A pilot boat with a crew of 19 men and only two small cannons boarded an English three-masted ship of 1,000 tons, manned by 150 Europeans, armed with 26 twelve-guns and loaded with rifles, axes and pistols (...).

A few details of this memorable affair are in order.

"Captain Surcouf, commanding the ship L'Emilie, manned by 30 men, set sail in the month of Fructidor, on the 4th, from the north-west port of Isle de France (now Mauritius) to go to the Seychelles Islands to pick up a load of timber which the colony badly needed. (...) As chance would have it, three English ships were offered, loaded with rice. All were taken. The ships were accompanied by a schooner (pilot boat), which was also taken. (...)

We hurried back to Isle de France with the joy of bringing abundance, when, during the night, a new English ship was discovered, La Diana, coming from Bengal and going to Madras, loaded with six thousand bags of rice. The English ship was attacked and, after a determined fight, fell to Captain Surcouf, who had only two small cannon.

No sooner had daylight begun to appear than a large three-masted vessel was seen in the distance. It soon hoisted the English flag. Fleeing (...) was impossible, you had to win or die: Captain Surcouf resolved to win.

He had La Diana put abeam to wait, and sent for reinforcements. The crew of his little schooner was increased to 19 men. It was soon discovered that the ship was one of the large vessels of the Compagnie des Indes, that she was heavily armed and that her crew appeared to be numerous.

The shooner, captained by Surcouf, was flying the English flag. Cunning would be combined with valour. Captain Surcouf had hidden his crew in the space between the decks, remaining alone with two officers, in order to make the enemy crew feel safer.

We were already within pistol range. Tempers flared, the three-coloured flag was raised, and at the same time, the two cannons, the only ones the schooner had, were fired. The quickly announced hostility surprised the English, who at first rushed to their batteries to crush the wretched, audacious schooner. But the signal for the boarding was given, and although there was no grapnel in the schooner, it was executed as quickly as thought."