CHAP. I.
OF Captain AVERY, And his
CREW.
NONE of these bold Adventurers
were ever so much talked of, for a while, as Avery; he made
as great a Noise in the World as Meriveis does now,
and was looked upon to be a Person of as great Consequence; he was
represented in Europe, as one that had raised himself to the
Dignity of a King, and was likely to be the Founder of a new
Monarchy; having, as it was said, taken immense Riches, and married
the Great Mogul’s Daughter, who was taken in an IndianShip, which
fell into his Hands; and that he had by her many Children, living
in great Royalty and State; that he had built Forts, erected
Magazines, and was Master of a stout Squadron of Ships, mann’d with
able and desperate Fellows of all Nations; that he gave Commissions
out in his own Name to the Captains of his Ships, and to the
Commanders of his Forts, and was acknowledged by them as their
Prince. A Play was writ upon him, called, the Successful Pyrate;
and, these Accounts obtained such Belief, that several Schemes were
offered to the Council for fitting out a Squadron to take him;
while others were for offering him and his Companions an Act of
Grace, and inviting them to England, with all their Treasure, least
his growing Greatness might hinder the Trade of Europe to the
East-Indies.
Yet all these were no more than
false Rumours, improved by the Credulity of some, and the Humour of
others who love to tell strange Things; for, while it was said, he
was aspiring at a Crown, he wanted a Shilling; and at the same Time
it was given out he was in Possession of such prodigious Wealth in
Madagascar, he was starving in England.
No doubt, but the Reader will
have a Curiosity of knowing what became of this Man, and what were
the true Grounds of so many false Reports concerning him; there
fore, I shall, in as brief a Manner as I can, give his
History.
He was born in the West of
England near Plymouth in Devonshire, being bred to the Sea, he
served as a Mate of a Merchant-Man, in several trading Voyages: It
happened before the Peace of Ryfwick, when there was an Alliance
betwist Spain,
England, Holland, &c. against
France, that the French in Martinico, carried on a smugling Trade
with the Spaniards on the Continent of Peru, which by the Laws of
Spain, is not allowed to Friends in Time of Peace, for none but
native Spaniardsare permitted to Traffick in those Parts, or set
their Feet on Shore, unless at any Time they are brought as
Prisoners; wherefore they constantly keep certain Ships cruising
along the Coast, whom they call Guarda del Costa, who have the
Orders to make Prizes of all ships they can light of within five
Leagues of Land. Now theFrench growing very bold in Trade, and the
Spaniards being poorly provided with Ships, and those they had
being of no Force, it often fell out, that when they light of the
French Smuglers, they were not strong enough to attack them,
therefore it was resolv’d in Spain, to hire two or three stout
foreign Ships for their Service, which being known at Bristol, some
Merchants of that City, fitted out two Ships of thirty odd Guns,
and 120 Hands each, well furnished with Provision and Ammunition,
and all other Stores; and the Hire being agreed for, by some Agents
for Spain, they were commanded to sail for Corunna or the Groine,
there to receive their Orders, and to take on
Board some Spanish Gentlemen, who were to go Passengers to
New-Spain.
Of one of these Ships,
which I take to be call’d the Duke, Capt. Gibson
Commander, Avery was first Mate, and being a Fellow of more Cunning
than Courage, he insinuated himself into the good Will of several
of the boldest Fellows on Board the other Ship, as well as that
which he was on Board of; having sounded their Inclinations before
he opened himself, and finding them ripe for his Design, he, at
length, proposed to them, to run away with the Ship, telling them
what great Wealth was to be had upon the Coasts of India. It was no
sooner said than agreed to, and they resolved to execute their Plot
at Ten a Clock the Night following.
It must be observ’d, the Captain
was one of those who are mightily addicted to Punch, so that he
passed most of his Time on Shore, in some little drinking Ordinary;
but this Day he did not go on Shore as usual; however, this did not
spoil the Design, for he took his usual Dose on Board, and so got
to Bed before the Hour appointed for the Business: The Men also who
were not privy to the Design, turn’d into their Hammocks, leaving
none upon Deck but the Conspirators, who, indeed, were the greatest
Part of the Ship’s
Crew. At the Time agreed on, the
Dutchess’s Long-Boat appear’d, which Avery hailing in the usual
Manner, was answered by the Men in her, Is your drunken Boatswain
on Board? Which was the Watch- Word agreed between them, and Avery
replying in the Affirmative, the Boat came aboard with sixteen
stout Fellows, and joined the Company.
When our Gentry saw that all was
clear, they secured the Hatches, so went to work; they did not slip
the Anchor, but weigh’d it leisurely, and so put to Sea without any
Disorder or Confusion, tho’ there were several Ships then lying in
the Bay, and among them a Dutch Frigate of forty Guns, the Captain
of which was offered a great Reward to go out after her; but
Mynheer, who perhaps would not have been willing to have been
served so himself could not be prevail’d upon to give such
Usage to another, and so let Mr. Avery pursue his
Voyage, whither he had a Mind to.
The Captain, who by this Time,
was awaked, either by the Motion of the Ship, or the Noise of
working the Tackles, rung the Bell; Avery and two others
went into the Cabin; the Captain, half asleep, and in a
kind of Fright, ask’d, What was the Matter? Avery
answered cooly, Nothing; the Captain replied, something’s
the Matter with the Ship, Does she drive? What Weather is it?
Thinking nothing less then that it had been a Storm, and that the
Ship was driven from her Anchors: No, no, answered Avery, we’re at
Sea, with a fair Wind and good Weather. At Sea! says the Captain,
How can that be? Come, says Avery, don’t be in a Fright, but put on
your Cloaths, and I’ll let you into a Secret: — You muse know, that
I am Captain of this Ship now, and this is my Cabin, therefore you
must walk out; I am bound toMadagascar, with a Design of making my
own Fortune, and that of all the brave Fellows joined with
me.
The Captain having a little
recovered his Senses, began to apprehend the meaning; however, his
Fright was as great as before, which Avery perceiving, bad him fear
nothing, for, says he, if you have a Mind to make one of us, we
will receive you, and if you’ll turn sober, and mind your Business,
perhaps in Time I may make you one of my Lieutenants, if not,
here’s a Boat a-long-side, and you shall be set ashore.
The Captain was glad to hear
this, and therefore accepted of his Offer, and the whole Crew being
called up, to know who was willing to go on Shore with the Captain,
and who to seek their Fortunes with the rest; there were not above
five or six who were willing to quit this Enterprize; wherefore
they were put into the Boat with the Captain that Minute, and made
their Way to the Shore as well as they could.
