32 



THE HISTORY OF 



to belong to Carolina, where they pay no tribute, either to God or to Caesar. 

 Another reason was, that the government there is so loose, and the laws are 

 so feebly executed, that, like those in the neighbourhood of Sidon formerly, 

 every one does just what seems good in his own eyes. If the governor's 

 hands have been weak in that province, under the authority of the lords pro- 

 prietors, much weaker then were the hands of the magistrate, who, though 

 he ,might have had virtue enough to endeavour to punish offenders, which 

 veiy rarely happened, yet that virtue had been quite impotent, for want of 

 ability to put it in execution. Besides, there might have been some danger, 

 perhaps, in venturing to be so rigorous, for fear of undergoing the fate of an 

 honest justice in Coratuck precinct. This bold magistrate, it seems, taking 

 upon him to order a fellow to the stocks, for being disordei*ly in his drink, 

 was, for his intemperate zeal, carried thither himself, and narrowly escaped 

 being whipped by the rabble into the bargain. 



This easy day's work carried the line to the banks of Somerton creek, 

 that runs out of Chowan river, a little below the mouth of Nottoway. 



2d. In less than a mile from Somerton creek the line was carried to Black- 

 water, which is the name of the upper part of Chowan, running some miles 

 above the mouth of Nottoway. It must be observed that Chowan, after 

 taking a compass round the most beautiful part of North Carolina, empties itself 

 into Albemarle sound, a few miles above Edenton. The tide flows seven or 

 eight miles higher than where the river changes its name, and is navigable 

 thus high for any small vessel. Our line intersected it exactly half a mile to 

 the northward of Nottoway. However, in obedience to his majesty's com- 

 mand, we directed the surveyors to come down the river as far as the mouth 

 of Nottoway, in order to continue our true west line from thence. Thus we 

 found the mouth of Nottoway to lie no more than half a minute farther to the 

 northward than Mr. Lawson had formerly done. That gentleman's observa- 

 tion, it seems, placed it in 36° 30', and our working made it out to be 36° 

 3O5' — a very inconsiderable variance. 



The surveyors crossed the river over against the middle of the mouth of 

 Nottoway, where it was about eighty yards wide. From thence they ran the 

 line about half a mile through a dirty poeoson, as far as an Indian field. 

 Here we took up our lodging in a moist situation, having the poeoson above 

 mentioned on one side of us, and a swamp on the other. 



In this camp three of the Meherrin Indians made us a visit. They told us 

 that the small remains of their nation had deserted their ancient town, situated 

 near the mouth of the Meherrin river, for fear of the Catawbas, who had killed 

 fourteen of their people the year before ; and the few that survived that cala- 

 mity, had taken refuge amongst the English, on the east side of Chowan. 

 Though^ if the complaint of these Indians were true, they are hardly used by 

 our Carolina friends. But they are the less to be pitied, because they have 

 ever been reputed the most false and treacherous to the English of all the 

 Indians in the neighbourhood. 



Not far from the place where we lay, I observed a large oak which had 

 been blown up by the roots, the body of which was shivered into perfect 

 strings, and was, in truth, the most violent effects of lightning I ever saw. 



But the most curious instance of that dreadful meteor happened at York, 

 where a man was killed near a pine tree in which the lightning made a hole 

 before it struck the man, and left an exact figure of the tree upon his breast, 

 with all its branches, to the wonder of all that beheld it, in which I shall b« 

 more particular hereafter. 



We made another trial of the variation in this place, and found it some 

 minutes less than we had done at Coratuck inlet ; but so small a difference 

 might easily happen through some defect in one or other of ftie observations, 

 and, therefore, we altered not our compass for the matter. 



