Ohio River once had own share of pirates

[Adsos Letter]

Source: The Columbus Dispatch
By Bradley T. Lepper

When I think of pirates, I think of the Caribbean Sea or the Gulf of Aden. I don't think of the Ohio River; or at least I didn't before I read Going to See the Varmint: Piracy in Myth and Reality on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, 1785-1830 by Illinois archaeologists Mark Wagner and Mary McCorvie.

Throughout the late 18th century, flatboats made their way up and down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers bearing produce and manufactured goods as well as immigrants to the West.

Wagner and McCorvie say they were tempting targets for river pirates, such as the notorious Capt. Samuel Mason, who operated out of Red Banks, Ky.

In 2000, the first flatboat wreck found in the Ohio or Mississippi rivers was discovered along a bank of the Ohio River in southern Illinois. Local citizens suggested that it was the remains of a pirate attack.

In 2002, Wagner and McCorvie excavated the flatboat, which they christened the America, after a nearby town. They wondered how to test the hypothesis that the America had been sunk by pirates.

According to trial transcripts, Mason and his crew would stop a boat, kill the crew, carry off the loot, and then burn the boat to hide the evidence of their crime.

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/science/stories/2009/02/17/sci_lepper17.ART_ART_02-17-09_B5_FCCS6BG.html?type=rss&cat=&sid=101

[foxfeet]

1. Yep. Those of us who grew up along the river know about this.

These pirates were a nasty lot.

[Bucky]

2. While technically this was piracy, the fact is...

...if you don't have a parrot on your shoulder, say 'yarrr' a lot, and invoke Davy Jones once every few minutes, you simply lack the badass points required to earn the name of pirate.

[arcadian]

3. No way, river pirates are more sinister.

Nobody suspects 'em.

[Adsos Letter]

5. RUM!!!...

...please...don't forget the rum... :D

[rockymountaindem]

7. What about this guy:

The Last Saskatchewan Pirate! (by the Arrogant Worms, courtesy of letssingit.com)

I used to be a farmer, and I made a living fine,
I had a little stretch of land along the CP line
But times were hard and though I tried, the money wasn't there
And the bankers came and took my land and told me "fair is fair"

I looked for every kind of job, the answer always no
"Hire you now?" they'd always laugh, "we just let twenty go!"
The government, the promised me a measly little sum
But I've got too much pride to end up just another bum.

Then I thought, who gives a damn if all the jobs are gone?
I'm gonna be a PIRATE on the river Saskatchewan!

And it's a heave-ho, hi-ho, comin' down the plains
Stealin' wheat and barley and all the other grains
It's a ho-hey, hi-hey farmers bar yer doors
When ya see the Jolly Roger on Regina's mighty shores

Well, you'd think the local farmers would know that I'm at large
But just the other day I found an unprotected barge
I snuck up right behind them and they were none the wiser,
I rammed their ship and sank it and I stole their fertilizer!

A bridge outside of Moose Jaw spans a mighty river
Farmers cross in so much fear their stomachs are a'quiver
Cause they know that Captain Tractor's hidin' in the bay
I'll jump the bridge and knock them cold and sail off with their hay!

And it's a heave-ho, hi-ho, comin' down the plains
Stealin' wheat and barley and all the other grains
It's a ho-hey, hi-hey farmers bar yer doors
When ya see the Jolly Roger on Regina's mighty shores

Well, Mountie Bob he chased me, he was always at my throat
He followed on the shoreline cause he didn't own a boat
But cutbacks were a'coming and the Mountie lost his job
So now he's sailing with us, and we call him Salty Bob!

A swingin' sword, a skull and bones and pleasant company
I never pay my income tax and screw the GST (SCREW IT!!)
Sailin down to Saskatoon, the terror of the seas
If you wanna reach the co-op, boy, you gotta get by me!

Cause it's a heave-ho, hi-ho, comin' down the plains
Stealin' wheat and barley and all the other grains
It's a ho-hey, hi-hey farmers bar yer doors
When ya see the Jolly Roger on Regina's mighty shores

(*spoken* Arrrr! Ya salty dog!)
(*spoken* Arrrr! Ya salty gopher!)
(*spoken* Arr.. ya.. salty bale of hay!)
Well, Pirate life's appealing but you just don't find it here,
I hear in North Alberta there's a band of buccaneers
They roam the Athabaska from Smith to Fort McKay
And you're gonna lose your Stetson if you have to pass their way!

Well, winter is a'comin' and a chill is in the breeze
My Pirate days are over once the river starts to freeze
I'll be back in springtime but now I have to go
I hear there's lots of plunderin' down in New Mexico!

Cause it's a heave-ho, hi-ho, comin' down the plains
Stealin' wheat and barley and all the other grains
It's a ho-hey, hi-hey farmers bar yer doors
When ya see the Jolly Roger on Regina's mighty shores...x2

When ya see the Jolly Roger on Regina's mighty shores...x2

[Cirque du So-What]

4. I've visited this site numerous times

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cave-in-Rock

Cave-In-Rock is a village in Hardin County, Illinois, United States. Its principal feature is a 55-foot (17 m)-wide cave on the Ohio River. Cave-in-Rock was originally a stronghold for outlaws including the bandit Logan Belt, Philip Alston the Counterfeiter, the pirate Samuel Mason, and the Sturdivant Gang.

[madrchsod]

6. been to this place

http://dnr.state.il.us/LANDS/LANDMGT/Parks/R5/CAVEROCK.HTM

my friend`s family moved to that part of southern illinois in the 1840`s and in some ways it has`t changed a whole lot..