﻿THE 
  HAUNTS 
  OF 
  THE 
  CARIBBEAN 
  CORSAIRS 
  

  

  The 
  West 
  Indies 
  a 
  Geographic 
  Background 
  for 
  the 
  Most 
  

  

  Adventurous 
  Episodes 
  in 
  the 
  History 
  of 
  

  

  the 
  Western 
  Hemisphere 
  

  

  By 
  Nell 
  Ray 
  Clarke 
  

  

  SINCE 
  the 
  dawn 
  of 
  American 
  his- 
  

   tory, 
  the 
  Caribbean, 
  "that 
  sapphire 
  

   and 
  emerald 
  sea 
  which 
  creams 
  to 
  

   white" 
  upon 
  the 
  sands 
  of 
  the 
  magic 
  islands 
  

   that 
  inclose 
  it, 
  from 
  the 
  eastern 
  coast 
  of 
  

   Florida 
  to 
  the 
  eastern 
  shores 
  of 
  Vene- 
  

   zuela, 
  has 
  been 
  the 
  scene 
  of 
  a 
  romantic 
  

   and 
  cataclysmic 
  life. 
  

  

  Beneath 
  flaming 
  tropical 
  skies 
  and 
  

   heavy 
  scudding 
  clouds, 
  earthquakes 
  have 
  

   tumbled 
  parts 
  of 
  these 
  palm-fringed 
  

   islands 
  into 
  the 
  hungry 
  waters 
  ; 
  volcanoes 
  

   have 
  spouted 
  fire 
  upon 
  panic-stricken 
  and 
  

   powerless 
  natives 
  ; 
  great 
  navigators 
  and 
  

   early 
  geographers 
  braved 
  its 
  hidden 
  shoals 
  

   and 
  treacherous 
  reefs, 
  and 
  buccaneers, 
  

   hiding 
  like 
  wolves 
  in 
  their 
  lairs 
  among 
  

   the 
  countless 
  excellent 
  harbors 
  which 
  the 
  

   islands 
  afford, 
  once 
  were 
  wont 
  to 
  spring 
  

   upon 
  the 
  gold-laden 
  Spanish 
  galleons, 
  

   carry 
  off 
  their 
  booty 
  to 
  some 
  lonely 
  island 
  

   retreat, 
  and 
  there 
  divide 
  the 
  loot 
  to 
  be 
  

   spent 
  in 
  riot 
  and 
  debauch 
  in 
  the 
  cities 
  of 
  

   the 
  Main. 
  

  

  Across 
  the 
  routes 
  where 
  once 
  the 
  wealth 
  

   of 
  the 
  Incas 
  was 
  borne 
  to 
  Spain 
  went 
  

   American 
  men 
  and 
  materials 
  for 
  one 
  of 
  

   the 
  most 
  stupendous 
  engineering 
  under- 
  

   takings 
  in 
  the 
  history 
  of 
  man 
  — 
  the 
  

   Panama 
  Canal. 
  

  

  STILL 
  A 
  REGION 
  OF 
  ROMANCE 
  AND 
  

   OF 
  FANCY 
  

  

  Though 
  the 
  area 
  is 
  fast 
  achieving 
  a 
  

   prominence 
  which 
  will 
  not 
  be 
  servile 
  to 
  

   its 
  former 
  glory, 
  romance 
  and 
  mystery 
  

   have 
  not 
  forsaken 
  the 
  happy 
  hunting- 
  

   ground 
  of 
  the 
  sea 
  rovers 
  of 
  the 
  Spanish 
  

   Main. 
  Within 
  recent 
  months 
  there 
  have 
  

   been 
  reports 
  that 
  a 
  phantom 
  craft 
  has 
  

   been 
  sighted 
  somewhere 
  along 
  the 
  North 
  

   American 
  coast, 
  and 
  the 
  loss 
  of 
  some 
  of 
  

   our 
  merchant 
  vessels 
  has 
  been 
  laid 
  by 
  the 
  

   imaginative 
  at 
  the 
  doors 
  of 
  men 
  who 
  are 
  

   supposed 
  to 
  have 
  developed 
  a 
  "pirate 
  

   complex" 
  as 
  the 
  result 
  of 
  six 
  years 
  of 
  

   ruthless 
  war 
  at 
  sea. 
  

