IN THE WAKE OF THE BUCCANEERS BY A. HYATT VERRILL AUTHOR OF “PANAMA, PAST AND PRESENT,” “ISLES OF SPICE AND PALM,” “THE BOOK OF THE WEST INDIES,” “THE REAL STORY OF THE PIRATE,” ETC. ILLUSTRATED WITH DRAWINGS AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY THE AUTHOR AND RARE OLD ENGRAVINGS ☙ ☙ ☙ ☙ PUBLISHED BY THE CENTURY CO. NEW YORK AND LONDON ☙ ☙ MCMXXIII INTRODUCTION There is no more entrancing body of water in either the Western or the Eastern Hemisphere—than the Caribbean Sea, with a fringe of lovely tropical islands on the one side and on the other the Spanish Main and its picturesque centuries-old towns and fascinating sights. Aside from its beauty, its delightful climate, and its ever-shifting scenes, the Caribbean and its shores are redolent of romance. It was the starting-point of those brave though ruthless adventurers who carved a new world for Castile and Leon. For centuries it was the treasure-house of the world and the battle-ground of the mightiest European powers. Across this sapphire sea sailed the caravels of Columbus, the Golden Hind of Drake, and the stately, plate-laden galleons of Spain. And across this same sea coursed those fierce sea-rovers the buccaneers. Of all the dare-devil spirits who sailed the Caribbean and ravaged the Spanish Main, the buccaneers were the most picturesque and romantic. Villains though they were; reddened with the blood of the innocent and helpless though their hands; black-hearted cutthroats beyond denial—yet there is something about them that appeals to all, and that, despite their ill deeds, fills one with admiration. Perchance it is the fact that we all appreciate bravery—and, notwithstanding their multitude of sins, the buccaneers were brave beyond compare. Again, it may be that in all of us lurks a little of the gambling spirit and we admire those who can take a chance, even though we do not, and no greater gamblers ever lived than the buccaneers. They staked their lives at every turn, they gambled with death, and the greater the odds the more readily did they throw themselves into the game. And it was this gambling spirit, this recklessness that enabled them to defy the world of their day.