b u c :t 
fnnii.-i to dry their (kins,- and contain thcir'i'iicautsing 
houles. TluAe (pots they called toucans, and the huts they; 
dwelt in 'ajoupas. Their drefs confided 'of a greafy Hurt, 
•dve'd'witK the blood of the animals they killed ; a pair of 
trowfers, a leather belt, to which they hunt; a cafe of 
knives, and a fliort fibre called manckcUe.-, a hat without 
any brim, and fhoes of hogikin all of a piece. Their puns 
were four feet and a half in the barrel, and of a bore to 
carry balls of an ounce-, Every man had his contrail fer- 
vants, more or fewer, according to his abilities ; belides a 
pack of twenty or thirty dogs, among which was always 
a couple of beagles. Their chief employment at ilrlf was 
bull-hunting; and, if at any time they chaced'a wild boar, 
it was rather for paftinie, or to make pro v ill tin for,a Fcafl. 
In Imnting, they fct out at day-break, preceded by the 
beagles, and followed by their (ervants with. the refl of 
the clogs; and, as they made it a point always to follow 
their beagles, they were often led by them over the moft 
frightful precipices, and through places which any other 
mortal would have deemed abfolutcly impafiTnble. As 
foon as tl-.e beagles bad routed the game, the reli of the 
slogs furrounded the bead, flopping it, and keeping, a con- 
(lant barking till the bucaneer could get near enough to 
Ihoot at it; in doing this, he commonly aimed at the heart; 
when the bead fell, he hamllrung it, to prevent its riling 
again : but it has fometimes happened that the creature, 
not wounded enough to tumble to the ground, has run 
furioufly at his purifier, and ripped him open. But, in 
general, the bucaneer feldom milled his aim ; and when 
lie did, was nimble enough to get up the tree behind which 
he had the precaution to place himfelf. 
Such were the purfuits of the bticancers of St. Domin¬ 
go, when the Spaniards undertook to extirpate them. And 
at fu ll they met with very great fuccefs; for as the buca¬ 
neers hunted feparately, everyone attended by his fervants, 
they were .ealily furprifed. Hence the-Spaniards killed 
numbers, and took many more, whom they condemned to 
a moll cruel death. This put the bucaneers upon a plan 
of never hunting but in large parties, and fixing their bcu- 
cans in the little ifiands on the coaft, where they retired 
every evening. This expedient fucceeded ; and the bou- 
cans, by being more connedfed, foon acquired the air and 
e’onfiftency of little towns. When the bucaneers were 
thus fixed, each boucan ordered 1’couts every morning to 
the liighefl part of the Aland, to reconnoitre the coaft, 
and fee if any Spanifh parties were abroad. If no enemy 
appeared, they appointed a place and hour of rendezvous 
in the'evening, and were never abfent if not killed or pri¬ 
soners- When therefore any one of the company was 
milling, it was not lawful for the red to hunt again till 
they had got intelligence of him if taken, or avenged his 
death if killed. The parties of them who wereaddicled 
to piracy, are thus deferibed by the abbe Raynal, in his 
Hidory of the Indies : 
“Before the Englilb had made any fetllement at Ja¬ 
maica, and the French at St. Domingo, fonte pirates of 
both nations, fmee didinguidied by the name of Bucaneers, 
bad driven the Spaniards out of the final! Aland of Tor¬ 
tuga ; and, fortifying themfelves there, had with an ama¬ 
zing intrepidity made excurfions again:! the common ene¬ 
my. They formed themfelves into fmall companies, con¬ 
fiding of fifty, a hundred, or a hundred and fifty, men 
each. A boat of a greater or fmaller (i/e was their oniy 
armament. Here they were exposed night and day to all 
the inclemencies of the weather, having i’oarceiy room to 
lie down. A love of abfolute independence rendered them 
averfe from tlvofe mutual redraints which the members'of 
fociety impofe upon themfelves for the common good ; 
fome of them chofe to ling, while others were delirous ot 
going to deep. A 4 the authority they had conferred on 
their captain was confined to his giving orders in battle, - 
they lived in the greated confudon. Like the ravages, 
having no apprehenfion of want, nor any care to preferve 
the necelfaries of life, they were condantly expofed to the 
fevered extremities of hunger and third. But deriving, 
Vol. 111 . No,-i42. 
