Outer Banks to represent clear water and a ship ahead; the unsuspecting captain would then drive his ship ashore following this false light. The islands are home to herds of feral horses, sometimes called "banker ponies," which according to local legend are descended from Spanish Mustangs washed ashore centuries ago in shipwrecks. Populations are found on Ocracoke Island, Shackleford Banks, Currituck Banks, and in the Rachel Carson Estuarine Sanctuary. Ocracoke was the last refuge of pirate Edward Teach, better known as Blackbeard. It is also where the infamous pirate was killed November 22, 1718 in a fierce battle with troops from Virginia.
Pirate Round to 1721 were Edward England, John Taylor, Oliver La Buse and Christopher Condent. Taylor and La Buse reaped the greatest prize in the history of the Pirate Round, the plunder of the Portuguese East Indiaman "Nossa Senhora Do Cabo" at Réunion in 1721, netting diamonds and other treasures worth a total of about ₤800,000. Condent was also successful, although Edward England was marooned on the Comoros by Taylor and La Buse and died not long after. Despite the successes of Taylor, La Buse, and Condent, the Pirate Round quickly declined again. The last great robber captains, Edward Low, George Lowther