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BUCCANEERS AND PIRATES OF OUR COASTS
by
FRANK R. STOCKTON
Illustrated
[Illustration: "The pirates climbed up the sides of the man-of-war as if
they had been twenty-nine cats."--Frontispiece.]
[Illustration]
Grosset & Dunlap, Publishers
New York
by arrangement with The Macmillan Company
Copyright, 1897-1898,
By the Century Co.
Copyright, 1898, 1926,
By the MacMillan Company.
All rights reserved--no part of this book
may be reproduced in any form without
permission in writing from the publisher,
except by a reviewer who wishes to quote
brief passages in connection with a review
written for inclusion in magazine or
newspaper.
Set up and electrotyped July, 1898. Reprinted November,
1898; September, 1905; May, 1906; April, October, 1908;
October, 1910; March, 1913; September, 1914; January,
1915; October, 1917.
Printed in the United States of America
FOREWORD
Tempting boys to be what they should be--giving them in wholesome form
what they want--that is the purpose and power of Scouting. To help
parents and leaders of youth secure _books boys like best_ that are also
best for boys, the Boy Scouts of America organized EVERY BOY'S LIBRARY.
The books included, formerly sold at prices ranging from $1.50 to $2.00
but, by special arrangement with the several publishers interested, are
now sold in the EVERY BOY'S LIBRARY Edition at $1.00 per volume.
The books of EVERY BOY'S LIBRARY were selected by the Library Commission
of the Boy Scouts of America, consisting of George F. Bowerman,
Librarian, Public Library of the District of Columbia; Harrison W.
Craver, Director, Engineering Societies Library, New York City; Claude
G. Leland, Superintendent, Bureau of Libraries, Board of Education, New
York City; Edward F. Stevens, Librarian, Pratt Institute Free Library,
Brooklyn, N.Y., and Franklin K. Mathiews, Chief Scout Librarian. Only
such books were chosen by the Commission as proved to be, by _a nation
wide canvas_, most in demand by the boys themselves. Their popularity is
further attested by the fact that in the EVERY BOY'S LIBRARY Edition,
more than a million and a quarter copies of these books have already
been sold.
We know so well, are reminded so often of the worth of the good book and
great, that too often we fail to observe or understand the influence for
good of a boy's recreational reading. Such books may influence him for
good or ill as profoundly as his play activities, of which they are a
vital part. The needful thing is to find stories in which the heroes
have the characteristics boys so much admire--unquenchable courage,
immense resourcefulness, absolute fidelity, conspicuous greatness. We
believe the books of EVERY BOY'S LIBRARY measurably well meet this
challenge.
BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA,
[signed] James E. West
Chief Scout Executive.
Contents
Chapter Page
I. The Bold Buccaneers 1
II. Some Masters in Piracy 7
III. Pupils in Piracy 16
IV. Peter the Great 23
V. The Story of a Pearl Pirate 31
VI. The Surprising Adventures of Bartholemy Portuguez 39
VII. The Pirate who could not Swim 49
VIII. How Bartholemy rested Himself 59
IX. A Pirate Author 65
X. The Story of Roc, the Brazilian 72
XI. A Buccaneer Boom 89
XII. The Story of L'Olonnois the Cruel 94
XIII. A Resurrected Pirate 100
XIV. Villany on a Grand Scale 109
XV. A Just Reward 119
XVI. A Pirate Potentate 132
XVII. How Morgan was helped by Some Religious People 145
XVIII. A Piratical Aftermath 153
XIX. A Tight Place for Morgan 159
XX. The Story of a High-Minded Pirate 171
XXI. Exit Buccaneer; Enter Pirate 192
XXII. The Great Blackbeard comes upon the Stage 200
XXIII. A True-Hearted Sailor draws his Sword 210
XXIV. A Greenhorn under the Black Flag 217
XXV. Bonnet again to the Front 224
XXVI. The Battle of the Sand Bars 233
XXVII. A Six Weeks' Pirate 243
XXVIII. The Story of Two Women Pirates 253
XXIX. A Pirate from Boyhood 263
XXX. A Pirate of the Gulf 277
XXXI. The Pirate of the Buried Treasure 291
XXXII. The Real Captain Kidd 309
[Illustration: The Haunts of "The Brethren of the Coast"]
Buccaneers and Pirates of Our Coasts
Chapter I
The Bold Buccaneers
When I was a boy I strongly desired to be a pirate, and the reason for
this was the absolute independence of that sort of life. Restrictions of
all sorts had become onerous to me, and in my reading of the adventures
of the bold sea-rovers of the main, I had unconsciously selected those
portions of a pirate's life which were attractive to me, and had totally
disregarded all the rest.
In fact, I had a great desire to become what might be called a marine
Robin Hood. I would take from the rich and give to the poor; I would run
my long, low, black craft by the side of the merchantman, and when I had
loaded my vessel with the rich stuffs and golden ingots which composed
her cargo, I would sail away to some poor village, and make its
inhabitants prosperous and happy for the rest of their lives by a
judicious distribution of my booty.
