Containing the true life of captain
Kidd
In England there lived a man who had
been a great friend of King William; who had been
his friend even before he had become King. This
man was Lord Bellomont. It was he who was chosen
Governor in the year 1696. But it was two years
after this that he reached New York. During these
two years he worked hard in the interests of the province.
He knew all about the pirates, and knew that it would
take a strong force to subdue them. He called
upon the English Government to fit out men for this
purpose. But the Government had neither men, nor
ships, nor guns to spare.
So Lord Bellomont decided to raise
a private armed force. He got together a company,
of which the King was a member, and they fitted out
a strong and fast-sailing vessel called the Adventure
Galley. Lord Bellomont looked about for a good
captain. At last he thought he had found just
the man in Captain William Kidd. Captain Kidd
just at this time happened to be in London, where
he was well known, and well liked. His home was
in New York, where his wife and daughter lived in a
fine house in Crown Street, and where he was a respected
citizen. But best of all for the Company, Captain
Kidd had been in command of a privateer, and knew
a good deal about pirates and their ways.
And so it came about that Captain
Kidd sailed away, commander of the Adventure Galley,
with its crew of sixty sailors, and its thirty guns,
to destroy the pirates.
Then followed a space of time during
which news of the bold Captain was eagerly awaited.
It came soon enough news that was startling.
Captain Kidd had been tempted by the adventurous life
and great gains, and had himself turned pirate!
During the next two years he was heard of as the most
daring and fierce of pirates, plundering and sinking
ships, until his name became a terror on the sea.
He collected great treasure, and then decided to give
up piracy. He returned to New York, and touched
first at Gardiner’s Island, a bit of land at
the eastern end of Long Island. There he buried
a portion of his treasure. The remainder he divided
with his crew. Then he went to Boston, took a
new name, and intended to live in quiet and luxury
during the remainder of his life. But, unfortunately,
one day Lord Bellomont was in Boston, met him, and
caused his arrest. In a few months he was sent
to England in chains. There he was executed.
When it was known that Captain Kidd
had made a stop at Gardiner’s Island, search
was made there and the hidden treasure was dug up.
There were rumors from time to time that Kidd and
his pirate crew had stopped at points on the East
River shore of the Island of Manhattan, and many men
hunted that shore and sought in many places for hidden
treasure, but none was ever found there.
During the time that Captain Kidd
was roaming the sea, Lord Bellomont was governing
New York.
The new Governor was at first much
admired. He was a fine man, with faultless manners,
and a commander in every inch of his tall figure.
He had hands as soft as a woman’s, a kindly eye,
and a gentle voice. But he could be stern, and
was stern and unyielding, too, when occasion required.
He dressed in better taste than anyone who had ever
lived in the province, and his horses and carriage
were finer than had ever before been seen in the city.
Friends of the dead Jacob Leisler
had told Lord Bellomont tales of what a good man Leisler
had been, and how he had been unjustly executed.
So Lord Bellomont, to the end of his life, favored
the friends of Leisler.
He was firmly convinced that many
of the city merchants had become rich through dealings
with the pirates. This belief made many enemies
for him. Then, too, there were laws which would
not permit merchants to trade with any country except
England; hard laws, that were constantly broken, for
the merchants could not see why they should not trade
with anyone they saw fit. Bellomont was so strict
in enforcing these laws and in collecting duties that
he made more enemies, who sought his recall.
Nevertheless many improvements were
carried out while Bellomont was Governor. A first
effort was made to light the streets, which had, up
to this time, only had the light of the moon at night.
This was done by a lantern with a candle in it hung
on a pole from the window of every seventh house.
A night-watch was also established, consisting of four
men.
After Bellomont had been Governor
for a few years, what remained of the city wall was
removed, and Wall Street had its beginning on the line
of the old wall. The same year the old Stadt
Huys was found to be in a state of decay. Then
a new city hall was erected on the new Wall Street,
close by where Nassau Street now touches it. There
were dungeons in the new building for criminals, cells
in the attic for debtors, and a court-room on the
main floor.
The first library, under the name
of the Corporation Library, was opened in the City
Hall. This is the library that afterward became
the Society Library. It is still in existence,
and now has its home in University Place.
All in all, Lord Bellomont was a good
Governor, who did much for the people, and much to
make the city an agreeable place to live in; and there
was deep regret when he died suddenly in the year 1701.
He was buried in the chapel in the fort, and as an
especial honor to his memory his coat-of-arms was
fixed on the wall of the new City Hall in Wall Street.
This was a great honor, even though the fickle people,
a few years later, when a new Governor came, did tear
down the arms and burn them in the street.
John Nanfan, the Lieutenant-Governor,
took command of the province until news reached the
city that Lord Cornbury had been appointed Governor.
Nicholas Bayard, who had made such a bitter fight against
Leisler, and who had been imprisoned so long, hated
Governor Nanfan, because Nanfan was a friend of the
people who called themselves the Leislerian party.
So Bayard sent an address to Lord Cornbury saying that
Nanfan was an enemy. But Nanfan arrested Bayard,
and had him tried under the self-same act under which
Leisler had been tried. This act pronounced traitors
anyone who should make an effort to disturb the peace
of the province. Bayard was sentenced to death,
but a reprieve was granted pending the pleasure of
the King. Before word could be got to England,
Lord Cornbury arrived. Bayard was promoted to
a place of honor, and there was a scattering of the
Leislerians, who were now looked upon as enemies of
the Government.