Court that were brought over thither by Columbus Moreover Hoieda was inform'd here That this Gold-River took its Original in the Province belonging to Cacicus Caunaboa signifying The King of the Golden Palace Columbus builds a City Mean time Columbus selected a piece of Ground on a rising Hill on the North part of the Isle where he intended to build a City because close by the Hill on one side rises a Mountain pregnant with Stone and Chalk on the other a Plain so exceeding fruitful and pleasant that the Sun scarce shines upon a more delightful and fertile Soil which they found afterwards by experience Here Melons are set and ripe in thirty six days Corn in two Months Strange fruitfulness there twice a Year the Trees and Plants bring forth their several Products the Vines come to maturity and are loaden with Clusters of Grapes in two Years and Sugar-Canes grow as thick as a Mans Arm in fifteen days On this pleasant Soil accommodated with a convenient Haven Columbus afterwards built the City Isabella fortified with Walls and Trenches against all Invasions over which he made his Brother Bartholomew Columbus first Governor Mean while the Admiral Columbus himself march'd up into the Countrey with three hundred Men in quest of the Gold Mines Seventy two Leagues the Valley Cibava lies distant from Isabella to which Columbus pass'd over swift Currents and high Mountains where he built a Fort which he call'd St. Thomas and exchang'd with the Inhabitants Toys and Trifles for Pieces and Ingots of Gold which the Inhabitants as before-mention'd found in the Sand of their Rivers And besides they inform'd him That about half a days Journey further greater Quantities of Gold were to be found in a browner colour'd Soil Whereupon Luxanus one of his Officers was sent with a sufficient Party thither who march'd through a delightful way cool with shady Boughs and pleasant with the prospect of spacious Meadows where they mow'd Grass for their Horses which in four days time grew up again higher than our tallest Wheat Goes to Sea to discover new Countreys Mean time Columbus being return'd with great Riches to his new City Isabella went soon after by Sea with three Vessels to discover new Countreys more remote which his Design fell out also successfully for he fell first upon Jamaica where he found more stout Opposition than elsewhere by the Natives at his Landing but finding themselves over-power'd they came to Agreement and accepting an amicable Composure presently struck up a Peace From thence putting to Sea he next discover'd Cuba which sailing round about he found also to be an Island where Landing in a convenient Harbor on each fenc'd with a high and jutting Rock he espied two little Hovels wherein was abundance of Fish besides two great Snakes or Serpents each having eight Feet spitted and ready to be laid to the Fire to be roasted but neither Man Woman nor Child to be seen they being gone with part of the Fish they had dress'd into the adjacent Woods whither the Spaniards following saw hanging by small Strings on the Branches of Trees abundance of Snakes some of which had their Mouths tied together others their Tongue and Teeth pull'd out Hence marching on a little beyond they saw a Company of the Natives which they judg'd to be about seventy Men covering the top or summit of a Hill to whom the Spaniards made Signs and to entice them near shew'd several of their gawdy Trifles but in vain till at last one adventur'd descending from the Hill to whom one of the Natives who in the first Voyage that the Admiral made was taken from the Island Guanahaini near Cuba carried to Spain and there Christned call'd aloud telling him they need not fear they should have no harm done them which said they came down all together and inform'd them That they were sent by their King to catch Fish for another King which was with him at Dinner and if they had not eaten the Serpents they gave them many thanks for they were provided for the second Course and very scarce to be got being a greater Dainty than any Fish Discovers not without great Accidents several New Countreys Columbus From hence proceeding on further Westward discover'd a fruitful Coast verging the Mouth of a River whose Water runs boyling hot into the Sea Somewhat further he saw very strange Fishes especially the Guaican not unlike an Eel but with an extraordinary great Head over which hangs a Skin like a Bag. This Fish is the Natives Fisher for having a Line or handsom Cord fastned about him so soon as a Turtel or any other of his Prey comes above Water they give him Line whereupon the Guaican like an Arrow out of a Bowe shoots towards the other Fish and then gathering the Mouth of the Bag on his Head like a Purse-net holds them so fast that he lets not loose till hal'd up out of the Water Here the Spaniards having Din'd on delicate Fish went on still Westward and came to an uninhabited Isle but well stor'd with Geese Pelicans and ugly Dogs that could not bark Here they came amongst so many Shoals that the Keels of their Ships raked upon the Ground almost forty Leagues together the Water thick and white like Milk Lastly they came again into deep Water and Landed at the Foot of a high Mountain on the Island Cuba where they found two Springs of very sweet Water A Musqueteer going into the Woods whilst the rest fill'd their Vessels with Water and cut Wood he spied a tall Man in a Coat like a white Fryer's Frock behind whom came two more and soon after thirty more follow'd all alike Habited the Musqueteer running away they beckned him to stay but he march'd off arid informing Columbus of his Adventure he sent a Party well Arm'd to see farther into the Countrey but they neither saw nor heard any Men onely found on the other side of the Wood a great Plain but so overgrown with deep Grass that it was impossible to get through The next day he sent out twenty five more which found nothing else than the Prints of the Steps of great Beasts and Lyons and also abundance of large Grapes which hung on the Branches of Vines clasping about the Bodies of the great Trees Hence Columbus again putting to Sea and Sailing Westerly found a Shore overflow'd with Water and abounding with Pearl-Mussles and after that the whole Countrey full of Mountains whose tops smoaked By this time the Fleet was much damnified by the shole-Shole-water where as we mention'd before they often struck and their Keels rak'd upon the Ground so that having sprung several Leaks and their Provisions growing mouldy with the Damp they were forc'd to return and Tacking about they ran against Turtles which lay as thick in the Sea as if they had been sow'n Columbus now on his return home and Landing once more on Cuba found an antient Man stark naked who speaking to him
who came and inform'd Cortez thereof whereupon he desir'd all the Magistrates of the City to come and speak with him Strange Martial Affairs who no sooner entred the Hall where he was but his Men by Command immediately shot them to death which terrible Rumor spreading and alarm'd with the report of the Executing Musquets the City was suddenly in an Uproar gathering thither Arm'd from all Places and began a sharp Conflict which lasted five Hours but then wearied out and despairing of Success loosing their Courage they desir'd a Cessation and at last concluded Peace with the Spaniards This News of his discover'd Intention so startled Montezuma that he suppos'd it better to desist and procure the Favor of Cortez by Presents wherefore he sent him 15000 Cotton Habits trim'd up very richly ten great Chargers of Gold and some Vessels of Wine desiring him for a while to forbear his Intentions of marching to Tenustitan his Chief City Now Menico and that he would in the mean while treat with him for an Accommodation But Cortez though he accepted of the Presents yet nevertheless held his Resolution of marching on Strange Cities in America Cortez being got through the poor Territory of the Guazazingers and having suffer'd great Cold upon the Mountains discover'd Amaquameca the chief City of the Province Chialco seated in a great Lake to which he row'd in a kind of Boats by the Inhabitants call'd Acales Passing from thence he was courteously receiv'd in Iztapalapa another City which boasts above eight thousand Stone Buildings besides admirable Palaces with spacious Rooms delightful Gardens and Ponds full of Fish and almost cover'd with Fowl from whence a Wall or Cawse-way of a great breadth A very strange Cawse-way that cross'd over both Land and Water led from Iztapalapa to Tenustitan This Cawse-way hath many Bridges which are drawn up in time of War under which the Water runs out of a Salt Lake into a Fresh that ebbs and flows although lying between high Mountains and seventy Leagues from the Sea On both sides this Wall being ten Leagues in length appears three great Towns viz. Mesiqualisingo Colvacana and Vuichilabusco all Populous and well-built How they make Salt Colvacana is supplied by the Salt Lake to it s no small benefit and inriching for the Water being by Pipes convey'd into the City in all the Places and Cisterns for its reception makes a Scum which being coagulated by the Sun and after boyl'd becomes Salt with which they drive a great Trade for no Salt being to be had in any place but here all Foreign Merchants come thither for Supply Cortez being in his March within a League and a half of Tenustitan Montezuma preceded with a thousand of his Nobless came to meet and salute him all of them rather like Pilgrims bare-footed and congying kissing their right Hands with which they first kiss'd the Ground After them appear'd Montezuma himself who put a Chain of Gold imboss'd with Pearls about Cortez his Neck and immediately conducted him to the City where having entred and being come into the Palace Remarkable Passage of King Montezuma Montezuma plac'd Cortez on a Golden Throne and surrendred up his Right to his Catholick Majesty of Spain in the presence of all his Peers to their no small amazement But whilst all things had a good face and went on thus fairly beyond their expectations Cortez was inform'd That King Coalcopoca had a Design on the new City Vera Crux and had treacherously murder'd two of the Garrison and wounded two more Whereupon Cortez having such fair beginnings who had swallow'd already in his Hopes the whole Empire and Wealth belonging to Montezuma laid hold of this Occasion pretending Treason and breach of Contract wherefore he put Montezuma under Custody notwithstanding he had clear'd himself of the Conspiracy by bringing Coalcopoca with his Sons and fifteen of his Peers Prisoners to Tenustitan who by the command of Cortez suffer'd a lingering death being all burnt with Green Wood. But in vain did Montezuma think to reconcile himself with Cortez since all he did could render no manner of satisfaction however he continu'd to oblige him by fresh Favors whose Relation we will be more particular in as meriting the same Vetus MEXICO A. Piazza B. Tempio da Orare C. Argini adefensione delle Casa D. Vâ—tapalapa E. Ilgiardino del S. F. Casa de li solazzi del S. G. Da questo siume Conduconâ— lacqua nella Cita H. Tesqua Whilst Cortez and Montezuma were viewing the Temple two Spaniards rush'd suddenly into one of the Cells where they found abundance of Lamps and Torches burning and the Walls bedaub'd two Inches thick with Humane Gore Over-head hung vast numbers of their Sacrificing Knives and the stench of the place was intollerable But whilst Cortez having staid waiting eight Months in Tenustitan for the return of the Messengers sent to the Spanish Court receiv'd Tidings That Pamphilo Narvaecy by order of Velasques was come with eighteen Sail Mann'd with eight hundred Foot and eighty Horse from Cuba and now riding before the Mexican Coast from whence soon after he receiv'd unexpected Command to come presently aboard unarm'd and resign up his Authority But he in stead of submission compell'd Narvaecy in a short time to relinquish his Title and own him for Superior Mean while the Spaniards which remain'd in possession of Tenustitan ran the hazard of a general Massacre for the Citizens much stomacking the Oppressions of the Spaniards who grew very insolent inslaving their King bringing their inveterate Enemies the Tlaxcallans and Guazuzingans into their City exacting them to pay Tributes pulling down their Gods and demolishing their ancient Idols they brake out from all Parts in a tumultuous manner ran to Arms and besieg'd them Day and Night in their Fort although Montezuma endeavor'd to perswade the contrary Cortez hearing of it came to their relief with the New Forces Landed from Cuba but he fighting his way ere he could get in was so roughly entertain'd by the Mexicans that they kill'd him forty Men wounding as many more and notwithstanding fifteen Field-pieces with continual Shot made foul Breaches lessening the number of the Assailants yet they suddenly fill'd up their Vacancies again with fresh Men which clamber'd over the Heaps of those that lay slain Three Days the Battel had continu'd very fierce when Montezuma being with the Spaniards in the Castle went to a low Window to see if he could command his Subjects to retreat but a continual Cry so deafned their Ears and showres of Arrows and Stones so took away their sight that he did nothing Then Montezuma thinking to be more easily either heard or seen went to a higher Window where looking out he was unfortunately his with a Stone of which he died three days after Besides their Enemies the Spaniards suffer'd extremely by Famine and though they had beaten down a Tower which had done the Castle great mischief and set five
Countrey for the most part yet well distinguish'd with Valleys and lower Ground It is much subject to Rain which 't is said to have for nine Moneths of the Year almost continually by reason whereof the Countrey being otherwise hot is much annoy'd with a kind of Mosquit or great sort of Gnats which spoil the Fruit very much and are otherwise not a little trouble to the People Moreover there happen oftentimes terrible Earthquakes and Storms with Thunder and Lightning Commodities of the Countrey The chief Commodities of this Countrey are a kind of Amber which some call Liquid Amber which drops from divers of their Trees and is said to be a Commodity very precious and of much use Mastick Sanguis Draconis Gum Anime Sarsaparilla China-Wood and divers other Medicinal Drugs which it affordeth in great plenty The Woods afford a sweet smell and the Trees in the same grow a wonderful heighth The Canes which grow here being a hundred Foot long and proportionably thick serve for Timber There is also a hard Wood call'd Iron-Wood either from its hardness or colour or both which never rots The abundance of Flowers which grow here afford nutriment to innumerable swarms of Bees which are about the bigness of small Flies Their Honey which is somewhat tart they hide in the Roots of Trees or in the Earth Another sort which is made by the Wasps bereaves those that taste of their Senses The noted'st Beast in this Countrey is the Danta Beasts which resembles a Mule hath no Horns but Ash colour'd long Hair short Neck hanging Ears thin Legs with three Claws before and two behind long Head narrow Forehead little Eyes a Nose hanging over its Mouth little Tail sharp Teeth and a Skin which is six Fingers thick and scarce penetrable by any Weapon This Beast is taken in Traps Holes or else with Dogs which he often kills when hunted towards the Water They say that this Beast taught Men first to Let-blood for if it be too full of Blood it pricks it self against a sharp Cane and stops up the Orifice again very carefully The Flesh thereof is good Meat as also that of the Ross-Lyons which in the day-time sleep on a high Tree where they are shot by the Indians The Tygers are much more dangerous to be taken yet the Indians Hunting them eat them in stead of Beef and also through all New Spain The Bears which make the Ways very dangerous to travel have black frizled Hair broad Tails Feet like Mens Hands but since the Indians have made use of Guns which they learn'd from the Spaniards they have much lessen'd the number both of Bears and Tygers There are likewise many Leopards Apes and wild Goats whose Skins serve the Natives for Drums Hogs and Armadillo's Amongst their Fowls are Eagles and Parrots The Countrey is so well stor'd with Water that in three Leagues space are above thirty Rivulets and as many Fountains Medicinal Plants On the Mountains grow great quantities of Sarsaparilla Mechoacan and the China-Root which being yellowish hath several Saffron-colour'd Knobs on the top The Sarsaparilla grows with many Stalks creeping along over the Ground the Body thereof is tough and full of Prickles the Leaves broad and sharp at the ends and are of a bluish colour on one side and green on the other and bear Clusters of Flowers which close like Buds and are first green next vermilion-red and lastly blackish within are two hard Stones which inclose a white Kernel by the Indians call'd Juapecanga The Bay Golfo Dulce which pours its muddy Water into the Sea feeds the great Fish Monati and a great number of Crocodiles Several Rivers abounding with Fish fall also into the same having their Banks set all along with Trees in whose Boughs joyn'd together on the top those sort of Birds make their Nests which prey on Fish The Women in this place are much shorter Liv'd than the Men so that there are often thirty Widowers to one Widow Women with Child are Deliver'd by themselves in the High-way and from thence they go to the next River to wash themselves and the Child Places of note As for any Towns or Places of much Traffick or Note inhabited by the Spaniards we find not any nam'd save onely St. Augustines near unto which there is said to be a Cave and Fountain within Ground which converts the Water that falleth into it out of several lesser Springs into a kind of Alabaster or Stone perfectly white and fashions it likewise into Pillars Statues and other artificial Forms of very curious Workmanship as Laet reporteth SECT III. Honduras Situation and Bounds HOnduras hath on the South Guatimala abovesaid on the West a certain Bay or Arm of the Sea which they call Golfo Dulce from the abundance of fresh Waters which run into it from all Parts on the North and North-East the Atlantick Ocean and somewhat to the South-East Nicaragua It contains in length viz. from East to West Coasting along upon the Sea about a hundred and fifty Leagues and in breadth eighty The Countrey is rich both in Corn and Pasturage being said to be very much advantag'd that way by the constant overflowings of the Rivers which are very many about Michaelmass-time and which the People order so well that they water their Gardens and exceedingly fertilize the whole Champain or lower part of the Grounds by them The fruitful Valleys of this Countrey were anciently very well inhabited till vast multitudes of the Natives were destroy'd by the Spaniards Cruelties of which the Bishop Bartholomeo de las Casas in his Letter to the Emperor Charles the Fifth gives this Relation Cruelties of the Spaniards The young Children saith he they murder'd beating out their Brains against the Stones the Kings and Princes of the Countrey they either scorch'd to death or threw them to the Dogs to be torn in pieces the poor People they drove into their Houses and then set them on fire those that remain'd were condemn'd to the greatest slavery imaginable being us'd in stead of Mules and Horses and having greater Burdens laid upon them than they were able to carry insomuch that thousands of them fell down dead under them some out of despair running into the Woods were famish'd after they had kill'd and eat their Wives and Children for Hunger In this one Province onely they massacred above twenty hundred thousand Men and amongst others Persons of Quality which had civilly Entertain'd them nay they tortur'd the poor innocent Natives all the ways they could possibly invent onely to know of them where their Gold lay particularly Diego de Valasco spar'd none that ever fell into his hands insomuch that in a Moneths time above ten thousand were slain by him He hang'd thirteen Noble-men to twelve of whom he gave the Denomination of The twelve Apostles and the chiefest of them he call'd in a derision Jesus Christ Some they suffer'd to starve to death with their Heads
clad as it were in their Summer Livery the Meadows and Pastures always green and of such an excellent Herbage that Cattel both breed and thrive there beyond belief both great Cattel and small as Kine Sheep Hogs c. brought thither out of Spain having multiply'd to such numbers that they live wild now in Herds in several places and are both hunted and kill'd like Stags or other Venison onely for their Hides which they send yearly into Spain and other parts of Europe as a great Merchandize and Commodity of huge profit to them Wild Hogs also have been formerly seen to feed in the Woods in great multitudes but the Dogs since they were brought over hither have made great havock amongst them Beasts peculiar to Hispaniola The Animals peculiar to this Island are 1. A little Beast call'd Hutias not much unlike our Coneys 2. Chemi almost of the same form but a little bigger 3. Mohui A Beast somewhat less than the Hutias 4. A Beast call'd Coxi The Fly Cuyero Likewise amongst other strange sorts of Creatures here the Cuyero is very observable being about an Inch big and having four Wings of which two are larger than the other when they flie they shine after such a manner that in the Night they make a Room as light as day insomuch that some have made use of them in stead of Candles to Read by The Fish Manate No less wonderful is the Fish Manate whose shape hath been describ'd elsewhere It breeds for the most part in the Sea yet sometimes swimming up the Rivers comes ashore and eats Grass The Casique Caramatexi kept one in the Lake Guaynato which was so tame that when call'd by the Name Maton it us'd to come out of the Water and go directly to the Casique's House where being fed it return'd to the Lake accompanied with Men and Boys who with their Singing seem'd to delight the Fish which sometimes carried ten Children on its Back over the Water but at last a Spaniard striking at it with a Pike it would never come forth again when it espy'd a Cloth'd Man It liv'd twenty six years in the fore-mention'd Lake till by accident the River Hayboaic over-flowing into the said Lake the Fish return'd to the Sea The Fish Abacatuia Besides this great Fish here is also a sort of small Fish call'd Abacatuaia with a little Mouth black Eyes encompass'd with Silver-colour'd Circles four black Fins two long ones under its Belly one on the Back and one on each side of the Head the Tail slit and cover'd with a glittering Skin It is as big as a Flounder and not ill Meat but thick and round The Insect Nigua When the Spaniards first setled on Hispaniola they were exceedingly tormented with a sort of leaping Insects call'd Nigua which us'd to eat through their Skin into the Flesh in such a nature that many of them lost their Arms and Legs but at last they found out a Remedy against this Evil viz. the searing the Wounds with hot Irons Besides the aforesaid plenty of Flesh they have many excellent Fruits all the year long as Banana's Fruits Pine-Apples Custud-Apples Plantens Papans Musk-melons Water-melons and many other peculiar Plants as 1. the Auzuba a fair large Tree the Fruit whereof is call'd Pinnas resembling a Malecotoon Of this Tree there are three sorts Jaima Boniama and Jaiqua 2. Quauconex 3. Axi of which there are also several sorts as Carive Huarahuac Axiblanco Acafran-Axi and Axi-Coral 4. Yuca the Root of which serves in stead of Corn 5. Certain Trees call'd Guaibes besides plenty of Mint and Potato's The Provinces of this Island The Island of Hispaniola was formerly divided into several Provinces amongst which the Mountainous Countrey Hyguey lies towards the Isle of Porto Rico. On the Mountains which are flat on the top are great variety of sharp-pointed Stones The Soil is a sort of colour'd Earth which produces all sorts of Fruit especially the Root Casabi and Melons Hyguey also conterminates with Ycayagua Northward lies Samana Southward Yaquimo where there is store of Brasile Wood And between the City Domingo and Yaquimo is the Countrey Baoruco which with its Mountains extends sixty Leagues in length and above twenty in breadth without any Water Pasture or Food for Cattel or Mankind Next follows the Countrey Xaragua lying at the great Inlet which divides Hispaniola for one side extends to the Promontory of St. Nicholas and the other to the Point Tiburon This Countrey produces abundance of Cotton Lastly the Provinâ—â—s Guahaba Haniguagya and Cahay are very eminent as also Cibao which is full of Gold-Mines and Lavega Real with Magnana which lie between the two great Rivers Neyba and Yagui the stony Countrey Ciguayos and the low Coast Darica where Christopher Columbus built the City Navidad which he afterwards deserted Ginger was formerly brought hither from the East-Indies but now grows here in such great abundance that above two and twenty thousand Kintalls are yearly Transported from thence to Spain With as good success grow here also the Sugar-Canes and Maiz. Peter Martyr a Councellor to the Emperor Charles the Fifth relates That Hispaniola produc'd in his time besides Silver Copper and Iron five hundred thousand Ducats in Gold Nevertheless the rich Mines lay undisturb'd because they wanted People to work in them insomuch that had they not planted their Royal Seat in Domingo the Island had long since been deserted notwithstanding the exceeding fruitfulness of the Soil because the Spaniards exercis'd their Cruelty in such a nature that of sixty thousand Inhabitants from the Year 1508. to Anno 1514. scarce fourteen thousand of them were left alive all which is affirm'd by the Bishop De las Casas Nay the fore-mention'd Peter Martyr relates That the Men wearied with working in the Mines kill'd themselves despairing of ever being releas'd from their Slavery and Women with Child destroy'd the Infants in their Wombs that they might not bear Slaves for the Spaniards He adds hereunto That of a hundred and twenty thousand Persons few were left in a short time Ports and Havens On the Coast are first the Point of Nisao ten Leagues to the West of Santo Domingo Eighteen Leagues farther is the Port Ocoa which is a Bay where the Fleets of Nova Hispania take refreshing when they do not Anchor in the Nook of Sepesepin which is near unto it or in another call'd The Fair Haven two Leagues before you come to Ocoa Twenty Leagues beyond Ocoa is the Port of Asua Thirty Leagues more Westwardly is a large Point right against the Island of Bola which lieth five Leagues from the Coast The most Westerly Point is call'd Cape Tiburon It hath an Island three Leagues from it Westward call'd Caprio and Sailing along the Coast you will see an Island call'd Camito and farther in the Nook of Yaguana another call'd Guanabo of eight Leagues long On the North side of the Island the most Westerly
Bodies and through the black runs also a white Streak No Beast in the World is hardier than this for though it fasts twelve days and is afterwards flay'd alive yet it will live several hours after The Lakes in Brasile are for the most part overgrown with Weeds just like a Field yet are exceeding full of Fish and Fowl Where the Sea runs into the Lakes great multitudes of Crabs are seen crawling along the Ground and the Oysters hang in Clusters on the Boughs of a Plant call'd Manyle or Mangues The Plant Manyle which grow with their Roots either near or in the Water in such a manner that new Bodies still shoot from the old Roots which prevents easie access to the chief Plant on whose uppermost Leaves after Sun-rising sticks very white Salt which in the Night or in a cloudy Day turns to a brackish Dew Moreover those places where Brasile rises with Hills and Mountains are likewise very fruitful except the barren tops of some which seem to kiss the Skyes and though the fruitful Mountains flourish in the time of the rainy Months yet many of the Trees which grow on them die in Summer and their Ashes being burnt by the Inhabitants are us'd in stead of Dung. Some Woods extend themselves three hundred Leagues in length and are full of Trees so tall that an Arrow shot upwards falls short of the top of them and a Boat may be made out of the Body which can carry a hundred and fifty Men. On the great Boughs of these mighty Trees grow other excrescent Shrubs after the manner of Misseltoe which proceed from the Kernels swallow'd and muted upon them by the Birds that light there In some places also grow also Sweet-wood Trees which afford either excellent Gums or Wood to Dye with amongst which the chief is the Ibiripitanga which yields the Brasile Wood that gives Denomination of Brasile to this vast Tract of Land Description of the Tree Ibripitanga The Tree Ibripitanga is tall and spreading hath sad colour'd Bark full of short Thorns the Leaves are green and differ in form but little from the Box-Tree Leaf the Boughs shoot forth other lesser full of yellow and sweet-smelling Flowers which falling off are succeeded by a flat long Cod of a dark grey colour full of little red Pulse the upper part of the Tree is not good to Dye with but onely the lower part of the Body which because the Tree grows far up in the Countrey is not transportable without much trouble But the Tatai-iba grows in the Woods along the Shore The Tree Tatai-iba the Bark being of an Ash-colour invests a yellow Wood the Leaves are sharp and notch'd the Fruit not unlike Mulberries pale juicy and full of white Seed the Wood boyl'd Dyes a pure Yellow It is observable not onely of this Tree but generally of the Trees of this Countrey that they neither flourish nor shed their Leaves all over at once nor do several Trees of the same kind and growing here germinate or fade together for whilest one is fullest of Blossoms the other is without Leaves and whilest the same Tree sheds its Leaves on one side the other side is newly Budded The European Plants and Herbs with soft Roots being once Planted in Brasile come to be hard and lignifi'd There is also great difference according to the Ground in which they are Planted for such Plants and Trees as in the Plains are but small and tender grow ten times higher if Planted in the Woods All sorts of Indian Pulse grow higher than the tallest Trees like high Arbors under which both Men and Beasts may shelter themselves from the Sun or Rain Far up into the Countrey amongst the Mountains inhabit Canibals or Man-eaters The Europeans that first travell'd that way found the Countrey very fertile and full of People especially in the Valleys but somewhat incommoded by the want of Water and the excessiveness of the Heat in the Day and of the Cold in the Night In some places the Countrey is so over-grown with Brambles that they are forc'd to cut their way through the same But there are a sort of Thistles which having concave Leaves receive the Dew and Rain for the accommodation of the Natives Besides Serpents and Dragons the Tygers are most of all to be fear'd when hungry but once satisfi'd are easily taken Dogs Oxen Sheep and Horses thrive also exceedingly in most parts of Brasile The Nature of the Brasilians The Brasilians live to be very old without being Bald or Grey There are seldom or never to be seen squint-ey'd lame decrepid or any deformed People notwithstanding the Children are never Swath'd but thrown into cold Water as soon as born The Men generally have a very near resemblance one with another as also the Women so that there is not such a difference betwixt Man and Man there as amongst other People There is scarce any Sickness heard of in these Parts for besides a long Life they enjoy the benefit of Health so long as they live They trouble not themselves with much Business and in one Hut whose Covering consists of Palm-Leaves dwell several Families together Their manner of Living The general Bread of the Brasilians is the stamp'd Root Mandihoka besides which they also eat all manner of Fruit and Plants and many times Flesh which they either eat boyl'd broyl'd or stew'd their Boyling is after this manner First they kindle their Fire with two Sticks the one of hard and the other of soft Wood the hard they make sharp at the end and fix the same into the soft which setting on fire they immediately lay Cotton thereupon or else dry Leaves and so boyl the Flesh in round Earthen Pots call'd Camu but they account that better which is stew'd in a Pot the bottom whereof is cover'd with Leaves on which they lay the Flesh then stopping the same close on the top with Earth and Leaves they make Fire over it so long till they think the Flesh to be sufficiently stew'd Their Broyling they perform by fixing forked Stick into the Ground over which they lay several others like a Gridiron and upon them the raw Flesh cut in long Slices and Pepper'd and Salted then make a Fire under the same till it is enough and their Meat so dress'd keeps good fourteen days Their Fish either boyl'd or broyl'd is eaten with the Sawce Juquitinga The little Fish Piaba and Piquitinga they make up in Rolls and lay them under hot Ashes Both with their Flesh and Fish they eat for Bread as hath been said the Meal of the Root Mandihoka which they taking up with three Fingers throw into their Mouthes so dexterously that not the least scrap falls besides They never observe any set hours to eat for they make several Meals in the Day and sometimes in the middle of the Night if their Appetite serves and neither drink nor speak whilest they are at their Meat They sleep in spread Hammocks
