position as his first works were written
in the Dutch language. He came to the island of Tortuga, the
headquarters of the Buccaneers, in 1666 in the employ of the French West
India Company. Several years later this same company, owing to
unsuccessful business arrangements, recalled their representatives to
France and gave their officers orders to sell the company's land and all
its servants. Esquemeling then a servant of the company was sold to a
stern master by whom he was treated with great cruelty. Owing to hard
work, poor food and exposure he became dangerously ill, and his master
seeing his weak condition and fearing to lose the money Esquemeling had
cost him resold him to a surgeon. This new master treated him kindly so
that Esquemeling's health was speedily restored, and after one year's
service he was set at liberty upon a promise to pay his benefactor, the
surgeon, 100 pieces of eight at such a time as he found himself in
funds.

Once more a free man he determined to join the pirates and was received
into their society and remained with them until 1672. Esquemeling served
the Buccaneers in the capacity of barber-surgeon, and was present at all
their exploits. Little did he suspect that his first hand observations
would some day be cherished as the only authentic and true history of
the Buccaneers and Marooners of the Spanish Main.

From time to time new editions of this work have been published, but in
many cases much new material, not always authentic, has been added and
the result has been to mar the original narrative as set forth by
Esquemeling. In arranging this edition, the original English text only
has been used, and but few changes made by cutting out the long and
tedious description of plant and animal life of the West Indies of which
Esquemeling had only a smattering of truth. But, the history of Captain
Morgan and his fellow buccaneers is here printed almost identical with
the original English translation, and we believe it is the first time
this history has been published in a suitable form for the juvenile
reader with no loss of interest to the adult.

The world wide attention at this time in the Isthmus of Panama and the
great canal connecting the Atlantic with the Pacific Ocean lends to this
narrative an additional stimulus. Here are set forth the deeds of daring
of the wild freebooters in crossing the isthmus to attack the cities,
Puerto Bellow and Panama. The sacking and burning of these pla