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<v Speaker 1>Chapter twenty four of Buccaneers and Pirates of Our Coasts.

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<v Speaker 1>This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in

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<v Speaker 1>the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please

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<v Speaker 1>visit LibriVox dot org. Recorded by Laurie Ann Walden. Buccaneers

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<v Speaker 1>and Pirates of Our Coasts by Frank Richard Stockton, chapter

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<v Speaker 1>twenty four. A Greenhorn under the Black Flag. Early in

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<v Speaker 1>the eighteenth century, there lived at Bridgetown in the island

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<v Speaker 1>of Barbados, a very pleasant, middle aged gentleman named Major

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<v Speaker 1>Steed Bonnet. He was a man in comfortable circumstances and

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<v Speaker 1>had been an officer in the British Army. He had

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<v Speaker 1>retired from military service and had bought an estate at Bridgetown,

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<v Speaker 1>where he lived in comfort and was respected by his neighbors.

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<v Speaker 1>But for some reason or other, this quiet and reputable

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<v Speaker 1>gentleman got it into his head that he would like

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<v Speaker 1>to be a pirate. There were some persons who said

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<v Speaker 1>that this strange fancy was due to the fact that

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<v Speaker 1>his wife did not make his home pleasant for him.

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<v Speaker 1>But it is quite certain that if a man wants

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<v Speaker 1>an excuse for robbing and murdering his fellow beings, he

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<v Speaker 1>ought to have a much better one than the bad

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<v Speaker 1>temper of his wife. But besides the general reasons why

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<v Speaker 1>Major Bonnet should not become a pirate, and which applied

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<v Speaker 1>to all men as well as himself, there was a

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<v Speaker 1>special reason against his adoption of the profession of a

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<v Speaker 1>sea robber. For he was an out and out landsman,

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<v Speaker 1>and knew nothing whatever of nautical matters. He had been

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<v Speaker 1>at sea but very little, And if he had heard

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<v Speaker 1>a boatswain order his man to furl the keel, to

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<v Speaker 1>batten down the shrouds, or to hoist the fore chains

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<v Speaker 1>to the topmast yard, he would have seen nothing out

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<v Speaker 1>of the way in these commands. He was very fond

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<v Speaker 1>of history, and very well read in the literature of

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<v Speaker 1>the day. He was accustomed to the habits of good society,

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<v Speaker 1>and knew a great deal about farming and horses, cows

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<v Speaker 1>and poultry. But if he had been compelled to steer

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<v Speaker 1>a vessel, he would not have known how to keep

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<v Speaker 1>her bow ahead of her stern. But notwithstanding this absolute

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<v Speaker 1>incapacity for such a life, and the absence of any

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<v Speaker 1>of the ordinary motives for abandoning respectability in entering upon

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<v Speaker 1>a career of crime. Major Bonnet was determined to become

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<v Speaker 1>a pirate, and he became one. He had money enough

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<v Speaker 1>to buy a ship and to fit her out and

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<v Speaker 1>man her, and this he quietly did at Bridgetown, nobody

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<v Speaker 1>supposing that he was going to do anything more than

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<v Speaker 1>start off on some commercial cruise. When everything was ready,

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<v Speaker 1>his vessels slipped out of the harbor one night, and

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<v Speaker 1>after he was sailing safely on the rolling sea, he

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<v Speaker 1>stood upon the quarter deck and proclaimed himself a pirate.

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<v Speaker 1>It might not be supposed that this was necessary, for

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<v Speaker 1>the seventy men on board his ship were all desperate

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<v Speaker 1>cutthroats of various nationalities, whom he had found in the

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<v Speaker 1>little port, and who knew very well what was expected

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<v Speaker 1>of them when they reached the sea. But if Steed

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<v Speaker 1>Bonnet had not proclaimed himself a pirate, it is possible

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<v Speaker 1>that he might not have believed himself that he was one.

