In November following appeared a Star between the horns of the Moon in the midst.
In Anno Dom. 1669. about the middle of June at 4 of the clock in the afternoon, appeared a Rain-bow reverst, and at night about 10 of the clock we had a Lunar Rain-bow.
[p. 54.] The Indians so far as I could perceive have but little knowledge of the Stars and Planets, observing the Sun and Moon only, the dividers of time into dayes and years: they being nearer to the Equinoctial-line by 10 degrees, have their dayes and nights more equally divided, being in Summer two hours shorter, in Winter two hours longer than they are in England. The 11 of June the Sun riseth at 4 and 26 minutes, and setteth at 7 & 34 minutes: in December, the 13 the shortest day, the Sun riseth at 7 and 35 minutes, and setteth at 4 and 27 minutes.
Mid-March their Spring begins, in April they have Rain and Thunder; So again at Michaelmas, about which season they have either before Michaelmas or after outrageous storms of Wind and Rain. It’s observable that there is no part of the World, which hath not some certain times of out-rageous storms. We have upon our Coast in England a Michaelmas flaw, that seldom fails: in the West-Indies in August and September the forcible North-wind, which though some call Tuffins or Hurricanes we must distinguish, for a right Hurricane is (as I have said before) an impetuous wind that goes about the Compass in the space of 24 hours, in such a storm the Lord Willoughby [p. 55.] of Parham Governour of the Barbadoes was cast away, going with a fleet to recover St. Christophers from the French, Anno Dom. 1666. July. Cold weather begins with the middle of November, the winter’s perpetually freezing, insomuch that their Rivers and salt-Bayes are frozen over and passable for Men, Horse, Oxen and Carts: Æquore cum gelido zephyrus fere xenia Cymbo. The North-west wind is the sharpest wind in the Countrie. In England most of the cold winds and weathers come from the Sea, and those seats that are nearest the Sea-coasts in England are accounted unwholsome, but not so in New-England, for in the extremity of winter the North-East and South-wind coming from the Sea produceth warm weather, only the North-West-wind coming over land from the white mountains (which are alwayes (except in August) covered with snow) is the cause of extream cold weather, alwayes accompanied with deep snowes and bitter frosts, the snow for the most part four and six foot deep, which melting on the superficies with the heat of the Sun, (for the most part shining out clearly every day) and freezing again in the night makes a crust upon the snow sufficient to bear a man walking with snow-shoos upon it. And at this [p. 56.] season the Indians go forth on hunting of Dear and Moose, twenty, thirty, forty miles up into the Countrie. Their Summer is hot and dry proper for their Indian Wheat; which thrives best in a hot and dry season, the skie for the most part Summer and Winter very clear and serene; if they see a little black cloud in the North-West, no bigger than a man may cover with his Hat, they expect a following storm, the cloud in short time spreading round about the Horizon accompanied with violent gusts of wind, rain, and many times lightning and terrible thunder. In all Countries they have observations how the weather will fall out, and these rules following are observable in New-England. If the Moon look bright and fair, look for fair weather, also the appearing of one Rainbow after a storm, is a known sign of fair weather; if mists come down from the Hills, or descend from the Heavens, and settle in the valleys, they promise fair hot weather; mists in the Evening shew a fair hot day on the morrow: the like when mists rise from waters in the Evening. The obscuring of the smaller Stars is a certain sign of Tempests approaching; the oft changing of the wind is also a fore-runner of a storm; the resounding of the Sea from the shore, and murmuring of [p. 57.] the winds in the woods without apparent wind, sheweth wind to follow: shooting of the Stars (as they call it) is an usual sign of wind from that quarter the Star came from. So look whether the resounding of the Sea upon the shore be on the East or West side of the dwelling, out of that quarter will the wind proceed the next day. The redness of the sky in the morning, is a token of winds, or rain or both: if the Circles that appear about the Sun be red and broken, they portend wind; if thick and dark, wind, snow and rain; the like may be said of the Circles about the moon. If two rain-bowes appear, they are a sign of rain; If the Sun or Moon look pale, look for rain: if a dark cloud be at Sun-rising, in which the Sun soon after is hid, it will dissolve it, and rain will follow; nebula ascendens indicat imbres, nebula descendens serenitatem. If the Sun seem greater in the East, than in the West about Sun-setting, and that there appears a black cloud, you may expect rain that night, or the day following.
