Evening star., 1923-07-24
NEW BOOKS
AT RANDOM

Il
IN THE WAKE OF THE BUCCA-
NEERS, A. Hyatt verrill. The
Century Company.
on to, port a speck OF rock and
sand, Olive-drab against the tur-
quoise OF the sea. A barren cay.
topped by clouds OF circling sea birds,
It's only apparent life. What island
is that. Samr' The black Bahaman
pilot slued his huge bulk around to
face the lonely islet. '"rha' ov THAI"
slurred Sam. "Tha's Dead Mans
Chest. tha' ov tha'" And then the
big adventure leaped to instant life
with a whoop and hurrah Of sheer
joy.
Fifteen men on the Dead Mans
Chest,
9. Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of RUM"
!, Now we know where we are. And
| indeed. across the shortening span
Of water. we see-or we think we
see-men, sprawled on the white sand
of the Dead Mans Chest. above the
pounding surf, and in the thin shade
of~the sea-grape trees. Gaunt, fierce
! looking men, castaways, marooned
beyond hope of succor. And we
catch--or think we catch-the dull
CLINT of doubloons flung In a last
| chance. the final gamble of daredevil
men for the scant solace of a drunk
| en- half-hour at best. Now we know
where we are! And what luck-more
like Providence than luck-to meet
up with this particular send-ofr to
our venturing in the wake of the
buccaneers. For these are our own
pirates-quite in the family so to
& GTlxg lF II In hi Yat,
newed association we shall easily
slip back into the mood of these early
marauders. We shall easily regain
our old lawlessness and take on once
more share of our own primal fero-
cities. And that is as it should be.
For we are sitting in here at no par
| lor game. Instead. we are sailing
the Spanish Main in the spirit of the
wild freebooters.
And we are on a real pirate ship.
suggests that famous pair of boots
which. re-soling and re-topping. re-
heeling and rejoicing, wore so credi-
bly, long. still holding prideful claim
to their original identity. But the
Vigilant is the pirate ship.
Privateer. pirate, SLAYER. man-o'-
war-these, in official record. mark
the high stages of her colorful ca
reer. And down in the hold, you
may see for yourself the ring-bolt
| to which the groaning blacks were
chained in the days when her cargo
was black ivory" bound from
African rivers to the slave markets
in the very zone where we are now
shP ths Vgan, And oS Shat knd sa
ing ship, surely. None other than a
white winged craft driven by the
| singing trades, its crew native,
would serve this prime adventure.
And, where are we bound? Bound
| for the lairs of the bold buccaneers.
| to be sure. Broadly charted, the
sailing takes us from the Virgin Is
lands out into the west, then south
ward to Panama and the Spanish
Main. Islands as big as some of
our big states, and islands, mere
rocks nosing out of the sea like the
Dead Mans Chest, one and all pro-
| vide some scene. some act in the
great drama of the Caribbean when
| Spanish and English and French and
Dutch and Dane struggled here in
| rivalry that was all cupidity and
avariCe. A covetOusness, this, that
turned many a loyal master and man
| in the service of king and country
| To the lawless life of ship raider and
What is 1t in us that answers so
rtngingly to the call of the bucca-
neers? One wonders. For. no mat
ter what annals of peace and order
years pile up. its deepest potency
will lie forever in this Glamourous
period of the lawless sea kings of
the Caribbean.
The Virgin Islands. now part of
| our own commonwealth. arc rich in
pirate lore. \ far cry. this. from the
pious destiny implied FOR them in
| their naming by the faithful Catholic
| Columbus. who, seeing them spread
| out across his way in so great a rich
up as the Virgins in honor of the
eleven thousand companions of the
| holy ST. Ursula. 1t was here at St.
| Thomas that the infamous Edward
| Teach flung defiance not only at the
great and good discoverer, but at the
| holy saint as well. Here he built him
self a stronghold-Standin to this
day-from which he sailed out to rob
! and murder, TO which he returned for
| safety from pursuers. Here he mar
ried his fourteen wives, more or less,
and here he adroitly made away with
! them when the weariness and general
| discomfort of matrimony interfsred
with the business of pirating. A
/
who today would have been a most
! competent publicity man and prime
| efficiency expert. st. John, st. kits,
! ST. Barts-all saints. either male
or female, down that way-each has
| its own special store of report, leg
! end, truth and half truth concern
| ing the hazards and escapes of these
| "Bretheren of the Main" And around
! each there fingers still the story of a
| vast hidden treasure to tempt the be-
| 70 "a
man even though he openly and loud
| ly declares himself to be a skeptic in
| this matter.
Sailing across to Santo Domingo, we
reach the birthplace of the bucca-
neers-skipping no end of dramatic
and interesting recital lying in be-
| tween this point and the Virgin Is
| lands. There the Vigilant drops her
\ anchor in the secure harbor of Tor
| tuga, where for many a year the
| sea rovers held their own and where,
| in rough organization. they created
! the Brethren of the Main" Here pi-
| rates of all nations gathered, united
| against any power that was at the
ed their own governors, made their
| own laws, built their own forts. and
| defied the world to dislodge them.
Here they fitted. out fleets Of armed
| ruthless men. From this point they
| ravaged cities and destroyed ships
along the shores and on the waters
OF the Caribbean. Lolonais, Morgan,
Montbars and another and another Of
the great corsairs had dropped anchor
| and swung to moorings in these Sc
cure waters, just as the Vigilant
| is doing today. From Tortuga they
spread far and near. and the dugouts
1 In which they were wont to make
their first raids gave place to swift
ships bristling with cannon and man.
ned by hundreds of well armed men,"
! X X X