The Pirates Own Book (5 page)

Several years elapsed before the wounds of the first defeat were
sufficiently healed to induce a second attempt on vessels under the
British flag, though a constant state of warfare was still kept up
against the small craft of the gulf. In 1804, the East India Company's
cruiser, Fly, was taken by a French privateer, off the Island of Kenn,
in the Persian Gulf; but before the enemy boarded her, she ran into
shoal water, near that island, and sunk the government dispatches, and
some treasure with which they were charged, in about two and a half
fathoms of water, taking marks for the recovery of them, if possible, at
some future period. The passengers and crew were taken to Bushire where
they were set at liberty, and having purchased a country dow by
subscription, they fitted her out and commenced their voyage down the
gulf, bound for Bombay. On their passage down, as they thought it would
be practicable to recover the government packet and treasure sunk off
Kenn, they repaired to that island, and were successful, after much
exertion, in recovering the former, which being in their estimation of
the first importance, as the dispatches were from England to Bombay,
they sailed with them on their way thither, without loss of time.

Near the mouth of the gulf, they were captured by a fleet of Joassamee
boats, after some resistance, in which several were wounded and taken
into their chief port at Ras-el-Khyma. Here they were detained in hope
of ransome, and during their stay were shown to the people of the town
as curiosities, no similar beings having been before seen there within
the memory of man. The Joassamee ladies were so minute in their
enquiries, indeed, that they were not satisfied without determining in
what respect an uncircumcised infidel differed from a true believer.

When these unfortunate Englishmen had remained for several months in the
possession of the Arabs, and no hope of their ransom appeared, it was
determined to put them to death, and thus rid themselves of unprofitable
enemies. An anxiety to preserve life, however, induced the suggestion,
on their parts, of a plan for the temporary prolongation of it, at
least. With this view they communicated to the chief of the pirates the
fact of their having sunk a quantity of treasure near the island of
Kenn, and of their knowing the marks of the spot, by the bearings of
objects on shore, with sufficient accuracy to recover it, if furnished
with good divers. They offered, therefore, to purchase their own
liberty, by a recovery of this money for their captors; and on the
fulfillment of their engagement it was solemnly promised to be granted
to them.

They soon sailed for the spot, accompanied by divers accustomed to that
occupation on the pearl banks of Bahrain; and, on their anchoring at the
precise points of bearing taken, they commenced their labors. The first
divers who went down were so successful, that all the crew followed in
their turns, so that the vessel was at one time almost entirely
abandoned at anchor. As the men, too, were all so busily occupied in
their golden harvest, the moment appeared favorable for escape; and the
still captive Englishmen were already at their stations to overpower the
few on board, cut the cable, and make sail. Their motions were either
seen or suspected, as the divers repaired on board in haste, and the
scheme was thus frustrated. They were now given their liberty as
promised, by being landed on the island of Kenn, where, however, no
means offered for their immediate escape. The pirates, having at the
same time landed themselves on the island, commenced a general massacre
of the inhabitants, in which their released prisoners, fearing they
might be included, fled for shelter to clefts and hiding places in the
rocks. During their refuge here, they lived on such food as chance threw
in their way; going out under cover of the night to steal a goat and
drag it to their haunts. When the pirates had at length completed their
work of blood, and either murdered or driven off every former inhabitant
of the island, they quitted it themselves, with the treasure which they
had thus collected from the sea and shore. The Englishmen now ventured
to come out from their hiding places, and to think of devising some
means of escape. Their good fortune in a moment of despair, threw them
on the wreck of a boat, near the beach, which was still capable of
repair. In searching about the now deserted town, other materials were
found, which were of use to them, and sufficient plank and logs of wood
for the construction of a raft. These were both completed in a few days,
and the party embarked on them in two divisions, to effect a passage to
the Persian shore. One of these rafts was lost in the attempt, and all
on board her perished; while the raft, with the remainder of the party
reached land.

Having gained the main land they now set out on foot towards Bushire,
following the line of the coast for the sake of the villages and water.
In this they are said to have suffered incredible hardships and
privations of every kind. No one knew the language of the country
perfectly, and the roads and places of refreshment still less; they were
in general destitute of clothes and money, and constantly subject to
plunder and imposition, poor as they were. Their food was therefore
often scanty, and always of the worst kind; and they had neither shelter
from the burning sun of the day, nor from the chilling dews of night.

