Accounts of Three Books

The Voyage which is here described, was begun under the conduct of Monsieur de la Salle, at the latter end of the year; 1678, from the Fort of Frontenac, in about 45 degrees North Latitude, being the most Westerly Plantation of the French, in the River of St. Lawrence. It was continued (behind most of the Territory's of the King of England, upon the Continent of America,) first thro' the Lake of Frontenac, or Ontario, being 80 Leagues long, and 25 or 30 Leagues broad; next thro' the Lake of Conty, or Erie; then thro' the Lake of Orteney, or des Hurons; lastly thro' the Lake Dauphin, or Illinois. These 3 last Lakes are near of an equall compass, being about 120, or 130 Leagues long, and 40, or 50 Leagues broad. At the further end of the Lake Dauphin in about 37°. of Latitude, the Voyagers went up a River South, till they came to a certain Passe, of about a League and a half over land, leading to the River Illinois, or Segnelay, which, after about 200 Leagues, falls into the River Mechacipy, or Colbert; and that, after about 120, or 130, Leagues more, runs into the Bay of Mexico. The last 130 Leagues are taken from the Relations of others, and were not travelled by our Author; but instead of that, he makes you amends with 500 Leagues rowed up the River Mechacipy, in a Canot, or Brark, against the Stream. What Authority there is for these last Numbers, I can't well see; for if the length of the way be incredible, you are like to find no Circumstances to help you to correct them: whether the design of the Author were to take Possession of a great Continent; or only to convert the Country, when he understands the Languages, is not plain; for he ought rather to have gon down the River Colbert, if he only sought a more commodious passage for Skins into Europe, then that thro' the Bay of Canada, which is very dangerous, being in some places too rapid, in others having falls or cataracts, the most considerable of which called the Sault de Niagara is neer 500 foot perpendicular. The mouth of the River Seignelay, is in about 36°. and ½ of Latitude; the River Colbert there about, is a League broad, and in some places two. The Country's Illinois, and Louisiane, are described to have large Meadows; plenty of Trees for building of ships; Vines, and Hemp, growing naturally; and also to yield Plums, Cherry's, Citrons, Apples, Pears, Walnuts, small nuts, Gooseberry's, Indian, and other wheat, Turneps, Melons, Pumpkins, Cabbage, and variety of Pulse; to abound in Indian Cows, Dear, Goats, Bevers, Otters, Porcupines, Tortoises, and (among Beasts of Prey,) in Wolves, Bears, and wild Cats. To have severall sorts of Fowls, as Swans, Turkey's, Bustards, Herons, Crows, Ducks, Partridges, wild Pidgeons, Parrots, &c. For Fish, to have Sturgeons, Salmons, Salmon Trouts, Pikes, Carps, Eels, Turbots, and severall other kinds, not known in our parts. There are also Mines of Coal, Slate, and Iron, small pieces of pure Copper, a fountain of Salt, and Allum, and doubtless other things not discoverable by so slight a survey. An Essay of the great effects of even Languid and Unheeded Motions. London 1685. The Author of this Essay tells us himself, that it was designed to facilitate the explicating of the Doctrine of occult qualities; and premises this postulatum in order to the demonstrations that follow, viz. that we are not to consider bodys as so many lumps of matter that differ only in bulk, and shape; but rather as bodys of peculiar internal textures, on account of which they must be considered as Engines, whose operations being furthered by the mechanism of the body wrought on, and the relation other bodys have to it, a great part of the effect is due to the action of one part of the body itself that is wrought on, upon another, assisted by the concurrence of the Neighbouring bodys. Hence he takes notice of the chief causes upon whose account men are wont to over-look or under value, the efficacy of local Motions which are either unheeded, or thought languid. The first thing overlooked is the efficacy of the celerity of small bodys moving through a small space; how great this is he illustrates by considering the powerful effects of Bullets; the great incalescence caused by the brisk Motion in turning of Metals, as Steel and Brass, the fragments of which are often so heated, as not onely to offend the Ey-lids; but even to blister the hands of the workmen: vitrification itself being produced by the common striking fire between a Flint and Steel. Neither are fluid bodys uncapable of making impressions on solid ones, witness Sunbeams in the focus of a Burning-Glass; the Flame of a lamp; and even the Air in a good Wind-Gun. Though we are in the second place too apt to think, the softness of fluid bodys, and their insensible Motion may hinder them from those effects. But to shew the contrary, besides the obvious instances of deluges, and storms, he produces many of the strong operations of Sounds upon distant, and solid bodys. One of the most remarkable of which is the effect of an Instrument though small, by which an Engineer could sink Ships in a few Minutes; the explosion being so great as to cause a kind of Storm in the water round about, and rudely shake Vessels that lay at no inconsiderable distance. He observes again that men undervalue the motions of bodys too small to be sensible, though the numerousness enables them to act in swarms: yet how little reason they have for it, he evinces by the operation of the wind in autumn; the dissolution of Sugar in that water; where Amber, though lighter, sinks and remains entire by the activity of the Flame of Spirit of Wine; that of the Animal Spirits in large and bulky Animals; the forcible motions produced by glaciation in liquors, &c. to which effects of local motion its propagable nature, even through differing medium's, and solid bodys does not a little conduce. For though it be true that fluid bodys do easily yield to solid ones that impel them, and thereby oftentimes quickly dead the motion of those solids: yet the motion being lost only in regard of the solid body, is transmitted and diffused in reference to the fluid. The modification of the invisible motion of fluids, as to what they