CHAPTER FOURTEEN - THE MEN OF POQUOSON
CHAPTER 15 - THE SELECT MEN
Corneilius Hagney roamed the streets of Norfolk seeking men to join the crew of the Essex. He pondered the words of Lord Pembroke, who had instructed him to recruit men who would be loyal to Captain Lewis.
"Free men are best for they cost nothing but a promise of wealth. If need be however, buy your select men," those were Lord Pembroke's instructions.
He would need twenty men, men cut from a rough hue to keep order on the Essex. Hagney found himself standing in the center square of Norfolk. A town square of a few stores selling supplies, a stable, a blacksmith shop and several taverns.
Mr. Hagney spied a small tavern at the far end of the square called the Hibernia, and knew that this would be his place to start. He entered the tavern and surveyed about the place, a few small tables with a few men sipping what passed for whisky in the Colony of Virginia. Old men, haggered men drowning in their sorrows for the low price their tobacco had brought, contemplating how they would explain to their wives another year of disappointment and of hardship. These were not the sort that Hagney needed.
He was about to turn and leave when the tavern owner, Dennis O'Flynn, a fat and jovial man called out.
"Will ya be having a drink sir!"
"Aye, I feel a good stiff drink is in order." Hagney replied.
Dennis O'Flynn poured a glass of clear whisky that the Virginians call "corn", for it was whisky made from mostly corn and not rye or wheat.
The sorrows and the hardships of the farmers of Virginia always meant good business for O'Flynn. And business at the Hibernia had been very good that year.
O'Flynn himself had once been an indentured servant, sent to the Colonies to pay off a debt to his landlord in Ireland, farming another man's land. Upon his freedom he gave up on farming and went into the more lucrative trade of whisky.
"What brings ye to Norfolk, here to sell your crop."
"Nay, I am here to find men, men to serve on the Essex, but not the sort that is here today."
"Aye, none of these men would last an hour aboard a ship, nor would they be any good in fight. But I tell ya of some men, from old Erin's shore, who are cooped up in a pen, who might be the sort ye be needing, if ya have a small bit of siver I can tell ya of them."
O'Flynn held out his hand awaiting Hagney response.
Mr. Hagney smiled, for honest men made no bones about their desires and in Virginia everything had a price, even information.
Mr. Hagney reached into his pocket and produced the desired silver coin, and just before placing it in Mr. O'Flynn's outstretched hands quickly pulled it back and said:
"I'll be having the information and another glass, if you please."
O'Flynn smiled, poured another glass and in a hushed tone began to speak.
"Wild geese, they are, cooped up in the pen. Men who had flown off to France when Limerick did fall. They say they got tired of fighting for the French King, who had repeatedly failed to pay them for their services. So these geniuses decided that they should return to Ireland, all together, some 15 of them, as if the English would not even notice. They arrived all at the same time in Dublin, and went straight to the drink. Well, they were not a single day back in Ireland, when the English got word of their return. They were arrested and sent to Virginia the following week, not much of a homecoming but what did they expect parading around Dublin as if they still owned the place. Now the English thought that they could sell these fellas in Virginia, but they are such a mean spirited and harsh lot, no one in their right mind would buy them. Afraid I suppose, that they would just run off or worse cut their throats in the middle of the night. These are the sort of men who know how to stand their ground in a fight. Now the poor fella who the English forced to keep them in the pen would be glad to be rid of them. I know this man and for 50 pieces of silver, and a small commission for me self, say 5 pieces of silver, they can be yours, if you are interested, I can take ye to them right away."
Mr. Hagney, nodded in approval at the proposition of men from the Limerick garrison being signed aboard the Essex.
Mr. O'Flynn made a quick exit from the tavern with Mr. Hagney struggling to keep pace. The two left the center of Norfolk and began to walk down a small dirt towards the south side of town. Off in the distance at a turn in the bend, Mr. Hagney spied an open pen full of hogs wallowing in mud. At the far end of the pen stood a small open shelter with a trough on one side and large wooden wall on the back end. Shackled and chained to the wall were 15 men who sat in the filth of the hogs, none of them speaking, nor even looking about but staring down at the mud and the muck that surrounded them.
