e farther off into the thickest of the
woods, where they built themselves huts, to preserve from the weather
those few goods they had. The pirates judged themselves deceived by the
peasant, and hereupon, to revenge themselves, notwithstanding all his
excuses and supplication, they hanged him on a tree.

Then they divided into parties to search the plantations; for they knew
the Spaniards that were absconded could not live on what the woods
afforded, without coming now and then for provisions to their country
houses. Here they found a slave, to whom they promised mountains of gold
and his liberty, by transporting him to Jamaica, if he would show them
where the inhabitants of Gibraltar lay hid. This fellow conducted them
to a party of Spaniards, whom they instantly made prisoners, commanding
this slave to kill some before the eyes of the rest; that by this
perpetrated crime, he might never be able to leave their wicked company.
The negro, according to their orders, committed many murders and
insolencies upon the Spaniards, and followed the unfortunate traces of
the pirates; who eight days after returned to Gibraltar with many
prisoners, and some mules laden with riches. They examined every
prisoner by himself (who were in all about two hundred and fifty
persons), where they had hid the rest of their goods, and if they know
of their fellow-townsmen. Such as would not confess were tormented after
a most inhuman manner. Among the rest, there happened to be a
Portuguese, who by a negro was reported, though falsely, to be very
rich; this man was commanded to produce his riches. His answer was, he
had no more than one hundred pieces of eight in the world, and these had
been stolen from him two days before by his servant; which words, though
he sealed with many oaths and protestations, yet they would not believe
him, but dragging him to the rack, without any regard to his age of
sixty years, they stretched him with cords, breaking both his arms
behind his shoulders.

This cruelty went not alone; for he not being able or willing to make
any other declaration, they put him to another sort of torment more
barbarous; they tied him with small cords by his two thumbs and great
toes to four stakes fixed in the ground, at a convenient distance, the
whole weight of his body hanging on those cords. Not satisfied yet with
this cruel torture, they took a stone of above two hundred pounds, and
laid it upon his belly, as if they intended to