192 TRAVELS IN THE CONFEDERATION 



in many other fishes is susceptible of particular cor- 

 ruption, although the rest of the meat may be sound 

 and edible, is a fact confirmed by the pretty general 

 prejudice among sea-faring men against the livers of 

 most sorts of fish, for instance, the story of the liver 

 of a tetraodon on Cook's ship in the South Sea. And 

 it is worthy of remark besides that very generally, 

 after eating these unsound fish the skin is attacked, 

 and almost always a sort of rash with scaling follows, 

 and that this is also commonly the case after eating a 

 kind of unwholesome muscle found on the coast of 

 Holland. 



The country about Charleston, and for many miles 

 around, being quite bare of stones, what is needed 

 must be brought from a distance. Most often they 

 use for foundations, and even for entire houses, a 

 shell-sand stone from Bermuda. It consists altogether 

 of crushed shell-particles, as a rule no larger than 

 millet or poppy-seeds; it is white and friable, but ab- 

 sorbing moisture, grows firmer in the air and durable; 

 and this is furthered still more by giving it a coating 

 of sand and lime. These stones are brought hither in 

 pieces 18 inches long and 6 inches thick; ioo cost 12- 

 13 Span, dollars (a 4 sh. 6d. Sterl.). European ves- 

 sels, especially the Dutch at this time, bring in bricks 

 as ballast, and sell them at a profit. Near by Charles- 

 ton all the materials necessary for bricks might be 

 had, but so far nobody has gone about making them, 

 because they are to be had cheap enough, and the 

 workmen needed could be placed to better advantage 

 in some other way. The hilly and mountainous 

 country produces stone in plenty, and there are the 



