HHPI w r^
United. States, 1
Pcv.njybvanin Dijlrict, yV'
TN purfuajjce tor. a writ,to me dire-fled £rom the
honoriMc Richard S"£TW»» Kfiq. Jurk'C of fc»\e
Uiftridt Court of the United States in and for the.
VcHnfy 1 vnia'Dilt, will he exposed to PUBLIC
SALE, at: the Cuftom-houfc, in th' city of Phi
ladelphia, on Friday, the 17th in 11. at 12 o'clock j Foi
at noon, j
2 hampers of Earthen Ware, 1 "'
1 box of" InOigo I
i Tjox of Merchandize /
I half barrel Ho. |
io bags of Coffee
I barrel t»f SaltPetre I
a V to
1 Jccg £cf Linens v IO
1 triink y Wf
1 barrel ei Sugar .. ,
I bag of Pepper, and *
Part of 3 of Sugar th
The Mme having been libelled agninft, nrofecuted tV(
and condemned a-; forfeited, in the fnid ( putt. | g
WILLIAM NICHOLS, bl
Marflal.
Marshal's Office, 7 4 „ te
id November, 179" S ( * t '' ' {r
United States, 1 *■
Pennsylvania Dijlricl, j m
IN wirfuanee of a writ to mc direclcii from the
honorable Rich*rd Pt rp.rs, IWq. JuJge of tha 1
DiOriA Court of the United State*, in and for t u c L
Pennsylvania Diftri&, will be exposed to PUBLIC tl
SALE, at the Cullom house in the city of Phila- at
delrhia, oh Friday, the 17A ir.ft. at l» o'clock, •
at noon, ,
354 Silver Watches J,
33 gold Watches ai
? >0 Watch Keys
The fame having been libelled yrofeeuted
and condemned forfeited, in thefrd Court. P
WILLIAM NICHOLS, p
Marjhal. 1
Marshal's Office, 7 P
ad November, 179;. ? dtS tl
To be Sold at Public Auction, J 1
Ob Saturday evening, Nov 4. *97, at o'clock, c '
at the Merchants' Coffec-houfe, ' J
' dols. ets. | q
1 Note drawn bv James Grccijeuf /(
in favour of and endorsed by Edward . t
Fox, dated 9th August, i;96,dueiith J ■
October last, I.3 £0
3 do. drawn by said James GrCeti- r
leaf in favor of and endorsed by Ed- a
ward Fox dated jth ueu'l, 1796,11 , B
4 mouths date, 1 payment doit, lit I g
13, 1681 14, and i63l 14, amount
together 8043 41
3 d» do. offame date, drawn and 1
endorsed Usafnrefaid, payable in eight (,
months, paymenu, do'.!. *693 75 each, c
amount together Bsß.l 2J
3 do. do. of fame date, drawn and .
endorl'ed as aforefai.l, payable in II
months' payments, dels. *693 75 each, 3
amount together 8,081 aj c
15505 9 1 '
1 dra f t drawn by Robert Morrison
John Nicholfcn,'dated l8:h May, 1796,
at 11 months i'ctSO 1
I do. drawn asaforefaid,attwo i
years jooo j
1 do. dfawu by Jrthn Nichoi
foti.onßobei t Morris, dated aßth
May, 1796, at 3 )«ri JOOO
1 do. drawn as aforefaiu,Bt 4
years jooo ]
—»o,ecb
The said drafts are secured by (hares ,
m the North America l.and Company
and endorsed by James Greenleaf
r Note dated Boston, 18th May,
179,5, drawn by Thtomas Daw«i, jun. j
in favor of Thomas Gicenkaf, paya- j
blc ifl January, 1798, endorsed by Da
niel Greenleaf, Henry Newman and
James Greenleaf IJJO
I do. dated Boflon, 18th Nov. 199JV
drawn by Panicl Greenleaf, in favour
of Thomas Dawes, jnn.payable ift Jan.
