_Francis Lolonois._
Early Life of Lolonois.--His Desperate Character.--Joins the
Buccaneers.--His Fiend-like Cruelty.--The Desperadoes Rally
around Him.--Equips a Fleet.--Captures Rich Prizes.--Plans the
Sack of Maracaibo.--The Adventurous Voyage.--Description of
Venezuela.--Atrocities at Maracaibo and Gibraltar.--Doom of
the Victors.
One of the most demoniac of those pirates who were ravaging sea and
land, calling themselves buccaneers, and assuming that they were
conducting a sort of legitimate warfare on their own private account,
was a bold wretch by the name of Francis Lolonois. He was a Frenchman.
When quite a young man, he, with other adventurers, went to the West
Indies, paying for his passage, in accordance with a custom of the
times, by being sold as a servant for a certain term.
Having obtained his freedom, he went to the Island of St. Domingo.
Here he lived a vagabond life, sometimes hunting, and again engaged
as a common sailor in the commerce of the islands. He soon acquired
the reputation of being a reckless desperate fellow, and attracted
the attention of the piratic governor of the piratic rendezvous, at
the Island of Tortugas. He was intrusted with the command of a small
vessel, to prey upon Spanish commerce. His success was extraordinary.
He became rich. So terrible were his cruelties, that his fame extended
through both of the Indies. Death was the doom of his captives; often
death by torture.
He had all his wealth, gold, jewels, and goods in a great ship, armed
with heavy guns. It was wrecked on the coast of Campeachy. The crew
barely escaped with their lives. The angry waves dashed to pieces and
swallowed up the ill-gotten gains of the pirate. The enraged Spaniards,
overjoyed at the wreck, pursued those who had escaped to the dry land,
and shot most of them down, mercilessly. Lolonois, disguised as a
common sailor, was severely wounded. He smeared himself with blood, and
feigned death. Being left on the field unburied, when the Spaniards
left, he crept into the woods. It was universally believed that he
was dead. The removal of such a wretch from the world was a matter of
almost national rejoicing. Bonfires blazed. Cannon were fired. The
undevout drank, and swore in their carousal. The devout repaired to
the churches, and thanked God that the world was delivered from so
cruel a pirate.
Lolonois, slowly recovering from his wounds, disguised in a Spanish
habit, entered Campeachy. He made friends with a few slaves, stole a
small boat, and, as his piratic biographer has it, “came to Tortugas,
the common place of refuge of all sorts of wickedness, and the
seminary, as it were, of all manner of pirates and thieves.”
His reputation as a successful pirate was such, that he speedily
obtained command of another vessel, manned by a crew of twenty-one
desperadoes. On the south side of the Island of Cuba, there was a
flourishing little village called Cayos. The inhabitants carried on
an active trade in tobacco, sugar and hides. Their harbor had not
sufficient depth of water for large vessels. The traffic was in boats.
Lolonois decided to sack the place.
It was not far across the island to Havana. Some fishermen informed
the inhabitants of the approach of the pirate. In terror they sent to
Havana for aid. The governor instantly dispatched a war-ship, of ten
guns and seventy-five men, for their relief. The governor, astonished
that Lolonois had again come to life, issued written orders, as follows:
“You are not to return until you have utterly destroyed all those
pirates. Every one is to be immediately hung, excepting Lolonois, their
captain. If possible, you are to bring him alive to Havana.”
The ship arrived at Cayos before the pirates had made their attack.
They cast anchor just outside the harbor. The pirates, through their
confederates, had been informed of their approach. They captured two
fishing boats. In the darkness of the ensuing night, they ran these
boats, one on each side of the ship, and with sword and pistol leaped
on board. The attack was so sudden, so entirely unprovided for, that
the few of the crew who were on deck were speedily struck down or
driven below.
Lolonois was in command of the ship, with all his prisoners beneath
the hatches. One by one they were brought up, and their heads cut off.
