T HE beft rhubarb grows in that part of the Eaftern Tartary called Mongallia, a vaft country inhabited by the Mongall Tartars, and which now ferves as a boundary between the two mighty empires of Ruffia and China. The Mongalls, though once a great and independent people, have notwithstanding by degrees been induced to put themselves under the protection of one or other of these their powerful neighbours. This measure seems rather to have proceeded from the love of eafe, a defire of fecurity, and a want of unanimity; than to have been the effect of fear, or the confequence of an abfolute conqueft. The Mongallians ftill retain their own laws, cuftoms, and princes; and though they fubmit to certain regulations, it does not appear that they pay any tribute. This fubmiffion has however divided their country and nation into what may be called Ruffian and Chinefe; the two great, jealous neighbours, to prevent the continual difputes which would have happened about limits, or the desertion of their people, have left a vast chain of country, of about 300 miles in breadth, and of a a prodigious length, waste and uninhabited, as a common barrier between them. This country, which is one of the finest in Afia, produces the beft rhubarb in the world, and runs the whole length of Mongallia, divid ing it into two parts. We fhall now give our curious traveller's own words. The country retained much the fame appearance, and the weather was very fine: but not a single inhabitant was yet to be feen. In the evening I walked from our tents, with fome of our company, to the top of a neighbouring hill, where I found many plants of excellent rhubarb; and, by the help of a flick, dug up as much of it as I wanted. On these hills are a great number of animals called marmots, of a brownish colour, having feet like a badger, and nearly of the fame fize. They make deep burrows on the declivities of the hills; and, it is faid, that, in winter, they continue in thefe holes, for a certain time, even without food. At this feafon, however, they fit or lie near their burrews, keeping a strict watch; and, at the approach of danger, rear themselves upon their hind-feet, giving a loud whiftle, like a man, to call in the ftragglers; and then drop into their holes in a moment. I fhould not have mentioned an animal fo well known as the marmot, had it not been on account of the rhubarb. Whereever you fee ten or twenty plants growing, you are fure of finding feveral burrows under the fhades of their broad fpreading leaves. Per Perhaps they may fometimes eat the leaves and roots of this plant: however, it is probable, the manure they leave about the roots, contributes not a little to its increafe; and their cafting up the earth makes it shoot out young buds, and multiply. This plant does not run, and fpread itself, like docks, and others of the fame fpecies; but grows in tufts at uncertain diftances, as if the feeds had been dropped with defign. It appears that the Mongalls never accounted it worth cultivating; but that the world is obliged to the marmots for the quantities fcattered, at random, in many parts of this country: for whatever part of the ripe feed happens to be blown among the thick grafs, can very seldom reach the ground, but muft there wither and die; whereas, fhould it fall among the loofe earth, thrown up by the marmots, it immediately takes root, and produces a new plant. After digging and gathering the rhubarb, the Mongalls cut the large roots into fmall pieces, in order to make them more rea dily. In the middle of every piece they scoop a hole, through which a cord is drawn, in order to fufpend them in any convenient place. They hang them for most part about their tents, and fome. times on the horns of their fheep. This is a moft pernicious cuftom, as it deftroys fome of the best part of the root; for all about the hole is rotten and ufelefs; whereas, were people rightly informed how to, dig and dry this plant, there would not be one pound of refufe in an hundred; which would fave a great deal of trouble and expence, that much diminish the profits on this commodity. At prefent, the dealers in this article think these improvements not worthy of their attention, as their gains are more confiderable on this than on any other branch of trade. Perhaps the government may hereafter think it proper to make some regulations with regard to this matter. I have been more particular in defcribing the growth and management of the rhubarb; because I never met with an author, or perfon, who could give a fatisfactory account where, or how, it grows. I am perfuaded, that in fuch a dry climate as this, it might eafily be fo cultivated as to produce any quantity that could be wanted. Some account of the horns, called mammon's horns; and the strange opinions the Tartars hold of the kind of animal to which they imagine they