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Title: Travels into North America, Volume 1 (of 3)

Author: Pehr Kalm

Translator: Johann Reinhold Forster

Release date: October 10, 2023 [eBook #71849]

Language: English

Original publication: Warrington / London: William Eyres, 1770

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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TRAVELS INTO
NORTH AMERICA, VOLUME 1 (OF 3) ***

TRAVELS
INTO
NORTH AMERICA;

CONTAINING

Its Natural History, and
A circumstantial Account of its
Plantations and Agriculture in general,

WITH THE
CIVIL, ECCLESIASTICAL AND
COMMERCIAL STATE OF THE
COUNTRY,
The manners of the inhabitants, and
several curious and important remarks
on various Subjects.

By PETER KALM,
Professor of Oeconomy in the University of Aobo in
Swedish Finland, and Member of the Swedish Royal
Academy of Sciences.
TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH
By JOHN REINHOLD FORSTER, F.A.S.

Enriched with a Map, several Cuts for the Illustration
of Natural History, and some additional Notes.
VOL. I.

WARRINGTON:
Printed by WILLIAM EYRES.
MDCCLXX.

TO THE HONOURABLE

DAINES BARRINGTON,

One of his Majesty’s Justices of the Grand Sessions for the
Counties of Anglesey, Caernarvon, and Merioneth.

SIR,

I Presume to prefix your name to a performance which will in some
measure display to the British nation, the circumstances of a country which
is so happy as to be under its protection.

Every lover of knowledge, especially of natural history, must be sensible of
your zealous endeavours to promote every branch of it. It was my great
happiness to fall within your notice, and to receive very substantial and
seasonable favours from your [iv]patronage and recommendations. I shall
ever remain mindful of your generosity and humanity towards me, but must

lament that I have no other means of expressing my gratitude than by this
publick acknowledgment.

Accept then, Dear Sir, my earnest wishes for your prosperity, and think me
with the truest esteem,

Your most obliged,
and obedient
humble Servant,

John Reinhold Forster.

Warrington,
July 25th. 1770. [v]

PREFACE.
The present Volume of Professor Kalm’s Travels through North America, is
originally written in the Swedish language, but was immediately after
translated into the German by the two Murray’s, both of whom are Swedes,
and one a pupil of Dr. Linnæus, and therefore we may be sure that this
translation corresponds exactly with the original.

Baron Sten Charles Bielke, Vice president of the Court of Justice in
Finland, was the first who made a proposal to the Royal Academy of
Sciences at Stockholm, to send an able man to the northern parts of Siberia
and Iceland, as places which are partly under the same latitude with
Sweden, and to make there such observations and collections of seeds and
plants, as would improve the Swedish husbandry, gardening, manufactures,
[vi]arts and sciences. Dr. Linnæus found the proposal just, but he thought
that a journey through North America would be yet of a more extensive
utility, than that through the before-mentioned countries; for the plants of
America were then little known, and not scientifically described, and by
several trials, it seemed probable that the greatest part of the North
American plants, would bear very well the Swedish winters; and what was
more important, a great many American plants promised to be very useful
in husbandry and physic.

Thus far this journey was a mere scheme; but as Captain Triewald, a man
well known for his abilities in England, gave his Observations on the
Cultivation of Silk in a series of Memoirs to the Royal Academy of
Sciences, and mentioned therein a kind of mulberry tree, which was

discovered by Dr. Linnæus, and which bore the rigours of the Swedish
climate as well as a fir or pine tree; this circumstance revived the proposal
of such a journey in the year 1745. Count Tessin, a nobleman of established
merit both in the political and learned world, becoming president of the
Royal Academy, it was unanimously agreed upon to send Professor Kalm to
North America. The expences were at first a great obstacle; but the Royal
Academy [vii]wrote to the three universities to assist them in this great and
useful undertaking. Aobo sent first her small contribution, Lund had nothing
to spare, but Upsala made up this deficiency by a liberal contribution.

Count Piper was intreated to give a family exhibition to Mr. Kalm, which
he readily promised, but as the Academy had obtained from the convocation
of the university of Upsala and the magistrates of Stockholm, another
exhibition of the family of Helmsfield for Mr. Kalm, Count Piper refused to
grant his exhibition, as being contrary to the statutes of the university and
without any precedent, that one person should enjoy two exhibitions. The
present king of Sweden being then prince royal, successor to the throne, and
chancellor of the university, wrote to the convocation, and expressed his
wishes to have from the treasury of the university for so useful a purpose,
about 1000 plates, or about 150l. sterling. The university complied
generously with the desire of her chancellor, and gave orders that the money
should be paid to the Royal Academy. The board for promoting
manufactures gave 300 plates, or about 45l. Mr. Kalm spent in this journey
his salary, and besides very near 130l. of his own fortune, so that at his
return he found [viii]himself obliged to live upon a very small pittance. The
rest of the expences the Academy made up from her own fund.

We on purpose have given this detail from Mr. Kalm’s long preface, to shew
the reader with what public spirit this journey has been supported in a
country where money is so scarce, and what a patriotic and laudable ardor
for the promotion of sciences in general, and especially of natural history
and husbandry animates the universities, the public boards, and even the
private persons, in this cold climate, which goes so far, that they chuse

rather to spend their own private fortunes, than to give up so beneficial and
useful a scheme. We have the same instance in Dr. Hasselquist, who with a
sickly and consumptive constitution, went to Asia Minor, Egypt and
Palestine, and collected such great riches in new plants and animals, that
Dr. Linnæus’s system would never have contained so many species, had he
not made use of these treasures, which the queen of Sweden generously
bought by paying the debts of Dr. Hasselquist, who died in his attempt to
promote natural history. The Reverend Mr. Osbeck in his voyage to China,
made an infinite number of useful and interesting observations at the
expence of his whole salary, and [ix]published them by the contributions of
his parish. The Reverend Mr. Toreen died by the fatigues of the same
voyage, and left his letters published along with Osbeck, as a monument of
his fine genius, and spirit for promoting natural history. We here look upon
the expences as trifling, but they are not so in Sweden, and therefore are
certainly the best monuments to the honour of the nation and the great
Linnæus, who in respect to natural history is the primum mobile of that
country.

Professor Kalm having obtained leave of his Majesty to be absent from his
post as professor, and having got a passport, and recommendations to the
several Swedish ministers at the courts of London, Paris, Madrid, and at the
Hague, in order to obtain passports for him in their respective states, set out
from Upsala, the 16th. of October 1747, accompanied by Lars Yungstrœm,
a gardener well skilled in the knowledge of plants and mechanics, and who
had at the same time a good hand for drawing, whom he took into his
service. He then set sail from Gothenburgh, the 11th. of December but a
violent hurricane obliged the ship he was in to take shelter in the harbour of
Grœmstad in Norway, from which place he made excursions to Arendal and
Christiansand. He [x]went again to sea February the 8th. 1748, and arrived
at London the 17th. of the same month. He staid in England till August
15th. in which interval of time he made excursions to Woodford in Essex, to
little Gaddesden in Hertfordshire, where William Ellis, a man celebrated for
his publications in husbandry lived, but whose practical husbandry Mr.

Kalm found not to be equal to the theory laid down in his writings; he
likewise saw Ivinghoe in Buckinghamshire, Eaton and several other places,
and all the curiosities and gardens in and about London: at last he went on
board a ship, and traversed the ocean to Philadelphia in Pensylvania, which
was formerly called New Sweden, where he arrived September the 26th. The
rest of that year he employed in collecting seeds of trees and plants, and
sending them up to Sweden; and in several excursions in the environs of
Philadelphia. The winter he passed among his countrymen at Raccoon in
New Jersey. The next year 1749, Mr. Kalm went through New Jersey and
New York along the river Hudson to Albany, and from thence, after having
crossed the lakes of St. George and Champlain, to Montreal and Quebec, he
returned that very year against winter to Philadelphia, and sent a new cargo
of seeds, plants and curiosities to Sweden. In [xi]the year 1750, Mr. Kalm
saw the western parts of Pensylvania and the coast of New Jersey;
Yungstrœm staid in the former province all the summer for the collection of
seeds, and Prof. Kalm in the mean time passed New York and the blue
mountains, went to Albany, then along the river Mohawk to the Iroquois
nations, where he got acquainted with the Mohawk’s, Oneida’s,
Tuskarora’s, Onandaga’s and Kayugaw’s. He then viewed and navigated
the great lake Ontario, and saw the celebrated fall at Niagara. In his return
from his summer expedition, he crossed the blue mountains in a different
place, and in October again reached Philadelphia.

In the year 1751, the 13th. of February, he went at Newcastle on board a
ship for England, and after a passage subject to many dangers in the most
dreadful hurricanes, he arrived March the 27th. in the Thames, and two
days after in London. He took passage for Gothenburgh May the 5th. and
was the 16th. of the same month at the place of his destination, and the
13th. of June he again arrived at Stockholm, after having been on this truly
useful expedition three years and eight months. He afterwards returned
again to his place of professor at Aobo, where in a small garden of his own,
he cultivates [xii]many hundreds of American plants, as there is not yet a
public botanical garden for the use of the university, and he with great

expectation wishes to see what plants will bear the climate, and bear good
and ripe seeds so far north. He published the account of his journey by
intervals, for want of encouragement, and fearing the expences of
publishing at once in a country where few booksellers are found, and where
the author must very often embrace the business of bookseller, in order to
reimburse himself for the expences of his publication. He published in his
first volume observations on England, and chiefly on its husbandry, where
he with the most minute scrupulousness and detail, entered into the very
minutiæ of this branch of his business for the benefit of his countrymen,
and this subject he continued at the beginning of the second volume. A
passage cross the Atlantic ocean is a new thing to Swedes, who are little
used to it, unless they go in the few East India ships of their country. Every
thing therefore was new to Mr. Kalm, and he omitted no circumstance
unobserved which are repeated in all the navigators from the earlier times
down to our own age. It would be a kind of injustice to the public, to give
all this at large to the reader. All that part describing [xiii]England and its
curiosities and husbandry we omitted. The particulars of the passage from
England to Pensylvania we abridged; no circumstance interesting to natural
history or to any other part of literature has been omitted. And from his
arrival at Philadelphia, we give the original at large, except where we
omitted some trifling circumstances, viz. the way of eating oysters, the art
of making apple dumplings, and some more of the same nature, which
struck that Swedish gentleman with their novelty.

Mr. Kalm makes use of the Swedish measure; its foot is to the English foot,
as 1134 to 1350. For his meteorological observations, he employed the
thermometer of Prof. Celsius generally made use of in Sweden, and his was
of Celsius’s own making; the interval from the point of freezing to the point
of boiling water, is equally divided in this thermometer into 100 parts. In
the names of plants, we have chiefly employed after his directions the
Linnæan names in the last edition of his Spec. Plantarum, and Systema
Naturæ, Vol. 2. But as his descriptions of animals, plants, and minerals are
very short, he promises to give them at large some time hence in a Latin

work. He excuses the negligence of his stile, from the time in which he
methodised [xiv]his observations, which was commonly at night, after being
fatigued with the business of the preceding day, when his spirits were
almost exhausted, and he, incapable of that sprightliness which commends
so many curious performances of that nature.

He gives you his observations as they occurred day after day, which makes
him a faithful relater, notwithstanding it takes away all elegance of style,
and often occasions him to make very sudden transitions from subjects very
foreign to one another. This defect we will endeavour to supply by a very
copious index at the end of the whole work, rather than derange the author’s
words, which are the more to be relied on, as being instantly committed to
paper warm from his reflections.

At last he arms himself with a very noble indifference against the criticism
of several people, founded on the great aim he had in view by his
performance, which was no less than public utility. This he looks upon as
the true reward of his pains and expences.

These are the contents of his long preface. We have nothing to add, but that
we intend to go on in this work as soon as possible, hoping to be supported
and encouraged in this undertaking, by a nation [xv]which is the possessor of
that great continent, a great part of which is here accurately and impartially
described, especially at this time when American affairs attract the attention
of the public.

We intend to join for the better illustration of the work, a map and drawings
of American birds and animals which were not in the original. They will be
copied from original drawings and real birds and animals from North
America, which we have access to, and must therefore give to this
translation a superiority above the original and the German translation.

An encourager of this work proposed it as an improvement to the
translation of Kalm’s travels, to add in the margin the paging of the original,

as by this means recourse would be had easily to the quotations made by Dr.
Linnæus. We would very readily have complied with this desideratum, had
we had the Swedish edition of this work at hand, or had the work not been
too far advanced at the time we got this kind hint: however this will be
remedied by a copious index, which will certainly appear at the end of the
whole work.

As we have not yet been able to procure a compleat list of the subscribers
and encouragers [xvi]of this undertaking, we choose rather to postpone it,
than to give an imperfect one: at the same time we assure the public, that it
shall certainly appear in one of the subsequent volumes.

We find it necessary here to mention, that as many articles in Mr. Kalm’s
travels required illustrations, the publisher has taken the liberty to join here
and there some notes, which are marked at the end with F. The other notes
not thus marked were kindly communicated by the publisher’s friends.

Lastly, we take this opportunity to return our most sincere thanks in this
public manner to the ladies and gentlemen, who have generously in various
ways exerted themselves in promoting the publication of these useful
remarks of an impartial, accurate and judicious foreigner, on a country
which is at present so much the object of public deliberation and private
conversation. [1]

PETER KALM’s
TRAVELS.

August the 5th. 1748.

I with my servant Lars Yungstrœm (who joined to his abilities as gardener, a
tolerable skill in mechanics and drawing) went at Gravesend on board the
Mary Gally, Captain Lawson, bound for Philadelphia; and though it was so
late as six o’clock in the afternoon, we weighed anchor and sailed a good
way down the Thames before we again came to anchor.

August the 6th. Very early in the morning we resumed our voyage, and after
a few hours sailing we came to the mouth of the Thames, where we turned
into the channel and sailed along the Kentish coast, which consists of steep
and almost perpendicular [2]chalk hills, covered at the top with some soil
and a fine verdure, and including strata of flints, as it frequently is found in
this kind of chalk-hills in the rest of England. And we were delighted in
viewing on them excellent corn fields, covered for the greatest part with
wheat, then ripening.

At six o’clock at night, we arrived at Deal, a little well known town, situate
at the entrance of a bay exposed to the southern and easterly winds. Here
commonly the outward bound ships provide themselves with greens, fresh
victuals, brandy, and many more articles. This trade, a fishery, and in the
last war the equipping of privateers, has enriched the inhabitants.

August the 7th. When the tide was out, I saw numbers of fishermen
resorting to the sandy shallow places, where they find round small
eminences caused by the excrements of the log worms, or sea worms,
(Lumbrici marini. Linn.) who live in the holes leading to these hillocks,
sometimes eighteen inches deep, and they are then dug out with a small
three tacked iron fork and used as baits.

August the 8th. At three o’clock we tided down the channel, passed Dover,
and saw plainly the opinion of the celebrated Camden in his Britannia
confirmed, that [3]here England had been formerly joined to France and
Flanders by an isthmus. Both shores form here two opposite points; and
both are formed of the same chalk hills, which have the same configuration,
so that a person acquainted with the English coasts and approaching those
of Picardy afterwards, without knowing them to be such, would certainly
take them to be the English ones. 1

August the 9th–12th. We tided and alternately sailed down the channel, and
passed Dungness, Fairlight, the Isle of Wight, Portsmouth, the Peninsula of
Portland and Bolthead, a point behind which Plymouth lies; during all
which time we had very little wind.

August the 13th. Towards night we got out of the English channel into the
Bay of Biscay.

August the 14th. We had contrary wind, and this increased the rolling of the
ship, for it is generally remarked that the Bay of Biscay has the greatest and
broadest waves, which are of equal size with those between America and
Europe; they are commonly half an English mile in length, and have a
height proportionable to it. The Baltic [4]and the German ocean has on the
contrary short and broken waves.

Whenever an animal is killed on board the ship, the sailors commonly hang
some fresh pieces of meat for a while into the sea, and it is said, it then
keeps better.

August the 15th. The same swell of the sea still continued, but the waves
began to smooth, and a foam swimming on them was said to forebode in
calm weather, a continuance of the same for some days.

About noon a north easterly breeze sprung up, and in the afternoon it blew
more, and this gave us a fine spectacle; for the great waves rolled the water

in great sheets, in one direction, and the north easterly wind curled the
surface of these waves quite in another. By the beating and dashing of the
waves against one another, with a more than ordinary violence, we could
see that we passed a current, whose direction the captain could not
determine.

August the 16th–21st. The same favourable breeze continued to our great
comfort and amazement, for the captain observed that it was very
uncommon to meet with an easterly or north-easterly wind between Europe
and the Azores (which the sailors call the Western Islands) for more than
two days together; for the more common [5]wind is here a westerly one: but
beyond the Azores they find a great variety of winds, especially about this
time of the year; nor do the westerly winds continue long beyond these
isles; and to this it is owing, that when navigators have passed the Azores,
they think they have performed one half of the voyage, although in reality it
be but one third part. These isles come seldom in sight; for the navigators
keep off them, on account of the dangerous rocks under water surrounding
them. Upon observation and comparison of the journal, we found that we
were in forty-three deg. twenty-four min. north lat. and thirty and a half
degrees west long. from London.

August the 22d. About noon the captain assured us, that in twenty-four
hours we should have a south-west wind: and upon my enquiring into the
reasons of his foretelling this with certainty, he pointed at some clouds in
the south-west, whose points turned towards north-east, and said they were
occasioned by a wind from the opposite quarter. At this time I was told we
were about half way to Pensylvania.

August the 23d. About seven o’clock in the morning the expected south-
west wind sprung up, and soon accelerated our [6]course so much, that we
went at the rate of eight knots an hour.

August the 24th. The wind shifted and was in our teeth. We were told by
some of the crew to expect a little storm, the higher clouds being very thin

and striped and scattered about the sky like parcels of combed wool, or so
many skains of yarn, which they said forebode a storm. These striped
clouds ran north-west and south-east, in the direction of the wind we then
had. Towards night the wind abated and we had a perfect calm, which is a
sign of a change of wind.

August the 25th. and 26th. A west wind sprung up and grew stronger and
stronger, so that at last the waves washed our deck.

August the 27th. In the morning we got a better wind, which went through
various points of the compass and brought on a storm from north-east
towards night.

Our captain told me an observation founded on long experience, viz. that
though the winds changed frequently in the Atlantic ocean, especially in
summer time, the most frequent however was the western, and this accounts
for the passage from America to Europe commonly being shorter, [7]than
that from Europe to America. Besides this, the winds in the Atlantic during
summer are frequently partial, so that a storm may rage on one part of it,
and within a few miles of the place little or no storm at all may be felt. In
winter the winds are more constant, extensive and violent; so that then the
same wind reigns on the greater part of the ocean for a good while, and
causes greater waves than in summer.

August the 30th. As I had observed the night before some strong flashes of
lightening without any subsequent clap of thunder, I enquired of our
captain, whether he could assign any reasons for it. He told me these
phœnomena were pretty common, and the consequence of a preceding heat
in the atmosphere; but that when lightenings were observed in winter,
prudent navigators were used to reef their sails, as they are by this sign
certain of an impendent storm; and so likewise in that season, a cloud rising
from the north-west, is an infallible forerunner of a great tempest.

September the 7th. As we had the first day of the month contrary wind, on
the second it shifted to the north, was again contrary the third, and fair the
fourth and following days. The fifth we were in forty deg. [8]three min.
north lat. and between fifty-three and fifty-four deg. west long. from
London.

Besides the common waves rolling with the wind, we met on the 4th. and
5th. inst. with waves coming from south-west, which the captain gave as a
mark of a former storm from that quarter in this neighbourhood.

September the 8th. We crossed by a moderate wind, a sea with the highest
waves we met on the whole passage, attributed by the captain to the
division between the great ocean and the inner American gulf; and soon
after we met with waves greatly inferior to those we observed before.

September the 9th. In the afternoon we remarked that in some places the
colour of the sea (which had been hitherto of a deep blue) was changed into
a paler hue; some of these spots were narrow stripes of twelve or fourteen
fathoms breadth, of a pale green colour, which is supposed to be caused by
the sand, or as some say, by the weeds under water.

September the 12th. We were becalmed that day, and as we in this situation
observed a ship, which we suspected to be a Spanish privateer, our fear was
very great; but we saw some days after our arrival at [9]Philadelphia the
same ship arrive, and heard that they seeing us had been under the same
apprehensions with ourselves.

September the 13th. Captain Lawson, who kept his bed for the greater part
of the voyage, on account of an indisposition, assured us yesterday we were
in all appearance very near America: but as the mate was of a different
opinion, and as the sailors could see no land from the head of the mast, nor
find ground by the lead, we steered on directly towards the land. About
three o’clock in the morning the captain gave orders to heave the lead, and
we found but ten fathom: the second mate himself took the lead and called

out ten and fourteen fathoms, but a moment after the ship struck on the
sand, and this shock was followed by four other very violent ones. The
consternation was incredible; and very justly might it be so; for there were
above eighty persons on board, and the ship had but one boat: but happily
our ship got off again, after having been turned. At day break, which
followed soon after (for the accident happened half an hour past four) we
saw the continent of America within a Swedish mile before us: the coast
was whitish, low, and higher up covered with firs. We found out, that the
sand we struck on, lay opposite [10]Arcadia in Maryland, in thirty-seven
deg. fifty min. North lat.

We coasted the shores of Maryland all the day, but not being able to reach
cape Hinlopen, where we intended to take a pilot on board, we cruized all
night before the bay of Delaware. The darkness of the night made us expect
a rain, but we found that only a copious fall of dew ensued, which made our
coats quite wet, and the pages of a book, accidently left open on the deck,
were in half an hours time after sun-setting likewise wet, and we were told
by the captain and the sailors that both in England and in America a copious
dew was commonly followed by a hot and sultry day.

September the 14th. We saw land on our larboard in the west, which
appeared to be low, white, sandy, and higher up the country covered with
firs, cape Hinlopen is a head of land running into the sea from the western
shore, and has a village on it. The eastern shore belongs here to New Jersey,
and the western to Pensylvania. The bay of Delaware has many sands, and
from four to eleven fathom water.

The fine woods of oak, hiccory and firs covering both shores made a fine
appearance, and were partly employed in ship-building [11]at Philadelphia;
for which purpose every year some English captains take a passage in
autumn to this town, and superintend the building of new ships during
winter, with which they go to sea next spring: and at this time it was more

usual than common, as the French and Spanish privateers had taken many
English merchant ships.

A little after noon we reached the mouth of Delaware river, which is here
about three English miles broad, but decreases gradually so much, that it is
scarcely a mile broad at Philadelphia.

Here we were delighted in seeing now and then between the woods some
farm houses surrounded with corn fields, pastures well-stocked with cattle,
and meadows covered with fine hay; and more than one sense was
agreeably affected, when the wind brought to us the finest effluvia of
odoriferous plants and flowers, or that of the fresh made hay: these
agreeable sensations and the fine scenery of nature on this continent, so new
to us, continued till it grew quite dark.

Here I will return to sea, and give the reader a short view of the various
occurrences belonging to Natural-History, during our crossing the Ocean.
[12]

Of sea weeds (Fucus linn.) we saw August the 16th. and 17th. a kind which
had a similarity to a bunch of onions tied together, these bunches were of
the size of the fist, and of a white colour. Near the coast of America within
the American gulf, September the 11th. we met likewise with several sea
weeds, one species of which was called by the sailors rock-weed; another
kind looked like a string of pearls, and another was white, about a foot long,
narrow, every where equally wide and quite strait. From August the 24th. to
September the 11th. we saw no other weeds, but those commonly going
under the name of Gulf-weed, because they are supposed to come from the
gulf of Florida; others call it Sargazo, and Dr. Linnæus, Fucus natans. Its
stalk is very slender, rotundato-angulated, and of a dark green, it has many
branches and each of them has numerous leaves disposed in a row, they are
extremely thin, are serrated, and are a line or a line and a half wide, so that
they bear a great resemblance to the leaves of Iceland-moss; their colour is
a yellowish green. Its fruit in a great measure resembles unripe juniper

berries, is round, greenish yellow, almost smooth on the outside, and grows
under the leaves on short footstalks, of two or three [13]lines length; under
each leaf are from one to three berries, but I never have seen them exceed
that number. Some berries were small, and when cut were quite hollow and
consisted of a thin peel only, which is calculated to communicate their
buoyancy to the whole plant. The leaves grow in proportion narrower, as
they approach the extremities of the branches: their upper sides are smooth,
the ribs are on the under sides, and there likewise appear small roots of two,
three or four lines length. I was told by our mate that gulf weed, dried and
pounded, was given in America to women in childbed, and besides this it is
also used there in fevers. The whole ocean is as if it were covered with this
weed, and it must also be in immense quantities in the gulf of Florida, from
whence all this driving on the ocean is said to come. Several little shells
pointed like horns, and Escharæ or Horn wracks are frequently found on it:
and seldom is there one bundle of this plant to be met with, which does not
contain either a minute shrimp, or a small crab, the latter of which is the
Cancer minutus of Dr. Linnæus. Of these I collected eight, and of the
former three, all which I put in a glass with water: the little shrimp moved
as swift as an arrow round the glass, but sometimes [14]its motion was slow,
and sometimes it stood still on one side, or at the bottom of the glass. If one
of the little crabs approached, it was seized by its forepaws, killed and
sucked; for which reason they were careful to avoid their fate. It was quite
of the shape of a shrimp; in swimming it moved always on one side, the
sides and the tail moving alternately. It was capable of putting its forepaws
entirely into its mouth: its antennæ were in continual motion. Having left
these little shrimps together with the crabs during night, I found on the
morning all the crabs killed and eaten by the shrimps. The former moved
when alive with incredible swiftness in the water. Sometimes when they
were quite at the bottom of the glass, with a motion something like to that
of a Puceron or Podura of Linnæus; they came in a moment to the surface
of the water. In swimming they moved all their feet very close, sometimes
they held them down as other crabs do, sometimes they lay on their backs,
but as soon as the motion of their feet ceased, they always sunk to the

bottom. The remaining shrimps I preserved in spirits, and the loss of my
little crabs was soon repaired by other specimens which are so plentiful in
each of the floating bundles of gulf-weed. [15]For a more minute description
of which I must refer the reader to another work, I intend to publish. In
some places we saw a crab of the size of the fist, swimming by the
continual motion of its feet, which being at rest, the animal began
immediately to sink. And one time I met with a great red crawfish, or
lobster, floating on the surface of the sea.

Blubbers, or Medusæ Linn., we found of three kinds: the first is the Medusa
aurita Linn.; it is round, purple coloured, opens like a bag, and in it are as if
it were four white rings, their size varies from one inch diameter to six
inches; they have not that nettling and burning quality which other blubbers
have, such for instance as are on the coast of Norway, and in the ocean.
These we met chiefly in the channel and in the Bay of Biscay.

After having crossed more than half of the ocean between Europe and
America, we met with a kind of blubber, which is known to Sailors by the
name of the Spanish or Portugueze man of War, it looks like a great bladder,
or the lungs of a quadruped, compressed on both sides, about six inches in
diameter, of a fine purple-red colour, and when touched by the naked skin
of the human body, it causes a greater burning than [16]any other kind of
blubber. They are often overturned by the rolling of the waves, but they are
again standing up in an instant, and keep the sharp or narrow side
uppermost.

Within the American gulf we saw not only these Spanish men of War, but
another kind too, for which the Sailors had no other name but that of a
blubber. It was of the size of a pewter plate, brown in the middle, with a
pale margin, which was in continual motion.

Of the Lepas anatifera Linn. I saw on the 30th. of August a log of wood,
which floated on the ocean, quite covered. Of insects I saw in the channel,
when we were in sight of the Isle of Wight several white butterflies, very

like to the Papilio Brassicæ Linn. They never settled, and by their venturing
at so great a distance from land they caused us just astonishment.

Some common flies were in our cabbin alive during the whole voyage, and
it cannot therefore be determined whether they were originally in America,
or whether they came over with the Europeans.

Of Cetaceous fish we met with Porpesses, or as some sailors call them Sea-
hogs 2 (Delphinus [17]Phocæna, Linn.) first in the channel and then they
continued every where on this side the Azores, where they are the only fish
navigators meet with; but beyond these isles they are seldom seen, till again
in the neighbourhood of America we saw them equally frequent to the very
mouth of Delaware river. They always appeared in shoals, some of which
consisted of upwards of an hundred individuals; their swimming was very
swift, and though they often swam along side of our ship, being taken as it
were with the noise caused by the ship cutting the waves, they however
soon outwent her, when they were tired with staring at her. They are from
four to eight feet long, have a bill like in shape to that of a goose, a white
belly, and leap up into the air frequently four feet high, and from four to
eight feet in length; though their snoring indicates the effort which a leap of
[18]that nature costs them. Our sailors made many vain attempts to strike
one of them with the harp iron from the forecastle, when they came within
reach, but their velocity always eluded their skill.

Another cetaceous fish, of the Dolphin kind, 3 with which we met, is called
by the sailors Bottle-nose, it swims in great shoals, has a head like a bottle,
and is killed by a harpoon, and is sometimes eaten. These fish are very
large, and some fully twelve feet long; their shape, and manner of tumbling
and swimming make them nearly related to Porpesses. They are to be met
with every where in the ocean from the channel to the very neighbourhood
of America.

One Whale we saw at a distance, and knew it by the water which it spouted
up.

A Dog-fish of a considerable size followed the ship for a little while, but it
was soon out of sight, without our being able to determine to which species
it belonged: [19]this was the only cartilaginous fish we saw on the whole
passage.

Of the bony fish, we saw several beyond the Azores, but never one on this
side of those isles, one of them was of a large size, and we saw it at a
distance; the sailors called it an Albecor, and it is Dr. Linnæus’s Scomber
Thynnus.

The Dolphin of the English is the Dorado of the Portugueze, and Dr.
Linnæus calls it Coryphæna Hippuris; it is about two feet and a half long,
near the head six inches deep, and three inches broad; from the head the
Dolphin decreases on all sides towards the tail, where its perpendicular
depth is one inch and a half, and its breadth hardly one inch. The colour of
the back near the head is a fine green on a silver ground, but near the tail of
a deep blue; the belly is white, and sometimes mixed with a deep yellow, on
the sides it has some round pale brown spots. It has six and not seven fins as
was imagined; two of them are on the breast, two on the belly, one at the
tail extending to the anus, and one along the whole back, which is of a fine
blue: when the fish is just taken the extremities of the most outward rays in
the tail were eight inches one from another. Their motion when they
[20]swam behind, or along side of the ship was very slow, and gave a fair
opportunity to hit them with the harpoon, though some are taken with a
hook and line, and a bait of chicken bowels, small fish, or pieces of his own
species, or the flying fish, which latter are their chief food: and it is by their
chasing them, that the flying fish leave their element to find shelter in one
to which they are strangers. The Dolphins sometimes leap a fathom out of
the water, and love to swim about casks and logs of wood, that sometimes
drive in the sea. They are eaten with thick butter, when boiled, and
sometimes fried, and afford a palatable food, but rather somewhat dry. In
the bellies of the fish of this species which we caught, several animals were
found, viz. an Ostracion; a little fish with blue eyes, which was yet alive,

being just the moment before swallowed, and measuring two inches in
length; another little fish; a curious marine insect, and a flying fish, all
which not yet being damaged by digestion, I preserved in spirits.

The Flying Fish (Exocoetus volitans, Linn.) are always seen in great shoals,
sometimes of an hundred or more getting at once out of the water, being
pursued by greater fish, and chiefly by Dolphins; they rise about a yard, and
even a fathom above the water [21]in their flight, but this latter height they
only are at, when they take their flight from the top of a wave; and
sometimes it is said they fall on the deck of ships. The greatest distance
they fly, is a good musket-shot, and this they perform in less than half a
minute’s time; their motion is somewhat like that of the yellow-hammer,
(Emberiza Citrinella, Linn.). It is very remarkable that I found the course
they took always to be against the wind, and though I was contradicted by
the sailors, who affirmed that they went at any direction, I nevertheless was
confirmed in my opinion by a careful observation during the whole voyage,
according to which they fly constantly either directly against the wind, or
somewhat in an oblique direction. 4

We saw likewise the fish called Bonetos, (Scomber Pelamys, Linn.) they
were likewise in shoals, hunting some smaller fish, which chase caused a
noise like to that of a cascade, because they were all swimming close in a
body; but they always kept out of the reach of our harpoons. [22]

Of amphibious animals, or reptiles; we met twice with a Turtle, one of
which was sleeping, the other swam without taking notice of our ship; both
were of two feet diameter.

Birds are pretty frequently seen on the ocean, though Aquatic Birds are
more common than Land Birds.

The Petrel (Procellaria Pelagica, Linn.) was our companion from the
channel to the shores of America. Flocks of this bird were always about our
ship, chiefly in that part of the sea, which being cut by the ship, forms a

smooth surface, where they frequently seem to settle, though always on the
wing. They pick up or examine every thing that falls accidentally from the
ship, or is thrown over board: little fish seem to be their chief food; in day
time they are silent, in the dark clamorous; they are reputed to forebode a
storm, for which reason the sailors disliking their company, complimented
them with the name of witches; but they are as frequent in fair weather,
without a storm following their appearance. To me it appeared as if they
stayed sometimes half an hour and longer under the waves, and the sailors
assured me they did. They look like swallows, and like them they skim
sometimes on the water. [23]

The Shearwater (Procellaria Puffinus, Linn.) is another sea-bird, which we
saw every where on our voyage, from the channel to the American coasts; it
has much the appearance and size of the dark-grey Sea-gull, or of a Duck; it
has a brown back, and commonly a white ring round its neck, and a peculiar
slow way of flying. We plainly saw some of these birds feed on fish.

The Tropic bird (Phaëton æthereus, Linn.) has very much the shape of a
gull, but two very long feathers, which it has in its tail, distinguish it enough
from any other bird; its flight is often exceedingly high: the first of this kind
we met, was at about forty deg. north lat. and forty-nine or fifty deg. west
long. from London.

Common Gulls (Larus canus, Linn.) we saw, when we were opposite the
Land’s End, the most westerly cape of England, and when according to our
reckoning we were opposite Ireland.

Terns (Sterna hirundo, Linn.) though of a somewhat darker colour than the
common ones, we found after the forty-first deg. of north lat. and forty-
seventh deg. west long. from London, very plentifully, and sometimes in
flocks of some hundreds; sometimes they settled, as if tired, on our ship. [24]

Within the American gulph we discovered a sea-bird at a little distance from
the ship, which the sailors called a Sea-hen.

Land-birds are now and then seen at sea, and sometimes at a good distance
from any land, so that it is often difficult, to account for their appearance in
so uncommon a place. August the 18th. we saw a bird which settled on our
ship, and was perfectly like the great Titmouse, (Parus major, Linn.) upon
an attempt to catch it, it got behind the sails, and could never be caught.

September the 1st. We observed some Land-birds flying about our ship,
which we took for Sand Martins (Hirundo riparia, Linn.) sometimes they
settled on our ship, or on the sails; they were of a greyish brown colour on
their back, their breast white, and the tail somewhat furcated; a heavy
shower of rain drove them afterwards away, September the 2d. a Swallow
fluttered about the ship, and sometimes it settled on the mast; it seemed to
be very tired; several times it approached our cabin windows, as if it was
willing to take shelter there. These cases happened about forty deg. north
lat. and between forty-seven and forty-nine deg. west long. from London,
and also about twenty deg. long. or [25]more than nine hundred and twenty
sea miles from any land whatsoever.

September the 10th. within the American gulph a large bird, which we took
for an Owl, and likewise a little bird settled on our sails.

September the 12th. a Wood-pecker settled on our rigging: its back was of a
speckled grey, and it seemed extremely fatigued. And another land-bird of
the passerine class, endeavoured to take shelter and rest on our ship.

Before I entirely take leave of the sea, I will communicate my observations
on two curious phœnomena.

In the channel and in the ocean we saw at night time, sparks of fire, as if
flowing on the water, especially where it was agitated, sometimes one
single spark swam for the space of more than one minute on the ocean
before it vanished. The sailors observed them commonly to appear during,
and after a storm from the north, and that often the sea is as if it were full of

fire, and that some such shining sparks would likewise stick to the masts
and sails.

Sometimes this light had not the appearance of sparks, but looked rather
like the phosphorescence of putrid wood.

The Thames-water which made our provision of fresh water, is reputed to
be the [26]best of any. It not only settled in the oak casks it is kept in, but
becomes in a little time stinking, when stopped up; however this nauseous
smell it soon looses, after being filled into large stone juggs, and exposed to
the open fresh air for two or three hours together. Often the vapours arising
from a cask which has been kept close and stopped up for a great while take
fire, if a candle is held near them when the cask is opened, and the Thames
water is thought to have more of this quality than any other; though I was
told that this even happened with any other water in the same
circumstances.

Now I can resume my narrative, and therefore observe that we afterwards
sailed on the river with a fair wind, pretty late at night. In the dawn of the
evening we passed by Newcastle, a little town on the western shore of the
river Delaware. It was already so dark, that we could hardly know it, but by
the light which appeared through some of the windows. The Dutch are said
to have been the first founders of this place, which is therefore reckoned the
most ancient in the country, even more ancient than Philadelphia. But its
trade can by no means be compared with the Philadelphia trade, though its
situation has more advantages in several respects; one of which is, [27]that
the river seldom freezes before it, and consequently ships can come in and
go out at any time. But near Philadelphia it is almost every winter covered
with ice, so that navigation is interrupted for some weeks together. But the
country about Philadelphia and farther up, being highly cultivated, and the
people bringing all their goods to that place, Newcastle must always be
inferior to it.

I mentioned, that the Dutch laid the foundations of this town. This happened
at the time, when this country was as yet subject to Sweden. But the Dutch
crept in, and intended by degrees to dispossess the Swedes, as a people who
had taken possession of their property. They succeeded in their attempt; for
the Swedes not being able to bear with this encroachment, came to a war, in
which the Dutch got the better. But they did not enjoy the fruits of their
victory long: for a few years after, the English came and deprived them of
their acquisition, and have ever since continued in the undisturbed
possession of the country. Somewhat later at night we cast anchor, the pilot
not venturing to carry the ship up the river in the dark, several sands being
in the way.

September 15th. In the dawn of the [28]morning we weighed anchor, and
continued our voyage up the river. The country was inhabited almost every
where on both sides. The farm-houses were however pretty far asunder.
About eight o’clock in the morning we sailed by the little town of Chester,
on the western side of the river. In this town, our mate, who was born in
Philadelphia, shewed me the places, which the Swedes still inhabit.

At last we arrived in Philadelphia about ten o’Clock in the morning. We
had not been more than six weeks, or (to speak more accurately) not quite
forty one days on our voyage from Gravesend to this place, including the
time we spent at Deal, in supplying ourselves with the necessary fresh
provisions, &c. our voyage was therefore reckoned one of the shortest. For
it is common in winter time to be fourteen, nineteen, or more weeks in
coming from Gravesend to Philadelphia. Hardly any body ever had a more
pleasant voyage over this great ocean, than we had. Captain Lawson
affirmed this several times. Nay he assured us he had never seen such calm
weather in this ocean, though he had crossed it very often. The wind was
generally so favourable that a boat of a middling size might have sailed in
perfect safety. The [29]sea never went over our cabin, and but once over the
deck, and that was only in a swell. The weather indeed was so clear, that a
great number of the Germans on board slept on the deck. The cabin

windows needed not the shutters. All these are circumstances which show
the uncommon goodness of the weather.

Captain Lawson’s civility increased the pleasure of the voyage. For he
shewed me all the friendship, that he could have shewn to any of his
relations.

As soon as we were come to the town, and had cast anchor, many of the
inhabitants came on board, to enquire for Letters. They took all those which
they could carry, either for themselves or for their friends. Those, which
remained, the captain ordered to be carried on shore, and to be brought into
a coffee-house, where every body could make enquiry for them, and by this
means he was rid of the trouble of delivering them himself. I afterwards
went on shore with him. But before he went, he strictly charged the second
mate, to let no one of the German refugees out of the ship, unless he paid
for his passage, or some body else paid for him, or bought him.

On my leaving London I received letters [30]of recommendation from Mr.
Abraham Spalding, Mr. Peter Collinson, Dr. Mitchel, and others to their
friends here. It was easy for me therefore to get acquaintance. Mr. Benjamin
Franklin, to whom Pensylvania is indebted for its welfare, and the learned
world for many new discoveries in Electricity, was the first, who took
notice of me, and introduced me to many of his friends. He gave me all
necessary instructions, and shewed me his kindness on many occasions.

I went to day accompanied by Mr. Jacob Bengtson, a member of the
Swedish consistory and the sculptor Gustavus Hesselius, to see the town
and the fields which lay before it. (The former is brother of the rev. Messrs.
Andrew and Samuel Hesselius, both ministers at Christiana in new Sweden,
and of the late Dr. John Hesselius in the provinces of Nerik and
Wermeland). My new friend had followed his brother Andrew in 1711 to
this country, and had since lived in it. I found that I was now come into a
new world. Whenever I looked to the ground, I every where found such
plants as I had never seen before. When I saw a tree, I was forced to stop,

and ask those who accompanied me, how it was called. The first plant
which struck my [31]eyes was an Andropogon, or a kind of grass, and grass
is a part of Botany I always delighted in. I was seized with terror at the
thought of ranging so many new and unknown parts of natural history. At
first I only considered the plants, without venturing a more accurate
examination.

At night I took up my lodging with a grocer who was a quaker, and I met
with very good honest people in this house, such as most people of this
profession appeared to me, I and my Yungstrœm, the companion of my
voyage, had a room, candles, beds, attendance, and three meals a day, if we
chose to have so many, for twenty shillings per week in Pensylvania
currency. But wood, washing and wine, if required, were to be paid for
besides.

September the 16th. Before I proceed I must give a short description of
Philadelphia, which I shall frequently mention in the sequel of my travels. I
here put down several particulars which I marked during my stay at that
place, as a help to memory.

Philadelphia, the capital of Pensylvania, a province which makes part of
what formerly was called New Sweden is one of the principal towns in
North-America; and next to Boston the greatest. It is situated [32]almost in
the center of the English colonies, and its lat. is thirty nine deg. and fifty
min. but its west long. from London near seventy five deg.

This town was built in the year 1683, or as others say in 1682, by the well
known quaker William Pen, who got this whole province by a grant from
Charles the second, king of England; after Sweden had given up its claims
to it. According to Pen’s plan the town was to have been built upon a piece
of land which is formed by the union of the rivers Delaware and Skulkill, in
a quadrangular form, two English miles long and one broad. The eastern
side would therefore have been bounded by the Delaware, and the western
by the Skulkill. They had actually begun to build houses on both these

rivers; for eight capital streets, each two English miles long, and sixteen
lesser streets (or lanes) across them, each one mile in length, were marked
out, with a considerable breadth, and in strait lines. The place was at that
time almost an entire wilderness covered with thick forests, and belonged to
three Swedish brothers called Sven’s-Sœner (Sons of Sven) who had settled
in it. They with difficulty left the place, the situation of which was very
advantageous, But at last they were [33]persuaded to it by Pen, who gave
them a few English miles from that place twice the space of country they
inhabited. However Pen himself and his descendants after him, have
considerably lessened the ground belonging to them, by repeated
mensurations, under pretence that they had taken more than they ought.

But the inhabitants could not be got in sufficient number to fill a place of
such extent. The plan therefore about the river Skulkill was laid aside till
more favourable circumstances should occur, and the houses were only built
along the Delaware. This river flows along the eastern side of the town, is
of great advantage to its trade, and gives a fine prospect. The houses which
had already been built upon the Skulkill were transplanted hitherto by
degrees. This town accordingly lies in a very pleasant country, from north to
south along the river. It measures somewhat more than an English mile in
length; and its breadth in some places is half a mile or more. The ground is
flat and consists of sand mixed with a little clay. Experience has shewn that
the air of this place is very healthy.

The streets are regular, fine, and most of them are fifty foot, English
measure, broad; [34]Arch-street measures sixty six feet in breadth, and
Market-street or the principal street, where the market is kept, near a
hundred. Those which run longitudinally, or from north to south are seven,
exclusive of a little one, which runs along the river, to the south of the
market, and is called Water-street. The lanes which go across, and were
intended to reach from the Delaware to the Skulkill, are eight in number.
They do not go quite from east to west, but deviate a little from that
direction. All the streets except two which are nearest to the river, run in a

straight line, and make right angles at the intersections. Some are paved,
others are not; and it seems less necessary since the ground is sandy, and
therefore soon absorbs the wet. But in most of the streets is a pavement of
flags, a fathom or more broad, laid before the houses, and posts put on the
outside three or four fathom asunder. Under the roofs are gutters which are
carefully connected with pipes, and by this means, those who walk under
them, when it rains, or when the snow melts, need not fear being wetted by
the dropping from the roofs.

The houses make a good appearance, are frequency several stories high, and
built either of bricks or of stone; but the [35]former are more commonly
used, since bricks are made before the town, and are well burnt. The stone
which has been employed in the building of other houses, is a mixture of
black or grey glimmer, running in undulated veins, and of a loose, and quite
small grained limestone, which run scattered between the bendings of the
other veins, and are of a grey colour, excepting here and there some single
grains of sand, of a paler hue. The glimmer makes the greatest part of the
stone; but the mixture is sometimes of another kind, as I shall relate
hereafter under the article, eleventh of October. This stone is now got in
great quantities in the country, is easily cut, and has the good quality of not
attracting the moisture in a wet season. Very good lime is burnt every where
hereabouts, for masonry.

The houses are covered with shingles. The wood for this purpose is taken
from the Cupressus thyoides, Linn. or a tree which Swedes here call the
white juniper-tree, and the English, the white cedar. Swamps and Morasses
formerly were full of them, but at present these trees are for the greatest part
cut down, and no attempt has as yet been made to plant new ones. The
wood is very light, rots less than any other in [36]this country, and for that
reason is exceeding good for roofs. For it is not too heavy for the walls, and
will serve for forty or fifty years together. But many people already begin to
fear, that these roofs will in time be looked upon as having been very
detrimental to the city. For being so very light, most people who have built

their houses of stone, or bricks, have been led to make their walls extremely
thin. But at present this kind of wood is almost entirely destroyed.
Whenever therefore in process of time these roofs decay, the people will be
obliged to have recourse to the heavier materials of tiles, or the like, which
the walls will not be strong enough to bear. The roof will therefore require
supports, or the people be obliged to pull down the walls and to build new
ones, or to take other steps for securing them. Several people have already
in late years begun to make roofs of tiles.

Among the publick buildings I will first mention churches, of which there
are several, for God is served in various ways in this country.

1. The English established church stands in the northern part of the town, at
some distance from the market, and is the finest of all. It has a little,
inconsiderable [37]steeple, in which is a bell to be rung when it is time to go
to church, and on burials. It has likewise a clock which strikes the hours.
This building which is called Christ church, was founded towards the end of
the last century, but has lately been rebuilt and more adorned. It has two
ministers who get the greatest part of their salary from England. In the
beginning of this century, the Swedish minister the Rev. Mr. Rudmann,
performed the functions of a clergyman to the English congregation for near
two years, during the absence of their own clergyman.

2. The Swedish church, which is otherwise called the church of Weekacko,
is on the southern part of the town, and almost without it, on the river’s
side, and its situation is therefore more agreeable than that of any other. I
shall have an opportunity of describing it more exactly, when I shall speak
of the Swedes in particular, who live in this place.

3. The German Lutheran church, is on the north-west side of the town. On
my arrival in America it had a little steeple, but that being but up by an
ignorant architect, before the walls of the church were quite dry, they leaned
forwards by its weight, and therefore they were forced [38]to pull it down
again in the autumn of the year 1750. About that time the congregation

received a fine organ from Germany. They have only one minister, who
likewise preaches at another Lutheran church in Germantown. He preaches
alternately one sunday in that church, and another in this. The first
clergyman which the Lutherans had in this town, was the Rev. Mr.
Muhlenberg, who laid the foundations of this church in 1743, and being
called to another place afterwards, the rev. Mr. Brunholz from Sleswick was
his successor, and is yet here. Both these gentlemen were sent to this place
from Hall in Saxony, and have been a great advantage to it by their peculiar
talent of preaching in an edifying manner. A little while before this church
was built, the Lutheran Germans had no clergyman for themselves, so that
the every-where beloved Swedish minister at Weekacko, Mr. Dylander,
preached likewise to them. He therefore preached three sermons every
sunday; the first early in the morning to the Germans; the second to the
Swedes, and the third in the afternoon to the English, and besides this he
went all the week into the country and instructed the Germans who lived
separately there. He therefore frequently preached sixteen [39]sermons a
week. And after his death, which happened in November 1741, the Germans
first wrote to Germany for a clergyman for themselves. This congregation is
at present very numerous, so that every sunday the church is very much
crowded. It has two galleries, but no vestry. They do not sing the collects,
but read them before the altar.

