if the assembly can't help us, we must e'en help ourselves!
So come let us try what we can do on our own credit."

"With all my heart," I replied.

So away went we to borrow money of our friends in Charleston;
I mean hard money. And hard money it was indeed. The gold and silver
all appeared as if it had caught the instinct of water-witches, diving at
the first flash of the war, to the bottom of misers' trunks and strong boxes.
For two whole days, and with every effort we could make, we collected
but the pitiful sum of one hundred dollars! However, fully resolved
that nothing should stop us, we got our regimentals the next morning
from the tailor's, and having crammed our saddlebags with some clean shirts,
a stout luncheon of bread and cheese, and a bottle of brandy,
we mounted, and with hearts light as young lovers on a courting scheme,
we dashed off to recruit our companies. Our course was towards Georgetown,
Black River, and Great Pedee. Fortune seemed to smile on our enterprise;
for by the time we reached Pedee, we had enlisted thirty-seven men,
proper tall fellows, to whom we gave furloughs of two days
to settle their affairs, and meet us at the house of a Mr. Bass,
tavern-keeper, with whom we lodged. I should have told the reader,
that we had with us, a very spirited young fellow by the name of Charnock,
who was my lieutenant.

On the second day, a captain Johnson of the militia, came to Bass's,
and took lieutenant Charnock aside, and after prattling a great deal to him
about the "cursed hardship", as he was pleased to call it,
"of kidnapping poor clodhoppers at this rate," he very cavalierly
offered him a guinea for himself, and a half joe a-piece for Marion and me
to let the recruits go.