loads, of twenty-two carcasses each! Thus did the French perform the right of sepulture to their foes. In the beginning of May, Lord Willoughby sent his nephew, Lieutenant General Henry Willoughby, with 800 men, to reinforce Colonel Wats at St. Christopher's. Upon the passage between Guadaloupe and Antigua, they captured a French vessel, from whom they learnt the news of the capture of St. Christopher's by the French. General Willoughby landed part of his troops at Nevis, and part at Antigua, and sent to his uncle for further orders. Between the 8th of May and the 8th of June, the French had forced off the island near 1400 persons, and after that time they calculated that more than 8000 had left the island, besides their slaves. The governor of Nevis sent to M. St. Laurent to say, he would receive any young men whom he had to send off the island. St. Laurent sent him eleven families, composed of ten old men, and seventy women and children! In July, Michael de Basque, major of Tortuga, sailed with L'Olonnois as his second in command, and 660 persons, in eight vessels, the largest of which carried ten guns of different calibre. They sailed from St. Domingo, to cruize against the Spaniards in the Moña Passage, and captured (after an action of three hours) a ship of sixteen guns and fifty men, with a cargo of cocoa, 40,000 pieces of eight, and jewels to the value of 10,000 more. L'Olonnois sent the prize to Tortuga, with orders to unload her as soon as possible, and bring her to join him off Saona. In the mean time, they captured another vessel bound to Española, with provisions, 12,000 pieces of eight for the garrison, and 7000lbs. weight of gunpowder. This last prize, L'Olonnois appointed Anthony de Puis to command; and when the other returned from Tortuga, he himself took the command of her. In the last prize were two Frenchmen who had been prisoners at Maracaibo for many years, and one of them was pilot for the bar at the entrance. The recapture of these men determined Basque and L'Olonnois to attack that place: the difficulties of the entrance were so far overcome by their having a good pilot on board. The Spaniards expected a castle with fourteen guns and 250 men was sufficient to protect it! L'Olonnois landed about a league from the fort: the governor had placed an ambuscade, which was discovered, and entirely cut off. The pirates then proceeded to storm the fort, in which they succeeded after three hours' fighting: their ships then came up in safety, and the remainder of the day was passed in demolishing the fortress. Next morning they proceeded with a fair wind, off the town of Du Tertre, tom. iv. pp. 60. 62, 63. Charlevoix, tom. iii. p. 92. Maracaibo, which they entered without opposition: the inhabitants had once before been plundered by a similar set of men, and now sought safety in flight. De Basque made the Great Church his main guard, and took possession of the best houses in the place. Plenty of provisions, poultry, brandy, and wines, were found by the captors; and next day they sent out a party of 160 men to search the woods for prisoners and plunder these returned at night, with 20,000 pieces of eight, several mules richly laden with merchandize, and twenty prisoners, who were tortured to discover where more money might be found! After remaining fifteen days at Maracaibo, the pirates resolved to attack Gibraltar, which they reached in three days. Preparations were made by the governor to oppose them; but the assailants were flushed with success, and anxious for plunder. They attacked with impetuosity, and drove the Spaniards from their first line of defence; the second they were unable to storm. In this dilemma, L'Olonnois made use of an old stratagem, which succeeded: he pretended to retreat in confusion; the Spaniards left the battery in pursuit; at a sufficient distance, L'Olonnois faced about, attacked the Spaniards unexpectedly, and so intrepidly, that 200 were killed upon the spot: the rest fled, and the pirates obtained possession of the battery, promising quarter to those who were in it. Above 500 Spaniards were killed, 150 taken prisoners, besides 500 slaves, women and children. Of the assailants, forty were killed, and eighty wounded, most of whom died. The plunder did not answer their expectations, and provisions were scarce: in the course of eighteen days most of their prisoners died of hunger several were tortured to death! After keeping possession of the town for four weeks, they sent four of their prisoners into the woods, to inform their countrymen, that unless 10,000 pieces of eight were brought in, in two days' time, the city should be burnt. At the end of that time, it was set on fire in different places; but, in consequence of repeated promises that the ransom should be paid, they helped the Spaniards to stop the fire. One part of the town was destroyed, and the church belonging to the monastery burnt down. After the money was paid, the pirates returned to Maracaibo, and sent some of their principal prisoners to make an agreement for ransoming that town. This they did; and when the 20,000 pieces of eight, and 500 head of cattle, were delivered, the pirates left the place. Three days afterwards, the wretched inhabitants were again alarmed by their return; but L'Olonnois only wanted a pilot to carry the large ships over the bar. One was immediately sent him; and after having been full two months in these Esquemeling's Hist. of Buccaneers, chap. ix. towns, the pirates returned to Española to divide their plunder: it amounted to 260,000 pieces of eight- each individual being obliged to take an oath, that he had not concealed anything from the common stock. After the whole was divided they returned to Tortuga, carrying with them the ornaments of the church which they had destroyed, and the bells and paintings; intending, they said, to consecrate that part of their booty to building a church at Tortuga! The 4th of November, a French squadron of seven sail, under the command of M. de la Barre, arrived at Five Island Bay, Antigua, and landed without much opposition: they immediately set on fire all the houses, and led by Baston, a deserter from Antigua, who, assisted by Grandmaison, a French surgeon, an inhabitant also of Antigua, and two slaves, whom he had enticed to desert, had escaped in a stolen boat. This Baston guided a party of soldiers in the night to the governor's house, which they entered after a slight resistance, and made prisoners Colonel "Mouk," and twenty officers. After plundering the house, they set it on fire, and got back to their ships. Their success in this incursion induced M. Lion, the governor of Guadaloupe; to make another with more troops. He succeeded in storming a house defended by palisades: and having forced an entrance, shot Colonel Quest as