THE HAND OF THE GIANT 237 



and conquest to the eclipse of Spain. That was the new dream 

 of the new world that kept men's eyes to the west and made 

 of the Ocean River a highway to future empire. But history 

 often works on a smaller local pattern to prepare for the grand 

 design of the future, and so it was in the Caribbean area. For 

 the seeds of future revolt, of future separation from Europe, 

 of a new kind of self-government and a new pattern of Span- 

 ish American culture were growing in small towns on the 

 Main and on islands of the sea. No matter how wild the fron- 

 tier or how free from absentee restraints of government it is 

 a necessity of man to operate in some kind of order; and even 

 among the wildest, most anarchistic of the frontiersmen of 

 the Caribbean, the buccaneers, a sort of government evolved. 

 Esquemelin saw it, and wrote it down first hand — how cus- 

 tom crystallized into law even among the lawless: 'Tn council 

 they agree upon certain articles, which are put in writing, by 

 way of bond or obligation, which everyone is bound to observe 

 and all of them set their hands to it. They specify what sums 

 each one of them ought to have for that voyage, the fund of 

 all payments being the common stock of what is gotten by the 

 whole expedition; for otherwise it is the same law as among 

 other Pirates 'No prey, no pay'. In the first place they mention 

 what the Captain should have for his ship. Next the salary 

 of the carpenter who careened, mended and rigged the vessel. 

 This commonly is from 100 to 150 pieces-of-eight. For provi- 

 sions and victualling they draw out 200 pieces-of-eight. Also 

 a competent salary for the surgeon, usually 250 pieces-of-eight. 

 And for the wounded or maimed, for the loss of a right arm, 

 600 or six slaves, for a left arm, 500, for a left leg, 400, for 

 an eye, 100, and so it goes. They observe very good order 

 among themselves, for in the prizes they take it is severely 

 prohibited to everyone to usurp anything in particular to 

 themselves.'' The pioneer adventurers had their own recruit- 

 ing techniques. In the early days one Pedro Xemines promised 



