We are all gearing up for Pirates Pack the Park this weekend at The Mariners’ Museum and so I thought I’d share some of the Pirate treasures we have in the Library for each day leading up to the big event.
In The Pirates Own Book or authentic narratives of the lives, exploits, and executions of the most celebrated sea robbers, I’ll be sharing some of the illustrations and bits of history that still make the pirates from long ago so intriguing.
Here’s one for today:
The Pirate Banister, hanging at the Yard Arm
There are a couple of interesting stories here. I promise…
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Watching the execution of the pirate Banister as a boy didn’t keep Captain Lewis away from the pirate life. As he grew into a young man, he took vessels here and there until he suddenly found himself with a crew of 40 men. Upon seeing a fine brigantine of 10 guns owned by Captain Tucker, Lewis sent him a letter offering 10,000 pieces of eight for the vessel, but if he did not comply, he would take the vessel “either by fair or foul means”. Very pirate-like!
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Capt. Lewis giving a lock of his hair to the Devil
Throughout his career, Lewis plundered and “did an abundance of mischief”, but his crew believed him to consort with the devil as they were in a chase to capture the ship of Captain Smith. The fore and main top-mast had been carried away, so Lewis went up to the main-top and tore off a handful of his hair saying, “Good devil, take this till I come”.
Afterwards, his vessel gained speed and was successful in capturing the ship of Captain Smith.
In time, he stated that he, “could not withstand his destiny; for the devil told him in the great cabin he should be murdered that night”. And he was killed after the sinking of his last French ship. In the dead of night after this last conquest, the French boarded his vessel, went into his cabin and killed Lewis.
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So there it is!
A whole week of pirates for you to get you into character and costume for The Mariners’ Museum Pirates Pack the Park event on Saturday, September 21, 2013 from 10am – 5pm.
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We hope to see you there! It would be ARR-ible for you to miss.
Sorry everyone… But hey, I made it the whole week without a pun!
See you tomorrow.