mouth of the cannon. These men were headed by one Kennedy, a bold,
daring fellow, but very wicked and profligate; they marched directly up
under the fire of their ship guns, and as soon as they were discovered,
the Portuguese quitted their post and fled to the town, and the pirates
marched in without opposition, set fire to the fort, and threw all the
guns off the hill into the sea, which after they had done they retreated
quietly to their ship.

But this was not looked upon as a sufficient satisfaction for the injury
they received, therefore most of the company were for burning the town,
which Roberts said he would yield to if any means could be proposed of
doing it without their own destruction, for the town had a securer
situation than the fort, a thick wood coming almost close to it,
affording cover to the defendants, who, under such an advantage, he told
them, it was to be feared, would fire and stand better to their arms;
beside, that bare houses would be but a slender reward for their trouble
and loss. This prudent advice prevailed; however, they mounted the
French ship they seized at this place with twelve guns, and lightened
her, in order to come up to the town, the water being shoal, and
battered down several houses; after which they all returned on board,
gave back the French ship to those that had most right to her, and
sailed out of the harbor by the light of two Portuguese ships, which
they were pleased to set on fire there.

Roberts stood away to the southward, and met with a Dutch Guineaman,
which he made prize of, but, after having plundered her, the skipper had
his ship again. Two days after he took an English ship, called the
_Experiment_, Captain Cornet, at Cape Lopez; the men went all into the
pirate service, and having no occasion for the ship they burnt her and
then steered for St. Thome, but meeting with nothing in their way, they
sailed for Annabona, and there watered, took in provisions, and put it
to a vote of the company whether their next voyage should be to the East
Indies or to Brazil. The latter being resolved on, they sailed
accordingly, and in twenty-eight days arrived at Ferdinando, an
uninhabited island on that coast. Here they watered, boot-topped their
ship, and made ready for the designed cruise.

Upon this coast our rovers cruised for about nine weeks, keeping
generally out of sight of land, but without seeing a sail, which
discouraged them so that they determined to leave the s