PIRATES

C. LOVAT FRASER

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THE LIVES AND ADVENTURESOF SUNDRY

NOTORIOUS PIRATES

CAPTAIN AVERY

PIRATESWith,o Foreword a*d JUAdry Decorat iens%y

C. Lovat Fraser

NEW YORK:ROBERT M. McBRIDE AND COMPANY

1922

i'- NEW YORK*aC LIBRARY

ASTOR LENOX ANDTILDEN FOUNDATIONSO

first American Kdition

Printed in t>'t United States of America

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Printed in Great Britain by billing and Sons, Ltd., Guildford and Esher.

CONTENTSForeword viiThe Life of Captain Avery 1Captain John Rackham, and his Crew 17

Captain Spriggs, and his Crew 29Captain Edward Lowe, and his Crew 37Captain George Lowther, and his Crew 51

Captain Anstis, and his Crew 65

Captain John Phjllips, and , his, Crew 77

Captain Teach; 'alias Blackboard 87

Major Stede Bcuinet,; mvd his Crew 101Captain William JCijd. .-. : 117

Captain Edward* England, and his Crew 135

Captain John Gow, alias Smith, and his Crew 145

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Captain Avery

Captain John Rackham

Captain Edward Lowe

Captain Teach

Major Stede Bonnet

Captain William Kid

Captain Edward England

Captain John Gow

frontispiece

facing page 19

39

89

103

119

137

147

VI

FOREWORDTIME, though a good Collector, is notalways a reliable Historian. That is to say,that although nothing of interest or impor-tance is lost, yet an affair may be occasionallyinvested with a glamour that is not whollyits own. I venture to think that Piracy hasfortuned in this particular. We are apt tobase our ideas of Piracy on the somewhatvague ambitions of our childhood; and Isuppose, were such a thing possible, theconsensus of opinion in our nurseries asto a future profession in life would placePiracy but little below the glittering heightsof the police force and engine-driving.Incapable of forgetting this in more mature

years, are we not inclined to deck Her (theVll

FOREWORD"H" capital, for I speak of an ideal), if notin purple and fine linen, at least with a lavishdisplay of tinsel and gilt? Nursery loreremains with us, whether we would or not,for all our lives ; and generations of ourselves,as schoolboys and pre-schoolboys, havetricked out Piracy in so resplendent a dressthat she has fairly ousted in our affections, not

only her sister profession of "High Tobyand the Road," but every other splendid andvillainous vocation. Yet Teach, Kid, andAvery were as terrible or grim as Duval,Turpin, and Sheppard were courtly or whim-sical. And the terrible is a more vitalaffair than the whimsical. Is it, then, un-natural that, after a lapse of nigh on twocenturies, we should shake our wise headsand allow that which is still nursery withinus to deplore the loss of those days whenwe ran before a favouring "Trade" thevery good chance of being robbed, maimed,or murdered by Captain Howel Davis orCaptain Neil Gow? It is as well to re-member that the "Captains' in this bookwere seamen whose sole qualifications to the

Vlll

FOREWORDtitle were ready wit, a clear head, and,maybe, that certain indefinable " power ofthe eye" that is the birth-right of all trueleaders. The piratical hero of our child-hood is traceable in a great extent to the'thrillers," toy plays, and penny theatresof our grandfathers. Here our Pirate was,as often as not, a noble, dignified, if gloomygentleman, with a leaning to Byronic soli-loquy. Though stern in exterior, his heartcould (and would) melt at the distresses ofthe heroine. Elvira's eyes were certain toawaken in his mind the recollection of"other eyes as innocent as thine, child." Inshort, he was that most touching of all beings,the Hero-cum-Villain. And it was with a sighof relief that we saw him at the eleventh hour,having successfully twitted the

" GovernmentMen' and the Excise (should he have anadditional penchant for smuggling), safelyrestored to the arms of the long-sufferingpossessor of the other eyes.

Alas ! this little book mentions no Pollof Portsmouth, nor does it favour us witha "Yeo, heave, oh!" nor is there so very

ix

FOREWORDmuch "cut and thrust" about it. It waswritten in that uninspiring day when Pirateswere a very real nuisance to such law-abidingfolk as you and I; but it has the merit ofbeing written, if not by a Pirate, at least byone who came into actual contact with them.I am not at all sure that "merit" is theright word to use in this instance, for to bea Pirate does not necessarily ensure youmaking a good author. Indeed, it mightalmost be considered as a ban to the fineliterary technique of an Addison or aTemple. It has, however, the virtue ofbeing in close touch with some of the hap-penings chronicled. Not that our authorsaw above a tithe of what he records hadhe done so he would have been " set a-sun-drying' at Execution Dock long before hehad had the opportunity of putting pen topaper; but, as far as posterity was con-

cerned, he was lucky in his friend WilliamIngram evidently a fellow of good memoryand a ready tongue "who," as our authorstates in his Preface, "was a Pirate underAnstis, Roberts, and many others," and who

FOREWORDeventually was hanged in good piraticalcompany on the llth of June, 1714.

The actual history of the little book, themajor part of which is here reprinted, isas follows :

Its full title is" The History and Lives

of all the most Notorious Pirates and theirCrews," and the fifth edition, from whichour text is taken, was printed in 1735. Areproduction of the original title-page is givenoverleaf.

As a matter oi fact, the title is misleading.How could a book that makes no mentionof Morgan or Lollonois be a history of allthe most notorious Pirates? It deals withthe last few years of the seventeenth centuryand the first quarter of the eighteenth, aperiod that might with justice be called"The Decline and Fall of Piracy," forafter 1730 Piracy became but a meanbroken-backed affair that bordered peri-lously on mere sea-pilfering.A little research into the book's history

shows us that it is consistent throughout, andthat it is a " piracy," in the publisher's sense

xi

THE

HISTORY and LIVESOf all the mofl Notorious

PIRATES'AND THEIR

CREWS;From Capt. AVERY, who firft fettled at

to Captain John GOVJ, andWilliams; liis Lieutenant, &c. who were hang &at Execution Dock, Jnat t ,. 171^, lor Piracy

a"d

Murthcr; and afterwards hang'd in Chainsbe-

e-wee n Blackwall and Deptford. And in thisd'-

titn continued down to the prefcnt Ycai I7JS-Giving a mote full and true Account than any yc*

Tublifh'd, of all their Murthers, Piracies, Maroon-

ings, Places of Refuge, and Ways "f Living.

tE&e jFiftlj CUition.

Adorned with Twenty Beautiful CWTS, being th:Reprefenratio'.i of each Pirate.

To which is prefixed,

FOREWORDof the word, of a much larger and more pre-tentious work by Captain Charles Johnson,entitled,

"A General History of the Pyratesfrom their first Rise and Settlement in theIsland of Providence to the Present Time;With the Remarkable Actions and Adven-tures of the two Female Pyrates MaryRead and Anne Bonny."

This was published in London, in 8vo.,by Charles Rivington in 1724. A secondedition, considerably augmented, was issuedlater in the same year, a third edition in the

year following, and a fourth edition intwo volumes, as considerable additions in theform of extra "Lives," and an appendixnecessitated a further volume in 1725.

This two-volume edition contained thehistory of the following Pirates: Avery,Martel, Teach, Bonnet, England, Vane,Rackham, Davis, Roberts, Anstis, Morley,Lowther, Low, Evans, Phillips, Spriggs,Smith, Misson, Bowen, Kid, Tew, Halsey,White, Condent, Bellamy, Fly, Howard,Lewis, Cornelius, Williams, Burgess, andNorth, together with a short abstract on

xiii

FOREWORDthe Statute and Civil Law in relation to"

Pyracy," and an appendix, completing theLives in the first volume, and correctingsome mistakes.

The work evidently enjoyed a greatvogue, for it was translated into Dutch byRobert Hannebo, of Amsterdam, in 1727,and issued there, with several "new illus-trations," in 12mo. A German version byJoachim Meyer was printed at Gosslar inthe following year, while in France it sawthe light as an appendix to an edition ofEsquemeling's "Histoire des Avanturiers,"1726.

But little is known of the author, CaptainCharles Johnson, excepting that he flour-ished from 1724 to 1736, and it is more thanprobable that the name by which we knowhim is an assumed one. It is possible thathis knowledge of Pirates and Piracy wasof such a nature to have justified awkwardinvestigations on the part of His Majesty'sGovernment.

There is one thing that we do know forcertain about him, and that is that the worthy

xiv

FOREWORDCaptain's spelling, according to the piratedversion of his book, was indefinite even forhis own day. He was one of those inspiredfolk who would be quite capable of spelling"schooner" with three variations in as manylines. In this edition the spelling has beenmore or less modernized.

Lastly, it is to be remembered that theships of this period, according to our modernideas, would be the veriest cockle-shells, andso that we should know what manner ofvessel he refers to in these pages, I hadrecourse to a friend of mine whose know-ledge of things nautical is extensive enoughto have gained for him the coveted " ExtraMaster's Certificate," and who was kindenough to supply me with the followingdefinitions :

SLOOP.

A veiscl rifled a cutter, but with one head-tail only set onvery short bowsprit.

XV

FOREWORD

SCHOONER. TOPSAIL SCHOONER.Two-masted vessels, fore and aft rigged, sometimes having square topsails on

the fore-mast.

BRIGANTINE.A two-masted vessel, square rigged on fore-mast.

GALLEY.A large vessel rowed by oars and sometimes having auxiliary sail of various rigs.

PINK.

Probably a small, fast vessel used as a tender and despatch boat for river work.

SNOW.A two-masted vessel with a stay, known as a " Horse," from the main-mast to thepoop on which the trysail was set. Sometimes a spar was fitted instead of a stay.The rig was most likely of a brig (i.e., a two-masted ship, square sails on bothmasts), and the triangular trysail set on the stay in bad weather or when hove to*

Cu L. P*

xvi

THE LIFE OFCAPTAIN AVERY

THE LIFE OF CAPTAIN AVERY

HE was the son of John Avery, a victuallernear Plymouth, in Devonshire, who in a fewyears was grown as opulent in his purse asin his body, by scoring two for one; andwhen he had so done, drinking the most ofthe liquor himself. By which means, andhaving a handsome wife, who knew her busi-ness as well as if she had been brought up toit from a child (which, indeed, she mostlywas, her mother keeping the House beforeshe married Mr. Avery), they soon becamevery rich and very able to give credit to awhole ship's crew upon their tickets, whichin those days were sold for less than halftheir value.

