Newburn on Nuce River North Carolina March 12th. 1750/1 Gentlemen,

Gentlemen, I wrote you a Letter Per Capt. Ling dated the 1st. Instant in which I informed you of my Passage & Arrival & some hints of the Hardness of Times here the Scarcity & dearness of Tar &c. & the plenty of all Goods, since which Time I have had more Time to look around me & the more I look the more I wonder, a Country equally bad upon all accounts I believe the Heavens don't Cover; but I shall Mention only what Concerns Merchandize; Tarr very scarce & dear, none of the Vessells as I can learn have gotten Tarr under 6/8 and many have given 7/4 Pitch 12/ and What is still worse a Load cannot be gotten under a Month or six Weeks some say two Months, from date hereof; I have sold nothing to tell off since; but could have sold off all my Rum at 3/ but cared not sell at so low a Rate without a parcell of English Goods with it. On Thursday the 7th. Instant I went to Bath Town on Pamplico River in order to receve some Money that Mr. Allen gave me an order to Mr. Rosette for being a Debt collected by him from one Clarck but said Clarck is dead & worth nothing & all that has been collected or ever will be is Twenty Pounds Old Ten., wch. I received.

I found Tar to be cheaper at this River than in Nuce. I visited all the Merchants & offered my Cargo to sale but some did not want to buy & others had neither Money nor Tar to buy with & so I could do nothing with them. However I made a Verbal Bargain with Mr. Duncan1 (brother to Mr. Duncan in Boston) to this purpose viz. That in Consideration I would take in 200 Blls. of Tarr for him upon Freight he would employ a cousin of his that lives up the River some distance to Engage Pitch & Tarr to the No. of 700 Blls. to be gotten Ready with the utmost dispatch, wch. he thought might be in abt. 6 Weeks & he thought it might be gotton for 6/ pr. B11. & perhaps 5/4 & Proc. Money to be Engag'd for it which I was to Raise by cruising from Creek to Creek & making the best of my Cargo, but he expected to hear from his Cousin speedily & would133let me know this Week when he should be over to Court wch. begins this day & then next week comes the Assembly during all wch. Time there will be a vast Concourse of People from all Parts of the Country in which Time I hope to sell off some Goods. This day I had an offer of An other Nature viz. Capt. Sim: Wade Come over from Pamplico and offered me a Load of Tar to be ready the 15th. Instt. or the Demurage to be pd. wch. I could make to appear & he to be pd. in New England in Cash at 6/8 pr. Barrell the Money to be paid in a Certain Number of Days after the Arrival of the Vessell, but as yet I have made no bargaind with him being afraid to Engage so much Money. In short I never was at such a Loss in My Life, I don't know who are my Freinds & who my Foes.

As for the Cargo, I doubt I shall never sell it all for the first Cost & some not at all. I can buy many Goods cheeper in the Stores than they are charged in the Invoice; however I shall do something or another speedily if I can so as not to destroy all hopes of Profit by the Length of the Voyage. If I can do nothing better I believe I can do this viz. Take in a Load on Freight, wch. If I can get it in any Reasonable Time I believe will clear the Charges, & then sell as much of the Cargo as I can & bring it home in Tallow at 3/ old Ten. Deers Skins 1/4 Proc. &c. If I can get them. Corn is Twenty Shill. pr. Bushll. Pork 20i per. Barrell Beef 13g. Love nor Money wont purchase a Patatoe or any other sort of sawce nor a Fowl. Bacon /8d per. lb. I can't so much as get Black sand there are Vessells here that come lading'd? that have been 4 months in the River & Expect to sail in about 1 month more. I long to gett out of this fagg End of Nature. I don't much Expect you will have an Opportunity of writing to me, if you should so as you can think I shall not be come away let me know yr. whole minds. Remr. me to all Freinds &c.,

ROBERT TREAT PAINE

LbC ; addressed: To Messrs. Jo. Allen Jos: Palmer & Ric: Cranch."

1.

Abraham Duncan of North Carolina was a brother of Robert Duncan (ca. 1702–1752), merchant of Boston. Between Apr. 15 and May 18 he provided RTP with 2890 barrel staves, 21 pounds of tallow, 2 barrels of pork, 3 1/2 bushels of corn, 2 barrels of pitch, and 177 barrels of tar, per a receipt signed by Duncan's cousin George Duncan (RTP Papers; Essex Institute Historical Collections 86[1950]: 255; Thwing Index).