Stories ~ Poems ~ More
by: CaptCweed
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~ Poem I ~
Oh! Would I like to sail upon a silent Moonlit Sea,
so far away from city lights t’would be pure Ecstasy.
In cool and quiet solitude my thoughts in harmony,
I’d grab the helm and set my coarse for the Isle of Elliott Key.
As I approach the northern shore I hear the Seagull’s cry,
I think I understand their ways but still I wonder why.
What lures them to this briny place of coral sand and sea,
could it be a master plan unknown to you and me?
A seventh sense of duty that directs their destiny?
Tis’ natures eyes that guide me to the Isle of Elliott Key.
No matter where life leads you know listen my friend to me
Tis’ natures eyes that guide you to the Isle of Elliott Key.
Yes! Mother Nature becons come spend some time with me.
From Sands to Soldiers southward on to Boca Cheeta Key,
the Gulls they beg me onward, onward to Elliott Key.
Now I spot the channel tis’ Featherbed I see.
The Gulls are crying louder, “ We’re almost there you see.“
The waters getting clearer, my mind is soaring free,
my heart is drawing nearer to where I long to be.
The birds no longer call me they wave their wings to say
“ you now no longer need me, we’ll leave you here today.
“ And as they turn to soar away I thought I heard one say . . .
“ Another crew of Boaters now safe at Bay Biscay “
"End"
Poem © 1995 Thomas D. Phillips
co-authored by Tom & John Phillips, "Two Salty Dogs"
Dedicated to Mom & Dad
Just so you know
South-East of Miami is " Biscayne Bay " was charted as "Bay of Biscay" by the Spanish, long afore Ye and Me ever was a Twinkle !
The End, for now . . .
______________________________________________________
The following is a short story, Written by Thomas D. Phillips
NEXT A PIRATE STORY
Black Caesar (pirate)
A 19th century Haitian pirate, see Henri Caesar.
Black Caesar, Pirate
Died 1718
Place of birth West Africa
Place of death Williamsburg, Virginia Colony
Years active 1700s-1710s
Rank Captain
Base of operations Florida Keys
Black Caesar (died 1718) was an 18th century African pirate. For nearly a decade, he raided shipping from the
Florida Keys and later served as one of Captain Blackbeard's chief lieutenants aboard the Queen Anne's
Revenge. He was one of the surviving members of Blackbeard's crew following his death at the hands of
Lieutenant Robert Maynard in 1718. Caesar's Rock, one of three islands located north of Key Largo,
is the present-day site of his original headquarters and named in his honor. Caesar's Creek.
Biography: ELLIOTT KEY - South Ocean Enterance
Black Caesar, according to traditional accounts, was a prominent African tribal war chieftain.
Widely known for his "huge size, immense strength, and keen intelligence", he evaded capture
from many different slave traders. Caesar was finally captured when he and twenty of his warriors were
lured onto a ship by a slave trader. Showing him a watch, the trader promised to show him and his warriors
more objects which were "too heavy and too numerous to bring on shore" if they came aboard his ship.
He enticed them to stay with food, musical instruments, silk scarves and jewels, however he had his men
raise anchor and slowly sail away. When Caesar discovered what was happening, he and his men attempted
to charge their captors but were driven back by the well-armed sailors using swords and pistols. Although it
took a considerable length of time for he and his warriors to accept their captivity, he was befriended by a
sailor who was the only man Black Caesar would accept food and water from.
As they neared the coast of Florida, the sudden appearance of a hurricane threatened to destroy the ship on
the Florida Reefs. Recognizing the ship's imminent destruction, the sailor snuck below decks and freed
Caesar. The two then forced the captain and crew into a corner, most likely at gunpoint, and boarded one
of the longboats with ammunition and other supplies. The wind and waves pushed them to shore where they
waited out the storm, apparently the only survivors of the doomed ship.
They soon began using the lifeboat to lure passing ships which stopped to give assistance. While posing as
shipwrecked sailors, they would sail out to the vessel offering to take them aboard. Once they were close to
the vessel, they brought out their guns and demanded supplies and ammunition, threatening to sink the ship
if they were refused. He and the sailor continued this ploy for a number of years and amassed a sizable
amount of treasure which was buried on Elliott Key. However, he and the sailor had a falling out over a
young woman the mate had brought back from one of the ships they had looted. Fighting over her,
Caesar killed his longtime friend in a duel and took the woman for his own.
He began taking on more pirates over time and soon was able to attack ships on the open sea. He and his
crew were often able to avoid capture by running into Caesar's Creek and other inlets between Elliot and
Old Rhodes Key and onto the mangrove islands. Using a metal ring embedded in a rock, they ran a strong
rope through the ring, heel the boat over, and hide their boat in the water until the patrol ship or some other
danger went away. They might also lower the mast and sink the ship in shallow water, later cutting the rope
or pumping out the water to raise the boat and continue raiding. It is thought that he and his men buried 26
bars of silver on the island, although no treasure has ever been recovered from the island.
He apparently had a harem on his island, having at least 100 women seized from passing ships, as well as a
prison camp which he kept prisoners in stone huts hoping to ransom them. When leaving the island to go on
raids, he left no provisions for these prisoners and many eventually starved to death. A few children
reportedly escaped captivity, subsisting on berries and shellfish, and formed their own language and customs. This society of lost children give rise to native superstition that the island is haunted.
During the early 18th century, Caesar left Biscayne Bay to join Blackbeard in raiding American shipping in the Mid-Atlantic serving as a lieutenant on his flagship Queen Anne's Revenge. In 1718, after Blackbeard's death battling with Lieutenant Robert Maynard at Ocracoke Island, he attempted to set off the powder magazine as per Blackbeard's instructions. However, Caesar was stopped by one of the captives who tackled him as prepared to light a trail of gunpowder leading to the magazine. He struggled with the man below decks until several of Maynard's sailors were able to restrain him. Taken prisoner by Virginian colonial authorities, he was convicted of piracy and hanged in Williamsburg, Virginia.[1]
In popular cultureThe descendants of Caesar and his crew are depicted in Albert Payson Terhune's 1922 novel Black Caesar's Clan which describes people living near Caesar's Creek who chase off treasure hunters looking for Caesar's lost fortune.
References1.^ McCarthy, Kevin M. Twenty Florida Pirates. Sarasota, Florida: Pineapple Press, 1994. (pg. 39-41) ISBN 1-56164-050-6
Further readingLove, Dean. "Pirates and Legends". Florida Keys Magazine. (1st quarter, 1981): 10-14.
True, David O. "Pirates and Treasure Trove of South Florida". Tequesta: The Journal of the Historical Association of Southern Florida (1947): 3-13.
Woodman, Jim. The Book of Key Biscayne. Miami: Miami Post, 1961.
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