[Illustration:  Horrid Piracy and Murder by a Mexican “privateer."]

About this time Captain Lincoln fell into the hands of the pirates, and as his treatment shows the peculiar habits and practices of these wretches, we insert the very interesting narrative of the captain.

The schooner Exertion, Captain Lincoln, sailed from Boston, bound for Trinidad de Cuba, Nov. 13th, 1821, with the following crew; Joshua Bracket, mate; David Warren, cook; and Thomas Young, Francis De Suze, and George Reed, seamen.

The cargo consisted of flour, beef, pork, lard, butter, fish, beans, onions, potatoes, apples, hams, furniture, sugar box shooks, &c., invoiced at about eight thousand dollars.  Nothing remarkable occurred during the passage, except much bad weather, until my capture, which was as follows:—­

Monday, December 17th, 1821, commenced with fine breezes from the eastward.  At daybreak saw some of the islands northward of Cape Cruz, called Keys—­stood along northwest; every thing now seemed favorable for a happy termination of our voyage.  At 3 o’clock, P.M., saw a sail coming round one of the Keys, into a channel called Boca de Cavolone by the chart, nearly in latitude 20 deg. 55’ north, longitude 79 deg. 55’ west, she made directly for us with all sails set, sweeps on both sides (the wind being light) and was soon near enough for us to discover about forty men on her deck, armed with muskets, blunderbusses, cutlasses, long knives, dirks, &c., two carronades, one a twelve, the other a six pounder; she was a schooner, wearing the Patriot flag (blue, white and blue) of the Republic of Mexico.  I thought it not prudent to resist them, should they be pirates, with a crew of seven men, and only five muskets; accordingly ordered the arms and ammunition to be immediately stowed away in as secret a place as possible, and suffer her to speak us, hoping and believing that a republican flag indicated both honor and friendship from those who wore it, and which we might expect even from Spaniards.  But how great was my astonishment, when the schooner having approached very near us, hailed in English, and ordered me to heave my boat out immediately and come on board of her with my papers.—­Accordingly my boat was hove out, but filled before I could get into her.—­I was then ordered to tack ship and lay by for the pirates’ boat to board me; which was done by Bolidar, their first lieutenant, with six or eight Spaniards armed with as many of the before mentioned weapons as they could well sling about their bodies.  They drove me into the boat, and two of them rowed me to their privateer (as they called their vessel), where I shook hands with their commander, Captain Jonnia, a Spaniard, who before looking at my papers, ordered Bolidar, his lieutenant, to follow the Mexican in, back of the Key they had left, which was done.  At 6 o’clock, P.M., the Exertion was anchored in eleven feet water, near this vessel, and an island, which they called Twelve