Show ELMO ELM 0 SCOTT WAT WATSON SO D 1926 union his hi s cifes tongue made him a pirate N THE early part of the eighteenth 1 IN century there lived on the island of barbados a retired british army officer named maj bonnet A man of good birth education and some wealth lie he was highly respected by hla his neighbors and there apparently was no reason whatever for ills his action when in the spring of 1717 lie he decided to become a pirate but history that industrious gossip says there was wag it reason and that reason was dante dame bonnet site she so BO it Is said eald had a tongue which would have made Xan xanthippe xantippe tippe stand silent in awe so between piracy and petulance tile major chose piracy lie ile purchased a swift schooner which lie he named the revenge and set forth upon what was supposed to be a trading voyage A few days out front from port he hoisted the black lag flag and announced to hla his crew that they were to be pirates from the lie carolinas to massachusetts chu the new pirate leader murdered and robbed and lie be Is one of the few pirates who Is known to have forced hla his captives to walk the plank on one occasion lie he fell in with tile the pirate blackboard blackbeard who noticed that bonnet was only an amateur pirate and humiliated him by depriving him of tits his command and malting making him a clerk soon afterwards while B blackboard lack beard was absent bonnet went to gov eden of north carolina surrendered and received a pardon then he announced that lie he was going to get a commission as a privateer and ravage tile french and spanish shipping in the west indies ile ho got a crew by going to the island where blackboard blackbeard had marooned some of tits his men took then off find and told them that he was going to seek out Blach blackboard beard and have hava revenge lie ile failed to hid find the famous pirate so he sailed balled away to the north on this cruise lie he changed the alie name of his vessel to the royal james a doubtful compliment to the young pretender and himself took the name of captain after looting a number of vessels off the middle 2 atlantic coast bonnet again turned south only to find that tho the carolinas were aroused against him A prowl prominent citizen of south carolina named william led no nn expedition in two ships against agair t the pirate leader and after one of the bloodiest batties ever fought between pirates and the forces of the law rhett captured bonnet and took him to charles town to be tried bonnet made the most moat abject cowardly plea for mercy but lie he was wa s found guilty and sentenced to be hanged lie ile managed to escape front from prison but was again captured on sullivans island by ile he died in execution dock nov 24 1718 A plaything of fate ATE must have been in a playful mood when captain greaves was born rate fate drove him into piracy but could not make him nt fit into the picture of the regulation type ot of pirate for lie he ans too kind of heart fate condemned him to a pirates death then saved him by a miracle ile he was the son of a slave lit in barbados one of the thousands of scotch and irish who were sent seat there ther hy by cromwell during the civil war in Ell england gland because of their hare bare knees these slaves were called red legs an and captain greaves Is often spoken of its as allas alias red legs ills master was wag kind und and gave him a good education when tills this muster master tied died the boy was sold to another a cruel one ue ile ran away swum swam across carlisle hay bay but unfortunately climbed upon the wrong ship and found in the clutches of cap maln hawkins a notoriously cruel pirate so greaves unwillingly bedame became a pirate and quickly rose to eminence in the profession although lie was remarkable tor for mir his refusal to torture in prisoners isomers or kill unnecessarily tills alila led to a duel between him and captain t hawking in which lie he was victorious tor to rious fous and was elected captain lie ile now entered upon n career of almost unparalleled success us its a pimp culminating in tits his capture of the island ot 0 margarita Mor garito oft off the coast of venezuela lie ile did this by capturing the spanish leet fleet turning the runs gnus of the fleet upon the forts defending the principal Pal city and then storming thein bem from tills this town lie obtained a huge booty of and gold red legs then retired to tile the life of a respectable planter on ahe island of nevis one day lie fie was visited by an old pirate friend who denounced him to the authorities lie he was thrond into n dung dungeon eori to aar a alt execution in IM 1080 there a great earthquake which destroyed and the he town and greaves wits was one of tile the few survivors lie he was picked up by a whaling vessel on which he soon won tile the praise of tile the by his kill as a benman more linn that n u queer turn of fate won M bla aen cn greater lionor by his in capturing abang a gang of pir ittes and for tills this feat ile he was given a pardon i then lie fie retired retire once more to lilg 8 I 1 plantation and there lie lived out the lie remaining years of his tire life greatly honored for tits ills jnnny arny acts of piety and cuts to tn charitable institutions |