Selected quad for the lemma: earth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
earth_n	air_n	body_n	water_n	10,358	5	6.5960	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A57484	The history of the Caribby-islands, viz, Barbados, St Christophers, St Vincents, Martinico, Dominico, Barbouthos, Monserrat, Mevis, Antego, &c in all XXVIII in two books : the first containing the natural, the second, the moral history of those islands : illustrated with several pieces of sculpture representing the most considerable rarities therein described : with a Caribbian vocabulary / rendred into English by John Davies ...; Histoire naturelle et morale des iles Antilles de l'Amerique. English	Rochefort, César de, b. 1605.; Davies, John, 1625-1693.; Breton, Raymond, 1609-1679.	1666 (1666)	Wing R1740; ESTC R16877	340,702	386

A great number of precious Furs of divers kinds of four-footed Beasts particular to that Country and not known yet by any name among us 4. Several Packs of Whale-bone of extraordinary length 5. Some compleat suits of Cloths of the Inhabitants of the Country whereof some were of the skins of Beasts others of those of Birds of the fashion before represented 6. Many of their Shirts made of Fishes Bladders very neatly sew'd as also Caps Gloves and Buskins Quivers Arrows Bows and other Arms used by them as also some of their Tents Bags Baskets and other little pieces of Houshold-stuff 7. A great number of those small Vessels made to carry only one man A great Boat or Shallop forty five foot in length which might conveniently carry fifty persons 8. But the most rare and precious Commodity was a very considerable quantity of the Teeth or Horns of the fishes called Sea-Unicorns which are thought to be the largest the fairest and the most exactly proportion'd of any that have yet been seen Some of them were sent to Paris and other parts of Europe where they were well receiv'd Nor is it unlikely but that they will be much more highly esteemed when the admirable vertues they have in Physick are known For though their beauty and rarity may procure them the best places in the Closets of the Curious yet will they be more kindly received there when some others have found true what many famous Physicians and Apothecaries of Denmark and Germany who have made trial thereof upon several occasions unanimously affirm of them to wit that they expell poyson and have all the properties commonly attributed to the Land-Unicorn's Horn. Ch 19. Musical shell 125 Burgau p 120 Sea-Trumpet p 122 Venus shell p 121. Lambis p 121. Casque p 121. Ch 19. Sea egge p 126 Sea egge opened p 126 Sea-starre CHAP. XIX Of certain Shell-Fish rare Shells and other remarkable productions of the Sea found on the Coasts of the Caribbies TO dive into the deep Secrets of the Waters to take a view of all the excellent Creatures sporting themselves therein and observe the vertues and occult qualities wherewith they are endow'd is a work might be expected from that Wisdom which was communicated to Solomon who treated of Trees from the Cedar in Libanon to the Hyssop growing on the Wall For the watery Element is furnished with such a miraculous plenty that it abundantly produces not only Fishes of several kinds fit for the sustenance of man and those of extraordinary bulk and monstrous figures as hath been shewn in the precedent Chapters but also such a multitude of precious Shells and other Rarities that we may well acknowledg that the Divine Wisdom hath display'd all these rich beauties of its inexhaustible Treasures to shew its Omnipotency in the midst of the Waves and gently to win us into an admiration of his Goodness and adorable Providence which humbles it self to descend into the Abysses of the Sea to people them with some excellent Creatures not to be seen elsewhere and an infinite number of others bearing the Characters and Idaeas of the most considerable Bodies that either adorn the Heavens flye in the Air or embellish the Earth Hence it comes that there are found in the Waters Stars Cornets Trumpets Purcelains Trees Apples Chest-nuts and all the delightful curiosities which are so highly esteemed among men But to begin with the Shell-fish there are in the Seas about and in the Rivers of the Caribbies several kinds of them The more particularly esteemed are the Homars the Sea-Spiders and the Crabs HOMARS THe Homars are a kind of Crevices of the same figure as those of our Rivers but they are so big that there needs but one to make a good large dish Their meat is white and of a good taste but a little hard of digestion The Inhabitants of the Islands take them in the night time upon the sands or in the Shallows neer the low-water-mark and with the assistance of a Torch or Moon-light they catch them with a little iron fork SEA-SPIDER THe Sea-Spider is by some conceiv'd to be a kind of Crab It is cover'd with two very hard scales whereof the uppermost is somewhat ● rough and the lowermost is more smooth and jagged with sharp points It hath many legs or claws and a strong tail sometimes about a foot in length They are much sought after by some of the Savages to be employ'd