The History of the Lives and Bloody Exploits of the Most Noted Pirates; Their Trials and Executions / Including a Correct Account of the Late Piracies Committed in the West-Indies, and the Expedition of Commodore Porter; also, Those Committed on the Brig Mexican, Who Were Tried and Executed at Boston, in 1835

by Ezra Baldwin Strong

While they past their time in all manner of diversions the place would afford them, as hunting, feasting, and visiting the island, the king of Mohila, made a descent, and alarmed the whole country. Misson advised the queen’s brother not to give him any impediment but let him get into the heart of the island, and he would take care to intercept their return; but the prince answered, should he follow this advice the enemy would do him and his subjects an irreparable damage, in destroying the cocoa walks, and for that reason he must endeavour to stop his progress. Upon this answer he asked the English who were not under his command, if they were willing to join him in repelling the enemies of their common host, and one and all consenting, he gave them arms, and mixed them with his own men, and about the same number of Johannians, under the command of Caraccioli and the queen’s brother, and arming out all his boats, he went himself to the westward of the island, where they made their descent. The party which went by land, fell in with, and beat the Mohilians with great ease, who were in the greatest consternation, to find their retreat cut off by Misson’s boats. The Johannians, whom they had often molested, were so enraged, that they gave quarter to none, and out of 300 who made the descent, if Misson and Caraccioli had not interposed, not a soul had escaped; 113 were taken prisoners, by his men, and carried on board his ships. These he sent safe to Mohila, with a message to the king, to desire he would make peace with his friend and ally the king of Johanna; but that prince, little affected with the service done him in the preservation of his subjects, sent him word he took laws from none, and knew when to make war and peace without his advice, which he neither asked nor wanted. Misson irritated by this rude answer, resolved to transfer the war into his own country, and accordingly set sail for Mohila, with about 100 Johanna men. The shore on sight of the ships, was filled with men to hinder a descent if intended, but the great guns soon dispersed this rabble, and under their cover he landed the Johannians, and an equal number of French and English. They were met by about 700 Mohilians, who pretended to stop their passage, but their darts and arrows were of little avail against Misson’s fuzils; the first discharge made a great slaughter, and about 20 shells which were thrown among them, put them to a confused flight. The party of Europeans and Johannians then marched to their metropolis, without resistance, which they reduced to ashes, and the Johannians cut down all the cocoa walks that they could for the time, for towards evening they returned to their ships, and stood off to sea.

At their return to Johanna the queen made a festival, and magnified the bravery and service of her guests, friends, and allies. This feast lasted four days, at the expiration of which time the queen’s brother proposed to Capt. Misson the making another descent, in which he would go in person, and did not doubt subjecting the Mohilians; but this was not the design of Misson, who had thoughts of fixing a retreat on the N. W. side of Madagascar, and looked upon the feuds between these two islands advantageous to his views, and therefore no way his interest to suffer the one to overcome the other; for while the variance was kept up, and their forces pretty much upon a level, it was evident their interest would make both sides caress him; he therefore answered, that they ought to deliberate on the consequences, for they might be deceived in their hopes, and find the conquest less easy than they imagined. That the king of Mohila would be more upon his guard, and not only intrench himself, but gall them with frequent ambuscades, by which they must inevitably lose a number of men; and, if they were forced to retire with loss, raise the courage of the Mohilians, and make them irreconcilable enemies to the Johannians, and entirely deprive him of the advantages with which he might now make a peace, having twice defeated them: that he could not be always with them, and at his leaving Johanna he might expect the king of Mohila would endeavour to take a bloody revenge for the late damages. The queen gave entirely into Misson’s sentiments.

While this was in agitation, four Mohilians arrived as ambassadors to propose a peace. Finding the Johannians upon high terms, one of them spoke to this purpose:—O ye Johannians, do not conclude from you late success, that fortune will be always favourable; she will not always give you the protection of the Europeans, and without their help it is possible you might now sue for a peace, which you seem averse to. Remember the sun rises, comes to its meridian height, and stays not there, but declines in a moment. Let this admonish you to reflect on the constant revolution of all sublunary affairs, and the greater is your glory, the nearer you are to your declension. We are taught by every thing we see, that there is no stability in the world, but nature is in continual movement. The sea, which overflows the sands, has its bounds set, which it cannot pass, which the moment it has reached, without abiding, returns back to the bosom of the deep. Every herb, every shrub and tree, and even our own bodies teach us this lesson, that nothing is durable, or can be counted upon. Time passes away insensibly, one sun follows another, and brings its changes with it. To-day’s globe of light sees you strengthened by these Europeans elate with victory, and we, who have been used to conquer you, come to ask a peace. To-morrow’s sun may see you deprived of your present succours, and the Johannians petitioning us: as therefore we cannot say what to-morrow may bring forth, it would be unwise on uncertain hopes to forego a certain advantage, as surely peace ought to be esteemed by every wise man.

Having said this, the ambassadors withdraw, and were treated by the queen’s orders. After the council had concluded, they were again called upon, and the queen told them, that by the advice of her good friends, the Europeans, and those of her council, she agreed to make peace, which she wished might banish all memory of former injuries; that they must own the war was begun by them, and that she was far from being the aggressor; she only defended herself in her own kingdom, which they had often invaded, though, till within a few days, she had never molested their coasts. If then they really desired to live amicably with her, they must resolve to send two of the king’s children, and ten of the first nobility, as hostages: that they might, when they pleased, return, for these were the only terms on which she would desist prosecuting the advantages she now had, with the utmost vigour.