he was sitting upon his sofa, begging for quarter. In the same room, and in the next, thirty were murdered. M. Clodore, the governor of Martinico, arrived in time to save the lives of several others in the house. In this attack Baston was mortally wounded: the French had between seventy and eighty killed and wounded; among the latter was M. Lion. The French set fire to the house, and all its storehouses of sugar and tobacco to give the English to understand, as Du Tertre says, that they were not to wait to the last before they surrendered, and defend every house that could make resistance. This invasion seems to have been conducted with more than even the accustomed atrocity of the French. "As they were carrying off their wounded, an officer of consideration' sent to tell M. Clodore, that Colonel Quest was so ill, there would be a great deal of trouble in moving him; and that, if he would give him leave, he would dispatch him out of the way! But this governor, detesting such horrible cruelty, ordered him to take care how he attempted it, and immediately sent soldiers to carry the colonel down to the beach, as easily as possible." He was taken to St. Christopher's, and died in a few days. The next day, M. Barre sent a trumpeter to summon the inhabitants to surrender-giving them twenty-four hours to Du Tertre, tom. iv. pp. 146. 149. 155. consider of it, and threatening, at the expiration of that time, to put all to fire and the sword. The next day an English officer offered M. Barre St. John's Bay, as a more convenient anchorage, while the negociations were carrying on. Upon the 31st of October the island capitulated: the capitulation contains twenty-one articles. Colonel Carden commanded the English during the absence of the governor, Colonel Fish, who was at Nevis. Colonel Boucley was to remain with the French, as hostage for the performance of the capitulation. Upon the 12th, 300 soldiers landed from Barbadoes, and finding that the island had capitulated, they refused to accede to it. M. Barre, upon receiving this information, sent Colonels Carden and Boucley to inform the inhabitants and troops, that if within six days they did not surrender the island, as had been agreed upon, no quarter would be given by the French. Having sent this message, the French left the island, upon the 14th, and went to St. Christopher's, taking with them Captain Giraud as an hostage. Upon the last day of November, the French, under the command of M. Clodore, returned again to Antigua, with eleven sail of vessels, to demand the surrender of the island. Colonel Fish, the governor, had returned from Nevis and taken the command. Upon the 1st of December, M. de Clodore sent a flag of truce to demand the fulfilment of the capitulation, and the return of Colonel Carden to his parole, before the next evening. Shortly after this, Colonel Carden wrote to M. Clodore, to say that Governor Fish had imprisoned him, or he would In two hours afterwards Colonel have surrendered himself. Carden escaped from his guard, and went to the French commander. The next morning the inhabitants sent an answer to M. Clodore's summons, stating that they were no longer masters of their own actions; that their governor had arrived, and refused to ratify the capitulation, because, since the surrender, the Caribs, allies of the French, had twice, by orders from the French, in violation of the treaty, invaded the island, and made war upon the inhabitants! Upon the 23d of November, (O. S.) the inhabitants wrote again to M. Clodore, saying they had persuaded Governor Fish to fulfil the treaty. M. Clodore would not take any notice of this last letter, but wrote to say he was "about to land, and by force of arms bring them to a sense of their duty, they having broken their faith and word." At this time the inhabitants were waiting for the French, with the white flag flying in all directions. The French landed under the command of M. Clodore, and the Colonel Fish, inhabitants immediately laid down their arms. Du Tertre, tom. iv. pp. 156. 158. 162. 164. 180. 192. 185. Colonel Warner, and some others, made their escape in a small vessel. As soon as M. Clodore could assemble the inhabitants, he told them that they must pay the expenses of the war; and, to save themselves from being plundered, send him 800 Negroes: that they must furnish his fleet with provisions; that all the property belonging to absentees was confiscated, but that the property of Colonels Carden and Boucley, in consideration of their attention to their parole, was to be exempt from contribution. The inhabitants were to take the oath of fidelity to the King of France: all the soldiers were declared prisoners of war; and all the arms were taken from the inhabitants. An hundred stand were left to the English to defend themselves from the Caribs; but no orders were attended to. There were not 800 Negroes upon the island, only 500 could be found. Every thing that could be carried was taken away, every house was plundered, and almost all the property upon the island destroyed! Colonel Carden's house was not more respected than the others, although his property had been declared exempt from the contribution. M. de Clodore returned to Guadaloupe with his plunder. Mr. Thomas Warner, the Carib governor of Dominica, had become an object of dread to the French governors of Martinico and Guadaloupe they therefore availed themselves of the dislike of some of his countrymen to get possession of his person. Nine piraguas full of Caribs were at Guadaloupe, on their way to attack the English in Antigua: five of these boats returned to Dominica, hoping to surprise Warner in his hammock, whom, as he had seen them sail upon their expedition, they expected to find off his guard: they were very near succeeding in the attempt. Warner escaped on board an English privateer, which was soon afterwards taken by a French armed vessel, and carried to Guadaloupe. Father Beaumont, who was on board the French ship, recognized Warner, and the governor of Guadaloupe immediately lodged him in prison-giving him his " best pair of irons," and a heavy pair of handcuffs "for bracelets." Even thus fettered, such was M. Lion's opinion of his prisoner's activity and courage, that he declared he did not sleep sound, from the expectation of his making his escape! Some days after his confinement, his countrymen returned to Guadaloupe with their plunder from Antigua. One of these went to Warner, and shewed him two buccaneered hands from that island: with one of these he struck him a violent blow upon the side of the head, which made the blood stream adding at the same time, "take that box in the ear from one of your friends." Warner with great dignity told him, "Thou paltroon, come to my own hut, Du Tertre, tom. iv. pp. 187. 190. 66. 68. |