Barron’s wound confined him to his boarding-house in Washington (Norfolk was his home) for three weeks. He was restored to active service in 1825; and in 1839 had become the senior officer of the navy. He was then placed on waiting orders, when he retired to Norfolk, where he died on April 21, 1851, aged eighty-two years. His name had been on the naval register fifty-three years. Having missed the opportunity to make a great name for himself by sinking the _Leopard_, as he ought to have done, he never had another one. He was something of an inventor, but his career in the navy is worth mentioning only as showing a youthful officer what not to be. CHAPTER XV AMONG THE WEST INDIA PIRATES A BREED OF COWARDLY CUTTHROATS LEGITIMATELY DESCENDED FROM THE LICENSED PRIVATEERS AND NOURISHED UNDER THE PECULIAR CONDITIONS OF CLIMATE, GEOGRAPHY, AND GOVERNMENTAL ANARCHY PREVAILING AROUND AND IN THE CARIBBEAN SEA--COMMODORE PERRY LOSES HIS LIFE BECAUSE OF THEM--WILLIAM HOWARD ALLEN KILLED--PIRATE CAVES WITH THE BONES OF DEAD IN THEM--PORTO RICO TREACHERY--THE UNFORTUNATE FOXARDO AFFAIR--MAKING THE COASTS OF SUMATRA AND AFRICA SAFE FOR AMERICAN TRADERS. A direct and necessary result of the licensing of privateers, which prevailed throughout the wars between France and England, and England and the United States up to the year 1815, was the development of a horde of pirates in the West Indies. The lust of prize-money worked on the minds of the baser sort of sailors who had been members of the crews of privateers until the distinction between flags was nothing--even the distinction between a lawful flag and a black one was of no moment. From shedding the blood of non-combatants under license in time of war it was but a short step to the murder of seamen and passengers on common cargo-carriers in time of peace. Moreover, the condition of governmental affairs in the West Indies and along the Spanish main was near that of anarchy. The Spanish American colonies were in a state of revolt against the crown, and yet they cannot be said to have had a stable government anywhere. There was, indeed, a form of government on the north coast of South America and another at Buenos Ayres--mere military dictatorships at best--but these, instead of serving the ends of peace and order, really promoted robbery on the high seas; for they issued licenses to swift-sailing vessels that went forth ostensibly to prey lawfully on the commerce of Spain, but, when once at sea, did not hesitate to take any well-laden merchantman they found, appropriate so much of the cargo as was of value, and then sink her and her crew and passengers together.