Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl is one of my all-time favorite movies.

Johnny Depp did a tremendous job playing the part of Captain Jack Sparrow. I don't think that anyone else could have made that part more believable (or entertaining).

On July 7th, the second installment in the ongoing adventures of Captain Jack Sparrow, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest will be released in the theaters.

The plot outline given by the International Movie Database states:

"Jack owes an unpaid debt to Davy Jones and his army of sea-phantoms...his soul. Now, he must find a way to save himself from becoming one of them, and suffering forever."

I can't give away much here — except to say;

"At times there be more to be found in a dead man's chest than jewels and pieces of eight, Matey!"

While watching the trailer I was struck by one particular line...

"How much do you know about Davy Jones?"

The answer in my case was "Thankfully, I've never met the man!" so I thought a little research was in order...

The Truth About Davy Jones & His Locker

Well, "truth" might be a little strong...

In days gone by sailors feared many things. Among these were bad captains, headhunters, violent storms, reefs, sinking and pirates.

But, there was one thing more feared than any other. Even pirates feared it.

It was Davy Jones' Locker.

A locker was something to hold valuables. Davy Jones' locker was the bottom of the sea and said to hold the souls of the sailors he had taken.

There are many different stories of who Davy Jones was (and of if he was) but most sailors just thought of him as the "devil of the sea".

Some believe it was the pirate David Jones who sailed the Indian Ocean. Sailors having a great fear of pirates would naturally think of him as a devil.

Some say the name Davy Jones is just a combination of the West Indian name for ghost and another name for Jonah. This means a bad luck ghost. Of course there is also Davy for David or the devil and yet again Jones for Jonah who spent time in the belly of a whale.

There was once a David Jones who ran a tavern in Wales. It is said he either drugged or bashed his customers on the head, locked them in his ale locker, and sold them to ships captains. However - Davy Jones was a common name in Wales which would make this a difficult story to verify.

Then there was the Duffer Jones who was always falling overboard because of his bad eyesight. Having him sign on board your ship did NOT guarantee smooth water and full sails.

And, last but not least, some believe the legend of Davy Jones began with Saint David, the patron saint of Wales and of course the prophet Jonah. This one is not believed by many since saints and prophets were good souls and not to be feared.

No matter how the legend got started, Davy Jones, the devil of the sea, was also believed to be the ruler of all the evil spirits beneath the waves. Any sailor who died at sea was believed to be consigned to Davy Jones' Locker.

Sailors of those times were very superstitious and had many odd beliefs. Some really believed that if they learned to swim they would surely end up taken by Davy Jones. He is described as having seaweed in his hair and beard, fangs and horns. Many believed he would show himself in the rigging of a ship that was headed for disaster, warning the sailors of death, misery and calamity to come before nightfall the following day.

The first known written mention of Davy Jones was published in 1751 by Tobias Smollet in his book, The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle.

The following is an excerpt from the end of Chapter 13 of The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle.

Hatchway raised him up, and having comforted him with a cup of Nantz, began to inquire into the cause of his disorder: but he could not extract one word of answer from his friend, who, after a considerable pause, during which he seemed to be wrapt in profound contemplation, pronounced aloud,

“By the Lord! Jack, you may say what you wool; but I’ll be d— if it was not Davy Jones himself. I know him by his saucer eyes, his three rows of teeth, his horns and tail, and the blue smoke that came out of his nostrils. What does the blackguard hell’s baby want with me? I’m sure I never committed murder, except in the way of my profession, nor wronged any man whatsomever since I first went to sea.”

This same Davy Jones, according to the mythology of sailors, is the fiend that presides over all the evil spirits of the deep, and is often seen in various shapes, perching among the rigging on the eve of hurricanes, shipwrecks, and other disasters, to which a seafaring life is exposed; warning the devoted wretch of death and woe. No wonder then that Trunnion was disturbed by a supposed visit of this demon, which, in his opinion, foreboded some dreadful calamity.

So what is the truth? Was there a real Davy Jones?

That question when asked in Port Royal or Trinidad may elicit this whispered response; "Aye, that would be that acquaintance of Captain Jack Sparrow. The way I heerd it was..."

Download your own copy of The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle (1.2 MB PDF).

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