Smyrna times., 1933-07-12

flying the skull and cross bones
was wont to put in when doings
on the exterior waters waxed hot
and heavy
One visit is definitely on record
In 1717, the notorious buccaneer,
whose Christian, or un-Christian
name was Edward Teach. decided
to take his jolly band, which he
called the Lilly Livered Rogues. on
an outing to Philadelphia. Accom-
panied by his First Mate, Israel
Hands, he staggered down Chest
nut and Market streets his great
4 raven beard, braided in pigtails
tied with fancy ribbon swinging in
defiance. The sedate Quaker City,
however, dismayed by the sight of
this giant, bull necked man with
his barbaric beard and clanking
cutlass, called the authorities, and
! Blaekbird thought it prudent to
seek out his old hiding place in
Blackbird hundred
You would hardly have cared to
meet Comrade Teach. Scarcely a
pally sort of person, he struck
terror to the hearts of all who came
his way. The superstitious said he
had a charmed life, the evil eye,
and was in league with Satan him
self. With all this, history tells
us he wooed and won fourteen
wives; the last one was said to be
young and very beautiful and
seemed to have been his favorite
It is recorded that his mate, Israel
Hands, once asked his chief if his
ever-loving wives knew the hiding
place of his treasure, to which he
replied that only he and the devil
knew, and the longest liver took
all.
Many wild rumors of hidden
treasures were current in the last
century; one was. that back about
1850 a man was living on what is
known as the Log Landing Farm,
told his neighbors of having the
hiding place of Blackbeard's treas
ure revealed to him in a dream.
Shortly afterward, in the middle of
the summer he left his crops
standing in the fields and moved
to town and lived in luxury ever
after. Upon investigation, it was
found that there had been much
digging along the creek banks,
evidently in search of treasure.
Another furry of treasure hunt
ers was started again last year
when it was discovered that some
one had unearthed a large kettle
on the Dickinson farm at Taylor's
Bridge. If this kettle was filed
with pieces Of eight the finders
have kept it a deep dark secret for
fear, no doubt, of annoying the in
come tax man.
Speaking Of pieces Of eight, it is
interesting to note that the Amer
lean dollar is the direct descendant
of these coins, which were so nam
ed because they contained eight
reales, reale being about twelve
and one-half cents. The figure 8
with a horizontal bar drawn
through it was the symbol, and
when the dollar mark was invented
they took out two sections of the
8 and added two vertical lines
thus: S.
Those of us who think we would
liked to have lived in those good I
old days of pirates and such very
likely would change our minds
when we listen to the story Of Rob I
ert Derrickson, a direct defendant /
Of Morris Liston, who bought
twelve hundred acre tract direct /
from the Indians about 1880. This +
was before Penn owned this tract
of land and his famous grants
were given out. Derrickson owns
part of this Liston tract, and his
house is a substantial brick man.
sion with big roof of the early
Dutch period, built in 1889, as also
was the house one-half mile dis
tant, now owned by John r. Fran
ois. It is the original Liston home
that figures in this story. Wher
the writer called on Mr.. Derrick.
son he was busy cleaning SOW
beans; when told of my mission, he
stopped work and took me to the
side of the house facing the bay,
there he showed me where a large