I would always be as free as a sea-bird. My men would be devoted to me,
and my word would be their law. I would decide for myself whether this
or that proceeding would be proper, generous, and worthy of my unlimited
power; when tired of sailing, I would retire to my island,--the position
of which, in a beautiful semi-tropic ocean, would be known only to
myself and to my crew,--and there I would pass happy days in the company
of my books, my works of art, and all the various treasures I had taken
from the mercenary vessels which I had overhauled.
Such was my notion of a pirate's life. I would kill nobody; the very
sight of my black flag would be sufficient to put an end to all thought
of resistance on the part of my victims, who would no more think of
fighting me, than a fat bishop would have thought of lifting his hand
against Robin Hood and his merry men; and I truly believe that I
expected my conscience to have a great deal more to do in the way of
approval of my actions, than it had found necessary in the course of my
ordinary school-boy life.
I mention these early impressions because I have a notion that a great
many people--and not only young people--have an idea of piracy not
altogether different from that of my boyhood. They know that pirates
are wicked men, that, in fact, they are sea-robbers or maritime
murderers, but their bold and adventurous method of life, their bravery,
daring, and the exciting character of their expeditions, give them
something of the same charm and interest which belong to the robber
knights of the middle ages. The one mounts his mailed steed and clanks
his long sword against his iron stirrup, riding forth into the world
with a feeling that he can do anything that pleases him, if he finds
himself strong enough. The other springs into his rakish craft, spreads
his sails to the wind, and dashes over the sparkling main with a feeling
that he can do anything he pleases, provided he be strong enough.
The first pirates who made themselves known in American waters were the
famous buccaneers; these began their career in a very commonplace and
unobjectionable manner, and the name by which they were known had
originally no piratical significance. It was derived from the French
word _boucanier_, signifying "a drier of beef."
Some of the West India islands, especially San Domingo, were almost
overrun with wild cattle of various kinds, and this was owing to the
fact that the Spaniards had killed off nearly all the natives, and so
had left the interior of the islands to the herds of cattle which had
increased rapidly. There were a few settlements on the seacoast, but
the Spaniards did not allow the inhabitants of these to trade with any
nation but their own, and consequently the people were badly supplied
with the necessaries of life.
But the trading vessels which sailed from Europe to that part of the
Caribbean Sea were manned by bold and daring sailors, and when they knew
that San Domingo contained an abundance of beef cattle, they did not
hesitate to stop at the little seaports to replenish their stores. The
natives of the island were skilled in the art of preparing beef by
smoking and drying it,--very much in the same way in which our Indians
prepare "jerked meat" for winter use.
But so many vessels came to San Domingo for beef that there were not
enough people on the island to do all the hunting and drying that was
necessary, so these trading vessels frequently anchored in some quiet
cove, and the crews went on shore and devoted themselves to securing a
cargo of beef,--not only enough for their own use, but for trading
purposes; thus they became known as "beef-driers," or buccaneers.
When the Spaniards heard of this new industry which had arisen within
the limits of their possessions, they pursued the vessels of the
buccaneers wherever they were seen, and relentlessly destroyed them and
their crews. But there were not enough Spanish vessels to put down the
trade in dried beef; more European vessels--generally English and
French--stopped at San Domingo; more bands of hunting sailors made their
way into the interior. When these daring fellows knew that the Spaniards
were determined to break up their trade, they became more determined
that it should not be broken up, and they armed themselves and their
vessels so that they might be able to make a defence against the Spanish
men-of-war.
Thus gradually and almost imperceptibly a state of maritime warfare grew
up in the waters of the West Indies between Spain and the beef-traders
of other nations; and from being obliged to fight, the buccaneers became
glad to fight, provided that it was Spain they fought. True to her
policy of despotism and cruelty when dealing with her American
possessions, Spain waged a bitter and bloody war against the buccaneers
who dared to interfere with the commercial relations between herself and
her West India colonies, and in return, the buccaneers were just as
bitter and savage in their warfare against Spain. From defending
themselves against Spanish attacks, they began to attack Spaniards
whenever there was any chance of success, at first only upon the sea,
but afterwards on land. The cruelty and ferocity of Spanish rule had
brought them into existence, and it was against Spain and her
possessions that the cruelty and ferocity which she had taught them were
now directed.
When the buccaneers had begun to understand each other and to effect
organizations among themselves, they adopted a general name,--"The
Brethren of the Coast." The outside world, especially the Spanish world,
called them pirates, sea-robbers, buccaneers,--any title which would
express their lawless character, but in their own denomination of
themselves they expressed only their fraternal relations; and for the
greater part of their career, they truly stood by each other like
brothers.
Chapter II
Some Masters in Piracy
From the very earliest days of history there have been pirates, and it
is, therefore, not at all remarkable that, in the early days of the
history of this continent, sea-robbers should have made themselves
prominent; but the buccaneers of America differed in many ways from
those pirates with whom the history of the old world has made us
acquainted.
It was very seldom that an armed vessel set out from an European port
for the express purpose of sea-robbery in American waters. At first
nearly all the noted buccaneers were traders. But the circumstances
which surrounded them in the new world made of them pirates whose evil
deeds have never been surpassed in any part of the globe.
