This I assurd him, (as indeed it was just) and told him, I hopd, if ever he came safe to England , he would do Captain Avery , and all of us, Justice in that particular Case.
As to our being well fortifyd on the Island, and our Numbers, I assurd them all they were far from thinking too much of us; that we had a very good Fleet, and a very good Harbour for them; that we were not afraid of any Force from Europe , either by Land or Water; that it was, indeed, in vain to pretend to attack us by Force; that the only Way for the Government of England to bring us back to our Duty, would be to send a Proclamation from England with the Queens Pardon for our General and all his People, if they came in by a certain Time: And, added I, we know you want Money in England , I dare say, said I, our General, Captain Avery , and his particular Gang, who have the main Riches, would not grudge to advance five or six Millions of Ducats to the Government, to give them Leave to return in Peace to England , and sit down quietly with the rest.
This Discourse, I suppose, was the Ground of the Rumour you have had in England , That Avery had offerd to come in and submit, and would give six Millions for his Pardon: For as these Men were soon after this dismissd, and went back to England , there is no Doubt but they gave a particular Account of the Conference they had with me, who they calld one of Captain Avery s Captains.
We kept these five Men six or seven Days, and we pretended to show them the Country from some of the Hills, calling it all our own, and pointing every Way how many Miles we extended ourselves; we made them believe also that all the rest of the Country was at our Disposal, that the whole Island was at our Beck; we told them we had Treasure enough to enrich the whole Kingdom of England ; that our General had several Millions in Diamonds, and we had many Tuns of Silver and Gold; that we had fifty large Barns full of all Sorts of Goods, as well European as Indian ; and that it would be truly the best Way for England to do as they said, namely, to invite us all Home by a Proclamation with a Pardon: And if they would do this, said I, they can ask no reasonable Sum, but our General might advance it; besides, getting Home such a Body of stout able Seamen as we were, such a Number of Ships, and such a Quantity of rich Goods.
We had several long Discourses with them upon these Heads, and our frequent offering this Part to them with a Kind of feeling Warmth, (for it was what we all desird) has causd, I doubt not, the Rumour of such great Offers made by us, and of a Letter sent by me to the Queen, to beg her Majestys Pardon for myself and my Company, and offering ten Millions of Money Advance to the Queen for the publick Service: All which is a meer Fiction of the Brain of those which have publishd it; neither were we in any Condition to make such an Offer; neither did I, or any of my Crew or Company, ever write a Letter or Petition to the Queen, or to any one in the Government, or make any Application in the Case other than as above, which was only Matter of Conversation or private Discourse.
Nor were we so strong in Men or Ships, or any Thing like it. You have heard of the Number of Ships which we had now with us, which amounted to two Ships and a Sloop, and no more, except the Prize in which we took the Moguls Daughter; (which Ship we calld, The Great Mogul ) but she was fit for nothing, for she would neither sail or steer worth a Farthing, and indeed was fit for no Use but a Hulk, or a Guard-Ship.
As to Numbers of Men, they belyd us strangely, and particularly, they
seemd only to mistake Thousands for Hundreds: For whereas they told us, that you in England had a Report of our being six thousand Men, I must acknowledge that I think we were never, when we were at the most, above six hundred; and at the Time when I quitted the Country, I left about one hundered and eight Men there, and no more, and I am assurd, all the Number that now remains there, is not above twenty two Men, no, not in the whole Island.
Well, we thought, however, that it was no Business of ours at that Time to undeceive them in their high Opinion of our great Strength, so we took Care to magnify ourselves, and the Strength of our General, (meaning myself) that they might carry the Story to England , depending upon it, That a Tale loses nothing in the carrying. When they told us of our Fort, and the Batteries at the Mouth of the River where our Ships lie, we insinuated, that it was a Place where we did not fear all the Fleets in the World attacking us; and when they told us of the Number of Men, we strove to make them believe that they were much many more.
At length, the poor Men began to be tird of us, and indeed we began to be tird of them; for we began to be afraid very much that they would prye a little Way into our Affairs, and that a little too narrowly that Way; so as they began to sollicit their Deliverance, we began to listen to their Importunities: In a Word, we agreed to dismiss them; and accordingly we gave them Leave to go away to the Watering-place, as if they had made their Escape from us; which they did, carrying away their Heads full of all those unlikely projected Things which you have heard above.