Captain Singleton

by Daniel Defoe

his due, proposed our building a little City here, establishing our selves on

  Shore, with a good Fortification, and Works proper to defend our selves; and

  that, as we had Wealth enough, and could encrease it to what Degree we pleased,

  we should content our selves to retire here, and bid Defiance to the World. But

  I soon convinc'd him that this Place would be no Security to us, if we pretended

  to carry on our cruising Trade: For that then all the Nations of Europe, and

  indeed of that Part of the World, would be engaged to root us out. But if we

  resolved to live there, as in a Retirement, and plant in the Country, as private

  Men, and give over our Trade of Pyrating, then indeed we might Plant, and settle

  our selves where we pleased; but then I told him, the best Way would be to treat

  with the Natives, and buy a Tract of Land of them, farther up the Country,

  seated upon some navigable River, where Boats might go up and down for Pleasure,

  but not Ships to endanger us: That thus Planting the high Ground with Cattle,

  such as Cows and Goats, of which the Country also was full, to be sure we might

  live here as well as any Men in the World; and I owned to him, I thought it was

  a good Retreat for those that were willing to leave off, and lay down, and yet

  did not care to venture home and be hanged; that is to say, to run the Risque of

  it.

  Captain Avery, however he made no positive Discovery of his Intentions, seemed

  to me to decline my Notion of going up into the Country to Plant; on the

  contrary, it was apparent he was of Captain Wilmot's Opinion, that they might

  maintain themselves on Shore, and yet carry on their cruising Trade too; and

  upon this they resolved: But as I afterwards understood, about fifty of their

  Men went up the Country, and settled themselves in an Inland Place, as a Colony;

  whether they are there still or not, I cannot tell, or how many of them are left

  alive; but it's my Opinion, they are there still, and that they are considerably

  encreased, for as I hear, they have got some Women among them, tho' not many;

  for it seems five Dutch Women, and three or four little Girls were taken by them

  in a Dutch Ship which they afterwards took going to Mocha, and three of those

  Women marrying some of these Men, went with them to live in their new

  Plantation; but of this I only speak by Hear-say.

  As we lay here some time, I found our People mightily divided in their Notions;

  some were for going this Way, and some that, till at last I began to foresee

  they would part Company, and perhaps we should not have Men enough to keep

  together, to Man the great Ship, so I took Captain Wilmot aside, and began to

  talk to him about it; but soon perceived that he enclined himself to stay at

  Madagascar, and having got a vast Wealth for his own Share, had secret Designs

  of getting Home some Way or other.

  I argued the Impossibility of it, and the Hazard he would run, either of falling

  into the Hands of Thieves and Murtherers in the Red Sea, who would never let

  such a Treasure as his was pass their Hands, or of his falling into the Hands of

  the English, Dutch, or French, who would certainly hang him for a Pyrate. I gave

  him an Account of the Voyage I had made from this very Place to the Continent of

  Africk, and what a Journey it was to travel on Foot.

  In short, nothing could perswade him, but he would go into the Red Sea with the

  Sloop, and where the Children of Israel past through the Sea dry-shod, and

  landing there, would travel to Grand Cairo by Land, which is not above eighty

  Miles, and from thence he said he could Ship himself by the Way of Alexandria,

  to any Part of the World.

  I represented the Hazard, and indeed the Impossibility of his passing by Mocha,

  and Judda, without being attack'd, if he offered it by Force; or plundered, if

  he went to get Leave, and explained the Reasons of it so much, and so

  effectually, that tho' at last he would not hearken to it himself, none of his

  Men would go with him. They told him, they would go any where with him, to serve

  him, but that this was running himself and them into certain Destruction,

  without any Possibility of avoiding it, or Probability of answering his End. The

  Captain took what I said to him quite wrong, and pretended to resent it, and

  gave me some Buccanier Words upon it; but I gave him no Return to it, but this,

  that I advised him for his Advantage, that if he did not understand it so, it

  was his Fault, not mine; that I did not forbid him to go, nor had I offered to

  perswade any of the Men not to go with him, tho' it was to their apparent

  Destruction.

