pkvann ta atiarenk een ee my MK ad ee ne Samer tesre rate pate nor wreaths iterate eaten te ameter eae Pe ear ae ates . Sceieidr orem Ace: est y Ne Ke peli d Te area see Prdorm whale wre me x Cn re Sate eo heer. tires eh ee Set Pte re peer ery ira ons etiak Sp nek cut , Skoda onus % 7 eee er tat ter atydnk deat ierer wees er tone eer att near a ere a tN eee SCL DAI a CLS Se sa paek burqa neuer an tyes eapeeray teats ou BEE BS OF we ed ni nanan epee tw Me Yag os gs eee ee. 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Popul s tasks ie btoaet a " “ . - Sram heagay orae hat hon tt eee " ¥ estates cart ew : : 2 . eerie neers eaten Tosa Fh Peeaith ath keknie ae tebeiea eae a Pathe i a 4 tas ¥ . ipa eae Tadhdtugteh ioe : CSE Teer Sono ton a teniy tomet otal : Serr Se Oe rb rae et eee SS ea el a aad vinta ese Banton Se Rieti aban ZF PER GL sepa rare a! v a te oes pee or te ed Pak ede AS LP papa aR ays PP AER : Epeieeledtenal Sone ete ene Polen ine eed amaae aie Saya are ara ee eth ee ee oh ied he We P ASAT hy park tg Rta aor scar pe ate ege arte aenbet a atere neat kasi ter ree ata ar ws ae arertarct nanan Pepe ee UE yen re a een gi rhemte poe ear m ae Mite igre tar “ role eres ete ee ¥ x" UE NWA to ee SR PIAE AA Rae re S - ~ soree perar at a ee eran St eee a a ey whee rae he oe Feet ere PRO D AM NUM DR AAO ed ara . ee ees ee te Sudan eek aas Ce atgs see PROPERTY OF THE Loa {3 { me ao << \ Re \ | 2 27 Ne i), } ry \ ‘4 Vik) AYN } Hee IV) hea ie Atay ty oa dala ety Fee | Ue EA Sas Fy BSE LY ae aS NATURAL HISTORY OF wari. And the reft of the Englifh Leeward eee ogre Lys “* AMERICA With many other Obfervations on NATURE and ART; Particularly, An Introduction to Khe. Art of Deepyyering. PLN BN | Eleven. Letters from. the. Re: vi. Ms. SM 1T Hy fometime Reétor af St. Sobx sat Nevis, aa now Rector of St. Mary’s in BEDFoRD; to the Rev? Mr. MASON, B.D. Woodwardian Profeffor, and Fellow of Trintty - 2 a Cambridge. ‘ A | CAMB RID GE: Printed by J. BEnrHam, Printer to the UNIVERSITY; and fold by W. THurtsourn in Cambridge; S, Birt in Ave-Maria-Lane, C, BatuurstT in Fieet-Street, and J. BEEcRoFT in Lombard-Street, LONDON. MDCCXLY. Wee ; TD OEE | WORTHY GENTLEMEN ae OF Did of Oko S, MOTHER of the Engliph Leeward Charibee Iflands in America. SIRS, Often refle& with fingular Pleafure, I upon the five happy Years that I was Rector of St. ohn's Parifh in your Country, and do with the utmoft Grati- tude acknowledge the Favours I receiv- ed from You all. i then kept a Book of Remarks upon what I faw moft obfervable in your Climate, and colle&ted many beautiful Sea-Shells, which about nine years after a 2 | my DEDITCA TAO my return to England I prefented to Dr. Woodward's Repofitory of Foffils at Cambridge. Mr. Majfon, the Woodwer- dian Profeflor defiring me to give him fome account of them, occafioned my writing the firft Letter; And as I com- pofed the others at leifure hours after- wards, I did not think myfelf neceffi- tated to put any Dates to them: Be- fides, I had no thoughts of printing them till of late, The principal Subject relates’ pretty much to your Hland: But as my Book of Remarks might not be free from Er- rours;. and as in divers Articles I was: forced to truft folely to memory at. the time of writing them; I fhall own myfelf farther indebted to Your generous Tem- per, if any of you will rectify thofe Er- rours; as well as point out fuch curious things as may have efcaped my memory or notice; and indeed I lay hold of this oppor- Pe DeCa Te O: IV. opportunity to requeft the fame of all others who difcover faults in them. I received the higheft Civilities too at St. Chriftopher's, Antigua, and Montfer- vat, whofe hofpitable Inhabitants I alfo pleafingly remember, by frequent in- ftancing of their Concurrence with You in a true tafte of Humanity and Ho- nour. Worthy Gentlemen! That the Rain and the Dew, with other choice tempo- ral as well as {piritual Bleflings of Hea- ven, may abundantly defcend upon the Englifb Leeward Charribee Iflands, is the hearty Prayer of Your moft humble, and highly obliged Servant, William Smith. | wise Nua puede abel Uaioe hans: To the Rev Mr. CHARLES MASON, Woodwardian Profeffor 12 the Univerfity of Cambridge, and Fellow of Trinity College. EP RNG: SIR, AD I been informed either of your Perfon or Courtefy before the other day, you might fooner have heard from me; or had I (when at Nevis) imagined my Shells would ever have been lodged in fo honourable a Place, the Collection fhould have been larger, if not more curious: However, I cannot help giving you the trouble of reading my prefent Thoughts upon them; which though not methodical, or per- haps free from Miftakes in fome refpedts, yet as I have committed no wilful Miftake, a Gentleman _ of your known Candour will eafily pardon and pafs fuch over. 2. Thefe Shells are found upon that part of the Coaft of Nevis where the Sea is moft fubjeét to Rocks on the Weftern fide, and with good reafon, viz. becaufe the fmooth fandy Bays are daily. vifited by our Fifhermen’s long Net called a Seine; or rather becaufe there ts a greater quan- A tity 2 Techno ta ba tity of Mofs, Weeds, and other N ourithment, to {upport them among the lefs difturbed Rocks: They have no Names with us there; for we feldom or never eat of them, unlefs it be a large particular fort of Wilk, whofe Shells are finely polifhed, and made into Snuff-boxes (very com- monly) at London? and except alfo the Cockle which we ufe by way of Sauce to Rock-fith, Welfhmen, Old Wives, Cavallies, &c. ‘Their meat for Colour, Shape, and Tafte refembles our Englith ones, but they are delicious at full of the Moon, increafing and decreafing in bulk as weil as goodnefs, juft as that Heavenly Body feems to increafe or decreafe to our fight: You have at leaft a dozen of the Shells (no ways fhaped like our Englifh Cockles) that are {mall and of a triangular Form, but not equilaterally fo, two Sides of them being each of them full as long again as the fhort Side; all the three An- gles are rounded off or blunted; they are of a white fhining Colour like well polifhed white Marble, and generally fpeaking ftreaked down- wards very regularly with beautiful Red or Blue Veins, They are taken in the following manner, viz. A Negro Man goes in at one of our fandy Bays up to his knees, where ftooping down he fills a Bafket with Sand from the bottom, which * Note, That a Wilk Fith both looks and eats exactly like our Englifh Pertiwinkle. ’ _ Bafket EE TER: | 3 Bafket he dips fo often in the Water, as till the Sand being wafhed clean away leaves the Cockles behind: And it is worth our obfervation, That this fort of Cockle is not to be found, as far as I could hear of, at any other of the Leeward Cha- ribee Iflands; nay, that they have been carried down to Saint Chriffopher’s, but would not pro- pagate there, though the furtheft part of that Ifland is no more than thirty Miles off, and the neareft end within four or five Miles of Nevis, Antigua has an incomparable kind of Sea Fifh (whofe name I do not remember) that is peculiar to its felf; for it is not found at any other of our Iflands. We have a good Spring and fhort Stream in our white Ground at Nevis, which yield us Mud Fifhes, that are reckoned the richeft Fith we have: But I always thought the Cavally (a Sea Fifh) the fineft eating of any; it is a deep bodied Fifth, weighs four or five pounds, and taftes not unlike an Englifh Maccarel ; it is a very firm Fith. 3. Nevis produces a Tree called Dog-wood ; and when feven or eight Gentlemen have an in- clination to divert themfelyes with fifhing (or more properly {peaking with Fifh-hunting,) they fend each of them a Negro Slave to the Woods, in order to fetch fome of the Bark which grows upon its Roots: this Bark isnext morning pound- ed yery fmall with Stones, put into old Sacks, A 2 care 4 EET DAE SR a carried into the rocky part of the Seas, fteeped till thoroughly foaked with the Salt Water, and then well {queezed by our Negroes to get out the Juice: ‘This Juice immediately colours the Sea, and ftains it with a reddifh hue; and being of a poifonous nature, will in an hour’s time (that is to fay about eleven a clock in the fore- noon, ten being the ufual time of beginning of this diverfion) make the Fifhes fuch as Groopers, Rock-fith, Old Wives, Welchmen, &c. fo drunk or intoxicated, as to {wim on the Surface of the Water quite heedlefs of the danger: the Gentlemen then fend in their Negroes who purfue (beth fwimming and diving) the poor Fithes, till they catch them with their hands ; they themfelves ftanding by on high Rocks to fee the Paftime.® : 4. The Poifon kills millions of the fmall Fry, and indeed I can affign no reafon why they fhould not likewife deftroy the Shell-fithes who lie at the bottom, and of courfe are lefs qualified to efcape its effects by paffing into the adjacent purer Water; befides, they muft naturally die in con- fiderable numbers every year; fo that in fhort, it isno wonder at all, ifin our Hurricane Months, viz. fuly, Auguft and September, their Shells are eaft up in confiderable quantities on the rocky Shore, b Note, That Herman Moll’s Brittifh Empire in America, defcribes feveral ftrange Fifhes peculiar to thefe Seas, that I never could fee or hear of. | 5. That LETTER: 5 5. That they are fo caft up is certain; but then let me tell you, that their Colours are no ways bright and beautiful, till they have lain up- on the Sea-fhore for fome time, to dry and polifh by the Sun’s hot Rays that will foon {corch off fuch Mofs or Soil as may ftick about them for a while at firft, and hinder the eye from perceiving thofe exquifite (inimitable) ftrokes of Nature’s fineft Pencil with which they are all over a- dorned. 6. The little round Holes that feem as it were artfully drilled thorough many of them, I take to be done by either a particular fort of Fifh cal- led by Dr. Woodward Purpura, or elfe by Sea- worms (the Shells of fome of which I {ent you,) as foon as the Fifhes in them were dead, when the Shells were undoubtedly much fofter than they now are, and of courfe far eafier penetrated : The Scarlet Spots that are fo lively upon two or three of them, I fuppofe to be a fort of Minium or red glutinous Earth which they contracted in the Sea, and which by length of time hardened -into much the fame matter with the Shells: thefe are not the Barnacle fort of Sea-worms. 7. You will find in my Collection at leaft a dozen Shells that are brown on the outfide and of a palifh green on the infide, called Patella: they rife gradually from an oval bafe in fhape of a Pyramid, having generally fpeaking a little A® 3 oblong 5 EE TER & oblong hole at the top. In the We Indies they are ufually named Nipple Shells, on account of their being a fovereign Remedy for the fore Nipple of a lying-in Woman’s Breaft, being applied thereto, You fay, that they are helpful to the Nipple only by protecting it from external Injury, which its figure is proper for; but I fee no reafon why they fhould not likewife have a healing Vertue, as thé good experienced Ladies there affert ; for they are full of Salts: No body I believe ever faw a Fith in them, fo that, Quve@re, How they are formed. Now whether this healing vertue or quality yet remains in them, I vaftly queéftion ; becaufe of the alteration of Climate and length of time fince they were gathered from off the Sea-fhore, Nevis lying in the fixteenth degree of Northern Latitude, and the Shells be- ing gathered in the year of our Lord 19720, This I know from my own obfervation, that the Cortex Peruy, never fails of curing any Intermit- ting Fever (or evena Reinitting one, as the Doctors term the loweft abatement of that Diftemper) at Nevis, which is fituate in a hot Climate ; where- as it frequently miffes of that happy effect in plain {nteriiffions of an Ague here in England, a very cold Climate: From whence I would conclude its Vertue to be ftrongeft, in Countries of much the fame Latitude with Peru; or at leaft, that Human Bodies there are more eafily wrotlied upon LETTER 1. 7 upon by reafon of the great Heat which opens the Pores, Ge. And indeed were I a Phyfician, I might perhaps infift on the felf fame Qualities in regard to all other kinds of Medicines, with reafon enough on my fide. 8. You have there alfo five or fix Shells that are round and milk white as well as of a brit- tle fubftance, 1n Shape and Size not unlike a Nonpareil Apple, or rather refembling a large Mufhroom before it is fully opened at the bot- tom; and it is all over fet out to the beft ad- vantage, with little round Rifings that feem (if I may be allowed the expreffion) formed by Nature in the moft exact and artful fymmetry, and di- ftance, from each other; being in fuch due pro- portions and numbers, as to make them rife gra- dually from bottom to top, I mean allowing for — their decreafing both in number and bulk as they come towards the centre in the top. When this Shell is firft taken out of the water, each one of _ thefe little round Rifings is armed with juft fuch a fharp pointed Dart as we fee ifluing out of our common Hedge-hogs, both as to colour and length. At Nevis we call them Sea Eggs; but very improperly I think, for they are cer- tainly alive, and do nimbly move thofe fharp- pointed Darts, in order to prick the Feet of fuch Negroes as dive to take them up. When they die in the Sea either naturally or elfe by Ad Poifon qs LeEST TRARY. Poifon, their Shells loofe thofe Darts, and as foon as a Storm comes they are. thrown up on the Shore, where the violent Heat of the Sun bleaches the whole Shell, till it becomes as white as you now have them. Whilft they are alive, they have a foft, black, and round fubitance, not unlike the Nipple of a Woman’s Breaft, which they can raife out of the largeft hole on the flatteft or bottom fide, and a much leffer round fubftance of the fame nature appears out of the much leffer hole on the other flat fide or rather top of the Shell: I imagine the bot- tom round fubftance to be its Head that feeds or grazes on Weeds, &c. which lye or grow at the bottom of the Sea; but then I am entirely at a lofs what to determine about the leffer round fubftance, unlefs I durft venture boldly to pro- nounce that another Head: In fhort it is all a meer Conjecture. If you examine the Infide of it, you will perceive a prodigious number of little Holes that you may ftick a fmall minikin Pin into, running in due diftances in proportion to their number quite thorough the Shell, in Lines that are exactly parallel, from the bot- ‘tom part quite up to the center in the top of this Shell, and thorough which,the Salt Water did I fuppofe enter in order to {cour and keep the Fifh in health. The Fith is both in colour and form jatt like Salmon or indeed any other Fithes of T Ear ERG I 9 Spawn, and pretty firmly fixed clofe in all the {mooth Partitions between thofe parallel Lines of Holes, We break the Shells till we have got as much of the Fifh as will fill two or three of | the largeft, which are each as big as my two Fifts: Then we feafon it pretty highly, as we do Turtle or Tortoife, and fet them with their fharp pointed Darts on (as they came out of the Sea,) over a gentle Wood-coal Fire half burnt to afhes, where it ftands till it is fufficiently ftewed: But in. my opinion, it eats far too lufhioufly. I faw feveral of their broken Shells upon the Coaft of Lincolnfhire; and have been informed, that the Fifhermen at Lynw in Norfolk, and on moft of our Engli/h Coatts, do frequent- ly take them up in their Dragging Nets. I had almoft forgot to mention the Variety of Cockle- Shells I fent, that refemble our Exglz/h ones in Shape, though infinitely furpaffing them in beau- teous Colours, and fome of which are on the outfide far rougher than a Nutmeg-grater, but fhine. like the beft polifhed Marble: We do not eat them; and to fpeak truth, I never faw one of them alive. You have there too a Fith’s Shell called a Moon: It is round and as broad as my hand, the middle being as thick as two Crown Pieces, and falling down with a gentle Slope quite to the Edges where it is no thicker than Half a Crown: From the Center in the top you 10 BE EXER L you fee four or five fets of Rows that are exceed- ing fine and narrow Cavities, thorough which the Water defcends into the Body of the Shell where the Fith refides: Thefe Cavities project out from near the Center an Inch or better. to- wards the Edges in the form of Peach-tree Leaves: There is a round hole in the Center on the under fide that goes up into the Body of the — Shell. As I never found any more of the fort, fo I thought it a pity to break that in pieces purely to examine the infide. g. In the Month of Fuly, 1719, one Mr. Mofes Pinheiro a ‘few and myfelf, went to an- gle in Black Rock Pond, which is fituate a quar- ter of a mile or better Northwards from Carles Town our Metropolis or Capital, and about thirty yards diftant from the Sea. Mr. Pzheiro’s Hook catched hold on fomething at the bottom of the Pond, and he ordered my Negro Man Oxferd to ftrip, dive, and unloofe it. Oxford went in- deed to the bottom, but came again without ef- feCting it; and faid, that it was entangled in a {mall Buth that grew in the bottom of the Pond, which was in that place about two yards anda : half deep. However, he dived again, and after a few fturdy pulls, brought up the Buth, Roots and all, Both its Roots and Branches were vifibly enough alive, but without either Bark or Leaves, it being covered over with a foft blackith fub- {tance BE TV EPR! i. YY ftance which no doubt ferved in the room of Bark. Upon cutting it in two, I found the Wood of a pale or faded green. 10. I hereupon began to reflect ferioufly with myfelf, and concluded, that the vaft A¢lantick Ocean (which looks of the fineft Azure Blue co- jour occafioned by the great depth and exceeding tranfparence of Water) might abound at bottom with large growing Trees, and fmaller Bushes, as well as with Weeds, or Grafs: And what renders the point not fo chimerical as highly pro-. bable is, That the Shore about half a mile to the Southward of Charles Fort, is plentifully ftocked with dead dry Bufhes, which the Sea in Hurri- canes and ftormy Weather throws up: The | Roots of thofe Buthes, (two of which, together with my Shells, I prefented your Univerfity) are fo firmly fixed in a very hard and folid Stone, that they are all of a piece: To be plain, they muft grow in the Sea, becaufe the Land Soil of that Country produces none fuch, that I can remember at leaft. rx. And here perhaps a fruitful Fancy would eafily difcover Mountains and Hills, Wallies and Plains, Woods and Copices, thorough which the numberlefs Inhabitants of the great Deep were winding their way (either feparate or in whole flocks, juft as their occafions led them,) either for Food or Paftime ; as alfo, That the Vallies and 12 L-BYT?IVERT ok and Plains, Woods, and Coppices are wondrous fertile, whereas the Summits of Mountains and Hills are generally fpeaking barren enough; and this laft Article, I would willingly affign for the true Reafon, why nothing bigger than {mall Bushes are caft afhore to the Southward of Charles Fort (as mentioned in the foregoing paragraph) in Storms and Hurricanes, whofe raging Billows want fufficient force or violence to difturb the lower recefles of the Abyfs of the Ocean. If it be objected, That Natura nil agit fruftra ; and of courfe, what ufe can they be of? The felf fame fruitful Fancy will as readily make an{wer, That the Bark, &c. on fuch confiderable and lofty Trees, may ferve the greater Leviathans of ‘the Ocean by way of Food; and moreover, That _ {uch tall Woods as well as the fhorter Coppices and Shrubs may ftop the too violent purfuit of the more ravenous fort of them after the fmaller Fry, who without fuch places of retreat would be fwallowed up:in whole Shoals. Befides Provi- dence may appoint other ufes of them which are unknown to us. 12. I had like to have forgot to rogues you, That the Buth in which Mr, Pinbeiro’s Line was entangled, grew out of a foftith Rock (a piece of which about the bignefs of my Fift I fent with my Shells) that is heavy, white, porous, and when by LiE DT ER oy, 13 by any accident loofened from the bottom, does naturally fwim. 13. Confulting my laft Volume of Remarks, I found in them the following Paffage, which I had with fingular pleafure tranfcribed verbatim out of the Saint Sames’s Evening Poff for Sep- tember 25, 1729, viz. “* Some days ago Captain | € nr € A ¢€ nr € * ¢ nr € a ¢ ~» wn G € nw € r & vA € an € w €¢ ¢ nr a ry ca e a n n n nm e_ A ; nv Hannibal, in the Sloop Cornelius, brought over as Paflengers from Roterdam, the two famous Englifh Divers living at Weymouth, having been three Years in the Dutch Eaft India Compa- ny’s Service, and had been fent to fifh upon the Wrecks of fome Ships of theirs in India: They gave a fpecimen of their Skill before the Governour and Directors at Middleburgh in Zealand, by diving in fix Fathom Water, and ftaying at the bottom three quarters of an hour, bringing up fome Gravel in their hands ; The Directors afterward entered into a Con- tract with them, agreeing to give fix Pounds per Cent. for the Treafure they fhould recover, and fo for other Goods in proportion to their Value. .The firft trial they made was upon the Wreck of a Dutch Eaft India Ship that had been loft off Cape Coaft in fix Fathom Sea, in which they fucceeded fo well, that they brought up at feveral times 3600/. in Silver. They dived alfo upon another Wreck in os Fathoms, and brought up fome Bars UF ¥ 4. LETTER 1. G wr € rr € “A” a A aA a on ™ ~ Lo] -" ~ Sa) om” wa “~ €é a ™ € ~~ € ~~ €¢ é€ €¢ q ” € a of Silver and Gold, and feveral Brafs Great Guns: When one went to the bottom, his Companion {taid on board to pull him up as occafion offered; for they would truft no Foreigner. Their diving Engine they contriv- ed in England, which was made of Wood, fix hundred weight of Lead being affixed to the ‘ bottom to fink it, and lefs would not do; The Glafles before their Eyes were three Inches thick, and their Hands were at li- berty to erope and faften Hooks to Chefts and fuch other things as they had a mind to get up. Notwithftanding the largenefs of the Engine, which terrified moft of the In- habitants of the Deep, there was one large Fith that would often make at them; but to guard againft him, they carried in one° hand a little {harp Lance, with which they pricked him, then he {coured off. ‘They ne- ver dived but in Summer time, and then on “calm, ferene, and fun-fhiny Days. They re- ‘¢ Jate what is very remarkable, That the bot- é - € “ g 7 @ ~~ 6 ca) Ge & . vr tom of the Sea where they had been, look- ed like a fine Garden, abundance of things (which they wanted a Name for) growing in it refembling fhort Plants, and branching out from the main Stocks divers ways, be- ing white, hard and rugged, but did not appear to be of the white Coral kind: They pie brought Lin er ee a 15 brought up fome Pieces with them, which after they were expofed to the Sun, but not before, yielded a moft fragrant Smell; one little Branch thereof is now in the poffeffion of the aforefaid Captain Hannibal, and is looked upon as a very great Curiofity: When the Cheft in which the Pieces were repofited was opened at the Cuftom-houfe Key, a fine Scent | was diffufed round about, which pleafed and - furprized all that were prefent. 14. By way of confirmation of this memorable. paflage, I take liberty to obferve, That in the Year of our Lord 1718, a Nevis Gentleman of my acquaintance, had fome bufinefs that called him down from thence to the Dani/h [land of Saint Thomas, upon the Shore of which he found. erowing clofe to the Sea great numbers of much the fame things (which the St. Sames’s Evening Poft {ays refembled fhort Plants,) and which were likewife branching out from the main Stock di- vers ways. He brought fome of them up to our Ifland: They were extreamly white, harder than Chalk, and fomewhat rugged ; but I do not re- member any fragrant Smell they had, and am abfolutely certain, that they were not of the white Coral kind, becaufe fo brittle that they would not bear any polifhing by way of cheat. N. B. None of our Engli/b Leeward Vlands produce them, | a A A a ~ Ca) er “*~ “a “A “ “" an nn m nm € “a A Cal 15. You 16 Le a aE ROA ig. You will find too in my Collection a milk white Stone not quite fo broad as a Half Crown Piece, which in fhape is not much unlike a Car- nation Flower ; The upper or infide part, is en- tirely compofed of exceeding nice Stone Leaves, ’ that are clofe fet together in a wavy form at top, and are full as thin as Carnation Leaves; and the - bottom or outfide part has a little bit of Stem, jetting out as it were on purpofe to direct us, to imagine or fancy the reftof the Stalk, from whence it was by fome unknown accident broke off in its fair Garden the Sea. This is of a Coral kind, many pieces whereof I have fince feen in your Chamber at Trinity College. 16. We have there Land Crabs which high up in our Mountain Woods, make fmall Bur- roughs in the Ground like Rabbits ; their Fleth is rich (delicious) eating, but their Shells are no ways curious, though of a deep Blood Red co- lour when boiled ; they annually travel down to » the Sea, in order to wath and fhed their Shells, at which Seafon we catch them eafily, by help of Torches in the Night, which is the time of their travelling. Their Bodies are much fmaller than the Bodies of our European Sea Crabs, and Nature has fupplied them with Claws that are — both long and {trong as well as flender, which enables them to lift well up their Bodies and to travel apace, ——- In our Ponds near the Sea we ; catch IFES ERE we catch Pond Crabs of a mott beautiful Sky Blue, that are fhaded all around the edges with a brown- ifh Yellow, and much lefs, though far finer fhaped, both in Body and Claws, than our European ones: But their Shells were not worth bringing home to England, becaufe thofe fine Colours vanifhed with their Life. We have no Sea Crabs; at leaft that are fit to eat: Clams ftick to our Rocks that are-near the Shore, but are not eaten by us. -17. Our Nevis Lobfters do exactly refemble the Engli/h ones, in bulk, colour, and fhape, ex- cept that their two large Claws are not fo big in proportion to their Bodies: but I once found, to the utmoft hazard of my life, this remarkable and ugly circumftance attending them, vzz. Such of them as are found on the Weftern or Leeward fide of our Ifland are reckoned very fine eating ; whereas they that are taken on the Eaftern or Windward fide are rank Poifon, which we attri- bute to fome unwholefome kind of Food they meet with there ; fome imagine that they meet with veins of Coperas there: This Poifon works ftrongly, both by dreadful Vomits and Stools. We have alfo great numbers of Sea Cray Fithes, that are almoft as large as our Lobfters, and are juftly reckoned elegant eating. 18. Before I take leave of the Weft Indies, I fhall make bold to add one Paragraph about that fingularly beautiful Fifh called a Dolphin, that is B fo 18 LED EY Ree fo odly drawn out not only upon our common Signs to Inns, but even in Books of credit which feem to carry a fair fhew of Accuracy. 1g. It is faid, He very rarely comes up fo high towards England as the fortieth degree of Nor- thern Latitude in the Atlantick Ocean, though I had the good fortune to fee the contrary in no lefs than five or fix inftances, at my return from Nevis to England. He is catched in the follow- ing manner, wz. We faften the Feather-ends (I mean about four Inches of their Tops or Extre- mities) of two Goofe-quills to a Hook (one on each fide,) which being well fecured to a Line not much thicker than a common thickifh Whip- cord, and drawn after us at the Ships Stern when the Wind does not blow too frefh, makes a fmall ripling in the Sea, not unlike to that of a Flying Fith, when it arifes out of the Water to avoid the purfuit of the Dolphin ; and: the Dolphin being a Fith of Prey feizes (of courfe) the Hook with the Feathers, and is immediately drawn up into the Ship. He feldom exceeds four feet in length from Nofe end to Tail end: and is a very {trait- bodied Fifth. His Head (as to fhape) its exactly the fame as it is drawn in Pictures and on Signs : But he being the thickeft at the Gills, and grow- ing taperer in a gradual defcending line quite down to the Tail, his whole fhape may proper- ly ‘enough be compared to a Hand- law. His ~~ Head LL EATAUIERS &. 1g Head is entirely of the moft lively Azure Blue. From the top: or rather back part of his Head all along to his Tail, is one continued Fin of a very light brown colour, which fomewhat re- fembled Black Crape that was almoft worn out, marked pretty full of round coal«black {pots like little Patches fet thick on a Lady’s Face; and. his Tail (if I remember rightly) is the very fame. He has two large Fins below clofe to his Gills, whofe colour I do not fo well call to mind, tho’ I verily think that they refemble his Back Fin. | I dare not infift upon his other Fins, for both their Colour and Number have flipped out of my memory, and unluckily were not fet down in my book of Remarks. From his Back Fin down to the middle of his Body on each fide, his Skin (that has no Scales) is of the fineft Azure Blue imagina- ble, though fome People infift upon its being a blueifh Green, f{trewed thick all over with bright gliffening Stars of Gold, Scarlet; &¢c. and from the middle of his fide quite down to his Belly and fo up again to the middle of his other fide, is the Colour of the faireft beaten Gold, but if I may be allowed the term (as I do fincerely believe I may,) infinitely furpafling it in beauty, and with- out either Stars or Spots of any Sort: A fight worthy of the greateft Monarchs attention! He lives in compleat beauty for about the fpace of three minutes, after he is taken out of the Water: B2 His 20 Eh EAPSTEIR YS His glorious Colours and Marks do then grow faint and fading, for one minute: And during the other two minutes of his life, they vanifh away and return back to their beauty again quick- er than thought itfelf; I do not mean that they return to Perfection of beauty ; but to be plain, I want terms adequate to my Ideas, in order to be rightly underftood. In fhort, in five or fix minutes time this gay furprizing Object fills the _ Traveller’s Mind, with far more lofty Notions of the great Creator’s Wifdom and Magnificence beftowed upon the inferiour part of the Animal World, than ever it was capable of entertaining before. When he is dead he looks juft like a dead Salmon, and his Body eats like a Cod-fith, but I think it drier confiderably. It is a courfe Fifh. A Maccarel juft taken out of the Sea is by far the moft beautiful of Engli/h Fifhes in my judgment ; but alas! its Colours are infinitely fhort of thofe of a Dolphin. 20. You will find in my Collection an Iron, or rather rufty coloured, flat, and round Stone (about the breadth of a Five Shilling Piece but fomewhat thicker) that winds circularly in form of a fpiral Line, feveral of which you have fince fhewed me in Dr, Woodward's Collection, known by the name of Snake-ftones or Cornua Ammonis. I picked it up about nine years ago upon the Sea- Coatt of Lincolnfhire; and upon looking round a little Pe ee Le Re 2t little narrowly on the Sand, I found feveral white thin Shells of the fame breadth, fhape, and fize’ filled with Sand, or Gravel, and alfo with ftitith Clay of different Colours; the Clay of feveral having, I fuppofe, been lodged there for a little while only, was fomewhat brittle; in others, the Clay having lain longer was of courfe the firmer and tougher; and in fome others, where the thin Shell was almoft decayed, I found the Clay to be fo ftrongly cemented together, that it was fomewhat difficult to break it with the hand. Pray then why might not that Stone J fent you to Cambridge be one of thofe pieces of Clay thus preferved fo long as till petrited? I know your opinion is, That they were formed in fuch Shells at the time of the Deluge. I am, Sir, Your &c. W.S. B3 LE T- 22 LETTER IL. Bilas Y Well remember our Difcourfe about my Voy- age to St. Chriflopher’s, and Journey to Chi- anne, Capifterre, and up the great Mountain; which (as it feems to fuit your tafte) I now take the freedom to remind you of, by way of Letter. 1. In the cheerful month of May, which ge- nerally gives new Life and Vigour to the whole Creation ; I fet forward about ten a Clock in the Morning from Charles Town at Nevis, and with an eafy, gentle Breeze of Wind arrived at the Port of Baffe Terre in the Ifland of St. Chriffopher, before dinner :. being all the way agreably enter~ tained, with a moft beautiful Profpect of both the Iflands, as well as the Dutch Ifles of Eu/ta- chia and Saba, together with a Sky, that was not too much clouded, and which of courfe in fo warm a Clime was variegated into fuch different Shapes and Colours, that my fruitful imagination could difcover in them, Mountains and Forefts, fhady Groves and fertile Plains, Rivers of Ice and Hillocks of Snow, Lakes and Promontories, with Lyons, Bears, Crocodjles, Buffaloes; and other ftrange Animals ; all of which ftruck my | Fancy PT ERE, 23 Fancy with fo bright and rapturous a glee as the greateft Philofopher had fcarce ever yet the hap- pinefs to be touch’d with! In fhort, the fineft Pencil dare not prefume to paint out in Perfection fo lovely a Landfkip, if I may be allowed the term. I do not think I ever faw there, one fingle Day, which was entirely free from Clouds; for there were always fome few to be obferved to- wards the Evening of the very cleareft, if not fooner. 2, My Friend from Chranne (which is about eight miles diftant from Bafe Terre) according to promife met and dined with me there, before we fet forwards for his Houfe. At firft we rode thorough many Sugar Plantations, till we came to the thick Woods, where now and then we pafied by a {mall Cotton Settlement, whofe hum- ble and temperate Poffeffor (Hermit like) lived by vertue of his own and three or four Slaves | Labour, with far truer fatisfaction in his lonely Retirement, than can be found in ftately Palaces, or in the moft extravagant and luxurious Cities, where (to ufe Mz/ton’s Phrafe, book i. line 496.) ———_—— The nife - Of Riot afcends above their loftieft Towers, And Injury and Outrage: and when Night Darkens the Streets, then wander forth the Sons Of Belial flown with Infolence and Wine. B 4. Cotton (24. EEA TPerRY EE Cotton is a Shrub two yards high or better, that bears a fine Yellow Flower fhaped like a Bell: When this Flower drops off, it is fucceeded by a darkith green, round, and tough Pod, of the fize of a common Walnut: The Pod, as foon as ripe, burfts open in ftrait lines that are feamed from top to bottom, in three or four feveral places at an equal diftance, expofing the white Cotton, which is then gathered by Negroes. (N. B. I {peak of common Cotton, for in fome kinds of it the Pods are longifh.) 3. We were delightfully ferenaded all along quite thorough thefe Woods by an infinite num- ber of Turtle Doves, whofe foft notes or cooing joined to the Verdure and Bloom of the Earth, Bufhes, and Trees, put me in mind of that paf- fage in Canticles, (viz. chap. il. ver, 11, 12, 13.) Lo the Winter is paft, the Rain 1s over and gone: the Flowers appear on the Earth, the time of fing- ing of Birds 1s come, and the voice of the Turtle is heard in our Land: The Fig-tree putteth forth — ber green Figs, and the Vines with their tender Grape give a good fimell. ‘To add to our pleafure, the Sea, at half a mile’s diftance, beat gently again{t the Rocks, caufing fuch eafy Murmurs, as were enough to lull to fleep any one who was fo inclined. Thefe with a fight of the Conorrbee Hills, towards which we drew near apace (and whofe vaft Rocks yielded Shrubs, Corritoes, and | ) other LETTER It. 25 other Plants of the Alloes kind) afforded us a quite different profpect from that of the Morn- ing. 4. The Sun began now to peep out from under a Cloud; and indeed it foon fhone fo very warmly, that we made what hafte we could to a deep Gill near to the Consrrhee Hills, that runs upwards from the Sea fhore about two hours travel. This Gill is large, and grows fteeper, the higher we go up from the Sea, being plentifully ftocked with Palmetto or Wild Palm, (I never faw above two bearing Palm-trees; they were bigger than my Body and thirty foot tall, but had bore no Dates then) Piemento, Caffia Fiftula) Gum Alymnae, and other fragrant Trees, and Ever-greens, from top to bottom, which terminated at the Sea-fide with a long Grove of Manchineal Apple-trees, N. B. Our Trees are all Ever-greens ; for as faft as one Leaf drops off another fucceeds it. Pal- metto is much fmaller but refembles nearly the bearing Palm-tree, which is exactly as we find it drawn out, and defcribed by Authors. Piemento is the Tree that yields famaica Pepper, alias All-fpice ; its Leaves can fcarce be diftinguifhed from Bay-leaves, though of a much ftronger aro- matick fmell: We there at Chriftmas, ufually adorn our Churches with {mall Boughs of it, the Fruit being then green upon them, juft as your Englifp Churches here are decked with Holly and 26 Ah EER? and Ivy at that facred Seafon ; in a rich Soil it will grow to be fixty foot high; vide Woods Rogers's account of Fuan Fernandez (an Iland in the South Sea) whofe Words in page 12g, are as follow, vzz. Piemento Trees are plenty here, and we fee fome of fixty foot high and about two yards thick ; and Cotton Trees higher, and near four fathom round in the Stock. N.B. That at Nevis we have Cotton Trees of the fame fort, and not much lefs in circumference of Body; but as they yield little Cotton, and are fo very tall, we content ourfelves with gathering Cotton from the Shrub only, as mentioned in paragraph the fecond of this Letter. Caffia Fiftula is a ftrait-bodied Tree, thirty foot high, with fpreading Branches, from which hang the Pods, that are of a dark brown colour, and about a foot long each ; it is - not unlike a Sycamore. Gum Alymnae is a very large-bodied Tree that is at leaft forty foot high, and the Gum oozes or diftills thorough the Bark like Rofin, for about three or four yards upwards from the bottom of the Tree all around it, which puts me in mind of M7lton’s Defcription of the Trees of Paradife, bookiv. line 248. viz. Groves whofe rich Trees wept odorous Gums and Balm. The Manchineal is like our Exgli/b dwarf Apple-_ tree; its Leaves, in Colour, Shape and Bignefs, are much the fame with Exg/i/h Pear-tree Leaves, but IsE 2 ERK Ib 27 but with a very thin glutinous matter about both Sides of the Leaf: If a Leaf touches our Cheek, in riding along the Road by them, I know experi- mentally that it will raife an immediate Blifter which ends ina Scab; break a Bough, and there iffues out a milk-white Water, that is {till more poifonous : the Fruit is much ranker Poifon yet. The Fruit is of the fize and fhape and fmell of an Englifb Crab. 5. We travelled up the Gill or Gully about two hundred yards, and then fate down in a - cool Shade, upon the moffy Banks of a very little but exceedingly tranfparent River, that ran the whole length of it quite down to the Sea, regaling our felves with forrie of the fweeteft Water I ever drank ; where we indulged our Souls with footh- ing difcourfe upon the Happinefs of a retired ftate of life, concluding that we wanted nothing juft then to render the place a moft delicious Paradife, but each of us a fair Eve, anda {mall Cottage. 