SUNDRY PIRATES AND THEIR BOOTY
"Seven years were gone and over, Wild Roger came again,
He spoke of forays and of frays upon the Spanish Main,
And he had stores of gold galore, and silks and satins fine,
And flasks and casks of Malvoisie, and precious Gascon wine;
Rich booties had he brought, he said, across the Western wave.
But Roger was the same man still,--he scorned his brother's prayers--
He called his crew, away he flew, and on those foreign shores,
Got killed in some outlandish place,--they called it the Eyesores."
(_Ingoldsby Legends._)
The popular delusion that pirates found nothing better to do with their
plunder than to bury it, like so many thrifty depositors in savings
banks, clashes with what is known of the habits and temperaments of
many of the most industrious rovers under the black flag. By way of a
concluding survey of the matter, let us briefly examine the careers of
divers pirates of sorts and try to ascertain what they did with their
gold and whether it be plausible to assume that they had any of it left
to bury. Of course, romance and legend are up in arms at the
presumption that any well-regulated and orthodox pirate omitted the
business with the pick and shovel and the chart with the significant
crosses and compass bearings, but the prosaic facts of history are due
to have their innings.
For example, there was Jean Lafitte who amassed great riches in the
pursuit of his profession and whose memory has inspired innumerable
treasure-seeking expeditions in the Gulf of Mexico and along the coast
of Central America. After ravaging the commerce of the East India
Company in the waters of the Far East, he set up his headquarters on an
island among the bayous and cypress swamps of that desolate region
below New Orleans that is known as Barrataria. A deep-water pass ran
to the open sea, only two leagues distant, and on the shores of the
sheltered harbor of Grand Terre, Lafitte organized the activities of a
large number of pirates and smugglers and formed a flourishing colony;
a corporation, in its way, for disposing of the merchandise filched
from honest shipping. These marauders posed as privateers, and some of
them had French and other commissions for sailing against the Spanish,
but there was a great deal of laxity in such trifles as living up to
the letter of the law.
At Grand Terre, Lafitte and his people sold the cargoes of their prizes
by public auction, and from all parts of lower Louisiana
bargain-hunters flocked to Barrataria to deal in this tempting traffic.
The goods thus purchased were smuggled into New Orleans and other
nearby ports, and Lafitte's piratical enterprises became so notorious
that the government of the United States sent an expedition against him
in 1814, commanded by Commodore Patterson. At Grand Terre he found a
settlement so great in force and numbers as to constitute a small
kingdom ruled by Lafitte. The commodore described the encounter in a
letter to the Secretary of War, and said in part:
"At half-past eight o'clock A.M. on the 16th of June, made the Island
of Barrataria, and discovered a number of vessels in the harbor some of
which showed the colors of Carthagena. At two o'clock, perceived the
pirates forming their vessels, ten in number, including prizes, into a
line of battle near the entrance of the harbor, and making every
preparation to offer battle. At ten o'clock, wind light and variable,
formed the order of battle with six gun boats and the _Sea Horse_
tender, mounting one six pounder and fifteen men, and a launch mounting
one twelve pound carronade; the schooner _Carolina_ drawing too much
water to cross the bar.
"At half-past ten o'clock, perceived several smokes along the coasts as
signals, and at the same time a white flag hoisted on board a schooner
at the fort, an American flag at the mainmast head, and a Carthagenian
flag (under which the pirates cruise) at her topping-lift. I replied
with a white flag at my main. At eleven o'clock discovered that the
pirates had fired two of their best schooners; hauled down my white
flag and made the signal for battle; hoisting a large flag bearing the
words _Pardon for Deserters_, having heard there was a number on shore
from our army and navy. At a quarter past eleven o'clock, two
gun-boats grounded, and were passed, agreeably to my previous orders,
by the other four which entered the harbor, manned by my barge and the
boats belonging to the grounded vessels, and proceeded in. To my great
disappointment, I perceived that the pirates had abandoned their
vessels and were flying in all directions. I immediately sent the
launch and two barges with small boats in pursuit of them.
"At meridian, took possession of all their vessels in the harbor,
consisting of six schooners and one felucca, cruisers and prizes of the
pirates, one brig, a prize, and two armed schooners under the
Carthagenian flag, both in the line of battle with the armed vessels of
the pirates, and apparently with an intention to aid them in any
resistance they might make against me, as their crews were at quarters,
tompions out of their guns, and matches lighted. Colonel Ross (with
seventy-five infantry) at the same time landed and took possession of
their establishment on shore, consisting of about forty houses of
different sizes, badly constructed and thatched with palmetto leaves.
"When I perceived the enemy forming their vessels into a line of
battle, I felt confident from their number, and very advantageous
position, and their number of men, that they would have fought me.
Their not doing so I regret, for had they, I should have been able more
effectually to destroy or make prisoners of them and their leaders.
The enemy had mounted on their vessels twenty pieces of cannon of
different caliber, and as I have since learned, had from eight hundred
to one thousand men of all nations and colors."
Notwithstanding this unfriendly visit, Lafitte was a patriot after his
own fashion and during the War of 1812 his sympathies were with the
American forces. In September, 1814, Captain Lockyer, of a British
naval vessel, anchored in the pass at Barrataria, and delivered to
Lafitte a packet of documents comprising a proclamation addressed to
the inhabitants of Louisiana by Colonel Edward Nichalls, commander of
the English forces on the coast of Florida, a letter from him to
Lafitte, and another from the Honorable W. H. Percy, captain of the
sloop-of-war _Hermes_. The upshot of all this was a proposal that
Lafitte enter the British naval service in command of a frigate, and if
he would take his men with him he should have thirty thousand dollars,
payable at Pensacola.
Lafitte refused the tempting bait, and two days later sent the
following letter to Governor Claiborne of the state of Louisiana:
BARRATARIA, Sept. 4th. 1814.
