622

Uncommon STAR FISH defcribed. App.

This crifis has been forming for many years, might have been foreseen by us, and thould have given us the alarm, ever fince the year 1712, when Lewis XIV. granted by patent the Miffiffipi to Monf. Crozat, in the preamble of which it is expressly declared, that the intention of A that grant was, that a communication might be made between Canada and Louifiana by means of the great lakes which project the French have been ever fince purfuing without any notice on our parts, tho' it was in its first formation, as well as every part of its execution, inconfiftent with our rights, and of the B most dangerous confequence to every one of our colonies, in North America, all of which lie open upon the land fide, and therefore could never expect peace or quiet if the French should be allowed to gain an influence over the Indians on their frontiers. Many opportunities we have fince had for knocking this project on the head; and now that the French

have at last forced us to take notice of it, it is to hoped, we shall make the proper ufe of this favourable opportunity for eftablishing our rights in North America, fo as to render it impoffible for them ever to carry this project into execution.

To be continued in our Magazine for January, 1756.]

EXPLANATION of the PLATE of

uncommon STAR FISH, extra&id
from the Natural History of NORWAY.
(See p. 584.)

Tin length about nine inches, or fome-
HE fepia, ink fish or cuttle-fish, is

C

os fepice. The skinny bag is filled with a black fluid, which thro' the skin appears of a blue colour, which will serve to write with. When in danger thefe creatures discharge this black fluid to facilitate their efcape, tincturing the water fo as to render themselves invifible to their purfuers. If any of this black fluid drops upon the hand it burns like a cauftic. A thousand young ones have been obferved in the uterus of the female, who eat their way thro', upon which the parent dies.

There are many fpecies of ftar fish upon the coast of Norway. In general they consist of a round body, about two inches in diameter, and without a head; from this central part, extend, on all fides, according to the kinds, five or more, even to 10 points or legs, like the rays of a ftar; they are hardly four inches long, of the fame fubftance as the body, which is neither flesh, bone nor cartilage, and being brittle, breaks like a bit of bread. They are generally covered with a flesh coloured or yellowish skin, and are furred underneath, like velvet fhag that is ufed for the lining of clothes. In the centre of this ftar there is an aperture, and under it an hollow place, not fo big as a fixpenny piece, in which both the mouth and the anus are fuppofed to be fituated. DFrom this aperture are continued feveral longish flits or hollows, like fo many cracks, furred all over. They keep on the fandy bottom, or elfe on the fides of rocks, where they crawl about, and are food for many forts of fish, and for fea gulls and fuch forts of birds.

E

what more. It has a body almost round,
resembles a fmall bag, and is blunt at
both ends; tho' I have feen them, fays
the author, almost pointed at one end.
(See Lond. Mag. for March 1750, p. 120.)
The head is the most remarkable part of
this fish; which has two large eyes, and
a mouth like a bird's beak; above which
ftand eight long arms, or horns, like a
ftar, and each horn is octangular, and F
covered with a number of fmall round
balls fomething larger than pins heads.
At the back part of the head are two of
thefe horns, twice as long as the rest, and
broader towards the end. On each fide
of the body are two skinny membranes,
with which the animal covers himself, be-
ing first rolled together; and it is faid it
can leap pretty high out of water, using
thefe membranes as wings. When it is
opened there is found hardly any flesh
within the fkin; there runs a long, flat
bone the whole length of the back, map-
ed like the blade of a knife, which is
known to apothecaries by the name of

G

The fea-fun, or kers-trold, differs from all the rest in this, that the legs terminate like branches, with fmall twigs, and those twigs again divide into the finest fibres, each of which is curled up, and all are full of fmall incifions crofs each fibre; fo that it may well be termed Medufa's head.

The fea-trold, or fea-nettle, is round like a plate, convex above and concave at the bottom, they have many branches underneath, and abound with a corrofive poifon, which is used to deftroy vermin and wolves by the peasants of Norway.

The pearl-brand, or ftring of pearls, is composed of several smail balls, like peas, hanging together; they are composed of a foft, flimy matter like the fea-trold or fea-nettle, above defcribed.

But the largest of the far-fil kind is that fea monster cailed kruken, kraken or krabben. "Bochart, fays our author, might with reafon fay, Lib. 1. cap. 6, with Oppian. Halieur. cap. 1. In mare multa latent, i. e. In the ocean many things are hidden. Among the many

great

1755.

