The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-04-24

! sale by all druggists.
"Bimini," and was discovered by an
expedition sent out by dayton,
| Spaniard of Santo Domingo. One of
this adventurer's vessels was wrecked,
and he built brigantine, the first in
stance of ship building on this coast"
Col. Estill passed hurriedly over the
visits of Verrazano, a FlOrentine, in
the service of Francis 1 of France, who,
from his description of the place, doubt
less landed at Tybee, or of Villipane,
who was followed by Ribault, who
named the Savannah river, the Gironde,
the Ogeechee, the Garonne, and so on
until all the rivers of future Georgia
bore names of his beloved France
over a hundred years elapsed, he
said, before another settlement was at
tempted, when Seyle and his English
colonists settled Port Royal. Upon the
death of Seyle, his followers removed
to Ashley river and ultimately settled
Charleston. The first separate grant of
the land south of the Savannah was to
Sir Robert Montgomery, but his
Utopian scheme and his colony of
Azilia never materialized. Seventeen
years after this Oglethorpe and his
colonists landed at "Yamacraw Bluff"
and founded Savannah.
Col. Estill told an interesting story
of the pirates which ravaged the south
ern coast in the countrys early his
tory.
story of the Pirates.
The story of the pirates of the South
Atlantic reads like a yellow journal
story, he said. In those days priva-
teers and pirates were the same men
under different conditions; the change
from one to the other was only ques-
ton of time and place. In wars with
Spain and France the English and CO.
lonial pirates did valiant service, and
on entering a colonial seaport were
welcomed as we welcomed Dewey. The
best was not good, though, for them.
They sold their booty "below cost 70
the merchants, who probably INDUCED
in bargain sales" in consequence
thereof; they spent their gold and sill
yer, which they jingled in their pockets
more freely than Carnegie scatters his
wealth. They painted the little CO.
lonial towns red or any other color
that pleased them, without fear of the
bewigged bailiffs. That period was
what the colonists called good times.
The times change, but the pirates did
not change with them. Peace spread
her wings over the land, and the pi-
rates occupation, like Othello's, was
gone. They had to make living, how
ever, and turned their attention to de-
spelling colonial commerce.
One of the most notorious of these
sea robbers was Blackboard" whose
name is still perpetuated on an island
on the Georgia coast, well known to a
number of prominent doctors of Savan-
nah, who there find surceaSe from care
at certain seasons in deer shooting.
"Blackbeard'S' name was Edward
Drummond, though he was generally
known as Edward Teach, or "Teach,
the pirate" An old writer says that
Drummond, like many latter day
thieves, was born of respectable par
ents, near Hampton, Va. He was the
terror of friend as well as foe, and
smiled as he made an old acquaintance
whom he had met ashore, walk the
plank" He was familiar with every is
land and inlet from the Gulf to Chesa-
peake bay, but his favorite rendezvous
were the islands of Carolina and Geor-
gia. Doubtless beneath the soil of
many a neighboring island lie buried
his treasures.
How Blackboard Held Up Charles
SO bold was Blackboard that on one
occasion he dropped anchor off
Charleston bar and captured a fleet of
outward bound vessels, aboard one of
which were a number of prominent
people of Charleston, among them
Samuel Wragg. The pirate sent an
armed boat to the town and demanded
that he Se furnished with supplies
threatening, if his demand were not
complied with, to send Wragg's head
without his body to Gov. johnson. The
Governor and his council" spent a day
in trying to devise a plan by which
n avoid n o
demand, but after very nearly causing
Wragg to lose his head did as they
were ordered.
Blackboard later captured a French
merchant vessel and took it into Cape
Fear river, claiming that he had found
the ship derenct at sea. 1t leaked out
that he had captured the vessel and
killed the crew and passengers. That
horrible crime with his impudent es-
| capade at Charleston led to his undo
| ing. Gov. Spottswood of Virginia sent
| a fleet to capture him. The Virginians
discovered Blackbeard's black flag
| afioat in Oracoke Sound and at once
gave him battle. The pirates were
| defeated and those who were not kill
ed were made prisoners and after
wards hanged. In the battle, Black
beard, sword and pistols in hand,
boarded one of the Virginia vessels,
and fiercely attacked Capt. Maynard
commanding the NlrglnlanS.
AS the pirate was about to shoot
Maynard in the breast the latter by a
| quick stroke of his cutlass severed
the pirates head from his body, and
it rolled on the ships deck. This hor-
rible trophy was placed on the bow
| spirit of the flagship of the Virginia
fleet and carried in triumph into
Hampton Roads. Blackboard exhibited
desperate courage in the fight and died
| fighting like pirate, receiving TWEEN
ty-five wounds five of which were gun
shots. Whether the decapitated head
said Dam" three times. as the Boys
Pirates Own Book" tells, Col Estil
was not prepared to say.
Returning to the settlement of 'Geor-
gia Col. Estill said no nation ever
treated its unfortunates as England
of the eighteenth century did it's in
solvent debtors. "Free-born English
! men, unconvicted of crime were sub
| jected in the metropolis of Britain to
a thraldom more vile and affecting
than the bondage of negro slaves"
Troubles of the Colony.