V. C

HAP. XVI.

during the Reign of §jteen Ami.

(711. It being the Opinion of every Body,that the Humber and Devon/hire weretoo big to venture up the River, as faras Quebec (People generally representingthe Navigation of that River very dan-gerous) I, therefore, ordered themhome, and have hoisted my Flag in theEdgar ; And the General going ortBoard the Windsor, Captain Arris wentto command her, and Captain Paddonto be my Captain. Captain Cooper goeshome in the Devonshire , and CaptainSoanes, in the Swiftfure. I fend all theFrench Prisoners home, in the Humberand Devonshire, and the Loyal MerchantTransport under their Convoy. TheChefieP s Stern-post being loose, I shallbe obliged to send her to New-Englandbefore I intended.

Having no Men of War to sparewith. me, besides the two great Ships,that' are to go home, and a Man ofWar, of sixty Guns, with another ofthirty,being expected from France ,everyDay, (y) I have ordered the Humberand Devonshire to cruise in the Openingof the Bay of St. Lawrence, ’till thelast of this Month, and then to proceedto Great 'Brittain.

I am SIR,

Tour most obedient humble Servant.

Hovenden Walker.

Edgar, at Sea, August 14.

171J. Bird-lsiands,

two Hundred andfifty Leagues

from Cape-Ann.

This Letter was sent by CaptainCulliford of the Humber.

1711.

Sir Hov.

A Copy of a Letter, sent to Mr. Secre-tary Burchett, from Spanish River-Bay, after the Accident in Canada-River.

SIR,

When I sent my last Letters by Waiker ^ 2/Jthe Humber, I was in the greatest Ex- Letter topectation of Ssiccefs imaginable, having Mr - Bur ~fair Weather, ’till we came within the chett ‘

Bay of St. Lawrence, where the Navi-gation began to be intricate and dange-rous. But, the eighteenth of August,being off Cape-Gafpee-Bocy, near theEntrance of the River Canada, blowingfresh, at N. W. lest the Transportsshould be scattered, and blow to Lee-ward, I anchored in that Bay, where Istayed for an Opportunity to proceed upthat River; And I burnt a French Ship,

I found there Fishing, not being ableto bring her away.

The twentieth of August, I was inHopes, (the Winds veering E.) that wehad obtained our Wishes. But the nextDay, in the Afternoon, it proved foggy,and continued so all Night, and theDay following, with little Winds, andcalm, ’till Afternoon, when, in an ex-tream Fog, it began to blow hard, atE. and E. S. E. which rendering itimpossible to steer by any Course, hav-ing neither Soundings nor Sight of Landto help us, or any Anchorage withinsixty Leagues, and that not safe, it wastherefore, by the Advice of the Pilots

then

' tot ‘rnat.

Ships Names.

Commanders Names.

Men.

Guns.

Humber,

Culliford.

520

So

* Pr. B. S. L.

Windsor,

Arris.

3 6 S

60

Dunkirk,

Rouse.

3 6 5

60

Feverfham,

Paston.

ip (5

S 6

N. J.

Leopard ,

Cooke.

280

So

C. B.

Chester,

Matthews.

280

54

C. B. Pr. B. S. L.

Monmouth,

Mitcbel.

440

70

noEdgar,

This is. the Line of Battle full; But, according to Sir Hovenden a Journal, he had, that Day,more Ships actually with him, than th e, Swiftsure, Monmouth. Windsor, Mountague, Dunkirk, Ed,Sunderland, Humber and Devonshire, with the two Bomb-Veffels.'

The Marks in the outer Column sliewthe Circumstances of every Ship, with Respect to the Ad-miral. Those mark'd (*) failed with him from Boston. Those marked {C. B.) joined him off Cap e .Breton : Those mark’d (Pr. B. S. L.) parted from him in the Bay of St. Lawrence : Those marked(I. S. R.) joined him at Spanish River ; And those marked (N. I.) never joined him.

At New England were taken up for Her Majesty’s Service as Transports for sixteen Companies ofthe Forces of the Mafsachufets, five Ships, three Brigantines, a Sloop, and an Hospital-ship; Besidesthe Province-Gally, another Brigantine, three Sloops, a Store-ship, twenty Whale-boats, with Oarsand Paddles, and twenty flat-bottomed Boats with Oars.

(/) They had this Account by the FrenchPrize called the Neptune , sent into Boston , byCaptain Matthews, of thy Chester, mentioned a-bove, which was laden with Bale-Goods, and saidto be worth eight Thousand Pounds. The Mateof her told the Admiral, if he pretended to go up

the River to fhtebec, with his Fleet, he wouldlose all the Ships; And the Master of this Prizetold Captain Matthews, that the last Year, theFrench lost eight Ships out of nine in that River,and that a great Number of Ships are cast away

.fsl /-ll-A CUfQVVK V aoi*