Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1898-01-27
ORIGIN OF THE BUCCANEERS
They Were Peaceable Beef Traders al
First Until Persecuted by Spain.

to st. Nicholas a series of sketches
OF THE Buccaneers of Our Coast. !"
In his first article Mr.. Stockton says:
The first pirates who made them
selves known in American waters
were the famous buccaneers. They
began their career in very COM
monplace and unobjectionable man
ner, and the name by which they
were known had originally no pi-
ratioal significance. 1t was derived
from the French word boucanier,
signifying "a drier of beef. .
Some of the West Indian islands,
especially Santo Domingo, were al
most overrun with wild cattle of
various kinds, and this was owing
to the fact that the Spaniards had
killed off nearly all the natives, and
so had left the interior of the is
lands to the herds of cattle, which
had increased rapidly. There were
few settlements on the seacoast,
but the Spaniards did not allow the
inhabitants of these to trade with
any nation but their own. and CON
sequently the people were badly
supplied with the necessaries of life.
But the trading vessels which
sailed from Europe to that part OF
the Caribbean sea were manned by
bold and daring sailors, and when
they knew that Santo Domingo con-
tanned an abundance of beef cattle,
they did not hesitate to stop at the
little seaports to replenish their
stores. The natives of the island
were skilled in the art of preparing
beef by smoking and drying it,
very much in the same way in
which our Indians prepare 'sjerked
meat" for winter use.
But so many vessels came to Santo
Domingo for beef that there were
not enough people Oh the island to
do all the hunting and drying that
were necessary $50 these trading yes
sells frequently anchored in some
quiet cove, and the crews went on
shore and devoted themselves to Sc.
curing a cargo Of beef, not only
enough for their own use, but for
trading purposes, and thus they be-
came known as "beef driers,' or
buccaneers.
When the Spaniards heard of this
new industry which had arisen
within the limits of their posses
sions, they pursued the vessels of
the buccaneers wherever they were
seen and relentlessly destroyed them
and their crews. But there were
not enough Spanish vessels to put
down the trade in dried beef. More
European vessels, generally English
and French, stopped at Santo Domin-
go, and more bands of hunting sail
ors made their way into the interior.
When these daring fellows knew
that the Spaniards were determined
to break up their trade, they became
more determined that it should not
be broken up, and they armed them
selves and their vessels so that they
might be able to make defense
against the Spanish men-of-war.
Thus gradually and almost imper-
ceptibly state of maritime warfare
grew up in the waters of the West
Indies between Spain and the beef
traders Of other nations, and, from
being obliged to fight, the bucca-
neers became glad to fight, provided
that it was Spain they fought. True
to her policy of despotism and cruel
ty when dealingwith her American
possessions, Spain waged a bitter
and bloody war against the bucca-
neers who dared to interfere with
the commercial relations between
herself and her West India colonies,
and in return the buccaneers were
just as bitter and savage in their
warfare against Spain. From de-
Tending themselves against Spanish
attacks they began to attack Span
iards whenever there was any
chance of success, at first only upon
the sea, but afterward on land.
Dolls Heads.
A 1mocf tho op+;ra ,,o,,,,l,%;o., -