6. Upon difcovering from thence thorough the Boughs of the Trees two large Ships pafs by to- wards the Ifland of Euffachza, I could not help repeating out of Mz/ton, book iv. line 159. As when to them who fail Beyond the Cape of Hope, and now are paft Mozambique, off at Sea North-Eaft Winds blow Sabean Odours from the fpicy Shore Of 28 ie Tae RG Of Arabie the blef, with fuch delay Well pleas d they flack their courfe, and many a League Pleas 'd with the grateful fell old Ocean fimiles. As none of thefe Odours can be fmelled at a di- ftance, fo they only help the Poet to a quaint Si- mile now and then. Maundrell in his Travels from Aleppo to “ferufalem, (page 85.) does infitt, how the fine ftory about the Apples of Sodom, that are by Authors (even of good note) confi- dently faid to grow near to the Mare Mortuum, is a fiction of the felf fame nature, ftanding upon record for a beautiful allufion only. However I — cannot help taking notice, That Mz/ton, book 10. line 560, makes ufe of this very allufion, in de- {cribing the Punifhment of the fallen Angels, up- on Satan's return to Pandemonium, after having feduced our firft Parents, viz. —— Greedily they pluck'd The Fruttage fair to fight, like that which grew Near that bituminous Lake where Sodom flaw’ d ; This more delufive, not the touch, but tafte Deceiv'd; they fondly thinking to allay Their Appetite with 'guft, inftead of Fruit Chew'd bitter Ajhes, which th offended tafte With fpattering Note rejected : book ro. page 560. 7. We LAE Ta GLE RE: Al; 29 - 9, Wehad not refted there a quarter of an hour, before we heard a mock Trumpet {trike up a little above us, affording a moft melodious Sound, by help of the ecchoing Woods and Hills ; which was inftantly fucceeded by a Concert of two Violins, a Bafe Viol, anda Haut-boy, with good Voices. To be plain, I was fo charmed with the Mufick, that [ almoft believed mytfelf to be fud- denly tranfported into enchanted Ground, and afked my Friend (who as well as myfelf had fate mute all the while) the meaning of it. He con- ducted me about an hundred yards up higher, by the fide of the fame Rivulet, where from a fmall Eminence, we had at forty yards diftance the view of a Garden pretty regularly planted (I mean for that part of the World) with confidera- ble Rows of Citron Shrubs, Lemon Shrubs, O- range-trees, Lime-trees, Coco, Shaddock, Pom- granates, Cafhew-Cherries, called at Samaica Apples, Bonanoes and Plantains; befides, Ana- nas or Pine-Apples, Tannio, India Pepper, Ocra, Indian Kale, Afparagus, Lettuces, and indeed all forts of European Roots and Herbs that will grow in fo warm a Latitude, particularly with Carrots and Turnips, Shaddock Fruit is the fhape of an Orange, and taftes not unlike it, though not with fo rich a Flavour ; it is of a beautiful Lemon co- lour, and as big as my two Fifts. The Lime Fruit is a kind of Crab or Baftard Lemon, and grows 30 HE TRE RS O. grows on a Tree of the fize of a Codlin Apple- - Tree, being as big as a Golden Pippin but fhaped like a Lemon. Pomegranates are fo common that _ they want no Defcription, The Cafhew Cherry- tree refembles the Engli/h Dwarf Apple-tree, but the Leaves are of a much lighter yellowifh Green; the Cherry as to fhape is conical, with the leffer end towards the ftalk on which it grows; its bulk is like that of a midling Pear; its Colour is gene- rally {peaking of a deep Yellow, and fometimes, of a palifh Red. At the outfide top of the Cherry (which feems hollowed a little by dame Nature for that purpofe,) grows the Stone called at Fa- maica a Nut, quite bare, in the exact fhape of a Sheep’s Kidney, and is about an inch long, con- taining in it a large kernel of a fine tafte; the Fruit has a harfh and very uncommon Flavour, which [never couldadmire; when our We# India young Ladies fancy themfelves too much tanned with the fcorching Rays of the Sun, they gently. {crape off the thin outfide Skin of the Stone, and. then rub their Faces all over with the Stone; their Faces do immediately {well, grow black, and the Skin being thus poifoned, will in five or fix days time come entirely off the Face in large Fleaks, fo that they cannot appear in publick under a full fortnight, by which time their new Skin looks as fair as the Skin of a young Child; » The Shell of the Stone or Nut is porous, wherein ! 1s TE PT Rea 3r is lodged a fharp Aromatick Oyl of a cauftick quality, which if accidentally tafted of, occafions an uneafy fenfation feveral hours; and this very Oyl is what takes off the Skin of the Face ; now though the thing is a€tually fact, and Geayettly enough practiced, I do not call to mind above one Lady who owned that fhe herfelf had tried it; fhe faid, that the whole operation was painful, but alas! What will not Pride attempt? As thefe {tones are not very uncommon at London, I won- der that fome of our Engli/h Ladies who ule all other Jezebel-Arts to fet off their brown Com- plexions to the utmoft advantage, do not try this Experiment. You find an account of Coco- trees in paragraph 23 of this Letter. Bonano is a Fruit of four or five inches long, the fize as well as fhape of a midling Cucumber, of a high and grateful flavour, and you will meet with an account of the Tree itfelf in paragraph 18 of this Letter. The Fruit grows in Bunches that weigh a dozen pounds. Plantain is exactly like the Bo- nano in all refpects, except that its Fruit has an infipid tafte. I had almoft forgot to acquaint you, that we there have plenty of Cabbages, that in my opinion are full as good as Engli/b Colly-flowers ; they are not propagated by Seed like our’s, but in rainy weather we flip off the Sprouts from the Cabbage-ftumps, which being ftuck into the ground which is juft then dug up for that papel Q 32 ET EP RAE do immediately grow into Cabbages that have no rank Smell. Ananas or Pine-Apples are fo com- mon at Chel/fea and other fine Gardens here in England, that they need no defcription, and I fhall refer you to Laurence, Miller, Sir Hans Sloan, and other books that treat of Gardening. I had like to have forgot to acquaint you, that there was then a large company of Gentlemen and Ladies from Bafe Terre, diverting themfelves with Dancing, Singing, Cards, &c. in the Garden, and that we had the pleafure of looking at them thorough the Trees for a confiderable time, with- out being difcovered at all. Dr. George Baghui afferts, That as in Apuglia (in Italy) the manured Fields are plentifully ftocked with Olives, Vines, and Wheat; fo are the unmanured ones with Rofemary, Sage, Penny-royal, and Thyme, the common Pafturage of the Animals of that Coun- try. I fuppofe you know that Peach-trees, Myrtle, &c, grow wild in Virginia and Maryland; and that there are whole Fields of Parfely growing wild at Bermudas. 8. But to proceed. The Evening drawing on, _it was time to take leave of this {weet delightful . Eden, mount our Horfes, and make the beft of our way for my Friend’s Houfe at Chzanne, where we fafely arrived about an hour after, coafting it all along thither; that is to fay, having the 4f- _fantick Ocean clofe by on our right hand, and the pot EE TERAIE: 5 ee the vaft Conorrhbee Hills on our left; whofe fpir= ing tops then touched the Clouds, and feemed to rife to that height in an almoft perpendicular — Line, W00 g. Next Morning we bufied ourfelves with an agreeable Diverfion, vzz. catching a good Dith of €ray-fifhes out of Chzanne River (or more pro-~ petly {peaking Brook, it being not above four or five yards wide, and fhallow, but wondrous clear and limpid,) which we poifoned with green To- bacco pounded, and mixed with unflacked Limé, NV. B. We have no River Cray-Fifhes at Nevzs, Antigua, or Montferrat. The Poifon was fo ftrong, that feveral of the Cray-fifhes actually ~ | crept out of the Water to fhun it, which I own furprized me not a little; but my Friend aflured _ me, that it wasa common thing. We afterwards dined upon them (with feveral other more fub- ftantial Difhes) under the fhade of a fpreading ‘Tamarind-tree, enjoying with the higheft guft the. cool Breezes that blew from off the Sea, which was there, fearce a mile from us. Clofe by were fome Calabafh-trees, that ferved to make a fmall Grove. The Calabafh-tree is full as big and as fpreading as a large Apple-tree: The Fruit is pretty near the fize of a man’s Head, round like a Boy’s Marble, and of no ufe but for Punch Bowls, after the infide (which is not eatable) is carefully fcooped out, when it is almoft-as thin C and 34 BEATE RODE and light as the thickeft Brown Paper: I fent your Univerfity one of them along with my Shells. Spoons, Bowls, and other Utenfils for Slaves to eat out of are made of them, as I hear, at Barbadoes. | ‘10. I went the following Day to the next Parifh on a Vifit to another Acquaintance who lived about a quarter of a Mile or better from the Sea Shore, on the fide of the great Mountain, which juft there rofe up very gradually ; and after a fhort Paufe, I found that it (as well as our Nevzs Mountain) did ina good meafure refemble Milton’s. Defcription of the lofty Hill which ferved as a mound to Paradife ; vid. book iv. line 131. So on be fares, and to the border comes Of Eden, where delicious Paradife Now nearer, crowns with her Enelofure green, As with a rural mound the Champain Head Of a frecp Wilderne/s, whofe hairy fides With thicket overgrown, grotefque and wild, Accefs denyd; and over head upgrew Infuperable height of loftieft fhade, _ Cedar, and Pine, and Firr, and branching Palm, _ A Silvan Scene, and as the Ranks afcend Shade above Shade, a woody Theater Of flateheft view. Yet higher than-their tops _ Ibe verdurous Wall of Paradi Ye up dorsng's Which Pom > BPR ATT, 25 Which to our general Stre gave profpect large Into his nether Empire neighbouring round. 11. Now in order to prove this refemblance, I muft acquaint you, that very early the next Morning we mounted our Horfes, and rode up to the Wood Sides, that are above a mile diftant from the Sea Sands; where we alighted juft as Phebus in his bright Car fprung forth out of Thetis’s Lap to gild the Mountain Sides with his welcome Beams, being ten of us in number, viz. four White Men and fix Negroes, well armed with Piftols and Cutlaffes to defend us in cafe of need, againit run-away Slaves. 12. Being itripped to our Wattecoats, our Af- cent thorough the thick Woods (which fwarm with wild Monkies who venture down in the dark Night to fteal Potatoes and other Provifions with fo much cunning or craft as to give rife to feveral ftrange incredible Stories about them ;) our Afcent I fay, from being more gradual, foon be- came very fteep indeed, and I took notice that _ the higher we travelled up, the fteeper it was ; and not only fo, for the large Trees began to dwindle and grow fhorter. Some time before we had paffed by the laft of thefe Trees, we entered among the Clouds, which felt raw and cold, not unlike to an Englifp Fog in a Winter’s Morning. C2 13. From 36 LETTER-H. 13. From thefe Woods quite to the top (that is to fay, the fpace of almoft half a mile) were no Trees at all, and very rarely a Bufh, the Ground being fo moift and wond’rous floping that it would bear nothing better than wild Pines, and other fuch unprofitable Plants, or Weeds : By the term wild Pines, I mean a fort of Anana alias Pine-Apple-Plants that never bear Fruit. We were now in the thickeft of the Clouds, and the Wind blowing fomewhat frefh, it took off my Hat, which was however foon retaken by a nimble and as I thought, venturefome Black Fel- low. Somewhat higher up we difcovered at a little diftance a Hut that undoubtedly belonged to fome run-away Negroes; there was a {mall Gut or Gully between it and us, but to {peak truth we were too weary to go out of our way to vifit it. We could plainly difcern a few Foot-fteps of fome cloven-hoofed Beafts, and gueffed them to be young Heifers that had been ftolen, and drove thither by the run-away Negroes; though by the by let me tell you, I can by no means conceive how Heifers could poffibly clamber up a Preci- pice, where we ourfelves were very hard put to it to-afcend for fteepnefs, even by helping up each other: In fhort, there muft be fome other and much eafier way for them to clamber up, though unknown to us. 14. After EBA De Re Hf. 37 14. After having refted us about two or three times from the Woodfide where we quitted our horfes, we at laft with fatigue enough arrived at the top. Many clouds were at leaft half a mile beneath our feet then, and as foon as they blew away, was opened to us a lovely view of the lower Woods, Plantations, Houfes, and Gardens; befides an unbounded Profpeét of the Atlantick Ocean, and the Eng/z/h Ifland of St. Bartholomew at a great diftance. The top wasa fmall Plain not three hundred yards wide, that befides long deadifh coloured Grafs, produced nothing at all but here and there a diminutive Bufh, whofe Boughs we found upon trial to be wondrous brittle and inclining to Rottennefs, and having its Leaves of a dull and faded green; all of which was no doubt occafioned by the Inclemency of Air, and Coldnefs (and of courfe Badnefs) of Soil in that upper Region. Upon the other fide of this top ( which we could not for a reafon given in Paragraph 17. come at in our journey up that fide of the Mountain) may be diftin@ly feen in a clear day the Iflands of Nev7s, Montferrat, Eufta- chia, and Saba, which had almoft made me con- ceit myfelf feated upon that fuppofed Hill of Eden whereon Adam had a vifionary view of the whole Earth as deferibed book rr. line 385. His eye might there command whereever flood City, of old or modern fame; the Seat C3 Of 38 EET MER | IL Of mightieft Empire; from the deftin'd Walls Of Cambalu, Seat of Cathaian Cam ; And Samarch and by Oxus, Temirs Throne ; To Pequin of Sinean Kings: and thence To Agra, and Labor; of great Mogul ; Down to the galden Cherfonefe : or where The Perfian in Ecbatan fate; or fince In Hifpaban: or where the Ruffian-Kfar In Mofcow, or the Sultan in Bizance, Turcheftan born: nor could his eye not ken Th’ Empire of Negus, to his utmof? Port Ercoco, and the lef; maritim Kings ; Monbazxa and Quiloa, and Melind, And Sofala (thought Ophir) to the Realm Of Congo, and Angola, fartheft South: — Or thence from Niger Flood to Atlas Mount, The Kingdoms of Almanzor, Fez, and Sus, Morocco and Algiers, and Tremifen; Or Europe thence, and where Rome was to fway The World: in Spirit perhaps be alfo faw Rich Mexico, the Seat of Montezume, And Cufeo in Peru, the richer Seat Of Atabalipa; and yet unfpoil’d Guiana, whofe great City Geryon’s Sons Call E? Dorado. I do not fuppofe there was any Sea Profpect from that lofty Hill of Eden whereon Adam had a vifio- nary view, &c, {o that I {peak in relation to height and diftance only : Though upon recollection, J think he might, 15. LT! TERY 0. 39 15. ‘This Plain ended at the Verge of a vatt and deep Cavity, which I fhall now defcribe in the eafieft and beft method my parts and memory will allow of. This Cavity feems by the eye about a Mile in circumference, 1s exactly round, and the infide as fteep as could be defcended into, and that not without the help of the Shrubs and Bufhes growing in it, and but in two places only, I looked down into it with Horrour, obferving large and continual Clouds of Steam to arife up from the hot Veins of Sulphur, Brimftone, &c, with which the bottom of it every where abound- ed. The infide of this prodigious Cavity (for at leaft half way downwards ) was folid rock over- run with very fhort blackifh Mofs; and the Rim at Top, except in that part of it which joyned to and indeed made part of the plain, was not above twenty, or perhaps in one or two places fcarce ten yards wide. | 16. A furlong or better off on our left hand towards the South Eaft upon this Rim, is a large rocky Mount called Mount Mifery from a rath fool-hardy Perfon, who in attempting to get up fo fteep a Precipice fell: backwards, and met with Phaeton’s deftiny of courfe. It is the higheft point of Land on St. Chriffopher’s, and by the in- habitants is computed to meafure from the Sea fide a perpendicular mile and a half: however, I cannot think it fo high by a full quarter of a C4. mile, 40 Lele ERt mile. This huge Mountain is in the midft of a long chain of leffer and lower ones that run in the middle of the Ifland from the moft Wefterly part of it almoft as far as the Salt-pond Hills, juft as the backbone in a Fith reaches from the tail to the Head. 17. But to proceed: we travelled upon this narrow Rim, with a frightful Precipice on each fide of us, for the fpace of three hundred yards (as near as I can recolleét at this diftance of time) South Weft, till we came to a very large fingle Rock, that took up the entire Breadth of the Rim, and of courfe obftructed our farther paflage there- on. It was as equilateral, and almoft as {mooth a triangular Pyramid, as if it had been cut out by the Chizel of a fkilful Workman; and from Angle to Angle, I believe it might meafure at leaft feven or eight yards: it was fomewhat blunted, or rather broken off at top, and about one third part downwards from the top, it was feemingly cracked quite thorough fideways: The Rock was of a reddifh colour, refembling the red part of Oriental Granite, and like Granite too fo extreamly hard, that the Steel point of a fharp Cutlafs would (by help of the ftrongeft Arm ) {carce make a vifible impreffion on it. To be rightly underftood, I muft inform you, That Mount Mifery taking up (on the Eaftern Side ) the whole breadth of the Rim adjoyning to its foot LED PRAT 41 foot, and that this triangular Pyramid doing the fame on the Weftern Side, we could walk but half way round it on the North Side which we went up on, and confequently that ( befides the lower Woods, Plantations, Houfes and Gardens) we could from thence fee nothing but the 4¢/an- fick Ocean and the Ifland of St. Bartholomew : whereas, if a man goes up on the South Side of this Mountain, in a bright and clear Day, he has a diftinét view of the Iflands of Nevis, Mont/errat, Euftachia and Saba that are two Dutch Settle- ments, befides the lower Woods, Plantations, Houfes and Gardens in that Quarter of the Ifland, becaufe he may walk ina Semicircle from Mount Mifery quite to the triangular Pyramid on his fide of the Top, as we did on ours, 18. At the Bafe Angle adjoyning to the vaft Cavity grew a large and thick fpreading bufh, through which we ventured to defcend one after another, laying all along upon our Bellies, and fo carefully fliding down fourteen or fifteen yards lower ftill by the help of fome wild China Roots which we clung faft to, till we got fafe to more Bufhes, that lafted for twenty or thirty yards farther: By which time, we found ourfelves fecurely landed in a Wood of wild Bonanoes, that opportunely to our thirft, were ready to gratify our Palate with moft clear and excellent Water, which ran out from them, upon fticking in wg ERTL ER ina Penknife juft where the Leaves ( that are about two yards long and a full foot broad in the middle) do joyn to the top of the Body of the Tree, and fo make a {mall hollow between them, as it were on purpofe to receive the Bleff- ings of Heaven, v7z. the Rain and the Dew. Thefe wild Bonanoes bear neither Boughs nor fruit, and have this remarkable fingularity attend- ing them, vz, That they are Annuals, dying quite to the Ground every Autumn, and fhooting up again from the Roots in the Spring, till they are bigger than a man’s Thigh. The bearing fort are Annuals too, as well as without boughs ; an account of their Fruit you have in Paragraph 7 of this Letter. And as for the Trees them- felves, you may fee fome of them, as alfo fome Sugar- Canes, growing in Dr. Walker’s Garden at your College, in the Phyfick Garden at Cheljea, and in that of Oxford. ‘The Body of them both is fo ftrangely porous that we do not give it the name of Wood; nor indeed does it merit the Name, for a Man witha good fharp Hatchet, may cut it eafily thorough at a fingle ftroak ; it is ufually between two and three yards long, — and grows at a diftance from the Sea-fide. 19. ‘This Wood (befides many other kinds that are peculiar to fo warm a Latitude) was plentifully ftocked with Mountain Cabbage-trees, which as moft Authors do odly shitreprenen. J LETTER It ie I fhall now defcribe as they really are. They are called Mountain Cabbages at Nevis, becaufe they always are found pretty high in our Mountain there ; and if any of them did formerly grow in our lower Grounds, they are now entirely de- ftroyed. Woods Rogers, page 131. tells us, that at ‘fuan Fernandez (an Iland in the South Sea, in Latitude 34. 10. South ) The Cabbage-trees abound about three miles in the Woods, and the Cabbage is very good; moft of them are on the tops of the neareft and loweft Mountains. 20. People here in England run away with the following notions, wz; That they grow to fixty feet in height ; That they bear a Cabbage exactly refembling our’s in Colour, Shape and Tafte, though vaftly exceeding them in bulk as being larger than a Winchefter Bufhel ; and that their Bodies ferve for Pofts in our Sugar-Mills, — One of my Parifhioners in the Weft Indies affured me, that in the Spami/h Ifland of Porto Rico (whither he and fome more Rafkals went, in order to plunder a Church and Convent during Queen 4un’s Wars with France and Spain, but were well beaten, and moft of them who ven- tured to land killed) he faw them fixty foot high at leaft: However he owned them to be the felf fame in all other refpects with thofe growing at Nevis and Saint Chriffopher’s, and added that the Soil there was infinitely preferable to our’s, which be- 44 PETE RO beyond queftion occafioned the difference in their height. As for my part, I faw none that ex- ceeded thirty feet in height; However, they grow to fixty in famaica, as well as at Porto Rico. 21. It is I think, very improperly termed by us Cabbage; it being about three Feet in length, no thicker than my wrift, of a palith green colour, a little piked juft at the end, and grows out of the top of the body of the Tree among the Boughs, It is cut in two in the middle, and fix of the pieces being tyed together refemble a fhort green Faggot, and it is fold in our Market, _ which by unavoidable neceffity is kept every Sun- day Morning, from Sunrifing till nine a clock, The hard outfide of this Stick (as I would term it) is taken off; and then the fofter infide or Pith, which may be above an inch in Diameter, is boyled, and fo ferves inftead of Turnips (or if you pleafe to call it fo, Cabbage) to boyled Mutton, Pork &c. It is of a whitifh Colour, and taftes fomething like the bottom of an Artichoke, though with a much finer Flavour. 22. Ido not deny their Bodies to be almoft thick enough for Mill-Pofts ; but I infift, that the Wood is far too porous . and befides, the Gentlemen of Nevis and Saint Chrz/tepber’s would: never have purchafed at a dear rate (to ferve as Pofts to their Houfes and Sugar-Mills) Iron Wood and Lignum Vite, which were brought from far di- IAE TRE RE wh 46 diftant Iflands ( viz. Defeada, St. Bartholomew, Santa Cruz &c. ) for that purpofe, provided Cab- bage-trees, which they might have had for cut- ting up and carrying a few miles home, would have done for fuch an ufe. To be fincere and plain, I take Cabbage-trees to be wild Coco’s which do not bear Nuts, for they exactly refem- ble them in all other refpects: Sa/mon in his Faftern Hiftory fays the fame. 23. The very higheft of the Coco’s which do bear Nuts that I ever faw, might ( both in Body and the Boughs that always {prout upwards and {fpreading from the top of the Body ) amount to forty Feet in height, that is to fay, the Body to thirty, and the Boughs to ten. The Body is the exact fhape of an Apothecary’s large Iron Peftle, 27%. of an equal thicknefs at top and bottom, but fomewhat fmaller in the middle ; its colour is of a pale Brown, and the Bark {mooth. The Boughs are of a moft lively Yellow, ftrait, and tapering like an Angle Rod; having two rows of green leaves that are very narrow though a foot long apiece, (except for a little way towards the {mal- ler end) and clofe fet together the whole length of the Boughs. The Nuts hang at the top of the Body in about a dozen in a Clufter, and may I © believe weigh fifteen pounds, or better; The ftringy fubftance which holds them being wond- rous tough, and thicker than my middle Finger. / One 46 Lik TE ROG One fingularity of this Tree is, that it is full as big when it firft arifes out of the Earth, as when it is thirty years old: I have feen them thicker than my Body, when they were but three foot high ; and you will eafily fuppofe, that the Boughs are then proportionally fhort, and of courfe muft naturally lengthen, juft as the Tree advances in age; N.B. common Afparagus fhoots out of the ground in the felf fame manner, their Roots are but tough Fibres refembling the Roots of our Enelifh Mulbery-trees. Their Boughs are fecured together at bottom by brown. ftringy Threads, (about the fize of ordinary Packthread) that grow out of them; and indeed for about a foot fpace from the top of the Body of the Tree upwards, thefe ftringy Threads are fo interwove, that they lay full as regularly up and down, and crofs each other, as any coarfe Linnen Cloth poffibly can. You have doubtlefs feen many of the Shells of thefe Nuts, tipped with Silver, for drinking out of. The common Picture of the Tree is very like it; Andif I do not greatly miftake, there was one of them in 1728. growing at Chel/ea Garden, in the Hot-houfe called Barbadoes. — 24. Cocoa-tree is the Chocolate Nut-tree, and in my time was {carce enough in our Engli/h Iflands, but grew in whole Groves on the Spani/b Main land, efpecially on the Coaft of Carraccas, as alfo upon the Ifland of Porto Rico. It nearly re- DE De ER AL 49 refembles our Engl/h dwarf Apple-tree, both in Body and Boughs; but the Leaf which is of a deep Green, is confiderably larger and longer than our Apple-tree Leaves. The Nuts, which are the colour (and about the bulk) of an Almond Kernel, do hang fifteen or fixteen together, by a {mall ftringy film inclofed in a Pod, that is the fize and f{hape of a large Cucumber, and 1s peeked at the upper end. This Pod when thoroughly ripe is of a beautiful yellow Colour, and ftreaked in feveral places with blood-red long Spots : when dried, it fhrivels up, and turns to a deep brown colour ; I think I gave one of them to Dr. Wood- ward's Colle&tion, along with my Shells. Dr. Bar- clay ( in his Univerfal Traveller ) tells us that the Bloffoms of this Fruit are yellow; but I do not remember, that I ever faw the tree in bloom ; and indeed the tree is fo {carce, that I believe we had not above a {core of them growing at Nevrs. 25. But let us proceed on our Journey. We kept on in a very fteep defcent down thorough this Wood of Cabbage-trees &c, quite to the bot- tom of the aforementioned huge Cavity, which led us into an uneven {pot of ground, confifting of thirty Acres and upwards, At our entrance ( clofe by on our right hand) was an exceeding large Rock that weighed many tuns, jetting out of the fide of the Hill; and at the bottom part of this Rock, were three or four round holes in the 48 LE Tae Ra the Earth, full as wide as my Hat crown, out of which iffued faft very hot Steams (like the Smoak out of .Chimnies,) that tinged the holes all about their Edges with feemingly very fair Brimftone : And to fpeak our thoughts inge- nuoufly, we did not care to come nearer them than fix or feven yards, leaft the ground fhould prove fo hollow, as to fink in and bury us before we were dead. | 26, Our firft entrance upon this uneven {pot,. was by croffing a little plain which was fo ful- phureous that it would bear nothing but deadifh coloured long Grafs or rather Weeds, with a few fhort, and brittle, or rottenifh Bufhes: At laft we arrived at what is vulgarly called the Devil's Coppers on a hill fide; there were two or three of them, two yards. afunder from each other in an almoft direct line, and they were each three foot in diameter; we had no convenience for plumming them; however they feemed not to be very deep, and had but a {mall {tream running from them, which loofes itfelf among the long Grafs: the Water in them was of a mud colour, and rofe to within a foot of the furface of the ground, boiling fiercer than ever I faw a Sugar Copper, and fending up very ftrong Clouds of Steam into the Air; no kind of Grafs would grow within twelve yards of them, the Soil being wholly Sulphur, and fo exceffive hot, that we Dine E Rr. 49 we immediately perceived it to be warm, tho- rough thick Shoes that we had bought on purpofe for this expedition. A Negro-man was ftrangely frighted, and altered his black colour to yellow- ith at firft fight of them ; we could not diffuade him from believing that ‘fambee (that is to fay the Devil). had his refidence underneath them. We ftood above two yards off from them. 27. Some of our company went confiderably farther up the Hill, where they difcovered no- thing new, but only found a continuation of this fulphurous Earth, with large quantities here and there of pure Brimftone, fome of which they brought away, not only as a {pecimen to fhow their Neighbours (very few of whom were at fo much pains to undergo for Curiofity’s fake this fatiguing Journey,) but likewife for real ufe, The reit of us defcended back to the Plain, on the fouth fide whereof was a Pond about forty yards over, and knee deep, that had no Springs, but is plentifully fupplied by the Rains, which in that warm Latitude fall fo heavily that no body ftirs out of doors in them, unlefs compelled to it by unavoidable neceffity. As I was dirty all over from head to foot by {cramblingup anddown fo many Precipices, I walked into and fate down | in it, on purpofe to wafh myfelf clean, which I foon did: Upon cutting up a piece of Clay from the bottom that confifted entirely of it, I found 7 D it 50 LETTER I. it to my great furprize as beautifully veined as the fineft hard Caftile Soap ; and indeed I fhould not be found guilty of an Hyperbole, in aflert- ing it to look as fair as the niceft polifhed blue veined Marble. 28, Near to this Pond grew a convenient bed of common Rufhes, upon which we fpread our Table-cloth, and then fitting down around it each Gentleman on his Cloak crofs-legged, (that is to fay Turkifh or Taylor fafhion,) we made a hearty Dinner upon a quarter of cold roafted Lamb with a good Sallad, wifhing a health to all our Friends round this great Mountain in a glafs of rich Madeira Wine: And after dinner we fate two hours at leaft to refrefh Nature which was a little fatigued, making what Obfervations we could upon fo lonefome, and if I may be in- dulged in the term, beauteoufly difmal fitu- ation. 2g. At firft the Sky was perfectly clear and ferene, and we perceived feveral Mountain Kites (not unlike the Englifh ones as near as we could guefs, at fifty or fixty yards diftance) hovering over our heads; but in a quarter of an hour or lefs, the Clouds fell down the vaft cavity apace. almoft clofe to us, rendering the Air on a fudden raw and cold: After a hafty and heavy fhower of rain that once more wafhed me clean, they mounted up again out of the top or rim of the. Cavity, L Dar ERS WW. BY Cavity, and fo vanifhed till the Sky was.as clear as before. I faw very few {mall Birds there (not above twenty I believe,) and none of the Englith kind. N.B. That at Nevis and St. Chri/fopher’s, we have a few Birds called Mountain-Thruthes, that are wondrous fat, and refemble the Englith ones; and at the Sun’s declenfion towards the Tropick of Capricorn from the Equator, we are vifited by a few Swallows, Our other Birds are a {mall kind of Screech Owls, Noddies, Spoon- Bills, Pelicans, Boobies, common Pidgeons, two or three forts of wild Pidgeons, Ground-Doves a beautiful fort of bird, and Humming-Birds: In the dufk of the Evening we have fome Batts fly- ing about ; but it was never my fortune to knock down one, though I employed a fharp-fighted and nimble Negro {feveral times for that purpofe. We every quarter of a minute heard an odd tho’ regular and periodical noife (which founded ex- adtly like the creaking of a Sugar-mill, or Cart when it wants greafing) from two or three diffe- rent places that were not very far from us, tho’ we could not poflibly find out the caufe of it; and I took notice that we could not hear this noife near fo diftinély at the bottom where we dined, as we did about forty or fifty yards before we came down to it, though it feemed to proceed wholly from the bottom. We beheld continual Clouds of Steam arifing out of the Veins of Sul- D2 phur, 52 1 ETE Re ee. phur, Brimftone, and hot breathing holes, upon which (as I faid before) I looked down with hor- rour from the Rim or Verge at the top of this Ca- vity. Many of the Rocks on all fides round us were of fuch ftrange uncouth fhapes, as would I am apt to think, have puzzled an expert Geometri- cian to delineate: And beneath thefe monftrous Rocks, were thick Woods quite down to the aforementioned uneven Plain. In fhort; a Man who would make farther Difcoveries, and give a more accurate defcription of this Place, fhould carry along with him a Tent to fleep in, and fo {pend two or three days there. What alas! fig- nifies a two hours vifit to fucha Place? 30. This Cavity from top to bottom (upon a fe- rious review of it after dinner) could not exceed three hundred yards in perpendicular depth in my own opinion, though the reft of my Companions contended ftrenuoufly for more; and indeed it was meerly to comply with them that I allowed fo much, for it certainly could not poffibly exceed two hundred and twenty yards: It chagrines me to think that a Traveller muft either forego Truth in fome cafes, or elfe differ with his Company. — However, upon maturely weighing the whole {tate of this Mountain, we unanimoufly agreed, that it muft be on fire underneath us, and that this Cavity where we then fate was formerly (perhaps ages ago) occafioned by fome furious and and dreadful Eruption, when it might be a Vul-. cano for a while, like tna, Vefuvius, or Strom- bolo. Before thefe Ilands were inhabited by Ew- ropeans, the Charibees their ancient Natives were entire ftrangets to all forts of Literature, and of courfe muft want Annals to tranfmit down to Pofterity fo memorable an Occurrence, And here, a difficult Query does naturally arife, wz. What Right had. we to difpoflefs the honeft Charzibees of it;who are now almoft extinét in race, and con- fined to the forry Ifland of Dominico; nay, I late- ly heard from a Surgeon aboard a Ship of Sir Chaloner Ogle’s Squadron who touched there, ‘That the French have lately made a Settlement at Do- minico; {fo that 1 fuppofe the poor Remains of the Charzbees, mutt foon pack up their alls, and be gone to fome one of the uninhabited Iflands, To deal plainly with you, I do not remember any Chriftian rule that does in the loweft degree countenance fuch cruel acts, nor did I ever yet meet with a Cafuift, who durft take up the Cud- gels to defend them; and our Anceftors who dif- poffeffed them are not juftifiable: Nay, to per- petrate fuch Actions under the f{pecious title or pretence of civilizing them, does in my mind vattly enhaunce the horrid Crime. But enough upon that Topick for the prefent, becaufe I de- fign to make it the bufinefs of my next Letter to demonftrate, that we of this Century do tread in D 3 the 54. PET TE RUE the Foot-fteps of our Anceftors who difpofleffed the honeft Charibees. | 31. We returned back again the fame way, and after a long day’s fatigue, reached my Friend’s Houfe juft as it grew dufkith; where I ftayed three or four days, and then travelled home to Nevis, where I fafely arrived without any thing extraordinary happening to me.’ Father Ovalle fays, that on the top of the Cordillera or Moun- tains of Andes, they cannot fee the Country be- low for Clouds, though the Sky over their heads is clear and bright, and the Sun fhines with admi- rable beauty. It was the fame cafe with us on the top now at our return from the Cavity, for about the {pace of four or five minutes; and had our Mountain been as high as the Cordillera, it might have continued fo for as many Days, or perhaps Weeks together. Not but that the Clouds blow quite over the fummits of the higheft Mountains, fuch as the Cordillera, Alps, Pyrenees, Apennines, &c. Weods Rogers, page 21, infifts, That they faw the Pico Teneriff plain but once whilft they. continued at the Port of Oratava, it being gene- rally clouded; you may (adds he) often fee the top above the Clouds, when the reft 1s all cover- ed with them. 32. N.B. In my Parith of St. Yobn in the Ifland of Nevis, there is a confiderable fpot of fulphurous cround on the fouth fide, at the up- per he E PT BR I. ere per end of a deep rupture in the earth vulgarly called Sulphur Gut, which is fo exceffive hot (like that near the Devil’s Coppers in St. Chriffo- pber’s) as to make us immediately feel it thorough our Shoe Soals. And I muft farther affure you, That two Doétors (my particular acquaintance) were fo curious as to bury fome Eggs about an inch deep in that fpot for the fpace of three or four minutes, in which fmall time they were full as hard quite thorough, as boyling or roafting could make them. 33. At the foot of a declivity adjoining to the fouth fide of Charles Town our Metropolis, we have a little hot River called the Bath: (fuppofed to flow from the aforementioned Sulphur-ground, which is not above three quarters of a mile high- er up in the Country) that runs half a mile or better before it loofes itfelf in the Sea-fands. I knew a Negro Boy who was fent down from Barbadoes to Nevis for that very purpofe (after being twice falivated in vain) cured of a very bad Leprofy by ' ufing it; and indeed all diftempered People both Whites ane Blacks find great benefit by it: "The Salivations had caufed the Boy to break out'in running Sores or Ulcers all over from head to foot, and they being added to the Leprofy, made him a’ fad (rueful) fpectacle; however, by drinking and wafhing three or four times a day, for an hour at leaft each time, in the water of this D4 River, 56 LET PER A. River, he went back to his Mafter found and clean at two months end, This isa confirmation of what Sit Hans Sloan fays, in page 45, of his Voyage to ‘famaica, viz. The Bath is here taken notice of by fome Travellers, as Harcourt and Smith. The firft fays it cures the Leprofy, and is good in Coughs, it curing the Author, who drank and bathed. It alfo remedies burning with Gunpow- der, and {welled Legs, Harcourt, Purchas, 44. The fecond tells us, That it cured Men in two or three days, who were tormented with a burn- ing fwelling, as fcalding from the Dew of Trees, Smith's Obf, pag. 57. I guefs, that Swzth means here Manchineal Trees, under whofe fhade fome of his Men had inconfiderately lain down. for re- pofe, or {tood to efcape a {hower of Rain, or per- haps cut down Wood for firing. . 