14 THE HISTORY OF 



Thus did these wretches live in a dirty state of nature, and were mere Adam- 

 ites, innocence only excepted. 



7th. This morning the surveyors began to run the dividing line from the 

 cedar post we had driven into the sand, allowing near three degrees for the 

 variation. Without making this just allowance, we should not have obeyed 

 his majesty's order in running a due west line. It seems the former com- 

 missioners had not been so exact, which gave our friends of Carolina but too 

 just an exception to their proceedings. The line cut Dosier's island, consist- 

 ing only of a flat sand, with here and there an humble shrub growing upon 

 it. From thence it crossed over a narrow arm of the sound into Knot's 

 island, and there split a plantation belonging to William Harding. 



The day being far spent, we encamped in this man's pasture, though it lay 

 very low, and the season now inclined people to aguish distempers. He suf- 

 fered us to cut cedar branches for our enclosure, and other wood for firing, to 

 correct the moist air and drive away the damps. Our landlady, in the days 

 of her youth, it seems, had been a laundress in the Temple, and talked over 

 her adventures in that station, with as much pleasure as an old soldier talks 

 over his battles and distempers, and I believe with as many additions to the 

 truth. The soil is good in many places of this island, and the extent of it 

 pretty large. It lies in the form of a wedge : the south end of it is several 

 miles over, but towards the north it sharpens into a point. It is a plentiful 

 place for stock, by reason of the wide marshes adjacent to it, and because of 

 its warm situation. But the inhabitants pay a little dear for this convenience, 

 by losing as much blood in the summer season by the infinite number of 

 mosquitoes, as all their beef and pork can recruit in the winter. 



The sheep are as large as in Lincolnshire, because they are never pinched 

 by cold or hunger. The whole island was hitherto reckoned to lie in Vir- 

 ginia, but now our line has given the greater part of it to Carolina. The 

 principal freeholder here is Mr. White, who keeps open house for all travel- 

 lers, that either debt or shipwreck happens to cast in his way. 



8th. By break of day we sent away our largest periauga, with the bag- 

 gage, round the south end of Knot's island, with orders to the men to wait 

 for us in the mouth of North river. Soon after, we embarked ourselves on 

 board the smaller vessel, with intent, if possible, to find a passage round the 

 north end of the island. 



We found this navigation very difficult, by reason of the continued shoalsy 

 and often stuck fast aground; for though the sound spreads many miles, yet 

 it is in most places extremely shallow, and requires a skilful pilot to steer 

 even a canoe safe over it. It was almost as hard to keep our temper, as 

 to keep the channel, in this provoking situation. But the most impatient 

 amongst us stroked down their choler, and swallowed their curses, lest, if 

 they suffered them to break out, they might sound like complaining, which 

 was expressly forbidden, as the first step to sedition. 



At a distance we descried several islands to the northward of us, the 

 largest of which goes by the name of Cedar island. Our periauga stuck so 

 often that we had a fair chance to be benighted in this wide water, which 

 must certainly have been our fate, had we not luckily spied a canoe that was 

 giving a fortune-teller a cast from Princess Anne county over to North Caro- 

 lina. But, as conjurers are sometimes mistaken, the man mistrusted we were 

 officers of justice in pursuit of a young wench he had carried off along with 

 him. We gave the canoe chase for more than an hour, and when we came 

 up with her, threatened to make them all prisoners unless they would direct 

 us into the right channel. By the pilotage of these people we rowed up an 

 arm of the sound, called the Back bay, till we came to the head of it. There 



