CHAPTER X

[Contents]CHAPTER XTHE LAST OF THE BUCCANEERS“Gosh, that was a good joke on the buccaneers,” laughed Jack. “Now do tell us more about Ringrose, Dad. He must have been a fine fellow. Just as soon as you get through I’m going to borrow that log of his and read it from beginning to end.”“Me, too,” cried Fred with enthusiasm. “And I’m going to read Esquemeling.”“You’ll find both Esquemeling’s and Ringrose’s log most interesting,” said Mr. Bickford, “and you’ll be amused at the map. See here—this is the chart by which Ringrose steered theTrinity. See how the Amazon and the Rio de la Plata are pictured as one huge estuary of the sea, making part of Brazil and all of Uruguay and Paraguay into a great island. Very little was known of South America in those days, although, as you will notice, the West Indies and Central America were accurately shown.”“Golly, I don’t see how they everdidget[175]around,” declared Fred, as the two boys studied the ancient chart. “Hadn’t any one else ever sailed around the Horn before?”“Yes,” replied his uncle. “Vasco da Gama had done so, and Drake and Magellan had gone through the Straits, but no buccaneer had ever attempted it and none had sailed from the Pacific around into the Atlantic. But the success of Sharp’s voyage and Ringrose’s experiences led the way for many a later buccaneer raid into the South Sea, as they called the Pacific. Buccaneering was no longer a safe profession in the Caribbean, for any buccaneers caught were tried and hanged as pirates, but the South Seas were out of England’s jurisdiction and offered a fine field. It is unnecessary to go into details of all the buccaneering, or perhaps I might say pirating, cruises that were made to the Pacific, but it is well to learn a little of the more noteworthy ones, especially as our old friends Dampier, Wafer and Ringrose took prominent parts in them.“The first buccaneers to sail for the ‘South Sea’ after Sharp’s exploits became known, set forth from Chesapeake Bay in August, 1683. Their ship was theRevenge, of eighteen guns and seventy men, in charge of Captain John Davis, who[176]had won considerable fame as a pirate by sacking St. Augustine, Florida. With Davis went Cook, who had accompanied Sharp, as well as Wafer, the surgeon, who had received such unappreciated honors at the hands of the Darien Indians. Off the coast of Sierra Leone they seized a Danish ship of thirty-six guns and, finding her a much better vessel than their own, at once transferred their belongings to the prize and scuttled theRevenge. Then, renaming their new ship theBachelors’ Delight, the corsairs headed for Cape Horn and reached Juan Fernandez without mishap. Here they fell in with another buccaneer ship, theNicholas, and together the two cruised northward to the Gulf of Nicoya, taking many prizes and attacking, with considerable success, the smaller towns on the South America coast. In the Gulf of Nicoya Cook died and Davis was left as sole commander-in-chief. Those on theNicholas, however, were bent on pirating through the East Indies and shortly after Cook’s death parted from theBachelors’ Delightand set off on their own account, leaving a grewsome trail through the South Seas and along the African coast on their way to England. Davis and his company confined their activities to the American[177]coast until they met theCygnetat the Island of La Plata. The latter, which had been fitted out as a trader in London, had soon abandoned peaceable pursuits and had become a full-fledged pirate with our old friend Ringrose as navigator or pilot and Dampier, the naturalist-author, as quarter-master, with an old buccaneer named Swan in command. The two ships at once agreed to keep together and we may be sure there were wildly hilarious times when Dampier, Ringrose, Wafer and the others once more met, here in this out-of-the-world spot in the Pacific. Remembering the rich pickings they had had under Sharp, the veterans urged attacks on Paita, Guayaquil, Panama and other towns as they had done in theTrinity. But the Dons had grown wise; corsairs were no longer rare or unexpected upon the Pacific, and a warm reception met the buccaneers at every town they visited. They took many prizes nevertheless, and we may be quite sure that no more cargoes of ‘tin’ were cast into the sea.“For several weeks they blockaded Panama, and while off this port they were reënforced by Captains Grogniet and L’Escayer, French buccaneers, who with two hundred Frenchmen and one hundred and eighty English had crossed the[178]Isthmus. Shortly after, Captain Townley with one hundred and eighty buccaneers arrived by the same route, and a little later two hundred and sixty more French appeared. With a total force of nine hundred and sixty men, which Davis divided among ten captured ships, the buccaneers felt they were strong enough to withstand anything and impatiently awaited the arrival of the plate fleet from Lima.“But when, on May 28, 1685, the long-expected treasure fleet hove in sight the buccaneers’ hearts fell. For the Dons had been warned and instead of helpless galleons carrying the vast fortune in gold and bullion, the pirates saw, to their consternation, that the plate was convoyed by six great Spanish warships, six smaller sloops of war and two fire ships. The buccaneers had no mind to commit suicide and after firing a few defiant-shots at long range they very wisely pulled up anchors and sailed away, leaving the triumphant Dons to discharge their precious cargo in peace.“Arriving at the Island of Quibo, the buccaneers met still another party of pirates and almost at once dissensions arose between the French and British corsairs. As a result, Davis and his men sailed north, plundered Leon and Rio Lexa in[179]Nicaragua, and, learning that a plate ship was due from Manila, they cruised along the coasts of Mexico and Central America awaiting its arrival. But they were not content to wait patiently and must needs raid the coastal towns, with the result that over sixty of Swan’s men were cut off and completely wiped out by a Spanish ambuscade. This was the most severe blow the pirates had ever received on the South Sea, and among the killed were several officers and the pilot, Basil Ringrose.“Disappointed at missing the galleon and furious at the loss of his men, Swan accused Davis of negligence and a severe quarrel arose among the buccaneers. This ended in Swan setting sail for the Philippines, where his men mutinied and the unfortunate captain and thirty-six others were marooned, theCygnetsailing on without them. Among the mutineers was Dampier, still, no doubt, keeping his journal in his ‘joyente of bamboo,’ and very interestingly he wrote of the Celebes, Timor, New Holland and Australia. At the Nicobar Islands Dampier had had enough of pirating, and with a few companions, deserted theCygnetand by hook or crook managed to reach England in safety, where he devoted the rest of[180]his life to publishing his journals and his ‘special draughts’ for the edification of his less adventurous countrymen.