r seen of this kind of food. I soon found it to
be the common bread of the country. We were politely waited upon, having
a negro boy, from ten to fourteen years old, without one rag of clothing
about him, standing behind the chair of each person at table, with a
bush in his hand to keep the flies from annoying the company. The
following day I was invited to dine on board Captain Mitchell's vessel.
His boat was sent for me at the proper hour, and I was politely
received on board and soon after conducted to the table, which was
elegantly furnished with silver platters, plates, knives, forks, spoons,
pitchers, tumblers, &c. and with the exception of knife-blades, every
other article on the table was pure silver. He showed me many valuable
diamonds, and large quantities of old gold and silver; and the least
valuable article I saw on board his vessel was the schooner's ballast,
which consisted of brass cannon.

I opened a good trade with the inhabitants, selling goods at retail,
from one to three hundred per cent profit. In ten days I sold over
eighteen hundred dollars' worth; about one-half was received in money,
and the remainder in cotton. I took part of the cotton on board, and the
balance was to be paid on my return to that port.

Captain Mitchell visited me daily, and told me some of his adventures.
He said that a few months previous he had captured a small trading
schooner, armed her for a privateer, and appointed one Captain Rose to
the command of her, who was then on a cruise. A short time before, Rose
had been with him in Old Providence. "While laying here," said he, "I
made up my mind to sail for New-York, and there sell my vessel and cargo
and retire to private life, thinking my means would support me. One
morning, while contemplating my future enjoyments when I got well
settled in New-York, I thought it would much disturb my mind to think
that old Gonzales should boast that he had frightened Mitchell, who
dared not attack him. He had sent me many saucy messages, by trading
vessels, saying, I dare not come to St. Andreas, to annoy him, as I had
the inhabitants of Providence, who were afraid to resist me. These
reflections so affected my mind that I immediately ordered my boat
manned and went on board of Rose's vessel. I told Rose that we would
never leave these seas until we had made an attack on St. Andreas, and
that he must prepare himself to join me on the morrow. The next day we
made the necessary preparatio