The 10th of June 1771. Ens. Johnstone quarrelled with Phinehas Pond, a trader from New England. The dispute became very warm with high & insulting Expressions. At length in the height of their dispute Ens. Johnstone took down a brace of pistoles off the chimney brace, presented them to Pond at the Table, challengeing him to take up one of them, which Phineas Pond did directly. Ens. Johnstone in wrath desired Mr. Pond to give his Pistol to Mr. Howard, trader, to charge. He replyed he would not give his Pistol to any man to charge; upon which Pond began to charge his Pistol as fast as he could work. Ens. Johnstone (observeing that Mr. Pond was about chargeing so brisk) took hold of his own pistol by the barrell & pushed the butt of it violently & struck him with great fury in the Pit of the stomach, which staggered him surpriseingly. This unexpected proceeding prevented Pond from loading his Pistol, which he was obliged to drop & make of his hands in his own defence, which he plyed about so manfully that Ens. Johnstone fell flat directly upon the floor. Phineas Pond gave him such terrible bruiseings, black eyes &c. that Ens. Johnstone was obliged to keep his Room for several days, & tho’ this day is the 6th. since his disaster, he is not Yet recovered, walking about slowly with a pair of black Eyes. What the consequences of this uggly affair will turn out to I cannot determine. Ensign Johnstone sold Mr. [Ezekial] Solomon the Jew ninety gallons of common Rum June 1771. The year before he sold fifty bundles of dryed Venison to the said Solomon at 2 sh. & 6d for the benefit of Capt. Turnbull, commanding officer of this Fort. [Illustration: “... without these expenses I must starve of cold.”] V Monstrum Horrendum Ingens! [Illustration: Flags] _With this partial quotation of a line from Virgil’s Aeneid which refers to the hideous one-eyed monster, Polyphemus, stumbling about after he had been blinded by Ulysses, Morison expresses his opinion of Captain Turnbull. Angered at the treatment he received from Turnbull, the surgeon’s mate presumably pictured his commanding officer as a monster, blind to the needs of his men._