ed, the common friends of the parties at variance interpofed, and foon put an end to the difference. As to laws, the Buccaneers acknowledged none but an odd jumble of conventions made between themselves, which, however, they regarded as the fovereign rule. They filenced all objections by cooly anfwering, that it was not the cuftom of the coaft, and grounded their right of acting in this manner, on their baptifm under the tropic, which freed them, in their opinion, from all obligations antecedent to that marine ceremony, The governor of Tortuga, when that island was again fettled, though appointed by the French court, had very little authority over them; they contented themselves with rendering him from time to time fome flight homage. They had in a manner entirely fhaken off the yoke of religion, and thought they did a great deal, in not wholly forgetting the God of their Fathers. We are furprised to meet with nations, among whom it is a difficult matter to dif cover any traces of a religious worfhip: And yet it is certain, that had the Buccaneers of St. Domingo been perpetuated on the fame footing they fubfifted at the time we are speaking of, the third or fourth generation of them would have as little religion as the Caffres and Hottentots of Africa, or the Topinambous and Cannibals of America. They even laid afide their furnames, and affumed nick-names, or martial names, most of which have continued in their families to this day. Many however, on their marrying, which feldom happened till they turned planters, took care to have their real furnames inferted in the marriage contract; and this practice gave occafion to a proverb, ftill current in the French Antilles, A man is not to be known till he takes a wife. Their drefs confifted of a filthy greafy fhirt, dyed with the blood of the animals they killed, a pair of troufers ftill more nafty, a thong of leather by way of belt, to which they hung a cafe containing fome Dutch knives, and a kind of very fhort fabre called Manchette, a hat without any brim, except a little flap on the front to take hold of it by, and fhoes of hogfkin all of a piece. Their guns were four feet and a half in the barrel and of a bore to carry balls of an ounce. Every man had his contract fervants, more or fewer according to his abilities, befides a pack of twenty or thirty dogs, among which there was always a couple of beagles. Their chief employment at firft was ox-hunting, and, if at any time they chafed a wild hog, it was rather for paftime, or to make provifion for a feaft, than for any other advantage. But, in procefs of time, fome of them betook themselves entirely to hunting of hogs, whofe flesh they buccanned in the following manner: First, they cut the flesh into long pieces, an inch and a half thick, and fprinkled them with falt,which they rubbed off after twenty-four hours. Then they dried thefe pieces in ftoves over a fire made of the skin and bones of the beaft, till they grew as hard as a board, and affumed a deep brown colour. Pork prepared in this manner will keep in casks a twelvemonth and longer, and when steeped but a little while in lukewarm water, become plump and rofy, and yield moreover a moft grateful fmell, either broiled or boiled, or otherwise dreffed, enough to tempt the most languid appetite, and please the most delicate palare. B 2 Thofe Thofe who hunt the wild boar, have of late been called simply Hunters. In hunting, they fet out at day break, preceded by the beagles,, and followed by their fervants with the reit of the dogs; and as they made it a point never to balk their beagles, they were often led by them over the most frightful precipices, and through places which any other mortal would have deemed abfolutely impaffable. As foon as the beagles had rouzed the game, the rest of the dogs ftruck up and furrounded the beaft, ftopping it, and keeping a conftant barking till the Buccaneer could get near enough to fhoot it; in doing this he commonly aimed at the pit of the breaft; when the beaft fell, he ham-ftrung it, to prevent its rifing again. But it has fometimes happened that the creature, not wounded enough to tumble to the ground, has run furioufly as his purfuer, and ripped him open. But in general the Buccaneer feldom miffed his aim, and when he did, was nimble enough to get up the tree behind which he had the precaution to place himfelf. What is more, fome of them have been feen to overtake the beaft in chace, and ham-ftring it without any further ceremony. As foon as the prey was half kinned, the mafter cat out a large bone, and fucked the marrow for break faft. The rest he left to his fervants, one of whom always re. mained behind to finish the fkinning, and bring the fkin with a choice piece of meat for the hunt men's dinner. They then continued the chace till they had killed as many beats, as there were heads in the company. The matter was the laft, to return to the boucan, loaded like the rell, with a skin and a piece of meat. Here the Buccaneers found their tables ready, for every one had his feparate table, which was the first thing, any way fit for the purpofe, that came in their way, a tone, the trunk of a tree, and the like. No table-cloth, no napkin, no bread or wine graced their board; not even potatoes or bananas, unless they found them ready to their hands. When this did not happen, the fat and lean of the game, taken alternately, ferved to fupply the place. A little pimento, and the fqueeze of an