Evening star., 1934-04-22

matches" the sulphurous smoke of which
wreathed his dark repellent face, rendering il
more hideous and more frghtful.
[ IE COMMENCED his career of crime on
! ] Anegada. one of the small West Indian
islands to the south of st. Thomas, and was
soon the owner of swift, beautifully-con-
structed pinnace, manned by a crew of rufianS
only little less brutal than himself.
He attacked unarmed merchantmen princi-
paly and became an expert in waylaying the
ships returning from Africa with cargoes of
slaves. These unfortunate captives he brought
secretly to his house in st. Thomas and depos-
ited them in narrow room running the length
of the building between the ceiling of the first
story and the floor of the second. In this dark
chamber the bound and gagged black people
would be kept until they could be sold.
He was fiend without any mercy. even to
his own crew. He considered it a rare Joke
to maroon some of them on the little barren
island called Dead Mans Chest" the one that
Stevenson immortalized in Treasure Island"
and leave them there with a hunk of salt meat
and jug Of rum for q week at time, in the
meanwhile betting as to which men would be
found alive, and which ones dead, or raving
ManiacS.
Another sport was to force his crew to de-
scend with him to the hold, with the matches
closed tightly, and to light keg Of sulphur.
He himself would sit on barrel, his black
bearded face illumined diabolcally by the blue.
green flames, and roar with laughter at the
spectacle of his men coughing and begging for
mercy as the sulphur smoke overcame them
When he finally permitted the matches to be
thrown back he would come out on the deck
last. boasting loudly that he was the greatest
devil Of them all! Something that no man ever
disputed!
On the Island of St. Thomas Edward Teach
played the dandy. He wore brocaded coats and
white satin knee breeches. His beard vas
braided with red and yellow ribbons and draped
back over his ears.
He was fantastic, but it was fantastic age.
In such free port as Charlotte Amalie strange
looking Seafaring men were common sights
So it was not until accident revealed his
true identity that the Danish governor found
to his horror that Capt. Thatch," suspected
OF no worse crime than dealing in African
slaves, was the dangerous, cruel pirate, the
scourge Of the Caribbean Sea.
He was forced to make q quick exit in his
pinnace and came north to resume his piratical
career along the coast of the Carolinas and
Virginia. In 1714 he met q ustly-deserved end
and died as violently as he lived.
IT WAS long after Blackbeard's sojourn in
st. Thomas that the fortunes Of the VIRGIN
Islands began to decline. Steam replaced sail
ing vessels, slavery was abolished beet sugar
superseded cane and prices avalanched down.
ward.
America purchased the three islands from
Denmark In 1917 using them as q coaling base
during the World War.
Prohibition finished the devastating series Of
misfortunes and tourists began giving the
islands wide berth. Ex-President Hoover
clapped on the final insult by publicly stating
that we had bought an effective poor house,
That was, indeed. strange epitaph for three
unbroken centuries Of princely wealth.
cff11 TN. a.
enough acreage now In sugar cane to produce
100000 gallons Of st. Croix rum . year. Il
will be received In the United States duty free.
It Is estimated that the rum monopoly YIN
bring the islands an income Of fully $25 00AAo0
q year.