execute justice upon my prisoners; so I called up the officers to a kind
of council of war, and proposed it to them in general terms, not letting
them know my mind as to the manner of it. They all agreed it was
necessary, and the second mate, boatswain, and gunner, had so much
intelligence of it from the men, that they prepared for death as much as
if I had signed a dead-warrant for their execution, and that they were
to be hanged at the yard-arm.
But, in the midst of those resolves, I told the council of officers, my
design was to the north part of the island, where a gang of pirates were
said to be settled, and that I was persuaded I might get a good ship
among them, and as many men as we desired, for that I was satisfied the
greatest part of them were so wearied of their present situation, that
they would be glad of an opportunity to come away, and especially such
as had, either by force, or rash, hasty resolutions, been, as it were,
surprised into that sort of life; that I had been informed they were
very far from being in such a formidable posture as they had been
represented to us in Europe, or anything near so numerous; but that, on
the contrary, we should find them poor, divided, in distress, and
willing to get away upon any terms they could.
Some of the officers of the ship differed from me in my opinion. They
had received such ideas of the figure those people made in Madagascar,
from the common report in England, that they had no notion of them, but
as of a little commonwealth of robbers; that they were immensely rich;
that Captain Avery was king of the Island; that they were eight thousand
men; that they had a good squadron of stout ships, and that they were
able to resist a whole fleet of men of war; having a harbour so well
fortified at the entrance into it, that there was no coming at them
without a good army for land-service, to assist in the enterprise.
I convinced them how impossible this was to be true, and told them all
the discourse I had with the Dutchman, at the place where I now was, who
had received a full account of the particulars from several of them who
had come down to St. Augustine's in little boats in order to make their
escape from their comrades, and to get passage for Europe; that he had
always assisted, and got them off, whenever any ship touched at that
port; and that they all agreed in their relation of their state and
condition, which was indeed miserable enough, saving that they wanted
not for victuals.
In a word, I soon brought them to enter into the reason of it, and to be
of my opinion; and, accordingly, I ordered to get ready, and in three
days' time weighed anchor, and stood away for the north of the island,
taking care not to communicate our debates and resolves to the men
before the mast, as had been done before, we having had enough of that
already.
While we were thus coasting the island to the north, and in the channel
or sea between the island and the main of Africa, it came into my
thoughts, that I might now make use of my traitors to my advantage and
their own too, and that I might, if they were honest, gain my end, and
get a full intelligence of the people I had my eye upon; and, if they
were still traitors, they would desert and go over to the pirates, and I
should be well rid of them, without the necessity of bringing them to
the yard-arm; for I was very uneasy in my mind about hanging them, nor
could I ever have been brought to do it, I believe, whatever risk I had
run from their mutinous disposition.
I was now got in the latitude of fifteen degrees and a half south of the
line, and began to think of standing in for the shore; when I ordered
the second mate, who lay in irons in the brigantine, to be brought on
board the great ship, and to be called up into the great cabin. He came
in great concern, though he was of himself a very bold and resolute
fellow, yet, as he made no doubt that he was sent for to execution, he
appeared thoroughly softened, and quite another man than he was before.
When he was brought in, I caused him to be set down in a nook of the
cabin where he could not stir to offer any violence to me, had he been
so inclined, two large chests being just before him; and I ordered all
my people to withdraw, except Captain Merlotte and the supercargo; and
then, turning myself to the criminal, I told him, as he knew his
circumstances, I need not repeat them, and the fact for which he was
brought into that condition; that I had hitherto, from time to time,
delayed his execution, contrary to the opinion of the rest of the chief
officers, who in full council had unanimously condemned him; that a
sudden thought had come into my mind, which, if he knew how to merit
mercy, and to retrieve his circumstances by his future fidelity, might
once again put it into his power, not only to save his life, but to be
trusted in the ship again, if he inclined to be honest; that, however,
if he had no inclination to merit by his service, I would put it to his
choice, either to undertake with courage and fidelity what I had to
propose to him, in which case he might expect to be very well treated,
or, if not, I would pardon him as to the death he had reason to expect,
and he with his two fellow-criminals should be set on shore to go
whither they pleased.
