Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1894-12-27
THE PIRATES BRIDE.
HOW BLACK ERIC THE DANE
UMPlRED THE GAME.
He Carried the Beautiful Prize or to His
Own Stronghold on the Hill Top and
Left the Contestants Nothing to Con-
test.

name. A delay OF couple of weeks
was required to repair damages, says
the Philadelphia Times, during which
the hospitable citizens of the prosper
Gus little port endeavored to excel
each other in giving the strangers
hospitable reception within the island
gates.
1t became my very delightful task,
as the youngest officer, to entertain
the youngest of the ladies, charm
ing young debutante of sweet II. /
queried: '.You are native of st.
Thomas, are you not?"
"Oh, yes, have known no other
home"
Continuing my catechism: ''Have
you any family traditions going back
to the foundation of your society?"
and then she told me this story:
"Our family is descended lineally
| from the first founder, who came to
the new world in ship modelled after
those of the old Danish vikings in
search of adventure, either to plant
colony, found dynasty, or build
city, or to take the desperate risks of
| buccaneer or corsair. In the latter
capacity he became terror to all
mariners who sought the Caribbean in
pursuit of legitimate commerce, and
among the buccaneers who ruled with
out law on the Spanish main none
were considered the equal of Black
Eric, the Dane, for scuttling a ship,
cutting a throat or robbing a con-
| ductor laden with treasure from the
mines of Peru. In the course of time
the commercial nations of the old
world began to police these Western
seas, and then the corsair, sea rovers
and buccaneers, finding their old free
bootiug life becoming too hazardous,
sought convenient hooks and crannies
of the island rocks to hide their
plundered stores of gold, precious
gems and costly silks. At this time,
when sea rowing without flag or IL
cense had become too risky, and there
fore fortified stronghold on the land
was made very essential to the safety
of the pirate chiefs, three of the most
conspicuous of those made the bay of
ST. Thomas, place they could easily
fortify, their refuge from the police of
the seas, and prepared to defend their
forfeited lives and looted cargoes.
These first three pirate chiefs con-
structed their warehouses and water
batteries to protect them at the foot of
the hills along the margin of the bay,
subject to no jurisdiction except their
own bloody code.
ITO these tirstcomers came shortly
Black Eric, the Dane, in his fleet
skinner of the seas, with her piloted
long "a as bow gun. He was man
much more likely to grant than to
seek favor, and SO, regardless of the
frowns and threats of the three chiefs
who held the margin of the bay, he
landed his crew and cargo and trans
ported the latter to the crown of the
highest hill, which overtops the bay.
| Up there he built his storehouses and
a fort strong enough to protect them.
His only neighbors, the three pirate
chiefs along the margin of the bay,
made frequent incursions on the
waters they had temporarily abandon
ed to the sea police. On one of these
periodical incursions one of the
pirates had the good fortune to
capture Spanish treasure ship laden
with the treasures of the Incas of
Peru and having as passenger the
lovely young daughter of the Peruvian
Viceroy, on her way to the converts
and schools of the mother country
In transferring his beautiful captive
from his ship to his shore stronghold
the pirate captor was so impudent as
to expose her fresh young charms to
his neighboring freebooters. With
these lawless chiefs, to admire was to
covet, and after long and vain negotia-
tions to win the beautiful captive
peaeeably from her lucky captor, they
resorted to force, and each, by mutual
agreement opened his batteries on
her possessor.
CATER his works were demolished
and his,comrades all killed or wounded.
the original captor hoisted flag of
truce and consented to deliver his be-
witching captive to his two unfriendly
neighbors, provided they would per-
nit him to ship his boarded treasures
and looted bales to some other refuge
and found another home. After the
departure of the defeated chief the
other two having come into possession
OF the prize, soon found joint possess
sion unsatisfactory and disappointing,
and after much contention they
turned their guns against each other,
and at it they went hammer and
tongs until they had not enough men
to load and fire. Then in order to OBJ
tain breathing spell they mutually
agreed to submit the casus belli to
arbitration. Naturally their choice
fell on Black Eric, who from his eyrie
on the hill had been an impartial
spectator of the wasting wars waged
at its foot.
"Black Eric readily consented to
act as umpire and to render fair
award after hearing both sides, and
he came down into the strongholds of
The belligerents with strong body of
mis- retainers from the castle on the
bill. Having heard with judicial dig
nifty and impartiality, the evidence
adduced by the contending parties, he
rendered, in substance, the following
.uardo.