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 
oyer 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 pa}’ 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 shoals, 
and often stuck fast aground; for though the sound spreads many miles,. yet 
it is in most places extremely shallow, and requires a skilful jDilot 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 niost 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 wmter, 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 
