Page 24. MAINE COASTAL NEWS September 2017 HISTORY FROM THE PAST - Hancock Gazette - 1827 8 August


From the Boston Gazette TRIAL OF THE PIRATES


The Richmond Enquirer of the 20th inst.


contains a long a interesting Report of the trial of the three Spaniards, charged with the murder of the captain, crew and passengers of the brig CRAWFORD, on the 1st


June last,


when on her passage from Matanzas to New York. The public are already in possession of the material facts connected with this horrid butchery; but the evidence of the mate of the CRAWFORD, and of Mr. Ginoulhiac, the French passenger, which is given below, discloses some incidents not before given. So irresistible indeed was the evidence of the guilt of the prisoners that their able Counsel was compelled to throw up their cause in utter despair. The Enquirer says – “In London, this narrative would


furnish themes enough to employ whole columns of newspapers. Every circum- stance of the atrocity would be elaborately noted and commented on. The retail sellers of newspapers would hawk them through every large town in the kingdom – Ballads would be written to tell the horrid deed: and the countenances of Pepe, and Couro, and Felix would be struck off and exhibited at the windows of all the print shops. But these pompous expositions are better calculated to fi ll the pockets of the dealers, then to touch the hearts of a moral people. This tale is suf- fi ciently full of its own horrors. We cannot, however, forbear to add, for the gratifi cation of those who may not have the opportunity of seeing them that these Pirates are not very tall or very powerful men – Pepe and Couro are well built, and rather stout men, with dark and desperate countenances – Felix is of a more slender stature, more Italian than Spanish in his looks; and we should never have suspected him of being a murderer. He has a gentlemanly look, and was styled by his companions Don Felix Barbetto – he was a brother at the Havana. Of all the prisoners, he was the most agitated by the Verdict of the Jury. We cannot beg for mercy for any of them. The administration of justice will go on; nor can we dream for one moment that there is the slightest chance of arresting the doom of the condemned.” The trial took place on the 16th


inst. The


prisoners having been arraigned pleaded not guilty. Messrs. Leigh and Schmidt conduct- ed the defense. An unsuccessful motion for a postponement of the trial was made, on the ground that there existed great excitement against the prisoners. Mr. Stanard, District Attorney, proceeded to call the witnesses. EDMUND DOBSON, the fi rst witness


called, was the mate of the brig CRAW- FORD. From his testimony we collected the following facts, which we give, with- out pursuing the order of his narrative, or extending the Statement by pursuing the cross examinations that were had: The Brig CRAWFORD was built at Troy, and registered last at Providence, from which port she sailed about the 6th


of April, for


Matanzas, in the Island of Cuba – Capt. Henry Brightman, master, himself, mate, and Joseph Doliver, Oliver Potter, Asa Bick- nell, Nathaniel P. Deane, and Stephen Gibbs (colored cook,) Mariners. After discharging their cargo at Matanzas, the Captain told him he expected to have some passengers, who were foreigners. About a week before they sailed, Alexander Tardy, came on board and stayed all night but returned to shore the next day. But while taking on board their homeward cargo, Tardy remained on board several days. He thinks it was about three days before they sailed, the prisoners Felix and Couro came on board bringing a small iron bound box, said to contain money. The witness was ordered to put it under the


Captain’s berth in a locker, which he ac- cordingly did, in the presence of Felix, who seemed satisfi ed with this disposition of it. From that time until the vessels sailed Felix remained on board, during which time much of the cargo was taken in. In the course of the testimony the history of this box seemed to have an important bearing on the trials, and the witness was cross-examined respecting it. He said he never saw or knew anything of it afterwards; and did not think that it could possibly have been brought from below, put on board the boat, and sent ashore, without Felix or himself knowing it. He had under- stood from the cook, who was a black man, that it had been removed – And by consent, this hearsay testimony was permitted to be related – and the witness said, he was told by the cook that Felix had caused the box to be removed to a locker under the cupboard, and afterwards to Felix his own apartment – and that this occurred before they left the bay of Matanzas. Pepe came on board the day before sailing. The passengers being all on board, the vessel was moved out a little from among the other shipping, where she remained until her papers were obtained, and there was no longer any cause of delay. She sailed on the 28th


