Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 1109

# Catalog Note

The Witch of Darien by Frederick Whittaker. Beadle's Half-Dime Library, January 1901.

A historical adventure serial set in 1664, opening with a Spanish galleon, Nuestra Senora del Asuncion, caught in a violent Caribbean hurricane. The vessel carries Don Alonzo del Campo, former governor of Cartagena, traveling to Spain with his daughter Doña Inez. A mysterious passenger, Don Enrique Morganos—a lean, Celtic-featured man dressed in Spanish finery—has aided the ship through the storm. As the galleon nears St. Lucia, a pirate periagua (a large hollowed canoe) appears on the horizon, pursuing them. Morganos reveals knowledge of buccaneer tactics; when Doña Inez appeals to him to devise a peaceful escape, he demands her love as payment. Don Alonzo orders battle stations against the approaching vessel. The narrative captures period naval warfare, colonial politics, and romantic tension amid maritime action.