Page:Daring deeds of famous pirates; true stories of the stirring adventures, bravery and resource of pirates, filibusters & buccaneers (1917).djvu/207

 Richard, a 40-gun ship with 370 crew. In addition to this vessel he had also the frigate Alliance, of 36 guns and 300 crew; the brig Vengeance, 14 guns and 70 men; a cutter of eighteen tons; and a French frigate named the Pallas. All except the last mentioned were in the service of the American Congress. A little further down the coast of the Bay of Biscay than Brest is L'Orient, and from this port Jones sailed with the above fleet in the summer of 1779, arriving off the Kerry coast, where he sent a boat's crew ashore to bring back sheep. But the natives captured the boat's crew and lodged them in Tralee gaol.

After this Jones sailed to the east of Scotland and captured a number of prizes, all of which he sent on to France. Finally he determined to attempt no less a plan than burn the shipping in Leith harbour and collect tribute from the undefended towns of the Fifeshire coast. He came into the Firth of Forth, but as both wind and tide were foul, he let go under the island of Inchkeith. Next day he weighed anchor and again tried to make Leith, but the breeze had now increased to a gale, and he sprung one of his topmasts which caused him to bear up and leave the Firth. He now rejoined his squadron and cruised along the east coast of England. Towards the end of September he fell in with a British convoy bound from the Baltic, being escorted by two men-of-war, namely, H.M.S. Serapis (44 guns), and H.M.S. Countess of Scarborough (20 guns). And then followed a most memorable engagement. In order that the reader may be afforded some opportunity of realising how doughty an opponent was this Paul Jones, and how this corsair was able to make a ship of the Royal Navy strike colours, I append the following despatch which was written by Captain Pearson, R.N., who commanded the Serapis. The Countess of Scarborough was under command