[Continuing the letter of Michel to Ochs written from Maryland.]
"Regarding the journey from England, I may say that it was very unpleasant, partly because of the inconvenient winter time. On August 20th of last year, I went on board the "Hopewell" at Gravesend. Contrary winds kept us at Downs, Portsmouth, and other places till the beginning of October. On the 4th of that month, we lost sight of the land. For a time we had a great heat and calm, because we were so far south, namely on the 27th degree. We spend a long time making but little progress until we came farther north. Such distressing weather scattered our fleet in such a way that even now ships are still arriving, which because of the lack of water, loss of masts, sickness, and other accidents many were compelled to seek land at the Bermudas, Barbados, Carolina, and other places. More than enough has already been reported about the loss of ships."
"The governor of this province was on board the commander's ship, which arrived only four weeks ago. Our ship had been one of the best and we reached land on January the 16th. My daily Journal, containing all the details, will follow at the next opportunity." [No copy of this Journal is known.]
"We found such unusual cold here, even five days ago, as I have never experienced." [The first decade of the 1700's is known as a "little ice age", and was one of the reasons that so many Germans left at the end of the decade.] "Most of the rivers were frozen and hence I had to postpone my trip to Pennsylvania till spring and had to take a house. As my long stay in Holland and England gave me an opportunity to buy all kinds of necessities of life, the inhabitants soon learned of it. Besides, European goods and wares are very expensive in war times, but especially this year. They compelled me almost to exhibit them. Contrary to expectations they were taken with a rush and with good profit and the statement was made that so many useful things had never been seen here before. What kinds of goods should be brought here and what other things are necessary will be reported as stated above."
"After I had sold most of my wares, I traveled with the rest to Pennsylvania, about 180 miles distant from here." [180 miles according to Michel, but in reality less than that.] "With the exception of about 8 English miles it is possible to go there by water. After my arrival I sold the rest of my merchandise even more advantageously than in Maryland. Nothing is sold under 50 percent profit, most goods bring more than 100 per cent. How easily, then, can one make money!"
"Philadelphia is a city twenty-two years old, whose growth and fame is to be preferred to most English-America cities. I was astonished to see the difference, compared with other cities of this country, with regard to her size, splendid edifices, daily construction of new houses and ships, the regularity of the streets, the abundance of provisions, at a much cheaper price than in the neighboring cities. But the strongest reason, why there is such an influx of people from other provinces, is partly due to the liberty which all strangers enjoy in commerce, belief, and settlement."
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.