6o L E T T E R II. 



hot and dry years; and when I Hved at our 

 Mountain Plantation pretty near the Woods fide, 

 I obferved that the moment we felt an Earth- 

 quake, or rather in the preceeding moment, was 

 an odd kind of foft ruftling noife, which I attri- 

 buted to the fudden motion caufed thereby a- 

 mong the leaves of the Trees and Shrubs grow- 

 ing juft up above us, and which could never be 

 heard in our Bath Plain Plantation, as not being 

 loud enough for that end. 



39. And indeed the felf-fame thing happened 

 when I was in the Wejl Indies, For in the year 

 1 7 1 8 (or thereabout) one Mr. Boyd a Merchant 

 going from Saint Chrijlophers in a Sloop towards 

 Barbadoes^ and being out of fight of all Land, on 

 a fuddain, in the forenoon (if I miilake not) the 

 Sky gi*ew fo dark, and fuch a horrible Noife (far 

 furpaffing the loudeft Thunder) was the fame 

 moment heard, infomuch that they all believed 

 the final DifiTolution of Nature's Frame to be juft 

 then commencing -, there falling likewife inftan- 

 taneoufly fo thick a Shower of Aflies, that the 

 Sloop's Deck was covered two or three inches 

 deep with them. They in fright enough turned 

 back homewards ; and Mr. Boyd iliewed me fome 

 of the Aflies, which exactly refembled Hobnans 

 Ink Powder. It was foon after found out, That 

 a large Mountain in the Ifland of Saint Vincent 

 (that in my time was wholly inhabited by Ne^ 



grocs 



