Treasure Island Day

Since tomorrow is Robert Lewis Stevenson's birthday and the day in 1750 that treasure stolen from ships anchored at Ocracoke was buried in the Carribean, John Amrhein, author of Treasure Island: The Untold Story has declared November 13th to be Treasure Island Day.

"A new history has come to light about [Robert Lewis Stevenson's] Treasure Island. It was real. On November 13, 1750, fifty chests of treasure that had been stolen from a Spanish galleon at Ocracoke Inlet, North Carolina, were buried on a deserted island in the Caribbean. And because of Stevenson’s family ties to the Caribbean, he had to have known about it." (from John Amrhein's website: http://www.treasure-island-day.com/)

When you read the original Treasure Island by Robert Lewis Stevenson, keep an eye out for the name Israel Hands. Stevenson got the name from a member of Blackbeard's crew:

"[Blackbeard's] air of intimidation extended to his own crew. Just before he was killed at Ocracoke, Blackbeard had sat down to some drinking with some of his crew. He secretly pulled out two pistols under the table, blew out the candle, crossed the pistols and fired, hitting his master, Israel Hands, in the knee and maimed him for life. When asked why he did it his response was to say that if he did not now and then kill one of them, they would forget who he was. That wound may have been responsible for Hands being ashore at Bath when Blackbeard was killed. He was later pardoned. Had he been hanged or killed with Blackbeard, Robert Louis Stevenson would probably not have borrowed his character for Treasure Island. He was killed by Jim Hawkins at Treasure Island." (from John Amrhein's website: http://www.treasureislandtheuntoldstory.com/blackbeard.htm)


Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is the story of Ocracoke and the War of 1812. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news102112.htm.