Sunday, 27th. At 4 A.M. came up with the chase, fired two guns, & brought her to.  She had been taken by the privateer 23 days before, in Lat. 26. deg.  N., while coming from Barbadoes; was loaded with rum, sugar, & some bags of cotton, & was bound to Boston.  Her owners are Messrs. Lee & Tyler, Merchants there, Thomas Smith was her commander, & there were 5 Spaniards aboard, whom we took.

Monday, 28th. Put the Lieut on board the privateer prize with 7 hands; also put on board the brigantine Capt Tho.  Smith, with verbal orders to follow us until we could get letters written to send her to Rhode Island to Cap’t Freebody.

Tuesday, 29th. Lost sight of both prizes, & lay to the best part of the forenoon to let them come up with us.

Wednesday, 30th. Saw our prize, [the sloop,] bore down on her, & ordered her canoe on board.  The Quartermaster went on board & brought off her powder & other stores, leaving 7 hands to navigate her, with verbal orders to keep us company.  No news of the brigantine; we suppose she is gone to the northward.  She has one of our hands on board.

Thursday, Oct. 1st. Calm weather, with thunder & rain.  Brave living with our people.  Punch every day, which makes them dream strange things, which foretells good success in our cruise.  They dream of nothing but mad bulls, Spaniards, & bags of gold.  Examined the papers of the sloop, & found several in Spanish & French, among which was the condemnation of Cap’t Stocking’s sloop.

Friday, 2nd. At 6 A.M. saw a ship under the land.  Stretched in for her, when she hoisted a French pennant & an English ensign.  Hoisted our Spanish Jack at mast head, and sent our pinnace aboard to discover what it was.  She proved to be a ship that had been taken by Don Francisco Loranzo, our prisoner, off the Capes of Virginia.  He had put a Lieu’t, 10 hands, & 5 Englishmen to carry her to the Havanah.  But the Spaniards ran her ashore on purpose.  We brought off the 5 Englishmen, the Spaniards having run for it.  We caught one & brought him on board, and sent our prize alongside to save what goods we could, for the ship was bilged.

Saturday, 3d. The people busy in getting goods out of the ship, we laying off & on.

Sunday, 4th. Sent John Webb as master with 7 mariners on board the prize, & with them a Bermudian negro, who had been taken prisoner in a fishing boat by the Spanish Cap’t off the Bermudas, & a mulatto prisoner belonging to the Spaniards, with the instructions which are underneath.

Latitude 22. deg. 50’ N., Oct. 4th, 1741.

MR. JOHN WEBB,

You being appointed master of the sloop Invincible, late a Spanish privateer, commanded by Cap’t Don Francisco Loranzo, and taken by me & company, we order you to keep company with us till farther orders.  But if, by some unforeseen accident, bad weather, or giving chase, we should chance to part, then we order that you proceed directly with said sloop & cargo to Rhode Island in New England.  And if, by the Providence of God, you safe arrive there, you must apply to Mr. John Freebody, Merchant there, & deliver your sloop & cargo to him or his assigns.