_SIR,_
I WROTE my last Letter to you from _Madagascar_, where I had
continu'd so long till my People began to drop from me, some and some, and,
indeed, I had, at last, but few left; so that I began to apprehend they
would give an Account in _Europe_, how weak I was, and how easy it was to
attack me; nay, and to make their Peace, might some of them, at least,
offer their Service to be Pilots to my Port, and might guide the Fleets or
Ships that should attempt me.
With these Apprehensions, I not only was uneasy myself, but made all my Men
uneasy too; for, as I was resolv'd to attempt my own Escape, I did not care
how many of my Men went before me: But this you must take with you by the
Bye, that I never let them imagine that I intended to stir from the Spot
myself; I mean, after my Return from the Ramble that I had taken round the
Island, of which I have given you an Account; but, that I resolv'd to take
up my Rest in _Madagascar_ as long as I liv'd; indeed, before, I said
otherwise, as I wrote you before, and made them all promise to fetch me
away, but now I gave it out that I was resolv'd to live and die here; and
therefore, a little before I resolv'd upon going, I set to Work to build me
a new House, and to plant me a pretty Garden at a Distance from our Fort;
only I had a select Company, to whom I communicated every Thing, and who
resolv'd that, at last, we would go altogether, but that we would do it our
own Way.
When I had finish'd my new House, (and a mighty Palace you would say it
was, if you had been to see it) I remov'd to it, with eight of the Gang
that were to be my Fellow adventurers; and to this Place we carry'd all our
private Wealth, that is to say, Jewels and Gold; as to our Share of Silver,
as it was too heavy to remove, and must be done in Publick, I was oblig'd
to leave it behind; but we had a Stratagem for that too, and it was thus:
We had a Sloop, as you have heard, and she lay in our Harbour, 'tis true;
but she lay ready to sail upon any Occasion; and the Men, who were of our
Confederacy, who were not with me at my Country-house, were twelve in
Number: These Men made a Proposal, that they would take the Sloop, and go
away to the Coast of _Malabar_, or where else they could speed to their
Mind, and buy a Fraight of Rice for the publick Account: In a free State as
we were, every Body was free to go wherever they would, so that no Body
oppos'd them; the only Dispute at any Time, was about taking the Vessel we
had to go in: However, as these Men seem'd only to act upon the publick
Account, and to go to buy Provisions, no Body offer'd to deny them the
Sloop, so they prepar'd for their Voyage: Just as they were ready to go,
one of them starts it to the rest, that it was very hazardous and difficult
to run such a Length every now and then to get a little Rice, and if they
would go, why should they not bring a good Quantity? This was soon
resolv'd; so they agreed, they should take Money with them to buy a good
Ship wherever they could find her, and then to buy a Loading of Rice to
fill her up, and so come away with her.
When this was agreed, they resolv'd to take no Money out of the grand
Stock, but to take such Mens Money as were gone, and had left their Money
behind; and this being consented to, truly, my Friends took the Occasion,
and took all their own Money, and mine, (being 64 little Chests of Pieces
of Eight) and carry'd it on Board, as if it had been of Men that were
Prick'd-run, and no Body took any Notice of it. These twelve Men had also
now got twelve more with them, under Pretence of manning a Ship, if we
should buy one, and in this Pickle away they put to Sea.
We had due Notice of every Thing that was done; and having a Signal given
of the Time they resolv'd to go, we pack'd up all our Treasure, and began
our March to the Place appointed, which from our Quarters was about forty
Mile farther North.
Our Habitation, that is to say, my new House, was about sixteen Miles up
the Country, so that the rest of our People could have no Notice of our
March, neither did they miss us, at least, as I heard of, for we never
heard any more of them; nor can I imagine what Condition or Circumstance
they can be in at present, if they are still upon the Place, as, however, I
believe some of them are.
We join'd our Comrades, with a great Deal of Ease, about three Days
afterwards, for we march'd but softly, and they lay by for us: The Night
before we went on Board, we made them a Signal by Fire, as we had appointed
to let them know where we were, and that we were at Hand; so they sent
their Boat and fetch'd us off, and we embark'd without any Notice taken by
the Rest.
