The Story of a High-Minded Pirate
After having considered the extraordinary performances of so many of
those execrable wretches, the buccaneers, it is refreshing and
satisfactory to find that there were exceptions even to the rules which
governed the conduct and general make-up of the ordinary pirate of the
period, and we are therefore glad enough to tell the story of a man,
who, although he was an out-and-out buccaneer, possessed some peculiar
characteristics which give him a place of his own in the history of
piracy.
In the early part of these sketches we have alluded to a gentleman of
France, who, having become deeply involved in debt, could see no way of
putting himself in a condition to pay his creditors but to go into
business of some kind. He had no mercantile education, he had not
learned any profession, and it was therefore necessary for him to do
something for which a previous preparation was not absolutely essential.
After having carefully considered all the methods of making money which
were open to him under the circumstances, he finally concluded to take
up piracy and literature. Even at the present day it is considered by
many persons that one of these branches of industry is a field of action
especially adapted to those who have not had the opportunity of giving
the time and study necessary in any other method of making a living.
The French gentleman whose adventures we are about to relate was a very
different man from John Esquemeling, who was a literary pirate and
nothing more. Being of a clerkly disposition, the gentle John did not
pretend to use the sabre or the pistol. His part in life was simply to
watch his companions fight, burn, and steal, while his only weapon was
his pen, with which he set down their exploits and thereby murdered
their reputations.
But Monsieur Raveneau de Lussan was both buccaneer and author, and when
he had finished his piratical career he wrote a book in which he gave a
full account of it, thus showing that although he had not been brought
up to a business life, he had very good ideas about money-making.
More than that, he had very good ideas about his own reputation, and
instead of leaving his exploits and adventures to be written up by other
people,--that is, if any one should think it worth while to do so,--he
took that business into his own hands. He was well educated, he had
been brought up in good society, and as he desired to return to that
society it was natural for him to wish to paint his own portrait as a
buccaneer. Pictures of that kind as they were ordinarily executed were
not at all agreeable to the eyes of the cultivated classes of France,
and so M. de Lussan determined to give his personal attention not only
to his business speculations, but to his reputation. He went out as a
buccaneer in order to rob the Spaniards of treasure with which to pay
his honest debts, and, in order to prevent his piratical career being
described in the coarse and disagreeable fashion in which people
generally wrote about pirates, he determined to write his own
adventures.
If a man wishes to appear well before the world, it is often a very good
thing for him to write his autobiography, especially if there is
anything a little shady in his career, and it may be that de Lussan's
reputation as a high-minded pirate depends somewhat on the book he wrote
after he had put down the sword and taken up the pen; but if he gave a
more pleasing color to his proceedings than they really deserved, we
ought to be glad of it. For, even if de Lussan the buccaneer was in some
degree a creature of the imagination of de Lussan the author, we have a
story which is much more pleasing and, in some respects, more romantic
than stories of ordinary pirates could possibly be made unless the
writer of such stories abandoned fact altogether and plunged blindly
into fiction.
Among the good qualities of de Lussan was a pious disposition. He had
always been a religious person, and, being a Catholic, he had a high
regard and veneration for religious buildings, for priests, and for the
services of the church, and when he had crossed the Atlantic in his
ship, the crew of which was composed of desperadoes of various nations,
and when he had landed upon the western continent, he wished still to
conform to the religious manners and customs of the old world.
Having a strong force under his command and possessing, in common with
most of the gentlemen of that period, a good military education, it was
not long after he landed on the mainland before he captured a small
town. The resistance which he met was soon overcome, and our high-minded
pirate found himself in the position of a conqueror with a community at
his mercy. As his piety now raised itself above all his other
attributes, the first thing that he did was to repair to the principal
church of the town, accompanied by all his men, and here, in accordance
with his commands, a Te Deum was sung and services were conducted by the
priests in charge. Then, after having properly performed his religious
duties, de Lussan sent his men through the town with orders to rob the
inhabitants of everything valuable they possessed.
