32 



Jucca- enemies. But his persecution only gave new forti- 

 * tude to this Spanish Lucretia ; and his comrades, 

 *- v^*-* impatient of their delay in a place where they could 

 find no more plunder, urged him to depart. Unable 

 longer to withstand their remonstrances, he set fire 

 to Panama ; released his prisoners for an immense 

 ransom ; and came to the mouth of the Chagne with 

 the richest booty which any party of Buccaneers had 

 ever acquired. He contrived to have the most valu- 

 able part of the spoils conveyed on board his own 

 ship, with which he set sail for Jamaica, before dawn 

 of the day appointed for the general distribution, 

 without having given any warning to the rest of his 

 fleet. 



After this treacherous act, no expedition of con- 

 sequence was undertaken by the Buccaneers, till 

 they were conducted by Van Horn, on an enterprize 

 of great daring and importance. This man had ser- 

 ved all his life among the French. Himself a stran- 

 ger to fear, he would allow no symptom of it to ap- 

 pear among his crew. In the heat of engagement, 

 he ranged about his ship, keenly observing all his 

 men ; and if any of them betrayed the slightest alarm, 

 he immediately put him to death. This dreadful 

 discipline, while it effectually deterred the faint- 

 hearted from his service, rendered him the idol of 

 the brave. With those whom he approved, he was 

 always ready to share the plunder which he acquired ; 

 thus heightening, by his frank liberality, the admira- 

 tion which his intrepidity naturally commanded. On 

 his former expeditions, which were chiefly confined 

 to cruising, he sailed in a frigate, which was his own 

 property. In his new designs, which required a 

 greater force to carry them into execution, he was 

 assisted by Grammont, Godfrey, Jonque, and Law- 

 rence de Graff, whose exploits had gained them distin- 

 guished renown. Twelve hundred Buccaneers joined 

 themselves, on this occasion, to these celebrated cap- 

 tains, and sailed in six vessels for Vera Cruz. They 

 AvD.1685, landed, under cover of night, about three leagues 

 from the town, for which they instantly marched 

 without being discovered. By break 'of day they 

 were in complete possession of the place ; and the 

 greater part of the citizens were kept prisoners in 

 the churches, to which they had fled for shelter. 

 At the door of each church was laid a train of gun- 

 powder, to blow up the building ; and a Buccaneer 

 stood by, with a lighted match, ready to set fire to 

 it on the least appearance of insurrection. Thus the 

 city was pillaged without resistance ; and, after three 

 days, the citizens confined in the churches, who 

 had tasted neither meat nor drink during all that 

 time, agreed to ransom their lives and liberties for 

 10,000,000 livres, equivalent to L. 437,500 ster- 

 ling. Half of the money was paid the same day. 

 The other half was levying in the internal parts of 

 the country, when a large body of troops appeared 

 on an eminence ;. a fleet of seventeen ships at the 

 same time approaching the harbour. The Bucca- 

 neers thinking it prudent to retreat, carried off with 

 them 1500 slaves, as an indemnification for that part 

 of the ransom which remained unpaid. They sailed 

 boldly through the midst of the Spanish fleet, which 

 allowed them to pass without firing a single gun ; 

 happy to be so easily rid of such dangerous enemies. 



About a year after the return of these adventu- 

 rers from the Gulf of Mexico, the French and Eng- 



lish pirates, without any communication with each 

 other, projected an expedition against the country of een. 

 Peru. Four thousand men embarked in this enter- *""""" v"~" ' 

 prize ; and, had their courage been directed by a 

 skilful commander, they would have wrested from 

 the Spaniards that important country. Instead of 

 acting in concert, they formed themselves into small 

 parties, and, after plundering many rich towns, they 

 continued for some years in the country, giving 

 themselves up, as usual, to riot and debauchery. 

 Many of them fell victims to their excess. Of those 

 who survived, some were shipwrecked, on their re- 

 turn, in the Straits of Magellan, and at Cape Horn ; 

 and some, who attempted to march by land to the 

 Northern Sea, either lost their lives or their plunder, 

 by falling into ambuscades which were laid for them 

 by the Spaniards. In short, the French and English 

 colonies gained little by this expedition, which had 

 lasted four years, and which had deprived them of 

 their bravest inhabitants. 



While these adventurers were ravaging the shores 

 of the Southern Sea, another band of Buccaneers, 

 commanded by Grammont, was committing similar 

 outrages in the North. Campeachy was the object 

 of their attack ; where an incident happened, too 

 honourable to the English character to be here 

 omitted. The citadel, after holding out for some 

 time, was abandoned by its defenders. One gun 

 alone continued to annoy the assailants, which, on 

 storming the fort, they found to be served by an 

 English officer, who had determined to expose him- 

 self to any danger rather than basely relinquish his 

 post. Grammont knew how to appreciate such cou- 

 rage ; he received this brave officer with every mark 

 of distinction, granted him his liberty, with all his 

 effects, and complimented him, besides, with some 

 valuable presents. The conquerors of Campeachy 

 spent two months in pillaging the city and the sur- 

 rounding country. After burning the city, and de- 

 molishing the citadel, which the governor refused to 

 ransom, they returned to St Domingo. 



The next achievement of the Buccaneers was the A. D. 1697. 

 capture of the city of Carthagena. Here their bra- 

 very was crowned with the most brilliant success, 

 though tarnished with the most atrocious cruelties. 

 Returning home with an immense plunder, they fell 

 in with a fleet of Dutch and English ships, both 

 those nations being then in alliance with Spain. Se- 

 veral of the pirates were taken or sunk, the rest 

 made their escape to St Domingo. This was the 

 last important expedition undertaken by the Buc- 

 caneers. The war, on account of the Prince of 

 Orange, which separated the French and English 

 nations ; the successful efforts of both nations to en- 

 gage these enterprising men in the cultivation of 

 land ; their prudence in entrusting the most distin- 

 guished of the Buccaneers with civil and military 

 employments ; and the protection which they both 

 successively engaged to afford the Spanish settle- 

 ments, concurred to put an end to the society of 

 Buccaneers, certainly the most extraordinary which 

 history records. See Raynal's History of the East 

 and West Indies, vol. iii. Hutoire des Avunturiers 

 qui se sont signales dans les Indes, par Alexandra 

 Olivier Oexmelin. History of the Buccaneers of 

 America, by John Esquemeling. Edward's History 

 of the West Indies, vol. i. (K) 