1798,endorfed By Thomas Greenleaf,
Henry Newman, and James GrcWeaf 65M
3 Notes, dated Boston, 17th Nov.
1795, drawn by Benjamin Hafkell, in
favour of James Greenleaf, payable ifl
January, 1799, endorsed by said James
Gfcenlcafand Nahom Fay.dols. JJOO
Ijoo —icoo % cso
3 do. dated Boston, 17th tsov. 1795,
drawn and endorsed as aforefaid, paya
ble ifl Jan. ißco, one payment, dols.
6100, JOOO, 4COO IJIOO
One bond, Zachaiiah Cox to James Greenleaf,
and afligned by him, dated the 11ft March, 179?,
in the sum of ten thoufaUd dollars, conditioned tor
the conveyance of 15 too acres of Land, near the
town of Fredcrica in Glyn county and state of
Georgia, the said bend full due.
John Connelly, auctioneer.
oa.aß. "
lo be Sold, by Public Vendue,'
On' Monday, the 13th day of November next,
at 11 o'clock inthe forenoon, at the late dwel
ling plantation of Alix and tR PoßTta, Esq.
deceased, in the Hundred and County of New-
Castle,
All the Stock of the said Farm,
Consisting of horfis fit for draught or saddle,
eolts, fat cattle, milch cows, calves, several
pairs of large and valuable oxen, iheep and
hogs (all the hornedeatllc and sheep, being of
a very large and fine breed) and also carts, har
rows', ploughs, and other farming utensils, to
gether with a variety of houfthold furniture.
The conditions of Sale will be made known,
at the time and place afprefaid.
Mary Porter, Admrx.
New Castle Hundred, State of ),
Delaware, OA. 10. 1797- )
£5" All pcrfous mdebted to the eflate of the
feid Alexander Porter, are requested to make
payment, and those <vho have demands against
the fame, to produce them duly authenticated,
for fettlcrrent.
0&. 30.
KJ- University of Pennsylvania,
Oilnberl-J, 1797.
THE different Schools of the University will be
opened on Monday, the «th of November ; of
which, all who arc cor.cc»ned, arc requested to
take notice.
By ,ricr of to: Facult*.
? Wm. ROGERS, Secretary.
Choice St. Croix Sugar and Rum
Coffee
Madeira and Tcneriffc Wine
For Sale by
James Tar J,
No. —, south Fotirth-Urect.
Oa. 6; d 3'v
Wanted, a Wet Kurie.
A Healthy Woman, with a gno I breift o
Milk, and fatijfa&oiy recommendations,
will-hear of an agreeable fnuatien, Ivy applying
at the off.ee or 1 his Gazette.
Nov. 2, 1797- d 5.
X?;e Gmttz. ' 5°
PHILADELPHIA, 'ti«
FRIDAY EVENING, NOVEMBER 3. I anc
For the Gazette of the United States. I
Philadelphia, fid. 2 l/l, I ari
Dr. William Currie. I
(Concludedfrom Ycfcrdafi Gazette,J >1 re [
SIR, ' J W
You appear to derive J j m
to the ajfertions you so confidently make as/J t j,
to the importation of the infiilion in the I thi
wearing apparel and bedding of the Arethu- I
fa's crew ; by repeating another ajfertioi, I f r ,
that it was impofiiblefor the stench emitted I f r(
from the snow to cause the disease, as there I a ]
is bo instance of diseases arising from vegeta- 1 an
ble putrefaftion, becoming contagious.— j
Not being a medical mah, I will not pre- j t0
tend toaffert with equal confidence thecon- I 0 f
trary ; all that I can fay is, that some of j
those who have been your preceptors in medicine I ] a
entertain the very opinion you oppose—l mud Is a
refer the enquiring reader to Dr. Cleghorn, I t h
Dr. Clarke, and many other refpe&able au- I ; t
thorities in medicine, who I am informed I th
are frequently quoted ia support of the o- I ix
pinion, that fevers arising from animal effluvia I 5
and vegetable putrefaction, are equally conta- I f e
gious. In a point, about which the faculty I w
are divided, modefly ought certainly to have I c;
taught a young author, to use less harih ex- I m
preffionj than those you have applied te the I
phyfieians who are opposed to your opinion. I q,
Thus \o fay, " they betray the most un- 4,
pardonable remiffnefs in their rcfearches into I (1
the nature ind hiflory of diseases ; or wilfully I ci
Jhut their eyes against evidence that would ft
| enforce conviction in every mind not actuated by 1 „
' i some malignant motive ; that they are vnac- j tl
i quainted with medical hi/lory, and unqualified o
to discern the connection between cause and ef- I f (
feß" ; is a stile of language illy suited to I y
