The captain and quartermaster to receive two shares of a prize; the master, boatswain, and gunner, one share and a half, and other officers, one and a quarter.
The musicians to have rest on the Sabbath day, but the other six days and nights, none without special favour.
These, we are assured, were some of Roberts’ articles, but as they had taken care to throw overboard the original they had sign’d and sworn to, there is a great deal of room to suspect, the remainder contained something too horrid to be disclosed to any, except such as were willing to be sharers in the iniquity of them; let them be what they will, they were together the test of all newcomers, who were initiated by an oath taken on a Bible, reserv’d for that purpose only, and were subscrib’d to in presence of the worshipful Mr. Roberts. And in case any doubt should arise concerning the construction of these laws, and it should remain a dispute whether the party had infring’d them or no, a jury is appointed to explain them, and bring in a verdict upon the case in doubt.
Since we are now speaking of the laws of this company, I shall go on, and, in as brief a manner as I can, relate the principal customs, and government, of this roguish commonwealth; which are pretty near the same with all pirates.
For the punishment of small offences, which are not provided for by the articles, and which are not of consequence enough to be left to a jury, there is a principal officer among the pirates, called the quartermaster, of the men’s own choosing, who claims all authority this way, (excepting in time of battle:) If they disobey his command, are quarrelsome and mutinous with one another, misuse prisoner’s, plunder beyond his order, and in particular, if they be negligent of their arms, which he musters at discretion, he punishes at his own arbitrement, with drubbing or whipping, which no one else dare do without incurring the lash from all the ship’s company: in short, this officer is trustee for the whole, is the first on board any prize, separating for the company’s use, what he pleases, and returning what he thinks fit to the owners, excepting gold and silver, which they have voted not returnable.
After a description of the quartermaster, and his duty, who acts as a sort of a civil magistrate on board a pirate ship; I shall consider their military officer, the captain; what privileges he exerts in such anarchy and unrulyness of the members: why truly very little, they only permit him to be captain, on condition, that they may be captain over him; they separate to his use the great cabin, and sometimes vote him small parcels of plate and china, (for it may be noted that Roberts drank his tea constantly) but then every man, as the humour takes him, will use the plate and china, intrude into his apartment, swear at him, seize a part of his victuals and drink, if they like it, without his offering to find fault or contest it: yet Roberts, by a better management than usual, became the chief director in everything of moment, and it happened thus:—The rank of captain being obtained by the suffrage of the majority, it falls on one superior for knowledge and boldness, pistol proof (as they call it,) and can make those fear, who do not love him; Roberts is said to have exceeded his fellows in these respects, and when advanced, enlarged the respect that followed it, by making a sort of privy council of half a dozen of the greatest bullies; such as were his competitors, and had interest enough to make his government easy; yet even those, in the latter part of his reign, he had run counter to in every project that opposed his own opinion; for which, and because he grew reserved, and would not drink and roar at their rate, a cabal was formed to take away his captainship, which death did more effectually.
The captain’s power is uncontrollable in chase, or in battle, drubbing, cutting, or even shooting anyone who dares deny his command. The same privilege he takes over prisoners, who receive good or ill usage, mostly as he approves of their behaviour, for though the meanest would take upon them to misuse a master of a ship, yet he would control herein, when he see it, and merrily over a bottle, give his prisoners this double reason for it. First, that it preserved his precedence; and secondly, that it took the punishment out of the hands of a much more rash and mad set of fellows than himself. When he found that rigour was not expected from his people, (for he often practised it to appease them,) then he would give strangers to understand, that it was pure inclination that induced him to a good treatment of them, and not any love or partiality to their persons; for, says he, there is none of you but will hang me, I know, whenever you can clinch me within your power.
And now seeing the disadvantages they were under for pursuing the account, viz. a small vessel ill repaired, and without provisions, or stores; they resolved one and all, with the little supplies they could get, to proceed for the West Indies, not doubting to find a remedy for all these evils, and to retreive their loss.
In the latitude of Deseada, one of the islands, they took two sloops, which supply’d them with provisions and other necessaries; and a few days afterwards, took a brigantine belonging to Rhode Island, and then proceeded to Barbados, off of which island, they fell in with a Bristol ship of 10 guns, in her voyage out, from whom they took abundance of clothes, some money, twenty-five bales of goods, five barrels of powder, a