May. morning of the 1st


Nothing remarkable occurred until the June. They breakfasted


about 8 o’clock. Tardy seem to be somewhat offi cious on the occasion. He helped the witness to some fried eggs and ham and a bowl of chocolate. Witness spilt some of the chocolate. Tardy insisted upon it, and actu- ally replenished the bowl. After breakfast he returned to the state room to get some rest, having been up all night. He soon felt very giddy in the head and sick at the stomach. The Captain soon came down, and when he ascertained his situation, invited Tardy, who professed to be a Doctor to come down and see him. Tardy did so; said that he was bil- ious and proposed an emetic. Mr. Robinson, the supercargo, advised him to have nothing to do with his medicine, and he determined to defer it until the next morning. He came on the deck and laid down on a mattress where he remained all day quite sick, and vomiting occasionally. In the evening Robinson told him he had no doubt but that Tardy had given them all poison; and that, for the future they must eat nothing but what was served up by their own cook; that Couro had come on board in the capacity of a servant, and that he must be made to cook for the Spaniards. The witness had no suspicion at that time of being poisoned, as the cook had not told him of Tardy’s agency in cooking the breakfast. In the evening about 8 o’clock he went into the cabin, and found the Captain quite unwell with the asthma and a cough; who invited him to sleep alongside of him, and said that Robinson would stay in the same cabin with them. As the weather was warm and he felt some solicitude about the vessel, he declined, and came on deck where he lay about 4 hours or until about 12 o’clock, when Doliver, one of the seamen, came to the relief of the man at the helm. There was no moon and the night a clear star light night. He gave Doliver orders to apprise him of any change in the weather, and then slept, he thinks until between 1 and 2 o’clock, when he was sud- denly awoke by a noise, the cause of which he did not understand. He ran forward and as soon as he got a little beyond the windlass, he saw a man standing with a knife in his hand by whom he was severely stabbed in the shoulder, (the witness’ arm was still in a sling.) In a state of great excitement and alarm, he ran across the vessel where he found Potter, a sailor, standing in a reclined position, who said he was stabbed, and asked if they could get no assistance? The witness seized a hand spike from the long boat and


attempted to get into the main rigging. He found Doliver and Potter had both ascended before him, and the blood from their wounds was streaming down like rain over him and the rigging. He saw a man about this time leaning against the railing, who in a short time fell as he believed dead – he thought it was the captain and spoke to him, but got no answer; he had since understood it was not the captain. Whilst in this situation Potter fainted, and the witness and Doliver prevented him from falling. Doliver then told him that Tardy came to the helm, looked into the binnacle and about but excited no suspicion in his mind; tho’ suddenly cut him very badly in the throat, and took the helm from him. Whilst at the masthead witness heard Robinson and Nathan overboard and in the water. He knew them by their voices. They were in great distress and implored to be permitted to come on board; but the Spaniard said no, no, no. Robinson kept rather off , but Nathan came near the vessel and entreated that a barrel or plank or an oar might be thrown overboard to him, that he might prolong his existence in that way for a little while, under the desperate hope of succour from some vessel that possibly might pass him. But his entreaties did not in the least move the hearts of the Spaniards. They refused and even attempted to plunge a harpoon or some such instrument into him, and to strike him with an oar. Finding his supplications so inhumanly received, he sought and remained with Robinson, until they were both exhausted and sunk to rise no more. The witness also heard two bodies thrown overboard. He next heard the Spaniards talking about him; and Tardy soon asked if he was above and was wounded, and told him to come down. He refused to do so, saying if he did they would kill them, and preferred staying where he was and dy- ing with his shipmates. Tardy told him the Spaniard said they would not hurt him, and that if he would come down, he would give him his word of honor he would be safe. One of his shipmates begged him for God’s sake not to go down to be butchered; he, however, did so, upon Tardy’s assurance. After getting on deck, Tardy and the three Spaniards came around him. Tardy questioned him about the box of money; and said that the Captain, be- fore they sailed from Matanzas, has sent the money on shore and that the Spaniards had determined not to come to the United States and have a suit about it, but to seize upon the vessel, and do themselves justice. He agreed that he would assist them in navigating the vessel. At his request he was then laid down by them, and Tardy ordered up the medicine chest to dress wound, but the Spaniards as he understood them, said no, no, time enough yet. Tardy having ascertained from him who else were aloft, and ordered them to come down, one at a time. After a while Doliver came down. Tardy stood at the helm, and the Spaniards went around Doliver, and after some conversation among them, he saw Couro stab Doliver; Pepe then run upon him, and striking him in the breast, he fell overboard. He heard Doliver call to Porter from the water and tell him not to come down, for if he did, the barbarous wretches would kill them. Some short time after, he heard Porter tumble from the masthead and fall overboard without a groan. After daylight, Pepe and Couro loaded


