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The Pirates Own Book by Charles Ellms
page 233 of 435 (53%)
to his bow, we did him great damage; so that had Captain Kirby come in
then, I believe we should have taken both the vessels, for we had one of
them sure; but the other pirate (who was still firing at us,) seeing the
Greenwich did not offer to assist us, supplied his consort with three
boats full of fresh men. About five in the evening the Greenwich stood
clear away to sea, leaving us struggling hard for life, in the very jaws
of death; which the other pirate that was afloat, seeing, got a warp
out, and was hauling under our stern.

"By this time many of my men being killed and wounded, and no hopes left
us of escaping being all murdered by enraged barbarous conquerors, I
ordered all that could to get into the long-boat, under the cover of the
smoke of our guns; so that, with what some did in boats, and others by
swimming, most of us that were able, got ashore by seven o'clock. When
the pirates came aboard, they cut three of our wounded men to pieces. I
with some of my people made what haste I could to King's-town,
twenty-five miles from us, where I arrived next day, almost dead with
the fatigue and loss of blood, having been sorely wounded in the head by
a musket-ball.

"At this town I heard that the pirates had offered ten thousand dollars
to the country people to bring me in, which many of them would have
accepted, only they knew the king and all his chief people were in my
interest. Meantime, I caused a report to be spread that I was dead of my
wounds, which much abated their fury. About ten days after, being pretty
well recovered, and hoping the malice of our enemies was nigh over, I
began to consider the dismal condition we were reduced to; being in a
place where we had no hopes of getting a passage home, all of us in a
manner naked, not having had time to bring with us either a shirt or a
pair of shoes, except what we had on. Having obtained leave to go on
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