290 November 1748. 



of them had never tafted fugar or punch. The 

 tea which is now drank, is either very old, or 

 mixed with all forts of herbs, fb that it no longer 

 deferves the name of tea : therefore it cannot have 

 any good effect upon thofe who ufe it plentifully; 

 befides, it cannot fail of relaxing the bowels, as 

 it is drank both in the morning and in the after- 

 noon quite boiling hot. The Indians, the off- 

 fpring of the firft inhabitants of this country, are 

 a proof of what I have faid. It is well known 

 that their anceftors, at the time of the firft arrival 

 of the Europeans, lived to a very great age. Ac- 

 cording to the common accounts, it was then not 

 uncommon to find people among the Indians, 

 who were above a hundred years old : they lived 

 frugally, and drank pure water : brandy, rum, 

 wine, and all the other ftrong liquors, were utter- 

 ly unknown to them ; but fince the Chriftians 

 have taught them to drink thefe liquors, and the 

 Indians have found them too palatable, thofe who 

 cannot refift their appetites, hardly reach half the 

 age of their parents. 



LASTLY, fome people pretended that thelofs 

 of many odoriferous plants, with which the 

 woods were filled at the arrival of the Europeans, 

 but which the cattle have now extirpated, might 

 be looked upon as a caufe of the greater progrefsof 

 the fever at prefent. The number of thofe ftrong 

 plants occafioned a pleafant fcent to rife in the 

 woods every morning and evening. It is therefore 

 not unreafonable to think, that the noxioufnefs of 

 the effluvia from putrifying fubftances was then 

 prevented, fo that they were not fo dangerous to 

 the inhabitants, 



SEVERAL 