orange, their only fauce; contentment, peace of mind, a good appetite, and abundance of mirth, made every thing agreeable. Thus they lived and pent their time, till they had compleated the number of hides for which they had agreed with the merchants; which done, they carried them to Tortuga, or fome port of the great ifland. As the Buccaneers used much exercife, and fed only on fresh meat, they generally enjoyed a good state of health. They were indeed fub ject to fevers, but either fuch as lated only a day, and left no fenfible impreffion the day following, or little flow fevers, which did not hinder them from action, and were of courfe fo little regarded, that it was ufual with the patient, when afked how he did, to anfwer, “Very "well, nothing ails me but the "fever." It was impoffible, however, they fhould not suffer confiderably by fuch fatigues under a climate, to the heat of which few of them had been early enough inured. Hence the most confiderate among them, after they had got money enough for that purpofe, turned Plan ters. The reft foon spent the fruits of their labour in taverns and tippling houses; and many had fo habituated themselves to this kind of life, as to become incapable of any other. Nay, there have been inftances of young men, who having early embarked through neceffity in this painful and dangerous profeffion, perfifted in it afterwards, merely through a principle of libertinifm, rather than return to France, and take poffeffion of the most plentiful fortunes. which they had been the theatres, were intitled, of the malacre; fuch as the hill of the mafacre, the plain of the massacre, the valley of the mafacre; which names they retain to this day. At length the Spaniards grew tired of this way of proceeding, and had recourfe to their old method of furprize, which against enemies of more courage than vigilance was like to fucceed better. This put the Buccaneers under a neccility of never hunting but in large parties, and fixing their boucans in the little inlands on the coaft, where they retired every evening. This expedient fucceeded, and the boucans by being more fixed, foon acquired the air and confiftency of little towns. Such were the Buccaneers of St. Domingo, and fuch their fituation, when the Spaniards undertook to extirpate them. And at firft they met with great fuccefs; for as the Buccaneers hunted feparately, every one attended by his fervants, they were eafily furprifed. Hence the Spaniards killed numbers, and took many more, whom they condemned to a most cruel flavery. But whenever the Buccaneers had time to put themselves in a state of defence, they fought like lions, to avoid falling into the hands of a nation, from whom they were fure to receive no quarter; and by this means they often escaped; nay there are many inftances of fingle men fighting their way through numbers. These dangers however, and the fuccefs of the Spaniards in difcovering their boucans where they ufed to furprife and cut the throats of them and their fervants in their fleep, engaged them to cohabit in greater numbers, and even to act offenfively, in hopes that by fo doing, they might at laft induce the Spaniards to let them live in peace. But the fury with which they behaved whenever they met any Spaniards, ferved on ly to make their enemies more intent on their deftruction; and affiftance coming to both parties; the whole island was turned into a flaughter-houfe, and fo much blood fpilt on both fides, that many places on account of the carnage of When the Buccaneers had once fixed themselves, as related, each boucan ordered fcouts every morning to the highest part of the island in order to reconnoitre the coaft, and fee if any Spanish parties were abroad. If no enemy appeared, they appointed a place and hour of rendezvous in the evening, and were never abfent if not killed or prifoners. When therefore any one of the company was miffing, it was not lawful for the reft to hunt again till they had got intelligence of him if taken, or avenged his death if killed. Things continued in this fituation for a long time, till the Spaniards made a general hunt over the whole island, and by deftroying their game, put the Buccaneers under a neceffity of betaking themfelves to another courfe of life. Some of them turned planters, and thereby increased some of the French fettlements on the coaft, and formed others. The reft, not relishing fo confined and regular a life, entered B 3 among among the Freebooters, who thereby became a very powerful body. The following particulars relating to the Indians of the Peninfula within the Ganges, and likewife to the country itself, muft throw a great light on all the military tranfactions in that remote part of the world. They are extracted from Mr. Cambridge's hiftory of the late war there, and notwithstand ing their importance, bave never before, that we can find, been taken notice of by any other writer. The manner, in which the Indians feed their borfes, feems to deferve par ticular attention. T is generally fuppofed, that the peninfula within the Ganges is under the immediate government of the Mogul, and that his mandates from Delli are obeyed in the moft remote parts of the coaft; but a great part of that vaft peninfula never acknowledged any fubjection to the throne of Delli, till the reign of Aureng-Zebe: and the revenues from thofe Indian kings, and Moorish governors, who were conquered or employed by him, have, fince his death, been