BULLY HAYES
Pirate Captain William Henry Hayes
The Infamous Bully Hayes - In the 1860's his name was known all over the length & breadth of the Pacific.
Stories about Hayes describe him, not only as a “Pirate, Buccaneer and Blackbirder, but also as a Confidence man, a Swindler, a Cheat, a Thief and a Bigamist”
Stories about Hayes describe him, not only as a “Pirate, Buccaneer and Blackbirder, but also as a Confidence man, a Swindler, a Cheat, a Thief and a Bigamist”
Born in America, Captain William Henry Hayes (1827 or 1829 – 1877) was a large man who, it is said, earned his nickname "Bully" either from the Samoan word "Bulli" meaning "elusive" or “evasive or because of the bullying and intimidating treatment he dished out to his crew. He could be jovial & pleasant and when he chose to be he showed generosity toward Pacific Islanders. Nevertheless his arrival on a Pacific Island would cause islanders to hide in fear of being captured, shipped off and sold into slavery.
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BULLY HAYES - PIRATE
About 1871, the newspapers on the Pacific slope had a lot to say of Bully's activities.
The Daily Alta of San Francisco spoke of him as a venturesome and high-spirited American gentleman, upholding the honour of his flag in the South Seas by disregarding the hateful tyranny of petty British Consuls; while the San Francisco Bulletin called him a vile and brutal miscreant who should be hanged. |
BULLY HAYES LOST AN EAR Gambling & Fighting
I've heard of gamblers losing their shirt but Bully Hayes lost his ear!
He was a cheat & a crooked gambler. He got into a fight & lost an ear.
He was a cheat & a crooked gambler. He got into a fight & lost an ear.
BULLY HAYES - BLACKBIRDER (Slave Trader)
In the 1860s & 1870s he was a notorious blackbirder (Slave trader) who operated across the length breadth of the Pacific in until he was murdered on 31 March 1877 by "Dutch Pete" the ships cook.
Hayes is often referred to as "the last of the Buccaneers" or a South Sea pirate. Stories about Hayes describe him, not only as a “Pirate, Buccaneer and Blackbirder, but also as a Confidence man, a Swindler, a Thief and a Bigamist”
Not the sort of guy one would happily invite home to meet the wife and family. However there is no evidence that Bully Hayes actually took a ship by force in the tradition of a true blood thirsty pirate.
James A. Michener said it was almost impossible to separate fact from fiction in the life of Captain Bully Hayes.
As captain of the ship C. W. Bradley, Jr. in January 1857, Hayes visited the port of Fremantle, Western Australia. The ship’s cabin accommodation was excellent, and Bully soon found paying passengers for two trips to Adelaide, South Australia. As many of these passengers were convicts with conditional pardons, the S.A. authorities were displeased with this influx of immigrants.
Apparently Hayes hadn't paid his bills, because the Singapore ships chandlers caught up with him and forced the sale of his ship, which bankrupted him.
In the Clare Valley town of Penwortham, on 20 August 1857, ignoring the fact that he was already married, he married widow, Amelia Littleton. Perhaps Amelia had money that could help him start up again.
Apparently Hayes hadn't paid his bills, because the Singapore ships chandlers caught up with him and forced the sale of his ship, which bankrupted him.
In the Clare Valley town of Penwortham, on 20 August 1857, ignoring the fact that he was already married, he married widow, Amelia Littleton. Perhaps Amelia had money that could help him start up again.
BULLY HAYES & THE SINKING of THE ELLENITA
Somehow Bully gained command of the Ellenita, a new ship with a valuable cargo that he obtained by fraud. With Amelia aboard, he sailed to San Francisco where poor Amelia was dumped and abandoned.
(Some reports say Amelia fell from the Orestes in 1858 and drowned)
Off the Navigator Islands, on his return journey to Sydney, in a storm, he lost the Ellenita (16 October 1859). Presumably in lifeboats, some of the crew and the women and children reached Savai'i and raised the alarm. Eventually the surviving passengers and crew were returned to Sydney on H.M. brig Elk. In Sydney Hayes was accused (but was not charged) of having indecently assaulted a 15 year old female passenger.
Somehow Hayes continued to find new ships to command and new cargoes to fraudulently acquire and sell.
(Some reports say Amelia fell from the Orestes in 1858 and drowned)
Off the Navigator Islands, on his return journey to Sydney, in a storm, he lost the Ellenita (16 October 1859). Presumably in lifeboats, some of the crew and the women and children reached Savai'i and raised the alarm. Eventually the surviving passengers and crew were returned to Sydney on H.M. brig Elk. In Sydney Hayes was accused (but was not charged) of having indecently assaulted a 15 year old female passenger.
Somehow Hayes continued to find new ships to command and new cargoes to fraudulently acquire and sell.
BANJO (BULLY) HAYES MUSICIAN
Making a Mockery of his victims of slavery.
Perhaps one of the most unexpected aspects of the story of Bully Hayes is that in New South Wales, Hayes joined a minstrel troupe .
I imagine him with his face blackened, strumming his banjo. I wonder,
as he sang “Mammy, Mammy…..” if he ever gave thought to the innocent Mammys that cried for their sons & daughters who were stolen from them by this cruel Blackbirding Bully.
I imagine him with his face blackened, strumming his banjo. I wonder,
as he sang “Mammy, Mammy…..” if he ever gave thought to the innocent Mammys that cried for their sons & daughters who were stolen from them by this cruel Blackbirding Bully.
BULLY HAYES 'Romantic' Ocean Rover
The Sydney Morning Herald August 20, 1932
BULLY HAYES' CAREER
The Herald, Carroll, Iowa September 1, 1886
NO MORE 'FREE SHIPPING' FOR BULLY HAYES
This is the last 'post' on the subject of Bully Hayes!
BULLY HAYES IS FINALLY 'STAMPED' OUT
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