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THE UNIVERSITY
OF ILLINOIS
LIBRARY

X an/*

ILLINOIS HISTORICAL SURVEY

m

r#3

TRAVELS

INTO

NORTH AMERICA;

CONTAINING

Its Natural History, and

A circumftantial Account of its Plantations
and Agriculture in general;

WITH THE

CIVIL, ECCLESIASTICAL AND COMMERCIAL
STATE OF THE COUNTRY,

The manners of the Inhabitants, and feveral curious
and important remarks on various Subjects.

By PETER KALM,
ProfefTor of Oeconomy in the Univerfity of Aobo in Swediih
Finland, and Member of the SwediJ}? Royal Academy of
Sciences.

translated Into English,

By JOHN REINHOLD FORSTER, F. A. S.

Enriched with a Map, feveral Cuts for the Illuflration of
Natural Hiltory, and fome additional Notes.

VOL. II.

LONDON:.

Printed for the EDITOR;

And Sold by T. Lowndes, in Fleet-ftreec

MDCCLXXL

oy\r\ Z ZtLL'

LIST of SUBSCRIBERS.

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B.

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[ A ] Rev.

o4 i

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C.

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e Sir

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John's College, Cambridge.
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G.
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Profeffor of Modern Hiftory.

Gren-

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I.
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Mr.

)

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of Llandaff.
p.ev. Mr. Layland.
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fhire.
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M.
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College, and ProfefTor of Botany at Cam-.

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T.

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PETER

PETER KALM's
TRAVELS.

New Jerfey^ Raccoon.
"December the feventh, 1748.

IN the morning I undertook again a
little journey, to Raccoon, in New
Jerfey.
It does not feem difficult to find out the
reafons, why the people multiply more here
than in Europe. As foon as a perfon is old
enough, he may marry in thefe provinces,
without any fear of poverty ; for there is
fuch a tract of good ground yet unculti-
vated, that a new-married man can, with-
out difficulty, get a fpot of ground, where
he may fufficiently fubfift with his wife and
children. The taxes are very taw, and he

A a need

4 December 1748.

need not be under any concern on their
account. The liberties he enjoys are fo great,
"that he coniiders himfelf as a prince in his
poilefiions. I fhall here demonftrate by
fome plain examples, what effect fuch a
conftitution is capable of.

Maons Keen, one of the Swedes in Rac-
coon, was now near feventy years old : he
had many children, grandchildren, and
great-grandchildren -, fo that, of thofe who
were yet alive, he could mutter up forty-five
perfons. Befides them, feveral of his chil-
dren and grandchildren died young, and
fome in a mature age. He was, therefore,
uncommonly bleffed. Yet his happinefs is
not comparable to that which is to be feea
in the following examples, and which I have
extracted from the Philadelphia gazette.

In the year 1732, January the 24th,
died at Ipfwich, in New England, Mrs.
Sarah Tut/oil, a widow, aged eighty-fix
years. She had brought fix teen children
into the world ; and from feven of them
only, (lie had feen one hundred and feventy-
feven grandchildren and great-grandchil-
dren.

In the year 1739, May the 30th, the
children, grand and great-grandchildren, of
Mr. Richard Buttington9 in the pariffi of
Cbefier, in Penjy>vania9 were affembled in

his

New Jerjey, Raccoon.

his houfe ; and they made together one
hundred and fifteen perfons. The parent of
thefe children, Richard Buttington, who was
born in England, was then entering into his
eighty- fifth year : and was at that time quite
iteih, active, and fenfible. His eldeft fon,
then fixty years old, was the firit EngUJhman
born in Penfyhania.

In the year 1742, on the 8th of January,
died at Trenton, in New Jerfey, Mrs. Sarah
Furman, a widow, aged ninety-feven years.
She was born in New England-, and left
five children, fixty- one grandchildren, one
hundred and eighty-two great-grandchil-
dren, and twelve great-great-grandchildren,
who were all alive when (he died.

In the year 1739* on the 28th of Janu-
ary, died at South Kingfton, in New England,
Mrs. Maria Hazard, a widow, in the hun-
dredth year of her age. She was born in
Rhcde Ijland, and was a grandmother of the
then vice-governor of that illand, Mr. George
Hazard. She could count altogether five
hundred children, grandchildren., great-
grandchildren, and great-great-grandchil-
dren. When {lie died, two hundred and
five perfons of them were alive j a grand-
daughter of hers had already been grand-
mother near fifteen years.

In this manner, the ufual wifh or bleffing
in our liturgy, that the new- married couple

A 3 may

6 I) ee ember 1748,

may fee their grandchildren, till the third
and fourth generation, has been literally ful-
filled in regard to fome of theie perfons *.

December the 9th. In every country, we
commonly meet with a number of infe&s ;
of which many, though they be ever fo
finall and contemptible, can do confiderable
damage to the inhabitants. Of theie dan-
gerous infects, there are likewife fome in
North America : fome are peculiar to that
country, others are common to Europe like-
wife.

I have already, in the preceding volume,
mentioned the Mofquitoes, as a kind of difa-
greeable gnats ; and another noxious infect,
the Bruchus Pifi, which deftroys whole fields
with peafe. 1 (hall here add fome more.

There are a kind of Locujls, which about
every feventeenth year come hither in in-
credible numbers, They come out of the
ground in the middle of May, and make,
for fix weeks together, fuch a noife in the
trees and woods, that two perfons who
meet in fuch places, cannot understand each
other, unlefs they fpeak louder than the
locuiis can chirp. During that time, they
make, with the fting in their tail, holes in-
to the foft bark of the little branches on the
trees, by which means thefe branches are

ruined.

t Mr. Kalm fpeaks here of the Snxedijb Liturgy.

New Jerfey, Raccoon. 7

ruined. They do no other harm to the trees
or other plants. In the interval between
the years when they are fo numerous, they
are only feen or heard fingle in the woods.

There is likewife a kind of Caterpillars
in thefe provinces, which eat the leaves
from the trees. They are alfo innumerable
in fome years. In the intervals there arc
but few of them : but when they come,
they lirip the trees fo entirely of their
leaves, that the woods in the middle of
fummer are as naked as in winter. They
eat all kinds of leaves, and very few trees are
left untouched by them ; as, about that time
of the year the heat is moil exceffive. The
flopping the trees of their leaves has this fatal
confequence, that they cannot withfland the
heat, but dry up entirely. In this manner,
great forefls are fometimes entirely ruined.
The Swedes who live here fhewed me, here
and there, great tracts in the woods, where
young trees were now growing, inflead of
the old ones, which, fome years ago, had
been deflroyed by the caterpillars. Thefe
caterpillars afterwards change into moths,
or fhalcence, which (hall be defcribed in the
fequel, in their proper places.

In other years the Grafs-worms do a
great deal of damage in feveral places, both
in the meadows and corn-fields. For the

A 4 fields

8 December 1748.

fields fire at certain times over-run with
great armies of thefe worms, as with the
other infects ; yet it is very happy that thefe
many plagues do not come all together.
For in thofe years when the locufts are
numerous, the caterpillars and grafs-worms
are not very conliderable, and it happens
fo with the latter kinds, fo that only one
of the three kinds comes at a time. Then
there are feveral years when they are very
fcarce. The grafs-worms have been ob-
ferved to fettle chiefly in a fat foil ; but as
foon as careful hufbandmen difcover
them, they draw narrow channels with al-
moft perpendicular fides quite round the
field in which the worms are fettled ;
then by creeping further they all fall into
the ditch, and cannot get out again. I
was allured by many perfons that thefe
three forts of infects followed each other
pretty clofely \ and that the locufts came
in the'firfl year, the caterpillars in the fe-
cond, and the grafs-worms in the laft :
I have likewife found by my own expe-
rience that this is partly true.

Moths, or Tineoe, which eat the clothes,
are likewife abundant here. I have fecn.
cloth, worfted gloves, and other woollen
fluffs, which had hung all the rummer
locked up in a fhrine, and had not been

taJ^en

New Jerfcy> Raccoon. 9

taken care of, quite cut throughby thefe
worms, lo that whole pieces fell out :
Sometimes they were fo fpoiled that they
could not be mended again. Furs which
had been kept in the garret were frequently
fo ruined by worms, that the hair went off
by handfuls. I am however not certain
whether thefe worms were originally in the
country, or whether they were brought
over from Europe.

Fleas are likewife to be found in this
part of the world. Many thoufands were
undoubtedly brought over from other
countries ; yet immenfe numbers of them
have certainly been here fince time imme-
morial. I have feen them on the grey
fquirrels, and on the hares which have
been killed in fuch defart parts of this
country, where no human creature ever
lived. As I afterwards came further up
into the country, and was obliged to lie at
night in the huts and beds of the Indians,
I was fo plagued by immenfe quantities of
fleas, that 1 imagined I was put to the tor-
ture. Thev drove me from the bed, and
I was very glad to deep on the benches be-
low the roof of the huts. But it is eafy to
conceive that the many dogs which the
Indians keep, breed fleas without end.
E>ogs and men lie promifcuoufly in the

huts ;

jo December 1748.

huts; and a ftranger can hardly lie down
and fhut his eyes, but he is in danger of
being either fquezed to death, or ftifled by
a dozen or more dogs, which lie round
him, and upon him, in order to have
a good refting place. For I imagine they
do not expect that Grangers will venture to
beat them or throw them off, as their ma-
ilers and miftreffes commonly do.

The noify Crickets (Gryllus dome fit cits)
which are fometimes to be met with in the
houfes in Sweden, I have not perceived in
any part of Penfyhania or New Jerjey, and
other people whom I have afked, could
not fay that they had ever feen any. In
fummer there are a kind of black Crickets*
in the fields, which make exactly the fame
chirping noife as our houfe crickets. But
they keep only to the fields, and were
iilent as foon as winter or the cold weather
came on, They fay it fometimes happens
that thefe field crickets take refuge in
houfes, and chirp continually there, whilft.
it is warm weather, or whilft the rooms
are warm ; but as foon as it grows cold
they are filent. In fome parts of the pro-
vince of New Tork, and in Canada, every

farm-

* Perhaps it Is the Gryllus eampejlris, or comrnos
black field cricket of Europe, of which Roc/el in his work,
on infects, vol. 2, Gryll. f. 13. has given a fine draw-
ing. F.

New Jerfey, Raccoon. 1 1

farm-houfe and moft of the houfes in. the
towns, fwarm with fo many, that no farm-
houfe in our country can be better flocked
with them. They continue their mufic
there throughout the whole winter.

Bugs (Cimex leBularius) are very plen-
tiful here. I have been fufficiently tor-
mented by them, in many places in Cana-
da : But I do not remember having ken
any with the Indians, during my ftay at
Fort Frederic. The commander there, Mr.
de Loufignan, told me, that none of the Il-
linois and other Indians of the weftern parts
of North America knew any thing of thefe
vermin. And he added, that he could
with certainty fay this from his own expe-
rience, having been among them for a
great while. Yet I cannot determine whe-
ther bugs were firft brought over by the
Europeans, or whether they have originally
been in the country. Many people looked
upon them as natives of this country, and
as a proof of it faid, that under the wings
of bats the people had often found bugs,
which had eaten very deep into the flefh.
It was therefore believed that the bats had
got them in fome hollow tree, and had af-
terwards brought them into the houfes, as
they commonly fix themfelves dole to the
walls, and creep into the little chinks which

they

12 December 174S.

they meet with. But ss I have never Teen
any bugs upon hats, I cannot fay any thing
upon that fobjed. Perhaps a loufe or a
tick (Acarus) has been taken for a bug.
Or, if a real bug has been found upon a
bat's wing, it is very eafv to conceive that
it fixed on the bat, whilit the latter was
fitting; in the chinks of a hcuie itocked
with European bugs.

As the people here could not be;.r the
inconvenience of thefe vermin, any more
than we can in Sweden, they endeavoured
to expel them by different means. I have
already remarked in the preceding volume,
that the beds to that purpoie were made of
Saffdfrm wood, but that they were only
temporary remedies. Some perfons affured
me that they had found from their own
experience, and by repeated trials, that no
remedy was more effectual towards the ex-
pullion of bugs, than the injecting of
boiling water into all the cracks where
they are fettled, and warning all the wood
of the beds with it ; this being twice or
thrice repeated, the bugs are wholly de-
stroyed. But if there are bugs in neigh-
bouring houfes, they will fallen to ones
clothes, and thus be brought over into
other houfes.

I cannot fay whether thefe remedies are

good

Newjerfcy, Raccoon. 13

good or no, as I have not tried them; but
by repeated trials I have been convinced
that iulphur, if it be properly employed, en-
tirely deftroys bugs and their eggs in beds
and walls, though they were ten times more
numerous than the ants in an ant-hill*.

The Mill-beetles, or Cock-roaches, are
likewise a plague of North America, and are
fettled in many of its provinces. The
learned Dr. Co/den was of opinion that
thefe infedts were properly natives of the
Wejl Indies, and that thofe that were found
in North America were brought over from
thofe iflands. To confirm his opinion, he
(aid, that it was yet daily feen how the
fhips coming with goods from the Wejl In-
dies to North America brought mill- beetles
with them in great numbers. But from
the obfervations which I have made in this
country, 1 have reafon to believe that thefe
infects have been on the continent of North
Annrica iince time immemorial. Yet not-
withstanding this I do not deny their being
brought over from the Weft Ind:- They
are in almoft every houfe in the city of
Nezv York ; and thofe are undoubtedly
come over with fhips. But how can that

be

* A ftill more infallible remedy, is to warn all the
furniture, infe&ed wijh thai vermin, with a folation of
arfenic. F.

14 December 1748.

be faid of thofe mill -beetles, wbich are
found in the midft of the woods and de-
farts ?

The Englifl) likewife call the Mill-
beetles, Cock-roaches, and the Dutch give
them the name of Kackerlack. The Swedes
in this country call them Brodoetare, or
Bread-eaters, on account of the damage
they do to the bread, which I am going to
defcribe. Dr. Linnaus calls them Blattd
Orientalis. Many of the Swedes call them
likewife Kackerlack. They are not only
obferved in the houfes, but in the fummef
they appear often in the woods, and run
about the trees, which are cut down. On.
bringing in all forts of old rotten blocks of
wood for fewel, in February, I difcovered
feveral cock-roaches fettled in them ; they
were at nrft quite torpid, or as it were
dead ; but after lying in the room for
a while, they recovered, became very
lively, and began to run about. I after-
wards found very often, that when old rot-
ten wood was brought home in winter, and
cut in pieces for fewel, the cock-roaches
were got into it in numbers, and lay in it
in a torpid (late. In the fame winter, a
fellow cut down a great dry tree, and was
about to fplit it. I then obferved in a.
crack, fome fathoms above the ground j

c fevera!

New Jerfey* Raccoon* 1 5

feveral cock-roaches together with the
common ants. They were, it feems, crept
up a great way, in order to find a fecure
place of abode againfl winter. On travel-
ling in the middle of October 1749,
through the uninhabited country between
the Englijh and French colonies, and
making a fire at night near a thick half
rotten tree, on the more of lake Cbamplain,
numbers of cock-roaches came out of the
wood, being wakened by the fmoke and
the fire, which had driven them out of
their holes. The Frenchmen, who were
then in my company, did not know them,
and could not give them any name. In
Canada the French did not remember feeing
any in the houfes. In Penfyhania, I am
told, they run in immenfe numbers about
the (heaves of corn, during the harveft.
At other times they live commonly in the
houfes in the EngHJh fettlements, and lie
in the crevices, efpecially in the cracks of
thofe beams which fupport the ceiling,
and are neareft to the chimney.

They do a deal of damage by eating the
foft parts of the bread. If they have once
made a hole into a loaf, they will in a little
time eat all the foft part in it, fo that on
cutting the loaf, nothing but the cruft is
left. I am told they likewife eat other

victuals *

1 6 December 1748.

victuals. Sometimes they bite people's
nofes or feet, whilft they are afleep. An
old Swede, called Sven Laock, a grandfon
of the Rev. Mr. Laockenius, one of the
firft Swedi/h clergymen that came to Pen-
fylvania, told me, that he had in his
younger years been once very much fright-
ened on account of a cock-roach, which
crept into his ear whilft he was afleep.
He waked fuddenly, jumped out of bed,
and felt that the infect, probably out of
fear, was endeavouring with all its ftrength
to get deeper. Thefe attempts of the
cock-roach were fo painful to him, that he
imagined his head was burning, and he
was almoft fenfelefs ; however he haftened
to the well, and bringing up a bucket full
of water, threw fome into his ear. As
loon as the cock-roach found itfelf in dan-
ger of being drowned, it endeavoured to
fave itfelf, and puflied backwards out of
the ear, with its hind feet, and thus hap-
pily delivered the poor man from his
fears.

The Wood-lice are difagreeable infects,
which in a manner are worfe than the pre-
ceding ; but as I have already defcribed
them in a peculiar memoir, which is
printed among the memoirs of the Royal

Academy

New Jerfey, Penns Neck. if

Academy of Sciences for the year 1754, 1
refer my readers to that account.

December the 11th. This morning I
made a little excurfion to Penns Neck, and
further over the Delaware to Wilmington.
The country round Penn's Neck has the fame
qualities as that about other places in this
part of New Jerfey. For the ground ccnfifts
chiefly of fand, with a thin ftratum of
black foil. It is not very hilly, but
chiefly flat, and in moft places covered
with open woods of fuch trees as have an-
nual leaves, efpecially oak. Now and then
you fee a fingle farm, and a little corn
field round it. Between them are here and
there little marfhes or fwamps, and fome-
times a brook with water, which has a
very flow motion.

The woods of thefe parts confifi of all
forts of trees, but chiefly of oak and hiccory.
Thefe woods have certainly never been cut
down, and have always grown without
hindrance. It might therefore be expect-
ed that there are trees of an uncommon
great age to be found in them ; but it
happens otherwife, and there are very £qw
trees three hundred years old. Moft of
them are only two hundred years old -,
and this convinced me that trees have
the fame quality as animals, and die after

Vol, II. B thev

iS December 1748.

they are arrived at a certain age. Thus we
find great woods here, but when the trees
in them have flood an hundred and fifty or
an hundred and eighty years, they are
either rotting within, or lofing their crown,
or their wood becomes quite foft, or their
roots are no longer able to draw in fuf-
ficient nourifliment, or they die from fome
other caufe. Therefore when ftorms blow,
which fometimes happens here, the trees
are broke off either juft above the root, or
in the middle, or at the fummit. Several
trees are likevvife torn out with their roots
by the power of the winds. The florms
thus caufe great devaftations in thefe fo-
refts. Every where you fee trees thrown
down by the winds, after they are too
much weakened by one or the other of the
above mentioned caufes to be able to re-
fill their fury. Fire likewife breaks out
often in the woods, and burns the trees
half way from the root, fo that a violent
guft of wind eaiily throws them down.

On travelling through thefe woods, I
purpofely tried to find out, by the pofition
of the trees which were fallen down,
which winds are the ftrongefl hereabouts.
But I could not conclude any thing with
certainty, for the trees fell on all fides, and
lay towards all the points of the compafs.

I there-

New Jtrjey, Penh's Neck, 19

I therefore judged, that any wind which
blows from that fide where the roots of the
tree are weakeft and fhorteft, and where it
can make the leaft refinance, muft. root it
up and throw it down. In this manner
the old trees die away continually, and
are fucceeded by a young generation.
Thofe which are thrown down ly on the
ground and putrify, fooner or later, and
by that means encreafe the black foil, in-
to which the leaves are likewife finally
changed, which drop abundantly in au-
tumn, are blown about by the winds for
fome time, but are heaped up, and lie on
both fides of the trees, which are fallen
down. It requires feveral years! before a
tree is intirely reduced to diift. When
the winds tear up a tree with the roots, a
quantity of loofe foil commonly comes out
with and flicks to them for fome time,
but at laft it drops off, and forms a little
hillock, which is afterwards augmented by
the leaves, which commonly gather about
the roots. Thus feveral inequalities are
formed in the woods, fuch as little holes
and hills ; and by this means the upper
foil muft likewife be heaped up in fuch
places.

Some trees are more inclined to putrify
than others. The tupeh-tree (Nyftjy the

B 2 tulip

20 December 1748.

tulip-tree (Liriodendron), and the fweei
gum-tree ( Liquidambar ) ', became rotten
in a mort time. The hiccory did not
take much time, and the black oak fell
fooner to pieces than the white oak , but
this was owing to circumftances. If the
bark remained on the wood, it was for
the greateu: part rotten, and entirely eaten
by worms within, in the fpice of fix,
eight, or ten years, fo that nothing was to
be found but a reddim brown dull:. But
if the bark was taken off, they would often
lie twenty years before they were entirely
rotten. The fuddennefs of a tree's growth,
the bignefs of its pores, and the frequent
changes of heat and wet in fummer, caufe
it to rot fooner. To this it muft be added,
that all forts of infects make holes into the
flems of the fallen trees, and by that means
the moifture and the air get into the tree,
which muft of courfe forward putrefaction.
Moil: of the trees here have deciduous or
annual leaves. Many of them begin to
rot whilft they are yet (landing and bloom-
ing. This forms the hoUow trees, in
which many animals make their nefts and
places of refuge.

The breadth of the Delaware directly
oppoiite Wilmington is reckoned an Englijb
mile and a half i yet to look at it, it did

not

New Jerfy, Perm's Neck. zi

not feem to be Co great. The depth of the
river, in the middle, is faid to be from
four to fix fathoms here.

December the 12th. The ^Joiners fay,
that among the trees of this country they
chiefly life the black walnut-trees, the
wild cherry-trees, and the curled maple.
Of the black walnut-trees fjuglans nigra)
there is yet a fufficient quantity. How-
ever carelefs people take pains enough to
deftroy them, and fome peafants even ufe
them as fewel. The wood of the wild
cherry-trees (Primus Virginiana) is very
good, and looks exceedingly well ; it has a
yellow colour, and the older the furniture
is, which is made of it, the better it
looks. But it is already difficult to get at
it, for they cut it every where, and plant
it no where. The curled maple (Acer ru-
brum) is a fpecies of the common red ma-
ple, but like wife very difficult to be got.
You may cut down many trees without
finding the wood which you want. The
wood of tho/weet gum-tree (hiquidambar)
is merely employed in joiner's work, fuch
as tables, and other furniture. But it
mult not be brought near the fire, becaufe
it warps. The firs and the white cedars
(Cuprejfus thyoides) are likewife made ufe
of by the joiners for different forts of work.

B 3 The

52 December 1748.

The millers who attended the mill
which flood here, faid, that the axle-trees
of the wheels of the mill were made of
white oaky and that they continued good
three or four years, but that the fir-wood
does not keep fo well. The cogs of the
mill-wheel, and the pullies, are made of the
wood of the white walnut-tree, becaufe it
is the hardeft which can be got here. The
wood pf vnil berry-trees is of all others
reckoned the mo ft excellent for pegs and
plugs in mips and boats.

At night I went over the river Dela-
ware, from l¥illmington> to the ferrying-
place, on the New jfer/ey fide.

December the 13th. In the morning I
returned to Raccoon.

On many trees in the woods of this
country, either on one of the fides, or in
the middle of a branch, or round a branch,
are greater or leffer knobs or excrefcences,
Sometimes there is only a iingle one in a
tree. In the fize there is a coniiderable
difference, for fome of thefe knobs are as
bis* and bigger than a man's head, others
are only fmall. They project above the
iurface of the tree, like a tumor. Some-
times a tree was quite covered with them.
They do not \y on one fide only, but often
form a circle round a branch, and even

round

New y^r/ey, Raccoon, 23

round the ftem itfelf. The trees which
have thefe knobs are not always great ones,
but fome not above a fathom high, The
knobs commonly confift of the fame parts
as the wood itfelf, and look within like
curled wood. Some of them are hollow.
When a knob on a little tree is cut open,
we commonly find a number of little worms
in it, which are fometimes alfo common in
the greater knobs. This fhews the origin
of the knobs in general. The tree is flung
by infects, which lay their eggs under the
bark, and from the eggs worms are after-
wards hatched. They occanon an extra-
vafation of the fap, which gradually con-
denfes into a knob. Only the trees with
annual deciduous leaves have thefe knobs,
and among them chiefly the oak, of which
again the black and Spam'fo oak have the
greatefl abundance of knobs. The a/b
trees, (Fraxinus exceljior) and the red ma-
ple {Acer rubrimi) likewife have enough
of them. Formerly the Swedes, and more
-efpecially the Finlanders, who are fettled
here, made difhes, bowls, &c. of the
knobs which were on the a{h-trees. Thefe
veffels, I am told, were very pretty,
and looked as if they were made of curled
wood. The oak- knobs cannot be employed
in this manner, as they are commonly

B 4 worm-

£4 December 1748.

worm-eaten and rotten within. At pre-
fent the Swedes no longer make ufe of fuch
bowls and di(hf:s, but make ufe of earthen
ware, or veffels made of other wood.
Some knobs are of an uncommon fize, and
make a tree have a monftrous appearance.
Trees with knobs are very common in the
woods of this country *.

The roads are good or bad according to
the difference of the ground. In a fandy
foil the roads are dry and good ; but in a
clayey one they are bad. The people here
are likewife very carelefs in mending them.
If a rivulet be not very great, they do not
make a bridge over it ; and travellers may
do as well as they can to get over : There-
fore many people are in danger of being
drowned in fuch places, where the water

is

? In Siberia, and in the province of Wiatka, in the
government of Cazan, in Rujjja, the inhabitants make
ufe of the knobs, which are pretty frequently found
in birches, to make bowls and other domeftic utenfils
thereof. They are turned, made pretty thin, and covered
with a kind of varnifh, which gives them a pretty ap-
pearance ; for the utenfil looks yellow, and is marbled
quite in a piclurefque mariner, with brown veins. The bell
kind of thefe veffels are made fo thin that they are femi-
diaphanous, and when put into hot water they grow quite
pliant, and may be formed by main force, quite flat, but
when again left to themfelves, and grown cold, they re-
turn to their original fhape. This kind of wood is
called, in Ruffia, Kap, and the veffels made of it, kap-
fozvie fcba/bki, and are pretty high in price, when they
are of the bell kind, and well vamilhed. F.

New Jerfey, Raccoon. 2$

is rifen by a heavy rain. When a tree
falls acrofs the road, it is feldom cut off,
to keep the road clear, but the people go
round it. This they can eafily do, fince
the ground is very even, and without
(tones ; has no underwood cr fhrubs, and
the trees on it ftand much afunder. Hence
the roads here have fo many bendings.

The farms are moft of them hngle, and
you feldom meet with even two together,
except in towns, or places which are in-
tended for towns ; therefore there are but
few villages. Each farm has its corn-fields,
its woods, its paftures and meadows. This
may perhaps have contributed fomething
towards the extirpation of wolves, that
they every where met with houfes, and
people who fired at them. Two or three
farm-houfes have generally a pafture or a
wood in common, and there are feldom
more together j but mod of them have their
own grounds divided from the others.

December the 1 8th. All perfons who
intend to be married, mud either have
their banns publifhed three times from the
pulpit, or get a licence from the governor.
The banns of the poorer fort of people only-
are publifhed, and all thofe who are a little
above them get a licence from the gover-
nor. In that licence he declares that he
has examined the affair, and found no ob-

ftacles

2 6 December 1748.

ftacle'S to hinder the marriage, and there-
fore he allows it. The licence is iigned by
the governor ; but, before he delivers it, the
bridegroom mud: come to him in company
with two creditable and well known men,
who anfwer for him, that there really is
no lawful obftacle to his marriage. Thefe
men mult fubferibe a certificate, in which
they make themfelves anfwerable for, and
engage to bear all the damages of, any
complaints made by the relations of the
perfons who intend to be married, by their
guardians, their mailers, or by thofe to
whom they may have been promifed before.
For all thefe circumftances the governor
cannot poffibly know. They further cer-
tify that nothing hinders the intended mar-
riage, and that nothing is to be feared on
that account. For a licence they pay five
and twenty (hillings in Penfyhanian mo-
ney, at Philadelphia. The governor keeps
twenty millings, or one pound, and the
remaining five millings belong to his fecre-
tary. The licence is directed only to pro-
tectant clergymen. The quakers have a
peculiar licence to their marriages. But
as it would be very troublefome, efpecially
for thofe who live far from the governor's
refidence to come up to town for every
licence, and to bring the men with them

whs

New jferfey, Raccoon. 2y

who are to anfwer for them, the clergy-
men in the country commonly take a iuf-
ficient number of licences and certificates,
which are ready printed, with blanks left
for the names ; they give them occa-
fionally, and get the common money, one
pound, five (hillings, for each of them,
befides fomething for their trouble. The
money that they have collected, they de-
liver to the governor as foon as they come
to town, together with the certificates,
which are figned by two men, as above-
mentioned ; they then take again as many
licences as they think fofficient : from
hence we may conceive that the governors
in the E;?g//J?j North American colonies, be-
fides their falaries, have very con jiderable
revenues *.

There is a great mixture of people of
all forts in thefe colonies, partly o\ fuch
as are lately come over from Europe, and
partly of fuch as have not yet any fettled phce
of abode. Hence it frequently happens that
when a clergyman has married fuch a

couple,

* Though it is very defirable, that the members of the
church of England may enjoy the fame religious liberty in
America as the reft of their fellow-fubjetts and have
every part of their religious eitablifhment among tV,em-
felves. and that therefore bifhops might be introduced in
America, it is however to be feared this will pi e c:i of
the obftacles to the introducing of EnglijJj bilhops in that
part of the world.

28 December 1748.

couple, the bridegroom fays he has no mo-
ney ! prelent, but would pay the fee at
the firfl opportunity : however he goes off
with his wife, and the clergyman never
gets his due. This proceeding has given
occafion to a cuftom which is now
common in Maryland. When the clergy-
man marries a very poor couple, he breaks
off in the middle of the Liturgy, and cries
out Where is my fee ? The man mufr. then
give the money, and the clergyman pro-
ceeds ; but if the bridegroom has no mo-
ney, the clergyman defers the marriage
till another time, when the man is better
provided. People of fortune, of whom the
clergyman is fure to get his due, need not
fear this diiagreeable queftion, when they
are married.

However, though the parfon has got
licences to marry a couple, yet if he be
not very careful, he may get into very difa-
greeable circumflances 5 for in many parts
of the country there is a law made, which,
notwithstanding the governor's licence,
greatly limits a clergyman in fome cafes.
He is not allowed to marry a couple who are
not yet of age, unlefs he be certain of the
conient of their parents. He cannot mar-
ry fuch Grangers as have bound themfelves
$0 ferve a certain number of years, in order

to

New Jerfeyt Raccoon. 29

to pay off their paflage from Europe, with-
out the confent of their mailers ; if he
a6ls without their confent, or in oppo-
sition to it, he muft pay a penalty of fifty
pounds, Penfykania currency, though he
has the licence, and the certificate of the
two men who are to anfwer for any objec-
tion. But parents or matters give them-
felves no concern about thefe men, but
take hold of the clergyman, who is at li-
berty to profecute thofe who gave him the
certificate, and to get his damages repaid.
With the confent of the parents and matters
he may marry people without danger to
himfelf. No clergyman is allowed to mar-
ry a negro with one of European extrac-
tion, or he muft pay a penalty of one
hundred pounds, according to the laws of
Penfyhania.

There is a very peculiar diverting cuf-
tom here, in regard to marrying. When a
man dies, and leaves his widow in great po-
verty, or fo that me cannot pay all the debts
with what little (he has left, and that, not-
withttanding all that, there is a perfon who
will marry her, (he mutt be married in no
other habit than her fhift. By that means,
(he leaves to the creditors of her deceafed
hufband her cloaths, and every thing which
they find in the houfe. But me is not

obliged

3© December 1748.

obliged to pay them any thing more, be-
caufe me has left them all (he was worth,
even her cloaths, keeping only a fhift to
cover her, wrhich the laws of the country
cannot refufe her. As foon as (he is mar-
ried, and no longer belongs to the deceafed
hufband, me puts on the cloaths wThich the
fecond has given her. The Swedifl) clergy-
men here have often been obliged to marry a
woman in a drefs which isfo little expenfive,
and fo light. This appears from the re-
gifters kept in the churches, and from the
accounts given by the clergymen them-
felves. I havelikewife often feen accounts
of fuch marriages in the Knglijh gazettes;
which are printed in thefe colonies -, and
I particularly remember the following rela-
tion : A woman went, with no other drefs
than her fhift, out of the houfe of her de-
ceafed hufband to that of her bridegroom,
who met her half way with fine newcloaths,
and faid, before all who were prefent, that
he lent them his bride ; and put them oil
her with his own hands. It feems, he faid
that he lent the cloaths, left, if he had faid
he gave them, the creditors of the firfl huf-
band ftiould come, and take them from her ;
pretending, that .(he was looked upon as the
relict of her firft hufband, before me was
married to the fecond.

z December

New Jerfey, Raccoon. 31

Dece?nber the 2 1 ft. It feems very pro-
bable, from the following obfervations, that
long before the arrival of the Swedes, there
have been Europeans in this province ; and,
in the fequel, we mall give more confirma-
tions of this opinion. The fame old Maoris
Keen, whom I have already mentioned be-
fore, told me repeatedly, that on the arrival
of the Swedes in the laft century, and on their
making a fettlement, called Helfmgburg, on
the banks of the Delaware, fomewhat below
the place where Salem is now fituated ; thev
found, at the depth of twenty feet, fome
wells, inclofed with walls. This could not
be a wrk of the native Americans, or In-
dians, as bricks were entirely unknown to
them when the Europeans firft fettled here,
at the end of the fifteenth century; and
they ftill lefs knew how to make ufe of
them. The wells were, at that time, on
the land ; but in fuch a place, on the banks
of the Delaware, as is fometimes under
water, and fometimes dry. But fince, the
ground has been fo warned away, that the
wells are entirely covered by the river, and
the water is feldom low enough to {hew the
wells. As the Swedes afterwards made new
wells for themfelves, at fome diftance from
the former, they difcovered, in the ground,
fome broken earthen veifels, and fome entire

good

32 "December 1748*

good bricks ; and they have often got thera
out of the ground by ploughing.

From thefe marks, it feems, we may con-
clude, that in times of yore, either Eu-
ropeans or other people of the then civilized
parts of the world, have been carried hither
by riorms, or other accidents, fettled here,
on the banks of the river, burnt bricks, and
made a colony here ; but that they after-
wards mixed with the Indians, or were kill-
ed by them. They may gradually, by con-
verfing with the Indians, have learnt their
manners, and turn of thinking. The Swedes
themfelves are accufed, that they were al-
ready half Indians, when the Englijh ar-
rived in the year 1682. And we frill fee,
that the French, Englijh, Germans, Dutch,
and other Europeans, who have lived for fe-
veral years together in diftant provinces,
near and among the Indians, grow fo like
them, in their behaviour and thoughts, that
they can only be diftinguimed by the dif-
ference of their colour. But hiftory, together
with the tradition among the Indians, allures
us, that the above-mentioned wells and
bricks cannot have been made at the time
of Columbus 's expedition, nor foon after ; as
the traditions of the Indians fay, that thofe
wells were made long before that epocha.
This account of the wells, which had been

inclofed

New yerfey, Raccoon. 33

inclofed with bricks, and of fuch bricks as
have been found in feveral places in the
ground, I have afterwards heard repeated
by many other old Swedes.

December the 2 2d. An old farmer fore-
told a change of the weather, becaufe the
air was very warm this day at noon, though
the morning had been very cold. This he
likewife concluded, from having obferved
the clouds gathering about the (un. The
meteorological obfervations annexed to the
end of this volume will prove that his ob-
fervation was juft.

December the 3 1 fl. The remedies againfl:
the tooth-ach are almoft as numerous as
days in a year. There is hardly an old
woman but can tell you three or four fcore
of them, of which me is perfectly certain
that they are as infallible and fpeedy in
giving relief, as a month's failing, by bread
and water, is to a burthenfome paunch.
Yet it happens often, nay too frequently,
that this painful difeafe eludes all this
formidable army of remedies. However, I
cannot forbear obferving the following re-
medies, which havefometimes, in this coun-
try, been found effectual againft the tooth-
ach.

When the pains come from the hollo w-
nefs of the teeth, the following remedy is

Vol. II. C faid

34 December 174S.

faid to have had a good effect : A little
cotton is put at the bottom of a tobacco-
pipe ; the tobacco is put in upon it, and
lighted ; and you fmoke till it is almoft
burnt up. By fmoking, the oil of the to-
bacco gets into the cotton, which is then
taken out, and applied to the tooth as hot
as it can be fuffered.

The chief remedy of the Iroquois, or Iro-
quefe, againfl the tooth-ach occafioned by
hollow teeth, I heard of Captain Lindfeys
lady, at Qfzvego ; and (he arTured me, that
(he knew, from her own experience, that the
remedy was effectual. They take the feed
capfules of the Virginian Anemone, as foon
as thefeed is ripe, and rub them in pieces. It
will then be rough, and look like cotton. This
cotton-like fubftance is dipped into ftrong
brandy, and then put into the hollow tooth,
which commonly ceafes to ache foon after.
The brandy is biting or (harp, and the feeds
of the anemone, as molf feeds of the Poly-
andria Polygyria clafs of plants (or fuch as
have many Stamina, or male flowers, and
many Pijlilla, or female flowers) have like-
wife an acrimony. They therefore, both
together, help to aiiuage the pain ; and this
remedy is much of the fame kind with the
former. Befides that, we have many feeds

which

New Jerfey, Raccoon. 35

which have the fame qualities with the
A?nerican anemone.

The following remedy was much in vogue
a^ainft the tooth- ach which is attended with
a fwellihg : They boil gruel, of floiir of
maize, and milk j to this they add, whilfl:
it is yet over the fire, fome of the fat of
hogs, or other fuet, and ftir it well, that
every thing may mix equally. A, handker-
chief is then fpread over the gruel, and ap-
plied as hot as poffible to the fwelled cheek*
where it is kept till it is gone cool again.
I have found, that this remedy has been
very efficacious againfr. a fwelling ; as it
ieiTens the pain, abates the fwelling, opens
a gathering, if there be arty, and procures a
good difcharge of the Pus.

I have feen the Iroquefe boil the inner
bark of the Sambucus Canadevfu, or Canada
Elder, and put it on that part of .the cheek
in which the pain was moil: violent. This,
I am told, often diminifnes the pain.

Among the Iroquefe, or Five Nations,
upon the river Mohawk, I faw a young In-
dian woman, who, by frequent drinking of
tea, had got a violent tooth-ach. To cure
it, fhe boiled the Myrica afplenii folia,
and tied it, as hot as (lie could bear
it, on the whole cheek. She laid, that

C 2 remedy

36 January 1749.

3

remedy had often cured the tooth -acli be-
fore.

January the 2d, 1749. Before theEnro-
peans under the direction of Columbus, came
to the Weft-Indies, the favages or Indians (who
lived there fince times immemorial) were
entirely unacquainted with iron, which ap-
pears very ftrange to us, as North America,
almoft in every part of it, contains a num-
ber of iron mines. They were therefore
obliged to fupply this want with marp
ftones, (hells, claws of birds and wild beads,
pieces of bones, and other things of that
kind, whenever they intended to make
hatchets, knives, and fuch like inftruments.
From hence it appears, that they mull: have
led a very wretched life. The old Swedes
who lived here, and had had an intercourie
with the Indians when they were young, and
at a time when they were yet very numerous
in theie parts, could tell a great many
things concerning: their manner of living.
At this time the people find accidentally, by
ploughing and digging in the ground, ieve-
ral of the inftruments which the Indians
employed, before the Swede's and other
Europeans had provided them with iron
tools. For it is obfervable that the Indians
at prefent make ufe of no other tools, than
fuch as are made of iron and other metals,

and

New Jerfey, Raccoon . 37

and which they always get from the Euro-
peans : Of this I fhall be more particular,
in its proper place. But having had an op-
portunity of feeing, and partly collecting a
great many of the ancient Indian tools, I
mall here defcribe them.

Their hatchets were made of (lone.
Their fhape is fimilar to that of the wedges
V/ith which we cleave our wrood, about half
a foot long, and broad in proportion ; they
are made like a wedge, iharp at one end,
but rather blunter than our wedges. As
this hatchet mull be fixed on a handle, there
was a notch made all round the thick- end.
To fatten it, they fplit a flick at one end, and
put the Hone between it, fo that the two
halves of the (lick come into the notches of
the ftone ; then they tied the two fplit ends
together with a rope or fortieth ing like it,
almoil in the fame way as fmiths fallen the
inflrument with which they cut off iron,
to a fplit Hick. Some of thefe ttone- hatchets
were not notched or furrowed at the upper
end, and it feems they only held thole in
their hands in order to hew or flrike with
them, and did not make handles to them.
Moil of the hatchets which I have fcen,
confided of a hard rock-ttone : but fome
were made of a fine, hard, black, apyrous
ftone. When the Indians intended to fell

C 3 a thick

38 January 1749.

a thick ftrong tree, they could not make
ufe of their hatchets, but for want of proper
inftruments em ployed fire. They fet lire to
a great quantity of wood at the roots of the
tree, and made it fall by that means. But
]that the fire might not reach higher than
they would have it, they faftened fome
rags to a pole, dipped them into water, and
kept continually warning the tree, a little
above the fire. Whenever thev intended
%o hollow out a thick tree for a canoe, they
laid dry branches all along the item of the
tree, as far as it muft be hollowed out.
They then put fire to thofe dry branches,
and as foon as they were burnt, they were
replaced by others. Whilft thefe branches
were burning, the Indians were very bufy
with wet jrags, and pouring water upon
the tree, to prevent the fire from fpreading
too far on the fides and at the ends. The
tree being burnt hollow as far as they found
it fufficient, or as far as it could without
damaging the canoe, they took the above
defcribed flone-hatchets, or fharp flints,
and quartzes, or fharp {hells, and fcraped
off the burnt part of the wood, and
fmoothened jthe boats within. By this means
they likewife gave it what fhape they pleafed.
In Read of cutting with a hatchet fuch a
piece of wood as was necefTary for making

a canoe,

New Jerfiy, Raccoon. 3 9

a canoe, they like wife employed fire. A
canoe was commonly between thirty and
forty feet long. The chief ufe of their
hatchets was, according to the unanimous
accounts of all the Swedes, to make good
fields for maize-plantations ; for if the
ground where they intended to make a
maize-field was covered with trees, they cut
off the bark all round the trees with their
hatchets, efpecially at the time when they
lofe their fap. By that means the tree be-
came dry, and could not take any more
nourifhment, and the leaves could no longer
obftruct the rays of the fun from paffing.
The fmaller trees were then pulled out by
main force, and the ground was a little
turned up with crooked or {harp branches.

Instead of knives they were fatisfied
with little fhafp pieces of flint or quartz,
or elfe fome other hard kind of a ftone, or
with a (harp fhell, or with a piece of a
bone which they had marpened.

At the end of their arrows they faf-
tened narrow angulated pieces of (tone;
they made ufe of them, having no iron to
make them {harp again, or a wood of fufi-
ficient hardnefs : thefe points were com-
monly flints or quartzes, but fometimes
likewife another kind of a {tone. Some
employed the bones of animals, or the

C 4 claws

40 December 1740.

claws of birds and Beafts. Some of thefe
ancient harpoons are very blunt, and it
feems that the Indians might kill birds and
fmall quadrupeds with them ; but whe-
ther they could enter deep into the body
of a great bead or of a man, by the velo-
city which they get from the bow, I can-
not afcertain ; yet feme have been found
very {harp and well made.

They had jhmpeftks9 about a foot long,
and as thick as a man's arm. They conufl
chiefly of a black fort of a ftone, and were
formerly employed, by the Indians, for
pounding maize, which has, iince times
immemorial, been their chief and almoft
their only corn. They had neither wind-
mills, water-mills, nor hand-mills, to
grind it, and did not fo much as know a
mill, before the "Europeans came into the
country I have fpoken with old French-
men, in Canada, who told me, that the
Indians had been aftonifhed beyond expref-
fion, when the French fet up the nrft wind-
mill. They came in numbers, even from
the moll: diftant parts, to view this wonder,
and were not tired with fitting near it for
feveral days together, in order to obierve
it ; they were long of opinion that it was
not driven by the wind, but by the fpirits
who lived within it. They were "partly

under

New Jcrjey, Raccoon. 4J

under the fame aftonifhment when the nrffc
water-mill was built. 1" y formerly
pounded all their corn or maize in hol-
low trees, with the above-mentioned pef-
tles, made of ftone. Many Indians had
only wooden peftles. The blackifh ftone,
pf which the hatchets and peftles are fome-
times made, is very good for a grinddone,
and therefore both the EngVijh and the
Swedes employ the hatchets and peftles
chiefly as grindftones, at prefent, when
they can get them.

The old boilers or kettles of the hzdians,
were either made of clay, or of different
kinds of pot-ilone, (Lapis oilaris). The
former confiiled of a dark clay, mixt with
grains of white land or quartz, and burnt
in the fire. Many of thefe kettles have
two holes in the upper margin, on each
fide one, through which the Indians put
a Hick, and held the kettle over the fire,
as long as it was to boil. Mod of the
kettles have no feet. It is remarkable
that no pots of this kind have been found
glazed, either on the outiide or the inr
fide, A few of the oldeil Swedes could
yet remember feeing the Indians boil their
meat in thefe pots. They are very thin,
and of different fizes ; they are made fome-
times of a greenifli, and fumetimes of a

grey

42 ^January 1749.

grey pot-ftone, and fome are made of
another fpecies of apyrous ftone ; the bot-
tom and the margin are frequently above
an inch thick. The Indians > notwithftand-
ing their being unacquainted with iron,
fteel, and other metals, have learnt to
hollow out very ingenioufly thefe pots or
kettles cf pot -ftone.

The old tobacco-pipes of the Indians are
likewife made of clay, or pot-ftone, or
ferpentine-ftone. The firft fort are ihaped
like our tobacco-pipes, though much
coarfer and not fo well made. The tube
is thick and fhort, hardly an inch long,
but fometimes as long as a finger -, their
colour comes neareft to that of our tobac-
co-pipes which have been long ufed. Their
tobacco-pipes of pot-ftone are made of
the fame ftone as their kettles. Some of
them are pretty well made, though they
had neither iron nor fteel. But befides
thefe kinds of tobacco-pipes, we find ano-
ther fort of pipes, which are made with
great ingenuity, of a very fine, red pot-
ftone, or a kind of ferpentine marble.
They are very fcarce, and feldom made ufe
of by any other than the Indian Sachems, or
elders. The fine red ftone, of which thefe
pipes are made, is likewife very fcarce,
and is found only in the country of thofe

5 Indians

New Jerjey, Raccoon, 43

Indians who are called Ingouez, and who,
according to father Charlevoix, live on the
other fide of the river Mijji/ippi '* '. The In-
dians themfelves commonly value a pipe of
this kind as much as a piece of filver of
the fame fize, and fometimes they make
it flill dearer. Of the fame kind of frone
commonly confifts their pipe of peace, which
the French call calumet de pnx, and which
they make ufe of in their treaties of peace,
and alliances. Moll authors who have
wrote of thefe nations mention this inftru-
ment, and I intend to fpeak of it when
an opportunity offers.

The Indians employ hooks made of
bone, or bird's claws, inftead of Jijhing-
hooks. Some of the oldeft Swedes here
told me, that when they were young, a
great number of Indians had been in this
part of the country, which was then called
New Sweden, and had caught limes in the
river Delaware, with thefe hooks.

They made fire by rubbing one end of
a hard piece of wood continually again ft
another dry one, till the wood began to
fmoke, and afterwards to burn.

Such were the tools of the antient In-
dians, and the ufe which they made of

them,

* See his Journal hiftorique d'un voyage de PJmerique.
Tome v. p. m. 311. and the J3th letter.

44 . Z'-inuary 1749.

them, before the Europeans inyaded this
country, and before they (the Indians)
were acquainted with the advantages of
iron. North America abounds in iron-
mines, and the Indians lived all about the
country before the arrival of the Europeans,
ib that feveral places can be (hewn in this
country, where at prefent there are iron-
mines, and where, not a hundred years
age, flood great towns or villages of the
Indians. It is therefore very remarkable
that the Indians did not know how to
make ufe of a metal or ore which was al-
ways under their eyes, and on which they
could not avoid treading every day. They
even lived upon the very fpots where iron
ores were afterwards found, and yet they
often went many miles in order to get a
wretched hatchet, knife, or the like, as
above defcribed. They were forced to em-
ploy feveral days in order to fharpen their
tools, by rubbing them againft a rock, or
other (tones, though the advantage was far
from being equal to the labour. For they
could never cut down a thick tree with
their hatchets, and with difficulty they
felled a fmall one. They could not hol-
low out a tree with their hatchets, or do
a hundredth part of the work which we can
perform with eafe, by the help of our iron

hatchets.

New Jerfey, Raccoon. 45

hatchets. Thus we fee how difadvanta-
o-eous the ignorance and inconfiderate con-
tempt of uieful arts is. Happy is the
country which knows their full value !

January the 5th. Christmas-day
was celebrated this day by the Swedes and
EngHfh, for they kept then to the old Jlile.
January the 6th. There are a great
number of hares in this country, but they
differ from our Swedifh ones in their fize,
which is very fmall, and but little bigger
than that of a rabbit -, they keep almolr.
the fame grey colour both in fummer and
winter, which our Northern hares have in
fummer only ; the tip of their ears is al-
ways grey, and not black ; the tail is like-
wife grey on the upper fide, at all feafons ;
they breed feveral times a year : in fpring
they lodge their young ones in hollow
trees, and in fummer, in the months of
June and July, they breed in the grafs.
When they are furprifed they commonly
take refuge in hollow trees, out of which
they are taken by means of a crooked (rick,
or by cutting a hole into the tree, oppofite
to the place where they lie ; or by fmoke,
which is occaftoned by making a fire on
the outiide of the tree. On all thefe occa-
sions the greyhounds muft be at hand.
Thefe hares never bite, and can be touched
without any danger. In day-time they

uiually

4.6 January 1749^

ufually lie in hollow trees, and hardly ever
flu* from thence, unlefs they be difturbed
by men or dogs • but in the night they
come out, and feek their food. In bad
weather, or when it fnows, they lie clofe
for a day or two, and do not venture to
leave their retreats. They do a great deal
ofmifchief in the cabbage-fields • but ap-
ple-trees fuirer infinitely more from them,
for they peel off all the bark next to the
ground. The people here agreed that the
hares are fatter in a cold and fevere winter,
than in a mild and wet one, of which they
could give me feveral reafons, from their
own conjectures. The fkin is ufelefs, be-
caufe it is fo loofe, that it can be drawn off;
for when you would feparate it from the
fleih, you need only pull at the fur, and
the fkin follows : thefe hares cannot be
tamed. They were at all times, even in
the midft of winter, plagued with a num-
ber of common fieas *.

'January the 16th. The common mice
were in great abundance in the towns and
in the country ; they do as much mifchief
as in the old countries. Oldmixon in his

book,

* This account fufficiently proves, that thefe hares arc
a fpecies diftinct from our European reddim grey kind, and
alfb of that fpecies or variety only, which in the northern
parts of Europe and JJia is white in winter, with black
tipped ears, and has a grey coat in fummer. Upon n
clofer examination naturalifts will perhaps find more char
rafters to diftinguifh them more accurately. F.

