humbly Petition to be a Part of it: But by the Mistake of a few powerful Brethren, driven to seek a place for the Exercise of the Protestant Religion, according to the Light of their Consciences, 5 in the Desarts of America. And in this Attempt I have proposed, not only to preserve and secure the Interest of Religion, in the Churches of that little Country NEW-ENGLAND, SO far as the 10 Lord Jesus Christ may please to Bless it for that End, but also to offer unto the Churches of the Reformation, abroad in the World, some small Memorials, that may be serviceable unto the Designs of 15 Reformation, whereto, I believe, they are quickly to be awakened. . . . In short, The First Age was the Golden Age: To return unto That, will make a Man a Protestant, and I may add, a Puritan. 20 'Tis possible, that our Lord Jesus Christ carried some Thousands of Reformers into the Retirements of an American Desart, on purpose, that, with an opportunity granted unto many of his Faithful 25 Servants, to enjoy the precious Liberty of their Ministry, tho' in the midst of many Temptations all their days, He might there, To them first, and then By them, give a Specimen of many Good 30 Things, which He would have His Churches elsewhere aspire and arise unto: And This being done, He knows not whether there be not All done, that New-England was planted planted for; and 35 whether the Plantation may not, soon after this, Come to Nothing. Upon that Expression in the Sacred Scripture, Cast the unprofitable Servant into Outer Darkness, it hath been imagined by some, 40 That the Regiones Exteræ of America, are the Tenebræ Exteriores, which the Unprofitable are there condemned unto. No doubt, the Authors of those Ecclesiastical Impositions and Severities, which 45 drove the English Christians into the Dark Regions of America, esteemed those Christians to be a very unprofitable sort of Creatures. But behold, ye European Churches, There are Golden 50 Candlesticks [more than twice Seven times Seven!] in the midst of this Outer Darkness; Unto the Upright Children of Abraham, here hath arisen Light in Darkness. And let us humbly speak it, 55 it shall be Profitable for you to consider the Light, which from the midst of this Outer Darkness, is now to be Darted over unto the other side of the Atlantick THE LIFE OF MR. RALPH [Chap. XI, Book III, of the Magnalia.] were When David was driven from his Friends into the Wilderness, he made this Pathetical Representation of his Condition, 'Twas as when one doth hunt a Partridge in the Mountains. Among the many worthy Persons who persecuted into an American Wilderness, for their Fidelity to the Ecclesiastical Kingdom of our true David, there was one that bore the Name, as well as the State, of an hunted Partridge. What befel him, was, as Bede saith of what was done by Felix, Juxta nominis sui Sacramentum. This was Mr. Ralph Partridge, who for no Fault but the Delicacy of his good Spirit, being distress'd by the Ecclesiastical Setters, had no Defence, neither of Beak, nor Claw, but a Flight over the Ocean. The Place where he took Covert, was the Colony of Plymouth, and the Town of Duxbury in that Colony. This Partridge had not only the Innocency of the Dove, conspicuous in his blameless and pious Life, which made him very acceptable in his Conversation; but also the Loftiness of an Eagle, in the great Soar of his intellectual Abilities. There are some Interpreters, who understanding Church Officers by the living Creatures, in the Fourth Chapter of the Apocalypse, will have the Teacher to be intended by the Eagle there; for his quick Insight into remote and hidden things. The Church of Duxbury had such an Eagle in their Partridge, when they enjoy'd such a Teacher. By the same Token, when the Platform of Church-Discipline was to be compos'd, the Synod at Cambridge appointed three Persons to draw up each of them, A Model of Church-Government, according to the Word of God, unto the end, that out of those, the Synod might form what should be found most agreeable; which three Persons were Mr. Cotton, and Mr. Mather, and Mr. Partridge. So that in the Opinion of that Reverend Assembly, this Person did not come far behind the first three, for some of his Accomplishments. After he had been Forty Years a faithful and painful Preacher of the