Low, upon hearing what a prize had escap’d him, rav’d like a fury, swore a thousand oaths, and ordered the captain’s lips to be cut off, which he broil’d before his face, and afterwards murdered him and all the crew, being thirty-two persons.
After this bloody action, they continued their course, till they came to the northward of all the islands, and there cruis’d for about a month, in which time they made prizes of the following vessels, viz. a snow from New York to Curaçao, Robert Leonard Master; a sloop from the bay, bound to New York, Craig Master; a snow from London and Jamaica, bound to New York; and the Stanhope pink, Andrew Delbridge Master, from Jamaica to Boston; which last they burnt, because of Low’s irreconcilable aversion to New England men.
After this cruise, they went into one of the islands and clean’d, and then steered for the Bay of Honduras, where they arrived about the middle of , and met a sloop turning out of the said bay. The pirates had hoisted up Spanish colours, and continued them till they drew near the sloop, then they haul’d them down, hoisted their black flag, fired a broadside, and boarded her. This sloop was a Spaniard of six guns, and 70 men, that came into the bay that morning, and meeting there with five English sloops, and a pink, made prizes of them all, plundered them, and brought the masters of the vessels away prisoners, for the ransom of the logwood; their names were Tuthill, Norton, Newbury, Sprafort, Clark and Parrot. The Spaniards made no resistance, so that the English pirates soon became their masters and fell to rifling; but finding the abovementioned people in the hold, and several English goods, they consulted Low the captain thereupon, and without examining any further, the resolution pass’d to kill all the company; and the pirates, without any ceremony, fell pell-pell to execution with their swords, cutlashes, poleaxes and pistols, cutting, slashing and shooting the poor Spaniards at a sad rate. Some of the miserable creatures jump’d down into the hold, but could not avoid the massacre; they met death everywhere, for if they escaped it from one hand, they were sure to perish by another; the only prospect they had of life, was to fly from the rage of those merciless men, and to trust to the more merciful sea; and accordingly a great many leap’d overboard, and swam for the shore; but Low perceiving it, ordered the canoa to be mann’d, and sent in pursuit of them, by which means several of the poor unhappy men were knock’d in the head in the water, as they were endeavouring to get to land; however, about 12 of them did reach the shore, but in a miserable condition, being very much wounded, and what became of them afterwards was not known, except one, who while the pirates were at their sports and pastimes ashore, finding himself very weak and fainting with his wounds, and not knowing where to go for help and relief, in this extremity, he came back to them, and begg’d for God sake, in the most earnest manner possible, that they would give him quarters; upon which, one of the villains took hold of him, and said, G‑d⸺n him, he would give him good quarters presently, and made the poor Spaniard kneel down on his knees, then taking his fusil, put the muzzle of it into his mouth, and fired down his throat. ’Twas thought the rest did not long survive their miserable condition, and could only prolong their lives, to add to the misery of them.
When the murdering work was over, they rummaged the Spanish pirate, and brought all the booty aboard their own vessels: the six masters aforementioned, found in the hold, they restored to their respective vessels: they forced away the carpenter from the pink, and then set fire to the Spanish sloop, and burnt her; which last scene concluded the destruction of their enemy, ship and crew.
Low set the masters of the vessels free, but would not suffer them to steer for Jamaica, where they were then bound, for fear the men-of-war should get intelligence of them, but forced them all to go to New York, threat’ning them with death, when they met them again, if they refused to comply with their demands.
In the next cruise, which was between the Leeward Islands and the main, they took two snows, bound from Jamaica to Liverpool, and a snow from Jamaica to London, Bridds Master; as also a ship from Biddiford to Jamaica, John Pinkham Commander; and two sloops from Jamaica to Virginia.
On the , Low and his consort Harris, came off South Carolina, and met with three good ships, viz. the Crown, Captain Lovereigne, the King William, the Carteret, and a brigantine, who all came out of Carolina together two days before. The pirates were at the trouble of chasing them, and Captain Lovereigne being the sternmost, she fell first a prey into their hands; and they spent all the day in coming up with the rest.
Within a few days they took a ship called the Amsterdam merchant, Captain Willard, from Jamaica, but belonging to New England; as Low let none of that country depart without some marks of his rage, he cut off this gentleman’s ears, slit up his nose, and cut him in several places of his body, and, after plundering his ship, let him pursue his voyage.
After this he took a sloop bound to Amboy, William Frazier, Master, with whom Mr. Low happening to be displeased, he ordered lighted matches to be ty’d between the men’s fingers, which burnt all the flesh off the bones; then cut
