nds upon the point of view.

In the 1814 edition of Johnson's "History of Highwaymen and Pirates," the
famous Paul Jones holds a prominent place as a pirate, and is described in
no half measures as a traitor; yet I doubt if in the schools of America
to-day the rising young citizens of "God's Own Country" are told any such
thing, but are probably, and quite naturally, taught to look upon Paul
Jones as a true patriot and a brave sailor. Again, there is Christopher
Columbus, the greatest of all explorers, about whom no breath of scandal
in the piratical way was ever breathed, who only escaped being a pirate by
the fact that his was the first ship to sail in the Caribbean Sea; for
there is little doubt that had the great navigator found an English ship
lying at anchor when he first arrived at the Island of San Salvador, an
act of piracy would have immediately taken place.

For the student who is interested there are other writers who have dealt
with the subject of piracy, such as the buccaneers Ringrose, Cooke,
Funnell, Dampier, and Cowley; Woodes Rogers, with his "Voyage to the South
Seas"; Wafer, who wrote an amusing little book in 1699 describing his
hardships and adventures on the Isthmus of Darien. Of modern writers may
be recommended Mr. John Masefield's "Spanish Main," "The Buccaneers in the
West Indies," by C.H. Haring, and the latest publication of the Marine
Research Society of Massachusetts, entitled "The Pirates of the New
England Coast," and last, but far from least, the works of Mr. A. Hyatt
Verrill.

The conditions of life on a pirate ship appear to have been much the same
in all vessels. On procuring a craft by stealing or by mutiny of the crew,
the first thing to do was to elect a commander. This was done by vote
amongst the crew, who elected whoever they considered the most daring
amongst them, and the best navigator. The next officer chosen was the
quartermaster. The captain and quartermaster once elected, the former
could appoint any junior officers he chose, and the shares in any plunder
they took was divided according to the rank of each pirate. The crew were
then searched for a pirate who could write, and, when found, this scholar
would be taken down to the great cabin, given pen, ink, and paper, and
after the articles had been discussed and decided upon, they were written
down, to be signed by each member of the crew. As an example, the articles
drawn up by the crew of Captain John Phillips on board