102 
THE DIVIDING LINE. 
line for an age or two, especially considering that, two or three days before 
the date of their protest, Mr. Mayo had entered with them for two thousand 
acres of land, within five miles of the place where they left off. Besides, if 
we reflect on the richness of the soil in those parts, and the convenience for 
stock, we may foretell, without the spirit of divination, that there will be 
many settlements higher than those gentlemen went, in less than ten years, 
and perhaps in half that time. 
Another reason mentioned in the protest for. their retiring so soon from the 
service is, that their going farther would be a needless charge and trouble. 
And they allege that the rest may be done by one surveyor on a side, in an 
easy manner, whenever it shall be thought necessary. 
To this we answer, that frugality for the public is a rare virtue, but when 
the public service must suffer by it, it degenerates into a vice. And this will 
ever be the case when gentlemen execute the orders of their superiors by 
halves. But had the Carolina commissioners been sincerely frugal for their 
government, why did they carry out provisions sufficient to support them 
and their men for ten weeks, when they intended not to tarry half that 
time 1 This they must own to be true, since they brought one thousand 
pounds of provisions along with them. Now, after so great an expense in 
their preparations, it had been no mighty addition to their charge, had they 
endured the fatigue five or six weeks longer. It would at most have been 
no more than they must be at, whenever they finish their work, even though 
they should fancy it proper to trust a matter of that consequence to the 
management of one surveyor. Such a one must have a number of men 
along with him, both for his assistance and defence, and those mgn must 
have provisions to support them. 
These are all the reasons these gentlemen think fit to mention in their 
protest, though they had in truth a more powerful argument for retiring so 
abruptly, which, because they forgot, it will be neighbourly to help' them out. 
The provisions they intended to bring along with them, for want of horses 
to carry them, were partly dropped by the way, and what they could bring 
was husbanded so ill, that after eighteen days, (which was the whole time 
we had them in our company,) they had no more left, by their own confes- 
sion, than two pounds of biscuit for each man, to carry them home. How- 
ever, though this was an unanswerable reason for gentlemen for leaving the 
lousiness unfinished, it was none at all for us, who had at that time bread 
sufficient for seven weeks longer. Therefore, lest their want of manage- 
ment might put a stop to his majesty’s service, and frustrate his royal inten- 
tions, we judged it our duty to proceed without them, and have extended 
the dividing line so far west as to leave the great mountains on each hand 
to the eastward of us. And this we have done with the same fidelity and 
exactness as if the gentlemen had continued with us. Our surveyors 
(whose integrity I am persuaded they will not call in question) continued to 
act under the same oath, which they had done from the beginning. Yet, not- 
withstanding all this, if the government of North Carolina should not hold 
itself bound by that part of the line which we made without the assistance 
of its commissioners, yet. we shall have this benefit in it at least, that his ma- 
jesty will know how far his lands reach towards the south, and consequently 
where his subjects may take it up, and how far they may be granted without 
injustice to the lords proprietors. To this we may also add, that having 
the authority of our commission, to act without the commissioners of 
Carolina, in case of their disagreement or refusal, we thought ourselves bound 
upon their retreat to finish the line without them, lest his majesty’s service 
might suffer by any honour or neglect on their part. 
William Dandridqe. 
William Byrb. 
