by Bill Russo
“I am leaving now but not under force of your ethereal pebbles – I am beyond their reach – I am departing to the dunes of First Encounter Beach where I shall build a house to wait for my dashing Sam Bellamy.
“He is coming to marry me. I might invite you to the wedding. Perhaps I will let you throw rice instead of rocks, when next we meet.”
Maria leaped from the pier into the white caps of the choppy sea. The villagers watched closely, but they never saw the golden hair of the young woman surface.
“She has drowned,” said one of the children.
“She may be dead,” agreed Reverend Treat. “But even if she is, I fear that we will see her again.”
Back with Bellamy in the Caribbean
Sam Bellamy’s honest toil in searching for salvage among the pieces of a wreck just off the coast of Cuba over a period of nine months, had brought him nothing but a steep reduction in his finances.
One after another, his crew left when he could no longer pay them. In the end he was by himself. Even the islanders came no more to dive into the warm waters and search the soft sands for lost treasure.
After his final shilling was spent and not even a pence, had been recovered from the wreck, he met a young man from Nantucket.
Paul Williams had an idea of how to make a boatload of gold and silver, but he lacked a ship. Sam still had his tight little sloop, though no cash to outfit her for a voyage.
The desperate Sam Bellamy saw in the bold, but dangerous scheme, his one chance to amass enough wealth to return to Cape Cod and marry his Maria.
With money from Williams, the vessel’s larder was stocked with meats, fishes, fruit and nuts. A crew of four ‘hard-cases’ was signed on and the Monsieurs Bellamy and Williams set off on a new venture as pirates of the Caribbean Sea – although, in truth neither man knew much about the business of ‘seaway robbery’.
After a month or more rounding Cuba with no action it looked as though the young men were not cut out for pirating – but one morning everything changed.
Off the starboard side, Paul Williams spotted two ships flying black flags with an image of a ‘death’s head and bones across’.
“I think they’re pirates. Real pirates!” Paul Williams shouted enthusiastically.
“Ahoy there. Hello the ship! We want to join up with you,” shouted Sam Bellamy across the water.
The two pirate boats made straight for Sam’s little sloop and the two pirate captains came aboard.
“I am Captain Benjamin Thorngold of the Mary Anne,” announced one.
“Et moi, Je suis…oh, pardonnez moi… in English, I will talk. I am the Capitan of the ship, The Fromage. I am Francois LaBoeuf.”
“Gentlemen,” Thorngold said to the men of Sam’s sloop, “since you have surrendered without damage to yourselves or to any of the vessels, you will not be harmed. You are, however, our prisoners and we claim your ship and its cargo as our prize.”
Sam and Paul explained that they would willingly join the pirate fleet and had been working at the trade without success for a over a month.
“Mon dieu, exclaimed LaBoeuf, “how can you claim to be pirates, you did not even have the ‘drapeau’!”
“He means the flag,” Thorngold explained. “Pirate ships carry the ‘Jolly Roger’ and it’s so scary a flag, that half the time, when you sail near a ship while displaying your ‘death’s head and bones across,’ the boats will just give up without firing a shot. You can take all the plunder you can carry and never have to duck a bullet or a sword.”
After a time, the Captains LaBoeuf and Thorngold agreed to add Sam’s sloop to their fleet and take the young men on as apprentice pirates of the Caribbean.
The combined fleet of three speedy little marauders met with great and immediate success. Under the tutelage of the veteran scalawags, Sam and Paul quickly became skilled pirates of the first rank.
The quartet of seaway robbers quickly piled up so many tons of loot that they required another ship to hold all the plunder. In the distance off the port bow, one afternoon near sunset, Paul Williams spotted a massive five-masted schooner flying the colors of England. It looked like a first rate prize. It was expected that the hold would contain either a full cargo of valuable merchandise, or tons of gold that was received for the sale of her cargo. Either way, Sam Bellamy and Paul Williams wanted the cargo of the English ship.
They ahoyed LaBoeuf and Thorngold, and huddled aboard the Mary Anne to discuss the capture of the big ship.