These unusual circumstances and amazing temptations do not furnish an
excuse for the exceptionally wicked careers of the early American
pirates; but we are bound to remember these causes or we could not
understand the records of the settlement of the West Indies. The
buccaneers were fierce and reckless fellows who pursued their daring
occupation because it was profitable, because they had learned to like
it, and because it enabled them to wreak a certain amount of vengeance
upon the common enemy. But we must not assume that they inaugurated the
piratical conquests and warfare which existed so long upon our eastern
seacoasts.
Before the buccaneers began their careers, there had been great masters
of piracy who had opened their schools in the Caribbean Sea; and in
order that the condition of affairs in this country during parts of the
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries may be clearly understood, we will
consider some of the very earliest noted pirates of the West Indies.
When we begin a judicial inquiry into the condition of our
fellow-beings, we should try to be as courteous as we can, but we must
be just; consequently a man's fame and position must not turn us aside,
when we are acting as historical investigators.
Therefore, we shall be bold and speak the truth, and although we shall
take off our hats and bow very respectfully, we must still assert that
Christopher Columbus was the first who practised piracy in American
waters.
When he sailed with his three little ships to discover unknown lands, he
was an accredited explorer for the court of Spain, and was bravely
sailing forth with an honest purpose, and with the same regard for law
and justice as is possessed by any explorer of the present day. But when
he discovered some unknown lands, rich in treasure and outside of all
legal restrictions, the views and ideas of the great discoverer
gradually changed. Being now beyond the boundaries of civilization, he
also placed himself beyond the boundaries of civilized law. Robbery,
murder, and the destruction of property, by the commanders of naval
expeditions, who have no warrant or commission for their conduct, is the
same as piracy, and when Columbus ceased to be a legalized explorer, and
when, against the expressed wishes, and even the prohibitions, of the
royal personages who had sent him out on this expedition, he began to
devastate the countries he had discovered, and to enslave and
exterminate their peaceable natives, then he became a master in piracy,
from whom the buccaneers afterward learned many a valuable lesson.
It is not necessary for us to enter very deeply into the consideration
of the policy of Columbus toward the people of the islands of the West
Indies. His second voyage was nothing more than an expedition for the
sake of plunder. He had discovered gold and other riches in the West
Indies and he had found that the people who inhabited the islands were
simple-hearted, inoffensive creatures, who did not know how to fight and
who did not want to fight. Therefore, it was so easy to sail his ships
into the harbors of defenceless islands, to subjugate the natives, and
to take away the products of their mines and soil, that he commenced a
veritable course of piracy.
The acquisition of gold and all sorts of plunder seemed to be the sole
object of this Spanish expedition; natives were enslaved, and subjected
to the greatest hardships, so that they died in great numbers. At one
time three hundred of them were sent as slaves to Spain. A pack of
bloodhounds, which Columbus had brought with him for the purpose, was
used to hunt down the poor Indians when they endeavored to escape from
the hands of the oppressors, and in every way the island of Hayti, the
principal scene of the actions of Columbus, was treated as if its
inhabitants had committed a dreadful crime by being in possession of the
wealth which the Spaniards desired for themselves.
Queen Isabella was greatly opposed to these cruel and unjust
proceedings. She sent back to their native land the slaves which
Columbus had shipped to Spain, and she gave positive orders that no more
of the inhabitants were to be enslaved, and that they were all to be
treated with moderation and kindness. But the Atlantic is a wide ocean,
and Columbus, far away from his royal patron, paid little attention to
her wishes and commands; without going further into the history of this
period, we will simply mention the fact that it was on account of his
alleged atrocities that Columbus was superseded in his command, and sent
back in chains to Spain.
There was another noted personage of the sixteenth century who played
the part of pirate in the new world, and thereby set a most shining
example to the buccaneers of those regions. This was no other than Sir
Francis Drake, one of England's greatest naval commanders.
It is probable that Drake, when he started out in life, was a man of
very law-abiding and orderly disposition, for he was appointed by Queen
Elizabeth a naval chaplain, and, it is said, though there is some doubt
about this, that he was subsequently vicar of a parish. But by nature he
was a sailor, and nothing else, and after having made several voyages in
which he showed himself a good fighter, as well as a good commander, he
undertook, in 1572, an expedition against the Spanish settlements in the
West Indies, for which he had no legal warrant whatever.
Spain was not at war with England, and when Drake sailed with four small
ships into the port of the little town of Nombre de Dios in the middle
of the night, the inhabitants of the town were as much astonished as the
people of Perth Amboy would be if four armed vessels were to steam into
Raritan Bay, and endeavor to take possession of the town. The peaceful
Spanish townspeople were not at war with any civilized nation, and they
could not understand why bands of armed men should invade their streets,
enter the market-place, fire their calivers, or muskets, into the air,
and then sound a trumpet loud enough to wake up everybody in the place.