“It was lucky he did so, for the ship, thoroughly unseaworthy, barely succeeded in reaching Madagascar before she foundered. Here some of the men settled down and took service with the native chiefs while others, in time, reached home.“In the meantime, Townley had also left Swan and had set out to rejoin his erstwhile French allies, with whom he took vast treasure at Quibo, Grenada and Lavelia, although Townley lost his life at the last place.“TheBachelors’ Delightcontinued to cruise up and down the coast of Peru for the next two years, sacking many towns, seizing innumerable ships and accumulating vast plunder, which Davis is reputed to have hidden on the Galápagos Islands.“But the Dons were becoming heartily sick of the nuisance of the English pirates, and early in 1687, sent a powerful fleet to destroy them. A terrific battle resulted, a running fight being kept up for seven days, and, though many of the pirates were killed, the ship managed to escape. The buccaneers, however, had had a wholesome lesson, and when, a few days later, they again[181]met Townley’s men they decided to revenge themselves for their loss by one last raid. This fell on Guayaquil, which was taken and sacked, and then, realizing even the South Sea was becoming too hot for them, the pirates refitted at the Galápagos and sailed around Cape Horn to the Virgin Islands, where they arrived in 1688, after five years of pirating in the Pacific.”“Gosh, I never knew before that there were buccaneers in the Philippines and Madagascar and all those places,” said Jack. “Say, they went all over the world, didn’t they?”“You forget,” his father reminded him, “that they were no longer buccaneers in the true sense of the word. They had degenerated to common pirates and attacked any ship they met, except British, and they were not by any means overpunctilious in that respect. Early in the eighteenth century,—soon after theCygnet’swreck, in fact?—Madagascar became a favorite pirates’ lair and they even set up an independent kingdom, or rather republic, there. Had they possessed a leader such as Morgan, Mansvelt or Sharp, no doubt they would have maintained a colony which might have established British dominion over a vast area, but they were always quarreling among[182]themselves and never succeeded in anything for long.”“But what became of them all?” asked Fred. “They never seemed to get killed off or hung.”“Some settled down in the West Indies, others in England or Europe and others in the American colonies, and led respectable lives under fictitious names among people who never suspected who they were. At times, though, they were recognized, brought to trial or hung or managed to slip away and find new homes. Many a well-to-do planter in the West Indies; many a wealthy merchant and shipowner in the New England colonies, made the beginnings of his fortune by pirating. And many of them, of whom the world never hears, led most romantic and adventurous lives. For example, there was Red Legs. He was a most picturesque character—not a pirate by choice, but by force of circumstances, and I’m happy to say that he eventually became a highly respected and charitable man. Indeed, I have actually stopped in the house he built and occupied after he gave up piracy.”“Oh, do tell about him!” cried Jack. “Gee—that’s a great name—Red Legs! I’ll bet he was a peach of a pirate.”[183]“He was,” asserted Mr. Bickford, with a smile. “But I must pass over his career very briefly, for there were many other interesting buccaneers and pirates I have not mentioned as yet.“Red Legs was originally a slave—one of those unfortunates who were taken during Cromwell’s time, and, because they wore kilts—being Irish and Scotch, they were nicknamed ‘red-legs.’ At that time it was customary to ship prisoners and malefactors as slaves to the West Indies, where they were sold for fifteen hundred pounds of sugar each. They were marked or branded like cattle, compelled to labor with the blacks and were treated far more cruelly than the negro slaves. Many of them were shipped to Barbados and their descendants may still be seen there and are still called ‘red-legs.’ A few have become well-to-do, but the majority are miserable, ragged, degenerate folk who have never recovered from the effects of their ancestors’ servitude.“The future pirate ‘Red Legs,’ however, fell into good hands—a planter who secretly sympathized with the prisoners’ cause,—and he was well educated and was practically adopted by his owner. When still a mere lad, however, his owner died and he was sold to a cruel master who made[184]life miserable for him. As a result, he decided to stow away on some ship bound for a Dutch island, but in the darkness, when swimming to the vessel, he became confused and by chance clambered onto the deck of a buccaneer ship. As a result, he was compelled to join the pirates and took part in their raids. But he was no pirate at heart. He could never bear the sight of tortures or brutality and resented the treatment of captive women. Once, in a quarrel over a female prisoner whom the captain was maltreating, the ex-slave killed his commander and, to his amazement, was elected captain himself. As a buccaneer chief he performed some really amazing deeds. He took the Island of Margarita and the vast fortune in pearls awaiting transportation to Spain. He sacked Santa Ysobel in Mexico, and he became one of the most notorious West Indian corsairs, although he was famed for the fact that he never permitted cruelties or the butchering of prisoners. Eventually he tired of the life and settled in Nevis with an old crony. Here he was discovered and cast into prison, but was freed by the earthquake that destroyed the town and, clinging to a floating bit of wreckage, escaped the fate of thousands of the citizens. Eventually he made his way to Dominica,[185]settled down again and spent the remaining days of his life in peace, a most worthy citizen. But ever he must have lived in deadly fear of discovery or betrayal. His house was built like a fortress with moats, heavy walls and underground vaults, while the balustrade to his verandah was most fittingly fashioned from old musket barrels.”“Well, he was really a good pirate,” declared Jack. “Were there any others like him?”“Not exactly,” replied his father. “But men often took to piracy for most peculiar reasons. For example, there was Major Stede Bonnet, also a native of Barbados. But unlike Red Legs, Major Bonnet, far from being a slave, was a most honored and well-to-do member of the colony. He was a gentleman by birth, well educated, possessed a large fortune and was an army officer. However, there was one fly in the gallant Major’s ointment. He had a nagging, scolding wife. But not until in 1716, when the Major began acting most strangely, did tongues begin to wag over him or his household. At that date Major Bonnet suddenly purchased a sloop, fitted her with ten guns and engaged a crew of seventy men. Then, indeed, did speculation become rife. To all inquiries[186]the Major replied ‘wait’ and the mystery deepened as the shipwrights rigged the craft, and upon its stern appeared the name ‘Revenge.’ Then one dark night, theRevengeslipped out of the harbor and disappeared, but in a few months came tidings of her that were a nine days’ wonder in Barbados. Major Stede had turned pirate! TheRevengewas cruising off the American coast, taking prizes right and left; she had become the terror of Philadelphia, Salem, Norfolk and other coast towns, and the Major, to add insult to injury had made Gardiner’s Island in Long Island Sound his headquarters. Evidently pirating had appealed to the Major as a peaceful life beside the nagging tongue of Mrs. Bonnet.“But the poor, hen-pecked Major’s career did not last long. He fell in with Teach, otherwise known as Blackbeard, who pretended to be an ally and then ruthlessly robbed the amateur pirate, and, a little later, the Major was captured off the Carolina coast. He managed to escape in a canoe, but the reward of seventy pounds sterling offered for him, dead or alive, soon brought results. He was retaken, tried at Charleston and hanged. After the long-winded lecture and flowery-worded harangue that the presiding judge inflicted upon[187]the poor condemned man the Major must have really welcomed hanging, and as he did not even plead the ‘discomforts to be found in the married state’ as extenuating circumstances for his misdeeds the execution was carried out at once.”“That would have been funny if the poor Major hadn’t been hanged,” said Jack. “But please tell us about Blackbeard. Was he a buccaneer?”“I’ll tell you of him presently,” replied Mr. Bickford, “but let us follow up the history of the buccaneers in its proper sequence first. As I have said, the buccaneers, as such, were practically destroyed when Morgan was made Lieutenant-Governor of Jamaica and waged a relentless war on his former associates. But to drive the corsairs from all their lairs in the Islands and about the Spanish Main was too big a job even for Morgan and the British king. To be sure they were driven from Jamaica, but the French still held Tortuga; there was a fortified island where they foregathered in Samaná Bay in Santo Domingo, and on many a small outlying bay and islet they were comparatively safe. Then there were the Dutch Islands and the Virgins. These last were particular favorites of the buccaneers. They belonged to France, Sweden, Denmark, Holland and[188]England and always they had been neutral ground for the freebooters. Here in these tiny out-of-the-way spots they could careen and refit, could carouse ashore and were safe from pursuit. The people looked upon them as friends; they spent money freely, and in return for the privileges and security afforded them, they never molested the inhabitants or their property. Many a buccaneer has swung to his own yardarm for an insult to some Virgin Islander; many a man was pistoled by his captain for attempting to make free with Virgin Islander’s property, and in the Virgin Island ports—in St. Martin, St. Barts, St. John, Anegada and even in St. Thomas the remnants of the Brethren of the Main found snug lairs.The merchants bid for the loot brought ashoreThe merchants bid for the loot brought ashoreAll were in the best of spirits, smoking, drinking, spinning yarns of the seaAll were in the best of spirits, smoking, drinking, spinning yarns of the sea“Many of the little islands were surrounded with dangerous reefs, where large ships could not enter, but whose secret channels were known to the buccaneers, and at almost all of them the corsairs erected forts and mounted guns. Montbars, the ‘Exterminator,’ as he was called, made his headquarters at Saint Bartholomew or St. Barts as it is more commonly called, others selected St. Martin, others Virgin Gorda and still more Anegada. All about here are names redolent of[189]the buccaneers, such as Norman Island, Dead Man’s Chest, Rum Island, Dutchman’s Cap, Broken Jerusalem, while we also find such places as Sir Francis Drake’s Bay, Rendezvous Bay, Privateers’ Bay, Gallows Bay, Doubloon Cove, etc.“Most of the freebooters at Anegada were destroyed or driven off by expeditions sent from Jamaica by Morgan, for Anegada, like Virgin Gorda and Tortola, were British; but the buccaneers, who, you must remember, were now out-and-out pirates and had been declared so by England and France, were still comparatively safe in the Dutch and Danish isles. Indeed, the Danish officials were quite openly in league with the pirates, and one governor of St. Thomas, Adolf Esmit—who, by the way, had been a buccaneer himself—was closely identified with a most notorious pirate, Jean Hamlin.“It was in 1682—about the time Sharp returned from his ‘dangerous voyage’—that Hamlin took as a prize the French ship,La Trompeuse, refitted her as a corsair and made a swift and successful piratical cruise through the Caribbean. Despite all protests of the British, Hamlin made his headquarters at St. Thomas, where he was entertained by the governor—with whom, no doubt, he shared[190]his loot—and was afforded every courtesy and aid in fitting for another raid. For over a year Hamlin wrought havoc with British, French, Spanish and Dutch shipping with equal impartiality, finally culminating in a wholesale capture of seventeen Dutch and British ships off the coast of Africa.“Returning from this foray the pirates were loudly welcomed in St. Thomas; the merchants bid for the loot brought ashore, and Hamlin made merry with his good friend, the governor. But word of the corsair’s whereabouts had been carried to the neighboring British Islands. Governor Stapelton, of Antigua, despatched the H.M.S.Francisunder stout old Captain Carlisle to St. Thomas, and three days after Hamlin’s triumphant arrival at the island the British frigate sailed into the harbor.“It was useless for the pirates to attempt to escape or to resist. Their ship was under the guns of the frigate scarcely a pistol shot away and, hastily scrambling into their boats and firing a few guns to ‘save their faces,’ the pirate captain and his men rowed for shore and sought protection under the wings of the governor. Carlisle wasted no time in formalities and, despite the[191]fact that he was in the waters of Denmark, promptly fired the pirate ship and blew her to bits.“Of course Governor Esmit protested, claiming he had already seized theTrompeusein the name of the Danish king, but Captain Carlisle snapped his fingers—figuratively speaking—in the Danes’ faces, asked them what they were going to do about it and sailed away, well satisfied with a good deed well done. In the meantime, Esmit provided the pirates with a new vessel, but realizing that complications might arise, he suggested, in a friendly way, that henceforth some more isolated, out-of-the-way spot would be better adapted to piratical uses.”[192]