4. The old Presbyterian church, is not far from the market, and on the
south-side of market-street. It is of a middling size, and built in the year
1704, as the inscription on the northern pediment shews. The roof is built
almost hemispherical, or at least forms a hexagon. The whole building
stands from north to south, for the presbyterians do not regard, as other
people do, whether their churches look towards a certain point of the
heavens or not.

5. The new Presbyterian church was built in the year 1750, by the New-
lights in the north-western part of the town. By the name of New-lights, are
understood the people who have, from different religions, become

proselytes to the well known Whitefield, who in the years 1739, 1740, and
likewise in 1744 and 1745 travelled through almost all the English colonies.
His delivery, his extraordinary zeal, and [40]other talents so well adapted to
the intelects of his hearers, made him so popular that he frequently,
especially in the two first years, got from eight thousand to twenty thousand
hearers in the fields. His intention in these travels, was to collect money for
an orphans hospital which had been erected in Georgia. He here frequently
collected seventy pounds sterling at one sermon; nay, at two sermons which
he preached in the year 1740, both an one sunday, at Philadelphia, he got an
hundred and fifty pounds. The proselytes of this man, or the above-
mentioned new-lights, are at present merely a sect of presbyterians. For
though Whitefield was originally a clergyman of the English church, yet he
deviated by little and little from her doctrines; and on arriving in the year
1744 at Boston in New England, he disputed with the Presbyterians about
their doctrines, so much that he almost entirely embraced them. For
Whitefield was no great disputant, and could therefore easily be led by these
cunning people, whithersoever they would have him. This likewise during
his latter stay in America caused his audience to be less numerous than
during the first. The new-lights built first in the year 1741, a great house in
the western part of the [41]town, to hold divine service in. But a division
arising amongst them after the departure of Whitefield, and besides on other
accounts, the building was sold to the town in the beginning of the year
1750, and destined for a school. The new-lights then built a church which I
call the new Presbyterian one. On its eastern pediment is the following
inscription, in golden letters: Templum Presbyterianum, annuente numine,
erectum, Anno Dom. MDCCL.

6. The old German reformed church is built in the west north-west part of
the town, and looks like the church in the Ladugoordfield near Stockholm. It
is not yet finished, though for several years together, the congregation has
kept up divine service in it. These Germans attended the German service at
the Swedish church, whilst the Swedish minister Mr. Dylander lived.—But
as the Lutherans got a clergyman for themselves on the death of the last,

those of the reformed church made likewise preparations to get one from
Dordrecht; and the first who was sent to them, was the Rev. Mr. Slaughter,
whom I found on my arrival. But in the year 1750, another clergyman of the
reformed church arrived from Holland, and by his artful behaviour, so
insinuated himself into the favour of the Rev. Mr. [42]Slaughter’s
congregation, that the latter lost almost half his audience. The two
clergymen then disputed for several sundays together, about the pulpit, nay,
people relate that the new comer mounted the pulpit on a saturday, and
stayed in it all night. The other being thus excluded, the two parties in the
audience, made themselves the subject both of the laughter and of the scorn
of the whole town, by beating and bruising each other, and committing
other excesses. The affair was inquired into by the magistrates, and decided
in favour of the rev. Mr. Slaughter, the person who had been abused.

7. The new reformed church, was built at a little distance from the old one
by the party of the clergyman, who had lost his cause. This man however
had influence enough to bring over to his party almost the whole audience
of his antagonist, at the end of the year 1750, and therefore this new church
will soon be useless.

8. 9. The Quakers have two meetings, one in the market, and the other in
the northern part of the town. In them are according to the custom of this
people, neither altars, nor pulpits, nor any other ornaments usual in
churches; but only seats and some sconces. They meet thrice every
[43]sunday in them, and besides that at certain times every week or every
month. I shall mention more about them hereafter.

10. The Baptists, have their service, in the northern part of the town.

11. The Roman Catholicks, have in the south-west part of the town a great
house, which is well adorned within, and has an organ.

12. The Moravian Brethren, have hired a great house, in the northern part of
the town, in which they performed the service both in German and in

English; not only twice or three times every sunday, but likewise every
night after it was grown dark. But in the winter of the year 1750, they were
obliged to drop their evening meetings; some wanton young fellows having
several times disturbed the congregation, by an instrument sounding like the
note of a cuckoo, for this noise they made in a dark corner, not only at the
end of every stanza, but likewise at that of every line, whilst they were
singing a hymn.

Those of the English church, the New-lights, the Quakers, and the Germans
of the reformed religion, have each of them their burying places on one side
out of town, and not near their churches, though the first of these sometimes
make an exception. All the others bury their dead in [44]their church-yards,
and Moravian brethren bury where they can. The Negroes are buried in a
particular place out of town.

I now proceed to mention the other publick buildings in Philadelphia.

The Town-hall, or the place where the assemblies are held, is situated in the
western part of the town, it is a fine large building, having a tower with a
bell in the middle, and is the greatest ornament to the town. The deputies of
each province meet in it commonly every October, or even more frequently
if circumstances require it, in order to consider of the welfare of the
country, and to hold their parliaments or diets in miniature. There they
revise the old laws, and make new ones.

On one side of this building stands the Library, which was first begun in the
year 1742, on a publick spirited plan, formed and put in execution by the
learned Mr. Franklin. For he persuaded first the most substantial people in
town to pay forty shillings at the outset, and afterwards annually ten
shillings, all in Pensylvania currency, towards purchasing all kinds of useful
books. The subscribers are entitled to make use of the books. Other people
are likewise at liberty to borrow them for a certain time, but must leave a
pledge and [45]pay eight-pence a week for a folio volume, six-pence for a
quarto, and four-pence for all others of a smaller size. As soon as the time,

allowed a person for the perusal of the volume, is elapsed, it must be
returned, or he is fined. The money arising in this manner is employed for
the salary of the librarian, and for purchasing new books. There was already
a fine collection of excellent works, most of them English; many French
and Latin, but few in any other language. The subscribers were so kind to
me, as to order the librarian, during my stay here, to lend me every book,
which I should want, without requiring any payment of me. The library was
open every saturday from four to eight o’clock in the afternoon. Besides the
books, several mathematical and physical instruments, and a large
collection of natural curiosities were to be seen in it. Several little libraries
were founded in the town on the same footing or nearly with this.

The Court House stands in the middle of Market street, to the west of the
market, it is fine building, with a little tower in which there is a bell. Below
and round about this building the market is properly kept every week.

The building of the Academy, is in the [46]western part of the town. It was
formerly as I have before mentioned, a meeting-house of the followers of
Whitefield, but they sold it in the year 1750, and it was destined to be the
seat of an university, or to express myself in more exact terms, to be a
college, it was therefore fitted up to this purpose. The youths are here only
taught those things which they learn in our common schools; but in time,
such lectures are intended to be read here, as are usual in real universities.

At the close of the last war, a redoubt was erected here, on the south side of
the town, near the river, to prevent the French and Spanish privateers from
landing. But this was done after a very strong debate. For the quakers
opposed all fortifications, as contrary to the tenets of their religion, which
allow not christians to make war either offensive or defensive, but direct
them to place their trust in the Almighty alone. Several papers were then
handed about for and against the opinion. But the enemy’s privateers having
taken several vessels belonging to the town, in the river, many of the

quakers, if not all of them, found it reasonable to forward the building of
the fortification as much as possible, at least by a supply of money.

Of all the natural advantages of the [47]town, its temperate climate is the
most considerable, the winter not being over severe, and its duration but
short, and the summer not too hot; the country round about bringing forth
those fruits in the greatest plenty, which are raised by husbandry. Their
September and October are like the beginning of the Swedish August. And
the first days in their February are frequently as pleasant, as the end of
April and the beginning of May in Sweden. Even their coldest days in some
winters have been no severer, than the days at the end of autumn are in the
middlemost parts of Sweden, and the southern ones of Finland.

The good and clear water in Philadelphia, is likewise one of its advantages.
For though there are no fountains in the town, yet there is a well in every
house, and several in the streets, all which afford excellent water for
boiling, drinking, washing, and other uses. The water is commonly met with
at the depth of forty feet. The water of the river Delaware is likewise good.
But in making the wells, a fault is frequently committed, which in several
places of the town, spoils the water which is naturally good; I shall in the
sequel take an opportunity of speaking further about it.

The Delaware is exceeding convenient [48]for trade. It is one of the greatest
rivers in the world: is three English miles broad at its mouth, two miles at
the town of Wilmington, and three quarters of a mile at Philadelphia. This
city lies within ninety or an hundred English miles from the sea, or from the
place where the river Delaware discharges itself into the bay of that name.
Yet its depth is hardly ever less than five or six fathom. The greatest ships
therefore can sail quite up to the town and anchor in good ground in five
fathoms of water, on the side of the bridge. The water here has no longer a
saltish taste, and therefore all destructive worms, which have fastened
themselves to the ships in the sea, and have pierced holes into them, either
die, or drop off, after the ship has been here for a while.

The only disadvantage which trade labours under here, is the freezing of the
river almost every winter for a month or more. For during that time the
navigation is entirely stopped. But this does not happen at Boston, New
York, and other towns which are nearer the sea.

The tide comes up to Philadelphia, and even goes thirty miles higher, to
Trenton. The difference between high and low water is eight feet at
Philadelphia.

The cataracts of the Delaware near [49]Trenton, and of the Skulkill at some
distance from Philadelphia, make these rivers useless further up the
country, in regard to the conveyance of goods either from or to
Philadelphia. Both must therefore be carried on waggons or carts. It has
therefore already been thought of to make these two rivers navigable in
time, at least for large boats and small vessels.

Several ships are annually built of American oak, in the docks which are
made in several parts of the town and about it, yet they can by no means be
put in comparison with those built of European oak, in point of goodness
and duration.

The town carries on a great trade, both with the inhabitants of the country,
and to other parts of the world, especially to the West Indies, South
America, and the Antilles; to England, Ireland, Portugal, and to several
English colonies in North America. Yet none but English ships are allowed
to come into this port.

Philadelphia reaps the greatest profits from its trade to the West Indies. For
thither the inhabitants ship almost every day a quantity of flour, butter, flesh
and other victuals; timber, plank and the like. In return they receive either
sugar, molasses, rum, indigo, mahogany, and other goods, [50]or ready
money. The true mahogany which grows in Jamaica, is at present almost all
cut down.

They send both West India goods, and their own productions to England;
the latter are all sorts of woods, especially black walnut, and oak planks for
ships; ships ready built, iron, hides and tar. Yet this latter is properly bought
in New Jersey, the forests of which province are consequently more ruined
than any others. Ready money is likewise sent over to England, from
whence in return they get all sorts of goods there manufactured, viz. fine
and coarse cloth, linen, iron ware, and other wrought metals, and East India
goods. For it is to be observed that England supplies Philadelphia with
almost all stuffs and manufactured goods which are wanted here.

A great quantity of linseed goes annually to Ireland, together with many of
the ships which are built here. Portugal gets wheat, corn, flour and maize
which is not ground. Spain sometimes takes some corn. But all the money,
which is got in these several countries, must immediately be sent to
England, in payment for the goods which are got from thence, and yet those
sums are not sufficient to pay all the debts.

But to shew more exactly, what the town and province have imported from
[51]England, in different years, I shall here insert an extract from the English
custom-house books, which I got from the engineer, Lewis Evans, at
Philadelphia, and which will sufficiently answer the purpose. This
gentleman had desired one of his friends in London to send him a compleat
account of all the goods shipped from England to Pensylvania in several
years. He got this account, and though the goods are not enumerated in it,
yet their value in money is calculated. Such extracts from the custom-house
books have been made for every North-American province, in order to
convince the English parliament, that those provinces have taken greater
quantities of the goods in that kingdom, ever since they have turned their
money into bills.

I have taken the copy from the original itself, and it is to be observed that it
begins with the christmas of the year 1722, and ends about the same time of
the year 1747. In the first column is the value of the foreign goods, the duty

for which has already been paid in England. The second column shews the
value of the goods manufactured in England and exported to Pensylvania.
And in the last column these two sums are added together, but at the bottom
each of the columns is cast up. [52]

But this table does not include the goods which are annually shipped in
great quantities to Pensylvania from Scotland and Ireland, among which is
a great quantity of linen.

The Value of the Goods annually shipped from England to Pensylvania.

The Year, from Foreign Goods for English The Sums of these
one Christmas to which the duty has manufactured two preceding
another. already been paid, & Goods. columns added
which therefore only together.
req. receipts.
l. s. d. l. s. d. l. s. d.
1723 5199 13 5 10793 5 1 15992 19 4
1724 9373 15 8 20951 0 5 30324 16 1
1725 10301 12 6 31508 1 8 42209 14 2
1726 9371 11 6 28263 6 2 37634 17 8
1727 10243 0 7 21736 10 0 31979 10 7
1728 14073 13 3 23405 6 2 37478 19 11
1729 12948 8 5 16851 2 5 29799 10 10
1730 15660 10 11 32931 16 6 48592 7 5
1731 11838 17 4 32421 18 9 44260 16 1
1732 15240 14 4 26457 19 3 41698 13 7
1733 13187 0 8 27378 7 5 40585 8 1
1734 19648 15 9 34743 12 1 54392 7 10
1735 18078 4 3 30726 7 1 48804 11 4
1736 23456 15 11 38057 2 5 61513 18 4
1737 14517 4 3 42173 2 4 56690 6 7
1738 20320 19 3 41129 5 0 61450 4 3
1739 9041 4 5 45411 7 6 54452 11 11
1740 10280 2 0 46471 12 9 56751 14 9
1741 12977 18 10 78032 13 1 91010 11 11
1742 14458 6 3 60836 17 1 75295 3 4
1743 19220 1 6 60120 4 10 79340 6 4

The Year, from Foreign Goods for English The Sums of these
one Christmas to which the duty has manufactured two preceding
another. already been paid, & Goods. columns added
which therefore only together.
req. receipts.
l. s. d. l. s. d. l. s. d.
1744 14681 8 4 47595 18 2 62214 6 6
1745 13043 8 8 41237 2 3 54280 10 11
1746 18103 12 7 55595 19 7 73699 12 2
1747 8585 14 11 73819 2 8 82404 17 7
Total. 343,789 16 0 969,049 1 6 1,312,838 17 6

[53]

The whole extent of the Philadelphia trade may be comprehended from the
number of ships, which annually arrive at and sail from this town. I intend
to insert here a table of a few years which I have taken from the gazettes of
the town. The ships coming and going in one year, are to be reckoned from
the twenty fifth of March of that year, to the twenty fifth of March of the
next.

The Year. Ships arrived. Ships sailed.
1735 199 212
1740 307 208
1741 292 309
1744 229 271
1745 280 301
1746 273 293

But it is much to be feared that the trade of Philadelphia, and of all the
English colonies, will rather decrease than encrease, in case no provision is
made to prevent it. I shall hereafter plainly shew upon what foundation this
decrease of trade is likely to take place.

The town not only furnishes most of the inhabitants of Pensylvania with the
goods which they want, but numbers of [54]the inhabitants of New Jersey
come every day and carry on a great trade.

The town has two great fairs every year; one in May, and the other in
November, both on the sixteenth days of those two months. But besides
these fairs, there are every week two market days, viz. Wednesday and
Saturday. On those days the country people in Pensylvania and New Jersey,
bring to town a quantity of victuals, and other productions of the country,
and this is a great advantage to the town. It is therefore to be wished that the
like regulation might be made in our Swedish towns. You are sure to meet
with every produce of the season, which the country affords, on the market-
days. But on other days, they are in vain sought for.

Provisions are always to be got fresh here, and for that reason most of the
inhabitants never buy more at a time, than what will be sufficient till the
next market-day. In summer there is a market almost every day; for the
victuals do not keep well in the great heat. There are two places in the town
where these markets are kept; but that near the court-house is the principal.
It begins about four or five o’clock in the morning, and ends about nine
o’clock in the forenoon. [55]

The town is not enclosed, and has no other custom-house than the great one
for the ships.

The governor of the whole province lives here; and though he is nominated
by the heirs of Pen, yet he cannot take that office without being confirmed
by the king of England.

The quakers of almost all parts of North-America, have their great assembly
here once a year.

In the year 1743, a society for the advancement of the sciences was erected
here. Its objects would have been the curiosities of the three kingdoms of

nature, mathematicks, physick, chemistry, œconomy, and manufactures. But
the war, which ensued immediately, stopped all designs of this nature, and
since that time, nothing has been done towards establishing any thing of this
kind.

The declination of the needle was here observed on the thirtieth of October
1750, old style, to be five deg. and forty-five min. west. It was examined by
the new meridian, which was drawn at Philadelphia in the autumn of the
same year, and extended a mile in length. By experience it appears, that this
declination lessens about a degree in twenty years time. [56]

The greatest difference in the rising and falling of the barometer, is
according to the observations made for several years together by Mr. James
Logan, found at 28´´ 59 and 30´´ 78.

Here are three printers, and every week two English, and one German
news-paper is printed.

In the year 1732, on the fifth of September, old style, a little earthquake was
felt here about noon, and at the same time at Boston in New England, and at
Montreal in Canada, which places are above sixty Swedish miles asunder.

In the month of November of the year 1737, the well known prince from
mount Lebanon, Sheich Sidi came to Philadelphia, on his travels through
most of the English American colonies. And in the same year a second
earthquake was felt about eleven o’clock at night, on the seventh of
December. But it did not continue above half a minute, and yet, it was felt
according to the accounts of the gazettes at the same hour in Newcastle,
New York, New London, Boston, and other towns of New England. It had
therefore likewise reached several miles.

The count Sinzendorf 5 arrived here in [57]the December of the year 1741,
and continued till the next spring. His uncommon behaviour persuaded
many Englishmen of rank, that he was disordered in his head.

I have not been able to find the exact number of the inhabitants of
Philadelphia. In the year 1746, they were reckoned above ten thousand, and
since that time their number is incredibly encreased. Neither can it be made
out from the Bills of mortality, since they are not kept regularly in all the
churches. I shall, however, mention some of those which appeared either in
the gazettes, or in bills printed on purpose.

Year. Dead. Year. Dead. Year. Dead.
1730 227 1741 345 1745 420
1738 250 1742 409 1748 672
1739 350 1743 425 1749 758
1740 290 1744 410 1750 716

From these bills of mortality it also appears, that the diseases which are the
most fatal, are consumptions, fevers, convulsions, pleuresies,
hæmorrhagies, and dropsies.

The number of those that are born cannot be determined, since in many
churches no order is observed with regard to this affair. The quakers, who
are the most [58]numerous in this town, never baptize their children, though
they take a pretty exact account of all who are born among them.

It is likewise impossible to guess at the number of inhabitants from the
dead, because the town gets such great supplies annually from other
countries. In the summer of the year 1749, near twelve thousand Germans
came over to Philadelphia, many of whom staid in that town. In the same
year the houses in Philadelphia were counted, and found to be two
thousand and seventy six in number.

The town is now quite filled with inhabitants, which in regard to their
country, religion and trade, are very different from each other. You meet
with excellent masters in all trades, and many things are made here full as
well as in England. Yet no manufactures, especially for making fine cloth

are established. Perhaps the reason is, that it can be got with so little
difficulty from England, and that the breed of sheep which is brought over,
degenerates in process of time, and affords but a coarse wool.

Here is great plenty of provisions, and their prices are very moderate. There
are no examples of an extraordinary dearth.

Every one who acknowledges God to be the Creator, preserver and ruler of
all [59]things, and teaches or undertakes nothing against the state, or against
the common peace, is at liberty to settle, stay, and carry on his trade here, be
his religious principles ever so strange. No one is here molested on account
of the erroneous principles of the doctrine which he follows, if he does not
exceed the above-mentioned bounds. And he is so well secured by the laws
in his person and property, and enjoys such liberties; that a citizen of
Philadelphia may in a manner be said to live in his house like a king.

On a careful consideration of what I have already said, it will be easy to
conceive how this city should rise so suddenly from nothing, into such
grandeur and perfection, without supposing any powerful monarch’s
contributing to it, either by punishing the wicked, or by giving great
supplies in money. And yet its fine appearance, good regulations, agreeable
situation, natural advantages, trade, riches and power, are by no means
inferior to those of any, even of the most ancient towns in Europe. It has not
been necessary to force people to come and settle here; on the contrary
foreigners of different languages, have left their country, houses, property
and relations, and ventured over wide and stormy seas, in order [60]to come
hither. Other countries, which have been peopled for a long space of time,
complain of the small number of their inhabitants. But Pensylvania, which
was no better than a desart in the year 1681, and hardly contained five
hundred people, now vies with several kingdoms in Europe, in number of
inhabitants. It has received numbers of people which other countries, to
their infinite loss, have either neglected or expelled.

A wretched old wooden building, on a hill near the river somewhat north of
the Wickako church, belonging to one of the Sons of Sven, of whom, as
before-mentioned, the ground was bought for building Philadelphia upon,
is preserved on purpose, as a memorial of the poor state of that place,
before the town was built on it. Its antiquity gives it a kind of superiority
over all the other buildings in town, though in itself the worst of all. This
hut was inhabited, whilst as yet stags, deers, elks, and beavers, at broad day
light lived in the future streets, church-yards, and market-places of
Philadelphia. The noise of a spinning wheel was heard in this house, before
the manufactures now established were thought of, or Philadelphia built.
But with all these advantages, this house is ready to [61]fall down, and in a
few years to come, it will be as difficult to find the place where it stood, as
it was unlikely at the time of its erection, that one of the greatest towns in
America, should in a short time stand close up to it.

September the 7th. Mr. Peter Cock, a merchant of this town, assured me that
he had last week himself been a spectator of a snake’s swallowing a little
bird. This bird, which from its cry has the name of Cat bird, (Muscicapa
Carolinensis, Linn.) flew from one branch of a tree to another, and was
making a doleful tune. At the bottom of the tree, but at a fathom’s distance
from the stem, lay one of the great black snakes, with its head continually
upright, pointing towards the bird, which was always fluttering about, and
now and then settling on the branches. At first it only kept in the topmost
branches, but by degrees it came lower down, and even flew upon the
ground, and hopped to the place where the snake lay, which immediately
opened its mouth, caught the bird and swallowed it; but it had scarce
finished its repast before Mr. Cock came up and killed it. I was afterwards
told that this kind of snakes was frequently observed to pursue little birds in
this manner. It is already [62]well known that the rattle snake does the same.

I walked out to day into the fields in order to get more acquainted with the
plants hereabouts, I found several European and even Swedish plants

among them. But those which are peculiar to America, are much more
numerous.

The Virginian maple grows in plenty on the shores of the Delaware. The
English in this country call it either Buttonwood, or Waterbeech, which
latter name is most usual. The Swedes call it Wattenbok, or Wasbok. It is
Linnæus’s Platanus occidentalis. See Catesby’s Nat. Hist. of Carolina, vol.
1. p. 56. t. 56. It grows for the greatest part in low places, but especially on
the edge of rivers and brooks. But these trees are easily transplanted to
more dry places, if they be only filled with good soil; and as their leaves are
large and their foliage thick, they are planted about the houses and in
gardens, to afford a pleasant shade in the hot season, to the enjoyment of
which some seats were placed under them. Some of the Swedes had boxes,
pails, and the like, made of the bark of this tree by the native Americans.
They say that those people whilst they were yet settled here, made little
dishes of this bark for gathering [63]whortleberries. The bark was a line in
thickness. This tree likewise grows in marshes, or in swampy fields, where
ash and red maple commonly grow. They are frequently as tall and thick, as
the best of our fir trees. The seed stays on them till spring, but in the middle
of April the pods open and shed the seeds. Query, Whether they are not ripe
before that time, and consequently sooner fit for sowing? This American
maple is remarkable for its quick growth, in which it exceeds all other trees.
There are such numbers of them on the low meadows between Philadelphia
and the ferry at Gloucester, on both sides of the road, that in summer time
you go as it were through a shady walk. In that part of Philadelphia which
is near the Swedish church, some great trees of this kind stand on the shore
of the river. In the year 1750, on the 15th. of May I saw the buds still on
them, and in the year 1749 they began to flower on the eighth of that month.
Several trees of this sort are planted at Chelsea near London, and they now
in point of height vie with the tallest oak.

September the 18th. In the morning I went with the Swedish painter, Mr.
Hesselius, to the country seat of Mr. Bartram, which is about four English

miles to the [64]south of Philadelphia, at some distance from the high road
to Maryland, Virginia, and Carolina. I had therefore the first opportunity
here, of getting an exact knowledge of the state of the country, which was a
plain covered with all kinds of trees with deciduous leaves. The ground was
sandy, mixed with clay. But the sand seemed to be in greater quantity. In
some parts the wood was cut down, and we saw the habitations of some
country people, whose corn-fields and plantations were round their farm-
houses. The wood was full of mulberry-trees, walnut-trees of several kinds,
chesnut-trees, sassafras, and the like. Several sorts of wild vines clasped
their tendrils round, and climbed up to the summits of the highest trees; and
in other places they twined round the enclosures, so thick, that the latter
almost sunk down under their weight. The Persimon, or Diospyros
Virginiana, Linn. sp. pl. p. 1510, grew in the marshy fields, and about
springs. Its little apples looked very well already, but are not fit for eating,
before the frost has affected them, and then they have a very fine taste.
Hesselius gathered some of them, and desired my servant to taste of the
fruits of the land; but this poor credulous follow, had hardly bit into them,
when he felt the [65]qualities they have before the frost has penetrated them.
For they contracted his mouth so that he could hardly speak, and had a very
disagreeable taste. This disgusted him so much that he was with difficulty
persuaded to taste of it during the whole of our stay in America,
notwithstanding it loses all its acidity and acquires an agreeable flavour in
autumn and towards the beginning of winter. For the fellow always
imagined, that though he should eat them ever so late in the year, they
would still retain the same disagreeable taste.

To satisfy the curiosity of those, who are willing to know, how the woods
look in this country, and whether or no the trees in them are the same with
those found in our forests, I here insert a small catalogue of those which
grow spontaneously in the woods which are nearest to Philadelphia. But I
exclude such shrubs as do not attain any considerable height. I shall put that
tree first in order, which is most plentiful, and so on with the rest, and

therefore trees which I have found but single, though near the town, will be
last.

Quercus1. alba, the white oak in good ground. [66]
Quercus2. rubra, or the black oak.
Quercus3. hispanica, the Spanish oak, a variety of the preceding.
Juglans4. alba, hiccory, a kind of walnut tree, of which three or
four varieties are to be met with.
Rubus5.occidentalis, or American blackberry shrub.
Acer rubrum,
6. the maple tree with red flowers, in swamps.
Rhus glabra,
7. the smooth leaved Sumach, in the woods, on high
glades, and old corn-fields.
Vitis labrusca
8. and Vulpina, vines of several kinds.
Sambucus
9. canadensis, American Elder tree, along the hedges
and on glades.
Quercus
10. phellos, the swamp oak, in morasses.
Azalea11.lutea, the American upright honey-suckle, in the woods
in dry places.
Cratægus
12. Crus galli, the Virginian Azarole, in woods.
Vaccinium
13. ——, a species of whortleberry shrub.
Quercus
14. prinus, the chesnut oak in good ground.
Cornus15. florida, the cornelian cherry, in all kinds of ground.
Liriodendron
16. Tulipifera, the tulip tree, [67]in every kind of soil.
Prunus17. virginiana, the wild cherry tree.
Vaccinium
18. ——, a frutex whortleberry, in good ground.
Prinos19.verticillatus, the winterberry tree in swamps.
Platanus
20. occidentalis, the water-beech.
Nyssa 21.aquatica, the tupelo tree; on fields and mountains. 6
Liquidambar
22. styraciflua, sweet gum tree, near springs.
Betula23.Alnus, alder, a variety of the Swedish; it was here but a
shrub.
Fagus 24.castanea, the chesnut tree, on corn-fields, pastures, and
in little woods.

Juglans
25. nigra, the black walnut tree, in the same place with the
preceding tree.
Rhus26.
radicans, the twining sumach, climbed along the trees.
Acer27.
Negundo, the ash-leaved maple, in morasses and swampy
places.
Primus
28. domestica, the wild plumb tree.
Ulmus29.Americana, the white elm. [68]
Prunus
30. spinosa, sloe shrub, in low places.
Laurus
31. sassafras, the sassafras tree, in a loose soil mixed with
sand.
Ribes32.
nigrum, the currant tree, grew in low places and in
marshes.
Fraxinus
33. excelsior, the ash tree in low places.
Smilax
34.laurifolia, the rough bind weed with the bay leaf, in
woods and on pales or enclosures.
Kalmia
35. latifolia, the American dwarf laurel, on the northern
side of mountains.
Morus36.rubra, the mulberry tree on fields, hills and near the
houses.
Rhus37.
vernix, the poisonous Sumach, in wet places.
Quercus
38. rubra, the red oak, but a peculiar variety.
Hamamelis
39. virginica, the witch hazel.
Diospyros
40. virginiana, the persimon.
Pyrus41.coronaria, the anchor tree.
Juniperus
42. virginiana, the red juniper, in a dry poor soil.
Laurus
43. æstivalis, spice-wood in a wet soil.
Carpinus
44. ostrya, a species of horn beam in a good soil.
Carpinus
45. betulus, a horn beam, in the same kind of soil with
the former. [69]
Fagus46.sylvatica, the beech, likewise in good soil.
47. ——, a species of walnut tree on hills near rivers, 7
Juglans
called by the Swedes Butternustræ.

Pinus48.Americana, Pensylvanian fir tree; on the north side of
mountains, and in vallies. 8
Betula
49.lenta, a species of birch, on the banks of rivers.
Cephalantus
50. occidentalis, button wood, in wet places.
Pinus51.tæda, the New Jersey fir tree, on dry sandy heaths.
Cercis
52.canadensis, the sallad tree, in a good soil.
Robinia
53. pseudacacia, the locust tree, on the corn-fields.
Magnolia
54. glauca, the laurel-leaved tulip tree, in marshy soil.
Tilia55.
Americana, the lime tree, in a good soil.
Gleditsia
56. triacanthos, the honey locust tree, or three thorned
acacia, in the same soil.
Celtis
57.occidentalis, the nettle tree, in the fields.
Annona
58. muricata, the custard apple in a fruitful soil.

[70]

We visited several Swedes, who were settled here, and were at present in
very good circumstances. One of them was called Andrew Rambo; he had a
fine house built of stone, two stories high, and a great orchard near it. We
were every where well received, and stayed over night with the above-
mentioned countryman. We saw no other marks of autumn, than that several
fruits of this season were already ripe. For besides this all the trees were yet
as green, and the ground still as much covered with flowers, as in our
summer. Thousands of frogs croaked all the night long in the marshes and
brooks. The locusts and grasshoppers made likewise such a great noise, that
it was hardly possible for one person to understand another. The trees too,
were full of all sorts of birds, which by the variety of their fine plumage,
delighted the eye, while the infinite variety of their tunes were continually
re-echoed.

The orchards, along which we passed to-day, were only enclosed by
hurdles. But they contained all kinds of fine fruit. We wondered at first very
much when our leader leaped over the hedge into the orchards, and gathered

some agreeable fruit for us. But our astonishment was still greater, when we
saw that the people in the garden were [71]so little concerned at it, as not
even to look at us. But our companion told us, that the people here were not
so exact in regard to a few fruits, as they are in other countries where the
soil is not so fruitful in them. We afterwards found very frequently that the
country people in Sweden and Finland guarded their turneps more carefully,
than the people here do the most exquisite fruits.

September the 19th. As I walked this morning into the fields, I observed that
a copious dew was fallen; for the grass was as wet as if it had rained. The
leaves of the plants and trees, had contracted so much moisture, that the
drops ran down. I found on this occasion that the dew was not only on the
superior, but likewise on the inferior side of the leaves. I therefore carefully
considered many leaves both of trees and of other plants; both of those
which are more above, and of those which are nearer to the ground. But I
found in all of them, that both sides of the leaves were equally bedewed,
except those of the Verbascum Thapsus, or great Mullein, which though
their superior side was pretty well covered with the dew, yet their inferior
had but a little.

Every countryman, even a common peasant, has commonly an orchard near
[72]his house, in which all sorts of fruit, such as peaches, apples, pears,
cherries, and others, are in plenty. The peaches were now almost ripe. They
are rare in Europe, particularly in Sweden, for in that country hardly any
people besides the rich taste them. But here every countryman had an
orchard full of peach trees, which were covered with such quantities of
fruit, that we could scarcely walk in the orchard, without treading upon
those peaches which were fallen off; many of which were always left on the
ground, and only part of them was sold in town, and the rest was consumed
by the family and strangers; for every one that passed by, was at liberty to
go into the orchard, and to gather as many of them as he wanted. Nay, this
fine fruit was frequently given to the swine.

This fruit is however sometimes kept for winter use, and for this purpose
they are prepared in the following manner. The fruit is cut into four parts,
the stone thrown away, and the fruit put upon a thread, on which they are
exposed to the sunshine in the open air, till they are sufficiently dry. They
are then put into a vessel for winter. But this manner of drying them is not
very good, because the rain of this season very easily spoils and putrifies
[73]them, whilst they hang in the open air. For this reason a different method
is followed by others, which is by far the most eligible. The peaches are as
before cut into four parts, are then either put upon a thread, or laid upon a
board, and so hung up in the air when the sun shines. Being dried in some
measure, or having lost their juice by this means, they are put into an oven,
out of which the bread has but just been taken, and are left in it for a while.
But they are soon taken out and brought into the fresh air; and after that
they are again put into the oven, and this is repeated several times till they
are as dry as they ought to be. For if they were dried up at once in the oven,
they would shrivel up too much, and lose part of their flavour. They are then
put up and kept for the winter. They are either baked into tarts and pyes, or
boiled and prepared as dried apples and pears are in Sweden. Several people
here dry and preserve their apples in the same manner as their peaches.

The peach trees, have, as I am told, been first planted here by the
Europeans. But at present they succeed very well, and require even less
care, than our apple and pear trees.

The orchards have seldom other fruit [74]than apples and peaches. Pear trees
are scarce in this province, and those that had any of them, had planted
them in their orchards. They likewise have cherry trees in the orchards, but
commonly on the sides of them towards the house, or along the enclosures.
Mulberry trees are planted on some hillocks near the house, and sometimes
even in the court yards of the house. The black walnut trees, or Juglans
nigra, grow partly on hills, and in fields near the farm-houses, and partly
along the enclosures; but most commonly in the forests. No other trees of

this kind, are made use of here. The chesnuts are left in the fields; here and
there is one in a dry field or in a wood.

The Hibiscus esculentus, or Okra, 9 is a plant which grows wild in the West
Indies, but is planted in the gardens here. The fruit, which is a long pod, is
cut whilst it is green, and boiled in soups, which thereby become as thick as
pulse. This dish is reckoned a dainty by some people, and especially by the
negroes.

Capsicum annuum, or Guinea pepper is likewise planted in gardens. When
the [75]fruit is ripe it is almost entirely red, it is put to a roasted or boiled
piece of meat, a little of it being strewed upon it, or mixed with the broth.
Besides this, cucumbers are pickled with it. Or the pods are pounded whilst
they are yet tender, and being mixed with salt are preserved in a bottle; and
this spice is strewed over roasted or boiled meat, or fried fish, and gives
them a very fine taste. But the fruit by itself is as biting as common pepper.

This country contains many species of the plant, which Dr. Linnæus calls
Rhus, and the most common is the Rhus foliis pinnatis serratis lanceolates
retrinque nudis, or the Rhus glabra. The English call this plant Sumach. But
the Swedes here, have no particular name for it, and therefore make use of
the English name. Its berries or fruits are red. They are made use of for
dying, and afford a colour like their own. This tree is like a weed in this
country, for if a corn-field is left uncultivated for some few years together, it
grows on it in plenty, since the berries are spread every where by the birds.
And when the ground is to be ploughed the roots stop the plough very
much. The fruit stays on the shrub during the whole winter. But the leaves
drop very early in autumn, after they are [76]turned reddish, like those of our
Swedish mountain ash. The branches boiled with the berries afford a black
ink like tincture. The boys eat the berries, there being no danger of falling
sick after the repast; but they are very sour. They seldom grow above three
yards high. On cutting the stem, it appears that it contains nothing but pith. I
have cut several in this manner, and found that some were ten years old; but

that most of them were above one year old. When the cut is made, a yellow
juice comes out between the bark and the wood. One or two of the most
outward circles are white, but the innermost are of a yellowish green. It is
easy to distinguish them one from another. They contain a very plentiful
pith, the diameter of which is frequently half an inch, and sometimes more.
It is brown, and so loose that it is easily pushed out by a little stick, in the
same manner as the pith of the elder tree, raspberry and blackberry bushes.
This sumach grows near the enclosures, round the corn-fields, but
especially on fallow ground. The wood seemed to burn well, and made no
great crackling in the fire.

September the 20th. In the morning we walked in the fields and woods near
the [77]town, partly for gathering seeds, and partly for gathering plants for
my herbal, which was our principal occupation; and in the autumn of this
year, we sent part of our collection to England and Sweden.

A species of Rhus, which was frequent in the marshes here was called the
poison tree by both English and Swedes. Some of the former gave it the
name of swamp-sumach, and my country-men gave it the same name. Dr.
Linnæus in his botanical works calls it Rhus Vernix. Sp. pl. 1. 380. Flora
Virgin. 45. An incision being made into the tree, a whitish yellow juice,
which has a nauseous smell, comes out between the bark and the wood.
This tree is not known for its good qualities, but greatly so for the effect of
its poison, which though it is noxious to some people, yet does not in the
least affect others. And therefore one person can handle the tree as he
pleases, cut it, peel off its bark, rub it, or the wood upon his hands, smell at
it, spread the juice upon his skin, and make more experiments, with no
inconvenience to himself; another person on the contrary dares not meddle
with the tree, while its wood is fresh, nor can he venture to touch a hand
which has handled it, nor even to expose himself to the smoak of a fire
which is made with this wood, without soon [78]feeling its bad effects; for
the face, the hands, and frequently the whole body swells excessively, and
is affected with a very accute pain. Sometimes bladders or blisters arise in

great plenty, and make the sick person look as if he was infected by a
leprosy. In some people the external thin skin, or cuticle, peels of in a few
days, as is the case when a person has scalded or burnt any part of his body.
Nay, the nature of some persons will not even allow them to approach the
place where the tree grows, or to expose themselves to the wind, when it
carries the effluvia or exhalations of this tree with it, without letting them
feel the inconvenience of the swelling, which I have just now described.
Their eyes are sometimes shut up for one, or two and more days together by
the swelling. I know two brothers, one of whom could without danger
handle this tree in what manner he pleased, whereas the other could not
come near it without swelling. A person sometimes does not know that he
has touched this poisonous plant, or that he has been near it, before his face
and hands shews it by their swelling. I have known old people who were
more afraid of this tree than of a viper; and I was acquainted with a person
who merely by the noxious exhalations of it [79]was swelled to such a
degree, that he was as stiff as a log of wood, and could only be turned about
in sheets.

On relating in the winter of the year 1750, the poisonous qualities of the
swamp sumach to my Yungstrœm, who attended me on my travels, he only
laughed, and looked upon the whole as a fable, in which opinion he was
confirmed by his having often handled the tree the autumn before, cut many
branches of it, which he had carried for a good while in his hand in order to
preserve its seeds, and put many into the herbals, and all this, without
feeling the least inconvenience. He would therefore, being a kind of
philosopher in his own way, take nothing for granted of which he had no
sufficient proofs, especially as he had his own experience in the summer of
the year 1749, to support the contrary opinion. But in the next summer his
system of philosophy was overturned. For his hands swelled and he felt a
violent pain, and itching in his eyes as soon as he touched the tree, and this
inconvenience not only attended him when he meddled with this kind of
sumach, but even when he had any thing to do with the Rhus radicans, or
that species of sumach which climbs along the trees, and is not by far so

[80]poisonous as the former. By this adventure he was so convinced of the
power of the poison tree, that I could not easily persuade him to gather
more seeds of it for me. But he not only felt the noxious effects of it in
summer when he was very hot, but even in winter when both he and the
wood were cold. Hence it appears that though a person be secured against
the power of this poison for some time, yet that in length of time he may be
affected with it as well, as people of a weaker constitution.

I have likewise tried experiments of every kind with the poison tree on
myself. I have spread its juice upon my hands, cut and broke its branches,
peeled off its bark, and rubbed my hands with it, smelt at it, carried pieces
of it in my bare hands, and repeated all this frequently, without feeling the
baneful effects so commonly annexed to it; but I however once experienced
that the poison of the sumach was not entirely without effect upon me. On a
hot day in summer, as I was in some degree of perspiration, I cut a branch
of the tree, and carried it in my hand for about half an hour together, and
smelt at it now and then. I felt no effects from it, till in the evening. But
next morning I awoke with a violent itching of my eye-lids, and the [81]parts
thereabouts, and this was so painful, that I could hardly keep my hands
from it. It ceased after I had washed my eyes for a while, with very cold
water. But my eye-lids were very stiff all that day. At night the itching
returned, and in the morning as I awoke, I felt it as ill as the morning
before, and I used the same remedy against it. However it continued almost
for a whole week together, and my eyes were very red, and my eye-lids
were with difficulty moved, during all that time. My pain ceased entirely
afterwards. About the same time, I had spread the juice of the tree very
thick upon my hand. Three days after they occasioned blisters, which soon
went off without affecting me much. I have not experienced any thing more
of the effects of this plant, nor had I any desire so to do. However I found
that it could not exert its power upon me, when I was not perspiring.

I have never heard that the poison of this Sumach has been mortal; but the
pain ceases after a few days duration. The natives formerly made their

flutes of this tree, because it has a great deal of pith. Some people assured
me, that a person suffering from its noisome exhalations, would easily
recover by spreading a mixture of the wood, [82]burnt to charcoal, and hog’s
lard, upon the swelled parts. Some asserted that they had really tried this
remedy. In some places this tree is rooted out on purpose, that its poison
may not affect the workmen.

I received to day, several curiosities belonging to the mineral kingdom,
which were collected in the country. The following were those which were
most worth attention. The first was a white, and quite transparent crystal. 10
Many of this kind are found in Pensylvania, in several kinds of stone,
especially in a pale-grey limestone. The pieces are of the thickness and
length of the little finger, and commonly as transparent as possible. But I
have likewise got crystals here, of the length of a foot, and of the thickness
of a middle-sized man’s leg. They were not so transparent as the former.

The cubic Pyrites of Bishop Browallius, 11 was of a very regular texture. But
its cubes were different in size, for in some of [83]the cubes, the planes of
the sides only amounted to a quarter of an inch, but in the biggest cubes,
they were full two inches. Some were exceedingly glittering, so that it was
very easy to be perceived that they consisted of sulphureous pyrites. But in
some one or two sides only, glittered so well, and the others were dark-
brown. Yet most of these marcasites had this same colour on all the sides.
On breaking them they shewed the pure pyrites. They are found near
Lancaster in this province, and sometimes lie quite above the ground; but
commonly they are found at the depth of eight feet or more from the surface
of the ground, on digging wells and the like. Mr. Hesselius had several
pieces of this kind of stone, which he made use of in his work. He first
burnt them, then pounded or ground them to a powder, and at last rubbed
them still finer in the usual way, and this afforded him a fine reddish-brown
colour.

Few black pebbles are found in this province, which on the other hand
yields many kinds of marble, especially a white one, with pale-grey bluish
spots, which is found in a quarry at the distance of a few English miles from
Philadelphia, and is very good [84]for working, though it is not one of the
finest kind of marbles. They make many tombstones and tables, enchase
chimneys and doors, floors of marble flags in the rooms, and the like of this
kind of marble. A quantity of this commodity is shipped to different parts of
America.

Muscovy glass, 12 is found in many places hereabouts, and some pieces of it
are pretty large, and as fine as those which are brought from Russia. I have
seen some of them, which were a foot and more in length. And I have
several in my collection that are nearly nine inches square. The Swedes on
their first arrival here made their windows of this native glass.

A pale grey fine limestone, 13 of a compact texture, lies in many places
hereabouts, and affords a fine lime. Some pieces of it are so full of fine
transparent crystals, that almost half of the stone consists of nothing else.
But besides this limestone, they make [85]lime near the sea-shore, from
oyster shells, and bring it to town in winter, which is said to be worse for
masonry, but better for white-washing, than that which is got from the
limestone.

Coals have not yet been found in Pensylvania; but people pretend to have
seen them higher up in the country among the natives. Many people
however agree that they are met with in great quantity more to the north,
near Cape Breton. 14

The ladies make wine from some of the fruits of the land. They principally
take white and red currants for that purpose, since the shrubs of this kind
are very plentiful in the gardens, and succeed very well. An old sailor who
had frequently been in New-foundland, told me that red currants grew wild
in that country in great quantity. They likewise make a wine of strawberries,
which grow in great plenty in the woods, but are sourer than the Swedish

ones. The American blackberries, or Rubus occidentalis, are likewise made
use of for this purpose, for they grow every where about the fields, almost
as abundantly as [86]thistles in Sweden, and have a very agreeable taste. In
Maryland a wine is made of the wild grapes, which grow in the woods of
that province. Raspberries and cherries which are planted on purpose, and
taken great care of, likewise afford a very fine wine. It is unnecessary to
give an account of the manner of making the currant wine, for in Sweden
this art is in higher perfection than in North America.

September the 21st. The common Privet, or Ligustrum vulgare, Linn. grows
among the bushes in thickets and woods. But I cannot determine whether it
belongs to the indigenous plants, or to those which the English have
introduced, the fruits of which the birds may have dispersed every where.
The enclosures and pales are generally made here of wooden planks and
posts. But a few, good œconomists, having already thought of sparing the
woods for future times, have begun to plant quick hedges round their fields;
and to this purpose they take the above-mentioned privet, which they plant
in a little bank, which is thrown up for it. The soil every where hereabouts
is a clay mixed with sand, and of course very loose. The privet hedges
however, are only adapted to the tameness of the cattle and other animals
here; for the hogs [87]all have a triangular yoke about their necks, and the
other cattle are not very unruly. But in such places where the cattle break
through the enclosures, hedges of this kind would make but a poor defence.
The people who live in the neighbourhood of Philadelphia, are obliged to
keep their hogs enclosed.

In the afternoon I rode with Mr. Peter Cock, who was a merchant, born at
Karlscron in Sweden, to his country seat, about nine miles from the town, to
the north-west.

The country on both sides of the road was covered with a great forest. The
trees were all with annual leaves, and I did not see a single fir or pine. Most
of the trees were different sorts of oak. But we likewise saw chesnut trees,

walnut trees, locust trees, apple trees, hiccory, blackberry bushes, and the
like. The ground ceased to be so even as it was before, and began to look
more like the English ground, diversified with hills and vallies. We found
neither mountains nor great stones, and the wood was so much thinned, and
the ground so uniformly even, that we could see a great way between the
trees, under which we rode without any inconvenience; for there were no
bushes to stop us. In some places [88]where the soil was thrown up, we saw
some little stones of that kind of which the houses here are so generally
built. I intend to describe them in the sequel.

As we went on in the wood, we continually saw at moderate distances little
fields, which had been cleared of the wood. Each of these was a farm.
These farms were commonly very pretty, and a walk of trees frequently led
from them to the high-road. The houses were all built of brick, or of the
stone which is here every where to be met with. Every countryman, even
though he were the poorest peasant, had an orchard with apples, peaches,
chesnuts, walnuts, cherries, quinces, and such fruits, and sometimes we saw
the vines climbing along them. The vallies were frequently provided with
little brooks which contained a crystal stream. The corn on the sides of the
road, was almost all mown, and no other grain besides maize and
buckwheat was standing. The former was to be met with near each farm, in
greater or lesser quantities; it grew very well and to a great length, the stalks
being from six to ten foot high and covered with fine green leaves.
Buckwheat likewise was not very uncommon, and in some places the
people were beginning to reap it. I intend in the sequel [89]to be more
particular about the qualities and use of these kinds of corn.

