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Kidds IslandCaptain Kidd Pirate's Treasure Buried in the Connecticut RiverFor inquiries contact LibbyKlekowski Clarke's Island, whichlies in the Connecticut River in Northfield, Massachusetts, justoff the upper end of Pine Meadow, has a legend attached to it. According to Temple and Sheldon (1875), the story goes this way: Captain Kidd and his men ascended the Connecticut River searchingfor a place to bury a treasure of gold, somewhere secluded butdistinctive. They buried the chest of gold and drew lots to seewhich of their number would be killed so that his body could beleft on top of the chest to protect it from all treasure hunters. Over the years a legend grew up around the treasure - the goldcould be dug up only by three people at midnight when the fullmoon was directly overhead. They must form a triangle around theexact spot and work in absolute silence, words would break thecharm! In the early 19th century, Abner Field and two of hisfriends attempted to find the treasure by following thedirections exactly. At midnight, under a full moon shiningdirectly on them, they sweated and dug, silently. Shovelful byshovelful, they dug deeper and deeper. The sweat poured offtheir bodies even in the chill night air. The mosquitoes swarmedaround, biting, but the three men were afraid to kill them forfear the sound would break the charm. Any amount of discomfortcould be tolerated in order to find the buried treasure chest. Suddenly there was the echoing sound of crow-bar striking againstiron. Just as the men saw a corner of the chest emerge from thedirt, someone exclaimed,"You've hit it!" and the trio of treasurehunters watched in consternation as the chest immediately beganto sink out of reach.  Who was Captain Kidd, wheredid he get this chest of gold and why was he trying to bury it on an island in the ConnecticutRiver? To answer some of these questions, we must go back to theAge of Piracy. After 1492, Spain claimed all of the territory "discovered" byChristopher Columbus. During the next two centuries, England,France and The Netherlands would try to gain a foothold in theWest Indies in order to share in the vast wealth found there. These nations employed every possible means to obtain theirobjectives, e.g. officially sanctioned wars during which theprivateering commission (letter of marque) allowed privatelyowned ships to attack enemy vessels or, in peace time, the letterof reprisal that could be used to attack ships of a former enemyin order to recover any commercial losses incurred in an earlierwar. The line between officially sanctioned acts and actualpiracy was always a fine one. Were you a legitimate privateer ora pirate when a corrupt government employee on an obscure islandin the Caribbean gave you a commission to sail and then claimed ashare of the captured goods? Were you legitimate or a piratewhen commissioned by local merchants and government officials whoinvested in your voyage and took their share of the profits fromthat voyage? Were you legitimate when Queen Elizabeth I ofEngland sanctioned your voyage as she did Francis Drake's andthen took a share of the loot brought home? Because the profitsto be made were so large, central governments so weak and greedand corruption so rampant during this period, it was verydifficult to control the situation. Actions that were condonedby one group were often looked on as illegal by another. Unlike Jean Fleury, Sir Francis Drake or Sir Henry Morganwho sailed when governments sanctioned acts of piracy and, morefrequently than not, benefitted economically from such acts,William Kidd sailed in the last quarter of the 17th century at atime when governments and investors were no longer willing tocondone the unruly actions of a few rogues but preferred toinvest in regular, organized commerce. In other words,governments and investors now had more to gain throughestablished trade than through acts of piracy. It was WilliamKidd's misfortune to sail the seas as a privateer/pirate justwhen the rules changed and the privateer/pirate became an outlaw.But William Kidd could not know any of this when he began hislife upon the sea. Before 1689, Kidd was a member of various buccaneer crewsand eventually captained a privateer ship that was commissionedto protect the English colonies in the Caribbean against Frenchattacks. He soon learned that patronage (i.e. making friendswith influential men who could help him) was the best method ofadvancement. For the next half dozen years Kidd was in New York(a haven for pirates) doing favors for, and accepting favorsfrom, powerful friends. In 1695 he set sail for England, hopingto obtain a royal commission as a privateer. He took part in aplan to capture some pirates who had sailed to the Red Sea and tobring their loot to England where the investors (who includedKing William) would divide it among themselves. Little did heknowthat he had made a fatal mistake! Kidd sailed aboard the Adventure Galley, whichresembled the ship pictured here, leaving London in April, 1696,bound for New York City and then on to the Red Sea in August. The hunt was on and any ship belonging to a country at war withEngland was fair game. Sailing with the prevailing winds, Kiddheaded south and west until he could pick up the southeast tradewinds near the equator. By mid December, the AdventureGalley was in the South Atlantic, wallowing in a dense fog. Suddenly the mist cleared and Kidd found himself in the middle ofa Royal Navy Squadron out of England and indesperate need of new sailors to replace those