about their Arrows When this fish is dried in the Sun the scale or shell of it becomes glistering and in a manner transparent though naturally it be of an Ash-colour CRABS THe ordinary Crabs of the Caribbies are of the same figure as those taken in these parts There is a great difference among them as to bigness but the rarest are those which live by prey They are very common in most of the Islands but above all in those called the Virgins They lurk under the stumps and stocks of the Trees growing on the Sea-side and as it were imitating a kind of Frogs called the Fishing-Frogs they discover from their lurking-holes the Oysters and Muscles which they prey upon and the sleight they use in the taking of them is worth our notice Having found by experience that their Mordants or Claws are not strong enough to break the shells wherein those delicate fishes are contain'd and having observed that several times of the day they open their shells to take the air they diligently watch the time and having furnish'd themselves with a little round pebble they hold it ready in one of their claws and coming to the Oyster or Muscle let it fall so cunningly into the half-open'd shell that not being able to close again the fish becomes the prey of these subtle Crabs As to the Shells found in these Islands in the Creeks and Nooks into which they are cast by the Sea there are abunof them and of several kinds The most sought after and most considerable are these BURGAU THe Burgau which is of the figure of a Snail being uncas'd out of the outermost coat presents to the eye a silver shell intermixt with spots of a bright black a lively green and so perfect and shining a grey that no Enameller could come neer it with all the assistances of his art As soon as the fish which had been lodg'd within this precious little Mansion hath been disseiz'd thereof there is immediately seen a magnificent entry beset with pearls ' and afterwards several rich appartements so clear so neat and enamell'd all over with so bright a silver-colour that there cannot in matter of shell any thing be imagin'd more beautiful CASK THe Cask or Head-piece is of a different bigness proportionably to the heads of so many fishes as had worn it and it is so named from its figure It is lin'd within and at the edges which are thick flat and jagged of a Satin carnation colour extreamly bright and shining and on the out-side it is fashion'd like a

Islands marked in the Map by that name There are numbred in all twelve or thirteen of them They reach Eastward from St. John de Porto-Rico at the altitude of 18 degrees North of the Line Between these Islands there are very good Anchoring places for several Fleets The Spaniards visit them often in order to Fishing which is there plentiful There are also in them an infinite number of rare both Land and Sea-fowl They afford so little good ground that after a tryal made thereof in several places it was concluded that they deserved not Inhabitants S te CROIX THe last of all the Caribbies of the Lee-ward Islands is the Island of Sante Croix or the Holy Cross It lyes at 18 degrees and some minutes The Caribbians who were forc'd thence by the Spaniards call it Ayay It was much esteem'd among them because it was the first Island that Nation possess'd themselves of when they came from the North to seek a convenient habitation to lay the foundations of their Colonies as shall be represented particularly in the Second Book of this History The Soil of this Island returns with good interest whatever is sown in it there are in it fair and spacious Plains of a black earth and easie to be manured there are also several fair and precious kinds of Trees good for Dying and Joyners work The Air is good but the Waters not so wholsom if drunk immediately after they are drawn To take away the ill quality they have they are put to rest a certain time in earthen vessels which makes them good and thence it is conceiv'd that the bad quality proceeds from their mud as is observed in those of the Nile This Island is now possess'd by the French who have rais'd it to a great height after its several changes of former Masters The French General supplies it with Inhabitants at his own charge It may be nine or ten Leagues in length and neer as much in breadth where it is broadest The Mountains are neither so high nor shuffled so neer together but that people may get up to the tops of them and that there is good ground enough besides to find work for many thousands of men CHAP. VI. Of Trees growing in these Islands whose Fruit may be eaten OF the Trees growing in these Islands some bear good Fruits which contribute to the nourishment of the Inhabitants others are fit for Building Joyners work or Dying There are some also very successfully used in Medicine and some which only delight the Smelling by their sweet scent and the Sight by their ever verdant Boughs and Leaves Of those which bear Fruits fit for Food and may be seen in Europe there are only here Orange-trees Pomegranate-trees Citron-trees and Lemon-trees the bulk and goodness whereof far exceeds those of the same kinds growing