﻿THE 
  HAUNTS 
  OF 
  THE 
  CARIBBEAN 
  CORSAIRS 
  

  

  173 
  

  

  abashed, 
  it 
  greeted 
  the 
  chiefs 
  who 
  lent 
  

   riotous 
  color 
  to 
  its 
  life, 
  emptied 
  gold 
  

   into 
  its 
  coffers, 
  and 
  tinged 
  its 
  nights 
  with 
  

   drunkenness 
  and 
  depravity. 
  

  

  EARTHQUAKE 
  CASTS 
  PORT 
  ROYAL 
  PIRATES 
  

   INTO 
  THE 
  SEA 
  

  

  In 
  those 
  days 
  Port 
  Royal 
  had 
  a 
  high 
  

   wall 
  about 
  it 
  and 
  wide 
  quays, 
  whereon 
  its 
  

   habitues 
  emptied 
  their 
  pieces-of-eight. 
  

   Then, 
  as 
  if 
  Providence 
  were 
  outraged 
  by 
  

   its 
  utter 
  disregard 
  of 
  moral 
  laws, 
  an 
  

   earthquake, 
  on 
  June 
  7, 
  1692, 
  shook 
  Ja- 
  

   maica 
  to 
  its 
  foundations 
  and 
  tumbled 
  this 
  

   den 
  of 
  iniquity, 
  with 
  scores 
  of 
  the 
  pirates, 
  

   into 
  the 
  sea. 
  When 
  the 
  water 
  is 
  calm 
  the 
  

   coral-encrusted 
  ruins 
  of 
  the 
  old 
  town 
  may 
  

   be 
  seen 
  beneath 
  the 
  water, 
  even 
  today, 
  

   and 
  the 
  natives 
  still 
  regale 
  the 
  visitor 
  with 
  

   stories 
  of 
  phantom 
  ships 
  that 
  are 
  trying 
  

   to 
  make 
  the 
  port. 
  

  

  One 
  interesting 
  relic 
  remains, 
  however, 
  

   in 
  Fort 
  Charles, 
  a 
  stiff 
  old 
  veteran 
  of 
  

   sun-faded 
  bricks. 
  Some 
  of 
  the 
  officers' 
  

   quarters 
  and 
  a 
  paved 
  court, 
  so 
  white 
  that 
  

   it 
  dazzles, 
  are 
  still 
  standing. 
  Flower 
  

   gardens 
  now 
  encircle 
  its 
  walls; 
  its 
  gun 
  

   embrasures 
  are 
  hidden 
  by 
  bushes 
  ; 
  the 
  

   birds 
  haunt 
  its 
  crannies, 
  and 
  the 
  lizards 
  

   crawl 
  lazily 
  over 
  its 
  parapets. 
  Horatio 
  

   Nelson 
  was 
  stationed 
  at 
  the 
  fort 
  in 
  I/79, 
  

   when 
  he 
  was 
  twenty-one 
  years 
  of 
  age, 
  

   and 
  the 
  paved 
  platform 
  which 
  was 
  known 
  

   affectionately 
  as 
  his 
  "quarter-deck" 
  may 
  

   still 
  be 
  seen. 
  

  

  The 
  town 
  now 
  standing 
  on 
  the 
  old 
  site 
  

   is 
  respectable, 
  faded, 
  and 
  disconsolate. 
  

   On 
  the 
  fences 
  and 
  bushes, 
  in 
  melancholy 
  

   ugliness, 
  the 
  commonplace 
  inhabitants 
  dry 
  

   the 
  fishing 
  nets 
  by 
  means 
  of 
  which 
  they 
  

   eke 
  out 
  their 
  existence. 
  

  

  The 
  pirates, 
  with 
  these 
  two 
  bases, 
  

   Tortuga 
  and 
  Port 
  Royal, 
  for 
  operations, 
  

   took 
  toll 
  of 
  all 
  the 
  islands 
  and 
  lands 
  along 
  

   the 
  Caribbean. 
  

  

  Across 
  the 
  magnificent 
  harbor 
  from 
  

   Port 
  Royal 
  lies 
  Kingston, 
  the 
  capital 
  of 
  

   Jamaica 
  and 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  most 
  important 
  

   ports 
  in 
  the 
  West 
  Indies. 
  Its 
  foundations 
  

   were 
  laid 
  by 
  Port 
  Royal 
  survivors. 
  

