^Hap.XX. from the Revolution, to the Death 0/.As, William.

Convoy, joined him; And, as soon ashe had dispatched the Trade home, heput to Sea, with the Squadron, in Obe-p dience to the Commands he had received

glj enstbe from His Majesty. When he had reach-es icr j, e( l fifty Leagues, S. w. by W. fromproceeds Cadiz, he opened other Orders from the° ^ladera. King, and pursuant thereunto, madeall the Sail he could, to the Istand ofMadera, where he was to be joinedwithf ra ; p es ^, some Ships under Command of Captainf° n S Tim™George Meeze, who was appointed Rear

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Admiral, in this Expedition. He ply’dabout that Island, eight and fifty Days,before any Part of this additional Stengtharrived, and even then no more joinedhim than the Rear-Admiral, with hisown Ship, the Brijlol, and the Light-ning Fire-ship. (V)

The seventeenth of April, he arriv-ed at Barbadoes, where the Dutch andother Engiijh Ships, which were want-ing, all join’d him, excepting theBlaze Fire-lhip, as did likewise a Sloopwhich had been sent to Martinica , butwithout Intelligence, Upon which, theeight and twentieth, he bore away forAntegoa. The third of May, he wenton Shoar, to consult with Colonel Co-drington, Governour and Captain Ge-neral of the Leeward JJlands. (b) Afterwhich, he held a Council of War, ofall the Officers, both English and Dutch,(c) As soon as the Council broke up, heset Sail, and, the next Day, sent one ofthe Frigats to St. Thomas's, for a Pilot, toconduct her to Puerto Ricco, for Intelli-gence: From whence she was to returnto Punta de la Guada, the Place ofR endezvous.

About this Time, th e Monmouth, aShip of his Squadron, took a FrenchPrivateer, which had just put the Go-vernour of Petit-Guavas ashoar.

The eighth of May, the Frigat join’dthe Fleetagain, and brought certain In-

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telligence, that Monsieur Ponti sailedfrom Petit-Guavas, the eleventh ofMarch, O. S. with fix and twenty Ships,small and great. This occasioned aCouncil of War, where it was resolvedto proceed immediately to Jamaica.The fifteenth of May, being off of theEast-End of that Island, the Vice-Ad-miral was informed of a Report, thatthe French Squadron was before Car-thagena ; Whereupon, having wateredat Port Royal, the twenty-fourth, hetookAdvantage, the five and twentieth,of a small Gale, off of Shoar, and gotclear of the Keys, steering away, S. E.by S. and S. S. E. for Carthagena.

The seven and twentieth, being a-about half Seas over, that Part of hisSquadron, which was to Windward,made a Signal of seing Ships standingWestward; Upon which, he immediate-ly tack’d and stood after them, with apressed Sail, judging them to be eitherFrench, or the Spanish Gallions. Thenext Morning early, they were per-ceived to be ten Men of War and twoFly-boats; And, continuing to givethem Chafe, the Warwick, a fifty-GunShip, came up with one of them, andfired at her. But she, being a betterSailer, got clear. Soon after, the fameShip got up with one of the Fly-boats,and, taking her, found her to be ladenwith Powder, Cannon-Ball, Shells, andone Mortar.

Some Accounts fay, this Ship wasformerly taken from the Spaniards, be-ingVice-Admirstl of the Berlovento- Fleet,and had now on Board, besides Plate,eight Hundred Barrels of Powder, anda Hundred Negroes, valued at twenty-Thousand Pounds; The Author of theBritish Empire in America fays, twoHundred Thousand Pounds, but thereseems to be a Cypher too much.

In

(a) The others both English and Dutch, were unto they had, for several Months past, been

separated in a Fog, just as he left the Isle of Wight; cutting a Path thro'the Woods, that so they

But the Place appointed for their Rendezvouz might march by Land thither, from Petitbeing Barbadces , the ViceAdmiral put out to Sea, Guavas.

and stretched it away Southward, that so he might (c) They agreed, that it was proper to fail tofall into the Way of a Trade-Wind. Being, the Punta de la Guada on the N. W. of Puerto Ricco,first of April , about four Hundred Leagues 8. W. for the better Security of the Spanish Fleet, (forof Madera , he sent the Bristol, a good Sailer, to that was a Principal Thing recommended to him,Barbadoes, with a Letter to the Governour, de- by his Majesty's Instructions) where it was usual

string him to dilpatch a Sloop, or some proper with them to stop, and refresh the Men ; And

Vessel, to Martinica , to gain Intelligence ofMon- there it was determined, to remain, 'till fartherfieur Ponti , or any other considerable Force the Intelligence could be got of the Enemy, for hadFrench might have in those Parts. the Squadron gone to Jamaica , they could not

{b) He had Intelligence from St. Thomas’s have beat it up to Windward, Time enough from

Curacao and Province-Island, that the French thence, to St. Domingo, or any other Place on His-

designed to attack St. Domingo ; In Order where- paniola.

7*7

1697.

Comes upwith them r

And chafesthem.