New Jerfey, Raccoon, 47

book, the Britijb Empire in America, vol. i.
p. 444, writes, that North America had
neither rats nor mice before European mips
brought them over. How far this is true
I know not. It is undoubted, that in fe-
veral defart places, where no man ever
lived, I have feen and killed the common
mice, in crevices of flones or mountains ;
and is it probable that all fuch mice as
are fpread in this manner, throughout the
inland parts of the country, derive their
origin from thofe which were brought
over from Europe f

Rats likewife may be ranked amono-
thofe animals which do great damage in this
country. They live both in the cities and
in the country, and deftroy the provisions.
Their fize is the fame with that of our rats,
but their colour differs ; for they are o-rev,
or blue-grey. I enquired of the Swedes,
Whether thefe rats had been here prior to the
arrival of the Europeans, or whether they
came over in the mips ? But I could not
get an anfwer which I might depend upon.
All agreed, that a number of thefe dangerous
and mifchievous animals were every year
brought to America, by mips from Europe
andother countries. But Mr. Bartram main-
tained, that before the Europeans fettled liere,
rats had been in the country ; for he faw a
great number of them on the high moun-
tains,

48 January 1749.

tains, which are commonly called the Blue
Mountains^ where they lived among Hones,
and in the fubterraneous grottoes which are
in thofe mountains. They always lie very
clofe in the day-time, and you hardly ever
fee one out ; but at night they come out,
and make a terrible noife. When the cold
was very violent, they feemed quite tor-
pid ,♦ for during the continuance of the
cold weather, one cculd not hear the leafr.
noife, or fhrieking, occafioned by them.
It is to be obferved, that neither the Swedes
nor the E??ghfi have any dark windows in
their houfes here. There is hardly a
dormer-window in the garret ; but only
loofe bo2rds. The walls in the wooden
houfes are frequently not clofed, even with
mofs ; fj that the rooms, though they have
fires in them, are no warmer than the ouN
iide apartment, or hall. The rooms where
the fervants fieep have never anv fire in
them, though the winter is preUy fevere
fometimes. The rats have, therefore, little or
do warmth in winter , but as foon as a mild-
er feafon makes its appearance, they come
out again. We obferved feveral times this
winter, that the rats were very active, and
made an unufual noife all ni?bt, ittft before
a fevere cold, It feems, they had fome fen-
fation of cold weather beino; at hand: and
that they therefore eat iufhViently, orltored

I

New jferjey, Raccoon. 49

up proviiions. In mild weather, they were
ufed to carry away apples, and other provi-
lions : therefore, we could always conclude,
with certainty, when the rats made an uncom-
mon noife at night, or were extremely greedy,
that a fevere cold would enfue. I have al-
ready obferved in the preceding volume,
p. 312, that the grey fquirrels in this coun-
try have the fame quality. When thefe,
and the common mice, eat maize, thev do
riot confume the whole grains, but onlv
the loofe, fweet and foft kernel, and leave
the reft.

January the 21ft. The cold now equalled
that of Sweden, though this country is fo
much more foutherly. The Celfian or Swe-
di(h thermometer was twenty- two degrees
below the freezing point, in the morning.
As the rooms are without any fhutters here,
the cracks in the walls not clofed with mofs,
and fometimes no fire-place or chimney in
the room, the winters here muft be very
difagreeable to one who is ufed to our Swe-
dijh warm winter- rooms. But the greatefl
comfort here is, that the cold is of a very
fhort duration. Some days of this month,
the room which I lodged in was fuch, that
I could not write two lines before the ink
would freeze in my pen. When I did not
write, I could not leave the ink-fland on the

Vol. II. D table;

50 'January 1749.

table ; but was forced to put it upon the
hearth, or into my pocket. Yet, notwith-
standing it was fo cold, as appears from the
meteorological obfervations at the end of this
volume, and though it fnowed fometimes for
feveraldays and nights together, andthefnow
lay near fix inches high upon the ground, yet
all the cattle are obliged to ftay, day and night,
in the fields, during the whole winter. For
neither the Englifo nor the Swedes had any
ftables 5 but the Germans and Dutch had pre-
ferved the cuftom of their country, and ge-
nerally kept their cattle in ftables during
winter. Almoft all the old Swedes fay, that
on their firft arrival in this country, they
made ftables for their cattle, as is ufual in
Sweden y but as the Engii/h came, and fettled
among them, and left their cattle in the
fields all winter, as is cuftomary in England*
they left off their former cuftom, and
adopted the Englijh one. They owned,
however, that the cattle fuffered greatly
in winter, when it was very cold, efpecially
when it froze after a rain ; and that fome
cattle were killed by it in feveral places, in
the long winter of the year 1741. About
noon, the cattle went out into the woods,
where there were yet fome leaves on the
young oak ; but they did not eat the leaves,
and only bit off the extremities of the
5 branches.

New Jer/ey, Raccoon. 5 1

branches, and the tops of the youngeft
t>aks. The horfes went into the maize
fields, and ate the dry leaves on the few
ftalks which remained. The fheep ran
about the woods, and on the corn fields.
The chickens perched on the trees of the
gardens, at night ; for they had no particu-
lar habitations. The hogs were likewife
cxpofed td the roughnefs of the weather*
within a fmall inclofure.

A small kind of birds, which the Swedes
call Snow-bird, and the Englifi Chuck-bird,
came into the hoiifes about this time. At
other times, they fought their food along
the roads. They are feldom feen, but when
it fnows. Catejby, in his Natural Hiftory
of Carolina, calls it P offer nivalis ; and Dr.
Linnceus, in his Syjtema Naturce, calls it
Ember iza ky emails.

The river Delaware was now covered
ivith ice oppoiite Philadelphia, and even
fomewhat lower, and the people could walk
over it ; but nobody ventured to ride over
on horfeback.

January the 2 2d. There are partridges
in this country ; but they are not of the
fame kind with ours. The Swedes called
them fometimes rapphons (partridges), and
fometimes aekkerhoens (quails). Some of the
Engli/b likewife called them partridges,

D 2 others

52 ^January 1749*

others quails. Their fhape is almoft thefame
with that of the European partridges, and their
nature and qualities the fame : 1 mean, they
run and hidethemfelves, when purfued. But
they are fmaller, and entirely different in
colour. In this work I cannot infert, at
large, the defcriptions which I have made
of birds, infects, quadrupeds, and plants ;
becaufe it would fvvell my volume too
much. I only obferve, that the feet are
naked, and not hairy ; the back is fpotted
with brown, black, and white ; the breaft
is dark yellow; and the belly whitim, with
black edges on the tips of the feathers.
The fize is nearly that of a hazel-hen, or
tetrao bonafia. Above each eye is a narrow
ftroke of whitifh yellow. Thefe birds are
numerous in New Sweden, i. e. this part of
the country. On going but a little way,
you meet with great coveys of them. How-
ever, they keep at a great diilance from
towns ; being either extirpated, or frighten-
ed there by the frequent (hooting. They
are always in leffer or greater coveys, do not
fly very much, but run in the fields, and
keep under the bullies and near the in-
clofures, where they feek their food. They
are reckoned verv delicious food ; and the
people here prepare them in different ways.
For that purpoie they are caught, and mot

in

New Jerfcy, Raccoon. 53

in great numbers. They are caught by-
putting up a fieve, or a fquare open box,
made of boards, in the places they frequent.
The people ftrew ibme oats under the fieve,
and lift it up on one fide by a little flick ;
and as foon as the partridges are got under
the fieve, in order to pick up the oats, it
falls, and thev are caught alive. Sometimes
they get feveral partridges at once. When
they run in the bufhes, you can come very
near them, without ftarting them. When
they fleep at night, they come together in
an heap. They fcratch in the bufhes and
upon the field, like common chickens. In
fpring they make their nefts, either under
a bum or in the maize fields, or on the hills
in the open air : they fcratch fome hay to-
gether, into which they lay about thirteen
white eggs. They eat feveral forts of corn,
and feeds of grafs. They have likewife
been feen eating the berries of fumach, or
rhus glabra. Some people have taken them
young, and kept them in a cage till they
were tame : then they let them go ; and
they followed the chickens, and never left
the court-yards.

The inclofures made ufe of in Penfylva-
nia and New yerjev, but efpecially in New
York, are thofe, which on account of their
Terpentine form refembling worms, are called

D 1 worm*

r

^ 4 January 1749.

worm -fences in E?iglifi. The poles which
compofe this fence are taken from different
trees ; but they are not all of equal dura-
tion : the red cedar is reckoned the moft
durable of any, for it holds out above thirty
years \ but it is very fcarce, and grows only
in a fingle place hereabouts, fo that no
fences can be made of it. It is true, the
fences about Philadelphia (which however
are different from the worm-fences ) are all
made of red cedar ; but it has been brought
by water from Egg-harbour, where it grows
in abundance. The fupports on which the
poles lie are made of the white cedar, or
Cuprejfus thycides, and the poles which are
laid between them of the red cedar or Ju-
niperus Virginiana. Next to the cedar-wood,
oak and chefnut are reckoned beft. Chefnut
is commonly preferred, but it is not every
where fo plentiful as to be made into fences;
in its ftead they make ufe of feveral forts of
cak. In order to make inclofures, the peo-
ple do not cut down the young trees, as is
common with us, but they fell here and
there thick trees, cut them in feveral places,
leaving the pieces as long as it is neceffary,
and fplit them into poles of the ufual thick-
nefs ; a fingle tree affords a multitude of
poles. Several old men in this country told
me, that the Swedes on their arrival here,

made

New jferfey, Raccoon. 5$

made fuch inclofures as are ufual in Sweden,
but they were forced to leave off in a few
years time, becaufe they could not get ports
enough ; for they had found by experience
that a pofl: being put into the ground would
not laft above four or fix years before the
part under ground was entirely rotten ; but
the chief thing was, that they could not
get any fwitches for to tie them together ;
they made fome of biccory, which is one
of the tougheft trees in this country, and of
the white oak ; but in the fpace of a year
or two the fwitches were rotten, and the
fence fell in pieces of itfelf, therefore they
were forced to give over making fuch inclo-
fures. Several of the newcomers again at-
tempted, but with the fame bad fuccefs,
to make fences with ports and fwitches. The
Swedijh way of incloiing therefore will not
fucceed here. Thus the worm-fences are
one of the mod ufeful forts of inclofures,
efpecially as they cannot get any poil, made
of the woods of this country, to ftay above
fix or eight years in the ground without
rotting. The poles in this country are very
heavy, and the pofts cannot bear them well,
eipecially when it blows a ftorm ; but the
worm-fences are eafily put up again, when
they are thrown down. Experience has

D 4 fnewQ

56 February 1749.

fhewn that an inclofure made of chejhut or
white oak feldom holds out above ten or
twelve years, before the poles and pofts are
thoroughly rotten : when the poles are
made of other wood, the fences hardly
ftand fix or eight years. Confidering how
much more wood the worm-fences require,
(fince they run in bendings) than other in-*
clofures which go in ftrait lines, and that
they are fo foon ufelefs, one may imagine
how the forefls will be confumed, and what
fort of an appearance the country will have
forty or fifty years hence, in cafe no alterna-
tion is made ; efpecially as wood is really
fquandered away in immenfe quantities,
day and night all the winter, or nearly one
half of the year, for fewel.

February the 8th. The Mujk-rais, fo
called by the Englijh in this country, on
account of their fcent, are pretty common
in North America; they always live near
the water, efpecially on the banks of lakes,
rivers, and brooks. On travelling to places
where they are, you fee the holes which
they have dug in the ground juft at the wa-
ter's edge, or a little above its furface. In
thefe holes they have their nefls, and there
they continue whenever they are not in the
water in purfuit of food. The Swedes call

3 then*

New Jerfey, Raccoon, §j

them Difmans Rat tor *, and the French,
Rats mufques. Linnaus calls this animal
Cafior Zibet.bicus. Their food is chiefly the
mufcles which ly at the bottom of lakes
and rivers ; you fee a number of fuch fhells
near the entrance of their holes. I am told
they likewife eat feveral kinds of roots and
plants. They differ from the European
Mujk-rat ^ or hinnceuss Ca/Ior Mofchatus,
The teeth are the fame in both ; the tail of
the American is comprefTed on the fides fo,
that one marp edge goes upwards and the
other downwards: the hind feet are not
palmated, or joined by a moveable fkin, but
are peculiar for having on both fides of the
feet, long, white, clofe, pectinated, off-
ftanding hair, befides the fhort hair with
which the feet are quite covered. Such
hairs are on both fides of the toes, and do
the fame fervice in fwimming as a web.
Their fize is that of a little cat, or to be
more accurate, the length of the body is
about ten inches, and the tail of the fame
length : the colour of the head, neck, back,
fides, and of the outfide of the thighs, is
blackim brown ; the hairs are foft and (hin-

* Defm fignifies mujk in the S-^ediJb, and in fome pro-
vincial dialects of the German language ; confequently
Dcfman rat is nothing but Mujk-rat, and from hence Mr.
de B'tffon has formed his D?fman or Ruffian Mujk-rat. F.

5 8 February 1749.

ing ; under the neck, on the breafts, and
on the in fide of the thighs, they are grey.
They make their nefts in the dykes that are
erected along the banks of rivers to keep off
the water from the adjoining meadows ;
but they often do a great deal of damage,
by fpoiling the dykes with digging, and
opening paflages for the water to come into
the meadows 3 whereas Beavers ftop up all
the holes in a dyke or bank. They make
their nefts of twigs and fuch like things
externally, and carry foft Muff into them
for their young ones to ly upon* The
Swedes aflerted that they could never ob-
ferve a diminution in their number, but
believed that they were as numerous at pre-
fent as formerly. As they damage the
banks fo confiderably, the people are en-
deavouring to extirpate them, when they
can find out their nefts ; the fkin is paid
for, and this is an encouragement towards
catching the animal. A fkin of a Mujk-rat
formerly coft but three-pence, but at prefent
they gave from fix-pence to nine-pence.
The fkins are chiefly employed by hatters,
who make hats of the hair, which are faid
to be nearly as good as Beaver hats. The
Mufe-rats 'are commonly caught in traps,
with apples as baits. In the country of the
Iroaueje, I faw thofe Indians following the

holes

New Jerfey, Raccoon. 50

holes of the Mujk-rats by digging till they
came to their nefts, where they killed them
all. Nobody here eats their ftefh; I do
not know whether the Indians eat it, for
they are commonly not over nice in the
choice of meat. The mufk -bag is put be-
tween the cloaths in order to preferve them
againft worms. It is very difficult to extir-
pate thefe Rats when they are once fettled
in a bank. A Swede, however, told me,
that he had freed his bank, or piece of dyke
along the river, from them in the following
manner : He fought for all their holes,
flopped them all up with earth, excepting
one, on that fide from whence the wind
came. He put a quantity of fulphur into
the open entrance, fet fire to it, and then
clofed the hole, leaving but a fmall one for
the wind to pafs through. The fmoke of
the fulphur then entered their moft remote
nefts, and ftifled all the animals. As foon as
the fulphur was burnt, he was obliged to
dig up part of the ground in the bank,
where they had their nefts ; and he found
them lie dead by heaps. He fold the fkins,
and they paid his trouble, not to mention
the advantage he got by clearing his bank
of the Mujk-rats.

^Beavers were formerly abundant in
New Sweden, as all the old Swedes here

told

60 February 1749.

told me. At that time they faw one hank
after another raifed in the rivers by bea-
vers. But after the Europeans came over
in great number, and cultivated the coun-
try better, the beavers have been partly
killed, and partly extirpated, and partly
are removed higher into the country,
where the people are not fo numerous.
Therefore there is but a fir.gle place in
Tenfylvania where beavers are to be met
with ; their chief food is the bark of the
beaver- tree, or Magnolia glauca, which
they prefer to any other. The Swedes
therefore put branches of this tree near the
beaver-dykes, into traps, which they laid
for the beavers, whilft they were yet plen-
tiful ; and they could almoft be certain of
good fuccefs. Some perfons in Philadelphia
have tamed beavers, fo that they go a fill-
ing with them, and they always come back
to their mailers. Major Roderfert, in New
York, related that he had a tame beaver
above half a year in his houfe, where he
went about quite loofe, like a dog. The
major gave him bread, and fometimes fifh,
which he was very greedy of. He got as
much water in a bowl as he wanted. All
the ra^s and foft things he could meet with
he dragged into a corner, where he was ufed
to fleep, and made a bed of them. The

cat

New Jerfey, Raccoon. 6 1

cat in the houfe, having kittens, took
poffeiiion of his bed, and he did not hinder
her. When the cat went out, the beaver
often took the kitten between his fore paws
and held it to his breaft to warm it, and
doated upon it ; as foon as the cat returned *
he gave her the kitten again. Sometimes
he grumbled, but never did any hurt, or
attempted to bite.

The Eng/i/Jj and the Swedes gave the
name of Mink to an animal of this coun-
try, which likewife lives either in the wa-
ter, or very near it. I have never had an
opportunity to fee any more than the fkin
of this animal. But the fhape of the fkin,
and the unanimous accounts I have heard
of it, make me conclude with much cer-
tainty, that it belonged to the genus of
weafels or mujlelce. The greater!: fkin I
ever faw, was one foot, eight inches long,
a leiler one was about ten inches long, and
about three inches, one third broad, before
it was cut i the colour was dark brown,
and fometimes almofl black -, the tail was
bufhy, as that of a marten ; the hair was
very dole ; and the ears fhort, with fhort
hair. The length of the feet belonging
to the lefi'er fkin was about two inches
Ion I am told this animal is fa fimilar

to the American polecat, or Viverra puto-

rh ■

62 February 1749.

rius, that they are hardly diftinguifhable *„
I have had the following accounts given me
of its way of living ; it feldom appears in
day-time, but at night it comes out of the
hollow trees, on the banks of rivers. Some-
times it lives in the docks and bridges, at
Philadelphia^ where it is a cruel enemy
to the rats. Sometimes it gets into the
court-yards at night, and creeps into the
chicken-houfe, through a fmall hole,
where it kills all the poultry, and fucks
their blood, but feldom eats one. If it
meets with geefe, fowls, ducks, or other
birds on the road, it kills and devours them.
It lives upon fifh and birds. When a brook
is near the houfes, it is not eafy to keep
ducks and geefe, for the mink, which lives
near rivers, kills the young ones. It firft
kills as many as it can come at, and theri
it carries them off, and feails upon them.
In banks and dykes near the water, it like-
wife does mifchief, with digging. To
catch it the people put up traps, into
which they put heads of birds, fifhes, or
other meat. The fkin is fold in the towns,
and at Philadelphia, they give twenty-pence
and even two millings a-piece for them,

according

* The Mink, or Minx, is a kind of fmall otter, which
is called by Dr. Linnaus, Mujtela lutreola, in his fyftem. i.
p. 66. F.

New Jerfey, Raccoon. 63

according to their Hze. Some of the ladies
get muffs made of thefe fkins ; but for the
greateft part they are fent over to England,
from whence they are diftributed to other
countries. The old Swedes told me that
the Indians formerly ufed to eat all kinds of
fleih, except that of the mink.

I have already mentioned fomething of
the Raccoon ; I (hall here add more of the
nature of this animal, in a place which is
properly its native country *. The Eng-
Hjh call it every where by the name of
Raccoon, which name they have undoubt-
edly taken from one of the Indian
nations ; the Dutch call it He/pan, the
Swedes, EJpan, and the Iroquefe, Attigbro.
It commonly lodges in hollow trees, lies
clofe in the day-time, never going out but
on a dark, cloudy day; but at night it
rambles and feeks its food. I have been
told by feveral people, that in bad weather,
efpecially when it fnows and blows a ftorm,
the Raccoon lies in its hole for a week to-
gether without coming out once ; during
that time it lives by fucking and licking its
paws. Its food are feveral forts of fruit,
fuch as maize, whilfl the ears are foft. In
gardens it often does a great deal of damage
among the apples, chefnuts, plumbs/ and

wild

f The village of Raccoon,

64. February 1749.

wild grapes, which are what it likes heft ;
among the poultry it is very cruel. When
it finds the hens on their eggs, it fir ft kills
them, and then eats the eggs. It is caught
by dogs, which trace it back to its neft,
in hollow trees, or by fnares and traps, in
which a chicken, fome other bird, or a fifh,
is put as a bait. Some people eat its flefh.
It leaps with all its feet at once ; on ac-
count of this and of fevcral other qualities,
many people here reckoned it to the genus
of bears. The ikin fold for eighteen-
pence, at Philadelphia. I was told that the
Raccoons were not near fo numerous as
they were formerly ; yet in the more in^
land parts they were abundant. I have
mentioned the ufe which the hatters make
of their furs ; as likewife that they are
eafily tamed, that they are very greedy of
fweet-meats, &c. in the preceding volume.
Of all the North American wild quadrupeds
none can be tamed to fuch a degree as this.
February the 10th. In the morning I
went to Philadelphia, where I arrived to-
wards night. On my arrival at the ferry
upon the river Delaware, I found the river
quite covered with drifts of ice, which at
firft prevented our eroffirig the water. After
waiting about an hour, and making an"
opening near the ferry, I, together with

many

Penfyhania, Philadelphia. 65

many more paffengers, got over, before any-
more fhoals came on. As it began to freeze
very hard foon after the twelfth of 'January
(or New Tear, according to the old flyle)
the ri-er Delaware was covered with ice,
which by the intenfenefs of the fro ft grew
fo ftrong, that the people crofTed the river
with horfes at Philadelphia, The ice con-
tinued till the eighth of February, when it
began to get loofe, and the violent hurri-
cane, which happened that night, broke it,
and it was driven down fo faff, that on the
twelfth of February not a {ingle fhoal came
down, excepting a piece or two near the
fhore.

Crows flew in great numbers together
to-day, and fettled on the tops of trees.
During the whole winter we hardly obferved
one, though they are faid to winter there.
During all this fpring they commonly ufed
to fit at the tops of trees in the morning;
yet not all together, but in feveral trees.
They belong to the noxious birds in this
part of the world, for they chiefly live upon
corn. After the maize is planted or fown,
they fcratch the grains out of the ground
and eat them. When the maize begins to
ripen, they peck a hole into the iiwolucrum
which furrounds the ear, by which means
the maize is fpoiled, as the rain paifes
Vol. II. E through

66 February 1749.

through the hole which they have made,
and occafions the putrefaction of the corn.
Eefides eating corn, they likewife fteal
chickens. They are very fond of dead car-
canes. Some years ago the government of
Pen/yhania had given three- pence, and that
of New Jerfey four- pence premium for every
head of a Crow, but this law has now-
been repealed, as the expences are too great.
1 have feen the young Crows of this kind in
feveral places playing with tame ones whofe
wings were cut. The latter hopped about
the fields, near the farm-houfes where they
belonged to, but always returned again,
without endeavouring to efcape on any oc-
cafion. Thefe American Crows are only a
variety of the Roy/ion Crow, or Linn&us's
Corvus Comix,

February the 12th. In the afternoon I
returned to 'Raccoo?i from Philadelphia.

On my journey to Raccoon, 1 attentively
obferved the trees which had yet any leaves
left. The leaves were pale and dried up,
but not all dropt from the following trees :

The Beach-tree, (Fagus fyhatica) whe-
ther great or fmall ; it always kept a confi-
derable part of its leaves during the whole
winter even till fpring. The greater trees
kept the" lowermoft leaves.

The

New Jerfey, Raccoon. 67

The white oak (Quercus alba). Moft of
the young trees which were not above a
quarter of a yard in diameter, had the great-
eft part of their leaves ftill on them, but
the old trees had loft moft of theirs, except
in fome places where they have got new
moots. The colour of the dry leaves was
much paler in the white oak than in the
black one.

The black oak (as it is commonly called
here). Dr. Linnaus calls it the red oak,
9$uercus rubra. Moft of the you n% trees
ftill preferved their dried leaves. Their co-
lour was reddifh brown, and darker than
that of the white oak.

The SpaniJJj oak, which is a mere variety
of the black oak. The young trees of this
kind likewife keep their leaves.

1

A scarce /pedes of oak which is known
by its leaves having a triangular apex or top,
whofe aneles terminate in a fhort briftle :
the leaves are fmooth below, but woolly
above *. The young oaks of this fpecies
had ftill their leaves.

When I came into any wocd where the
above kinds of oaks were only twenty years,
and even not fo old, I always found the
leaves on them.

* This fecms to be nothing but a variety of ihe^uercta
rulra. Linn, F.

E 2 It

68 February 1749.

It feems that Providence has, befides
other views, aimed to protect feveral forts
of birds, it being very cold and ftormy about
this time, by preferving even the dry leaves
on thefe trees. I have this winter at feve-
ral times feen birds hiding in the trees co-
vered with old leaves during a fevere cold
or ftorm.

February the 13th. As I began to dig a
hole to-day, I found feveral infects which
were crept deep into the ground in order to
pafs the winter. As foon as they came to
the air, they moved their limbs a little, but
had not ftrength fufficient for creeping, ex-
cept the black ants, which crept a little,
though flowly.

Formica nigra, or the black ant, were
pretty numerous, and fomewhat lively.
They lay about ten inches below the fur-
face.

Car a bus /at us. Some of thefe lay at the
fame depth with the ants. This is a very
common infect; in all North America.

Scarabs us ; chemut-coloured, with a
hairy thorax; the elytra? morter than the
abdomen, with feveral longitudinal lines,
befet with hair. I: is fomething fimilar to
t lie cock-chaffer, but differs in many refpects.
I found it very abundant in the ground.

-^ Gryllus

New Jerfey, Raccoon. 69

Gryllus camprjiris, or the field-cricket:
They lay ten inches deep ; they v/ere quite
torpid, but as foon as they came into a warm
place they revived and were quite lively.
In fummer I have found thefe crickets in
great plenty in all parts of North America
where I have been. They leaped about on
the fields, and made a noife like that of our
common houfe-crickets, fo that it would
be difficult to uiitinguiih them by their
chirping. They fometimes make fo great a
noife, that it caufes pain in the ears, and
even two people cannot underftand each
other. }r- fiich places where the rattle-
fhakes live, the field -crickets are very dif-
agre^able, and in a manner dangerous, for
their violent chirping prevents the warning,
which that horrid fnake gives with its rat-
tle, from reaching the ear, and thus deprives
one of the means of avoiding it. I have
already mentioned that they likewife winter
fometimes in chimnies *. Here they ly all
winter in the ground, but at the beginning
of March, as the air was grown warm, they
came out of their holes, and began their
muiic, though at firft it was but very faint
and rarely heard. When we were forced
on our travels to fleep in uninhabited places,
the crickets had got into the folds of our

E 3 clothes,

* See page 10.

7<3 February 1749.

clothes, fo that we were obliged to flop an
hour every morning in examining our
clothes, before we could get rid of them.

The red ants (Formica rufa) which in
Sweden make the great ant-hills, I likewife
found to-day and the following day ; they
were not in the ground, for when my fer-
vant Tungfroem cut down old dry trees, he
met with a number of them in the cracks of
the tree. Thefe cracks were at the height
of many yards in the tree, and the ants
were crept fo high, in order to find their
winter habitation : As foon as they came
into a warm place, they began to ftir about
very brifkly.

February the 14th. The Swedes and the
Fnglifo gave the name of blue bird to a very
pretty little bird, which was of a fine blue
colour. "Linnaus calls it Motacilla Stalls.
Catefoy has drawn it in his Natural hiflory
ef Carolina, vol.1, pi. 47, and defcribed it
by the name of Rubecula Americana ccerulea-,
and Edwards has reprefented it in his Natu-
ral bijlory of birds > plate and page 24. In
my own journal I called it Motacilla carulea
nitidat -peffiore rufo, ventre albo. In Catejby's
plate I mud obferve, that the colour of the
bread ought to be dirty red or ferruginous;
the tibia? and feet black as jet j the bill too
fhould be quite black ; the blue colour in

general

New ycrfeyj Raccoon. yi

general ought to be much deeper, more
lively and mining; no bird in Sweden has
fo fliining and deep a blue colour as this :
The jay has perhaps a plumage like it. The
food of the blue bird is not merely infects,
he likewife feeds upon plants ; therefore in
winter, when no infects are to be met wiih,
they come to the farm-houfes in order to
fubiin: on the feeds of hay, and other fmall
grains.

Red -bird is another fpecies of fmall bird.
Catejby has likewife figured it *. Dr. Lm-
ncens calls it, Loxia Cardinalis. It belongs to
that clafs of birds which are enemies to
bees, lying in wait for them and eating
them. I fed a cock for five months together
in a cage ; it eat both maize and buck-
wheat, for I gave it nothing elfe. By its
fong it attracted others of its fpecies to the
court-yard, and after we had put fome
maize on the ground under the window
where I had it, the others came there every
day to get their food ; it was then eafy to
catch them by means of traps. Some of
them, efpecially old ones, both cocks and
hens, would die with grief on being put
into cages. Thofe on the other hand which
were grown tame, began to fing exceedingly

E 4 fweet :

* See Catejby' s Natural bijloty, vol. I. pi. 38. Coccto
zhraujles rubra.

72 February 1749.

fweet. Their note very nearly refembies
that of our European nightingale, and on
account of their agreeable forg, they are fent
abundantly to London, in cages. They have
fuch ftrength in their bill that when you
hold your hand to them they pinch it fo
hard as to caufe the blood to iffue forth.
In fpring they fit warbling on the tops of
the higheft trees in the woods, in the morn-
ing. But in cages they fit quite ftill for
an hour .; the next hour they hop up and
down, finging ; and fo they go on alter-
nately all day.

February the 17th. Cranes f Ardea
Canadenfis) were ibmetimes Cctn flying in
the day-time, to the northward. They
commonly Hop here early in fpring, for a
fhort time, but they do not make their nefls
here, for they proceed on more to the
north. Certain old Swedes told me, that
in their younger years, as the country was
not yet much cultivated, an incredible
number of cranes wTere here every fpring $
but at prefent they are not fo numerous.
Several people who have fettled here, eat
their rlelh, when they can moot them.
They are laid to do no harm to corn, or the
like.

February the 23d. This morning I

went

New y^ffrjy Raccoon. 73

went down to Penris Neck, and returned
in the evening.

Snow lay yet in feveral parts of the
wood:;, efpecially where the trees flood very
thick, and the fun could not make its
wa>' : however it was not above four inches
deep. All along the roads was ice, efpe-
cially in the woods, and therefore it was
very difficult to ride horfes, which were
not marp inoed. The people who are fet-
tled here know little of fledges, but ride
on hcrkback to church in winter, though
the fnow is fometimes near a foot deep. It
lays feldom above a week before it melts,
and then fome frefh fnow falls.

A fpecies of birds, called by the Swedes,
maize-thieves, do the greateft. mifchief in
this country. They have given them that
name, becaufe they eat maize, both pub-
licly and fecretly, juft after it is fown and
covered with the ground, and when it is
ripe. The Englijh call them blackbirds.
There are two fpecies of them, both de-
icribed and drawn by Catejby *. Though
they are very different in fpecies, yet there

is

* See Cattfby's rat. hill, of Carolina, vol. i. tab. 12.
7 'he purple daw, and tab. 13. the red-winged Jlarling : but as
both thefe drawings are in a very expensive work, we have,
from fpecimens lately brought over from America, made
a new drawing, which repref^nts them both, and it is
engraved here, Cab. I. F,

74 February 1749.

is fo great a friendfhip between them, that
they frequently accompany each other in
mixed flocks. However, in Penfyhania,
the firft fort are more obvious, and often
fly together, without any of the red- winged
fares. The firft fort, or the purple daws,
bear, in many points, fo great a likenefs
to the daw, the flare, and the thrum,
that it is difficult to determine to which
genus they are to be reckoned, but feem to
come neareft to the ftare; for the bill is
exactly the fame with that of the thrum,
but the tongue, the flight, their fitting on
the trees, their fong and fhape, make it en-
tirely a ftare 3 at a diftance they look al-
moft black, but clofe by they have a very
blue or purple caft, but not fo much as
Catefbys print : their iize is that of a
flare ; the bill is conic, almoft fubulated,
ftrait, convex, naked at the bafe, black,
with almoft equal mandibles, the upper be-
ing only a very little longer than the lower 5
the noftrils are oblong, yet a little angu-
lated, fo as to form almoft fquares ; they
are placed obliquely at the bafe of the bill,
and have no hair 5 there is a little horny
knob, or a (mall prominence on the up-
per fide of them ; the tongue is fharp and
bifid at the point ; the iris of the eyes is
pale j the forehead, the crown, the nucha,

the

New Jerfey, Raccoon, 75

the upper part and the fides of the neck
are of an obfcnre blue and green mining
colour; the fides of the head under the
eyes are obfcurely blue ; all the back and
coverts of the wings are purple ; the up-
per coverts of the tail are not of fo confpi-
cuous a purple colour, but as it were
blackened with foot; the nine primary
quill-feathers are black ; the other fecun-
dary ones are likewife black, but their out-
ward margin is purple ; the twelve tail
feathers have a blackiih purple colour, and
their tips are round ; thofe on the outfide
are the fhorteft, and the middV- extremely
long. When the tail is fpread, it looks
round towards the extremity. The throat
is blueifh green, and mining; the brealr.
is likewife black or mining green, accor-
ding as you turn it to the light ; the belly
is blackifh, and the vent feathers are ob-
fcurely purple-coloured ; the parts of the
breafl: and belly which are covered by the
wings, are purple-coloured ; the wings
are black below, or rather footy ; and
the thighs have blackiih feathers; the
legs (tibia J, and the toes are of a
mining black. It has four toes, as
moft birds have. The claws are black,
and that on the back toe is longer than

ths

76 February 1749.

the reft. Dr. Linnceus calls this bird Gra-
cula Qiiifcula.

A few of thefe birds are faid to winter
in fwamps, which are quite overgrown
with thick woods ; and they only appear in
mild weather. But the greateft number go
to the fouth at the approach of winter. To-
day I law them, for the firft time this year.
They flew in great iiocks already. Their
chief and moil agreeable food is maize.
They come in great fwarms in fpring,
foon after the maize is put under ground.
They fcraich up the grains of maize, and
eat them. As foon as the leaf comes out,
they take hold of it with their bills, and
pluck it up, together with the corn or
grain ; and thus they give a great deal of
trouble to the country people, even fo early
in fpring. To leflen their greedinefs of
maize, fome people dip the grains of that
plant in a decoct of the root of the veratrum
album, or white hellebore, (of which I mail
fpeak in the fequel) and plant them after-
wards. When the maize-thief eats a grain
or two, which are fo prepared, his head is
difordered, and he falls down : this fright-
ens his companions, and they dare not ven-
ture to the place again. But they repay
themfelves amply towards autumn, when
the maize grows ripe ; for at that time,

they

New' Jer/ey, Raccoon, yy

they are continually feafting. They affem-
ble by thoufands in the maize-fields, and
live at discretion. They are very bold;
for when they are difturbed, they only go
and fettle in another part of the field. In
that manner, they always go from one end
of the field to the other, and do not leave
it till they are quite fatisfied. They fly in
incredible fwarms in autumn ; and it can
hardly be conceived whence fuch immenfe
numbers of them mould come. When they
rife in the air they darken the fky, and
make it look quite black. They are then
in fuch great numbers, and fo clofe toge-
ther, that it is furprifing how they find
room to move their wings. I havelcnown a
perfon moot a great number of them on one
fide of a maize-field, which was far from
frightening the reft ; for they only juft took
flight, and dropped at about the diftance of a
mufket-fhot in another part of the field,
and always changed their place when their
enemy approached. They tired the fportf-
man, before he could drive them from off
the maize, though he killed a great many of
them at every fhot. They likewife eat the
feeds of the aquatic tare-grafs (Zizania aqua-
ticaj commonly late in autumn, after the
maize is got in. I am told, they likewife
eat buck-wheat, and oats. Some people

fay,

j 8 February 1 74*9.

fay, that they even eat wheat, barley, and
rve, when preffed by hunger ; yet, from
the befr. information I could obtain, they
have not been found to do any damage to
thefe fpecies of com. In fpring, they fit in
numbers on the trees, near the farms ; and
their note is pretty agreeable. As they are
fo deftruclive to maize, the odium of the
inhabitants againft them is carried fo far,
that the laws ol F enjylvania and New Jer-
fey have fettled a premium of three-pence a
dozen for dead maize-thieves. In New
England, the people are fall greater enemies
to them 5 for Dr. Franklin told me, in the
fpring of the year 1750, that, by means of
the premiums which have been fettled for
killing them in New England, they have
been fo extirpated, that they are very rarely
fecn, and in a few places only. But as, in
the fummer of the year 1749, an immenfe
quantity of worms appeared on the mea-
dows, which devoured the grafs, and did
great damage, the people have abated their
enmity againfe the maize-thieves ; for they
thought thev had obferved, that thofe birds
lived chiefly on thefe worms before the
maize is ripe, and confequently extirpated
them, of at Icaft prevented their fpreading
too much. They feem therefore to be en-
titled, as it were, to a reward for their trou-

c ble.

New Jcrfey, Raccoon* 79

ble. But after thefe enemies and deftroyers
of the worms (the maize-thieves) were ex-
tirpated, the worms were more at liberty
to multiply -, and therefore they grew fo
numerous, that they did more mifchief now
than the birds did before. In the fummer
1749, the worms left fo little hay in New
England, that the inhabitants were forced to
get hay from Penfylvania, and even from
Old England. The maize -thieves have ene-
mies befides the human fpecies. A fpecies
of little hawks live upon them, and upon
other little birds. I faw fome of thefe hawks
driving up the maize-thieves, which were
in the greater!: fecurity, and catching them
in the air. Nobody eats the fleih of the pur-
ple maize-thieves or daws (Gr acuta quifculaj-,
but that of the red-winged maize-thieves,
or flares (Oriolus Phceniceus) is fometimes
eaten. Some old people have told me, that
this part of America, formerly called New
Swede?!, ftill contained as many maize-
thieves as it did formerly. The caufe of
this they derive from the maize, which is
now fown in much greater quantity than
formerly ; and they think that the birds can
get their food with more eafe at prefent.

The American whortleberry, or the Vac-
cinium hifpidulum, is extremely abundant

over

So February 1 749.

over all North A?nerica- and grows in fuch
places where we commonly find our whor-
tle-berries in Swede?!. The American ones
are bigger, but in moft things fo like the
Swedijh ones, that many people would take
them to be mere varie:. :s. The Englifh
call them Cranberries, the Swedes Tranbter,
and the French in Canada Atopa, which is
a name they have borrowed from the Indi-
ans. They are brought to market every
Wednefday and Saturday at Philadelphia, late
in autumn. They are boiled and prepared
in the fame manner as we do our red whor-
tle-berries, or Vaccinium vitis idaa$ and
they are made ufe of during winter, and part
of fummer, in tarts and other kinds of
paflry. But as they are very four, they re-
quire a deal of fugar ; but that is not very
dear, in a country where the fugar-planta-
tions are not far off. Quantities of thefe
berries are fent over, prefer ved, to Europe,
and to the Weft Indies.

March the 2d. Mytilus anctinus, a kind
of mufcle-fhells, was found abundantly in
little furrows, which crofTed the meadows.
The fhells were frequently covered on the
outfide, with a thin cruit of particles of
iron, when the water in the furrows came
from an iron mine. The Englijhmen and

Swedes

New yerfey, Raccoon. 8 1

Swedes fettled here feldom made any ufe
of thefe fhells -, but the Indians who for-
merly lived here broiled them and ate
the flefh. Some of the Europeans eat
them fometimes.

The fnow ftill remained in fome parts
of the wood, where it was very fhady, but
the fields were quite free from it. The
cows, horfes, fheep, and hogs, went into
the woods, and fought their food, which
was as yet very trifling.

March the 3d. The Swedes call a fpe-
cies of little birds, Snofogel, and the Eng-
lijh call it Snow-bird. This is Dr. Lin-
naufs Emberiza hyemalis. The reafon
why it is called fnow-bird is becaufe it
never appears in fummer, but only in win-
ter, when the fields are covered with fnow.
In fome winters they come in as great
numbers as the maize-thieves, fly about
the houfes and barns, into the gardens,
and eat the corn, and the feeds of grafs,
which they find fcattered on the hills,

At eight o'clock at night we cbferved a
meteor, commonly called ^fnow-fire *. I
have defcribed this meteor in the memoirs
of the RoyzLSwedt/Jj Academy of Sciences,
fee the volume for the year 1752, page

* Probably nothing but an Aurora borealis.

Vol. II.' F Wild

82 March 1749.

Wild Pigeons, (Cclumba migratcria*),
flew in the woods, in numbers beyond
conception, and I was aftiired that they
were more plentiful than they had been
for feveral years paft. They came this
week, and continued here for about a
fortnight, after which they all difappeared,
or advanced further into the country, from
whence they came. I mail fpeak of them
more particularly in another place.

March the 7th. Several people told
me, that it was a certain fign of bad wea-
ther here when a thunder-florin arofe in the
fouth or fouth weft, if it fpread to the eaft
and afterwards to the north : but that on
the contrary, when it did not fpread at all,
or when it fpread both eaft and weft,
thouph it fhould rife in fouth or fouth weft,
yet it would prognofticate fair weather. To-
day it was heard in fouth weft, but it did
not fpread at all. See the meteorological
obfervations, at the end of this volume.

Till now the froft had continued in the
ground, fo that if any one had a mind to
dig a hole he was forced to cut it through
with a pick-ax* However it had not pe-
netrated

* Of this Pigeon of P 'aJJ "age we have given here a plate,
tub. ii. taken from a parcel of birds, lately brought from
America, of which we were favoured with a fine fpe<-
cimen. F.

OF ILUNOI

New Jerfey, Raccoon, 8%

hetrated above four inches deep. But to-
day it was quite gone out. This made the
foil fo foft, that on riding, even in the
woods, the horfe funk in very deep.

I often enquired among the old EngHJh-
fnen and Swedes, whether they had found
that any trees were killed in very fevere
winters, or had received much hurt. I
was anfwered, that young hiccory trees
are commonly killed in very cold weather ;
and the young black oaks likewife furrer in
the fame manner. Nay fometimes black
oaks, five inches in diameter, were killed
by the froft in a "fevere winter, and fome-
times, though very feldom, a fingle mul-
berry-tree was killed. Peach-trees very
frequently die in a cold winter, and often
all the peach-tree's in a whole diftridl are
killed by a fevere froft. It has been found
repeatedly, with regard to thefe trees, that
they can fland the frofl much better on
hills, than in vallies; infomuch, that when
the trees in a valley were killed by froft,
thofe on a hill were not hurt at all. They
affured me that they had never obferved
that the black walnut-tree, the farTafra.c,
and other trees, had been hurt in winter.
In regard to a frofc in fpririg, they had ob-
ferved at different times, that a cold night
or two happened often after the trees were

F 2 furimh;*d-

$4 March 1749^

furnifhed with pretty large leaves, and thi^t
by this moft of the leaves were killed.
But the leaves thus killed have always been
fupplied by freih ones. It is remarkable
that in fuch cold nights the froft acts
chiefly upon the more delicate trees, and
in fuch a manner, that all the leaves, to the
height of feven and even of ten feet from
the ground, were killed by the froft, and
all the top remained unhurt. Several old
Swedes and ILnglifhmen allured me they had
made this obfervation, and the attentive
engineer, Mr. Lewrs Evans, has fhewn it
me among his notes. Such a cold night
happened here, in the year 1746, in the
night between the 14th and 15th of June,
new ftyle, attended with the fame effect,
as appears from Mr. Evans's obfervation s.
The trees which were then in bloffom, had
loft both their leaves and their flowers in
thefe parts which were neareft the ground ;
fometime after thev °ot frefh leaves, but

JO *

no new flowers. Further it is obfervable,
that the cold nights which happen in
fpring and fummer never do any hurt to
high grounds, damaging only the low and
moift ones. They are like wife very per-
ceptible in fuch places where limeftone is
to be met with, and though all the other
parts of the country be not viiited by fuch

cold

New Jo fey, Raccoon. 85

cold nights in a fummer, yet thofe where
limeftone lies have commonly one or two
every fummer. Frequently the places where
the limeftone lies are fituated on a high
ground ; but they fufFer notwithstanding
their fituation ; whilft a little way off in a
lower ground, where no limeftone is to be
found, the effects of the cold nights are not
felt. Mr. Evans was the fir ft who made
this obfervarion, and 1 have had occafion at
different times to fee the truth of it, on my
travels, as I mall mention in the fequel.
The young hiccory-trees have their leaves
killed fooner than other trees, in fuch a
cold night, and the young oaks next; this
has been obferved by other people, and
I have found it to be true, in the years
1749 and 175c

March the nth. Of the genus of
Wood-peeler s, we find here all thofe, which
Cate/by in his firft volume of the Natural
Hijiory of Carolina, has drawn and de-
fcribed. I mail only enumerate them, and
add one or two of their qualities ; but their
defcription at large I defer for another oc-
cafion.

Picus principalis, the King of the Wood-
peckers, is found here, though very fel-
dom, and only at a certain feafon.

F 7 Picus

86 March 1749.

Picus pile at us, the crefted Wood-pecker >,
this I have already mentioned.

Picus cur at m, the gold-ringed Wood-
pecker : This fpecies is plentiful here, and
the Swedes call it Hittock, and Pint -,
both thefe names have a relation to its
note ; it is almoft continually on the
ground, and is not obferved to pick in the
trees ; it lives chiefly on infects, but fome-
times becomes the prey of hawks ; it is
commonly very fat, and its flefh is very
palatable. As it flays all the year, and
cannot eafily get infecls in winter, it muft
doubtlefs eat fome kinds of grafs or plants
in the fields. Its form, and fome of its
qualities, make it refemble a cuckow.

Picus Carolinus, the Carolina Wood-pec-
ker. It lives here likewife, and the,colour of
its head is of a deeper and more mining
red than Catejby has reprefented it, vol. i.
p. 10. t. 19.

Picus villofus, the [potted, hairy, middle -fixed
Wood-pecker is abundant here ; it deftroys
the apple-trees by pecking holes into them.

Picus erythrocephalus, the red- headed Wood-
pecker. This bird was frequent in the
country, and the Swedes called it merely
Hack/pick, or Wood pecker. They give the
fame name to all the birds which I
flow enumerate, the gold- winged wood-
pecker excepted. This fpecies is deftruc-

tivc

New Jerfey, Raccoon. 2y

tive to maize-fields and orchards, for it
pecks through the ears of maize, and eats
apples. In ibme years they are very nu-
merous, efpecially where fweet apples
grow, which they eat fo far, that nothing
but the mere peels remain. Some years
ago there was a premium of two pence
per head, paid from the public funds, in
order to extirpate this pernicious bird, but
this law has been repealed. They are like-
wife very fond of acorns. At the approach
of winter thev travel to the fouthward.
But when they flay in numbers in the
woods, at the beginning of winter, the
people look upon it as a fign of a pretty
mild winter.

Picas varius9 the 1effery /potted, yellow-
bellied Wood- pecker. Thefe birds are much
more numerous than many people wifhed ;
for this, as well as the preceding and fuc-
ceeding fpecies, are very hurtful to apple-
trees.

Picus pubefcens, or the leafi fpoited Wood-
pecker. This fpecies abounds here. Of
all the wood-peckers it is the mofl dan-
gerous to orchards, becaufe it is the mofl
during. As foon as it has pecked a hole
into the tree, it makes another clofe to
the firft, in a horizontal direction, pro-
ceeding till it has pecked a circle of holes

F 4 round

88 March 1749,

round the tree. Therefore the apple-trees in
the orchards here have feveral rings round
their flems, which lie very clofe above each
other, frequently only an inch diftant from
each other. Sometimes thefe wood-pec-
kers peck the holes fo clofe, that the tree
dries up. This bird, as Catejby remarks,
is fo like the lefler fpotted wood-pecker,
in regard to its colour and other Qualities,
that they, would be taken for the fame bird,
were not the former (the Picus pubefcens)
a great deal lefs. They agree in the bad
quality, which they both poilefs, of peck-
ing holes into the apple-trees.

Rami ocellata are a kind of frogs here,
which the Swedes call, SUl-hcppetoffer, i. e.
Herring- hoppers, and which now began to
quack in the evening, and at night, in
fwamps, pools, and ponds. The name
which the Swedes give them is derived from
their beginning to make their noife in fpring,
at the fame time when the people here go
catching what are calied herrings, which
however differ greatly from the true Euro-
pean herrings. Thefe frogs have a pecu-
liar note, which is not like that of our Eu-
ropean frogs, but rather correfponds with
the chirping of fome large birds, and can
nearly be exprefled by picet. With this
noife they continued throughout a great

part

New Jerfcy, Raccoon. 89

part of fpring, beginning their noife loon
after fun -letting, and rlniihing it juft before
fun-rifing. The found was (harp, but yet
fo loud that it could be heard at a great
di (lance. When they expected rain they
cried much worfe than commonly, and be-
gan in the middle of the day, or when it
grew cloudy, and the rain came ufually fix
hours after. As it mowed on the j 6th of
the next month, atd blew very violently all
day, there was not the lead ftgn of them
at night, and during the whole time that
it was cold, and whilit the fnow lay on
the fields, the frofc had fo filenced them,
that we could not hear one ; but as foon
as the mild weather returned, they began
their noife again. They were very timo-
rous, and it was difficult to catch them ;
for as foon as a perfon approached the
place where they lived, they are quite
iilent, and none of them appeared. It
feems that they hide themfelves entirely
under water, except the tip of the fnout,
when they cry. For when I ftepped to
the pond where they were in, I could not
obferve a fingle one hopping into the wa-
ter. I could not fee any of them before I
had emptied a whole pool, where they
lodged in. Their colour is a dirty green,
variegated with fpots of brown. When

they

ap March 1749.

they are touched they make a noife and
moan ; they then fometimes affume a form,
as if they had blown up the hind part of
the back, fo that it makes a high eleva-
tion ; and then they do not flir, though
touched. When they are put alive into
ipirits of wine, they die within a minute.

March the 12th. The bird which the
Englifh and Swedes in this country call
Robin- red-breajl*, is found here all the year
round. It is a very different bird from that
which in England bears the fame name.
It is Lmn^Ks's Ttirdus migratorius. It fings
very melodiouily, is not very fhy, but hops
on the ground, quite clofe to the houfes.

The Hazels (Corylus avellana) were
now opening their bloflbms. They fuc-
ceeded bed in a rich mould, and the
Swedes reckoned it a fign of a good foil
where they found them growing.

March the 13th. The alder (Betula
Ainus) was juft bloflbming.

The Dracontium foetidum grew plenti-
fully in the marfhes and began to flower.
Among the ftinking plants, this is the mod
foetid ; its naufeous fcent was fo ftrong,
that I could hardly examine the flower;

and

* Of this bird we have given a figure in plate 3, where
likewife the Mocking- bird is reprefented ; both drawn after
fpecimens lately brought from America, and which we
were favoured with. F.

MOCKINCx BIRD.

Al Ot

New Jerfey, Raccoon, g j

and when I fmelled a little too long at it,
my head ached. The Swedes call it Byorn-
blad (bear's-leaf ) or Byom-retter (bear's-
root.) The Englifi call it Polecat-root, be-
caufe its effluvia are as naufcous and foetid,
as thofe of the polecat, which I have men-
tioned before. The flowers are purple-co-
loured ; when they are in full flower, the
leaves begin to come out of the ground -, in
fummer the cattle do not touch it. Dr.
Golden told me, that he had employed the
root in all cafes where the root of the arum
is made ufe of, efpecially againft the fcurvy,
&c. The Swedijh name it got, becaufe the
bears, when they leave their winter habita-
tions, are fond of it in fpring : It is a com-
mon plant in all North America.

