Captain Singleton

by Daniel Defoe

may be sure that we are running away from her, not chasing her. I am afraid,

  adds he, thou art turned Quaker, and hast resolved not to use the Hand of Power,

  or art a Coward, and art flying from thy Enemy.

  What do you mean, says I, I think I swore at him; what do ye sneer at now? you

  have always one dry Rub or another to give us.

  Nay, says he, it's plain enough, the Ship stood off to Sea, due East on purpose

  to lose us, and thou may'st be sure her Business does not lie that Way; for what

  should she do at the Coast of Africa in this Latitude, which would be as far

  South as Congo or Angola; but as soon as it is dark, that we shall lose Sight of

  her, she will tack and stand away West again for the Brasil Coast, and for the

  Bay, where thou knowest she was going before; and are not we then a running away

  from her? I am greately in hopes, Friend, says the dry gibing Creature, Thou

  wilt turn Quaker, for I see thou art not for Fighting.

  Very well, WILLIAM, says I, then I shall make an excellent Pyrate. However,

  William was in the right, and I apprehended what he meant immediately, and

  Captain Wilmot, who lay very sick in his Cabin, overhearing us, understood him

  as well as I, and called out to me, that William was right, and it was our best

  Way to change our Course, and stand away for the Bay, where it was Ten to one

  but we should snap her in the Morning.

  Accordingly, we went about snip, got our Larboard Tacks on board, set the

  Top-gallant Sails, and crowded for the Bay of All-Saints, where we came to an

  Anchor, early in the Morning just out of Gun Shot of the Forts; we furl'd our

  Sails with Rope-Yarns, that we might haul home the Sheets without going up to

  loose them, and lowering our Main and Fore-Yards, looked just as if we had lain

  there a good while.

  In two Hours after, we saw our Game, standing in for the Bay with all the Sail

  she could make, and she came innocently into our very Mouths, for we lay still,

  till we saw her almost within Gun Shot; when our Fore Mast Geers being stretched

  fore and aft, we first run up our Yards, and then hauled home the Top-Sail

  Sheets; the Rope-Yarns that furled them giving Way of themselves, the Sails were

  set in a few Minutes; at the same time slipping our Cable, we came upon her

  before she could get under Way upon 'tother Tack: They were so surprized, that

  they made little or no Resistance, but struck after the first Broad-Side.

  We were considering what to do with her, when William came to me. Hark thee

  Friend, says he, thou hast made a fine Spot of Work of it now, hast thou not? To

  borrow thy Neighbour's Ship here, just at thy Neighbour's Door, and never ask

  him Leave; now dost thou not think there are some Men of War in the Port, thou

  hast given them the Alarm sufficiently; thou will have them upon thy Back before

  Night, depend upon it, to ask thee, wherefore, Thou dist so?

  Truly William, said I, for ought I know, that may be true: What then shall we do

  next? Says he, thou hast but two Things to do, either go in and take all the

  rest, or else get thee gone before they come out, and take thee; for I see they

  are hoisting a Top-Mast to yon great Ship, in order to put to Sea immediately,

  and they won't be long before they come to talk with thee; and what wilt thou

  say to them, when they ask thee why thou borrowedst their Ship without Leave?

  As William said, so it was, we could see by our Glasses that they were all in a

  Hurry, manning and fitting some Sloops they had there, and a large Man of War,

  and it was plain they would soon be with us; but we were not at a Loss what to

  do; we found the Ship we had taken was loaden with nothing considerable for our

  Purpose, except some Cocoa, some Sugar, and Twenty Barrels of Flower; the rest

  of her Loading was Hides; so we took out all we thought for our Turn, and among

  the rest all her Ammunition, great Shot, and small Arms, and turned her off; we

  also took a Cable and three Anchors she had, which were for our Purpose, and

  some of her Sails; she had enough left just to carry her into Port, and that was

  all.

  Having done this, we stood on upon the Brasil Coast, Southward, till we came to

  the Mouth of the River Janiero: But as we had two Days the Wind blowing hard as

  S. E. and S. S. E. we were obliged to come to an Anchor under a little Island,

  and wait for a Wind. In this time the Portuguese had it seems given Notice over

  Land to the Governour there, that a Pyrate was upon the Coast; so that when we

  came in View of the Port, we saw two Men of War riding just without the Bar,

  whereof one we found was getting under Sail with all possible Speed, having

  slipt her Cable, on purpose to speak with us; the other was not so forward, but

  was preparing to follow: In less than an Hour they stood both fair after us,

  with all the Sail they could make.