34. I myfelf bathed in it once a (sates ana =a own that it contributed not a little to my Health and Vivacity. I ufually went in at nine,a Clock at night; and obferved, That in two minutes time the {weat was ready to blind me, and that in about three minutes more I was obliged to quit it through faintnefs of {pirit. Upon. ftepping out of it unto the green bank, the wind blew fo ex- ceeding cold that I fhould almoft have fancied my- felf inftantaneoufly tran{ported to. Nova Zembla, or Greenland ; that is to fay, we have a perpetual breeze of the Trade-wind that runs from Eatft to Weft, LETTER I. 59 Weft, which refrefhes us inthe Day, but is cool enough in the Night, and of courfe mutt prove in- tenfely cold when we juft come out of fo hot a Bath. I do not mean that it blows directly from the Eaft Point ; for it varies from North-Eaft to South-Eaft, according to the place and pofition of the Sun, and in Oéfoder it generally blows directly from the North ; we have no Land and Sea Breezes, as 1s ufual at famaica.. However, half a pint of ftrong Madeira Wine enabled me to cloath, put on my Riding Coat, and go brifkly home; the next Morning I was almoft as nimble as a Mounte- -bank’s Tumbler.. When I lived at Charles Town, which I did for the laft nine Months of my ftay in that Country, it was my cuftom to walk to this River every Morning at Sun-rifing, to drink a pint of its water, which I found operated both by Stool and Urine. Some of my Acquaintance would drink of it till they puked, and fay they found great benefit by fo doing; but as I have an aver- fion to puking, I never cared to ufe it in that way. boas: 35. Towards the Sea-fide is a particular {pot of ground in this River, where a Man may fet one foot upon a Spring fo wondrous cold that it is ready to. peirce him to the very heart, and at the fame moment fix his other foot upon another Spring fo furprifingly hot, that it will quickly force him to take it offagain: But the Water there being full my 58 LETTER’ 0. my Chin deep, and I no {wimmer, I durft not ven- ture fo far in, as to feel the Springs by way of Experiment ; however feveral of my Friends, whofe Veracity might be ee on, affured me of its truth. 36. At another place about two miles and a half to the Southward of Charles Town, is a ve- ry tharp point of Land that jets out a confidera- ble way into the Sea, leaving a {mall fandy Bay on each hand ; upon the rocky extremity where- of I ftood, whilf a tall Negro Man flipped down off it into the Water, which was rather above his Chin deep there; he then ftooped down, and took up fome Sand that was very warm when he gave it into my hand, affirming the Spring at the bottom of the Sea under him, to be fo wondrous hot, that he could fcarce venture to fet his foot upon it: And give me leave to acquaint you, that the Negro’s Feet are grown fo callous by con- ftantly travelling over hard Rocks, that they can have little feeling in them; in (hort, that ene mutt be hot indeed. 37. Anew hot Spring was in 1718, difcover- ed in Windward Parifh, upon clearing of a Wood in order to plant the ground with Sugar-Canes, juft above Camp-ground ; but I was never at the trouble of paying it a vifit, hearing that it was nothing extraordinary. It was no doubt always before known to the Negroes who frequented thofe . by BAL aE RS IL, 59 thofe Woods, Black-Rock Pond is about a quar- ter of a mile diftant Northwards from Charles Town ; the Water whereof is milk warm, occa- fioned no doubt, by a mixture of thefe hot with cold Springs, and yet it yields excellent Fithes in their kind, w/z. Silver-Fithes, Slimguts, and the beft Eeles in the world perhaps: Silver-Fith has a bright deep body of about eight inches long, which taftes like an Englifh Whiting: Slimgut has a large Head, in too great a fize to its Body, which may be from ten to two-and-twenty inches long; it eats like our Gudgeons, and is not un- like them in colour: Their Eeles have no rank tafte at all, which makes them fo much admired. For a farther account of this Pond, fee paragraph g, 10, 11, and 12, of my firft Letter. 38. Weare difturbed not a little by frequent Earthquakes, which we look upon to be caufed by thefe Veins of Sulphur, Brimftone, &c. that being over-heated, either blow up ona fudden like a Granade or Bomb-Shell, at leaft fhake the ground till it gets vent out into the open Air, or elfe burn eradually away, leaving the ground about them fo hollow till it at laft drops in: The former of which cafes was (in my opinion) the fate of the great Mountain at St. Chriffopher’s, when the pro- digious Cavity was made; for it feems to have undergone fome fuch terrible Convulfion, Earth- quakes are obferved there to be moft frequent in | hot 60 LESTE RaW hot and dry years; and when I lived at our Mountain Plantation pretty near the Woods fide, I obferved that the moment we felt an Earth- quake, or rather in the preceeding moment, was an odd kind of foft ruftling noife, which I attri- buted to the fudden motion caufed thereby a- mong the leaves of the Trees and Shrubs grow- ing juft up above us, and which could never be heard in our Bath Plain Plantation, as not being loud enough for that end. 39. And indeed the felf-fame thing happened when I was in the Weft Indies. For in the year 1718 (or thereabout) one Mr. Boyd a Merchant going from Saint Chrz/fopber’s in a Sloop towards Barbadoes, and being out of fight of all Land, on a fuddain, in the forenoon (if I miftake not) the Sky grew fo dark, and fuch a horrible Noife (far furpatiing the loudeft Thunder) was the fame moment heard, infomuch that they all believed the final Diffolution of Nature’s Frame to be juft then commencing ; there falling likewife inftan- taneoufly fo thick a Shower of Afhes, that the. Sloop’s Deck was covered two or three inches deep with them. They in fright enough turned back homewards ; and Mr. Boyd fhewed me fome. of the Afhes, which exactly refembled Ho/man’s Ink Powder. It was foon after found out, That a large Mountain in the Lfland of Saint Vincent (that in my time was wholly inhabited by Ne- groes iE DE KR A 61 groes who efcaped out of a Guinea Ship that was caft away unfortunately there many years ago) abounding in Veins of Sulphur and Brimftone blew up at once, vz. Woods, Rocks, &c. all to- gether, which muft be allowed to caufe a moft | dreadful Explofion, As I was always curious in things of a rare nature, I took notice that very day (as I was riding in Gingerland Parifh,) That I heard fix or feven dull bounces of noife refemb- ling thofe of Cannon at a great diftance pretty quickly following each other at the exact time of this Explofion: as the Sky was quite clear in the eye of the Wind, and as none of my ac- quaintance there took the fame notice of the thing, I durft not venture to infift much upon hearing thofe dull bounces till I had feen Mr. | Boyd. 1 fuppofe the Weather to be fomewhat thick and hazy, which might be the true reafon why Mr. Beyd and the Sloop’s Crew did not fee Land; for they muft certainly be nearer to Saint Vincent’s than they reckoned themfelves to be. A Narrative of this uncommon affair (with more circumftances attending it) was fhortly after tran{- mitted home to Exgland and printed, perhaps a- mong the Philofophical Tranfactions. 40. During my ftay at Nevis (where I re- ceived the higheft acts of Generofity and Friend- fhip from every body) which was upwards of five years, I felt feveral (at leafta dozen) Earthquakes, but 62 WE DER Se but none of them did us any farther harm, than frighting us, and cracking the Walls of a few Boiling-houfes and Cifterns. The longeft and fierceft of them happened about one a clock in the morning fometime in the year of our Lord 1717. It bounced me up in bed, and of courfe wakened me, fhook the whole houfe (which was built all of Wood except the underpinning) fo as to make it crack loudly, and lafted about two minutes and a half, as was judged by every one in the Ifland. In fhort ; our Fear then was inex- preflible ; and perhaps that very Paflion of Fear might caufe the minutes to feem longer than they really were. Surely it could not have af- fected me more, to have marched Soldier-like up to the mouth of an Enemy’s Cannon ; and yet (which I own is not to be accounted for) the ve- ry moment it ftopped, we were no more con- cerned than if it had never happened at all. 41. One Mrs. Akers of Nevis was a Native of Port Royal in ‘famaica, and lived there in the year of our Lord 1692, when the great Earth- quake made fuch a difmal havock and deftructi- on, as will hardly ever be forgotten by the Inha- bitants of that Ifland. She told me,That the earth opened wide, fwallowed her with many others, and then immediately clofed up again; fhe faid, fhe was ina ftate of infenfibility during her fhort ftay there. It could not exceed the tenth part of a mi- LE DYE RY U. 63 minute, before it opened once more to vomit fome of them up again. I afked her what might be her thoughts of the matter juft the moment before the Earth fwallowed her down; and fhe anfwered, that imagining herfelf upon the brink of a boundlefs Eternity, fhe put up a fhort ejacu- lation to Almighty God, begging him to pardon her Sins, and to receive her Soul. ‘The Hiatus fhe fell into was all Water, fo that being very wet fhe received no other harm, excepting in one of | her Cheeks, which grated a little againft fome- thing that did but juft draw blood. ‘This watery Hiatus clofed again the. next moment, catching hold of fome people by a Leg, of others by the middle of the Body, and of others fome by the Arm, &c, detaining them in difmal torture, but immovably fixed in the ground, till they, with almoft the whole Town befides, funk under Wa- ter; which happen’d within three minutes after fhe had got fafe on board a Ship then riding at anchor in the Harbour. She told me too, how that great Earthquake fplit one of the vaft Blue Mountains, rendering a Road that lay over it un- paflable. But you will meet with a better and more particular Narrative of this affair among the Philofophical Tranfaétions of the Royal Society. 42. Let us return to Nevis, About twenty years before my arrival, there was fo violent a fhock, that the Sea retired a good Furlong from | Charles 64. Dut) PAIS EL Re ai Charles Town, and in two minutes, or a little more, came back again to its ufual bounds,which are within twenty yards of it; the Foundation Rock in the lower part of the Town, burfting at the fame inftant, and cafting out a confiderable quantity of Water ; and indeed fome of the marks of this burfting were vifible enough in my time. This Convulfion was on a Sunday in the Afternoon, whilft fome of my Parifhioners were drinking a bowl of Rum Punch, which one of them had then in his hand, in order to fet it down upon the table; and fo dear a lover of the good creature was he, that he affured me, he did not {pill a fingle drop, though the Bowl was two thirds full. A huge piece of our Nevis Moun- tain, which in my judgment is confiderably high- er than the Mountain at Saint Chrz/fopber’s, fell down, and left a monttrous rocky {pot of it quite naked and bare, which continues in that ftate to this very day. Our Nevis Mountain has been -meafured with a Quadrant from the Bay at Charles Town, and ts faid to be exactly a mile and a half in perpendicular height, though to tell truth I do not think it fo high; it is far higher than. the Black Mountain called Coa/ in Norway however, and that too called Skiddaw in Cumberland, both of which I have feen. Not long after this violent Shock, a Workman who with many others were building a Houfe upon the lower part of Charles Town, UE Bre R aL 6s Town, ftruck an Iron Crow (in a hole of about a foot deep) againft the Foundation Rock, in or- der to dig the hole deeper : The Rock it is true broke, but the Iron Crow funk far too deep ; for a Lignum-vite Poft of a foot diameter and fif- teen foot long was no fooner tried to be fixed there, than it followed the Crow, and neither of them were ever after feen above ground: How- © ever, they covered over the Hole which was fill- ed with water immediately upon the breaking up of the Foundation Rock, not daring to build “There ; but like thoughtlefs and incurious Folks, did not with a fong Line and Plummet, try how deep the Water in the Hole was. My own opi- nion of the matter is; That though no one has loft his life by this Earthquake, yet hereafter, That all that part of Charles Town will one time or other fink down into the Sea (by the Shock of a more violent one) as Port Royal in Samaica did. 43. Mariners pretend that the long run of Charibee Ulands that reach from Florida down a great way into South America, were formerly joyned all together, being changed from Main Land into Iflands by fuch Earthquakes and E- ruptions: And the Reafons affigned for this very odd Conjecture are as follow, 27%. That moft of the larger ones, fuch as Nevis, Saint Chri/fopher’s, Montferrat, Guardaloupe, Saint Vincent's &c, are full freighted with veins of Sulphur and Brim- E _ ftone, 66 LE REE RH ae ftone, which being overheated are the certain Caufes of thefe Earthquakes and Eruptions ; and likewife, That they very rarely meet with above fixty fathoms of Water between any of them : But to be plain and ferious, This is a meer whim- fical Chimera ; and they may as well affert they are perfectly acquainted with the flate of Terra Auftralis incognita which no one ever yet faw. Mr. Tyrre/ and other Authors of good note, have fuggefted, that England was once joyned to France, and of courfe made part of the Continent : But alafs! I cannot credit their ConjeCture; for I fancy, that the Straits between Galazs and Dover were juit as wide in Sulius Ce/ar’s days as they are now; and as for their ftate before that fa- mous Epocha, I prefume it may not be thorough- ly known, Mr. Howel (who wrote before Mr. Tyrrel) in his Familiar Letters, pag. 364, is of that opinion. , 44. Asthe Ifland of Nevzs lies in the fixteenth Degree of Nothern Latitude, fo you muft of courfe conclude, that twice in the year our Body can caft no Shadow at Noon, vz. when the Sun is right over our heads, either in going North- wards for the Tropick of Cancer, or in travelling down back again Southwards towards the Equi- noctial Line. 45. The heat of the Country makes us per- {pire mightily ; ; we are rarely coftive; Water Melons LHMTHRi 12 Melons and other Fruits do contribute to a plentiful difcharge of Urine: and thefe are certainly the true reafons why we are fel. dom troubled with any other Diftemper but a Fever ; which I confefs is bad enough ; for it of- ten {weeps away great numbers of People, efpe- cially in the Month of Oéfober, when the Trade Wind which is the natural Wind for that Cli- mate veers from Eaft to North. Yamaica is a fickly Ifland, occafioned by an excefflive faint Heat, and the People’s Intemperance ; they have many Diftempers there. Water Melons are of five or fix different forts, and fome of them full as big as my Head; They melt in our mouth like a Peach, and are in my opinion far the finett Fruit I ever tafted: We eat vaft numbers of them. Our other Fruits are Mufk Melons, Bonanoes, Pine-apples, Oranges, Shaddocks, Penguins, Black Cherries, Sea-fide Grapes, Belle-Apples, and Guavuas. Mufk-melons are the fame with our Engl/b ones. Bonanoes and Shaddocks are already defcribed in paragraph 7 of this Letter. Oranges there, are in great perfection. Penguins are of two forts ; the fmall and long fort are too tart for my palate, and are ufed for Gargling the Mouth in Fevers ; and the larger and round fort (of the fize of an Apple) were liked by every body ; they have a thick Hufk which covers the Fruit that is of a milk white colour, and full of G2 wondrous 68 LBS DercEeRs a. - wondrous {mall coal-black Seeds; they tafte not unlike a Strawberry, and are among many called by that name. Black Cherries grow wild in our ‘Woods, and have fomewhat of the flavour of Engli/o Black Cherries. They have little round rifings like Blackberries or Mulberries, tho? much lefs. Sea-fide Grapes grow in large bunches near the Sea-fhore, upon Trees about the fize of Ex- glifb Apple-trees ; their Colour is red but their Tafte is far too fweet. Bell-Apples are the fize of a {mallifh Golden Pippin, of a deep yellow colour, and tafte very like a Goofeberry, having {mall Seeds in them juft like Englifh. Goofeberry Seeds. Guavuas are a ftrong Aftringent, of the bignefs of a Crab, exactly round, yellow, and have a flavour like Englifh Black Currans, but much higher and tarter, I had almoft forgot to tell you, that at Antigua I eat a Fruit called by the Spa- mards Sappadillo ; it was larger than our Burga- my Pears, but of their exact fhape and colour ; they are efteemed to be the richeft Fruit in the World; but after all, I thought their Flavour far too high and mufky ; They did not, I believe, grow at any other ofour Englifh Leeward Charibbee Iflands; but I hear, that the Dutch at Gurraccog have plenty of them. 46. I once remember a dropfical Cafe, ahi being very fingular, and different from what I have’ ever before or fince heard of, I hall con- clude L,) BT’ ER ‘II. 69 clude my Letter with it. An Iri/h Gentleman there, with whom I was very intimate, and who was unfortunately married to a moft grievous Shrew, did (in order to drive forrow and care away) drink himfelf into fo deep a Dropfy, that the Doctor durft not venture to tap him, as ex~ pecting his Death every day: but Providence ex- erted itfelf moft fignally, in behalf of fo rare a Bleffing as an honeft Lawyer, and honeft Law- yers I have known; for in one Night’s Time, his Belly (from the fize of a Barrel) fell quite down to its ufual bulk, by means of a violent Sweat, and a vaft difcharge of Urine. The Doctor and all the Gentleman’s Friends begged of him to take warning, and to refrain from hard-drink- ing for the future, but to no purpofe, for he would not follow the advice; the Dropfy of courfe feized him a fecond time, and (to the great fur- prize of us all) went away again by virtue of ano- ther violent Sweat, and another vaft difcharge of Urine. This is matter of fact, to which I was an eye-witnefs, though {carce to be credited in a cold Climate, where moft People will unchari- tably infift, that I make far too free with the Privilege of a Traveller. He afterwards (by the perfuafion of us all) to be rid of this grievous Shrew, went away to Bermudas or the Summer Iflands, that are-fo beautifully deferibed in Waller’s Poems, perfectly recovered his Health there, and E 3 being 70 LETT EIR: EE. being admirably well verfed in his Profeffion, fell into great Bufinefs immediately. 47. Among the different forts of Fruit I might have fet down thefe following ones, viz. Ta- marinds, Pomegranates, Plums, Mamma-Apples, Mamma-Supports, and Prickle Pears. Tama- rinds are ufed by our Doétors in Fevers, as well as in Punch, when Oranges and Lemons are hard to be come at. Pomegranates are to my Tafte a very infipid Fruit, and fold commonly enough at London. Plums grow upon Trees that are as big as Englifh Oaks, are of a deep yellow colour, have a ftrong fmell, are tart in the mouth, and at the fame time have fomething of the fla- vour of an Englifh Black Curran, Mamma-Ap- ples and Mamma-Supports* were far too fweet and lufhious for my Palate. Prickle Pear (both with the red and yellow Flower) is feldom fo much as tafted of by us, and is called by our Englifh Gardiners Ficus Indica, but for what reafon is a myftery to me; for in the Wef Indes we have the fame kind of Figs with thofe which grow in Spaim and England, though with this material difference, wz. That the European Figs have far too lufhious a Tafte, whereas the Weft Indian have a very fine picquant Flavour. Prickle Pear needs no defcription, fince it grows at Chel- * Sir Hans S)oan calls them Mammee and Mamme Sapotas. fia, Leb at steer” #11. I fea, my Lord Trevor's at Bromham, Dr. Walker’s of your College, and I believe at all other fuch Gardens. We have alfo an ordinary Fruit called Papas, that are pretty large, and as yellow as Gold, but not regarded by White Men: the Ne- oroes I think boil them. Good Sir, Your Patience is I fear by this time quite wea- ried out: However as you may perhaps imagine, my Journey to St. Chriffopher’s, and indeed my whole five years ftay in the Wef Indies, to be more pleafant than it really was, I make {fo free as to acquaint you, that the afore-mentioned Farthquakes, Hurricanes, exceffive Heat, Muf- kitoes, &c. do vaftly over-balance this Pleafure. hanty SPR, Your affured Friend, W.S. Wea ys tek = PE Pr ern Roe A Tene N Paragraph the thirtieth of my laft Letter to you, I ftarted the following Quere; namely, What Right had we to difpoffefs the ancient Cha- ribees of their Inheritance many years ago, and to confine them to the forry Ifland of Domuzntco, after having almoft extirpated their race? I there blame our Anceftors for unjuftly entering upon their Lands: but we of this Generation are no better inclined, as evidently appears from the Ar- ticles of Friendfhip and Commerce that were — propofed by the Lords Commiffioners for Trade and Plantations to the Deputies of the Cherrokee Nation on the Borders of South-Carolina, by his Majefty’s Order, on Monday the feventh day of September in the year of our Lord 1730. «© Whereas You Scayagufla Oukah, Chief of the Town of Taffet/a, You Tethtowe, You Ch- "© goittah, You Skalikofeen Ketagufta, You Col- ‘* lannach, You Oucounacou, have been deputed ‘“« by Moytoy of Telliquo, with the Confent and ‘* Approbation of the whole Nation of the Cher- ** rokee Indians, at a general Meeting at Nzko/- ** fen, the third day of April A. D. 1730, to ** attend Sir Alexander Cummin, Bart. to Great “ Brittain, where you have {een the Great King George wv n~ “a nr A an “~ oO wv” n fn vn A nr nr nr wn o wr nv A fF vw nm wr Lad wn wr A rn wn n € an € wr ¢ wn ¢ nr aA nr ~ “~~ nw on wr nr A nr ms 7 nw nn LETTER, Hl. 73 George, at whofe feet the faid Alexander Cummin, by exprefs Order for that purpofe from the faid Moytoy, and all the Cherrokee People, has laid the Crown of your Nation, with the Scalps of your Enemies, and Feathers of Glory in token of your Obedience: Now the King of Great Brittain bearing love in his heart to the powerful and great Nation of the Cherrokee Indians, his good Children and Sub- jects, his Majefty has empowered us to treat with you here, and accordingly we now {peak to you, as if the whole Nation of the Cherro- kees, their Old Men, Young Men, Wives and Children, were all prefent; and you are to underftand the Words we fpeak, as the Words of the Great King our Mafter whom you have feen, and we fhall underftand the Words you fpeak to us, as the Words of all your People with open and true Hearts to the Great King: and thereupon we give four Pieces of Striped Dufles, ‘*. Hear then the Words of the Great King whom you have feen, and who has command- ed us to tell you, that the Englifh every where on all fides of the great Mountains and Lakes, are his People and Children; that their Friends are his Friends, and their Enemies are his E- nemiies : that he takes it kindly that the great Nation of the Cherrokces have fent you hither a ** great o4 LETTER i. Cal vr x wr x Fr A wr a wr ~ rn R n fe ws x rf vw re a om wR e a wn Cl A a wv Cs n oe 7 a A a on ~ rr rw rR rv nn a o a ~~ nr an” wr fr vA ow ' great way to brighten the Chain of Friendthip between him and them, and between his Peo- ple and your People: that the Chain of Friend- {hip between him and the Cherrokee Indians is like the Sun, which both fhines here and alfo upon the great Mountains, and equally warms the Hearts of the Indzans and of the Engh/fh: That as there are no Spots or Blacknefs in the Sun, fo there is not any Ruft or Foulnefs in this Chain ; and as the Great King has faftened one end of it to his own Breaft, he defires you will ‘carry the other end of the Chain, and faften it well to the Breaft of Moytoy of Telliquo, and to the Breafts of your old Wife Men, your Captains, and all your People, never more to be broken or made loofe; and hereupon we give two Pieces of Blue Cloth. “© The Great King and the Cherrokee Indians being thus faftened together by the Chain of Friendfhip, he has ordered his People and Children the Engh/h in Carolina, to trade with * the Indians, and to furnifh them with all man- ner of Goods that they want, and to make hafte to build Houfes, and to plant Corn from Charles Town towards the Town of the Cherrokees be- hind the Great Mountains ; for he defires that the Indians and Englifh may live together as the Children of one Family, whereof the Great King is a kind, and loving Father. And as the ) ‘© Great LETTER UL a6 “* Great King has given his Land on both fides ‘* of the great Mountains to his own Children the “* Einghfb, fo he now gives to the Cherrokee In- ‘“‘ dians the Priviledge of living where they “* pleafe; and hereupon we give one Piece of Red ‘© Cloth. “moleanum in Oxford. G 4. set hey 104. TET ERA: wy ¢ wy wn € €¢ € r w~ nw A v7 aw wr wR nw a ~ A nr a wv om nr Aa nr A Pon ef wr a nr AR nr A n a nr eR Rr we A A “~ wr nr wr - rw & nr They are of divers Colours, for I have feen fome of an Afh colour, others of a dark Brown like Fleas, and fpeckled as it were with little Stars; there are fome in the Mountains on the Borders of Apugiia, but their Bite 1s not dangerous, A few hours after People are bit- ten by them, they make inarticulate Cries, and when any of the by-ftanders afk them what ails them, many return no anfwer, but only ftare at you with a ftern look ; and others make figns with their hands laid on their heart: ‘ for which reafon the Inhabitants of thofe Coun- tries, as experienced Perfons, prefently difco- ver their ail, and without lofs of time imme- diately fend for Muficians with feveral forts of Inftruments. Then fome fall a dancing at the found of the Gittar; others at that of the Lute or Cittern; and others at that of the Violin; when firft they hear the Mufick, they begin to dance foftly; they afk for Swords, and although they be not {killed in fencing, yet they behave themfelves as Mafters, Others defire Looking-glaffes, and whilft they behold themfelves in them, they vent a great many bitter Sighs, They want Ribbands and Neck- laces, and fine Cloaths, which they receive with inexpreffible joy, making bows, and re- turning hearty thanks to thofe that beftow them on them, Thefe things they lay in a fine “* order wr n A vr nv nr vw nr A nr € nr € ~ ¢€ ry € ny ¢ “~ Aw n £ wn na a yy “a aA “” “a - ay a“ ” a A “ wr “ n vn n “ on nm n nm wn wr nr nr nw wn & nr LETTER IV. 105 order about the place where they dance, making ufe from time to time of one or other of them, according to the impulfe they receive from their Diftemper. ‘They begin their dancing an hour after Sun-rifing, and end about an hour before noon-day, without ever taking any reft, un- lefs the Inftruments grow out of tune; and then they are very uneafy till they are in tune again: It being wonderful how fo rough and unpolifhed Perfons as Hufbandmen, Keepers of Cattle, and fuch Rufticks fhould become fo accurate and nice in the knowledge of the Harmony or Difcord of Mufical Inftruments ; and carry their enquiry fo far as to afk how much each of them coft. An hour after Noon- day they begin again to dance, and continue fo doing till Sun-fetting; and this they do for three days following, and in the fame order without ever being tired, as I have feen many of them, nay, more than three days undergo- ing that fatigue, if they obtain no remedy by it any fooner ; and fome are faid to have been obliged to do it eight, and others ten days fuc- ceffively. Whilft they dance they are not in their right fenfes, nor do they make any di- {tinction between their Friends, Relations, or others, but all are alike to them; though it is true that they fometimes invite fome comely or pretty Youth to dance with them. The *¢ Cloaths 106 LET DORR. A wv” “ nw A n vA mn a R A n A wv“ A “A A wr A w~ Fr n Fr an Ar nr A“ ar ~ a r wr ~ wn rr fF wr rr wy ao v an A Nn A nT A nr A nr A an vw mm A an Cloaths they generally wear, are of the moft ufual colours, as flefh coloured, red, blue, and the like: but whenever they fee any black, they fall in fuch a paffion, that they run with Swords after thofe that wear that colour ; one Perfon only, I have known among many, who was not difpleafed at the fight of black Cloaths, but then he did not {kip about with fo much vigour as the others. And now that I have given you a general defcription of the Tarantula, and the effects of its biting; give me leave, Dear Friend, to enlarge a little, and to relate two particular Cafes, that 1, with fe- veral others, have actually feen in my own Country, and its Neighbourhood. One ohn “fames Teforo, (whom I have feen dance about fix times) happened one day to be in a Wood where he had bufinefs, and I believe that he was fenfible that the time of his fuffering for the bite of a Tarantula drew near: For he rhade towards his Habitation ; but he dropped down by the way, and was found ftretched out upon the bare ground, which being known in the Country about us, many ran thither, and I among the reft; and we found the poor Countryman cpprefied with a difficulty of breathing ; and we farther obferved that his face and hands began to turn black. But as we all knew his Diftemper, a Gittar was brought, ** and nr wn ~ om n oo nr n n n n n nv ray 7 a nm nm an ~ A wn nr ” nw ~ n rT | “7 an“ WETTER. £07 and as foon as he heard it played on, he firft began to move his Feet, then his Legs, and afterwards he rofe on his Knees: From thence a little after, he got up on his Legs and walk- ed: And laftly, in about the {pace of a quarter of an hour after, he jumped fo that he raifed himfelf a matter of three fpans high from the ground: He fighed, but with fo much violence that it frightned thofe that ftood by ; and in lefs than an hour the blacknefs went off from his Hands, and his Face recovered its native colour. Inthe Caftle of La Motta of Montecorvino, I had an opportunity to fee five Perfons, that had been bit by a Tarantula dance at the fame time, and in the fame place: Four of them were Ploughmen, and the other a very pretty Country Girl: In this company I obferved fomething new, which was that each of them had taken a ftrange Name, and the proper Name of fome ancient King; and a- mong them they thought they were related, and fo treated each other with reciprocal Af- fection, and fuch Complements as caufed ad- miration in the beholders, They performed happily their ufual courfe of dancing in three days; on the laft Evening of which, before | they parted, they heartily defired a band of Soldiers ; upon which they had ten Mufquet- teers granted them, which being divided into ** two 108 LiE TT ER @W. ¢ vA “A n” A nr A nm A wn fF “A A wr A rT a fF A rr A r ay wv cat rr Pe nr a vr (a Fr A rr we nr a nr ta) ey A nr A wr two Bands ftood ready to give a Volley. Then they afked afterwards for a Glafs of Water and a little powdered Salt, which were both foon brought to them. Their Chief, I mean the imaginary King of Kings (whofe Name was Peter Boccomazza) madea fign in the Cup where the Salt and Water were, like that of the Crofs, and each of them took a little of the {aid water, and made figns to the Soldiers to fire. Then making a moft profound Bow to the Company, they faid, We fhall meet here again next year: Thefe poor Creatures after {o great a fatigue remembered nothing of what had paffed, but only begged of fome of the croud which furrounded them, for pity’s fake to lead them home. ‘.: UU OEE PIPER VE find fuch Maffes of Stone, in moft, if not all Stony Counties in England. 10. I fhall conclude this firft Article, by re- rainding you; That in Paragraph the tenth, of my firft Letter, I make mention of the bottom or root end, of two {mall Bufhes, which I fent along with my Shells, to Dr. Woodward's Col- leGtion ; That the Roots of them are fo firmly fixed, in hard folid Stone, as to feem all of a piece with them ; and that they muft have grown . in the Sea, becaufe the Land Soil there, produces none fuch. My own Conjeture of them is; That either the Stone muft have been much fofter, when the Plant firft took root in it; or elfe, that the Gravel, Slime, Gc. muft not long after gather about the tender Roots, till it grew into Stone. 11. But Secondly ; Though the World might be ever fo fufficiently convinced, that Stones na~ turally grow; yet it is often a difficult tafk, to affign Reafons for their feveral Kinds, Colours, {trange Shapes, and beautiful Impreflions. Maxz- milian Miffon, vol. 1. page 170. faw in the Em- peror’s Cabinet, at Amras, in the County of Z7- rol, Stones reprefenting Trees, Fruits, Shells, and Animals, all which were the pure Work of Na- ture. And again, vol. 3. page 292. he takes par- ticular notice of Stones, that are found on the Mountains, about twelve miles diftant from F- rence, at Limago; which being fawed through the LET T E Ravi. 161 the middle, and afterwards polithed, fome of them reprefent feveral forts.of Trees, and others are marked with the Fi ‘igures of ruined Caftles and Towns: Kircher, adds he, calls the former Dendrites, from the Images of Trees, that ap- pear on them, They are a fort of Agate, but how they come to have a full grown Tree, mark- ed in Miniature upon them, is not fo eafily ac- counted for, N. B. We have many of thefé Stones termed Dendrites, ready polifhed, to be fold at Wildey’s, and fome other Toy-fhops in London. 12. Ina Room at one end a St. Yobn’s-Gollege, in Oxford, I was thewed, (among Skeletons, Birds of Paradife, Pictures, in a wonderous {mall Hand Writing, of Guffavus Adolphus, of Sweden, and our King Charles the Firft, and other curiofities) at leaft, forty Stones that were confiderably large, of a greenifh brown colour}-and which were taken out of the paunch of an Ox, which was killed at that City. Two or three of them were almoft as big as a Goofe Egg, and I could perceive the plain (undoubted) Marks of Piles, or Leaves of Grafs, upon them, each Mark being about two inches long: An evident proof, I thought, not only for their growing whilft in the Ox’s Belly, but likewife for their great foftnefs then, without which quality, I could not conceive them capa- ble of receiving thofe impreffions. Ta? 13. Befides, “ 162 LAEYT Ge Re VEE 13. Befides, a Stone with a reprefentation of a {mall headlefs Snake upon it, which I do not pretend to account for, though I think you call it Cornu Ammonis, together with a piece of pe- tried Mofs, both given me by a York/hire Gen- tleman ; I {ent to Dr. Woodward’s Collection fome other Stones, that are in fhape of the hollow Shells of Oyfters, (It is fomewhat remarkable that I ne- ver met with above one like the flat fide of an Oyfter) and indeed do fo very nearly refemble them, that you will perhaps infift upon their being Petrifications, and that about ten days be- fore Noab’s Flood, they contained excellent Fith in them; but that very unfortunately, in that great jumble and blending of Rocks, Earth, Sea, Rivers, Sand, &c. all in confufion together, the poor Oyfters perifhed, and their Shell (in com- pany with an innumerable Heap of other Mat- ters) petrified, and remained in that very ftate ‘till I (walking out to take the Air,) picked them up ina Gravel-pit, near Bedford. I cannot give in to that opinion, and could enlarge copioufly upon fo fertile a Topick ; but as M. Mz//on {peaks my fincere thoughts, in better terms than I am matter of, vol. 3. page 251. I fhall refer you to that paflage, as follows. 14.°“ I obferved, near Certaldo, (in tal) ac- cording to the advertifement you gave me, fe- . et Hills of Sand, ftuffed with divers forts of “Sheps. €C a nr wv r ~ rr A ” Pr nr A wr vr nr wv nm nr mr “ n A Ca) wr -”~ A or A nr A w“~ “ nr A “ ¢€ r € € rr € wn € n~ €. “ a nv" € “ an € €¢ LETTER VII. 163 Shells. Monte Mario, a mile from Rome, is alfo full of fuch things; befides, I have found fome of them on the A/ps, at Li//y in France, and elfewhere. Olearius, Steno, Cambden, Speed, and many other Authors, both ancient and mo- dern, have taken notice of this Phenomenon ; and I read with pleafure, the Differtation you fent me on this Subject: Yet fince you defire me to deal plainly with you, I muf tell you, that I am not of your opinion, as to the main. 15. “ If thefe Shells were the product and re- mainder of the Deluge, I would willingly be informed, why it did not rather leave them, in deep Bottoms and Vallies, than throw up whole Mountains of them; and alfo, why they are fo rarely found; for, it feems more agreable to reafon, that they fhould have been fcattered more univerfally upon the face of the Earth, and not gathered into Heaps, as the few that are left are always found. It is not impoffible, that thefe Shells might be preferved ever fince the Deluge, and therefore I will not infift on that difficulty; but give me leave to tell you, that you feem to have a falfe notion of the Waters of the Deluge: For, to give.a reafon why thofe Shells, which you imagine to be Sea-fhells, are found in the middle of the Land, you fuppofe that the Deluge was a Sea, But as for me, I : Le ‘* con- 164 iE TEER vee A a A a A A wr. a oa ~ vA ~ Cay n- “~ nF rn nr “~ Nn wr n aA a A aA an a A a ~ 7 w &% ~ aA ca ry : a on a wr m a a ~ n a A a o wn n nr BD nr conceive that the Water of that Inundatior, which fell from Heaven, and was confequent- ly {weeter and lighter than Salt Water, was not fo thoroughly mixed and confounded, with the Waters of the Sea, but that the one ftill preferved its Frefhnefs, and the other its Salt- nefs, or Bitternefs, and each of them their particular Qualities; which being granted, this confideration alone, will furnith us with Infe- rences (which I leave you to deduce,) that are fufhicient to deftroy all your Conjectures. 