We were pursued to the shore, and most of those on board were captured. Lockwood and myself, with our usual good luck, managing to escape.
We walked to Rio destitute of everything but arms, rifles and pistols, and on reaching that place shipped on board the bark Josephine of Boston, bound to Liverpool. We had a quick passage, not marked by anything of peculiar interest, and on our arrival there we shipped on the bark Alga for New Orleans.
During the voyage a disturbance broke out, and some one, who I do not know, set fire to the vessel. We took to the boats, and in the course of a few days we were picked up by the brig Exact, of Liverpool, and taken to St. Domingo, where we shipped on board brig Fanny Fosdick, for St. Mark’s, Florida.
We ran on the Florida reefs in a fog, and all hands were lost, except myself, Lockwood, the captain and mate. We were taken off by a small schooner and carried into St. Marks, where Lockwood and myself remained for four months, committing all sorts of depredations, among which robberies and murders were of frequent occurrence.
Wishing for a new field of action, however, we engaged as hands on board the pilot boat Lucina, not with a view of working long, but for the purpose of getting possession of her the first opportunity which should occur.
She was a beautiful little craft, sat on the water like a sea bird, and, for speed, was unsurpassed. In fact, she was just the thing we wanted. We had fixed our eyes on her long before, but had to wait for circumstances favorable to our plan to turn up before we dared to apply for situations on board of her.
We had not sailed in her long, however, before the long-wished-for opportunity arrived; and one day, when the pilots were all ashore, we got her under weigh for the Double H. Shot Keys, where we boarded a brig, and procured some provisions and stores. We were not heavily enough armed, nor in the proper shape to rob her, or we would have done so.
After this, we started on a cruise, seeking victims in all the small craft which came in our way, but not meeting with any great success, we made our course for New Orleans, for the purpose of procuring arms and provisions, and if we could meet any men of the right stamp for an enterprise like ours, to press them into our service.
Arriving at the Balize, we lay to till midnight, and then taking the yawl went on board a bark and robbed her of a considerable sum of money, two chronometers, and other valuables.
After this, we put back to sea again, and committed many depredations upon fishing smacks and other small craft. We continued this life for some time, but beginning to long for the pleasures of shore, we ran our little craft into Matagorda Bay, where we placed all our money and valuables in a yawl and went on shore below Matagorda. We burned the yawl upon the beach, and secreting a portion of our effects in the sand, went inland, where we lived on in our usual abandoned and reckless life. After some time we again made our way to the coast, and digging up and carrying away our treasure, we went to Matagorda, where we stayed a few weeks, committing several robberies; and then, after purchasing an outfit, shipped on board of a schooner, whose name I cannot call to mind, bound for Boston. On our arrival we left her, and going ashore we remained there a short time, watching an opportunity of shipping on board of some small craft not heavily manned, which we could rob and take possession of when out at sea.