brown others white and others sallow some had long and lank others short and curl'd Hair They acknowledg'd no King or supream Governor nor were Govern'd by any Laws neither had they any Wall'd Towns or Forts but being divided amongst themselves they continually Encountred one another with Darts Clubs and Staves Their Houses built of Wood were cover'd with the Leaves of Palm-Trees Their Housholdstuff consisted in Earthen Dishes Pots Ropes Fish-nets Flutes Drums and varnish'd Spoons Their Gardens were neatly kept Near their Temples were Burying-places They Row'd very swift in little Boats Their Bread well tasted was made of long thick Roots either roasted or boyl'd Fertility Plenty and Riches of the Countrey Here also grow six sorts of Platano's great abundance of Almonds Oranges Cittrons thick Sugar-Canes Palm-Trees which yield Wine Cocoa's and Obos in taste not much unlike Quinces but the greatest benefit which they receive is from the Cocoa Nuts the Pulp whereof is delicious Meat and Drink the outermost Shells whereof serve for Cups or Dishes the inner for Ropes and Cordage of the Leaves they make Sails and Mats and cover their Houses with the same of the Body Oars Clubs Pikes and Props for their Houses Besides several sorts of Pot-herbs here grow very high Coleworts and Bledo's The Countrey also abounds with Pigeons Partridges Ducks Goats Hogs and other ordinary Cattel and Fowls The Rivers afford them Souls Salmon Thornback Sea-Cocks Eels Gurnets and several other unknown Fishes very delicate and wholsom This Countrey also produces Nutmegs Mastick Peppers Ginger Cinamon Gold Silver Pearls Silk Sugar Anniseed Honey Wax Ebony-wood Turpentine Lime-pits and Marble Philips-Bay bends twenty Leagues into the Countrey hath a safe Harbor and excellent Ground consisting of black Sand. Two great Rivers discharge their Waters into the said Bay round about which are pleasant Woods full of Quails Parrakito's Parrots Nightingales and Bulfinches which Sing very sweetly The Blossoms especially of Orange-Trees and the Herb Alvaca yield an odoriferous smell The wholsom Air adds vigor to aged People Fernandes de Quir delivering the fore-mention'd Account to Philip the Second King of Spain mov'd him to Plant the unknown South-Land and the rather because he had not found any snowy Mountains drown'd Land Crocodiles Muschito's or any hurtful Creature yet was not regarded so that no Spaniard hath since that time set Foot on the unknown South-Land Abel Tasman 's Expedition to Terra Australis Incognita But the East-India Company undertaking the Design with great eagerness sent thither two Ships viz. the Hemskerk and Sea-Cock under the Command of Abel Tasman to make a farther Discovery of the said South-Land Anno 1642. on the twelfth of August they weigh'd Anchor from Batavia Sail'd through the Straights of Sunda to Maurice-Island where they Anchor'd in the North-West Haven before the Castle Frederick-Henrick on the fifth of September in the fore-mention'd Year On the eighth of Octob. Tasman stood over to the South-Land near which he was surpris'd by a violent Storm afterwards on the twenty fifth of November he discover'd a barren Shore against which the Sea beat very furiously and Steering along this Coast he found a convenient Inlet but was forc'd by the hard Weather to stand off to Sea again yet not long after approaching the Shore he saw great hollow Trees and round about them abundance of Mussle-shells and from the Wood heard a shrill noise of People Singing Going to the same place again he put the Orange Flag on a Pole Carv'd with the East-India Companies Arms and call'd the Inlet Frederick-Henrick 〈…〉 the whole Coast Anthony van Diemen Sailing from thence Eastward he on the eighteenth of December discover'd a convenient Haven where sending his Sloop to discover the Shore he came back in the Evening being follow'd by a Boat which approach'd nearer and nearer but Night coming upon him he could not well discern what they were that pursu'd him but heard the cry of hoarse Voices and a shrill noise like that of a Trumpet which the Netherland Seamen answer'd by hollowing and blowing on their Trumpets and at last firing a Gun the Southlanders made a hideous noise and blowing their Horns return'd ashore Tasman hereupon call'd his Watch laid Hangers Pikes and Musquets ready Charg'd upon the Decks The next day the Southlanders came in several Boats two and two ty'd together and cover'd with Planks towards the Ships The Southlanders desperate Attemp upon Tasman's Ships the Gunner of the Hemskerk going with six Men in a Boat to help mount some Guns in the Sea-Cock were betwixt both Ships set upon by the Southlanders who approacht with a hideous noise kill'd four of the Hollanders with long Poles and forc'd the other three to save themselves by swimming which they had no sooner done but they Row'd with incredible swiftness towards the Shore insomuch that they were out of the reach of their Guns before they could make ready to fire at them Tasman finding that there was no good to be done here since he hazarded the Lives of his Seamen against a company of wild People he set Sail but was follow'd by divers Boats at which he fir'd his After-Guns with pieces of Iron and Stones which killing some of them made the rest return In the midst of the Boats which were ty'd two and two together sat the Commander who encourag'd the Rowers they all us'd Clubs without Points These People were gross of Body undaunted strong and of a tawny colour the Hair of their Heads stroak'd up round was ty'd up on their Crown on which stuck a stiff white Feather about their Necks hung a square Plate they wore in stead of Cloaks square pieces of Cloth made fast before on their Breasts Tasman by reason of his rough Entertainment call'd this Harbor Murderers-Bay and afterwards Sail'd along the Shore till the fifth of January 1643. on which Day he dropt Anchor near a little Rocky Island from which fell two Streams with a great noise into the Sea The Inhabitants a strong People beckned to the Seamen to come on Shore some lean'd on thick Clubs others Fenc'd one with another Tasman sending his Sloop ashore for Water with two Drakes return'd without any not being able to Land by reason of the hollow Sea near the Shore wherefore Sailing from thence he discover'd two low Isles which were full of Woods of very tall Trees from the biggest whereof came a little Boat sharp before and behind in which three sallow Men sitting behind one another Row'd with great swiftness towards the Hemskerk whereupon Tasman commanded all his Men to go under the Hatches that the three Southlanders might not be afraid to come aboard he also threw a piece of Linnen out of his Cabbin Window which one of them leaping into the Sea took up and as a sign of thankfulness laid the same on his Head and being hereby emboldned they came nearer the Rudder where they took up a Knife ty'd to a piece of
to England Not many Months after he renew'd his Voyage Queen Elizabeth having rigg'd out and sent under his Command one Frigat and two Ketches Mann'd with a hundred and forty Men The twenty sixth of May hâ— weigh'd Anchor and sail'd to the Orkenies lying to the North of Scotland where landing he found the poor Islanders fled out of their Huts into Caves and Dens among the Rocks From thence he steer'd North-North-West through abundance of floating Pieces of Timber which oftentimes gave him great stops The fourth of July he made Friezland where he met with a great Storm of Hail mix'd with Snow Before the Shore lay a great Ridge of Ice which hindred for a while their Landing Here he saw several Wild People but could not come to speak with them for upon the least approach they fled yet when they saw any advantage made resistance At last three of them came unarm'd to the Shore beckoning Forbisher to come to them which he had done had not great numbers of the Natives appear'd too soon from an Ambuscade in a Wood and behind a Hill who seeing themselves discover'd march'd up into the Countrey three onely staying on the Shore of whom the middlemost feigning to be lame at last fell down whom his Companions took up and carried a little way but then forsook by which the English observing their Design shot that the Sand flew all about him whereupon forgetting his Lameness he ran as swift as a Deer up a Hill Forbisher's Men had by this time fill'd two Barrels with a Mineral not unlike Gold but was afterwards found to be of little value Nothing else of Remark did he find here except great long-hair'd Men who being exceeding salvage subtilly plot nothing else but to murder lurking for Men like Wild Beasts for their Prey whom when caught they tear in pieces Close fitted to their Bodies they wore the Skins of several Wild Beasts priding in the Tails which hung down betwixt their Legs Their Tents are of conjoyn'd Whalebones cover'd over with the like Skins the Entrance always facing the South They use Bowes Arrows Slings and two sorts of Boats In the biggest they can carry seventeen Men which are made of several Wooden Planks clinch'd together and cased on both sides with Leather The smallest ones are cover'd just in the same manner much resembling a Weavers Shuttle having in the middle a Hole wherein a Man sits who drawing the Cover of the Boat about his Waste by Strings with one Oar makes swift Passage The Countrey it self is barren yet feeds abundance of Deer Hares Wolves Bears and Dogs like Wolves whose Flesh serves the Inhabitants for Food This Countrey seems to be exceedingly troubled with great Earthquakes because several pieces of Rocks and whole Mountains rent asunder may be seen in divers places Sir Francis Drake's Expedition At the same time when Forbisher sail'd Northerly Sir Francis Drake also fitted out by Queen Elizabeth steer'd another Course sailing by Cape Blanko and Cape Verde along the African Coast to Brasile where he caught several Sea-Wolves and Anchoring in the River La Plata furnish'd himself with Fresh Water Then proceeding on his Voyage through the crooked Straights of Magellan he came to an Anchor before Moucha wash'd by the South Sea The Islanders receiv'd him very courteously because they were inform'd that the English were at great Wars with the Spaniards to avoid whose Cruelties they had deserted the main Continent and setled on Moucha One of these Mouchaners going aboard serv'd them for a Pilot to the Haven Valparizo where Drake burnt the St. Jago a small Village and plundring all the Countrey about it got together a great Treasure of Gold and Silver Before Arica he took three Spanish Ships richly laden and before Lima four more having an unvaluable Treasure of Pearls and Gold aboard them Thus inrich'd he steer'd his Course Northerly to forty two Degrees but the Cold forcing him to fall four Degrees to the Southward he discover'd a very pleasant and inhabited Coast the People whereof shew'd him great kindness The King himself coming aboard with a great Train set a Crown of Gold upon Drakes Head and gave him a Golden Scepter and an Ivory Chain After this he inspected the Islands Tidor Ternata Java Zeilon and Cape de Bona Esperanza from whence after a three Years Voyage having encompass'd the World he came safe to London where he rested not long for sailing Anno 1585. to America he took great Prizes from the Cities St. Jago St. Domingo St. Augustin and Carthagena setting them all on Fire Thus again returning home victoriously and after the famous defeat of the Spanish Armado he rigg'd out a new Fleet having for his Vice-Admiral Captain Hawkins Their Design was to have sail'd to Panama but both dying and so the Commission ceasing the expected great and golden Project also died with them Candish his Expedition A Year after the death of these famous Navigators Captain Thomas Candish Mann'd with a hundred and twenty Men and Provisions for two Year setting sail in a lucky Hour a second time encompass'd the World passing the Straights of Magellan in which Voyage having got above ten times the value of his Charge by taking the Spanish Carrack St. Anna valued at twenty Tun of Gold and at last freighted with a Mass of Treasure he came safe into the River of Thames But much worse success had Captain John Smith Smith's Voyage who weigh'd Anchor Anno 1614. with two Ships fitted out by several Merchants in London for New England and on the Island Monachigga to load Copper Gold and other Minerals that were to be had there and also to fish for Whales But there were no such Minerals to be found there nor any Whales to be taken on the Coast because the time of the Year was past so that he return'd home without Success However not long after they undertook the same Expedition a second time but with worse Fortune for being gotten in sight of Virginia he was treacherously set upon and taken by the French who accus'd him that he had destroy'd the Plantations in Nova Francia and unless he would make satisfaction for the Damage they threatned him with death He was carried Prisoner to Rochel in a French Ship but not far from thence surpris'd by a mighty Storm Smith finding an opportunity leap'd into the Boat and driving betwixt the Waves at last half dead was thrown upon the Island of Oleron whom afterwards having lost all an English Ship took in and brought to his Native Countrey SECT XV. Netherland Expedition by Jaques Mahu and Simon de Cordes FIve Ships being fitted out at Rotterdam Mahu's Voyage the Command of them was given to Jaques Mahu and Simon de Cordes who on the twenty seventh of June Anno 1598. weigh'd Anchor from the Goree and sail'd on an immense Voyage at last landing at the Island St. Jago they won a strong Castle there and took two Barques
on the Proposals concerning the delivery of the Prisoners Cornelius Jacobszoon Sailing to Pisco with four Sail from the Fleet could do no good there for he not onely found the City to be surrounded with a Wall of fifteen Foot high but having also many Earthen Redoubts behind which lay above two thousand arm'd Men wherefore he deserted the same after some Rancounters Vershoor's Explâ—it But the Rear-Admiral John Williamszoon Vershoor who was sent to Gainquil had much better luck for he not onely took that Metropolis but also burnt a new Royal Gallion and two lesser Vessels carry'd a conquer'd Vessel to Lima slew above a hundred Spaniards and threw seventeen over-board because they had shot Poyson'd Bullets against the Law of Arms of which Conquest Captain Engelbert Shutte had the greatest honor But the Sea-men grew weaker and weaker by the Scurvy and all of them would have perish'd had they not found a soveraign Herb on the highest Mountains of Lima Schapenham being chose Admiral in L' Heremites place Schapenham's remarkable Exploits Weigh'd Anchor from Callao and ran into the Inlet Piscadores where on the shore he rais'd a Sconce yet not long after departed from thence without any effect but lost twenty eight Men through the bad Conduct of their Commanders the like number he lost also at Aquapulque on the side of which City stands a Castle with four strong Bulwarks the Holland Fire-ship lay just without the reach of the shot the rest lay along the shore in a row there to seize upon the Vessels expected thither from the Manillaes But because the Scurvy raged amongst the Sea-men and disabled them they waited in vain Schapenham Sail'd through the South-Sea to the Ladrones where he found store of Provisions Anno 1625. in March he drop'd Anchor before Maleye and from thence went with Herman Spiult the Governor for the East-India Company in Amboina to Ceram where they Conquer'd the Fort Lochoe and soon after Cambella then the Fleet being divided Schapenham carry'd home two Ships from Batavia and the remainder return'd at several times they being hir'd to serve the East-India Company to Surratta Malacca Schapenham dies Coromandel and the Molucco Isles Schapenham Deceasing near Bantum and being Bury'd on Pulo Boftok the Ships arriv'd at the Texel in July Anno 1616. Henry Brewer his Voyage ANno 1643. Brewer set Sail with four Ships from Reciffo and ran close along the States-Isle so dangerous and Rocky that he durst not put in to the Land from which flew great abundance of Party-colour'd Ducks with sharp Bills about the Ships and under the Keels swam also Whales On the West side of the Straights Le Maire Brown ran into Valentine's Inlet where he was much troubled by the Winds which came whistling through the hollow Mountains with great and sudden gusts The shore afforded red and black Strawberries Carville and Muscles to the great refreshment of the Sea-men who daily saw Sea-Lions Sea Lions but could not come to shoot one of them for no sooner they perceiv'd any body but they Diving under Water swam away and though they saw Mens Foot-steps of eighteen Inches long yet they never found any Men. Thence Sailing into the south-South-Sea along the Coast of Chili they enter'd a Bay which they nam'd Brewer's-Haven Brewer's Haven Remarkable Exploits where Landing they walk'd towards a great Smoke which they saw afar off but coming near it found only two Houses within a large Plain full of Sheep Oxen and Horses before the Houses stood Woodden Crosses The Dolphin Pink and a great Boat being sent to the Inlet lay the following Night at an Anchor near a high Mountain from whence in the Night two great Guns were fir'd whereupon Lieutenant William Ter Bergen Landed with sixteen Musqueteers and climbing up the Mountain found a Village behind the same where all things were in Alarm Drums beating Trumpets sounding Ter Bergen's Exploit Bells ringing the Villagers suddenly firing their Guns on Ter Bergen who being supply'd with thirty four Men Encounter'd the Enemy so Valiantly that he fled into the Woods not without the loss of Men and Horses The Guns with which they had shot in the Night lay onely on a Redoubt Ter Bergen persuing this Victory March'd into the Woods and shot the Spanish Commander Andreas Munes Iserrera from his Horse got great store of Treasure which lay hid under the Tree being brought out of Carelmappa which Village he set afire and kill'd all the Horses and Weigh'd Anchor with the Admiral Brewer to Michael de Cabuco where not being able to Land because of the many obscure Rocks and Shoals they set Sail to Castro Castro a City which they conquer'd and burnt without the least resistance This City situate on a Mountain is stately built among Flowry Meadows delightful Orchards and brave Fountains Stream Chili the Sea before it flows daily fourteen Foot Brewer also burnt a Spanish Ship and set some Houses afire took three Spaniards Prisoners on Las Bahias who inform'd him that the Winter Season was almost over but that it was never known by any to pass over so mildly ill Weather generally using to blow down Houses Trees and rend Rocks asunder that there was much Gold in Osorno and Baldivia which last they had some years since deserted for hunger but it was since Garrison'd by three hundred Castilians that none could get at the Fort Conception which lay a League Westerly from thence but in a small Boat that there were on the place near two thousand Inhabitants Moreover an ancient Matron call'd Lovysa Pizarra from Quintian one of the Isles in the Chilean In-Land-Sea being fetch'd from thence gave information that forty years since before the Indians took up Arms the Spaniards were quietly setled in Osorno and in so good a condition that an ordinary Planter had at least three hundred Slaves of which every one was to procure a certain quantity of Gold that the Isles Chiloves were divided into above a hundred Colonies or Plantations the Chileses serving the Castilians as their true Governors those that do good Service the King of the Colony makes them Commanders and that the Chineses had Rebell'd in several places Brewer on the Chileses request took some of them with their Wives and Children into his Ship furnish'd with Arms he digg'd a Chest of Silver and a Brass Gun out of the Earth and soon after being sick Brewer dies dy'd His Successor Elias Herkmans prosecuting those Publick Affairs sent the Pilot of the Unity out of Brewer's Haven and some Sea-men with two Chilean Casiques with a Boat to Carelmappa but being surpriz'd by a violent Storm Strange accident stood in for Horse-Island where he and the Casiques Landing he order'd seven Sea-men to carry the Boat to a safer Harbor but being driven from the shore by strong Winds it took in so much Water as fill'd and sunk it so that all of them were drown'd Horse-Island being destitute
the Massachusets Bay but forty Miles to the North-East there are great store of them The Rackoone is a deep Furr'd Beast not much unlike a Badger The Rackoon having a Tail like a Fox as good Meat as a Lamb These Beasts in the day time sleep in hollow Trees in a Moon-shine night they go to feed on Clams at a low Tide by the Sea side where the English hunt them with their Dogs The Musquash is much like a Beaver for shape but nothing near so big The Masquash the Male hath two Stones which smell as sweet as Musk and being kill'd in Winter never lose their sweet smell These Skins are no bigger than a Coney-skin yet are sold for five Shillings apiece being sent for Tokens into England one good Skin will perfume a whole house full of Clothes if it be right and good The Birds both common and peculiar are thus recited Birds The Princely Eagle and the soaring Hawk Whom in their unknown ways there 's none can chawk The Humbird for some Queens rich Cage more fit Than in the vacant Wilderness to sit The swift-wing'd Swallow sweeping to and fro As swift as Arrow from Tartarian Bowe When as Aurora's Infant day new springs There th' morning mounting Lark her sweet lays sings The harmonious Thrush swift Pigeon Turtle-dove Who to her Mate doth ever constant prove The Turky-Pheasant Heath-cock Partridge rare The Carrion-tearing Crow and hurtful Stare The long-liv'd Raven th' ominous Screech-Owl Who tells as old Wives say disasters foul The drowsie Madge that leaves her day-lov'd Nest And loves to rove when Day-birds be at rest Th'Eel-murthering Hearn and greedy Cormorant That near the Creeks in morish Marshes haunt The bellowing Bittern with the long-leg'd Crane Presaging Winters hard and dearth of Grain The Silver Swan that tunes her mournful breath To sing the Dirge of her approaching death The tattering Oldwives and the cackling Geese The fearful Gull that shuns the murthering Peece The strong-wing'd Mallard with the nimble Teal And ill-shape't Loon who his harsh Notes doth squeal There Widgins Sheldrakes and Humilitees Snites Doppers Sea-Larks in whole million flees Of these the Humbird Loon and Humility are not to be pass'd by without particular observation The Humbird is one of the wonders of the Countrey The Humbird being no bigger than a Hornet yet hath all the Dimensions of a Bird as Bill and Wings with Quills Spider-like Legs small Claws for Colour she is as glorious as the Rain-bow as she flies she makes a little humming noise like a Humble-bee wherefore she is call'd the Humbird The Loon is an ill-shap'd thing like a Cormorant The Loon. The Huntility or Simplicity but that he can neither go nor flie he maketh a noise sometimes like Sowgelders Horn. The Humilities or Simplicities as we may rather call them are of two sorts the biggest being as large as a green Plover the other as big as Birds we call Knots in England Such is the simplicity of the smaller sorts of these Birds that one may drive them on a heap like so many Sheep and seeing a fit time shoot them the living seeing the dead settle themselves on the same place again amongst which the Fowler discharges again These Birds are to be had upon Sandy Brakes at the latter end of Summer before the Geese come in No less Poetical a Bill of Fare is brought of the Fish on the Sea-Coasts Fishes and in the Rivers of New England in these subsequent Verses The King of Waters the Sea shouldering Whale The snuffing Grampus with the Oily Seale The-storm presaging Porpus Herring-Hog Line-shearing Shark the Catfish and Sea Dog The Scale-fenc'd Sturgeon wry-mouth'd Hollibut The flounsing Salmon Codfish Greedigut Cole Haddock Hage the Thornback and the Scate Whose slimy outside makes him'seld in date The stately Bass old Neptune's fleeting Post That Tides it out and in from Sea to Coast Consorting Herrings and the bonny Shad Big-belly'd Alewives Mackrills richly-clad With Rainbow colours Frostfish and the Smelt As good as ever Lady Gustus felt The spotted Lamprons Eels the Lamperies That seek fresh Water-Brooks with Argus Eyes These watery Villagers with thousands more Do pass and repass near the verdant Shore Kinds of Shell-fish The luscious Lobster with the Crabfish raw The brinish Oyster Muscle Periwigge And Tortoise sought for by the Indian Sqaw Which to the Flats dance many a Winters Jigge To dive for Cocles and to dig for Clams Whereby her lazie Husbands guts she crams To speak of the most unusual of these sorts of Fish The Seal First the Seal which is call'd the Sea-Calf his Skin is good for divers uses his Body being between Flesh and Fish it is not very delectable to the Palate or congruent with the Stomack his Oil is very good to burn in Lamps of which he affords a great deal The Shark is a kind of Fish as big as a Man The Shark some as big as a Horse with three rows of Teeth within his Mouth with which he snaps asunder the Fishermans Lines if he be not very circumspect This Fish will leap at a Mans hand if it be over board and with his Teeth snap off a Mans Leg or Hand if he be Swimming these are often taken being good for nothing but Manuring of Land The Hollibut is not much unlike a Pleace or Turbut The Hollibut some being two yards long and one wide a Foot thick the plenty of better Fish makes these of little esteem except the Head and Finns which Stew'd or Bak'd is very good these Hollibuts be little set by while Basse is in season The Basse is one of the best Fishes in the Countrey The Basse and though Men are soon weary'd with other Fish yet are they never with Basse it is a delicate fine fat fast Fish having a Bone in his Head which contains a Sawcerful of Marrow sweet and good pleasant to the Palate and wholsom to the Stomack When there be great store of them we only eat the Heads and Salt up the Bodies for Winter which exceeds Ling or Haberdine Of these Fishes some are three and some four Foot long some bigger some lesser at some Tides a Man may catch a dozen or twenty of these in three hours the way to catch them is with Hook and Line The Fisherman taking a great Cod-line to which he fasteneth a piece of Lobster throws it into the Sea the Fish biting at it he pulls her to him and knocks her on the head with a Stick Alewives are a kind of Fish which is much like a Herring Alewives which in the later end of April come up to the fresh Rivers to Spawn in such multitudes as is almost incredible pressing up in such shallow Waters as will scarce permit them to Swim having likewise such longing desire after the fresh Water Ponds that no beatings with Poles or forcive agitations by other devices will cause them to
the Shore in great companies together in Nests built of Wood which deserve no small admiration being made after this manner The Beavers first gather all the loose Wood which they find along the Banks of the Rivers of which if there be not enough they bite the Bark off from the Trees in the neighboring Woods then with their Tusks of which two grow above and two below in their Mouths they gnaw the main body of the Tree so long till it drops asunder Their Nests very artificial are six Stories high cover'd on the top with Clay to keep out Rain in the middle is a passage which goes to the River into which they run so soon as they perceive a Man to which purpose one of them stands Sentinel and in the Winter keeps open the Water from freezing by continual moving of his Tail which is flat without Hair and the most delicious Meat that can be had The Beavers go big sixteen Weeks and once a year bring forth four young which suck and cry like young Children for the Dam of them rises on her hinder Feet and gives her Teats which grow between the fore-legs to two of her young each of them one the foremost legs of a Beaver resemble those of a Dog the hindermost those of a Goose on each side of the vent are two swellings within two thin Skins out of their vent runs generally an Oily moysture with which they anoint all the parts of their body which they can reach to keep them from being wet within they are like a cut-up Hog they live on the Leaves and Barks of Trees they love their young ones exceedingly the long Hairs which shining stick out on the back fall off in Summer and grow again against Harvest they have short Necks strong Sinews and Legs and move very swiftly in the Water and on the Land if incompass'd by Men or Dogs they bite most severely the right Castoreum so highly esteem'd by Physicians is a long Vesica not unlike a Pear within the body of the female Beaver the Indians mince the Cods of the Male Beavers amongst their Tobacco because they produce no Castoreum Fowls in New York This Country abounds also with Fowls for besides Hawks Kites and other Birds of Prey there are abundance of Cranes of several sorts some grey some brown others quite white all of them have firm Bodies and Bones without Marrow Claws of a finger long strong and crooked Bills their Brains dry their Eyes little and hollow hard Features the left Foot lesser than the right both deform'd their Blood thick and the Excrements of a horrid smell they breed most in old Woods whose ground is without Brambles and also near the Water for they feed on Fish and devour all sorts of Fowls nay snatch up Hares Rabbets Tortels and several other sorts of Animals which they carry away with them in the Air nay when hungry they seize on one anorher some of them fly abroad for their prey about noon others at Sun-rising they fall like Lightning on what e're they pursue they drink little except the Blood of those Creatures which they devour they are very libidinous coupling above thirty times a day not only with their like but also with the Hens of Hawks and other Birds they lay their biggest Eggs in thirty days and the lesser in twenty days they generally bring forth three young those of them that cannot endure to look full against the Sun are thrown out of their Nests the young ones when they begin to be fledg'd are by the old carry'd into the Air and let flie but supported by them their sight is wonderful quick for though they flie as high as ever they are able to be discern'd yet they can see the lead Fish that is in the Water and a Hare lying in the Bushes their Breath stinks horribly wherefore their Carcases suddenly rot though they are libidinous yet they live long most of them die of hunger because their Bills when they grow old grow so crooked that they cannot open the same wherefore they flie up into the Air against the Sun and falling into the coldest Rivers loose their Feathers and die Besides the foremention'd Birds of prey there are abundance of Storks Ravens Crows Owls Swallows Gold-finches Ice-birds Kites Quails Pheasants and Winter Kings and which are most remarkable for their rich Feathers the Spechtes they pick great holes in Trees and make a noise as if a Man were cutting down a Tree The Pigeons flie in such flocks Pigeons that the Indians remove with them to the place where they make their Nests where the young ones being taken by hundreds serve them for a Moneths Provision Moreover New York breeds a strange Bird about a Thumb long Pretty Birds full of glistering Feathers it lives by sucking of Flowers like a Bee and is so tender that it immediately dies if water be spirted upon it the Carcase being dry'd is kept for a Rarity Turkies But this Countrey abounds chiefly in Turkies whose plenty deserves no less admiration than their bulk and the delicious taste of their Flesh for they go feeding forty or fifty in a flock and weigh sometime forty or fifty pound apiece the Natives either shoot them or take them with a Bait stuck on an Angle In March and Harvest the Waters swarm with Geese Teal Snites Ducks and Pelicans besides many strange sorts of Fowls not known in Europe The Rivers and Lakes produce Sturgeon Salmon Carps Pearch Barbils Fish all sorts of Eels and many other Fish which are taken near Water-falls The Sea affords Crabs with and without Shells Sea-cocks and Horses Cod Whiting Ling Herrings Mackrel Flounders Tar-buts Tortels and Oysters of which some are a Foot long and have Pearl but are a little brownish Amongst the Poysonous Creatures which infest New York the chiefest and most dangerous is the Rattle-Snake Rattle-Snake whose description we have already had at large in New England Constitution of the Inhabitants The Inhabitants have their Hair black as Jet harsh like Horse-hair they are broad Shoulder'd small Wasted brown Ey'd their Teeth exceeding white with Water they chiefly quench their Third Their general Food is Flesh Fish Their Diet. and Indian Wheat which stamp'd is boyl'd to a Pap by them call'd Sappaen They observe no set time to Eat but when they have an Appetite their Meals begin Beavers Tails are amongst them accounted a great Dainty When they go to Hunt they live several days on parch'd Corn which they carry in little Bags ty'd about their middle a little of that said Corn thrown into Water swells exceedingly New Netherlands Apparel The Habits of the Natives especially of the Men are few the Women go more neat than the Men and though the Winter pinches them with excessive cold yet they go naked tiil their thirteenth year Both Men and Women wear a Girdle of Whale-fins and Sea-shells the Men put a piece of Cloth half
much better success for he Weighing Anchor for Pernambuc with four Frigats three Ketches and a Sloop set Sail to Truxillo where arriving lay close before the City with his four Frigats which fired very fiercely on the Town the Inhabitants of which not being idle kill'd three Men in one Ship forc'd her to fall farther off from the Castle Whilst the Ketches and Sloop went about a Gun shot Westward beyond the City towards the River Antonio where they Landed two hundred and fifty Soldiers which march'd with all speed up the Hill where the Castle lay which they Scal'd at Noon-day the Besieged being provided with seven Guns shot and threw Stones continually amongst them yet were forc'd to Retreat from the Dutch Hand-granado's During the storm the Admiral himself Landed but before he came out of the Boat the foremention'd Soldiers had made themselves Masters of the Fort with the loss of onely eight Men and were busie Pillaging all places they came at and carrying their gotten Booty to a Watch-house near the Castle on the Shore when on a sudden a Fire happen'd in the East part of Truxillo which increas'd in such a manner that in few hours two third parts of the City lay in Ashes every one then had enough to do to save themselves yet for all the haste they made several Hollanders were kill'd at the blowing up of the Magazine and most of the Booty lost by the Fire insomuch that they carry'd but two hundred thirty nine Skins six Bales of Indigo eight hundred and twenty Pounds of Sarsaparilla seven Brass and three Iron Guns four Clocks and some few trifles with them having before made an agreement for twenty Pound of Silver with the Governor Joan de Miranda who inform'd them that they had not the least knowledge of the Hollanders Fleet till the Evening when the Beacon on Punta La Rye was fir'd Moreover that the City was inhabited by two hundred Spaniards and as many more Mulatoes and Moors and that the Trade thereof was much gone to decay because there had been no Gallies there in two years before Twenty seven Leagues from this City lies the Village Jorgo de Olancho where four thousand Spaniards force Tribute from sixteen thousand Indians who possess much Gold SECT IV. Nicaragua Situation and bounds NIcaragua is a County of this Province border'd Northward with Honduras on the East with the Atlantick Ocean and part of Veragua on the South with Mare del Zur and on the West with Guatimala being call'd by Diego Lopez de Salzado The New Kingdom of Leon and comprizing several little Territories as Nicoya Nequecheri Mabyth Deria Masaya Mandigua Cacoloaque Cepeoco Los Micos Madira and the Contales It hath few Rivers in it the want whereof is supply'd by the benefit of a great Lake in the midst of the Countrey call'd by the Spaniards Laguna de Nicaragua containing as is suppos'd above one hundred Leagues in compass It empties it self by the Port of St. Juan into the Atlantick or North-Sea but reacheth as far as the South or Mare del Zur at least within a very few Leagues and from whence some Spanish Captains are said to have made a passage though with much difficulty into the Lake and from thence to the North-Sea It is abundantly well stor'd with good Fish but withal much haunted with Crocodiles and the Countrey about it so plentiful in all things especially Cattel Cotten-Wool Sugars and all kind of Fruits Amongst which the chiefest is the Zeiba which is of so great a thickness that fifteen Men holding Hand in Hand can scarce encompass the same The Callabashes ripen here in fourteen days time The Sea along the Coast breeds Whales and other Sea-Monsters which are often seen above Water Nature of the Inhabitants The Inhabitants of this Countrey except the Chontales which live on the Mountains and maintain their old Salvage Customs have for the most part learnt the Spanish Tongue and Manners and exercise themselves in all sorts of Arts and Siences especially in Working of Silver making of Clothes Wax-Work and the like From the Mountains they gather Balsom Liquid-Amber Turpentine They also drive a great Trade in Cotton Skins and several sorts of Provisions to Panama and Nombre de Dios. The Lake Laguna de Nicaragua which hath a hundred and seventeen Leagues in Circumference and round about inhabited is by three Leagues of Land separated from the South-Sea and discharges its Waters into the River Desaguadero which falls into the Northern Ocean Alphonsus Calera and Diego Machuca de Zuaso were the first that Sail'd out of the foremention'd Lake into the Sea not without many dangers by reason of the great Water-falls call'd Rondales which fall into the River Desaguadero and forc'd them often times to draw their Barques over the Land The chief City is Cities 1. Leon which is surrounded with Woods and lies close by the Lake hath a great Church five Cloysters belonging to the Monks de la Mercede several Houses for the King's Officers and a hundred and twenty thousand Families of Indians which pay Tribute Three Leagues beyond Leon appears a high spiry Mountain from whose top both Morning and Evening rises a mighty smoke and sometimes casts out great sulphurous Stones over the neighboring Fields and on a sudden mighty Flames A Dominican Monk in hopes to get some melted Gold out of its burning Mouth went up the same with four of his Fraternity and carry'd an Iron Chain and a Kettle which were no sooner let down into the hole but they were immediately melted yet not so discourag'd they resolv'd to venture a second time with stronger Materials which nevertheless had the same or rather worse event for the Fire flew out in such a manner that the Dominicans sadly scorch'd had enough to do to escape with Life since which none durst presume to approach the same But besides the Episcopal City Leon Erected by Franciscus Fernandez 2. Granada acknowledges the same Builder and lying also on the shore of Laguna de Nicaragua is adorn'd with a Castle Church and several Sugar-Mills Not far from it lie the small Lakes Masaya and Lindiri the first which is inclos'd between exceeding high Mountains covers the Foot of the burning Mountain Masaya the other falls into Laguna de Nicaragua near which is the smoky Mountain Munbacho surrounded with Fruit-Trees 3. 4. The Towns Jean and Neuva Segovia which are not far from thence are of little consequence 5. Realeio this is as it were the Chattam of America being a place on the South-Sea where the King of Spain hath all his Ships built that are made of American Timber and inhabited by few or none but Shipwrights Mariners and Men of that kind of Profession 6. 7. Nicoya Avarines 8. Cartage forty Leagues distant from Nicoya and lying almost in the midst of the Isthmus or Streight of Darien equally distant both from the North and South Sea on both which it is