elsewhere ORANGE OF Oranges there are two kinds yet of the same figure and distinguishable only by the taste some are sweet others sharp both extreamly delicate The sharp are a great convenience to house-keeping for they are used instead of Verjuyce and Vinegar but the sweet excell in goodness Some indeed call the China-Orange the Queen of Oranges and real Musk-balls under the colour and figure of Oranges But however some may celebrate the delightful sweetness of the China-Oranges there are others prefer the excellent taste and picquancy of our American-Oranges POMEGRANATE THe Pomegranate-trees grow also excellently well in all these Islands and bear Fruits fair to the Eye and pleasant to the Taste In many places these Trees serve for Palisadoes about Courts borders of Gardens and the Avenues of Houses CITRONS OF Citrons there are three kinds different as to bigness and which consequently are not all called Citrons The first kind which is the fairest and largest is called Lime it is only good to be preserv'd having very little juyce but preserv'd it is excellent The second kind is the Lemon about the bigness of the Citron brought from Spain but its juyce is little in comparison of its bulk The little Citron which makes the third kind is the best and most esteem'd it hath a very thin skin or pellicle and is full of a very sharp juyce which gives an excellent taste to Meats and a picquancy to several Sawces it is a particular Fruit of America Some curious persons have in their Gardens a kind of very sweet Citrons both as to their peel and juyce which as to bigness and taste come not behind those which grow in Portugal All other Trees growing in the Caribbies have their Leaves Flowers Fruit and Bark of a Figure Taste and Colour different from those of our Countries GOYAVIER TO begin with the Fruit-Trees there is some account made of the Goyavier which comes neer the figure of the Laurel save that the Leaves are softer of a brighter green and more cottened on the lower-side The Bark of this Tree is very thin and smooth It shoots forth at the roots several suckers which if not taken away will in time make a thick wood about it as far as there is any good ground Its branches which are thick and well furnish'd with leaves are loaden twice a year with little white Flowers which are follow'd by several green Apples which become yellow and of a good smell when they are ripe This Fruit hath on the top a little posie like a Crown and the meat within is either white or red full of little kernels like those of a Pomegranate whence the Dutch call it the sweet Pomegranate It is about the bigness of a Pearmain and ripens in one night Being eaten green it is astringent whence it is used by many against Bloody-Fluxes but being ripe it hath a quite contrary effect PAPAYER THe Papayer is a Tree which grows without boughs about 15 or 20 foot high big proportionably to its height hollow and spongious within whence it is used to convey Springs and Rivulets to diverse places There are two kinds of it one commonly found in all the Islands The leaves of it are divided into three points much like the leaf of the Fig-tree They are fastened to long tails as big as a mans thumbs and hollow within They shoot out of the top of the Tree and bending downwards they cover several round fruits about the bigness of the great Quince-pear which grow round the boal to which they are fastened The other kind is particular to the Island of Sante Croix It is fairer and hath more leaves then the former but what causes it to be more esteem'd is its Fruit which is about the bigness of a Melon and of the figure of a womans breast whence the Portughese call it Mamao There is this particularly remarkable in these Trees that they bring forth new fruits every moneth in the year The flower of both kind is of good scent and comes neer that of Jessemine The Fruit of the latter is accounted among the choicest entertainments of the Islands in as much as being come to

not inhabited and sometimes on the Land among the Reeds very hideous to look on It is conceiv'd to live a long time and that its body encreaseth in all its dimensions to the very last day Whence it is not to be wondred if there have been seen of them some which were eighteen foot in length and as big about as a Hogshead It hath four feet well arm'd with crooked claws The skin which is cover'd all over with scales is so hard on the back that a bullet from a Musket shot at him shall hardly make any impression on it but if he be hurt under the belly or in the eyes he is soon gone His lower jaw is immoveable but hath so wide a mouth and so well set with sharp teeth that he makes nothing to divide a man in two He runs fast enough on land but the weight of his body causes him to make so deep a track in the sand as a Coach-horse might do and having no vertebrae in the back-bone no more then the Hyaena's he goes streight forwards not being able to turn his vast body but with much difficulty so that the better to avoid his pursuit a man need only turn several times a side Those which are bred in fresh water do so smell of Musk while they