CHAPTER XTHE LAST OF THE BUCCANEERS

“Gosh, that was a good joke on the buccaneers,” laughed Jack. “Now do tell us more about Ringrose, Dad. He must have been a fine fellow. Just as soon as you get through I’m going to borrow that log of his and read it from beginning to end.”“Me, too,” cried Fred with enthusiasm. “And I’m going to read Esquemeling.”“You’ll find both Esquemeling’s and Ringrose’s log most interesting,” said Mr. Bickford, “and you’ll be amused at the map. See here—this is the chart by which Ringrose steered theTrinity. See how the Amazon and the Rio de la Plata are pictured as one huge estuary of the sea, making part of Brazil and all of Uruguay and Paraguay into a great island. Very little was known of South America in those days, although, as you will notice, the West Indies and Central America were accurately shown.”“Golly, I don’t see how they everdidget[175]around,” declared Fred, as the two boys studied the ancient chart. “Hadn’t any one else ever sailed around the Horn before?”“Yes,” replied his uncle. “Vasco da Gama had done so, and Drake and Magellan had gone through the Straits, but no buccaneer had ever attempted it and none had sailed from the Pacific around into the Atlantic. But the success of Sharp’s voyage and Ringrose’s experiences led the way for many a later buccaneer raid into the South Sea, as they called the Pacific. Buccaneering was no longer a safe profession in the Caribbean, for any buccaneers caught were tried and hanged as pirates, but the South Seas were out of England’s jurisdiction and offered a fine field. It is unnecessary to go into details of all the buccaneering, or perhaps I might say pirating, cruises that were made to the Pacific, but it is well to learn a little of the more noteworthy ones, especially as our old friends Dampier, Wafer and Ringrose took prominent parts in them.“The first buccaneers to sail for the ‘South Sea’ after Sharp’s exploits became known, set forth from Chesapeake Bay in August, 1683. Their ship was theRevenge, of eighteen guns and seventy men, in charge of Captain John Davis, who[176]had won considerable fame as a pirate by sacking St. Augustine, Florida. With Davis went Cook, who had accompanied Sharp, as well as Wafer, the surgeon, who had received such unappreciated honors at the hands of the Darien Indians. Off the coast of Sierra Leone they seized a Danish ship of thirty-six guns and, finding her a much better vessel than their own, at once transferred their belongings to the prize and scuttled theRevenge. Then, renaming their new ship theBachelors’ Delight, the corsairs headed for Cape Horn and reached Juan Fernandez without mishap. Here they fell in with another buccaneer ship, theNicholas, and together the two cruised northward to the Gulf of Nicoya, taking many prizes and attacking, with considerable success, the smaller towns on the South America coast. In the Gulf of Nicoya Cook died and Davis was left as sole commander-in-chief. Those on theNicholas, however, were bent on pirating through the East Indies and shortly after Cook’s death parted from theBachelors’ Delightand set off on their own account, leaving a grewsome trail through the South Seas and along the African coast on their way to England. Davis and his company confined their activities to the American[177]coast until they met theCygnetat the Island of La Plata. The latter, which had been fitted out as a trader in London, had soon abandoned peaceable pursuits and had become a full-fledged pirate with our old friend Ringrose as navigator or pilot and Dampier, the naturalist-author, as quarter-master, with an old buccaneer named Swan in command. The two ships at once agreed to keep together and we may be sure there were wildly hilarious times when Dampier, Ringrose, Wafer and the others once more met, here in this out-of-the-world spot in the Pacific. Remembering the rich pickings they had had under Sharp, the veterans urged attacks on Paita, Guayaquil, Panama and other towns as they had done in theTrinity. But the Dons had grown wise; corsairs were no longer rare or unexpected upon the Pacific, and a warm reception met the buccaneers at every town they visited. They took many prizes nevertheless, and we may be quite sure that no more cargoes of ‘tin’ were cast into the sea.“For several weeks they blockaded Panama, and while off this port they were reënforced by Captains Grogniet and L’Escayer, French buccaneers, who with two hundred Frenchmen and one hundred and eighty English had crossed the[178]Isthmus. Shortly after, Captain Townley with one hundred and eighty buccaneers arrived by the same route, and a little later two hundred and sixty more French appeared. With a total force of nine hundred and sixty men, which Davis divided among ten captured ships, the buccaneers felt they were strong enough to withstand anything and impatiently awaited the arrival of the plate fleet from Lima.“But when, on May 28, 1685, the long-expected treasure fleet hove in sight the buccaneers’ hearts fell. For the Dons had been warned and instead of helpless galleons carrying the vast fortune in gold and bullion, the pirates saw, to their consternation, that the plate was convoyed by six great Spanish warships, six smaller sloops of war and two fire ships. The buccaneers had no mind to commit suicide and after firing a few defiant-shots at long range they very wisely pulled up anchors and sailed away, leaving the triumphant Dons to discharge their precious cargo in peace.“Arriving at the Island of Quibo, the buccaneers met still another party of pirates and almost at once dissensions arose between the French and British corsairs. As a result, Davis and his men sailed north, plundered Leon and Rio Lexa in[179]Nicaragua, and, learning that a plate ship was due from Manila, they cruised along the coasts of Mexico and Central America awaiting its arrival. But they were not content to wait patiently and must needs raid the coastal towns, with the result that over sixty of Swan’s men were cut off and completely wiped out by a Spanish ambuscade. This was the most severe blow the pirates had ever received on the South Sea, and among the killed were several officers and the pilot, Basil Ringrose.“Disappointed at missing the galleon and furious at the loss of his men, Swan accused Davis of negligence and a severe quarrel arose among the buccaneers. This ended in Swan setting sail for the Philippines, where his men mutinied and the unfortunate captain and thirty-six others were marooned, theCygnetsailing on without them. Among the mutineers was Dampier, still, no doubt, keeping his journal in his ‘joyente of bamboo,’ and very interestingly he wrote of the Celebes, Timor, New Holland and Australia. At the Nicobar Islands Dampier had had enough of pirating, and with a few companions, deserted theCygnetand by hook or crook managed to reach England in safety, where he devoted the rest of[180]his life to publishing his journals and his ‘special draughts’ for the edification of his less adventurous countrymen.“It was lucky he did so, for the ship, thoroughly unseaworthy, barely succeeded in reaching Madagascar before she foundered. Here some of the men settled down and took service with the native chiefs while others, in time, reached home.“In the meantime, Townley had also left Swan and had set out to rejoin his erstwhile French allies, with whom he took vast treasure at Quibo, Grenada and Lavelia, although Townley lost his life at the last place.“TheBachelors’ Delightcontinued to cruise up and down the coast of Peru for the next two years, sacking many towns, seizing innumerable ships and accumulating vast plunder, which Davis is reputed to have hidden on the Galápagos Islands.“But the Dons were becoming heartily sick of the nuisance of the English pirates, and early in 1687, sent a powerful fleet to destroy them. A terrific battle resulted, a running fight being kept up for seven days, and, though many of the pirates were killed, the ship managed to escape. The buccaneers, however, had had a wholesome lesson, and when, a few days later, they again[181]met Townley’s men they decided to revenge themselves for their loss by one last raid. This fell on Guayaquil, which was taken and sacked, and then, realizing even the South Sea was becoming too hot for them, the pirates refitted at the Galápagos and sailed around Cape Horn to the Virgin Islands, where they arrived in 1688, after five years of pirating in the Pacific.”“Gosh, I never knew before that there were buccaneers in the Philippines and Madagascar and all those places,” said Jack. “Say, they went all over the world, didn’t they?”“You forget,” his father reminded him, “that they were no longer buccaneers in the true sense of the word. They had degenerated to common pirates and attacked any ship they met, except British, and they were not by any means overpunctilious in that respect. Early in the eighteenth century,—soon after theCygnet’swreck, in fact?—Madagascar became a favorite pirates’ lair and they even set up an independent kingdom, or rather republic, there. Had they possessed a leader such as Morgan, Mansvelt or Sharp, no doubt they would have maintained a colony which might have established British dominion over a vast area, but they were always quarreling among[182]themselves and never succeeded in anything for long.”“But what became of them all?” asked Fred. “They never seemed to get killed off or hung.”“Some settled down in the West Indies, others in England or Europe and others in the American colonies, and led respectable lives under fictitious names among people who never suspected who they were. At times, though, they were recognized, brought to trial or hung or managed to slip away and find new homes. Many a well-to-do planter in the West Indies; many a wealthy merchant and shipowner in the New England colonies, made the beginnings of his fortune by pirating. And many of them, of whom the world never hears, led most romantic and adventurous lives. For example, there was Red Legs. He was a most picturesque character—not a pirate by choice, but by force of circumstances, and I’m happy to say that he eventually became a highly respected and charitable man. Indeed, I have actually stopped in the house he built and occupied after he gave up piracy.”“Oh, do tell about him!” cried Jack. “Gee—that’s a great name—Red Legs! I’ll bet he was a peach of a pirate.”