372 



and, at worft, fhould night chance to overtake 

 us, when no plantation was nigh, we fhould 

 always have the remedy of tying the boat to 

 a tree or a bufh at the fide of the river, and 

 letting the negroes reft until morning. 



The only real difficulty that feemed to 

 prefent itfelf was our ignorance of the Dutch 

 language. It happened that I was the only 

 one of the party who had any knowledge of 

 it, and there was much eaufe to doubt, whether 

 I might be fufficiently converfant with it to 

 make myfelf underftood. However, by a 

 little Dutch, a little French, and a little Englifli 

 we trufted we might make our way. It being 

 probable that we fhould be many days on our 

 excurfion, we eftablillied a certain routine of 

 duty, fuch as directing the flaves, prefenting 

 the party to ftrangers, making the neceflary 

 arrangementSj&c*; and agreed that each fhould 

 take it by turn to be " orderly " for the day, 

 thus forming a fort of military fatigue duty^ 

 which was to fall upon each in rotation, ac- 

 cording to a fettled mufter. 



To provide for ourfelves the comforts, or 

 even the neceffaries of the journey, was not in 



