go naked the former clad after their own Fashion having all Beads about their necks There 's a Bishop in this Twon a Native of Lisbon of the order of St. Frances and two Convents one of Men and the other of Women There 's a Fort raised at the end of the Town mounted with two cast Guns and at the foot of it eight and three Iron Guns mouthing towards the sea hard by is the Isle of Fougo or the Fiery Island where there 's a very high mountain whose top casts fourth flames continually with a thick smoak This is all I could remark in the short stay I made here Saintiague is an Island of Cape Verde belonging to the Portuguese which is scituated in fourteen degrees thirty six Minutes North Lat. and three hundred and fifty three degrees thirty Minutes Longitude I have already said that provisions were so scarce here that we could have but one Bullock which was divided amongst us all and some sheep for the Commodant but plenty of excellent Fish is caught here We got some barrels of fresh water which was none of the best and hard to come by having it out of a dirty Cistern which was a great distance from the sea After we had fill'd our empty Casks with it Monsieur Duquesne weigh'd Anchor and left Saintiague Tuesday the 21st at five a clock in the morning CHAP. VII The passing of the Line in 358 Deg. of Long. and the burning Heats that are felt there WE made great way the first three or four days but the winds begining to slack as we approacht the heats of the Line we did not sail so fast as before being now Passion or the Holy-week Father Tachard would omit nothing of the holy Exercises practis'd at this time we sung the Tenebra we hear'd Sermons and tho' at sea perform'd all the duties of Christians who have more conveniency Holy Friday the 24th of March this Father who often studdied the Courses and Position of the Stars foretold us an Ecclipse of the Moon which should happen at seven a clock in the evening five Minutes past and end exactly at ten which accordingly did it could not be seen in France â—…r according to the Calculation it was â—o be at Paris at four a clock in the afterâ—oon In the mean time we insensibly apâ—roacht the Line the passing of which 〈◊〉 don't admire people should dread so much we had nothing now but faint winds very inconstant and almost continual Calms caus'd by the excessive heats which are felt here which would be unsupportable if it were not for those suddain gusts that abate them and cool the air from time to time these suddain gusts or rather rains are commonly accompanied with cool winds that greatly comfort this scorching passage they rise and cease of a suddain and then a burning calm succeeds 'T is then that troops of Fish leaping above the water of all sides invite the seamen to take them I remember one day when the sea was a little rough I with no little pleasure beheld shoals of fish leaping above the water and continuing so as long as their fins were wet to avoid the pursuit of the Bonites a large fish who is a great devourer of the rest the others as I said are forc'd to quit their natural Element and have much a do to save themselves by their often riseing above it being often snapt by them in the air so that it s almost impossible for them to escape the enemy who incessantly pursues them in vast numbers We took a great many of these Bonites which resemble Shads but are more savory and firm We were within five or six Degrees of the Line and so had continual Calms which were almost unsupportable and by which we suffer'd extreamly our Wine and Victuals were spoil'd and our Vigor consum'd and our Distemper encreast daily through the long and violent heats the very air that should keep us alive almost suffocated us night and day the heat was so excessive that the very Sealing-wax we had in our trunks melted The rest of this Month past without any thing remarkable save that it thunderd with violent winds and rain which forwarded us very much in our Voyage 'T was not a little gastly in the horrors of dark and tempestious nights to see the Lightnings perform the office of the day which gave us no other prospect but that of a rising and a yawning Ocean into which two of our Men fell The fifth of April our Carpenter being at the ships head fell into the sea but being a good swimmer he kept himself above water till he got hold of a rope and then cry'd out for help one of the Seamen presently gave him his foot to take hold of which breaking he drew the other in with him we gave 'em all the assist we could and with much ado saved them both at last The way we made this night brought us considerably nearer the Line which we long'd to pass almost quite spent with the intollerable heats we had endur'd for fiefteen days time only those rains which fell helpt to abate the rageing heats and were a great relief to us at length after a great deal of them accompanied with Thunder and Lightnings Sunday the ninth of April at ten a clock in the morning we past the Line which we so impatiently long'd for Here the Mariners use an execrable custom of a mock Baptism which is fitter to be condemned with the utmost severity than describ'd CHAP. VIII How the sick recover'd after passing the Line Monsieur Hortin Captain of the Rock dies TO the Southward of the Line we met with as long and frequent Calms as before which for some days made us as earnestly wish to get at a distance from it as we did before to pass it There is nothing distresses a Voyage more than those Calms while unable to go backward or forward you are forced to remain whole days in the same place scorching and broiling in the sun and tumbling on great rolling waves and surges which are met here notwithstanding the calm so that one can scarce stand on the deck but being past the Line about a hunderd Leagues our miseries began to abate as the South-East winds began to blow when we found our selves as in another Climate and to breath a more temperate air This change rejoyc'd us all and was very happy for the sick of whom two parts in three presently recover'd besides our hopes of doubling the Cape of Good-hope encreast daily by the vast way we made which sometimes was no less than 55 Leagues in 24 hours and had been more if all our ships had sail'd alike and one had not been forc'd to stay for the other that we might not lose company so that we could not make the same use of the wind as a single ship would About this time Monsieur Duquesne was inform'd of Monsieur Hortin's sickness who was Captain of the Rock as he was a
ships mudding the water as they past These delays and these turnings gave them time to discover what we were so that the Admiral who anchor'd at large suspecting our tacking about so long made close into the land intending to run herself aground if pursued others follow'd her example and two rang'd themselves under the Cannon of the Fort. Monsieur Duquesne meeting with such difficulties would undertake nothing of his own head but call'd a a Councel of War in which it was resolv'd to run no riske for besides that there was nothing to be done we were in great danger of running a ground on the Bank so we tackt and stood to fea An hour after we discover'd three more which we reckon'd would make us amends for our former loss but as soon as we came nigher we discover'd them to be Danes by their colours and so had nothing to say to them They lay at anchor before Trinqubart five Leagues from Negapatan where they have a Fort and Factory CHAP. XIX The Indian Princes take the Factories in their Dominions into their protection and defend them from the Insults of a stronger Enemy WE anchor'd two Leagues farther over against a Factory that belongs to us where there are only two French who have but four or five port-holes with as many guns to defend them which rather make a shew than a real strength when they discover'd our Squadron they hung out a white flag notwithstanding that they had reason to believe us Dutch or English But in the Iudies each Factory sets out their own National Colours be it in time of War or Peace be they ne're so weak or the approaching enemy ne're so strong For if the English for example insult a French Factory the Great Mogul or another Prince in whose Country the Factory is resents it as done to himself and oblieges himself to make amends for any damage receiv'd A little after we hung out white colours which very much surpriz'd our French who did not know what to make of such a novelty but when we added the Admiral flame on the main mast top and considering the building of our ships when they came to an anchor they no longer doubted as they told us afterwards but that it was Monsieur Duquesne's Squadron which they had every day expected upon which they presently came to Complement him our Sloop which was sent to them met them half way and brought them aboard where we long'd for their Company as well to learn News of them as to meet with our Country-men in so distant a part of the world with whom we might happily entertain our selves and be inform'd of what was necessary we did them some honor for going to the Councel Chamber where Monsieur Duquesne expected them they past through two double Lanes lin'd with Soldiers and Seamen who prest hard to see them that they could scarce go along they told us little news and next day we parted for Pontecherry where we with reason expected to hear more and with more certainty CHAP. XX. The French Squadron arrives before Ponticheri the chief Factory of our East-India Company situated on the Coast of Coromandel THe Coast of Coromandel is very beautiful all along the pleasant mixture of Meadows and Trees ever green making a Charming prospect you meet with mountains here and there which intercept it but are themselves a prospect no less