The Book of Pirates and Highwaymen (10 page)

Through the thickness of the storm, Dugald now fancied he saw a small boat dancing on the tremendous waves at a short distance to leeward of the ship; now buried in the trough of the sea, and lost to his straining sight for some moments; now quivering between life and death on the raging summit of a billow, and again shooting down its roaring declivity, as if to destruction. The ship continued to gain on the frail bark, and, to the hopes and imagination of Dugald, it seemed to enjoy a special protection; for he could now perceive that it contained the precious burden of his beloved mistress and her remaining children, and he could distinctly observe the mulatto throwing up her arms in signal to the ship.

Through the gleaming openings of the disturbed elements, there now appeared, about two miles from the starboard bow, a large ship, scudding before the wind, suffering, like themselves, under the storm, but evidently in good condition. The haunted imagination of La Force now saw before him the choice of punishment, a dreadful death with his devoted companions with the sinking vessel, or an ignominious and public punishment by the intervention of the passing ship. The evidence of Dugald would, in that case, be conclusive against him, and the wretched criminal yet conceived the thought of embruing his guilty hands in his blood also: but his doom was fixed. The remaining mast, to which Dugald was confined, was at this moment carried away by a heavy shock, and in the wreck of its fall he was so far released as to be able to disengage himself entirely.

La Force, who, in his distraction, had not observed the canoe towards which the ship was driving, was now springing forward to an attack on Dugald; Dugald, on his part, had seized a crow-bar as a weapon, and, meeting the enraged monster in his advance, placed himself in a position of defence, and pointed out to his astonished sight the canoe in which four of his victims were thus miraculously preserved, and the floating corpse of the murdered De Tracy, which, from its natural buoyancy, and the shifting of the ballast, by which it was sunk, to the feet, now swam erect in the water, exposed below the breast, and had drifted towards the vessel, as if seeking judgement on its destroyer. The inanimate body seemed to the staring eye-balls of La Force to be the visitation of a spirit; the villain was nerveless; he raved for mercy, attempted prayer, and called, in vain, on his companions for succour; at this moment the ship, which had been for some time but struggling with her fate, made a lurch, which threw her broadside to the sweeping sea; she instantly filled, and shot down head-foremost. Dugald sprang from the stern in time to avoid the whirlpool of the sinking ship. La Force, in an attempt to throw himself over-board, was entangled by the head in the fallen rigging, and on his knees, screaming for mercy was the blood-stained and despairing wretch literally dragged, half strangled to the bottom, with the vessel.

Dugald reached the canoe in safety, and succeeded in keeping it afloat till they were perceived by a passing ship, and rescued from their impending destruction.

The youngest son, who had been forced into the canoe with the unhappy mother, died from the severity of the exposure, adding a fifth victim to the monster, La Force! Madame De Tracy, with her infant, and the mulatto, Rachel, were, with considerable difficulty, recovered from the effects of their brutal treatment, and were ultimately enabled to reach the scenes of their former happiness.

Adventures of Morgan, Prince of Freebooters: Attack Of The Fire-Ship

At the end of six days he was ready; and, on the 29th April, 1669, he advanced toward the Spaniards, who were quietly at anchor. The dawn was just beginning to appear. The admiral, whose ship was moored in the channel, expeditiously prepared to receive the enemy; and mistaking the fire-ship for the chief of the pirates’ vessels, he suffered it to approach him. He was astonished that, although it was so near, and had such a numerous crew upon deck, not a single cannon was fired. Supposing the freebooter intended to board him (as he knew it was their favourite manoeuvre) he suspended his firing, in order that he might oppose the stronger resistance. Nothing could render the pirates a greater service than this inactivity: never was the truth of the ancient proverb more verified, that ‘fortune favours the bold.’

A few well-directed cannon-shots were sufficient to shatter the frail machine to pieces, and sink it to the bottom; as, in fact, it was scarcely the skeleton of a vessel. The Spaniards did not perceive this error until the fire-ship was close by them: from that moment all their efforts to stop its progress were useless. The few freebooters on board, fastened it to a Spanish ship, and, as is usual in this kind of operations, rapidly threw themselves into a canoes which had been brought for that purpose. The Spanish admiral, however, displayed much presence of mind: he ordered several Spaniards to board the fire-ship, in order to cut down its masts, and, if it were possible, to prevent the explosion; but his active adversaries were beforehand with him, and, as they were quitting the fire-ship, had already kindled the combustibles it contained. In a very short time the admiral’s ship took fire, which raged with such vehemence, that she was almost instantly buried in the waves, together with the greater part of the crew. Many of the Spaniards had thrown themselves into the sea, and were endeavouring to save themselves by swimming, but they sank before they could reach the shore. Some of them indeed might have received assistance from the freebooters, who, from motives of humanity, or some other impulse more congenial to their character endeavoured to rescue them from the sea; but the Spaniards preferred perishing, rather than owe their lives to these ferocious enemies, from whom they apprehended a treatment worse, perhaps, than death. A very small number only succeeded in landing; among whom was the Spanish admiral, who had taken refuge in a shallop, the moment he saw his ship in flames.

The freebooters availed themselves of their first moment of the enemies’ consternation, to attack the second ship of war: which they took by boarding, after a slight resistance. They made the air re-echo with their cries of victory, as soon as they beheld the principal vessel disappear. At the sight of these astonishing events which to them seemed miraculous, the Spaniards on board the third ship were struck with such a panic, that they thought less of fighting than of saving themselves. They therefore cut their cables, and rapidly made for the fort; before which they bored their vessel, and sunk her to the bottom. The pirates hastened to seize at least a few pieces of the floating wreck; but the moment the Spaniards that were on shore saw them approaching, they set the wreck on fire.– All these circumstances, just related, occupied no more than one hour.