intercepted by the viceroys, which his weaker fucceffors have appointed for the government of the peninfula; fo that at this time neither can the tribute from the feveral potentates reach the court of Delli, nor the vigour of the government extend from the capital to thofe remote countries. And ever fince the province of Indoftan was ruined by Nadir Shah, the weakness of the Mogul, and the policy and confirmed independency of the vice-roys, have confined the influence of the government to its inland department. The nominal fovereign poffeffes a third only, and that the leaft va, luable part of his empire. Bengal, the smallest but most fertile province, is governed by a vice-roy, The other divifion, called Deckan, extending from Balafore, or Jagonaut, to Cape Comarin, is also delegated by the Mogul to another vice-roy, of exceeding great power, having within his jurifdiction seven large territories, to which he has the undisputed right of nominating feven nabobs, or governors of provinces. In all parts of India there are ftill large districts, which have preferved, with the Gentoo religion, the old form of government under Indian kings, called Rajas. Such are Maiffore, whofe capital is Seringapatam, and Tanjore, whofe capital is Tanjore. There are alfo among the woods and mountainous parts of the country feveral petty princes, or heads of clans, diftinguifhed by the name of Polygars. These are all tributary to the nabobs, and thofe to the vice-roys, whofe capital is Aurengabad. The Carnatic is that part of the Deckan, which comprehends the principal fettlements of the Europeans, Madrafs, and Pondicherry, and alfo Arcot. To eftablish the government of Arcot, and to oppofe the hoftile intentions of M. Dupliex, the Englifh Eaft India company engaged in this war in fupport of Mahomet Allee Cawn. The chain of mountains which runs through the peninfula from north to fouth, is the caufe of an extraordinary phenomenon in natural history. The countries which are feparated by these mountains, though under the fame latitude. have their feasons and climate entirely different; for while it is winter on one fide of the hills, it is fum fummer on the other. On the coaft of Malabar a S. W. wind begins to blow from the fea at the end of June, with continued rain, and continues four months, during which time the weather is calm and ferene on the coaft of Coromandel; and toward the end of October, the rainy feason, which they term the change of the monfoon, begins on the coaft of Coromandel; at which time, the tempeftuous winds beating continually against a coaft, on which there are no good ports, make it fo dangerous for the fhipping to remain there for the three enfuing months, that it is fcarce ever attempted. This is the cause of the periodical return of our fhips to Bombay, where there is a fecure harbour, and convenient docks. Without fome explanations it will be difficult to conceive how a handful of Europeans fhould appear fo refpectable in the field, when oppofed to a multitude of Afiatics. It is alfo difficult to conceive how fuch vaft multitudes as the Afiatic armies frequently confift of, efpe. cially with fo large a proportion of horfe, can be fubfifted, as every horfeman has two fervants, one to take care of his horfe, the other to procure him forage, and all these are not only accompanied with their wives and children, but there always follows the camp a moveable town of fhops, where every thing is to be fold as in their cities, fome hundreds of elephants for ftate only, and a train of women (with their numberless retinue) belonging to the prince and the great officers. To provide for all thefe, the whole country is put in motion, and the strictest orders are given for all provifions to be brought into the camp. By this means all the cities far and near are exhausted, but the camp, for the most part, is plentifully fupplied. The forage is procured in the following manner: Every horfeman is allowed a man for the purpose, who is conftantly employed in cutting turf, and washing the roots of it; and this is a more hearty food for a horfe than grafs. A fhower of rain produces another crop in a few days time; and, in case of continuing dry weather, they move their camp to fresh ground. They alfo feed their horfes in the rice fields; and where meet is plenty, they boil the offal to rags, and mixing it with butter and fome forts of grain, make balls of it, which they thruft down the horses throats. In a fcarcity of provifions, they give them opium, which has the fame effect both on the horses and men, for at once it damps their appetites, and enables them to endure fatigue. The horses of the country are naturally fo exceedingly vicious, that they are not to be broke in the manage, and cannot be brought to act with the fame regularity in the field, as a fquadron of European cavalry. The Perfian horfes being more gentle and docile, are greatly esteemed, and often valued at a thousand guineas. Thofe of India fell for fifty or a hundred. Many of the Indians abstain from all kinds of animal food, and live chiefly, if not wholly, upon rice; and they have fo great a veneration for cows, that they are all prohibited by their religion, from killing any of that fpecies; therefore there generally is a fufficient fupply of beef for the Mahometan foldiery, and the fmall proportion of Europeans. Their rivers, when they are not fordable, in the rainy feafon become torrents, being fwelled to fuch a B 4 degree, |