The Life, Adventures & Piracies of the Famous Captain Singleton

onlyI took care not to go unprovided for him, and seldom walked about but invery good company. However, at last Captain Wilmot and I met, and talkedover the matter very seriously, and I offered him the sloop to go wherehe pleased, or, if he was not satisfied with that, I offered to takethe sloop and leave him the great ship; but he declined both, and onlydesired that I would leave him six carpenters, which I had in our shipmore than I had need of, to help his men to finish the sloop that wasbegun before we came thither, by the men that lost their ship. This Iconsented readily to, and lent him several other hands that were usefulto them; and in a little time they built a stout brigantine, able tocarry fourteen guns and 200 men.

  What measures they took, and how Captain Avery managed afterwards, istoo long a story to meddle with here; nor is it any of my business,having my own story still upon my hands.

  We lay here, about these several simple disputes, almost five months,when, about the latter end of March, I set sail with the great ship,having in her forty-four guns and 400 men, and the sloop, carryingeighty men. We did not steer to the Malabar coast, and so to the Gulf ofPersia, as was first intended, the east monsoons blowing yet too strong,but we kept more under the African coast, where we had the wind variabletill we passed the line, and made the Cape Bassa, in the latitude offour degrees ten minutes; from thence, the monsoons beginning to changeto the N.E. and N.N.E., we led it away, with the wind large, to theMaldives, a famous ledge of islands, well known by all the sailors whohave gone into those parts of the world; and, leaving these islands alittle to the south, we made Cape Comorin, the southernmost land of thecoast of Malabar, and went round the isle of Ceylon. Here we lay by awhile to wait for purchase; and here we saw three large English EastIndia ships going from Bengal, or from Fort St George, homeward forEngland, or rather for Bombay and Surat, till the trade set in.

  We brought to, and hoisting an English ancient and pendant, lay by forthem, as if we intended to attack them. They could not tell what to makeof us a good while, though they saw our colours; and I believe at firstthey thought us to be French; but as they came nearer to us, we letthem soon see what we were, for we hoisted a black flag, with two crossdaggers in it, on our main-top-mast head, which let them see what theywere to expect.

  We soon found the effects of this; for at first they spread theirancients, and made up to us in a line, as if they would fight us, havingthe wind off shore, fair enough to have brought them on board us; butwhen they saw what force we were of, and found we were cruisers ofanother kind, they stood away from us again, with all the sail theycould make. If they had come up, we should have given them an unexpectedwelcome, but as it was, we had no mind to follow them; so we let themgo, for the same reasons which I mentioned before.

  But though we let them pass, we did not design to let others go at soeasy a price. It was but the next morning that we saw a sail standinground Cape Comorin, and steering, as we thought, the same course withus. We knew not at first what to do with her, because she had the shoreon her larboard quarter, and if we offered to chase her, she might putinto any port or creek, and escape us; but, to prevent this, we sent thesloop to get in between her and the land. As soon as she saw that, shehauled in to keep the land aboard, and when the sloop stood towards hershe made right ashore, with all the canvas she could spread.

  The sloop, however, came up with her and engaged her, and found she wasa vessel of ten guns, Portuguese built, but in the Dutch traders'hands, and manned by Dutchmen, who were bound from the Gulf of Persiato Batavia, to fetch spices and other goods from thence. The sloop's mentook her, and had the rummaging of her before we came up. She had in hersome European goods, and a good round sum of money, and some pearl; sothat, though we did not go to the gulf for the pearl, the pearl came tous out of the gulf, and we had our share of it. This was a rich ship,and the goods were of very considerable value, besides the money and thepearl.

  We had a long consultation here what we should do with the men, for togive them the ship, and let them pursue their voyage to Java, would beto alarm the Dutch factory there, who are by far the strongest in theIndies, and to make our passage that way impracticable; whereas weresolved to visit that part of the world in our way, but were notwilling to pass the great Bay of Bengal, where we hoped for a great dealof purchase; and therefore it behoved us not to be waylaid before wecame there, because they knew we must pass by the Straits of Malacca, orthose of Sunda; and either way it was very easy to prevent us.

