Friday, September 19, 2008

Meow Like A Pirate Day

Instead of Meowing like a pirate, which we aren't very good at, we thought we would tell you the story of a famous pirate and what happens when pirates loose their head.


Edward Teach was one of the most famous and feared pirates of his time. He was a giant man, over 6 feet tall with long dark hair and a long dark beard. Most kitties and beans know him better by his nickname - Blackbeard.

One of the things Blackbeard would do to make himself look scarier was to braid hemp fuses into his hair and beard and then he would light them where they would smolder and smoke and encircle his head in a wreath of black smoke. And he deliberately went out of his way to make himself appear to be ruthless. He liked having a bad reputation. It must have been easier to plunder ships if people were too afraid to fight you for what was rightfully theirs.


Eventually, people were so afraid of him that even tho he was officially pardoned, the Virginia Governor decided to send the navy after him. The mission was commanded by Lieutenant Robert Maynard. Maynard found Blackbeard's ships in the coastal waters of the Carolinas and gave chase. They were fired upon and Maynard decided to have his men go below deck to lie in wait. Blackbeard and his men boarded Maynard's ship, thinking they had killed most if not all of the men, when suddenly Maynard and his men rushed up on deck and a fierce fight ensued.


Some say that it took over 5 gun shots and 20 stab or sword wounds before Blackbeard finally fell dead. Maynard chopped off his head and threw his corpse overboard where it was said to swim around the ship 3 times before finally sinking to meet Davy Jones.


Some say that Blackbeard's head was hung from a spike in Bath as a warning to other pirates. Eventually, it found it's way to Williamsburg, VA where the owner of a tavern that Blackbeard liked to frequent decided to turn his skull into a punch bowl. He gave the head to a silversmith who chopped the top off and covered it in silver and it was used in the tavern for many years and many parties until it disappeared one night. Some people say that since the time Blackbeard's head disappeared, a large, dark haired, giant of a man with a big, bushy beard wanders the streets of Colonial Williamsburg looking for something. So, let this be a warning to all you pirates out there, DON'T LOOSE YOUR HEAD, OR YOU WILL SPEND ETERNITY LOOKING FOR IT!

21 comments:

Karen Jo said...

'Tis a fearsome tale o' a fearsome pirate that ye be tellin'. I'll be very careful t' keep me head where it belongs.

Anonymous said...

Ooooh what a neato story!!!
Momma loves stuffs like this and it haz grown on me I guess!!
We has not seen this on Most Haunted or Ghost Hunters yet though :((

Anonymous said...

Yikes. It pays to keep your head about you.

Us4 Cats said...

We see! Thanks for sharing and Happy P day!

Memories of Eric and Flynn said...

Garrrr we'll be keeping our heads right where they belong furr sure. No scurvy varmints will get the better of us. Garrr

The Florida Furkids said...

Arrr, we're meowin' like pirates today too Ye'll ne'er get our buried booty!

Sniffie and the Florida Furkids

Anonymous said...

Great story! It's said he actually came from a wealthy, well-known family. I've got my blog set to pirate today..it's pretty fun :)

The Furry Kids said...

Yikes!

PB 'n J said...

You mates weave a mighty scary yarn there! (in other words - cool story!)

Have a great weekend!

ZOOLATRY said...

This very scary story sent shivers down (and back up) our furry spines and made all those furs stand on end! Our human has gone to Williamsburg -- but you'll not find us venturing there!

The Cat Realm said...

Happy pirate day! I sure wouldn't want to run around headless, hohohohoho!
Karl and Ruis dressed up at their blog - but we are still doing the Dare...
Mrs. OZ and Tintin

Tybalt said...

That do be a fine yarn ye've spun! Blackbeard himself be on me blog this day as well!

Chrissie said...

They say you should keep your head while all those about you are losing theirs..but I don't think Blackbeard did a good job keeping his!

ANGEL ABBYGRACE said...

Ahoy mateys!!
Happy Pirate Day!!

Great story fanks furr sharin!


Arrrrrrrrrr
Abby

Unknown said...

I guess yoo know where that head is ...in some kittys booty collection! Wif the nip!

Daisy said...

Oooh! That story made shivers run down my spine!

Kimo and Sabi said...

Aye! We rather loose our marbles than our heads!

Sweet Purrfections said...

Eeek! I don't want to lose my head just because I am a pirate today.

Mr. Hendrix said...

that be a scary story yer tellin this day. no head means no temptations and that shivers me timbers!

Fat Eric said...

Arrrr! Ye be fine pirates indeed, maties! Avast to ye!

Mark's Mews (Marley, Lori, Loki, and Binq) said...

Arr! Scarey Bein, he be...