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<v Speaker 1>And so he ran up the black flag with its

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<v Speaker 1>skeleton or skull and crossbones. He girded on a great cutlass,

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<v Speaker 1>and folding his arms, he ordered his mate to steer

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<v Speaker 1>the vessel to the coast of Virginia. Although Bonnet knew

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<v Speaker 1>so little about ships in the sea, and had had

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<v Speaker 1>no experience in piracy. His men were practiced seamen, and

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<v Speaker 1>those of them who had not been pirates before were

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<v Speaker 1>quite ready and very well fitted to become such. So

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<v Speaker 1>when this green hand came into the waters of Virginia,

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<v Speaker 1>he actually took two or three vessels and robbed them

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<v Speaker 1>of their cargoes, burning the ships and sending the crews

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<v Speaker 1>on shore. This had grown to be a common custom

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<v Speaker 1>among the pirates, who, though cruel and hard hearted, had

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<v Speaker 1>not the inducements of the old buccaneers to torture and

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<v Speaker 1>murder the crews of the vessels which they captured. They

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<v Speaker 1>could not hate human beings in general, as the buccaneers

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<v Speaker 1>hated the Spaniards, and so they were a little more

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<v Speaker 1>humane to their prisoners, setting them ashore on some island

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<v Speaker 1>or desert coast and letting them shift for themselves as

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<v Speaker 1>best they might. This was called marooning, and was somewhat

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<v Speaker 1>less heartless than the old methods of getting rid of

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<v Speaker 1>undesirable prisoners by drowning or beheading them. As Bonnet had

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<v Speaker 1>always been rather conventional in his ideas, and had respected

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<v Speaker 1>the customs of the society in which he found himself.

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<v Speaker 1>He now adopted all the paratical fashions of the day,

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<v Speaker 1>and when he found himself too far from land to

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<v Speaker 1>put the captured crew on shore, he did not hesitate

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<v Speaker 1>to make them walk the plank, which was a favorite

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<v Speaker 1>device of the pirates. Whenever they had no other way

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<v Speaker 1>of disposing of their prisoners. The unfortunate wretches, with their

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<v Speaker 1>hands tied behind them, were compelled one by one to

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<v Speaker 1>mount a plank which was projected over the side of

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<v Speaker 1>the vessel and balanced like a sea saw. And when

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<v Speaker 1>prodded by knives and cutlasses, they stepped out upon this plank.

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<v Speaker 1>Of course, it tipped up and down they went into

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<v Speaker 1>the sea. In this way, men, women and children slipped

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<v Speaker 1>out of sight among the waves as the vessel sailed

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<v Speaker 1>merrily own. In one branch of his new profession, Bonnet

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<v Speaker 1>rapidly became proficient. He was an insatiable robber and a

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<v Speaker 1>cruel conqueror. He captured merchant vests all along the coast,

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<v Speaker 1>as high up as New England, and then he came

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<v Speaker 1>down again and stopped for a while before Charlestown Harbor,

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<v Speaker 1>where he took a couple of prizes, and then put

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<v Speaker 1>into one of the North Carolina harbors, where it was

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<v Speaker 1>always easy for a pirate vessel to refit and get

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<v Speaker 1>ready for further adventures. Bonnet's vessel was named the Revenge,

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<v Speaker 1>which was about as ill suited to the vessel as

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<v Speaker 1>her commander was ill fitted to sail her, for Bonnet

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<v Speaker 1>had nobody to revenge himself upon, unless indeed it were

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<v Speaker 1>his scolding wife. But a good many pirate ships were

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<v Speaker 1>then called the Revenge, and Bonnet was bound to follow

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<v Speaker 1>the fashion, whatever it might be. Very soon after he

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<v Speaker 1>had stood upon the quarter deck and proclaimed himself a pirate,

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<v Speaker 1>his men had discovered that he knew no more about

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<v Speaker 1>sailing than he knew about painting portraits. And although there

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<v Speaker 1>were under officers who directed all the nautical operations, the

