Privateering and Piracy in the Colonial Period Part 27

_72. The President and Council of the Leeward Islands to Secretary Vernon. May 18, 1699._[1]

[Footnote 1: Public Record Office, C.O. 152:3, no. 21. This letter conveyed to the British government its first knowledge of the return of Captain Kidd to the western hemisphere. The Leeward Islands--Antigua, Montserrat, Nevis, St. Christopher, the most important being Nevis--const.i.tuted at this time one government, though with subordinate administration in the several islands. The governor having died, the council, of which William Burt was president, was acting as governor till a new governor should arrive. Burt and the other signers of this letter were all of Nevis. James Vernon, to whom the letter is addressed, was secretary of state; he was the father of Admiral Vernon, for whom Mount Vernon was named.]

_Right Honourable Sir_

Your Letter of the 23d of November last[2] in relacion to that notorious Pirate Captain Kidd came safe to our hands, and shall take particular care to put the same in execucion, and in order thereto have sent copies thereof to the Lieutenant or Deputy Governor of each respective Island under this Government; since which wee have had this following account of the said Kidd (vizt.) That he lately came from Mallagascoe in a large Gennouese vessell of about Foure hundred Tonns, Thirty Guns mounted, and eighty men,[3] and in his way for these partes his men mutinyed, and thirty of them lost theire Lives; That his vessell is very Leaky; and that they are very much in want of Provisions; And that severall of his men have deserted him soe that he has not above five and twenty or thirty hands on board; about twenty dayes since he touched at Anguilla, a small Island under this Government, where he Tarryed about foure houres; but being refused succour Sailed thence for the Island of St. Thomas (an Island belonging to the Crowne of Denmarke)[4] and Anch.o.r.ed off that Harbour three dayes, in which time he treated with them alsoe for releife; but the Governor absolutely Denying him, he bore away farther to Leeward (as it is beleived) for Porto Rico or Crabb Island;[5] upon which advice wee forthwith ordered his Majesties Shipp _Queeneburrough_, now attending this Government, Captain Rupert Billingsly Commander, to make the best of his way after him; and in case he mett with him to secure him with his men, vessell and effects, and bring them upp hither, That no Imbezlement may be made, but that they may be secured till wee have given you advice thereof, and his majesties pleasure relateing thereto can be knowne. Wee shall by the first conveniencie transmitt the like account of him to the Governor of Jamaica, soe that if he goes farther to Leeward Due care may be taken to secure him there; As for those men who have deserted him, wee have taken all possible care to apprehend them, especially if they come within the districts of this Government, and hope on returne of his majesties Friggatt shall be able to give you a more ample account hereof.

Wee are with all due Respects

Right Honorable

Your most obedient humble servants

WM. BURT.

JNO. SMARGIN. MICH. SMITH.

RICHD. ABBOTT. DAN. SMITH.

NEVIS the 18th May 1699

[Footnote 2: Printed in the _Commons Journal_, XIII. 16. It was the circular letter to colonial governors ordering them to apprehend Kidd.]

[Footnote 3: The _Quedah Merchant_; see _post_. She is here spoken of as Genoese, but other doc.u.ments of the time speak of her as "Moorish built."]

[Footnote 4: And now belonging to the United States. On Kidd at St.

Thomas, see doc.u.ment no. 83, _post._]

[Footnote 5: Now commonly called Vieques, a small island lying a few miles east of Puerto Rico, and also now belonging to the United States.]

_73. Examination of Edward Buckmaster. June 6, 1699._[1]

[Footnote 1: Oxford, Bodleian Library, Rawlinson MSS., A. 272, fol.

48; also in the Public Record Office, C.O. 5:1042, no. 40 XI. Edward Buckmaster, "one of Sh.e.l.ley's men", was committed June 7, and broke prison Aug. 25. _Cal. St. P. Col._, 1699, pp. 278, 401. A year later, though he was supposed to be still alive, a rascally chaplain of the fort at New York married his wife to Capt. Adam Baldridge of doc.u.ment no. 68, obtaining a marriage license for "Adam Ball" and adding "-dridge" afterward. _N.Y. Col. Doc._, IV. 333, 413, 766.]

Taken this 6 June 1699.

The Answer of Edward Buckmaster to severall questions put to him by the Honorable John Nanfan, Esqr., Lieutenant Governor of this province,[2] the said Buckmaster being sworne to answer all such Questions as should be demanded of him.

[Footnote 2: Capt. John Nanfan, a cousin of Bellomont's wife, was lieutenant-governor of New York under him, and administered the province during Bellomont's absence in Ma.s.sachusetts.]

Impr[imi]s. That the first land they made after they parted from this port in the _Adventure Galley_, Capt. William Kidd Commander, was the Island of Maderas, from whence they went directly to Madagascar, where they staid about A month to victual and careen. That there were no vessels at Madagascar when they came there. That they sailed from thence to a small Island called Johanna, lying in the Lat.i.tude of 12 degrees south, and from thence to Mahela, Lying in the Lat.i.tude of 11 degrees south; that they staid at the said Johanna and Mahela two Months where the Natives supplyed them with provisions. That there were four East India ships belonging to the Company at the Island Johanna at the same time they were there, the one called the _East India Merchant_ the second the _Madera.s.se_, the third was a fly boat, and the fourth he knows not the name of.