are alive that the air is perfum'd a hundred paces about the place where they are nay the water retains somwhat of the same smell This observation of the sweet scent of the Crocodile may by the way discover the error of Pliny who imagin'd that of all living creatures only the Panther had a sweet scent with it as he somewhere affirms though in another place he writes that the entrails of the Crocodile smell very sweet and that proceeds from the odoriferous flowers on which he feeds Now this musky scent of the Crocodile of America is enclos'd in certain glandules in the Emunctories which he hath under the thighs and which being taken thence keep the said smell a long time It may be imagin'd that God hath bestow'd this scent on them that men and other creatures which many times become the prey of these cruel Monsters might by the scent discover the place where they lurk and avoid them Those which have their abode in the Sea have no smell of musk but both kinds are very dangerous and to be dreaded by such as either go to wash themselves or are forc'd to cross some river by swimming This dreadful Monster hath a strange sleight to make his prey of Oxen and Cows One of them will lye lurking at those places of the Ponds and Rivers where those creatures are wont to water and finding one at his advantage he half-shuts his eyes and floats on the face of the water as if it were a piece of rotten wood by which means getting neerer and neerer to the poor beast which is a drinking and is not aware of him he immediately fastens on him taking him by the lips and forcing him under water he drowns him and then feeds on him He taketh men also by the same sleight as is affirmed by Vincent le Blanc who hath a Relation of the servant of a Consul of Alexandria who going to take one of these cruel beasts thinking it had been a piece of wood was drawn by it to the bottom and never seen afterwards There are abundance of these monstrous Crocodiles in those Islands which from them are called the Islands of Cayeman and not frequented but only in the time of Tortoise-fishing For having pick'd out the best meat out of the Tortoise and a great deal cast away the Crocodiles come in great numbers in the night time to feed on the entrails and carcases left on the sand So that those who are watching for the Tortoises are oblig'd to carry about them great wooden Leavers to keep off those Cayemans which they many times kill having first broken their backs with those Leavers These creatures have a whitish fat which was heretofore used by Physicians in fluxions proceeding from a cold cause it being hot and consisting of subtile parts Upon the same account were such as had Fevers rubb'd therewith upon the approach of their fits to cause sweating Many other properties are attributed to the Crocodile by Pliny in order to the curing of diseases Some are very desirous to get certain little stones like little bones which are in his head and having reduced them to powder they use them to clear the Reins of Gravel Some also affirm that the sharpest teeth of this Animal which are on the side of each jaw cure the Tooth-ach and preserve the teeth from corruption being only rubbed every day therewith There are in like manner in the heads of Dragons and Toads stones good against several diseases So the cruel Requiems by us before described afford a remedy against the Stone and Gravel Thus hath it pleas'd the wise Author of Nature that we should have some advantages from those creatures which are otherwise most pernicious The Chineses have a way to take and tame these Crocodiles as some Historians affirm And when they have bred them a certain time and made them fat enough they kill them and feed on them But the Europeans who have tasted thereof affirm their flesh though white and delicate is not pleasant to the taste as being too lushious sweetish and retaining much of the musk TORTOISES THere are taken in these Islands several sorts of Tortoises for there are Land-Tortoises Sea-Tortoises and Fresh-water-Tortoises which are of different figures The Caribbians call them all by the name of Catallou but when they speak of the Land-Tortoises they adde the word Nonum which in their Language signifies the Earth or that of Tona that is to say of the River or Water The Sea-Tortoises are commonly divided by the Islanders into three kinds that which the French call Tortue Franche that called Caouanne and the Carets They are all of them almost of the same figure but the meat only of the first kind is good to be eaten unless it be in case of necessity and for want of other provision so that of the two last only the shell is of value The Tortue-Franche and the Caouannes are commonly of so vast a bulk that the upper shell is about four foot and a half in length and four in bredth Which is not to be much admired since that in Maurice-Island there are some which having four men on their backs are nevertheless able to go Aelian relates that the Inhabitants of Taprobana cover their houses therewith And if we may credit Diodorus Siculus certain Nations of the East-Indies convert them into Boats in which they will cross a great arm of the Sea that lies between them and the Continent These Amphibious creatures seldom come to Land but only to dispose of their Egges in order to propagation To that end they make choice of a very light sand which they find on the Sea-side in some place not much frequented

