I was born about the year 1820, in the town of Foster, State of Rhode Island.
My father was a farmer, and had seven sons, of whom I was the youngest but one.
I worked on the farm until I was fifteen years of age, and though I had opportunities of receiving the benefit of public instruction, I never attended school, or profited by the advantages offered me to improve my condition in life by any honest or legitimate means.
I was naturally of a wild, restless, reckless disposition, fonder of wandering about the fields, or lounging by the brook side, than following habits of industry, and among my companions was noted for my headstrong, imperious manner, and was always foremost in all youthful frolics and scrapes, never feeling satisfied unless I could outdo my companions in any enterprise of fun or mischief.
My only ambition was to be rich; but I had no desire to acquire riches in the plodding way in which our neighbors went through life; my dream was to become suddenly rich by some bold stroke, and then to give free reins to the passions and desires which governed me.
I never, even as a boy, hoarded money. I did not care for the mere possession of it. It was only valuable to me as the means of gratifying my passions.
I used to wish that I could find the pots of gold and silver which rumor said had been buried in our neighborhood by pirates and robbers, and used to listen with rapt attention to stories of pirates, robbers, highwaymen, etc., which my companions used sometimes to relate.
My father compelled me to work, and though I had no taste for it, when once in the field my ambition to excel always brought me out first at the end of the row or swath, and having some mechanical skill, I was often called upon to do jobs about the farm which saved calling upon the wheelwright or carpenter.
But by the time I was fifteen years of age I grew tired of the monotonous life I had been leading, and my desire to roam and see the world, and seek my fortune, took entire possession of me; so I began making my preparations to run away. I got together a small sum of money, by hook and by crook; and one night, after all were asleep, I stealthily left the house, and took the road to Providence, from whence I proceeded to Norwich, Conn.
Here I took the first important step in that career of crime which has made me a prisoner in this cell, and which will lead me eventually to the gallows.
After arriving at Norwich, I wandered about, seeking not employment, but some means of gratifying my desire for money in an easier way; and during the day I strayed into the railroad depot, where I observed a number of trunks, packages of goods, etc., a part of which I determined to appropriate to myself. I hung about the depot until night, and then watching my opportunity, I seized a package of goods; and leaving the depot in all haste, made my way outside of the town to some woods, where I examined the package, which contained laces and silks. I secreted some of the things about me; and, not knowing any one to whom I could dispose of them there, I determined to go back home, which I reached in the course of a few days.
My parents were very angry with me, and tried to learn where I had been; but I kept a still tongue, and sold the goods secretly to a peddler who stopped at the house.
But the goods were missed, and, as I had been seen prowling about the railroad station, suspicion naturally fell on me; and the officers having no difficulty in getting on my track, I was followed and arrested one night at my father’s house, after I had been in bed some time.
I was fast asleep; the officers awoke me, and putting a pair of handcuffs on me, carried me back with them to Norwich, where I was tried and sentenced to a year and six months’ imprisonment in the Norwich jail.
I remained in confinement about three months, when I managed to make my escape, and went to Lowerpart, Gloucester, Rhode Island, where I went to work on a farm. But my whereabouts was discovered, and in six weeks from the time of my escape I was re-arrested and taken back to Norwich jail, and put to work in the quarries, with a ball and chain fastened to my leg.
I had been at work a month in this way, when one day, by means of a stone hammer and chisel, I broke the chain from my leg, and running off, made for the woods, pursued for some miles by a strong party of officers.
I took refuge in a house by the roadside, and had the satisfaction of seeing them go by at full speed, supposing me to be still ahead of them.
As soon as they had passed, I left the house and took to the woods, where I remained hid in some bushes until night, when I came out and took the road to Providence.
Early the next morning I was stopped on the way by a man on horseback, who knew me to be an escaped convict by the clothes I wore, not having had an opportunity of changing them.
As soon as I saw him, I made for the woods by the side of the road. He dismounted and followed me, and, being a good runner, had nearly overtaken me, when I turned and stood at bay.
