753 Page – American State Trials 1918 Volume X Leo Frank Document

Here is the translated text as follows:

PEDRO GIBERT AND OTHERS

Captain Pedro Gibert hailed the English captain and ordered him to come on board. The English captain replied that his boat leaked so badly that he would not be able to keep it afloat. Captain Gibert insisted that the English captain come on board quickly. The English then launched their boat, and the captain, boatswain, and two men came on board the schooner.

The corvette was robbed of five goats, one cheese, several cases of preserves, cordials, and two half coils of rigging. No other piracy was committed after the robbery of the Mexican. Captain Gibert often expressed a wish to sink a Spanish vessel lying at Petty Sestes. He made preparations but did not proceed because the sea was too rough. He never received any money in England from Captain Trotter; the Spanish consul at Plymouth tried to make him confess that he had been bribed.

I did not get a good deal of rum at Fernando Po; I had no money to buy it. I never confessed that I was drunk at the time I made my deposition, and the account that says I was is false. Prisoners at Fernando Po confessed that they had robbed an English corvette as well as the Mexican, taking several monkey jackets, shirts, and the cabin curtains. The money boxes and bags taken from the Mexican contained about a thousand dollars each and were made of something like velvet.

When the money was taken out of the boxes, it was put into bags made of dark coarse linen. These bags rotted, and others were made to receive the money. The boxes were thrown overboard when emptied. I do not know what sort of wood the boxes were made of; the captain took the money up and shook it around in bags to see if there was any yellow money among it. I did not go close to the boxes, but I thought I saw something black like iron around the edge of each. They were counting the money the whole time I was in the foretop; it was all spread out on the companionway.

George H. Quentin, an officer in the Royal Navy of Great Britain, holds the rank of Master's Assistant (i.e., midshipman). I came to the United States in the Savage, an English ten-gun brig. All the prisoners now present came with me. We arrived at Salem on the 22nd of August. I was previously in the Curlew, commanded by Henry Dundas Trotter. We left the Cape of Good Hope in January 1832 for the Coast of Africa. We arrived at Prince's Island around March. While there, we received information in May 1833 of the robbery of the brig Mexican by a vessel matching the description of a schooner then lying in the river Nazareth. We sailed immediately for the latter place and arrived there on the 4th of June.

Three boats containing a total of forty men, commanded by Captain Trotter, went up the river. Just after daylight, we caught sight of her at anchor. We pulled inshore to avoid being seen. When we came within a mile of her, we hoisted the British colors. As soon as they saw us, they took to their boats and made for the shore, except for one man, who soon after left in a canoe. Captain Trotter chased them with his own boat only but could not catch up with them, so he returned to the schooner.

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