"I [Michel] saw the impossibility of going any farther and I turned back. I had to drink much water daily. Still, I became very weak. Rainy weather set in but finally I reached Yorktown. I felt as sleep would overcome me. Other people reported they were afflicted this way." [Probably, Michel had contracted sleeping sickness which had come from Africa.]
"To travel alone is not good and I do not want to undertake it again because one is subject to many dangers. I was often made to sleep in outhouses [barns or sheds]. Many times I had no choice as to where I stayed because there was only one house in the region. If they committed an overt act against me, who would have made a complaint? But generally, I lived better when traveling than otherwise. I did benefit by their hospitality. When lodging with poor people, the food is frequently better than among the rich. When traveling I was able to trade some merchandise but generally one had to sell goods in the harbors and inns. But at these places, food was expensive, about a shilling [about four hours of skilled labor]."
"In Yorktown, I met one of the Lerber sisters who was going back to England to make some purchases. When I went on board the ship, the captain recognized me [this was the captain Michel had come with to Virginia]. He asked me if I had any letters to send back. I said no but that I planned on going myself. He immediately said his ship was at my service. I accepted his offer. I had my goods brought to his ship."
"Normally one must have a passport to leave the country and he must have his name read in church and it must be posted that he plans to leave. Without these things, the captain is not supposed to take the person on board as a passenger. But since the captain had brought me to the country, he let it pass. But had the captain been a stranger, I would have had to comply with the regulations."
"We remained eight days in the harbor making preparations. We took on twenty-two tons of water. Finally, at noon, on a Sunday, we weighed our anchor [date not given]."
[When Michel had arrived, he had no set schedule for how long he was going to stay. At one point, it appeared he planned on staying much longer than the few months that he was there. But the misadventures of the attempted journey on foot to Pennsylvania and the sickness he contracted probably made him desirous of getting back home. While he was in Virginia, he paid particular attention to finding where and under what terms a colony of people might be settled.]
We gratefully acknowledge the work of John Blankenbaker who published over 2,500 Germanna History Notes via the Germanna-L@rootsweb.com email list from 1997 to 2008. We are equally thankful to George Durman (Sgt. George) for hosting the list and republishing the notes via rootsweb.com.