men at the first settlement of the province; but at present their warriors do not exceed sixty, and the whole of their nation is scarcely two hundred. These have degenerated from the hardiness of the Indian character, and are so generally addicted to habits of indolence and intoxication, that they are fast sinking into insignificance. The Creeks inhabit a fine country on the southwest, between. four and five hundred miles distant from Charlestown, and the number of both the upper and lower nations does not exceed two thousand gun-men. The Chickasaw towns lie about six hundred miles due west from Charlestown; but the nation cannot send three hundred warriors to the field. The Choctaws are at least seven hundred miles west and southwest from Charlestown, and have between three and four thousand gun-men. SECTION III. Military Operations against Pirates. The Spaniards and Indians were the first, but not the only enemies of the infant settlement of South Carolina. When the early settlers had made head against both, and raised merchantable commodities for exportation, they had little more than began to ship the same than they were deprived of the fruits of their labors by public robbers on the contiguous ocean. From privateering to piracy the transition is easy. Both rob their fellow men of their property, but with this difference: the first are licensed, but the last are not. The distinction is more in name than reality, for they who give the licenses are seldom authorized by the laws of nature or of nature's God to grant them. They who receive them rarely pay regard to the limitations under which they are obtained. Property, whether of a friend or a foe, of a countryman or a foreigner, is alike to most of them; provided, by any artifice, it can be taken with impunity. The wars which raged in the close of the 17th and the beginning of the 18th century, made lamentable inroads on moral principles. They filled the American seas with privateers and afterwards with pirates. These public robbers were received with too much indulgence in Charlestown. They brought with them abundance of gold and silver, and by aid of these precious metals often found favor and escaped from justice. Proofs of their guilt could not easily be obtained, and the humanity of the laws would not suffer them to be punished on suspicion. Some were permitted to go at large without any restriction; others to enter into recognizance, with security, for their good behavior till the Governor shall hear whether the proprietors would grant them a general indemnity. The proprie tors, wishing to crush them, instructed Governor Ludwell to change the form of electing juries; and required that all pirates should be tried by the laws of England, made for the suppression of piracy. Before these orders reached Carolina the pirates, by their money and free intercourse with the people, had made so many friends that it was difficult to bring them to trial, and more so to punish them. The courts of law became scenes of altercation and confusion. The gold and silver of pirates enlisted in their behalf the eloquence of the first gentlemen of the bar; too many of whom held that every advantage, though at the expense of honor, justice, public good, and even of truth, should be taken in favor of their clients. Hence it happened that several of the pirates escaped,* purchased lands, and took up their residence in the colony. The authority of government was too feeble to check the evil, supported as it was by a tide of money flowing into the country. At length the proprietors, to gratify the people, granted an indemnity to all the pirates with the exception of such as had committed depredations on the dominions of the great Mogul. The Carolinians, by the increasing culture of rice and other valuable commodities, became more vulnerable on the ocean, and of course more sensible of the benefits of uninterrupted trade, and of the injury done to mankind by sea robbers. In the last year of the 17th century, the planters had raised more rice than they could find vessels to export. Forty-five persons from different nations, Englishmen, Frenchmen, Portuguese, and Indians, had manned a ship at the Havana, and entered on a cruise of piracy. While they were on the coast of Carolina the people felt severely the pernicious effects of that lawless trade which in former times they had indirectly encouraged. Several ships belonging to Charlestown were taken by those public robbers who sent the crews ashore, but kept the vessels as their prizes. At last, having quarrelled among themselves about the division of the spoil, the Englishmen proving the weaker party, were turned adrift in a long boat. They landed at Sewee Bay, and from thence traveled over land to Charlestown, giving out that they had been shipwrecked, but fortu These frustrations of justice added to the wealth and reputation of the lawyers, whose ingenuity had thrown a shield over guilt; but they inflicted a deep wound on the credit and interests of Carolina. The subjects of his Catholic Majesty, who were the greatest sufferers by the pirates, not only complained of the Carolinians for screening these enemies of the human race, but retaliated by instigating the Indians to