neer the poyson the Remedy walking as it were hand in hand with the Disease and so laid open to Man the inexhaustible Treasures of Grace and Nature to secure him against the injuries of Air the outrages of the Seasons the violence of Poysons and whatever the Earth produces that is most dangerous since it became envenomed by the first Transgression The End of the First Book THE HISTORY OF THE Caribby-Islands THE SECOND BOOK Comprehending the MORAL History of those ISLANDS CHAPTER I. Of the Establishment of those Inhabitants who are Strangers in the Islands of S. Christopher Mevis Gardeloupe Martinico and some other Islands of the Caribbies IN the precedent Discourse we have given a full account of whatever might relate to the Natural History of the Caribby-Islands our design leads us now to that part of the History which we call the MORAL wherein we are to treat of the Inhabitants of the said Islands of whom we have occasionally made mention in the Description we have given of those places in the precedent Book In the first place we shall speak of those Inhabitants thereof who are Strangers or Europeans yet only so far as the prosecution of our Design requires which having dispatch'd we shall descend to a more large and particular consideration of the Indians the natural and originary Inhabitants of the Country a task which requires a more ample deduction and a more exact and curious disquisition upon this presumption that there hath yet been very little publish'd upon that subject The Spaniards grounding their Title upon the Donation of Pope Alexander the sixth and some other apparent Reasons and Pretences presume that the right of Navigation into the late discover'd part of the World which is call'd America and of establishing and setling Colonies there whether it be in the Continent or in any of the Islands properly belongs to them exclusively to all others But not to urge that the vanity of that arrogant presumption is sufficiently discover'd of it self and that it would prove a great digression from the design of our History to engage our selves in a particular disquisition of that Controversie we need only say that Bergeron a learned and curious Authour hath so exactly handled this Question and so cleerly shewn the absurdity of that chimerical pretence in his Treatise of Navigations that it would be lost labour for us to insist upon it or to think of any thing new that can be produc'd upon that account Accordingly all Christian Kings and Princes have always disputed thar pretended Right with the King of Spain as unanimously concluding that he had unjustly attributed the same to himself Nor have they engag'd against him only by words and writings but have effectually prosecuted their own pretensions and from time to time sent Fleets into America to setle Plantations there and to take into their possession several parts of that new World wherein the most successful have been the English the French and the Dutch But it is to be observ'd that of all the Colonies which these three European Nations have planted in America those that setled themselves in the Caribby-Islands are of greatest account and the most frequented by Merchants as being the most advantageous upon the score of Trade The English and French as may have been noted in the first Book of this History are the most considerable in those parts and have divided between them the greatest the richest and the most populous of all those Islands We may further affirm it as a thing generally known that these Nations have not in their several establishments follow'd the inhumane and barbarous maximes of the Spaniards nor after their example unmercifully exterminated the originary Inhabitants of the Country for if they found any of them in actual possession of the Lands where they liv'd they have for the most part preserv'd them therein and contracted alliances with them Yet must it be acknowledg'd that the the Caribbians have had very great differences with the English and that the said differences have continu'd a long time but the ground of their quarrels proceeded from some occasions of discontent which the Caribbians receiv'd from some particular persons of that Nation which represented in a Body hath disapprov'd their procedure and upon all emergencies hath express'd it self so far dissatisfi'd therewith as to desire that they should be treated with the same humanity moderation and Christian mildness as those greater and flourishing Colonies of Virginia and New-England that are under the jurisdiction of the said English have hitherto us'd towards the natural Inhabitants of that part of America which lies more Northerly where they have establish'd themselves for it is known that the English hold so sacred and perfect a correspondence with them as hath opened a way for their instruction