worship them because as they say the Devil often appears to them in that shape Besides the Tygers Squerrils the Inhabitants of Mechaocan are exceedingly molested with Squerrils which not only carry much Fruit into their Holes but also under-mine the Houses so that they often sink or fall on one side the mischief being the worse because they increase daily Most of them bear four young at a time which on the third day run about for Prey and can scarce be taken because of their exceeding swiftness leaping a great distance from one Tree to another their Tails serve them on divers occasions for leaping they use it like a Wing and at their crossing over a River for a Sail in tempestuous Weather they stop their holes therewith to keep out the Wind. Several kinds of them There are six several sorts of these Squerrils the first call'd Tlilic cover themselves with their Tails the second Quapatchli is as big again and can never be made tame the third Techallotl with a bald Tail and great Eyes the fourth Talmototly hath a thick Head and a Tail full of black and white streaks the fifth Quimitchpatlan hath a little Head and long Legs and leaping from one Tree to another seems to flie the last sort call'd Yztactechalotl is whitish The Foxes do also great mischief here their Urine smells so horribly Foxes that forty days after none are able to abide near the place where they have urin'd and on whatsoever Stuff or Cloth a drop thereof chanceth to light the stink can never be wash'd away The Bird Auras Here breeds also a sort of Birds call'd Auras which are not unlike Moore-Hens they flie exceeding high in the Air feed on nought but stinking Carrion which they scent at a great distance they have a hairy Head and Neck and ugly Face Some of the Fowls of this Countrey stay here all the year long others go away and return at certain times Ingenuity of the Natives The Natives since the Spaniards coming thither have gotten their Habits and Language learn'd all sorts of Trades their Tables Chests and Cupboards made of Brasile-Wood are no way inferior to the best that are made in Europe Painting is also in great esteem amongst them They make handsom Clothes Shooes and strange Copper Locks They have a peculiar Art in Tilling their Ground They teach the Spanish Dogs several tricks but not feeding them well they cause them to run from them and turn wilde whence they are call'd Cimarrones because they do much hurt to the Cattel The Inhabitants when a Feaver or Ague is upon them at the highest leap into cold Water against other Sicknesses they use Herbs whose soveraign Power Experience hath long since taught them Since the Spaniards made Mechoacan a Bishoprick they have built ninety four Schools fifty Churches several Hospitals and Cloysters inhabited by Franciscan and Augustin Monks There are said to be in this Bishoprick a hundred and fifty Towns or Burroughs besides many scatter'd Villages most of which have Free-Schools erected in them for the Training up of Youth in the Christian Religion good Literature and Arts and few of them without an Hospital for the Sick of which Towns the principal are as followeth Principal Towns 1. Zinzoutza the Seat of the ancient Kings of Mechoacan 2. Pascuar a City forty seven Leagues distant from Mexico once a Bishop's See 3. Valladolid the Metropolis or chief City of the Province since the Episcopal Chair was remov'd from Pascuar thither It lieth upon a great Lake equal amost for bigness to that of Mexico and is about seven Leagues distant from Pascuar towards the East 4. St. Michaels a good Town forty Leagues Westward of Mexico and in the Way to the Zacatecas but lying in a Road that is somewhat dangerous being not a little infested with Salvages on both sides of it 5. St. Philips 6. La Conception de Salaya seventeen Leagues distant from Valladolid and a convenient Stage for Travellers being indeed with the two last mention'd built chiefly for the defence and securing of the Countrey against the Salvages 7. Guaxanata a Town on the Borders of Panuco where there are very rich Mynes of Silver 8. Leon another Town likewise of very rich Mynes twenty four Leagues distant from Valladolid and threescore from Mexico 9. Zamorra 10. Villa de los Lagos and others Towards the Sea there is 1. Acatlan but two Miles distant from the Sea-Coast and a small Town yet by reason of a safe and very good Harbor which it hath for Shipping a Place of no little Trading 2. Natividad another well known and convenient Haven upon Mare del Zur pertaining to this Province and from whence they usually set Sail for the Philippine Islands 3. St. Jago de buena Speranza so call'd by the Spaniards perhaps from the abundance of good Pearls they found upon this Coast 4. Colyma 5. Zacatula and some others This Province as we said was at first a distinct Kingdom of it self yet subordinate and Tributary to that of Mexico the King whereof nam'd Tamgaiva or Bimbicha as Laet reporteth at the first coming of the Spaniards thither after the Conquest of Mexico voluntarily submitted himself to them and was Baptiz'd Nevertheless afterwards upon a pretence of I know not what Treason intended by him against them and which the Spanish Writers themselves professedly think to have been feigned by command of Nunnez de Gusman President of the Chancery of Mexico he was most inhumanely burnt alive and his Kingdom seiz'd upon by the Spaniards SECT III. Tlascalla Situation and Descriptian of Tlascalla THe Bishoprick of Tlascalla formerly call'd Tlascalteca Tlaxcala and Tlascalan is a Province of New Spain which extendeth it self entirely from one Sea to another from the Atlantick to Mare del Zur with which it is bounded on the East and West Parts lying otherwise and for the most part betwixt the Provinces of Mexicana last spoken of and that of Guaxata which followeth containing in length from one Sea to the other not much less than an hundred Leagues and in some places fourscore in breadth but towards the South Sea growing much narrower It is a Countrey exceedingly plentiful both in Corn and Cattel full of rich Pasturage and so plentifully stor'd with Maiz Wheat and other Grain that it is accounted as it were the Granary of America besides Deer all manner of Venison and great store of Fowl There is likewise Copperess Allom Silver-Mynes Manna Anime and Liquid Amber with a sweet smelling Gum which drops out of a Tree The Rivers feed no Fish because they fall with exceeding force from the Mountains onely near Topoyanco is a deep Lake of fresh Water inhabited round about by Indians enjoying the pleasure and profit of the many Cumbeba-Trees which yield Cochinele producing yearly above two hundred thousand Dupkets worth of that Commodity In this Lake swim black Hedge-hogs whose Flesh is good and wholsom to eat The
Leaves are of a Purple colour The third sort Jetiope being white hath a very good rellish and cures the Ague The Pepper which is here call'd Axi grows in the warmest Valleys and the more by being often water'd there are of it divers kinds differing in colour smell and taste one from the other for one sort is green yellow or red another sort yields a strong musky scent and one sort is sharper another milder the Veins and Kernels thereof are eaten with Salt The Herb Cevadilla cures all manner of Sores This Countrey also breeds an innumerable company of Deer Hogs Goats Beasts Sheep Oxen and Horses and of hurtful Creatures Pismires which do great mischief to the Plants and Locusts which fall in huge swarms on the Corn and cannot be frighted from the same by any means whatsoever The want of Water is also no small prejudice to the Fields The biggest River call'd Guadalajara with many windings runs North-westward into the Southern Ocean and four Leagues from the City of the same falling down from a steep Rock it makes such a horrible noise that it deafens those which approach the same The Lake Mechoacan opens here also with a wide Mouth Two sorts of Hedge-hogs The River before mention'd produces all manner of Fish in great abundance and also a sort of Hedge-hogs call'd Iguana which live both in the Water and on the Land and are of two sorts The first call'd Senembi is four Foot long of a deep green colour with black and white Spots hath a scaly Skin white Spots on each side of the Head a row of sharp Prickles from the Head to the Tail wide Nostrils great black Eyes and little Teeth The second sort call'd Tejaguacu differs from the first in having white Spots on a brown Skin a longer Tail and a red Tongue which is slit Both sorts are reported to fast eight Moneths together and though often terribly wounded and dead to all imagination yet live a great while after and though they swim up and down in Rivers yet they Lay their Eggs in the Sand their Flesh boyl'd is both wholsom and of a good relish The manner of the Spaniards living The Spaniards which inhabit New Gallicia drive a considerable Trade in Merchandizing Husbandry breeding of Cattel and working in the Mines They use Wayns and Carrs drawn by Oxen Mules and Horses to carry their Loads as also Spanish Weights and Measures They are little troubled with any other Mischiefs but what may happen from the treacherous Natives who take all opportunities to run into the Woods that there they may exercise their Pagan Religion in freedom in which having spent some time they gather a considerable number together and oftentimes fall unawares on the Spaniards who use Leather Shields and Helmets and furr'd Cotton Clothes to secure them from the Arrows which the Indians lying in Ambuscades shoot at them out of the Bushes The Nature Habits and Customs of the Natives The Natives though subtile are lazy and will not work unless for great Rewards They wear Cotton Shirts square Cloaks of the same Stuff made fast with two Buttons on their Breasts Drawers and soal'd Shoes Flag-Matts serve them for Beds on which they lie under Cotton Clothes About their Necks Arms and Legs they wear green Stones and Snale Shells for an Ornament Their greatest Recreation is Dancing their Musick being nothing else but the noise or sound of a piece of hollow Wood. Horse-flesh and Bread made of Maiz is by them accounted a great Dainty The Drink Cacao is also highly esteem'd amongst them but much more the Wine that they make of Maquey which is the wonderful Tree that affords many necessary things viz. Syrrup Honey Oyl Vinegar Yarn Needles Water and Wine every Man making it his Business to plant and preserve the same with great care near his House notwithstanding they grow in several places of the Fields they have broad thick Leaves with sharp ends out of which is drawn a Thorn which serves them for a Needle or Pin. These Leaves have a hairy Filament about them which serves in stead of Thred the young Sprout being cut produces a sweet Juice which boyl'd makes good Wine when grown sowre serves for Vinegar but being twice boyl'd becomes a Syrrup and being hung over the Fire a third time a perfect Honey Also the Wood being spungie keeps Fire as well as Match Moreover the Inhabitants when they travel carry Leather Bags with them full of Cacao Maiz and Pepper mix'd together Over each Village in this Countrey the Spaniards have plac'd an Indian Casique Alcalde and Alguazil where all sorts of Provisions are sold at a Set-price The Casiques are succeeded by their Heirs who resent nothing worse than Affronts and take pride in nothing more than their Valour The Moors or Negro's which are brought hither from Guinee do all manner of hard Labour The Guachichiles and Guamares are a valiant People and have each their peculiar Language utterly different from the Mexican Division of Nova Gallicia This Countrey comprehends these inferior Provinces 1. Guadalajara 2. Xalisco 3. Chiametta 4. Couliacan 5. Cino-loa all of them on the Western Shore 6. Zacatecas to which some add Nova Biscaia and Nova Mexico though others treat of them as distinct Countreys apart from the rest SECT II. Guadalajara Bounds of Guadalajara GUadalajara is bounded on the West with Xalisco on the South and South-West with New Spain and on the North with Zacatecas It is a Countrey exceeding pleasant and rich in all kind of Commodities but especially in its Mines of Silver It is well water'd with the River Barania which runneth through the midst of it and with divers other Streams yielding abundantly both Wheat Maiz and some other Grain In a word there is nothing said of the properties of New Gallicia in general either for Soil Climate or People but is peculiarly verifi'd of this Province Towns and Cities The chief Towns are 1. Guadalajara which gives Name to the whole Province It is seated on the Banks of the River Barania in a most delectable and sweet Air and a rich Soil by advantage whereof it is become the Metropolis of New Gallicia honour'd with an Episcopal See which was translated thither from Compostella in the Year 1570. with the Courts of Judicature and the Residence of the King's Treasurers for that Province This City was built on the Plain Molino by Nunnez de Guzman in the Year 1531. The neighboring Mountains afford store of Timber All manner of Spanish Plants grow here likewise in great plenty In the City is a Cathedral several Cloysters inhabited by Augustine and Franciscan Monks The Bishop of this City belongs to the Arch-bishop of Mexico The Air very temperate neither molesting the Inhabitants with too great Cold nor excess of Heat 2. St. Maria de los Lagos a Town thirty Leagues Eastward of Guadalajara being a Fronteer Place and built on purpose to secure the
Countrey against the Chichemecae which are a barbarous and unreduc'd People of the North-East parts of this Countrey who harbouring themselves in Caves under Ground in the thickest of huge Woods and Forrests do oftentimes issue out and make foul spoil in the Countrey where they come having first intoxicated themselves with a Liquor made of certain Roots and would do much more harm if it were not for this Garrison 3. Del Spiritu Santo built by the Founder of the other two viz. Nunnez de Gusman aforesaid in a part of the Countrey which they call Tepecque SECT III. Xalisco Bounds and Description of Xalisco Xalisco or Galesco as some call it is bounded on the North with Couliacan on the South with some parts of New Spain on the East with the Province of Guadalajara and on the West with the Gulf or Bay of California The Countrey is chiefly fertile in Maiz and Mines of Silver not altogether so apt for Herbage and Pasture as some other Countreys about it The People were Cannibals before the Spaniards came amongst them eating Man's-flesh were much given to quarrelling and Contentions amongst themselves but by this time 't is suppos'd they are reasonably well reclaim'd both from the one and the other Towns of chief note In this Countrey besides many other goodly Streams is the great and famous River Barania on the Banks whereof are seated most of their principal Towns as 1. Xalisco which gives Name to the whole Province and to a large Promontory or Foreland on the Western Coasts which shoots it self out into the Bay of California right over against certain Islands which the Spaniards call The Three Maries This was an ancient City or Town of the Natives but sack'd and taken by Nunnez de Gusman in the Year 1530. 2. Compostella built by the aforesaid Gusman and so nam'd from the City in Spain so famous for the Grave of James the Apostle who according to the Roman Writers was buried there lies near the South Sea on a barren Soil within the Torrid Zone yet the Ground breeds many sorts of Vermine besides other noxious Creatures amongst which the Capybara roots up whole Trees and other Plants in the Night This Beast resembling an indifferent large Hog hath short Legs and Claws thick Head with a Beard wide Ears and on each Jaw-bone twenty four Teeth besides two Tusks but no Tail it goes slow but swims exceeding fast and dives under Water for aconsiderable time together they often feed together in great Herds and make a terrible noise 3. La Purification a small Town on the Sea side towards the Confines of New Spain SECT IV. Chiametla Situation of Chiametla AGainst Xalisco juts Chiametla along the South Sea where the Inhabitants wear short Cloaks and Deer-skin Shoes and in the Wars use Shields made of strong Twigs twisted together The Women which are indifferent handsom are clad down to their Feet Towns of principal note The chief Town of this Province is Sant Sebastian so call'd from the River upon which it stands it was built by Captain Franciscus de Yvarra Anno 1554. who discovering many Silver Mines hath made several Melting-houses in which the Silver being melted swims upon the Lead SECT V. Couliacan Bounds of Couliacan NExt to Chiametla Westward and Southward of Cinoloa lies Couliacan Coasting all along the Bay of California which it hath on the West on the East it hath New Biscay and on the South Xalisco The Countrey is not defective in any kind of necessary Provision but more especially it aboundeth with Fruits of all sorts But the Spaniards look onely at the Mines of which they have some few in this Countrey The People were generally Cloth'd with Cotton-Wooll when the Spaniards came first amongst them but yet never a whit the more modest being exceedingly given to Venery and that in a more shameless and beastly manner than many other Americans who went naked The Spanish Towns are these Towns 1. Hiustula seated on the Banks of a fair River distant about a days Journey from the Sea 2. Quinola 3. Quatrobarrios an old Town of the Natives but new nam'd by the Spaniards 4. El Leon an old Burrough 5. Couliacan the chief Town of the Province 6. St. Michael in the Valley of Arroba two Leagues distant from the Sea in a rich and plentiful Countrey both for Corn and Fruit whither it was remov'd from the Banks of the River Orala where it first stood it was built by Nunnez de Gusman in the Year 1531. after he had burnt the Towns and destroy'd a great number of the Natives Inhabitants of the Countrey Nunnez de Gusman first Discoverer 〈◊〉 of this Countrey This Countrey was first discover'd by the aforesaid Nunnez de Gusman after he had built Guadalajara after this manner Marching from Chiametla to Piatzala he ruin'd this Province with Fire and Sword he likewise conquer'd the Countreys of Zapuatun and Piaztla the first being a Plain lay inclos'd within high Mountains where the Spaniards met none but Women till they came to a great River call'd De la Sall whose Banks on each side were well inhabited the second juts against the Ocean and is water'd by a River of the same Denomination Here within the Houses which are built after a strange manner lay thousands of Serpents mingled together with their Heads sticking out on the top and at the sides and hissing with open Mouth at those which approached them The Inhabitants shew'd great Revence to these Serpents because as they said the Devil often appear'd to them in that form And this seems to be a Custome amongst them from the Tradition of Eves being tempted by the Devil in the shape of a Serpent Serpents worshipp'd by the Natives Nor was this Superstition peculiar onely to these Indians forasmuch as divers Nations of the ancient Heathens of other parts of the World worshipp'd the Likeness of a Serpent And even amongst the Greeks according to Plutarch Hesychius Clemens Alexandrinus and others it was no unusual thing in their religious Worship to call on Eva and at the same time to shew a Serpent Plutarchus and Aelianus say That the Egyptians honour'd a Serpent for their God The same saith Erasmus Stella of the old Prussians Sigismund Baro of the Liflanders and Alexander Guaginus of the Sarmatians and Samogethes Moreover some write that in the Province of Calecut are Serpents with exceeding great Heads and weighing as much as a great Hog to which the King shews great Reverence so that it seems the Devil takes delight to be worship'd in that shape wherein he work'd the Fall of Man-kind The Fish Guarapucu The Flood which comes out of the Sea up to the City St. Michael through the River Cignatlan abounds with Fish and especially the Guarapucu which is seven Foot long when it comes to its full growth it hath no Scales but a smooth Skin of a Silver colour mix'd with Green from the
Head to the Tail runs a crooked Line of thin Scales on each side it swims exceeding swift feeds on lesser Fishes and spawns in the Sea the Flesh being wholsom and good to eat is salted up against Winter At the same Place is also the Piracarba which shines exceedingly The Piracarba having Silver-colour'd Scales a broad slit Tail a long white Beard four great Fins and a little Head Farther into the Sea are a sort of flying Fish call'd Pirabebes which rise by thousands up out of the Water Flying Fisher so escaping the Dolphins and other Fish which prey on them yet sometimes they are snatch'd up by the Birds or else by the Fishes when they dive down into the Water to wet their own Wings which consist of a thin Skin distinguish'd in length by tough Fins These flying Fish also differ much one from another for most of them are like Herrings others have a thick Head roud before like the Dolphins Moreover the Countrey about St. Michael was always well inhabited The Houses being artificially built were adorn'd on the top with many obscene Images and venereal Representations But since the Spaniards have conquer'd this Countrey they have destroy'd them and built other Houses in their stead and also bestow'd much cost and labour on the Silver Mines De las Virgines SECT VI. Cinoloa Bounds of Cineloa CInoloa is the most Northern part of New Gallicia bounded on the West with some part of the Gulf or Bay of California on the East with a long Ridge of Mountains which they call Tepecsuan on the North with Cibola and with Couliacan on the South This Country besides the general fertility of the whole Province of New Gallicia yields great store of Cotton-Wool by reason whereof both Men and Women here are better Apparell'd for the most part than elsewhere the Americans are is exceedingly well water'd with Rivers which descend from those Mountains Tepecsuan not above thirty or forty Leagues distant from the Sea and which with the variety of their Streams and Meandrous glidings do divide the Countrey into many and good Pastures which are likewise stor'd with abundance of Kine Oxen and other Cattel The chief Towns possess'd by the Spaniards are 1. St. Philip and Jacob Towns seated towards the Sea side on the Banks of a fair River about thirty or forty Leagues distant from the Town of Couliacan 2. St. John de Cinoloa an ancient Colony of Spaniards setled there by Francisco de Yvarra in the Year 1554 which is all they have in this Countrey except some few old Forts of the Natives which they found after their manner poorly furnish'd but have since repair'd them for Defence against the Natives of those Parts which as yet remain unreduc'd Nunnez de Gusman 's Travels This Province was also discover'd by Nunnez de Gusman who having rested some Weeks in St. Michael proceeding on his Way he Ferried over the River Petatlan which receiv'd that Denomination because the Houses were cover'd with Mats by the Indians call'd Petat The People hereabouts were generally Man-eaters Eighteen Leagues farther runs the River Tamochala which hath many Villages on both sides thereof Between Petatlan and Tamochala lie several desolate Wildernesses and Woods of the Brasile-Tree But Gusman travelling up twenty seven Leagues along the fore-mention'd River Tamochala came to Province Cinoloa where they stay'd six Weeks by reason of the abundance of Rains during which time the Villagers provided them Turtle-Doves Hares Rabbets and all sorts of Fowls but at last deserted their Habitations in the Night after which the Spaniards crossing Tamochala went along a barren Desart where had they not found Water in certain Wells and likewise store of Juice out of the Tunas-Trees they had without doubt perish'd at last getting over the River Yaguinu they found a deserted Village out of which a broad Path led along the Stream whither Gusman marching he came into a Plain where he spy'd several Indians which after some resistance were routed by the Spanish Horse The Villages built on the Banks of the River Yaguinu as also the Language of the Inhabitants differ little from the former Not far from hence a Ridge of Hills runs into the Sea and also extend themselves a hundred Leagues towards Xalisco SECT VII Zacatecas Bounds and Description of Zacatecas THe Zacatecas as they call them are bounded on the South with Guadalalajara on the North with New Biscay on the West which Couliacan and some part of Xalisco and on the East with New Spain The Countrey especially the more Western part of it is very rich in Silver Mines no Province of this part of America richer but not so apt either for Wheat or Maiz. But the Eastern parts of it are abundantly stor'd with all sorts of Fruits the Woods every where replenish'd with Deer the Fields no less with Corn and every Tree almost giving Entertainment to some Bird or other Towns and Villages The Towns are 1. Las Zacatecas forty Leagues distant from Guadalajara and fourscore from Mexico but neighbor'd with most rich Mines and therefore both Garrison'd and well peopled by the Spaniards for 't is suppos'd there are no less than five hundred Families of them in the Town and about the Mines 2. St. Martins twenty seven Leagues distant from Zacatecas and as rich a Place having a Colony of four hundred Spaniards at least 3. St. Lucas de Avinno 4. Erena lesser Towns but both of them rich and seated in the midst of excellent Mines 5. Nombre de Dios in the most Northerly part of this Countrey sixty eight Leagues distant from Guadalajara and founded by the aforesaid Francisco de Yvarra who having subdu'd and quieted the Natives and thereby gain'd to himself the Government of these Countreys granted the propriety of some Silver Mines both to the Spaniards and to the Natives and by that means drew so many of them thither that in a short time it became the chiefest and best peopled town of the whole Province 6. Durango in the Valley of Guadiana eight Leagues distant from Nombre de Dios and built by Yvarra 7. Xeres de Frontera a Place built on purpose for the repressing of the Chichemecae aforesaid and other Salvages that infested the Borders of Guadalajara in the Regency of the Marquess of Villa Manrique 8. Last St. Lewis built by Alonso Pacheco in that part of the Countrey which is call'd Uxitipa and people by him with a Colony of Spaniards being distant about twenty Leagues from Panuco in New Spain to which the whole Countrey of Uxitipa once belong'd Several Mines discover'd by the Spaniards The aforesaid Franciscus de Yvarra Anno 1554. discover'd the Mine call'd Sant Martin and since also Lucas Avinno the Mine Del Sombrereto lying near the City Del Erena but the Mines De los Ranchos Chalchuites De las Nieves and Del Frisuillo would produce much more Silver if the Mine-works were stor'd with Quick-silver The
above two hundred Leagues already discorver'd but doubtless taking up no small part of those Countreys which are sometimes assign'd to Florida if not of the Confines of Virginia also Travels of Ruyz Espejus and others This Countrey was first Anno 1581. discover'd by a Franciscan Monk nam'd Augustine Ruyz who with two other Monks of his Order got eight Soldiers of Conde de Coruna Vice-Roy of New Spain for his Companions with whom he travell'd from the Valley Sant Bartholomew to the Province De los Tiguas where one of the two Monks was kill'd by the Natives which occasion'd such a fear amongst the Souldiers who judg'd themselves too weak to make any resistance that they resolv'd to return notwithstanding all the arguments which Ruyz us'd to disswade them from it yet nevertheless he and his Brother Franciscus Lopez and four Indians went onward of their Journey which news the Souldiers carried back to the Franciscans in Sant Bartholomew who fearing their Brethren would be destroy'd sent several Souldiers and a Monk call'd Bernardyn Beltran after them who were also accompanied by Antony Espejus who spent a great part of his Estate in raising of Men providing Arms and Provisions loading therewith a hundred and fifty Horses and Mules with which he travell'd direct North from the fore-mention'd Valley and after two days Journey found a People call'd Conchi who went naked and liv'd in Huts built together like a Village They were Govern'd by Casiques fed on Hares Deer Rabbets Maiz Calabashes and Melons Several adjacent Rivers afford them plenty of Fish They were amaz'd at the Crosses which the Spaniards there erected till they were inform'd of a Crucifi'd Saviour Espejus being every where kindly Entertain'd amongst them and conducted twenty two Leagues father came amongst the Indians call'd Passaguates of the like Constitution with the Conchi's who had skill in Minerals and judg'd that there were many Silver Mines in that Countrey From whence the Passaguates travell'd with the Spaniards to the Borders of the Los Tobosos who no sooner saw them but they fled because a few years before they had been miserably dealt with by the Spaniards but being inform'd by the Interpreters that they needed not be afraid of any thing they all appear'd and conducted Espejus to the Borders of the Patarabueyes which People possess a large Countrey Stone Houses and Villages built in good order Great Rivers with come out of the North and others that disembogu'd into the North Sea afforded them all sorts of Fish as also the Woods plenty of Venison Fowls and wholsom Plants In some Pools also the salt Water afforded Salt The Valour of the Inhabitants may sufficiently appear by the rough Entertainment which the Spaniards met withall the first Night for the Patarabueyes fell so fiercely upon them that had not the Watch given notice thereof in time none had escap'd with Life nevertheless five Horses were kill'd and a considerable number of Men wounded after which retreating they went upon a neighboring Hill whither Espejus sent his Interpreter and an Indian the same Countrey to inform them That the Spaniards came not to molest them and if they pleas'd to come to them they should meet with none but Friends which was the more easily credited because the Casiques receiv'd some Presents after which being reconcild they conducted the Spaniards twelve days Journey up a long River whose Banks were inhabited in several places from thence they reach'd to a Place inhabited by a People richly Cloth'd who also seem'd to have some knowledge of God for in their Discourse they pointed up to Heaven call'd the Creator and Preserver of all things Apalito and signifi'd that they had receiv'd that Knowledge formerly from those that were left of Pamphilius Narvaez's Army who having rang'd through Florida were driven hither These People also Presented Espejus many tann'd Skins with which he went to a great Village the Inhabitants whereof were very courteous and barter'd them for brave Plumes of Feathers and Cotton Cloaks streak'd with blue and white but Espejus having no Interpreters whom they could understand could not learn by what Name they were known yet by signs they express'd what time of the year they had Precious Stones brought to them and also what their Countrey produced and also that abundance of those Riches was to be found in a Province about five days Journey Westward from thence whither they freely offer'd to conduct the Spaniards which accordingly they did bearing them company one and twenty Leagues to the next Province inhabited by a People whose Name also they could not be inform'd of yet staying three days amongst them they were Entertain'd with Presents and Dances both Night and Day The Countrey afforded them also store of Venison and Fruits Those that understood Minerals judg'd that there were likewise several Gold Mines Leaving this Province they entred into a great Wilderness of Pine-Trees in which they travell'd twelve Leagues in fifteen days without seeing either Man or House but at the end of the Wood they spy'd a Village of Straw Huts where there were great quantities of white Salt and Deer Skins neatly dress'd The People of the Place courteously Entertain'd the Spaniards and conducted them along the River Del Norte to New Mexico The Banks of the River on each side was planted with Nut-Trees and Vines which spread themselves out above three Leagues through which they had scarce pass'd three days together when they saw ten Populous Villages pleasantly seated on the the said River from whence came many thousands of the Natives to meet Espejus who was not so much amaz'd at the great number of People as at their extraordinary Civility and decent Habits for they Entertain'd him with well dress'd Meat roasted Poultrey and pleasant Fruits Their Garments were Cotton Cloaks Deer-skin Breeches Shoes and Boots of good Leather The Women wore their Hair neatly Comb'd and Pleited Their Houses were almost four Stories high handsomely built and divided into fair Chambers had Stoves or Cells under Ground against the Cold in the Winter Every Village was Govern'd by a Casique whose Commands were publish'd by the Alguaziles Each House had a peculiar place in which their Idol stood before whom they set Meat twice a day Near the High-ways stood Temples very curiously painted wherein their Deity as they say diverted himself in his Progress from one Village to another At certain Distances near their Plough'd Lands stood Portico's supported on four Columns under which the Husband-man us'd to eat and take his Noon-sleep Besides their Swords which were strong enough to cut a Man through the Middle they us'd Bowes and Arrows Their Shields were made of Deer Skins Espejus having stay'd here four days went to the Province De las Tiguas which had sixteen Villages in the chiefest whereof call'd Poala Augustine Ruyz and his Brother Monk Franciscus de Lopez had been slain besides four others wherefore the People being conscious of this Crime and fearing that Revenge would
