Brownsville Herald. (Brownsville, Tex.), Vol. 19, No. 278, Ed. 1 Tuesday, July 16, 1912 Page: 4 of 6
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BARBARYJPIRATES
These Fiends Terrorized the Sea
For Five Centuries.
DEFIED THE ENTIRE WORLD.
. They Held et One Time Forty Thou-
eand Captives as Slaves Among
Whom Was Cervantes—The Can-
non’* Mouth For a French Envoy.
Those pests of the sea. the Barbary
pirates who defied the civilized world
I for GOO years had at one time 40.000
Christian slaves In bondage In Algeria.
The methods by which they were ob-
tained and how treated are described
by Sir Henry Norman in Scribner's
Magazine:
"Ships were seizin] in all European
waters even off the coast of Ireland
and their crews taken into slavery.
So were the crews of vessels which
. came to trade. When any state at
tempted punishment the consul of that
country was sent to the galleys and
Sir l.nmliert Playfair. British consul
general and erudite author of Mur-
ray's ’Handbook.' tells us that In one
Instance on the approach of a French
fleet their representative was blown
• toward them from a mortar. Cer-
vantes himself was a slave there in
15Tm.
*‘In the seventeenth century the
Algerine pirates held prizes worth 2<>.
000.000 francs. Again and again the
Christian powers of that and the next
century failed to Infilet n lasting de
feat upon this ’scourge of Christen
dom.' The British parliament passed
an act to ‘undertake the Christian
work of the redemption of the cap
>tive8 from the cruel thralldom they
lav under.* but its intention exceeded
Its power for not long afterward ItGO
English ships were captured and 0.0'«•
English slaves brought Into Algiers In
the space of seven years and when
after five years’ war between England
and the pirate state a pence was sign
ed the dev refused to surrender a sin
gle English slave and the treaty had
a clause to the effect that ‘the king of
Great Britain shall not In* obliged by
virtue of tills treaty to redeem any of
his subjects now in slavery.’ probably
the most degrading treaty ns Sir Lam-
bert Playfair remarks ever signed be
tween England nnd a foreign power
’’At one time 40.000 Christian slaves
Ewcrc in bondage in Algeria of all tlie
nations of Europe many of them men
of rank learning and piety and all of
them suffering dally "Hie most cruel
hardships starvation and torture One
L would have expected the Christian na-
f tlons to Join forces for one object at
least and wipe this puny pirate state
* off tlie earth yet for GOO years Bar
I bary held them at bay.
' “lost ns the old sailors’ chantry about
•*♦.«. ..... . ■ to' k
.. .00 i«iiKlin» ora*r 01 tne ratners or
the Redemption was originally founded
to collect alma for the ransom of the
Algerian slaves nnd many of Its mem
tiers with perhaps the noblest Chris
tlan charity on record voluntarily
•hared the lot of the captives for the
comfort they could give and the seyv
lees they could render In negotiations
of ransom.
"One ghost of all these unhappy thou
sands takes literally concrete sha|»?
Ad Arab Christian named Geroui
mo. taken ns a baby by Spanish sol
diers and educated by the vicar gen
era I. was captured by the pirates dur
lug » raid As a renegade he was of
course 1 he subject of the utmost per
soninon. and when no Inducement 01
suffering Could make him apostatize
he was at length offend by the dej
the choice of lielng thrown alive into
a mold of concrete which formed part
of the foundation of a new bastion or
of embracing Islam. lie chose the
martyrdom and was flung Into the
I mold with his bands tied behind him
and tlie concrete poured over him. This
was In loGS)
"In 1*!12 a Spanish Benedlctfne fa
ther wrote a history of Algiers in the
course of which he narrated at length
the martyrdom of Geronfmo and de-
scribed particularly the situation of the
bastion in which his body lay. In 1847 1
a translation of this passage was pub- !
lished in an Algerian newspaper and j
tn 1853. wdien the old fortress was de-
stroved search was made. I'xactly as ;
had been described the skeleton was :
discovered and on plaster of paris j
peine poured into the Impression in
the cement the figure of the martyr
; emerged the hands tied behind it.
much as tie bad b<*en three centuries j
before. This plaster cast is today tn
ib-; Bibllotheque musee."