"_Sir:_
"In the firm persuasion that the choice made of you to fill the office
of first magistrate of this state, was dictated by the esteem of your
fellow citizens, and was conferred on merit, I confidently address you
on an affair on which may depend the safety of this country. I offer
to restore to this state several citizens who perhaps in your eyes have
lost that sacred title. I offer you them, however, such as you could
wish to find them, ready to exert their utmost efforts in defense of
the country. This point of Louisiana which I occupy is of great
importance in the present crisis. I tender my services to defend it;
and the only reward I ask is that a stop be put to the proscription
against me and my adherents, by an act of oblivion, for all that has
been done hitherto. I am the stray sheep wishing to return to the
fold. If you are thoroughly acquainted with the nature of my offenses,
I shall appear to you much less guilty, and still worthy to discharge
the duties of a good citizen. I have never sailed under any flag but
that of the republic of Carthagena, and my vessels are perfectly
regular in that respect. If I could have brought my lawful prizes into
the ports of this state, I should not have employed the illicit means
that have caused me to be proscribed. I decline saying more on the
subject, until I have the honor of your Excellency's answer, which I am
persuaded can be dictated only by wisdom. Should your answer not be
favorable to my desires, I declare to you that I will instantly leave
the country, to avoid the imputation of having cooperated towards an
invasion of this point, which cannot fail to take place, and to rest
secure in the acquittal of my conscience.
"I have the honor to be
"Your Excellency's, etc.
"J. LAFITTE."
This highly commendable document so favorably impressed Governor
Claiborne that he offered Lafitte safe conduct to come to New Orleans
and meet General Andrew Jackson. After a conference of this trio, the
following order was issued:
"The Governor of Louisiana, being informed that many individuals
implicated in the offenses heretofore committed against the United
States at Barrataria, express a willingness at the present crisis to
enroll themselves and march against the enemy:
"He does hereby invite them to join the standard of the United States
and is authorized to say, should their conduct in the field meet the
approbation of the Major General, that that officer will unite with the
Governor in a request to the President of the United States, to extend
to each and every individual so marching and acting, a free and full
pardon."
At the battle of New Orleans, on January 8th, 1815, Lafitte and his
lieutenant, Dominique, commanded a large force of what Jackson called
the "Corsairs of Barrataria," and defended their breastworks and served
their batteries with such desperate gallantry that they nobly earned
the promised pardons. These were granted by President James Madison on
February 6th, and he took occasion to say:
"But it has since been represented that the offenders have manifested a
sincere repentance; that they have abandoned the prosecution of the
worst cause for the support of the best, and particularly, that they
have exhibited in the defense of New Orleans, unequivocal traits of
courage and fidelity. Offenders, who have refused to become the
associates of the enemy in the war, upon the most seductive terms of
invitation; and who have aided to repel his hostile invasion of the
territory of the United States, can no longer be considered as objects
of punishment, but as objects of a generous forgiveness."
The foregoing evidence is ample to prove that Lafitte had no occasion
to bury any of his treasure, but like Kidd along the New England coast,
legend has been busy with his name and is blind to the facts of record.
He later made a settlement on the island of Galveston and his history
becomes obscured. One version is that the love of the old trade was in
his blood, and he fitted out a large privateer to have a farewell fling
with fortune. A British sloop-of-war overhauled him in the Gulf of
Mexico, hailed him as a pirate, and opened fire. The engagement was
terrifically hot, and Jean Lafitte was killed at the head of his men
while resisting a boarding party.
Take next the case of that noted pirate Captain Avery "whose adventures
were the subject of general conversation in Europe." He captured one
of the Great Mogul's ships laden with treasure; it was reported that he
had wedded a daughter of that magnificent ruler and was about to found
a new monarchy; that he gave commissions in his own name to the
captains of his ships and the commanders of his forces and was
acknowledged by them as their prince. With sixteen stout fellows of
his own kidney, he ran off with a ship in which he had sailed from
England as mate, and steered for Madagascar in the year 1715. "The
Pirates' Own Book" tells the story of Captain Avery, his treasure, and
the melancholy fate of both, and the author is, as a rule, such a
well-informed historian of these matters, that he should be allowed to
set it forth in his own words, which are framed in a style admirably
befitting the theme.
"Near the river Indus the man at the mast-head espied a sail upon which
they gave chase; as they came nearer to her they discovered that she
was a tall vessel, and might turn out to be an East Indiaman. She,
however, proved a better prize; for when they fired at her, she hoisted
Mogul colors, and seemed to stand upon her defense. Avery only
cannonaded at a distance, when some of the men began to suspect he was
not the hero they had supposed. His sloops, however, attacked, the one
on the bow, and another upon the quarter of the ship, and so boarded
her. She then struck her colors. She was one of the Great Mogul's own
ships, and there were in her several of the greatest persons in his
court, among whom, it was said, was one of his daughters going upon a
pilgrimage to Mecca; and they were carrying with them rich offerings to
present at the shrine of Mahomet. It is a well-known fact that the
people of the East travel with great magnificence, so that these had
along with them all their slaves and attendants, with a large quantity
of vessels of gold and silver, and immense sums of money to defray
their expenses by land. The spoil, therefore, which they received from
that ship was almost incalculable.
"Our adventurers made the best of their way back to Madagascar,
intending to make that place the deposit of all their treasure, to
build a small fort, and to keep always a few men there for its
protection. Avery, however, disconcerted this plan, and rendered it
altogether unnecessary. While steering their course, he sent a boat to
each of the sloops, requesting that the chiefs would come on board his
ship to hold a conference. He suggested to them the necessity of
securing the property which they had acquired, and observed that the
main difficulty was to get it safe on shore; adding that if either of
the sloops should be attacked alone, they would not be able to make any
great resistance. That, for his part, his ship was so strong, so well
manned, and such a swift-sailing vessel, that he did not think it
possible for any other ship to take or overcome her. Accordingly, he
proposed that all their treasure should be sealed up in three
chests,--that each of the captains should have a key, and that they
should not be opened until all were present;--that the chests should be
then put on board his ship and afterwards lodged in some safe place on
land.
"This proposal seemed so reasonable, and so much for the common good
that it was agreed to without hesitation, and all the treasure was
deposited in three chests and carried to Avery's ship. The weather
being favorable, they remained all three in company during that and the
next day; meanwhile Avery, tampering with his men, suggested that they
had now on board what was sufficient to make them all happy; 'and
what,' continued he, 'should hinder us from going to some country where
we are not known, and living on shore all the rest of our days in
plenty!' They soon understood his hint, and all readily consented to
deceive the men of the sloops, and fly with all the booty. This they
effected during the darkness of the following night. The reader may
easily conjecture what were the feelings and indignation of the other
two crews in the morning when they discovered that Avery had made off
with all their property.
