THE MADAGASCAR PIRATES
By
The brigands assembled between the covers of this log bedeviled vessels in the Indian Ocean. Irony abounds in the courses set by these cutthroat crews. John Avery, for example, sailed under drunken Captain Gibson, on the Charles II. While the Captain slept, Avery assembled a mutinous crew, then appraised the stupefied skipper of his plans to take over the vessel and offered him a choice of sailing with the mutineers or release in a lifeboat with his followers. Gibson chose the lifeboat. Avery changed the Charles II to the Fancy and plagued and plundered booty enough to last him through an affluent old age. But when he tried to start life anew with his gains, a jewel merchant guessed his identity and extortion took Avery's swag. For Jolly Roger fans, several of the buccaneer-biographies should be of interest.