pleasant and some rising grounds which you overlook and loose your sight in delicious fair and wide extended plains besides a number of beautiful habitations by the sea side where you meet with another entertainment which to me seem'd very diverting which is a great number of Catimarons in which the Negros of the Country go a fishing they are made of two or three pieces of a Tree bound togeather with Coco cords with a Mat sail of a Triangular form as they sit in them their breech touches the water and yet they are not afraid to launch out ten or twelve Leagues in them the sea is some times cover'd with these Catimarons which sail so swiftly tho' with nere so small a wind that at a distance you would take them for birds skiming up and down on the surface of the waters We past by a Dutch factory before which there lay only one bark that was not worth the taking coasting a long we at length arriv'd at Porta-Nova at eleaven in the morning near which we saw four Pagods hard by one another in which the Negros worship the Devil we saw there three ships of which the biggest carry'd a flag on the top of the Main-mast these were worth the attacking but whither they were willing to spare us the paines or rather prevent their own danger they hung out Danish colours And nothing could impose upon us more tho' we can't Vindicate our weakness in this matter considering they lay at anchor before a Dutch factory and knowing too that the Danes had but three ships in the East-Indies which we had just left at Frinquebart after having made a faint to discover them we left them to continue our course We had so little wind that vve scarse expected to arrive the same day at Ponticherri and being afterwards down-right becalm'd we were oblig'd to anchor 2 Leagues short of the Courtoir which is a Fort belonging to Prince Gingi a friend to the French Nation being now within 2 Leagues we took our own time and next day being Saturday the 12 of August the wind blowing a little fresh we sail'd and at eight in the morning arriv'd at Pontecherri where we found the Lyon and the Dutch Pink who came thither but the day before We had scarce anchor'd within half a league of the land when the greatest part of the Officers of the Fort came to wait upon the Commandant the Fort saluted us with eleven guns and we could return but nine because the Deck was so incumber'd Next day Monsieur Martin Director general for the French East-India Company came aboard where he was receiv'd with a salute of five guns and nobly regal'd by Monsieur Duquesne who deliver'd him his Majesty's Letter by which he enabled him and a few days after perform'd the Ceremony of girting him with a Sword by his side Our arrival here sprea'd a great and general joy which appear'd even amongst the Negro's of the Country who in their way exprest their satisfaction and no doubt our own French had reason to rejoice to see us come with a force sufficient to make the Indies tremble and their joy was equal to the consternation of the enemy who secretly dispatcht notice to all the Factories on the Coast to be on their guard against six French Privateers the stoutest and the best that had yet been sent from Europe into those parts This allarum which the English and Dutch gave one another did not a little encrease the glory and reputation of France they were no more to be seen strutting in these parts and hectoring the Fort of
a letter from one of their Fathers who is at present in China which contains a full account of the Revolution that happen'd at Siam and this has very much enlarg'd his Relation Since our departure from Pontichery they had planted on the shoar a new battery of eight Guns 18 pounder each being those we had brought from France and we found above twenty thousand Negros there who had fled thither for refuge under the French Pavillion to avoid the Troops of the Great Mogul who had besieg'd Gingy the Caputal of the Prince of that Name This is a very great Town about fifteen Leagues up the land the strongest and the only one able to resist the power of the Mogul with whom this Prince has continual war And whose Troops tho' to the number of fourscore thousand where as they told us shamefully oblieg'd to quit the Siege through the vigorus resistance of the Garison and the Town where the Prince of Gingy commanded in person Two great Lords of the Country who where at Pontichery when we lay at anchor had the curiosity to come and see our ship accompanied with five and twenty servants which they took out of above three hundred that each of them had we put all things in as good order as we could and brought all our Company above Deck the number of which they admir'd at but the Sea incommoding them very much and not being able to stand on the deck they returned immediately with a salute of 7 Guns and 7 vive le Roy's CHAP. XLI The Squadron leaves the Indies to return to France passes the Line the third time without any inconveniencies in the 170 D. of Long. The beginning of our Navigation is happy AFter we had taken some hogsheads of water aboard and some other provisions we wanted the Commandant took leave of Monsieur Martin who saluted him from the Fort with three discharges of eleven Guns That day we gave the parting Gun so on Wednesday the â—4th of January we sail'd by four in the morning to quit the Indies for this time and return to France the wind was very favourable to us and soon carried us a considerable distance from a land which we wisht six thousand Leagues off us It seem'd to me as if this long Voyage we now entered on would never be ended and tho' we sailed ne're so swiftly and I had made the Voyage already yet I fancy'd we should never come to the end of it however we made such way that February the 24th 3 in the afternoon we past the Line the third time in 107 D. of Long. without any inconveniency of Calms or Heats Such a happy beginning of a Voyage was no little comfort to us and the hopes 't would continue so sweeten'd our toil and made the time more pleasant than before The 16th We had the sun in our Zeinth that is darting his Beams perpendicularly on us casting no shadow but on the contrary an excessive heat which we were forc'd to bear without so much as one drop of Water to refresh us between meals this heat diminisht insensibly as we departed from the Sun and enter'd into cooler climates which however did not hinder our experiencing great miseries and fatigues and had we not been unaccustom'd to 'em should scarce have been able to have undergone ' em The 25th in the morning we past the Tropick of Capricorn and met with Blustring winds in these Latitudes which forwarded us very much on way but afterwards became so outrageous that we cou'd more willingly have embrac'd the most tiresome calm CHAP. XLII A dreadfull tempest happens in the Heigth of Mascarin which disperses the Squadron and is in great danger of being lost BEing now the time of Carnevall Monsieur Duquesne was obliged to give us Wine instead of Rack which we had drunk for four Months before at this time every one is desirous to fare a little better than ordinary but in vain did we attempt it at sea where good chear is generally scarce but especially in such long Voyages as these the Seamen danc'd Morning and Evening and were very merry which joyn'd with the fair wind we had serv'd to lessen the time which was more irksom to us than any thing else The Wind already blew so strong that we sail'd no less than 3 Leagues an hour and encreasing on Tuesday the 1st of March obleig'd us to furl all our Sails except the fore-mast and the air was so thick and Cloudy that we cou'd scarce descern from Ship to Ship which prov'd but too Fatal an Omen of that dreadful Tempest that ensu'd Sure nothing cou'd be more Frightful and amazing than to see the air condens'd and our beloved Element representing a dismal scene of Death The Winds spent their utmost rage and seem'd to groan beneath their Burthen while the yawning seas torn with their fury eagerly desir'd to make a prey of us Yet still kept us in suspense even in the Arms of Death about Four in the afternoon the foremast sheet was blown to rags and the vast noise and Universal rouling of the ship fill'd us all with confusion and horror And now being about 3000 Leagues from Land we saw ourselves exposed to the outragious Element without sails and distitute of all means that might tend to our safty The vast prodigious waves no sooner rowl'd over our Decks and fill'd our ship with water but greater still return'd and seem'd to sink us to the Bottom so that sometimes we had scarce time to take breath and hardly knew whether we were in the ship or the sea In this miserable condition and approaching danger every one plied the pump and the short remainder of the day we spent in fastening a sprit sail to the yard of the fore-mast sail which we had no sooner done but as an addition to our misery a dismal shout was heard at the sight of one of our ships which driven by the violence of the Storm was just ready to run fowl of us and split us both All that 's horrible and amazing in death presented it self to our view himself at the last moment of life knew not what course to take or what he should do to avoid it we unfurl'd our two sprit-sails which were no sooner loose but the winds blew them into a thousand Shatters however they serv'd to Clear us of the ship to which we so happily shew'd our lights that hoisting her foremast sail she past by without damage on either side In the midst of so many alarums and continual dangers we past the rest of night in pumping and rummaging the inside of the ship which was so wet that there was not a dry place to be found in 't to lie down Rivers of Water ran continually over the deck the Boxes chests and all the hamocks were thrown down and nothing was to be seen throughout the whole Vessel but the perfect picture of a shipwrack to which the winds and Seas seem'd to conspire this night we