The Draba verna was abundant here,
and now appeared in flower.

The Veratrwn album was very common
in the marines, and in low places over all
North America. The Swedes here call it
Dack, Dackor or Dackretter, that is pup-
pet-root, becaufe the children make puppets
of its ftalks and leaves. The Englijh call
it Itch-reed or Ellebore. It is a poifonous
plant, and therefore the cattle never touch
it ; however it fometimes happens that the
cattle are deceived in the beginning of
fpring, when the paftures are bare, and eat
of the fine broad green leaves of this plant,

which

92 March 1749,

which come up very early; but fuch a meal
frequently proves fatal to them. Sheep and
gecfe have likewife often been killed with
it. By means of its root, the maize is pre-
ferved from the greedinefs of voracious birds,
in the following manner : The roots are
boiled in water, into which the maize is
put as foon as the water is quite cool ,• the
maize mud ly all night in it, and is then
planted as ufual. "When the maize-thieves,
crows, or other birds, pick up or pluck out
the grains of maize, their heads grow deliri-?
ous, and they fall, which fo frightens the
reft that they never venture on the field
again ; when thofe which have tafted the
grains recover, they leave the field, and are
no more tempted to vifit it again. By thus
preparing maize, one muft be very careful
that no other creatures touch it ; for when
ducks or fowls eat a grain or two of the
maize which is thus fteeped, they become
very fick ; but if they fwallow a confidera-
ble quantity they die. When the root is
thrown away raw, no animal eats it ; but
when it is put out boiled, its fweet tafte
tempts the beads to eat it. Dogs have been
fecn to eat a little of it, and have been verv
lick after it ; however they have recovered
after a vomit, for when animals cannot
free themklves of it by this means, they
often die. Some people boil the root, and

wafh

New Jerfey, Raccoon. 93

warn the fcorbutic parts with the water or
decoct. This is faid to caufe Tome pain,
and even a plentiful difcharge of urine, but
it re-eftablifhes the patient. When the
children here are plagued with vermin, the
women boil this root, put the comb into
the decoction, and comb the head with it,
and this kills them moft effectually.

March the 17th. At the firft arrival of
the Swedes in this country, and long after
that time, it was filled with Indians. But
as the Europeans proceeded to cultivate the
land, the Indians fold their land, and went
further into the country. But in reality
few of the Indians really left the country
in this manner ; moft of them ended their
days before, either by wars among them-
felves, or by the fmall-pox, a difeafe which
the Indians were unacquainted with before
their commerce with the Europeans, and
which fince that time has killed incredible
numbers of them. For though they can
heal wounds and other external hurts, yet
they know not how to proceed with fevers,
or in general with internal difeafes. One
can imagine, how ill they would fucceed
with the cure of the fmdl-pox, when as
foon as the puftules appeared, they leaped
naked into the cold water of the rivers,
lakes, or fountains, and either dived over

head

94 March 1749.

head into it, or poured it over their body hi
great abundance, in order to cool the heat of
the fever. In the fame manner they carry
their children, when they have the fmall-
pox, into the water and duck them *. But
brandy has killed moft of the Indians. This
liquor was likewife entirely unknown to
them, before the Europeans came hither ;
but after they had tailed it, they could ne-
ver get enough of it. A man can hardly
have a greater defire of a thing, than the
Indians have of brandy. I have heard them
fay, that to die by drinking brandy, was a

defirable

* ProfefTor Kalm wrote this, when the truly laudable
method of treating the fmall-pox with a cold regimen,
was not yet adopted ; and he thought therefore, the way
in which the Americans treated this difeafe, was the caufe
of its being fo deleterious. But when the Kbalmucks, in the
Ruffian dominions, get the fm all- pox, it has been obferved,
that very few efcape. Of this I believe no other reafon
can be alledgcd, than that the fmall-pox is always danger-
ous, either when the open pores of the human fkin are toe
numerous, which is caufed by opening them in a warm
water bath ; or v/hen they are too much ciofed, which is
the cafe with all the nations, that are dirty and greafy.
All the American Indians rub their body with oils, the KhaJ-
mucks never wafh themfelves, and rub their bodies and their
fur coats with greafe ; the Hottentots are 1 believe known
to be patterns of filthinefs, their bodies being richly
anointed with their ornamental greafy fheep guts ; this
fhuts up all the pores; hinders perfpiration entirely, and
makes the fmall-pox always lethal among thefe nations j
to which we may yet add the too frequent ufe of fpirituous
inflammatory liquors, fmce their acquaintance with th?
Europeans. F.

New Jerfey, "Raccoon. 95

defirable and an honourable death; and in-
deed 'tis no very uncommon thing to kill
themfelves by drinking this liquor to excefs.
The food of thefe Indians was very dif-
ferent from that of the inhabitants of the
other parts of the world. Wheat, rye, bar-
ley, oats, and rice-groats, were quite un-
known in America. In the fame manner it
is with regard to the fruits and herbs
which are eaten in the old countries. The
maize, fome kinds of beans, and melons,
made almofr, the whole of the Indian agri-
culture and gardening; and dogs were the
only domeftic animals in North America.
But as* their agriculture and their gardening
were very trifling, and they could hardly
live two months in a year upon their pro-
duce, they were forced to apply to hunting
and fifhing, which at that time, and even
at prefent, are their chief fubiifrence, and
to feek fome of the wild plants and trees
here. Some of the old Swedes were yet
alive, who in their younger years had an
intercourfe with the Indians, and had {eea
the minutiae of their aeconomy. I was
therefore defirous of knowing which of the
fpontaneous herbs they made ufe of for
food at that time; and all the old men
agreed that the following plants were what
fchey chiefly confumed :

5 Hopniss

9 5 March 1749,

Hopniss or Hapnifi was the Indian name
of a wild plant, which thev ate at that
time. The Swedes Hill call it by that name,
and it grows in the meadows in a good foil.
The roots refemble potatoes, and were
boiled by the Indians, who eat them inftead
of bread. Some of the Swedes at that time
likewife ate this root for want of bread.
Some of the Englijh {till eat them inftead of
potatoes. Mr. Bartram told me, that the
Indians who live farther in the country do
not only eat thefe roots, which are equal in
goodnefs to potatoes, but like wife take the
peafe which ly in the pods of this plant,
and prepare them like common peafe.* Dr.
Linnceus calls the plant Glycine Apios.

Katniss is another Indian name of a
plant, the root of which they were likewife
accuftcmed to eat, when they lived here.
The Swedes ftill prefer /e this name. It
grows in low, muddy and very wet ground*
The root is oblong, commonly an inch and
an half long, and one inch and a quarter
broad in the middle j but fome of the roots
have been as big as a man's fills. The In-
dians either boiled this root or roafled it in
hot ames. Some of the Swedes likewife
eat them with much appetite, at the time
when the Indians wore fo near the coaft j
but at prefent none of them make any ufe

of

Newjcrfey, Raccoon. 97

of the roots. A man of ninety-one years
of age, called Nils Guftqfson, told me, that
he had often eaten thefe roots when he was
a boy, and that he liked them very well at
that time. He added that the Indians,
eipecially their women, travelled to the
iflands, dug out the roots, and brought
them home; and whilft they had them,
they defired no other food. They faid that
the hogs, which are amazingly greedy of
them, have made them verv fcarce. The
cattle are very fond of its leaves. I after-
wards got fome of thefe roots roafted, and
in my Opinion they tailed Well, though they
were rather dry : The tafle was nearly the
fame with that of the potatoes. When the
Indians come down to the coaft and fee the
turneps of the Europeans, they likewile
give them the name of ' katnifs. Their kat-
nifs is an arrow-head Or Sanitaria, and is
only a variety of the Sived/JJj arrow-head or
Sagittaria fdgittifolia, for the plan t above
the ground is entirely the fame, but the
root under ground is much greater in the
American than in the European. Mr. 0/-
beck in his voyage to China, vol. i. p. 334*
of the Englijh edition, mentions, that the
Chinefe plant a Sagittaria, and eat its roots.
This feems undoubtedly to be a variety of
this katnifs. Further in the north of this
Vol. II. G part

98 March 1749.

part of America, I met with the other 1 pe-
cies of Sagittaria which we have in Sweden*
T a w-h o and 'Taw-bim was the Indian name
of another plant, the root of which they eat.
Some of them likewife call it Tuckah ; but
molt of the Swedes frill knew it by the
name of law Jjo. It grows in moift ground
and fwamps. Hogs are very greedy of the
roots, and grow very fat by feeding on them.
Therefore, they often vifit the places where
thefe roots grow -, and they are frequently
feen rooting up the mud, and falling with
their whole body into the water, fo that
only a little of the back part was out of the
water. It is therefore very plain, that thefe
roots muft have been extirpated in places
which are frequented by hogs. The roots
often grow to the thicknefs of a man's
thigh. When they are frem, fhey have a
pungent tafte, and are reckoned a poifon in
that frefh ftate. Nor did the Indians ever
venture to eat them raw, but prepared them
in the following manner : They gathered a
great heap of thefe roots, dug a great long
hole, fometimes two or three fathoms and
upwards in length, into which they put the
roots, and covered them with the earth that
had been taken out of the hole ; they made
a great fire above it, which burnt till they
thought proper to remove it; and then

5 they

New Jerfey, Raccoon, gg

they dug up the root?, and confumed
them with great avidity. Thefe roots,
when prepared in this manner, I am told,
tafte like potatoes. The Indians never dry
and preferve them ; but always take them
frefh out of the marfhes, when they want
them. This 'Taw-ho is the Arum Virgini-
turn, 6r Virginian Wake-robin. It is re-
markable, that the Arums, with the plants
next akin to them, are eaten by men in
different parts of the world, though their
roots, when raw, have a fiery pungent tafte,
and are almoin, poifonous in that ftate.
How can men have learnt, that plants fo
extremely oppofite to our nature were eata-
ble ; and that their poifon, which burns on
the tongue, can be conquered by fire. Thus
the root of the Ca/Ia paluflris, which grows
in the north of Europe, is fometimes ufed
in (lead of bread on an exigency. The
North American Indians confume this fpecies
of A rum. Thofe of South America, and of
the Weft Indies, eat other fpecies of Arums.
The Hottentots, at the Cape of Good Hope,
in Africa, prepare bread from a fpecies
of Arum or Wake-robin, which is as
burning and poifonous as the other fpe-
cies of this plant. In the fame manner,
they employ the roots of fome kinds of
Arum as a food, in Egypt and AJia. Pro-

G 2 bably,

LOO

March 1749.

bably, that fevere but fometimes ufefiiil
miitrefs, necefiity, has firft taught men to
find out a food, which the firft tafle would
have rejected as ufelefs. This Taw- ho feems
to be the fame with what the Indians in
Carolina call Tuckahoo ; and of which fee
Vol. I. p. 287.

Taw-kee is another plant, fo called by
the Indians , who eat it. Some of them call
it Taw-kim, and others Tackvim. The
Swedes call it always by the name of Taw-
kee. The plant grows in marfhes, near
moift and low grounds, and is very plenti-
ful in North America. The cattle, hogs and
flags, are very fond of the leaves in fpring ;
for they are fome of the eariieft. The
leaves are broad, like thofe of the Convaila-
ria, or Lilly of the Valley, green on the
upper fide, and covered with very minute
hair, fo that they looked like a fine velvet.
The Indians pluck the feeds, and keep them
for eating. They cannot be eaten "frefh or
raw, but mult, be dried. The Indians were
forced to boil them repeatedly in water, be-
fore they were fit for ufe ; and then they
ate them like peafe. When the Swedes
gave them butter or milk, they boiled or
broiled the feeds in it. Sometimes they em-
ploy thefe feeds inftead of bread -, and they
tafte like peafe. Some of the Swedes like-

wiie

Newjerjty, Raccoon. 101

wife ate them ; and the old men among
them told me, they liked this food better
than any of the other plants which the In-
dians formerly made ufe of. This Taw-kee
was the Orontium aquaticum.

Bilberries were likewife a very com-
mon dim among the Indians. They are
called Huckleberries by the E?iglijh here, and
belong to feveral fpecies of Vaccinium, which
are all of them different from our Swedi/h
Bilberry-bum, though their berries, in re-
gard to colour, fhape, and tafte, are fo fimi-
lar to the Swedijh bilberry, that they are
diftinguifhed from each other with diffi-
culty. The American ones grow on fhrubs,
which are from two to four feet high ; and
there are fome fpecies which are above (ev&n.
feet in height. The Indians formerly pluck-
ed them in abundance every year, dried
them either in the fun-mine or by the fire-
fide, and afterwards prepared them for eat-
ing, in different manners. Thefe huckle-
berries are frill a dainty difh among the In-
dians. On my travels through the country
o$ \hz Iroquefe, they offered me, whenever
they defigned to treat me well, frefh maize-
bread, baked in an oblong fhape, mixed with
dried Huckleberries, which lay as clofe in it
as the raifins in a plumb-pudding. 1 fhall

G 3 write

lo* March 1749.

write more at large about it in the fequeh
The Europeans are likewife ufed to collect a
quantity of thefe berries, to dry them in

ens, to bake them in tarts, and to em-
loy them in feveral other Ways. Some
preferve them with treacle. They are h. re-
wife eaten raw, either quite alone or with
frefh milk.

I shall, on the 27th of March , findoc-
cafion to mention another dim, which the
Indians ate formerly, and ftill eat, on formal
ceremonies.

March the 1 8th. Almost during the
whole of this fpring, the weather and the
winds were always calm in the morning at
fun-iiiing. At eight o'clock the wind be-
gan to blow pretty hard, and continued fo
all day, till fun-fetting ; when it ceafed, and
all the night was calm. This was the re-
gular courfe of the weather : but fometimes
the winds raged, without intermiffion, for
two or three days together. At noon it
was commonly moft violent. But in the
ordinary way, the wind decreafed and in-
creafed as follows : At fix in the morning,
a calm ; at feven, a very gentle weftern
breeze, which grew flronger at eight; at
eleven it was much flronger ; bat at four in
the afternoon, it is no ftronger than it was

at

New yer/eyt "Raccoon. x 03

at eight o'clock in the morning; and thus
it goes on decreafing till it is quite a calm,
juft before fun-fet. The winds this fpring
blew generally weft, as appears from the ob-
fervations at the end of this volume.

I was told, that it was a very certain,
prognostic of bad weather, that when you
fee clouds in the horizon in the fouth-weft,
about fun-fetting, and when thofe clouds
fink below the horizon, in an hour's time, it
will rain the next day, though all the fore-
noon be fair and clear. But if fomp clouds
be feen in the fouth-weft, in the horizon,
at fun-fet, and they rife fome time after,
you may expect fair weather the next day.

March the 20th. An old Swede prog-
nosticated a change in the weather, becaufe
it was calm to-day ; for when there has
been wind for fome days together, and a
calm follows, they fay, rain or fnow, or fome
other change in the weather, will happen. I
was likewife told, that fome people here were
of that falfe opinion, that the weather com-
monly alters on Friday ; fo that, in cafe it
had rained or blown hard all the week, and
a change was to happen, it would common-
ly fall on Friday. How far the former
prognoftic has been true, appears from my
own obfervations of the weather, to which I
refer.

G 4 March

j ©4 March 1749.

March the 21 ft. The red maple (Acer
r it brum) and the American elm fUlmus A-
mericana) began to flower at pre fen t ; and
fome of the latter kind were already in full
bio Horn.

March the 24th. I walked pretty far
to-day, in order to fee whether I could find
any plants in flower. But the cloudy wea-
ther, and the great rains which had lately
fallen, had allowed little or nothing to grew
up. The leaves now began to grow pretty
green. The plants which I have juft before
mentioned, were now in full blofibm.

The noble Liverwort, ox Anemone hepa-
fica, was now every where in flower. It was
abundant ; and the Swedes called it B/a~
blomfier, or Blue-flower. They did not
know any ufe of it.

Near all the corn-fields on which I
walked to-day, I did not fee a iingle ditch,
though many of them wanted it. But the
people generally followed the Englijh way
of making no ditches along the fields, with-
out confidering whether the corn-fields want-
ed them or not. The confequence was, that
the late rain had in many places warned away
great pieces of the grounds, fown with wheat
and rye. There were no ridges left between
the fields, except a very narrow one near
|he fence, which was entirely over-growri

with

New Jerjey, Raccoon, 105

with the Sumach, or Rhus glabra, and
with black-berry bufhes, fo that there the
cattle could find very little or no food.
The corn fields were broad-caft* or divided
into pieces, which were near feventeen
feet broad, and feparated from each other
only by means of furrows. Thefe pieces
were uniform, and not elevated in the mid-
dle.

Meloe majalis, a fpecies of oil-beetle,
crept about on the hills.

Papilio Ant top a, or willow butterfly,
flew in the woods to-day, and was the
firft butterfly which I faw this year.

Papilio Euphrofyne, or the April but-
terfly, was one of the fcarce fpecies. The
other American infect, which I defcribed
this day and the following days, I mall
mention on fome other occafion. In the
fequel I fhall only mention thofe which
were remarkable for fome peculiar qualities.

The hay-Hacks were commonly made
here after the Swedi/h manner, that is, in
the fhape of a thick and fhort cone, with-
out any cover over it. When the people
wanted any hay, they cut fome of it loofe,
by a peculiar fort of a knife. However,
many people, efpecially in the environs of
Philadelphia, had hay-flacks with roofs
which could be moved up and down.

Near

io6 March 1749.

Near the furface of the ground were fome
poles laid, on which the hay was put,
that the air may pafs freely through it. I
have mentioned before, that the cattle have
no (tables in winter or fummer, but mud:
go in the open air, during the whole year.
However, in Philadelphia, and in a few
other places, I have feen that thofe people
who made ufe of the latter kind of hay-
flacks, viz. that with moveable roofs, com-
monly had built them fo, that the hay was
put a fathom or two above the ground, on
a floor of boards, under which the cattle
could ftand in winter, when the weafther
was very bad. Under this floor of boards
were partitions of boards on all the fides,
which however flood far enough from each
other, to aftcrd the air a free paflage.

March the 27th. .L the morning I
went in order to fpeak with the old Swede,
Nils Gujiafson, who was ninety-one years
of age. I intended to get an account of
the former ftate of New Sweden. The
country which I now parTed through was
the fame with that which I had found in
thofe parts of North America I had hitherto
feen. It was diversified with a variety ©f
little hills and vallies : the former con-
fided of a very pale brick-coloured earth,
compofed, for the greateit part, of a fine

fandj

New Jerfey, Raccoon. 107

{and, mixed with fome mould. I faw no
mountains, and no ftones, except fome lit-
tle ftones, not above the fize of a pigeon's
or hen's egg, lying on the hills, and com-
monly confirming of white quartz, which
was generally fmooth and polifhed on the
outfide. At the bottom, along the vallies,
ran fometimes rivulets of cryftalline water,
the bottom of which was covered with fuch
white pebbles as I have juft defcribed.
Now and then I met with a fwamp in the
vallies. Sometimes there appeared, though
at confiderable diftances from each other,
ibme farms, frequently furrounded on all
fides by corn-fields. Almofl on every corn-
field there yet remained the flumps of
trees, which had been cut down -, a proof
that this country has not been long culti-
vated, being overgrown with trees forty or
fifty years ago. The farms did not ly to-
gether in villages, or fo that feveral of them
were near each other, in one place -, but
they were all feparated from one another.
Each countryman lived by himfelf, had
his own ground about his houle, feparated
from the property of his neighbour. The
greateft part of the land, between thefe
farms fo diftant from each other, was
over-grown with woods, confiding of tall
trees. However, there was a fine fpace

between

ioS March 1749.

between the trees, fo that one could ride
on horfeback without inconvenience in the
woods, and even with a cart in moil
places ; and the ground was very plain and
uniform at the fame time. Here and there
appeared fome fallen trees, thrown down
by the wind ; fome were torn up by the
roots ; others broken quite acrofs the flem.
In fome parts of the country the trees were
thick and tall, but in others I found large
tracts covered with young trees, only
twenty, thirty, or forty years old : thefe
tracts, I am told, the Indians formerly had
their little plantations in. I did not yet fee
any marks of the leaves coming out, and I
did not meet with a flower in the woods :
for the cold winds, which had blown for fe-
veral days together fucceffively, had hin-
dered this. The woods confided chiefly of
feveral fpecies of oak, and of hiccory.
The fwamps were rilled with red maple,
which was all now in flower, and made thefe
places look quite red at a diftance.

The old Swede, whom I came to vifit,
feemed to be ftill pretty hearty and frem,
and could walk by the help of a flick ;
but he complained of having felt in thefe
latter years, fome pains in his back, and
limbs, and that he could keep his feet
warm in winter only by fitting near the fire.

He

New Jerfey, Raccoon, 109

He faid he could very well remember the
itate of this country, at the time when the
Dutch pollened it, and in what circum-
fiances it was in before the arrival of the
Englijh. He added, that he had brought
a great deal of timber to Philadelphia, at
the time that it was built. He ftill re-
membered to have feen a great foreft on
the fpot where Philadelphia now ftands.
The father of this old man had been one
of the Swedes who were fent over from Swe-
den, in order to cultivate and inhabit this
country. He returned me the following
anfwers to the queftions I afked him.

Que re, Whence did the Swedes, who
firft came hither, get their cattle ? The
old man anfwered, that when he was a boy,
his father and other people had told him,
that the Swedes brought their horfes, cows,
and oxen, fheep,- hogs, g^c^e, and ducks,
over with them. There were but few of a
kind at nrft, but they multiplied greatly here
afterwards. He faid, that Maryland, New
York, New England, and Virginia, had
been fooner inhabited by Europeans than
this part of the country ; but he did not
know whether the Swedes ever got cat-
tle of any kind, from any of thefe pro-
vinces, except from New York. Whilft he
was yet very young, the Swedes, as well

as

lio March 1749.

as he could remember, had already a fuf-
ficient flock of all thefe animals. The
hogs had propagated fo much at that time,
there being fo great a plenty of food fof
them, that they ran about wild in the
woods, and that the people were obliged
to fhoot them, when they intended to
make ufe of them. The old man likewife
recollected, that horfes ran wild in the
woods, in fome places ; but he could not
tell whether any other kind of cattle turned
wild. He thought that the cattle grow as
big at prefent as they did when he was a
boy, fuppofingthey get as much food as they
want. For in his younger years, food for
all kinds of cattle was fo plentiful, and
even fo fuperfluous, that the cattle were
extremely Well fed by it. A cow at that
tune gave more milk, than three or four do
at prefent j but fhe got more and better
food at that time, than three or four get
now ; and, as the old man faid, the fcanty
allowance of grafs, which the cattle g^t
in fummer, is really very pitiful. The
caufes of this fcarcity of grafs have already
been mentioned.

Que re, Whence did the Englifi id
Pexfyhama and New Jerfey get their cat-
tle ? They bought them chiefly from the
Swedes and Dutch, who lived here; and

a fmall

New jferfey, Raccoon. Hi

a fmall number were brought over from
Old England, The form of the cattle, and
the unanimous accounts of the Englifh
here, confirmed what the old man had
faid.

Que re, Whence did the Swedes here
fettled £et their feveral forts of corn, and
likewife their fruit-trees and kitchen-
herbs ? The old man told me that he
had frequently heard, when he was young,
that the Swedes had brought all kinds of
corn, and fruits, and herbs, or feeds of
them, with them. For, as far as he
could recollect, the Swedes here were plen-
tifully provided with wheat, rye, barley,
and oats. The Swedes, at that time,
brewed all their beer of malt made of bar-
ley, and likewife made good ftrong beer.
They had already got diitilling veffels,
and made good brandy. Every one among
them had not a diftilling veflel, but when
they intended to diftil, they lent their ap-
paratus to one another. At firft they
were forced to buy maize of the Indians,
both for fowing and eating, But after
continuing for fome years in this country,
they extended their maize-plantations fo
much that the Indians were obliged fome
time after to buy maize of the Swedes.
The old man likewife allured me, that the

Indians

ii2 March 1749.

Indians formerly, and about the time of
the firft fettling of the Swedes, were more
induftrious and laborious in every branch
of bufmefs, than thev are now. Whilll
he was young, the Swedes had a great
quantity of very good white cabbage. Win-
ter cabbage, or Ca/e, which was left on the
ground during winter, was likewife abun-
dant. They were likewife well provided
with turnips. In winter they kept them
in holes under ground. But the old man
did not like that method ; for when they
had lain too long in thefe holes, in winter,
they became fpungy. He preferred that
method of keeping them which is now
commonly adopted, and which confifts in
the following particulars. After the tur-
nips have been taken out of the ground in
autumn, and expofed to the air for a while»
they are put in a heap upon the field, co-
vered with ftraw at the top, and on the
fides, and with earth over the ftraw. By
this means they ftand the winter very well
here, and do not become fpungy. The
Indians were very fond of turneps, and call-
ed them fometimes Hopnifs, fometimes
Katnifs. The Swedes likewife cultivated
carrots, in the old man's younger years.
Among the fruit-trees were Apple-trees*

They

New Jtrfey, Raccoon. 1 1 3

They were not numerous, and only feme of
the Swedes had little orchards of them,
whilft others had not a fingle tree. None
of the Swedes made cyder, for it is come
into ufe but lately. The Swedes brewed
ftrong beer and fmall beer, and it was their
common liquor. But at prefent there are
very few who brew beer, for they com-
monly prepare cyder. Cherry -trees were
abundant when Nils Guftafson was yet a
boy. Peach-trees were at that time more
numerous than at prefent * and the Swedes
brewed beer of the fruit. The old man
could not tell from whence the Swedes
iirft of all got the peach-trees.

During the younger years of this old
man* the Indians were every where fpread '
in the country ; they lived among the
Swedes, and were fcattered every where. The
old man mentioned Swedes who had been
killed by the Indians ; and he mentioned two
of his countrymen who hnd been fcnlped
by them. They ftole children from the
Swedes, and carried them off, and thev were
never heard of again. Once they came and
killed fome Swedes, and took the upper
part of their fculls with them ; on that oc-
cafion they fcalped a little girl, and would
have killed her, if they had not perceived a
boat full of Swedes, making towards them,

Vol. II. H which

2 14 March 1749.

which obliged them to fly ; the girl was
afterwards healed, but never got any hair
on her head again ; (he was married, had
many children, and lived to a considerable
age. At another time, the Indians at-
tempted to kill the mother of this old man,
but me vigoroufly refilled them, and in
the mean while a number of Swedes came
up, who frightened the Indians, and made
them run away. Nobody could ever find
out to what nation of Indians thefe owe
their origin ; for in general they lived very
peaceably with the Swedes.

The Indians had their little plantations
of maize in many places; before the
Swedes came into this country, the 7«-
dians had no other than their hatchets
made of ftonej in order to make maize
plantations they cut out the trees and pre-
pared the ground in the manner I have before
mentioned*. They planted but little
maize, for they lived chiefly upon hunting ;
and throughout the greateft part of fummer,
their Hopnifs or the roots of the Glycine
Apios, their Katnifs, or the roots of the
Sagittaria Sagittifolia, their Taw-ho or the
roots of the Arum Virginicum, their Taw-
kee or Orontium aauaticum, and whortle-
berries, were their chief food. They had

no
• In page 39 of this Volume,

New Jerfey, Raccoon. 1 1 c

no horfes or other cattle which could be
fubfervient to them in their agriculture,
and therefore did all the work with their
own hands. After they had reaped the
maize, they kept it in holes under ground,
during winter; they dug thefe holes fel-
dom deeper than a fathom, and often not fo
deep j at the bottom and on the fides they
put broad pieces of bark. The AnSropogo?i
bicorne, agrafswhich grows in great plenty
here, and which the Eftg/i/h call Indian
Grafs, and the Swedes Wilfkt Grafs*, fup-
plies the want of bark ; the ears of maize are
then thrown into the hole and covered to a
confiderable thicknefs with the fame graft j
and the whole is again covered by a fumcient
quantity of earth : the maize kept ex-
tremely well in thofe holes, and each
Indian had feveral fuch fubterraneous ftores,
where his corn lay fafe, though he tra-
velled far from it. After the Swedes had
fettled here and planted apple-trees and
peach-trees, the Indians, and efpecially
their women, fometimes ftole the fruit in
great quantity ; but when the Swedes
caught them, they gave them a fevere drub-
bing, took the fruit from them, and often
their clothes too. In the fame manner it

H 2 happened

* Grafs of the Givagev,

1 1 6 March 1749.

happened fometimes that as the Swedes had
a great ericreafe of hogs, and they ran about
in the woods, the Indians killed fome of
them privately and feafted upon them : but
there were likewife fome Indians who
bought hogs of the Swedes and fed them -,
they taught them to run after them like
dogs, and whenever they removed from one
place to another, their hogs always follow-
ed them. Some cf thofe Indians got fuch
numbers of thefe animals, that they after-
wards gave them to the Swedes for a mere
trifle. When the Swedes arrived in America,
the Indians had no domeftic animals, ex-
cept a fpecies of little dogs. The Indians
were extremely fond of milk, and ate it
with pleafure when the Swedes gave it them.
They likewife prepared a kind of liquor
like milk in the following manner : they
gathered a great number of hiccory nuts
and walnuts from the black walnut-trees,
dried andcrufhed them 5 then they took out
the kernels, pounded them fo fine as flour,
and mixed this flour with water, which
took a milky hue from them, and was as
fweet as milk. They had tobacco-pipes of
clay, manufactured by themfelves, at the
time that the Swedes arrived here ; they did
not always fmoke true tobacco, but made
»fe of another plant inftead of it, which

was

New Jerfey, Raccoon. 1 1 7

was unknown to the old Swedes, but of
which he aflured me that it was not the
common mullein, or Verbafcum Thapfus,
which is generally called Indian Tobacco
here*.

As to their religion, the old man
thought it very trifling, and even believed
that they had none at all ; when they heard
loud claps of thunder, they faid that the
evil fpirit was angry; fome of them faid
that they believed in a God, who lives in
heaven. The old Swede once walked with
an Indian, and they met with a red-fpotted
fnake on the road : the old man therefore
went to feek a flick in order to kill the
fnake ; but the Indian begged he would not
touch it, becaufe he adored it : perhaps the
Swede would not have killed it, but on
hearing that it was the Indian's deity, he
took a flick and killed it, in the prefence
of the Indian, faying : Becaufe thou be-
liever!: in it, I think myfelf obliged to kill
it. Sometimes the Indians came into the
Swedijh churches, looked at them, heard
them, and went away again, after a while*
One day as this old Swede was at church,
and did not fmg, becaufe he had no Pfalm-
book by him, one of the Indians, who was

H 3 well

* In the S--wediJb language WHJkt Teback.

ii8 March 1749.

well acquainted with him, tapped him on
the moulder, and faid : Why doft thou not
Jing with the others, cfantanta I Tantanta !
Tantanta? On another occafion, as a fer-
mon was preached in the Swedijh church,
at Raccoon, an Indian came in, looked
about him ; and, after hearkening a while
to the preacher, he faid : Here is a great
deal of -prattle and nonfenfe, but neither
brandy nor cyder ; and went out again.
For it is to be obferved, that when an In-
dian makes a fpeech to his companions, in
order to encourage them to war, or to any-
thing elfe, they all drink immoderately on
thofe cccafions.

At the time when the Swedes arrived,
they bought land at a very inconfiderable
price. For a piece of baize, or a pot full
of brandy, or the like, they could get a
piece of ground, which at prefent would be
worth more than four hundred pounds,
Penfyhania currency. When they fold a
piece of land, they commonly figned an
agreement ; and though they could neither
read nor write, yet they fcribbled their
marks, or fignatures, at the bottom of it.
The father of old Nik Gnjiafson bought a
piece of ground from the Indians in New
Jerfey. As foon as the agreement was drawn
pp, and the Indians mould fign it, one of

them,

New Jerfey, Raccoon. 119

them, whofe name iignined a beaver, drew
a beaver, another of them drew a bow and
arrow, and a third a mountain, inftead of
their names. Their canoes they made of
thick trees ; which they hollowed out by
fire, and made them imooth again with
their hatchets, as has been before men-
tioned.

The following account the old man gave
me, in anfwer to my queftions with regard
to the weather and its changes : It was his
opinion, that the weatlier had always been
pretty uniform ever lince his childhood ;
that there happen as great florms at prefent
as formerly ; that the fummers now are
fometimes hotter, fometimes colder, than
they v/ere at that time ; that the winters
were often as cold and as long as formerly;
and that ftill there often falls as great a
quantity of fnow as in former times. How-
ever, he thought that no cold winter came
up to that which happened in the year
1697 ; and which is often mentioned in the
almanacks of this country -, and I have
mentioned it in the preceding volume. For
in that winter the river Delaware was fo
ftrongly covered with ice, that the old man
brought many waggons full of hay over it,
near Chrifiina -y and that it was paflable in
fledges even lower. No cattle, as far as he

H 4 could

120 March 1749.

could recollect, were ftarved to death in cold
winters ; except, in later years, fuch cattle
as were lean, and had no ftables to retire
into. It commonly does not rain, neither
more nor lefs, in fummer than it did former-
ly ; excepting that, during the lafr. years,
the fummers have been more dry. Nor
could the old Swede find a diminution
of water in brooks, rivers, and fwamps.
Ke allowed, as a very common and certain
fact, that wherever you dig wells, you meet
with oyfter-fhells in the ground.

The old Guftafson was of opinion, that
intermitting fevers were as frequent and
violent formerly as they are now; but that
they ieemed more uncommon, becaufe there
were fewer people at that time here. When
he got this fever, he was not yet full grown.
He got it in fummer, and had it till the en-
fuing fpring, which is almoft a year ; but it
did not hinder him from doing his work,
either within or out of doors. Pleurify
likewife attacked one or two of the Swedes
formerly 3 but it was not near fo common
as it is now. The people in general were
very healthy at that time.

Some years ago, the old Swede's eyes
were fo much weakened that he was forced
to make ule of a pair of fpedtacles. He
then got a fever ; which was fo violent,

that

t7sw Jerfey, Raccoon, 121

that it was feared he would not recover.
However, he became quite well again, and
at the fame time got new ftrength in his
eyes ; fo that he has been able to read
without fpe£tacles iince that time.

The houfes which the Swedes built when
they firft fettled here, were very bad. The
whole houfe confifted of one little room,
the do~r of which was fo low, that one was
obliged to fl-^op in order to get in. As
they h td brought no glafs with them, they
were obliged to be content with little holes,
before which a moveable board was fatt-
ened. They found no mofs, or at leaft none
which could have been ferviceable in flop-
ping up holes or cracks in the walls. They
were therefore forced to clofe them, both
without and within, with clay. The chim-
nies were made in a corner, either of grey
fand, a ftone, or (in places where no ttone was
to be got) of mere clay, wMch they. laid
very thick in one corner of the houfe. The
ovens for baking were likewife in the rooms.
Formerly the Swedes had proper (tables for
the cattle ; but after the Enghfh came hither,
and made no peculiar buildings for their
cattle, the Swedes likewife left off making
ttables.

Before the Englijh came to fettle here,
the Swedes could not get as many cloaths as

they

122 March 1749.

they wanted ; and were therefore obliged
to make fhift as well as they could. The
men wore waiftcoats and breeches of fkins.
Hats were not in fafhion ; and they made
little caps, provided with flaps before. They
had worffed ffockings. Their fhoes were
of their own making. Some of them had
learnt to prepare leather, and to make com-
mon fTioes, with heels ; but thofe who were
not fhoemakers by profeflion, took the
length of their feet, and fewed the leather
together accordingly ; taking a piece for the
fole, one for the hind-quarters, and one
more for the upper-leather. At that time,
they likewife fowed flax here, and wove
linen cloth. Hemp was not to be got ;
and they made ufe of flaxen ropes and t:fh-
ing tackle. The women were drefled in
jackets and petticoats of fkins. Their
beds, excepting the fheets, were fkins of
fever'al animals ; fuch as bears, wolves,
&c.

Tea, coffee, and chocolate, which are
at prefent univerfally in ufe here, were then*
wholly unknown. Bread and butter, and
other iubftantial food, was what they break-
faffed upon ; and the above-mentioned fu-
perfiuities have only been lately introduced,
according to the account of the old Swede.

Sugar

f Before the Enghjh fettled here.

New Jerfey, "Raccoon* 123

Sugjar and treacle they had in abundance,
as far as he could remember ; and rum for-
merly bore a more moderate price.

From the accounts of this old Swede I
concluded, that before the Engtijh fettled
here, they followed wholly the cufloms of
Old Swede?! ; but after the TLnglijh had
been in the country for fome time, the
Swedes began gradually to follow their
cufloms. When this Swede was but a boy,
there were two Swedifi fmiths here, who
made hatchets, knives, and fcythes, exactly
like the Swedifh ones, and made themfharper
than they can be got now. The hatchets
now in ufe are in the EngliJJj way, with a
broad edge ; and their handles are very
narrow. Almoft all the Swedes made ufe
of baths ; and they commonly bathed every
Saturday. They celebrated Chrijimas with
feveral forts of games, and with feveral pe-
culiar dimes, as is ufual in Sweden -y all
which is now, for the greateft part, left off.
In the younger years of this Swede, they
made a peculiar kind of carts here. They
fawed thick pieces of liquid-amber trees,
and made ufe of two of them for the fore-
moft wheels, and of two more for the hind-
moft. With thofe carts they brought home
their wood. Their fledges were at that

time

124 March 1749.

time made almoft in the fame manner as
they are now, or about as broad again as
the true Swedijb ones. Timber and great
beams of wood were carried upon a dray.
They baked great loaves, fuch as they do
now. They had never any bifcuit, though
the clergymen, who came from Sweden,
commonly got fome baked.

The Englijh on their arrival here bought
large tracts of land of the Swedes, at a very
inconfiderable price. The father of the
old Swede fold an eftate to the JLngliflo,
which at this time would be reckoned
worth three hundred pounds, for which he
got a cow, a fow, and a hundred gourds.

With regard to the decreafe of birds,
the number of them and fifh, he was
wholly of that opinion which I have al-
ready mentioned *. This was the account
which the old man gave me of the former
ftate of the Swedes in this country. I mall
fpeak more particularly of it in the fe-
quel.

Hurricanes are fometimes very vio-
lent here, and often tear up great trees.
They fometimes proceed as it were in pe-
culiar tracts, or lines. In fome places,
efpecially in the hurricane's tract, all the

trees.

* Sec vol. I. page 289.

New J erf ey, Raccoon. 125

trees are (truck down, and it looks as if
the woods were cut down deiignedly ; but
clofe to the tract the trees receive no hurt.
Such is the place which was fhewn to me
to-day. It is dangerous to go into the
woods where the hurricanes blow; for'the
trees fall before one has time to guard
himfelf, or make the leaft provifion for his
fecurity.

The Penfyhanian Afp was now in^full
bloffom. But neither this tree, nor thofe
near a-kin to it, (hewed their leaves.

An old countryman arTerted that he com-
monly fowed a bufhel of rye, on an acre
of ground, and got twenty bufhels in re-
turn -, but from a bufhel of barley he got
thirty bufhels. However in that cafe the
ground muft be well prepared. Wheat
returns about as much as rye. The foil
was a clay mixed with fand and mould.

In the evening I returned*.

March the 28th. I found a black
beetle -f (Scarabceus) with a pentagonal

oval

* From Nils Gujlafson, the old Swede.

■f- Th: beetle here defcribed, feems to be the Scarabam
Carolinus, Linn. Syft. Nat. p. 545, and of Drury Illuftra-
tions of Nat. Hift. tab. 35. f. 2. It is common in Ne<ut
Ysrky Nf<w Jer/ey, Penjylvania, Maryland, and Carolina. F.

126 April ij 4-9*

oval Clypeits or fhield, on the head a fhort
blunt horn, and a gibbous, or hump-backed
Thorax, or Corfelet. This beetle is one
of the bigger fort here. I found here and
there holes on the hills, which were fo
wide that I could put my finger into them.
On digging them up I always found thefe
beetles lying at the bottom, about five in-
ches under ground. Sometimes there were
fhort whitifh worms, about as thick as
one's finger, which lay with the beetles ;
and perhaps they were related to them.
There were likewife other infects in fuch
holes, as, a black cricket (Gryllus cam-
pejlris) ? fpiders, earth-beetles (Carabi),
and others. This beetle had a fcent exactly
like the Irifolium meiilotus ccerulea, or the
blue melilot. It was entirely covered with
oblong pale ticks (AcariJ. Its feet were as
ftrong as thofe of the common Dung-chaf-
fer ( Scarabceus jiercorarius) .

April the 4th. A Cicindela, or mining
beetle, with a gold-green head, thorax*
and feet, and a blue green abdomen or
belly, flew every where about the fields,
and was hunting other infects. It is very
common in North America, and feems to
be a mere variety of the Cicindela cam-
pejlris.

Cimex lacu/lris, a kind of Water -bugs 4

5 hopped

New Jerfey, Raccoon. 137

hopped in numbers on the furface of wa-
ters which had a flow.courle.

Dytiscus piceusy or, the great Water-
beetle, fwam fometimes in the water.

About fixty years ago, the greateft
part of this country was covered with tall
and thick trees, and the fwamps were full
of water. But it has undergone fo great a
change, as few other places have under-
gone, in fo fhort a time. At prefent the
forefts are cut down in mofc places, the
fwamps drained by ditches, the country
cultivated, and changed into corn-fields,
meadows, and paftures. Therefore, it
feems very reafonable to fuppofe, that fo
fudden a change has likewife had fome ef-
fect upon the weather. I was therefore de-
lirous of hearing from the old Swedes, who
have lived the longeft in this country, and
have been inhabitants of this place during
the whole time of the change mentioned,
whether the prefent ftate of the weather
was in fome particulars remarkably diffe-
rent from that which they felt in their
younger years ? The following is an ac-
count which they all unanimoufly gave
me in anfwer to this quefiion.

The winter came fooner formerly than
it does now. Mr Ifaac Norn's, a wealthy
merchant, who has a confiderable (hare in

the

128 .April 1 7 49.

the government of P cnfyfoania, confirmed
this by a particular account. His father,
one of the firft Fnglifo merchants in this
country, obferved, that in his younger
years, the river Delaware was commonly
covered with ice, about the middle of No-*
member, old ftyle, fo that the merchants
were obliged to bring down their (hips in
great hafte before that time, for fear of their
being obliged to ly all winter. On the
contrary, this river feldom freezes over at
prefent, before the middle of December,
old ftitef

It fnowed much more in winter, for-
merly, than it does now ; but the weather
in general was likewife more conftant and
uniform ; and when the cold fet in, it con-
tinued to the end of February, or till
March, old ftyle, when it commonly be-
gan to grow warm. At prefent, it is
warm, even the very next day after a fe-
vere cold ; and fometimes the weather
changes feveral times a day.

Most of the old people here were of
opinion, that fpring came much later at
prefent, than formerly, and that it was
now much colder in the latter end of
February, and the whole month of May,
than when they were young. Formerly

the

New Jer/ey ', Raccoon. 129

the fields were as green, and the air as
warm, towards the end of February, as it
is now in March, or in the beginning of
April, old ftile. The Swedes at that time
made ufe of this phrafe : Pajk bifida, Pajk
Jenty alt id Gras, that is, we have always
grafs at Eajier, whether it be foon or
late in the year. But perhaps we can ac-
count as follows, for the opinion which
the people here have, that vegetation ap-
peared formerly more forward than it does
now. Formerly the cattle were not fo nu-*
merous as now ; however, the woods were
full of grafs and herbs, which, according to
the teitimony of all the old people here,
grew to the height of a man. At prefent
a great part of the annual graffes and plants
have been entirely extirpated by the con-
tinual grazing of numbers of cattle. Thefe
annual graffes were probably green very
early in fpring, and (being extirpated)
might lead the people to believe, that
every thing came on fooner formerly, than
it does at prefent.

It ufed to rain more abundantly than
it does now ; during the harveft efpecially,
the rains fell in fuch plenty, that it was
very difficult to bring home the hay and
corn. Some of the laft years had been ex-
tremely dry. However, a few peoole were

Vol. II. I »f

13d April 1749.

of opinion that it rained as plentifully at
prefent, as formerly.

All the people agreed, that the wea-
ther was not by far fo inconftant, when
they were young, as it is now. For at
prefent it happens at all times of the year,
that when a day has been warm, the next
is very cold, and vice verfa. It frequently
happens that the weather alters feveral
times in one day ; fo that when it has been
a pretty warm morning, the wind blows
from N. W. about ten o'clock, and brings
a cold air with it ; yet a little after noon
it may be warm again. My meteorological
obfervations fufficiently confirm the reality
of thefe fudden changes of weather, which
are faid to caufe in a great meafure the
people to be more unhealthy at prefent,
than they were formerly.

I likewife found every body agree in af-
ferting, that the winter, betwixt the au-
tumn of the year 1697, and the fpring of
the year 1698, was the coldefr. and the fe-
vered which they had ever felt.

April the6th. Sanguinaria Canaden-
Jis, which is here called Blood-root, becaufe
the root is great and red, and, when cut,
looks like the root of red beet, and the
Hpigcea repens, which fome call the creep-
ing ground Laurel, were both beginning to
3 flower.

New jcrfey, Raccoon. t^t

flower. The former grew in a rich mould,
the other in a poorer foil.

The Laurus ceftivdlis, which fome~peo-
ple call Spice-wood, like wife began to blof-
fom about this time ; its leaves were not
yet broke out; it liked a moifl foil in the
woods.

April the qth. Apocynum Cannabimtm
was by the Swedes called Hemp of the In-
dians ; * and grew plentifully in old corn-
grounds, in woods, on hills, and in high
glades. The Swedes have given it the name
of Indian hemp, becaufe the Indians formerly,
and even now, apply it to the fame pur-
pofes as the Europeans do hemp ; for the
ftalk may be divided into filaments, and is
eafily prepared. When the India?is were
yet fettled among the Swedes, in Penfyhanid
and New Jerjey, they made ropes of this
Jlpocynum> which the Swedes bought, and
employed them as bridles, and for nets.
Thefe ropes were ftronger, and kept longer
in water, than fuch as were made of com-
mon hemp. The Swedes commonly got
fourteen yards of thefe ropes for one piece
of bread. Many of the Europeans ftill buy
fuch ropes, becaufe they laft fo well. The
Indians likewife make feveral other ftufFs
of their hemp. On my journey through

I 2 the

* Wiljkt Hampa.

132 April 1749.

the country of the Iroquefe, I faw the wo-
men employed in manufacturing this hemp.
They made ufe neither of fpinning-wheels
nor diftaffs, but rolled the filaments upon
their bare thighs, and made thread and
firings of them, which they dyed red, yel-
low, black, &c. and afterwards worked them
into fluffs, with a great deal of ingenuity.
The plant is perennial, which renders the
annual planting of it altogether unneceffary.
Out of the root and ftalk of this plant, when
it is frefli, comes a white milky juice, which
is fomewhat poifonous. Sometimes the fifh-
ing tackle of the Indians confifl s entirely of
this hemp. The Europeans make no ufe
of it, that I know of.

Flax and Cat -tail, were names given to
a plant which grows in bays, rivers, and in
deep whirlpools, and which is known to
botanifts by the name of Typlja latifolia.
Its leaves are here twifted together, and
formed into great oblong rings, which are
put upon the horfe's neck, between the
mane and the collar, in order to prevent
the horfe's neck from being hurt by the
collar. The bottoms of chairs were fre-
quently made of thefe leaves, twifted toge-
ther. Formerly the Swedes employed the
wool or cotton which furrounds its feeds,
and put it into their beds, inftead of fea-
thers j

New Jerfey, Raccson. 133

thers ; but as it coalefces into lumps after
the beds have been ufed for fome time, they
have left off making uie of them. I omit
the ufe of this plant in phyfic, it being the
peculiar province of the phyficians.

A species of Leek*, very like that which
appears only in woods on hills in Sweden,
grows at prefent on almoft all corn-fields
mixed with fand. 'he Englifr here called

it Garlick. On fome fields it grew in great
abundance. When the cattle grazed on
fuch fields, and ate the garlick, their milk,
and the butter which was made of it, tafted
fo ftrongly of it, that they werefcarce eatable.
Sometimes they fold butter in the Philadel-
phia markets, which tafted fo jtrongly of
garlick that it was entirely ufelefs. On
this account, they do not fuffer milking
cows to graze on fields where garlick
abounds : this they referve for other fpecies
of cattle. When the cattle eat much of
this garlick in fummer, their flefh has like-
wife fuch a ftrong flavour, that it is unfit
for eating. This kind of garlick appears
early in fpring ; and the horfes always
pafTed by it, without ever touching it.

1 3 it

* Allium afuenfe ; odore gran)iy capitulis bulbojis rubenti-
bus. See Gronov. Flora Virginica, 37. This Leek feems
to be Dr. Linnaus's Allium Canadenfe, /capo nudo fere?:,
folds linearibus, (apitulo bulbifero, Spzc plant, I. p. 43 1, f .

134 dp"! J749-

It would take too much room in my
Journal, and render it too prolix, were I
to mark down the time when every wild
plant in this country was in blofTom, when
it got ripe feeds, what foil was peculiar to
it, beiides other circumftances. Some or
my readers would be but little amufed with
fuch a botanical digreffion. I intend there-
fore to referve all this for another work,
which will give a particular account of all the
plants of North America -, and I mall only
mention fuch trees and plants here, which
deferve to be made known for fome peculiar
quality.

April the 12th. This morning I went
to Philadelphia and the places adjacent, in
order to know whether there were more
plants lately fprung up, than at Raccoon,
and in New Jerfey in general. The wet
weather which had happened the preceding
days, had made the roads very bad in low
and clayey places.

The leaves which dropt laft autumn
had covered the ground, in depth three or
four inches. As this feems to hinder the
growth of the grafs, it was cuftomary to
burn it in March or at the end of that
month, (according to the old ftile) in order
to give the grafs the liberty of growing up.
] found feveral fpots burnt in this manner

tQ-day 5

Penfyhania, Philadelphia, 135

to-day ; but if it be ufeful one way, it does
a great deal of damage in another ; all the
young moots of feveral trees were burnt
with the dead leaves, which dirninifhes the
woods conliderably ; and in fuch places
where the dead leaves had been burnt for
feveral years together, the old trees only
were left, which being cut down, there
remains nothing but a great field, without
any wood. At the fame time all forts of
trees and plants are confumed by the fire,
or at leaft deprived of their power of bud-
ding ; a great number of the plants, and
moil of the graffes here, are annual ; their
feeds fall between the leaves, and by that
means are burnt : This is another caufe of
univerfal complaint, that grafs is much
fcarcer at prefent in the woods than it was
formerly ; a great number of dry and hol-
low trees are burnt at the fame time,
though they could ferve as fewel in the
houfes, and by that means fpare part of the
forefts. The upper mould like wife burns
away in part by that means, not to men-
tion feveral other inconveniences with
which this burning of the dead leaves is
attended. To this purpofe the govern-
ment of Penfyhania have lately publifhed
an edict, which prohibits this burning;
neverthelefs every one did as he pleafed,

1 4 and

136 Jpril 1749.

and this prohibition met with a general

cenfure.