Seas to Sail to it there being not any Islands Rocks or Sands between the Lands-End in England and New-found Land and for the most part it is not above three or four Weeks Sail thither and less coming back and is the most commodiously situated for the discovering of the North-West Passage and other Inlets into the South Sea whereby the ordinary Voyages to China Japan and the East-Indies are much eas'd in the expence of Time and Charge and the most open to Trade to all Parts of any Island of the West-Indies On the East side of the Land are the Bays of Trinity and Conception which stretch themselves towards the South-West Tor-Bay and Capelin-Bay lying also on the East stretch themselves towards the West The Bays of Trespassey St. Mary Borrel and Plaisance on the South part of the Land extend their Arms towards the North. The great Bay of St. Peters lying on the South-West side of the Land and Southerly from the great River of Canada being about twenty Leagues distant the same stretcheth toward the East Trinity Harbour lies in near forty nine Degrees of North Latitude being very commodiously seated to receive Shipping in seasonable Weather both to Anchor in and from thence to Sail towards either the East West or South It hath three Arms or Rivers long and large enough for many hundred Sail of Ships to moare fast at Anchor near a Mile from the Harbours Mouth Close adjoyning to the Rivers side and within the Harbour is much open Land well stor'd with Grass sufficient Winter and Summer to maintain great store of ordinary Cattel besides Hogs and Goats if such Beasts were carried thither and it standeth North most of any Harbor in the Land where our Nation practiseth Fishing It is near unto a great Bay lying on the North side of it call'd The Bay of Flowers to which Place no Ships repair to Fish in regard of sundry Rocks and Ledges lying even with the Water and full of danger The bottom of the Bay of Trinity lieth within four Leagues through the Land South-West Southerly from Trinity as by experience is found and it comes near unto the Bay of Trespassey and the bottom of some other Bays Trespassey in like manner is as commodious a Harbour lying in a more temperate Climate almost in forty six Degrees of North Latitude and is both fair and pleasant and a wholsom Coast free from Rocks and Shelves so that of all other Harbours it lies the most South of any in the Land and most conveniently to receive our Shipping passing to and from Virginia and the Bermuda Islands and also any other Shipping that shall pass to and from the River of Canada and the Coast thereof because they usually pass and so return in the sight of the Land of Trespassey and also for some other purposes as shall be partly declar'd in the following Discourse The Soil of this Countrey in the Valleys and sides of the Mountains is so fruitful Fruitful Soil as that in divers places the Summer naturally produceth without Tillage great plenty of green Pease and Fitches fair round full and as wholsom as ours in England Berries and Fruits Of Berries and Fruits there grows Strawberries red and white and as fair Raspice-berries and Goose-berries as there be in England as also Bilberries which are call'd by some Whortes and many other delicate Berries peculiar to the Countrey in great abundance Likewise small Pears Cherries Filberds c. Herbs and Flowers There are also Herbs for Sallets and Broth as Parsly Alexander Sorrel c. and also Flowers as the red and white Damask Rose with other kinds which are most beautiful and delightful both to the sight and smell And questionless the Countrey is stor'd with many Physical Herbs though their Vertues are not known When Corn was first Sow'n here it was observ'd to grow very fair the increase was great and the Grain very good and several sorts of Kitchin Plants that have been Set here have prov'd very well In divers parts of the Countrey there is great store of Deer Beasts and some Hares many Foxes Squerrils Beavers Martins and Otters yielding excellent Furrs Wolves and Bears with other sorts of Beasts serving as well for Necessity as for Profit and Delight Variety both of Land and Water-Fowl is in this Countrey infinite Birds The chief Land-Fowl besides a great number of small Birds that live by scraping their Food from the Earth in the hardest Winter are Hawks great and small Partridges Thrush and Thrussels abundance very fat as also Filladies Nightingales and such like which sing most pleasantly There are also Birds that live by prey as Ravens Gripes Crows c. For Water-Fowl there is certainly so good and as much variety as in any part of the World as Geese Ducks Pigeons Gulls Penguins and many other sorts These Penguins are as big as Geese but do not flye for they have but a little short Wing and they multiply so infinitely upon a certain flat Island that men drive them from thence upon a Board into their Boats by hundreds at a time as if God had made the innocency of so poor a Creature to become such an admirable Instrument for the sustentation of Man And also Godwits Curlews and such like which Fowl do not onely serve those that Trade thither for Food but also they are a great furthering to divers Ships Voyages because the abundance of them is such that the Fisher-men do bait their Hooks with the quarters of Sea-Fowl on them and therewith some Ships do yearly take a great part of their Fishing Voyages with such Bait before they can get others The fresh Waters and Springs of that Countrey are many in number Springs and withall so very pleasant delightful and wholsom that no Countrey in the World hath better And Fewel for Fireing no where more plentiful In like manner there is great abundance of Trees fit to be employ'd in other serviceable uses Trees There are Fir and Spruce-Trees sound good and fit to Mast Ships with and as commodious for Boards and Buildings as those of Norway and out of these come abundance of Turpentine Moreover the Pine and Birch-Trees here are scarce to be compar'd for heighth and greatness The Rivers also and Harbours are generally stor'd with delicate Fish as Salmons Peals Eels Herrings Mackrel Flounders Launce Capelin Cod and Trouts the fairest fattest and sweetest that ever were seen in these Parts The like for Lobsters Cra-fish Mussles and other variety of Shell-fish The Seas likewise all along the Coast do plentifully abound in other sorts of Fish as Whales Spanish Mackrel Dorrel Pales Herrings Hogs Porposes Seals and such like Royal Fish c. But the chief Commodity of New found Land yet known and which is grown to be a setled Trade and that it may be much better'd by an ordinary Plantation there if the Traders thither will take some better course than formerly they have
and reduc'd to Powder helps Women in Travail The Balisier whose Leaf apply'd mollifies and cools inflammations of Wounds The Dart-Herb whose Root bruis'd and apply'd draws away the Venom of empoyson'd Darts besides Scolopendria a sort of Aloes several kinds of Maiden-hair and other medicinal Herbs The Granadilla or Passion-Flower growing in several other parts of America and describ'd elsewhere There is also a sort of Pease in some of these Islands differing from ours and call'd The Pease of Angola as first brought from thence Likewise a sort of Beans call'd The Seven-years Beans by reason the same Stalk bears seven years one after another The Herb call'd The Musk-Herb from the dusky colour of its Flower and the sweet scent of the Seed grows also in these Parts very frequent The Pyman or American Pepper is the same with that before describ'd under the Name of Axi Their Potatoe is a Root not unlike the Topinambous or Jerusalem-Artichokes otherwise call'd Saligots growing plentifully in our Gardens but more wholsome and of a better taste The Anana's or Pine-Apple accounted a most delicious Fruit of an admirable sweet scent and very pleasant to behold grow not onely plentifully in these Islands but in most places of America besides the Sugar-Canes here and in many other places but not so generally The Plant from which is got the Dying Material call'd Indico is very different from that which grows in Madagascar which bears small odoriferous Flowers of a white and purple Colour mix'd together Of these Trees Herbs and other Plants which are produc'd in these Caribbee Islands some are more peculiarly of the Growth of one Island some of another so that we shall have occasion to speak more largely of some of them when we come to speak of each Island in particular The four-footed Beasts found in these Islands are chiefly the Opassum the Javaris the Tatan the Agouty and the Musk-Rat which being all of them no less known in other Parts of the New World have been already taken notice of and of which we may have also occasion to treat more at large in the particular Islands we shall therefore onely name the other Animals whether Birds Reptiles Insects or Fishes as partly having been heretofore treated of and partly to be describ'd hereafter The Birds are the Fregates Fauves Craw-fowl or Grandgawsiers Flammans Swallows of America Arras Canides Parrots Parroquito's Tremblo's Sparrows of America Eagles of Orinoca Manstenys Colibrys besides what are common amongst us as Herons Coots or Moor-bens Black-birds Feldivars Thrushes Turtles Woodquists Pintado's c. The Reptiles are Reptiles Anotis Zoquets and Maboujats of which farther mention will occur in the Isle of St. Christopher Globe-mouches nam'd by the Caribbeeans Oulleouma Scorpions and several sorts of Lizards call'd by the Caribbeeans Ouamayaca by the Brasilians Senembi and by other Indians Jaquanas The Insects are Insects besides these common with us as Glow-worms Palmer-worms Spiders Bees c. the Cucuyos mention'd in Hispaniola and the Flying Tyger The Fishes are Fishes Sea-Parrots the Dorada by some call'd The Sea-Bream by others The Amber-fish the Bonite the Needle-fish the Epadon or Sword-fish the Marsovin the Requiem the Remora the Lamantin the Becune the Sea-Urchin the Sea-Woodcock besides Whales and a certan Fish call'd for its hideous shape The Sea-Devil and lastly the Sea-Unicorn with a particular Description of which we shall conclude as having it from Monsieur du Montel who was an Eye-witness thereof Description of the Sea-Unicorn This Unicorn saith he was pursuing a Carangue or some other lesser Fish with such earnestness and impetuosity that not considering that it needed a greater depth of Water than the other it stuck with half the Body dry on a Sand-bank whence it could not recover the deeper Waters ere it was destroy'd by the Inhabitants It was about eighteen Foot in length being at the largest part of its Body about the bigness of a Barrel It had six great Fins like the ends of Galley-Oars whereof two were plac'd near the Gills and the other four on the sides of the Belly at equal distances they were of a Vermilion red colour All the upper part of the Body was cover'd with great Scales about the bigness of a Crown-Piece which were of a blue colour intermix'd with several Spangles of Silver near the Neck the Scales were closer and of a dark colour seeming as it were a Collar the Scales under the Belly were yellow the Tail forked the Head somewhat bigger than that of a Horse and near the same figure It was cover'd with a hard and dark-colour'd Skin and as the Land Unicorn hath one Horn in his Fore-head so this Sea Unicorn had a very fair one issuing out of the fore-part of his Head about nine Foot and a half in length it was as streight as could be and from the place whence it came out it grew smaller and smaller to the very Point which was so sharp that being thrust hard it would enter into Wood or Stone or some more solid Substance it was at the place where it came out of the Head about sixteen Inches about and from thence to two thirds of the length it was like a Screw or to say better made waving like a wreath'd Pillar save that the Channels grew smaller and smaller till they gently ended in a Point which was two Inches beyond the fourth Foot All the lower part had over it an Ash-colour'd Skin which was all over cover'd with a small soft Hair short as Plush and of the colour of a wither'd Leaf but under that it was as white as Ivory As to the other part which seem'd naked it was naturally polish'd of a shining Black mark'd with certain small white and yellow Strokes and of such solidity that a sharp File could hardly get a little small Powder from it It had no Ears standing up but two spacious Gills as the other Fishes the Eyes were about the bigness of a Hens Egg the Ball which was of a Skye-colour Enamell'd with Yellow was encompass'd with a certain Vermilion which had beyond it another as clear as Crystal The Mouth was wide enough and furnish'd with several Teeth whereof those before were extreamly sharp and those towards the Throat in both Jaws were broad and a little knobbed The Tongue was of a length and thickness proportionable and cover'd with a rough Skin of a Vermilion colour What was further remarkable is that this Fish had upon the Head a kind of Crown rising above the Skin about two Inches and made oval-wise the Extremities whereof ended in a Point Above three hundred Persons of that Island did eat of the Meat of it and that plentifully and thought it extreamly delicate It was interlarded with Fat and being boyl'd it came up in flakes like fresh God but it had a much more excellent taste Those who had seen this rare Fish alive and had with great Levers broken the Back of it affirm'd That he had
the Compass with such mighty Gusts as if they would turn all things into their first Chaos The Caribbeeans call these Tempests Hurricanes which formerly us'd to happen but once in seven years but of late every two years and sometimes twice in a year What damage these Winds cause is scarce to be express'd the Sea raising its turbulent Waves up to the Skyes casts the Ships on the Shore which though in Harbor are certain to be wrack'd whilest the Land seems to labor under a general Ruine whole Woods being rooted up by the same or at least bereav'd of Boughs and Leaves the Corn is beaten down the Plants blasted Houses turn'd topsie-turvy Mountains rent asunder and sometimes pieces of Rocks blown into the Sea Before the Hurricanes there are several fore-runners which give notice of their sudden approach viz. the Sea on a sudden is so calm that the least motion is not perceiv'd the Birds flye from the Mountains into the Valleys where they lay themselves flat on the Ground and the Rain which falls is bitter and salt Charles de Rochfort observ'd that in his time some Ships laden with Tobacco being lost in a Hurricane before St. Christophers soon after the Tempest ceased thousands of Fishes were seen swimming with their Bellies upwards intoxicated no doubt with the Tobacco SECT XIII Antego Situation of Antego BEtween Nevis and Montserrat at sixteen Degrees and eleven Minutes lies Antego being seven Leagues long and about six broad It is dangerous to come at with great Ships because of the many Rocks which lie before it and remain'd the longer uninhabited because of the want of fresh Water yet at last the English taking possession of it digg'd Pits and made Troughs to catch and preserve Rain-water in so that it is now inhabited by at least eight hundred People who live on Plants Venison and Fish Upon the Sea-shore appears often-times the Sword-fish The Sword-Fish which hath no Scales but a grey Skin and white Belly rough like a Fyle a flat Head two Fins on each side two on the Back and one in stead of a Tail with which it makes a swift motion the Sword of it is a long Bone arm'd on each side with twenty seven white and strong Teeth This Fish striving to be Chief of the Sea Encounters with all other Fishes whatsoever even with the Whale himself whose Belly he often rends open near his Eyes are two Nostrils out of which he blows the Water he drinks into the Air. SECT XIV Montserrat Description of Montserrat MOntserrat lying just at the seventeenth Degree is so call'd from a Spanish Hill beyond Barcellona whose shape this Island represents off at Sea It is about three Leagues in length and almost as much in breadth and is very Mountainous except a little towards the East and as much Westward The English have a Church here lin'd in the in-side with Cedar which this Island produces in great abundance Also the Acajou-Tree which grows an exceeding heighth The Acajou-Tree with mighty Boughs under which many judge it very wholsom to sleep But there are two sorts of the Acajou-Tree the one differing from the other in tallness of Body and Colour of which the most esteem'd is the red and sweet-smelling which is not subject to any decay for that which is white and yields Gum when cut is of a less value The Acomas-Tree The Acomas is also no way inferior in bigness to the Acajou which bears long swarthy Leaves and yellow Fruit not unlike a Plumb but because of their extraordinary bitterness they are not eatable onely the wild Pigeons at a certain time of the year feed on them after which their Flesh becomes bitter also from the Bark when cut runs a milky Juice The Cypress-Tree The Cypress-Trees when plan'd yield a pleasant Marble colour to the Eye and a delightful fragrance to the Scent The Iron-Tree The Iron-Tree with sharp-pointed Leaves crack'd near the Stalk blossoms in March and September after the Violet Blossoms follow a black kind of Fruit like a Cherry being an excellent Food for Birds the Wood whilst flourishing is red but cut down changes its colour yet is so hard that it never decays Moreover the Musk-Herb yields a sweet smell The Musk-Herb and grows like Brambles without Thorns between long dusky Leaves hang yellow Flowers which afterwards become Cods full of Seeds that smell exactly like Musk. SECT XV. Guadalupe Situation of Guadalupe GUadalupe or Gardelupe formerly call'd Carricueira lying at about sixteen Degrees and containing sixty Leagues in circumference for it is the biggest and noblest of the Caribbee Islands is divided in two by a narrow Channel wherefore one part is call'd Grand-Terre and the other properly Guadalupe whose Eastern Point nam'd Cabes-Terre and its Western call'd Basse-Terre are both inhabited by the French Several high Mountains especially towards the Center Mountains start up from very low Grounds with their barren Crowns towards the Skye some whereof are overgrown with Trees At the Feet of some of the Mountains are large Plains â—â—â—ter'd by sweet Streams which formerly invited the Spanish Fleets thither to water There is also a sulphurous Mountain which smoaking continually gives the taste of Sulphur to the Streams which flow about the same This Island boasts likewise several boyling Springs which cure the Dropsie and all other Distempers proceeding from Colds Towards each of the two fore-mention'd Points Strange Fish are large Gulphs that produce abundance of Tortoises and all manner of Fish and amongst others one sort not known by Name which is generally about four Foot long having a sharp and big Head with glittering Eyes a Back streak'd with blue and green and a Belly half white and half red eight yellow Fins and a broad Tail with which it swims exceeding swift Near the Shore swim the Sharks an ugly Sea Monster The Shark which bites a Man asunder in the Middle at once their Head is hard and prickly their flat Mouthes opening discover three rows of Teeth After this Fish swims generally the Pilot-Fish The Pilot-Fish which is so curiously speckled that Nature seems herein to excell what-ever can be represented by the artificial Pencil and move either swifter or slower according as the Shark leads The Brain of this Fish is judg'd exceeding good against the Gravel and Stone The discovery of Guadalupe Guadalupe was first discover'd in the Year of our Lord 1635. by the French under the Command of the Lords Du Plessis and De Olive and after them one of the Captains of St. Christophers Since which the Champain Ground being Till'd and Manur'd brings forth in great plenty Rice Maiz Manicock and Potato's Father Raymond Breton got possession of the fruitfullest part of the Island for the Reformed Jacobines or White-Fryers and since the present Governor Monsieur De Howell sent also for the Jesuits and Carmelites to build Cloysters in a new City which
lies in Basse-Terre and which is also built full of Store-houses and Dwelling-houses two Stones high The Castle which lies near the City hath four Bulwarks with great Guns The next neighboring Mountain is also crown'd with Garrison'd Fort. The Moubane-Tree The Countrey hereabouts bears Moubane-Trees which produce yellow oval Plumbs with great Stones wherewith the Hogs are exceedingly fatned The Corbary The Corbary which grows higher than the Moubane hath a hard shelly Fruit in which lies a douny Pulp of a Saffron colour The Gum which drops out of the Tree is hardned by the Sun and becomes very clear wherefore the Caribbeeans make use of it for Arm-rings and other Ornaments SECT XVI Deseado Situation of Deseado TEn Leagues to the North-West of Guadalupe and at sixteen Degrees and ten Minutes appears Deseado or Desirado like a Galley of which the North-East end hath a low Point to the Northward lie Sand-Hills full of red Veins It was so call'd by Christopher Columbus in his second Voyage from obtaining of his Desire it being the first of the Caribbees which he discover'd as St. Salvador the first Land in all America The Guano The Soil is wholly barren and destitute of Trees and breeds the amphibious Creatures call'd Guano's which in stead of Fins to swim withal have four Feet the biggest of them are fifteen Inches long their Skin full of little Scales shines like Silver and in the Night they make a loud and shrill noise from the Holes in the Rocks The Frigates On this desolate Island are an innumerable company of Fowls call'd Frigates which have a Body like a Duck but larger Wings and flye swifter so soon as they perceive a Fish in the Water they falling upon the same catch them in their Claws and especially devour abundance of flying Fish The Fauves But the Fauves which are much leaner are no way so swift they resemble a Moor-Hen have Feet like Ducks Bills like a Snipe and in rainy Nights rest on the Ships in stead of Rocks so that many times they become an easie prey to the Mariners SECT XVII Marigalante Situation of Marigalante NOt far from hence at fifteen Degrees and forty Minutes appears Marigalante like a Wood in the Water On the South-East side about half a League from the Shore lie black 〈…〉 full of white Specks Westerly the Shore is very plain whither the Governor Monsieur De Howell sent some People from that Island of which twenty were kill'd by the Caribbeeans who had Gardens and Fish-ponds thereon Not long after which Howell built a Fort here and Garrison'd the same with French-men The Woods afford a delightful sight to the Eye as also the Cinamon-Trees whose Leaves never wither a sweet smell to the Nose The Fish Lamantin The Ocean hereabouts produces plenty of Lamantins which are dry'd like Haberdine This Fish grows eighteen Foot long and seven thick the Head thereof is like a Cows with little Eyes and a thick brown Skin rough and speckled in some places and hath two little Feet in stead of Fins it feeds on Weeds which grow on the Rocks and Banks the Females bring two young ones at a time which suck for some days their Flesh palatable and wholsom is streak'd with Fat which when melted never putrifies they are oftner taken in the Mouthes of Rivers than in the Ocean The Sea-Devils About this Isle as well as the rest of the Caribbees are Fishes call'd Sea-Devils four Foot long and proportionably thick their Skins rough their Heads flat their Backs arm'd with Prickles little black Eyes wide Mouthes full of Teeth and two Tusks that stick out of the same four Fins a long slit Tail with which they swim exceeding swift above their Eyes stick broad sharp Horns turn'd towards the Back the Flesh is deadly poyson The Becune The Becune which is eight Foot long falls upon a Fish like a mad Dog biting great pieces of the Flesh out of the Body which occasions present Death its Flesh is likewise poyson SECT XVIII Todos Sanctos Situation of Todos Sanctos SOuthward from Guadalupe and at the same Latitude with Marigalante lie four desolate Isles call'd Todos Sanctos and on their Shores a sort of Shell-fish call'd Lambis from the resemblance of a Tongue Curious sorts of Shells the Shells whereof the Indians Sound in stead of Horns when they give an Alarm as also another sort call'd Porcelenes of which the most esteem'd are without of a Carnation and within of a Silver or Skye-colour mix'd with Golden Beams The next are the Black mix'd with a pale Blue and little Veins But the most remarkable Shells are those whose Back Nature hath mark'd in such a manner with Musical Notes that one might almost express a Tune by them Mother-of-Pearl Oysters Moreover it would amaze the Beholder to see the Mother-of-Pearl Oyster moving at the Foot of a Rock for at the Rising of the Sun they appear above the Water and gape for the Dew of which they have no sooner receiv'd a Drop but they close their Shells and fall to the Ground again SECT XIX De Aves Situation of De Aves VVEstward from Todos Sanctos at fifteen Degrees and forty five Minutes lies the Isle De Aves Besides Ducks Pluvers Moor-hens Geese and the like Fowls that suffer themselves to be catch'd by the Hands of Men which are very strange to them there are here also many rare sorts of Birds as the white Birds call'd Aigrettos Aigrettos which are somewhat bigger than Crows with red Bills and Feet and curious Plumes on their Heads they often flye a great way off at Sea The large Bird call'd The Craw-fowl Craw-fowl which feeds on Fish hath a thick Head a long flat Bill hollow Eyes and a short Neck under which hangs the Maw big enough to contain a Pail full of Water On the Trees along the Sea-side they watch for Fish which swim near the top of the Water and by their attentiveness on their Prey are easily shot themselves Here is likewise the Bird Arras Arras of the bigness of a Pheasant but more resembling a Parraquito their long Tail consists of divers colour'd Feathers some have shining skye-colour'd Heads Backs and Necks their Bellies and Wings of a pale Yellow they are so stout or rather so simple that if they are not hit with the first Shot they will stay for a second They also learn to talk but not so distinctly as the Canides which are no way inferior in beauty to the Arras nay exceed them very much Monsieur du Montell above mention'd seeing one at Corassao describes it after this manner Description of the Canides It deserves to be numbred saith he amongst the most beautiful Birds in the World I took so particular notice of it having had of them in my Hands many times that I have the Idea's of it still fresh in my Memory Under the
occasion great Cold and in Harvest and October it Rains exceedingly whereas at other times it is very dry Weather and the Winds blow generally out of the East or North-East yet the Land-Breezes coming out of the West bring sometimes Rains with them From the Mountains which are stony and barren fall many Brooks and Rivers which water divers Plains the Grass and other Plants of which are often blasted by violent Storms nevertheless Oranges Lemmons Granates and all sorts of Spanish Garden Fruits grow here in great plenty The Woods afford likewise Pigeons Partridges Venison and the like the Rivers all manner of Fish which are seen to swim in great numbers twenty Yards under the Water especially in the Haven St. Martha near which formerly liv'd many Fisher men who with Nets made of tough Twigs pleited together caught such plenty of Fish that they furnish'd all their Neighbors The High-ways are made dangerous by Lyons Tygers and Bears Great plenty of Precious Stones in these Parts The Countrey Buritaca affords the Inhabitants Gold Tairona excellent Stones against Bleeding and the Gravel Jasper Porphyr and Gold the Valley Tunia many rich Emeraulds which Stones us'd to be in great esteem before America produc'd such great numbers of them Acosta relates That a Spaniard desiring to know the Price of an Emerauld shew'd two to an Italian Jeweller who valu'd the one at a hundred the other at three hundred Ducats but soon after seeing a Chest full of them said they were scare worth a Ducat apiece and that the Sute which the Roman Lady wore being beset with Emeraulds and valu'd at four hundred thousand Ducats would not sell now for half so much This Stone or Jewel exceedingly fortifies the Sight wherefore the Emperor Nero represented the bloody Encounters of Fencers in an Emerauld It is also judg'd to be good against the Falling-sickness wherefore the Indians hang them in their Noses to this day and adorn their Idols with them they grow in stony Rocks along Veins not unlike Crystal and in time obtain a glittering Greenness the biggest of them that are found in this Age are most esteem'd of in Genua The Emerauld Pillar which as a wonderful Ornament stood in Hercules's Temple in the City of Tyrus being very famous amongst the Antients was without doubt no more than a green Stone and perhaps of the same Material was the Pillar erected by the Arabian King Miramamolines in the Cathedral at Corduba But the great fame of these Emeraulds incited Gonzalvez Zimenes Governor of St. Martha to leave his Place and seek for them to which end he Sail'd up the Rivulet Gayra with two Ketches and forty five Spaniards who meeting with the Casique Bagotta got much Gold of him and afterwards went to the Valley Tessuca of which Simandoca being Governor conducted Ximenez twenty three Leagues farther to an Emerauld Rock from whence he return'd exceedingly enriched the rumor of which spreading up and down made several travel thither amongst whom was Peter di Lugo Governor of Terra Firma who sending for Aid from Carthagena fought his way to Bagotta who resisted him for some time till at last being defeated he made Peace with them for a considerable quantity of Gold Peter di Lugo his Treachery to the Natives which when Peter di Lugo had receiv'd not regarding his Word he plunder'd all the Countrey and having committed all imaginable Cruelties on the Natives return'd home with an invaluable Mass of Gold and Emeraulds to St. Martha The Welsares Journey Not long after the Welsares German Knights came from Venezuela which City the Emperor Charles the Fifth Morgag'd to them Anno 1518. and travell'd through the snowy Mountains of St. Martha with Indian Guides whose Instructions following they digg'd many Emeraulds out of the Valley Funia the Inhabitants of which affrighted at the sight of the Strangers hang'd themselves out of despair though naturally valiant and ingenious in working in Tapestry the shapes of Tygers Lyons and other Beasts and painting on the Walls of their Houses variety of Figures of divers colours covering their Floors with Mats neatly pleited of Rushes They fed on Fish Venison and Mans-flesh and also on the Roots Agies tasting like Chesnuts Yuca Maiz Batata and Cassada Chief Cities and Places of note The chief Cities and Places of principal note in this Province are 1. St. Martha which gives Denomination to the whole Province it stands built at the North Sea which makes a large and convenient Harbor being defended from the Winds by high Mountains and two Isles is a Bishop's See and hath a large Cathedral The Houses built of Canes are cover'd with Palmito-Trees and some with woodden Shingles The Haven hath neither Fort nor Castle to defend it because there is no Trade but with the Indians which bring Earthen Ware and Cotton Clothes to sell and because the Spanish Ships seldom come hither the Place is much gone to decay and the more because it is no way defended against any Assault of an Enemy which the French and afterwards the English under the Command of Sir Francis Drake and the following Year under Captain Anthony Shirley took advantage of and plunder'd and burnt the City 2. Teneriff built on the Banks of the River Magdalena forty Leagues from St. Martha 3. Tamalameque otherwise call'd Villa de las Palmas twenty Leagues South of Teneriff lying on a high stony Ground between which are plain Pastures for Cattel surrounded with high Woods as also Pools made by the over-flowing of the Rivers whose Banks are inhabited by the Indians who are much addicted to Sleep and Drinking The Pools before mention'd produce abundance of Fish as also Crocodiles and the terrible Manati before describ'd 4. Ocanna which hath an Inland Haven 5. Ramada formerly call'd New Salamanca standing at the Foot of the Mountain call'd Sierras Nevadas This Town is famous for its Copper and Brass Mines 6. Cividad de los Reyes which built in the Valley Upari stands on the Shore of the mighty River Guataporeya where from the beginning of January till May the Eastern Breezes moderate the Heat otherwise intolerable But the continual Rains thereabout occasions the Quartan Ague and many such like Distempers The Natives hereabouts salvage and valiant would never submit to the Spaniards The peculiar 〈…〉 The Tree Xagua The peculiar Plants of this Place are the Tree Xagua which bears a Fruit like a Raisin which dry'd and ground yields exceeding good Meal for Bread The Root Scorzonera The Root Scorzonera which cures the Bitings of Serpents The Indians also use the Tail of a Serpent for a Remedy against the same Evil as they take Tobacco against the Falling-sickness and snuff the Powder in at their Nostrils and drink the Juice thereof to cause Loosness Chief Rivers The chief Rivers of this Province are 1. Polomino so call'd from a Spanish Captain that was drown'd there with his Horse falling from the Sierras Nevadas 2. Guatupori