  However, warm Heads are not easily cooled; the Captain was so eager, that he

  quitted our Company, and with most Part of his Crew, went over to Captain Avery,

  and sorted with his People, taking all the Treasure with him, which, by the Way,

  was not very fair in him, we having agreed to share all our Gains, whether more

  or less, whether absent or present.

  Our Men mutter'd a little at it, but I pacified them as well as I could, and

  told them, it was easy for us to get as much, if we minded our Hits; and Captain

  Wilmot had set us a very good Example: For by the same Rule, the Agreement of

  any farther Sharing of Profits with them, was at an End. I took this Occasion to

  put into their Heads, some Part of my farther Designs, which were, to range over

  the Eastern Sea, and see if we could not make our selves as rich as Mr. Avery,

  who, it was true, had gotten a prodigious deal of Money, tho' not one Half of

  what was said of it in Europe.

  Our Men were so pleased with my forward, enterprizing Temper, that they assured

  me that they would go with me, one and all, over the whole Globe, wherever I

  would carry them; and as for Captain Wilmot, they would have nothing more to do

  with him. This came to his Ears, and put him into a great Rage; so that he

  threaten'd, if I came on Shore, he would cut my Throat.

  I had Information of it privately, but took no Notice of it at all, only I took

  Care not to go unprovided for him, and seldom walked about but in very good

  Company. However, at last Captain Wilmot and I met, and talked over the Matter

  very seriously, and I offered him the Sloop to go where he pleased: Or, if he

  was not satisfied with that, I offered to take the Sloop, and leave him the

  great Ship. But he declined both, and only desired that I would leave him six

  Carpenters, which I had in our Ship, more than I had need of, to help his Men to

  finish the Sloop that was begun before we came thither, by the Men that lost his

  Ship. This I consented readily to, and lent him several other Hands that were

  useful to them, and in a little time they built a stout Brigantine able to carry

  fourteen Guns, and two Hundred Men.

  What Measures they took, and how Captain Avery managed afterwards, is too long a

  Story to meddle with here; nor is it any of my Business, having my own Story

  still upon my Hands.

  We lay here about these several simple Disputes almost five Months, when about

  the latter End of March I set Sail with the great Ship, having in her forty four

  Guns, and four hundred Men, and th
e Sloop, carrying eighty Men. We did not steer

  to the Malabar Coast, and so to the Gulph of Persia, as was at first intended,

  the East Monsoons blowing yet too strong, but we kept more under the African

  Coast, where we had the Wind variable till we pass'd the Line, and made the Cape

  Bassa in the Latitude of four Degrees 10 Minutes; from thence, the Monsoons

  beginning to change to the N. E. and N. N. E. we led it away, with the Wind

  large, to the Maldivies, a famous Ledge of Islands, well known by all the

  Sailors who have gone into those Parts of the World; and, leaving these Islands

  a little to the South, we made Cape Comerin, the Southermost Land of the Coast

  of Malabar, and went round the Isle of Ceylon. Here we lay by a while, to wait

  for Purchase; and here we saw three large English East-India Ships going from

  Bengal, or from Fort St. George, home ward for England, or rather for Bombay and

  Surat, till the Trade set in.

  We brought to, and hoisting an English Ancient and Pendant, lay by for them, as

  if we intended to attack them. They could not tell what to make of us a good

  while, though they saw our Colours; and, I believe, at first they thought us to

  be French; but as they came nearer to us, we let them soon see what we were, for

  we hoisted a black Flag with two cross Daggers in it, on our Main Top-mast Head,

  which let them see what they were to expect.

  We soon found the Effect of this; for, at first they spread their Antients, and

  made up to us in a Line as if they would fight us, having the Wind off Shore

  fair enough, to have brought them on board us; but when they saw what Force we

  were of, and found we were Cruisers of another kind, they stood away from us

  again, with all the Sail they could make. If they had come up, we should have

  given them an unexpect Welcome, but as it was, we had no Mind to follow them, so

  we let them go for the same Reasons which I mentioned before.

