.
His force consisted of three stout ships; his own carried 40 guns and
152 men; another 32 guns and 132 men, and a third 24 guns and 90 men.
In April, 1722, Captain Ogle, commanding the _Swallow_, being on a
cruise off Cape Lopez, received intelligence that Roberts was lying with
his three ships in an adjoining bay. Upon this, he disguised his ship
to look like a merchant-vessel, and stood in, when one of the pirates
slipped her cable and gave chase. Captain Ogle decoyed him off the land
till he had reached such a distance as to prevent his associates hearing
the report of the guns. He then shortened sailed, tacked, and brought
the pirate to action, which continued an hour and a-half, when, her
commander being killed, she struck. Captain Ogle then steered in for
the bay, with the pirate's colours hoisted over the king's. This
stratagem succeeded, for the pirates, seeing the black flag uppermost,
concluded that the king's ship had been taken, and stood out to sea to
meet and congratulate their consort on his victory. Their joy was of
short duration, for no sooner did they come alongside the _Swallow_ than
Captain Ogle, throwing off the deception, opened his broadsides upon
them. The action lasted two hours, when, Captain Roberts being killed,
with a large number of his men, both ships struck. Captain Ogle carried
his prizes into Cape Coast Castle, where the prisoners, to the amount of
160, were brought to trial; 74 of them were capitally convicted, 52 of
whom were executed and hung in chains along the coast.

In 1725 the South Sea Company commenced a whale-fishery, in which they
employed twelve ships, and were sometimes very successful.

In 1726 an expedition was sent to the Spanish West Indies, under
Rear-Admiral Hosier, for the purpose of blocking up the galleons or
seizing them should they venture out. On the first arrival of the
squadron its appearance struck terror along the whole coast, and several
Spanish ships were captured. Conceiving that it was his duty to
blockade Porto Bello, the brave Hosier remained before it, suffering no
ships to go in or come out without strict examination; but, after
remaining for six months, fever made such havoc among his seamen, while
the ships were so eaten with worms, that he was compelled to return to
Jamaica. In two months, however, he was again at sea, and standing over
to Carthagena, continued to cruise in those seas. It is said that he
lost his crews twice over.