the Lion whose Poop as well as ours was carried away the second was the Dragon who for eight days had been seperated from the rest If we were glad at the sight of them they were not less surpriz'd at our return they believing us lost ever since they had seen a Top-mast floating on the Sea they told us that the Squadron had suffered extreamly and that the Bird had been forced to heave her Boat and four Guns over board to save herself and that the Flourishing and the Rock were nigh being lost all the Goods in the first being spoiled and the last having been obliged to pump continually to save themselves CHAP. XLIV We gave thanks to God for finding our selves on the Bank of Needles which we happily passed and the gentle Trading Winds succeeding we sailed prosperously AS bad as this news was we were glad to hear it for we never expected to see or hear of one another more and great wou'd have been our satisfaction in pursuing our Voyage together if the South West Winds which lasted eight days had not obliged us to lie by at last they chang'd and having seen a little Bird of the size of a Sparrow we judg'd we were not far from Land Having sounded several times without finding ground though according to the variation and the Point of the Pilots we shou'd have been on the Bank of Needles The 7th of April we saw a Whale and several Birds as Cormorants and Velvet Channels were sitting on the Water which gave us to understand we were very near Land so that next day being the eighth the Dragon having found ground hoisted a Flag to give us notice of it we presently huddled over a few prayers according to custom and sounding all along we found ground in a 100 fathom Water It was wonderful strange that in this place where the Sea is always so boisterous and violent it prov'd a dead Calm followed by so gentle a Breeze that we past this Bank of 24 Leagues in length with our Top-gallant Sails only Thus having doubled the Cape of Good Hope we took heart and hoped for a prosperous Voyage hence forward the Winds being now so favourable And indeed we made great way for after having sailed 200 Leagues beyond it we began to breath in a temperate Air and to have fair and clear Weather constantly accompanied with the gentle Trading Winds it seem'd as if God was now pleased to give us a little comfort after so much misery and Sufferings and to say truth we extreamly stood in need of it for the Vessel was not able to bear any more weather our Men were very sickly and grew so more and more with what they had suffered in doubling the Cape so that every day some of 'em died either of the Flux or of the Scurvey Yet still we had reason to believe our selves happy the Cold abating by degrees and warm weather succeeding which was no small relief to those who were ill of the latter Distemper the Sea was now no longer dangerous but on the contrary all was calm and pleasant as if we had made an In-land Voyage CHAP. XLV Our pleasant Navigation invites us to fish A Description of an extraordinary Fish call'd a Requiem THis happiness and the Diversions we gave our selves of Gaming Dancing and Reading charm'd the fateigues of so long a Voyage besides these we often delighted our selves with Fishing and in one calm day we caught numbers of Tons Goldfishes and Bounites and a large Fish call'd a Requiem by fastening a great piece of Bacon to the hook This monstrous Creature is between 15 and 16 foot long and almost as big as a Man it has no shell but a skin thick and rough like Shagrin with a Muzzle half round distinct from the rest of the head four fingers below towards the Belly is plac'd the larger mouth whose two Jaw bones have each three rows of Teeth which are large and flat yet very sharp so that whenever he eats he is forc'd to throw himself on his back It seems as if Nature wonderful in her productions wou'd by that means suppress the devouring Appetite of this greedy Creature which I have seen return three times to the same Bait tho' the hook had torn his Gills before This Monstrous creature does not shun Men as other fish do for he no sooner sees him in the water but he follows him and when he designs to quit the prey he throws himself upon it carrying away that part on which he fastens first he is never seen but in a calm following ships to catch whatever meat or rubbish the Seamen throw out Certain little Fishes of the size of a Sardine which Swims before free from the insults of this creature as devouring as it is and serve him as a Pilot for from thence it is they are called by that name they are such faithful companions to him that when he is taken with the hook and drawing in they lie on his back and suffer themselves to be drawn in also I had forgot to mention how we found in the belly of one we took a Knife and six pound of Bacon which in all probability it got at the hook I believe there is no creature in the World so hard liv'd and difficult to kill I took notice of one thing among several others on board our Ship that was peculiarly amazing in this fish which was this that it being cut in peices and each peice seperated from the heart yet they all mov'd alike which surprized us very much This fish has a sort of marrow in the head that hardens against the Sun and being powder'd and taken in White-wine is very good for the Chollick CHAP. XLVI Monsieur Duquesne meets with two more Ships of his Squadron and sail together in Order to anchor at the Isle of the Ascention WHile we enjoyed the innocent diversion of fishing a more sollid entertainment diverted us for some time the wind which we had directly in our Stern made us dispatch no less than 40 Leagues a day sailing now as expeditiously since our departure from Pontichery as we did unsuccesfully before The 25th of April the Dragon having given a signal about 3 in the afternoon that she saw two ships the Admiral ordered her to give chase to them they seem'd to be Dutch bound for St. Helens from whence we were not fat but when we came up with them we discovered they were the Bird and the Flourishing which we had not seen in two Months before Our Squadron had now been all re-united if the Rock which they told us was a head of us had been in company We made use of the Wind which was very favourable to joyn her at the Isle of Ascentions near which we should pass to take some Tortoise aboard We never had more need of going a shoar for our Company was harrast and quite spent with our poor diet and continual pumping night and day for our refuge was nothing
several Calebasses or Strings of different sizes rank'd under stops and dispos'd in a tuneable order like those of the Harpsicord I have seen another of their Instruments that would be proper in the Chamber of a sick Person It 's a sort of a Lute made of a piece of hollow'd Wood cover'd with Leather with two or three Strings of Hair It 's cover'd on the Stops with little Plates of Iron and adorn'd with little Bells like a Tabor The Guiriots tune these several Instruments to their own wretched Voices and so sing the Panigericks of the most considerable Persons Which commonly run thus that they are great Lords Rich Powerful as the Whites who are the chief Slaves of the King and a great deal of this kind of stuff These are transported with these Praises and recompense them largely nay they go so far as to strip themselves of their very Cloaths to reward them for them tho' ne'er so groundless and extravagant And indeed when they don't reward these Fellows they are for taking their Revenge crying them down again and vilifying them up and down as much as they had extoll'd them before which is look'd upon as the greatest Affront imaginable How their Lords and conciderable persons are accouterd These Guiriots employ themselves sometimes in singing our Praises too but they find but little Encouragement for 't leaving the Negroes to enjoy and pay for this sort of Happiness they praise us in these terms that we are Great Rich and Lords of the Sea The Habit of the Blacks is very plain the Poor have only a Cotton Rag about half a quarter of a Yard wide to cover their Nakedness It 's fasten'd with a String that serves them for a Girdle they let the two Ends of the Cloath hang down behind and before which they reckon very Honourable and a great Ornament The Lords and considerable Persons are better habited they have a Cotton Frock made like the Cordelier's Robes with long and large Sleeves they are not platted in the Neck having only a hole for the Head to pass through like the Shirts of the Europeans they wear them of all Colours some Blue some Yellow some Fillimot c. Since these Jackets reach but half way down the Thigh they wear withal a sort of Breeches of the same which reach from the Waist to the Knee these Breeches are so large that they take up no less than five Ells of Linnen they resemble a Womans Petticoat that is gather'd at the bottom and in which only two holes were left on the fides to put the Legs through the largest are the most fashionable They wear on their Heads a sort of Bonnets that are straight at the Entrance but wide at the other End almost like the Cowls of the Capuchins of the Jacobins The common Sort go bare-foot but the People of Quality wear Sandals made of a piece of Leather beneath in the form of a Sole and fastned at top with a thong which tyes them to the Foot like the Sandals of the Ancients Their Hair though short is very well platted they set it out with Gris-Gris's of Silver Leather Coral Copper c. They wear Rings at their Ears of Tin Silver and Copper but they who are of the Race of Slaves