Privateering and Piracy in the Colonial Period: Illustrative Documents
History
Privateering and Piracy in the Colonial Period: Illustrative Documents
Pirates; Privateering; United States -- History -- Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775 -- Sources
These Depon'ts Testify and say That on the twenty fourth day of April
last past, they sailed from Nantasket harbour bound for New York, and
on the twenty sixth day of the said month, being friday, in the
morning about nine of the clock, they discovered a large Ship, and her
Prize, which was a Snow, astern, and the large Ship came up with the
said Pink _Mary Ann_, between nine and ten, and ordered us to strike
our Colours, which accordingly we did, and then they shot ahead of us,
and braced too, and hoisted out her boat and sent seven Men on board,
Armed with their Musquets, pistols and Cutlashes (which Men are now in
Boston Goal) and they commanded the said Capt. Crumpsty to take his
Papers, and go aboard the said Ship with five of his hands and
accordingly the said Crumpsty with five of his Men rowed aboard the
said Pyrates Ship, and the seven Men tarryed aboard the Pink, and soon
after the Pyrates sent their boat on board the said pink with four
hands to get some of the Wine which they were Informed was on board
the Pink, and accordingly they hoisted the pinks boat off of the
hatches and opened the hatches and then went into the hold, but the
Cable being Quoiled in the hatchway, they found it difficult to Come
to the Wines in the hold, and so returned to their own Ship without
any wine, Except five bottles of green wine which the found in the
pinks Cabbin and carryed away, with some of the Cloaths which belonged
to the pinks Company, and presently after the pyrates had hoisted
their boat on board the great Ship, they gave Orders to the Pyrates on
board the pink to steer North Northwest after them, which Course they
followed till about four a Clock in the afternoon, and then the large
Ship whereof Capt. Samuel Bellame was Commander, and the snow and pink
lay too,[2] it being very thick foggy weather, And about half an hour
after four a Clock a sloop came up with Capt. Bellames Ship and he
hoisted out his boat and sent several men on board the Sloop and soon
afterwards, Vizt. about five a Clock, the Commander of the snow bore
away, and came under the stern of Capt. Bellames Ship and told him
that they saw the Land; And thereupon Capt. Bellame Ordered the
Pyrates on board the Pink to steer away North, which they did, and as
soon as it began to be dark the sd Capt. Bellames Ship put out a light
astern and also the snow and the sloop and the pink had their lights
out; and about ten a Clock the weather grew thick and it lightned and
rained hard and was so dark, that the pinks Comp. Could not see the
shore till they were among the Breakers, when the Depon't Fitz Gerald
was at helm, and had lost sight of the Great Ship, Snow and Sloop; and
being among the breakers we thought it most proper and necessary to
weere[3] the Pink, and before we could trim the head sails we run
ashoar opposite to Sluts bush at the back of Stage harbour to the
southward of Cape Codd[4] between ten and Eleven a Clock at night, And
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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