The ransacking and pillaging of the houses continued for some time, but
when the last of his men had returned with the booty they had collected,
the high-minded chief was dissatisfied. The town appeared to be a good
deal poorer than he had expected, and as the collection seemed to be so
very small, de Lussan concluded that in some way or other he must pass
around the hat again. While he was wondering how he should do this he
happened to hear that on a sugar plantation not very far away from the
town there were some ladies of rank who, having heard of the approach of
the pirates, had taken refuge there, thinking that even if the town
should be captured, their savage enemies would not wander into the
country to look for spoils and victims.
But these ladies were greatly mistaken. When de Lussan heard where they
were, he sent out a body of men to make them prisoners and bring them
back to him. They might not have any money or jewels in their
possession, but as they belonged to good families who were probably
wealthy, a good deal of money could be made out of them by holding them
and demanding a heavy ransom for their release. So the ladies were all
brought to town and shut up securely until their friends and relatives
managed to raise enough money to pay their ransom and set them free, and
then, I have no doubt, de Lussan advised them to go to church and offer
up thanks for their happy deliverance.
As our high-minded pirate pursued his plundering way along the coast of
South America, he met with a good many things which jarred upon his
sensitive nature--things he had not expected when he started out on his
new career. One of his disappointments was occasioned by the manners and
customs of the English buccaneers under his command. These were very
different from the Frenchmen of his company, for they made not the
slightest pretence to piety.
When they had captured a town or a village, the Englishmen would go to
the churches, tear down the paintings, chop the ornaments from the
altars with their cutlasses, and steal the silver crucifixes, the
candlesticks, and even the communion services. Such conduct gave great
pain to de Lussan. To rob and destroy the property of churches was in
his eyes a great sin, and he never suffered anything of the kind if he
could prevent it. When he found in any place which he captured a wealthy
religious community or a richly furnished church, he scrupulously
refrained from taking anything or of doing damage to property, and
contented himself with demanding heavy indemnity, which the priests
were obliged to pay as a return for the pious exemption which he granted
them.
But it was very difficult to control the Englishmen. They would rob and
destroy a church as willingly as if it were the home of a peaceful
family, and although their conscientious commander did everything he
could to prevent their excesses, he did not always succeed. If he had
known what was likely to happen, his party would have consisted entirely
of Frenchmen.
Another thing which disappointed and annoyed the gentlemanly de Lussan
was the estimation in which the buccaneers were held by the ladies of
the country through which he was passing. He soon found that the women
in the Spanish settlements had the most horrible ideas regarding the
members of the famous "Brotherhood of the Coast." To be sure, all the
Spanish settlers, and a great part of the natives of the country, were
filled with horror and dismay whenever they heard that a company of
buccaneers was within a hundred miles of their homes, and it is not
surprising that this was the case, for the stories of the atrocities and
cruelties of these desperadoes had spread over the western world.
But the women of the settlements looked upon the buccaneers with greater
fear and abhorrence than the men could possibly feel, for the belief
was almost universal among them that buccaneers were terrible monsters
of cannibal habits who delighted in devouring human beings, especially
if they happened to be young and tender. This ignorance of the true
character of the invaders of the country was greatly deplored by de
Lussan. He had a most profound pity for those simple-minded persons who
had allowed themselves to be so deceived in regard to the real character
of himself and his men, and whenever he had an opportunity, he
endeavored to persuade the ladies who fell in his way that sooner than
eat a woman he would entirely abstain from food.
On one occasion, when politely conducting a young lady to a place of
confinement, where in company with other women of good family she was to
be shut up until their relatives could pay handsome ransoms for their
release, he was very much surprised when she suddenly turned to him with
tears in her eyes, and besought him not to devour her. This astonishing
speech so wounded the feelings of the gallant Frenchman that for a
moment he could not reply, and when he asked her what had put such an
unreasonable fear in her mind, she could only answer that she thought he
looked hungry, and that perhaps he would not be willing to wait
until--And there she stopped, for she could not bring her mind to
say--until she was properly prepared for the table.
"What!" exclaimed the high-minded pirate. "Do you suppose that I would
eat you in the street?" And as the poor girl, who was now crying, would
make him no answer, he fell into a sombre silence which continued until
they had reached their destination.
