The boys' book of buccaneers

by A. Hyatt Verrill

“Moreover, several large and many small rivers crossed his route and not being able to swim his [[24]]case seemed hopeless. But while searching about the banks of the first large stream, looking for a possible ford, he found an old plank with a few large spikes in it. After tremendous efforts he managed to withdraw these nails and with infinite patience whetted them against stones until he secured a sharp knifelike edge. Just think of that, boys, when you read of modern hardships endured by men left to their own resources in a forest. Imagine rubbing a ship’s spike back and forth upon a stone until it has been transformed into a knife!

“But the preparation of the nails, incredible as it sounds, was not the worst of his labors. With these crude implements the buccaneer actually hacked off branches of trees, cut vines and pliant reeds and with these constructed a raft with which he crossed the stream. At every large river he repeated the work and eventually arrived safely at the Gulf of Triste fourteen days after escaping from the ship. Here, as he had expected, he found a buccaneer vessel with a captain whom he knew and, telling of his comrades’ plight, he begged the captain to lend him a boat and twenty men to go to his men’s rescue. This the captain gladly did, and eight days later, Portugues was back at Campeche. [[25]]So small was the boat that the Spaniards never dreamed that its occupants were enemies or buccaneers, but thought it a craft from shore bringing off cargo, and they watched it approach without the least fear or preparations for defense.

“Thus the buccaneers completely surprised the Dons and after a short, sharp struggle were in possession of the ship and had released the imprisoned buccaneers—or rather most of them, for the Dons had hanged a few.

“Realizing that other Spanish vessels might appear and attack him with overwhelming force at any time, Portugues at once set sail in the ship wherein he had so long been a helpless captive, and once more in possession of his booty with vast riches in addition. Steering a course for Jamaica he was off the Isle of Pines when the fickle fate which always followed him once more turned her back and the ship went upon the reefs of the Jardines. The ship was a total loss and sunk with all her treasure, while Portugues and his comrades barely escaped with their lives in a canoe. Although they managed to reach Jamaica without misfortune, luck had deserted Portugues for all time and while he tried time after time to recoup his fortunes all his efforts were in vain. [[26]]He became an ordinary seaman and was soon forgotten.

“Another buccaneer whose exploits were as remarkable as Portugues’ and whose most notable exploits also took place in Yucatan, was a Dutchman who was nicknamed Rock Brasiliano, owing to his long residence in Brazil. As an ordinary mariner he joined the buccaneers in Jamaica and soon so distinguished himself by his bravery and resourcefulness that when, after a dispute with his captain, he deserted the ship, he was chosen chief by a number of his fellows and, securing a small vessel, he set forth to capture a prize. Within a few days he seized a large Spanish ship with a vast treasure aboard which he carried into Jamaica in triumph. This exploit at once brought him fame and men flocked to his service. But, unlike Portugues, who seems to have been a very decent and respectable sort of rascal, Brasiliano was a drunken, brutal scallawag. As Esquemeling says, ‘Neither in his domestic or private affairs had he good behavior or government over himself.’ When drunk, as he always was when ashore, his favorite amusement was to race up and down the streets, beating, stabbing or shooting all whom he met, very much as our Western [[27]]‘bad men’ used to ‘shoot up’ a town in the old days.

“Moreover, Brasiliano was unspeakably bloodthirsty and cruel. Whenever he captured Spaniards he put them to the most horrible tortures, and in order to force them to reveal the hiding places of their treasures he would flay them alive, tear them limb from limb or roast them on spits over slow fires. As a result, he became a feared and dreaded man, and the mere mention of his name caused the Dons to shudder and to huddle within their stockades. Nevertheless Brasiliano was a brave, a resourceful and a most remarkable man and performed some most noteworthy exploits. On one occasion he was cruising off the coast of Yucatan when a violent storm drove his ship upon the rocks, and he and his men escaped with only their muskets and a slender stock of ammunition. They landed on a desolate, uninhabited stretch of coast midway between Campeche and the Gulf of Triste and, quite undeterred by their plight, commenced an overland march towards the Gulf exactly as Portugues had done. But they had not proceeded far when they were surprised by a cavalcade of over one hundred Spanish horsemen. Despite the fact that [[28]]the buccaneers numbered less than thirty, yet they had no thought of either retreat or surrender, but at once prepared to meet the oncoming cavalry. Expert marksmen as they were, a Don fell for every bullet fired and for an hour the handful of buccaneers kept the Spaniards at bay until, finding the cost too heavy, the cavalry retreated towards the town. Killing the wounded and stripping the dead of their arms and equipment, the buccaneers continued on the journey mounted on the horses of the dead Dons, the total loss of Brasiliano’s forces being but two killed and two wounded. Quite encouraged by their success, the buccaneers approached a little port and saw a boat lying at anchor in the harbor and protecting a fleet of canoes that were loading logwood. With little trouble the buccaneers captured the canoes and with wild shouts and yells bore down upon the little gunboat. The Spaniards aboard, terrified at sight of the buccaneers, surrendered after a short fight, but, to the buccaneers’ chagrin, they found scarcely any provisions on their prize. This did not trouble them long, however, and promptly killing the Spaniards’ horses they dressed them, salted the meat and, thus equipped, sailed forth to capture more vessels. In this they [[29]]were highly successful, and in a few weeks Brasiliano sailed into Port Royal with nearly one hundred thousand pieces of eight and much merchandise. But the buccaneers invariably wasted all their hard-won money recklessly. It was not uncommon for one of them to spend several thousand pieces of eight in a single night of drinking, gambling and carousing and so, within a few days, Brasiliano and his men were forced to go to sea again. Having had good fortune at Yucatan, he set sail for Campeche, but fifteen days after his arrival on the coast he was captured with several of his men while spying on the city and harbor in a canoe. They were at once cast into a dungeon to await execution, but Brasiliano was by no means at the end of his resources. By some method he managed to secure writing materials and composed a most wonderful letter purporting to be written by another buccaneer chief and in which the supposed author threatened dire reprisals on any Spaniard captured by the buccaneers if Brasiliano and his men were harmed. This epistle was delivered to the Governor—though how on earth Brasiliano managed it no one knows—and His Excellency, having had plenty of experience with buccaneers, was so frightened at its contents [[30]]that he at once liberated his prisoners, only exacting an oath that they would abandon buccaneering. Then, to insure their keeping their promise, he sent them as sailors on a galleon bound for Spain. With their wages from the trip they at once returned to Jamaica and, regardless of pledges, were soon harassing and murdering the Dons right and left.

