146 
sible to do justice to his prudence, his courage, and 
his presence of mind, all which qualities were con¬ 
spicuous on every occasion. In one of his expe¬ 
ditions, with ten Frenchmen, and two thousand 
natives, he defeated Dian Raveras, at the head of 
eighteen thousand men, and took from him twenty 
thousand bullocks , and made five thousand prisoners. 
These and his other successes, recommended him so 
powerfully to the French East-Xndia Company, that 
finding themselves under the necessity of employing 
him, they took him into their service, sent him a 
lieutenant’s commission, made him a present of a 
sword, and congratulated him on his successes. For 
these marks of confidence and favour, La Case re¬ 
turned thanks to the Company, and pledged himself 
that if they would send him a force of two hundred 
Frenchmen, he would conquer the whole island, and 
establish the paramount authority of the French 
government,—with this single condition, that they 
should render him answerable to none but themselves 
for the measures he might think proper to pursue in 
executing his projects. Fortunately the Company 
rejected his proposal; from what cause we do not 
learn, but the offer certainly reflects disgrace upon 
the memory of La Case. He appears to have had 
a large share of ambition after he was taken notice of 
by the East-India Company; and, as with Cortes in 
the Western Continent, that one passion bid fair to 
absorb all his good qualities, and render him a savage 
rather than a man. The conquest of the whole 