“No. No. No. It cannot be done,” said Ben Thorngold. “I have taught you gentlemen the art of piracy, but never have you seen me take an English vessel and you never will. I am an Englishman of honor and I will never see harm caused to a member of His Majesty's fleet.
The discussion became heated when LaBoeuf sided with Paul and Sam. Finally to head off violence, Sam called for a vote of the crews of all three boats.
When the votes were counted, 24 sailors had cast lots with Thorngold and 104 with Sam Bellamy. A second vote declared Sam Bellamy as the Admiral of the fleet.
In his first act as leader, Sam addressed his mentor…. “Benjamin Thorngold. You are a fine and brave Captain. No harm will come to you. I will not attack this particular British ship. But in future, I will attack any ship of any nation. I suggest that we part as friends. You may take the 24 crew who voted with you and leave unfettered with every ounce of your share of our treasures.”
Thorngold sailed away with Sam’s sloop and the new fleet of two ships began an immediate and hungry hunt for plunder off the shores of the Virgin Islands.
In a fortnight, they took seven small ships and many thousands of pounds’ worth of gold, jewels, and silver as well as some valuable cargoes
Their first big prize came on their 16th day as a two ship fleet, when they spied the Sultana. She was a fine three-masted schooner with a cargo of sugar and 14 chests of doubloons.
Sam took command of the Sultana and promoted Paul Williams to captain of the Mary Anne. LaBoeuf remained with the Fromage.
A few more weeks work resulted in more than ten tons of gold being wedged between the decks of the Sultana.
The fleet put in to the harbor at Havana for the winter to refit the ships and rest the crew. After a month they weighed anchor and set sail for Cape Cod.
Sam calculated that he could work his way to Eastham and have the wealth of a king by the time he unfurled his sails in Provincetown Harbor.
The third day at sea brought the formation of a minor gale. It was not big enough to do any damage but was sufficient to scatter the fleet. Clearing weather brought the Mary Anne in sight of the Sultana but LaBoeuf and the Fromage were nowhere to be seen.
“Leave LaBoeuf to his own devices,” Paul said. “Let’s not waste time in seeking the Fromage. You want to get to Cape Cod to marry. I want to get there to retire from pirating and start anew in the South as a tobacco farmer. With all the health benefits of smoking; tobacco is likely to be the biggest business in the new world.”
The Sultana and the Mary Anne sailed on towards Cape Cod and into the heart of an angry Northeaster. Both ships had to heave to, and ride out the storm for 36 hours. When the skies finally cleared the two seaworthy pirate ships were none the worse for the wear.
As the whitecaps relaxed into gentle ripples, Sam Bellamy put his glass to his eye and saw a mountain. It seemed like a mountain, but it was a mast - a compound wooden pole reaching so high that it seemed to punch a hole in a cloud.
He lowered the glass until he could read the name on the
bow……….’The Whidah’.
What a ship she was. Built in London five years earlier, she was a hundred feet long square rigged galley with a complement of 150 sailors and fighters. She could house 400 prisoners chained below decks and 300 tons of cargo.
He learned later that her freight was elephant teeth, sugar, and four tons of gold dust. The plunder from this one capture would be enough for him and Paul to retire in a style of great opulence.
The Whidah could outrun most any ship as she raced along at speeds of up to 15 knots. How could the Sultana and the Mary Anne hope to catch her?
The Sultana was heavy hulled and slow footed. He could never outsail the Whidah. But just as if God and not the Devil were on his side, the winds filled only the sails of the Sultana and the Mary Anne, with not a whisper directed at the sleek Whidah.
With 5,000 feet of canvas, wind-filled almost to bursting, Admiral Sam Bellamy gave the order that always rings a bell in the heart of a pirate: “Run up the flag boys. Show ‘em the Death’s head and Bones Across.”
The Sultana and the Mary Anne flew straight at the mighty Whidah. The Mary Anne came about on the port side of the prize, while the Sultana lightly scraped the timbers of the Whidah on the starboard side.
Now any sailor will tell you that Captain Peter Prince of the Whidah should have been able to sail right through this little blockade as easily as a rat avoids the boot of the ship’s cook.
