The Pirates' Who's Who: Giving Particulars Of The Lives and Deaths Of The Pirates And BuccaneersGosse, Philip
History
The Pirates' Who's Who: Giving Particulars Of The Lives and Deaths Of The Pirates And Buccaneers
Gosse, Philip
Pirates
In 1683 Davis was quartermaster to Captain Cook when he took the ship of
Captain Tristian, a French buccaneer, of Petit Guave in the West Indies.
Sailed north to cruise off the coast of Virginia. From there he sailed
across the Atlantic to West Africa, and at Sierra Leone came upon a Danish
ship of thirty-six guns, which he attacked and took. The pirates shifted
their crew into this ship, christening her the _Bachelor's Delight_, and
sailed for Juan Fernandez in the South Pacific, arriving there in March,
1684. Here they met with Captain Brown, in the _Nicholas_, and together
sailed to the Galapagos Islands. About this time Captain Cook died, and
Davis was elected captain in his place. Cruising along the coasts of Chile
and Peru, they sacked towns and captured Spanish ships. On November 3rd
Davis landed, and burnt the town of Paita. Their principal plan was to
waylay the Spanish Fleet on its voyage to Panama. This fleet arrived off
the Bay of Panama on May 28th, 1685, but the buccaneers were beaten and
were lucky to escape with their lives. At the Gulf of Ampalla, Davis had
to put his sick on shore, as spotted fever raged amongst the crew. Davis
then cruised for a while with the buccaneer Knight, sacking several
towns.
Deciding to return to the West Indies with their plunder, several of the
crew, who had lost all their share by gambling, were left, at their own
request, on the Island of Juan Fernandez. Davis then sailed round the
Horn, arriving safely at Jamaica with a booty of more than 50,000 pieces
of eight, besides quantities of plate and jewels.
At Port Royal, after he had accepted the offer of pardon of King James
II., Davis sailed to Virginia and settled down at Point Comfort. We hear
no more of him for the next fourteen years, until July 24th, 1702, when he
sailed from Jamaica in the _Blessing_ (Captain Brown; twenty guns,
seventy-nine men), to attack the town of Tolu on the Spanish Main, which
was plundered and burnt. Davis next sailed to the Samballoes, and, guided
by the Indians, who were friendly to the buccaneers, but hated the
Spaniards, they attacked the gold-mines, where, in spite of most cruel
tortures, they got but little gold. The crew next attacked Porto Bello,
but found little worth stealing in that much harassed town.
Davis is chiefly remarkable for having commanded his gang of ruffians in
the Pacific for nearly four years. To do this he must have been a man of
extraordinary personality and bravery, for no other buccaneer or pirate
captain ever remained in uninterrupted power for so long a while, with the
exception of Captain Bartholomew Roberts.
DAVIS, CAPTAIN HOWEL.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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