3. La Parilla otherwise call'd Santa fourteen Leagues beyond Truxillo Southward wash'd by the Southern Ocean and one side by a fresh-water Stream which being inclos'd between stony Cliffs makes a secure Harbor 4. Arnedo seated ten Leagues Northward from Lima amongst the Vineyards of the Valley Chancas otherwise having no great matter in it remarkable but a fair Dominican Cloyster 5. Lima by the Spaniards commonly call'd La Cividad de los Reyes or The City of Kings so nam'd because Pizarro who built it laid the first Stone on Twelfth-day Anno 1553. which they call The Feast of the Kings It is seated in the Valley of Lima from whence the City is also so denominated one of the fruitfullest Parts of all Peru and so neatly built that all the chief Streets of the City open upon a fair Market-place or Piazza of such a large Square that upon the sides thereof are built in a stately and convenient manner the Cathedral the Palace of the Archbishop the Vice-Roy's Palace and Courts of Justice with the Exchequer or Publick Treasury the Town-house or place where the City Magistrates meet and hold their Courts the Publick Armory or Magazine and a Free-School wherein are taught by the Jesuits all Arts and Sciences and also the Indian Language and divers other fair Buildings of the Nobility and better sort of Citizens No Countrey under the Heavens affords a more fruitful or pleasanter Place than this the temperate Climate neither troubling the Inhabitants with excessive Heats or great Colds nor terrifying them with Thunder or Lightning but having almost perpetual Sun-shine and fair Weather onely the three Winter Moneths wherein there falls a sweet-smelling Dew which cures the Head-ache and there die but very few of pestilential Distempers The Countrey about the City is pleasant without exception The Pigeons which are kept here in curious Houses built on purpose flie a thousand in a Flight The Fields abound also with Cattel The Orchards and Gardens flourish with all sorts of Trees and Plants whereof those that are brought hither from Spain grow better than in their natural Countrey The West side of the City is wash'd by a pure clear Stream which stores the Market with great plenty of good Fish it being distant but a Musquet shot especially when the Water rises This River is of great consequence for it not onely waters the whole Valley of Lima with its several Branches but also runs under every House in the City being built on Stone Arches they are onely one Story high because there is no Wood to be had in the Valley of Lima but what in three years becomes all Woorm-eaten nevertheless the Houses are very beautiful both within and without the Walls being very thick and strong have curious Arbors of green Boughs on the top in which the Owners shade themselves from the Sun Most of the Houses built in the high Streets have pleasant Turrets which face the Market-place where all sorts of Provisions are brought to Sale as Oxen Sheep Venison Sugar Oranges Cittrons Grapes and Wheat which is ground in Water-Mills built near the River This City is inhabited by many able Merchants which often load Ships to Panama that are valu'd at above two hundred thousand Ducats To the Arch-bishop's See of this Place belongs the Bishopricks of Chili Charcas Quito Cusco Truxillo Guanuco Popaian San Francisco Panama Nicaragua and Rio de la Plata The City is also adorn'd with two fair Churches besides the Cathedral and also other lesser Churches four stately Cloysters two Nunneries and the Jesuits Palace which is very magnificent The Haven two Leagues distant from it and call'd Callao de Lima is large and secure for Ships Anno 1579. Sir Francis Drake took twelve Ships from hence Prizes taken here by Sir Fran. Drake one whereof was laden with Linnen and Silk besides a great Chest full of Silver Which Inconvenience to prevent for the future the Spaniards have built two strong Forts and fortifi'd them with Brass Guns Thirty years after Sir Francis Drake's Exploit Joris Spilbergen coming to Anchor here found the Place all inhabited Spilbergen attempts the Place in vain a Fort well stor'd with Guns and a strong Castle before the Mouth of the Harbor from whence they shot Bullets of thirty six Pound weight at the Hollanders and so shatter'd their Frigat call'd The Hunter that she could scarce-keep above Water Fourteen Spanish Merchant-men lying near the Shore receiv'd little damage Spilbergen not being able for Shelves to get to them neither did he judge it convenient to Land the Vice-Roy having at that time above four thousand Men in Arms besides several Troops of Horse wherefore after having fir'd several Guns on the Fort and against the Church he set Sail to Guarmey 6. Cannete otherwise call'd Guarco from the Valley wherein it is situate It was built by the Spaniards out of the Treasure which they found in the Castle afore spoken of in the same Valley 7. Valverde situate in a Valley of the same Name where excellent Fruit may be had for a small Price it is a well Traded and rich Town about sixteen Leagues distant from the Sea 8. Pachacama situate in a Territory of the same Name four Leagues Southward of Lima memorable chiefly for Pizarro's good fortune here who is reported to have found in one onely old Temple of the Natives the quantity of nine hundred thousand Ducats of Gold and Silver besides what his Soldiers are suppos'd to have seiz'd on and convey'd away before he came 9. Castro Verreina threescore Leagues distant from Lima to the South-East It lieth in the Valley of Chocolocha and is a rich Place by reason of the good Mines of Silver which are about it and abundance of the best sort of Tobacco 10. Miguel de la Ribera in the Valley of Camana The Inhabitants whereof drive a great Trade in Wine Figs and Raisins 11. The City Arequipa which extends up towards the Mountains is built in the Dale Quilca which runs eleven Leagues from the Sea under a healthful Climate but in the Year 1582. it was wholly ruin'd by an Earthquake the reason whereof is ascrib'd to the wet sulphurous Mountains which burns continually and sometimes vomits out Flames and Ashes The Marquess Pizarro built this City forty six years before the fore-mention'd Earthquake since which being re-built again soon attain'd to three hundred Houses besides a Church and Cloyster and though it be but a small Town yet it is of a great resort because the Gold and Silver is brought hither from the Mines Chancos Porco and Potosi and from thence sent down the River Quilca which washing the City Walls runs into the South Sea to Los Reyos and from thence to Panama Nombre de Dios and New Spain The Jurisdiction of this City Arequipa extends it self a vast way viz. over the spacious Valleys between Hacari and Tampaca and up in the Countrey beyond the County Condesuyo full of Hamlets and
now make their Apparel of the same and upon the account of Barter drive a great Trade in it They Dye their Cotton with the boyl'd Roots and Leaves of a little Tree Eastward beyond Santa Cruiz lies the Countrey Paicanos eminent for the great Calabashes which grow there exceeding good to keep both wet and dry Meats in The Countrey receives a vicissitude of excessive Cold and intolerable Heat the hard Winters taking beginning in May and continuing till the beginning of August In the middle of our Summer a South-wind blows seven Weeks together here to the great prejudice of all Plants which are during that time often wash'd away by continual Rains About Christmas they Sowe and gather in their Harvest in March. During the rainy Season the Ways cannot be travell'd being all overflow'd by the Rivers neither doth the Palm-Wood which is four days Journey in length permit any access to the said City Santa Cruiz because the conflux of Waters makes it a Moor all over besides which the Tygers Bears and Serpents make the Ways dangerous especially at that time Through this Countrey the Spanish Captain Nusco de Chavas travell'd when he discover'd the Taguamacis a numerous People which dwell along the great River De la Plata The Countrey about Santa Cruiz produces all manner of Fruit but few Trees because of the want of Rain but Corn Maiz Wine Granadillas Luiumas and Tucumay as also the Plant Hachalindi in the Latine Tongue call'd Mirabile Peruanum grow here in great abundance which 〈◊〉 shoots up to the bigness of a pretty large Body full of Juice and of a yellowish colour out of which shoot knotty Boughs and about each Knot two Leaves resembling the Herb Nightshade the Flowers which hang at the ends of the Boughs are long and pleasant to the Eye by reason of their mixture of Purple White and Yellow and also of a sweet smell It is a strange Secret in Nature that this Flower opens at Midnight if any Light come near the same The Root also is accounted an effectual Medicine against the Dropsie SECT VII Collao Situation and Description of Collao COllao lieth Southward of those Countries which go under the general Name of the Province of Cusco having on the West Lima on the South Charcas but Eastward and to the North-East it is shut up by a Ridge of Mountains running in one Body or continu'd Tract from the Confines of Collao as far as the City of Cusco where they divide The Countrey is generally plain commodiously water'd in all Parts with fresh Rivers and consequently affording rich Pasturage and good Herds of Cattel Chief Towns and Places of note The Chief Towns and Places of note are 1. Chuquinga a great Town and held to be naturally almost impregnable as being environ'd round about either with deep unfordable Waters or with Mountains unpassable and having one onely Cawsey leading to it reported to be for two or three Leagues together no broader than to permit one single Person to march conveniently upon it 2. The City Pucara which was formerly well inhabited but at present nothing remains of it except the ruin'd Walls of great Houses and large Images of Stone 3. Ayavire by the Spaniards call'd Las Sepulturas being a Place especially enobled by the stately Monuments of the Peruvian Nobility which were found there 4. Hatuncolla the Metropolis or chief Town of this Province seated upon the Banks of the River Caravaya whose Streams are very much fam'd for Gold CALLAO de LIMA The River Caravaya which glides from the Andes Eastward to the City Juan del Oro produces much fine Gold but not without the loss of many People which are kill'd by the unwholsom Air and Damps that arise here The Lake Titicaca The Lake Titicaca which washes the Countrey Collao on the North the Province of Omasuy on the East Chaquito on the West and Chuquiabo on the South is one of the greatest Lakes of America being eighty Leagues in circumference and in several places as many Fathom deep wherefore it is exceeding rough in windy Weather Into this Lake ten great Rivers discharge their Waters which run away again through a narrow but very deep Channel in which the Stream runs so strong that no Boats are able to abide in it 5. Chinquita a Colony of Spaniards upon the Banks of Titiaca having many small Islands in it of a good and fruitful Soil abounding in Fish and variety of Sea-Fowl it is suppos'd to be fourscore Leagues distant likewise from the South Sea haying onely one Estuary or Mouth which is something strait but of such a deep Water and violent Stream that as Acosta testifieth of it it is not possible to build a Bridge of Stone or Timber over it but the Natives in stead thereof have laid a Bridge of Straw upon it which serves as well viz. so many great Bundles of Straw Sedge or such like matter well and surely made up and fastned together as will reach from one side or Bank of the Estuary to another at which likewise having made them sure they cast some good quantity of more Straw and Sedge upon them and have a Bridge very convenient upon which they both securely pass themselves and also drive Cattel and do other necessary Business The Water is neither bitter nor brackish yet is not drinkable because of its muddiness Several Islands that lie in the Lake serv'd formerly for Store-houses of the chiefest Goods which the People thereabouts living near the High-way would not trust in their Villages The Plant Totara Here grows a certain Broom-Plant call'd Totara good for many uses and is also wholsom Food both for Man and Beast moreover they cover their Houses with the same burn it on their Hearths and make Boats The Uros a salvage People made Floats of Totara which they ty'd together and built Villages on the same which drove to and again according as the Wind blew The Lake also breeds abundance of Fish and especially two sorts viz. Suches which are very pleasing to the Palate but unwholsom and the Bogas which though less and full of Bones are a much better Food There likewise breed plenty of Fowls about the same especially wild Geese and Ducks When the Peruvians intend to Entertain any Person they go to catching of Fowls by them call'd Chaco after this manner They make a Circle with the Floats nam'd Balsas and Rowing close to one another take up the inclos'd Fowl with their Hands Moreover the fore-mention'd Channel through which the Lake Titicaca discharges its Water ends in a little Lake call'd Aulagas likewise full of desolate Isles but hath no visible place into which to empty its Water therefore it must needs according to the course of Nature fall under Ground where it commixes with a Stream whose original is unknown though it be seen to fall into the South Sea The Town is a Place of extraordinary Wealth and Trading and so considerable that
time four hundred Hollanders Sallying out made a furious Onset upon the two Regiments who had possession of the Cloyster Bento where the Spaniards sustain'd considerable damage for besides the wounding of three Captains and the loss of a great number of Soldiers there were slain the Commanders Emanuel Aquitara Alonso de Gana Pedro San Stevan Diego Espinosa and Colonel Pedro Osorio But Toledo no whit dismay'd hereat but taking fresh courage brought twenty nine Demi-Culverins ashore which fir'd so vehemently out of the Carmelites and Bento's Cloysters on the seventeen Dutch Ships that lay near the Shore that several of them were sunk and others shatter'd beyond hopes of ever being repair'd After this the Spanish Army was divided into three several Parties which continually fir'd on the City from three new rais'd Works the chiefest Party which was in the Carmelites Minster had twenty three Brass Guns the secon'd plac'd on the great Wall of the Cloyster Bento fir'd Night and Day with eight Demy-Cannons on the City in which all things were in a confusion whilest the Governor William Schouten went unconcern'd from one Tavern to another railing at the Soldiers who thereupon mutinying and deposing him chose Serjeant Hans Ernst Kyf in his room who as he was calling a Council of War receiv'd a Summons from Toledo to deliver up the City at which Kyf being much surpris'd sent a Drummer with a Letter to Toledo desiring him to grant the Besieged three Weeks time to repair and make fit their batter'd Vessels to carry them back for Holland and also that they might according to Martial Custom march out with lighted Matches flying Colours Bullets in their Mouths and with Bag and Baggage To which Toledo return'd Answer That he was now in his own Countrey and had gotten possession of four Fortifications about St. Salvador on which he had planted thirty seven Cannons and therefore saw no such necessity to grant the Besieged who could not possibly expect any fresh Supplies such advantageous and bold Demands and onely promis'd them their Lives should be at his discretion Yet at last William Stoop Hugh Antoniszoon St. Salvador re-taken by the Spaniards from the Hollanders and Francis du Chesne being sent to the Carmelites Cloyster agreed with Toledo on these Conditions That the Hollanders should surrender St. Salvador in the Condition it was then in march out unarm'd but with Baggage and have a free Pussage with Provisions and all things necessary allow'd them for their Trasportation for Holland Whereupon on the first of May the City was deliver'd up to the Spaniards in such disorder that some of them had taken possession of the Gate Bento before those on the other side of the City knew of any Agreement that was made between Toledo and Colonel Kyf And thus the Place which had a whole year been under the Jurisdiction of the Netherlanders fell again under the possession of the Spanish Crown onely through the indiscreet management of the Commanders for otherwise it was sufficiently strong and well stor'd with Ammunition and Men being able to make out two thousand Moreover the Ketch De Haes was set out before from the Holland Fleet and brought news of the Forces that were sent from the Netherland Havens to their assistance But the Ships under Admiral Lam as also those under Boudewyn Henriczoon were stay'd a considerable time in their Harbors by contrary Winds and at last reaching the Line were becalm'd and through the excessive heat of the Climate many Men lost by raging and mortal Distempers insomuch that they reach'd not the Bay Todos los Sanctos before the twenty sixth of May on which they saw the Spanish Flag streaming from the Walls of St. Salvador and fifty great Ships riding at an Anchor near the Shore The Netherland Fleet divided into four Squadrons consisted of thirty four Sail amongst which Lam carry'd the Flag on the Main-top the Vice-Admiral Adrian Cheszoon on the Fore-top the Rere-Admiral Adries Veron on the Main-mast and the Commander of the fourth Squadron on the Mizne-top All of them seeing the Spaniards absolute Masters judg'd it most convenient to put to Sea but standing a pretty while to the South they found that the strong Current drove them to the Shelves on the West-side of the Inlet wherefore Tacking about they made towards the Enemy who at first seem'd to meet them with twenty eight great Ships but returning towards the City the Hollanders also stood to Sea again Steering Southerly though without making much advantage in their Way the Sea going very hollow and the strong Current setting them towards the Shore by which means they were in no small danger before the River Francisco where many of the Men dy'd for want of fresh Provisions and the number of the Sick increas'd daily insomuch that some of the Ships were like to perish for want of Men to guide them It was also judg'd dangerous to lie longer with such a great Fleet near a Lea-Shore herefore they put into the Inlet Trayciaon which lies a League to the Northward of he River Monguapigape from whence a ridge of Rocks extends to Tayciaon and being overflow'd at high-High-water hath three Openings or Entrances two for great Ships and one the most Northern for small Vessels to pass through The Sea also breaking against this Cliff never molests the Ships whatever Winds blow The Countrey is overgrown with Brambles and hath a Lake two Leagues long and a quarter broad on the opposite Shore of which stood a Village inhabited by Portugueses and Brasilians but the Portugueses flying from thence left the Brasilians in absolute possession The Hollanders going thither found thirty Chests of Sugar in one Hut after which the Admiral Lam caus'd his sick Men to be brought ashore whilest the Captains Boshuisen Swart Dyke Stapels and Uzeel march'd up into the Countrey where they got plenty of Oranges and Cattel In the mean time the Ketch Vosken Mann'd with thirty six Seamen Cruising along the Sea-Coast of Brasile took three Ships one out of the Inlet Todos los Sanctos laden with Sugar and Tobacco another with the same Merchandise from Pernambuco and the third laden with Wines from Madera On the first of August the Fleet set Sail again to the great sorrow of the Brasilians who out of hopes of being protected by them against the Portuguese had joyn'd their Forces with theirs but now being forsaken they expected nothing but utter Ruine which to escape many of them desir'd to be admitted to go along with the Fleet which had been granted them had not the Hollanders wanted Provisions for themselves The Fleet getting off at Sea the Admiral Veron ran with twelve Sail to the Coast of Africa and Boudewyn Henrickszoon kept eighteen Ships under his Command the rest returning home with Admiral Lam and thus the Fleet left the unfortunate Haven Trayciaon where above seven hundred Dutch Seamen were bury'd Boudewyn Henrickszoon refreshing at Cape St. Vincent steer'd Westerly when
suddenly surpris'd after a strange manner he had ninety Musquetteers for his Guard whose Matches were all put out and their Arms all wet by a great shower of Rain which they perceiving from their Ambuscades immediately got cross the River and kill'd thirty of the Netherlanders the rest running away left Ita to defend himself which he did for some time with his Sword but had absolutely been slain had he not receiv'd Aid from Olinda Because the Portuguese made several Attempts upon the Netherlanders not without damage on both sides the West-India Company often sent Ships to their assistance and likewise many Brasilians deserting the Portuguese joyn'd with the Netherlanders who built a five-corner'd Fort with Bulwarks about the Cloyster on Antonio Vaes which to prevent the Portuguese ventur'd many a Sally though not without considerable loss on their part They also reported that Frederick de Toledo was making thither with a great Fleet to drive the Netherlanders out of Brasile at which they taking the Alarm put themselves all into a posture of Defence rais'd new Works about the Castle on Reciffa whilest the Ships which Cruis'd on that Coast brought in several Prizes John Walbeek being chosen General by the West-India Company over Brasile had a Design on the Promontory St. Augustine but it came to no effect because the Sea beat so vehemently against the Shore Great Supplies sent to Brasile by the Netherland West-India Company The Report of the great preparation of a Fleet which was making ready in Spain mov'd the West-India Company to raise mo're Men and to send out Admiral Paters with seventeen Ships which all arriv'd safe except the Black Lyon Frigat which carrying the Lieutenant-Colonel Eltz and Captain Uitgeest was never heard of Joost Bankart was also sent out in March with eight Ships to St. Helena to Cruise there for the rich Carraks which us'd to Water there but though he stay'd till August before this fruitful Island yet saw not one Ship at Sea nor a Man on the Island but great numbers of Sea-pies which are so tame that they suffer themselves to be taken up with the Hand or knock'd on the Head with Sticks Near this Isle Ita took a Ketch Prize and rallying his whole Fleet together Steer'd for the Caimans the most Eastern Isle whereof being about three Leagues long is full of Rocks with a high Point on the East the other part thereof is plain Then dividing his Fleet into seven Squadrons he made them all ready for an Engagement when he was inform'd by an English-man before Corientes that Frederick de Toledo had set Sail with eighty Ships from Havana to Spain of which he had sent back eight Gallions to Carthagena Hereupon bending his Course near Havana he put the whole Countrey to an Alarm burnt a rich laden Vessel and another that carry'd a Flag on the Fore-top and a third laden with Ballast Joachim Guysen being made Commander of the Dolphin Frigat and sent to joyn with Admiral Pater's Squadron was driven below Jamaica and at last strook against the great Caiman where his Vessel was all shatter'd to pieces but all his Men and Goods being sav'd he spent sixteen Weeks in making a Ketch of the pieces of the Dolphin and brought a hundred and twenty Men four Brass and two Iron Guns to the Fleet having buried the rest on Caiman Five Leagues beyond Havana a Spanish Ship laden with Campeche Wood and Sarsaparilla being chased against the Shore was set on fire by her own Men which the Hollanders attempted twice in vain to put out After this Ita's Fleet lay long upon the Coast Cuba but finding no Spanish Vessels and their Provisions growing scarce return'd back to the Texel where they arriv'd without doing any farther Exploits In the mean while Pater lying before Punta del Gallo intending to Invade the City built on the Shore of the Island Trinidad but the Fort built at the Mouth of the River and contrary Current preventing his Design he ran through the middlemost Hole of Boccas to Blanca where he caught two thousand Goats and a Bonaire set several Towns on fire whilest the Spaniards made a Smother of dry Stubble all along the Fields through which the Hollanders were to return that so they might be choak'd with the Smoak which their Invention had prov'd successful had not the Hollanders forc'd a Way through a Wood. At last the Fleet leaving Hispaniola Steer'd for St. Martha a Town built on the Main Coast between Carthagena and the River La Hacha being instigated thereto by a Letter taken by the Hollanders in a Prize writ by the Governor Hieronymo de Quero to the Spanish King which Letter set forth the present Condition of St. Martha St. Martha taken by the Dutch whereby they conceiv'd great hopes of a possibility of taking it and of the Advantages that would accrue thereby nor did it happen contrary to their expectation for the Admiral Landing his Men took the City without the least resistance and though the great Fort fir'd some Guns yet it soon surrendred on promise of Quarter the City also was sav'd from being burn'd by paying fifty five hundred Pieces of Eight after they had plunder'd the same and carry'd away whatsoe're they thought good Mean while the Provisions growing scarce in the Fleet Pater judg'd it convenient to return home where he arriv'd safely with all his Prizes The valiant Exploit of John Lichthart Notable Exploits were perform'd by John Lichthart one of which amongst others ought not to be omitted viz. he setting Sail homewards from Reciffa about the beginning of October Anno 1630. chanc'd to fall with his Ship the Over-yzel amongst five Biscayan Pyrats Cruising between the French and English Coast which thought to clap him aboard on a sudden but they seeing him bear up to them were afraid to venture and Tack'd about after which he was set upon about three Leagues to the Northward of the Lizard by three Frigats belonging to Dunkirk the biggest whereof carry'd thirty six Guns the second twenty eight and the last twelve with which three he maintain'd a Fight eight hours in which he had fourteen Men kill'd and thirty two wounded his Ship resembled a Wreck the Main-mast being shot overboard the Rudder hung by pieces at the Stern and the Tackling all shatter'd and torn besides seven Shot under Water and not less than four hundred through the sides above but not without sufficient marks of retribution on the Dunkirkers side but Lichthart getting into Plymouth mended his Ship and from thence Sail'd to Amsterdam where he was Presented with a Gold Chain in recompence of his Valor The Expedition of the Brown-Fish Frigat The Expedition of the Brown-Fish Frigat is also remarkable which Sailing beyond Cape deVerd Steer'd by Cape Roxo along the Shore to the River Catchieu at whose Mouth lie two Shelves and between them ran a Channel through which the Ships pass'd The Brown-Fish Sailing about a League up
This Bridge being eighty six Rods long of durable Timber was finish'd in seven Weeks His Pleasure-house Bonovista Moreover Grave Maurice built a pleasant Banquetting-house call'd Bonavista at his own Charge before the said Bridge from whence he could see the Palace Freyburgh Olinda the Fort Ernestus Maurice-stadt Reciffa the French Church the Ships in the Harbors and also the Castle Frederick Henrick This Banquetting-house hath at each corner a Turret and in the middle thereof a spacious Room crown'd with a fair Terrace BOAVISTA A. Fluvius Capibaribi B. Domus Boavista sivi boni visus C. Pons D. Palatium Friburgum E. Mauritiopolis F. Templum Gallicum G. Castrum Ernesti H. Castrum Fred. Henrici I. Reciffa K. Reciffa lapidosa L. Naves portu contentae M. Olinda eminus visa CHAP. VIII Guiana Situation and Description of Guiana NOrthward of Brasile over against Maragnan lieth the Countrey of Guiana not improbably suppos'd to be so call'd from the River Wia one of the principal Rivers of the Province which yet is said to have more and fairer than any other part of America besides It is by some call'd The Wild Coast for what reason is uncertain it being found to be a very fruitful and pleasant Countrey It is Bounded on the East with the Atlantick Ocean or Mare del Nordt on the West with some undiscover'd mountainous Countreys which lie on that side of the Andes on the North it hath the great River Orenoque and on the South that of the Amazons or Orellana which last Name as we have said before it derives from Francisco Orellana who is said to have first discover'd it in the Year 1543. It was anciently call'd Tobo Topoi and Tapera This Countrey lieth on both sides of the Aequator extended from the fourth Degree of Southern Latitude to the eighth Degree of Northern yet enjoyeth a temperate and good Air not oppressed with any excessive Heat which is chiefly attributed to the Breezes or Easterly Winds almost perpetually about Noon blowing upon it Towards the Sea-side it is for the most part a flat and level Countrey in the more Inland parts mountainous and swell'd with Hills but in all it is generally of such a rich and fertile Soil that for Fruits or any outward Commodities of the Earth it yields not to any other Province of the New World but rather far excelleth the most having as it were a continual Summer without Winter or Autumn the Trees never uncloth'd or made bare Fruits always ripe or growing to maturity the Meadows and Pastures always verdant and green and as we said so excellently well water'd with Rivers that no Countrey in the World seems comparable to it in this respect But since the several Occurrences of Orellana's Expedition will give much light to the more particular knowledge of these Parts we thought good to insert this following Relation thereof SECT II. A Relation of the Journey of Francisco Orellana ARX NASSOVII The Expedition of Orellana Orellana informing the Spanish Court of his Adventures desir'd the chief Command of the Province of the Amazones which after earnest Sollicitations he obtain'd and accordingly setting Sail from St. Lucar he went to the Island Teneriff with three Ships and five hundred Men where he stay'd three Moneths and two on Cape de Verd. On Teneriff several of his Men ran from him and on Cape de Verd he bury'd ninety eight and left fifty sick behind him yet he Steer'd to Brasile where meeting with contrary Winds he had undoubtedly perish'd for lack of Water if the great Showers of Rain had not supply'd his Wants one of his Ships carrying seventy Men and eleven Horses was never heard of with the other two he Sail'd by Baxos de San Roque and from thence a hundred Leagues Northwardly beyond Maragnan where a great way off at Sea they found fresh Water in which Orellano Steering got between the Isles into the River De las Amazones where he Barter'd for Provisions Sail'd two Leagues up the River and came to an Anchor before a few Huts but slenderly stor'd with Provisions where he spent three Moneths in breaking up one of his Ships and building a Ketch In the mean time fifty seven of his Seamen dy'd Sailing twenty Leagues farther he lost his best Ship whereupon he gave order to build a Barque of the Wreck Thus he spent thirty days in vain to find the fore mention'd Arm of the River Amazones the Barque being finish'd in ten Weeks and going beyond the Isles Maribique and Contan found the three great Rivers to disembogue into the River Amazones which there was twelve Leagues broad but wanting Provisions and the Men being too weak to go farther they came back to the fruitful Island Comao where a hundred Spaniards setled themselves the rest going down with the Barque to find out Orellana who as his Wife inform'd them dy'd with Grief He dies with Grief The English and Netherlanders who Sail'd hither after the Spaniards left off ascribe a Breadth of fifty or sixty Leagues to the Mouth of the Amazone River which discharges its Water with such force into the Northern Ocean that it keeps its colour and taste above thirty Leagues according to the ocular testimony of Captain Harcourt The Western Point by the Netherlanders call'd The North Cape runs with a long Slip of low Land into the Sea into which more North-Westerly fall the Streams Taponnowyny Arowary Arykary Cassepouri and Wiapoca some of them wash great Wildernesses full of Trees others glide between pleasant Meadows Eighty Leagues up the Amazone River the Vlussingers have built a Fort call'd Nassaw on the narrow Island Cogemines which is twenty Leagues long and separated from the Shore by a Creek and seven Leagues farther on another Isle the Fort Orange from which two Forts they Trade with the Natives Arowaccas and Apehous bartering European Trifles for Tobacco Cotton Sugar Gums and several Tinctures Sir Walter Raleigh sends Fisher to discover Cooshebery Province Sir Walter Raleigh Anno 1595. sending Captain Fisher from Wiapoco to Leonard Ragapo some years before Baptiz'd in England and then Governor of the Province Cooshebery lying between the Amazone River and Wapoco he receiv'd Fisher very civilly and conducted him fifty Leagues up into the Countrey to the Mountain Cowob on whose top is a deep Pool full of well tasted Fish and surrounded with the glittering Stones Topaz which Raleigh took the more notice of because the same Ground in the East-Indies where these Stones are found incloses also Diamonds Moreover the Province Cooshebery rises with pleasant Hills but consists most in delightful Fields and Woods The River Arocawo falling into the Inlet Wiapoco disembogues also with the same between the Capes Orange and Comariboo into the Northern Ocean Most of the Rivers in Guiana lie full of Isles and cannot be Navigated far by reason of the great Water-falls The Yayos The Yayos who inhabit on the Banks of the fore-mention'd River are People of
black and blue by them The Peeaios also profess themselves to be Chirurgeons and Doctors but if they cure not their Patients they go in danger of their Lives unless they speedily get away They burn their dead Bodies together with those things the Deceased affected most in his Life-time A Prince or Governor also hath his Slaves put to to death at the time when he is burn'd that they may serve him in the other World Their Bread-Corn The Cassavi-Root press'd boyl'd with Pepper dry'd and bak'd on hot Stones serves the Natives for Bread Each Grain that is Sow'n here produces in Harvest above fifteen hundred Their Corn makes wholsom and well tasted Beer call'd Passiaw and of their stamp'd Cassavi they make the Liquor Parranow In hollow Trees and Caves under Ground they find abundance of Honey and their Vines afford them excellent Grapes twice a year No Plant is ever seen here without either Leaf Blossom or Fruit except the European Apple-Tree which never changes its nature but blossoms and bears Fruit at the same time of the year as in Europe The wild Hogs Pokkiero whose Navels grow on their Backs and the Pangio not unlike our Swine afford the Inhabitants excellent Food Here are also Water-hogs of a very delicious taste but because they are very apprehensive and dive at the least noise they are seldom taken The Woods are full of Baboons and Apes as also the sloththful Beast Ai. The Hares here being of a brown Colour with white Specks and the red Rabbets are accounted great Delicacies There is no Countrey in America which breeds greater Armadillo's than Guiana some of them weighing eighty Pound Here are also Bears which live on nothing but Pismires they have long hairy Tails with which they cover their Bodies in rainy Weather they put their Tongues a Foot deep into the Pismires Nests and so pulls them out The Tygers here are either black spotted or red but the black exceed the other in cruelty yet are seldom seen near inhabited places the spotted and red devour abundance of Cattel but will seldom set upon a Man especially in the day-time The Woods are also full of Land-Turtles which the Inhabitants take and keep till they have occasion to make use of their Flesh The Eagles that are here with their Claws Engage with those that go about to take them The Catamountains make such an exceeding noise at a certain hour both in the Night and in the Day that it is heard two Leagues off The Marmozets a little Beast biting the Catamountains and Apes in the Ears forces them to leap from one Tree to another The black Beast Quotto hath a Face like an old Woman and hanging by the Tail swings from one Tree to another The Cuscary is a brown four-footed Creature about the bigness of a little Dog but hath the shape of a Lyon Moreover Birds Guiana produces Teal Geese Crains Phesants Partridges Pigeons Marlins Snipes Falcons Plovers and Parrots of all sorts besides many other strange Fowls amongst which the chiefest are a sort whose Feathers glitter like Scarlet and walk along in Rank and Fyle like Soldiers The Sea produces abundance of Turbots Fise Soals Thornback yellow Salmon Sturgeon black-Black-fish Gurnets Crabs and Oysters Amongst other Fishes the Cassoorwa which is somewhat bigger than an Eel is very strange having two Sights in each Eye of which it always holds one above and the other underneath the Water when it swims Here are also the great Fishes call'd Manati and Num-eel by which if any part of a Man be touch'd it immediately becomes stiff There are likewise divers Vermine Vermin which trouble the Countrey Guiana among which are Serpents of thirty Foot long that come out of the Water and feed on the Land they do little hurt as not being poysonous but there are many of a lesser size whose biting is so venomous that it causes the Flesh of a Man to rot in twenty four hours time others there are which have forked Tails and Tusks in the Roof of their Mouthes The Crocodiles here also devour abundance of Cattel Strange kind of Scorpions The Scorpions which are black and resemble a Lobster breed under dry Wood or Corn their Stings are hid in their Tails with which if any one be touch'd he is sure to endure an intolerable pain but without danger of losing his Life for the present yet nothing can perfectly cure the same except the Scorpion kill'd and laid on the Wound The Bats here are as big as Pigeons and they suck the Blood of Men and Beasts so gently that they seldom perceive the same The Pismires also do great mischief especially in sandy Grounds and likewise the Musketo's whose Stings cause painful Swellings but these most of all trouble them that inhabit near the Sea side on low Lands insomuch that the Fisher-men bury themselves in the Night in Sand leaving onely Holes to breathe at Frogs and Toads also make a terrible noise here and especially after Rain Commodities of the Countrey The Soil is inferior to none in the World for the production of Sugar but the general Commodities of the Countrey are Flax Cotton Hemp the Berry Annoto which Dyes an excellent Orange colour another Berry which Dyes a deep Blue a Tree whose Leaves Dye a Red and the Wood of another Tree whose Juice Dyes a Purple and Crimson Moreover Guiana produces the Gums Lemnia Barattu and Carriman which being black and prickly smells very pleasantly and cures the Head-ache Bruises Pains in the Limbs Gouts and green Wounds The same operation hath the Gum Baratta Here are also good Sena Bolus Armenius Cassia-Fistula Terra-Lemnia the Berry Kelette very effectual against the Bloody-flux the Juice of the Leaf Upee which cures the Wounds of poyson'd Arrows and a sort of somniferous Apples whereof the least bite occasions a deadly Sleep There is also a Tree generally growing about the Houses of the Natives the Boughs whereof bruis'd between two Stones and thrown into the Creeks of deep Water full of Fish cause them to swim above Water upon their Backs The Letter-Wood call'd Pira timinere turns also to a good account much more the excellent Stones Jasper and Porphyr Nor are there wanting Gold and Silver-Mines which doubtless would yield great profit were they open'd The Grain of the Countrey grows on Stalks seven Foot long on the tops whereof hang two Ears full of Kernels as big as Pease which ripens in four Moneths The Sugar-Canes being of the bigness of a Man's Arm and about six Foot long are at the years end cut off broken and press'd in a Mill after which the Juice boyl'd in Copper Kettles to a certain Substance is put into woodden Tunnels square at the top and narrow at bottom with a small Hole which is open'd as soon as the Sugar is sufficiently hardned to let out the Syrrup after which it is put into Hogsheads and so Transported The Negro's which are brought from Angola