  Had not the Night come on, William's Words had been made good; they would

  certainly have asked us the Question what we did there? for we found the

  foremost Ship gained upon us, especially upon one Tack; for we plied away from

  them to Windward, but in the Dark losing Sight of them, we resolved to change

  our Course, and stand away directly to Sea, not doubting but we should lose them

  in the Night.

  Whether the Portuguese Commander guessed we would do so or no, I know not; but

  in the Morning when the Day-light appeared, instead of having lost him, we found

  him in Chase of us, about a League a-Stern; only to our great good Fortune we

  could see but one of the two; however this one was a great Ship, carried six and

  forty Guns, and an admirable Sailer, as appeared by her out-sailing us; for our

  Ship was an excellent Sailer too, as I have said before.

  When I found this, I easily saw there was no Remedy, but we must engage; and as

  we knew we could expect no Quarters from those Scoundrels the Portuguese, a

  Nation I had an original Aversion to, I let Captain Wilmot know how it was. The

  Captain, sick as he was, jumped up in the Cabin, and would be led out upon the

  Deck, for he was very weak, to see how it was; well, says he, we'll fight them.

  Our Men were all in good heart before, but to see the Captain so brisk who had

  lain ill of a Calenture Ten or Eleven Days, gave them double Courage, and they

  went all Hands to work to make a clear Ship and be ready. William the Quaker

  comes to me with a kind of a Smile; Friend, says he, what does yon Ship follow

  us for? Why says I, to fight us you may be sure; Well, says he, and will he come

  up with us dost thou think? Yes, said I, you see she will. Why then, Friend,

  says the dry Wretch, why dost thou run from her still, when thou seest she will

  overtake thee? Will it be better for us to be overtaken further off than here?

  Much at one for that, says I; why what would you have us do? Do! says he, let us

  not give the poor Man more Trouble than needs must; let us stay for him, and

  hear what he has to say to us; he will talk to us in Powder and Ball said I:

  Very well then, says he if that be his Country Language, we must talk to him in

  the same, must we not? Or else how shall he understand us? Very well William,

  says I, we understand you; and
the Captain as ill as he was, called to me,

  William's right again, says he, as good here as a League further; so he gives a

  Word of Command, Haul up the Main-Sail, we'll shorten Sail for him.

  Accordingly we shortened Sail; and as we expected her upon our Lee Side, we

  being then upon our Starboard Tack, brought 18 of our Guns to the Larboard Side,

  resolving to give him a Broad-Side that should warm him; it was about half an

  Hour before he came up with us, all which time we luffed up, that we might keep

  the Wind of him, by which he was obliged to run up under our Lee, as we designed

  him; when we got him upon our Quarter we edg'd down, and received the Fire of

  five or six of his Guns; by this time you may be sure all our Hands were at

  their Quarters, so we clapt our Helm hard a Weather, let go the Lee Braces of

  the Main Topsail, and laid it a-back, and so our Ship fell athwart the

  Portuguese Ship's Hawse; then we immediately poured in our Broad-Side, raking

  them fore and aft, and killed them a great many Men.

  The Portuguese, we could see were in the utmost Confusion; and not being aware

  of our Design, their Ship having fresh Way, run their Boltsprit into the fore

  Part of our main Shrouds, as that they could not easily get clear of us, and so

  we lay locked after that Manner, the Enemy could not bring above five or six

  Guns, besides their Small-Arms, to bear upon us, while we played our whole

  Broadside upon him.

  In the middle of the Heat of this Fight, as I was very busy upon the Quarter

  Deck, the Captain calls to me, for he never stirred from us, what the Devil is

  Friend William a-doing yonder, says the Captain, has he any Business upon Deck?