But luck and ill winds had deserted the British vessel. Captain Prince thought about breaking out the oars and trying to escape – but under oar power, two knots would be the maximum speed he could hope for; and the invaders were cruising at better than ten.
Sam Bellamy, for the second time in his life, experienced love at first sight. He wanted the Whidah – not as much as he wanted Maria Hallett – but he wanted the boat in a different way. He wanted to master it and to sail the Whidah into Provincetown Bay. He prayed that he could capture the ship with little damage to her.
Captain Prince wanted to surrender. He was not a coward, but he could see that all was lost. With no wind to make good an escape, he had to stand and fight or give up.
The Whidah was carrying a skeleton crew of 30 able seamen. Most of the crew had been paid off and sent ashore at Boston when a large part of his freight had been exchanged for gold. Barely armed, his men would not stand a chance against seasoned pirates.
To save face, Captain Prince fired two chase guns far off the bow of the Sultana. A few seconds later, before the enemy would have a chance to return fire, he gave the order to lower the flag in surrender.
Sam Bellamy was ecstatic. He fairly flew across the gangplank to board the Whidah. He greeted Captain Prince warmly. Always a gentleman pirate, Sam informed Captain Prince that he was going to be given the Sultana and he would be allowed to keep one fourth of all cargo and riches.
Captain Prince could not believe his good fortune. Even just 25 per cent of his cargo and treasure would return a handsome profit to his investors. With his share, and what he could get for selling the Sultana, he could purchase a new galley just as fine as the Whidah.
How Captain Paul Williams, who had to remain with the Mary Anne, felt about Sam’s generosity; we can only speculate.
As for Sam, he gleamed as brightly as the golden treasure being stuffed between decks as he sailed towards the Cape at the helm of his new flagship, The Whidah.
Paul Williams reminded Sam that to go back to the West Indies would be the safe thing to do.
“Taking a dozen small ships creates barely a stir in England or the Colonies, but the capturing of a ship of the stature of the Whidah, puts a mammoth target on our backs and heads,” Paul said.
“Ease your mind Paul,” Sam advised. “On the way to the Cape we will take another dozen ships and add millions to our wealth. We will be able to purchase pardons and be free men. I will have so much gold left over that I can pile it at Maria’s feet and even build her a home with the roof, floor and walls, all made of gold.”
“Aye, and I will have enough wealth to buy the whole of Virginia and all the tobacco in it,” Paul laughed, “unless we get our necks stretched first.”
Over the next week, they captured four more ships. Two were plundered. Sam gave the ships back to the captains along with a share of their riches and cargo. The Captains knew of Sam and told him they had heard of him. He learned from then that he was being called ‘the gentleman pirate’ for the humane way he went about his devilish business.
A third ship, a leaky old tub, quickly sank after being hit only 12 times by the cannon of Admiral Bellamy’s fleet. At risk of their own lives, Sam and Paul’s crew braved the turgid Atlantic waves to rescue the mates of the sinking vessel. No seaman was lost and all were offered positions as apprentice pirates in the Bellamy fleet. Most men accepted. Those that did not were given provisions, money, and a sturdy lifeboat to head back to shore.
Salvaging wrecks along the Cape Cod coast was a
major industry in the heyday of the age of sail.
The fourth ship, a sleek bark called ‘Goose Wings’ was added to the fleet along with about half of her crew. Those that did not accept piracy were allowed a boat and provisions, in the usual manner of the genial, handsome young Admiral Sam Bellamy.
Here and there, a few men who lost their ship and berths to Sam, bore him a grudge. Back in the Colonies or in England they told lies and painted a dark picture of Bellamy and his crews. Enough people believed the lies that a new nickname emerged for Sam. Most people still termed him, ‘The Gentleman Pirate’. There were however, a number of bitter souls who spat out the words, ‘Black Sam Bellamy’, when they spoke of his heart and his deeds.
I will detail no more of Sam’s captures and plunders” other than to say that he made more than 24 more successful purges of vessels over the next month.
Finally, a mere eight weeks after he gained possession of the Whidah, he reached the placid waters of Cape Cod. He was just hours away from his reunion with his lovely bride to be, Maria Hallett.