This astonishing deliverance at so critical an emergency, and the gaining of such a signal and complete victory in so short a time, with such little force, and without losing a single man, was to the pirates almost a dream. But they were not content with it: they determined without delay to attack the fort, which was guarded by the seamen who had saved themselves, not indeed with the hope of finding any thing to plunder, but merely that they might impress the Spaniards with an exalted idea of their courage. The Spaniards, however, had to congratulate themselves on their foresight in putting the fort into a state of defence: under the conduct of the admiral, who had likewise fled thither, they made such excellent use of their cannons, and in general defended themselves with so much vigour, that the pirates, who could neither raise batteries, nor plant ladder against the walls, were obliged to relinquish the attack, and withdrew on board their ships somewhat confused, and bitterly regretted their folly, having lost thirty men killed, and forty wounded.

From a Spanish pilot, who fell into their hands, Morgan received explanation of all that had occurred previous to their arrival. The hostile fleet, which was at first six ships strong, had been sent out from Spain for the express purpose of exterminating the freebooters; but the two largest vessels, each of which was mounted with thirty-six guns, were thought incapable of being effectively employed in the American latitudes; they were therefore sent back, and one of them was sunk in a storm. Don Alphonso, whose chief ship (the St Louis) was manned by a crew of three hundred men, was dispatched with the rest of the squadron in quest of the freebooters. Not meeting with them, either at Hispaniola, Campechy, St Domingo, or Caracas, he congratulated himself on finding them at Maracäibo. Two days before the fatal catastrophe, he was informed by a negro, who had escaped from the pirates, that they were preparing a fire-ship: he received this news with disdain.– ‘How can those rascals,’ said he, ‘have ingenuity enough to construct such a ship? Where will they find the instruments and materials necessary for the purpose?’ The Spanish pilot also related that on board the vessel which had been sunk there was silver, both in bullion and money, to the value of thirty thousand piasters.

This information Morgan thought ought not to be neglected; and his active freebooters spared no pains to draw up this treasure from the sea; and thus pay themselves for so many fatigues, from which they had hitherto gained nothing but glory. Morgan therefore left one ship behind, the crew of which succeeded in dragging up from the bottom of the sea about twenty quintals, as well in ingots as in moveables, both in silver and piasters. This interval was employed by that indefatigable commander in returning to Maracäibo with the remainder of his fleet. He there appropriated to his own use the frigate that had been captured from the Spaniards, and which mounted twenty-four guns, being the smallest vessel of their squadron. He repeated his injunction to the Spanish admiral of paying a ransom for the town, if he was desirous of rescuing it from total destruction: but the latter, overwhelmed with the weight of his misfortunes, insensible to any other losses than those he had already experienced, and having nothing to apprehend for himself from the destruction with which Maracäibo was threatened, would listen to no such proposition. But the terrified inhabitants were more tractable: without the admiral’s permission, they capitulated with Morgan, and gave him twenty thousand piasters, by way of ransom, and five hundred head of cattle for the sustenance of his crew.

Still, however, the freebooters had another great difficulty to surmount. In order to re-enter the ocean from the lake, they had to pass close under that fort which had resisted their valour, and had cost them so many men; to have attempted a second attack would have been imprudent; as its success was, at the very best, very uncertain, and, even if they were successful, it would not increase their booty. On the other hand, if they risked a passage under the cannons of that formidable fort, their ships would either be dismantled or at least greatly damaged; and the majority, if not all, of themselves, being incapable of pursuing their route, would fall into the hands of their enemies. In this dilemma, Morgan tried what effect the boldness of his language and new threats would produce: he therefore sent a message to Don Alphonso, to inform him, that he would set all prisoners at liberty, provided a free passage was granted; but that, in the case of a refusal, he would hang them up upon the masts of the ships; and that, notwithstanding, he pledged his word to the Spaniards that he would pass in defiance of every obstacle.

Some prisoners were charged with the conveyance of this severe message to the admiral, whom they conjured with tears to take pity on their wives and children: but the Spanish admiral was inexorable; he was too much chagrined in having lost his fleet in such a manner; he still flattered himself that he might be able to repair his disgrace, and alleviate his vexation, by precipitating those insolent pirates to the bottom of the sea, at the very moment they were passing. The persons deputed by Morgan, who were so exceedingly interested in the success of the mission, interceding for their friends, for their families, and for themselves, met therefore with a very different reception. The admiral reproached them with their cowardice, and told them,– ‘If you had prevented the entrance of these pirates, as I am determined to prevent their departure, you would never have been in your present situation.’

They had no other answer to carry back; and Morgan received the admiral’s reply with his usual arrogance. ‘Well then,’ said he, ‘since the admiral persists in refusing me free passage, I will find a way by which to pass, without his consent,’ and took his measures accordingly.

First, he ordered every one to take the plunder he had collected, in order that it might be immediately divided among the freebooters. It was estimated at two hundred and fifty thousand piasters, in gold, silver, and precious stones, without reckoning the slaves and an immense quantity of merchandise. Every individual then received his share, which he was from that moment charged to defend.

While the division was carrying into effect, Morgan conceived a military manoeuvre. Early in the morning he caused some hundreds of freebooters to be conducted in small vessels and canoes, and to be landed in a place abounding with tall reeds. After lying concealed there for some hours, they returned one by one to their canoes, creeping closely along the ground, walking partly on their hands, and in short adopting every possible precaution to prevent discovery. Having thus reached their canoes, they lay down on board, either flat on their back or with their face downwards; and the canoes, which to all appearances were empty, were rowed back to the spot they had quitted. This manoeuvre was repeated several times during the course of the day, even in sight of the fort; so as to persuade the Spaniards that all the freebooters were disembarked, and that they would not fail to attack them during the following night.