Four Old Letters from Demerara. 325 



taken place, the different Posts not being yet a6live, 

 expe6ling the Reinforcements, and waiting till the bush- 

 water abates, the back dams as I hear being all ordered 

 (to be) cut open on Saturday night. A few Prisoners or 

 Hands are bro't in now and then, as rewards of 3 and 

 400/" (guilders) is held for a Hand or alive ; and dreadful 

 executions took place on Saturday and Monday. The 

 Court of Policy have given the command (to) KoppiERS, 

 who has Mr. McCragh w^. him to a6t on the river side 

 and canaal, and Mr. De Mellet on the sea coast, and 

 has issued out a Publication a few Days ago for the 

 Inhabitants to send one chosen n'egroe man to every 

 fifty, who will go voluntarily to make up a Corps of 100 

 men, to remain permanent for the Colony, whom on 

 their good Behaviour are to be freed ; the Colony paying 

 the value of the negroe, not to exceed /i,ooo. I have 

 given two, who went willingly, and on the proposal at 

 Greenfield^ where I assembled them all, several offered, 

 and Amsterdam and Mars were nominated and went 

 with mine ; I suppose by this the Corps is complete 

 w*". uniforms made for them. 



In the Quarter of Mr. Tappin, (Mahaica) many 

 gentlemen offered their Personal Services, and to take 

 about 10 chosen negroes each, in preference to sending 

 one, which in that Quarter, I found, w\ small Estates, 

 difficult to raise, being commissioned in Tappin's absence 

 by KoPPiERS. Those Gentlemen were all ready in 

 Boats yesterday at the mouth of Mahika waiting an 

 answer to a letter to KOPPlERS,to know if their services 

 would be wanting. It came about noon from Mr. 

 McCragh on behalf of KoPPIERS ; he said that the plan 

 of 100 chosen men was by the deliberate Resolution ef 



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