Page:A general history of the pyrates, from their first rise and settlement in the Island of Providence, to the present time (1724).djvu/70

 Upon their firt eeing a Ship of this Force and Burthen, they uppoed it to be a Man of War ent to take them; they therefore lurked within their Fatnees, but when ome from the Ship came on Shore, without any hew of Hotility, and offering to trade with the Negroes, they ventured to come out of their Holes, attended like Princes; and ince they actually are Kings De Facto, which is a kind of a Right, we ought to peak of them as uch.

Having been o many Years upon this Iland, it may be imagined, their Cloaths had long been worn out, o that their Majeties were extreamly out at the Elbows; I cannot ay they were ragged, ince they had no Cloaths, they had nothing to cover them but the Skins of Beats without any tanning, but with all the Hair on, nor a Shoe nor Stocking, o they looked like the Pictures of Hercules in the Lion’s Skin; and being overgrown with Beard, and Hair upon their Bodies, they appeared the mot avage Figures that a Man’s Imagination can frame.

However, they oon got rigg’d, for they old great Numbers of thoe poor People under them, for Cloaths, Knives, Saws, Powder and Ball, and many other Things, and became o familiar that they went aboard the Delicia, and were oberved to be very curious, examining the inide of the Ship, and very familiar with the Men, inviting them ahore. Their Deign in doing this, as they afterwards confeed, was to try if it was not practicable to urprize the Ship in the Night, which they judged very eay, in cae there was but a lender Watch kept on Board, they having Boats and Men enough at Command, but it eems the Captain was aware of them, and kept o trong a Watch upon Deck, that they found it was in vain to make any Attempt; wherefore, when ome of the