My Diary From The West India Trading Company

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To my darling Bethany, First I want you to know that I am well and in good health and have been keeping myself in good spirits as best I can. A lot of the work I have been doing for the West India Trading Company is quite an adventure, with travel and the trade competition, there is never a dull moment to say the least. After your passing, I joined the West India Trading Company in 1623, roughly two months after your death. I remembered that you had wanted to travel to the new world to build a life their. I also recall you saying that money would be no object because of what the recruiter had said “we can just pick up the gold off the ground”. I’ll be the first to say my love that what he had said isn’t true at all, yes there is a fortune …show more content…

By late 1625, about six months after I was removed from the ship, I began to notice some of the fur traders and trappers had looked paranoid. They were constantly looking around with one hand on a knife, ready to kill in a moments notice. For the first three days I didn’t press the issue, but I was becoming increasingly curious of why they were paranoid, and regrettably I would soon find out. It was a Thursday afternoon and I had left William, a young cabin boy who was an indentured servant to the company and assigned to me, in charge while I went fishing about ten or so miles up the Hudson river. For the first hour I had caught a few fish peacefully, then about two or so hours I felt as if I was being watched. I immediately had an uneasy feeling, but couldn’t explain why; sometime later that same hour I began to smell smoke or what I thought was smoke and heard what sounded like the cries of wolves or coyotes. Terrified I fled back to the Fort and didn’t stop, by the time I reached the fort I had driven my horse into his grave. Once inside that uneasy feeling didn’t go away; it was apparent that I was spooked and was questioned by the trackers what was wrong. I explained to them that I had gone fishing and up the Hudson by myself and that I had become paranoid thinking I was being watched. I was; One tracker said that it could have been one of two tribes the Iroquois or the Huron. I …show more content…

This helped ease a few issues with the native people but that didn’t relieve the tension completely. The West India Company has been pressing us for more pelts to be able to compete with the french. The Iroquois have offered to help us with getting beaver pelts if we helped them fight the Huron. It would seem that they are at odds like the British and the French. What has me concerned is that not only have we agreed to assist them in fighting the Huron, they requested guns for them to use to fight against the Huron. I must admit that I’m not entirely comfortable with the idea and not on the premise of their skin, but on the premise that not all of them like us. What’s to stop them if they decide to turn against us and trying to murder us in our sleep? I know that is a very Paranoid thought but a very rational idea. Until that happens they have agreed to help us with trapping beavers and in return we will help them fight the Huron. I am curious about the other colonies and how our presence will affect them? I know that many are set up with agriculture in mind and trying to sell tobacco and other goods. Part of me is scared of what this colony hold for me, because I have been here about three years and there is still so much to learn and there are days that wish I could have one more day with

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