The cruel aspersions which were cast upon his character by the women of
the country were very galling to the chivalrous soul of this gentleman
of France, and in every way possible he endeavored to show the Spanish
ladies that their opinions of him were entirely incorrect, and even if
his men were rather a hard lot of fellows, they were not cannibals.
The high-minded pirate had now two principal objects before him. One was
to lay his hand upon all the treasure he could find, and the other was
to show the people of the country, especially the ladies, that he was a
gentleman of agreeable manners and a pious turn of mind.
It is highly probable that for some time the hero of this story did not
succeed in his first object as well as he would have liked. A great deal
of treasure was secured, but some of it consisted of property which
could not be easily turned into cash or carried away, and he had with
him a body of rapacious and conscienceless scoundrels who were
continually clamoring for as large a share of the available
spoils--such as jewels, money, and small articles of value--as they
could induce their commander to allow them, and, in consequence of this
greediness of his own men, his share of the plunder was not always as
large as it ought to be.
But in his other object he was very much more successful, and, in proof
of this, we have only to relate an interesting and remarkable adventure
which befell him. He laid siege to a large town, and, as the place was
well defended by fortifications and armed men, a severe battle took
place before it was captured. But at last the town was taken, and de
Lussan and his men having gone to church to give thanks for their
victory,--his Englishmen being obliged to attend the services no matter
what they did afterward,--he went diligently to work to gather from the
citizens their valuable and available possessions. In this way he was
brought into personal contact with a great many of the people of the
town, and among the acquaintances which he made was that of a young
Spanish lady of great beauty.
The conditions and circumstances in the midst of which this lady found
herself after the city had been taken, were very peculiar. She had been
the wife of one of the principal citizens, the treasurer of the town,
who was possessed of a large fortune, and who lived in one of the best
houses in the place; but during the battle with the buccaneers, her
husband, who fought bravely in defence of the place, was killed, and she
now found herself not only a widow, but a prisoner in the hands of those
ruthless pirates whose very name had struck terror into the hearts of
the Spanish settlers. Plunged into misery and despair, it was impossible
for her to foresee what was going to happen to her.
As has been said, the religious services in the church were immediately
followed by the pillage of the town; every house was visited, and the
trembling inhabitants were obliged to deliver up their treasures to the
savage fellows who tramped through their halls and rooms, swearing
savagely when they did not find as much as they expected, and laughing
with wild glee at any unusual discovery of jewels or coin.
The buccaneer officers as well as the men assisted in gathering in the
spoils of the town, and it so happened that M. Raveneau de Lussan, with
his good clothes and his jaunty hat with a feather in it, selected the
house of the late treasurer of the city as a suitable place for him to
make his investigations. He found there a great many valuable articles
and also found the beautiful young widow.
The effect produced upon the mind of the lady when the captain of the
buccaneers entered her house was a very surprising one. Instead of
beholding a savage, brutal ruffian, with ragged clothes and gleaming
teeth, she saw a handsome gentleman, as well dressed as circumstances
would permit, very polite in his manners, and with as great a desire to
transact his business without giving her any more inconvenience than was
necessary, as if he had been a tax-collector or had come to examine the
gas meter. If all the buccaneers were such agreeable men as this one,
she and her friends had been laboring under a great mistake.
De Lussan did not complete his examination of the treasurer's house in
one visit, and during the next two or three days the young widow not
only became acquainted with the character of buccaneers in general, but
she learned to know this particular buccaneer very well, and to find out
what an entirely different man he was from the savage fellows who
composed his company. She was grateful to him for his kind manner of
appropriating her possessions, she was greatly interested in his
society,--for he was a man of culture and information,--and in less than
three days she found herself very much in love with him. There was not a
man in the whole town who, in her opinion, could compare with this
gallant commander of buccaneers.
It was not very long before de Lussan became conscious of the favor he
had found in the eyes of this lady; for as a buccaneer could not be
expected to remain very long in one place, it was necessary, if this
lady wished the captor of her money and treasure to know that he had
also captured her heart, that she must not be slow in letting him know
the state of her affections, and being a young person of a very
practical mind she promptly informed de Lussan that she loved him and
desired him to marry her.
