218 Miscellaneous Intelligence. 



diseased than any other organ. Its outer surface is usually dark red, its 

 inner surface, particularly near the pylorus, dark, sometimes cherry-re J 

 often looser and thicker in texture than natural ; and it contains either ± 

 yellow, green, or reddish mucus, or more frequently various indigestible 

 substances, both hard and soft, such as wood, stones, sand, leather, wool 

 fragments of cloth, straw, and the like, but very rarely any food. In the 

 intestines, and especially In the duodenum, are often seen dark spots 

 externally, ami red patches internally, as in the stomach; yet not un fre- 

 quently the intestines are quite healthy in appearance. The omentum, 

 mesentery, liver, pancreas, spleen, kidneys, supra renal capsules, bladder, 

 blood-vessels and nerves are free of disease. The larynx, and more 

 particularly the epiglottis and ventricles of the glottis, are often red, but 

 sometimes not; the windpipe and its ramifications are in like manner 

 sometimes red from increased vascularity, at other times not altered from 

 their natural state; and the lungs are in general much loaded with blood, 

 sometimes inflamed in patches. The heart is commonly flaccid, the 

 pericardium healthy, and the great vessels also in the natural state. The 

 eight pair of nerves, the great synipathetics, and the phrenic nerves are not 

 affected.— Edinburgh Medical and Surgical Journal, vol. 32, p. 380. 



Indians of Xorth America. — I had frequent opportunities afterwards 

 during the journey, of conversing with persons well acquainted with the 

 Indians of North America, and I was sorry to observe that faint hopes were 

 entertained as to any permanent improvement being possible in the condi- 

 tion of these poor people. When I described what I had seen at this village, 

 the persons I spoke to could not deny, they said, that by the care of govern- 

 ment, and especially of disinterested and zealous people, willing to take 

 personal trouble in teaching them the arts of civil life, they may be brough t , 

 apparently, to a considerable state of civilization; but that sooner or later 

 thev are always found to relapse when the hand that guides them is with- 

 drawn ; I confess I am unwilling to adopt so discouraging a notion, and I 

 still think, after all I have seen and heard, that by some means or other the 

 Indians might be reclaimed. This, however, can be accomplished, as I con- 

 ceive, only by allowing: them to mingle with the whites; to possess indi- 

 vidual property as well as political rights, and thence they might come in 

 time to understand the practical value of religious and moral duties; obli- 

 gations which are manifestly useless to such people, or to any people when 

 preached merely in the abstract.— Hairs Travels, vol. I, p. 260. 



Alms-house. — From the report of the trustees of the alms-house for Balti- 

 more city and county, 1S27, it appears "that of the ©23 adult persons ad- 

 mitted into the alms "house during the year ending April, 1826, five hundred 

 and fifty-four were positively ascertained to have been reduced to the neces- 

 sity of being placed there by drunkenness." 



Bushmen. — They have no idea whatever of the Supreme Being ; conse- 

 quently they practice no kind of worship. They have, however, a super- 

 stitious reverence for a little insect known by the name of the Creeping-leaf, 

 a sight of which, they conceive, indicates something fortunate; and to kill 

 it, they suppose, will bring a curse upon the perpetrator. They have some 

 notion of an evil spirit, which they imagine produces mischief, particularly 

 the diseases which they endure; and to counteract his evil purposes, a sort 

 of men are employed to blow, and make a humming noise over the sick ; 

 which they sometimes contiuue for many hours together. 



Their manner of life is extremely wretched and disgusting. They delight 

 to smear their bodies with the fat of animals mingled with a powder, which 

 makes it shine. They are utter strangers to cleanliness ; as they never wash 

 their bodies, but suffer the dirt to accumulate, so that it will hang a con- 

 siderable length from their elbows. Their huts are formed by digging holes 

 in the earth, about three feet deep, and then making a roof of reeds; which 

 is, however, insufficient to keep off the rains. Here they lie close togethf i 

 like pigs in a stve. They are extremely lazy, so that nothing will rouse 

 them to action hut excessive hunger. They will continue several day- 

 together without food, rather than be at the pains to procure it. When 

 ('unstrained to sally forth for prey, they are dexterous in destroying the 

 various beasts which abound in the country ; but when they cannot procure 

 these, they make shift t'i live upon snakes, mice, ami the most detestable 



