Equa}ly daring and more varied were the adventures of Bartholomew, a Portuguese, who had fitted out, in Ja maica, at his own expellee, a small brigantine, carrying four guns, and SO men. He was cruizing in this bri.;an tine off Cape Corientes. in the island of Cuba, when he fell in with a large Spanish ship, mounting 20 guns, bound from Maracaibo for the Havannah. Undaunted by the superior strength of this vessel, Bartholomew im mediately came up with it ; and after an obstinate com bat, he at length succeeded in making it his prize. Its cargo was extremely valuable, and the pirates were ex ulting in their success, when three large Spanish ships unexpectedly bore in sight, and seemed to give them chase. As their prize was heavily laden, it was impos sible to escape ; and their strength being too inferior to afford them any hope in resistance, they surrendered at discr tion Two days after this disaster, the ships were separated from each other by a furious tempest, which drove the pirates upon the shore of Campeachy. The inhabitants recognised Bartholomew, and immediately condemned him to be hanged. He had already been their prisoner on a former occasion, and found means to escape. Afraid, therefore, to bring him on shore, lest he should again etude their vengeance, they kept him, load ed with irons, in toe snip in winch be was taken, till they had prepared a gibbet for his public execution. Bar tholomew, apprised ol their intentions, reshlved still to make an effort for its escape. Having by some means disengaged himself horn his fetters, he fastened to his sides two empty jars, so closely corked as to be com pletely water-tight, and after murdering his centinel, committed himself to the waves. Though unaccustom ed to swimming-, the jars supported him till he had reach ed the shore, where he concealed himself in a thick forest not tar from the town. Here he remained for three days, subsisting upon wild herbs and roots, and afraid every moment of being taken by the Spaniards. He chose for his retreat the hollow of an old tree, from which he discovered his enemies searching for him through the forest ; and when he thought himself safe from their pur suit, ne sallied forth towards the shore, with a view of travelling to Golfo Ttiste, from which he was then about thirty leagues distant. Here he arrived after incredible hardships, and having found there some vessels of pirates to whom he was known, he related to them his misfor tunes, and requested them to furnish him with a boat, and 20 men, with w hose assistance he engaged to seize the ship in which he had been detained as prisoner, and thus to have some revenge for his wrongs. His re quest being immediately granted, he came to the har bour of Campeachy by night, and springing on hoard of the vessel with his comrades, murdered the centincl and the rest of the crew, cut the cables by which she was moored, and before day light was out of view ol the town. His triumph on this occasion, however, was as transient as the last ; for, while sailing towards Jamaica with his prize, he was overtaken by a violent stot m, which dashed the ship to pieces against the rocks of Pi nos, and all his newly acquired treasure perished in the waves. Bartholomew, with his companions, reached Jamaica in a canoe ; and he engaged in various other enterprises, but was unfortunate in them all.
It would be endless to detail all the romantic exploits of these daring adventurers. In such terror did they keep the Spanish colonists, that they would no longer venture to sail from their harbours ; but resigning all the advantages of their situation and connections, formed themselves into so many distinct and separate states. " This," says Raynal, " was the origin of that spirit of inactivity, which continues to this day." This inactivi ty, however, served only to open new temptations to the enterprise of the Buccaneers. No longer successful in their cruises, they determined to try what they could p.under on shore. The most fertile provinces of New Spain were pillaged and laid waste. Agriculture be
came as much neglected as navigation ; and the dastard ly Spaniards were as afraid to appear in the public roads, as to traverse the seas by which their various co lonies were disjoined.
In this new species of excursions, Monthar, a gentle man of good family in Languedoc, was particularly dis tinguished. 'While yet a mere child, he had accidental ly received a circumstantial account of the enormities practised by the Spaniards in the conquest of the New World ; and conceived against them an aversion, which, taking possession of his whole mind, arose at length in to a species of frenzy. When attending college, he hap pened to perform in a play, the part of a Frenchman quarrelling with a Spaniard ; his imagination took fire, and he fell with such fury upon his companion, whom he mistook for a real Spaniard, that he tti ould certainly have put him to death, had not the bystanders interposed, and convinced him or his delusion. Ile could think of nothing, in short, but the deeds of horror which the Spaniards had committed against the unoffending na tives of their American provinces ; and was inflamed with an irresistible ardour to avenge their innocent blood. \Vith this resoldtion he sailed from his native country, in order to join the Buccaneers, whom he had heard represented as the most inveterate enemies to the Spanish name. On his voyage to America, the ship in which he sailed fell in with a Spanish galleon, which was immediately boarded by the Frenchman. Montbar, exulting in this opportunity of vengeance, rushed upon the enemy with the fury of a tyger, and hurrying twice from one end of the ship to the other, levelled all who dared to oppose him. He left to his companions the pleasure of dividing the rich booty which they had ta ken, contenting himself with the savage enjoyment of contemplating the dead bodies of the Spaniards, the first victims of the revenge which he had sworn against their nation. When his ship reached St Domingo, a party of Buccaneers came on board to barter fresh pro visions for brandy. As an apology fur the trifling value of the articles which they offered, they complained that the Spaniards had overrun the country, laid waste their settlements, and carried off whatever they could find of value. " Why," cried the indignant Montbar, " do you suffer such outrages to pass unrevenged ?" " Think not," replied they, " that we are so tame and dastardly. The Spaniards, who dare not attack us openly, took ad vantage of our absence while employed in the chase. We are now going to join some of our companions, who have been more injured than ourselves, and we shall take ample vengeance for all our wrongs." " Let me," said iNlontbar, " be your leader ; the only pea eminence I demand is to be the foremost in attack." The fury that flashed from his eyes, while he spoke these words, at once recommended him to the Bucca• veers, as the most proper person to conduct them to revenge, and his offer was cheerfully accepted. That very day they overtook the enemy, w hum Mouthar at tacked with an impetuosity that astonished the bravest of his comrades ; and the Spaniards, t'mugh far supe rior in numbers, were routed with prodigious slaughter. The triumph of Montbar was greatly heightened by the revolt of sonic Indians, whom the Spaniards had enga ged in their service. While these men were galling the Buccaneers with their arrows, " What 1" cried one of the Buccaneers, pointing to Montbar, " do you not per ceive that God has sent you a champion to deliver you from the tyranny of the Spaniards, and will you yet fight in the cause of your tyrants ?" The Indians paused for a moment, and seeing the heroism of Mont bar, immediately joined his party, and turned their ar rows against the Spaniards. The other achievements of Motabar were equally brilliant and successful. He received the name of Exterminator ; to which dreadful distinction lie was well entitled by the numbers of Spa niards who were sacrificed, both by sea and land, to his restless and insatiable hatred.