the Prince of Latin Poets Aeneid lib. 6. had known the New-World in these Verses Aeneid lib. 6. There there 's the Prince oft promis'd us before Divine Augustus Caesar who once more Shall Golden Days bring to th' Ausonian Land Kingdoms that once old Saturn did command And shall His power to India extend Beyond the Annual Circle and beyond The Sun 's long Progress where great Atlas bears Laden with Golden Stars the glittering Sphears Hic vir hic est tibi quem promitti saepius audis Augustus Caesar divûm genus aurea condet Saecula qui rursus Latio regnata per arva Saturno quondam super Garamantas Indos Proferet imperium Jacet extra sidera tellus Extra anni Solisque vias ubi coelifer Atlas Axem humero torquet stellis ardentibus aptum America was not known to the Ancients But what of all this Who finds in any of these Writings any Marks of America or the least Description thereof Though we cannot deny that the Antient Sages and Wise Philosophers of former times might easily make out and no question did that the Earth and Sea made the perfect Figure of a Globe first from the round Shadow of the Earth that Ecclipses the Moon the different Risings and Settings of the Celestial Luminaries and the still Variation of the Pole so that the Earth and Sea making one Ball they might easily conjecture that the South-side of the Equinoctial might be Inhabited as well as the North But all this was more grounded upon Natural Reason and Right Judgement than any Experience of theirs or the least certain knowledge thereof which since these later times had the first happiness to obtain so laying these Conjectures aside there have been none more grosly erroneous and so utterly mistaken in this Point than some of the Ancients and especially the Fathers of the Church Lactantius Firmianus Lactant. l. 3. c. 24. and St. Austin who strangely jear'd at as ridiculous and not thinking fit for a Serious Answer the Foolish Opinion of Antipodes or another Habitable World beyond the Equator At which Lactantius Drolling says What Forsooth here is a fine Opinion broach'd indeed an Antipodes heigh-day People whose Feet tread with ours and walk Foot to Foot with us their Heads downwards and yet drop not into the Sky There yes very likely the Trees loaden with Fruit grow downwards and it Rains Hails and Snows upwards the Roofs and Spires of Cities tops of Mountains point at the Sky beneath them and the Rivers revers'd topsi-turvy ready to flow into the Air out of their Channels Lactant. error concerning our Antipodes But these seeming witty Observations of Lactantius though they may serve for a Jest yet are not grounded on any serious Reasons for the Earth and Sea being Globular making one Universal Ball all Materials whatsoever that belong to this great Body sink by a natural Propensity towards its Center so that where-ever we Travel our Feet are downwards and our Heads upwards the Sky above and the Earth beneath neither need they fear that any where the Earth should Moulder and drop into the Clouds As also St. Austin de Civit Del l. 16. c. 9. But St. Austin Reasons better admitting that the Earth and Sea make a Universal Globe yet it no way follows that inhabited Countreys should lye opposite to our Northern nay altogether impossible seeing that side which is our Antipodes is all nothing but Sea and should we allow that there were Land and Water mixt as ours is who could prove that they were Peopled or how could any get thither over such Vast and Immense Seas or possibly pass the extream heat of the Torrid Zone not to be endur'd by any living Creature And what then becomes of Sacred Scripture which says positively That all Men were deriv'd from Adam and after the Floud from Noah and his three Sons Therefore the Nations of the Antipodes must be of another Abstract there being no possibility as they suppos'd of passing from this World to that But since the Discovery of the East and West-Indies Experience the best Mistress hath taught that in the South are mighty Lands and vast Territories and that as far as they have been Penetrated are found to be full of People extending their Dominions from East to West And though St. Austin deny'd this now well-known Truth yet long before his time Cicero Pliny and others amongst the Greeks and Romans divided the Earth under five Zones which Virgil describes thus Five Zones the heav'ns infold hot Sun-beams beat Always on one and burns with raging heat The two Extreams to this on each hand lies Muffled with Storms fetter'd with cruel Ice 'Twixt Cold and Heat two more there are th'aboads Assign'd poor Mortals by th' Immortal Gods Quinque tenent caelum zonae quarum una corusco Semper Sole rubens torrida semper ab igni Quam circum extremae dextra laevaque trahuntur Caerulea glacie concretae atque imbribus atris Has inter mediamque duae mortalibus aegris Munere concessae divum via secta per ambas Obliquus qua se signorum verteret ordo Marcob in Somnio Scipionis l. 2. c. 5. Vide Carpent Geograph With Virgil Pliny and the Prince of Latin Orators agree who saith You see that those that inhabit the Earth dwell in Countreys so separated one from another that it is impossible they should have any Commerce some of them are our Antipodes walking with their Heads downwards some their Feet against our sides others as we with their Heads upright You see how the same Earth seems to be Swath'd about with Rolls of which two separated by the other three are at utmost distance one from the other lying equi-distant under the Vertick Points of Heaven always cover'd with Snow and Ice but the middlemost and greatest is scorch'd by the violent heats of the Sun Two Tracts are Habitable one to the South our Antipodes the other North which we Inhabit And Pliny also affirms Pliny lib. 2. though against the Vulgar Opinion this truth That the Earth is round about inhabited and that people walk Foot to Foot in most parts thereof though every one be ready to ask why our Antipodes drop not into the Sky which question our Antipodes may also ask concerning us But although the Ancients upon these and the like Demonstrations well understood that there was a Habitable World towards the South under our Horizon yet they could not make out or believe that there was any possibility to pass thither And according as St. Austin conceiv'd That the Earth produc'd nothing under either Pole by reason of excessive cold and that the Equinoxs or Middle-Zone was not to be penetrated because of the insufferable heat Macrob. in Somno Scip. lib. 2. And Macrobius saith That the Equinoctial Circle the Artick and Antartick Lines bind the two Habitable Zones and make Temperate by the excessive Neighboring Heats and Colds and
these Countreys onely give Animation and comfortable Enjoyment to all Living Creatures Moreover St. Austin in some places seems to clear his own Doubts saying That People if they could find a means to Sail those Vast and Undiscover'd Seas might make Land raising new Stars under another Sky How beasts came on remote Islands A Learned Father searching after the Original of all sorts of Beasts which multiply by Generation concludes That they must derive themselves from those that were sav'd with Noah in the Ark. But how came they to the Isles To those adjacent and near the Main Land they might easily Swim to the remoter they were Transported And chiefly the wild But this Doubt is not altogether clear'd for the Domestick and other Creatures fit for Humane use and Sustenance were thus brought thither Yet how comes it to pass that Voracious and Wild Creatures are also found there such as Wolves Tigers Lions and other Beasts of Prey This puzzle putting St. Austin to a stand he had no other means to get off but by saying that by God's Commands or Permission the Angels convey'd them thither If so why might not God please to Plant Men there in like manner and the rather the Earth being created for Humane use Austin is contradicted But what needed this when Men can in Ships Transport themselves either of their own accord for curious Inquest to find new Countreys or else enforc'd by stress of Weather to far remoter and altogether unknown Lands How men came to new Countreys Besides though the Earth is here and there divided by large Bays and vast Seas yet nevertheless in other places it is all continu'd Land or at least parted by some narrow In-let or Sea so that there was no difficulty for a crouded Plantation to go over and so ease themselves in another Countrey till then not Inhabited therefore none need to question but that from Adam or nearer from Noah's three Sons Sem Ham and Japhet those as well as we were extracted that Inhabit this our other World Reasons why America was so long unknown But one question is to be observ'd How first after the expiration of so many Ages in these our later times a New-World was discover'd altogether unknown to the Antients when they in the greatness of their Parts and Undertaking Prowess and Prudence were no ways inferior to the Modern and every way as fit for great Designs and grand Exploits Who first sail'd on the Ocean We need not scruple or make the least doubt but the Sea hath been Navigated of old but the first attempters set forth unexperienc'd Several opinions of the Antients concerning it in as pittiful and ill-contriv'd Vessels The Heathens ascribe the Art of Navigation first to the Cretans who under the Conduct of Neptune set forth a Navy to explore Foraign Countries But Pliny long before gives the Invention of this Art to Erythra King of Egypt who upon Pieces of Timber conjoyn'd and brac'd together crept along the Shores and ventur'd to Discover the Isles in the Red-Sea But others give that honor to the Trojans and Micians when with a Fleet by Sea they Invaded Thrace Others Brittains amongst the first Inventors of Navigation to the Brittains who made little Vessels of Leather and were the first that by this Invention found how to Float upon the Waters Some plead that the Samothracians were first Others that Danaeus before all found a way by Sea from Egypt to Greece But without all Contradiction Noah's Ark was the Pattern or Sample that succeeding Ages imitating built their Ships by and the more probable because his Offspring multiplying so fast that they were enforc'd to inlarge their Colonies by passing Seas and other broad Rivers to settle their Super-numeraries there The first Inventers of several things belonging to Shipping So Jason Invented a Ship which he call'd Argos which Sesostris King of Egypt took as his Pattern Next the Biremis a Galley with double Banks of Oar was made by the Erythreans with treble Banks by the Corinthian Amocles the addition of the Quadruple the Carthaginians boast of the Quinqueremis Nesichthon Alexander the Great brought them to twelve Banks Ptolomy Soter to fifteen Demetrius Antigonus Son doubled them to thirty Ptolomy Philadelphus to forty and last of all Philopater rais'd them to fifty Banks of Oars Hippus a Tirian was the first that set Ships upon the Stocks the Rhodians a Ketch and the Batavians a Boat the Copes made the first Oar Dedalus the Mast and Boltsprit Piscus the Beak the Tyrrheans the Anchor Tiphys the Rudder taking example from the motion of a Kites Stern Icarus found Sails fancy'd by the Poets for Wings though some ascribe that honor to his Father Dedalus Why in former Ages no remote Countreys were discover'd Minos was the first that Ingag'd in a Sea-Fight whereby we may easily conjecture that of old none adventur'd far into the Offin or to remote Countreys not daring to trust their so sleight contriv'd Vessels But these later times have strangely and suddenly improv'd this growing Art of Navigation yet pitch'd not to that height at first as boldly to adventure and loose sight of Land The manner of the Antients Sailing The Tyrians first understood how to Steer their Course by the North-Star and when dark and foul Weather had Clouded the Sky that they could neither see Heaven or Earth but onely Sea they directed their Course by the Wind and if they doubted the change thereof they let some Birds flie whom they follow'd supposing that they flood directly to the nearest Land But these are but poor helps and blind Guides to shew you Land from the middle of the boundless Ocean It is certain Of the Romans that the Romans in the time of Julius Caesar and Augustus stretch'd the Bounds of that Empire Eastward to Euphrates Why America was so lately known the Rhyne and the Danube and Westward to the Ocean and Mount Atlas Sailing up and down the Mediterranean with great Fleets which stoutly endur'd the violence both of Waves and Weather but all this made them not so hardy as once to think or look after new Worlds But after the Roman power decreas'd by several Eruptions of the Goths Vandals Huns Normans Lumbards and other Northern Countreys which swarm'd with People that overflow'd all places like a Deluge so that Europe was every where puzzel'd and Imbroyl'd their whole business consisting in conjoyning Forces to withstand such bold Invaders and so vexatious an Enemy And farther East Asia was at the same time little better still trembling at the daily Alarms and Incursions of the Scythians Persians and Saracens and afterwards the Turks growing upon them more than any of the former expected no other than a sad Gatastrophe so that the known World had too much work cut out for them by these Distractions and Alterations of Government then to go in Quest of uncertainties to find they
if they have they are commonly Fabulous few Nations boasting truly their own Original which Argument not onely contradicts as we suppose Mr. Purchas but all others ascribing the Plantation of America to our later times SECT I. After what manner the Inhabitants of America came thither ¶ IN the next place let us enquire how the Americans were transmitted thither whether by Sea or Land Both which are feasible two several ways if they made an Expedition thither as Discoverers or were driven on those Coasts by stress of Weather But some will say How liv'd the little Boats and how indur'd they in such a continual Tempest and were not either swallow'd up amidst the Waves or starv'd for want of Provision which their hollow Troughs could not contain The first doubt is the least for there are Examples enough by which appear that oftentimes great Ships Bulging are over-set or sunk in the Sea by foul Weather when the Mariners escape in their Cock-Boat and if they were but thinly Victual'd for so long a Voyage questionless that little which they had they spun out and made it last while the impetuous Storm shortned the passage which fair Weather would have made much longer Pliny tells us of Annius Plocquius Plin l. 5. c. 22. General of the Red-Sea That one of his Slaves being Enfranchiz'd Strange voyage of a Roman Slave Sailing down towards the Arabian Gulf was carry'd by a violent Tempest from the North beyond Caramania and on the fifteenth day came to an Anchor in Hippuros a Haven of Taprobane which Ortelius judges to be Sumatra but Mercator and Cluverius on better grounds Zeylon which is no less than three thousand English Miles In like manner Joseph de Acosta tells us That in fifteen days time he got with a Northerly Wind from the Canaries to America and his Voyage had been shorter durst he have born more Sails which may partly clear the former doubts The Peruvians opinion concerning antient Sea-Vogayes Moreover the Peruvians themselves give some small Testimony in their antient Records of a few that Landed of old upon their Coasts which were as they say mighty and cruel Giants committing much Bloodshed Slaughtering the Natives every where and having subdu'd the whole Countrey built stately Edifices of which remain yet the Ruines of some Foundations very Artificial and Costly They also shew near Manta and Puerto Viejo many huge Bones as they believe of Giants three times longer and thicker than an ordinary Mans. They also tell us that many Ages since one Ica and Arica Sail'd Westward thither upon Sea Wolves Skins blown up like Bladders But however Acosta Histor Nat. l. 1 c. 12. without contradiction the Americans never knew much less built any such Vessels with which they durst venture to the Offin out of sight of Land their Balsas Periagos and Canoos will not all amount to the Bulk of one of our small Barques wherefore the Inhabitants of Tumbez when they descry'd the Spanish Fleet sent to discover Peru were amaz'd at the high Masts spreading Sails and bigness of the Ships judging them first to be Rocks cast up out of the Sea but observing them to approach their Coast and that they were full of Bearded-Men Ridicolous opinion of the Americans thought the Gods were walking in them by our Modern Poet Mr Dryden in his Indian Emperor thus Elegantly describ'd Guyomar to Montezuma I went in order Sir to your Command To view the utmost Limits of the Land To see that Shore where no more World is found But Foamy Billows breaking on the ground Where for a while my Eyes no Object met But distant Skies that in the Ocean set And low-hung Clouds that dipt themselves in Rain To shake their Fleeces on the Earth again At last as far as I could cast my Eyes Upon the Sea somewhat methought did rise Like Bluish Mists which still appearing more Took dreadful Shapes and mov'd towards the Shore Mont. What Forms did these new Wonders represent Guy More strange than what your Wonder can invent The Object I could first distinctly view Was tall straight Trees which on the Waters flew Wing on their sides in stead of Leaves did grow Which gather'd all the Breath the Winds could blow And at their Roots grew floatingg Palaces Whose out-blow'n Bellies cut the yielding Seas Mont. What Divine Monsters O ye Gods were these That float in Air and fly upon the Seas Came they alive or dead upon the Shore Guy Alas they liv'd too sure I heard them roar All turn'd their sides and to each other spoke I saw their Words break out in Fire and Smoke Sure 't is their Voice that Thunders from on high Or these the younger Brothers of the Skie Deaf with the noise I took my hasty Flight No Mortal Courage can support the Fright But the resolving these Doubts starts a harder Question viz. Grant that the Americans were by Tempest driven thither How then came the Beasts thither It is certain that those which are beneficial for humane use as Dogs for to Hunt great Cattel Sheep for Food and other Necessaries might easily be carry'd thither for so the Spaniards brought Cows Horses Swine and other Cattel Spaniards carry Oxen and Sheep to the American Isles and also Poultery from Spain to the new-discover'd Isles Cuba Hispaniola Jamaica Margaretta and La Dominica when at their arrival formerly no four-footed Beasts were found there whose fertile Soyl hath so multiply'd their increase that the Doggs running Wilde and breeding as fast do great hurt to the Grazing Herds which they onely shoot for their Skins leaving their Flesh the best of Meats onely to Manure the Ground on which they lie The Transporting of tame and profitable Cattel might easily be allow'd of but who would load their Ships with Lions Tygers Bears Wolves Foxes and other Serpents and Voracious Beasts it is certain that some may be tam'd before they were Ship'd How wild Beasts came in America and the Isles In vita Heliogabali Lampridius relates That Heliogabalus the Roman Emperor took great pleasure in Domestick Lions and Leopards to frighten his Guests withal for with the third Course they were all brought in and sate betwixt the Invited a Man and a Beast Lib. 2. cap. 17. The great Cham as Paulus Venetus an Eye-witness attests Rides on Hunting Strange Hunting attended in couples with tame Leopards The King of Camboja in like manner is serv'd with Panthers Scaliger adds also That they went not unprovided of a Lamb or Goat to give the Panther lest falling into his natural ferocity provok'd by hunger he should make the Huntsmen his Quarry if he had no other Prey But notwithstanding some wilde Beasts seem to forget their Voracious Nature yet there ought great care to be taken in the Transporting of them because they oftentimes grow wild again which France can witness Strange accident of two Leopards where two Leopards a Male and a Female
Ships Ereighted only with Men Women and Children and all other Materials fit for a new Plantation which not long after Landed in Acuzamil a Countrey in the North of America as Francis Lopez de Gomara believes because there he onely found some remaining Tracks of Christianity a People that worshipp'd the Cross but knew no reason why or wherefore they ador'd that sign of our Redemption Now some will say that this Worship of the Cross is no argument to prove that the Brittish Christians first Planted in the North of America but what will not time and change of place do where Transplanted People keep no Records so they forget not onely Religion Laws and Customs but who they were and from whence they came Oblivion first mutilating and at last swallowing up all of which take this one late president Strange occasion of De la Roche Anno 1598. The Duke De La Roche obtain'd leave of the French King to transport a Colony of Volunteers to New France in his way he Landed fifty Men on the Island De Sable to rest his Passengers and that he might the better and with more ease explore the Countrey and when resolv'd where to settle then to fetch them off who accordingly as design'd soon after returning thither was met with so violent a Storm that not being able to Weather the Isle of Sable where he left his People he lost his whole Expedition and was driven back to a French Harbor where no sooner arriv'd he was so highly charg'd that he was cast into Prison when those he had left neglected upon the Isle were not once so much as thought of in this interim they never expecting to hear more of their Captain liv'd in a wild and miserable condition feeding upon Fish and sometimes wild Swine without Bread Drink or Salt When the Baron of Leri went with Letters Patents to be Governor of Nova Francia and by stress of Weather in his Voyage was forc'd to put in at Sable where he found the remainder of La Roches People who being from fifty reduced to twelve having clad themselves in Sea-Wolves Skins they had not onely lost their former French Civilities but forgot in a manner their Religion much of their Language and what they were being as if Metamorphos'd into bestial Salvages If some did not come accidentally to America And although we have already controverted the improbability of Peopling America either by accident of Storm or set purpose yet it may be possible that so it might happen for as the several vertues of Plants Herbs Precious-Stones and Minerals though strangely occult and so altogether unknown that what could never be found by Art meer chance hath brought to light and their wondrous qualities some casual accident hath made apparent so strange and remote Countreys never to be found in our Charts or Maps nor Registred in any Story Seamen bound to their intended Harbors have stumbled on by chance either Hood-wink'd by blind Mists or forc'd upon by pertinatious Weather of which America may be her own witness for how was Columbus stirr'd up but by incitations of the Journals of a Sea-Captain dying in his House driven on the American Islands by foul Weather America was Peopled presently after the Flood Although from the foremention'd places and after the same manner America might be furnish'd with Inhabitants so it also gives us a more certain assurance that the Planting of America was not onely soon after the Flood but that they came also thither by Land And how strangely would it be against the Majesty and Wisdom of Divine Providence to leave half the Universal Globe a World fully supply'd with all sorts of Creatures fit for Food and Service Plants Herbs and the richest Minerals like a House new built and well fumish'd Giants in America without a Master or any Inhabitant viz. Man who being of Celestial Extract should be able to acknowledge and glorifie the Creator by admiring the Creature in his great Works Besides the confus'd Notions and Fables of Giants Perpetrators of all manner of Crimes and wallowing in all kind of sensual Debaucheries are always remembred among the Antiquities of the Americans and that they had some slender hints of antient Truth not onely of the Giants before the Flood but of those that soon after the rank fatness of the Earth produc'd and fed to that pitch of Arrogance that the covenanting Brethren defi'd God Conjurati fratres Virg. Georg. The Flood acknowledg'd there fortifying themselves to fight him by the advantage of that their long congested Pile Babel which in a short time was transverted by the Heathen Poets into their Gigantomachia heaping Hills on Hills like the American Traditions From which we may conjecture that they came thither in the time of Noah for why may not any believe when Noah liv'd three hundred years after he Landed on Mount Ararat that he took care to People the World And who will make him ignorant of this New World who living five hundred years before might not improbably by his own industry and the help of the former long-liv'd Patriarchs been well able to make a general Survey of the Old and he could better furnish America it being nearer Mount Ararat than supply Italy Spain Germany or any Northern Territories in Europe so that America might be known to the first people after the Flood nay inhabited by them though since that the knowledge was lost Pliny complaining of the Supine negligence and stupendious sloth which reign'd then and long before as he had observ'd among all people and in every place who were so far from making inquiry after discoveries of Lands for new Plantations that they lost the old when they had begun to settle though under the greatest serenity of Peace The Sea by that means lying open beyond what any juncture of former times could be proud of Canary Islands by whom discover'd Yet the Fortunate or Canary Islands were in the first ages after Noah frequented with Vessels which in later times were altogether neglected till Guillaum Betancourt a Gentleman of Picardye brought them again to be taken notice of by a fresh Trade Kesperian Gardens what they fignifie The Fable of the Hesperian Gardens and the Dragon that kept the Golden Fruit with constant Vigils is nothing but an allusion to the Sea which with Serpentine Embraces not onely secur'd these scatter'd Isles but swallow'd up several Adventurers that too hardy made their unhappy approaches for discovery Another Allegation for the Planting of America by Land both whose sides are wash'd on the East and West by the South and Atlantick Ocean may be thus probably made out The Atlantick rowls over with almost Fathomless Waters three thousand Leagues of Ground the south-South-Sea not much less which well may be being indeed but one continu'd Sea encompassing till meeting there the Universal Ball whence springs a more likelyhood that America might be Planted from the Southern parts from
Bowe shooting Arrows as thick as Hail at the approach of Men after their impregnating by the Cannibals From hence the Fleet pass'd by several other fruitful Islands Columbus giving them the Names of Montseratto Rodondo St. Martin Santa Cruz formerly by the Inhabitants call'd Ayaya On this last Island he landed thirty Men who took four Women which held out their Hands before them as if Petitioners that begg'd Quarter or praying and then conceal'd themselves in Ambuscade the better to surprize more when by chance they spied an Indian Canoo at Sea with eight Men Remarkable Passage of Columbus and as many Women whereupon those in Ambuscade made a Signal to the next Ship which immediately sent off some Boats well Mann'd but before they drew near them or expected an On-set one of the Spaniards was kill'd and another wounded with their Arrows amongst whom a Woman to whom all the rest shew'd greatest Respect and Reverence aim'd very exactly Their barbed Shafts were poyson'd whereupon the Spaniards enrag'd stemm'd the Canoo and oversetting row'd quite over which little or nothing avail'd for they all swam and though separated shot their Arrows at them as if the Boat had been a But. At last the Indians got upon a blind Rock cover'd with Shole Water which gave them fresh Courage but the Spaniards having more aid sent them from the Fleet took them all Prisoners but the Queens Son being wounded in the Scuffle and dying soon after was thrown overboard Salvageness of the Indians The Prisoners being brought before Columbus foam'd at the Mouth for raging madness and being afterwards carried to Castile so retain'd their fierce and salvage Nature that they scar'd away and frighted the safe Beholders Mean while the Spanish Fleet proceeded on their Voyage between several Islands to Hispaniola of which some appear desolate and barren others green and Woody the small Vessels sailing close under the Shore and the great ones standing further off at Sea which was very turbulent and beat exceedingly against the Shole Rocks The Island Burichema Columbus call'd St. Johns to which belong'd some of the Women sent forth in Guadalupe who inform'd them That Burichema was well inhabited by a kind and hospitable People who when the Cannibals landed there fought them and if Conquerors were so much exasperated with their inhumane Barbarisms that they seiz'd on them like Mastiffs open-mouth'd and tore them piece-meal with their Teeth yet themselves abhorring the Custom of eating Mens Flesh Here the Spaniards found onely a large House surrounded with twelve lesser ones all deserted for the Inhabitants with their King Chiasichio were then retir'd into the cool and more sheltring Woods from the mid-day Heat All this the Indians told him which he brought back with him from Spain Coming to an Anchor at Hispaniola he sent one of the Indians ashore Columbus come to Hispaniola that he might tell what brave things he had seen in the Spanish Court but the remaining three took the advantage of the following Night and leaping over-board swam to Shore But this Accident he not much regarded trusting to have a sufficient Account from his eight and thirty Spaniards which he had left in the Fort upon the Island and the more because King Guaccanarillo's brother in sign of Friendship had presented him with two Golden Images But all these Conjectures fail'd him so that hearing nothing he landed Finds the Spaniards slain where he found the Spanish Garrison utterly destroy'd and the Royal Fort burnt down to the Ground and lying in a heap of Ashes Then they fired several Guns to give notice that if any of them had conceal'd themselves and lay sculking in the Woods or otherwise they should discover themselves and come to the succour of their Friends But all in vain for none came for as they were afterwards inform'd the Inhabitants had slain them because of their insupportable behavior insolently committing Robberies Rapes and Murders Hereupon he sent Messengers to the King Guaccanarillo to inquire why they had fired his Fort and what they had done with his Men who brought him this Return That over that mighty Island were many Princes of which two being provok'd by the reports of the Strangers that were entertain'd in the Island came marching upon them each with their Armies but that he endeavor'd what he could and came with a Power to assist the Strangers yet all he got for his Kindness was a Wound in his Leg which had been so sore and troublesom that forc'd him to keep his Bed and no less than seven Concubines to attend him and dress the Wound But he told his Tale so ill and feign'd his Lameness worse that Sibilius one of the Messengers sent by Columbus lifting up the Coverlet saw that he ail'd nothing which soon confirm'd his doubt that he was confederated with the rest and alike guilty of the Slaughter At last Guaccanarillo being desir'd came in Person to Columbus His Discourse with the King Guaccanarillo in whose presence he held a long Discourse with an Indian Woman which they had brought from the Island of Santa Cruz there Christned by the Name of Catharine At length Guaccanarillo was dismiss'd and the Night following this Catharine with seven more of the Indian Women leap'd over-board and swom almost a League to Shore so going thence directly to their King Guaccanarillo This Accident gave more suspicion to Columbus who thereupon sent three hundred Men commanded by Melchior Hoieda and Gorvalano to march through the Island three several ways and with special Commission to secure as their Prisoner Guaccanarillo Melchior discover'd a wide River full of Reaches and winding Bays gliding between high Hills cover'd with Woods resounding with the ecchoing noises of harmonious Birds and disemboguing his Waters enlarg'd by two other Rivers into the Sea so making a convenient Harbor for Ships Here a hundred of the Islanders well Arm'd after their manner met them crying aloud We are no Cannibals but Taynos that is a People more civil than they are cruel The Spaniards making Signs of Peace the Taynos approach'd and joyn'd their Forces in a friendly manner Near the place of this Meeting appear'd a House built in an Oval fashion being thirty two Paces in the Circumference the Roof curiously pleited of divers colour'd Rushes round about which stood thirty lesser Dwellings Mean while in his March Hoieda discover'd a River that descended from a high Mountain where the Inhabitants gather'd much old after this manner Strange gathering of Gold They dig a Hole about two Foot deep then taking up their left Hand full of Sand with their right Hand they cull out the precious Ingots which little accounting of as they gather'd they dealt away to the Spaniards Most of the Pieces were as big as Pease yet some so large that they weigh'd nine Ounces Dreas 1. De Orbe Novo Peter Martyr Councellor to the Emperor Charles tells us That he hath seen of them in the Spanish