Gospel, rarely, if ever, in all that while interrupted in his Work, by any Bodily 10 Sickness, he dy'd in a good Old Age about the Year 1658. There was one singular instance of a weaned Spirit, whereby he signalized himself unto the Churches of God. That 15 was this: There was a time, when most of the Ministers in the Colony of Plymouth, left the Colony, upon the Discouragement which the want of a competent Maintenance among the needy and froward Inhabitants, gave unto them. 5 Nevertheless, Mr. Partridge was, notwithstanding the Paucity and the Poverty of his Congregation, so afraid of being any thing that look'd like a Bird wandring from his Nest, that he remained with his poor People, till he took Wing to become a Bird of Paradise, along with the winged Seraphim of Heaven. WILLIAM BYRD (1674-1744) The most accomplished literary man of the South during Colonial day, though he published nothing and though his chief work was not put into print until nearly a century after his death, was William Byrd of Virginia. Sent to England in his youth for careful training in all the accomplishments of a gentleman, he was given distinguished tutors, he "was called to the bar in the Middle Temple; studied for some time in the Low Countries; visited the court of France; and was chosen Fellow of the Royal Society." Returning to Virginia, to his father's large estate which he inherited in due time, he became one of the most admirably balanced and most influential men of his generation in the South. In 1729 he was chosen as a member of the expedition sent to determine the dividing line between Virginia and North Carolina. He was appointed journalist of the expedition and his work in the form in which he finally left it, prefaced with a brief history of Virginia, is a rare document, one according to Tyler "almost unique in our Colonial age; and it is, without question, one of the most delightful of the literary legacies which that age has handed down to ours." The work was not published until 1841, when it appeared with the author's title The History of the Dividing Line. THE GREAT DISMAL SWAMP dren to lie, like us, in the open field. 13. Early this Morning our Chaplain [From The History of the Dividing repair'd to us with the Men we had left Line.] Our Landlord had a tolerable good House and Clean Furniture, and yet we cou'd not be tempted to lodge in it. We chose rather to lye in the open Field, for fear of growing too tender. at Mr. Wilson's. We had sent for them 5 the Evening before to relieve those who had the Labour Oar from CorotuckInlet. But to our great surprise, they petition'd not to be reliev'd, hoping to gain immortal Reputation by being the A clear 10 first of Mankind that Ventur'd thro', the great Dismal. But the rest being equally Ambitions of the same Honour, it was but fair to decide their Pretensions by Lot. After Fortune had declar'd herself, Sky, spangled with Stars, was our Canopy, which being the last thing we saw before we fell asleep, gave us Magnificent Dreams. The Truth of it is, we took so mucch pleasure in that natural 15 those which she had excluded offer'd kind of Lodging, that I think at the foot of the Account Mankind are great Losers by the Luxury of Feather-Beds and warm apartments. The curiosity of beholding so new and 20 withal so Sweet a Method of encamping, brought one of the Senators of N Carolina to make us a Midnight Visit. But he was so very Clamorous in his Commendations of it, that the Centinel, not 25 seeing his Quality, either thro' his habit or Behaviour, had like to have treated him roughly. After excusing the Unseasonableness of his Visit, and letting us know he was a Parliament Man, he swore he was so taken with our Lodging, that he would soon as he set Fire to his House as got Home, and teach his Wife and Chil 30 47 Money to the Happy Persons to go in their Stead. But Hercules would have as soon sold the Glory of cleansing the Augean Stables, which was pretty near the same Sort of Work. No sooner was the Controversy at an end, but we sent them unfortunate FelQuarters, whom lows back to their Chance had Condemn'd to remain upon Firm Land and Sleep in a whole Skin. In the mean while the Surveyors carry'd no Conthe Line 3 Miles, which was temptible day's work, considering how cruelly they were entangled