the choice of the women—but the younger one of the two, though I spoke in English, seemed to be aware, as if by instinct, of our designs; she started suddenly up, and with a bound sprang to the side of her husband, and clung to him in such a way that Tom could not kill him without killing her also. I seized the other woman, and was about to execute my hellish purpose upon her, when, with tears and prayers she besought my pity, and begged for mercy, but I was deaf to all her prayers, and was again about to seize her, when she sprang from me, and like her companion, clung to the man. I followed her, and both the women, as if by one impulse, again fell on their knees, and besought us to spare them.
I do not know how it was, but my heart softened for once, and I stopped Tom’s hand just as he was going to pull the trigger on the man, who now stood alone, with his arms folded, awaiting his fate. Tom looked astonished, but put up his pistol with an oath, and after some demurrer, agreed with me to let them all depart without further harm. I even assisted them to catch their horses, which they mounted, and rode back with all the speed they could toward Montevideo. Ten minutes after they had gone I felt sorry, and thought I had acted like a fool.
After this adventure, I felt in continual fear of detection, and as we had accumulated by our robberies a sum not less than a hundred and fifty thousand dollars in money, jewels and trinkets, we transported our plunder by degrees to Rio, where we remained a few weeks enjoying ourselves, and then took passage for Buenos Ayres, where we remained a year, gambling and robbing as usual.
We had not spent all our money, but still had a large sum left, which we concealed in our trunks and canvas bags, and shipped on board the bark Anada, of Boston, bound for New Orleans. We did not go as passengers, as we wished to conceal the fact of having so much money in our possession.
During the passage, and in sight of the West India Islands, a mutiny occurred.
One of the ship’s boys having committed some offence, the captain ordered him to be whipped, and he was tied up aft. His yells and screams, as the cat descended on his back, made me mad, and going aft, I cut him down.
The captain interfered, when I knocked him down with a handspike, and my partner Tom backing me, we went into a general fight, which resulted in leaving Tom and I in possession of the ship. We tied all hand and foot, except the boy I had protected and one man, and then taking the boat, we lowered our chests into it, following them ourselves, and made for the shore.
We landed upon the Island of Barbadoes, and in the course of a few days went on board of an English brig, the Conova, bound for New Orleans. Everything went on well until we arrived within fifteen miles of the bar, when the officers, discovering that Tom Stone and I were armed, found fault with us, which led to a disturbance, whereupon we left the ship in a boat, fearing that we should be arrested on our arrival if we remained on the ship. We landed at the Belize, and in a few days arrived at New Orleans, where we remained for a few months, gambling and carousing.
From here we shipped for Liverpool on the ship Columbus, Capt. McSerin. We lost a man overboard during the passage, and the ship went ashore off Waterford in a gale of wind.
The Columbus went to pieces shortly after she struck, and I believe that nearly all hands were lost; but I made my way to shore on a fragment of the wreck, and was delighted to find, on reaching a place of safety, that my partner, who had braved so many dangers, and escaped so many other perils with me, had also escaped a watery grave.
We went into Waterford penniless, but we committed a robbery, the proceeds of which enabled us to reach Liverpool, from whence we shipped in the ship Charles Mallary, of Mystick, for Rio Janeiro.
On the passage, believing that there was a considerable amount of money on board, I used all my endeavors to stir the crew up to mutiny, intending, if possible, to kill the officers and make myself master of the lion’s share of the plunder, but I could not succeed in bringing matters to a crisis, although the whole voyage was a series of rows and fights, in which I was generally the principal.
When we arrived at Rio all hands left the ship but myself and Tom Stone, who were forced to remain, as we were both sick, and as soon as we began to recover they put us both in irons.
But one day, the mate going on shore, we broke our irons and left. Reaching the city, we remained quiet until the vessel sailed, and then shipped on board of the ship Admiral Granford, of Liverpool, for New Orleans.
All went on smoothly enough to all appearances, but during the whole voyage I was working quietly among the men, sowing the seeds of discontent and mutiny, which came to a head when we were within about twenty-five miles of the Belize.
