5 SWAN RIVER. 



saving seed for the following year, but there was such an abundance 

 of stone that we did not get much done ; we however managed to 

 grow melons, cabbages and carrots on a small scale. While these 

 were getting on under the superintendance of Stevin, an old man 



that C and I fell in with on our passage from London to 



Portsmouth. We next turned our thoughts towards building a 

 house. The first thing we did was to get the frame up and thatch 

 it with rushes which we have in great abundance, much to the con- 

 venience of new settlers; it was in thatching this house that J 



seriously injured his hand which, for some time, retarded consider- 

 ably its erection, he being chief in that department ; as soon as he 



recovered C returned to the gai-den while we three continued 



at the house. Having at last a good roof over our heads we were 

 able to work without interruption from rain; we commenced a 

 large farm house chimney with the stones that we removed from the 

 garden, but, having only a wheelbarrow to convey them in, it was a 

 m6st tedious task ; we used nothing but red clay for mortar, and, 

 according to Mr. H 's recommendation, built the walls ex- 

 ceedingly thick, such as he told us he had often seen in Rutland- 

 shire, where lime is scarce and stone abundant. 



As the rainy season was very far advanced, and as the tent from 

 constant exposure had ceased to be water tight, we pitched it under 

 the roof, and made up our minds to desist from building till the fine 

 weather again set in. About this time the party of sailors, who had 

 been sent to assist us by the Governor, were recalled, and we had a 

 detachment of soldiers instead, with an officer and a physician ; we 

 soon became most intimate with the latter two, indeed they spent 

 the greater part of their time with us. We now commenced cutting 

 down some of the trees behind the house which are of as prodigious 

 a size as you can imagine. When we began upon the first we 

 merely separated a few of the roots, thinking that when we allowed 

 the one behind to fall upon it, it would throw it down, however, in 



this we were mistaken. Dr. S and Mr. M. C , for these 



were the names of our new friends, were very constant in their at- 

 tendance and now began to take great interest in these two trees 

 which seemed to threaten with annihilation a house in which they 

 had passed many pleasant evenings, they used therefore to come 

 ahd help us to fell another tree, in such a way that it might fall 

 upon those which mutually propped each other, this however failed 

 but the first one was started at the roots considerably, and, by the 

 aid of the Jack-in-the-box, we threw them all over, quite clear of the 

 house, much to the satisfaction of the Doctor who fully expected 