They proceeded on their Voyage to
Madagascar, but I do not find they took any Ships in their Way;
when they arrived at the N. E. Part of that Island, they found two
Sloops at Anchor, who, upon seeing them, slip’d their Cables and
run themselves ashore, the Men all landing, and running into the
Woods; these were two Sloops which the Men had run away with from
the West-Indies, and seeing Avery, they supposed him to be some
Frigate sent to take them, and therefore not being of Force to
engage him, they did what they could to save themselves.
He guessed where they were, and
sent some of his Men on Shore to let them know they were Friends,
and to offer they might join together for their common Safety; the
Sloops Men were well arm’d, and had posted themselves in a Wood,
with Centinels just on the out-side, to observe whether the Ship
landed her Men to pursue them, and they observing only two or three
Men to come towards them without Arms, did not oppose them, but
having challenged them, and they answering they were Friends, they
lead them to their Body, where they delivered their Message; at
first, they apprehended it was a Stratagem to decoy them on Board,
but when the Ambassadors offered that the Captain himself, and as
many of the Crew as they should name, would meet them on Shore
without Arms, they believed them to be in Earnest, and they soon
entered into a Confidence with one another; those on Board going on
Shore, and some of those on Shore going on Board.
The Sloops Men were rejoiced at
the new Ally, for their Vessels were so small, that they could not
attack a Ship of any Force, so that hitherto they had not taken any
considerable Prize, but now they hop’d to fly at high Game; and
Avery was as well pleased at this Reinforcement, to strengthen
them, for any brave Enterprize, and tho’ the Booty must be lessened
to each, by being divided into so
many Shares, yet he found out an
Expedient not to suffer by it himself as shall be shewn in its
Place.
Having consulted what was to be
done, they resolved to sail out together upon a Cruize, the Galley
and two Sloops; they therefore fell to work to get the Sloops off,
which they soon effected, and steered towards the Arabian Coast;
near the River Indus, the Man at the Mast-Head spied a Sail, upon
which they gave Chace, and as they came nearer to her, they
perceived her to be a tall Ship, and fancied she might be a Dutch
East-India Man homeward bound; but she proved a better Prize; when
they fired at her to bring too, she hoisted Mogul’s Colours,
and seemed to stand upon her Defence; Avery only
canonaded at a Distance, and some of his Men began to suspect that
he was not the Hero they took him for: However, the Sloops made Use
of their Time, and coming one on the Bow, and the other on the
Quarter, of the Ship, clapt her on Board, and enter’d her, upon
which she immediately struck her Colours and yielded; she was one
of the Great Mogul’s own Ships, and there were in her several of
the greatest Persons of his Court, among whom it was said was one
of his Daughters, who were going on a Pilgrimage to Mecca, the
Mahometansthinking themselves obliged once in their Lives to visit
that Place, and they were carrying with them rich Offerings to
present at the Shrine of Mahomet. It is known that the Eastern
People travel with the utmost Magnificence, so that they had with
them all their Slaves and Attendants, their rich Habits and Jewels,
with Vessels of Gold and Silver, and great Sums of Money to defray
the Charges of their Journey by Land; wherefore the Plunder got by
this Prize, is not easily computed.
Having taken all the Treasure on
Board their own Ships, and plundered their Prize of every Thing
else they either wanted or liked, they let her go; she not being
able to continue her Voyage, returned back: As soon as the News
came to the Mogul, and he knew that they were English who had
robbed them, he threatened loud, and talked of sending a mighty
Army with Fire and Sword, to extirpate the English from all their
Settlements on the Indian Coast. The East-India Company in England,
were very much alarmed at it; however, by Degrees, they found Means
to pacify him, by promising to do their Endeavours to take the
Robbers, and deliver them into his Hands; however, the great Noise
this Thing made in
Europe, as well as India, was the
Occasion of all these romantick Stories which were formed of
Avery’s Greatness.
In the mean Time our successful
Plunderers agreed to make the best of their Way back to Madagascar,
intending to make that Place their Magazine or Repository for all
their Treasure, and to build a small Fortification there, and leave
a few Hands always ashore to look after it, and defend it from any
Attempts of the Natives; butAvery put an End to this Project, and
made it altogether unnecessary.
As they were Steering their
Course, as has been said, he sends a Boat on Board of each of the
Sloops, desiring the Chief of them to come on Board of him, in
order to hold a Council; they did so, and he told them he had
something to propose to them for the common Good, which was to
provide against Accidents; he bad them consider the Treasure they
were possess’d of, would be sufficient for them all if they could
secure it in some Place on Shore; therefore all they had to fear,
was some Misfortune in the Voyage; he bad them consider the
Consequences of being separated by bad Weather, in which Case, the
Sloops, if either of them should fall in with any Ships of Force,
must be either taken or sunk, and the Treasure on Board her lost to
the rest, besides the common Accidents of the Sea; as for his Part
he was so strong, he was able to make his Party good with any Ship
they were like to meet in those Seas; that if he met with any Ship
of such Strength, that he could not take her, he was safe from
being taken, being so well mann’d; besides his Ship was a quick
Sailor, and could carry Sail, when the Sloops could not, wherefore,
he proposed to them, to put the Treasure on Board his Ship, to seal
up each Chest with 3 Seals, whereof each was to keep one, and to
appoint a Rendezvous, in Case of Separation.
Upon considering this Proposal,
it appeared so seasonable to them, that they readily came into it,
for they argued to themselves, that an Accident might happen to one
of the Sloops and the other escape, wherefore it was for the common
Good. The Thing was done as agreed to, the Treasure put on Board of
Avery, and the Chests seal’d; they kept Company that Day and the
next, the Weather being fair, in which Time Avery tampered with his
Men, telling them they now had sufficient, to make them all easy,
and what should hinder them
from going to some Country, where
they were not known, and living on Shore all the rest of their Days
in Plenty; they understood what he meant: And in short, they all
agreed to bilk their new Allies, the Sloop’s Men, nor do I find
that any of them felt any Qualms of Honour rising in his Stomach,
to hinder them from consenting to this Piece of Treachery. In fine,
they took Advantage of the Darkness that Night, steer’d another
Course, and, by Morning, lost Sight of them.
I leave the Reader to judge, what
Swearing and Confusion there was among the Sloop’s Men, in
the Morning, when they saw that Avery had given them
the Slip; for they knew by the Fairness of the Weather, and the
Course they had agreed to steer, that it must have been done on
purpose: But we leave them at present to follow Mr. Avery.