He waited, without offering to speak a word, till I made a full stop,
and then asked me if I gave him leave to answer.
I told him he might say whatever he thought proper.
Then he asked if I gave him leave to speak freely, and would not take
offence at what he might say? I replied, he should speak as freely as if
he had never offended; and that, as I had given him his life, I now
would give him my word, nothing he could say should revoke the grant;
and that he should not only go freely on shore, (for I expected by his
words that he had made that choice) but I would give him the lives of
his two fellow-prisoners; and would give them arms and ammunition, and
anything else that was reasonable for them to ask, or necessary to their
subsisting on shore in such a country.
He told me then, that had it been any other part of the world than at
Madagascar, he would readily have chosen to have gone on shore; nay,
though the place had been really desolate and uninhabited; that he did
not object because my offer was not very generous and kind, and that it
would be always with regret that he should look back upon the mercy he
should have received, and how ill he had deserved it at my hands.
But that as it was at this place that I mentioned setting him at
liberty, he told me, that though he had been mutinous and disorderly,
for which he had acknowledged he had deserved to die, yet he hoped I
could not think so ill of him as to believe he could turn pirate; and
begged that, rather than entertain such hard thoughts of him, I would
execute the worst part of the sentence, and send him out of the world a
penitent and an honest man, which he should esteem far better than to
give him his life in a condition in which he could preserve it upon no
other terms than those of being the worst of villains. He added, that if
there was anything he could do to deserve so much mercy as I intended
him, he begged me that I would give him room to behave himself as became
him, and he would leave it wholly to me to use him as he should deserve,
even to the recalling the pardon that I had granted him.
I was extremely satisfied with what he said, and more particularly with
the manner of his speaking it; I told him I was glad to see that he had
a principle of so much honesty at the bottom of a part so unhappy as he
had acted; and I would be very far from prompting him to turn pirate,
and much more from forcing him to do so, and that I would, according to
his desire, put an opportunity into his hands to show himself a new man,
and, by his fidelity, to wipe out all that was past. And then, without
any more ceremony, I told him my whole design, which was, to send him,
and four or five more men with him, on shore among the pirates as spies,
to see what condition they were in, and to see whether there were any
apprehensions of violence from them, or whether they were in the mean
circumstances that I had reason to believe they were in; and, lastly,
whether they had any ship or vessel which might be bought of them, and
whether men might be had to increase our company; that is to say, such
men as, being penitent for their rogueries and tired with their
miseries, would be glad of the opportunity of turning honest men before
they were brought to it by distress and the gallows.
He embraced the offer with the greatest readiness, and gave me all the
assurances that I could desire of his fidelity. I then asked him whether
he thought his two fellow-prisoners might be trusted upon the same
conditions.
In reply, he asked me if I would take it for a piece of sincerity, if,
after a trial, he should tell me his mind, and would not be displeased
if he declined speaking his thoughts till he had talked with them.
I told him he should be at liberty to give his farther answer after he
had proposed it to them; but I insisted upon his opinion first, because
it was only his opinion that I asked now; whereas, if he reported it to
them, then he had no more to do but to report their answer.
He then asked me if I would please to grant him one thing, that,
whatever his opinion should be, what he should say should be no
prejudice to them in their present condition.
I told him it was a reasonable caution in him, and I would assure him
that, whatever he said should not do them any prejudice; and, to
convince him of it, I gave him my word that I would not put them to
death on any account whatsoever, merely for his sake.
He bowed, and thanked me very heartily for that grant, which, he said,
obliged him to be the plainer with me on that head; and as, he said, he
would not deceive me in anything whatever, so he would not in this,
especially; and therefore told me it was his opinion, they would not
serve me faithfully; and he referred me to the experience I should find
of it; and added, that he would be so just to me in the beginning, as
that, while he begged to be merciful to them, yet for my own sake he
would also beg me not to trust them.
