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GEORGIA AND GEORGIANS 69
was Coosa-pon-a-kee-see. She was subsequently employed by Oglethorpe
in similar negotiations at a stipulated salary of £100 sterling per annum.
Though at first disposed to regard the proposed settlement with dis
favor, Tomo-chi-chi, who was far above the ordinary savage in his powers
of intellect, was made to realize ere long that the coming of the Euro
peans, instead of proving a menace, was likely to open a door of oppor
tunity for his people; and then and there was cemented a friendship
which survived until the old mico's dying hour. Nor did Oglethorpe's
love for the noble old Indian prove less enduring. Fortunate it was for
Georgia that, on the threshold of her existence as a struggling colony,
surrounded by enemies on every side, she was protected by so powerful
a friend, so noble a character. It looked like a special providence de
signed to shield her from an untoward fate.
Having prepared the way for his colony not only in the matter of a
site but in what was equally as important, a definite understanding with
the ' Yamacraw Indians, Oglethorpe1 returned to Beaufort. Here he
found the settlers greatly refreshed. The safe return of the little
colony's head and founder and the successful nature of his visit gave
increased cause for gratitude to Almighty God; and on the following
Sabbath a day of special thanksgiving was observed. There was an ex
change of courtesies at this time, the Rev. Lewis Jones preaching for
the colonists, while the Rev. Dr. Herbert occupied the former's pulpit
in Beaufort.
To conclude the day's observance a bountiful dinner was provided
by Oglethorpe and included among the articles mentioned as constitut
ing'the feast were "eight turkeys, four fat hogs, many fowls, English
beef, a hogshead of punch, a hogshead of beer, and a generous quantity
of Avine." It is quite evident from this inventory that while rum was to
be excluded from the colony by an express edict of the board of trustees,
Georgia wa,° not committed to a policy of total abstinence nor was she
in any sense an advocate of strict prohibition. We are glad to be in
formed that at this feast no one was intoxicated.
Leaving Beaufort for Savannah, the colonists were conveyed in a
sloop of several tons, re-enforced by a cluster of five periaguas. En
route a storm was encountered, which forced them to seek shelter from
its violence at a point called Lookout. Here they remained all night,
suffering keenly no doubt from exposure to an inclement winter season.
On the next day they proceeded to John's Island where eight men had
been stationed some few days before to provide huts for the colony's
accommodation at this place, midway between Savannah and Beaufort.
But the morning of February 12, 1733 * found the colonists safely
landed upon the bluffs at Yamacraw.
* Old Style, January 30, 1733.
WORMSLOE: THE HOME OP NOBLE JONES.—Near the mouth of the Vernou River,
at the extreme southern end of the Isle of Hope, lies the oldest estate in
Georgia: Wormsloe. It was formerly the country-seat of Noble Jones, a com
panion of the great Oglethorpe on his first voyage to America, and for years a
distinguished officer of the Crown. He came into possession of the estate in 1733,
at which time he gave it the name which it still bears. Here he built a
wooden fort, which he called Fort Wymberley, placed in such a position as to com
mand the inland passage from the Vernon to the Wimrington River. This passage