belonged. From the fame. N banks of the Oby, about are I this places, are found great quantities of that kind of ivory called, in this country, mammon's horn. Some of it alfo is found on the banks of the Volga. Mammon's horn resembles, in shape and fize, the teeth of a large elephant. The vulgar really imagine mammon to be a creature living in marshes and under ground; and entertain many ftrange notions concerning it. The Tartars tell many fables of its having been feen alive. But to me it appears that this horn is the tooth of a large elephant. When, indeed, or G 3 how, how, these teeth came fo far to the northward, where no elephants can, at prefent, fubfift during the winterfeafon, is what I am unable to determine. They are commonly found in the banks of rivers which have been washed by floods. The commandant of this place had his entry ornamented with several very large ones, and made me a prefent of one of them. I have been told by Tartars in the Baraba, that they have feen this creature called mammon, at the dawn of day, near lakes and rivers; but, that on difcovering them, the mammon immediately tumbles into the water, and never appears in the day-time; they say it is about the fize of a large elephant, with a monftrous large head, and horns, with which he makes his way in marshy places, and under ground, where he conceals himself till night. I only mention these things as the reports of a fuperftitious and ignorant people. I have obferved, in most of the towns we paffed, between Tobolfky and Yenefiefky, many of thefe mainmons horns, fo called by the natives; fome of them very entire and fresh, like the best ivory, in every circumftance, excepting only the colour, which was of a yellowish hue; others of them mouldered away at the ends, and, when fawn afunder, prettily clouded. The people make fnuff-boxes, combs, and divers forts of turnery ware of them. They are found in the banks of all the great rivers in Siberia, weftward of Lencoufky, when the floods have washed down the banks, by the melting of the fnow, in the fpring. I have feen of them weighing above one hundred pounds English. (I brought a large tooth, or mammon's horn, with me to England, and prefented it to my worthy friend Sir Hans Sloane, who gave it a place in his celebrated Mufeum; and was of opinion, also, that it was the tooth of an elephant. This tooth was found in the river Oby, at a place called Surgute.) Extract from the Theatro Critico Univerfal. Para Defenganno De Errores Communes, the voluminous work of the famous Spanish Benedictine Monk, Father Feyjoo. F DATHER Feyjoo begins with faying, that the fact treated of in this chapter is fo extraordinary, and fo contrary to the regular courfe of things, that he would not have given it a place in this work, if he had not found that the truth of it was attested by almost all the inhabitants of a whole province, many of whom, who were eye-witneffes, and perfons of great credit, are ftill living. The following are the principal circumftances of the fact. Francifco, the fon of Francifco de la Vega, and of Maria del Cafar, his wife, was born at a village called Lierganes, two leagues to the fouth west of the city of Santandergin, in the archbishopric of Burgos. At the age of fifteen he was fent to learn the trade of a carpenter at Bilboa, in which station he remained two years, till on the eve of St. John's day, in 1674, having, in company with others, gone to bathe himself in the river, mingo gave this information to the convent of Cadiz, and one of the fathers, whofe name was John Rofcende, and who a little before came from Jerufalem, had a great defire to enquire into this extraor dinary affair. Accordingly he set out from Cadiz in the fame year 1679, with the man who had been caught in the net, with intention of going to Lierganes. When the father got within a quarter of a league of the village, he defired his companion to go before to fhew him the way; which he did very exactly, going directly to his mo ther's houfe. The moment the faw him the knew him, and embraced him-crying out, This is my fon Francifco, whom I loft at Bilboa! Two of his brothers alfo (Thomas, a priest, and John, who ftill was alive when Feyjoo wrote) embraced him; but he expreffed no emotion, nor did he utter a word. Father Rofcende left him with his mother, and he remained with her nine years in this ftate of idiotifm, (having been rather remarkable for his capacity before he disappeared at Bilboa,) and the only words he ever spoke were, tabaco, pan, vino (obacco, bread, wine). Sometimes he eat most voraciously, on other days he touched no food. He used frequently to be employed in carrying letters round the neighbourhood, which he did very punctually. Once it happened, that Don Pedro del Guero fent him to Saint Andero with a letter for Don John de Olivarez; and because the ferry-boat