The gallant Frenchman was very much amazed when this proposition was
made to him, which was in the highest degree complimentary. It was very
attractive to him--but he could not understand it. The lady's husband
had been dead but a few days--he had assisted in having the unfortunate
gentleman properly buried--and it seemed to him very unnatural that the
young widow should be in such an extraordinary hurry to prepare a
marriage feast before the funeral baked meats had been cleared from the
table.
There was but one way in which he could explain to himself this
remarkable transition from grief to a new affection. He believed that
the people of this country were like their fruits and their flowers. The
oranges might fall from the trees, but the blossoms would still be
there. Husband and wives or lovers might die, but in the tropical hearts
of these people it was not necessary that new affections should be
formed, for they were already there, and needed only some one to receive
them.
As he did not undertake his present expedition for the purpose of
marrying ladies, no matter how beautiful they might be, it is quite
natural that de Lussan should not accept the proffered hand of the young
widow. But when she came to detail her plans, he found that it would be
well worth his while to carefully consider her project.
The lady was by no means a thoughtless young creature, carried away by a
sudden attachment. Before making known to de Lussan her preference for
him above all other men, she had given the subject her most careful and
earnest consideration, and had made plans which in her opinion would
enable the buccaneer captain and herself to settle the matter to the
satisfaction of all parties.
When de Lussan heard the lady's scheme, he was as much surprised by her
businesslike ability as he had been by the declaration of her affection
for him. She knew very well that he could not marry her and take her
with him. Moreover, she did not wish to go. She had no fancy for such
wild expeditions and such savage companions. Her plans were for peace
and comfort and a happy domestic life. In a word, she desired that the
handsome de Lussan should remain with her.
Of course the gentleman opened his eyes very wide when he heard this,
but she had a great deal to say upon the subject, and she had not
omitted any of the details which would be necessary for the success of
her scheme.
The lady knew just as well as the buccaneer captain knew that the men
under his command would not allow him to remain comfortably in that town
with his share of the plunder, while they went on without a leader to
undergo all sorts of hardships and dangers, perhaps defeat and death. If
he announced his intention of withdrawing from the band, his enraged
companions would probably kill him. Consequently a friendly separation
between himself and his buccaneer followers was a thing not to be
thought of, and she did not even propose it.
Her idea was a very different one. Just as soon as possible, that very
night, de Lussan was to slip quietly out of the town, and make his way
into the surrounding country. She would furnish him with a horse, and
tell him the way he should take, and he was not to stop until he had
reached a secluded spot, where she was quite sure the buccaneers would
not be able to find him, no matter how diligently they might search.
When they had entirely failed in every effort to discover their lost
captain, who they would probably suppose had been killed by wandering
Indians,--for it was impossible that he could have been murdered in the
town without their knowledge,--they would give him up as lost and press
on in search of further adventures.
When the buccaneers were far away, and all danger from their return had
entirely passed, then the brave and polite Frenchman, now no longer a
buccaneer, could safely return to the town, where the young widow would
be most happy to marry him, to lodge him in her handsome house, and to
make over to him all the large fortune and estates which had been the
property of her late husband.
This was a very attractive offer surely, a beautiful woman, and a
handsome fortune. But she offered more than this. She knew that a
gentleman who had once captured and despoiled the town might feel a
little delicacy in regard to marrying and settling there and becoming
one of its citizens, and therefore she was prepared to remove any
objections which might be occasioned by such considerate sentiments on
his part.
She assured him that if he would agree to her plan, she would use her
influence with the authorities, and would obtain for him the position of
city treasurer, which her husband had formerly held. And when he
declared that such an astounding performance must be utterly impossible,
she started out immediately, and having interviewed the Governor of the
town and other municipal officers, secured their signature to a paper in
which they promised that if M. de Lussan would accept the proposals
which the lady had made, he would be received most kindly by the
officers and citizens of the town; that the position of treasurer would
be given to him, and that all the promises of the lady should be made
good.
