Soon after, Phineas Bunch, and Dennis Macarty, with a great many others, came from White’s Sloop on Board of Augur’s; their Pretence was, that they came to see Richard Turnley and Mr. James Carr, who had formerly been a Midshipman in the Rose Man of War under Captain Whitney, and being a great Favourite of Governor Rogers, he had appointed him Supercargo this Voyage. They desired to be treated with a Bottle of Beer, for they knew Mr. Car had some that was very good in his Care, which had been put on Board, in order to make Presents of, and to treat the Spanish Merchants with.
As it was not suspected they had any Thing else in View, Mr. Carr readily went down, and brought up a Couple of Bottles of Beer: They sat upon the Poop with Captain Augur in their Company, and were drinking their Beer; before the second Bottle was out, Bunch and Macarty began to rattle, and talk with great Pleasure, and much boasting of their former Exploits when they had been Pyrates, crying up a Pyrate’s Life to be the only Life for a Man of any Spirit. While they were running on in this Manner, Bunch on a sudden started up, and swore damn him, he would be Captain of that Vessel; Augur answered him the Vessel did not want a Captain, for he was able to command her himself, which seem’d to put an End to the Discourse for that Time.
Soon after, Bunch began to tell what bright Arms they had on Board their Sloop; upon which, one of Augur’s Men handed up some of their Cutlashes which had been clean’d that Day; among them was Mr. Carr’s Silver-hilted Sword; Bunch seem’d to admire the Sword, and ask’d whose it was; Mr. Carr made Answer it belong’d to him; Bunch replied it was a very handsome one, and drawing it out, march’d about the Poop, flourishing it over his Head, and telling Mr. Carr he would return it to him as soon as he had done with it: At the same Time he began to vapour again, and to brag of his former Pyracies, and coming near Mr. Carr, struck him with the Sword; Turnley bid him take Care of what he did, for that Mr. Carr would not take such Usage.
As they were disputing upon this Matter, Dennis Macarty stole off, and with some of his Associates seiz’d upon the great Cabin where all the Arms lay: At the same Time several of the Men, began to sing a Song, with these Words, Did not you promise me, that you would marry me (which it seems was the Signal agreed upon among the Conspirators for seizing the Ship) Bunch no sooner heard them, but he cried out aloud by G—d that will I, for I am Parson, and struck Mr. Carr again several Blows with his own Sword; Mr. Carr and Turnley both seiz’d him, and they began to struggle, when Dennis Macarty, with several others, return’d from the Cabin with each a Cutlash in one Hand, and a loaded Pistol in the other, and running up to them said, What do the Governor’s Dogs offer to resist? And beating Turnley and Carr with their Cutlashes, threaten’d to shoot them: At the same Time firing their Pistols close to their Cheeks, upon which Turnley and Carr begg’d their Lives.
When they were thus in Possession of the Vessel, they haled Captain Greenway, and desired him to come on Board about earnest Business: He, knowing nothing of what had pass’d, takes his Boat, and only with two Hands rows on Board of them; as soon as he was come, Dennis Macarty leads him into the Cabin, and, as soon as he was there, lays hold of him, telling him he was now a Prisoner, and must submit: He offered to make some Resistance; upon which, they told him all Resistance would be vain, for his own Men were in the Plot; and, indeed, he saw the two Hands which row’d him aboard now armed, and joining with the Conspirators; wherefore he thought it was Time to submit.
As soon as this was done, they sent some Hands on Board to seize his Sloop, or rather to acquaint his Men with what had been done, for they expected to meet with no Resistance, many of them being in the Plot, and the rest, they supposed, not very averse to it: After which, they decoy’d Captain White on Board, by the same Stratagem they used to Greenway, and likewise sent on Board his Sloop, and found his Men, one and all, well disposed for the Design; and what was most remarkable was, that Captain Augur seeing how Things were going, joined with them, shewing himself as well inclined for pyrating as the worst of them.
Thus they made themselves Masters of the three Vessels with very little Trouble. The next Thing to be done was to resolve how to dispose of those who were not of their Party; some were for killing John Turnley, but the Majority carried it for marrooning, that he might be starved, and die like a Dog, as they called it; their great Spleen to him was, because he was the Person who had piloted the Governor into Providence.
Accordingly Turnley, with John Carr, Thomas Rich, and some others, were stripp’d naked, and tumbled over the Vessel’s Side into a Boat which lay alongside; the Oars were all taken out, and they left them nothing to work themselves ashore with but an old Paddle, which, at other Times serv’d to steer the Boat, and so they commanded them to be gone.—However, they made shift to get safe ashore to the Island, which, as we observed before, was quite uninhabited.
The next Morning Dennis Macarty, with several others, went on Shore, and told them they must come on Board again, and they would give them some Clothes to put on. They fancied the Pyrates began to repent of the hard Usage they had given them, and were willing to return upon such an Errand; but when they got on Board again, they found their Opinion of the Pyrates good Nature was very ill grounded, for they began with beating them, and did it as if it were in Sport, one having a Boatswain’s Pipe, the rest beating them till he piped Belay.
The true Design of bringing them on Board again was to make them discover where some Things lay, which they could not readily find, as particularly Mr. Carr’s Watch and Silver Snuff-Box; but he was soon obliged to inform them in what Corner of the Cabin they lay, and there they were found, with some Journals and other Books, which they knew how to make no other Use of, but by turning into Cartridges.—Then they began to question Thomas Rich about a Gold Watch which had once been seen in his Possession on Shore at Providence; but he protested that it belonged to Captain Gale, who was Commander of the Guard-Ship called the Delicia, to which he then belonged; but his Protestations would have availed him little, had it not been that some on Board who belonged also to the Delicia knew it to be true, which put an End to his Beating; and so they were all discharged from their Punishment for the present.