LOUISIANA. 183 



of a friar, to which they faften feathers of va- 

 rious colours. They never cut their nails ; and 

 among the Chinefe it is a mark of nobility to let 

 the nails grow very long. 



If we fuppofe that men went over from our 

 continent to America^ they would have kept their 

 white colour, fince we lee, that, during two cen- 

 turies and a half after Columbus difcovered this 

 new world, the Europeans who fettled in it pre- 

 ferve their white complexion from generation to 

 generation. The animals which have been 

 found there are entirely different from ours, and 

 neither Pliny nor any other old naturalift fpeak of 

 them. We muft be contented with admiring 

 the works of the Creator, without defiring to 

 dive into his myfteries *. 



N 4 I fhall 



'^ This way of arguing is very ftrange, and greatly pro- 

 motes barbarifm. Man has gotreafon for the purpofe, that 

 truth flioirld be the objed of his enquiries ; and if he Ihould 

 carry them no further, out of fear to dive too deep into the 

 myfteries of the Creator, this would patronize ignorance 

 and barbarifm. Many a thing, which feemed too abftrufe, 

 has been difcovered by an indefatigable application. The 

 way in which America was peopled, and the manner in 

 which the fkeletons of great bulky animals approaching to 

 the kind of elephants came to the river Ohioj are now a my- 

 llery, but may one day or other be difcovered by a lucky ac- 

 cident, or a great and original genius. F. 