  But though we let them pass, we did not design to let others go, at so easy a

  Price: It was but the next Morning that we saw a Sail, standing round Cape

  Comeriw, and steering, as we thought, the same Course with us. We knew not at

  first what to do with her, because she had the Shore on her Larboard Quarter,

  and if we offered to chase her, she might put into any Port or Creek, and escape

  us; but to prevent this, we sent the Sloop, to get in between her and the Land;

  as soon as she saw that, she haled in to keep the Land aboard, and when the

  Sloop stood towards her, she made right ashore with all the Canvas she could

  spread.

  The Sloop however came up with her, and engaged her, and found she was a Vessel

  of ten Guns, Portuguese built, but in the Dutch Traders Hands, and manned by

  Dutchmen, who were bound from the Gulph of Persia, to Batavia, to fetch Spices

  and other Goods from thence. The Sloop's Men took her, and had the Rummaging of

  her before we came up: She had in her some European Goods, and a good round Sum

  of Money, and some Pearl; so that tho' we did not go to the Gulph for the Pearl,

  the Pearl came to us out of the Gulph, and we had our Share of it. This was a

  rich Ship, and the Goods were of very considerable Value, besides the Money and

  the Pearl.

  We had a long Consultation here, what we should do with the Men; for, to give

  them the Ship, and let them pursue their Voyage to Java, would be to alarm the

  Dutch Factory there, who are by far the strongest in the Indies, and to make our

  Passage that Way impracticable; whereas we resolved to visit that Part of the

  World, in our Way, but were not willing to pass the great Bay of Bengal, where

  we hoped for a great deal of Purchase; and therefore it behoved us not to be

  Way-laid before we came there, because they knew we must pass by the Streights

  of Malacca, or those of Sundy, and either Way it was very easy to prevent us.

  While we were consulting this in the great Cabin, the Men had had the same

  Debate before the Mast, and it seems the Majority there were for pickling up the

  poor Dutchmen among the Herrings; in a Word, they were for throwing them all

  into the Sea. Poor William the Quaker was in great Concern about this, and comes

  directly to me, to talk about it. Hark thee, says William, what wilt thou do

  with these Dutchmen thou hast on board, thou wilt not let them go I suppose,

  says He? Why says I, William, would you advise me to let them go? No, says

  William, I cannot say it is fit for thee to let them go; that is to say, to go

  on with their Voyage to Batavia, because it is not for thy Turn, that the Dutch

  at Batavia should have any Knowledge of thy being in these Seas. Well then, says

  I, to him, I know no Remedy but to throw them Overboard. You know William, says

  I, a Dutchman swims like a Fish, and all our People here are of the same Opinion

  as well as I; at the same time I resolved it should not be done, but wanted to

  hear what William would say: But he gravely replyed, if all the Men in the Ship

  were of that Mind, I will never believe that thou wilt be of that Mind thy self;

  for I have heard thee protest against Cruelty in all other Cases. Well William

  says I, that is true, but what then shall we do with them? Why, says William, is

  there no way but to murther them? I am perswaded thou canst not be in earnest;

  no indeed William, says I, I am not in earnest, but they shall not go Iava, no

  nor to Ceylon, that is certain. But, says William, the Men have done thee no

  Injury at all, thou hast taken a great Treasure from them, what canst thou

  pretend to hurt them for? Nay, William, says I, do not talk of that, I have

  Pretence enough if that be all: My Pretence is to prevent doing me hurt, and

  that is as necessary a Piece of the Law of Self-Preservation as any you can

  name; but the main Thing is, I know not what to do with them to prevent their

  prating.

  While William and I was talking, the poor Dutchmen were openly condemned to die

  as it maybe called, by the whole Ship's Company; and so warm were the Men upon

  it, that they grew very clamorous; and when they heard that William was against

  it, some of them swore they should die, and if William opposed it, he should

  drown along with them.

