by Pat Croce
For BOILING, a metal pot placed over or near a fire works just fine. Or use a stone with a deep depression, provided the stone doesn’t have a high moisture content, in which case it can explode, sending rock shards flying like shrapnel. A hollow log will also work, as will turtle and coconut shells, and bamboo sections.
STEAMING is achieved by putting hot coals at the bottom of a manmade pit. Cover the coals with moss or leaves, then place the food—wrapped inside large leaves (banana leaves or palm fronds are ideal) or in a bundle of smaller leaves—on top and bury. Leave a small hole for airflow to keep the coals smoldering. Dig it up in a little while and dig in.
PARCHING—most effective for drying earthworms, insects, and some plants—is best accomplished by placing a large, flat rock near a fire; the rock heats up, slowly heating and drying the food.
ROASTING is the best method for most meats, whether gutted, skinned, and skewered, or, for fish, gutted and cooked whole.
FRYING is best saved for eggs, using a flat, low-moisture rock beside a fire.
After pirates’ basic needs are met, the remainder of shore time is spent gambling, chasing lasses, and drinking, not necessarily in that order. Gambling is customary among pirates and, naturally, some are better at it than others. Because there isn’t much time for leisure activities aboard the ship, pirates usually have to wait until they go ashore to cut loose. Not only that, gambling is strictly prohibited on most pirate vessels—with harsh penalties for those who disobey the signed Articles—so games of chance are usually reserved for land. Before engaging in any games with
HOW TO MAKE A FISH SPEAR
Find a long, straight branch or cut a straight sapling seven to eight feet long and approximately one broom-handle thick.
Slice one end of the branch/sapling down the center approximately four to six inches deep.
Insert a piece of wood into the cut to keep the two halves split apart.
Lash wedge with rope/line/sinew to keep prongs from separating further.
Sharpen prongs.
Notch a barb in one or both prongs (optional) to prevent fish from sliding off.
If using live wood, fire-harden prongs by inserting into flame.
Remember to aim a few inches below the fish, just behind its gill plate.
Don’t throw the spear. Instead, make a fast, smooth jab.
[ fig. 33 ] SPEAR FISHING
HOW TO GUT A FISH
While it may be fun to drop a fish, especially one with sharp teeth or barbs, down a prisoner’s trousers, you’re better off killing it immediately. Handling a live, flopping fish with fins, spines, razor-sharp gill plates, and teeth can be dangerous. Brain it with a dagger or sharp stick, bash its head with a rock, or smack its head on the ground.
Slit fish from its anus to its gills.
Pull out innards. Save these for additional bait and traps.
Wash and clean fish inside and out.
Cut down to the spine (but don’t cut through it), then cut along both sides of the spine, from tail to gills.
Using your thumb and forefinger, grab along the top of the spine and pull up and out. This will leave you with two filets.
Option #2 is to simply remove innards and skewer or roast whole, over an open flame.
HOW TO COOK A SNAKE (AND OTHER REPTILES)
First, decapitate and bury the head. If poisonous, even a severed head can deliver a lethal dose.
Slowly pull snakeskin down the body as if you were removing a lass’s leggings. This will leave skin intact while simultaneously gutting snake.
Skin can be used as a water tube, pouch, or article of clothing.
Twist skinned snake around stick and roast over open flame; do not consume until thoroughly cooked. When in doubt, cook longer.
Lizards should be gutted, skewered, and roasted until skin splits.
BEANING A BIRD (OR HOW TO COOK A WILD TURKEY)
A flintlock or musket loaded with shot is best for procuring fowl.
In the absence of a firearm, use a throwing device, ideally a hunting stick (throwable club). A dagger or handful of rocks will also work.
Look for birds feeding on the ground, aim just above their heads, and throw. Your movement should cause the birds to alight, hopefully into the path of your projectile(s).
Using your hands or a shirt, grab the stunned bird, being sure to control its wings to prevent escape.
Holding the head between your thumb and forefinger, swing the bird forcefully in a 360-degree arc to break its neck quickly.
For floating/swimming birds (ducks, geese, swans, etc.), swim beneath them, grab by the legs, and pull under. Kill via drowning or breaking its neck.
If hunting waterfowl look for nearby nests—usually hidden amid tall reeds—to gather eggs.
Once bird is killed, pluck or burn off feathers.
Cut from anus to breastbone and remove innards; heart, liver, and kidneys can all be eaten and are an excellent source of protein and vitamins.
Skewer and roast over open flame or boil with herbs and vegetables.
your hard-earned plunder or valuable personal items on the line, practice up. And remember, pirates play for keeps. So if you can cheat and get away with it, do it! Here’s a list of favorite pirate games:
LIAR’S DICE. Brought back from South America to Spain by famed Spanish conqueror Francisco Pizarro. The game can be played as Common Hand or Individual Hand versions. It ultimately became very popular with pirates.
