The Pirates Own Book (37 page)

The king allowed them trade, and sent down the usual presents, a couple
of oxen between twenty and thirty people laden with rice, and as many
more with the country liquor, called
toke
.

The captain then settled the factory on the shore side, and began to buy
slaves and provisions. The pirates were among them, and had
opportunities of sounding the men, and knowing in what posture the ship
lay. They found by one Hugh Man, belonging to the Speaker, that there
were not above 40 men on board, and that they had lost the second mate
and 20 hands in the long boat, on the coast, before they came into this
harbor, but that they kept a good look out, and had their guns ready
primed. However, he, for a hundred pounds, undertook to wet all the
priming, and assist in taking the ship.

After some days the captain of the Speaker came on shore, and was
received with great civility by the heads of the pirates, having agreed
before to make satisfaction. In a day or two after, he was invited by
them to eat a barbacued shoat, which invitation he accepted. After
dinner, Capt. Bowen, who was, I have already said, a prisoner on board
the French pirate, but now become one of the fraternity, and master of
the grab, went out, and returned with a case of pistols in his hand, and
told the Captain of the Speaker, whose name I won't mention, that he was
his prisoner. He asked, upon what account? Bowen answered, "they wanted
his ship, his was a good one, and they were resolved to have her, to
make amends for the damage he had done them."

In the mean while his boat's crew, and the rest of his men ashore, were
told by others of the pirates, who were drinking with them, that they
were also prisoners: some of them answered,
Zounds, we don't trouble
our heads what we are, let's have t'other bowl of punch
.

A watchword was given, and no boat to be admitted on board the ship.
This word, which was for that night,
Coventry
, was known to them. At 8
o'clock they manned the twelve-oared boat, and the one they found at
Mayotta, with 24 men, and set out for the ship. When they were put off,
the captain of the Speaker desired them to come back, as he wanted to
speak with them. Capt. Booth asked what he wanted! He said, "they could
never take his ship." "Then," said Booth, "we'll die in or alongside of
her."—"But," replied the captain, "if you will go with safety, don't
board on the larboard side, for there is a gun out of the steerage
loaded with partridge, which will clear the decks." They thanked him,
and proceeded.

When they were near the ship they were hailed, and the answer was,
the
Coventry
. "All well," said the mate, "get the lights over the side;"
but spying the second boat, he asked what boat that was? One answered it
was a raft of water, another that it was a boat of beef; this
disagreement in the answers made the mate suspicious, who cried
out—
Pirates, take to your arms my lads
, and immediately clapped a
match to a gun, which, as the priming was before wet by the treachery of
Hugh Man, only fizzed. They boarded in the instant, and made themselves
masters of her, without the loss of a man on either side.

The next day they put necessary provisions on board the French built
ship, and gave her to the captain of the Speaker, and those men who
would go off with him, among whom was Man, who had betrayed his ship;
for the pirates had both paid him the 100
l
agreed, and kept his
secret. The captain having thus lost his ship, sailed in that which the
pirates gave him, for Johanna, where he fell ill and died with grief.

The pirates having here victualled, they sailed for the Bay of St.
Augustine, where they took in between 70 and 80 men, who had belonged to
the ship Alexander, commanded by Capt. James, a pirate. They also took
up her guns, and mounted the Speaker with 54, which made up their
number, and 240 men, besides slaves, of which they had about 20.

From hence they sailed for the East Indies, but stopped at Zanguebar for
fresh provisions, where the Portuguese had once a settlement, but now
inhabited by Arabians. Some of them went ashore with the captain to buy
provisions. The captain was sent for by the governor, who went with
about 14 in company. They passed through the guard, and when they had
entered the governor's house, they were all cut off; and, at the same
time, others who were in different houses of the town were set upon,
which made them fly to the shore. The long-boat, which lay off a
grappling, was immediately put in by those who looked after her. There
were not above half a dozen of the pirates who brought their arms
ashore, but they plied them so well, for they were in the boat, that
most of the men got into her. The quarter-master ran down sword in hand,
and though he was attacked by many, he behaved himself so well, that he
got into a little canoe, put off, and reached the long-boat.