Avery, and his Men, having
consulted what to do with themselves, came to a Resolution, to
make the best of their Way towards America; and none of
them being known in those Parts, they intended to divide the
Treasure, to change their Names, to go ashore, some in one Place,
some in other, to purchase some Settlements, and live at Ease. The
first Land they made, was the Island of Providence, then newly
settled; here they staid some Time, and having considered that when
they should go to New-England, the Greatness of their Ship, would
cause much Enquiry about them; and possibly some People from
England, who had heard the Story of a Ship’s being run away with
from the Groine, might suspect them to be the People; they
therefore took a Resolution of disposing of their Ship at
Providence: Upon which,Avery pretending that the Ship being fitted
out upon the privateering Account, and having had no Success, he
had received Orders from the Owners, to dispose of her to the best
Advantage, he soon met with a Purchaser, and immediately bought a
sloop.
In this Sloop, he and his
Companions embarq’d, they touch’d at several Parts of America,
where no Person suspected them; and some of them went on Shore, and
dispersed themselves about the Country, having received such
Dividends as Avery would give them; for he concealed the greatest
Part of the Diamonds from them,
which in the first Hurry of
plundering the Ship, they did not much regard, as not knowing their
Value.
At length he came to Boston, in
New-England, and seem’d to have a Desire of settling in those
Parts, and some of his Companions went on Shore there also, but he
changed his Resolution, and proposed to the few of his Companions
who were left, to sail for Ireland, which they consented to: He
found out that New-England was not a proper Place for him, because
a great deal of his Wealth lay in Diamonds; and should he have
produced them there, he would have certainly been seiz’d on
Suspicion of Pyracy.
In their Voyage to Ireland, they
avoided St. George’s Channel, and sailing North about, they put
into one of the Northern Ports of that Kingdom; there they disposed
of their Sloop, and coming on Shore they separated themselves, some
going to Cork, and some to Dublin,
18 of whom obtain’d their Pardons
afterwards of K.William. When Avery had remain’d some Time in
this Kingdom, he was afraid to offer his Diamonds to sale, least an
Enquiry into his Manner of coming by them should occasion a
Discovery; therefore considering with himself what was best to be
done, he fancied there were some Persons at Bristol, whom he might
venture to trust; upon which, he resolved to pass over into
England; he did so, and going into Devonshire, he sent to one of
these Friends to meet him at a Town calledBiddiford; when he had
communicated himself to his Friends, and consulted with him about
the Means of his Effects, they agreed, that the safest Method would
be, to put them in the Hands of some Merchants, who being Men of
Wealth and Credit in the World, no Enquiry would be made how they
came by them; this Friend telling him he was very intimate with
some who were very fit for the Purpose, and if he would but allow
them a good Commission would do the Business very faithfully. Avery
liked the Proposal, for he found no other Way of managing his
Affairs, since he could not appear in them himself; therefore his
Friend going back toBristol, and opening the Matter to the
Merchants, they made Avery a Visit at Biddiford, where, after
some Protestations of Honour and Integrity, he delivered them his
Effects, consisting of Diamonds and some Vessels of Gold; they gave
him a little Money for his present Subsistance, and so they
parted.
He changed his Name and lived at
Biddiford, without making any Figure, and therefore there was no
great Notice taken of him; yet let one or two of his Relations know
where he was, who came to see him. In some Time his little Money
was spent, yet he heard nothing from his Merchants; he writ to them
often, and after much Importunity they sent him a small Supply, but
scarce sufficient to pay his Debts: In fine, the Supplies they sent
him from Time to Time, were so small, that they were not sufficient
to give him Bread, nor could he get that little, without a great
deal of Trouble and Importunity, wherefore being weary of his Life,
he went privately toBristol, to speak to the Merchants himself,
where instead of Money he met a most shocking Repulse, for when he
desired them to come to an Account with him, they silenced him by
threatening to discover him, so that our Merchants were as good
Pyrates at Land as he was at Sea.
Whether he was frightened by
these Menaces, or had seen some Body else he thought knew him, is
not known; but he went immediately over to Ireland, and from thence
sollicited his Merchants very hard for a Supply, but to no Purpose,
for he was even reduced to beggary: In this Extremity he was
resolved to return and cast himself upon them, let the Consequence
be what it would. He put himself on Board a trading Vessel, and
work’d his Passage over to Plymouth, from whence he travelled on
Foot to Biddiford, where he had been but a few Days before he fell
sick and died; not being worth as much as would buy him a
Coffin.
Thus have I given all that could
be collected of any Certainty concerning this Man; rejecting the
idle Stories which were made of his fantastick Greatness, by which
it appears, that his Actions were more inconsiderable than those of
other Pyrates, since him, though he made more Noise in the
World.
Now we shall turn back and give
our Readers some Account of what became of the two Sloops.
We took Notice of the Rage and
Confusion, which must have seized them, upon their missing of
Avery; however, they continued their Course, some of them still
flattering themselves that he had only out sailed them in the
Night, and that they should find him at the Place of Rendezvous:
But when they came there, and could hear no
Tydings of him, there was an End
of Hope. It was Time to consider what they should do with
themselves, their Stock of Sea Provision was almost spent, and tho’
there was Rice and Fish, and Fowl to be had ashore, yet these would
not keep for Sea, without being properly cured with Salt, which
they had no Conveniency of doing; therefore, since they could not
go a Cruizing any more, it was Time to think of establishing
themselves at Land; to which Purpose they took all Things out of
the Sloops, made Tents of the Sails, and encamped themselves,
having a large Quantity of Ammunition, and abundance of small
Arms.
Here they met with several of
their Countrymen, the Crew of a Privateer Sloop which was commanded
by Captain Thomas Tew; and since it will be but a short Digression,
we will give an Account how they came here.
