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Captain Kidd, His Treasure

"You captains brave and bold, hear our cries, hear our cries, You captains brave and bold, hear our cries. You captains brave and bold, though you seem uncontrolled, Don't for the sake of gold lose your souls, lose your souls, Don't for the sake of gold lose your souls." (From the old Kidd ballad.) THE negotiations between Kidd and the Earl of Bellomont were no more creditable to the royal governor than to the alleged pirate. Already the noble partners in England were bombarded with awkward questions concerning the luckless enter-prise, and Bellomont, anxious to clear himself and his friends, was for getting hold of Kidd and putting him in Boston jail at the earliest possible moment. He dared not reveal the true status of affairs to Kidd by means of correspondence lest that wary bird escape him, and he therefore tried to coax him nearer in a letter sent back in care of Emmot, that experienced legal adviser of pirates in distress. This letter of Bellomont was dated June 19, 1699, and had this to say: 1 Mr. F. L. Gay of Boston very kindly gave the author the use of his valuable collection of documentary material concerning Captain Kidd, some of which is contained in this chapter. In addition, the author consulted many of the original documents among the state papers in the Public Record Office, London.