Growing up on the Amelia River was wonderful. Experiences and people I met along the way will never be forgotten. One such character was Charlie Morse, better known to me as Uncle Charlie. A crabber on the river with a small crab boat made of wood, with an outboard engine. Uncle Charlie would work his crab traps daily, unloading his catch at the crab dock for processing and shipping.
Uncle Charlie would come to the boat yard at least once a week and anytime there was work to be done to his boat he would always call on Dad. Uncle Charlie liked me and would take time to tell me some of his stories, and I become mesmerized by his tales. Uncle Charlie had one partner in the crab business, a pelican that went everywhere with him, and I do mean everywhere. The bird would sit on the bow of his boat and help him by eating any left over bait he may have. It was always amazing to me that I could actually pet this wild bird while he was sitting on Uncle Charlie’s boat.
One day Uncle Charlie was telling me a pirate story, now what kid would not be interested in a good pirate story? Visions of gold and silver in a strong box being buried on a remote stretch of beach ran through my mind as I listened to the story. He also told me he would show me some pirate stuff that he had. Uncle Charlie lived on the North side of town, a couple of blocks from the river. I stopped by his house one day and he really did show me what he had. I held a muzzle loading pistol and two cutlasses, all encrusted in rust. One cutlass had a broken blade and the other was intact. I was absolutely fixed on the history behind these items. He would not tell me where he found these items and every time we would be together I would ask him, one day he told me he had found the items on Tiger Island. I would always want to know more, but there never was any additional information offered.
Today, I can’t help but think of Uncle Charlie and the pirate stuff he had or of the pelican that worked with him daily retrieving his crab traps. There are some things in life that you never forget, people and stories that stick with you for the rest of your life. I share these stories from time to time with young people and you can see their minds working just as mine did when I would listen to Uncle Charlie as a kid. When I am out and about on a boat I always look at Tiger Island with Uncle Charlie and his pirate stuff in mind. If X truly marks the spot then Uncle Charlie took it with him to the grave. It’s fun to think about the X though and wonder just where it may be and will Tiger Island ever give it up?
