612) British ‘Fravellers im Americas [Dike.! 
story, told him by General Washington (he: could ‘not well govastray,’ 
one would suppose, in that part of the tale); to say nothing’ of the fire in 
the woods, which it would be difficult for & man to escape on horseback ; 
the roar of Niagara, which could be distinctly heard forty miles off—nor 
the cloud of spray, which he saw with the naked eye, hovering’ over: the! 
falls, when he was fifty-four miles off, on the level waters) of) Lake: Erie ; 
nor the swiftness of the black snake, which enables it to outrun the best 
runner on fair ground; nor the flock of pigeons, at least eighty miles: 
long; nor the President’s house at Philadelphia; and the capitol! at: 
Richmond, whereof the same story is told with variations.'0 900 soiw 
By-the-bye, though, perhaps you may be glad to hear the truth about 
several of these matters: if so, you shall be gratified. The musquitces 
of America, which Moore, Cobbett, and Weld make such a fuss about, 
and which General Washington told the latter would sting through the 
thickest boot, are nothing more nor less than the gnats of your country, 
which, every two or three years, may be found in almost every bed-' 
chamber of England that opens near a wood, a river, a garden; a house-' 
lot of damp earth, or a meadow ; nothing more nor less, indeed, than the 
very insects which were found last year, in the heat of summer, clinging’ 
to every white wall, without appearing to touch it—buzzing about every 
candle, every bright eye, and every red lip, and biting every dear crea=: 
ture in the neighbourhood of the canal of your St. James’s Park. The 
musquitoes of America, though sometimes larger than the gnats of 
iingland, are never more venomous ; at any rate, if I may speak from 
actual experience, I should so testify—having had bite after bite’ in your 
country, such as I never had here, although I have been up the Poto- 
mac, where the mosquitoes are said to have stung a fellow, ‘horse, ‘har- 
ness, and gig, into a hard lump once ; and over two or three spots where 
the people, if they do not actually fish for musquitoes, are inthe habit- 
of setting traps for them. sch b rartts 
The noise of Niagara may be heard, perhaps, if the wind’ bey fair, 
about one-fourth part of the-distance which Weld speaks of ;/and “the 
cloud, perhaps, might be seen a few leagues off by a spectator, if he’ was 
on high ground, though not, I should suppose, if he were on the level 
waters of a lake. bailies 
The fires in the woods have, it is very true, so completely surrounded 
people, whom. they had taken by surprise in the night, or while they 
were asleep, as'to render it very difficult for them to escape, otherwise 
than by taking to the water. Such was the fact, I believe, in the fires 
which occurred about a year ago in a part of British America; but I 
have ‘never known a case, nor have I ever heard of one, which would 
justify the story told here—even to the fourth part of what is told. Ab 
fire may break out on every side at once—the woods may, as they often’ 
do after a long drought, flame up to the skies at the very approach of. 
the flames, and while the chief blaze may appear to be a long way off; 
but I believe that, even:at such a time, a child could escape with ease. 0: | 
And so far‘as I know any thing of the black snakes—and I am»prevty: 
familiar with them and their habits—I undertake’ to'say that ‘the stories! 
which are told of their strength, courage, and swiftness, are exceedingly: 
absurd.and ridiculous. I have seen a large one instantaneously knot). 
himself about a man’s neck—but the man was able to get clear bya) 
‘slight exertion of strength, and to tear the reptile away, ‘knotted though: 
he was about his neck and his right arm. I suppose,,too, that: a:child of 
a 
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