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turned pirate. Coming to America to deposit his spoil, Bradish was taken, sent prisoner to England, and executed. One Kidd was still more notorious. This man was master of a vessel, and sailed from New York, where he had a family. Being in London, he was selected, upon recommendation, to command a ship fitted out for the express purpose of suppressing piracies in India. But he turned pirate himself, sailed to India, and there began the practice of robbing. Returning to America, he landed and appeared at Boston, where he was taken, sent to England, and executed. The trade of Carolina suffered greatly by a nest of pirates settled at New Providence, which became a receptacle of vagabonds, after the proprietors of Carolina had released their right to the Bahamas to a company of merchants. The gulf of Florida was at their command, and the trade to the West Indies was almost ruined. The ministry in England charged the colonies with harboring those lawless rascals; but without foundation. After many years, and great exertions, the seas were cleared of freebooters.

QUESTIONS.

409. When were the American seas infested with pirates? Who were the first pirates?

409, 410. Who were the bucaneers? How did they live? 410. What ravages did the pirates commit, and how were they subdued ?

411. Who was the noted pirate on our coast, and what was his fate?

CHAPTER XIII.

DISEASES AND REMARKABLE EVENTS.

412. Diseases that afflicted the colonies, and other remarkable events. The first settlers in America had to contend with hardships, scarcity of provisions, a degree of cold in winter and heat in summer, which

they had not experienced in Europe, and with the discases of the country, to which were added such as arose from their wants and toil. In 1620, half of the Plymouth settlers died; and in 1630, the colony of Massachusetts lost more than one hundred, by fevers and the scurvy. In 1633, the colony of Plymouth lost twenty of its inhabitants, by an epidemic pestilential fever. In 1635, the mortality in Virginia, by the accounts then received in New England, extended to eighteen hundred persons. On the first of June, 1638, was a severe convulsion of the earth, called the great earthquake. This was succeeded by a general prevalence of the small pox and fevers, on which account, a general fast was observed in December. Shocks of the earth were repeated at times, till December, when they were frequent. Two tremendous storms happened the same year, one in August and the other in December, in which the tide rose fourteen feet above spring tides, at Narraganset, and flowed twice in six hours. Another tempest equally severe occurred on the 16th of March, old style, in 1639, and such a rain that the Connecticut rose twenty feet above the meadows.

413. Continuation of remarkable events. On the fifth of March, 1643, was another violent earthquake in New England, but no damage was sustained. The preceding summer had been wet and cold; crops of corn were indifferent; English grain had suffered in an unusual degree, by wild pigeons; and in winter the barns were infested by such numbers of mice as were never before known. These animals were so numerous as to eat the bark of the fruit trees, about the roots, under the snow. These causes occasioned a dearth, and many families, their corn being exhausted in April, were compelled to live on clams and fish. In 1647 happened the first influenza mentioned in the annals of America. It extended to the West Indies, where it was immediately followed by a malignant fever so fatal and infectious as to be called the plague. In Barbadoes and St. Kitts, it swept away five or six thousand people; seizing first the most hale, robust men. This is the first distinct account of the epidemic yellow fever mentioned in our

histories. A pestilential fever prevailed in Hartford the same year, of which died the reverend Mr. Hooker.

414. Continuation of remarkable events. A slight earthquake was felt in New England in October 1653.Some general sickness prevailed in Massachusetts; for in the spring of the next year, a fast was appointed in Connecticut, for which one reason assigned, in the proclamation was "the mortality which had been among the people of Massachusetts." In 1655, another influenza spread over New England. In 1658 epidemic disease again prevailed, on which account, and the scarcity of grain and intemperate season, a fast was observed in Connecticut. In 1656, the disease called rattles, hives, or croup first appeared in the colonies. In 1662 happened in New England, an earthquake, a severe drouth, and epidemic disease; on the abatement of which our pious ancestors kept a day of thanksgiving. In 1668, a malignant sickness prevailed in New York and occasioned the appointment of a fast in September. In 1677, the small pox raged in Charlestown, in Massachusetts, with the mortality of the plague and in the following year it prevailed in Boston.