Wonderful SEA MONSTER defcribed.

great things which are in the ocean, and
concealed from our eyes, or only prefent-
ed to our view for a few minutes, is the
kraken. This creature is the largest and
moft furprizing of all the animal creation,
and confequently well deferves fuch an
account as the nature of the thing, ac-
cording to the Creator's wife ordinance, A
will admit of. Such I fhall give at pre-1
fent, and perhaps much greater light in
this fubject may be referved for pofterity,
according to the words of the fon of Si-
rach, "Who hath feen him, that he
might tell us? and who can magnify him
as he is? There are yet hid greater things
than these be, for we have feen but a few
of his works." Eccluf. chap. xliii. ver. B

31, 32.

Our fishermen unanimously affirm, and without the leaft variation in their accounts, that when they row out feveral miles to fea, particularly in the hot fummer days, and by their fituation (which they know by taking a view of certain points of land) expect to find 80 or 100 fathoms water, it often happens that they do not find above 20 or 30, and fometimes lefs. At thefe places they generally find the greatest plenty of fish, especially cod and ling. Their lines they fay are no fooner out than they may draw them up with the hooks all full of fish; by this they judge that the kraken is at the bottom. They fay this creature caufes thofe

623

pearance about an English mile and an half in circumference, (fume fay more, but I chufe the least for greater certainty) looks at first like a number of fmall iflands, furrounded with fomething that floats and fluctuates like fea-weeds. Here and there a larger rifing is obferved like fand-banks, on which various kinds of fmall fishes are feen continually leaping about till they roll off into the water from the fides of it; at laft feveral bright points or horns appear, which grow thicker and thicker the higher they rife above the furface of the water, and fometimes they stand up as high and as large as the mafts of middle-fized veffels.

It feems these are the creature's arms, and, it is faid, if they were to lay hold of the largest man of war, they would pull it down to the bottom. After this monfter has been on the furface of the water a fhort time, it begins flowly to fink again, and then the danger is as great as before; because the motion of Chis finking caufes fuch a fwell in the fea, and fuch an eddy or whirlpool, that it draws every thing down with it.

D

As this enormous fea-animal in all probability may be reckoned of the polype, or of the ftar-fish kind, it seems that the parts which are feen rifing at its pleasure, and are called arms, are properly the tentacula, or feeling inftruments, called horns as well as arms. With thefe they move themselves, and likewise gather in theic food.

unnatural (hallows mentioned above, and
prevents their founding. These the fisher-
men are always glad to find, looking up-
on them as a means of their taking abun-
dance of fish. There are fometimes 20
boats or more got together, and throwing
out their lines at a moderate distance from
each other; and the only thing they then E
have to obferve is, whether the depth
continues the fame, which they know by
their lines, or whether it grows shallower
by their feeming to have lefs water. If
this last be the cafe, they find that the
kraken is raifing himself nearet the fur-
face, and then it is not time for them to
flay any longer; they immediately leave
off fishing, take to their oars, and get
away as faft as they can. When they
have reached the ufual depth of the place,
and find themselves out of danger, they
lie upon their oars, and in a few minutes
after they fee this enormous monster come
up to the furface of the water; he there
hows himself fufficiently, though his
whole body does not appear, which in all G
likelihood no human eye ever beheld (ex-
cepting the young of this fpecies, which
fhall afterwards be fpoken of ;) its back
or upper part, which feems to be in ap-
Appendix, 1755..

F

Befides thefe, for this laft purpose the great Creator has alfo given this creature a ftrong and peculiar fcent, which it can emit at certain times, and by means of which it beguiles and draws other fish to come in heaps about it. This animal has another ftrange property, known by the experience of a great many old fishermen. They obferve, that for fome months the kraken or krabben is continually eating, and in other months he always voids his excrements. During this evacuation the furface of the water is coloured with the excrement, and appears quite thick and turbid. This muddiness is faid to be fo very agreeable to the smell or taste of other fishes, or to both, that they gather together from all parts to it, and keep for that purpofe directly over the kraken : He then opens his arms or horns, feizės and fwallows his welcome guests, and converts them, after the due time, by digeftion, into a bait for other fish of the fame kind. I relate what is affirmed by many; but I cannot give so certain affurances of this particular, as I can of the existence of this furprizing creature tho 4 K

624

Operation of MERCURY accounted for.