  

  Though 
  only 
  2 
  per 
  cent 
  of 
  Kingston's 
  

   50,000 
  people 
  are 
  white, 
  no 
  small 
  body 
  of 
  

   citizens 
  of 
  any 
  city 
  has 
  shown 
  more 
  cour- 
  

   age, 
  energy, 
  and 
  determination 
  during 
  

   the 
  hurricanes 
  and 
  earthquakes 
  which 
  

   have 
  time 
  and 
  again 
  literally 
  destroyed 
  

   its 
  very 
  foundations. 
  Hardly 
  had 
  its 
  

  

  charred 
  ruins 
  cooled 
  after 
  the 
  violent 
  

   earthquake 
  and 
  fire 
  in 
  1907 
  before 
  the 
  

   survivors 
  were 
  busy 
  building, 
  between 
  

   the 
  palm- 
  fringed 
  shore 
  and 
  the 
  blue 
  hills 
  

   beyond, 
  a 
  clean, 
  regularly 
  laid-out 
  town 
  

   to 
  take 
  the 
  place 
  of 
  the 
  one 
  which 
  Nature 
  

   had 
  just 
  destroyed 
  (see 
  pp. 
  161, 
  180-183). 
  

  

  Havana, 
  which 
  rose 
  to 
  importance 
  as 
  a 
  

   convenient 
  port 
  of 
  call 
  for 
  ships 
  passing 
  

   through 
  the 
  Florida 
  Straits 
  bound 
  for 
  

   Mexico, 
  was 
  frequenlty 
  attacked 
  and 
  

   looted. 
  Santiago's 
  harbor, 
  that 
  magnifi- 
  

   cent 
  "bottle" 
  with 
  a 
  neck 
  of 
  less 
  than 
  600 
  

   feet, 
  sheltered 
  pirate 
  ships 
  while 
  their 
  

   owners 
  tortured 
  the 
  city's 
  inhabitants 
  and 
  

   extorted 
  enormous 
  sums 
  from 
  them. 
  

   Baracoa, 
  Cienfuegos, 
  and 
  Trinidad, 
  the 
  

   last 
  named 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  earliest 
  fortified 
  

   cities 
  in 
  the 
  New 
  World, 
  were 
  the 
  scenes 
  

   of 
  desperate 
  combats. 
  

  

  Just 
  23 
  years 
  after 
  its 
  discovery, 
  pirates 
  

   began 
  to 
  harass 
  Porto 
  Rico, 
  where 
  Ponce 
  

   de 
  Leon, 
  impressed 
  by 
  its 
  rugged 
  scenic 
  

   beauty, 
  had 
  built 
  at 
  San 
  Juan 
  his 
  Casa 
  

   Blanca, 
  which, 
  together 
  with 
  the 
  old 
  

   cathedral 
  in 
  which 
  his 
  bones 
  are 
  buried, 
  

   may 
  be 
  seen 
  today. 
  French 
  privateers 
  

   shortly 
  afterward 
  sacked 
  the 
  town 
  of 
  San 
  

   German, 
  and 
  the 
  Carib 
  Indians 
  ate 
  the 
  

   governor 
  (see 
  illustration, 
  page 
  153). 
  

  

  Though 
  American 
  rule 
  has 
  placed 
  its 
  

   indelible 
  stamp 
  upon 
  Porto 
  Rico, 
  the 
  

   pretty 
  city 
  of 
  San 
  Juan 
  is 
  still 
  Span- 
  

   ish 
  in 
  appearance. 
  The 
  low, 
  flat-roofed 
  

   houses, 
  prodigal 
  of 
  sun-shuttered 
  bal- 
  

   conies, 
  and 
  lazy 
  courtyards 
  filled 
  with 
  

   shifting 
  shadows, 
  are 
  packed 
  together 
  

   within 
  its 
  great 
  black 
  wall. 
  Much-painted 
  

   churches 
  and 
  dazzling 
  government 
  build- 
  

   ings 
  border 
  streets 
  where 
  blase 
  oxen 
  and 
  

   dust-covered 
  mules 
  jostle 
  the 
  electric 
  cars, 
  

   and 
  over 
  it 
  all 
  there 
  broods 
  a 
  leisurely 
  at- 
  

   mosphere 
  (see 
  illustration, 
  page 
  163). 
  

  

  There 
  are 
  some 
  340 
  miles 
  of 
  railway 
  

   and 
  1,100 
  miles 
  of 
  excellent 
  roadway 
  in 
  

   Porto 
  Rico, 
  which 
  has 
  about 
  three 
  times 
  

   the 
  area 
  of 
  Rhode 
  Island. 
  

  

  THE 
  WEALTH 
  OF 
  THE 
  NEW 
  WORLD 
  WAS 
  

   SHIPPED 
  FROM 
  CARTAGENA 
  

  

  The 
  destination 
  of 
  most 
  of 
  the 
  ships 
  

   which 
  sailed 
  from 
  Spain 
  to 
  America 
  was 
  

   Cartagena, 
  a 
  town 
  on 
  the 
  northern 
  coast 
  

   of 
  Colombia. 
  Its 
  massive 
  stone 
  walls 
  

   survive 
  to 
  speak 
  of 
  their 
  strength 
  in 
  the 
  

   early 
  days. 
  The 
  wealth 
  of 
  the 
  western 
  

   coast 
  of 
  South 
  America 
  was 
  gathered 
  

  

  