Not one was spared. The dismembered bodies were cast into the sea. The
bloody decks were washed. The pirate, proud of his achievement, and
admired by his men, strode to and fro, the proprietor of a strong,
well-armed ship, amply provided with everything he could need to
aid him in his career of rapine and blood. He wrote a letter to the
governor, and sent it to him by one of his captive fishermen. It was as
follows:
“I shall never, hereafter, give quarter to any Spaniard. I have great
hopes that I shall yet have the pleasure of exercising upon your own
person, the punishment I have now inflicted upon those you have sent
against me. It is thus that I requite the kindness, which you designed
for me and my companions.”
The governor was greatly troubled and perplexed by these tidings. In
his anger he took a solemn oath that he would never hereafter grant
quarter to any buccaneer who should fall into his hands. But the
citizens of Havana implored him not to persist in the execution of this
oath. They sent a delegation to him to say:
“If this threat is followed out, the pirates will certainly do the
same. They have a hundred times more opportunity of revenge than the
governor can have. We must get our living by fishery. Hereafter, if
this threat is executed, we shall always be at the peril of our lives.”
Lolonois cruised for some time among the islands, without success. He
then directed his course south toward Maracaibo, an important port in
the extreme north of the South American continent. After a run of six
or eight hundred miles, he reached the entrance of the vast bay which
leads up to the city. Here he captured an outward-bound ship, richly
laden with plate and silver from the mines.
What he did with the crew we know not. They vanished. They were
probably all thrown into the sea. With ship and cargo he returned to
Tortugas, where he was received with public rejoicing. Though now
rich enough to live at his ease, his ambition was roused to attain
still greater renown. Publicly he proclaimed to all the pirates on the
island, that he was about to fit out a fleet sufficient to carry five
hundred men. With these he would sail to the Spanish dominions in South
America, and sack all the cities, towns, and villages along the coast.
He would then capture Maracaibo itself.
All the desperadoes were eager to engage in the service of so brave and
successful a leader. His fleet was soon equipped, and his gang engaged.
There was a celebrated buccaneer at Tortugas, by the name of Michael
Basco. He had become very rich, and filled an important governmental
office. The proclamation of Lolonois fired anew his piratic zeal. He
had in former years ravaged all those regions by sea and by land. He
proposed to Lolonois to become a partner in his enterprise, if he could
be placed in command over the land forces. The articles of agreement
were soon signed. Eight vessels sailed. The crews amounted to six
hundred and seventy-five men. First they directed their course to St.
Domingo, and cast anchor in a little harbor called Bayala. Here they
laid in stores for their voyage, and added to their crews quite a
number of vagabond Frenchmen.
On the last day of July they again spread their sails. Whether they
implored the Divine blessing upon their enterprise we know not. It is
not improbable. One of these pirates ran his sword through one of the
crew for behaving irreverently in church.
“How can we expect,” he said indignantly, “the blessing of the Virgin,
if we behave in an unseemly way in her presence?”
Lolonois was admiral of the fleet. He occupied the largest ship, which
mounted ten guns. They ran along the northern shore of St. Domingo, and
just as they were doubling its most eastern cape, they came in sight
of a large, heavily laden Spanish merchantman, bound from Spain to her
colonies. But a few leagues beyond them, on the south-east side of St.
Domingo, was the Island of Savona. Lolonois ordered the fleet to make a
harbor there, and wait for him. He then sailed to capture the Spanish
galleon.
Unexpected resistance was encountered. The Spaniards knew that they
had no mercy to expect from Lolonois. They fought with desperation,
preferring to die in the fierce battle, rather than be massacred by the
pirates. The conflict lasted three hours. The ship was captured, and
the survivors put to the sword.
Lolonois was delighted on finding the prize much richer than he had
anticipated. The ship was one of the strongest and best built of
Spanish vessels, and mounted sixteen guns. There were fifty men on
board, some doubtless passengers. But they were no match for the
reckless pirates, who were veterans in such warfare. The ship, in
addition to a very rich cargo, had forty thousand dollars in coin, and
ten thousand more in jewels.
