[Taltarzac725]

Jumble - Houston Chronicle


Seesaw.
Prowl.
Purge.
Change.

[Taltarzac725]

Women created a shift in piracy on the High Seas by curbing the amount of scurvy aboard buccaneer vessels by adding celery to pirate diets.

Blackbeard shyly accepted the women's role in regulating medicine on board ship and often would thank them by asking his second-in-command to cancel their deck swabbing duties. Blackbeard did prefer rum to celery as did almost all of his crew. Except the deeply religious members who had been kidnapped off of the merchant ships Blackbeard and his crew had sunk.

The upper crust of Blackbeard's crew stored a trunk full of change from raided sunked ships. They had an annual dividing of the spoils among the rest of the crew.

In a ledger on Blackbeard's ship was an account of treasure taken from a slave ship which had once been the prize oaken yacht of a very young caliph.

Blackbeard's crew had paid dearly for the plumb prize loosing timber in a fire fight. Some of them had to pluck huge splinters from their limbs while others had died from much bigger wood shards from the slaver's blunderbusses' loads hitting the ship's wooden rails, masts, and decks and throwing up lethal wooden missiles.

The pirate crew had taken some things off the slave ship: a ticket from a slave auction, cuffs for slaves, chains that often made a thump on Blackbeard's inner deck and many collars. These spawn of slavery were often too much for even Blackbdeard's conscience to afford to bear.

Blackbeard awoke to a shrill whistle from one of his look-outs who had spotted a very familiar corsair ship far off the starboard bow. His Master-at-Arms called the crew to arms. Now that other of his crew were awake he decided it was time to settle his score with his sworn enemy.

He got rope from a compartment in his cabin, shoved it under his hat, and lit it. Unfortunately, this frightening visage did not work this time as his hat caught on fire. He had never been frugal with this burning rope trick and could hardly afford to lose another piece of captain's headwear. He liked to shove as much burning rope under his hat so as to appear like the devil coming at enemy ship crews. A hatless pirate attempting to subdue a targeted merchant ship might get undue laughter rather than the desired dread.

This was not Blackbeard's first rodeo. The ship's crew raided their stash of weapons. These included a replica of a Roman Imperial Italic helmet, swords, axes, muskets, knives, staffs, and other implements of execution. They had already set their minds to indict their prey to death according to the Pirate Code for anyone not putting up a good fight. Now, they would just have to see if they were going to have to show any mercy.

The enemy corsair ship was way out of its home territory of the Mediterranean Sea. Nevertheless, Blackbeard wanted to show it very little mercy, if any. It had taken many ships out of his and his crew's net and had to pay for that guilt. Only an infant could be showed mercy and this infant would still have to inhale the smoke from fire as well as from cannon and musket shot.

On board the Queen Anne's Revenge predecessor a sloop, Blackbeard pulled out his telescope from its socket to look at the blimp of a captain. This was his hated enemy Lawrence Prince, former captain of the 300 ton slave gally Whydah, now captain of the slave corsair Sultana. He who "Black Sam" Bellamy gave the Sultana to after Bellamy stole the captain's position from Blackbeard's mentor Benjamin Hornigold when Blackbird was First Mate on the Mary Anne. Blackbeard would make Prince-- who often smelled of medicinal balsam and beef jerky-- pay for this treachery towards Blackbeard's former Captain Hornigold. If only pretty boy playboy "Black Sam" were also still on the Sultana.


As the Queen Anne's Revenge predecessor a sloop closed on the former slave ship Sultana, the sneaky captain of Blackbeard's target had sailors with hidden swivel guns who now levelled these mini cannons at Blackbeard's ship. Too bad that Edward Teach (Blackbeard) had not snuck a snitch to act as mole in Lawrence Prince's crew on the Sultana. The volley from these swivel guns did not abate and created a plume of smoke emanating from the lower decks. Blackbeard retreated from this battle to fight another day against "Black Sam" Bellamy and his pirate friends.

Blackbeard's navigator shouted-- "We should replenish our crew yonder at the wharf past the mouth of the Bay. His First Mate made a pledge that "Black Sam" Bellamy and his cronies would pay for the deaths of some of their crewmates.

Up river from the Bay, were small towns with Brethen of the Coast (pirates) who created a wedge between the plantation owners on one side and the townsfolk on the other. A strand of these pirates were children of the followers of the great pirate Henry Morgan. Some of Morgan's men had even been well versed in the use of a rocket in sea battle which could turn the tide for Blackbeard against the likes of Lawrence Prince, "Black Sam" Bellamy, and Paul Williams.