415. Continuation of remarkable events. In 1683, great sickness prevailed, and the people sought the throne of grace by a general fast. During the winter, a fever so general and so fatal prevailed in Springfield in Massachusetts, that the public worship on Sundays was suspended. A similar disease afflicted the same town in 1711, in 1733 and 1761. It raged at Hartford in 1717. Fairfield suffered equally by a malignant fever, in 1698 after the influenza; Waterbury in 1713: Bethlem in 1750 and 1760. East Haven was repeatedly visited, and stripped of a great part of its most robust men. The last time, was in 1761. This violent fever prevailed in many other places, with great mortality. In 1702, New York was sorely visited with a pestilential fever; almost all the patients died. Philadelphia, and Charleston in South Carolina, suffered by a like disease in 1699. On the 29th of October 1727, occurred an earthquake in New England, as violent as any of the former ones. Slighter shocks are not infrequent. On the 18th of

November 1755, happened a shock of similar violence; but no injury was sustained.

416. Continuation of remarkable events. The influenza prevailed in 1733, and spread over the world. In 1735 commenced the scarlet fever, or malignant sore throat, at Kingston, an inland town in New Hampshire, and visited most parts of America, in that and the following year. This was its first appearance in America, as far as could be recollected. Before that period, the usual form of disease in the throat, was that of a quinsy, which was often malignant and fatal. From the year 1735 to 1800, the malignant sore throat was epidemic, six times, in the northern states. The influenza from 1732 to 1800 prevailed nine times as an epidemic. The long fever, so called because it continued thirty or forty days, was formerly very common in New England.

417. Unusual seasons. The seasons in all countries. in the temperate climates, are very variable. The winter of 1633-4 was mild; the wind mostly from the southward, with little snow till February, and no great frost. That was followed by cold winters, and in 1637 or 8, the winter was noted as unusually severe; the snow lay about four feet deep from the middle of November to the first week in April. But the winter of 1641-2 was of the severest kind; Boston bay was a bridge of ice as far as the eye could see; and the Chesapeak also was frozen. The Indians told our ancestors that such a winter had not been in forty years. A similar winter occurred in 1697-8. The fourteenth day of December O. S. 1709 was supposed to be the coldest day that had been known in America. In February 1717 fell the greatest snow ever known in this, or perhaps any country. It covered the lower doors of houses, so that people were obliged to step out of their chamber windows on snow shoes. There was a terrible tempest. Eleven hundred sheep, belonging to one man, perished. One flock of a hundred, was dug out of a snow drift on Fisher's island, where they had been buried to the depth of sixteen feet. This was twenty eight days after the storm, when two of them were found alive, having sub

sisted on the wool of the others, and they sustained no injury.

418. Continuation of unusual seasons. A memorable tempest is recorded to have happened on the 24th of February 1723, which raised the tide several feet above the usual spring tides, and did incredible damage on the eastern shore of New England. The winter of 1737-8 was extremely severe; but far less severe than that which closed the year 1740. A similar winter followed the summer of 1779-80, when all the rivers and bays, even the Chesapeak, and Long Island sound were converted into bridges of ice. The severe cold was of three months duration, and the snow from three to four feet deep. Mild winters also occur frequently-as in 1755 and 6-1774-1794-5-and 1801-2 when there was little frost and snow.

419. Days of unusual obscurity or darkness. Historians have mentioned many instances of extreme darkness, in the day time, and in some cases, this obscurity had lasted several days. Instances happened in Europe, in the years 252, 746 and 775. The first in

stance mentioned in our annals was on the 21st of October 1716; the second on the 9th of August 1732. A similar obscurity happened in Canada and on the lakes, on the 19th of October 1762; and on three different days in October 1785. On the 19th of May, 1780, a memorable darkness was spread over all the northern states. The obscurity was occasioned by a thick vapor or cloud, tinged with a yellow color or faint red, and a thin coat of dust was deposited on white substances. In these instances, the obscurity was so great as to render candles or lamps necessary at noon day. The darkness in Canada was followed by squalls of wind, severe thunder and m one instance by a meteor or fire ball. So ignorant were most people of this phenomenon, that many were excessively frightened; although it had occurred three times at least within the period of sixty five years.

420. Northern lights. From the earliest times, we have some imperfect accounts of lights in the sky; and superstition has represented them as the forerunner of bloody wars and other calamities. Sometimes historians

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