The Cruise of the Nonsuch Buccaneer | Page 9

passage to the Canary Islands, which was our first rondyvoo; and from there, a'ter we'd wooded and watered afresh, and set up our rigging, we sailed for the Guinea coast. On our way there, avore ever we got so far south as Cape Blanc, we captured a Portingal caravel; pickin' up another of 'em a little way to the nor'ard of Cape Verde. This here last one was called the Grace a Dios, she were a very fine new ship of a hunderd and fifty ton--and we kept 'em both because, bein' light-draught ships, the admiral knowed they'd be useful for goin' in over bar on the Coast, where the mouths of the rivers be always shallow.
"Well, in due time--I forget the exact date, now--we arrived on the Coast, and there we stayed for a matter o' three months, huntin' blacks and Portingals; goin' into the rivers in the caravels, landin' parties, attackin' native villages, and makin' prisoners o' all the strongest and most likely-lookin' men and women--with a good sprinklin' o' childer, too--and cuttin' out the Portingal caravels wherever we found 'em. Ah! that work o' boardin' and cuttin' out the Portingals! It was fine and excitin', and suited Cap'n Drake and Mr Saint Leger a sight better than nagur huntin'. They was always the first to come forward for such work, and never was two men so happy as they was when news was brought of a caravel bein' near at hand.
"Three months we stayed on that there terrible Guinea coast, and durin' that time we got together over five hunderd nagurs, besides takin', plunderin', and burnin' more than a dozen caravels. Then, wi' pretty nigh half of our company down wi' fevers and calentures taken on the Coast and in the rivers, we all sailed for the Spanish Main. A matter o' seven weeks it took us to cross to t'other side o' the world, although we had fair winds and fine weather all the way, as is usual on the voyage from Africa to the Indies. Then we arrived at a lovely island called Margarita, one o' the Spaniards' Indian possessions, where I was told they find pearls. Here we found several storehouses crammed with food of all sorts and great casks o' wine intended for distribution among the ports of the Spanish Main; and here our admiral decided to re- victual the fleet. And mun did, too, in spite of the objections o' the Spaniards, who vowed that they had no food to spare. We took from 'em all that we wanted, but we paid for it in good Portingal goold, seein' that we was no pirates, but good honest traders.
"Then we sailed westward again, past La Guaira and the great wall of mountains that tower aloft behind it far into the deep blue sky. On the third day after leavin' Margarita we sailed into as snug a little harbour as you'd wish to see. And there we stayed for a matter o' two months, landin' our sick and our blacks, clearin' out our ships' holds, cleanin', careenin', scrapin', paintin', overhaulin', and refittin' generally, the blacks helpin' us willin'ly enough when we made 'em understand what we wanted done.
"By the time that we'd a done everything that we wanted to, our sick had got well again--all except four what died in spite of us--and then we put to sea again, coastin' along the Main and callin' in here and there to trade our blacks for goold and pearls. But at first the trade weren't at all good; and bimeby the admiral lost patience wi' the silly fules and vowed he'd make 'em trade wi' us, whether they wanted to or no; so we in the Judith and another ship were sent round to a place called La Hacha. When we arrived and made to enter, the forts opened fire upon us! So we and t'other ship blockaded the place for five days, sufferin' nothin' to go in or come out; and then along come the admiral wi' the rest o' the ships, and we got to work in earnest. The shore- artillery and two hunderd soldiers was landed, the batteries was stormed, and we took the town, drivin' all the Spaniards out of it; and be sure that Cap'n Drake and Mr Saint Leger was among the first to get inside. That was enough for they Spanishers; a'ter that they was ready enough to trade wi' us; and indeed that same night some of 'em comed back, bringin' their goold and their pearls with 'em; and avore we left the place we'd parted wi' no less than two hunderd blacks.
"And so things went on until we'd a sold every black that remained; and by that time we'd got so much goold and so many pearls