After a ride of six English miles, we came to Germantown; this town has
only one street, but is near two English miles long. It is for the greatest part
inhabited by Germans, who from time to time come from their country to
North America, and settle here, because they enjoy such privileges, as they
are not possessed of any where else. Most of the inhabitants are tradesmen,
and make almost every thing in such quantity and perfection, that in a short

time this province will want very little from England, its mother country.
Most of the houses were built of the stone which is mixed with glimmer,
and found every where towards Philadelphia, but is more scarce further on.
Several houses however were made of brick. They were commonly two
stories high, and sometimes higher. The roofs consisted of shingles of the
white cedar wood. Their shape resembled that of the roofs in Sweden, but
the angles they formed at the top were either obtuse, right angled, or acute,
according as the slopes were steep or easy. They sometimes formed either
the half of an octogon, or the half of a dodecagon.

Many of the roofs were made in such a [90]manner, that they could be
walked upon, having a balustrade round them. Many of the upper stories
had balconies before them, from whence the people had a prospect into the
street. The windows, even those in the third story, had shutters. Each house
had a fine garden. The town had three churches, one for the lutherans,
another for the reformed protestants, and the third for the quakers. The
inhabitants were so numerous, that the street was always full. The baptists
have likewise a meeting-house.

September the 22d. After I had been at church, I employed the remainder of
the day in conversing with the most considerable people in town, who had
lived here for a long while, and I enquired into the curiosities hereabouts.

Mr. Cock had a fine spring near his country seat; it came from a sandy hill,
and afforded water enough constantly to fill a little brook. Just above this
spring Mr. Cock had erected a building from those above-mentioned
glittering stones, into which were put many jugs, and other earthen vessels
full of milk; for it kept very well in cold water during the great heat with
which the summer is attended here.

I afterwards met with many houses which were situated like this on springs,
[91]and therefore were destined to keep the meat and milk fresh.

Almost all the enclosures round the corn-fields and meadows hereabouts,
were made of planks fastened in a horizontal direction. I only perceived a
hedge of privet in one single place. The enclosures were not made like ours,
for the people here take posts from four to six feet in height, and make two
or three holes into them, so that there was a distance of two feet and above
between them. Such a post does the same service as two, and sometimes
three poles are scarce sufficient. The posts were fastened in the ground, at
two or three fathoms distance from each other, and the holes in them kept
up the planks, which were nine inches, and sometimes a foot broad, and lay
above each other from one post to the next. Such an enclosure therefore
looked at a distance like the hurdles in which we enclose the sheep at night
in Sweden. They were really no closer than hurdles, being only destined to
keep out the greater animals, such as cows and horses. The hogs are kept
near the farm-houses every where about Philadelphia, and therefore this
enclosure does not need to be made closer on their account. Chesnut trees
were commonly made use of for this [92]purpose, because this wood keeps
longest against putrefaction, and an enclosure made of it can stand for thirty
years together. But where no chesnut wood was to be got, the white, and
likewise the black oaks were taken for that purpose. Of all kinds of wood,
that of the red cedar holds out the longest. The greatest quantity of it is
brought up here; for near Philadelphia it is not plentiful enough, to be made
use of for enclosures; however there are many enclosures near the town
made of this wood.

The best wood for fuel in every body’s opinion is the hiccory, or a species
of walnut; for it heats well; but is not good for enclosures, since it cannot
well withstand putrefaction when it is in the open air. The white and black
oaks are next in goodness for fuel. The woods with which Philadelphia is
surrounded, would lead one to conclude, that fuel must be cheap there. But
it is far from being so, because the great and high forest near the town is the
property of some people of quality and fortune, who do not regard the
money which they could make of them. They do not sell so much as they
require for their own use, and much less would they sell it to others. But

they leave the trees for times to come, expecting that wood will become
[93]much more scarce. However they sell it to joiners, coach-makers, and
other artists, who pay exorbitantly for it. For a quantity of hiccory of eight
foot in length, and four in depth, and the pieces being likewise four foot
long, they paid at present eighteen shillings of Pensylvanian currency. But
the same quantity of oak only came to twelve shillings. The people who
came at present to sell wood in the market were peasants, who lived at a
great distance from the town. Every body complained that fuel in the space
of a few years, was risen in price to many times as much again as it had
been, and to account for this, the following reasons were given: the town is
encreased to such a degree, as to be four or six times bigger, and more
populous than what some old people have known it to be, when they were
young. Many brick-kilns have been made hereabouts, which require a great
quantity of wood. The country is likewise more cultivated than it used to be,
and consequently great woods have been cut down for that purpose; and the
farms built in those places likewise consume a quantity of wood. Lastly,
they melt iron out of the ore, in several places about the town, and this work
always goes on without interruption. For these reasons it is [94]concluded in
future times Philadelphia will be obliged to pay a great price for wood.

The wine of blackberries, which has a very fine taste, is made in the
following manner. The juice of the blackberries is pressed out, and put into
a vessel; with half a gallon of this juice, an equal quantity of water is well
mixed. Three pounds of brown sugar are added to this mixture, which must
then stand for a while, and after that, it is fit for use. Cherry wine is made in
the same manner, but care must be taken that when the juice is pressed out,
the stones be not crushed, for they give the wine a bad taste.

They make brandy from peaches here, after the following method. The fruit
is cut asunder, and the stones are taken out. The pieces of fruit are then put
into a vessel, where they are left for three weeks or a month, till they are
quite putrid. They are then put into the distilling vessel, and the brandy is
made and afterwards distilled over again. This brandy is not good for

people who have a more refined taste, but it is only for the common kind of
people, such as workmen and the like.

Apples yield a brandy, when prepared in the same manner as the peaches.
But for this purpose those apples are chiefly [95]taken, which fall from the
tree before they are ripe.

The American Night-shade, or Phytolacca decandra, Linn. S. N. grows
abundantly near the farms, on the highroad in hedges and bushes, and in
several places in the fields. Whenever I came to any of these places I was
sure of finding this plant in great abundance. Most of them had red berries,
which grew in bunches, and looked very tempting, though they were not at
all fit for eating. Some of these plants were yet in flower. In some places,
such as in the hedges, and near the houses, they sometimes grow two
fathom high. But in the fields were always low; yet I could no where
perceive that the cattle had eaten of it. A German of this place who was a
confectioner told me, that the dyers gathered the roots of this plant and
made a fine red dye of them.

Here are several species of Squirrels. The ground Squirrels, or Sciurus
striatus, Linn. S. N. are commonly kept in cages, because they are very
pretty: but they cannot he entirely tamed. The greater Squirrels, or Sciurus
cinereus, Linn. S. N. frequently do a great deal of mischief in the
plantations, but particularly destroy the maize. For they climb up the stalks,
cut [96]the ears in pieces and eat only the loose and sweet kernel which lies
quite in the inside. They sometimes come by hundreds upon a maize-field,
and then destroy the whole crop of a countryman in one night. In Maryland
therefore every one is obliged annually to bring four squirrels, and their
heads are given to the surveyor, to prevent deceit. In other provinces every
body that kills squirrels, received twopence a piece for them from the
public, on delivering the heads. Their flesh is eaten and reckoned a dainty.
The skins are sold, but are not much esteemed. Squirrels are the chief food
of the rattle-snake and other snakes, and it was a common fancy with the

people hereabouts, that when the rattle snake lay on the ground, and fixed
its eyes upon a squirrel, the latter would be as it were fascinated, and that
though it were on the uppermost branches of a tree, yet it would come down
by degrees, till it leaped into the snake’s mouth. The snake then licks the
little animal several times, and makes it wet all over with its spittle, that it
may go down the throat easier. It then swallows the whole squirrel at once.
When the snake has made such a good meal, it lies down to rest without any
concern.

The quadruped, which Dr. Linnæus in [97]the memoirs of the Royal
Academy of Sciences, has described by the name of Ursus cauda elongata,
and which he calls Ursus Lotor, in his Systema Naturæ, is here called
Raccoon. It is found very frequently, and destroys many chickens. It is
hunted by dogs, and when it runs upon a tree to save itself, a man climbs
upon the tree after it, and shakes it down to the ground, where the dogs kill
it. The flesh is eaten, and is reputed to taste well. The bone of its male parts
is made use of for a tobacco-stopper. The hatters purchase their skins, and
make hats out of the hair, which are next in goodness to beavers. The tail is
worn round the neck in winter, and therefore is likewise valuable. The
Raccoon is frequently the food of snakes.

Some Englishmen asserted that near the river Potomack in Virginia, a great
quantity of oyster shells were to be met with, and that they themselves had
seen whole mountains of them. The place where they are found is said to be
about two English miles distant from the sea-shore. The proprietor of that
ground burns lime out of them. This stratum of oyster-shells is two fathom
and more deep. Such quantities of shells have likewise been found in other
places, especially in New York, on digging in the [98]ground; and in one
place, at the distance of some English miles from the sea, avast quantity of
oyster-shells, and of other shells was found. Some people conjectured that
the natives had formerly lived in that place, and had left the shells of the
oysters which they had consumed, in such great heaps. But others could not

conceive how it happened that they were thrown in such immense quantities
all into one place.

Every one is of opinion that the American savages were a very good-
natured people, if they were not attacked. No body is so strict in keeping his
word as a savage. If any one of their allies come to visit them, they shew
him more kindness, and greater endeavours to serve him, than he could
have expected from his own countrymen. Mr. Cock gave me the following
relation, as a proof of their integrity. About two years ago, an English
merchant travelling amongst the savages, in order to sell them necessaries,
and to buy other goods, was secretly killed, without the murderer’s being
found out. But about a year after, the savages found out the guilty person
amongst themselves. They immediately took him up, bound his hands on
his back, and thus sent him with a guard to the governor at Philadelphia,
and sent him word, that they could [99]no longer acknowledge this wretch
(who had been so wicked towards an Englishman) as their countryman, and
therefore would have nothing more to do with him, and that they delivered
him up to the governor, to be punished for his villainy as the laws of
England direct. This Indian was afterwards hanged at Philadelphia.

Their good natural parts are proved by the following account, which many
people have given me as a true one. When they send their ambassadors to
the English colonies, in order to settle things of consequence with the
governor, they sit down on the ground, as soon as they come to his
audience, and hear with great attention the governor’s demands which they
are to make an answer to. His demands are sometimes many. Yet they have
only a stick in their hand, and make their marks on it with a knife, without
writing any thing else down. But when they return the next day to give in
their resolutions, they answer all the governor’s articles in the same order,
in which he delivered them, without leaving one out, or changing the order,
and give such accurate answers, as if they had an account of them at full
length in writing.

Mr. Sleidorn related another story, which gave me great pleasure. He said
he had [100]been at New York, and had found a venerable old American
savage amongst several others in an inn. This old man began to talk with
Sleidorn as soon as the liquor was getting the better of his head, and boasted
that he could write and read in English. Sleidorn therefore desired leave to
ask a question, which the old man readily granted. Sleidorn then asked him,
whether he knew who was first circumcised? and the old man immediately
answered, Father Abraham; but at the same time asked leave to propose a
question in his turn, which Sleidorn granted; the old man then said, who
was the first quaker? Sleidorn said it was uncertain, that some took one
person for it, and some another; but the cunning old fellow told him, you
are mistaken, sir; Mordecai was the first quaker, for he would not take off
his hat to Haman. Many of the savages, who are yet heathens, are said to
have some obscure notion of the deluge. But I am convinced from my own
experience, that they are not at all acquainted with it.

I met with people here who maintained that giants had formerly lived in
these parts, and the following particulars confirmed them in this opinion. A
few years ago some people digging in the ground, met with a grave which
contained human bones of an [101]astonishing size. The Tibia is said to have
been fourteen feet long, and the os femoris to have measured as much. The
teeth are likewise said to have been of a size proportioned to the rest, But
more bones of this kind have not yet been found. Persons skilled in
anatomy, who have seen these bones, have declared that they were human
bones. One of the teeth has been sent to Hamburgh, to a person who
collected natural curiosities. Among the savages, in the neighbourhood of
the place where the bones were found, there is an account handed down
through many generations from fathers to children, that in this
neighbourhood, on the banks of a river, there lived a very tall and strong
man, in ancient times, who carried the people over the river on his back,
and waded in the water, though it was very deep. Every body to whom he
did this service gave him some maize, some skins of animals, or the like. In

fine he got his livelyhood by this means, and was as it were the ferryman of
those who wanted to pass the river.

The soil here consists for the greatest part of sand, which is more or less
mixed with clay. Both the sand and the clay, are of the colour of pale bricks.
To judge by [102]appearance the ground was none of the best; and this
conjecture was verified by the inhabitants of the country. When a corn-field
has been obliged to bear the same kind of corn for three years together, it
does not after that produce any thing at all if it be not well manured, or
fallowed for some years. Manure is very difficult to be got, and therefore
people rather leave the field uncultivated. In that interval it is covered with
all sorts of plants and trees; and the countryman in the mean while,
cultivates a piece of ground which has till then been fallow, or he chuses a
part of the ground which has never been ploughed before, and he can in
both cases be pretty sure of a plentiful crop. This method can here be used
with great convenience. For the soil is loose, so that it can easily be
ploughed, and every countryman has commonly a great deal of land for his
property. The cattle here are neither housed in winter, nor tended in the
fields, and for this reason they cannot gather a sufficient quantity of dung.

All the cattle has been originally brought over from Europe. The natives
have never had any, and at present few of them care to get any. But the
cattle degenerates [103]by degrees here, and becomes smaller. For the cows,
horses, sheep, and hogs, are all larger in England, though those which are
brought over are of that breed. But the first generation decreases a little, and
the third and fourth is of the same size with the cattle already common here.
The climate, the soil, and the food, altogether contribute their share towards
producing this change.

It is remarkable that the inhabitants of the country, commonly sooner
acquire understanding, but likewise grow sooner old than the people in
Europe. It is nothing uncommon to see little children, giving sprightly and
ready answers to questions that are proposed to them, so that they seem to

have as much understanding as old men. But they do not attain to such an
age as the Europeans, and it is almost an unheard of thing, that a person
born in this country, should live to be eighty or ninety years of age. But I
only speak of the Europeans that settled here. For the savages, or first
inhabitants, frequently attained a great age, though at present such examples
are uncommon, which is chiefly attributed to the great use of brandy, which
the savages have learnt of the Europeans. Those who are born in Europe
attain a greater age here, [104]than those who are born here, of European
parents. In the last war, it plainly appeared that these new Americans were
by far less hardy than the Europeans in expeditions, sieges, and long sea
voyages, and died in numbers. It is very difficult for them to use themselves
to a climate different from their own. The women cease bearing children
sooner than in Europe. They seldom or never have children, after they are
forty or forty-five years old, and some leave off in the thirtieth year of their
age. I enquired into the causes of this, but no one could give me a good one.
Some said it was owing to the affluence in which the people live here.
Some ascribed it to the inconstancy and changeableness of the weather, and
believed that there hardly was a country on earth in which the weather
changes so often in a day, as it does here. For if it were ever so hot, one
could not be certain whether in twenty-four hours there would not be a
piercing cold. Nay, sometimes the weather will change five or six times a
day.

The trees in this country have the same qualities as its inhabitants. For the
ships which are built of American wood, are by no means equal in point of
strength, to those which are built in Europe. This is [105]what nobody
attempts to contradict. When a ship which is built here, has served eight or
twelve years it is worth little; and if one is to be met with, which has been
in use longer and is yet serviceable, it is reckoned very astonishing. It is
difficult to find out the causes from whence this happens. Some lay the fault
to the badness of the wood: others condemn the method of building the
ships, which is to make them of trees which are yet green, and have had no
time to dry. I believe both causes are joined. For I found oak, which at the

utmost had been cut down about twelve years, and was covered by a hard
bark. But upon taking off this bark, the wood below it was almost entirely
rotten, and like flour, so that I could rub it into powder between my fingers.
How much longer will not our European oak stand before it moulders?

At night we returned to Philadelphia.

September the 23d. There are no Hares in this country, but some animals,
which are a medium between our Hares and Rabbets, and make a great
devastation whenever they get into fields of cabbage and turneps.

Many people have not been able to find out why the North American plants
which are carried to Europe and planted there, for [106]the greatest part
flower so late, and do not get ripe fruit before the frost overtakes them,
although it appears from several accounts of travels, that the winters in
Pensylvania, and more so those in New York, New England, and Canada,
are full as severe as our Swedish winters, and therefore are much severer
than those which are felt in England. Several men of judgment charged me
for this reason to examine and enquire into this phœnomenon with all
possible care. But I shall instead of an answer, rather give a few remarks
which I made upon the climate and upon the plants of North America, and
leave my readers at liberty to draw the conclusions themselves.

1. It is true, that the winters in Pensylvania, and much more those in the
more northern provinces, are frequently as severe as our Swedish winters,
and much colder than the English ones, or those of the southern parts of
Europe. For I found at Philadelphia, which is above twenty deg. more
southerly than several provinces in Sweden, that the thermometer of
professor Celsius, fell twenty-four deg. below the freezing point in winter.
Yet I was assured that the winters I spent here, were none of the coldest, but
only common ones, which I could likewise conclude from the Delaware’s
[107]not being frozen strong enough to bear a carriage at Philadelphia during
my stay, though this often happens. On considering the breadth of the river
which I have already mentioned in my description of Philadelphia, and the

difference between high and low water, which is eight English feet; it will
pretty plainly appear that a very intense frost is required to cover the
Delaware with such thick ice.

2. But it is likewise true, that though the winters are severe here, yet they
are commonly of no long duration, and I can justly say, that they do not
continue above two months and sometimes even less, at Philadelphia; and
it is something very uncommon when they continue for three months
together, in so much that it is put into the gazettes. Nearer the pole the
winters are somewhat longer, and in the quite northern parts they are as
long as the Swedish winters. The daily meteorological observations which I
have made during my stay in America, and which I intend to annex at the
end of each volume of this work, will give more light in this matter.

3. The heat in summer is excessive, and without intermission. I own I have
seen the thermometer rise to nearly the same degree at Aobo in Finland. But
the difference [108]is, that when the thermometer of professor Celsius rose to
thirty deg. above the freezing point once in two or three summers at Aobo,
the same thermometer did not only for three months together stand at the
same degree, but even sometimes rose higher; not only in Pensylvania, but
likewise in New York, Albany, and a great part of Canada. During the
summers which I spent at Philadelphia, the thermometer has two or three
times risen to thirty-six deg. above the freezing point. It may therefore with
great certainty be said, that in Pensylvania the greatest part of April, the
whole May, and all the following months till October, are like our Swedish
months of June and July. So excessive and continued a heat must certainly
have very great effects. I here again refer to my meteorological
observations. It must likewise be ascribed to the effects of this heat that the
common melons, the water melons, and the pumpions of different sorts are
sown in the fields without any bells or the like put over them, and yet are
ripe as early as July; further, that cherries are ripe at Philadelphia about the
25th. of May, and that in Pensylvania the wheat is frequently reaped in the
middle of June.

4. The whole of September, and half, if [109]not the whole of October, are
the finest months in Pensylvania, for the preceding ones are too hot. But
these represent our July and half of August. The greatest part of the plants
are in flower in September, and many do not begin to open their flowers
before the latter end of this month. I make no doubt that the goodness of the
season, which is enlivened by a clear sky, and a tolerably hot sun-shine,
greatly contributes towards this last effort of Flora. Yet though these plants
come out so late, they are quite ripe before the middle of October. But I am
not able to account for their coming up so late in autumn, and I rather ask,
why do not the Centaurea Jacea, the Gentiana, Amarella and Centaurium
of Linnæus, and the common golden rod, or Solidago Virgaurea flower
before the end of summer? or why do the common noble liverwort, or
Anemone Hepatica, the wild violets (Viola martia, Linn.) the mezereon
(Daphne Mezereum, Linn.) and other plants shew their flowers so early in
spring? It has pleased the Almighty Creator to give to them this disposition.
The weather at Philadelphia during these months, is shewn by my
meteorological tables. I have taken the greatest care in my observations, and
have always avoided putting the thermometer [110]into any place where the
sun could shine upon it, or where he had before heated the wall by his
beams; for in those cases my observations would certainly not have been
exact. The weather during our September and October is too well known to
want an explanation. 15

5. However there are some spontaneous plants in Pensylvania, which do not
every year bring their seeds to maturity before the cold begins. To these
belong some species of Gentiana, of Asters, and others. But in these too the
wisdom of the Creator has wisely ordered every thing in its turn. For almost
all the plants which have the quality of flowering so late in autumn, are
perennial, or such as, though they have no seed to propagate themselves,
can revive by shooting new branches and stalks from the same root every
year. But perhaps a natural cause may be given to account for the late
growth of these plants. Before the Europeans came into this country, it was
inhabited by savage nations, who practised agriculture but little or not at all,

and chiefly [111]lived upon hunting and fishing. The woods therefore have
never been meddled with, except that sometimes a small part was destroyed
by fire. The accounts which we have of the first landing of the Europeans
here, shew that they found the country all over covered with thick forests. 16
From hence it follows, that excepting the higher trees, and the plants which
grow in the water or near the shore, the rest must for the greatest part have
been obliged to grow perhaps for a thousand years together, in a shade,
either below or between the trees, and they therefore naturally belong to
those which are only peculiar to woody and shady places. The trees in this
country drop their leaves in such quantities in autumn, that the ground is
covered with them to the depth of four or five inches. These leaves lie a
good while in the next summer before they moulder, and this must of course
hinder the growth of the plants which are under the trees, at the same time
depriving them of the few rays of the sun which can come down to them
through the thick leaves at the top of the trees. These causes joined together
make such plants flower much later than they would otherwise do. May
[112]it not therefore be said, that in so many centuries these plants had at last
contracted a habit of coming up very late, and that it would now require a
great space of time to make them lose this habit, and use them to quicken
their growth?

September the 24th. We employed this whole day in gathering the seeds of
plants of all kinds, and in putting scarce plants into the herbal.

September the 25th. Mr. Hesselius made me a present of a little piece of
petrified wood, which was found in the ground here. It was four inches
long, one inch broad, and three lines thick. It might plainly be seen that it
had formerly been wood. For in the places where it had been polished, all
the longitudinal fibres were easily distinguishable, so that it might have
been taken for a piece of oak which was cut smooth. My piece was part of a
still greater piece. It was here thought to be petrified hiccory. I afterwards
got more of it from other people. Mr. Lewis Evans told me that on the

boundaries of Virginia, a great petrified block of hiccory had been found in
the ground, with the bark on it, which was likewise petrified.

Mr. John Bartram is an Englishman, who lives in the country about four
miles [113]from Philadelphia. He has acquired a great knowledge of natural
philosophy and history, and seems to be born with a peculiar genius for
these sciences. In his youth he had no opportunity of going to school. But
by his own diligence and indefatigable application he got, without
instruction, so far in Latin, as to understand all Latin books, and even those
which were filled with botanical terms. He has in several successive years
made frequent excursions into different distant parts of North America, with
an intention of gathering all sorts of plants which are scarce and little
known. Those which he found he has planted in his own botanical garden,
and likewise sent over their seeds or fresh roots to England. We owe to him
the knowledge of many scarce plants, which he first found, and which were
never known before. He has shewn great judgment, and an attention which
lets nothing escape unnoticed. Yet with all these great qualities, he is to be
blamed for his negligence; for he did not care to write down his numerous
and useful observations. His friends at London once obliged him to send
them a short account of one of his travels, and they were very ready, with a
good intention, though not with sufficient judgment, to get this account
printed. [114]But this book, did Mr. Bartram more harm than good; for as he
is rather backward in writing down what he knows, this publication was
found to contain but few new observations. It would not however be doing
justice to Mr. Bartram’s merit, if it were to be judged of by this
performance. He has not filled it with a thousandth part of the great
knowledge, which he has acquired in natural philosophy and history,
especially in regard to North America. I have often been at a loss to think of
the sources, from whence he got many things which came to his knowledge.
I likewise owe him many things, for he possessed that great quality of
communicating every thing he knew. I shall therefore in the sequel,
frequently mention this gentleman. For I should never forgive myself, if I

were to omit the name of the first inventor, and claim that as my own
invention, which I learnt from another person.

Many Muscle shells, or Mytili anatini, are to be met with on the north-west
side of the town in the clay-pits, which were at present filled with water
from a little brook in the neighbourhood. These muscles seem to have been
washed into that place by the tide, when the water in the brook was high.
For these clay-pits are not old, but were [115]lately made. Poor boys
sometimes go out of town, wade in the water, and gather great quantities of
these shells, which they sell very easily, they being reckoned a dainty.

The Virginian Azarole with a red fruit, or Linnæus’s Cratægus Crus galli, is
a species of hawthorn, and they plant it in hedges, for want of that
hawthorn, which is commonly used for this purpose in Europe. Its berries
are red, and of the same size, shape, and taste with those of our hawthorn.
Yet this tree does not seem to make a good hedge, for its leaves were
already fallen, whilst other trees still preserved theirs. Its spines are very
long and sharp; their length being two or three inches. These spines are
applied to some inconsiderable use. Each berry contains two stones.

Mr. Bartram assured me, that the North American oak, cannot resist
putrefaction for near such a space of time, as the European. For this reason,
the boats (which carry all sorts of goods down from the upper parts of the
country) upon the river Hudson, which is one of the greatest in these parts,
are made of two kinds of wood. That part which must always be under
water, is made of black oak; but [116]the upper part, which is now above and
now under water, and is therefore more exposed to putrefaction, is made of
red cedar or Juniperus Virginiana, which is reckoned the most hardy wood
in the country. The bottom is made of black oak, because that wood is very
tough. For the river being full of stones, and the boats frequently running
against them, the black oak gives way, and therefore does not easily crack.
But the cedar would not do for this purpose; because it is hard and brittle.

The oak likewise is not so much attacked by putrefaction, when it is always
kept under water.

In autumn, I could always get good pears here; but every body
acknowledged, that this fruit would not succeed well in the country.

All my observations and remarks on the qualities of the Rattle-snake, are
inserted in the Memoirs of the Swedish Academy of Sciences, for the year
1752, p. 316, and for the year 1753, p. 54, and thither I refer the reader. 17

Bears are very numerous higher up in the country, and do much mischief.
Mr. Bartram told me, that when a bear catches [117]a cow, kills her in the
following manner: he bites a hole into the hide, and blows with all his
power into it, till the animal swells excessively and dies; for the air expands
greatly between the flesh and the hide. 18 An old Swede called Nils Gustave’s
son, who was ninety-one years of age, said, that in his youth, the bears had
been very frequent hereabouts, but that they had seldom attacked the cattle:
that whenever a bear was killed, its flesh was prepared like pork, and that it
had a very good taste. And the flesh of bears is still prepared like ham, on
the river Morris. The environs of Philadelphia, and even the whole
province of Pensylvania in general contain very few bears, they having
been extirpated by degrees. In Virginia they kill them in several different
ways. Their flesh is eaten by both rich and poor, since it is reckoned equal
in goodness to pork. In [118]some parts of this province, where no hogs can
be kept on account of the great numbers of bears, the people are used to
catch and kill them, and to use them instead of hogs. The American bears
however, are said to be less fierce and dangerous, than the European ones.

September the 26th. The broad plantain, or Plantago major, grows on the
highroads, foot paths, meadows, and in gardens in great plenty. Mr.
Bartram had found this plant in many places on his travels, but he did not
know whether it was an original American plant, or whether the Europeans
had brought it over. This doubt had its rise from the savages (who always
had an extensive knowledge of the plants of the country) pretending that

this plant never grew here before the arrival of the Europeans., They
therefore give it a name which signifies, the Englishman’s foot, for they say
that where a European had walked, there this plant grew in his foot steps.

The Chenopodium album, or Goosefoot with sinuated leaves, grows in
plenty in the gardens. But it is more scarce near the houses, in the streets,
on dunghills and corn-fields. This seems to shew, that it is not a native of
America, but has been brought over amongst other seeds from Europe. In
the [119]same manner it is thought that the Tansey (Tanacetum vulgare,
Linn.) which grows here and there in the hedges, on the roads, and near
houses, was produced from European seeds.

The common vervain, with blue flowers, or verbena officinalis, was shewn
to me by Mr. Bartram, not far from his house in a little plain near
Philadelphia. It was the only place where he had found it in America. And
for this reason I suppose it was likewise sown here amongst other European
seeds.

Mr. Bartram was at this time-building a house in Philadelphia, and had
sunk a cellar to a considerable depth, the soil of which was thrown out. I
here observed the following strata. The upper loose soil was only half a foot
deep, and of a dark brown colour. Under it was a stratum of clay so much
blended with sand, that it was in greater quantity than the clay itself; and
this stratum was eight feet deep. These were both brick coloured. The next
stratum consisted of little pebbles mixed with a coarse sand. The stones
consisted either of a clear, or of a dark Quartz; 19 they were [120]quite
smooth and roundish on the outside, and lay in a stratum which was a foot
deep. Then the brick-coloured clay mixed with sand appeared again. But the
depth of this stratum could not be determined. Query, could the river
formerly have reached to this place and formed these strata?

Mr. Bartram has not only frequently found oyster-shells in the ground, but
likewise met with such shells and snails, as undoubtedly belong to the sea,
at the distance of a hundred and more English miles from the shore. He has

even found them on the ridge of mountains which separate the English
plantations from the habitations of the savages. These mountains which the
English call the blue mountains, are of considerable height, and extend, in
one continued chain from north to south, or from Canada to Carolina. Yet
in some places they have gaps, which are as it were broke through, to afford
a passage for the great rivers, which roll down into the lower country.

The Cassia Chamæcrista grew on the roads the woods, and sometimes
[121]on uncultivated fields, especially when shrubs grew in them. Its leaves
are like those of the Sensitive plant, or Mimosa, and have likewise the
quality of contracting when touched, in common with the leaves of the
latter.

The Crows in this country are little different from our common crows in
Sweden. Their size is the same with that of our crows, and they are as black
as jet in every part of their body. I saw them flying to day in great numbers
together. Their voice is not quite like that of our crows, but has rather more
of the cry of the rook, or Linnæus’s Corvus frugilegus.

Mr. Bartram related, that on his journeys to the northern English colonies,
he had discovered great holes in the mountains on the banks of rivers,
which according to his description, must exactly have been such giants
pots, 20 as are to be met with in Sweden, and which I have described in a
particular dissertation read in the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Mr.
Bartram has likewise addressed some letters to the Royal Society at London
upon this subject. For [122]some people pretended, that these holes were
made by the savages, that they might in time of war hide their corn and
other valuable effects in them. But he wrote against this opinion, and
accounted for the origin of these cavities in the following manner. When the
ice settles, many pebbles stick in it. In spring when the snow melts, the
water in the rivers swells so high that it reaches above the place where these
holes are now found in the mountains. The ice therefore will of course float
as high. And then it often happens, that the pebbles which were contained in

it, ever since autumn when it first settled on the banks of the river, fall out
of the ice upon the rocky bank, and are from thence carried into a cleft or
crack by the water. These pebbles are then continually turned about by the
water, which comes in upon them, and by this means they gradually form
the hole. The water at the same time polishes the stone by its circular
motion round it, and helps to make the hole or cavity round. It is certain that
by this turning and tossing, the stone is at last unfit for this purpose; but the
river throws commonly every spring other stones instead of it into the
cavity, and they are turned round in the same manner. By this whirling both
the mountain [123]and the stone afford either a fine or a coarse sand, which
is washed away by the water when in spring, or at other times it is high
enough to throw its waves into the cavity. This was the opinion of Mr.
Bartram about the origin of these cavities. The Royal Society of Sciences at
London, has given a favourable reception to, and approved of them. 21 The
remarks which I made in the summer of the year 1743, during my stay at
Land’s-Ort, in my country, will prove that I was at that time of the same
opinion, in regard to these holes. I have since further explained this opinion
in a letter to the Royal Academy of Sciences; and this letter is still
preserved in the Academy’s Memoirs, which have not yet been published.
But there is great reason to doubt, whether all cavities of this kind in
mountains, have the same origin.

Here are different species of Mulberry trees, which grow wild in the forests
of north and south America. In these parts the red mulberry trees are more
plentiful than any other. However Mr. Bartram assured me that he had
likewise seen the [124]white mulberry trees growing wild, but that they were
more scarce. I asked him and several other people of this country, why they
did not set up silk manufactures, having such a quantity of mulberries,
which succeed so easily? For it has been observed that when the berries fall
upon the ground where it is not compact but loose, they soon put out several
fine delicate shoots. But they replied that it would not be worth while to
erect any silk manufactures here, because labour is so dear. For a man gets
from eighteen pence to three shillings and upwards, for one day’s work, and

the women are paid in proportion. They were therefore of opinion that the
cultivation of all sorts of corn, of hemp, and of flax, would be of greater
advantage, and that at the same time it did not require near so much care as
the feeding of silk worms. By the trials of a governor in Connecticut, which
is a more northern province than New York, it is evident however, that silk
worms succeed very well here, and that this kind of mulberry trees is very
good for them. The governor brought up a great quantity of silk worms in
his court yard; and they succeeded so well, and spun so much silk, as to
afford him a sufficient quantity for cloathing himself and all his family. [125]

Several sorts of Vines likewise grow wild hereabouts. Whenever I made a
little excursion out of town, I saw them in numerous places climbing up
trees and hedges. They clasp around them, and cover them sometimes
entirely, and even hang down on the sides. This has the same appearance at
a distance, as the tendrils of hops climbing along trees. I enquired of Mr.
Bartram why they did not plant vineyards, or press wine from the grapes of
the wild vine. But they answered, that the same objection lay against it,
which lies against the erection of a silk manufacture, that the necessary
hands were too scarce, and it therefore was more rational to make
agriculture their chief employment. But the true reason undoubtedly is, that
the wine which is pressed out of most of the North American wild grapes is
sour and sharp, and has not near such an agreeable taste, as that which is
made from European grapes.

The Virginian Wake robin, or Arum Virginicum, grows in wet places. Mr.
Bartram told me, that the savages boiled the spadix and the berries of this
flower, and devoured it as a great dainty. When the berries are raw, they
have a harsh, pungent [126]taste, which they lose in great measure upon
boiling.

The Sarothra Gentianoides, grows abundantly in the fields and under the
bushes, in a dry sandy ground near Philadelphia. It looks extremely like our
whortleberry bushes when they first begin to green, and when the points of

the leaves are yet red. Mr. Bartram has sent this plant to Dr. Dillenius, but
that gentleman did not know where he should range it. It is reckoned a very
good traumatic, and this quality Mr. Bartram himself experienced; for being
thrown and kicked by a vicious horse, in such a manner as to have both his
thighs greatly hurt, he boiled the Sarothra and applied it to his wounds. It
not only immediately appeased his pain, which before had been very
violent, but he likewise by its assistance recovered in a short time.

Having read in Mr. Miller’s Botanical Dictionary, that Mr. Peter Collinson
had a particular Larch tree from America in his garden, I asked Mr. Bartram
whether he was acquainted with it, he answered, that he had sent it himself
to Mr. Collinson, that it only grew in the eastern parts of New Jersey, and
that he had met with it in no other English plantation. It differs from the
other species of Larch trees, its [127]cones being much less. I afterwards saw
this tree in great plenty in Canada.

Mr. Bartram was of opinion, that the apple tree was brought into America
by the Europeans, and that it never was there before their arrival. But he
looked upon peaches as an original American fruit, and as growing wild in
the greatest part of America. Others again were of opinion, that they were
first brought over by the Europeans. But all the French in Canada agreed,
that on the banks of the river Missisippi and in the country thereabouts
peaches were found growing wild in great quantity. 22

September the 27th. The tree which the English here call Persimon, is the
Diospyros Virginiana of Linnæus. It grows for the greatest part in wet
places, round the water pits. I have already mentioned that the fruits of this
tree are extremely bitter and sharp before they are quite ripe, and that being
eaten in that state they quite [128]contract ones mouth, and have a very
disagreeable taste. But as soon as they are ripe, which does not happen till
they have been quite softened by the frost, they are a very agreeable fruit.
They are here eaten raw, and seldom any other way. But in a great book,
which contains a description of Virginia, you meet with different ways of

preparing the Persimon, under the article of that name. Mr. Bartram, related
that they were commonly put upon the table amongst the sweet-meats, and
that some people made a tolerably good wine of them. Some of these
Persimon fruits were dropped on the ground in his garden, and were almost
quite ripe, having been exposed to a great degree of the heat of the sun. We
picked up a few and tasted them, and I must own that those who praised this
fruit as an agreeable one, have but done it justice. It really deserves a place
among the most palatable fruit of this country, when the frost has
thoroughly conquered its acrimony.

The Verbascum Thapsus, or great white Mullein, grows in great quantity on
roads, in hedges, on dry fields, and high meadows of a ground mixed with
sand. The Swedes here call it the tobacco of the savages, but owned, that
they did not know whether [129]or no the Indians really used this plant
instead of tobacco. The Swedes are used to tie the leaves round their feet
and arms, when they have the ague. Some of them prepared a tea from the
leaves, for the dysentery. A Swede likewise told me, that a decoction of the
roots was injected into the wounds of the cattle which are full of worms,
which killed these worms, and made them fall out. 23

September the 28th. The meadows which are surrounded by wood, and
were at present mown, have a fine lively verdure. On the contrary when
they lie on hills, or in open fields, or in some elevated situation, especially
so that the sun may be able to act upon them without any obstacles, their
grass looks brown and dry. Several people from Virginia told me, that on
account of the great heat and drought, the meadows and pastures almost
always had a brown colour, and looked as if they were burnt. The
inhabitants of those parts do not therefore enjoy the pleasure which a
European [130]feels at the sight of our verdant, odoriferous meadows.

The American Nightshade, or the Phytolacca decandra, grows abundantly
in the fields, and under the trees, on little hills. Its black berries are now
ripe. We observed to day some little birds with a blue plumage, and of the

size of our Hortulans and Yellow Hammers (Emberiza Citrinella and
Emberiza Hortulanus) flying down from the trees, in order to settle upon
the nightshade and eat its berries.

Towards night I went to Mr. Bartram’s country seat.

September the 29th. The Gnaphalium margaritaceum, grows in astonishing
quantities upon all uncultivated fields, glades, hills, and the like. Its height
is different according to its different soil and situation. Sometimes it is very
ramose, and sometimes very little. It has a strong, but agreeable smell. The
English call it Life everlasting; for its flowers, which consist chiefly of dry,
shining, silvery leaves (Folia calycina) do not change when dried. This
plant is now every where in full blossom. But some have already lost the
flowers, and are beginning to drop the seeds. The English ladies were used
to gather great quantities of this Life everlasting, and to pluck them
[131]with the stalks. For they put them into pots with or without water,
amongst other fine flowers which they had gathered both in the gardens and
in the fields, and placed them as an ornament in the rooms. The English
ladies in general are much inclined to have fine flowers all the summer
long, in or upon the chimneys, sometimes upon a table, or before the
windows, either on account of their fine appearance, or for the sake of their
sweet scent. The Gnaphalium above-mentioned, was one of those, which
they kept in their rooms during the winter, because its flowers never altered
from what they were when they stood in the ground. Mr. Bartram told me
another use of this plant. A decoction of the flowers and stalks is used to
bathe any pained or bruised part, or it is rubbed with the plant itself tied up
in a bag.

Instead of flax several people made use of a kind of Dog’s bane, or
Linnæus’s Apocynum cannabinum. The people prepared the stalks of this
plant, in the same manner as we prepare those of hemp or flax. It was spun
and several kinds of stuffs were woven from it. The savages are said to have

had the art of making bags, fishing-nets, and the like, for many centuries
together, before the arrival of the Europeans. [132]

I asked Mr. Bartram, whether he had observed in his travels, that the water
was fallen, and that the sea had formerly covered any places which were
now land. He told me, that from what he had experienced, he was
convinced that the greatest part of this country, even for several miles
together, had formerly been under water. The reasons which led him to give
credit to this opinion, were the following.

1. On digging in the blue mountains, which are above three hundred
English miles distant from the sea, you find loose oyster and other sorts of
shells, and they are also likewise to be met with in the vallies formed by
these mountains.

2. A vast quantity of petrified shells are found in limestone, flint, and
sandstone, on the same mountains. Mr. Bartram assured me at the same
time, that it was incredible what quantities of them there were in the
different kinds of stones of which the mountains consist.

3. The same shells are likewise dug in great quantity, quite entire and not
mouldered, in the provinces of Virginia and Maryland, as also in
Philadelphia and in New York.

4. On digging wells (not only in Philadelphia, but likewise in other places)
the [133]people have met with trees, roots, and leaves of oak, for the greatest
part, not yet rotten, at the depth of eighteen feet.

5. The best soil and the richest mould is to be met with in the vallies
hereabouts. These vallies are commonly crossed by a rivulet or brook. And
on their declivity, a mountain commonly rises, which in those places where
the brook passes close to it, looks as if it were cut on purpose. Mr. Bartram
believed, that all these vallies formerly were lakes; that the water had by
degrees hollowed out the mountain, and opened a passage for itself through

it; and that the great quantity of slime which is contained in the water, and
which had subsided to the bottom of the lake, was the rich soil which is at
present in the vallies, and the cause of their great fertility. But such vallies
and cloven mountains are very frequent in the country, and of this kind is
the peculiar gap between two mountains, through which a river takes its
course or boundaries of New York and Pennsylvania. The people in a jest
say, that this opening by the D—l, as he wanted to go out of Pennsylvania
into New York.

6. The whole appearance of the blue mountains, plainly shews that the
water [134]formerly covered at part of them. For many are broken in a
peculiar manner, but the highest are plain.

7. When the savages are told, that shells are found on these high mountains,
and that from thence there is reason to believe that the sea must formerly
have extended to them, and even in part flown over them; they answer that
this is not new to them, they having a tradition from their ancestors among
them, that the sea formerly surrounded these mountains.

8. The water in rivers and brooks likewise decreases. Mills, which sixty
years ago were built on rivers, and at that time had a sufficient supply of
water almost all the year long, have at present so little, that they cannot be
used, but after a heavy rain, or when the snow melts in spring. This
decrease of water in part arises from the great quantity of land which is now
cultivated, and from the extirpation of great forests for that purpose.

9. The sea-shore increases likewise in time. This arises from the quantity of
sand continually thrown on shore from the bottom of the sea, by the waves.

Mr. Bartram thought that some peculiar attention should be paid to another
thing relating to these observations. The shells [135]which are to be found
petrified on the northern mountains, are of such kinds as at present are not
to be got in the sea, in the same latitude, and they are not fished on the
shore, till you come to South Carolina. Mr. Bartram from hence took an

occasion to defend Dr. Thomas Burnet’s opinion, that the earth before the
deluge was in a different position towards the sun. He likewise asked
whether the great bones which are sometimes found in the ground in
Siberia, and which are supposed to be elephant’s bones and tusks, did not
confirm this opinion. For at present those animals cannot live in such cold
countries; but if according to Dr. Burnet, the sun once formed different
zones about our earth, from those it now makes, the elephant may easily be
supposed to have lived in Siberia. 24 However it [136]seems that all which we
have hitherto mentioned, may have been the effect of different causes. To
those belong the universal deluge, the increase of land which is merely
[137]the work of time, and the changes of the course of rivers, which when
the snow melts and in great floods, leave their first beds, and form new
ones.

At some distance from Mr. Bartram’s country house, a little brook flowed
through the wood, and likewise ran over a rock. The attentive Mr. Bartram
here shewed me several little cavities in the rock, and we plainly saw that
they must have been generated in the manner I before described, that is, by
supposing a pebble to have remained in a cleft of the rock, and to have been
turned round by the violence of the water, till it had formed such cavity in
the mountain. For on putting our hands into one of these cavities, we found
that it contained numerous small pebbles, whose surface was quite smooth
and round. And these stones we found in each of the holes.

Mr. Bartram shewed me a number of [138]plants which he had collected into
a herbal on his travels. Among these were the following, which likewise
grow in the northern parts of Europe, of which he had either got the whole
plants, or only broken branches.

Betula1.alba. The common birch tree, which he had found on
the cats-hills.
Betula2.nana. This species of birch grows in several low places
towards the hills.

Comarum
3. palustre, in the meadows, between the hills in New
Jersey.
Gentiana
4. lutea, the great Gentian, from the fields near the
mountains. It was very like our variety, but had not so many
flowers under each leaf.
Linnæa5. borealis, from the mountains in Canada. It creeps
along the ground.
Myrica6. Gale, from the neighbourhood of the river
Susquehanna, where it grows in a wet soil.
Potentilla
7. fruticosa, from the swampy fields and low meadows,
between the river Delaware, and the river New York.
Trientalis
8. Europæa, from the cats-hills.
Triglochin
9. maritimum, from the salt springs towards the
country of the five nations.

[139]

Mr. Bartram shewed me a letter from East Jersey, in which he got the
following account of the discovery of an Indian grave. In the April of the
year 1744, as some people were digging a cellar, they came upon a great
stone, like a tombstone, which was at last got out with great difficulty, and
about four feet deeper under it, they met with a large quantity of human
bones and a cake of maize. The latter was yet quite untouched, and several
of the people present tasted it out of curiosity. From these circumstances it
was concluded that this was a grave of a person of note among the savages.
For it is their custom to bury along with the deceased, meat any other things
which he liked best. The stone was eight feet long, four feet broad, and even
some inches more where it was broadest, and fifteen inches thick at one
end, but only twelve inches at the other end. It consisted of the same coarse
kind of stone, that is to be got in this country. There were no letters nor
other characters visible on it.

The corn which the Indians chiefly cultivate is the Maize, or Zea Mays,
Linn. Then have little corn fields for that purpose. But besides this, they
likewise plant a great quantity of Squashes, a species of [140]pumpions or
melons, which they have always cultivated, even in the remotest ages. The
Europeans settled in America, got the seeds of this plant, and at present
their gardens are full of it, the fruit has an agreeable taste when it is well
prepared. They are commonly boiled, then crushed (as we are used to do
with turneps when we make a pulse of them) and some pepper or other
spice thrown upon them, and the dish is ready. The Indians likewise sow
several kinds of beans, which for the greatest part they have got from the
Europeans. But pease which they likewise sow, they have always had
amongst them, before any foreigners came into the country. The squashes of
the Indians, which now are likewise cultivated by the Europeans, belong to
those kinds of gourds (cucurbita,) which ripen before any other. They are a
very delicious fruit, but will not keep. I have however seen them kept till
pretty laid In winter.

September the 30th. Wheat and rye are sown in autumn about this time, and
commonly reaped towards the end of June, or in the beginning of July.
These kinds of corn, however, are sometimes ready to be reaped in the
middle of June, and there are even examples that they have been [141]mown
in the beginning of that month. Barley and oats are sown in April, and they
commonly begin to grow ripe towards the end of July. Buck-wheat is sown
in the middle or at the end of July, and is about this time, or somewhat later,
ready to be reaped. If it be sown before the above-mentioned time, as in
May, or in June, it only gives flowers, and little or no corn.

Mr. Bartram and other people assured me, that most of the cows which the
English have here, are the offspring of those which they bought of the
Swedes when they were masters of the country. The English themselves are
said to have brought over but few. The Swedes either brought their cattle
from home, or bought them of the Dutch, who were then settled here.

Near the town, I saw an Ivy or Hedera Helix, planted against the wall of a
stone building, which was so covered by the fine green leaves of this plant,
as almost to conceal the whole. It was doubtless brought over from Europe,
for I have never perceived it any where else on my travels through North-
America. But in its stead I have often seen wild vines made to run up the
walls.

I asked Mr. Bartram, whether he had [142]observed, that trees and plants
decreased in proportion as they were brought further to the North, as
Catesby pretends? He answered, that the question should be more limited,
and then his opinion would prove the true one. There are some trees which
grow better in southern countries, and become less as you advance to the
north. Their seeds or berries are sometimes brought into colder climates by
birds and by other accidents. They gradually decrease in growth, till at last
they will not grow at all. On the other hand, there are other trees and herbs
which the wise Creator destined for the northern countries, and they grow
there to an amazing size. But the further they are transplanted to the south,
the less they grow; till at last they degenerate so much as not to be able to
grow at all. Other plants love a temperate climate, and if they be carried
either south or north, they will not succeed well, but always decrease. Thus
for example Pensylvania contains some trees which grow exceedingly well,
but always decrease in proportion as they are carried further off either to the
north, or to the south.

I afterwards on my travels, had frequent proofs of this truth. The Sassafras,
which grows in Pensylvania, under [143]forty deg. of lat. and becomes a
pretty tall and thick tree, was so little at Oswego and Fort Nicholson,
between forty-three. and forty-four deg. of lat. that it hardly reached the
height of two or four feet, and was seldom so thick as the little finger of a
full grown person. This was likewise the case with the Tulip tree. For in
Pensylvania it grows as high as our tallest oaks and firs, and its thickness is
proportionable to its height. But about Oswego it was not above twelve feet
high, and no thicker than a man’s arm. The Sugar Maple, or Acer

saccharinum, is one of the most common trees in the woods of Canada, and
grows very tall. But in the southern provinces, as New Jersey and
Pensylvania, it only grows on the northern side of the blue mountains, and
on the steep hills which are on the banks of the river, and which are turned
to the north. Yet there it does not attain to a third or fourth part of the height
which it has in Canada. It is needless to mention more examples.

