September 1749. 



neighbourhood of towns ; and they are 

 very rare in the north part of Canada. The 

 Indians plant great quantities of water-me- 

 lons at prefent ; but whether they have 

 done it of old is not eafily determined. For 

 an old Onidoe Indian (of the fix Iroquefe 

 nations) allured me, that the Indians did 

 not know water-melons before the Euro- 

 peans came into the country, and commu- 

 nicated them to the Indians. The French, 

 on the other hand, have ' allured me, that 

 the Illinois Indians have had abundance of 

 this fruit, when the French firfl came to 

 them ; and that they declare, they had 

 planted them fince times immemorial. 

 However, I do not remember having read 

 that the Europeans, who firft came to North*- 

 America, mention the water-melons, in 

 fpeaking of the diflies of the Indians at 

 that time. How great the fummer heat is 

 in thofe parts of America which I have 

 paffed through, can eafily be conceived, 

 when one confiders, that in all thofe places, 

 they never fow water-rnelons in hot-beds, 

 .but in the open fields in fpring, without fo 

 much as covering them, and they ripen in 

 time. Here are two ipecies of thena, viz. 

 one with a red pulp, and one with a white 

 one. The firft is more common to the 

 fouthward, with the Illinois, and in the 



EngEJh 



