The Washington weekly post. (Washington, D.C.) 1878-1916, 1899-04-11
TRUE TALES OF
THE BUCCANEERS
>-By r B. MAcLAcHLAN-%
-By T. B. MAcLAcHLAx

I not given to excess. and more than once
+ ne risked his popularity and authority by
; sndeavoring TO bring his ruffians TO some
/ sense OF humanity and decorum. From
/ the hrst. however, almost all these rezli-
iatlons were dead letter DEGREES could
ho' avail with shipload of devils such
a. Roberts led over the seas. for a men
INFAMOUS gang than his never sailed IN
/ der the black flag
Z ne pirates sieered for the West Indies
capturing and plunderinx As they uart
Ihey mad two very narrow eScapes frara
/ eeinS themselves taken-s1ce Of Ra~hg-
} aos. the other time of Marti,foup To
sho" MS hatred Of the people Of these ISL
anus Roberts caused a black far IN no
H&ae' the design on which was a figure
oil himself standing upon two skulls I'm
ger me skulls were the letters ~. R.H~|
ana A NJ H." meaning "A Barbarian
head and "A MaFtiniquan'S head" and
thereafter II went hard with any natives
OF those places who fell into the hands
OF tne pirates Forgetfulness OF injuries
. was not one OF Roberts virtues.
Haying put his ship into proper trim and
a'ued 20 the number OF his crew. Roberts
sailed straight for Newfoundland. 4
crowd of French fishing vessels ami n
9
/ 1ancled security. when suddenly the nj
rates entered and bore down upou Them
/ with their black flag flying and their
drums and trumpets sounding. Panic seiz-
/ ell the Frenchnen; they took To their
small boats and 1ed ashore. The pirates
broke loose Ike madmen upon the desert.
/ cd shipping. They plundered. burned. and
/ sank TIL not single one of the two and
twenty hshing craft was left afoat. Then
4 landing. they destroyed everything with
f IN reach fishing gear, landing stages. and
! the dwellings, OF the settlers in a frenzy
Oh sheer wanton brutality When they
had done as much damage as mallgoitv
could md to do. they embarked on the
bristol ships and put to sea again. leaving
! nothing behind them but sorrow and des-
! olation.
/ On the Newfoundland banks they con-
} tlnued their career OF destruction. OF nine
or ten French ships they encountered they
/ spared only one, d vessel Of twentv-six
guns. which they took for their own use.
1t being more suitable for their purposes
thas the Bristol ship they Garfield off Still
( cruising off Newfoundland. they captured
several English vessels boarding them
/ like pack of furies. mailing and threat
/ ening thu crews, carrying off everything
/ that pleased their fancy. and throwing
overheard in drunken frOlic great quanti-
ties of the goods for which they had 10
use. disappearing and clustering. they
swore to their countrymen as they plum
1 dered them that they would never be
/ hung up to sun-dry. IF ever they were
overpowered they would set fire to the
/ powder magazine. and all go merrily to
( he'll togetherm
| back TO the West Indies picking ND vari-
Gus prizes by The way; and then, prey be-
coming scarce, they voted for the co1st
OF Africa. SO off acre IS the Atlantic they
went. But when they came near the AZ
rlcan coast, finding that they were hone
/ lessly to leeward of their intended port.
/ they Immediately turned and sailed for
south America again This vas a terrible
blunder an act OF insanity: for provisions
were short. ard there was only a single
hOgshead of water left for a company of
l24 men. The prizes from which they ex-
! pected to get supplies did not appaaF
and SCOT the pirates began to suffer the
results of their reckless folly. Tormente1
| by thirst, vet they had to submit 70 have
their water allowance more and more
curtailed. At last IL was reduced to one
mOuthful in the twcnty- four hours The
men became frantic; some Of them drank
sea water and died in fearful agony 9th
ers had recourse to devices too hideous to
be named. Privation brought disease;
death followed iard after the ship AMI
daily claimed his prey.
Then came the day when there was no,
single drop Of water left or board The
gaunt, fever-wasted pirates stared dumbly
into one another's eyes; they knew that
another day would end Il all But on that
very day came wonderful deliverance.
Their soundines showed that land was not
far of At night they anchored IN shall
low water, and when day dawned they
saw that they were within reach of the
snOre. They were saved For a tinlo they
may have felt some slight emotion Of
gratitude 70 Providence But those feel
ines vanished with their thirst, and tney
were ready again for fresh villainies
Among the first OF these was an expe-
dition of revenge against Martinique.
where they plundered and burned a score
of trading ships Then after several 9th
er deeds of violence, they put into an ISL
and harbOr 10 clean and repair the ship
and to enjoy themselves after their own
fashion. Liquor was plentiful. and they
spent their days and nights in mad de-
baucheries and all manner Of frantic ex-
cesses. Three OF the pirates attempted to
escape from the hell in which an evil
chance had landed them. But they were
caught and brought hack \ court was
held The ruflans met in the steerage. !
and tried the case over their pipes and
their punch bowls. TWO Of the runaways !
were found guilty and were Immediately |
tied to the mast and shot dead.
After various profitable encounters in |
the West Indian seas, Roberts and his |
crew once more bent their course toward !
the coast Of Africa.
This was fated 10 be their last voyage /
They had now two stout ships, which /
they had named the Royal Fortune and /
the Good Fortune. In the voyage across !
the Atlantic they made many captures /
and their ships grew heavy with the /
spoil The pirates riOfed IN overlooking I
plenty. they were mad with liquor and !
success The ordinary methods OF dis 4
eipline became useless: Roberts found I
thai the sword and pistol we're the only j
forms OF persuasion that his men would +
listen 20. one day he struck dead a man I
who insulted him The crew grew mutt /.
nous: they began 80 conzDlres s1d one I
dark night seventy OF them made on with 1
the Good Fortune.
Nothing daunted. however. Roberts held 4
on MS course. and arrived or the mouth 4
OF the Senegal TWO French w1rshlDs I
taking the Royal Fortune f0r an inierlOp- /
ing trader gave chase. The pirates pre- 1
tended 10 fee nh the pursuers got within /!
range Thea they rau al0it the Jolly i
Roger" as they called their black hag /
sad when the Frencnmen sOund hem l
selves trapped they surrendered Without i
further ado. By this sJy0ke Roberts made !
good nj previous l0ss. He made enc 81 4
the prizes his cons0rt. and named d toe 4
Ranger; The other Vas turned into store 4
ship.
After a six weeks debauch on shore the 4
pirates resumed their cruise. going hOgth- !
ward. dgwn the coast % Africa. Their d
greatssl prize WAS fne frgate DelongiHs 4
10 the ROYAL African Company, which 4
lhey bounced upon iying % anchor, and /
while must 81 the Grew were On shore. 4
Roberts discarded MS own vessel tor this 1
ney one. and many Of the captured sail i
or willingly Joined the pirate crew. There 4
49, = clergyman aboard The prize. and 4
The r,irare- vowed IN savage Eiee that lie 4