﻿156 
  

  

  THE 
  NATIONAL 
  GEOGRAPHIC 
  MAGAZINE 
  

  

  called 
  by 
  them 
  tortuga 
  dc 
  mar, 
  a 
  reptile 
  

   which 
  was 
  an 
  important 
  article 
  of 
  food 
  

   for 
  these 
  early 
  rovers 
  of 
  the 
  sea 
  and 
  was 
  

   plentiful 
  on 
  the 
  island. 
  

  

  In 
  its 
  prime, 
  when 
  it 
  was 
  the 
  headquar- 
  

   ters 
  of 
  the 
  buccaneers, 
  this 
  sink 
  of 
  the 
  

   West 
  Indies 
  was 
  spoken 
  of 
  as 
  "the 
  com- 
  

   mon 
  refuge 
  of 
  all 
  sort 
  of 
  wickedness 
  and 
  

   the 
  seminary, 
  as 
  it 
  were, 
  of 
  pirates 
  and 
  

   thieves," 
  though 
  it 
  was 
  admitted 
  that 
  the 
  

   outlaws 
  themselves 
  lived 
  together 
  in 
  or- 
  

   derly 
  fashion, 
  without 
  bolts 
  or 
  bars 
  on 
  

   their 
  doors. 
  

  

  The 
  reason 
  for 
  the 
  choice 
  of 
  Tortuga 
  

   as 
  a 
  resort 
  lay 
  in 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  its 
  harbor 
  

   was 
  easily 
  defended, 
  and 
  that 
  it 
  gave 
  easy 
  

   access 
  to 
  the 
  Mona 
  and 
  Windward 
  Pas- 
  

   sages, 
  the 
  usual 
  routes 
  followed 
  by 
  the 
  

   ships 
  of 
  Spain 
  in 
  their 
  voyages 
  to 
  and 
  

   from 
  Cartagena, 
  Porto 
  Bello, 
  and 
  Vera 
  

   Cruz. 
  

  

  Here 
  the 
  freebooter 
  had 
  a 
  home 
  ; 
  on 
  

   the 
  beach 
  he 
  careened 
  his 
  ships 
  and 
  di- 
  

   vided 
  his 
  pieces-of-eight, 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  town 
  

   of 
  Cayona 
  he 
  set 
  up 
  such 
  Lares 
  and 
  

   Penates 
  as 
  he 
  had, 
  rested 
  from 
  his 
  labors, 
  

   and 
  cursed 
  or 
  swaggered 
  over 
  his 
  luck. 
  

   In 
  the 
  later 
  days 
  of 
  piracy 
  it 
  became 
  the 
  

   seat 
  of 
  operations 
  of 
  the 
  French 
  corsairs, 
  

   the 
  English 
  repairing 
  to 
  Jamaica. 
  

  

  how 
  peter 
  won 
  his 
  place 
  in 
  the 
  

   pirates' 
  "who's 
  who" 
  

  

  Perhaps 
  no 
  one 
  has 
  ever 
  left 
  his 
  mark 
  

   so 
  indelibly 
  upon 
  any 
  place 
  as 
  did 
  the 
  

   French 
  pirate, 
  known 
  as 
  Peter 
  the 
  Great, 
  

   upon 
  Tortuga. 
  Before 
  the 
  time 
  when 
  

   this 
  celebrity 
  by 
  a 
  single 
  act 
  won 
  a 
  kingly 
  

   nickname, 
  amassed 
  a 
  fortune, 
  manufac- 
  

   tured 
  a 
  halo 
  for 
  himself, 
  became 
  a 
  shin- 
  

   ing 
  example 
  to 
  his 
  fellow-men, 
  and 
  then 
  

   wisely 
  retired 
  from 
  business, 
  the 
  little 
  

   island 
  was 
  a 
  self-respecting 
  community 
  

   of 
  humble, 
  honest, 
  and 
  peaceful 
  planters. 
  

  

  The 
  exploit 
  which 
  placed 
  Peter 
  in 
  the 
  

   "Who's 
  Who" 
  of 
  piracy 
  was 
  his 
  encoun- 
  

   ter 
  with 
  the 
  vice-admiral 
  of 
  the 
  Spanish 
  

   fleet. 
  The 
  engagement 
  occurred 
  while 
  

   the 
  latter 
  was 
  sailing 
  majestically 
  through 
  

   the 
  Bahama 
  Channel. 
  Peter 
  overhauled 
  

   the 
  Spaniard, 
  clambered 
  with 
  his 
  men 
  

   over 
  her 
  sides, 
  scuttled 
  his 
  own 
  boat 
  to 
  

   make 
  him 
  and 
  his 
  horde 
  fight 
  with 
  more 
  

   devil-may-care 
  recklessness, 
  and 
  mas- 
  

   tered 
  the 
  prize. 
  

