with all the other occurrences commonly called news from this place you may learn at large from our friend. I have not hitherto had spare time sufficient to reduce my loose observations to any distinct method fit for communication, finding it more natural to begin by reducing my small-pox accounts into bills and notes for the improvement of my purse; but lest you should accuse me of troubling you with a letter without any little hint for our mutual improvement or amusement, accept of the two following general remarks in the small-pox. First, smallpox patients, even these in the confluent sort in our coldest winter weather scarce ever were delirious; does not this point out the cool regimen? In cold weather they seldom require opiates or anodynes as in the hot seasons; this is to me another weighty argument for the cool regimen it being a sort of succedaneum for opiates. I have found some bad consequences from the liberal use of opiates in the small-pox which I may hereafter communicate more at large. Second remark is, that mild symptoms in the confluent, or otherways very numerous sort of small-pox is always a bad sign; it seems to imply nature from the beginning so oppressed as not to be capable of making any exertion or struggle.

Inoculation grows more and more in vogue in England though some there have died of it, I conjecture it may proceed from the Regis ad exemplum totus componitur orbus. We are now clear of the small-pox, and inoculation here made a poor exit; for the last six inoculated persons were in danger of violence from the people. They were by warrant of the Justices removed out of the town and sent two leagues down the Bay to an island, and were afterwards, though well, confined there by a resolve of the Assembly till the beginning of July; the three grown persons were very full of the small-pox, one of them was in danger of his life, the three children had the distemper favorable. The number of all that have been inoculated in New-England is circiter 240 persons. My humble service to all my friends. I am

Your most humble servant

CADWALLADER COLDEN, ESQ., New-York.

WIL. DOUGLASS.

DEAR SIR,

Boston, November 20th, 1727.

According to promise in my last, you have here a fuller account of our late earthquake. First, what happened extraordinary in the weather and temper of the air for some preceding months, in order to investigate if any certain presages of the earthquake may be obtained. Secondly, an account of the earthquake itself, its direction, progress, violence, and extent, so far as I have learned. Thirdly, some remarks on earthquakes in general, and concerning some phenomena of this in particular.

First; from my diary of the winds and weather at Boston which I have kept faithfully for many years, I find that last winter was open, moderate weather. — In June many fogs with little or no wind, so as to spoil more fish in curing than has been observed for many years. — End of July extreme heat, so as in my opinion to exceed that of the West India islands while I was there; particularly first of August we had a very rare phenomenon, as the night set in for the space of an hour there were in the North-East continued corruscations and flashings, twenty to thirty in a minute, the light of each flash (though a dark night of itself) did illuminate the whole town and country so much that everything appeared as distinct as by daylight; these corruscations were not of the fiery color of lightning but of a silver color from behind some clouds as lightning is imitated in the play-house, they had no subsequent detonations or thunder claps, lightning thunder and heavy showers were at great intervals intermixed with them but entirely distinct from them. I must defer this phenomenon for the subject of some subsequent letter. September twelfth, the storm of wind which did damage to our station-ships of war and some merchantmen was from 43° North latitude to the latitude of Bermudas, it did not with any violence reach our shore to the north and did not extend east to sea above two hundred leagues, as I learned by vessels which arrived soon after. September sixteenth, a violent storm of wind with rain in our province at east north east; its violence was towards evening, and the strength of its central current passed through the county of Essex, the most vio

lent we have felt for many years, it drove all our fish ships at Marblehead in Essex ashore, brought down many chimnies, overset barns, rooted up vast number of trees to the ruin of some orchards; its extent is well defined being much inferior to that of the earthquake. Beginning of October much falling weather, and towards its end and beginning of November hard frosts. According to Mr. Fahrenheits notion in Philosophical Transactions number three hundred and eighty one, to find the temper of the air by the accelerated or retarded motion of a pocket-watch compared with the sun's motion, I find that in the months of September and October my watch lost considerably.

We had no previous symptoms of this terræ motus mentioned by some authors, as sulphureous smells, spring water altered as to taste and smell, agitations in the sea without wind &c.; neither can I find any of the effects or consequences that some historians relate as vertigos, capitis gravedinos, nauseas, menstruery obstructions &c. A man from the West-Indias did sometime before mention something relating to earthquakes because of ground thunder (that is the noise of thunder in serene weather without clouds) which he had heard in the summer.

