ALEXANDER WILSON. xxxiii 



— both in good health. We sailed in the ship Swift, from Belfast 

 Loch, on Friday the 23rd of May, about six in the morning, at 

 which time I would have wrote you ; but, hoping we would have a 

 speedy passage, and feeling for the anxiety I feared you might be 

 under in knowing we were at sea, I purposely omitted writing till 

 our arrival in America. I fear that by this conduct I have given 

 you more unhappiness than I am aware of ; if I have, I hope you 

 will forgive me, for I intended otherwise. We had 350 passengers, 

 — a mixed multitude of men, women, and children. Each berth 

 between decks was made to hold them all, with scarce a foot for 

 each. At first sight, I own, it appeared to me almost impossible 

 that the one-half of them could survive ; but, on looking around, 

 and seeing some whom I thought not much stouter than myself, I 

 thought I might have a chance as well as the rest of some of them. 

 I asked Willy if he was willing, and he saying he was, we went up 

 to Belfast immediately for our clothes ; and, in two days after we 

 got on board, she sailed. We were very sick four days, but soon 

 recovered ; and having a good, steady, fair breeze for near a fort- 

 night, had hopes of making an excellent voyage. On the third day, 

 and just as we lost sight of land, we spoke the Caledonia of Greenock, 

 a letter of marque, bound for the Bay of Fundy ; and, on the Monday 

 following, Dr Keynolds, who was tried and condemned by the Irish 

 House of Lords, was discovered to be on board, and treated all the 

 passengers and crew with rum-grog, which we drank to the confu- 

 sion of despots, and the prosperity of liberty all the world over. Till 

 the 17th of June, we had pretty good weather, and only buried an 

 old woman and two children. On the 18th, we fell in with an 

 amazing number of islands of ice ; I counted at one time thirty-four 

 in sight, some of whom that we nearly passed was more than twice 

 as high as our main-topgallant mast head, and of great extent : we 

 continued passing among them, with a good breeze, for two days, 

 during which time we run at the least five knots an hour. On the 20th 

 we had a storm of wind, rain, thunder and lightning, beyond any- 

 thing I had ever witnessed. Next day a seaman dropped overboard ; 

 and, though he swam well, and made for the ship, yet the sea run- 

 ning high, and his clothes getting wet, he perished within six yards 

 of a hen coop, which we had thrown over to him. On the 11th of 

 July, we could plainly perceive land from the mast head ; but a ter- 



