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GEORGIA AND GEORGIANS 97
six miles to the east of Old Ebenezer, but it was located to much better
advantage with respect both to fertility of soil and to general health-
fulness. As described by Mr. Strobel, the situation was somewhat ro
mantic.* Says he: "On the east lay the Savannah with its broad,
smooth surface. On the south was a stream, then called Little Creek,
but now known as Lockner's Creek, and a large lake called Neidlinger's
Sea; while to the north, not very distant from the town, was to be seen
an old acquaintance, Ebenezer Creek, sluggishly winding its way to
mingle with the waters of the Savannah." The landscape was here
gently undulating, so he tells us, the countryside covered with a fine
growth of forest trees, the fields luxuriant with many-colored flowers,
among them the woodbine, the azalea and the jessamine. But the pesti
lential germs were found to be here, too, for on three sides the town
was encompassed by low swamps, which were subject to periodical inun
dation, and which generated a poisonous miasma prejudicial to the
health of the inhabitants.
For years New Ebenezer prospered. The Salzburgers did not know
what it was to eat the bread of idleness. John Wesley was lavish in
praise of the neat appearance which the town presented when he called
to see them. He found the houses well built. He was also impressed
with the frugality' of these Germans. They did not leave a spot of
ground implanted in the little gardens belonging to them, and they
even made one of the main streets yield a crop of Indian corn. From
first to last, they were an agricultural people. As early as 1738 they
began to experiment with the culture of cotton. But the trustees were
partial to silk and wine. Consequently the growth of this plant was
discouraged. By 1741 it is estimated that in the Colony of Georgia
there were not less than twelve hundred German Protestants, most of
whom were at Ebenezer.
But we must not anticipate. Oglethorpe, after assigning a location
to the Salzburgers, made them a visit, helped in laying out the town
and ordered six carpenters to assist them in erecting houses. On this
same trip, he visited Aberdeen and Palochocolas, the latter an Indian"
village on the Savannah Eiver.
Twelve months had now elapsed since the landing of the first emi
grants upon the bluffs at Yamacraw. Many difficulties and hardships
had been encountered, in all of which Oglethorpe had borne his full
share. There are no statistics at hand for showing the exact status of
the colony at this time; but, on June 9, 1733, one year after the grant
ing of Georgia's charter, the trustees submitted an annual report from
which it appeared that up to this time 152 persons had been sent over by
the trust, eleven of whom were foreign Protestants, the rest Britons, t
Five thousand acres of land had been granted in parcels to the colonists
sent over by the corporation, besides which 4,460 acres had been deeded
to parties settling in Georgia without expense' to the trustees. Over
£2,254 sterling had been expended. Again, on June 9, 1734, the trustees
* '' Salzburgers and Their Descendants,'' p. 91, Baltimore, 1855.
t "An Account Showing the Progress of the Colpny of Georgia in. America from
its First Establishment," pp. 14-16, London, 1741.
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