Bully Hayes

William Henry Hayes
The only known photograph of Bully Hayes
Born	1827 or 1829 Cleveland, Ohio
Died	31 March 1877 In the Pacific Ocean off Kosrae, in the Caroline Islands (Federated States of Micronesia)
Other names	Bully Hayes
Occupation	Ship's captain, trader and blackbirder

William Henry "Bully" Hayes (1827 or 1829 – 31 March 1877) was a notorious American-born ship's captain who engaged in blackbirding in the 1860s and 1870s and whose arrival on any Pacific Island would cause islanders to hide in fear of being kidnapped and shipped off to be a labourer on some distant plantation.

Hayes operated across the breadth of the Pacific in the 1850s until his murder on 31 March 1877 by his cook Peter Radeck, or "Dutch Pete". Hayes has been described as a South Sea pirate and "the last of the Buccaneers". However James A. Michener and A. Grove Day, in their account of his life, warn that it is almost impossible to separate fact from legend in his life; they described Hayes as "a cheap swindler, a bully, a minor confidence man, a thief, a ready bigamist" and commented that there is no evidence that Hayes ever took a ship by force in the tradition of a pirate or privateer.

There are two stories as to how he earned his nickname "Bully": one explanation is that "Bulli" is Samoan for "elusive" or "evasive"; the second explanation is that he was called "Bully" because of his behaviour towards his crew. He was a large man who used intimidation against his crew, although he could be very charming if he chose to be, as well as being capable of generosity to Pacific Islanders in need. When the Leonora cruised the Gilbert and Ellis Islands, the island were suffering a drought. Hayes gave the islanders nearly a ton of rice and many casks of biscuits. saying "You can pay me when the sky of brass has broken, the rains fall, and the land is fertile once more."

He was born in Cleveland, Ohio, one of three sons of Henry Hayes, a grog-shanty keeper. Hayes became a sailor on the Great Lakes after running away from home. He is believed to have left New York as a passenger of the Canton on 4 March 1853, although when the ship reached Singapore on 11 July 1853 it was captained by Hayes, and sold by him there shortly after arrival. Hayes operated in East Asia, carrying out various frauds on ship's chandlers over mortgaging ships, providing forged papers in payment for cargo and selling cargo for his own account rather than for the account of the owners of the cargo.

New research appears to be adding to our knowledge of Bully Hayes (William Hayes). Hayes has been associated with the disappearance of the Rainbow in 1848 and the author of The Silent Moon, Geoff Stewart places him in Australia in 1853 and as having been involved in the McIvor Escort Robbery. This author also has Bully playing a central role in the disappearance of the gold ship the Madagascar in 1853.