Lolonois sent the ship back to Tortugas to be unloaded, and then
immediately to rejoin him at Savona, to accompany the expedition.
In the mean time another large ship was captured, which was bound
to Hispaniola with military supplies and a sum of money to pay the
garrison. The ship mounted eight guns. Being entirely surrounded by the
hostile fleet, the captain surrendered without resistance.
The passengers and crew were disposed of after the pirates’ usual
fashion. This important capture contained seven thousand pounds of
powder, a large number of muskets and other small arms, and twelve
thousand dollars in specie. The governor of Tortugas, a Frenchman,
ordered the cargo to be removed as quickly as possible from the ship,
and placing on board fresh provisions and a reënforcement of pirates,
to make good the loss of those who had fallen in battle or by sickness,
sent it back to Savona.
Lolonois made this his flagship, as the largest and best of the fleet.
The city of Maracaibo was situated on an island, in the lake of the
same name, and at the head of the Bay of Venezuela. The island was
about sixty miles long by thirty-six broad. The passage to the city was
by a narrow channel which was guarded by a fort. The city contained
a mixed population of about four thousand, and carried on a thriving
trade in hides and tobacco. The dwellings were delightfully situated,
on an eminence running along the western shore of the lake, and
commanding a charming view of land and water scenery. There was a large
stone church in the place, four capacious monasteries, and a hospital.
A deputy governor, subject to the governor at Caraccas, administered
alike both civil and military affairs.
The inhabitants of the province were rich in cattle. Immense herds
grazed over the luxuriant pastures, extending nearly one hundred
miles around. The cattle were kept mainly for their hides, which ever
commanded a ready market. Oranges, lemons, bananas, and other tropical
fruits were also very abundant. The harbor was spacious and secure,
with the very best of timber at hand. There were many fierce Indians in
the morasses and thickets around. They were comparatively powerless,
though occasionally committing wolfish depredations.
About one hundred and twenty miles beyond Maracaibo, farther up the
lake, there was another quite important colonial Spanish town, called
Gibraltar. It had a population of about fifteen hundred. These were
nearly all engaged in trade, purchasing the products of the country
and sending them to other markets. On the plantations around, large
quantities of sugar were made. Also immense stores of cacao, from which
our word cocoa is derived, were gathered. This was the flat oblong seed
of the chocolate-tree, which was one of the most important articles of
commerce. They also raised a very superior kind of tobacco, which was
in great demand in Europe, called priests’ tobacco.
Still farther south, over a high ridge of mountains, there was another
settlement called Merida. The summits of these mountains reached the
region of intense cold, and were covered with perpetual snow. There
were a few narrow passes through this craggy barrier, which could be
traversed only by the sure-footed mule.
As soon as Lolonois entered the Gulf of Venezuela, he crept cautiously
along its shores, and cast anchor behind a wooded promontory, where
he was concealed from all observation. In the early dawn of the next
morning he again unfurled his sails, and, with a fair wind, swept
rapidly toward the Lake of Maracaibo. Secretly all the men were landed.
They marched to attack, on the land side, the fort, about four or five
leagues from the city, which guarded the entrance to the harbor. The
defences here consisted only of stout wicker baskets, about seven feet
high, filled with earth and stones. Within the fort there were sixteen
heavy guns.
Notwithstanding all their precautions to attack the fort by surprise,
eagle eyes had detected their approach, and had given the alarm. The
commandant sent out a party of men to place themselves in ambuscade,
on the only route by which the pirates could approach the fort. They
were to wait until the pirates had passed that point, then, at a given
signal, when the governor attacked them in front, from behind his
rampart, they were to fall fiercely upon the rear of the foe.
Lolonois was a demon, with a demon’s ability. He discovered the
stratagem; crept around the ambuscade; attacked the detachment in
its rear, and cut nearly every man to pieces. He then marched upon
the fort. The Spaniards were not cowards. For three hours the battle
raged, with equal desperation on either side. The reverberation of the
artillery explosions alarmed the whole city. The tidings ran through
the streets, exaggerated of course:
“The pirates, two thousand strong, are marching upon us.”
