Gazette Of The United States, & Philadelphia Daily Advertiser

CHARLESTON, October 19.

It affords us great satisfaction to be able to inform the public, that capt. Story and the crew of the English Ship Aracabea, which was burnt in Five Fathom Hole on Tuesday morning, the 17th instant, by a French privateer or pirate, arrived yesterday in town, in Mr. Taylor's canoe, from Stono, where they had been landed by the pirates who had destroyed the vessel. An opportunity offers at the same time, which we shall readily embrace (as it is not probable many such will occur) of greeting the humanity of pirates who spared the lives which they had power to take. It would have been much too sanguine, to have expected their outrages to have been limited to plundering, burning and destroying the property of their enemies, protected by the neutrality of our port: we do therefore most heartily congratulate them, for the violence done to their natural inclinations.

The following deposition of capt. Story, made before col. John Mitchell, states concisely their fraternal acts after having possession of the Aracabea.

Jonathan Story, master of the ship Aracabea, of London,

Deposes, That on his voyage from Jamaica, loaded with sugar and rum, bound for London, he met with severe gales of wind, by which he lost his main and mizen mast, and sprung a leak; that being in great distress of the harbour of Charleton, the British consul, having had information of his situation, sent six or seven men to assist him and enable him to get over the bar, and up to Charleton to repair the said vessel: that after several days lying at anchor off the bar, on Friday afternoon, the 12th of this instant, October, he got over the bar with the aid ship, and came to anchor in Five Fathom Hole, in the harbour of Charleton aforesaid; the wind being contrary he could not proceed up to the city; that on Monday evening, the 16th of the said month. about sun-down, he saw a small armed schooner come over the bar, and come to anchor to the N. N. W. of said ship, but shewed no colours; that immediately after, the said armed schooner weighed anchor, and came close up under their starboard quarter, came to anchor, and ordered him to hoist out his boat; but on his answering his boat was stoved, they sent their boat with an officer and four or five armed men, with pistols and cutlasses, took forcible possession of said ship Aracabea, ordered the deponent, with his papers, on board the said schooner, and carried him and one man on board, and sent the boat with four or five armed men on board the said ship; that when he got on board he perceived two carriage-guns, but the small arms were concealed from him; that he asked the name of the said schooner and the captain's, but they refused to inform him; one of the men said she came from Cape Francois, and was a French privateer: that as soon as the boat went the second time with men on board, he saw them begin to plunder the vessel and cargo, and they continued to do so till eight o'clock on Tuesday morning; that they brought as much rum and sugar of the cargo, and the rigging and sails of the vessel, as they could stow in the said privateer; that at nine o'clock they cut the cables of the said ship Aracabea, and set her on fire in four several places, viz. fore, main and after hatchway, and in the gun room; the ship then drifted on the breakers near the shore. after which the captain of the said privateer told him he had fifty men on board, but would not tell his or the vessel's name, also said that the captain of a British frigate had burned a privateer he commanded, in Hampton roads, and for that reason he burned the ship, but could he have carried her off he would have done it ;that the deponent received part of his clothes in a bag, and received no personal bad treatment himself or crew ; immediately after setting fire to the ship the privateer weighed anchor, got over the bar, and went into Stono Inlet, and landed him with 15 men on the beach, being the whole number on board the ship when taken at anchor in the harbour of Charleton, contrary to the laws of neutrality and of nations; that they got to Mr. Taylor's, who treated them in a very kind and friendly manner.
In addition to the facts stated in captain Story's affidavit, we have been informed by him that some of the privateermen were either English, Irish, or Americans as they spoke and understood the English language -that it was impossible to learn either the name of the privateer or the captain, or from whence she came : she was a small pilot boat of 25 or 30 tons, had two six pounders mounted, and was said to have come from Cape Francois, which is not very credible. The seaman who was first carried on board the privateer with capt. Story, is one of the men who was sent from this city as an assistant, and informs that he saw on board the privateer, a tall, thin man of a brown complexion, whom he has frequently seen in this city, and who was once a pilot out of Savannah, at which place he now has a wife.

Mr. Minot who went down in a schooner to lighten the ship, was also on board when she was taken, and says that he saw there 4 or 5 men whom he knew before in this city, particularly the pilot above-mentioned, for whom he wrote a letter to his wife, while on board the privateer and promised to forward it, but afterwards lost it and a free mulatto fellow of this city, and a runaway negro of Mr. Hornbecks.

Turner the pilot, who was unfortunately on board the ship when taken, has been detained on board the privateer ; at least there is not yet any account of his having been put ashore.

The boats which were sent down yesterday to see if any of the ship's cargo could be saved, returned with the accounts of her gone entirely to pieces and that nothing could be recovered.