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To His Excellency Major General Sir John Harvey Knight [illegible]
Sir it is with mingled feelings of poverty and distress that I take up my pen to relate to you the wage I have recived from Joseph Darby superintendant of Sable Island. I was hired by the commissioners last April to come here and the usage we have recived all summer on acount of our provisions has been so bad that we were obiged to write to the commissioners our grievances but got no redress whatever. We are living on salt provisions all the time and that verey badly cookd working in the salt water almost every day saving wrecked property and some times laying on the beach all night that some of us broke all out in sores and boil; myself the worst of all not able to doo duty any longer. Me being the one pitched upon to write to the commissioners. Mr Darby heard of it and getting no redress from them. He has used me worse than a brute ever since, knowing that your Excellency will not suffer imposition on a British subject. I will just relate to Your Honour the usage I have recived since I have not been able to doo duty; on the 30th of September I was obliged to give up Mr Darby sent for me. I crawled down stairs to see him the first salute he gave me you damnd scoundrel why ant you at work I said sir I am not able to work. He had a stick in his hand three feet long and about 3 inches round he waved it round my head and threatened my life. He knocked me down with his fist and told me he had a good mind to ty me up to a post and horse whip me to death. After he had taken satisfaction of me he told me now I have got my venom out upon you damnd raskel go to Hell out of my sight. I was then at my wits and not knowing what to doo. Threatning my life; my legs and my body at the time was as red as scarlot and all over boils and a pain in my side I got from a fall a few days previous on board of a wreck in that condition