He had been gone but a short time when an Algerian ship of war was discovered, crowded with soldiers and approaching.  Decatur instantly cleared for action, and had started to meet the enemy, when the port captain was observed approaching as rapidly in his boat as his men could row, and with the white signal fluttering from the bow.  All the Americans, including Decatur, were disappointed, but as he had promised, he waited until the boat was within hail.  Then he called out to know whether the treaty was signed.  He was told that it was, and in a short time the prisoners were brought alongside and delivered to their rescuers.  Wan, emaciated and hollow-eyed from their long and bitter imprisonment, they wept tears of joy and kissed the American flag that, coming so many thousand miles, had brought them deliverance.

Thus in two weeks after the arrival of the American squadron in Algerian waters, every demand of its Government was complied with, and a treaty of peace made on terms dictated by its gallant and faithful representative.  It will be admitted that Stephen Decatur proved himself one of the most successful diplomats as well as intrepid and skilful of commanders.

He now proceeded to Tunis and notified the Dey that he would give him twelve hours in which to pay $46,000 for allowing the seizure of American prizes in his port during the late war.  The Dey paid it.  The next call of the American commander was on the Bashaw of Tripoli, who, although he blustered a good deal, was compelled to hand over $25,000 for a similar breach of the law.

Among the vessels of the American squadron were three—­the Guerriere, Macedonian, and the Peacock—­which had been captured from Great Britain during the late war.  This fact gave peculiar point to the reproof of the Dey’s prime minister to the British consul:  “You told us that the Americans should be swept from the seas in six months by your navy, and now they make war upon us with some of your own vessels which they took from you.”

CHAPTER XX.

Piracy in the West Indies—­Its Cause—­Means by Which It Was Wiped Out—­Piracy in the Mediterranean.

We hear little of pirates in these days, but for ten years or more after the close of the War of 1812 the West Indies were infested by them.  Our Government saw that in self-defense they must be wiped out, for they grew bolder with every month and made it unsafe for our commerce in those waters.

Where did they come from and what gave rise to the ocean nuisances?  About the time named Spain was the mistress of most of the South American countries.  When she discovered America through Columbus, and for a long period afterward, she was one of the greatest maritime nations in the world.  Like England at the present time, she had colonies in all parts of the globe, and had she not been so cruel and unwise in the treatment of her dependencies, would still have retained a great deal of her former greatness and power; but she is one of the few nations that never learn from experience, and a short time after our second war with Great Britain her South American colonies began revolting against her, and one by one they gained their independence.