580 LEAVES FROM A LOG. 



tion, from which no effort of the priest who attended him could rouse 

 him. The Dutchman went to the scaffold with the appearance of 

 deep contrition for his past life. The Portuguese met his fate with 

 so much maddening terror, that the admonitions of his priest were 

 lost upon him : while the hard-featured captain mounted the platform 

 with a degree of brutal courage that surprised and shocked the 

 bystanders ; he blasphemed, and tried to make ribald jests while the 

 executioner was adjusting the fatal cord. 



Early in 1831 a brig, marked on her stern u Orbit," was discovered 

 stranded on the eastern shores of this island. As there had been no 

 bad weather at that time, it was conjectured that she had been pur- 

 posely ran on shore. On examining her, it was found that she had 

 been plundered, although a quantity of gold dust, elephants' teeth, 

 palm oil, and other African products were left on board ; and on pe- 

 rusing her papers she appeared to be an American vessel bound from 

 Sierra Leon. Further investigation brought out that the captain and 

 mate had been murdered, and that five of her crew had been pledging 

 a large quantity of gold dust in this island. Three made their escape, 

 got to Caraccas, and there set up a shop. Their conduct excited 

 some suspicion ; being informed of this, they hastily sold off their 

 stock, and took their departure. They had not journeyed far from 

 the city ere one received a fatal hurt, by being thrown from a mule ; 

 of this fall he died a few hours after in an hospital. Previous to 

 his death he confessed that he was one of the Orbit's crew, and that 

 he and his other two companions had participated in the plunder of 

 the vessel and the murder of its captain. The men were therefore 

 apprehended and lodged in prison. Two others were traced to St. 

 Vincent, and brought back to this island. I went to visit these men 

 in gaol, and learned that one of them, named Glasgow, was a run- 

 away slave of this island, and the very man who, at Old Guiana, 

 offered to sell me the chronometer. He recognized me, and was re- 

 markably communicative. He told me that his fellow-prisoner and 

 the three who had escaped to the main were attached to the pirate 

 brigantine. But as he appeared willing to inform me of more than I 

 wished to know, I made my interview with him short. 



A few months after this, an American sloop-of-war came for these 

 pirates ; they were delivered up, together with the documentary 

 evidence of their guilt ; the vessel then went down to the main and 

 received the other two prisoners. I afterwards read in the American 

 papers that Glasgow and his fellow-pirate suffered the " felon's 

 death" at Boston, and the other two were executed at New York. 



Such was the doom of those men of blood ! 



