10 THE SEA. 



his breast, commanding him to deliver up the ship. The Spaniards, surprised to see the 

 pirates on board their ship, cried, " Jesus, bless us ! Are these devils, or what are they ? " 

 Meanwhile some of them took possession of the gun-room, and seized the arms, killing as 

 many as made any opposition ; whereupon the Spaniards presently surrendered. That very day 

 the captain of the ship had been told by some of the seamen that the boat which was in view 

 cruising was a boat of pirates, whom the captain slightly answered, " What, then, must 

 I be afraid of such a pitiful thing as that is ? No ! though she were a ship as big and as 

 strong as mine is." As soon as Pierre le Grand had taken this rich prize, he detained in 

 his service as many of the common seamen as he had need of, setting the rest ashore, and 

 then set sail for France, where he continued without ever returning to America again/ '' 



The planters and hunters of Tortuga had no sooner heard of the rich prize those pirates 

 had taken than they resolved to follow their example. Many of them left their employments, 

 and endeavoured to get some small boats wherein to exercise piracy; but not being able 

 to purchase or build them in Tortuga, they set out in their canoes, and sought them else- 

 where. With these they cruised at first upon Cape de Alvai'ez, where the Spaniards used 

 to trade from one city to another in small vessels, in which they carried hides, tobacco, and 

 other commodities to the Havannah, and to which the Spaniards from Europe frequently 

 resorted. 



Here it was that those pirates at first took a great many boats laden with the before- 

 mentioned commodities ; these they used to carry to Tortuga, and sell the whole purchase to 

 the vessels that waited for their return or accidentally happened to be there. With the gains 

 of these prizes they provided themselves with necessaries wherewith to undertake other 

 voyages, some of which were made to Campechy, and others toward Hispaniola, in both 

 which the Spaniards then drove a good trade. Upon those coasts they found great numbers 

 of trading vessels, and often ships of great burden. Two of the biggest of these vessels, 

 and two great ships which the Spaniards had laden with plate in the port of Campechy 

 to go to the Caraccas, they took in less than a month's time, and carried to Tortuga, 

 when the people of the whole island, encouraged by their success especially seeing in two 

 years the riches of the country so much increased they augmented the number of freebooters 

 so fast, that in a little time there were in that small island and port above twenty pirate- 

 ships. The Spaniards, not able to bear their robberies any longer, equipped two large 

 men-of-war, both for the defence of their own coasts and to cruise upon the enemy's. 

 We shall see the result. 



Before the pirates went to sea they gave notice to all concerned of the day on which 

 they were to embark, obliging each man to bring as many pounds of powder and ball as they 

 thought necessary. Being all come aboard, they consulted as to where to get provisions, 

 especially flesh, seeing they scarcely used anything else : this was ordinarily pork and tortoise, 

 which they salted a little ; sometimes they robbed the hog-yards, where the Spaniards often 

 had a thousand head of swine together. They approached these places in the night, 

 and having beset the keeper's lodge, would force him to rise and give them as many 

 head as they desired, threatening to kill him if he refused or made any noise ; and these 

 menaces were oftentimes executed on the miserable swine-keepers or any other person that 

 endeavoured to hinder their robberies. 



i 