vain to come aboard for they made the greater hast ashore still looking about continually with great admiration on the Ships whereupon he commanded them to beat their Drums and sound their Trumpets that they might by that means entice them aboard but they rather taking it as a sign of War made themselves ready for resistance mean while the Spaniards overtook the Indian Boat into which they threw a Hat and other trifles the Islanders amaz'd thereat made signs to them to row ashore but soon after they fled Columbus proceeding on his Journey came to Paria where he found a Fishers Pink loaden with Oysters which opening and taking out the Meat were found full of Pearls Abundance of Pearl which because of their abundance were not regarded there for a broken Dish and a rusty Knife the Spaniards had four long Strings of Pearl From thence anchoring in the River of Cumana several naked Men came aboard adorn'd with Golden Armlets and Strings of Pearl These inform'd him that they gather'd their Gold from the Mountains and Rivers and caught their Pearl-oysters in the adjacent Seas Some of the Spaniards were nobly entertain'd by the King and his Son who leading them into their Palace placed them on Benches of Ebony-wood curiously wrought and on a sudden several Servants came in with variety of Dainties and well-tasted Wine But because Provisions grew scarce amongst the Sea-men and their Meat tainted Columbus thought it convenient to leave the Pearl-trade till some better opportunity Then setting forward the farther he went the shallower he found the Sea insomuch that his Ship scarce had Water enough to swim This inconvenience was followed by a second for the Sea being full of Weeds and Grass scarce suffer'd any Passage A River thirty Yards deep and twenty Leagues broad came rushing out betwixt two Shores into this Sea with such force that the Waves went high like Mountains Columbus is in great danger which made Columbus judge himself in the greatest danger imaginable and withall Tack about so that he came on the eight and twentieth of August Anno 1498. to an Anchor before Hispaniola where all things were still in a sad confusion as we before related Roldanus Ximenes opposes Columbus Roldanus Ximenes refus'd to follow Christopher Columbus's order and writ Letters to the King of Spain in which he exceedingly aspersed both the Admiral Columbus and his Brother who were not backward in giving an account quite contrary by their Letters of the horrid Villanies perpetrated by this Ximenes and desir'd aid that so great an Offender might receive condign punishment Mean while the Ciquano's came marching down with six thousand Men which Bartholomew went to meet with eighty Foot and some few Horse Strange Indians The Indians which he was to encounter with rather seeming like Furies than Men for all of them were daub'd over with black smuts on their bare Skins from Head to Foot and their hard Hair pleited in terrible not in Lovelocks hung playing or dangling over their Shoulders When the Spaniards in their March drawing up to a River where it was best fordable had no sooner left the Bank and taken the Water endeavoring to wade over but the Salvages rush'd forth out of the Woods and let flye a showre of Arrows that had they not been provided with Shields and Targets to keep off such a deadly Storm so thick they flew and so well aim'd most of them had perish'd there but having recover'd the opposite Bank the Enemy play'd all hid and in a thought shelter'd themselves under the protection of the Woods where the Conqueror pursuing found the Service very difficult and dangerous for their Armes especially their Shields stopping and intangling them as in a Net among the shrubby and twining Branches which they passing rigled themselves and made their way like questing Spaniels following their Game and still gawling them with their Arrows whereupon they left their vain pursuit marching another way to intercept Mayobanexius who with eight thousand Ciquano's were then coming down against them which prov'd a harder task than was expected for e're he could reduce him and his stubborn Party he spent three Moneths in the Service SECT III. But the great and worthy Service of these two excellent Brothers deserving rather Statues and Trophies of everlasting Honor Monuments never to be demolish'd in their due praise who had found out after so many baffled Ages a new World richer and not much less than the old by the aspersing calumniations of one malicious Person lost his whole Interest and Credit in the Spanish Court quite out of favour with his Prince who by his insinuations had hinted so much the matter of Gain among the Courtiers that every one studied no less than to get a Commission and so going a Commander to the Indies make up his Mouth and become suddenly rich First Francisco Bombadilla prevailing was sent with full Commission to succeed Columbus in Hispaniola where no sooner Landing but he exercis'd the extremity of his Authority and seizing the Admiral and his Brother fetter'd their Hands and Feet and put them aboard on two several Ships for Spain where no sooner arriv'd but the King not altogether forgetting former Services commanded them to be unmanacled and waited on not as Prisoners with a civil Retinue to his Court where they were well entertain'd three years But they being active Persons weary of so long repose got a second Grant to make farther discoveries Hath very bad success in his fourth Expedition and set forth the ninth May Anno 1504. with four Sail well appointed from Cadiz and had a fair Passage from thence to Hispaniola where begun the Storm for Bombadilla who had by the Kings Commission so evil treated Columbus and his Brother as aforemention'd would not suffer him though reconciled to the King so much as to Land and there refresh themselves and their Men so he was forc'd to steer on to the Islands Guamixa and Veragua where a Huricane or sudden stress of Weather sunk two of his Vessels the other two standing off to Sea escap'd bilging but so shatter'd and leaky having also shipp'd abundance of Water they were resolv'd to put in at Jamaica where weary with the long Voyage and hatter'd with the Tempest many of his Sea-men spent with sickness after their Landing died To these his sufferings from Wind and Weather and his Enemies abroad a greater and intestine mischief hapned Francisco Poresio one of his chief Commanders absolutely rebell'd and deserting him with another Party of his Sea-men went into Hispaniola which the Islanders observing resolv'd to famish him keeping from him both Water and all other Provisions which had not Columbus stav'd off by a handsom Invention they had compleated their Design which was this He told them that he was the offspring of the Moon and if they refus'd to supply his want the Moon in vindication of her Son would famish them by spoiling what e're they
otherwise they believ'd their Idols would devour the Souls of the Dead and this though Christians they did not forget Nay further when he went to War he carry'd the Image of the Virgin Mary with him in the Front of his Army often saying Ave Maria and this was the end of that Voyage But afterwards Ancisus complain'd against Vascus Nunnez in the Spanish Court where he receiv'd a Sentence very prejudicial to him Colmenares and Quicedo had also Audience there whereupon matters being settled a firm Government was establish'd in Uraba SECT VIII Peter Arias his Expedition and remarkable Passages of Vascus Nunnez PEter Arias Knight accompany'd with his Wife Elizabeth Boadilla set Sail Anno 1514. but surpriz'd by a violent Storm lost two Ships and return'd to Spain yet not long after began his Voyage afresh notwithstanding he had lately had such bad success and heard of the great hardship which Nicuesa suffer'd Nicuesa suffers hunger having not onely kept himself alive a considerable time by feeding on flesh of Dogs and other such like Creatures a great Frog being sold in Veragua for a lump of Gold Nunnez immediately resolv'd to Sail thither notwithstanding it was the middle of October when the South-East Winds make such a turbulent and hollow Sea as many times wash'd away Trees and pieces of Rocks Besides the Weather was more terrible by continual Lightning and great Thunder-Claps the Nights very cold the Days exceeding hot yet all these difficulties could not prevail for Nunnez would not stay to expect fairer Weather but went on and coming thither he saw how the Indians Fish for Pearls Manner of Fishing for Pearls which was Diving for Oysters but the Weather being rough and foul they durst not venture for the best which lay far from the Shore Nunnez returns But Nunnez leaving his sick and weary'd Men with Chiapes March'd quite another way back than he came and crossing a great River was receiv'd by Prince Teaocha who furnish'd him with Gold Pearls Provisions and Guides which carry'd his Luggage and Goods Pacra a great Oppressor of all his Neighbors hearing of the approach of Nunnez fled but terrifi'd with threats return'd with three other Princes which were all so Deform'd that more horrible Monsters were never seen scarce any part about them resembling those of a Man Pacra a tyrannous King his horrible death The Guides which Teaocha had provided for the Spaniard desir'd that he might be put to Death for the Cruelties which he had long committed whose Request being granted he with the other three Princes were given as a Breakfast to the Spanish Doggs Mean while the Spaniards were in danger to have perish'd for want of Water yet at last in a Thicket of Brambles they found a small Brook but none of the Indians durst venture to go to it for fear of Tygers and other Wild Beasts relating That the Tygers took many people in the nights out of their Huts if they were not careful in making fast their Doors Strange relation of Tyger John Ledesma had himself eaten part of a Tyger which for six Moneths together had every night feasted on Mans flesh or Beasts which they caught in this manner In the Path along which he pass'd coming out of his Den to seek for Prey a deep Pit was digg'd and cover'd very sleightly on the top into which the Tyger fell yet though taken so fiercely withstood the Pikes Darts and Stones thrown at him that every one was amaz'd to see the fury of the Beast After that they sought for the Female but found onely two young ones without a Dam which taking along with them they put Iron Collars about their Necks intending to carry them to Spain but seeing no likelyhood of breeding them up they brought them back again purposing to fetch them away when grown somewhat older and accordingly coming afterwards to look for them they found the Den empty so that it was supposed they had been devour'd by their Dam. Nunnez further Journey into the Countrey very remarkable In the Province of Bononiama the Spaniards inrich'd themselves with Chains and Breast-Plates of Gold which in great plenty hung on the Walls in every House At the River Comogrus they discharg'd Teaocha's Guides and made use of Cotog and Ciuriza two Governors of a barren Tract of Land full of Hills and Mountains which they left on their right Hand and wandred three days over a Morasse in which they often sunk to their Knees In all these Travels Victual was so scarce that they were much weaken'd by their wants and though they took fresh courage when they got footing on King Buchebua's Jurisdiction yet they found nothing but empty Huts and the like in the Countrey of Chiorisus both having a little before been pillag'd by their more powerful neighboring Enemies But although they could not furnish Nunnez with Provisions they presented him with weighty Ingots of Gold but this rich Metal not able to purchase the least morsel of Bread drove them into a great strait and indeed they had without doubt been all famished had not Pocchorosa mother King fed them forty days together with stamp'd Roots Thus refresh'd and instigated by Pocchorosa they broke by night in Tubunama's Palace and took him Prisoner with eighty Concubines who fearing to be put to death gave an incredible Treasure of Gold to purchase his Ransom Nunnez thus enriched came at last to his People which he had left on the River Daria where two Ships sent from Hispaniola rode at an Anchor Peter Arias his Voyage and Fight in the Haven St. Martha Whilst things were thus carry'd in America Peter Arias Sail'd with fifteen Ships Mann'd with fifteen hundred Men to New Andalusia by the Islands Martinina Guadalupe and Galanta all in America a considerable time he Sail'd through the Sea overgrown with Weeds Afterwards anchoring in the Haven St. Martha he receiv'd a great repulse from the Natives who no ways daunted at the bigness of the Ships waded up to their Breasts in the Sea and shot many great flights of poisonous Arrows at the Spaniards of whom two being wounded immediately died Arias sending some of his Men ashore they found many Boats lying full of Nets made of tough Weeds and Ropes pleited of Rushes In the Haven St. Martha being three Leagues wide are abundance of Fish which may be seen under Water twenty Fathom deep But now the Spaniards that were ashore breaking into the Houses and taking Women and Children Prisoners the Americans prepar'd for another Fight which at the beginning was very fierce but at last they were forc'd to quit the Field Strange Houses and Houshold-stuff Their Houses and Furniture in them are worthy of observation their Cielings being cover'd with Shells strung on small Thred which make a pleasing noise when mov'd by the least breath of Wind. The Walls are hung with fine Stuffs woven full of Imagery as Cranes Lyons Tygers and
some Figures of Men the Floors are cover'd with parti-colour'd Mats made of Sea-Reeds and several tough Roots and their Carpets beset with Pearl add also a great beauty to their Rooms In the Valleys the Spaniards found several precious Jems as Saphires Jasper Emeralds and great pieces of Amber and in some Huts Baskets and Chests full of dry'd Locusts and Crabs Here also grows the Root Yuca as also on several other West-Indian Coasts of which they make their best Bread and is call'd in Hispaniola and Angola Yuca by the Brasilians Mandiba and Mandihoka by the Mexicans Quauhcamotli it grows with a thick or midling Body according to the fruitfulness or barrenness of the Soil the Leaves are like those of a Tulip and have small Flowers and Seed but no ways useful the Root not unlike Horse-Raddish hath a milky Juice which swells it exceedingly the Sprigs which in the eighth and tenth Moneth shoot out of the Root serve for new Plants and if at any time it happen that either by a moist Season or by Worms or Pismires the Plant is spoil'd then it occasions such an inconvenience amongst the Inhabitants that half of them in that year die of Famine Arias 's Exploits in New Andalusia But to return to our matter Arias coming to an Anchor in the River Daria was cheerfully receiv'd by Nunnez his first Business which he undertook was the building of three Forts to secure the Passages to the South Sea to which purpose Joannes Aiora received the Command over four hundred Workmen Moreover Arias took great dislike in the Place call'd Maria Antiqua which the Spaniards were forc'd by necessity first to Plant in it lay in a deep Valley between high Mountains so that it not onely wanted the benefit of the rising and setting of the Sun but when in or near the Meridian it shin'd down upon them and scorch'd all their Plants and the tepifi'd Morassy Grounds about the same infected the Air and the Water which they took up to wash their Houses immediately bred Frogs the River Daria overflow'd the Grounds with his muddy Water three Leagues distance from the Sea the Passage thither also was very troublesom because of the uneven Ways and besides the Tygers and Lyons devour'd many People and Cattel A strange Accident The first Night that Arias lay in Maria Antiqua the House wherein his Chirurgion Lodg'd was fir'd with Lightning who running out with his Wife being both scorched by the Flames saw a very great Crocodile which snatching up his Dog ran away with him towards the River Remarkable Trees The neighboring Territory Coiba produced Trees whose Timber us'd for Shipping never breeds Worms because of its acerbity whereas on the contrary all other Vessels in that Countrey are very subject to that inconvenience Here also grow those famous Plague-Trees whose very Leaves if but falling upon one are like Gods Arrows mortal and immediately kill unless the Place whereon they light be straightway anointed with fasting Spittle and the Coibensers say that they know another poysonous Wood which they use to destroy their Enemies withall Whilst Arias was consulting about the beforemention'd Affairs he sent several Comanders to divers Places to take a survey and give him an account of their Return of all their Discoveries Remarkable Journey of Moralis to the South Sea Amongst others Gasper Moralis was order'd to march towards the South Sea to confirm the Peace which Nunnez had begun with the Kings Chiapes and Tumaccus and chiefly to go to the Pearl-Island with sixty Men which Nunne was forc'd to leave being stress'd by tempestuous Weather Chiapes and Tumaccus were according to their promise to prepare an Army â—â—ady for his assistance against his coming which indeed they perform'd so tâ—â—t they wanted nothing but Vessels for the biggest of theirs could not carry above three or four Men yet they undertaking their Enterprise Landed seventy Men oâ— the Island upon which the Inhabitants under their Kings Conduct ran to meet the new Landed Forces and crying out aloud Guazzavara Guazzavara they ran in amongst the Musqueteers with their woodden Swords but the report of the Guns mix'd with Fire Smoak and Bullets soon amaz'd them the King flying thought by alarm to raise all the Islanders but they being inform'd that no People whatsoever could withstand the fire-spitting People made Articles of agreement with Moralis and Condition'd to deliver a hundred pound weight of the choicest Pearls to the use of the King of Castile and as a testimony of his Friendship he was Christen'd Peter Arias from the Governors Name of New Andalusia Strange Pearl How great the Treasure was which Moralis brought from the Pearl Island may appear by one of the Pearls for which Pope Leo the tenth gave forty four thousand Ducats to a Venetian Merchant Amongst the Commanders which were sent out by Arias was also Johannes Solisius who Sailing six hundred Leagues Southerly along the Coast of the Caribbies beyond Cape St. Augustine he found the Inhabitants of Pernambuck to be no less cruel than subtile for being invited ashore he with some of his Men Row'd thither Solisius his miserable end where no sooner Landing but were all kill'd and eaten in the sight of the other Sea-men aboard at which being amaz'd they weighed Anchor and Sail'd away Freighted onely with Brasile Wood to Cadiz Aso in an unhappy hour did Johannes Pontaeus put some of his Laundresses ashore on the Island Guadalupa to wash some Linnen for him for the Islanders coming on a sudden out of the Woods surpriz'd them and forthwith killing without mercy cut them in pieces and carbonadoing eat their broil'd Flesh hot from the Coals while Gonsalus Badajocius Sail'd with eighty Men Westerly and having gone sixty Leagues he went ashore and spent some days in vain to Court the Americans to a friendly correspondency which whilst he was doing he was recruited with fifty Men from Daria Commanded by Lodowick Mercado so both agreed together to travel over the Mountains to the South Sea The Governor Juana whose Jurisdictions abound in Gold flying with most part of his Treasure was never heard of onely they took some of his Slaves Strange Slaves whose Faces were strangely Carv'd with sharp Fish-bones the Wounds fill'd with red and black Powder which so discolour'd the Flesh that it could never be got out After that they travell'd through the Wilderness five days together being onely met by some Indians carrying Maiz who signifi'd to them that King Periguete liv'd along the Sea-shore and up into the Countrey the blind Totonoga of both which they got an unvaluable Treasure of Gold Great Booty Amongst other Pieces of that rich Metal was one which weighed two pound Taracura rais'd in this Expedition eighteen thousand weight of Gold and little less did they take out of the Territories belonging to the Princes Pananome Tabor Cheru and Scoria The Prisoners serv'd them in stead of Horses they not being
ground being meer Stone and their Anchors coming home Schouten in great danger the great Ship drove against a Rock and at Ebbing Water broke off the outermost Planks and Iron-Work and the Ketch also striking on a high Shelf was at low Ebb two Fathom with her Keel above the Water and had without peradventure been overset and bilg'd but a fresh North-West Wind kept her upright yet at last the Weather growing calm she lean'd but the Tide coming in very fast set her afloat so that she was miraculously sav'd then setting Sail again to King's-Island they found so many Eggs of black Mews Incredible many Eggs. that one without stiring from his place might reach above fifty Nests and in each of them at least three Eggs which they carry'd aboard by thousands Their Boat Rowing Southerly down the River found some Ostriches and Beasts not unlike Stags but with exceeding long Necks On the Hills lay Stones heap'd one upon another which removing they found Dead Bodies of eleven Foot long here Great Corps here they spent their time in cleansing their Ships and new Sheathing the Ketch but as they were Tallowing Kotch burnt the Flame accidentally got between the Crevisses which immediately taking Fire in a short time consum'd it to Ashes The great Ship had gotten a Horn in her Bow seven Foot under Water Strange Horn. this Horn being firm without any hollowness and not unlike a great Elephants Tooth struck thorow two Ashen and one Oaken Plank sticking in a Rib of the like Wood and yet above half a Foot remain'd out to be seen At length Schouten Weighing Anchor from Porto Desire Great Mews and Sailing to four and fifty Degrees Southern Latitude met whole Shoals of Whales insomuch that he was fain to Tacque to and again to shun them Sea-Pies bigger than Swans came flying in great numbers aboard suffering themselves to be taken with the hand On the North-side they spy'd a high and scraggy Coast spreading it self to the East South-East which they call'd The States Countrey that which lay to the Westward of it Mourice of Nassau the Islands in fifty seven Degrees Barnevield's-Isles and the sharp Point in which lay the Snowy Mountains Southward of the Magellan Straights end the Cape of Hoorn Schouten had now gotten the height of fifty nine Degrees when he enter'd the South-Sea through the new passage between Mauritius and the States-Countrey which was call'd from his Partner Straights Le Maire The Straights of Le Maire Isles in the South-Sea Near the two Isles Juan Fernando they found great store of Fish after that they view'd these Islands that lay scatter'd up and down the South-Sea each of them they nam'd according to their several occasions calling the first The Isle of Dogs because they have abundance of Dogs there that could not bark Another The Bottomless Island because the Sea was so deep about it that they could not come to an Anchor The Inhabitants who go naked with their Skins pounced full of strange shapes of blue Snakes Dragons and such like Creatures Salli'd out of the Woods upon the Hollanders with great Clubs to which was fasten'd the Sword or Snout of a Sword-Fish and also with Slings Somewhat further they came to Water-Land and Flyes-Island the first so nam'd because the Shore round about was planted with Trees but in the middle all lay cover'd with Salt-Water the other from the Flyes which with incredible numbers troubled the Sea-men four days together Strange entertainment at the Horn Islands Moreover the Reception or Entertainment which Schouten was welcom'd withal at the Hoorn-Islands being very remarkable we will in brief relate Anchoring in nine Fathom Water Shelly ground before a fresh Rivulet three Hollanders sent to the King were by him courteously entertain'd who with strange humility not bow'd but kissing their Feet fell flat on the ground and put the Hollanders Feet upon his Neck and after this manner of Salutation waited upon them aboard Yet although this King fawn'd so much and seem'd so humble yet he was very severe over his Subjects for finding one that had filch'd a Sword he not onely brought and restor'd it but immediately Executed the Thief before their Faces Le Maire and Arias Claeszoon were much honor'd here for the old and young King put their Crowns on their Heads curiously Wrought of fine White Feathers and the end adorn'd with small Red and Green Feathers they gave also to each of them a Pigeon White to their Wings the hinder part Black and under their Bellies Red. In the interim the King of Water-Island visited the other by whom Le Maire was treated When they met they made strange shews of Honor to each other but at last shew'd their Salvageness by eating raw Fish and rudely Dancing before the Hollanders Le Maire going into the Countrey and climbing up a high Mountain saw nothing but Morass Wilds and Vallies lying under Water The King and his Retinue here kept him company during his stay there when weary with walking they sate down together under Coco-Nut-Trees the young King tying a String about his Leg climb'd with exceeding dexterity up a high Tree bringing several Coco-Nuts down with him which he open'd very expeditiously But the two Kings meeting again the next day Complemented one another with more antick and ridiculous Postures sitting side by side under the Roof imploring their God with their Hands folded and their Heads bow'd to the ground At this interview four Holland Trumpeters and Drummers stood playing before the King to the great admiration and amazement of the Islanders which were near ten thousand gather'd together upon the News of the strangers to attend the two Kings Soon after a great company of Rusticks came running thither which had a green Herb call'd Cava Cava a strange Liquor ty'd about their middle on a sudden they began all to chaw this Cava throwing that which they had chaw'd into a large Woodden Trough then putting Water to it they Kneaded it together which done brought the Liquor on their Heads to the two Kings before whom they kneel'd when they gave them any Yet notwithstanding they receiv'd such honor from their Subjects they shew'd servile respects to the Hollanders for every King presented them with a Pig which they first laid on their Heads then kneeling put it down at Le Maires Feet and bowing their Heads to the ground rose again They wear their Hair long which Brayded hung on the left side of their Heads down to their Hips ty'd at the end with two Knots but the Nobility had two such Locks All of them went naked their Privities onely cover'd The smallest of the Men exceeded the biggest of the Hollanders in tallness Impudent Women The Women had long Breasts hanging like Satchels down to their Bellies and so unshamefac'd that they prostituted themselves to any in sight of all Men and still at low Water their business was to catch
the Stars had a sick Husband who Dreamt that he should be restor'd to his former health so soon as he could but taste of the Fruits which grew on a Tree whereby the Family of Heaven were kept alive but that the Tree must needs be cut down which Ataensic obeying gave onely two blows when the Tree to her great amazement fell out of Heaven down to the Earth there being by this means nothing more left to eat in Heaven Ataensic follow'd the fallen Tree and being big with Child bare a Daughter which growing up to years was Deliver'd of two Daughters viz. Taoviscaron and Jouskeha the eldest of which slew the youngest By these Fables we may discern their obscure knowledge of Noah's Flood Eve's Fall and Cain's Murder No less ridiculous is that which they believe concerning the Creation viz. That the Waters were inclos'd within a Frog which Jouskeha causing to be cut open all Streams and Rivers issuing out had their Original from thence This done Jouskehâ— open'd a Pit out of which came all sorts of Beasts they ascribe a Bodily shape to the Soul As also of the Creation and Souls of the Deceased as also Immortality but that they live together in a great Village towards the West from which removing sometimes they knock at the Doors of their former Friends in the Night and sow deserted Grounds That the Journey towards the Village in which the Souls reside is very strange the High-way thither beginning at a Rock nam'd Ecaregniendi where they first Paint their Faces which done they go to a Hut inhabited by an old Man nam'd Osotrach who takes the Brains out of the Souls Head after which they walk to a broad River which they cross on a narrow Plank or Bridge on which a Dog encountring forces them to leap into the Water which carries them down to the foremention'd Village They acknowledge one Oki for the Governor of the Sea and seasons of the Year Strange Rock They also Religiously Worship the Rock Tsankchi Arasta which they believe some ages ago was once a Man but afterward Transform'd into a Rock in which a Daemon resides who can make their Journies either successful or dangerous wherefore they offer him Tobacco Thunder Their opinion of Thunder is likewise very ridiculous for they say that the Devil endeavoring to vomit a horrible Serpent by straining to evacuate the same rents the Clouds and occasions Thunder Lastly Thakabech Idol They relate of a Dwarf call'd Thakabech who climb'd on the top of a Tree which by his blowing thereon grew so high that it touch'd the Clouds and Thakabech easily stept into them where he found all sorts of delight and pleasure but having a Sister on Earth descended again along the Tree and fetching his Sister conducted her above the Stars mean while Thakabech going in the Night to see if he had taken any thing in his Net which he had pitch'd found it full of Fire and observing the same very narrowly saw that he had taken the Sun but durst not approach the same by reason of its great heat but making a Mouse sent her to gnaw the Net in pieces and set the Sun at liberty Every twelfth year they keep an extraordinary great Funeral-Feast Funeral-Feast for on the Set-time they flock from all parts to the appointed place every one carrying thither the Bodies or Bones of their Deceas'd Friends wrapt up in Clothes and hang them over their Meat which they eat singing such fond and Superstitious Conceits make up the Religion of these poor deluded People SECT V. Accadia or Nova Scotia NOva Scotia or New Scotland formerly call'd Accadia is commonly accounted a part of New France viz. that part which lying on the South side of the River Canada and shooting South-Easterly into a bosom of the Sea forms it self into a Peninsula between the Gulph of St. Lawrence and the Bay Francoise nevertheless because of the different concernments of this part of the Countrey in regard the right of claim to several places in this district most especially of all Nova Francia besides hath been long in dispute between Us and the French it will be most convenient to Treat of it apart and because the Series of Affairs from its first discovery till of late years appears faithfully represented on the English part in a Remonstrance Address'd to the King and Council by Sir Lewis Kirk and his Brother John Kirk Esquire it will not be amiss onely adding some few things upon occasion to follow exactly the Narration of Affairs deliver'd in the said Remonstrance to this effect 1. THe whole Tract or Space of Land in America lying on either side of the River Canada which a long time since were known by the Names of Nova Francia and Nova Scotia were at first discover'd and found out by the English in the time of Henry the Seventh King of England which Expedition was first undertaken at the Command and Charges of that King afterwards further'd and carry'd on by the favorable Aspect of Queen Elizabeth so that in process of time for many years together the said Tract of Ground with absolute Priviledge of free Commerce fell under the Jurisdiction and Power of the Crown of England Neither was it unto any other Christian Princes or their Subjects more clearly known or discover'd untill about the year 1600. some of the French understanding the benefit arising by Traffique in the River of St. Lawrence having formerly seiz'd upon that Tract of Land situate on the North side of the said Floud or River Canada did afterwards in Anno 1604. under the Conduct of Peter de Gua Lord of Monts who in the year 1606. was follow'd by Monsieur de Pourtrincourt Possess themselves of L' Accadie lying on the South side of the said River naming the whole Nova Francia challenging to themselves for many years at least de facto the Possession thereof with sole liberty of Commerce there 2. In Anno 1621. King James of England looking upon the Possession gotten there by the French as upon an Invasion did by his Letters Patents Grant unto Sir William Alexander a Scotchman Created afterwards Earl of Sterling by King Charles the First L' Accadie by the Name of Nova Scotia who in the year 1622 and 1623. after Sir Samuel Argal had driven out Biard and Masse and demolishing their Fort carry'd them Prisoners to Virginia having obtain'd the Possession thereof they Planted a Colony therein and kept Possession for about two years after until such time as upon the Marriage of his Majesty King Charles the First with the Lady Henrietta Maria the said L' Accadie or Nova Scotia was by Order of the King of England return'd into the Possession of the French 3. Afterwards a War arising between his Majesty King Charles the First and Lewis the XIII Anno 1627 and 1628. Sir David Kirk and his Brethren and Relations of England did by vertue of his Majestie 's Commission send to Sea