Just outside of the town the invaders had left a portion of their men,
and when these heard the trumpet in the market-place, they also fired
their guns; all this noise and hubbub so frightened the good people of
the town, that many of them jumped from their beds, and without stopping
to dress, fled away to the mountains. But all the citizens were not such
cowards, and fourteen or fifteen of them armed themselves and went out
to defend their town from the unknown invaders.
Beginners in any trade or profession, whether it be the playing of the
piano, the painting of pictures, or the pursuit of piracy, are often
timid and distrustful of themselves; so it happened on this occasion
with Francis Drake and his men, who were merely amateur pirates, and
showed very plainly that they did not yet understand their business.
When the fifteen Spanish citizens came into the market-place and found
there the little body of armed Englishmen, they immediately fired upon
them, not knowing or caring who they were. This brave resistance seems
to have frightened Drake and his men almost as much as their trumpets
and guns had frightened the citizens, and the English immediately
retreated from the town. When they reached the place where they had left
the rest of their party, they found that these had already run away, and
taken to the boats. Consequently Drake and his brave men were obliged to
take off some of their clothes and to wade out to the little ships. The
Englishmen secured no booty whatever, and killed only one Spaniard, who
was a man who had been looking out of a window to see what was the
matter.
Whether or not Drake's conscience had anything to do with the bungling
manner in which he made this first attempt at piracy, we cannot say, but
he soon gave his conscience a holiday, and undertook some very
successful robbing enterprises. He received information from some
natives, that a train of mules was coming across the Isthmus of Panama
loaded with gold and silver bullion, and guarded only by their drivers;
for the merchants who owned all this treasure had no idea that there was
any one in that part of the world who would commit a robbery upon them.
But Drake and his men soon proved that they could hold up a train of
mules as easily as some of the masked robbers in our western country
hold up a train of cars. All the gold was taken, but the silver was too
heavy for the amateur pirates to carry.
Two days after that, Drake and his men came to a place called "The House
of Crosses," where they killed five or six peaceable merchants, but were
greatly disappointed to find no gold, although the house was full of
rich merchandise of various kinds. As his men had no means of carrying
away heavy goods, he burned up the house and all its contents and went
to his ships, and sailed away with the treasure he had already obtained.
Whatever this gallant ex-chaplain now thought of himself, he was
considered by the Spaniards as an out-and-out pirate, and in this
opinion they were quite correct. During his great voyage around the
world, which he began in 1577, he came down upon the Spanish-American
settlements like a storm from the sea. He attacked towns, carried off
treasure, captured merchant-vessels,--and in fact showed himself to be a
thoroughbred and accomplished pirate of the first class.
It was in consequence of the rich plunder with which his ships were now
loaded, that he made his voyage around the world. He was afraid to go
back the way he came, for fear of capture, and so, having passed the
Straits of Magellan, and having failed to find a way out of the Pacific
in the neighborhood of California, he doubled the Cape of Good Hope, and
sailed along the western coast of Africa to European waters.
This grand piratical expedition excited great indignation in Spain,
which country was still at peace with England, and even in England there
were influential people who counselled the Queen that it would be wise
and prudent to disavow Drake's actions, and compel him to restore to
Spain the booty he had taken from his subjects. But Queen Elizabeth was
not the woman to do that sort of thing. She liked brave men and brave
deeds, and she was proud of Drake. Therefore, instead of punishing him,
she honored him, and went to take dinner with him on board his ship,
which lay at Deptford.
So Columbus does not stand alone as a grand master of piracy. The famous
Sir Francis Drake, who became vice-admiral of the fleet which defeated
the Spanish Armada, was a worthy companion of the great Genoese.
These notable instances have been mentioned because it would be unjust
to take up the history of those resolute traders who sailed from
England, France, and Holland, to the distant waters of the western world
for the purpose of legitimate enterprise and commerce, and who
afterwards became thorough-going pirates, without trying to make it
clear that they had shining examples for their notable careers.
Chapter III
Pupils in Piracy
After the discoveries of Columbus, the Spanish mind seems to have been
filled with the idea that the whole undiscovered world, wherever it
might be, belonged to Spain, and that no other nation had any right
whatever to discover anything on the other side of the Atlantic, or to
make any use whatever of lands which had been discovered. In fact, the
natives of the new countries, and the inhabitants of all old countries
except her own, were considered by Spain as possessing no rights
whatever. If the natives refused to pay tribute, or to spend their days
toiling for gold for their masters, or if vessels from England or France
touched at one of their settlements for purposes of trade, it was all
the same to the Spaniards; a war of attempted extermination was waged
alike against the peaceful inhabitants of Hispaniola, now Hayti, and
upon the bearded and hardy seamen from Northern Europe. Under this
treatment the natives weakened and gradually disappeared; but the
buccaneers became more and more numerous and powerful.
The buccaneers were not unlike that class of men known in our western
country as cowboys. Young fellows of good families from England and
France often determined to embrace a life of adventure, and possibly
profit, and sailed out to the West Indies to get gold and hides, and to
fight Spaniards. Frequently they dropped their family names and assumed
others more suitable to roving freebooters, and, like the bold young
fellows who ride over our western plains, driving cattle and shooting
Indians, they adopted a style of dress as free and easy, but probably
not quite so picturesque, as that of the cowboy. They soon became a very
rough set of fellows, in appearance as well as action, endeavoring in
every way to let the people of the western world understand that they
were absolutely free and independent of the manners and customs, as well
as of the laws of their native countries.