“But neither Portugues or Brasiliano could compare in cruelty, daring, bloodthirstiness or rascality with Francis L’Ollonois. In his youth L’Ollonois was transported to the West Indies as a bond servant, or virtually a slave, and, winning his freedom, made his way to Tortuga and joined the buccaneers.

“So unspeakably cruel and bestially inhuman was this Frenchman that even his fellow buccaneers sickened of his ways and Esquemeling speaks of him as ‘that infernal wretch’ or ‘that despicable and execrable pirate.’ For a time after joining the Brethren of the Main, L’Ollonois served as a common seaman, but his courage and reckless daring soon brought him to the attention of Monsieur de la Place, the governor of Tortuga, who was heartily in sympathy with the buccaneers. The governor therefore provided L’Ollonois with [[31]]a ship and outfitted him, the agreement of course being that La Place should have a share of the booty taken. Within a very short time L’Ollonois had taken several vessels and immense riches, while his awful cruelties made him a dreaded and famed character throughout the Caribbean. Indeed, so merciless was he that the Dons, rather than surrender to the monster, would leap into the sea or blow out their own brains, knowing that quick death by any means was preferable to the tortures they would endure at L’Ollonois’ hands. His first disaster occurred when his ship was wrecked on the coast of Yucatan. The men all escaped, but were immediately attacked by the Spaniards, who killed the greater portion of the buccaneers and wounded L’Ollonois. Seeing no means of escape the captain smeared himself with blood and sand and crawling among the dead bodies lay motionless. The Dons were completely fooled and, not recognizing L’Ollonois and thinking him merely a dead sailor, left the field after a brief search for the buccaneer chief, whereupon he made for the woods and lived upon roots until his wounds healed. Then, having stolen garments from a Spaniard whom he killed, the rascal walked calmly into Campeche. Here he conversed with [[32]]several slaves and, promising them liberty in return for their services, he succeeded in getting a large canoe and with the slaves to help he reached Tortuga in safety. In the meantime the Spaniards were rejoicing at thought of the dread L’Ollonois being killed, for his men, who had been made prisoners, told the Dons that he had fallen in the battle.

“His next raid was on the town of Cayos in Cuba, and word of his approach was sent post-haste to the governor at Havana. We can readily imagine the amazement and terror of His Excellency when this dreaded buccaneer, who was supposed to be safely dead at Campeche, bobbed up alive and well at Cuba. At first the governor could not believe it, but nevertheless he dispatched a ship with ten guns and with a crew of eighty to attack the buccaneers and commanded the captain not to dare to return unless he had totally destroyed the pirates. In addition, he sent aboard a negro as a hangman with instructions that every buccaneer taken alive should be hanged, with the exception of L’Ollonois, who was to be brought alive to Havana. No doubt the governor wished to make sure of the buccaneer chieftain’s death this time, but fate decreed otherwise. Instead [[33]]of trying to escape, the buccaneers, when they learned of the warship coming to attack them, set forth in two canoes and unexpectedly bore down on the Spanish ship as she lay at anchor in the Estera River. It was two o’clock in the morning when they drew near the doomed vessel, and the watch, seeing the canoes and not dreaming that they contained buccaneers, hailed them and asked if they had seen any pirates. To this the buccaneers replied that they had seen no pirates or anything like them. The watch thus satisfied was turning away when the canoes dashed close and the buccaneers swarmed over the ship’s rails. Taken completely by surprise, still the Dons put up a gallant fight and for some time the battle raged desperately. But, as usual, the buccaneers, though but twenty-one all told, triumphed and drove the surviving Spaniards into the hold. Then, stationing his men by the hatchway with drawn swords, L’Ollonois ordered the prisoners to come up one at a time, and as fast as they appeared his men struck off their heads. The last to appear was the negro hangman who begged piteously for mercy, but L’Ollonois, after torturing him to confession of various matters, murdered him like the rest. Only one man was spared [[34]]and to him L’Ollonois gave a note addressed to the governor in which he informed His Excellency of the fate of his men and assured him that he would never give quarter to any Spaniard and only hoped to be able to torture and kill His Excellency as well.