We had a long and terrible struggle in the mud and water of the swamp, he all the time shouting at the top of his voice for assistance, which brought the neighbors to his aid before I could effect my determination to kill him, which I had fully made up my mind to do rather than allow myself to be taken.
I was, of course, overpowered by numbers, and after being safely bound, was reconducted back to Norwich, where I was punished and kept in close solitary confinement for more than a year.
During this confinement, it seemed as if every wicked quality of my mind was brought out in full activity. I used to sit and plan all sorts of desperate schemes, and a feeling of the most unquenchable vengeance took possession of me. For I fancied myself persecuted, wronged and ill-treated; I imagined the world had declared war against me, and I determined, as soon as my term of imprisonment should expire, to war in turn upon the world.
At last the long wished for end of my imprisonment came, and I was discharged. Swearing vengeance against the whole human race, I left the jail and went back to my father’s house, where I remained for a short time and then went to Lower Gloucester, where I went to work in a shoe manufactory, having learned that trade during my confinement in the Norwich jail.
But this hum-drum sort of life was little suited to me, and besides, I felt so incensed against mankind that I found it impossible to restrain my thirst for vengeance on society for the fancied wrongs it had done me, so I resolved to go again out into the world; and going to Providence, an old shipping master, by the name of Chittel, shipped me on board the whaleship Philip Tabb, bound to the northwest coast of America. The ship belonged to Warren, R. I., where I joined her in the course of a few days.
I no sooner got on board than I began to make mischief among the crew, among whom I got up a series of rows and fights. I gratified my wicked and evil propensities with a total disregard of consequences either to them or myself. I had no fear, nor did I care for anybody or anything.
The captain was in a great hurry to sail, and not wishing that he should for a few days, when we reached Newport I incited a mutiny, which resulted in a fight, in which the mutineers got the worst of it, and two men were sent ashore in irons.
The captain thinking that he had rid himself of the ring-leaders—although the men sent ashore were really the most innocent of the crew—again set sail and proceeded on the cruise.
For a few weeks everything went on smoothly enough, but in a short time I succeeded in sowing dissatisfaction among the crew, which in the end led to another mutiny; my idea being, if possible, to get possession of the ship.
The captain and mates tried first to quiet the men by fair words, but failing by these means to get them to resume their work, they armed themselves, and a hard and desperate fight took place in which the captain and first and second mates were very badly cut with knives and axes. The mutineers were, however, again subdued, and two of them were put in irons. I played my cards so well, that notwithstanding I had incited the whole affair, and was in all respects responsible for it, the captain did not suspect the part I had taken, and I escaped unpunished.
MYSTERIOUS MURDER—THE SLOOP E. A. JOHNSON, ON BOARD OF WHICH IT IS SUPPOSED A BRUTAL MURDER HAS BEEN PERPETRATED.
DETECTIVE NEVINS DESCRIBING THE MURDERER’S ARREST TO THE REPORTERS.
THE PEOPLE OF NEW LONDON, MAKING AN ATTEMPT TO LYNCH THE MURDERER.
When we arrived at Wahoo, Sandwich Islands, the mutineers who had been put in irons, were whipped with the cat, on board ship, till they were nearly dead. While we remained in port, the captain thinking to gain the good will of the crew, permitted us to go on shore nearly every day, and the men would have been well disposed toward him if I had not continually poisoned their minds against him.
While on shore I engaged in every kind of wickedness; I robbed and beat the natives, and was finally taken by the authorities and locked up until the vessel was ready for sea.
I imagined that I had been arrested at the instigation of the captain, and I determined that as soon as we were once more in blue water, I would be revenged upon him for it, but no opportunity occurred before we reached our cruising ground, where we only took one whale, and were then obliged to put back to Wahoo for repairs, the ship being leaky.
On our way back, one of the boat-steerers having been observed in conversation with me by the captain, was questioned in relation to the subject of it, which he refused to disclose. The captain then commenced to abuse the boat-steerer, and from words they soon came to blows. The boat-steerer, who was more than a match for the captain, would have overpowered him, but that the first mate interfered. He no sooner did so, than seizing a belaying-pin, I felled him to the deck, and the other officers coming up, a general fight took place.
