The pirates were the first to open the battle, which they did when
within about a quarter of a mile from us, giving us a broadside. It was
the first time that I had ever been under fire in all of my life, and
never shall I forget it as long as I may live. Their aim was wonderfully
accurate, so that when their shot struck us a great cloud of white
splinters flew from a dozen places at once. I saw three men drop upon
the deck, and one who stood at a gun on the quarter-deck just below me
leaned suddenly forward half across the cannon with a deep groan, whilst
a fountain of blood gushed out from his bosom across the carriage and
upon the deck. One of the others caught him by the arm, whereupon he
turned half round and then slipped and fell forward upon his face. He
was the first man killed in this action, and the first that I ever
beheld die in a like manner.
The _Cassandra_ answered the pirate's fire almost immediately. But our
guns were trained, as I had ordered, upon the oars and not upon the
crowded decks, so that while every shot that they delivered told upon
the lives of the poor fellows aboard the _Cassandra_, our return fire
did apparently no harm to them.
I hope I may never again feel such an agony of impatience and doubt and
almost despair, as I beheld my men fall by ones and twos upon the deck,
which soon became stained and smeared with their blood whilst the pirate
craft came drifting ever nigher and nigher to us, its decks swarming
with yelling, naked wretches that in their aspect and manners resembled
demons incarnated rather than mortal men.
"Mr. Langely," said I, in a low voice, "if those oars are not broken in
five minutes' time we are all lost." For there yet remained three
thrust through the ports upon the side nighest to the _Cassandra_, and
the current was carrying the pirate craft in such a direction that if
they were able to hold their course a little while longer they would be
almost certain to drift upon us and so board us.
One minute passed, and two minutes, then there was a shiver of
splinters, and only one oar was left. Instantly the stern of the sloop
began to swing slowly around towards us, for one oar was not enough to
keep her to the current. I could see the ash wood bend with the strain
like a willow twig, then--snap!--it broke, and around came the stern
with a swing directly under our fire. The pirates sprang to the
main-sheets, but it was too late to save themselves.
When the crew of the _Cassandra_ saw the result of their fire they burst
out shouting and cheering like madmen. Down came the sloop drifting
stern on, whilst the _Cassandra_, making up for lost time, poured
broadside after broadside into her. Never did I behold such a sight in
all of my life, for every shot we gave her ploughed great lanes along
her crowded decks. To make matters worse for them, their mast was
presently shot through, falling alongside in a great tangled wreck, thus
preventing any manoeuvres which they might still have hoped to make.
They drifted by us at about forty or fifty yards' distance, shouting and
yelling, and giving us a last broadside with great courage and
determination. They presently ran aground upon a sandbar and there stuck
fast for the time, though in such shoal water that we could not come
nigher to them than we then were.
All this while the barque had been slowly making her way through the
tortuous turnings of the channel. At one point, the water being low, she
had run aground, and though she had cleared again with the rising tide,
she had been so delayed by this mischance that she had not been able to
come up in aid of her consort.
But immediately they discerned what mishap had befallen the sloop, and
that she was fast aground and in no present position to attack us, they
hove to and lay directly athwart the channel.
I at once perceived their intentions, and that they were determined to
keep us shut up where we were until the sloop could float clear away
with the rising tide and resume her attack against us. It was then that
the resolve entered my mind not to await an attack but to seek it
ourselves; for though the crew of the barque must have outnumbered that
of the _Cassandra_ two to one, she was yet much the smaller vessel of
the two and the less heavily armed. Now, if we could only once get past
her and safe into the channel our safety would be wellnigh assured; for,
as said above, the _Cassandra_ was one of the best sailers at the East
India Company's docks.
I turned and beckoned my first mate to me. "Sir," said I, "yonder is our
one and only chance of getting away; we must run down upon that vessel
in the channel, engage her, and trust to God and take our chance of
getting safe past her and away. If we are fortunate enough to pass her
we can gain a good start before she can round to in such narrow
sea-room." Mr. Langely opened his mouth as though to speak. "Nay, nay,
sir," I cried, "it is our only chance, and we _must_ take it."
* * * * *
At first we did not suffer so much as I had expected from the fire of
the pirate; but when we had come within one hundred or two hundred yards
of them, and when within range of the musketry in their fore and main
tops, their fire was truly dreadful.
The _Cassandra's_ wheel was stationed under the overhang of the
poop-deck, and upon the helmsman most of their aim was concentrated;
for if the _Cassandra_ was once allowed to fall off, and should run
aground in the narrow channel, she would then be in their power, and
they could destroy her at their leisure.
One after another three men fell at that dangerous post, which was
entirely open to the pirate's fire. We were now within one hundred and
fifty yards of them, and a fourth took hold, but only for a minute, for
he presently dropped upon his knees, though he still kept a tight grip
on the wheel, keeping the ship upon her course. Mr. Langely and I were
standing under the overhang of the poop, whereupon he, seeing that the
man was wounded, without waiting for orders from me, sprang forward and
seized the wheel in his own hands just as the other fell forward upon
his face.
