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of using a more valuable and complicated instrument, and of course improving & advancing still faster. The "Old Man," A. R. Field Esq. the head of the party, is riding about , or looking about, most of the time, and I, of course have the charge of the business. The rest of the party are Jonathan Orcutt, one of the stoutest, hardest looking customers you ever saw, has been on the road three years, is as good a head chainman, Target, or Rodman, as any one can be, but without education can probably never get any higher. He is skillful, quick sighted, and correct, much depended upon in everything, but rather quick tempered, and somewhat ugly when angry. I manage as well as I can to keep the right side of him, and success very well; though I find he is not disposed to like me, perhaps does not like it very well that I a new comer am put above him. Mr. F. A. Tenney, School Master of Gill,, Mass., a pretty good sort of fellow, quite a scholar, slightly pedantic perhaps but his principal fault being that he cannot keep his mouth shut. I hardly ever saw one's tongue run so, and on every variety of subject. Why, especially if he happens to get an extra cup of tea. I believe he would rattle of scraps of poetry & every thing else, all night long. He says he can repeat a couplet from any author of the English language! On the whole, he affords us much amusement, but whether he will ever make an Engineer I more than know. Francis Fisher, is an ignorant, stout, chopper, does, and never can be any thing better