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Yo Ho! Treasure

No one knew how to drill terror into sailors' hearts like the dreaded pirate Blackbeard, who ruled the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Coast from 1716 to 1718. Wisps of smoke curled from his coal-black beard, and six loaded pistols dangled across his chest. Among the legends of his cruelty: he fired randomly at his crew, and he once forced a captive to eat his own ears.

In 1718 the fierce captainm steered his lead ship into a sandbar off North Carolina. Some say he was trying to escape pursuers. But it is also said that Blackbeard (whose real name was Edward Teach) yearned for a calmer life on land and thus broke up his fleet. He scrambled to shore as the Queen Anne's Revenge sank, only to be killed and beheaded by troops in Virginia a few months later.

Last week divers announced the discovery of what is probably the wreck of the Revenge, just off the coast of North Carolina. Says Mike Daniel, who first spotted the ship: "It was in only about 20 feet of water!" Among the sunken treasures were guns, cannonballs and a bell dated 1709. Still, researchers who spent 10 years piecing together pirate lore to locate Blackbeard's loot must find further proof that this was indeed his ship.

Will divers find booty on board? Pirates probably had time to snag silver and jewels before the ship sank. "Of course, pirates always secreted things," says Phil Masters, who led the dive. "We expect there will be a few coins."

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