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French; but was relieved by a cartel and ſent over with a flag of truce, in a ſcooner commanded by one Captain Birk an Iriſhman, who had amind to deliver us every man into the fleet, then riding off kingſtown in which we no ſooner underſtood by his behaviour when coming within ſight of the fleet, we then lower’d down his ſails put out the boat, and came aſhore about 13 miles below kingſton, he for fear of buſt made his appology, that we did very well in ſo doing, for in taking the boat ourſelves we ſaved his oath, as he was ſworn to deliver us to the Admiral. We were no ſooner on ſhore than we called at the firſt publick houſe we could find and refreſhed ourſelves, the land-lord of which aſked us if we were priſoners of war, to which we anſwered, we was; then ſaid he, I have orders to take you all up for the ſervice of the navy, we boldly aſked him by whom he would do ſo? He told us, he had three hundred negroes; then we all drew our knives, and ſwore we would cut the hearts out of him and his negroes both before one of us were taken, we being in all about fifty men, but had no armour but our knives: from thence we ſet out through woods, and over the high blue mountains being affraid to go near Rockfort leſt the ſoldiers ſhould ſally out upon us, ſo we came that night to a wild plantation where there was a black negroe’s wedding, with about five hundred negroes at it, and not a white person amongſt them all. we was greatly affraid of them being ſo many in number, leſt they ſhould kill us in the night time, but they proved very kind gave us bread and rum, and ſhewed us the right road in the morning. We next
