the first settlers of Carolina must have equalled, if not surpassed,
every thing of the kind to which men in any age have been exposed. To
fell the trees of the thick forest, and build habitations for themselves,
would probably be their first employment, before they began to clear
their spots of ground for raising the necessaries of life. In such a low
country, and warm climate, even this task must have been a considerable
burden. But Carolina, like other level countries overflowed with water,
is productive of many disorders, such as putrid fevers, agues,
dysenteries, and the like; and to fix habitations on such places where
the exhalations from stagnated waters and marshy swamps poisoned the air,
must have rendered them extremely unwholesome. During the summer months
the climate is so sultry, that no European, without hazard, can endure
the fatigues of labouring in the open air: for the most part, the weather
during this season is very clear and serene, excepting when a
thunder-storm happens, which cools the air, suddenly stops perspiration,
and becomes exceedingly dangerous to labourers of little precaution.
Besides, the violent heat continues through the night, and denies the
weary workman the natural refreshment of sleep. The autumn introduces
cool evenings and mornings, while the noon-day is intolerably warm; which
change, together with the thick fogs that commonly fall at this season,
rendered it the most unhealthy division of the year. In winter, though
the degree of cold is not so great as in the more northern climates of
America, yet it is severely felt by the human body, exhausted and relaxed
with the summer heat; and when the wind shifts suddenly from any quarter
to the north-west or north, it blows extremely sharp and piercing, brings
along with it sometimes frost and snow, and renders the warmest clothing
requisite. The spring is the most temperate and delightful season of the
year: it begins early, and diffuses its enlivening influence over the
fields and forests. Experience had not yet taught the young colonists the
methods either of improving the advantages, or guarding against the