snug, and the men in the hold were ordered to get their
pistols and their swords ready for close fighting, and to come up at his
command; in order to which two ladders were placed in the hatchway for
the more expedition. When the lieutenant's sloop boarded the other
Captain Teach's men threw in several new-fashioned sort of grenades,
viz., case-bottles filled with powder and small shot, slugs, and pieces
of lead or iron, with a quick-match in the mouth of it, which, being
lighted without side, presently runs into the bottle to the powder, and,
as it is instantly thrown on board, generally does great execution
besides putting all the crew into a confusion. But, by good Providence,
they had not that effect here, the men being in the hold. Black-beard,
seeing few or no hands aboard, told his men "that they were all knocked
to head, except three or four; and therefore," says he, "let's jump on
board and cut them to pieces."

Whereupon, under the smoke of one of the bottles just mentioned,
Black-beard enters with fourteen men over the bows of Maynard's sloop,
and were not seen by him until the air cleared. However, he just then
gave a signal to his men, who all rose in an instant, and attacked the
pirates with as much bravery as ever was done upon such an occasion.
Black-beard and the lieutenant fired the first shots at each other, by
which the pirate received a wound, and then engaged with swords, till
the lieutenant's unluckily broke, and stepping back to cock a pistol,
Black-beard, with his cutlass, was striking at that instant that one of
Maynard's men gave him a terrible wound in the neck and throat, by which
the lieutenant came off with only a small cut over his fingers.

They were now closely and warmly engaged, the lieutenant and twelve men
against Black-beard and fourteen, till the sea was tinctured with blood
round the vessel. Black-beard received a shot into his body from the
pistol that Lieutenant Maynard discharged, yet he stood his ground, and
fought with great fury till he received five-and-twenty wounds, and five
of them by shot. At length, as he was cocking another pistol, having
fired several before, he fell down dead; by which time eight more out of
the fourteen dropped, and all the rest, much wounded, jumped overboard
and called out for quarter, which was granted, though it was only
prolonging their lives a few days. The sloop _Ranger_ came up and
attacked the men that remained in Black-beard's sloop with