John Williams letter to Thomas Rotch, Washington, 5th Mo 11th 1813

               
 B-214-2      
                   Washington 5th Mo 11th 1813
  Esteemed Friend
  Thomas Rotch
           Thy favour of 20 of 7th Mo last came
  safe to hand giving a favourable account of thy and wifes health
  of which I was pleas'd to hear by which it appears the
                      not
  spotted fever hath, ^ reachd your residence altho it hath still
  contined to remove many in the course of teh last & presnet
  years but it hath not pov'd so fatal this spring as last.
   I don't think of any of your acquaintance taht have been
  remove'd since my last I wrote the a 2nd by another hand
  not long after my first which  iexpect mincarreid as the
  person was bound to the western parts of the state. I hope 
  you are favour'd to escape the ravages of this base concerted
  War.  The declaration of which discouraged Obadiah from
  looking any more toards Ohio, in consequence of which he 
  in autumn last took most of his family & personal
  Property on board a packet landed at Athens hired
  Waggons to take them to Otsego County where his sister & 
  family remov'd about a year ago he hath hired a small
  famr in order this summer to travil as far the county
  of Seneca in quest of a farm where his Brother Niolas
  has purchas'd him a place for 3 pr acre one half under
  improvements with several good log Houses Barn etc
  and where they have traced a vein of the Onondgo
  salt into the Town of Ovid between Seneca & Cauga
  takes they have dug and curb'd as they went down over
  a hundred feet and struck the pick axe into it and
  the salt water flow'd so rappid they had to make haist
  out or wou'd have overflow'd them & soon run over the
  top where they now make abundance of salt which they
  sell at 2/6 pr bushel. Also they have an inexhortable