There were vail numbers of Woodlice
in the woods about this time; they are a
very difagreeable infect, for as foon as a
peribn fits down on an old flump of a tree,
or on a tree which is cut down, or on the
ground itfelf, a whole army of Woodlice
creep upon his clothes, and infenfibly come
upon the naked body. I have given a full
account of their bad qualities, and of other
circumftances relating to them, in the Me-
moirs of the Swedifh Royal Academy of
Sciences.. See the Volume for the year
?754, page 19.

I had a piece of petrified wood given
me to-day, which was found deep in the
ground at Raccoon. In this wood the fibres
and inward rings appeared very plainly ; it
feemed to be a piece of hiccory; for it was
as like it, in every refped, as if it had but
jufl: been cu.t from a hiccory-tree.

I likewise got fome mells to-day which
the Englijh commonly call Claws, and
whereof the Indians make their ornaments
and money, which I mall take an oppor-
tunity of fpeaking of inthefequel. Thefe
Clams were not frefli, but fuch as are every
where found in New Jerfey, on digging
,ieep into the ground ; the live mells of

this

New jfer/ey, Raccoon. 137

this kind are only found in fait water, and
on the fea coafts. But thefe Clams were
found at Raccoon, about eight or mneEngl/Jb
miles from the river Delaware, and near a
hundred from the neareft fea-fhore.

At night I went to Mr Bartranis feat.

April the 13th. I employed this day
in feveral obfervations relative to Botany.

Two nefts of wafps hung in a high
maple-tree, over a brook. Their form
was wholly the fame with that of our wafp-
nefts, but they exceeded them in fize.
Each neft. was ten inches in diameter ; in
each neft were three cakes, above one ano-
ther, of which the lowermoft was the big-
geft, and the two uppermoft decreafed in
proportion : there were fome eggs of wafps
in them. The diameter of the loweft
cake was about fix inches, and one quarter,
and that of the uppermoft, three inches,
and three quarters. The cells in which
the eggs or the young ones were depofited
were hexagonal, and the colour of the neft
grey. I was told, that the wafps make
this kind of nefts out of the grey fplints,
which ftick to old pales and walls. A
dark brown bee, with black antenna, and
two black rings on the belly, and purple
wings, flew about the trees, and might
perhaps be an inhabitant of thefe nefts.

Another

138 April 1749.

Another kind of wafps, which arc
larger than thefe, make their nefts quite
open. It confifls merely of one cake,
which has no covering, and is made of the
boughs of trees. The cells are horizontal,
and when the eggs or the young larvce ly
in them, they have lids or coverings, that
the rain may not come into them. But
whither the old wafps retreat during
ilorms, is a myftery to me, except they
creep into the crevices of rocks. That
fide of the cake which is uppermoft is
covered with fome oily particles, fo that
the rain cannot penetrate. The cells are
hexagonal, from five to feven lines deep,
and two lines in diameter. Mr. Bartram
obferved, that thefe nefts are built of two
forts of materials, viz. the fplints which
2re found upon old pales, or fences, and
which the wind feparates from them 3 for
the wafps have often been obferved to fit
on fuch old wood, and to gnaw away thefe
fplints ; the fides and the lid or cover of
the cells are made of an animal fubftance,
or glutinous matter, thrown up by the
wrafps, or prepared in their mouths -, for
when this fubftance is thrown into the
fire, it does not burn, but is only ringed,
like hair or horn. But the bottom of the
pefl being put into the fire, burns like li-
nen

New Jerfey, Raccoon. 139

nen or half-rotten wood, and leaves a
fmell of burnt wood. The wafps, whofe
nefts I have now defcribed, have three ele-
vated black fhining points on the fore-
head -j-, and a pentagonal black fpot on
the thorax. Towards the end of autumn
thefe wafps creep into the cavities of moun-
tains, where they ly torpid during winter.
In fpring, when the fun begins to ope-
rate, they come out during day-time, but
return towards night, when it grows
cold. I faw them early in (pring during
funfhine, in and about fome cavities in the
mountains. I was told of another fpecies
of wafps, which make their nerts under
ground.

Gyrinus natator ( ' Amerkanus ) ', or the
Whirl- beetles. Thefe were found dancing
jn great numbers on the furface of the wa-
ters.

April the 14th. This morning I went
down to Cheftcr : in feveral places on the
road are faw-mills, but thofe which I faw
to-day had no more than one faw. I like-
wife

f Thefe three points are common to mod infefts, and
ought therefore not to be made chara&eriftics of any par-
ticular fpecies. They are called Stemmata, and are a
kind of eyes which ferve the infects for looking at diftant
objects, as the compound eyes do for objecls near at
iand. F.

140 April iy49-

wife perceived that the woods and foreits of
thefe parts had been very roughly treated. It
is cuflomary here, when they erecft faw-
mills, wind-mills, or iron works, to lead
the water a good way lower, in cafe the
ground near a fall in the river is not con-
venient for building upon.

April the 16th. This morning I re-
turned to Raccoon. This country has fe-
veral kinds of fwallows, viz. fuch as live
in barns, in chimneys, and under ground;
there are likewife martens.

The Bam Swallows, or Houfe Swallows
are thofe with a furcated tail. They are
Linnaus's Hirundo rujlica. I found them in
all the parts of North America which I
travelled over. They correfpond very near-
ly to the European Houfe Swallow in re-
gard to their colour, however there feems
to be a fmall difference in the note. I took
no notice this year when they arrived : but
the following year, 1750, I obferved them
for the firft time on the 10th of April (new
ftyle) ; the next day in the morning, I faw
great numbers of them fitting on ports and
planks, and they were as wet as if they had
been juft come out of the fea*. They

build

* It has been a fubje£t of conteft among naturalilts, to
determine the winter-retreat of Swallows. Some think,

they

New Jerfey, Raccoon. 141

build their nefts in houfes, and under the
roofs on the outfide -3 I like wife found their

nefts

they go to warmer climates when they difappear in the
Northern countries: others fay, they creep into hollow
trees, and holes in clefts of rocks, and ly there all the win-
ter in a torpid Hate : and others affirm, that they take their
retreat into water, and revive again in fpring. The two
firft opinions have been proved, and it feems have found
credit ; the lalt has been treated as ridiculous, and almoft
as an old woman's tale. Natural hiftory, as all the other
hiftories, depends not always upon the intrinfic degree of
probability, but upon facts founded on the teitimony

of people of noted veracity. Swallows are feldom

feen finking down into the water, Sn.valloi.vs have not
fuch organs as frogs or lizards, which are torpid
during winter, ergo, Swallows live not, and cannot live,
under water. — Thjs way of arguing, I believe, would
carry us, in a great many cafes, too far; for tho' it is not
clear to every one, it may however be true : and lizards
and frogs are animals of a clafs widely different from that
of birds, and mud therefore of courfe have a different
ftrudture ; hence it is they are claffed feparately. The
bear and the marmot are in winter in a torpid Hate, and
have however not fuch organs as lizards and frogs ; and
no body doubts of their being, during fome time, in the
mod rigid climates in a torpid date : for the Alpine Na-
t ons hunt the marmots frequently, by digging their holes
up, and find them fo torpid, that they cut their throats,
without their reviving or giving the lead fign of life during
the operation ; but when the torpid marmot is brought into
a warm room and placed before the fire, it revives from its
lethargy. The queftion mud therefore be decided by fact-;
nor are they wanting here : Dr. Wallerius, the celebrated
Swedijb Chemid, wrote in 1748, September the 6th O. S.
to the late Mr. Klein, Secretary of the City of D^ntzick :
" Trat he has feen more than once Swallows affembling on
a reed, till they were all immerfed and went to the bot-
tom ; this being preceded by a dirge of a quarter of an
hour's length. He attefts likewife, that he had feen a
Swallow caught during winter out of a lake with a net,

drawn,

142 April 1749*

nefts built on mountains and rocks whole1
top projected beyond the bottom j they

build

drawn, as is common in Northern countries, under the
ice : this bird was brought into a warm room, revived,
fluttered about, and foon after died."

Mr. Klein applied to many Fenniers generaux of the
King of PruJ/icCs domains, who had great lakes in their
diitri&s, the fifliery in them being a part of the revenue;
in winter the fifhery thereon is the molt confiderable under
the ice, with nets fpreading more than 200 or 300 fathoms,
and they are often wound by fcrews and engines, on ac-
count of their weight. All the people questioned made
affidavits upon oath before the magillrates. Fir/?, The
mother of the Countefs Lebndorf fa:d, that fhe had feen a
bundle of Swallows brought from the Frijh Haff (a lake
communicating with the Baltic at Pillan) which when
brought into a moderately warm room, revived and flut-
tered about. Secondly, Count Scblieben gave an inftrument
on flamped paper, importing, that by fi filing on the lake
belonging to his eflateof Gcrdaucn in winter, he faw feve.
ral Swallows caught in the net, one of which he took up
with his hand, brought it into a warm room, where it lay
about an hour, when it began to ftir, and half an hour
after it flew about in the room. Thirdly, Fermier general
{Amtman) Wit Icowjli made affidavit, that in the year 1 740,
three Swallows were brought up with the net in the great
pond at Didlacken ; in the year 174 1, he got two Swal-
lows from another part of the pond, and took them home,
(they all being caught in his prefence); after an hour's fpace"
they revived all in a warm room, fluttered about, and died
three hours after, ^thly, Amt man Bonks fays, that having
had the eftate Klejkow in farm, he had feen nine Swal-
lows brought up in the net from under the ice, all which
he took into a warm room, where he diftinctly obferved
how they gradually revived ; but a few hours after they all
died. Another time his people got likewife fome Swallows
in a net, but he ordered them again to be thrown into the
water, yhly, Andrew Rutta, a mailer fifherman, at Olet-
Jho, made affidavit, j 747, that 22 years ago, two Swal-
lows

New Jerfey, Raccoon* 143

build too under the corners of perpendi-
cular rocks -j and this (hews where the

Swallows

lows were takes up, by him, in a net, under the ice, and
being brought into a warm room, they flew about. 6thlyt
Jacob Kojiulo, a mailer fifhertnan, at Stradauen, made affi-
davit, that in 1736, he brought up in winter, in a net,
from under the ice of the lake at Ra/Zi, a feemingly dead
Swallow, which revived in half an hour's time, in a warm
room, and he f iw, a quarter of ah hour after, the bird
grow weaker, and foon after dying, jthly, I can reckon
myfelf among the eye-witrieffes cflF this paradoxon of natu-
ral hiftory. In the year/1735, being a little boy, I faw
feveral Swallows brought in winter by fifhermen, from the
river Vijlula, to my father's boufe, where two of them
were brought into a warm room, revived, and flew about.
I faw them feveral times fettling on the warm ftove, (which
the Northern nations have in their rooms) and I recolledl
well that the fame forenoon they died, and I had them,
when dead, in my hand.

In the year 1754, after the death of my uncle Godefroy
Wolf, captain in the Polijb regiment of foot guards ; being
myfelf one of his heirs, I adminiltered for my co-heirs,
feveral eftates called the Starojly, of Dirfchau, in Polifh
PruJJia, which my late uncle farmed under the king, la
January the lake of Lybfiau, belonging to thefe eftates,
being covered with ice, I ordered the filhermen to fifh
therein, and in my prefence feveral Swallows were taken ;
which the fifhermen threw in again ; but one I took up
myfelf, brought it hom.% which was five miles from thence,
and it revived, but died about an hour after its reviving.
Thefe are fa&s, att.-fted by people of the higheft quality,
by fome in public offices, and bv others, who, tho' of a
low rank, however made thefe affidavits upon oa>h. It is
impoffible to fuppofe indifcriminately that they were
prompted by views of intereft, to affert as a fad, a thing
which had no truth in it. It is therefore highly probable,
or rather inconteftably true, that Swallows retire in the Nor-
thern countries during winter, into the water, and ftay
there in a torpid ftate, till the return of warmth revives

them

144 April 1749.

Swallows made their nefts, before the
Europeans fettled and built houfes here;
for it is well known that the huts of the
Indians could not ferve the purpofe of the
Swallows-. A very creditable lady and her
children told me the following ftory, allur-
ing me that they were eye-witneffes to it :
A couple of Swallows built their neft in the
flable belonging to the lady -, the female

Swallow

them again in fpring. The queftion therefore I believe:
ought for the future to be thus ftated : The fwallows in
Spain, Italy, France, and perhaps fome from England, re-
move to warmer climates ; fome Englijb ones, and fome
in Germany and other mild countries, retire into clefts and
holes in rocks, and remain there in a torpid ftate. In the
colder northern countries the Swallows immerfe in the
fea, in lakes, and rivers, and remain in a torpid ftate, un-
der ice, during winter. There are (till fome objections to
this latter aflertion, which we muft remove. It isfaid, Why
do not rapacious fifh, and aquatic quadrupeds and birds, de-
vour thcfe Swallows ? The anfvver is obvious. Swallows
chufe only fuch places in the water for their winter retreat,
as are near reeds and rufties ; fo that linking down there
between them and their roots, they are by them fecured
again!!: the rapacioufnefs of their enemies. Eut others
object, Why are not thefe birds caught in fuch waters as are
continually harraffed by nets ? I believe the fame anfwer
•which has been made to the firft objection, will ferve for
this likewife. Fifhermen t.ke care to keep off with their
nets from places filled with reeds and rufties, for fear of
entangling and (earing their nets; and thus the fituation
of Swallows under water, is the reafon that they are feldom
difturbed in their filent winter-retreats. What confirms
this opinion ftill more is, that Swallows were never caught
in PruJJia, according to the above-mentioned affidavits,

but

New Jerfey, Raccoon. 145

Swallow fat upon the neft, laid eggs in it,
and was about to brood them ; fome days
after, the people faw the female ftill fitting
on the eggs : but the male flying about the
neft and fometimes fettling on a nail, was
heard to Utter a very plaintive note, which
betrayed his uneaiinefs : on a nearer exa-
mination the female was found dead in the
neft, and the people flung her away. The;

but with thofe parts of the net which patted near to the
reeds and rufhes; and fometimes the Sivalloivs were yet
fattened with their feet to a reed, when they were drawn
up by the net. As to the argument taken from their
being fo long under water without corruption, I believe,
there is a real difference between animals fuftbeated in
water, and animals being torpid therein. We have ex-
amples of things being a long time under water ; to which
we may add the intenfe cold of thefe northern regions,
which preferves them. Who would have thought it, that
fnails and polypes may be difle&ed, and could reproduce
the parts fevered from their body, if it was not a fact ?
Natural hiftory ought to be ftudied as a collection of facts ;
not as the hiftory of our guefles or opinions. Nature
varies in an infinite manner ; and Providence has diverfi-
fied the inftinct of animals, and their ceconomy, and adapt-
ed it to the various feafons and climates. This long di-
greflion I thought neceflary and excufable ; and the more
fo, as the ingenious great friends to the caufe of Natural
Hiftory, the late Mr. Ccllinfon, and Mr. Pennant, have both
afierted the impoflibility and improbability of this im-
merfion. J revere the memory and the attaes cf the one,
and think the friendfhip of the other an honour to me :
but am aftured, that both prefer truth to their private
opinion ; and can bear a modeft oppofition, when it is
propofed with candour, with a view to promote truth,
and with fentiments of refpect and gratitude, as it is done
by me, in the preient cafe. F.

Vol. II. K male

146 April 1749.

male then went to fit upon the eggs, but
after being about two hours on them, and
thinking the buftnefs too troublefome for
him, he went out, and returned in the after-
noon with another female, which fat upon
the eggs, and afterwards fed the young
ones, till they wTere able to provide for
themfelves. The people differed here in
their opinions about the abode of Swallows
in winter : moil: of the Swedes thought that
they lay at the bottom of the fea; fome,
with the Englijh and the French in Canada ;
thought that they migrate to the fouth-
ward in autumn, and return in fpring. I
have likewile been credibly informed in
Albany, that they have been found fleeping
in deep holes and clefts of rocks, during
winter.

The Chimney Swallows are the fecond
fpecies, and they derive their name from
building their nefts in chimneys, which are
not made ufe of in fummer : fometimes
when the fire is not very great, they do not
mind the fmoke, and remain in the chim-
ney. I did not fee them this year till late
in May, but in the enfuing year, 1750, they
arrived on the 3d of May, for they appear
much later than the other Swallows. It
is remarkable that each feather in their tail
ends in a ftirT fharp point, like the end of
an awl ; they apply the tail to the fide of

the

New yerfey, 'Raccoon. 147*

the wall in the chimneys, hold themfelves
with their feet, and the ftiff tail ferves to
keep them up : they make a great thunder-
ing noife all the day long, by flying up and
down in the chimneys ; and as they build
their nefts in chimneys only, and it is
well known that the Indians have not fo
much as a hearth made of mafonry, much
lefs a chimney, but make their fires on the
ground in their huts, it is an obvious quef-
tion, Where did thefe Swallows build their
nefts before the Europeans came, and made
houfes with chimneys ? It is probable that
they formerly made them in great hollow
trees. This opinion was adopted by Mr.
Bartram, and many others here. Catejby has
defcribed the Chimney Swallo w and figured it*,
and Dr. Linnceus calls it Hirundo Pelafgia.

The Ground Swallows or Sand Martins,
( L.in?iceus\ Hirundo riparia) are to be met
with every where in America ; they make
their nefts in the ground on the fteep mores
of rivers and lakes.

The Purple Martins have likewife been
defcribed and drawn in their natural colours
by Catejby -J-. Dr. Linnaus likewife calls
them Hirundo purpurea. They are lefs
common here than the former fpecies ; I

K 2 have

* Hirundo, caudd aculeatd, Americana. Cate/b. Carol, vol.
Mi. t. 8.

t Hirundo purpurea. Nat. Kill, of Carol, vol. i. r. 51,

148 April 1749.

have feen in feveral places little houfes made
of boards, and fixed on the outnde of the
walls, on purpofe that thefe Martins may
make their nefts in them -, for the people
are very defirous of having them near their
houfes, becaufe they both drive away hawks
and crows as foon as they fee them, and
alarm the poultry by their anxious note, of
the approach of their enemies. The
chickens are likewife ufed to run under
fheker, as foon as they are warned by the
Martins.

April the 17th. The Dirca palujlris,

or Moufe-wood, is a little fhrub which

grows on hills, towards fwamps and mar-

fhes, and was now in full blofTom. The

Englifi in Albany call it Leather-wood,

becaufe its bark is as tough as leather.

The French in Canada call it Bois de

Plomb, or Leaden-wood, becaufe the wood

itfelf is as foft and as tough as lead. The

bark of this fhrub was made ufe of for

copes, bafkets, &c. by the Indians, whilft

they lived among the Swedes. And it is

really very fit for that purpofe, on account

of its remarkable ftrength and toughnefs,

which is equal to that of the Lime -tree

bark. The Eng/i/h and the Dutch in many

parts of North America, and the Trench

in Canada, employ this bark in all cafes,

where

New Jerfey, Raccoon. 149

where we make ufe of Lime-tree bark in
Europe. The tree itfelf is very tough, and
you cannot eafily feparate its branches with-
out the help of a knife : fome people em-
ploy the twigs for rods.

April the 2Cth. This day I found the
Strawberries in flower, for the firfl time,
this year : the fruit is commonly larger
than that in Sweden', but it feems to be
lefs fweet and agreeable.

The annual harveft, I am told, is al-
ways of fuch a nature, that it affords
plenty of bread for the inhabitants, though
it turns out to greater advantage in fome
years than it does in others. A venerable
feptuagenary Swede, called Aoke Helm, af-
fured me, that in his time no abfolutely bar-
ren crop had been met with, but that the
people had always had pretty plentiful
crops. It is likewife to be obferved, that
the people eat their bread of maize, rye,
or wheat, quite pure and free from the in-
ferior kinds of corn, and clear of hufks,
italks, or other impurities. Many aged
Swedes and Englijhmen confirmed this ac-
count, and faid, that they could not re-
member any crop fo bad as to make the
people luffer in the leaft, much lefs that
any body was flarved to death, whilft they
were in America. Sometimes the price of

K 3 con*

150 April 1749,

corn rofe higher in one year than in ano-
ther, on account of a great drought or
bad weather, but ftill there was always
Corn fufficient for the confumption of the
inhabitants. Nor is it likely that any
great famine can happen in this country,
unlefs it pleafe God to afflict it with extraor-
dinary punimments. The weather is well
known, from more than fixty years experi-
ence. Here are no cold nights which hurt the
germ. The wet is of mort continuance,
and the drought is feldom or never of long
duration. But the chief thing is the great
variety of corn. The people fow the dif-
ferent kinds, at different times andfeafons,
and though one crop turn out bad, }^et
another fucceeds. The fummer is fo long,
that of fome fpecies of corn they may get
three crops. There is hardly a month
from May to Ofiober or November) inclu-
five, in which the people do not reap fome
kind of corn, or gather fome fort of fruit.
It would indeed be a very great misfortune
if a bad crop mould happen 5 for here, as
in many other places, they lay up no ftores,
and are contented that there is plenty of
food for the prefent exigencies.

The Peach-trees were now every where
jn bloffom ; their leaves were not yet
£ome out of the buds , and therefore the

flowers

New Jerjey, Raccoon. 151

flowers fhewed to greater advantage ; their
beautiful pale red colour had a very fine ef-
fect ; and they fat fo dole that the branches
were entirely clad with them. The other
fruit-trees were not yet in flower ; however
the apple-bloflbms began to appear.

The EngliJJo and the Swedes of America
give the name of Currants -\ to a fhrub
which grows in wet ground, and near
fwamps, and which was now in blofiom;
its flowers are white, have a very agreeable
fragrancy, and grow in oblong bunches -r
the fruit is very good eating, when it is
ripe ; the Jiyk (Stylus) is thread- fhaped
(fiiiformis), and fhorter than the Stamina -,
it is divided in the middle, into five parts*
or Stigmata. Dr. Linnaeus calls it Cra-
taegus *i and Dr. Gronovius calls it a Mef-
pilus %.

^ April the 22d. The Swedes give the
name of IVhipperiwill, and the Englifo that
of Whip-poor-will, to a kind of nocturnal
bird, whofe voice is heard in North Ame-
rica, almoft throughout the whole night.
Catejby and Edwards both have defcribed

K 4 and

f It muft be carefully diflinguilhed from what is called
Currants, in England, which is the Ribes rubrum. F.

* Crataegus foment ofa, Linn. Spec. PI. p. 682.

% Mefpilus inermis, foliis ovato-oblongis, ferratis, fubtu*
fomentojis. Gronov. Fl. Virgin. 55,

152 April 17 49/

and figured it *. Dr. Linnceus calls it a
variety of the Caprimulgus Europceus, or
Goat-fucker: its fhape, colour, fize, and
other qualities, make it difficult to diftin-
guifh them from each other. But the pe-
culiar note of the American one diftin-
guifhes it from the European one, and from
all other birds : it is not found here during
winter, but returns with the beginning of
fummer. I heard it to-day, for the firft
time, and many other people faid, that
they had not heard it before this fummer ;
its Englijlo and Swedifi name is taken from
its note j but, accurately ipeaking, it does
not call Whipperiwill, nor Whip-poor-will,
but rather Whipperiwhip, fo that the firft
and laft fyllables are accented, and the in-
termediate ones but flightly pronounced.
The Englijh change the call of this bird
into Whip-poor-will, that it may have fome
kind of fignification : it is neither heard
nor feen in day-time ; but foon after fun-
fet it begins to call, and continues for a
good while, as the cuckow does in Europe.
After it has continued calling in a place
for fome time, it removes to another, and
begins again : it commonly comes feveral

times

* Caprimulgus minor Amerieanus. Catejb. Nat. Hift. of
Carolina, Vol. Hi. t. 1 6. Edwards's Nat. Hill, of Birds,

i. 63.

Newjerfey, Raccoon* 153

times in a night, and fettles clofe to the
houfes ; I have feen it coming late in the
evening, and fettling on the fleps of the
houfe, in order to fmg its fong ; it is very
fhy, and when a perfon flood ftill, it
would fettle clofe by him, and begin to
call. It came to the houfes in order to
get its food, which confifts of infedts $
and thofe always abound near the houfes
at night ; when it fat and called its whip-
periwbip, and faw an infect pafiing, it
flew up and caught it, and fettled again.
Sometimes you hear four or five, or more,
near each other, calling as it were for a
wager, and railing a great noife in the
woods. They were feldom heard in towns,
being either extirpated there, or frightened
away, by frequent {hooting. They do not
like to fit on trees, but are commonly
on the ground, or very low in bufhes, or
on the lower poles of the enclofures. They
always fly near the ground : they continue
their calling at night till it grows quite
dark ; they are filent till the dawn of day
comes on, and then they call till the fun
rifes. The fun feems to flop their mouths,
pr dazzle their eyes, fo as to make them
fit ftill. I have never heard them call in
the midfl of night, though I hearkened
very attentively, on purpofe to hear it$

and

154 April ij^.

and many others have done the fame. I
am told they make no neft, but lay two
eggs in the open fields. My fervant fhot
at one which fat on a bufh near the houfe,
and though he did not hit it, yet it fell
down through fear, and lay for fome time
quite dead ; but recovered afterwards. It
never attempted to bite when it was held
in the hands, only endeavouring to get
loofe by ftirring itfelf about. Above, and
clofe under the eyes, were feveral black,
long, and ftifF briftles, as in other noctur-
nal birds. The Europeans eat it. Mr.
Catejky fays, the Indians affirm, that they
never faw thefe birds, or heard of them,
before a certain great battle, in which the
Europeans killed a great number of Indians.
Therefore, they fuppofe that thefe birds,
which are reftlefs, and utter their plaintive
note at night, are the fouls of their an-
ceftors who died in battle.

April the 24th. To-day the Cherry-
trees began to (hew their bloffoms ; they
had already pretty large leaves.

The Apple- trees likewife began to blof-
fom ; however the Cherry-trees were more
forward 1 They likewife got a greenifh,
hue from their leaves.

The Mulberry-trees * were yet quite na-
ked if

* Morus rubra.

New Jerfey, Pe?m's Neck. 15 r

ked ; and I was forry to find that this tree
is one of the lateft in getting leaves, and
one of the firft which gets fruit.

April the 26th. This morning I tra-
velled to Penris Neck. The Tulip-trees,
efpecially thi tall ones, looked quite green,
being covered with their leaves ; this tree
is therefore one of the earliefr. which get
leaves.

To-day I faw the flowers of the Saffa-
fr as- tree, (Laurus SaffafrasJ. The leaves
were not yet come out. The flowers have
a fine fmell.

The Lupinus perennis is abundant in the

woods, and grows equally in good foil and

in poor. J often found it thriving on very

poor fandy fields, and on heaths, where no

other plants will grow. Its flowers, which

commonly appear in the middle of May,

make a fine (hew by their purple hue. 1

was told, that the cattle eat thefe flowers

very greedily ; but I was forry to find very

often that they were not fo fond of it, as

it is reprefented, efpecially when they had

any thing elfe to eat; and they feldom

touched it notwithftanding its fine green

colour, and its foftnefs : The horfes eat

the flowers, but leave the flalks and leaves.

If the cattle eat this plant in fpring,

neceffity and hunger give it a relifh. This

5 country

J 56 April 1749.

country does not afford any green paftures like
the Sivedijh ones; the woods are the places
where the cattle muft collect their food. The
ground in the woods is chiefly flat, or
with very little rifings. The trees ftand far
afunder; but the ground between them is not
covered with green fods ; for there are but
few kinds of graffes in the woods, and they
ftand fingle and fcattered. The foil is very
loofe, partly owing to the dead leaves
which cover the ground during a great
part of the year. Thus the cattle find very
little grafs in the woods, and are forced to
be fatisfied with all kinds of plants which
come in their way, whether they be good
or bad food. I faw for fome time this
fpring, that the cattle bit off the tops and
/hoots of young trees, and fed upon them ;
for no plants were yet come up, and they
ftand in general but very thin, and fcat-
tered here and there, as I have juft
mentioned, Hence you may eafily imagine
that hunger compels the cattle to eat
plants, which they would not touch, were
they better provided for. However, I am
of opinion, that it would be worth while
to make ufe of this Lupine to mend dry
iandy heaths, and, 1 believe, it would not
be abfolutelv impofiible to find out the
means of making it agreeable to the cattle.

3 The

New Jcrfey, Raccoon. i $J

The Oaks here have fimilar qualities
with the European ones. They keep their
dead leaves almoft during the whole win-
ter, and are very backward in getting
frefli ones ; they had no leaves as yet, and
were but juft beginning to fhew a few.

The Humming-bird, which the Swedes
call Kings-bird*, and which I have men-
tioned in a former volume, appeared here-
abouts to-day, for the firft time this fpring.

Numbers ofO// beetles, (Meloe Profca-
rabceus) fat on the leaves of white Helle-
bore, (Veratrum album) and feafted on them.
I confidered them a great while, and they
devoured a leaf in a few minutes. Some
of them had already eaten fo much that
they could hardly creep. Thus this plant,
which is almoft certain death to other ani-
mals, is their dainty food.

The Fire-flies appeared at night, for the
firft time this year, and, new about between
the trees, in the woods. It feemed, in the
dark, as iffparks of fire flew up and down.
I will give a more particular account of
them in another place.

Towards night I went to Raccoon.
May the ift. The laft night was fo
cold that the ground at fun-riling was as

white

# Kmgsfoge.L

158 May 1749.

white as fnow, from the hoary froft. The
Swedift thermometer was a degree and
a half below the freezing point. We
obferved no ice in the rivers or wa-
ters of any depth -, but upon fuch only as
were about three inches deep, the ice lay
to the thicknefs of one third part of a
line *. The evening before, the wind was
fouth, but the night was calm. The ap-
ple-trees and cherry-trees were in full
bloflbm. The peach-trees were almoft out
of flower. Moft of the foreft-trees had al-
ready got new and tender leaves, and moft
of them were in flower, as almoft all kinds
of oaks, the dog-wood, fCornus Florida),
hiccory, wild prunes, faffafras, horn-beam,
beeches, &c.

The plants which were found damaged
by the froft, were the following. 1 . The
Hiccory. Moft of the young trees of this
kind had their leaves killed by the froft, fo
that they looked quite black in the after-
noon ; the leaves were confumed by froft
every where in the fields, near the marines,
and in the woods. 2. The black Oak. Se-
veral of thefe trees had their leaves damaged
by the froft. 3. The white Oak. Some
very young trees of this kind had loft their

leave?

* The tenth part of an inch.

New yerjey, Raccoon. 159

leaves by the froft. 4. The bloflbms of
the Cherry-trees were hurt in feveral places.
5. The flowers of the Englijh Walnut-tree
were entirely fpoiled by the froft. 6. The
Rhus glabra. Some of thefe trees had al-
ready got leaves, and they were killed by
the cold. 7. The Rhus radicans ; the
tender young trees of this kind fufFered
from the froft, and had their leaves partly
killed. 8. The Tbaltclra, or Meadow
Ruesy had both their flowers and leaves
hurt by the froft. 9. The Podophyllum
peltatum. Of this plant there was not
above one in five hundred hurt by the
froft, 10. The Ferns. A number of
them, which were lately come up, were
deftroyed. I muft add feveral plants which
were likewife hurt, but which I could not
diftinguifti, on account of their fmallnefs.

I went to feveral places this day.

The Bartjia coccinea grew in great abun-
dance on feveral low meadows. Its flower-
buds were already tinged with their pre-
cious fcarlet, and adorned the meadows.
It is not yet applied to any ufe, but that
of delighting the fight.

One of the Swedes here had planted an
Englifr walnut-tree (Juglans regia) in his
garden, and it was now about three yards
high; it was in full bloftbm, and had

already

i6o

May 1749.

already great leaves, whereas the black
walnut-trees, which grow fpontaneoufly iri
every part of this country, had not yet
any leaves, or flowers. The laft night's
frofl had killed all the leaves of the Euro±
pean kind. Dr. Franklin told me after-
wards, that there had been fome EngliJJj
walnut-trees in Philadelphia, which came
on very well ; but that they were killed by
the froft.

I looked about me for the trees which
had not yet got frefh leaves, and I found
the following ones :

jfuglans nigra, or the Black Walnut'
tree,

Fraxinus cxceljior, or the AJJ?.

Acer Negundo, called the White-afi here,?

Nyjfa aquatic a, the Tupelo -tree*

Diofpyros Virgifiidna, or the Ferfimon.

Vitis Labrufca, or the Fox-grapes ; and

Rhus glabra, or the Sumach.

The trees whofe leaves were coming outV
were the following :

Moms rubra, the Mulberry- tree.

Fagus Cafianea, the Cbefjiut-tree.

Flatanus occidentalis, or the Water-beach,

Laurus Saffafras, the Sajfafras-tree.

Juglans alba, the Hiccory. Some trees
of this kind had already large leaves, but
others had none at all , the fame difference,

I believe,

New Jerfeyy Raccoon. 1 6 1

I believe, exlfts likewife among the other
fpecies of hiccory.

The Virgiiiian Cherry-tree grows here
and there, in the woods and glades : its
leaves were already pretty large ; but the
flowers were not yet entirely open.

The Sajjlifras-tree was now every where
in flower -, but its leaves were not yet quite
diiclofed.

The Liquidambar Siyraciflua or Sweet
Gum-tree, grows in the woods, efpecially in
wet foil, in and near purling rivulets : its
leaves were now already fprouting out at its
fummit. This tree grows to a great thick-
nefs, and its height rivals that of the tailed:
firs and oaks ; as it grows higher, the
lower branches die and drop, and leave the
item at laft quite fmooth and ftrait, with a
great crown at the very fummit ; the feeds
are contained in round, dentated cones,
which drop in autumn ; and as the tree is
very tall, fo the high winds carry the feeds
away to a great diftance. I have already
given an account of the ufe of this tree in
the nrft volume, to which I mufl add the
following account.

The wood can be made very fmooth,
becaufe its veins are extremely fine : but it
is not hard; you can carve letters on it
with a knife, which will feem to be en-

Vol. II. L graved.

i6-2 May 1749.

graved. Mr. Lewis Evans told me, from
his own experience, that no wood in this
country was more fit for making moulds
for cafling brafs in, than this. I enquired
of Mr. Bartraniy " Whether he had found
the rofm on this tree, which is fo much
praifed in phytic." He told me, " That a
very odoriferous roiin always flows out of
any cut or wound, which is made in the
tree ; but that the quantity here was too
inconliderable to recompenfe the labour of
collecting it." This odoriferous rofin or
gum firft gave rife to the Englijh name.
The further you go to the South, the
greater quantity of gum does the tree
yield, fo that it is eafy to collect: it. Mr.
Bartram was of opinion, that this tree was
properly calculated for the climate of Caro-
lina, and that it was brought by feveral ways
fo far North as New York* In the fouthern
countries the heat of the Sun fills the tree
with gum, but in the northern ones it does
not.

May the 2d. This morning I travelled
down to Salem, in order to fee the coun-

try* . 1

The Sajfafras-tree flood fingle in the

woods, and along the fences, round the

fields : it was now diftinguifhable at a dif-

tance for its fine flowers, which being now

quite

blew Jcrfey, Siifem. 165

quite open, made it look quite yellow.
The leaves were not vet come out.

In fome meaddws the grafs was already
grown up pretty high : bat it is to be ob-
fervcd, that thefe meadows were marthy,
and that no cattle had been on them this
year. Thefe meadows are mown twice 3
year, viz. in May, and the end of Augiift,
or beginning of Augujl, old ftyle. I faw
fome meadows of this kind to-day, in
which I law grafs which was now almoil
fit to be mown -, and many meadows in
Sweden ruve not fuch grafs at the proper
time of mowing, as thefe had now •, thefe
meadows lay in mar flies and vallies, where
the Sun had very great power : the grafs
confifted merely of Cy peru s -grafs or Carcx*

The wild Prwie-trees were now every
where in flower; they grow here and there
in the woods, but commonly near marfhes
and in wet ground ; they are diilinguifliable
by their white flowers : the fruit when
ripe is eatable.

The Cor 7111s Florida, or Dogwood, grows
in the forefts, on hills, on plains, in val-
lies, in marmes* and near rivulets. I can-
not therefore fay, which is its native foil ;
however, it feems that in a low but not a
wet foil it fucceeds beff. ; it was now
adorned with its great fnowy Invohcra,.

L 2 which

r64 May 1749.

which reader it confpicuous even at a dis-
tance. At this time it is a pleafure to tra-
vel through the woods, fo much are they
beautified bv the bloffoms of this tree. The
flowers which are within the Involucra be-
^an to open to-day. The tree does not grow
to any confiderable height or thicknefs, but
is about the fize of our Mountain Jifi (Mor-
bus aiicuparia). There are three fpecies
of this tree in the woods ; one with great
white hi'uolucra, another with fmall white
ones, and a third with reddifh ones.

• The woods were now full of birds : I
faw the lefler fpecies every where hopping
on the ground, or creeping in bufhes,
without any great degree of fhinefs ; it is
therefore very eafy for all kinds of fnakes-
to approach and bite them. I believe that
the rattlefnake has nothing to do but to ly
ftill, and without waiting long, fome little
bird or other will pais by or run diredtly upon
her, giving her an opportunity of catching
it, without any enchantment.

Salem is a little trading town, fituated
at fome diftance from the river Delaware.
The houies do not (band far afunder, and
are partly (lone, and partly wood. A rivu-
let paiTes by the town, and falls into the
Delaware. The inhabitants live by their
feveral trades, as well as they can. Jn the

1 . . neigh-

New jv'fey, Salem. 165

neighbourhood of Salem are fome very low
and fwampy meadows ; and therefore it is
reckoned a very unwholeforne place. Ex-
perience has {hewn, that thole who came
hither from other places to fettle, got a
very pale and fickly look, though they ar-
rived in perfect health, and with a very live-
ly colour. The town is very eafily diftin-
guifhed about this time, by the dilagreeable
flench which arifes from the fwamps. The
vapours of the putrid water are carried to
thofe inhabitants which liye next to the
marfhes ; and enter the body along with the
air, and through the pores, and thus are hurt-
ful to health. At the end of every fum-
mer, the intermitting fevers are very fre-
quent. I knew a young couple, who came
along with me from England to America :
foon after their arrival at Philadelphia, they
went to Salem, in perfect health ; but a few
weeks after they fell rick, and before the
winter was half over they were both dead.

Many of the inhabitants plant Saffron %
but it is not fo good and fo ftrono; as the
Englifld and French Saffron. Perhaps it
grows better by being laid up for fome
years, as tobacco does.

The Goffypium herbaceum,or Cotton plant,
is an annual plant; and feveral of the in-
habitants of Salem had began to fow it.

L 3 Some

1 66 May 1749.

Some had the feeds from Carolina, where
they have great plantations of cotton ; but.
others get it out of fome cotton which they
had bought. They faid, it was difficult, at
£rft, to get ripe feeds from the plants which
were fown here ; for the fummer in Caro-
lina, from whence their firft feed came, is
both longer and hotter than it is here. But
after the plants have been more ufed to the
climate, and haftened more than they were
formerly, the feeds are ripe in due time.

At night I returned to Raccoon.

May the 4th . C r a b - t r e e s are a fpecies
of wild apple trees, which grow in the
woods and glades, but efpecially on little
hillocks, near rivers *. In New Jerfey the
tree is rather fcarce ; but in Pcnfyhania it
is plentiful. Some people had planted a
fiflgle tree of this kind near their farms, on
account of the fine imells which its flowers
afford. It had begun to open fome of its
flowers about a day or two ago; however,
•mofi of them were not yet open. They
are exactly Like the bloiToms or the com-
mon appkrtrees., except that the colour is a
little mbrereddifli in the Crab-trees ; though
fome kinds of the cultivated trees have

flowers

* Pyrtts ccmnnr'm. Linn. Sp. Plant, p. Malus fylvef-
U:i,jieribui odoratis. Gronov, FL Virginica. 5-5,

New Jerfey, Raccoon. 167

flowers which are very near as red : but
the fmell diftinguimes them plainly ; for
the wild trees have a very pleafant fmell,
fomewhat like the rafp-berry. The apples,
or crabs, are fmall, four, and unfit for any
thing but to make vinegar of. They ly
under the trees all the winter, and acquire a
yellow colour. They feldom begin to rot
before fpring comes on.

I cannot omit an obfervation here.
The Crab-trees opened their flowers only
yefierday and to-day ; whereas, the culti-
vated apple-trees, which are brought from
Europe, had already loft their flowers. The
wild cherry-trees did not flower before the
1 2th of May ; on the other hand, the culti-
vated or European ones, had already opened
their bloffoms on the 24th of April. The
black walnut-trees of this country had nei-
ther leaves nor flowers, when the European
Tdnd has large leaves and bloifoms. From
hence it appears, that trees brought overfrom
Europe, of the fame kind with the wild trees
of America, flower much fooner than the
latter. I cannot fay what is the reafon of
this forwardnefs of the European trees in
this country, unlefs they bring forth their
bloflbms as foon as they get a certain
degree of warmth, which they have in
fheir native country. It feems, the Eu-

L 4 ropeati

1 6-8 May 1749.

ropean trees do not expect, after a confide-
rable decree of warmth, any fuch cold
niehts as will kill their flowers ; for, in the
cold countries, there ieldom happen anv
hot days fncceeded by fuch cold nights as
will hurt the flowers confiderably. On the
contrary, the wild trees in this country are
dire£ted by experience, (if I may fo fpeak)
not to trull to the firft warmth ; but they
wait for a greater heat, when they are
already fafe from cold nights. Therefore,
it happens often, that the flowers of the
European trees are killed by the frofts here ;
but the native trees are feldom hurt, though
they be of the fame kind with the European
ones. This is a manifeil proof of the wif-
dom of the Creator.

May the 5th. Early this morning I
went to Rapaapo, which is a great village,
whole farms ly all fcattered. It was inhabited
merely by Swedes, and not a fingle Englifo-
tnan, or people of any other nation, lived in
it : therefore they have preferved their na-
tive Swedijh tongue, and mixed but few
Englijh words with it. The intention of
my journey was partly to fee the place, and
to col'kcl: plants and other natural curiofi-
ties there ; and partly to find the places
where the White Cedar, or Cuprejjus thyoides*
grows,

5 Ths

New Jerfey, Rapaapo. 169

The Mayflowers, as the Swedes call them,
were plentiful in the woods where-ever I
went to-day ; efpecially on a dry foil, or
one that is fomewhat moift. The Swedes
have given them this name, becaufe they
are in full blofibm in May. Some of the
Swedes and the Dutch call them Pinxter-
bloem, ( W bit funday flowers) t as they really
are in bloffom about Wbitfuntide. The
Englifo call them Wild Honeyfuckles ; and at
a diftance they have fome fimilarity to the
Honey fuckle, or Lonicera. Dr. hinnaus, and
other botanifts, call it an Azalea*. Its flowers
were now open, and added a new ornament
to the woods, being little inferior to the
flowers of the honeyfuckle and Hedyfarum,
They fit in a circle round the flem's ex-
tremity, and have either a dark red or a
lively red colour ; but, by ftanding for
fome time, the fun bleaches them, and at lad
they get a whitifh hue. I know not why
Colden calls them yellow -j-. The height
of the bum is not always alike. Some
were as tall as a full grown man, and taller,
others were but low, and fome were not
above a palm from the ground ; yet they

were

* Jzalea nudflora. Linn. Spec. Plant, p. 214. Aza-
lea ramis infra flares nudis. Gron. Virg. 21.

f Azalea ereffa, foliis o<vat:s, integrist akernis, flore lutto,
filofo,f>r#cQci. Cold. Ebor, 25.

170 May 1749.

were all full of flowers. The people have
not yet found that this plant may be
applied to any ufe ; they only gather the
flowers, and put them in pots, becaufe they
are very fhewy. They have fome fmell ;
but I cannot fay it is very pleafant. How-
ever, the beauty of the colour entitles thera
to a place in every flower-garden.

To-day I faw the firft ear of this year's
rye. In Sweden, rye begins to fhew its ears
about Eric?nas, that is, about the 1 8th of
May, old ftile*, But in New Sweden, the
people laid, they always faw the ears of rye
in Jprti, old ftile ; whether the fpring be-
gins late or early. However, in fome years
the ears come early, and in others late, in
JlpriL This fpring was reckoned one of
the late ones.

Bullfrogs -j- are a large fpecies of
frogs, which I had an opportunity of hear-
ing and feeing to-day. As I was riding
out, I h.ard a roaring before me; and I
thought it was a bull in the buihes, on the
other fide of the dyke, though the found was
rather more hoarfe than that of a bull. \
was however afraid, that a bad goring bull
might be near me, though I did not fee

him 5

* Accordingly about the 29th of May, new ftile.
•f Rana boans. Linn. Sylt. 1. p. 358. Rana maxima,
jltzsricana, aquatica. Catefb. Carol. II. 72.

New Jerfey, Rapaapo* 1 7 1

him ; and I continued to think fo till fome
hoars after, when I talked with fome Swedes
about the Bullfrogs, and, by their account,
I immediately found that I had heard their
voice y for the Swedes told me, that there
were numbers of them in the dyke. I af-
terwards hunted for them. Of all the frogs
in this country, this is doubtlefs the great-
eft. I am told, that towards autumn, as
foon as the air begins to grow a little cool,
they hide themfelves under the mud, which
lies at the bottom of ponds and ftagnant
waters, and ly there torpid during winter.
As foon as the weather grows mild, towards
jTummer, they begin to get out of their
holes, and croak. If the fpring, that is,
if the mild weather, begins early, they
appear about the end of March, old (tile ;
but if it happens late, they tarry under wa-
ter till late in April. Their places of abode
are ponds, and bogs with ftagnant water ;
they are never in any flowing water. When
many of them croak together, they make
an enormous noife. Their croak exactly
refembles the roaring of an ox or bull,
which is fome what hoarfe. They croak fo
loud, that two people talking by the fide of
a pond cannot underftand each other. They
croak all together ; then flop a little, and
begin again. It feerns as if they had a cap-
tain

I/2 May 1J4-9'

tain among them : for when he begins to
croak, all the others follow ; and when he
ilops, the others are all filent. When this
captain gives the fignal for flopping, you
hear a note like poop coming from him.
In day-time they feldom make any great
noife, unlefs the iky is covered. But the
night is their croaking time ; and, when all
is calm, you may hear them, though you
are near a mile and a half off. When they
croak, they commonly are near the furface
of the water, under the bullies, and have
their heads out of the water. Therefore,
by going flowly, one may get clofe up
to them before they go away. As foon as
they are quite under water, they think
themfelves fafe, though the water be very
mallow.

Sometimes they fit at a good diflance
from the pond ; but as foon as they fufpect.
any danger, they haflen with great leaps
into the water. They are very expert at
hopping. A full-grown Bullfrog takes near
three yards at one hop. I have often been
told the following flory by the old Swedes,
which happened here, at the time when the
Indians lived with the Swedes. It is well
known, that the Indians are excellent run-
ners ; I have feen them, at Governor John-
.Jcn's, equal the bed horfe in its fwiftefl

courfe,

New Jerfey, Rapaapo. if J

courfe, and almoft pafs by it. Therefore,
in order to try how well the bull-frogs
could leap, fome of the Swedes laid a wager
with a young Indian, that he could not
overtake the frog, provided it had two leaps
before hand. They carried a bull-frog,
which they had caught in a pond, upon a
field, and burnt his back-fide; the fire, and
the Indian, who endeavoured to be clofely
up with the frog, had fuch an effect upon
the animal, that it made its long hops
acrofs the field, as fan: as it could. The In-
dian began to purfue the frog with ali his
might at the proper time : the noife he
made in running frightened the poor frog;
probably it was afraid of being tortured
with fire again, and therefore it redoubled
its leaps, and by that means it reached the
pond before the Indian could over- take it.

In fome years they are more numerous
than in others : nobody could tell, whether
the makes had ever ventured to eat them,
though they eat all theleffer kinds of frogs.
The women are no friends to thefe frogs,
becaufe they kill and eat young duckling;
and gofiings : fometimes they carry off
chickens that come too near the ponds. I
have not obferved that they bite when they
are held in the hands, though they have
little teeth j when they are beaten, they cry

out

174 May 1749.

out almofi like children. I was told that
ibme eat the thighs of the hind legs, and
that they are very palatable.

A tree which grows in the fwamps
here, and in other parts of Aimrica, goes
by the name of White juniper-tree. Its
ilem indeed looks like one of our old tall
and flrait juniper-trees in Sweden: but the
leaves are different, and the wood is white.
The Englifi call it White Cedar > becaufe the
boards which are made of the wood, are
like thofe made of cedar. But neither of
thefe names are juit, for the tree is of the
cyprefs kind *. It always grows in wet
ground or fwamps : it is therefore difficult to
come to them, becaufe the ground between
the little hillocks is full of water. The trees
fland both on the hillocks and in the water :
they grow very clofe together, and have
flrait, thick, and tall items -3 but they were'
greatly reduced in number to what they
have been before. In fuch places where
they are left to grow up, they grow as tall
and as thick as the tailed fir-trees ; they
preferve their green leaves both in winter
and fummer; the tall ones have no bran-
ches on the lower part of the ftem.

The marfhes where thefe trees grow are
called Cedar Swamps < Thefe cedar fwamps

arc

* Cuprcjfus tbyoides. Linn. Spec.pl p. 1422. Cypreffus
Americana, frucliu minimu. Miller's Card. Dictionary.

