One would have thought so miraculous an escape should have wrought some reformation, but alas, they had no sooner quenched their thirst, but they had forgot the miracle, till scarcity of provisions awakened their senses, and bid them guard against starving; their allowance was very small, and yet they would profanely say, that providence which had gave them drink, would, no doubt, bring them meat also, if they would use but an honest endeavour.
In pursuance of these honest endeavours, they were steering for the latitude of Barbados, with what little they had left, to look out for more, or starve; and, in their way, met a ship that answered their necessities, and after that a brigantine; the former was called the Greyhound, belonging to St. Christopher’s, and bound to Philadelphia, the mate of which signed the pirate’s articles, and was afterwards captain of the Ranger, consort to the Royal Fortune.
Out of the ship and brigantine, the pirates got a good supply of provisions and liquor, so that they gave over the designed cruise, and watered at Tobago, and hearing of the two sloops that had been fitted out and sent after them at Corcovado, they sailed to the island of Martinique, to make the Governor some sort of an equivalent, for the care and expedition he had shown in that affair.
It is the custom at Martinique, for the Dutch interlopers that have a mind to trade with the people of the island, to hoist their jacks when they come before the town: Roberts knew the signal, and being an utter enemy to them, he bent his thoughts upon mischief; and accordingly came in with his jack flying, which, as he expected, they mistook for a good market, and thought themselves happiest that could soonest dispatch off their sloops and vessels for trade. When Roberts had got them within his power, (one after another,) he told them, he would not have it said that they came off for nothing, and therefore ordered them to leave their money behind, for that they were a parcel of rogues, and hoped they would always meet with such a Dutch trade as this was; he reserved one vessel to set the passengers onshore again, and fired the rest, to the number of twenty.
Roberts was so enraged at the attempts that had been made for taking of him, by the governors of Barbados and Martinique, that he ordered a new jack to be made, which they ever after hoisted, with his own figure portray’d, standing upon two skulls, and under them the letters A.B.H. and A.M.H., signifying a Barbadian’s and a Martinican’s head, as may be seen in the plate of Captain Roberts.
At Dominica, the next Island they touched at, they took a Dutch interloper of 22 guns and 75 men, and a brigantine belonging to Rhode Island, one Norton Master. The former made some defence, till some of his men being killed, the rest were discouraged and struck their colours. With these two prizes they went down to Guadalupe, and brought out a sloop, and a French flyboat laden with sugar; the sloop they burnt, and went on to Moonay, another island, thinking to clean, but finding the sea ran too high there to undertake it with safety, they bent their course for the north part of Hispaniola, where, at Bennett’s Key, in the Gulf of Samina, they cleaned both the ship and the brigantine. For though Hispaniola be settled by the Spaniards and French, and is the residence of a president from Spain, who receives, and finally determines appeals from all the other Spanish West India islands; yet is its people by no means proportioned to its magnitude, so that there are many harbours in it, to which pirates may securely resort without fear of discovery from the inhabitants.
Whilst they were here, two sloops came in, as they pretended, to pay Roberts a visit, the masters, whose names were Porter and Tuckerman, addressed the pirate, as the Queen of Sheba did Solomon, to wit, that having heard of his fame and achievements, they had put in there to learn his art and wisdom in the business of pirating, being vessels on the same honourable design with himself; and hoped with the communication of his knowledge, they should also receive his charity, being in want of necessaries for such adventures. Roberts was won upon by the peculiarity and bluntness of these two men, and gave them powder, arms, and whatever else they had occasion for, spent two or three merry nights with them, and at parting, said, he hoped the L⸺ would prosper their handy works.
They passed some time here, after they had got their vessel ready, in their usual debaucheries; they had taken a considerable quantity of rum and sugar, so that liquor was as plenty as water, and few there were, who denied themselves the immoderate use of it; nay, sobriety brought a man under a suspicion of being in a plot against the commonwealth, and in their sense, he was looked upon to be a villain that would not be drunk. This was evident in the affair of Harry Glasby, chosen master of the Royal Fortune, who, with two others, laid hold of the opportunity at the last island they were at, to move off without bidding farewell to his friends. Glasby was a reserved sober man, and therefore gave occasion to be suspected, so that he was soon missed after he went away; and a detachment being sent in quest of
