In
The Afternoon, I Sent For One Of Our Quarter-Deck Guns On Shore, Which
Was Mounted At Our Guard, And Was Fired At Sun-Set, Midnight, And Break
Of Day.
The messenger returned in the morning of the 24th, accompanied
by the master of the ship we had taken, and on hearing of their arrival,
I went on shore to know what they had to propose.
I understood from them
that the governor was determined not to ransom the town, and did not
care what become of it, provided the churches were not burnt. Though I
never had any intention to destroy any place devoted to divine worship,
I answered that I should have no regard to the churches, or anything
else, when I set the town on fire; and I told the master of the vessel,
he might expect to see her in flames immediately, if not ransomed
without delay. This seemed to make a great impression, and he promised
to return in three hours with the money. I then caused every thing to
be taken out of the town that could be of any use to us, after which I
ordered the town to be set on fire in several places; and, as the houses
were old and dry, it instantly became a bonfire.
In the midst of this conflagration, the people in the Speedwell made
many signals for me to come on board, and kept continually firing
towards the mouths of the harbour. As I could only guess the meaning of
all this, I went on board as soon as possible in a canoe, having only
three men along with me.
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