Josiah Meigs, Commissioner of the General Land Office. Recorded Vol. ii. page 445."
I received the above, from the land office of Shawneetown, free of all expence. By the number 269 at the beginning, is meant the number as it stands in the Shawneetown land-office books; and it is also mentioned where to find the entry of it in the general land office books, so that it is easy to find the title of any land that has been sold at any time by the United States' government.
We have had but few emigrants from England this summer; but there is a family or two on the Ohio coming on, and { 292} some more are expected from the eastward. And several at the Prairies intend returning to England, during the winter, to bring back their families with them in the spring.
With regard to the language of this country, I have found no difficulty to understand any of the Americans I have met with, a few words only excepted. I have seen several from England, that came from a distant part from that in which I resided, that I have had far more trouble to understand. Yet the manner of discourse among the true Back-woods-men is rather uncouth to an English ear. I will attempt to give a specimen of it, in a conversation between two of them, who meet each other on the road; one an Esquire, the other a Judge.
_Esq._ Well, Judge, how do you do ? I hope you are well.
_Judge._ Well, Squire, I am tolerably bad. How do you do?
_Esq._ Well, I am a heap better than I was; but I have been powerfully sick lately.
{ 293} _Judge._ But, Squire, you have a powerful chance of plunder on your creature. What are you going to do with it?
_Esq._ Well, I am going to town with a tolerable chance of plunder, to get it carded at the mill.
_Judge._ Well, so you have got your wool to be carded; I could not calculate what truck you had got.
_Esq._ Well, I fancy you have been to town. How goes times there?
_Judge._ Times are dull; I calculated to sell my creature there, and then when I got home, to turn in and earn some money to get me another.
_Esq._ Well, as you could not trade away your creature, you must turn in and work as well as you can. I also must turn in, and build a cabin or two, to raise a little cash.
_Judge._ Well, Squire, have you done any hunting lately? I have followed it steadily for some time.