"Avery and his men hastened towards America, and being strangers in
that country, agreed to divide the booty, to change their names, and
each separately to take up his residence and live in affluence and
honor.... Avery had been careful to conceal the greater part of the
jewels and other valuable articles, so that his own riches were
immense. Arriving at Boston, he was almost resolved to settle there,
but as the greater part of his wealth consisted of diamonds, he was
apprehensive that he could not dispose of them at that place, without
being taken up as a pirate. Upon reflection, therefore, he resolved to
sail for Ireland, and in a short time arrived in the northern part of
that kingdom, and his men dispersed into several places. Some of them
obtained the pardon of King William and settled in that country.
"The wealth of Avery, however, now proved of small service and
occasioned him great uneasiness. He could not offer his diamonds for
sale in that country without being suspected. Considering, therefore,
what was best to be done, he thought there might be some person in
Bristol he could venture to trust. Upon this he resolved, and going to
Devonshire, sent to one of his friends to meet him at a town called
Bideford. When he had unbosomed himself to him and other pretended
friends, they agreed that the safest plan was to put his effects in the
hands of some wealthy merchants, and no inquiry would be made how they
came by them.
"One of these friends told him he was acquainted with some who were
very fit for the purpose, and if he would allow them a handsome
commission, they would do the business faithfully. Avery liked the
proposal, particularly as he could think of no other way of managing
this matter, since he could not appear to act for himself.
Accordingly, the merchants paid Avery a visit at Bideford, where after
strong protestations of honor and integrity, he delivered them his
effects, consisting of diamonds and some vessels of gold. After giving
him a little money for his present subsistence, they departed.
"He changed his name and lived quietly at Bideford, so that no notice
was taken of him. In a short time his money was all spent, and he
heard nothing from his merchants though he wrote to them repeatedly.
At last they sent him a small supply, but it was not sufficient to pay
his debts. In short, the remittances they sent him were so trifling
that he could with difficulty exist. He therefore determined to go
privately to Bristol, and have an interview with the merchants
himself,--where instead of money, he met with a mortifying repulse.
For when he desired them to come to an account with him, they silenced
him by threatening to disclose his character; the merchants thus
proving themselves as good pirates on land as he was at sea.
"Whether he was frightened by these menaces, or had seen some other
person who recognized him, is not known. However, he went immediately
to Ireland, and from thence solicited his merchants very strongly for a
supply, but to no purpose; so that he was reduced to beggary. In this
extremity he was determined to return and cast himself upon the mercy
of these honest Bristol merchants, let the consequence be what it
would. He went on board a trading vessel, and worked his passage over
to Plymouth, from whence he traveled on foot to Bideford. He had been
there but a few days when he fell sick and died; not being worth so
much as would buy a coffin."
That very atrocious pirate, Charles Gibbs, squandered most of his
treasure, but it may be some consolation to know that $20,000 of it, in
silver coin, was buried on the beach of Long Island, a few miles from
Southampton, as attested by the records of the United States Court of
the Southern District of New York. Captain Gibbs was a thoroughly bad
egg, from first to last, and quite modern, it is interesting to note,
for he was hanged as recently as 1831. He was born in Rhode Island,
raised on a farm, and ran away to sea in the navy. It is to his credit
that he is said to have served on board the _Chesapeake_ in her famous
battle with the _Shannon_, but after his release from Dartmoor as a
British prisoner of war, he fell from grace and opened a grogery in Ann
Street, called the Tin Pot, "a place full of abandoned women and
dissolute fellows." He drank up all the profits, so went to sea again
and found a berth in a South American privateer. Leading a mutiny, he
gained the ship and made a pirate of her, frequenting Havana, and
plundering merchant vessels along the Cuban coast. He slaughtered
their crews in cold blood and earned an infamous reputation for
cruelty. In his confession written while he was under sentence of
death in New York, he stated "that some time in the course of the year
1819, he left Havana and came to the United States, bringing with him
about $30,000 in gold. He passed several weeks in the city of New
York, and then went to Boston, whence he took passage for Liverpool in
the ship _Emerald_. Before he sailed, however, he had squandered a
large amount of his money by dissipation and gambling. He remained in
Liverpool a few months, and then returned to Boston. His residence in
Liverpool at that time is satisfactorily ascertained from another
source beside his own confession. A female now in New York was well
acquainted with him there, where, she says, he lived like a gentleman,
apparently with abundant means of support. In speaking of his
acquaintance with this female, he says, 'I fell in with a woman who I
thought was all virtue, but she deceived me, and I am sorry to say that
a heart that never felt abashed at scenes of carnage and blood, was
made a child of for a time by her, and I gave way to dissipation to
drown the torment. How often when the fumes of liquor have subsided
have I thought of my good and affectionate parents, and of their
Godlike advice! My friends advised me to behave myself like a man, and
promised me their assistance, but the demon still haunted me, and I
spurned their advice.'"[1]
After the adventure with the deceitful female, Gibbs was not as
successful as formerly in his profession of piracy, and appears to have
lost his grip. For several years he knocked about the Seven Seas, in
one sort of shady escapade or another, but he flung away whatever gold
he harvested and was driven to commit the sordid crime which brought
him to the gallows. In November of 1830, he shipped as a seaman in the
brig _Vineyard_, Captain William Thornby, from New Orleans to
Philadelphia with a cargo of cotton and molasses, and $54,000 in
specie. Learning of the money on board, Gibbs cooked up a conspiracy
to kill the captain and the mate and persuaded Thomas Wansley, the
steward, to help him put them out of the way. According to the
testimony, others of the crew were implicated, but the court convicted
only these two. The sworn statement of Seaman Robert Dawes is as
red-handed a treasure story as could be imagined:
"When about five days out, I was told that there was money on board.
Charles Gibbs, E. Church, and the steward then determined to take
possession of the brig. They asked James Talbot, another member of the
crew, to join them. He said no, as he did not believe there was money
in the vessel. They concluded to kill the captain and mate, and if
Talbot and John Brownrigg would not join them, to kill them also. The
next night they talked of doing it, and got their clubs ready. I dared
not say a word, as they declared they would kill me if I did. As they
did not agree about killing Talbot and Brownrigg, their two shipmates,
it was put off. They next concluded to kill the captain and mate on
the night of November 22nd but did not get ready; but on the night of
the 23rd, between twelve and one o 'clock, when I was at the helm, the
steward came up with a light and a knife in his hand. He dropped the
light and seizing the pump-break, struck the captain with it over the
head or back of the neck. The captain was sent forward by the blow and
halloed, 'Oh' and 'Murder' once.
