I have often spoken of the unwillingness of some of our people to labor;
but Captain Smith, who is not overly eager to find excuses for those who
are indolent, has said that there was much reason why many of our men
hugged their cabins, counting it a most arduous task to go even so far
up the river as were the oyster beds.
He believes, and Master Hunt is of the same opinion, that this town of
ours has been built on that portion of the shore where the people are
most liable to sickness. The land is low lying, almost on a level with
the river; the country roundabout is made up of swamps and bogs, and
the air which comes to us at night is filled with a fever, which causes
those upon whom it fastens, first to shake as if they were beset with
bitterest cold, and then again to burn as if likely to be reduced to
ashes. Some call it the ague, and others, the shakes; but whatsoever
it may be, there is nothing more distressing, or better calculated to
hinder a man from taking so much of exercise as is necessary for his
well being.