ONE of the particular Advantages of the following Letters from
Captain _Avery_, is, the Satisfaction they will give the Readers how much
they have been impos'd upon in the former ridiculous and extravagant
Accounts which have been put upon the World in what has been publish'd
already._
_It has been enough to the Writers of this Man's Life, as they call it,
that they could put any Thing together, to make a kind of monstrous unheard
of Story, as romantick as the Reports that have been spread about of him;
and the more those Stories appear'd monstrous and incredible, the more
suitable they seem'd to be to what the World would have been made to expect
of Captain _Avery_._
_There is always a great Deference between what Men say of themselves, and
what others say for them, when they come to write Historically of the
Transactions of their Lives._
_The Publisher of these Letters recommends this Performance to the Readers,
to make their Judgment of the Difference between them and the extravagant
Stories already told, and which is most likely to be genuine; and, as they
verily believe these Letters to be the best and truest Account of Captain
_Avery_'s Piracies, that ever has or ever will come to the Knowledge of the
World, they recommend them as such, and doubt not but they will answer for
themselves in the Reading._
_The Account given of Captain _Avery_'s taking the Great Mogul's Daughter,
ravishing and murdering her, and all the Ladies of her Retinue, is so
differently related here, and so extravagantly related before, that it
cannot but be a Satisfaction to the most unconcern'd Reader, to find such a
horrible Piece of Villainy as the other was suppos'd to be, not to have
been committed in the World._
_On the contrary, we find here, that except plundering that Princess of her
Jewels and Money to a prodigious Value, a Thing which, falling into the
Hands of Freebooters, every one that had the Misfortune to fall into such
Hands would expect: But, that excepting this, the Lady was used with all
the Decency and Humanity, and, perhaps, with more than ever Women, falling
among Pirates, had found before; especially considering that, by Report,
she was a most beautiful and agreeable Person herself, as were also several
of those about her._
_The Booty taken with her, tho' infinitely great in itself, yet has been so
magnify'd beyond common Sense, that it makes all the rest that has been
said of those Things ridiculous and absurd._
_The like Absurdity in the former Relations of this Matter, is that of the
making an Offer of I know not how many Millions to the late Queen, for
Captain _Avery_'s Pardon, with a Petition to the Queen, and her Majesty's
negative Answer; all which are as much true as his being Master of so many
Millions if Money, which he nor his Gang never had; and of his being
proclaim'd King of _Madagascar_; marrying the Mogul's Daughter, and the
like: And, by the Bye, it was but ill laid together of those who publish'd,
that he first ravish'd her, then murder'd her, and then marry'd her; all
which are very remarkable for the recommending the Thing to those that read
it._
_If these Stories are explain'd here, and duly expos'd, and the History of
Captain _Avery_ set in a fairer Light, the End is answer'd; and of this the
Readers are to be the only Judges: But this may be said, without any
Arrogance, that this Story, stripp'd of all the romantick, improbable, and
impossible Parts of it, looks more like the History of Captain _Avery_,
than any Thing yet publish'd ever has done; and, if it is not prov'd that
the Captain wrote these Letters himself, the Publisher says, None but the
Captain himself will ever be able to mend them._
THE King of PIRATES.
YOU may be sure I receiv'd with Resentment enough the Account,
that a most ridiculous Book, entitled, _My Life and Adventures_, had been
publish'd in _England_, being fully assur'd nothing of Truth could be
contain'd in such a Work; and tho' it may be true, that my extravagant
Story may be the proper Foundation of a Romance, yet as no Man has a Title
to publish it better than I have to expose and contradict it, I send you
this by one of my particular Friends, who having an Opportunity of
returning into _England_, has promis'd to convey it faithfully to you; by
which, at least, two Things shall be made good to the World; first, that
they shall be satisfy'd in the scandalous and unjust Manner in which others
have already treated me, and it shall give, in the mean Time, a larger
Account of what may at present be fit to be made publick, of my unhappy
tho' successful Adventures.
I shall not trouble my Friends with any Thing of my Original and first
Introduction into the World, I leave it to you to add from yourself what
you think proper to be known on that Subject; only this I enjoin you to
take Notice of, that the Account printed of me, with all the Particulars of
my Marriage, my being defrauded, and leaving my Family and native Country
on that Account, is a meer Fable and a made Story, to embellish, as the
Writer of it perhaps suppos'd, the rest of his Story, or perhaps to fill up
the Book, that it might swell to a Magnitude which his barren Invention
could not supply.
In the present Account, I have taken no Notice of my Birth, Infancy, Youth,
or any of that Part; which, as it was the most useless Part of my Years to
myself so 'tis the most useless to any one that shall read this Work to
know, being altogether barren of any Thing remarkable in it self, or
instructing to others: It is sufficient to me to let the World know, as
above, that the former Accounts, made publick, are utterly false, and to
begin my Account of myself at a Period which may be more useful and
entertaining.
It may be true, that I may represent some Particulars of my Life, in this
Tract, with Reserve, or Enlargement, such as may be sufficient to conceal
any Thing in my present Circumstance that ought to be conceal'd and
reserv'd, with Respect to my own Safety; and therefore, if on Pretence of
Justice the busy World should look for me in one Part of the World when I
am in another, search for my new Kingdom in _Madagascar_, and should not
find it, or search for my Settlement on one Side of the Island, when it
lies on another, they must not take this ill; for Self-preservation being
the supreme Law of Nature, all Things of this Kind must submit to that.
In Order then to come immediately to my Story, I shall, without any
Circumlocutions, give you Leave to tell the World, that being bred to the
Sea from a Youth, none of those romantick Introductions publish'd had any
Share in my Adventures, or were any way the Cause of my taking the Courses
I have since been embark'd in: But as in several Parts of my wandring Life
I had seen something of the immense Wealth, which the Buccaneers, and other
Adventurers, met with in their scouring about the World for Purchase, I
had, for a long Time, meditated in my Thoughts to get possess'd of a good
Ship for that Purpose, if I could, and to try my Fortune. I had been some
Years in the Bay of _Campeachy_, and tho' with Patience I endur'd the
Fatigue of that laborious Life, yet it was as visible to others as to
myself, that I was not form'd by Nature for a Logwood-Cutter, any more than
I was for a Foremast-man; and therefore Night and Day I apply'd myself to
study how I should dismiss myself from that Drudgery, and get to be, first
or last, Master of a good Ship, which was the utmost of my Ambition at that
Time; resolving, in the mean Time, that when ever any such Thing should
happen, I would try my Fortune in the Cruising Trade, but would be sure not
to prey upon my own Countrymen.
It was many Years after this before I could bring my Purposes to pass; and
I serv'd, first, in some of the Adventures of Captain _Sharp_, Captain
_Sawkins_, and others, in their bold Adventures in the South Seas, where I
got a very good Booty; was at the taking of _Puna_, where we were oblig'd
to leave infinite Wealth behind us, for want of being able to bring it
away; and after several Adventures in those Seas, was among that Party who
fought their Way Sword in Hand thro' all the Detachments of the
_Spaniards_, in the Journey over Land, cross the Isthmus of _Darien_, to
the North Seas; and when other of our Men gat away, some one Way, some
another, I, with twelve more of our Men, by Help of a _Periagua_, gat into
the Bay of _Campeachy_, where we fell very honestly to cutting of Logwood,
not for Want, but to employ ourselves till we could make off.
Here three of our Men dy'd, and we that were left, shar'd their Money among
us; and having stay'd here two Years, without seeing any Way of Escape that
I dar'd to trust to, I at last, with two of our Men, who spoke _Spanish_
perfectly well, made a desperate Attempt to travel over Land to L-- having
bury'd all our Money, (which was worth eight thousand Pieces of Eight a
Man, tho' most of it in Gold) in a Pit in the Earth which we dug twelve
Foot deep, and where it would have lyen still, for no Man knew where to
look for it; but we had an Opportunity to come at it again some Years
after.
We travell'd along the Sea-shore five Days together, the Weather exceeding
hot, and did not doubt but we should so disguise ourselves as to be taken
for _Spaniards_; but our better Fortune provided otherwise for us, for the
sixth Day of our March we found a Canoe lying on the Shore with no one in
her: We found, however, several Things in her, which told us plainly that
she belong'd to some _Englishmen_ who were on Shore; so we resolv'd to sit
down by her and wait: By and by we heard the _Englishmen_, who were seven
in Number, and were coming back to their Boat, having been up the Country
to an _Ingenio_, where they had gotten great Quantities of Provision, and
were bringing it down to their Boat which they had left on the Shore, (with
the Help of five _Indians_, of whom they had bought it) not thinking there
was any People thereabouts: When they saw us, not knowing who we were, they
were just going to fire at us; when I, perceiving it, held up a white Flag
as high as I could reach it, which was, in short, only a Piece of an old
Linnen Wastcoat which I had on, and pull'd it off for the Occasion; upon
this, however, they forbore firing at us, and when they came nearer to us,
they could easily see that we were their own Countrymen: They enquir'd of
us what we came there for; we told them, we had travell'd from _Campeachy_,
where being tir'd with the Hardships of our Fortune, and not getting any
Vessel to carry us where we durst go, we were even desperate, and cared not
what became of us; so that had not they came to us thus happily, we should
have put our selves into the Hands of the _Spaniards_ rather than have
perish'd where we were.
They took us into their Boat, and afterwards carry'd us on Board their
Ship; when we came there, we found they were a worse Sort of Wanderers than
ourselves, for tho' we had been a Kind of Pyrates, known and declar'd
Enemies to the _Spaniards_, yet it was to them only, and to no other; for
we never offer'd to rob any of our other _European_ Nations, either _Dutch_
or _French_, much less _English_; but now we were listed in the Service of
the Devil indeed, and, like him, were at War with all Mankind.
However, we not only were oblig'd to sort with them, while with them, but
in a little Time the Novelty of the Crime wore off, and we grew harden'd to
it, like the rest: And in this Service I spent four Years more of my Time.
Our Captain in this Pirate Ship was nam'd _Nichols_, but we call'd him
Captain _Redhand_; it seems it was a _Scots_ Sailor gave him that Name,
when he was not the Head of the Crew, because he was so bloody a Wretch,
that he scarce ever was at the taking any Prize, but he had a Hand in some
Butchery or other.
They were hard put to it for fresh Provisions, or they would not have sent
thus up into the Country a single Canoe; and when I came on Board they were
so straiten'd, that, by my Advice, they resolv'd to go to the Isle of
_Cuba_ to kill wild Beef, of which the South Side of the Island is so full:
Accordingly we sail'd thither directly.
The Vessel carry'd sixteen Guns, but was fitted to carry twenty two, and
there was on Board one hundred and sixty stout Fellows, as bold and as
case-harden'd for the Work as ever I met with upon any Occasion whatever:
We victual'd in this Place for eight Months, by our Calculation; but our
Cook, who had the Management of the Salting and Pickling the Beef, order'd
his Matters so, that had he been let alone he would have starv'd us all,
and poison'd us too; for as we are oblig'd to hunt the black Cattle in the
Island sometimes a great while before we can shoot them, it should be
observ'd, that the Flesh of those that are heated before they are kill'd,
is not fit to be pickled or salted up for Keeping.
But this Man happening to pickle up the Beef, without Regard to this
particular Distinction, most of the Beef, so pickled, stunk before we left
the Place, so that we were oblig'd to throw it all away: The Men then said
it was impossible to salt any Beef in those hot Countries, so as to
preserve it, and would have had us given it over, and ha' gone to the Coast
of _New England_, or _New York_, for Provisions; but I soon convinc'd them
of the Mistake, and by only using the Caution, _viz._ not to salt up any
Beef of those Cattle that had been hunted, we cur'd one hundred and forty
Barrels of very good Beef, and such as lasted us a very great while.
I began to be of some Repute among them upon this Occasion, and _Redhand_
took me into the Cabin with him to consult upon all Emergencies, and gave
me the Name of Captain, though I had then no Command: By this Means I gave
him an Account of all my Adventures in the South Seas, and what a
prodigious Booty we got there with Captain _Goignet_, the _Frenchman_, and
with Captain _Sharp_, and others; encouraging him to make an Attempt that
Way, and proposing to him to go away to the _Brasils_, and so round by the
Straits of _Magellan_, or _Cape Horn_.
However, in this he was more prudent than I, and told me, that not only the
Strength but the Force of his Ship was too small, not but that he had Men
enough, as he said very well, but he wanted more Guns, and a better Ship;
for indeed the Ship we were in was but a weak crazy Boat for so long a
Voyage: So he said he approv'd my Project very well, but that he thought we
should try to take some more substantial Vessel for the Business: And says
he, if we could but take a good stout Ship, fit to carry thirty Guns, and a
Sloop, or Brigantine, he would go with all his Heart.
This I could not but approve of; so we form'd the Scheme of the Design, and
he call'd all his Men together, and propos'd it to them, and they all
approv'd it with a general Consent; and I had the Honour of being the
Contriver of the Voyage. From this Time we resolv'd, some how or other, to
get a better Ship under us, and it was not long before an Opportunity
presented to our Mind.
Being now upon the Coast of the Island of _Cuba_, we stood away West,
coasting the Island, and so went away for _Florida_, where we cruis'd among
the Islands, and in the Wake of the Gulph; but nothing presented a great
while; at length we spy'd a Sail, which prov'd an _English_ homeward bound
Ship from _Jamaica_: We immediately chac'd her, and came up with her; she
was a stout Ship, and the Captain defended her very well; and had she not
been a comber'd deep Ship, being full loaded, so that they could scarce
come at their Guns, we should have had our Hands full of her. But when they
found what we were, and that, being full of Men, we were resolv'd to be on
Board them, and that we had hoisted the black Flag, a Signal that we would
give them no Quarter, they began to sink in their Spirits, and soon after
cry'd Quarter, offering to yield: _Redhand_ would have given them no
Quarter, but, according to his usual Practice, would have thrown the Men
all into the Sea; but I prevail'd with him to give them Quarter, and good
Usage too; and so they yielded; and a very rich Prize it was, only that we
knew not what to do with the Cargo.
When we came to consider more seriously the Circumstances we were in by
taking this Ship, and what we should do with her, we found, that she was
not only deep loaden, but was a very heavy Sailer, and that, in short, she
was not such a Ship as we wanted; so, upon long Debate, we resolv'd to take
out of her all the Rum, the Indigo, and the Money we could come at, with
about twenty Casks of Sugar, and twelve of her Guns, with all the
Ammunition, small Arms, Bullets, _&c._ and let her go; which was
accordingly done, to the great Joy of the Captain that commanded her:
However, we took in her about six thousand Pounds Sterling in Pieces of
Eight.
But the next Prize we met, suited us better on all Accounts, being a Ship
from _Kingsale_ in _Ireland_, loaden with Beef, and Butter, and Beer, for
_Barbadoes_; never was Ship more welcome to Men in our Circumstances; this
was the very Thing we wanted: We saw the Ship early in the Morning, at
about five Leagues Distance, and we was three Days in Chace of her; she
stood from us, as if she would have run away for the _Cape de Verd_
Islands, and two or three Times we thought she sail'd so well she would
have got away from us, but we had always the good Luck to get Sight of her
in the Morning: She was about 260 Tun, an _English_ Frigat-built Ship, and
had 12 Guns on Board, but could carry 20. The Commander was a Quaker, but
yet had he been equal to us in Force, it appear'd by his Countenance he
would not have been afraid of his Flesh, or have baulk'd using the Carnal
Weapon of Offence, _viz._ the Cannon Ball.
We soon made ourselves Master of this Ship when once we came up with him,
and he was every Thing that we wanted; so we began to shift our Guns into
her, and shifted about 60 Tun of her Butter and Beef into our own Frigate;
this made the _Irish_ Vessel be a clear Ship, lighter in the Water, and
have more Room on Board for Fight, if Occasion offer'd.
When we had the old Quaking Skipper on Board, we ask'd him whether he would
go along with us; he gave us no Answer at first; but when we ask'd him
again, he return'd, that he did not know whether it might be safe for him
to answer the Question: We told him, he should either go or stay, as he
pleas'd; Why then, says he, I had rather ye will give me Leave to decline
it.
We gave him Leave, and accordingly set him on Shore afterwards at _Nevis_,
with ten of his Men; the rest went along with us as Volunteers, except the
Carpenter and his Mate, and the Surgeon, those we took by Force: We were
now supply'd as well as Heart could wish, had a large Ship in our
Possession, with Provisions enough for a little Fleet rather than for a
single Ship. So with this Purchase we went away for the _Leeward Islands_,
and fain we would have met with some of the _New York_ or _New England_
Ships, which generally come loaden with Peas, Flower, Pork, _&c._ But it
was a long while before any Thing of that Kind presented. We had promis'd
the _Irish_ Captain to set him on Shore, with his Company, at _Nevis_, but
we were not willing till we had done our Business in those Seas, because of
giving the Alarm among the Islands; so we went away for St. _Domingo_, and
making that Island our Rendezvous, we cruis'd to the Eastward, in Hopes of
some Purchase; it was not long before we spy'd a Sail, which prov'd to be a
_Burmoodas_ Sloop, but bound from _Virginia_ or _Maryland_, with Flower,
Tobacco, and some Malt; the last a Thing which in particular we knew not
what to do with: However, the Flower and Tobacco was very welcome, and the
Sloop no less welcome than the rest; for she was a very large Vessel, and
carry'd near 60 Tun, and when not so deep loaden, prov'd an excellent
Sailer. Soon after this we met with another Sloop, but she was bound from
_Barbadoes_ to _New England_, with Rum, Sugar, and Molosses: Nothing
disturb'd us in taking this Vessel, but that being willing enough to let
her go; (for as to the Sugar and Molosses, we had neither Use for them, or
Room for them) but to have let her go, had been to give the Alarm to all
the Coast of _North America_, and then what we wanted would never come in
our Way. Our Captain, justly call'd _Redhand_, or _Bloodyhand_, was
presently for dispatching them, that they might tell no Tales; and, indeed,
the Necessity of the Method had very near prevail'd; nor did I much
interpose here, I know not why, but some of the other Men put him in as
good a Way; and that was, to bring the Sloop to an Anchor under the Lee of
St. _Domingo_, and take away all her Sails, that she should not stir till
we gave her Leave.
We met with no less than five Prizes more here in about 20 Days Cruise, but
none of them for our Turn; one of them, indeed, was a Vessel bound to St.
_Christopher_'s with _Madera_ Wine: We borrow'd about 20 Pipes of the Wine,
and let her go. Another was a _New England_ built Ship, of about 150 Tun,
bound also Home with Sugar and Molosses, which was good for nothing to us;
however, we gat near 1000 _l._ on Board her in Pieces of Eight, and taking
away her Sails, as before, brought her to an Anchor under the Lee of the
Sloop: At last we met with what we wanted, and this was another Ship of
about 100 Tun, from _New England_, bound to _Barbadoes_; she had on Board
150 Barrels of Flower, about 350 Barrels of Pease, and 10 Tun of Pork
barrell'd up and pickel'd, besides some live Hogs, and some Horses, and six
Tun of Beer.
We were now sufficiently provided for; in all those Prizes we got also
about 56 Men, who, by Choice and Volunteer, agree'd to go along with us,
including the Carpenters and Surgeons, who we oblig'd always to go; so that
we were now above 200 Men, two Ships, and the _Burmoodas_ Sloop; and giving
the other Sloop, and the _New England_ homeward bound Ship their Sails
again, we let them go; and as to the Malt which we took in the _Burmoodas_
Sloop, we gave it the last _New England_ Master, who was going to
_Barbadoes_.
We gat in all those Ships, besides the Provisions above-mention'd, about
200 Musquets and Pistols, good Store of Cutlasses, about 20 Tun of Iron
Shot and Musquet Ball, and 33 Barrels of good Powder, which was all very
suitable Things to our Occasions.
We were fully satisfy'd, as we said to one another, now, and concluded that
we would stand away to the Windward, as well as we could, towards the Coast
of _Africa_, that we might come in the Wind's Way for the Coast of
_Brasil_; but our Frigat (I mean that we were first shipp'd in) was yet out
upon the Cruise, and not come in; so we came to an Anchor to wait for her,
when, behold, the next Morning she came in with full Sail, and a Prize in
Tow: She had, it seems, been farther West than her Orders, but had met with
a _Spanish_ Prize, whither bound, or from whence, I remember we did not
enquire, but we found in her, besides Merchandize, which we had no Occasion
for, 65000 Pieces of Eight in Silver, some Gold, and two Boxes of Pearl of
a good Value; five _Dutch_, or rather _Flemish_, Seamen that were on Board
her, were willing to go with us; and as to the rest of the Cargo, we let
her go, only finding four of her Guns were Brass, we took them into our
Ship, with seven great Jars of Powder, and some Cannon-Shot, and let her
go, using the _Spaniards_ very civilly.
This was a Piece of meer good Fortune to us, and was so encouraging as
nothing could be more, for it set us up, as we may say; for now we thought
we could never fail of good Fortune, and we resolv'd, one and all, directly
to the South Seas.
It was about the Middle of _August_ 1690 that we set forward, and steering
E. by S. and E. S. E. for about fifteen Days, with the Winds at N. N. W.
variable, we came quickly into the Trade Winds, with a good Offing, to go
clear of all the Islands; and so we steer'd directly for _Cape St.
Augustin_ in the _Brasils_, which we made the 22nd of _September_.
We cruis'd some Time upon the Coast, about the Bay of _All Saints_, and put
in once or twice for fresh Water, especially at the Island of St. _John_'s,
where we got good Store of Fish, and some Hogs, which, for fresh
Provisions, was a great Relief to us: But we gat no Purchase here; for
whether it was that their _European_ Ships were just come in, or just gone
out, we know not, or whether they suspected what we were, and so kept close
within their Ports, but in thirteen Days that we ply'd off and on about
_Fernambuque_, and about fourteen Days more that we spent in coasting along
the _Brasil_ Shore to the South, we met not one Ship, neither saw a Sail,
except of their Fishing-Boats or small Coasters, who kept close under
Shore.
We cross'd the Line here about the latter End of _September_, and found the
Air exceeding hot and unwholsome, the Sun being in the _Zenith_, and the
Weather very wet and rainy; so we resolv'd to stand away South, without
looking for any more Purchase on that Side.
Accordingly we kept on to the South, having tolerable good Weather, and
keeping the Shore all the Way in View till we came the Length of St.
_Julien_, in the Latitude of 48 Degrees, 22 Minutes South; here we put in
again, being the Beginning of _November_, and took in fresh Water, and
spent about ten Days, refreshing ourselves, and fitting our Tackle; all
which Time we liv'd upon Penguins and Seals, of which we kill'd an
innumerable Number; and when we prepar'd to go, we salted up as many
Penguins as we found would serve our whole Crew, to eat them twice a Week
as long as they would keep.
Here we consulted together about going thro' the Straits of _Magellan_; but
I put them quite out of Conceit of making that troublesom and fatieguing
Adventure, the Straits being so hazardous, and so many Winds requir'd to
pass them; and having assur'd them, that in our Return with _Bat Sharp_, we
went away to the Latitude of 55 Degrees 30 Minutes, and then steering due
East, came open with the North Seas in five Days Run, they all agreed to go
that Way.
On the 20th of November we weigh'd from Port _Julien_, and having a fair
Wind at N. E. by E. led it away merrily, till we came into the Latitude of
54, when the Wind veering more Northerly, and then to the N. W. blowing
hard, we were driven into 55 Degrees and half, but lying as near as we
could to the Wind, we made some Westward Way withal: The 3d of _December_
the Wind came up South, and S. E. by S. being now just as it were at the
Beginning of the Summer Solstice in that Country.
With this Wind, which blew a fresh Gale, we stood away N. N. W. and soon
found ourselves in open Sea, to the West of _America_; upon which we haul'd
away N. by E. and N. N. E. and then N. E. when on the 20th of _December_ we
made the Land, being the Coast of _Chili_, in the Latitude of 41 Degrees,
about the Height of _Baldivia_; and we stood out from hence till we made
the Isle of St. _Juan Fernando_, where we came to an Anchor, and went on
Shore to get fresh Water; also some of our Men went a hunting for Goats, of
which we kill'd enough to feed us all with fresh Meat for all the while we
stay'd here, which was 22 Days. [_Jan._ 11.]
During this Stay we sent the Sloop out to Cruise, but she came back without
seeing any Vessel; after which we order'd her out again more to the North,
but she was scarce gone a League, when she made a Signal that she saw a
Sail, and that we should come out to help them; accordingly the Frigat put
to Sea after them, but making no Signal for us to follow, we lay still, and
work'd hard at cleaning our Ship, shifting some of the Rigging, and the
like.
We heard no more of them in three Days, which made us repent sorely that we
had not gone all three together; but the third Day they came back, tho'
without any Prize, as we thought, but gave us an Account that they had
chac'd a great Ship and a Bark all Night, and the next Day; that they took
the Bark the Evening before, but found little in her of Value; that the
great Ship ran on Shore among some Rocks, where they durst not go in after
her, but that manning out their Boats, they got on Shore so soon, that the
Men belonging to her durst not land; that then they threaten'd to burn the
Ship as she lay, and burn them all in her, if they did not come on Shore
and surrender: They offer'd to surrender, giving them their Liberty, which
our Men would not promise at first; but after some Parly, and arguing on
both Sides, our Men agreed thus far, that they should remain Prisoners for
so long as we were in those Seas, but that as soon as we came to the Height
of _Panama_, or if we resolv'd to return sooner, then they should be set at
Liberty; and to these hard Conditions they yielded.
Our Men found in the Ship 6 Brass Guns, 200 Sacks of Meal, some Fruit, and
the Value of 160000 Pieces of Eight in Gold of _Chili_, as good as any in
the World: It was a glittering Sight, and enough to dazzle the Eyes of
those that look'd on it, to see such a Quantity of Gold laid all of a Heap
together, and we began to embrace one another in Congratulation of our good
Fortune.
We brought the Prisoners all to the Island _Fernando_, where we used them
very well, built little Houses for them, gave them Bread, and Meat, and
every Thing they wanted; and gave them Powder and Ball to kill Goats with,
which they were fully satisfy'd with, and kill'd a great many for us too.
We continu'd to Cruise [_Feb._ 2] hereabout, but without finding any other
Prize for near three Weeks more; so we resolv'd to go up as high as _Puna_,
the Place where I had been so lucky before; and we assur'd our Prisoners,
that in about two Months we would return, and relieve them; but they chose
rather to be on Board us, so we took them all in again, and kept on with an
easy Sail, at a proper Distance from Land, that we might not be known, and
the Alarm given; for as to the Ship which we had taken, and which was
stranded among the Rocks, as we had taken all the Men out of her, the
People on the Shore, when they should find her, could think no other than
that she was driven on Shore by a Storm, and that all the People were
drown'd, or all escap'd and gone; and there was no Doubt but that the Ship
would beat to Pieces in a very few Days.
We kept, I say, at a Distance from the Shore, to prevent giving the Alarm;
but it was a needless Caution, for the Country was all alarm'd on another
Account, _viz._ about an 130 bold Buccaneers had made their Way over Land,
not at the Isthmus of _Darien_, as usual, but from _Granada_, on the Lake
of _Nicaragua_ to the North of _Panama_, by which, tho' the Way was longer,
and the Country not so practicable as at the ordinary Passage, yet they
were unmolested, for they surpriz'd the Country; and whereas the
_Spaniards_, looking for them at the old Passage, had drawn Entrenchments,
planted Guns, and posted Men at the Passages of the Mountains, to intercept
them and cut them off, here they met with no _Spaniards_, nor any other
Obstruction in their Way, but coming to the South Sea had Time,
undiscover'd, to build themselves Canoes and Periaguas, and did a great
deal of Mischief upon the Shore, having been follow'd, among the rest, by
80 Men more, commanded by one _Guilotte_, a _Frenchman_, an old Buccaneer;
so that they were now 210 Men; and they were not long at Sea before they
took two _Spanish_ Barks going from _Guatimala_ to _Panama_, loaden with
Meal, Coco, and other Provisions; so that now they were a Fleet of two
Barks, with several Canoes, and Periaguas, but no Guns, nor any more
Ammunition than every one carry'd at first at their Backs.
However, this Troop of Desperadoes had alarm'd all the Coast, and Expresses
both by Sea and Land were dispatch'd, to warn the Towns on the Coast to be
upon their Guard, all the way from _Panama_ to _Lima_; but as they were
represented to be only such Freebooters as I have said, Ships of Strength
did not desist their Voyages, as they found Occasion, as we shall observe
presently: We were now gotten into the Latitude of 10, 11, and 12 Degrees
and a Half; but, in our overmuch Caution, had kept out so far to Sea, that
we miss'd every Thing which would otherwise have fallen into our Hands; but
we were better inform'd quickly, as you shall hear.
Early in the Morning, one of our Men being on the Missen-top, cry'd, A
Sail, a Sail; it prov'd to be a small Vessel standing just after us; and as
we understood afterwards, did so, believing that we were some of the King's
Ships looking after the Buccaneers. As we understood she was a-Stern of us,
we shorten'd Sail, and hung out the _Spanish_ Colours, separating
ourselves, to make him suppose we were cruising for the Buccaneers, and did
not look for him; however, when we saw him come forward, but stretching in
a little towards the Shore, we took Care to be so much to Starboard that he
could not escape us that Way; and when he was a little nearer, the Sloop
plainly chac'd him, and in a little Time came up with him, and took him: We
had little Goods in the Vessel, their chief Loading being Meal and Corn for
_Panama_, but the Master happen'd to have 6000 Pieces of Eight in his
Cabin, which was good Booty.
But that which was better than all this to us was, that the Master gave us
an Account of two Ships which were behind, and were under Sail for _Lima_
or _Panama_; the one having the Revenues of the Kingdom of _Chili_, and the
other having a great Quantity of Silver, going from _Puna_ to _Lima_, to be
forwarded from thence to _Panama_, and that they kept together, being Ships
of Force, to protect one another; how they did it we soon saw the Effects
of.
Upon this Intelligence we were very joyful, and assur'd the Master, that if
we found it so, we would give him his Vessel again, and all his Goods,
except his Money, as for That, we told him, such People as we never
return'd it any Body: However, the Man's Intelligence prov'd good, for the
very next Day, as we were standing South-West, our _Spanish_ Colours being
out, as above, we spy'd one of the Ships, and soon after the other; we
found they had discover'd us also, and that being doubtful what to make of
us, they tack'd and stood Eastward to get nearer the Land; we did the like,
and as we found there was no letting them go that Way but that we should be
sure to lose them, we soon let them know that we were resolv'd to speak
with them.
The biggest Ship, which was three Leagues a-Stern of the other, crowded in
for the Shore with all the Sail, she could make, and it was easy for us to
see that she would escape us; for as she was a great deal farther in with
the Land than the other when we first gave Chace, so in about three Hours
we saw the Land plain a-Head of us, and that the great Ship would get into
Port before we could reach her.
Upon this we stretch'd a-Head with all the Sail we could make, and the
Sloop, which crowded also very hard, and out-went us, engag'd the small
Ship at least an Hour before we could come up: But she could make little of
it, for the _Spanish_ Ship having 12 Guns and 6 Patereroes, would have been
too many for the Sloop if we had not come up: However, at length, our
biggest Ship came up also, and, running up under her Quarter, gave her our
whole Broadside; at which she struck immediately, and the _Spaniards_
cry'd, _Quarter_, and _Miserecordia_; Upon this, our Sloop's Men enter'd
her presently, and secur'd her.
In the Beginning oft his Action, it seems, our _Redhand_ Captain was so
provok'd at losing the greater Prize, which, as he thought, had all the
Money on Board, that he swore he would not spare one of the Dogs, (so he
call'd the _Spaniards_ in the other Ship) but he was prevented; and it was
very happy for the _Spaniards_, that the first Shot the Ship made towards
us, just as we were running up to pour in our Broadside, I say, the first
Shot took Captain _Redhand_ full on the Breast, and shot his Head and one
Shoulder off, so that he never spoke more, nor did I find that any one Man
in the Ship shew'd the least Concern for him; so certain it is, that
Cruelty never recommends any Man among _Englishmen_; no, tho' they have no
Share in the suffering under it; but one said, D--n him, let him go, he was
a butcherly Dog; another said, D--n him, he was a merciless Son of a B--ch;
another said, he was a barbarous Dog, and the like.
But to return to the Prize, being now as certain of the smaller Prize as
that we had miss'd the great one, we began to examine what we had got; and
it is not easy to give an exact Account of the prodigious Variety of Things
we found: In the first Place, were 116 Chests of Pieces of Eight in Specie,
72 Bars of Silver, 15 Bags of wrought Plate, which a Fryer that was on
Board would have perswaded us, for the Sake of the Blessed Virgin, to have
return'd, being, as he said, consecrated Plate to the Honour of the holy
Church, the Virgin _Mary_, and St. _Martin_; but, as it happen'd, he could
not perswade us to it; also we found about 60000 Ounces of Gold, some in
little Wedges, some in Dust. We found several other Things of Value, but
not to be nam'd with the rest.
Being thus made surprisingly rich, we began to think what Course we should
steer next; for as the great Ship, which was escap'd, would certainly alarm
the Country, we might be sure we should meet with no more Purchase at Sea,
and we were not very fond of landing, to attack any Town on Shore. In this
Consultation 'tis to be observ'd, that I was, by the unanimous Consent of
all the Crew, made Captain of the great Ship, and of the whole Crew; the
whole Voyage hither, and every Part of it, having, for some Time before,
been chiefly manag'd by my Direction, or at least by my Advice.
The first Thing I propos'd to them all, was, seeing we had met with such
good Luck, and that we could not expect much more, and if we stay'd longer
in these Seas, should find it very hard to revictual our Ships, and might
have our Retreat cut off by _Spanish_ Men of war; (five of which we heard
were sent out after the other Buccaneers) we should make the best of our
Way to the South, and get about into the North Seas, where we were out of
all Danger.
In Consequence of this Advice, which was generally approv'd, we stood away
directly South; and the Wind blowing pretty fair at N. N. E. a merry Gale,
we stood directly for the Isle of _Juan Fernando_, carrying our rich Prize
with us.
We arriv'd here the Beginning of _June_, having been just six Months in
those Seas. We were surpriz'd, when coming to the Island, we found two
Ships at an Anchor close under the Lee of the Rocks, and two little
Periaguas farther in, near the Shore; but being resolv'd to see what they
were, we found, to our Satisfaction, they were the Buccaneers of whom I
have spoken above: The Story is too long to enter upon here; but in short,
without Guns, without Ship, and only coming over Land with their Fusees in
their Hands, they had rang'd these Seas, had taken several Prizes, and some
pretty rich, and had got two pretty handsome Barks, one carry'd six Guns,
and the other four; they had shar'd, as they told us, about 400 Pieces of
Eight a Man, besides one Thing they had which we were willing to buy of
them; they had about 100 Jarrs of Gunpowder, which they took out of a Store
Ship going to _Lima_.
If we was glad to meet them, you may be sure they were glad to meet with
us, and so we began to sort together as one Company, only they were loth to
give over and return, as we were and which we had now resolv'd on.
We were so rich ourselves, and so fully satisfy'd with what we had taken,
that we began to be bountiful to our Countrymen; and indeed they dealt so
generously with us, that we could not but be inclin'd to do them some Good,
for when we talk'd of buying their Gunpowder, they very frankly gave us 50
Jarrs of it _gratis_.
I took this so kindly, that I call'd a little Council among ourselves, and
propos'd to send the poor Rogues 50 Barrels of our Beef, which we could
very well spare; and our Company agreeing to it, we did so, which made
their Hearts glad; for it was very good, and they had not tasted good
Salt-beef for a long Time; and with it we sent them two Hogsheads of Rum:
This made them so hearty to us, that they sent two of their Company to
compliment us, to offer to enter themselves on Board us, and to go with us
all the World over.
We did not so readily agree to this at first, because we had no new
Enterprize in View; but however, as they sent us Word they had chosen me so
unanimously for their Captain, I propos'd to our Men to remove ourselves,
and all our Goods, into the great Ship and the Sloop, and so take the
honest Fellows into the Fregat, which now had no less than 22 Guns, and
would hold them all, and then they might sail with us, or go upon any
Adventures of their own, as we should agree.
