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Cover title.
Published and printed in Clitheroe, England.
Title continues: Giving a circumstancial account of the daring robberies he has committed since he was nine years of age - his repeated desertion from the guards and other regiments - his frequent and narrow escapes from prison - his return from transportation - and his confession to robberies for which others have been accused; particularly his robbing of the Union Warehouse, at Salford.
A chapbook detailing the exploits of John Rhodes, born at Whalley, near Clithero. "A rather woeful tale. Commencing with an account of the mistreatment John Rhodes suffered through childhood largely employed in the calico trade, he eventually enlisted in the 40th regiment and shortly thereafter the Coldstream Guards. It was here that he fell in with 'D' who proved a baleful influence and to whom he attributes his decline. Before long the two were shoplifting, graduating swiftly to highway robbery. He was eventually court-martialed for desertion. He immediately resumed his career in shoplifting and received upward of 300 lashes for his troubles. He was eventually sentenced to transportation at Botany Bay on the ship Rear Admiral, commanded by Captain Essex Henry Bond. Rhodes was held onboard for eight weeks before they set off from Torbay in 1792. He complains of 'shocking usage, short of victuals, only five pounds of biscuits for six men for forty-eight hours and about a quarter of a pound of beef per man four times a week.' Unsurprisingly, he fell ill and got no further than Langstone Harbour before being removed from the ship to a hulk in the harbour. Rhodes’ health continued to trouble him and he continued to serve his sentence on the hulk. during this time, there was a mutiny on board, which he recounts in great detail: 'There were twenty-seven on deck, ready to take the command of the ship ... and seized all the arms and drove the guards below into the bread-room. One of the men accidentally looked down the ship’s side, and saw one James Clausen, the boatswain, going to cut them adrift; on which James Brown lifted up a blunderbuss, and swore he would blow out his brains that moment. I said, do no murder, and clapped my left thumb betwixt the cock and the pan; he pulled the trigger, and cut my thumb, but saved the boatswain’s life.' The twenty-seven made for shore on a boat and, despite their proximity to Cumberland Fort, might well have made it were it not for one of them declaring 'I’ll give them a shot for luck', which alarmed the garrison, drew their fire, and culminated with the men spending six months in irons - apparently the expense of hanging was too much. Rhodes was soon back in London, where he once again met 'D', who said he had met with Rhodes’ father and told him he’d been hanged. Rhodes resolved immediately to return to Whalley and convince his father of the contrary. He stayed in Whalley for a year before making his way to Preston. One night at an inn he stole a pocket book, was caught and sentenced yet again to seven years transportation. He was able to escape and returned to Whalley and Manchester before finally being caught and executed on September 12, 1801." —From a catalogue listing by Mark Tewfik, Maggs Bros., December 2017.
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