There arose quite a commotion when Blackbeard sought new recruits for his pirate crew. The townsfolk welcomed with a howdy the pirate crew and their business, of course, but the plantation owners were scared --"yellow" claimed Blackbeard-- that some of the slaves might take off and join the pirates on their ship. It was only poetic justice that some did; as Blackbeard wanted to face Lawrence Prince and his slaver Sultana again once they had restocked with supplies and men.

Blackbeard and his crew as well as many inhabitants of the New World in 1717 were deeply superstitous. The basis for much of their beliefs came not from religious tracts in print like The Bible and The Koran but from day-to-day religious practices brought by immigrant peoples since most people could not read. What they believed was far from what they could see out of their left or right eye socket. They even held what many in the 21st Century would see as the absurd belief that demons and witches walked among them. The 1692 sinking of Port Royal (a pirate Capital in Jamaica in the Seventeenth Century) many saw as the Wrath of God for the sins committed by many pirates against the Catholic Church and Spain's Empire.


Witches played a big role in lives of many pirates of the Caribbean. Rather than drowning their sorrow in rum; they could buy trinkets and spells to capture their Fortunes off of merchant ships. They could relieve their plight by cursing their enemies with entreaties that they become infected with the dapple appearance of various diseases like Smallpox; while keeping their own smooth facades. The witches' accent on their lives was remarkable. A fact that will become clear in this story unless you already know the sad fates of "Black Sam" Bellamy and his lady love Maria Hallett. http://blog.hmns.org/tag/maria-hallett/

Edward Teach's sloop was restocked with supplies and ammo. The pirate ship crew was finally replenished from runaway slaves, indentured servants unhappy with their lot, adventurers, and some scalawags from the island's jails. None had purged their many sins through fine or imprisonment. This was not much of a change from the usual suspects you found in a Caribbean pirate crew that set out on the prowl of the Spanish Main. Blackbeard knew that the seesaw of the ship's movement would probably create many sick among the new crew the first week or so. He therefore planned to take tracking the Sultana and its Captain Lawrence Prince very slowly. Many of the new crew were praying incessantly for the weather to subside as well as the heavy rocking of the boat this caused.

[kittygilchrist]

Originally Posted by Villages PL

Thanks, I wish I could keep it up but I think I'm having writer's block.
I went to the well too many times and now the well is dry. Maybe tomorrow.

Village Pl reported that he felt PURGEd of words. It was a slight CHANGE of truth as he had SEESAWed from bed to bathroom since eating that well-known purgative, Tadpole Soup. In fitfull sleep, he dreamed he was PROWLING the edges of ponds giving wedgies to oversized bullfrogs by the full moon.

[Taltarzac725]

Jumble - Houston Chronicle

Answers for Tuesday's Villages Daily Sun Jumble:

Prune.
Upped.
Permit.
Resume.

[Taltarzac725]

The chase of the Sultana resumed. The sleeker ship could reach speeds higher than the sloop. So, Blackbeard had to always keep lookouts in his upper crowsnests. He could permit only a small amount of relaxation on his ship until they closed with his prey. He also had to prune some of the bad habits from his new crew members. The hunt went on for a few weeks. The prey could have followed "Black Sam" Bellamy to his homeground of Cape Cod so Blackbeard worked his way up the seaboard of the English colonies.

[kittygilchrist]

Missing his moonlight exploits, Villages PL UPPED his chances for another.
He said, "These will PERMIT me to RESUME," and he swallowed nine PRUNEs.

[Taltarzac725]

Originally Posted by Taltarzac725

The chase of the Sultana resumed. The sleeker ship could reach speeds higher than the Queen Anne's Revenge. So, Blackbeard had to always keep lookouts in his upper crowsnests. He could permit only a small amount of relaxation on his ship until they closed with his prey. He also had to prune some of the bad habits from his new crew members. The hunt went on for a few weeks. The prey could have followed "Black Sam" Bellamy to his homeground of Cape Cod so Blackbeard worked his way up the seaboard of the English colonies.

Blackbeard's memories never ceased to dwell on "Black Sam's" reason for becoming a pirate. Blackbeard's former shipmate on the Mary Anne, Bellamy needed money to beg for the hand of 16 year old golden haired beauty Marie Hallett. After her father threw her out of the house, Marie Hallett waited for her true love in Eastham, MA in a small hut by the shore of Cape Cod Bay which housed her studio. She loved painting many pixeled seascapes. She had even sold some of these so that local townsfolk could invest in the ever increasing fame and fortune of the pirate captain "Black Sam" Bellamy. He became richer and richer with each prize taken on the High Seas. He was quickly becoming the richest pirate on the Ocean which enraged the greedy Blackbeard. What neither man knew was that Marie Hallett had spoken to a local witch in Billingsgate who had given her herbs to force an abortion which had become rumor in the town of Eastham and cost Marie Hallett and her parents the loss of many friends.

http://www.chron.com/entertainment/c.../comic/Jumble/

Wednesday's Jumble answers:

Pixel.
Cease.
Studio.
Invest.