"He was then seized by Gibbs and the cook, one by the head and the
other by the heels and thrown overboard. Atwell and Church stood at
the companion way, to strike down the mate when he should come up. As
he came up and enquired what was the matter, they struck him over the
head,--he ran back into the cabin, and Charles Gibbs followed him down;
but as it was dark, he could not find him. Gibbs then came on deck for
the light with which he returned below. I left the helm to see what
was going on in the cabin. Gibbs found the mate and seized him, while
Atwell and Church came down and struck him with a pump break and club.
"The mate was then dragged upon deck. They called for me to help them
and as I came up, the mate seized my hand and gave me a death grip.
Three of them hove him overboard, but which three I do not know. The
mate was not dead when cast overboard, but called after us twice while
in the water. I was so frightened that I hardly knew what to do. They
then asked me to call Talbot, who was in the forecastle saying his
prayers. He came up and said it would be his turn next, but they gave
him some grog and told him not to be afraid, as they would not hurt
him. If he was true to them, he should fare as well as they did. One
of those who had been engaged in the bloody deed got drunk and another
became crazy.
"After killing the captain and mate they set about overhauling the
vessel, and got up one keg of Mexican dollars. Then they divided the
captain's clothes and money,--about forty dollars and a gold watch.
Talbot, Brownrigg and I, who were all innocent men, were obliged to do
as we were commanded. I was sent to the helm and ordered to steer for
Long Island. On the day following, they divided several kegs of the
specie, amounting to five thousand dollars each, and made bags and
sewed the money up. After this division, they divided the rest of the
money without counting it.
"On Sunday, when about fifteen miles S.S.E. of Southampton Light, they
got the boats out and put half the money in each, and then they
scuttled the vessel and set fire to it in the cabin, and took to the
boats. Gibbs, after the murder, took charge of the vessel as captain.
From the papers on board, we learned that the money belonged to Stephen
Girard.[2]
"With the boats we made the land about daylight. I was in the
long-boat with three others. The rest with Atwell were in the
jolly-boat. On coming to the bar the boats stuck, and we threw
overboard a great deal of money, in all about five thousand dollars.
The jolly-boat foundered. We saw it fill and heard them cry out, and
saw them clinging to the masts. We went ashore on Barron Island, and
buried the money in the sand, but very lightly. Soon after, we met
with a gunner, whom we requested to conduct us where we could get some
refreshments. They were by him conducted to Johnson's (the only man
living on the island) where we stayed all night. I went to bed about
ten o'clock. Jack Brownrigg sat up with Johnson, and in the morning
told me that he had told Johnson all about the murders. Johnson went
in the morning with the steward for the clothes, which were left on the
top of the place where they buried the money, but I don't believe they
took away the money."
Here was genuine buried treasure, but the circumstances were such as to
make the once terrible Captain Charles Gibbs cut a wretched figure. To
the ignominious crime of killing the captain and the mate of a little
trading brig had descended this freebooter of renown who had numbered
his prizes by the score and boasted of slaying their crews wholesale.
As for the specie looted from the brig _Vineyard_, half the amount was
lost in the surf when the jolly-boat foundered, and the remainder
buried where doubtless that hospitable resident, Johnson, was able to
find most of it. Silver dollars were too heavy to be carried away in
bulk by stranded pirates, fleeing the law, and these rascals got no
good of their plunder.
======================================================================
[Illustration: Gibbs and Wansley burying the treasure.]
The Portugese captain cutting away the bag of moidores.
(_From The Pirates' Own Book._)
======================================================================
Glance at the sin-stained roster of famous pirates, Edward Low, Captain
England, Captain Thomas White, Benito De Soto, Captain Roberts, Captain
John Rackham, Captain Thomas Tew, and most of the bloody crew, and it
will be found that either they wasted their treasure in debaucheries,
or were hanged, shot, or drowned with empty pockets. Of them all,
Blackbeard[3] fills the eye most struttingly as the proper pirate to
have buried treasure. He was immensely theatrical, fond of playing the
part right up to the hilt, and we may rest assured that unless his
sudden taking-off prevented, he was at pains to bury at least one
sea-chest full of treasure in order to live up to the best traditions
of his calling. He was prosperous, and unlike most of his lesser
brethren, suffered no low tides of fortune. By rights, he should be a
far more famous character than Captain William Kidd whose commonplace
career was so signally devoid of purple patches. Blackbeard was a
pirate "right out of a book," as the saying is. How this Captain
Edward Teach swaggered through the streets of Charleston and terrorized
the Carolinas and Bermuda is an old story, as is also the thrilling
narrative of his capture, after a desperate battle, by brave Lieutenant
Maynard, who hung the pirate's head from his bowsprit and sailed home
in triumph. There are touches here and there, however, in the
authentic biography of Blackbeard which seem to belong in a discussion
of buried treasure, for he was so very much the kind of flamboyant
rogue that legend paints as infernally busy with pick and shovel on
dark and lonely beaches.
Blackbeard is the hero of such extremely diverting tales as these,
which sundry writers have not scrupled to appropriate, either for
purposes of fiction or unblushingly to fit them to poor Captain Kidd as
chronicles of fact:
"In the commonwealth of pirates, he who goes the greatest length of
wickedness is looked upon with a kind of envy amongst them, as a person
of a most extraordinary gallantry. He is therefore entitled to be
distinguished by some post, and if such a one has but courage, he must
certainly be a great man. The hero of whom we are writing was
thoroughly accomplished in this way, and some of his frolics of
wickedness were as extravagant as if he aimed at making his men believe
he was a devil incarnate. Being one day, at sea, and a little flushed
with drink; 'Come,' said he, 'let us make a hell of our own, and try
how long we can bear it.' Accordingly he, with two or three others,
went down into the hold, and closing up all the hatches, filled several
pots full of brimstone, and other combustible matter. They then set it
on fire, and so continued till they were almost suffocated, when some
of the men cried out for air. At length he opened the hatches, not a
little pleased that he had held out the longest.
