Page 46 - The Pirate Coast (By Sir Charles Belgrave)

attempted to escape but were caught. The pirates recovered the
treasure as well as the despatches, these they gave to the English­
men, having no use for them. They released the prisoners on the
island, having first murdered most of the inhabitants of the only
village. When the pirates sailed, the Fly9s crew found a boat and
a raft on the shore, in which they put out to sea. One of these
boats was lost, but the men in the other one reached the Persian
coast. The survivors started walking through Persia to Bushirc,
a long and arduous journey, during which most of the party died.
Finally, two Europeans, an officer and a seaman, arrived at Bushirc
with the despatches. They ultimately reached Bombay with the
packet, ‘for the preservation of which they were thought to be
adequately rewarded by a mere letter of thanks from the Govern­
ment, after these almost unexampled sufferings!’
Still the Bombay Government took no action. Not only was
it inactive, but commanders of the Bombay Navy were ordered
not on any account to attack or molest ‘these innocent natives of
the Gulf’, and were threatened with ‘the displeasure of the Govern­
ment’ if they failed to carry out their orders. This policy was
due to the Government’s fear of becoming involved with the
Wahabis, although it was known that they were supporting and
encouraging the pirates, and receiving a proportion of the spoil.
The pirates, assuming that there would be no reprisals, became
more daring. In 1S05 they captured two brigs belonging to Mr.
Mancsty, the Resident at Basra. Many of the crews were mur­
dered and the Captain of one of the brigs had his arm cut off
because he was seen to fire a musket. He put his severed arm
into some hot ghee, which saved his life. The two brigs were
added to the pirate fleet.
At this period, employment in the East was still regarded, even
by high Government officials, as an opportunity to amass a
fortune by trade. Mancsty had lived for twenty-five years in
‘fever-haunted and insalubrious’ Basra when he retired. The
Company’s officials seemed almost to have forgotten that he was
there. The irregularity in the payment of salaries of men sta­
tioned in distant places was perhaps an incentive to make money
by trading. Claudius Rich had, at one time, to wait for over
two years for his pay. Mancsty had gradually acquired in his
own hands much of the trade of Basra. He lived with an Armen­
ian mistress by whom he had a number of children, but he married
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