by Daniel Defoe
half the Time of their Voyage; so that they had nothing tosubsist on for seven and twenty Days, but a little Quantity of dry'dVenison which they kill'd on Shore, about the Quantity of 3 Barrels of_English_ Beef, and some Bread; and when they came to the _Cape of GoodHope_, they gat some small Supply, but it being soon perceiv'd on Shorewhat they were, they were glad to be gone as soon as they had fill'd theirCasks with Water, and gat but a very little Provisions; so they made to theCoast of _Natal_ on the South East Point of _Africa_, and there they gatmore fresh Provisions, such as Veal, Milk, Goats-Flesh, some tolerableButter, and very good Beef: And this held them out till they found us inthe North Part of _Madagascar_, as above.
We staid about a Fortnight in our Port, and in a sailing Posture, just asif we had been Wind-bound, meerly to congratulate and make merry with ournew-come Friends, when I resolv'd to leave them there, and set Sail; whichI did with a Westerly Wind, keeping away North till I came into theLatitude of seven Degrees North; so coasting along the _Arabian_ Coast E.N. E. towards the Gulph of Persia, in the Cruise I met with two _Persian_Barks loaden with Rice; one of which I mann'd and sent away to_Madagascar_, and the other I took for our own Ship's Use. This Bark camesafe to my new Colony, and was a very agreeable Prize to them; I thinkverily almost as agreeable as if it had been loaded with Pieces of Eight,for they had been without Bread a great while; and this was a doubleBenefit to them, for they fitted up this Bark, which carry'd about 55 Tun,and went away to the Gulph of _Persia_ in her to buy Rice, and brought twoor three _Freights_ of that which was very good.
In this Time I pursu'd my Voyage, coasted the whole _Malabar_ Shore, andmet with no Purchase but a great _Portugal East-India_ Ship, which I chac'dinto _Goa_, where she got out of my Reach: I took several small Vessels andBarks, but little of Value in them, till I enter'd the great Bay of_Bengale_, when I began to look about me with more Expectation of Success,tho' without Prospect of what happen'd.
I cruis'd here about two Months, finding nothing worth while; so I stoodaway to a Port on the North Point of the Isle of _Sumatra_, where I made noStay; for here I gat News that two large Ships, belonging to the GreatMogul, were expected to cross the Bay from _Hugely_ in the _Ganges_ to theCountry of the King of _Pegu_, being to carry the Grandaughter of the GreatMogul to _Pegu_, who was to be marry'd to the King of that Country, withall her Retinue, Jewels, and Wealth.
This was a Booty worth watching for, tho' it had been some Months longer;so I refolv'd that we would go and Cruise off of Point _Negaris_, on theEast Side of the Bay, near _Diamond Isle_; and here we ply'd off and on forthree Weeks, and began to despair of Success; but the Knowledge of theBooty we expected spurr'd us on, and we waited with great Patience, for weknew the Prize would be immensely rich.
At length we spy'd three Ships coming right up to us with the Wind; wecould easily see they were not _Europeans_ by their Sails, and began toprepare ourselves for a Prize, not for a Fight; but were a littledisappointed, when we found the first Ship full of Guns, and full ofSoldiers, and in Condition, had she been manag'd by _English_ Sailors, tohave fought two such Ships as ours were; however, we resolv'd to attack herif she had been full of Devils as she was full of Men.
Accordingly, when we came near them, we fir'd a Gun with Shot as aChallenge; they fir'd again immediately three or four Guns; but fir'd themso confusedly that we could easily see they did not understand theirBusiness; when we consider'd how to lay them on Board, and so to comethwart them, if we could; but falling, for want of Wind, open to them, wegave them a fair Broadside; we could easily see, by the Confusion that wason Board, that they were frighted out of their Wits; they fir'd here a Gunand there a Gun, and some on that Side that was from us, as well as thosethat were next to us. The next Thing we did was to lay them on Board, whichwe did presently, and then gave them a Volley of our Small-shot, which, asthey stood so thick, kill'd a great many of them, and made all the rest rundown under their Hatches, crying out like Creatures bewitch'd: In a Word,we presently took the Ship, and having secur'd her Men, we chac'd the othertwo: One was chiefly fill'd with Women, and the other with Lumber. Upon theWhole, as the Grandaughter of the Great Mogul was our Prize in the firstShip, so, in the second was her Women, or, in a Word, her Houshold, herEunuchs, all the Necessaries of her Wardrobe, of her Stables, and of herKitchin; and in the last, great Quantities of Houshold-stuff, and Thingsless costly, tho' not less useful.