So well was this independence understood, that when the buccaneers
became strong enough to inflict some serious injury upon the settlements
in the West Indies, and the Spanish court remonstrated with Queen
Elizabeth on account of what had been done by some of her subjects, she
replied that she had nothing to do with these buccaneers, who, although
they had been born in England, had ceased for the time to be her
subjects, and the Spaniards must defend themselves against them just as
if they were an independent nation.
But it is impossible for men who have been brought up in civilized
society, and who have been accustomed to obey laws, to rid themselves
entirely of all ideas of propriety and morality, as soon as they begin a
life of lawlessness. So it happened that many of the buccaneers could
not divest themselves of the notions of good behavior to which they had
been accustomed from youth. For instance, we are told of a captain of
buccaneers, who, landing at a settlement on a Sunday, took his crew to
church. As it is not at all probable that any of the buccaneering
vessels carried chaplains, opportunities of attending services must have
been rare. This captain seems to have wished to show that pirates in
church know what they ought to do just as well as other people; it was
for this reason that, when one of his men behaved himself in an improper
and disorderly manner during the service, this proper-minded captain
arose from his seat and shot the offender dead.
There was a Frenchman of that period who must have been a warm-hearted
philanthropist, because, having read accounts of the terrible atrocities
of the Spaniards in the western lands, he determined to leave his home
and his family, and become a buccaneer, in order that he might do what
he could for the suffering natives in the Spanish possessions. He
entered into the great work which he had planned for himself with such
enthusiasm and zeal, that in the course of time he came to be known as
"The Exterminator," and if there had been more people of his
philanthropic turn of mind, there would soon have been no inhabitants
whatever upon the islands from which the Spaniards had driven out the
Indians.
There was another person of that day,--also a Frenchman,--who became
deeply involved in debt in his own country, and feeling that the
principles of honor forbade him to live upon and enjoy what was really
the property of others, he made up his mind to sail across the Atlantic,
and become a buccaneer. He hoped that if he should be successful in his
new profession, and should be enabled to rob Spaniards for a term of
years, he could return to France, pay off all his debts, and afterward
live the life of a man of honor and respectability.
Other ideas which the buccaneers brought with them from their native
countries soon showed themselves when these daring sailors began their
lives as regular pirates; among these, the idea of organization was very
prominent. Of course it was hard to get a number of free and
untrammelled crews to unite and obey the commands of a few officers. But
in time the buccaneers had recognized leaders, and laws were made for
concerted action. In consequence of this the buccaneers became a
formidable body of men, sometimes superior to the Spanish naval and
military forces.
It must be remembered that the buccaneers lived in a very peculiar age.
So far as the history of America is concerned, it might be called the
age of blood and gold. In the newly discovered countries there were no
laws which European nations or individuals cared to observe. In the West
Indies and the adjacent mainlands there were gold and silver, and there
were also valuable products of other kinds, and when the Spaniards
sailed to their part of the new world, these treasures were the things
for which they came. The natives were weak and not able to defend
themselves. All the Spaniards had to do was to take what they could
find, and when they could not find enough they made the poor Indians
find it for them. Here was a part of the world, and an age of the world,
wherein it was the custom for men to do what they pleased, provided they
felt themselves strong enough, and it was not to be supposed that any
one European nation could expect a monopoly of this state of mind.
Therefore it was that while the Spaniards robbed and ruined the natives
of the lands they discovered, the English, French, and Dutch buccaneers
robbed the robbers. Great vessels were sent out from Spain, carrying
nothing in the way of merchandise to America, but returning with all the
precious metals and valuable products of the newly discovered regions,
which could in any way be taken from the unfortunate natives. The gold
mines of the new world had long been worked, and yielded handsome
revenues, but the native method of operating them did not satisfy the
Spaniards, who forced the poor Indians to labor incessantly at the
difficult task of digging out the precious metals, until many of them
died under the cruel oppression. Sometimes the Indians were kept six
months under ground, working in the mines; and at one time, when it was
found that the natives had died off, or had fled from the neighborhood
of some of the rich gold deposits, it was proposed to send to Africa and
get a cargo of negroes to work the mines.
Now it is easy to see that all this made buccaneering a very tempting
occupation. To capture a great treasure ship, after the Spaniards had
been at so much trouble to load it, was a grand thing, according to the
pirate's point of view, and although it often required reckless bravery
and almost superhuman energy to accomplish the feats necessary in this
dangerous vocation, these were qualities which were possessed by nearly
all the sea-robbers of our coast; the stories of some of the most
interesting of these wild and desperate fellows,--men who did not
combine piracy with discoveries and explorations, but who were
out-and-out sea-robbers, and gained in that way all the reputation they
ever possessed,--will be told in subsequent chapters.