New jferfey, Rapaapo. 175

are numerous in New 'Jerfey, and like wife
in fome parts of Penfyhania and New Tork.
The mod northerly place, where it has
been hitherto found, is near Gofoen in New
Tork, under forty-one degrees and twenty-
live minutes of north latitude, as I am in-
formed by Dr. Colden. For to the North of
Go/hen, it has not been found in the woods.
The white cedar is one of the trees, which
refill the moft to putrefaction ; and when it
is put above ground, it will laft longer than
under ground : therefore it is employed for
many purpofes j it makes good fences, and
pofls which are to be put into the ground ;
but in this point, the red cedar is frill pre-
ferable to the white ; it likewife makes
good canoes. The young trees are em-
ployed for hoops round barrels, tuns, &c.
becaufe they are thin and pliable ; the
thick and tall trees afford timber, and wood
for cooper's work. The houfes which are
built of it, furpafs in duration, thofe which
are built of American oak. Many of the
houfes in Rapaapo were made of this white
cedar wood ; but the chief thing which the
white cedar affords is the beft kind of min-
gles. The white cedar mingles are pre-
ferred to all others for feveral reafons ;
firft, they are more durable than any others
made of American wood, the red cedar min-
gles

176 May 1749.

gles excepted \ fecondly, they are very light,-
fo that no ftrong beams are requifite to iup-
port the roof. For the fame reafon it is un-
necefiary to build thick walls, becaufe they are
not preffed by heavy roofs. When fires break
out, it is lefs dangerous to. go under or along
the roofs, becaufe the fhingles being very light
can do little hurt by falling ; they fuck the
water, being fomewhat fpungy, fo that the
roofs can eafily be wetted in cafe of a fire :
however, their fatnefs occaiions that the water
does not hurt them, but evaporates eafily.
When they burn and are carried about by the
wind, they have commonly what is called
a dead coal, which does not eafily fet fire
where it alights, The roofs made of thefe
mingles can eafily be cut through, if re-
quired, becaufe they are thin, and not very
hard; for thefe qualities the people in the
country, and in the towns, are very defirous
of having their houfes covered with white
cedar mingles, if the wood can be got*
Therefore all churches, and the hcufes of
the more fubfrantial inhabitants of the
towns, have mingle roofs. In many parts
of New York province, where the white
cedar does not grow, the people, however,
have their houfes roofed with cedar mingles,
which they get from other parts. To that
purpofe great quantities of fhingles are
annually exported from Egghnrkcur and

other

New Jerfay, Rapaapo. ijj

other parts of New. Jerfey, to the tov of
New Tork, from whence they arc Nftri-
buted throughout the province. A quantity
of white cedar wonii<- Hkewiie exerted
every year to the fVc/l- Indies, for mingles,
pipe fiaves, &?c. Thus the inhabitants are
very bufy here, not only to leflen the num-
ber of thefe trees, but even to extirpate
them entirely. They are here (and in
many other places) in regard to wood, bent
only upon their own prefent advantage,
utterly regardlefs of pofterity. By this
means many cedar fwamps are already quite
deftitute of cedars, having only young
fhoots left ; and I plainly obferved, by
counting the circles round the ftem, .that
they do not grow up very quickly, but re-
quire a great deal of time before they can
be cut for timber. It is well known that a
tree gets only one circle every year ; a ftem,
eighteen inches in diameter, had one hun-
dred and eight circles round the thicker
end ; another, feventeen inches in diameter,
had a hundred and fixteen ; and another,
two feet in diameter, had one hundred and
forty-two circles upon it. Thus near
eighty years growth is required, before a
white cedar railed from feed can be iifed for
timber. Among the advantages which the
white cedar fhingles have over others, the
Vol. II. M people

178 May 1749.

people reckon their lightnefs. But this
good and ufeful quality may in future
times turn out very difadvantageous to Phi-
ladelphia, and other places where the houfes
are roofed with cedar mingles ; for as the
roofs made of thefe mingles are very light,
and bear but a trifling weight on the walls,
fo the people have made the walls but very
thin. I meafured the thicknefs of the walls
of feveral houfes here, of three {lories high
(cellar and garret not included), and found
moft of them nine inches and a half, and
fome ten inches thick ; therefore it is by no
means furprifmg, that violent hurricanes
fometimes make the brick gable-ends to vi-
brate apparently, efpecially on fuch houfes
as have a very open fituation. And fince
the cedar-trees will foon be wanting in this
country, and the prefent roofs when rotten
mud be fupplied with heavier ones, of
tiles, or of other wood, it is more than pro-
bable, that the thin walls will not be able
to bear fuch an additional weight, and will
either break, or require to be fupported by
props : or elfe the whole houfe muft be
pulled down and rebuilt with thicker walls.
This obfervation has already been made by
others. Some of the people here make
ufe of the chips of white cedar inflead of
tea, afTuring me that they preferred it in

regard

New Jerfey, Rapaapo. tyg

regard to its wholefomenefs to all foreign tea„
All the inhabitants here were of opinion,
that the water in the cedar fwamps is
wholefomer than any other drink: it creates
a great appetite, which they endeavoured to
prove by feveral examples. They afcribed
this quality to the water itfelf, which is filled
with the rofin of the trees, and to the ex-
halations which came from the trees, and
can eafily be fmelled. The people like wife
thought that the yellowim colour of the
water, which ftands between the cedar
trees, was owing to the rofin, which comes
out of the roots of thefe trees. They like-
wife all agreed, that this water is always
very cold in the hotteft feafon, which may
be partly owing to the continual made it is
in. I knew feveral people who were re-
folved to go to thefe cedar fwamps, and
ufe the waters for the recovery of their ap-
petite. Mr. Bartram planted a white cedar
in a dry foil, but it could not fucceed there :
he then put it into a fwampy ground, where
it got as it v/ere new life, and came on very
well ; and though it was not taller than
a man, yet it was full of cones. Another
thing is very remarkable, with regard to the
propagation of this tree : Mr. Bartram
Cut its branches in fpring two years fuccef-
fively, and put them into the fwampy foil,

M 2 where

180 May 1749.

where they {truck roots, and fucceeded very
well. I have feen them myfelf.
^ The red 'Juniper- tree is another tree
which I have mentioned very frequently in
the courfe of my account. The Swedes
have given it the name of red Juniper, be-
caufe the wood is very red and fine within.
The Englifo call it red Cedar, and the
French Cedre rouge. However, the Swedi/h
name is the mod proper, as the tree be-
longs to the Junipers*. At its firft
growth it has a deal of fimilarity to the
Swedijh Juniper -f, but after it is grown
up it gets quite different leaves. The ber-
ry exactly refembles that of the Swedijh
Juniper, in regard to its colour and fhape ;
however, they are not fo big, though the
red Cedar grows very tall. At Raccoon
thefe trees ftood fingle, and were not very
tall. But at other places I have feen them
(landing together in clutters; they like
the fame ground as the common Swedifo
Juniper, efpecially on the rifing banks of
rivers, and on other rifing grounds, in a
dry, and frequently in a poor foil. I have
feen them growing in abundance, as thick
and tall as the talleft fir-trees, on poor dry
and fandy heaths. Towards Canada, or in

the

* Juniftrus Virginiana. Linn. Spec, pi. p. 1 1 4.
f jfun'perui communis. Linn. Spec. pi. p. 1 470.

Newjerfey, Rapaapo. 181

the mod northerly places, where I have
feen them, they commonly choofe the fteep
fides of the mountains, and there they
grow promifcuoufly with the common 'Ju-
niper. The moft northerly places where
I have found them wild in the woods, is
in Canada, eighteen French miles to the
fouthward of the Fort Saint Jean, or St.
John, in about 44.0 35 North Latitude. I
have likewife feen it growing very well in a
garden, on the ifland of Magdalene*, be-
longing to the then governor of Montreal,
Monfieur le Baron de Longuenil. But it had
been got at more foutherly places, and was
tranfplanted here. Of all the woods in
this country, this is without exception the
moil: durable, and withftands putrefaction
longer than any other ; it is therefore em-
ployed in all fuch cafes where it is moft
liable to rot, efpecially for all kinds of
polls which are to be put into the ground.
Some people fay, that if an iron be put in-
to the ground along with a pole of cedar,
the iron would be half corroded by ruft in
the fame time that the wood would be
rotten. In many places both the fences,
and the polls belonging to them, are made

M 3 of

* An ifland in the river St. Lawrence, clofe by ths
town of Montreal, in Canada.

j 82 May 1749.

of red cedar. The beft canoes, confiiling
of a fingle piece of wood, are made of red
cedar ; for they laft longer than any others,
and are very light. In New York I have
feen pretty large yachts build of red cedar.
Several yachts which go from New York
to Albany, up the river Hudfon, are built
in a different manner, as I have mentioned
in the nrft volume p. In Philadelphia
they cannot make any yachts or other
boats of red cedar, becaufe the quantity
and the fize of the trees will not allow of it.
For the fame reafon they do not roof their
houfes with red cedar fhingles ; but in
fuch places where it is plentiful, it makes
excellent good roofs. The heart of this
cedar is of a fine red colour, and what-
ever is made of it looks very fine, and
has a very agreeable and wholefome fmell.
But the colour fades by degrees, or elfe
the wood would be exceedingly proper for
cabinet work. I faw a parlour in the coun-
try feat of Mr Norris, one of the Mem-
bers of the Penfyhanian Houfe of AfTembly,
wainfcotted many years ago with boards of
fed cedar. Mr Norris affured me that the

cedar

* See vol. I. page 115, The lower part of the yachts,
which is continually under water, is made of black oak ;
fhe upper part is built of red cedar, becaufe it is foraetimes
above and foraetimes in the water.

New Jcrfey, Rapaapo. 183

cedar looked exceedingly well in the be-
ginning, but it was quite faded when I faw
it, and the boards looked very fhabby,
efpecially the boards near the window had
entirely loft their colour ; fo that Mr Nor-
n's had been obliged to put mahogany in
their (lead : however, I was told, that the
wood will keep its colour if a thin varnifh
is put upon it whilft it is frefh, and juft
after it has been planed, and if care is
taken that the wood is not afterwards rub-
bed or hurt. At lead it makes the wood
keep its colour much longer than com-
monly. Since it has a very pleafant fmell,
when frefh, fome people put the fhavings
and chips of it among their linen to fe-
cure it againft being worm-eaten. Some
likewife get bureaus, &c. made of red ce-
dar, with the fame view. But it is only
ufeful for this purpofe as long as it is frefh,
for it lofes its fmell after fome time, and
is then no longer good for keeping off in-
fects. It is fometimes fent to England, as
timber, and fells very well. In many
places round Philadelphia, in the feats of
the gentry, there was commonly an ave-
nue, with a row of thefe trees planted on
both fides, leading from the high road to
the houfe. The lower branches were cut,
and only a fine crown left. In winter,

M 4 when

i §4 May 1749.

when mod: other trees have loft ther leaves,
this looks very fine. This tree has like-
wife a very flow growth ; for a ftem, thirteen
inches and a quarter in diameter, had one
hundred and eighty-eight rings, or annual
circles and another, eighteen inches in dia-
meter, had at lead two hundred and fifty,
for a great number of the rings were fo fine
that they could not be counted. This tree is
propagated in the fame manner as the com-
mon Juniper-tree is in Sweden, viz. chiefly
by birds, which eat the berries and emit
the feeds entire. To encourage the planting
pf this ufeful tree, a defcription of the
method of doing it, written by Mr Bar-
tram, was inferted in a Penjyhania alma-
nack, called Peer Richard Improved, for
the year 1740. In it was explained the
manner of planting and augmenting the
number of thefe trees, and mention is made
of fome of the purpofes to which they may
be employed.

In the evening I returned to Raccoon.
May the 6th. The Mulberry-trees
/Morus rubra) about this time began to
bloflbrn, but their leaves were yet very
fmall. The people divided them into male
and female trees or flowers ; and faid that
thole wh|ch never bore any fruit were
lies, and thofe which did, females.

Smilax

Newjerfey, Raccoon. 185

Smilax laurifolia was fuperabundant in
all the fwamps near this place. Its leaves
were now beginning to come out, for it
fheds them all every winter; it climbs
up along trees and fhrubs, and runs acrofs
from one tree or bum to another : by
this means it (huts up the parlage between
the trees, fattening itfelf every where with
its cirrhi or tendrils, and even on people,
fo that it is with the utmoft difficulty one
muft force a pafiage in the fwamps and
woods, where it is plentiful ; the ftalk to-
wards the bottom is full of long fpines,
which are as ftrong as the fpines of a rofe-
bufh, and catch hold of the clothes, and
tear them : this troublefome plant may
fometiir.es bring you into imminent danger,
when botanizing or going into the woods,
for, not to mention that the ctoaths muft be
abfolutely ruined by its numberlefs fpines, it
occafions a deep made in the woods, by
croffing from tree to tree fo often; this
forces you to (loop, and even to creep
on all fours through the little paflages
which are left ciofe to the ground, and
then you cannot be careful enough to pre-
vent a fnake (of which there are numbers
here) from darting into your face. The
ftalk of the plant has the fame colour as
the young rofe-bufhes. It is quite green

and

1 86 May 1749.

and fmooth between the fpines, fo that a
ftranger would take it to be a kind of
thorn-bufh, in winter, when it is deftitute
of leaves.

May the 8th. The trees hereabouts
were now flocked with innumerable Cater-
pillars ; one kind efpecially was obfervable,
which is worfe than all the others. They im-
mediately formed great white webs, between
the branches of the trees, fo that they were
perceptible, even at a diftance ; in each of
thefe webs were thoufands of Caterpillars,
which crept out of them afterwards, and
fpread chiefly upon the apple-trees. They
confumed the leaves, and often left not
one on a whole branch. I was told, that
fome years ago they did fo much damage,
that the apple-trees and peach-trees hardly
bore any fruit at all ; becaufe they had
confumed all the leaves, and expofed
the naked trees to the intenfe heat of
the fun, by which means feveral of the
trees died. The people took the following
method of killing thefe Caterpillars : They
fixed fome ftraw or flax on a pole, fet it on
fire, and held it under the webs or nefts ;
by which a part was burnt, and a part fell
to the ground. However, numbers of the
Caterpillars crept up the trees again, which
could have been prevented, if they had been

trod

New J erf ey, Raccoon, 187

trod upon, or killed any other way. I call-
ed chickens to fuch places where they crept
on the ground in numbers ; but they would
not eat them. Nor did the wild birds like
them ; for the trees were full of thefe webs,
thou eh whole flights of little birds had their
nefts in the gardens and orchards.

May the 18th. Though it was already
pretty late in May, yet the nights were very
dark here. About an hour after iun-fet, it
was fo dark, that it was impoffible to read
in a book, though the type was ever fo
large. About ten o'clock, on a ciear night,
the dark was fo much increafed, that it
looked like one of the darkeft ftar-light
nights in autumn, in Swede?!. It likewife
feemed to me, that though the nights were
clear, yet the ftars did not give fo great a
light as they do in Sweden. And as, about
this time, the nights are commonly dark,
and the fky covered with clouds ; fo I would
compare them only to dark and cloudy
Swedifo winter nights. It was therefore,
at this time of the year, very difficult to
travel in fuch cloudy nights ; for neither
man nor horfe could find their way. The
nights, in general, feem very difagreeable
to me, in comparifon to the light and glo-
rious fummer nights of Sweden. Igno-
rance fometimes makes us think nightly of

our

1 88 May 1749.

our country. If ether countries have their
advantages, Sweden is not deft itute of mat-
ter to boaft of on this head : it likewife has
its peculiar advantages ; and upon weighing
the advantages and inconveniencies of dif-
ferent places, Sweden will be found to be
not inferior to any of them.

I will briefly mention in what points I
think Sweden is preferable to this part of
America ; and why I prefer Old Sweden to
New Sweden,

The nights are very dark here all the
fummer ; and in winter, they are quite as
dark, if not darker, than the winter nights
in Sweden , for here is no kind of Aurora
Borealis, and the ftars give a very faint light.
It is very remarkable if an Aurora Borealis
appears once or twice a year. The winters
here bring no fnow, to make the nights
clear, and to make travelling more fafe and
eafy. The cold is, however, frequently as
intenfe as in Old Sweden. The fnow which
fells lies only a few days, and always goes off
with a great deal of wet. The Rattle- fnakes,
Horned-Jnak.es, red-bellied, green, and other
poifonous Snakes, againft whofe bite there
is frequently no remedy, are in great plenty
here. To thefe I muft add the wood-lice,
with whjch the forefts are fo peflered, that
it is impoilible to pafs through a bum with-
out

New Jerfey, Raccoon. 189

out having a whole army of them on your
cloaths, or to fit down, though the place
be ever fo pleafant. The inconvenience
and trouble they caufe, both to man and
beaft, I have defcribed in the Memoirs of
the Royal Swedijh Academy of Sciences. The
weather is fo inconftant here, that when a
day is mod exceffively hot, the next is often
fenlibly cold. This fudden change often
happens in one day ; and few people can
fuffer thefe changes, without impairing
their health. The heat in fummer is excef-
fi ve, and the cold in winter often very piercing.
However, one can always fecure one's felf
againft the cold ; but when the great heat
is of any duration, there is hardly any reme-
dy againft it. It tires one fo, that one does
not know which way to turn. It has fre-
quently happened, that people who walked
into the fields, dropped down dead, on ac-
count of the violence of the heat. Several
diftempcrs prevail here -, and they increafe
every year. Nobody is left unattacked by
the intermitting fever ; and many people
are forced to fuffer it every year, together
with other difeafes. Peafe cannot be fown,
on account of the infects which confume
them*. There are worms in the grains of
rye, and numbers of them are in the cherry-
trees.

• BfHchus Piji.

190 May 1749.

trees. The caterpillars often eat all the
leaves from the trees, fo that they cannot
bear fruit in that year; and numbers die
every year, both of fruit-trees and foreft- trees.
The grafs in the meadows is likewife con-
fumed by a kind of worms, and another
fpecies caufe the plumbs to drop, before
they are half ripe. The oak here affords
not near fo good timber as the European
oak. The fences cannot fland above eighteen
years. The houfes are of no long duration.
The meadows are poor, and what grafs they
have is bad. The paflure for cattle in the
forefts, confifts of fuch plants as they do
not like, and which they are compelled to
eat by necemty ; for it is difficult to find a
lingle grafs in great forefts, where the trees
ftand far afunder, and where the foil is ex-
cellent. For this reafon, the cattle are
forced, during almoft the whole winter and
part of the fummer, to live upon the young
fhoots and branches of trees, which fome-
times have no leaves : therefore, the cows
give very little milk, and decreafe in fize
every generation. The houfes are extreme-
ly unfit for winter habitations. Hurricanes
are frequent, which overthrow trees, carry
away roofs, and fometimes houfes, and do a
great deal of damage. Some of thefe in-
conveniencies might be remedied by art ;

but

New Jerfey, Raccoon. 191

but others will either admit of no alteration,
or they will at leaft coft vafl trouble. Thus
every country has its advantages, and its
defeats : happy is he who can content him-
felf with his own.

The rye grows very ill in moft of the
fields, which is chiefly owing to the care-
lefTnefs in agriculture, and to the poornefs
of the fields, which are feldorft or never
manured. After the inhabitants have con-
verted a tract of land into fields, which had
been a foreft for many centuries together,
and which confequently had a very fine foil,
they ufe it as fuch, as long as it will bear
any corn; and when it ceafes to bear any, they
turn it into paftures for the cattle, and take
new corn fields in another place, where a
fine foil can be met with, and where it has
never been made ufe of for this purpofe.
This kind of agriculture will do for fome
time -, but it will afterwards have bad con-
fequences, as every one may clearly fee.
A few of the inhabitants, however, treated
their fields a little better : the Englijh in
general have carried agriculture to a higher
degree of perfection than any other nation.
But the depth and richnefs of the foil,
which thofe found here who came ever
from England, (as they were preparing
land for ploughing which had been covered

with

192 May ij^y-

with w^ods from times immemorial) mifled
them, and made them carelefs huuSandmen.
It is well known, that the Indians lived in
this country for feveral centuries before the
Europeans came into it j but it is likewife
known, that they lived chiefly by hunting
and nfhing, and had hardly any fields. They
planted maize, and fome fpecies of beans
and gourds ; and at the fame time it is cer-
tain, that a plantation of fuch vegetables as
ferve an hidian family during one year, take
up no more ground than a farmer in our
country takes to plant cabbage for his fa-
mily upon ; at leaft, a farmer's cabbage and
turnep ground, taken together, is always as
extenfive, if not more fo, than the corn-
fields and kitchen- gardens of an Indian fa-
mily- Therefore, the Indians could hard-
ly fublift for one month upon the produce
of their gardens and fields. Commonly,
the little villages of Indians are about twelve
or eighteen miles diftant from each ether.
From hence one may judge, how little
ground was formerly employed for corn-
fields -, and the reft was overgrown with
thick and tall trees. And though they
cleared (as is yet ufual) new ground, as foon
as the old one had quite loft its fertility ;
yet fuch little pieces as they made ufe of
were very inconuderable, when compared

to

New Jsrfey, Raccoon* 193

to the vaft forefts which remained. Thus
the upper fertile foil increafed considerably,
for centuries together ; and the 'Europeans
coming to America found a rich and fine
foil before them, lying as loofe between the
trees as the beft bed in a garden. They
had nothing to do but to cut down the
wood, put it up in heaps, and to clear the
dead leaves away. They could then im-
mediately proceed to ploughing, which in
fuch loofe ground is very eafy ; and having
fown their corn, they got a moit plentiful
harveft. This eafy method of getting a rich
crop has fpoiled the Englijh and other Eu-
ropean inhabitants, and induced them to
adopt the fame method of agriculture which
the Indians make ufe of; that is, to fow un-
cultivated grounds, as long as they will pro-
duce a cr6p without manuring, but to turn
them into paftures as foort as they can bear
no more, and to take in hand new fpots of
ground, covered fince time immemorial with
woods, which have been fpared by the fire
or the hatchet ever fince the creation. This
is like wife the reafon why agriculture, and
the knowledge of this ufeful branch, is fo
imperfect here, that one can learn nothing
oh a great tract qf land, neither of the Eng-
h'/Jj, nor of the'Sivedes, Germans, Dutch, and
French -, except that, frcm their grcfs inif-
Vol. II. N takes

194 May 1749.

takes and carelefsnefs for futurity, one finds
opportunities every day of making all forts
of obfervations, and of growing wife at the
expence of other people. Tn a word, the
corn-fields, the meadows, theforefts, the cat-
tle, &c. are treated with equal carelefsnefs ;
and the Englifo nation, fo well fkilled in thefe
branches of hufbandry, is with difficulty
found out here. We can hardly be more
lavifh of our woods in Sweden and Finland
than they are here : their eyes are fixed
upon the prefentgain, and they are blind to
futurity. Every day their cattle are har-
raffed by labour, and each generation de-
creafes in goodnefs and fize, by being kept
fhort of food, as I have before mentioned.
On my travels in this country I obferved fe-
veral plants, which the horfes. and cows
preferred to all others. They w~re wild in
this country, and likewife grew well on the
drieft and poorer!: ground, where no other
plants would fucceed. But the inhabitants
did not know how to turn this to their ad-
vantage ; owing to the little account made
of Natural Hiftory, that fcience being here
(as in other parts of the world) looked upon
as a mere trifle, and ths paflime of fools. I
am certain, and my certainty is founded
upon experience, that by means of thefe
plants, in the fpace of a few years, I have

been

New Jcrfiy, Raccoon. 19^

been able to turn the pocreft ground, which
would hardly afford food for a cow, into
the richeft and moft fertile meadow, where
great flocks of cattle have found fuperrluous
food, and are grown fat upon. I own, that
theie ufeful plants v/ere not to be found on
the grounds of every planter : but with a
imall {bare of natural knowledge, a man
would eafily collect them in the places
where they were to be got. I was afto-
nimed, when 1 heard the country people
complaining of the badnefs of the paftures ;
but I like wife perceived their negligence,
and often faw excellent plants growing on
their own grounds, which only required a
little more attention and affiftancefrom their
unexperienced owners. I found every where
the wifdorri and goodnefs of the Creator ; but
too ieldoni faw any acknowledgment, or
adequate eftimation of it, among men.

O fortunatts nimlamfua ft bona norint
Jgrkolas ! Virg. Georgic.

I have been led to thefe reflections,
which may perhaps feem foreign to my.
purpofe, by the bad and neglected date
of agriculture in every part of this con-
tinent. I likewife intended to {hew the
reafon why this journal is fo thinly flock-
ed with ceconomical advantages in the
feveral branches of hufbandry. I do not
however deny, that I have fometiir.es found

N 2 one

i<)6

May 1749-

one or two Ikilful ceconomifts, but they
were very fcarce.

Birds of prey which purfue the poultry
are found in abundance here, and if pof-
fible more plentiful than in Sweden. They
enjoy great liberty here, as there are ftill
great forefts in many places, from whence
they can come unawares upon chickens
and ducks. To the birds of prey it is
quite indifferent whether the woods confift
of good or bad trees, provided they are
in made. At night the owls, which are
very numerous, endanger the fafety of
the tame fowls. They live chiefly in
marfhes, give a difagreeable (hriek at night,
and attack the chickens, which commonly
rooft at night in the apple-trees, peach-
trees, and cherry-trees, in the garden. But
fince they are very bufy in clearing this
country of woods, as we are in Sweden and
Finland, it may be of ufe for expofing the
birds of prey, more than they are now,
and for depriving them of the opportunities
of doing mifchief with fo much eafe.

The thick forefts of America contain
numbers of ftags ; they do not feem to be
a different fpecies from the European ftags.
An Englijhman was poffeffed of a tame
hind. It is obfervable that though thefe
creatures are very i"hy when wild in the

woods

Ntw Jerfey, Raccoon. 197

woods and the cedar fwamps, which are
very much frequented by them, yet they
can be tamed to fuch a degree, if taken
young, that they will come of their own
accord to people, and even to ftrangers :
This hind was caught when it was but
very little ; the colour of the whole body
was a dirty reddifh brown, the belly and
the under lide of the tail excepted, which
were white ; the ears were grey ; the
head, towards the fnout, was very narrow,
but upon the whole the creature looked
very fine. The hair lay clofe together,
and was quite mort ; the tail reached al-
moft to the bend of the knee, near which,
on the iniide of each hind-foot, was a knob
or callus. The poffeflbr of the hind faid,
that he had tamed feveral ftags, by catch-
ing them whilft they were very young. It
was now big with young ones. It had a
little bell hung about its neck, that by
walking in the woods, the people might
know it to be tame, and take care not to
moot it. It was at liberty to go where it
pleafed, and to keep it confined would
have been a pretty hard tafk, as it could
leap over the highefr. enclofures. Some-
times it went far into the woods, and fre-
quently ftaid away a night or two, but
afterwards returned home like other cattle.

N 3 When

j 98 May 1749.

When it went into the woods, it was often
accompanied by wild flags, and decoyed
them even into the very houfes, efpecially
in rutting time, giving its mailer nume-
rous opportunities of mooting the wild
flags, almofl at his door. Its fcent was
excellent, and when it was turned towards
the wind, I often faw it riling and looking
towards that part, though I did not fee
any people on the road, but they common-
ly appeared about an hour after. As foon
as the wild flags have the fcent of a man,
they make off. In winter the man fed the
hind with corn and hay ; but in fummer
it went out into the woods and meadows,
feeking its own food, eating both grafs and
other plants : it was now kept in a mea-
dow ; it did chiefly eat clover, the leaves
of hiccory, of the Andromeda paniculata,
and the Geranium maculatum. It was like-
wife contented with the leaves of the com-
mon plantane, or Plant ago y graifes, and fe-
veral other plants. The poifefTor of this
hind fold flags to people in Philadelphiat
who fent them as curiofities to other places.
He got twenty- five, thirty, and forty mil-
lings a- piece for them. The food of the
wild flags in fummer is grafs and feveral
plants ; but in winter, when they are not to
be got, they eat the (hoots and young

iprigs

New Jerfey, 'Raccoon. 199

fprigs of branches. I have already men-
tioned * that they eat without any danger
the fpoon-tree, or Kalmia latifoliay which is
poifon to other animals. In the long and
fevere winter, which commenced here upon
the tenth of December, 1740, and con-
tinued to the thirteenth of March, old
ftile, during the courfe of which there fell a
great quantity of fnow, the flags were
found dead in the fnow, but chiefly higher
up the country, where the fnow was deeper.
Nobody could determine whether their
death was the confequence of the great
quantity and depth of fnow, which hin-
dered their getting out, or whether the
froft had been too fevere, and of too long
duration, or whether they were fhort of
food. The old people likewife relate, that
vaft numbers of ftao-s came down in the
year 1705, when there was a heavy fall
of fnow, near a yard deep, and that they
were afterwards found dead in the woods,
in great numbers, becaufe the fnow was
deeper than they could pafs through.
Numbers of birds were likewife found
dead at that time. In that fame winter,
a ftag came to Matfong into the frables,
and ate hay together with the cattle. It
was fo pinched by hunger, that it grew
tame immediately, and did not run away

N 4 from,

* See vol. i. page 338.

zoo

May 1749.

from people. It afterwards continued in
the houie, as another tame creature. All
aged per ions aiferted, that formerly this
country abounded more with ftags than it
does at prefent. It was formerly not un-
common to fee thirty or forty of them in
a flock together. The reafon of fheir de-

C

creafe is chiefly owing to the increafe of po-
pulation, the deftruction of the woods, and
the number of people who kill and fright-
en the flags at prefent. However, high
up in the country, in great forefts and de-
farts, there are yet great numbers of them.
Among their enemies is the Lynx of this
country, which is the fame with the Swe-
dijh one *. They climb up the trees, and
when the flags pais by, they dart down
upon him, get fair, hoi J, bite, and fuck
the blood, and never give over till they
have killed it.

^ I law feveral holes in the ground,
both on hills and on fields, and fallow
grounds ; they were round, and commonly

about

* IVarglo ; Fe'is Lynx. Linn. The Swedes mention two
kinds of lynx, the one is called the Warglo, or wolf-lynx,
snd the other the Kattlo, or cat-lynx. The Germans make
the fame diftinftion, and call the former Wclf-luchsy and
the latter Katz-iucbs : the former is the biggeil, cf a
brownifh red, mixed with grey and white, on its back,
snd white towards the belly, with brown: fh fpots ; thelat-
ter i-> fmaller, and has a coat which is more white, and with
more fpot:>. F.

New Jerfey, Raccoon. 20 1

-about an inch wide ; they went almoft
perpendicularly into the earth, and were
made by dung-beetles, or by great worms,
which are made life of for angling.
The dung-beetles had dug very deep into
the ground, thro' horfe-dung, tho' it lay
on the harden: road, fo that a great heap of
earth lay near it. Thefe holes were after-
wards occupied by other infects, efpecially
grafshoppers, (Grylli) and decides ; for by
digging thefe holes up, I commonly found
one or more young ones of thefe infects,
which had not yet got their perfect fize.

May the 19th. This morning I left
Raccoon, a parifh in the country called New
Sweden j and which is yet chiefly inhabited
by Swedes, in order to proceed in my tra-
vels to the North. I firfl: intended to fet
out with the beginning of April, but for
feveral reafons this was not advifeable. No
leaves were come out at that time, and
hardly any flowers appeared. I did not know
what flowrers grew here in fpring ; for the
autumnal plants are different from the
vernal ones. The Swedes had this winter
told me the ceconomical and medical ufes of
many plants, to which they gave names un-
known to me : they could not then fhew
me thofe plants on account of the feafon,
and by their deficient and erroneous de-

5 fcriptions,

202 May 1749;

fcriptions, I was not able to guefs what
plants they meant. By going away fo early
as the beginning of April, I would have
remained in uncertainty in regard to thefe
things. It was therefore fit, that I mould
fpend a part of the fpring at "Raccoon, efpe-
cially as I had ft ill time enough left for my
tcur to the North.

On the road we faw a Black Snake,
which we killed, and found juft five foot
long. Caie/by has defcribed it and its quali-
ties, and alio drawn it *. The full-grown
Black Snakes are commonly about five feet
long, but very flender ; the thicker! I ever
faw was in the broadeft part hardly three
inches thick ; the back is black, mining,
and fmooth ; the chin white and fmooth j
the belly whitifh turning into blue, mining,
and very fmooth 1 I believe there are fome
varieties of this fnake. One which was
nineteen inches long, had a hundred and
eighty-fix fcales en the belly, (Scuta Ab-
dominalia) and ninety- two half fcales on the
tail (Squama Jubcaudales), which I found
to be true, by a repeated counting of the
fcales. Another, which was feventeen
inches and a half in length, had a hundred
and eighty -four fcales on the belly, and
only fixty-four half fcales on the tail j this

I like-

* Anguis niger. Sec Qatefiys Nat. Hill, of Carol, ii.

t. 48.

New J?'f' fey. Raccoon. 20.3

I likewife allured myfelf of, by counting
the fcales over again. It is poffible that
the end of this laft fnakc's tail was cut off,
and the wound healed up again -f.

The country abounds with Black Snakes.
They are among the firft that come out in
fpring, and often appear very early if warm
weather happens •, but if it grows cold
again after that, they are quite frozen, and
lie ftiff and torpid on the ground or on the
ice ; when taken in this ftate and put be-
fore a fire, they revive in lefs than an hour's
time 1 It has fometimes happened, when
the beginning of 'January is very warm,
{hat they come out of their winter habita-
tions. They commonly appear about the
end of March* old ftyle.

This

f It has been found by repeated experience, that the
fpecific ch^radter employed by Dr. Linnaw, for the dif-
tinclion of the fpecies of fnakes, taken from their Scuta
abdominal: a & caudalia, or their Squama fubcaudales, va-
ries greatly in fnakes of the fame fpecies, Co that often the
difference amounts to tvn or more : the whole number of
the fcuta fometimes helps to find out the fpecies; care
ought however to be taken, that the fnake may not by any
accident have loir, its tail, and that it be growing again ;
in which cafe, it is impo.lible to make ufe of this charac-
ter. The character is not quite fo good and decifive, as
may be wifhed, but neither arc the marks taken from co-
lours, fpots, ftripes, $:c. quite conftant ; and fo it is bet-
ter to make ufe of an imperfett charadVr, than none at all.
Time, and greater acquaintance with this clafs of animals.
may perhaps clear up their natural characters. F.

204 May 1 7 49.

This is the fwifteft of all the makes
which are to be found here, for it moves fo
quick, that a dog can hardly catch it. It
is therefore almoft imporTible for a man to
efcape it if purfued : but happily its bite is
neither poifonous nor any way dangerous ;
many people have been bit by it in the woods,
and have fcarce felt any more inconvenience
than if they had been wounded by a knife ;
the wounded place only remains painful for
fome time. The Black Snakes feldom do
any harm, except in fpring, when they
copulate -, but if any body comes in their
way at that time, they are fo much vexed,
as to purfue him as faft as they can. If
they meet with a perfon who is afraid of
them, he is in great diftrefs. I am ac-
quainted with feveral people, who have on
fuch an occafion run fo hard as to be quite
out of breath, in endeavouring to efcape the
fnake, which moved with the fwiftnefs of
an arrow after them. If a perfon thus pur-
fued can mufter up courage enough to op-
pofe the fnake with a ftick or any thing elfe,
when it is either pafled by him, or when
he Heps afide to avoid it, it will turn back
again, and feek a refuge in its fwiftnefs. It
is, however, fometimes bold enough to run
flireclly upon a man, and not to depart be-
fore

New yerfey, Raccoon, 205

fore it has received a good ftroke. I have
been aflured by feveral, that when it over-
takes a perfon, who has tried to efcape it,
and who has not courage enough to oppofe
it, it winds round his feet, fo as to make
him fall down -, it then bites him feveral
times in the leg, or whatever part it can
get hold of, and goes off again. I (hall
mention two circumftances, which confirm
what I have faid. During my flay in New
Tcrk, Dr. Colden told me, that in the fpring,
3748, he had feveral workmen at his coun-
try feat, and among them one lately arrived
from Europe, who of courfe knew very
little of the qualities of the Black Snake.
The other workmen feeing a great Black
Snake copulating with its female, engaged
the new comer to go and kill it, which he
intended to do with a little flick. But on
approaching the place where the fnakes lay,
they perceived him, and the male in great
wrath leaves his pleafure to purfue the
fellow with amafing fwiftnefs ; he little ex-
pected fuch courage in the fnake, and fling-
ing away his flick, began to run as fafl as
he was able. The fnake purfued him,
overtook him, and twitting feveral times
round his feet, threw him down, and
frightened him almoft out of his fenfes;
he could not get rid of the fnake, till he

took

206 May 1749.

took a knife and cut it through in two of
three places. The other workmen were
rejoiced at this fight, and laughed at it,
without offering to help their companion.
Many people at Albany told me of an acci-
dent which happened to a young lady, who
went out of town in fummer, together with
many other girl?, attended by her negro.
She fat down in the wood, in a place where
the others were running about, and before
fhe was aware, a Black Snake being dif-
turbed in its amours, ran under her petti-
coats, and twifted round her waiit, fo that
fhe fell backwards in a fwoon occafioned hj
her fright, or by the compreiTion which the
fhake caufed. The negro came up to her,
and fufpecling that a Black Snake mighl
have hurt her, on making ufe of a remed1
to bring his lady to herfelf again, he lifted
up her cloaths, and really found the fnake
wound about her body as clofe as poffible
the negro was not able to tear it away, an<
therefore cut it, and the girl came to herfelJ
a pain : but fhe conceived fo great an aver-
fion to the negro, that (lie could not beai
the fight of him afterwards, and died of
confumption. At other times of the year
this fnake is more apt to run away, than t(
attack people. However I have heard it
afTerted frequently, that even in fummer

2 when

New Jvfey, Raccoon. 207

when its time of copulation is paft, it pur-
fnes people, efpecially children, if it finds
that they are afraid and run from her.
Several people likewife afiured me from
their own experience, that it may be pro-
voked to purfue people, if they throw
at it, and then run away. I cannot well
doubt of this, as I have heard it faid by
numbers of creditable people ; but I could
never fucceed in provoking them. I ran
always away on perceiving it, or flung
fomething at it, and then took to my heels,
but I could never bring the makes to pur-
fue me : I know not for what reafon they
fhunned me, unlefs they took me For an
artful feducer.

Mod of the people in this country afcrib-
ed to this fnake a power of fafcinating
birds and fquirrels, as I have defcribed in
feveral parts of my Journal *. When the
fnake lies under a tree, and has fixed his
eyes on a bird or fquirrel above ; it obliges
them to come down, and to go directly into
its mouth. I cannot account for this, for
I never faw it done. However, I have a
lift of more than twenty perfons, among
which are fome of the moil: creditable peo-
ple, who have all unanimoufly, though

livino,"

See vol. i. p. 3 fp .

2o8 May 1749.

living far diftant from each other, aiTerted
the fame thing ; they allured me upon their
honor, that they have feen (at feveral
times) thefe Black Snakes fafcinating
fquirrels and birds which fat on the tops of
trees, the fnake lying at the foot of the
tree, with its eyes fixed upon the bird or
fquirrel, which fits above it, and utters a
doleful note ; from which it is eafy to con-
clude with certainty that it is about to be
fafcinated, though you cannot fee it. The
bird or fquirrel runs up and down along the
tree continuing its plaintive fong, and al-
ways comes nearer the fnake, whofe eyes
are unalterably fixed upon it. It fhould
feem as if thefe poor creatures endeavoured
to efcape the fnake, by hopping or running
up the tree ; but there appears to be a
power which withholds them : they are
forced downwards, and each time that they
turn back, they approach nearer their
enemy, till they are at laft forced to leap
into its mouth, which (lands wide open for
that purpofe. Numbers of fquirrels and
birds are continually running and hopping
fearlefs in the woods on the ground, where
the fnakes ly in wait for them, and can
eafily give thefe poor creatures a mortal
bite. Therefore it feems that this fafcina-
tion might be thus interpreted, that the

creature

New yerfey, Raccoo?i. 209

creature has firft got a mortal wound from
the fnake, which is fare of her bite, and
lies quiet, being affured that the wounded
creature has been poifoned with the bite,
or at leaft feels pain from the violence of
the bite, and that it will at laft be obliged
to come down into its mouth. The plain-
tive note is perhaps occafioned by the
acutenefs of the pain which the Wound
gives the creature. But to this it may be
objected, that the bite of the Black Snake
is not poifonous ; it may further be ob-
jected, that if the fnake could come near
enough to a bird or fa uirrel to give it a mortal
bite, it might as eafily keep hold of it, or,
as it fometimes does with poultry, tvrift
round and ftrangle or flirle it. But the
chief objection which lies againft this in*
terpretation, is the following account,
which I received from the moil: Creditable
people, who have aiTiired me of it; The
fquirrel being upon the point of running
into the make's mouth, the fpectators have
not been able to let it come to that pitch,
but killed the fnake, and as foon as it had
got a mortal blow, the fquirrel or bird
deftined for deftruction, flew away, and left
off their moanful note, as if they had broke
loofe from a net. Some fay, that if they
only touched the fnake, fo as to draw off
Vol. II. O itJ

210 May 1749.

its attention from the fquirrel, it went off
quickly, not flopping till it had got to a
great diftance. Why do the fqutrrels or
birds go away fo fuddenly, and why no
fooner ? If they had been poifoned or bit-
ten by the make before, fo as not to be able
to set from the tree, and to be forced to
approach the fnake always more and more,
they could however not get new ftrength
by the fnake being killed or diverted.
Therefore, it feems that they are only en-
chanted, whilft the fnake has its eyes fixed
on them. However, this looks odd and
unaccountable, though many of the wor-
thier!: and mod reputable people have re-
lated it, and though it is fo univerfally be-
lieved here, that to doubt it would be to
expofe one's felf to general laughter.

The black fnakes kill the fmaller fpe-
cies of frogs, and eat them. If they get at
eggs of poultry, or of other birds, they
make holes in them, and fuck the con-
tents. When the hens are fitting on the
eggs, they creep into the neft, wind round
the birds, ftifle them, and fuck the eggs.
Mr. Bartram afferted, that he had often
feen this fnake creep up into the tailed
trees, after bird's eggs, or young birds, al-
ways with the head foremofc, when de-
fending. A Swede told me, that a black

5 fnake

New Jcrjey, Raccoon. 2 1 1

fnake had once got the head of one of his
hens in its mouth, and was wound feveral
times round the body, when he came and
killed the fnake. The hen was afterwards
as well as ever.

This fnake is very greedy of milk, and
it is difficult to keep it out, when it is
once ufed to go into a cellar where milk is
kept. It has been feen eating milk out of
the fame dim with children, without
biting them, though they often gave it
blows with the fpoon upon the head,
when it was overgreedy. I never heard
it himng. It can raife more than one
half of its body from the ground, in or-
der to look about her. It fkins every
year ; and its fkin is faid to be a remedy
again ft the cramp, if continually worn
about the body.

The rye was now beginning to flower^
I have often obferved with aftonifhmenr,
on my travels, the great difference between
the plants and the foil, on the two oppo-
fite banks of brooks. Sometimes a brook,
which one can ftride over, has plants on
one bank widely different from thofe on
the oppofite bank. Therefore, whenever
1 came to a great brook or a river, I ex-
pected to find plants which I had not met
with before. Their feeds are carried down

O 2 with

212 May ij\q* 1

with the nream from diftant parts. The
foil is likewife very often different on the
different fides of a rivulet, being rich and
fertile on the one, and dry, barren, and
iandy on the other. But a great river can
make ftill greater differences. Thus we
fee the great difparity between the pro-
vince of Penjylvania, and New jferfey,
which are only divided by the river Dela-
ware. In Penfyhania the foil con lifts of
a mould mixed with fand and clay, and is
very rich and fertile : and in the woods
which are higher in the country, the ground
is mountainous and ftony. On the other
hand, in the province of New Jerfey, the
foil is poor and dry, and not very fertile,
fome parts excepted. You can hardly find
a ftone in New Jerfey, and much lefs moun-
tains. In Penfyhania you fcarce ever fee
a fir-tree, and in New Jerfey are whole
woods of it.

This evening I arrived at Philadelphia.

May the 2 2d. The locufis began to
creep out of their holes in the ground laft
night, and continued to do fo to-day. As
foon as their wings were dry, they began
their fong, which is almoft furficient to
make one deaf, when travelling through
the woods. This year there was an im-
menfe number of them. I have given a

minute

Penjylvania, Philadelphia. 213

minute account of them, of their food,
qualities, &c. in the Memoirs of the Swedi/h
Royal Academy of Sciences * $ it is therefore
needlefs to repeat it here, and I refer the
reader to the quoted place.

May the 25th. The tulip-tree (Lirio-
dendron tulip iferaj was now in full blofTom.
The flowers have a refemblance to tulips, and
look very fine, and though they have not a
very agreeable fmell, yet the eye is pleafed
to fee trees as tall as full-grown oaks, co-
vered with tulip-like flowers.

On the flowers of the tulip-tree was
an olive-coloured Chafer (Scarabaus) with-
out horns fmuticus), the future and borders
of his wing- (hells f Elytra?) were black,
and his thighs brown. I cannot with cer-
tainty fay whether they collected the pol-
len of the flower, or whether they coupled.
Later in fummer, I faw the fame kind of
beetles make deep holes into the ripe mul-
berries* either to eat them, or to lay their
eggs in them. I likewife found them
abundant in the leaves of the Magnolia
glauca, or beaver- tree.

The ftraw- berries were now ripe on the
hills.

O 3 The

* See the volume for the year 1756, page 10, of the
SwcJiJb edition.

214 May 1749.

The country people already brought ripe
cherries up to town ; but they were only a
few to fatisfy curiofity, yet we may form
a judgment of the climate from hence.

May the 26th. A peculiar kind of
florin called a Travat, or Travado, hap-
pened to-day. In the evening about ten
o'clock, when the fky was quite clear, a
thick, black cloud came ruining from the
fouth-wefl:, with a wind. The air was
quite calm, and we could not feel any
breeze. But the approach of this cloud
was perceived from the ftrong ruQiing
noiie in the woods to the fouth-wefr, and
which encreafed in proportion as the cloud
came nearer. As foon as it was come up
to us, it was attended by a violent gun: of
wind, which in its courfe threw down the
weaker enclofures, carried them a good
way along with it, and broke down feve^
ral trees. It was then followed by a hard
mower of rain, which put an end to the
ftorm, and every thing was calm as before.
Thefe travadoes are frequent in fummer,
and have the quality of cooling the air.
However, they often do a deal of damage.
They are commonly attended by thunder
and lightning ; as foon as they are paffed
pver, the fky is as clear as it was before.
May the 28th. The Magnolia glauca

was

Penfylvania, Philadelphia. 215

was now in full bloom. Its flowers have
a very pleafant fragrancy, which refrefhes
the travellers in the woods, efpecially to-
wards the evening. The flowers of the
wild vine afterwards fupplied the place of
thofe of the Magnolia. Several other
flowers contribute likewife towards per-
fuming the ambient air.

The Kalmia anguft [folia was now every
where in. flower. It grows chiefly on fan-
dy heaths, or on dry poor grounds, which
few other plants will agree with ; it is
common in Penjyhania, but particularly in
New Jerfev, and the province of New
Torky it is fcarce in Canada -, its leaves ftay
the winter ; the flowers are a real orna-
ment to the woods ; they grow in bunches
like crowns, and are of a fine lively
purple colour ; at the bottom is a circle of
deep purple, and within it a greyifh or
whitifli colour. The flowers grow as
aforefaid, in bunches, round the extremity
of the ftalk, and make it look like a deco-
rated pyramid. The Englifc at New York
call this plant the Dwarf Laurel. Its
qualities are the fame with thofe of the
Kalmia latifolia, viz. that it kills lheep and
other leifer animals, when they eat plen-
tifully of it. I do not know whether it is
noxious to the greater cattle. It is not of

O 4 any

216 May 1749.

any known ufe, and only ferves to attract
the eye whilft in flower.

The Kolmia latifolia was like wife in full
blo/Tom at prefent. It rivals the preced-
ing one, in the beauty of its colour;
yet though they are confpicuous in
regard to the colours and fhape of their
floMers, they are no ways remarkable for
fmell, fuch as the Magnolia is ; for they
have little or no fmell at all. So equally
and juftly does nature diftribute her gifts;
no part of the creation has them all, each
has its own, and none is abfolutely with-
out a (hare of them.

May the 30th. The Moravian Bre-
thren, who arrived in great numbers from
Europe, at New York, in May, brought two
converted Greenlanders with them. The
Moravians who were already fettled in Ame-
rica, immediately fent fome of their bre-
thren from Philadelphia to the new co-
mers, in order to welcome them. Among
thtfe deputies were two North American
Indians, who had been converted to their
doctrine, and likewiie two South American
Indians, from Surinam. Thefe three kinds
of converted Indians accordingly met at
New York. I had no opportunity of feeing
them ; but all thofe who had feen them,
and whom I converfed with, thought that

they

Penfylvania, Philadelphia. 21J

iKy had plainly perceived a fimilarity in
ineir features and fhape, the Greenlanders
being only fomewhat fmaller. They con-
eluded from hence, that all thefe three
kinds of Americans were the pofterity of
one and the fame defcendant of Noah, or
that they were perhaps yet more nearly re-
lated. How far their gueffes are to be re^
lied upon, I cannot determine.

Ripe cherries were now already pretty
common, and confequently cheap.

Yams are a fpecies of roots, which are
cultivated in the hotteft parts of America,
for eating, as we do potatoes. It has not
yet been attempted to plant them here, and
they are brought from the Weft Indies in
ihips \ therefore they are reckoned a rarity
here, and as fuch I ate them at Dr. Frank-
lins to-day. They are white, and tafte like
common potatoes, but not quite fo agreeable;
and I think it would not be worth While to
plant them in Sweden, though they might
bear the climate. The plant thefe roots
belong to is the Diofcorea alata.

The inhabitants make plenty of cheefe.
They are not reckoned fo good as Eng-
lijh cheefe : however, fome take them to
be full as good when old; and fo they
feemed to me. A man from Bofton in Newr
England told rne, that they made very good

cheefe

21 8 May 1749.

cheefe there : but they take care to keep the
cattle from fait water, efpecially thofe who
live near the fea-coafts ; for it has been
found, that the cheefe will not become fo
good when the cows graze near fait water,
as it will when they have frefh water.
This, however, wants nearer examination,
in my opinion.

May the 31ft. About noon I left Phi-
ladelphia, and went on board a fmall yacht,
which fails continually up and down upon
the river Delaware, between Trenton and
Philadelphia. We failed up the river with
fair wind and weather. Sturgeons leaped
often a fathom into the air. We faw them
continuing this exercife all day, till we came
to Trenton. The banks on the Penfyhanian
iide were low ; and thofe on the New Jer-
fey iide fteep and fandy, but not very high.
On both fides we perceived forefts of tall
trees, with deciduous leaves.

During the courfe of this month, the
forenoon was always calm; but immediately
after noon it began to blow gently, and fome-
times pretty flrongly. This morning was
likewife fair -, and in the afternoon it was
cloudy, but did not rain.

The banks of the river were fometimes
high, and fometimes low. We faw fome
fmall houfcs near the lliore, in the woods ;

and,

New Jerfey, Burlington. 21 9

and, now and then, a good houfe built of
ftone. The river now decreafed vifibly in
breadth. About three o'clock this after-
noon we pafTed Burli?igton.

Burlington, the chief town in the
province of New Jerfey, and the refidence
of the governor, is but a fmall town, about
twenty miles from Philadelphia, on the
eaftern fide of the Delaware. The houfes
were chiefly built of ftone, though they
flood far diftant from each other. The
town has a good fituation, fince mips of
confiderable burden can fail clofe up to it :
but Philadelphia prevents its carrying on an
extenfive trade ■, for the proprietors of that
place * have granted it great immunities, by
which it is increafed fo as to fwallow all
the trade of the adjacent towns. The
houfe of the governor at Burlington is but a
fmall one : it is built of ftone, clofe by the
river fide, and is the firft building in the
town as you come from Philadelphia. It is
obferved, that about the full moons, when
the tides are higheft, and the high water at
Cape Hinlopen comes at nine o'clock in the
morning, it will be at Chejler, on the river
Delaware, about ten minutes after one
o'clock ; at Philadelphia, about ten mi-
nutes after two o'clock -, and at Burling-

ton,

* William Pen, Efq; and his heirs after him.

2ZC May 1749.

ton> about ten minutes after three o'clock j
for the tide in the river Delaware comes
quite up to Trenton. Thefe obfervations
were communicated to me by Mr. Lewis
Evans.

The banks of the river were now chiefly
high and fteep on the fide of New Jerfey,
confiding of a pale brick-coloured foil. On
the Penjyhanian fide, they were gently
floping, and confifted of a blackifh rich
mould, mixed with particles of Glimmer
(Mica). On the New Jerfey fide appear-
ed fome firs ; but feldom on the other, ex-
cept in a few places where they were acci-
dentally brought over from New Jerfey.

Towards night, after the tide had be-
gun to ebb and the wind was quite fubfided,
we could not proceed, but dropped our an-
chor about feven miles from Trenton, and
parfed the night there. The woods were
full of Fireflies, (Lampyris) which flew like
fparks of n>e between the trees, and fome-
times acrofs the river. In the marfhes, the
Bullfrogs now and then began their hi-
deous roaring ; and more than a hundred
of them roared together. The Whip-poor-
will, or Goatfucker, was likewife heard every
where.

June the ift. We continued our voyage
this morning, after the rain was over. The

rive?

