Jim, I see you read Dufus' book on Blackbeard. Excellent resource book, as he went into minute details most never learn of. (I like his theory about Teach's smoking beard. He surmised that it was possibly an accident at first. The isles the sea dogs used to hide were off the beaten track, mosquito infested marshes, inlets and tributaries. The biting insects and malaria were widespread. A good smoky fire kept the critters at bay and it's possible ole Edward put the smoking fuses in his beard to drive them off. Any one of his crew who say him would have said he looked like 'the devil himself!' Just a theory of how he might have come up with the tactic. I can attest that Okracoke Isle has many marshes and biting pests) I hadn't heard of that other volume you mentioned ('X marks the Spot'), but it's now on my want list!
Norman, thank you for presenting this item! I had never heard of one before outside of the mug/blackjacks seen in taverns. Now that I know, I'll have to throw one into my pirate novels! Interesting to know that leather items went to sea as well!
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