Their atrocities were well known. The whole community fled, seizing
such articles of value as they could--some in boats, some on land. Men,
fainting women, and crying babes, they pressed along, in a tumultuous
mass, to seek refuge in Gibraltar.
The fort was taken. Nearly all its defenders lay silent in death. The
ships, having nothing more to fear, spread their sails and entered the
harbor. The pirates demolished the fort, burst all the cannon they
could, and spiked the rest. Lolonois practised his accustomed caution.
All the adjacent thickets were swept with grape-shot. Under the
protection of his guns, the boats, crowded with armed men, approached
the shore. One-half landed. The others remained in the boats with guns
in their hands, sabres at their sides, and pistols in their belts, to
act as reserves.
To their assault there was no response. Not a human being was to be
seen. The town was utterly abandoned. They found provisions in great
abundance, with large quantities of wine and other intoxicating
liquors. These fiend-like men then commenced a scene of feasting, which
continued for several days. Their hideous orgies cannot be described.
Probably they experienced something of what they called joy, in these
revels. But they were only such joys as demons have. Milton describes
Satan, exulting over some of his plots, as “grinning horribly a ghastly
smile.”
At length, satiated with their unrestrained excesses, they turned
their attention to the collection of plunder. It will be remembered
that it was a hundred and twenty miles to Gibraltar. There were aged
men, feeble women, the sick, and newly born babes in the place. It was
evident that many of these could not have escaped far, and that they
must be concealed in the woods around. Neither could it be doubted that
much treasure, which could not be transported to a distance, had been
buried.
Gangs of armed men, amounting in all to over two hundred, were sent
to explore the woods. They went out every morning, for several days,
and returned at night. The first night they brought in twenty thousand
dollars in coin, eight mule-loads of goods, and twenty prisoners,
men, women, and children. Lolonois put several of these to the rack,
to compel them to reveal where other people were concealed, and where
other treasures were buried. The fiend tortured little children, before
the eyes of their parents, to extort confession.
Terrible was the condition of the Spaniards in the woods. They were
suffering from every kind of exposure. They were devoured by insects.
They were starving. They were watching over sick and dying friends. And
they were every moment in danger of being captured, and exposed to the
most horrible torments, to extort the confession of hidden treasures,
when they had no treasure to hide.
The next night another party of prisoners was brought in, with other
plunder. Lolonois summoned the captives before him. Drawing his sharp
sabre, he, without apparently the slightest emotion, hewed one of them
to pieces before the eyes of all the rest. He did this slowly and
deliberately, so as to prolong life as much as possible. Then, turning
to the rest, he said, with a pirate’s oath:
“If you do not reveal to me where you have concealed the rest of your
goods, I will serve every one of you in the same manner.”
For fifteen days the pirates remained at Maracaibo. They perpetrated
cruelties upon their captives so terrible, that we are compelled to
spread a veil over them. They then prepared to move on to Gibraltar.
The governor of this province, which was called Venezuela, or Little
Venice, from its many marshes, resided at Merida. He was a veteran
soldier, who had gained renown in the wars in Flanders. He was,
moreover, somewhat of a braggadocio. The panic-stricken inhabitants
of Gibraltar, sent imploring appeals to him for aid. He returned the
boastful reply:
“Give yourselves no uneasiness. I will soon be with you, at the head
of four hundred experienced soldiers. The pirates shall be utterly
exterminated.”
He reached Gibraltar with his little army. Rallying the inhabitants,
he soon had at his command a force of eight hundred well-armed men. He
raised two batteries to command the approaches to the town. Upon one he
mounted twenty guns; upon the other eight. He also barricaded the main
entrance to the town. To deceive the pirates, he opened a road which
led circuitously away into impassable swamps.