October the 1st. The gnats which are very troublesome at night here, are
called Musquetoes. They are exactly like the gnats in Sweden, only
somewhat less, and the description which is to be met with in Dr. Linnæus’s
Systema Naturæ, and Fauna [144]Suecica, fully agrees with them, and they
are called by him Culex pipiens. In day time or at night they come into the
houses, and when the people are gone to bed they begin their disagreeable
humming, approach always nearer to the bed, and at last suck up so much
blood, that they can hardly fly away. Their bite causes blisters in people of a
delicate complexion. When the weather has been cool for some days, the
musquetoes disappear. But when it changes again, and especially after a
rain, they gather frequently in such quantities about the houses, that their
numbers are astonishing. The chimneys of the English which have no
valves for shutting them up, afford the gnats a free entrance into the houses.
In sultry evenings, they accompany the cattle in great swarms, from the
woods to the houses or to town, and when they are drove before the houses,
the gnats fly in wherever they can. In the greatest heat of summer, they are
so numerous in some places, that the air seems to be quite full of them,
especially near swamps and stagnant waters, such as the river Morris in
New Jersey. The inhabitants therefore make a fire before their houses to
expell these disagreeable guests by the smoak. The old Swedes here, said
that gnats had formerly been [145]much more numerous; that even at present
they swarmed in vast quantities on the sea shore near the salt water, and that
those which troubled us this autumn in Philadelphia were of a more
venomous kind, than they commonly used to be. This last quality appeared
from the blisters, which were formed on the spots, where the gnats had
inserted their sting. In Sweden I never felt any other inconvenience from

their sting, than a little itching; whilst they sucked. But when they stung me
here at night, my face was so disfigured by little red spots and blisters, that I
was almost ashamed to shew myself.

I have already mentioned somewhat about the enclosures usual here; I now
add, that most of the planks which are put horizontally, and of which the
enclosures in the environs of Philadelphia chiefly consist, are of the red
cedar wood, which is here reckoned more durable than any other. But where
this could not be got, either white or black oak supplied its place. The
people were likewise very glad if they could get cedar wood for the posts,
or else they took white oak, or chesnut, as I was told by Mr. Bartram. But it
seems that that kind of wood in general does not keep well in the ground for
a considerable time. I [146]saw some posts made of chesnut wood, and put
into the ground only the year before, which were already for the greatest
part rotten below.

The Sassafras tree, or Laurus Sassafras, Linn. grows in abundance in the
country, and stands scattered up and down the woods, and near bushes and
enclosures. On old grounds, which are left uncultivated, it is one of the first
that comes up, and is as plentiful as young birches are on those Swedish
fields, which are formed by burning the trees which grew on them. 25 The
sassafras grows in a dry loose ground, of a pale brick colour, which consists
for the greatest part of sand, mixed with some clay. It seems to be but a
poor soil. The mountains round Gothenburgh, in Sweden, would afford
many places rich enough for the Sassafras to grow in, and I even fear they
would be too rich. I here saw it both in the woods amidst other trees, and
more frequently by itself along the enclosures. [147]In both it looks equally
fresh. I have never seen it on wet or low places. The people here gather its
flowers, and use them instead of tea. But the wood itself is of no use in
œconomy; for when it is set on fire, it causes a continual crackling, without
making any good fire. The tree spreads its roots very much, and new shoots
come up from them in some places; but these shoots are not good for
transplanting, because they have so few fibres besides the root, which

connects them to the main stem, that they cannot well strike into the
ground. If therefore any one would plant Sassafras trees he must endeavour
to get their berries, which however is difficult, since the birds eat them
before they are half ripe. The cows are very greedy after the tender new
shoots, and look for them every where.

The bark of this tree is used by the women here in dying worsted a fine
lasting orange colour, which does not fade in the sun. They use urine
instead of alum in dying, and boil the dye in a brass boiler, because in an
iron vessel it does not yield so fine a colour. A woman in Virginia has
successfully employed the berries of the Sassafras against a great pain in
one of her feet, which for three years together she had to such a degree, that
it almost hindered [148]her from walking. She was advised to broil the
berries of sassafras, and to rub the painful parts of her foot with the oil,
which by this means would be got from the berries. She did so, but at the
same time it made her vomit; yet this was not sufficient to keep her from
following the prescription three times more, though as often as she made
use thereof, it always had the same effect. However she was entirely freed
from that pain, and perfectly recovered.

A black Woodpecker with a red head, or the Picus pileatus, Linn. is frequent
in the Pensylvanian forests, and stays the winter, as I know from my own
experience. It is reckoned among those birds which destroy the maize;
because it settles on the ripe ears, and destroys them with its bill. The
Swedes call it Tillkroka, but all other woodpeckers, those with gold yellow
wings excepted, are called Hackspickar in the Swedish language. I intend to
describe them altogether more exactly in a particular work. I only observe
here, that almost all the different species of woodpeckers are very noxious
to the maize, when it begins to ripen: for by picking holes in the membrane
round the ear, the rain gets into it, and causes the ear with all the corn it
contains to rot. [149]

October the 3d. In the morning I set out for Wilmington, which was
formerly called Christina by the Swedes, and is thirty English miles to the
south west of Philadelphia. Three miles behind Philadelphia I passed the
river Skulkill in a ferry, beyond which the country appears almost a
continual chain of mountains and vallies. The mountains have an easy slope
on all sides, and the vallies are commonly crossed by brooks with crystal
streams. The greater part of the country is covered with several kinds of
deciduous trees; for I scarcely saw a single tree of the fir kind, if I except a
few red cedars. The forest was high, but open below, so that it left a free
prospect to the eye, and no under-wood obstructed the passage between the
trees. It would have been easy in some places to have gone under the
branches with a carriage for a quarter of a mile, the trees standing at great
distances from each other, and the ground being very level. In some places
little glades opened, which were either meadows, pastures, or corn-fields; of
which latter some were cultivated and others not. In a few places, several
houses were built close to each other. But for the greatest part they were
single. In part of the fields the wheat was already sown, in the English
[150]manner without trenches, but with furrows pretty close together. I
sometimes saw the country people very busy in sowing their rye. Near
every farm-house was a little field with maize. The inhabitants hereabouts
were commonly either English or Swedes.

All the day long I saw a continual variety of trees; walnut trees of different
sorts, which were all full of nuts; chesnut trees quite covered with fine
chesnuts; mulberries, sassafras, liquidambar, tulip trees, and many others.

Several species of vines grew wild hereabouts. They run up to the summits
of the trees, their clusters of grapes and their leaves covering the stems. I
even saw some young oaks five or six fathoms high, whose tops were
crowned with vines. The ground is that which is so common hereabouts,
which I have already described, viz. a clay mixed with a great quantity of
sand, and covered with a rich soil or vegetable earth. The vines are
principally seen on trees which stand single in corn-fields, and at the end of

woods, where the meadows, pastures, and fields begin, and likewise along
the enclosures, where they cling with their tendrils round the trees which
stand there. The lower parts of the plant are [151]full of grapes, which hang
below the leaves, and were now almost ripe, and had a pleasant sourish
taste. The country people gather them in great quantities, and sell them in
the town. They are eaten without further preparation, and commonly people
are presented with them when they come to pay a visit.

The soil does not seem to be deep hereabouts; for the upper black stratum is
hardly two inches. This I had an occasion to see both in such places where
the ground is dug up, and in such where the water, during heavy flowers of
rain, has made cuts, which are pretty numerous here. The upper soil has a
dark colour, and the next a pale colour like bricks. I have observed
everywhere in America, that the depth of the upper soil does not by far
agree with the computation of some people, though we can almost be sure,
that in some places it never was stirred since the deluge. I shall be more
particular in this respect afterwards. 26 [152]

The Datura Stramonium, or Thorn Apple, grows in great quantities near all
the villages. Its height is different according to the soil it is in. For in a rich
soil it [153]grows eight or ten feet high, but in a hard and poor ground, it will
seldom come up to six inches. This Datura, together with the Phytolacca,
or American Nightshade, grow here in those places near the gardens,
[154]houses, and roads, which in Sweden are covered with nettles and goose-
foot, which European plants are very scarce in America. But the Datura and
Phytolacca are the worst weeds here, nobody knowing any particular use of
them.

Turnep-fields are sometimes to be seen. In the middle of the highroad I
perceived a dead black snake, which was four feet six inches long, and an
inch and a half in thickness. It belonged to the viper kind.

Late at night a great Halo appeared round the moon. The people said that it
prognosticated either a storm, or rain, or both together. The smaller the ring

is, or the nearer it comes to the moon, the sooner this weather sets in. But
this time neither of these changes happened, and the halo had foretold a
coldness in the air.

I saw to-day the Chermes of the alder (Chermes Alni) in great abundance on
the branches of that tree, which for that reason looks quite white, and at a
distance appears as it were covered with mould.

October the 4th. I continued my journey early in the morning, and the
country still had the same appearance as I went on. It was a continual chain
of pretty high hills, with an easy ascent on all sides, and of [155]vallies
between them. The soil consisted of a brick coloured mould, mixed with
clay, and a few pebbles, I rode sometimes through woods of several sorts of
trees, and sometimes amidst little fields, which had been cleared of the
wood, and which at present were corn-fields, meadows, and pastures. The
farm-houses stood single, sometimes near the roads, and sometimes at a
little distance from them, so that the space between the road and the houses
was taken up with little fields and meadows. Some of the houses were built
of stone, two stories high, and covered with shingles of the white cedar. But
most of the houses were wooden, and the crevices stopped up with clay,
instead of moss, which we make use of for that purpose. No valves were to
be met with in the chimneys, and the people even did not know what I
meant by them. The ovens were commonly built up at some distance from
the houses, and were either under a roof, or without any covering against
the weather. The fields bore partly buck-wheat, which was not yet cut,
partly maize, and partly wheat, which was but lately sown; but sometimes
they lay fallow. The vines climbed to the top of several trees, and hung
down again on both sides. Other trees again were surrounded by the ivy
(Hedera quinquefolia) which [156]with the same flexibility ascended to a
great height. The Smilax laurifolia always joined with the ivy, and together
with it twisted itself round the trees. The leaves of the ivy were at this time
commonly reddish, but those of the vine were still quite green. The trees
which were surrounded with them, looked at a distance like those which are

covered with hops in our country, (and on seeing them from afar off, one
might expect to find wild hops climbing upon the trees.) Walnut and
chesnut trees were common near enclosures, in woods, and on hills, and at
present were loaded with their fruit. The persimon was likewise plentiful
near the roads, and in the woods. It had a great quantity of fruit, but they
were not yet fit for eating, since the frost had not softened them. At some
distance from Wilmington, I passed a bridge over a little river, which falls
north into the Delaware. The rider pays here twopence toll for himself and
his horse.

Towards noon I arrived at Wilmington.

Wilmington is a little town, about thirty English miles south-west from
Philadelphia. It was founded in the year 1733. Part of it stands upon the
grounds belonging to the Swedish church, which annually receives certain
rents, out of which they [157]pay the minister’s salary, and employ the rest
for other uses. The houses are built of stone, and look very pretty; yet they
are not built close together, but large open places are left between them. The
quakers have a meeting-house in this town. The Swedish church, which I
intend to mention in the sequel, is half a mile out of town eastwards. The
parsonage is under the same roof with the church. A little river called
Christina-kill passes by the town, and from thence falls into the Delaware.
By following its banks one goes three miles before one reaches the
Delaware. The river is said to be sufficiently deep, so that the greatest
vessel may come quite up to the town: for at its mouth or juncture with the
Delaware, it is shallowest, and yet its depth even there when the water is
lowest, is from two fathoms to two and a half. But as you go higher its
depth encreases to three, three and a half, and even four fathoms. The
largest ships therefore may safely, and with their full cargoes come to, and
from the town with the tide. from Wilmington, you have a fine prospect of a
great part of the river Delaware, and the ships sailing on it. On both sides of
the river Christina-kill, almost from the place where the redoubt is built to
its juncture with the Delaware, are low meadows, which afford a great

quantity of hay [158]to the inhabitants. The town carries on a considerable
trade, and would have been more enlarged, if Philadelphia and Newcastle,
which are both towns of a more ancient date, were not so near on both sides
of it.

The Redoubt upon the river Christina-kill, was erected this summer, when it
was known that the French and Spanish privateers intended to sail up the
river, and to attempt a landing. It stands, according to the accounts of the
late Rev. Mr. Tranberg, on the same spot, where the Swedes had built theirs.
It is remarkable, that on working in the ground this summer, to make this
redoubt, an old Swedish silver coin of Queen Christina, not quite so big as a
shilling was found at the depth of a yard, among some other things. The
Rev. Mr. Tranberg afterwards presented me with it. On one side were the
arms of the house of Wasa with the inscription: CHRISTINA, D. G. DE.
RE. SVE. that is, Christina, by the grace of God, elected Queen of Sweden;
and near this the year of our Lord 1633. On the reverse were these words:
MONETA NOVA REGNI SVEC. or, a new coin of the kingdom of Sweden.
At the same time a number of old iron tools, such as axes, shovels, and the
like, were discovered. The redoubt, that is now erected, consists [159]of
bulwarks of planks, with a rampart on the outside. Near it is the powder
magazine, in a vault built of bricks. At the erection of this little fortification
it was remarkable, that the quakers, whose tenets reject even defensive war,
were as busy as the other people in building it. For the fear of being every
moment suddenly attacked by privateers, conquered all other thoughts.
Many of them scrupled to put their own hands to the work; but forwarded, it
by supplies of money, and by getting ready every thing, which was
necessary.

October the 5th. It was my design to cross the Delaware, and to get into
New Jersey with a view to get acquainted with the country; but as there was
no ferry here to bring my horse over, I set out on my return to Philadelphia.
I partly went along the high road, and partly deviated on one or the other
side of it, in order to take more exact observations of the country, and of its
natural history.

The maize, was sown in several places. In some its stalks were cut
somewhat below the ear, dried and put up in narrow high stacks, in order to
keep them as a food for the cattle in winter. The lower part of the stalk had
likewise leaves, but as they commonly dry of themselves, the people do not
like to [160]feed the cattle with them, all their flavour being lost: But the
upper ones are cut, whilst they are yet green.

The vallies between the hills commonly contain brooks: but they are not
very broad, and require no bridges, so that carriages and horse can easily
pass through them, for the water is seldom above six inches deep.

The leaves of most trees were yet quite green, such as those of oaks,
chesnut trees, black walnut trees, hiccory, tulip trees, and sassafras. The two
latter species are found in plenty on the sides of the little woods, on hills, on
the fallow fields, near hedges, and on the road. The persimon likewise had
still its leaves; however some trees of this kind had dropt them. The leaves
of the American bramble were at present almost entirely red, though some
of these bushes yet retained a lively green in the leaves. The Cornelian
cherry likewise had already a mixture of brown and pale leaves. The leaves
of the red maple were also red.

I continued my journey to Chichester, a borough upon the Delaware, where
travellers pass the river in a ferry. They build here every year a number of
small ships for sale. From an iron work which [161]lies higher in the country,
they carry iron bars to this place, and ship them.

Canoes are boats made of one piece of wood, and are much in use with the
farmers, and other people upon the Delaware, and some little rivers. For
that purpose a very thick trunk of a tree is hollowed out; the red juniper or
red cedar tree, the white cedar, the chesnut tree, the white oak, and the tulip
tree are commonly made use of for this purpose. The canoes made of red
and white cedar are reckoned the best, because they swim very light upon
the water, and last twenty years together. But of these, the red cedar canoes
are most preferable. Those made of chesnut trees will likewise last for a

good while. But those of white oak are hardly serviceable above six years,
and also swim deep, because they are so heavy. The Liquidambar tree, or
Liquidambar styraciflua, Linn. is big enough but unfit making canoes,
because it imbibes the water. The canoes which are made of the tulip tree,
scarce last as long as those of white oak. The size of the canoes is different,
according to the purposes they are destined for. They can carry six persons;
who however, must by no means be unruly, but sit at the bottom of the
canoe in the quietest manner [162]possible, lest the boat overset. The Swedes
in Pensylvania and New Jersey near the rivers, have no other boats to go to
Philadelphia in, which they commonly do twice a week on the market days,
though they be several miles distant from the town, and meet sometimes
with severe storms; yet misfortunes from the oversetting, &c; of these
canoes are seldom heard of, though they might well be expected on account
of the small size of this kind of boats. However a great deal of attention and
care is necessary in managing the canoes, when the wind is somewhat
violent; for they are narrow, round below, have no keel, and therefore may
easily be overset. Accordingly when the wind is more brisk than ordinary,
the people make for the land.

The common garden cresses grow in several places on the roads about
Chichester, and undoubtedly come from the seeds, which were by chance
carried out of the many gardens about that town.

The American brambles are here in great plenty. When a field is left
uncultivated, they are the first plants that appear on it; and I frequently
observed them in such fields as are annually ploughed, and have corn sown
on them. For when these bushes are once rooted, they are not easily
extirpated. [163]Such a bush runs out tendrils sometimes four fathoms off its
root, and then throws a new root, so that on pulling it up, you meet with
roots on both ends. On some old grounds, which had long been
uncultivated, there were so many bushes of this kind, that it was very
troublesome and dangerous walking in them. A wine is made of the berries,

as I have already mentioned. The berries are likewise eaten when they are
ripe, and taste well. No other use is made of them.

October the 6th. The Chenopodium anthelminticum is very plentiful on the
road, and on the banks of the river, but chiefly in dry places in a loose sandy
soil. The English who are settled here, call it Wormseed and Jerusalem Oak.
It has a disagreeable scent. In Pensylvania and New Jersey its seeds are
given to children, against the worms, and for that purpose they are
excellent. The plant itself is spontaneous in both provinces.

The environs of Chichester, contain many gardens, which are full of apple
trees, sinking under the weight of innumerable apples. Most of them are
winter fruit, and therefore were yet quite sour. Each farm has a garden, and
so has each house of the better sort. The extent of these gardens is
[164]likewise not inconsiderable, and therefore affords, the possessor all the
year long, great supplies in his house-keeping, both for eating and drinking.
I frequently was surprized at the prudence of the inhabitants of this country.
As soon as one has bought a piece of ground, which is neither built upon
nor sown, his first care is to get young apple trees, and to make a garden.
He next proceeds to build his house, and lastly prepares the uncultivated
ground to receive corn. For it is well known that the trees require many
years before they arrive to perfection, and this makes it necessary to plant
them first. I now perceived near the farms, mills, wheels, and other
instruments which are made use of in crushing the apples, in order to
prepare cyder from them afterwards.

From Chichester I went on towards Philadelphia. The oaks were the most
plentiful trees in the wood. But there were several species of them, all
different from the European ones. The swine now went about in great herds
in the oak woods, where they fed upon the acorns which fell in great
abundance from the trees. Each hog had a wooden triangular yoke about its
neck, by which it was hindered from penetrating through the holes in the
enclosures; and [165]for this reason, the enclosures are made very slender,

and easy to put up, and do not require much wood. No other enclosures are
in use, but those which are so like sheep hurdles. A number of squirrels
were in the oak woods, partly running on the ground, and partly leaping
from one branch to another; and at this time they chiefly fed upon acorns.

I seldom saw beach trees; but I found them quite the same with the
European ones. Their wood is reckoned very good for making joiner’s
planes of.

I do not remember seeing any other than the black Ants, or Formica nigra
in Pensylvania. They are as black as a coal, and of two sorts, some very
little, like the least of our ants, and others of the size of our common reddish
ants. I have not yet observed any hills of theirs, but only seen some running
about singly. In other parts of America, I have likewise found other species
of ants, as I intend to remark in the sequel.

The common Privet, or Ligustrum vulgare, is made use of in many places,
as a hedge round corn-fields and gardens, and on my whole voyage, I did
not see that any other trees were made use of for this purpose, though the
Englishmen here, well know that the hawthorn makes a much better
[166]hedge. The privet hedges grow very thick and close, but having no
spines, the hogs, and even other animals break easily through them; and
when they have once made a hole, it requires a long while before it grows
up again. But when the hedges consist of spinose bushes, the cattle will
hardly attempt to get through them.

About noon I came through Chester, a little market-town which lies on the
Delaware. A rivulet coming down out of the country, passes through this
place, and discharges itself into the Delaware. There is a bridge over it. The
houses stand dispersed. Most of them are built of stone, and two or three
stories high; some are however made of wood. In the town is a church, and
a market-place.

Wheat was now sown every where. In some places it was already green,
having been sown four weeks before. The wheat fields were made in the
English manner, having no ditches in them, but numerous furrows for
draining the water, at the distance of four or six foot from one another.
Great stumps of the trees which had been cut down, are every where seen
on the fields, and this shews that the country has been but lately cultivated.

The roots of the trees do not go deep [167]into the ground, but spread
horizontally. I had opportunities of observing this in several places where
the trees were dug up; for I seldom saw one, whose roots went above a foot
deep into the ground, though it was a loose soil.

About two English miles behind Chester, I passed by an iron forge, which
was to the right hand by the road side. It belonged to two brothers, as I was
told. The ore however is not dug here, but thirty or forty miles from hence,
where it is first melted in the oven, and then carried to this place. The
bellows were made of leather, and both they and the hammers, and even the
hearth, but small in proportion to ours. All the machines were worked by
water. The iron was wrought into bars.

To day I remarked, as I have since frequently seen on my travels in this
country, that horses are very greedy of apples. When they are let into an
orchard to feed upon the grass, if there are any apples on the ground, they
frequently leave the fresh green grass, and eat the apples, which, however,
are not reckoned a good food for them; and besides that, it is too expensive.

The red Maple, or Acer rubrum is plentiful in these places. Its proper
situations [168]are chiefly swampy, wet places, in which the alder commonly
is its companion. Out of its wood they make plates, spinning-wheels, rolls,
feet for chairs and beds, and all sorts of work. With the bark, they dye both
worsted and linnen, giving it a dark blue colour. For that purpose it is first
boiled in water; and some copperas, such as the hat-makers and shoe-
makers commonly make use of, is added, before the stuff (which is to be
dyed) is put into the boiler. This bark likewise affords a good black ink.

When the tree is felled early in spring, a sweet juice runs out of it, like that
which runs out of our birches. This juice they do not make any use of here,
but in Canada, they make both treacle and sugar of it. Here is a variety of
this tree which they call the curled Maple, the wood being as it were
marbled within; it is much used in all kinds of joiner’s work, and the
utensils made of this wood, are preferable to those made of any other sort of
wood in the country, and are much dearer than those made of the wood of
the wild cherry trees (Prunus Virginiana) or of black walnut trees. But the
most valuable utensils were those made of curled black walnut, for that is
an excessive scarce kind of wood. The curled maple was likewise very
uncommon, [169]and you frequently find trees, whose outsides are marbled,
but their inside not. The tree is therefore cut very deep before it is felled, to
see whether it has veins in every part.

In the evening I reached Philadelphia.

October the 7th. In the morning we crossed the Delaware in a boat to the
other side which belongs to New Jersey, each person paying fourpence for
his passage. The country here is very different from that in Pensylvania; for
here the ground is almost mere sand, but in the other province it is mixed
with a good deal of clay, and this makes the ground pretty rich. The
discoveries which I made to day of insects and plants, I intend to mention in
another work.

A soil like this in New Jersey, one might be led to think, could produce
nothing because it is so dry and poor. Yet the maize which is planted on it
grows extremely well, and we saw many fields filled with it. The earth is of
that kind in which tobacco commonly succeeds, but it is not near so rich.
The stalks of maize are commonly eight feet high, more or less, and are full
of leaves. The maize is planted as usual in rows, in little squares, so that
there is a space of five feet and six [170]inches between each square, both in
length and breadth; on each of these little hills three or four stalks come up,
which were not yet cut for the cattle; each stalk again has from one to four

ears, which are large and full of corn. A sandy ground could never have
been better employed. In some places the ground between the maize is
ploughed, and rye sown in it, so that when the maize is cut, the rye remains
upon the field.

We frequently saw Asparagus growing near the enclosures, in a loose soil,
on uncultivated sandy fields. It is likewise plentiful between the maize, and
was at present full of berries, but I cannot tell whether the seeds are carried
by the wind to the places where I saw them; it is however certain, that I
have likewise seen it growing wild in other parts of America.

The Worm-seed, is likewise plentiful on the roads, in a sandy ground such
as that near the ferry opposite to Philadelphia. I have already mentioned
that it is given to children, as a remedy to carry off the worms. It is then put
into brandy, and when it has been in it for one hour, it is taken out again,
dried and given to the children, either in beer sweetened with treacle, or in
any other liquor. Its effects [171]talked of differently. Some people say it
kills the worms, others again pretend that it forwards their encrease. But I
know by my own experience, that this wormseed has had very good effects
upon children.

The Purslain, which we cultivate in our gardens, grows wild in great
abundance in the loose soil amongst the maize. It was there creeping on the
ground, and its stalks were pretty thick and succulent; which circumstance
very justly gave reason to wonder from whence it could get juice sufficient
to supply it in such a dry ground. It is to be found plentiful in such soil, in
other places of this country.

The Bidens bipinnata, is here called Spanish Needles. It grows single about
farm houses, near roads, pales and along the hedges. It was yet partly in
flower; but for the greatest part it was already out of blossom. When its
seeds are ripe it is very disagreeable walking where it grows. For they stick
to the cloaths and make them black; and it is difficult to discharge the black
spots which they occasion. Each seed has three spines at its extremity; and

each of these again is full of numerous little hooks, by which the seed
fastens itself to the cloaths.

In the woods and along the hedges in [172]this neighbourhood, some single
red Ants, (Formica rubra) crept about, and their antennæ or feel-horns were
as long as their bodies.

Towards night we returned to Philadelphia.

October the 8th. The shore of Pensylvania has a great quantity of the finest
oysters. About this time the people began to bring them to Philadelphia for
sale. They come from that part of the shore, which is near the mouth of the
river Delaware. They are reckoned as good as the New York oysters, of
which I shall make more particular mention afterwards. However I thought
that this latter sort of oysters was generally larger, fatter and more palatable.
It is remarkable that they commonly became palatable at the time when the
agues had left off their fury. Some men went with whole carts full of
oysters, crying them about the streets; this is unusual here when any thing
else is to be sold, but in London it is very common. The oyster shells are
thrown away, though formerly a lime was burnt from them, which has been
found unnecessary, there being stones for burning of lime in this
neighbourhood, and the lime of oyster shells not being as good as this other
lime. The people shewed [173]me some of houses in this town which were
built of stone, and to the mason work of which the lime of oyster shells had
been employed. The walls of these houses were always so wet two or three
days before a rain, that great drops of water could plainly be perceived on
them; and thus they were as good as Hygrometers. 27 Several people who
had lived in this kind of houses complained of these inconveniences.

October the 9th. Pease are not much cultivated in Pensylvania at present,
though formerly, according to the accounts of some old Swedes, every
farmer had a little field with pease. In New Jersey and the southern parts of
New York, pease are likewise not so much cultivated as they used to be. But
in the northern parts of New York, or about Albany, and in all the parts of

Canada which are inhabited by the French, the people sow great quantities,
and have a plentiful crop. In the former colonies, a little despicable insect
has obliged the people to give up so useful a part of agriculture. This little
insect was formerly [174]little known, but a few years ago it multiplied
excessively. It couples in summer, about the time when the pease are in
blossom, and then deposites an egg into almost every one of the little pease.
When the pease are ripe, their outward appearance does not discover the
worm, which, however, is found within, when it is cut. This worm lies in
the pea, if it is not stirred during all the winter, and part of the spring, and in
that space of time consumes the greatest part of the inside of the pea: In
spring therefore little more than the mere thin outward skin is left. This
worm at last changes into an insect, of the coleoptera class, and in that state
creeps through a hole of its own making in the husk, and flies off, in order
to look for new fields of pease, in which it may couple with its cogeneric
insects, and provide food sufficient for its posterity.

This noxious insect has spread from Pensylvania to the north. For the
country of New York, where it is common at present, has not been plagued
with it above twelve or fifteen years ago; and before that time the people
sowed pease every year without any inconvenience, and had excellent
crops. But by degrees these little enemies came in such numbers, that the
[175]inhabitants were forced to leave off sowing of pease. The people
complained of this in several places. The country people about Albany have
yet the pleasure to see their fields of pease not infected by these beetles, but
are always afraid of their approach; as it has been observed they come every
year nearer to that province.

I know not whether this insect would live in Europe, and I should think our
Swedish winters must kill the worm, even if it be ever so deeply inclosed in
the pea; notwithstanding it is often as cold in New York (where this insect is
so abundant) as in our country, yet it continues to multiply here every year,
and proceeds always farther to the north. I was very near bringing some of
these vermin into Europe, without knowing of it. At my departure from

America, I took some sweet peas with me in a paper, and they were at that
time quite fresh and green. But on opening the paper after my arrival at
Stockholm, on August the 1st. 1751; I found all the peas hollow, and the
head of an infect peeping out of each. Some of these insects even crept out,
in order to try the weather of this new climate; but I made haste, to shut the
paper again, in order to prevent the spreading of this [176]noxious insect. 28 I
own, that when I first perceived them, I was more frightened than I should
have been at the sight of a viper. For I at once had a full view of the whole
damage, which my dear country would have suffered, if only two or three
of these noxious insects had escaped me. The posterity of many families,
and even the inhabitants of whole provinces, would have had sufficient
reason to detest me as the cause of so great a calamity. I afterwards sent
some of them, though well secured, to count Tessin, and to Dr. Linnæus,
together with an account of their destructive qualities. Dr. Linnæus has
already inserted a description of them in an Academical Dissertation, which
has been drawn up under his presidency, and treats of the damages made by
insects. 29 He there calls this insect the Bruchus of North-America. 30 It
[177]was very peculiar that every pea in the paper was eaten without
exception.

When the inhabitants of Pensylvania sow pease procured from abroad, they
are not commonly attacked by these insects for the first year; but in the next
they take possession of the pea. It is greatly to be wished that none of the
ships which annually depart from New York or Pensylvania, may bring them
into the European countries. From hence the power of a single despicable
insect will plainly appear; as also, that the study of the œconomy and of the
qualities of insects, is not to be looked upon as a mere pastime and useless
employment. 31

The Rhus radicans is a shrub or tree which grows abundantly in this
country, and has in common with the ivy, called Hedera arborea, the
quality of not growing without the support either of a tree, a wall, or a
hedge. I have seen it climbing to the very top of high trees in the [178]woods,

and its branches shoot out every where little roots, which fasten upon the
tree and as it were enter into it. When the stem is cut, it emits a pale brown
sap of a disagreeable scent. This sap is so sharp that the letters and
characters made upon linnen with it, cannot be got out again, but grow
blacker the more the cloath is washed. Boys commonly marked their names
on their linnen with this juice. If you write with it on paper, the letters never
go out, but grow blacker from time to time.

This species of Sumach has the same noxious qualities as the poisonous
sumach, or Poison-tree, which I have above described, being poisonous to
some people, though not to every one. Therefore all that has been said of
the poison tree is likewise applicable to this; excepting that the former has
the stronger poison. However I have seen people who have been as much
swelled from the noxious exhalations of the latter, as they could have been
from those of the former. I likewise know that of two sisters, the one could
manage the tree without being affected by its venom, though the other
immediately felt it as soon as the exhalations of the tree came near her, or
when ever she came a yard too near the [179]tree, and even when she stood
in the way of the wind, which blew directly from this shrub. But upon me
this species of sumach has never exherted its power, though I made above a
hundred experiments upon myself with the greatest stems, and the juice
once squirted into my eye, without doing me any harm. On another person’s
hand which I had covered very thick with it, the skin a few hours after
became as hard as a piece of tanned leather, and peeled off in the following
days, as if little scales fell from it.

October the 10th. In the morning I accompanied Mr. Cock to his country
seat, which is about nine miles from Philadelphia to the north.

Though the woods of Pensylvania afford many oaks, and more species of
them than are found further north, yet they do not build so many ships in
this province as they do in the northern ones, and especially in New
England. But experience has taught the people that the same kind of trees is

more durable the further it grows to the north, and that this advantage
decreases the more it grows in warm climates. It is likewise plain that the
trees in the south grow more every year, and form thicker ringlets than
those in the north. The former [180]have likewise much greater tubes for the
circulation of the sap than the latter. And for this reason they do not build so
many ships in Pensylvania, as they do in New England, though more than in
Virginia and Maryland; but Carolina builds very few, and its merchants get
all their ships from New England. Those which are here made of the best
oak, hardly are serviceable above ten, or at most twelve years; for then they
are so rotten, that no body ventures to go to sea in them, Many captains of
ships come over from England to North-America, in order to get ships built.
But most of them choose New England, that being the most northerly
province; and if they even come over in ships which are bound for
Philadelphia, they frequently on their arrival set out from Pensylvania for
New England. The Spaniards in the West Indies are said to build their ships
of a peculiar sort of cedar, which holds out against putrefaction and wet; but
it is not to be met with on the continent in the English provinces. Here are
above nine different sorts of oak, but not one of them is comparable to the
single species we have in Sweden, with regard to its goodness. And
therefore a ship of European oak costs a great deal more than one made of
American oak. [181]

Many people who chiefly employed themselves in gardening, had found in
a succession of years, that the red Beet, which grew out of the seed which
was got from New York, became very sweet and had a very fine taste; but
that it every year lost part of its goodness, if it was cultivated from seeds
which were got here. The people were therefore obliged to get as many
seeds of red beet every year from New York, as were wanted in their
gardens. It has likewise been generally observed, that the plants which are
produced from English seeds are always much better and more agreeable,
than those which come from seeds of this country.

In the garden of Mr. Cock was a raddish which was in the loose soil, grown
so big as to be seven inches in diameter. Every body that saw it, owned it
was uncommon to see them of such a size.

That species of Convolvulus which is commonly called Batatas, has here
the name of Bermudian potatoes. The common people, and the gentry
without distinction planted them in their gardens. This is done in the same
manner as with the common potatoes. Some people made little hillocks,
into which they put these potatoes; but others only planted them in flat
beds. [182]The soil must be a mixture of sand and earth, and neither too rich,
nor too poor. When they are going to plant them, they cut them, as the
common potatoes, taking care however that a bud or two be left upon each
piece which is intended to be planted. Their colour is commonly red
without, and yellow within. They are bigger than the common sort, and
have a sweet and very agreeable taste, which I cannot find in the other
potatoes, in artichokes or in any other root, and they almost melt in the
mouth. It is not long since they have been planted here. They are dressed in
the same manner as common potatoes, and eaten either along with them, or
by themselves. They grow very fast and very well here; but the greatest
difficulty consists in keeping them over winter, for they will bear neither
cold, nor a great heat, nor wet. They must therefore be kept during winter in
a box with sand in a warm room. In Pensylvania where they have no valves
in their chimnies, they are put in such a box with sand, at some distance
from the fire, and there they are secured both against frost and against over
great heat. It will not answer the purpose to put them into dry sand in a
cellar, as is commonly done with the common sort of potatoes. For the
[183]moisture which is always in cellars, penetrates the sand, and makes
them putrefy. It would probably be very easy to keep them in Sweden in
warm rooms, during the cold season. But the difficulty lies wholly in
bringing them over to Sweden. I carried a considerable number of them with
me on leaving America, and took all possible care in preserving them. But
we had a very violent storm at sea, by which the ship was so greatly
damaged, that the water got in every where, and wetted our cloaths, beds

and other moveables so much, that we could wring the water out of them. It
is therefore no wonder that my Bermuda potatoes were rotten; but as they
are now cultivated in Portugal and Spain, nay even in England, it will be
easy to bring them into Sweden. The drink which the Spaniards prepare
from these potatoes in their American possessions is not usual in
Pensylvania. 32

Mr. Cock had a paper mill, on a little brook, and all the coarser sorts of
paper are manufactured in it. It is now annually rented for fifty pounds
Pensylvania currency. [184]

October the 11th. I have already mentioned, that every countryman has a
greater or lesser number of apple trees planted round his farm-house, from
whence he gets great quantities of fruit, part of which he sells, part he
makes cyder of, and part he uses in his own family for pyes, tarts, and the
like. However he cannot expect an equal quantity of fruit every year. And I
was told, that this year had not by far afforded such a great quantity of
apples as the preceding; the cause of which they told me, was the continual
and great drought in the month of May, which had hurt all the blossoms of
the apple trees, and made them wither. The heat had been so great as to dry
up all the plants, and the grass in the fields.

The Polytrichum commune, a species of moss, grew plentifully on wet and
low meadows between the woods, and in several places quite covered them,
as our mosses cover the meadows in Sweden. It was likewise very plentiful
on hills.

Agriculture was in a very bad state hereabouts. When a person had bought a
piece of land, which perhaps had never been ploughed since the creation, he
cut down part of the wood, tore up the roots, ploughed the ground, sowed
corn on it, [185]and the first time got a plentiful crop. But the same land
being tilled for several years successively, without being manured, it at last
must of course lose its fertility. Its possessor therefore leaves it fallow, and
proceeds to another part of his ground, which he treats in the same manner.

Thus he goes on till he has changed a great part of his possessions into
corn-fields, and by that means deprives the ground of its fertility. He then
returns to the first field, which now is pretty well recovered; this he again
tills as long as it will afford him a good crop, but when its fertility is
exhausted, he leaves it fallow again, and proceeds to the rest as before.

It being customary here, to let the cattle go about the fields and in the
woods both day and night, the people cannot collect much dung for manure.
But by leaving the land fallow for several years together, a great quantity of
weeds spring up in it, and get such strength, that it requires a considerable
time to extirpate them. From hence it likewise comes, that the corn is
always so much mixed with weeds. The great richness of the soil, which the
first European colonists found here, and which had never been ploughed
before, has given rise to this neglect of agriculture, which is [186]still
observed by many of the inhabitants. But they do not consider, that when
the earth is quite exhausted, a great space of time, and an infinite deal of
labour is necessary to bring it again into good order; especially in these
countries which are almost every summer so scorched up by the excessive
heat and drought. The soil of the corn-fields consisted of a thin mould,
greatly mixed with a brick coloured clay, and a quantity of small particles
of glimmer. This latter came from the stones which are here almost every
where to be met with at the depth of a foot or thereabouts. These little
pieces of glimmer made the ground sparkle, when the sun shone upon it.

Almost all the houses hereabouts were built either of stone or bricks; but
those of stone were more numerous. Germantown, which is about two
English miles long, had no other houses, and the country houses
thereabouts, were all built of stone. But there are several varieties of that
stone which is commonly made use of in building. Sometimes it consisted
of a black or grey glimmer, running in undulated veins, the spaces between
their bendings being filled up with a grey, loose, small-grained
[187]limestone, which was easily friable. Some transparent particles of
quartz were scattered in the mass, of which the glimmer made the greatest

part. It was very easy to be cut, and with proper tools could readily be
shaped into any form. Sometimes however the pieces consisted of a black,
small-grained glimmer, a white small-grained sandstone, and some particles
of quartz, and the several constituent parts were well mixed together.
Sometimes the stone had broad stripes of the white limestone without any
addition of glimmer. But most commonly they were much blended together,
and of a grey colour. Sometimes this stone was found to consist of quite
fine and black pieces of glimmer, and a grey, loose and very small-grained
limestone. This was likewise very easy to be cut, being loose.

These varieties of the stone are commonly found close together. They were
every where to be met with, at a little depth, but not in equal quantity and
goodness; and not always easy to be broken. When therefore a person
intended to build a house, he enquired where the best stone could be met
with. It is to be found on corn-fields and meadows, at a depth which varies
from two to six feet. The pieces [188]were different as to size. Some were
eight or ten feet long, two broad, and one thick. Sometimes they were still
bigger, but frequently much less. Hereabouts they lay in strata one above
another, the thickness of each stratum being about a foot. The length and
breadth were different, but commonly such as I have before mentioned.
They must commonly dig three or four feet before they reach the first
stratum. The loose ground above that stratum, is full of little pieces of this
stone. This ground is the common brick coloured soil, which is universal
here, and consists of sand and clay, though the former is more plentiful. The
loose pieces of glimmer which shine so much in it, seem to have been
broken off from the great strata of stone.

It must be observed that when the people build with this stone, they take
care to turn the flat side of it outwards. But as that cannot always be done,
the stone being frequently rough on all sides, it is easily cut smooth with
tools, since it is soft, and not very difficult to be broken. The stones
however are unequal in thickness, and therefore by putting them together
they cannot be kept in such straight lines as bricks. It sometimes likewise

happens that pieces break off when they are cut, and [189]leave holes on the
outside of the wall. But in order to fill up these holes, the little pieces of
stone which cannot be made use of are pounded, mixed with mortar, and put
into the holes; the places thus filled up, are afterwards smoothed, and when
they are dry, they are hardly distinguishable from the rest at some distance.
At last they draw on the outside of the wall, strokes of mortar, which cross
each other perpendicularly, so that it looks as if the wall consisted wholly of
equal, square stones, and as if the white strokes were the places where they
were joined with mortar. The inside of the wall is made smooth, covered
with mortar and whitewashed. It has not been observed that this kind of
stone attracts the moisture in a rainy or wet season. In Philadelphia and its
environs, you find several houses built of this kind of stone.

The houses here are commonly built in the English manner.

One of Mr. Cock’s negroes showed me the skin of a badger (Ursus Meles)
which he had killed a few days ago, and which convinced me that the
American badger is the same with the Swedish one. It was here called
Ground Hog.

Towards night I returned to Philadelphia. [190]

October the 12th. In the morning we went to the river Skulkill, partly to
gather seeds, partly to collect plants for the herbal, and to make all sorts of
observations. The Skulkill is a narrow river, which falls into the Delaware,
about four miles from Philadelphia to the south; but narrow as it is, it rises
on the west side of those high mountains, commonly called the blue
mountains, and runs two hundred English miles, and perhaps more. It is a
great disadvantage to this country, that there are several cataracts in this
river as low as Philadelphia, for which reason there can be no navigation on
it. To day I made some descriptions and remarks on such plants as the cattle
liked, or such as they never touched.

I observed several little subterraneous walks in the fields, running under
ground in various directions, the opening of which was big enough for a
mole: the earth, which formed as it were a vault above it, and lay elevated
like a little bank, was near two inches high, full as broad as a man’s hand,
and about two inches thick. In uncultivated fields I frequently saw these
subterraneous walks, which discovered themselves by the ground thrown up
above them, which when trod upon gave way, and made it inconvenient to
walk in the field. [191]

These walks are inhabited by a kind of mole, 33 which I intend to describe
more accurately in another work. Their food is commonly roots: I have
observed the following qualities in one which was caught. It had greater
stiffness and strength in its legs, than I ever observed in other animals in
proportion to their size. Whenever it intended to dig, it held its legs
obliquely, like oars, I laid my handkerchief before it, and it began to stir in
it with the snout, and taking away the handkerchief to see what it had done
to it, I found that in the space of a minute it had made it full of holes, and it
looked as if it had been pierced very much by an awl. I was obliged to put
some books on the cover of the box in which I kept this animal, or else it
was flung off immediately. It was very irascible, and would bite great holes
into any thing that was put in its way; I held a steel pen-case to it, it at first
bit at it with great violence, but having felt its hardness, it would not
venture again to bite at any thing. These moles do not make such hills as the
European ones, but only such walks as I have already described. [192]

October the 13th. There is a plant here, from the berries of which they make
a kind of wax or tallow, and for that reason the Swedes call it the Tallow
shrub. The English call the same tree the Candleberry-tree, or Bayberry-
bush; and Dr. Linnæus gives it the name of Myrica cerifera. It grows
abundantly on a wet soil, and it seems to thrive particularly well in the
neighbourhood of the sea, nor have I ever found it high up in the country far
from the sea. The berries grow abundantly on the female shrub, and look as
if flower had been strewed upon them. They are gathered late in autumn,

being ripe about that time, and are then thrown into a kettle or pot full of
boiling water; by this means their fat melts out, floats at the top of the water
and may be skimmed off into a vessel; with the skimming they go on till
there is no tallow left. The tallow as soon as it is congealed, looks like
common tallow or wax, but has a dirty green colour; it is for that reason
melted over again, and refined, by which means it acquires a fine and pretty
transparent green colour: this tallow is dearer than common tallow, but
cheaper than wax. In Philadelphia they pay a shilling Pensylvania currency,
for a pound of this tallow; but a pound of common tallow [193]only came to
half that money, and wax costs as much again. From this tallow they make
candles in many parts of this province, but they usually mix some common
tallow with it. Candles of this kind, do not easily bend, nor melt in summer
as common candles do; they burn better and slower, nor do they cause any
smoak, but rather yield an agreeable smell, when they are extinguished. An
old Swede of ninety-one years of age told me, that this sort of candles had
formerly been much in use with his country men. At present they do not
make so many candles of this kind, if they can get the tallow of animals; it
being too troublesome to gather the berries. However these candles are
made use of by poor people, who live in the neighbourhood of a place
where the bushes grow, and have not cattle enough to kill, in order to
supply them with a sufficient quantity of tallow. From the wax of the
candleberry tree they likewise make a soap here, which has an agreeable
scent, and is the best for shaving. This wax is likewise used by doctors, and
surgeons, who reckon it exceeding good for plasters upon wounds. A
merchant of this town once sent a quantity of these candles to those
American provinces which had Roman Catholic inhabitants, thinking he
[194]would be well paid, since wax candles are made use of in the Roman
Catholick churches; but the clergy would not take them. An old Swede
mentioned that the root of the candleberry tree was formerly made use of by
the Indians, as a remedy against the tooth ach, and that he himself having
had the tooth ach very violently, had cut the root in pieces and applied it
round his tooth; and that the pain had been lessened by it. Another Swede
assured me that he had been cured of the tooth ach, by applying the peel of

the root to it. In Carolina, they not only make candles out of the wax of the
berries, but likewise sealing-wax.

October the 14th. Penny Royal is a plant which has a peculiar strong scent,
and grows abundantly on dry places in the country. Botanists call it Cunila
pulegioides. It is reckoned very wholesome to drink as a tea when a person
has got cold, as it promotes perspiration. I was likewise told, that on feeling
a pain in any limb, this plant, if applied to it, would give immediate relief.

The goods which are shipped to London from New England are the
following: all sorts of fish caught near Newfoundland and elsewhere; train-
oil of several sorts; whale-bone; tar, pitch, masts; new ships, of which [195]a
great number is annually built; a few hides, and sometimes some sorts of
wood. The English islands in America, as Jamaica and Barbadoes, get from
New England, fish, flesh, butter, cheese, tallow, horses, cattle; all sorts of
lumber, such as pails, buckets, and hogsheads; and have returns made in
rum, sugar, melasses, and other produces of the country, or in cash, the
greatest part of all which they send to London (the money especially) in
payment of the goods received from thence, and yet all this is inefficient to
pay off the debt.

October the 15th. The Alders grew here in considerable abundance on wet
and low places, and even sometimes on pretty high ones, but never reached
the height of the European alders, and commonly stood like a bush about a
fathom or two high. Mr. Bartram, and other gentlemen who had frequently
travelled in these provinces, told me that the more you go to the south, the
less are the alders, but that they are higher and taller, the more you advance
to the north. I found afterwards myself, that the alders in some places of
Canada, are little inferior to the Swedish ones. Their bark is employed here
in dying red and brown. A Swedish inhabitant of America, told me that he
had cut his leg to the very bone, and that some coagulated blood had
[196]already been settled within. That he had been advised to boil the alder
bark, and to wash the wound often with the water: that he followed this

advice, and had soon got his leg healed, though it had been very dangerous
at first.

The Phytolacca decandra was called Poke by the English. The Swedes had
no particular name for it, but made use of the English, with some little
variation into Paok. When the juice of its berries is put upon paper or the
like, it strikes it with a high purple colour, which is as fine as any in the
world, and it is pity that no method is as yet found out, of making this
colour last on woollen and linen cloth, for it fades very soon. Mr. Bartram
mentioned, that having hit his foot against a stone, he had got a violent pain
in it; he then bethought himself to put a leaf of the Phytolacca on his foot,
by which he lost the pain in a short time, and got his foot well soon after.
The berries are eaten by the birds about this time. The English and several
Swedes make use of the leaves in spring, when they are just come out, and
are yet tender and soft, and eat them partly as green cale, and partly in the
manner we eat spinnage. Sometimes they likewise prepare them in the first
of these ways, when the stalks are already grown a little longer, breaking off
[197]none but the upper sprouts which are yet tender, and not woody; but in
this latter case, great care is to be taken, for if you eat the plant when it is
already grown up, and its leaves are no longer soft, you may expect death as
a consequence which seldom fails to follow, for the plant has then got a
power of purging the body to excess. I have known people, who, by eating
great full grown leaves of this plant, have got such a strong dysentery, that
they were near dying with it: its berries however are eaten in autumn by
children, without any ill consequence.

