The Virginia Gazette

WILLIAMSburg, July 21.

NATHANAEL BLAKE, a native of the island of Antigua,
PERSONALLY appeared Nicholas
who being duly sworn upon the Holy Evan-
gelists, of Almighty God, deposed and said.
That on the 27th or 28th of September
last past, this deponent sailed from Antigua
in the sloop called the Success, of which he
together with James Blake, of Antigua
aforesaid, were owners, and whereof James
Jones was master, bound to the island of
Jamaica, with twelve hundred dollars on board, and a cargo of eighty-four mules.
some mahogany and logwood (and sundry
European goods, to the value of about
two hundred and sixty pounds sterling) which
said cargo was regularly cleared out from
the custom-house: That on the second day
of October following, being at the distance
of four or five leagues from the island of
Porto Rico, he saw a brigantine under Eng-
lish colours, under the land, which gave
him chase; whereupon he hoisted English
colours; that upon its falling calm, the
brigantine fitted out her boat, with sixteen
armed men, which coming within hail of
the sloop, Captain Jones demanded the rea-
son of their coming, and what they wanted;
to which he was answered in broken English,
that they wanted to come on board him;
whereupon he told those in the boat that if
they offered to come on board, he would
sink them, adding, that if they had any
business with him, he would go on board
the brigantine, and shew his papers to the
Captain; upon which they answered him in
Spanish (which language this deponent un-
derstands) that they would come on board;
he then told them he would say no more to
them; but if they proceeded further in
coming on board, he would point a gun di-
rectly into them, and sink them; whereupon
they answered him in Spanish, that they did
not value all the guns he had: That he then
fired a four pound shot at the boat, which
struck, and took a plank out of her, but
did no further damage, and then ordered
his men to point their small arms into the
boat; upon which the boat returned on
board the brigantine, which immediately
hoisted a red flag at the foretop mast head,
keeping the English colours still flying, and
put out eighteen oars, with which she row-
ed towards the sloop, having the boat a-
head towing her, which, when the Captain
of the sloop perceived, he ordered the sloop's
colours to be struck, saying to this deponent
that they must be taken, and if she is a
Guarda Costa, she would carry them into
port, where, upon producing their papers,
they should certainly be cleared: That
Captain Jones then hailed the brigantine,
and received no answer, but those on board
the brigantine fired six guns, loaded with
langridge and small shot, into the sloop, at
about the distance of thirty yards, which
killed four, and wounded five of the sloop's
men, and immediately the boat's crew
boarded the sloop, one of whom asked
where was the Captain of the sloop: and
upon Captain Jones's answering, that he
commanded the sloop, they then forcibly
seized, and put him into the boat, and
eight or nine rushed into the sloop's cabin,
and broke open the Captain's chest; upon
which this deponent demanded the reason of
their proceeding in that manner, and was
answered, you son of a bitch, what affair is
that of yours; whereupon this deponent ob-
served to them, that they had no right to
break open any chests, but to bring them
into port, and that he had a right to pre-
vent their acting in such manner, he being
an owner of the said sloop: That they then
seized on this deponent, and bound his
hands, and put him likewise into the boat:
That the Captain of the brigantine then hail-
ed his people on board the sloop, and or-
dered them to put all the Englishmen they
found on board her into the boat, and send
them on board the brigantine, which they
accordingly did: That on the Captain of
the sloop's going on board the brigantine,
he shewed the Captain his papers, and told
him he had no right to use him in the man-
ner he had done; on which the Captain of
the brigantine said to him in Spanish, Pati-
encia; whereupon the Captain of the sloop
replied, that it was hard on him to have pa-
tience, after having his men killed, and being
treated in such a cruel manner. That the
Captain of the brigantine then told him, he
had no business on their coast, and that
when Englishmen came there they must ex-
pect to be used so. That then Captain
Jones desired the Captain of the brigantine
to carry him into port; whereupon he an-
swered him, he would presently, and would
carry him to Porto Rico, and from thence
he should be sent to Carthagena, where he
should lie in prison for ever. That upon his
telling Captain Jones so, one of his officers
said to him, you are a fool in talking of
carrying him to Porto Rico, don't you
know there are English vessels that come
there daily with slaves, and the com-
mandant is an Englishman, who will see justice
done to these people. That then the Cap-
tain of the brigantine said, we can put them
on shore on the leewardmost point of the
island; by which means they will be a long
time in getting to town, and we shall have
time enough to go away. That according-
ly the next day they put on shore eleven of
the sloop's people at the said leewardmost
point of Porto Rico, keeping on board on-
ly the master, mate, and this deponent.
That they then proceeded with the sloop in
company, to the port of Au Cayes de St.
Louis, a French port on the south side of
the island of Hispaniola. That in their
way thither, this deponent saw the Captain
of the brigantine deliver to an officer, whom
he took to be the boatswain, a bundle of
papers, which upon seeing opened, he sup-
posed to be a Spanish register, and that the
said officer thereupon, went on board the
sloop, and carried her under Spanish colours
to Au Cayes. That upon the brigantine's
coming to an anchor, in a bay called Baye
de Flamands, this deponent, together with
the Captain and mate, were put in irons,
