“Its a fine country as I told you for pastur & corn & for gardens & orcheards to, & we see a good shew for fruit, only they havent got all the fruits as are in our colonies, being I suppose they wasnt known in former Times. And they are great Hands at Iragation as its calld thats leting the Water over the Land same as our Water Meadows, They’ll dam up a stream were it comes down from the high Ground, & So let it off by Canalls, & smaller Canalls out of those & so on, & then lower down there will be a nother dam, & so the River keeps wasting a way as it goes on, & some never gets to the Sea a tall. And its my belief they are one cause why no body has found any large river falling into the sea, for they say themselves, some that was in former times good sizd Rivers flowing to’rds the coast are now next to nothing. There is a great many Lakes tho’ & a sight of fine Fish in them, its wonderful to see how some of them will shoot fish in the shalows with Bow an arow. I never see the like, but for striking them with a spear I was up to that as well as them, & hook & line two.
“And they always serves up fish for second coarse, when theirs any meat for dinner or foul as their generly is, fresh or salt, pork beaf ducks & Geese plenty, then up comes fish after meat, & soupe last of all, & only think chese the first thing of all to begin dinner. They say its a wonder how any Body can degest chese after a Meal, & to be sure there is a saying that chese dejest all things but it self. But its all contrary to our ways as many things is hear, perhaps youll think it stands to reason were the north wind is hot & the south cold & Chrismas come in summer & the shortest day falls in June, tho’ the folks dont walk with their heads down & heals up in the air neither as the old nurses used to tell us.
“Well I cant tell you all nor half, but I must tell you of one great curosity we all went to see, near the town of Bath called Mount perril, its a good high mountain & they say was in times past a Burning mountain, & there is great caverns in the side, & out of some of them their ishues a noxuous vaper like what Ive heard talk of in coal pits wich they calls it chokdamp. We went a long with the worshipfull Christopher Adamson one of the Sennaters as they call im of the state of Bath, & stood a top of a cliff over one they calld the Gobbling cave, & let down in an iron Great a litle heap of dry chips & brush wood all a light & blazing, & wen it got into the caves mouth out it went as black as night jest as if you’d sousd it into the Sea, only there was no Hiss, and they said if any body was to go close to the mouth at some times hed drop down sufficated by the vaper. And in times past they said it was a fassion for Gentmen & Ladies two, if they had a Quarril to challenge one a nother to go their, by way of fighting a Dual, they calld it an Or Dual & they behovd to go to gather past the Gobbling cave & take their chance wich of ’em sho’d be Sufficated, & some times both. I said I thou’t it better than that or pistols either, to go and box it out fairly & then shake hands, & be freinds, tho’ to be sure that wouldnt do for the Ladys. But however theres no Or Duals now no kind of Duals at all their now a days. Their all to gather a very peicable well behaved set of peple as ever I see, And their a well looking peple to, tho’ some of them has a lick of the Tar brush as they say in the West Indies that is a mixture of Black blood in them, but they ar’nt no ways asham’d of it, for they say their not savages at any rate, & all men are children of Adam.
“Well I must conclude tho’ I havnt tolld you half what I see, So Mr. Sibthorpe he was for staying a bit longer if he could but let all our freinds know we were safe, for they wo’d be sure to give us up for lost. So it was setteld for Mr. Sibthorpe to stay & Lieut Robt Smith, to stay behind & the rest of us to return, and a long with us young Squire Adamson a son of the old sennator. And there was several more talkd of coming to visit Sidney & paraps England to, along with Mr. Sibthorpe. Well it was about six weeks in all we’d been thear, geting toards the latter part of Octr wen we set off to return and the peple had sent a party on befour, with two Canoes & provisions to wait for us some way on, & we went over land on horse back by a short cut that the Hunters knew of. And that saved us a good bit. And when we imbarked we knew the rout & saved a deal of time that we had lost in coming. But then again we was forced to land in some places were the water was to shalow, or dried up since we was thear be fore. And some hard work we had to get a long over the rocks & weeds. So after great fatigue it was passed the middle of Novr before we ariv’d, which we did all well thank God, & glad our friends was to see us, for they given us up for Lost.
“And so now as their’s a Vessel to Sail Day after To-morrow Morning I send this in haste hoping it will find you well & my Love to sister Jenkyns and her Husband hope is doing well & the boys who I supose they are grown out of my knowlege, And love to sister Nancy hope she’s a good girl & must be a help to you as you get old. So no more at present from your dutifull
“Son dear Father & Mother
“Paul Wilkins.
“P. S. I send Nancy a work bag I brought with me, made & embroided by a southland woman, she’d never gess what its made of, for its the poutch under a Pellicans Throat, what he keeps fish in. I send you also some peaces of their Money what they Give me, it is nothing very perticuler curious only for the shape, wich all they have is the Same that is not Round peaces like ourn is but Oval, wich they say it is not liabel to role away and be Lost if you drop a Peace, & so I think it is Better.”
THE END.
LONDON: