s. The prizes to be gained were so
great and the risks so small, that the Company could hardly restrain
their own men from joining the sea rovers. Thus, in 1694, John Steel[1]
ran away with the long boat of the _Ruby_ frigate. Sixteen others who had
plotted to join him were detected in time, and clapped in irons. The
French and Dutch gave passes to all who applied for them, so Steel placed
himself under French protection, and for two years 'that rogue Steel'
finds frequent mention in the coast letters. Four years later Steel was
arrested in England. But though the directors had been supplied with many
accounts of his misdeeds, no sworn evidence could be produced against him,
so Steel escaped scot-free.

All other pirates, however, were destined to be eclipsed in fame by Henry
Every, _alias_ Bridgman,[2] who now made his appearance in the Indian
seas. His exploits, the great wealth he amassed by piracy, and his
reputed marriage with a Mogul princess, continued to excite the public
mind long after he had disappeared from the scene. Several biographies of
him were written, one of them attributed to Defoe, all of them containing
great exaggerations; and a play, _The Successful Pirate_, was written in
his honour. His biographers generally give his name as John Avery, but it
was as is here given. According to the account of Van Broeck, a Dutchman,
who was detained on board his ship for a time, and was on good terms with
him, he was born at Plymouth, the son of a trading captain who had served
in the navy under Blake. Every himself served in the navy, in the
_Resolution_ and _Edgar_, before he got the command of a merchant ship,
in which he made several voyages to the West Indies. In May, 1694, he was
first mate of the _Charles the Second_, one of the small squadron of
English ships hired from Sir James Houblon, by the Spanish Government, to
act against French smugglers who were troubling their Peruvian trade.[3]

The Spaniards were bad paymasters, and Houblon's squadron was detained at
Corunna three or four months, while the crews became more and more
discontented as their wages remained unpaid. As their sense of grievance
increased, a plot was formed among the most turbulent spirits to seize a
ship and turn rovers, under Every's command. On the night of the 30th May,
the captain of the _Charles the Second_ was made prisoner while in bed. A
boat-load of men sent from the _James_ to prevent the capture, joined the
mutineers; t