78 The Beginning of British Honduras
sel. After shooting and firing, he and his friends started
pirating, and went to Grand Caymans to fit themselves up
still better. Here he met Captain George Lowther on the
"Happy Delivery," who paid his compliments to Low and
proposed an alliance.
 As admiral and commodore they sailed with their fleet for
the Bay of Honduras, and took the "Greyhound," 200 tons,
Benjamin Edwards, commander, belonging to Boston. The
fight lasted an hour, and when the pirates came on board they
cut, slashed, and whipped from right and left. Cruising along
the reef towards the Sapodilla Cayes they took two brigan-
tines from Boston and a sloop each from Connecticut, Vir-
ginia, and Jamaica. Of these five vessels they sank two, burnt
two, and unloaded one which they gave back to the master
who owned her. Then they seized a 100 ton sloop belonging
to Rhode Island which they kept and mounted with 8 car-
riage and 10 swivel guns. Harris, the second mate of the
"Greyhound" decided to join them, and the fleets went to
Port Moho, or San Fernando de Omoa, to careen. Here they
did a foolish thing. They took off sails, made tents by the
waterside wherein they put their plunder and stores. When
the ships were on the heel and they were occupied in heaving
down and scrubbing the Spaniards attacked from the land.
The pirates were in no condition to defend themselves, and
had to flee to their ships and leave their spoils which were of
great value on the shore. The Spaniards even burnt Low-
ther's flagship the "Happy Delivery."
 The pirates knew that the logwood sloops brought rare
European and other merchandise from Jamaica and New
England for the interior cities of the Spanish Main where
these goods were contraband. The Sloops Caye Channel was
used to elude the Spanish guardiacosta and to discharge to
the Spanish agents who paid for the cargoes. Lowther's pirat-
ical activities after he left England were mainly on the West
African coast, and he was not familiar with the waters of this
new area. He and Low now parted, but several hundred