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<v Speaker 1>mass of the crew conceived a great contempt for a

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<v Speaker 1>landsman captain. There was much grumbling and growling, and many

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<v Speaker 1>of the men would have been glad to throw Bonnet

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<v Speaker 1>overboard and take the ship into their own hands. But

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<v Speaker 1>when any symptoms of mutiny showed themselves, the pirates found

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<v Speaker 1>that although they did not have a sailor in command

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<v Speaker 1>over them, they had a very determined and relentless master

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<v Speaker 1>Bonnet knew that the captain of a pirate ship ought

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<v Speaker 1>to be the most severe and rigid man on board,

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<v Speaker 1>and so at the slightest sign of insubordination, his grumbling

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<v Speaker 1>men were put in chains or flogged. And it was

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<v Speaker 1>Bonnet's habit at such times to strut about the deck

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<v Speaker 1>with loaded pistols, threatening to blow out the brains of

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<v Speaker 1>any man who dared to disobey him. Recognizing that although

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<v Speaker 1>their captain was no sailor, he was a first class tyrant,

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<v Speaker 1>the rebellious crew kept their grumbling to themselves and worked

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<v Speaker 1>his ship. Bonnet now pointed the bow of the Revenge southward,

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<v Speaker 1>that is, he requested somebody else to see that it

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<v Speaker 1>was done, and sailed to the Bay of Honduras, which

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<v Speaker 1>was a favorite resort of the pirates about that time.

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<v Speaker 1>And here it was that he first met with the

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<v Speaker 1>famous captain Blackbeard. There can be no doubt that our Amma,

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<v Speaker 1>a pirate, was very glad indeed, to become acquainted with

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<v Speaker 1>this well known professional, and they soon became good friends.

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<v Speaker 1>Blackbeard was on the point of organizing an expedition, and

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<v Speaker 1>he proposed that Bonnet and his vessel should join it.

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<v Speaker 1>This invitation was gladly accepted, and the two pirate captains

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<v Speaker 1>started out on a cruise together. Now, the old reprobate

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<v Speaker 1>Blackbeard knew everything about ships and was a good navigator,

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<v Speaker 1>and it was not long before he discovered that his

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<v Speaker 1>new partner was as green as grass in regard to

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<v Speaker 1>all nautical affairs. Consequently, after having thought the matter over

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<v Speaker 1>for a time, he made up his mind that Bonnet

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<v Speaker 1>was not at all fit to command such a fine

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<v Speaker 1>vessel as the one he owned and had fitted out,

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<v Speaker 1>And as pirates make their own laws, and perhaps do

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<v Speaker 1>not obey them if they happen not to feel like it,

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<v Speaker 1>Blackbeard sent for Bonnet to come on board his ship,

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<v Speaker 1>and then, in a manner as cold blooded as if

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<v Speaker 1>he had been about to cut down a helpless prisoner,

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<v Speaker 1>Blackbeard told Bonnet that he was not fit to be

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<v Speaker 1>a pirate captain, that he and tended to keep him

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<v Speaker 1>on board his own vessel, and that he would send

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<v Speaker 1>somebody to take charge of the revenge. This was a fall, indeed,

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<v Speaker 1>and Bonnet was almost stunned by it. An hour before,

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<v Speaker 1>he had been proudly strutting about on the deck of

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<v Speaker 1>a vessel which belonged to him, and in which he

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<v Speaker 1>had captured many valuable prizes. And now he was told

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<v Speaker 1>he was to stay on Blackbeard's ship and make himself

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<v Speaker 1>useful in keeping the log book, or in doing any

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<v Speaker 1>other easy thing which he might happen to understand. The

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<v Speaker 1>Green pirate ground his teeth and swore bitterly in sight

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<v Speaker 1>of himself, But he said nothing openly on blackbeard ship.

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<v Speaker 1>Blackbeard's decisions were not to be questioned. End of Chapter

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<v Speaker 1>twenty four