amongst them, gave each man
above one hundred pieces of eight, as well as his share of plate, silk,
and jewels.

Also, a share was allotted for the next-of-kin of each man killed, and
extra rewards for those pirates who had lost a limb or an eye. L'Ollonais
had now become most famous amongst the "Brethren of the Coast," and began
to make arrangements for an even more daring expedition to attack and
plunder the coast of Nicaragua. Here he burnt and pillaged ruthlessly,
committing the most revolting cruelties on the Spanish inhabitants. One
example of this monster's inhuman deeds will more than suffice to tell of.
It happened that during an attack on the town of San Pedros the buccaneers
had been caught in an ambuscade and many of them killed, although the
Spaniards had at last turned and fled. The pirates killed most of their
prisoners, but kept a few to be questioned by L'Ollonais so as to find
some other way to the town. As he could get no information out of these
men, the Frenchman drew his cutlass and with it cut open the breast of one
of the Spaniards, and pulling out his still beating heart he began to bite
and gnaw it with his teeth like a ravenous wolf, saying to the other
prisoners, "I will serve you all alike, if you show me not another way."

Shortly after this, many of the buccaneers broke away from L'Ollonais and
sailed under the command of Moses van Vin, the second in command.
L'Ollonais, in his big ship, sailed to the coast of Honduras, but ran his
vessel on a sand-bank and lost her. While building a new but small craft
on one of the Las Pertas Islands, they cultivated beans and other
vegetables, and also wheat, for which they baked bread in portable ovens
which these French buccaneers carried about with them. It took them six
months to build their long-boat, and when it was finished it would not
carry more than half the number of buccaneers. Lots were drawn to settle
who should sail and who remain behind. L'Ollonais steered the boat towards
Cartagena, but was caught by the Indians, as described by Esquemeling.
"Here suddenly his ill-fortune assailed him, which of a long time had been
reserved for him as a punishment due to the multitude of horrible crimes,
which in his licentious and wicked life he had committed. For God
Almighty, the time of His divine justice being now already come, had
appointed the Indians of Darien to be the instruments and executioners
thereof."

These "instruments of God," havin