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trees prevented the sand from falling, and the sand the wood from fire. He returned thanks to the Highlanders, and offered to take any of them back, but they said, that whilst there was danger, they desired leave to stay. But he ordered two along with him, they having families at Darien, to whom he thought it would be agreeable for them to return. From thence he returned to Frederica with the white men and the scout boats.

Next day being the 26th, the Indians arrived, and camped by themselves near the town, and made a war dance, to which Mr. Oglethorpe went, and all his people. They made a ring, in the middle of which four sat down, having little drums made of kettles, covered with deer skins, upon which they beat and sung: round them the others danced, being naked to their waists, and round their middles many trinkets tied with skins, and some with the tails of beasts hanging down behind them. They painted their faces and bodies, and their hair was stuck with feathers: in one hand they had a rattle, in the other hand the feathers of an eagle, made up like the caduceus of Mercury: they shook these wings and the rattle, and danced round the ring with high bounds and antic postures, looking much like the figures of the satyrs. They shewed great activity, and kept just time in their motions, and at certain times answered by way of chorus, to those that sat in the middle of the ring. They stopt, and then stood out one of the chief warriors, who sung what wars he had been in, and described (by actions as well as by words) which way he had vanquished the enemies of his country. When he had done, all the rest gave a shout of approbation, as knowing what he said to be true. The next day Mr. Oglethorpe gave presents to Toma Chi Chi and his Indians, and dismissed them with thanks for their fidelity to

the king.

The 23th we received advice that Captain Gascoigne, with the man-of-war sloop, the Hawk, was got up to the town of Savannah, she having suffered much in her passage, being near lost by stress of weather. Captain Gascoigne desiring a pilot that knew Frederica bar, there being none but Captain Dymond, or Captain Yokely, that could undertake it, Mr. Oglethorpe prevailed with Captain Dymond, to leave his ship and go to Savannah, to bring the Hawk into Frederica.

Major Richard gave an account that he was cast away before he could get to Augustine, that part of their baggage was lost, but the boat and men were saved; that having scrambled through the breakers, and walked some leagues through the sands they were met by Don Pedro Lamberto, a captain of horse, and by him conducted to the Governor, who received him with great civility; and that the reason of his long stay was, to get the boat repaired. He brought letters from Don Francisco del Moral Sanchez, Captain General of Florida, and Governor of St. Augustine, to Mr. Oglethorpe, who called together the freeholders, and communicated to them the contents of the letters, to prevent the ill impressions that idle reports might occasion. There were first great compliments, thanking him for the letters he had received by Don Carlos Dempsey and Major Richard: next complaining that the Creek Indians had fallen upon the Spaniards, and defeated some of them: that he daily expected farther hostilities from them, and desired him to restrain them.

Major Richard, by word of mouth, told him that the Governor expected an answer back in three weeks; that he had treated him with the greatest civility, and desired him to bring it, and that the Governor had sent advice to the Havannah of our arrival.

By private advices Mr. Oglethorpe was informed, that notwithstanding these professions the Governor of Agustine had sent to buy arms at Charlestown, and was preparing to arm the Florida Indians, in order to join the Yamasee Indians, and to send them, together with a detachment of the Spanish garrison, to dislodge us; and that the complaining of hostilities from the Creeks was only to give a reason for such an action, and lay upon us the blame of having begun the war; that the garrison of Augustine consisted of five companies, sixty men each, and forty horse, and that the inhabitants of the place amounted to above two thousand men, women, and children, and that they expected troops would be sent from the Havannah, as soon as the message would arrive; but that they thought they had enough already to dislodge us.

These private advices Mr. Oglethorpe did not communicate to the people; but being doubtful of what the event might be, in case he should be attacked before the arrival of the man-of-war, and the independent company, he concluded

to arm a periagua, that was a good boat, to fit her out with twenty oars, and four swivel guns, and to send her to the river St. John's with a scout boat in company, called the marine boat, and by patrolling in that river to hinder the Indians from passing it, and thereby from giving pretence of hostilities to the Spaniards, against whom they were very inveterate. He also designed that they should erect a fort upon the passages by the island St. George, that the periagua under the shelter of those guns might very easily hinder any boats from coming through the island passages, and send the scout boat to give the alarm, which by signals of smoke would reach St. Andrews, he ordering another scout boat to cruise between Amelia and Cumberland.

The keeping the two ships in the river, with the assistance of the land batteries, would prevent any ships from coming up from the sea, but under a great disadvantage. He spoke to Toma Chi Chi Mico, who sent off parties of the Indians into the woods to strive to meet with the other Creek hunters, and desire them not to hurt the Spaniards, till a conference was held before Mr. Oglethorpe, who would see to get justice done to them, but to keep in the neighborhood of Frederica, on the main, to see that the Spanish horse did not pass to Darien, and to be ready in case they attacked us, to make a body. Toma Chi Chi leaving most of his men, returned to Yamacraw in all haste, in order to bring down more Indians. Men were chiefly wanted for this disposition; but Mr. Oglethorpe made use of such men as were hired for workmen, and willing to serve on that occasion.