are not allow'd to wear their Hair The Girls and Women are naked from the Waist upwards unless the cold obliges them to wrap themselves up they cover the other part of their Body with a Paigne that is a Cotton Cloth strip'd after their Fashion and of the bigness of a little Towel that reaches down to the mid-leg their Hair too is tressed and set out with Coral and other little Ornaments their Coifs make a topping on their Heads of half a Foot high the higher they are the more they are esteem'd The Girls and Boys go quite naked to the Age of eleven or twelve The Women and Men adorn their Arms and Legs with Corral and Bracelets of Gold Silver Tin and Copper according to their Ability The Cotton with which these People Cloath themselves would be very plentiful amongst them if they bestow'd that Pains on 't which they should but they content themselves with what 's just enough and sometimes with less the Women spin the Cotten and the Men make the Cloth which is not above five Fingers breadth in the Piece for want of necessary Utensils to make it wider for otherwise they are as good Weavers as in France but forced to join ten or twelve Pieces together to have a Paigne of an Ell wide Mill is the ordinary Food of the Western Negroes the Women who make it ready make Sanglet or Coscouse of it Which are their terms to signifie two sorts of Meats They begin at break of Day to make their Sanglets for it requires full six Hours to make it they go two or three together to prepare it pound it in wooden Mortars that are high and deep not having any Mills for that purpose When Mill has quitted its Husk they winnow it with Fans made of Palm-Leaves to separate it from the Chaff then they boil it with Milk or Butter or a Bouillon of Flesh or dry'd Fish or with Water The Coscouse which is their best Victuals is made too of Mill beaten very fine which they fan as before when it 's clean they put a little into a very narrow Bowl and sprinkle a little Water on 't after which they knead and turn it then sprinkle a little more Water then knead it again which they repeat till they have reduc'd this Mass into little Balls afterwards they dry them and then put them into an Earthen Pot full of holes on another in which they boil Meat season'd with Spice and Palm Oil this Ragou is very fine well prepar'd and the Sand well dress'd out which is seldome done When they go to War they carry a little Sack of a Foot long and the thickness of one's Arm full of Coscouse thus dress'd As the Women dress it every day they take no small Pains And if the Wives of Europe were to take the same Care of their Husbands they would think they were very hardly us'd They drink Palm-Wine which is not very plentiful and stinking Water of the Pits and often of the salt-Salt-Water of the Sea where it has strain'd through they drink Milk too when they have it As Ambition is a Vice or a Passion unknown to those People they little mind the building of Cities or Castles or Houses of State and Grandeur nor have they Materials for the doing of it if they take the Pains they live but in Villages where the Houses are such as I have already describ'd which differ according to the Quality and Ability of the Person They who live near the Palm-trees inhabit in the best tho' they too have neither Windows nor Doors The House of a great Lord shall consist sometimes of thirty
do otherwise These Negro's appear'd more Savage than they of Saintiague ruder in their manner of living but more plain in their dealing they are large and strong bodied but very fearful a Pistol shot will scare them so that they 'll run into the woods to hide so much they fear fire Arms. They were long beards and their hair covering their shoulders for 't is to be observ'd that to the south of the Line they all have them thus and to the North have short friz'd hair they all go naked having only a rag of Linen to cover their nakedness and some wear beads about their necks without crosses and holes in their Ears that your finger will go through I could never imagine that these Savages could be so jealous of their Wives for they hid them in their Cottages as we past by that we might not see them judging our inclinations I suppose by their own we saw some of their women who are not easily to be distinguished from their Men but by their habit which consists of a piece of Linen that crosses their Stomacks and so falls down their breasts with another which binds their Thghes behind and before like drawers They are very wild for when I but touch'd one of their ears to observe three little pieces of wood she had in them she skriekt out and ran as if I intended to eat her Tho' Idolaters yet they are very temperate and sober and for the most part feed only on fish fruits and Rice and rarely eat any flesh tho' they have plenty Their best drink is Tarry which is very refreshing and much resembles the Cider made of pears in Britany it costs them no more pains than the rest of their provisions which the unmanur'd soil freely furnishes 'em with of its own accord It is no more than cutting the bottom of the Palm trees and placing Vessels beneath to receive it CHAP. XIII The Squadron parts from the road of Moelly on the news we receiv'd that there were some ships of the Enemy at Amiouam WE had lain at anchor about Seven or Eight days when we understood by a Negro who spoke Portuguese that there lay some ships at Amiouam Tho' the information was uncertain yet it gave us a great deal of joy and the Commandant gave notice that we should make ready to sail in two days so we made hast to take in all necessaries and to supply our selves with water wood and fresh provisions to take down our Tents and embark the sick of whom we lost one at land and three the day we landed whom we cast into the sea which with eleven we lost in crossing the Line made in all fifteen since we left France This evening Monsieur Duquesne gave orders for sailing and accordingly next day being Saturday the first of July we left the road of Moelly at 5 in the morning but were becalm'd almost all that day except a faint wind that blew sometimes which serv'd us a little till six in the evening when we came to an anchor again for that night next day we sail'd and it blowing a fresh gale about ten we doubled the Isle of Moelly and by reason of the Tides we were fore'd to coast it near the Shoar We presently made all the sail we could that we might reach Amiouam as soon as possible which was now in sight the Rock still kept close to us and in a little time the rest came up within 3 or 4 Leagues of us and now we took down our hamocks and made every thing ready for a fight tho' we had no plain sight of any shiping till we came near the road when we perceived one lying at anchor near to land and the smoak of two guns which were fir'd to warn the men aboard 'T was now Sun-set and we had yet two Leagues before we could come up with her all had orders to prepare and we as usual were posted on the quarter Deck we had already hung out Dutch colours and put a square Flag on the top of the Main-mast making in with full sails to set upon her by day light CHAP. XIV An Engagement at Amiouam with an English ship richly laden which was burnt with above three hunderd persons in her THis ship took a pleasure to see us coming in believing us to be Dutch and the rather because Seven ships were to be sent this year from Holland to the East-Indies but to rid them of their mistake the Rock who had gain'd the wind of us approacht according to orders with a design to anchor on her Buoy we then took in our Flag which very much surpriz'd them who presently hall'd the Rock and askt him whence he was bound and the Captain answering in Dutch from Amsterdam they seem'd mightily pleas'd then he asking them again whence their ship was answer'd from London The Captain was just ready to go aboard him when the sloop which he had sent to get intelligence of us and which he had order'd to go aboard the Admiral if they were Dutch keeping close to the land side for fear of being taken came to give him notice that we were French this unexpected news surpriz'd him very much and immediately gave orders to charge the guns which the Rock observing presently came and anchord on his buoy and straight powerd in his small shot with a broad side into her crying Vive le Royâ— Vive France The English much surpriz'd return'd us five guns and going to tack about the Rock at the second discharge splitting the Capstain and wounded two and twenty of his men upon which she cut away and hoist sail with all the speed she could which Monsieur Pouriere who was resolv'd to follow her close no sooner observ'd but he cut his Cables too and call'd to us to board her for that she was just sailing away Our Commandant knowing what he had to do presently tackt and got under the wind with her who fir'd on us with both her broad sides seeing herself oblig'd to pass between us and the Rock who still kept the wind of her and power'd his Musket shot into her but we had no sooner suffer'd her to go a little a head of us but we ply'd her with our great and small shot from both our ships the English ship scarce firing at all and thinking of nothing but of making her escape by the favour of the night But his endeavours were to no purpose for we were resolv'd to ply him close all night after the third discharge the Commandant order'd us to cease firing while a message was sent to him that if he would not surrender he should be hang'd up on the Main-yard this threatening message which might have frightend another gave him so little concern that he answer'd it with as many great Guns as he could at which we admir'd at the undaunted courage and resolution of the man to stand it out at such a desperate rate when there was no hopes of escapeng