"One night, Blackbeard, drinking in his cabin with Israel Hands,[4] and
the pilot, and another man, without any pretense took a small pair of
pistols, and cocked them under the table. Which being perceived by the
man, he went on deck, leaving the captain, Hands, and the pilot
together. When his pistols were prepared, he extinguished the candle,
crossed his arms and fired at the company, under the table. The one
pistol did no execution, but the other wounded Hands in the knee.
Interrogated concerning the meaning of this, he answered with an
imprecation, 'That if he did not now and then kill one of them, they
would forget who he was.'"
"In Blackbeard's journal, which was taken, there were several memoranda
of the following nature, all written with his own hand.--'Such a day,
rum all out;--our company somewhat sober;--a damned confusion amongst
us! rogues a-plotting;--great talk of separation;--so I looked sharp
for a prize; such a day took one with a great deal of liquor on board;
so kept the company hot, damned hot, then all things went well again.'"
"Blackbeard derived his name from his long black beard, which, like a
frightful meteor, covered his whole face, and terrified all America
more than any comet that has ever appeared. He was accustomed to twist
it with ribbon in small quantities, and turn them about his ears. In
time of action he wore a sling over his shoulder with three braces of
pistols. He stuck lighted matches under his hat, which appearing on
both sides of his face and eyes, naturally fierce and wild, made him
such a figure that the human imagination cannot form a conception of a
fury more terrible and alarming."[5]
In the best account of his melodramatic exit from the life which he had
adorned with so much distinction, there is a reference to buried
treasure that must be set down as a classic of its kind.
"Upon the 17th of November, 1717, Lieutenant Maynard left James's River
in quest of Blackbeard, and on the evening of the 21st came in sight of
the pirate. This expedition was fitted out with all possible secrecy,
no boat being permitted to pass that might convey any intelligence,
while care was taken to discover where the pirates were lurking....
The hardened and infatuated pirate, having been often deceived by false
intelligence, was the less attentive, nor was he convinced of his
danger until he saw the sloops sent to apprehend him. Though he had
then only twenty men on board, he prepared to give battle. Lieutenant
Maynard arrived with his sloops in the evening and anchored, as he
could not venture, under cloud of night, to go into the place where
Blackbeard lay.
"The latter spent the night in drinking with the master of a trading
vessel, with the same indifference as if no danger had been near. Nay,
such was the desperate wickedness of this villain, that, it is
reported, during the carousals of that night, one of his men asked him,
'In case anything should happen to him during the engagement with the
two sloops which were waiting to attack him in the morning, whether his
wife knew where he had buried his money!' To this he impiously
replied, 'That nobody but himself and the devil knew where it was, and
the longest liver should take all.'
======================================================================
[Illustration: Interview between Lafitte, General Andrew Jackson, and
Governor Claiborne.]
The death of Black Beard.
(_From The Pirates' Own Book._)
======================================================================
"In the morning Maynard weighed, and sent his boat to take soundings,
which, coming near the pirate, received her fire. Maynard then hoisted
royal colors, and directly toward Blackbeard with every sail and oar.
In a little while the pirate ran aground, and so did the king's
vessels. Maynard lightened his vessel of the ballast and water and
made towards Blackbeard. Upon this, the pirate hailed in his own rude
style. 'Damn you for villains, who are you, and from whence come you?'
The lieutenant answered, 'You may see from our colors we are no
pirates.' Blackbeard bade him send his boat on board, that he might
see who he was. But Maynard replied, 'I cannot spare my boat, but I
will come on board of you as soon as I can with my sloop.' Upon this
Blackbeard took a glass of liquor and drank to him, saying, 'I'll give
no quarter nor take any from you.' Maynard replied, 'He expected no
quarter from him, nor should he take any.'"[6]
It is to be presumed that the devil fell heir to Blackbeard's treasure,
inasmuch as Lieutenant Maynard and his men fairly cut the pirate and
his crew to pieces. Turn we now from such marauders as this to that
greater generation of buccaneers, so called, who harried the Spanish
treasure fleets and towns in the West Indies and on the coasts of the
Isthmus and South and Central America. During the period when Port
Royal, Jamaica, was the headquarters and recruiting station for these
picturesque cut-throats, and Sir Henry Morgan was their bright,
particular star, there is the testimony of an eye-witness and
participant to show that the blood-stained gold seldom tarried long
enough with its owners to permit of burying it, and that they bothered
their wicked heads very little about safeguarding the future.
Captain Bartholomew Roberts, that "tall, black man, nearly forty years
old, whose favorite toast was 'Damnation to him who ever lives to wear
a halter,'" was snuffed out in an action with a King's ship, and the
manner of his life and melodramatic quality of his death suggest that
he be mentioned herein as worthy of a place beside Blackbeard himself.
Roberts has been overlooked by buried treasure legend, and this is odd,
for he was a figure to inspire such tales. His flamboyant career
opened in 1719 and was successful until the British man-of-war
_Swallow_ overhauled him on the African coast. His biographer, Captain
Charles Johnson, writing while the episode was less than a decade old
and when the facts were readily obtainable, left us this fine picture
of the fight:
"Roberts himself made a gallant figure at the time of the engagement,
being dressed in a rich crimson damask waistcoat and breeches, a red
feather in his hat, a gold chain round his neck, with a diamond cross
hanging to it, a sword in his hand, and two pair of pistols hanging at
the end of a silk sling flung over his shoulder (according to the
fashion of the pirates). He is said to have given his orders with
boldness and spirit; coming, according to what he had purposed, close
to the man of war, received her fire, and then hoisted his black
flag[7] and returned it; shooting away from her with all the sail he
could pack.... But keeping his tacks down, either by the wind's
shifting or ill steerage, or both, he was taken aback with his sails,
and the _Swallow_ came a second time very nigh to him. He had now
perhaps finished the fight very desperately if Death, who took a swift
passage in a grapeshot, had not interposed and struck him directly on
the throat.
"He settled himself on the tackles of a gun, which one Stephenson from
the helm, observing, ran to his assistance, and not perceiving him
wounded, swore at him and bid him stand up like a man. But when he
found his mistake, and that Captain Roberts was certainly dead, he
gushed into tears and wished the next shot might be his lot. They
presently threw him overboard, with his arms and ornaments on,
according to the repeated requests he had made in his life."