Captain George Dew and Captain
Thomas Tew, having received Commissions from the then Governor of
Bermudas, to sail directly for the River Gambia in Africa; there,
with the Advice and Assistance of the Agents of the Royal African
Company, to attempt the taking the French Factory at Goorie, lying
upon that Coast. In a few Days after they sailed out, Dew in a
violent Storm, not only sprung his Mast, but lost Sight of his
Consort; Dew therefore returned back to refit, and Tew instead of
proceeding on his Voyage, made for the Cape of Good Hope, and
doubling the said Cape, shaped his Course for the Straits of Babel
Mandel, being the Entrance into the Red Sea. Here he came up with a
large Ship, richly laden, bound from the Indies to Arabia, with
three hundred Soldiers on Board, besides Seamen; yet Tewhad the
Hardiness to board her, and soon carried her; and, ’tis said, by
this Prize, his Men shared near three thousand Pounds a Piece: They
had Intelligence from the Prisoners, of five other rich Ships to
pass that Way, which Tew would have attacked, tho’ they were very
strong, if he had not been over-ruled by the Quarter-Master and
others.—This differing in Opinion created some ill Blood amongst
them, so that they resolved to break up pyrating, and no Place was
so fit to receive them asMadagascar; hither they steered, resolving
to live on Shore and enjoy what they got.
As for Tew himself, he with a few
others in a short Time went off to Rhode Island, from whence he
made his Peace.
Thus have we accounted for the
Company our Pyrates met with here.
It must be observed that the
Natives of Madagascar are a kind of Negroes, they differ from those
of Guiney in their Hair, which is long, and their Complexion is not
so good a Jet; they have innumerable little Princes among them, who
are continually making War upon one another; their Prisoners are
their Slaves, and they either sell them, or put them to death, as
they please: When our Pyrates first settled amongst them, their
Alliance was much courted by these Princes, so they sometimes
joined one, sometimes another, but wheresoever they sided, they
were sure to be Victorious; for the Negroes here had no Fire-Arms,
nor did they understand their Use; so that at length these Pyrates
became so terrible to the Negroes, that if two or or three of them
were only seen on one Side, when they were going to engage, the
opposite Side would fly without striking a Blow.
By these Means they not only
became feared, but powerful; all the Prisoners of War, they took to
be their Slaves; they married the most beautiful of the Negroe
Women; not one or two, but as many as they liked; so that every one
of them had as great a Seraglio as the Grand Seignior at
Constantinople: Their Slaves they employed in planting Rice, in
Fishing, Hunting, &c. besides which, they had abundance of
others, who lived, as it were, under their Protection, and to be
secure from the Disturbances or Attacks of their powerful
Neighbours; these seemed to pay them a willing Homage. Now they
began to divide from one another, each living with his own Wives,
Slaves and Dependants, like a separate Prince; and as Power and
Plenty naturally beget Contention, they sometimes quarrelled with
one another, and attacked each other at the Head of their several
Armies; and in these civil Wars, many of them were killed; but an
Accident happened, which obliged them to unite again for their
common Safety.
It must be observed that these
sudden great Men, had used their Power like Tyrants, for they grew
wanton in Cruelty, and nothing was more common, than upon the
slightest Displeasure, to cause
one of their Dependants to be
tied to a Tree and shot thro’ the Heart, let the Crime be what it
would, whether little or great, this was always the Punishment;
wherefore the Negroes conspired together, to rid themselves of
these Destroyers, all in one Night; and as they now lived separate,
the Thing might easily have been done, had not a Woman, who had
been Wife or Concubine to one of them, run near twenty Miles in
three Hours, to discover the Matter to them: Immediately upon the
Alarm they ran together as fast as they could, so that when the
Negroes approached them, they found them all up in Arms; wherefore
they retired without making any Attempt.
This Escape made them very
cautious from that Time, and it will be worth while to describe the
Policy of these brutish Fellows, and to shew what Measures they
took to secure themselves.
They found that the Fear of their
Power could not secure them against a Surprize, and the bravest Man
may be kill’d when he is asleep, by one much his inferior in
Courage and Strength, therefore, as their first Security, they did
all they could to foment War betwixt the neighbouring Negroes,
remaining Neuter themselves, by which Means, those who were
overcome constantly lied to them for Protection, otherwise they
must be either killed or made Slaves. They strengthened their
Party, and tied some to them by interest; when there was no War,
they contrived to spirit up private Quarrels among them, and upon
every little Dispute or Misunderstanding, push on one Side or other
to Revenge; instruct them how to attack or surprize their
Adversaries, and lend them loaded Pistols or Firelocks to dispatch
them with; the Consequence of which was, that the Murderer was
forced to fly to them for the safety of his Life, with his Wives,
Children and Kindred.
Such as these were fast Friends,
as their Lives depended upon the safety of his Protectors; for as
we observed before, our Pyrates were grown so terrible, that none
of their Neighbours had Resolution enough to attack them in an open
War.
By such Arts as these, in the
Space of a few Years, their Body was greatly increased, they then
began to separate themselves, and remove at a greater Distance from
one another, for the Convenience of more Ground, and were divided
like Jews, into Tribes, each carrying with him his Wives and
Children, (of which, by this Time
they had a large Family,) as also
their Quota of Dependants and Followers; and if Power and Command
be the Thing which distinguish a Prince, these Ruffians had all the
Marks of Royalty about them, nay more, they had the very Fears
which commonly disturb Tyrants, as may be seen by the extream
Caution they took in fortifying the Places where they dwelt.
In this Plan of Fortification
they imitated one another, their Dwellings were rather Citadels
than Houses; they made Choice of a Place overgrown with Wood, and
scituate near a Water; they raised a Rampart or high Ditch round
it, so strait and high, that it was impossible to climb it, and
especially by those who had not the Use of scaling Ladders: Over
this Ditch there was one Passage into the Wood; the Dwelling, which
was a Hut, was built in that Part of the Wood which the Prince, who
inhabited it, thought fit, but so covered that it could not be seen
till you came at it; but the greatest Cunning lay in the Passage
which lead to the Hut, which was so narrow, that no more than one
Person could go a Breast, and contrived in so intricate a Manner,
that it was a perfect Maze or Labyrinth, it being round and round,
with several little cross Ways, so that a Person that was not well
acquainted with the Way, might walk several Hours round and cross
these Ways without being able to find the Hut; moreover all along
the Sides of these narrow Paths, certain large Thorns which grew
upon a Tree in that Country, were struck into the Ground with their
Points uppermost, and the Path it self being made crooked and
serpentine, if a Man should attempt to come near the Hut at Night,
he would certainly have struck upon these Thorns, tho’ he
had been provided with that Clue which Ariadne gave
to Theseus when he entered the Cave of the
Minataur.
Thus Tyrant like they lived,
fearing and feared by all; and in this Scituation they were found
by Captain Woods Rogers, when he went to Madagascar, in theDelicia,
a Ship of forty Guns, with a Design of buying Slaves in order to
sell to the Dutch at Batavia or New-Holland: He happened to touch
upon a Part of the Island, where no Ship had been seen for seven or
eight Years before, where he met with some of the Pyrates, at which
Time, they had been upon the Island above 25 Years, having a large
motly Generation of Children and Grand-
Children descended from them,
there being about that Time, eleven of them remaining alive.