The Indian sailors, sipakees, and servants, of whom a few were still
remaining when they set out, had all dropped off by turns; and even
Europeans had been abandoned on the road, in the most affecting way,
taking a last adieu of their comrades, who had little else to expect but
soon to follow their fate. One instance is mentioned of their having
left one who could march no further, at the distance of only a mile from
a village; and on returning to the spot on the morrow, to bring him in,
nothing was found but his mangled bones, as he had been devoured in the
night by jackals. The packet being light was still, however, carried by
turns, and preserved through all obstacles and difficulties; and with it
they reached at length the island of Busheap, to which they crossed over
in a boat from the main. Here they were detained by the Sheikh, but at
length he provided them with a boat for the conveyance of themselves and
dispatches to Bushire. From this place they proceeded to Bombay, but of
all the company only two survived. A Mr. Jowl, an officer of a merchant
ship, and an English sailor named Penmel together with the bag of
letters and dispatches.

In the following year, two English brigs, the Shannon, Capt. Babcock,
and the Trimmer, Capt. Cummings, were on their voyage from Bombay to
Bussorah. These were both attacked, near the Islands of Polior and
Kenn, by several boats, and after a slight resistance on the part of the
Shannon only, were taken possession of, and a part of the crew of each,
cruelly put to the sword. Capt. Babcock, having been seen by one of the
Arabs to discharge a musket during the contest, was taken by them on
shore; and after a consultation on his fate, it was determined that he
should forfeit the arm by which this act of resistance was committed. It
was accordingly severed from his body by one stroke of a sabre, and no
steps were taken either to bind up the wound, or to prevent his bleeding
to death. The captain, himself, had yet sufficient presence of mind
left, however, to think of his own safety, and there being near him some
clarified butter, he procured this to be heated, and while yet warm,
thrust the bleeding stump of his arm into it. It had the effect of
lessening the effusion of blood, and ultimately of saving a life that
would otherwise most probably have been lost. The crew were then all
made prisoners, and taken to a port of Arabia, from whence they
gradually dispersed and escaped. The vessels themselves were
additionally armed, one of them mounting twenty guns, manned with Arab
crews, and sent from Ras-el-Khyma to cruise in the gulf, where they
committed many piracies.

In the year 1808, the force of the Joassamees having gradually
increased, and becoming flushed with the pride of victory, their
insulting attacks on the British flag were more numerous and more
desperate than ever. The first of these was on the ship Minerva, of
Bombay, on her voyage to Bussorah. The attack was commenced by several
boats, (for they never cruize singly,) and a spirited resistance in a
running fight was kept up at intervals for several days in succession. A
favorable moment offered, however, for boarding; the ship was
overpowered by numbers, and carried amidst a general massacre. The
captain was said to have been cut up into separate pieces, and thrown
overboard by fragments; the second mate and carpenter alone were spared,
probably to make use of their services; and an Armenian lady, the wife
of Lieut. Taylor, then at Bushire, was reserved perhaps for still
greater sufferings. But was subsequently ransomed for a large sum.

A few weeks after this, the Sylph, one of the East India Company's
cruisers, of sixty tons and mounting eight guns, was accompanying the
mission under Sir Hartford Jones, from Bombay, to Persia; when being
separated from the rest of the squadron, she was attacked in the gulf by
a fleet of dows. These bore down with all the menacing attitude of
hostility; but as the commander, Lieut. Graham had received orders from
the Bombay government, not to open his fire on any of these vessels
until he had been first fired on himself, the ship was hardly prepared
for battle, and the colors were not even hoisted to apprise them to what
nation she belonged. The dows approached, threw their long overhanging
prows across the Sylph's beam, and pouring in a shower of stones on her
deck, beat down and wounded almost every one who stood on it. They then
boarded, and made the ship an easy prize, before more than a single shot
had been fired, and in their usual way, put every one whom they found
alive to the sword. Lieut. Graham fell, covered with wounds, down the
fore hatchway of his own vessel, where he was dragged by some of the
crew into a store room, in which they had secreted themselves, and
barricaded the door with a crow-bar from within. The cruiser was thus
completely in the possession of the enemy, who made sail on her, and
were bearing her off in triumph to their own port, in company with their
boats. Soon after, however, the commodore of the squadron in the Neried
frigate hove in sight, and perceiving this vessel in company with the
dows, judged her to be a prize to the pirates. She accordingly gave them
all chase, and coming up with the brig, the Arabs took to their boats
and abandoned her. The chase was continued after the dows, but without
success.