The people went on with building the storehouse but slowly, hands being taken off for building the fort, and it was further delayed for want of boards and stuff, those which were bought in Carolina not coming up. Mr. Oglethorpe had the works round the fort frased or palisaded with cedar posts, to prevent our enemies turning up the green sod. He also had platforms of two inch planks laid for the cannon upon the bastions, and took in a piece of marsh ground which lay before the fort, with a work called the spur, the cannon in which are upon a level with the water's edge, and make it impossible for any boat or ship to come up or down the river without being torn to pieces. 'He had a well dug in the fort, where we found tolerable

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good water, and in plenty. The people having no bread, and biscuit being dear and necessary for the boats service, there was an oven built, and Mr. Oglethorpe bought off the time of an indented servant, who was a baker, and he baked bread for all the colony, they giving him their allowance of flour, and he returning to them the same weight in bread, the difference made by the water and salt being his gain. Fresh bread was a great comfort to the people. The Indians also brought us in plenty of venison, which was divided as far as it would go, instead of salt provisions, to the sick first, then to the women and children, and lastly to the strong young men. Whenever venison failed, we killed poultry, hogs or sheep for the sick.

Twenty-eighth of March, Mr. Robert Ellis arrived here in a boat from Savannah. Mr. Oglethorpe received him with great civility, upon account of Mr. Penn, proprietor of Pennsylvania, who had sent to the poor people of the town of Savannah, at the beginning of the settlement, one hundred barrels of flour, as a present, which had been of very great service and relief to them. We bought of Mr. Ellis several provisions which the colony had occasion for.

The 30th, Mr. Oglethorpe agreed with Mr. Jonathan Brian to furnish him with eighteen hands to assist him in cutting roads through that part of Georgia, which is from the river Savannah to the river Ogeechee, and for that purpose, to begin, by making a road passable from his own house in Carolina to the river Savannah, and thereby carry all things along with him, that were necessary, for the support of the men. In the evening Mr. Brian and Mr. Barnwell set out for Carolina of their own accords, promising, that if we should be attacked, they would come down with a large number of volunteers from thence. We also received advice from Savannah, that the chief of the Cheehaws, and another town of the Creek Indians, were arrived there, and would come over to our assistance in case any body disturbed us in our settlements.

The 31st, Mr. Horton, who had five hundred acres of land granted by the Trustees, went to take possession of it, being on the other side the branch of the Alatamaha, and about six miles below the town. Mr. Oglethorpe ordered one of the scout boats to carry him: the captain was left ill ashore. He found the land exceeding rich. The scout boat having orders to fire a swivel gun, by way of signal, that we might

know how the lands bore from the town, the young fellow who fired the gun, loaded it again and again, fired it three times by way of rejoicing, and at the third fire the gun being overloaded, burst, and the splinters wounded him very dangerously in the brain. Mr. Horton returned with the boat and wounded man directly, and notwithstanding the surgeons took all possible care of him, he died the next day, being the first man that died at Frederica.

The 2d day of May, Mr. Horton was sent down with a scout boat to escort a periagua loaded with ammunition, cannons, boards for platforms, and other necessaries for St. Andrews, together with a message to Ensign Mackay, to come up to consult upon the present posture of affairs, and to bring with him such of the Highlanders whose interest in planting required their return to Darien ; and during his absence to leave Mr. Cuthbert to command at St. Andrews.

Boats daily arrived from Savannah, or Port Royal, with fowls, hogs and other live stock, for the use of the colony; and those from Savannah seldom came without some voluntees to offer their service to Mr. Oglethorpe, upon the present apprehension. And all the inhabitants of their town, and this province, shewed the greatest readiness to do every necessary for the general defence. And he was forced to send positive orders to prevent those who had plantations from coming down to the southward, lest thereby they should lose their next harvest; and both they and the people of Port Royal thought it was better to dispute with the Spaniards here, than stay for the event, being thoroughly satisfied that if the Spaniards dislodged this settlement, they must of course be destroyed.

Mr. Oglethorpe received a letter from Augustine by way of Charlestown giving an account that there had been an alarm there, that they hourly expected ships to their assistance from the Havannah; that the general had beat to arms, and the trumpet sounded to boot and saddle; that all the horse, and a detachment of foot were marched out, and that the Pohoia king of the Floridas was expected in a little more than a month, with a great number of Indians; that the Spaniards had not arms for them, but that there were proposals made by some persons who were runaways from Carolina, to buy at Charlestown arms, ammunition and presents both for them and the Creek Indians, the Spaniards intending to

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