After we arrived in port it was discovered that Murray had not over twenty dollars when he first undertook the voyage. He was a good looking man, and belonged to the Masonic order, could sing a good song, and tell a humorous story, and had a peculiar way of gaining the confidence of his associates. He had but few personal acquaintances in the city; but had obtained security from two or three responsible merchants for the charter of the schooner Frances for a voyage of some months, at two hundred dollars per month, and they had loaned him money to pay the advance wages of the mate and seamen, and supplied him with ship stores, besides making large shipments of goods on their own account. He took many goods from different people in invoices of from fifty to one thousand dollars, agreeing to carry them free from freight, and return them one-half of the net profits. Among the shippers was his landlady, a poor widow woman, whom he persuaded to make a shipment of crockery amounting to fifty or sixty dollars, who, no doubt expected it would be sold at California prices. I have since conversed with many of the shippers by the Frances on this voyage, who say that they never received any returns for the goods which they shipped on board the schooner, or any account of the sales of them. The sureties were compelled to pay the seamen's wages and all other expenses. Some years after I learned that Murray died in some part of Central America. CHAPTER XXVI. Voyage to New Orleans. About the first of December, 1831, I entered into an agreement in Philadelphia with a large contractor, who had engaged to open a canal from the city of New Orleans to Lake Ponekertrain. He had hired about one hundred and fifty men, and chartered a brig to carry them to New Orleans. We sailed about the sixth of December, and made our passage out in twenty days. The captain of the brig was a young man who was but little acquainted with that coast. As he found that I was more experienced than himself, he was very civil to me. I gave him information about this dangerous coast. On our arrival at New Orleans we were conveyed to some large shantees, built for the accommodation of the workmen. I was stationed in the store-room, with orders to weigh out the provisions, keep a daily account of the expenditures, and make weekly returns to the treasurer. This I found a very disagreeable situation, as the men were constantly finding fault with their provisions, although they were furnished with good tea, coffee, sugar, smoked shoulders, potatoes, salt fish, wheat bread and butter every Friday, fresh beef twice in the week, and eight glasses of whiskey per day. Notwithstanding this good treatment, we had riots among the men every few days, and all deficiency in stores or cooking was laid to my charge, and they often threatened my life. There were two other encampments on the same canal, one on the lake side, and one in the middle station, where they murdered one cook, mortally wounded one