COMMON HAND LIAR’S DICE. Each player has a set of five dice. All players roll one and make bids on the dice they can see, along with those they can’t.
INDIVIDUAL HAND LIAR’S DICE. One set of dice is passed between players and bids relate to dice in front of the roller/bidder, including any dice chosen to be re-rolled.
WHIST. This trick-taking card game is a derivative of Trump (also called Ruff) developed during the sixteenth century. A deck of fifty-two cards—ranking two through ace—is used among four people playing in paired opposition.
MUMBLETY-PEG. Also called Mumbley-peg, this knife-throwing game, popular among kids, is also played ashore by pirates, throwing razor-sharp daggers instead of wimpy pocketknives. The goal is to throw your dagger as close to the other person’s foot as possible. Needless to say, more than a few toes are left behind on sandy beaches.
THIMBLERIG. Also called Three Shells and a Pea or simply The Shell Game, this game of chance and deception dates back to the Middle Ages and is extremely popular in pirate taverns. Anyone caught cheating at this game—and many are—lose much more than their winnings, but it still can’t hurt to try!
Exploring inlets and waterways—often by raft—is another favorite pirate pastime. Pirates are always on the lookout for native settlements whose residents may have worked with gold or silver, or for access to hidden caves that were repositories for stolen/hidden treasure.
Finally, there is little—if any—privacy aboard pirate ships. There are no places on board that are strictly off-limits to crewmembers. Even the captain and officers, who generally have their own quarters, don’t have much in the way of hiding places. So when it comes time to hide amassed booty, land (usually an island) is the best place to do it. And while the act of burying treasure is more hype than substance, it does occur from time to time. The smartest pirates—and ultimately those who retire the wealthiest— bury their treasure, along with a few nasty safeguards in place, just to be sure it will be exactly where they left it when the time comes to dig it up. A few tips to keep in mind:
Never tell anyone where your treasure is buried. Even your closest friends can become bitter enemies when treasure or money is in the mix.
Disinformation works well to throw prospective treasure hunters off the trail. Dummy up a fake map or two and spread a few stories about where your treasure is supposedly hidden, making sure this location is a world away from where the treasure really is.
Pitfall traps work well on humans. Leave a coin or a tiny bauble in an easy-to-find l
ocation. That’ll get the finder’s hopes up and their defenses down and, with any luck, will land them at the bottom of your pit.
[ fig. 34 ] BUILDING A RAFT
BUILDING A LOG RAFT
Whether you’re trying to escape from being marooned on a deserted island, looking to explore inner-island canals and waterways, or perhaps just making a mobile fishing/spearfishing platform, a raft is the best way to go.
GATHER (or cut) ten reasonably straight logs of about the same length (ten to twelve feet) and girth.
ADD four shorter logs (five to seven feet long) to the supply pile.
POSITION two of the shorter logs on the ground approximately a foot shorter than the raft’s intended overall length. (Ex: If you’re using ten-foot logs, lay shorter ends nine feet apart. Deck [long] logs will be perpendicular to these.)
CARVE curves off the two shorter logs, making tops flat, so longer “deck logs” will rest squarely atop them.
PUT all deck (long) logs in place, stretching from one of the shorter, notched end logs to the other. You want a tight fit, with little to no movement in between.
CARVE curves off the two remaining shorter logs and lay them carved side down, on the ends, above the other two smaller logs, effectively creating a “log sandwich.”
SECURE your construction with rope. Lash a rope around each end, tying off at various points on the raft. If you don’t have rope, vines will work. If you have enough rope/vine for four ties (one per side), go for it.
CARRY or roll (atop logs) your raft to water, climb on, cross your fingers that it holds, and float away.
IF YOU CAN’T FIND MY TREASURE, YOU CAN’T STEAL MY TREASURE!
Despite innumerable romantic tales to the contrary, pirates seldom bury their treasure. However, a small portion of CAPTAIN WILLIAM KIDD’s plunder was dug up on Gardiner’s Island. Prior to his arrest, Kidd had buried some gold and silver, but the majority of his treasure—valued at more than 400,000 pounds—remains a mystery. In May of 1701, an anxious mob 200,000 strong attended Kidd’s execution in the hopes he would reveal the exact location. However, Kidd took his secret to the grave.
TREATING SNAKE AND SPIDER BITES
Restrict movement; a loose splint will help.
If the bite is on the hand or fingers, remove rings or other constricting jewelry.
Keep bitten area below heart level to minimize spread of venom.
Get medical help as soon as possible.
If the ship’s surgeon (carpenter) recommends amputation, either drink your fill of rum first or place your dagger or flintlock against the surgeon’s throat and get a second opinion!
