Albert W. Hicks

“ On finding myself safe on shore once more, I shipped on the bark Jeanette, of London, for New York, from whence I went in the schooner Eliza, for Boston.
On board of this schooner I met a man by the name of Lockwood, whom I found to be in every respect worthy of filling the place made vacant by the death of Tom Stone. He was a strong, wiry man, full of determination, cruel and desperate in his disposition, and totally without fear. ”

“ Various witnesses will be produced before you from Islip, Gravesend, Staten Island, New York, and Brooklyn, who are unacquainted with each other, who each come up to add their little fibre to this strong cord of proof which is thrown round this defendant. Each little item of evidence is of no particular strength, of no decision in itself, but only forming a strong chain, a perfect chain, as claimed by the government, fixing without question and without doubt the guilt of this offence upon the prisoner. ”

“ The old man, whose grey hairs glistened in the moonlight, and whose venerable presence might have touched any hearts but ours; the little children, locked in each other’s arms, dreaming of butterflies and flowers and singing birds; the young man and the just budding woman, the fond wife and the doting husband, all fell beneath my murderous hand, or were made the shrieking victims of my unholy passion first, and then slaughtered like cattle. ”

“ After this adventure, I felt in continual fear of detection, and as we had accumulated by our robberies a sum not less than a hundred and fifty thousand dollars in money, jewels and trinkets, we transported our plunder by degrees to Rio, where we remained a few weeks enjoying ourselves, and then took passage for Buenos Ayres, where we remained a year, gambling and robbing as usual.
We had not spent all our money, but still had a large sum left, which we concealed in our trunks and canvas bags, and shipped on board the bark Anada, of Boston, bound for New Orleans. ”

“ This man, William Johnson, who lives in New York, is a smart fellow. He went at the mast and scraped it while we were at Keyport, without telling, while I was ashore. He is a good hand; can turn his hand to almost anything. He is a ship-carpenter, he says, and has got quite a set of tools. He understands all about a boat, only is not a very good helmsman to steer the sloop nice when beating to windward; he understands steering well enough other ways. It requires a man that has been very much used to sailing a boat by the wind to steer fast. ”

“ For a moment I stood undecided, but as he still came on, I ran toward him, but ere I reached him he fell about midships, and rushing on him, I struck once! twice! thrice! with the axe, and finished him.
Running aft, I jumped down the companionway with the bloody axe in my hand.
There lay the elder Watts in his berth, and close beside him the ghastly, bloody corpse of the captain. ”

“ But one day, the mate going on shore, we broke our irons and left. Reaching the city, we remained quiet until the vessel sailed, and then shipped on board of the ship Admiral Granford, of Liverpool, for New Orleans.
All went on smoothly enough to all appearances, but during the whole voyage I was working quietly among the men, sowing the seeds of discontent and mutiny, which came to a head when we were within about twenty-five miles of the Belize. ”

“ You are empannelled, gentlemen of the jury, to try the issue between the United States and the prisoner at the bar, charged with robbery upon the high seas. Robbery committed upon the high seas, or in any basin or bay within the admiralty maritime jurisdiction of the United States, is declared by the act of Congress passed in 1820 to be piracy, and punishable with death. ”

“ During our stay here another disturbance and mutiny was organized by me, in which the officers were disabled, and the ship having again become leaky we put back to Wahoo, where she was condemned and the crew discharged; myself and the boat-steerer making our escape to the interior to avoid the consequences of our mutinous conduct.
For a long time we led the life of freebooters, robbing and plundering wherever we went, and dissipating the proceeds of our robberies in the wildest debauchery. ”

“ I kept a sharp lookout for all small craft outward bound for cargoes of fruit, oysters, etc., and in a quiet way gathered all the information I could in regard to the number of hands they shipped, and the amount of money they generally carried.
During my searches I came across the sloop E. A. Johnson, Captain Burr, and in making application was engaged on board of her.
I come now to the closing acts of my life, to the last scenes in my wicked and bloody career.
From my youth up I lived by crime. I have steeled my heart against every good impulse. ”

“ Nothing of particular interest occurred on our voyage to Rio, but after staying there six or seven weeks, and spending nearly all our money in gambling and debauchery, we took the road between Rio and Montevideo, where we robbed all worth robbing, and murdered all who resisted us.
There is many a whitened skeleton bleaching by that roadside now, on the same spot where it fell by my murderous hand; and the traveller, as he rides along, sees many a place where the grass grows taller and greener than that which surrounds it ”

“ I looked all around the station-house, and when I saw him I said, “There’s the man.”
To the Court.—There were forty or fifty in the station-house; my attention was not directed to him; no one pointed him out to me.
Cross-examined.—Had never seen him before I saw him on board the Southfield; he had whiskers up to his ears, but no moustache; his whiskers were blacker when I saw him in the station-house than they are now; I have not a doubt about the coat; I can swear positively to it and the man; I cannot swear positively to the shot bag; I was born in Ireland; I am only two years here ”

“ Lorenzo de Angelis, Deputy U. S. Marshal.
July 9, 1860. After his sentence, Hicks seemed to lose that firmness which he had hitherto manifested. His reckless indifference left him, and in place of the stolid look which had marked his face from the time of his arrest, an appearance of deep anxiety gave token that he had abandoned the hope which had supported him, and that dread of his approaching fate, if not remorse for his crimes, had taken possession of him.
He seemed to dread being left alone, and often besought his keeper and the warden of the prison to keep him company in his cell. ”

