About this time one of the most famous of sea-robbers was harassing3 the Atlantic coast of North America, and from New England to the West Indies, he was known as the great pirate Blackbeard. This man, whose real name was Thatch4, was a most terrible fellow in appearance as well as action. He wore a long, heavy, black beard, which it was his fancy to separate into tails, each one tied with a colored ribbon, and often tucked behind his ears. Some of the writers of that day declared that the sight of this beard would create more terror in any [Pg 201] port of the American seaboard than would the sudden appearance of a fiery5 comet. Across his brawny6 breast he carried a sort of a sling7 in which hung not less than three pairs of pistols in leathern holsters, and these, in addition to his cutlass and a knife or two in his belt, made him a most formidable-looking fellow.
Some of the fanciful recreations of Blackbeard show him to have been a person of consistent purpose. Even in his hours of rest when he was not fighting or robbing, his savage8 soul demanded some interesting excitement. Once he was seated at table with his mate and two or three sailors, and when the meal was over he took up a pair of pistols, and cocking them put them under the table. This peculiar9 action caused one of the sailors to remember very suddenly that he had something to do on deck, and he immediately disappeared. But the others looked at their captain in astonishment10, wondering what he would do next. They soon found out; for crossing the pistols, still under the table, he fired them. One ball hit the mate in the leg, but the other struck no one. When asked what he meant by this strange action, he replied that if he did not shoot one of his men now and then they would forget what sort of a person he was.
At another time he invented a game; he gathered his officers and crew together and told them that [Pg 202] they were going to play that they were living in the lower regions. Thereupon the whole party followed him down into the hold. The hatches and all the other openings were closed, and then Blackbeard began to illuminate11 the scene with fire and brimstone. The sulphur burned, the fumes12 rose, a ghastly light spread over the countenances13 of the desperadoes, and very soon some of them began to gasp14 and cough and implore15 the captain to let in some fresh air, but Blackbeard was bound to have a good game, and he proceeded to burn more brimstone. He laughed at the gasping16 fellows about him and declared that he would be just as willing to breathe the fumes of sulphur as common air. When at last he threw open the hatches, some of the men were almost dead, but their stalwart captain had not even sneezed.
In the early part of the eighteenth century Blackbeard made his headquarters in one of the inlets on the North Carolina coast, and there he ruled as absolute king, for the settlers in the vicinity seemed to be as anxious to oblige him as the captains of the merchantmen sailing along the coast were anxious to keep out of his way. On one of his voyages Blackbeard went down the coast as far as Honduras, where he took a good many prizes, and as some of the crews of the captured vessels17 enlisted19 under him he sailed north with a stronger force than ever [Pg 203] before, having a large ship of forty guns, three smaller vessels, and four hundred men. With this little fleet Blackbeard made for the coast of South Carolina, and anchored outside the harbor of Charles Town. He well understood the present condition of the place and was not in the least afraid that the citizens would hang him up on the shores of the bay.
Blackbeard began work without delay. Several well-laden ships—the Carolinians having no idea that pirates were waiting for them—came sailing out to sea and were immediately captured. One of these was a very important vessel18, for it not only carried a valuable cargo20, but a number of passengers, many of them people of note, who were on their way to England. One of these was a Mr. Wragg, who was a member of the Council of the Province. It might have been supposed that when Blackbeard took possession of this ship, he would have been satisfied with the cargo and the money which he found on board, and having no use for prominent citizens, would have let them go their way; but he was a trader as well as a plunderer21, and he therefore determined22 that the best thing to do in this case was to put an assorted23 lot of highly respectable passengers upon the market and see what he could get for them. He was not at the time in need of money or provisions, but his men were very much [Pg 204] in want of medicines, so he decided24 to trade off his prisoners for pills, potions, plasters, and all sorts of apothecary's supplies.
He put three of his pirates in a boat, and with them one of the passengers, a Mr. Marks, who was commissioned as Blackbeard's special agent, with orders to inform the Governor that if he did not immediately send the medicines required, amounting in value to about three hundred pounds, and if he did not allow the pirate crew of the boat to return in safety, every one of the prisoners would be hanged from the yard-arm of his ship.
