The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-04-20
PIRATES OF EARLY DAYS..
c
Almost In%conceivable Value Of Plum
der That Has Disappeared
From the Sea.
It Was Carried OFF and Dissipated
by Free-H Handed Buc-
cancers.
Horny Morgan, the Beau Ideal OF Pirates
of His Time-Capt. Kidd's Hidden
Treasures.

Hardly a year passes, even in this practi
cal, prosaio century, but some ~treasur
seekers attempt to drag to light trophies o
buccaneers or pirates which tradition sey
have been buried along the Atlantic coast
Readers of ''The Gold Bug of Edgar Allie,
Poe will comprehend the strange fascina
ton which stories of buried pirates treas
ures exercises over the minds of the roman
tic and adventurous, and dwellers along til,
coast may be partly excused for digging III
miles of beach sand to discover the los
meney, says the New York Times.
Historical criticism has exploded many o
the ancient tales and stories of improba
bility which at one time were received il
full faith as true facts of history, and j
would not require much proof to convince
many that the stories of pirates buried
treasures were merely popular myths. 1t
seems more reasonable to consider the earl,
buccaneers of the coast to belong to the
class described by Thackeray as the ''get
ting and spending" as opposed to the 'get
ting and keeping;'' but for all that later
day treasure hunters have explored tine
shores OF British Honduras after buried mil
lions and searched the shores of the Carib-
bean sea for the gold left there by the
bloody Morgan. The waters of the East
river have been sounded for the treasures
of the Russar, and the sands of Long Is
land, GARDENERS island and adjacent shores
prodded and turned up for the cached in
COTS of Capt. Kidd's lawless expeditions.
Many still believe that beneath the lofty
palms of Cocos island great wealth still
~ ort0a 1,nt-, ~,1- L. nu..
~sionally some buried treasure is turned over
by the hunters, which gives this species of
venture the prestige of some success, but
the expeditions of treasure hunters are gen.
orally disappointing and improbable.
Even in the light of rigid historical criti-
cism it cannot be denied that the bottom
and shores of the ocean have at different
times become the repositories of enormous
piles of gold. silver and jewels. The buc-
cancers of the Spanish Main performed
brilliant exploits and robbed and plundeted
me! chantmen and cities of countless
wealth, which may have been cached along
the coast o: recklessly spent in other cuun-
tries. Morgan, in his memorable capture
OF Panama, loaded his me with spoils, and
from his ~rlraciss ~ to the time he was
knighted by Charles II. and made deputy
eoyernoe of Sarnacin, he had accumulated
Ava AhioS H't,ptt,pOps
Daring the height OF their power, when
the o Jerattons OF thu buccaneers extended
III tine Atlantic and Pacific, their booty was
enormous, and plate and jewels were car
lleu to their headquarters, where they were
divided and gambled away. In the de-
bauchery which followed each successful
expedition many OF the pirates would lose
ai they had. while the more prudent ones
would add to their stock and become I'M
mensely wealthy. To avoid robbery and
any accident t-e SO treasures We're hid away
buried in some convenient place, the yefy
location OF which would be lost to rostecity
ii the owne should be killed il battle. The
uncertainties OF existence were neye' SO
great as among the buccaneers, for, living
Il lie OF violence a1d outrage. they we!e on
the constant lockout tor a sudden and VIC
lent death.
Though the stories of Capt. Kidd's fabu-
lous hidden stores and the wealth of Jewels
bIrled by Neu Low may be fictitious, the
fact still remains that silver and noid vera
buried aIona the Spanish Main i'll large and
small Quanf tles by the rowing pirates of
the coast.
The lin, pie which bound tho early buc-
cancers together was their hatred of the
Sp@n atcs and & spirit Of greed and aGven-
ture. On the little island of Tortuga de-
Mar a Spanish coion9 OF simple fishermen
snd cuItiyators of the soil settled away back
III tho opening Il cadcs of the seventeenth
century. Scarcely had they become thor
oughly established Iii their new homo when
a Danc OF I!enchinel settled on the coast
and began to slaughter and boucan beeves.
As the island lay directly in the oath of
European vessels bound for Mexican ports,
TIE tr$nchmen found a ready market for
their jerked, sailed, and dried beeves. The
work pecame SO profitable that the French
sWaEn'ed to tho place and b~oucanning beef
was tho easiest and surest way OF making a
fortune.
But the Spanish settlers became Jealous
OF their success, III neighbors. and Oh Dec.
l, 1888, they descended h9adlong upon the
camps OF the Erenclm@n and massacreea
them by the dozens. Tho surviving mem
bers OF The Inflated camps collected in the
Eispanlola coast glades and formed a league
of the ~stganGest kind. The league was
divided up into couples, who were to live
and work and fight together. This ilnpa,-
ishable brotherhood determined 10 avunae
the lortugan massacrea, ana one night
they landed before the SPANISH colony and
completely wiped 1t out Of existence. A
carnival of butchery followed, and tine lou
canning hunters reveled in the good things
of food and drink which they Captured.
1hey established themselves on the island
of Iortuga once more. and turbulent suirits
from other ATTITUDES followed them, until
the trade between the boucanners and the
passing vessels became 80 large that it at
tracted universal attention..
One flerte lie Gros. of Dieppe, a strong,
bull dog sort of a Freuchman, drif1ed to
the island and, with twenty-seven followers,
took possession of a I~ortugan sloop. With
this craft they started out to prey upon the
passing Spanish galieons trading between
the new world and Cadlz and Barcelona.
This was plain piracy, and it was the be-
ginning OF that unlawful practice which
soon spread over the waters of two oceaus.
lhey captured a good Spanish ealleon and,
after 'marooning" the captain and crew on
a solitary Caribbean key, they sailed the
stolen vessel to Havana, where they dig
posed of a rich cargo of pearls, silks and
merchandise. The result of this exploit on
the high seas was that every To7tugan
wanted to so 'a-b~uccanuing'' for galleons.
and N a short time sloops and brigs were
htted out on the island to prey upon the
spanish commerce.
From this time onward the buccaneers
made their power felt on the waters of the
Spanish Main, and as others focked to
their STANDARD their name became a terror
to all Spanish seamen. The business of
piracy was recognized as a legitimate ono
for a time, and the buccaneers were en-
Ployed by the English and French govern
ments to accomplish objects which their
own forces could not we'll do. Louis Scott
an English buccaneer, conceived the idea
of joining the different bands together in a
land expedition, and as q result he captnred
and sacked the rich capital of Gampeachy.
A more liberal philosophy inspired the
buccaneers after the DAYS of Scott and
Monibar, and instead of combining their at
tentlons to the Spanish galleons thew ex-
tended their work to veSsels ,f .,.,.