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176 around that there was a small pirate boat in the bay. Just after we had anchored with several other small vessels in the river; there came sweeping in a boat that answered the description given of the vessel in question. Our Captain charged a musket that was on deck, belonging to one of our men, and hailed the boat; but as the people proved to be friendly, and acquaintance too, the musket was laid by and no further notice taken of it for the present. When we had landed and kindled a fire, and were most of us sitting down by it, one of our men took up the loaded musket (not knowing it to be so) and placing the butt of the piece on the ground between his legs, asked the owner if his musket was in good order, and cocked and snapped it. I was standing by his side with the muzzle of the piece close by my ear, when it proved to be in good order enough to go off, and nearly sent me off with its contents; the fire from it burnt all the hair off the side of my head, and I thought at the instant, that my head had gone with it.

In the morning there were signs of a southerly wind; we hastened on board and the wind breezing up, we got under weigh and steered for the head of the bay; it was about sunrise when we started, and when we anchored at the head of the bay, the sun had just set, having run in that time upwards of a hundred and thirty miles. The flats about our anchoring place were almost covered with wild water fowl. I do not remember ever seeing so many at one time, before or since, although I have often seen large numbers of them. One of our men discharged his piece at a flock on the wing, when they appeared like a cloud, and were spread over a space of a quarter of a mile every way. The ball passed almost through the flock before it chanced to hit one, and it hit but one.

The next morning we landed at what is called the head of Elk, where we found the rest of our corps, and some of the Infantry, also a few French. Our people seemed very glad to see us again, as they had been informed that we were certainly all drowned.—We remained here a few days and then marched for Philadelphia. We encamped one night, while on our march, at Wilmington, a very handsome borough town on the Christiania creek, in the State of Delaware. I was quartered for the night, at a gentleman's house, who had, before the war, been a sea