By the time the war-vessel had arrived at de los Cayos, L'Olonnois had
made his preparation to attack the place. He had procured two large
canoes, and in these he had intended to row up to the town and land with
his men. But now there was a change in the state of affairs, and he was
obliged to alter his plans. The ordinary person in command of two small
boats, who should suddenly discover that a village which he supposed
almost defenceless, was protected by a large man-of-war, with cannon and
a well-armed crew, would have altered his plans so completely that he
would have left that part of the coast of Cuba with all possible
expedition. But the pirates of that day seemed to pay very little
attention to the element of odds; if they met an enemy who was weak,
they would fall upon him, and if they met with one who was a good deal
stronger than themselves, they would fall upon him all the same. When
the time came to fight they fought.
Of course L'Olonnois could not now row leisurely up to the town and
begin to pillage it as he had intended, but no intention of giving up
his project entered his mind. As the Spanish vessel was in his way, he
would attack her and get her out of his way if the thing could be done.
In this new state of affairs he was obliged to use stratagem, and he
also needed a larger force than he had with him, and he therefore
captured some men who were fishing along the coast and put them into his
canoes to help work the oars.
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