Although there is no historical record of the pirate Blackbeard (sometimes called Bluebeard) ever having ventured past Capes Henry and Charles in the Chesapeake Bay, local lore says Blackbeard sailed as far as the Choptank River. There he is supposed to have dropped an oak treasure chest overboard. Smith and Tangier islands, which lie in the middle of the Bay, are rife with stories of Blackbeard's treasure. And more than a few retired watermen spend their time trying to retrieve treasure believed to have been dropped by the pirate. According to a story still told on Tangier Island, many years ago there lived a very poor man who had a large family. One day, he was at the local store listening to watermen talking about pirates. They spoke about the Blackbeard legend and how the legendary pirate had captured many ships and taken their gold. Just before he was captured, he buried his treasure, and his spirit still wandered the island trying to find someone to tell where the treasure was because his spirit couldn't rest until he had given it away. On his way home one night, the pauper had to pass a deserted house. He heard a whining and moaning in the trees, and a voice whispering to him. "Can I speak with you?" it asked. Scared out of his wits, the man stopped and stuttered, "What do you want with me?" The voice explained that he must divest himself of his treasure before he could have eternal rest. The pauper was so terrified he ran off home. But he decided he should meet again with the voice. He met the voice the next Saturday but again ran away terrified. It happened that the pauper had a retarded son who wandered the woods by day. The boy started bringing gold coins home each evening. When the boy was quizzed he admitted a dark man with a blue beard gave him the coin. It was then that the pauper realized the boy had met Blackbeard and that his son had retrieved the treasure he was too terrified to seek. Vernon Pruitt, a retired waterman from Tangier Island who has heard the story, says he can always find trinkets of treasure at low tide, especially after the Bay wind has been blowing. "He's always looking to find Bluebeard's treasure," says his wife, Grace. "He's always out combing the beaches, and he has found some old coins." Could the history books be wrong, perhaps?
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