in the Mysteries of Christian Religion and the planting of a great number of fair Churches amongst those poor Barbarians But above all this is most certain that when the French establish'd themselves in the Islands of Martinico Gardeloupe and Granada it was done with the consent of the most considerable persons among the Caribbians who thereupon disown'd those of their Country-men who would have obstructed the said establishment Nay such was their earnestness therein that they employ'd all their Forces and Councils to oppose the designs of the others and to secure the French in the peaceable possession of what they had before granted them This proceeding absolutely clears the French of being guilty of the same violences which are charg'd upon the Spaniards and makes it appear that the setlement of the former in those Islands was not like that of the latter in those places where they have the opportunities to establish themselves And if it be objected to the French that they have forc'd the natural Inhabitants out of S. Christophers and Gardeloupe and that even at this present there is a War between the said Nation and those of Martinico it may be answer'd that when the French peopled these Islands they propos'd to themselves no other design then the edification and instruction of those poor Barbarians and that if contrary to their first intention they had been forc'd to use a severe hand towards some particular persons and to treat them as enemies they were themselves the occasion of their own misfortune by being the first Aggressors and guilty of previous violations of the sacred Laws of Alliance which they had contracted with them and engaging themselves in sanguinary counsels such as would have smother'd their Colonies ere they were fully setled had there not been a timely discovery made thereof The English and French Colonies had their beginning at the same time which was in the year One thousand six hundred twenty and five Monsieur Desnambuc a French Gentleman of the ancient House of Vauderop and a Captain under the King of France in the Western Seas and Sir Thomas Warner an English Gentleman joyntly took possession of the Island of S.

half deep In these Coppers the Sugar receives its last boiling for then there is a more violent fire made and it is continually stirr'd and when it bubbles up so as that it may be fear'd it should boil over the Coppers it is allay'd by the casting in of a little sallet-oil and as it begins to grow thick it is pour'd into the last of those Coppers from whence as it inclines to a consistency it is dispos'd into vessels of wood or earth and so carry'd into the Curing-house where it is whiten'd with a kind of fat earth mixt with water which is spred upon it then they open the little hole in the bottom of every vessel or pot that all the filth or dregs that is about the Sugar may fall into another channel which conveys it into a vessel prepar'd for that purpose The first skimmings which had been taken off the great Coppers is laid aside only for Cattle but the other serves well enough to make a certain drink for the Servants and Slaves The juice which is drawn from the Cane will continue good but one day insomuch that if within that time it be not boil'd it grows sharp and turns to vinegar There must also be a very great care taken that the Reservatory into which the squeezed juice falls and the pipes or channels whereby it is thence convey'd into other places be often wash'd for if they contract ever so little sharpness the juice cannot be reduc'd to Sugar The whole work would also miscarry if any butter or oil chance to be cast into any of the three greater Coppers which are to be wash'd with Lye or in like manner if ever so little Lye fall into the three lesser ones where the juice is form'd into a Syrup and curdles by the violence of the fire and the continual agitation and stirring of it with a skimmer But above all things there must be a great care taken that there fall not any juice of Citron into the Coppers for that would absolutely hinder the coagulation of the Sugar Many of the Inhabitants who are not able to get so many Coppers nor furnish themselves with those great Engines whereby the Canes are squeez'd have little Mills made like Presses which are wrought by two or three men or driven about by one horse and with one or two Coppers they purifie the juice gotten out of them reduce it to the consistence of Syrup and make good Sugar without any further trouble The greatest secret in the business of making good Sugar consists in the whitening of it Those who have it are very loth to communicate it From what hath been said it may be easily inferr'd what extraordinary advantages accrue to the Inhabitants of that Island by means of this sweet and precious Commodity and what satisfaction it brings to their Correspondents in other parts of the world who have it at so easie rates This plenty of Sugar hath put the Inhabitants upon the preserving of abundance of excellent fruits of the growth of the Island as Oranges Lemons Citrons and others especially Ginger whereof we shall give an account anon