As O'Flynn and Hagney drew nigh, one of men finally looked up and seeing O'Flynn, he rattled his chains and said:
"Good day to ya O'Flynn, may your own mother curse the day she brought ya into the world, and gave ya the right to call yourself an Irishman."
"Easy now O'Donnell, to be sure if ya just mind your manners a bit I may have found a way for all of ya to be rid of these fine accommodations."
At the sound of the name O'Donnell, Mr. Hagney's eyes lit up, there could be no way that here at the end of the earth, here in this pig sty could possibly be one of Kate's own brothers.
He stared at the man for a bit, it might be, it could be, but it had been so long since he had set eyes on any of the sons of his dear departed Colonel.
He could not let on, for if O'Flynn knew what Mr. Hagney would pay for the liberty of any of the Colonel's sons, the price would be far greater than 50 pieces of silver.
Hagney, turned to O'Flynn and said:
"These are the men, these wretches can barely stand on their feet let alone hold their ground in a fight. Let me have a word with them and see if any are willing, though by the looks of them the price should be 10 pieces of silver for the whole lot of them."
The men eagerly looked upon Mr. Hagney, who to not of a few of them had a familiar look.
"I am recruiting men, men who are willing to fight to serve aboard the Essex and wage war upon the French and the Spanish. She is a fine ship, with a grand Captain, with Letters of Marque. We shall plunder the Seas and take from Her Majesty's enemies. Now you shall be indentured men, indentured to the owner of the ship Lord Pembroke. He shall be entitled to the return of your purchase price plus ten percent of your shares while you serve on the Essex. And although ya be his indentured servants, your loyalty shall be to the me and the Captain. That is your offer, that or stay here and rot among the swine."
The men turned towards O'Donnell, to see what his reply would be. After what seemed like a long awkward silence, O'Donnell stood up, a tall and well framed man whose clothes were hung loose about him giving testimony to the starvation with which he suffered.
He stared at Mr. Hagney, with a hard look, not letting on that he knew him and knew him well. He then briefly glanced at O'Flynn and spit upon the ground. Then holding his chains high, he spoke firmly:
"As ya can see, ya have the advantage over us. And its nice to see that ya are not want to take advantage of us with such an offer. However, seeing as there have been a lack of opportunities coming our way these days, I for one accept yar offer. But these men speak for themselves."
And with that all the men rose to feet in agreement.
Mr. O'Flynn smile with delight and quickly turned to Mr. Hagney saying.
"It seems ya have struck an accord with these men, now tis just the matter of striking an accord with the poor fool who holds the papers on these fellas, and of course my commission. The man will be needing to see your silver first, and if you don't mind I would care to be holding my commission as well."
Mr. Hagney reached into his purse and counted out 50 pieces of silver and handed Mr. O'Flynn his commission. Mr. O'Flynn briefly looked upon the stacks of silver before scooping them into his hands. He reached into his jacket pocket and produced the indentured contracts for all 15 men and placed them in Mr. Hagney's hands, who stared at the papers with a look of surprise about his face.
"They are all yours now, Mr Hagney, the whole lot of them."
"But what of the poor fool who holds the papers on these men?"
Mr. O'Flynn smile and laughed with delight.
"I was the poor fool who held the papers on these men, and now Mr. Hagney you are the poor fool who holds their papers. A deal is a deal!"
Turning quickly Mr. O'Flynn began to unlock the men form their chains, laughing quietly to himself and eager to depart in case Mr. Hagney had a change in mind.
After unchaining the men, Mr. O'Flynn quickly departed and headed back to his tavern. When he had made a safe distance for the pig sty, he turned about and shouted:
"Good day to ya Mr. Hagney, and I thank you for the commission!"
O'Donnell stared at Mr. Hagney who looked upon him in disbelief, for it was Patrick O'Donnell, the son of his own departed Colonel and brother of Kate O'Donnell, Master of the Essex.
Mr. Hagney had found his select men. Men whose loyalty would be to him, to his Captain and to Katherine O'Donnell Lewis.