As we were now loose, and at Sea, our next Business was to resolve whither
we should go; and I soon govern'd the Point, resolving for _Bassaro_ in the
Gulph of _Persia_, where I knew we might shift for ourselves: Accordingly,
we steer'd away for the _Arabian_ Coast, and had good Weather for some
Time, even till we made the Land at a great Distance, when we steer'd
Eastward along the Shore.
We saw several Ships, in our Way, bound to and from the Red Sea, as we
suppos'd, and, at another Time, we would have been sure to have spoken with
them: But, we had done Pirating; our Business now was, how to get off, and
make our Way to some Retreat, where we might enjoy what we had got; so we
took no Notice of any Thing by the Way; but, when we was thus sailing
merrily along, the Weather began to change, the Evening grew black and
cloudy, and threaten'd a Storm: We were in Sight or a little Island, (I
know nothing of its Name) under which we might have anchor'd with Safety
enough, but our People made light of it, and went on.
About an Hour after Sun-set the Wind began to rise, and blew hard at N. E.
and at N. E. by N. and in two Hours Time encreas'd to such a Tempest, as in
all my Rambles I never met with the like; we were not able to carry a Knot
of Sail, or to know what to do, but to stow every Thing close, and let her
drive; and, in this Condition we continu'd all the Night, all the next Day,
and Part of the Night after; towards Morning the Storm abated a little, but
not so as to give us any Prospect of pursuing our voyage; all the Ease we
had, was, that we could just carry a little Sail to steddy the Vessel, and
run away before it; which we did at that violent Rate, that we never abated
'till we made Land on the East Side of _Madagascar_, the very Island we
came from, only on the other Side of the Island.
However, we were glad we had any Place to run to for Harbour; so we put in
under the Lee of a Point of Land that gave us Shelter from the Wind, and
where we came to an Anchor, after being all of us almost dead with the
Fatigue; and, if our Sloop had not been an extraordinary Sea-boat, she
could never have born such a Sea, for twelve Days together, as we were in,
the worst I ever saw before or since. We lay here, to refresh ourselves,
about twenty Days; and, indeed, the Wind blew so hard all the while, that
if we had been dispos'd to go to Sea, we could not have done it; and, being
here, about seven of our Men began to repent their Bargain, and left us,
which I was not sorry for. It seems, the principal Reason of their looking
back, was, their being of those who had left their Money behind them. They
did not leave us without our Consent, and therefore our Carpenters built
them a Boat, during the three Weeks we stay'd here, and fitted it very
handsomely for them, with a Cabin for their Convenience, and a Mast and
Sail, with which they might very well sail round to our Settlement, as we
suppose they did: We gave them Fire-arms and Ammunition sufficient, and
left them furnishing themselves with Provisions; and this, we suppose, was
the Boat, tho' with other Men in it, which adventur'd afterwards as far as
the _Cape of Good Hope_, and was taken up by a _Portugese_ in Distress, by
which Means they got Passage for themselves to _Lisbone_, pretending they
had made their Escape from the Pirates at _Madagascar_; but we were told,
that the _Portuguese_ Captain took a good deal of their Money from them,
under Pretence of keeping it from his own Seamen; and that when they came
on Shore, and began to claim it, he threaten'd them with taking them up,
and prosecuting them for Pirates, which made them compound with him, and
take about 10000 Dollars for above 120000, which they had with them; which,
by the Way, was but a scurvy Trick: They had, it seems, a considerable
Quantity of Gold among them, which they had the Wit to conceal from the
Captain of the Ship, and which was enough for such Fellows as them, and
more than they well knew what to do with; so that they were rich enough
still, tho' the _Portugal_ Captain was nevertheless a Knave for all that.
We left them here, as I have said, and put to Sea again; and, in about
twenty Days Sail, having pretty good Weather, we arriv'd at the Gulph of
_Persia_: It would be too long to give you an Account of the particular
Fortunes of some of our People after this, the Variety of which would fill
a Volume by itself: But, in the first Place, we, who were determin'd to
travel, went on Shore at _Bassaro_, leaving the rest of our Men to buy
Rice, and load the larger Vessel back to their Comrades, which they
promis'd to do; but how far they perform'd I know not.
We were thirteen of us that went on Shore here; from whence we hir'd a kind
of Barge, or rather a Bark, which, after much Difficulty, and very unhandy
Doings of the Men who we had hir'd, brought us to _Babylon_, or _Bagdat_,
as it is now call'd.
