A Resurrected Pirate
When L'Olonnois arrived at Tortuga he caused great astonishment among
his old associates; that he had come back a comparative pauper surprised
no one, for this was a common thing to happen to a pirate, but the
wonder was that he got back at all.
He had no money, but, by the exercise of his crafty abilities, he
managed to get possession of a ship, which he manned with a crew of
about a score of impecunious dare-devils who were very anxious to do
something to mend their fortunes.
Having now become very fond of land-fighting, he did not go out in
search of ships, but directed his vessel to a little village called de
los Cayos, on the coast of Cuba, for here, he thought, was a chance for
a good and easy stroke of business. This village was the abode of
industrious people, who were traders in tobacco, hides, and sugar, and
who were obliged to carry on their traffic in a rather peculiar manner.
The sea near their town was shallow, so that large ships could not
approach very near, and thus the villagers were kept busy carrying goods
and supplies in small boats, backwards and forwards from the town to the
vessels at anchor. Here was a nice little prize that could not get away
from him, and L'Olonnois had plenty of time to make his preparations to
seize it. As he could not sail a ship directly up to the town, he
cruised about the coast at some distance from de los Cayos, endeavoring
to procure two small boats in which to approach the town, but although
his preparations were made as quietly as possible, the presence of his
vessel was discovered by some fishermen. They knew that it was a pirate
ship, and some of them who had seen L'Olonnois recognized that dreaded
pirate upon the deck. Word of the impending danger was taken to the
town, and the people there immediately sent a message by land to Havana,
informing the Governor of the island that the cruel pirate L'Olonnois
was in a ship a short distance from their village, which he undoubtedly
intended to attack.
When the Governor heard this astonishing tale, it was almost impossible
for him to believe it. The good news of the death of L'Olonnois had come
from Campeachy to Havana, and the people of the latter town also
rejoiced greatly. To be now told that this scourge of the West Indies
was alive, and was about to fall upon a peaceful little village on the
island over which he ruled, filled the Governor with rage as well as
amazement, and he ordered a well-armed ship, with a large crew of
fighting men, to sail immediately for de los Cayos, giving the captain
express orders that he was not to come back until he had obliterated
from the face of the earth the whole of the wretched gang with the
exception of the leader. This extraordinary villain was to be brought to
Havana to be treated as the Governor should see fit. In order that his
commands should be executed promptly and effectually, the Governor sent
a big negro slave in the ship, who was charged with the duty of hanging
every one of the pirates except L'Olonnois.
By the time the war-vessel had arrived at de los Cayos, L'Olonnois had
made his preparation to attack the place. He had procured two large
canoes, and in these he had intended to row up to the town and land with
his men. But now there was a change in the state of affairs, and he was
obliged to alter his plans. The ordinary person in command of two small
boats, who should suddenly discover that a village which he supposed
almost defenceless, was protected by a large man-of-war, with cannon and
a well-armed crew, would have altered his plans so completely that he
would have left that part of the coast of Cuba with all possible
expedition. But the pirates of that day seemed to pay very little
attention to the element of odds; if they met an enemy who was weak,
they would fall upon him, and if they met with one who was a good deal
stronger than themselves, they would fall upon him all the same. When
the time came to fight they fought.
Of course L'Olonnois could not now row leisurely up to the town and
begin to pillage it as he had intended, but no intention of giving up
his project entered his mind. As the Spanish vessel was in his way, he
would attack her and get her out of his way if the thing could be done.
In this new state of affairs he was obliged to use stratagem, and he
also needed a larger force than he had with him, and he therefore
captured some men who were fishing along the coast and put them into his
canoes to help work the oars. Then by night he proceeded slowly in the
direction of the Spanish vessel. The man-of-war was anchored not very
far from the town, and when about two o'clock in the morning the watch
on deck saw some canoes approaching they supposed them to be boats from
shore, for, as has been said, such vessels were continually plying about
those shallow waters. The canoes were hailed, and after having given an
account of themselves they were asked if they knew anything about the
pirate ship upon the coast. L'Olonnois understood very well that it
would not do for him or his men to make answer to these inquiries, for
their speech would have shown they did not belong to those parts.
Therefore he made one of his prisoner fishermen answer that they had not
seen a pirate vessel, and if there had been one there, it must have
sailed away when its captain heard the Spanish ship was coming. Then the
canoes were allowed to go their way, but their way was a very different
one from any which could have been expected by the captain of the ship.
They rowed off into the darkness instead of going toward the town, and
waited until nearly daybreak, then they boldly made for the man-of-war,
one canoe attacking her on one side and the other on the other. Before
the Spanish could comprehend what had happened there were more than
twenty pirates upon their decks, the dreaded L'Olonnois at their head.