Having but one child (afterwards the3

PIRATES

Captain), they at first resolved to bring himup a scholar, that he might advance thedignity of the family. But instead of learn-

ing his book, he was taught by such com-panions that he could soon swear to everypoint of his compass, which was a verydiverting scene for the Boatswain and hiscrew, who were then drinking in the kitchen,having just received ten pounds apiece shortallowance money on board the Revenge,every farthing of which they spent beforeleaving the house.

But as soon as their money was spent,they wTere all like to have been imprisonedby their Landlady for a riot, as she called it,so they were soon glad to sheer off, and hethought himself happiest that could get firstaboard. Indeed, it would have been happyfor them if they had, for the ship was un-moored and gone to sea; which put theBoatswain and his crew swearing in earnest,and not knowing what to do, they resolvedto return to their Landlady, Mrs. Avery,at "the Sign of the Defiance" But sheshut them out of doors, calling them a

4

THE LIFE OF CAPTAIN AVERY

parcel of beggarly rascals, and swearing thatif they would not go from the door shewould send for the Constable ; and notwith-standing all the entreaties and tears of heronly son, who was then about six years of age,she could not be prevailed upon to let themin, so they were obliged to stroll about thestreet all night. In the morning, spying theship at anchor, being driven back by contrarywinds, they resolved to make the best oftheir way aboard; but on the way, whomshould they meet but young Avery, wrhohad no sooner seen them, but he cried afterthem. " Zounds," says the Boatswain,

"

let's

take the young dog aboard, and his mothershall soon be glad to adjust the reckoningmore to our satisfaction before she shallhave her son."

This was agreed upon by all hands, andthe boy was as willing as any of them. So,stepping into . ie Soat, in about an hour'stime they reached the ship, which they hadno soont. boarded but they were broughtbefore the Captain, who, being in want ofhands, contented himself with bidding them

5

PIRATESall go to their business ; for the wind turnedabout, and there was occasion for all handsto be at work to carry out the ship.

All this while young Avery was at theheels of the Boatswain, and was observed toswear two oaths to one of the Boatswain's ;which being soon observed by the Captain,he inquired who brought that young rascalaboard.

To which the Boatswain replied that hedid, that the boy's mother was his Landladyon shore, and he had taken him up in jest,but was afraid that they would now have tokeep him in earnest.

When the hurry was a little over, theCaptain commanded the boy to be broughtto him in his cabin. He had not talked longto him before he took a fancy to him, tellinghim that if he would be a good boy, heshould live with him.

He, being a mighty lover of children,would often divert himself by talking to theboy, till at length he took such a fancy to him,that he ordered him a little hammock in hisown cabin, and none were so great as the

G

THE LIFE OF CAPTAIN AVERY

Captain and his boy Avery, which had liketo have proved very fatal to him ; for Averyone night, observing the Captain to be verydrunk with some passengers that were onboard, got a lighted match and had like tohave blown up the ship, had not the Gunnerhappened accidentally to follow him intothe store-room. This made the Captainever after very shy of his new Acquaintance,and Avery, after he had been well whipped,was ordered down into the hold, where heremained until they arrived at Carolina,which happened four or five days after.

The boy was given to a merchant, who,taking a fancy to him, put him to school ; buthe made so little progress in learning, andcommitted so many unlucky tricks, that themerchant, in about three years, shipped himoff to his friends at Plymouth on board theNonesuch, where he was no sooner arrivedbut his mother was overjoyed with the sightof her son, his father being dead about amonth before his arrival.

And, indeed, it was thought the loss oftheir son broke his heart, for it was observed

7

PIRATESthe father never held up his head after, theneighbours often reflecting upon him for hisill-usage of the seamen, who had spent somuch money at his house; saying he couldnever expect that all his ill-gotten richescould prosper him, which so happened, asyou shall hear presently. For his mother,dying soon after, the boy was left underthe guardianship of one Mr. Lightfoot, amerchant, who, having great losses at sea,became a bankrupt, and so young Averywas left to look out after himself; there hecontinued for many years in pilfering andstealing till the country was too hot for him,when he betook him to sea again, where intime he became as famous for robbing asCromwell for rebellion.

He entered himself on board the Duke,Captain Gibson Commander, being one ofthe two ships of twenty-four guns and onehundred men which were fitted out by themerchants of Bristol for the service of Spain,which they had no sooner done, but theywere ordered by their agents at Bristol tosail for the Groyne to receive their orders.

8

THE LIFE OF CAPTAIN AVERYOn board one of which ships Avery,

being at this time above twenty years old,entered himself, where he had not been longbefore he observed the Captain was muchaddicted to drunkenness.

He endeavoured to spirit up not only hisown ship's crew, but having also given theword to part of the other ship's crew, theconspirators gave the signal.

At which the Duchess, as the other shipwas named, put off her longboat; whichthe conspirators hailing were answeredby the men in the boat,

"Is your drunken

Boatswain on board?" This being theword agreed upon, Avery answered," All is safe ;" upon which twenty lustyfellows came aboard and joined them,which they had no sooner done but theysecured the hatches and went to work,putting to sea without any disorder, althoughthere were several ships in the bay, amongstwhom was a frigate of forty-four guns.

The Captain, by this time being awakedby the noise of the conspirators workingthe ship, rung the bell, inquiring what was

9

PIRATES

the matter, to whom Avery and some of thecrew replied,

"

Nothing. Are you mutinousin your cups? Can't you lie down, sleep >and be quiet?""No," saith the Captain. "I am sure

something's the matter with the ship. Doesshe drive? What weather is it? Is it astorm ?"

Saith Avery:" Cannot you lie quiet while

you are quiet ? I tell you all's well ; we areat sea in a fair wind and good weather."

"At sea," saith the Captain; "that can'tbe."

"Be not frightened," saith Avery, "andI'll tell you. You must note, I am now theCaptain of the ship ; nay, you must turnout, for this is my cabin, and I am boundfor Madagascar, to make my own fortuneas well as my companions."

The Captain, being more terrified thanever, did not know what to say, which Averyperceiving, bid him take heart. "For,"saith he, "if you will join me and thesebrave fellows, my companions, in time youmay get some post under me. If not,

10

THE LIFE OF CAPTAIN AVERY

step into the longboat and get about yourbusiness."

This the Captain was glad to hear, butyet began to expostulate with them uponthe injustice of such doings. Saith Avery:"What do I care? Every man for himself.Gome, come, Captain, if you will go, getyou gone; the longboat waits for you, andif there be any more cowards in the ship,you may all go together." Which words soaffrighted the whole crew, that there wasnot above nine or ten of them that durstventure, who made the best of their way tothe shore as fast as they could, and thoughtthey were well off.

The Captain was no sooner gone, butthey called a Council, which agreed toown Avery as their Captain; which heaccepted of with all humility imaginable,seeming to excuse himself on account ofhis inexperience at sea. But he did it soartfully that it more confirmed them in thegood opinion of their choice.

"

Gentlemen,"said he,

"

what we have done we must liveor die by; let us all be hearty and of one

11

PIRATES

mind, and I don't question but we shallmake our fortune in a little time. I proposethat we sail first to Madagascar, where wemay settle a correspondence, in order tosecure our retreats, whenever we think fitto lie by."

To which they all agreed, " Nemine con-tradicente."

" But hold," saith Avery ;"

it is necessarythat we make some order among us, for thebetter governing of the ship's crew." Whichwere in a few days drawn up by the clerk ofthe ship.

And Avery promising them vast things,they all came into them at last, althoughsome things went very much against thegrain of many of them.

It took up all their spare time till theyarrived at Madagascar, where they saw aShip lying at the N.E. part of the Island,with wrhich the men had run away from NewEngland; and seeing Avery, they supposedthat he had been sent after them to takethem, but Avery soon undeceived them, andpromised them protection; therefore they

12

THE LIFE OF CAPTAIN AVERYresolved to sail together. In the whole com-pany, there was not above ten that pretendedto any skill in navigation; for Avery him-self could neither write nor read very well,he being chosen Captain of the Duke purelyfor his courage and contrivance.

In the latitude of Descada, one of theIslands, they took two other sloops, whichsupplied them with provisions, and then theyagreed to proceed to the West Indies;and coming to Barbadoes, they fell in witha ship for London with twelve guns, fromwhich they took some clothes and money,ten barrels of powder, ten casks of beef, andseveral other goods, and five of her men, andthen let her go. From thence he went tothe Island of Dominica* and watered ; therehe met with six Englishmen, who willinglyentered with Avery. They stayed not longbefore they sailed for the Granada Island toclean their ships ; which being known tothe French Colony, the Governor of Mar-tenico sent four sloops well manned afterthem. But they stayed there not long, butmade the best of their way for Newfound-

13

PIRATES

land, entering the harbour of Trepasse withblack colours, drums beating, and trumpetssounding.

It is impossible to relate the havoc theymade there, burning all before them. Whenthey left Newfoundland they sailed for theWest Indies, and from thence to the IslandDescada, it being judged the most convenientplace, at that time of the year, to meet witha rich booty.

From hence they steered towards theArabian Coast, near the River Indus, where,spying a sail, they gave chase. At their nearapproach she hoisted Mogul colours andseemed as if she would stand upon herdefence, whilst Avery contented himself bycannonading her at a distance, which mademany of his men begin to mutiny, thinkinghim a coward.

But Avery knew better, and command-ing his sloops to attack her, one in the Bow,and the rest on the Quarter, clapt her onboard, upon which she struck her coloursand yielded. Aboard her was one of theMogul's own daughters, with several persons

14

THE LIFE OF CAPTAIN AVERYof distinction, who were carrying rich offer-ings of jewels and other valuable presentsto Mecca; which booty was the more con-siderable, because these people always travelwith great magnificence, having all theirslaves and attendants always with them,besides jewels and great sums of money todefray the charges. But Avery, not contentwith this, seized the young Princess, andtaking her with him into his own ship,made the best of his way to Madagascar,where she soon broke her heart and died.Also her father, the Great Mogul, did nosooner hear of it but he threatened all

Europe with revenge. And when he knewthey were Englishmen who had capturedhis daughter and robbed him, he threatenedto send a mighty army, with fire and sword,to extirpate all the English from their settle-ments on the Indian Coasts, which gave nosmall uneasiness to the Indian Company at

London, when they heard of it.