and confined in the hold during the time the
brigantine lay in the said bay, being three
days. That upon the night of the sloop's
being taken, the English colours and red
flag were hauled down on board the brigan-
tine, and no other colours were hoisted,
until they came in sight of St. Louis, when
the colours usually worn by Spanish ships of
war, were hoisted. That upon the fourth
day after their arrival at St. Louis, the
brigantine got under sail, when this depo-
ient, with the Captain and mate, were taken
out of irons, and permitted to come on
deck, and proceeded to Porto Bello, on the
Spanish Main, where they arrived after a
passage of eighteen days. That the brigan-
tine went from thence the same day, after
having taken in some provisions, and sailed
down along the Spanish Main, as far as the
coast of Caracas, touching at several places,
but avoiding all ports where King's officers
resided. That they arrived at a place cal-
led Toopah, where the Captain of the
brigantine went on shore, with several bales
of goods, and staid two or three days, when
he returned with some refreshments, and
two bags, which this deponent believed did
contain money. That they got under way,
and beat up as high as the island of Cura-
coa, which they made, and bore down for
the island of Hispaniola, and touched at a
small port to the leeward of Au Cayes,
where they took in an hundred beeves, with
which they proceeded to the Baye de Fla-
mans, where, on coming to anchor, this
deponent, his master and mate, were again
put into irons, and kept so during their stay
there, being eighteen or twenty days. That
the beeves were there landed, and the brig-
antine hove down, and laden with sugar,
indigo, and molasses. That the night be-
fore they sailed from that place, one James
Nott came on board, who, as this depo-
nent was informed, was to act as the Eng-
lish Captain. That next morning the
brigantine sailed, bound (as this deponent
was told) to Philadelphia. That on the
same evening the Spanish Captain proposed
to this deponent, his Captain and mate,
that if they would be faithful to him, and
assistant to Captain Nott, in carrying the
vessel to Philadelphia, and to act there as
belonging to the brigantine, he would there
buy them a vessel, and a proper cargo, and
they should go with him to the Spanish Main,
where he would procure them the liberty
of trading, and a commission as a Guarda
Costa, which proposals were often repeated
to them, until their arrival off Tiberon, and
being always refused, the Captain and mate
were there put on shore, and this deponent
was detained on board, although he begged
on his knees to be likewise sent on shore.
That after they left Cape Tiberon, this de-
ponent was informed they were to proceed
to Harbour Island, where the brigantine
was to lie, and from whence Captain Nott
was to proceed in a small vessel to New-
Providence, in order to procure a set of
English papers for the said brigantine. That
they accordingly arrived at Harbour Island,
on or about the nineteenth day of May last,
when Captain Nott left the brigantine, and
returned in about six days after. That on
his return, this deponent heard him tell the
Spanish Captain, that he had been at New-
Providence, but could not procure the Eng-
lish papers there. That while the Spanish
Captain and Captain Nott were at supper,
this deponent heard Captain Nott tell the
Spanish Captain, in the Spanish language,
that there was a fine Bermuda built sloop,
double decked, then lying in Providence,
which was to sail for London in about ten
or twelve days. That thereupon the Spa-
nish Captain asked Captain Nott, whether
the papers of the sloop would not answer
for their purpose; to which Captain Nott
replied that a sloop's papers would not do
for a brigantine. That the Spanish Cap-
tain further asked Captain Nott if they took
the said sloop, whether they could not take
out the cargo of the brigantine, and put it
into the sloop, and put the cargo of the sloop
into the brigantine, and send her home, as
they had hands enough to man both vessels:
to which Captain Nott made no reply. That
on the day of this deponent's arrival at
Harbour Island, there came on board an old
man in small boat, to whom this deponent
made known that the brigantine had no Eng-
lish papers, in hopes that he would inform
some officer, by which means the brigantine
might be detained, and he obtain his liberty;
for which the Spanish Captain put him in
irons, and threatened to cut off his head.
And this deponent further said, that upon
Captain Jones's hearing the people call the
Captain of the brigantine by the name of
Laurencine, he desired this deponent to be
cautious in his behaviour, not to give offence
to the Captain, for that he was the man that
cut off Captain Phillips's ears. That the
brigantine sailed from Harbour Island on the
third instant, when he was permitted to go
on Shore. That the brigantine is a Bermu-
da built vessel, called the Kouli Khan, of
about fifty six feet keel, single decked,
having sixteen carriage guns, twenty four
swivels, and two cohorns, all mounted when
this deponent was taken, and is navigated
by thirty two men, four of which are Eng-
lish, and all the rest foreigners of different
ations. That this deponent, during the
time of his being on board, often heard from
the crew belonging to the brigantine, that
they had taken in the said brigantine, a brig
from St. Eustatia, a sloop belonging to
Curacao, and a sloop and a schooner be-
longing to Jamaica.

(Signed) NICHOLAS BLAKE.

Nassau, New-Providence, June 15, 1768.

HEN and there appeared Nicholas
TH
Blake, and made solemn oath upon
the Holy Evangelists of Almighty God, that
the contents of the before written declarati-
on contained in two sheets, and the above
lines by him signed, are, according to the
best of this declarant's knowledge, remem-
brance and belief, just and true.

Sworn to before me in Council

(Signed) WILLIAM SHIRLEY

A true copy from the original.
Att. P. BROWN, Clk. Cl.