Daring Deeds of Famous Pirates: True stories of the stirring adventures, bravery and resource of pirates, filibusters & buccaneersChatterton, E. Keble (Edward Keble)
History
Daring Deeds of Famous Pirates: True stories of the stirring adventures, bravery and resource of pirates, filibusters & buccaneers
Chatterton, E. Keble (Edward Keble)
Pirates
Tunis, itself, being invulnerable, Blake entered the neighbouring
harbour, this Porto Farina, very early in the morning. The singular thing
was that he was favoured with amazingly good luck—a fair wind in and a
fair wind out. But let me tell the story in the Admiral’s own words:
“Accordingly, the next morning very early, we entered with the fleet into
the harbour, and anchored before their castles, the Lord being pleased
to favour us with a gentle gale off the sea, which cast all the smoke
upon them, and made our work the more easy. After some hours’ dispute we
set on fire all their ships, which were in number nine; and, the same
favourable gale still continuing, we retreated out again into the road.
We had twenty-five men slain, and about forty besides hurt, with very
little other loss. It was also remarkable by us that, shortly after our
getting forth, the wind and weather changed, and continued very stormy
for many days, so that we could not have effected the business, had not
the Lord afforded that nick of time in which it was done.”
But these attacks by the powers were regarded by the pirates as mere
pin-pricks. For it was nothing to them that even all their galleys
should be burnt. Such craft were easily built again, and there was an
overwhelming amount of slave-labour and plenty of captive seamen to rig
these ships as soon as finished. So the evil continued and the epidemic
spread as before. In 1658, these Barbarian corsairs attacked a ship
called the _Diamond_, homeward bound from Lisbon to Venice. She was laden
with a valuable cargo, and her captain saw that he would not be able to
defend his ship against three galleys, so, rather than let her fall into
piratical hands, he determined to destroy her. He placed an adequate
quantity of powder, and then laying a match to the same, he jumped into
his long-boat, from which presently he had the pleasure of seeing his
enemies blown into space by the terrific explosion just as these infidels
were in the act of boarding the _Diamond_.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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