15

CAPTAIN JOHN RACKHAM,AND HIS CREW

CAPTAIN JOHN. RACKHAM

CAPTAIN JOHN RACKHAM,AND HIS CREW

JOHN RACKHAM was Quarter - Master toVane's Company, till Vane was turned outfor not fighting the French Man-of-War,and Rackham put in Captain in his place,which happened about the 24th day ofNovember, 1718. His first cruise wasamong the Caribbe Islands, where he tookand plundered several vessels. Afterwards,to the windward of Jamaica, he fell in witha Madeira Man, which he detained till hehad made his market out of her, and thenrestored her to her Master, suffering HoseaTisdel, a tavern-keeper at Jamaica, whom hehad taken among his Prizes, to go aboardher, she being bound for that Island.

Afterwards he sailed towards the Island19

PIRATES

Bermuda, where he took a Ship bound toEngland from Carolina, and a small Shipfrom New England, both* which he carriedto the Bahama Islands, and there clean'd.But staying too long in that Neighbour-hood, Captain Rogers sent out a Sloop wellmann'd, which retook both the Prizes, thePirate making his Escape.

From hence they proceeded to the Backof Cuba, where Rackham staid a long Timewith his Delilahs, till their Provision wasconsumed, when he concluded it Time tolook out for more. As he was puttingto Sea, a Garda del Costa came in with asmall English Sloop, which he had takenas an interloper on that coast. TheSpaniards seeing the Pirate, attacked her;but finding he could not come to her thatnight, because she lay close behind a littleisland, he warps into the channel, to makesure of her in the morning. Upon thisRackham took his Grew into the Boat, withtheir pistols and cutlasses, and falls aboardthe Spaniards in the night, without beingdiscovered, telling them, if they spoke a

20

CAPTAIN JOHN RAGKHAM, AND HIS GREWword they were dead men : And so ship-ping their cables, drove out to sea, com-manding them to take the Boat, and goaboard their Sloop immediately, or else theywere all dead men. Afterwards they wakingthe Captain and his men in the Hammocks,who rose full of their expectation of thePrizes, they sent them aboard their emptySloop.

In the Beginning of September, they wentoff of the French part of Hispaniola, wherethey took two or three Frenchmen on board,that were looking after some cattle grazingnear the waterside. Then plundered twoSloops, they returned to Jamaica, wherethey took a Schooner.

Rackham continuing about this Islandlonger than a Man of his business oughtto have done, gave time to a Canoe, whichhe had surprised in Ocho Bay, to informthe Governor of Jamaica of his civilitiesto all he met with going or coming fromthe Island. Thereupon a Sloop was sentout in quest of him, well mann'd and arm'd,under Captain Barnet, to repay him for all

21

PIRATES

his good-natured Actions, and, if possible,to bring him into the Island. In the meanTime Rackham met, near the Negril Point,a small Pettiauger, which, upon sight ofhim, ran ashore, and landed her Men; butRackham hailing them, desired the Pet-tiauger's men to come aboard him, anddrink a bowel of punch; swearing, Theywere all Friends and would do no Harm.Hereupon they agreed to his Request, andwent aboard him, though it proved fatal toevery one of them, they being nine in all.For, they were no sooner got aboard, andhad laid down their muskets and cutlasses,in order to take up their pipes, and makethemselves merry with their new acquaint-ance over a can of Flip, but CaptainBarnefs Sloop was in sight, which soon puta damp to all their merriment : Finding shestood directly towards them, they immedi-ately weighed their anchor and stood off.Barnet gave them chase, and having theadvantage of the wind, soon came up withher, gave her a broadside or two, and, aftera very small dispute, took her and his nine

22

CAPTAIN JOHN RAGKHAM, AND HIS CREWnew guests, and brought them all togetherinto Port-Royal in Jamaica, in about a fort-night's time.

November the 10th, 1720, a Court ofAdmiralty was held at St. Jago de la Vega,where the following Persons were tried andconvicted of Piracy, and accordingly Sen-tence of Death was passed upon them by theGovernor, viz.: John Rackham, Captain;George Fetherstone, Master; Richard Cor-ner, Quarter - Master ; John Davis, JohnHowel, Patrick Carty, Thomas Earle, JamesDobbin, and Noah Harwood; Five of whomwas hang'd the next day at Gallows-point,and the rest the day after. The three firstwere taken and hanged in Chains ; Rackhamat Plumb-point, Fetherstone at Bush-key, andCorner at Gun-key.

But what was yet more strange was theconviction of the nine guests, that knewnothing of the matter, or at least they pre-tended so ; but the People would not believethem, because it was proved that they cameon board with pistols and cutlasses: How-ever, they were so much favoured as to

23

PIRATES

have the Court adjourned to the 24th ofJanuary following, to give a better Accountof themselves than at the time appearedto the Court: Beside, the Jury also thenwanted sufficient evidence to prove thepiratical intention of going aboard the saidSloops. The two Frenchmen taken byRackham from the Island of Hispaniola,deposed, That John Eaton, Edward Warner,Thomas Baker, Thomas Quick, John Cole,Benjamin Palmer, Walter Rouse, John Han-son, and John Howard, came on board thePirate's Sloop at Negril Point in Jamaica.Indeed they owned, That at first Sight ofthem, they run away from Rackham's Sloop,but that he hailing them, they returned, andRackham sent his canoe ashore to fetchthem aboard him, when they saw them allarmed with guns and cutlasses, which theybrought with them ; and that when they werechased by Captain Barnet, they were frankand free, some drinking and walking aboutthe deck not at all dispirited ; during whichtime there was a great gun, and smallarms, fired by the Pirate Sloop at Captain

24

CAPTAIN JOHN RAGKHAM, AND HIS CREWBarnefs Sloop; but that they could not saythat the Prisoners were any way concernedin it : However, they were certain that whenCaptain Barnefs Sloop fired at Rackham's,the Prisoners at the Bar went underDefck, for cowardice, as they supposed ;not so much as once peeping up during thetime of the whole action : But whenCaptain Barnet drew nigh to them to boardthem, all of them came up, and helped to rowthe sloop, in order to escape from him :And that Rackhanfs Men and they seemedto agree very well together, and that theydid verily believe they were all of a Party,having heard them say, when they came onboard, They liked them never the worse forbeing Pirates, since they were all honest Boys,and loved their Bottles.

To which the Prisoners answered, in theirown Defence ; That they were a great wayoff from friends and acquaintance, and,therefore it was impossible to have any oneto give an account of them. That theywere very honest pains-taking men, andcame out to go a-turtling to provide for

25

PIRATES

their families ; accordingly going ashore atNegril Point they saw a Sloop, with awhite pendant, making towards them,whereupon they took up their arms, whichwere no other but what all people carryupon such occasions, and ran into thewoods, to hide themselves among thebushes, not knowing what she might be.But when they hailed them and told themthey were Englishmen, they ventured out,and came aboard them, as they desired, todrink a bowl of punch, they being poormen, who get their livelihood very hardily,and such a thing was very acceptable tothem. But when they came on board theSloop, to their very great surprise, they foundthey were Pirates ; upon which they beggedto be released ; but Rackham swore, That ifthey did not stay and assist them againstthat Sloop that was coming down againstthem, he would cut all their throats. Sobeing compelled thereunto by Rackham andhis men, to save their Lives, they did assist

him, and with no other design but to pre-vent their being cut in pieces, but as soon as

26

CAPTAIN JOHN RACKHAM, AND HIS CREWCaptain Barnet came up with them, they allvery readily and willingly submitted.

This being all they had to say in theirown Defence, the Prisoners were orderedfrom the Bar: The Court were divided intheir Judgments; but the majority were ofopinion, that they were all guilty of the

Piracy and Felony they were charged with ;thereupon they all received Sentence ofDeath, as usual in such cases, the Judgemaking a very pathetic Speech to them,exhorting them to bear their Sufferingspatiently, assuring them, that if they wereinnocent, which he very much doubted, thentheir reward would be greater in the OtherWorld : But everybody must own their casewas very hard in this.

February the 17th, John Eaton, ThomasQuick, and Thomas Baker, were accord-ingly executed at Gallows-Point; and thenext Day, John Cole, John Howard, andBenjamin Palmer, underwent the same fateat Kingston. The

CAPTAIN SPRIGGS,AND HIS CREW

CAPTAIN SPRIGGS, ANDHIS GREW

SPKIGGS sailed at first with Lowe, and cameaway with him from Lowther. AfterwardsLowe took a ship of twelve guns on theCoast of Guinea, called the Delight, whichSpriggs went off on board with twenty men,and leaving Lowe in the night, came to theWest Indies. In their passage they made aBlack Ensign, which they called the JollyRoger, with a skeleton in the middle holdinga dart in one hand, striking a bleedingheart; and in the other an hour-glass; andbeing hoisted, they fired all their guns tosalute Spriggs, whom they chose Captain,and then went to look out for prey.

In their voyage they took a Portuguesebarque, wherein they had rich plunder.

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Near St. Lucia, they took a Sloop belongingto Barbadoes, which they first plundered, andthen burnt, forcing some of the men intotheir Service, and beating, in a barbarousmanner, those that refused to join withthem, and afterwards sent them away inthe Boat, half dead with their wounds, therest got to Barbadoes, with much ado, thoughsome of them died soon after of their cuts andslashes. After this they took a MartinicoMan, which they used in like manner, savethat they did not burn the ship. Then run-ning down to the Leeward, they took oneCaptain Hawkins coming from Jamaica, ladenwith Logwood ; out of which, they took herstores, arms, and ammunition, and whatthey did not want they threw over-board;they cut the cables to pieces, knocked downthe cabins, broke the windows, and didwhat mischief they could, taking Burridgeand Stephens, the two Mates, and some otherHands, by force; and then after keepingher a week, they let her go. On the 27ththey took a Rhode Island Sloop, compellingthe Captain, and all his men, to go on

32

CAPTAIN SPRIGGS, AND HIS GREWboard the Pirate: One of them not beingwilling to stay with them, they told him heshould have a discharge presently, whichwas to receive ten lashes from every manon board.