I took the hint, and said no more at that time, but ordered his irons to
be taken off, with direction for him to have leave to go to his former
cabin, and to have his chests and things restored to him; so that he was
at full liberty in the ship, though not in any office, or appointed to
any particular business.
A day or two after this we made land, which appeared to be the
north-west part of the island, in the latitude of 13 deg. 30'; and now I
thought it was time to put our design into execution; for I knew very
well that it could not be a great way from this part of the island where
the pirates were to be heard of: so I ordered the boat on shore, with
about sixteen men, to make discoveries, and with them my new-restored
man.
I gave him no instruction for anything extraordinary at this time, our
work now being only to find out where they were. The boat came on board
again at night, (for we had now stood in within two leagues of the
shore) and brought us an account, that there were no English or
Europeans on that part of the island, but that they were to be heard of
a great way farther; so we stood away to the north all the night, and
the next day, the wind being fair and the sea smooth, and by our
reckoning we went in that time about forty leagues.
The next evening, the same company went on shore again, and were shown
by some of the natives where the pirates inhabited; which, in short, was
about five or six and twenty miles farther north still, in a river very
commodious for shipping, where they had five or six European-built
ships, and two or three sloops, but they were all laid up, except two
sloops, with which they cruised sometimes a great distance off to the
north, as far as the Arabian Gulf. The mate returned with this
intelligence the same night; and by his direction we stood in as close
under the shore as we could conveniently, about six leagues farther
north; here we found a very good road under a little cape, which kept us
perfectly undiscovered; and in the morning, before day, my man went on
shore again with the boat, and keeping only four men with him, sent the
boat on board again, agreeing on a signal for us to send the boat for
him again when he should return.
There was a pretty high ledge of hills to the north of the place where
he landed, and which, running west, made the little cape, under the lee
of which our ship rode at anchor.
As soon as he came to the top of those hills, he plainly discovered the
creek or harbour where the pirates' ships lay, and where they had formed
their encampment on the shore. Our men took proper observations of the
situation of the place they were in, upon the hill, that they might not
fail to find their way back again, though it were in the night; and
that, by agreeing in the account they should give of themselves, they
might be all found in the same tale. They boldly went down the hill, and
came to the edge of the creek, the pirates' camp being on the other
shore.
Here they fired a gun, to raise a kind of alarm among them, and then,
hanging out a white cloth on the top of a pole, a signal of peace, they
hailed them in English, and asked them if they would send a boat and
fetch them over.
The pirates were surprised at the noise of the piece, and came running
to the shore with all speed; but they were much more surprised when they
heard themselves hailed in English. Upon the whole, they immediately
sent a boat to fetch them over, and received them with a great deal of
kindness.
Our men pretended to be overjoyed at finding them there, told them a
long story, that they came on shore on the west side of the island,
where, not far off, there were two English ships; but that the natives
quarrelling with their men, upon some rudeness offered to their women,
and they being separated from their fellows, were obliged to fly; that
the natives had surrounded the rest, and, they believed, had killed them
all; that they wandered up to the top of the hill, intending to make
signals to their ship, to send them some help, when, seeing some ships,
and believing some Europeans were there, they came down to take some
shelter, and begged of them a boat to carry them round the cape to their
comrades, unless they would give them leave to stay with them, and do as
they did, which they were very willing to do.
This was all a made story; but, however, the tale told so well, that
they believed it thoroughly, and received our men very kindly, led them
up to their camp, and gave them some victuals.
Our men observed they had provisions enough, and very good, as well beef
as mutton, that is to say, of goats' flesh, which was excellent; also
pork and veal; and they were tolerable good cooks too; for they found
they had built several furnaces and boilers, which they had taken out of
their ships, and dressed a great quantity of meat at a time: but,
observing they had no liquor, the mate pulled a large bottle of good
cordial water out of his pocket, and gave it about as far as it would
go, and so did two others of the men, which their new landlords took
very kindly.
