The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1898-04-23
PORTUGUESE PIRATE
HOW sARTHOLEMY CAPTURED A
HUGE SPANISH MERCHANTMEN.

Then Lay within Short Range, and with
Rincs the Spanish Force Was Reduced
and Finally Conquered.
series of sketches by Frank X.
Stockton on 1.-The Buccaneers of Our
Coast" is one of the features of st.
Nicholas. Mr.. Stockton tells of the ad-
ventures of Bartholemy Portuguez,
who, with u small crew in a small ves-
sci, captured huge Spanish merchant
man i'll the Caribbean sea. Mr.. Stockton
says: The little pirate sailed boldly to-
ward the big Spaniard, and the latter
vessel, utterly astonished at the audac-
ity of this attack--for the pirates flag
was fiying-lay to, head TO the wind,
and waited, the gunners standing by
their cannon. When the pirates had
come near enough to see and understand
the size and power of the vessel they
had thought of attacking, they did not,
as might have been expected put about
and sail away at the best of their yes
sells speed, but they kept straight on
their course, as if they were about to
fall upon a great, unwieldy merchant
man manned by common sailors.
PerceiviDg the foolhardiness of the
little vessel, the Spanish commander
determined to give it lesson which
would teach its captain to understand
better the relative power of great yes.
sells and little ones, so as soon as the
pirates vessel was near enough he or.
dered a broadside fired upon it. The
Spanish ship had great many people
on board 1t had II crew of 70 men, and
besides these there were some passen-
gers and regular marines, and, know
ing that the captain had determined to
fire upon the approaching vessel every
body lad gathered on deck to see the
little pirate ship go down.
But the ten great cannon balls which
were shot out at Bartholemy's little
craft all missed their aim and before the
guns could be reloaded or the great ship
be got around so as TO deliver her other
broadside the pirate vessel was along
side Of her. Bartholemy had fired none
of his cannon. Such guns were useless
against so huge foe. What he was aft
er was hand to hand combat on the
deck of the Spanish ship.
The pirates were all ready for hot
work. They had thrown aside their
coats and shirts, as if each of them were
going into priZefght, and with their
cutlasses in their hands and their pis-
tolls and knives in their belts they
scrambled like monkeys up the sides Of
!, the great ship. But Spaniards are brave
men and good fighters--there were more
than twice as many of them as there
were of the pirates-and it was not
| long before the latter found out that
they could not capture that vessel by
boarding it. So over the side they tum
bled as fast as they could go, leaving
some of their number dead and wounded
behind them. They jumped into their
own vessel, and then they put off to a
short distance to take breath and get
ready for different kind of fight. The
triumphant Spaniards now prepared to
| get rid of this boatlCad of half naked
wild beasts, which they could easily do
if they took better aim with their can
non than they had done before.
But to their amazement they soon
found that they could do nothing with
the guns, nor We're they able to work
| their ship so as to get it into position
for effectual SHOTS. Bartholemy and his
men laid aside their cutlasses and their
| pistols and took up muskets, with which
they were well provided. Their vessel
lay within very short range of the Span.
ish ship, and whenever man could be
seen through the portfolios or showed
himself in the rigging or anywhere else
where 1t was necessary to go in order
to work the ship he made himself tar
| get for the good aim of the pirates. The
pirate vessel could move about as it
pleased, for it required but a few men
to manage it, and SO it kept out of
the way Of the Spanish guns, and its
best marksmen, croucbing close to the
deck, fired and fired whenever Span
ish head was to be seen.
Fer five long hours this unequal con
test was kept up. 1t might have re-
minded one Of man tn slender rod
and long, delicate line who had
hooked big salmon. The man could
not pull in the salmon, but, on the other
hand, the salmon could not hurt the
man, and i'll the course of time the big
fish would be tired out and the man
would get out his landing net and SCOOP
him in.
Now, Bartholemy thought he could
scoop in the Spanish vessel So many
of her men had been shot that the two
crews would be more nearly equal. Sc
he boldly ran his vessel alongside the
big ship and again boarded her. Then
there was another great fight Oh the
decks. The Spaniards had ceased to be
triumphant, but they had become des.
perate, and in the furious combat ten
of the pirates were killed and -four
wounded. But the Spaniards fared
worse than that. More than half of the
men who had not been shot by the pi
rates went down before their cutlasse,
and pistols, and it was not long before
Bartholemy had captured the grea
Spanish ship.
1t was fearful and costly victory
he had gained. A great part of his owl
men were lying dead or helpless ON the
deck, and of the Spaniards only 40 were
left alive, and these, it appears from
the accounts, must have been nearly al
wounded or disabled.