Andrew Mollenbeck, wtop.com WASHINGTON - The Whydah originally
set sail as a slave ship prior to being captured by pirates. But
the pirates and the treasure all sank before the captain reached
land for a rendezvous with his girlfriend, a condemned witch.
This twisting and tragic story - supplemented by artifacts and
loot - is on display at the National Geographic Museum in an
exhibit called "Real Pirates: The Untold Story of the Whydah
from Slave Ship to Pirate Ship." Visitors can expect to see
cannons, hand grenades, treasure and disturbing artifacts from
the ship's roll in slave trade, all on display through Sept. 2.
"What people have to really understand when they come to see
this is that they're seeing the only pirate treasure that's ever
been discovered in the world," says Barry Clifford, the explorer
who found the wreckage in 1984. "Anybody who had ever walked the
beach and thought of finding pirate treasure - this is the only
place in the world they can see it," he says. "It's the only
documented pirat