  But, as I was resolved to put an End to their cruel Project, so I found it was

  time to take upon me a little, or the bloody Humour might grow too strong; so I

  called the Dutchmen up, and talked a little with them. First, I asked them if

  they were willing to go with us; two of them offered it presently, but the rest,

  which were fourteen, declined it. Well then, said I, where would you go? They

  desired they should go to Ceylon. No, I told them, I could not allow them to go

  to any Dutch Factory, and told them very plainly the Reasons of it, which they

  could not deny to be just. I let them know also the cruel bloody Measures of our

  Men, but that I had resolved to save them, if possible, and therefore I told

  them, I would set them on Shore at some English factory in the Bay of Bengal, or

  put them on board any English Ship I met, after I was past the Streights of

  Sundy or of Malacca, but not before; for as to my coming back again, I told

  them, I would run the ve
nture of their Dutch Power from Batavia, but I would not

  have the News come there before me, because it would make all their Merchant

  Ships lay up, and keep out of our Way.

  It come next into our Consideration, what we should do with their Ship? but this

  was not long resolving; for there were but two Ways, either to set her on Fire,

  or to run her on Shore, and we chose the last; so we set her Fore-Sail with the

  Tack at the Cat-head, and leasht her Helm a little to Starboard, to answer her

  Head-Sail, and so set her a-going, with neither Cat or Dog in her, and it was

  not above two Hours before we saw her run right ashore upon the Coast, a little

  beyond the Cape Comerin, and away we went round about Ceylon, for the Coast of

  Coromandel.

  We sailed along there, not in Sight of the Shore, only, but so near, as to see

  the Ships in the Road at Fort St. David, Fort St. George, and at the other

  Factories along that Shore, as well as along the Coast of Galconda, carying our

  English Antient, when we came near the Dutch Factories, and Dutch Colours when

  we past by the English Factories. We met with little Purchase upon this Coast,

  except two small Vessels of Golconda, bound cross the Bay with Bales of

  Callicoes and Muslins, and wrought Silks, and fifteen Bales of Romalls, from the

  Bottom of the Bay, which were going, on whose Account we knew not, to Achin, and

  to other Ports on the Coast of Malacca; we did not enquire to what Place in

  particular, but we let the Vessels go, having none but Indians on board.

  In the Bottom of the Bay, we met with a great Jonk belonging to the Mogul's

  Court, with a great many People, Passengers as we supposed them to be; it seems

  they were bound for the River Hugely, or Ganges and came from Sumatra; this was

  a Prize worth taking indeed, and we got so much Gold in her, besides other Goods

  which we did not meddle with, Peper in particular, that it had like to have put

  an End to our Cruise; for almost all my Men said we were rich enough, and

  desired to go back again to Madagascar; but I had other things in my Head still,

  and when I came to talk to them, and set Friend William to talk with them, we

  put such further Golden Hopes into their Heads, that we soon prevailed with them

  to let us go on.

  My next Design was, to leave all the dangerous Streights of Malacca, Sincapore,

  and Sundy, where we could expect no great Booty, but what we might light on in

  European Ships, which we must fight for; and tho' we were able to fight, and

  wanted no Courage, even to Desperation; yet we were rich too, and resolved to be

  richer, and took this for our Maxim: That while we were sure the Wealth we

  sought was to be had without fighting, we had no Occasion to put our selves to

  the Necessity of fighting for that which would come upon easy Terms.

  We left therefore the Bay of Bengal, and coming to the Coast of Sumatra, we put

  in at a small Port, where there was a Town, inhabited only by Mallayans, and

  here we took in fresh Water, and a large Quantity of good Pork pickled up, and

  well salted, notwithstanding the Heat of the Climate, being in the very Middle

  of the Torrid Zone, viz. In three Degrees, fifteen Minutes North Latitude. We

  also took on board both our Vessels, forty Hogs alive, which served us for fresh

  Provisions, having Abundance of Food for them such as the Country produced; such

  as Guams, Potatoes, and a sort of coarse Rice good for nothing else, but to feed

  the Swine. We killed one of these Hogs every Day, and found them to be excellent

  Meat. We took in also a monstrous Quantity of Ducks, and Cocks and Hens, the

  same kind as we have in England, which we kept for Change of Provisions, and if

  I remember right, we had no less than two Thousand of them; so that at first we

  were pestered with them very much, but we soon lessened them by boiling,

  roasting, stewing, &c. for we never wanted while we had them.