But the first was the main Prize. When my Men had enter'd and master'd theShip, one of our Lieutenants call'd for me, and accordingly I jump'd onBoard; he told me, he thought no Body but I ought to go into the greatCabin, or, at least, no Body should go there before me; for that the Ladyherself and all her Attendance was there, and he fear'd the Men were soheated they would murder them all, or do worse.
I immediately went to the great Cabin-door, taking the Lieutenant thatcall'd me, along with me, and caus'd the Cabin-door to be open'd: But sucha Sight of Glory and Misery was never seen by Buccaneer before; the Queen(for such she was to have been) was all in Gold and Silver, but frighted;and crying, and at the Sight of me she appear'd trembling, and just as ifshe was going to die. She sate on the Side of a kind of a Bed like a Couchwith no Canopy over it, or any Covering, only made to lie down upon; shewas, in a Manner, cover'd with Diamonds, and I, like a true Pirate, soonlet her see that I had more Mind to the Jewels than to the Lady.
However, before I touch'd her, I order'd the Lieutenant to place a Guard atthe Cabin-door; and fastening the Door, shut us both in, which he did: TheLady was young, and, I suppose, in their Country Esteem, very handsome, butshe was not very much so in my Thoughts: At first, her Fright, and theDanger she thought she was in of being kill'd, taught her to do every Thingthat she thought might interpose between her and Danger; and that was totake off her Jewels as fast as she could, and give them to me; and I,without any great Compliment, took them as fast as she gave them me, andput them into my Pocket, taking no great Notice of them, or of her, whichfrighted her worse than all the rest, and she said something which I couldnot understand; however, two of the other Ladies came, all crying, andkneel'd down to me with their Hands lifted up: What they meant I knew notat first, but by their Gestures and Pointings I found at last it was to begthe young Queen's Life, and that I would not kill her.
I have heard that it has been reported in _England_ that I ravish'd thisLady, and then used her most barbarously; but they wrong me, for I neveroffer'd any Thing of that Kind to her, I assure you; nay, I was so far frombeing inclin'd to it, that I did not like her; and there was one of herLadies who I found much more agreeable to me, and who I was afterwardssomething free with, but not even with her either by Force, or by Way ofRavishing.
We did, indeed, ravish them of all their Wealth, for that was what wewanted, not the Women; nor was there any other Ravishing among those in thegreat Cabin, that I can assure you: As for the Ship where the Women ofinferior Rank were, and who were in Number almost two hundred, I cannotanswer for what might happen in the first Heat; but even there, after thefirst Heat of our Men was over, what was done, was done quietly, for I haveheard some of the Men say, that there was not a Woman among them but whatwas lain with four or five Times over, that is to say, by so many severalMen; for as the Women made no Opposition, so the Men even took those thatwere next them, without Ceremony, when and where Opportunity offer'd.
When the three Ladies kneel'd down to me, and as soon as I understood whatit was for, I let them know I would not hurt the Queen, nor let any oneelse hurt her, but that she must give me all her Jewels and Money: Uponthis they acquainted her that I would save her Life; and no sooner had theyassur'd her of that, but she got up, smiling, and went to a fine _Indian_Cabinet, and open'd a private Drawer, from whence she took another littleThing full of little square Drawers and Holes; this she brings to me in herHand, and offer'd to kneel down to give it me. This innocent Usage began torouse some Good-Nature in me, (tho' I never had much) and I would not lether kneel; but sitting down myself on the Side of her Couch or Bed, made a
Motion to her to sit down too: But here she was frighted again, it seems,at what I had no Thought of; for sitting on her Bed, she thought I wouldpull her down to lie with her, and so did all her Women too; for they beganto hold their Hands before their Faces, which, as I understood afterwards,was that they might not see me turn up their Queen: But as I did not offerany Thing of that Kind, only made her sit down by me, they began all to beeasier after some Time, and she gave me the little Box or Casket, I knownot what to call it, but it was full of invaluable Jewels. I have themstill in my Keeping, and wish they were safe in _England_; for I doubt notbut some of them are fit to be plac'd on the King's Crown.
Being Master of this Treasure, I was very