with Bryars and Gall Bushes. The Leaf of this last Shrub bespeaks it to be of the Alaternus Family. Our Work ended within a Quarter of a Mile of the Dismal above-mention'd where the Ground began to be already full of Sunken Holes and Slashes, which had, here and there, some few Reeds growing in them. 5 Tis hardly credible how little the Bordering inhabitants were acquainted with this mighty Swamp, notwithstanding they had liv'd their whole lives within Smell of it. Yet, as great Strangers as they were to it, they pretended to be very 10 exact in their Account of its Dimensions, and were positive it could not be above 7 or 8 Miles wide, but knew no more of the Matter than Star-gazers know of the Distance of the Fixt Stars. At the 15 Same time, they were Simple enough to amuse our Men with Idle Stories of the Lyons, Panthers and Alligators, they were like to encounter in that dreadful Place. ger under more. As it was, their Loads weigh'd from 60 to 70 Pounds, in just Proportion to the Strength of those who were to bear them. Twou'd have been unconscionable to have Saddled them with Burthens heavier than that, when they were to lugg them thro' a filthy Bogg, which was hardly practicable with no Burthen at all. Besides this Luggage at their Backs, they were oblig'd to measure the distance, mark the Trees, and clear the way for the Surveyors every Step they went. It was really a Pleasure to see with how much Cheerfulness they undertook, and with how much Spirit they went thro' all this Drudgery. For their Greater Safety, the Commissioners took care to furnish them with Peruvian20 Bark, Rhubarb and Hipocoacanah, in case they might happen, in that wet Journey, to be taken with fevers or Fluxes. In short, we saw plainly there was no Intelligence of this Terra Incognita to be got, but from our own Experience. For that Reason it was resolv'd to make the requisite Dispositions to enter it next 25 Morning. We allotted every one of the Surveyors for this painful Enterprise, with 12 Men to attend them. Fewer than that cou'd not be employ'd in clearing the way, carrying the Chain, marking 30 the Trees, and bearing the necessary Bedding and Provisions. Nor wou'd the Commissioners themselves have Spared their Persons on this Occasion, but for fear of adding to the poor men's Burthen, 35 while they were certain they cou'd add nothing to their Resolution. We quarter'd with our Friend and Fellow Traveller, William Wilkins, who had been our faithful Pilot to Coratuck, 40 and liv'd about a mile from the Place where the Line ended. Every thing lookt so very clean, and the Furniture so neat, that we were tempted to Lodge within Doors. But the Novelty of being 45 shut up so close quite spoil'd our rest, nor did we breathe so free by abundance, as when we lay in the open Air. Altho' there was no need of Example to inflame Persons already so cheerful, yet to enter the People with better grace, the Author and two more of the Commissioners accompanied them half a Mile into the Dismal. The Skirts of it were thinly Planted with Dwarf Reeds and Gall-Bushes, but when we got into the Dismal itself, we found the Reeds grew there much taller and closer, and, to mend the matter was so interlac'd with bamboe-briars, that there was no scuffling thro' them without the help of Pioneers. At the same time, we found the Ground moist and trembling under our feet like a Quagmire, insomuch_that it was an easy Matter to run a Ten-FootPole up to the Head in it, without exerting any uncommon Strength to do it. Two of the Men, whose Burthens were the least cumbersome, had orders to march before, with their Tomahawks, and clear the way, in order to make an Opening for the Surveyors. By their Assistance we made a Shift to push the Line half a Mile in 3 Hours, and then 14. Before nine of the Clock this Morning, the Provisions, Bedding and 50 reacht a small piece of firm Land, about other Necessaries, were made up into Packs for the Men to carry on their Shoulders into the Dismal. They were victuall'd for 8 days at full Allowance, Nobody doubting but that wou'd be 55 abundantly Sufficient to carry them thro' that Inhospitable Place; nor Indeed was it possible for the Poor Fellows to Stag 100 Yards wide, Standing up above the rest like an Island. Here the people were glad to lay