out at this island, and Lafitte was appointed captain
of one of these vessels; after a cruise during which
he robbed the vessels of other nations, besides those
of England, and thus committing piracy, he stopped
at the Seychelles, and took in a load of slaves for
the Mauritius; but being chased by an English frigate
as far north as the equator, he found himself in a
very awkward condition; not having provisions enough
on board his ship to carry him back to the French
Colony. He therefore conceived the bold project
of proceeding to the Bay of Bengal, in order to get
provisions from on board some English ships. In
his ship of two hundred tons, with only two guns and
twenty-six men, he attacked and took an English armed
schooner with a numerous crew. After putting
nineteen of his own crew on board the schooner, he
took the command of her and proceeded to cruise upon
the coast of Bengal. He there fell in with the
Pagoda, a vessel belonging to the English East India
Company, armed with twenty-six twelve pounders and
manned with one hundred and fifty men. Expecting
that the enemy would take him for a pilot of the Ganges,
he manoeuvred accordingly. The Pagoda manifested
no suspicions, whereupon he suddenly darted with his
brave followers upon her decks, overturned all who
opposed them, and speedily took the ship. After
a very successful cruise he arrived safe at the Mauritius,
and took the command of La Confiance of twenty-six
guns and two hundred and fifty men, and sailed for
the coast of British India. Off the Sand Heads
in October, 1807, Lafitte fell in with the Queen East
Indiaman, with a crew of near four hundred men, and
carrying forty guns; he conceived the bold project
of getting possession of her. Never was there
beheld a more unequal conflict; even the height of
the vessel compared to the feeble privateer augmented
the chances against Lafitte; but the difficulty and
danger far from discouraging this intrepid sailor,
acted as an additional spur to his brilliant valor.
After electrifying his crew with a few words of hope
and ardor, he manoeuvred and ran on board of the enemy.
In this position he received a broadside when close
too; but he expected this, and made his men lay flat
upon the deck. After the first fire they all
rose, and from the yards and tops, threw bombs and
grenades into the forecastle of the Indiaman.
This sudden and unforeseen attack caused a great havoc.
In an instant, death and terror made them abandon
a part of the vessel near the mizen-mast. Lafitte,
who observed every thing, seized the decisive moment,
beat to arms, and forty of his crew prepared to board,
with pistols in their hands and daggers held between
their teeth. As soon as they got on deck, they
rushed upon the affrighted crowd, who retreated to
the steerage, and endeavored to defend themselves
there. Lafitte thereupon ordered a second division
to board, which he headed himself; the captain of the
Indiaman was killed, and all were swept away in a moment.
Lafitte caused a gun to be loaded with grape, which
he pointed towards the place where the crowd was assembled,
threatening to exterminate them. The English
deeming resistance fruitless, surrendered, and Lafitte
hastened to put a stop to the slaughter. This
exploit, hitherto unparalleled, resounded through
India, and the name of Lafitte became the terror of
English commerce in these latitudes.