Chapter I: Introduction

There is no more entrancing body of water in either the Western or the Eastern Hemisphere—than the Caribbean Sea, with a fringe of lovely tropical islands on the one side and on the other the Spanish Main and its picturesque centuries-old towns and fascinating sights. Aside from its beauty, its delightful climate, and its ever-shifting scenes, the Caribbean and its shores are redolent of romance. It was the starting-point of those brave though ruthless adventurers who carved a new world for Castile and Leon. For centuries it was the treasure-house of the world and the battle-ground of the mightiest European powers. Across this sapphire sea sailed the caravels of Columbus, the Golden Hind of Drake, and the stately, plate-laden galleons of Spain.

And across this same sea coursed those fierce sea-rovers the buccaneers.

Of all the dare-devil spirits who sailed the Caribbean and ravaged the Spanish Main, the buccaneers were the most picturesque and romantic. Villains though they were; reddened with the blood of the innocent and helpless though their hands; black-hearted cutthroats beyond denial—yet there is something about them that appeals to all, and that, despite their ill deeds, fills one with admiration.

Perchance it is the fact that we all appreciate bravery—and, notwithstanding their multitude of sins, the buccaneers were brave beyond compare. Again, it may be that in all of us lurks a little of the gambling spirit and we admire those who can take a chance, even though we do not, and no greater gamblers ever lived than the buccaneers. They staked their lives at every turn, they gambled with death, and the greater the odds the more readily did they throw themselves into the game. And it was this gambling spirit, this recklessness that enabled them to defy the world of their day.

We hear much of the bold, wild ways of these adventurers; we have been taught by history and tradition to consider them devoid of redeeming qualities, and few of us realize that the buccaneers were far from being true pirates, that they were not alike, that many were corsairs through force of circumstances rather than by choice, that they had their own laws and code of honor, and that they were a most important factor in shaping the destiny of the New World. To them, incredible as it may seem, we owe an immense debt of gratitude. Had it not been for them the British never would have retained their foothold in the Caribbean, and we, to-day, might be under Spanish rule. Many of them, too, were educated men and left us records which are of incalculable scientific or historic value; for example, Dampier, who was a keenly observant field naturalist and devoted far more of his time to penning descriptions of fauna and flora than to slitting Spanish throats; [1] and Esquemelling, [2] the erstwhile accountant, who left us a classic as a result of his years as a ship’s supercargo among the buccaneers.

Yearly, Americans by the thousands flock southward to tour or to stop for a time in the West Indies or about the shores of the Caribbean, but few of these are aware of the intimate associations with the buccaneers which all these places hold. Yet we may dwell in the very hostelry wherein pirate chieftains reveled and spent their ill-gotten gold; we stroll through little towns which have echoed to the ribald songs and lusty shouts of roistering pirate crews; we sail, in palatial steamships, above the long-forgotten hulks of burned and scuttled galleons, and we haggle with shopkeepers or native boatmen in whose veins may flow the blood of Morgan, Hawkins, or Montbars.

Bereft of the buccaneers, the Caribbean and its shores lose their greatest fascination, and as the most desirable localities are those intimately associated with the sea-rovers and their deeds or misdeeds, it seems fitting to travel about the Spanish Main and the West Indies in the wake of the buccaneers.

It is to point out the romantic associations of these waters and islands and make a visit to them more interesting, to weave a little of the lives and deeds of the buccaneers into the story of the locality, and to give brief sketches of the most noteworthy, while at the same time describing the places, their attractions, and their present condition, that this book has been prepared.

So much of a purely fictional nature has been related of these sea-rovers that many of the statements contained herein will come as a distinct surprise, for time and tales have woven a glamour and a deal of misconception about them. But even stripped of all romance, with their histories before us, the “Brethren of the Main” retain enough and to spare of adventure, deeds of daring, and picturesque villainy, and many of the true stories of these men are more thrilling, more astounding than any the imagination could invent.

When such stories are made more vivid by a setting of actual present-day scenes, or are read in the very places and in the same surroundings in which the buccaneers held forth, their interest is enhanced, while the whole neighborhood is given an added attraction.

The author, who has lived and traveled in the West Indies and about the shores of the Caribbean for nearly thirty years, knows every island and town intimately. Being deeply interested in the history of the vicinity and particularly in the reckless freebooters who frequented it, he has written this narrative of a most novel cruise. A cruise taken in a real pirate ship manned by a native West Indian crew some of whom were lineal descendants of notorious buccaneers; and while not all the Caribbean islands or the lands and towns of the Spanish Main were visited, those places are included which are of particular interest from an historical point of view and their associations with the freebooters.