  

  Peter 
  then 
  took 
  his 
  gorgeous 
  new 
  ves- 
  

   sel 
  home 
  to 
  France, 
  where 
  he 
  lived 
  in 
  re- 
  

  

  spectability 
  for 
  the 
  rest 
  of 
  his 
  days. 
  But 
  

   the 
  effect 
  of 
  his 
  prosperity 
  on 
  the 
  inhab- 
  

   itants 
  of 
  Tortuga 
  was 
  instantaneous. 
  

   There 
  was 
  a 
  mad 
  scramble 
  for 
  boats, 
  and 
  

   they 
  thenceforth 
  became 
  scavengers 
  of 
  

   the 
  sea. 
  

  

  HOW 
  THE 
  BUCCANEERS 
  GOT 
  THEIR 
  NAME 
  

  

  It 
  was 
  in 
  Tortuga 
  that 
  the 
  men 
  who 
  

   thought 
  it 
  their 
  right 
  to 
  prey 
  upon 
  the 
  

   commerce 
  of 
  Spain 
  acquired 
  the 
  name 
  of 
  

   buccaneers. 
  One 
  of 
  the 
  chief 
  reasons 
  for 
  

   the 
  choice 
  of 
  Tortuga 
  as 
  a 
  pirate 
  colony 
  

   was 
  its 
  nearness 
  to 
  Haiti 
  and 
  the 
  bucans, 
  

   where 
  they 
  could 
  obtain 
  their 
  meat 
  sup- 
  

   ply. 
  When 
  Santo 
  Domingo 
  was 
  settled 
  

   by 
  the 
  Spaniards 
  they 
  found 
  that 
  it 
  pro- 
  

   duced 
  no 
  cattle, 
  the 
  only 
  quadrupeds 
  of 
  

   any 
  size 
  being 
  wild 
  pigs 
  ; 
  so 
  black 
  cattle 
  

   were 
  imported. 
  The 
  herd 
  increased 
  with 
  

   a 
  rapidity 
  almost 
  beyond 
  belief 
  and 
  ran 
  

   wild 
  over 
  the 
  island. 
  

  

  The 
  men 
  of 
  Haiti 
  and 
  Santo 
  Domingo 
  

   hunted 
  these 
  cattle 
  for 
  food, 
  shooting 
  

   them 
  with 
  muskets 
  four 
  and 
  a 
  half 
  feet 
  

   long. 
  The 
  meat 
  was 
  cut 
  into 
  strips 
  and 
  

   hung 
  on 
  frames 
  over 
  slow 
  fires 
  to 
  smoke. 
  

  

  The 
  Indians, 
  who 
  taught 
  the 
  settlers 
  

   the 
  process, 
  called 
  both 
  the 
  place 
  where 
  

   the 
  curing 
  was 
  done 
  and 
  the 
  dried 
  meat 
  

   itself 
  bucan, 
  and 
  as 
  the 
  cattle-hunters 
  

   usually 
  presented 
  a 
  bloody 
  and 
  forbidding 
  

   appearance, 
  they 
  were 
  termed 
  buccaneers. 
  

  

  The 
  exposed 
  geographic 
  position 
  of 
  the 
  

   island 
  of 
  Haiti, 
  which 
  gives 
  one 
  the 
  im- 
  

   pression, 
  from 
  any 
  direction 
  it 
  is 
  ap- 
  

   proached, 
  that 
  here 
  an 
  enormous 
  and 
  

   heterogeneous 
  mass 
  of 
  mountains 
  was 
  cast 
  

   into 
  the 
  sea, 
  made 
  it 
  a 
  convenient 
  stopping 
  

   place 
  and 
  battleground 
  for 
  almost 
  every- 
  

   thing 
  that 
  drifted 
  across 
  the 
  seas. 
  Co- 
  

   lumbus 
  found 
  it; 
  Ponce 
  de 
  Leon 
  became 
  

   lieutenant 
  to 
  its 
  governor, 
  acquired 
  fame 
  

   on 
  it 
  for 
  himself 
  as 
  a 
  successful 
  slayer 
  of 
  

   Indians, 
  and 
  used 
  it 
  as 
  a 
  base 
  of 
  opera- 
  

   tions 
  for 
  explorations 
  in 
  Porto 
  Rico 
  and 
  

   elsewhere. 
  Seldom 
  has 
  it 
  seen 
  days 
  of 
  

   peace. 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  latter 
  half 
  of 
  the 
  seventeenth 
  

   century 
  Jamaica 
  was 
  the 
  stronghold 
  of 
  

   the 
  English 
  buccaneers. 
  Morgan, 
  the 
  

   greatest 
  and 
  most 
  sagacious 
  of 
  the 
  pirates, 
  

   planned 
  most 
  of 
  his 
  expeditions 
  in 
  Port 
  

   Royal, 
  which 
  had 
  the 
  reputation 
  of 
  being 
  

   the 
  richest 
  and 
  wickedest 
  spot 
  on 
  the 
  

   earth. 
  And 
  proud 
  the 
  city 
  was 
  of 
  its 
  

   notoriety. 
  Defiant, 
  flamboyant, 
  and 
  un- 
  

  

  