As they were steering their course as has been said, he sends a boat on board of each of the sloops desiring the chief of them to come on board of him in order to hold a council; they did so, and he told them he had something to propose to them for the common good, which was to provide against accidents; he bade them consider the treasure they were possessed of would be sufficient for them all if they could secure it in some place on shore, therefore all they had to fear was some misfortune in the voyage; he bade them consider the consequences of being separated by bad weather, in which case the sloops, if either of them should fall in with any ships of force, must be either taken or sunk, and the treasure on board her lost to the rest, besides the common accidents of the sea; as for his part he was so strong he was able to make his party good with any ship they were likely to meet in those seas; that if he met with any ship of such strength, and could not take her, he was safe from being taken, being so well-manned, besides, his ship was a quick sailor, and could carry sail when their sloops could not, wherefore he proposed to them to put the treasure on board his ship, to seal up each chest with three seals, whereof each was to keep one, and to appoint a rendezvous in case of separation.
Upon considering this proposal it appeared so reasonable to them that they readily came into it, for they argued to themselves that an accident might happen to one of the sloops and the other escape, wherefore it was for the common good. The thing was done as agreed to, the treasure put on board of Avery, and the chests sealed; they kept company that day and the next, the weather being fair, in which time Avery tampered with his men, telling them they now had sufficient to make them all easy, and what should hinder them from going to some country where they were not known and living on shore all the rest of their days in plenty. They understood what he meant, and, in short, they all agreed to bilk their new allies, the sloops’ men; nor do I find that any of them felt any qualms of honour rising in his stomach to hinder them from consenting to this piece of treachery. In fine, they took advantage of the darkness that night, steered another course, and by morning lost sight of them.
I leave the reader to judge what swearing and confusion there was among the sloops’ men in the morning when they saw that Avery had given them the slip, for they knew by the fairness of the weather and the course they had agreed to steer, that it must have been done on purpose. But we leave them at present to follow Mr. Avery.
Avery and his men, having consulted what to do with themselves, came to a resolution to make the best of their way towards America, and, none of them being known in those parts, they intended to divide the treasure, to change their names, to go ashore, some in one place some in another, to purchase some settlements and live at ease. The first land they made was the island of Providence, then newly settled; here they stayed some time, and having considered that when they should go to New England the greatness of their ship would cause much inquiry about them, and possibly some people from England who had heard the story of a ship’s being run away with from the Groine might suspect them to be the people, they therefore took a resolution of disposing of their ship at Providence. Upon which Avery, pretending that the ship being fitted out upon the privateering account and having had no success, he had received orders from the owners to dispose of her to the best advantage. He soon met with a purchaser, and immediately bought a sloop.
In this sloop he and his companions embarked. They touched at several parts of America, where no person suspected them, and some of them went on shore, and dispersed themselves about the country, having received such dividends as Avery would give them, for he concealed the greatest part of the diamonds from them, which in the first hurry of plundering the ship they did not much regard, as not knowing their value.
At length he came to Boston, in New England, and seemed to have a desire of settling in those parts, and some of his companions went on shore there also, but he changed his resolution, and proposed to the few of his companions who were left to sail for Ireland, which they consented to. He found out that New England was not a proper place for him, because a great deal of his wealth lay in diamonds, and should he have produced them there he would have certainly been seized on suspicion of piracy.
In their voyage to Ireland they avoided St. George’s Channel, and sailing north about, they put into one of the northern ports of that kingdom; there they disposed of their sloop, and coming on shore they separated themselves, some going to Cork, and some to Dublin, eighteen of whom obtained their pardons afterwards of King William. When Avery had remained some time in this kingdom he was afraid to offer his diamonds for sale, lest an inquiry into his manner of coming by them should occasion a discovery; therefore, considering with himself what was best to be done, he fancied there were some persons at Bristol whom he might venture to trust; upon which he resolved to pass over into England; he did so, and, going into Devonshire, he sent one of these friends to meet him at a town called Bideford. When he had communicated himself to his friends, and consulted with them about the means of his effects, they agreed that the safest method would be to put them in the hands of some merchants, who, being men of wealth and credit in the world, no inquiry would be made how they came by them. This friend telling him he was very intimate with some who were very fit for the purpose, and if he would but allow them a good commission would do the business very faithfully. Avery liked the proposal, for he found no other way of managing his affairs, since he could not appear in them himself; therefore his friend going back to Bristol and opening the matter to the merchants they made Avery a visit at Bideford, where, after some protestations of honour and integrity, he delivered them his effects, consisting of diamonds and some vessels of gold; they gave him a little money for his present subsistence, and so they parted.
He changed his name and lived at Bideford without making any figure, and therefore there was no great notice taken of him; yet let one or two of his relations know where he was, who came to see him. In some time his little money was spent, yet he heard nothing from his merchants. He wrote to them often, and after much importunity they sent him a small supply, but scarce sufficient to pay his debts; in fine, the supplies they sent him from time were so small that they were not sufficient to give him bread, nor could he get that little without a great deal of trouble and importunity; wherefore, being weary of his life, he went privately to Bristol to speak to the merchants himself, where, instead of money he met a most shocking repulse, for when he desired them to come to an account with him they silenced him by threatening to discover him, so that our merchants were as good pirates on land as he was on sea.
Whether he was frightened by these menaces, or had seen somebody else he thought knew him, is not known; but he went immediately over to Ireland, and from thence solicited his merchants very hard for a supply, but to no purpose, for he was even reduced to beggary. In this extremity he was resolved to return and cast himself upon them, let the consequences be what it would. He put himself on board a trading vessel, and worked his passage over to Plymouth, from whence he travelled on foot to Bideford, where he had been but a few days before he fell sick and died, not being worth as much as would buy him a coffin.
Thus have I given all that could be collected of any certainty concerning this man, rejecting the idle stories which were made of his fantastic greatness, by which it appears that his actions were more inconsiderable than those of other pirates since him, though he made more noise in the world.