Our Treasure was so great, that if it had been known what we had about us,
I am of Opinion we should never have troubl'd _Europe_ with our Company:
However, we gat safe to _Babylon_ or_ Bagdat_, where we kept ourselves
_Incog_ for a while, took a House by ourselves, and lay four or five Days
still, till we had got Vests and long Gowns made to appear Abroad in as
_Armenian_ Merchants. After we had got Cloaths, and look'd like other
People, we began to appear Abroad; and I, that from the Beginning had
meditated my Escape by myself, began now to put it into Practice; and,
walking one Morning upon the Bank of the River _Euphrates_, I mus'd with
myself what Course I should take to make off, and get quite away from the
Gang, and let them not so much as suspect me.
While I was walking here, comes up one of my Comrades, and one who I always
took for my particular Friend: I know what you are employ'd in, _said he_,
while you seem only to be musing, and refreshing yourself with the cool
Breeze. Why, _said I_, what am I musing about? Why, _said he_, you are
studying how you should get away from us; but, muse upon it as long as you
will, _says he_, you shall never go without me, for I am resolv'd to go
with you which Way soever you take. 'Tis true, _says I_, I was musing which
Way I should go, but not which Way I should go without you; for tho' I
would be willing to part Company, yet you cannot think I would go alone;
and you know I have chosen you out from all the Company to be the Partner
of all my Adventures.
Very well, _says he_, but I am to tell you now, that it is not only
necessary that we should not go all together; but, our Men have all
concluded, that we should make our Escape every one for himself, and should
separate as we could; so that you need make no Secret of your Design any
more than of the Way you intend to take.
I was glad enough of this News, and it made me very easy in the
Preparations we made for our setting out: And, the first Thing we did, was,
to get us more Cloaths, having some made of one Fashion, some of another;
but, my Friend and I, who resolv'd to keep together, made us Cloaths after
the Fashion of the _Armenian_ Merchants, whose Country we pretended to
travel through.
In the mean Time, five of our Men dress'd like Merchants; and, laying out
their Money in Raw Silk, and Wrought Silks, and other Goods of the Country,
proper for _Europe_, (in which they were directed by an _English_ Merchant
there) resolv'd to take the usual Rout, and travel by the Caravans from
_Babylon_ to _Alleppo_, and so to _Scanderoon_, and we staid and saw them
and their Bales go off in Boats for a great Town on the _Euphrates_, where
the Caravans begin to take up the Passengers; the other six divided
themselves, one Half of them went for _Agra_, the Country of the Great
Mogul, resolving to go down the River _Hoogly_ to _Bengal_; but whither
they went afterward or what Course they took, I never knew, neither whether
they really went at all or not.
The other three went by Sea, in a _Persian_ Vessel, back from the Red Sea
to the Gulf of _Mocca_, and I heard of them all three at _Marseilles_; but
whither they went afterwards I never knew, nor could I come to speak with
them even there.
As for me and my Friend, we first laid out all the Silver we had in
_European_ Ware, such as we knew would vend at _Ispahan_, which we carry'd
upon twelve Camels; and hiring some Servants, as well for our Guide as our
Guard, we set out.
The Servants we hir'd were a Kind of _Arab_, but rather looking like the
Great Mogul's people, than real _Arabians_; and when we came into _Persia_,
we found they were look'd upon as no better than Dogs, and were not only
used ill, but that we were used ill for their Sakes; and after we were come
three Days into the _Persian_ Dominions, we found ourselves oblig'd to part
with them; so we gave them three Dollars a Man to go back again.
They understood their Business very well, and knew well enough what was the
Reason of it, though we did not. However, we found we had committed a great
Mistake in it; for we perceiv'd that they were so exasperated at being
turn'd off, that they vowed to be revenged; and, indeed, they had their
Revenge to the Full; for the same Day, at Night, they return'd in the Dark,
and set eleven Houses on Fire in the Town where we quartered; which, by the
Way, had gone near to have cost me my Life, and would certainly have done
so, if in the Hurry I had not seiz'd one of the Incendiaries and deliver'd
him up to them.