N E E_ R. _ Xy’] 
even from their v^y difirc.Toi,*q domrage fttper'dr tb. ev'erjr 
danger, the fight of a (hip transported them to a degree 
of frenzy.; Th.ey never deliberated on the attack, but it 
was theij'cfilbVm to boat'd the fi;ip a;, foon aspoltible. The 
fmallik l's of their 'yeflek,, and the (kill they Ihpwed in the 
mandgepiebt of them, fcVe'cncd them from the fire of the 
greater fiiips; and they prefented only the fore'part of 
their little vedi ls filled with fiAilee'rs ; who fired at the 
port-holes with fo much exaCLiefs', that it confounded' the 
mod experienced gunncLs. As loon as they threw out 
their grappling, tlie larged veil'd felaoni. efeaped. In 
cafes of extreme neceflity-, they attacked the people of 
every nation, but fell upon the Spaniards at all times. 
They thought that the cruelties the latter liad excrcifcd 
on the inhabitants of the new world jn(lifted the implaca¬ 
ble averfion they had fworri againft them. But this was 
heightened by a perforia! pique, from the mortification 
they felt at fec'ng themfelves debarred the'.privilege of 
hunting and fifhing, which, in tliofe wild uncultivated 
countries, they conlidered as natural rights. The (hips 
that failed from Europe to America feldom tempted their 
avidity: the merchandife they contained would not eafilyf 
have been fold, nor have been very profitable ;o thefe 
barbarians in thofe early times ; hut they waited for them 
on their return, when they were certain that they were 
laden with gold, (Aver, jewels, and ail the valuable pro¬ 
ductions of the new world. If they met with a fingle 
flip, they never failed to attack her ; as to the fleets, they 
followed them till they failed out of the gulph of Baha¬ 
ma, and, as foon as any one of the vclfels was feparated 
by any accident from the refl, it was taken. 
The bucaneers, when they had got a confidcrablb booty, 
at firfl held their rendezvous at the ifiand of Tortuga, in 
order to divide the fpoil ; but afterwards the French went 
to St. Domingo, and the Englifh to Jamaica. Each per- 
fon, holding up his hand, folemnly protefied that he had 
fecreted.nothing, of what he had taken. If any one among 
them was convifted of perjury, a cafe that feldom hap¬ 
pened, he was left, as foon as an opportunity offered, upon 
fome defert ifiand, as a traitor unworthy to live in fociety. 
Such.brave men among them as had been maimed in any 
of their expeditions, were fird provided for. If they had 
loll a hand, an arm, a leg, or a foot, they received 2 6 - 1 . An 
eye, a finger, or a toe, lojt in fight, was valued only at half 
the above Ann. The wounded were allowed 2s. 6d. a-day 
for two months, to enable them to have their wounds ta¬ 
ken care of. If they had not money enough to anfvver 
thefe demands, the whole company were obliged to en¬ 
gage in fome frelh expedition, and to continue it till they 
had acquired a fufficient dock to enable them to fatisfy 
thefe contracts. After this act of humanity, the remain¬ 
der of tlie booty was divided info as many (hares as there 
were bucaneers. The commander could only lay claim 
to a (ingle (hare like the red; but they complimented him 
with two or three, in proportion as he had acquitted hunfelf' 
to their fatisfaCtion. Favour never had any influence in 
the divifion of the booty; for every (hare was determined 
by lor. Indances of fuch rigid juftice are not ealily met 
with ; and tlrey extended even to the dead. Their (bare 
was given to the man who v, js known to be their compa¬ 
nion when alive., and therefore their heir. Tf the per (on 
who bad been killed had no intimate, hi.- part was lent to 
his relations when ■ they were known. If there were no 
friends or relations, it was. difinbuted hi-charity to the 
poor. When thefe duties had been fir If complied with, 
they indulged in all kinds of profit (Ion. Unbounded licen- 
tibufnefs in gaming, wine, women, every kind of debau-' 
chery, was carried to. the utmoft pitch of excels, and was 
relfrained only by the want which fuch p'rofufions brought 
on. Thofe men who were enriched with Several millions, 
were in an inllant totally ruined,, and deft Ante of clothes’ 
and prpvifions. They returned to fea ; and the netv fup- 1 
plies they acquired were foon lavifhed in the.fame manner. 
The Spariifh colonies, reduced almoft to clefpair in find¬ 
ing themfelves a perpetual prey to thefe rufh u's, grew 
C\ E* . • we; ry 