The boat rowed away to the distant town, and Blackbeard waited two days for its return, and then he grew very angry, for he believed that his messengers had been taken into custody25, and he came very near hanging Mr. Wragg and all his companions. But before he began to satisfy his vengeance26, news came from the boat. It had been upset in the bay, and had had great trouble in getting to Charles Town, but it had arrived there at last. Blackbeard now waited a day or two longer; but as no news came from Mr. Marks, he vowed27 he would not be trifled with by the impudent28 people of Charles Town, and swore that every man, woman, and child among the prisoners should immediately prepare to be hanged.
Of course the unfortunate prisoners in the pirate [Pg 205] ship were in a terrible state of mind during the absence of Mr. Marks. They knew very well that they could expect no mercy from Blackbeard if the errand should be unsuccessful, and they also knew that the Charles Town people would not be likely to submit to such an outrageous29 demand upon them; so they trembled and quaked by day and by night, and when at last they were told to get ready to be hanged, every particle of courage left them, and they proposed to Blackbeard that if he would spare their lives, and that if it should turn out that their fellow-citizens had decided to sacrifice them for the sake of a few paltry30 drugs, they would take up the cause of the pirates; they would show Blackbeard the best way to sail into the harbor, and they would join with him and his men in attacking the city and punishing the inhabitants for their hard-hearted treatment of their unfortunate fellow-citizens.
This proposition pleased Blackbeard immensely; it would have been like a new game to take Mr. Wragg to the town and make him fight his fellow-members of the Council of the Province, and so he rescinded31 his order for a general execution, and bade his prisoners prepare to join with his pirates when he should give the word for an assault upon their city.
In the meantime there was a terrible stir in Charles Town. When the Governor and citizens [Pg 206] received the insolent32 and brutal33 message of Blackbeard they were filled with rage as well as consternation34, and if there had been any way of going out to sea to rescue their unhappy fellow-citizens, every able-bodied man in the town would have enlisted in the expedition. But they had no vessels of war, and they were not even in a position to arm any of the merchantmen in the harbor. It seemed to the Governor and his council that there was nothing for them to do but to submit to the demands of Blackbeard, for they very well knew that he was a scoundrel who would keep his word, and also that whatever they did must be done quickly, for there were the three swaggering pirates in the town, strutting35 about the streets as if they owned the place. If this continued much longer, it would be impossible to keep the infuriated citizens from falling upon these blustering36 rascals37 and bringing their impertinence to a summary end. If this should happen, it would be a terrible thing, for not only would Mr. Wragg and his companions be put to death, but the pirates would undoubtedly38 attack the town, which was in a very poor position for defence.
Consequently the drugs were collected with all possible haste, and Mr. Marks and the pirates were sent with them to Blackbeard. We do not know whether or not that bedizened cutthroat was satisfied with the way things turned out; for having [Pg 207] had the idea of going to Charles Town and obliging the prisoners to help him confiscate39 the drugs and chemicals, he may have preferred this unusual proceeding40 to a more commonplace transaction; but as the medicine had arrived he accepted it, and having secured all possible booty and money from the ships he had captured, and had stripped his prisoners of the greater part of their clothing, he set them on shore to walk to Charles Town as well as they could. They had a miserably41 difficult time, making their way through the woods and marshes42, for there were women and children among them who were scarcely equal to the journey. One of the children was a little boy, the son of Mr. Wragg, who afterward43 became a very prominent man in the colonies. He rose to such a high position, not only among his countrymen, but in the opinion of the English government, that when he died, about the beginning of the Revolution, a tablet to his memory was placed in Westminster Abbey, which is, perhaps, the first instance of such an honor being paid to an American.
Having now provided himself with medicines enough to keep his wild crew in good physical condition, no matter how much they might feast and frolic on the booty they had obtained from Charles Town, Blackbeard sailed back to his North Carolina haunts and took a long vacation, during [Pg 208] which time he managed to put himself on very good terms with the Governor and officials of the country. He had plenty of money and was willing to spend it, and so he was allowed to do pretty much as he pleased, provided he kept his purse open and did not steal from his neighbors.