Here a regularly organized revolt took place, headed by me and Stone, in which about one half of the crew were actually engaged. We succeeded in overpowering the officers and such of the crew as sided with them, and after binding them we robbed the ship of all the money and portable valuables we could lay our hands on, and after scuttling the ship and setting fire to her we took to the boats and made for land.
On reaching the shore we divided the spoils of the robbery, and separated, myself and partner going to New Orleans together, where at the end of a few weeks we again shipped on board of the ship Mobile, of Bath, for Liverpool.
While we were taking in cargo at New Orleans, we robbed the ship of a quantity of Irish linen; but on trying to smuggle it ashore we were arrested, but escaped punishment by means of perjured witnesses. After our discharge we rejoined the ship and went to sea.
But off Blackwater Banks a terrible storm struck us. We had over eight hundred souls on board, and the scene was enough to appall the stoutest heart and make the bravest man shudder. The waves ran mountains high, and the wind blew great guns; sail after sail was carried away, and as we were fast driving in to the Banks, all hope of saving the ship was given up. The poor wretches gave themselves up for lost; some prayed—some cursed—some shrieked in an agony of fear, and some madly cast themselves into the water and died before their time.
But during this dreadful panic I felt no fear, for on this occasion, as all through my life, I felt as if I was protected by a superior power, and only thought how I could turn the loss of the ship to account.
When the ship struck, I watched my opportunity and lashed myself to a large spar, on which I floated for two days, when I was picked up by a pilot boat and taken into port, as the American Consul at that time will certify. Of the eight hundred passengers on board of that ship not one save me escaped that I ever heard of. The only one whose loss I regretted was my partner, Tom Stone, with whom I had been associated for so many years. He was a brave fellow, with a ready wit and strong arm, ever on hand for any enterprise, no matter how desperate; and wicked as he was, I believe he loved and would have died for me.
Well, he has gone to his account, whither I must shortly follow him, and tread the same dark path he trod before me.
On finding myself safe on shore once more, I shipped on the bark Jeanette, of London, for New York, from whence I went in the schooner Eliza, for Boston.
On board of this schooner I met a man by the name of Lockwood, whom I found to be in every respect worthy of filling the place made vacant by the death of Tom Stone. He was a strong, wiry man, full of determination, cruel and desperate in his disposition, and totally without fear. I found he had led a life nearly similar to mine, and he thought no more of stealing a purse, or cutting a throat, than I; and, in addition to his other qualifications, was an expert navigator. So the second day out, we laid our plans to rob the schooner and scuttle her, which we did that night when off Block Island, making our escape in a boat, and leaving all hands to perish.
We landed on Block Island, and went on board of a sloop bound to Newport, where we shipped on board a schooner, Mescedions,[1] of Providence, for the West Indies. Nothing particular occurred on the passage, and when we arrived at St. Domingo, we left the schooner and went in a brig to New Orleans, whence we shipped on the schooner Camphene, for the Straits of Magellan.
Footnote 1:
The name is spelled as Hicks pronounced it, but it is evidently not the correct name.
When we were at anchor in the Straits one night, Lockwood and myself having previously arranged all our plans, robbed the schooner of all the money and valuables on board, and after scuttling her by boring holes in her bottom, we set fire to her, while all hands were asleep aft, and got away in a boat, leaving all on board to perish. We landed safely, and travelled across the coast to the nearest town, living on four days’ provisions, which we took with us from the schooner. We reached the place in about ten days, very much exhausted by lack of food and water.
As we had plenty of money, we made up for our late deprivations by plunging into all sorts of dissipation and pleasures; never, however, losing a chance to rob anybody whose appearance promised to pay us for the trouble. In this way we spent some months, and then went to Joaquin on horseback, armed for the road, where we stopped for a few weeks, leading our old life, and then went to Santiago, robbing and murdering as before. We did not confine our operations to highway robberies alone, but committed every variety of depredations, breaking into houses, and murdering and robbing the inmates while they slept.
