They now thought of cruising again, and accordingly steered for Fortune’s Bay in Newfoundland. They made some prizes on the Banks, forced all the men, and sunk the vessels.
They had not been long on this coast before they were separated by a storm, which held some days. Off the island of St. Paul the Whidaw spied a sail, which she immediately gave chase to. The ship brought to and lay by for her, and proved a Frenchman of 36 guns, carrying soldiers to Quebec. The Whidaw engaged with great resolution, and the French did not show less, for he boarded the Whidaw and was twice put off, with the loss of men on both sides. Bellamy, after two hour’s engagement, thought the Frenchman too hard a match, and was for shaking him off; but his enemy was not as willing to part with him, for he gave chase, and as he sailed altogether as well as Bellamy, the latter had certainly been taken, and had received the due punishment of his crimes, had not the night coming on favoured his escape. He lost in this engagement 36 hands, besides several wounded.
The Whidaw returned to the coast of Newfoundland, and off Placentia Bay met with his consort and the prize. They resolved to visit again the coast of New-England, the Whidaw being much shattered in the late engagement, having received a great many shot in her hull. They ran down this coast, and between St. George’s Banks and Nantucket Shools, took the Mary Anne.
The master of the vessel, taken formerly off Cape Cod, was left on board her, and as he was very well acquainted with the coast, they ordered him to carry the light and go ahead; and the pirates commonly kept him at the helm. He upon a night of public rejoicing, seeing all the pirates drunk, laid hold of the opportunity, and run his vessel ashore about midnight, near the land of Eastham, out of which he alone escaped with life. The Whidaw, steering after the light, met with the same fate. The small vessel ran into a sandy bay, and the men got ashore without difficulty.
When the Whidaw struck, the pirates murdered all their prisoners, that is, all their forced men; as it is concluded, from the mangled carcasses which were washed ashore; but not a soul escaped out of her or Williams, who was also lost.
The pirates, to the number of seven, who escaped, were seized by the inhabitants, and on the information of the master who escaped, and on their own confession were imprisoned, condemned, and executed. They were all foreigners, very ignorant and obstinate; but by the indefatigable pains of a pious and learned divine, who constantly attended them; they were at length, by the special grace of God, made sensible of, and truly penitent, for the enormous crimes they had been guilty of.
CAPTAIN WILLIAM FLY.
As to the birth of this pirate, we can discover nothing by the inquiries we have hitherto made; and indeed had we succeeded in our search, it would have been of no great consequence; for it is certain by the behaviour of the man, he must have have been of very obscure parents; and by his education, (as he was no artist) very unfit in all respects, except that of cruelty, for the villaneous business he was in. We have been informed, that he had been in a pirate in a private capacity, and having escaped justice, had an opportunity of repenting his former crimes, and as a foremast man, or petty officer, of getting his bread in a warrantable way. But no—ignorant as he was of letters, he was ambitious of power, and capable of the most barbarous actions to acquire it.
Capt. Green, of Bristol, in April, 1726, shipped this Fly as boatswain, at Jamaica, being bound, in the Elizabeth snow, of Bristol, for the coast of Guinea. Fly, who had insinuated himself with some of the men, whom he found ripe for any villany, resolved to seize the said snow, and murder the captain and mate, and taking the command on himself, turn pirate. He proposed this design to his brothers in iniquity, who approving it, he, having the watch at one o’clock in the morning, on the 27th day of May, went up to one Morrice Cundon, then at the helm, accompanied by Alexander Mitchel, Henry Hill, Samuel Cole, Thomas Winthrop, and other conspirators, and swore if he spoke one word, or stirred either hand or foot, he would blow his brains out; and tucking up his shirt above the elbows with a cutlass in his hand, he, with Mitchel, went into the captain’s cabin, and told him he must turn out. The captain, asking what was the matter, was answered by Mitchel, they had no time to answer impertinent questions; that if he would turn out and go upon deck quietly, it would save them the trouble of scraping the cabin; if he would not, a few buckets of water and a scraper would take his blood out of the deck: that they had chosen Capt. Fly for commander, and would allow of no other, and would not waste their provisions to feed useless men.
The Captain replied, that since they had so resolved, he should make no resistance; but begged they would not murder him, since his living could be no obstacle to their designs; that he had never been harsh to either of them, and therefore they could not kill him out of revenge; and if it was only for their security, he desired, if they would not take his word to do nothing to obstruct the measures they had resolved on, they would secure him in irons, till he might be put somewhere on shore, Ah, says Fly, to live and hang us, if we are ever taken: no, no, walk up, that bite won’t take; it has hanged many an honest fellow already. Mitchel and Fly then laying hold of him, pulled him out of his bed. The poor captain entreating them to spare his life for his soul’s sake, told them he would bind himself down by the most solemn oaths, never to appear against them; that he was unfit to appear before the judgment seat of a just and pure God; that he was loaded with sins, and to take him off before he had washed those stains, which sullied his soul, by the tears of repentance, would be a cruelty beyond comparison greater than that of depriving him of life, were he prepared for death, since it would be, without any offence committed against them, dooming him to eternal misery. However, if they would not be persuaded that his life was consistent with their safety, he begged they would allow some time to prepare himself for the great change: that he begged no other mercy than what the justice and compassion of the laws would allow them, should they hereafter be taken. —— your blood, said Mitchel, no preaching. Be —— a’ you will, what’s that to us? Let him look out who has the watch. Upon deck you dog, for we shall lose no more time about you.