Adventure Magazine Cover — page 176: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

: well as the murder a Moere, came from the _ evidence of Palmer and Bradinham, some- what corroborated by the expressions of the _ nine sailors who were not delicate to save ____ their commander in this pinch. ae Bs No time was lost in getting a jury. “When 5 _ Kidd objected to being tried by those who Z 2 had convicted him of the murder of William _ Moore, on his other trials for piracy, they = _; were cleared out of the box,.and another jury promptly put in. It all went at a E sellep. The jury in the murder case brought ee in their verdict while the first trial for _____ piracy was in process; it took half an hour each for the jury to render their verdict on z _ the’ piracy indictments. The lengthy with the SuLgDneUp by the judges a good *~ second. _ It-must have base a great day for Gort - Baba, the Armenian, and one of the owners _ of the Quedagh Merchant, who appeared in London at this time to ‘push the punish- ment of his despoiler. Yet he was not used at the trials—a noteworthy omission. ‘Palmer and Bradinham were subjected to ‘no cross-examination save that of Kidd. = Ther were somewhat mixed up on their _ dates and the captain made the most of this, but on the whole his questioning must be regarded as quibbling. _* Things looked dark for Kidd and his defense did not cast very much light upon =the situation. XIIT | . a ) KIDD’S defense may be pieced j together from his own words as it appeared, not as an orderly presen- a tation of his position, but as comments upon _ the answers of the witnesses and interjected _ explanations during the proceedings. It was not without ingenuity. - «“to take the French and pirates; and in or- _ der to do that I came up with two ships that all the men a-deck to consult, and a great 4 many went aboard the Ouedagh Merchant. i would have given that ship to Cogi Baba voted against it. They said, we will make a prize of her; we will carry her to Madagas- ee -car. Palmer. and Bradinham have heard ‘\ ‘ “T had a commission,” he said in effect, . had French passes both of them. I called | = me € speak of the French passes taken from ‘ { ‘ v reac te 7s, Adventure — pees. the ships. The Quedagh Merchant was under ‘a French commission. Her master was a tavern-keeper at Surat. I was not at the sharing of the goods taken from her; I know nothing of it. “T did not take Culliford because a great many of my men went ashore; the state- ment that I gave him guns and presents | is only what these witnesses say. I was not aboard Culliford’s ship. I have some papers, but my lord, Bellamont keeps them the court. at company with Boas Culliford than with Captain Warren. I have many papers for my defense if I could have had them; my French passes which my lord Bellamont has. I could not condemn the ships according to: - law because of the mutiny in my, ship. Bradinham is a rogue; he shared in the goods and robbed the surgeon’s chest. He knows nothing of these things; he used to sleep five or six months together in the hold. “The men took the goods of all the ships taken, and did what they pleased with them. I was never near them. They lay in wait for me to kill me. They took away what they pleased and went to the island; and I, with about forty men, was left in the ship and we might go whither we pleased. I will not ask the witness any more questions; so long as. he swears it our words or oaths can not be taken. Palmer is a loggerhead. Ninety- five men deserted’ my «ship, and went a-roguing afterwards. “T was threatened to be shot in the cabin ' i I would not go along with the villains. This was the reason I could not come home. They tried to burn my ship. When they deserted I was forced to stay by myself and pick up here a man and there a man to carry - her home. Mr. Bradinham is promised his life to take away mine. It is hard ‘that a couple of rascals should take away the king’s subjects’ lives; they are a couple of rogues and_tascals. It genifies nothing for me to ask them anything. They have per- jured themselves in many things; about the © guns given to Culliford, that is one thing; he swore I gave them four guns yesterday, now he says but two. Then he says the ship went from Plymouth the beginning of May and before he said it was in April. I have been sworn against by Panne and wicked people.” By way of defense to the murder charge, he alleged that there was‘a mutiny on . NiGboo (c SS (C@ (E@)