The coasts of Virginia and North Carolina were at this time beset by a
number of pirates, the most notorious of whom was Edward Teach, _alias_
Blackbeard, a Bristol man, who had begun his piratical career in the
spring of 1717; the most sinister figure in the annals of piracy. Pirate
captains were, as a rule, chosen by their crews, and if their conduct was
unsatisfactory to the rovers, they were deposed and sometimes put to death
or marooned; but Teach, as fearless as he was merciless, ruled his crew by
terror. As an instance of his savage humour, it is related that on one
occasion, in a drinking bout, he blew out the light and fired two pistols
among his companions, wounding Israel Hands, his sailing master, severely.
On being asked why he did it, he damned them, and said if he did not kill
one of them now and then, they would forget who he was. So impressed were
his crew with his wickedness, that they believed they carried the devil on
board, who appeared at intervals among them as one of the crew, but could
not be identified as belonging to the ship's company. Once he fought the
_Scarborough_, a man-of-war of thirty guns, and beat her off. He boldly
went ashore when he pleased, forcing the Governor of North Carolina to
marry him, and to supply him with medicines for his crew. With his face
covered with black hair, and a beard of extravagant length, fantastically
tied up in ribbons, he presented a wild and truculent figure that was the
terror of the coast.

An extract of a journal he kept, found after his death, is given by
Johnson--

"Such a day, Rum all out:--Our company somewhat sober: A damn'd
confusion amongst us!--Rogues a plotting;--great talk of
separation.--So I look'd sharp for a Prize;--such a day took one,
with a great deal of Liquor on board, so kept the Company hot, damned
hot, then all things went well again."