Treasure Island: Pirate Crunch

“Foraging about…I found some biscuits, some pickled fruits, a great bunch of raisins, and a piece of cheese.” – Jim Hawkins on the Hispaniola

Treasure Island is about piracy, treasure hunting, and a young man named Jim Hawkins. Jim left his home to travel on the ship “Hispaniola” in search of a buried treasure. Onboard were pirates, servants, and three gentlemen—a doctor, squire, and sea captain.

For food, they ate biscuits, hard with a powerful crunch, and pork, dried and ready-to-eat. Sugar was on board, but only mentioned when pirate Long John Silver gave some to his parrot as a treat. On land and sea, parmesan cheese was cherished above all: it was even the one food craved by Ben Gunn, a seaman marooned on Treasure Island for three years!

Gunn lived on oysters and salted goat meat, which he may have cooked over a fire, surrounded by rocks. He also ate berries which grew wild on the island. Other fruits mentioned in the book were fresh, dried, or pickled. A barrel of apples was kept on the “Hispaniola,” for a snack. Jim brought raisins aboard for sustenance, and the gentlemen enjoyed raisins while drinking wine, both products of grapes.

Pirates, meanwhile, drank rum, a harsh alcohol made from molasses. As a result, they were constantly sloppy, stupid, mean, and overall useless. Hence the saying repeated throughout the book:

“Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum! Drink and the Devil had done the rest—Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!”

Did Jim and friends ever find the treasure? The answer is “yes”! Why not read the book to discover how it happened?