The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1893-01-04
A DREADED PIRATE.
BLACKBOARD LOOKED ENOUGH LIKE
SATAN TO BE A BROTHER.

Fashion of Getting Himself Up In q
Hideous and Repulsive Manner-story
of His Successful Voyages.
Pamlico sound, now the haven of the
storm tossed mariner and the home Of
peaceful industry, was once the theater
of far different scenes. In the beginning
of the last century its placent waters re.
hected flag which struck terror to
thousands of hearts and paralyzed the
commerce of the New World; the thick
ly clustering wives and luxuriant growths
fringing its shores concealed, like the
original Eden, a hiding devil, the foe Of
God and man-Blackbeard, the pirate.
From strange tendency of human ma
ture the life of the pirate possesses fas-
elnating interest, not only for the small
boy who devours the pages of his half
dino yellow back novel, but also for the
reader OF stronger judgment and better
taste. Indeed some of the greatest
writers have been unable to resist the
destinations Of this wide and tempting
field.
Sir Walter Scott, Marryatt and Cooper
thought it not unworthy their mighty
pens, and the genius of Byron attained
one of its highest flights in the descrip-
ton of the prisoner Conrad in the lonely
turret, barring his bosom to the midnight
storm and defying the lightning of Of
fended heaven to transfix him. OF all
this unholy brood Blackboard was facile
princeps, as Milton says of satan, "By
merit raised to that bad eminence." 1t
was an Arabic tradition, relative to the
great unknown Atlantic that the
gnarled and bony hand of the devil rose
from out the waves of the sea of dark
ness to seize the presumptuous mariner,
and in his diabolic career Blackboard
seemed to be the impersonation of this
mystic monster. Perhaps greater de-
mon never prowled the seas or walked
the earth in human form.
Even in personal appearance he was
h1deous and repulsive, nature having
stamped him both as @ physical and
moral monster. The name by which he
was known throughout the world was
derived from n singular circumstance,
which illustrates his savage ferocity.
His naturally dark and forbidding face
was covered almost to his fierce, sensu-
ous eyes with "a shaggy black beard,
reaching below the waist. This hirsute
adornment, Of which he was very proud,
and which he cultivated with sedulous
care, he was accustomed to braid with
ribbons and to twist about his ears until
it stood forth like projecting horns.
Into the ends OF these he stuck small.
slowly burning fuses, whose sulphurous
fumes enveloped him in a lurid hue and
rendered him not uniting representa-.
tlon OF the satanic ideal, whose character
he SO successfully emulated. In time of
action he slung around his neck scarf,
into which were thrust three braces of
pistols. Our readers, even those vino
are not endowed with Dantesque powers
OF imagination, and especially our feni-
nine friends, can readily fancy the i'm.
preston such an aspect would create
when met upon the lonely ocean. with
the black flag fiuttering above his head
and his lnerciless face lighting up with
gleam Of demoniacal joy rs his help
less victims walked the fatal plank.
The real name Of this man was Ed.
tol run1ana - ne i.9 y 40 Z ni.ive oi Dts
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tlnguishe'i himself by his skill and cour-
To-, @iiaCn s't"e,o'' mo at'easioh o.
i4s ii'e 'ssef hgrapaiou5 q, commander, who