But Blackbeard became tired of playing the part of a make-believe respectable citizen, and having spent the greater part of his money, he wanted to make some more. Consequently he fitted out a small vessel, and declaring that he was going on a legitimate44 commercial cruise, he took out regular papers for a port in the West Indies and sailed away, as if he had been a mild-mannered New England mariner45 going to catch codfish. The officials of the town of Bath, from which he sailed, came down to the ship and shook hands with him and hoped he would have good success.
After a moderate absence he returned to Bath, bringing with him a large French merchant vessel, with no people on board, but loaded with a valuable cargo of sugar and other goods. This vessel he declared he had found deserted46 at sea, and he therefore claimed it as a legitimate prize. Knowing the character of this bloody47 pirate, and knowing how very improbable it was that the captain and all the crew of a valuable merchant vessel, with nothing whatever the matter with her, would go out into [Pg 209] their boats and row away, leaving their ship to become the property of any one who might happen along, it may seem surprising that the officials of Bath appeared to have no doubt of the truth of Blackbeard's story, and allowed him freely to land the cargo on the French ship and store it away as his own property.
But people who consort48 with pirates cannot be expected to have very lively consciences, and although there must have been persons in the town with intelligence enough to understand the story of pitiless murder told by that empty vessel, whose very decks and masts must have been regarded as silent witnesses that her captain and crew did not leave her of their own free will, no one in the town interfered with the thrifty49 Blackbeard or caused any public suspicion to fall upon the propriety50 of his actions.
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1
interfered
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| v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 )；调停；妨碍；干涉 | |
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impoverished
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| adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化 | |
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harassing
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| v.侵扰，骚扰( harass的现在分词 )；不断攻击（敌人） | |
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thatch
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| vt.用茅草覆盖…的顶部；n.茅草(屋) | |
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fiery
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| adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的 | |
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6
brawny
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| adj.强壮的 | |
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7
sling
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| vt.扔；悬挂；n.挂带；吊索，吊兜；弹弓 | |
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8
savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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9
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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10
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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11
illuminate
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| vt.照亮，照明；用灯光装饰；说明，阐释 | |
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12
fumes
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| n.(强烈而刺激的)气味，气体 | |
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13
countenances
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| n.面容( countenance的名词复数 )；表情；镇静；道义支持 | |
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14
gasp
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| n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说 | |
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15
implore
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| vt.乞求，恳求，哀求 | |
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16
gasping
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| adj. 气喘的, 痉挛的 动词gasp的现在分词 | |
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17
vessels
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| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
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vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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enlisted
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| adj.应募入伍的v.（使）入伍， （使）参军( enlist的过去式和过去分词 )；获得（帮助或支持） | |
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cargo
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| n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物 | |
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plunderer
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| 掠夺者 | |
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22
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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23
assorted
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| adj.各种各样的，各色俱备的 | |
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24
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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25
custody
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| n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留 | |
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26
vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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27
vowed
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| 起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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28
impudent
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| adj.鲁莽的，卑鄙的，厚颜无耻的 | |
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29
outrageous
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| adj.无理的，令人不能容忍的 | |
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30
paltry
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| adj.无价值的，微不足道的 | |
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31
rescinded
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| v.废除，取消( rescind的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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32
insolent
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| adj.傲慢的，无理的 | |
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33
brutal
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| adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的 | |
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34
consternation
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| n.大为吃惊，惊骇 | |
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35
strutting
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| 加固，支撑物 | |
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blustering
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| adj.狂风大作的，狂暴的v.外强中干的威吓( bluster的现在分词 )；咆哮；（风）呼啸；狂吹 | |
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rascals
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| 流氓( rascal的名词复数 )； 无赖； （开玩笑说法）淘气的人（尤指小孩）； 恶作剧的人 | |
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38
undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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39
confiscate
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| v.没收(私人财产)，把…充公 | |
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40
proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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41
miserably
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| adv.痛苦地；悲惨地；糟糕地；极度地 | |
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42
marshes
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| n.沼泽，湿地( marsh的名词复数 ) | |
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43
afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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44
legitimate
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| adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法 | |
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45
mariner
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| n.水手号不载人航天探测器，海员，航海者 | |
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46
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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47
bloody
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| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
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48
consort
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| v.相伴；结交 | |
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49
thrifty
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| adj.节俭的；兴旺的；健壮的 | |
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50
propriety
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| n.正当行为；正当；适当 | |
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