We remained in the neighborhood of Santiago about one year, and, should I undertake to relate circumstantially all the murders we committed during this time on the road between there and Valparaiso, it would occupy nearly all the time I have to live. It would take some time to give even a list of those I can remember, and they were of so frequent occurrence, I have no doubt many of them have escaped my memory altogether. I do not think I could name them all in one day.[2]
Footnote 2:
This was in answer to a direct question.—ED.
After this, our longer stay in this neighborhood would be running too great a risk, as our numerous outrages had attracted the attention of the government, and the whole country was aroused against us; so we shipped on board the brig Anne Mills, bound to the coast of Africa.
This brig was lying at Valparaiso, and was chartered by a man under the pretence of making a trading voyage, but his real object was piracy, and we shipped with a crew of men desperate as ourselves, who, if they did not know the object of the voyage, the captain rightly thought, would have no scrupulous objections to it.
As soon as we were upon blue water, the captain opened our plan of operations to the crew, and although one or two murmured at first, all at length came into our scheme. In fact, they were obliged to do so, for had any of them held out, we should have disposed of them in a very summary way.
I was now in my proper element, where I could gratify the highest object of my wicked ambition. I was a free rover, with no one to fear, and no one to obey, with the whole world for my prey.
During the year that I sailed in this vessel, we overhauled, plundered, and burned several Portuguese and Spanish ships, in most cases murdering their crews. After cruising about the West India Islands, we made our course for the Gulf of Gibraltar, went to Marseilles, boarded a Greek vessel, and obtained provisions and stores. Finding that she had no money on board, we let her go, and the next morning sailed for the Dardanelles, where we cast anchor and went ashore at a small town, and although none of us could speak the language, we remained there about six weeks, and then went to Constantinople, and on the voyage lay one night alongside of an English brig.
We boarded her about 12 o’clock, and after searching her and finding nothing, we went on our voyage.
After remaining a short time at Constantinople, we headed for the Gut of Gibraltar, and one night were hailed by a British man-of-war, whose name we did not learn. We answered in Portuguese, when she ordered us to lay to.
Instead of doing this we crowded all sail, and during the conversation we had got our guns ready; we gave her a raking fire from our stern, which carried away the foremast. As we saw it falling over the side, we bade them “good bye” in English, and gave them three cheers, for which they returned a broadside, and we received two shots in our stern.
I dare say the British Admiralty never knew to this day to what vessel their man-of-war was indebted for the loss of her foremast, but if they ever read this the mystery will be cleared up. It is more than likely they have suspected their old enemy, the French, of playing this trick, but they have been wrong; the shot came from the brig Anne Mills.
We never shortened sail until we reached a Spanish port, about 150 miles from the Gut, where we laid for a short time to repair damages, and made sail for the coast of Mexico, and stopped at a port near Vera Cruz, where we laid in wood and water, and sailed for Vera Cruz. From here we went to the coast of Florida, and anchored in the mouth of the river opposite Jacksonville. Here we lay two or three weeks recruiting; at the end of this time, having completed the necessary preparations, we sailed direct for the coast of Africa, where we took on board a load of negroes and steered our course for Rio.
A few miles to windward of Cape Frio an English cruiser hove in sight. We made off for the land at once, but finding the cruiser was gaining upon us, the captain made the negroes fast to the chain cable and let the anchor go, with the cable over the rail, dragging the negroes overboard.
We were pursued to the shore, and most of those on board were captured. Lockwood and myself, with our usual good luck, managing to escape.
We walked to Rio destitute of everything but arms, rifles and pistols, and on reaching that place shipped on board the bark Josephine of Boston, bound to Liverpool. We had a quick passage, not marked by anything of peculiar interest, and on our arrival there we shipped on the bark Alga for New Orleans.
During the voyage a disturbance broke out, and some one, who I do not know, set fire to the vessel. We took to the boats, and in the course of a few days we were picked up by the brig Exact, of Liverpool, and taken to St. Domingo, where we shipped on board brig Fanny Fosdick, for St. Mark’s, Florida.