Chapter IV
Peter the Great
Very prominent among the early regular buccaneers was a Frenchman who
came to be called Peter the Great. This man seems to have been one of
those adventurers who were not buccaneers in the earlier sense of the
word (by which I mean they were not traders who touched at Spanish
settlements to procure cattle and hides, and who were prepared to fight
any Spaniards who might interfere with them), but they were men who came
from Europe on purpose to prey upon Spanish possessions, whether on land
or sea. Some of them made a rough sort of settlement on the island of
Tortuga, and then it was that Peter the Great seems to have come into
prominence. He gathered about him a body of adherents, but although he
had a great reputation as an individual pirate, it seems to have been a
good while before he achieved any success as a leader.
The fortunes of Peter and his men must have been at a pretty low ebb
when they found themselves cruising in a large, canoe-shaped boat not
far from the island of Hispaniola. There were twenty-nine of them in
all, and they were not able to procure a vessel suitable for their
purpose. They had been a long time floating about in an aimless way,
hoping to see some Spanish merchant-vessel which they might attack and
possibly capture, but no such vessel appeared. Their provisions began to
give out, the men were hungry, discontented, and grumbling. In fact,
they were in almost as bad a condition as were the sailors of Columbus
just before they discovered signs of land, after their long and weary
voyage across the Atlantic.
When Peter and his men were almost on the point of despair, they
perceived, far away upon the still waters, a large ship. With a great
jump, hope sprang up in the breast of every man. They seized the oars
and pulled in the direction of the distant craft. But when they were
near enough, they saw that the vessel was not a merchantman, probably
piled with gold and treasure, but a man-of-war belonging to the Spanish
fleet. In fact, it was the vessel of the vice-admiral. This was an
astonishing and disheartening state of things. It was very much as if a
lion, hearing the approach of probable prey, had sprung from the thicket
where he had been concealed, and had beheld before him, not a fine, fat
deer, but an immense and scrawny elephant.
But the twenty-nine buccaneers in the crew were very hungry. They had
not come out upon those waters to attack men-of-war, but, more than
that, they had not come out to perish by hunger and thirst. There could
be no doubt that there was plenty to eat and to drink on that tall
Spanish vessel, and if they could not get food and water they could not
live more than a day or two longer.
Under the circumstances it was not long before Peter the Great made up
his mind that if his men would stand by him, he would endeavor to
capture that Spanish war-vessel; when he put the question to his crew
they all swore that they would follow him and obey his orders as long as
life was left in their bodies. To attack a vessel armed with cannon, and
manned by a crew very much larger than their little party, seemed almost
like throwing themselves upon certain death. But still, there was a
chance that in some way they might get the better of the Spaniards;
whereas, if they rowed away again into the solitudes of the ocean, they
would give up all chance of saving themselves from death by starvation.
Steadily, therefore, they pulled toward the Spanish vessel, and
slowly--for there was but little wind--she approached them.
The people in the man-of-war did not fail to perceive the little boat
far out on the ocean, and some of them sent to the captain and reported
the fact. The news, however, did not interest him, for he was engaged in
playing cards in his cabin, and it was not until an hour afterward that
he consented to come on deck and look out toward the boat which had been
sighted, and which was now much nearer.
Taking a good look at the boat, and perceiving that it was nothing more
than a canoe, the captain laughed at the advice of some of his officers,
who thought it would be well to fire a few cannon-shot and sink the
little craft. The captain thought it would be a useless proceeding. He
did not know anything about the people in the boat, and he did not very
much care, but he remarked that if they should come near enough, it
might be a good thing to put out some tackle and haul them and their
boat on deck, after which they might be examined and questioned whenever
it should suit his convenience. Then he went down to his cards.
If Peter the Great and his men could have been sure that if they were to
row alongside the Spanish vessel they would have been quietly hauled on
deck and examined, they would have been delighted at the opportunity.
With cutlasses, pistols, and knives, they were more than ready to
demonstrate to the Spaniards what sort of fellows they were, and the
captain would have found hungry pirates uncomfortable persons to
question.
But it seemed to Peter and his crew a very difficult thing indeed to get
themselves on board the man-of-war, so they curbed their ardor and
enthusiasm, and waited until nightfall before approaching nearer. As
soon as it became dark enough they slowly and quietly paddled toward the
great ship, which was now almost becalmed. There were no lights in the
boat, and the people on the deck of the vessel saw and heard nothing on
the dark waters around them.
When they were very near the man-of-war, the captain of the
buccaneers--according to the ancient accounts of this adventure--ordered
his chirurgeon, or surgeon, to bore a large hole in the bottom of their
canoe. It is probable that this officer, with his saws and other
surgical instruments, was expected to do carpenter work when there were
no duties for him to perform in the regular line of his profession. At
any rate, he went to work, and noiselessly bored the hole.
This remarkable proceeding showed the desperate character of these
pirates. A great, almost impossible task was before them, and nothing
but absolute recklessness could enable them to succeed. If his men
should meet with strong opposition from the Spaniards in the proposed
attack, and if any of them should become frightened and try to retreat
to the boat, Peter knew that all would be lost, and consequently he
determined to make it impossible for any man to get away in that boat.