The People were so provok'd at him that was taken that they fell upon him
with all possible Fury as the common Incendiary and Burner of the Town, and
presently quitted us (for they had before vowed our Destruction) but, as I
said, quitted us immediately, and thronged about the Wretch they had taken;
and, indeed, I made no Question but that they would have immediately
murder'd him (nay, that they would have torn him in Pieces before they
parted with him). But after they had vented their Rage at him for some Time
with all possible Reproaches and Indignities, they carry'd him before the
_Cadi_, or Judge of the Place. The _Cadi_, a wise, grave Man, answered, no,
he would not judge him at that Time, for they were too hot and passionate
to do Justice; but they should come with him in the Morning, when they were
cool, and he would hear them.
It is true this was a most excellent Step of the _Cadi_ as to the right Way
of doing Justice; but it did not prove the most expedient in the present
Occasion, though that was none of his Fault neither; for in the Night the
Fellow got out of their Hands, by what Means or by whose Assistance I never
heard to this Day; and the _Cadi_ fined the Town in a considerable Sum for
letting a Man accused of a capital Crime make his Escape before he was
adjudged, and, as we call it, discharged according to Law.
This was an eminent Instance of the Justice of these People; and though
they were doubly enraged at the Escape of the Fellow, who, without Doubt,
was guilty, yet they never open'd their Mouths against the _Cadi_; but
acquiesc'd in his Judgment, as in that of an Oracle, and submitted to the
national Censure, or Censure according to the Custom of their Nation, which
he had pass'd upon them in their publick Capacity for the Escape of the
Man.
We were willing to get out of this Place as soon as we could; for we found
the Peoples Rage, which wanted an Object to vent itself upon, began to
threaten us again: So having pack'd up our Goods, and gotten five ordinary
Camel-Drivers for our Servants in the Country, we set out again.
The Roads in _Persia_ are not so much frequented, as to be well
accommodated with Inns, so that several Times we were oblig'd to lodge upon
the Ground in the Way; but our new Servants took Care to furnish us with
Lodging; for as soon as we let them know we wanted Rest, and inclin'd to
stop, they set up a Tent for us, in so short a Time, that we were scarce
able to imagine it possible, and under this we encamp'd, our Camels being
just by us, and our Servants and Bales lying all hard by.
Once or twice we lodg'd in publick Inns, built at the King of _Persia_'s
Charge: These are fair large Buildings, built square, like a large Inn,
they have all of them large Stables, and good Forrage for the Camels and
Horses, and Apartments for perhaps two or three hundred People, and they
are call'd _Caravansera's_, as being built to entertain whole Caravans of
Travellers: On the great Roads to _Tauris_ and the Side of _Turky_ they are
all fortify'd, and are able to entertain five or six Thousand People, and
have a Stock to furnish what Number of Men can come with Provisions; nay,
it has been known, that whole armies of the _Persians_ have on their March
been furnish'd with Provisions in one of these _Caravansera's_, and that
they have kill'd 2000 Sheep for them in one Night's Time.
In this Manner we travell'd to _Ispahan_, the Capital of _Persia_, where
appearing as Merchants, and with several Camels loaden with Merchandize, we
pass'd all Possibility of Suspicion, and being perfectly easy, we continu'd
here some Time, sold our Cargoes, and would gladly have remitted the Money
to other Places, as for _Constantinople_ in particular; but we found the
_Turks_ and _Persians_ have no such Thing as an Exchange, by Bills running
between them and other Nations, no, nor between one Town and another.
We were invited here by a sudden Accident to have gone Home by the
_Caspian_ Sea and _Astracan_, so thro' _Muscovy_; but I had heard so much
of the Barbarity of the _Russians_, the dangerous Navigation of the
_Caspian_ Sea by Reason of the Calms and Shoals, the Hazard of being robb'd
by the _Tartars_ on the River _Wolga_, and the like, that I chose to travel
to _Constantinople_, a Journey through Desarts, over Mountains and Wastes,
among so many Sorts of Barbarians, that I would run any Kind of Hazards by
Sea, before I would attempt such a Thing again.
It would deserve another History to let you into all the different
Circumstances of this Journey; how well I was us'd by some, and how ill by
others; nay, how well by some _Mahometans_, how ill by some Christians: But
it shall suffice to tell you, that I am at present at _Constantinople_;
and, tho' I write this here, I do not purpose to send it to you till I come
to _Marseilles_ in _France_; from whence I intend to go and live in some
inland Town, where, as they have, perhaps, no Notion of the Sea, so they
will not be inquisitive after us.