the chara<Sler ofc calm rcafoner ; vinwar- ti
ranted by* the common rules of politeness, f;
and the praftie'e of the HiGfiEST autho- tl
■ RtTiEs in medicine: for we fee by the g
extraft given from the works of the great p
Cullen, in one of your letters to m«'; he /,
fays, very modeflly, "It has new been ren- I
dcredprobable," &c. Your attempt to cram „
down your opinion, by thus fti'gmatifing eve- b
ry one who does not agree with you, de- g
feats your intention ; for notwithftabding e
your indelicate exprefllons, physicians and f
i others who think for themselves, will still t!
' retain their own sentiments. \
In my address ta -Dr. Mease, I did not 1 t
consider it of as much confeq»ience to deter-1 f
mine whether the stench from the snow Nav- i
igation proceeded from animal or vegetable i
putrefaftion on board, as to afcfirtaiu that it I t
was the unhappy cause of the malignant set
ver that appeared among those firft exposed t
to it ; yet I then believed and am now ful- I t
ly convinced that this stench proceeded from \j
vegetable putrefaftion alone, having seen a IJ
lift of the cargo confiding, besides other I '
merchandize, of a great variety of vegetable 1
substances, some of them said to be shipped ;
in bad order, and after being on board more I t
than four months in a very tight vessel, oc- I l
cafioncd an intolerable stench whilst this I c
cargo Whether or not our I
late calamity could have been prevented by ;
a timely removal of this veflel after the I /
stench was perceived, I will not determine ; I
but a proposal of this kind, would from your
own principles, have been treated by you, I ;
and perhaps by many others with coitempt, I <
and the authors of it stigmatized as being I I
unqualified to difeern the connexion be- <
tween cause and effeft, or as having wilfully 1
(hut their eyes against evidence that would I I
enforce conviftion in every mind not a&uat-1 I
ed by some malignant motive—or at least they I 1
r would have been charged with having ex-1 <
cited falfe alarms in order to terrify the in- I 1
ir habitants of this city. It may be proper 1
le for me here to remark that although I have I ;
' f mentioned this stench as the cause of the fe-1 i
ver, yet I do not consider this circumstance I
as in every instance neceflary to prove the I 1
exifteno*, thongh in the present cafe it may J
serve to e*tnce the uncommon degree of ac- I
tivity, of the noxious cause that produced
it ; for it is well known that malignant fe- I 1
vers have been generated by the effluvia from I
vegetable putrefaftion when little or per- I
haps no stench was perceived from them at all. I
1 In order to give weight to your opinion, I
e' or rathiir to be conjiflent with your assertion, I
al that the disease was imported by the ship I
id Arethitfa ; you publi(hed a lift of persons I
°f w ho were affefted therewith " from the 25th I
ir " July," and commence it with the " pilot of I
the, Arethufa. But had you been free from
n prejudice, and really aftuated by that "pow
erful deftre" to ascertain the origin of the dis
ease, which you fay you are poflefied of,
you would have included in the lift the I
names of those persons who were affefted by
he the fever, before the arrival of the Arethufa,
kc either from your own praftice, or that of
the physicians from whom you collcdted the
cd ' above mentioned lift. I am informed that
several physicians have declared, that they
had cases of the disease before the 25th Ju
a ly ; I hope they "will come to light, as they
will tend more than any other argument to
I be prove, that the disease did not spring from
of the " iufefted bedding and clothes on board
to the Arethufa." A candid investigator into
the history of the fever, will not be content
ed with the agreement in your account of
! the origin of the disease, and of the lirit
UTI p er f° n taken sick from on board the fufpedt
ed veflel, but will inquire into the records
of the health of the city before the period of
her arrival, and if he finds the fame disease
to have then prevailed ; hg will the
(hip and look nearer home-for the origin of
v the calamity.