The boat-steerer and myself succeeded in giving them a severe beating, and had complete possession of the ship, for the rest of the crew were afraid of us, and did not dare, even if they had been disposed, to take sides with the officers, whom we drove below, with the exception of the first mate, who still lay insensible upon the deck.
After this, the boat-steerer and myself held a consultation, and had we been navigators, which we were not, it being our first voyage, or had we even known where we were, or what course to sail, we should have murdered all the officers, and taken the ship.
Two days afterward, on coming on deck, we found the ship was approaching land, and a number of vessels in sight, which forced us to alter our plans. So we released the officers, who brought the ship to anchor in the harbor of Owahie, S. I., where we remained about a week, none of the crew being allowed to go on shore, and the boat-steerer and myself, knowing that while in port, and in sight of other vessels, the captain had us in his power, and could at any time have punished us, asked forgiveness, and stood upon our good behavior until we put to sea again, after repairing ship.
On our way out we touched at the Marquis Island, and then cruised a season on the whaling ground; but, not being successful, we left, and went into Typie Bay.
One day, having permission to go on shore with the boat-steerer and some of the crew, we landed on one of the islands for the purpose of procuring cocoa-nuts and wild figs, with which the place abounded.
After securing as many figs and nuts as we wanted, we were about returning to the ship, when we were attacked by the natives.
A desperate fight took place. We killed a number of the natives, and succeeded in driving off the rest, and thus having a taste for blood, and the demon in me being fully aroused, I suggested to the boat-steerer, that this would be a good time to kill the officers, and take the ship. He agreed to the proposition, and so did those who were with us, and it was arranged that as soon as we were on board, each should select his man—kill him at once, and then put to sea, steering as well as we could for the western coast of America.
There were two boats. The boat-steerer and myself being in one, with a portion of the crew, and the balance of the party in the other.
Our boat reached the ship last, and when we got on board we found the officers armed and fully prepared to receive us. It was evident we had been betrayed, and I afterward learned that one of the men in the first boat informed the captain of our intentions as soon as he arrived on board.
As soon as our feet trod the deck a bloody and desperate fight ensued, in which the officers were assisted by a portion of the crew, and they finally succeeded, though not without being severely wounded, in disarming and securing the boat-steerer and myself, and put us in double irons.
They kept us in the run of the ship until we touched at Wahoo, when we were set ashore.
We were no sooner on land than we gave free vent to all our passions and desires. There was not a day went by we did not commit a robbery, and had it been necessary we should not have hesitated to have added murder to our other crimes. At last we were taken and locked up until the ship was ready for sea again, when we were sent on board and kept in irons until we arrived at an island—the name of which I do not now remember—where we were allowed to go on shore, and got into a fight with the natives, who succeeded in driving us to our boats.
During our stay here another disturbance and mutiny was organized by me, in which the officers were disabled, and the ship having again become leaky we put back to Wahoo, where she was condemned and the crew discharged; myself and the boat-steerer making our escape to the interior to avoid the consequences of our mutinous conduct.
For a long time we led the life of freebooters, robbing and plundering wherever we went, and dissipating the proceeds of our robberies in the wildest debauchery.
At last I was taken, and, for the third time, incarcerated in the prison at Wahoo, but was released through the intercession of the captain of a Dutch ship, the Villa de Poel, of Amsterdam, who gave me a berth on board.
We sailed for the Bay of Magdalina, California, where we took a right whale, and when we had towed him along side the ship a quarrel took place between me and the mate. We had a desperate fight, but they overpowered me and put me in irons.
But the second mate and myself had previous to this opened our minds to one another, and finding we were of the same way of thinking, we became warm friends.
He was an American, a native of Boston, and he succeeded in procuring my release, and put me on as boat-steerer.
The second mate and myself finding that we should stand no chance in case of trouble, the whole crew with the exception of ourselves being Dutch, resolved to leave the ship on the first opportunity which presented itself.