The next day Burridge signed theirArticles; which pleased them so much,that they fired all the Guns, and made himMaster, spending that day in rejoicings anddrinking healths.

The First of April they spied a sail, andgave her chase all night, believing she hadbeen a Spaniard; but when they came upto her, and gave her a broadside, she criedout for Quarters, which made them ceasefiring, and ordered the Captain to comeaboard, which proved to be Captain Hawkins,whom they had dismissed three days before,not worth a groat. Two Days after, theyanchored at Ratran, not far from Honduras,and put ashore Captain Hawkins, and severalothers, giving them powder and ball, and amusquet, and then left them to shift as wellas they could. Here they staid three weeks,when two men came in a canoe, that had

33 C

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been left in another Maroon Island nearBenecca, and carried them thither. A fort-night after they espied a Sloop at sea, whichhad lately escaped from the Spaniards at theBay of Honduras, which, upon a signal stoodin and took them all off.

At an Island to the westward, the Piratescleaned their ship, and then sailed towardsSt. Christophers to meet Captain Moor.

Spriggs next stood towards Bermudas,where he took a Schooner belonging toBoston, from which he took all the Men,and sunk the Vessel.

Instead of going to Newfoundland, theycame back to the Islands, and on the 8thof June, to windward of St. Christophers,they took a Sloop, Nicholas Trot, Master,belonging to St. Eustatia, whose men theyhoisted as high as the main fore-tops, andso let them fall down again ; then whippingthem about the deck, they gave Trot hisSloop, and let him go, keeping only two ofhis men, besides the plunder. Two or threedays after, they took a ship coming fromRhode Island to St. Christophers, laden with

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CAPTAIN SPRIGGS, AND HIS CREWprovisions and some horses, and burnt ship,men, and horses: Since when Spriggs hasnot been heard of : though it is supposed hewent to Madagascar, to spend, in riotingand wantonness, his ill gotten plunder; tillby a letter from Jamaica, of the 2nd ofMarch last, we understood, That he hbeen again at the Bay of Honduras, andtaken sixteen Sail.

35

CAPTAIN EDWARD LOWE,AND HIS CREW

CAPTAIN EDWARD LOWE

CAPTAIN EDWARD LOWE,AND HIS CREW

EDWARD LOWE, born at Westminster, veryearly began the Trade of Plundering; forif any Child refused him what he had,he must fight him. When he grew bigger,he took to Gaming among Blackshoe Boysupon the Parade, with whom he used toplay the Whole Game, as they call it; thatis, cheat every Body, and if they refused,they had to fight him.

Ned went to Sea with his eldest Brother,and leaving him in New-England, he workedin a Rigging House, at Boston, for some

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Time, when not liking that, he returned toEngland to see his Mother, with whom hedid not stay long before he took his Leaveof her, for the last Time, as he said, andreturned to Boston, where he shipped him-self in a Sloop that was bound to the Bayof Honduras; and when he arrived there,he was made Patron of the Boat, to bringthe logwood on board to lade the ship;where he differing with the Captain aboutthe hurry of taking the logwood on board,Lowe takes up a loaden Musquet, and fired athim; then putting off the Boat, he, withtwelve of his companions, goes to sea,Next day they met a small vessel, whichthey took, made a Black Flag, and declaredWar against all the world. From hencethey proceed to the Island of the GrandCaimanes, where they met with GeorgeLowther, who took him under his protec-tion as an ally, without any formal Treaty;which Lowe readily agreed to. But partingwith Lowther on the 28th of May, as we havealready given in an Account in Lowther's

Life, Lowe took a Vessel belonging to Amboy>40

CAPTAIN EDWARD LOWE, AND HIS GREWwhich he plundered, and then stood awayto the South East, by which he avoided twoSloops which the Governor had sent to takehim from Rhode Island.

July the 12th, he sailed into the Harbourof Port Rosemary, where he found 13 smallvessels at anchor, whom he told theywould have no quarters if they resisted;which so frightened the Masters of thevessels, that they all yielded. Out of themhe took whatever he wanted, keeping forhis own Use a Schooner of 80 Tons, onboard of which he put 10 Carriage Guns,and 50 men, and named her the Fancymaking himself Gaptain, and appointingCharles Harris Captain of the Brigantine.Making up a complement of 80 menout of the vessels, some by force, andothers by their own inclinations, he sailedaway from Mablehead, andsoon after he met two Sloopsbound for Boston, with pro-visions for the garrison ; butthere being an officer andsoldiers on board, he thought

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it the safest way, after some small resistance,to let them go on about their business.

They then steered for the LeewardIslands; but in their voyage met withsuch a hurricane, as had not been knownin the memory of man. After the stormwas over, they got safe to one of the smallIslands of the Carribees, and there refittedtheir vessels as well as they could.. Assoon as the Brigantine was ready, theytook a short cruise, leaving the Schoonerin the harbour till their return; whichhad not been many days at sea, beforeshe met a ship that had lost all hermasts, on board of which they went, andtook, in money and goods, to the value of1QOO/. Upon this success, the Brigantinereturned to the Schooner, which being thenready to sail, they agreed to go to theAzores, or Western Islands, where Lowetook a French Ship of 32 Guns, and in St.Michael's Road, he took several sail thatwere lying there, without firing a gun.Being in great want of water, he sent tothe Governor of St. Michael's for a Supply,

42

CAPTAIN EDWARD LOWE, AND HIS GREWpromising upon that Condition, to releasethe Ships he had taken, otherwise to burnthem all ; which the Governor, for the sakeof the Ships, agreed to. Thereupon hereleased six, keeping only the Rose Pink, ofwhich he took the Command.

The Pirates took several of the Guns outof the ships, and mounted them on boardthe Rose. Lowe ordered the Schooner to liein the Fare between St. Michael's and St.Mary's, where he met with Captain Carterin the Wright Galley; who, defending him-self, they cut and mangled him and his Menin a barbarous manner; after which, theywere for burning the ship, but contentedthemselves with cutting her cable, rigging,and sails to pieces, and so left her to themercy of the seas. From hence they sailedto the Island of Maderas, where they tooka fishing boat, with two old men and aboy in her, one of whom they sent ashore,demanding a boat of water, otherwise theywould kill the old man, which being com-plied with, the old man was discharged.From hence they sailed to the Canaries,

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and thence continued their course for theCape de Verde Islands, where they tooka ship called the Liverpool Merchant, fromwhich they took 300 gallons of brandy,two guns and carriages, besides six of themen, and then obliged them to go to theIsle of May. They also took two Portugueseships bound to Brazil, and three Sloopsfrom St. Thomas's bound to Curaso: All ofwhich they plundered, and let them go,except one Sloop, by which they heard thattwo Gallies were expected at the WesternIslands. Her they manned, and sent inQuest of these Ships whilst they careenedthe Rose at Cape de Verde; but the Sloopmissing the prey, was reduced to greatwant of water and provisions, so that theyventured to go ashore St. Michael's, and passfor Traders ; where, being suspected by theGovernor, they were conducted into theCastle, and provided for as long as theylived.

Lowe's ship was overset a-careening, sothat he was reduced to his old Schooner,aboard of which there went about an hun-

44

CAPTAIN EDWARD LOWE, AND HIS GREWdred as bold rogues as ever was hanged,and sailed to the West-Indies, where theytook a rich Portugueze ship bound Homefrom Bahia, putting to the torture severalof the men, who confest the Captain flunginto the sea a bag of 11000 Moidores. Thismade Lowe swear a thousand oaths ; andafter cutting off his lips, he murdered himand all his Grew, being 36 men.

After this, they cruised to the North-ward, and took several Vessels and thensteered for the Bay of Honduras, where theytook Five English Sloops, and a Pink, anda Spaniard of 6 Guns and 70 men, whomthey killed every man; which being donethey rummaged the Spanish Ship, bring-ing all the booty on board their ownvessel.

In the next cruise, between the LeewardIslands and the Main, they took two Snowsfrom Jamaica to Liverpool, and just aftera Ship called the Amsterdam Merchant, theCaptain thereof he slit his Nose, cut hisEars off, and then plundered the ship andlet her go. Afterwards he took a Sloop

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bound to Amboy, of whose Men he tied lightedmatches between the fingers, which burntthe flesh off the bones, and afterwards setthem ashore in an uninhabited part of thecountry, as also other ships which fell aprey to those villains.

One of His Majesty's Men-of-War calledthe Greyhound, of 20 guns and 120 men, hear-ing of their barbarous actions, went in searchof them and, seeing the Pirates, allowed Loweto chase them at first, till they were in readi-ness to engage him, and when he was withingunshot, tacked about and stood towardshim. The Pirates edged away under theMan-of-War's stern, making a running fightfor about two hours. But little wind hap-pening, the Pirates gained from her ; there-upon the Greyhound left off firing, and turnedall her hands to her oars, and came upwith them, when the fight was renewedwith a brisk fire on both sides, till theRanger's main-yard was shot down ; uponwhich, the Greyhound pressing close, Lowebore away and left his consort, who seeingthe cowardice of his Commadore, and that

46

CAPTAIN EDWARD LOWE, AND HIS CREWthere was no possibility of escaping, calledout for quarters.

Lowe's conduct in this engagement shewedhim to be a cowardly villain; for hadhe fought half as briskly as Harris, theMan-of-War could never have taken eitherof them. The Greyhound carried herPrize to Rhode-Island, which was lookedupon to be of such signal Service to theColony, that in Council they resolved tocompliment Peter Sulgard Captain, withthe Freedom of their Corporation. Theysecured the prisoners under a strong guardin Jail, till a Court of Vice-Admiraltycould be held for their Trials, which wason the 10th of July at Newport, lastingthree Days. The Judges were WilliamDummer, Esq; Lieutenant Governor of theMassachusets, President; Nathaniel Payne,Esq; John Lechmore, Esq; SurveyorGeneral; John Valentine, Esq; AdvocateGeneral; Samuel Cranston, Governor ofRhode Island; John Menzies, Esq; Judgeof the Admiralty; Richard Ward, Esq;Registrar ; and Mr. Jahleet Brinton, Provost

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Marshal. Robert Auchmuta, Esq, was ap-pointed by the Court, Counsel for theprisoners here under mentioned.