If any stronger proof could be required
that the disease was Rot imported from the
0 Wsft-Indics, I would adduce the declaration
3n3 ; of Dr. Edv.-ard Stevens, late df St.
* r ' S Croix, and now one of the consulting phy
sicians of the port, who, having witnessed
this fever, in all its ftagea", degrees an J fpe- the
cies, in the city holpitul, lia3, it is find, dc- vail
clafed that it is materially elijirent from the Sn<
yHow fever of tit Weft-Indies : this informs- I b
tism was publiilied on the 18th September, inti
and has, I believe, never been contradidled- cle;
To do away the wtight of this important mi<
argument, it will be said that a different hoi
climate may/o alter and modify the disease, fur
as to present different appearances here, off
fi;om those exhibited in the Weft-Indies: but wa
this is a mere fubterfuge ; for it is this very exl
resemblance which the fever bore to the (In
Weft-India fever tbat was- said to prove the th«
importation of our epidemic. To reconcile ca
therefore the opposite opinions of some of stl
the Philadelphia physicians, and Dr. Stevens, res
it must be observed, that the former speak of
from the descriptions of bceks ; the latter an<
from personai, experience, derived from inj
a lengthy residence in the Weft-Indies, and sic
an extenlive' pradliee among the fever in ne;
queflion. It »nly requires common sense fig
to determine which authority is raoft worthy as
I of reliance. th
Thus then I have annslyzed aP. your a- th
| larming (lories, of infeßed bedding, infilled A
I fails, and infeSed clothes ; and I hart proved ca
I that they amount to nothing! Snppofing M
I it a fadl, what remains to be provtd, that fla
I the two men who died on the 4th June, on th
I bqard the Arethufa, on her passage from th
1 Kingston to Havanna, died of the yellow fa
I fever : No man who is unprejudiced, and va
I will attentively consider wh t I have stated, cc
I can suppose it eonfiftent with reason or the
I nttvne of things, that the above articles, after pi
I being in constant use, and no doubt fre- fr
J quently waflied, or certainly wet with rain, of
I an<T afred on the passage, on board a clean fv
I (hip arriving in ballast and open hatches, in
I could have retained the infedtion in such a ol
state of adlivity as to give the yellow fever, fr
j at the end of fifty days, to the pilot, or to d
the crew of a vessel whose decks they pnffed ei
I over on tlreir way a(hore, and that thefc p*T- 1
I fona (heuld not infedt any others n
I who were exposed to the contagion from at- tl
tending therfi ; at the fame time that these rt
sailors and their clothes, supposed to be ' d
thus highly chafged with infedliop, did not vs
give the fame disease they gave to some peo- tl
pie in the open tir, to others with whom they te
1 lodged. 4 n
■ I It is true, by dinning our ears at the mo- i<
I went of alarm, with the accounts of deaths on v
• board a fufpeHedpip, you did for'a (hort time n
■ I gain your point with many under the inflti- si
' I ence of strong prejudices; but they will now a
I fee how little danger existed from those n
I deaths, by reason of the diltanco of time at t
I which they occurred before the arrival of v
t 1 the vessel, a circumstance which you eare- f
-1 fully concealed, knowing well how greatly f
•I it would tend to diminish the confidence in d
■ your opinion of her having thus imported £
t I the fever. In fine, your attempt to trace
- I the fever to the fbip Arethufa, is unfupport- (
lled by a Jingle unequivocal faß ; but, on the <
- I contrary f your opinion is proved to be un- f
1 founded by the very fad brought forward in its f
\\fupport. Your own " be li if," your own 2
r " CERTAINTY," ERRONEOUS ASSERTIONS, f
-■ suppositions, and ambiguous facts, r
1 I are all you have to offer in its support-; and i
• I they will carry no further weight with them t
-1 than prejudice will efftft. With the can- t
s I did reafoner they will pass for nothing. 5
r I (hall now proceed to detail as coucifely 1
! as possible,' the fadls to prove the origin of )
e I the late epidemic, from the snow Naviga- 1
; tion, from Marseilles. j
r This vessel arrived perfectly healthy on or 1
, about the 24th July, after a passage of eighty t
, I days from land to land, and I was told more ]
r I than 100 days from Marseilles. Her eargo <
■ I confided of a vast variety of perishable arti- ;
y I cles of both vegetable and animal natures. 1
i I Some brandy and red wine were also on i
-1 board. I have authority to state, that the i
y I cargo was received on board, in very bad
-1 order, and during rainy weather. This au- 1
- I thority is from two mercantile men now in
r I this city, who were in Marseilles at the time,
e I and who mentioned the circumstance the
•-1 moment they were informed of the snow
el having been fufpefted of introducing the
e disease. The cargo had nearly been Jive
y I months in the hold when (he arrived in this
- I port. I have also authority to state, from
d I a gentleman to whom the captain made the
•- I declaration, that ke never had pumped hit
n I vessel during the whole passage ; to use his own
I expression he said " the pumps might as well
1. I have been below." The effect which this
1,1 would have in creating a heat in the hold,
1,1 and a putrefadlion of perilhable materials,
p I previously in a state favorable to that pro
is I cess, must be evident ; and so careful are
th I some matters of vessels, to prevent this tf
of\ feft of a tight (hip upon cargoes liable to
m j heat, that they frequently pour water in
u- I their pumps, and then pump it out again,
if-1 The snow began to discharge hsr cargo on
f, I or about the 27th July, when a very offen
:ie j five smell was frequently perceived to issue
>y from the hold. Several of the erew were
r a, soon after taken sick j one of thera was re
of moved by the health officer to the hospital,
he State-Kland, where he died. His disease
lat was not \.\\efcurvy as stated by the captain
ey of the snow ; for Dr. S". Duffield, confult
u- ing physician of the part, who attended
ey the Crew, informed me he laboured under
to an inflammatory fever, with a pain across
his breast aud (houlders; and it is probable
ird that the bleeding at the mouth, which after
ito wards came on (and which is a well-known
nt- symptom of the late epidemic) gave rife to
of the opinion of the man's disease being the
irft scurvy. Mr. Latimer's business in the fiour
dl- line frequently obliged him to be on the
rds wharf, within the sphere of the extent of
'of the offenfive smell from the fuow. His fer
afe vant man was seen on the wharf on the 29th
:he Jcly, though you fay he was taken sick on
of the 27th. °The disease quickly spread to
the whole neighbourhood ; and particularly
red affedled those persons in the range of (lores,
the counting houses and fail-lofts, opposite to
ion the Snow, covering a space of nearly 300
St. feet, from Starr and Pritchetts to Pjne
ay- street, in all of which there were more or
fed less sick. About 'the centre of this space
the Snow lay, and the east winds which pre- can
vailed at the time, set diredlly from the unli
Snow to the houses opposite. This fadl is, hav
I believe, unparallelled in the history of the efp<
introduftion of a fever in this country, and Sta
clearly proves the source of the late epi'de- and
mic. Mr. Tittermary, whose counting- acc
haufe was near the bow of the Snow, as- got
fured me, the exhalation from her was so inf<
off*nfiv« he could scarcely bear it ; and I and
was informed of it by many others: it even up
extended as far as the lower fide of Pine- die
street wharf. So sickly were the crew of per
the SnoV, that when (he was requsfted by poi
capt. Young, the harbour mailer, on the to
sth August, to remove, one of the officers the
replied, he could not, from the weak state obi
of the people, without some other afiift- the
ance. They were seen continually re fort- for
ing to the bow of the vessel ia a weak and for
sickly ftnte, and they hung a mat over or or
near the anchor (lock to hide the offenfive j vei
fight from public view. Mr. Lewis who, ! fri<
as mentioned above, was out of town when j th<
the Arethufa arrived, complained much of fnj
this stench, and was taken sick on the ill (la
August. Three men who discharged a thi
cargo from a (hallop, on the south fide of
Mr. Latimer's wharf, and two others in a air
flat at Pine-street, all within the extent of I go
the fhnell, were seized with the fever after I th<
they left the city, which it is said proved ch
fatal to all of them. Even after the remo- gr
val of the snow to Southwark, the people in
continued sickly for some time. w 'i
The captain of the snow, upon my firft ef
publication concerning the stench emitted in
from her, acknowledged the fadt of the so
offenfive smell, but said it proceeded from ft;
five or fix dead dogs which lay putrifying w
in the vicinity of the dock ; yet he and one nl
of his witnesses are at variance as to their m
situation : in fadl, no person can be pro- d'
duced who will assert that he saw them in o
either of those docks, and the fadls which w
1 have stated could be proved by a fnfficiciit 01
number of refpedlable witnesses : indeed, |r
that such -a nuisance (hcuild be fuffered to P
remain in this neighbourhood for several lr
days together, would be a reproach to those
who reside there or frequent it : this cause, 0
therefore, could not have produced the ex- c;
' tensive, permanent stench that was perceived : n
nor did it ppoceed from this bilgc-vvatei—an rt
. idea introduced into several of your letters, P
1 which I believe to be your own, as I hav« w
never heard it mentioned by any other per- "
- son. I have lately seen Mr. B. Afhmead, c
r and he confirms what he had mentioned to h
; niyfelf and others, refpedling the stench from h
t the snow Navigation. Mr. Benners, vvho «
f was employed as weigh-mafter of this vef- "
- fel's cargo, and who also complained of this 1
r stench, soon after took the prevailing difor- c
1 der, of which he died—a circumstance I 1'
1 did not mention before. r
6 In your letter to me you fay that " the a
- stench from the snow could not have pro- r
educed the fever; because the exhalation I
- from vegetable matters in a state of putre- '
s fad ion, is laid down by the great Cullen '
i as the cause of intermitting and remitting '
, fevers, and are never contagious." The opi-
, nion of Dr. Cullen, however refpedlable, ■>
I is not infallible ; and is opposed by the au- <
u thorities mentioned by Dr. Rulh, to prove <
- that vegetable as well as animal effluvia will «
produce contagious fevers. I may also 1
Y mention, that, notwithflanding the opinion <
f I have given above, it is possible there might 1
- have been a combination of both in the car- '
go of the snow Navigation. lamat a loss 1
r to conceive in what refpedls the essential <
y component parts of vegetable and animal '
■e putrefa&ion differ, that they (hould pro- <
o du#e different kinds of fevj;r.—Will the :
i- analysis of the two effluvia into their ulti- I
s. mate principles account for their different '
n effedis upon the human constitution ? I
e (hould be glad of an answer to this query. '
d I conceive that the point can only be de
-- termined by the " pajl experienee" of prac
ji tical physicians ; and this is diredlly in fa
;, vour of the idea (notwithflanding the opi
le nion of Dr. Cullen) that diseases from one
vf source of effluvia are equally contagious as from
le the other. To those who wish fadls in proof,
ve I must refer to the publication of Dr. Rulh
is on the fever of 1793 and 1794.
m As a proof that the heat and stench of
le the hold of a vessel will produce the yellow
it fever, I will mention the following cafe, al
rn ready given to the public. In the year
:11 1793, a E/ench Eaft>lndia (hip was brought
is into the island of Barbadoes by the Britifli
d, lette* of rasrque Pilgrim. The whole if
s, land and the crews of both (hips were heal
-- thy, until the hold of the Indiaman was o
re pened, when an intolerable stench arose, and
:f- vvas found to be occalioned by some bag 9of
to pepper, lying near the pump having rotted.-
in Everyone of the white men belongingto the
n. (hips crew were seized with the yellow fever
in which was very mortal; and it even affedled
n- some of the blacks. From the (hip it soon
ue spread thro' Bridgetown, with unusual ma
re lignity, and swept off several American's
■e- there it the time. This one proof is fuffi
il, cient to (hew that vegetable putrefaSinn is ca
tfe pable of producing a contagious difeaft : Not
lin withstanding your positive assertion to the
It- contrary, and the contemptuous manner in
ed which you speak of those who differ from
ler you in opinion.
sfs I (hall- now conclude by proposing such
ble means as will tend toguardourfea ports from
er- the introdudlion of future malignant fevers,
wn And firft, I would remark, that it is not
to merely the yellow fever from the Weft-In
:he dies that Ike are to fear. We now know that
>ur yellowness is by nomeans charadleriftic of the
the fever so called, and is merely an accidental
of symptom, occurring as often in the true
"er- plague, and in all other malignant fevers,
)th which may be as readily imported by infedt
on ed gOods from Europe, as fevers fiom the
to Weft-Indies. As vessels from Marseilles in
rly the summer, frequently have long passages
•es, from 80 to 100 days : as the cargoes bro't
to from thence and the neighbouring ports in
;oo the (heights, are very liable to be damaged
ne- from the causes that operated in the cafe of
: or the snow Navigation, and will consequently
ace emit a fimihr offenfive smell, and as thin "can-
cannot be difcevered by any health officer, '
unless by discharging the cargo, I would
have every veflel from these ports to unload,
especially in the fumnier, at the Hospital,
State Idand ; where store-houses, wharves
and piers (hould be built for the purpose of "
accommodating the fliips and storing the
goods. The articles damaged, or supposed
infe&ed, might then be opened and aired,
and the wine or other liquors on board Tent
up to the city. Vessels from the Weft In
dies, on board of vvln'cb any deaths had hap
pened, or having (hort paffoges from sickly
povts, to perform a quarantine proportioned
to the length of .time since the death, or of
the voyagp : an indijiriminate quarantine a«
observed by our (hipping, is certainly nei
ther just nor necelTary. During the per
formance of qnarantine by any (hip, a per*
son ought to be appointed to (lay on board,
or a guard boat (lationed nigh her, to pre
vent any communication by water with the
friends of those on board from the city, or
j the Jersey (liore This guard boat (hould
! supply them with provision, afld the officer
(lationed in her (hould be able to superintend
the fumigation of the itfre&ed veiTel.
As a preventive for the generation of foul
air, and the damages which perifliable car
! goes are liable to fufFer from heated air in
the holds of (hips, I am of opinion that ma
chines for the ventilation of veflels are of
great confequerice. Wind fails, tho' ufeful
in empty (hips, or those in ballad, crowded
with people, cannot a<s* at sea in storms,
especially when the hold is full, nor in port
in calm weather. Machines that would af
ford by the motion of the (hip at sea, a con
stant renewal of the air in the hold, or that
when in port, would require but little ma
nual labour to work them, would apply the
mod effectual means of preventing the intro
du&ion of malignant pellilential fevers into
our commeicial cities, whether those fevers
were of foreign produdtion, or of domeftie
origin from imported materials. lam riot
infeufible of the delicate filiation I am nqw
placed in, when the bare mention of my own
invention, may be considered as proceeding
solely from a regard to my own interest ; and
on the other hand my total filenee on this oe
cafioii might be ctmlidered as a desertion of
myown discovery made on the principle here
i recommended. Relying chiefly on the re
, ports of several mailers veflels who have
t witnessed the operation at sea of the machine.
