| Show ELMO SCOTT WATSON 1911 newpher New union captain roberts the unique rut of the sinister ranks of the bloody brethren of the coast whose careers form the long history ot piracy there emerges the unique per eon allty of capt bartholomew hob erts there are many victors which go to justify this characterization of unique here are but a few forced into piracy himself be never forced a man to become a pirate him self upon his election to leadership he poke laconically and to the point albeit not very gracefully nor gratefully as follows since I 1 have dipped my hands in muddy water and must be a gyrate it Is better to be a commander than a common man he was the only total abstainer known to the history of piracy he drank only teal on board bis ship all lights had to be out by eight 0 clock at night and any of the crew who wished to continue drinking after that hour had to do so on deck regardless of the weather he would allow no women on his ship and the roan who brought a woman aboard disguised as a man did so under penalty of death he always protected women prisoners he allowed no games of cards or dice to be played for money since he disapproved of gambling he was a strict observer of the sabbath and al lowed his musicians to have a rest on the seventh day this in face of pirate custom that every pirate brother who 1 the irresistible urge to sing or dance had the right to demand a tune at any hour day or night he had a particular hatred for natives ot barbados and be cause he had been roughly handled in encounters with ships from those places so when be designed his flag he displayed upon it a huge figure of himself standing sword in hand upon two skulls under these were the let tersa B H and A M n A bar badland head and a head 1118 motto was a short life and a merry one and he often said that he wished to die fighting his wish was granted and when he was finally killed in battle in accordance with hla oft repeated request his body was thrown overboard fully dressed in all his regalia he was a tall dark man and he wore a rich damask waistcoat and breeches a red feather in hla cap a gold chain around his neck with a big diamond cross hanging from it he was invariably seen with n sword in hand and two pairs of pistols hang ing at the end of a silk sash across his chest not so eye filling a spectacle as a blackboard perhaps but picturesque enough these are the things which gulshen capt bartholomew roberts a elsama elsh ma born in and killed in 1722 who made a name for himself as a pirate in his forty years of life morgans only rival tr A pirate Is to be reckoned b J the amount of damage he does and the number of ships he takes there can be no doubt that capt bartholo mew roberts should be placed at the very head of his profession so sars one historian who continues he h said to have taken over vessels the only man who can be said to rival him Is sir henry morgan but morgan although in some ways an un mitigated blackguard was a man of much greater breadth of outlook than roberts ever was and moreover was a buccaneer rather than a pirate roberts a welshman started out honestly enough even though the shin apon which he was first employed waa engaged in a questionable occupation he was master of the princess which sailed from london in november for the coast of guinea to get a carco of black ivory at ana maboe the princess was captured by the welsh pirate howel dails who forced sa roberts to join his crew st alx weeks afterwards darts died violently idlett course and the leaders among the crew who hoped to succeed mm lords all they called selve anally elected lord roberta the new leader immediately sailed for brazil and there in the bay of bahaa found a fleet of 42 portuguese ships loaded and ready to sail unprecedented boldness the pirate T them to the navies laden which he attacked boarded BM sailed out of the harbor his lo 10 was some in money much rich merchandise and a croff diamonds forthe kang of Por portugal tuga soon afterwards h took ii duh ship then a british vessel ands supreme audacity sailed back to sa s1 0 T and refat ahls sel af that he begin preying upon the m merce in the west in april 1721 he was back on th 1 guinea coast robbing and busai on one occasion he captured a S 8 whom he tried to persuade 0 h come his chaplain th t he have to do josd L toa prayer and make punch but abe minister begged off enri T k lowed aln y except three bwy dext year in february 16 i lt tacked by H M s obtain S pirate vas i c bhae usg |