16. ‘“* Nor is it lefs vain, to have recourfe to Winds, Storms, and Inundations; for a Solu- tion of this Myftery. The way of Eruption, by which the New Ve/uvius, or little Moun- tain, that had been caft up upon the top, from the Bowels of the Old Mount, and the Monte Nuovo were formed, is not, I confefs, to be altogether rejected, as being in itfelf im- probable; for, fuch Hills that fhould be com- pofed of Mud, or Slime, and of Sandy Earth, mixed with Shells, and other marine Bodies, efpecially in Countries fubject to Earthquakes, could well enough admit of fuch an Explana- tion. But after all, I fee no reafon that fhould oblige us to take fo wide a compafs, for a fa- tisfactory folution of this Phenomenon; for to give you my thoughts of it in few Words, I think it may be eafily comprehended, that the “* fame €c¢ € n € nr ce “A ry wn * vA a wr vw “A A A vA vA A A a ~ ~ wv” r vr v~ wr “a wr wv n wn r nr n fr oa nw“ rr n~ ie : vr LETTER VIL. 165 fame vertue and properties, by which Shells are generated in the Sea, may alfo form them in the Land, provided there is. parity of fub- {tance, and it be equally fit for the production of both, and all the Circumftances and Means required for their formation, may be found in one, as well as in the other. I will not enter into a nice Enquiry, whether they are formed byVegetation, or by Intus-fufception, as Plants grow and are nourifhed; or by Juxta-pofition and Incruftation, as Bezoar (whether Foffile or otherwife generated) is produced, or Stones grow inthe Kidneys. But choofe which Hypothefis you will, and after you have diligently examined the Formation of Shells, in thofe places which you call natural Beds, it will appear, that the fame account may be given of the Shells, on the Hills of Certalds, as of thofe that are found on the Shore at Leghorn, excepting only, thofe that are {aid to be generated with the Animals, by the Seed in the Eggs. 17. “I forefee one Objection, which you will infallibly urge againft me, if you be not pre- vented by a timely Anfwer. You will tell me, that Shells are infeparable from Fithes, Snails, or other fuch like Animals, for whofe ufe alone nature produces them, according to the com- mon Axiom, That Natures does nothing in vain, L 3 10.) TG 166 LT TB Re} Vik a ww A A a a a a a * a wn nm “ a wn wn “ ws a w nm n na a wn e re e a e * “ a “ew # e ~ nr eK ~ r a] ae cay “ ~ ry ” ~~ nr 18, “ To difpatch this pretended difficulty, without wandering from the fubject of our prefent Controverfy, I fhall only put you in mind of thofe Shells, that are fometimes found in the Kidneys, Impofthumes, and Stomach, of which we have fuch exact and late accounts, that the matter of fact is undoubtedly certain ; (fee the Nouvelles de la Republique, for Decem- ber 1686, fee alfo Ambrofe Pareus, and other Anatomical Writers:) For if I fhould afk you, for what Creatures thefe things are generated, you muft be forced to have recourfe to a di- {tinction of your Aphorifm, which may be eafily accommodated to my Hypothefis. 19. ‘‘ If you think to elude the force of thefe ‘ Inftances, by faying, That the Shell in an Im- pofthume, is a fort of Monfter, from which we muift not draw a general conclufion; I an- {wer, that I will not difpute about words, nor make too general Conclufions. If Shells in the Kidneys, or in Impofthumes, be called Mon- {ters in your Dictionary, you may, if you pleafe, ' beftow the fame Title on thofe of Certaldo. Neither muft you ftart new Difficulties, by comparing the multitude of thefe, with the {mall Number of the others: for if the Kidney were as big as a Mountain, and contained as great a quantity of Matter, fit for the Forma- tion of Shells, asthe Hill of Certa/do, we fhould “* doubtlefs, €€ wr wn A n af nw vA wv “ nn «¢ DE TT ER VIt. 167 doubtlefs, find ten thoufand Monfters of the fame nature, formed at the fame time, in the fame place, and by the fame Accident, ought not to be reckoned more than one. “© 20. I could eafily anfwer to all your Ob- jections, but, fora farther illuftration of my Hypothefis, I fhall confider more particularly, the word ia vain. Nature does nothing in vain, it is true; but that Shells without Fifhes, are ufelefs Productions of Nature, I deny. The Variety of the Works of God, in all his Crea- tures, is univerfally acknowledged, and the Reafon of it is plain. Thus thofe Foffil Shells, that are found in the Heart of Stones and Mar- ble, were not made in vain, though they ne- ver enclofed a Fifh, nor any other living Creature. The Stones, called 4mon’s Horns, were not formed in vain, though they never graced the Forehead of a Ram. The Tongue- like Stones, or Glofopetra’s, of Malta, were not produced in vain, though they never wag- ged in the Mouth of an Animal. The fame may be alfo faid of the Stones, called A/frozdes, Belemnites, Daéctyli; Sfudei, and an infinite number of other varioufly fhaped Foffils, re- fembling Plants, Fruits, Flowers, Animals, Human Faces, And why then fhould nature be confined from fporting herfelf, in the Pro- * duction of Shells, and at the fame time fuffer- D4. ed 108 mE TE Roe ed to a on all other occafions, with an un- controuled liberty, or, to {peak more proper- . ly, with a perpetual and.admirable variety ? The German Journal, for the year 1661, makes mention of a Turnep, that exactly refembled ahand; and of a Mufhrome, from which fix * half-bodied Human Figures iffued out. 21. But, Thirdly, Though it is often a dif- ficult tafk to affign Reafons for their feveral Kinds, Colours, ftrange Shapes, and beautiful Impreffions ; yet I allow that there may be fuch things as Petrifications, in the common fenfe of the word, wz. The Action of convert- ing Fluids, Woods, and other Matters into Stone. Stones, by growing at all, do in a good meafure prove their Exiftence; however, I fhall purfue the method I firft propofed ; 22. And fhall inftance in the Petrifications, that are feen upon the Ruins of an ancient Aque- duct, that formerly conveyed water from the Cifterns, commonly called So/omon’s, to the fa- mous City of Zyre, mentioned in Henry Maun- drel’s Travels from Aleppo to “Ferufalem, page 52. as follows. As we pafled by the Aqueduct, we obferved in feveral Places on its Sides, and under “its Arches, rugged Heaps of Matter, ‘refembling Rocks. Thefe were produced by the leakage of - the Water, which petrified as it diftilled from above ; and by the continual adherence of new Matter, fy w~ Aw nA wn n n n x n Ink TSEERZ- MI arty Matter, were grown toa large Bulk, That which was moft remarkable in them, was the Frame and Configuration of their Parts. They were compofed of innumerable Tubes of Stone, of dif- ferent fizes, cleaving to one another like Icicles. Each Tube, had a fmall Cavity in its Center, from which its Parts were projected, in form of Rays, to the circumference, after the manner of the Stones, vulgarly called Thunder-ftones. And Sir Hans Sloan affures us, That at famaica, f{e- veral Rivers do petrify their own Channels, by which they fometimes ftop their own Courfes, by a Sediment, and Cement uniting the Gravel and Sand in shisic Bottoms. 23. I {ent you a piece of Mofs, that my Friend aflured me, did actually petrify at Kuare/borough, in York/bire. That Tree-Leaves in York/hire, Derbyfhire, and other Places, may have water drop upon them, (as well as upon Mofs) and pe- trify all around them, and of courfe mix with their fubftance, till they are fo far of their Shape and Marks, as to gain the name of petrified Leaves, I willingly enough admit: But alas! I want Faith to believe, that fuch fhort-lived and tender things as Flowers, and Mutfhroms, can petrify. 24. We have, at A/piey, a Village about feven miles from hence, a Water, which is boldly faid, (and almoft univerfally credited too) to convert Wood into Stone, a piece or two whereof I have feen ; 170 LETTER VIL feen; but T take them to be no other than -natu- ral Stone, with Veins that refemble fome forts of. Wood. I fend by the Bearer, a piece of another fort of Stone, that nearly refembles old Oaken Wood ; an Acquaintane of mine picked it up in a Field, in Warwick/hire, where they are not un- common, though pretty much wondered at by the Country People, as well as Gentry. I have heard indeed of.a whole Ladder, both Sides and Rounds, that was turned into Stone by it: But to my great mortification, could never learn the name of the Perfon, who had the Ladder in pof- -feffion; in fhort, I would have travelled an hun- dred miles, without grudging either labour or coft, in paying fuch profound refpec& to fo rare a Curiofity. If we may credit Naturalifts of un- tainted veracity on all other Accounts, there are Waters in many places that will foon cruft over a piece of Wood, with a thin Cafe of Stone; and if fo, perhaps this was the Ladder’s Cafe, I mean if any fuch Ladder there ever was. About twelve — years ago Sir Roger Burgoine, Bart. of Sutton, in this County, had a Tenant who loft a Horfe _ by Sicknefs, and upon opening him in order to find out the caufe of his Death, one of his Kid- neys was entirely petrified, though it ftill preferv- ed its true natural Shape: It was enclofed with Blood and vifcous- matter, in a tough Skin, or Bag: Laft week I vifited Sir Roger and faw it. j When RE TT ER vel 171 When it was firft taken out of the Horfe, the rough Side of it was foft, and was twelve months in hardening, whereas the {mooth fide was as hard as it is now, when taken out. It weighs (in A- verdupoife Weight) two Pounds and a half, and two Ounces, being of the fize, as well as fhape, of a Horfe’s Kidney, and of a very deep Buff- colour. In Chil, upon the Confines of Peru, about South Latitude 25, is a River called the River of Salt, becaufe it is fo falt, that it cannot be drank, and petrifies what is thrown into It. 25. Let us now advance to our Fourth con- clufive Point, vz. That it iseven poffible for us to invent Artificial Stones, which will be very dura- ble. And by Artificial Stones, I mean pulverized Stone, or Gravel, or Sand, well tempered and mixed with Putty, or any other ftrong Cement, like that which joins together the feveral parts of a French Mill-ftone, and does really become as hardas the Stone itfelf, moulded into what fhape or bulk we pleafe, and afterwards dried, either by the natural heat of the Sun, or by Air in the Shade only, or elfe by the artificial Heat of Fire in Fur- naces, that may be contrived for that ufe. 26. Such are thofe Stones, in the Lids of fome Snuff-Boxes, that are fold pretty commonly at our London 'Toy-fhops. Several of my Acquain- tance, at their return from Ita/y, fhewed me fome of the beft fort of them; and for farther autho- rity, 72 «(LETTER ‘VIE rity; I refer you to the judicious Miffon Vol. 34. p. 320. as follows, ‘The fhining Stones fo generally known under the Name of the Bononian Stones, are foundon the Hill of Paderno, three miles from the City. Barthol. Zanichelt is the only Perfon who knows how to prepare them. Thofe who have written, that thefe Stones are fhining with- out being prepared, have not been well informed. ‘They prepare this Phofphorus, if they have a mind in pretty big pieces; and they alfo prepare it, after they bie pulverized them. I took fome of both ; but this fhining quality wafted by degrees, and i years afterwards there was none of it left. 27. Such alfo is the Mofaic Work with which S*, Mark’s Church at Venice is {o richly adorned; and in particular, all the Arched Dome is lined with it, fays M. Miffon, vol. 1. page 240. For want of natural Stones, which woud have been hard to find for fo vafta work, and would have required an im- menfe time to polifh and prepare; they were forced to ufe Paftes, and Compofitions of Glafs and Enamel melted, and made in a Crucible; this takes a lively and fhining Colour, which never wears, nor ftains. Every piece of the Mofaic work in this Church is a little Cube, which is not above three lines thick, or fometimes four at the moft. All the Field is of mofaic gilded with very bright gold, and incorporated in the Fire, upon the fur~ face of one of the Faces of the Square or Cube 5 and LETTER VII. 173 and the Figures, with their Draperies, and: other Ornaments, are coloured according to Nature, by the due laying together of all the Pieces of the Work. All thefe little bits are difpofed according to the defign which the Workman has before his eyes, and are joined clofe together in the Cement that was prepared to receive them ; which prefent-= ly after becomes hard. The beft quality of this Work is its Solidity. It has lafted more than fix hundred years, without the leaft diminution of its beauty. 28. I remember that when I was at Althord Houfe, about three miles from Northampton, fome years ago, among fine Pictures, Bufts, and other Curiofities of Art, I was fhown a Table, faid, and believed by them, to be a beautiful black Marble one, with a pack of fcattered Cards and Counters moft exquifitely well painted thereon, as appeared by one of our Company, who in the dusk of the Evening miftaking them for real Cards, went to take them up. But they were deceived, for I had fome months before, feen at Burleigh Houfe near Stamford in Lincolnfhire, (a ftately Seat of the Earl of Exeter) a'Table of the fame fort, which was broke into two or three pieces, and upon examina- tion found it to be nothing more than artificial Stone, or Pafte as fome term it. At Brombam a Seat of my Lord Trevor, about three miles from hence is a Table of the fame kind: Its black ground 1S 174 ED TE RK AVg: is full as fine as the beft polifhed Black Marble, The Face of the Table is ornamented with a Gold-Finch, and another Bird in extreamly natu- ral Colours, with Butterflies, Tulips, and feveral: other Flowers in their natural Colours, and with Wreaths of white Foliages running along through all parts of it. In fhort, the whole face of the Table is fo well done, that it looks juft like one fingle piece of polifhed Marble ; and indeed at one Corner which was a little broken, I found it, upon trial with the point of a fharp Pen-knife, to be as hard as Marble. It feems a fort of Glafly Compofition. ‘7 _ 29. The general opinion is; That the little Pillars or Pilafters on the infide of Gothick Cathedrals, and other fuch like Churches, are arti- ficial, and the reafons affigned for this opinion, are as follow; vzz; Firft, They are all of one blewifh Colour, which could hardly be fuppofed, if they were not all hewn out of one particular fort of Stone; and this 1s hardly poflible, becaufe as moft Englifb Stones differ in Colour, as well as other qualities, it muft have been an infinite expence to have conveyed them from one or two Quar- ries, to all thofe diftinét Buildings in moft (if not all) Counties in England, Secondly, They all confift of one fingle Stone apiece. Thirdly, That Stone is not of the fame kind with the reft of the Church. and Fourthly, That thofe Pilafters being ftruck with We WOR WIE tee with a fmall Key give a quick found, but of dif- ferent forts or tones, which could not be, were theyall of the fame kind of natural Stone. ~ 30. At prefent I fee but one objection arifing again{t this general opinion ; vz. That fuch a Pil- lar could bear no great Weight, nor be of any confiderable duration. To this may eafily be an- fwered ; That there is certainly no great Weight laid upon thefe fmall Pillars, they being chiefly defigned for Ornaments, and that if a reafonable weight was laid upon them, they might notwith- ftanding be of vaft duration. Witnefs the famous Wall which feparates China from Tartary, and is the eighth as well as far the greateft Wonder of the World, being fifteen hundred miles in length, almoft wholly built with Brick (which with Glafs, Rock work, and Potters ware of all kinds, I reck- on among the number of Artificial Stones) and has ftood above Eighteen hundred years without much decay. Again, China Ware is made of a very {tiff Clay, or rather foft white Stone, which is pounded, made into pafte, and afterwards brought to perfection, partly by the Sun, partly by air in the fhade, and partly by baking them in furna- ces: However, the fine Porcellane Tower at Nankin in China is faced with it, and though it is now above three hundred years old, does {till ap- pear wondrous beautiful. 31. In t76 LETTER) VIL 31. In plain, we fee the Morter in fome old ruined Buildings, (particularly about Norwich in Norfolk, and St. Edmond’s Bury in Suffolk) to be erown harder than moft if not all forts of Stone, | as it were in defhance to the deftroying Scythe of old Father Time. And it is my fineere belief, That if Stone Jugs or white Fulham Ware, were made into the fhape and fize of Bricks, and then well fet together with fuch good {trong Morter or Cement, a Building raifed up wholly of them would be more durable than one made of the beft Portland Stone; It might laft for more ages than will the great Wall of China, or the Pyramids of Egypt. But further, if Crucibles (or Bremen Pots, fo called as being imported from that Hanfe Town) were framed in the fhape and fize of large Brick, and {fo put into a mafly Building, I fee no manner of reafon why they fhould not laft as long as Granite, or Porphyry, the two hardeft forts of Marble: Nay they would not only ftand the wea- ther for ages, but even of a very fharp affault from that deftru€tive Element the Fire: I need , not take much pains to prove them Artificial ed " Stone, becaufe every body knows that they are Gi (bh? “Veffels made of Earth, and fo well tempered and - baked as to endure the fierceft Fire, for melting Oars, Metals, Minerals, &c. 32 The Porcelane Tower at Nankin obliges me to acquaint you, that I have always entertained a Rely TEE Revi. 177. a high veneration for Oriental Art, and. Inge- nuity ; and the Indian Pagod made froma prepa- ration of Rice, which Dr. Taylor fhowed us in your Univerfity Library, is one of the greateft Proofs of their Art I ever faw, and an exquifite Mafter-piece in its kind. I have frequently met with fmaller Pagods, ‘Tea-Pots, Bowls, and other fine things of various forts, made of Rice fo prepa= red; and (for ought I know) if we Europeans were let into the Secret of preparing it, we might allow it to be as durable as Brick ; I have no notion of our being capable to improve upon their Art, becaufe we ufually go backward in that refpeét, For inftance, what ordinary Morter do we now- a-days make in comparifon of that which we meet with in old ruinous Buildings in moft parts of England, particularly at Norwich, and St. Ed- mund’s Bury. 33. My own ferious judgement upon this Fourth and laftarticle is (as I faid before) in the 2 5 paragraph of this Letter, that it 1s even poffible for us to invent Artificial Stones, which will be very durable. Dear Sir, I am very fenfible that I have entered too far into your peculiar Province, without fagacity enough to keep me from wandering out of the right Path: However, if you pleafe to cor- rect any errors, you may {py, either in this or a- ny of my preceding Letters, they fhall as foon as known to me, be thankfully acknowledged, and M amended : 178 LETTER VIE amended : In the mean while I defign to conclude. this long Letter with the following Paragraph. . 34. In the month of ‘fune in the year of our. Lord 1724, I went from Burgh in the South Mar/b of Lincolnfhire, to pay a vilit to a Friend at Louth a more confiderable Market Town in the fame County ; and after we had taken a view of their fpacious Church, and lofty Spire, which they infift upon to be exactly of the fame height with Grantham Spire, as well as with the beautiful Tower of Boffon , my Friend walked along with me to a Spring of ¢lear and excellent Water, that might be three yards wide and ankle deep, and that iffued out at the foot of the Woulds there: not far below which place, they made it into an. admirable Cold Bath. It was then a pretty quick. Stream, and would continue fuch all the Summer: featon. He told me, that the Townfmen won-. dered very much, to fee it dry in Winter, and to run fo faft in Summer; But then they never once. confidered, what he and I agreed in, wz, That , underground in thofe Would Hills, there muft be: large Cavities or Refervoirs of Water, which the » Winter Rains would ( fufficiently to anfwer that. end) fill before Summer came on, at which time thofe fubterraneous Waters began to defcend, and | vent themfelves at the mouth of this Spring, juft fo long as till the Refervoirs were emptied, and that was at the approach of Winter, There is a. . , {mall. Li TATE RA VATS 179 ‘fmall Spring of the fame Nature which I have not yet feen at Pavenham in this County of Bedford: It rans well all Summer, but is dry in Winter ; and undoubtedly for the felf fame reafon, it being fituate at the foot of the Hills near the river Oufe. This I prefume to be the cafe in ge- neral of Springs that are ufualy very low about Michaelmas, And give me leave farther to obferve, (from feveral of my Acquaintance who were eye witnefles of it in their Travels into [fa/y) That the Rivulets of many fuch Villages as border upon the A/ps, do always {well, and frequently over- flow their common Boundaries, when the Sun is got up fo far Northwards towards the Tropick of Cancer, as to melt the Snow upon thofe high Mountains, and of courfe to fenddown the Snow- ‘water in Torrents, In fhort, all {prings I believe do owe their original, to Vapours, to Snow, or to Rain, 35. 1 thought I had finithed my Letter; but upon reading this day’s London Evening Poff, I find I have not, there being in it the following re- markable Paragraph taken out of the Paris Ala- main for November 21. 1742. ‘ The third Me- *‘morial which Mr. Reaumur read the 13% ** inftant, at the Royal Academy of Sciences, re- “* lates to a very curious difcovery that has been *« made at the Hague by Mr. Tremblay. It is an rf eek Infect, called a Polypus, which has M 2 * this 180 De T Tee RY Vai ** this peculiarity in it, that when it is cut into —“€ feveral Parts, each of thofe Parts produces of *« itfelf, in the {pace of twenty-four hours, what it ‘‘ wants to compleat a Body. So that this Infect “* being cut tran{verfly in three Parts, the Part be- “« longing to the Head will produce a Tail: fome ‘* of thofe Infects have been cut even tranfverfly *« into forty Parts, which each produced what was ‘“ wanting in it, to make a perfect Infect; fo “that of one Polypus forty were made. If — “they be cut down through the middle from ‘* head to Tail, each half will produce another. “* On this occafion Mr. de Reaumur made feveral ‘« Jearned and judicious Obfervations, particularly ‘* that as it is an Axiom that Nature is not fingu- “¢ Jar in its Productions, fo there muft be other “* Infeéts fufceptible of the like wonderful produc- “‘ tion: He reports, that by Experiments already ‘* made by him, he has difcovered certain Earth- ““ worms that have the fame Properties; but that ** Nature operates in them, ina much larger fpace “ of time, | 36. Thefe Experiments put me in mind that in the defcription of Lzzards, in paragraph the fe- cond of my fourth Letter, I ought to have men- tioned one property or quality belonging to them, which could never before I went to the We/? Indies, fall under my own cognizance; viz ; That if one of them had the misfortune to have half of its Tail WE 2 DER aVIL. 181 Tail bit, or cut off, it would foon grow again to its ufual length, but when it had grown about two inches or lefs of the length, I could per- ceive plainly a thin Skin or Film (of the colour of a Spider’s Web and almoft as thin) coming all o- ver out of that hinder part; and as that Skin or Film was no where elfe about its Body, I looked . upon it as if Nature defigned it for a firft Coat to cover the other Skin whilft it was young and ten- der, but which was to drop off, as foon as that became hardened enough to do its office with- out fuch affiftance. I never met with this obfer- vation in any Author; but I frequently took par- ticular notice of it, and told my thoughts to fome of my Acquaintance, who did not feem to won- _ der much at it. It is impofible for me to guefs how long this new part of the Tail might be in growing to its ufual length, becaufe we there have no Lizards kept tame. 37. Sit Hans Sloan in his Natural Hiftory of ‘famaica, tells us how ravenous a Creature the Shark Fifh is, but that it is forced to turn upon its Back before it can feize its prey, which gives opportunity to other Fifhes to efcape its fury. AndI muft take leave to affure you (as an obfer- vation of my own) That as foon as he feizes it, in turning himfelf upon his Belly to {wim away he gives his whole Body fuch a violent twift as would wrench off the Limb of a Giant, and that with- M 3 out 182 LETTER VI. out this Twifthe could not bite off a Man’s Limb, for his Teeth (though indented like a Hand-faw, as well as fharp) are fo very fhort, that they are utterly unqualify’d for fo quick an Execution, as you will readily own if you examine his Mouth. I never knew but one fuch ill Accident to hap- pen in my time, and that was at Baffe Terre in the Ifland of St. Chrz/topher, in the following manner, A Sailor in going aboard a Ship in the Road, fell backwards out of the Boat into the Sea, and the Water being exceeding clear, one of his Comrades faw a Shark feize him. Hooks baited with Salt Beef or Pork were immediately thrown out from allthe Ships and Sloops, with one of whicha Shark was catched, played about till quite weary with plunging, and then (by the affiftance of a rope put about its middle) was drawn up into the Sloop and killed. The poor Man’s Head, with one Leg and Thigh were found in its Maw, but fomewhat mangled by the young Sharks that go in and out living upon what Prey the old one catches; Eighteen of whom were found in his Maw, and fome of them three foot long; This old Shark was twenty-two foot long.I have often wondered: that the like never happened to our Negroes in Fifh-hunting, as mentioned in Paragraph 3° of of my firft Letter. | 38. In difcuffing my fecond conclufive Point, viz, That itis a difficult tafk to affign _Reafons | for Lave EB RWI. 183 for the feveral Kinds, Colours, ftrange Shapes, and beautiful Impreffions of Stones; I ought to have acquainted you, That at Antigua, there are fome large white and roundifh Stones, whofe in- fide is hollow, and all over this fpace, is, as. it were, one continued heap of fair Cryftal, (but all of a piece with the Face, or outward part) which fometimes does in a tolerable degree repre- fent wrought Diamonds, clofe together. I had a Ring ornamented with one of them, cut Brilliant- fathion, which looked like a Bri/fol Stone: And if I.miftake not, I fent along with my Shells, a piece of one of them that weighed about an Ounce. I muft tell you too, That I have, near Walling ford, in Berk/hire, difcovered fome Flints of the fame nature, but do not pretend to account for their Shapes, any more than I would for their Infides, being fo much more tranfparent than the Outfide Face of the Stone: Brz/fol Stones grow in the fame manner. 39. If you make a queftion, at Paragrah 36, about the Lizard’s Tail growing out again to its ufual length, after being bit or cut off, by aiking me, whether that new part of the Tail was of the fame ufe with the former, or exactly of the felf-fame fubftance; I anfwer, That I never dif fected a Lizard; that its Tail drags upon the Ground after it, without any great apparent ufe that I could perceive; and that if its Tail was M 4 jointed au ER RER Vi jointed in the middle, with fhort Bones quite ta the end, that bony fubftance would (in my opi- nion) fcarce grow again, though perhaps the flefhy part might be fupplied, with a griftly fub- {tance inftead of Bone: But as I underftand very little, if any thing, of Phyfick and Anatomy, I give up that knotty point to be unravelled by Phyficians and Surgeons. Your’s, W. S. Pofifcript. Upon recollecton, I am of opinion, That the Vertebre of the Lizard, might go little or no farther backwards, than does the Anus, but be changed to a griftly fubftance, from thence ta the end of its Tail. — L E T- 188 Pa AsBA TER WELE: Good Sir, Find it much eafier, in affairs of this nature, to begin than to finifh ; To be plain, the tick- ling itch of Writing has entirely got the better, of what I hoped had been a fixed, unmoveable, refolution, to take up my Pen no more; as is evident enough, by giving you the trouble to read the following Paragraphs. 1. I very well remember, That in our Voyage towards the Leeward Charibbee Ilands, we were more than once purfued by Millions of Porpuffes, who fwam along by us like an Arrow fent out of a well-drawn Bow, though we were then under a brifk Gale of Wind: They were at leaft two hours in paffing us fo, and the Sea (as far as ever our Eye could difcern) was covered wondrous thick with them: They fhewed their whole Bodies almoft when they jumped, which was every moment. Their Head was fhaped pretty much like a Hog’s; they feemed to be between five or fix feet in length, and fomething of the Colour of the commor Minnows in our Englifh Rivers, A day or two after, I obferved fome of them 186 bee, Lae Vale them with Nofes in the exact form, and full as big as Quart Glafs-bottles, on which account they have juftly acquired the name of Bottle-nofes, N. B. They are much larger than the others, They differ {trangely from thofe found upon ‘our Brittifh Coafts; but that is no great matter of wonder, fince they are of fuch various kinds. A- bout Cape Horn, they are black on their Back and Fins, and white underneath, with fharp white Nofes: They often leap a good height out of the Water, turning their white Bellies uppermoft, fays Woods Rogers, page 103. We {truck at fe- veral with a Fiz-gig, but had not the gon for- tune to hit and catch one. 2. Asfoon as we entered into the Trade-Wind, which does there generally blow from Eaft to Weft, we were entertained with a fort of Fifh that proved entirely new, and of courfe highly pleafing to me, wz. Flying-Fifhes, which, Sir Hans Sloan fays, are of the Herring kind. They are fomewhat longer than a Herring, though they are rather thicker and rounder in Body > They have a Fin on each fide, clofe to the Gills, of about four inches long, being broadeft, as: well as a little rounded at the extremity, juft like thofe blue and {peckled Flies, with thick Heads, fhort Bodies, and long {nake-coloured Tails, call- ed by fome, Taylors, and others, the Devil’s Nee- dles, and by fome, May-flies. If they are chafed by LHTTERT VIN 26y by a Dolphin, or any other Fith of Prey, they evade the purfuit, by flying out of the Water, and by continuing that flight, whilft their Fins will keep wet enough for that purpofe, which may be as far as thirty or forty yards end ways; for they ufually fly in a ftrait line, though they make fome {mall Wavings. They moved their Fins full as nimbly as Engli/h Bees, or the fore- mentioned Flies, called Zaylors, or Devil's Nee- dles, {o that we could fcarce perceive them; and as they are of a very bright fhining colour, they looked exaétly like fo many pieces of polifhed Silver, darting it along. Their fight whuilft in the Air, is not extraordinary good, I fuppofe, be- caufe two or three of them alighted upon our Ship, in which cafe they are utterly difabled from rifing again. They fly fingly, or in whole Flocks like Birds, and far oftener I believe, out of wan- tonnefs, more than fear; for if they did not, we muft imagine that part of the Sea to be full of Dolphins, and other Fithes of Prey. 3. In our Paflage, we met with abundance of Gulph-Weed; it was of a reddifh yellow co- lour, refembling the peeled Skins of Onions, and. is called Gulph-Weed, becaufe it is hurried away out of the great Gulph of Florida, where the Current runs fo extreamly rapid northwards al- ways, as to drive along a deep-loaded Veffel, at the {wift rate of fix miles an hour, without the leaft 188 BoB TTR Ro leaft breath of Wind to fill the Sails, and fo add to its velocity. 4. Having heard fo often of a Calenture, I ex- pected to meet with fome inftances of it, even before I arrived in the We/t-Indies ; but they are now grown very fcarce, for I never faw above one Perfon labouring under it: He was continu- ally laughing, and if I may be indulged in the term, merrily mad: One day in the height of his frenzy, he jumped over-board in Charles-Town Bay, but was luckily faved from drowning, by one of his Sailors, or from being devoured by fome ravenous Shark: and then confined in our Prifon, till the Ship, which he was Mafter of, was ready to fail, when he went on board, and ~ did perfectly recover his fenfes, before they reach- ed Liverpool. "Two Officers of my Acquaintance, _; belonging to the Regiment {tationed there, af- fured me, that nine or ten years before, they fell into the fame Diforder, immediately upon their landing at Antigua ; and as an unan{werable proof of it, told me, That they frolicked it laughing up and down the Streets of the Town of St. “fobn, with a large Lanthorn and Candle at Noon-day; but their fit did not laft above a week. It is now cuftomary, when we pafs the Tropick of Cancer, both to let blood and to purge, (and, as I have heard, to vomit too, if they think their Bodies require fo much cleanfing,) which pre- LETTER VII. 189 precaution perhaps was, formerly, (when Calen-_ tures were faid to be frequent) not fo conftantly ufed. 5. During my five years refidence at Nevis, I obferved from Gingerland, or the Eaftern Side of our Ifland, great numbers of Water-Spouts. They feemed to fall from the Clouds like Water, that in many {mall Streams, almoft clofely joined to- gether, defcends from a Pump, or rather Cata- rat: I never faw any drop down on the Land 3 and on the Weft-fide, in the Sea, they are not fo eafily difcernable, becaufe going from us, as they are when the Eaft, which is our Trade- _ wind, drives them towards us. But indeed, it is impoffible for them to fall upon Land; For they confift of a large Body of Water, that is exhaled ort drawn up, (perhaps by fome Whirl-wind, as in the following Paragraph) in order to fill a Cloud, which as foon as done, the refidue drops down again at once into the Sea, and this is what Mariners term the breaking of the Water- ' fpout. As I was never within lefs than two miles of one, I cannot. be a compleat judge of them. 6. I took notice of abundance of what I would call Tornadoes, 7. e. a Whirl-wind fuddenly feizes upon a Tract of ground, about twenty or thirty yards in Diameter, where Sugar-Canes had been cut down, and takes up the light trafh which was {eparated igo BIE TOD ERT Va feparated from about them, and whirls it round and round, to a confiderable height in the Air, where it fcatters more widely about, and then falls gently down again to the Earth. Ido not pretend to account for this Phenomenon. 7. We had, now and then, in the Wane of the Moon, exceflive great Lightnings, that were unattended either by Thunder or Rain, and one efpecially, in the year of our Lord 1718, when I was fent for to vifit a fick Perfon, about twelve a Clock, in a very dark Night. The Lightning begun juft as I fet out from his Houfe, on my return homewards, and was terrible indeed ; for it fell as if it had been liquid, in moft monftrous Flathes, feveral times in every minute. It ilu- minated the Air all around, and fhone {fo bright- ly, that I could fee the Ships in Charles Town Road, as diftinétly as if it had been broad day, though I was then two miles off from them ; and I could alfo plainly perceive, the whole Southern fide of St. Chrzffopher’s Vfland, though fome part of it was many miles off. Nay, I was once not a little furprized, as thinking my Horfe had been {truck dead under me; for he hanged his Ears, {traddled widely with all his four Legs, and ftood {tock ftill, motionlefs: However, at lait he gave a groan, moved flowly on, and carried me fafe home: He feemed now and then to ftagger at a large Flafh; but I-encouraged him what I could, by DEVT PBR Ree Vile IQI by caufing my Negroe-man to walk on before | him. ‘There was not a breath of Wind ftirring, and it was wondrous dark between the intervals of the Lightning; But I know not how long it continued, for I went directly to bed, and foon fell afleep. N. B. That the Powder Magazine, upon the top of Brzm/tone-bill, in the Ifland of St, Chriftopher, has been twice within the memory of Man, blown up by common Lightning; but indeed, that is no fuch mighty wonder, it being fituate half a mile in perpendicular height from the Sea Shore. 8, We have no Bees that are hived, and {till we meet with excellent Honey, made by the Wild Bees in the Woods, about the Salt- Ponds in St, Chriffopher’s, Sc. But it will not make to- lerable Mead, on account of the Climate’s being too warm, as I was aflured by my Lady Staple- ton, who tried it. You need not wonder at the term Wild-Bees, for I fuppofe they are moftly, if not always, wild in hot Climates. We read in Matthew iii. 4. how St. ‘Fohn the Baptz/?, whiltt in the Wildernefs, lived upon Locufts and Wild Honey. And our Countryman, Henzry Maundrell, in page 86. aflures us, That in many Places of the defolate Plain, adjoining to the Mare Mortu- xm, he perceived a {trong fcent of Honey and Wax, (the Sun being very hot;) and the Bees were 192 «=6OWETTER VEE were very induftrious about the Bloffoms of that Salt-weed, which the Plain produces, 9: Another fingularity I remarked was, That in the Mountain Plantations, where only Afpa+ ragus can grow, I have known it fit to cut with- in the fmall {pace of three Calendar Months, reck- oning from the time of its being fown in Seeds, that came from London: For there, we never tranfplant the Roots. We are obliged to let it run up to Wood, in order to fhade the Bed, from the {corching Rays of the Sun, and the Young ones that grow up under that Wood, we cut to boil : But this foon eats out the Heart of the Compoft and Soil; fo that a Bed will not hold good, much above two years, and the Afparagus never grows big. Afparagus grows wild in Spazn. 10. In our Paftures, we meet with a Bufh about two yards high, called Sage-Bufth. Its Bark is of a fhining, though dufkifh hue, and its Leaves cannot poffibly be diftinguifhed, from broad green Sage Leaves, either by fight or {mell. Out of pure curiofity, I dried a parcel in the Shade, and made Tea of them. This Tea was of a moft beautiful Yellow Colour, but furely bitterer than Gall itfelf; in fhort, fo extream bitter, that the beft of refined Sugar could not render it palatable. T confulted about the Nature of it, with a Do¢tor of my Acquaintance, who was born at either Wifmar, or Stralfind, in Swedifh Pomerania, and reck- Ey COE RiVor 193 reckoned the moft {kilful Botanift of his Profef- fion, in our Ifland: He told me, that it was ve- ry medicinal, and that he gave it, with good fuc- cefs, to any of his Patients whofe cafe he thought required it, as he did alfo feveral other Neves Plants, that were entirely neglected by his Bre- thren. 