and being the best
sailer, got off.

A few days after, he took a vessel of the same nation, who gave an
account that he had killed above forty men in the Guarda del Costa,
beside a number wounded. He kept along the coast to the southward, and
took a French ship of 18 guns, laden with wine and brandy, bound for the
South Sea, which he carried with him into the River of Platte. He sent
some of his men ashore to kill some wild cattle, but they were taken by
the crew of a Spanish man-of-war. On their examination before the
captain, they said they were two Guinea ships, with slaves belonging to
the South Sea company, and on this story were allowed to return to their
boats. Here five of his forced men ran away with his canoe; he plundered
the French ship, cut her adrift, and she was stranded. He proceeded
along the Brazil coast, and hearing a pirate ship was lost upon it, and
the pirates imprisoned, he used all the Portuguese who fell into his
hands, who were many, very barbarously, cutting off their ears and
noses; and as his master was a papist, when they took a priest, they
made him say mass at the mainmast, and would afterwards get on his back
and ride him about the decks, or else load and drive him like a beast.
He from this went to the Guinea coast, and took Capt. Hill, in the
Indian Queen.

[Illustration: _The Pirates riding the Priests about deck._]

In Luengo Bay he saw two ships at anchor, one a Dutchman of 44 guns, the
other an English ship, called the Fame, Capt. Bowen, commander. They
both cut and ran ashore; the Fame was lost, but the Dutch ship the
pirate got off and took with him. When he was at sea again, he
discharged Captain Hill, and stood away for the East Indies. Near the
Cape he took an Ostend East-Indiaman, of which Mr. Nash, a noted
merchant of London, was supercargo. Soon after he took a Dutch
East-Indiaman, discharged the Ostender, and made for Madagascar. At the
Isle of St. Mary, he met with some of Capt. Halsey's crew, whom he took
on board with other stragglers, and shaped his course for the
East-Indies, and in the way, at the island of Johanna, took, in company
with two other pirates he met at St. Mary's, the Cassandra
East-Indiaman, commanded by Capt. James Macraigh. He continued his
course for the East-Indies, where he made a very great booty; and
returning, touched at the island of Mascarenhas, where he met with a
Portuguese ship of 70 guns, with the viceroy of Goa on board. This ship
he