[183]“He was,” asserted Mr. Bickford, with a smile. “But I must pass over his career very briefly, for there were many other interesting buccaneers and pirates I have not mentioned as yet.“Red Legs was originally a slave—one of those unfortunates who were taken during Cromwell’s time, and, because they wore kilts—being Irish and Scotch, they were nicknamed ‘red-legs.’ At that time it was customary to ship prisoners and malefactors as slaves to the West Indies, where they were sold for fifteen hundred pounds of sugar each. They were marked or branded like cattle, compelled to labor with the blacks and were treated far more cruelly than the negro slaves. Many of them were shipped to Barbados and their descendants may still be seen there and are still called ‘red-legs.’ A few have become well-to-do, but the majority are miserable, ragged, degenerate folk who have never recovered from the effects of their ancestors’ servitude.“The future pirate ‘Red Legs,’ however, fell into good hands—a planter who secretly sympathized with the prisoners’ cause,—and he was well educated and was practically adopted by his owner. When still a mere lad, however, his owner died and he was sold to a cruel master who made[184]life miserable for him. As a result, he decided to stow away on some ship bound for a Dutch island, but in the darkness, when swimming to the vessel, he became confused and by chance clambered onto the deck of a buccaneer ship. As a result, he was compelled to join the pirates and took part in their raids. But he was no pirate at heart. He could never bear the sight of tortures or brutality and resented the treatment of captive women. Once, in a quarrel over a female prisoner whom the captain was maltreating, the ex-slave killed his commander and, to his amazement, was elected captain himself. As a buccaneer chief he performed some really amazing deeds. He took the Island of Margarita and the vast fortune in pearls awaiting transportation to Spain. He sacked Santa Ysobel in Mexico, and he became one of the most notorious West Indian corsairs, although he was famed for the fact that he never permitted cruelties or the butchering of prisoners. Eventually he tired of the life and settled in Nevis with an old crony. Here he was discovered and cast into prison, but was freed by the earthquake that destroyed the town and, clinging to a floating bit of wreckage, escaped the fate of thousands of the citizens. Eventually he made his way to Dominica,[185]settled down again and spent the remaining days of his life in peace, a most worthy citizen. But ever he must have lived in deadly fear of discovery or betrayal. His house was built like a fortress with moats, heavy walls and underground vaults, while the balustrade to his verandah was most fittingly fashioned from old musket barrels.”“Well, he was really a good pirate,” declared Jack. “Were there any others like him?”“Not exactly,” replied his father. “But men often took to piracy for most peculiar reasons. For example, there was Major Stede Bonnet, also a native of Barbados. But unlike Red Legs, Major Bonnet, far from being a slave, was a most honored and well-to-do member of the colony. He was a gentleman by birth, well educated, possessed a large fortune and was an army officer. However, there was one fly in the gallant Major’s ointment. He had a nagging, scolding wife. But not until in 1716, when the Major began acting most strangely, did tongues begin to wag over him or his household. At that date Major Bonnet suddenly purchased a sloop, fitted her with ten guns and engaged a crew of seventy men. Then, indeed, did speculation become rife. To all inquiries[186]the Major replied ‘wait’ and the mystery deepened as the shipwrights rigged the craft, and upon its stern appeared the name ‘Revenge.’ Then one dark night, theRevengeslipped out of the harbor and disappeared, but in a few months came tidings of her that were a nine days’ wonder in Barbados. Major Stede had turned pirate! TheRevengewas cruising off the American coast, taking prizes right and left; she had become the terror of Philadelphia, Salem, Norfolk and other coast towns, and the Major, to add insult to injury had made Gardiner’s Island in Long Island Sound his headquarters. Evidently pirating had appealed to the Major as a peaceful life beside the nagging tongue of Mrs. Bonnet.“But the poor, hen-pecked Major’s career did not last long. He fell in with Teach, otherwise known as Blackbeard, who pretended to be an ally and then ruthlessly robbed the amateur pirate, and, a little later, the Major was captured off the Carolina coast. He managed to escape in a canoe, but the reward of seventy pounds sterling offered for him, dead or alive, soon brought results. He was retaken, tried at Charleston and hanged. After the long-winded lecture and flowery-worded harangue that the presiding judge inflicted upon[187]the poor condemned man the Major must have really welcomed hanging, and as he did not even plead the ‘discomforts to be found in the married state’ as extenuating circumstances for his misdeeds the execution was carried out at once.”“That would have been funny if the poor Major hadn’t been hanged,” said Jack. “But please tell us about Blackbeard. Was he a buccaneer?”“I’ll tell you of him presently,” replied Mr. Bickford, “but let us follow up the history of the buccaneers in its proper sequence first. As I have said, the buccaneers, as such, were practically destroyed when Morgan was made Lieutenant-Governor of Jamaica and waged a relentless war on his former associates. But to drive the corsairs from all their lairs in the Islands and about the Spanish Main was too big a job even for Morgan and the British king. To be sure they were driven from Jamaica, but the French still held Tortuga; there was a fortified island where they foregathered in Samaná Bay in Santo Domingo, and on many a small outlying bay and islet they were comparatively safe. Then there were the Dutch Islands and the Virgins. These last were particular favorites of the buccaneers. They belonged to France, Sweden, Denmark, Holland and[188]England and always they had been neutral ground for the freebooters. Here in these tiny out-of-the-way spots they could careen and refit, could carouse ashore and were safe from pursuit. The people looked upon them as friends; they spent money freely, and in return for the privileges and security afforded them, they never molested the inhabitants or their property. Many a buccaneer has swung to his own yardarm for an insult to some Virgin Islander; many a man was pistoled by his captain for attempting to make free with Virgin Islander’s property, and in the Virgin Island ports—in St. Martin, St. Barts, St. John, Anegada and even in St. Thomas the remnants of the Brethren of the Main found snug lairs.The merchants bid for the loot brought ashoreThe merchants bid for the loot brought ashoreAll were in the best of spirits, smoking, drinking, spinning yarns of the seaAll were in the best of spirits, smoking, drinking, spinning yarns of the sea“Many of the little islands were surrounded with dangerous reefs, where large ships could not enter, but whose secret channels were known to the buccaneers, and at almost all of them the corsairs erected forts and mounted guns. Montbars, the ‘Exterminator,’ as he was called, made his headquarters at Saint Bartholomew or St. Barts as it is more commonly called, others selected St. Martin, others Virgin Gorda and still more Anegada. All about here are names redolent of[189]the buccaneers, such as Norman Island, Dead Man’s Chest, Rum Island, Dutchman’s Cap, Broken Jerusalem, while we also find such places as Sir Francis Drake’s Bay, Rendezvous Bay, Privateers’ Bay, Gallows Bay, Doubloon Cove, etc.“Most of the freebooters at Anegada were destroyed or driven off by expeditions sent from Jamaica by Morgan, for Anegada, like Virgin Gorda and Tortola, were British; but the buccaneers, who, you must remember, were now out-and-out pirates and had been declared so by England and France, were still comparatively safe in the Dutch and Danish isles. Indeed, the Danish officials were quite openly in league with the pirates, and one governor of St. Thomas, Adolf Esmit—who, by the way, had been a buccaneer himself—was closely identified with a most notorious pirate, Jean Hamlin.“It was in 1682—about the time Sharp returned from his ‘dangerous voyage’—that Hamlin took as a prize the French ship,La Trompeuse, refitted her as a corsair and made a swift and successful piratical cruise through the Caribbean. Despite all protests of the British, Hamlin made his headquarters at St. Thomas, where he was entertained by the governor—with whom, no doubt, he shared[190]his loot—and was afforded every courtesy and aid in fitting for another raid. For over a year Hamlin wrought havoc with British, French, Spanish and Dutch shipping with equal impartiality, finally culminating in a wholesale capture of seventeen Dutch and British ships off the coast of Africa.“Returning from this foray the pirates were loudly welcomed in St. Thomas; the merchants bid for the loot brought ashore, and Hamlin made merry with his good friend, the governor. But word of the corsair’s whereabouts had been carried to the neighboring British Islands. Governor Stapelton, of Antigua, despatched the H.M.S.Francisunder stout old Captain Carlisle to St. Thomas, and three days after Hamlin’s triumphant arrival at the island the British frigate sailed into the harbor.“It was useless for the pirates to attempt to escape or to resist. Their ship was under the guns of the frigate scarcely a pistol shot away and, hastily scrambling into their boats and firing a few guns to ‘save their faces,’ the pirate captain and his men rowed for shore and sought protection under the wings of the governor. Carlisle wasted no time in formalities and, despite the[191]fact that he was in the waters of Denmark, promptly fired the pirate ship and blew her to bits.“Of course Governor Esmit protested, claiming he had already seized theTrompeusein the name of the Danish king, but Captain Carlisle snapped his fingers—figuratively speaking—in the Danes’ faces, asked them what they were going to do about it and sailed away, well satisfied with a good deed well done. In the meantime, Esmit provided the pirates with a new vessel, but realizing that complications might arise, he suggested, in a friendly way, that henceforth some more isolated, out-of-the-way spot would be better adapted to piratical uses.”[192]