which I have invented, ajid which had been
, conflrufted in their veflels, lam led to bc
i lieve that it will eventually pcoduce the fa
i lutary effe£U which I have mentioned above,
> especially in (hips of the usual size employed •
. in the Weft-India or European trads, yet
s I*ll (hips of about four hundred tons burthen,
_ or upwards, their motion at sea being mucli
[ less than in ftnaller (hips the operation of the
machine will be proportionably leflened ;'
e and lam told that in such (hips of which the
. number is fraall, owned in this port, it will
i be necessary that the number and size of the
. machines for ventilation (hould be proporti
n oned to that of the (hip wherein they are
r conftrufted ; and that this may be dope
. without much inconvenience, in the form
, which I now make ufeof; yet even in this
. cafe, it might be proper, especially in calm
e weather at fen, that ventilation (hould be
!1 effe&ed by a little manual )abour occafionaf
-3 ly applied to work one or more of those. raa
n chines, which might be accoraplilhed in less
t time and with one half the labour that is ne
•- ce(Tary in any other mode of vestilating the
" 8 hold of loaded (hips that I hare yet heard,
il of ; as a proof of this aflertion, several maf
il ters of fhip3 have informed me, that by or
i- dering hands to work thofc machines only
e about two hours in a day, they found that
i- flour, or other provisions might be preferv
it ed from all damage in the hold of a (hip for
I fevtral months in the Weft-Indies, and fsr
r. eral gentlemen in thi3 eity have also witnes
sed the effeft produced by this machine when
worked in this way, in expelling the foul
i- air from the cabin, (late rooms, and the
i- hold of the ship, and that too where the
it heat as well as the (tench was scarce tole
m rable, to those who had not been accustomed
f, to if : yet after all that I have said, if any
Hi better mode of obtaining this great deside
ratum ca» badevifed, let it be adopted; and
as notwithstanding in your firft letter to me,
w you attempted" to ridicule my discovery, ahd
1- ung;nerou(ly to insinuate, that I began to
il- write, merely topu(Fo(F myown invention,
it yet all I (hall fay in reply, is, that every in
(h vention calculatad to lessen human misery,
f- however it may excite the envy or ridicule
I- of fame, will afford pltafui eto every beiie
o- volent mind. When the plague, yellow fe
id ver or any other contagions oifeafe an-ives in
nf a veiTel, and the goods and sick perfensare
d.- landed below, I would have the bofpital well
iie guarded by perfon3 appointed for the ex
er press purpose to cut o(F the communication
;d from those imprudent persons, who might
>n wilh to visit their sick friends, or from the
a- attempts of thieves during the time the
ns goods were exposed to the air. The hofpi
fi- tal should be walled in, and gate keeper*
a- appointed to live in small houses at the gate#
>t- for the purpose of admitting proper persons
he and preventing or of giving timely notice of
in the intrusion of strangers.
in) While however care is taken to prevent
disorders from abroad, let us not forget that
ch danger attends us at home. Popular pre
im judicey!( which it rauft be granted is very nat
rs. Ural) has hitherto induced mod of us in A
ot merica to ascribe all our epidemics in sea
tn- port towns to importatation from the Weft
lat Indies ; while the fame natural' prejudice
:he leads the people there to deny strenuously
tal the charge of their occasional epidemics o
-ue rignating among them ; but to ascribe them
:rs, uniformly toJlaveJhips. But malignant df
£t- cases occur too frequently in our country,
the and at too great a dillance from sea ports to
in permit us to iirfpute them always to foreign
ges infection. They can originate in any place
o't and in any climate, provided the causes capable
in of producing them exifi. The phyficiaus of
red Baltimore and Norfolk have ascribed the
•of diseases which have lately affli&ed tho r e
itly places to the exhalations of the place ; and
an- as it t$ known that the yellow fever has ge-