If they could not conquer the Spanish vessel they must die on her decks.
When the half-sunken canoe touched the sides of the vessel, the pirates,
seizing every rope or projection on which they could lay their hands,
climbed up the sides of the man-of-war, as if they had been twenty-nine
cats, and springing over the rail, dashed upon the sailors who were on
deck. These men were utterly stupefied and astounded. They had seen
nothing, they had heard nothing, and all of a sudden they were
confronted with savage fellows with cutlasses and pistols.
Some of the crew looked over the sides to see where these strange
visitors had come from, but they saw nothing, for the canoe had gone to
the bottom. Then they were filled with a superstitious horror, believing
that the wild visitors were devils who had dropped from the sky, for
there seemed no other place from which they could come. Making no
attempt to defend themselves, the sailors, wild with terror, tumbled
below and hid themselves, without even giving an alarm.
The Spanish captain was still playing cards, and whether he was winning
or losing, the old historians do not tell us, but very suddenly a
newcomer took a hand in the game. This was Peter the Great, and he
played the ace of trumps. With a great pistol in his hand, he called
upon the Spanish captain to surrender. That noble commander glanced
around. There was a savage pirate holding a pistol at the head of each
of the officers at the table. He threw up his cards. The trick was won
by Peter and his men.
The rest of the game was easy enough. When the pirates spread themselves
over the vessel, the frightened crew got out of sight as well as they
could. Some, who attempted to seize their arms in order to defend
themselves, were ruthlessly cut down or shot, and when the hatches had
been securely fastened upon the sailors who had fled below, Peter the
Great was captain and owner of that tall Spanish man-of-war.
It is quite certain that the first thing these pirates did to celebrate
their victory was to eat a rousing good supper, and then they took
charge of the vessel, and sailed her triumphantly over the waters on
which, not many hours before, they had feared that a little boat would
soon be floating, filled with their emaciated bodies.
This most remarkable success of Peter the Great worked a great change,
of course, in the circumstances of himself and his men. But it worked a
greater change in the career, and possibly in the character of the
captain. He was now a very rich man, and all his followers had plenty of
money. The Spanish vessel was amply supplied with provisions, and there
was also on board a great quantity of gold bullion, which was to be
shipped to Spain. In fact, Peter and his men had booty enough to satisfy
any sensible pirate. Now we all know that sensible pirates, and people
in any sphere of life who are satisfied when they have enough, are very
rare indeed, and therefore it is not a little surprising that the bold
buccaneer, whose story we are now telling, should have proved that he
merited, in a certain way, the title his companions had given him.
Sailing his prize to the shores of Hispaniola, Peter put on shore all
the Spaniards whose services he did not desire. The rest of his
prisoners he compelled to help his men work the ship, and then, without
delay, he sailed away to France, and there he retired entirely from the
business of piracy, and set himself up as a gentleman of wealth and
leisure.
Chapter V
The Story of a Pearl Pirate
The ordinary story of the pirate, or the wicked man in general, no
matter how successful he may have been in his criminal career, nearly
always ends disastrously, and in that way points a moral which doubtless
has a good effect on a large class of people, who would be very glad to
do wrong, provided no harm was likely to come to them in consequence.
But the story of Peter the Great, which we have just told, contains no
such moral. In fact, its influence upon the adventurers of that period
was most unwholesome.
When the wonderful success of Peter the Great became known, the
buccaneering community at Tortuga was wildly excited. Every
bushy-bearded fellow who could get possession of a small boat, and
induce a score of other bushy-bearded fellows to follow him, wanted to
start out and capture a rich Spanish galleon, as the great ships, used
alike for war and commerce, were then called.
But not only were the French and English sailors and traders who had
become buccaneers excited and stimulated by the remarkable good fortune
of their companion, but many people of adventurous mind, who had never
thought of leaving England for purposes of piracy, now became firmly
convinced that there was no business which promised better than that of
a buccaneer, and some of them crossed the ocean for the express purpose
of getting rich by capturing Spanish vessels homeward bound.
As there were not enough suitable vessels in Tortuga for the demands of
the recently stimulated industry, the buccaneer settlers went to other
parts of the West Indies to obtain suitable craft, and it is related
that in about a month after the great victory of Peter the Great, two
large Spanish vessels, loaded with silver bullion, and two other heavily
laden merchantmen were brought into Tortuga by the buccaneers.
One of the adventurers who set out about this time on a cruise after
gold-laden vessels, was a Frenchman who was known to his countrymen as
Pierre François, and to the English as Peter Francis. He was a good
sailor, and ready for any sort of a sea-fight, but for a long time he
cruised about without seeing anything which it was worth while to
attempt to capture. At last, when his provisions began to give out, and
his men became somewhat discontented, Pierre made up his mind that
rather than return to Tortuga empty-handed, he would make a bold and
novel stroke for fortune.
