Travels in the United States of America: Commencing in the Year 1793, and Ending in 1797. With the Author's Journals of his Two Voyages Across the Atlantic.Priest, William
History
Travels in the United States of America: Commencing in the Year 1793, and Ending in 1797. With the Author's Journals of his Two Voyages Across the Atlantic.
Priest, William
United States -- Description and travel
_Sept. 10th_.--Pleasant morning, having run to the S.W. during the
night: no sign of the banks. A land bird, of the thrush kind, came and
settled on our main yard; seemed quite exhausted; fell upon the deck, and
was taken up by the cabin boy. The poor creature must have been driven off
the coast of America in a violent gale at N.W., the distance from any land
being upwards of a thousand miles; no other circumstance could account for
it's flying so far.
_Sept. 19th_.--Wind at N.N.W. very moderate;--the afternoon calm. The
sun set this evening with uncommon beauty, that glorious luminary was
surrounded with clouds of a vivid yellow, green, and red; strongly shaded
with black half the extent of the horizon. The moon at the same time
rising to the east-ward, with a cool and faint sky, formed a strong and
beautiful contrast.
_Sept. 21st_.--Wind S. with rain. Caught four dolphins, which afforded us
a most delicious repast: in the paunch of one was found a dodon, or
globe-fish; the sailors call it a parrot-fish, from its having a beak
exactly resembling that bird.--At 9 A.M. spoke with the Queen Charlotte of
London, bound to Bristol, out ten days from Baltimore; the captain's
account of the longitude 67. Our joy in being so near the land was of
short continuance; for, in one hour after, we spoke with the Union, eight
days from Philadelphia. The captain informed us, there was a sort of
plague in that city, which carries off great numbers, and that ten
thousand of the inhabitants had fled to the country, to avoid the
infection.
_Sept. 24th_.--Soundings at 60 fathom: lay to all night.
_Sept. 25th_.--Woke with the cry of "Land." At 10 A.M. we took a
pilot on board: he informed us the disorder at Philadelphia is the yellow
fever, imported in a french schooner from the West Indies; some of the
passengers of this vessel died of this fatal disorder, at a lodging-house
in Water-street, and communicated the infection to the family. It is now
spreading rapidly through the city, in all directions. The faculty, so far
from being able to cure this disorder, have, in several instances, fallen
victims to it's fury. Within this few days, a Dr. Rush has discovered this
disorder is _not_ the yellow fever of the West Indies and has applied
an opposite mode of cure by copious bleedings, mercurial medicines, &c.
with some success. What is truly extraordinary, the infection does not
affect _people of colour!_
_Sept. 28th._--Came to an anchor off Glocester Point, five miles
below Philadelphia: the vessel proceeds no further at present, as all
intercourse with the city is cut off, and business at a stand.
_October 1st_.
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