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This morning early I sent the party back to the lower camp; dispatched Frazier down with the canoe for Drewyer and the meat he had collected, and Joseph Fields up the Missouri to hunt Elk. at eight OCIk. sent Gass and Sheilds over to the large Island for bark and timber. about noon Fields returned and informed me that he had seen two white bear near the river a few miles above and in attempting to get a shoot them had stumbled uppon a third which immediately made at him being only a few steps distant; that in runing in order to escape from the bear he had leaped down a steep bank of the river on a stony bar where he fell cut his hand bruised his knees and bent his gun. that fortunately for him the bank hid him from the bear when he fell and that by that means he had escaped. this man has been truly unfortunate with these bear, this is the second time that he has narrowly escaped from them. about 2 P. M Shields and Gass returned with but a small quantity of both bark and timber and informed me that it was all they could find on the Island; they had killed two Elk the skins of which and a part of the flesh they brought with them. in the evening Drewyer and Frazier arrivd with about 800 lbs. of excellent dryed meat and about 100 lbs of tallow.

"DEAREST SIR, Hearing of ye remarkable stroake of Gods hand uppon ye shippe & shippes companie of Bristoll, as also of some Atheisticall passages & hellish profanations of ye Sabbaths & deridings of ye people & wayes of God, I thought good to desire a word or two of you of ye trueth of what you have heard.

After goes into the woode, & the Iroquois that governed the boat takes up a hattchett & knocks downe the poore hurron, that never thought to be so ended, and the other that charged his musket in the wood shoots him and fell downe uppon my heels. My feet soone swims in the miserable hurron's bloode. He did quiver as if he had an ague, and was wounded with great many wounds, that still they doubled.

Nor can I conclude without a word as to the ill-taste of that supplement to your Majesties booklet a tax of Six Shillings & Eighte-Pence uppon euery Pounde-Waighte of Tobacco, ouer & aboue the Custome of Two Pence uppon the Pound-Waighte usuallye paide heretofore. Did your Majestie hope to effect so little by Reason that your Majestie must needs fall back on Reuenue?

The day following we embarqued ourselves quietly, being uppon our guard for feare of any surprize, ffor that ennemy's danger scarcely begane, who with his furour made himselfe so redoubted, having ben there up and downe to make a new slaughter.

Knowin' it were against rools, and reg'lar Chinyman's bizness to work them I diddn't let on to enyboddy what I did witch wos to turn over some of the quarts what I thought was likely and Orrifferus. Doing this I kem uppon some pay ore which them Palmetto fellers had overlookt, or more likely had kaved in uppon them from the bank onknown.

And, in case she doe refuse the same, then I desire my loveing friend Master John Ellston of Forresthill to take the executorshipp uppon him and to performe this my will as is herebefore expressed; to whom I give twentie shillings, to buy him a ring. And my earnest desire is that my wife and my sonn have no difference concerning this my will and estate.

Being in that extent above foure leagues from the ground, we sunke downe above the one halfe of the legge in the Ice, and must advance in spight of our teeth. To leave our booty was to undoe us. We strived so that I hurted myselfe in so much that I could not stand up right, nor any further. This putt us in great trouble. Uppon this I advised my brother to leave me with his slide.

Att the same instance my nose begun'd to bleed, which made me afraid of my life; but withdrawing myselfe to the watter side to see if any body followed mee, I espied twenty or thirty heads in a long grasse. Mightily surprized att the view, I must needs passe through the midst of them or tourne backe into the woode. I slipped a boullet uppon the shott and beate the paper into my gunne.

This was ten months after Captain Samuel Each's offer to "erect before the end of March uppon the oyster bankes, a block-house, that should forbid the passage of any shipp" up the James. Each felt that he could lay his vessel near "Blunt point" and do this with dispatch with his mariners and twelve carpenters.