“And, Dad, how did they dress?” asked Jack. “Did they wear uniforms or did they dress like the pictures of pirates, with big earrings and handkerchiefs about their heads and their sashes stuck full of pistols and knives?” “Those are questions well taken,” replied Mr. Bickford, “and really important if we are to understand the truth about the buccaneers and their lives. The ‘Jolly Roger’ was never the emblem of the ‘Brethren of the Main,’ as they called themselves, but later, after the buccaneers were dispersed and a few had turned out-and-out pirates, the black flag with its symbol of death became a recognized pirate standard. But in the heydey of the buccaneers, when they attacked only Spanish ships and Spanish cities, they fought under the colors of their countries—British, French or Dutch, as the case might be, and very often, in one fleet, there would be ships under the various flags. In addition, each prominent buccaneer leader had his own colors—much as merchant shipowners have their house flags—which were flown on all the ships under the leader. The flag might be of almost any conventional design, but it was known and recognized by all the buccaneers. “Thus, Bartholomew Sharp’s flag was a blood-red burgee bearing a bunch of white and green ribbons; Sawkins’ colors were a red flag striped with yellow; Peter Harris flew a plain green ensign; John Coxon used a plain red burgee; Cook used a red flag striped with yellow and bearing a hand with a sword; Hawkins’ was appropriately a red flag with a black hawk upon it and so on. In garments, the buccaneers were not by any means uniform or particular. The rank and file of sailors dressed in rough clothes, as a rule, like the ordinary seamen of their times, in loose knee trousers or ‘shorts,’ coarse shirts and low, heavy shoes on their bare feet and with knitted caps or bandannas on their heads. Many wore the costume of the real buccaneers of the woods—rawhide shoes and leg coverings, leather jackets and trousers and palm hats, while the majority wore any odds and ends they could pick up. After a foray they often togged themselves out in the garments of their victims—brocades, silks and satins, gold lace and plumed hats, often stiff and caked with the life-blood of their late owners. But the ordinary buccaneer was a spendthrift drunkard ashore and any finery he possessed usually went to pay for his debaucheries before he had been on land twenty-four hours, after which he was left half naked. The leaders or captains, however, dressed like dandies. To be sure, their wardrobes were often made up of miscellaneous pieces looted from the wealthy Spaniards, and, like their men, they were not over particular as to the condition they were in, but they were more or less thrifty, had plenty of ready cash and spent small fortunes in buying the most brilliant and costly costumes and trappings. Here, for example, is a description of the costume worn by Morgan.