  

  Columbus 
  declared 
  that 
  the 
  shores 
  of 
  

   the 
  Caribbean 
  were 
  an 
  earthly 
  Paradise, 
  

   "the 
  most 
  beautiful 
  lands 
  in 
  the 
  world, 
  

   and 
  very 
  populous." 
  In 
  his 
  letters 
  he 
  

   named 
  the 
  mainland 
  Tierra 
  Firme. 
  

  

  The 
  sixteenth 
  century 
  privateers 
  and 
  

   pirates 
  — 
  fearless, 
  erratic, 
  adventurous 
  

   spirits 
  — 
  though 
  they 
  turned 
  this 
  body 
  of 
  

   water 
  into 
  a 
  veritable 
  Spanish 
  cockpit, 
  at 
  

   the 
  same 
  time 
  discovered 
  lands, 
  developed 
  

   the 
  art 
  of 
  seamanship, 
  and 
  added 
  greatly 
  

   to 
  the 
  world's 
  knowledge 
  of 
  natural 
  his- 
  

   tory 
  and 
  geography. 
  

  

  Shortly 
  after 
  the 
  discovery 
  of 
  America, 
  

   Spain, 
  at 
  the 
  height 
  of 
  her 
  power, 
  claimed 
  

   all 
  of 
  this 
  domain 
  as 
  her 
  own, 
  and 
  tres- 
  

   passers 
  were 
  regarded 
  as 
  pirates. 
  Though 
  

   the 
  richest 
  half 
  of 
  Europe 
  was 
  then 
  

   emptying 
  gold 
  into 
  the 
  coffers 
  of 
  Aragon 
  

   and 
  Castile, 
  it 
  is 
  estimated 
  that 
  one-third 
  

   of 
  the 
  imperial 
  revenue 
  came 
  from 
  Span- 
  

   ish 
  colonies 
  in 
  the 
  New 
  World. 
  

  

  But 
  Spain 
  was 
  not 
  permitted 
  to 
  estab- 
  

   lish 
  her 
  sway 
  in 
  the 
  Western 
  Hemisphere 
  

   unchallenged. 
  Both 
  England 
  and 
  France 
  

   were 
  puissant 
  rivals. 
  

  

  With 
  the 
  English 
  seamen 
  of 
  the 
  six- 
  

   teenth 
  century, 
  who 
  were 
  gentlemen 
  ad- 
  

   venturers 
  swearing 
  allegiance 
  to 
  Eliza- 
  

   beth, 
  came 
  French 
  corsairs, 
  Dutch 
  zee- 
  

   rovers, 
  and 
  nondescript 
  bands 
  of 
  smug- 
  

   glers, 
  slavers, 
  traders, 
  and 
  privateers 
  to 
  

   infest 
  the 
  West 
  Indies. 
  

  

  This 
  motley 
  crew 
  was 
  followed 
  by 
  the 
  

   buccaneers 
  in 
  the 
  seventeenth 
  century 
  and 
  

   by 
  ordinary 
  pirates 
  in 
  the 
  eighteenth. 
  

  

  As 
  a 
  consequence, 
  there 
  is 
  scarcely 
  an 
  

   island 
  among 
  the 
  hundreds 
  in 
  the 
  Carib- 
  

   bean 
  that 
  has 
  not 
  its 
  story 
  of 
  these 
  early 
  

   adventurers, 
  and 
  many 
  bits 
  of 
  land 
  reveal 
  

   today 
  definite 
  marks 
  of 
  their 
  handiwork. 
  

   There 
  is 
  not 
  a 
  stretch 
  of 
  coast 
  twenty 
  

   miles 
  in 
  length 
  which 
  does 
  not 
  have 
  its 
  

   story 
  of 
  buried 
  treasure. 
  And 
  to 
  pique 
  

   one's 
  curiosity 
  and 
  arouse 
  his 
  enthusiasm, 
  

   occasionally 
  there 
  drifts 
  on 
  shore 
  in 
  these 
  

   regions 
  a 
  queer 
  old 
  coin, 
  a 
  doubloon 
  or 
  

  

  147 
  

  

  