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Captain Abraham Archer or It's a pirate's life for me!

Hello Dear Reader,
Lately, I've been starting my morning to by listening to the refreshing local radio station KMO 9.92. My favorite show to wake up to is the town sweetheart and transgendered radio personality Kimberley Valentine!  On Wednesdays, Kimberley does a segment called Secrets of Kevin’s Crossing.  With a title like that, I’m sure you’re not surprised that it’s my favorite! Kimberly spends five to ten minutes informing listeners about some aspect of the town or its history that even lifelong residents may not know about.  This morning’s topic: Pirates!
One particular pirate, that is, Captain Abraham Archer.  He was a pirate and privateer towards the end of the golden age of piracy.  He claimed to be English but had a strange indistinguishable accent. It seems there were many wild rumors about him, many of which he started himself.  Here are a few favorites:
  • He was the son of Sultan and one his concubines.
  • He was the son of a mermaid and a sailor.
  • He was tulpa created by a Tibetan lama.
  • He was born in the lost city of Atlantis.
  • He had escaped jail countless times and survived two hangings.
  • He could speak to dolphins and dogs.
  • He did not drink alcohol.
  • He could drink alcohol all day and not get drunk.
  • He may be a distant relative of Newton family.
  • He was raised as a girl the first ten years of his life.
  • He was a eunuch.
  • He had a secret hideout on a floating island
  • He wore a mask made of sailcloth to hide his identity
Where his legend intersects with Kevin’s Crossing is also where it ends(So Spooky!).  And Kevin’s Crossing isn’t even near the ocean! Apparently, Captain Archer spent the last several years of his live raiding ships off the coast.
The story starts one night when the Captain carried out a daring nighttime attack on three heavily armed Spanish galleons with his one ship, the Wyndham.   His crew took many casualties and his ship was nearly sunk before capturing a chest made of solid gold and escaping along the coast.
By dawn the next morning he came to the mouth of a river.  This river leads to Kevin’s Crossing’s very own Narrow River, that feeds into it.  Now there are two dams in the way through.  Back then, it was possible, if you were crazy and desperate enough, to sail a tall ship all the way inland.  The Narrow River to be unusually deep.
He sailed his ship upriver until it ran aground.  He burnt the Wyndham to the ground so no one could turn back.  Then he had his men bury in the woods outside of nearby village Newton. Legend has it, that after burying the treasure he shot the surviving members of his crew so no one would know the location.   He then disappeared into the woods never to be seen again.
Some say he wasn’t hiding a stolen treasure for himself.   The Spanish ships had been transporting something extremely dangerous.  Something he had been charged, by mysterious authorities, to keep out of the hands of men.
It turns out that this illustrious fellow has his own statue in the town square!  How exciting?  There are four statues of figures important to the town’s history.
Until next time, I will continue to tune into the sultry voice of Kimberley Valentine and keep you updated!

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