Evening star., 1937-07-18
By G. Winfeld Hurd.
TH1S Is the story of body OF
land surrounded by water
and by mystery-the story OF
a Blackboard Island,

y
lived a pirate who had an aversion
for razors and weakness for wives;
he never shaved, and his honeymoons
were almost as frequent as new
moons. He led a round score OF the
fairer sex, more or less willingly, to
the altar, only to shoot them later
or throw them to the wolves of his
cutthroat band-their fate depend
Ing largely upon the sweetness Of his
chameleon disposition.
Who, with touch Of the adven-
tlresome spirit, has not burned the
midnight oil to shiver at the blood
curdling tales of slaughter and pill
lage of this buccaneer of the seas
Edward Teach to his father and
mother, but Blackboard to you and
me. And pleasant thug he has been
painted
Our dreams have been haunted by
visions of Blackboard scrambling
over the beds footboard and weight
ed down with dozen pistols strung
about his body, cutlass, cleaning
red, in his hand and a dagger be-
tween his teeth. We have seen him
In all his pristine glory as he sailed
the Spanish main, plundering and
sinking men-o'-War and merchant
men alike, making his captives walk
the plank to Davey Jones locker
We have seen him on the darkest
night as he stealthily buried his ILL
gotten loot and shot all who wit
messed the burial place. Hated and
feared, yes. but, shiver my timbers,
II he wasn't loved too! For Black
beard was home folks.
Down along the Georgia coast.
about so miles below Savannah, still
lies the aere of this old sea eagle,
If facts have kept legend on an even
keel. This is spooky old Blackboard
Island. Whether this island was
named by, or even for, the notorious
old sea rover is not known The
early history Of Blackboard is cloaked
in deepest mystery and legendary tales
OF herolsm and horror. 1t was there,
among the tangled mazes of dense un-
dergroWth and at the foot of giant
live oak, that Blackbeard's sixteenth
wife, an unreasonable woman who
being six man-loads of gold, so saith
the legend.
Through diligent search and study
We moderns have been able to learn,
beyond a reasonable doubt. that the
old pirate at least put bis ships in
there for boot-topping. Evidence on
the island also indicates that it was
used at least occasionally as a refuge,
One old brass cannon has been found.
snd the placement for another. De-
cadent remains of an old stockade
also bear testimony that former occu-
pants were warlike in nature 1t is
believed 1t was on the island that
Blackboard sought refuge from his
enemies.
IF BLACKBOARD did bury so much
as gold doubloon there, the island
guarded the secret we'll. for so far as is
known not one farthing was found
during the many decades that followed
che visits of the old pirate.
The more recent history of the
Island is, in fact. matter of record.
and here the United States Govern
ment steps into our story with statistics
% keep us straight. Dry, perhaps,
but brief and essential
Back In 1900. there lived in Savan-
nah. Ga, certain Francis Marie L.
Dumoussay de la You've, citizen of
France. At his death, one Thomas
Dechenaux and one John Poullon
were named as executors OF his will
and testament Francis Marie, ct
oetera, owned Blackboard Island. But
1t seems that he had inadvertently
overlooked small matter of indebted
ness to "Messrs. Perry Son and Lubois
Junr. Merchants and Copartners in
Trade, and citizens OF France, residing
In Bordeaux"
Just as in our modern day of ad-
vanced Jurisprudence Messrs. So-and-
80 went to court, sued won, and were
awarded Blackboard Island to satisfy
the judgment
The old island, which had been
formed by the restless washings of the
seas, went under the hammer of the
United States marshal. The Govern
ment was the highest bidder and
bought the island for $4,000. Since
that time it has been a Federal reser-
vation OF one kind or another 1t was
acquired by the Department of the
Navy in 1917. to supply timber for
naval purposes. 1t was from this
island that timber was to have been
taken for an ambitious Navy building
program at the time the Constitution
was built. In fact timber for "Old
1ronsides" was taken from a sister
island only 40 miles away.
In 1889, the island was turned into
. quarantine station under the De-
partment Of the Treasury the NAVY
Department retaining the timber
rights.
Then, in 1914, the island was set
aside as preserve and breeding
ground for native birds, under the
Department OF Agriculture the order
being revoked little less than a year
afterward. For the next nine years it
was under the control of the Depart
ment OF the Treasury as a quarantine
station, but was little used.
The Department of Agriculture,
however, acquired the island in 1924
was made a preserve and breeding
ground for native birds, but the
Treasury Department retained its op-
ton for quarantine purposes.
IN 1925, by Executive order, the De-
partment of Agriculture secured
full control OF the island and it was
set aside as a wildlife refuge and
experiment station for the acclimati-
nation Of certain Mexican and Central
American birds. And Blackboard
Island is still under the control of the
Department of Agriculture, being ad-
ninistered by the Bureau of Biological
Survey.
This brings our story out Of the hoary
past into the light of the present and
to an anticipation of the future.