is boarding a vessel, if possible, and
carrying her by numbers; and certainly if a merchantman fired ill, she
would inevitably be taken; but with grape and canister fairly directed,
the slaughter would be so great that they would be glad to sheer off
before they neared a vessel. This is, of course, supposing a calm,
for in a breeze they would never have the hardihood to venture far
from land with a ship in sight, and would be sorry to be caught at a
distance. Their internal constitution is as follows: one chief, a man
usually of rank, commands the whole fleet; each boat has her captain,
and generally from five to ten of his relations, free men: the rest,
amounting to above four fifths, are slaves, more or less forced to
pursue this course of life. They have, however, the right of plunder,
which is indiscriminate with certain exceptions; viz., slaves, guns,
money, or any other heavy articles, together with the very finest
description of silks and cloths, belonging to the chiefs and free
men; and the rest obey the rule of 'First come, first served.' No
doubt the slaves become attached to this predatory course of life;
but it must always be remembered that they are slaves and have no
option; and it appears to me that, in the operation of our laws,
some distinction ought to be drawn on this account, to suit the
circumstances of the case. The Datus, or chiefs, are incorrigible;
for they are pirates by descent, robbers from pride as well as taste,
and they look upon the occupation as the most honorable hereditary
pursuit. They are indifferent to blood, fond of plunder, but fondest
of slaves: they despise trade, though its profits be greater; and,
as I have said, they look upon this as their 'calling,' and the
noblest occupation of chiefs and free men. Their swords they show
with boasts, as having belonged to their ancestors who were pirates,
renowned and terrible in their day; and they always speak of their
ancestral heir-loom as decayed from its pristine vigor, but still
deem the wielding of it as the highest of earthly existences. That
it is in reality the most accursed, there can be no doubt, for its
chief support is slaves they capture on the different coasts. If
they attack an island, the women and children, and as many of the
young men as they require, are carried off. Every boat they take
furnishes its quota of slaves; and when they have a _full cargo_,
they quit that coast or country and visit another, in order to
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