Charles Harris, Captain, William Blads,Daniel Hyde, Thomas Powel, jun., StephenMunden, Thomas Hugget, William Read, PeterKneeves, James Brinkley, Joseph Sound, Wil-liam Shutfield, Edward Eaton, John Brown,Edward Lawson, Owen Rice, John Tomkins,John Fitzgerald, Abraham Lacy, Thomas Line'ster, Francis Leyton, John Walters, Quarter-master, William Jones, Charles Church, ThomasHazel, and John Bright, who were all executedthe 19th of July, 1723, near Newport in RhodeIsland; but John Brown and Patrick Cunning-ham were recommended to Mercy.

The eight following were found NotGuilty; John Wilson, Henry Barnes, ThomasJones, Joseph Switzer, Thomas Mumper, Indian,John Hencher, Doctor, John Fletcher, andThomas Child.

Instead of working repentance in Lowe,this deliverance made him ten times worse,vowing revenge upon all they should meetwith for the future, which they executed

48

CAPTAIN EDWARD LOWE, AND HIS CREWupon Nathan Skiff, Master of a Whale-fishingSloop, whom they whipt naked about thedeck, and then cut off his ears, making historture their sport. At length being wearythereof, they shot him through the head,and sunk his vessel. Some days after, hetook a fishing boat off of Black Island, andonly cut ofi the master's head; but nextday taking two Whale Boats near RhodeIsland, he brutally killed one of the mastersand cut ofi the ears of the other. Fromhence he went to Newfoundland, where hetook 23 French Vessels, and mann'd one ofthem of 22 Guns with pirates; after which,they took and plundered 18 ships, some ofwhich they destroyed.

The latter end of July, Lowe took a largeship called the Merry Christmas, and mountedher with 34 Guns, on which he goes aboard,taking the title of Admiral, and sails to theWestern Islands, where he took a Brigantinemanned with English and Portuguese, theLatter of whom he hanged.

Afterwards Lowe went to the Coast ofGuinea, but nothing happened till he came

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to Sierra Leon, in Africa, when he met withthe Delight, which he took, mounting herwith 16 Guns, and 60 men, appointing SpriggsCaptain, and from whom two days after heseparated.

In January after, he took a Ship calledSquirrel, but what came of him afterwardswe cannot tell.

50

CAPTAIN GEORGE LOWTHER,AND HIS CREW

CAPTAIN GEORGE LOWTHER,AND HIS GREW

GEORGE LOWTHER went second Mate on boardthe Gambia Castle, belonging to the RoyalAfrican Company, on board which wasCaptain Massey, with soldiers that he wasto command under Colonel Whitney, whomwere landed on James Island ; but the Fortand Garrison not agreeing the Companysoon after lost a Galley worth 10000/. by it.

Massey finding he must be over-ruled bythe merchants, soon began to complain oftheir ill-treatment of his menin their allowance, saying hedid not come to be a GuineaSlave; and that if they did not

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use him and his men better, he should takeother measures.

At the same time, there happened adispute between the Captain of the shipand Lowther, which very much contributingto Lowther's design: For Lowther findinghimself neglected by the Captain, foundmeans to ingratiate himself into the favourof the sailors, who, upon the Captain'sgoing to punish him, swore, They wouldknock down the first man that should offerto lay hands on him ; which Lowther im-proved to a general disaffection of the ship'sCrew. Massey in the meantime, havingcontracted an intimacy with Lowther^ theyagreed to curb their enemies, and providefor themselves some other way; which theCaptain perceiving, he goes on shore tothe Governor and Factor, to consult whatmethods to take. But Lowther apprehendingit was against him, he sent a letter in thesame boat to Massey, advising him to repairon board, to put their project in execution.

Upon which Massey harangued theSoldiers, saying, You that have a Mind to

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CAPT. GEORGE LOWTHER, AND HIS GREWreturn to England, may now do it; whichthey all agreed to. Then he went to theGovernor's appartment, and took his bed,baggage, plate and furniture, believing theGovernor would go with him, which herefused ; however Massey came aboard withthe Governor's son. After demolishing allthe guns of the Fort, they weighed anchor,and fell down, but soon ran the ship aground ;upon which Massey returns to the Fort, re-mounts the guns, and keeps garrison tillthe ship got clear. In the meantimeCaptain Russell got off but was not sufferedto come on board, although he offeredLowther what terms he pleased. Nexttide they got the ship afloat, having firstnailed up and dismounted all the cannon.Then putting the Governor's son ashore,they put out to sea, when Lowther calledupon the men, and told them, It was Mad-ness to think of returning to England; for whatthey had done, would bejudged a Capital Offence ;and therefore, since they had a good shipunder them, he proposed that they shouldseek their fortunes upon the Seas, as others

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had done before them, which they all agreedto, calling the ship The Delivery, and sworeto stand by one another.

Lowther left the Fort the 13th of June,and on the 20th, near Barbadoes, he came upwith a Brigantine, belonging to Boston, whichhe plundered, and then let go. After thishe proceeded to Hispaniola, where he metwith a French Sloop loaden with wine andbrandy, on board whom Captain Masseywent, pretending at first to be a merchant;but finding her to be a Ship of value, hetold Monsieur, He must have it all withoutmoney. On board her, there was 30 casksof brandy, 5 hogsheads of wine, severalpieces of chintz, and 70/. in money, all ofwhich they took, only Lowther return'd theFrench Master five pounds again.

But this good harmony did not last longamongst them, Massey was uneasy, and re-solved to leave them ; which Lowther agreedto, giving him a Sloop he had just beforetaken, to go where he thought fit. Accord-ingly Massey goes aboard, with ten men,and comes in directly for Jamaica, where,

56

GAPT. GEORGE LOWTHER, AND HIS GREWputting a bold face on the matter, he in-forms Sir Nicholas Laws, the then Governor,how he had left Lowther the pirate, and of allthat had been transacted before, adding,That he assisted him at the River Gambiaonly to save so many of His Majesty'ssubjects, and return to England.

Massey was well received, and, at hisown report, he was sent on board theHappy Sloop, to cruise off Hispaniola forLowther; but not meeting with him, hereturned to Jamaica, and getting a Certifi-cate, he came home to England, where, whenhe arrived, he writes to the African Company,relating the whole transaction of his voy-age, but excuses it as an inadvertency, byhis being ill-used ; for which, if they wouldnot forgive him, he begged to die like asoldier, and not be hanged like a dog.This not producing so favourable an answeras he expected, he went the next day tothe Lord Chief Justice Chambers, andenquired, If there had been ever a Warrantgranted and against one Captain Massey forPiracy. But being told, There was not, he

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said, He was the Man, and that the AfricanCompany would soon apply to my Lord forone, which if they did, he lodged in Alders-gate street, wh ;re the Officer might at anytime find him. This the Clerk took downin writing, and a Warrant being soongranted, the Tipstaff went accordingly, andtook him without any trouble.

But still there was no person to chargehim, neither could they prove the letter tobe his own hand-writing, till the Justiceinterrogated him, Whether he did write theletter or not; which he readily confessed,as also gave an ample account of the wholevoyage, thereupon he was committed toNewgate, though soon after he was admittedout upon bail.

July the 5th, 1723, he was tried at theOld-Baily by a Court of Admiralty, whenCaptain Russell and others appeared againsthim: But he would have saved them allthat trouble, for he confessed more thanthey knew, fixing the facts so firm uponhimself, that he was found Guilty, re-ceived Sentence of Death, and was

58

GAPT. GEORGE LOWTHER, AND HIS GREWexecuted three weeks after at ExecutionDock.

But to return to Lowther? whom Masseyleft cruising off of Hispaniola, who plying tothe Windward near Porto Rico, took twosail, one was a small Bristol Ship, the othera Spanish Pirate, who had taken the BristolShip; which so provoked Lowther, that hethreatened to

ards to Death,for daring tointermeddle inhis Affairs : Butat last he con-tented himselfwith burningboth their ships ; and the Spaniards gettingaway in their launch, they thought theywere well off.

Afterwards he took a small Sloop fromSt. Christophers, which he manned; andcarried with him to an island where theycleaned, and then going aboard, they sailedtowards the Bay of Honduras, where they

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met with a small vessel with 13 Hands, ofthe same employment, under Captain Lowe,whom Lowther received as friends, invitingthem, as they were few in number, to jointheir strength together; which being ac-cepted of, Lowther continued Captain, andLowe was made Lieutenant, burning his ownship. Then coming into the Bay, they fellupon a ship of two hundred tons, calledthe Greyhound; against whom Lowther firinghis guns, hoisted the piratical Colours,which Captain Edward bravely returned;but at length finding the Pirate too strongfor him he yielded, and the Pirate came onBoard, and not only rifling the ship, butbeat and cut the men in a cruel manner.In crusing about the Bay, they took severalother vessels without any resistance, par-ticularly a Sloop of 100 Tons, which theymounted with 8 carriages and 10 swivelguns. With this fleet, Lowther in theHappy Delivery, Lowe in the Rhode IslandSloop, Harris in Hamilton's Sloop, left the

Bay, and came to Port Mayo, where theymade preparations to careen, carrying

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GAPT. GEORGE LOWTHER, AND HIS CREWashore all their sails, to lay their plunderand stores in ; but when they were busyat work, a body of the natives came downand attacked the Pirates unprepared, whowere glad to fly to their Sloops, and leavethem masters of the field, leaving the HappyDelivery behind them, contenting them-selves with the Ranger', which had only 20guns, and 8 swivels, taking all the men onboard her, wherein they presently beganto quarrel, laying the blame upon oneanother. Being very much in want ofprovisions, they got to the West Indies,May 1722, and near the Island of Descadatook a Brigantine stored with provisionsand necessaries, which put them in bettertemper. Then they watered and stood tothe Northward, intending to visit the NorthCoast of America, and in Latitude 38, theytook the Rebecca of Boston, at which Timethe Crews divided, Lowe with 44 Handswent on board the Brigantine, and Lowtherwith the same number, staid in the Sloop,separating that very night, being the 28thof May 1722.