The ambassadors returned with this answer, and, about ten days after, the two ships appearing upon their coasts, they sent off to give notice, that their king complied with the terms proposed, would send the hostages, and desired a cessation of all hostility, and, at the same time, invited the commanders on shore. The Johanna men on board dissuaded their accepting the invitation; but Misson and Caraccioli, fearing nothing, went, but armed their boat’s crew. They were received by the king with demonstrations of friendship, and they dined with him under a tamarind tree; but when they parted from him, and were returning to their boats, they were inclosed by at least a hundred of the Mohilians, who set upon them with the utmost fury, and, in the first flight of arrows, wounded both the captains, and killed four of their boat’s crew, of eight who were with them. They, in return, discharged their pistols with some execution, and fell in with their cutlasses; but all their bravery would have stood them in little stead, had not the report of their pistols alarmed and brought the rest of their friends to their assistance, who took their fuzils, and coming up while they were engaged, discharged a volley on the back of the assailants, which laid twelve of them dead on the spot. The ships hearing this fire, sent immediately the yawls and long-boats well manned. Though the islanders were a little damped in their courage by this fire of the boat’s crew, yet they did not give over the fight, and one of them desperately threw himself upon Caraccioli, and gave him a deep wound in the side with a long knife; but he paid for the rashness of the attempt with his life, one of the crew cleaving his scull. The yawls and long-boats now arrived, and being guided by the noise, reinforced their companions, put the traitors to flight, and brought off their dead and wounded. The Europeans lost by this treachery, seven slain outright, and eight wounded, six of which recovered.

The crew were resolved to revenge the blood of their officers and comrades the next day, and were accordingly on the point of landing, when two canoes came off with two men bound, the pretended authors of this treason, without the king’s knowledge, who had sent them that they might receive the punishment due to their villany. The Johanna men on board were called for interpreters, who having given this account, added, that the king only sacrificed these men, but that they should not believe him, for he certainly had given orders for assassinating the Europeans; and the better way was to kill all the Mohilians that came in the canoes, as well as the two prisoners; go back to Johanna, take more of their countrymen, and give no peace to traitors; but Misson was for no such violent measures; he was averse to every thing that bore the face of cruelty, and thought a bloody revenge, if necessity did not enforce it, spoke a grovelling and timid soul: he, therefore, sent those of the canoes back, and bid them tell their king, if before the evening he sent the hostages agreed upon, he should give credit to his excuse; but if he did not, he should believe him the author of the late vile attempt on his life.

The canoes went off, but returned not with an answer; wherefore, he bid the Johanna men tell the two prisoners that they should be set on shore the next morning, and ordered them to acquaint their king, he was no executioner to put those to death whom he had condemned, but that he should find he knew how to revenge himself of his treason. The prisoners being unbound, threw themselves at his feet, and begged that he would not send them ashore, for they should be surely put to death, for the crime they had committed, was, the dissuading the barbarous action of which they were accused as authors.

Next day, the two ships landed 200 men, under the cover of their cannon; but that precaution of bringing their ships close to the shore, they found needless: not a soul appearing, they marched two leagues up the country, when they saw a body of men appear behind some shrubs. Caraccioli’s lieutenant, who commanded the right wing, with fifty men, made up to them, but found he had got among pit-falls artificially covered, several of his men falling into them, which made him halt, and not pursue those Mohilians who made a feint retreat to ensnare him, thinking it dangerous to proceed farther; and seeing no enemy would face them, they retired the same way they came, and getting into their boats, went on board the ships, resolving to return with a strong reinforcement, and make descents at one and the same time in different parts of the island. They asked the two prisoners how the country lay, and what the soil was on the north side of the island; and they answered it was morass, and the most dangerous part to attempt, it being a place where they shelter on any imminent danger.

The ships returned to Johanna, where the greatest tenderness and care was shown for the recovery and cure of the two captains and of their men; they lay six weeks before they were able to walk the decks, for neither of them would quit his ship. Their Johanna wives expressed a concern they did not think them capable of; nay, a wife of one of the wounded men who died, stood some time looking upon the corpse as motionless as a statue, then embracing it, without shedding a tear, desired she might take it ashore to wash and bury it; and at the same time by an interpreter, and with a little mixture of European language, begged her late husband’s friends would take their leave of him the next day.

Accordingly a number went ashore, and carried with them the dividend, which fell to his share, which the captain ordered to be given to his widow; when she saw the money, she smiled, and asked if all that was for her?—Being answered in the affirmative, “and what good will all that shining dirt do me? If I could with it purchase the life of my husband, and call him back from the grave, I would accept it with pleasure, but as it is not sufficient to allure him back to this world, I have no use for it; do with it what you please.” Then she desired they would go with her and perform the last ceremonies to her husband’s dead body, after their country fashion, lest he should be displeased; that she could not stay with them, to be a witness, because she was in haste to go and be married again. She startled the Europeans who heard this latter part of her speech, so dissonant from the beginning; however they followed her, and she led them into a plantain walk, where they found a great many Johanna men and women, sitting under the shade of plantains, round the corpse, which lay (as they all sat) on the ground, covered with flowers. She embraced them round, and then the Europeans, one by one, and after these ceremonies, she poured out a number of bitter imprecations against the Mohila men, whose treachery had darkened her husband’s eyes, and made him insensible of her caresses, who was her first love, to whom she had given her heart with her virginity. She then proceeded in his praises, calling him the joy of infants, the love of virgins, the delight of the old, and the wonder of the young, adding, he was strong and beautiful as the cedar, brave as the bull, tender as the kid, and loving as the ground turtle. Having finished this oration, not unlike those of the Romans, which the nearest relation of the deceased used to pronounce from the rostrum, she laid down by the side of her husband, embracing him, and sitting up again, gave herself a deep wound under the left breast with a bayonet, and fell dead on her husband’s corpse.