I do not find any thing in it abfolutely contrary to nature. As we can hardly expect an opportunity to examine this enormous fea animal alive, I am the more concerned that nobody embraced that opportunity which, according to the following account, once did, and perhaps never more may offer, of feeing it entire when A dead. The Rev. Mr. Friis, confiftorial

App:

fome furprize to many of my acquaint-
ance; for their fatisfaction I defire you
will publish the following fhort memoir,
and fubjoin the cafe of the learned Dr.
Cheshire's fon, which you will find in the
11th page of his Gouty Man's Compa-
nion. I am,
Your conftant reader, &c.

HOEVER is capable from me

affeffor, minifter of Bodoen in Nordland, chanical principles to prove the

and vicar of the college for promoting Chriftian knowledge, gave me at the latter end of last year, when he was at Ber gen, this relation; which I deliver again on his credit.

In the year 1680 a krake (perhaps a young and careless one) came into the B

water that runs between the rocks and cliffs in the parish of Alftahoug, though the general custom of that creature is to keep always feveral leagues from land, and therefore of courfe they muft die there. It happened that its extended long arms, or antennæ, which this creature feems to ufe like the fnail, in turning C about, caught hold of fome trees standing near the water, which might eafily have been torn up by the roots; but befide this, as it was found afterwards, he entangled himself in fome openings or clefts in the rock, and therein stuck fo faft, and hung fo unfortunately, that he could not work himself out, but perifhed and pu- D trified on the spot. The carcafe, which was a long while decaying, and filled great part of that narrow channel, made it almost impaffable by its intolerable stench.

The kraken has never been known to do any great harm, except they have taken away the lives of thofe who confequently could not bring the tidings. I have never heard but one instance menti- E oned, which happened a few years ago near Fridrichstad, in the diocese of Aggerhuus. They fay that two fishermen accidentally, and to their great furprize, fell into fuch a spot on the water as has been before defcribed, full of a thick flime, almost like a morafs. They immediately ftrove to get out of this place, but they F had not time to turn quick enough to fave themfelves from one of the kraken's horns, which crushed the head of the boat fo, that it was with great difficulty they faved their lives on the wreck, tho' the weather was as calm as poffible; for these monsters never appear at other times.

4

activity of quickfilver in the human fabric, cannot be furprised at the extraordinary disease of the Neapolitan woman, being fubdued by repeated dofes of argent. viv. as crude mercury is to the blood and every juice fecreted from it, as one is to thirteen, fo that a particle of mercury conveyed into the blood is able by its momentum to diffolve and destroy any vifcidity contained in the human maís of blood and juices, fecreted from it in the above proportion, and therefore an ounce of crude mercury will attenuate 13 ounces of vifcid blood. The cafe referred to is as follows: The doctor's fon, at Guildford in Surrey, had for fome time been under the care of Dr. Burton of Windsor, and by his advice had at different times taken eight ounces of quickfilver, two or three days preceeding the 28th of April, 1744: On which day the doctor arrived at blifter to his back, which had in the next Guildford, and that night ordered a large morning done its duty, on the taking off the blifter an infinite number of the mercurial globules adhered, fome in, and others on the skin, from whence it is very apparent that the unlimited activity of quickfilver, conveys itself into the finest veffels of the body, which by its momentum is capable of diluting a vifcid mass of blood and juices, as well in arthritic as other cafes.

From the CHESTER COURANT, Dec. 9.

On a late moft terrible Calamity.
Effe quoque in fatis reminiscitur, affore tempus,
Quo mare, quo tellus, &c. &c. &c.

Ον. Μετ.
Difcite juftitiam moniti, et non temnere divos.
VIRG.

WHAT

T dire deftructions have fo lately fall'n [gulph'd On golden Tagus' fhores, and deep inThat city fair, erft Ulyffippo nam'd, The proud metropolis!-Like Tyre of old, Lifbona fince, of Lufitanian climes For commerce fam'd; her merchants wares went out, [mote, "Forth from the feas, enriching kings reAnd feeding nations in far diftant lands. As Tyrus alfo, now she's broken up,

* Ezek, Cb, 27, V, 33, 34

And