rs. News
of this being carried to the Council of South Carolina, arrangements were
made to attempt to capture the pirate, and a Colonel William Rhet, at his
own expense, fitted out two armed sloops, the _Henry_ (eight guns and
seventy men) and the _Sea Nymph_ (eight guns and sixty men), both sailing
under the direct command of the gallant Colonel. On September 25th, 1718,
the sloops arrived at Cape Fear River, and there sure enough was the
_Royal James_, with three sloops lying at anchor behind the bar. The
pirate tried to escape by sailing out, but was followed by the Colonel's
two vessels until all three ran aground within gunshot of each other. A
brisk fight took place for five hours, when the Major struck his colours
and surrendered. There was great public rejoicing in Charleston when, on
October 3rd, Colonel Rhet sailed victoriously into the harbour with his
prisoners. But next day Bonnet managed to escape out of prison and sailed
to Swillivant's Island. The indefatigable Colonel Rhet again set out after
the Major, and again caught him and brought him back to Charleston.

The trial of Stede Bonnet and his crew began on October 28th, 1718, at
Charleston, and continued till November 12th, the Judge being Nicholas
Trot. Bonnet was found guilty and condemned to be hanged. Judge Trot made
a speech of overwhelming length to the condemned, full of Biblical
quotations, to each of which the learned magistrate gave chapter and
verse. In November, 1718, the gallant, if unfortunate, Major was hanged at
White Point, Charleston.

Apart from the unusual cause for his turning pirate, Bonnet is interesting
as being almost the only case known, otherwise than in books of romance,
of a pirate making his prisoners walk the plank.

BONNY, ANNE. Female pirate.

Anne was born in County Cork, and her father was an Attorney-at-Law, who
practised his profession in that city, her mother being lady's maid to the
attorney's lawful wife.

The story of the events which led to the existence of Anne may be read in
Johnson's "History of the Pyrates," where it is recounted in a style quite
suggestive of Fielding. In spite of its sad deficiency in moral tone, the
narrative is highly diverting. But as this work is strictly confined to
the history of the pirates and not to the amorous intrigues of their
forbears, we will skip these pre-natal episodes and come to the time when
the attorney, having lost a once flourishing legal practice, sailed from