Upon their first seeing a Ship of
this Force and Burthen, they supposed it to be a Man of War sent to
take them; they therefore lurked within their Fastnesses, but when
some from the Ship came on Shore, without any shew of Hostility,
and offering to trade with the Negroes, they ventured to come out
of their Holes, attended like Princes; and since they actually are
Kings De Facto, which is a kind of a Right, we ought to speak of
them as such.
Having been so many Years upon
this Island, it may be imagined, their Cloaths had long been worn
out, so that their Majesties were extreamly out at the Elbows; I
cannot say they were ragged, since they had no Cloaths, they had
nothing to cover them but the Skins of Beasts without any tanning,
but with all the Hair on, nor a Shoe nor Stocking, so they looked
like the Pictures of Hercules in the Lion’s Skin; and being
overgrown with Beard, and Hair upon their
Bodies, they appeared the most
savage Figures that a Man’s Imagination can frame.
However, they soon got rigg’d,
for they sold great Numbers of those poor People under them, for
Cloaths, Knives, Saws, Powder and Ball, and many other Things, and
became so familiar that they went aboard the Delicia, and were
observed to be very curious, examining the inside of the Ship, and
very familiar with the Men, inviting them ashore. Their Design in
doing this, as they afterwards confessed, was to try if it was not
practicable to surprize the Ship in the Night, which they judged
very easy, in case there was but a slender Watch kept on Board,
they having Boats and Men enough at Command, but it seems the
Captain was aware of them, and kept so strong a Watch upon Deck,
that they found it was in vain to make any Attempt; wherefore, when
some of the Men went ashore, they were for inveigling them, and
drawing them into a Plot, for seizing the Captain and securing the
rest of the Men under Hatches, when they should have the
Night-Watch, promising a Signal to come on Board to join them;
proposing, if they succeeded, to go a Pyrating together, not
doubting but with that Ship they should be able to take any Thing
they met on the Sea: But the Captain observing an intimacy growing
betwixt them and some of his Men, thought it could be for
no good, he therefore broke it
off in Time, not suffering them so much as to talk together; and
when he sent a Boat on Shore with an Officer to treat with them
about the Sale of Slaves, the Crew remained on Board the Boat, and
no Man was suffered to talk with them, but the Person deputed by
him for that Purpose.
Before he sailed away, and they
found that nothing was to be done, they confessed all the Designs
they had formed against him. Thus he left them as he found them, in
a great deal of dirty State and Royalty, but with fewer Subjects
than they had, having, as we observed, sold many of them; and if
Ambition be the darling Passion of Men, no doubt they were happy.
One of these great Princes had formerly been a Waterman upon the
Thames, where having committed a Murder, he fled to the
West-Indies, and was of the Number of those who run away with the
Sloops; the rest had been all foremast Men, nor was there a Man
amongst them, who could either read or write, and yet their
Secretaries of State had no more Learning than themselves. This is
all the Account we can give of these Kings of Madagascar, some of
whom it is probable are reigning to this Day.
CHAP. II.
OF Captain MARTEL, And his
CREW.
ICome now to the Pyrates that
have rose since the Peace of Utrecht; in War Time there is no room
for any, because all those of a roving advent’rous Disposition find
Employment in Privateers, so there is no Opportunity for Pyrates;
like our Mobs in London, when they come to any Height, our
Superiors order out the Train Bands, and when once they are raised,
the others are suppressed of Course; I take the Reason of it to be,
that the Mob go into the tame Army, and immediately from notorious
Breakers of the Peace, become, by being put into order, solemn
Preservers of it. And should our Legislators put some of the
Pyrates into Authority, it would not only lessen their Number, but,
I imagine, set them upon the rest, and they would be the likeliest
People to find them out, according to the Proverb, set a Thief to
catch a Thief.
To bring this about, there needs
no other Encouragement, but to give all the Effects taken aboard a
Pyrate Vessel to the Captors; for in Case of Plunder and Gain, they
like it as well from Friends, as Enemies, but are not fond, as
Things are carry’d, of ruining poor Fellowes, say the Creoleans,
with no Advantage to themselves.
The Multitude of Men and Vessels,
employ’d this Way, in Time of War, in the West-Indies, is another
Reason, for the Number of Pyrates in a Time of Peace: This cannot
be supposed to be a Reflection on any of our American Governments,
much less on the King himself, by whose Authority such Commissions
are granted, because of the Reasonableness, and absolute Necessity,
there is for the doing of it; yet the Observation is just, for so
many idle People employing themselves in Privateers, for the sake
of Plunder and Riches, which they always spend as fast as they get,
that when the War is over, and they can have no farther Business in
the Way of Life they have been used to, they too readily engage in
Acts of Pyracy, which being but the same Practice without a
Commission, they make very little Distinction betwixt the
Lawfulness of one, and the Unlawfulness of the other.
I have not enquired so far back,
as to know the Original of this Rover, but I believe he and his
Gang, were some Privateer’s Men
belonging to the Island
ofJamaica, in the preceeding War; his Story is but short, for his
Reign was so; an End having been put to his Adventures in good
Time, when he was growing strong and formidable. We find him
Commander of a Pyrate Sloop of eight Guns, and 80 Men, in the
Month of September, 1716, cruising off Jamaica, Cuba, &c.
about which Time he took the Berkley Galley, Captain Saunders, and
plundered him of 1000 l. in Money, and afterwards met with a Sloop
call’d the King Solomon, from whom he took some Money, and
Provisions, besides Goods, to a good Value.
They proceeded after this to the
Port of Cavena, at the Island of Cuba, and in their Way took two
Sloops, which they plundered, and let go; and off the Port fell in
with a fine Galley, with 20 Guns, call’d the John and Martha,
Captain Wilson, which they attacked under the pyratical Black-Flag,
and made themselves Masters of her. They put some of the Men
ashore, and others they detain’d, as they had done several Times,
to encrease their Company; but Captain Martel, charged
CaptainWilson, to advise his Owners, that their Ship would answer
his Purpose exactly, by taking one Deck down, and as for the Cargo,
which consisted chiefly of Logwood and Sugar, he would take Care it
should be carry’d to a good Market.
