ANOTHER GIBRALTAR. 21 



The castle thus taken by the pirates, they signalled to the ships their victory, that 

 they should come further in without fear of danger. The rest of the day was spent in 

 ruining and demolishing the castle. They nailed* the guns, and burnt as much as they 

 could not carry away, burying the dead, and sending the wounded on board the fleet, 

 Next day, very early, they weighed anchor, and steered 'altogether towards Maracaibo, 

 about six leagues distant from the fort; but the wind failing, they could advance little, 

 being forced to wait for the tide. Next morning they came in sight of the town, and 

 prepared for landing under the protection of their own guns, fearing the Spaniards might 



THE STRUGGLE \YITU TIIK HIHATES AT CUHKALTAH. 



have laid an ambuscade in the woods; they put their men into canoes, brought for the 

 purpose, and landed where they thought most convenient, shooting still furiously with their 

 great guns. Of those in the canoes half only went ashore, the other half remaining aboard. 

 They fired from the ships as fast as possible towards the woody part of the shore, but 

 could discover nobody. Then they entered the town, the inhabitants of which had retired to 

 the woods and Gibraltar with their families. Their houses were found well provided with 

 victuals, as flour, bread, pork, brandy, wines, and poultry, with which the pirates fell to, 

 making high havoc; having had no opportunity for four weeks before of filling their 

 stomachs with such good cheer. 



"They instantly possessed themselves of the best houses in the town," says the 

 narrator, "and placed sentinels wherever they thought convenient; the great church 

 serving them for their main guard. Next day they sent out 160 men to find out some 

 of the inhabitants in the woods thereabouts ; these returned the same night, bringing with 

 them 20,000 pieces of eight, several mules laden with household goods and merchandise, 

 and twenty prisoners, men, women, and children. Some of these were put to the rack to 

 make them confess where they had hid the rest of the goods ; but they could extort very 

 little from them. Lolonois, who valued not murdering, though in cold blood, ten or twelve 

 Spaniards, drew his cutlass, and hacked one to pieces before the rest, saying, ' If you do 

 not confess and declare where you have hid the rest of your goods, I will do the like to 



* i.e., " Spiked," as we say now-a-days. 