she being far a head of us and making all the sail she could ran herself aground at a place call'd Cangam near a River which bears that name before we could come within shot of her It was now too late to attacque her or so much as to perceive how she lay in this uncertainty we anchor'd so that she could not escape us without being seen and in the Morning Monsieur Duquesne sent Monsieur de la Neufville second Captain of the Bird to view her with all the sloops This little Squadron of arm'd sloops as is necessary on such an Expedition quickly reacht the place where that change of waters is observ'd which is caus'd in the sea by the overflowing of this River we now began to sound by reason of a vast number of little rocks that lay under water here abouts beyond which this ship had run her self aground we went two fathom and a half water without being able to come near her so that we could not immagin how 't was possible for the Vessel to get so far in About a quarter of an hour after we saw a topmast floating on the side of the ebb with seven seamen clinging to it who were half drown'd and who by signs of Crosses desir'd us to save them Monsieur de la Neufville going towards them took them up in his boat where they no sooner were but the seamen fell a rifling these miserable people for the money they had hid in the wast bands of their breeches They were Portuguese who inform'd us that 't was an English ship of 36 guns coming from Massilipatam that from the time she was run aground the Captain debarkt with 40000 Roupies in silver which is 20000 crowns French and her richest lading that could be best carried off That the English who were but fifteen sav'd themselves a shoar except two or three whom we saw on the deck adding also that they themselves had made the same shift in order or get a shoar bnt the tide of ebb instead of landing them carried them farther out to Sea We saw her struck at one end and so we judg'd there could not be above three foot water where she was the vast surges that roll all along on this coast went over her stern so that in the condition she lay there seem'd to be little likely hood of getting her off but by pieces They ask't the Portuguess if the sloops could come at her without danger they answer'd that we must steer directly towards her Stern But Monsieur de la Neufelle not judging it so easy a matter resolv'd to run no such hazards on the bare word of Strangers in an enterprize which in the opinion of every one would have succeeded better than he expected The Negros appear'd thick on the shoar to see what we would do both the English and they expected to see the ship pillag'd or burnt but they were not a little pleas'd with their mistake when they saw our sloops tacking and going off again accompanied with great rains We were afterwards inform'd that there was aboard a great deal of Scarlet cloath and Masslipatam Calico's so that we lost a considerable booty CHAP. XXX Two English ships richly laden escape our Squadron which anchors before Balazor Our Admiral happily avoids being burnt THE calm hinder'd our departure this day but the next being the 2d of Sep. we sail'd with a fresh gale that just began to blow The two following days we discover'd another ship and presently made what sail we could after her sometimes she made towards the land as if she intended to run a shoat then she would tack and stand out to sea as if she did not know what course to take At last seeing the Lyon and the Dragon ready to come up with her after some hours chase she struck her topmast which she would have hoisted again immediately the Dragon hanging out a white flag fir'd a gun at her which oblig'd her to ly by till the Admiral came up She prov'd a Moorish ship bound from the Maldive Islands laden with Coris's which are certain shells that pass for small mony at several places as Bengale Siam and Guinne We sail'd together almost to Balazor where we arriv'd later than we expected by reason of the calms we met however on the seventh we came in sight of it at 4 in the evening Two English Vessels which lay in the road as soon as ever they saw us at a distance presently hoist sail thinking it better to quit the place than to expect us tho' they were secure enough the Great Mogull on whom this Country is dependant suffering no vessel to be attackt in 8 fathom water They made towards the mouth of the Ganges to anchor at a good distance from us expecting as they said a Convoy of twelve ships because they were richly laden with Coupans and gold ingots from Japan but we had the wind so scanty that they could hardly fly or we pursue but we observ'd we were the better sailors for when they came to an anchor we were within two cables length of them The Commandant order'd three guns to be fir'd to give the Director of the French Factory notice of our arrival and sent his sloop to Balazor next day for fresh provisions which did not return again in three days being no less than seven Leagues by Land Monsieur Pele the Director and several other Merchants came aboard who brought two ships laden with provisions with them which by reason of the wind were oblieg'd to anchor at two Leagues distance from us till it chang'd but there appearing no likely hood of it we went and joyn'd them He receiv'd us with a flag and one of them saluted us with seven guns The fresh provisions were distributed amongst the ships of the Squadron of which we stood in great need for we were half famisht Monsieur Duquesne writ to Monsieur Deslandes Director general who commonly resides at Ougly a Town situated on the bank of the Ganges fifty Leagues from Balazor to make ready two thousand sacks of Biscuit with the Merchandize that was to be transported to France against the 15th of December when he expected to return The same day about two in the afternoon we had the saddest alarum that cou'd happen aboard a fire began in the Lyons room through the negligence of the Mate but the Countermaster happening by good providence to be a sleep there suddainly wak't and cry'd Fire every one scar'd and alarum'd run to draw water and to wet linen cloaths to extinguish it it had already reacht the cable room but we follow'd it so close and took such care that it did little damage About three days before and I know not for what reason which ought to make us admire and thank the Divine Providence the more we remov'd the powder out of the Lyons hold which is put there in times of action and that very happily for if it had continued there the forecastle blowing up
posture of defence which prevented their making any attempt upon us believing there was little to be got by us but Ball. Sunday the 26th in the Morning being in 32 Degrees as many Minutes of Northern Latitude and in 4 Degrees 13 Minutes of Eastern Longitude we saw Cape-Cantin the Coast of Barbary and the Kingdom of Morocco from whence we were only six Leagues distant if the Night had lasted we had lost our way for we Sail'd to the West of the Maderas which is above 140 Leagues thence Wednesday the 29th we perceiv'd the Isle of Anecerotte one of the seven Canary Islands which we left about ten Leagues to the South-East where we met with a Calm and excessive Heat Thursday the 30th of April we found our selves in 28 Degrees 30 Minutes of Southern Latitude and 4 Minutes of Longitude taking the first Meridian at the Isle de Fer according to the Custom of our Nation so that not being above ten Leagues distant to the North-East from the Great Canary we tack'd on this Isle till Night about a League off Land We could not Anchor by reason of the little Wind that was stirring and the darkness of the following Night this oblig'd us to tack about to the East and to keep out at Sea till Three a Clock in the Morning of the opposite side to the Land Friday the 1st of May having tack'd to the West in the Road of the Great Canary about Nine and a half we Anchor'd in 24 Fathom and found a Sand that was partly grey and partly red mix'd with Coral the Town with its situation stands on the South-West side is a League and a half from the Road and defended by a very ordinary Castle When they had given us notice from the top of this Castle they set up the Pavillion of Spain which we Saluted with five Guns to which they return'd not a Gun I suppose 't was for want of Powder There is very good Anchoring in this place if one don 't come too near the Town to which the Rocks that lye under Water render the approach very dangerous it 's defended by a Castle situated on a Mountain from being attack'd by Sea it 's Peopled by twelve thousand Islanders brave enough and able to oppose any Invasion our Ship Anchor'd in 18 Fathom Water before the Town It 's about a League in compass the Houses for the most part are well enough built but low not above two Story they are all Terras'd a top so that the Roofs not appearing one would think they had been burnt In the day time you scarce see a Man in the Streets Thô the Bishop the Governor and the best sort have their Residence at Teneriffe yet in this Capitol is the Episcopal Seat the Tribunal of the Inquisition and the Supream Council which is the Parliament of the Seven Islands There are four Monasteries in 't one of Dominicans and one of Franciscans the two other are Bernardines and Recolets These Islands which were formerly call'd Fortunate deserv'd the Name if the goodness of the Air and the richness of the Soil be consider'd they abound in Wheat Barley Honey Cows Sheep Deer and all the Necessaries of Life The Wine of Malvesia is in such great plenty there that the English the French the Spaniard and Dutch c. furnish themselves thence every Year The Happiness of this Place to be able to subsist independent of all other