[Taltarzac725]

Thursday's Jumble words:

Dirty.
Fathom.
Broken.
Knelt.

http://www.chron.com/entertainment/c.../comic/Jumble/

[Taltarzac725]

Originally Posted by Taltarzac725

Blackbeard's memories never ceased to dwell on "Black Sam's" reason for becoming a pirate. Blackbeard's former shipmate on the Mary Anne, Bellamy needed money to beg for the hand of 16 year old golden haired beauty Marie Hallett. After her father threw her out of the house, Marie Hallett waited for her true love in Eastham, MA in a small hut by the shore of Cape Cod Bay which housed her studio. She loved painting many pixeled seascapes. She had even sold some of these so that local townsfolk could invest in the ever increasing fame and fortune of the pirate captain "Black Sam" Bellamy. He became richer and richer with each prize taken on the High Seas. He was quickly becoming the richest pirate on the Ocean which enraged the greedy Blackbeard. What neither man knew was that Marie Hallett had spoken to a local witch in Billingsgate who had given her herbs to force an abortion which had become rumor in the town of Eastham and cost Marie Hallett and her parents the loss of many friends.

On board Blackbeard's sloop, the crew could not fathom the working of the winds. So, they and most sailors of this period had created various Gods to worship, appease, and even talk to associated with winds of every kind--the North, South, East and West winds. Gales. Hurricanes. Dirty little winds that came out of nowhere and could leave broken spars which left sails hanging. You could sometime see that even the great Captain Edward Teach (Blackbeard) had knelt before these mystical creatures to try to control them.

[Taltarzac725]

Jumble - Houston Chronicle

Friday's Jumble answers:

Fedora.
Humid.
Urchin.
Ankle.

[Taltarzac725]

12 out of Blackbeard's eventual 14 wives often accompanied him on short journies out of their home base of New Providence, the Bahamas with at least 6 of his 13 children coming along. These sea urchins from so many marriages were extremely difficult to manage being of all different temperaments. Blackbeard, however, wanted to get the 6 boys accustomed to the ways of sailoring starting at a very early age. One of these boy's descendents--Victorien Sardou-- would even make a mark on the world not through seafaring but by writing the 1882 play Fédora for Sarah Bernhardt which created the fedora hat craze. The kids had to get used to even more humid weather they experienced on New Providence. In addition, they could easily break an ankle, arm, leg, or their neck if not very careful when climbing around on the sloop's rigging if they fell or got caught up in the ropes.

[Taltarzac725]

Originally Posted by Taltarzac725

12 out of Blackbeard's eventual 14 wives often accompanied him on short journies out of their home base of New Providence, the Bahamas with at least 6 of his 13 children coming along. These sea urchins from so many marriages were extremely difficult to manage being of all different temperaments. Blackbeard, however, wanted to get the 6 boys accustomed to the ways of sailoring starting at a very early age. One of these boy's descendents--Victorien Sardou-- would even make a mark on the world not through seafaring but by writing the 1882 play Fédora for Sarah Bernhardt which created the fedora hat craze. The kids had to get used to even more humid weather they experienced on New Providence. In addition, they could easily break an ankle, arm, leg, or their neck if not very careful when climbing around on the sloop's rigging if they fell or got caught up in the ropes.

Blackbeard and his former Captain--Benjamin Hornigold--set out from their home base in New Providence on two sloops to go marauding for pirate loot. The found little to oppose them and captured 100 barrels of wine and 120 barrels of floor from two ships. They and their crews had to spruce themselves up after imbibing way too much of the wine while partying over their spoils. There was also some soap opera like antics with the few kids still on board who were literally learning the ropes of seafaring. They spent a lot of energy trying to make sure that the children of Blackbeard did not get too drunk off of the Madeira Wine taken from a third ship.

Assuming these are the correct answers for Saturday's Jumble: Oppose, Spruce, Opera, Spent.

[Taltarzac725]

Originally Posted by Taltarzac725

Blackbeard and his former Captain--Benjamin Hornigold--set out from their home base in New Providence on two sloops to go marauding for pirate loot. The found little to oppose them and captured 100 barrels of wine and 120 barrels of floor from two ships. They and their crews had to spruce themselves up after imbibing way too much of the wine while partying over their spoils. There was also some soap opera like antics with the few kids still on board who were literally learning the ropes of seafaring. They spent a lot of energy trying to make sure that the children of Blackbeard did not get too drunk off of the Madeira Wine taken from a third ship.