We had not long to wait, for one night when we were lying to, near shore, on which a tent had been pitched, we armed ourselves with pistols and cutlasses, and taking a boat from the davits, we dropped into it quietly and went ashore, taking possession of the tent.
In the morning our absence was discovered, and a boat was sent from the ship to bring us on board, but being well armed we would not allow them to land, and they were obliged to go back. Another boat came, but we resolutely refused to go back and would not allow them to land until the captain had agreed to pay us off and give us our discharge. This, after some parleying, he consented to, and we took the ship’s boat and put out into the bay, where we boarded and joined the barque Fanny, of New Bedford.
We sailed immediately for Cape St. Lucas, California, and not meeting with any success, proceeded to the Bay of St. Josephs, where we left the ship, and after the lapse of a few years, during which time I passed through a series of adventures almost too numerous to mention, and the details of which would fill a volume, we found ourselves in Lower California about the commencement of the Mexican War.
We remained here about a year, living a wild, guerrilla life, plundering all who promised anything like booty, and never hesitating to take the lives of such as resisted us or were likely to betray us. We spared neither sex nor age. How many times, during this period, I dyed my hands in human blood, I do not know. No prayers, no entreaties moved us; it seemed as if my heart was dead to every human feeling, and was a stranger to pity and every soft emotion.
Often at midnight, when all nature slept, and none were abroad save the wild beasts and we wilder men—the former not so much to be feared as we, nor yet so cruel—for while they only sought their natural prey, in obedience to a natural instinct, we preyed upon our fellow men, in violation of every natural sentiment—I say, often at the dead hour of the night have I and my companion stealthily approached some house, previously selected for our purpose, and breaking in upon the fancied security of the inmates, killed them as they slept.
The old man, whose grey hairs glistened in the moonlight, and whose venerable presence might have touched any hearts but ours; the little children, locked in each other’s arms, dreaming of butterflies and flowers and singing birds; the young man and the just budding woman, the fond wife and the doting husband, all fell beneath my murderous hand, or were made the shrieking victims of my unholy passion first, and then slaughtered like cattle.
During this time my gains were large, but we squandered all our money in the various towns in gambling, drinking, and with prostitutes, never once feeling remorse for what we had done, but ever ready for some new deed of horror the moment the proceeds of our last crime were spent.
Cunning and shrewd as we were, however, suspicion at last fell upon us, and we were obliged to leave the country. While we were waiting on the coast for an opportunity, the U. S. store-ship Southampton came into port; we shipped on board of her and went to Monterey, Santa Cruz Bay.
Having accomplished my object in escaping from the scene of my late depredations, and having arrived at a place where neither my past life was known nor my present purposes suspected, I resolved to leave the Southampton at the earliest possible moment; and finding on consultation with my partner, the boat-steerer, that he was of the same mind, we began to keep an eye to windward for chances.
One night, when I thought circumstances favored our project, I let my hat drop from a gun-port, as if by accident. The marine on duty was walking the poop deck, but it being a foggy night, he did not see us as I hauled the boat from the swinging-boom alongside under the bow, and myself and partner got in and pulled for the shore.
The noise of the oars attracted the attention of the sentry, and he and the captain both fired at us, without effect, and the store-ship Lexington, which was lying close by, fired a gun loaded with grape, which struck the boat just as we landed, knocking it all to pieces, but doing us no injury. As soon as we landed, we made for the woods, being obliged to pass a fort filled with American soldiers, who fired upon us without effect, so that we were enabled to reach the shelter of the wood unharmed.
We remained in this wood for a few days, and then travelling on, we reached the city at night, where we stole horses and made for the mines.
We had not ridden far before we met two travellers, who were returning from the diggings. As they approached us, we stopped; and when they were about passing us, we drew our pistols, and bade them stand and deliver. They made no resistance, but quickly transferred such dust, nuggets, and other valuables as they had about them to our keeping, when we bade them good day, and allowed them to proceed upon their journey.
Arriving at the Salina plains, we stopped at a house over night, where we committed a robbery, and continued our journey the next day to the gold mines.
