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Gentlemen

I now set down to inform You of the whole of my proceedings Since I left Halifax ー I have wrote you Several Times but presume you have not recd any of my Letters by your not mentioning of it in your Letter to Capt Beamish, Nothing material happened on my outward bound Passage, but a long time after I went out I had nothing but Southwardly Winds which made my Passage very long, I arrived at Barbadoes in 46 days went on Shore in a Passage Boat, I had not been on Shore more than One hour before it began to blow extremely hard in Such a Manner that frightened the People on Shore, however we recd no other damage but tareing our Sails very badly, I tried the Markets there found I could not do anything that would answer . . . I then saild for the Island of Dominica & arrived Safe, I found the Markets better there, but not quick Sales . . . after a long Time I got clear of the Cargo as you will See by the Accots of Sales sent you, After Some time I got 90 Casks of Rum & 12 of Sugar, Waited for Some time for a Ship which mounted 14 Guns which was bound to New York as it was almost impossible for me to have been out 24 hours alone without being taken, for them Seas are almost alive with privateers, taking every Vessell that passes without Convoy, they have even taken a number of the Passage Boats & Droggers, Capt Beamish & myself & two Liverpool Ships Saild the 27th of December under Convoy of that 14 Gun Ship arrived Safe at St Christophers, on the passage I found the head of my foremast to be very Rotten & weak So that it twisted one Side & the other as I shifted Tacks in a common breeze, I knew it was Weak on the passage out, took all the pains to Secure it at Dominica that could be contrived by Iron Withs & holdings & thought I had made it Secure, on the Passage to St Christophers I found it was not & that it was not possible to make it So, the main mast was rotten before I came into her but not so bad but I believe it would have Stood the Winter Coast by nursing it, In this Condition I was at St Christophers with the 14 Gun Ship condemn'd to be unloaded & new Sheathed, I did not know how to proceed, Capt Beamish & I concluded to go down to St Eustatia [for] certain Intelligence about the privateers. when we got there we found that the whole sea was almost full to the number of 150 Sail cruizing about those Islands & in our Way as far as Bermudas, we need not to have gone there to have known that they were very plenty for they came in Sight of Basseterre every day almost, one came within 2½ Leagues & took a Guineaman all in sight of the Town & one Night on coming down from Dominica one Son of a bitch run amongst us, but was too Small to attack our Convoy So Sheared off, Beamish & I consulted together & got Some of the first peoples Opinion wether we had better proceed or not, their Opinions were that we had better Stay for a Convoy for it was impossible to get clear without, then we enquired when there would be a Convoy appointed for York we made it pretty certain there would no Convoy go till the middle of April, we were certain that it would never do to Wait So Long as that, We now had no other Alternative left but to Sell both Vessells & Cargos or to go to Sea where we were certain to be taken in a few Hours after Sailing, we' not knowing whether the Vessells & Cargoes were insured or not, we put all those Circumstances together & consulted whether it was best to go out & be taken which Should have been the Case most certainly (for one of the Liverpool Ships was taken we have heard) & run the Risque of the Vessells not being insured, Or to Sell them, we concluded it would be most prudent to Sell both Vessells & Cargoes which I hope you Gentlemen will think we have done what you would have thought most. prudent had you been in our Circumstances, the Rum Gentlemen I Sold for what it cost exactly, the Sugar I Sold something under the first Cost. The Brig I agreed to have 300 Johannes for but was Obliged to make 20 Johannes abatemt on her on Accot being So very Worm eaten & the Masts bad, finely I was afraid of her being turned on my hands . . .