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[Note to NS Archives from transcriber: the title of the document should read "M.D. McKenna" rather than "M.D. McKenna"]

[the right side of the page is tattered, so the end of some lines is illegible]

[written in a different hand, vertically at left: M.D. McKenna 5th April 1853]

Sable Island 5th April 1853

Dear Sir

Jackson has offered to leave the Island with his family agreeably to arrangements made when you were here or he is willing to stop where he is if you will allow his family board free. Solomon Knocks wife will have to go off in July to be confined and wishes to return again but it will be impossible for her to do the cooking when she will have two small children to attend, and besides she has had a daughter of Farquhars with her the last two years who attends her child and assists at the for the men while [tattered: Mrs.?] Knock gets the full pay for that duty which they (Farquhars) think is not [tattered: fair?] and I understand are not willing that it shall continue. Jackson and Knock are the two best men on the Island especially at boating and [tattered: I?] have but one boatman besides them and if their wives and family are not allowed to stop here they will not stop themselves but I think that some allowance should be made in favour of the Establishment for the previlage of having their families here and found in everything.

John Humphrey has given notice of his intention to leave when his year is up (last of May) he is a good teamster and a very [tattered: decent?] man and I am sorry that he leaves. John Brady is anxious to [tattered: get?] away, he has told the [illegible: rest?] of the people that he understood there was [tattered: more?] work to be done here and that our time was spent either riding about on horse back or running from Station to Station with a [tattered: illegible] for a companion, but he knows better now he is no boatman and [tattered: knows?] nothing about horses and is a very rough workman yet tolerably [tattered: smart?] at what he can do. Morash knows nothing and is nearly blind but he is such a civil decent creature and so willing [tattered: to?] do if he only knew what for to do that I think we had better allow