down their Loads and take a little refreshment, while the happy man, whose lot it was to carry the Jugg of Rum, began already, like Aesop's Bread-Carriers, to find it grow a good deal lighter, After reposing about an Hour, the Commissioners recommended Vigour and Constancy to their Fellow-Travellers, by whom they were answer'd with 3 Cheerful Huzzas, in Token of Obedience. This Ceremony was no sooner over but they took up their Burthens and attended the Motion of the Surveyors, who, tho' they work with all their might, could reach but one Mile farther, the same obstacles still attending them which they had met with in the Morning. However small this distance may seem to such as are us'd to travel at their Ease, yet our Poor Men, who were 15 oblig'd to work with an unwieldly Load at their Backs, had reason to think it a long way; Especially in a Bogg where they had no firm Footing, but every Step made a deep Impression, which was 20 instantly fill'd with Water. At the same time they were labouring with their Hands to cut down the Reeds, which were Ten-feet high, their Legs were hampered with the Bryars. Besides, the 25 Weather happen'd to be very warm, and the tallness of the Reeds kept off every Friendly Breeze from coming to refresh them. And, indeed, it was a little provoking to hear the Wind whistling 30 among the Branches of the White Cedars, which grew here and there amongst the Reeds, and at the same time not have the Comfort to feel the least Breath of it. In the mean time the 3 Commissioners return'd out of the Dismal the same way they went in, and, having join'd their Brethren, proceeded that Night as far as Mr. Wilson's. 5 a He took a fat Louse out of his Collar, and expos'd it to the open day on Piece of White Paper which he brought along with him for his Journal. The poor Insect having no Eye-lids, turn'd himself about till he found the Darkest Part of the Heavens, and so made the best of his way towards the North. By this Direction he Steer'd himself Safe o out, and gave such a frightful account of the Monsters he saw, and the Distresses he underwent, that no mortall Since has been hardy enough to go upon the like dangerous Discovery. 15. The Surveyors pursued their work with all Diligence, but Still found the Soil of the Dismal so Spongy that the Water ouzed up into every foot-step they took. To their Sorrow, too, they found the Reeds and Bryars more firmly interwoven than they did the day before. But the greatest Grievance was from large Cypresses, which the Wind had blown down and heap'd upon one another. On the Limbs of most of them grew Sharp Snags, Pointing every way like so many Pikes, that requir'd much Pains and Caution to avoid. of These Trees being Evergreens, and Shooting their Large Tops Very high, are easily overset by every Gust Wind, because there is no firm Earth to Steddy their Roots. Thus many of them were laid prostrate to the great Encum35 brance of the way. Such Variety of Difficulties made the Business go on heavily, insomuch that, from Morning till Night, the Line could advance no further than 1 Mile and 31 Poles. Never 40 was Rum, that cordial of Life, found more necessary than it was in this Dirty Place. It did not only recruit the People's Spirits, now almost Jaded with Fatigue, but serv'd to correct the Badness of the Water, and at the same time to resist the Malignity of the Air. Whenever the Men wanted to drink, which was very often, they had nothing more to do but to make a Hole, and the Water bubbled up in a Moment. But it was far from being either clear or well tasted, and had besides a Physical Effect, from the Tincture it receiv'd from the Roots of the Shrubbs and Trees that grew in 55 the Neighbourhood. This worthy Person lives within sight of the Dismal, in the Skirts whereof his Stocks range and Maintain themselves all the Winter, and yet he knew as little of it as he did of Terra Australis Incog- 45 nita. He told us a Canterbury Tale of a North Briton, whose Curiosity Spurr'd him a long way into this great Desart, as he call'd it, near 20 Years ago, but he having no Compass, nor seeing the Sun for several Days Together, wander'd about till he was almost famisht; but at last he bethought himself of a Secret his Countrymen make use of to Pilot themselves in a Dark day. 50 [1728] |