Sunday, October 28, 2012

Horror on the High Seas: Return of the Man from Olon

It was the custom of L'Olonnois that, having tormented any persons and they not confessing, he would instantly cut them to pieces with his hanger, first some flesh, then a hand, an arm, a leg, and pull out their tongues.

~ Alexander Exquemelin in The Buccaneers of America

Doctor Exquemelin is, of course, talking about Francois L'Olonnais. Born David Nau in Olon, France, L'Olonnais ("the man from Olon") became one of the most infamously blood thirsty of the buccaneers. His most notorious act of cruelty, in which he slit open a man's chest with his cutlass (or "hanger"), pulled out the man's heart, took a bite from it and then shoved it into the mouth of the man's mate, is depicted above in a woodcut from the book.

4 comments:

Timmy! said...

Always a staple of Horror on the High Seaes week, welcome back Francois "psycho" L'Olonnais, Pauline!

"My name is Francois, but all my friends call me 'psycho'... Any of you guys call me Francois... I kill ya!"

Pauline said...

Lighten up, Francis... That guy was certifiable.

Charles L. Wallace said...

Yay!! There he is: that man again :-)

Pauline said...

He's back and he's ready to party!