Blackbeard the Pirate.
I.
CAPTAIN TEACH alias BLACK-BEARD.
His beginning—His confederacy with Hornygold—The confederacy broken—Takes a large Guineaman—Engages the Scarborough man-of-war—His alliance with Major Stede Bonnet—Deposes his new ally—His advice to the Major—His progress and success—Takes prizes in sight of Charles Town—Sends ambassadors to the Governor of Carolina upon an impudent demand—Runs his ship aground designedly—His cruelty to some of his own companions—Surrenders to the King’s Proclamation—The Governor of North Carolina’s exceeding generosity to him—He marries—The number of his wives then living—Makes a second excursion in the way of pirating—Some State legerdemain betwixt him and the Governor—His frolics on shore—The merchants apply for a force against him, and where—A proclamation with a reward for taking or killing of pirates—Lieutenant Maynard sent in pursuit of him—Black-beard’s good intelligence—The lieutenant engages Black-beard—A most execrable health drunk by Black-beard—The fight bloody; the particulars of it—Black-beard killed—His sloop taken—The lieutenant’s conduct—A reflection on the humours of seamen—Black-beard’s correspondents discovered by his papers—Black-beard’s desperate resolution before the fight—The lieutenant and Governor no very good friends—The prisoners hanged—Samuel Odell saved, and why—The good luck of Israel Hands—Black-beard’s mischievous frolics—His beard described—Several instances of his wickedness—Some memoranda taken from his journal—The names of the pirates killed in the engagement—Of those executed—The value of the prize.
Edward Teach was a Bristol man born, but had sailed some time out of Jamaica, in privateers, in the late French war; yet though he had often distinguished himself for his uncommon boldness and personal courage, he was never raised to any command, till he went a-pirating, which, I think, was at the latter end of the year 1716, when Captain Benjamin Hornygold put him into a sloop that he had made prize of, and with whom he continued in consortship till a little while before Hornygold surrendered.
In the spring of the year 1717 Teach and Hornygold sailed from Providence, for the main of America, and took in their way a billop from the Havana, with 120 barrels of flour, as also a sloop from Bermuda, Thurbar master, from whom they took only some gallons of wine, and then let him go; and a ship from Madeira to South Carolina, out of which they got plunder to a considerable value.
After cleaning on the coast of Virginia, they returned to the West Indies, and in the latitude of 24, made prize of a large French Guineaman, bound to Martinico, which, by Hornygold’s consent, Teach went aboard of as captain, and took a cruise in her. Hornygold returned with his sloop to Providence, where, at the arrival of Captain Rogers, the governor, he surrendered to mercy, pursuant to the king’s proclamation.
Aboard of this Guineaman Teach mounted forty guns, and named her the Queen Ann’s Revenge; and cruising near the island of St. Vincent, took a large ship, called the Great Allen, Christopher Taylor, commander; the pirates plundered her of what they thought fit, put all the men ashore upon the island above mentioned, and set fire to the ship.