Avast ye! Today be national 'Talk Like A Pirate' Day and I wanted to show ye land lovers that there be history in these waters of pirates. Certainly ya must be knowin of the tales of the once feared pirates of Lake Michigan? Well, all hands hoay and sit yer dungbie on a stool. With the help of Michigan.org, I'll be fillin ya in on 3 seadogs that once terrorized Lake Michigan:

1. Calico Jack- This pirate was around in the 1700's and plundered anything from cash boxes to entire ships. In October of 1720, Jack cruised near Jamaica, capturing many small fishing vessels, and terrorizing fishermen along the northern coastline. He came across a small vessel filled with 11 English pirates. Soon after, Jack's ship was attacked by an armed sloop and was captured. Calico and his men were brought to Jamaica, where he and nearly all of his crew were sentenced to dance the hempen jig.

2. James Jesse Strang- 1855 be the year when the ruthless James Jesse Strang and his hardies burned sawmills and stole $1,600 worth of goods from a local store on Beaver Island. The New York Times stated "The people along Lake Michigan, from here north to the Manistee, have been thrown into the most intense excitement by the operations of a gang of marauders, who are reported to be Mormons from Beaver Island and who have carried on their operations with a boldness, coolness and desperation rarely equaled in the the records of highwaymen."

3.Roaring Dan Seavey- This be the only man known to be formally charged with piracy on the Great Lakes. After leaving the navy, Seavey was a poor man with only his ship, Wanderer, to his name. That's when turned to the life of piracy. He plundered large shipments of venison and alcohol, then went and sold them back at a higher price. Seavey’s most famous escapade was his takeover of a schooner named the Nellie Johnson. Seavey invited the Johnson’s crew to drink with him, staying mostly sober himself. He then threw the drunken sailors off their ship and commandeered it to Chicago, where he sold all Nellie Johnson’s cargo.


 

BONUS VIDEO: SAILING THE HIGH SEAS OF...HOMER STRYKER FIELD?

 

 

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