11. We have there likewife a Tree called Did- dle Doo, which is of the fize and make of a Cod- lin Apple-tree, but with narrow thin Leaves: It bears a moft lovely Flower, of the finett yellow, and livelieft Scarlet Colours, fomewhat refemb- ling Nafturtian Flowers. It is efteemed as a So- vereign Remedy in the Green Sicknefs, a very rare Diftemper, in fo warm a Climate, where the Blood and other Juices of the Body, do ufually keep on in pretty regular courfes, efpecially fince the warm Climate is fo {trongly affifted in the Affair, by the frequent Dancing of thofe young Ladies, as well as their riding fingly on Horfe- back; for the whole force of that {kipping and jogging Motion, (fays Bag/zuz) terminates down- wards, where it raifes a Fermentation, by which the ftagnating Matter recovers its loft Circulation. At Antigua, I faw a whole Hedge of it. | _ 12. After a fevere Fever there, I was once troubled with an ugly tickling Cough, and the Doétor ordered me to eat plentifully, of what I N- would 194 LETTER VUE would willingly call a Liquorifh Buth, becaufe it taftes like Liquorifh, and to either chew, or make Tea of its Roots: I complyed with the Pre- {cription, which almoft inftantaneoufly caufed me to expectorate, and indeed foon cleared my Lungs of the Cough: This bufh runs along, {not unlike a Vine) upon common Field Stone Walls, wild, bearing Seeds of a lively Scarlet, and Coal- black Colours, that are as round as Peas; both thefe Colours are on them all. 13. In Paragraph the Ninth, of my fecond Letter, I ought to have defcribed the Tamarind- tree, vz. as follows. It isa very fpreading Tree, _ and will grow to be thirty foot high, and better: Its main Body 1s fhort and thick, and the Boughs long and flender, at the extremity whereof, it is ufual with Humming-birds to build their fmall Nefts. The Fruit grows in long brown Pods, like an Englifb Bean, and is commonly fold at A- pothecaries Shops, here in England. Its Leaves are {mall, but fo thick fet together, as to afford us an excellent Shade in the Heat of theday. The {malleft fort of Humming-birds, is confiderably lefs than’a Wren, and of the Colour ofa Peacock’s Neck, in that part, where the black Ground 4s finely ornamented, with a gliftening greenifh blue, They feed upon Prickle-pear Flowers, as Enghfh | Bees do, upon Exglifb Flowers, and (like Bees) move their Wings fo nimbly, as to be fearce dif cerned WET T ER SVL 195 cerned, which makes a humming Noife, that I fuppofe, firft gave them the Name, They can fly {wiftly, and I have known one of them give chafe toa Hawk, but his diminutive Size and Agility were, I imagine, his only Protection: I have feen four or five forts of them, and at leaft nine or ten of the Parrot kind. 14. In Paragraph twenty-nine, of my fecond Letter, I might have informed you, That the Pe- lican is a large brownifh Dun coloured Bird, (1 never was clofe to one) that delights to be about the Water. Its Craw holds above a Quart, and in it the Female puts Provifion for her Young ones, which fhe can difgorge at pleafure to them; and that, perhaps, gave rife to the old allufion, of a Pelican’s tearing open her Breaft with her Bill, in order to feed her Young with her own Bowels, rather than fuffer them to ftarve, when we would typify a Perfon’s kind and benevolent difpofition. | 15. We have a large, long, and ftinking fly, of a Chocolate hue, (met with chiefly, in our © Lower-ground Plantations, for I do not remem- ‘ber that I ever faw one, in our Mountain Plan- tation,) that lays a long round Egg, of a brown dufkifh colour, quite flat at each end, and fhaped like abit of fmall Stick, half an inch long. This Egg is glutinous, and will ftick to any thing, *emaining there till the warm Weather hatches N 2 : its 196 Me T PBR PV its young : And the great fingularity of it lies in its numerous Brood, one fingle Egg affording above twenty Flies, which, I fancy, no other Egg in the World does. My Friend, Dr. Szuclair, put one into a tranfparent Glafs Vial, and kept it fo enclofed, till it had produced thirty, that when Young, were of a whitifh colour. It does not bite like a Mofkito or Gnat, but in the Evening it flies about, and is troublefome to us, by light- ing upon any part of us. This nafty Infect is called a Cock Roach, and as I faid ftinks; be- ing above an inch long. 16. Our Sprats there are covered with Scales, and are a fort of Fifth, defervedly admired by every body. They are of two forts, wz. Black Bills, and Yellow Bills. The Black Bills, (fo termed, from the Colour of their Mouth) are in my opinion, very fine eating. But the Yellow Bills (fo called from a yellowifh Stroak near their Gills) are of a poifonous Nature, and of courfe very feldom, if ever, eaten by White Perfons. That is to fay, they make a Man both puke and purge. They are generally taken near the Wind- . ward Side, where it is fuppofed, they meet with Veins of Coperas, or fome other unwholefome Food. 5 17. There are feven or eight kinds of Turtle, alias Tortoife, though but one of them eatable, which is called Green Turtle, becaufe its fat is of a ek THTh Ey RY WI. 197 a green colour, and that not of the fort, whofe Shell ferves for Snuff-Boxes, They are fo com- mon that they need no defcription ; and the man- ner of catching them at Nevis, is as follows, When a Perfon fees any of their Tracks in the Sea Sands, he next Night fits up to watch, and turn them upon their Backs, and then they are quite helplefs, Their Blood is cold; and upon opening one of them, I have feen, at leaft, two hundred Eggs that are exactly round, (like a School-boy’s Marble) taken out of it, about forty of which, were enclofed in whitifh tough Skins, with a water-coloured, or jellyifh fubftance round the Yolk, and were ready to be laid at one time. Woods Rogers, page 276, {aw at the Ilands, called Tres Marias, in the South Sea, a Turtle that had at leaft eight hundred Eggs in its Belly, a hun- dred and fifty of which were fkinned, and ready for laying at once. The Turtle lays them clofe to the Sea, which has there, very {mall Ebbings and Flowings, and covering them lightly with Sand, leaves them to be hatched by the Sun’s warm Beams: And this is effected in eight and forty hour’s time, as I was informed by thofe who made it their bufinefs to fetch them from Maroon uninhabited Iflands, where they are vaft- ly plentiful, and where they fee almoft every day, great numbers of young ones, not broader than a Shilling, newly hatched, haftening down into the , N 3 Sea, 198 LETTER VU. Sea_Woods Rogers afferts the fame. Asthey aredi- difturbed fo ffitich at Nevis, and ‘other inhabit- ed Iflands, they feldom care to come a fhore there. . . } 18. We have fometimes an odd fort of Fowl, bred there, between an Engh/b Drake, and a Mufcovian Duck; the fore part of it, as far as to the middle of its Body, exactly refembling an Englifh Drake, and the hinder part, that of a Mufcovian Duck. It is very near as large as a | Mufcouian Duck, and reckoned fine eating: But as it is of the gtd kind, it never propagates its Species. 1g. I have feen frequent Fights between the Sword-Fifh and Thrafher as Allies, and the Grampus, their common Enemy, who as natu- rally encounter each other, when they meet in the Sea, as do the Elephant and Rhinoceros at ‘Land. ‘The Sword-Fith gets underneath the Grampus, and pricks him in the Belly, till he fwims on the furface of the Water, and then the . Thrafher mounts upon his Back, and beats him fharply with his Tail: In fhort, they are in a ftaté of perpetual War. I was once (in my paf- fage from Nevis to Antigua) within lefs than an hundred yards of a Fight, and do affure you, they caufed the Spray of the Sea to fly up very violently all around them, and to the beft of my difcernment, the Thrather feemed to fight with Lane) TABIRG VIR. r99 with fomething about three yards long, and like a monftrous broad Sword, ifluing from his Nofe, and not with his Tail, as is commonly reported. In coming Northward, home for England, we faw four or five of thefe Leviathans, fwimming all together, (a thing not very common) not above ten yards off from our Ship: They were of a brownifh colour, about twelve yards in length, and two yards in diameter, at the middle, or bet- ter. I cannot find any reafon, why a Grampus fhould not be deemed of the Whale-kind, though he has no blowing Hole; to make the Water {pout up, out of his Head like a Fountain: Pray why fhould a blowing Hole be fo effential to Whales? A Friend of mine has fince aflured me, that a Grampus has a Blowing Hole, and that he has frequently feen him fpout up the Water like a Fountain, about three yards high ; a fight I had never the fortune to behold. Sir Hans Sloan fays, They have two Spouting-holes, vd. his Natural Hiftory of, and Voyage to Famaica, page 5. 20. However, it puts me in mind, That fe- venteen or eighteen years ago, 4 dead Whale was caft up on fhore, at High Water Mark, four miles from Burgh, in Lincolnfhire, which I (with thoufands of others) went down to vifit, out of pure curiofity. It was a Male Fifh, having a fair Pizzle, or Penis, not unlike a Man's, It was thirty-five foot from Nofe-end to Tail-end, and | N 4 "as 200 Lert THER yO as near as [ could guefs, (it being partly buried in the Sands) twenty-four foot round, in the thick- eft place of its Belly; fo that I thought it odly enough fhaped. The Perfon who cut it up, had been one Seafon in Greenland, and called it a Whelp, or Half-Whale. It had no fort of Scales; its Skin being Coal-black as it cut along, as foft as Human Flefh, and not exceeding the fourth part of an inch in thicknefs, It cut better than a foot thick, in the middle, of Fat (that was full as white as the Fat of Bacon); and I took parti- cular notice, that fair Train Oil followed the Knife as it pafled along. The Pieces were the fize of my two Fifts, being put into Barrels in order to melt down into Oil, and what would not fo melt, was afterwards to be boiled. His Eyes were very little bigger, than thofe of an Ox; his Head was long in proportion to his Body; and his Mouth was about five yards wide from fide to fide, meafuring round by his Nofe- End, His Teeth were fine Whale Bone, very thin and flat, and fet moft regularly, almoft clofe together on the flat Side, the Edge Parts being fixed, one outwards, the other inwards: They might, at the extremity of each fide, be three inches in fight, out of the Gums, but they grew jonger and longer, the nearer they approached towards the Nofe-end, where perhaps, they even exceeded a faot in length: Juft at the Point where LRT) Ee ERY TVG 201 where both Rows (vz. upper and under) met,. they refembled a Hair Brufh, fo that he can be no Fith of Prey, as not being able to mafticate any thing tougher than Sea Weeds, and indeed nothing was found in his Maw, but a little Sea- Weed. To finifh my Defcription, his throat was fo narrow, that fuch kinds of Food only, were capacitated to pafs down thorough it. His Fins were too young to be good Whale-Bone. 21. The glorious Colours of the Dolphin, (mentioned in Letter 1. paragraph 19.) occa- fioned my looking lately, into Salmon’s Modern Hiftory of all Nations, in order to fee how his account of the Golden-fith of China, tallys with the real Fifhes, fome whereof, the curious Mr, Margas, of London, keeps now alive in a China Bafon, that hasa hollow piece of Rock-work in its middle, with feveral Holes in it, thorough which they delight to pafs and repafs. But I find Mr,Sa/- mon’s Account to be imperfect ; that of the real Fithes being as follows, wz. They are from two to fourteen inches long, andno one could ever diftin- guifh the Male from the Female: They are of almoft all Colours, interfperfed in {mall {pots, viz. fome Red, fome Red and Gold, fome White and Purple, fome Silver and Red, fome Yellow and Red, and fome gilded all over: There are never two of the fame fort; Their Tails are either quite flat or elfe triangular: Some are of various Co- lours 202 KT ORR WE lours on the Back and a clear filver white on the Belly. Their heads are of different Colours, fome being all over filver. Their Fins are generally red, and fometimes the Colour of their Heads. In thort they are extreamly beautiful. Mr. Margas fent for a dozen of them by an Eaft-India Captain, In China they were all red, except two; But when they came hither they changed into all manner of Colours, They live in Thames Water ; and if the Bafon be filled with muddy Water, they will purify and render it full as clear as the fineft Pump Water ina quarter of an hour or lefs. Sometimes he gives them a little piece of Bread; but he thinks they are better without it, as having feveral die when he fed them, and none when he did not. Iam apt to imagine, that they may eafily enough preferve Life, by fwal- lowing the Mud, and fuch Animacula as are found in all Waters, even in the very pureft. 22. The word Tornado (or Turnads) in the Marine Dialect, fignifies a fudden and moft violent Storm of Wind (accompanied with dreadful! Light- nings) which ufually lafts for an hour, and is fuc- ceeded by as fudden and ftill a Calm: Thefe Storms are very common in hot fultry Climates as far as the feventeenth Degree of Latitude on both fides of the Equinoétial; efpecially ise the Sun is at or near their Zenith. zr. LETTER -VII. 203 23. We have at Nevis Jeffamine buthes (not nailed to the walls as here in Eng/and) that yeild us Flowers full as large as Primrofes; Thefe Flowers are as white as Snow, and indeed fo thick fet together, that the whole Buth (at a very {mall diftance) looks as if it was covered with a large white Holland Sheet: Their {cent is proportionably rich and high. 24. The white Cedar there, is atall Tree which bears a white Flower in fhape like a Bell, it’s Leaves refembling thofe of an Engli/h Pear-Tree. We have alfo an odd fort of Vegetable (the Name . of which I cannot recollect) which I confefs to be fingular enough: It has neither Leaves, Branches, nor Flowers, nor Roots, and is about as thick and round asa common Whip-cord, ufually running along through the tops of Bufhes all manner of ways, till it exceeds an hundred yards in length: It is furely one of the moft beautiful of all yel- low Colours; and what is reckoned yet ftranger there, no part of it approaches within three foot of the eround, and it is moreover entirely different from ‘the Buth which breeds and cherifhes it, Quere, whether this Vegetable is not of the Mifsletoe kind, though I never faw it growing upon bulky Trees. 25. Woods Rogers, page 32, fays, that at Saint Vincent’s (one of the Cape de Verd Iflands) there are large Spiders that weave their Webs fo ftrongly be- con LEAT PER VEE ly between the Trees, that it is difficult to get through them; which puts me in mind, that in paffing fome fhort Bufhes that were feldom fre- quented on the eaft fide of the Salt Ponds at Saint Chri/fopber’s, I obferved monftrous great Spiders, and as ftrong Webs that reached from Bufh to Bufh, though not fo ftrong as thofe which Woods Rogers faw at Saint Vincent's: However it was fomewhat troublefom walking among them. But. indeed the common Spiders in our Houfes there, have exceeding big Bodies, and thick, as well as long Legs; Underneath their belly doth breed and hang a white flat and round Bag, which when at maturity comes off, and iticks to. any part of our Houfe the Spider pleafes, And the young Brood of Spiders are enclofed in this Bag, _ which when ripe enough for that purpofe, burfts (or perhaps is eaten open) to let out confiderable - numbers of them. We have fome Fleas; but no Bugs that ever I heard of, though the Ships in our Bay are often pretty well ftocked with them. Our common Ants are troublefome, as well as very numerous; for they oblige us to keep our refined Sugar in large Glafs Bottles, that have wide mouths ; and after all, thefe little Animals will eat their way thorough by the fide of the Cork: So that inftead of Corks, I have known Wooden Stopples made ufe of for that purpofe. 26. LETTER Vil. oz 26. In paragraph 37°" of my feventh Letter, I ought to have informed you, Thata Shark Fifth never {pawns, but breeds its Young in a regular Matrix, fituate in the lower part of its Belly. For inftance, A Surgeon of my acquaintance {aw in the Weft Indies a Female one cut open ; She had eleven - Young ones of about fourteen Inches apiece long in her, and each of them had a fair Navel-ftring, (at leaft of the thicknefs of his little Finger) that was faftened to the Matrix, which he cut in two with a Knife, and then immediately put the Young ones which were alive into a Bucket of Water, where they fwam about a little. Sir Haus Sloan in his Voyage to famaica, Page 23, fays: I once on opening one of the Female Sharks found the Eggs in the Ovary perfectly round, as big as the top of one’s Thumb; and at another time the Fetus or Young ones in their Coats, lodged in the Uferus, after the manner of our Viviparous Creatures; for upon cutting the Coats the fmall live Fifhes came out, being able to frifk and fwim up and down the Salt Water. I fancy that Whales, Grampuffes, and indeed all other Levia- thans of the Ocean, propagate in the felf fame manner, And if you object again{ft the young Sharks going into the old one’s Maw for Food, (as afferted in that Paragraph) I only beg you to remember, that common Vipers ‘here in England do the fame; efpecially when they are under a fright : 206 HiT TER Vie fright ; they then haften in at the old one’s Mouth, in order to fecure themfelves from harm. 27. Ginger, is a Root that fends up a ftraight and knobbed Stock better than a foot high, the top whereof is ornamented with a round of long and narrow Leaves, not unlike to our Englifh Peach-tree Leaves, ‘The planting of it was neg- lected in my time. And indeed the Indico Works were then wholly laid afide. However, I faw fome few of the Indico Plants grow wild, that were about three foot high, branching out from the main Stock divers ways; their roundith Leaves (as broad as a Six-pence) as well as the Stock and Boughs, were of a dull, but deep Green Colour, inclining to Brown: The Buth is cut up, then bruifed, boiled, and put into. aCutern of water, Be. in.order to.extraGt from it the pure Indico, which will fettle at Bottom. But for a right account of _ Indico-making, you muft confult Sir Hans Sloan in Volume 2. Page 35. As for a defcription of Sugar-making, I refer you to Herman Moll’s Britifh Empire in America, about it. Purflain, at our, Bath-Plain Plantation was reckoned one of the worft Weeds we had belonging to us. Our Alloes there are entirely neglected. 28. In paragraph 25*> of this Letter, I forgot to bid you recollect, That St. Vincent’s and the other Cape deVerd Ulands (which have thissmedern Name from Cape Verd on the Coatt.of Africa) were LETTER VII 209 were anciently called He/perzdes, from Hefperides Daughters to Hefperus, who had Orchards that bore Golden Fruit. And indeed we may pronounce it in a good meafure true of the Cape de Verd Hflands as well as of Nevis, and the other Charzbee Iflands even at this day; for they yield the In- habitants plenty both of Mufk and Water Melons, Pine-Apples, Belle-Apples, Bonanoes, Plantains, Pappas, Shaddocks, Guavas, Pomgranates, Oranges, Lemons, Limes, &c. which put me in mind of Milton (book 4. line 249,) where in his defcrip- tion of Paradife, he gives us the following Golden Verfes : . Trees whofe rich Fruit burnifh’d with Golden Rinde, Hung amiable, Hefperian Fables true, If true, here only and of delicious tafte, There are, you know, various opinions about the Situation of Paradife; However (without deter- mining in favour of any of them, and which all of them mutt be trifling and infignificant) if Dr. Woodward's Notions of the Deluge, and the great Changes thereby wrought in the fuperfi- cial Parts of the Earth, be admitted as true; it could not furely be placed in quite fo fultry a La-~ titude ‘as Nevis and the Cape de Verd Iflands are ; upon account of the Unhealthinefs, Mufkitoes, Tornadoes, Hurricanes, Earthquakes, Eruptions, and ‘exceflive Heat, -all of which I believe to be in= 208 De Ta ER SVain infeparable from that Latitude in all parts of the Globe. In fhort it is eafy enough for us to make a Paradife of any Country, that is not too near one of the Poles, by defcribing it’s Excellencies, without mentioning the inconvenient qualities of it. é 29. We have at Nevis great plenty of a {mall and prickly fort of Cucumber; that grows wild, and is f{haped like a Lemon: we ufually boil, though we fometimes (rarely) pickle them. In the year of our Lord 1706, was fo violent a Drowth as confumed almoft all the Fruits of the Earth; however, Providence was fo wondrous kind in that fcorch’d-up Seafon, as to fupply the Inha- bitants with infinite numbers of them; with near as many as would fuffice to preferve life very well without any other Food. The Ifland had the year before been taken and plundered by the French, fo that they had two grievous Plagues upon the back of one another, vwzz. War and Famine. ‘They have fome Engli/h Peas, and of feveral forts peculiar to that warm Climate, which are unknown to Great Britain. 30. Our Sheep have no Wool, but are e hairy and {mooth-fkinned like an Exgl/b Spaniel, being white and generally {peaking all over pretty full of {mall red or black Spots, that refemble thofe of a fine Spaniel. They ufually bring two, three, or four Lambs at a time, that eat as fine as London Houfe- LETTER VO ~~ 209 Houfe- Lamb, fay the good people there, and breed twice if not oftener in a year; and what is more extraordinary, fuckle them all: they have no Horns. The Rams are of a pale or faint red colour, and have a thick row of long, ftrait red Hair hanging down, that extends itfelf from their lower Jaw along their Throat quite to their Breaft, as far as their Fore Legs. At Nevis they were efteemed to be as good as the beft Exgh/b Mutton, but I could not be of that opinion. We have plenty of Goats, and I thought their young Kids as nice eating almoft as London Houfe-Lamb: they too are wondrous prolifick. Sir Hans Sloan in his Introduction, p.20, affirms that at famaica, Rats are fold by the dozen, and when they have been bred among the Sugar- Canes, are thought by fome difcerning People, very delicious Victuals, Some Negroes at Nevis do eat them, wrapping them up in Bonano-leaves to bake them as it were under warm Embers. T own they are fat and look well; two Whites of my Acquaintance eat of them, once out of pure Curiofity, and faid, they did not tafte amifs, though quite different from any other fort of Food. 31. Our Porkets feeding upon Indian Corn, Spanifb Potatoes, and Sugar-Cane Juice, during Crop-time, their Flefh is of courfe exceeding {weet, and white as well as fat. Our Fowls being fed with the fame fort of diet are good, and our OQ Tur- 210 LAB VE 2 ie Vee Turkies of which we have vaft plenty, are ex- traordinarily fo. Our Veal is {mall, fat, and white, without any more art than once bleeding, But. our Beef (the principal fupport of an Engh/bman’s Life) is both lean and tough: Ihave heard of fome tolerable fat Beef, but it was never my fortune to meet with any of it. Our Geefe, and Enghfbh Dacks there eat well, but were fomewhat {carce, as being chiefly brought to us from New-- England, and other Northern Colonies. But we have plenty of Mu/covy Ducks, that eat better there than they do here. We very rarely meet with any Wild Ducks. Our Land Crabs run from place to place ufually in the Night, when (and efpecially after Rain) we catch them by the help’ of Torch-light ; and this Torch is made up of no- thing elfe, but a bundle of Splinters tyed toge- ther, and confifting of Fir, yellow Saunders, and. other Oily Woods, which though green will: yield a competent blaze for a confiderable {pace of time. At Antigua they have {mall, but well-. tafted Oyfters, that {tick to Nimotaincshes that. grow Clofe to Creeks. | 32. Englifh Beans will blofiom in our Moun-: tain Plantations, though they never pod, Our Carrots there are very good, but our Turnips and Radifhes are ftringy and ftrong. We did not: want for Red Rofes, but I never faw a White one. Their {mell was not fo high as here in: Exgland, nor RT PER VUE ait nor were they very common. Engli/b kinds of Grapes were wondrous fcarce, and we had no Peaches, Nectarins, Plumbs, Apricots, Pears, Ap- ples, Goofe-berries, Currants, or fine Flowers. Samphire at Nevis far exceeds our Engli/h Sam- phire that I eat in Lincolnfbire, and Norfolk. Colly-flowers would run up to huge Stalks and large Leaves, but for want of Rain, would never flower. A Parifhioner of mine fent home for two Mulberry-trees; they grew indeed, but did not thrive; they bore but once, and then but one fingle Berry, which came to perfection, and | had a good flavour. Our Tobacco there is fo itrong, that few, or no People of Condition fmoak it. In our Mountain Plantations we have many excellent Cucumbers, good common Let- tuces, as well as Nafturtiums, French (or Kidney) Beans, Cellery, &c. | 33. Our Ship fell down the River Thames upon the diffolution of the Hard Froft, in the beginning of King George the Firft’sReign ; fo that as England when I took leave of it, looked dif- mally, you will eafily imagine that in thirty-two days after, I muft be tranfported at the fight of Nevis, which having had plenty of Rains juft be- fore, was when IJ arrived, in full beauty. Befides, the Good-nature and Generofity of my Parifh- oners charmed me : for when I took pofleffion of St. Fobn’s, the Veftry in a moft genteel manner 02 ofter- 212 Iwi T TER iV offered me what prefent Money I had occafion for, and farther aflured me, that they would give me Thirty Pounds per Annum above the Salary due by Law; which promife they moft honoura- bly kept to the laft hour of my ftay. This Salary is Sixteen thoufand pound weight of Mufcovado, or coarfe Sugar annually, Three Pounds, or Five hundred weight of Sugar for a Funeral Sermon, and Twelve Shillings and Six-pence for every Chriftening, Marriage and Burial. But their generous temper would never fuffer them to give me fo little. NN. B. That an Englifh Shilling goes for Eighteen-pence there, and French, Spanif/h and Portugueze Money bears pretty near the fame proportion in value. The King gives Twenty Pounds to us out of the Exchequer, to defray the Charges of our Voyage thither ; and I have often heard fome of our confiderate Gentlemen declare, That provided they might have the liberty. of choofing their own Rectors, they would freely augment our Salaries; and further, That if the general run of my Lord Chancellour’s Livings, were to be difpofed of to Weft India Clergymen, after four or five years ftay in that fultry Climate, it would be a moft noble Benefaction, as well as vaft encouragement to us to travel abroad. But alas! ‘That Scheme is altogether impracticable, as Great Perfons Sons, Relations, and Depend- ants muft firft be obliged, For the encourage- | ment LETTER VII. 212 ment of Piety.and Learning, a worthy Gentle- man gave two hundred Pounds worth of Books to found a Library at Charles Town, which in my time was under the care of Mr. Robertfon Rector of the Parifh ; I hope it is fince augmen- ted. The Governour General ordered the Secre- tary of Nevis, to draw up an Inftrument which was to ferve both as a Prefentation and Inftituti- on, and for which he generoufly refufed to accept of any Fees. And the fhowing that Inftrument to my Parifh Veftry, was looked upon to be a fuffici- ent Induction. As that inftrument may prove a Novelty to you, I fend you an exact Copy of it here, 0 3 “< By 214. LETTER vil. “¢ By his Excellency Walter Hamilton, Efq; ‘© Captain-General, and Chief Governour ‘< in and over all His Majefty’s Leeward {The Seal) “© Charibbee Ulands in America, and Or- “« dinary of the fame, &e. ‘ Hereas his moft Sacred Majefty hath i given and granted to me, Power and ‘* Authority of Collating Orthodox Minifters to “¢ all and every of the Parifhes within my refpe- “< tive Government ; and whereas the Parifh of “St. “fobn in the Ifland of Nevis is at prefent ** deftitute of a Minifter, and Mr. Wilham Smith *< being recommended to me by the Right Reve- “rend Father in God, ‘fohn Lord Bifhop of “* London, asa perfon qualified to take on him the ** Cure of Souls: By vertue of the faid Powers ‘“‘ and Authorities to me granted, I do by thefe *¢ Prefents, Inftitute the faid Wilkam Smith, “Clerk, Minifter of the faid Parifh ; to perform «< all the Duties incumbent on him as Minifter of «* the fame, and to have and enjoy all fuch Sal- *« laries Dues and Perquifites as do, or fhall belong “* to him either by Law or Cuftom, “* Given under my Hand and “< Seal the 18° day of To the Churchavardens 4: Apri 1 71 6, in the Bees de ee * fecond year of His John’s Parifo, Nevis, uf “© Majefty’s Reign. Walter Hamilton. LETTER VII. ars Here likewife follows an exact Copy ofa Marriage-Licence granted by Danzel Snuth, Efq, our Lieutenant (or particular) Governour, | Nevis. ‘«< By the Honourable Daniel Smith ** Lieut. Governour, and Ordinary ** of this Ifland., ‘§ Icence is hereby granted to any Orthodox “< 4 Minifter to join together in the holy ** Eftate of Matrimony, ‘fohn Baftzan, of this “* Tfland and Parifh of St. Tomas, Butcher, and ** Hannab Griffith of the Parifh aforefaid, Wi- ** dow, according to the Canons and Conftitutions ‘* of the Church of Exgland, and the Form pre- * fcribed in the Book of Common Prayer, you “* knowing no Caufe or Impediment to the con- “ trary. “€ Ordinary’s Office. — © Given under my “Security taken *¢ Hand Odtober the << by Fofiah Webb Seiad yG. “ Clerk of the Or- “ dinary. Daniel Smith. 216 LETTER VIL 34. An Acquaintance of mine was a Surgeon in the late unfortunate Expedition to Carthagena, and he differs from me in his defcription of a Dolphin, which is as follows, viz, ‘“ I caught “¢ one that was four foot five inches and a half ** long; his Head was fhaped much like a Cod’s, ‘© and of a fkie blue colour; his Fins were alfo “* {kie blue, his Body was ftreaked with green and « yellow intermixed with dark and light-coloured “< blues, as well as beautified with an admirable “variety of purple, blue, and livid {pots, Ge. *‘ which are very curious whilft it is dying, “but lofe all their fine Colours the moment “it dies; The finny part of the Tail from the “ two extremities, was Eight inches, and its teeth — *¢ fhaped like thofe of an Engli/h facts though “* much larger.”” He alfo fhot feveral Pelicans ; which were about the bignefs of our Engh if Geefe. ‘‘ The Pelican’s Head and Beak were not *‘ unlike thofe of an Exgli/h Goofe too, only the ‘* Beak was flatter and longer by about five Inches - “Its Craw when filled does very nearly refem- “ ble a fmall Cow’s Bladder, and Sailors make ‘© a Tobacco Pouchof it. And he farther puts me ‘in mind, that the Ground Doves mentioned in ‘« paragraph 29 of my fecond Letter, are about the bignefs of an Engh/b Lark : They are of a cho- ‘ dolate colour, {potted with a dark blue; Their ** Fleads are like that of a Robbin Red-breatt, © and UBTTERTSM. ‘Say ‘and their Eyes and Legs of a moft pure red. «* They are good food, and accounted very nouri- ** fhing,” ) 3 35, Lam not infenfible, how it is confidently afirmed here, as an infallible truth, That Game- Cocks, and Bull-Dogs degenerate out of England ; but do think it is a vulgar error: for at Nevis, we breed excellent Game Cocks; and moit Plan- tations can fhow a fierce Bull-Dog, particularly the Gentleman I lived with, had no lefs than three at one time, and one Bull-Bitch had three, if not four Puppies at a fingle Litter, none of which feemed to want courage, though there was no Bull-baiting in my time, in order to try fuch Dogs: The warm Clime makes them grow lazy indeed, but alas! I found by experience, that it had the fame effett upon Men. We have alfo there many large Cur-Dogs: However, as we have no Deer, Foxes, Hares, Pheafants, Partridges, or other Exg/i/b kinds of Game, to di- vert. a Sport{man, you will not wonder, that we have no Hounds, Grey-Hounds, Setting-Dogs, or common Spaniels: A Houfe-Dog, is the only Dog that can be of ufe to us. I have farther made it my obfervation, that fome Negroes will eat Dogs Filefh ; in which Cafe our Dogs(both of the Bull, and Cur Breed) do always fly outragioufly at them, becaufe the People there imagine they find them ont to be Dog-Eaters, by fome particu- lar 218 PETT ER TVIE lar Scent or Fumes iffuing from their Stomach: And I think it very fingular, that I never once heard of a Dog’s running mad there, as they too frequently do here in England, to the ha- zard, and even lofs of Men’s Lives. 36. Sir Hans Sloan in Page 42 of his Voiage to “famaica, fays, That they touched at Nevis, which he defcribes thus. It confifts of one Mountain of a- *< bout four miles to the top, whence is an eafy ** defcent to all parts of the Ifland; but fteepeft to- ** wards the Town, where is the Road, They have ** neither Springs nor Rivers, but have what Water “‘ they make ufe of from Cifterns, receiving the ‘© Rain-water. The Ground is cleared almoft to “‘ the Top of the Hill, where yet remains fome “© Wood, and where are run-away Negroes, that “<< harbour themfelves in it. There are about Two ** thoufand Inhabitants here, who being gathered “< together for the Duke of A/bermarle to review, “‘ I found more {warthy, or ofa yellowith fickly ‘* look, than any of the Inhabitants of thefe *¢ Tflands. The Town or Road is fortified with “« Batteries, anda Fort. ‘They have little Money, “« but buy and pay with Sugars which are black. “ Their Horfes, which are fmall, as well as ‘* many of their Provifions come from Barbuda, << an Ifland not far diftant, where Cattel are bred. *« I went to the top of the Hill to gather Plants, ** and though it had, nor did not rain at bottom, yet iE TT ER? VII. 219 ** vet I was taken there, in fo great Showers, that I “< was wet unto the fkin. There is here, a hot “< Spring affording a conftantly running Rivulet “< of Water, made ufe of for all purpofes as com- ‘© mon Water.’ Now as that learned Gentleman ftayed no longer than two days at Nevis, he could give but a very imperfect account of it, and of courfe I think myfelf obliged to amend it, vzz. ‘The Mountain I own to be about four miles from the top tothe Bay at Charles Town, (and as men- tioned in Paragraph 42 of my fecond Letter, near a mile and a half in perpendicular height ;) But its defcent is very fteep from the top half way down towards Charles Town, and afterwards indeed it may be termed an eafy defcent. We have likewife a Hill called Saddle- Hill, becaufe it ap- pears in the form of a Saddle at the top ; we reck- on it no more than a Hill, but I do affure you that it is higher than the great Mountain, called Skiddaw in Cumberland. 