; the vessel was Moorish, and the
owners were Moorish merchants, but the master was an Englishman; his
name was Parker. Kidd forced him and a Portuguese that was called Don
Antonio, which were all the Europeans on board, to take on with him; the
first he designed as a pilot, and the last as an interpreter. He also
used the men very cruelly, causing them to be hoisted up by the arms,
and drubbed with a naked cutlass, to force them to discover whether they
had money on board, and where it lay; but as they had neither gold nor
silver on board, he got nothing by his cruelty; however, he took from
them a bale of pepper, and a bale of coffee, and so let them go.
A little time after he touched at Carawar, a place upon the same coast,
where, before he arrived, the news of what he had done to the Moorish
ship had reached them; for some of the English merchants there had
received an account of it from the owners, who corresponded with them;
wherefore, as soon as Kidd came in, he was suspected to be the person
who committed this piracy; and one Mr. Harvey and Mr. Mason, two of the
English factory, came on board and asked for Parker, and Antonio, the
Portuguese; but Kidd denied that he knew any such persons, having
secured them both in a private place in the hold, where they were kept
for seven or eight days, that is, till Kidd sailed from thence.
However, the coast was alarmed, and a Portuguese man-of-war was sent out
to cruise. Kidd met with her, and fought her about six hours, gallantly
enough; but finding her too strong to be taken, he quitted her; for he
was able to run away from her when he would. Then he went to a place
called Porca, where he watered his ship and bought a number of hogs of
the natives to victual his company.
Soon after this, he came up with a Moorish ship, the master whereof was
a Dutchman, called Schipper Mitchell, and chased her under French
colors, which they observing hoisted French colors too; when he came
up with her, he hailed her in French, and they having a Frenchman on
board, answered him in the same language; upon which he ordered them to
send their boat on board; they were obliged to do so, and having
examined who they were, and from whence they came, he asked the
Frenchman who was a passenger, if he had a French pass for himself; the
Frenchman gave him to understand that he had. Then he told the Frenchman
that he must pass for captain, and by----, says he, you are the captain;
the Frenchman
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