Journal
of
Scurvy Dog Sam
Captain
of the
Hangman’s Noose
In the Year of Our Lord 1718:
7th day of April,
I am in St Georges, Grenada looking for a crew. I went to the local tavern and met up with my old friends, Powderkeg, and Black-Haired Jenny. They are to serve as my quartermaster and first mate as soon as I find a boat for the taking. The rest of the crew we hope to find in the tavern and around town within three days. I have spotted a sloop called the North Star that I would rather much like to steal. It is a small boat, but looks dependable and seaworthy. Best of all it should be easy to take because all the crew are drunks, even the captain. My plan is for myself and my crew to board the ship at midnight on the 10th while most of the crew are sleeping drunk at the Inn, and overpower the guards, take the boat and head for Dragon Bay.
8th Day of April,
I have found some of my crew I got Spicy Bart: one heck of a cook. I also got Aimer: the gunner. I got Patchy: the surgeon. Jim, John, Jake, and Joe: all brothers and all musicians along with some scallywags who offer to serve as crew. I still am in search of a good carpenter, and a dependable bos’n, along with some more crew.
9th Day of April,
Today was my lucky day to come across peg leg mike: the finest carpenter in the town, and Lucky, who used to be in the royal navy but he be retired. I think he will make a great bos’n and his son needed a job so he got powder monkey, and I also got some more crew.
11th day of April,
The raid was a success. We easily boarded the sloop but we were wrong about the number of guards. The whole crew was on board getting ready for their departure the next day. My crew was scared, but still fought bravely and we were able to defeat them with no losses to my crew. Luck was with us as we found some gold hidden in the captain’s quarters. We are now in Dragon bay where we will stay for awhile, outfitting the ship and preparing for our first ship raid. I have renamed the sloop, The Cutlass.
12th day of April,
After outfitting The Cutlass with what provisions the gold could gain us, we decided we be needing more cannons. Ten is not enough for my tastes. My crew and I have been planning the attack on another sloop that we saw off the coast of Grenada near Victoria. We set sail tonight.
13th of April,
It was a night black as the powder in me gun. That was a good thing because they never saw us comin’. We blew them poor devils out of the water before they knew what had hit ‘em. We had aimed our cannons at their mast and knocked it down, and blew their rudder to bits. They were then dead in the water and we overtook them easily. Away went the ropes and grapplin’ hooks as we boarded the doomed vessel. They put up a tough fight and Spicy Bart took a musket ball in the leg, but my crew managed to send them devils to Davy Jones Locker. All but a few who wished to join our crew of cutthroats. Wise decision on their part, I tell ye. After removing the ships cannons and moving them aboard The Cutlass, we searched the ship for any booty we could find. Lucky us- we found live chickens and a suckling pig, plus many kegs of most excellent rum. The crew rejoiced to that. We also happened upon some fine jewelry that the quartermaster had stowed. Looks like they must have been doing some pirating theirselves, the scallywags! Then it was back to Dragon Bay for a well-earned rest. Patchy the surgeon attended to Spicy Bart and tells me he will be fine once the musket ball is out. I thinks to meself, “There goes a good bit of rum wasted to ease his pain, curse him.””
15th of April,
Yesterday we had a bit of rest. As we sat about the bonfire I told the men of me days with Blackbeard.
I was serving as his quartermaster on the ship Queen Anne’s Revenge when she ran aground in Beaufort Harbor. I felt like the luckiest man alive when he chose me amongst the best of his crew to continue with him. I felt bad for those poor devils that he marooned, but was glad not to be amongst them. We sailed on for six more glorious months when the terrible day arrived. Maynard attacked with his two Naval sloops and Blackbeard fell, but only after taking 5 musket balls and more than twenty cutlass wounds. That no-good, rotten, low-down black devil, may-he-be-cursed, scoundrel Maynard had my Captains head removed and mounted to his bowsprit. I never saw such a horrible sight. Most of the men were killed and I was wounded. I was fighting three soldiers with only me cutlass to save me, when I killed two of them, but the last one cut me leg and I go tumbling down into the drink. I thought I was a dead man, but somehow I managed to grab hold of a plank of driftwood, which carried m to the shore of Ocracoke. I waited there until nightfall and cursed my fate until I remembered the map. Before he died, Blackbeard had entrusted me with the only copy of a map which showed where he had buried his treasure. Was the map still hidden in me boot? Yes! I vowed to make way somehow to Grenada, gather some men, and begin the hunt for Blackbeard’s Gold.
After me story the men were more eager than ever to join in the hunt, and pledged their undying loyalty to me. I thinks to meself that I can trust these men. But can they trust me? Only the devil knows for sure.
5th of May,
We are now in Barbados. Me crew and I sailed from Dragon Bay in search of a merchant ship to plunder. Crewman Josh Wright spotted a sail out of St. Georges and we saw that the vessel was a Spanish Galleon, loaded down heavy. We thought it might be gold so I told powder keg to make for the ship. We raised a Spanish flag until we were within firing range, then we surprised them by raising the Jolly Roger. They put up a very tough fight and blew one large hole in our mainsail. Our Bowsprit was nearly snapped in half. We took out their cannons and I ordered the chain- shot loaded. Once the masts were down we boarded her, saw the crew to Davy Jones and searched her hold. We were mad as the devil hisself when we didn’t find gold, but glad were we to find a cargo hold full of valuable spices. They also had weapons, the best of which was a fine Blunderbuss which I presented to Josh Wright as his reward his sharp eye. We loaded the guns and spices up onto The Cutlass, backed off and blew the boat to pieces. We then took off for Barbados where we could sell the spices. We got a good price for the spices and we bought lots of fruit and meat, plenty of ammunition and powder, and kegs and kegs of rum. We also were able to pay a sail maker and carpenter to fix the Cutlass. When the Carpenter heard I was a pirate he demanded twice his agreed price, so I slit his throat. I won’t be hornswaggled by a landlubber! Now we are ready to hunt down Blackbeard’s treasure.
20th of May,
We sailed many days North West toward the island of Cuba with many stops at islands along the way. Me crew is getting restless wonderin where be this treasure of Blackbeard’s. I cannot tell the men that I do not yet know where the island lies, for they would mutiny for sure. But it is on no charts that I can see. I have decided me crew and I are going to take the fine Brigand that lies in port at Havana. This should distract the men for awhile and give me more time to puzzle over the strange clues Blackbeard left upon his map. When we got to Havana it was mid-day. The brig was in port so we went to the Dancing Bear Inn and while we were there I found out that the ship was to set sail tomorrow. What luck! I gave the men their liberty for the night to spend their money on drink. All except Josh Wright who I took back to the Cutlass with me. There I showed him the map and the clues which were left on it, in hopes that he would be able to help me figure it out, clever fellow that he is.
I showed him the scriptures written on the edges.
Here they be:
Psalm 23 The Lord is my Shepherd there is nothing I shall want.
Psalm 42 As the deer longs for streams of water, so my soul longs for You, oh God.
Psalm46 God is our refuge and our strength, an ever-present help in distress.
Why would Blackbeard have written psalms on the map?
And here is the poem- it seems to warn against a shipwreck off the island:
80 sailors lost their lives,
On the 24th of May,
29 fathoms depth, says I,
Are the graves where they lay.
I only hope Josh and I can figure out the clues and the location of the island before the men mutiny and I lose it all.