lost to scurvyduring their voyage. By law, the Royal Navy had the right totake half the men from any ship flying an English flag. CaptainKidd knew that his voyage could not continue if this happened soin the still of a windless night, he had his ship rowed away fromthe squadron. Because Kidd left in such a stealthy manner, thecaptains of the Navy ships were convinced he was up to no good. They spread the word that he was a pirate when they landed inAfrica. Now fighting scurvy on his own ship and desperately inneed of fresh food and water, Kidd rounded the Cape of Good Hope,unable to land because the Royal Navy Squadron was bound there. Instead he headed for Madagascar, the haven for pirates in theIndian Ocean which lay another 2,000 miles to the northeast, andlanded there in late January, 1697. All the ships of commerce inthe East Indies were available to Kidd and his crew. The racewas on: could they capture enough ships to make the voyageworthwhile before succumbing to the ever present dangers ofdisease and a rotting ship. So William Kidd made the decision togo to the Red Sea to capture one of the ships bearing richpilgrims going to Mecca. From there he continued hisunsuccessful quest down the coast of India - always looking forthe elusive treasure that would turn his voyage into a success.By this time all thought of legal methods was gone; success wasall that counted because treasure was necessary to pay off therestive crew. Finally in late January, 1698, the Quedah Merchantwas sighted rounding the tip of India. Flying French colors inorder to trick the quarry, Kidd and his crew attacked: the prizeyielded money plus a cargo of silk, muslins, calico, sugar,opium, iron and saltpeter which could be sold at the nearest portfor a rumored 7,000 pounds. The Quedah Merchant, renamedtheAdventure Prize, was kept by Kidd as he made plans toleave the area in his by now leaking ship. The date was March,1698, nearly two years after leaving London. Unfortunately forKidd, those two years had brought a change of attitude in Englandtoward piracy. Officialdom now wanted to stamp out piracy infavor of legal trading procedures. And to make matters worse,the Quedah Merchant was not just any cargo ship. Itbelonged to Muklis Khan, an influential and highly placed memberin one of the eastern kingdoms, and he demanded that the EastIndia Company, the English trading company in the East Indies,make restitution. Not only had William Kidd committed an act ofpiracy he had made an enemy of the commercial establishment inEngland! He would be made to pay. Kidd arrived in the West Indies in April, 1699, in theQuedah Merchant, the Adventure Galley havingsuccumbed to rot. The word had been sent out from England --Kidd should be considered a pirate. Realizing that he would notbe safe in any of the normal ports, Kidd headed for  Mona Island,an uninhabited island found in the channel between Puerto Ricoand Hispaniola (present day Dominican Republic). Because Monabelonged to no one, it was a safe place to hide. Speed wasnecessary now, no place was safe. Kidd had to get to New YorkCity, where he had influential friends, and try to save himself. The Quedah Merchant was abandoned in the River Higueyin Hispaniola, its cargo unloaded and sold on the spot. Gold wasmuch easier than bulky goods to transport. Kidd, now captainingthe Saint Antonio, headed for New York City. But whathappened to the Quedah Merchant you may ask. Because itsappearance was so distinctive, no one would sail it in theCaribbean. It was burned and left to sink slowly where it lay,far from the home water of the Indian Ocean. The mood in the American colonies at this point could becharacterized as one of pirate fever. Up and down the coast,everyone was on the hunt for pirates. Kiddsuccessfully made his way to Block Island where he begannegotiations through his contacts in New York to gain a pardonfor hisactions, claiming he was forced by his crew. Could this havebeen Kidd's chance to travel up the Connecticut River and burysome gold? In July, 1699, Kidd was captured and thrown in jailin Boston and then sent to England aboard the frigateAdvice in February, 1700, to stand trial. Once inEngland, Kidd became a political pawn to be used to bring downpowerful men in the government. The trial started on May 8 andwas completed the next day -- the verdict was guilty of murderand multiple piracies. Captain William Kidd was hanged on May 23, 1701, but noteasily. The first rope put around this neck broke so he had tobe strung up a second time. Captain Kidd would never sail again,but a legend grew up around his treasure. How much gold did he aactually have? What happened to it? Did he bury some part of it while he lay at anchor at Block Island?Could he have gone up the Connecticut River, portaged around the falls he encountered,and found a good hiding place on Clark's Island? We can't knowfor sure, but present day maps of the Connecticut River label theisland as Kidd's Island. Next time you're there, bring a shovel-- and be quiet!!FOR MORE INFORMATION ON PIRATES, EXPLORE THE "NO QUARTER GIVEN", the "SEA TALES AND STORIES", and the "ABOUT PIRATES AND THEIR LIVES" WEBSITES.References:J.H. Temple and G. Sheldon. 1875. History of the Town of Northfield. Joel Munsell, Albany, N.Y.Robert C. Ritchie. 1986. Captain Kidd and the War against the Pirates. Harvard Univ. Press, Cambridge, MA and London.Exquemeling, John. 1684. The Buccaneers of America. London.Arciniegas, G. 1946. Caribbean, Sea of the New World. Alfred A. Knopf, New York. |
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