Countries for the Necessaries of Life made the Heathens formerly believe that 't was the Elizium Fields design'd for the abode of Happy Souls after Death They are not so happy in their Water as in other things but this they remedy by pouring it into Vessels of the figure of a Mortar made of a very Porous sort of Stone through which it filters it self and afterwards becomes very good Their Harvest is commonly in March or April in several places they have two in one Year The Soil is so exceeding Rich that I saw a Cherry-Tree that had not been Grafted above six Weeks bear Fruit Flowers grow of themselves without any Care and it abounds in Oranges and Cittrons to admiration The Great Canary as well as Teneriffe and the Palme continued Idolaters some time after the Conquest made of them by the Spaniards in 1460. The Ancerotte Fort-Avanture the Gomer and the Fer first receiv'd Christianity and the three others at last follow'd their Example The Spaniards resolving at last to reduce these Islands to their Obedience sent a great number of the Inhabitants Slaves into Spain they who remained were Civiliz'd and live after the manner of their Conquerors and these above all the other Inhabitants of the Canaries are Civil to Strangers Monsieur Dancourt was very well receiv'd there by the Governor of the Island with whom he Din'd conducted by the Consul of our Nation Nam'd Remond originally of Liege and a very honest Man he too Regal'd us very much both with Wines and Fruits and continued two days with him in which he made exceeding much of me I was four times at the Convent of the Bernardines the Provisor having given me leave at the request of the Abbess there were some French Women there of whom one was of Paris who was my Interpreter there being some Sick in the Convent they were very much concern'd least I should take the Infection The presence of a Physician made them make use of the opportunity and several of them pretended to be Sick who ail'd nothing that they might have more liberty They express'd a great deal of Civility to me and loaded me with Bisket and wet and dry Comfits with Lemonade Malvesia and all manner of Fruit which they sent me on Plates and China Dishes garnish'd with Roses Violets Orange-Flowers Jessamin-Flowers and Tuberoses without reckoning Nosegays and I presented them too which they civilly receiv'd How their women are habited and how they carry their children on their backs How the Negros dance in a round As they have no great confidence in their own Physicians they are very glad when they can meet with one of France The Lawyer did all he could to perswade me to stay at the Great Canary offering me his House his Table and many other Advantages but I was resolv'd not to break my Word with Monsieur Dancourt so I thank'd the Spaniard for all his kindness and order'd what I thought was most proper for his Wife and such things as might be found in the Island where they are very scarce He would have given me Money which for the Honour of my Nation I refus'd I thought to have return'd thither again next Morning he having desir'd the Consul I might saying he would gratify me in another way seeing I would not take Money but I had not time the Sloop coming to take me Aboard on Saturday Night I was almost Enchanted with this Island and with much ado I parted from it if ever I leave France
they put a thousand affronts on you when they catch a Frenchman or any other White they 'll kill him to revenge a Quarrel of twenty Years past About two Months ago they took a Mariner that understood Arabick whom one of the Captains of the Company had sent to Arguin and demanded no less than fifty Slaves in Exchange for him Never was Nation more false and perfidious they are very dextrous in the use of Fire-Arms the effect of which they dread to that degree that three Whites one day hinder'd 400 of them from seizing a Vessel with which these came to Traffick a shot that fell amongst them having frightned them from the Execution of their design 'T was understood afterwards that the greatest part of them were Moors of the side of Mount Atlas who came to Depose Cheiratick one of the most Powerful Negro Princes of these Countries and of which I shall speak hereafter They retire into the Inland Parts as soon as ever the Niger begins to overflow The Kingdom of Senegal was the chief of the Negroes Countries and was formerly very considerable at present 't is not so thô they have a King truly Brave for through want of Strength he is become Tributary to another It s Power extends along the Water-side the space of 40 Leagues without reckoning some little Seigniories near which are Tributary to it and about ten or twelve Leagues up the Land This King is call'd Brac which is a Name of Dignity Absolute as he is he he is exceeding miserable often wanting Mill to Eat He is so delighted with Horses that for the most part he 'll content himself with a Pipe of Tabaco and a little Aqua-Vitae to spare the Mill to his Horses he uses them in Plundering the weakest of his Neighbours and driving away their Oxen in which their Riches consist and sometimes makes them Slaves and sells them for Aqua-Vitae When it grows low he shuts up what is left in a Coffer and gives the Key of it to one of his Favourites whom he sends thirty Leagues off on some trifling Message to his Wives that he mayn't drink in the mean time and so makes it last as long as he can But whatever he does by his Neighbours he makes his Subjects feel him running up and down his own Country remaining two days in one Town three in another obliging them to maintain himself and his whole Train which is compos'd of about 200 subtile Fellows refin'd by their Conversation with the Whites from whom they only learn what 's bad When they have ruin'd the Villages they make Slaves of whom they please on the least pretence But if the Prince is Perfidious his Subjects are no less for they 'll sell one another without regard to Proximity of Blood or Relation so that the Father shall sell his Son and the Son his Father and Mother as it happens When they have such a design on any Person they will desire his help to carry their Merchandise to the Factory and when they have them there they sell them privately and deliver them when they don't understand the Language Behold an Example of this kind which happened some time ago and confirms what I have said One of these Barbarians had form'd a design against his own Son to sell him the Son perceiv'd it but dissembled the matter understanding the French Tongue while his Father was absent a little he comes to the Magazine declares he had a Slave treats and agrees for the Price and delivers him up This pretended Slave was his Father who when he was going to be Iron'd rages and cries out He was his own Son who offer'd to sell him the other denies and marches off But his guilt was not long a punishing for returning home with his Goods he meets a chief Lord who stript him of all he had made him a Slave and sold him to the Factory After the States of Brac we meet those of Cheyratick that is to say the thrice great the Emperor On this last depend ten little Kings and other little Sovereigns his Empire extends it self of both sides of the River Senegal and contains near 300 Leagues of Country His Lands bear Dates and Mill and yield good Pasture in which great numbers of Beasts are nourish'd His People are call'd Foules they are not black nor so white as the Moors but are of a middle colour They are more Civiliz'd than the other Negroes and receive strangers very kindly and when any of our Mariners are ill us'd by their Captains as it often happens they run to Cheyratick for shelter who receives them very kindly His ordinary Food is Mill Beef and Dates and drinks Milk and never any Wine or Aqua-Vitae observing the Law of Mahomet more exactly than the other Negroes He is able to bring 50000 Men into the Field but for want of Provisions can't subsist there long Passing beyond the States of Cheyratick you come to the Countries of the Faregotts and Enguelland 3000 Leagues from our Habitation we Traffick too with them they differ in nothing from the Foules As I did'nt go any higher my knowledge is bounded here and I know nothing beyond it After this River has roll'd from Cantorsi and divers great Islands it casts it self into the Sea by two openings in 15 Degrees 32 Minutes of South Latitude Between the Sea and the River there is a sort of Dike or Hill of Sand which in the widest part is not above a little Cannon-shot this obstacle occasions continuing its Course for six Leagues before it rolls into the Sea thô their Waters run even But as at length this Dike is pierc'd in two places three Leagues distant one from the other through them and it loses it self at last in the Sea between which an Island is form'd At each of these Mouths several Banks of Sand are gather'd which the River drives down and the Sea drives back and makes a very dangerous passage for Shipping The continual motion of the Sea finding a resistance from these Banks causes it to rise to an incredible heighth and strands or shatters the Ships to pieces and then there is no escape for the Equipage for if they Swim for 't the Requiems are sure to devoure them else this passage is not dangerous but when the Tides are low and not then when the Niger overflows That which is singular in its Inundations is That they still force new Passages through the Dike into the Sea it 's about twenty Years since that it forc'd a passage over against that Island which is the Habitation of the French they were oblig'd to remove up higher This Mouth is stopt now making its passage in other places and they so fill one another up that none ever remain but the two last Several European Nations Traded formerly to this River at present none but the French Having spoken several times of the
