more than one gun—­a Long Tom—­aboard.  Nothing daunted, he started out with this armament, to which some twenty muskets were added, on a privateering cruise in the channel, which was full of British cruisers.  Even the Long Tom proved untrustworthy, so recourse was finally had to carrying the enemy by boarding; and in this way four valuable prizes were taken, of which three were sent home with prize crews.  But a gale carried away the “Leo’s” foremast, and she fell a prey to an English frigate which happened along untimely.

The “Mammoth” was emphatically a lucky ship.  In seven weeks she took seventeen merchantmen, paying for herself several times over.  Once she fought a lively battle with a British transport carrying four hundred men, but prudently drew off.  True, the Government was paying a bonus of twenty-five dollars a head for prisoners; but cargoes were more valuable.  Few of the privateers troubled to send in their prisoners, if they could parole and release them.  In all, the “Mammoth” captured twenty-one vessels, and released on parole three hundred prisoners.

Of all the foregoing vessels, the “Prince de Neufchatel” was the most famous.  She was an hermaphrodite brig of 310 tons, mounting 17 guns.  She was a “lucky” vessel, several times escaping a vastly superior force and bringing into port, for the profit of her owners, goods valued at $3,000,000, besides large quantities of specie.  Her historic achievement, however, was beating off the British frigate “Endymion,” off Nantucket, one dark night, after a battle concerning which a British naval historian, none too friendly to Americans, wrote:  “So determined and effective a resistance did great credit to the American captain and his crew.”  The privateer had a prize in tow, by which, of course, her movements were much hampered, for her captain was not inclined to save himself at the expense of his booty.  But, more than this, she had thirty-seven prisoners aboard, while her own crew was sorely reduced by manning prizes.  The night being calm, the British attempted to take the ship by boarding from small boats, for what reason does not readily appear, since the vessels were within range of each other, and the frigate’s superior metal could probably have reduced the Americans to subjection.  Instead, however, of opening fire with his broadside, the enemy sent out boarding parties in five boats.  Their approach was detected on the American vessel, and a rapid fire with small arms and cannon opened upon them, to which they paid no attention, but pressed doggedly on.  In a moment the boats surrounded the privateer—­one on each bow, one on each side, and one under the stern—­and the boarders began to swarm up the sides like cats.  It was a bloody hand-to-hand contest that followed, in which every weapon, from cutlass and clubbed musket down to bare hands, was employed.  Heavy shot, which had been piled up in readiness on deck, were thrown into the boats in an effort to sink them.