These repeated aggressions at length opened the eyes of the East India
Government, and an expedition was accordingly assembled at Bombay. The
naval force consisted of La Chiffone, frigate, Capt. Wainwright, as
commodore. The Caroline of thirty-eight guns; and eight of the East
India Company's cruisers, namely, the Mornington, Ternate, Aurora,
Prince of Wales, Ariel, Nautilus, Vestal and Fury, with four large
transports, and the Stromboli bomb-ketch. The fleet sailed from Bombay
in September, and after a long passage they reached Muscat, where it
remained for many days to refresh and arrange their future plans; they
sailed and soon reached Ras-el-Khyma, the chief port of the pirates
within the gulf. Here the squadron anchored abreast of the town, and the
troops were landed under cover of the ships and boats. The inhabitants
of the town assembled in crowds to repel the invaders; but the firm
line, the regular volleys, and the steady charge of the troops at the
point of the bayonet, overcame every obstacle, and multiplied the heaps
of the slain. A general conflagration was then ordered, and a general
plunder to the troops was permitted. The town was set on fire in all
parts, and about sixty sail of boats and dows, with the Minerva, a ship
which they had taken, then lying in the roads were all burnt and
destroyed.

The complete conquest of the place was thus effected with very trifling
loss on the part of the besiegers, and some plunder collected; though it
was thought that most of the treasure and valuables had been removed
into the interior. This career of victory was suddenly damped by the
report of the approach of a large body of troops from the interior, and
although none of these were seen, this ideal reinforcement induced the
besiegers to withdraw. The embarkation took place at daylight in the
morning; and while the fleet remained at anchor during the whole of the
day, parties were still seen assembling on the shore, displaying their
colors, brandishing their spears, and firing muskets from all points; so
that the conquest was scarcely as complete as could be wished, since no
formal act of submission had yet been shown. The expedition now sailed
to Linga, a small port of the Joassamees, and burnt it to the ground.
The force had now become separated, the greater portion of the troops
being sent to Muscat for supplies, or being deemed unnecessary, and some
of the vessels sent on separate services of blockading passages, &c. The
remaining portion of the blockading squadron consisting of La Chiffone,
frigate, and four of the cruisers, the Mornington, Ternate, Nautilus,
and Fury, and two transports, with five hundred troops from Linga, then
proceeded to Luft, another port of the Joassamees. As the channel here
was narrow and difficult of approach, the ships were warped into their
stations of anchorage, and a summons sent on shore, as the people had
not here abandoned their town, but were found at their posts of defence,
in a large and strong castle with many batteries, redoubts, &c. The
summons being treated with disdain, the troops were landed with Col.
Smith at their head; and while forming on the beach a slight skirmish
took place with such of the inhabitants of the town, as fled for shelter
to the castle. The troops then advanced towards the fortress, which is
described to have had walls fourteen feet thick, pierced with loop
holes, and only one entrance through a small gate, well cased with iron
bars and bolts, in the strongest manner. With a howitzer taken for the
occasion, it was intended to have blown this gate open, and to have
taken the place by storm; but on reaching it while the ranks opened, and
the men sought to surround the castle to seek for some other entrance at
the same time, they were picked off so rapidly and unexpectedly from the
loop holes above, that a general flight took place, the howitzer was
abandoned, even before it had been fired, and both the officers and the
troops sought shelter by lying down behind the ridges of sand and little
hillocks immediately underneath the castle walls. An Irish officer,
jumping up from his hiding place, and calling on some of his comrades to
follow him in an attempt to rescue the howitzer, was killed in the
enterprise. Such others as even raised their heads to look around them,
were picked off by the musketry from above; and the whole of the troops
lay therefore hidden in this way, until the darkness of the night
favored their escape to the beach, where they embarked after sunset, the
enemy having made no sally on them from the fort. A second summons was
sent to the chief in the castle, threatening to bombard the town from a
nearer anchorage if he did not submit, and no quarter afterwards shown.
With the dawn of morning, all eyes were directed to the fortress, when,
to the surprise of the whole squadron, a man was seen waving the British
Union flag on the summit of its walls. It was lieutenant Hall, who
commanded the Fury which was one of the vessels nearest the shore.
During the night he had gone on shore alone, taking an union-jack in his
hand, and advanced singly to the castle gate. The fortress had already
been abandoned by the greater number of the inhabitants, but some few
still remained there. These fled at the approach of an individual
supposing him to be the herald of those who were to follow. Be this as
it may, the castle was entirely abandoned, and the British flag waived
on its walls by this daring officer, to the surprise and admiration of
all the fleet. The town and fortifications were then taken possession
of. After sweeping round the bottom of the gulf, the expedition returned
to Muscat.