She acquainted Rackham with every particular, who resolved to lose no time, and therefore, acquainting his associates, who were eight in number, they appointed an hour for meeting at night, which was 12 o’clock. They were all true to the roguery, and Ann Bonny was as punctual as the most resolute, and being all well armed, they took a boat and rowed to the sloop, which was very near the shore.
The night seemed to favour the attempt, for it was both dark and rainy. As soon as they got on board, Ann Bonny, having a drawn sword in one hand, and a pistol in the other, attended by one of the men, went straight to the cabin where the two fellows lay who belonged to the sloop. The noise awaked them, which she observing, declared that if they pretended to resist, or make a noise, she would blow their brains out.
In the mean time, Rackham and the rest were busy heaving in the cables, one of which they soon got up, and for expedition sake, they slipped the other, and so drove down the harbour. They passed pretty near the fort, which hailed them, as did also the guard-ship, asking them where they were going? They answered, their cable had parted, and that they had nothing but a grappling on board, which would not hold them; immediately after which they set a small sail, just to give them steerage way. When they came to the harbour’s mouth, and thought they could not be seen by any of the ships, on account of the darkness of the night, they hoisted all the sail they had, and stood to sea; then calling up the two men, they asked them if they would be of their party; but finding them not inclined, they gave them a boat to row themselves ashore, ordering them to give their service to Haman, and tell him they would send him his sloop again when they had done with her.
Rackham and his paramour both bore a great spleen to Richard Turnley, who was gone from Providence, turtling, before they made their escape, and they knowing what island he was upon, made to the place. They saw the sloop about a league from the shore, and went on board with six hands; but Turnley, with his boy, by good luck, happened to be ashore salting some wild hogs they had killed the day before. They inquired for him, and hearing where he was, rowed ashore in search of him.
Turnley, from the land, saw the sloop boarded, and observed the men afterwards making for the shore, and being apprehensive of pirates, which were very common in those parts, he, with his boy, fled into a neighbouring wood. The surf being very great, so that they could not bring their boat to shore, they waded up to the arm-pits, and Turnley, peeping through the trees, saw them bring arms on shore. Upon the whole, not liking their appearance, he, with his boy, lay snug in the bushes.
When they had looked about and could not see him, they called him aloud by name; but he not appearing, they thought it time lost to look for him in such a wilderness, and therefore returned to their boat, but rowed again back to the sloop, and took away the sails, and several other things. They also carried away with them three of the hands, viz. Richard Connor, the mate, John Davis, and John Howel, but rejected David Soward, the fourth hand, though he had been an old and experienced pirate, because he was lame, and disabled by a wound he had formerly received.
When they had done thus much, they cut away the mast, and towing the vessel into deep water, sunk her, having first put David Soward into a boat to shift for himself. He, however, got ashore, and after some time, found Turnley.
From thence, Rackham stretched over to the Bury Islands, plundering all the sloops he met, and strengthening his company with several additional hands, and so went on till he was finally taken and executed at Port Royal, Jamaica.
About this time, the governor, in conjunction with some factors then residing at Providence, thought fit to freight some vessels for a trading voyage. Accordingly the Bachelor’s Adventure, a schooner, Capt. Henry White, commander; the Lancaster, sloop, Capt. William Greenway, commander; the May, sloop, Capt. John Augur, commander, of which last David Soward was owner, (she having been given him by some pirates his former associates) in which he also sailed this voyage, were fitted out with a cargo of goods and merchandise, bound for Port Prince, on the island of Cuba.
The governor thought it advisable, for the benefit of the inhabitants of Providence, to settle a correspondence with some merchants of Port Prince, first in order to procure fresh provisions, there being scarce any upon the island at the governor’s first arrival, and there being at Port Prince great plenty of cows and hogs, he proposed to get a sufficient number of each, to stock the island for breed, that the people for the future might have fresh provision of their own.