Woollen and linen cloth is dyed yellow with the bark of hiccory. This
likewise is done with the bark of the black oak, or Linnæus’s Quercus
nigra, and that variety of it which Catesby in his Natural History of
Carolina, vol. i. tab. 19. calls Quercus marilandica. The flowers and leaves
of the Impatiens Noli tangere or balsamine, likewise dyed all woollen stuffs
with a fine yellow colour.

The Collinsonia canadensis was frequently found in little woods and
bushes, in a good rich soil. Mr. Bartram who knew the country perfectly
well, was sure that Pensylvania, and all the parts of America in the same
climate, were the true and original places where this plant grows. For
further [198]to the south, neither he nor Messrs. Clayton and Mitchel ever
found it, though the latter gentlemen have made accurate observations in
Virginia and part of Maryland. And from his own experience he knew, that
it did not grow in the northerly parts. I have never found it more than fifteen
min. north of forty-three deg. The time of the year when it comes up in
Pensylvania, is so late, that its seed has but just time sufficient to ripen in,
and it therefore seems unlikely, that it can succeed further north, Mr.
Bartram was the first who discovered it, and sent it over into Europe. Mr.
Jussieu during his stay at London, and Dr. Linnæus afterwards, called it
Collinsonia, from the celebrated Mr. Peter Collinson, a merchant in
London, and fellow of the English and Swedish Royal Societies. He well
deserved the honour of having a plant called after his name, for there are
few people that have promoted natural history and all useful sciences with a
zeal like his; or that have done as much as he towards collecting,
cultivating, and making known all sorts of plants. The Collinsonia has a
peculiar scent, which is agreeable, but very strong. It always gave me a
pretty violent head-ach whenever I passed by a place where it stood in
plenty, and especially when it was in [199]flower. Mr. Bartram was
acquainted with a better quality of this plant, which was that of being an
excellent remedy against all sorts of pain in the limbs, and against a cold,
when the parts affected are rubbed with it. And Mr. Conrad Weisser,
interpreter of the language of the Indians in Pensylvania, had told him of a
more wonderful cure with this plant. He was once among a company of
Indians, one of which had been stung by a rattle snake, the savages gave
him over, but he boiled the collinsonia, and made the poor wretch drink the
water, from which he happily recovered. Somewhat more to the north and
in New York they call this plant Horseweed, because the horses eat it in
spring, before any other plant comes up.

October the 16th. I asked Mr. Franklin and other gentlemen who were well
acquainted with this country, whether they had met with any signs, from
whence they could have concluded that any place which was now a part of
the continent, had formerly been covered with water? and I got the
following account in answer.

1. On travelling from hence to the south, you meet with a place where the
highroad is very low in the ground between two mountains. On both sides
you see [200]nothing but oyster shells and muscle shells in immense
quantities above each other; however the place is many miles off the sea.

2. Whenever they dig wells, or build houses in town, they find the earth
lying in several strata above each other. At a depth of fourteen feet or more,
they find globular stones, which are as smooth on the outside as those
which lie on the sea-shore, and are made round and smooth by the rolling of
the waves. And after having dug through the sand, and reached a depth of
eighteen feet or more, they discover in some places a slime like that which
the sea throws up on the shore, and which commonly lies at its bottom and
in rivers; this slime is quite full of trees, leaves, branches, reed, charcoal,
&c.

3. It has sometimes happened that new houses have sunk on one side in a
short time, and have obliged the people to pull them down again. On
digging deeper, for a very hard ground to build upon, they have found a
quantity of the above slime, wood, roots, &c.

Are not these reasons sufficient to make one suppose that those places in
Philadelphia which are at present fourteen feet and more under ground,
formerly were the bottom of [201]the sea, and that by several accidents, sand,
earth, and other things were carried upon it? or, that the Delaware formerly
was broader than it is at present? or, that it has changed its course? This last
still often happens at present; the river breaking off the bank on one side,
and forming one on the other. Both the Swedes and English often shewed
me such places.

October the 18th. At present I did not find above ten different kinds of
plants in blossom: they were, a Gentiana, two species of Aster, the common
Golden Rod, or Solidago Virga aurea, a species of Hieracium, the yellow
wood Sorrel, or Oxalis corniculata, the Fox Gloves, or Digitalis purpurea,
the Hamamelis Virginiana, or Witch Hazel, our common Millefoil, or
Achillæa Millefolium, and our Dandelion, or Leontodon Taraxacum. All
other plants had for this year laid aside their gay colours. Several trees,
especially those which were to flower early in spring, had already formed
such large buds, that on opening them all the parts of fructification, such as
Calyx, Corolla, Stamina and Pistillum were plainly distinguishable. It was
therefore easy to determine the genus to which such trees belonged. Such
were the red maple, or Acer rubrum, and the Laurus æstivalis, a species of
bay. Thus nature prepared to [202]bring forth flowers, with the first mild
weather in the next year. The buds were at present quite hard, and all their
parts pressed close together, that the cold might by all means be excluded.

The black Walnut trees had for the greatest part dropt their leaves, and many
of them were entirely without them. The walnuts themselves were already
fallen off. The green peel which enclosed them, if frequently handled,
would yield a black colour, which could not be got off the fingers in two or
three weeks time, though the hands were washed ever so much.

The Cornus florida was called Dogwood by the English, and grew
abundantly in the woods. It looks beautiful when it is adorned with its
numerous great white flowers in spring. The wood is very hard, and is
therefore made use of for weaver’s spools, joiner’s planes, wedges, &c.
When the cattle fall down in spring for want of strength, the people tie a
branch of this tree on their neck, thinking it will help them.

October the 19th. The Tulip tree grows every where in the woods of this
country. The botanists call it Liriodendron tulipifera, because its flowers
both in respect to their size, and in respect to their exterior form, [203]and
even in some measure with regard to their colour, resemble tulips. The

Swedes called it Canoe tree, for both the Indians and the Europeans often
make their canoes of the stem of this tree. The Englishmen in Pensylvania
give it the name of Poplar. It is reckoned a tree which grows to the greatest
height and thickness of any in North America, and which vies in that point
with our greatest European trees. The white oak and the fir in North
America, however are little inferior to it. It cannot therefore but be very
agreeable to see in spring, at the end of May (when it is in blossom) one of
the greatest trees covered for a fortnight together with flowers, which with
regard to their shape, size, and partly colour are like tulips, the leaves have
likewise something peculiar, the English therefore in some places call the
tree the old woman’s smock, because their imagination finds something like
it below the leaves.

Its wood is here made use of for canoes, boards, planks, bowls, dishes,
spoons, door posts, and all sorts of joiners work. I have seen a barn of a
considerable size whose walls, and roof were made of a single tree of this
kind, split into boards. Some joiners reckoned this wood better than oak,
because this latter frequently is warped, which [204]the other never does, but
works very easy; others again valued it very little. It is certain, that it
contracts so much in hot weather, as to occasion great cracks in the boards,
and in wet weather it swells so as to be near bursting, and the people hardly
know of a wood in these parts which varies so much in contracting and
expanding itself. The joiners however make much use of it in their work,
they say there are two species of it; but they are merely two varieties, one of
which in time turns yellow within, the other is white, the former is said to
have a looser texture. The bark (like Russia glass) is divisible into very thin
leaves, which are very tough like bast, though I have never seen it
employed as such. The leaves when crushed and applied to the forehead are
said to be a remedy against the head ach. When horses are plagued with
worms, the bark is pounded, and given them quite dry. Many people believe
its roots to be as efficacious against the fever as the jesuits bark. The trees
grow in all sorts of dry soil, both on high and low grounds, but too wet a
soil will not agree with them.

October the 20th. The Beaver tree is to be met with in several parts of
Pensylvania and New Jersey, in a poor swampy soil, [205]or on wet
meadows. Dr. Linnæus calls it Magnolia glauca; both the Swedes and
English call it Beaver tree, because the root of this tree is the dainty of
beavers, which are caught by its means, however the Swedes sometimes
gave it a different name, and the English as improperly called it Swamp
Sassafras, and White Laurel. The trees of this kind dropt their leaves early
in autumn, though some of the young trees kept them all the winter. I have
seldom found the beaver tree to the north of Pensylvania, where it begins to
flower about the end of May. The scent of its blossoms is excellent, for by it
you can discover within three quarters of an English mile, whether these
little trees stand in the neighbourhood, provided the wind be not against it.
For the whole air is filled with this sweet and pleasant scent. It is beyond
description agreeable to travel in the woods about that time, especially
towards night. They retain their flowers for three weeks and even longer,
according to the quality of the soil on which the trees stand; and during the
whole time of their being in blossom, they spread their odoriferous
exhalations. The berries likewise look very fine when they are ripe, for they
have a rich red colour, and hang in bunches on slender stalks. The
[206]cough, and other pectoral diseases are cured by putting the berries into
rum or brandy, of which a draught every morning may be taken; the virtues
of this remedy were universally extolled, and even praised for their salutary
effects in consumptions. The bark being put into brandy, or boiled in any
other liquor, is said not only to ease pectoral diseases, but likewise to be of
some service against all internal pains and heat; and it was thought that a
decoction of it could stop the dysentery. Persons who had caught cold,
boiled the branches of the beaver tree in water, and drank it to their great
relief. A Swede, called Lars Lack, gave the following account of a cure
effected by this tree: One of his relations, an old man, had an open sore in
his leg, which would not heal up again, though he had had much advice and
used many remedies. An Indian at last effected the cure in the following
manner. He burnt some of this wood to charcoal, which he reduced to
powder, mixed with the fresh fat of pork, and rubbed the open places

several times. This dried up the holes, which before were continually open,
and the legs of the old man were quite sound to his death. The wood is
likewise made use of for joiner’s planes. [207]

October the 22d. Upon trial it has been found that the following animals
and birds, which are wild in the woods of North America, can be made
nearly as tractable as domestic animals.

The wild Cows and Oxen, of which several people of distinction have got
young calves from these wild cows, which are to be met with in Carolina,
and other provinces to the south of Pensylvania, and brought them up
among the tame cattle; when grown up, they were perfectly tame, but at the
same time very unruly, so that there was no enclosure strong enough to
resist them, if they had a mind to break through it; for as they possess a
great strength in their neck, it was easy for them to overthrow the pales with
their horns, and to get into the corn-fields; and as soon as they had made a
road, all the tame cattle followed them; they likewise copulated with the
latter, and by that means generated as it were a new breed. This American
species of oxen is Linnæus’s Bos Bison, β.

American Deer, can likewise be tamed; and I have seen them tame myself
in different places. A farmer in New Jersey had one in his possession, which
he had caught when it was very young; and at present it was so tame, that in
the day time it [208]run into the wood for its food, and towards night it
returned home, and frequently brought a wild deer out of the wood, giving
its master an opportunity to shoot it. Several people have therefore tamed
young deer, and make use of them for hunting wild deer, or for decoying
them home, especially in the time of their rutting.

Beavers have been so tamed that they have gone on fishing, and brought
home what they had caught to their masters. This often is the case with
Otters, of which I have seen some, which were as tame as dogs, and
followed their masters wherever they went; if he went out in a boat, the
otter went with him, jumped into the water, and after a while came up with

a fish. The Opossum, can likewise be tamed, so as to follow people like a
dog.

The Raccoon which we (Swedes) call Siupp, can in time be made so tame as
to run about the streets like a domestic animal; but it is impossible to make
it leave off its habit of stealing. In the dark it creeps to the poultry, and kills
in one night a whole flock. Sugar and other sweet things must be carefully
hidden from it, for if the chests and boxes are not always locked up, it gets
into them, eats the sugar, and licks up the treacle with its paws: the ladies
therefore [209]have every day some complaint against it, and for this reason
many people rather forbear the diversion which this ape-like animal affords.

The grey and flying Squirrels are so tamed by the boys, that they sit on their
shoulders, and follow them every where.

The Turkey Cocks and Hens run about in the woods of this country, and
differ in nothing from our tame ones, except in their superior size, and
redder, though more palatable flesh. When their eggs are found in the wood,
and put under tame Turkey hens, the young ones become tame; however
when they grow up, it sometimes happens that they fly away; their wings
are therefore commonly clipped, especially when young. But the tamed
turkeys are commonly much more irascible, than those which are naturally
tame. The Indians likewise employ themselves in taming them and keeping
them near their huts.

Wild Geese have likewise been tamed in the following manner. When the
wild geese first come hither in spring, and stop a little while (for they do not
breed in Pensylvania) the people try to shoot them in the wing, which
however is generally mere chance. They then row to the place where
[210]the wild goose fell, catch it, and keep it for some time at home, by this
means many of them have been made so tame, that when they were let out
in the morning, they returned in the evening, but to be more sure of them,
their wings are commonly clipped. I have seen wild geese of this kind,
which the owner assured me, that he had kept for more than twelve years;

but though he kept eight of them, yet he never had the pleasure to see them
copulate with the tame ones, or lay eggs.

Partridges, which are here in abundance, may likewise be so far tamed, as
to run about all day with the poultry, and to come along with them to be fed
when they are called. In the same manner I have seen wild Pigeons, which
were made so tame as to fly out and return again. In some winters there are
immense quantities of wild pigeons in Pensylvania.

October the 24th. Of all the rare birds of North America, the Humming bird
is the most admirable, or at least most worthy of peculiar attention. Several
reasons induce me to believe that few parts of the world can produce its
equal. Dr. Linnæus calls it Trochilus Colubris. The Swedes and some
Englishmen call it the King’s bird, but the name of Humming bird is more
common. [211]Catesby in his Natural History of Carolina, Vol. i. page 65,
tab. 65. has drawn it, in its natural size, with its proper colours, and added a
description of it. 34 In size it is not much bigger than a large humble bee, and
is therefore the least of all birds, 35 or it is much if there is a lesser species in
the world. Its plumage is most beautifully coloured, most of its feathers
being green, some grey, and others forming a shining red ring round its
neck; the tail glows with fine feathers, changing from green into a brass
colour. These birds come here in spring about the time when it begins to
grow very warm, and make their nests in summer, but towards autumn they
retreat again into the more southern countries of America. They subsist
barely upon the nectar, or sweet juice of flowers contained in that part,
which botanists call the nectarium, and which they suck up with their long
bills. Of all the flowers, they like those most, which have a long tube, and I
[212]have observed that they have fluttered chiefly about the Impatiens Noli
tangere, and the Monarda with crimson flowers. An inhabitant of the
country is sure to have a number of these beautiful and agreeable little birds
before his window all the summer long, if he takes care to plant a bed with
all sorts of fine flowers under them. It is indeed a diverting spectacle to see
these little active creatures flying about the flowers like bees, and sucking

their juices with their long and narrow bills. The flowers of the above-
mentioned Monarda grow verticillated, that is, at different distances they
surround the stalk, as the flowers of our mint (Mentha) bastard hemp
(Galeopsis) mother-wort (Leonurus) and dead nettle (Lamium). It is
therefore diverting to see them putting their bills into every flower in the
circle. As soon as they have sucked the juice of one flower, they flutter to
the next. One that has not seen them would hardly believe in how short a
space of time they have had their tongues in all the flowers of a plant,
which when large and with a long tube, the little bird by putting its head
into them, looks as if it crept with half its body into them.

During their sucking the juice out of the flowers they never settle on it, but
[213]flutter continually like bees, bend their feet backwards, and move their
wings so quick, that they are hardly visible. During this fluttering they
make a humming like bees, or like that which is occasioned by the turning
of a little wheel. After they have thus, without resting, fluttered for a while,
they fly to a neighbouring tree or post, and resume their vigour again. They
then return to their humming and sucking. They are not very shy, and I in
company with several other people, have not been full two yards from the
place where they fluttered about and sucked the flowers; and though we
spoke and moved, yet they were no ways disturbed; but on going towards
them, they would fly off with the swiftness of an arrow. When several of
them were on the same bed, there was always a violent combat between
them, in meeting each other at the same flower (for envy was likewise
predominant amongst these little creatures) and they attacked with such
impetuosity, that it would seem as if the strongest would pierce its
antagonist through and through, with its long bill. During the fight, they
seem to stand in the air, keeping themselves up, by the incredibly swift
motion of their wings. When the windows towards the garden are open,
they [214]pursue each other into the rooms, fight a little, and flutter away
again. Sometimes they come to a flower which is withering, and has no
more juice in it; they then in a fit of anger pluck it off, and throw it on the
ground, that it may not mislead them for the future. If a garden contains a

great number of these little birds, they are seen to pluck off the flowers in
such quantities, that the ground is quite covered with them, and it seems as
if this proceeded from a motion of envy.

Commonly you hear no other sound than their humming, but when they fly
against each other in the air, they make a chirping noise like a sparrow or
chicken. I have sometimes walked with several other people in small
gardens, and these birds have on all sides fluttered about us, without
appearing very shy. They are so small that one would easily mistake them
for great humming-bees or butterflies, and their flight resembles that of the
former, and is incredibly swift. They have never been observed to feed on
insects or fruit; the nectar of flowers, seems therefore to be their only food.
Several people have caught some humming birds on account of their
singular beauty, and have put them into cages, where they died for want of a
proper food. [215]However Mr. Bartram has kept a couple of them for
several weeks together, by feeding them with water in which sugar had been
dissolved, and I am of opinion that it would not be difficult to keep them all
winter in a hot-house.

The humming bird always builds its nest in the middle of a branch of a tree,
and it is so small, that it cannot be seen from the ground, but he who intends
to see it must get up to the branch. For this reason it is looked upon as a
great rarity if a nest is accidentally found, especially as the trees in summer
have so thick a foliage. The nest is likewise the least of all; that which is in
my possession is quite round, and consists in the inside of a brownish and
quite soft down, which seems to have been collected from the leaves of the
great mullein or Verbascum Thapsus, which are often found covered with a
soft wool of this colour, and the plant is plentiful here. The outside of the
nest has a coating of green moss, such as is common on old pales or
enclosures and on trees; the inner diameter of the nest is hardly a
geometrical inch at the top, and its depth half an inch. It is however known
that the humming birds make their nests likewise of flax, hemp, moss, hair

and other such soft [216]materials; they are said to lay two eggs, each of the
size of a pea.

October the 25th. I employed this day and the next in packing up all the
seeds gathered this autumn, for I had an opportunity of sending them to
England by the ships which sailed about this time. From England they were
forwarded to Sweden.

October the 27th. In the morning I set out on a little journey to New York, in
company with Mr. Peter Cock, with a view to see the country, and to
enquire into the safest road, which I could take in going to Canada, through
the desart or uninhabited country between it and the English provinces.

That part where we travelled at present was pretty well inhabited on both
sides of the road, by Englishmen, Germans and other Europeans. Plains and
hills of different dimensions were seen alternately, mountains and stones, I
never saw, excepting a few pebbles. Near almost every farm was a great
orchard with peach and apple trees, some of which were yet loaded with
fruit.

The enclosures were in some parts low enough, for the cattle to leap over
them with ease; to prevent this the hogs had a triangular wooden yoke: this
custom was as I have already observed, common over [217]all the English
plantations. To the horses neck was fastened a piece of wood, which at the
lower end had a tooth or hook, fastening in the enclosure, and stopping the
horse, just when it lifted its fore feet to leap over; but I know not whether
this be a good invention with regard to horses. They were likewise kept in
bounds by a piece of wood, one end of which was fastened to one of the
fore feet, and the other to one of the hind feet, and it forced them to walk
pretty slowly, as at the same time it made it impossible for them to leap
over the enclosures. To me it appeared that the horses were subject to all
sorts of dangerous accidents from this piece of wood.

Near New Frankfurt we rode over a little stone bridge, and somewhat
further, eight or nine English miles from Philadelphia we passed over
another, which was likewise of stone. There are not yet any milestones put
up in the country, and the inhabitants only compute the distances by guess.
We were afterwards brought over a river in a ferry, where we paid
threepence a person, for ourselves and our horses.

At one of the places where we stopt to have our horses fed, the people had a
Mocking-bird in a cage; and it is here reckoned the best singing bird, though
its [218]plumage be very simple, and not showy at all. At this time of the
year it does not sing. Linnæus calls it Turdus polyglottos, and Catesby in his
Natural History of Carolina, Vol. 1. p. 27. tab. 27, has likewise described
and drawn this bird. The people said that it built its nests in the bushes and
trees, but is so shy, that if any body come and look at its eggs, it leaves the
nest, never to come to it again. Its young ones require great care in being
bred up. If they are taken from their mother and put into a cage, she feeds
them for three or four days; but seeing no hopes of setting them at liberty,
she flies away. It then often happens, that the young ones die soon after,
doubtless because they cannot accustom themselves to eat what the people
give them. But it is generally imagined, that the last time the mother feeds
them, she finds means to poison them, in order, the sooner to deliver them
from slavery and wretchedness. These birds stay all summer in the colonies,
but retire in autumn to the south, and stay away all winter. They have got
the name of Mocking-birds, on account of their skill in imitating the note of
almost every bird they hear. The song peculiar to them is excellent, and
varied by an infinite change of [219]notes and melody; several people are
therefore of opinion, that they are the best singing birds in the world. So
much is certain, that few birds come up to them; this is what makes them
precious: the Swedes call it by the same name as the English.

About noon we came to New Bristol, a small town in Pensylvania, on the
banks of the Delaware, about fifteen English miles from Philadelphia. Most
of the houses are built of stone, and stand asunder. The inhabitants carry on

a small trade, though most of them get their goods from Philadelphia. On
the other side of the river, almost directly opposite to New Bristol, lies the
town of Burlington, in which the governor of New Jersey resides.

We had now country seats on both sides of the roads. Now we came into a
lane enclosed with pales on both sides, including pretty great corn-fields.
Next followed a wood, and we perceived for the space of four English miles
nothing but woods, and a very poor soil, on which the Lupinus perennis
grew plentifully and succeeded well. I was overjoyed to see a plant come on
so well in these poor dry places, and even began to meditate, how to
improve this discovery in a soil like that which it inhabited. But I
afterwards had the mortification to find that [220]the horses and cows eat
almost all the other plants, but left the lupine, which was however very
green, looked very fresh, and was extremely soft to the touch. Perhaps
means may be found out of making this plant palatable to the cattle. In the
evening we arrived at Trenton, after having previously passed the Delaware
in a ferry.

October the 28th. Trenton is a long narrow town, situate at some distance
from the river Delaware, on a sandy plain; it belongs to New Jersey, and
they reckon it thirty miles from Philadelphia. It has two small churches,
one for the people belonging to the church of England, the other for the
presbyterians. The houses are partly built of stone, though most of them are
made of wood or planks, commonly two stories high, together with a cellar
below the building, and a kitchen under ground, close to the cellar. The
houses stand at a moderate distance from one another. They are commonly
built so, that the street passes along one side of the houses, while gardens of
different dimensions bound the other side; in each garden is a draw-well;
the place is reckoned very healthy. Our landlord told us, that twenty-two
years ago, when he first settled here, there was hardly more than one house;
but from that [221]time Trenton has encreased so much, that there are at
present near a hundred houses. The houses were within divided into several
rooms by their partitions of boards. The inhabitants of the place carried on a

small trade with the goods which they got from Philadelphia, but their chief
gain consisted in the arrival of the numerous travellers between that city
and New York; for they are commonly brought by the Trenton Yachts from
Philadelphia to Trenton, or from thence to Philadelphia. But from Trenton
further to New Brunswick, the travellers go in the waggons which set out
every day for that place. Several of the inhabitants however likewise subsist
on the carriage for all sorts of goods, which are every day sent in great
quantities, either from Philadelphia to New York, or from thence to the
former place; for between Philadelphia and Trenton all goods go by water,
but between Trenton and New Brunswick they are all carried by land, and
both these conveniences belong to people of this town.

For the yachts which go between this place and the capital of Pensylvania,
they usually pay a shilling and six-pence of Pensylvania currency per
person, and every one pays besides for his baggage. Every passenger
[222]must provide meat and drink for himself, or pay some settled fare:
between Trenton and New Brunswick a person pays two shillings and
sixpence, and the baggage is likewise paid for separately.

We continued our journey in the morning; the country through which we
passed was for the greatest part level, though sometimes there were some
long hills, some parts were covered with trees, but far the greater part of the
country was without woods; on the other hand I never saw any place in
America, the towns excepted, so well peopled. An old man, who lived in
this neighbourhood and accompanied us for some part of the road, however
assured me, that he could well remember the time, when between Trenton
and New Brunswick there were not above three farms, and he reckoned it
was about fifty and some odd years ago. During the greater part of the day
we had very extensive corn-fields on both sides of the road, and commonly
towards the south the country had a great declivity. Near almost every farm
was a spacious orchard full of peaches and apple trees, and in some of them
the fruit was fallen from the trees in such quantities, as to cover nearly the
whole surface. Part of it they left to rot, since they could not take it all in

[223]and consume it. Wherever we passed by we were always welcome to go
into the fine orchards, and gather our hats and pockets full of the choicest
fruit, without the possessor’s so much as looking after it. Cherry trees were
planted near the farms, on the roads, &c.

The barns 36 had a peculiar kind of construction hereabouts, which I will
give a concise description of. The whole building was very great, so as
almost to equal a small church; the roof was pretty high, covered with
wooden shingles, declining on both sides, but not steep: the walls which
support it, were not much higher than a full grown man; but on the other
hand the breadth of the building was the more considerable: in the middle
was the threshing floor, and above it, or in the loft or garret they put the
corn which was not yet threshed, the straw, or any thing else, according to
the season: on one side were stables for the horses, and on the other for the
cows. And the small cattle had likewise their particular stables or styes; on
both ends of the buildings were great gates, [224]so that one could come in
with a cart and horses through one of them, and go out at the other: here
was therefore under one roof the threshing floor, the barn, the stables, the
hay loft, the coach house, &c. This kind of buildings is chiefly made use of
by the Dutch and Germans; for it is to be observed that the country between
Trenton and New York, is inhabited by few Englishmen, but instead of them
by Germans or Dutch, 37 the latter of which especially are numerous.

Before I proceed, I find it necessary to remark one thing with regard to the
Indians, or old Americans. For this account may perhaps meet with readers,
who, like many people of my acquaintance, may be of opinion that all
North America, was almost wholly inhabited by savage or heathen nations,
and they may be astonished, that I do not mention them more frequently in
my account. Others may perhaps imagine, that when I mention in my
journal, that the country is much cultivated, that in several places, houses of
stone or wood are built, round which are corn-fields, gardens, [225]and
orchards, that I am speaking of the property of the Indians; to undeceive
them, I here give the following explication. The country especially all along

the coasts, in the English colonies, is inhabited by Europeans, who in some
places are already so numerous, that few parts of Europe are more
populous. The Indians have sold the country to the Europeans, and have
retired further up: in most parts you may travel twenty Swedish miles, or
about a hundred and twenty English miles, from the sea shore, before you
reach the first habitations of the Indians. And it is very possible for a person
to have been at Philadelphia and other towns on the sea shore for half a
year together, without so much as seeing an Indian. I intend in the sequel to
give a more circumstantial account of them, their religion, manners,
oeconomy, and other particulars relating to them: at present I return to the
sequel of my journal.

About nine English miles from Trenton, the ground began to change its
colour; hitherto it consisted of a considerable quantity of hazel coloured
clay, but at present the earth was a reddish brown, so that it sometimes had
a purple colour, and sometimes looked like logwood. This colour came
from a red limestone which approached [226]very near to that which is on
the mountain Kinnekulle in West Gothland, and makes a particular stratum
in the rock. The American red limestone therefore seems to be merely a
variety of that I saw in Sweden, it lay in strata of two or three fingers
thickness; but was divisible into many thinner plates or shivers, whose
surface was seldom flat and smooth, but commonly rough: the strata
themselves were frequently cut off by horizontal cracks. When these stones
were exposed to the air, they by degrees shivered and withered into pieces,
and at last turned into dust. The people of this neighbourhood did not know
how to make any use of it; the soil above is sometimes rich and sometimes
poor: in such places where the people had lately dug new wells, I perceived,
that most of the rubbish which was thrown up consisted of such a species of
stone. This reddish brown earth we always saw till near New Brunswick,
where it is particularly plentiful. The banks of the river, shewed in many
places nothing but strata of Limestone, which did not run horizontally, but
dipped very much.

About ten o’clock in the morning we came to Prince-town, which is
situated in a plain. Most of the houses are built of wood, and are not
contiguous, so that there [227]are gardens and pastures between them. As
these parts were sooner inhabited by Europeans than Pensylvania, the
woods were likewise more cut away, and the country more cultivated, so
that one might have imagined himself to be in Europe.

We now thought of continuing our journey, but as it began to rain very
heavily, and continued so during the whole day and part of the night, we
were forced to stay till next morning,

October the 29th. This morning we proceeded on our journey. The country
was pretty well peopled; however there were yet great woods in many
places: they all consisted of deciduous trees: and I did not perceive a single
tree of the fir kind, till I came to New Brunswick. The ground was level, and
did not seem to be every where of the richest kind. In some places it had
hillocks, losing themselves almost imperceptibly in the plains, which were
commonly crossed by a rivulet. Almost near every farm-house were great
orchards. The houses were commonly built of timber, and at some distance
by themselves stood the ovens for baking, consisting commonly of clay.

On a hill covered with trees, and called Rockhill, I saw several pieces of
stone or [228]rock, so big, that they would have required three men to roll
them down. But besides these there were few great stories in the country;
for most of those which we saw, could easily be lifted up by a single man.
In another place we perceived a number of little round pebbles, but we did
not meet with either mountains or rocks.

About noon we arrived at New Brunswick, a pretty little town in the
province of New Jersey, in a valley on the west side of the river Rareton; on
account of its low situation, it cannot be seen (coming from Pensylvania)
before you get to the top of the hill, which is quite close up to it: the town
extends north and south along the river. The German inhabitants have two
churches, one of stone and the other of wood; the English church is of the

latter kind, but the presbyterians were building one of stone: the town house
makes likewise a pretty good appearance. Some of the other houses are
built of bricks, but most of them are made either wholly of wood, or of
bricks and wood; the wooden houses are not made of strong timber, but
merely of boards or planks, which are within joined by laths: such houses as
consist of both wood and bricks, have only the wall towards the street of
bricks, all the other sides being merely of planks. This [229]peculiar kind of
ostentation would easily lead a traveller, who passes through the town in
haste, to believe that most of the houses are built of bricks. The houses were
covered with shingles; before each door there was an elevation, to which
you ascend by some steps from the street; it resembled a small balcony, and
had some benches on both sides, on which the people sat in the evening, in
order to enjoy the fresh air, and to have the pleasure of viewing those who
passed by. The town has only one street lengthways, and at its northern
extremity there is a street across; both of these are of a considerable length.

The river Rareton passes hard by the town, and is deep enough for great
yachts to come up; its breadth near the town is within the reach of a
common gun shot; the tide comes up several miles beyond the town, the
yachts were placed lengthways along the bridge; the river has very high and
pretty steep banks on both sides, but near the town there are no such banks,
it being situated in a low valley. One of the streets is almost entirely
inhabited by Dutchmen, who came hither from Albany, and for that reason
they call it Albany street: these Dutch people only keep company among
themselves, and seldom or never go amongst the other inhabitants, living as
it were [230]quite separate from them. New Brunswick belongs to New
Jersey; however the greatest part, or rather all its trade is to New York,
which is about forty English miles distant; to that place they send corn,
flour in great quantities, bread, several other necessaries, a great quantity of
linseed, boards timber, wooden vessels, and all sorts of carpenters work.
Several small yachts are every day going backwards and forwards between
these two towns. The inhabitants likewise get a considerable profit from the
travellers, who every hour pass through, on the high road.

The steep banks consist of the red limestone, which I have before described.
It is here plainly visible that the strata are not horizontal, but considerably
dipping, especially towards the south. The weather and the air has in a great
measure dissolved the stone here: I enquired, whether it could not be made
use of, but was assured, that in building houses it was entirely useless; for,
though it is hard and permanent under ground, yet on being dug out, and
exposed for some time to the air, it first crumbles into greater, then into
lesser pieces, and at last is converted into dust. An inhabitant of this town,
however tried to build a house with this sort of stone, but [231]its outsides
being exposed to the air, soon began to change so much, that the owner was
obliged to put boards all over the wall, to preserve it from falling to pieces.
The people however pretend that this stone is a very good manure, if it is
scattered upon the corn-fields in its rubbish state, for it is said to stifle the
weeds: it is therefore made use of both on the fields and in gardens. 38

Towards the evening we continued our journey, and were ferried over the
river Rareton, together with our horses. In a very dry summer, and when the
tide has ebbed, it is by no means dangerous to ride through this river. On the
opposite shore the red juniper tree was pretty abundant. The country
through which we now passed was pretty well inhabited, but in most places
full of small pebbles.

We saw Guinea Hens in many places where we passed by. They sometimes
run about the fields, at a good distance from the farm-houses.

About eight English miles from New Brunswick, the road divided. We took
that on the left, for that on the right leads [232]to Amboy, the chief sea-town
in New Jersey. The country now made a charming appearance; some parts
being high, others forming vallies, and all of them well cultivated. From the
hills you had a prospect of houses, farms, gardens, corn-fields, forests,
lakes, islands, roads, and pastures.

In most of the places where we travelled this day the colour of the ground
was reddish. I make no doubt, but there were strata of the before-mentioned

red limestone under it. Sometimes the ground looked very like a cinnabar
ore.

Wood-bridge is a small village in a plain, consisting of a few houses: we
stopped here to rest our horses a little. The houses were most of them built
of boards; the walls had a covering of shingles on the outside; these
shingles were round at one end, and all of a length in each row: some of the
houses had an Italian roof, but the greatest part had roofs with pediments;
most of them were covered with shingles. In most places we met with wells
and buckets to draw up the water.

Elizabeth-town is a small town, about twenty English miles distant from
New Brunswick: we arrived there immediately after sun setting. Its houses
are mostly scattered, but well built, and generally [233]of boards, with a roof
of shingles, and walls covered with the same. There were likewise some
stone buildings. A little rivulet passes through the town from west to east; it
is almost reduced to nothing when the water ebbs away, but with the full
tide they can bring up small yachts. Here were two fine churches, each of
which made a much better appearance than any one in Philadelphia. That
belonging to the people of the church of England was built of bricks, had a
steeple with bells, and a balustrade round it, from which there was a
prospect of the country. The meeting house of the presbyterians was built of
wood, but had both a steeple and bells, and was, like the other houses
covered with shingles. The town house made likewise a good appearance,
and had a spire with a bell. The banks of the river were red, from the
reddish limestone; both in and about the town were many gardens and
orchards, and it might truly be said that Elizabeth-town was situated in a
garden; the ground hereabouts being even and well cultivated.

The geese, in some of the places by which we passed this day and the next,
carried three or four little sticks, of the length of a foot about their necks;
they [234]were fastened crossways, to prevent them from creeping through

half broken enclosures. They look extremely awkward, and it is very
diverting to see them in this attire.

At night we took up our lodgings at Elizabeth-town Point, an inn about two
English miles distant from the town, and the last house on this road
belonging to New Jersey. The man who had taken the lease of it, together
with that of the ferry near it, told us that he paid a hundred and ten pounds
of Pensylvania currency to the owner.

October the 30th. We were ready to proceed on our journey at sun-rising.
Near the inn where we had passed the night, we were to cross a river, and
we were brought over, together with our horses, in a wretched half rotten
ferry. This river came a considerable way out of the country, and small
vessels could easily sail up it. This was a great advantage to the inhabitants
of the neighbouring country, giving them an opportunity of sending their
goods to New York with great ease; and they even made use of it for trading
to the West Indies. The country was low on both sides of the river, and
consisted of meadows. But there was no other hay to be got, than such as
commonly [235]grows in swampy grounds; for as the tide comes up in this
river, these low plains were sometimes overflowed when the water was
high. The people hereabouts are said to be troubled in summer with
immense swarms of gnats or musquetoes, which sting them and their cattle.
This was ascribed to the low swampy meadows, on which these insects
deposite their eggs, which are afterwards hatched by the heat.

As soon as we had got over the river, we were upon Staten Island, which is
quite surrounded with salt water. This is the beginning of the province of
New York. Most of the people settled here were Dutchmen, or such as came
hither whilst the Dutch were yet in possession of this place. But at present
they were scattered among the English and other European inhabitants, and
spoke English for the greatest part. The prospect of the country here is
extremely pleasing, as it is not so much intercepted by woods, but offers

more cultivated fields to view. Hills and vallies still continued, as usual, to
change alternately.

The farms were near each other. Most of the houses were wooden; however
some were built of stone. Near every farm-house was an orchard with apple
trees: the fruit was already for the greatest part gathered. [236]Here, and on
the whole journey before, I observed a press for cyder at every farm-house,
made in different manners, by which the people had already pressed the
juice out of the apples, or were just busied with that work. Some people
made use of a wheel made of thick oak planks, which turned upon a
wooden axis by means of a horse drawing it, much in the same manner as
the people do with woad; 39 except that here the wheel runs upon planks.
Cherry trees stood along the enclosures round corn-fields.

The corn-fields were excellently situated, and either sown with wheat or
rye. They had no ditches on their sides, but (as is usual in England) only
furrows, drawn at greater or lesser distances from each other.

In one place we observed a water mill, so situated, that when the tide
flowed, the water ran into a pond: but when it ebbed, the floodgate was
drawn up, and the mill driven by the water, flowing out of the pond.

About eight o’clock in the morning we arrived at the place where we were
to cross [237]the water, in order to come to the town of New York. We left
our horses here and went on board the yacht: we were to go eight English
miles by sea; however we landed about eleven o’clock in the morning at
New York. We saw a kind of wild ducks in immense quantities upon the
water: the people called them Blue bills, and they seemed to be the same
with our Pintail ducks, or Linnæus’s Anas acuta: but they were very shy. On
the shore of the continent we saw some very fine sloping corn-fields, which
at present looked quite green, the corn being already come up. We saw
many boats in which the fishermen were busy catching oysters: to this
purpose they make use of a kind of rakes with long iron teeth bent inwards;

these they used either singly or two tied together in such a manner, that the
teeth were turned towards each other.

October the 31st. About New York they find innumerable quantities of
excellent oysters, and there are few places which have oysters of such an
exquisite taste, and of so great a size: they are pickled and sent to the West
Indies and other places; which is done in the following manner. As soon as
the oysters are caught, their shells are opened, and the fish washed clean;
[238]some water is then poured into a pot, the oysters are put into it, and they
must boil for a while; the pot is then taken off from the fire again, the
oysters taken out and put upon a dish, till they are somewhat dry: then you
take some mace, allspice, black pepper, and as much vinegar as you think is
sufficient to give a sourish taste. All this is mixed with half the liquor in
which the oysters were boiled, and put over the fire again. While you boil it
great care is to be taken in scumming off the thick scum; at last the whole
pickle is poured into a glass or earthen vessel, the oysters are put to it, and
the vessel is well stopped to keep out the air. In this manner, oysters will
keep for years together, and may be sent to the most distant parts of the
world.

The merchants here buy up great quantities of oysters about this time,
pickle them in the above-mentioned manner, and send them to the West
Indies: by which they frequently make a considerable profit: for, the
oysters, which cost them five shillings of their currency, they commonly
sell for a pistole, or about six times as much as they gave for them; and
sometimes they get even more: the oysters which are thus pickled have a
very fine flavour. The following is another way of preserving oysters:
[239]they are taken out of the shells, fried with butter, put into a glass or
earthen vessel with the melted butter over them, so that they are quite
covered with it, and no air can get to them. Oysters prepared in this manner
have likewise an agreeable taste, and are exported to the West Indies and
other parts.

Oysters are here reckoned very wholesome, some people assured us, that
they had not felt the least inconvenience, after eating a considerable
quantity of them. It is likewise a common rule here that oysters are best in
those months which have an r in their name, such as September, October,
&c; but that they are not so good in other months; however there are poor
people, who live all the year long upon nothing but oysters with bread.

The sea near New York, affords annually the greatest quantity of oysters.
They are found chiefly in a muddy ground, where they lie in the slime, and
are not so frequent in a sandy bottom: a rockey and a stony bottom is
seldom found here. The oyster shells are gathered in great heaps, and burnt
into a lime, which by some people is made use of in building houses, but is
not reckoned so good as that made of limestone. On our journey to New
York, we [240]saw high heaps of oyster shells near the farm-houses, upon the
sea shore; and about New York, we observed the people had carried them
upon the fields which were sown with wheat. However they were entire,
and not crushed.

The Indians who inhabited the coast before the arrival of the Europeans,
have made oysters and other shell fish their chief food; and at present
whenever they come to a salt water where oysters are to be got, they are
very active in catching them, and sell them in great quantities to other
Indians who live higher up the country: for this reason you see immense
numbers of oyster and muscle shells piled up near such places, where you
are certain that the Indians formerly built their huts. This circumstance
ought to make us cautious in maintaining, that in all places on the sea shore,
or higher up in the country, where such heaps of shells are to be met with,
the latter have lain there ever since the time that those places were
overflowed by the sea.

Lobsters are likewise plentyfully caught hereabouts, pickled much in the
same way as oysters, and sent to several places. I was told of a very
remarkable circumstance about these lobsters, and I have afterwards

frequently heard it mentioned. The coast [241]of New York had already
European inhabitants for a considerable time, yet no lobsters were to be met
with on that coast; and though the people fished ever so often, they could
never find any signs of lobsters being in this part of the sea: they were
therefore continually brought in great wellboats from New England, where
they are plentiful; but it happened that one of these wellboats broke in
pieces near Hellgate, about ten English miles from New York, and all the
lobsters in it got off. Since that time they have so multiplied in this part of
the sea, that they are now caught in the greatest abundance.

November the 1st. A kind of cold fever, which the English in this country
call Fever and Ague, is very common in several parts of the English
colonies. There are however other parts, where the people have never felt it.
I will in the sequel describe the symptoms of this disease at large. Several
of the most considerable inhabitants of this town, assured me that this
disease was not near so common in New York, as it is in Pensylvania, where
ten were seized by it, to one in the former province; therefore they were of
opinion, that this disease was occasioned by the vapours arising from
stagnant fresh water, from [242]marshes, and from rivers; for which reason
those provinces situated on the sea shore, could not be so much affected by
it. However the carelesness with which people eat quantities of melons,
watermelons, peaches, and other juicy fruit in summer, was reckoned to
contribute much towards the progress of this fever; and repeated examples
confirmed the truth of this opinion. The jesuit’s bark was reckoned a good
remedy against it. It has however often been found to have operated
contrary to expectation, though I am ignorant whether it was adulterated, or
whether some mistake had been committed in the manner of taking it. Mr.
Davis van Horne, a merchant, told me that he cured himself and several
other people of this fever, by the leaves of the common Garden Sage, or
Salvia officinalis of Linnæus. The leaves are crushed or pounded in a
mortar, and the juice is pressed out of them; this is continued till they get a
spoonful of the liquid, which is mixed with lemon juice. This draught is

taken about the time that the cold fit comes on; and after taking it three or
four times, the fever does not come again.

The bark of the white oak was reckoned the best remedy which had as yet
been found against the dysentery. It is reduced to a [243]powder, and then
taken: some people assured me that in cases where nothing would help, this
remedy had given a certain and speedy relief. The people in this place
likewise make use of this bark (as is usually done in the English colonies)
to dye wool a brown colour, which looks like that of bohea tea, and does
not fade by being exposed to the sun. Among the numerous shells which are
found on the sea shore, there are some which by the English here are called
Clams, and which bear some resemblance to the human ear. They have a
considerable thickness, and are chiefly white, excepting the pointed end,
which both without and within has a blue colour, between purple and violet.
They are met with in vast numbers on the sea shore of New York, Long
Island, and other places. The shells contain a large animal, which is eaten
both by the Indians and Europeans settled here.

A considerable commerce is carried on in this article, with such Indians as
live further up the country. When these people inhabited the coast, they
were able to catch their own clams, which at that time made a great part of
their food; but at present this is the business of the Dutch and English, who
live in Long Island and other [244]maritime provinces. As soon as the shells
are caught, the fish is taken out of them, drawn upon a wire, and hung up in
the open air, in order to dry by the heat of the sun. When this is done, the
fish is put into proper vessels, and carried to Albany upon the river Hudson;
there the Indians buy them, and reckon them one of their best dishes.
Besides the Europeans, many of the native Indians come annually down to
the sea shore, in order to catch clams, proceeding with them afterwards in
the manner I have just described.

The shells of these clams are used by the Indians as money, and make what
they call their wampum; they likewise serve their women for an ornament,

when they intend to appear in full dress. These wampums are properly
made of the purple parts of the shells, which the Indians value more than
the white parts. A traveller, who goes to trade with the Indians, and is well
stocked with them, may become a considerable gainer; but if he take gold
coin, or bullion, he will undoubtedly be a loser; for the Indians who live
farther up the country, put little or no value upon these metals which we
reckon so precious, as I have frequently observed in the course of my
travels. The Indians formerly made [245]their own wampums, though not
without a deal of trouble: but at present the Europeans employ themselves
that way; especially the inhabitants of Albany, who get a considerable profit
by it. In the sequel I intend to relate the manner of making the wampum.

November the 2d. Besides the different sects of christians, there are many
Jews settled in New York, who possess great privileges. They have a
synagogue and houses, and great country seats of their own property, and
are allowed to keep shops in town. They have likewise several ships, which
they freight and send out with their own goods. In fine they enjoy all the
privileges common to the other inhabitants of this town and province.

During my residence at New York, this time and in the two next years, I was
frequently in company with Jews. I was informed among other things, that
these people never boiled any meat for themselves on saturday, but that they
always did it the day before; and that in winter they kept a fire during the
whole saturday. They commonly eat no pork; yet I have been told by
several men of credit, that many of them (especially among the young Jews)
when travelling, did not not make the least difficulty [246]about eating this,
or any other meat that was put before them; even though they were in
company with christians. I was in their synagogue last evening for the first
time, and this day at noon I visited it again, and each time I was put into a
particular seat which was set apart for strangers or christians. A young
Rabbi read the divine service, which was partly in Hebrew, and partly in the
Rabinical dialect. Both men and women were dressed entirely in the
English fashion; the former had all of them their hats on, and did not once

take them off during service. The galleries, I observed, were appropriated to
the ladies, while the men sat below. During prayers the men spread a white
cloth over their heads; which perhaps is to represent sack cloth. But I
observed that the wealthier sort of people had a much richer cloth than the
poorer ones. Many of the men had Hebrew books, in which they sang and
read alternately. The Rabbi stood in the middle of the synagogue, and read
with his face turned towards the east; he spoke however so fast, as to make
it almost impossible for any one to understand what he said. 40 [247]

New York, the capital of a province of the same name is situated under forty
deg. and forty min. north lat. and forty seven deg. and four min. of western
long. from London; and is about ninety seven English miles distant from
Philadelphia. The situation of it is extremely advantageous for trade: for the
town stands upon a point which is formed by two bays; into one of which
the river Hudson discharges itself, not far from the town; New York is
therefore on three sides surrounded with water; the ground it is built on, is
level in some parts, and hilly in others: the place is generally reckoned very
wholesome.

The town was first founded by the Dutch: this, it is said, was done in the
year 1623, when they were yet masters of the country: they called it New
Amsterdam, and the country itself New Holland. The English, towards the
end of the year 1664, taking possession of it under the conduct of Des
Cartes, and keeping it by the virtue of the next treaty of peace, gave the
name of New York to both the town, and the province belonging to it: in size
it comes nearest to Boston and Philadelphia. But with regard to its fine
buildings, its opulence, and extensive commerce, it disputes the preference
with [248]them: at present it is about half as big again as Gothenburgh in
Sweden.

