River, he went back to his Mafter found and clean at two months end. This is a confirmation of what Sir Hans Sloan fays, in page 45, of his Voyage to Jamaica, viz. The Bath is here taken notice of by fome Travellers, as Harcourt and Smith. The first fays it cures the Leprofy, and is good in Coughs, it curing the Author, who drank and bathed. It also remedies burning with Gunpowder, and fwelled Legs, Harcourt, Purchas, 44. The second tells us, That it cured Men in two or three days, who were tormented with a burning fwelling, as fcalding from the Dew of Trees, Smith's Obf. pag. 57. I guess, that Smith means

here Manchineal Trees, under whose shade fome of his Men had inconfiderately lain down for repofe, or stood to escape a shower of Rain, or perhaps cut down Wood for firing.

34. I myself bathed in it once a fortnight, and own that it contributed not a little to my Health and Vivacity. I ufually went in at nine a Clock at night; and obferved, That in two minutes time the sweat was ready to blind me, and that in about three minutes more I was obliged to quit it through faintnefs of fpirit. Upon stepping out of it unto the green bank, the wind blew so exceeding cold that I fhould almoft have fancied myfelf instantaneously tranfported to Nova Zembla, or Greenland; that is to fay, we have a perpetual breeze of the Trade-wind that runs from Eaft to

West,

Weft, which refreshes us in the Day, but is cool enough in the Night, and of course must prove intensely cold when we just come out of so hot a Bath. I do not mean that it blows directly from the East Point; for it varies from North-East to South-East, according to the place and position of the Sun, and in October it generally blows directly from the North; we have no Land and Sea Breezes, as is ufual at Jamaica. However, half a pint of ftrong Madeira Wine enabled me to cloath, put on my Riding Coat, and go brifkly home; the next Morning I was almost as nimble as a Mountebank's Tumbler. When I lived at Charles Town, which I did for the last nine Months of my stay in that Country, it was my cuftom to walk to this River every Morning at Sun-rifing, to drink a pint of its water, which I found operated both by Stool and Urine. Some of my Acquaintance would drink of it till they puked, and fay they found great benefit by fo doing; but as I have an averfion to puking, I never cared to use it in that way.

35. Towards the Sea-fide is a particular spot of ground in this River, where a Man may set one foot upon a Spring so wondrous cold that it is ready to peirce him to the very heart, and at the same moment fix his other foot upon another Spring fo furprisingly hot, that it will quickly force him to take it off again: But the Water there being full

my

my

Chin deep, and I no swimmer, I durft not venture fo far in, as to feel the Springs by way of Experiment; however feveral of my Friends, whose Veracity might be depended on, affured me of its truth.

36. At another place about two miles and a half to the Southward of Charles Town, is a very sharp point of Land that jets out a confiderable way into the Sea, leaving a fmall fandy Bay on each hand; upon the rocky extremity whereof I stood, whilst a tall Negro Man slipped down off it into the Water, which was rather above his Chin deep there; he then stooped down, and took up some Sand that was very warm when he gave it into my hand, affirming the Spring at the bottom of the Sea under him, to be fo wondrous hot, that he could fcarce venture to fet his foot upon it: And give me leave to acquaint you, that the Negro's Feet are grown fo callous by conftantly travelling over hard Rocks, that they can have little feeling in them; in fhort, that Spring must be hot indeed.

37. A new hot Spring was in 1718, discovered in Windward Parish, upon clearing of a Wood in order to plant the ground with Sugar-Canes, just above Camp-ground; but I was never at the trouble of paying it a visit, hearing that it was nothing extraordinary. It was no doubt always before known to the Negroes who frequented

thofe

those Woods, Black-Rock Pond is about a quarter of a mile diftant Northwards from Charles Town; the Water whereof is milk warm, occafioned no doubt, by a mixture of these hot with cold Springs, and yet it yields excellent Fishes in their kind, viz. Silver-Fishes, Slimguts, and the best Eeles in the world perhaps : Silver-Fish has a bright deep body of about eight inches long, which taftes like an English Whiting: Slimgut has a large Head, in too great a fize to its Body, which may be from ten to two-and-twenty inches long; it eats like our Gudgeons, and is not unlike them in colour: Their Eeles have no rank taste at all, which makes them so much admired. For a farther account of this Pond, fee paragraph and 9, 10, 11, 12, of my firft Letter. 38. We are difturbed not a little by frequent Earthquakes, which we look upon to be caused by these Veins of Sulphur, Brimstone, &c. that being over-heated, either blow up on a fudden like a Granade or Bomb-Shell, at least shake the ground till it gets vent out into the open Air, or else burn gradually away, leaving the ground about them fo hollow till it at laft drops in: The former of which cafes was (in my opinion) the fate of the great Mountain at St. Chriftopher's, when the prodigious Cavity was made; for it seems to have undergone fome fuch terrible Convulfion. Earthquakes are obferved there to be most frequent in

hot

hot and dry years; and when I lived at our Mountain Plantation pretty near the Woods fide, I obferved that the moment we felt an Earthquake, or rather in the preceeding moment, was an odd kind of foft ruftling noife, which I attributed to the fudden motion caused thereby among the leaves of the Trees and Shrubs growing just up above us, and which could never be heard in our Bath Plain Plantation, as not being loud enough for that end.

year

39. And indeed the felf-fame thing happened when I was in the Weft Indies. For in the 1718 (or thereabout) one Mr. Boyd a Merchant going from Saint Christopher's in a Sloop towards Barbadoes, and being out of fight of all Land, on a fuddain, in the forenoon (if I mistake not) the Sky grew so dark, and such a horrible Noise (far furpaffing the loudeft Thunder) was the fame moment heard, infomuch that they all believed the final Diffolution of Nature's Frame to be just then commencing; there falling likewise instantaneously so thick a Shower of Ashes, that the Sloop's Deck was covered two or three inches deep with them. They in fright enough turned back homewards; and Mr. Boyd fhewed me fome of the Ashes, which exactly refembled Holman's Ink Powder. It was foon after found out, That a large Mountain in the Island of Saint Vincent (that in my time was wholly inhabited by Ne

groes