Blackbeard

Blackbeard Before going into battle, he would place lit matches under his hat. They were long, slow-burning sticks made of hemp rope dipped in saltpeter and a solution of slaked lime. The effect was terrifying. His face, with the fierce eyes and the matted hair of his beard, was framed in smoke, and to his prey he looked entirely like a demon out of hell. His resemblance to some type of demonic pirate was completed by a bandolier with three loaded pistols cocked for firing and by the additional pistols, daggers and cutlasses he carried around his belt.