Captain Bartho. Roberts with two Ships, Viz. the Royal Fortune and Ranger, takes Sail in Whydah Road on the Coast of Guiney, January 11ᵗʰ., 1721/2
It is the custom at Martinico for the Dutch interlopers that have a mind to trade with the people of the island to hoist their jacks when they came before the town. Roberts knew the signal, and being an utter enemy to them, he bent his thoughts on 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 on shore 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 Barbadoes and Martinico that he ordered a new jack to be made, which they ever after hoisted, with his own figure portrayed, 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 Dominico, the next island they touched at, they took a Dutch interloper of twenty-two guns and seventy-five 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 fly-boat 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 Bonnet’s Key, in the Gulf of Saminah, 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 are 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 the deserters, they were all three brought back again next day. This was a capital offence, and for which they were ordered to be brought to an immediate trial.
Here was the form of justice kept up, which is as much as can be said of several other courts that have more lawful commissions for what they do. Here was no feeing of council, and bribing of witnesses was a custom not known among them, no packing of juries, no torturing and wresting the sense of the law, for bye ends and purposes, no puzzling or perplexing the cause with unintelligible canting terms and useless distinctions, nor was their sessions burthened with numberless officers, the ministers of rapine and extortion, with ill-boding aspects enough to fright Astrea from the court.
The place appointed for their trials was the steerage of the ship, in order to which a large bowl of rum punch was made and placed upon the table, the pipes and tobacco being ready, the judicial proceedings began. The prisoners were brought forth, and articles of indictment against them read. They were arraigned upon a statute of their own making, and the letter of the law being strong against them, and the fact plainly proved, they were about to pronounce sentence, when one of the judges moved that they should first smoke the other pipe, which was accordingly done.