“ I have lived at Staten Island ever since; I have been a coachman, and have been now nearly eighteen months on the ferry-boat; I can’t tell how many passengers were in the ferry-boat that morning.
William Drumm, a lad, deposed that he met the prisoner on a Wednesday morning, about eight o’clock; can’t tell when; met him at the South ferry; it was about the 21st of March; I saw him at a coffee and cake stand at the ferry, kept by Charley McCosten; he got a cup of coffee and a piece of pie; he put down a gold piece, and the man said, “Oh, ——, have you no smaller change than that!” ”

“ If I should travel that road now I should have plenty of ghostly company, for, though dead men tell no tales, and are but dead to all the world beside, to me they are now living horrors, and will insist in keeping company with me. ”

“ When we were at anchor in the Straits one night, Lockwood and myself having previously arranged all our plans, robbed the schooner of all the money and valuables on board, and after scuttling her by boring holes in her bottom, we set fire to her, while all hands were asleep aft, and got away in a boat, leaving all on board to perish. We landed safely, and travelled across the coast to the nearest town, living on four days’ provisions, which we took with us from the schooner. ”

“ The bar-room, the brothel, and the monte table, were the only attractions for us, and for six months we led the life of demons, leaving no bad impulse, no fiendish purpose, no gross passion, nor any wicked design, ungratified or unaccomplished. ”

“ From the very commencement of his being seen on the E. A. Johnson till he was brought here, everything is known concerning him, save the twelve hours intervening from his sailing from Coney Island till the next morning. He has been called upon to give an account of the property of the Wattses and Captain Burr—but he claims it as his own. He has been called upon to give an account of those men with whom he was, and who are no doubt already dead; but he utterly disclaims any knowledge of them or of the vessel upon which they were. ”

“ The indictment against the prisoner charges him in the first count with having on the 21st of March last, on the sloop Edwin A. Johnson, committed the crime of robbery upon George H. Burr, master and commander of that vessel, and with having feloniously and violently taken from him a watch, a large sum of money, and some wearing apparel. Robbery is the felonious and forcible taking the property of another from his person or in his presence against his will, by violence or by putting him in fear. It is larceny accompanied by violence. ”

“ If, however, he should arrive in the course of the day, it will be for the court to say whether it will take his testimony or not, and for the prisoner’s counsel as to whether they will object to it or not.
The Court.—It appears to me that this is a proper view of the case taken by the United States Attorney. It is the duty of the government, especially in a case of high crime—such a case as the prisoner is charged with—to lay before the court and jury all the evidence they have in their power, or that they are cognizant of, which has any connection with or bearing on the case ”

“ It is a question of great interest—it involves the punishment of a terrible crime. If this prisoner is the true offender, the result may be very serious to him. It involves a vindication of the law and the punishment of a crime which he thought he had covered up; for there is very little doubt he thought he had sunk the vessel by the collision in the Lower Bay; and I think you will say, as I have, in looking over the evidence, that the hand of Providence, in marking the track this man 21was to pursue, has placed upon that track the eyes of those who would come up afterward to identify him. ”

“ He said he would go with us, and we started at 7 o’clock in the morning. He behaved so coolly and indifferently that I at one time almost concluded we had mistaken our man. At the New London depot there was an immense crowd of people waiting to see the prisoner, and, when we went through the crowd, they cried out, “There’s the murderer; lynch him—lynch him!” I told him that I would shoot the first man who touched him. At every station after that, as we came through there were large crowds curious to see the prisoner. ”

“ Dwight then clearly and concisely reviewed the whole case and the testimony, giving a painful but graphic description of that dread night when this triple deed of blood was perpetrated, and concluded thus: Gentlemen, I have occupied your time longer than I intended, and I have but one word further to say. If this prisoner is not proven guilty of the crime against him, he is of course an innocent man. ”

“ While we were waiting on the coast for an opportunity, the U. S. store-ship Southampton came into port; we shipped on board of her and went to Monterey, Santa Cruz Bay.
Having accomplished my object in escaping from the scene of my late depredations, and having arrived at a place where neither my past life was known nor my present purposes suspected, I resolved to leave 49the Southampton at the earliest possible moment; and finding on consultation with my partner, the boat-steerer, that he was of the same mind, we began to keep an eye to windward for chances. ”

“ I have considered mankind my natural prey and have never hesitated to gratify my appetites, passions, and desires, no matter how dear the sacrifice paid by others for their gratification, and now society which I have so long outraged claims the only recompense I can make for all the wrongs I have committed ”

“ Often at midnight, when all nature slept, and none were abroad save the wild beasts and we wilder men—the former not so much to be feared as we, nor yet so cruel—for while they only sought their natural prey, in obedience to a natural instinct, we preyed upon our fellow men, in violation of every natural sentiment—I say, often at the dead hour of the night have I and my companion stealthily approached some house, previously selected for our purpose, and breaking in upon the fancied security of the inmates, killed them as they slept. ”

“ Graves, for the defence, referred to the case of the two Bournes, 37in Vermont, who confessed to the crime of murder, but were afterward proved to be innocent. The evidence against Hicks was entirely circumstantial, and of such a character as to render it very uncertain; but the most astonishing thing about the prosecution was the charge that this one man should kill these three men, powerful as they were, and not receive a single scratch. There must have been a terrible struggle; blood was spattered over the ceiling, blood everywhere, but no blood on him, no mark of violence on his person. ”

“ What became of them we can only judge by those circumstances which are thrown around by the appearance of the vessel and by the conduct of the prisoner, and other circumstances connected with him. Whether their bodies be in the sands of the lower bay, or floated out to sea, and are tossed by the waves there, we do not know. The prisoner fails to give an account of them, and we can only suppose that they were murdered by him and thrown into the sea. Next morning, Wednesday, the 21st, the prisoner appeared upon Staten Island, with the yawl boat of this sloop. ”