St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1898-05-18
A BUCCANEER BOOM.
The Brethren of the Coast Sacked Towns
When Gallons Failed Them.

When Gallons Failed Them.
Frank r. Stockton, writing in st.
Nicholas series Of narrative sketches
of "The Buccaneers Of Our Coast !"
says: 81
The buccaneers were afraid Of moth
ing. They paid no attention to the rules
Of war. A little ship would attack q
big one without the slightest hesitation,
and, more than that, would generally
take it, and in every way Spain was be.
ginning to feel as IL she we're 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 change was made
in regard to the shipping Of merchan-
disc and the valuable metals from
America to her home ports The car
goes were 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 we'll armed and defended
as to make it almost impossible for any
pirate ship to capture it. In some re.
speots this plan worked very we'll, al
though when the buccaneers did happen
to pounce 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 great
ships was taken, and for time the re-
suits Of Spanish robbery and cruelty
were safely carried to Spain.
But it was very hard to get the bet
ter Of the buccaneers. Their lives and
their fortunes depended upon this boom,
and if 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 goldfields find they can no longer
wash out with their pans a 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 devote themselves to capturing
Spanish gold on its transit across the
ocean many of them changed their
methods of operation and boldly plan
ned to seize the treasures Of their enc
my before it was put upon the ships.
Consequently the buccaneers formed
themselves into larger bodies command
ed by noted leaders and made attacks
upon the Spanish settlements and towns.
Many of these were found nearly de.
fenseless, and even those which boosted
Notifications often fell before the reck-
less charges of the buccaneers. The pill
lage, the burning and the cruelty on
shore exceeded that which had hitherto
been known on the sea. There is gener-
ally a great deal more in town than
there is in ship, and the buccaneers
proved themselves to be among the most
outrageous, exacting and cruel conquer
ors 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 them.
selves, and acted like wild beasts, with.
out the disposition which is generally
shown by wild beast to lie down and
60 to sleep when it has had enough.
There were times when it seemed as
though it would be safer for a 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 we'll ordered Spanish
American town with it's mayor, its
officials and it's garrison.
1t was very strange nation of marine
bandits which had thus sprung into ex-
istence on these faraway waters. 1t was
nation of grown up men who existed
only for the purpose Of carrying off that
which other people were taking away.
1t was nation of secondhand robbers
who carried their operations to such an
extent that they threatened to do away
entirely with that series of primary rob-
berries to which Spain had devoted her.
self. I do not know that there were any
companies formed in those days for the
prosecution of buocaneering, but ! am
quite sure that if there had been their
stocks would have gone to high figure.