They spent good part of the first day in looking about them, seeing the
manner of the pirates' living there, and their strength, and soon
perceived that they were indeed in but a sorry condition every way,
except that they had live cattle and flesh meat sufficient. They had a
good platform of guns indeed, and a covered pallisadoe round where they
lodged their ammunition: but as for fortifications to the landward, they
had none, except a double pallisadoe round their camp, and a sort of a
bank thrown up within to fire from, and stand covered from the enemies'
lances, which was all they had to fear from the natives. They had no
bread but what they made of rice, and the store they had of that was
very small: they told our men, indeed, that they had two ships abroad,
which they expected back every day, with a quantity of rice, and what
else they could get, especially some arrack, which they were to trade
for with the Arabian merchants, or take it by force, which should first
offer.
Our men pretended to like their way of living mighty well and talked of
staying with them, if they would let them; and thus they passed their
first day of meeting.
Our men had two tents or huts given them to lodge in, and hammocks hung
in the huts very agreeably, being such, I suppose, as belonged to some
of their company who were dead, or were out upon adventure; here they
slept very securely, and in the morning walked about, as strangers might
be suffered to do, to look about them. But my new manager's eye was
chiefly here upon two things: first, to see if they had any shipping for
our purpose; and, secondly, to see if he could pitch upon one man, more
likely than the rest, to enter into some confidence with; and it was not
long before he found an opportunity for both. The manner was thus:
He was walking by himself, having ordered his other men to straggle
away, two and two, this way and that, as if they had not minded him,
though always to keep him in sight; I say, he walked by himself towards
that part of the creek where, as was said, three of their largest ships
lay by the walls, and when he came to the shore right against them, he
stood still, looking at them very earnestly.
While he was here, he observed a boat put off from one of them, with
four oars and one sitter only, whom they set on shore just by him, and
then put off again; the person whom they set on shore, was, it seems,
one who had been with our men the evening before, but, having some
particular office on board one of those ships, lay on board every night
with about ten or twelve men, just to watch and guard the ship, and so
came on shore in the morning, as is usual in men-of-war laid up.
As soon as he saw our man he knew him, and spoke very familiarly to him;
and seeing he was looking so earnestly at the ship, he asked him if he
would go on board; our man faintly declined it, as on purpose to be
asked again, and upon just as much farther pressing as was sufficient to
satisfy him that the gunner (for that was his office) was in earnest,
he yielded; so the gunner called back the boat, and they went on board.
Our man viewed the ship very particularly, and pretended to like
everything he saw; but, after some conversation, asked him this home
question, namely, Why they did not go to sea, and seek purchase, having
so many good ships at their command?
He shook his head, and told him very frankly, that they were in no
condition to undertake anything, for that they were a crew of
unresolved, divided rogues; that they were never two days of a mind;
that they had nobody to command, and therefore nobody to obey; that
several things had been offered, but nothing concluded; that, in short,
they thought of nothing but of shifting every one for himself as well as
he could.
My mate replied, he thought it had been quite otherwise, and that made
him tell them the night before that he had an inclination to stay with
them.
I heard you say so, said the gunner, and it made me smile; I thought in
myself that you would be of another mind when ye knew us a little
better; for, in a word, said he, if our people should agree to lend you
a boat to go back to your ship, they would fall together by the ears
about who should go with you, for not a man of them that went with you
would ever come back again hither, if your captain would take them on
board, though the terms were, to be hanged when they came to England.
My mate knew that this was my opinion before; but he was really of
another mind himself, till he saw things and till he talked with the
gunner, and this put new thoughts in his head; so he entertained the
gunner with a scheme of his own, and told him, if it was so as he
related it, and that he had really a mind to come off from the gang, he
believed that he could put him in a way how to do it to his advantage,
and to take a set of his people with him, if he could pick out some of
them that might be depended upon.