Having fitted up the aforesaid
Ship, as they design’d, they mounted her with 22 Guns, 100 Men, and
left 25 Hands in the Sloop, and so proceeded to Cruize off
theLeeward Islands, where they met with but too much Success. After
the taking of a Sloop and a Brigantine, they gave Chase to a stout
Ship, which they came up with, and, at Sight of the Pyrate’s Flag,
she struck to the Robbers, being a Ship of 20 Guns, call’d the
Dolphin, bound for Newfoundland. Captain Martel made the Men
Prisoners, and carry’d the Ship with him.
The middle of December the
Pyrates took another Galley in her Voyage home from Jamaica, call’d
the Kent, Captain Lawton, and shifted her Provisions aboard their
own Ship, and let her go, which obliged her to Sail back to Jamaica
for a Supply for her Voyage. After this they met with a small Ship
and a Sloop, belonging toBarbadoes, out of both they took
Provisions, and then parted with them, having first taken out some
of their Hands, who were willing to be forced to go along with
them. The Greyhound Galley of London, Captain Evans,
from Guiney to Jamaica, was the
next that had the Misfortune to fall in their Way, which they did
not detain long, for as soon as they could get out all her Gold
Dust, Elephant’s Teeth, and 40 Slaves, they sent her onwards upon
her Voyage. . . . . .
They concluded now, that ’twas
high Time to get into Harbour and refit, as well as to get
Refreshments themselves, and wait an Opportunity to dispose of
their Cargo; therefore ’twas resolved to make the best of their Way
to Santa Crux, a small Island in the Lattitude of 18, 30, N. ten
Mile long, and two broad, lying South- East of Porto Rico,
belonging to the French Settlements. Here they thought they might
lye privately enough for some Time, and fit themselves for further
Mischief. They met with a Sloop by the Way, which they took along
with them, and in the Beginning of the Year 1716-17, they arrived
at their Port, having a Ship of 20 Guns, a Sloop of eight, and
three Prizes, viz. another Ship of 20 Guns, a Sloop of four Guns,
and another Sloop last taken; with this little Fleet, they got into
a small Harbour, or Road, the N. W. Part of the Island, and warp’d
up two Creeks, which were made by a little Island lying within the
Bay; (I am the more particular now, because I shall take Leave of
the Gentlemen, at this Place.) They had here bare 16 Foot Water, at
the deepest, and but 13 or 14, at the shallowest, and nothing but
Rocks and Sands without, which secured them from Wind and Sea, and
likewise from any considerable Force coming against them.
When they had all got in, the
first Thing they had to do, was to Guard themselves in the best
Manner they could; they made a Battery of four Guns upon the
Island, and another Battery of two Guns on the North Point of the
Road, and warp’d in one of the Sloops with eight Guns, at the Mouth
of the Channel, to hinder any Vessels from coming in; when this was
done they went to Work on their Ship, unrigging, and unloading, in
order to Clean, where I shall leave them a while, till I bring
other Company to ’em.
In the Month of November, 1716,
General Hamilton, Commander in chief of all the Leeward Carribee
Islands, sent a Sloop Express to Captain Hume, at Barbadoes,
Commander of his Majesty’s Ship, Scarborough, of 30
Guns, and 140 Men, to acquaint him, that two Pyrate Sloops of 12
Guns each, molested the Colonies, having
plundered several Vessels. The
Scarborough had bury’d twenty Men, and had near forty Sick, and
therefore was but in ill State to go to Sea: However, Captain
Humeleft his sick Men behind, and sailed to the other Islands, for
a supply of Men, taking 20 Soldiers from Antegoa; at Nevis,
he took 10, and 10 at St. Christophers, and then sailed to the
Island of Anguilla, where he learned, that some Time before, 2 such
Sloops had been at Spanish-Town, otherwise called, one of the
Virgin Islands: Accordingly, the next Day, the Scarborough
came to Spanish-Town, but could hear no News of the Sloops, only,
that they had been there about Christmas, (it being then the 15th
of January.)
Captain Hume, finding no Account
could be had of these Pyrates, designed to go back, the next Day,
to Barbadoes; but, it happened, that Night, that a Boat anchor’d
there from Santa Crux, and informed him, that he saw a Pyrate Ship
of 22 or 24 Guns, with other Vessels, going in to the North West
Part of the Island aforesaid. The Scarborough weigh’d immediately,
and the next Morning came in Sight of the Rovers, and their Prizes,
and stood to them, but the Pilot refused to venture in with the
Ship; all the while the Pyrates fir’d red hot Bullets from the
Shore. At length, the Ship came to an Anchor, along Side the Reef,
near the Channel, and cannonaded for several Hours, both the
Vessels and Batteries: About four in the Afternoon, the Sloop that
guarded the Channel, was sunk by the Shot of the Man of War; then
she cannonaded the Pyrate Ship of 22 Guns, that lay behind the
Island. The next Night, viz. the 18th, it falling Calm, Captain
Hume weigh’d, fearing he might fall on the Reef, and so stood off
and on for a Day or two, to block them up. On the 20th, in the
Evening, they observed the Man of War to stand off to Sea, and took
the Opportunity to warp out, in order to slip away from the Island;
but at Twelve o’Clock they run a-ground, and then seeing the
Scarborough about, standing in again, as their Case was desperate,
so they were put into the utmost Confusion; they quitted their
Ship, and set her on Fire, with 20 Negroes in her, who were all
burnt; 19 of the Pyrates made their Escape in a small Sloop, but
the Captain and the rest, with 20 Negroes, betook to the Woods,
where ’twas probable they might starve, for we never heard what
became of ’em afterwards: Captain Hume released the Prisoners, with
the Ship and Sloop that remained, and then went after the two
Pyrate Sloops first mentioned.
CHAP. III.
OF Captain TEACH
alias BLACK-BEARD.
EDward Teach was a Bristol Man
born, but had sailed some Time out of Jamaica in Privateers, in the
late French War; yet tho’ he had often distinguished himself for
his uncommon Boldness and personal Courage, he was never raised to
any Command, till he went a- pyrating, which I think was at the
latter End of the Year 1716, when Captain Benjamin Hornigold put
him into a Sloop that he had made Prize of, and with whom he
continued in Consortship till a little while before Hornigold
surrendered.
In the Spring of the
Year 1717, Teach and Hornigold sailed from Providence, for the
Main of America, and took in their Way a Billop from the Havana,
with 120 Barrels of Flower, as also a Sloop from Bermuda, Thurbar
Master, from whom they took only some Gallons of Wine, and
then let him go; and a Ship from Madera
toSouth-Carolina, out of which they got Plunder to a considerable
Value.