two muskets, went forward and called up a man (Bicknel) from the forecastle, who had no shirt on, and seemed to be wounded, having something like a handkerchief tied around his breast. While Bicknel was sitting on the rail, one of them fi red a musket at him, and he fell overboard. The other then fi red and the witness thought it hit him, for he heard him groan heavily. They then called


down the cook who had bid himself, and was until then unperceived in another part of the rigging, ordered him to go to work cooking breakfast, which he promptly obeyed. The witness saw a knife lashed to a staff ; two of the Spaniards were without shirts, and besmeared with blood, knives sticking in girdles about their waists. There was a bottle of spirits sitting not far from where he was, to which the Spaniards went and drank. Tardy observing that the witness was almost overpowered by the horrid butchery he had witnessed, and the appalling sight of the blood thirsty monsters, then exulting in this success of their more than savage cruelties, attempted to allay his fears, by telling him that these Spaniards had been drinking all night and were not yet drunk, and that not- withstanding what had happened, and the appearance of their knives, they would not hurt him; and (Tardy) pledged himself again to that eff ect. The Pirates then went to work in destroying all the papers belonging to the vessel, which were thrown into the sea. The leaves of the Bibles belonging to some of the men were torn out, and also thrown overboard, as were the sea clothing of the sailors. During this destruction of these ev- idences of the character of the vessel, Tardy in the Spaniards kept up a constant huzzaing; exulting and bragging of their exploit. The vessel was all a gore of blood; her


deck, masts, spars, sail, &c. The cook was made to take buckets of water and wash it away, where it could not be gotten off the sails, &c. he was made to paint them over, so as to hide it. Pepe, after one of the other Spaniards had fi xed the rope, hauled up the dead body of the Irish passenger from below, which was thrown overboard. The command of the vessel was assumed by Tardy, who knew very little of navigation; the Span- iards knew nothing about it, not being able even to splice a rope. The services of the witness were therefore necessary to them. From what he had seen of the men in whose power he was, he was prepared to execute any order they might give him, even if it had been to throw himself into the deep. He therefore obeyed them; but with the faintest hope unimaginable of ultimately gaining his freedom or saving his life. During the dreadful scene, the French passenger was near Tardy at the helm, and showed every mark of suff ering and sympathy. Tardy told the witness that the Frenchman was a good and intelligent man, and would be of some service to them. Tardy showed the witness a complete


set of Spanish papers for the vessel, repre- senting her to belong to the Port of Havana, bound by way of Matanzas to Hamburg in Europe. These papers were exhibited in court as part of the evidence, to show that the Piracy was planned and the mode of executing it, arranged before the prisoners left Matanzas. The genuineness of the papers had no bearing on the case; and we have no means of judging that point, for maritime cases are of rare occurrence in our city.) Tardy told the witness he had paid nine doubloons for them, and if the government knew he had procured them, the offi cer who gave them to him would lose his place. He explained his intention to the witness, of going to Hamburg, and conversed with him about the course to steer, the condition of the vessel, her stores, &c. Felix appeared to be next in authority, and also said they were go- ing to Hamburg, and intimated to the witness that he should share equally in the proceeds of the cargo in Hamburg with himself and Tardy. But as to the other Spaniards they were to have only a little, as they were infe- rior sort of men. This the witness was made to understand by signs. They then proceeded to dress his wound, and after the sun became


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