harrass the English settlers, and by tempting their negroes to leave their masters and go to St. Augustine. The Spaniards apologized for their conduct by alleging that the inhabitants of Charlestown countenanced and encouraged the pirates, by permitting them to carry into their port and spend in their town that wealth which had been unjustly taken from Spanish subjects in the adjacent gulf and ocean, which was the thoroughfare between old and new Spain. nately reached the shore in their boat. Three masters of ships happened to be at Charlestown at the time, who had been taken by them, and knew them. Upon their testimony the pirates were instantly taken up, tried and condemned. Seven out of nine suffered death. Early in the 18th century, the island of Providence became a receptacle for vagabonds and villains of all nations. From this place of rendezvous a crew of desperate pirates had been accustomed to push out to sea, and in defiance of the laws of nations to obstruct navigation. The trade of Carolina, and that of the West Indies, suffered greatly from their depredations. From the year 1717 to 1721, we have an account of between thirty and forty vessels which had been taken on that coast. For five years those lawless robbers reigned as the masters of the Gulf of Florida, plundering and taking ships of every nation. North Carolina had also become a refuge for pirates, who carried their prizes into Cape Fear river or Providence, as best suited their convenience. Their success induced bold and rapacious spirits to join them, and in time they became so formidable that considerable force was requisite to repress them. Merchants and masters of vessels trading to America and the West Indies, having suffered much from the depredations of pirates, complained to the King and Council of the heavy losses the trade of the nation had sustained from public robbers who had grown numerous and insolent. In consequence of which the King issued a proclamation, promising a pardon to all pirates who should surrender themselves in the space of twelve months, and at the same time ordered to sea a force for suppressing them. As they had made the island of Providence their common place of residence, Captain Woodes Rogers sailed against that island with a few ships of war, and took possession of it for the Crown. Except one Vane, who with about ninety men made their escape in a sloop, all the pirates took the benefit of the King's proclamation and surrendered. Captain Rogers having made himself master of the island, formed a Council in it, and appointed officers, civil and military, for the better government of its inhabitants, and so ordered matters that for the future the trade of the West Indies was well protected. Though the pirates on the island of Providence were crushed, those of North Carolina still remained and were equally troublesome. Vane, who escaped from Captain Rogers, had taken two ships bound from Charlestown to London. A pirate sloop of ten guns, commanded by Steed Bonnett, and another commanded by Richard Worley, had taken possession of the mouth of Cape Fear river, which place was now the principal refuge of the pirates. Their station there was so convenient for blocking up the harbor of Charlestown that the trade of the colony was greatly obstructed. No soonor had one crew left the coast than another appeared, so that scarcely one ship coming in or going out escaped them. To check their insolence, Governor Johnson fitted out a ship of force, gave the command to William Rhett, and sent him to sea for the protection of trade. Rhett had scarcely got over the bar when Steed Bonnett spied him, and sensible of his inferiority made for his refuge into Cape Fear river. Thither Rhett followed. him, took the sloop and brought the commander and about thirty men to Charlestown. Soon after this Governor Johnson embarked and sailed in pursuit of the other sloop of six guns, commanded by Richard Worley, which after a desperate.engagement was also taken. The pirates fought till they were all killed or wounded except Worley and another man, who even then refused to surrender until they were dangerously wounded. The Governor brought these two men, together with their sloop into Charlestown, where they were instantly tried, condemned, and executed, to prevent their dying of their wounds. Steed Bonnett and his crew were also tried, and condemned. With the exception of one man, all, amounting nearly to forty, were hanged, and buried on White Point, below high water mark.