they had cleaned, salted
and took in their provisions, and were ready to go to sea, when a large
ship appeared in sight, and stood into the same river.

The pirates knew not whether she was a merchantman or man-of-war. She
had been the latter, belonging to the French king, and could mount 50
guns; but being taken by the English, she was bought by some London
merchants, and fitted out from that port to slave at Madagascar, and go
to Jamaica. The captain was a young, inexperienced man, who was put in
with a nurse.

The pirates sent their boats to speak with them, but the ship firing at
them, they concluded it a man of war, and rowed ashore; the grab
standing in, and not keeping her wind so well as the French built ship,
run among a parcel of mangroves, and a stump piercing her bottom, she
sunk: the other run aground, let go her anchor, and came to no damage,
for the tide of flood fetched her off.

The captain of the Speaker, for that was the name of the ship which
frightened the pirates, was not a little vain of having forced these two
vessels ashore, though he did not know whether they were pirates or
merchantmen, and could not help expressing himself in these words: "How
will my name ring on the exchange, when it is known I have run two
pirates aground;" which gave handle to a satirical return from one of
his men after he was taken, who said, "Lord! how our captain's name will
ring on the exchange, when it is heard, he frightened two pirate ships
ashore, and was taken by their two boats afterwards."

When the Speaker came within shot, she fired several times at the two
vessels; and when she came to anchor, several more into the country,
which alarmed the negroes, who, acquainting their king, he would allow
him no trade, till the pirates living ashore, and who had a design on
his ship, interceded for them, telling the king, they were their
countrymen, and what had happened was through a mistake, it being a
custom among them to fire their guns by way of respect, and it was owing
to the gunner of the ship's negligence that they fired shot.

The captain of the Speaker sent his purser ashore, to go up the country
to the king, who lived about 24 miles from the coast, to carry a couple
of small arms inlaid with gold, a couple of brass blunderbusses, and a
pair of pistols, as presents, and to require trade. As soon as the
purser was ashore, he was taken prisoner, by one Tom Collins, a
Welshman, born in Pembroke, who lived