The volume is not intended as a guide-book, but rather as a colorful account of the places visited on this unusual cruise; a description of many little-known, out-of-the-way corners; with mention of their most interesting features, the customs of the people, a bit of their turbulent past and their somnolent present, and their existing relics of buccaneer days.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAGE

I Among the Caribbees 3

Reasons. The romantic isles. The Vigilant. A real pirate ship. The
Virgin Islands. Dead Man’s Chest. Sam, the descendant of the pirate
chief. The Vigilant’s crew. Trouble comes to the Vigilant.
Arguments. My happy family.

II St. Thomas and Its Past 22

First view of St. Thomas. Charlotte Amalie. The people. Shops and
commodities. The home of bay-rum. Wet and dry. Odd wares. The
ships’ graveyard. Blackbeard’s Castle. The pirates’ haunts.

III The Buccaneers in the Virgin Isles 38

The lairs of the buccaneers. Buccaneers and pirates. Queer
conditions. When life was cheap. Interesting characters. A
buccaneer poet. Blackbeard and his ways. The end of Blackbeard.

IV On the Way to St. John 58

Farewell, St. Thomas. Sail Rock. The joke on the Frenchman. The
lure of the Caribbean. A man of peace. St. John. An island gem. At
Rendezvous Bay. Relics of the buccaneers. The bloody past. A
deserted Eden. The St. John of to-day.

V St. John and Some Discoveries 77

Buccaneer haunts. The pirates’ friends. Hamlin the corsair. The
friendly governor. Tales of treasure. Relics of the past. An
ancient souvenir. Reminiscences. The concert. A discovery.

VI Anegada and a Bit of Treasure-Trove 94

Tortola, the Isle of the Turtle-dove. The once prosperous port.
Onward to Anegada. The Fat Virgin. Norman Island and Kidd’s
treasure. The truth about Captain Kidd. The Don Quixote of the
Caribbean. The end of Prince Rupert of the Rhine. Anegada, the
Drowned Island. Through the guardian reef. Wreckers. Flotsam and
jetsam huts. Pirate forts and pirate cannon. The Portuguese
derelict. Treasure-trove.

VII Lonely Isles 114

Across the Anegada Passage to St. Martin. Anguilla, the Eel. The
island under two flags. St. Martin a charming island. Salt pans and
industries. Onward to St. Barts. A poverty-stricken spot. Once
Sweden’s colony. The gathering-place of the buccaneers. On the
beach. A privateers’ lair. Gustavia’s heyday. Montbars the
Exterminator. Statia. Where the Stars and Stripes were first
saluted. Orangetown and its treasure. The world’s greatest auction
sale. Statia’s knell. Saba the marvelous. The town in the crater.
Saba and its people. Strange industries.

VIII St. Kitts and the Gorgeous Isle 136

St. Kitts the beautiful. Basseterre. The island’s golden past. The
first settled of the British isles. French and English. Early days.
Brimstone Hill and its massive fort. An echo of the past. The
Travels of Captain Smith. Caribs and quarrels. The “overgrowne
stormes.” Convict slaves. The Gorgeous Isle. Nevis and its past.
Where Nelson married and Hamilton was born. The submerged city. A
miraculous escape. A moral pirate. Sharp the great adventurer.

IX The “Dangerous Voyage” and the Effect of a Nagging Tongue 152

Bartholomew Sharp and his great adventure. Across Darien. The
attack on the Spanish fleet. The Blessed Trinity and its marvelous
cruise. Down the west coast. Around the Horn. The log of the
Trinity. Mutiny. Religious buccaneers. Homeward through
storm-lashed seas. The end of the “dangerous voyage.” The “sea
artist” goes home. Stede Bonnet the gentleman pirate. The less of
two evils. The effect of a nagging tongue. In evil company. The
fate of the major. Over Saba Bank. Sam’s sixth sense. Good hauls.
Land ho!

X The Isle of the Holy Cross 171

St. Croix or Santa Cruz. An Emerald Isle. Where sugar was king.
Christiansted. Ashore. Attractions of the island. A target for
hurricanes. How Hamilton attracted attention. Cannibals. A
turbulent past. Dreams of a kingdom. Knights of Malta. The home
port of the Vigilant. Over the sea to Porto Rico. Porto Rico’s
beauties and attractions. A tamed island. Drake’s repulse. The man
with the queen’s glove in his hat. How the Earl of Cumberland took
San Juan. An enemy he could not conquer. Ogeron’s attempts. The
pirate prisoners. Ogeron’s escape. The rescuers. In the chain-gang.
Birds of a feather. Mona the forbidding. Hispaniola the mighty. A
miniature continent. The most historic spot in America. A land
drenched in blood.