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Lowther cruised a pretty while amongthe Islands to no purpose, till at length hefell in with a Martinico Man, which proveda seasonable relief, he being reduced togreat want of provisions, and after that aGuinea Man. After which they thought ittime to clean, in order to prepare for newadventures; for which purpose they sailedto the Island of Blanco, which is a lowIsland 30 leagues from the main of SpanishAmerica, where he unrigged his Sloop,sending his guns, rigging, and sailsashore, and putting his vessel upon thecareen. But the Eagle Sloop of Barbadoes,coming near this Island, and seeing her,supposing her to be a Pirate, took theadvantage of attacking her when unpre-pared, who immediately hoisted the St.George's Flag at her top-mast head to bidthem defiance : But when they found theEagle resolved to board them in goodearnest, the Pirates cut their cable, andhawled the stern on shore, which obligedthe Eagle to come to an anchor athwart thehawse, where they engaged them till they

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GAPT. GEORGE LOWTHER, AND HIS GREWcried out for Quarters. At which time Low-ther and 12 men made their escape, but theytook the rest, and brought them to Camena,where the Spanish Governor condemnedthe Sloop to the captors, and sent 23 Handsto scour the Bushes of Blanco for the Pirates,when they took 40; but could not find Low-ther, three men and a little Boy. JohnChurchill, Edward Mackonald, Nicholas Lewis,Rich. West, Sam Lavercot, Rob. White, JohnShaw, And. Hunter, Jonathan Delve, MatthewFreeborn, and Henry Watson, were hanged,Roger Granger, Ralph Candem, and RobertWillis, were acquitted. And Captain Low-ther, it is said, afterwards shot himself, beingfound dead, and a pistol burst by his side.

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CAPTAIN ANSTIS, AND HISCREW

CAPTAIN ANSTIS, AND HISCREW

THOMAS ANSTK shipped himself at Providence,in the Year 1718, aboard the Buck Sloop,and was one of the six that conspiredtogether to get off with the vessel, alongwith Howel Davis, Dennis Topping, and WalterKennedy, etc. I shall only observe, that thiscombination was the beginning of CaptainRoberts's company, which afterwards provedso formidable, from whom Anstis separatedthe 18th of April, 1721, leaving his Commo-dore to pursue his adventures upon theCoasts of Guinea, whilst he returned to theWest Indies, upon the same design.

About the middle of June, he met with67

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one Captain Maiston, between Hispaniolaand Jamaica, bound to New-York, from whichhe took all the wearing apparel, liquors andprovisions, and six men. Afterwards hemet with the Irwin, Captain Ross from Cork,on the Coast of Martinico, which ship hadColonel Doyly of Montserrat on board, andhis Family, and 600 barrels of beef.

Afterwards they went into one of theIslands to clean, and thence proceedingtowards Bermudas, they met with a stoutship called the Morning Star, bound fromGuinea to Carolina, which they kept fortheir own use. Just after, they took a

ship from Barbadoes bound to New England,from whence taking her guns, they mountedthe Morning Star with 32 pieces of cannon,and 100 men, appointing John Fenn Captain :For Anstis was so in love with his ownvessel, she being a good sailor, he made ithis choice to stay in her, and let Fenn havethe other ship. Though they were notsufficiently strong, yet being most new men,they could not agree, but resolving to breakup company, sent a Petition to His Majesty

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CAPTAIN ANSTIS, AND HIS GREWby a Merchant Ship, expecting her Returnat Cuba.

Here they staid about nine months; butnot having provisions for above two, theywere obliged to take what the Island afforded;wrhich is many sorts of fish, particularlyturtle; though they eat not a bit of bread,nor flesh meat, during their being on theIsland.

They passed their time here in dancing,and other diversions, agreeable to thesesort of folks. Among the rest, they ap-pointed a mock Court of Judicature, to tryone another for Piracy, and he that was aCriminal one day, was made a Judgeanother. I shall never forget one of their

Trials, which for the curiosity of it, I shallrelate. The Judge got up into a tree, havinga dirty tarpaulin over his shoulders for a

robe, and a Thrum Cap upon his head,with a large pair of spectacles upon hisnose, and a monkey bearing up his train,with abundance of Officers attending him,with crows and hand-spikes instead ofwands and tip-staves in their hands.

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Before whom the Criminals were broughtout, making 1000 wry Faces; when theAttorney-General moved the Court, andsaid, An't please your Lordship, and youGentlemen of the Jury, this fellow beforeyou is a sad dog, a sad, a sad dog, and Ihope your Lordship will order him to behanged out of the way; he has committedPiracy upon the High Seas; nay, my Lord,that's not all ; this fellow, this sad dog beforeyou, has out-rid a hundred storms, and youknow, my Lord, He that's born to be hanged,will never be drowned. Nor is this all, hehas been guilty of worse villany than this,and that is of drinking of small beer; andyour Lordship knows, there was never a

sober fellow but what wasa rogue My Lord, I shouldhave said more, but yourLordship knows our rum isout, and how should a Manspeak that has drunk a dramto-day.

Judge. Harkee me, Sir-rah you ill - looked

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CAPTAIN ANSTIS, AND HIS GREWdog. What have you to say why youmay not be tucked up, and set a-sun-drying like a scare-crow? Are youGuilty, or not?

Prisoner. Not Guilty, an't please yourWorship.

Judge. Not Guilty! say so again, and Iwill have you hanged without anyTrial.

Prisoner. An't please your Worship'sHonour, my Lord, I am as honest afellow as ever went between stemand stern of a ship, and can hand,reef, steer, and clap two ends ofa rope together, as well as e'er a Hethat ever crossed Salt-water; but Iwas taken by one George Bradley (thename of the Judge) a notoriousPirate, and a sad rogue as ever washanged, and he forced me, an't pleaseyour Honour.

Judge. Answer me, Sirrah how will yoube tried?

Prisoner. By God and my country.Judge. The Devil you will . . . Then,

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Gentlemen of the Jury, we havenothing to do but to proceed toJudgment.

Attorney-Gen. Right, my Lord; for ifthe fellow should be suffered to

speak, he might clear himself; andthat, you know, is an affront to theCourt.

Prisoner. Pray, my Lord, I hope yourLordship will consider.

Judge. Consider ! How dare you talkof considering! Sirrah, Sirrah, Ihave never considered in all mylife. I'll make it Treason to con-sider.

Pris. But I hope your Lordship will hearreason.

Judge. What have we to do with Reason ?-I would have you to know, Sirrah,we do not sit here to hear Reason-we go according to Law. Is ourdinner ready?

Attorney-General. Yes, my Lord.Judge. Then harkee you rascal at the

Bar, hear me, Sirrah, hear me. You72

CAPTAIN ANSTIS, AND HIS CREWmust be hanged for three reasons :First, because it is not fit that I shouldsit as Judge, and no-body to behang'd : Secondly, You must be hang'dbecause you have a damn'd hangingLook : Thirdly, You must be hanged,because I am hungry. There's Lawfor you, ye dog; take him away,Goaler.

By this we maysee how these fellowscan jest upon things, the thoughts of whichshould make them tremble.

August 1722, they made ready the Brigan-tine, and came out to sea, where meetingtheir correspondent returning, and findingnothing done, they all agreed to ply theirold trade. So they sailed with the ship

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and Brigantine to the Southward, where theyran the Morning Star upon the Grand Car-manes, and wrecked her; the next DayAnstis went ashore to fetch the men off,who were all safe. Anstis had just timeto get Captain Fenn, and a few others onboard, before the Hector and Adventurecame down upon him; but he got to sea,and one of the Men-of-War after him,keeping within gun-shot several hours,when the wind dying away, the Piratesgot to their oars, and rowed for theirlives.

The Hector landed her men, and took40 of the Morning Star's Crew, without anyresistance, they pretending they were gladof this opportunity ; the rest hid themselvesin the woods.

The Brigantine after her escape, sailedto an Island, near the Bay of Honduras, toclean, and in her way took a Sloop, CaptainDurfey Commander, which they destroyed,but brought the men on board. While shewas cleaning, Durfey conspired with someof the prisoners, to carry off the Brigantine ;

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CAPTAIN ANSTIS, AND HIS CREWbut it being discovered, he and four or fivemore got ashore, with arms and ammuni-tion ; and when the Pirates' Canoe came infor Water, seized the boat and men ; uponwhich, Anstis sent another boat with 30hand ashore; but Durfey gave them such awarm reception that they were glad toreturn back again.

In December 1722, Anstis left this place,taking in his cruise a good ship. Hemounted her with 24 Guns and made FennCommander. From hence they went to theBahama Islands, taking what they wanted.

As they were cleaning their ship theWinchelsea came down upon them, whenmost of them escaped to the woods; butAnstis having a light pair of heels, escapedin the Brigantine. Afterwards, some of theCompany, being tired of this trade, shotAnstis in his Hammock, and put the restin irons, and then carried the Brigantine toCuracco, a Dutch Settlement, where theywere hanged, and those that delivered up thevessel acquitted. Fenn was soon after takenby the Man-of-War's Men, straggling in the

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woods, with a few more, and carried toAntegoa and hanged. But some escapedamong the negroes, and were never heardof since.

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CAPTAIN JOHN PHILLIPS,AND HIS GREW

CAPTAIN JOHN PHILLIPS,AND HIS CREW

JOHN PHILLIPS was bred a carpenter, butsailing in a West Country ship to New-foundland, was taken by Anstis, who soonpersuaded him to join with him, makinghim Carpenter of the Vessel, in whichstation he continued till they broke up atTobago, when he came Home in a Sloop thatwas sunk in Bristol Channel. But he did notstay long in England; for hearing of someof his companions being taken in BristolGaol, he moved off to Topsham, and thereshipped himself with one Captain Wadhamfor Newfoundland, where when the ship came

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he ran away, and hired himself a splitter inthe Fishery for the season: but he sooncombined with others in the Fishery, to gooff with one of the vessels that lay in theHarbour, and turn Pirate, and accordinglyfixed upon the 29th of August, 1713, at Night;but of 16 Men that promised five only wereas good as their Word. Notwithstanding,Phillips was for pushing on, assuring themthat they should soon increase their com-

pany. Hereupon they seized a vessel, andwent out to sea, when they soon beganto settle their Officers to prevent dispute,appointing, John Phillips, Captain ; John Nutt,Navigator of the Vessel; James Sparks, Gun-ner ; Thomas Fern, Carpenter ; and WilliamWhite was only a private man among them.