The streets do not run so straight as those of Philadelphia, and have
sometimes considerable bendings: however they are very spacious and well
built, and most of them are paved, except in high places, where it has been

found useless. In the chief streets there are trees planted, which in summer
give them a fine appearance, and during the excessive heat at that time,
afford a cooling shade: I found it extremely pleasant to walk in the town,
for it seemed quite like a garden: the trees which are planted for this
purpose are chiefly of two kinds. The Water beech, or Linnæus’s Platanus
occidentalis, are the most numerous, and give an agreeable shade in
summer, by their great and numerous leaves. The Locust tree, or Linnæus’s
Robinia Pseud-Acacia is likewise frequent: its fine leaves, and the
odoriferous scent which exhales from its flowers, make it very proper for
being planted in the streets near the houses, and in gardens. There are
likewise lime trees and elms, in these walks, but they are not by far so
frequent as the others: one seldom met with trees of the same sort next to
each other, they being in general planted alternately. [249]

Besides numbers of birds of all kinds which make these trees their abode,
there are likewise a kind of frogs which frequent them in great numbers in
summer, they are Dr. Linnæus’s Rana arborea, and especially the American
variety of this animal. They are very clamorous in the evening and in the
nights (especially when the days had been hot, and a rain was expected) and
in a manner drown the singing of the birds. They frequently make such a
noise, that it is difficult for a person to make himself heard.

Most of the houses are built of bricks; and are generally strong and neat,
and several stories high. Some had, according to old architecture, turned the
gable-end towards the streets; but the new houses were altered in this
respect. Many of the houses had a balcony on the roof, on which the people
used to sit in the evenings in the summer season; and from thence they had
a pleasant view of a great part of the town, and likewise of part of the
adjacent water and of the opposite shore. The roofs are commonly covered
with tiles or shingles: the latter of which are made of the white firtree, or
Pinus Strobus (Linn. sp. plant. page 1419.) which grows higher up in the
country. The inhabitants are of opinion [250]that a roof made of these
shingles is as durable as one made in Pensylvania of the White Cedar, or

Cupressus thyoides (Linn. spec. plant, page 1422.) The walls were
whitewashed within, and I did not any where see hangings, with which the
people in this country seem in general to be but little acquainted. The walls
were quite covered with all sorts of drawings and pictures in small frames.
On each side of the chimnies they had usually a sort of alcove; and the wall
under the windows was wainscoted, and had benches placed near it. The
alcoves, and all the wood work were painted with a bluish grey colour.

There are several churches in the town, which deserve some attention. 1.
The English Church, built in the year 1695, at the west end of town,
consisting of stone, and has a steeple with a bell. 2. The new Dutch Church,
which is likewise built of stone, is pretty large and is provided with a
steeple, it also has a clock, which is the only one in the town. This church
stands almost due from north to south. No particular point of the compass
has here been in general attended to in erecting sacred buildings. Some
churches, stand as is usual from east to west, others from south to north, and
others in different [251]positions. In this Dutch church, there is neither altar,
vestry, choir, sconces, nor paintings. Some trees are planted round it, which
make it look as if it was built in a wood. 3. The old Dutch church, which is
also built of stone. It is not so large as the new one. It was painted in the
inside, though without any images, and adorned with a small organ, of
which governor Burnet made them a present. The men for the most part sit
in the gallery, and the women below. 4. The Presbyterian Church, which is
pretty large, and was built but lately. It is of stone, and has a steeple and a
bell in it. 5. The German Lutheran Church. 6. The German Reformed
Church. 7. The French Church, for protestant refugees. 8. The Quaker’s
Meeting house. 9. To these may be added the Jewish Synagogue, which I
mentioned before.

Towards the sea, on the extremity of the promontory is a pretty good
fortress, called Fort George, which entirely commands the port, and can
defend the town, at least from a sudden attack on the sea side. Besides that,
it is likewise secured on the north or towards the shore, by a pallisade,

which however (as for a considerable time the people have had nothing to
fear [252]from an enemy) is in many places in a very bad state of defence.

There is no good water to be met with in the town itself, but at a little
distance there is a large spring of good water, which the inhabitants take for
their tea, and for the uses of the kitchen. Those however, who are less
delicate in this point, make use of the water from the wells in town, though
it be very bad. This want of good water lies heavy upon the horses of the
strangers that come to this place; for they do not like to drink the water
from the wells in the town.

The port is a good one: ships of the greatest burthen can lie in it, quite close
up to the bridge: but its water is very salt, as the sea continually comes in
upon it; and therefore is never frozen, except in extraordinary cold weather.
This is of great advantage to the city and its commerce; for many ships
either come in or go out of the port at any time of the year; unless the winds
be contrary; a convenience, which as I have before observed, is wanting at
Philadelphia. It is secured from all violent hurricanes from the south-east
by Long Island which is situated just before the town: therefore only the
storms from the south-west are dangerous to the ships which ride at
[253]anchor here, because the port is open only on that side. The entrance
however has its faults: one of them is, that no men of war can pass through
it; for though the water is pretty deep, yet it is not sufficiently so for great
ships. Sometimes even merchant ships of a large size have by the rolling of
the waves and by sinking down between them, slightly touched the bottom,
though without any bad consequences. Besides this, the canal is narrow;
and for this reason many ships have been lost here, because they may be
easily cast upon a sand, if the ship is not well piloted. Some old people,
who had constantly been upon this canal, assured me, that it was neither
deeper, nor shallower at present, than in their youth.

The common difference between high and low water at New York, amounts
to about six feet, English measure. But at a certain time in every month,

when the tide flows more than commonly, the difference in the height of the
water is seven feet.

New York probably carries on a more extensive commerce, than any town in
the English North American provinces; at least it may be said to equal them:
Boston and Philadelphia however come very near up to it. The trade of New
York extends to [254]many places, and it is said they send more ships from
thence to London, than they do from Philadelphia. They export to that
capital all the various sorts of skins which they buy of the Indians, sugar,
logwood, and other dying woods, rum, mahogany, and many other goods
which are the produce of the West Indies; together with all the specie which
they get in the course of trade. Every year they build several ships here,
which are sent to London, and there sold; and of late years they have
shipped a quantity of iron to England. In return for these, they import from
London stuffs and every other article of English growth or manufacture,
together with all sorts of foreign goods. England, and especially London,
profits immensely by its trade with the American colonies; for not only New
York, but likewise all the other English towns on the continent, import so
many articles from England, that all their specie, together with the goods
which they get in other countries, must altogether go to Old England, in
order to pay the amount, to which they are however insufficient. From
hence it appears how much a well regulated colony contributes to the
increase and welfare of its mother country.

New York sends many ships to the West [255]Indies, with flour, corn, biscuit,
timber, tuns, boards, flesh, fish, butter, and other provisions; together with
some of the few fruits that grow here. Many ships go to Boston in New
England, with corn and flour, and take in exchange, flesh, butter, timber,
different sorts of fish, and other articles, which they carry further to the
West Indies. They now and then take rum from thence, which is distilled
there in great quantities, and sell it here with a considerable advantage.
Sometimes they send yachts with goods from New York to Philadelphia,
and at other times yachts are sent from Philadelphia to New York; which is

only done, as appears from the gazettes, because certain articles are cheaper
at one place than at the other. They send ships to Ireland every year, laden
with all kinds of West India goods; but especially with linseed, which is
reaped in this province. I have been assured, that in some years no less than
ten ships have been sent to Ireland, laden with nothing but linseed; because
it is said the flax in Ireland does not afford good seed. But probably the true
reason is this: the people of Ireland, in order to have the better flax, make
use of the plant before the seed is ripe, and therefore are obliged to send for
foreign seed; and hence [256]it becomes one of the chief articles in trade.

At this time a bushel of linseed is sold for eight shillings of New York
currency, or exactly a piece of eight.

The goods which are shipped to the West Indies, are sometimes paid for
with ready money, and sometimes with West India goods, which are either
first brought to New York, or immediately sent to England or Holland. If a
ship does not chuse to take in West India goods in its return to New York, or
if no body will freight it, it often goes to Newcastle in England to take in
coals for ballast, which when brought home sell for a pretty good price. In
many parts of the town coals are made use of, both for kitchen fires, and in
rooms, because they are reckoned cheaper than wood, which at present
costs thirty Shillings of New York currency per fathom; of which measure I
have before made mention. New York has likewise some intercourse with
South Carolina; to which it sends corn, flour, sugar, rum, and other goods,
and takes rice in return, which is almost the only commodity exported from
South Carolina.

The goods with which the province of New York trades are not very
numerous. They chiefly export the skins of animals, [257]which are bought
of the Indians about Oswego; great quantities of boards, coming for the
most part from Albany; timber and ready made lumber, from that part of the
country which lies about the river Hudson; and lastly wheat, flour, barley,
oats and other kinds of corn, which are brought from New Jersey and the

cultivated parts of this province. I have seen yachts from New Brunswick,
laden with wheat which lay loose on board, and with flour packed up into
tuns; and also with great quantities of linseed. New York likewise exports
some flesh and other provisions out of its own province, but they are very
few; nor is the quantity of pease which the people about Albany bring much
greater. Iron however may be had more plentifully, as it is found in several
parts of this province, and is of a considerable goodness; but all the other
products of this country are of little account.

Most of the wine, which is drank here and in the other colonies is brought
from the Isle of Madeira and is very strong and fiery.

No manufactures of note have as yet been established here; at present they
get all manufactured goods, such as woollen [258]and linen cloth, &c. from
England, and especially from London.

The river Hudson is very convenient for the commerce of this city; as it is
navigable for near a hundred and fifty English miles up the country, and
falls into the bay not far from the town, on its western side. During eight
months of the year this river is full of yachts, and other greater and lesser
vessels, either going to New York or returning from thence, laden either with
inland or foreign goods.

I cannot make a just estimate of the ships that annually come to this town or
sail from it. But I have found by the Pensylvania gazettes that from the first
of December in 1729, to the fifth of December in the next year, 211 ships
entered the port of New York, and 222 cleared it; and since that time there
has been a great increase of trade here.

The country people come to market in New York, twice a week much in the
same manner, as they do at Philadelphia; with this difference, that the
markets are here kept in several places.

The governor of the province of New York, resides here, and has a palace in
the fort. Among those who have been entrusted with this post, William
Burnet deserves [259]to be had in perpetual remembrance. He was one of the
sons of Dr. Thomas Burnet (so celebrated on account of his learning) and
seemed to have inherited the knowledge of his father. But his great assiduity
in promoting the welfare of this province, is what makes the principal merit
of his character. The people of New York therefore still reckon him the best
governor they ever had, and think that they cannot praise his services too
much. The many astronomical observations which he made in these parts,
are inserted in several English works. In the year 1727, at the accession of
king George the II. to the throne of Great Britain, he was appointed
governor of New England. In consequence of this he left New York, and
went to Boston, where he died universally lamented, on the 7th. of
September 1729.

An assembly of deputies from all the particular districts of the province of
New York, is held at New York once or twice every year. It may be looked
upon as a parliament or dyet in miniature. Every thing relating to the good
of the province is here debated. The governor calls the assembly, and
dissolves it at pleasure: this is a power which he ought only to make use of,
either when no farther debates are [260]necessary, or when the members are
not so unanimous in the service of their king and country as is their duty: it
frequently however happens, that, led aside by caprice or by interested
views, he exerts it to the prejudice of the province. The colony has
sometimes had a governor, whose quarrels with the inhabitants, have
induced their representatives, or the members of the assembly, through a
spirit of revenge, to oppose indifferently every thing he proposed, whether
it was beneficial to the country or not. In such cases the governor has made
use of his power; dissolving the assembly, and calling another soon after,
which however he again dissolved upon the least mark of their ill humour.
By this means he so much tired them, by the many expences which they
were forced to bear in so short a time, that they were at last glad to unite
with him, in his endeavours for the good of the province. But there have

likewise been governors who have called assemblies and dissolved them
soon after, merely because the representatives did not act according to their
whims, or would not give their assent to proposals which were perhaps
dangerous or hurtful to the common welfare.

The king appoints the governor according [261]to his royal pleasure; but the
inhabitants of the province make up his excellency’s salary. Therefore a
man entrusted with this place has greater or lesser revenues, according as he
knows how to gain the confidence of the inhabitants. There are examples of
governors in this, and other provinces of North America, who by their
dissensions with the inhabitants of their respective governments, have lost
their whole salary, his Majesty having no power to make them pay it. If a
governor had no other resource in these circumstances, he would be obliged
either to resign his office, or to be content with an income too small for his
dignity; or else to conform himself in every thing to the inclinations of the
inhabitants: but there are several stated profits, which in some measure
make up for this. 1. No one is allowed to keep a public house without the
governor’s leave; which is only to be obtained by the payment of a certain
fee, according to the circumstances of the person. Some governors
therefore, when the inhabitants refused to pay them a salary, have hit upon
the expedient of doubling the number of inns in their province. 2. Few
people who intend to be married, unless they be very poor, will have their
banns published from the [262]pulpit; but instead of this they get licences
from the governor, which impower any minister to marry them. Now for
such a licence the governor receives about half a guinea, and this collected
throughout the whole province, amounts to a considerable sum. 3. The
governor signs all passports, and especially of such as go to sea; and this
gives him another means of supplying his expences. There are several other
advantages allowed to him, but as they are very trifling, I shall omit them.

At the above assembly the old laws are reviewed and amended, and new
ones are made: and the regulation and circulation of coin, together with all
other affairs of that kind are there determined. For it is to be observed that

each English colony in North America is independent of the other, and that
each has its proper laws and coin, and may be looked upon in several lights,
as a state by itself. From hence it happens, that in time of war, things go on
very slowly and irregularly here: for not only the sense of one province is
sometimes directly opposite to that of another; but frequently the views of
the governor, and those of the assembly of the same province, are quite
different: so that it is easy to see, that, while the people are quarrelling
about [263]the best and cheapest manner of carrying on the war, an enemy
has it in his power to take one place after another. It has commonly
happened that whilst some provinces have been suffering from their
enemies, the neighbouring ones were quiet and inactive, and as if it did not
in the least concern them. They have frequently taken up two or three years
in considering whether they should give assistance to an oppressed sister
colony, and sometimes they have expresly declared themselves against it.
There are instances of provinces who were not only neuter in these
circumstances, but who even carried on a great trade with the power which
at that very time was attacking and laying waste some other provinces.

The French in Canada, who are but an inconsiderable body, in comparison
with the English in America, have by this position of affairs been able to
obtain great Advantages in times of war; for if we judge from the number
and power of the English, it would seem very easy for them to get the better
of the French in America. 41 [264]

It is however of great advantage to the crown of England, that the North
American colonies are near a country, under the government of the French,
like Canada. There is reason to believe that the king never was earnest in
his attempts to expel the French from their possessions there; though it
might have been done with little difficulty. For the English colonies in this
part of the world have encreased so much in their number of inhabitants,
and in their riches, that they almost vie with Old England. Now in order to
keep up the authority and trade of their mother country, and to answer
several other puposes, they are forbid to establish new manufactures, which

would turn to the disadvantage of the British commerce: they are not
allowed to dig for any gold or silver, unless they send them to England
immediately: they have not the liberty of trading to any parts that do not
belong to the British dominions, excepting some settled places, and foreign
traders are not allowed to send their ships to them. These and some other
restrictions, occasion the inhabitants of the English colonies to grow less
tender for their mother country. This coldness is kept up by the many
foreigners such as Germans, Dutch and French settled here, and living
among [265]the English, who commonly have no particular attachment to
Old England; add to this likewise that many people can never be contented
with their possessions, though they be ever so great, and will always be
desirous of getting more, and of enjoying the pleasure which arises from
changing; and their over great liberty, and their luxury often lead them to
licentiousness.

I have been told by Englishmen, and not only by such as were born in
America, but even by such as came from Europe, that the English colonies
in North-America, in the space of thirty or fifty years, would be able to
form a state by themselves, entirely independent on Old England. But as the
whole country which lies along the sea shore, is unguarded, and on the land
side is harrassed by the French, in times of war these dangerous neighbours
are sufficient to prevent the connection of the colonies with their mother
country from being quite broken off. The English government has therefore
sufficient reason to consider the French in North-America, as the best
means of keeping the colonies in their due submission. But, I am almost
gone too far from my purpose; I will therefore finish my observations on
New York.

The declination of the magnetic needle, [266]in this town was observed by
Philip Wells, the chief engineer of the province of New York, in the year
1686, to be eight deg. and forty-five min. to the westward. But in 1723, it
was only seven deg. and twenty min. according to the observations of
governor Burnet.

From hence we may conclude that in thirty-eight years the magnet
approaches about one deg. and twenty five min. nearer to the true north; or,
which is the same thing, about two min. annually. Mr. Alexander, a man of
great knowledge in astronomy and in mathematics, assured me from several
observations, that in the year 1750, on the eighteenth of September the
deviation was to be reckoned six deg. and twenty two min.

There are two printers in the town, and every week some English gazettes
are published, which contain news from all parts of the world.

The winter is much more severe here, than in Pensylvania; it being nearly
as cold as in some of the provinces of Sweden: its continuance however is
much shorter than with us: their spring is very early and their autumn very
late, and the heat in summer is excessive. For this reason, the melons sown
in the fields are ripe at the beginning [267]of August; whereas we can hardly
bring them so soon to maturity under glasses and on hot beds. The cold of
the winter, I cannot justly determine, as the meteorological observations
which were communicated to me, were all calculated after thermometers,
which were so placed in the houses, that the air could not freely come at
them. The snow lies for some months together upon the ground; and sledges
are made use of here as in Sweden, but they are rather too bulky. The river
Hudson is about an English mile and a half broad at its mouth: the
difference between the highest flood and the lowest ebb is between six and
seven feet, and the water is very brackish: yet the ice stands in it not only
one but even several months: it has sometimes a thickness of more than two
feet.

The inhabitants are sometimes greatly troubled with Musquitoes. They
either follow the hay which is made near the town, in the low meadows
which are quite penetrated with salt water; or they accompany the cattle at
night when it is brought home. I have myself experienced, and have
observed in others, how much these little animalcules can disfigure a
person’s face during a single night; for the skin is sometimes [268]so covered

over with little blisters from their stings, that people are ashamed to appear
in public. The water melons which are cultivated near the town grow very
large: they are extremely delicious, and are better than in other parts of
North America; though they are planted in the open fields and never in a
hot-bed. I saw a water melon at Governor Clinton’s in September 1750,
which weighed forty seven English pounds, and at a merchant’s in town
another of forty two pounds weight: however they were reckoned the
biggest ever seen in this country.

In the year 1710, five kings, or Sachems of the Iroquois went from hence to
England, in order to engage Queen Anne to make an alliance with them
against the French. Their names, dress, reception at court, speeches to the
Queen, opinion of England and of the European manners, and several other
particulars about them are sufficiently known from other writings; it would
therefore be here unnecessary to enlarge about them. The kings or Sachems
of the Indians, have commonly no greater authority over their subjects than
constables in a meeting of the inhabitants of a parish, and hardly so much.
On my travels through the country of these Indians, I had never any
[269]occasion to go and wait upon the Sachems; for they always came into
my habitation without being asked: these visits they commonly paid in
order to get a glass or two of brandy, which they value above any thing they
know. One of the five Sachems mentioned above, died in England; the
others returned safe.

The first colonists in New York were Dutchmen: when the town and its
territories were taken by the English, and left them by the next peace in
exchange for Surinam, the old inhabitants were allowed either to remain at
New York, and to enjoy all the privileges and immunities which they were
possessed of before, or to leave the place with all their goods: most of them
chose the former; and therefore the inhabitants both of the town and of the
province belonging to it, are yet for the greatest part Dutchmen; who still,
especially the old people, speak their mother tongue.

They begin however by degrees to change their manners and opinions;
chiefly indeed in the town and in its neighbourhood: for most of the young
people now speak principally English, and go only to the English church;
and would even take it amiss, if they were called Dutchmen and not
Englishmen. [270]

Though the province of New York has been inhabited by Europeans, much
longer than Pensylvania, yet it is not by far so populous as that colony. This
cannot be ascribed to any particular discouragement arising from the nature
of the soil; for that is pretty good: but I was told of a very different reason,
which I will mention here. In the reign of Queen Anne about the year 1709,
many Germans came hither, who got a tract of land from the government on
which they might settle. After they had lived there for some time, and had
built houses and churches, and made corn-fields and meadows, their
liberties and privileges were infringed, and under several pretences they
were repeatedly deprived of parts of their land. This at last rouzed the
Germans; they returned violence for violence, and beat those who thus
robbed them of their possessions. But these proceedings were looked upon
in a very bad light by the government: the most active people among the
Germans being taken up, they were very roughly treated, and punished with
the utmost rigour of the law. This however so far exasperated the rest, that
the greater part of them left their houses and fields, and went to settle in
Pensylvania: there they were exceedingly well received, got a considerable
tract of land, [271]and were indulged in great privileges which were given
them forever. The Germans not satisfied with being themselves removed
from New York, wrote to their relations and friends and advised them, if
ever they intended to come to America, not to go to New York, where the
government had shewn itself so unequitable. This advice had such
influence, that the Germans, who afterwards went in great numbers to
North America, constantly avoided New York and always went to
Pensylvania. It sometimes happened that they were forced to go on board
such ships as were bound to New York; but they were scarce got on shore,

when they hastened on to Pensylvania in sight of all the inhabitants of New
York.

But the want of people in this province may likewise be accounted for in a
different manner. As the Dutch, who first cultivated this country, obtained
the liberty of staying here by the treaty with England, and of enjoying all
their privileges and advantages without the least limitation, each of them
took a very large piece of ground for himself, and many of the more
powerful heads of families made themselves the possessors and masters of a
country of as great an extent as would be sufficient to form a middling and
even a great parish. Most [272]of them being very rich, their envy of the
English led them not to sell them any land, but at an excessive rate; a
practice which is still punctually observed among their descendants. The
English therefore as well as people of different nations, have little
encouragement to settle here. On the other hand they have sufficient
opportunity in the other provinces, to purchase land at a more moderate
price, and with more security to themselves. It is not then to be wondered,
that so many parts of New York are still uncultivated, and have entirely the
appearance of desarts. This instance may teach us how much a small
mistake in a government will injure population.

November the 3d. About noon we set out from New York on our return, and
continuing our journey, we arrived at Philadelphia on the fifth of
November.

In the neighbourhood of this capital (of Pensylvania) the people had a
month ago made their cyder, which they were obliged to do, because their
apples were so ripe as to drop from the trees. But on our journey through
New York we observed the people still employed in pressing out the cyder.
This is a plain proof that in Pensylvania the apples are sooner ripe than in
New York; but whether this be owing to the [273]nature of the soil, or a
greater heat of the summer in Philadelphia, or to some other cause I know
not. However there is not the least advantage in making cyder so early: for

long experience had taught the husbandmen that it is worse for being made
early in the year; the great heat in the beginning of autumn being said to
hinder the fermentation of the juice. [272]

Pa:273. Pl:2.

Racoon.

American Pole-Cat.

[273]

There is a certain quadruped which is pretty common not only in Pensylvania,
but likewise in other provinces both of South and North America, and goes by
the name of Polecat among the English. In New York they generally call it
Skunk. The Swedes here by way of nickname called it Fiskatta, on account of the
horrid stench it sometimes causes as I shall presently show. The French in
Canada, for the same reason call it Bête puante or stinking animal, and Enfant
du diable or child of the devil. Some of them likewise call it Pekan: Catesby in
his Natural History of Carolina, has described it in Vol. 2. p. 62. by the name of
Putorius Americanus striatus and drawn it plate 62. Dr. Linnæus calls it Viverra
Putorius. 42 This animal, which is [274]very similar to the Marten, is of about the
same size and commonly black: on the back it has a longitudinal white stripe and
two others on each side, parallel to the former. Sometimes but very seldom,
some are seen which are quite white. On our return to Philadelphia we saw one
of these animals not far from town near a farmer’s house, killed by dogs. And
afterwards I had during my stay in these parts several opportunities of seeing it
and of hearing its qualities. It keeps its young ones in holes in the ground and in
hollow trees; for it does not confine itself to the ground, but climbs up trees with

the greatest agility: it is a great enemy to birds; for it breaks their eggs and
devours their young ones; and if it can get into a hen roost it soon destroys all its
inhabitants.

This animal has a particular quality by which it is principally known; when it is
pursued by men or dogs it runs at first as fast as it can, or climbs upon a tree; but
if it is so beset by its pursuers, as to have no other way of making its escape, it
squirts its urine upon them. This according to some it does by wetting its tail
with the urine whence by a sudden motion it scatters it abroad; but others
believe, that it could send its urine equally far without the help of its tail; I find
the former of these accounts [275]to be the most likely. For, some credible people
assured me, that they have had their faces wetted with it all over; though they
stood above eighteen feet off from the animal. The urine has so horrid a stench
that nothing can equal it: it is something like that of the Cranesbill or Linnæus’s
Geranium robertianum, but infinitely stronger. If you come near a polecat when
it spreads its stench, you cannot breathe for a while, and it seems as if you were
stifled; and in case the urine comes into the eyes, a person is likely to be blinded.
Many dogs that in a chace pursue the polecat very eagerly, run away as fast as
they can when they are wetted: however, if they be of the true breed, they will
not give over the pursuit till they have caught and killed the polecat; but they are
obliged now and then to rub their noses in the ground in order to relieve
themselves.

Clothes which have been wetted by this animal retain the smell for more than a
month; unless they be covered with fresh soil, and suffered to remain under it for
twenty four hours together; when it will in a great measure be removed. Those
likewise who have got any of this urine upon their face and hands, rub them with
loose earth; and some even hold their hands in the ground for an hour; as
washing will not help them [276]so soon. A certain man of rank who had by
accident been wetted by the polecat, stunk so ill, that on going into a house, the
people either ran away, or on his opening the door, rudely denied him entrance.
Dogs that have hunted a polecat are so offensive for some days afterwards, that
they cannot be borne in the house. At Philadelphia I once saw a great number of
people on a market day throwing at a dog that was so unfortunate as to have
been engaged with a polecat just before, and to carry about him the tokens of its

displeasure. Persons when travelling through a forest are often troubled with the
stink which this creature makes; and sometimes the air is so much infected that it
is necessary to hold ones nose. If the wind blows from the place where the
polecat has been, or if it be quite calm, as at night, the smell is more strong and
disagreeable.

In the winter of 1749, a polecat tempted by a dead lamb, came one night near the
farm house where I then slept. Being immediately pursued by some dogs, it had
recourse to its usual expedient in order to get rid of them. The attempt
succeeded, the dogs not choosing to continue the pursuit: the stink was so
extremely great that, though I was at some distance it affected me in the same
manner as if I [277]had been stifled; and it was so disagreeable to the cattle that it
made them roar very loudly: however, by degrees it vanished. Towards the end
of the same year one of these animals got into our cellar, but no stench was
observed, for it only vents that when it is pursued. The cook however found for
several days together that some of the meat which was kept there was eaten; and
suspecting that it was done by the cat she shut up all avenues, in order to prevent
their getting at it. But the next night being awoke by a noise in the cellar, she
went down, and though it was quite dark, saw an animal with two shining eyes,
which seemed to be all on fire; she however resolutely killed it, but not before
the polecat had filled the cellar with a most dreadful stench. The maid was sick
of it for several days; and all the bread, flesh, and other provisions kept in the
cellar were so penetrated with it, that we could not make the least use of them,
and were forced to throw them all away.

From an accident that happened at New York to one of my acquaintances, I
conclude that the polecat either is not always very shy, or that it sleeps very hard
at night. This man coming home out of a wood in a summer evening, thought
that he saw a plant [278]standing before him; stooping to pluck it, he was to his
cost convinced of his mistake, by being all on a sudden covered with the urine of
a polecat, whose tail as it stood upright, the good man had taken for a plant: the
creature had taken its revenge so effectually that he was much at a loss how to
get rid of the stench.

However though these animals play such disagreeable tricks, yet the English, the
Swedes, the French, and the Indians in these parts tame them. They follow their
masters like domestic animals, and never make use of their urine, except they be
very much beaten or terrified. When the Indians kill such a polecat, they always
eat its flesh, but when they pull off its skin, they take care to cut away the
bladder, that the flesh may not get a taste from it. I have spoken with both
Englishmen and Frenchmen, who assured me that they had eaten of it, and found
it very good meat, and not much unlike the flesh of a pig. The skin which is
pretty coarse, and has long hair, is not made use of by the Europeans; but the
Indians prepare it with the hair on, and make tobacco pouches of it, which they
carry before them.

November the 6th. In the evening I went out of town to Mr. Bartram, I found
[279]a man with him, who lived in Carolina and I obtained several particulars
about that province from him; a few of which I will here mention.

Tar, pitch and rice are the chief products of Carolina. The soil is very sandy, and
therefore many pines and firs grow in it, from which they make tar: the firs
which are taken for this purpose are commonly such as are dried up of
themselves; the people here in general not knowing how to prepare the firs by
taking the bark off on one, or on several sides, as they do in Ostrobothnia. In
some parts of Carolina they likewise make use of the branches. The manner of
burning or boiling, as the man describes it to me, is entirely the same as in
Finland. The pitch is thus made: they dig a hole into the ground and smear the
inside well with clay, into which they pour the tar, and make a fire round it,
which is kept up till the tar has got the consistence of pitch. They make two
kinds of tar in the North American colonies: one is the common tar, which I have
above described, and which is made of the stems, branches, and roots of such
firs, as were already considerably dried out before; which is the most common
way in this country. The other way in peeling the bark from [280]the firs on one
side, and afterwards letting them stand another year; during which the resin
comes out between the cracks of the item. The tree is then felled and burnt for
tar; and the tar thus made is called green tar, not that there is that difference of
colour in it, for in this respect they are both pretty much alike; but the latter is
called so from being made of green and fresh trees; whereas common tar is made

of dead trees: the burning is done in the same manner as in Finland. They use
only black firs; for the white firs will not serve this purpose, though they are
excellent for boards, masts, &c. green tar is dearer than common tar. It is already
a pretty general complaint that the fir woods are almost wholly destroyed by this
practice.

Rice is planted in great quantity in Carolina: it succeeds best in marshy and
swampy grounds, which may be laid under water, and likewise ripens there the
soonest. Where these cannot be had, they must choose a dry soil; but the rice
produced here will be much inferior to the other: the land on which it is
cultivated must never be manured. In Carolina they sow it in the middle of
April, and it is ripe in September: it is planted in rows like pease, and commonly
fifteen inches space is left [281]between the rows; as soon as the plants are come
up, the field is laid under water. This not only greatly forwards the growth of the
rice, but likewise kills all weeds, so as to render weeding unnecessary. The straw
of rice is said to be excellent food for cattle, who eat it very greedily. Rice
requires a hot climate, and therefore it will not succeed well in Virginia, the
summer there being too short, and the winter too cold; and much less will it
grow in Pensylvania. They are as yet ignorant in Carolina of the art of making
arrack from rice: it is chiefly South Carolina that produces the greatest quantity
of rice; and on the other hand they make the most tar in North Carolina.

November the 7th. The stranger from Carolina whom I have mentioned before,
had met with many oyster shells at the bottom of a well, seventy English miles
distant from the sea, and four from a river: they lay in a depth of fourteen
English feet from the surface of the earth: the water in the well was brackish; but
that in the river was fresh. The same man, had at the building of a saw-mill, a
mile and a half from a river, found, first sand, and then clay filled with oyster
shells. Under these he found several bills of sea birds as he called them, which
were already quite petrified: they were probably Glossopetræ. [282]

There are two species of foxes in the English colonies, the one grey, and the
other red: but in the sequel I shall shew that there are others which sometimes
appear in Canada. The grey foxes are here constantly, and are very common in
Pensylvania and in the southern provinces: in the northern ones they are pretty

scarce, and the French in Canada, call them Virginian Foxes on that account: in
size they do not quite come up to our foxes. They do no harm to lambs; but they
prey upon all sorts of poultry, whenever they can come at them. They do not
however seem to be looked upon as animals that cause a great deal of damage;
for there is no reward given for killing them: their skin is greatly sought for by
hatters, who employ the hair in their work. People have their clothes lined with it
sometimes: the grease is used against all sorts of rheumatic pains. These foxes
are said to be less nimble than the red ones: they are sometimes tamed; though
they be not suffered to run about but are tied up. Mr. Catesby has drawn and
described this sort of foxes in his Natural history of Carolina, by the name of the
grey American fox, vol. 2. p. 78. tab. 78. A skin of it was sold in Philadelphia for
two shillings and six-pence in Pensylvanian currency. [283]

The red Foxes are very scarce here: they are entirely the same with the European
sort. Mr. Bartram, and several others assured me, that according to the
unanimous testimony of the Indians, this kind of foxes never was in the country,
before the Europeans settled in it. But of the manner of their coming over I have
two different accounts: Mr. Bartram and several other people were told by the
Indians, that these foxes came into America soon after the arrival of the
Europeans, after an extraordinary cold winter, when all the sea to the northward
was frozen: from hence they would infer, that they could perhaps get over to
America upon the ice from Greenland or the northern parts of Europe and Asia.
But Mr. Evans, and some others assured me that the following account was still
known by the people. A gentleman of fortune in New England, who had a great
inclination for hunting, brought over a great number of foxes from Europe, and
let them loose in his territories, that he might be able to indulge his passion for
hunting. 43 This is said to have happened [284]almost at the very beginning of New
England’s being peopled with European inhabitants. These foxes were believed
to have so multiplied, that all the red foxes in the country were their offspring.
At present they are reckoned among the noxious creatures in these parts; for they
are not contented, as the grey foxes with killing fowl; but they likewise devour
the lambs. In Pensylvania therefore there is a reward of two shillings for killing
an old fox, and of one shilling for killing a young one. And in all the other
provinces there are likewise rewards offer’d for killing them, Their skin is in

great request, and is sold as dear as that of the grey foxes, that is two shillings
[285]and six-pence, in Pensylvanian currency.

They have two varieties of Wolves here, which however seem to be of the same
species. For some of them are yellowish, or almost pale grey, and others are
black or dark brown. All the old Swedes related, that during their childhood, and
still more at the arrival of their fathers, there were excessive numbers of wolves
in the country, and that their howling and yelping might be heard all night. They
likewise frequently tore in pieces, sheep, hogs, and other young and small cattle.
About that time or soon after, when the Swedes and the English were quite
settled here, the Indians were attacked by the small pox: this disease they got
from the Europeans, for they knew nothing of it before: it killed many hundreds
of them, and most of the Indians of the country, then called New Sweden died of
it. The wolves then came, attracted by the stench of so many corpses, in such
great numbers that they devoured them all, and even attacked the poor sick
Indians in their huts, so that the few healthy ones had enough to do, to drive
them away. But since that time they have disappeared, so that they are now
seldom seen, and it is very rarely that they commit [286]any disorders. This is
attributed to the greater cultivation of the country, and to their being killed in
great numbers. But further up the country, where it is not yet so much inhabited,
they are still very abundant. On the coasts of Pensylvania and New Jersey, the
sheep stay all night in the fields, without the people’s fearing the wolves:
however to prevent their multiplying too much, there is a reward of twenty
shillings in Pensylvania and of thirty in New Jersey, for delivering in a dead
wolf, and the person that brings it may keep the skin. But for a young wolf the
reward is only ten shillings of the Pensylvanian currency. There are examples of
these wolves being made as tame as dogs.

The wild Oxen have their abode principally in the woods of Carolina, which are
far up in the country. The inhabitants frequently hunt them, and salt their flesh
like common beef, which is eaten by servants and the lower class of people. But
the hide is of little use, having too large pores to be made use of for shoes.
However the poorer people in Carolina, spread these hides on the ground instead
of beds.

The Viscum filamentosum, or Fibrous misletoe, is found in abundance in
Carolina; the inhabitants make use of it as straw in their [287]beds, and to adorn
their houses; the cattle are very fond of it: it is likewise employed in packing
goods.

The Spartium scoparium grew in Mr. Bartram’s garden from English seeds; he
said that he had several bushes of it, but that the frost in the cold winters here
had killed most of them: they however grow spontaneously in Sweden.

Mr. Bartram had same Truffles, or Linnæus’s Lycoperdon Tuber, which he had
got out of a sandy soil in New Jersey, where they are abundant. These he shewed
to his friend from Carolina, and asked him whether they were the Tuckahoo of
the Indians. But the stranger denied it, and added that though these truffles were
likewise very common in Carolina, yet he had never seen them used any other
way but in milk, against the dysentery; and he gave us the following description
of the Tuckahoo. It grows in several swamps and marches, and is commonly
plentiful. The hogs greedily dig up its roots with their noses in such places; and
the Indians in Carolina likewise gather them in their rambles in the woods, dry
them in the sun shine, grind them and bake bread of them. Whilst the root is
fresh it is harsh and acrid, but being dried it loses the greatest part of its
acrimony. [288]To judge by these qualities the Tuckahoo may very likely be the
Arum Virginianum. Compare with this account, what shall be related in the
sequel of the Tahim and Tuckah.

After dinner I again returned to town.

November the 8th. Several English and Swedish oeconomists kept bee-hives,
which afforded their possessors profit: for bees succeed very well here: the wax
was for the most part sold to tradesmen: but the honey they made use of in their
own families, in different ways. The people were unanimous, that the common
bees were not in North America before the arrival of the Europeans; but that
they were first brought over by the English who settled here. The Indians
likewise generally declare, that their fathers had never seen any bees either in the
woods or any where else, before the Europeans had been several years settled
here. This is further confirmed by the name which the Indians give them: for
having no particular name for them in their language, they call them English

flies, because the English first brought them over: but at present they fly
plentifully about the woods of North America. However it has been observed
that the bees always when they swarm, spread to the southward, and [289]never to
the northward. It seems as if they do not find the latter countries so good for
their constitution: therefore they cannot stay in Canada, and all that have been
carried over thither, died in winter. It seemed to me as if the bees in America
were somewhat smaller than ours in Sweden. They have not yet been found in
the woods on the other side of the Blue Mountains, which confirms the opinion
of their being brought to America of late. A man told Mr. Bartram, that on his
travels in the woods of North America, he had found another sort of bees, which,
instead of separating their wax and honey, mixed it both together in a great bag.
But this account wants both clearing up and confirming.

November the 9th. All the old Swedes and Englishmen born in America whom I
ever questioned, asserted that there were not near so many birds fit for eating at
present, as there used to be when they were children, and that their decrease was
visible. They even said, that they had heard their fathers complain of this, in
whose childhood the bays, rivers and brooks were quite covered with all sorts of
water fowls such as wild geese, ducks, and the like. But at present there is
sometimes not a [290]single bird upon them; about sixty or seventy years ago, a
single person could kill eighty ducks in a morning; but at present you frequently
wait in vain for a single one. A Swede above ninety years old, assured me that he
had in his youth killed twenty-three ducks at a shot. This good luck no body is
likely to have at present, as you are forced to ramble about for a whole day,
without getting a sight of more than three or four. Cranes 44 at that time came
hither by hundreds in the spring: at present there are but very few. The wild
Turkeys, and the birds which the Swedes in this country call Partridges and
Hazel-hens were in whole flocks in the woods. But at this time a person is tired
with walking before he can start a single bird.

The cause of this diminution is not difficult to find. Before the arrival of the
Europeans, the country was uncultivated, and full of great forests. The few
Indians that lived here seldom disturbed the birds. They carried on no trade
among themselves, iron and gun powder were unknown to [291]them. One
hundredth part of the fowl which at that time were so plentiful here, would have

sufficed to feed the few inhabitants; and considering that they cultivated their
small maize fields, caught fish, hunted stags, beavers, bears, wild cattle, and
other animals whose flesh was delicious to them, it will soon appear how little
they disturbed the birds. But since the arrival of great crouds of Europeans,
things are greatly changed; the country is well peopled, and the woods are cut
down: the people increasing in this country, they have by hunting and shooting
in part extirpated the birds, in part scared them away: in spring the people still
take both eggs, mothers and young indifferently, because no regulations are
made to the contrary. And if any had been made, the spirit of freedom which
prevails in the country would not suffer them to be obeyed. But though the
eatable birds have been diminished greatly, yet there are others, which have
rather increased than decreased in number, since the arrival of the Europeans:
this can most properly be said of a species of daws which the English call
Blackbirds 45 and the Swedes Maize thieves, Dr. Linnæus calls them Gracula
[292]Quiscula. And together with them, the several sorts of Squirrels among the
quadrupeds have spread: for these and the former, live chiefly upon maize, or at
least they are most greedy of it. But as population increases, the cultivation of
maize increases, and of course the food of the above-mentioned animals is more
plentiful: to this it is to be added, that these latter are rarely eaten, and therefore
they are more at liberty to multiply their kind. There are likewise other birds
which are not eaten, of which at present there are nearly as many as there were
before the arrival of the Europeans. On the other hand I heard great complaints
of the great decrease of eatable fowl, not only in this province, but in all the
parts of North America, where I have been.

Aged people had experienced that with the fish, which I have just mentioned of
the birds: in their youth, the bays, rivers, and brooks, had such quantities of fish
that at one draught in the morning, they caught as many as a horse was able to
carry home. But at present things are greatly altered; and they often work in vain
all the night long, with all their fishing tackle. The causes of this decrease of
fish, are partly the same with those of the diminution of the number of birds;
being of late caught [293]by a greater variety of contrivances, and in different
manners than before. The numerous mills on the rivers and brooks likewise
contribute to it in part: for it has been observed here, that the fish go up the river
in order to spawn in a shallow water; but when they meet with works that

prevent their proceeding, they turn back, and never come again. Of this I was
assured by a man of fortune at Boston: his father was used to catch a number of
herrings throughout the winter and almost always in summer, in a river, upon his
country seat: but he having built a mill with a dyke in this water, they were lost.
In this manner they complained here and every where of the decrease of fish.
Old people asserted the same in regard to oysters at New York; for though they
are still taken in considerable quantity, and are as big and as delicious as can be
wished, yet all the oyster-catchers own, that the number diminishes greatly every
year: the most natural cause of it, is probably the immoderate catching of them at
all times of the year.

Mr. Franklin told me that in that part of New England, where his father lived,
two rivers fell into the sea, in one of which, they caught great numbers of
herring, and in the other not one. Yet the places where [294]these rivers
discharged themselves into the sea, were not far asunder. They had observed that
when the herrings came in spring to deposit their spawn, they always swam up
the river where they used to catch them, but never came into the other. This
circumstance led Mr. Franklin’s father who was settled between the two rivers,
to try whether it was not possible to make the herrings likewise live in the other
river. For that purpose he put out his nets, as they were coming up for spawning,
and he caught some. He took the spawn out of them, and carefully carried it
across the land into the other river. It was hatched, and the consequence was, that
every year afterwards they caught more herrings in that river; and this is still the
case. This leads one to believe that the fish always like to spawn in the same
place where they were hatched, and from whence they first put out to sea; being
as it were accustomed to it.

The following is another peculiar observation. It has never formerly been known
that codfish were to be caught at cape Hinlopen: they were always caught at the
mouth of the Delaware: but at present they are numerous in the former place.
From hence it may be concluded that fish likewise [295]change their places of
abode, of their own accord.

A captain of a ship who had been in Greenland, asserted from his own
experience, that on passing the seventieth deg. of north lat. the summer heat was

there much greater, than it is below that degree. From hence he concluded, that
the summer heat at the pole itself, must be still more excessive, since the sun
shines there for such a long space of time, without ever setting. The same
account with similar consequences drawn from thence, Mr. Franklin had heard
of the ship captains in Boston, who had sailed to the most northern parts of this
hemisphere. But still more astonishing is the account he got from captain Henry
Atkins, who still lives at Boston. He had for some time been upon the fishery
along the coasts of New England. But not catching as much as he wished, he
sailed north, as far as Greenland. At last he went so far, that he discovered
people, who had never seen Europeans before (and what is more astonishing)
who had no idea of the use of fire, which they had never employed; and if they
had known it, they could have made no use of their knowledge, as there were no
trees in the country. But they eat the birds and fish which they caught quite
[296]raw. Captain Atkins got some very scarce skins in exchange for some trifles.

It is already known from several accounts of voyages, that to the northward
neither trees nor bushes, nor any ligneous plants are to be met with, fit for
burning. But is it not probable that the inhabitants of so desolate a country, like
other northern nations which we know, burn the train oil of fishes, and the fat of
animals in lamps, in order to boil their meat, to warm their subterraneous caves
in winter, and to light them in the darkest season of the year? else their darkness
would be insupportable.

November the 11th. In several writings we read of a large animal, which is to be
met with in New England and other parts of North America. They sometimes dig
very long and branched horns out of the ground in Ireland, and no body in that
country or any where else in the world, knows an animal that has such horns.
This has induced many people to believe that it is the Moose-deer so famous in
North America, and that the horns found, were of animals of this kind, which
had formerly lived in that island, but were gradually destroyed. It has even been
concluded, that Ireland, in distant ages either was connected with North
America, or that a number [297]of little islands, which are lost at present, made a
chain between them. This led me to enquire, whether an animal with such
excessive great horns, as are ascribed to the Moose-deer, had ever been seen in
any part of this country. Mr. Bartram told me, that notwithstanding he had

carefully enquired to that purpose, yet there was no person who could give him
any information, which could be relied upon, and therefore he was entirely of
opinion, that there was no such an animal in North America. Mr. Franklin related
that he had, when a boy, seen two of the animals which they call Moose-deer,
but he well remembered that they were not near of such a size as they must have
been, if the horns found in Ireland were to fit them: the two animals which he
saw, were brought to Boston in order to be sent to England to Queen Ann. The
height of the animal up to the back was that of a pretty tall horse; but the head
and its horns were still higher: Mr. Dudley has given a description of the Moose-
deer which is found in North America. On my travels in Canada, I often
enquired of the Frenchmen, whether there had ever been seen so large an animal
in this country, as some people say there is in North America; and with such
great [298]horns as are sometimes dug out in Ireland. But I was always told, that
they had never heard of it, and much less seen it: some added, that if there was
such an animal, they certainly must have met with it, in some of their excursions
in the woods. There are elks here, which are either of the same sort with the
Swedish ones, or a variety of them: of these they often catch some which are
larger than common, whence perhaps the report of the very large animal with
excessive horns in North America first had its rise. These elks are called
Original’s by the French in Canada, which name they have borrowed from the
Indians: perhaps Dudley, in describing the Moose-deer, meant no other animals,
than these large elks. 46

Mr. Franklin gave me a piece of a stone, which on account of its indestructibility
in the fire, is made use of in New England for making melting furnaces and
forges. [299]

It consists of a mixture of Lapis Ollaris or Serpentine stone, and of Asbest. The
greatest part of it is a grey Serpentine stone, which is fat and smooth to the
touch, and is easily cut and worked. Here and there are some glittering speckles
of that sort of asbest, whose fibres come from a center like rays, or Star Asbest.
This stone is not found in strata or solid rocks, but here and there scattered on
the fields.

Another stone is called Soapstone by many of the Swedes, being as smooth as
soap on the outside. They make use of it for rubbing spots out of their cloaths. It
might be called Saxum talcosum particulus spataceis, granatisque immixtis, or a
talc with mixed particles of spar and garnets. A more exact description I reserve
for another work. At present I only add that the ground colour is pale green, with
some dark spots, and sometimes a few of a greenish hue. It is very smooth to the
touch, and runs always waved. It is likewise easily sawed and cut, though it is
not very smooth. I have seen large stones of it, which were a fathom and more
long, proportionably broad, and commonly six inches or a foot deep. But I
cannot determine any thing of their original size, as I have not been at the place
where they are dug, and have [300]only seen the stones at Philadelphia, which are
brought there ready cut. The particles of talc in this stone are about thirty times
as many as those of spar and garnet. It is found in many parts of the country, for
example in the neighbourhood of Chester in Pennsylvania. The English likewise
call it Soapstone, 47 and it is likely that the Swedes have borrowed that name from
them.

This stone was chiefly employed in the following manner. First, the people took
spots out of their cloaths with it. But for this purpose the whole stone is not
equally useful, for it includes in its clear particles some dark ones which consist
wholly of serpentine stone, and may easily be cut with a knife; some of the loose
stone is scraped off like a powder, and strewed upon a greasy spot, in silk or any
other fluff; this imbibes the grease, and after rubbing off the powder the spot
disappears: and as this stone is likewise very durable in the fire, the country
people make their hearths with it, especially the place where the fire lies, and
where the heat is the greatest, for the stone [301]stands the strongest fire. If the
people can get a sufficient quantity of this stone, they lay the steps before the
houses with it, instead of bricks, which are generally used for that purpose.

The walls round the court yards, gardens, burying places, and those for the
sloping cellar doors towards the street, which are all commonly built of brick,
are covered with a coping of this stone; for it holds excellently against all the
effects of the sun, air, rain and storm, and does not decay but secures the bricks.
On account of this quality, people commonly get the door posts in which their
hinges are fastened made of this stone: and in several publick buildings, such as

the house of assembly for the province, the whole lower wall is built of it, and in
other houses the corners are laid out with it.