and the fruit call'd Ananas and the flowers of Oranges and Citrons As concerning the preparation of Ginger when the root is come to maturity it is taken out of the ground then it is dry'd in places well air'd and it is often stirr'd to prevent corruption Some make no more ado then to expose it to the Sun in order to the drying of it but others think it requisite to cast lime on it the more to facilitate the drawing away of the moisture This root which is one of the most considerable among Spices is transported all over the world but it is most sought after in cold Countries The French do sometimes take it out of the ground before it is fully ripe and preserve it whole with such artifice that it becomes red and transparent as glass The preserv'd Ginger which is brought over from Brazil and the Levant is commonly dry full of filaments or little strings and too biting to be eaten with any delight but that which is prepar'd at S. Christophers hath no fibres or strings at all and it is so well order'd that there remains nothing that is unpleasant to the tooth when it is eaten It hath a singular property to fortifie the breast when it is weakned by a confluence of cold humours as also to clear the voice to sweeten the breath to cause a good colour in the face to take away the crudities of the stomach to promote digestion to sharpen the appetite and to consume that waterishness and phlegm which puts the body into a languishing condition nay it is affirm'd by some that it preserves and wonderfully fortifies the memory by dispersing the cold humours or the phlegm of the Brain This root may also be reduc'd into a paste of which there may be made a Conserve or cordial Electuary that hath the same effects We come now to give a short account of Indico The Plant being cut is bound up into little bundles or fagots and left to rot in cisterns of stone or wood full of fair water on which there is cast a certain quantity of oil which according to its nature covers all the surface of it They lay stones upon the fagots that they may the better keep under the water and after three or four days that the water hath been boiling which it does by the meer virtue of the Plant without any assistance of fire the leaf being rotted and dissolv'd by that natural heat which is in the stalk they take great stakes and stir the whole mass that is within the cisterns so to get out all the substance of it and after it is setled again they take out of the cistern that part of the stalk which is not rotted that done they several times stir what is left in the cistern and after they have left it to setle they let out the water at a cock and the lees or dregs which remains at the bottom of the cistern is put into molds or left to dry in the Sun These dregs is that which is so much esteem'd by Dyers and commonly known by the name of Indico There are some make use of Presses whereinto having put little bundles of the rotted Plant they by that means get out all the juice of it But in regard they are the leaves of the Plant that the foresaid Commodity is made of those who are desirous to have it of the highest price think it enough to have the dregs which remains after the corruption of those leaves and is found after so many stirrings at the bottom of the cistern The French Inhabitants of the Caribbies were there a long time ere they drove any trade in that Commodity by reason that the Plant whereof it is made being of it self of a very strong scent exhales an insupportable stink when it is rotted But since Tobacco came to so low a

to prevent the incursions of a certain savage and extreamly cruel people which hath no setled habitation but wander up and down the Provinces with an incredible swiftness making havock where-ever they come especially where they find no resistance The Arms of the Apalachites are the Bow the Club the Sling and a kind of great Javelin which they dart out of their hands when they have spent all their Arrows And whereas those that inhabit towards the woods and in the Mountains live only by hunting continual exercise makes them so expert in shooting with the Bow that the King who alwaies hath a Company of them about his person hath no greater diversion than to see them shoot at a mark for some prize which he gives him who in fewest shots came to the place assign'd or hath shot down a Crown set up upon the top of a Tree They are passionate lovers of Musick and all instruments that make any kind of harmony insomuch that there 's very few among them but can play on the Flute and a kind of Hawboy which being of several bigness make a passably good harmony and render a sound that is very melodious They are mightily given to dancing capering and making a thousand postures whereby they are of opinion they disburthen themselves of all their bad humours and that they acquire a great activity and suppleness of body and a wonderful swiftness in running They heretofore celebrated solemn dances at the end of every harvest and after they had made their Offerings to the Sun upon the Mountain of Olaimi but now they have no set and appointed time for these divertisements