XI The Gibraltar of the Buccaneers 195

Samana Bay and its environs. Where the first blood was spilled. The
Bay of the Arrows. Trade Wind Cay. The pirates’ stronghold. A
miniature Gibraltar. Legends and superstitions. Ruins on the cay.
Treasure. Joseph’s find. Those who frequented the isle. Round and
about Samana Bay. Samana and its people. Sanchez. A wild coast.
Caverns. The amber beach.

XII The Birthplace of the Buccaneers 210

The rugged island. The Dons in Santo Domingo. First gold in the New
World. La Vega la Antigua. Old Weapons. The Cibao. Along the coast
to Puerto Plata. The port. The Silver Shoals and Phipps’s treasure.
The first European settlement in America. Isabella. Monte Cristi
and El Morro. Tortuga the birthplace of the buccaneers. Cayona. The
origin of the buccaneers. Strategies. Pirate governors. The
buccaneers’ fort. The fate of the West India Company.

XIII The Brethren of the Main 226

The buccaneer island. Early forays. Humane practices. How the
pirates got their vessels. Daring assaults. The buccaneers’ ships.
A motley lot. Honor among thieves. The inventors of accident
insurance. Employees’ indemnities. Division of spoils. Oaths and
agreements. Rules. Penalties. Recompense. Temptations. A few of the
buccaneers. Rock Brasiliano the German. A degenerate brute. Bravery
of Brasiliano. Escape from Campeche. John Davis the Jamaican
pirate. A “kind and considerate man.” Lolonais the most cruel of
the buccaneers. An ex-slave. A protégé of the governor. A notable
feat. A monster in human form. Cannibalistic tendencies. Lolonais
shipwrecked. The awful fate of Lolonais. Quarrels among the
freebooters. The British buccaneers help take Jamaica. The pirates’
new lair.

XIV The Granddaddy of the Dollar 243

Through the Windward Passage. Cuba. Navassa the barren. The island
that sent the S. O. S. The buccaneers in Cuba. Morgan at Puerto
Principe. The Isle of Pines and its crocodiles. Gonaives. Over
historic seas. Pieces of eight. Origin of the dollar sign.
Doubloons and onzas. The forerunner of the metric system. Cross
money. Mixed coins. Canny Sam. A prospective wedding. Sail ho!

XV Where a Pirate Ruled 257

Lovely Jamaica. The long-suffering island. The Port Royal of
to-day. Fort Charles and its associations. Nelson’s quarter-deck.
Nelson at Port Royal. The fleet that never came. Scenes in Port
Royal. The Port Royal of the past. The metropolis of the
buccaneers. The richest and wickedest city in the world. Pirates’
pastimes. Vice and debauchery. The pirates’ church. Harry Morgan’s
way. The fate of Port Royal. The destruction of the town.
Survivors. Founding of Kingston. Fire, hurricane, and earthquake.
Columbus and his shipwreck. Cimmaroons and slave uprisings. The
grip of the trust.

XVI Jamaica and Its Pirate Governor 274

Kingston and its surroundings. The destruction of Kingston. In the
country. Motor roads. Newcastle. Cataracts. The three-fingered
bandit. The Natural Bridge. Spanish Town. Origin of names. The
sleepy town. Round and about Spanish Town. The cathedral. Epitaphs.
Penn and Venables. The angler soldier. Benbow and his bravery.
Benbow’s tomb. The battle with Du Casse. Death of Benbow. Sir Henry
Morgan. The pirate knight. His short career. Origin and life. How
Morgan won fame and fortune. Morgan’s first great deed. Sack of
Puerto Principe. Morgan’s quixotic nature. Little loot. The taking
of Porto Bello. Immense treasure. Attack on Panama. Morgan
arrested. The pirate honored. The buccaneer governor. Morgan
disgraced. The end of Morgan.

XVII The Bridge of the World 294

Farewell to the Vigilant. Westward by steamer. Old Providence. The
Spanish Main. Colon. A petty squabble. Colon and Cristobal. Porto
Bello. The Gold Road and its past. Grim tales. San Jerome. The fall
of Porto Bello. Morgan’s attack on Porto Bello. The valiant
governor. Morgan’s brutalities. Tortures. Ransoms. The viceroy’s
message. Morgan’s pleasantries. The ruins of Porto Bello. The
forgotten Gold Road.