The Salt which is used in the English North American colonies is brought from
the West Indies. The Indians have in some places salt springs from which they
get salt by boiling. I shall in the sequel have occasion to describe some of them.
Mr. Franklin was of opinion that the people in Pensylvania could easier make
good salt of sea water, than in New England, where sometimes salt is made of
the sea water on [302]their coast; though their situation is more northerly. Lead-
ore has been discovered in Pensylvania, but as it is not to be met with in
quantity, no body ever attempted to use it. Loadstones of considerable goodness
have likewise been found; and I myself possess several pretty pieces of them.

Iron is dug in such great quantities in Pensylvania and in the other American
provinces of the English, that they could provide with that commodity not only
England, but almost all Europe, and perhaps the greater part of the globe. The
ore is here commonly infinitely easier got in the mines, than our Swedish ore.
For in many places with a pick ax, a crow-foot and a wooden club, it is got with
the same ease with which a hole can be made in a hard soil: in many places the
people know nothing of boring, blasting and firing; and the ore is likewise very
fusible. Of this iron they get such quantities, that not only the numerous
inhabitants of the colonies themselves have enough of it, but great quantities, are
sent to the West Indies, and they have lately began even to trade to Europe with
it. This iron is reckoned better for ship building than our Swedish iron, or any
other, because salt water does not corrode it so much. Some people believed that
without reckoning [303]the freight, they could sell their iron in England at a lower
rate than any other nation; especially when the country becomes better peopled
and labour cheaper.

The mountain flax, 48 or that kind of stone, which Bishop Browallius calls
Amiantus fibris separabilibus molliusculis, in his lectures on mineralogy which
were published in 1739, or the amiant with soft fibres which can easily be
separated, is found abundantly in Pensylvania. Some pieces are very soft, others
pretty tough: Mr. Franklin told me that twenty and some odd years ago, when he
made a voyage to England, he had a little purse with him, made of the mountain

flax of this country, which he presented to Sir Hans Sloane. I have likewise seen
paper made of this stone: and I have likewise received some small pieces of it,
which I keep in my cabinet. Mr. Franklin had been told by others that on
exposing this mountain flax to the open air in winter, and leaving it in the cold
and wet, it would grow together, and more fit for spinning. But he did not
venture to [304]determine how far this opinion was grounded. On this occasion he
related a very pleasant accident, which happened to him with this mountain flax:
he had, several years ago, got a piece of it, which he gave to one of his
journeymen printers, in order to get it made into a sheet at the paper mill. As
soon as the fellow brought the paper, Mr. Franklin rolled it up, and threw it into
the fire, telling the journeyman he would see a miracle, a sheet of paper which
did not burn: the ignorant fellow asserted the contrary, but was greatly
astonished, upon seeing himself convinced. Mr. Franklin then explained him,
though not very clearly, the peculiar qualities of the paper. As soon as he was
gone, some of his acquaintance came in, who immediately knew the paper. The
journeyman thought he would shew them a great curiosity and astonish them. He
accordingly told them that he had curiously made a sheet of paper, which would
not burn, though it was thrown into the fire. They pretended to think it
impossible, and he as strenuously maintained his assertion. At last they laid a
wager about it; but whilst he was busy with stirring up the fire, the others slyly
besmeared the paper with fat: the journeyman, who was not aware of it, threw it
into the fire, [305]and that moment it was all in flames: this astonished him so
much, that he was almost speechless; upon which they could not help laughing,
and so discovered the whole artifice.

In several houses of the town, a number of little Ants run about, living
underground and in holes in the wall. The length of their bodies is one
geometrical line. Their colour is either black or dark red: they have the custom
of carrying off sweet things, if they can come at them, in common with the ants
of other countries. Mr. Franklin was much inclined to believe that these little
insects could by some means communicate their thoughts or desires to each
other, and he confirmed his opinion by some examples. When an ant finds some
sugar, it runs immediately under ground to its hole, where having stayed a little
while, a whole army comes out, unites and marches to the place where the sugar
is, and carries it off by pieces: or if an ant meets with a dead fly, which it cannot

carry alone, it immediately hastens home, and soon after some more come out,
creep to the fly and carry it away. Some time ago Mr. Franklin put a little
earthen pot with treacle into a closet. A number of ants got into the pot, and
devoured the treacle very [306]quietly. But as he observed it he shook them out,
and tied the pot with a thin string to a nail which he had fastened in the ceiling;
so that the pot hung down by the string. A single ant by chance remained in the
pot: this ant eat till it was satisfied; but when it wanted to get off, it was under
great concern to find its way out: it ran about the bottom of the pot, but in vain:
at last it found after many attempts the way to get to the ceiling by the string.
After it was come there, it ran to the wall, and from thence to the ground. It had
hardly been away for half an hour, when a great swarm of ants came out, got up
to the ceiling, and crept along the string into the pot, and began to eat again: this
they continued till the treacle was all eaten: in the mean time one swarm running
down the string, and the other up.

November the 12th. A man of fortune who has long been in this province
asserted, that, by twenty years experience, he had found a confirmation of what
other people have observed with regard to the weather, viz. that the weather in
winter was commonly foretold by that on the first of November, old stile, or
twelfth new stile; if that whole day be fair, the next winter will bring but little
rain and snow along [307]with it: but if the first half of the day be clear, and the
other cloudy, the beginning of winter would accordingly be fair, but its end and
spring would turn out rigorous and disagreeable: of the same kind were the other
presages. I have likewise in other places heard of similar signs of the weather;
but as a mature judgment greatly lessens the confidence in them, so the
meteorological observations have sufficiently shewn, how infinitely often these
prophecies have failed.

Pensylvania abounds in springs, and you commonly meet with a spring of clear
water on one or the other, and sometimes on several sides of a mountain. The
people near such springs, use them for every purpose of a fine spring water.
They also conduct the water into a little stone building near the house, where
they can confine it, and bring fresh supplies at pleasure. In summer they place
their milk, bottles of wine and other liquors in this building, where they keep

cool and fresh. In many country houses, the kitchen or buttery was so situated,
that a rivulet ran under it, and had the water near at hand.

Not only people of fortune, but even others that had some possessions,
commonly had fish ponds in the country near their houses. They always took
care that fresh [308]water might run into their ponds, which is very salutary for
the fish: for that purpose the ponds were placed near a spring on a hill.

November the 13th. I saw in several parts of this province a ready method of
getting plenty of grass to grow in the meadows. Here must be remembered what
I have before mentioned about the springs, which are sometimes found on the
sides of hills and sometimes in vallies. The meadows lie commonly in the vallies
between the hills: if they are too swampy and wet, the water is carried off by
several ditches. But the summer in Pensylvania is very hot; and the sun often
burns the grass so much, that it dries up entirely. The husbandmen therefore have
been very attentive to prevent this in their meadows: to that purpose they look
for all the springs in the neighbourhood of a meadow; and as the rivulets flowed
before by the shortest way into the vallies, they raise the water as much as
possible and necessary, to the higher part of the meadow, and make several
narrow channels from the brook, down into the plain, so that it is entirely
watered by it. When there are some deeper places, they frequently lay wooden
gutters across them, through which the water [309]flows to the other side; and
from thence it is again by very narrow channels carried to all the places where it
seems necessary. To raise the water the higher, and in order to spread it more,
there are high dykes built near the springs, between which the water rises till it is
so high as to run down where the people want it. Industry and ingenuity went
further: when a brook runs in a wood, with a direction not towards the meadow,
and it has been found by levelling, and taking an exact survey of the land
between the meadow and the rivulet, that the latter can be conducted towards the
former; a dyke is made, which hems the course of the brook, and the water is led
round the meadow over many hills, sometimes for the space of an English mile
and further, partly across vallies in wooden pipes, till at last it is brought where it
is wanted, and where it can be spread as above-mentioned. One that has not seen
it himself, cannot believe how great a quantity of grass there is in such
meadows, especially near the little channels; whilst others, which have not been

thus managed look wretchedly. The meadows commonly lie in the vallies, and
one or more of their sides have a declivity. The water can therefore easily be
brought to [310]run down in them. These meadows which are so carefully
watered, are commonly mowed three times every summer. But it is likewise to
be observed, that summer continues seven months here. The inhabitants seldom
fail to employ a brook or spring in this manner, if it is not too far from the
meadows to be led to them.

The leaves were at present fallen from all the trees; both from oaks, and from all
those which have deciduous leaves, and they covered the ground in the woods
six inches deep. The great quantity of leaves which drop annually, would
necessarily seem to encrease the upper black mould greatly. However, it is not
above three or four inches thick in the woods, and under it lays a brick coloured
clay, mixed with a sand of the same colour. It is remarkable, that a soil which in
all probability has not been stirred, should be covered with so little black mould:
but I shall speak of this in the sequel.

November the 14th. The Squirrels which run about plentifully in the woods are
of different species; I here intend to describe the most common sorts, more
accurately.

The grey Squirrels are very plentiful in Pensylvania and in the other provinces of
North America. Their shape corresponds [311]with that of our Swedish squirrel;
but they differ from them, by keeping their grey colour all the year long, and in
size being something bigger. The woods in all these provinces, and chiefly in
Pensylvania, consist of trees with deciduous leaves, and in such these squirrels
like to live. Ray in his Synopsis Quadrupedum, p. 215, and Catesby in his
Natural History of Carolina, Vol. 2. p. 74, tab. 74, call it the Virginian greater
grey Squirrel; and the latter has added a figure after life. The Swedes call it grao
Ickorn, which is the same as the English grey Squirrel. Their nests are commonly
in hollow trees, and are made of moss, straw, and other soft things: their food is
chiefly nuts; as hazel nuts, chinquapins, chesnuts, walnuts, hiccory nuts, and the
acorns of the different sorts of oak which grow here; but maize is what they are
most greedy of. The ground in the woods is in autumn covered with acorns, and
all kinds of nuts which drop from the numerous trees: of these the squirrels

gather great stores for winter, which they lay up in holes dug by them for that
purpose: they likewise carry a great quantity of them into their nests.

As soon as winter comes, the snow and cold confines them to their holes [312]for
several days, especially when the weather is very rough. During this time they
consume the little store, which they have brought to their nests: as soon therefore
as the weather grows milder, they creep out, and dig out part of the store which
they have laid up in the ground: of this they eat some on the spot, and carry the
rest into their nests on the trees. We frequently observed that in winter, at the eve
of a great frost, when there had been some temperate weather, the squirrels, a
day or two before the frost, ran about the woods in greater numbers than
common, partly in order to eat their fill, and partly to store their nests with a new
provision for the ensuing great cold, during which they did not venture to come
out, but stay snug in their nests: therefore seeing them run in the woods in
greater numbers than ordinary, was a safe prognostic of an ensuing cold.

The hogs which are here droven into the woods, whilst there is yet no snow in
them, often do considerable damage to the poor squirrels, by rooting up their
store-holes, and robbing their winter provisions. Both the Indians, and the
European Americans, take great pains to find out these store-holes, whether in
trees or in the ground, as all the nuts they contain are choice, and [313]not only
quite ripe, but likewise not pierced by worms. The nuts and acorns which the
Dormice, or Mus Cricetus, Linn. store up in autumn, are all in the same
condition. The Swedes relate, that in the long winter, which happened here in the
year 1741, there fell such a quantity of snow, that the squirrels could not get to
their store, and many of them were starved to death.

The damage which these animals do in the maize fields, I have already
described: they do the more harm, as they do not eat all the corn, but only the
inner and sweet part, and as it were take off the husks. In spring towards the end
of April, when the oaks were in full flower, I once observed a number of
squirrels on them, sometimes five, six, or more in a tree, who bit off the flower
stalks a little below the flowers, and dropt them on the ground: whether they eat
any thing off them, or made use of them for some other purpose I know not: but
the ground was quite covered with oak flowers, to which part of the stalk

adhered. For this reason the oaks do not bear so much fruit by far, to feed hogs
and other animals, as they would otherwise do.

Of all the wild animals in this country, the squirrels are some of the easiest to
tame, [314]especially when they are taken young for that purpose. I have seen
them tamed so far, that they would follow the boys into the woods and run about
every where, and when tired would sit on their shoulders. Sometimes they only
ran a little way into the wood, and then returned home again to the little hole that
had been fitted up for them. When they eat, they sit almost upright, hold their
food between their forefeet and their tail bent upwards. When the tame ones got
more than they could eat at a time, they carried the remainder to their
habitations, and hid it amongst the wool which they lay upon. Such tame
squirrels shewed no fear of strangers, and would suffer themselves to be touched
by every body, without offering to bite. They sometimes would leap upon
stranger’s cloaths and lie still on them, in order to sleep. In the farm houses
where they were kept, they played with cats and dogs: they likewise eat bread.

The wild grey squirrels likewise hold up their tails when sitting. As soon as they
perceive a man, they continually wag their tails and begin to gnash with their
teeth, and make a great noise, which they do not readily give over. Those who go
a shooting birds and other animals, are therefore very [315]angry at them, as this
noise discovers them, and alarms the game. Though a grey squirrel does not
seem to be very shy, yet it is very difficult to kill; for when it perceives a man, it
climbs upon a tree, and commonly chuses the highest about it. It then tries to
hide itself behind the trunk, so that the shooter may not see it, and though he
goes ever so fast round the tree, yet the squirrel changes its place as quickly, if
not quicker: if two boughs bend towards each other, the squirrel lies in the
middle of them, and presses itself so close, that it is hardly visible. You may then
shake the tree, throw sticks and stones to the place where it lies, or shoot at it,
yet it will never stir. If three branches join, it takes refuge between them, and lies
as close to them as possible, and then it is sufficiently safe. Sometimes it escapes
on a tree where there are old nests of squirrels, or of large birds: it slips into
such, and cannot be got out, either by shooting, throwing, or any thing else; for
the grey squirrels seldom leap from one tree to another, except extreme danger
compels them. They commonly run directly up the trees and down the same way,

with their head straight forward. Several of them which [316]I shot in the woods,
had great numbers of fleas.

I have already mentioned that these squirrels are among the animals, which at
present are more plentiful than they formerly were, and that the infinitely greater
cultivation of maize, which is their favourite food, is the cause of their
multiplication. However it is peculiar, that in some years a greater number of
squirrels come down from the higher countries into Pensylvania, and other
English colonies. They commonly come in autumn, and are then very busy in the
woods gathering nuts and acorns, which they carry into hollow trees or their
store-holes, in order to be sufficiently provided with food for winter. They are so
diligent in storing up of provisions, that though the nuts have been extremely
plentiful that year, yet it is difficult to get a considerable quantity of them. The
people here pretended from their own experience to know, that when the
squirrels came down in such numbers from the higher parts of the country, the
winter ensuing was uncommonly rigorous and cold, and for that reason they
always look upon their coming down, as a sure sign of such a winter. Yet this
does not always prove true, as I experienced in the autumn of the year 1749: at
that [317]time a great number of squirrels came down into the colonies, yet the
winter was very mild and no colder than common. But it appeared that their
migration was occasioned by the scarcity of nuts and acorns, which happened
that year in the higher parts of the country, and obliged them to come hither for
their food. Therefore they generally return the next year to the place from which
they came.

Some people reckon squirrel flesh a great dainty, but the generality make no
account of it. The skin is good for little, yet small straps are sometimes made of
it, as it is very tough: others use it as a furr lining, for want of a better. Ladies
shoes are likewise sometimes made of it.

The Rattle snake often devours the squirrels, notwithstanding all their agility.
This unwieldy creature, is said to catch so agile an one, merely by fascination. I
have never had an opportunity of seeing how it is done: but so many credible
people assured me of the truth of the fact, and asserted that they were present,
and paid peculiar attention to it, that I am almost forced to believe their

unanimous accounts. The fascination is effected in the following manner: the
snake lies at the bottom of the tree upon which the squirrel sits; its [318]eyes are
fixed upon the little animal, and from that moment it cannot escape; it begins a
doleful outcry, which is so well known, that a person passing by, on hearing it,
immediately knows that it is charmed by a snake. The squirrel runs up the tree a
little way, comes downwards again, then goes up, and now comes lower again.
On that occasion it has been observed, that the squirrel always goes down more
than it goes up. The snake still continues at the root of the tree, with its eyes
fixed on the squirrel, with which its attention is so entirely taken up, that a
person accidentally approaching, may make a considerable noise, without the
snake’s so much as turning about. The squirrel as before-mentioned comes
always lower, and at last leaps down to the snake, whose mouth is already wide
open for its reception. The poor little animal then with a piteous cry runs into the
snake’s jaws, and is swallowed at once, if it be not too big; but if its size will not
allow it to be swallowed at once, the snake licks it several times with its tongue,
and smoothens it, and by that means makes it fit for swallowing. Every thing
else remarkable at this enchantment, I have described in a treatise inserted in the
Memoirs of the Royal Swedish Academy of [319]Sciences, in the Volume for the
year 1753, I therefore am not so circumstantial here. The same power of
enchanting is ascribed to that kind of snake, which is commonly called the black
snake in America, and it is said to catch and devour squirrels in the same manner
as the former. 49

But these little animals do considerable damage to the maize, not only whilst it is
upon the stalk, as I have before observed, but even when it is brought home into
the barns: for if they can come at it without any obstacle, they can in a few
nights bring a whole bushel away into their lurking holes. The government in
most of the North American colonies, has therefore been obliged to offer a
certain premium, to be paid out of the common treasury, for the head of a
squirrel. It seems inconceivable what a sum of money has been paid for grey and
black squirrel’s heads, in the province [320]of Pensylvania only, from the first of
January 1749, to the first of January 1750; for when the deputies from the
several districts of the province met, in order to deliberate upon the affairs of the
province, each of them complained that their treasuries were exhausted by
paying so much for squirrels: for at that time the law had appointed a reward of

three-pence for each squirrel’s head. So far extended the vengeance taken upon
these little creatures, i.e. upon the grey and black squirrels. It was found, by
calling up accounts, that in that one year eight thousand pounds of Pensylvania
currency, had been expended in paying these rewards: this I was assured of by a
man who had looked over the accounts himself.

Many people, especially young men, left all other employment, and went into
the woods to shoot squirrels: but the government having experienced how much
three-pence per head took out of the treasury, settled half that sum upon each
squirrel’s head.

Flying Squirrels are a peculiar kind, which seem to be the same with those which
inhabit Finland, and which Dr. Linnæus in his Fauna Svecica, No. 38. calls
Sciurus volans. The American flying squirrel at the [321]utmost is only a variety
of that which we have in Finland. Catesby in his Natural History of Carolina,
Vol. 2, p. 76, 77, has described it, and tab. 76, 77, drawn it after life. He likewise
calls it Sciurus volans. Edwards in his Natural History of Birds represents it, t.
191. They are met with in the woods, but not very frequently. They are scarce
ever seen in the day time, unless they are forced out by men who have
discovered their nests: for they sleep in the day time, but as soon as it grows
dark, they come out and run about almost all night. They live in hollow trees,
and by cutting one down, seven or more flying squirrels are frequently found in
it. By the additional skin with which Providence has provided them on both
sides, they can fly from one tree to another. They expand their skins like wings,
and contract them again as soon as they can get hold of the opposite tree. Some
people say that they fly in a horizontal line; but others asserted that they first
went a little downwards, and then rose up again, when they approached the tree
to which they would fly: they cannot fly further than four or five fathoms.
Among all the squirrels in this country, these are the most easily tamed. The
boys carry them to school, [322]or wherever they go, without their ever
attempting to escape: if even they put their squirrel aside, it leaps upon them
again immediately, creeps either into their bosom, or their sleeve, or any fold of
the clothes, and lies down to sleep: its food is the same with that of the grey
squirrel.

Pa:322.Pl:1.

Flying Squirrel.
Ground Squirrel

[322]

There is a small species of squirrels abounding in the woods, which the English
call ground Squirrels. Catesby has described and drawn them from life, in the
2d. Vol. of his Natural History of Carolina, p. 75, tab. 75, and Edwards in his
Natural History of Birds, t. 181. 50 He and Dr. Linnæus call it Sciurus striatus, or
the streaked Squirrel. These do not properly live in trees, as others of this genus,
but dig holes in the ground (much in the same manner as rabbets) in which they
live, and whither they take refuge when they perceive any danger. Their holes go
deep, and commonly further inwards divide into many branches. They are also
cunning enough [323]to make sometimes an opening or hole to the surface of the
ground from one of these branches. The advantage they have from hence, is that
when they stroll about for food, and the hole is stopt up through which they went
out, they may not expose themselves to be caught, but presently find the other
hole, into which they may retreat: but in autumn, when the leaves fall from the
trees, or sometime after, it is diversion to see the consternation they are
sometimes in when pursued; for their holes being easily covered with the great
fall of leaves, or by the wind, they have a great deal to do, to find them on a
sudden: they then run backwards and forwards, as if they had lost their way: they
seem to know the places where they have made their subterraneous walks, but
cannot conceive where the entrances are. If they be then pursued, and one claps
his hands, they know no other refuge than that of climbing upon a tree; for it is
to be observed that these squirrels always live under ground, and never climb
upon trees unless pursued, and unable in the hurry to find their holes. This kind
of squirrels is much more numerous in Pensylvania, than in any other province
of North America through which I have travelled. Its length is commonly six
[324]inches, without the curved tail; and it is very narrow. The skin is ferruginous,
or of a reddish brown, and marked with five black streaks, one of which runs
along the back, and two on each side. Their food consists of all sorts of corn, as
rye, barley, wheat, maize, and of acorns, nuts, &c. They gather their winter
provisions in autumn, like the common grey squirrels, and keep them in their
holes under ground. If they get into a granary, they do as much mischief as mice
and rats. It has often been observed that if, after eating rye, they come to some

wheat, they throw up the former, which they do not like so well as the wheat, in
order to fill their belly with the latter. When the maize is reaped in the fields,
they are very busy in biting off the ears, and filling the pouches in their mouth
with corn, so that their cheeks are quite blown up. With this booty they hasten
into the holes which they have made in the ground.

As a Swede was making a mill-dyke, pretty late in autumn, he employed for that
purpose the soil of a neighbouring hill, and met with a hole on a subterraneous
walk belonging to these squirrels; he followed it for some time, and discovered a
walk on one side like a branch, parting from the chief stem: it was near two feet
[325]long, and at its end was a quantity of choice acorns of the white oak, which
the little careful animal had stored up for winter. Soon after he found another
walk on the side like the former, but containing a fine store of maize: the next
had hiccory nuts, and the last and most hidden one contained some excellent
chesnuts, which might have filled two hats.

In winter these squirrels are seldom seen, for during that season they live in their
subterraneous holes upon the provisions, which they have stored up there.
However on a very fine and clear day they sometimes come out. They frequently
dig through the ground, into cellars in which the country people lay up their
apples, which they partly eat, and partly spoil, so that the master has little or
nothing left. They handle the maize stores full as roughly as the apples. But the
cats are their great enemies, who devour them and bring them home to their
young ones: their flesh is not eaten by men, and their skin is not made use of.

Of all the squirrels in the country, these are the most difficult to be tamed; for,
though they be caught very young, yet it is dangerous to touch them with naked
hands, as they bite very sharp when one is [326]not aware of them. Many boys,
who had lost a deal of time in trying to tame these squirrels, owned that they
knew of no art to make them quite tame; at least they are never so far tamed as
the other species. In order to do any thing towards taming them they must be
caught when they are very small. Some people kept them in that state in a cage,
because they looked very pretty.

I shall take an other opportunity of speaking of the black and ferruginous
squirrels, which likewise inhabit this country.

November the 15th. In the morning I returned to Philadelphia. Mr. Cock told me
to day, and on some other occasions afterwards, an accident which happened to
him, and which seemed greatly to confirm a peculiar sign of an imminent
hurricane. He sailed to the West Indies in a small yacht, and had an old man on
board, who had for a considerable time sailed in this sea. The old man sounding
the depth, called to the mate to tell Mr. Cock to launch the boats immediately,
and to put a sufficient number of men into them, in order to tow the yacht during
the calm, that they might reach the island before them, as soon as possible, as
within twenty-four hours there would be a strong hurricane. Mr. Cock asked him
what reasons he had to think so, [327]the old man replied, that on sounding, he
saw the lead in the water at a distance of many fathoms more than he had seen it
before; that therefore the water was become clear all of a sudden, which he
looked upon as a certain sign of an impending hurricane in the sea. Mr. Cock
likewise saw the excessive clearness of the water. He therefore gave immediate
orders for launching the boat, and towing the yacht, so that they arrived before
night in a safe harbour. But before they had quite reached it the waves began to
rise more and more, and the water was as it were boiling, though no wind was
perceptible. In the ensuing night the hurricane came on, and raged with such
violence, that not only many ships were lost, and the roofs were torn off from the
houses, but even Mr. Cock’s yacht and other ships, though they were in safe
harbours, were by the wind, and the violence of the sea, washed so far on shore,
that several weeks elapsed, before they could be got off.

An old Dutch skipper said, that he had once caught a dogfish in the bay of New
York, which being cut open, had a quantity of eels in his stomach.

November the 18th. Mr. Bartram shewed me an earthen pot, which had been
found [328]in a place, where the Indians formerly lived. He, who first dug it out,
kept grease and fat in it to smear his shoes, boots and all forts of leather with:
Mr. Bartram bought the pot of that man; it was yet entire and not damaged: I
could perceive no glaze or colour upon it, but on the outside it was very much
ornamented and upon the whole well made. Mr. Bartram shewed me several
pieces of broken earthen vessels which the Indians formerly made use of. It
plainly appeared in all these that they were not made of mere clay; but that
different materials had been mixed with it, according to the nature of the places

where they were made. Those Indians, for example, who lived near the sea
shore, pounded the shells of snails and muscles, and mixed them with the clay.
Others who lived further up in the country, where mountain crystals could be
found, pounded them and mixed them with their clay; but how they proceeded in
making the vessels, is entirely unknown: it was plain, that they did not burn
them much, for they were so soft that they might be cut in pieces with a knife:
the workmanship however seems to have been very good; for at present they
find whole vessels or pieces in the ground, which are not damaged at all, though
they [329]have lain in the ground above a century. Before the Europeans settled in
North America, the Indians had no other vessels to boil their meat in, than these
earthen pots of their own making: but since their arrival, they have always
bought pots, kettles, and other necessary vessels of the Europeans, and take no
longer the pains of making some, by which means this art is entirely lost among
them. Such vessels of their own construction are therefore a great rarity even
among the Indians. I have seen such old pots and pieces of them, consisting of a
kind of Serpentine stone, or Linnæus’s Talcum, Syst. nat. 3. p. 52.

Mr. Bartram likewise shewed me little pieces of a black slate, which is
plentifully found in some parts of the river Skullkill. There are pieces to be
found, which are four feet and above square: the colour and configuration is the
same as in the Table slate (Schistus tabularis, Linn.) Syst. nat. 3. p. 37. except
that this is a little thicker. The inhabitants of the country thereabouts (in the
neighbourhood of the Skullkill) cover their roofs with it; Mr. Bartram assured
me, that he had seen a whole roof composed of four such slates. The rays of the
sun, heat, cold, and rain do not act upon the stone. [330]

Mr. Bartram further related, that in several parts of the country, caves or holes
were to be met with, going deep into the mountains: he had been in several of
them and had often found a number of Stalactites, Linnæus’s Stalactites
stillatitius, Syst. nat. 3. p. 183. of different dimensions at the top; they differed in
colour, but the greatest curiosity was, that in some of the caves Mr. Bartram had
found Stalactites, whose outward side was as it were wreathed from top to
bottom; he had sent some pieces of it to London, and had none at present.

November the 20th. This morning I set out in company of a friend, on a journey
to Raccoon in New Jersey, where many Swedes live, who have their own church.
We had three miles to go before we came to the ferry which was to bring us over
the Delaware. The country here was very low in some places: the plains on the
banks of the river, were overflowed at every high water or flowing of the tide,
and at the ebbing they were left dry again. However the inhabitants of the
country hereabouts, made use of this plain: for that purpose they had in several
places thrown up walls or dykes of earth towards the river, to prevent its
overflowing the plains, which they [331]made use of as meadows. On them the
Water-beeches (Platanus occidentalis, Linn.) were planted in great numbers on
both sides the road, quite close together: these in summer afford a pleasant
shade, on account of the abundance and size of their leaves, and make the road
extremely delightful, as it resembles a fine shady walk. The Delaware has nearly
the same breadth here, which it has near Philadelphia. Near the place where the
ferry is to be met with, several pretty houses were built on both sides, where
travellers might get all kinds of refreshment. On our journey from Pensylvania
to New Jersey, we were brought over the Delaware in a ferry belonging to, and
kept in repair by the Pensylvania-men; but on our return we were obliged to take
the ferry belonging to the New Jersey side. As soon as we had crossed the river,
we were in a different province, for the Delaware makes the division between
Pensylvania and New Jersey, so that every thing to the west of it belongs to the
former, and all to the east, to the latter province. Both these provinces have in
most things different laws, and their peculiar coin.

We now pursued our journey further, and soon observed that the country on this
side appeared very different from that on [332]the other; for in Pensylvania the
ground consists of more clay and black mould, and is very fertile; but in New
Jersey it is more sandy and very poor, so that the horses went very deep in sand
in several parts of the road. Near the place where we were brought over, and a
little way along the shore was a thick firwood: the trees were not very high, but
in their greatest vigour; between them appeared now and then a low bush of oak.
But after travelling about three English miles, the firwood ended, and we saw no
more trees of this kind till we came to the church in Raccoon. In all the parts of
Pensylvania where I have been, I have found few firwoods; on the other hand,
they are abundant in New Jersey, and especially in the lower part of that

province. We afterwards found all the day long no other trees, than such as have
deciduous leaves; most of these were oaks of different sorts, and of considerable
height, but they stood every where far enough asunder, to admit a chaise to pass
through the wood without any inconvenience, there being seldom any shrubs or
underwood between the trees, to obstruct the way. The leaves were all fallen, and
covered the ground more than a hand’s breadth: this had an appearance of
encreasing the upper black soil greatly. In [333]several places flowed a small
rivulet. The country was commonly plain, but sometimes formed a few hills with
an easy declivity, though no high mountains appeared, and in a few places we
found some small stones not bigger than a fist. Single farm houses were
scattered in the country, and in one place only was a small village: the country
was yet more covered with forests than cultivated, and we were for the greatest
part always in a wood.

This day and the next we passed several Kills, or small rivulets which flowed out
of the country into the Delaware with no great descent nor rapidity. When the
tide came up in the Delaware, it likewise rose in some of these rivulets a good
way; formerly they must have spread to a considerable breadth by the flowing of
the tide, but at present there were meadows on their banks, formed, by throwing
up strong dykes as close as possible to the water, to keep it from overflowing.
Such dykes were made along all rivers here to confine their water; therefore
when the tide was highest, the water in the rivers was much higher than the
meadows: in the dykes were gates through which the water can be drawn from,
or led into the meadows; they were sometimes placed on the outward side of the
wall, so [334]that the water in the meadows forced it open, but the river water
shut it.

In the evening we came into the house of a Swede called Peter Rambo, and we
staid the night at his house.

The pines which we had seen to day, and which I have mentioned before, were
of that kind which has double leaves and oblong cones covered with aculeated
scales. The English to distinguish it call it the Jersey Pine: commonly there were
only two spines or leaves in one fascicle, as in our common Swedish pines, but
sometimes three; the cones had long spines, so that they were difficult to be

touched. These pines look at a distance wholly like the Swedish ones, so that if
the cones were not regarded, they might easily be taken for the same species. Of
these pines they make a great quantity of tar, of which I shall speak in the sequel;
but as most of them are but small, they are good for nothing else; for if they be
employed as posts, or poles in the ground, they are in a short time rendered
useless by rotting: as soon as they are cut down the worms are very greedy of
them; they soon eat through the wood, and only a few weeks after it is cut down;
however it is made use of as fuel where no other [335]wood is to be got, in
several places they make charcoal of it, as I intend to mention in the sequel.
There is another thing which deserves notice, in regard to these trees, and which
several people, besides myself, have experienced. In the great heat of the
summer, the cattle like to stand in the shade of these trees, preferably to that of
the oak, hiccory, walnut, water-beech and other trees of this kind, whose foliage
is very thick; and when the cattle find the latter with the former, they always
choose to stand under the firs and pines, though the other trees with annually
deciduous leaves could afford a better shade: and if there be but a single pine in
a wood, as many cattle from the herd as can stand under it, throng to it. Some
people would infer from hence, that the resinous exhalations of these trees, were
beneficial to the cattle, and which made them more inclined to be near firs and
pines, than any other trees.

The Spoon tree, which never grows to a great height, we saw this day in several
places. The Swedes here have called it thus, because the Indians who formerly
lived in these provinces, used to make their spoons and trowels of the wood of
this tree. In my cabinet of natural curiosities, I have [336]a spoon made of this
wood by an Indian, who has killed many stags and other animals on the very
spot where Philadelphia afterwards was built; for in his time that spot was yet
covered with trees and shrubs. The English call this tree a Laurel, because its
leaves resemble those of the Laurocerasus. Dr. Linnæus, conformable to the
peculiar friendship and goodness which he has always honoured me with, has
been pleased to call this tree, Kalmia foliis ovatis, corymbis terminalibus, or
Kalmia latifolia. It succeeds best on the side of hills, especially on the north side,
where a brook passes by; therefore on meeting with some steep places (on hills)
towards a brook, or with a steep side of a hill towards a marsh, you are sure to
find the Kalmia. But it frequently stands mixed among beech trees. The higher

the Kalmias stand on the north side of a mountain, the less they grow: I have
seen them not only in Pensylvania and New Jersey, but even in New York, but
there they are more scarce: I never found them beyond the forty-second deg. of
north lat. though I took ever so great care to look for them: they have the quality
of preserving their fine green leaves throughout winter, so that when all other
trees have lost their ornaments, and stand quite naked, these [337]chear the woods
with their green foliage. About the month of May they begin to flower in these
parts, and then their beauty rivals that of most of the known trees in nature: the
flowers are innumerable, and sit in great bunches. Before they open, they have a
fine red colour, but as they are expanded, the sun bleaches them, so that some
are quite white; many preserve the colour of roses. Their shape is singular, for
they resemble a crater of the ancients: their scent however is none of the most
agreeable. In some places it was customary to adorn the churches on christmas
day or new-years day with the fine branches of this tree, which are then thick
covered with leaves.

But these trees are known for another remarkable quality; their leaves are poison
to some animals, and food for others: experience has taught the people that when
sheep eat of these leaves, they either die immediately, or fall very sick, and
recover with great difficulty. The young and more tender sheep are killed by a
small portion, but the elder ones can bear a stronger dose. Yet this food will
likewise prove mortal to them, if they take too much of it: the same noxious
effect it shews in regard to calves which eat too much of the leaves: [338]they
either die, or do not recover easily. I can remember, that in the autumn of the
year 1748, some calves eat of the leaves, but fell very sick, swelled, foamed at
the mouth, and could hardly stand, however they were cured by giving them
gunpowder and other medicines: the sheep are most exposed to be tempted by
these leaves in winter; for after having been kept in stables, for some months
they are greedy of all greens especially if the snow still lies upon the fields, and
therefore the green but poisonous leaves of the Kalmia, are to them very
tempting. Horses, oxen and cows which have eaten them, have likewise been
very ill after the meal, and though none of them ever died of eating these leaves,
yet most people believed, that if they took too great a portion of them, death
would certainly be the result. For it has been observed that when these animals
only eat small quantities, yet they suffer great pains. On the other hand the

leaves of the Kalmia are the food of stags, when the snow covers the ground, and
hides all other provisions from them. Therefore, if they be shot in winter, their
bowels are found filled with these leaves; and it is very extraordinary, that if
those bowels are given to dogs, they become quite stupid and as it were drunk,
[339]and often fall so sick, that they seem to be at the point of death, but the
people, who have eaten the venison, have not felt the least indisposition. The
leaves of the Kalmia are likewise the winter food of those birds, which the
Swedes in North America call Hazel-hens, and which stay here all winter, for
when they are killed, their crop is found quite filled with them.

The wood of the Kalmia is very hard, and some people on that account, make the
axis of their pullies of it. Weavers shuttles are chiefly made of it, and the
weavers are of opinion, that no wood in this country is better for this purpose,
for it is compact, may be made very smooth, and does not easily crack, or burst.
The joiners and turners here, employ it in making all kinds of work, which
requires the best wood; they chiefly use the root because it is quite yellow; the
wood has a very suitable hardness and fineness, and from the center, spread as it
were small rays, which are at some distance from each other. When the leaves of
the Kalmia are thrown into the fire, they make a crackling like salt. The chimney
sweepers make brooms in winter of the branches with the leaves on them, since
they cannot get others in that season. In the summer of the year 1750, a certain
[340]kind of worms, devoured the leaves of almost all the trees in Pensylvania;
yet they did not venture to attack the leaves of the Kalmia. Some people
asserted, that when a fire happened in the woods, it never went further, as soon
as it came to the Kalmias, or Spoon trees.

November the 21st. The Swedes and all the other inhabitants of the country plant
great quantities of maize, both for themselves and for their cattle. It was asserted
that it is the best food for hogs, because it makes them very fat, and gives their
flesh an agreeable flavour, preferable to all other meat. I have given in two
dissertations upon this kind of corn to the Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences,
which stand in their Memoirs, one in the Volume for the year 1751, in the last
quarter, and the other in the first quarter of the Volume for the year 1752, and
thither I refer my readers.

The wheels of the carts which are here made use of, are composed of two
different kinds of wood. The felloes were made of what is called the Spanish
oak, and the spokes of the white oak.

The Sassafras tree grows every where in this place. I have already observed
several particulars in regard to it, and intend to add a few more here. On
[341]throwing some of the wood into the fire, it causes a crackling as salt does.
The wood is made use of for posts belonging to the enclosures, for it is said to
last a long time in the ground: but it is likewise said, that there is hardly any kind
of wood, which is more attacked by worms than this, when it is exposed to the
air without cover, and that in a short time it is quite worm-eaten through and
through. The Swedes related, that the Indians who formerly inhabited these parts,
made bowls of it. On cutting some part of the sassafras tree, or its shoots, and
holding it to the nose, it has a strong but pleasant smell. Some people peel the
root, and boil the peel with the beer which they are brewing, because they
believe it wholesome for the same reason. The peel is put into brandy, either
whilst it is distilling, or after it is made.

An old Swede remembered that his mother cured many people of the dropsy, by
a decoction of the root of sassafras in water drank every morning: but she used,
at the same time to cup the patient on the feet. The old man assured me, he had
often seen people cured by this means, who had been brought to his mother
wrapped up in sheets. [342]

When a part of a wood is destined for cultivation, the sassafras trees are
commonly left upon it, because they have a very thick foliage, and afford a cool
shade to the cattle, during the great heats. Several of the Swedes, wash and scour
the vessels in which they intend to keep cyder, beer or brandy, with water in
which the sassafras root or its peel has been boiled; which they think renders all
those liquors more wholesome. Some people get their bed-posts made of
sassafras wood, in order to expel the bugs; for its strong scent it is said prevents
those vermin from settling in them. For two or three years together this has the
desired effect; or about as long as the wood keeps its strong aromatic smell; but
after that time it has been observed to lose it effect. A joiner shewed me a bed,
which he had made for himself, the posts of which were of sassafras wood, but

as it was ten or twelve years old, there were so many bugs in it, that it seemed
likely, they would not let him sleep peaceably. Some Englishmen related, that
some years ago it had been customary in London, to drink a kind of tea of the
flowers of sassafras, because it was looked upon as very salutary; but upon
recollecting that the same potion was much used against the venereal disease,
[343]it was soon left off, lest those that used it, should be looked upon as infected
with that disease. In Pensylvania some people put chips of sassafras into their
chests, where they keep all sorts of woollen stuffs, in order to expel the moths
(or Larvæ, or caterpillars of moths or tinies) which commonly settle in them in
summer. The root keeps its smell for a long while: I have seen one which had
lain five or six years in the drawer of a table, and still preserved the strength of
its scent.

A Swede named Rambo, related that the Indians formerly dyed all sorts of
leather red with the bark of the chesnut oak.

Some old people remembered that in the year 1697, there had been so rigorous a
winter, that the ice in the river Delaware was two feet thick.

November the 22d. Aoke Helm was one of the most considerable Swedes in this
place, and his father came over into this country along with the Swedish
governor Prince; he was upwards of seventy years of age. This old man told us,
that in his youth there was grass in the woods, which grew very close, and was
every where two feet high; but, that it was so much lessened at present, that the
cattle hardly find food enough, and that therefore four cows now give no more
milk than one at that time; [344]but the causes of this alteration are easy to find.
In the younger years of old Helm, the country was little inhabited, and hardly the
tenth part of the cattle kept which is at present; a cow had therefore as much
food at that time, as ten now have. Further, most kinds of grass here are annual,
and do not for several years together shoot up from the same root, as our
Swedish grasses: they must sow themselves every year, because the last year’s
plant dies away every autumn. The great numbers of cattle hinder this sowing, as
the grass is eaten before it can produce flowers and fruit. We need not therefore
wonder that the grass is so thin on fields, hills, and pastures in these provinces.
This is likewise the reason why travellers in New Jersey, Pensylvania, and

Maryland, find many difficulties, especially in winter, to get forwards with their
own horses, for the grass in these provinces is not very abundant, because the
cattle eat it before it can bring seeds: but more to the north, as in Canada, are a
sufficient quantity of perennial grasses; so wisely has the Creator regulated
every thing. The cold parts of the earth, naturally bring forth a more durable
grass, because the inhabitants want more hay to feed their cattle with, on account
of the length of the winter. [345]The southern provinces again have less perennial
grass, as the cattle may be in the fields all the winter. However careful
œconomists have got seeds of perennial grasses from England, and other
European states, and sowed it in their meadows, where they seem to thrive
exceedingly well.

The Persimon (Diospyros Virginiana) was pretty common here: I have already
mentioned it before, but I intend now to add some more particulars. Some of its
fruits began to ripen and to become fit for eating about this time, for they always
ripen very late in autumn, and then the people eat them like other fruit: they are
very sweet and glutinous, yet have a little astringency; I frequently used to eat a
great quantity of them, without feeling the least inconvenience. From the
persimon several Englishmen and Swedes brew a very palatable liquor in the
following manner. As soon as the fruit is ripe, a sufficient quantity is gathered,
which is very easy, as each tree is well stocked with them. These persimon
apples are put into a dough of wheat or other flour, formed into cakes, and put
into an oven, in which they continue till they are quite baked, and sufficiently
dry, when they are taken out again: then, in order to brew the liquor, a pot full of
water is put on the [346]fire and some of the cakes are put in: these become soft
by degrees as the water grows warm, and crumble in pieces at last; the pot is
then taken from the fire, and the water in it well stirred about, that the cakes may
mix with it: this is then poured into another vessel, and they continue to steep
and break as many cakes as are necessary for a brewing: the malt is then infused,
and they proceed as usual with the brewing. Beer thus prepared is reckoned
much preferable to other beer. They likewise make brandy of this fruit in the
following manner: having collected a sufficient quantity of persimons in autumn,
they are altogether put into a vessel, where they lie for a week till they are quite
soft. Then they pour water on them, and in that state they are left to ferment of
themselves, without promoting the fermentation by any addition. The brandy is

then made in the common way, and is said to be very good, especially if grapes
(in particular of the sweet sort) which are wild in the woods, be mixed with the
persimon fruit. Some persimons are ripe at the end of September, but most of
them later, and some not before November and December, when the cold first
overcomes their acrimony. The wood of this tree is very good for joiner’s
instruments, [347]such as planes, handles to chisels, &c. but if after being cut
down, it lies exposed to sunshine and rain, it is the first wood which rots, and in
a year’s time there is nothing left but what is useless. When the persimon trees
get once into a field, they are not easily got out of it again, as they spread so
much. I was told, that if you cut off a branch and put it into the ground, it strikes
root, but in very strong winters, these trees often die by frost, and they, together
with the peach trees, bear cold the least of any.

November the 23d. Several kinds of gourds and melons are cultivated here: they
have partly been originally cultivated by the Indians, and partly brought over by
Europeans. Of the gourds there was a kind which were crooked at the end, and
oblong in general, and therefore they were called crooked necks (Crocknacks;)
they keep almost all winter. There is yet another species of gourds which have
the same quality: others again are cut in pieces or slips, drawn upon thread and
dried; they keep all the year long, and are then boiled or stewed. All sorts of
gourds are prepared for eating in different manners, as is likewise customary in
Sweden. Many farmers have a whole field of gourds. [348]

Squashes are a kind of gourds, which the Europeans got from the Indians, and I
have already mentioned them before. They are eaten boiled, either with flesh or
by themselves. In the first case, they are put on the edge of the dish round the
meat; they require little care, for into whatever ground they are sown, they grow
in it and succeed well. If the seed is put into the fields in autumn, it brings
squashes next spring, though during winter it has suffered from frost, snow and
wet.

The Calabashes are likewise gourds, which are planted in quantities by the
Swedes and other inhabitants, but they are not fit for eating, and are made use of
for making all sorts of vessels; they are more tender than the squashes, for they
do not always ripen here, and only when the weather is very warm. In order to

make vessels of them, they are first dried well: the seeds, together with the pulpy
and spungy matter in which they lie, are afterwards taken out and thrown away.
The shells are scraped very clean within, and then great spoons or ladles,
funnels, bowls, dishes and the like may be made of them; they are particularly fit
for keeping seeds of plants in, which are to be sent over sea, for they keep their
power of vegetating much longer, if they [349]be put in calabashes, than by any
other means. Some people scrape the outside of the calabashes before they are
opened, dry them afterwards and then clean them within; this makes them as
hard as bones: they are sometimes washed, so that they always keep their white
colour.

Most of the farmers in this country, sow Buck-wheat, in the middle of July; it
must not be sown later, for in that case the frost ruins it, but if it be sown before
July, it flowers all the summer long, but the flowers drop, and no seed is
generated. Some people, plough the ground twice where they intend to sow
buck-wheat; others plough it only once, about two weeks before they sow it. As
soon as it is sown the field is harrowed. It has been found by experience, that in
a wet year buck-wheat is most likely to succeed: it stands on the fields till the
frost comes on. When the crop is favourable, they get twenty, thirty and even
forty bushels from one. The Swedish churchwarden Ragnilson, in whose house
we were at this time, had got such a crop: they make buck-wheat cakes and
pudding. The cakes are commonly made in the morning, and are baked in a
frying pan, or on a stone: are buttered and then eaten with tea or coffee,
[350]instead of toasted bread with butter, or toast, which the English commonly
eat at breakfast. The buck-wheat cakes are very good, and are likewise usual at
Philadelphia and in other English colonies, especially in winter. Buck-wheat is
an excellent food for fowls; they eat it greedily, and lay more eggs, than they do
with other food: hogs are likewise fattened with it. Buck-wheat straw is of no
use; it is therefore left upon the field, in the places where it has been thrashed, or
it is scattered in the orchards, in order to serve as a manure by putrifying.
Neither cattle nor any other animal will eat of it, except in the greatest necessity,
when the snow covers the ground and nothing else is to be met with. But though
buck-wheat is so common in the English colonies, yet the French had no right
notion of it in Canada, and it was never cultivated among them.

Towards night we found some Glow Worms in the wood, their body was linear,
consisting of eleven articulations, a little pointed before and behind; the length
from head to tail was five and a half geometrical lines; the colour was brown and
the articulations joined in the same manner as in the onisci or woodlice. The
antennæ or feel horns were short and filiform, or thread-shaped; [351]and the feet
were fastened to the foremost articulations of the body: when the insect creeps,
its hindmost articulations are dragged on the ground, and help its motion. The
extremity of the tail contain a matter which shines in the dark, with a green light:
the insect could draw it in, so that it was not visible. It had rained considerably
all day, yet they crept in great numbers among the bushes, so that the ground
seemed as it were sown with stars. I shall in the sequel have occasion to mention
another kind of insects or flies which shine in the dark, when flying in the air.

November the 24th. Holly, or Ilex Aquifolium, grows in wet places, scattered in
the forest, and belongs to the rare trees; its leaves are green both in summer and
in winter. The Swedes dry its leaves, bruise them in a mortar, boil them in small
beer, and take them against the pleurisy.

Red is dyed with brasil wood, and likewise with a kind of moss, which grows on
the trees here: blue is dyed with Indigo, but to get a black colour, the leaves of
the common field sorrel (Rumex Acetosella) are boiled with the stuff to be dyed,
which is then dried, and boiled again with log-wood and copperas: the black
colour thus produced, [352]is said to be very durable. The people spin and weave
a great part of their every day’s apparel, and dye them in their houses. Flax is
cultivated by many people, and succeeds very well, but the use of hemp is not
very common.

