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
to the Estermost key, wheir wee come to anchor, with a northerly
winde. att the South sid of thiss Island is a brave Sandy bay but no
rideing if the wind come out Southerly; then you may runn downe to the
leeward side of the Island. Our master, Jno. Hilliard, for some
misdemeanor was turn'd out of his Place, and his mate, one Jno. Hall,
putt in Master. Hall went with a cannoe mand to Leeward to find a bay
which he thought might have beene a good place, seeing no better, so
wee ridd 2 dayes with the Shipp at the Southermost bay. the wind
coming out againe att S.E. and b.S. and S.S.E., we waied and putt to
sea, fearing twould blow hard, itt being an open bay. so wee rann
downe to thiss other bay our new master had found out, and lett goe
anchor. our cable parted. wee weire faine to goe father to looke for
another anchor Place, and about 4 miles to the N.W. we saw a fine
large bay and rivers of water, that wee filled our water close to the
water sid, wooding convenient, fish great store, Seals Inumerable,
butt we eate none, gotes mighty Plenty. the Islands are butt small,
nott above 7 miles round, butt very high and Hilly, full of Valleys,
so that wee rowed on the westward sid of the Island to windward or to
the southward to hunt for goates. In thiss second bay of anchorag,
came downe such flawes of wind out of the Valleys that our Anchor
could nott hold, that wee almost drove aShore. our Peopple cutting
wood and filling water, which was the greater Party, haveing no love
for capt. Batt. Sharpe, concludeing togather to turne him out of his
capt'shipp, which thay did, and Putts into his Place a stout rugged
fore man as captaine;[58] itt was much trouble to capt. Sharpe to be
thuss served, butt could nott help himself, for the peopple weir
Resolved nott to goe home by Sea before thay had more money. wee lay
in thiss small bay, which was about 2 miles to leeward of thiss greate
bay, about 3 dayes. wee made hast and gott our Anchor we lost and
water aborde, and the most part of the wood wee had cutt. wee wear
minded to have spent a moneths time att thiss key of Juan Fernandus
and then to have gon downe to have cruised till the next Year; Our
Blacksmith was ashore prepareing to have built a forge, and made Iron
worke for the Shipp, and Intended to have burnt charcole. he had
partly fixed his bellose. wee had two men of warr cannoes gon to
windward for goates and had found, by relacion, 150 fatt ones, butt
sleepeing alnight by a fier att the Sea Side and in the morning went
to fetch their goates, lookeing out to se if the Sea weir cleare of
shipps Spyed within 3 leagues of the Island 3 greate saile of Shipps,
Admirall, Vise Adm'll and Rear Adm'll; seeing thiss, made what hast
they could to their cannoes and soe on borde shipp, leaveing all their
goates behind them bound. as soone as thay came near the Shipp thay
warned us with 3 Motions, that wee understoode their was 3 saile. wee
gott all our peopple that weir on shore off and what other things wee
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