NASSAU.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 245, 16 October 1929, Page 6

NASSAU.

PIRATES AND CONTRABAND.

Nassau, the British West Indian town which has just been devastated by the most disastrous cyclone it has ever known, is seldom heard of, but it is a town with a history. It was near here that Columbus had his first sight of the New World; it was on Watling Island, not far away, where he made his first landing. Tom Cringle visited it, and recorded in his famous "Log" notes that not long before his time it was a famous haunt of pirates. Two centuries ago shipping in these seas was not safe from these corsairs, who even attacked the seaports. In 170S Nassau was captured and destroyed by a combined force of French and Spaniards, who obliged the inhabitants to seek refuge by flight. In 1718 the town was again settled by the British. In the meantime it had become a notorious haunt of pirates and one of the first acts of the new Government was to make an example of these offenders. The spot is still pointed out where eight pirates were hanged on December I' 2, 1718. They were allowed three-quarters of an hour under the gallows, which they spent in singing psalms. The notorious pirate, Captain Teach (better known as "Blackboard"), had his headquarters here, though he had strongholds in other islands as well. In St. Thomas an old stone tower is still shown, which, according to local tradition, was at one time occupied by him, and is yet known as Blackbeard's Castle. The writer lived for somo time within a stone's throw of this castle, which is simply an old windmill, but very large, and strongly built of stone, the walls five or six feet thick at the base—a fortress of no mean strength and impervious to the artillery of the time. At an earlier date piracy was almost an honourable profession; as witness the case of Morgan, the famous buccaneer (later historians call him simply a pirate), who, after all his misdeeds, was knighted by Charles 11. and made Governor of Jamaica.

For a century and a hq.lf after the resettlement Nassau continued to lead a sleepy existence till it was suddenly galvanised into new life by the American Civil War. It is an ill wind that blows no one some good, and America's misfortune was a godsend to the Bahaman capital. When the ports of the Southern' States were blockaded by the Northern Government, Nassau, owing to its favourable geographical position, at once became the headquarters of the blockade-running traffic. In 1860, just previous to the outbreak of the war, the total trade of the port was £491,000; four years later it had risen to over £10,000,000. This, of course, was nearly all transit traffic, but it brought prosperity to Nassau, which soon became the overseas centre of the cotton trade. There was no room in the town to store all the fleecy staple; every shed, every vacant section, was piled high with cotton bales awaiting reshipment; they were literally "lying about loose." Blockade running became a regular trade. Steamers which developed extraordinary speed were bought up at fancy prices to be converted into "runners." They were painted a dull grey, burned a smokeless coal, and could blow off steam below water. Live stock were not carried, for cocks have a habit of crowing and horses of neighing when approaching land.

Blockade running was a risky game, but the profits of a single successful trip were immense, and some ships made about a dozen consecutive trips without being caught. Pilots well acquainted with the southern ports and their approaches could command almost any price for their services, but such men were very scarce; when captured they were never exchanged like other prisoners. But all ranks of the merchant service engaged in "running" received exceptionally high rates of pay, and money flowed like water in Nassau. Hamilton (Bermuda) and St. Thomas were other centres of the blockade-running traffic.

Many stories arc told of the ruses adopted to elude the blockaders. A small Southern cruiser happened to be in Martinique when a powerful Northern warship appeared in the offing, where she kept cruising with the idea of capturing or sinking her weaker ndversary as soon as she should come out. The captain of the Southern ship was Semmes, who afterwards commanded the famous Alabama. But a happy idea struck him. It came to his knowledge that the commander of the Northern vessel had established a private signal station on the hills overlooking the harbour, whence he could be apprised of his enemies' movements. Semmes, of course,' was unaware of the code of signals agreed on, but he formed a shrewd guess that as soon as he left the harbour the direction in which he steered would be communicated to his adversary. Accordingly one night he got up steam and suddenly put out to sea. As soon as he saw a signal light appear at the station he extinguished his own lights and turned his ship's head in the opposite direction. Meanwhile the blockading ship was travelling at full speed on the wrong course, and when morning dawned it is safe to say that the two steamers were 300 miles apart. Of recent years Nassau has also become a centre of the "rum-running" traffic into the United States, but the risks are greater, as the runners are more closely watched, and the traffic must be small compared with the port's palmy days of the Civil War. —J. D. LECKIE.