, one of those men whom a passion for natural history very early allured
, one of those men whom a passion for natural history very early allured from the interesting pursuits of domestic life to cross the Atlantic, was born about the latter end of 1679, or the beginning of 1680; He acquaints us himself that he had very early a propensity to the study of nature, and that his wish for higher gratifications in this way first led him to London, and afterwards to distant parts of the globe. The residence of some relations in Virginia favouring this latter design, he went thither in 1712, and staid seven years, admiring and collecting the various productions of the country, without having laid any direct plan for the work which he afterwards accomplished. On his return to England in 1719, he was encouraged by the assistance of several of the nobility, of sir Hans Sloane, Dr. Sherard, and other naturalists, whose names he has recorded, to return to America, with the professed design of describing, delineating, and painting the most curious objects of nature. Carolina was fixed on, as the place of his residence, where he arrived in May 1722. He first examined the lower parts of the country, making excursions from Charles Town; and afterwards sojourned, for some time, among the Indians in the mountainous regions at and about Fort Moore, He then extended his researches through Georgia and Florida; and having spent nearly three years on the continent, he visited the Bahama islands, taking his residence in the Isle of Providence; carrying on his plan, and particularly making collections of fishes and submarine productions.