Pine Bluff daily graphic. (Pine Bluff, Ark.) 1893-1942, 1898-04-03
A BUCcANEER BOOM.
The brethren OF the Coast Sacked
Towns When the GalIeons
Failed Them.

The buccaneers are afraid of nothing
They paid no attention to the rules of
war. A little ship would attack a big
one without the slightest hesitation,
and, more than that, would generally
take it; and in every way Spain was
beginning to feel as if she were acting
the part of provider to the pirate sea-
men of every nation.
Finding that she could do nothing to
diminish the number of the buccaneer-
ing vessels, Spain determined that she
would not have SO many richly-laden
ships of her own upon these dangerous
seas; consequently a change was made
in regard to the shipping of merchan-
disc and the valuable metals from
America to her home ports. The car
goes We're concentrated, and what had
previously been placed upon three ships
was crowded into the holds and be-
tween the decks of one great vessel,
which was so well armed and defended
as TO make it almost impossible for any
pirate ship to capture it. In some re-
speets this plan worked very well, al
though when the buccaneers did hap
pen to ponnce upon one of these richly
laden vessels in such numbers and with
such swift ferocity that they were able
to capture it they rejoiced over prize
far more valuable than anything the
pirate soul had ever dreamed of before
But it was not often that one of these
o+ ebifN- to1 Ion
the results of Spanish robbery and
cruelty were safely carried to Spain.
But it was very hard to get the better
of the buccaneers: their lives and their
fortunes depended upon this boom, and
il in one way they could not get the
gold out of the Spaniards. which the
latter got out Of the natives, they would
try another. When the miners in the
gold fields find they can no longer wash
out with their pans Il paying quantity
of the precious metal they go to work
on the rocks and break them into pieces
and crush them into dust; so, when the
buccaneers found it did not pay to de-
vote themselves to capturing Spanish
gold on its transit across the ocean.
many of them changed their methods
of operation and boldly planned to
seize the treasures of their enemy be-
fore it was put upon the ships. Conse-
quently the buccaneers formed them
selves into larger bodies, commanded
by noted leaders, and made attacks up
on the Spanish settlements and towns.
Many of these were found nearly de-
fenseless, and even those which boosted
Notifications often fell before the recls-
less charges of the buccaneers. The
pillage, the burning and the cruelty on
shore exceeded that which had hither-
to been known on the sea. There is
generally a great deal more in town
than there is in a ship, and the buc-
cancers proved themselves to be among
the most outraged exacting and cruel
coneuerors ever known in this world
They were governed by no laws of
warfare; whatever they chose to do
they did. They respected nobody, not
even themselves. and acted like wild
beasts, without the disposition which is
generally shown by wild beast, to lie
down and go to sleep when it has had
enough.
There were times when it seemed as
though it would be safer for man who
had regard for his life and comfort to
sail upon a pirate ship instead of a
Spanish galleon, or to take up his resi-
dence in one of the uncivilized COM
munities of Tortuga or Jamaica instead
Of settling in a well-ordered Spanish
American town with it's mayor, it's Of
ficials and its garrison.
1t was q very strange nation of ma
rine bandits which had thus sprung
into existence on these far-away wa
ters; ii was a nation of grown-up men
who existed only for the purpose of
carrying off that which other people
were taking away; it was a nation of
secondhand robbers, who carried their
operations to such an extent that they
threatened to do away entirely with
that series of primary robberies to
which Spain had devoted herself. / do
not know chat there were any COM
panies formed in those days for the
prosecution of buccaneering, but am
quite sure that if there had been their
stocks would have gone to high figure.
Frank r. Stockton, in st. Nicholas.
F3ddlemn lSer to the Angels.
An eccentric character who lives near