was not ready, he threw himfelf into the river, and fwam cross it about a league broad, many feeing him land at Saint Andero. He delivered his letter as directed; G 4 his companions loft fight of him, and, after waiting for him a long while, they fuppofed him to be drowned, and informed his mafter of it, who acquainted the young man's mother, who mourned for him as dead. In the year 1679, fome fishermen in the bay of Cadiz faw fomething fwimming on the water, and diving at pleasure, that refembled a man. They endea voured to catch it, but could not the first day. The next day they faw it again, and, by means of fome pieces of bread which they threw into the fea, and which it laid hold of and eat, they enclosed it in their nets, and drew it to the fhore. Upon examination, the fifherman found their prize was a perfect man, as to appearance, and they carried him to the convent of Francifcans in Cadiz; where the good fathers, fuppofing him to be poffeffed by fome evil fpirit, as he would return no answer to any of their questions, exorcifed him, but they could not get him to pronounce any one word, except Lierganes, the meaning of which word they could not guefs, till hearing from a native of Auftria that in his country there was a village of that name, and that Don Domingo de la Cantolla, fecretary of the inquifition at Madrid, was born there, Don Domingo was writ to, informing him of this affair, and defiring him to write to Lierganes, to know whether a young man, whom they defçribed as to his age and marks, had been miffing from that place; and he, had an answer, that a fon of Francifco de la Vega had difappeared in the river of Bilboa five years before, but that his mother looked upon him as drowned. Don Do but but Don John, who asked him how the letter came to be wet, could get nothing from him. He carried the answer to Lierganes, with his usual punctuality. He lived in this manner about nine years, and then difappeared, no body having ever found out what became of him. Father Feyjoo gives us two letters to the above effect; one from the marquis of Valbuina, of St. Andero, to Don Jofeph de la Torre, minifter of the royal council of Oviedo, and another from Don Gafper Melchor de la Riba Auguera, to Don Diego de la Gandara Valade. Don Gafpar fays, that he had feen Francisco de la Vega frequently. Feyjco fays, that he had a third account, agreeing with the other two, from Don Pedro Dionyfio de Rubel Cava, a gentleman of confequence of SoTares, a place close to Lierganes. And in the fupplement to this difcourfe, which we find in his ninth volume, from p. 280 to p. 283, he inferts a letter which he had received (after he had published the above account) from the archbishop of Sarragoffa, Don Thomas de Aguero, who affures him, that when he was a young man, he had frequently feen this man-fifh (hombre pez is the archbishop's expreffion) at his uncle Don Garcia de Aguero's house near Lierganes. But befides this, Feyjoo also gives us, in the fupplement, a letter from Don Jofeph Dias Guitran, an inhabitant of Cadiz, dated Dec. 22, 1738, in which he fays, that Don Eftavan Fanales, intendant of the marine, had told him, he had feen the man-fish frequently; and that a Francifcan friar was ftill alive, who affured him that he had been frequently in his cell, Of Spirits prepared by the force of fire, with feme obfervations for guarding against and remedying the noxious vapours of charcoal, &c. From Boerhaave's academical lectures on the Difeafes of the Nerves, lately published, in Latin, by his pupil Van Eems, phyfician of Leyden. HE bodies, which in the TH open air are fo agitated by fire, as to pafs into crackling flames, fmoke, foot, and afhes, emit corpufcules from the folid mafs, which may properly be denominated fpirits. Three things here occur; fmoke, fometimes coloured in a wonderful manner, as may be feen in fulphureous bodies; foot, and the remaining flame. Hence arifes a stench, feparable from the fmoke, confifting of the volatile falt of the plant wafted into the air, and fpirits paffing forth by the action of the fire; and the smoke is collected into a black and flocculent matter, which is called foot. Thofe fumes, whilst so agitated, produce wonderful effects in our bodies; for they cause erofions in the eyes, make the lungs hoarfe, and the voice harth; and hypochondriac and hysteric perfons, or thofe labouring under convulfive convulfive afthmas, are almoft ftrangled by the fmall quantity of fmoke that may be in a room. The fmell only of a vegetable thing excites convulfion in epileptic people; and abortions, palpitations of the heart, and almost all other affections have had their origin from the fumes of a candle or lamp extinguished in a clofe place. When certain bodies are thrown upon the fire that fmoke may proceed from them, it may then become poifonous: this is evi dent |