A Second LETTER
SIR,
I WROTE my last Letter to you from Madagascar, where I had continu’d so long till my People began to drop from me, some and some, and, indeed, I had, at last, but few left; so that I began to apprehend they would give an Account in Europe, how weak I was, and how easy it was to attack me; nay, and to make their Peace, might some of them, at least, offer their Service to be Pilots to my Port, and might guide the Fleets or Ships that should attempt me.
With these Apprehensions, I not only was uneasy myself, but made all my Men uneasy too; for, as I was resolv’d to attempt my own Escape, I did not care how many of my Men went before me: But this you must take with you by the Bye, that I never let them imagine that I intended to stir from the Spot myself; I mean, after my Return from the Ramble that I had taken round the Island, of which I have given you an Account; but, that I resolv’d to take up my Rest in Madagascar as long as I liv’d; indeed, before, I
said otherwise, as I wrote you before, and made them all promise to fetch me away, but now I gave it out that I was resolv’d to live and die here; and therefore, a little before I resolv’d upon going, I set to Work to build me a new House, and to plant me a pretty Garden at a Distance from our Fort; only I had a select Company, to whom I communicated every Thing, and who resolv’d that, at last, we would go altogether, but that we would do it our own Way.
When I had finish’d my new House, (and a mighty Palace you would say it was, if you had been to see it) I remov’d to it, with eight of the Gang that were to be my Fellow adventurers; and to this Place we carry’d all our private Wealth, that is to say, Jewels and Gold; as to our Share of Silver, as it was too heavy to remove, and must be done in Publick, I was oblig’d to leave it behind; but we had a Stratagem for that too, and it was thus:
We had a Sloop, as you have heard, and she lay in our Harbour, ’tis true; but she lay ready to sail upon any Occasion; and the Men, who were of our Confederacy, who were not with me at my Country-house, were twelve in Number: These Men made a Proposal, that they would take the Sloop, and go away to the Coast of Malabar, or where else they could speed to their Mind, and buy a Fraight of Rice for the publick Account: In a free State as we were, every Body was free to go wherever they would, so that no Body oppos’d them; the only Dispute at any Time, was about taking the Vessel we had to go in: However, as these Men seem’d only to act upon the publick Account, and to go to buy Provisions, no Body offer’d to deny them the Sloop, so
they prepar’d for their Voyage: Just as they were ready to go, one of them starts it to the rest, that it was very hazardous and difficult to run such a Length every now and then to get a little Rice, and if they would go, why should they not bring a good Quantity? This was soon resolv’d; so they agreed, they should take Money with them to buy a good Ship wherever they could find her, and then to buy a Loading of Rice to fill her up, and so come away with her.
When this was agreed, they resolv’d to take no Money out of the grand Stock, but to take such Mens Money as were gone, and had left their Money behind; and this being consented to, truly, my Friends took the Occasion, and took all their own Money, and mine, (being 64 little Chests of Pieces of Eight) and carry’d it on Board, as if it had been of Men that were Prick’d-run, and no Body took any Notice of it. These twelve Men had also now got twelve more with them, under Pretence of manning a Ship, if we should buy one, and in this Pickle away they put to Sea.