" In other matters they did
not in the least resemble the early Christians. A fellow nick-named
The Portuguese may be taken as our first example of their
commendable qualities.
With a small ship of four guns he had taken a great one of twenty
guns, with 70,000 pieces-of-eight . . . He himself, however, was
presently captured by a larger vessel, and imprisoned on board.
Being carelessly watched, he escaped on two earthen jars (for he
could not swim), reached the woods in Campechy, and walked for a
hundred and twenty miles through the bush. His only food was a few
shell-fish, and by way of a knife he had a large nail, which he
whetted to an edge on a stone. Having made a kind of raft, he
struck a river, and paddled to Golpho Triste, where he found
congenial pirates. With twenty of these, and a boat, he returned to
Campechy, where he had been a prisoner, and actually captured the
large ship in which he had lain captive! Bad luck pursued him,
however: his prize was lost in a storm; he reached Jamaica in a
canoe, and never afterwards was concerned as leader in any affair of
distinction. Not even Odysseus had more resource, nor was more
long-enduring; but Fortune was The Portuguese's foe.
Braziliano, another buccaneer, served as a pirate before the mast,
and "was beloved and respected by all." Being raised to command, he
took a plate ship; but this success was of indifferent service to
his otherwise amiable character.
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