New Jerfey, Raccoon. 377 



away many at Penns 7ieck, a place below 

 Raccoon, and nearer to the Delaware, where 

 a number of Swedes are fettled. AlmofV^ 

 the Swedes there died of it, though they 

 were very numerous. From hence it hap- 

 pened that their children who were left in 

 a very tender age, and grew up among 

 the Englijlj children, forgot their mother 

 tongue, fo that few of them underfland it 

 at prefent. Since that time, though the 

 pleurify has every year killed a few people 

 at Penns neck, yet it has not carried off any 

 considerable numbers. It reited as it were 

 till the autumn of the year 1748, but then 

 it began to make dreadful havock, and every 

 week fix or ten of the old people died. 

 The difeafe was fo violent, that when it at- 

 tacked a perfon, he feldom lived above two 

 or three days j and of thofe who were taken 

 ill with it, very few recovered. When the 

 pleurify was got into a houfe, it killed mod 

 of the old people in it : it was a true pleu- 

 rify, but it had a peculiarity with it, for it 

 commonly began with a great fwelling un- 

 der the throat and in the neck, and with a 

 difficulty of fwallowing. Some people look- 

 ed upon it as contagious ; and others feri- 

 oufly declared, that when it came into a fa- 

 mily, not only thofe who lived in the fame 

 houfe fufTered from it, but even fuch rela- 

 tions 



