- Transcription
State of North Carolina
Craven County—}
The Examination & Confession of Nathan Mayo taken before Alexr Gaston one of the Justices of the Peace for the County aforesaid, this fourth Day of Sepr. 1777—
This Examinant being sworn on the Holy Evangelist of Almighty God deposeth and saith that on Friday the twenty second Day of August last he & one Thomas Clarke of Pitt County had a Dispute respecting the Disturbances & War between Great Britain and America, and the said Thomas Clarke said that he would stand up for King George, and that no Person who would not support him was fit to live; This Deponant replyed that any Person who ^would^ not stand by and defend his Country ought to be taken up, upon which the said Thomas Clark levelled a loaded Gun which he then had in his Hands, and snapt her at him, and upon her missing fire he drew the Cock, shutt the Pann again and endeavoured to discharge her at this Deponant once or twice after the first attempt; This Deponant was not above fifteen steps [illegible] ^from^ the said Thomas Clarke when he snapt at him and about the twenty yards from his own House. And when he discovered that said Clarke was determined to have his Life he run into the House and took A Gun which was loaded with buck Shot and discharged ^it^ at the said Thomas Clarke; the whole load went into his Left Shoulder, the ^said Clarke^ droped immediately to the Earth & his Gun fell by his Face. This Deponent further saith that the said Thomas Clarke did not speak after he was shott, but died in about half an Hour, and that there was not above two or three minutes from the Time that Clarke attempted to kill him to the Time of his discharging his Gun at Clarke; That they always before that time lived in Peace as neighbours, & that he bore him no malices but that he shott the said Thomas Clarke in defence of his own Life, as he really beleived that Clarke would otherwise have killed him; That at the time when this happened the said Thomas Clarke & this DExaminant were both in Liquor, & that no Person was by when this happened.
his
mark
sworn be[fore me at] New Bern this 4 day of Sept 1777