At the mouth of one of the large rivers of the mainland the Spaniards
had established a pearl fishery,--for there was no kind of wealth or
treasure, on the land, under ground, or at the bottom of the sea, that
the Spaniards did not get if it were possible for them to do so.
Every year, at the proper season, a dozen or more vessels came to this
pearl-bank, attended by a man-of-war to protect them from molestation.
Pierre knew all about this, and as he could not find any Spanish
merchantmen to rob, he thought he would go down and see what he could do
with the pearl-fishers. This was something the buccaneers had not yet
attempted, but no one knows what he can do until he tries, and it was
very necessary that this buccaneer captain should try something
immediately.
When he reached the coast near the mouth of the river, he took the masts
out of his little vessel, and rowed quietly toward the pearl-fishing
fleet, as if he had intended to join them on some entirely peaceable
errand; and, in fact, there was no reason whatever why the Spaniards
should suppose that a boat full of buccaneers should be rowing along
that part of the coast.
The pearl-fishing vessels were all at anchor, and the people on board
were quietly attending to their business. Out at sea, some distance
from the mouth of the river, the man-of-war was lying becalmed. The
native divers who went down to the bottom of the sea to bring up the
shellfish which contained the pearls, plunged into the water, and came
up wet and shining in the sun, with no fear whatever of any sharks which
might be swimming about in search of a dinner, and the people on the
vessels opened the oysters and carefully searched for pearls, feeling as
safe from harm as if they were picking olives in their native groves.
But something worse than a shark was quietly making its way over those
tranquil waters, and no banditti who ever descended from Spanish
mountains upon the quiet peasants of a village, equalled in ferocity the
savage fellows who were crouching in the little boat belonging to Pierre
of Tortuga.
This innocent-looking craft, which the pearl-fishers probably thought
was loaded with fruit or vegetables which somebody from the mainland
desired to sell, was permitted, without being challenged or interfered
with, to row up alongside the largest vessel of the fleet, on which
there were some armed men and a few cannon.
As soon as Pierre's boat touched the Spanish vessel, the buccaneers
sprang on board with their pistols and cutlasses, and a savage fight
began. The Spaniards were surprised, but there were a great many more
of them than there were pirates, and they fought hard. However, the man
who makes the attack, and who is at the same time desperate and hungry,
has a great advantage, and it was not long before the buccaneers were
masters of the vessel. Those of the Spaniards who were not killed, were
forced into the service of their captors, and Pierre found himself in
command of a very good vessel.
Now it so happened that the man-of-war was so far away that she knew
nothing of this fight on board one of the fleet which she was there to
watch, and if she had known of it, she would not have been able to give
any assistance, for there was no wind by which she could sail to the
mouth of the river. Therefore, so far as she was concerned, Pierre
considered himself safe.
But although he had captured a Spanish ship, he was not so foolish as to
haul down her flag, and run up his own in her place. He had had very
good success so far, but he was not satisfied. It was quite probable
that there was a rich store of pearls on board the vessel he had taken,
but on the other vessels of the fleet there were many more pearls, and
these he wanted if he could get them. In fact, he conceived the grand
idea of capturing the whole fleet.
But it would be impossible for Pierre to attempt anything on such a
magnificent scale until he had first disposed of the man-of-war, and as
he had now a good strong ship, with a much larger crew than that with
which he had set out,--for the Spanish prisoners would be obliged to man
the guns and help in every way to fight their countrymen,--Pierre
determined to attack the man-of-war.
A land wind began to blow, which enabled him to make very fair headway
out to sea. The Spanish colors were flying from his topmast, and he
hoped to be able, without being suspected of any evil designs, to get so
near to the man-of-war that he might run alongside and boldly board her.
But something now happened which Pierre could not have expected. When
the commander of the war-vessel perceived that one of the fleet under
his charge was leaving her companions and putting out to sea, he could
imagine no reason for such extraordinary conduct, except that she was
taking advantage of the fact that the wind had not yet reached his
vessel, and was trying to run away with the pearls she had on board.
From these ready suspicions we may imagine that, at that time, the
robbers who robbed robbers were not all buccaneers.
Soon after the Spanish captain perceived that one of his fleet was
making his way out of the river, the wind reached his vessel, and he
immediately set all sail and started in pursuit of the rascals, whom he
supposed to be his dishonest countrymen.
The breeze freshened rapidly, and when Pierre and his men saw that the
man-of-war was coming toward them at a good rate of speed, showing
plainly that she had suspicions of them, they gave up all hope of
running alongside of her and boarding her, and concluded that the best
thing they could do would be to give up their plan of capturing the
pearl-fishing fleet, and get away with the ship they had taken, and
whatever it had on board. So they set all sail, and there was a fine
sea-chase.
The now frightened buccaneers were too anxious to get away. They not
only put on all the sail which the vessel could carry, but they put on
more. The wind blew harder, and suddenly down came the mainmast with a
crash. This stopped the chase, and the next act in the performance would
have to be a sea-fight. Pierre and his buccaneers were good at that sort
of thing, and when the man-of-war came up, there was a terrible time on
board those two vessels. But the Spaniards were the stronger, and the
buccaneers were defeated.
