A General History of the Pyrates, page 31
The two Sloops standing towards the Capes at the same Time, and Worley hoisting of his black Flag, the Inhabitants of James Town were in the utmost Consternation, thinking that all three had been Pyrates, and that their Design had been upon them; so that all the Ships and Vessels that were in the Road, or in the Rivers up the Bay, had Orders immediately to hale in to the Shore, for their Security, or else to prepare for their Defence, if they thought themselves in a Condition to fight. Soon after two Boats, which were sent out to get Intelligence, came crowding in, and brought an Account, that one of the Pyrates was in the Bay, being a small Sloop of six Guns. The Governor expecting the rest would have followed, and altogether make some Attempt to land, for the sake of Plunder, beat to Arms, and collected all the Force that could be got together, to oppose them; he ordered all the Guns out of the Ships, to make a Platform, and, in short, put the whole Colony in a warlike Posture; but was very much surprised at last, to see all the supposed Pyrates fighting with one another.
The Truth of the Matter is, Worley gained the Bay, thinking to make sure of his two Prizes, by keeping them from coming in; but by the hoisting of the King’s Colours, and firing a Gun, he quickly was sensible of his Mistake, and too soon perceived that the Tables were turned upon him; that instead of keeping them out, he found himself, by a superiour Force kept in. When the Pyrates saw how Things went, they resolutely prepar’d themselves for a desperate Defence; and tho’ three to one odds, Worley and his Crew determined to fight to the last Gasp, and receive no Quarters, agreeably to what they had before sworn; so that they must either Dye or Conquer upon the Spot.
The Carolina Men gave the Pyrate a Broadside, and then Boarded him, one Sloop getting upon his Quarter, and the other on his Bow; Worley and the Crew, drew up upon the Deck, and fought very obstinately, Hand to Hand, so that in a few Minutes, abundance of Men lay weltering in their Gore; the Pyrates proved as good as their Words, not a Man of them cry’d out for Quarter, nor would accept of such, when offered, but were all killed except the Captain and another Man, and those very much wounded, whom they reserved for the Gallows. They were brought ashore in Irons, and the next Day, which was the 17th of February 1718-19, they were both hanged up, for fear they should dye, and evade the Punishment as was thought due to their Crimes.
CHAP. XII.
OF
Capt. George Lowther,
And his CREW.
G Eorge Lowther sailed out of the River of Thames, in one of the Royal African Company’s Ships, call’d the Gambia Castle, of 16 Guns and 30 Men, Charles Russel Commander; of which Ship, the said Lowther was second Mate. Aboard of the same Ship, was a certain Number of Soldiers, commanded by one John Massey, who were to be carried to one of the Company’s Settlements, on the River of Gambia, to Garrison a Fort, which was sometime ago taken and destroy’d by Captain Davis the Pyrate.
In May 1721, the Gambia Castle came safe to her Port in Africa, and landed Captain Massey and his Men on James’s Island, where he was to Command under the Governor, Colonel Whitney, who arrived there at the same Time, in another Ship: And here, by a fatal Misunderstanding, between the military Folks and the Trading People, the Fort and Garrison not only came to be lost again to the Company, but a fine Galley well provided, and worth 10000 l. turned against her Masters.
The Names of Governor and Captain sounded great, but when the Gentlemen found that the Power that generally goes along with those Titles, was oversway’d and born down by the Merchants and Factors, (mechanick Fellows as they thought them) they grew very impatient and disatisfy’d, especially Massey, who was very loud in his Complaints against them, particularly at the small Allowance of Provisions to him and his Men; for the Garrison and Governor too, were victualled by the Merchants, which was no small Grievance and Mortification to them. And as the want of eating was the only Thing that made the great Sancho quit his Government, so did it here rend and tare their’s to Pieces: For Massey told them, that he did not come there to be a Guiney Slave, and that he had promised his Men good Treatment, and Provisions fitting for Soldiers: That as he had the Care of so many of his Majesty’s Subjects, if they would not provide for them in a handsome Manner, he should take suitable Measures for the Preservation of so many of his Countrymen and Companions.