'The Bath is a {mall Ri- ver, and its Water may very well be drank when cold, for it has not a very fulphurous Tafte ; There is another River in Gingerland called, New River, and there is a third River near New-Ca/tle, in the Windward Parifh, that is well ftocked with the fineft fat Mullets and other good Fifth. There is befides, a Gully (or Gut) in St, Tomas’s Parith, named the Dungeon, becaufe its rocky fides are high and perpendicular, which always affords ex- cellent 220 LETTER VIII. cellent Water. We ufually drink Ciftern Water, when not near thefe Places. ‘The new Hot Spring, faid, in Letter 2°, Paragraph 37, to be difco- vered in clearing a Wood, in Windward Parith, by the Whites, was ever known by the Blacks, though not fooner to us White Men, There is a good Spring, in the White Ground, where all Ships are plentifully fupplied with frefh Water; and we have feveral Ponds, that yield us Mullets, Slimguts, Mud-fith, Silver-fith, Pond-Crabs, and Eels, as well as ferve for Drink to our Cattle. Our Mountain (like the Sulphur Mountain at St. Kifz’s) near the top, will bear nothing but Wild-Pines, and fuch unprofitable Weeds; but a little lower down, are firft Shrubs, and then tall Trees, whither run-away Negroes refort. We had about Eight thoufand Negroes in my time, and Twelve hundred Whites, who were remark- ably the frefheft in colour, and beit favoured People in any of the Iflands. Charles Fort was a fufficient protection to the Ships in the Bay, and to the Town; but the Batteries were entirely neglected, and even grown over with Bufhes. We have Money enough for a currency, but pay for moft Commodities in Mu/covado (or blackith) Sugar, becaufe every body itrives to lay up their Riches in London, Some few of our Horfes are ‘brought from London, now and then from Rhede Hiland, but chiefly from New England, where they are VO ERMA 221 are all natural Pacers, and none at all from Bers buda, which is a {mall and low Ifland, clofe to Antigua, and wholly belongs to Sir William Cod- drington : We breed many, but wondrous rarely any fine ones. Except Jrz/b Beef falted, Hams, Ba- con, pickled Salmon, Sturgeon and Oyfters, (all of which are brought us from Europe, and the North American Colonies,) we breed all our own Provifions, fuch as Rabbits, Pork, Veal, Mutton, Turkies, (whofe Capons are large fat and fine beyond compare) Geefe, Ducks, and Fowls, ex- cept fuch as are brought from Boffon, &c. We make a little Butter, which is not extraordinary good, and our New Cheefe is far worfe: We | have enough of Che/hire, Warwick/hire, and Glou- cefterfhire Cheefe. It is no wonder at all, that Sir Hans Sloan was wet to the fkin on the Moun- tain, when there was no Rain in the lower Grounds; becaufe Rain often fpreads but a nar- row compafs of Ground, and falls fo heavy, that one fingle minute’s continuance of it, would wet through our thin Cloaths, Our ufual Butter is falted, and brought to us from Ireland, in Firkins; Sometimes we have excellent Butter, from Bermudas ; but it is dear. We make no Hay, but our Stable Horfes, for riding on, are fed with Grafs, plucked up (by way of weeding) from among our Sugar Canes, with the green Blades of Indian Corn, Guinea Corn, with Scotch Grafs, 222 LET ER Vig Grafs, and with New England Oats: As for our Mill Horfes, Mules, and Affes, they feed ordi- narily in Paftures, but during Crop-time they live on Sugar-Cane tops, and the {kimming of our Sugar-Coppers, which laft, muft be given them fparingly at firft, for fear of griping, and perhaps killing them. The bottom part of the Sugar- Cane top, is about the thicknefs of one’s finger, and as it contains a good deal of the natural fweet- nefs, we utually cut it into pieces of an inch and a half long, to give our Saddle Horfes; it is won- drous heartning Food, and fattens them a-pace. Our Saddle Horfes are very fubject to have ‘Ticks (like Sheep-Ticks) breed in their Ears, which if not frequently pulled out, will ftrangely emaciate, or render them lean. I think it particular enough, That New England has but one fort of Horfes, viz, Riding-Horfes. Lam, Sir, Your moft obedient Servant, W™ Smith. LET- 223 eee ak Tse Ae Dear Sir, Ought to have informed you long ago, of the reafon, why Nevis is called the Mother of the Enghih Leeward Charibbee Ifands, as follows, viz. As England is governed by King, Lords, and Com- mons, juft fo are we ruled by Governour, Coun- cil, and Affembly, who can make any Law that will laft Twelve Months; but if we would have it laft longer, we muft have it confirmed by the King’s Privy Council ; and in all other Cafes, we are ruled by the common Statute Law of Exgland, Every one of the four great Iflands, v2. Nevis, St. Chriftopher’s, Antigua, and Mont/ferrat, have a par ticular or private Governour, fent us by the King, who prefides over the Council and Affembly both, when any Publick Act of the Country paffes, though his Seat is, properly fpeaking, in the Council-Room ; and in cafe of his Sicknefs or Death, the oldeft Council-man takes his place, and indeed is ftiled Prefident always, (even before) as being on fuch occafions, his Deputy. But be- fides, we have a Governor-General, who fuper- fedes the private Governors, and is Chief, where- ever he happens to be; and in cafe of his Death, his 224. LETTER We his Office devolves upon the Governor, (or in cafe of his Death, the Prefident) and Council of Ne- vis, till the King fends a new one: This Gover- nour, as Ordinary, has the cognizance of Wills, and granting Adminiftrations, and Marriage Li- cences, Sometimes (perhaps once in twenty years) all thefe four Councils, and the four Affemblies too, meet together. The Council is nominated by our Governor-General, and reprefents an En- glifo Houfe of Lords: And the Affembly ferves for a Houfe of Commons, being chofen by the Free-holders of our five Parithes, that is to fay, Two Members for each Parifh, are annually elected, according to the laudible old Cuftom of England. In my time, the Nevifians were a Peo- ple tenacious of their Liberties ; and I charitably hope, that they ftill perfevere in the fame Heroic, Difpofition : In fhort, fhould any Member have mentioned a Septennial Affembly, he would have. been thought no Friend to their Conftitution. It was currently reported, that our then Governor- General, gave for his Commiffion (which lafts but. for three years) Six thoufand Engli/h Pounds, toa favourite Courtier ; but I hope it wasa falfe Story ; for when he bafely tried to perfuade the Govern- ment here, to take away the Motherthip from Nevis, and fettle it upon Antigua, as being the more confiderable Ifland, they abfolutely refufed to hearken to fuch a difhonourable infinuation, and forbid —: LA WLIE Re IX: 225 forbid him to make further mention of his Pro- je. St. Bartholomew and Anguilla, (two Iflands ef much lefs note) have their refpective Gover- nors appointed them, by our Governor-General, but no Council and Affembly. Pirates are tried at Nevis only, as being deemed the Mother Ifland. | 2. Our Negroes (except what are born at Ne- vis) are brought to us from Guinea; thofe from the Gold Coaft being the moft valuable and hardy, on account of the vaft Heats, and of eourfe, fcarcity of Provifions there; and thofe of Congo and Angola are lefs fet by, becaufe the Plenty of Provifion in their own, more tempe- rate, and cool Countries, renders them lazy, and confequently, not fo able to endure Work and Fatigue. When they firft arrive, they are well rubbed over with Oil, in order to make them look fleek and handfome; and as they can, with a {mall Comb, curl one another’s Hair into ini- mitable knots, like Rofes, @c. it gives a much farther addition to their Beauty; in fhort, it ex- ceeds the Skill of the beft Exgli/hb Barber. A Boy or Girl about fixteen years old, may be worth ‘Twenty Pounds Sterling, a Woman Twenty- feven, and a Man Thirty. They live in Huts, on the Weftern Side of our Dwelling-houfes, fo that every Plantation refembles a {mall Town ; and he reafon why they are feated on the Weftern VY fide, © 226 LE. Fi Teeny Be fide, is, becaufe we breath the pure Eaftern Air, without being offended with the leaft naufeous {mell: Our Kitchens and Boyling-houfes are on the fame fide, and for the fame Reafon, 3. Now and then, thefe poor Creatures are, by private Traders, ftole away out of their own Countries, to the eternal fcandal of us Chriftians: But the ufual method of coming by them is, to purchafe them, when taken in their Wars with each other; and if fome Great Perfons concern- ed in the Trade to Africa, are not ftrangely be- lied, they frequently fet thefe Black Princes toge- ther by the ears, purely that they may buy the Prifoners for Slaves. In my time, a Captain of a private Trader, went to the Coats of Guinea, and after having decoyed two Sons of one of thefe petty Kings, with their Attendants on board his Ship, failed away for the Weff Indies, and fold them all there. The Gentleman who bought the Boys, fitted out a Bermudas Sloop, with a proper Cargo, and fent the two Boys back, as a Prefent to their Father, not doubting to make an advantageous Voyage of it; but the Sloop was not returned, before I came home to England, from Nevis. The Captain was a Villain in grain, as well as an utter Enemy to his Country ; For if the Black Prince, who was Father to the two Boys, thould have maflacred all Engli/hmen, . that that fell in his way for fome time afterwards, pray who could juftly blame him? 4. Another abandoned Wretch, ofa Captain, did (about three or four years, before my going to Nevis) fteal fome Negroes off the Coaft of Guinea, and fold a ftout Man and his Wife, with a {mall fucking Child, toa Gentleman of my Ac- quaintance, at Nevis, who ufed them well. The poor unfortunate Fellow, affured the Gentleman, ‘That the Captain {tole him, and as he was a con- fiderable Perfon, upon the Coaft of Whiddaw, he fcorned to work at Nevis. However, in or- der to bring him to relifh a ftate of Slavery, by gentle and eafy degrees, he fet him to look after his Horfes, Mules, and Sheep: But he had not been long in that ftation, before he quarrelled with another of his Mafter’s Negroes, and killed him with a Knife; upon which, he fled away, with his Wife and Child, to the thick Woods, where he immediately erected a Hut, refolving to die rather than fubmit: However, he was foon found out, and his Hut furrounded with armed White Men, and Negroes, who were re- folved to apprehend, and make a publick ex- ample of him: He firft of all butchered his Wife and Child, and then came out of the Hut with the bloody (reeking) Knife in his hand, offer- ing it to his Mafter, and faying, that as he had fairly bought, and wail for him, he had a juft P 2 right. » pie LETTER IX right to take away his life: The Mafter told him, that he muft furrender himfelf, and be tried by the Civil Magiftrate; whereupon, he ftruck at him with the Knife, but was knocked down and fecured, The next day he was tried by two Juftices of the Peace, who have a difcretionary Power, to inflict what Death they pleafe upon fuch Negroes: The Juftices adjudged him to be broke upon the Wheel, and then burnt alive, which Sentence was {trictly put in execution : When his Arms, ‘Thighs, and Leg Bones, were broken all to fhivers, with an Iron Crow, he did not fo much as onee cry out Oh! He then defired a Dram of Rum, which was refufed him. by his Mafter, who rightly imagined, that he only wanted (if poffible) to die drunk ; however, 2. Draught of Water was offered him, which he refufed to accept of; they then flung him into a large and fierce Fire, where he expired, with little or no concern, This relation, puts me in mind of Orconoke’s tragical Death, at Surinam, told by Mrs. Aun Behn, in one of her Novels, that bears his Name, and whofe Hiftory is Truth embellifhed with fome fabulous Circumftances, But pray, what did our Countryman the Capipin deferve? . 5. Some Negroes believe, That when Hey -die, they return back to their own Native Coun- try; for which reafon, aise often hang them- felves Le TAT RIRE EX. 229 felves at firft coming to us; of which fort, per- haps, was the Negro, who immediately killed his Wife and Child, and afterwards fuffered fuch a cruel Death undauntedly. Nay, the moft intel- ligent of them, have no manner of Religious Worthip, as far as I could ever difcover ; though Tam told, that at famaica, the Negroes have, what they call, a Hearing, in fome Guinea Tongue, z.e. One of the moft knowing of them, teaches all the reft ina long Speech; This Af- fembly, may confift of four or five hundred Blacks, All they owned was, That God is a ve- ty Good Man, who lives above the Sky, and that all Good Men when they die, afcend up to live with him, but that even then, the good Blacks» will be, in fome meafure, Slaves to us Whites: As for Men, both Whites and Blacks, they then go down below into the Earth, to live along with “fumbee, viz. the Devil, whom they infiit upon, to be of neither White nor Black, but of a red Mullatto Colour, without Horns, Tail, or clo- ven. Hoofs: However, they all agree, that he has long Red Hair growing on his Breaift. 6. Ihave, fince my return to England, ({everal times) heard it objected, by miftaken Zealots, that if the Mafters of our Plantation Negroes, would but have them baptized, and that if we Clergymen, would be at the pains to inftruct them, they would then do much better in all re- B32 {pects, 230 oe TBI: BAS {pects, becaufe the Chrifizan Religion, would teach them far better Principles, than they now have to work upon, under a State of Paganifm. But alas! thefe People are by no means competent Judges of fo weighty an affair: For a Friend of mine, baptized a Negro Boy, and taught him to read; the Confequence whereof, was, That he might look after his Horfe himfelf, and go on his own Errands for the future, or elfe, that he might find another Negro to do it: In fhort, it is ridi- culous to argue againft repeated Experience; and the true ftate of the Cafe, ftands thus: When a Slave is once Chriftened, he conceits that he ought to be upon a level with his Mafter, in all other refpects; in confequence whereof, he prefumes, That if his Mafter corrects him, for ever fo great a Fault, he is at full liberty to fend him out of the World, by a Dofe of Poifon, For inftance, a Parifhioner of mine, baptized a Black Woman, and had her well inftruéted in our Religion here in England, but fhe had not been long arrived at Nevis, before fhe poifoned four White Perfons, and was executed for fo doing: But if even the whole Country was fo mad, as to fet about fuch an odd Converfion, the effect would then be a general Rebellion, and Maffacre, of us Whites: This is Truth, - 7. The Negroes, when at work, in howing Canes, or digging round Holes to plant them in, (perhaps forty ee ee BR As 207 forty Perfons in a row) fing very merrily, 7. ¢. two or three Men with large Voices, and a fort of Bafe Tone, fing three or four fhort lines, and then all the reft join at once, in a fort of Chorus, which I have often heard, and feemed to be, La, Alla, La, La, well enough, and indeed harmonioufly turned, efpecially when I was at a little diftance from them. They fing too at Burials, but get drunk, and have no fign of Devotion, calling out to the Dead Perfon, and afking him, Why he died, when he wanted nothing the World could afford, to fupport Nature? 8. I once went to fee, out of pure Curiofity, a Negro Boy, as foon as born; he looked of a dark Red colour; and I alfo vifited a Mulatto Child, about half an hour after his Mother was brought to Bed of him, and I do fincerely de- clare, I could not have diftinguifhed him from a White Woman’s Child. But I had like to have forgot to tell you, that about ten years before my arrival at Nevis, a young Negro Woman was delivered of two different forts of Children, at a neighbouring Ifland, vz. a Coal Black one, and a Mulatto, which odd kind of Birth, was ac- counted for (right, I fuppofe) thus. Her Hufband had carnal knowledge of her, juft before he went out to his work, and as foon as he was gone, the White Overfeer went to the Hut, and had the like carnal knowledge. At Charles Town, our P 4. Metr Oz 22 BETTER I& Metropolis, we hold a Market every Sunday Morn+ ing, which begins at Sun-rifing, and ends about nine o’ clock, whither the Negroes bring Fowls, Indian Corn, Yams, Garden-ftuff of all forts, &c. But this is no great matter of wonder, if what I have heard be true, that at Thorney, near Peterbo- rough, the fame is weekly practifed. The Negroes are fed, generally fpeaking, upon Salt Herrings, and their Potatoes, which are fweet, and of the Spanifh kind; they have no thick Stalk, fhooting upwards, perpendicularly into the Air (as here in England); but their Stalk runs along, clofe to the Ground, and is ornamented with Leaves, which nearly refemble Vine Leaves: We ufually fatten Cows and Rabbits with them: Befides Indian Corn or Maiz, I have known fome of them to be fond of eating Grafhoppers, or Locutts ; others will wrap up Cane Rats, in Bonano-Leaves, and roaft thefn in Wood Embers. During Crop-time, they wo.k night and day almoft inceflantly ; but. after all, many a poor Man works harder here in Ex~ glanay,. My Man Oxford, had once on a fudden, got a Cxebouga, (that is to fay, a flefhy fubftance, not unlika to a Wart) growing out in the middle of the bottom of his Right Foot, that was about the fize of a common Nutmeg, and quite lamed him: He was cured in the following manner, viz. An old experienced Mulatto Woman, took a good Sharp Pen-knife and cut it, till it bled; then fhe | feared LET TERTIK: 242 feared it with a red hot Iron, and applied to the Burn, half of a Lime or Baftard Lemon, which in two or three days time, brought out the whole Crebouga, juft like the Core ofan Apple: Oxford was not lame for it above fixteen days: But to let you the better into the Cafe, I muft acquaint you, that his Parents had the Fvench Pox, under which circumftances his Blood was tainted, and fhowed its Corruption, by his breaking out with the Yaws or running Sores all over, when he was about fix or feven years old in his own Country, viz. Morumbo: and the Crebouga is the laft ill Symptom of that Diftemper among Negroes. The Yaws we ufually cure by a gentle Salivation, g. I had almoft forgot to inform you, That a Negro cannot be Evidence, in any refpect, againft a White Man; If he {trikes a White Man, the Law condemns him to loofe the Hand he ftrikes with; and if he fhould happen to draw Blood, he muft die for it. If a White Man kills a Black one, he is not tried for his Life ; however, the Law obliges him to pay Thirty Pounds, Nevis Money, to his Mafter, for the lofs of his Slave, You will fay, that thefe Proceedings are very defpotick: But if you confider, that we have near ten Blacks to one White Perfon, you muft ‘own them to be abfolutely neceflary. I had a Parifhioner, who in a barbarous manner mur- thered one of his own Negroes; and though the Law 234 Tes TPB ROPES Law would not hang him for it, yet he under- went a grievous Punifhment ; for (excepting his own Relations) not a fingle Gentleman would ever vouchfafe to converfe with, or pay him a Vifit, after he had committed the horrid Faét. I cannot help relating, that once upon a Sunday, an ordinary White Perfon got drunk and ftruck a Negro, who being alfo drunk, returned the Blow with a Stick, and caufed the Blood to trickle down his Temples: The Negro immediately ran away to the Woods, but was foon taken: His Mafter, (who was our chief Judge) to fhow his Honour, fent for the White Man, offering him, either to deliver up the Negro to be executed, according to Law, or to give him thirty Pounds, Nevis Money, to fpare his Life, obliging him at the fame time to whip him foundly, in order to deter him from the like for the future; The White Man accepted the Money, and whipped well the Negro. I know little of their Laws, beyond Hearfay ; becaufe they were never printed; how- ever, any one may examine them at their Secre= tary’s Office. ro. A Captain of my Acquaintance, who was in the late Expedition to Carthagena, aflures me, That whilft he was upon the Ifland of Cuda, he faw many Tarantule ; but their Bite is not at- tended with fuch bad Confequences, as the Bite of thofe Italian ones, mentioned in the tenth Pa- ragraph LEH TP ER ix, aye ragraph of my fourth Letter. They are chiefly found in Holes and Crevices about Dwelling. houfes: They have two Eyes, and two Stumps, like fhort Horns that flick out of their Heads ; They have fix or eight Legs: Their Body is about the fize of a Hazel Nut, round, and co- vered with long brown Hair, that lies clofe to it. One of them bit an Officer juft under his Ear, foon after which, he began to talk in a delirious man- ner, fkipping and frifking up and down: But his Friends fecured him immediately, fweated him fufficiently, and kept him as quiet and flill as poflible, for about four hours, when he came perfectly to himfelf, in all refpeéts, and never re- lapfed. It isa great pity they did not try what effect Mufick would have on him. The fame Gentleman affured me, That at Cuda he faw common Spiders, whofe Body was as broad as his Hand, flat almoft an inch in thicknefs, and whofe Legs were proportionable. He faw alfo yaft numbers of Alligators, and fome of fifteen feet in length: They roared like Bulls, moved their upper Jaw, but had two Eyes proportioned to their Head; whereas the Crocodile, (Cyclops- like) has no more than one finall Eye, which is fixed in the middle of its Forehead. 11. This hairy kind of Tarantula, puts me in mind, That when I lived at Barton, in Weft- moreland, 1 went with fome other School-Boys into 996 | LAE TE TERRE into a Wood, were we found, accidentally, a huge over-grown Toad, whofe Back was cover- ed with milk-white Hairs, that were about half an inch long; thefe Hairs being not fet clofe together like thofe of a Dog, but growing a {mall {pace afunder. That they were real Hairs, I do pofitively aver; for we rubbed them over many times with a Stick, and viewed them very narrowly. 12. eX OU told 1 me, the other day, at Cambridge, that the Shell which I then brought from Nor- wich to you, was called Pzzna Marina. It mea- fured twenty inches in length, before I had the ill fortune to break it; and the Meat of it fuff- ced my Brother, with two of his Companions, for a good Meal, at Port Mahone, where it ftuck to a Rock near the Shore. The reafon why Ma- riners ftile it a Mufcle, is, becaufe the Shell of it is more like an Engh/h Mutcle-fhell, than any other kind of Shell whatever, and becaufe the Meat, or Fith, contained in it, looked, fmelled, and tafted, like that of an Engli/h one: But as it was ranker, they were obliged to feafon it high. 13. It never fell in my way, to meet with a Flamenco, or Flamingo Bird; but I have dif courfed with many Parlors, re went down to fetch Lignum Vite, Iron Wood, &c. from the Maroon uninhabited Aan where there is plenty of GETTER SIX. be of them: And they all agree, That they are full as big as Turkies, that their Feathers are of a moft beautiful Scarlet mixed with fome few of a White colour, that their Legs are fo long as to enable them to wade thorough fhallow Ponds like our Engh/b Herons, that they walk very re- gularly, abreaft of each other, like well trained Soldiers, and that they generally-{peaking, fly in a Wedge as do our European Wild Geefe; which laft Article puts me in mind of Milton, Book 7. line 425. ——— part more wife, In common, rang’d in figure wedge their way, Intelligent of Seafons, and fet forth Thetr aerte Caravan high over Seas Flying, and over Lands with mutual wing _ Eafing their flight; fo freers the prudent Crane Her annual Voyage, born on Winds, I had almoft forgot to acquaint you, That at thefe Maroon Iflands, the Sailors eat common Parrots, and fay they tafte well: But as for Macaws, and other fine Birds of that kind, they are to be found every where in warm Climates, upon the Main Land of America: We have no wild Parrots at our principal, and inhabited Iflands. . 14. Citrons (as do alfo Lemons) grow upon Bufhes, are more round like an Orange, though ofa Lemon colour, and pecked at the end: They ' are 238 LETTER are pared fine, and thefe fine thin Parings are thoroughly {teeped in the beft French Brandy: both Brandy and Parings are then put intoa Still, and the Liquor diftilled from them, is drawn off into tranfparent Bottles that will hold about a Gallon with fome of the beft Refined Sugar, nice- ly fifted ; It is fhook well four or five times a day for four or five days together, after which it is Jet ftand ftill and unmoved, in order to fubfide, and be decanted into Pint or Quart Bottles, I do not fee any reafon why (in imitation of Citron Water) we might not here in Exgland make an excellent Cordial of Lemmon Parings, good Brandy, and refined Sugar fo mixed together, and diftilled. I mean that the Brandy and Parings fhould be diftilled before the refined Sugar is fifted and put to them. | 15. I cannot help fpeaking a word or two about making of Rum in this Article; viz; when we break up a piece of frefh Ground to plant our Canes in, the Canes for the firft two or three _ years will yield no Sugar, fo that we find ours felves obliged to diftill their juice for Rum: Ano- ther method is, to difttll Rum from Molaffes; and a third way is, to dittill it from the Skimmings of our Sugar-Coppers: I have heard all the three ways contended for as the beft by their feveral advocates, though the laft is very feldom tried, becanfe (as I faid before) in Crop- time Ie) LIVERS OK. 239 time we ufually feed our Mill-horfes with Skim~- mings. However give me leave to obferve, that though we have plenty of Molafies brought to London and other Englifh Ports, yet our moft fkilful Diftillers here cannot turn it into Rum. But indeed Rum cannot be made in England for want of natural Heat of Climate to raife up the Ingredients to a due Fermentation for that pur- pofe. 16. I readily affent to the Mariners Maxim, wz; That it is hotter at Nevzs than under the Equinoctial Line, and for the fame reafon which they affign; 7. e. becaufe when the Sun gets at any confiderable diftance Northward from the Equinox, the Earth under the Equinox begins to cool apace, and continues fo doing till the Sun returns back again to the fame Latitude: Where- as, when the Sun is direétly over head at Nevis, He not only renders the Earth there very hot, but as he travels no farther Northward than to the ‘Tropick of Cancer, the Earth at Nevis has not time to cool, and of courfe muft grow much hotter, when he is on his Zenith there in retur- ning towards the Equinox. ‘There muft bethe fame degree of Heat in the fame Southern Latitude, from the Equinox to the Tropick of Capricorn. 417. There happened no Hurricane whilft I continued Rector of St. ‘fobn’s Parifh in that Ifland: But in the Hurricane Months, wiz. Fuly, | Auguft ‘24.0 Lo DITTECR: Aig Auguft, and September, we had feveral outragious Storms, which would have greatly furprized me, had I not beforehand been well informed of their Symptoms, Fury, and Effects. Particularly about the middle of September, 1718, the Sun upon his Meridian at high Noon, began to hide his bright Face behind a Cloud, and the Skye that was clear and ferene enough before, to lower and blacken apace; now and then fell fome large Drops of Rain, attended with fudden unexpected Puffs or Blafts of Wind: upon which we ime- diately houfed our Turkies, Geefe, and Ducks, as well as Cocks and Hens, that. muft all have perifhed, if we had left them expofed to the fe- verities of fuch a Tempeft. . Nay, .we fecured in Folds with Stone Walls our Sheep, Maull- Horfes and Mules. At three o’ clock the Win- dows or Flood-gates of Heaven were opened fo wide, as to pour down great abundance of Rain, which together with the high Wind that now fhifted round by degrees to every Point. of the Compats, obliged us, to fecure our. Windows and Doors, to drefs what Victuals we fhould | have occafion for that day, to turn our Horfes out of the Stable, to fhift as well as they could among the young Sugar Canes in the Bath Plain: nailing up the Door with Boards put acrofs it, and in fhort, to fecure every thing elfe as much as poflible againft its rage. I obferved, that tho® It LETTER I. 241 it blew extremely hard at the Ground, fo that we could fcarce keep upon our Legs, yet the Clouds looked like Rags, and hung feeming- ly motionlefs in the Air, and the Heavens towards the Eye of the Wind, 7. e, Eaftward, appeared as black and difmal as if the univerfal Frame of Nature was juft going to be diffolved. We then put off our wet Cloaths, and kept in our Dwelling-houfe, expe@ing the worft ; For the Rain and Wind grew much more vehement _ till ten o’ Clock, when to our joy, it broke into - loud Claps of Thunder, and large Flafhes of Lightning, which are certain Symptoms of the Storm’s being at its height, and of courfe that we might (as we were inclined) fafely go to Bed. Early the next morning we got up, and found the Wind vaftly abated, though it ftill broughe | in a moft monftrous {welling Sea into our Road, at Charles ‘Town, fo that the Ship which had put out into the wide Ocean for fear of being drove afhore, durft not return till three days after. N. B. We had one of thefe Storms every Year. 18. Though the Earth was fufficiently refrefh- ed with the abundance of Rain that fell; yet give me leave to tell you, that all our fine Trees and | Buthes were entirely {tripped of their Leaves, and looked as if a Fire had run thorough and fcorched them to death; according to Mi/ton, Book 1. line Big.” / ee —— 45 4g LETTER 1x . ; As when el eaven’s Fire “Hath feath’d the Foret Oaks, or Mountain Pines, With finged top their flately growth, tho bare - Stands on the blafted Heath. in fhort, Nevifian Leaves lay then upon the ground, Thick as Autumnal Leaves that ftrow the Brooks In Vallombrofa, where th’ Etrurian fbades High over-arch'd embow’r ; Book 1. Line 302. However, in a few days, they were new clothed, and adorned with young frefh Leaves, fo that the fteep fides of our Mountain looked full as fmiling and verdant as before, and put rhe in mind of M4]. fon's Paradife, where there was perpetual Spring, Book 4. line 264. | The Birds their Quire apply ; Aires, vernal Aires, Breathing the finell of Field and Growe, attune The trembling Leaves, while univerfal Ban Knit with the Graces and the Hours in dance Led on the eternal Spring. Not that fair field ‘Of Enna, where Proferpine gathering flowers Herfelf a fairer flower by gloomy Dis Was gather’d, which coft Céres all that ; pain To feck her through the world; nor that fweet grove Of Of Daphne by Orontes, and th? infpir’d Caftalian Spring, might with this Paradife Of Eden firive ; nor that Nyfetan Ifle Girt with the River Triton, where old Cham, Whom Gentiles Ammon call and Lybian Fove, Hid Amalthea and her florid Son Young Bacchus, from his Stepdame Rhea’s eye; Nor where Abafin Kings thetr iffue guard, Mount Amara, though this by fome fixppos d True Paradife under the Ethiop line By Nilus bead, enclosd with fhining reck, A whole day’s journey high, In fhort; at Nevis and the other Leeward Cha- ribee Iflands, we had a kind of perpetual Spring ; for our Orange-trees, Lemmon-fhrubs, Shaddocks, Pepper, &c. exhibited at one and the fame time- fruit that were full grown, half grown, a quarter grown, and even Flowers and Buds; and as for our other Vegetables of all forts, they were ever freth and blooming, But after all, let me tel] you, we muft not look for Paradife,. either in the Eaft or Weft Indies (as I faid before), on account of Earthquakes, exceflive Heat, Mufkitoes, Hur- ricanes, &c, We have annually three publick Fafts, uzz. in the firft Weeks of ‘fuly, Augu/, and September ; to implore God’s mercy in averting his Judgement of a Hurricane from us; and if He is fo gracious as to hearken to our Petitions, we Q 2 have 24.4 DE Th ER ae have in Oéfober a publick Feaft or Thankfgiving for it. 19. We have fome Frogs in our Gardens and _ white {wampey Ground behind them weftward toward the Sea Side at the South end of Charles Town, that {kip about, being not yellow like Englifo ones, but rather Brown and more of a ‘Toad-Colour, though I never heard of a Toad be- ing feen there. Our Snakes are quite harmlefs ; but our common Flies are exceedingly troublefome, almoft as bad as our Mufkitoes, which are no other than We/? India Gnats, and perhaps not much more troublefome than our Engli/h Fenn Gnats. I was credibly informed the other day, that a Manchineal {tick with the Bark peeled off, and brought to London, will (though dry) if one ‘end of it be put into a pail full of new Milk, and {tirred half a dozen times round, immediately turn the whole into Curds and Whey, fo forcible is the ftrength of its Poifon even then at fuch a diftance of time. And laft Evening I wasin com- pany with a Sea Surgeon juft arrived from the Weft Indies, who confirms me in my opinion about Water Spouts, as mentioned in Letter 8' Paragraph 9.5, He has feen feveral, but more particularly obferved one, that was fo near that it had like to have broke upon their Ship ;' vez ; A Whirlwind feized upon a fmall track of Sea, mounting up a large body of Water round , . and i Lkt Lore IX, 24.5 and round in a circular winding form, till it reach- ed the Cloud it was to replenifh, and continuing fo to do for the Space of ten or twelve mi- nutes, whilft it lafted making a very great. noife 5 But they had the good fortune to difperfe it, by firing a great Gun loaded with Shot at it. Woods Rogers. in Page 373 fays, that in their paflage from Guam to Batavia, they faw in one day no lefs than three Water-Spouts, one of which was in danger of breaking on the Marquis, had not the Dutchefs, by firing two Shot, broke it before it reached her. 20. I muft not forget to acquaint you; that un- der the Tropick of Cancer, on our paflage towards ‘Nevis, we faw at leaft a dozen Tropick Birds, though none of them flew low enough to be fhot at; and indeed they are a high-foaring Bird, about the bignefs of a full-grown Partridge, of a milk white colour, with one fingle white feather (at their Rump) a foot and a half long, which ferves them for a Tail. There was formerly one of them in the Mu/eum , 11, 12", 13°, 14° Verfes: And a River went out of Eden to water the Garden ; and from thence it was parted, and became into four Heads, The Name of the frft is Pilon: dnd that is it which compaffeth Havilah, where there 1s Gold, and the Gold of that Land 1s good; there is Bdel- lium, and the Onyx Stone. And the name of the Jecond 1s Gihon, the fame is it which compaffeth the Land of Ethiopia. And the name of the third River is Fiddekel ; that 15 it which goeth towards the Eaft of Affyria, And the fourth Ri- ver 7s Euphrates. Now, that Mofes is here de- {cribing the ftate of thofe Branches of the River, juft as they were, during his own life-time, is evident enough, becaufe Scripture (as well as other Oriental Hilory: and Geography) mention their fituation for many hundreds of years, after tthe deceafe of that great Prophet. Nor do I fo : much depend upon ; ie Authority of Commenta- tors, as I dowupon the Reafonablenefs of my opi- nion ; DE Pee me: 261 nion; for thefe Defcriptions had been entirely ufelefs, and againft the rules of native fimplicity (which the Holy Ghoft always obferves in fuch ‘accounts,) except thofe very identical. Branches had not then barely exifted, but been likewife ~well known. Nay the Eupbrates is fo called at this day: And though the others may, long fince, have changed their original Names, yet that is of no validity againft my opinion. Pray, did ‘not Solomon build a City in the Wildernefs, calling it ‘Taduor? Did not the Greeks afterwards call it Palmyra? Did notthe Emperor Adrian, whowas defervedly called the Wall Flower, from the ma- ny ftately Edifices-which he erected, rebuild it out of Ruins, naming it Adrianople? And has it not now recovered its priftine Title Ladmor, which indeed it never totally loft among the Syrians and Arabs ? Dear Sir, Though I raife this Objeftion, againft your Patron, Dr. Woodward's Theory of the Earth; yet, if you are able to folve it well, Iam always ready to:own my miftake; For.no Author can lay claim to Infallibility. And for {uch unchari- table People as believe, when I mention :things they are entirely unacquainted with, that I muft of courfe make too free with, what they (with a ‘fneer) ‘call, a Traveller’s Priviledge ; I fmile at their 252 LE TA0cEERY Ke their unjuft Cenfure, and pity their Prejudice. I fhall not imitate that inconfiderate Gentleman, who fent over to the Weft-Indies for a whole Cabbage-tree, on purpofe to prove its exiftence, to fome idle-headed Folks, who difbelieved him. There is not the leaft fhadow of reafon for fo doing: No; we are to reft very well fatisfied with fuch Proofs, as the nature of the affair will admit of; in fhort, it is impoffible for fo many thoufands who never faw each other, to agree in a falfhood, purely to impofe upon fuch of their Neighbours, as ftrangely imagine, that they -muft have feen every thing in the World, tho’ perhaps they never travelled above fifty miles from their own Fire-fides: I do not think, that I am bound to find Judgment and Faith, as well as Truth, | i I am, Your fincere. Friend, W.S. Poft{cript. Simple Nature is a fine Study, and ‘unbiafled Reafon, with the affiftance of Humi- lity, is the beft Judge of it: Grant, kind Heaven, that I may experience the latter part. LE T- 253 Poe ln Dear Sir, HEN I wrote Notes upon Fulconer’s Cryptomentfis Patefacia, my intent was to republifh that Book, which had many years ago become fo rare, that (excepting in one par- ticular Friend’s hand) I could never meet with it, though I confulted with Mr. Daniel Brown, without Temple-Bar, for whom it was publifhed, | and who believed it was almoft no where to be met with, but in great Libraries. Though I had long fince laid afide my defign, and deftroyed them; yet I have at the defire of fome Friends here, communicated a fummary and plain Introduction to common Decyphering, without the leaft in- tention of advancing into difficult cramp Decy- phering, becaufe all my former, and more exten- five Notes, were a long while ago committed to the flames, as intimated at the conclufion of my fixth Letter. In fhort; this Summary and plain Introduction to common Decyphering, contains no other than my firft off-hand Thoughts, at prefent, upon the Subject, and is I hope, eafy enough to be underftood by all Perfons who are willing and fit to be inftructed in it. 2. Now, 244 LETTER 2. Now, that a Reader of tolerable capacity, may apprehend my fentiments aright, I here pre- fent him with a Catalogue of Words, which he fhould have recourfe to, viz. Words confifting of one fingle Letter are, a, 7, 0; the firft of which is difcovered, in a cyphered Writing, by its greater frequency, that is to fay, by its being generally the higheft of them in the Numerical Table, as well as by comparing it with the third Cypher of a Word, which I imagine, ftands for the Word that. All the Words confifting of two Letters, are as follows, viz. ah, ba, am, an, as, at, an, 1s, tt, of, ob, bo, on, no, or, do, go, lo, fa, ta, I take notice here, that, fo, is the only two-lettered Word which begins with the Letter ¢; and that the Words, oz and wo, difcover them- felves by confifting of the felf-fame two Letters, differently placed. ‘Three-lettered Words are in number three hundred feventy and three, Four- lettered Words are almoft numberlefs. The Words I pitch upon to begin Decyphering with, are, on, no, to, at, it, did, the, that, have, and, are, which, they, thefe, their, them, where, all, fball, with, thefe. - Words that afterwards help, by comparing them carefully with cyphered ones in a Writing, wz. good, what, day, tell, fell, bell, well, will, indeed, Jee, eye, "ere, too, foon, thought, therefore, people, eftate, neverthelefs, heaven, excufe, examine, exer- cife, church, execute, excellent, experience, noon, follow, LETTER X% 48% follow, goodnefi, forrow, borrow, morrow, expa- tiate, extravagance, remember, redeemer, defires, ferve, fenjes, evermore, pleafe, bleffed, George. The Writing to be Decyphered. I BN SS 4 RS g1O240qg9 4x5 xn& o7gn7O19 mgqo7& cox 7 8 Qe iis 13 egbq zn&6o09b7 5 qx qos b71m 90 nuoan7&bogr eer TO 17 ror ary 20 6on&60 8a go7 z&762xnb 81xx5 xm qoa Pieris 2 oe 24 22 26 7579% bxO O7&62amniia 1xx3 nzxO go7 Se yd 2 ieind 2 32. ).033) 0: 34 bge7 905 9q qo2zb q2zo7 bx 4n257 ne Dale A vik 30%)/39, ..) 4° 4xn7&D i ©205b xm qos b7&ngogb a 42 44 45 46 47 48 gabowt ne zgbqx&b xm qos mrx63 qogq AGOGO. 51. 52 SOMA 54nt SiS. O go79 ©ga 199 ogOsb bnss7o1s xO Ox O90 57 58 SO0.e60 61 62 8nq mg2gomni19 gO5 c2b719 ©937 60x267 63 64 reg 0 O67... 05% OO haga xm m2q z7&bxob qx b7&n7z 20 Di bg6&75 aa ALA AE NE Si. ZAonen 7887 Oe 7 ©2D2bq&e xm goa 6on&6o0 gO5 qx nee 78 oh ds ET eee OS Mitr) a Sr O26 34°) aiees: cox bogir 87 x&592075 qx gua oxis 8 5 SO 87 MRS Wie go mno6q2x0 42n7 goo 4&967 gO5 o7gn7019 gl 92 93, 94 -O5 ange an eebadee qogq 8xqo 89 go728& 12m7 97 98 99: ) 100) TOTs ut O28 sea gQ05 5x6qg&207 go7a Oga b7q mx&qo qoa D4 ero ce toG 107 109k (eROD 41x&a gO05 b7q mx&cg&5 go7 boingqzxo LOVETT Ts yas Ze xm gil O70. 