Protestant Sea Rovers


worked in Coban, spoke Pokonchi, and had visited the Golfo
Dulce and Puerto Caballos. From the Renegade or Ran-
guana Cayd Lucifer learnt of his coming. In "A Survey of
the West Indies, or the English American, his Travels by Sea
and Land," printed in London 1655, Friar Gage tells us that
"on shipboard Lucifer refused to return the 7,000 dollars in
money, pearls, and precious stones he had taken from the
friar, but invited him to a stately dinner in the frigate where
amongst many other health he drank one unto his mother
and gave his guest a message to her in Havana, which he de-
livered in person in the following year."
 In the year 1628, Admiral Piet Heyn with 31 ships, 689
cannons, and 3,900 sailors and soldiers cruised about the Bay
of Honduras and waited for the annual Plate Fleet coming
from Cartagena de Indias, Panama, and Vera Cruz laden with
the treasures of Mexico and Peru. From Grand Caymans,
Caye Bokel, and Providence his fly-boats were directed to
seek information as they retired before the galleons. On
September 10, 1628 he drove this assembled fleet into the
Bay of Matanzas and forced it to surrender. When the booty
was sold in Holland it brought 12 million guilders. For years
before and after other European nations tried to seize this
annual Plate Fleet, but the only nation which ever succeeded
was the Dutch, led by Piet Heyn, now buried in the cathedral
in Delft.
 In 1629 Jan Jansz Van Horn, who had distinguished him-
 self under Piet Heyn, was cruising with his fleet in the Bay
 and in the Yucatan Channel. In 1633 he took Truxillo and
 then Campeche after heavy fighting around the convent of
 San Francisco. The ransom of forty thousand dollars de-
 manded was not obtained in full. In both these raids his ally
 and pilot Diego el Mulato took part with his fleet of 10 ships
 and 500 men who were mainly Dutch and English, with a
 few French and Portuguese. The "Otter" was also in the
 fight at Campeche, and the Yucatecs maintained that the
 ransom on this occasion was demanded by Captain Jol.