Before they left the Banks, they tookseveral small fishing vessels, out of whichthey took some more Hands, and then sailedto the West-Indies: Among those that weretaken, was one John Rose Archer who havingbeen a pirate under Blackbeard was madeQuarter-Master to the company: Theycame off Barbadoes in October, and cruised

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CAPTAIN JOHN PHILLIPS, AND HIS CREWabout the Islands about three Months, with-out meeting with a vessel, so that they werealmost starved for want of provisions, whenat length they fell in with a Martinico Manof 12 guns and 35 hands, upon which theyhoisted the Black Flag and ran up along sideof the Sloop, with piratical Colours flying,swearing, If they did not strike immedi-ately, they must expect no quarters; whichso frightened the Frenchman, that he neverfired a gun. Having got this supply, theytook her provisions, and four of her men.

Having occasion to clean their vessel,Phillips proposed Tobago; and just as theyhad done, a Man-of-War's boat came intothe Harbour, the ship cruising to the Lee-ward of the Island ; which was no soonergone, but they warped out, and plied to theWindward for safety.

In a few days they took a Snow with afew Hands in it, on board of which theysent Fern the Carpenter, William Smith,Philips Wood, and Taylor; but Fern beingdissatisfied at Archer's being preferred be-fore him to be Quarter-Master, persuaded

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the rest to go off with the prize ; but Phillipsgave them Chase, and coming up with them,shot Wood, and wounded Taylor in the leg;upon which the other two surrendered.

From Tobago they stood away to theNorthward, and took a Portuguese boundfor Brazil, and two or three Sloops forJamaica, in one of which Fern endeavouringto go off, was killed by Phillips, as was alsoanother man for the like attempt, whichmade all the others more fearful of dis-covering their Minds, dreading the villanyof a few hardened wretches, who fearedneither God nor Devil, as Phillips was oftenused blasphemously to say.

On the 25th of March, they took two shipsfrom Virginia, the Master's name of onewas John Phillips, the Pirate's Name-sake;of the other, Robert Mortimer, a stout youngman. Phillips staid on board Mortimer'sShip, while they transported the crew tothe Sloop, when Mortimer took up a hand-spike and struck Phillips over the Head;but not knocking him down, he recoveredand wounded Mortimer with his sword;

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CAPTAIN JOHN PHILLIPS, AND HIS GREWand the other two Pirates who were onboard, coming to Phillip's assistance theycut Mortimer to pieces, while his own twomen stood and looked on. Out of the otherVirginia Man, they took Edward Cheesman,a carpenter, to supply the Place of Fern,who being averse to that way of life, pro-posed to J. Philamore, who was ordered torow Cheesman on board Mortimer's ship,to overthrow their Piratical government;which from time to time, as occasionoffered, they consulted how to do. ThePirates, in the mean time, robbed andplundered several ships and vessels, bend-ing their course towards Newfoundland,where they designed to raise more men,and do all the mischief they could on theBanks, and in the harbours. Towardswhich country, Phillips making his way,took one Salter in a Sloop on the Isle ofSables, which he kept, and gave Mortimer'sShip to the Mate and crew ; also a Schooner,one Chadwell Master, which they scuttled inorder to sink : But Phillips understandingthat she belonged to Mr. Menors of New-

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foundland, with whose Vessel they first wentoff a-Pirating, said, We have done him injuryenough already, and so ordering his Vessel tobe repaired, returned her to the Master.

In the Afternoon, they chased anothervessel, whose Master was an Inward LightMan, named Dependence Efllery, who toldPhillips he took him for a Pirate as soon ashe saw him, otherwise he would not havegiven him the Trouble of chasing him solong. This so provoked Phillips and hisCrew, that they made poor Dependence, forhis Integrity, dance about the Ship till hewas weary. After which they took 10 otherships and vessels ; and on the 14th of April,they took a Sloop belonging to Cape Anne,Andrew Harradine Master; which lookingupon to be more fit for their purpose, theycame on board, keeping only the Master ofher Prisoner, and sending the crew awayin Salter's vessel. Cheesman broke his mindto Harradine, to destroy the crew. Uponthis, it was concluded to be 12 a Clock atNoon, when Cheesman leaves his working-tools on the deck, as if he had been going

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CAPTAIN JOHN PHILLIPS, AND HIS GREWto use them, walks off. But perceiving somesigns of fear in Harradine, he fetches hisbrandy bottle, and gives him and the resta dram, saying, Here's to our next Meeting;then he talks to Nutt, in the mean whilePhilamore takes up an axe, while Cheesmanand Harradine sieze Nutt by the Collar,and toss him over the Side of the Vessel.

By this Time the Boatswain was dead;for as soon as Philamore saw the Master laidhold on, he up with the axe, and cut off theBoatswain's head, which Noise soon broughtthe Captain upon Deck, whom Cheesmansaluted with the blow of a mallet, whichbroke his jaw-bone, but did not knock himdown ; upon which Harradine came to theCarpenter's aid, when Sparks the Gunnerinterposing, Cheesman trips up his Heels,and flung him into the arms of CharlesIvemay, who at that moment threw himinto the Sea ; and at the same Time Harra-dine throws Captain Phillips after him, bid-ding the Devil take them both. This done,Cheesman jumps from the deck into theHold, to knock Archer on the Head, when

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Harry Gyles came down after him, desiredhis Life might be spared ; which being agreedto, he was made a Prisoner, and secured.

All being over, they altered their coursefrom Newfoundland to Boston, where theyarrived the 3rd of May, to the great joy ofthe Province, and on the 12th of May, aspecial Court of Admiralty was held for theTrial of these Pirates, when John Philamore,Edward Cheesman, John Cobs, Henry Gyles,Charles Joymay, John Boatman, and HenryPayne, were honourably acquitted ; as alsothree French Men, John Baptis, Peter Taffery,and Isaac Lassen, as also three Negroes,Pedro, Francisco, and Pierro. John RoseA rcher,the Quarter-Master, William White, WilliamTaylor, and William Phillipswere condemned ;altho' the two latter got a Reprieve, and thetwo former, Archer and White, were executedthe 2nd of June following.

86

CAPTAIN TEACH, ALIASBLACKBEARD

CAPTAIN TEACH

CAPTAIN TEACH, ALIASBLACKBEARD

EDWARD TEACH was a Bristol Man, and hadserved many years in the late wars, in aPrivateer fitted out from Jamaica, in whichhe had often distinguished himself for hisboldness. He was never thought fit to beentrusted with any Command, till he wenta-pirating in the Year 1716, when CaptainBenjamin Hornigold put him into a PrizeSloop, with whom he kept company tillHornigold surrendered.

In 1727, Teach and Hornigold sailed fromProvidence for America, where, in their way,

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they took a vessel with above 100 Barrelsof Flour, as also a Sloop from Bermudas,and a Ship bound to Carolina; from whichthey had a good plunder. After cleaning atVirginia, they returned to the West-Indies,and made Prize of a French Guinea Manbound to Martinico, which Teach was madeCaptain of; but Hornigold with his Sloopreturned to Providence, and surrendered tomercy. Aboard the French Guinea Ship,Teach mounted 46 guns, and called herQueen Anne's Revenge. Not long after hefell in with the Scarborough Man-of-War,who, after a long fight finding she could dono good with Teach, left him, and returnedto Barbadoes, while Teach sailed to SpanishAmerica. In his way, he met with MajorBonnet a Gentleman, formerly of a goodestate in Barbadoes, in a small Sloop withwhich he had turned Pirate: But Teachfinding Bonnet knew nothing of the matter,took him into his own Ship, and put oneRichards Captain in his room, telling theMajor, That he had not been us'd to the Fatiguesof the Sea, he had better decline it, and take his

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CAPTAIN TEACH, ALIAS BLACKBEARD

pleasure aboard his Ship. At Turnissi theytook in fresh water; but seeing a Sloopcoming in, they ran to meet her, whichstruck her sail, upon the sight of the BlackFlag, to Teach, who took the Captain andhis men aboard, and put Israel Hands tomann the Sloop: From thence they sailedto the Bay, where they found a ship andfour Sloops. Teach hoisted his Black Colours,at the Sight of which, the Captain and hismen left the Ship, and ran into the woods.Teaches Quarter-Master, with some of hisMen, took possession of her, and Richardssecured the Sloops: One of which theyburnt, because she belonged to Boston,where some of his Men had been hanged;but the others they let go after plunderingthem.

From hence they sailed to the GrandCanaries, then to the Bahama Wrecks,and then to Carolina, where they took aBrigantine and two Sloops, lying off the Barof Charles Town; as also a Ship bound forLondon, with some passengers aboard.The next Day they took another Vessel

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coming out, and two Pinks going in, and aBrigantine with negroes, in the Face of theTown; which put the Inhabitants into asad fright, being in no condition to helpthemselves.

Teach, alias Blackbeard, sent Richards alongwith Mr. Mark, one of the Prisoners, to de-mand a chest of medicines of the Governor,

several of his Men being sickaboard; threatening otherwise toburn the Ships, and destroy all theprisoners, among whom was Mr.Samuel Wrag, one of his Council.Altho' this went very much againstthe inhabitants, yet they were forcedto comply with it to save the lives

of the many souls had in his custody. Sosending him a chest worth about 3 or 4hundred Pounds, Richards went back safeto the ships with his booty; which assoon as Blackbeard had received, (for soI shall call him for the future) he letthe ships and the prisoners go, havingfirst taken 1500/. Sterling, and some pro-visions out of her. From thence they

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CAPTAIN TEACH, ALIAS BLACKBEARDsailed to North Carolina, where he hadthoughts of breaking up the company, andsecuring the money and the best of theeffects for himself and friends. Accord-ingly he ran a-ground, as if it had beenby accident, and calling Israel Hands tohis assistance, he ran the Sloop ashorenear the other, and so they were bothlost. This done Blackbeard goes intothe Revenge and maroons 17 men upon adesert island; where they must inevitablyhave perished, if Bonnet had not aftertaken them up.

