m 



148 Dr. West's Account of Gay Head. 



mlt tlicm to a cliemlcal analysis. I invited Dr. William 

 Baylies of Digliton to be my assistant. 



Ou the 2Stli of June last, Dr. Baylies, Col. Pope, my- 

 self, and two others, visited the Gay Head, with a view to 

 make what discoveries we could. Dr. Baylies has drawn 

 up a very full account of the voyage, and the x^rincipal cu- 

 rlosities, which we saw. He has given mo liberty to trans- 

 mit his account to the Academy. His letter has super- 

 seded many observations, which I otherwise should have 



made. 



The inhabitants presented us with a petrified bone, said 

 to be one of the vertebris of the whale, wdiicli they told us 

 they found in the cliff: It is very heavy, owing, I appre- 

 hend, to a metallick impregnation. They also brought us 

 two shell fish, which were petrified : These were taken out 



■- 



of tlie cliff. There are many signs of a volcano^ wliicli the 

 Dr. has accurately described. The Dr. and I dug out some 

 pieces of charcoal at the bottom of .the cliff, the height of 

 which we judged to be an hundred and fifty feet. Some 

 of the pieces seem to be charred more imperfectly than 

 others. Some of the vitriolick springs are very strongly im- 

 pregnated with the taste of copperas j others have more of 

 an aluminous taste. We found in the cliff many efflorescen- 

 ces of copperas : These green efflorescences were always in a 

 bed of blue clay. We found a white ci'umbly earth, in- 

 terspersed with white shining particles. These shining 

 particles melt in a moderate heat and soon calcine. I sup- 

 pose them to be of the gypseous kind. The Dr. observes 



in 



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