CHAPTER III
Barbary and the Buccaneers
"In lofty strains the bard shall tell
How Truxton fought, how Somers fell,
How gallant Preble's daring host
Triumphed along the Moorish coast,
Forced the proud infidel to treat,
And brought the Crescent to their feet!"
I was straining like a leashed hound to board a ship and fight for my brother's freedom, but no way was open to secure the release of the captives except by diplomacy. As a vent for my feelings in those first weeks of hot rage, I plunged into a study of the history of the Barbary pirates. Every outrage done by them was the occasion for an outburst of vain anger on my part. But was it, after all, vain? Later I had my wish and shared in a campaign to free three hundred American prisoners from captivity in Tripoli.
Meanwhile, we