Accordingly we did so, and gave them that Ship, with all her Guns and
Ammunition, but made one of our own Men Captain, which they consented to,
and so we became all one Body.
Here also we shar'd our Booty, which was great indeed to a Profusion; and
as keeping such a Treasure in every Man's particular private Possession,
would have occasion'd Gaming, Quarrelling, and perhaps Thieving and
Pilfering, I order'd that so many small Chests should be made as there were
Men in the Ship, and every Man's Treasure was nail'd up in these Chests,
and the Chests all stow'd in the Hold, with every Man's Name upon his
Chest, not to be touch'd but by general Order, and to prevent Gaming, I
prevail'd with them to make a Law or Agreement, and everyone to set their
Hands to it; by which they agreed, That if any Man play'd for any more
Money than he had in his Keeping, the Winner should not be paid whatever
the Loser run in Debt, but the Chest containing every Man's Dividend,
should be all his own, to be deliver'd whole to him; and the Offender,
whenever he left the Ship, if he would pay any Gaming Debts afterward, that
was another Case; but such Debts should never be paid while he continu'd in
that Company.
By this Means also we secur'd the Ship's Crew keeping together; for if any
Man left the Ship now, he was sure to leave about 6000 Pieces of Eight
behind him, to be shar'd among the rest of the Ship's Company, which few of
them car'd to do.
As we were now all embark'd together, the next Question was, Whither we
should go? As for our Crew, we were so rich, that our Men were all for
going back again, and so to make off to some of the _Leeward Islands_, that
we might get a-Shore privately with our Booty: But as we had shipp'd our
new Comrades on Board a good Ship, it would be very hard to oblige them to
go back without any Purchace, for that would be to give them a Ship to do
them no Good, but to carry them back to _Europe_ just as they came out from
thence, _viz._ with no Money in their Pockets.
Upon these Considerations we came to this Resolution, That they should go
out to Sea and Cruise the Height of _Lima_, and try their Fortune, and that
we would stay 60 Days for them at _Juan Fernando_.
Upon this Agreement they went away very joyful, and we fell to work to new
rig our Ship, mending our Sails, and cleaning our Bottom. Here we employ'd
ourselves a Month very hard at Work; our Carpenters also took down some of
the Ship's upper Work, and built it, as we thought, more to the Advantage
of Sailing; so that we had more Room within, and yet did not lie so high.
During this Time we had a Tent set up on Shore, and 50 of our Men employ'd
themselves wholly in killing Goats and Fowls for our fresh Provisions; and
one of our Men understanding we had some Malt left on Board the Ship, which
was taken in one of the Prizes, set up a great Kettle on Shore, and went to
work to Brewing, and, to our great Satisfaction, brew'd us some very good
Beer; but we wanted Bottles to keep it in, after it had stood a while in
the Cask.
However, he brew'd us very good Small Beer, for present Use; and instead of
Hops he found some wild Wormwood growing on the Island, which gave it no
unpleasant Taste, and made it very agreeable to us.
Before the Time was expir'd, our Frigat sent a Sloop to us, which they had
taken, to give us Notice that they were in a small Creek near the Mould of
the River _Guyaquil_, on the Coast of _Peru_, in the Latitude of 22
Degrees. They had a great Booty in View, there being two Ships in the River
of _Guyaquil_, and two more expected to pass by from _Lima_, in which was a
great Quantity of Plate; that they waited there for them, and begg'd we
would not think the Time long; but that if we should go away, they desir'd
that we would fix up a Post, with a Piece of Lead on it, signifying where
they should come to us, and wherever it was, East or West, North or South,
they would follow us with all the Sail they could make.
A little while after this, they sent another Sloop, which they had taken
also; and she brought a vast Treasure in Silver and very rich Goods, which
they had got in plundering a Town on the Continent; and they order'd the
Sloop to wait for them at the Island where we lay, till their Return: But
they were so eager in the Pursuit of their Game, that they could not think
of coming back yet, neither could we blame them, they having such great
Things in View: So we resolv'd, in Pursuit of our former Resolution, to be
gone; and after several Consultations among our selves in what Part of the
World we should pitch our Tent, we broke up at first without any
Conclusion.
We were all of the Opinion, that our Treasure was so great, that wherever
we went, we should be a Prey to the Government of that Place; that it was
impossible to go all on Shore, and be conceal'd; and that we should be so
jealous of one another, that we should certainly betray one another,
everyone for fear of his Fellow, that is to say, for fear the other should
tell first. Some therefore propos'd our going about the South Point of Cape
_Horne_, and that then, going away to the Gulph of _Mexico_, we should go
on Shore at the Bay of _Campeachy_, and from thence disperse ourselves as
well as we could, and every one go his own Way.
I was willing enough to have gone thither, because of the Treasure I had
left there under Ground; but still I concluded we were (as I have said) too
rich to go on Shore any where to separate, for every Man of us had too much
Wealth to carry about us; and if we separated, the first Number of Men any
of us should meet with, that were strong enough to do it, would take it
from us, and so we should but just expose ourselves to be murder'd for that
Money we had gotten at so much Hazard.
Some propos'd then our going to the Coast of _Virgina_, and go some on
Shore in one Place, and some in another privately, and so travelling to the
Sea-Ports where there were most People, we might be conceal'd, and by
Degrees reduce our selves to a private Capacity, every one shifting Home as
well as they could. This I acknowledge might be done, if we were sure none
of us would be false one to another; but while Tales might be told, and the
Teller of the Tale was sure to save his own Life and Treasure, and make his
Peace at the Expence of his Comrade's, there was no Safety; and they might
be sure, that as the Money would render them suspected wherever they came,
so they would be examin'd, and what by faltering in their Story, and by
being cross-examin'd, kept apart, and the one being made to believe the
other had betray'd him, and told all, when indeed he might have said
nothing to hurt him, the Truth of Fact would be dragg'd out by Piece-meal,
till they would certainly at last come to the Gallows.
These Objections were equally just, to what Nation or Place soever we could
think of going: So that upon the whole, we concluded there was no Safety
for us but by keeping all together, and going to some Part of the World
where we might be strong enough to defend ourselves, or be so conceal'd
till we might find out some Way of Escape that we might not now be so well
able to think of.
In the Middle of all these Consultations, in which I freely own I was at a
Loss, and could not tell which Way to advise, an old Sailor stood up, and
told us, if we would be advis'd by him, there was a Part of the World where
he had been, where we might all settle ourselves undisturb'd, and live very
comfortably and plentifully, till we could find out some Way how to dispose
of ourselves better; and that we might easily be strong enough for the
Inhabitants, who would at first, perhaps, attack us, but that afterwards
they would sort very well with us, and supply us with all Sorts of
Provisions very plentifully; and this was the Island of _Madagascar_: He
told us we might live very well there. He gave us a large Account of the
Country, the Climate, the People, the Plenty of Provisions which was to be
had there, especially of black Cattle, of which, he said, there was an
infinite Number, and consequently a Plenty of Milk, of which so many other
Things was made: In a Word, he read us so many Lectures upon the Goodness
of the Place, and the Conveniency of living there, that we were, one and
all, eager to go thither, and concluded upon it.
Accordingly, having little left to do, (for we had been in a sailing
Posture some Weeks) we left word with the Officer who commanded the Sloop,
and with all his Men, that they should come after us to _Madagascar_; and
our Men were not wanting to let them know all our Reasons for going
thither, as well as the Difficulties we found of going any where else,
which had so fully possess'd them with the Hopes of farther Advantage, that
they promis'd for the rest that they would all follow us.