XVIII The Castle of Gold 313

The riches of Panama. The greatest gold-producing country. Output
of mines. The treasure-house of Spain. Decadence of Panama. Indian
uprisings. Slaves. Emancipation. Lost mines. Revolutions. The
Panamanian people. A degenerate race. People of the interior.
Inhabitants of cities. Business and industry. Exceptions to the
rule. What the Americans have done. Lack of gratitude. Animosity. A
wonderful land. Darien the unknown. Indians. The bravos. The
pirates’ treatment of the Indians. Sharp’s trip across Darien. The
sack of El Real de Santa Maria. El Real to-day. A deserted
wonderland.

XIX Panama New and Old 332

How Ringrose described Panama. Changes of to-day. In the city. A
hustling modern town. Round the town. The old fort. Walls. Chiriqui
and Las Bovedas. Where the creek once flowed. The old city wall.
Churches. Odd architecture. Ruins. The Golden Altar of San José.
Old Panama. The bridge crossed by Morgan. Ruins. St. Anastasio’s
tower. Old fort and walls. Reconstruction of the ruins. The facts
about old Panama. Burning of the city. Relics. Old Panama as it
was. Wanton destruction. Morgan’s blackest deed.

XX How Morgan Kept His Promise 349

Morgan’s rise to fame. The gathering of the great fleet. The taking
of Old Providence. Treachery. The attack on San Lorenzo. A furious
battle. The accident that won the day. Bravery of Spanish troops.
Awful slaughter. Morgan’s arrival. Morgan garrisons the fort. Loss
of ships. Up the Chagres. Overland. Hardship and sufferings. In
sight of Panama. The battle before the city. The buccaneers’
victory. Deviltry let loose. Tortures and murder. Burning of the
city. The return. Morgan’s gallantry. Sir Henry’s treachery. The
pirate Judas. The dishonored chieftain. Monuments to the past.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

The Dangerous Voyage Frontispiece

FACING PAGE

The Cruise in the Wake of the Buccaneers 3
Blackbeard 48
The Vigilant 49
St. John—The careenage, Rendezvous Bay 80
Statia—Along the waterfront 80
St. John—A vista on the Peter Duerloo estate 81
Anegada—The guardian reef 112
Anegada—The forbidding coast 112
St. Martin—Salt ponds 113
St. Martin—A street in Gustavia 113
Saba—Saba Island from the sea 128
Saba—A Saban sedan-chair 128
Saba—“Going aboard” 129
Saba—The town of Bottom from Saba Peak 129
St. Kitts—Basseterre and Monkey Hill 144
St. Kitts—The Circus, Basseterre 144
Map of the South Sea and Coast of America, 1680 and 1681 145
Santa Cruz—Plantation 192
Porto Rico—City wall and house of Ponce de Leon 192
Porto Rico—The Morro, San Juan 193
Porto Rico—San Cristobal, where Ogeron’s men labored 193
Trade Wind Cay—The Gibraltar of the Buccaneers 208
Porto Rico—A “piragua,” the craft in which the buccaneers
first captured Spanish ships 209
St. Barts—Mending nets where the buccaneers divided loot 216
Carib canoes—It was in such craft that the first buccaneers
voyaged from St. Kitts to Hispaniola 216
Tortuga—The birthplace of the buccaneers 217
Francis Lolonois (commonly called Lolonais) 228
The cruelty of Lolonois 229
Rock Brasiliano 236
Bartolomew Portugues 237
The towne of Puerto del Principe taken and sackt 256
Spanish coins used in buccaneer days 257
Sr. Hen. Morgan 272
Jamaica—A road in the hills 273
Panama—Ruins of the fort at Porto Bello 304
Panama—The jungle, Darien, through which Sharp and his men
tramped 305
Panama—San Lorenzo fortress as it is to-day 312
Panama—The new city of Panama 313
Panama—A street in modern Panama City 313
Panama—Darien Indians wearing wooden crowns exactly as
described by Dampier and Ringrose in their accounts of
the buccaneers’ trip across the isthmus 320
Panama—The Tuira River down which Sharp and his men
traveled 321
Panama—Darien (Kuna) Indians, the Indians who guided Sharp
and his men 321
Panama—The ruins of the cathedral, and bit of wall,
Old Panama 336
Panama—All that is left of the ancient fort, Old Panama 336
Panama—Ruins left from Morgan’s raid, Old Panama 337
Panama—Ruins of the governor’s house, Old Panama 337

IN THE WAKE OF THE BUCCANEERS