Answers for Saturday's Jumble: Oppose, Spruce, Opera, Spent.

Blackbeard's crew were driven to collect more Madeira Wine (from the Islands off of West Africa). They searched all around the Bahamas and Bermuda for it but many merchants had become wary of Blackbeard's itchy cannon trigger when it came to alcohol. They stayed in port. There was also the very lurid reason that Blackbeard sunk the Betty out of Virginia after stealing all the Madeira Wine off of her but leaving the rest of her cargo sink to the bottom of the Atlantic. Many now knew to beware of his and his partner Captain Benjamin Hornigold's sloops if they carried Madeira Wine on board. Another reason, was that Blackbeard had been searching taken ships' cabins for any news of "Black Sam" Bellamy's ship the Whydah Gally as well as about Lawrence Prince's Sultana. He was afraid some rumors he had heard were true.

Sunday's answers for the Jumble--

Itchy.
Lurid.
Around.
Beware.

[Taltarzac725]

Originally Posted by Taltarzac725

Blackbeard's crew were driven to collect more Madeira Wine (from the Islands off of West Africa). They searched all around the Bahamas and Bermuda for it but many merchants had become wary of Blackbeard's itchy cannon trigger when it came to alcohol. They stayed in port. There was also the very lurid reason that Blackbeard sunk the Betty out of Virginia after stealing all the Madeira Wine off of her but leaving the rest of her cargo sink to the bottom of the Atlantic. Many now knew to beware of his and his partner Captain Benjamin Hornigold's sloops if they carried Madeira Wine on board. Another reason, was that Blackbeard had been searching taken ships' cabins for any news of "Black Sam" Bellamy's ship the Whydah Gally as well as about Lawrence Prince's Sultana. He was afraid some rumors he had heard were true.

Sunday's answers for the Jumble--

Itchy.
Lurid.
Around.
Beware.

A medley of news reports appeared in some of the papers Blackbeard found on ships he plundered of a disaster at sea on April 26, 1717 for the pirates of two of "Black Sam" Bellamy's convoy vessels. A Nor'eastern off of Cape Cod pushed the Whyday Gally and her 145 man crew onto a sand bar and then a burst of a high wind snapped off masts which drug the ship out in 30 feet of water where she sank to a watery crypt leaving only two survivors. Another of Bellamy's convey the Mary Anne suffered the same fate but seven men got off that ship alive. "Black Sam" Bellamy's ship some reports said had been in sight of the woman who loved him madly--Marie Hallett-- when it sunk 500 feet off of Eastham, MA. These news snippets also claimed that they pirates who survived were set to hang for their crimes after trial in Boston.


http://onmilwaukee.com/ent/articles/...atesopens.html National Geographic's "Real Pirates" exhibit is on view at Milwaukee Public Museum through May 27, 2013. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_King_(pirate) http://www.mpm.edu//plan-your-visit/...s/real-pirates

[Taltarzac725]

Originally Posted by Taltarzac725

A medley of news reports appeared in some of the papers Blackbeard found on ships he plundered of a disaster at sea on April 26, 1717 for the pirates of two of "Black Sam" Bellamy's convoy vessels. A Nor'eastern off of Cape Cod pushed the Whyday Gally and her 145 man crew onto a sand bar and then a burst of a high wind snapped off masts which drug the ship out in 30 feet of water where she sank to a watery crypt leaving only two survivors. Another of Bellamy's convey the Mary Anne suffered the same fate but seven men got off that ship alive. "Black Sam" Bellamy's ship some reports said had been in sight of the woman who loved him madly--Marie Hallett-- when it sunk 500 feet off of Eastham, MA. These news snippets also claimed that they pirates who survived were set to hang for their crimes after trial in Boston.


OnMilwaukee.com Arts & Entertainment: Real Pirates explains the intersection of slavery and piracy National Geographic's "Real Pirates" exhibit is on view at Milwaukee Public Museum through May 27, 2013. John King (pirate) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Real Pirates | Milwaukee Public Museum

Even a dunce of a pirate feared that tumble from a hangman's gallows. There was always a code among the Brethen of the Coast to look out for one another. Blackbeard was extremely upset that he would not have a chance to fight "Black Sam" Bellamy face-to-face for his insult to the Captain the two had shared on Mary Anne. He would not be hasty in refitting his ship with crueller weapons to make sure that anyone involved with the hanging of pirates knew the consequences of these actions. He had to come up with just the right weapons. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...Caribbean.html http://archive.fieldmuseum.org/pirat...dahsloss_1.asp