  I stept forward, and there was Friend William with two or three stout Fellows

  lashing the Ships Boltsprit fast to our Main-Mast, for fear they should get away

  from us; and every now and then he pulled a Bottle out of his Pocket and gave

  the Men a Dram to encourage them. The Shot flew about his Ears as thick as may

  be supposed in such an Action, where the Portuguese, to give them their due,

  fought very briskly, believing at first they were sure of their Game, and

  trusting to their Superiority; but there was William, as composed, and in as

  perfect Tranquillity as to Danger, as if he had been over a Bowl of Punch, only

  very busy securing the Matter, that a Ship of Fourty six Guns should not run

  away from a Ship of Eight and Twenty.

  This Work was too hot to hold long; our Men behaved bravely; our Gunner, a

  gallant Man, shouted below, pouring in his Shot at such a Rate, that the

  Portuguese began to slacken their Fire; we had dismounted several of their Guns

  by firing in at their Forecastle, and raking them, as I said, fore and aft; and

  presently comes William up to me; Friend says he, very calmly, What doest thou

  mean ? Why dost thou not visit thy Neighbour in the Ship, the Door being open

  for thee? I understood him immediately, for our Guns had so tore their Hull,

  that we had beat two Port Holes into one, and the Bulk Head of their Steerage

  was split to Pieces, that they could not retire to their close Quarters; so I

  gave the Word immediately to board them. Our Second Lieutenant, with about

  Thirty Men, entered in an Instant over the Forecastle, followed by some more,

  with the Boatswain, and cutting in Pieces about Twenty five Men that they found

  upon the Deck, and then throwing some Grenadoes into the Steerage, they entered

  there also; upon which the Portuguese cried Quarter presently, and we mastered

  the Ship, contrary indeed to our own Expectation; for we would have compounded

  with them, if if they would have sheered off, but laying them athwart the Hawse

  at first, and following our Fire furiously, without giving them any time to get

  clear of us, and work their Ship, by this means, tho' they had six and forty

  Guns, they were not able to Fight above five or six, as I said above, for we

  beat them immediately from their Guns in the Forecastle, and killed them

  Abundance of Men between Decks, so that when we entered they had hardly sound

  Men enough to fight us Hand to Hand upon their Deck.

  The Surprize of Joy, to hear the Portuguese cry Quarter, and see their Antient

  struck, was so great to our Captain, who as I have said, was reduced very weak

  with a high Fever, that it gave him new Life; Nature conquered the Distemper,

  and the Fever abated that very Night: So that in two or three Days he was

  sensibly better, his Strength began to come, and he was able to give his Orders

  effectually in every thing that was material, and in about ten Days was entirely

  well, and about the Ship.

  In the mean time, I took Possession of the Portuguese Man of War, and Captain

  Wilmot made me, or rather I made my self, Captain of her for the present; about

  Thirty of their Seamen took Service with us, some of which were French, some

  Genoeses, and we set the rest on Shore the next Day, on a little Island on the

  Coast of Brasil, except some wounded Men who were not in a Condition to be

  removed; and whom we were bound to keep on board, but we had an Occasion

  afterwards to dispose of them at the Cape, where at their own Request we set

  them on Shore.

  Captain Wilmot, as soon as the Ship was taken, and the Prisoners stowed, was for

  standing in for the River Janiero again, not doubting but we should meet with

  the other Man of War, who not having been able to find us, and having lost the

  Company of her Comrade, would certainly be returned, and might be surprized by

  the Ship we had taken, if we carryed Portuguese Colours, and our Men were all

  for it.

  But our Friend William gave us better Counsel; for he came to me, Friend, says

  he, I understand the Captain is for sailing back to the Rio Janiero, in Hopes to

  meet with the other Ship that was in Chase of thee yesterday; is it true, dost

  thou intend it? Why, yes, says I, William, pray why not? Nay, says he, thou

  mayst do so if thou wilt. Well, I know that too, William, said I; but the

  Captain is a Man will be ruled by Reason; what have you to say to it? Why, says

  William gravely, I only ask what is thy Business, and the Business of all the

  People thou hast with thee? Is it not to get Money? Yes, William, it is so, in

  our honest Way: And wouldst thou, says he, rather have Money without Fighting,

  or Fighting without Money? I mean, which wouldst thou have by Choice, suppose it

  to be left to thee? O William, says I, the first of the two, to be sure. Why

  then, says he, what great Gain hast thou made of the Prize thou hast taken now,

  tho' it has cost the Lives of thirteen of thy Men, besides some hurt? It is

  true, thou hast got the Ship and some Prisoners, but thou wouldst have had twice

  the Booty in a Merchant Ship, with not one Quarter of the Fighting; and how dost

  thou know either what Force, or what Number of Men may be in the other Ship, and

  what Loss thou mayst suffer, and what Gain it shall be to thee, if thou take

  her? I think indeed thou mayst much better let her alone.