New Jerfey> Trenton. 221

fiver Delaware was very narrow here, and
the banks the fame as we found them
yefterday, after we had palled Burlington,
About eight o'clock in the morning we ar-
rived at Trenton*.

''June the 2d. Th-is morning we left
Trenton, and proceeded towards New York.
The country I have defcribed before -j-.
The fields were fown with wheat, rye,
maize, oats, hemp, and flax. In feveral
places, we faw very large pieces of ground
with hemp.

We faw abundance of chefnut-trees in
the woods. They often flood in exceflive
poor ground, which was neither too dry
nor too wet.

Tulip-trees did not appear on the
road ; but the people faid there were fome
in the woods.

The Beaver-tree ( Magnolia glauca) grows
in the fwamps. It was now in flower, and
the fragrancy of its bloffoms had fo per-
fumed the air, that one could enjoy it
before one approached the fwamps ; and
this fine fmell likewife (hewed that a bea-
ver-tree was near us, though we often
happened not to fee it.

The

•See Vol. I. p. 220. f Ibid, p. 224—237.

222 June 1749.

The Phlox Glaberrima grows abundantly
in the woods, and cuts a fine figure with
its red flowers. It grows in fuch foil here
as in Europe is occupied by the Lychnis vif-
caria and Lychnis dioica, or red Catchfly and
Campion. The Phlox metadata grows
abundantly in wet ground, and has fine
red and odoriferous flowers. It grows on
low meadows, where in Europe the Mea-
dow-pinks, or Lychnis jlos cuculi, would be
met with. By adding to thefe flowers the
Bartfta cocci neay the Lobelia cardinality and
the Monarda didyma, which grow wild in
this country, they are undoubtedly alto-
gether adorned with the finer! red ima-
ginable.

The Saffafras-tree was abundant in the
woods, and near the inclofures.

The houfes which we pafTed by were
moil of them wooden. In one place, I
faw the people building a houfe with walls
of mere clay, which is likewife employed in
making ovens for baking.

Buckwheat was already coming up in
feveral places. We faw fingle plants of it
all day in the woods, and in the fields, but
always by the fide of the road ; from
whence it may be concluded, that they
fprinc up from loft and fcattered feeds.

Late

New York. 223

Late this evening we arrived at New
Brunfwick *.

"June the 3d. At noon we went on
board a yacht bound for New Tork, and
failed down the river, which had at firfl
pretty high and fteep banks, of red fand-
ftone, on each fide, which I have men-
tioned before. Now and then, there was a
farm-houfe on the high more. As we came
lower down, we faw on both fides great
fields and meadows, clofe up to the water.
We could not fail at random with the yacht;
for the river was often fhallow in fome
places, and fometimes in the very middle.
For that purpofe, the courfe which we
were to take was marked out by branches
with leaves on them. At laft we got into
the fea, which bounded our profpect on the
fouth ; but on the other fide, we were con-
tinually in fight of land at fome diftance.
On coming to the mouth of the river, we
had a choice of two roads to New Tork ;
viz. either within the Staten IJland, or with-
out it. The inhabitants are determined in
their choice by the weather ; for when it
is is ftormy and cloudy, or dark, they do
not venture to fail without, where the fea
itfelf communicates. We took that courfe

now,

* See an account of that place in Vol. I. p. 228.
t See Vol. I. p. 230.

ii4 June 1749.

tiow, it being very pleafant weather ; and
though we ftruck on the fands once or twice,
yet we got loofe again, and arrived at Neid
York about nine o'clock. Of this town I
have given an account in the preceding
volume *.

June the 4th. I found vines in feveral
gardens, got from the old countries. They
bear annually a quantity of excellent grapes.
When the winters are very fevere, they are
killed by the froft, and die quite to the
ground -, but the next fpring new fhoots
Ipring up from the root.

Strawberries were now fold in abun-
dance about the town every day. An En-
gltfhman from Jamaica afferted, that in that
iiland there were no ftrawberries. The
fnakes are very fond of ftrawberries. Thofc
which they had here were not fo good as
the Swedifh and Finland ones*

Red Clover was fown in feveral places
on the hills without the town. The coun-
try people were now employed in mowing
the meadows. Some were already mown 5
and the dry clover was put under cover* in
order to be carried away the firfl op-
portunity.

Cherry-trees were planted in great
quantities before the farm-houfes, and along

the

* See Vol. I. p. 247, &C

New York. 225

the high-roads, from Philadelphia to New
Brnnjwick -, but behind that place they be-
came more fcarce. On coming to St at en
Ifland, in the province of New York, I
found them very common again, near the
gardens. Here are not fo many varieties of
cherries as there are in Penfylvania. I fel-
dom faw any of the black fweet cherries * at
New York ; but commonly the four red
ones. All travellers are allowed to pluck
ripe fruit in any garden which they pafs by ;
and not even the mod covetous farmer can
hinder them from fo doing. Between New
Brimfwick and Staten I/land, are a few cher-
ry-gardens ; but proportionably more or-
chards, with apple-trees.

June the 6th. Several gentlemen and
merchants, between fifty and iixty years of
age, afferted, that during their life they had
plainly found feveral kinds of fifh decreafe
in number every year; and that they could
not get near fo many fifli now as they could
formerly.

Rum, a brandy prepared from the fugar-
canes, and in great ufe with all the Eng-
lijh North American colonies, is reckoned
much wholefomer than brandy, made from
wine or corn -j-. In confirmation of this

opinion,

* Commonly called Black-heart Cherries.
f That rum is among the fpirituous liquors lefs noxious
thin any one of the reft, is chiefly owing to the balfaraio
Vol. II. P quality

226 June 1749.

opinion, they lay, that if you put a piece
of frefh meat into rum, and another into
brandy, and leave them there for fome
months ; that in the rum will keep as it
was, but that in the brandy will be quite
eaten, and full of holes. But this experi-
ment does not feem a very accurate one to
me. Major Roderfort told me, that being
upon the Canada expedition, he had ob-
ferved, that fuch of his men as drank
brandy for fome time died of it; but thofe
who drank rum were not hurt, though they
got drunk with it every day, and oftener
than the others.

Long-Island is the name of an ifland
oppolite the town of New York, in the fea.
The northern part of the ifland is much
more fertile than the fouthern. Formerly
there lived a number of Indians on this
ifland ; and there are yet fome, which how-
ever decreafe in number every year, becaufe
they leave the ifland. The foil of the
fouthern part of the ifland is very poor ;

but

qualify it gets from the fugnr, which corrects the ftyptic
quality all kinds of brandy and fpirituous liquors have.
The older the rum is, and the longer it has been kept in a
gre;.tca(k, the more is its llypticity corrected. All which
has b.aen lately proved by the cleared experiments, ex-
plained and deducted from themoft indifputable principles
of chymiftry, in a pamphlet written by that able chymiil
Mr. Dojfte. F.

Between New York and Albany. 227

but this deficiency is made up by a vaft
quantity of oyflers, lobfters, crabs, feveral
kinds of fifh, and numbers of water fowl,
all which are there far more abundant
than on the northern mores of the Ifland.
Therefore the Indians formerly chofe the
fouthern part to live in, becaufe they fub-
fifted on oyflers, and other productions
of the fea. When the tide is out, it is
very eafy to fill a whole cart with oyflers,
which have been driven on more by one
flood. The Ifland is Are wed with ovfter-
mells and other fhells, which the Indians
left there ; thefe {hells ferve now for good
manure for the fields. The fouthern part
of the Ifland is turned into meadows, and
the northern part into fields. • The winter
is more conftant on the northern part, and
the fnow in fpring lies longer there than on
the fouthern part. The people are very
fertile here, and commonly tall and ftrong.
"June the 10th. At noon we left New
York, and failed up the river Hudfon, in a
yacht bound for Albany. All this afternoon
we faw a whole fleet of little boats return-
ing from New York, whither they had
brought provifions and other goods for fale,
which on account of the exteniive com-
merce of this town, and the great number
of its inhabitants, go off very well. The

P 2 river

228 June 1749.

river Hud/on runs from North to South
here, except .fome high pieces of land
which fometimes project far into it, and
alter its direction ; its breadth at the mouth
is reckoned about a mile and a quarter.
Some porpeffes played and tumbled in the
river. The eaftern fhore, or the New York
fide, was at firft very fteep and high ; but
the weftern was very floping and covered
with woods. There appeared farm-houfes
on both fides, furrounded with corn-fields.
The ground of which the fteep mores con-
fided was of a pale brick colour, and fome
little rocks of a grey fand-ftone were feen
here and there. About ten or twelve miles
from New York, the weftern fhore appears
quite different from what it was before j
it confifts of fteep mountains with perpen-
dicular fides towards the river, and they
are exactly like the fteep fides of the moun-
tains of Hall and Hunnebarg in Weft Goth-
land. Sometimes a rock projects like the
failiant angle of a baftion : the tops of thefe
mountains are covered with oaks, and other
woods a number of ftones of all fizes lay
along the fhore, having rolled down from
the mountains.

These high and fteep mountains con-
tinue for fome Englijh miles on the weftern
more j but on the eaftern fide the land is

high,

Between New York and Albany. 229

high, and fometimes divernfied with hills
and valleys, which are commonly covered
with deciduous trees, amon^ft which there
appears a farm now and then in a glade.
The hills are covered with ftones in fome
places. About twelve miles from New
York we faw Sturgeons * (Aclpenfer Jlnrio),
leaping up out of the water, and on the
whole pafiage we met with porpeftes in the
river. As we proceeded we found the
eaftern banks of the river very much culti-
vated ; and a number of pretty farms fur-
rounded with orchards and fine corn-fields,
prefented themfelves to our view. About
twenty-two miles from New York, the high
mountains which I have before mentioned
left us, and made as it were a high ridge
here from eaft to weft quite acrofs the coun-
try. This altered the face of the country
on the weftern fhore of the river : from
mountainous, it became interfperfed with
little vallies and round hillocks, which
were fcarce inhabited at all ; but the eaftern
fhore continued to afford us a delightful
profpecl. After failing a little while in
the night, we caft our anchor and lay here

p 3 tin

* The New-York Sturgeons which I faw this year brought
over, had fhort blunt nofes, in which particular they are
different from the Englijb ones, which have long noies. F.

230 jfune 1749.

till the morning, efpecially as the tide was
ebbing with great force.

'June the 1 ith. This morning we con-
tinued our voyage up the river, with the
tide and a faint breeze. We now parTed
the Highland mountains, which were to
the Eaft of us ; they confift of a grey fand-
flone, are very high and pretty fteep, and
covered with deciduous trees, and likewife
with firs and red cedars. The weftern
more was full of rocks, which however did
not come up to the height of the mountains
on the oppcfite more ,* the tops of thefe
eaflern mountains were cut off from our
fight by a thick fog which furrounded
them. The country was unfit for cultiva-
tion, being fo full of rocks, and according-
ly we faw no farms. The diftance from
thefe mountains to New York is computed
at thirty-fix EngHJh miles.

A thick fog now rofe up from the high
mountains. For the fpace of fome Engli/h
miles, we had hills and rocks on the wes-
tern banks of the river ; and a change of
leffer and greatermountains and vallies cover-
ed with young firs, red cedars, and oaks,
on the eaftern iide. The hills clofe to the
river fide are commonly low, but their
height increafes as they are further from the
fiver. Afterwards we faw, for fome miles

together,

Between New York and Albany. 231

together, nothing but high round moun-
tains and valleys, both covered with woods;
the valleys are in reality nothing but low
rocks, and ftand perpendicular towards the
river in many places. The breadth of
the river is fometimes two or three mufket
fhot, but commonly not above one ; every
now and then we faw feyeral kinds of nfli
leaping out of the water. The wind va-
nished away about ten o'clock in the morn-
ing, and forced us to get forwards with our
oars, the tide being almoft fpent. In one
place on the weflern more we faw a wooden
houfe painted red, and we were told, that
there was a faw-mill further up ; but be-
sides this we did not perceive one farm or
any cultivated grounds ail this forenoon.

The water in the river has here no more
a brackifh tafte ; yet I was told that the
tide, efpecially when the wind is South,
fometimes carries the fait water up higher
with it. The colour of the water -was
likewife altered, for it appeared darker here
than before. To account for the nrft
origin of rivers is very difficult, if not
wholly impoffible ; fome rivers may have
come from a great refervoir of water, which
being considerably encreafed by heavy falls
of rain or other circumftances, pailed its
old bounds and flowed to the lower coun-

P 4 tries,

232 June 1749.

tries, through the places where it met with
the lead oppofition. This is perhaps the
reafon why fome rivers run in fo many
bendings equally through fields of foft
earth, as likewife there, where mountains,
rocks, and ftones, divert their paflage. How-
ever it feems that fome rivers derive their
firfr origin from the creation itfelf, and that
Providence then pointed out their courfe ;
for their exiftence can, in all probability,
not be owing to the accidental eruption of
water alone. Among thefe rivers we may
rank the river Hud/on : I was furprifed on
feeing its courfe, and the variety of its fhores.
It takes its rife a good way above Albany %
and defcends to New York, in a direct line
from North to South, which is a diftance
of about a hundred and iixty Englijh miles,
and perhaps more 3 for the little bendings
which it makes are of no fignification. In
many places between New York and Albany*
are ridges of high mountains running Weft
and Baft. But it is remarkable that they
go on undifturbed till they come to the
river Hudjon, which cuts directly acrofs
them, and frequently their fides {land per-
pendicular towards the river. There is an
opening left in the chain of mountains, as
broad as the river commonly is, for it to
pafs through, and the mountains go on as

before,

Between New Tork and Albany, 233

before, on the other fide, in the fame direc-
tion. It is likewife remarkable, that the
river in fuch places where it panes through
the mountains is as deep, and often deeper
than in the other places. The perpendicular
rocks on the fides of the river are furprifing,
and it appears that if no pafiages had been
opened by Providence, for the river to pafs
through, the mountains iri the upper part
of the country would have been inundated,,
fince thefe mountains, like fo many dykes,
would have hindered the water from going
on. Quere, Why does this river go on in a
direct line for fo confiderable a diftance ?
Why do the many pafiages, through which
the river flows acrofs the mountains, ly
under the fame meridian ? Why are water-
falls near fome of thefe paffages, or at lean:
mallow water with a rocky ground ?

We now perceived excefiive high and
fleep mountains on both fides of the river,
which echoed back each found we uttered.
Yet notwithftanding they were fo high and
fteep, they were covered with fmall trees.

The Blue Mountains, which reared their
towering tops above all the other moun-
tains, were now feen before us, towiris
INorth, but at a great diftance.

The country began here to look more
cultivated, and lefs mountainous.

The

234 June 1749.

The laft of the high weflern mountains
is called Butterbill, after which the coun-
try between the mountains grows more fpa-
cious. The farms became very numerous,
and we had a profped: of many corn-fields,
between the hills : before we paued thefe
hills we had the wind in our face, and we
could only get forward by tacking, which
went very flow, as the river was hardly a
mufket-fhot in breadth. Afterwards we
cafl: anchor, becaufe we had both wind and
tide againft us.

Whilst we waited for the return of
tide and the change of wind, we went on
fhore.

Ttie Saffafras-tree (Lawns Sajfqfras)
and the chefnut-tree grows here in great
abundance. I found the tulip-tree (Li-
riodendron tultprfera) in fome parts of the
wood, as likewife the Kahnia latifolia,
which was now in full biolTom ; though
the flowers were already withering.

Some time after noon the wind arofe
from South-well:, which being a fair wind,
we weighed anchor, and continued our
voyage. The place where we lay at anchor,
was juft the end of thofe fteep and amazing
high mountains : their height is very ama-
zing; they coniift of grey rock itone,
and clofe to them, on the more, lay a van:

5 number

Between New York and Albany. 235

number of little flones. As foon as we
had palled thefe mountain the country
became clearer of mountains, and higher.
The river likevvife encreafed in breadth,
fo as to be near an Englifh mile broad.
After failing for fome time, we found no
more mountains along the river ; but on
the eaftern fide goes a high chain of moun-
tains to the nor.th-eaft, whofe fides are co-
vered with woods, up to one half of their
height. The fummits however are quite
barren ; for I fuppole that nothing would
grow there, on account of the great degree
of heat *, drynefs, and the violence of the
wind, to which that part is expofed, The
eaftern fide of the river is much more cul-
tivated than the weftern, where we fel-
dom faw a houfe, the land being covered
with woods, though it is in general very
level. About fifty-fix Englifo miles from
New York the country is not very high ;
yet it is every where covered with woods,
except fome new farms which were fcat-
tered here and there. The high moun-
tains

* Mr. Kalm was certainly miflaken, by thinking the fum-
mits of thefe mountains without wood, on account of the
great degree of heat : for it is a general notion, founded on
experience, that the fun operates not fo much on the tops
of mountains, as in plains or vallies, and the cold often
hinders the increafe of wood on the fummits of high moun-
tains. F.

236 yune 1749.

tains which we left in the afternoon, now
appeared above the woods and the country.
Thefe mountains, which were called the
Highlands, did not project more North than
the other, in the place where we anchored.
Their fides (not thofe towards the river)
were feldom perpendicular, but Hoping, fo
that one could climb up to the top, though
not without difficulty.

On feveral high grounds near the river,
the people burnt lime. The mailer of the
yacht told me, that they break a fine blueifh
grey limeflone in the high grounds, along
both rides of the river, for the fpace of
feme Engiifi miles, and burn lime of it.
But at fome miles diflance there is no more
limeilone, and they find alfo none on the
banks till they come to Albany.

We paffed by a little neck of land,
which projected on the weftern fide in the
river, and was called Dance. The name
of this place is faid to derive its origin
from a feflival which the Dutch ce-
lebrated here in former times, and at
which they danced and diverted them-
felves -, but once there came a number of
Indians, who killed them all.

We call: anchor late at night, becaufe the
wind ceafed and the tide was ebbing. The
depth of the river is twelve fathoms here.

The

Between New York and Albany. 237

The fire-flies pafled the river in num-
bers, at night, and fometimes fettled upon
the rigging.

'June the 12th. This morning we pro-
ceeded with the tide, bnt againft the wind.
The river was here a mufket-fhot broad.
The country in general is low on both
fides, confining of low rocks, and flony
fields, which are however covered with
woods. It is fo rocky, ftony, and poor,
that nobody can fettle in it, or inhabit it,
there being no fpot of ground fit for a
corn-field. The country continued to have
the fame appearance for the fpace of fome
miles, and we never perceived one fettle-
ment. At eleven o'clock this morning
we came to a little ifland, which lies in
the middle of the river, and is faid to be
half-way between New York and Albany,
The fhores are flill low, ftony, and
rocky, as before. But at a greater diffance
we faw high mountains, covered with
woods, chiefly on the weftern more, railing
their tops above the reft of the country ;
and (till further off, the Blue Mountains
rofe up above them. Towards noon it was
quite calm, and we went on very flow.
Here, the land is well cultivated, efpecial-
ly on the eaftern more, and full of great
corn-fields ; yet the foil feemed fandy.

Several

23 8 June 1749.

Several villages lay on the eaflern fide,
and one of them, called Strajburg, was
inhabited by a number of Germans. To the
Weft we faw feveral cultivated places. The
Blue Mountains are very plainly to be feen
here. They appear through the clouds,
and tower above all other mountains. The
river is full an Unglijlo mile broad oppofite
Strajburg.

They make ufe of a yellow Agaricus,
or mufhroom, which grows on maple-
trees, for tinder ; that which is found on
the red-flowering maple (Acer rubrum) is
reckoned the beft, and next in goodnefs is
that of the Sugar-maple ( Acer faccarinum) ',
which is fometimes reckoned as good as
the former.

Rhinbeck is a place at fome diftance
from Strajburgh, further off from the ri-
ver. It is inhabited by many Germans, who
have a church there. Their clergyman at
prefent was the Rev. Mr. Hart wig, who
knew fome Sicedi/fr, having been at Gothen-
burg for fome time. This little town is
not vifible from the river-fide.

At two in the afternoon it began again
to blow from the fouth, which enabled us
to proceed. The country on the eaflern
fide is high, and con lifts of a well culti-
vated foil. We had fine corn-fields, pret-
ty

Between New York and Albany. 239

ty farms, and good orchards, in view. The
weftern fhore is likewiie fomewhat high,
but (till covered with woods, and we now
and then, though feldom, law one or two
little fettlements. The river is above an
Englifh mile broad in moft places, and
comes in a ftrait line from the North, fo
that we could not fometimes follow it with
our eye.

June the 13th. The wind favoured
our voyage during the whole night, fo that
I had no opportunity of obferving the na-
ture of the country. This morning at five
o'clock we were but nine Englifh miles
from Albany. The country on both fides
the river is low, and covered with woods,
excepting a few little fcattered fettlements.
Under the higher fhores of the river are
wet meadows, covered with fword-grafs
(Car ex), and they formed feveral little
iflands. We faw no mountains ; and haf-
tened towards Albany. The land on. both
fides of the river is chiefly low, and more
carefully cultivated as we came nearer to
Albany.

As to the houfes, which we faw, fome
were of wood, others of flone. The river
is feldom above a mufket-fhot broad, and
in feveral parts of it are fands, which
require great experience for governing the

vachts.

24<5

"June 1749.

yachts. At eight o'clock in the morning
we arrived at Albany.

All tre yachts which ply between Al-
bany and New York, belong to Albany.
They go up and down the river Hudfon, as
long as it is open and free from ice They
bring from Albany boards or planks, and
all forts of timber, flour, peafe, and furs,
which they get from the Indians, or which
are fmuggled from the French, They
come home almoft. empty, and only bring a
few merchandizes with them, among which
rum is the chief. This laft is abfolutely
neceffary to the inhabitants of Albany >
they cheat the Indians in the fur trade with
it ; for when the Indians are drunk, they
will leave it to the Albanians to fix the price
of the furs. The yachts are pretty large,
and have a good cabbin, in which the paf-
fengers can be very commodioufly lodged.
They are commonly built of red Ce-
dar, or of white Oak. Frequently, the
bottom confifts of white oak, and the
fides of red cedar, becaufe the latter with-
Hands putrefaction much longer than the
former. The red cedar is likewife apt to
fplit, when it hits againft any thing, and
the river Hudfon is in many parts tull of
fands and rocks, againft which the keel
of the yacht fometimes hits ; therefore

they

Albany. ?.\\

they choofe white oak for the bottom, as
being the fofter wood, and not fplitting fo
eafily : and the bottom being continually
under water, is not lb much expofed to
putrefaction, and holds out longer.

The Canoes which the yachts have
along with them, are made of a fingle
piece of wood, hollowed out ; they are
fharp on both ends, frequently three or
four fathoms long, and as broad as the
thicknefs of the wood will allow. The
people in it do not row fitting, but com-
monly a fellow ftands at each end, with a
fhort oar in his hand, with which he go-
verns and brings the canoe forwards.
Thofe which are made here at Albany, are
commonly of the white Pine ; they can do
fervice for eight or twelve years, efpecially
if they be tarred and painted. At Albany
they make them of the white pine, fince
there is no other wood fit for them ; at
New York they are made of the tulip-tree,
and in other parts they are made of red
or white cedars : but both thefe frees are
fo fmall, in the neighbourhood of Albany,
that they are unfit for canoes ; there are no
feats in the canoes, lor if they had any,
they would be more liable to be overfet, as
one could not keep the equilibrium fo welL

Vol. II. Q^ Battoes

242 June 1749.

Bat toes * are another kind of boats,
which are much in ufe in Albany : they are
made of boards of white pine ; the bot-
tom is flat, that they may row the better
in mallow water ; they are {harp at both
ends, and fomewhat higher towards the
end than in the middle. They have feats
in them, and are rowed as common boats.
They are long, yet not all alike, common-
ly three, and fometimes four fathoms long.
The height from the bottom to the top of
the board (for the fides ftand almoft per-
pendicular) is from twenty inches to two
feet, and the breadth in the middle about
a yard and fix inches. They are chiefly
made ufe of for carrying goods, by means
of the rivers, to the Indians ; that is, when
thofe rivers are open enough for the battoes
to pafs through, and when they need not
be carried by land a great way. The boats
made of the bark of trees, break eafily by
knocking againft a flone, and the canoes
cannot carry a great cargo, and are eafily
overfet ; the battoes are therefore prefer-
able to them both. I- faw no boats here
Jike thofe in Sweden, and other parts of
Europe.

The froft does frequently a great deal of

damage

• From the French Bateaux (Beats).

Albany* 243

damage at Albany. There is hardly a
month infummer during which a froft does
not happen. The fpring comes very late,
and in April and May are numerous cold
nights, which frequently kill the flowers of
trees and kitchen-herbs. It was feared
that the bloiToms of the apple-trees had
been fo feverely damaged by the froft,
laft May, that next autumn there would
be but very few apples. The oak-blof-
foms are very often killed by the froft in
the woods. The autumn here is of long
continuance, with warm days and nights.
However, the cold nights commonly com-
mence towards the end of September, and
are frequent in October. The people are
forced to keep their cattle in ftables, from
the middle of November, till March or
April, and muft find them hay during that
time *.

During fummer, the wind blows com-
monly from the South, and brirrgs a great
drought along with it. Sometimes it rains
a little, and as foon as it has rained the
wind veers to North Weft, blowing for
feveral days from that point* and then re-
turning to the South. I have had fre-

Qj2 quent

* The reader muft reckon all this according to the old
ilile.

244 Jum I749-

quent opportunities of feeing this change
of wind happen very exactly, both this
year and the following.

June the 15th. The enclofures were
made of boards of fir-wood, of which
there is abundance in the extenfive woods,
and many faw-mills to cut it into boards.

The feveral forts of apple-trees grow
very well here, and bear as fine fruit as
in any other part of North America. Each
farm has a large orchard. They have
fome apples here, which are very large,
and very palatable ; they are fent to New
Tork, and other places as a rarity. They
make excellent cyder, in autumn, in the
country round Albany.

All the kinds of cherry-trees, which
have been planted here, fucceed very well.

Pear-trees do not fucceed here.
This was complained of in many other
parts of North America. But I fear that
they do not tike furhcient care in the ma-
nagement and planting of them ; for I have
{eea fine pears in feveral parts of North
America.

Peach-trees have often been planted
here, and never would fucceed well. This
was attributed to a worm which lives in
the ground, and eats through the root, fo

that

Albany. 245

that the tree dies. Perhaps the feverity of
the winter contributes much to it.

They plant no other fruit-trees at Al-
bany befides thefe I have mentioned.

They fow as much hemp and flax here,
as they want for home consumption.

They fow maize in great abundance : A
loofe foil is reckoned the beft for this pur-
pofe ; for it will not grow in clay. From
half a bumel they reap a hundred bumels.
They reckon maize a very good kind of
corn, becaufe the {hoot recovers after be-
ing hurt by the froft. They have had ex-
amples here of the moots dying twice in
fpring, to the very ground, and yet they
mot up again afterwards, and afforded an
excellent crop. Maize has likewife the ad-
vantage of {landing much longer againfr. a
drought, than wheat. The larger fort of
maize which is commonly fown here,
ripens in September.

They fow wheat in the neighbourhood
of Albany, with great advantage. From
one bufhel they get twelve fometimes ; if
the foil be good, they get twenty bufhels.
If their crop amounts only to ten bumels
from one, they think it very trifling. The
inhabitants of the country round Alba?2y,
are Dutch and Germans. The Germans
live in feveral great villages, and fow great

Q^3 quantities

2L46 J'me I74&

quantities of wheat, which is brought to
Albany ; and from thence they fend many
yachts laden with flour to New York.
The wheat-flour from Albany is reckoned
the befl: in all North America, except that
from Sopus cr Kings Town, a place between
Albany and New Tork. All the bread in
Albany is made of wheat. At New Tork
they pay the Albany flour with feveral
{hillings more per hundred weight, than
that from other places.

Rye is likewife fown here, but not fo
generally as wheat.

They do not fow much barley here, be-
cauie they do not reckon the profits very
great. Wheat is fo plentiful that they make
malt of it. In the neighbourhood of New
Tork, I faw great fields fo*:vn with barley.

They do not fow more oats than are ne-
ceflary for their horfes.

The Dutch and Germans who live here-
abouts, fow peafe in great abundance ; they
fucceed very well, and are annually carried
to New Tork, in great quantities. They
have been free from infe&s for a confider-
able time. But of late years the fame
beetles which deflroy the peafe in Penfyl-
vania, New Jcrfey, and the lower parts of
the province of New Tork *, have likewife

appeared
1 1 have mentioned them before. See vol. i. p. i y6^ 1 77*

Albany. 247

appeared abundant among the peafe here.
It is a real lofs to this town, and to the
other parts of North A?nerica, which ufed
to get peafe from hence for their own
confumption, and that of their failors. It
had been found that if they procured good
peafe from Albany, and fowed them near
Kings Town, or the lower part of the pro-
vince of New Tork, they fucceeded very
well the firil year, but were fo full of
worms the fecond, and following years,
that nobody could or would eat them.
Some people put ames into the pot, among
the peafe, when they will not boil, or
foften well ; but whether this is wholefome
and agreeable to the palate, I do not know.

Potatoes are generally planted. Some
people preferred aihes . to fand for keeping
them in during winter.

The Bermuda Potatoes (Convolvulus Ba-
tatas) have likewife been planted here, and
fucceed pretty well. The greater!: diffi-
culty is to keep them during winter ; for
they generally rot in thatfeafon.

The Humming-bird fTrocbilus Colubris)
comes to this place fometimes -, but is ra-
ther a fcarce bird.

The mingles with which the houfes are
covered are made of the White Pine, which

Q_4 is

I

June 1749,

js reckoned as pood and as durable, anifome-r
times better, than the White Cedar (Cu-*
preff'us tln-oidesj. The White Fine is found
abundant here, in fuch places where com-
mon pines grow in Europe* I have never
fecn them in the lower parts of the province
of New York, nor in New Jerfey and Pen-
Jylvama. They faw a vaft quantity of deal
'from the White Pine on this fide of Albany '4
which are brought down to New York, and
from thence exported.

The woods abound with vines, which
likewife grow on the fteep banks of the
river in furprifing quantities. They climbed
to the tops of trees on the bank, and bent
them by their weight- But where they
found no trees, they hung down along the
fleep mores, and covered them entirely.
The grapes are eaten after the frofl has atr
tacked them ; for they are too four before.
They are not much ufed any other way.

The vaft woods and uninhabited grounds,
between Albany and Canada, contain im-
menfe fwarrns of gnats, which annoy the
^travellers. To be in fome meafure fecured
againft thefe in feels fome befmear their face
with butter or greafe ; for the gnats do not
)ike to fettle on greafy places. The great
heat makes boots very uneafy ; but to pre-
vent the gnats from flinging the legs, they
v/rap fome paper round them, under the

(lockings.

Albany. 249

(lockings. Some travellers wear caps which
cover the whole face, and have fome gauze
before the eyes. At night they lie in tents,
if they can carry any with them ; and make
a great fire at the entrance, by the fmoke of
which the gnats are driven away.

The porpeffes feldom go higher up the
river Hud fan than the fait water goes ; after
that, the fturgeons fill their place. It has
however fometimes happened, that por-
peffes have gone quite up to Albany.

There is a report, that a whale once
came up the river quite to this town.

The Fireflies (harapyris) which are the
fame that are fo common in Penfyhania
during fummer, are feen here in abundance
every night. They fly up and down in the
ftreets of this town. They come into, the
houfes, if the doors and windows are open.

Several of the Penfjlvanian trees are
not to be met with in thefe woods ; viz.

Magnolia plane a* the Beaver-tree.

Nyffa aquatica, the Tupelo-tree.

Liquidambar jyracifiaa, the Sweet-gum
tree.

Diofpjrcs Virginlana, the Per/lmon.

Lirioclendron tulipiferd, the 'Tulip-tree*

cJuglansnigra> the black Walnut -tree,

^ucrcus — , the Swamp Oak.

Cercis Cavade-'jis, the ba lad-tree.

Robinia pfeudacacia, the Locuft-tree.

Glcditfia

2$t>

June 174-g.

Gleditfia triacanthos, the Honey -locuft tree,

Annona muricata, the Papaw-tree.

Celtis occidentalism the Nettle-tree. And
a number of fhrubs, which are never found
here.

The more northerly fituation of the
place, the height of the Blue Mountains ,
and the courfe of the rivers, which flow
here fouthward into thefea, and according-
ly carry the feeds of plants from north to
fbuth, and not the contrary way, are chiefly
the caufes that feveral plants which grow in
Pen/jlvania cannot be found here.

This afternoon I went to fee an ifland
which lies in the middle of the river, about
a mile below the town. This ifland is an
Engli/h mile long, and not above a quarter
of a mile broad. It is almoft. entirely turn-
ed into corn-fields ; and is inhabited by a
fingle planter, who, befides pofleffing this
ifland, is the owner of two more. Here
we faw no woods, exxept a few trees which
were left round the ifland on the more, and
formed as it were a tall and great hedge.
The Red Maple (Acer rubrum) grows in
abundance in feveral places. Its leaves
are white or filvery on the under fides,
and, when agitated by the wind, they
make the tree appear as if it was full of
white flowers. The Water-beech (Plat anus
Occident alis ) grows to a great height, and is

one

Albany, 251

one of the mod fhady trees here. The
Water-poplar* is the mod common tree
hereabouts, grows exceedingly well on the
Chores of the river, and is as tall as the tall-
eft of our afps. In fummer it affords the
beft fhade for men and cattle againft the
fcorching heat. On the banks of rivers and
lakes it is one of the mod: ufeful trees, be-
caufe it holds the foil by its extenlive
branched roots, and prevents the water from
warning it away The Water-beech and
the Elm- tree (XJlmus) ferve the faiue pur-
pofe. The wild Prune-trees were plentiful
here, and were full of unripe fruit. Its
wood is not made ufe of ; but its fruit is
eaten. Sumach (Rhus glabra) is plentiful
here ; as alfo the wild vines, which climb
up the trees, and creep along the high fhores
of the river. I was told, that the grapes
ripen very late, though they were already
pretty large.

The American Elm-tree fUItmts Ameri-
cana) formed feveral high hedges. The
foil of this ifland is a rich mould, mixed
with fand, which is chiefly employed in
maize plantations. There were likewife
large fields of potatoes. The whole ifland

was

* Popuius glandulis variis baft foliorum adnexis, foliis cor da-
to-deltoidibus, acuininatis% ferrato-anguloJisy utrinque glabris,
r— An Popuius heterophylla Lin nasi I

252 June 1749.

was leafed for one hundred pounds of New
Tork currency. The perfon who had taken
the leafe, again let fome greater and fome
fmallerlots of ground, to the inhabitants of
Albany, for making kitchen-gardens of;
and by that means reimburfed himfelf.
Portulack fPortulaca oleracea) grows fpon-
taneoufly here in great abundance, and
lcoks very well.

June the 20th. The tide in the river
Hudfon goes about eight or ten Englijh miles
above Albany, and confequently runs one
hundred and fifty-fix E?iglijh miles from
the fea. In fpring, when the fnow melts,
there is hardly any flowing near this town ;
for the great quantity of water which comes
from the mountains during that feafon, oc-
cafions a continual ebbing. This likewife
happens after heavy rains.

The cold is generally reckoned very fe-
vere here. The ice in the river Hudfon is
commonly three or four feet thick. On

J

the 3d of April fome of the inhabitants
croffed the river with fix pair of horfes.
The ice commonly dirTolves about the end
of March, or beginning of April. Great
pieces of ice come down about that time,
which fometimes carry with them the
houfes that ftand clofe to the fhore. The
water is very high at that time in the

riven

Albany. 253

river, becaufe the ice flops fometimes, and
flicks in places where the river is narrow.
The water has been often obferved to rife
three fathom higher than it commonly is in
fummer. The ground is frozen here in
winter to the depth of three, four, or five
feet. On the 16th of November the yachts
are put up, and about the beginning or
middle of April they are in motion again.
They are unacquainted with ftoves ; and
their chimnies are fo wide that one could
drive through them with a cart and horfes.

The water of feveral wells in this town
was very cool about this time ; but had a
kind of acid tafte, which was not very agree-
able. On a nearer examination, I found
an abundance of little infects in it, which
were probably Monoculi, Their length was
different ; fome were a geometrical line and
an half, others two, and others four lines
long. They were very narrow, and of a
pale colour. The head was blacker and
thicker than the other parts of the body, and
about the fize of a pin's head. The tail
was divided into two branches, and each
branch terminated in a little black "lobule.

O

When thefe infects fwim, they proceed in
crooked or undulated lines, almoftlike Tad-

Co/es. I poured fome of this water into a
owl, and put near a fourth part of rum to

it.

254 Jm* J749-

it. The Monoculi, inftead of being affected
with it, fwam about as brifkly as they had
done in the water. This {hews, that if one
makes punch with this water, it muffc
be very ftrong to kill the Monoculi. I
think this water is not very wholefome for
people who are not ufed to it, though the
inhabitants of Albany, who drink it every
day, fay, they do not feel the leaft. inconve-
nience from it. I have been feveral times
obliged to drink water here, in which I
have plainly feen Monoculi fwimming ; but
I generally felt the next day fomewhat like
a pea in my throat, or as if i had a fwelling
there ; and this continued for above a week.
I felt fuch fwellings this year, both at Al"
lany and in other parts. My fervant, Tung-
Jlroem^ likewife got a great pain in his bread,
and a fenfation as from a fwelling, after
drinking water with Monoculi in it : but
whether thefe infe&s occaiioned it, or whe-
ther it came from fome other caufe, I can-
not afcertain. However, I have always
endeavoured, as much as pomble, to do
without fuch water as had Monoculi in it.
I have found Monoculi in very cold water,
taken from the deepen: wells, in different
parts of this country. Perhaps many of
our difeafes arife from waters of this kind,
which we do not fufficiently examine. I have

frequently

Albany. 255

frequently obferved abundance of minute in-
fects in water, which has been remarkable for
its clearnefs. Almoft. each houfe in Albany has
its well, the water of which is applied to com-
mon ufe ; but for tea, brewing, and warn-
ing, they commonly take the water of the
river Hudfon, which flows clofe by the
town. This water is generally quite mud-
dy, and very warm in fummer ; and, on that
account, it is kept in cellars, in order that
the flime may fubfide, and that the water
may cool a little.

We lodged with a gunfmith, who told
us, that the beft. charcoals for the forge
were made of the Black Pine. The next
in goodnefs, in his opinion, were charcoals,
made of the Beech-tree.

The beft and deareft flocks for his muf-
kets were made of the wood of the wild
Cherry-tree ; and next to thefe he valued
thofe of the Red Maple mod. They fcarce
make ufe of any other wood for this purpofe.
The black Walnut-tree affords excellent
wood for ftocks ; but it does not grow in
the neighbourhood of Albany.

June the 21ft. Next to the town of New
York, Albany is the principal town, or at
leaft the moft wealthy, in the province' of
New Tork. It is fituated on the declivity
of a hill, clofe to the weflern more of the

river

2c6

June 1749.

river Hudfm, about one hundred and forty-
fix EngliJJj miles from New York. The
town extends along the river, which flows
here from N. N. E. to S. S. W. The
high mountains in the weft, above the
town, bound the profpec~t on that fide.
There are two churches in Albany, anEnglifi
one and a Dutch one. The Dutch church
Hands at fome diftance from the river, on
the eaft lide of the market. It is built of
ltone; and in the middle ithas afmallfteeple,
with a bell. It has but one minifter, who
preaches twice every Sunday. The Englifh
church is lituated on the hill, at the wed:
end of the market, directly under the fort.
It is likewiie built of ftone, but hasnoftee-
ple. There was no fervice at this church at
this time, becaufe they had no minifter ;
and all the people understood Dutch, the
garrifon excepted. The minifter of this
church has a fettled income of one hundred
pounds fterling, which he gets from Eng-
land* The town-hall lies to the fouthward
of the Dutch church, clofe by the river fide.
It is a fine building of ftone, three ftories
high. It has a fmall tower or fteeple, with
a bell, and a gilt ball and vane at the top
of it.

The houfes in this town are very neat, and
partly built with Hones covered with min-
gles

Albany. 257

gles of the White Pine, Some are Hated with
tiles from Holland, becaufe the clay of this
neighbourhood is not reckoned fit for tiles.
Moft of the houfes are built in the old way,
with the gable- end towards the ftreet ; a few
excepted, which were lately built in the
manner now ufed. A great number of houfes
were built like thofe of New Brunfwick,
which I have defcribed * ; the gable-end
being built, towards the flreet, of bricks,
and all the other walls of planks. The
outfide of the houfes is never covered with
lime or mortar, nor have I feen it pradtifed
in any North- American towns which I have
vifited; and the walls do not feem to be
damaged by the air. The gutters on the
roofs reach almoft to the middle of the
ftreet. This preferves the walls from being
damaged by the rain ; but is extremely
difagreeable in rainy weather for the people
in the ftreets, there being hardly any means
of avoiding the water from the gutters.
The ftreet-doors are generally in the mid-
dle of the houfes ; and on both fides are
feats, on which, during fair weather, the
people fpend almoft the whole day, efpe-
cially on thofe which are in the ihadow of
the houfes. In the evening thefe feats are
Covered with people of both fexes ; but this
Vol, II. R is

• See Vol. I. p. 228, &c.

258 June 1749.

is rather troublefome, as thofe who pafs by
are obliged to greet every body, unlefs they
will mock the politenefs of the inhabitants
of this town. The ftreets are broad, and
fome of them are paved ; in fome parts they
are lined with trees ; the long ftreets are
almoft parallel to the river, and the others
interfecl: them at right angles. The ftreet
which goes between the two churches, is
five times broader than the others, and
ferves as a market-place. The ftreets upon
the whole are very dirty, becaufe the peo-
ple leave their cattle in them, during the
fummer nights. There are two market-
places in the town, to which the country
people refort twice a week.

The fort lies higher than any other
building, on a high fteep hill on the weft
fide of the town. It is a great building of
ftone, furrounded with high and thick
walls ; its fituation is very bad, as it can
only ferve to keep off plundering parties,
without being able to fuftain a fiege. There
are numerous high hills to the weft of the
fort, which command it, and from whence
one may fee all that is done within it.
There is commonly an officer and a num-
ber of foldiers quartered in it. They fay the
fort contains a fpring of water.

The fituation of Albany is very advan-
tageous

Albany. 259

tageous in regard to trade. The river Hud-
fon, which flows clofe by it, is from twelve
to twenty feet deep. There is not yet any
quay made for the better lading of the
yachts, becaufe the people feared it would
fuffer greatly, or be entirely carried away in
fpring by the ice, which then comes down
the river ; the verfels which are in ufe here,
may come pretty near the more in order to
be laden, and heavy goods are brought to
them upon canoes tied together. Albany
carries on a confiderable commerce with
New Torky chiefly in furs, boards, wheat,
flour, peafe, feveral kinds of timber, &c.
There is not a place in all the Britift colo-
nies, the Hudfon's Bay fettlemehts excepted,
where fuch quantities of furs and fkins are
bought of the Indians, as at Albany. Mo/1
bf the merchants in this town fend a clerk
or agent to Ofwego, an Rnglifi trading town
upon the lake Ontario, to which the Indians
reibrt with their furs. I intend to give a
more minute account of this place in my
Journal for the year 17^0. The merchants
from Albany fpend the whole fummer at
Ofwego, and trade with many tribes of In-
dians who come to them with their goons.
Many people have allured me, that the In-
dians are frequently cheated in difpoiing of
their goods, efpecially when they are in

R 2 liquor,

260 June 1749.

liquor, and that fometimes they do not get
one half or even one tenth of the value of
their goods. I have been a witnefs to feve-
ral traniaclions of this kind. The mer-
chants of Albany glory in thefe tricks, and
are highly pleafed when they have given a
poor Indian a greater portion of brandy than
he can bear, and when they can after that
get all his goods for mere trifles. The In-
dians often find when they are fober again,
that they have been cheated, they grumble
fomewhat, but are foon fatisfied when they
reflect that they have for once drank as
much as they are able, of a liquor which
they value beyond any thing elfe in the whole
world, and they are quite infeniible to their
lofs, if they again get a draught of this nec-
tar. Befides this trade at OJkvego, a num-
ber of Indians come to Albany from feveral
parts, efpecially from Canada ; but from
this latter place, they hardly bring any
thing but beaver-fkins. There is a great
penalty in Canada for carrying furs to the
Englifh, that trade belonging to the French
Weft India Company ; notwithstanding
which the French merchants in Canada
carry on a considerable fmuggling trade.
They fend their furs, by means of the hi*
dians, to their correspondents at Albany,
who purchafe it at the price which they

faavA

Albany, 261

have fixed upon with the French merchants.
The Indians take in return feveral kinds of
cloth, and other goods, which may be got
here at a lower rate than thoie which arc
fent to Canada from France.

The greater part of the merchants at
Albany have extenfive eftates in the coun-
try, and a great deal of wood. If their
eftates have a little brook, they do not fail
to erecl: a faw-mill upon it for fawing
boards and planks, with which commodity
many yachts go during the whole fummer
to New York, having fcarce any other lad-
ing than boards.

Many people at Albany make the wam-
pum of the Indians, which is their orna-
ment and their money, by grinding fome
kinds of (hells and mufcles ; this is a con-
fiderable profit to the inhabitants. I fhall
fpeak of this kind of money in the fequel.
The extenfive trade which the inhabitants of
Albany carry on, and their fparing manner of
life, in the Dutch way, contribute to the con-
fiderable wealth which many of them acquire.

The inhabitants of Albany and its en-
virons are almofl all Dutchmen. They
fpeak Dutch, have Dutch preachers, and
divine fervice is performed in that language :
their manners are likewife quite Dutch ;
their drefs is however like that of the
JLngliJh. It is well known that the firft

R 3 Europeans

262 June- 1749.

'Europeans who fettled in the province of
New Tork were Dutchmen. During the
time that they were the mafters of this
province, they poffeiTed themfelves of New.
Sweden*, of which they were jealous. How-?
ever the pleafure of pofTeffing this conquered
land and their own, was but of fhort dura-
tion ; for towards the end of 1664, Sir Robert
Carre, by order of King Charles the fecond,
went to New York, then New Amjlerdam,
and took it. Soon after Colonel Nichols
went to Albany, which then bore the name
of Fort Orange, and upon taking it,
named it Albany, from the Duke of York's
Scotch title. The Dutch inhabitants were
allowed either to continue where they were,
and, under the protection of the Englijh, to
enjoy all their former privileges, or to leave
the country. The greater part of them
chofe to flay, and from them the Dutch-
pien are defcended, who now live in the
province of New York, and who poffefs the
greateft and beft eltates in that province.

The avarice and felnfhnefs of the inha-
bitants of Albany are very well known
throughout all North America, by the Eng-
lijh, by the French, and even by the Dutch,
in the lower part of New York province.
If a Jew, who underftands the art of getting

forward

* New Jerfey and part of Penjylvania were formerly
comprized under this name.

Albany. 263

forward perfectly well, mould fettle amongft
them, they would not fail to ruin him.
For this reafon nobody comes to this place
without the moft preffing neceffity; and
therefore I was aiked in fevcral places, what
induced me to go to it, two years one after
another. I likewife found that the judg-
ment, which people formed of them, was
not without foundation. For though they
feldom fee any ftrangers, (except thofe who
go from the Britifli colonies to Canada and
back again) and one might therefore ex-
pect to find victuals and accommodation
for travellers cheaper than in places, where
travellers always refort to ; yet I experienc-
ed the contrary. I was here obliged to pay
for every thing twice, thrice, and four times
as dear as in any part of North America
which I have paffed through. If I wanted
their afMance, I was obliged to pay them
very well for it, and when 1 wanted to pur-
chafe any thing, or to be helped in fome
cafe or other, I could prefently fee what
kind of blood ran in their veins; for they
either fixed exorbitant prices for their fer-
vices, or were very backward to affift me.
Such was this people in general. How-
ever, there were fome amongft them who
equalled any in JSiorth America, or any
where elfe, in politenefs, equity, goodnefs,

R 4 and

264

June 1749.

and readinefs to ferve and to oblige ; but
their number fell far fhort of that of the
former. If I may be allowed to declare
my conjectures, the origin of the inhabi-
tants of Albany and its neighbourhood leems
to me to be as follows. Whilft the Dutch
pofTeffed this country, and intended to peo-
ple it, the government took up a pack of
vagabonds, of which they intended to clear
the country, and fent them along with a
number of other fettlers to this province.
The vagabonds were fent far from the other
colonifts, upon the borders towards the
Indians and other enemies, and a few honed
families were perfuaded to go with them,
in order to keep them in bounds. I can-
not any other way account for the difference
between the inhabitants of Albany, and the
other defcendants of fo refpe&able a nation
as the Dtutch, who are fettled in the lower
part of New York province. The latter are
civil, obliging, juft in the prices, and
fincere ; and though they are not ceremo-
nious, yet they are well meaning and honeft,
and their promifes are to be relied on.

The behaviour of the inhabitants of Al-
bany, during the war between England and
France, which was ended with the peace
pf Aix la Chapelle, has, among feveral
other caufes, contributed to make them

the

Albany. 26

S

the object of hatred In all the Britijh co*
lonies, but more efpecially in New England.
For at the beginning of that war, when
the Indians of both parties had received
orders to commence hoftilities, the French
engaged theirs to attack the inhabitants of
New England ; which they faithfully exe-
cuted, killing every body they met with,
and carrying off whatever they found.
During this time the people of Albany re-
mained neutral, and carried on a great
trade with the very Indians who murdered
the inhabitants of New England. The
plate, fuch as filver fpoons, bowls, cups,
&c. of which the Indians robbed the
houfes in New England, was carried to Al-
bany, for fale. The people of that town
bought up thefe fjlver veifels, though the
names of the owners were graved on
many of them, and encouraged the In-
dians to get more of them, promifing
to pay them well, and whatever they
would demand. This was afterwards
interpreted by the inhabitants of New
England, as if the Albanians encouraged
the Indians to kill more of the peo-
ple, who were in a manner their bro-
thers, and who were fubjects of the fame
crown. Upon the firffc news of this be-
haviour, which the Indians themfelves

fpread

266 June iy^.g.

fpread in New England, the inhabitants of
the latter province were greatly incenfed,
and threatened, that the firfr. ftep they
would take in another war, would be to
burn Albany, and the adjacent parts. In
the prefent war it will fufficiently -appear
how backward the other Britilh provinces
in America are in afti fling Albany, and the
neighbouring places, in cafe of an attack
from the French or Indians *. The hatred
which the Englijh bear again ft the peo-
ple, at Albany, is very great, but that of
the Albanians again ft the Englijh is carried
to a ten times higher degree. Tnis
hatred has fublifted ever fince the time
when the Engli/h conquered this country,
and is not yet extinguifhed, though they
could never have got fuch advantages un-
der the Dutch government, as they have
obtained under that of the Englijh. For in
a manner, their privileges are greater than
thofe of Englifhmen.

The inhabitants of Albany are much
more fparing than the Eriglifl?. The meat
which is ferved up is often infufficient to
fatisfv the ftomach, and the bowl does not

cir-

* Mr. Kaha publiflied his third volume juft during the
time of the I9.il war. F.

Albany. 267

circulate fo freely as amongft the Engli/h.
The women are pn-fedtly well acquainted
with ceconomy ; they rife early, go to fleep
very late, and are almoft over nice and
cleanly, in regard to the floor, which is
frequently fcoured feveral times in the
week. The fervants in the town are chief! v
negroes. Some of the inhabitants wear
their own hair, but it is very fhort, with-
out a bag or queue, which are looked
upon as the characleriftics of Frenchmen ;
and as I wore my hair in a bag the firffc
day I came here from Canada, I was fur-
rounded with children, who called me
Frenchman, and fome of the boldeft of-
fered to pull at my French drefs.

