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return in a short time, though not so soon, he feared, as the queen said. They were gone to encounter with a king to the northward, and about five or six thousand of them went all the way up the river in canoes, that were large enough to contain about thirty men a piece, with their proper accommodations in them, to make fires and dress victuals, and such as I had never seen any where else. I wrote a letter to the captain the next morning, and sent it by the fisherman, in which I gave him a full and particular account of what had passed. In his answer, he desired me to send some men to carry him up to the town on their shoulders, in a hammock affixed to two poles.

John Pro lived in a very decent manner, and his house was furnished with pewter dishes, a standing-bed with curtains, and all other things of the like nature, except chairs; a chest or two, however, served for that use well enough. He had an outhouse on purpose for his cook-room, and cook-slave's lodging, storehouse, and summer house; all these were enclosed in a palisade, as most of the great men's houses are in this country; for he was rich, had many cattle, and several slaves. Nicholas Dove, indeed, was not near so rich. In the evening came captain Burgess and Zachary : I soon understood that these were the sloop's crew, to which Arnold and Eglasse the Dutchman belonged; and, therefore, gave them the best account I could of their fortune in Feraignher.

Nicholas Dove, however, told me more than I knew before, viz.-That he ran away and got to Port Dauphine; that after the expiration of two years, he got to Mattatanna Road, in a large canoe, and there entered himself on board a pirate, that cruised principally among the Moors, from whom they frequently took great riches, and carried them to St. Mary's. This place having a good harbour, they made it their settlement and general rendezvous. It is a small island, but three leagues from Madagascar, in the latitude of 16 deg. 33 min. south; but as their ship grew old and crazy, and none of the Moorish ships, which

they had taken, were fit for their business, they being also vastly rich, they removed to Madagascar, made one Thomas Collins, a carpenter, their governor, and built a small fort, which they defended with their ship's guns; but here they led most licentious and profligate lives, stealing whatever they could come at, and ravishing the wives and daughters of the natives: living by this means for some time in a state of perpetual war. Upon this, I could not forbear reflecting that deaan Mernaugha was not so much to be blamed in ordering Eglasse to be killed for threatening him; since he had, doubtless, a competent knowledge by some means or another, to what a crew of vile abandoned wretches he once belonged. Nicholas Dove said, they had not gone out a pirating for nine years successively, contenting themselves with building a sloop by this governor's assistance, and soon after left him and others, and settled here, where they had continued ever since. By him I understood that Mr. Bembo got safe to England; but captain Drummond was killed before he could get off the island, though the particular manner and occasion, he could not inform me; but they told me one remarkable piece of news, namely, that this captain Drummond was the very man, for whose murder, and his crews, one captain Green, commander of an EastIndia ship, was hanged in Scotland; whether it be truth or not, I cannot determine. All I know of the case I have already related, and can only observe, that the time, the name, and the circumstances of his being here, where no news of him could be had for several years, give just grounds for the supposition. But to return to my history.

The queen sent me a calf for a present, and I in return, gave her a few knives and beads; I went to the shore with John Pro, to welcome the captain to the town. His surgeon, one Mr. Strahan, was with him. The queen entertained them as elegantly as she could, and mutual presents passed in form.

We returned that evening to the ship, and built a house the next day for the more commodious carrying

on of trade. The natives perceiving we were determined to stay, they built several others near it, to accommodate us with rice, milk, fruits, and other necessaries. I went frequently up to the town to hear what news I could, but it was a month or more before the people came back from the wars; they came down the river in canoes, as they went up, and met with great success. At length the king arrived with the corpse of his brother, who was killed in the fight. He deferred his burial for nearly a fortnight, till he had settled all his affairs with us, and had given audience likewise to his brother's ambassadors, who were waiting for him.