  While we were consulting this in the great cabin, the men had had thesame debate before the mast; and it seems the majority there were forpickling up the poor Dutchmen among the herrings; in a word, they werefor throwing them all into the sea. Poor William, the Quaker, was ingreat concern about this, and comes directly to me to talk about it."Hark thee," says William, "what wilt thou do with these Dutchmen thatthou hast on board? Thou wilt not let them go, I suppose," says he."Why," says I, "William, would you advise me to let them go?" "No," saysWilliam, "I cannot say it is fit for thee to let them go; that is tosay, to go on with their voyage to Batavia, because it is not for thyturn that the Dutch at Batavia should have any knowledge of thy being inthese seas." "Well, then," says I to him, "I know no remedy but to throwthem overboard. You know, William," says I, "a Dutchman swims like afish; and all our people here are of the same opinion as well as I." Atthe same time I resolved it should not be done, but wanted to hear whatWilliam would say. He gravely replied, "If all the men in the shipwere of that mind, I will never believe that thou wilt be of that mindthyself, for I have heard thee protest against cruelty in all othercases." "Well, William," says I, "that is true; but what then shall wedo with them?" "Why," says William, "is there no way but to murder them?I am persuaded thou canst not be in earnest." "No, indeed, William,"says I, "I am not in earnest; but they shall not go to Java, no, nor toCeylon, that is certain." "But," says William, "the men have done theeno injury at all; thou hast taken a great treasure from them; what canstthou pretend to hurt them for?" "Nay, William," says I, "do not talk ofthat; I have pretence enough, if that be all; my pretence is, toprevent doing me hurt, and that is as necessary a piece of the law ofself-preservation as any you can name; but the main thing is, I know notwhat to do with them, to prevent their prating."

  While William and I were talking, the poor Dutchmen were openlycondemned to die, as it may be called, by the whole ship's company; andso warm were the men upon it, that they grew very clamorous; and whenthey heard that William was against it, some of them swore they shoulddie, and if William opposed it, he should drown along with them.

  But, as I was resolved to put an end to their cruel project, so I foundit was time to take upon me a little, or the bloody humour might growtoo strong; so I called the Dutchmen up, and talked a little with them.First, I asked them if they were willing to go with us. Two of themoffered it presently; but the rest, which were fourteen, declined it."Well, then," said I, "where would you go?" They desired they shouldgo to Ceylon. No, I told them I could not allow them to go to any Dutchfactory, and told them very plainly the reasons of it, which they couldnot deny to be just. I let them know also the cruel, bloody measuresof our men, but that I had resolved to save them, if possible; andtherefore I told them I would set them on shore at some English factoryin the Bay of Bengal, or put them on board any English ship I met, afterI was past the Straits of Sunda or of Malacca, but not before; for, asto my coming back again, I told them I would run the venture of theirDutch power from Batavia, but I would not have the news come therebefore me, because it would make all their merchant-ships lay up, andkeep out of our way.

  It came next into our consideration what we should do with their ship;but this was not long resolving; for there were but two ways, either toset her on fire, or to run her on shore, and we chose the last. So weset her foresail with the tack at the cat-head, and lashed her helm alittle to starboard, to answer her head-sail, and so set her agoing,with neither cat or dog in her; and it was not above two hours beforewe saw her run right ashore upon the coast, a little
beyond theCape Comorin; and away we went round about Ceylon, for the coast ofCoromandel.

  We sailed along there, not in sight of the shore only, but so near as tosee the ships in the road at Fort St David, Fort St George, and atthe other factories along that shore, as well as along the coast ofGolconda, carrying our English ancient when we came near the Dutchfactories, and Dutch colours when we passed by the English factories.We met with little purchase upon this coast, except two small vesselsof Golconda, bound across the bay with bales of calicoes and muslins andwrought silks, and fifteen bales of romals, from the bottom of the bay,which were going, on whose account we knew not, to Acheen, and to otherports on the coast of Malacca. We did not inquire to what place inparticular; but we let the vessels go,