Their voice is naturally good mild flexible and pleasant whence it comes that many among them make it their endeavour to imitate the singing and chirping of Birds wherein they are for the most part so fortunate that like so many Orpheus's they entice out of the woods to follow them those Birds which think they hear only those of their own species They do also by singing alleviate the hard labour they are addicted unto and yet what they do seems to be done rather out of divertisement and to avoid idleness than out of any consideration of advantage that they make thereof Their Language is very smooth and very plentiful in comparisons That spoken by the Captains and all persons of quality is more elegant and fuller of flourishes than that of the common sort of people Their expressions are very precise and their periods short enough While they are yet children they learn several songs made by the Jaouas in honour and commendation of the Sun they are also acquainted with several other little pieces of Poetry wherein they have comprehended the most memorable exploits of their Kings out of a design to perpetuate the memory thereof among them and the more easily transmit it to their posterity All the Provinces which acknowledge the King of Apalacha for their Sovereign understand the language commonly spoken in his Court yet does not this hinder but that each of them hath a particular dialect of its own whence it comes that the language of some is in some things different from that of others of the Inhabitants The Provinces of Amana and Matica in which there are to this day many Caribbian Families have retained to this present many words of the ancient idiome of these people which confirms what we have laid down for a certain assertion to wit that being known by the same name and having many expressions common to them with the Inhabitants of the Caribby-Islands those Families have also the same origine with them as we have represented in the precedent chapter They heretofore adored the Sun and had their Priests whom they called Jaouas who were very superstitious in rendring to him the service which they had invented in honour of him their perswasion was that the raies of the Sun gave life to all things that they dried up the earth and that once the Sun having continued four and twenty hours under an eclipse the earth had been overflown and that the great Lake which they call Theomi was rais'd as high as the tops of the highest Mountains that encompass it but that the Sun having recovered the eclipse had by his presence forc'd the waters to return into their abysses that only the Mountain dedicated to his honour and wherein his Temple was was preserv'd from that deluge and that their Predecessors and all the beasts which are at present in the woods and upon the earth having retir'd to the said Mountain were preserv'd for the repopulation and recruit of the whole earth So that they conceive themselves to be the most ancient people of the world And they affirm that from that time they have acknowledg'd the Sun for their God They were of opinion that thé Sun had built himself the Temple which is in the Mountain of Olaimi the ascent whereof is distant from the City of Melilot somewhat less than a league and that the Tonatzuli which are certain little birds about the bigness of a Quail and whose bellies and wings are of a bright yellow the back of a sky-colour and the head of a plumage partly red and partly white are the messengers and children of the Sun which alwaies celebrate his praises The service they rendred the Sun consisted in saluting him at his rising and singing hymns in honour of him They observed the same Ceremonies also in the evening entreating him to return and to bring the day along with him And besides this daily service which every one performed at the door of his house they had also another publick and solemn service which consisted in sacrifices and offerings and was perform'd by the Jaouas four times in the year to wit at the two seed-times and after the two harvests upon the Mountain of Olaimi with great pomp and a general concourse of all the Inhabitants of the six Provinces This Mountain of Olaimi is seated as we said before in the Province of Bemarin about a league distant from the Royal City of Melilot but there is about another league of ascent and winding from the foot of it ere a man can get to the top of it It is certainly one of the most pleasant and most miraculous Mountains in the world Its figure is perfectly round and the natural descent extream steepy but to facilitate the access thereof to such as are to go up they have cut a good broad way all about it and there are here and there several resting places gain'd out of the Rock like so many neeches All the circumference of it from the foot to within two hundred paces of the top is naturally planted with goodly trees of Saxafras Cedar and Cypress and several others from which there issue Rosins and Aromatick gums of a very delightful scent On the top of it there is a spacious plain smooth and eaven all over and somewhat better than a league in compass it is covered