Early Governors' Papers

Knoxville 4 July 1798

D^r Sir/

As u

The

no mail from Philadelphia last week, the stoppage of the mail between Staunton & this place has become very frequent, and it seems useless to complain, with an expectation of its being remedied tho the abuse is too great to be suffered; and it is a fact that one half of the papers & letters comes to hand so late, that we pay the postage for nothing, and another evil, I believe that the half of the letters to, and from, this place, neither comes or goes, safe to hand-

The Indians comes in but slow to the treaty, tho I believe am of opinion there will a great many attend after some time, I believe nothing is as yet ^is done ^in treaty: The people removed, has obtained eight ^a few days to reap their Grain which has been suffering for the want of cutting- we are spending this day as usual, in joy and festivity, and have no doubt ^hope you are in like manner engaged, and partaking

Harpeth Dec^r 5^th 1825

Dear Sir

Having returnd [sic] home from the duty assign^d me for the present, in aiding the engineers of the united states in the examination of the route for the national road from Washington City to Neworleans passing through our state. I deem it proper to commu= =nicate to you the result of the examination that has been made

The enginiers [sic] commencing at Washington City pass^d along East of the blue ridge to Rock Fish Gap where they cross^d over into the valley west of the ridge leaveing [sic] Staunton on their right passing through Lexington Salem Christiansburg Wythe and Abbingdon in the State of Virginia thence pursueing [sic] the stage road through Blountsville Rogersville and Rutledge in Tennessee to Knoxville where I joind [sic] them on the evening of the 22^d ult, Capt Pousin immediately made me acqua= =inted with the orders and instructions from the Dep^t. under which he acted, from which it was obvious that the several routes so interesting to the people in the different sections of our state could not now be examin^d and from the further information obtaind [sic] from the enginiers in relation to the other two routes that have been examind [sic] south and East of the mountains I was fully impressd with the Opinion that the Gen^l interest ^of our state (for the present)