The Governor at this Time was very ill of a Fever, and, for the better Accomodation in his Sickness, was carried aboard the Ship Gambia Castle, where he continued for about three Weeks, and therefore could have little to say in this Dispute, tho’ he resolved not to stay in a Place, where there was so little Occasion for him, and where his Power was so confin’d. The Merchants had certainly Orders from the Company, to issue the Provisions out to the Garrison, and the same is done along the whole Coast; but whether they had cut them short of the Allowance that was appointed them, I can’t say, but if they did, then is the Loss of the Ship and Garrison owing principally to their ill Conduct.
However, an Accident that happened on Board the Ship, did not a little contribute to this Misfortune, which was a Pique that the Captain of her took against his second Mate, George Lowther, the Man who is the Subject of this short History; and who losing his Favour, found Means to ingratiate himself into the good liking of the common Sailors, insomuch that when Captain Russel ordered him to be punish’d, the Men took up Handspikes, and threat’ned to knock that Man down, that offered to lay hold of the Mate. This served but to widen the Differences between him and the Captain, and more firmly attach’d Lowther to the Ship’s Company, the greatest Part of which, he found ripe for any Mischief in the World.
Captain Massey was no wit the better reconciled to the Place, by a longer Continuance, nor to the Usage he met with there, and having often Opportunities of conversing with Lowther, with whom he had contracted an Intimacy in the Voyage; they aggravated one another’s Grievances to such a height, that they resolved upon Measures to curb the Power that controul’d them, and to provide for themselves after another Manner.
When the Governor recover’d of his Fever, he went ashore to the Island, but took no Notice of Massey’s Behaviour, tho’ it was such as might give Suspicion of what he designed; and Lowther, and the common Sailors, who were in the Secret of Affairs, grew insolent and bold, even refusing to obey when commanded to their Duty by Captain Russel and the chief Mate. The Captain seeing how Things were carried, goes ashore early one Morning to the Governor and Factory, in order to hold a Council, which Lowther apprehending, was in order to prevent his Design, sent a Letter in the same Boat to Massey, intimating it to him, and that he should repair on Board, for it was high Time to put their Project in Execution.
As soon as Massey received this Letter, he went to the Soldiers at the Barracks, and said to them, and others, You that have a Mind to go to England, now is your Time; and they generally consenting, Massey went to the Store-Room, burst open the Door, set two Centinels upon it, and ordered that no Body should come near it; then he went to the Governor’s Apartment, and took his Bed, Baggage, Plate and Furniture, (in Expectation that the Governor himself, as he had promised Massey, would have gone on Board, which he afterwards refused, by Reason, as he said, he believed they were going a-pyrating; which at first, whatever Lowther designed, Massey certainly proposed only the going to England;) when this was done, he sent the Boat off to the chief Mate, with this Message, That he should get the Guns ready, for that the King of Barro [a Negro Kingdom near the Royal African Settlement] would come aboard to Dinner. But Lowther understanding best, the meaning of those Orders, he confined the chief Mate, shotted the Guns, and put the Ship in a Condition for sailing. In the Afternoon Massey came on Board with the Governor’s Son, having sent off all the Provisions of the Island, and eleven Pipes of Wine, leaving only two half Pipes behind in the Store-House, and dismounted all the Guns of the Fort.
In the Afternoon they weigh’d one Anchor, but fearing to be too late to get out of the River, they slipp’d the other, and so fell down; in doing of which, they run the Ship a-ground. Massey shew’d himself a Soldier upon this Accident, for as soon as the Misfortune happen’d, he left the Ship with about sixteen Hands, and rows directly to the Fort, remounts the Guns, and keeps Garrison there all the Night, while the Ship was ashore; and obliged some of the Factory to assist in getting her clear. In the mean while, Russel came off, but not being suffered to come on Board, he call’d to Lowther, and offered him and the Company, whatever Terms they would be pleased to accept of, upon Condition of surrendering up the Ship, which had no Effect upon any of them. In the Morning they got her afloat, and Massey and his Men came aboard, after having nailed up and dismounted all the Cannon of the Fort: They put the Governor’s Son, and two or three others ashore, who were not willing to go without the Governor, and sail’d out of the River, having exchanged several Shot with the Martha, Otter, &c. that lay there, without doing Execution on either Side.
