The Virginia Gazette

Extract of a letter from Port Royal, in Jamaica, dated June 20.

Several small vessels of this island have for a long time past made it a business to resort to the island of Cuba to cut wood, which they have continued without intermission. By the frequency of their visiting the island they at last got into some acquaintance with the natives (for vessels always resorted to those parts totally uninhabited by the Spaniards) and bartered with them for the produce of the island, such as cocoa nuts, plantains, aloes, long pepper, &c. and sometimes met with gold dust, which the Indians gathered in the sands of the river. This commerce was carried on with the utmost privacy and strictness, and some of the adventurers made pretty considerable sums of money, as they met with immediate market for most of their goods in the leeward islands. However, the Spaniards having by some means gained intelligence of these practices, fitted out 3 frigates at the Havannah, in order to put a stop to them. These frigates had cruised about, and taken some few small vessels concerned in the trade, which were immediately condemned, and the crews put to work on the fortifications, among the slaves and common malefactors. At last they got notice of 6 sloops being in a bay about 40 miles east of the Havannah, on the north part of the island, near Santa Cruz; they immediately bore away for it, at the same time giving notice to the governor of the Havannah, who dispatched 150 soldiers by land to the place, in order to prevent the traders from escaping up the country, if they were on shore when their sloops were seized. This precaution took, as they were on shore when the frigates came into the bay, and, in endeavouring to make their escape, were all taken by the soldiers, put on board their vessels, and carried into the Havannah, where they were condemned in a judicial way, except the Diligence, who having nothing but wood on board, was suffered to depart.