However, as we all calculated the Length of the Voyage, and that our Water,
and perhaps our Provisions might not hold out so far, but especially our
Water, we agreed, that having pass'd Cape _Horn_, and got into the North
Seas, we would steer Northward up the East Shore of _America_ till we came
to St. _Julien_, where we would stay at least fourteen Days to take in
Water, and to store ourselves with Seals and Penguins, which would greatly
eek out our Ship's Stores; and that then we should cross the great
_Atlantick_ Ocean in a milder Latitude than if we went directly, and stood
immediately over from the Passage about the Cape, which must be, at least,
in 55 or 56, and perhaps, as the Weather might be, would be in the Latitude
of 60 or 61.
With this Resolution, and under these Measures, we set Sail from the Island
of St. _Juan Fernando_ the 23d of _September_, (being the same there as our
_March_ is here) and keeping the Coast of _Chili_ on Board, had good
Weather for about a Fortnight, [_Octob._ 14.] till we came into the
Latitude of 44 Degrees South; when finding the Wind come squally off the
Shore from among the Mountains, we were oblig'd to keep farther out at Sea,
where the Winds were less uncertain; and some Calms we met with, till about
the Middle of _October_, [16.] when the Wind springing up at N. N. W. a
pretty moderate Gale, we jogg'd S. E. and S. S. E. till we came into the
Latitude of 55 Degrees; and the 16th of _November_, found our selves in 59
Degrees, the Weather exceeding cold and severe. But the Wind holding fair,
we held in with the Land, and steering E. S. E. we held that Course till we
thought ourselves entirely clear of the Land, and enter'd into the North
Sea, or _Atlantick Ocean_; and then changing our Course, we steer'd N. and
N. N. E. but the Wind blowing still at N. N. W. a pretty stiff Gale, we
could make nothing of it till we made the Land in the Latitude of 52
Degrees; and when we came close under Shore, we found the Winds variable;
so we made still N. under the Lee of the Shore, and made the Point of St.
_Julien_ the 13th of November, having been a Year and seven Days since we
parted from thence on our Voyage Outwardbound.
Here we rested ourselves, took in fresh Water, and began to kill Seals and
Fowls of several Sorts, but especially Penguins, which this Place is noted
for; and here we stay'd, in Hopes our Fregate would arrive, but we heard no
News of her; so, at Parting, we set up a Post, with this Inscription, done
on a Plate of Lead, with our Names upon the Lead, and these Words;
_Gone to Madagascar_, _December_ 10, 1692.
(Being in that Latitude the longest Day in the Year;) and I doubt not but
the Post may stand there still.
From hence we launch'd out into the vast _Atlantick Ocean_, steering our
Coast E. by N. and E. N. E. till we had sail'd, by our Account, about 470
Leagues, taking our Meridian Distance, or Departure, from St. _Julian_. And
here a strong Gale springing up at S. E. by E. and E. S. E. encreasing
afterwards to a violent Storm, we were forc'd by it to the Norward, as high
as the _Tropick_; not that it blew a Storm all the while, but it blew so
steady, and so very hard, for near 20 Days together, that we were carry'd
quite out of our intended Course: After we had weather'd this, we began to
recover ourselves again, making still East; and endeavouring to get to the
Southward, we had yet another hard Gale of Wind at S. and S. S. E. so
strong, that we could make nothing of it at all; whereupon it was resolv'd,
if we could, to make the Island of St. _Helena_, which in about three Weeks
more we very happily came to, on the 17th of _January_.
It was to our great Satisfaction that we found no Ships at all here, and we
resolv'd not by any Means to let the Governor on Shore know our Ship's
Name, or any of our Officers Names; and I believe our Men were very true to
one another in that Point, but they were not at all shy of letting them
know upon what Account we were, _&c._ so that if he could have gotten any
of us in his Power, as we were afterwards told he endeavour'd by two or
three Ambuscades to do, we should have pass'd our Time but very
indifferently; for which, when we went away, we let him know we would not
have fail'd to have beat his little Port about his Ears.
We stay'd no longer here than just serv'd to refresh ourselves, and supply
our Want of fresh Water; the Wind presenting fair, _Feb._ 2. 1692, we set
Sail, and (not to trouble my Story with the Particulars of the Voyage, in
which nothing remarkable occur'd) we doubled the Cape the 13th of _March_,
and passing on without coming to an Anchor, or discovering ourselves, we
made directly to the Island of _Madagascar_, where we arriv'd the 7th of
_April_; the Sloop, to our particular Satisfaction, keeping in Company all
the Way, and bearing the Sea as well as our Ship upon all Occasions.
To this Time I had met with nothing but good Fortune; Success answer'd
every Attempt, and follow'd every Undertaking, and we scarce knew what it
was to be disappointed; but we had an Interval of our Fortunes to meet with
in this Place: We arriv'd, as above, at the Island on the 13th of _March_,
but we did not care to make the South Part of the Island our Retreat; nor
was it a proper Place for our Business, which was to take Possession of a
private secure Place to make a Refuge of: So after staying some Time where
we put in, which was on the Point of Land a little to the South of Cape
St._ Augustine_, and taking in Water and Provisions there, we stood away to
the North, and keeping the Island in View, went on till we came to the
Latitude of 14 Degrees: Here we met with a very terrible Tornado, or
_Hurricane_, which, after we had beat the Sea as long as we could, oblig'd
us to run directly for the Shore to save our Lives as well as we could, in
Hopes of finding some Harbour or Bay where we might run in, or at least
might go into smooth Water till the Storm was over.
The Sloop was more put to it than we were in the great Ship, and being
oblig'd to run afore it, a little sooner than we did, she serv'd for a
Pilot-Boat to us which follow'd; in a Word, she run in under the Lee of a
great Head-land, which jetted far out into the Sea, and stood very high
also, and came to an Anchor in three Fathom and a half Water: We follow'd
her, but not with the same good Luck, tho' we came to an Anchor too, as we
thought, safe enough; but the Sea going very high, our Anchor came Home in
the Night, and we drove on Shore in the Dark among the Rocks, in spight of
all we were able to do.
Thus we lost the most fortunate Ship that ever Man sail'd with; however,
making Signals of Distress to the Sloop, and by the Assistance of our own
Boat, we sav'd our Lives; and the Storm abating in the Morning, we had Time
to save many Things, particularly our Guns, and most of our Ammunition;
and, which was more than all the rest, we sav'd our Treasure: Tho' I
mention the saving our Guns first, yet they were the last Things we sav'd,
being oblig'd to break the upper Deck of the Ship up for them.
Being thus got on Shore, and having built us some Huts for our Conveniency,
we had nothing before us but a View of fixing our Habitations in the
Country; for tho' we had the Sloop, we could propose little Advantage by
her; for as to cruising for Booty among the _Arabians_ or _Indians_, we had
neither Room, for it or Inclination to it; and as for attacking any
_European_ Ship, the Sloop was in no Condition to do it, tho' we had all
been on Board; for every Body knows that all the Ships trading from
_Europe_ to the _East-Indies_, were Ships of Force, and too strong for us;
so that, in short, we had nothing in View for several Months but how to
settle ourselves here, and live as comfortably and as well as we could,
till something or other might offer for our Deliverance.