“Me, too,” cried Fred with enthusiasm. “And I’m going to read Esquemeling.”

“You’ll find both Esquemeling’s and Ringrose’s log most interesting,” said Mr. Bickford, “and you’ll be amused at the map. See here—this is the chart by which Ringrose steered theTrinity. See how the Amazon and the Rio de la Plata are pictured as one huge estuary of the sea, making part of Brazil and all of Uruguay and Paraguay into a great island. Very little was known of South America in those days, although, as you will notice, the West Indies and Central America were accurately shown.”

“Golly, I don’t see how they everdidget[175]around,” declared Fred, as the two boys studied the ancient chart. “Hadn’t any one else ever sailed around the Horn before?”

“Yes,” replied his uncle. “Vasco da Gama had done so, and Drake and Magellan had gone through the Straits, but no buccaneer had ever attempted it and none had sailed from the Pacific around into the Atlantic. But the success of Sharp’s voyage and Ringrose’s experiences led the way for many a later buccaneer raid into the South Sea, as they called the Pacific. Buccaneering was no longer a safe profession in the Caribbean, for any buccaneers caught were tried and hanged as pirates, but the South Seas were out of England’s jurisdiction and offered a fine field. It is unnecessary to go into details of all the buccaneering, or perhaps I might say pirating, cruises that were made to the Pacific, but it is well to learn a little of the more noteworthy ones, especially as our old friends Dampier, Wafer and Ringrose took prominent parts in them.

“The first buccaneers to sail for the ‘South Sea’ after Sharp’s exploits became known, set forth from Chesapeake Bay in August, 1683. Their ship was theRevenge, of eighteen guns and seventy men, in charge of Captain John Davis, who[176]had won considerable fame as a pirate by sacking St. Augustine, Florida. With Davis went Cook, who had accompanied Sharp, as well as Wafer, the surgeon, who had received such unappreciated honors at the hands of the Darien Indians. Off the coast of Sierra Leone they seized a Danish ship of thirty-six guns and, finding her a much better vessel than their own, at once transferred their belongings to the prize and scuttled theRevenge. Then, renaming their new ship theBachelors’ Delight, the corsairs headed for Cape Horn and reached Juan Fernandez without mishap. Here they fell in with another buccaneer ship, theNicholas, and together the two cruised northward to the Gulf of Nicoya, taking many prizes and attacking, with considerable success, the smaller towns on the South America coast. In the Gulf of Nicoya Cook died and Davis was left as sole commander-in-chief. Those on theNicholas, however, were bent on pirating through the East Indies and shortly after Cook’s death parted from theBachelors’ Delightand set off on their own account, leaving a grewsome trail through the South Seas and along the African coast on their way to England. Davis and his company confined their activities to the American[177]coast until they met theCygnetat the Island of La Plata. The latter, which had been fitted out as a trader in London, had soon abandoned peaceable pursuits and had become a full-fledged pirate with our old friend Ringrose as navigator or pilot and Dampier, the naturalist-author, as quarter-master, with an old buccaneer named Swan in command. The two ships at once agreed to keep together and we may be sure there were wildly hilarious times when Dampier, Ringrose, Wafer and the others once more met, here in this out-of-the-world spot in the Pacific. Remembering the rich pickings they had had under Sharp, the veterans urged attacks on Paita, Guayaquil, Panama and other towns as they had done in theTrinity. But the Dons had grown wise; corsairs were no longer rare or unexpected upon the Pacific, and a warm reception met the buccaneers at every town they visited. They took many prizes nevertheless, and we may be quite sure that no more cargoes of ‘tin’ were cast into the sea.

“For several weeks they blockaded Panama, and while off this port they were reënforced by Captains Grogniet and L’Escayer, French buccaneers, who with two hundred Frenchmen and one hundred and eighty English had crossed the[178]Isthmus. Shortly after, Captain Townley with one hundred and eighty buccaneers arrived by the same route, and a little later two hundred and sixty more French appeared. With a total force of nine hundred and sixty men, which Davis divided among ten captured ships, the buccaneers felt they were strong enough to withstand anything and impatiently awaited the arrival of the plate fleet from Lima.

“But when, on May 28, 1685, the long-expected treasure fleet hove in sight the buccaneers’ hearts fell. For the Dons had been warned and instead of helpless galleons carrying the vast fortune in gold and bullion, the pirates saw, to their consternation, that the plate was convoyed by six great Spanish warships, six smaller sloops of war and two fire ships. The buccaneers had no mind to commit suicide and after firing a few defiant-shots at long range they very wisely pulled up anchors and sailed away, leaving the triumphant Dons to discharge their precious cargo in peace.

