Bunce was a young man, not above 26 years old, but made the most pathetical speech of any at the gallows. He first declaim’d against the gilded baits of power, liberty, and wealth, that had ensnar’d him among the pirates, his unexperienc’d years not being able to withstand the temptation; but that the briskness he had shown, which so fatally had procured him favour amongst them, was not so much a fault in principle, as the liveliness and vivacity of his nature. He was now extremely afflicted for the injuries he had done to all men, and begg’d theirs and God’s forgiveness, very earnestly exhorting the spectators to remember their Creator in their youth, and guard betimes, that their minds took not a wrong bias, concluding with this apt similitude, that he stood there as a beacon upon a rock, (the gallows standing on one) to warn erring mariners of danger.
X
Of Captain Anstis, and His Crew
Thomas Anstis ship’d himself at Providence in the year , aboard the Buck sloop, and was one of six that conspired together to go off a-pirating with the vessel; the rest were, Howel Davis, Roberts’ predecessor, killed at the island of Prince’s; Dennis Topping, killed at the taking of the rich Portuguese ship on the coast of Brazil; Walter Kennedy, hanged at execution dock, and two others, which I forbear to name, because, I understand they are at this day employ’d in an honest vocation in the city.
What followed concerning Anstis’ piracies, has been included in the two preceding chapters; I shall only observe that the combination of these six men abovementioned, was the beginning of that company, that afterwards proved so formidable under Captain Roberts, from whom Anstis separated the , in the Good Fortune brigantine, leaving his commodore to pursue his adventures upon the coast of Guinea, whilst he returned to the West Indies, upon the like design.
About the middle of June, these pirates met with one Captain Marston, between Hispaniola and Jamaica, bound on a voyage to New York; from whom they took all the wearing apparel they could find, as also his liquors and provision, and five of his men, but did not touch his cargo; two or three other vessels were also plundered by them, in this cruise, out of whom they stocked themselves with provision and men; among the rest, I think, was the Irwin, Captain Ross, from Cork in Ireland; but this I won’t be positive of, because they denied it themselves. This ship had 600 barrels of beef aboard, besides other provisions, and was taken off Martinique, wherein Colonel Doyly of Montserrat, and his family were passengers. The colonel was very much abused and wounded, for endeavouring to save a poor woman, that was also a passenger, from the insults of that brutish crew; and the pirates prevailing, twenty-one of them forced the poor creature successively, afterwards broke her back and flung her into the sea. I say, I will not be positive it was Anstis’ crew that acted this unheard of violence and cruelty, though the circumstances of the place, the time, the force of the vessel, and the number of men, do all concur, and I can place the villainy nowhere else; but that such a fact was done, there is too much evidence for it to be doubted of.
When they thought fit to put an end to this cruise, they went into one of the islands to clean, which they effected without any disturbance, and came out again, and stretching away towards Bermuda, met with a stout ship, called the Morning Star, bound from Guinea to Carolina; they made prize of her, and kept her for their own use. In a day or two, a ship from Barbados bound to New York, fell into their hands, and taking out her guns and tackle, mounted the Morning Star with 32 pieces of cannon, mann’d her with a 100 men, and appointed one John Fenn captain; for the brigantine being of far less force, the Morning Star would have fallen to Anstis, as elder officer, yet he was so in love with his own vessel, (she being an excellent sailor,) that he made it his choice to stay in her, and let Fenn, who was, before, his gunner, command the great ship.
Now, that they had two good ships well mann’d, it may be supposed they were in a condition to undertake something bold: but their government was disturbed by malcontents, and a kingdom divided within itself cannot stand; they had such a number of new men amongst them, that seem’d not so violently inclined for the game; that whatever the captain proposed, it was certainly carried against him, so that they came to no fix’d resolution for the undertaking any enterprise; therefore there was nothing to be done, but to break up the company, which seemed to be the inclination of the majority, but the manner of doing so, concerned their common safety; to which purpose various means were proposed, at length it was concluded to send home a petition to His Majesty (there being then no act of indemnity in force) for a pardon, and wait the issue; at the same time one Jones, boatswain of the Good Fortune, proposed a place of safe retreat, it being an uninhabited island near Cuba, which he had been used to in the late war, when he went a privateering against the Spaniards.
This being approved of, it was unanimously resolved on, and the underwritten petition drawn up
