-rigged with two
sails and the mainmast rigged like that of a barque. The corsair at
Martinique of whom Labat speaks was captain of a corvette, a boat like a
brigantine, except that all the sails were square-rigged. At the
beginning of a voyage the freebooters were generally so crowded in their
small vessels that they suffered much from lack of room. Moreover, they
had little protection from sun and rain, and with but a small stock of
provisions often faced starvation. It was this as much as anything which
frequently inspired them to attack without reflection any possible
prize, great or small, and to make themselves masters of it or perish in
the attempt. Their first object was to come to close quarters; and
although a single broadside would have sunk their small craft, they
man[oe]uvred so skilfully as to keep their bow always presented to the
enemy, while their musketeers cleared the enemy's decks until the time
when the captain judged it proper to board. The buccaneers rarely
attacked Spanish ships on the outward voyage from Europe to America, for
such ships were loaded with wines, cloths, grains and other commodities
for which they had little use, and which they could less readily turn
into available wealth. Outgoing vessels also carried large crews and a
considerable number of passengers. It was the homeward-bound ships,
rather, which attracted their avarice, for in such vessels the crews
were smaller and the cargo consisted of precious metals, dye-woods and
jewels, articles which the freebooters could easily dispose of to the
merchants and tavern-keepers of the ports they frequented.

The Gulf of Honduras and the Mosquito Coast, dotted with numerous small
islands and protecting reefs, was a favourite retreat for the
buccaneers. As the clumsy Spanish war-vessels of the period found it
ticklish work threading these tortuous channels, where a sudden adverse
wind usually meant disaster, the buccaneers there felt secure from
interference; and in the creeks, lagoons and river-mouths densely
shrouded by tropical foliage, they were able to careen and refit their
vessels, divide their booty, and enjoy a respite from their sea-forays.
Thence, too, they preyed upon the Spanish ships which sailed from the
coast of Cartagena to Porto Bello, Nicaragua, Mexico, and the larger
Antilles, and were a constant menace to the great treasure galleons of
the Terra-Firma fleet. The English settlement on the island of
Providence, lying as