  Why, William, it is true said I, and I'll go tell the Captain what your Opinion

  is, and bring you Word what he says. Accordingly I went to the Captain, and
told

  him William's Reasons, and the Captain was of his Mind, that our Business was

  indeed Fighting when we could not help it, but that our main Affair was Money,

  and that with as few Blows as we could; so that Adventure was laid aside, and we

  stood along Shore again South, for the River de la Plata, expecting some

  Purchase thereabouts; especially we had our Eyes upon some of the Spanish Ships

  from the Bruenos Ayres, which are generally very rich in Silver, and one such

  Prize would have done our Business. We ply'd about here in the Latitude of �

  South for near a Month, and nothing offer'd; and here we began to consult what

  we should do next, for we had come to no Resolution yet. Indeed my Design was

  always for the Cape de Bona Speranza, and so to the East Indies. I had heard

  some flaming Stories of Captain Avery, and the fine things he had done in the

  Indies, which were doubled and doubled even Ten Thousand-fold, and from taking a

  great Prize in the Bay of Bengal, where he took a Lady said to be the Great

  Mogul's Daughter, with a great Quantity of Jewels about her. We had a Story told

  us, that he took a Mogul Ship, so the foolish Sailors called it, loaden with

  Diamonds.

  I would fain have had Friend William's Advice, whither we should go, but he

  always put it off with some Quaking Quibble or other. In short, he did not care

  for directing us neither; whether he made a Piece of Conscience of it, or

  whether he did not care to venture having it come against him afterwards, or no,

  this I know not; but we concluded at last without him.

  We were however pretty long in resolving, and hanker'd about the Rio de la Plata

  a long time; at last we spy'd a Sail to Windward, and it was such a Sail as I

  believe had not been seen in that Part of the World a great while; it wanted not

  that we should give it Chase, for it stood directly towards us, as well as they

  that steer'd could make it; and even that was more Accident of Weather than any

  thing else: For if the Wind had chopt about any where, they must have gone with

  it. I leave any Man that is a Sailor, or understands any thing of a Ship, to

  judge what a Figure this Ship made when we first saw her, and what we could

  imagine was the Matter with her. Her Main Top-Mast was come by the Board, about

  six Foot above the Cap, and fell forward, the Head of the Top-gallant Mast,

  hanging in the Fore Shrouds by the Stay; at the same time the Pareil of the

  Mizen Topsail Yard, by some Accident giving Way, the Mizen Topsail Braces (the

  standing Part of which being fast to the Main Topsail Shrouds) brought the Mizen

  Topsail, Yard and all, down with it, which spread over Part of the Quarter Deck

  like an Awning: The Fore-Topsail was hoisted up two Thirds of the Mast, but the

  Sheets were flown. The Fore Yard was lower'd down upon the Forecastle, the Sail

  loose, and Part of it hanging over-board. In this Manner she came down upon us

  with the Wind quartering: In a Word, the Figure the whole Ship made, was the

  most confounding to Men that understood the Sea, that ever was seen; she had no

  Boat, neither had she any Colours out.

  When we came near to her, we fired a Gun to bring her to. She took no Notice of

  it, nor of us, but came on just as she did before. We fired again, but 'twas all

  one: At length we came within Pistol Shot of one another, but no body answered

  nor appeared; so we began to think that it was a Ship gone ashore somewhere in

  Distress, and the Men having forsaken her, the high Tide had floated her off to

  Sea. Coming nearer to her, we run up along Side of her so close, that we could

  hear a Noise within her, and see the Motion of several People thro' her Ports.

  Upon this we Mann'd our two Boats full of Men, and very well armed, and ordered

  them to board her at the same Minute, as near as they could, and to enter one at

  her Fore-chains on one Side, and the other a Mid-ship on the other Side. As soon