On our arrival there, we went about from claim to claim, and from diggings to diggings, adding to our store of dust by robbery and murder; and though we were perfectly reckless of consequences, and carried on our operations in the boldest manner, we escaped detection, though we did not avoid suspicion, and were more than once in danger of expiating our crimes by sentence of Judge Lynch.
I have no doubt that during this period, many of the crimes attributed to the notorious Joaquin, and other robbers, were committed by us; but the devil, whose work we were so industriously doing, seemed to protect us, and for more than a year we pursued our career of blood and crime with impunity.
Having by this time accumulated sufficient dust to satisfy our desire, besides that which we had squandered in gambling in the various mining towns and districts, we made our way to San Francisco.
We had as much gold as I could lift from the ground with one arm, which, upon our arrival in San Francisco, we exchanged for coin, and then commenced a long period of debauchery and licentiousness.
Every bar-room was at that time a gambling-place. The laws were loosely administered, and the only code really recognized was that of might.
Among the lawless, there were none more lawless than I; among the profligate and depraved, none more so than I; among the reckless and desperate, none were more reckless or so desperate as I and my companion.
The bar-room, the brothel, and the monte table, were the only attractions for us, and for six months we led the life of demons, leaving no bad impulse, no fiendish purpose, no gross passion, nor any wicked design, ungratified or unaccomplished.
After our money was all gone, and we began to be marked and suspected, we shipped on board of the brig Josephine—a Spanish vessel, bound for Valparaiso, and having on board a large amount of treasure, consisting of gold dust and Mexican doubloons.
One night, while we were coasting down, myself and partner having completed our arrangements, armed ourselves, and going into the cabin, gagged and bound the captain and officers, and placed them in a boat, compelling the crew to follow, leaving us in possession of the ship.
We then collected all the treasure, which we placed in the boat we had reserved for ourselves, when we scuttled the vessel and set fire to her.
What became of the officers and crew I never heard, but the owners of the brig Josephine, should they ever read my narrative, will learn, for the first time, the news of her real fate.
After seeing the vessel burn to the water’s edge, we pulled away, and favored by fine weather, we arrived within a short time at Mazatlan, having in our possession nearly or quite a hundred thousand dollars in dust and doubloons.
Here we purchased a hotel and bowling alley, and for a year and a half carried on business, occasionally indulging in my old propensities, and never missing a chance of appropriating to my own use such property or effects belonging to the travellers who stopped with us, as I could lay my hands on, occasionally taking to the road and waylaying those whom it would have been imprudent to have robbed while they were in the town.
But though our business flourished, and we might, had we exercised ordinary prudence, have grown rich and lived honestly, our propensities for gambling, carousing, and every sort of vile dissipation, ran away with our ill-gotten gains, and by the time eighteen months had elapsed, we were forced to abandon our hotel and take to our old business of robbing and murdering, until we were forced to fly to escape punishment, and once more took to the highway.
The scene of our operations was the road leading from the mines, where we stopped the mules, murdered the conductors, and took such silver as they had in charge.
We came by these means into possession of large amounts of silver in bars, which being altogether too heavy for transportation, we were obliged to bury, and went back to Valparaiso.
At Mazatlan there lived a Chinaman by the name of Bill Cassa. He kept a public house, and being a reckless, unprincipled sort of fellow, and fond of money, although he was already rich, we selected him to become the purchaser of our hidden wealth. So, putting up at his hotel, we commenced sounding him, and finding his curiosity and avarice excited by our hints of hidden treasure, we at last offered to guide him to the spot where it was buried, provided he would pay us a sufficient sum of money in gold for the secret.