Their meat, and manner of drefling it,
is very different from that of the Englt/h:
Their breakfifl is tea, commonly without
milk. About thirty or forty years ago,
tea was unknown to them, and they break-
faded either upon bread and butter, or.
bread and milk. They never putfugar in-
to the cup, but tike a fmill bit of it into
their mouths whilft they drink. Along
with the tea they eat bread and butter,
with dices of hung beef. Coffee is not
ufual here ; they breakfaft generally abou'i
feven. Their dinner is butter-milk, and
bread, to which they fometimes add fugar,

then

268

June 1 7 '49.

then it is a delicious difh for them ; or
frem milk and bread ; or boiled or roafted
fiem. They fometimes make ufe of but-r
ter-milk inftead of frefh milk, to boil a thin
kind of porridge with, which taites very-
four, but not difagreeable in hot weather.
To each dinner they have a great fallad,
prepared with abundance of vinegar, and
very little or no oil. They frequently eat
butter-milk, bread, and faliad, one mouth-
ful after another. Their fupper is generally
bread and butter, and milk and bread. They
fometimes eat cheefe at breakfaft, and at
dinner ; it is not in flices, but fcraped or
rafped, fo as to refemble coarfe flour,
which they pretend adds to the good tafte
of cheefe. They commonly drink very
fmall beer, or pure water.

The governor of New Tork often confers
at Albany y with the Indians of the Five Na-
tions, or the Iroquefe, (Mohawks, Senekas^
Cayugaws, Oncndagoes, and Onidoes) efpe-
cially when they intend either to make
war upon, or to continue a war againft.
the French. Sometimes their deliberations
likewife turn upon their converlion to the
chriftian religion, and it appears by the an-
fwer of one of the Indian chiefs, or Sa-
chems, to governor Hunter, at a conference
in this town, that the Englijb do not pay

fq

Albany, 269

fo much attention to a work of fo much
confequence, as the French do, and that
they do not fend fuch able men to inftruct
the Indians, as they ought to do *. For
after governor Hunter had prefented thefe
Indians, by order of Queen Anne, with
many clothes, and other prefents, of which
they were fond, he intended to convince
thetn ftill more of her Majefty's good-will,
and care for them, by adding, that their
good mother, the Queen, had not only gene-
roujly provided them with fine clothes for
their bodies, but like-wife intended to adorn

their

* Mr. Kahn is, I believe, not right informed. The
French ecclefiaftics have allured fome few wretched Indian:
to their religion and intereft, and fettled them in fmall vil-
lages ; but by the accounts of their behaviour, in the fevc-
ral wars of the French and Englijh, they were always guilty
of the greateft cruelties and brutalities ; and more fo than
their heathen countrymen ; and therefore it feems that they
have been rather perverted than converted. On the other
hand, the Englijh have tranflated the bible into the lan-
guage of the Firginian Indians, and converted many of
them to the true knowledge of God ; and at this prefenr.
time, the Indian charity fchools, and miflions, conducted
by the Rev. Mr. Eieazar Wbeelock, have brought numbers
of the Indians to the knowledge of the true God. The Co-
ciety for propagating the gofpel in foreign parts, fends
every year many miffionaries, at their own expence, among
the Indians. And the Moravian Brethren are alfo very
aftive in the converfion of Gentiles ; fo that if Mr. Kalm
had confidered all thefe circumllances, he would have
judged otherwife of the zeal of the Britijb natioc, in pro-
pagating the gofpel among the Indians. F.

270

"June 1749.

their fouls, by the preaching of tie go/pel ;
and that to this purpofe fome mini/icrsfoculd
be ftnt to them, to wftruB them. The go-
vernor had fcarce ended, when one of the
old eft Sachems got up, and anfwered, that
in the name of all the Indians, he thanked
their gracions good queen a?id mother for the
fne clothes jhe had fent them ; but that in re-
gard to the minijlers, they had already tad
feme among them, (whom he likewise named)
who injlead of preaching the holy gofpel to
them, had taught them to drink to excefs, id
cheat, and to quarrel among thenfehes. He
then entreated the governor to take from
them thefe preachers, and a number of
Europeans who rcfided amongft them ; for
before they were come among them, the
Indians had been an honeft, feber, and in-
nocent people, but moil of them became
rogues now. That they had formerly had
the fear of God, but that they hardly be-
lieved his exiftence at prefent. That if he
(the governor) would do them any favour*
he mould fend two or three blackfmiths
amongft them, to teach them to forge iron*
in which they were unexperienced. The
governor could not forbear laughing at this
extraordinary fpeech. I think the words
of St. Paul not wholly inapplicable on

this

Between Albany and Saratoga. 2j\

this occafion : For the name of God is blaf-
phemed among ft the Gentiles, through you -j~.

June the 21 ft. About five o'clock in
the afternoon we left Albany, and pro-
ceeded towards Canada. We had two men
with us, who were to accompany us to
the firft French place, which is Fort St.
Frederick, or, as the Engli/h call it,
Crown Point. For this fervice each of them
was to receive five pounds of New York
currency, befides which I was to provide
them with victuals. This is the common
price here, and he that does not choofe to
conform to it, is obliged to travel alone.
We were forced to take up with a c?.noe *,
as we could get neither battoes, nor boats
of bark ; and as there was a good road alonq;
the weft fide of the river Hudfon, we left
the men to row forwards, in the canoe,
and we went along it on the more, that
we might be better able to examine it, and
its curiofities, with greater accuracy. It is
very incommodious to row in thefe canoes ;
for one ftands at each end and pufhes the
boat forwards. They commonly keep
clofe to the fhore, that they may be able

to

f Romans ii. 24.

* Sec the defcription of it, p. %^\.

2

272 junc 1749;

to reach the ground eafily. Thus the
rowers are forced to ftand upright, whilft
they row in a canoe. We kept along the
more all the evening, towards the river^
it confuted of great hills, and next to the
water grew the trees, which I have above
mentioned *, and which likewife are to
be met with on the fhores of the ifle, in the
river, fituate below Albany. The eafterly
more of the river is uncultivated* woody*
and hilly ; but the weflern is flat, culti-
vated, and chiefly turned into corn-fields,
which had no drains, though they wanted
them in fome places. It appeared very
plainly here, that the river had forme rly
been broader. For there is a Hoping bank
on the corn-fields, at about thirty yards
diftance from the river, with which it al-
ways runs parallel. From this it fuffici-
ently appears, that the rifing ground for-
merly was the more of the river, and the
corn-fields its bed. As a further proof, it
may be added, that the fame (hells which
abound on the prefent more of the river,
and are not applied to any ufe by the in-
habitants, ly plentifully fcattered on thefe
fields. I cannot fay whether this change
was occafioned by the diminiming of the

water

*■ See page 251,

Between Albany and Saratoga. 2j^

water in the river, or by its warning fome
earth down the river, and carrying it to
its fides, or by the river's cutting deeper in
on the fides.

All the grounds were ploughed very
even, as is ufual in the SwediJL province
of Upland. Some were fovvn with yellow,
and others with white Wheat. Now and
then we faw great fields of flax, which was
now beginning to flower. In fome parts it
grows very well, and in others it was but
indifferent. The exceffive drought which
had continued throughout this fpring, had
parched all the grafs and plants on hills
and high grounds, leaving no other green
plant than the common Mullein (Verbaf-
cum Tbapfus Linn.) which I faw in feve-
ral places, on the dried: and higher!: hills,
growing in fpite of the parching heat of
the fun, and though the paftures and mea-
dows were excefiively poor, and afforded
fcarce any food at all, yet the cattle never
touched the Mullein. Now and then I
found fields with peafe, but the Charlock* -
(Sinapis arvenfis Linn.) kept them quite
under. The foil in mofl of thefe fields is
a fine mould, which goes pretty deep.

The wild vines cover all the hills along

the rivers, on which no other plants grow,

and on thofe which are covered with trees,

Vol. II. S thev

«74 June 1749-

they climb to the tops of them, and wholly
cover them, making them bend down with
their weight. They had already large
grapes ; we faw them abundant all this
day, and during all the time that we kept
to the river Hudfon, on the hills, along the
ihores, and on fome little iflands in the
river.

The ivhite-b. ck'd Maize-thieves appeared
now and then, flying amongft the bufhes :
their note is fine, and they are not fo large
as the black maize-thieves, fOriolns Thee-
nicens). We faw them near New Tork, for
the firft time.

We found a Water-beech tree (Platanus
occidentalis) cut down near the road, mea-
furing about five feet in diameter.

This day, and for fome days afterwards,
we met with iflands in the river. The
larger ones were cultivated, and turned into
corn-fields and meadows.

We walked about five Knglifh miles along
the river to-day, and found the ground,
during that time, very uniform, and confid-
ing of pure earth. I did not meet with a
(ingle (lone on the fields. The Red Maple,
the Water-beech, the Water-afp, the wild
Prune-tree, the Sumach, the Elm, the wild
Vines, and feme fipecies of Willows, were

the

Between Albany end Saratoga, 275

the trees which we met with on the rifin^
mores of the river, where fome Afparagus
(Afparagus officinalis) grew wild.

We pafted the night about fix miles from
Albany, in a countryman's cottage. On.
the weft fide of the river we faw feverai
houfes, one after another, inhabited by
the defendants of the firft Dutch fettlers,
who lived by cultivating their grounds.
About half an Englijh mile beyond our
lodgings, was the place where the tide
flops in the river Hud/on, there being only
fmall and fhallow ft reams above it. At
that place they catch a good many forts of
fifh in the river.

The barns Were generally built in the
Dutch way, as I have before defcribed
them * ; for in the middle was the thread-
ing-floor, above it a place for the hay and
ftraw, and on each fide ftables for horfes,
cows, and other animals. The barn itfelf
was very large. Sometimes the buildings
in the court-yard confift only of a room,
and a garret above it, together with a barn
upon the above plan.

June the 2 2d. This morning I followed
one of our guides to the water-fall near Co-
hoes, in the river Mohawk, before it falls

S 2 into

* See in the firft Volume, p. 223, 224.

2j6

June 1749,

into the rivtvHudfon. This fall is about three
Engliflj miles from the place where I parTed
the night. The country till the fall is a
plain, and only hilly about the fall itfelf.
The wood is cleared in mod: places, and the
ground cultivated, and interfperfed with
farm-houfes.

The Cohoes Fall is one of the greatefr. in
North America* It is in the river Mohawk,
before it unites with the river Hudfon.
Above and below the fall, the fides and the
bottom of the river confift of hard rock.
The river is three hundred yards broad here.
At the fall there is a rock crofsways in the
river, running every where equally high,
and crofling in a ftrait line with the fide
which forms the fall. It reprefents, as it
were, a wall towards the lower fide, which
is not quite perpendicular, wanting about
four yards. The height of this wall, over
which the water rolls, appeared to me about
twenty or twenty-four yards. I had marked
this height in my pocket-book ; and after-
wards found it; agreed pretty well with the
account which that ingenious engineer, Mr.
Lewis Evans, communicated to me at Phi-
ladelphia. He faid, that he had geometri-
cally meafured the breadth and height of the
fall, and found it nine hundred Englifh feet

2 broad,

Between Albany and Saratoga, 277

broad, and feventy-five feet high. The repre-
fentation of this fall, which is here joined,
lias been made by Mr. Evans. There was
very little water in the river at present, and
it only ran over the fall in a few places.
In ftich places where the water had rolled
down before, it had cut d^ep holes below
into the rock, fometimes to the depth of
two or three fathoms. The bed of the
river, below the fell, was of rock, and
quite dry, there being only a channel in
the middle fourteen feet broad, and a fathom
or fomewhat more deep, through which the
water paffed which came ever the fall.
We faw a number of holes in the rock, be-
low the fall, which bore a perfect re fern -
blance to thofe in Sweden which we call
Giants Pots, or Mountain Kettles. They
differed in fizc ; there being large deep
ones, and fmall {hallow ones. We had
clear uninterrupted fun-mine, not a cloud
above the horizon, and no wind at all.
However, clofe to this fall, where the water
was in fuch a fmall quantity, there was a
continual drizzling rain, occafioned by the
vapours which rofe from the water during
its fall, and were carried about by the wind.
Therefore, in coming within a muiket-fhot
of the fall, againft the wind, our cloaths were

S 3 wetted

$78 "June 1749.

wetted at once, as from a rain. The whirl-
pools, which were in the water below the fall,
contained feveral kinds of fim; and they were
caught by fome people, who amufed them-
f elves with angling. The rocks hereabouts
infill" of the fame black ftone which forms
the hills about Albany. When expofed to
the air, it is apt to fhiver into horizontal
flakes, as ilate does.

At noon we continued our journey to
Canada in the canoe, which was pretty long,
and made out of a white pine. Somewhat
beyond the farm where we lay at night, the
river became fo mallow that the men could
reach the ground every where with their
oars ; it being in fome parts not above two
feet, and fometimes but one foot deep. The
thore and bed of the river conf;fted of fand
and pebbles. The river was very rapid, and
again ft us ; fo that our rowers found it hard
work to get forward againft the flream.
The hills along the more confided merely
of foil ; and were very high and ileep in
fome parts. The breadth of the river was
generally near two mufket-fhot.

Sturgeons abound in the river Hud/on.
We faw them for feveral days together leap
high up into the air, efpecially in the even*
ing ; our guides, and the people who lived
hereabouts, aliened that they never fee any

fturgeens

% Between Albany and Saratoga. 279

ilurgeons in winter time, becaufe thefe
fifh go into the fea late in autumn, but
come up again in fpring and flay in the
river all the fummer. They are faid to pre-
fer the /halloweft places in the river, which
agreed pretty well with our obfervations ;
for we never faw them leap out of the wa-
ter but in mallows. Their food is faid to
be feveral kinds of conferva, which grow
in plenty in fom# places at the bottom of
the river; for thefe weeds are found in their
bellies when they are opened. The Dutch
who are fettled here, and the Indians, fifh
for fturgeons, and every night of our voy-
age upon this river, we obferved feveral
boats with people who it ruck them with
harpoons. The torches which they em-
ployed were made of that kind of pine,
which they call the black pine here. The
nights were exceedingly dark, though they
were now fhorteft, and though we were in
a country fo much to the South of Sweden.
The ihores of the river lay covered with
dead fturgeons, which had been wounded
with the harpoon, but efcaped, and died
afterwards ; they occaiioned an infupport-
able ftench during the exceflive heat of the
weather.

As we went further- up the river we faw
an Indian woman and her boy fitting in a

S 4 boat

s8o June ij±().

boat of bark, and an Indian wading
through the river, with a great cap of bark
on his head. Near them was an iiland on
which there were a number of Indians at
prefent, on account of the fturgeon fifhery.
We went to their huts to try if we could
get one of them to accompany us to Fort
St. Frederic. On our arrival we found
that all the men were gone into the woods
a hunting this morning, and we were forced
to engage their boys to go and look for
them. They demanded bread for payment,
and we gave them twenty little round
loaves ; for as they found that it was of
great importance to us to fpeak with the
Indians, they raifed difficulties, and would
not go till we gave them what they wanted.
The iiland belonged to the "Dutch, who
had turned it into corn-fields. But at
prefent they had leafed it to the Indian:,
who planted their maize and feveral kinds
of melons on it. They built their huts
or wigwams on this iiland, on a very fimple
plan. Four pofts were put into the ground
perpendicularly, over which they had placed
poles, and made a roof of bark upon them.
They had either no walls at all, or they confin-
ed of branches with leaves, which were fixed
to the poles. Their beds con lifted of deer-
ikins which were fpread on the ground. Their
utenfils were a couple of fmall kettles, and

two

Between Albany and Saratoga. 281

two ladles, and a bucket or two of bark, made
fo clofeas to keep water. The flurgeoris were
cut into long dices, and hung up in the fun-
fhineto dry, and to be ready againft winter.
The Indian women were fitting at their
work on the hill, upon deer-fldns. They
never make uie of chairs, but fit on the
ground : however, they do not fit crofs-
leesed, as the Turks do, but between their
feet, which, though they be turned back-
wards, are not croffed, but bent outwards.
The women wrear no head-drefs, and have
black hair. Tney have a fhort blue petti-
coat, which reaches to their knees, and the
brim of which is bordered with red or other
ribbands. They wear their fhifts over their
petticoats. They have large ear-rings : and
their hair is tied behind, and wrapped in
ribbands. Their Wampum, or Pearls, and
their money, which is made of (hells, are
tied round the neck, and hang down on the
bread. This is their whole drefs. They
were now making feveral kinds of work of
duns, to which they lowed the quills of the
American Porcupines, having dyed them black
or red, or left them in their original colour.

Towards evening, we went from hence
to a farm ciofe to the river, where we found
only one man, looking after the maize and
the fields ; the inhabitants being not yet
returned fmce the end of the war.

The

2$ 2 June 1749.

The little brooks here contain Crawnfh,
which are exa&ly the fame with ours*,
with this difference only, that they are
lbmewhat lefs ; however, the Dutch in-
habitants will not eat them.

June the 23d. We waited a good while
for the Indians, who had promifed to come
home, in order to mew us the way to Fort
St, Ann, and to affift us in making a boat of
bark, to continue our voyage. About eight'
o'clock three of the men arrived. Their
hair was black, and cut fhort ; they wore
rough pieces of woollen cloth, of a bright
green colour, on their moulders, a fhirt
which covers their thighs, and pieces of
cloth, or fkins, which they wrap round the
legs and part of the thighs. They had
neither hats, caps, nor breeches. Two of
them had painted the upper part of their
foreheads, and their cheeks, with vermi*
lion. Round their neck was a ribband,
from which hung a bag down to the breaft,
containing their knives. They promifed
to accompany us for thirty millings -, but
foon after changed their minds, and went
with an EngUfhman, who gave them more.
Thus we were obliged to make this journey
quite alone. The Indians, however, were
honeft enough to return us fifteen (hillings,
which we had paid them before-hand.

Our

* Cancer dftaciis Linn*

'Between Albany and Saratoga. z 8^

Our laft night's lodging was about ten
Englifi miles from Albany. During the
laft war, which was juft now ended, the in-
habitants had all retreated from thence to
Alba7i)\ becaufe the French Indians had
taken or killed all the people they met with,
fet the houfes on fire, and cut down the
trees. Therefore, when the inhabitants re-
turned, they found no houfes, and were
forced to ly under a few boards which were
huddled together.

Th* river was almoft a mufket-fhot
broad, and the ground on both fides culti-
vated. The hills near the river were fleep,
and the earth of a pale colour.

The American Elder (Sambucus occidenta-
l's *) grows in incredible quantities along
jhofe hills, which appear quite white, from
the abundance of flowers on the Elder.

All this day along, we had one current
after another, full of ftones, which were
great obftacles to our getting forward. The
water in the river was very clear, and gene-
rally mallow, being only from two to four
feet deep, running very violently againft us
in mod places. The more was covered
with pebbles, and a grey fand. The hills
confifted of earth, were high, and flood per-
pendicular towards the river, which was

near

* Sumhtcus Canadtnfis Linn.

284 June 1749.

near two mufket-fTiot broad. Sometimes
the land was cultivated, and fometimes it was
covered with woods.

The hills near the river abound with red
and white clover. We found both thefe
kinds plentiful in the woods. It is there-
fore difficult to determine whether they
were brought over by the Europeans, as
fpme people think ; or whether they were
originally in America, which the Indians

deny.

We found Purflane (Portulaca okracea)
growing plentifully in a fandy foil. In
gardens it was one of the worfl weeds.

We found people returning every where
to their habitations, which they had been
forced to leave during the war.

The farms were commonly built cloie
to the river, on the hills. Each houfe has a
little kitchen-garden, and a flill lefTer oi>
chard. Some farms, however, had large
gardens. The kitchen -gardens afford fe-
veral kinds of gourds, water-melons, and
kidney-beans. The orchards are full of
apple-trees. This year the trees had few
or no apples, on account of the frofty nights
which had happened in May, and the
drought which had continued throughout
this iummer.

The

Between Albany and Saratoga. 28 r

The houfes hereabouts are generally built
of beams of wood, and of unburnt bricks
dried by the fun and the air. The beams
are fir ft erected, and upon them a gable
with two walls, and the fpars. The wall
on the gable is made of boards. The roof
is covered with mingles of fir. They make
the walls of unburnt bricks, between the
beams, to keep the rooms warmer ; and
that they might not eafily be deftroyed by
rain and air, they are covered with boards
on the outiide. The cellar is below the
houfe.

The farms are either built clofe to the
river-ride, or on the high grounds ; and
around them are large fields with maize.

Wk faw great numbers of Mujk-Rats
(Caftor Zibethicus Lhm.) on the mores of
the river, where they had many holes, fome
on a level with the flirface of the water.
Thefe holes were large enough to admit a
kitten. Before and in the entrance to the
holes, lay a quantity of empty fhells, the
animals of which had been eaten by the
Mujk-Rats*. They are caught in traps
placed along the water-fide, and baited with
ibme maize or apples.

The

* This appears to be a new cbfervafirn, as Linnaeus, Ds
Bvjfox, and Sarvsfin pretend, they only feed on the Acorust
*r Reeds, and othc: roots. F.

286 June 1749".

The Saffafras-trees abound here, but
never grow to any confiderable height.

Ch estnut-trees appear now and then .

The Cock/pur Hawthorn (Cratagus Crus
Galli Linn.) grows in the poorefl foil, and
has very long fpines ; which mews, that it
may be very advantageoufly planted in
hedges, efpecially in a poor foil.

This night we lodged with a farmer,
who had returned to his farm after the war
was over. All his buildings, except the
great barn, were burnt.

June the 24th. The farm where we
paffed the night was the laft in the pro-
vince of New York> towards Canada, which
had been left Handing, and which was now
inhabited. Further on, we met flill with
inhabitants : but they had no houfes, and
lived in huts of boards ; the houfes being
burnt during the war.

As we continued our journey, we ob-
ferved the country on both fides of the
river to be generally flat, but fometimes
hilly ; and large traces of it are covered
with woods of fir-trees. Now and then
we found fome parts turned into corn-
fields and meadows ; however, the greater
part was covered with woods. Ever fince
we left Albany, almoft half-way to Saratoga,
the river runs very rapid ; and it coft us a

deal

Between Albany and Saratoga. 287

deal of pains to get upwards. But afterwards
it becomes very deep, for the fpace of feveral
miles ; and the water moves very flowly.
The mores are very fteep, though they arc
not very high. The river is two mufket-
{hot broad. In the afternoon it changed
its direction ; for hitherto its direction was
from North to South, but now it came
from N. N. E. to S. S. W. and fometimes
from N. E. to S. W.

Anthills are very fcarce in America \
and I do not remember feeing a fingle one
before I came to the Cohoes Fall. We ob-
ferved a few in the woods to-day. The
Ants were the fame with our common red
ones (Formica rufa Linn. J The Ant-hills
confift chiefly of the flate-like mouldered
ftone which abounds here, there being
nothing elfe for them.

Chestnut-trees grew fcattered in the
woods. We were told, that Mulberry-
trees fMorus rubra Linn.) likewife grow
wild here, but rather fcarce ; and this
is the mod northerly place where they
grow in Ajnerica; at leaft, they have not
been obferved further to the north. We
met with wild parfneps every day -, but
commonly in fuch places where the land
was or had been cultivated. Hemp grows

fpontane-

288 June 1749.

fpontaneoufly, and in great abundance, near
old plantations.

The woods abound with WoodUce, which
were extremely troublefome to us.

The 'Thuya Occident a lis Linn, appeared
along the mores of the river. I had not
feen it there before.

The trees which grow along the mores,
and on the adjacent hills, within our fight
to-day, are elms, birches, white firs, alders,
dog-trees, lime-trees, red willows, and
cheflnut-trees. The American Elder, (Sam*
baciis Canadensis Linn.) and the wild
vines, only appear in places where the
ground has been fomewhat cultivated, as
if they were deiirous of being the com-
panions of men. The lime-trees and white
walnut-trees are the moil numerous. The
horn-beams, with inflated cones, (Carpinus
OJirya Linn.) appeared now and then ; but
the water-beech and water -poplar never
came within fight any more.

We frequently faw ground-fquirrels and
black fquirrels in the woods.

At a little diftance from Saratoga, we
met two Indians in their boats of bark,
which could fcarce contain more than one
perfon.

Near Saratoga the river becomes mallow

and

Saratoga. £$9

arid rapid again. The ground is here
turned into corn-fields and meadows, but on
account of the war, it was not made ufe of.

Saratoga has been a fort built of wood
by the Englijh, to flop the attacks of the
French Indians upon the iLnglifo inhabitants
in thefe parts, and to ferve as a rampart to
Albany. It is fituated on a hill, on the
eaft-fide of the river Hudfoh, and is built of
thick pods driven in to the ground, clofe to
each other, in the manner of palifades,
forming a fquare, the length of whofe fides
was within the reach of a mufket-fhot.
At each corner are the houfes of the offi-
cers, and within the palifades are the bar-
racks, all of timber. This fort has been kept
in order and was garrifoned till the laft war,
when the Engtijh themfelves in 1747 fet
fire to it, not being able to defend them-
felves in it'againft the attacks of the French
and their Indians -, for as fbon as a party of
them went out of the fort, fome of tlicfe
enemies lay concealed, and either took them
all priforiers, or mot them.

I shall only mention one, out of many
artful tricks which were played here, and
which both the Englifh and French who
were prefent here at that time, told me
repeatedly* A party of French, with their

Vol.11. T In-

290 June 1749.

Indians, concealed themfelves one night in
a thicket near the fort. In the morning
fome of their Indians, as they had previoufly
refolved, went to have a nearer view of the
fort. The Engli/h fired upon them, as foon
as they faw them at a diftance ; the Indians
pretended to be wounded, fell down, got up
again, ran a little way, and dropped again. A-
bove half the garrifon rufhed out to take them
prifoners 3 but as foon as they were come up
with them, the French and the remaining
Indians came out of the bullies, betwixt
the fortrefs and the Ei/g/i/Jj, furrounded
them, and took them prifoners. Thofe
who remained in the fort had hardly time
to fhut the gates, nor could they fire upon
the enemy, becaufe they equally expofed
their countrymen to danger, and they were
vexed to fee their enemies take and carry
them off in their fight and under their
cannon. Such French artifices as thefe
made the Engl/J/j weary of their ill-planned
fort. We faw fome of the palifades ftill
in the ground. There was an ifland in the
river, near Saratoga, much better fituated
for a fortification. The country is flat on
both fides of the river near Saratoga, and its
foil good. The wood round about was gene-
rally cut down. The mores oftheriverare
high,fteep, and confift of earth. We faw fome

hills

Between Saratoga a?id Nicholfon. 291

hills in the north, beyond the diftant forefts.
The inhabitants are Dutch, and bear an in-
veterate hatred to all Englifkmen.

We lay over night in a little hut of
boards erected by the people who were
come to live here.

June the 25th. Several faw-mills were
built here before the war, which were very
profitable to the inhabitants, on account of
the abundance of wood which grows here.

The boards were eaiily brought to Alba-
ny, and from thence to New Tork, in rafts
every fpring with the high water ; but all
the mills were burnt at prefent.

This morning wre proceeded up the
river, but after we had advanced about an
Englif/J mile, we fell in with a water-fall,
which coft us a deal of pains before we
could get our canoe over it. The water
was very deep juft below the fall, owing to
its hollowing the rock out by the fall. In
every place where we met with rocks in the
river, we found the water very deep,
from two to four fathoms and upwards ;
becaufe by finding a refiflance it had
worked a deeper channel into the
ground. Above the fall, the river is very
deep again, the water Hides along lilently,
and increafes fuddenly near the fhores. On
both fides till you come to Fort Ni-
cholfon, the more is covered with tall

T 2 trees.

292 June 1 7 49,

trees, After rowing feveral miles, we
pa fled another water-fall, which is longer
and more dangerous than the preceding one.

Giants-pots *, which I have defcribed
in the memoirs of the Royal Sivediff} Aca-
demy of Sciences, are abundant near the fall
of the rock which extends acrofs the river.
The rock was almoft dry at preient, the
river containing very little water at this lea-
fon of the year. Some of the giants-pots
were round, but in general they were ob-
long. At the bottom of molt of them
lay either ftones or grit, in abundance. Some
were fifteen inches in diameter, but lb me
were lefs. Their depth was likewile diffe-
rent, and fome that I obferved were above
two foot deep. It is plain that they owed their
origin to the whirling of the water round a
pebble, which by that means was put in
motion, together with the fand.

We intended to have gone quite up
to Fort JSlicholfonm the canoe, which would
have been a great convenience to us ; but
we found it impoflible to get over the upper
fall, the canoe being heavy, and fcarce any
water in the river, except in one place where
it flowed over the rock, and where it was
imroflible to get up, on account of the

fleep-

• This is the literal meaning of the SiveJiJh word jattt
grytor. See the memoirs of the Sived. Acad, of Sciences
for the year 1743, p. 122.^ and Kalm'* vol. 1. p. 121.

Fort Nickolfin* 293

fteepnefs, and the violence of the fall. We
were accordingly obliged to leave our canoe
here, and to carry our baggage through
unfrequented woods to Fort Anne, on
the river Woodcreek, which is a fpace from
forty-three to fifty Englifb miles, during
which we were quite lpent, through the
excefs of heat. Sometimes we had no other
way of eroding deep rivers, than by cutting
down tall trees, which ftood on their hanks,
and throwing them acrofs the water. All
the land we pafled over this afternoon was
almoft level, without hills and ftones, and
entirely covered with a tall and thick foreir,
in which we continually met with trees
which were fallen down, becaufe no one made
the lead ufe of the woods. We pafled the
next night in the midft of the foreft,
plagued with mufkitoes, gnats, and wood-
lice, and in fear of all kinds offtakes.

June the 26th. Early this morning we
continued our journey through the wood,
along the river Hud/on, There was an old
path leading to Fort Nicbolfon, but it was
fo overgrown with grafs, that we difcovered
it with great difficulty. In fome places we
found plenty of rafpberries, fome of which
were already ripe.

Fort Nicholjon is the place on the eaf-
tern more of the river Hud/on, where a

T 3 wooden

294 June 1749*

wooden fortification formerly flood. We
arrived here fome time before noon, and
refled a while. Colonel Lydius refided here
till the beginning of the laft war, chiefly
with a view of carrying on a greater trade
with the French Indians -, but during the
war, they burnt his houfe, and took his
fon prifoner. The fort was lituated on a
plain, but at prefent the place is all over-
grown with a thicket. It was built in the
year 1709, during the war which Queen
Anne carried on againfc the French* and it
was named after the brave Englifh general
Nicbolfon. It was not fo much a fort, as a
magazine to Fort Anne. In the year 171 1,
when the Englijh naval attempt upon Cana-
da mifcarried, the "Englijh themlelves fet
fire to this place. The foil hereabouts
feems to be pretty fertile. The river Hud-
Jon paifed clofe by here.

Some time in the afternoon, we conti-
nued our journey. We had hitherto followed
the eaftern more of the river Hudjon, and
gone aimed due North , but now we
left it? and went E. N. E. or N. E. acrofs
the woods, in order to come to the up-
per end of the river Woodcreek* which
flows to. Fort St. Frederic, where we
might go in a boat from the former
place. The ground we palled over this

af-

Between Nicholfon ana Anne. 295

afternoon was generally flat, and fomewhat
low. Now and then we met with rivulets,
which were generally dried up during this
feafon. Sometimes we law a little hill,
but neither mountains nor (tones, and the
country was every where covered with tall
and thick forefts. The trees ftood clofe,
and afforded a fine made ; but the plea-
fure which we enjoyed from it was leffen-
ed by the incredible quantity of gnats
which fill the woods. We found feveral
plants here, but they were far from each
other, (as in our woods where the cattle
have deftroyed them,) though no cattle ever
came here. The ground was every where
thick covered with leaves of the lafh au-
tumn. In fome places we found the ground
over-grown with great quantities of mofs.
The foil was generally very good, confift-
ing of a deep mould, in which the plants
thrive very well. Therefore it feems that
it would anfwer very well if it were culti-
vated : however, flowing waters were very
fcarce hereabouts ; and if the woods were
cleared, how great would be the effects
of the parching heat of the fun, whicn
might then act with its full force !

We lodged this night near a brook, in or-
der to be fufficientiv fupplied with water,

T 4 which

^6 June 1749.

which was not every where at hand dur-
ing this feafon. The mufkitoes, punchins
or gnats, and the woodlice, were very trou-
bleibme. Our fear of fnakes, and of the
Indian*, rendered this night's reft very pre-
carious and unfecure.

Punchins, as the Dutch call them, are
the little gnats ( Culcx pulicaris Linn.) which
abound here. They are very minute, and
their wings grey, with black fpots. They
are -ten times worfe than the larger ones,
(Cidex pipiens Litn.) or mufkitoes; for
their iize renders them next to impercep-
tible 3 they are every where carelcfs of their
lives, fuck their fill of blood, and caufe a
burning pain.

We heard feveral great trees fall of themr
felves in the night, though it was fo calm,
that not a leaf ftirred. They made a
cjreadful cracking.

June the 27th. We continued our jour-
ney in the morning. We found the coun-
try like that which we palfed over yefter-
day, except meeting with a few hills.
I£arly this morning we plainly heard a fall
in the river Hucijon.

In every part of the foreft we found
trees thrown down either by ftorms, or
age; but none were cut down, there b.eing
no inhabitants , and though the wood is

very

Fort Anne. 297

very fine, yet nobody makes ufe of it. We
found it very difficult to get over fuch trees,
becaufe they had flopped up almoft all the
panages, and clofe to them was the chief
refidence of rattle-fnak.es, during the inr
tenfenefs of the heat.

About two o'clock this afternoon wc
arrived at Fort Anne. It lies upon the
river Woodcreek, which is here at its origin
no bigger than a Jittle brook. We frayed
here all this day, and next, in order to
make a new boat of bark, becaufe there
was no poffibility to go down the river to
Fort St. Frederic, without it. We arrived
in time, for one of our guides fell ill this
morning, and could not have gone any fur-
ther with his burthen. If he had been
worfe, we mould have been obliged to flop
on his account, which would have put us
under great difficulties, as our provifions
would foon have been exhausted, and from
the defart place where we were, we could
not have arrived at any inhabited place in
lefs than three or four days. Happily we
reached the wiuYd-for place, and the fick
man had time to refr. and recover -

About Fort A?ine we found a number
of mice, of the common kind. They were
probably the offspring of thofe which were
brought to the fort in the foldiei s provi-
sions,

298

June 1749.

fions, at the time when it was kept in a
ftate of defence.

We met with fome apple and plumb-
trees* which were certainly planted when
the fort was in a good condition.

June the 28th. The American Elm,
(TJimus Americana Linn.) grows in abun-
dance, in the forefls hereabouts. There
are two kinds of it. One was called the
White Elm, on account of the infide of the
tree being white. It was more plentiful
than the other fpecies, which was called the
Red Elm, becaufe the colour of the wood
was reddifh. Of the bark of the former
the boats made ufe of here are commonly-
made, it being tougher than the bark of
any other tree. With the bark of hiccory,
which is employed as bait, they fow the
elm-bark together, and with the bark
of the red elm they join the ends of the boat
fo clofe as to keep the water out. They beat
the bark between two ftones ; or for want
of them, between two pieces of wood.

The making of the boat took up half
yefterday, and all this day. To make fuch
a boat, they pick out a thick tall elm, with
a fmooth bark, and with as few branches
as pomble. This tree is cut down, and
great care is taken to prevent the bark from
being hurt by falling againft other trees,

or

Fort Anne. 299

or againft the ground. With this view
fome people do not fell the trees, but climb
to the top of them, fplit the bark, and
ftripit off, which was the method our car-
penter took. The bark is fplit on one
fide, in a ftrait line along the tree, as long
as the boat is intended to be -, at the fame
time, the bark is carefully cut from the
ftem a little way on both fides of the flit,
that it may more eafily feparate ; the bark
is then peeled off very carefully, and parti-
cular care is taken not to make any holes
into it ; this is eafy when the fap is in the
'trees, and at other feafons the tree is heated
by the fire, for that purpofe. The bark
thus ftript off is fpread on the ground, in
a fmooth place, turning the infide down-
wards, and the rough outfide upwards, and
to ftretch it better, fome logs of wood or
ftones are carefully put on it, which prefs it
down. Then the fides of the bark are
gently bent upwards, in order to form the
fides of the boat ; fome flicks are then fixed
into the ground, at the diflance of three or
four feet from each other, in the curve line,
in which the fides of the boat are intended
to be, fupporting the bark intended for the
fides ; the fides of the bark are then bent in
the form which the boat is to have, and ac-
cording to that the fticks are either put nearer

or

$oo June 1749.

or further off. The ribs of the boat are made
of thick branches of hiccory, they being
tough and pliable. They are cut into feve-
ral flat pieces, about an inch thickj. and
t>ent into the form which the ribs require,
according to their places in the broader or
narrower part of the boat. Being thus bent,
they are put acrofs the boat, upon the
back, or its bottom, pretty clofe, about a
fpan, or ten inches from each other. The
upper edge on each iide of the boat is made
of two thin poles, of the length of the
boat, which are put clofe together, on the
fide of the boat, being flat, where they
are to be joined. The edge of the
bark is put between thefe two poles, and
fewed up with threads of baft, of the
moufe-wood, or other tough bark, or with
roots. But before it is thus fewed up, the
ends of the ribs are likewife put between the
two poles on each lide, taking care to keep
them at fome diftance from each other.
After that is done, the poles are fewed to-
gether, and being bent properly, both their
ends join at each end of the boat, where
they are tied together with ropes. To
prevent the widening of the boat at the
top, three or four tranfverfe bands are put
acrofs it, from one edge to the other, at
the diftance of thirty or forty inches from

each

Fort Anne, 301

each other. Thefe bands are commonly-
made of hiccory, on account of its tough-
nefs and flexibility, and have a good
length. Their extremities are put through
the bark on both fides, juft below the
poles, which make the edges; they are
bent up above thofe poles, and twitted
round the middle part of the bands, where
they are carefully tied by ropes. As the
bark at the two ends of the boat cannot be
put fo clofe together as to keep the water
out, the crevices are flopped up with the
crumed or pounded bark of the red elm,
which in that ftate looks like oakum.
Some pieces of bark are put upon the ribs
in the boat, without which the foot would
eafily pierce the thin and weak bark below,
which forms the bottom of the boat, for
the better fecurity of which, fome thin
boards are commonly laid at the bottom,
which may be trod upon with more fafety.
The fide of the bark which has been upon
the wood, thus becomes the outfide of the
boat, becaufe it is fmooth and flippy, and
cuts the water with lefs difficulty than the
other. The building of thefe boats is not
always quick; for fometimes it happens
that after peeling the bark off an elm, and
carefully examining it, it is found pierced
with holes and fplits, or it is too thin to

venture

302 'June 1749.

venture one's life in. In fuch a cafe ano-*
ther elm muft be locked out ; and it fome-
times happens that feveral elms mufl: be
flripped of their bark, before one is found
fit for a boat. That which we made was
big enough to bear four perfons, with our
baggage, which weighed fomewhat more
than a man.

All porlible precautions mufl: be taken
in rowing on the rivers and lakes of thefe
parts with a boat of bark. For as the
rivers, and even the lakes, contain numbers
of broken trees, which are commonly hid-
den under the water, the boat^may eafily
run againfr, a fharp branch, which would
tear half the boat away, if one rowed on
very faft, expofing the people in it to
great danger, where the water is very deep,
efpecially if fuch a branch held the boat.

To get into fuch a dangerous vefTel, mufl
be done with great care, and for the greater
fafety, without fhoes. For with the (hoes
on, and flill more with a fudden le^p in-
to the -boat, the heels may eafily pierce
through the bottom of the boat, which
might fometimes be attended with very
difagreeable circumftances, efpecially when
the boat is fo near a rock, and dole to that a
fudden depth of water ; and fuch places are
common in the lakei> and rivers here.

5 I never

Fort Anne. 30 3

I never faw the mufkitoes (Culex pi-
piensj more plentiful in any part of Ame-
rica than they are here. They were fo
eager for our blood, that we could not
reft all the night, though we had furround-?
ed ourfelves with fire.

Wood-l ice (Acarus Americanus Linn. J
abound here, and are more plentiful than
on any part of the journey. Scarcely any
one of us fat down but a whole army of
them crept upon his clothes. They caufed
us as much inconvenience as the gnats,
during the laft night, and the mort time
we flayed here. Their bite is very difa-
greeable, and they would prove very dange-
rous, if any one of them mould creep into a
man's ear, from whence it is difficult to
extract them. There are examples of peo-
ple whofe ears were fwelled to the jfrze of
the fift, on account of one of thefe infects
creeping into them, and biting . them.
More is faid about them in the defcrip-
tion which I have given to the Royal
Swedi/I: Academy of Sciences *.

The Wbipperiwill, or Whip -poor -Will
cried all night on every fide. The Fire-
flies flew in numbers through the woods
at night.

Fort

* See the Memoirs of the Royal Academy for the year
1 75+» PaSe '9» &c-

2 04 *}'une 1749.

Fort Anne derives its name from
Queen Anne j for in her time it ferved as a
fortification againft the French. It lies on
the weftern fide of the river Woodcreek,
which is here as inconfiderable as a brook,
of a fathom's breadth, and may be waded
through in any part, during this feafon.
The fort is built in the fame manner as
the forts Saratoga and Nicholfon, that is to
fay, of palifades, within which the fol-
diers were quartered, and at the corners or
which were the lodgings of the officers.
The whole confirmed of wood, becaufe it
was erected only with a view to refift ir-
regular troops. It is built on a little rifing
ground which runs obliquely to the rivei*
Woodcreek. The country round about it is
partly flat, partly hilly, and partly marfliy,
but it confifts merely of earth, and no
{tones are to be met with, though ever fo
carefully fought for. General Nicholjon
built this fort in the year 1709 ; but at the
conclufion of the war, then carrying oh
againft the French, it mared the fame fate
with Saratoga and Fort Nichclfon, being
burnt by the Englifo in lju. This hap-
pened with the following cifcumftance :
In 1711 the Englijb refolvcd to attack Ca-
nada, by land and by fea, at the fame time*
A powerful EngHJli fleet failed up the river

St.

Fort Anne. 305

St. Lawrence to befiege Quebec, and General
Nicholfon, who was the greateft promoter
of this expedition, headed a numerous army
to this place by land, to attack Montreal, at
the fame time from hence ; but a great part
of the Englifh fleet was (hip wrecked in the
river St. Lawrence, and obliged to return
to New England. The news of this mif-
fortune was immediately communicated to
General Nicholfon, who was advifed to re-
treat. Captain Butler who commanded
Fort Mohawk, during my ftav in America,
told me that he had been at Fort Anne in
1711, and thatGeneral Nicholfon was about
to leave it, and go down the river Ifood-
creek, in boats ready for that purpofe,
when he received the accounts of the dif-
after which befel the fleet. He was fo
enraged, that he endeavoured to tear his
wig, but it being too ftrong for him, he
flung it to the ground, and trampled on it,
crying out Roguery, treachery. He then fet
fire to the fort, and returned. We faw
the remains of the burnt palifades in the
ground ; and I afked my guides, Why
the Englijh had been at fo great an expence
in erecting the fort, and why they after-
wards burnt it without any previous con-
sideration ? They replied, that it was done
to get money from the government once
Vol. II. U more.

3°6

June 1749.

more, for the rebuilding of thefcrt, which
noney coming into fome people's hands,
tfcey would appropriate a great part of it
to themfelves, and erect again a wretched,
inconiiderable fort. They further told me,
that fome of the richeft people in Albany
had promoted their poor relations to the
places for fupplying the army with bread,
fee. with a view to patch up their broken
fortunes ; and that they had acquired fuch
fortunes as rendered them equal to the
richer!: inhabitants of Albany,

The heat was exceffive to-day, espe-
cially in the afternoon, when it was quite
calm. We were on the very fpot where
Fort Anne formerly ftood ; it was a little
place free from trees, but furrounded with
them on every fide, where the fun had full
liberty to heat the air. After noon it grew as
warm as in a hot bath*, and I never felt a

greater

* In Sweden and in Rufiia it is ufual for people of all
ranks to bathe every week at leaf! one time; this is done
in a (love heated by an oven, to a furprifing degree, and
which is enough to tlifle people who are not ufed to it :
for commonly the heat is eacreafed by the hot fleam,
eaufed by throwing red hot itones into water. In thefe
baths, in Ritflza, the lower fort of people, men and wo-
men, bathe promifcuoufly, as the Romans did, and from
whom, as Phttnrcb obferves, in his Life of Cato, the
Greeks adopted this indelicate and indecent cuftom, and
which fpread io much, that the Emperor Adrian, and

Marcus-

Fort Anne. 307

greater neat. I found a difficulty of breath-
ing, and it feemed to me as if my lungs could
not draw in a fufficient quantity of air. I
was more eafed when I went down into the
vallics, and efpecially along the Wood-creek.
I tried to fin the air to me with my hat,
but it only encreafed the difficulty of breath-
ing, and I received the greater!: relief when
X went to the water, and in a mady place fre-
quently fprinkled fome water in the air.
My companions were all very much weak-
ened, but they did not find fuch difficulty in
breathing, as I had done ; however towards
evening the air became fomewhat cooler.

June the 29th. Having compleated
our boat", after a great deal of trouble, we
continued our journey this morning. Our
provihons, which were much diminimed,
obliged us to make great hade; for by

U 2 being

Marcus Antoninus were obliged to make laws againft it, but
neither were they long obferved, for we find, foon the
Council of Laodicea obliged to prefcribe a canon againft this
brutal cuftoro, and notwithftanding this we find ibon after
that not only perfonr, of all ranks, but even clergymen and
monks bathed promifcuoufly with women, in the fame
baths ; and from thence, it is probable, this cuftom pailcd
among the Ruffians, when chriftianity took place among
them. Near the bath, in Ruffia, is commonly a pond,
where the people pliinge in, when quite hot, and in win-
ter they welter in the ihow ; and Saturdays it is common
to fee before the bath naked men and women, each having
a bundle of rods in their hand, with which they gentjy
beat one another, when in the bath. F.

308 'June 1749.

being obliged to carry every thing on our
backs, through the woods to Fort Anne,
we could not take a great quantity of pro-
vificrn with us, having feveral other very
necefTary things with xl:> , " and we did al-
ways eat very heartily. As there was very
little water in the river, and feveral trees
were fallen acrofs it, which frequently flop-
ped the boat, I left the men in the boat,
and went along the more with Tungjiroem.
The ground on both fides of the river was
fo low, that it muff be under water in
fpring and autumn. The (bores were co-
vered with feveral forts of trees, which
flood at moderate diflances from each other,
and a great deal of grafs grew between
them. The trees afforded a fine fhade,
very necefTary and agreeable in this hot fea-
fon j but the pleafure it gave was consi-
derably lefTened by the numbers of gnats
which we met with. The foil was ex-
tremely rich.

As we came lower down the river, the
dykes, which the beavers had made in it,
produced new difficulties. Thefe labori-
ous animals had carried together all forts
of boughs and branches, and placed them
acrofs the river, putting mud and clay in
betwixt them, to flop the water. They
had bit off the ends of the branches as

neatly

Between Forts Anne and St. Frederic. 309

neatly as if they had been chopped off
with a hatchet. The grafs about theie
places was trod down by them, and in the
neighbourhood of the dykes we fometimes
met with paths in the grafs, where the
beavers probably carried trees along. We
found a row of dykes before us, which
flopped us a conliderable while, as we
could not get forwards with the boat, till
we had cut through them.

As foon as the river was more open, we
got into the boat again, and continued
our journey in it. The breadth of the
river, however, did not exceed eight or
nine yards, and frequently it was not above
three or four yards broad, and generally
fo (hallow, that our boat got on with dif-
ficulty. Sometimes it acquired fuch a Hid-
den depth, that we could not reach the
ground with flicks of feven feet length.
The flream was verv rapid in fome
places, and very flow in others. The
fhores were low at firft, but afterwards re-
markably high and fteep, and now and
then a rock projected into the water, which
always caufed a great depth in fuch places.
The rocks confifted here of a grey quartz,
mixed with a grey limeftone, lying in ftra-
ta. The water in the river was very clear
and tranfparent, and we faw feveral little

U 3 paths

310 June 1749*

paths leading to it from the woods, faid to
be made by beavers, and other animals,
which reforted here to drink. After go-
ing a little more than three Englijh miles,
we came to a place, where a fire was yet
burning, and then we, little thought that
we had narrowly efcaped death laft night/
as we heard this evening. Now and then
we met with feveral trees lying acrofs the
river, and ibme dykes of beavers, which
were troublefpme to us.

Towards night we met with ^French
ferjeant, and fix French foldiers, who were.
fent by the commander of Fort St. Frede-
ric, to accompany three Englifimen to Sa-
ratoga, and to defend them in cafe of ne-
ceflity, againil fix French Indians, who
were gone to be revenged on the Englijh,
for killing the brother of one of them in
the laft war. The peace was already con-
cluded at that time, but as it had not yet
been proclaimed in Canada, the Indians
thought they could take this ftep ; there-
fore they filently got away, contrary to the
order of the Governor of Montreal,- and
went towards the Englip plantations. We
here had occafion to admire the care of
Providence for us, in efeaping thefe bar-
barians. We found the grafs trod down all
the day along, but had no thoughts of dan-
ger,

Between Forts Amie and St. Frederic. 311

ger, as we believed that every thing was
quiet and peaceable. We were afterwards
informed, that thefe Indians had trod the
grafs down, and panned the lait night in the
place where we found the burning brands in
the morning. The ufual road which they
were to take, was by Fort Anne, but to
fhorten their journey they had gone an un-
frequented road. If they- had gone on to-
wards Fort Anne, they would have met us
without doubt, and looking upon us all
as Englifimcn, for whofe blood they were
gone out, they could eafily have furprlfed
and fhot us all, and by that means have
been rid of the trouble of going any
further to fatisfy their cruelty. We were
greatly ftruck when the French?nen told us
how near death we had been to-day. We
parTed the night here, and though the
French repeatedly advifed and deiired me
not to venture any further with my com-
pany^ but to follow them to the nril Eng-
lif/j ftttlement, and then back to Fort St,
Frederic, yet I refolved, with the protection
of the Almighty, to continue my journey
the next day.

We faw immenfe numbers of thofe
wild pigeons flying in the woods, which
fometimes come in incredible flocks to the
foutheFn Englifo colonies, mod of the in*

U 4 habitants

312 June 1749.

bitants net knowing where they come from.
They have their nefts in the trees here -,
and almofr all the night make a great noife
and cooing in tie trees, where thev rooft.
The Frenchmen mot a great number of them,
and gave us fome, in which we found a
great quantity of the feeds of the elm,
which evidently demonftrated the care of
Providence in fupplying them with food ;
for in May the feeds of the red maple, which
abounds here, are ripe, and drop from the
trees, and are eaten by the pigeons during
that time : afterwards, the feeds of the elm
ripen, which then become their food, till
other feeds ripen for them. Their flefh
is the moft palatable of any bird's fleih I
ever tafted.