In the interim, the little fort the Arabians had, played upon the ship,
which returned the salute very warmly. Thus they got on board, with the
loss of Captain Booth and 20 men, and set sail for the East Indies. When
they were under sail, they went to voting for a new captain, and the
quarter-master, who had behaved so well in the last affair with the
Arabians, was chosen; but he declining all command the crew made choice
of Bowen for captain, Pickering to succeed him as master, Samuel
Herault, a Frenchman, for quarter-master, and Nathaniel North for
captain quarter-master.

Things being thus settled, they came to the mouth of the Red Sea, and
fell in with 13 sail of Moor ships, which they kept company with the
greater part of the day, but afraid to venture on them, as they took
them for Portuguese men-of-war. At length part were for boarding, and
advised it. The captain though he said little, did not seem inclined,
for he was but a young pirate, though an old commander of a merchantman.
Those who pushed for boarding, then desired Captain Boreman, already
mentioned, to take the command; but he said he would not be a usurper;
that nobody was more fit for it than he who had it; that for his part
he would stand by his fuzil, and went forward to the forecastle with
such as would have him take the command, to be ready to board; on which
the captain's quarter-master said, if they were resolved to engage,
their captain, (whose representative he was) did not want resolution;
therefore ordered them to get their tacks on board (for they had already
made a clear ship) and get ready for boarding; which they accordingly
did, and coming up with the sternmost ship, they fired a broadside into
her, which killed two Moors, clapped her on board and carried her; but
night coming on, they made only this prize, which yielded them £500 per
man. From hence they sailed to the coast of Malabar. The adventures of
these pirates on this coast are already set down in Captain Bowen's
life, to which I refer the reader, and shall only observe, that Captain
White was all this time before the mast, being a forced man from the
beginning.

Bowen's crew dispersing, Captain White went to Methelage, where he lived
ashore with the king, not having an opportunity of getting off the
island, till another pirate ship, called the Prosperous, commanded by
one Howard, who had been bred a lighterman on the river Thames, came in.
This ship was taken at Augustin, by some pirates from shore, and the
crew of their long-boat, which joined them, at the instigation of one
Ranten, boatswain's mate, who sent for water. They came on board in the
night and surprised her, though not without resistance, in which the
captain and chief mate were killed, and several others wounded.

Those who were ashore with Captain White, resolving to enter in this
ship, determined him to go also, rather than be left alone with the
natives, hoping, by some accident or other, to have an opportunity of
returning home. He continued on board this ship, in which he was made
quarter-master, till they met with, and all went on board of Bowen, as
is set down in his life, in which ship he continued after Bowen left
them. At Port Dolphin he went
off
in the boats to fetch some of the
crew left ashore, the ship being blown to sea the night before. The ship
not being able to get in, and he supposing her gone to the west side of
the island, as they had formerly proposed, he steered that course in his
boat with 26 men. They touched at Augustin, expecting the ship, but she
not appearing in a week, the time they waited, the king ordered them to
be gone, telling them they imposed on him with lies, for he did not
believe they had any ship: however he gave them fresh provision: they
took in water, and made for Methelage. Here as Captain White was known
to the king, they were kindly received, and staid about a fortnight in
expectation of the ship, but she not appearing they raised their boat a
streak, salted the provision the king gave them, put water aboard, and
stood for the north end of the island, designing to go round, believing
their ship might be at the island of St. Mary. When they came to the
north end, the current, which sets to the N.W. for eight months in the
year, was so strong they found it impossible to get round. Wherefore
they got into a harbor, of which there are many for small vessels. Here
they stayed about three weeks or a month, when part of the crew were for
burning the boat, and travelling over land to a black king of their
acquaintance, whose name was Reberimbo, who lived at a place called
Manangaromasigh, in lat. 15 deg. or thereabouts. As this king had been
several times assisted by the whites in his wars, he was a great friend
to them. Captain White dissuaded them from this undertaking, and with
much ado, saved the boat; but one half of the men being resolved to go
by land, they took what provisions they thought necessary, and set out.
Captain White, and those who staid with him, conveyed them a day's
journey, and then returning, he got into the boat with his companions,
and went back to Methelage, fearing these men might return, prevail
with the rest, and burn the boat.