_Item._ That from thence they sailed along the sh.o.r.e of Magellona[3]

in the redd sea but saw no vessels till they came into the Lat.i.tude of 12 degrees north. That there they Met with several ships, some with English, some with Dutch, and some with Moors Colours, with whom they sailed in Company for Twenty five dayes but were not on board any of them. That the name of the one was the _Scepter_,[4] which ship fired a Gunn or Two At Capt. Kidds Galley.

[Footnote 3: Somaliland, probably.]

[Footnote 4: An English frigate. The events that follow are more fully detailed in Kidd's narrative, doc.u.ment no. 76, _post_.]

_Item._ That they tooke a ship on the coast of Mallabar that had a french pa.s.s, and French Master on board, with two Other white men, he believes them Dutch men, the rest all Moors; she was about 200 Tuns, made no resistance, and that they shared out of her four Bailes of Callicoes each Man. That afterwards the _Adventure Galley_ sunck at Saint Maries, and Kidd and Company went on board the prize.

_Item._ That Capt. Kidd had made no good voyage, having no money and only 160 Bailes of Callicoes on board.

_Item._ That he the said Buckmaster Left the said Capt. Kidd the last day of May 1698 and went on board the ship _Resolution_, Capt. Robert Culliford Comander,[5] as a volunteer before the Mast, and went out Cruising with him but tooke no vessel dureing the voyage though they Continued Cruising from May to December. the said Culliford had forty Gunns mounted and 120 men. he had been in those parts seven yeares on the account.

[Footnote 5: Culliford was a noted pirate, who for a time commanded the _Mocha_ frigate, which had been stolen from the East India Company; and this _Resolution_ was the _Mocha_ renamed, not the _Resolution_ of doc.u.ment no. 68, par. 13.]

_Item._ That he quitted the said Culliford the Middle of December last and went on board the ship _Nasaw_, Giles Sh.e.l.ley Master,[6] that went from New yorke to Madagascar to trade there (the said Buckmaster being willing to come home to his family, the said Sh.e.l.ley being bound back to New Yorke), that he gave the said Sh.e.l.ley 100 pieces of Eight for his pa.s.sage, which was the Comon rate and which sume he believes Fifty more pa.s.sengers that came from on board pyrate ships at Madagascar and Saint Maries gave to the said Sh.e.l.ley, the said Sh.e.l.ley as he believes well knowing what ships they had been in and what designe they came from.

[Footnote 6: Sh.e.l.ley, fitted out from New York in 1698 by Stephen Delancey and others, was suspected of piracy. In a letter of May 27, 1699, to Delancey, from Cape May, he speaks of bringing in 15,000 dollars of pa.s.sage money. _Cal. St. P. Col._, 1699, p. 281. He had lived in New York since 1688. See also doc. no. 85, note 17.]

_Item._ That the said Sh.e.l.ley sailed from the Island Saint Maries in the East Indies to Chyan[7] where he stayd three or four dayes.

[Footnote 7: Cayenne, probably.]

_Item._ That five or six of the persons that belonged to Capt.

Culliford in the East Indies went on board Capt. Gravenreadt[8] out of Sh.e.l.leys ship, when she came on this coast at Cape May, which Cape they made on Friday sevennight last.[9] Gravenreadts vessel lay about two miles from Sh.e.l.leys ship, but the said Gravenreadts came on board sh.e.l.leys ship, and believes made an agreemt. with the several men he took on board with him for their pa.s.sages to [_blank_]: Vizt. Robert English, Jan Spons, Theophilus [_blank_][10] and two or three Others.

That John Elderige, ---- Stanton, and Doctor ---- Badwain[11] went on sh.o.r.e at Cape May: they also came from on board Culliford.

[Footnote 8: Andreas Gravenraedt of New York. On this very day, June 6, Governor Blakiston of Maryland was seizing him and his ship in the Severn River. _Cal. St. P. Col._, 1699, p. 287.]

[Footnote 9: May 26.]

[Footnote 10: Turner. He turned king's evidence. See the next doc.u.ment.]

[Footnote 11: Kidd's physician was Robert Bradinham; he also turned king's evidence.]

_Item._ That they came to Sandy Hook on Fryday last in the Evening, that the said Edward Buckmaster, Paul Swan, Jonathan Evans and Otto van Toyle went on sh.o.r.e at the west end of long Island on Sat.u.r.day last at seven of the Clock in the Evening, they also belonged to Culliford; that he was at New Utrecht yesterday and came to New Yorke last night. That he has been often in the hold of Sh.e.l.leys ship dureing the voyage but saw nothing but water Casks, and that he never saw but four Gunns on the Deck since he was on board.

That one Capt. Shivers[12] came to saint Marys with a ship called the _soldado_ of 40 Gunns while Sh.e.l.ley was there, which ship is run ash.o.r.e.

[Footnote 12: See doc.u.ment no. 68, par. 13.]

That he did not see the _Quedaw Merchant_ nor Capt. Wright.

That he was at Callicut and Carresaw[13] in Kidds ship.

[Footnote 13: Carwar?]

A True Copy.

BELLOMONT.

_74. Deposition of Theophilus Turner. June 8, 1699._[1]

[Footnote 1: Public Record Office, C.O. 5:714, no. 70 VI. Original; a copy (no. 70 II.) is marked as sworn to before Colonel Blakiston, governor of Maryland, on June 8, 1699.]

Maryland scilicet