Almost every night, we heard fome
trees crack and fall, whilfr. we lay here in
thewood, though the air wasfo calm that not
a leaf fHrred. The reafon of this breaking
I am totally unacquainted with. Perhaps
the dew loofens the roots of trees at night ;
or, perhaps there are too many branches
on one fide of the tree. It may be, that
the above-mentioned wild pigeons fettle in
fuch quantities on one tree as to weigh it
down ; or perhaps the tree begins to bend
more and more to one hde, from its center
pf gravity, making the weight always greater

for.

Between Forts Anne and St. Frederic. 313

for the roots to fupport, till it comes to the
point, when it can no longer be kept up-
right, which may as well happen in the
midft of a calm night as at any other time.
When the wind blows hard, it is reckoned
very dangerous to fleep or walk in the
woods, on account of the many trees which
fall in them; and even when it is very
calm, there is fome danger in paffing
under very great and old trees. I was
told, in feveral parts of America, that the
florins or hurricanes fometimes only pafs
over a fmall part of the woods, and tear
down the trees in it ; and I have had op-
portunities of confirming the truth of this
obfervation, by finding places in the forefts,
where almoft all the trees were thrown
down, and lay all in one direction.

Tea is differently efteemed by different
people ; and I think we would be as well,
and our purfes much better, if we were
both without tea and coffee. However, I
muft be impartial, and mention in praife of
tea, that if it be ufeful, it muft certainly
be fo in fummer, on fuch journeys as mine,
through a defart country, where one cannot
carry wine or other liquors, and where the
water is generally unfit for ufe, as being full
of infects. In fuch cafes, it is very relifh-
\ng when boiled, and tea is drunk with it ;

and

314 June 1749.

and I cannot fufficiently defcribe the fine
tafte it has in fuch circumftances. It re-
lieves a weary traveller more than can be
imagined, as I have myfelf experienced, to-
gether with a great many others who have
travelled through the dcfart forefts of Ame-
rica ; on fuch journeys, tea is found to be
almoft. as neceffary as victuals w.

June the 30th. This morning we left
our boat to the Frenchmen, who made ufe
of it to carry their proviiions ; for we could
net make any further ufe of it, on account
of the number of trees which the French
had thrown acrofs the river during the laft
war, to prevent the attacks of the Rnglijh
upon Cana-a. The Frenchmen gave us
leave to make ufe of one of their boats,-
which they had left behind them, about fix
miles from the place where we parTed the
laft night. Thus we continued our journey
on foot, along the river ; and found the
country flat, with fome little vales here and
there. It was every where covered with
tall trees, of the deciduous kind j among
which the beech, the elm, the American
lime-tree, and the fugar-maple, were the

mofl

* On my travels through the defart plains, beyond the
river Volga, X have Had feveral opportunities of making
the fame obfervations on Tea ; and every traveller, in the
fame circumftances, will readily allow them to be very
juft? F.

Between Forts Anne and St. Frederic. 3 1 5

jnoft numerous. The trees ftand at fome
jdiftance from each other ; and the foil in
which they grow is extremely rich.

After v/e had walked about a Swedi/b
mile, or fix Fnglifh miles, we came to the
place where the fix Frenchmen had left
their bark boats, of which we took one, and
rowed down the river, which Was now be-:
tween nineteen andtwenty yards broad. The,
ground on both fides was very fmooth, and,
not very high. Sometimes we found a hill
confifting of grey quartz, mixed with fmall
fine grains of grey fpar. We like wife -ob-?
ferved black ftripes in it ; but they were?
fmall, that I could not determine whe-
ther they were of glimmer, or of another
kind of ftone. The hills were frequently
divided into ftrata, lying one above another,
of the thicknefs of five inches. The ftrata
went from north to fouth ; and were not
quite horizontal, but dipping to the north.
As we went further on, we faw high and
fteep hills on the river-fide, partly covered
with trees ; but in other parts, the banks
con fift. of a fwampy turf ground, which
gave way when it was walked upon, and
had fome fimilarity to the fides of. our
marfhes, which my countrymen . are. now
about to drain. In {hofe parts where the
ground was low and flat* we did riot fee any

flones

3i6 June 174.9.

flones either on the ground, or on the
ibfter more ; and both fides of the river
when they were not hilly, were covered
with tall elms, American lime-trees, fugar-
mapies, beeches, hiccory-trees, fome water-
beeches, and white walnu* trees.

On our left we faw an old fortification of
flones laid above one another ; but nobody
could tell me whether the Indians or the
Europeanshzd built it.

We had rowed very fait all the afternoon,
in order to get forward ; and we thought that
we were upon the true road, but found our-
felves greatly miftaken : for towards night
we obferved, that the reeds in the river bent
towards us, which was a mark that the river
likewife flowed towards us ; whereas, if
we had been on the true river, it mould
have gone with us. We likewife obferved,
from the trees which lay acrofs the river,
that nobody had lately paffed that way,
though we fhould have feen the fteps of the
Frenchmen in the grafs along the fhore, when
they brqught their boat over thefe trees.
At laft, we plainly fiw that the river flowed
againft us, by feveral pieces of wood which
floated flowly towards us ; and we were con-
vinced, that we had gone twelve Eng/i/h
miles, and upwards, upon a wrong river,
which obliged us to return, and to row till

very

Between Forts Anne and St. Frederic. 3 1 7

very late at night. We fometlmes thought,
through fear, that the Indians, who were
gone to murder fome Eng/i/b, would una-
voidably meet with us. Though we rowed
very faft, yet we were not able to-day to
get half-way back to the place where we
nrft left the true river.

The moft odoriferous effluvia fometimes
came from the banks of the river, towards
nieht , but we could not determine what
flowers diffufed them. However, we fup-
pofed they chiefly arofe from the Afclepias
Syriacay and the Apocynum androfczmifo-

lium.

The Mujk-Rats could likewife be fmelled
at night. They had many holes in the
fhores, even with the furface of the water.

We paned the night in an ifland, where
we could not ileep on account of the gnats.
We did not venture to make a fire, for fear
the Indians mould find us out, and kill us.
We heard feveral of their dogs barking in
the woods, at a great diftance from us,
which added to our uneafinefs.

METEO.RO-

METEOROLOGICAL

OBSERVATIONS,

ADVERTISEMENT.

IN the firft column of thefe tables, the
Reader will find the days of the month ;
in the fccond, the time or hour of the day,
when the obfervations were made -, in the
third, the riling and falling of the ther-
mometer; in the fourth, the wind ; and iri
the fifth, the weather in general, fuch as
rainy, fair, cloudy, Sec.

The thermometer which I have made
ufe of is that of Mr. Celfius, or the Sivedifi
thermometer fo called, as I have already
pointed out in the preface. To diftinguifh
the degrees above freezing-point from thofe
below it, I have exprefled the freezing-
point itfelf by oo, and prefixed o to every

4 degree

Meteorological Obfervationt. 319

degree below it. The numbers therefore
which have no o before them, fignify the
upper degrees. Some examples will make
this flill more intelligible. On the 17th
of December it is remarked, that the ther-
mometer, at eight o'clock in the morn-
ing, was at 02.5. It was therefore at 2
degrees and to, or half a degree, below
the freezing-point ; but at two in the af-
ternoon, it was at 00.0, or exa&ly upon the
freezing-point. If it had been 00.3, it
would have fignified that the thermometer
was fallen 1% of a degree below the freezing-
point -, but 0.3 would fignify, that it was
rifen 4$ of a degree above the freezing-
point. Thus likewife 03.0. is three de-
grees below the freezing-point; and 4.0.
four degrees above it.

The numbers in the columns of the
winds fignify as follows : o, is a calm ;
1, a gentle breeze ; 2, a frefh gale ; 3, a
flrong gale ; and 4, a violent florin or hur-
ricane. When, in fome of the laft tables,
the winds are only marked once a day, it
fignifies that they have not changed that
day. Thus, on the 2 ifl of December, (lands
N. o fair. This fhews that the weather-
cocks have turned to the north all day ;
but that no wind has been felt, arid the
iky has been clear all the day long.

Before

320 Meteorological Obfervations.

Before I went to Canada in fummer
1749, I defired Mr. John Bartram to make
fome meteorological obfervations in Pen-
Jylvania, during my abfence, in order to
afcertain the fummer-heat of that pro-
vince. For that purpofe, I left him a
thermometer, and inftructed him in the
proper ufe of it -, and he was fo kind as to
write down his obfervations at his farm,
about four Englifo miles to the fouth of
Philadelphia. He is very excufable for not
putting down the hour, the degree of
wind, &c. for being employed in bufinefs
of greater confequence, that of cultivating
his grounds, he could not allow much
time for this. What he has done, is how-
ever fufficient to give an idea of the Pen-
Jyhanian fummer.

Augu-jl

■

■-

Augufi 1748.

321

D. H. Ther Wind

5
2

5

2

5

2

S

1

5

7
2

5

5 m

3 a

6 m

a
m

a
m

a

4
6

3
6

i
4

6

6

4
6

2

5
4

5

2

6
2
6

2
6

2
6

m

a
m

a
m

a
m

a
m
m

a
m

01

a

m

a
m

a
m

a
m

a
m

a
m

a
m

I , a

20. o

24.5

22.0

24.5

22.0

25-5
22.0

21.0

17.0

17.0

19.0

'5-5
18.0

19.0

»7-5
21.0

18.5

20.5

47.0

.8.5

22 o

22-0
16.O
'9.0
I7.O
I8.C
18.6
20.0
18.O
I9.5
18.3
18.5
I8.5

•9-5

19.0

20.5
19.5

20.0

1

S

s
s

E S E

E2

E 2

E 2

E 1
SSW

Si

S 1
SSW

S 2

S2

S Wi

S Wo

S Wo

WN Wo

WN W 1

E 1

E 1

E NE 1

S W 1

SW 1

W 3

N W 1

N W 1

WNW 2

WNW 2

W S W o

W S Wo

W S W o

N E 2
NN.E2

ENE2

Ez

The Weather in general.

Fair.

Cloudy with fome rain.

Alternately fair, cloudy and rainy all

day.
Chiefly rainy.
Cloudy.

Somewhat cloudy, but chiefly fair.
Alternately fair and cloudy,
Fair all day.

Fair.

Somewhat cloudy.
Fair.

Cloudy with fome drizz!. rain at ten.
Cloudy, fair, fomedrizzl. rain altern.
Cloudy with fome rain ; foggy* fome-

times fair.
Somewhat cloudy, fair from 1 1 m. to 3a.
Cloudy.
Cloudy ; fometimes fair ; at ten

o'clock fell a thin fog.
Somewhat cloudy ; fometime fair.
Dark j rainy at night.
Dark, with fome drizzling rain.
Drizzling rain all the afternoon.
Drizzling rain all the day.

Cloudy.
Scattered clouds.

Vol. II.

X

Sd

322

Auguft 1748.

D.

H. iTher Wind.

20

6

2

21

6

2

22

5

1

23

5

7

2

24

5

6

7

9

2

25

6

IO

2

26

6

m

a
m

a
m
. a
m

a
m

a

m

a
m

27

*8
29

3°
3i

19.5
21.5
20.8
213
21.0
23.5
22.2

24.2
23-5

2

a

6

m

11

1

a

4

7

m

2

a

6

m

2

a

6

m

2

a

6

m

r

1
1

24.5
23-5

24.0

24.5
24.5

21.5

23.0
23-5

25.9

23-S
21.5

22. 2

E 1

ESE 1
SE2

w s w2

W 2

WNW 1

NW 1

W 1

W N W 3

w2

s w2

WSWi

S Ez

E 3

N E4

N 1

S W 1

SW 3
N W 2

S W 1

The Weather in general.

Fair.

Scattered clouds : fometimes rain.

Somewhat cloudy, fair at nine

Thin clouds.

Fair ; about twelve it became cloudy.

Cloudy.

Scattered clouds.

Scattered clouds, dark towards eve.
Violent rain.

About feven it cleared up.

Scattered clouds.
Scattered clouds.

Fair. At night a great halo appeared

round the fun.
Dark. A ftrong rednefs at fun-fetting.
Cloudy. At ten it began to rain, and

it rained all day.

Rain.

Scattered clouds.

[lightning.
Towards evening drizzl. rain and
Scattered clouds j air very cool.

Fair : in the morning it began to grow
cloudy ; at night lightning, hard
rain, and fame thunder.

September

September 1748.

10
1 1

12

»3

>4
•S

16

323

H.

7 m
2 a

6 m

2 a

6 m

2 a

Thef

20. o

21. 5

19. 0

20. 5

21. 5

23.O

Wind.

N W

N W 1

N Wo

WS Wo

S 1

The Weather in general.

6 m
12 n
2 a
6 m
12 n
6 m
1 a

6 m

12 n

6 m
1 a
6 m
1 a
5m

1 a
6 m

2 a
6 m
1 a
5m
1 a
6 m
1 a
5m
1 a

23.

27.
24.
24.
26.
27.
28.

27-

5m
2 a

3

5
o

5

5
o

5

5

28. 5
26. 0
26. 5
24. 5

24-5

24. o

24.5
23.2

E

E 1

S E

SE 3
SE 2

Scattered clouds.

Clouds patting by. Rain and flrong
winds all the afternoon.

Scattered clouds all day.

At night a great halo round the moon.

Scattered clouds.
I It became more cloudy. In the even-
ing appeared a great halo round thf
fun.

Scattered clouds.

Scattered clouds.

25
24

26

2i
26

26. 5
23.0

27-5

Scattered clouds,

At night a great halo round the moon,
and the Iky very red.
E 3 Dark fometimes. The fun fhone
through the clouds.
N E 2 Scattered clouds.
N N E 2 Scattered clouds all day.

21.

21.

I

N 1

NN Wi

WNW,

A Calm.

S E 1

S E 1

S E 1

NNE 1

Scattered clouds all day.

Fair.

Fair.

At night a halo round the moon.

Fair, and very hot.

Fair.

Fair ; but a cool wind all the morning.

Scattered clouds.

It grew more cloudy. In the evening

and enfuing night, violent rain and

winds.
It rained hard all day.

X 2

n

324

September 1748.

l7

18

»9

20

21

22

23
24

25

26

28
29

30

H.

5 m

Ther

Wind.

2?-5

NW 1

1 a

21.0

6 m

13.0

Calm.

1 a

24.5

N N E 1

6 m

14.0

NE 1

6 m

II.O

N E 0

1 a

23.0

7 m

10.5

NE 1

1 a

25.0

6 m

1 1.0

NNE 1

2 a

28.0

6 m

14.0

NE 1

2 a

28.0

6 m

18.0

N W i

2 a

28.0

N E 1

6 m

»5«5

NN E 1

2 a

27.5

6 in

17.0

NE 1

2 a

27.0

6 m

14.0

N E 1

z a

20.0

7 m

"5-5

NE 1

2 a

20.5

7 m

16.0

NEo

The Weather in general.

Cloudy.

Scattered clouds.

Fair.

Fair all day.

Scattered clouds.

Scattered clouds.

Fair.

Fair.

Fair.

Tt grew dark. At night came rain,

which continued late.
Dark. At 8, fcattered clouds.
Scattered clouds.
Fair.

Cloudy. Fair at 8, and all the morning.

Cloudy.

Fair and cloudy alternately.

Cloudy.

Fine drizzling rain.

Alternately fair and cloudy.

OShbtr

OBober 1748.

325

H.

10
1 1
iz

13

H

*5

16

»7

18

»9

20

6
2
6
6
1

7
1

7

7
1
6

6
6

3
6

2
7

6
8

2
6

2
6
2
6
2
6
6
2
6

5

6

2

5
2

7

i

m

a
m
m

a

m
a

m

m
a

IT)

m
m

a
m

a
m

a
m

a
m

a

m

a
m

a
m
m

a
m

a
ni

a
m

a
m

a

Ther

19.0
.8.5

18.5
15.0
18.0

6.0
16.0

2.0

2.0
18.0

7.0
14.0
18.0
23.0
20.0
23.0
20.0
26.0

8.0

20.0
2.0

17.0

5.0

21.0

4-5
24.0

1 1.0

8.0
18.0
12.0

4..0
00.0

9.0
01. o

9.0
co.o

15.0

Wind.

S 1

S W o

N W 1

N W 1

N 1
NE 1

E N E 1
E N E 1
S S E 1

S W o

S W 1

WNW 1

W 1
WS W 1
WNW'i

WS Wo
S S W o

3 S E o

E NE o
N E 1

NWo

S W o

WS W 1

WNW 1

W o

The Weather in general.

Fair. Scattered clouds at 8.

Scattered clouds. Dark towards nighr.

Cloudy.

Cloudy.

Scattered clouds. late at night a

great halo round the moon.
Fair.

Fair.

Fair.

At night a great halo round the moon.

Cloudy. Fair at 9, and all day.

Cloudy. Scattered clouds at 8.

Rain all the morning.

Cloudy.

Fog, and a drizzling rain.

Fair.

Fog, which fell down. Fair at %.

Fair.

Fair all day.

In the morning, hoary frofl on the

plants.
Fair all day.
Fair.

Fair.

Cloudy.

Cloudy.

Cloudy. Violent rain all night.

Cloudy.

Scattered clouds.

Fair.

Tn the morning ice on (landing water,
I white hoary froft on the ground (
I fair all day.

326

D.

22
23

24

25
26

27

28
29

H. Thei Wind.

6

6
1

6
2
6

m
m

a
m

a
m

m
a

m
a

m

m
a

00.0

4-5
16.0

4-5
18.0

4-5

4.0

19.0

i.o

17.0

g.o

14.0

20. o

jo 6 m 3.0
3] 7 m 4.0

ii a'iS.o

W o

NNE 1

N o
SW 1

S Wo
S Wo

E 2
W 1

N W 1
W 1

OBober 1748.

The Weather in general.

I |«H '■■

Fair.

Fair.

Fair.

Fair. Air very much condenfed in tbfc

afternoon.
Fair.

Fair.

Heavy rain all day.

Fair.

At night I faw a meteor, commonly

called the (hooting of a ftar, going

far from N. W. to S. E.
Fair.
Fair.

Xe-vemcer

November 1748.

327

D.

H.

1

2

3
4

5
6

7

S

10
11

13
13

»5

16

J7

18
'9

7m

6 m

3 a

7 m

1 a
7m

12 n

7m
1 a
7m
1 a
7m

4 a
7m
ia
7m
9m

1 a
7m

l«

7m
ia
6m

2 a

4
7m

2 a
7m
1 a
7m
1 a
7m
7m
1 a
7m

3 a

7m

2 s

Ther

3-0

4.0
18.0

7.0
14.0

1.0

19.0

4.0

17.0

4-5
12.0

7.0

1 i.j

11. 5

.8.0
17.0
15.0
17.0

6.0
<3-o

4.0
12.0
03.0
11.5

5.0
00.0

5-5
0.5

8.0

3.0

8.0

4-5
01. o

8.0

4.0

6.5

03.0

11.5

Wind.

S 1

N o

NW 1
SE o
S W o

S W 1

NE 1

E NE 1

E NE 2

E S E 3

S E 1

S S W 1

S S W 2

WN W 2
WSW 1

S W 1

NW 2

NNE 1

N 3 ■
N 2
S 2

W 1

W 1

S 1

N W 2
W o

The Weather in general.

Fair.
Fair.

Fair.

In the morning the fields were co-
vered with white froft.
A fair day.
Fair.

Fair.

Towards evening fomewhat cloudy. .

Cloudy.

Drizzling rain.

Heavy rain.

Drizzling rain.

At eight it cleared up.

Scattered clouds.

Fair.

Cloudy.

Scattered clouds.
Fair.
Cloudy.

This morning ice on the waterj

Fair.

Fair.

A ftrong red aurora.

Cloudy, and continual drizzling rain.

Fair.

Fair and cloudy alternately, j

Sometimes drizzling rain. t

Fair.

Fair.

X4

2e

3*8

November 1748.

D.

H.

Ther

Wind.

20
21

7

2

7

m
a

m

01. 0
15.0

NNE 1 '
S 1
S W 2

22

1

7

a

m

19.0
20 0

E 1

2

a

10.0

25

24

25
26

8
8
7

T
/

m

a

m

m

16.0

00.0

S 1

S W 4

WNWi
N W 0
N W 0

27

1

28

29

3°

N 1

The Weather in general.

Fair.
Fair.
Rain all day.

Cloudy, foggy, and rain now and

then.
Fair. . [to-day.

It was very cold laft night, and fair
Alternately fair and fomewhat cloudy,

and always pretty cold.
Fair; fcattered clouds -.pretty warnj

in the air.
Cloudy, foggy, and quite calm.
Somewhat cloudy.
Fair, and a little cold.

Pectmb

er

December 1748.

3?9

D.

H.

Ther

Wind.

The Weather in general.

1

N 1

Fair.

2

WSW 1

Fair, and cold ; a great halo round
the moon at night.

3

WSW 1

A pretty red aurora, however a fair
day,

4

7

m

6.0

S S W 0

Fair.

3

a

18.0

5

7

m

5-5

NNE 1

4

a

9-5

6

7

m

6.5

SSWi

Cloudy.

1

3

a

14.0

Somewhat fairer : hard rain in the
next night.

7

1

m

'3-5

SW 1

Cloudy.

2

a

19.0

Fair.

8

7

m

5.0

S 1

Cloudy.

2

a

*3-5

Rain and wind next night ; thick, but

9

7

m

12.0

S W 2

. fcattered clouds.

2

a

10.0

WNW2

10

WNW2

Scattered clouds.

11

7

m

2.0

S SW 1

Fair.

2

a

12.5

12

7

m

0.5

NE 1

Cloudy, rain, and fog all day from

2

a

10.5

nine o'clock.

»3

8

m

7-5

S W 0

Foggy, and cloudy.

2

a

10.0

Next night a ftrong N. W. wind.

!4

8

m

1.0

NW 2

Scattered clouds.

2

a

2.0

»S

8

m

07.0

WNW 1

Fair and cloudy alternately.

2

a

01. 0

16

8

m

CI.O

W 1

Fair-

2

a

■•5

17

8

m

02.5

NW 1

Cloudy, fome fnow, the firft this win-

2

a

00.0

ter.

18

8

m

03.0

W 1

Fair.

2

a

4.0

»9

8

m

1.0

W 1

Cloudy.

2

a

8.0

Fair.

20

8

m

01. 5!

WSW 2

Scattered clouds : about fix at night

2

a

J 1
7-5,

WSW 1

were quite red ftripes on the fky,

1

1
1

to the North.

21

33°

December 1748.

D.

H,

21

8 m

2 a

22

8 m'

2 a

23

8 m

2 a

24

8 m

2 a

25

8 m

2 a

26

8 m

27

28

2 a

8 m

8 m

2 a

8 m

30 8
2

31

8

a

m

a

m

*■*

Ther

07.0
2.0
04.5
13.0
13.0
18.0
13.0
17.0

18.0

18.5
3-°

3-5
04.0
07.0

8.0

3-°

13.0
8.0

10.0
6.0
4.0

Wind.

The Weather in general.

N 0

Fair.

SE 0

Fair.

lc grew cloudy in the afternoon.

S S W 0

Heavy rain.

Foggy, and cloudy.

WSWo

Thick fog.

S W 1

Fair ; but late in the evening a hard

ihower of rain.

S 3

Lafi night was a ftorm, rain, thun-

der, and lightning.

S SE 2

Heavy rain all day.

W 3

Lalt night a violent ftorm from W.

and S. and heavy rain. The

morning was cloudy, and fome

fnow fell.

WNW3

Clears up.

W N W 3

Fair.

W 0

Fair.

N N E 1

Somewhat cloudy, and intermittent

ihowsrs.

— c

•

N N E 1

Cloudy and foggy all day.

W 3

Tair.

N W 1

'M night a halo round the moon*

Jamury

'January 1749-

33 ^

P.

H.

1 7im
2 a

2 7i™
2 a

3 7im

2 a

4 7im
2 a

5 7^m

6 7im

S

/z

5

7*
2

1\

2

m

a

Im

a

Ther

0 7im

\

jo 7'

a

a
a
H 7'm

12

'3

2 a

7im
2 a

7im
1 a

1 a

m

17
18

Wind.

The Weather in general.

15 7

2 a

16 7 m
8 m
2 a
7 m
7 a
7 m
10m

07.0
4.0

04- 5
5-5

2.C

2.0
02.0

I 1.0

03.0
03.0
14.5
14.5

01. o

3-°

04.0

8.0

03.0
8.0

15.0
2.0

04.0
04.0
01.5
07.5
03.0
05.5
02.0
07.0

3-°
08.9
09.0
08.0
011.0
09.0

CIZ.O
OI I.O

N W o Fair.

Alternately fair and cloudy.

Cloudy.

Fair.

— o
WNW 1

N W 1

— 1

W 1

— 1

W o
W o

— o
N W 3

WNW 1
1

1

WNW

WNW 1

S 2
W 4

WNW 3

— 3

WNW3

NN W2
WNW2

Fair.

Fair, but darkened towards night,
with fome (how.

Somewhat cloudy.

Fair.

Aurora, cloudy, heavy rains at
night.

Cloudy, and mowers, fome fnow at
night; at 9 morn. W. S. W. 3 ; at
11. m. S. W. 4 ; at 2 aft. W, 4.

Cloudy.

Fair.
Fair.

:— . 2! Cloudy.
WNW 1 1 Cloudy, and fnows all day ; it lay
above two inches thick.
Fair.

All the laft night W N W 4.
Fair all day.

Cloudy ; fnows all day, and the en*

fuing night.
Cloudy, and fnows in the morning,

fair all the afternoon, and the ther.

at oi 1.0: fnow lay five inches deep.

— 1

WNWo

— o

NW 3

— 1

NNE o

— o
NW 1

'9

332

January 1749.

D.

19
20

21

22

23
24

25
26

27
28

29
3°
3'

H.

7 m

1 a
7 m

2 a

7 m
2 a

7 m

2 a

7 m

7 a
7 m

2 a

7m

2 a

7 m

2 a

7 m

2 a
7m

3 a
7 m

3 a
7 m

3 a
7m

3 a

Ther.

015.5
010.5
012.5

07. c

022.0

03. c

05. o
01 .c

OIO. c

3-c
oi.o

4.0

00. c

4.0

013.0

1.0

Wind.

W 1
— 1
W 1

WNWo
W x
W 1
W 1

WNWi

NNE o

N E o

WNWo

W o

WN W

The Weather in general.

Fair.

Fair.

Fair.

Fair.

Cloudy.

Fair ; a great halo round the moon at

night.
Cloudy, fnows all day.

Fair.

Fair.

WN Wi
— 1

NNE 1

07.0
00.0
01.0

4.0
05.0
03.0
013.0 WNW 1

4.0I — 1
04.0.WNW 1

8.0I — 1

— I Cloudy ; at three in the afternoon

]. began to fnow.
W 1 j Fair ; halo round the moon at night.

Cloudy ; fnows almoft all day.

Fair.

Fair j halo round the moon at night.

Fair; halo round the moon at night.

Flbr

uarj

February 1749.

333

D.l H.

7

1

7
2

7
2

7
2

7

1

7

2

10
11

12

13

»4

15
16

»7

1

m

a
m

a
m

a
m

a
m

a
m

a

7

2

7

2

7
3

7

1

7
1

7
1

7
3
7
3
61

6i

2

64

2

m
a

m

a
m

a
m

a
in

a

m

a
m

a
m

a
m

a
m

a
m

a

Ther j Wind.

03.0WNW1
11.0 W 1
5.0WNW0
60 Wo
W o
— o
W o
1 1.04a. NNE 2
o6.o|NN W 2
030! N W 2
010.5 N W o
3.0'w S W 1

00.0

19.5

5-5

01.0N N E 1
1.0 N W 1

09.0
7.0

03.0

16.0
7.0

11.0
9.0

II. o

4.0

1 0.0

2.0

5.0

06.0

02.5

OIO.5
O3.O

OI3.O
OO.O
02.0
00.0

N W o
W 1
W 1
— 1
W 1
S S W 4
SS W 2

SS W 3

WNW2

N W 2

N W 1

WNW2

N W t

WNWo

WNWo

N W 1

WNWi

W i

The Weather in general.

Fair j a halo round the moon at night.

Fair.

Fair.

Cloudy ; at ten at

NNE 3. fnow.
Fair.

night wind

A cracking noife was heard in all
houfes the night before. Aurora.—
Fair all day, — at 7 in the morn.
N W c— at 9, W N W 1— at
11, W 1 — at 2 in the afternoon,
WSW 1.

Cloudy — fair — at 7 in the morn.
NNE 1— at 9, N 1— at 10,
W N W 1— at 12, N W 1.

Fair.

Fair.

Pretty clear ; a violent ftorm with
rain all the enfuing night.

Fair; rain towards night ; at night a
light fimilar to an Aurora Borealit
inS. W.

Fair ; about nine at night a faint Au-
rora Bovealis in S W.

Cloudy.

Fair.

Fair.

Flying clouds.

Fair ; at eight in the evening an Au-
rora B or talis.

Fair.

Cloudy and fnow j wind all the after-
noon long.

it

334

February 1^49.

D.

H.

18

6im

2 a

19

6|m

2 a

20

61 m

2 a

21

6^m

4 a

22

6|m

2 a

£1 ™

Ther

2.0
00.0
03.0
01.0

'•5

4-5
00.8

4.0

4. a
*4

25

26

28

61 m

3
m

a

rn
a

b m

3 a

6 m

3 a

Wind.

WNW 1

NN E 2

N W 1

NW o

NNE 1

3 o

3-5

06.0

4.0

40

10.0

3-°
1

012.0

02.0

04.0

OI.'O

04.5
c3-5

WNW 2

W 2

S S W !
W 1

WNWo

NN W 1

N 2

N W 4
JW N W 4

The Weather in general.

Cloudy.

Cloudy ; rain all day,

fnow and hail.
Cloudy.

mixed with

Cloudy ; at 5 in the morn, we heard
a waterfall near a mill, about a
mile S S of us .making a ftronger
noife than common, tho' the air
was very calm — at 10 began a rain
which continued the whole day.

Fair.

Fair.

Some clouds gathered round the fun.

Cloudy.

Alternately fair and cloudy.

Fair ; cloudy at night; at eight in the
evening was a halo round the moon,
and the clouds in S. quite red.

Cloudy, and fnow in the morning ;
but fair at 4 in the afternoon.

Flying clouds.

March

March 1749.

335

D.

H.

1

6

m

3

a

2

6

m

4

a

3

6

m

2

a

4

6

m

2

a

5

6

m

2

a

€

6

m

7

6

m

2

a

S

6

m

3

a

Ther

JO

:.:

12

»3

»4

*5
16

■7

18

6im

09.0
01.5
06.0

25
04.0

6.5

0.5
7.0
4.0

1 1.0
4.0

00.0
8.0

2.0

20.0

5-°
13.5

Wind.

WNW2

N Wa

NW 1
S 1

E S E 1

S 1

W 1

W 3

W 2
WS W 1

WNWo
WSW 2

N 1

The Weather in general.

a
m

a
m

a

m

a
m

a
m

a
m

a
m

a
m

a

q-O

S S E i

6.5

S E 1

9.0

S S E 1

14.O

Wi

9.0

NNW 0

15.0

E N E 0

9-5
8.0

NNE 2
• om. N 3
WN W2

4.0
10. 0
00.0
13.0

2.5
01.0
01.0

5.0
02.0 W S Wo

4.0]

Fair. A great halo round the moon

at night.
Fair. A faint halo round the moon

at night.
Fair. Cloudy afternoon. About 8

at night the clouds in S. W. were

quite red. At 9 it began to fnow.
Cloudy. Heavy rain at night.

Alternately fair and cloudy. The

next night calm.
Fair.
Alternately fair and cloudy in the

morning. In the afternoon cloudy,

with intermittent rain and thunder.
Fair. About 8 at night we faw what

is called a fnowfire to the S.W. — See

Vol.11, p. 81.
Fair.
Cloudy. Snowfire in S. W. about 8

at night.
Cloudy. Snow and rain all day, and

next night.
Cloudy and heavy rain in the morn-
ing. Clears up in the afternoon.
Cloudy in the morning. Clears up

at 10. Towards night cloudy, with

rain.
Cloudy, with heavy rain. Fair at 4

in the afternoon.
Fair. »

WSW o
W 2

N NE 3

N W 2

W 2

Fair. Cloudy towards night.
Snow violently blown about all day.

Cloudy. Clears up at 8 in the

morning.
Fair. The fields were now covered

with fnow.

<9

33

D
'9

20
21

22'

23

24

25
26

27
zS

29

30

31

March *749«

1

I.

6

in

3

a

6

m

3

a

6;

m

3

a

6

m

3

a

6

m

3

a

6

m

3

a

64

m

3

a

6

m

5

a

6

m

3

a

61

m

3

a

6

m

2

a

6

m

2

4

4

m

3

a.

02.0
6.0

°5-5
11. 5

2.0
14.5
10. o
19.5
15.0
19.0

8.0
15.0

6.5
1 10
00.0 .
no

30
90

3-°

1 2.0

10

6.0

03.0

4.0

5P

140

Wind.

WNW 1
N W2

W o
S W 1

S S E 0

S S E o

S S E 1

S W 1

WNW3
WNW 2

s w2

WNWi
S \

na.NNW3

NNW2

E 1

S Ei

Ni

The Weather in general.

Fair.

Fair. Cloudy towards night.

Cloudy.

Cloudy. Intermittent mowers.

Cloudy.

Heavy rain.

Fair.

Fair.

Flying clouds.

Fair.

Flying clouds. About 8" at night a

fnowfire on the horizon in S. W.
Fair.

Rain all the day, and the next night.
Fair.

Fair. Cloudy at noon : begins to
fnow, which continues till night,
when it turned into rain.

Cloudy.

Apnl

D.

3

4

5

6

8
9

10

n

12

13

«4

15

i6

»7

18

H.

6 m

m

a
m

a
m

a
m

a
m

a
m

a

Ther

5-5

3-5

05

0.5
02.0

9.0
02.0
16.0
oe 5
ig.©

4.0
23.0
13.0
24.0

7
3

6

3
7
3
6

3
6

2
6
2
6
2
6
2
6
2
6

3
7
3

m
a

m
a

m
a

m
a

m
a

m
a

m
a

m

a

m

a

m

a

m

a

9.0

13.0

1.0

7.0

M

6.5

5.0

9.0

2.0
13.0

April 1749.

Wind. I

337

The Weather in general.

6.5

13-5
7.0

16.0

6.0

18.0

NNE .
E 1

NNEi

NW j

W 1

N 1
S W 1
S W 1

S 2

N W 3

N 1

N E 1

N E 1

W N W 2

N'W 2

S W 1

E r

E 1

WNW2

S 1
SW 1

No
N W 3

Vol. II.

Rain in the morning, — afternoon,—
and in the night.

Snow, with much thunder and light-
ning.

Snow almoft the whole day.

Fair,

Fair.

Fair.

Sun very red at fetting.

Fair.

Fair. Cloudy afternoon.

About 7 in the evening it began to

rain, and continued till late at

night.
Flying clouds.

Alternately fair and cloudy. Snows
in the evening, and at night.

Cloudy. Began to rain at ten, aiid
continued all day till night.

Rain almoit the whole day.

Fair. Afternoon cloudy, with hail
and rain.

Fair.

Cloudy.

Cloudy ; fair at eio-ht. Cloudy to-
wards night.

Almoft quite fair.

Fair.

Alternately fair and cloudy.

Rain.

Fair.

y 19

338 April 1749.

D. H. rTher Wind. The Weather in general.

'9

20

21
22

33

24

j| m

J a

6 m

3 a

5 m

3 a

26

27
28
29

30

5im

3

6

3
6

a
m

a

m

a

m

a
m

a
m

a
m

a
m

a

2.0

:o.o
2.0

13.0
23.0
11.0
25.5
12.0
22.0
18.0
24.0

28.0
30.0
17.0
25.0
7.0
24.0

7.o

17.0

3.0

»5-5

NNW o

W 2

S W o

S W 1

So

W 1

S 1

S o

W 1

W 2

W o

N 2
E 2
E 1
S \

Fair.

A koar froft this morning. Fair and

very hot all day.
Fair ; with hot vapours raifed by the

fun.
Almoft fair.

Fair.

Cloudy, intermittent drizal. fliowers.

Rain the preceding night, and now
and then this day. At night thun-
der and lightning-
Fair.

Fair.

Fair.

Fair.

Flying clouds.

Mmj,

May 1749.

33.9

D.i H. Ther Wind

10

1 1
12

»3

>4
»5

3
165

-f
»7 5

3
18 5

'9

20

2 r
22
23

*4

m

a
m

a
m

a
m
m

a
m
m
in
m

a
m

a
hi

a
m

a
m

a
m
m

a

m
a
m

a
m
m
m
m
m

m
a

5
3
0

5

3
1 2 m

01.5
18.5

1.0
23.0

40
27.$
16.0
13.0
27.0
14.5
13.0

4.0
14.0
14.0
»3«o
16.0
12.0
28.0
13.0
20.0

90
18.5
00.5

9.0
20. j
'7.0
23.0
20. o
24.0
13.0
17.0
19.0
24.0
20.0

17.0

32 o-

S o

S W 1

W 1

W 1

vv
s

N
N

N

3

The Weather in general.

o
o
o

S S Wo

W S W c
WNW2

N W 1

N Wo

SSW2

S 1

Hoar froft this mornbg, — iair.^

W
W

S W 1
S W 1

S W 1

b air.

Fair.

Fair.

Flying clouds.

Fair.

Somewhat cloudy.

Fair.

Rain almofl: the whole day.

Intermittent fhowers.

Fair.

Fair.

Fair.

Fair.
Cloudy.
Rain.
Cloudy.

Rains intermittently all day ; and

lightens very much at ni?ht.
Fair.
Fair.
{Fair.
I

Fair.

Fair. Very hot.
Fair.

Fair.
Y 2

34°

D H. iTher Wind

May 1749-

25 8

2

26

27
28
29
50

3'5

11

m

a
m

a
m

a
m

a
m

a

m

■ a

m

a

23.0

28.0

21.0

25.0

17.0

25.0

15.0

25.0

j6. c

25.0

13.0

25.0

»3 °

27.0

The Weather in general.

S W 1 Fair, and very warm.

W N W 2|Flying clouds ; at night thick clouds,
with florm and rain.
Thick, fcattered clouds.
Pretty cool.
Flying clouds.

W 2
W 1

W 2

Flying clouds.

WNW 1 Fair.
W 1 Cloudy.
S W 1 (Somewhat cloudy.
Fair.

7<

tint

June 1749.

34:

D,

9

!0

H. jTher

m

m

3 a
5>
3 a

5 m
3 a
Alld

6 m

3
5
5

3

7

2

6

3

S

3
6

3

6

3
6

a
m
m

a
m

a
m

a
m

a
va

a
m

a
m

2 a

3 a
S m

a

2C

22
2;

m

a

m

a

m

m

m

a

23.0

24.0

26.0

'5-5

22.0
18.5

23.0
20.0

*SS

23.0

13.0
1 1.0

22.5
20.0
33.O
23.O
32.O
I9.O
27.O
26.O
25.O
l8.0
26.5
20.0
2S.C
18.0
27.5
21. C
32.O
20.0

27. C

18.O
26.O
23.C
9.O
I7.O

Wind.

S VV 1
S E 1

SW 1

N W 1
S 1

SW 1

NWo

S W 1

N 1

S W 1

N o

S 2

S E 2

The Weather in general.

Rain the preceding night.

Morning cloudy, — clears up at ten,—
flying clouds.

Flying clouds ; afternoon, thunder-
clouds, with rain from the N W.

Flying clouds.

Fair.

Alternately fair and cloudy.

Cloudy and rainy.

Cloudy.

Flying clouds.

Fair.

Fair.

Flying clouds.

Thunder-ftorm, with rain.

Fair.

Somewhat cloudy.

Almoit fair.

S i

No
N NE

Fair.

Thunder- clouds, with rain.

Fair.

N o Fair.

E S E 1 Fair.

N E t Thunder, with heavy fhowers.
N N W 1 Fair.

S 1 Fair.

Cloudy.
SW o Cloudy, with forr.e (hovers.
W 1 Fair.
S I Fair.
N W 1 i Cloudy.

Y 3

24

34*

June 1749-

D

H. 1

Ther j

—

—

- —

24

6

m

20.5

—

a

25

5

m

23.C

2

a

32.0

26

5

m

i».o

27

6

m

I-.O

28

6

m

18.0

c

a

35.0

20

7

m

6.0

3C

5

m

II'.©

3

a

31.01

Wind.

S 1

S W 1

S 1

N 1)

S 1

W 1

The Weather in general.

Cloudy, afterwards fair.
Thunder and rain.
Fair.

Fair.
Fair.
Fair.

Fair.
Fair.

Juh

July 1749.

343

D.

1

2

3

H.

5 ■

8 m

z a

6 m
- a

a

4|m

6 m

to

u

m
a

4jm
3 a

1 2

3
»4

*S

16

"7

18

«9
20

21

22

m

a

m

m

a

5 m

2 a

5 m

3 a
5 m

10 m
m

5

3 a

5 «»

2 a

5 «
— a

5 m

3 a

a
m

a

Ther

7-5
26.0

28.0

20.0

26.0

18.0

17.0
16,0

21.0

22.0

18.0

24.5

17.0

26.0

22.0

20.0

3j.o

21.0

28.0

26. c

28.0

14.0

Wind.

N 3

N 2

N 1

— 1
S 1
N 2
W 1

— 1
S W 1

N W o
No

S W o
S W o

SSEi

W 1

SSWi

WSWi

The Weather in general.

19.0
24.0
15.0
25.0
19.0

19.0
24.0

27.0
16.0
27.0

NNE 1

S o
S S E 1
S 1

INEo
S S W 1

S 1

— I

S o

— o

S W 2
S W 2

Flying clouds.

Fair.

Fair.

Thunder-ftorm, and rain at night.

Cloudy ; intermittent mowers in the
afternoon.

Fair.

Cloudy ; rain at night.

Rain all the preceding night ; fair i>
day-time.

Fair.

Alternately fair and cloudy. A halo
round the fun, in the forenoon.

Rain the preceding night. In day-
time, cloudy, with fome mowers.

Fair ; fomecimes flying clouds and
mowers.

Fair.

Fair,
Fair.

Fair.

Fair.

Fair; fometimes douuy

Fair.

Cloudy,

Fair.

Cloudy ; rain.

Pretty fair.

Fair.

Cloudy ; fome rain.

Fair.

Flying clouds.

Fair.

*3

5

44

D.

H.

Ther

27 6 m

3 a
24

25 ?

0 m

a

m

26

27
28

3°

31

># 1749-
Wind. I The Weather in general.

.-> a

5 m

a

m

a
m

a
m

a
m

a
m

a

iq.o

28.5

20.0

29.0

20.0

29.5

2 1.0

30.0

22.0

21.5

17.0

27.0

16.0

24. c

14.0

26. c

]6.o

22. c

S S W 1 ■ Alternately fair and cloudy.

i

S W 1 J Fair.
WSW o Fair.

- o !

S o

— 1

W 1

— 1

W 1

— I

N W «

Fair.

Cloudy ; intermittent mowers,

Fair.

Fair; flying clouds at night, and
— 1 mowers.

W N W 1 Fair.

E 1 I Cloudy ; rain almoit all day.

4fz **ft

D

H.

6 m

3 a

a

io

i

,2

3
4

'S
; 6

7
8

20

21

5

Tlrer

m

m

a

m

a

m
a

m
a

m
a

m
a

m
a

m

m
a

m
a

m

a

m

a

m

a

m

a

m

a

m

*a

m

a

m

a

a

22. o
28.0
16.0

13.0

21.0

Augufi 1749. 345

Wind. The Weather in general.

NE 1

N E 1

S E 1

SW 2

N E 2

16.0
16.0
13.0
16.0
16.0
27.0
14.0
20.0
14.0
24.0

'5-5

14.0

25.0

15-5

30.0

16.0

26.0

14.0

28.0

14.0

26.0

14.5

27.0

16.0

29.0

17.0

30.0

16.5

28.0

17.0

29.0

27.0

N E
S W
N E

E S E

s w
s W
s W

W 1
W i

Cloudy. Some fhowers.

Fair.

Cloudy. Fair towards night.

Fair.

Cloudy. Some fhowers.

Fair.

Heavy rain all day.

Some thunder.

Cloudy. Frequent fhowers.

Cloudy. Some mowers.

Flying clouds.
Rain at night.
Flying clouds.

Cloudy.
Flying clouds.

1

N W
N E
N E
S E

S o

W 1

W 1

— I

S W o

— o
S W 1

Fair.
Fair.
Fair.
Fair.

At ni^ht thunder and rain.

Flying Clouds.

Thunder and rain in the morning. At

ten in the morning flying clouds.
Fair.

Fair.

Fair.

82

346

Auguft 1749.

P.

22

*3

24

26

28

H.

5
3

5
2
6
2

5
4
5
3

5

2

is

J2

3° e
3«

m

a
m

3
m

a
m

a
m

a
ci

a
m

a
m

•>■> m
6 m

Ther

19.0

17-S

i6.S
22.5
13.5

22. 0

7.0

20. s
13.0
18.0
io-s

23.0
10.0

20.0
13.0

H.O

.3.6
18. s

Wind.

N E 2

SW 3

— 3
S W 2

— 2
S W 2

2

N E 1

S W 1

— 1

S W 1

— I

N E 2

N E 2

S !

— 1

The Weather in general.

4

Rain all day.

Rain early in the morning. At 10 ra.

flying clouds.
Flying clouds.

Fair.

Alternately fair and cloudy.
Much rain this afternoon.
Flying clouds.

Fair.

Fair.

Fair.

Fair and cloudy alternately.

Intermittent Ihowers.

Septemb

tr

September 1749.

347

D. H. fTher Wind.

The Weather in general.

Fair.

Cloudy. Rain towards night.
Fair.

Somewhat cloudy.

348

D.

23
24

25

2
26 8

3

6

27
28
29

3°

September 1748.

H.

Ther

Wind.

m

m

14.0
18.0

S W 0

S W 2

a

m

26.0
16.0

2

W 1

a
m

17.0
12.5

N E 1

a

m

a

m

11. 5

9-3

1-4.0

8.0

N 1
S W 1

a
m

14.0
8.0

S !

a
m

13.0
14.0

— I

S W 2

a

18.0

2

The Weather in general.

Fair.

Fair. Rain at noon.

Flying clouds in the afternoon.

Alternately clear and cloudy.

Fair.

Cloudy and rainy.

Rain all day.

Heavy rain all day.

Fog.

Flying clouds.
Drizzling rain.
Somewhat clear.

D.

OBobcr 1749.

H

7i

m

n

7

m

6

m

1

a

6

m

6

m

a

6±

m

3

a

H

m

2

a

61

m

3

a

Ther

9.0

2.0

3-5
12.0

1 1.0

10.5

II. o

• o o

! 2.0

10. o
14.0

7.0

18.0

Wind.

N W 1

— 1
W 1

S W 1

— 1
S t

N E 1

EN E 1
E N E i

S 1

S 1

The Weather in general.

Rain.

Somewhat fairer.

Koarfroii this morning. Fair all day.

Fair.

Rain.
Cloudy.

Rain all day.

Flying clouds.

Fair.

METEOROl

METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS,

Made by Mr. John Bartram, near Philadelphia,
During my Abfence, in the Summer of the Year 1749.

D.

Theri

Ther

Mom

Aft.

1

22

25

2

20

27

3

23

28

4

22

28

5

18

25

6

18

25

7

22

22

8

21

9

21

10

H

22

1 1

22

23

12

25

25

«3!

23

25

'4

25

27

M

24

28

16

22

26

J7

2S

27

18

2S

27

»9

23

24

20

'7

26

21

24

26

22

18

27

23

'5

29

24

22

30

*<;

22

3'

26

23

30

27

»9

3 2

28

H

36

29

2S

37

30

2S

36

^z/;^ 1749.

Wind.

w

w

w
w
w

w

N E

N E

N

E

E

E

E
E 3

E

E

E

E
N W

W

W

W

w
w
w

N
W
W

w

N

The Weather in general.

Cloudy.

Cloudy.

Showers.

Fair.

Fair.

Cloudy.

Cloudy.

Fair.

Jut,

35°

July 1749.

D.

Ther

Ther

Wind.

The Weather in

general

Morn

Aft.

1

2 1

3°

W

2

18

»7

NW

$

26

2S

s w

Heavy fiiowers.

4

24

36

NW

5

22

32

W

6

22

34

NW

Rain.

7

20

35

W

Hard fhowers.

8

20

35

N E

Rain.

9
10

20

29

N

Fair.

16

29

N

Fair,

11

17

33

NW

Fair.

12

20

35

W

Fair. Rain at night.

13
>4

22

33

w

Fair.

26

3o

w

Hard fiiowers*

15

20

29

N

Fair.

16

21

3°

E

Rain.

17

29

29

N E

Cloudy.

18

1*

19

N E

Rain.

19

18

33

w

Fair.

20

'9

33

W

Fair.

21

22

3*

W

Fair.

22

z\

23

W

Heavy fiiowers.

23

25

25

W

Heavy fiiowers.

24

20

36

w

Fair.

25

27

36

W

26

28

32

W

27

24

30

w

Fair.

28

!9

27

w

Fair.

29

23

86

w

Ram.

30

3°

3 +

31

1 21

34

4huA

Auguft 1749. 351

ind. The Weather in generz.1.

Morn Aft.

2

18

32

3

'7

3°

4

18

33

5

22

39

6

18

37

7

»7

27

8

'4

25

9

12

24

10

«3

24

11

11

25

12

i4i

30

*3

18

3'

H

18

30

>5

•5

30

16

23

33

17

»4

34

18

18

37

»9

18

25

20

20

26

21

20

2S

22

23

34

23

17

34

24

18

30

2?

20

32

26

10

24

27

12

20

28

»3

23

29

22

24

30

>7

25

3*

20

29

w

N2
W

N W
N W
N W
N W
NW
N W
W

w

N

N W
W

s w

N E

N W

N W

W

w

NWbyW
N W
N W
N W

W

E

E

Rain.

Rain.

Fair.
Fair.
Fair.
Fair.

Riftmltr

352

September 1749.

H.

Ther

Ther
Aft.

Wind.

Morn

1

19

30

E

2

18

20

E

3

'9

25

E

4

2€

25

E

5

23

2!

N E

6

23

37

N E

7

24

34

N E

8

H

32

N E

9

23

33

N E

10

23

32

W

u

>9

25

N E

12

'3

25

N E

'3

12

20

N E

J4

12

33

N E

"»

'3

27

N E

16

20

26

N E

"7

17

27

E

18

16

34

S E

'9

12

3°

s w

20

17

26

21

17

25

w

22

'5

30

E

23

20

29

E

24

21

29

W

25

23

28

W 3

26

20

•5

EbyN

27

1$

19

NW

28

10

20

NW

29

3°

6

26

.w

The Weather in general.

Hard fhowers.

Rain.

Rain.

Foggy.

Cloudy.

Cloudy.

Cloudy.

Cloudy.

Rain.

Rain.

Thunder-ftorm.

October 1749.

).

Ther. ]

Ther.

M.

Aft.

I

13

25

2

14

29

3

8

»5

4

*3

I 29

Wind.

W

NW

N

W

D.

Ther.

Ther.

M.

Aft.

5

17

30

b

18

3°

7

16

21

8

II

22

Wind.

E
E

NW
NW

End of Vol. II.