* *Steed Bonnett, who suffered on this occasion, was said to have been a man of education and property, and to have possessed the manners and accomplishments of a gentleman. He was addressed by the title of Major. He made his escape from prison in women's clothes, but was retaken. After his condemnation he wrote a letter to Colonel Rhett, which has been preserved, and by the politeness of Judge Bee is in the hands of the author. It was as follows: NOVEMBER 27th, 1718. SIR-My unhappy fate lays me under a necessity of troubling you with this letter, which I humbly beg you will be pleased to excuse, and with a tenderness of heart compassionate the deplorable circumstances I have been inadvertently led into; and though I can't presume to have the least expectations of your friendship for so miserable a man, yet I hope your good dispositon and kind humanity will move you to become an intercessor with his honor the Governor, that I may be indulged with a reprieve to stay execution of the severe sentence I have undergone, till his majesty's pleasure be known concerning me. I have the misfortune of suffering, in the opinion of the world for many crimes and injuries done to this government and others in a piratical manner; more than I hope, God the knower of all secrets, will lay to my charge; and must intreat you to consider that I was a prisoner on board Captain Edward Thatch, who, with several of Captain Hornigold's company which he then belonged to, boarded and took my sloop from me at the island of Providence, confining me with him eleven months, in which time I was never concerned in, nor had any benefit or share by his actions, but on the contrary was a very great loser by him; notwithstanding 'tis unjustly by some believed otherwise and used as an aggravation of my offences; however, I can't but confess my crimes and sins have been too many, for which, I thank my gracious God for the blessing, I have the utmost abhorrence and aversion; and although I am become as it were a monster unto many, yet I intreat your charitable opinion of my great contrition and godly sorrow for the errors of my past life, and am so far from entertaining the least thoughts of being, by any inducement in nature, drawn into the like evil and wicked Governor Johnson, formerly a popular man, was now become more so by his bold and successful expedition against the pirates. The coast was now happily cleared, and no pirates afterwards ventured to sea in that quarter. These two expeditions cost the province upwards of ten thousand pounds sterling, a burden which at this juncture it was ill qualified to support. In addition to the wars which have been stated, Carolina, as an appendage to Great Britain, was implicated in all her wars. These occupied forty years of the 106 of its colonial existence. Its trade was so materially injured from frequent captures made by armed vessels of France and Spain, that its staple commodities were greatly reduced in price whenever either of these nations were at war with Great Britain. This unfortunately was the case more than one-third of the whole period between the first settlement of South Carolina, and its becoming an independent State. courses, if I had the happiness of a longer life granted me in this world, that I shall always retain in mind, and endeavor to follow those excellent precepts of our holy Savior-to love my neighbor as myself; and do unto all men whatsoever I would they should do unto me, living in perfect holy friendship and charity with all mankind. This I do assure you, sir, is the sincerity of my heart upon the word of a penitent Christian, and my only desire of enjoying such a transient being is, that it may for the future be consecrated to the service of my maker, and by a long and unfeigned repentance I may beseech Almighty God, of his infinite mercy, to pardon and remit all my sins, and enable me to live a holy religious life, and make satisfaction to all persons whom I have any ways injured. I don't doubt but the favor of your friendship and interest in the House of Commons may prevail on his honor to indulge me with a reprieve, if you'll be so charitable as to grant it me; which I presume to hope for, not only in tender regard of so many men having already suffered, and of my hearty and sincere repentance with full purposes of amendment of life; but in consideration of the securities and promises of favor I received from Colonel Rhett, which together with the joy I conceived of having an opportunity safely to disengage myself from all such wicked people and inhumane actions, made me the sole instrument of persuading those people to deliver themselves and arms up, which took me near twenty-four hours time and trouble to do after the engagement was over, when I knew what the two sloops were that Colonel Rhett commanded. By which means I saved the great effusion of blood which must infallibly have been spilt by those rash people, had they received Colonel Rhett's company on board, and blown us all up as they threatened, which I found much difficulty to persuade them from doing. This is what Colonel Rhett and many of his officers on board can testify. I must confess the escape I attempted might justly increase and aggravate his honor and the government against me, for which I ask his and their pardon, and should not in the least have offered it, had not nature, as I believe it will in any man under the same circumstances, prompted me to evade, if possible, so horrid a sentence, by endeavoring to get to some private settlement and continue there till my friends could apply home for his majesty's gracious pardon. I am fearful I have been too tedious already; therefore, shall not further trouble you than once more to repeat my earnest entreaty for your charitable favor, and to assure you that it will ever heartily devote me to your service, and oblige me always gratefully to acknowledge myself, Sir, your most obliged, and unfortunate humble servant, |