‘ R 2 
American Literature.....American Nautical Difcoveries. 
and America, The Paris and other new!- 
papers, publifhed on the continent of 
Europe, mentioned the fact ; the “ Me-— 
dical ‘Repofitory,’ of New-York, traces 
with more accuracy its progrefs through 
the United States. The fymptoms were, 
with little variation, fimilar to thofe de- 
{cribed in the Monthly Magazine. 
Dr. VAUGHAN, Member of the Penn- 
fylvania Medical Society, has publithed 
a pamphlet, in which he accounts for the 
effect of Dr. PERKINS’s metallic trac- 
tors, on the principles of GaLVaANI 
and HUMBOLDT, whofe experiments are 
well known in Europe. Dr. TILTON, 
prefident of the Medical Society of Dela- 
ware, in a letter on the fame fubject, has 
publifhed his opinion that fome general, 
though undefined, principle exifts, which 
gives to metals a powerful influence on 
the animal ceconomy. ‘ 
The following account of the comet, 
which was obferved by Mr. Lorrr, and 
other European aftronomers, is extracted 
.from a Bofton paper of Auguft laf; 
«¢ On the 16th inft. Mr..MERRICK, who 
refides at Little-Cambridge, difcovered a 
comet, coyering the ftar piaced at the in- 
fertion of the tail in the body of the Lit- 
tle Bear. It was between eight and nine 
o’clock in the evening; and at the fame 
hour on the 17th inft. he faw it advancing 
towards the ftar (~) in the dragon, of 
which it had crofled the body; having 
moved at a rate through the heavens twice 
as rapid as the moon. Onthe 18th and 
toth inft. it will be nearly on a line with 
what may be called the pointers of the 
little bear; and about eight or nine in 
the evenings of thofe days, if the weather 
be clear, it will be feen to the weft of our 
zenith, and not very far diftant from it. 
This comet at prefent has no tail, but 
appears as a fimall nebulous or cloudy 
ftar, of a round form, being moft bright 
towards its centre or nucleus.” 
- Dr. Davip Hosack, the profeffor of 
botany and materia medica, in Columbia 
college, and Dr. Currie, of Philadel- 
phia, haye publifhed fome pieces, in 
which they maintain that the yellow 
fever has always been an imported difeafe, 
Sir JOHN SINcLair and Dr. Ep- 
WARD BANCROFT, have been elected 
members of the American Academy of 
Arts and Sciences. The fecond part of 
the fecond volumé of the tranfattions of 
that academy are in the prefs; as is 
the fourth volume of thofe of the Philo- 
fophical Society of Philadelphia. 
' Dr. ARCHER, near Baltimore, has 
sifcovered that the Rad. Seweka, in ftrong 
373 
decoftion, is an almoft infallible remedy 
in the cramp, or Suffecatio Stridula, 
A treatite on, fevers (particularly that 
denominated yellow fever) has recently 
been publithed in India.—It is a joint 
effort of two celebrated phyficians at Cal- 
cutta, who, beginning to write by acci- 
dent, on the fame fubject, at the fame 
time, agreed to unite their efforts,and thus 
conjointly produced a work, which re- 
port {tates to be a moft learned and valu- 
able performance. Dr. M‘Lean is one of 
the authors. hich ' 
Captain Pierpoint,an American, adver- 
tifes, that in lat. 16.45. N. long. 169, 
38. W. from London, on his paflage 
from the Sandwich iflands to China, the 
2d of September, 1796, at midnight, in 
company with the fchooner Prince Wil- 
liam Henry, William Wake, matter, of 
London, they both ran on fhore on the 
north fide of a reef of coral rocks and 
fand, where they continued until next day 
noon—at-which time the weather beins 
very clear, they faw two {mall iflands of . 
fand, bearing W. by N. four or five miles 
diftant ; and from their top gallant-maft 
head faw the fhoal, extending E. S. Ey 
foutherly round to W.S. W. but how © 
far they were not able to determine. 
thesdare £7. IN. 
feen. 
On the 16th of Feb, 1796, the fnow 
Arythur, Captain Barber, returned. to 
Madras, after a voyage to New South 
Wales, the north weit coaft of America 
and China. The following account of bis 
In 
this fhoal will not be 
voyage is extracted from the New York 
magazine. 
On the 26th of April, 1794, he fell in 
with a very extenfive group of iflands, 
fix in number. ‘Thefe iflands are laid 
down, In our map, too far to the eaftward. 
The longeft ifland lies in the latitude of 
17. 30.S, long. 175. 15. eaft of Greenwich. 
Captain Barber anchored ina large bay, on 
the weft fide of this ifland, in ten fathom 
water, and fhortly after a canoe came off, but 
approached with great caution, and it was 
fome time before the natives, by figns of 
friendthip, could be induced on board. They 
had no idea of barter, but were very willing 
to receive prefents. ‘The next day feveral cae 
noes put off, but in lieu of provifions, as was 
expected, they came all armed, and their 
boats loaded with fpears, clubs, bows and ar~ 
rows. Captain Barber made all the boats go 
aftern, and endeavoured to convince thenv- - 
that he meant notto hurt them. At length 
they formed a plan for an attack, when they 
were fhewn fome muikets, but they not 
knowing what they were,took them for clubs. 
Several attempted to board on the quarters 5 
violence was neceflary to keep them oif, and 
. fome 
‘ 