may perform on the disposed bodys of Animals is as little regarded; though it is not so despicable if we believe Scaliger's Story of the sound of the bagpipe being too diuretical upon a Knight of Gascony; several sorts of noises set the Teeth on edge, and a domestick of the Authors always bled at his Gums, when he heard brown Paper tore: add to this the cure of the Tarantula, and two verses of Lucan which seldom fail to put the Author almost into the fit of an Ague, &c. Neither is efficacy confined to organical bodys but extends tends also to inorganical ones; as is evident from the Sympathy of strings; ringing of a Glass to such a note; as likewise some Echoes answering only certain sounds; and the like. The mistake likewise is as great when men look upon divers bodys to have their parts in a state of absolute rest, when as they are in a state of tension, or compression. Instances of this are the sudden cracking of Glasses that seem to be well neal'd; the scaling of well heated Copper; the brittleness of mixtures of metalls; all which and the like probably proceed from contraction. The last main cause why such motions are overlooked, is our being used to the sensible motions of solid bodys when as many effects proceed from the intestine motions produced in and among the parts of the same body. Such as tools being overheated and by being so, loosing their temper; the breaking of optick glasses in grinding; bodys becoming electrical, and odorous by rubbing; and the like; from all which he concludes, that such local motions as are wont to be past by unobserved, may have a notable operation upon such bodys as are peculiarly disposed to admit it, and so have a large share in natural productions. In the discourse of some unheeded causes of the salubrity and insalubrity of the Air, he confines himself to the imprægnation it receives from subterraneal effluvia. Of these he makes two sorts, some constantly are sent up into the Air, which he calls ordinary Emissions; others ascend only at times, these are extraordinary emissions; these again are periodical or fortuitous. This doctrine he endeavours to illustrate by asserting, first, that in divers places the salubrity or insalubrity of the Air considered in the general, may in good part be due to subterraneal expirations, especially to those he before called ordinary emissions for this he appeals to experience, which finds some places more healthy than the manifest qualities would permit one to expect; this effect he therefore ascribes cribes to the friendly effluvia from the earth, and argues from the observations in Hungary, and Bohemia, where the Air is impregnated with mineral exhalations, suitable to the Oar the Earth contains under it. He affirms it also probable that in divers places some Endemic diseases do at least in part depend upon subterranean Steams especially where the cause of the distemper cannot otherwise be accounted for, if together with this we consider the perviousness of human bodys, & the penetrating quality of mineral expirations, of which he gives many experiments. Lastly, he discourses of pestilential Fevers, and of the Plague itself, as to whose being natural or supernatural, he assents rather to its being the former; his entire judgment about which consists of two parts, one, that it is exceeding difficult to assign the true and adequate cause of the origine of the pestilence; and the other that whatever be the cause of its first eruption, its propagation, and divers of its Symptomes may be probably enough referred to the depravation of the Air by subterranean Steams, and their effects, &c. He describes the Emplastrum attractivum Pestilentiale, together with the Magnes Arsenicalis a chief ingredient of it; and discovers his opinion and experience of the great efficacy of Goats-rue in Malignant distempers, but when Medicine fails, those diseases generally appearing under new shapes, he accounts for the sudden ceasing of the contagion, among other ways, by the ascension of fumes of a contrary nature, which though perhaps in themselves unwholesome, may nevertheless combine with the pestilential ones, into a third kind, altogether innocent. Trichiasis admodum rara, &c. Lond. 1684. This Trichiasis or Flux of Hair continued for some years, both at a Fistula in the Abdomen; and likewise by the Anus; the manner in short thus. This Woman having been gone some months with her second Child, came to Diep, where carelessly going on board a Vessel, she hurt her belly against a Plank; this bruise was followed by a humor which ended in a Fistula; whence issued great quantity of Hair, attended with much purulent matter, till at length the Viscera were corrupted, & the Faces came that way too, so that she died. Anatomy easily discovered the wonder of her sickness; the contiguous Viscera were sphacelated; the right appendix of the Womb not distinguishable into its known parts, but consisting of one long tumor, covered with a thick skin; which was opened; in it was found an oval bony substance, hairy on the upper part, hollow & rough on the lower; one end of which had some lines of a face; the other seem'd designed for the insertion of the Vertebra of the neck. That this body was the source of that succession of Hair, is plain from their beauty agreeing with that on the bone; and likewise from the experiment of the Authors, who tells us, the Hair continued still to grow, though the bone had been kept a long time in Spirit of Wine. This conception was in the Tuba, for the Womb itself was found entire. The sagacity of Dr Ferd. Mendez affirmed this to be the case, while the Woman was alive, and his Epistle to the Author annexed to this tract, accounts for the Phænomena of the distemper, both by reason and examples. Mr la Vasseur has likewise an Epistle to the same purpose, in which he very satisfactorily discourses of three things. First, how it came to pass that a part of an Embryo, dead some years before, remained uncorrupted? Secondly, how the Womb itself escap't; and lastly, how that long crop of Hair should proceed from so small an original. Printed at the Theater at Oxford for Sam. Smith at the Princes Arms in Pauls Church-yard London; and Hen. Clements Book-seller in Oxford.