“Arriving at the Island of Quibo, the buccaneers met still another party of pirates and almost at once dissensions arose between the French and British corsairs. As a result, Davis and his men sailed north, plundered Leon and Rio Lexa in[179]Nicaragua, and, learning that a plate ship was due from Manila, they cruised along the coasts of Mexico and Central America awaiting its arrival. But they were not content to wait patiently and must needs raid the coastal towns, with the result that over sixty of Swan’s men were cut off and completely wiped out by a Spanish ambuscade. This was the most severe blow the pirates had ever received on the South Sea, and among the killed were several officers and the pilot, Basil Ringrose.

“Disappointed at missing the galleon and furious at the loss of his men, Swan accused Davis of negligence and a severe quarrel arose among the buccaneers. This ended in Swan setting sail for the Philippines, where his men mutinied and the unfortunate captain and thirty-six others were marooned, theCygnetsailing on without them. Among the mutineers was Dampier, still, no doubt, keeping his journal in his ‘joyente of bamboo,’ and very interestingly he wrote of the Celebes, Timor, New Holland and Australia. At the Nicobar Islands Dampier had had enough of pirating, and with a few companions, deserted theCygnetand by hook or crook managed to reach England in safety, where he devoted the rest of[180]his life to publishing his journals and his ‘special draughts’ for the edification of his less adventurous countrymen.

“It was lucky he did so, for the ship, thoroughly unseaworthy, barely succeeded in reaching Madagascar before she foundered. Here some of the men settled down and took service with the native chiefs while others, in time, reached home.

“In the meantime, Townley had also left Swan and had set out to rejoin his erstwhile French allies, with whom he took vast treasure at Quibo, Grenada and Lavelia, although Townley lost his life at the last place.

“TheBachelors’ Delightcontinued to cruise up and down the coast of Peru for the next two years, sacking many towns, seizing innumerable ships and accumulating vast plunder, which Davis is reputed to have hidden on the Galápagos Islands.

“But the Dons were becoming heartily sick of the nuisance of the English pirates, and early in 1687, sent a powerful fleet to destroy them. A terrific battle resulted, a running fight being kept up for seven days, and, though many of the pirates were killed, the ship managed to escape. The buccaneers, however, had had a wholesome lesson, and when, a few days later, they again[181]met Townley’s men they decided to revenge themselves for their loss by one last raid. This fell on Guayaquil, which was taken and sacked, and then, realizing even the South Sea was becoming too hot for them, the pirates refitted at the Galápagos and sailed around Cape Horn to the Virgin Islands, where they arrived in 1688, after five years of pirating in the Pacific.”

“Gosh, I never knew before that there were buccaneers in the Philippines and Madagascar and all those places,” said Jack. “Say, they went all over the world, didn’t they?”

“You forget,” his father reminded him, “that they were no longer buccaneers in the true sense of the word. They had degenerated to common pirates and attacked any ship they met, except British, and they were not by any means overpunctilious in that respect. Early in the eighteenth century,—soon after theCygnet’swreck, in fact?—Madagascar became a favorite pirates’ lair and they even set up an independent kingdom, or rather republic, there. Had they possessed a leader such as Morgan, Mansvelt or Sharp, no doubt they would have maintained a colony which might have established British dominion over a vast area, but they were always quarreling among[182]themselves and never succeeded in anything for long.”

“But what became of them all?” asked Fred. “They never seemed to get killed off or hung.”

“Some settled down in the West Indies, others in England or Europe and others in the American colonies, and led respectable lives under fictitious names among people who never suspected who they were. At times, though, they were recognized, brought to trial or hung or managed to slip away and find new homes. Many a well-to-do planter in the West Indies; many a wealthy merchant and shipowner in the New England colonies, made the beginnings of his fortune by pirating. And many of them, of whom the world never hears, led most romantic and adventurous lives. For example, there was Red Legs. He was a most picturesque character—not a pirate by choice, but by force of circumstances, and I’m happy to say that he eventually became a highly respected and charitable man. Indeed, I have actually stopped in the house he built and occupied after he gave up piracy.”

“Oh, do tell about him!” cried Jack. “Gee—that’s a great name—Red Legs! I’ll bet he was a peach of a pirate.”[183]

“He was,” asserted Mr. Bickford, with a smile. “But I must pass over his career very briefly, for there were many other interesting buccaneers and pirates I have not mentioned as yet.

“Red Legs was originally a slave—one of those unfortunates who were taken during Cromwell’s time, and, because they wore kilts—being Irish and Scotch, they were nicknamed ‘red-legs.’ At that time it was customary to ship prisoners and malefactors as slaves to the West Indies, where they were sold for fifteen hundred pounds of sugar each. They were marked or branded like cattle, compelled to labor with the blacks and were treated far more cruelly than the negro slaves. Many of them were shipped to Barbados and their descendants may still be seen there and are still called ‘red-legs.’ A few have become well-to-do, but the majority are miserable, ragged, degenerate folk who have never recovered from the effects of their ancestors’ servitude.

“The future pirate ‘Red Legs,’ however, fell into good hands—a planter who secretly sympathized with the prisoners’ cause,—and he was well educated and was practically adopted by his owner. When still a mere lad, however, his owner died and he was sold to a cruel master who made[184]life miserable for him. As a result, he decided to stow away on some ship bound for a Dutch island, but in the darkness, when swimming to the vessel, he became confused and by chance clambered onto the deck of a buccaneer ship. As a result, he was compelled to join the pirates and took part in their raids. But he was no pirate at heart. He could never bear the sight of tortures or brutality and resented the treatment of captive women. Once, in a quarrel over a female prisoner whom the captain was maltreating, the ex-slave killed his commander and, to his amazement, was elected captain himself. As a buccaneer chief he performed some really amazing deeds. He took the Island of Margarita and the vast fortune in pearls awaiting transportation to Spain. He sacked Santa Ysobel in Mexico, and he became one of the most notorious West Indian corsairs, although he was famed for the fact that he never permitted cruelties or the butchering of prisoners. Eventually he tired of the life and settled in Nevis with an old crony. Here he was discovered and cast into prison, but was freed by the earthquake that destroyed the town and, clinging to a floating bit of wreckage, escaped the fate of thousands of the citizens. Eventually he made his way to Dominica,[185]settled down again and spent the remaining days of his life in peace, a most worthy citizen. But ever he must have lived in deadly fear of discovery or betrayal. His house was built like a fortress with moats, heavy walls and underground vaults, while the balustrade to his verandah was most fittingly fashioned from old musket barrels.”

“Well, he was really a good pirate,” declared Jack. “Were there any others like him?”