As Lolonois approached the town he saw the royal banner of Spain
floating over its defences, indicating that he could not take
possession of the place without a battle. He called his officers around
him, and thus addressed them:
“The difficulties of our enterprise have become very great. The
Spaniards have had much time to prepare for their defence. They have
an ample supply of ammunition, and have assembled a large number of
men. Still, let us be of good courage. We must either defend ourselves
like valiant soldiers, or lose our lives with all the riches we have
gained. I am your captain. Do as I do. We have fought with fewer
men than we have now. We have conquered foes more numerous than can
possibly oppose us here. The more they are, the greater our glory, and
the greater our riches. But know ye this, that the first man who gives
any indication of fear, I will pistol with my own hand.”
They landed from their ships, a little after midnight. In all, they
numbered three hundred and eighty. Each man had a musket with thirty
bullets, cartridges, a cutlass, and two or three loaded pistols in his
belt. As they commenced their march, which they knew must lead to the
death of some of them, they shook hands with each other in pledge of
mutual support.
“Come, my brothers,” said Lolonois, “follow me, and be of good courage.”
Upon reaching the barricade, where they encountered a heavy fire, they
turned aside into the new road which had been opened to insnare them.
This battle in the woods, amid swamps and thickets, and intertwining
vines and torturing thorns, can not be described. The combatants were
sometimes up to their waists in mire. The entanglements of a tropical
forest were such that they often could not see or approach each other.
Much of the firing was at random. The air was heavy with moisture.
The large guns of the batteries hurled balls and grape-shot, crashing
through the branches. The sulphurous smoke settled down upon the morass
in stifling folds.
The pirates cut down branches of the trees and threw them into the
marsh, and thus gradually struggled through, until they reached the
firm ground beyond. Here the Spaniards were again ready to receive
them, with opposing batteries. Many of the pirates had perished in the
swamp. Their situation now seemed desperate. Lolonois was equal to the
occasion. He feigned a panic. The pirates fled tumultuously, crying
out, “Save himself who can.” Their flight was toward the ships.
The Spaniards, deceived by the feigned discomfiture, rushed from behind
their intrenchments in eager pursuit, shouting joyfully, “They fly;
they fly!” Lolonois and his men, having drawn them some distance from
their batteries, turned upon them with the reckless ferocity of tigers.
Their bloody work was soon accomplished. A few of the Spaniards escaped
in terror to the woods. All the rest were cut down. Gibraltar was at
the mercy of the pirates.
Five hundred Spaniards lay dead upon the ground. Many of those who
escaped to the woods were wounded, and of these not a few died, for
they were destitute of all aid in dressing their wounds. Fearing that
so many dead bodies might create contagion, the pirates piled them all
in two large boats, and sunk them in the lake. Still many putrefying
corpses were left scattered through the woods. The pirates admit that
they lost eighty in the conflict. The number was probably greater.
Though most of the inhabitants escaped from the town, the victors held
about one hundred and fifty prisoners, men, women, and children. They
prized these captives because, by torturing them, they hoped to find
where money was concealed.
The town was plundered effectually. Every nook and corner they
searched. The miserable captives were shut up in the church. Gangs
of men were sent out to ravage the plantations around. As provisions
became scarce, the prisoners were left without any supply of bread or
water. The hearts of the pirates were no more moved by their piteous
moans than were the stone blocks with which the church was built.
During the four weeks the pirates held Gibraltar, nearly all these
captives died of actual starvation.
Their gangs ranged the woods for great distances, bringing in plunder
and prisoners. Many women were brought in. Every conceivable measure
was resorted to, to get money. The whole region was wantonly turned
into a blackened, smouldering desert. Lolonois wished to pursue his mad
career over the mountains to Merida. But a pestilential and contagious
disease sprang up among his men. God’s hand seemed to smite them. All
were sick. Skeleton forms staggered through the streets. These men
were not ignorant of the crimes they were committing. There were no
loving hands to attend them in the languor of sickness, in the agonies
of death. In misery, many of these wretches were burned with fever.
Moaning and blaspheming they died, and their guilty souls passed to the
tribunal of that God who cannot look upon sin but with abhorrence. They
had seized their ill-gotten gold, and it had indeed turned to ashes in
their grasp.