242 MASSACHUSETTS ATTACKS QUEBEC. [1690. 



was the epocli of the buccaneers ; and his crew, tired 

 of a vain and toilsome search, came to the quarter- 

 deck, armed with cutlasses, and demanded of their 

 captain that he should turn pirate with them. 

 Phips, a tall and powerful man, instantly fell upon 

 them with his fists, knocked down the ringleaders, 

 and awed them all into submission. Not long after, 

 there was a more formidable mutiny ; but, with 

 great courage and address, he quelled it for a time, 

 and held his crew to their duty till he had brought 

 the ship into Jamaica, and exchanged them for 

 better men. 



Though the leaky condition of the frigate com- 

 pelled him to abandon the search, it was not till he 

 had gained information which he thought would 

 lead to success; and, on his return, he inspired 

 such confidence that the Duke of Albemarle, with 

 other noblemen and gentlemen, gave him a fresh 

 outfit, and despatched him again on his Quixotic 

 errand. This time he succeeded, found the wreck, 

 and took from it gold, silver, and jewels to the 

 value of three hundred thousand pounds sterling. 

 The crew now leagued together to seize the ship 

 and divide the prize; and Phips, pushed to ex- 

 tremity, was compelled to promise that every 

 man of them should have a share in the treasure, 

 even if he paid it himself. On reaching England, 

 he kept his pledge so well that, after redeeming it, 

 only sixteen thousand pounds was left as his por- 

 tion, which, however, was an ample fortune in the 

 New England of that day. He gained, too, what 

 he valued almost as much, the honor of knight- 