Silent English Crowds.
Silence 1* a great characteristic of .
an English crowd. It see.tns. The Eng- j
llsh people are generally rery quiet 1
Once I went to Shepherd’s Hush with .
iny French friend lie said to me: •
“Can you believe that there are some
10.000 people In this ground? Just shut
your eyes—you would feel you were
standing In a desert!” Yes he was
■ only too true 'n France or In Japan
'they would make deafening noises.—
Observations of a Japanese in England
WjIjs Was Thor*.
At the fish docks in an English sen j
port the rather remarkable coincidence
was noticed of three steam trawlers
lying berthed side by side their names j
being respectively Hose. Shamrock and
Thistle
"What a pity that Wales Is not rep I
resented!" remarked a visitor. "Thai
would have certainly completed It.”
“Don’t worry about that guv'nor.”
replied the man addressed *T expect
there’s a teak in one of ’em.”
Every base occupation makes one
sharp in its practice and dull lo every
Bfher - Sidney
DARINGJfEGGMEN.
Ways of the Most Desperate and
Cunning of Burglars.
BLOWING OPEN A BANK SAFE.
Nitroglycerin la tho Explosive Used.
and Wet Blankets Help.to Deaden the
Sound—Making tha "Soup" la a Per-
ilous Part of the Business.
%
Of all the thieves and crooks that op
erate in the country the yeggman. or
hank burglar is the most cuuuing and
systematic and jn the majority of
cases the most desperate. Some people
have an Idea that a common tramp
housebreaker ts a yeggman but that
is far from the truth. In nine cases
out of ten yeggtnen are intelligent ed
ueated men. There Is a bond betw«*en
them as strong as that which unites
any brotherhood or union in the conn
try
There are not more than fifty good
yeggs in the United States. To bo suc-
cessful tbe yegg must understand ev
try little detail of the work because
a slip usually means a life. When a
man becomes too old or is disabled or
for any other cause cannot rer.aln an
active member of bis gang he then in
structs tbe younger and less experi-
enced members. In all the time that
1 have t»een connected with bank In-
vestigations. says a yegg hunter In tlie
New York Sun. ! have never known
of a case in which one yeggman don
ble crossed another and I don’t think
that can be said of any other branch of
thlefdom. 1 will explain some of the
methods used by tho yeggs also some
used by the Investigators.
Four or live men usually make up a
gang and these gangs are scattered
ov*t the whole country each having
Its own territory. For Instance one
gatig had the territory between Al-
bany and Boston on tlie Boston and
Albany road. It that case the mem-
bers would he scattered out along the
road between Boston and Albany look
ing for a bank or postoffiee which may
be easily blown. It sometimes takes
them six months or even a year to lo-
cate tlie job and get everything in
readiness for the “touch off." ns they
call it. One successful job with these
men equals a great many small hauls
that oilier thieves make.
When the job is spotted the gang is
called together and every detail is gone
over and the plans are mapped out.
Each member looks over the bank and
the discussion of methods sometimes
lasts a week. 1 once knew of a gang
operating in Indiana who were in doubt
about a Job and who sought advice
from n gang in Maine. That probably
took three or four weeks. I mention
this to show that they absolutely will
not "turn a trick" If there Is the least
doubt nb<vu •*■- ——-—
/liter ;ne Jon Is located and their |
plans are settled the next thing they
do Is to get the tools and make their
preparations. Common yellow soap
fuse caps and nitroglycerin are needed
The soap fuse and caps are easily oh
tatned at any hardware or grocery bur
the nitroglycerin Is not so easy to get
If no other method Is available It must
be taken out of dynamite sticks nud
that is almost an art in Itself being u
very dangerous process.
