LOUISIANA. 3SS 



fine^ which is a good diuretic *. When the 

 dofe is ftrong, it excites a kind of convulfions \ 

 which, however, ceafe immediately. The Alii- 

 hamon Indians call it the liquor cf valour. The 

 natives of America value their Hmples more than 

 all the gold of Mexico and Peru, 



You find feveral forts of curious animals ill 

 Louijiana^ which are unknown in Europe, 



The wild ox is very large and ftrong ; the 

 French and the Indians make various ufes of it ; 

 they cat its flefh, which they fait or dry ; they 

 make coverings of its hide. The wild bull is 

 covered with a very fine wool, with which they 

 make good matraffes -, of its tallow they make 

 candles, and its pizzles afford cords to the In- 

 dian bows. The Indians work its horns, and 

 make them into mcouens or fpoons, and into 

 powder-horns, 



A a 2 The 



* Bitter gourds, Coloquintesy Cucumis cclocyntht's, h'lnn. — 

 Calaoalhes, Cucurbit a lagenariot Linn. — Maiden-hair, Adi^ 

 antum pedatum, Linn, grows all over North America, froiir, 

 Canada dov/n to Virginiay and is much efteffmed as a medi- 

 cinal herb. See Kalm's Trav. to North Amer. vol. iii. p. 

 113. — Cafline is the Prinos glabert Linn, mentioned iti 

 Letter XVI, p. 249. F. 



