The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1907-06-19
PIRATE ISLAND
1t Was Once the Stronghold OF
Morgan, the Buccaneer.
4 TINY COUNTRY TO ITSELF.

Old Providence, an Uneanny Spot In
the Caribbean Sea, and the lawless,
Reckless, Murderous Crew That Now
Claim 1t as Their Own.
Sailing upon that almost unknown
sea which ebbs and flows upon the
Mosquito Coast the line Of the horizon
is broken by two faint points. AS the
vessel approaches nearer a strange
sight meets the vision. The points
have become two jaws looming against
the clearness of the sky and water. 1t
is as if an enormous mouth had been
suddenly thrust out Of the sea with
distended jaws pointed skyward.
Truly the sight is uncanny, but the
jaws mark an uncanny spot ID tne
Caribbean. Once these waters were
not so deserted by man. Upon their
bosom passed stately galleons, ene
plate ships loaded with treasure 1ro1n
the new Spain. When their captains
saw those black jaws they may nave
said an Ave as, altering their course
they sailed away from them' tor tnlS
bit Of dry spot in the ocean was tnen
known, as it is today, as pirate Is
land.
Old Providence, as the map maker
calls it. is in truth dot on the waters.
Not over four miles from end to end
in its longest direction and half as
much in width, q good walker can en-
circle it by the little coast path the ma
tiyes call q highway in half day. The
human beings who call it home are
confined to its outer edge, for the sub
marine volcano which at some time II
the past ages gave birth to Old ProVl-
dence in one Of its convulslons, topped
it off with miniature mountain range
stretching above the center OF the Is
land. It IS ore Of these mountains that
forms tie black gaping jaws so plainly
seen long before the graceful cocoanur
palms marking the shore line are vlsl-
bic. In q whimsical display OF It's
power the volcano cut great wedge
in one Of the peaks-a wedge fully
hundred feet across at the top ana
tapering to q score or so at the bottom.
Today, as centuries ago. Old Prov1-
dence is tiny country to itself. Far
out Of the modern ocean highway, ID
one Of the least freQuented parts Of the
Caribbean, the steamship OF sailing
ship has no occasion to pass near II
unless driven there by storm. There Is
no postof6ce, for the reason that there
is no mail service. True, it is claimed
by some country just as every point
that sticks out Of the sea is CLAIMED.
Colombia calls Old Providence q part
Of its republic, but not man lives
upon il to act as governor, Judge OF
even agent. So its people kill, steal
and commit other crimes utterly re-
gardless Of any authority save force
and the little influence Of the solitary
white man who has cast his lot among
them.
st. Catherine, as it was mocSngly
called in the old days, was the strong
hold Of Henry Morgan. For nearly 2oe
years the blood Of his followers has
flowed in the veins Of its people, but
before the freebooters sailed into its
hsrbor the Spanish governor OF Costa
Rica had made it an island prison for
criminals he thought too dangerous to
keep on the mainland. When Morgan
defeated the garrison he placed as
guards Of his captiyes 100 Of these con-
victs, released on their promise to JOIN
has ban6-hterally human dregs OF
new Spain. Again the Spaniards cap
tured the island and turned it into a
penal colony until Morgan's flag was
raised above it in 1910 and the struggle
for its possession ended. Since then
most Of those who have lived upon it
have been descendants Of the white
outlaws, their convict allies and the
black women who went there from the
West Indies on Morgan's ship.
The, blood Of the islanders is the
blood Of English, Irish and Scotch, but
adulterated with that Of the negro. To
dav fully 1000 persons live upon this
islet-a thousand human beings VINO
have desenerated in mind until the
majority Of them are little better than
beasts. Murder is common; theft is not
crime; marriage is unknown. Only
the fear Of q stronger keeps many
man from taking life for tride-
Most Of the cocoanuts are traded for
clothing, liquor, firearms. knives and
trinkets. After a vessel has loaded
and departed, for days the island may
be the scene Of a drunken debauch,
which brings to mind stories written
about the carousals Of the buccaneers
after the capture Of prize, but here
IS no captain or discipline Of the sea-
The weaker are the prey Of the
stronger, and robbery and killing pass
unnoticed. It is the testimony Of Fa-
ther St. John, the brave priest who
alone is endeavoring to do something
to improve the condition Of these peo-
ple. that scarcely a week passes with
out murder.
With only handful out Of the 1000
population acknowledging any form Of
Christianity, it is not strange that the
belief in fetiches, even voodooism,
should be widespread. Witch doctors
and sellers Of charms for good and
evil are numerous. Most Of the wo-
men wear next to the skin tuft Of
hair, a piece Of rag smeared with
blood or some other amulet which is
intended to cast a spell over their enc
mics or to keep off Satin. in which all
believe.
But the life and history Of these hu-
man renegades are not the only evil
dence to prove that their home is a real
pirate island and not the sort Of which
the novelists are so fond Of describ-
:ng. At its north end rises a rocky
plateau covering half dozen acres.
Really It IS another island. out sepa-