Inundations of the Niger it will be proper to observe when and how this happens yet without insisting on Physical Causes if happily they may be discover'd by particular Circumstances Behold such as have appear'd to me The Heats are excessive in the Torrid Zone for it does not Rain there at all or at most but very little unless in the Months of July August and September To the South of the Equinoctial Line the Rains fall earlier and in greater abundance during that time and are accompanied with raging Storms and follow'd with so great a Calm and such excessive Heats that it 's as much as one can do to fetch ones breath Two or three hours after the Tempest rallies and so alternately during the three Months This causes violent Distempers Fevers Cholorae-Morbus Ulcers in the Legs Worms of four or five Foot long in the extremities and frequent Convulsions follow'd by Paralyses and Death All that 's said of the Causes of the Inundation of the River Nile is well known of all and therefore I shall not repeat it here That of the Niger must have the same Cause which I believe is That the Sun in repassing the Line of Cancer which in France makes the Summer Solstice and here the Winter amasses the Vapours which dissolve afterwards in heavy and continual Rains and probably cause these overflowings These Rains commence in Aethiopia in April continue May and June Here 't is about the 15th of July they encrease for forty days and decrease for as many This Inundation which enriches the Country is not general nor extends beyond the Neighbourhood of the River At this time the Bed of the River is not known its Channel neither being deep enough to contain its Waters nor having Current enough to sweep them into the Sea they drown'd the Valleys and the lower Grounds and cover all 'T is dangerous at these times to Sail on these Rivers and chiefly on the River of Senegal unless you understand the Channel very well for when the Waters come to retire a Vessel may be left on an Eminence or in a deep place from whence it can't be drawn out It 's about 15 Years since a thing happen'd that confirms the truth of what I say Messieurs of the Company willing to take the advantage of the Inundation sent Barks to discover the Country about the place of the separation of these Arms of the Niger they were willing to try if it was practicable to pass from the River of Senegal to that of Gambia the Trade of which the English who are Masters of the Mouth of it hinder others from by the means of a Fort which they have there And as there it no attempting this Discovery but at this time when by the advantage of the Inundation you pass over Rocks that are dry at other times they Mann'd their Barks with 30 Men who pass'd almost 400 Leagues from our Habitation but they encounter'd so many difficulties that but five return'd having once lost the Bed of the River their Bark amongst others sat dry on some Trees but happily 't was not far from the Chanel so they made a shift to hale it into it again After Monsieur Dancourt had dispatch'd in these Quarters what he judg'd was most for the advantage of the Company finding the Barhure or Entrance was free to pass by reason of a gentle Easterly gale that blew then he pass'd it in a Bark design'd for that use which put us Aboard the Ship call'd the Fame which waited for us in the Road being willing to avoid the fatigue of a Land Journey The 10th of June 1683. we weigh'd Anchor and Sall'd for Goree we Coasted it all along and the prospect was very Charming of long extended Groves of Trees ever green After he had run along all the Coast and given his Orders in all the Coutoirs we return'd to our Course which we had held and spent eight days in coming back Mark what I have observ'd of these places in the little time I was there The People who Inhabit the Coast from the Mouth of the Senegal to the River of Gambia are divided into three namely the Geloffes the Sereres and the Barbesins they are Govern'd by several little Kinglings but very Absolute in their several Governments The most considerable of them all is the King of Amel Sovereign of the Geloffes the Name of Amel is not appropriated to him 't is a Name of Dignity As all their Governments are much alike as are the People and the Country I shall by an Account of this one give you an Account of all the rest The Geloffes Inhabit from the Mouth of Senegal going South within six or seven Leagues of Cape-Verde this makes from North to South 40 Leagues of Coast and from East to West 100 up the Land The Country of the Sereres has for its King him whom we Name Portugady from a Town of that Name which belongs to him Jain is the Name of his Dignity it includes ten or twelve Leagues of Coast and almost 100 up the Country The Kingdom of the Barbecins otherwise of Jovialle for the same reason I alledg'd concerning that of Sereres is Govern'd by a King whose Name I have forgot he has no more Country than the precedent with whom he is often at War Besides these three Nations there is another who are a sort of Portuguese a Nation who name themselves so because they were formerly subject to them and are descended from those who first inhabited this Coast after the discovery of it From the Negresses whom they married were born the Mulato's from whom are descended a more swarthy Race They may also be Fugitives too of Cape-Verd or Cacheau another Colony of this Nation on one of the Branches of the River of Gambia distant thence three days journey As they have followed the Religion of their old Masters they are partly Jews and partly Catholicks they wear a Cope like our Chaunters No one is greater than another but at the same time they are false and malicious having all the Vices of the Portugueses without any of their Vertues Almost all these Places are sandy and barren the Heats are more violent there in January than in July and August in France It Rains there in the manner as I have said already speaking of Senegal The Country is Peopled and abounds with Trees They begin to Cultivate their Grounds at the end of June and sow a little after the Rains they gather in their Harvest in September so that in three Months time they manure sow and reap This shews the good nature of the Soil and if better improv'd by the Inhabitants who are very lazy that it would produce Grain in abundance I mean their Mill. Their manner of Cultivating is pleasant they go four or five together into the Field which they call Cougan or Courgar and with a sort of a round Shovel of Iron with
which the Sea-men call Spronton that has a great Bone in the same place that the precedent has with this difference from the other that it 's strait and sharp pointed I believe it 's the same with that which we call Naruval This Bone of which I speak resembles the pretended Horn of the fansied Vnicorn He can pierce a Ship with it so as it shall take in Water if it does not happen that in drawing the Bone out again he breaks it in which case he stops the Hole he has made The Succer so call'd from his fastening himself as he is of the bigness of a Soal when he fastens himself to the Helm he retards the Ship but does not stop it as is falsly reported of the Remora The Amphibies are not common on these Coasts nor are the Crocadile the Sea-Horse the Sea-Calf the Lemantine or the Tortoise often seen here unless at the Mouth of the River of Senegal and Gambia In the Marshes and Ponds are found little Crocodiles of about five Foot of which some are Venomous and some not There are some that are perfect Serpents they retire thither where there are most Ants because these little Creatures make them a sort of Forts in raising from space to space little Hillocks of Earth of ten fifteen and twenty Foot high hollow below like an Oven and so dispos'd that at a distance one would fansie them to be a Village In Gambia there are Crocodiles of thirty Foot long and thick in proportion so as that they 'll swallow a Buck whole they are very dangerous their Tail is as long as all the rest of their Body their Skin is so hard that a Zagage will scarse pierce it There are some of them that live on Fish and others that devour Men and in order to surprize them they 'll keep themselves at some distance in the places frequented and when they get near those who swim or are in Cannoos or come near large Oxen swimming they clasp them with their Tails and eat them they move only the upper Jaw the lower not stirring they do little mischief out of the Water when the Negroes kill them they eat them they leave their Eggs on the Land and cover them with Sand as soon as they are hatch'd they return into the Waters or the Woods The Sea-Horse such as is seen in the Niger is as big as an Ass and is shap'd like a Horse his Skin is as hard and without Hair he lives on the Land as well as in the Water out of which he does not go but to feed He ruins the Mill and Rice for he destroys ten times more than he eats he is dangerous to the Negroes Canoos which he is apt to overturn yet without hurting the Men he has two great Teeth that serve the same use that Ivory does The Sea-Ox that lives on the Land as well as in the Water resembles a Calf of six Months old There are more Lamantin's in the River of Senegal than in that of Gambia he is like the Marsovin for Bigness for Flesh and Fat When he is out of the Water he makes use of his Fins instead of Feet This is all the knowledge I could get of this kind I now proceed to speak of the Manners and Genius of the Negroes The Negroes are all well made and proportinably tall You see none lame nor crooked amongst them unless by accident they are stupid and without address even in the least