Blackbeard goes straight to the Governorof North Carolina, with Twenty of his Men,and pleads his Majesty's Pardon, and re-ceives Certificates thereupon. He went tohis Sloop which lay at Okere-Cock Inlet, andset out for Sea upon another expedition,steering his Ship towards Bermudas. Meet-ing with one or two English Vessels in hisway, he robb'd them only of provisions forhis present occasion; but meeting with aFrench Ship laden with sugar and cocoa,he brought her home with her cargoe to

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North Carolina, where the Governor andthe Pirates shared the plunder. He hadno sooner arrived there, but he and four ofhis Men made affidavit, That they found theFrench Ship at Sea, without ever a Man onboard; upon which she was condemned.The Governor had sixty bogheads of sugarfor his dividend, his Secretary twenty, andthe rest were shared amongst the otherPirates. And for fear the ship might bediscovered by some that might come intothe River, Blackbeard, under pretence thatshe was leaky, and might sink, obtained anorder from the Governor to bring her outinto the River, and burn her; which theydid, and sunk her bottom.

The Sloops trading in the River, being sooften pillaged by Blackbeard, consulted withthe traders what course to take, knowing itwas in vain to make any application to theGovernor ; therefore they sent a deputationto the Governor of Virginia, to sollicit aforce from the Men-of-War to destroy thisPirate. Accordingly the Governor con-sulted with the Captains of the Pearl and

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CAPTAIN TEACH, ALIAS BLACKBEARDLime Men-of-War, which lay in St. James'sRiver; whereupon it was agreed, That theGovernor should have a couple of smallSloops, and they should be mann'd out ofthe Men of War, the Command of whichwas given to Mr. Robert Maynard, firstLieutenant of the Pearl. But before theysailed, it was agreed in Council, to offer areward of 100/. for any one that should takeEdward Teach, commonly called Blackbeard ;for every Lieutenant, Master, Quarter-Mas-ter, Boatswain, or Carpenter Twenty Pounds;For every inferior Officer, Fifteen Pounds; Andfor every Man taken on Board each Sloop, TenPounds.

Upon this, the Lieutenant sailed fromJames's River in Virginia, the 17th ofNovember, 1718, and the 21st in the eveningcame to Okere-cock Inlet, where he had fightof the Pirate: And altho' this Expeditionwas made with all the Secrecy imaginable,yet Blackbeard had notice of it from theGovernor of North Carolina and his Sec-retary: But having heard several falsereports before, he gave the less credit

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to this, till he saw the Sloops; and then heput himself in a Posture of defence, withhis 25 Men.

Lieutenant Maynard came to an anchorthat night, because the Channel was sointricate that there was no getting in, in thedark. In the Morning, coming within gun-shot of the Pirate, he received his fire:whereupon the Maynard stood directly to-wards him, endeavouring to make a runningfight. Maynard's men being most exposed,he lost twenty at one broadside ; uponwhich he ordered his men under deck,and bid them get ready for close fightingupon the first signal. Then Blackbeard'smen pour'd in grenadoes; after which,seeing no Hands aboard, he told his menthey were all kill'd ; Let's jump in, and fall toPlunder: Which they had no sooner done,but the Lieutenant and his men gave themas unwelcome a reception as ever they metwith before. The Lieutenant and Blackbeardfired first at each other, and then they wentto it sword in hand, whilst the men oneach side were as warmly engaged as their

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CAPTAIN TEACH, ALIAS BLACKBEARD

Captains, until the vessel was all overblood. Blackbeard stood it till he had receivedabove twenty wounds, five of them beingshots, before he fell down dead. Eight ofhis fourteen men being kill'd, and the othersix being much wounded, they call'd forquarters; which was granted, and then theLieutenant attacked with equal bravery themen that remained in the Sloop and tookthem.

The Lieutenant caused Blackbeard's headto be cut off, and hung at the bowsprit end ;with which he sailed to Bath Town to gethis wounded men cured, and then began torummage the Pirate Sloop, aboard whichthey found several Letters of Correspon-dence betwixt the Governor of NorthCarolina, his Secretary, and some Tradersof New York and Blackbeard. Thereupongoing to Bath Town in North Carolina, heseized in the Governors Store-house, theSixty Hogsheads of Sugar, and Mr. Knighthis Secretary's 20, which was their dividendof the plunder taken in the French Shipbefore-mentioned.

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After his Men were a little recovered, hereturned to the Men-of-War in James's Riverin Virginia, with BlackbearcTs head hangingat his bowsprit, and 15 prisoners, 13 ofwhom were hanged, one of them beingtaken but the night before out of a tradingSloop: The other, not being in the fight,was taken at Bath Town, being just beforedisabled by Blackbeard in one of his drunkenhumours.

The night before he was killed, beingask'd if he should chance to be killed,whether his wife knew where his moneywas; he answered, That no-body but himselfand the Devil, knew where it was, and thelongest Liver should take all.

The Names of the Pirates killed in theengagement were Edward Blackbeard, Com-mander; Philip Morton, Gunner; GarnetGibbons, Boatswain ; Owen Roberts, Carpenter;Thomas Miller, Quarter-Master; John Husk,Joseph Curtice, Joseph Brooks, Nath. Jackson.

The following, except the two last, werehanged, viz. : John Carnes, Jo. Brookes, jun.,

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CAPTAIN TEACH, ALIAS BLACKBEARDJames Blake, John Gibbs, Thomas Gates, JamesWhite, Richard Styles, Cesar, Joseph Philip,James Robbins, John Maftyn, Edward Salter,Stephen Daniel, Richard Greensarl, IsraelHands, and Samuel Odel.If

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MAJOR STEDE BONNET,AND HIS CREW

MAJOR STEDE BONNET

MAJOR STEDE BONNET,AND HIS CREW

THE Major was a Gentleman of Fortuneand Distinction in the Island of Barbadoes,who before his Piracy bore the characterof a worthy honest man, and no-bodycould ever account for this his undertaking,for he wanted neither learning nor under-standing. He fitted out a Sloop with tenguns and sixty men, which he named theRevenge, at his own expence, and sailedfrom Barbadoes for the Cape of Virginia,where he took the Anne from Glasgow, theTurbet from Barbadoes, the Endeavour fromBristol, the Young from Leith, and manyothers. From thence he went to New York,

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and there took a Sloop, and then stood inat Gardiner's Island where he bought pro-visions, and went off. August , 1717, he cameoff at the Bar of South Carolina, and took aSloop and Brigantine, which they plundered,and then he dismissed the Brigantine, buttook the Sloop with him to an Inlet in North-Carolina, where he careened, and set heron fire.

Afterwards he put to sea, but could notagree with the men what course to take;for the Major being no sailor, was obligedto submit to many things his men imposedupon him, when falling in with Edward Teach,alias Blackbeard, who was a good sailor, buta hardened villain, Bonnet's Crew joinedwith him, and put Bonnet aboard Blackbeard'sShip.

But Blackbeard losing his Ship at TopsailInlet, surrendered to the King's Proclama-tion ; when Bonnet re-assumed the commandof his own Sloop, and sailed directly forBath Town in North-Carolina, where he alsosurrenders himself, and receives a certifi-cate. There getting a clearance for his

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MAJOR STEDE BONNET, AND HIS CREWSloop, he pretended to sail for the Islandof St. Thomas, to get the Emperor's Com-mission to go a-Privateering upon theSpaniards. But returning to Topsail Inlet,he found that Blackbeard and his gang weregone, with their effects; and that they hadset on shore, on a small sandy island abouta league from the continent, seventeenmen, without any provisions, or vessel toescape. There they had been two nightsand one day without any sustenance, when,to their inexpressible joy, they saw MajorBonnet, who had been informed of theirbeing there by two of Blackbeard's crew,who had escaped to avoid his cruelty.

Then he steered his course towardsVirginia, where meeting with a Pink havingProvisions on board, and they being in want,he took out of her ten barrels of pork, andfive hundredweight of bread, and gave her,in exchange, ten casks of Rice, and an oldcable.

Two days after they took a Sloop ofsixty tons, from which they took twohogsheads of rum, and two of molasses,

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and then put in her eight men, to take careof the Prize; but they not liking her newacquaintance took the first opportunity toget off with her.

After this the Major threw off all re-straint, and became a downright Pirate, bythe name of Captain Thomas, taking andplundering all the vessels he met with. Hetook off Gape Henry, two Ships from Virginia,bound to Glasgow; the next day a smallSloop from Virginia bound to Bermudas;from which they took twenty barrels ofpork, and gave her in return, two barrelsof rice, and as much, molasses. The nextday they took another Virginia man, boundto Glasgow, out of which they took two men,and a few small things, and gave her abarrel of pork, and another of bread.From thence they sailed to Philadelphia,where they took a Schooner coming fromNorth Carolina to Boston, from which theytook two men, and two dozen of calvesskins, to make covers for guns. In thelatitude of 32, off of Delaware River, nearPhiladelphia, they took two Snows bound to

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MAJOR STEDE BONNET, AND HIS CREWBristol, from which they took money andgoods to the value of two hundred pounds;as also a Sloop of sixty tons, from Phila-delphia to Barbadoes, from which they tooka few goods, and let her go. The 29th ofJuly, they took a Sloop of fifty tons, boundfrom Philadelphia to Barbadoes, laden withprovisions, which they kept ; as also anotherof sixty tons, from Antegoa to Philadelphia,having on board, rum, molasses, sugar,cotton and indigo, to the value of five hun-dred Pounds, all of which they kept. Thenthey left Delaware Bay, and sailed to CapeFear River, where they staid almost twomonths to repair their Sloop, which provedvery leaky, till news came to Carolina of aPirate's Sloop, with her Prizes, being therea-careening.

Whereupon Colonel William Rhet offeredto go with two Sloops