There was no treasure for the stout-hearted scoundrels who were
captured by the _Swallow_. They had diced with fortune and lost, and
Execution Dock was waiting for them, but they are worth a passing
acquaintance and it gives one a certain satisfaction to learn that
"they were impudently merry, saying when they viewed their nakedness,
'That they had not one half penny left to give old Charon to ferry them
over the Styx,' and at their thin commons they would observe that they
fell away so fast that they should not have weight enough to hang them.
Sutton used to be very profane, and he happening to be in the same
irons with another prisoner who was more serious than ordinary and read
and prayed often, as became his condition, this man Sutton used to
swear and ask him, 'What he proposed by so much noise and devotion?'
'Heaven, I hope,' says the other. 'Heaven, you fool,' says Sutton,
'Did you ever hear of any pirate going thither? Give me Hell. It is a
merrier place. I'll give Roberts a salute of thirteen guns at
entrance.'"
After Morgan had sacked the rich city of Porto Bello, John Esquemeling
wrote of the expedition:[8]
"With these (ships) he arrived in a few days at the Island of Cuba,
where he sought out a place wherein with all quiet and repose he might
make the dividend of the spoil they had got. They found in ready money
two hundred and fifty thousand pieces of eight, besides all other
merchandises, as cloth, linen, silks, and other goods. With this rich
booty they sailed again thence to their common place of rendezvous,
Jamaica. Being arrived, they passed here some time in all sorts of
vices and debauchery, according to their common manner of doing,
spending with huge prodigality what others had gained with no small
labor and toil."
"... Such of these Pirates are found who will spend two or three
thousand pieces of eight in one night, not leaving themselves,
peradventure, a good shirt to wear on their backs in the morning. My
own master would buy, on like occasions, a whole pipe of wine, and
placing it in the street, would force everyone that passed by to drink
with him; threatening also to pistol them in case they would not do it.
At other times, he would do the same with barrels of ale or beer. And,
very often, with both his hands, he would throw these liquors about the
streets and wet the clothes of such as walked by, without regarding
whether he spoiled their apparel or not, were they men or women.
"Among themselves, and to each other, these Pirates are extremely
liberal and free. If any one of them has lost his goods, which often
happens in their manner of life, they freely give him, and make him
partaker of what they have. In taverns and ale-houses they always have
great credit; but in such houses at Jamaica they ought not to run very
deep in debt, seeing the inhabitants of that island easily sell one
another for debt. Thus it happened to my patron, or master, to be sold
for a debt of a tavern wherein he had spent the greater part of his
money. This man had, within the space of three months before, three
thousand pieces of eight in ready cash, all which he wasted in that
short space of time, and became as poor as I have told you."
The same free-handed and lurid manner of life prevailed on the little
island of Tortuga, off the coast of Hayti, where the French and English
buccaneers had a lawless kingdom of their own. In his account of the
career of the infamous L'Ollonais, Esquemeling goes on to say:
"Departing therefore thence, they took their course towards the island
Hispaniola, and arrived thither in eight days, casting anchor in a port
called Isla de la Vaca, or Cow Island. This isle is inhabited by
French buccaneers[9] who most commonly sell the flesh they hunt to
Pirates and others who now and then put in there with intent of
victualing or trading with them. Here they unladed the whole cargo of
riches which they had robbed; the usual storehouse of the Pirates being
commonly under the shelter of the buccaneers. Here also they made a
dividend amongst them of all of their prizes and gains, according to
that order and degree which belonged to everyone. Having cast up the
account and made exact calculation of all they had purchased, they
found in ready money two hundred and three-score thousand pieces of
eight. Whereupon, this being divided, everyone received to his share
in money, and also in pieces of silk, linen and other commodities, the
value of above hundred pieces of eight. Those who had been wounded in
this expedition received their part before all the rest; I mean such
recompenses as I spoke of the first Book, for the loss of their limbs
which many sustained.[10]
"Afterwards they weighed all the plate that was uncoined, reckoning
after the rate of ten pieces of eight for every pound. The jewels were
prized with much variety, either at too high or too low rates; being
thus occasioned by their own ignorance. This being done, everyone was
put to his oath again, that he had not concealed anything nor
subtracted from the common stock. Hence they proceeded to the dividend
of what shares belonged to such as were dead amongst them, either in
battle or otherwise. These shares were given to their friends to be
kept entire for them, and to be delivered in due time to their nearest
relatives, or whomsoever should appear to be their lawful heirs.
"The whole dividend being entirely finished, they set sail thence for
the Isle of Tortuga. Here they arrived one month after, to the great
joy of most that were upon the island. For as to the common Pirates,
in three weeks they had scarce any money left them; having spent it all
in things of little value, or at play either at cards or dice. Here
also arrived, not long before them, two French ships laden with wine
and brandy and other things of this kind; whereby these liquors, at the
arrival of the Pirates, were sold indifferent cheap. But this lasted
not long; for soon after they were enhanced extremely, a gallon of
brandy being sold for four pieces of eight. The Governor of the island
bought of the Pirates the whole cargo of the ship laden with cacao,
giving them for that rich commodity scarce the twentieth part of what
it was worth. Thus they made shift to lose and spend the riches they
had got in much less time than they were purchased by robbing. The
taverns, according to the custom of Pirates, got the greatest part
thereof; insomuch that soon after they were constrained to seek more by
the same unlawful means they had obtained the preceding."
Morgan himself buried none of his vast treasure, although legend
persists in saying so, nor did he waste it in riotous living. From the
looting of Panama alone he took booty to the value of two million
dollars as his share, and he had no need to hide it. He was thought so
well of in England that Charles II knighted him, and he was appointed
Commissary of the Admiralty. For some time he lived in England,
published his _Voyage to Panama_ in 1683, and spent his remaining years
in Jamaica as an opulent and influential person in high favor with the
ruling powers, and a terror to the luckless, beggared comrades who had
helped him win his fortune. As governor of the island he hanged as
many as he could lay hands on, a kind of ingratitude not at all
inconsistent with the traits of character he had displayed as a pirate.
