Shiver Me Timbers

Winning the lottery or locating a true pirate treasure is probably as remote a possibility as being struck by lightning. But the idea of capturing the winning numbers or locating a hidden chest of gold and jewels is sometimes too hard to resist.

Which would be more exciting?

That would depend on the person but with the seemingly never ending saga of Captain Jack Sparrow, this writer would venture to say the thrill of digging your hands into a pile of gold doubloons would rank rather high on the excitement scale.

The Code?

 Most people who are able to breathe have heard of such names as Captain William Kidd, Edward Teach (Blackbeard), Sir Henry Morgan, but what about Mary Reid (sometimes Read) and Anne Bonny?

These last two pirates were sailing mates of Calico Jack, both literally and figuratively (Anne was once Calico's mistress). The Englishman John Rackham was known for wearing calico patterned clothing was the origin of his nickname. And it is his personal pirate flag - a skull with crossed swords which has become the internationally accepted symbol of the Pirate Flag.  He was a good pirate, applying that adjective loosely, but not so ambitious when it came to carrying out plans. Calico would much prefer to sit around drinking grog and discussing plans for this raid or that raid rather than actually carrying out the deeds. But Reid and Bonny were totally different. They wanted to sail the Spanish Main and take as many ships as they possibly could with Calico and his crew. These two were truly dangerous and ruthless.

Calico Jack's calling card

 They were a pirate's pirate.

The two ladies, if this term can be used here, started their careers dressed as males since a female pirates did not instill fear at the time. Pirates were macho and in the 18th century to be macho meant to be male. Period.

Of course, that changed as soon as Calico Jack's crew realized two of the fiercest fighters on board were in fact women.

Forget the myth that having a woman on board could doom the ship. These gals were firebrands who only brought riches and plunder to Calico.

Artists rendering of Anne Bonny

 The length of a true piratical career was rather short - generally only a few short years. And that life was harsh and cruel for those brigands roaming the open seas looking to plunder unsuspecting vessels. Not quite the romantised view we often have from Hollywood and Disney.

This was certainly the case for Calico Jack who was hung in1720, and Mary Reid who died in prison in 1721, probably from fever. However, Anne Bonny survived prison stating she was pregnant, and passed away in 1782 at the rip old age of 80. A long life for a pirate.

Before meeting the end of their pirate hunting days, Calico's crew enjoyed quite a bit of wealth stolen from any ship that came near them. They fought hard, lived hard and died hard.

 Now, when a pirate had a lot of gold, precious gems, or other valuables, they could not take them to the bank in Tortuga. So they did what any non-self-respecting person would do - they buried their treasure.

And that's what Calico, Reid and Bonny did with theirs all over the Caribbean where they spent most of their time. Hiding the booty (goods seized by force) was part of the game for a pirate.

Contrary to popular myth, written maps on rolled up parchment would have been extremely rare.  Most pirates could not read or write and in the rough seas anything written parchment could get wet and become useless or go down with the ship with the location of the treasure lost forever.

Nope and Nope

So, how did one jot down directions to their hidden treasure?

Simple really - carve mysterious inscriptions onto stones somewhat near to where the treasure was hidden.

A cryptic carving such as:

1718 JB . . . . . .  .


Easy. So, let's find JB's treasure - nope - not so easy as only JB knows where it is. We know the treasure was buried in 1718 by JB, the rogue, and it was 7 distances away from the map and in the direction of the dots. But only JB knows the true distance to the treasure. Did each dot mean a meter, a kilometer, or an island away.

Actual pirate map in stone

 That's why there is still buried treasure needing to be found. Poor JB may have ended up swinging from the yardarm of a ship before getting back to his chest of riches. Remember dead men tell no tales nor do they reveal the exact location of their treasure.

Pretty ingenious actually and the chance of locating JB's treasure is nearly nil.

Nearly. But that doesn't stop researchers and explorers.

So, as J and L traveled the beautiful Turks and Caicos Islands in the British West Indies during the summer of 2014 they were lucky enough to actually view such pirate markings in stone including some etchings created by the very same Anne Bonny. Anne, along with Mary and Calico and the rest of the crew made these 30 plus islands one of their favorite haunts as it was an easy place to hide from the Royal Navy and also a wonderful locale to spy on treasure ships heading back to Europe. Raids could be planned and executed in a quick fashion.

View from the top, location of the pirate carvings

In fact, Parrot Cay (pronounced key) was originally named Pirate Cay in honor of Anne Bonny but was changed when the small island became a major tourist destination. Some people like parrots more than they like pirates. I suppose pirates aren't as good for business.

Pirate oops - Parrot Cay today

 Over a thousand ships have sunk or forced to sink over the past centuries in this part of the Carribean, leaving behind untolled treasures at the bottom of many cays and bays within the Turks and Caicos. That's not counting the amount of treasure believed buried throughout the region by pirates from the 16th through the early 19th centuries.

And there is always Anne's own buried treasure. Has it been found? Probably not according to a local historian since her pirate career was so short (two years) that she did not have the time to return and collect her stolen goods.

Anne Bonny's treasure map?

Ten days were not enough to locate any treasure except the clear blue waters and white beaches but who knows . . .

There's always next year!

Treasure enough - perhaps - clear water with your loved one!