Gow's Revenge: Schooner Days MLXXVI (1076)

by C. H. J. Snider

The Jolly Roger—V

STROMNESS

Orkneys,

1952

THE pirate ship? The one John Gow stole, after murdering his officers, and brought here to Stromness?

She was about the size of the schooner Tradewind of Whitby, which used to carry coal to Toronto and took out grain and lumber. But she was very different in rig and appearance. The pirate had three masts, with square sails including topsails, on each. She was ship rigged though so small. She probably had a lateen on the mizzen as well, and a spritsail on the bowsprit in place of jibs—newfangled for square-riggers in those days. Except that it lacks her mizzen topsail, the stiffly drawn craft at the London customs house in 1714, reproduced from a print in the Science Museum, South Kensington, may be a fair representation of the pirate after her teeth were drawn. For she bristled with guns. She had more guns than men.

Gow called her the Revenge, and himself Smith. When it suited his purpose he called her the George Galley. That should be written the George, galley, but 18th century practice was to put the classification after the name, especially in the case of galley-built vessels, so that it looked like a family name or firm name. The reason this emphasized attachment of classification was that commercial "galleys" were allowed to engage larger crews. More men were required to work them, because they used sweeps as auxiliary power, to maneuver them in natural harbors and the foreign trade. Galley-built meant a low straight shoal ship with one deck "flush" or in a continuous line, in contradistinction to the high-charged frigate build, with raised forecastle and quarterdeck above a low waist. Laws protected galley crews from impressment by men-of-war, and owners therefore favored the galley build, and emphasized the classification by tagging it on to the name of the vessel. Galley-built and galley-named vessels less than 100 feet long were sent out to India in the 18th century.

No proof is forthcoming that the Revenge was actually galley built. It is known that she was deep in the hold for such a model and if seems to have been necessary to paint a row-galley, on her stern in addition to the assumed name to support the claim to galleyhood.

A certain Capt. Watt, of the Scottish ship Margaret, went aboard the pirate when Gow brought her into Stromness disguised as a winter-baffled Stockholm-bound merchantman. Watt made this description of her: "Square sterned, with a row-galley painted on her stern, about 160 to 200 tons, about 70-foot on the keel and 13-foot in the hold, flush fore-and-aft, with 2 patereroes, and 16 guns mounted, and can mount no more. No order among her crew, treating all who came from shore with, wine and fruit."

Watt was not fooled by the row-galley painted on the stern, nor the name "George Galley," which Gow gave her to baffle Stromness visitors. Watt knew her for certain as the ship Caroline which he had seen in Amsterdam in the previous June, when he lost two of his hands. He went on board to inquire for them and found them both in the disguised stranger, Dan or Donald Macaulay and Henry Jamieson. Gow would not let them go. Watt did not at this time know that he was talking to a pirate. But he thought so when young Jamieson sent him word that he would like to leave the "George Galley" but if he did so Watt's ship the Margaret would be set on fire.

She wasn't, but that will be another story.

"LIKE THIS BUT NO BIGGER THAN. .

. . . ONTARIO SCHOONER TRADE WIND OF WHITBY"