Rye, wheat, and buck-wheat are cut with the sickle, but oats are mown with a
scythe. The sickles which are here made use of are long and narrow, and their
sharp edges have close teeth on the inner side. The field lies fallow during a
year, and in that time the cattle may graze on it.

All the inhabitants of this place from the highest to the lowest, have each their
orchard, which is greater or less according to their wealth. The trees in it are
chiefly peach trees, apple trees and cherry trees: compare with this what I have
already said upon this subject before.

A little before noon, we left this place and continued our journey, past the
Swedish church in Raccoon, to Peils groves. The country, on the sides of this
road, is very sandy in many places and pretty near level. Here and there appear
single farms, yet they are very scarce, and large extensive pieces of ground are
still covered with forests, which chiefly consist of several species of oak and
hiccory. However we could [353]go with ease through these woods, as there are
few bushes (or under-wood) and stones to be met with. It was not only easy to
ride in every part of the wood on horseback, but even in most places there was
sufficient room for a small coach or a cart. Sometimes a few lying trees which
had been thrown on the ground by a hurricane, or had fallen down through great
age, caused some hindrance.

November the 25th. During my stay at Raccoon, at this time and all the ensuing
winter, I endeavoured to get the most information from the old Swedes relating
to the increase of land, and the decrease of water in these parts; I shall therefore
insert the answers here, which I have received to my questions. They are as I got
them, and I shall only throw in a few remarks which may serve to explain things:
the reader therefore is left at liberty to draw his own inferences and conclusions.

One of the Swedes, called King, who was above fifty years of age, was
convinced, that about this time the little lakes, brooks, springs and rivers had
much less water, than they had when he was a boy. He could mention several
lakes on which the people went in large boats in his youth, and had sufficient
water even in the hottest [354]summers; but now, they were either entirely dried
up, or for the greatest part; and in the latter case, all the water was lost in
summer. He had himself seen the fish dying in them, and he was apt to believe
that at this time it did not rain so much in summer, as it did when he was young.
One of his relations, who lived about eight miles from the river Delaware, on a
hill near a rivulet, had got a well, dug in his court yard: at the depth of forty feet,
they found a quantity of shells of oysters and muscles, and likewise a great
quantity of reed, and pieces of broken branches. I asked, to what causes they
ascribed what they had discovered? and I was answered, that some people
believed these things had lain there ever since the deluge, and others, that the
ground increased.

Peter Rambo, a man who was near sixty years of age, assured me that in several
places at Raccoon, where wells had been dug, or any other work carried deep
into the ground, he had seen great quantities of muscle shells and other marine
animals. On digging wells, the people have sometimes met with logs of wood at
the depth of twenty feet, some of which were putrified, and others as it were
burnt. They once found a great spoon in the ground, [355]at this depth. Query, Is
it not probable, that the burnt wood which has been thus dug up, was only
blackened by a subterraneous mineral vapour? People however have concluded
from this, that America has had inhabitants before the deluge. This man (Peter
Rambo) further told me, that bricks had been found deep in the ground; but may
not the brick coloured clay (of which the ground here chiefly consists, and which
is a mixture of clay and sand) in a hard state have had the appearance of bricks?
I have seen such hardened clay, which at first sight is easily mistaken for brick.
He likewise asserted, that the water in rivers was still as high as it used to be, as
far back as memory could reach; but little lakes, ponds, and waters in marshes
are visibly decreased, and many of them dried up.

Maons Keen, a Swede above seventy years old, asserted, that on digging a well
he had seen at the depth of forty feet, a great piece of chesnut wood, together
with roots and stalks of reed, and a clayey earth like that which commonly
covers the shores of salt water bays and coves. This clay had a similar smell and
a saline taste. Maons Keen and several other people inferred from hence, that the
whole country where Raccoon and Penn’s neck are situated, was anciently
[356]quite overflowed by the sea. They likewise knew, that at a great depth in the
ground, such a trowel as the Indians make use of, had been found.

Sven Lock, and William Cobb, both above fifty years of age agreed, that in many
places hereabouts, where wells had been dug, they had seen a great quantity of
reed, mostly rotten, at the depth of twenty or thirty feet and upwards.

As Cobb made a well for himself, the workmen after digging twenty feet deep,
came upon so thick a branch, that they could not get forwards, till it was cut in
two places; the wood was still very hard. It is very common to find near the
surface of the earth, quantities of all sorts of leaves not quite putrified. On
making a dyke some years ago, along the river on which the church at Raccoon

stands; and for that purpose cutting through a bank, it was found quite full of
oyster shells, though this place is above a hundred and twenty English miles
from the nearest sea shore. These men, and all the inhabitants of Raccoon,
concluded from this circumstance (of their own accord, and without being led to
the thought) that this tract of land was a part of the sea many centuries ago. They
likewise asserted that many little lakes, which [357]in their youth were full of
water, even in the hottest season, now hardly formed a narrow brook in summer,
except after heavy rains; but it did not appear to them that the rivers had lost any
water.

Aoke Helm, found (on digging a well) first sand and little stones, to the depth of
eight feet; next a pale coloured clay, and then a black one. At the depth of fifteen
feet he found a piece of hard wood, and several pieces of mundick or pyrites. He
told me that he knew several places in the Delaware, where the people went in
boats, when he was young; but which at present were changed into little islands,
some of which were near an English mile in length. These islands derive their
origin from a sand or bank in the river; on this the water washes some clay, in
which rushes come up, and thus the rest is generated by degrees.

On a meeting of the oldest Swedes in the parish of Raccoon, I obtained the
following answers to the questions which I asked them on this account.
Whenever they dig a well in this neighbourhood, they always find at the depth of
twenty or thirty feet, great numbers of oyster shells and clams: the latter are, as
was above-mentioned, a kind [358]of large shells, which are found in bays, and of
which the Indians make their money. In many places, on digging wells a quantity
of rushes and reeds have been found almost wholly undamaged; and once on
such an occasion a whole bundle of flax was brought up, found between twenty
and thirty feet under ground; it seemed as little damaged as if it had been lately
put under ground; all looked at it with astonishment, as it was beyond
conception how it could get there; but I believe the good people saw some
American plants, such as the wild Virginian flax, or Linum Virginianum, and the
Antirrhinum Canadense, which look very like common flax, yet it is remarkable
that the bundle was really tied together. The Europeans on their arrival in
America, found our common flax neither growing wild nor cultivated by the
Indians, how then could this bundle get into the ground? Can it be supposed, that

past ages have seen a nation here, so early acquainted with the use of flax? I
would rather abide by the opinion, that the above American plants, or other
similar ones, have been taken for flax. Charcoal and firebrands have often been
found under ground: The Swedish churchwarden, Eric Ragnilson, told me that he
had seen a quantity of them, [359]which had been brought up at the digging of a
well: on such occasions, people have often found (at the depth of between
twenty and fifty feet) great branches and blocks. There were some spots where
twenty feet under the surface of the earth, the people had found such trowels as
the Indians use: from these observations they all concluded, that this tract of land
had formerly been the bottom of the sea. It is to be observed, that most of the
wells which have hitherto been made, have been dug in new settlements, where
the wood was yet standing, and had probably stood for centuries together. From
the observations which have hitherto been mentioned, and to which I shall add
similar ones in the sequel, we may, with a considerable degree of certainty
conclude, that a great part of the province of New Jersey, in ages unknown to
posterity, was part of the bottom of the sea, and was afterwards formed by the
slime and mud, and the many other things which the river Delaware carries
down along with it, from the upper parts of the country: however Cape May
seems to give some occasion for doubts, of which I shall speak in the sequel.
[360]

November the 27th. The American evergreens are

Ilex Aquifolium,
1. holly.
Kalmia2. latifolia, the spoon tree.
Kalmia3. angustifolia, another species of it.
Magnolia
4. glauca, the beaver tree. The young trees of this kind only
keep their leaves, the others drop them.
Viscum5. album, or misletoe; this commonly grows upon the Nyssa
aquatica, or tupelo tree, upon the Liquidambar styraciflua, or sweet
gum tree, the oak and lime tree, so that their whole summits were
frequently quite green in winter.
Myrica6. cerifera, or the candleberry tree; of this however only some
of the youngest shrubs preserve some leaves, but most of them had
already lost them.

Pinus7.Abies, the pine.
Pinus8.sylvestris, the fir.
Cupressus
9. thyoides, the white cedar.
Juniperus
10. Virginiana, the red cedar.

Several oaks and other trees dropt their leaves here in winter, which however
keep them ever green, a little more to the south, and in Carolina.

November the 30th. It has been observed, that the Europeans in North America,
whether they were born in Sweden, [361]England, Germany or Holland; or in
North America, of European parents, always lost their teeth much sooner than
common; the women especially were subject to this disagreeable circumstance,
the men did not suffer so much from it. Girls not above twenty years old,
frequently had lost half of their teeth, without any hopes of getting new ones: I
have attempted to penetrate into the causes of this early shedding of the teeth,
but I know not, whether I have hit upon a true one. Many people were of opinion
that the air of this country hurt the teeth: so much is certain that the weather can
no where be subject to more frequent and sudden changes; for the end of a hot
day, often turns out piercing cold, and vice versa. Yet this change of weather,
cannot be looked upon as having any effect upon the shedding of the teeth, for
the Indians prove the contrary: they live in the same air, and always keep fine,
entire white teeth; this I have seen myself, and have been assured of by every
body: others ascribe it to the great quantities of fruit and sweet meats which are
here eaten. But I have known many people, who never eat any fruit, and
nevertheless had hardly a tooth left.

I then began to suspect the tea, which [362]is drank here in the morning and
afternoon, especially by women, and is so common at present, that there is
hardly a farmer’s wife or a poor woman, who does not drink tea in the morning:
I was confirmed in this opinion when I took a journey through some parts of the
country which were still inhabited by Indians. For Major General Johnson told
me at that time, that several of the Indians who lived close to the European
settlements, had learnt to drink tea. And it has been observed, that such of the
Indian women, as used themselves too much to this liquor, had in the same
manner as the European women, lost their teeth prematurely, though they had

formerly been quite sound. Those again, who had not used tea preserved their
teeth strong and sound to a great age.

I afterwards found, that the use of tea could not entirely cause this accident.
Several young women who lived in this country, but were born in Europe,
complained that they lost most of their teeth after they came to America: I asked,
whether they did not think that it arose from the frequent use of tea, as it was
known, that strong tea, as it were enters into and corrodes the teeth; but they
answered, that they had lost their teeth before they [363]had began to drink tea,
but continuing my enquiries, I found at last a sufficient cause, to account for the
loss of their teeth: each of these women owned, that they were accustomed to eat
every thing hot, and nothing was good in their opinion, unless they could eat it
as fast as it came from the fire. This is likewise the case with the women in the
country who lose their teeth much sooner and more abundantly than the men.
They drink tea in greater quantity and much oftener, in the morning, and even at
noon, when the employment of the men will not allow them to sit at the tea-
table. Besides that, the Englishmen care very little for tea, and a bowl of punch is
much more agreeable to them. When the English women drink tea, they never
pour it out of the cup into the saucer, but drink it hot as it is out of the former.
The Indian women in imitation of them, swallow the tea in the same manner. On
the contrary those Indians whose teeth are sound, never eat any thing hot, but
take their meat either quite cold, or only just milk warm.

I asked the Swedish churchwarden in Philadelphia, Mr. Bengtson, and a number
of old Swedes, whether their parents and countrymen had likewise lost their teeth
as soon as the American colonists; but they [364]told me that they had preserved
them to a very great age. Bengtson assured me, that his father at the age of
seventy, cracked peach stones and the black walnuts with his teeth,
notwithstanding their great hardness, which at this time no body dares to venture
at that age. This confirms what I have before said, for at that time the use of tea
was not yet known in North America.

No disease is more common here, than that which the English call fever and
ague, which is sometimes quotidian, tertian or quartan. But it often happens, that
a person who has had a tertian ague, after losing it for a week or two, gets a

quotidian ague in its stead, which after a while again changes into a tertian. The
fever commonly attacks the people at the end of August, or beginning of
September, and commonly continues during autumn and winter till towards
spring, when it ceases entirely.

Strangers who arrive here, commonly are attacked by this sickness the first or
second year after their arrival; and it is more violent upon them, than upon the
natives, so that they sometimes die of it; but if they escape the first time, they
have the advantage of not being visited again the next year, or perhaps never any
more. It is [365]commonly said here, that strangers get the fever to accustom them
to the climate. The natives of European offspring, have annual fits of this ague in
some parts of the country: some however are soon delivered from it, with others
on the contrary it continues for six months together, and others are afflicted with
it till they die. The Indians also suffer it, but not so violently as the Europeans.
No age is secured against it: in those places where it rages annually, you see old
men and women attacked with it; and even children in the cradle, sometimes not
above three weeks old: it is likewise quotidian, tertian or quartan with them. This
autumn the ague was more violent here, than it commonly used to be. People
who are afflicted with it, look as pale as death, and are greatly weakened, but in
general are not prevented from doing their work in the intervals. It is remarkable,
that every year there are great parts of the country where this fever rages, and
others where scarce a single person has been taken ill. It likewise is worth
notice, that there are places where the people cannot remember that it formerly
prevailed in their country, though at present it begins to grow more common: yet
there was no other visible difference between the several [366]places. All the old
Swedes, Englishmen, Germans, &c. unanimously asserted, that the fever had
never been so violent, and of such continuance when they were boys, as it is at
present. They were likewise generally of opinion, that about the year 1680, there
were not so many people afflicted with it, as about this time. However others
equally old, were of opinion that the fever was proportionably as common
formerly, as it is at present; but that it could not at that time be so sensibly
perceived, on account of the scarcity of inhabitants, and the great distance of
their settlements from each other; it is therefore probable that the effects of the
fever have at all times been equal.

It would be difficult to determine the true causes of this disease; they seem to be
numerous, and not always alike: sometimes, and I believe commonly several of
them unite. I have taken all possible care to sound the opinions of the physicians
here on that head, and I here offer them to the reader.

Some of them think that the peculiar qualities of the air of this country cause this
fever; but most of them assert that it is generated by the standing and putrid
water, which it seems is confirmed by experience. [367]For it has been observed
in this country, that such people as live in the neighbourhood of Morasses or
Swamps, or in places where a stagnant, stinking water is to be met with, are
commonly infested with the fever and ague every year, and get it more readily
than others. And this chiefly happens at a time of the year when those stagnant
waters are most evaporated by the excessive heat of the sun, and the air is filled
with the most noxious vapors. The fever likewise is very violent in all places
which have a very low situation, and where salt water comes up with the tide
twice in twenty four hours, and unites with the stagnant, fresh water in the
country. Therefore on travelling in summer over such low places where fresh
and salt water unite, the nauseous stench arising from thence often forces the
traveller to stop his nose. On that account most of the inhabitants of Penn’s neck,
and Salem in New Jersey, where the ground has the above-mentioned quality, are
annually infested with the fever to a much greater degree, than the inhabitants of
the higher country. If an inhabitant of the higher part of the country, where the
people are free from the fever, removes into the lower parts, he may be well
assured that the fever will attack [368]him at the usual time, and that he will get it
again every year, as long as he continues in that country. People of the liveliest
complexion on coming into the low parts of the country, and continuing there for
some time, have entirely lost their colour and become quite pale. However this
cannot be the sole cause of the fever, as I have been in several parts of the
country which had a low situation and had stagnant waters near them, where the
people declared they seldom suffered from this sickness: but these places were
about two or three degrees more northerly.

Others were of opinion that diet did very much towards it, and chiefly laid the
blame upon the inconsiderate and intemperate consumption of fruit. This is
particularly the case with the Europeans, who come into America, and are not

used to its climate and its fruit; for those who are born here can bear more, yet
are not entirely free from the bad effects of eating too much. I have heard many
Englishmen, Germans, and others speak from their own experience on this
account; they owned, that they had often tried, and were certain that after eating
a water melon once or twice before they had breakfasted, they would have the
fever and ague in a few [369]days after. Yet it is remarkable, that the French in
Canada told me that fevers were less common in that country, though they
consumed as many water melons as the English colonies, and that it had never
been observed that they occasioned a fever; but that on coming in the hot season
to the Illinois, an Indian nation which is nearly in the same latitude with
Pensylvania and New Jersey, they could not eat a water melon without feeling
the shaking fits of an ague, and that the Indians therefore warned them not to eat
of so dangerous a fruit. Query, Does not this lead us to think that the greater heat
in Pensylvania, and the country of the Illinois, which are both five or six degrees
more southerly than Canada, makes fruit in some measure more dangerous? In
the English North American colonies, every countryman plants a number of
water melons, which are eaten whilst the people make hay, or during the harvest
when they have nothing upon their stomachs, in order to cool them during the
great heat, as that juicy fruit seems very proper to give refreshment. In the same
manner melons, cucumbers, gourds, squashes, mulberries, apples, peaches,
cherries, and such like fruit are eaten here in summer, and altogether contribute
to the attacks of the ague. [370]

But that the manner of living contributes greatly towards it, may be concluded
from the unanimous accounts of old people, concerning the times of their
childhood; according to which, the inhabitants of these parts, were at that time
not subject to so many diseases as they are at present, and people were seldom
sick. All the old Swedes likewise agreed, that their countrymen, who first came
into North America, attained to a great age, and their children nearly to the same;
but that their grand children, and great grand children did not reach the age of
their ancestors, and their health was not near so vigorous and durable. But the
Swedes who first settled in America, lived very frugally; they were poor, and
could not buy rum, brandy, or other strong liquors, which they seldom distilled
themselves, as few of them had a distilling vessel. However they sometimes had
a good strong beer. They did not understand the art of making cyder, which is

now so common in the country: tea, coffee, chocolate, which are at present even
the country people’s daily breakfast, were wholly unknown to them: most of
them had never tasted sugar or punch. The tea which is now drank, is either very
old, or mixed with all sorts of herbs, so that it no longer [371]deserves the name
of tea: therefore it cannot have any good effect upon those who use it plentifully;
besides, it cannot fail of relaxing the bowels, as it is drank both in the morning
and in the afternoon quite boiling hot. The Indians, the offspring of the first
inhabitants of this country, are a proof of what I have said. It is well known that
their ancestors, at the time of the first arrival of the Europeans, lived to a very
great age. According to the common accounts, it was then not uncommon to find
people among the Indians, who were above a hundred years old: they lived
frugally, and drank pure water: brandy, rum, wine, and all the other strong
liquors, were utterly unknown to them; but since the christians have taught them
to drink these liquors, and the Indians have found them too palatable, those who
cannot resist their appetites, hardly reach half the age of their parents.

Lastly, some people pretended that the loss of many odoriferous plants, with
which the woods were filled at the arrival of the Europeans, but which the cattle
has now extirpated, might be looked upon as a cause of the greater progress of
the fever at present. The number of those strong plants occasioned a pleasant
scent to rise in [372]the woods every morning and evening. It is therefore not
unreasonable to think that the noxiousness of the effluvia from putrifying
substances was then prevented, so that they were not so dangerous to the
inhabitants.

Several remedies are employed against this disease: the jesuit’s bark was
formerly a certain one, but at present it has not always this effect, though they
sell it genuine, and for the very best. Many people accused it of leaving
something noxious in the body. Yet it was commonly observed, that when the
bark was good, and it was taken as soon as the fever made its appearance, and
before the body was weakened, it was almost sure to conquer the fever, so that
the cold fits never returned, and no pain or stiffness remained in the limbs; but
when the disease is rooted in, and has considerably weakened the patients, or
they are naturally very weak, the fever leaves them after using the jesuit’s bark,
but returns again in a fortnight’s time, and obliges them to take the bark again;

but the consequence frequently is a pain and a stiffness in their limbs, and
sometimes in their bowels, which almost hinders them from walking: this pain
continues for several years together, and even accompanies some to the grave.
This bad [373]effect is partly attributed to the bark, which can seldom be got
genuine here, and partly to the little care which the patients take in using the
bark. A man of my acquaintance was particularly dexterous in expelling the ague
by the use of the jesuit’s bark. His manner of proceeding was as follows: when it
was possible, the patient must use the remedy as soon as the fever begun, and
before it was settled in his body: but before he took the medicine, he was to take
a diaphoretic remedy, as that had been found very salutary; and as the fever is
frequently of such a nature here, as not to make the patient sweat, even when the
hot fit is upon him, a perspiration was to be brought about by some other means.
To that purpose the patient took his dose on the day when he had his cold fit, and
was not allowed to eat any thing at night. The next morning he continued in a
warm bed, drank a quantity of tea, and was well covered that he might perspire
plentifully. He continued so till the perspiration ceased, and then left the bed in a
hot room, and washed his body with milk warm water, in order to cleanse it from
the impurities that settled on it from the perspiration, and to prevent their
stopping up of the pores. The patient was then dried again, and at last he
[374]took the bark several times in one day. This was repeated twice or thrice on
the days after he had the ague, and it commonly left him without returning, and
most people recover so well, that they do not look pale after their sickness.

The bark of the root of the Tulip tree, or Liriodendron Tulipifera, taken in the
same manner as the jesuit’s bark, sometimes had a similar effect.

Several people peeled the roots of the Cornus florida, or Dog wood, and gave
this peel to the patients; and even some people, who could not be cured by the
jesuit’s bark, have recovered by the help of this. I have likewise seen people
cured of the fever, by taking brimstone reduced to powder, and mixed with sugar
every night before they went to bed, and every morning before they got up: they
took it three or four times in the intervals, and at each time drank some warm
liquor, to wash the powder down. However others that tried the same remedy did
not find much relief from it.

Some people collected the yellow bark of the peach tree, especially that which is
on the root and boiled it in water, till half of it was evaporated by boiling. Of this
decoction the patient took every morning about a wine glass full, before he had
eaten [375]any thing. This liquor has a disagreeable taste, and contracts the mouth
and tongue like alum; yet several persons at Raccoon who had tried many
remedies in vain, were cured by this.

Others boiled the leaves of the Potentilla reptans, or of the Potentilla
canadensis, in water, and made the patients drink it before the ague fit came on,
and it is well known that several persons have recovered by this means.

The people who are settled upon the river Mohawk in New York, both Indians
and Europeans collect the root of the Geum rivale, and pound it. This powder
some of them boil in water till it is a pretty strong decoction: others only infuse
cold water on it and leave it so for a day; others mix it with brandy. Of this
medicine the patient is to take a wine glass full on the morning of the day when
the fever does not come, before he has eaten any thing. I was assured that this
was one of the surest remedies, and more certain than the jesuit’s bark.

The people who live near the iron mines, declared that they were seldom or
never visited by the fever and ague; but when they have the fever, they drink the
water of such fountains, as arise from the [376]iron mines, and have a strong
chalybeat taste; and they assured me that this remedy was infallible. Other
people therefore who did not live very far from such springs, went to them for a
few days, when they had the fever, in order to drink the water, which commonly
cured them.

I have already shown above, that sage mixed with lemon juice, has been found
very salutary against the ague.

It was however universally remarkable, that that which cures one person of it,
has no effect upon another.

The pleurisy is likewise a disease which the people of this country are much
subject to. The Swedes in this province call it stitches and burning, and they
always mean the pleurisy whenever they mention those words. Many of the old

Swedes told me that they had heard very little of it when they were young, and
that their parents had known still less of it in their childhood; but that it was so
common now, that many people died every year of it: yet it has been observed,
that in some years this disease has been very moderate, and taken few people
away with it, whilst in other years it makes great havock: it likewise is more
violent in some places than in others.

In the autumn of the year 1728, it swept [377]away many at Penn’s neck, a place
below Raccoon, and nearer to the Delaware, where a number of Swedes are
settled. Almost all the Swedes there died of it, though they were very numerous.
From hence it happened that their children who were left in a very tender age,
and grew up among the English children, forgot their mother tongue, so that few
of them understand it at present. Since that time, though the pleurisy has every
year killed a few people at Penn’s neck, yet it has not carried off any
considerable numbers. It rested as it were till the autumn of the year 1748, but
then it began to make dreadful havock, and every week six or ten of the old
people died. The disease was so violent, that when it attacked a person, he
seldom lived above two or three days; and of those who were taken ill with it,
very few recovered. When the pleurisy was got into a house, it killed most of the
old people in it: it was a true pleurisy, but it had a peculiarity with it, for it
commonly began with a great swelling under the throat and in the neck, and with
a difficulty of swallowing. Some people looked upon it as contagious; and others
seriously declared, that when it came into a family, not only those who lived in
the same house suffered from it, but even such relations [378]as lived far off.
There have been several people at Penn’s neck, who, without visiting their sick
friends, have got the pleurisy and died of it: I do not dispute the truth of this,
though I do not agree to the conclusion. The pleurisy was the most violent in
November; yet some old people died of it even in the next winter; but children
were pretty free from it. The physicians did not know what to make of it, nor
how to remedy it.

It is difficult to determine the causes of such violent diseases. An old English
surgeon who lived here gave the following reason. The inhabitants of this
country drink great quantities of punch and other strong liquors in summer, when
it is very hot; by that means the veins in the diaphragm contract, and the blood

grows thick. Towards the end of October and the beginning of November, the
weather is apt to alter very suddenly, so that heat and cold change several times a
day. When the people during this changeable weather are in the open air, they
commonly get this disease. It is likewise certain that the air is more
unwholesome one year, than another, which depends upon the heat, and other
circumstances: this peculiar quality of the air must of course produce a pleurisy.
[379]It is remarkable, that both in the year 1728, and in the present, when so
many people died at Penn’s neck, few died at Raccoon, though the two places
are near each other, and seem to have the same soil and climate. But there is this
difference that Penn’s neck lies remarkably low, and Raccoon pretty high. The
people in the former place have settled between marshes and swamps, in which
the water stagnates and putrifies; and most of these places are covered with
trees, by which means the wet is shut up still more, and near such marshes, are
the houses. Lastly the water at Penn’s neck is not reckoned so good as that in
Raccoon, but has some taste. It likewise becomes brackish in several little rivers
when the Delaware during the tide rises very high, and runs up into them. On the
banks of these rivulets live many of the Swedes, and take water for common use
from them.

December the 3d. This morning I set out for Philadelphia, where I arrived in the
evening.

Wild grapes are very abundant in the woods, and of various kinds; a species of
them which are remarkable for their size, grow in the marshes, and are greedily
eaten by the Raccoon: they are therefore called [380]marsh grapes, but the
English call them fox grapes; they have not an agreeable flavour, and are seldom
eaten by the inhabitants of this country, who make use of a small kind of wild
grapes, which grow on a dry soil, and pretty late in autumn when they are quite
ripe, are eaten raw, and have a very good flavour, being a mixture of sweet and
acid: some people dry these grapes when gathered and bake them in tarts, &c.
they likewise make use of them as dried sweetmeats. The Swedes formerly made
a pretty good wine from them; but have now left it off. However some of the
English still press an agreeable liquor from these grapes, which they assured me
was as good as the best claret, and that it would keep for several years.

The manner of preparing this sort of wine has been described at large in an
almanack of this country, for the year 1743, and is as follows: the grapes are
collected from the twenty first of September to about the eleventh of November,
that is as they grow ripe: they must be gathered in dry weather, and after the dew
is gone off: the grapes are cleared of the cobwebs, dry leaves, and other things
adhering to them. Next a great hogshead is prepared which has either had treacle
or brandy in; it is washed [381]very clean, one of the bottoms beat out, and the
other placed on a stand for the purpose, or on pieces of wood in the cellar, or else
in a warm room, about two feet above the ground: the grapes are put into this
hogshead, and as they sink lower in three or four days time more are added. A
man with naked feet gets into the hogshead and treads the grapes, and in about
half an hour’s time the juice is forced out; the man then turns the lowest grapes
uppermost, and treads them for about a quarter of an hour: this is sufficient to
squeeze the good juice out of them: for an additional pressure would even crush
the unripe grapes, and give the whole a disagreeable flavour. The hogshead is
then covered with a thick blanket; but if there is no cellar, or it is very cold, two
are spread over it. Under this covering the juice is left to ferment for the first
time, and in the next four or five days it ferments and works very strongly. As
soon as the fermentation ceases, a hole is made about six inches from the
bottom, and some of the juice is tapped off about twice in a day. As soon as this
is clear and settled, it is poured into an anker of a middling size; for from twenty
bushels of grapes, they get about as many gallons of juice; the anker remains
untouched [382]and the must in it ferments a second time: at this time it is
necessary that the anker be quite full; the scum which settles at the bunghole,
must be taken off, and the anker always filled up with more must, which is kept
ready for that purpose: this is continued till christmas, when the anker may be
stopped up; at last the wine is ready in February and bottled. It is likewise usual
here, to put some of the ripe grapes into a vessel in order to make a vinegar, and
that which is got by this means is very good. Several people made brandy from
these grapes which has a very pleasant taste, but is still more pleasant, if the
fruits of the persimon are mixed with it. The wood of these vines is of no use, it
is so brittle that it cannot be used for sticks: on cutting into the stem, a white,
insipid resin comes out a few hours after the wound is made. In many gardens
vines are planted for the purpose of making arbours for which they are indeed
excellent; as their large and plentiful leaves form a very close cover against the

scorching heat of the sun. When the vines flower here in May and June, the
flowers exhale a strong, but exceeding pleasant and refreshing smell, which is
perceptible even at a great distance. Therefore on coming into the woods
[383]about that time, you may judge from the sweet perfume in the air, arising
from the flowers of the vines, that you are near them, though you do not see
them. Though the winters be ever so severe, yet they do not affect the vines.
Each grape is about the size of a pea, but further southward they are said to be of
the size of common raisins, and of a finer flavour. Further up in the country,
during a part of autumn, they are the chief food of bears, who climb up the trees
in order to pluck them. People are of opinion that if the wild vines were
cultivated with more care, the grapes would grow larger, and more palatable.

December the 5th. I shall here mention two prognosticks of the weather, which
were greatly valued here. Some people pretended to foretel that the ensuing
winter would not be a severe one: this they conjectured from having seen wild
geese and other migratory birds go to the south in October, but return a few days
ago in great numbers, and even pass on further to the north. Indeed the ensuing
winter was one of the most temperate ones.

Several persons likewise assured us that we should have rain before to morrow
night. The reason they gave for this conjecture was, that this morning at sun
rising, from [384]their windows they had seen every thing very plainly on the
other side of the river, so that it appeared much nearer than usual, and that this
commonly foreboded rain. This presage was likewise pretty exactly fulfilled.

The Indians before the arrival of the Europeans, had no notion of the use of iron,
though that metal was abundant in their country. However they knew in some
measure how to make use of copper. Some Dutchmen who lived here, still
preserved the old account among them, that their ancestors on their first settling
in New York had met with many of the Indians, who had tobacco pipes of copper,
and who made them understand by signs, that they got them in the
neighbourhood: afterwards the fine copper mine was discovered, upon the
second river between Elizabeth-town and New York. On digging in this mine, the
people met with holes worked in the mountain, out of which some copper had
been taken, and they found even some tools, which the Indians probably made

use of, when they endeavoured to get the metal for their pipes. Such holes in the
mountains have likewise been found in some parts of Pensylvania, viz. below
Newcastle towards the sea side, and always some marks of a [385]copper ore
along with them. Some people have conjectured, that the Spaniards, after
discovering Mexico, sailed along the coasts of North America, and landed now
and then, in order to enquire whether any gold or silver was to be met with, and
that they perhaps made these holes in the mountains: but supposing them to have
made such a voyage along the coasts, they could not immediately have found out
the copper mines; and they probably did not stop to blast this ore, as they were
bent only upon gold and silver; it is therefore almost undoubted that the Indians
dug these holes: or may we be allowed to suspect that our old Normans, long
before the discoveries of Columbus, came into these parts and met with such
veins of copper, when they sailed to what they called the excellent Wineland, 51 of
which our ancient traditional records called Sagor speak, and which undoubtedly
was North America. But in regard to this, I shall have occasion in the sequel
better to explain my sentiments. It was remarkable, that in all those places where
such holes have lately been found in the mountains, which manifestly seem to
[386]have been dug by men, they were always covered with a great quantity of
earth, as if they were intended to remain hidden from strangers.

December the 6th. On long voyages the sailors sometimes catch such fish as are
known to none of the ship’s company; but as they are very greedy after fresh
provisions, they seldom abstain from eating them, however it proves often
venturing too much, experience having shown, that their want of caution has
often cost them their lives, for sometimes poisonous fish are caught. But there is
a method of finding them out, as I have heard from several captains of ships: it is
usual when such unknown fish are boiled, to put a silver button, or any piece of
silver into the kettle, which if the fish be poisonous, will turn quite black, but if
it be not, it will not change: some of the seamen referred to their own repeated
experience. 52

Mr. Franklin and several other gentlemen frequently told me, that a powerful
[387]Indian, who possessed Rhode Island had sold it to the English for a pair of
spectacles: it is large enough for a prince’s domain, and makes a peculiar
government at present. This Indian knew to set a true value upon a pair of

spectacles: for undoubtedly if those glasses were not so plentiful, and only a few
of them could be found, they would on account of their great use, bear the same
price with diamonds.

The servants which are made use of in the English American colonies are either
free persons, or slaves, and the former are again of two different sorts.

1. Those who are quite free serve by the year, they are not only allowed to leave
their service at the expiration of their year, but may leave it at any time when
they do not agree with their masters. However in that case they are in danger of
losing their wages, which are very considerable. A man servant who has some
abilities, gets between sixteen and twenty pounds in Pensylvania currency, but
those in the country do not get so much. A servant maid gets eight or ten pounds
a year: these servants have their food besides their wages, but must buy their
own clothes, and what they get of these they must thank their master’s goodness
for. [388]

2. The second kind of free servants consist of such persons as annually come
from Germany, England and other countries, in order to settle here. These new
comers are very numerous every year: there are old and young ones, and of both
sexes; some of them have fled from oppression, under which they supposed
themselves to have laboured. Others have been driven from their country by
persecution on account of religion; but most of them are poor, and have not
money enough to pay their passage, which is between six and eight pounds
sterling for each person; therefore they agree with the captain that they will
suffer themselves to be sold for a few years, on their arrival. In that case the
person who buys them, pays the freight for them, but frequently very old people
come over, who cannot pay their passage, they therefore sell their children, so
that they serve both for themselves and for their parents: there are likewise some
who pay part of their passage, and they are sold only for a short time. From these
circumstances it appears, that the price of the poor foreigners who come over to
North America is not equal, and that some of them serve longer than others:
when their time is expired, they get a new suit of clothes from their [389]master,
and some other things: he is likewise obliged to feed and clothe them during the
years of their servitude. Many of the Germans who come hither, bring money

enough with them to pay their passage, but rather suffer themselves to be sold,
with a view that during their servitude they may get some knowledge of the
language and quality of the country, and the like, that they may the better be able
to consider what they shall do when they have got their liberty. Such servants are
taken preferable to all others, because they are not so dear; for to buy a Negroe
or black slave, requires too much money at once; and men or maids who get
yearly wages, are likewise too dear; but this kind of servants may be got for half
the money, and even for less; for they commonly pay fourteen pounds,
Pensylvania currency, for a person who is to serve four years, and so on in
proportion. Their wages therefore are not above three pounds Pensylvania
currency per ann. This kind of servants, the English call servings. When a person
has bought such a servant for a certain number of years, and has an intention to
sell him again, he is at liberty to do so; but he is obliged, at the expiration of the
term of the servitude to provide the usual suit of cloaths for the servant, unless
[390]he has made that part of the bargain with the purchaser. The English and
Irish commonly sell themselves for four years, but the Germans frequently agree
with the captain before they set out, to pay him a certain sum of money, for a
certain number of persons; as soon as they arrive in America, they go about and
try to get a man who will pay the passage for them. In return they give according
to the circumstances one, or several of their children to serve a certain number of
years, at last they make their bargain with the highest bidder.

3. The Negroes or Blacks make the third kind. They are in a manner slaves; for
when a Negro is once bought, he is the purchaser’s servant as long as he lives,
unless he gives him to another, or makes him free. However it is not in the
power of the master to kill his Negro for a fault, but he must leave it to the
magistrates to proceed according to the laws. Formerly the Negroes were
brought over from Africa, and bought by almost every one who could afford it.
The quakers alone scrupled to have slaves; but they are no longer so nice, and
they have as many Negroes as other people. However many people cannot
conquer the idea of its being contrary to the [391]laws of christianity to keep
slaves. There are likewise several free Negroes in town, who have been lucky
enough to get a very zealous quaker for their master, who gave them their
liberty, after they had faithfully served him for some time.

At present they seldom bring over any Negroes to the English colonies, for those
which were formerly brought thither have multiplied considerably. In regard to
their marriage they proceed as follows: in case you have not only male but
likewise female Negroes, they must intermarry, and then the children are all your
slaves: but if you possess a male Negro only, and he has an inclination to marry
a female belonging to a different master, you do not hinder your Negro in so
delicate a point; but it is no advantage to you, for the children belong to the
master of the female; it is therefore advantageous to have Negro-women. A man
who kills his Negro must suffer death for it: there is not however an example
here of a white man’s having been executed on this account. A few years ago it
happened that a master killed his slave; his friends and even the magistrates
secretly advised him to leave the country, as otherwise they could not avoid
taking him prisoner, and then he would be condemned [392]to die according to
the laws of the country, without any hopes of saving him. This lenity was
employed towards him, that the Negroes might not have the satisfaction of
seeing a master executed for killing his slave; for this would lead them to all
sorts of dangerous designs against their masters, and to value themselves too
much.

The Negroes were formerly brought from Africa, as I mentioned before; but now
this seldom happens, for they are bought in the West Indies, or American Islands,
whither they were originally brought from their own country: for it has been
found that on transporting the Negroes from Africa, immediately into these
northern countries, they have not such a good state of health, as when they
gradually change places, and are first carried from Africa to the West Indies, and
from thence to North America. It has frequently been found, that the Negroes
cannot stand the cold here so well as the Europeans or whites; for whilst the
latter are not in the least affected by the cold, the toes and fingers of the former
are frequently frozen. There is likewise a material difference among them in this
point; for those who come immediately from Africa, cannot bear the cold so well
as those who are either born in this country, or [393]have been here for a
considerable time; for the frost easily hurts the hands or feet of the Negroes
which come from Africa, or occasions violent pains in their whole body, or in
some parts of it, though it does not at all affect those who have been here for
some time. There are frequent examples that the Negroes on their passage from

Africa, if it happens in winter, have some of their limbs destroyed by frost on
board the ship, when the cold is but very inconsiderable and the sailors are
scarce obliged to cover their hands. I was even assured, that some Negroes have
been seen here, who have had an excessive pain in their legs, which afterwards
broke in the middle, and dropt entirely from the body, together with the flesh on
them. Thus it is the same case with men here, as with plants which are brought
from the southern countries, and cannot accustom themselves to a colder
climate.

The price of Negroes differs according to their age, health and abilities. A full
grown Negro costs from forty pounds and upwards to a hundred of Pensylvania
currency. There are even examples that a gentleman has paid hundred pounds for
a black slave at Philadelphia, and refused to sell him again for the same money.
A Negro boy, or girl, of two or three years old, can hardly be got for less than
eight or [394]fourteen pounds in Pensylvanian currency. Not only the quakers, but
likewise several christians of other denominations sometimes set their Negroes
at liberty. This is done in the following manner: when a gentleman has a faithful
Negro who has done him great services, he sometimes declares him independent
at his death. This is however very expensive; for they are obliged to make a
provision for the Negro thus set at liberty, to afford him subsistence when he is
grown old, that he may not be driven by necessity to wicked actions, or that he
may be at any body’s charge, for these free Negroes become very lazy and
indolent afterwards. But the children which the free Negro has begot during his
servitude are all slaves, though their father be free. On the other hand those
Negro children are free whose parents are at liberty. The Negroes in the North
American colonies are treated more mildly, and fed better than those in the West
Indies. They have as good food as the rest of the servants, and they possess equal
advantages in all things, except their being obliged to serve their whole life time,
and get no other wages than what their master’s goodness allows them: they are
likewise clad at their master’s expence. On the contrary, in the West Indies, and
especially in the Spanish [395]Islands they are treated very cruelly; therefore no
threats make more impression upon a Negro here, than that of sending him over
to the West Indies, in case he would not reform. It has likewise been frequently
found by experience, that when you show too much remissness to these Negroes,
they grow so obstinated, that they will no longer do any thing but of their own

accord: therefore a strict discipline is very necessary, if their master expects to be
satisfied with their services.

In the year 1620, some Negroes were brought to North America in a Dutch ship,
and in Virginia they bought twenty of them. These are said to have been the first
that came hither. When the Indians who were then more numerous in the country
than at present, saw these black people for the first time, they thought they were
a true breed of Devils, and therefore they called them Manitto for a great while:
this word in their language signifies not only God, but likewise the Devil. Some
time before that, when they saw the first European ship on their coasts, they
were perfectly persuaded that God himself was in the ship. This account I got
from some Indians, who preserved it among them as a tradition which they had
received from their ancestors: therefore the arrival of the Negroes seemed [396]to
them to have confused every thing; but since that time, they have entertained
less disagreeable notions of the Negroes, for at present many live among them,
and they even sometimes intermarry, as I myself have seen.

The Negroes have therefore been upwards of a hundred and thirty years in this
country: but the winters here especially in New England and New York, are as
severe as our Swedish winters. I therefore very carefully enquired whether the
cold had not been observed, to affect the colour of the Negroes, and to change it,
so that the third or fourth generation from the first that came hither, were not so
black as their ancestors. But I was generally answered, that there was not the
least difference of colour to be perceived; and that a Negro born here of parents
which were likewise born in this country, and whose ancestors both men and
women had all been blacks born in this country, up to the third or fourth
generation, was not at all different in colour, from those Negroes who are
brought directly over from Africa. From hence many people conclude, that a
Negro or his posterity do not change colour, though they continue ever so long in
a cold climate; but the mixing of a white man with a Negro woman, or of a
Negro with a white woman [397]has a different effect, therefore to prevent any
disagreeable mixtures of the white people and Negroes, and that the Negroes
may not form too great an opinion of themselves, to the disadvantage of their
masters, I am told there is a law made prohibiting the whites of both sexes to
marry Negroes, under pain of death, and deprivation of the clergyman who

marries them: but that the whites and blacks sometimes mix, appears from
children of a mixed complexion, which are sometimes born.

It is likewise greatly to be pitied, that the masters of these Negroes in most of the
English colonies take little care of their spiritual welfare, and let them live on in
their pagan darkness. There are even some, who would be very ill pleased at, and
would by all means hinder their Negroes from being instructed in the doctrines
of christianity, to this they are partly led by the conceit of its being shameful, to
have a spiritual brother or sister among so despicable a people, partly by
thinking that they should not be able to keep their Negroes so meanly
afterwards; and partly through fear of the Negroes growing too proud, on seeing
themselves upon a level with their masters in religious matters.

Several writings are well known, which mention, that the Negroes in South
America [398]have a kind of poison with which they kill each other, though the
effect is not sudden, but happens a long time after the person has taken it: the
same dangerous art of poisoning is known by the Negroes in North America, as
has frequently been experienced. However only a few of them know the secret,
and they likewise know the remedy against it, therefore when a Negro feels
himself poisoned and can recollect the enemy, who might possible have given
him the poison, he goes to him, and endeavours by money and entreaties to
move him to deliver him from the poison; but if the Negro is malicious, he does
not only deny that he ever poisoned him, but likewise that he knows a remedy
against it: this poison does not kill immediately, for sometimes the sick person
dies some years after. But from the moment he has the poison he falls into a
consumption and enjoys few days of good health: such a poor wretch often
knows that he is poisoned, the moment he gets the poison. The Negroes
commonly employ it on such of their brethren as behave well, are beloved by
their masters, and separate as it were from their countrymen, or do not like to
converse with them. They have likewise often other reasons for their enmity; but
there are few examples of their [399]having poisoned their masters. Perhaps the
mild treatment they receive, keeps them from doing it, or perhaps they fear that
they may be discovered, and that in such a case, the severest punishments would
be inflicted on them.

They never discover what the poison consists of, and keep it secret beyond
conception. It is probable that it is a very common thing which may be got all
the world over, for wherever they are they can always easily procure it.
Therefore it cannot be a plant, as several learned men have thought; for that is
not to be met with every where. I have heard many accounts here of Negroes
who have been killed by this poison. I shall only mention one incident which
happened during my stay in this country. A man here had a Negro who was
exceedingly faithful to him, and behaved so well, that he would not have given
him for twenty other Negroes. His master likewise shewed him a peculiar
kindness, and the slave’s conduct equalled that of the best christian servant; he
likewise conversed as little as possible with the other Negroes; on that account
they hated him to excess, but as he was scarce ever in company with them, they
had no opportunity of conveying the poison to him, which [400]they had often
tried. However on coming to town during the fair (for he lived in the country)
some other Negroes invited him to drink with them. At first he would not, but
they pressed him till he was obliged to comply. As soon as he came into the
room, the others took a pot from the wall and pledged him, desiring him to drink
likewise: he drank, but when he took the pot from his mouth, he said what beer
is this? It is full of ******. I purposely omit what he mentioned, for it seems
undoubtedly to have been the name of the poison with which malicious Negroes
do so much harm, and which is to be met with almost every where. It might be
too much employed to wicked purposes, and it is therefore better that it remains
unknown. The other Negroes and Negro-women fell a laughing at the complaints
of their hated countryman, and danced and sung as if they had done an excellent
action, and had at last obtained the point so much wished for. The innocent
Negro went away immediately, and when he got home, said that the other
Negroes had certainly poisoned him: he then fell into a consumption, and no
remedy could prevent his death.

End of Vol. I.

[401]

1 The same opinion has been confirmed by Mr. Buffon in his Hist. Naturelle. tom. 1. art. xix. Vol. 2.
p. 419 of the edit. in twelves. F. ↑
2 The name of Porpesse is certainly derived from the name [17]Porcopesce, given to this genus by
the Italians; and it is remarkable that almost all the European nations conspired in calling them
Sea-hogs, their name being in German Meer Schwein; the Danish, Swedish, and Norvegian, Marsuin,
from whence the French borrowed their Marsouin. The natives of Iceland call them Suinhual, i.e. a
Swine-whale, and so likewise the Slavonian nations have their Swinia Morskaya. Whether this
consent arises from their rooting the sand at the bottom of the sea in quest of Sand-eels and Sea-
worms like swine, or from the vast quantity of lard surrounding their bodies is uncertain. F. ↑
3 Mr. Kalm is certainly mistaken in reckoning the Bottle-nose amongst the Dolphin kind; it has no
teeth in its mouth as all the fish of that class have, and therefore belongs to the first order of the
Whales, or those that are without teeth. See Mr. Pennant’s British Zoology, Vol. 3. p. 43. where it is
called the beaked Whale, and very well described; a drawing is seen in the explanatory table, n. I.
Perhaps it would not be improper to call it Balæna ampullata. F. ↑
4 In Mr. Pennant’s British Zoology vol. 3. p. 282. is the best account of this fish to be met with; and
in his British Zoology, illustrated by Plates and brief explanations is plate xliv. a good and exact
drawing of the fish, the upper figure representing it in front, the lower sideways. F. ↑
5 Head of the Moravian Brethren. F. ↑
6 Dr. Linnæus mentions only one species of Nyssa, namely Nyssa aquatica; Mr. Kalm does not
mention the name of the species; but if his is not a different species, it must at least be a variety,
since he says it grows on hills, whereas the aquatica grows in the water. F. ↑
7 Quere. Is this the Juglans baccata of Linnæus? F. ↑
8 This species is not to be met with in Linn. spec. plant. F. ↑
9 In Miller’s Garden Dictionary, it is called Ketmia Indica folio ficus, fructu pentagono, recurvo
esculento, graciliori, et longiori. ↑
10Nitrum Crystallus montana, Linn. Syst. nat. 3. p. 84. Crystallus hexagona pellucida non Colorata.
Wallerius’s Mineralogy, p. 100. Crystallus montana, colourless crystal. Forster’s Introd. to
Mineralogy, p. 13. ↑
11 Pyrites crystallinus, Linn. Syst. nat. 3. p. 113. Marchasitæ hexaëdricæ tesselares. Wallerius’s
Mineralogy, p. 211. Marcasitæ, vel crystalli pyritacei, Marcasites. Forster’s Introd. to Mineralogy,
p. 39. ↑
12 Mica membranacea, Linn. Syst. nat. 3. p. 58.
Mica membranacea pellucidissima flexilis alba. Wallerius’s Min. p. 120.