He did not hesitate to rob his own men, according to Esquemeling from
whose narrative of the great expedition against Panama the following
paragraphs are taken as indicative of the methods of this great
freebooter of the Spanish Main:
"Not long after Captain Morgan arrived at Jamaica, he found many of his
chief officers and soldiers reduced to their former state of indigence
through their immoderate vices and debauchery. Hence they ceased not
to importune him for new invasions and exploits, thereby to get
something to expend anew in wine, as they had already wasted what was
secured so little before. Captain Morgan being willing to follow
fortune while she called him, hereupon stopped the mouths of many of
the inhabitants of Jamaica, who were creditors to his men for large
sums of money, with the hopes and promises he gave them of greater
achievements than ever, by a new expedition he was going about. This
being done, he needed not give himself much concern to levy men for
this or any other enterprise, his name being now so famous through all
those islands that that alone would readily bring him in more men than
he could readily employ. He undertook therefore to equip a new fleet
of ships; for which purpose he assigned the south side of the Isle of
Tortuga as a place of rendezvous. With this resolution he wrote divers
letters to all the ancient and expert Pirates there inhabiting, as also
to the Governor of the said Isle, and to the planters and hunters of
Hispaniola, giving them to understand his intentions, and desiring
their appearance at the said place, in case they intended to go with
him. All these people had no sooner understood his designs than they
flocked to the place assigned in huge numbers, with ships, canoes, and
boats, being desirous to obey his commands.... Thus all were present
at the place assigned, and in readiness, against the 24th day of
October, 1670."
Special articles of agreement for the division of the treasure of
Panama were drawn up by Morgan before his fleet sailed. "Herein it was
stipulated that he should have the hundredth part of all that was
gotten to himself alone: That every captain should draw the shares of
eight men, for the expenses of his ship, besides his own: That the
surgeon, besides his ordinary pay, should have two hundred pieces of
eight, for his chest of medicine: And every carpenter, above his common
salary, should draw one hundred pieces of eight. Lastly, unto him that
in any battle should signalize himself, either by entering the first
any castle, or taking down the Spanish colors and setting up the
English, they constituted fifty pieces of eight for a reward. In the
head of these articles it was stipulated that all these extraordinary
salaries, recompenses and rewards should be paid out of the first spoil
or purchase they should take, according as every one should then occur
to be either rewarded or paid."
The expedition was a gorgeous success, for "on the 24th of February, of
the year 1671, Captain Morgan departed from the city of Panama, or
rather from the place where the said city of Panama had stood; of the
spoils whereof he carried with him one hundred and seventy-five beasts
of carriage, laden with silver, gold and other precious things, besides
six hundred prisoners, more or less, between men, women, children and
slaves.... About the middle of the way to the castle of Chagre,
Captain Morgan commanded his men to be placed in due order, according
to their custom, and caused every one to be sworn that they had
reserved nor concealed nothing privately to themselves, even not so
much as the value of sixpence. This being done, Captain Morgan, having
had some experience that those lewd fellows would not much stickle to
swear falsely in points of interest, he commanded every one to be
searched very strictly both in their clothes and satchels and
everywhere it might be presumed they had reserved anything. Yea, to
the intent this order might not be ill taken by his companions, he
permitted himself to be searched, even to the very soles of his shoes.
To this office, by common consent, there was assigned one out of every
company to be the searcher of all the rest. The French Pirates that
went on this expedition with Captain Morgan were not well satisfied
with this new custom of searching.
"From Chagre, Captain Morgan sent presently after his arrival a great
boat to Porto Bello, wherein were all the prisoners he had taken at the
Isle of St. Catharine, demanding by them a considerable ransom for the
castle of Chagre, where he then was, threatening otherwise to ruin and
demolish it even to the ground. To this message those of Porto Bello
made answer: That they would not give one farthing towards the ransom
of the said castle, and that the English might do with it as they
pleased. The answer being come, the dividend was made of all the spoil
they had purchased in that voyage. Thus every company and every
particular person therein included, received their portion of what was
got; or rather, what part thereof Captain Morgan was pleased to give
them. For so it was, that the rest of his companions, even of his own
nation, complained of his proceedings in this particular, and feared
not to tell him openly to his face that he had reserved the best jewels
to himself. For they judged it impossible that no greater share should
belong to them than two hundred pieces of eight per capita, of so many
valuable booties and robberies as they had obtained. Which small sum
they thought too little reward for so much labor and such huge and
manifest dangers as they had so often exposed their lives to. But
Captain Morgan was deaf to all these and many other complaints of this
kind, having designed in his mind to cheat them of as much as he could.
"At last, Captain Morgan finding himself obnoxious to many obloquies
and detractions among his people, began to fear the consequences
thereof, and hereupon thinking it unsafe to remain any longer time at
Chagre, he commanded the ordnance of the said castle to be carried on
board his ship. Afterwards he caused the greatest part of the walls to
be demolished, and the edifices to be burnt, and as many other things
spoiled and ruined as could conveniently be done in a short while.
These orders being performed, he went secretly on board his own ship,
without giving any notice of his departure to his Companions, nor
calling any council, as he used to do. Thus he set sail and put out to
sea, not bidding anybody adieu, being only followed by three or four
vessels of the whole fleet.
"These were such (as the French Pirates believed) as went shares with
Captain Morgan, towards the best and greatest part of the spoil which
had been concealed from them in the dividend. The Frenchmen could very
willingly have revenged this affront upon Captain Morgan and those that
followed him, had they found themselves with sufficient means to
encounter him at sea. But they were destitute of most things necessary
thereto. Yea, they had much ado to find sufficient victuals and
provisions for their voyage to Panama, he having left them totally
unprovided of all things."
Esquemeling's commentary on this base conduct of the leader is
surprisingly pious: "Captain Morgan left us all in such a miserable
condition as might serve for a lively representation of what reward
attends wickedness at the latter end of life. Whence we ought to have
learned how to regulate and amend our actions for the future."
Sir Francis Drake, "sea king of the sixteenth century," the greatest
admiral of the time, belongs not with the catalogue of pirates and
buccaneers, yet he left a true tale of buried treasure among his
exploits and it is highly probable that some of that rich plunder is
hidden to-day in the steaming jungle of the road he took to Panama.
There were only forty-eight Englishmen in the band which he led on the
famous raid to ambush the Spanish treasure train bound to
Nombre-de-Dios, a century before Morgan's raiders crossed the Isthmus.