In such a case as this cannon were of no use, and when the crew tried to
rush upon deck, they found that cutlasses and pistols did not avail very
much better. The pirates had the advantage; they had overpowered the
watch, and were defending the deck against all comers from below. It
requires a very brave sailor to stick his head out of a hatchway when he
sees three or four cutlasses ready to split it open. But there was some
stout fighting on board; the officers came out of their cabins, and some
of the men were able to force their way out into the struggle. The
pirates knew, however, that they were but few and that were their
enemies allowed to get on deck they would prove entirely too strong, and
they fought, each scoundrel of them, like three men, and the savage
fight ended by every Spanish sailor or officer who was not killed or
wounded being forced to stay below decks, where the hatches were
securely fastened down upon them.
L'Olonnois now stood a proud victor on the deck of his prize, and, being
a man of principle, he determined to live up to the distinguished
reputation which he had acquired in that part of the world. Baring his
muscular and hairy right arm, he clutched the handle of his sharp and
heavy cutlass and ordered the prisoners to be brought up from below, one
at a time, and conducted to the place where he stood. He wished to give
Spain a lesson which would make her understand that he was not to be
interfered with in the execution of his enterprises, and he determined
to allow himself the pleasure of personally teaching this lesson.
As soon as a prisoner was brought to L'Olonnois he struck off his head,
and this performance he continued, beginning with number one, and going
on until he had counted ninety. The last one brought to him was the
negro slave. This man, who was not a soldier, was desperately frightened
and begged piteously for his life. L'Olonnois, finding that the man was
willing to tell everything he knew, questioned him about the sending of
this vessel from Havana, and when the poor fellow had finished by
telling that he had come there, not of his own accord, but simply for
the purpose of obeying his master, to hang all the pirates except their
leader, that great buccaneer laughed, and, finding he could get nothing
more from the negro, cut off his head likewise, and his body was tumbled
into the sea after those of his companions.
Now there was not a Spaniard left on board the great ship except one
man, who had been preserved from the fate of the others because
L'Olonnois had some correspondence to attend to, and he needed a
messenger to carry a letter. The pirate captain went into the cabin,
where he found writing-materials ready to his hand, and there he
composed a letter to the Governor of Havana, a part of which read as
follows: "I shall never henceforward give quarter unto any Spaniard
whatsoever. And I have great hopes that I shall execute on your own
person the very same punishment I have done to them you sent against me.
Thus I have retaliated the kindness you designed unto me and my
companions."
When this message was received by the dignified official who filled the
post of Governor of Cuba, he stormed and fairly foamed at the mouth. To
be utterly foiled and discomfited by this resurrected pirate, and to be
afterwards addressed in terms of such unheard-of insolence and abuse,
was more than he could bear, and, in the presence of many of his
officials and attendants, he swore a terrible oath that after that hour
he would never again give quarter to any buccaneer, no matter when or
where he was captured, or what he might be doing at the time. Every man
of the wretched band should die as soon as he could lay hands upon him.
But when the inhabitants of Havana and the surrounding villages heard of
this terrible resolution of their Governor they were very much
disturbed. They lived in constant danger of attack, especially those who
were engaged in fishing or maritime pursuits, and they feared that when
it became known that no buccaneer was to receive quarter, the Spanish
colonists would be treated in the same way, no matter where they might
be found and taken. Consequently, it was represented to the Governor
that his plan of vengeance would work most disastrously for the Spanish
settlers, for the buccaneers could do far more damage to them than he
could possibly do to these dreadful Brethren of the Coast, and that,
unless he wished to bring upon them troubles greater than those of
famine or pestilence, they begged that he would retract his oath.
When the high dignitary had cooled down a little, he saw that there was
a good deal of sense in what the representative of the people had said
to him, and he consequently felt obliged, in consideration of the public
safety, to take back what he had said, and to give up the purpose, which
would have rendered unsafe the lives of so many peaceable people.
L'Olonnois was now the possessor of a fine vessel which had not been in
the least injured during the battle in which it had been won. But his
little crew, some of whom had been killed and wounded, was insufficient
to work such a ship upon an important cruise on the high seas, and he
also discovered, much to his surprise, that there were very few
provisions on board, for when the vessel was sent from Havana it was
supposed she would make but a very short cruise. This savage swinger of
the cutlass thereupon concluded that he would not try to do any great
thing for the present, but, having obtained some booty and men from the
woe-begone town of de los Cayos, he sailed away, touching at several
other small ports for the purpose of pillage, and finally anchoring at
Tortuga.