After cleaning on the Coast of
Virginia, they returned to the West- Indies, and in the Latitude of
24, made Prize of a large French Guiney Man, bound to Martinico,
which by Hornigold’s Consent, Teach went aboard of as
Captain, and took a Cruize in her; Hornigold returned with his
Sloop to Providence, where, at the Arrival of Captain Rogers, the
Governor, he surrendered to Mercy, pursuant to the King’s
Proclamation.
Blackbeard the Pirate.
Aboard of this Guiney Man Teach
mounted no Guns, and named her the Queen Ann’s Revenge; and
cruising near the Island of St. Vincent, took a large
Ship, called the Great Allen, Christopher Taylor
Commander; the Pyrates plundered her of what they though fit, put
all the Men ashore upon the Island above mentioned, and then set
Fire to the Ship.
A few Days after, Teach fell in
with the Scarborogh Man of War, of 30 Guns, who engaged him for
some Hours; but she finding the Pyrate well mann’d, and having
tried her strength, gave over the Engagement, and returned to
Barbadoes, the Place of her Station; and Teach sailed towards the
Spanish America.
In his Way he met with a Pyrate
Sloop of ten Guns, commanded by one Major Bonnet, lately a
Gentleman of good Reputation and Estate in the Island ofBarbadoes,
whom he joyned; but in a few Days after, Teach, finding that Bonnet
knew nothing of a maritime Life, with the Consent of his own Men,
put in another Captain, one Richards, to Command Bonnet’s Sloop,
and took the Major on aboard his own Ship, telling him, that as he
had not been used to the Fatigues and Care of such a Post, it would
be better for him to decline it, and live easy and at his Pleasure,
in such a Ship as his, where he should not be obliged to perform
Duty, but follow his own Inclinations.
At Turniff ten Leagues short of
the Bay of Honduras, the Pyrates took in fresh Water; and while
they were at an Anchor there, they saw a Sloop coming in,
whereupon, Richards in the Sloop called the Revenge,
slipped his Cable, and run out to meet her; who upon seeing the
black Flag hoisted, struck his Sail and came to, under the Stern of
Teach the Commadore. She was called the Adventure, from Jamaica,
David Harriot Master. They took him and his Men aboard the great
Ship, and sent a Number of other Hands with Israel Hands, Master of
Teach’s Ship, to Man the Sloop for the pyratical Account.
The 9th of April, they weighed
from Turniff, having lain there about a Week, and sailed to the
Bay, where they found a Ship and four Sloops, three of the latter
belonged to Jonathan Bernard, of Jamaica, and the other to Captain
James; the Ship was of Boston, called the Protestant Cæsar, Captain
Wyar Commander. Teachhoisted his Black Colours, and fired a Gun,
upon which Captain Wyar and all his Men, left their Ship, and got
ashore in their Boat. Teach’s Quarter-Master, and eight of his
Crew, took Possession of Wyar’s Ship, and Richards secured all the
Sloops, one of which they burnt out of spight to the Owner; the
Protestant Cæsar they also burnt, after they had plundered her,
because she belonged to Boston, where
some Men had been hanged for
Pyracy; and the three Sloops belonging to Bernard they let
go.
From hence the Rovers sailed to
Turkill, and then to the Grand Caimanes, a small Island about
thirty Leagues to the Westward of Jamaica, where they took a small
Turtler, and so to the Havana, and from thence to
the Bahama Wrecks, and from the Bahama Wrecks, they
sailed to Carolina, taking a Brigantine and two Sloops in their
Way, where they lay off the Bar of Charles- Town for five or six
Days. They took here a Ship as she was coming out, bound for
London, commanded by Robert Clark, with some Passengers on Board
for England; the next Day they took another Vessel coming out of
Charles-Town, and also two Pinks coming into Charles-Town; likewise
a Brigantine with 14 Negroes aboard; all which being done in the
Face of the Town, struck a great Terror to the whole Province of
Carolina, having just before been visited by Vane, another
notorious Pyrate, that they abandoned themselves to Dispair, being
in no Condition to resist their Force. They were eight Sail in the
Harbour, ready for the Sea, but none dared to venture out, it being
almost impossible to escape their Hands. The inward bound Vessels
were under the same unhappy Dilemma, so that the Trade of this
Place was totally interrupted: What made these Misfortunes heavier
to them, was a long expensive War, the Colony had had with the
Natives, which was but just ended when these Robbers infested
them.
Teach detained all the Ships and
Prisoners, and, being in want of Medicines, resolves to demand a
Chest from the Government of the Province; accordinglyRichards, the
Captain of the Revenge Sloop, with two or three more Pyrates, were
sent up along with Mr. Marks, one of the Prisoners, whom they had
taken inClark’s Ship, and very insolently made their Demands,
threatning, that if they did not send immediately the Chest of
Medicines, and let the Pyrate- Ambassadors return, without offering
any Violence to their Persons, they would murder all their
Prisoners, send up their Heads to the Governor, and set the Ships
they had taken on Fire.
Whilst Mr. Marks was making
Application to the Council, Richards, and the rest of the Pyrates,
walk’d the Streets publickly, in the Sight of all People, who were
fired with the utmost Indignation, looking
upon them as Robbers and
Murtherers, and particularly the Authors of their Wrongs and
Oppressions, but durst not so much as think of executing their
Revenge, for fear of bringing more Calamities upon themselves, and
so they were forced to let the Villains pass with Impunity. The
Government were not long in deliberating upon the Message, tho’
’twas the greatest Affront that could have been put upon them; yet
for the saving so many Mens Lives, (among them, Mr. Samuel Wragg,
one of the Council;) they comply’d with the Necessity, and sent
aboard a Chest, valued at between 3 and 400 l. and the Pyrates went
back safe to their Ships.
Blackbeard, (for so Teach was
generally called, as we shall hereafter shew) as soon as he had
received the Medicines and his Brother Rogues, let go the Ships and
the Prisoners; having first taken out of them in Gold and Silver,
about 1500 l. Sterling, besides Provisions and other Matters.
