round of the
colony, ever which they swept in the expectation of capturing the
brigs. The pirates had no occasion for oil, which they probably would
have destroyed in pure wantonness, but they were much in want of naval
stores, cordage in particular, and the whaling gear of the two brigs
would have been very acceptable to them. While running in for the group,
after an unsuccessful search, they made the Abraham, and gave chase.
That schooner steered for the straits, in the hope of finding the
governor; but was so hard pressed by her pursuers, as to be glad to edge
in for Cape South roads, intending to enter the group, and run for the
Reef, if she could do no better.

Luckily, the discovery of the look-out boat prevented the execution of
the Abraham's project, which would have led the pirates directly up to
the capital. But, no sooner did the governor see how things were
situated, than he boldly luffed up towards the strangers, intending to
divert them from the chase of the Abraham; or, at least, to separate
them, in chase of himself. In this design he was handsomely seconded by
Betts, in the Martha, who hauled his wind in the wake of the Anne, and
carried everything that would draw, in order to keep his station. This
decision and show of spirit had its effect. The two brigs, which were
most to the southward, altered their course, and edged away for the Anne
and Martha, leaving the ship to follow the Abraham alone. The governor
was greatly rejoiced at this, for he had a notion a vessel as large as
the strange ship would hesitate about entering the narrow waters, on
account of her draught; she being much larger than any craft that had
ever been in before, as the Kannakas must know, and would not fail to
report to the pirates. The governor supposed this ship to be a vessel of
between six and seven hundred tons measurement. Her armament appeared to
be twelve guns of a side, below, and some eight or ten guns on her
quarter-deck and forecastle. This was a formidable craft in those days,
making what was called in the English service, an eight-and-twenty gun
frigate, a class of cruisers that were then found to be very useful. It
is true, that the first class modern sloop-of-war would blow one of
those little frigates out of water, being several hundred tons larger,
with armaments, crews and spars in proportion; but an eight-and-twenty
gun frigate offered a very formidable force to a community like that of
the crater, and no one