Now our high-minded pirate was thrown into a great quandary, and
although at first he had had no notion whatever of accepting the
pleasant proposition which had been made to him by the young widow, he
began to see that there were many good reasons why the affection, the
high position, and the unusual advantages which she had offered to him
might perhaps be the very best fortune which he could expect in this
world. In the first place, if he should marry this charming young
creature and settle down as a respected citizen and an officer of the
town, he would be entirely freed from the necessity of leading the life
of a buccaneer, and this life was becoming more and more repugnant to
him every day,--not only on account of the highly disagreeable nature of
his associates and their reckless deeds, but because the country was
becoming aroused, and the resistance to his advances was growing
stronger and stronger. In the next attack he made upon a town or village
he might receive a musket ball in his body, which would end his career
and leave his debts in France unpaid.
More than that, he was disappointed, as has been said before, in regard
to the financial successes he had expected. At that time he saw no
immediate prospect of being able to go home with money enough in his
pocket to pay off his creditors, and if he did not return to his native
land under those conditions, he did not wish to return there at all.
Under these circumstances it seemed to be wise and prudent, that if he
had no reason to expect to be able to settle down honorably and
peaceably in France, to accept this opportunity to settle honorably,
peaceably, and in every way satisfactorily in America.
It is easy to imagine the pitching and the tossing in the mind of our
French buccaneer. The more he thought of the attractions of the fair
widow and of the wealth and position which had been offered him, the
more he hated all thoughts of his piratical crew, and of the dastardly
and cruel character of the work in which they were engaged. If he could
have trusted the officers and citizens of the town, there is not much
doubt that he would have married the widow, but those officers and
citizens were Spaniards, and he was a Frenchman. A week before the
inhabitants of the place had been prosperous, contented, and happy. Now
they had been robbed, insulted, and in many cases ruined, and he was
commander of the body of desperadoes who had robbed and ruined them. Was
it likely that they would forget the injuries which he had inflicted
upon them simply because he had married a wealthy lady of the town and
had kindly consented to accept the office of city treasurer?
It was much more probable that when his men had really left that part of
the country the citizens would forget all their promises to him and
remember only his conduct toward them, and that even if he remained
alive long enough to marry the lady and take the position offered him,
it would not be long before she was again a widow and the office vacant.
So de Lussan shut his eyes to the tempting prospects which were spread
out before him, and preferring rather to be a live buccaneer than a dead
city treasurer, he told the beautiful widow that he could not marry her
and that he must go forth again into the hard, unsympathetic world to
fight, to burn, to steal, and to be polite. Then, fearing that if he
remained he might find his resolution weakened, he gathered together his
men and his pillage, and sadly went away, leaving behind him a joyful
town and a weeping widow.
If the affection of the young Spanish lady for the buccaneer chief was
sufficient to make her take an interest in his subsequent career, she
would probably have been proud of him, for the ladies of those days had
a high opinion of brave men and successful warriors. De Lussan soon
proved that he was not only a good fighter, but that he was also an
able general, and his operations on the western coast of South America
were more like military campaigns than ordinary expeditions of lawless
buccaneers.
He attacked and captured the city of Panama, always an attractive prize
to the buccaneer forces, and after that he marched down the western
coast of South America, conquering and sacking many towns. As he now
carried on his business in a somewhat wholesale way, it could not fail
to bring him in a handsome profit, and in the course of time he felt
that he was able to retire from the active practice of his profession
and to return to France.
But as he was going back into the circles of respectability, he wished
to do so as a respectable man. He discarded his hat and plume, he threw
away his great cutlass and his heavy pistols, and attired in the costume
of a gentleman in society he prepared himself to enter again upon his
old life. He made the acquaintance of some of the French colonial
officers in the West Indies, and obtaining from them letters of
introduction to the Treasurer-General of France, he went home as a
gentleman who had acquired a fortune by successful enterprises in the
new world.
The pirate who not only possesses a sense of propriety and a sensitive
mind, but is also gifted with an ability to write a book in which he
describes his own actions and adventures, is to be credited with unusual
advantages, and as Raveneau de Lussan possessed these advantages, he has
come down to posterity as a high-minded pirate.