This first attempt resulted in failure, but after sundry adventures,
Drake returned and hid his little force close by that famous treasure
port of Nombre-de-Dios, where they waited to hear the bells of the
pack-mule caravan moving along the trail from Panama. It was at dawn
when this distant, tinkling music was first heard, and the Cimaroons,
or Indian guides, were jubilant. "Now they assured us we should have
more Gold and Silver than all of us could bear away." Soon the
Englishmen had glimpses of three royal treasure trains plodding along
the leafy road, one of fifty mules, the others of seventy each, and
every one of them laden with three hundred pounds weight of silver
bullion, or thirty tons in all. The guard of forty-five Spanish
soldiers loafed carelessly in front and rear, their guns slung on their
backs.
Drake and his bold seamen poured down from a hill, put the guard to
flight, and captured the caravan with the loss of only two men. There
was more plunder than they could carry back to their ships in a hasty
retreat, and "being weary, they were content with a few bars and quoits
of gold." The silver was buried in the expectation of returning for it
later, "partly in the burrows which the great land-crabs have made in
the earth, and partly under old trees which are fallen thereabouts, and
partly in the sand and gravel of a river not very deep of water."
Then began a forced march, every man burdened with all the treasure he
could carry, and behind them the noise of "both horse and foot coming,
as it seemed, to the mules." Presently a wounded French captain became
so exhausted that he had to drop out, refusing to delay the march and
telling the company that he would remain behind in the woods with two
of his men, "in hope that some rest would recover his better strength."
Ere long another Frenchman was missed, and investigation discovered
that he had "drunk much wine," and doubtless desired to sleep it off.
Reaching Rio Francisco, Drake was dismayed to find his pinnaces gone,
and his party stranded. The vessels were recovered after delay and
perilous adventure, whereupon Drake hastened to prepare another
expedition "to get intelligence in what case the country stood, and if
might be, recover Monsieur Tetu, the French captain, and leastwise
bring away the buried silver." The party was just about to start
inland when on the beach appeared one of the two men who had stayed
behind with the French captain. At sight of Drake he "fell down on his
knees, blessing God for the time that ever our Captain was born, who
now beyond all his hope, was become his deliverer."
He related that soon after they had been left behind in the forest, the
Spaniards had captured Captain Tetu and the other man. He himself had
escaped by throwing down his treasure and taking to his heels.
Concerning the buried silver, he had lamentable tidings to impart. The
Spanish had got wind of it, and he "thought there had been near two
thousand Spaniards and Negroes there to dig and search for it."
However, the expedition pushed forward, and the news was confirmed.
"The earth every way a mile distant had been digged and turned up in
every place of any likelihood to have anything hidden in it." It was
learned that the general location of the silver had been divulged to
the Spaniards by that rascally Frenchman who had got drunk and deserted
during the march to the coast. He had been caught while asleep, and
the soldiers from Nombre-de-Dios tortured him until he told all that he
knew about the treasure.
The Englishmen poked around and quickly found "thirteen bars of silver
and some few quoits of gold," with which they posted back to Rio
Francisco, not daring to linger in the neighborhood of an overwhelming
force of the enemy. It was their belief that the Spanish recovered by
no means all of those precious tons of silver bullion, and Drake made
sail very reluctantly. It may well be that a handsome hoard still
awaits the search of some modern argonauts, or that the steam shovels
of the workmen of the Panama canal may sometime swing aloft a burden of
"bars of silver and quoits of gold" in their mighty buckets. Certain
it is that Sir Francis Drake is to be numbered among that romantic
company of sea rovers of other days who buried vast treasure upon the
Spanish Main.
[1] _The Pirates' Own Book_.
[2] The famous merchant and philanthropist of Philadelphia.
[3] "I happen to know the fact that Blackbeard, whose family name was
given as Teach, was in reality named Drumond, a native of Bristol. I
have learned this fact from one of his family and name, of respectable
standing in Virginia, near Hampton." (Watson's Annals of Philadelphia.)
In the contemporary court records of the Carolina colony, the name of
Blackbeard is given as Thatch.
[4] Israel Hands was tried and condemned with Blackboard's crew, but
was pardoned by royal proclamation, and, according to Captain Johnson,
"was alive some time ago in London, begging his bread." This would
indicate that he had buried no treasure of his own, and had not
fathomed Blackbeard's secret. Stevenson borrowed the name of Israel
Hands for one of his crew of pirates in "Treasure Island."
[5] _The Pirates' Own Book_.
[6] This is from _The Pirates' Own Book_. Captain Johnson's version is
unexpurgated and to be preferred, for he declares that Blackbeard cried
out, "Damnation seize my soul if I give you quarter, or take any from
you."
[7] As showing the fanciful tastes in sinister flags, Captain Johnson
records that Captain Roberts flew "a black silk flag at the mizzen
peak, and a jack and pendant at the same. The flag had a death's head
on it, with an hour glass in one hand, and cross bones in the other, a
dart by one, and underneath a heart dropping three drops of blood."
[8] _The Buccaneers of America_. A True Account of the Most Remarkable
Assaults Committed of Late Years Upon the Coasts of the West Indies by
the Buccaneers of Jamaica and Tortuga (Both English and French).
Wherein are contained more especially the Unparalleled Exploits of Sir
Henry Morgan, our English Jamaican hero who sacked Porto Bello, burnt
Panama, etc. (Published in 1684.)
[9]The buccaneers derived their name from the process of drying beef
over a wood fire, or _boucane_ in French. They were at first hunters
of wild cattle in the island of Hispaniola or Hayti who disposed of
their product to smugglers, traders, and pirates, but they were a
distinct class from the _filibustiers_ or sea rovers. As cattle became
scarce and the Spanish more hostile and cruel foes, the buccaneers,
French and English, forsook their trade and took to the sea, to harry
the common foe.
[10] The schedule thus referred to stipulated that for the crew, except
the officers specified, it was a case of "no prey, no pay." For the
loss of a right arm, the consolation money was six hundred pieces of
eight, or six slaves; for the loss of a left arm, five hundred pieces
of eight, or five slaves; for the left leg, four hundred pieces of
eight, or four slaves; for an eye one hundred pieces of eight, or one
slave; for a finger of the hand the same reward as for the eye. "All
which sums of money, as I have said before, are taken out of the
capital sum or common stock of what is got by their piracy."