The Monarchs of the Main; Or, Adventures of the Buccaneers. Volume 1 (of 3)Thornbury, Walter
History
The Monarchs of the Main; Or, Adventures of the Buccaneers. Volume 1 (of 3)
Thornbury, Walter
Buccaneers; Pirates; Spanish Main
"Fortune favors the brave." He found a Buccaneer vessel in the gulf, and
he was saved. The crew were old companions of his, newly arrived from
Jamaica and from England. He related to them his adversities and his
misfortunes. All listened eagerly to adventures that might to-morrow be
their own. He thought alone of revenge, and told them that if they chose
he would give them a ship worth a whole fleet of their canoes. He
desired their help. He only asked for one boat and thirty men. With
these he promised to return to Campeachy and capture the vessel that had
taken him but fourteen days before. They soon granted his request, the
boat was at once equipped, and he sailed along the coast, passing for a
smuggler bringing contraband goods. In eight days he arrived at
Campeachy, undauntedly and without noise boarding the vessel at
midnight. They were challenged by the sentinel. Barthelemy, who spoke
good Spanish, replied, in a low voice, "We are part of the crew
returning with goods from land, on which no duty has been paid." The
sentinel, hoping for a share, or at least some hush-money, did not
repeat the question. Allowing him no time to detect the trick, they
stabbed him, and, rushing forward, overpowered the watch. Cutting the
cable, they surprised the sleepers in their cabins, and, weighing
anchor, soon compelled the Spaniards, by a resolute attack, to
surrender; and, setting sail from the port, rejoined their exulting
comrades, unpursued by any vessel. Great was the joy of the adventurers
in becoming possessors of so brave a ship. Portugues was now again rich
and powerful, though but lately a condemned prisoner in the very vessel
upon whose deck he now stood the lord of all. With this cargo of rich
merchandise Barthelemy intended to achieve enterprises, for though the
Spaniards' plate had been all disembarked at Campeachy, the booty was
still large. But let no hunter halloo till he is out of the wood, and
no sailor laugh till he gets into port. While he was making his voyage
to Jamaica, and already counting his profits as certain, a terrible
storm arose off the isle of Pinos, on the south of Cuba, which drove his
prize against the Jardine rocks, where she went to pieces. Portugues and
his companions escaped in a canoe to Jamaica, and before long started on
new adventures. What eventually became of him we know not, but we are
told that "he was never fortunate after." Whether he swung on the
Campeachy gibbet after all, became a prey to the Darien man-eater, was
pierced by the Greek bullet, or was devoured by the sea, long expecting
its victim, we shall never know. He sails away from Kingston with
colours flying, and wanders away into unknown deeps.
Of this wild man's end nothing was ever known. He was living at Jamaica
when Esquemeling left for England. His bones, perhaps, still whiten on
some Indian bay, with the sea moaning around that nameless dust for
ever--doomed to destroy man, but lamenting the very desolation it
occasions.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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