The History of the Pyrates. Vol. II.: Containing the lives of Captain Misson, Captain Bowen, Captain Kidd, Captain Tew, Captain Halsey, Captain White, Captain Condent, Captain Bellamy, Captain Fly, Captain Howard, Captain Lewis, Captain Cornelius, Captain Williams, Captain Burgess, Captain North, and their several crewsDefoe, Daniel
History
The History of the Pyrates. Vol. II.: Containing the lives of Captain Misson, Captain Bowen, Captain Kidd, Captain Tew, Captain Halsey, Captain White, Captain Condent, Captain Bellamy, Captain Fly, Captain Howard, Captain Lewis, Captain Cornelius, Captain Williams, Captain Burgess, Captain North, and their several crews
Defoe, Daniel
Pirates -- Early works to 1800
On any Mistake from which a Dispute arose, or on any ill-manner'd
Expression let fall in Company, they all broke up, and one of the
Company poured what Liquor was before them on the Ground, saying, no
Contention could creep in among them without Loss; and therefore he
sacrificed that Liquor to the evil Fiend, to prevent a greater Damage.
Then both the contending Parties, on Pain of being banished the Society,
and sent to another Part of the Island, were summon'd to appear at
Captain _North_'s, the next Morning, and, in the mean while, they were
commanded to keep their respective Houses.
The next Morning both the Parties being met, and all the Whites summon'd
to attend, the Captain set the Plaintiff and Defendant on one Side, and
told them, that till the Aggressor had consented to do Justice, and till
the Person injured had forgot his Resentment, they must esteem them both
Enemies to the Publick, and not look upon them as their Friends and
Companions. He then wrote down the Names of all the Assembly, roll'd
them up, and put them into a Hat, out of which, each Party shaking the
Hat, chose six Tickets; and these twelve Rowls or Tickets contained the
Names of the assistant Judges, who, with the Captain, heard and
determined in the Cause, calling and examining the Witnesses. When the
Matter was fully debated, the Court was adjourned to the next Day, and
the Litigators commanded to appear again, and, in the Interim, not to
stir out their Houses, to which they were respectively conducted by two
or three each, lest the Slaves, or the neighbouring Blacks, should, by a
greater Number, have any Suspicion of their Disagreement.
The second Day the Examination began afresh, and the Witnesses were
sifted, as if they had not before been examined, and this to try if they
were consistent with their former Evidence, which was noted down. Then
the Court was again adjourned, and the disagreeing Parties remanded home
till next Morning, when Judgment was given, which was a Fine in
Proportion to the Affront.
The Reason of confining those who had Dissension was to deter them, by
this small Punishment, from all future Quarrels, and to prevent any ill
Accident which might happen by their being at full Liberty.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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