Here he built a deck on his boat, and lay by three months, in which time
there came in three pirates with a boat, who had formerly been trepanned
on board the Severn and Scarborough men-of-war, which had been looking
for pirates on the east side; from which ships they made their escape at
Mohila, in a small canoe to Johanna, and from Johanna to Mayotta, where
the king built them the boat which brought them to Methelage. The time
of the current's setting with violence to the N.W. being over, they
proceeded together in White's boat (burning that of Mayotta) to the
north end, where the current running yet too strong to get round, they
went into a harbor and staid there a month, maintaining themselves with
fish and wild hogs, of which there was a great plenty. At length, having
fine weather, and the strength of the current abating, they got round;
and after sailing about 40 miles on the east side, they went into a
harbor, where they found a piece of a jacket, which they knew belonged
to one of those men who had left them to go over land. He had been a
forced man, and a ship carpenter. This they supposed he had torn to wrap
round his feet; that part of the country being barren and rocky. As they
sailed along this coast, they came to anchor in convenient harbors every
night, till they got as far as Manangaromasigh, where king Reberimbo
resided, where they went in to inquire for their men, who left them at
the north end, and to recruit with provisions. The latter was given
them, but they could get no information of their companions.

From hence they went to the island of St. Mary, where a canoe came off
to them with a letter directed to any white man. They knew it to be the
hand of one of their former shipmates. The contents of this letter was
to advise them to be on their guard, and not trust too much to the
blacks of this place, they having been formerly treacherous. They
inquired after their ship, and were informed, that the company had given
her to the Moors, who were gone away with her, and that they themselves
were settled at Ambonavoula, about 20 leagues to the southward of St.
Mary, where they lived among the negroes as so many sovereign princes.

One of the blacks, who brought off the letter went on board their boat,
carried them to the place called Olumbah, a point of land made by a
river on one side, and the sea on the other, where twelve of them lived
together in a large house they had built, and fortified with about
twenty pieces of cannon.

The rest of them were settled in small companies of about 12 or 14
together, more or less, up the said river, and along the coast, every
nation by itself, as the English, French, Dutch, &c. They made inquiry
of their consorts after the different prizes which belonged to them, and
they found all very justly laid by to be given them, if ever they
returned, as were what belonged to the men who went over land. Captain
White, hankering after home, proposed going out again in the boat; for
he was adverse to settling with them; and many others agreed to go under
his command; and if they could meet with a ship to carry them to Europe,
to follow their old vocation. But the others did not think it reasonable
he should have the boat, but that it should be set to sale for the
benefit of the company. Accordingly it was set up, and Captain White
bought it for 400 pieces of eight, and with some of his old consorts,
whose number was increased by others of the ship's crew, he went back
the way he had come to Methelage. Here he met with a French ship of
about 50 tons, and 6 guns, which had been taken by some pirates who
lived at Maratan, on the east side of the island, and some of the
Degrave East-Indiaman's crew, to whom the master of her refused a
passage to Europe; for as he had himself been a pirate, and
quarter-master to Bowen, in the Speaker, he apprehended their taking
away his ship. War then existing between England and France, he thought
they might do it without being called in question as pirates. The
pirates who had been concerned in taking Herault's ship, for that was
his name, had gone up the country, and left her to the men belonging to
the Degrave, who had fitted her up, cleaned and tallowed her, and got in
some provision, with a design to go to the East-Indies, that they might
light on some ship to return to their own country.