He agreed to this proposition, but the cunning fellow refused to take any money with him upon the journey, so that we were obliged to depend upon his honor for keeping any bargain he might make with us after seeing the amount of silver we had for sale. Had he taken the money with him, we should have been obliged to look for another customer, for we should have murdered him and possessed ourselves of all he had. I suppose his confidence in us was not over large, and so he would not consent to give us anything until after we had shown him the spot where the silver was buried, and should have returned to Mazatlan. We started with him at night, and by morning reached the spot. After examining the silver, which must have been worth at least a hundred and fifty thousand dollars, he agreed to give us $25,000 in gold for it. We consented to this, and going back to Mazatlan we received our money, and went to Valparaiso, where we opened a boarding-house, but at the end of a year we had gambled and spent nearly all our money, and so took again to our old career, working on the road between Valparaiso and the mines, where we robbed the mule trains as before, murdering the conductors, and thus coming into possession of a very large amount of silver in bars. After we had accumulated as much as we thought would serve our purpose, we went to a small village called Sueda, in the neighborhood of the mines, and there sold the buried metal to a Spanish merchant, named Don Juan Alte, for $15,000, when we returned to Valparaiso and took passage on board the bark Maria, of Baltimore, Captain Mattison, bound to Rio Janeiro.
Nothing of particular interest occurred on our voyage to Rio, but after staying there six or seven weeks, and spending nearly all our money in gambling and debauchery, we took the road between Rio and Montevideo, where we robbed all worth robbing, and murdered all who resisted us.
There is many a whitened skeleton bleaching by that roadside now, on the same spot where it fell by my murderous hand; and the traveller, as he rides along, sees many a place where the grass grows taller and greener than that which surrounds it; but he little dreams that its roots are enriched by the blood shed by me. If I should travel that road now I should have plenty of ghostly company, for, though dead men tell no tales, and are but dead to all the world beside, to me they are now living horrors, and will insist in keeping company with me.
I remember one day that, a few miles from Montevideo, we attacked a man and three women, all of them being on horseback. We robbed them, and should have killed them all, but the women were beautiful, and for once I allowed my heart to yield to the soft feeling of pity, and we did not murder them.
I shall never forget the look of these poor frightened creatures kneeling at my feet, praying me to be merciful, while my partner, Tom Stone—that was his name, I do not think I have mentioned it before—stood a few feet off, with his pistol at the head of the man who was gradually divesting himself of everything valuable he had about him.
One of the women wore half-a-dozen magnificent diamond rings, and the other carried two gold watches set with diamonds, besides other trinkets of great value. These I made them take off, and give to me; after which, I intended to have ravished and then killed them; I hallooed to Tom to get rid of the man, and come and toss for the choice of the women—but the younger one of the two, though I spoke in English, seemed to be aware, as if by instinct, of our designs; she started suddenly up, and with a bound sprang to the side of her husband, and clung to him in such a way that Tom could not kill him without killing her also. I seized the other woman, and was about to execute my hellish purpose upon her, when, with tears and prayers she besought my pity, and begged for mercy, but I was deaf to all her prayers, and was again about to seize her, when she sprang from me, and like her companion, clung to the man. I followed her, and both the women, as if by one impulse, again fell on their knees, and besought us to spare them.
I do not know how it was, but my heart softened for once, and I stopped Tom’s hand just as he was going to pull the trigger on the man, who now stood alone, with his arms folded, awaiting his fate. Tom looked astonished, but put up his pistol with an oath, and after some demurrer, agreed with me to let them all depart without further harm. I even assisted them to catch their horses, which they mounted, and rode back with all the speed they could toward Montevideo. Ten minutes after they had gone I felt sorry, and thought I had acted like a fool.
After this adventure, I felt in continual fear of detection, and as we had accumulated by our robberies a sum not less than a hundred and fifty thousand dollars in money, jewels and trinkets, we transported our plunder by degrees to Rio, where we remained a few weeks enjoying ourselves, and then took passage for Buenos Ayres, where we remained a year, gambling and robbing as usual.
We had not spent all our money, but still had a large sum left, which we concealed in our trunks and canvas bags, and shipped on board the bark Anada, of Boston, bound for New Orleans. We did not go as passengers, as we wished to conceal the fact of having so much money in our possession.
During the passage, and in sight of the West India Islands, a mutiny occurred.
One of the ship’s boys having committed some offence, the captain ordered him to be whipped, and he was tied up aft. His yells and screams, as the cat descended on his back, made me mad, and going aft, I cut him down.
The captain interfered, when I knocked him down with a handspike, and my