1James Alexander to Cadwallader Colden, 9 June 1754 (Franklin Papers)
Copy: New-York Historical Society; also transcripts: Library of Congress and Harvard College Library (Sparks) I communicated yours of May 16th and 28th and my Answers to Mr. Pownal Mr. Peeters and Mr. Franklin. Before I communicated them to Mr. Pownal, he had thought of forewith building one Vessel of force and sundry small Vessels to attend her, to prevent the boarding of the larger by...
2To Benjamin Franklin from James Alexander, 1753 (Franklin Papers)
Printed in Benjamin Franklin, Experiments and Observations on Electricity (London, 1769), pp. 280–1. If I remember right, the Royal Society made one experiment to discover the velocity of the electric fire, by a wire of about four miles in length, supported by silk, and by turning it forwards and backwards in a field, so that the beginning and end of the wire were at only the distance of two...