things great Lyars but greater Thieves thievery is the only thing they are dextrous in and are such Masters at it that they 'll steal from us before our Faces without our perceiving them drawing with one Foot to them what they would be at and taking it up behind When any Mountaineers for so they call those who live up Land come to traffick with us there is no sort of Cheat which the Negroes of the Coast don't put upon 'em for under the pretence of helping them to carry their Goods and serving them as Interpreters they retain half from them of what we pay them as though they had a real Interest in the Goods The severity with which their Kings punish those who steal in the Night and such as are taken in the Fact can't cure them of this Distemper notwithstanding the greatness of it which is no less than to be Slaves to those whom they have robb'd Whoever's oblig'd to make use of the Negroes for Interpreters are very unhappy and expos'd to all their Knavery they scarce interpret a word honestly and in the sence 't is spoke and always contrive it to our disadvantage which often makes our Markets litigious They are every way insupportable but chiefly when they think themselves necessary in any Affair their Intemperance is excessive still swallowing Aqua Vitae for Palm-Wine is not plentiful enough amongst them to be always at hand Their Drunkenness is accompanied with a total depravation of Reason and a furious Brutality They don't know what belongs to Restitution and have no shadow of Civility their Ignorance is so great as not to know that twice two makes four or their Age or the Day of the Week for which they have no Names Their Maraboux who have some little tincture of Arabick write their Griz-Griz in that Tongue I shall explain this Word hereafter These People have but one good Quality which is Hospitality for they wont let a Stranger of their Nation pass without making him eat and drink and that sometimes for several Days Having a mighty value sor their Aqua-Vitae when they would drink of it they do it privately and out of the sight of their Guest that they mayn't be oblig'd to give them share they make the Mountaneers pay for their Hospitality towards them by cheating them of the Aqua-Vitae they receive in exchange for their Goods and generally send them away with half what they brought They are all extreamly poor having no other Riches but a few Oxen the richest may have forty or fifty or three or four Horses with as many Slaves but they are extraordinary when they have any Bracelets of Gold to the value perhaps of eleven or twelve Pistols each Tho' they have neither Wit nor Sense they love Praise to that degree that they have a sort of People call'd Guiriotz who have nothing else to do but to perform this Piece of Service the Guiriotz carry a sort of a Drum of four or five Foot long made of the trunk of a hollow'd Tree which they beat with their Hands or with small Sticks they have Timbrels too of the Morisco Fashion which resemble our Ball Baskets crost with little Strings which they touch with one Hand while they strike with the other I observ'd they made use of another Instrument that is sufficiently harmonious if they knew how to play on 't it sounds like a Harp and consists of a Range of
before and binding them behind with a Calico Cloth with which they gird themselves withal Whatever they are a doing their little Ones are always ty'd up behind them even when they are pounding their Mill whence 't is that they have all great Bellies and flat Noses for the Mother bowing and raising her Body as she beats makes them strike their Noses against her Back which the Children endeavouring to avoid which notwithstanding they hardly can holding themselves back they advance their Bellies I believe this is the only Reason that the Negroes are flat Nos'd They value Beauty as much as we and particularly in the Eyes Mouth Lips and Nose Allowing for their blackness there are Negresses as handsom as any of our European Ladies And are more witty than the Men but very subtil and smooth tongu'd The Caresses of white Men please them wonderfully But in the mean time these Dames being very Mercenary they will not grant them Favours for nothing although their Husbands consent to their Debaucheries But 't is not so amongst one another for if one lies with another's Wife they will kill him if they can with their Sabres or their Knives or if it be with their Concubines they will have their Revenge The Women are always smoaking they are very merry and above all things love Dancing in the Evenings and at the New Moons They dance in a-round clapping their Hands without stirring except it be those in the middle and sing the first thing that comes into their Mouth 's Sense or Nonsense These last in dancing hold one Hand on their Heads and the other behind advancing the upper part of their Bodies and clapping their Feet on the Earth their Postures are lascivious and infamous and chiefly when Boys dance with them a Cablasse or a Kettle serves them for Musick for some sort of Noise they must have The Men exercise themselves in Wrestling and in approaching one another use ridiculous Postures in holding out the Finger the Fist or the Foot at one another On this Occasion there is always one who acts the Guiriot and who makes some sort of Musick to encourage them Being naked they hardly come to the Ground without being hurt And when one receives a fall the Guiriot extols him who gives it encouraging him to more Victories over his Adversary who flees from him The greatest part who live by the Water-side are Fishers they train up their Children early to this Art and make use of Canoo's they are little Boats made of the hollow Trunk of a Tree and all of a piece of which the largest may contain ten or twelve Men being about 30 Foot long and about a Foot and a half wide These Canoo's both sail and row When the Wind is high and the Water rough the Canoo often overturns but they little mind it for they are good swimmers it does not sink to the bottom so they easily set it right again in the Water and then get into it as if nothing had happen'd But row in them with such speed that the lightest of our Sloops can't overtake them When they go a Fishing commonly they don't go above two in a Canoo They launch out as good as six Leagues into the Sea and for the most part fish with a Line but as there are great Fishes which won't bite at a Bait they strike them with Irons pointed like the Head of an Arrow or with long Sticks sharpned at the end and of the length of a Halp-Pike with a Cord fasten'd to it with which they draw them to Land after wounding them They dry the little Fish like Sardins and they open the great ones as they do Cod. As they don't salt them they commonly stink before they dry but 't is then they reckon them most delicious for they don't love fresh Fish They sell it to those who live up land and would from them make great advantage of it if they 'd take the Pains of carrying it to the Towns but the others being as lazy to fetch it as they are to carry it betwixt them both the Fish stinks and becomes useless Besides their Trade with us they keep particular Markets for themselves but trivial that I have admir'd to see them come six or seven Leagues with a little Cotton some Callicoes Beans Gourds Palm Pallets c. Another time I saw a Man come six Leagues to bring a Bar of Iron half of a Foot long Not but that sometimes one meets there with Goods of greater value as Rings of Gold and Gold Ear-Rings nam'd by them Dougaret of the same Metal but it 's in so small a quantity that in the whole Market you shan't find to the value of fifty Pistols Formerly they dealt wholly by the way of exchanging one thing for another but since their Commerce with the Europeans instead of Money they Trade with Rastade and little Glass Baubles and Iron Bars The best Things they bring us in these Markets which they keep at the end of some Town is Elephants Teeth Bullocks Hides and some Slaves which they come to Goree to sell and for which Messiears of the Company give them Iron Aqua-Vitae Rassade c. by which they make a considerable Gain The Government there is Hereditary and Monarchical yet 't is not the Sons of the King who succeed but his Nephews his Sisters Sons This Custom which may seem a little odd is grounded on this Reason That 't is not certain that the Children the Prince has by his Wives are really his whereas it being undeniable that the Children of his Sisters are certainly hers and so it follows that they are rather of the Blood Royal than his own When the Prince comes to the Throne every Body strives to Congratulate him because he has carried it from his Brothers of whom there being commonly many the Empire always becomes contested and falls to him that has the greatest Force and the best Success The King is approach'd with Difficulty and Reverence and few are admitted into the Heart of his Court When any great Lord tho' he be his Relation would have Audience of him he pulls off his Frock at his entrance into the Court being quite naked from the Waist upwards when he draws near the place where the King is he throws himself on his Knees afterwards bows his Head and with his both Hands strews Sand on his Face and Head then rises and repeats the same Ceremony often at such a distance till he comes within two steps of the King Being there he stops and declares the Motives he had for demanding Audience His Compliment ended which is made on the Knee he rises without daring to look at the King resting his Hands on his Knees and from time to time sling Sand on his Forehead The Prince who carries it very high to his Subjects makes a shew as if he scarce heard him and so diverts himself with something else yet however