The next minute Mr. Langely cried out, "My God, captain, I am shot!" His
right hand fell at his side, and in an instant I beheld his shirt
stained with blood that gushed out from the wound in his shoulder.
The ship beginning to fall off, I ran forward and took the wheel myself,
for in a minute more, if we held our course, we would be under the
pirate's stern, and in a position to rake them with our starboard
broadside. I heard a dozen bullets strike into the wood-work around me;
one struck the wheel, so that I felt as if my hand and my wrist were
paralyzed by the jar. The next instant I felt a terrible blow upon my
head; a hot red stream gushed over my face and into my eyes, and for a
moment my brain reeled. Some one caught hold of me, but just as darkness
settled upon me I felt the ship shake beneath me and heard the roar of
our broadside. We were under the pirate's stern at last.
* * * * *
I could not have lain insensible for many minutes, for when I opened my
eyes and saw the surgeon and my second mate bending over me, it was
still with the roar of cannon in my ears.
"How is this, Mr. White?" cried I; "are we not then past the pirate?"
"Sir," said my second mate, in a very serious voice, "we are run
aground."
"And the pirate?" cried I.
"She is also aground," said he, "and we rake her with every shot."
I got to my feet, in spite of the surgeon's protest, putting him
impatiently aside.
It was as Mr. White said; the pirate was aground about two or three
hundred yards away from us, fast stuck upon the bar, stern towards us.
She must have received more than one shot betwixt wind and water, for
she was heeled over to one side, and I could see a stream of bloody
water pouring continually from her scupper-holes.
But I also saw that we were stuck hard and fast, and that though our
position was better than theirs, every shot that we fired drove us with
the recoil more firmly aground. I at once gave orders that all firing
except with muskets should be stopped; so there we lay aground for more
than half an hour, answering the pirate's fire with our flintlocks.
Although this was dreadful for us to bear at the time, in the end it
proved to be our salvation; for when the tide raised we floated clear
fully ten minutes before the pirates, and so escaped immediate
destruction.
In the mean time, whilst we lay there the sloop had floated clear, and
the pirates having cut away the wreck of the main-mast, and having
rigged up oars like those we had shot away, presently came to the aid of
their consort. Seeing our situation, and that we were fast aground, they
did not attack us directly, but made for the channel by the way which
they had left it, thus entering above us and cutting off all our chance
of escape. For though we had so nearly passed the other craft, we could
not hope to pass them without being boarded, for with their oars they
could come as they chose, and were not dependent on the wind.
So soon as they had entered the channel they laid their course directly
for us, but before they could come up with us, we also had floated
clear, as before stated; and though we could not escape to the open
water, we were yet enabled to enter the harbor again, which we did,
followed by the fire of the pirate barque.
The wind now had almost fallen away again, so that the sloop, driven by
her oars, and enabled by her light draught to cross the shoals and bars
which we could not make, began to draw up with us, endeavoring with all
diligence to board us. Nevertheless, we contrived to make a running
fight of it for almost an hour.
At last, the other vessel having repaired her damages, and having some
time since floated clear off, came down upon us in aid of her consort,
for the sloop was very plainly filling rapidly, having heeled over so
much to one side that her decks were greatly exposed to our fire.
For all this long time the _Greenwich_ and Ostender had been riding at
about three or four miles distant, not being able to escape to open
water whilst the pirates held the channel. But so far from coming to our
assistance, they made no sign of help or fired so much as a single gun
in our aid.
By this time more than half of my officers and men had been either
killed or wounded, so that when I beheld the barque, crowded with naked,
howling wretches, thirsting for our blood, come bearing down upon us,
and when I beheld how little hope there was of Captain Kirby's coming to
our assistance, I could see no other chance for our safety than to run
the _Cassandra_ ashore, and, if possible, to escape to the beach as best
we could. Accordingly, I gave the necessary orders to Mr. White, and the
_Cassandra_ laid her course for the beach, closely followed only by the
pirate barque, the sloop having already been run ashore about half a
mile below to keep her from sinking.
In five minutes the _Cassandra_ struck, grounding at about fifty yards
from the shore. The pirate drew fully four feet less water, but it
pleased God that she stuck fast on higher ground, so that, after all,
they were prevented from boarding us.
Here we fought, for nearly an hour, the last, and I know not whether it
was not the bloodiest engagement of that whole day; nor can I
sufficiently praise the behavior not only of the officers, but of the
men, who even in this extremity behaved with the most extraordinary
courage, though the crew of the sloop supplied the larger vessel with
three boatfuls of fresh men.
Meantime the _Greenwich_ followed the lead of the Ostender and stood
clear away to sea, leaving us struggling in the very jaws of death. Soon
after the pirate craft floated clear off with the rising tide, and
immediately fell to work fitting out warps to haul out under our stern,
though still at some distance from us.
Seeing this, no hope remained for us but to leave the ship, if possible,
with the passengers and such of our men as were still alive, trusting to
Providence not only to bring us safe away, but to keep us all in that
desolate country amongst a strange and savage people.