For an ordinary shot they take five
five-pound sticks of dynamite to make
enough nitroglycerin or'•soup.” us they
1 call it. for the Job. The utensils con
slsf of two lard cans and a quart whis-
ky bottle. The bottom 1s knocked out ;
of <ffie of the lard cans and holes made
all around the sides. A charcoal tire is
rtien built and the lard can Is set on it.
Then the other can is filled half full
of water and placed on the first- The
water is allowed to become lukewarm
and then the sticks of dynamite are
placed in the water. The whole affair
stands about six hours.
| After that tithe the water Is allowed I
to cool and Is then strained through
a piece of cheesecloth after which it is
i again allowed to stand. In a short time
the nitroglycerin ris«s to the surface
and Is skimmed off and placed in the
■ bottle. The yeggs call this process
! “making soup." Several times it has
resulted seriously and in tine Instance
when it blew the operator's arm off it
led to tlie capture of two of the best
' men in what was know n as the E. and
j T. II. gang
! It sometimes takes as many as three
shots to blow a safe. Four holes are
drilled around the combination knob
and the nitroglycerin is poured in the
boles soap funnels being used. A dy-
namite eap and fuse are then attached
wet blankets are thrown over the safe
and the shot Is toucb««d off. The men
inside throw themselves fnce down
ward on the floor.
After the smoke has cleared the safe
Is sometimes found ready to be rifled.
Often there Is a strong Ir>x which the
first shot does not harm. In that case
a second and sometimes a third shot
must be fired off in the same manner
as the first.
In case the citizens bear the cxplo
alon the men who are watching outside
give the inside men the alarm and en
deavor to hold the town at bay. giving
their inside pals a chance for a cleau
| getaway with the plunder.
' v U. 11.^1-
An Art Critic.
•'What do you think of our new oil
painting?” asked Mrs. Newrlch.
“Well." answered Mr Newrlch “It
seems good enough from the front but
If you turn it round and look at the
other side I must say the material
seems klud o' cheap.”
Good Backing.
Biggs—1 wonder It IMggs has mii"h
money behind Him? Higgs-He nad
the other day when l saw him He
wna leaning against the Bank of Kng-
i land —London Tit-Bits.
.-. Sv
FIRST SHOWING
====== OF NEW -•
MIDSUMMER DRESS GOODS
and a few lines in others at priees that
are right. ;
\\ l i C ami cream lace curtains beauti-
ful deigned at . t$1.25 eaih pair
>
Lac.' *ed sets at .$1.50
A Fpe«ial in Girls L wus.
Gingham and Clianibray drc* cs priced
-jt 62 1-2 • and $1.25
\\ bite and color d lii eu : kills black
aid c loied vt ille fkirts at greatly |
reduced prices.
II _
Messalitie silk i i aP colors Posiiv;-
l’y ne v floods and colors $1 W) vd.
--- 91
Si k TafT.tas 26 inch in changeable
and solid colors ..Jl.'O a \d.
_____—-
A big bunch of Silk.
Popjp i i in new beautiful shades. All
go h.1 widths at - 62 1 2c per yard.
Einb.oideries L *ccs Silk Trimmings
and Ribbons. A complete line of
each at reduced prices.
Sole Agents for
PICTORIAL REVIFW PATTERNS AT IOC AND I5C.
: ' ■ ■ — ' - " ~
JUAN H. FERNANDEZ |
Corner 12th and Adams Streets. B ownsvillc Texas. I
. _r^ m.
% i
I
I
_| ( * m
• "We have used care time and money to ?
"M 4
secure for you the best results < >f a most mod- n
g ern and complete plant. Isn't it worth while? $
I Your Answer! Your Order!
i ?_t
.
L. B. PUENTE Manager.
PHONE 356
*
%
4
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Wheeler, Fannie. Brownsville Herald. (Brownsville, Tex.), Vol. 19, No. 278, Ed. 1 Tuesday, July 16, 1912, newspaper, July 16, 1912; Brownsville, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1375421/m1/4/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; .