When the Ship came out to Sea, Lowther called up all the Company, and told them, it was the greatest Folly imaginable, to think of returning to England, for what they had already done, could not be justifyed upon any Pretence whatsoever, but would be look’d upon, in the Eye of the Law, a capital Offence, and that none of them were in a Condition to withstand the Attacks of such powerful Adversaries, as they would meet with at Home; for his Part he was determined not to run such a Hazard, and therefore if his Proposal was not agreed to, he desired to be set a Shore in some Place of Safety: That they had a good Ship under them, a parcel of brave Follows in her, that it was not their Business to starve, or be made Slaves; and therefore, if they were all of his Mind, they should seek their Fortunes upon the Seas, as other Adventurers had done before them. They one and all came into the Measures, knocked down the Cabins, made the Ship flush fore and aft, prepared black Colours, new named her, the Delivery, having about 50 Hands and 16 Guns, and the following short Articles were drawn up, signed and sworn to upon the Bible.
The Articles of Captain George Lowther, and his Company.
1. THE Captain is to have two full Shares; the Master is to have one Share and a half; the Doctor, Mate, Gunner, and Boatswain, one Share and a quarter.
2. He that shall be found Guilty of taking up any unlawful Weapon on Board the Privateer, or any Prize, by us taken, so as to strike or abuse one another, in any regard, shall suffer what Punishment the Captain and Majority of the Company shall think fit.
3. He that shall be found Guilty of Cowardize, in the Time of Engagement, shall suffer what Punishment the Captain and Majority shall think fit.
4. If any Gold, Jewels, Silver, &c. be found on Board of any Prize or Prizes, to the Value of a Piece of Eight, and the Finder do not deliver it to the Quarter-Master, in the Space of 24 Hours, shall suffer what Punishment the Captain and Majority shall think fit.
5. He that is found Guilty of Gaming, or Defrauding another to the Value of a Shilling, shall suffer what Punishment the Captain and Majority of the Company shall think fit.
6. He that shall have the Misfortune to lose a Limb, in Time of Engagement, shall have the Sum of one hundred and fifty Pounds Sterling, and remain with the Company as long as he shall think fit.
7. Good Quarters to be given when call’d for.
8. He that sees a Sail first, shall have the best Pistol, or Small-Arm, on Board her.
It was the 13th of June, that Lowther left the Settlement, and on the 20th, being then within twenty Leagues of Barbadoes, he came up with a Brigantine, belonging to Boston, called the Charles, James Douglass Master, which they plundered in a pyratical Manner, and let the Vessel go; but least she should meet with any of the Station Ships, and so give Information of the Robbery, in Terrorem, to prevent a Pursuit, Lowther contrived a sort of a Certificate, which he directed the Master to shew to their Consort, if they should meet with her; and upon Sight of it the Brigantine would pass unmolested: This Consort, he pretended, was a 40 Gun Ship, and cruising therabouts.
After this the Delivery proceeded to Hispaniola; near the West End of the Island she met with a French Sloop loaden with Wine and Brandy; aboard of this Vessel went Captain Massey, as a Merchant, and ask’d the Price of one Thing, and then another, bidding Money for the greatest Part of the Cargo; but after he had trifled a while, he whisper’d a Secret in the French Man’s Ear, viz. That they must have it all without Money. Monsieur presently understood his Meaning, and unwillingly agreed to the Bargain. They took out of her thirty Casks of Brandy, five Hogsheads of Wine, several Pieces of Chintzes, and other valuable Goods, and about 70 l. English, in Money; of which Lowther generously return’d five Pounds back to the French Master for his Civilities.
But as all Constitutions grow old, and thereby shake and totter, so did our Commonwealth in about a Month of its Age, feel Commotions and intestine Disturbances, by the Divisions of its Members, which had near hand terminated in its Destruction; these civil Discords were owing to the following Occasion. Captain Massey had been a Soldier almost from his Infancy, but was but very indifferently acquainted with Maritime Affairs, and having an enterprizing Soul, nothing would satisfy him, but he must be doing Business in his own Way, therefore he required Lowther to let him have thirty Hands to land with, and he would attack the French Settlements, and bring aboard the Devil and all of Plunder.
