The Pirates' Who's Who: Giving Particulars Of The Lives and Deaths Of The Pirates And BuccaneersGosse, Philip
History
The Pirates' Who's Who: Giving Particulars Of The Lives and Deaths Of The Pirates And Buccaneers
Gosse, Philip
Pirates
The next ship he met with was the sloop of that amateur pirate and
landsman, Major Stede Bonnet. Teach and Bonnet became friends and sailed
together for a few days, when Teach, finding that Bonnet was quite
ignorant of maritime matters, ordered the Major, in the most high-handed
way, to come aboard his ship, while he put another officer in command of
Bonnet's vessel. Teach now took ship after ship, one of which, with the
curious name of the _Protestant Caesar_, the pirates burnt out of spite,
not because of her name, but because she belonged to Boston, where there
had lately been a hanging of pirates.
Blackbeard now sailed north along the American coast, arriving off
Charleston, South Carolina. Here he lay off the bar for several days,
seizing every vessel that attempted to enter or leave the port, "striking
great Terror to the whole Province of Carolina," the more so since the
colony was scarcely recovered from a recent visit by another pirate, Vane.
Being in want of medicines, Teach sent his lieutenant, Richards, on shore
with a letter to the Governor demanding that he should instantly send off
a medicine chest, or else Teach would murder all his prisoners, and
threatening to send their heads to Government House; many of these
prisoners being the chief persons of the colony.
Teach, who was unprincipled, even for a pirate, now commanded three
vessels, and he wanted to get rid of his crews and keep all the booty for
himself and a few chosen friends. To do this, he contrived to wreck his
own vessel and one of his sloops. Then with his friends and all the booty
he sailed off, leaving the rest marooned on a small sandy island. Teach
next sailed to North Carolina, and with the greatest coolness surrendered
with twenty of his men to the Governor, Charles Eden, and received the
Royal pardon. The ex-pirate spent the next few weeks in cultivating an
intimate friendship with the Governor, who, no doubt, shared Teach's booty
with him.
A romantic episode took place at this time at Bath Town. The pirate fell
in love, not by any means for the first time, with a young lady of 16
years of age. To show his delight at this charming union, the Governor
himself married the happy pair, this being the captain's fourteenth wife;
though certain Bath Town gossips were heard to say that there were no
fewer than twelve Mrs. Teach still alive at different ports up and down
the West India Islands.
In June, 1718, the bridegroom felt that the call of duty must be obeyed,
so kissing good-bye to the new Mrs. Teach, he sailed away to the Bermudas,
meeting on his way half a dozen ships, which he plundered, and then
hurried back to share the spoils with the Governor of North Carolina and
his secretary, Mr. Knight.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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