New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-12-28
BUCCANEERS AND PIRATES.
SOME NOTES or PROFESSION.

|
the lives Of certain notorious pirates from 'ohn-
sons Lives of Pirates aad lIiqhwaymen. rs
neither of the works drawn upon Is common
tbc drst-named i'm particular being almost rare.
the narratives here given will probably he new
IA the majority of readers. The whole supJccl
! has always exercised a strange fascination "Po'
tie average mind. Whether, IS some SUPPOSE
the old Viking blood reasscrS itself upon hiei.'iou
of careers and adventures analogous 10 olo'o
n, the nristine sea-rovcrs or whether people w''o
| lead quiet law-abidinc and unadNentuIou' llNN
! have a natural ycaTnnG after the VII" an" l'"
! less lust as the most supcrsillo"s ana 'ihoiou'
souls enjoy a har-strring ghost story OF " az"
and stormy nisht and esteem as luxury ~"
| cold chs such n narrative SENDS uoNH Inv"
backboncs whatever the cause, in short, the
fact remains that bLccancerlng ana piracy nave
always been heard about with special and eager
! interest To the small! boy and growing lad, IN
deed the idea of turning pirate seems 20 come
! naturally. The youthful mind. passing 'hrou-H
the various stages of evolution. pauscs on' chou'"
! at that OF ancestral hGrbaIism 10 eno p'c'Su''
! in the thought Of '1pinc and fciocltN' ~ II"'E'
heroes of Captain Kyd and the trucueh' pi'''
/ beard and thc apotheosizcd Avery, and TO rcN'I
in the accounts of buccauccrine exploits and pifa'-
! zeal dcviltries
Mr. PYLE opens his volume with Esqucmclin@
| Esqucmeng little curtailcd. II Is trne hut ne
prved of no really interesting or essential matter
| How much of the old seventeenth century Du'ch-
mans account of the mos, famous buccaneers Is
history and how much fiction, it is Impossible -
determine Neither buccaneers nor pirates were
in the habit of writing memoirs or leaving
| biographical material behind them, and the com
mon destiny Of the buccanccr WAS not 80 very l'I
different from that of the pirates The former
| nourished during transition period. when the
| laws of naval war were in a chaotic state; Wheh
tho distinction between State action ana IN
dividual action was il-dcfned when Governments
winked at the most fiagrantly hostile proceedings
against foreign Powers 10y their suolcct>-uhI'NS'
as sometimes happened, the menace OF serious
retaliation ny public war induced such ""\'I"-
ments to turn upon their tooadventurous citizens
and chastisc them for trcspaSscs when IA"
formerly been rewarded. such was the ease OF
Sir Henry Morgan. the famous buccanccr. who
actually died in the lower for doing the very
things which a few years before had brought him
knighthood royal favor. and general fame. All
bnccanccrins as a general principle, was directed
against the oycrshadowinG Power OF that t'h''
namely. Spain. Her colonies her plate SHIPS h'I
commerce. her arGosic>. were the bats tha' ar"
tie cntcrprsing scamcn Of the day mi" distant
waters and SCI them upon the most andHri"n> az
ventures Esqucmehns or his English translator
has a spirited preface in which hc answers CERTAIN
cautious critics who have been lnSlnUa' ~ tha'
the exploits of the buccaneers were. after all. n''
much 10 boast Of seeing that they encountered 1t
tie resistance and were usually opposed "n' 'N
rcobc foI,-sa>aecs and hiSt1rd Splnl'r'e not "r-
cushioned 10 exchange smashing blows. The his
,orian meets this belittln2 assertion 10y advanc-
inr GOOD and ample proof 70 the contrary
In truth il must he conceded that the resistance
| oHereI 10 the buccaneers was stout, and often
! despcrate They were always liable To encounter
! some valiant Spanish soldier like the heroic ""N-
crnor of Puerto Nclo who made 80 noble " dol'h''
of his castle and refused 10 the last 10 accept
nuartcr: or lave opponents ike the Governor oil
/ Gihroltar thr Governor of ChaGIcs, Don AlonIo
! dol Gamma and others. ,yho fought with courage
and persistence sufficiently indicated hy the MAJ
nituGc Of their losses. Perhaps the modern reader
may. I've most struck by the dreadful siau- htcr and
the horrd crucltics practiscd IN all tie an"-rA"'
of fine buccaneers II was their custom. after
taking a place. to put 10 the torture all VII" were
| thoucht to have any knowledge OF hidden ticasuW,
and the inhuman atrocities pcrpclfaicd upon Inc
nrisoncrs are emphasized by TIE cold-hoodcd
manner in which the facts are related. Nuci $40
one il is written. was put 10 the rack, ana while
| his limbs were stretched to the utmost, Hehi'"
torches were applied 10 his face, or cord va,
| bound round the temples Of such another one" and
twisted until his eye, prprudcd rs BIZ as eggs
and seemed on the point Of dropping out Many
farms of torture even more hidcous and appalling
are chronclcd in the same calm, mattcr-oi-ldci-
way The reason of this placiditN III the historian
is. however not far 10 seek The explanation
is that in the seventeenth century all men. IN
Guiding those who called themselves civilized.
were as cruel as red Indians All over Europe
torture was habilually employed in what Was
termed the interests Of justice. An En2!Hh
king could at that period find 40 much p!c'o'i"
in the spectacle Of suffering 10 have prisoners
nut 10 the torture in bis presence He hl-
nuisition had been a school Of fcrocity, and VI"
ingenuity Of men had long been exercised III The
dcvisipr Of new and poignant torment' one
may occasionally light. even to-day, upon Ola
German law books which contain, in an appcnlia.
| elaborate cuts showing the mechanism of tariolS
artfut instruments Of torture, together WIN
detailed instructions how 10 usr them.
Thus i, was that public opinion was IN no con
d;,on 70 be shocked hy the intelligence Of what
tbe buccaneers were doing What really inter
es1cd people the reports of tie iahuIouS wealth
Gained by these hold rovcrs. For the most part
the reports were fabulous, AMI Nr. rye ~ ms
, iptroduction. does we'll 10 intimate doubt 90
one of the most spccliic accounts OF Morgan
purchases" Buccaneers or pirates, however il
was. if not Light come" assnrcAlN light go
with the prize money. All these adycn,urcrs bed
regular rendezvous, either 1T jamaica or Tor
. tnga whittier they repaired at the end of th'
o cruise and where the natural parasites of such
: lawless folk wai.cd 10 do their work Of mcnIs
/ service and fcecing. H. seems that no buccancc
or pirate could keep his money. II he aid moi
II ! plunge into the debauchcry which constitute,
y | the sole idea of enjoyment for the majority, he
n | became suspect" at once, and thcnccforh hi
@ life was in danger. One buccanccr captain, AFT,
l. making famous haul cut Of u Moguls ship, di'
@ succeed in retiring 10 France with all his loot an,
N apparently he lived 10 enjoy II. But that i
the only instance of the kind related Al TN
!, rest grief and the pirates especially: an,
* this not because the law was particularly wei
=, administered, but because the scoundrels coul,