Lowther did all that he could do, and said all that he could say, to disswade Massey from so rash and dangerous an Attempt; pointing out to him the Hazard the Company would run, and the Consequences to them all, if he should not succeed, and the little Likelihood there was to expect Success from the Undertaking: But ’twas all one for that, Massey would go and attack the French Settlements, for any thing Lowther could say against it; so that he was obliged to propose the Matter to the Company, among whom Massey found a few Fellows as resolute as himself; however, a great Majority being against it, the Affair was over-ruled in Opposition to Captain Massey, notwithstanding which, Massey grew fractious, quarrelled with Lowther, and the Men divided into Parties, some siding with the Land Pyrate, and some with the Sea Rover, and were all ready to fall together by the Ears, when the Man at the Mast-head cry’d out, A Sail! A Sail! then they gave over the Dispute, set all their Sails, and steered after the Chace. In a few Hours they came up with her, she being a small Ship from Jamaica, bound to England; they took what they thought fit out of her, and a Hand or two, and then Lowther was for sinking the Ship, with several Passengers that were in her, for what Reason I know not, but Massey so that he interposed, prevented their cruel Fate, and the Ship safely arrived afterwards in England.
The next Day they took a small Sloop, an interloping Trader, which they detain’d with her Cargo. All this while Massey was uneasy, and declar’d his Resolution to leave them, and Lowther finding him a very troublesome Man to deal with, consented that he should take the Sloop, last made Prize of, with what Hands had a Mind to go with him, and shift for himself. Whereupon Massey, with about ten more Malecontents, goes aboard the Sloop, and comes away in her directly for Jamaica.
Notwithstanding what had passed, Captain Massey puts a bold Face upon the Matter, and goes to Sir Nicholas Laws, the Governor, informs him of his leaving Lowther the Pyrate, owns, That he assisted in going off with the Ship, at the River Gambia; but said, ’twas to save so many of his Majesty’s Subjects from perishing, and that his Design was to return to England; but Lowther conspiring with the greater Part of the Company, went a pyrating with the Ship; and that he had taken this Opportunity to leave him, and surrender himself and Vessel to his Excellency.
Massey was very well received by the Governor, and had his Liberty given him, with a Promise of his Favour, and so forth; and, at his own Request, he was sent on Board the Happy Sloop, Captain Laws, to cruise off Hispaniola, for Lowther; but not being so fortunate as to meet with him, Captain Massey returned back to Jamaica in the Sloop, and getting a Certificate, and a Supply of Money, from the Governor, he came home Passenger to England.
When Massey came to Town, he writes a long Letter to the Deputy Governor and Directors of the African Company, wherein he imprudently relates the whole Transactions of his Voyage, the going off with the Ship, and the Acts of Pyracy he had committed with Lowther; but excuses it as Rashness and Inadvertency in himself, occasioned by his being ill used, contrary to the Promises that had been made him, and the Expectations he had entertained; but own’d, that he deserved to dye for what he had done; yet, if they had Generosity enough to forgive him, as he was still capable to do them Service, as a Soldier, so he should be very ready to do it; but if they resolved to prosecute him, he begg’d only this Favour, that he might not be hang’d like a Dog, but to die like a Soldier, as he had been bred from his Childhood, that is, that he might be shot.
This was the Substance of the Letter, which, however, did not produce so favourable an Answer as he hoped for, Word being brought back to him, That he should be fairly hang’d. Whereupon, Massey resolved not to be out of the Way, when he found what important Occasion there was likely to be for him, but takes a Lodging in Aldersgate-Street, the next Day went to the Lord Chief Justice’s Chambers, and enquired, if my Lord had granted a Warrant against Captain John Massey, for Pyracy: But being told by the Clerks, that they knew of no such Thing; he informed them, he was the Man, that my Lord would soon be apply’d to for that Purpose, and the Officer might come to him at such a Place, where he lodg’d: They took the Directions in Writing, and, in a few Days, a Warrant being issued, the Tipstaff went directly, by his own Information, and apprehended him, without any other Trouble, than walking to his Lodging.
There was then no Person in Town to charge him with any Fact, upon which he could be committed; nor could the Letter be proved to be of his Hand-Writing, so that they had been obliged to let him go again, if he had not helped his Accusers out at Pinch: The Magistrate was reduced to the putting of this Question to him, Did you write this Letter? He answered, He did: And not only that, but confessed all the Contents of it; upon which, he was committed to Newgate, but was afterwards admitted to a hundred Pounds Bail, or thereabouts.
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