P. 32) says: "It is asserted, that on the arrival of a
stranger (at St. Kilda) all the inhabitants, in the common
phraseology, catch a cold." Dr. Macculloch considers the whole
case, although often previously affirmed, as ludicrous. He adds,
however, that "the question was put by us to the inhabitants who
unanimously agreed in the story." In Vancouver's Voyage, there
is a somewhat similar statement with respect to Otaheite. Dr.
Dieffenbach, in a note to his translation of the Journal, states
that the same fact is universally believed by the inhabitants of
the Chatham Islands, and in parts of New Zealand. It is
impossible that such a belief should have become universal in
the northern hemisphere, at the Antipodes, and in the Pacific,
without some good foundation. Humboldt (Polit. Essay on King of
New Spain, vol. iv.) says, that the great epidemics of Panama
and Callao are "marked" by the arrival of ships from Chile,
because the people from that temperate region, first experience
the fatal effects of the torrid zones. I may add, that I have
heard it stated in Shropshire, that sheep, which have been
imported from vessels, although themselves in a healthy
condition, if placed in the same fold with others, frequently
produce sickness in the flock.
[4] Travels in Australia, vol. i. p. 154. I must express my
obligation to Sir T. Mitchell, for several interesting personal
communications on the subject of these great valleys of New
South Wales.
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