Serò rubens Cælum cras indicat esse serenum,
Sed si manè rubet venturos indicat Imbres.
[p. 58.] To conclude; if the white hills look clear and conspicuous, it is a sign of fair weather; if black and cloudy, of rain; if yellow, it is a certain sign of snow shortly to ensue.
In Anno Dom. 1667. March, appeared a sign in the Heavens in the form of a Sphear, pointing directly to the West: and in the year following on the third day of April being Friday, there was a terrible Earthquake, before that a very great one in 1638. and another in 58 and in 1662/3. January 26, 27, & 28. (which was the year before I came thither) there were Earthquakes 6 or 7 times in the space of three dayes. Earthquakes are frequent in the Countrie; some suppose that the white mountains were first raised by Earthquakes, they are hollow as may be guessed by the resounding of the rain upon the level on the top. The Indians told us of a River whose course was not only stopt by an Earthquake in 1668. (as near as I can remember) but the whole River swallowed up. And I have heard it reported from credible persons, that (whilst I was there in the Countrie) there happened a terrible Earthquake amongst the French, rending a huge Rock asunder even to the center, wherein was a vast hollow of an immeasurable depth, out of which came many infernal Spirits. I shall [p. 59.] conclude this discourse of Earthquakes, with that which came from the Pen of our Royal Martyr King Charles the First; A storm at Sea wants not its terrour, but an Earthquake, shaking the very foundation of all, the World hath nothing more of horrour. And now I come to the plants of the Countrie.
The plants in New-England for the variety, number, beauty, and vertues, may stand in Competition with the plants of any Countrey in Europe. Johnson hath added to Gerard’s Herbal 300. and Parkinson mentioneth many more; had they been in New-England they might have found 1000 at least never heard of nor seen by any Englishman before: ’Tis true, the Countrie hath no Bonerets, or Tartarlambs, no glittering coloured Tuleps; but here you have the American Mary-Gold, the Earth-nut bearing a princely Flower, the beautiful leaved Pirola, the honied Colibry, &c. They are generally of (somewhat) a more masculine vertue, than any of the same species in England, but not in so terrible a degree, as to be mischievous or ineffectual to our English bodies. It is affirmed by some that no forraign Drugg or Simple can be so proper to Englishmen as their own, for the quantity of Opium which Turks do safely take will kill four Englishmen, and that which will [p. 60.] salve their wounds within a day, will not recure an Englishman in three. To which I answer that it is custom that brings the Turks to the familiar use of Opium. You may have heard of a Taylor in Kent, who being afflicted with want of sleep ventured upon Opium, taking at first a grain, and increasing of it till it came to an ounce, which quantitie he took as familiarly as a Turk, without any harm, more than that he could not sleep without it. The English in New-England take white Hellebore, which operates as fairly with them, as with the Indians, who steeping of it in water sometime, give it to young lads gathered together a purpose to drink, if it come up they force them to drink again their vomit, (which they save in a Birchen-dish) till it stayes with them, & he that gets the victory of it is made Captain of the other lads for that year. There is a plant likewise, called for want of a name Clownes wound wort by the English, though it be not the same, that will heal a green wound in 24 hours, if a wise man have the ordering of it. Thus much for the general, I shall now begin to discover unto you the plants more particularly, and I shall first begin with Trees, and of them, first with such as are called in Scripture Trees of God, that is great [p. 61.] Trees, that grow of themselves without planting. Psal. 104. 16, 17. Satiantur arbores Jehovæ, cedri Libani quas plantavit; (ubi aviculæ nidificent) abietes domicilia ciconiæ. The Herons take great delight to sit basking upon the tops of these Trees. And I shall not be over large in any, having written of them in my Treatise of the rarities of New-England, to which I refer you.
The Oake I have given you an account of, and the kinds; I shall add the ordering of Red Oake for Wainscot. When they have cut it down and clear’d it from the branches, they pitch the body of the Tree in a muddy place in a River, with the head downward for some time, afterwards they draw it out, and when it is seasoned sufficiently, they saw it into boards for Wainscot, and it will branch out into curious works.