Spriggs then stood to the northward, towards Bermuda, or the Summer Isles, and took a schooner belonging to Boston; he took out all the men and sunk the vessel, and had the impudence to tell the master, that he designed to increase his company on the banks of Newfoundland, and then would sail for the coast of New England in quest of Captain Solgard, who attack’d and took their consort Charles Harris, Spriggs being then in Low’s sloop, who very fairly run for it. The pirate ask’d the master if he knew Captain Solgard, who answering No; he ask’d another the same question, and then a third, who said he knew him very well, upon which Spriggs ordered him to be sweated, which was done in the manner before describ’d.
Instead of going to Newfoundland as the pirates threat’ned, they came back to the islands, and to windward of St. Christopher’s, on the last, took a sloop, Nicholas Trot Master, belonging to St. Eustatia, and wanting a little diversion, they hoisted the men as high as the main and foretops, and let them run down amain, enough to break all the bones in their skins, and after they had pretty well crippled them by this cruel usage, and whipp’d them about the deck, they gave Trot his sloop, and let him go, keeping back only 2 of his men, besides the plunder of the vessel.
Within two or three days they took a ship coming from Rhode Island to St. Christopher’s, laden with provisions and some horses; the pirates mounted the horses and rid them about the deck backwards and forwards a full gallop, like madmen at New Market, cursing, swearing, and hallowing, at such a rate, that made the poor creatures wild, and at length, two or three of them throwing their riders, they fell upon the ship’s crew, and whipp’d, and cut, and beat them in a barbarous manner, telling them, it was for bringing horses without boots and spurs, for want of which they were not able to ride them.
This is the last account we have had of Captain Spriggs, I shall only add the two following relations, and conclude.
A brigantine belonging to Bristol, one Mr. Rowry Master, had been trading at Gambia, in Africa, and falling as low as Cape Mount, to finish the slaving of the vessel, he had, by a misfortune usual at that part of the coast, his mate, surgeon, and two more of his men, panyarr’d1 by the Negroes. The remainder of his company, which was not above 5 or 6 in number, took this opportunity, and seiz’d the vessel in the road, making the master prisoner.
You will think it prodigious impudent that so small a number should undertake to proceed a-pirating, especially when neither of them had sufficient skill in navigation: yet this they did, leaving those people, their shipmates abovemention’d, to the mercy of the barbarous natives, and sail’d away down the coast, making them a black flag, which they merrily said, would be as good as 50 men more, i.e. would carry as much terror; and that they did not doubt of soon increasing their crew, to put them in an enterprising capacity; but their vain projection was soon happily frustrated, and after this manner.
The master whose life they had preserved, (perhaps only for supplying their own unskillfulness in navigation,) advised them, that since contrary to their expectations, they had met with no ship between Cape Mount, and the Bight of Calabar, to proceed to the island of St. Thomas, where they might recruit with provisions and water, and sell off the slaves (about 70 of them) which they perceived would be a useless lumber, and incommodious to their design. They arrived there in , and one evening, while part of them were onshore, applying for this purpose to the governor, and the other part carelessly from the deck, Mr. Rowry stepp’d into the boat belonging to the vessel, and pushed off, very suddenly: they heard the noise it made, and soon were upon deck again, but having no other boat to pursue, nor a musket, ready to fire, he got safe onshore, and ran to the governor with his complaint, who immediately imprisoned those already there, and sent a launch off to take the rest out of the ship.
The Swallow arrived at St. Thomas the beginning of following, where, on Mr. Rowry’s remonstrance, application was made to the Portuguese governor of that island, for a surrendery of these five English prisoners then in the castle; but he not only peremptorily excused himself from it, as a matter out of his power, without particular direction from the court of Portugal; but withal insinuated, that they had only taken refuge there from the hardships and severity they had met with from their master. The manner of denial, and the avaricious temper of the gentleman, which I had occasion to be acquainted with, makes it very suspicious, that he proposed considerable gains to himself; for if Mr. Rowry had not made such an escape to him, the slaves had been his for little or nothing, as a bribe to silence his suspicions, which any man, less acute than he, must have had from the awkward and unskillful carriage of such merchants. But enough of this; perhaps he is not the only governor abroad that finds an interest in countenancing these fellows.
An Account of the Piracies and Murders Committed by Philip Roche, etc.
Philip Roche was born in Ireland, and from his youth had been bred up to the sea; he was a brisk genteel fellow, of 30 years of age at the time of his death; one whose black and savage nature did no ways answer the comeliness of his person, his