Secondly; wind in the morning west southerly, by night comes west northerly. October twenty-ninth, ten hours, forty minutes at night very serene and freezing hard, from the north (westerly) corner was heard first a noise like a storm of wind at a distance gradually increasing to that of the roaring of a foul chimney afire, and at its height resembled the rattling of twenty or more carts unloading great stones. (Some say the dogs were observed to howl some seconds before the noise was noticed.) Good observers then in the streets say that the stars seemed to them to dance before they perceived the shock, so that the undulation in the earth was in some degree begun before the shock was attended to; the vibrations or tremor did grow gradually more quick so as in the height of it to be more quick than any fiddler could touch the most airy jig, and went off by more leisurely vibrations. The tremor may be said to have continued in Boston one and a half minute. The tops of chimnies suffered

and the ladies sustained some damage in their china. About an hour after this was another rumble with a small shake, and about day break another perceivable to all who were awake; some tell us of more small shakes though not generally perceived; but many rumblings as if at a distance from time to time were heard all the following part of the night. - In the county of Essex along Merrimack river it was more violent in tremor and continuance, some brick houses cracked, hundreds of chimney tops fell. In Newberry a spring of water broke out in a plain and brought up with it some fine gray sand like pipe clay dried and levigated, I tried it in the fire, it does not crackle, flame, fume, or afford any smell, this spring soon vanished and dried up. They write from thence that they have had daily rumblings and small shakes to this date. Friday, third of November, four oclock P. M. a small shock was felt all over the countries of Essex and Middlesex.

We have accounts of it so far north east as our settlements reach being about one hundred and thirty miles from Boston, and so far south west as your accounts from New-York and Philadelphia; towards the south east from Boston, it did gradually decrease so fast that it cannot be supposed to reach far into the sea, the vessels that came in from sea soon after felt no agitation in the waters such as we had in our bay. Comparing all these accounts together I find that the centre of its violence must be somewhere in the wilderness north west of our settlements, and that it gradually decreased towards the south-west, and north-east; to the north east, it must reach a great way because it was violent one hundred and thirty miles north-east of Boston.

Thirdly. To account for an earthquake is no easy affair, we know the earth is full of cavities and vast hollow places. In are subterraneous lakes of some miles extent; Captain tells us that in Glocestershire he was let down into an old lead ore pit, thirty two fathoms under ground and at length came to a river or great water twenty fathoms broad and eight fathoms deep; I myself in Barbadoes have been in large spacious caves under ground and have walked in a direct

course until our candles were half spent, it is called Cole's Hole, in it is a rivulet of fine water. We know that sulphureous damps in coal pits and other mines do catch fire with an explosion. The explosion of gun powder from a great gun occasions a tremulous vibrating motion in the gun itself. The cavity must be superficial to occasion any rent in the earth, the explosion of a sulphureous damp may waste itself in the vast caverns of the earth, without requiring an eruption.

there must then be a

long underground communicating cavity. -As to the phenomena of this our earthquake; the motion under ground from this explosion is progressive and not very swift; because the rumbling or noise of it was heard sometime before it was felt; and we know that sound does not move above seven hundred miles an hour. — The progression of the terræ motus is not equable which may proceed from various resistances it may meet with in the interspersed cavities from the more solid sustentacula of the ground; for in our several towns there seems to be a variety in the time of duration and violence of the schock. I cannot account for this terræ motus being sooner with you by twenty minutes because it came from the north westerly corner and not from the west southerly corner. The noise cannot well be said to be subterraneous but seemed rather to move along the surface of the earth, and in town when the schock reached us seemed to clamber up the houses; it must therefore proceed from the agitation communicated to the ambient air by the trembling earth.

I have since this phenomenon read over several accounts of earthquakes in Italy, Sicily, and also here, and some indistinct accounts of these in the West Indias, in Canada, and this Province, but the page being finished I must forbear my tedious story until another time. — I am overjoyed to learn from all parts that his Excellency Mr. Burnet is our governor, and that his ability and experience are his recommendations. We are here a great people, and from the indulgence, indolence, or weakness of former governors, have got a habit of doing every man what is right in his own eyes with a leveling principle. I have for these twelve years last past, made my observa