Sam Bellamy’s personal share of looted treasure included more than four tons of gold in bars, coins and dust – enough to make him the richest pirate who ever sailed the Caribbean. sale of her cargo. Either way, Sam Bellamy and Paul Williams wanted the cargo of the English ship.
They ahoyed LaBoeuf and Thorngold, and huddled aboard the Mary Anne to discuss the capture of the big ship.
“No. No. No. It cannot be done,” said Ben Thorngold. “I have taught you gentlemen the art of piracy, but never have you seen me take an English vessel and you never will. I am an Englishman of honor and I will never see harm caused to a member of His Majesty's fleet.
The discussion became heated when LaBoeuf sided with Paul and Sam. Finally to head off violence, Sam called for a vote of the crews of all three boats.
When the votes were counted, 24 sailors had cast lots with Thorngold and 104 with Sam Bellamy. A second vote declared Sam Bellamy as the Admiral of the fleet.
In his first act as leader, Sam addressed his mentor…. “Benjamin Thorngold. You are a fine and brave Captain. No harm will come to you. I will not attack this particular British ship. But in future, I will attack any ship of any nation. I suggest that we part as friends. You may take the 24 crew who voted with you and leave unfettered with every ounce of your share of our treasures.”
Thorngold sailed away with Sam’s sloop and the new fleet of two ships began an immediate and hungry hunt for plunder off the shores of the Virgin Islands.
In a fortnight, they took seven small ships and many thousands of pounds’ worth of gold, jewels, and silver as well as some valuable cargoes
Their first big prize came on their 16th day as a two ship fleet, when they spied the Sultana. She was a fine three-masted schooner with a cargo of sugar and 14 chests of doubloons.
Sam took command of the Sultana and promoted Paul Williams to captain of the Mary Anne. LaBoeuf remained with the Fromage.
A few more weeks work resulted in more than ten tons of gold being wedged between the decks of the Sultana.
The fleet put in to the harbor at Havana for the winter to refit the ships and rest the crew. After a month they weighed anchor and set sail for Cape Cod.
Sam calculated that he could work his way to Eastham and have the wealth of a king by the time he unfurled his sails in Provincetown Harbor.
The third day at sea brought the formation of a minor gale. It
was not big enough to do any damage but was sufficient to scatter the fleet. Clearing weather brought the Mary Anne in sight of the Sultana but LaBoeuf and the Fromage were nowhere to be seen.
“Leave LaBoeuf to his own devices,” Paul said. “Let’s not waste time in seeking the Fromage. You want to get to Cape Cod to marry. I want to get there to retire from pirating and start anew in the South as a tobacco farmer. With all the health benefits of smoking; tobacco is likely to be the biggest business in the new world.”
The Sultana and the Mary Anne sailed on towards Cape Cod and into the heart of an angry Northeaster. Both ships had to heave to, and ride out the storm for 36 hours. When the skies finally cleared the two seaworthy pirate ships were none the worse for the wear.
As the whitecaps relaxed into gentle ripples, Sam Bellamy put his glass to his eye and saw a mountain. It seemed like a mountain, but it was a mast - a compound wooden pole reaching so high that it seemed to punch a hole in a cloud.
He lowered the glass until he could read the name on the
bow……….’The Whidah’.
What a ship she was. Built in London five years earlier, she was a hundred feet long square rigged galley with a complement of 150 sailors and fighters. She could house 400 prisoners chained below decks and 300 tons of cargo.
He learned later that her freight was elephant teeth, sugar, and four tons of gold dust. The plunder from this one capture would be enough for him and Paul to retire in a style of great opulence.
The Whidah could outrun most any ship as she raced along at speeds of up to 15 knots. How could the Sultana and the Mary Anne hope to catch her?
The Sultana was heavy hulled and slow footed. He could never outsail the Whidah. But just as if God and not the Devil were on his side, the winds filled only the sails of the Sultana and the Mary Anne, with not a whisper directed at the sleek Whidah.
With 5,000 feet of canvas, wind-filled almost to bursting, Admiral Sam Bellamy gave the order that always rings a bell in the heart of a pirate: “Run up the flag boys. Show ‘em the Death’s head and Bones Across.”