From the Bar of Charles-Town,
they sailed to North-Carolina; Captain Teach in the Ship, which
they called the Man of War, Captain Richards and Captain Hands in
the Sloops, which they termed Privateers, and another Sloop serving
them as a Tender. Teach began now to think of breaking up the
Company, and securing the Money and the best of the Effects for
himself, and some others of his Companions he had most Friendship
for, and to cheat the rest: Accordingly, on Pretence of running
into Topsail Inlet to clean, he grounded his Ship, and then, as if
it had been done undesignedly, and by Accident; he orders Hands’s
Sloop to come to his Assistance, and get him off again, which he
endeavouring to do, ran the Sloop on Shore near the other, and so
were both lost. This done, Teach goes into the Tender Sloop, with
forty Hands, and leaves the Revenge there; then takes seventeen
others and Marroons them upon a small sandy Island, about a League
from the Main, where there was neither Bird, Beast or Herb for
their Subsistance, and where they must have perished if Major
Bonnet had not two Days after taken them off.
Teach goes up to the Governor of
North-Carolina, with about twenty of his Men, surrender to his
Majesty’s Proclamation, and receive Certificates thereof, from his
Excellency; but it did not appear that their submitting to this
Pardon was from any Reformation of
Manners, but only to wait a more
favourable Opportunity to play the same Game over again; which he
soon after effected, with greater Security to himself, and with
much better Prospect of Success, having in this Time cultivated a
very good understanding with Charles Eden, Esq; the Governor above
mentioned.
The first Piece of Service this
kind Governor did to Black-Beard, was, to give him a Right to the
Vessel which he had taken, when he was a pyrating in the great Ship
called the Queen Ann’s Revenge; for which purpose, a Court of
Vice-Admiralty was held at Bath-Town; and, tho’ Teach had never any
Commission in his Life, and the Sloop belonging to the English
Merchants, and taken in Time of Peace; yet was she condemned as a
Prize taken from the Spaniards, by the said Teach. These
Proceedings shew that Governors are but Men.
Before he sailed upon his
Adventures, he marry’d a young Creature of about sixteen Years of
Age, the Governor performing the Ceremony. As it is a Custom to
marry here by a Priest, so it is there by a Magistrate; and this, I
have been informed, made Teach’s fourteenth Wife, whereof, about a
dozen might be still living. His Behaviour in this State, was
something extraordinary; for, while his Sloop lay in Okerecock
Inlet, and he ashore at a Plantation, where his Wife lived, with
whom after he had lain all Night, it was his Custom to invite five
or six of his brutal Companions to come ashore, and he would force
her to prostitute her self to them all, one after another, before
his Face.
In June 1718, he went to Sea,
upon another Expedition, and steered his Course towards
Bermudas; he met with two or three English
Vessels in his Way, but robbed them only of Provisions, Stores and
other Necessaries, for his present Expence; but near the Island
aforementioned, he fell in with two French Ships, one of them was
loaden with Sugar and Cocoa, and the other light, both bound to
Martinico; the Ship that had no Lading he let go, and putting all
the Men of the loaded Ship aboard her, he brought home the other
with her Cargo to North-Carolina, where the Governor and the
Pyrates shared the Plunder.
When Teach and his Prize arrived,
he and four of his Crew went to his Excellency, and made Affidavit,
that they found the French Ship at Sea, without a Soul on Board
her; and then a Court was called,
and the Ship condemned: The
Governor had sixty Hogsheads of Sugar for his Dividend, and one Mr.
Knight, who was his Secretary, and Collector for the Province,
twenty, and the rest was shared among the other Pyrates.
The Business was not yet done,
the Ship remained, and it was possible one or other might come into
the River, that might be acquainted with her, and so discover the
Roguery; but Teach thought of a Contrivance to prevent this, for,
upon a Pretence that she was leaky, and that she might sink, and so
stop up the Mouth of the Inlet or Cove where she lay, he obtained
an Order from the Governor, to bring her out into the River, and
set her on Fire, which was accordingly executed, and she was burnt
down to the Water’s Edge, her Bottom sunk, and with it, their Fears
of her ever rising in Judgment against them.
Captain Teach, alias Black-beard,
passed three or four Months in the River, sometimes lying at Anchor
in the Coves, at other Times sailing from one Inlet to another,
trading with such Sloops as he met, for the Plunder he had taken,
and would often give them Presents for Stores and Provisions took
from them; that is, when he happened to be in a giving Humour; at
other Times he made bold with them, and took what he liked, without
saying, by your Leave, knowing well, they dared not send him a Bill
for the Payment. He often diverted himself with going ashore among
the Planters, where he revelled Night and Day: By these he was well
received, but whether out of Love or Fear, I cannot say; sometimes
he used them courteously enough, and made them Presents of Rum and
Sugar, in Recompence of what he took from them; but, as for
Liberties (which ’tis said) he and his Companions often took with
the Wives and Daughters of the Planters, I cannot take upon me to
say, whether he paid them ad Valorem, or no. At other Times he
carried it in a lordly Manner towards them, and would lay some of
them under Contribution; nay, he often proceeded to bully the
Governor, not, that I can discover the least Cause of Quarrel
betwixt them, but it seemed only to be done, to shew he dared do
it.
The Sloops trading up and down
this River, being so frequently pillaged by Black-beard, consulted
with the Traders, and some of the best of the Planters, what Course
to take; they, saw plainly it would
be in vain to make any
Application to the Governor of North- Carolina, to whom it properly
belonged to find some Redress; so that if they could not be
relieved from some other Quarter, Black- beard would be like to
reign with Impunity, therefore, with as much Secrecy as possible,
they sent a Deputation to Virginia, to lay the Affair before the
Governor of that Colony, and to solicit an armed Force from the Men
of War lying there, to take or destroy this Pyrate.
This Governor consulted with the
Captains of the two Men of War, viz. the Pearl and Lime, who had
lain in St. James’s River, about ten Months. It was agreed that the
Governor should hire a couple of small Sloops, and the Men of War,
should Man them; this was accordingly done, and the Command of them
given to Mr.Robert Maynard, first Lieutenant of the Pearl, an
experienced Officer, and a Gentleman of great Bravery and
Resolution, as will appear by his gallant Behaviour in this
Expedition. The Sloops were well mann’d and furnished with
Ammunition and small Arms, but had no Guns mounted.
About the Time of their going
out, the Governor called an Assembly, in which it was resolved to
publish a Proclamation, offering certain Rewards to any Person or
Persons, who, within a Year after that Time, should take or destroy
any Pyrate: The original Proclamation being in our Hands, is as
follows.
By his Majesty’s Lieutenant
Governor, and, Commander in Chief, of the Colony and Dominion of
Virginia,
A PROCLAMATION,
Publishing the Rewards given for
apprehending, or killing, Pyrates.