[ fig. 35 ] SNAKE BITE
Captain Henry Morgan, who knew very well all the avenues of this city, and the neighboring coasts, arriv’d in the dusk of the evening at Puerto de Naos, ten leagues to the west of Puerto Velo. They had in their company an English-man, formerly a prisoner in those parts, who now serv’d them for a guide. To him and three or four more, they gave commission to take the sentry, if possible, or kill him on the place. But they seiz’d him so cunningly as he had no time to give warning with his musket, or make any noise; and brought him, with his bound, to Capt. Morgan, who ask’d him, ‘How things went in the city, and what forces they had.” After every question, they made him a thousand menaces to kill him, if he declar’d not the truth. Then they advanc’d to the city, carrying the said sentry bound before them. Having march’d about a quarter of a league, they came to the castle near the city; which presently they closely surrounded, so that no person could get either in or out.
ALEXANDRE EXQUEMELIN,
Bucaniers of America (1684)
haul wind!
CHAPTER
TEN
TORTURE, RANSOM & PIRATICAL POLITICS
“I have brought you to the treasure house of the world.”
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE
Aside from our barbarous exploits and over-indulgent tendencies, we pirates—especially the successful among us—are shrewd and cunning businessmen who know how to get things done in all scenarios, under any circumstances. From a longevity standpoint, we also know how to stay alive, stay out of prison, and stay off the execution docks.
Plundering vessels under the black flag—free of any autocratic captains on either land or sea—is what we live for. And should we be so unfortunate as to get caught, hopefully we’ve had the chance to secure a pardon from a queen, king, or government—the ultimate free pass that forgives all past sins and rescinds any order of imprisonment or execution. Granted, a pardon means we’re now indebted to our savior, beholden to fight their enemies wherever we encounter them, but that’s a small price to pay when you consider the alternative. However, pardons aren’t given out too often.
An example of this favorable treatment was bestowed upon perhaps the most notorious pirate ever to roam the seas—Blackbeard. After plundering merchant ships along the Atlantic seaboard, Blackbeard and his crew would routinely celebrate their windfall with the grateful citizens of North Carolina, allowing them to purchase goods without the customary stiff tariff imposed. It was like getting items from the black market, only in this case it was the Blackbeard market. As a show of thanks for Blackbeard’s generosity, Governor Charles Eden granted him a full pardon.
A similar pass from those in charge is the letter of marque, an authorization or commission from a queen, king, or government giving privateers the legal authority to take action (search, seize, plunder, and/or destroy) against the ships of their enemies. William Kidd, captain of the Adventure Galley, received a letter of marque from King William III to seize any French ships encountered during his search for pirates in the Indian Ocean. Kidd believed his acts of piracy were legitimate privateering conquests and, therefore, lawful seizures. In a similar case, pirate Jean Lafitte
[ fig. 36 ] WILLIAM KIDD
[ fig. 37 ] MADAME CHING
HE WHO LIVES WITH THE MOST BOOTY WINS!
WOODES ROGERS sailed into the New Providence pirate stronghold in 1718 with a fleet of four Royal Navy warships, bringing a pardon direct from King George I for all pirates who turned themselves in and promised to refrain from further piratical activities. The alternative was a final dance at the end of an admiralty rope. BENJAMIN HORNIGOLD happily complied with the terms and was permitted to keep all of his ill-gotten gains—and his life.
With the death of her pirate husband, Zheng Yi, in 1807, former prostitute CHING SHIH (a.k.a. Madame Ching) took command of a pirate fleet of four hundred junks, extorting protection payments throughout the South China Sea. Before long, Madame Ching’s Red Flag Fleet grew to two thousand ships and fifty thousand pirates and was feared from Hong Kong to Vietnam, the Chinese coast to Malaysia. Despite these impressive numbers, her greatest accomplishment was knowing when to quit. Out of desperation, the emperor granted amnesty to all of her pirates in 1810, along with the right to retain all of their plunder. Madame Ching was granted a command with the imperial fleet (assigned to her new husband), a palace, and high state honors for her and her captains.
carried a letter of marque, acquired by bribing high-ranking government officials, at various times from a variety of South American governments (Cartagena, for example), giving him a legal excuse for his piratical endeavors in the Gulf of Mexico during the early nineteenth century.
Unfortunately, many of our brethren only became the stuff of legend because they were killed in combat or captured and executed. In that respect, the most successful members of our ranks are those who somehow manage to avoid capture or killing and sail off into the sunset, able to live out the rest of their days enjoying the spoils of their piratical plunder. One of the few notable pirates to achieve this feat is Henry Every who, after making one final appearance on the island of New Providence, where he presented Governor Nicholas Trott with innumerable exotic gifts, disappeared from the history books. Then, the “Arch Pirate,” who had just scored the biggest booty haul in piratical history—the capture of the Ganj-i-Sawai—disappeared
without a trace, never to be heard from again.
