Free The Book of Pirates and Highwaymen by Cate Ludlow Page B

despairing wretch literally dragged, half strangled to the bottom, with the vessel.
    Dugald reached the canoe in safety, and succeeded in keeping it afloat till they were perceived by a passing ship, and rescued from their impending destruction.
    The youngest son, who had been forced into the canoe with the unhappy mother, died from the severity of the exposure, adding a fifth victim to the monster, La Force! Madame De Tracy, with her infant, and the mulatto, Rachel, were, with considerable difficulty, recovered from the effects of their brutal treatment, and were ultimately enabled to reach the scenes of their former happiness.

    Adventures of Morgan, Prince of Freebooters: Attack Of The Fire-Ship
    At the end of six days he was ready; and, on the 29th April, 1669, he advanced toward the Spaniards, who were quietly at anchor. The dawn was just beginning to appear. The admiral, whose ship was moored in the channel, expeditiously prepared to receive the enemy; and mistaking the fire-ship for the chief of the pirates’ vessels, he suffered it to approach him. He was astonished that, although it was so near, and had such a numerous crew upon deck, not a single cannon was fired. Supposing the freebooter intended to board him (as he knew it was their favourite manoeuvre) he suspended his firing, in order that he might oppose the stronger resistance. Nothing could render the pirates a greater service than this inactivity: never was the truth of the ancient proverb more verified, that ‘fortune favours the bold.’
    A few well-directed cannon-shots were sufficient to shatter the frail machine to pieces, and sink it to the bottom; as, in fact, it was scarcely the skeleton of a vessel. The Spaniards did not perceive this error until the fire-ship was close by them: from that moment all their efforts to stop its progress were useless. The few freebooters on board, fastened it to a Spanish ship, and, as is usual in this kind of operations, rapidly threw themselves into a canoes which had been brought for that purpose. The Spanish admiral, however, displayed much presence of mind: he ordered several Spaniards to board the fire-ship, in order to cut down its masts, and, if it were possible, to prevent the explosion; but his active adversaries were beforehand with him, and, as they were quitting the fire-ship, had already kindled the combustibles it contained. In a very short time the admiral’s ship took fire, which raged with such vehemence, that she was almost instantly buried in the waves, together with the greater part of the crew. Many of the Spaniards had thrown themselves into the sea, and were endeavouring to save themselves by swimming, but they sank before they could reach the shore. Some of them indeed might have received assistance from the freebooters, who, from motives of humanity, or some other impulse more congenial to their character endeavoured to rescue them from the sea; but the Spaniards preferred perishing, rather than owe their lives to these ferocious enemies, from whom they apprehended a treatment worse, perhaps, than death. A very small number only succeeded in landing; among whom was the Spanish admiral, who had taken refuge in a shallop, the moment he saw his ship in flames.
    The freebooters availed themselves of their first moment of the enemies’ consternation, to attack the second ship of war: which they took by boarding, after a slight resistance. They made the air re-echo with their cries of victory, as soon as they beheld the principal vessel disappear. At the sight of these astonishing events which to them seemed miraculous, the Spaniards on board the third ship were struck with such a panic, that they thought less of fighting than of saving themselves. They therefore cut their cables, and rapidly made for the fort; before which they bored their vessel, and sunk her to the bottom. The pirates hastened to seize at least a few pieces of the floating wreck; but the moment the Spaniards that were on shore