The gunner replied, I can pick out a set of very brave fellows, good
seamen, and most of them such as, having been forced into the pirates'
ships, were dragged into that wicked life they had lived, not only
against their consciences, but by a mere necessity to save their lives,
and that they would be glad at any price to go off.
The mate then asked him, Pray, gunner, how many such men can you answer
for?
Why, says he, after a short pause, I am sure I can answer for above a
hundred.
Upon this my mate told him the circumstances we were in, the voyage we
were upon; that we were a letter of mart ship of such a force, but that
we were over-manned and double-stored, in hopes of getting a good ship
upon our cruise to man out of the other; that we had been disappointed,
and had only got the sloop or brigantine which we bought at the Cape;
that, if he could persuade the men to sell us one of their ships, we
would pay them for it in ready money, and perhaps entertain a hundred of
their men into the bargain.
The gunner told him he would propose it to them; and added, in positive
terms, that he knew it would be readily accepted, and that he should
take which of the three ships I pleased.
The mate then desired that he would lend him his shallop to go on board
our ship, to acquaint me with it, and bring back sufficient orders to
treat.
He told him, he would not only do that, but, before I could be ready to
go, he would propose it to the chief men that he had his eye upon, and
would have their consent, and that then he would go along with him on
board to make a bargain.
This was as well as our mate could expect; and the gunner had either so
much authority among them, or the men were so forward to shift their
station in the world, that the gunner came again to our mate in less
than two hours, with an order, signed by about sixteen of their
officers, empowering him to sell us the ship which the gunner was on
board of, and to allot so many guns, and such a proportion of ammunition
to her, as was sufficient, and to give the work of all their carpenters
for so many days as were necessary to repair her, calk, and grave her,
and put her in condition to go to sea.
She was a Spanish-built ship; where they had her the gunner said he did
not know; but she was a very strong, tight ship, and a pretty good
sailer.
We made her carry two-and-thirty guns, though she had not been used to
carry above twenty-four.
The gunner being thus empowered to treat with my mate, came away in
their shallop, and brought the said gunner and two more of their
officers with him, and eight seamen. The gunner and I soon made a
bargain for the ship, which I bought for five thousand pieces of eight,
most of it in English goods such as they wanted; for they were many of
them almost naked of clothes, and, as for other things, they had scarce
a pair of stockings or shoes among them.
When our bargain was made, and the mate had related all the particulars
of the conference he had had with the gunner, we came to talk of the
people who were to go with us: the gunner told us that we might indeed
have good reason to suspect a gang of men who had made themselves
infamous all over the world by so many piracies and wicked actions; but,
if I would put so much confidence in him, he would assure me, that, as
he should have the power in his hands to pick and choose his men, so he
would answer body for body for the fidelity of all the men he should
choose; and that most, if not all of them, would be such as had been
taken by force out of other ships, or wheedled away when they were
drunk: and he added, there never was a ship load of such penitents went
to sea together as he would bring us.
When he said this, he began to entreat me that I would please to give
him the same post which he held in the ship, viz., of gunner, which I
promised him; and then he desired I would permit him to speak with me in
private; I was not at first very free to it, but he having consented to
let the mate and Captain Merlotte be present, I yielded.
When all the rest were withdrawn, he told me, that having been five
years in the pirates' service, as he might call it, and being obliged to
do as they did, I might be sure he had some small share in the purchase;
and however he had come into it against his will, yet, as he had been
obliged to go with them, he had made some advantage; and that, being
resolved to leave them, he had a good while ago packed up some of the
best of what he had got, to make his escape, and begged I would let him
deposit it with me as a security for his fidelity.
Upon this he ordered a chest to be taken out of the shallop, and brought
into my great cabin; and, besides this, gave me out of his pocket, a
bag, sealed up, the contents of which I shall speak of hereafter.