In this Condition we remain'd on Shore above eight Months, during which
Time we built us a little Town, and fortify'd it by the Direction of one of
our Gunners, who was a very good Engineer, in a very clever and regular
Manner, placing a very strong double Palisado round the Foot of our Works,
and a very large Ditch without our Palisado, and a third Palisado beyond
the Ditch, like a Counterscarp or Cover'd-way; besides this, we rais'd a
large Battery next to the Sea, with a Line of 24 Guns plac'd before it, and
thus we thought ourselves in a Condition to defend ourselves against any
Force that could attempt us in that Part of the World.
And besides all this, the Place on which our Habitation was built, being an
Island, there was no coming easily at us by Land.
But I was far from being easy in this Situation of our Affairs; so I made a
Proposal to our Men one Day, that tho' we were well enough in our
Habitation, and wanted for nothing, yet since we had a Sloop here, and a
Boat so good as she was, 'twas Pity she should lye and perish there, but we
should send her Abroad, and see what might happen; that perhaps it might be
our good Luck to surprise some Ship or other for our Turn, and so we might
all go to Sea again: The Proposal was well enough relish'd at first Word,
but the great Mischief of all was like to be this, That we should all go
together by the Ears upon the Question who should go in her: My secret
Design was laid, that I was resolv'd to go in her myself, and that she
should not go without me; but when it began to be talk'd of, I discover'd
the greatest seeming Resolution not to stir, but to stay with the rest, and
take Care of the main Chance, that was to say, the Money.
I found, when they saw that I did not propose to go myself, the Men were
much the easier; for at first they began to think it was only a Project of
mine to run away from them; and so indeed it was: However, as I did not at
first propose to go my self, so when I came to the Proposal of who should
go, I made a long Discourse to them of the Obligation they had all to be
faithful one to another, and that those who went in the Sloop, ought to
consider themselves and those that were with them to be but one Body with
those who were left behind; that their whole Concern ought to be to get
some good Ship to fetch them off: At last, I concluded, with a Proposal,
that who ever went in the Sloop, should leave his Money behind in the
common Keeping, as it was before; to remain as a Pledge for his faithful
performing the Voyage, and coming back again to the Company; and should
faithfully swear that wherever they went, (for as to the Voyage, they were
at full Liberty to go whither they would) they would certainly endeavour to
get back to _Madagascar_; and that if they were cast away, stranded, taken,
or whatever befel them, they should never rest till they got to
_Madagascar_, if it was possible.
They all came most readily into this Proposal, for those who should go into
the Sloop, but with this Alteration in them, (which was easy to be seen in
their Countenances) _viz._ that from that Minute there was no striving who
should go, but every Man was willing to stay where they were: This was what
I wanted, and I let it rest for two or three Days; when I took Occasion to
tell them, that seeing they all were sensible that it was a very good
Proposal to send the Sloop out to Sea, and see what they could do for us, I
thought it was strange they should so generally shew themselves backward to
the Service for fear of parting from their Money; I told them that no Man
need be afraid, that the whole Body should agree to take his Money from him
without any pretended Offence, much less when he should be Abroad for their
Service: But however, as it was my Proposal, and I was always willing to
hazard myself for the Good of them all, so I was ready to go on the
Conditions I had propos'd to them for others, and I was not afraid to
flatter myself with serving them so well Abroad, that they should not
grudge to restore me my Share of Money when I came Home, and the like of
all those that went with me.
This was so seasonably spoken, and humour'd so well, that it answer'd my
Design effectually, and I was voted to go _nemine contradicente_; then I
desir'd they would either draw Lots for who and who should go with me, or
leave it in my absolute Choice to pick and cull my Men: They had for some
Time agreed to the first; and forty Blanks were made for those to whose Lot
it should come to draw a Blank to go in the Sloop; but then it was said,
this might neither be a fair nor an effectual Choice; for Example, if the
needful Number of Officers, and of particular Occupations, should not
happen to be lotted out, the Sloop might be oblig'd to go out to Sea
without a Surgeon, or without a Carpenter, or without a Cook, and the like:
So, upon second Thoughts, it was left to me to name my Men; so I chose me
out forty stout Fellows, and among them several who were trusty bold Men,
fit for any thing.
Being thus Mann'd, the Sloop rigg'd, and having clear'd her Bottom, and
laid in Provisions enough for a long Voyage, we set Sail the 3d of
_January_ 1694, for the _Cape of Good Hope_. We very honestly left our
Money, as I said, behind us, only that we had about the Value of 2000 Pound
in Pieces of Eight allow'd us on Board for any Exigence that might happen
at Sea.
We made no Stop at the _Cape_, or at St. _Helena_, tho' we pass'd in Sight
of it, but stood over to the _Caribbee_ Islands directly, and made the
Island of _Tobago_ the 18th of _February_, where we took in fresh Water,
which we stood in great Need of, as you may judge by the Length of the
Voyage. We sought no Purchase, for I had fully convinc'd our Men, that our
Business was not to appear, as we were used to be, upon the Cruise, but as
Traders; and to that End I propos'd to go away to the Bay of _Campeachy_,
and load Logwood, under the Pretence of selling of which we might go any
where.
It is true, I had another Design here, which was to recover the Money which
my Comrade and I had bury'd there; and having the Man on Board with me to
whom I had communicated my Design, we found an Opportunity to come at our
Money with Privacy enough, having so conceal'd it, as that it would have
lain there to the general Conflagration, if we had not come for it our
selves.
My next Resolution was to go for _England_, only that I had too many Men,
and did not know what to do with them: I told them we could never pretend
to go with a Sloop loaden with Logwood to any Place, with 40 Men on Board,
but we should be discover'd; but if they would resolve to put 15 or 16 Men
on Shore as private Seamen, the rest might do well enough; and if they
thought it hard to be set on Shore, I was content to be one, only that I
thought it was very reasonable that whoever went on Shore should have some
Money given them, and that all should agree to rendezvous in _England_, and
so make the best of our Way thither, and there perhaps we might get a good
Ship to go fetch off our Comrades and our Money. With this Resolution,
sixteen of our Men had three hundred Pieces of Eight a Man given them, and
they went off thus; the Sloop stood away North, thro' the Gulph of
_Florida_, keeping under the Shore of _Carolina_ and _Virginia_; so our Men
dropp'd off as if they had deserted the Ship; three of the sixteen run away
there, five more went off at Virginia, three at _New York_, three at _Road
Island_, and myself and one more at _New England_; and so the Sloop went
away for _England_ with the rest. I got all my Money on Shore with me, and
conceal'd it as well as I could; some I got Bills for, some I bought
Molosses with, and turn'd the rest into Gold; and dressing myself not as a
common Sailor, but as a Master of a Ketch, which I had lost in the Bay of
_Campeachy_, I got Passage on Board one Captain _Guillame_, a _New England_
Captain, whose Owner was one Mr. _Johnson_ a Merchant, living at _Hackney_,
near _London_.
Being at _London_, it was but a very few Months before several of us met
again, as I have said we agreed to do. And being true to our first Design
of going back to our Comrades, we had several close Conferences about the
Manner and Figure in which we should make the Attempt, and we had some very
great Difficulties appear'd in our Way: First, to have fitted up a small
Vessel, it would be of no Service to us, but be the same Thing as the Sloop
we came in; and if we pretended to a great Ship, our Money would not hold
out; so we were quite at a Stand in our Councils what to do, or what Course
to take, till at length our Money still wasting, we grew less able to
execute any Thing we should project.