“Not exactly,” replied his father. “But men often took to piracy for most peculiar reasons. For example, there was Major Stede Bonnet, also a native of Barbados. But unlike Red Legs, Major Bonnet, far from being a slave, was a most honored and well-to-do member of the colony. He was a gentleman by birth, well educated, possessed a large fortune and was an army officer. However, there was one fly in the gallant Major’s ointment. He had a nagging, scolding wife. But not until in 1716, when the Major began acting most strangely, did tongues begin to wag over him or his household. At that date Major Bonnet suddenly purchased a sloop, fitted her with ten guns and engaged a crew of seventy men. Then, indeed, did speculation become rife. To all inquiries[186]the Major replied ‘wait’ and the mystery deepened as the shipwrights rigged the craft, and upon its stern appeared the name ‘Revenge.’ Then one dark night, theRevengeslipped out of the harbor and disappeared, but in a few months came tidings of her that were a nine days’ wonder in Barbados. Major Stede had turned pirate! TheRevengewas cruising off the American coast, taking prizes right and left; she had become the terror of Philadelphia, Salem, Norfolk and other coast towns, and the Major, to add insult to injury had made Gardiner’s Island in Long Island Sound his headquarters. Evidently pirating had appealed to the Major as a peaceful life beside the nagging tongue of Mrs. Bonnet.

“But the poor, hen-pecked Major’s career did not last long. He fell in with Teach, otherwise known as Blackbeard, who pretended to be an ally and then ruthlessly robbed the amateur pirate, and, a little later, the Major was captured off the Carolina coast. He managed to escape in a canoe, but the reward of seventy pounds sterling offered for him, dead or alive, soon brought results. He was retaken, tried at Charleston and hanged. After the long-winded lecture and flowery-worded harangue that the presiding judge inflicted upon[187]the poor condemned man the Major must have really welcomed hanging, and as he did not even plead the ‘discomforts to be found in the married state’ as extenuating circumstances for his misdeeds the execution was carried out at once.”

“That would have been funny if the poor Major hadn’t been hanged,” said Jack. “But please tell us about Blackbeard. Was he a buccaneer?”

“I’ll tell you of him presently,” replied Mr. Bickford, “but let us follow up the history of the buccaneers in its proper sequence first. As I have said, the buccaneers, as such, were practically destroyed when Morgan was made Lieutenant-Governor of Jamaica and waged a relentless war on his former associates. But to drive the corsairs from all their lairs in the Islands and about the Spanish Main was too big a job even for Morgan and the British king. To be sure they were driven from Jamaica, but the French still held Tortuga; there was a fortified island where they foregathered in Samaná Bay in Santo Domingo, and on many a small outlying bay and islet they were comparatively safe. Then there were the Dutch Islands and the Virgins. These last were particular favorites of the buccaneers. They belonged to France, Sweden, Denmark, Holland and[188]England and always they had been neutral ground for the freebooters. Here in these tiny out-of-the-way spots they could careen and refit, could carouse ashore and were safe from pursuit. The people looked upon them as friends; they spent money freely, and in return for the privileges and security afforded them, they never molested the inhabitants or their property. Many a buccaneer has swung to his own yardarm for an insult to some Virgin Islander; many a man was pistoled by his captain for attempting to make free with Virgin Islander’s property, and in the Virgin Island ports—in St. Martin, St. Barts, St. John, Anegada and even in St. Thomas the remnants of the Brethren of the Main found snug lairs.

The merchants bid for the loot brought ashoreThe merchants bid for the loot brought ashore

The merchants bid for the loot brought ashore

All were in the best of spirits, smoking, drinking, spinning yarns of the seaAll were in the best of spirits, smoking, drinking, spinning yarns of the sea

All were in the best of spirits, smoking, drinking, spinning yarns of the sea

“Many of the little islands were surrounded with dangerous reefs, where large ships could not enter, but whose secret channels were known to the buccaneers, and at almost all of them the corsairs erected forts and mounted guns. Montbars, the ‘Exterminator,’ as he was called, made his headquarters at Saint Bartholomew or St. Barts as it is more commonly called, others selected St. Martin, others Virgin Gorda and still more Anegada. All about here are names redolent of[189]the buccaneers, such as Norman Island, Dead Man’s Chest, Rum Island, Dutchman’s Cap, Broken Jerusalem, while we also find such places as Sir Francis Drake’s Bay, Rendezvous Bay, Privateers’ Bay, Gallows Bay, Doubloon Cove, etc.

“Most of the freebooters at Anegada were destroyed or driven off by expeditions sent from Jamaica by Morgan, for Anegada, like Virgin Gorda and Tortola, were British; but the buccaneers, who, you must remember, were now out-and-out pirates and had been declared so by England and France, were still comparatively safe in the Dutch and Danish isles. Indeed, the Danish officials were quite openly in league with the pirates, and one governor of St. Thomas, Adolf Esmit—who, by the way, had been a buccaneer himself—was closely identified with a most notorious pirate, Jean Hamlin.

“It was in 1682—about the time Sharp returned from his ‘dangerous voyage’—that Hamlin took as a prize the French ship,La Trompeuse, refitted her as a corsair and made a swift and successful piratical cruise through the Caribbean. Despite all protests of the British, Hamlin made his headquarters at St. Thomas, where he was entertained by the governor—with whom, no doubt, he shared[190]his loot—and was afforded every courtesy and aid in fitting for another raid. For over a year Hamlin wrought havoc with British, French, Spanish and Dutch shipping with equal impartiality, finally culminating in a wholesale capture of seventeen Dutch and British ships off the coast of Africa.

“Returning from this foray the pirates were loudly welcomed in St. Thomas; the merchants bid for the loot brought ashore, and Hamlin made merry with his good friend, the governor. But word of the corsair’s whereabouts had been carried to the neighboring British Islands. Governor Stapelton, of Antigua, despatched the H.M.S.Francisunder stout old Captain Carlisle to St. Thomas, and three days after Hamlin’s triumphant arrival at the island the British frigate sailed into the harbor.

“It was useless for the pirates to attempt to escape or to resist. Their ship was under the guns of the frigate scarcely a pistol shot away and, hastily scrambling into their boats and firing a few guns to ‘save their faces,’ the pirate captain and his men rowed for shore and sought protection under the wings of the governor. Carlisle wasted no time in formalities and, despite the[191]fact that he was in the waters of Denmark, promptly fired the pirate ship and blew her to bits.

“Of course Governor Esmit protested, claiming he had already seized theTrompeusein the name of the Danish king, but Captain Carlisle snapped his fingers—figuratively speaking—in the Danes’ faces, asked them what they were going to do about it and sailed away, well satisfied with a good deed well done. In the meantime, Esmit provided the pirates with a new vessel, but realizing that complications might arise, he suggested, in a friendly way, that henceforth some more isolated, out-of-the-way spot would be better adapted to piratical uses.”[192]

Back to Index Next