1 begin WET. TER cx. 269 I begin with giving my Reader an exact Numerical Table, of the feveral different -Cy- phers, as they ftand in order in the above Writ- ing, viz. WOAN TOR ON eEBSHXOOBORN OHS » TUITE 39. . TMNNNNNIN 22. . WIN ro. » TWN 29. . HIN 7. : © TI 44; » WN 4.6, . WITNININMIN 2 5. » WAL 4 7 » MIU 24. | . WWI 24. . WWIII 29. | WTI 4.4, » WNIIIINIIINI 3 4, . WANN 3. ill 4. MMIII 2-7. , Ul ¢. , INL 3s. , WM 8. ll 2. In Writings that confift of a Hundred words of upwards, the Letter ¢ is almoft always the high- eft upon the Numerical Table; {0 that the fafeft R | way é 268 LE TT ERK way is to try three or four of the higheft of them thus, Though I find the Cypher o up at number forty-four, yet it cannot poflibly ftand for the Letter e, becaufe there is not one’ three-lettered Word in the Writing, whofe laft Cypher is o, whereas the word ¢he muft be found more than once, or even twice, in all Writings of this length. Cypher q is higheft of all upon the Numerical Table, viz. at Number forty-fix, but cannot well prove the Letter e, becaufe there are no more than. four three-lettered Words in the whole Weiting that end with it, whereas the Cypher 7 is almoft equal to it in Table number, as well as found at the end of fix three-lettered Words, This being thoroughly confidered, I guefs the Cypher 7 to ftand for the Letter e, and of courfe that the fixteenth cyphered Word qo7 ftands for the word he: But to make ftill farther proof, I look out for a four-cyphered word which will fo far anfwer it as to ftand for the word that; and in this fearch I meet with the forty-eighth cypher- ed Word gogq, concluding it to mean. the afore- faid Word that. Now to demonttrate both the cyphered Words qo7 and qogq to ftand for the words the and that, I find the forty-ninth cypher- ed Word thus go7a, fuppofing it to be the Word they; and which I am confirmed. in, becaufe the tenth cyphered Word. goa is.no lefs than feven, times in the Writing: And. it is.alfo full as cer- tain, LXE TOE ER &X. 259 tain, that though the Cypher 9 follows the Let- ters ¢ and / at thofe feven times, yet it cannot poffibly prove the Letter e, becaufe in the Nu- merical Table it rifes no higher than to twenty- four: And fince it is not an e, it muft be the Letter y of courfe, which makes me fufpect it to be taken out of Scripture or fome Prayer-Book ; and indeed whenever I find out two Letters in a three-cyphered Word, I very carefully run over the whole Alphabet to difcover the third unknown Cypher, and infpect the Numerical Table. And now the feventy-feventh cyphered Word qox67 mutt confequently ftand for the Word #4o/é, becaufe the afore-difcovered Words, viz. the, that, they, do exactly tally with it. The fifty-fourth and fifty. fifth cyphered Words xa Ox muft fignify on and no, becaufe they confift of the fame two Cyphers differently placed: But the moft frequent way to difcover the Letter 0, is by looking out for a two- cyphered Word that begins with a ¢, becaufe the other Cypher muft be 0. As the Word and is fo very often in all Writings, it is eafily met with thus, v7z. the twenty-eighth cyphered Word go 5 will neceffarily mean the Word and, becaufe it is feven times found in the Writing, and alfo becaufe the two firft Cyphers of it agree with the afore-difcovered Words, viz. the, that, they, thofe,on,no. Remarkable Cyphered Words are the feventy-ninth and the hundredth and fifth, VIZs bogri and g¥1, which plainly fhow themf{elves R2 to 260 LE TT RER 83 to be the Words /hall and all, efpecially if we compare the s and the 4 in them, with thofe of the afore-difcovered Words. N.B. That as foon as I can difcover the Word ze, I immediately write it down upon a fair Paper, fetting down after it the other decyphered Words, as faft as I can findthem out, on purpofe to view them all at once in the following manner, vz. qo7; qogq, qo79, qoxb7, xO, Ox, 905, bogr1, the, that, they, thofe, on, no, and, shall, OIt. LLL N* I very rarely get above five Letters to begin with, but having now beyond expectation gained ten, viz. ¢, b, e, a,n, d, 0; y,5, 1, 1 place them under their feveral Cyphers, juft as they come to hand, in the following Plan, uz. I 2 3 4 5 6 g1O240q9 4x5 xn& o7gn7O19 mgqo7& cox Be DEY, Dy OG. wed OL) ance oe 7 8 Oi 1,0 osasl dias 02, 13 ogbgq zn&6ogb7 5 qx qoa b71m gO noan7z&bor hast RUSCOPOLOY Se) “Gn. gee TA 6 Th AG La 1S 4 Loe 6on&60 83 go7 z&762xnb 81xx5s xm goa Di “De Veto ee. Os LO Og Oe al 22, 23 2 As des sal a ia e7g& bxo O7&6amnita 1xx3z nzxO qo7 aoe “sow e WS ts ep on the a Be TERA XS. 261 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 b907 905 9q qo2zb qzo7z7 bx 4n257 905 bas ead kateth ss he aso de an 35 Gor 737) FO RF $39 40 4xn7&O qo7 ©205b xm qoa b7&ngngb 00> th. the nds 0 thy se ants Be 42 AG EAA PON AS 47 qo7 82boxzb 905 zgbqx&b xm qos m1x63 Bee SPOS and Casta saw hone Lo 48 49 50 51 52 eine AG: qogg qgo79 Og2 199 o905b bngs7oro xO that they ay lay bands. s ddenly on Teeter 5S oo Sor OO OE Ox O©g0 8nqmg2qomnri9g905 c2b719 0937 AG anys tavthyuhip anid. <\selyooare 62 63. 64 65 COM bom Od 60x267 xm m2q z7&bxob qx b7&n7 20 Aden Ae Gdoiloutitels .emdiovis oidoiys erhoy e802 Goan HO 73 ee Sn 7 go7 b96&75 O2n2bq&s xm qoa bon&6o PDE $84. Mo Sky Ky Ol) kbyonbs 8 TRAM ANTE 7 BOON 7 GEN BONE ST gOs5 qx qoxb7 co260 bogii 87 x&592075 and to thofe b bh shall e 0 da ned 82 83 84 8 5 BG 87e 188 qx gOe ox19 mno6qg2xO 42n7 qoa 4&967 to any holy 2 ton Co ED Yate haacle 89 90 gi 92% 93 905 o7gn7Oi9 8707526q2x0 gogq qo7za and hea enly ened ton that they m3 94 262 VE THe RES 94 95 96 97 98 99 —190 ©ga 8xqo $a ies 12m7 90s 5x6q&207 ay oth y the lL eand dot ne TOIL EKIOZ MO3 UFo, YeoS, 106 | Tez brq mx&qo goa 41x&a gts b7q mx&cgk&s5 sti os tbethy ho wand seh 6 “a 108 10g LIQ TIT Bye qgo7 boringq2xM xm gir O70. tha\sahkat on 0 Wadd vam _ I now proceed to sonar the Cypher n in the third, eighth, thirteenth} fourteenth, feventeenth, twenty-third, twenty-fifth, thirty-third, iw fifth, fortieth, fifty-eighth, ror feventh, feventy- fourth, Hohe Bebe eighty-fixth, ninetieth, one Bndied and ninth Words; and as I find it ftands for the Letter uw, J Soabedtacaie fet the Letter z directly under the Cypher n throughout the whole Writing, I next compare the Cypher 2 in the thir- teenth, feventeenth, twenty-third, thirtieth, thirty- orft,thirty=hird,thirty-feventh forty-fecond, fifty- eighth, fi xtieth, fixty-fecond, fixty-fourth, feven- ty-frit, Bislies fieth eighty-fifth, eighty-fixth, ninety-firit, ninety-feventh, hundredth, ninety- eighth, a handred and ninth Words; And as I find it ftands for the Letter 7, I immediately fet the Letter z under the Cypher 2 throughout the whole Writing. I next compare the Cypher & in the fifth, eighth, fourteenth, feventeenth, twenty- frit, twenty-third, thirty -fifth, fortieth, forty- fourth BYE PE aR: AX! 263 fourth, fixty-feventh, feventieth, feventy-firft, {e- venty-fourth, eighty-firft, eighty-eighth, ninety- feyenth, hundredth, hundred and fecond, hundred and fourth, hundred and feventh Words; And as I find it ftands for the Letter r, I immediately fet the Letter r under the Cypher & throughout the whole Writing. I next compare the Cypher m . in the nineteenth, thirty-eighth, forty-fifth, fifty- eighth, fixty-third, fixty-fourth, feventy-fecond, eighty-fifth, ninety-eighth, a hundred and fecond, a hundred and feventh, a hundred and tenth Words; and as I find it ftands for the Letter ds I immediately fet the Letter funder the Cypher & throughout the whole Writing. I next com- pare the Cypher 6 in the eighth, fourteenth, fe- venteenth, twenty-third, forty-feventh, fixty-fe- cond, feventieth, feventy- fourth, eighty- fifth, eighty-eighth, ninety-firft, a hundredth Words; and as I find it ftands for the Letter c, I imme- diately fet the Letter c under the Cypher 6 throughout the whole Writing. I next compare the Cypher © in the twenty-third, twenty-{e- venth, thirty-firft, thirty-feventh, fiftieth, fifty- fixth, fixty-firft, feventy-firft, ninety -fourth, a hundred and twelfth Words; And as I find it ftands for the Letter m, I immediately fet. the Letter m under the Cypher © throughout the whole Writing, which fhows itfelf thus in our fecand Plan, oo aS R 4. gt 264. LETTER X. i 2 da Sitnaiys 4h Si, dni g1O240qg9 4x5 xn& o7gn7OI1a mgqo7& cox almi hty od our heavenly father ho ar 8 0. haID 1 12 ogbq zn&6ogb75 qx goa bzim gD Past "UP ChaSa. £0 CRY sas 0) ) ee ra 14 Igy iz 18 nOanz&bg1 bonk&b60 8a qo7 z&762xnb —untvoersal church y the rectous 18 £7 20) 21 22 29 8ixx5 xm qoa s79& bxo O7&62mnr1i9 lood of thy dear son mercifully GA oe) 26 OF Ok Oo —-IxXx3- zx go7 bg@7 905 gq qozb q207 loo uon the same and at this time 229 230 130 9 35 CO a re ‘bx 4n257 gOs5 4xny&O qo7 ©205b xm so uide and overn the minds of 39 40 41 42 43 44. goa b7&ngoqbh qgo7 82boxzb gh5 zgbqxé&b thy servants the ishos and astors ay AG 47 AS AG hO see xm qos m1x63 qogq qo7a ©ga 199 ogOsb of thy floc that they may lay bands CISL AM hoy Seal A eet 58 bng57G19 xO Gx ©g0 8nq mgzqomnits suddenly on no man ut fatthfully $9 6o 61 62 Ooo ero 945 cab7ia ©0937 60x267 xm maq and isely mae ¢hoice wfi.t fet | | 65 L PSE RT x. 266 65 6b ou 67043) vba) Gwe 179 z7&bxob qx b7&nz7 20 go7 bg6&75 Geers. 60 4serue. 10 the .saarad 471 7247 drone Algae 5 POX TB ©202bq&e xm goa 6bon&6o0 905 qx goxb7 ministry of thy church and to those 78 ino Sr 824) 820.04. co2z60 bogir 87 x&s592075 qx gla oxia bich shall e ordained to any holy 8 5 BONG OZ oye BO go mnoi6q2xO 42n7 qoo 4& 967 905 o7gn7O010 function ivethy race and heavenly 91 G24, O83 eG cy OE 8 gO 8707526q2x0 gqogq qgo7a ©ga 8xqgo 8a enediction that they may oth ¥y ea. OO 100 LOlay, LOD qgo72& 12m7 905 5x6q&207 b7q mx&go Sherr ty, e and’ doce rime set eon eD OE dee LO: LOO 107 108 goo 41x&o 905 b7q mx&cg&s5 qo7 POye NS Lary? and Set "Pf erward’ the 109 Proe rr 112 bgingq2xO0 xm gir O78. salvation of all men, I now proceed to compare the Cypher 4 in the thirty-third, thirty-fifth, eighty-fixth, eighty- eighth, a hundred and fourth Words; and as 1 find it ftands for the Leiter g, I immediately fet the 266 Le TT eR ee the Letter g under the Cypher 4, through= out the whole Writing. I next compare the Cypher 8 in the fifteenth, eighteenth, forty-fe- cond, fifty-feventh, ninety~firft, ninety -fifth, ninety -fixth Words; and as I find it ftands for the Letter 4, I immediately fet the Letter 6 under the Cypher 3, throughout the whole Writing, I next compare the Cypher 3 in the twenty-fourth, forty-feventh, fixty - firtt Words; and as I find it ftands for the Letter 4, I immediately fet the Letter £ under the Cypher 3 throughout the whole Writing. I next com- pare the Cypher z in the eighth, feventeenth, twenty-fifth, forty-fecond, forty tonsth Words ; and as I find it ftands for the Letter p, I imme- diately fet the Letter p under the Cypher z throughout the whole Writing. I next compare the Cypher c in the fixth, fixtieth, a hundred and feventh Words; andas I find it ftands for the Letter w, I immediately fet the Letter w under the Cypher ¢ throughout the whole Writing, which being now completely Decyphered fhows itfelf thus, wz. g1©240g9 4x5 xn& o7gn7DIa mgqo7& cox almighty god our heavenly father whe ogbq zn&6ogb75 qx qoa b7im_ 96 bast purchased to thy self. an noen7&~ L BTare Re &. 267 nO2zn7&b9g1 G6on&60 839 qo7 z&762xnb universal church ‘by the precious Sixx5 xm qoa 579& bxo ©7&62mnr19 blood of thy dear son mercifully IXx3 nzZxD qo7 bg07 905 9q qo2b q2o7 look upon the same and at this time bx 4n257 905 4xn7&O gqo7 ©205b xm so guide and govern the minds of qoa b7&ngoqb qo7 82boxzb gos zgbqx&b thy servants the bishops and pastors xm qos m1x63 gogq qo72 99 199 OgLsb of thy flock that they may lay hands bnss7Ois xO Ox Og0 8nq mgzgomniisa suddenly on no man but faithfully 905 c2b713 ©937 60x267 xm ma2q and wisely make choice of fit z7&bxob qx b7&nz7 20 qo7 bg6&7s persons t0 serve in the sacred ©202bq&s xm qoa 6on&60 gos qx qoxb7 ministry of thy church and to those co2z60 bogit 87 x&oq2075 qx’ ota oxia which shall be ordatned to any boly mnoO6q2xO0 42n7 qoo 4&967 905 o7gn7O010 function give thy grace and heavenly 8507526q2xG qogq 8xqo 89 qo72& 12m7 benediction that both by their life 905 5x6q&207 qo79 O92 b7q mxé&qo qoa aud doctrine they may ses forth thy 41x&a 268 Diy Ts Taine 4aix&e 905 b7q mx&cg&5 go7 bgingqaxn glory and set forward the salvation xm giI O70. of all men. Now follows the Alphabet, uzz. 9, 8,6, 5, 7,M, 4, 0,2,3,1,0,0,%, z,&,b,q, n, C, 9, a, b, C, d, ey y% &> h, ty k, i; M,N, 0, hs r,S; yu, Wy, Vs N. B. That I quite overlooked the feventy- fourth, which is a remarkable Word, and as fuch fet down in Paragraph the fecond, wz. 6on&6o0 church There is no occafion for above one fingle Plan in Decyphering, fo that the reafon why I made ufe of three Plans here was, to have my fentiments appear in the cleareft light to common under- ftandings: Neither was there any other reafon for thus numbering up the hundred and twelve Words, and fetting their numbers juft above each — Word. But indeed, I do not go thorough with all this Scheme, when I am about to Decypher an eafy Writing; for I then omit the firft part, and begin with comparing Cyphered Words, which I have fufficient caufe to fufpect muft {tand for the Words, o7, no, to, at, it, did, the, | that ; BEATERS. 265 that ; and fo I continue doing till the whole Writing is compleatly Deeyphered: Falconer, (whofe Treatife I have not feen thefe eleven years) fays, That all the Cyphers of a Cyphered Writing may be clofe fet together, and fo make but one fingle Word; by which means the foregoing Rules that I have laid down, will in a great meafure be defeated: And in this cafe he only advifes his Readers, to make fuppofi- tions ftand for real Words. But as his meaning perhaps may not very eafily be underftood, I am fo free with your Patience, as to give my thoughts upon the matter. Here truly, the De- cypherer ought to have two hundred Words to examine into, becaufe the more Words there are, the greater variety of ways they neceffarily afford of finding out what the feveral Cyphers ftand for. The Writing now to be Decyphered, is as follows, vz. X91©240994x53204xmg113204b9054xn7&oO xn&xmg11qgo204bcoxb7zxc7&oxb6&7g9qn&72 bg817qx&7babqqxcoxO2q871x047qGo2nbq 19q xznOo2zbob2007&bgn sqx8 70 7&62mniqxqo7 Ogogqq&n19&7z70qbgn79055712n7&nbe7von ©$1987b7760q 077m&xOqgo7090 5bx mxn&7y 7027bg89q7qG072&z &2 57gb bega7qo72&0g1 267 240 KE T TERA 26790 56xOmxnol 5qo72&57n267bqogqc7872 49807 5c2q0q0957m70670998728%7b78en7 5 qn7&oxk&7m&xOg11z7&2 1bqx41xé¢2maqo77 coxgéiqqo7xt1o4.2n7&xmgIiIn2z6qxécaqoé&xn4 0qgo707&2qbxmgoaxD19b xO27bnb60&2b qxn &1x& 59070. _ Tbegin with giving an exact Numerical Ta- ble of the feveral different Cyphers in the fame order in which I find them in the above Writing, VIZ x. WLMLITETITET 33: » WUUUTTINEIN 26, . WTI 22, WEN 33. . MUTI 28, » UNH a7. » WTI 2 2. » VARY 2 4. . WH ro. . WAM 33. lk 2. . WHAWINUEAMIT 23. Ua. » WN 24, » THUMM 718. ‘ ALLL TELE TTENL $6 | » WN aoe PUL SRR oF oto en: 6. LE DRIER AS 271 ce, UML. z. Illll 6. 6. MUNI 9. 8. III 7, Now as]I find the Cypher 7 by far the higheft in this Numerical Table, I peremptorily affirm it to ftand for the Letter e, The Cypher q being next in number, I judge it to ftand for the Let- ter¢, And the Cypher o being at number twenty-~ two, I fufpect it to ftand for the Letter 4. But But to prove them all, I look out for two fup- pofitious Words, which will ftand for the Words the and that; and I find them in thefe Cyphers, viz. qo and qogq: befides, I obferve that the two Cyphers q and o are joined together, no lefs than fourteen times in thefe few Lines: and to confirm the whole, I alfo meet with the Cy- phered Word qo77 which muft of courfe ftand for the Word ¢hee. Having difcovered thefe four Letters, ¢, 5, e, a, I fet them down under their feveral Cyphers thus in my firft Plan. ee Pe 113 eed a hi | foun 1qo2 cubeoxtyase7 orbs oan | th b é ear é bg8 apse babgpucoxoagh eas qoznbated ( age ff Be e - et f xZNn oe 06Cl OC LE DEER Benge pe PAE ROP 548707 &62mntqxqo7 b Bo iny-nh t the Oqogqq& n19 & 7 z7Oqbgn7905 571 2n7&nbe7o thatt € ie tower a. tee eh n©81987b77 boqo77m&xOqo70g9N gee: pine. We Dee theba 07027b989q7 qo72&z&2 57 gbbcg47 qo7280 é e @aatetope ea aetne 912679056xOmxno 5 1 ad Fades qogqce78 a@ é€a e ¢ that eé 72 Les Dal 8 Sa ae C4, OM eR eRe Ue wale a ee 4 son7&Ox&7m&xogi1z7&2 hana x&2maqgo ere e aa ia th 77coxg&qqo7xO1042n7&xmgi1n26 ieesagty eeha tthe th soxo707Samoaoyaarsincarbnbie PEE V Cm ee, tase b abqxn&1x& 59070. z a The next Letter I aim at is 0, which is eafily difcovered, the Cypher x coming no lefs than fe- ven times immediately after the Cypher q, and appearing fo high befides upon the Numerical. Table. Iam pretty certain, that the Cypher r {tands for the Letter /, becaufe it is doubled three times immediately after the Cypher 9, which {tands TET. SRV ESR. AX. 272 ftands for the Letter a. As the Cyphers 2 and & follow the Cyphers qo7 no lefs than three feveral times, I judge them to be the Lettersz andr, fo that the Cyphered Word qo72& muft néceflarily {tand for the Word thezr, ‘The Cypher 9 ftands for the Lettery, becaufe it follows the Cyphersqo twice, and is upon the Numerical Table no higher than thirteen, And the Cypher © mutt of courfe then ftand for the Letter m, becaufe it is placed be- tween the already difcovered Words the and that which now no other Letter can do. And hav- ing thus found out fix more Letters, uz. 0, /, 2, r, m, y, 1 fet them down underneath their feveral Cyphers, as follows in my fecond Plan. pape rodnd <5 3204xm9 II Baar) A Sanne oalmi bty 0 t oO Gl 6 an xn&xmgi1qo2z04bcoxb7zxc7&ox6&7gqgn&72 o ro allthi hoe oer 0 reat rét bg817qx&7babqqxcox92q871x047q02nbq 19q Genesee Patto Domitnelan et baintlyt xznD2bob2n07&b9n sqx 8707 &62m n1qxqo7 Deets er a COME ITeIR ae: «dL heat pa oqogqg& nia &7 z7Ogbgn79055712n7&nbe7o Barer BERR Bea Se he vere ED ne 1987b77 6ogo77m&xOqo7090 sbxmxn&7 vise ee. De De é romtheba Oruaiite ; S$ | 070 274 GE Tt EP ava: n7027b989q7 qo72&z&2 57 gbbeg47 qo72&o Cmte aarethe t,t. € a A @€ 7D Biss 9126790 56xOmxno § qo72&57n267b qogqe78 Bi ROBE NO Ad thet r \:e.4 6) HOG te 720149&07 5c2Gq0q0957m706709087z&7b7&n ed arme dththye! e: vemay eoreies 7 oyn7&Ox&7m&xOg1 127&21bqx4 1 x&2maqo ate Senator & romall eril to lori ytbh 77coxg&qqo7xO194.2n7&xmg1i 1n26 qx&aqo& ee hoa ttheo tl petro” alii ee xn40qgo707&2qbxmqo207x0 tabxO27bnb60& Od BEBE? a RIND @LOM Se hy Sa br 2bqxn&1x& 59070. 2 to rlor ame . I proceed now to compare the laft Word of all, uzz. 9°70 with the Word ~7?° inthe mid- QUO COL dle of the laft line, and confequently find that the Cypher o ftands for the Letter z in both. I look into my Table of remarkable Words, and find that the Word there evermore, tallys with the cypher- dd Word 287 ORE 75” oper thea There BOT UO Toe. oe fhows itfelf, fo that the Cypher n muft ftand for the Letter w. The cyphered Word og Eg fhows | mali e that the Cypher 6 ftands for the Letterc. The Cypher ¢ in line the third, at the cyphered Word ~ CcOx@ LA &. EE RX 275 Fp, fhows itfelf to ftand for the Letter w, fo that I have gained four Letters more, wiz. 7, uw, ¢, w, which I add to the others, placing them under their Cyphers in my third Plan. X91O24.0q994% 532 eg I PiaaiEsaseo oalmi bty 0. ino im an overn xn&xmg11qo2 A eRe te ouro allthin who e owernocreaturei b9817qx87babqqxcoxO2q87 1 xO47qGo2nbq 19q aletore t ttowbhomit elon ethiu tlyt xznO2zbob2007&bgu sqx8 707&62mn 1qxqGo7 o unt binneran to emerci.ultothe Oqogqq&n 1a8&7z70qbgn7g05 5712n7&nbe7on mthattrulyre ent avean eliveruwelbu ©81987b7760q o77m&xOqo709g0 sbxmxn&7o m ly e eechthee romtbeban o ouren 7©27b989q7q072&z &2 579bbeg47 qo72h&091 emiteaatetheir ri ea wa etheirmal 26790 56xOmxno 5qo72857n267bqogqc7$72 icean con oun their evice thatwe e1 49&07 sc2qoqos57m706709987z&7b7&n7 5 nm arme withthy e eucemay e re erwve on7&Oxé&ym&xOg11z7&2tbqx41x&2maqo77 evermore romall eril to lori ythee coxg&qqo7xOlo42n7&xmogIt inz6qx&aqo&xn4. whoarttheonly ivero allvictorytbhrou $2 oqo 276 DE T TER i 0go707&2qgbxmqo207xn 19b x02 7bnbb0&2bq hthemerit o thineonly onie u chri t xn&1x& 59070. ourlor amen. By comparing the Word iki with the Word 4*97 eCINDee I find that the Cypher 4 OVErHOUr ftands for the Letter g. The Cypher 8 proves it- felf the Letter 4 in the Word Te The Cypher b muft ftand for the Letter s in the Word 7017027b enemte~ SEAN Td O7&62mn1 merct ul’ itfelf the Letter p in the Word Zaeced “The Gye | ete The m is plainly the Letter f in The Cyphers z fhows pher 5 muft be the Letter d in the Word aa And the Cypher 3 is beyond doubt the Letter & in the Words 3254 3924. 7 now place the ing ings Letters g, 5,5, f,~,4, &, under their feveral Cyphers as I did before, and of courfe the whole Writ- ing is plainly Decyphered by me in the following eafy manner. xQI LAB. ly UE Re xX. 299 x910240994x53204xmgI13204b9054xn7&o calmightygodkingofallkingsandgovern xn&xmgt1go204bcoxb7zxc7&Oox6&7g9qnk&72 ourofallthingswhosepowernocreatur ei bg8 17qx&7babqqxcox©2q871x047Go2nbq 19q sabletor esisttowbomitbelongethiustlyt xznQOabob20n7&bgn 5qx8707&62mniqgxqo7 opunishsinnersandtobemercifultothe ©qogqq& nia &7z70qbon790 557 12n7&nbevo mthattr ulyrepentsaveanddeliverusweb n©8 1987b77 60go77m&xoOqo70905 bxmxné&7 umblybesee chthee fromthebandsofoure 07©27b989q7 qo72&z&2 57 gbbeg47 qo72&0 nemtiesabatetheirprideasswagetheirm 912679056xOmxnOs go72&57n267bqogqe78 aliceandcon found theirdevicesthatweb 72049&07 5c2qoqoa57m7016709987z2&7b7&n ezngarmedwiththyde fencemaybepreseru 757n7&Ox&7m&xOg11z7&21bqx41x&2maqo edevermorefromallperilstoglorz fyth 77coxg&qqo7x0 194.2 n7&xmg 1 inz6qx&aqo& eewhoarttheonlygtverofallvictorythr xn40qo707&2qbxmqo207xO 1ebxo27bnb608 oughthemeritsofthineonlysoniesuschr abgxn& 1x& 59070. istourlordamen. $3 As 26 | LE TTRER & As I faid before, one Plan is fufficient for De- cyphering by; and the reafon why I make ufe of fo many here is, to let my fentiments appear in the cleareft light I could to common under- ftandings. ‘To conclude this long Article: I frequently get confiderable help by comparing a cyphered Word with one of the remarkable Words, mentioned and fet down in Paragraph the fecond: And. indeed there are many more Obfervations which I could eafily give; but I think it needlefs, becaufe they muff naturally oc- cur to the Thought of a Decypherer. 3, I obferved, laft night in a News-Paper, the foll lowing remar kable. Paragraph, wz. “We “« have at Toulon, in France, lately difcovered the ‘* fecret of making the Greek Fire, which is not ‘< extinguifhed by Water ; and an experiment ‘«« has very lately been made of it. In order to ‘¢ underftand this rightly, our Reader muft take “© notice, That this kind of Wild-fire was in- “© vented by one Callinicus, a Greek, Anno Do- “¢ mini 680. It was compofed of Charcoal, Salt, «© Aqua-Vite, Sulphur, Pitch, Camphire, Ge, ‘* boiled together, and rolled up in Balls: With ‘*« this combuftible matter, the Emperor Con- < flantius Pogonatus, i.e. with the great Beard, ‘burnt a large Fleet of the Saracens, which “had blocked him up in the City of Conflanti- nople ; vn n nf an “A " nw n a n A n a“ n wa an “~ n a vn wr n wn n ¢ vA ¢ “A Dee TT Re OX. 2 nople; as is related fully by the Hiftorian Zo- naras. Now I imagine, that this Preparation, or fome fuch kind of Phofphorus, muft be the fecret means of carrying on and fupporting the Ceremony, kept up by the Greeks and Arme- mans, upon a full perfuafion, That every Eafter-Eve, there is a miraculous Flame de- {cends from Heaven, into the Holy Sepulchre at “ferufalem, and kindles all the Lamps and Candles there, as the Sacrifice was burnt at the ‘ Prayers of Elyab, 1 Kings xviii. 38. viz. Then the Fire of the Lord fell, and confumed the Burng Sacrifice, and the Wood, and the Stones, and the Duft, and licked up the Water that was in the Trench,” Our Countryman, Henry Maundrell, who was an Eye-witnefs of this artful Cheat, de- {cribes the whole thus, at page g5, of his Tra- vels, from Aleppo to “ferufalem. 4. ‘* Coming to the Church of the Holy Se. “« pulchre, at Sferufalem, we found it crowded ‘< with a numerous and diftracted Mob, making € A €¢ &¢ ce ee ce é¢ a hideous Clamour, very unfit for that facred Place, and better becoming Bacchanals than Chriftans. Getting with fome ftruggle thro’ this Crowd, we went up into the Gallery on that fide of the Church next to the Latzm Con- vent, from whence we could difcern, all that paffed in this Religious Frenzy. S 4 a 280 De Pel Bee ae “~ é +s € Tm ¢ on" wr ¢ €¢ nr 7 § « fr € ws € nr € na e¢ Cé n . ¢ ¢ or ce €¢ cf €¢ €¢ €é €¢ 5. “ They began their Diforders, by running round the Holy Sepulchre, with all their might and {wiftnefs, crying out as they went, Huta, which fignifies, This 7s be, or This 1s it; An expreflion, by which they affert the Verity of the Chriffian Religion. After they had by thefe vertiginous Circulations and Clamours, turned their Heads and intlamed their Madnefs, they began to act the moft Antick Tricks and Poftures, in a thoufand Shapes of Diftraction. Sometimes they drag- ged one another along the Floor, all round the Sepulchre; fometimes they fet one Man upright upon anothers Shoulders, and in this pofture marched round ; fometimes they took ‘ Men with their Heels upward, and hurried them about in fuch an indecent manner, as to expofe their Nudities ; fometimes they tumbled round the Sepulchre, after the manner of Tumblers on the Stage. In a word, nothing can be imagined more rude or extravagant, than what was acted upon this occafion. 6. * In this tumultuous frantick Humour, they continued from Twelve till four of the ‘ Clock: The reafon of which delay was, be- ‘ caufe of a Suit that was then in debate, be- fore the Cadi, between the Greeks and Ar- menuins ; the former endeavouring to ex-— clude the latter, from having any fhare in this Miracle. Both Parties having expended (as I was A rn ww nA “A A Cay * A n vw nw n n “ nm rn n “ rn “ n A“ n “ “” ~ vw ray nr n ow “~ a) wn n wn n a nw A A Ca) A“ nr “a nr a nr a “~ an Lik TT h Ree 281 was informed) five thoufand Dollars, between them, in this foolifh Controverfy, the Cad at laft gave Sentence; That they fhould enter the Holy Sepulchre together, as had been ufual at former times. Sentence being thus given, at Four of the Clock, both Nations went on with their Ceremony. The Greeks firft fet out, in a Proceffion round the Holy Sepulchre, and immediately at their heels followed the Arme- mans. In this order they compafied the Holy Sepulchre thrice, having produced all their Gallantry of Standards, Streamers, Crucifixes, and embroidered Habits ypon this occafion, 7. ‘* Toward the end of this Proceffion, there was a Pigeon came fluttering into the Cu- pola, over the Sepulchre; at fight of which, there was a greater Shout and Clamour than before. This Bird, the Latzns told us, was purpofely let tly by the Greeks, to deceive the People into an opinion,. that was a vi- fible Defcent of the Holy Ghoft. 8. ‘* The Proceffion being over, the Suffragan of the Greek Patriarch, (he being himfelf at Conftantinople) and the principal Armenian Bi- fhop, approached to the Door of the Sepulchre, and cutting the String with which it is faften- ed and fealed, entered in, fhutting the Door after them; all the Candles and Lamps hav- ing heen before extinguifhed, in the prefence ét of z§2 PE ED BER Oy Aa an r nw ~~ 7” Fv “ ~ wn Aw nr Aw nf r wn Cay wr “”~ n “~ nw of the Turks and other Witnefles. The Ex- clamations were doubled, as the Miracle drew nearer to it’s accomplif{hment ; and the People preffed with fuch vehemence towards the Door of the Sepulcher, that it was not in the Power ‘ of the Turks, fet to guard it, with the fe- vereft Drubs, to keep them off. The Caufe of their prefling in this manner, is the great defire they have to light their Candles at the Holy Flame, as foon as it is firft brought out of the Sepulchre ; it being efteemed the moft facred and pure, as coming immediately from Heaven. ~g. “ Thetwo Miracle-mongers, had not been “~ Cay A n~ ~ an aA nm wR ~~ Aw “a to) nr nm “ A an Or ae a “a mm a “7 nr or ”~ above a minute in the Holy Sepulchre, when the Glimmering of the Holy Fire was feen, or imagined to appear, through fome Chinks of the Door ; and certainly Bedlam itfelf never faw fuch an unruly Tranfport, as was pro- duced in the Mob at this fight. 10. “ Immediately after, out came the two Priefts with blazing Torches in their hands, © which they held up at the Door of the Sepul- chre, while the People thronged about with inexpreflible ardour; every one ftriving to ob- tain a part of the firft and pureft Flame. The Turks in the mean time, with huge Clubs, laid them on without mercy; But all this could not repel them, the Excefs of their ‘© 'Tranfport a“ nm “~ nw vr na wn nw nw n A n nw nr A nr wv“ n vr nr ta n~ “a nw w~ nw nw n vr nr “~ nr w~ n ~ an A nw a“ nr rn nr “~ an ~~ _ nw an A nr ”~ nr Le RO BE re eX 283 Tranfport making them infenfible of Pain. Thofe that got the Fire, applied it imme- diately to their Beards, Faces, and Bofoms, pretending that it would not burn like an earth- ly Flame: But I plainly faw, none of them could endure this Experiment long enough to make good that Pretenfion. 11. ‘*So many Hands being employed, you may be fure, it could not be long before in- numerable Tapers were lighted. ‘The whole Church, Galleries, and every place feemed in- ftantly to be in a flame; and with this Illumi- nation the Ceremony ended. 12. * It muft be owned, that thofe two with- in the Sepulchre, performed their part with great quicknefs and dexterity: But the Beha- viour of the Rabble without, very much dif- credited the Miracle. The Latins take a great deal of pains to expofe this Ceremony, as a mott fhameful [mpofture, and a Scandal to the Chriftian Religion ; perhaps out of envy, that others fhould be matters of fo gainful a Bufinefs. But the Greeks and Armenians pin their Faith upon it, and make their Pilgrimages chiefly upon this Motive: And it is the deplorable Unhappinefs of their Priefts, that having acted the Cheat fo long already, they are now forced to ftand to it, for fear of endangering the Apo- {tacy of their People. Going out of the Church, ** after 2en DRE Ree oe after the Rout was over, we faw feveral Peo- ple gathered about the Stone of Undction, who having got a good ftore of Candles, lighted with the Holy Fire, were employed in dawb- ing pieces of Linnen with the Wicks of them and the melting Wax; which pieces of Lin- nen were defigned for Winding Sheets: And it is the real opinion of thefe poor People, That if they can but have the happinefs to be buried in a Shroud fmutted with this Ce- leftial Fire, it will certainly fecure them from the Flames of Hell, 13. Now my opinion of this Ceremony is, That itis wicked; but notwithftanding, the Latins ought firft of all to remove the large Beam out of their own Eye, before they prefume to difco- ver the f{maller Mote in the Eye of the Greeks and Armenians, t. e. as they have been frequently detected in attempting to impofe Sham Miracles upon their Lay Brethren; fo they ought not to find fault with the others for doing the fame once a year. I fhall mention but one particular in- {tance (out of great numbers that I could name) againft thefe diffatished Latins. ‘They audacioufly affert, That the Blood of St. fanuarius, (the Tu- telar Saint of Naples) boiles up as often as it ap- — proaches the Shrine, wherein his Body is depofit- ed; fo that here we behold the repetition of a Miracle, whenever their crafty Priefthood can find & nr *~r wn vA wv a “ A nw “A a A nr A nm nT nw om ~ € rr vw wr LE TRE: 285 find their account in it. But Maximilian Miffon, obferves rightly enough on this occafion, That nothing 1s more eafy than to prepare a certain Compofition or Mixture of Drugs of any con- fiftence and colour, that fhews fome Motion without Fire, by their fermenting together, An Acquaintance of mine, on his Travels, happened to beat Naples, at the time of this Jugling Trick’s being played; and curiofity tempted him to be a Spectator. The Electoral Prince of Bavaria (now both Elector and Emperor too, if not deprived of thofe Honours by the Queen of Hungary and her Allies) was prefent, with feeming Devotion, and my Friend had the good fortune to be placed very near him. The Mixture of Drugs (alias, Coagulated Blood) which is preferved in a tranf- parent Glafs Phial, was brought forth by a Prieft or Bifhop, and with great Solemnity either fet down upon the Shrine, or upon an Altar clofe by it. As it did not immediately liquify, the Jugling Prieft or Bifhop took it up in his Hands more than once, pretending highly to reverence the Re- lick, and holding it there for a {mall fpace of time, that is to fay, till the Warmth of his Hands could ferment and of courfe caufe a Motion in the Drugs, alas Coagulated Blood. Nay, fuch is their Artifice, that fometimes the Prieft affures the deluded Populace, That the Coagulated Blood cannot 286 le) DXTAEP RS oe cannot liquify till the Hereticks are drove out of the Church ; and then all Proteftants muft imme- diately depart, and think themfelves well off, if they fare no worfe than receiving a few Blows and Knocks, In the mean while, the Prieft is trying with his warm Hands to ferment and caufe a Motion in the Coagulated Blood, which is no fooner perceived, than vifible joy appears in all Countenances of the Congregation, juft as if it ferved for an unan{werable proof of the Miracle. I was formerly intimate with an ingenuousas well as learned Romanift, who had alfo been an Eye- witnefs of this Ceremony, and indeed confeffed that it was an Artificial fort of Miracle, or Piece of pure Legerdemain in his opinion. ‘There is a Tradition (fays M. Miffon,) That St. “fanuarius, and fix other Chri/fzans, were expofed for a Prey to Wild Beafts, but the Beafts adored, inftead of devouring them. Sometime after, thefe feven Champions had their Heads cut off, near So/fa- tara, in the Place where now a Church is built, and dedicated to St. Fanuarius. Thefe — Words are written on the Altar: Locus Decolla- tionis S. “fanuaru, & Sociorum ejus. 14. I took a walk one day laft W dal to a pleafant Village called Goldington, (about a Mile from hence) on purpofe to fatitfy my curiofity, with the fight of a Pollard Afh-tree, which raifes not Lee Ree 287 not a little wondering among fome of our Neigh- bours. It was lopped four or five years ago, when the Farmer to whom it belongs gave very particular order to fpare that fingular part, which caufes fo many Wonderers to vifit it. The Body of it is pretty bulky, and perhaps fix yards in height. All the Loppings grow on the Head or Crown of it, excepting thofe that are found fhooting out of two pretty large Knobbs, the higheft whereof is five feet or better below the Head or Crown, and the lower Knobb is fome- what above three feet directly underneath it. Out of the higheft Knobb iffues a Bough full as thick as my Wrift, the top of which being cut off, the remainder bows downwards in fhape of a Bow, till it reaches the lower Knobb, where en- tering a round hole it becomes joined with it, and is now all of a piece with it, as well as with the higher Knobb. In fhort, this Ath-tree when it is newly lopped, refembles in fome meafure a Quart Pot, the bent Bough, as defcribed, ferv- ing aptly ehough for the Pot’s Handle. The bent Bough has a {maller Bough, of the thicknefs of my Thumb, growing out of the middle of it, {trait forward for four Inches in length; and then it rifes directly upwards, I made what enquiry I could among the Parifhioners, but could get no information of the manner in which the Bough arriv= 288 DOE "TORR ae arrived at its prefent State. However, my own thoughts upon the manner are; That fome crafty Fellow did privately (firft of all) cut off a good part of the Bough, and then (after boring a hole in the lower Knobb) bended down the end till it could reach to enter that fame hole in which it ts now fo firmly fixed; or perhaps the Fellow met with a Hole ready made to his Hands, by the dying of fome Bough, and a little affiftance of the Bird called a Wood-pecker. We have a cheat of much the fame fort in an Afh-tree, growing in my own Parifh of St. Mary, but the Seam where the two Boughs meet, do plainly enough chalk out the contrivance: In fhort, they are both idle and {carce worth notice. | 1s. However, this puts me in mind, That thirty years ago I rode from Oxford, purpofely to fee a very noted Tree, commonly known by the name of Gallow-Tree, on account of the oddnefs of it’s fhape in the lower parts. Several Authors of unqueftionable credit take notice of it, efpecially Bifhop Nzcholjfon, upon whofe Au- thority I depended for its being curious: How- ever, as I may in juftice prefume, it 1s not uni- verfally heard of by my Readers, I crave liberty to defcribe it.as well as my parts and memory, at this great diftance of time will admit of. It ftands (if yet alive) on a Common, or Wafte Ground on the Le AER X. 289 the left hand fide, and not far from the Road, about four or five miles before one comes to Reading in Berk/hire, being a pretty tall Beach- tree, and (was then) thicker than a Man’s Body. It confifts of two Stems that arife out of the ground about three yards afunder diftant from each other, and that approach gradually nearer and nearer to each other, till they are about five yards in height, when they meet clofe together, and fo, being thus united, make but one fingle Stalk of a confiderable length. Between three and four foot beneath the part where they thus unite, there goes a piece of the live Tree, nearly re- fembling a Wooden Bar, almoit {trait acrofs from one Stem to the other ; and this is what gives it the name of Gallow-Tree. The People there- about could affign no account how it firft came to grow in that fingular manner: But I am of opinion, that Art might very eafily be affifting to Nature in the Affair. 16. I yefterday faw, at my Lord Trevor’s Seat, at Brombam, a curiofity in Planting, which I had never before met with, tho’ I believe it to be no new modern invention; wz. Mifletoe growing upon the main Bodies of feveral White-Thorn, and Apple-Trees; which was effected by the Gardiner, and in this eafy, and“Indeed natural manner. In the middle of February laft, he rub- T bed 290 LE Te ToEIRE A. bed the proper places well over with Mifletoe Berries, till the Seeds got to fome fmall Cracks or Crevices in the Bark, and others of them ftuck very faft to even {mooth places of the Bark, by affiftance of the vifcous matter, which grows plentifully all around them, under the white outfide fkin, and (Bird-lime like) will not quit them, before they have taken fuch good root, as to fhoot out there into {mall Bodies and Branches. Every one knows that the Mifletoe Bird, which is of the Thruth kind, plants Mifletoe by carry- ing the Berries to Haw-Thorns, Oaks, Apple- trees, &c. 17. Lam credibly informed, that about twenty- four years ago, as fome Labourers were at work in a Gravel-pit at Goldington, which was four- teen foot deep, they found an Elephant’s Tooth or Tufk, and fome time after fold it.to a Gen- tleman of Cambridge, whofe Name is forgot here: Which reminds me, That at Hawnes, my Lord Carteret’s Seat, about four miles from hence, I took particular notice of the upper parts of fe- veral large Faces, with monftrous great Horns upon them. They did beyond all queftion for- merly (perhaps many Centuries ago) belong to the Beafts, called in Sweden, and other Northern Countries, an Elk, and were dug up out of a Morafs or Bog in Ireland. Now I would wil- lingly ye ie AS ere 291 lingly be informed, how thefe Horns came de- pofited there; for I do not remember I ever heard, that Elks were Natives of Ireland, I may alfo in reafon afk, how and in what manner the Elephant’s ‘Tooth or Tufk could creep four- teen foot deep into the Gravel-pit at Goldington ? Though I dare not prefume myfelf to determine the Cafe, I am fenfible, that many Perfons in good reputation for judgment will infift, That they have lien buried ever fince the Univerfal De- luge. Be it fo: I muft, notwithftanding, take liberty to relate the following Paflage, as it real- ly happened, w/z. When I lived at Burgh, in the Marth, in Lincolnfhire, 1 went in company of fome Neighbours to vifit a Friend about three miles off, upon the edge of the Fenns, and three miles diftant from the Sea-fide. We found him bufily employed in digging for a Well of Water, in order to fix a Pump. The Labourers having got to the depth of twenty-five foot, picked up there an old rufty Iron Head of an Arrow, which caufed immediately a fturdy queftion to arife a- mong us; namely, How and in what manner came it thither? One of our company ventured to make a pretty bold fort of conjecture, vzz. That many hundreds of years ago, the place where we then dined might be all Sea, (the Land even at this day gaining ground in fome places and Te lofeing 292 LE PRR. lofeing as much in others upon that Coaft) and that a Roman Vefiel of War failing along over it, one of the Mariners or Soldiers did by fome accident drop it over-board ; upon which it of Courfe funk to the bottom, where it lay unfought for and unmolefted, till my Friend’s Labourers met with it. But alas! an accident which hap- pened that very afternoon, put an end to the conjecture, and feemed to point out the manner wherein it came thither. The Workmen, in- {tead of digging down flopeways (as they ought to have done,) dug direétly down in a perpendi- dicular line, which confequently caufed the clayifh Sides to crack and”calve in, This calving was fo very gradual and gentle, that they had all - time enough to efcape out fafely ; though the Bucket wherein the Earth was drawn up, (as well as part of the Rope tied to it) was buried at the bottom. By this time my Friend was grown weary of his project, and fo ordered the Hole to be immediately filled up again. Now perhaps, forty or fifty years hence, when this affair is en- turely forgotten, another Owner of the Place may dig for a Well there; and when the Bucket and piece of Rope are difcovered, who knows but that they may be pronounced Roman, and as a rare curlofity fent, either to Dr. Woodwara’s Col. Iss TY Rex: 293 ColleGion, at Cambridge, or elfe to the ae ke Afhmoleanum at Oxford? 