the
evening it became necessary to have a boat ahead of the ship to
tow, as the helm could not prevent her from laying across the
tide of flood, which would have driven us into a deep and
dangerous bay, situated between the rocks on the south called the
Shallocks, and on the north called the Blaskets. The ship's boats
being absent, I sent my own barge ahead to tow the ship. The
boats took the brigantine, she was called the Fortune, and bound
with a cargo of oil, blubber, and staves, from Newfoundland for
Bristol; this vessel I ordered to proceed immediately for Nantes
or St. Malo. Soon after sunset the villains who towed the ship,
cut the tow rope and decamped with my barge. Sundry shots were
fired to bring them to without effect; in the mean time the
master of the Bonhomme Richard, without orders, manned one of the
ship's boats, and with four soldiers pursued the barge in order
to stop the deserters. The evening was clear and serene, but the
zeal of that officer, Mr. Cutting Lent, induced him to pursue too
far, and a fog which came on soon afterwards prevented the boats
from rejoining the ship, although I caused signal guns to be
frequently fired. The fog and calm continued the next day till
towards evening. In the afternoon Captain Landais came on board
the Bonhomme Richard and behaved towards me with great
disrespect, affirming in the most indelicate manner and language
that I had lost my boats and people through my imprudence in
sending boats to take a prize! He persisted in his reproaches,
though he was assured by Messrs. de Weibert and de Chamillard
that the barge was towing the ship at the time of elopement, and
that she had not been sent in pursuit of the prize. He was
affronted because I would not the day before suffer him to chase
without my orders, and to approach the dangerous shore I have
already mentioned, where he was an entire stranger, and when
there was not sufficient wind to govern a ship. He told me he was
the only American in the squadron, and was determined to follow
his own opinion in chasing when and where he thought proper, and
in every other matter that concerned the service, and that, if I
continued in that situation three days longer, the squadron would
be taken, etc. By the advice of Captain de Cottineau, and with