e and indeed, almost useless to attempt it: but the
fact was, that I did not wish to do so; I remained to have my revenge.
I tried to make the other slaves rise against him, but they were too
cowed; they even informed against me, and I was tied down, and flogged
by the drivers until the flesh fell from my shoulders.

"As soon as I recovered, I determined to do--or die. I heard that there
were some pirate vessels in the Barataria lagoons on the other side of
New Orleans; I resolved to join the crews, but first to have my revenge.
I did so: I set fire to the plantation house--struck the scoundrel who
had made me a slave senseless as he attempted to escape, and threw his
body into the flames; I then made the door fast, and fled. I was met by
one of the overseers, who was armed, and who would have stopped me: I
beat his brains out with his own musket, and then gained the woods. You
see that I am powerful; you hardly know how much so. After several
days' travelling, I arrived at the lagoons. I found this very vessel at
anchor. I offered myself, and they accepted me immediately.

"There were several of my colour on board--runaway slaves--and all good
determined men. These were the people I required, for they understood
me. Even on board of a pirate vessel, the same contempt was shown
towards us--still considered as inferior beings. All the heavy work all
the dirty work, was for the negro race; and we often worked like slaves,
while the captain and the rest of the crew caroused. I was three years
on board of this vessel. Our rendezvous where we are going to now, is a
small land-locked bay on the island of Cuba. No vessel in it can be
seen from seaward, and there is but one narrow pass by which it
communicates with the interior, and it is far from any habitation. A
better retreat for a pirate vessel could not well be found. We used
very often to go in to refit, and take in provisions and water; for in a
cave there, we keep the provisions which we take from other vessels.

"In a desperate fight which we had with an English man-of-war brig, we
lost nearly forty of our men. The captain, Chico, as he was called, was
obliged to fill up with black men, until he could procure others. The
consequence was, that with the ten before on board, there were fifty
blacks to seventy whites. It was then that I made up my mind that I
would retaliate for all that my race had suffered. I was sure of the
ten with whom I had sailed