As soon as captain Macket heard of his return, he came up to town again with a large retinue, and his trumpeter sounding before him. They went to J. Pro's house whilst I attended on the king, with whom I had some very familiar conversation, as he had often heard of me; in the conclusion whereof, he told me that he desired the captain's patience till he had sent for his people about him, and put himself in due order to receive him, which, in about two hours' time, he did; and then all we white men, as well captain Burgess, and the rest, as those who came with us, marched two abreast, the trumpeter sounding before the captain, having a crowd of black mob after us; the shells blowing, and the drums beating at the same time in the king's palisade by way of compliment. As deaan Tokeoffu well knew how to treat white men, he had ordered two stools for the captain and surgeon to sit upon. After the mutual compliments were reciprocally passed, I being their interpreter, the manner of trade was soon settled and adjusted; and then the captain made a present to the king of a gun or two, &c., and the king presented him with a slave, &c. He gave me likewise a girl of twelve years old, whom I sold immediately to John Pro. The captain had thoughts of taking his leave this afternoon, but the king prevailed on him to stay till the next day, in order to make his court look the more grand when he received the ambassadors.

Accordingly, the next day, we were seated in order,

when the ambassadors came with a numerous retinue, making just such an entry as Rer Vove did before his grandfather, when he returned from the wars. Some

capering as they advanced, and firing their guns, and then retreating; others advancing in their places and doing the same. When the principal ambassador approached, he kneeled upon one knee, and licked the king's knee, saying

"Tyhew an deaan Unghorra en Zaftana Lohefute." That is,

"The Supreme God bless the progeny of deaan Lohefute."

Others came after him, repeating the same words. This done, business was now no more talked of, but the remainder of the day was spent in compliments and drinking of toake; but our captain took his leave, and made all the haste he could to despatch the affairs of trade. The next day they sent down several slaves to sell, and captain Macket fitted up Burgess's sloop, and sent her to fetch the ketch from Yong-Owl; during which time, the Henry, captain Harvey, commander, arrived; a ship of five hundred tons' burthen. While we continued here, deaan Toke-offu's brother was buried, and all the natives shaved off their hair, which is the usual manner of their public mourning all over the island; and he who does not comply with this, is looked upon as disaffected to the government. When a private person dies, the friends and relations only do it.

It was about the middle of October when we arrived here, and the 24th of November before the king returned; but by the beginning of January, we had purchased more than our cargo of slaves, so we left part of them with the Henry, which remained after us. We sailed from the river Munnonbaugher in Munnongaro, or Masseleege, and arrived at Yong-Owl, where captain White was trading, not having then got his complement of slaves. On the 20th of January we departed from thence, and bid adieu to the island of Madagascar.

We did not touch at the Cape of Good Hope, but at St Helena, where I went ashore, and took all the care I could of the slaves who were sick. From thence we went to Barbadoes, where we stayed a week, then weighed, and sailed to Jamaica, where we delivered our cargo. The captain was not only tender of me whilst on board, but supplied me with money likewise at every port we came to, though by the little knowledge I had of its use, I committed several mistakes which were subjects of laughter and merriment. As tc liquors, I could scarce relish any, since I had lost toake to which I had been so long accustomed. I was taken sick here, which proved very chargeable; but the captain sent me ashore, where, by his kind orders, I wanted for nothing. Whilst we were here, the Mercury, captain White from Madagascar arrived, but we were ready to sail with the fleet, under convoy of the Winchelsea, which was a forty-gun ship. On the 5th of July, we departed from Jamaica, beating through the windward passage. Under the Crooked Islands we saw two sloops, which the Winchelsea endeavoured to speak with, and imagining them to be pirates, struck his pendant, in order to look like a merchant ship, which deceived them so far, that the largest sloop gave chase, and hoisted a black ensign and jack; but finding her mistake, thought proper to alter her course, and stand in for the land again. Though the man-of-war could not follow her, yet our captain, whose ship was a good sailer, and mounted sixteen guns, did, and exchanged several broadsides with her. He stood close under the land, and as night came on, got away from us, but had the assurance to rob two of the stern-most

ships in the fleet. Moreover, they threatened to tie captain Macket to the main-mast of his ship, and burn him, if ever they met with him again.

Not long after this we had the misfortune to run foul of the Winchelsea, which, tacking about unexpectedly, staved our bow to the water's edge, and carried our foremast quite away; the man-of-war lost his head and sprit-sail-yard. We must all have been inevitably

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