136 LAWSON'S HISTOHY 



The country, in general, affords pleasant seats, 

 the land, except in some few places, being dry 

 and high banks, parcelled out into most conve- 

 nient necks, by the creeks, easy to be fenced in 

 for securing their stocks to more strict boundaries, 

 whereby, with a small trouble of fencing, almost 

 every man may enjoy, to himself, an entire plan- 

 tation, or rather park. These, with the other 

 benefits of plenty of fish, wild fowl, venison, and 

 the other conveniences which this summer coun- 

 try naturally furnishes, has induced a great many 

 families to leave the more northerly plantations 

 and sit down under one of the mildest govern- 

 ments in the world ; in a country that, with mod- 

 erate industry, will afford all the necessaries of 

 life. We have yearly abundance of strangers 

 come among us, who chiefly strive to go souther- 

 ly to settle, because there is a vast tract of rich 

 land betwixt the place we are seated in and Cape 

 Fair, and upon that river, and more southerly 

 which is inhabited by none but a few Indians, who 

 are at this time well affected to the English, and 

 very desirous of their coming to live among 

 them. The more southerly the milder winters, 

 with the advantages of purchasing the lords 

 land at the most easy and moderate rate of any 

 lands in America, nay, allowing all advantages 

 thereto annexed, I may say the universe does 

 not afford such another ; besides men have a great 

 advantage of choosing good and commodious tracts 

 of land at the first seating of a country or river, 