18. I ought (in my Firft Letter) to Have in- formed you, that the Clufter of roundifh Shells about as big as my fift, which are cemented and grown together, was picked up among the Rocks and Sand at Black Rock Point, that is to fay, about half way between the Pond and Charles Town, at Nevis. They are Barnacle Shells, and were wafhed off fome Rock in the Sea, and thrown afhore in a Storm or Hurricane: They ftick faft to Ships bottoms too, when they grow foul, which they foon do in fultry Latitudes. A Bar- nacle is no other than a Sea Worm; and now pray, What became of thefe Black- Rock Sea Worms? Did they perifh as foon as out of their Element on the dry Shore? Did they prudential- ly creep back into the Sea, to look out for a new rocky Settlement? or did they turn into Geefe, Ducks, &c. and fo mount up into the Air? I am fatisied, "That all the moft pofitive {tories about the Scotch Barnacles are fabulous ; for I fee no rea- fon why Scotland fhould be bleffed, above other Countries, with fuch a genial Warmth, as will turn Worms into Geefe, Ducks, &¢. Thefe Geefe may feed on Barnacles in Scotland ; and in this fenfe Barnacles may be faid to turn into Geele among the Orcades. N. B. That in Oéfo- r 3 ber 294. Lae Why Re. ber 1721, I faw the fkin of a Soland Goofe ftuff- ed, at Don Saltero’s Coftee-Houfe, in Chelfea ; it was confiderably lefs than our Exgl/h ones, and flat-bodied, not round, to the beft of my re- membrance, Lam, Good Sir, Your affured Friend, W. Smith. L E T- 295 Mabel git Liou High Rugg ols Dear Sir, Laft night tranfcribed, verbatim, the follow- lowing Article from Ireland, out of the Lon- don Evening Poft, viz. ‘ Yetterday, there being ce ¢ vn wv ¢ ¢ nr € na & on fA nw € ~ Un A a A ae A a a A CRN ey Ne A on ASN A ee f & z a a Spring-Tide, a vaft army of Porpuffes came up at Lough Foyl, in purfuit of our Salmon: As they rolled by Londonderry, the Sailors pur- {ued them in their Boats, and killing them all the way, drove them fix miles farther up the Lough to the Flatts, about Mount Gaveling ; there a new Chafe began by our Fifhermen and the Country People, who ftretched a great Net acrofs the Lough, and drove them up to the narrow paflages of the great Ifland, which lies a mile below this Town; there they all fell. on them pell-mell with Guns, Swords, Hatch- ets, and all kinds of Weapons, and made a ter- rible laughter: There were killed here above an hundred and fixty, befides as many more which were mortally wounded, and carried off by the Flood; including thofe the Londonderry Men killed, there have at leaft fallen in this bat- tle five hundred Porpuffes, generally weighing Ai © from 296 LETT oR oe ‘“« from a thoufand to fifteen hundred Weight, “‘ and very good for Oyl. Some of them were ** full of Young ones as big as Calves, and fome had from half a dozen to half a {core Salmons in their Stomachs: But we hope, That fince thefe grand Devourers are deftroyed, our Fifh- ing Trade will hereafter flourifh, and we are pretty well repaid by their Oyl, for the Da- ** mage they have done.” I could heartily with, that the Author of this relation had thoroughly explained himfelf in the above written Words, viz. Some of them were full of Young ones, as big as Calves: For I fancy, he would then have af- ferted (as I do in Letter eight, Paragraph twenty- fix) That Whales, Sharks, Grampuffes, Porpuf- fes, and other huge Leviathans of the Ocean, do never Spawn, but that they propagate their feveral Species like Brute Beafts of the Field, breeding their Young ones in a regular Matrix. Surely the Surgeons and Apothecaries of London- derry, are a very incurious fet of People, if they did not regularly open fome few of them, in or- der to oblige the inquifitive part of Mankind with an exact account of the Matrix, Ovaria, and Fetus of the Female, as alfo of the Penis, &c. of the Male Porpus, Or, if thefe young Porpuffes went into the Maw of the old ones, purely to prey upon fuch Salmons as they found there, (juft as young Sharks do in the We/f Indies) the Au- thor nr nr G w ¢ nr € AR € A € nr ER IE Rex. 2907 thor ought to have informed us of it, if it had come under his Cognizance. 2. Now, that all Species of Animals eee confift of both Male and Female, is what I fup- pofe no body will offer to deny, for fear of his Underftanding’s being called in queftion; though their various methods of Copulation, Breeding, and Bringing-forth, are not fo perfectly and ea- fily difcovered. But alas! thofe refined Gentle- men who are for carrying this nice Point farther ftill, by infifting that the fame will hold true as to the Vegetable World; they are for the moft part, if not always miftaken. Maximilian Miffon, (in vol. 4. page 398.) tells us, That he faw in the Garden of Simples, at Pz/z, in Italy, a Male and a Female Palm-tree planted together, agreeably to the ancient Error of thofe, who thought fuch a Marriage was neceflary, in order - to make thofe Trees fruitful. ‘‘ But this is a “© meer Fable, (adds he;) for I obferved a Palm- ** tree alone full of Dates, at the Vz//la Madome “© on Mount Mario, near Rome.’ I have had the fame truth confirmed to me, by fuch of my Ac- quaintance, as have had the good fortune to make the agreeable Tour of Italy, who (with him too) unanimoufly allow, that they are fcarce enough in Italy, and that they very feldom bear Fruit. Ab, Seller (in chap. 3. of his curious and critical Hiftory of Palmyra) praifes highly the Dates of Syria 72, 298 iE EER Ee Syria, where they abound; and quotes Strabo, who affirms, That the Country about the River Euphrates, produces great quantities of Barley, but that the want of all other things was fupplied by their Palm-trees; that That fingle Tree af- forded the Inhabitants both Wine and Vinegar, Honey and Mead; and out of it they wove their Cloaths: The Shells ferve the Smiths for Fire; and when you have foaked the Shells in Water, you may feed your Cattle, your Oxen and Sheep with them: And it is reported, that there is a Perfic Poem, which enumerates three hundred and fixty ufes (one for every day of the old year) of the Palm-tree. In fome places of Arabia they are perfumed: And thofe in Syria, as they are moft beautiful to the Eye, fo they are of a moft delicious tafte to the Palate. Now, as 4b. Seller was a Perfon of fuch a communicative Nature, as well as great Reading and Curiolity, it would have been wondrous {ftrange, if he had believed that (according to Pliny and other miftaken Au- thors) there had been both Male and Female Palm-trees, he fhould not have given us a hint or two of fo fingular a fact. In fhort; I know of no Male Fruit Tree of any kind; for in mine, and indeed all other Gardens that I ever vifited, Apple-trees, Pear-trees, Orange-trees, Tamarind- trees, Plumb-trees, Apricock-trees, Peach-trees, fc, do all yield (fome more, fome lefs) their pe- culiar bE TL PER x1. 299 culiar Sorts of Fruit; however, I do not remem- ber one fingle inftance to the contrary, either here at home in England, or in the Leeward Cha- ribee Iflands: Or fuppofe there to be a few in- {tances to the contrary, Pray what Conclufions can we draw therefrom, to fupport fo grofs an Error? Surely none at all. 3. Dr. Paten, of Nevis, a Perfon of good Learning, ftrong natural Parts, and untainted Veracity, was brought up at the Univerfity of Aberdeen, and had (as a Ship Surgeon) made three Voyages to India ; In one of which they touch- ed (to the beft of my remembrance) upon the Coaft of Bengal, where he faw a very extraordi- nary kind of Rarity ; vz. an Indian Brachman, who by Charm or Enchantment undertook to quell the fierce and favage temper even of Cro- codiles, fo far as to oblige them to come out of the Water quite tame and inoffenfive. He went, in company of fome Sailors, who had been there about two years before, to vifit the old Brach- man at his Hut, which was fituate in a retired lonefome place in the Wild Country, and not far from a Pond, clofe to which he had contrived a Room of Entertainment (of about thirty foot {quare, with Benches in it) by hanging Matting to fome fpreading Ever-green Trees, that (by a little help from the Sea Breezes) rendered it won~ drous cool and refrefhing in fo fultry a Climate. After 300 heb on Re After a fhort converfation had with him, he cor- ducted them to this pleafant fhaded Room, and defired them to fit down, and not to ftir. Dr. Paten fate clofe by the Brachman, who pulled out a Book, and read therein, mumbling to him- felf, the Characters being all Indian, and of courfe unknown to my Friend. He had not long done fo, before up comes a Crocodile about three foot in length, and walked quietly enough till he came up to him, where he ftood ftill for a while till the Indian Brachman had gently ftroaked him, and then after taking a Tour round the Room, returned back tothe Pond. The Brach- man began to read a fecond time, and quickly after comes up another Crocodile about feven foot long, which behaved in the fame civil man- ner with the former, before he returned back to the Pond. The Brachman read a little the third time, and up comes a third Crocodile, that the Doctor guefled might be twelve foot long; This huge Monfter terrified him heartily, but howe- ver did him no hurt, excepting a heavy ftroak on the Shins, with his Tail-end, as he turned round to go back again to the Pond. They all imme- diately accompanied the old Indian back to his Hut ; where he gave them fome Fruit to carry with them on board the Ship, and for which (as well as for his Conjuring) they made him a fmall Prefent. The Doctor was glad enough that he got Tay T eBRiy OKT. ZOE got fo fafely off then; but could never be pre- vailed on, to venture on another fuch curious Vifit. The Sailors, are a very {uperftitious fet of People ; for thefe were firmly perfuaded, that the Brachman performed this Feat by dint of pure Charm or Enchantment. But alas! it is eafily accounted for in the following manner, without recourfe to Conjuration, wz. He had catched them on the Bank of fome River, when they were very young, carried them Home to the Pond-fide in his Room, fed them at cer- tain particular times in the day, fuffered them by degrees to accuftom themfelves to the Pond, out of which they foon naturally came up at the ufually hour of being fed. And this pretty plainly fhows itfelf; For the old Brachman would be {poke with but at one certain Hour of the Day. In fhort; all Animals whatever may be tamed, provided they are catched whilft young enough for that purpofe, agreeably to the Words of St. | Fames, (chap. 3. ver.7.) For every kind of Beafts, and of Birds, and of Serpents, and things in the the Sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of Man- kind. 4. The Brachman was artful enough, though (I think) his Skill was far fhort of our Country- man’s at Brific/, who (no longer ago than in the year 1719 or 1720,) taught a Dog to fpeak as articulately as Men ufually do, There are (no doubt) 302 LETTER XL. doubt) many thoufands now alive, who were Eye-witneffes to the fact: TI have difcourfed with at leaft twenty of them (Perfons of good credit) and they all agree in every particular circumftance. Nay, I have an intimate Acquaintance, who laft year went to Brzffol on purpofe to drink the Waters, and enquired after the Dog, which has been dead fome years; However, the People fatisfied him of the Truth of this Relation. The Dog’s Name was Fox, and what is pretty re- markable, he refembled a Fox both in fhape and colour, When his Mafter firft began to teach him, he was forced to put his Fingers to the Dog’s Wind-Pipe till he half throtled him, and alfo beat him. But as Fox learned his Leffons, thefe were by degrees left off, till at laft he fpoke articulately without fuch cruel ufage: However, Tt muft take notice, That he could never utter a- Word without previoufly faying the Letter O; For inftance, If his Mafter afked him a Queftion, which obliged him to pronounce the word Fudge by way of anfwer, then the Dog would imme- diately fay, O Fudge, Fudge, “fudge. He was expert in fpeaking feveral other {uch fhort things which have now flipped my memory. But had the Briffol Man lived in the darkeft times of Po- pery, and taught Fox in private, perhaps both Matter and Dog might have been publickly burnt for Diabolical Practices. Or had they even ven- tured LIB TTR! Me. 303 tured to play their Tricks within the Liberties of the good City of London, I fuppofe fome wife Grand Jury of Middlefex, in thofe loyal times, would have zealoufly prefented to the Court the aforefaid Mafter, as one who being moved by the Malice and Inftigation of the Devil, did excite and caufe the faid Dog Fox, to utter frequently (in all forts of Company) certain Seditious and Traiterous Words, tending to excite his Majefty’s Leige Subjects to Rebellion, in order to fubvert our prefent happy Eftablifhment. I many years ago read a Treatife that was intended to prove the Rationality of Brutes, done by Monfieur Charron, who takes great pains, and indeed quotes many grave Authors, in order to prove his affer- tion. We all know what furprizing things have been effected by Elephants, Horfes, and Dogs, who are trained up with that defign: And for my own part, I am perfuaded that they all have an inferior fort of Reafon, to which you are at liberty to appropriate the plaufible Title of In- ftinét, or any other fuch kind of Name as is now in vogue with the Learned World. 5. I fhould have informed you, in Letter the 2‘, Paragraph the 29, that the Spoon- Bill is a very large dunnifh coloured Bird, and 1s fo called becaufe its Bill refembles a Spoon; that Noddies too are as large, and much of the fame Colour ; that Boobies alfo are large as well as of a dunnifh Colour ; 304. LE THER SL, Colour ; and that, if one of thefe laft alights (as they now and then do) upon a Ship’s Yard-Arm, it will ftand there till a Sailor can climb up and catch it with his hands, it all the while pecking and {creaming out, but not offering to fly away, which defervedly gained for it the name of Booby. We have a {mall rocky Ifland between the Wind- ward part of Nevis, and the Windward part of St. Chriftopher’s, called Booby Iland, from their building Nefts upon it. MN. B. I was never very clofe to any of thefe Birds. The Women of An- guilla (an inconfiderable Ifland, {carce a Day’s Sail Leeward from Nevis) do cuftomarily go once a year to another lefs and barren Ifland, (called Prickle Pear, becaufe nothing elfe will grow thereon,) in order to {trip the Birds of their Feathers, which poor Creatures are fo fimple as to fuffer the Women to knock them down with Sticks as they fly about: It is fomewhat ftrange, that repeated experience does not teach them wit enough to keep farther off from fuch dangerous f£nemies. I twice failed along clofe by this Ifland, in both of which times I faw vaft numbers of thefe Birds (that were feemingly bigger than Pigeons) hovering about it; I do not remember their Name. None of the above-mentioned kinds of Birds are eatable. N. B. Anguilla is {0 called, becaufe it is a long narrow land, refembling the form of a Snake. 6, About oy Beet R* Xb 305 6. About two months before I left the We/- Indies, 1 took a little trip up to Antigua, which is a fine Ifland, though it has not one fingle Spring of Water in it: And as it was in a time of great drowth, the whole face of the Country looked difmally enough. All their Ponds were then quite dry, and their Cifterns almoft empty ; fo that they were obliged to-fetch their freth Wa- ter from Guardaloupe, a French land, and Mont- ferrat, an Englifb one, which was afterwards fold for Eighteen Pence a Pail-full. The Capital is called St. “fohn’s, and is by far the moft regular Town I faw in the Wef Indies, clofe to the ~Houfes whereof is the beft and moft commo- _dious Harbour, belonging to our Exglt/h Lee- ward Iflands: They were then building a {lately Church, which I fince hear is compleatly finith- ed; andI am fatisfied is the fineft Building of the kind by much, we have under the Government. And as for the Inhabitants, they (like our other Settlements) were remarkable for Hofpitality and Civility to Strangers, ‘Their Produce is the fame with that of Nevis: But, as they want a great Mountain, they can have no Afparagus, very few Cucumbers, and not fo much plenty of Garden-growth in other kinds. I was lately af- fured by an Antigua Gentleman, That they have very fine Prawns, a Fifh not met with at Nevis. U He 306. - lak Tels Ry XL. He alfo told me, that they eat with fingular pleafure a fmall Land-Crab, the Shell of whofe Body is not broader than a Crown Piece, and which is entirely neglected at Nevis, becaufe we have great plenty of the larger fort. At Neves we have fome diminutive Soal-Fithes which tatfte exactly like Exgli/b ones. The beft profpe& of Antigua, is from a Hill in the middle almoft of the Country. : 7. In my return back homewards to -Nevis, we’ called in at Mont/errat, where too the Gen- tlemen delight to fignalize themfelves in Hof- pitality, and all Acts of Kindnefs and Good Na- ture. The Country is mountainous; and one third of the People Papifts, who are notwith- ftanding allowed to bear Arms, ferve upon Juries, and to do their Country’s fervice in all other re- fpects the fame with the Proteftants. You can- not in reafon expect a fuller account of thefe two Ifles, my ftay at them being fo fhort as ten or twelve days at the firft, and at the latter no more than two. Montféerrat on the Leeward or Weftern Side, muft needs afford a fair Profpect after a plentiful Shower of Rain, it being much higher Land than Antigua. 8. Between Montferrat and Nevis, we pafted by a {mall rocky Ifle named Redondo, which has no LETTER XI, 304 no other Inhabitants befides a few Goats. The Ifland St. Bartholomew, is fettled by us Englifh, but is not confiderable, except for Lignum Vite and Iron Wood. The Dutch Iland of Euftachia, being wondrous regularly marked out into Sugar Cane Fields, looked delightfully as I failed along by itin 1718: But the Small Pox being very rife there then, and fome of our Company hav- ing never been vifited with that Sicknefs, which is always reckoned to be vaftly dangerous to Life in fo hot a Clime, we durft not venture to go on fhore, to my fingular regret. Sada is ano- ther Dutch Ifland but a little way from it: It is a monftroufly great, fteep, and high Rock, {prinkled over with a thin Coat of Earth on the top, and inhabited by fifty or fixty Families: No more than one Perfon at a time can climb up to it, and that with difficulty enough, as well as but at one place, fo that it is abfolutely impreg- nable to all Enemies. Curracea too, is a Dutch Tfland of good note for Trade, and well fortified, its fituation is about two day’s fail to the Leeward. of Nevis, but I was never at it. The Ifland of Nevis is of a round figure ; and St. Cdrzffopher’s is not unlike J¢a/y, i. e. its Shape is much in the form of a Man’s Leg. g. I forgot to acquaint you, That in a bright and clear Day, we can from Nevis very diftinct- U2 ly s08 AE EP Ee RO ly perceive the feveral Iflands of Eu/tachia, Saba, St. Bartholomew, Antigua, Guardaloupe, Mont fer- rat, Rodondo, and St. Chriffopher’s, with an un- bounded Profpect (on all fides) of the At/antick Ocean. When I took leave of it on my return Home to my Native Country, fome refrefhing Rains had made the whole face-of the Earth look fo verdant and {miling, that no other part of the Globe which I have as yet feen, could af- ford a richer gratification of its kind, than was that Quarter of our Ifland which we beheld from on board our Ship inthe Bay. For Charles Town lies {tretched out along the bottom of the Bay, clofe to the Sea-fide. Above it, upon the rifing grounds, and alfo on both fides of it for about four or five Miles in the whole breadth, were fine Plantations of Green Sugar-Canes, Orchards of Orange-Trees, as big as our Englifh Apple- Trees, &c. Higher full, were innumerable tall Trees (or Woods confifting of Palmetto and other charming Ever-Greens) in the utmoft perfection, Higheft of all, up fprung the verdurous Moun- tain-top, not unlike a thick Sugar-loaf. And not far from it, on the South-fide, ftood Saddle Hill: A Hill we term it, tho’ here it might well pafs for a Mountain. A delightful, lovely fight indeed ! efpecially tome, who had received fo many Civili- ties from almoft every Gentleman dwelling there. An eaty Gale of Wind from the Eaft, wafted us {moothly LOTR TRE. 309 fmoothly out of the Bay into the wide Ocean: But I kept my Eyes fixed upon the dear Coun- try, till Night fpread out her fable Curtains, and hid it for ever from me. I then fighed, dropt a few tears, and faid, Farewell, happy Iffe! N. B. As the Holes under our Sugar-Coppers are all on the Weftern-fide of our Boyling-houtes, fo during Crop-time when they have a fire in them, they muft of courfe caft a dazling fhow in the Night, towards the Bay. It is an obfer- vation of all Perfons who fail from Antigua to Nevis, That when they get as far as the {mall rocky Ifland of Rodondo, they are moft highly gratified with a charming Profpect of that quarter of Nevis called Gingerland, it being the Eaftern Parifh of the Country, and of courfe, not to be feen at all from the Bay at Charles Town, Wind- ward Parifh too exhibits a moft beautiful Land- {kip to fuch as fail by on that fide of the Iland. I often thought it a thoufand pities, that Pepper, Clove, Cinnamon, and Nutmeg-Trees, were not long ago tranfplanted from the Ea/f-Indies, to the Leeward Iflands; for then England might have been fupplied with thofe Spices at a far cheaper rate, than by purchafing them of the Dutch. I fhould imagine it no difficult tafk, to fend three or four Ships very privately to India for that pur- pole, wz, to bring away large quantities of their U 3 feyeral n20° LAR TSR RT MM. feveral Fruits ripe, which would of courfe be fit to be put in the Ground, when they arrive at the We/t- Indies, as likewife asmany of the fmalleft young Trees, with the Earth about them, as the Ships could find room for, in Boxes. And for the farther encouragement of Publick Spirit ; let us remember, that Coffee does now thrive pretty well in the We/f-Indies, though formerly the Planters knew nothing of it, and that it would moreover prove a moft advantageous Voyage, be- caufe the We/t-India Gentleman would ftick at no price in purchafing them. The Dutch would (no doubt) try all methods to prevent fuch a pro- ject from fucceeding ; but there are other Iflands befides their Settlements, where they might be had effectually, if the Expedition was kept a fe- cret for fome time: For inftance, Nutmegs might be had at Bouton, where they grow. One Mr. Powers, (a Cantabrigian) who was a Predecefior of mine, in the Rectory of St. ‘fobn’s at Nevis, wrote a Poem called, The Sugar-Cane, which was looked upon there as a curious Work, and as fuch (after his death) fent home hither to his Relations: But I believe it was never printed, for at my return to England, I made a particular en- quiry after it of Mr. Rivington, by St. Paul’s Church-yard, and of many other London Book~- {ellers, but in vain. However, the Subject was a Field Ol re ie ea 221 a Field noble enough for the fineft of Poets to expatiate upon, © 10. I cannot fay, ‘That I am well fatisfied, with either the Ptolemaic or Copernican Syftem : And as for Tycho Brahe ; far better Judges than myfelf are of opinion, that unfurmountable Diff- culties may be eafily raifed againit his Hypothefis, though he is fo prefumptuous as to aim at ac- counting for the Errors of both the others. I find no fmall fault with every one of the Theories of the Earth, that I have as yet feen, though I pro- fefs myfelf very far from being duly qualified to correct thofe Faults. And upon the whole, I think I do efpy a moft fuperlative Pride in all Authors, who attempt to unwind that myfterious Clew of Divine Providence, which perhaps no- thing lefs than Infinite Wifdom (its firft Contriver) is able to comprehend. In fine; wonderful are all the Councils and Ways of the Ever-glorious God, Omnipotent, and All-wife! Foolifh are the fubtileft Machinations, and the cunningeft De- vices. of poor mortal Man’s projecting Heart ! However ; fince they do not injure my Faith as a found. Chriftian, I now and then take a little pleafure by infpecting into, and examining their fhallow Depths as far as my fhort line of Under- ftanding will poffibly reach, But ftill, Iam fo . U4 cautious, 27-2 Ink lel EyRy A. cautious, as to referve to myfelf full liberty either to admit of, or to reject all, or any of their Works, though offered to publick view, and patronized by Perfons the moft eminent for Learning and Natural Parts; ever bearing in mind the Ange] Raphael’s Anfwer to Adam, our general Sire, when he earneftly expreffed his longing to be in- formed of fuch high, abftrufe Matters; M:/ton, book 8, line 66, : 7 To afe or fearch I blame thee not, for Heav’n Is as the Book of God before thee fet, Wherein to read bis wondrous Works, and learn His Seafons, Hours, or Days, or Months, or Years: This to attain, whether Heav'n move or Earth, Imports not, if thou reckon right, the reft From Man or Angel the great Architect Did wifely to conceal, and not divulge His Secrets, to be fcann’d by them who ought Rather admire; or if ee lift to try Conjecture. He his Fabrick of the Heav'ns. Hath left to their difputes, perhaps to move His laughter at their quaint opinions wide, Ps eotiee when they come to model Heav’n And calculate the Stars, bow they will wield The mighty Frame, how build, unbuild, contrive To fave appearances, how gird the Sphere With Centric and Eccentric fertbled o'er, — Gyele LETTER «Xd. 213 Cycle and Epicycle, Orb in Orb: Already by thy reafoning this I guefs, Who art to lead thy Offspring, and fuppofeft That Bodies bright and greater fhould not ferve The lefs not bright, nor Heav’n fuch journies run, Earth fitting fiill, when fhe alone recetves The benefit : confider firft, that Great Or Bright infers not Excellence: The Earth Though, in comparifon of Heaven, fo finall, Nor gliftering may of falid Good contain — More plenty than the Sun that barren fhines, Whofe virtue on itfelf works no effect, But in the fruitful Earth; there firft receiv'd His beams, unactive elfe, their vigour find, Yet not to Earth are thofe bright Luminaries Offictous, but to thee Earth’s inhabstant. Mand for the Heaven's wide circuit, let it fpeak The Maker's high Magnificence, who built So fpactous, and his line ftretch’d out fo far, That Man may know he dwells not in bis own ; Ay Edifice too large for him to fill, Lodg’d in a finall partition, and the reft Ordain'd for ufes to his Lord beft known, The fwifinefs of thofe Circles attribute, Though numberlefi, to his Omnipotence That to corporeal Subftances could add Speed almoft fpiritual; me thou think’/t not flow, Who fince the Morning hour fet out from Heaven Where 314 EAE ay ere Where God refides, and eer mid-day arriv'd In Eden, diftance inexprefible 3 By numbers that have name. But this I urge, Admitting motion in the Heav'ns, to fhew Invalid that which thee to doubt tt mov'd ; Not that I fo afirm, though fo it feem To thee who haft thy dwelling here on Earth, God to remove his ways from human fenfe, Plac’d Heaven from Earth fofar, that earthly fight If it prefume, might err in things too high, And no advantage gain. What if the Sun Be Center to the World, and other Stars | By bis attractive Virtue and their own — Invited, dance about him various rounds ? Their wand’ring cour fe now high, now low, then hid, Progrefive, Retrograde, or fanding fill, In fix thou feeft ; and what if fev'nth to thefe The Planet Earth, fo ftedfaft though fhe feem, Infenfibly three different motions move? — Which elfe to feveral Spheres thou muft afcribe Mov'd contrary with thwart obliquities, © Or fave the Sun bis labour, and that fwift WNoéturnal and diurnal Rhomb fuppos d, Invifible elfe above all Stars, the wheel Of Day and Night ; which needs not thy belief, If Earth induftrious of herfelf fetch Day Travelling Eaft, and with her part averfe From the Sun’s beam meet Night, her other part Still BE TF BR 2X8 315 Still luminous by his Ray. What if that light Sent from ber through the wide tranfpicuous Air, To the Terreftrial Moon be as a Star Enlight’ ning her by day, as fhe by night This Earth; reciprocal, if Land be there, Fields, and Inhabitants : Her Spots thou feeft As Clouds, and Clouds may rain, and rain produce Fruits in her foften'd Soil, for fome to eat Allotted there ; and other Suns perhaps With their attendant Moons thou wilt defcry Communicating Male and Female Light, Which two great Sexes animate the World, Stor’d in each orb perhaps with thofe that hve. For fuch vaft room in Nature unpoffe/sd | By living Soul, defert and defolate, Only to fhine, yet fcarce to contribute Each Orb a ghimps of Light, convey'd fo far Down to this habitable, which returns Light back to them, 1s obvious to difpute. But whether thus thefe things, or whether not, Whether the Sun predominant in Heav’n Rifeion the Earth, or Earth rife on the Sun He from the Eaft bis flaming road begin, Or fhe from Weft ber filent courfe advance | With inoffenfive pace that fpinning fleeps Ox her foft Axle, while fhe paces evn And bears thee foft with the finooth Air along, Solicit not thy Thoughts with matter hid, . Leave 316 bye Th ER a8 Leave them to God above, him ferve and fear ; Of other Creatures, as him pleafes beft, Wherever plac’d, let him difpofe: joy thou In what be gives to thee, this Paradife , And thy fair Eve; Heav'n ts for thee too high For thee to know what paffes there ; be lowly wife: Think only what concerns thee and thy Being ; Dream not of other Worlds, what Creatures there Live, in what flate, condition or degree Contented that thus far hath been revealed Not of Earth only but of higheft Heav'n, I cannot help taking particular notice of the eight laft lines of our great blind Poet, and find in me a ready difpofition, to cry out with Zephar, (fob 11.7.) Canft thou by fearching find out God? Canft thou find out the Almighty unto perfection ? It is as high as Heaven, what canft thou do? Deeper than Hell, what canft thou. know? The meafure thereof is. longer than the Earth, and broader than the Sea. And alas! Notwithftand- ing fuch a powerful difcouragement, vain Man covets at leaft to be thought wife. In plain; Hu- mility is an excellent Virtue, and yet we are all proud enough: Nay, there may be, and indeed often is a great deal of fecret Pride, in the very faireft pretences to Humility. I fhall finith this ; | Article Libs bei RS Xa, 207 Article with obferving, That nothing does more eafily puff up our empty bladder of vanity, than weak Human Literature: Nay, fometimesa poor pittance, or even pretended fhare of it, will fuf- fice for that purpofe, though at the fame time it is well known, that the wifeft Solomon of our Age, cannot affign a tolerable Reafon, why Grafs fhould be green, or why Flowers fhould be va- riegated into fo many beautiful, enamelled Co- lours. 11. My dear Friend, Farewell! And I with I could for ever bid adieu to this bewitching fin of Pride, that haunts me like an Evil Genius: But that (I fear) is much too difficult a tafk for me to overcome ; for yefterday morning, it would fain have tempted me to begin another Letter ; and it certainly would have fucceeded, had not a Verfe in the firft Leffon for Evening Service de- termined me to the contrary, wiz. Lcclefiaftes xii. 12. Of making many Books there ts no end, and much Study is a wearinefs of the Flefb. I thould not be eafily tired by continuing longer in this Epiftolatory way of Correfpondence ; but am fully convinced, that my Faculty of Writing on, would not foon terminate, becaufe a Perfon whofe Talent lies in this Vein, has an inexhaufti- : ble ers LART AERTS ble Fund to work upon, which in the end muft - however quite weary him out. I am fuffi- ciently admonifhed to conclude by fubfcribing myfelf, Your fincere Friend, | W. Smith. INDEX, ean. 1) ate A, Page ALLIGATORS ————. 235 Angling in Black-Rock Pond. 10 Anguilla Iftand —ee 204 | Antigua Iland nat et nee nega Ants cers a cee 204, Apples of Sodom sa cen nee 2 Arrow-head under ground ———nmeementnnen 20 Afoeftos TO Afparagus nein JZ B, Bar nc le) ae rts 2 Bartholomew Ifland serine naman cena Sp Bath at Nevis reno 55 Bath-Plain Plantation 87 Batts 5r Beef, Mutton, &c. —— 209, 210 Bees, wild-—_—_— 19 I Birds ctr nts 5 dbid, none nn anenaemcnnimaenanrmemaet nt un 9 {) 2 Bonny Boatman ———-—_——-—— 130 Bull- Dog ———_— C, Cabage-Trees — 252 LD 1h parm moc eran cen omens Cape Page Calenture a ree 18 Callebafh Treess 33 Cape de Verd Hiateas ——— 206 Caffada Bread: a ee LOT Caffia Fiftula Tree--—---——-——_~—__--—— 26 Catarad———_——-—— —___—_—_—— 142. Cavally Fijbp-———-——_——-—__-—-——-_ 2 Cedar white-——_—_—__--—_—— 203 Centipee —_—_---——_——- 97 Cherrokee-Indians 72 Cherry, Cafbew KS Chianne or es 22 Chigoes—— 99 China, Great Wall of-—-———-——_-— 17 5 Ce —————_—————_ 183 a Tord. > 235 Chrifopher Ifland. ————— 22.0 C16 005- 2 37 Cock. Roach ——_— 196 Cockle Shells KS 2,9 Cocks, Game—_—___-—_-—_————. 217 Coco 45 C9008 +40 Od ——————_ 135 Copernicus, Ptolomy, Tycho Brabe —— 311 Coppers, the Devil’ s-———_—_—-——-—___-——48 Coral ——————— ——-—_- 16 Cornua Ammonis————-~---—--—-——- 20 Cotton POs. Crabs on Land ———$_—__-—__—_—.—_ i lid——_-—_—_ -—__- —_-——_——- 210 | Cray Midhae AL CDE Ae tater lt 17 Crebouga ra D E X. | Page Crebouga——_——- 23 2 Crocodiles, Tame-————_—_--——- —299 Cronflot Caftle ——_—_—_---- 1 49 Cucumbers prickly —————_———_—— 208 Curracoa Ifland- 2 ee eee DD Decyphering ——-—_--_—-——— 253 Dendrites ee NOT Diddledoo Trees ——_———-__—_—_— 93 Divers of Weymouth ——_——-——-—— 13 Dog {peaking ———>»—-—_-—_—— 312 Dog-wood Bark ee Dalphin —-——-—-— 18 Ibid, —_————_—_ 2 1 6 ee Cree ana aS MLE Ducks, Mungrel —-——_——_———_-—— 198 BE. Earthquakes at Nevis————— 59, 60, 61, 62, 63 Pf ome en ent ——250 Eel, cold, at Surinam enn 86 Elephants Tooth at Goldington 209 Elks Horns, at Hawnes 290 Elfineur in Denmark rors Lt England, formerly joined to France —- 66 Euftachia [/land x Fire, DIN Eee F, Page Fire, Greek SS Fifbes in Black-Rock Pond. Fifhes, Flying Fifbes, Sea Seen ond Fifbes, Golden ————___—_______ 201 Lifh, Hunting —_——__——__—_--—. 3 Flamingo Bird-—--——____________ 36 0 eee aan BELLE 6 peer 67, 70 DB 5 ep G. Garden in the Woods ———-—-—— 29, 32 Garden, Produce es 37 Geefe, Ducks, Sc, ——-—________2 9 Ginger $$$ — 466 Grampus . ——-——— 198 Ground, bot at Sulphur Gut ———— 55 Guana’s ———-—_-—— 8; Gulph Weed. 1 7 Guna Alnne——— ——_—______._. 5 H. flecla, a Vulcano Heat at Nevis Hefperides peEENU arcane 239 207 Humming Birds —————19 4 Hurricane ee teen 240 Januarius PNUD? HX. J. Page Januarius Saznt, bis Blood —————— 284. Sfeffamine — a 203 Indico 206 L. Ladies fein their Faces———————_—— 30 Library at Charles Town wre 2D Lightning without Thunder —————————19 9 Liquorifh Bufb 194. Lizards ———— 85 Lizards Tail cut off, grows again — 180 Lobfters, potfonous————-——_——_—_—-_ 17 M. Mael-/troom ——— 132 Manchineel Apple-Tree —_-—-—— 25 Manchineel Stick, turns Milk 244, Miffon, upon Shells Sea 162 Mifletoe ———_——__—__-__——_——289 Montferrat I/fand: ——_—_—___——_—- 7 Moon Fifh ———_——__-___—__-—_--——-_ 9 Mountain at Nevis 64. —_—— at St. Chriftopher’s 22 Mud Fi fh—_—_—__—____—_-_ 3 Mulatto Child ——-_——_-—___——__—_231 Mullet’'s Fat ——-—-—_—__——- 219 Mujick in a Garden —-—— 29 ~ of Lizards ——-————_——_—— 89 X 2 Nankin INI DEX, Page N. Nankin Porcelain Tower ——-——175 Narva ee Negroes — 32% Nevis, why the Mother Ifland —223 Nevis, Pro/peé?- ———-———-—_-—_——_ 308 Q. Oy/ters, upon Mangrove-tree Roots ———-—2 10 Bo Page m7 Palm-Tree———_———_—_——297 Parrots ——-——_——_ 237 Patelle Shells ——-———-—---—-_ 5 Pelican 195 Pigeons wn ee oT Piemento 25 Pinna Marina— oo Bs 236 Polypus, an Aquatick Infoshp ————_———17 Porpuffes 18 5 Thid, Fer ae on 295 Port-Royal, an Earthquake there 62 PPE ATS manner ea ann at mentee (9 Ff Prefentation and Sallary at Nevis 213,234 © R, Rats eaten at “famatca omen OY Redondo 306 Revel PN DEX Page Revel Town ————- 148 Rum ——— 238 5. Saba Iftand —_——_——__—__-—_— 307 Sage Bufh —_——__—_—_—— 192 Salt Pond-——-———_--__—____-_—_— 88 SCOrPtONs —<<—<$<_—$ $_<—$ <_< 97 Sea Blue Sea Eggs————_—_—-——__—_—__—— 18 1 Sea Horfe ee ec eee eed 52 Shark LO on nett mt | 31 Lbid. re ge eae _ Sheer-water Bird —-——-—--——_— —24.5 Shelvack’s Letter, Sc. ————----—11 5 Skie, in the Wett-Indies-——-—_--—-— 22 Sloan’s Account of Nevis ———— ats Soal-Fifh ene meet cman ereemearssost 30 6 Solomon’s Cifferns — $$ 168 Spices tranfplanted —-—_—. 309 Spider S= nena nt 204. Spiders at Cuba———_——_--—-—_—23 5 Sprats cnt errant J Spring perpetual enn 21D Spring in the Sea, Hot——-——-——_——-—_ 58 Spring at Louth we 7S Stones in an Oxe’s Paunch —_-———-—————16 1 Stones grow ——-—— SEER Ibid. ee 2 46 Stones, with odd fhapes, colours, Be. —160 Stones by Petrification ——— 168 —— Horfe’s Kidney petrified ————170 Ofones, INDEX. Page Stones, Artificial oer Tables of Artificial Stone ————— 1.73 Storks —————_—_——— 140 Sugar-Canes —-——_——_-—-—_-— 222 Sword Fifh — 198 oli | Tamarind Tree erent FA Tarantule in Italy 102 —— at Cuba cen eee 234 Thrafber Fifh ————_—_—_—_-_—_-—198 Tide at Nevis a een nn? A Lid. ———_—_—____________—_ 150 Toad, hairy ———— 235 Toad alive in Portland Stone——__——-— 1 56 Tortoife, Sea -———-—197 Tree, Gallow meee crete reece mmm 2, Tropick Bird se 245 Turky Capons cohen enn tanec 221 Turnads —-—-———-_—__—_—-—_—— 189 EDL ee OD V. 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