in the new Plantations for a contracted Sum of Money After this they receiv'd all sorts of Arms and Ammunition with several Brass Guns of the then King Lewis the XIII and other gifts Collected and gather'd out of their several Societies for two new Accadian Apostles Gilbert du Thet a subtile man of the same Order transported their Necessaries At this time all things going favorably with the Jesuits they made themselves Masters of Port Royal and began to raise a Fort on the River Pemtagovet but there their happy Proceedings were stop'd for Captain Argal before-mention'd Sailing thither in vindication of the English was encounter'd by du Thet who firing the first Gun on Argal was by him taken off with Chain-shot and taking Biard and Masse carry'd them Prisoners to Virginia and dismantled the Fort built at Port Royal after which it was by King James given by Patent to Sir William Alexander as hath been already related together with what of most remarkable hath happen'd since SECT VI. Norumbegua NOrumbegua Whence denominated lying between Nova Scotia Northward and New England Southward is so utterly not taken notice of by many as a distinct Province that it might seem to be swallow'd up and lost in the two Countreys between which it lies or at least to be thought a part of Virginia or New England for Virginia largely taken is said to contain New England Novum Belgium and Virginia especially so call'd and that so much the rather because the Bessabees accounted by Sanson d' Abbeville an ancient People of New England are written to have liv'd near the River Penobscot which is reckon'd to be the same with Pemtegovet or as some will have it Norumbegua from which or from a certain great City of that Name the Country for fancy's sake must needs be denominated but since most commonly we find it nam'd and treated of apart it will not be improper to follow that method carrying the Bounds of New England no farther Northward than the River Quinnebequi or Sagadahoc and so determining the main part of this Countrey to that space between the aforesaid River and Pemtegovet excepting a small Southerly portion upon the Banks of the River Chovacovet so that it appears chiefly situate under the forty third Degree of Northern Latitude Towns and Cities not certainly known As for the Towns or Cities of this Province there is but a very uncertain account to be given forasmuch as the pretended great City Norumbegua from whence the Province should take its Appellation is not acknowledg'd by any of the most authentick modern Writers nor in any late Voyage or Discovery any mention made either of that or any other considerable Town or City Dr. Heylin supposeth it to be no other than Agguncia a poor little Village that seems compos'd of a company of Hutts or Sheaves cover'd with the Skins of Beasts or the Barks of Trees But the most favourable conjecture is that it might haply be the Ruines of an ancient Town which the Natives call'd Arambeck and had probably deserted it long before the arrival of the Europeans in those parts however it is not very probable that the Name of the Countrey should be deriv'd from this City if ever there were any such or from the River which appears to have been term'd Norumbegua on purpose to make way for this derivation whereas Pomtegovet is the ancient Appellation that properly belongs to it nor hath any modern one been apply'd to it but that of Rio Grande by Buno in his Comment upon Philip Cluverius upon what ground is hard to tell since it is observ'd by Heylin and others to be neither large nor otherwise much to be commended being Navigable not above twenty or thirty Miles in respect of its many great Cataracts and Falls of Water an Inconvenience with which many other Rivers of America are prejudic'd and rendred impassable Before and about the Mouth of this River which is judg'd to be about eight or nine Miles broad lie many small Islands or rather Hills inviron'd with Water the chiefest of which is by the French call'd La Haute Isle from the high and Mountainous appearance of it to those that see it from afar off at Sea The aforemention'd Buno though he names as belonging to Norumbega these several places viz. Porto del Refugio Porto Reale Paradiso Flora and Angolema from some obscure French testimonies without particularising any Author yet he afterwards confesses that the Names given by the French and those apply'd by the Spaniards are so various and disagreeing and breed such a confusion that no Charts or Descriptions had concluded upon either As for those who will have Norumbega deriv'd from Norwegia in respect of a Colony brought thither from Norwey if the Etymologie be not a little too much forc'd the Invention may pass well enough till a better be found out The temperature and nature of its Soil In this Countrey the temperature of the Air is not bad nor the Soil unfruitful if it were well cultivated chiefly towards the Rivers and where it is not either overgrown with Woods or craggy with Hills and mountainous Rocks neither are the Woods unprofitable for they afford good Timber and all kind of necessary and useful Wood especially Beeches Fir-trees Wallnut-trees and other Nuts The Plains are very pleasant and yield good Pasturage onely the Maritime Coasts are so shallow and full of Sands that the Sailing near them is accounted somewhat dangerous and this may be imagin'd to be the reason that no Authors have yet met with any Ports or Havens belonging to this Countrey which they have thought worthy their notice CHAP. II. New England AS Canada is by some accounted a general Province containing New France L' Accadie Norumbega and other places so under Virginia largely taken are comprehended New England New Netherlands and Virginia properly so call'd however since that part which vulgarly goes under the Name of Virginia and New England were possess'd if not discover'd at several times and their Plantations promoted and propagated upon several occasions and by distinct Interests and since New England hath been look'd upon as a place considerable enough for Persons of very eminent quality to concern themselves in it we rather are induc'd to consider this Countrey as a principal part than as any way depending on or being any Branch or Portion of Virginia Situation of New England It lies between Norumbega which it hath Northward and New Netherlands Southward from forty one to forty five Degrees of Northern Latitude in the midst of the temperate Zone and paralell to France and some part of Italy in the Western Hemisphere so that one would think it should enjoy the same temperature of Air but the contrary is found for that part which borders upon the Sea is colder partly by reason that the Sea-waves break the reflexion of the Sun-beams partly by reason of the abundance of Vapors which mounting upward abate the ardor of them
inform'd of his just Pretences to all that Usurp'd Territory call'd New Netherland the same having been formerly part of New England and of how great prejudice to the Act of Navigation and how dangerous Intruders the Dutchmen are generally upon other Princes Dominions what mischief might ensue to all our English Plantations in time of War if the Dutch were permitted to strengthen themselves in the very heart of His Majesties Dominions being Masters of one of the most commodious Ports and Rivers in America His Majesty resolv'd to seize upon the same as his undoubted Right and in May 1664. having design'd four Commissioners to the perfecting of Affairs in New England Collonel Richard Nichols Sir Robert Carr George Cartwnight and Samuel Mawrick Esquires with three Ships of War to convey them to Boston The matter was so order'd that the same Ships serv'd for the reducing of the Town and Fort of New Amsterdam upon conditions advantageous to His Majesty and easie to the Dutch Now begins New Netherland to lose the Name for His Majesty having conferr'd by Patent upon his Royal Highness the Duke of York and Albany all the Acquisitions made upon Foraigners together with Long-Island the West end whereof was wholly setled and Peopled by Dutch-men his Royal Highness impower'd by Commission as his Deputy-Governor Colonel Nichols Groom of his Bed-chamber to take the Charge and Direction of Reducing and Governing all those Territories it was by him thought fit to change some principal denominations of Places viz. New Netherland into York-shire New Amsterdam into New York Fort-Amscel into Fort-James Fort-Orange into Fort-Albany and withal to change Burgomasters Schepen and Schout into Mayor Aldermen and Sheriff with Justices of the Peace so that all the Civil Policy is conformable to the Methods and Practise of England whereas New England retains only the name of Constable in their whole Rolls of Civil Officers It is plac'd upon the neck of the Island Manhatans looking towards the Sea encompass'd with Hudson's River which is six Miles broad the Town is compact and oval with very fair Streets and several good Houses the rest are built much after the manner of Holland to the number of about four hundred Houses which in those parts are held considerable Upon one side of the Town is James-Fort capable to lodge three hundred Souldiers and Officers it hath four Bastions forty Pieces of Cannon mounted the Walls of Stone lin'd with a thick Rampart of Earth well accommodated with a Spring of fresh Water always furnish'd with Arms and Ammunition against Accidents Distant from the Sea seven Leagues it affords a safe Entrance even to unskilful Pilots under the Town side Ships of any Burthen may Ride secure against any Storms the Current of the River being broken by the interposition of a small Island which lies a Mile distant from the Town About ten Miles from New York is a Place call'd Hell-Gate which being a narrow Passage there runneth a violent Stream both upon Flood and Ebb and in the middle lie some Rocky Islands which the Current sets so violently upon that it threatens present Shipwrack and upon the Flood is a large Whirlwind which continually sends forth a hideous roaring enough to affright any Stranger from passing farther and to wait for some Charon to conduct him through yet to those that are well acquainted little or no danger It is a place of great Defence against any Enemy coming in that way which a small Forticfiation would absolutely prevent and necessitate them to come in at the West end of Long-Island by Sandy Hook where Nutten Island forces them within the Command of the Fort at New York which is one of the best Pieces of Defence in the North parts of America It is built most of Brick and Stone and cover'd with red and black Tyle and the Land being high it gives at a distance a pleasing prospect to the Spectators The Inhabitants consist most of English and Dutch and have a considerable Trade with Indians for Beaver Otter and Rackoon-Skins with other Furrs as also for Bear Deer and Elke-Skins and are supply'd with Venison and Fowl in the Winter and Fish in the Summer by the Indians which they buy at an easie Rate and having the Countrey round about them they are continually furnish'd with all such Provisions as is needful for the Life of Man not onely by the English and Dutch within their own but likewise by the adjacent Colonies Manhattans River The Manhattans or Great River being the chiefest having with two wide Mouths wash'd the mighty Island Watouwaks falls into the Ocean The Southern Mouth is call'd Port May or Godyns Bay In the middle thereof lies an Island call'd The States Island and a little higher the Manhattans so call'd from the Natives which on the East side of the River dwell on the Main Continent They are a cruel People and Enemies to the Hollanders as also of the Sanhikans which reside on the Western Shore Farther up are the Makwaes and Mahikans which continually War one against another In like manner all the Inhabitants on the West side of the River Manhattan are commonly at Enmity with those that possess the Eastern Shore who also us'd to be at variance with the Hollanders when as the other People Westward kept good Correspondency with them On a small Island near the Shore of the Makwaes lay formerly a Fort provided with two Drakes and eleven Stone Guns yet was at last deserted Wholesom Waters This Countrey hath many removable Water-falls descending from steep Rocks large Creeks and Harbors fresh Lakes and Rivulets pleasant Fountains and Springs some of which boyl in the Winter and are cold and delightful to drink in Summer The Inhabitants never receive any damage by Deluges neither from the Sea because the Water rises not above a Foot nor by the swelling Rivers which sometimes for a few days covering the Plains at their deserting them leave them fat and fruitful The Sea-Coast is Hilly and of a sandy and clayie Soil which produces abundance of Herbs and Trees The Oak grows there generally sixty or seventy Foot high Trees and for the most part free from Knots which makes it the better fit for Shipping The Nut-trees afford good Fuel and a strange Prospect when the Wood is set on fire either to hunt out a Deer or to clear the Ground fit to be Till'd Some Plants brought hither grow better than in Holland it self as Apples Pears Cherries Peaches Apricocks Strawberries and the like Their Vines grow wild in most places and bear abundance of blue white Vines and Muskadine Grapes Sometime since the Inhabitants made a considerable advantage by the Wine of them which is not inferior to either Rhenish or French Water Lemmmons All manner of Plants known in Europe grow in their Gardens The Water-Lemmons no less pleasing to the Palate than healthful when grown ripe they are about the bigness of an indifferent Cabbage the English press
Damp and against bad Weather a thundering noise On the Mountains grow exceeding large Trees especially Oak Here Pismires which are of an extraordinary bigness are brought to Market amongst other Provisions 2. St. Salvador forty Leagues distant from Guatimala Eastward and seated upon the River Guacapa and having about it a small Territory which by some is accounted a distinct Countrey or Province 3. Acaputla a Town of the Natives situated at the Mouth of the River and being as it were the Port-Town to St. Salvador 4. Trinidad a Town of great resort being the greatest Empory and Place of Traffick for all sorts of Commodities betwixt the People of New Spain and those of Peru. 5. St. Michaels two or three Leagues distant from the Bay Fonseca upon the South Sea 6. Xeres de la Frontera on the Confines of this Province towards the Borders of Nicaragua besides several Villages which we shall have occasion to mention In the middle of a Lake within this Territory is an Island on which the Indians had a Tradition That a Man no sooner set his Foot but he died immediately which Opinion of theirs was chang'd when the Spaniards went thither in Boat-fulls and return'd safe again with Relation that they had seen a large Stone Image resembling a Woman before which lay the Ashes and Bones of slain People Round about the Village Guaymoco grow great Balsom-Trees which afford Timber of fifty five Foot long From this Village leads a Way to the City Salvador near which the fore-mention'd River Guachapa runs with so many windings that the Traveller is forc'd to cross the same several times before he can come to the Foot of a Mountain which formerly cast out terrible Flames but now the combustible Matter being consum'd there appears onely a great Hole on the top with Ashes in a large compass round about it At the Foot of the same are two Pits one of which smoaks continually in such a manner that it stifles all those that approach it yet the Mountain is well overspread with Cedars and Pine-Trees Three Leagues farther lies the Village Nixapa and not far from thence the Hill Elmal Pais which consists of great Stones and Ashes wonderfully mixt together No less wonderful is a Brook which flows in the Night till Morning and then sinks into the Ground And in the Countrey Choluteca is another which hides it self at Noon and appears again towards Night The Cavern which formerly produc'd Fire and Smoke now affords good Water to the Village Curcatan and City Salvador Near the Village Yztepegve are five Springs which cast up Allom and Sulphur The Natives Chontales which speak several Languages flock to the Village Mimilla to make Offerings not far from hence are two Pits one of which is full of boyling Water and the other as cold as Ice Moreover Cocori lies near a high Mountain on the top of which is a very turbulent Lake The chiefest Haven of this Countrey Havens which lies along the south-South-Sea is Bahia de Fonseca Discover'd by Gonsalves Davila Anno 1522. and so nam'd from Joan Rodrigas de Fonseca Bishop of Burgos In the middle thereof appears the Island Petronella with nine others of which four are inhabited by Indians The good conveniency of the Haven Fonseca induc'd some of the Spaniards to make a new Passage from the side of the Southern Ocean to the Northern viz. from Panama to Nombre de Dios designing it to reach from the said Haven Fonseca unto Puerto de Carellos which are distant one from the other forty five Leagues most of it good way except some over-grown Mountains which might be made passable with little trouble to which purpose they built the Town Buena Esperanca yet nevertheless the Work remain'd unprosecuted There are moreover reckon'd as appertaining to Guatimala the small Provinces Soconusco Suchitepec and Chilulteca the chief of them being Soconusco to which belongs the Town of Gevetlan where the Spanish Governor hath his Residence the rest seem to be onely small Territories about Towns of the same Name in like manner as St. Salvador and St. Miguel before-mention'd CHAP. V. The Kingdom of Mexico or New-Spain Bounds of New-Spain NEw Spain the chiefest part of the Northern America reckons in length from the East-Point of Yucatan to the place where Mechoacon juts against Guadalajara three hundred and sixty Leagues and in breadth from the Northern parts of Panucos to the Southern Ocean a hundred and eighty Leagues besides a great part which lies to the Northward behind inaccessable Mountains and Wildernesses inhabited by the Tepecuaenes Guachucules Cacatequas Tecaxquines and others and was before the Spaniards Conquer'd and Dismember'd it much larger than now it is for as much as it comprehended the whole Province of New-Gallicia and reach'd from the furthest Point of the Peninsula of Jucatan Southward as far as New-Biscay and the Confines of California Northward containing in length seven hundred Leagues and more and about half as much in breadth But since the Conquest by Hernando Cortez and his Followers the whole Countrey of New-Gallicia is taken from it and made a distinct Government or Audiencia as the Spaniards call it of it self â—VA HISPANI â—OVA GALICIA GVATIMALA The Original The Natives of the Countrey are of the Race of the Chichimecae a Salvage and Wilde sort of People of the Province of New-Gallicia especially in the Parts of New-Biscay living in Forests and in deep Caves under Ground whose Posterity do still at this day much trouble and annoy the Countrey thereabouts notwithstanding all the endeavors of the Spaniards and the Garrisons which they keep in those parts on purpose to destroy them About five hundred years ago or more according to the account of the Mexican Annals divers Hoards as they are call'd of these Chichimecae weary it seems of their Woods and subterraneous dwellings issu'd out into the more open Air and fell down in huge multitudes into these Southerly parts of America which are now call'd Mexico and New-Spain not all at once but at several times and under several names viz. of the Suchimilci Chalcae Tepanecae Tlascaltecae and others who subduing or driving out the People they found in those parts Seated themselves in their room And though at first every Nation or Company of them as they came seiz'd upon some Province apart by themselves and held it as it were in Soveraignty to themselves without acknowledgement of any dependance or subjection to their Neighbors or those that were there before them yet in Tract of time and by fortune of the Wars which they made one upon another they fell under the Government of one King viz. the King of Mexico which was the chief City of the Province The state of the Mexican Kingdom before the Spaniards arrival This Kingdom at the time that the Spaniards first Discover'd the Countrey was Govern'd by a Prince nam'd Motezuma one who by his Valor and good success in the Wars
ingenious in divers mechanical Arts especially in making of Feather-Pictures a piece of Curiosity wherein they are held to be incomparably or rather inimitably excellent and so industrious at it that although the Americans generally are not a People over-much addicted to any kind of Labor or Study yet at this they will sit a whole day together without either Meat or Drink onely out of a natural affection they have to the Work and a desire to be excellent in it The Countrey indeed affords them great variety of Birds and other Fowl of most rare and exquisite Colours which is a great advantage to their Skill and helps much to the accomplishment of their Work They Paint likewise very curiously upon their Cottons and are held to be generally the best Goldsmiths in the World of most perfect skill in the purging and refining of all sorts of Metals but especially of Gold and Silver And yet in other things so strangely stupid and ignorant that when the Spaniards first appeared amongst them not a few of them as 't is reported took the Horse and Man both for one Creature and when the Horse Neighed they would enquire very seriously what he said Lakes of New-Spain There are likewise many fair Lakes in this Province but the principal are those of Chapala and Mexico the former of which is in the more Northern parts of the Kingdom towards the Borders of New Gallicia and is chiefly famous for the abundance of good Salt that is yearly made and Transported thence The other of Mexico is one of the largest and goodliest in the World of circular form as some say little less than nine hundred Miles in compass environ'd with the main Land the Peninsula or Cape of Florida Jucatan and the Island Cuba having two onely Passages in and out and both of them well fortifi'd the one betwixt the Point of Jucatan and the Isle Cuba where the Tyde violently enters and the other betwixt the said Island and the Cape of Florida where it goeth as violently out upon which Gulf the King of Spain hath always some good Ships in readiness for all occasions and by them 't is suppos'd he doth more assure his Estates in those parts of America than by all the Garrisons besides The whole Kingdom of Mexico or New-Spain is subdivided into these Inferior Provinces The several Provinces 1. The Arch-bishoprick of Mexico 2. The Bishoprick Mechoacon 3. Los Angelos or Tlascale 4. Guaxaca 5. The Lordship Panuco And 6. the Province Tabasco NOVA MEXICO bound of Mixicana It is bounded on the East with the East with the Gulf of Mexico on the West with Mechoacan on the North with Panuco and some parts of New-Gallicia and on the South with Tlascalla Nature of the Countrey This Countrey is both large and rich containing not much less than one hundred and thirty Leagues both in length and breadth and if it yields any thing to Peru in the plenty of Gold and Silver 't is certain it much excels it in many other Commodities as namely in all sorts of Fruits abundance of Cattel plenty of Corn and Grain in all which the advantage this Countrey hath not only of Peru but of all the other Provinces of America beside is well known Not to speak any thing of the great plenty and variety of good Fish which both the Rivers and Lakes of this Countrey afford which is very great insomuch that the very Tribute of the one Lake of Mexico is said to yield an Income of above twenty thousand Crowns yearly one with another The People of the Countrey are generally Industrious and Active especially since the Spaniards came among them rich Merchants if they apply themselves to it and they say likewise good Soldiers when they are train'd and imploy'd that way Chief Towns of Mexicana The chief Towns and places of the Province are 1. Mexico both anciently and at present the Metropolis and Capital City being the Seat of an Archbishop and the ordinary Residence of the Vice-Roy and chief Governors of New-Spain Description of the City Mexico This City by the Indians was formerly call'd Tenustatan lies in nineteen Degrees and a half to the Northward of the Equinoctial-Line rais'd out of a brackish Lake full of muddy Water whose circumference along the Mountains is seventy Leagues This Lake swarms continually with Boats which carry the People to and again from one inhabited Island to another four Stone-bridges no less costly than artificial with Arches and Gates in several places lead from the City to the Main Continent The fresh Water which they have in the City Mexico is led into the same through Pipes that lie in the bottom of the Lake but none are to enjoy the benefit thereof before they have paid a certain Sum of Money to the King's Collectors Moreover the City divided into Islands contains above sixty thousand Houses which being built on several Isles have large Bridges which reach from one to another some that lie in the middle of the Lake they approach in little Boats round about the Lake especially where the way leads from the Continent into the City lie several Suburbs all inclos'd with Walls between which stand strong Towers cover'd on the top To keep off the force of the Water the Tenustatans have with great labor and charge made a Bank through the Lake half way along the City But the Lake Laguna from whose bottom Mexico is rais'd is divided in two parts the Sweet Lake which is higher than the Salt falls in to the same through Sluces with Bridges built on the Bank that leads from the City to the main Land The Salt-Lake which hath brackish and bitter Water ebbs and flows according as the Wind blows no Fish is able to live in the same because the Water which in the sight of Mexico falls into the same out of the Mountains hath a sulphury Ground All along the shore much Salt is made with which the Citizens drive a great Trade There are continually above a hundred thousand Boats by the Indians call'd Acales and by the Spaniards Canoos going off and on from one shore to another The fresh Water Lake which is bigger than the salt and feeds small Fishes hath above fifty Suburbs about the same of which some boast five thousand and others ten thousand Houses Nay the Suburb Tescuco in former times was no way inferior to Mexico in bigness since the Spaniards have been Masters of this City they stopt up many Moats to inlarge their narrow Streets Besides three publick Markets every open place affords all sorts of Provisions daily the Indians call the Markets Tianguystly and the Spaniards Tianguez the first and chiefest stands in Tatelulco adorn'd with Galleries on three sides in the middle of this Square which is accounted the biggest in the World stands next to the place of Execution a stately Fountain the Tents which are every Week pitch'd up here for Trade amount to above thirty
after a miserable manner evacuated their Seed that so they might curb all fleshly Desires and met every Night in a spacious place where sitting down they wounded themselves with Lances in their Legs and Arms so long till the Blood gush'd out of the same which gathering in a Cup they anointed their Temples therewith and dipt the Lances in the same and then hung them up before the Temple in Bundles of Straw Of these were a great number and the more because they never us'd their Lances but once But on these Days which were Consecrated to the Idol Tezcatlipuca every one besides the Priests wore a new Rope made of the Hemp Mangey of a Fathom long and a thick Knot at the end with which they beat themselves so miserably on their Backs as if they intended to have broken them After which the Priests stay'd five days in the Temple in which they us'd the like cruelty eating scarce once in twenty four hours Their Prisoners they us'd after a most horrid manner viz. in their Temples stood a round Stage of Stone to the top of which they ascended by a Square Scaffold supported by twenty eight Pillars behind which appear'd thousands of Mens Heads and amongst them the Prisoners that were to be Offer'd sat stark naked and guarded by several Armed Men three Foot from the Steps which led up to the top of the Scaffold stood a pyramidical Stone by the Indians call'd Quauxi-calli and behind it two round Chappels cover'd on the top like Mitres each had four Holes in a large Gate in which sat a horrid Representation worshipp'd by six Priests call'd Chackalmua whereof one call'd Papas or Topilzin whose Office was to pluck out the Hearts of the Prisoners being in greatest esteem wore a red Mantle about his Body not unlike a long Coat with broad Fringe which trail'd after him upon the Ground and also a Crown of green and yellow Plumes on his Head his Ears and under Lip were likewise adorn'd with Precious Stones The other five appear'd in like manner with their Hands and Faces painted red but having Leathern Fascia's about their Heads and white Coats stitch'd with Black on their Bodies they might easily be distinguish'd from the Topilzin who on a sudden ran down the Stairs to the Prisoners and shew'd each of them an Image saying This is your God made of Bledo Paste Maiz and Honey green Beads for Eyes and Grains of Maiz for Teeth whereupon the Prisoners were led up and laid with their Backs on the sharp Stone Quauxicalli then the five Priests took hold of their Leggs Arms and Head put woodden Collars about the Sufferer's Necks whilst the Topilzin shew'd Reverence to the Idol which done with a sharp Stone he cut open the Breasts of the Prisoners who in a deplorable condition lay on the pyramidical Stone and pulling their Hearts out of their Bodies shew'd the same reeking to the Sun and at last threw them toward the Idol and the dead Bodies down the Stairs where some appointed for that purpose carried the same away but every one taking his own Prisoner and roasting and boyling him serv'd him up to his Friends as a great Dainty This kind of Murdering was not onely us'd amongst the Mexicans but also by all the other neighboring Indians and especially in the City Chulula which as we have said before signifies The Sanctity of all the Gods for in this Town six thousand Children were yearly Offer'd The Citizens hereof us'd to drive a great Trade especially in Cochinele Their Habits were several for Persons of Note wore Cotton Coats about the Edges of which hung Feathers and pieces of Cony-skins the meaner sort went in Nequons or a sort of Linnen Coats made of the hairy Leaves of the Tree Maguey 3. The City Tezuco full of handsom Streets and fair Houses is built near the salt Mexican Lake yet hath no want of fresh Water with which it is supply'd by Gutters from the Mountains under Ground according to Anthony Herrera it twice exceedeth in bigness the famous City Sivill in Spain 4. Quitlavaca by the Spaniards call'd Venezuela because it is like Venice surrounded with Water and divided into several Isles boasted formerly above two thousand Families From the Town a Cawsey of twenty Foot broad and half a League long leads through the Lake to the Main Continent 5. Yztacpalapa a very populous Place and lying part of it in the salt Lake and partly on the Main Land where several fresh-water Pools afford store of Fish two Leagues distant from Mexico to which leads a broad Way in the middle of which stands a Fountain surrounded with high Trees which produces excellent Water 6. Mexicaltzingo situate upon the Lake Laguna a Town consisting of four thousand stately Houses 7. Cayocan in a fruitful Plain containing six thousand being but a League and a half from Yztacpalapa to which the neighboring Village Houcilopucho was not much inferior These three Places before they were subdu'd by the Spaniards boasted many brave Temples and high Towers whose lustre appear'd at a great distance but now being turn'd into Cloysters they are inhabited by Monks and Nuns The Salt made here of Earth though not white and onely fit to make Pickle of is Transported to many Places Towns and pleasant Villages about Mexico About Mexico there are also several Villages the chiefest of which are 1. Mastitlan a Town pleasantly seated upon the top of an huge Mountain in the midst of most delicate Groves and shady Woods and reckon'd to contain no less than thirty thousand Inhabitants in all dwelling either in the City or upon the sides of the Mountain 2. Antepecque this is a Town belonging to the Marquess de Valle who is of the Posterity of Cortez and said to be seated in the most delicious place of all New Spain 3. Acapulco a Town seated upon the South-Sea or Mare del Zur yet belonging to this Province It is a haven-Town and one of the most frequented upon the South-Sea situate upon a large and capacious Bay of about a League broad at the Entrance and affording many convenient Stations and Docks for Shipping At the bottom of the Bay Westward lieth the Town with a strong Castle very opportunely built both for the command and security of the Port well wall'd and fortifi'd with Bulwarks and having a constant Garrison of four hundred Soldiers in it or thereabouts The reason whereof I supposâ— may be chiefly this viz. that from this Port there is the greatest Traffick and Entercourse held betwixt the East and West-Indies together with the Philippine Islands Silver Mynes The Countrey hath many rich Mynes of Silver in it and some of Gold the chief of which are by Herera reported to be these viz. 1. Those of Puchuca fourteen Leagues distant from Mexico 2. Of Tasco 3. Talpuiana 4. Cultepeque 5. Zacualpa 6. Zupanguo and divers others The rest of the Villages are Guatitlan Tenyauca Escapusalco Tacuba and Suchimilco Strange
Crocodiles on their Backs rend open their Bellies They are more desirous of Mans flesh here than in any other place because the River of Tlascala hath but small store of Fish in the day time they lie cover'd in the Mud from whence they rush forth and set upon those that happen to pass by them they pursue the Canoos in the Water and strike down the Rowers with their Tails Burning Mountain Popatepeck Eight Leagues beyond Tlascala appears the Mountain Popatepeck which for ten years ceas'd smoaking till Anno 1540. it broke forth in such a manner that the Countrey all about was terrifi'd therewith for it vomited not onely a black Smoak but also horrible Flames which sometimes being blow'd downward burnt the Corn in the Fields and the Ashes thereof flying as far as Guaxocingo and Chulula burnt a great deal of the Town to the Ground every one endeavor'd by flight to secure themselves with intention never to return thither again but the Flame and Smoak abating Captain Diego de Ordas went up to view the place whence the Fire was cast forth which curiosity and presumption of his had like to have cost him his Life for the sulphury Smoak breaking forth on a sudden had almost stifled him Rivers of Mexicana Moreover the Bishoprick of Tlascala is on the North Coast wash'd by the River Papoloava since call'd Alvarado from a Spanish Commander who first Steer'd his Course thither The next Stream nam'd Banderas is so call'd because the Natives held white Clothes on Poles to invite the Spaniards ashore The third is Almeria on which Cortesius a year after the taking of Mexico built the Town Medellin as aforemention'd Along the Tlascallan shore wash'd by the Northern Ocean lie the Isles Blanca Verde and Sacrificios The first receiv'd its denomination from White Land the other from Green Trees and the third because Joan de Greyalve who first Discover'd New Spain Landing on this Island found a Bloody Altar there with Sacrific'd People with open'd Brests chopt off Arms and Legs The River Almeria falling into the Ocean opposite to the Sacrificios the Spanish Ships came often to an Anchor there but in these latter times they have forsaken the same because the Northern Winds us'd to blow very hard against the shore and spoil'd many Vessels But Henry Hawks gives this reason That a dreadful apparition of Spirits frighted the Spaniards from thence The Province Tepeaca In the Bishoprick Tlascala is also compriz'd the Province Tepeaca whose Metropolis was built by Cortez when with great Loss he was sent from Almeria The Soil thereabouts is barren and stony the Water which they have in the City is brought in Pipes from a River which flows out of the Mountains into the Market place The plain Countrey hath many good Pastures The Inhabitants thereof speak four sorts of Languages of which the commonest is the Mexican others use the Popolucan or Otoman Tongues The Village Alyoxucan appears afar off on a high Mountain Alyonan on whose top is a Lake of a hundred and fifty Fathom in circumference the Water whereof is very cold and of a bluish Colour and neither Ebbs nor Flows to which the Villagers climb along a narrow Path. Not far from thence in the Plain are two other very deep Lakes The first call'd Tlacae is a League in circumference and breeds delicate white Fish not above a Fingers length The second nam'd Alchichican about the same bigness which in stormy Weather is very turbulent Strange sort of Bird. Amongst the Fowls of this Countrey the most noted is a little Summer Bird with a long crooked Tail speckled Feathers feeds on nothing but Flowers and the Dew about Harvest time when the Rain ceases it hangs fast with its Bill on a Tree and as soon as the first Rain falls it revives again In this Countrey Tepeaca are five Villages in each of which is a Franciscan Cloyster and convenient Hospital In this Countrey they gather the Water in the time of the Rainy Moneths in a digg'd Pool which every Morning produces little Toads with long Tails which in few days fall off but these little ones growing to be great make a most dreadful noise in the Night From October till March not one drop of Rain falls in this Countrey during which time the Northern Winds make a dry and wholsome Air yet oftentimes a tempestuous Sea to the loss of many Ships Farther up into the Countrey between Vera Crux and Los Angelos lies the Village Rinconanda and also Xalapa and Perota built of Straw Houses in the middle of a Wood of Cedar and Pirte-Trees inhabited by the Spaniards for the accommodating of Travellers To which purpose there are likewise Inns built near the Spring Fuente de Otzumba which gushes out of a high Rock Not far from hence is the Populous Village Chetula where a small number of Spaniards dwell amongst thousands of Indians who chiefly make use of Mules to carry their Loads SECT IV. Guaxata Situation and Description of Guaxata BEtween Los Angelos and Guatemala lies the Bishoprick of Antiquera or Guaxata largely taken it hath on the North the Bay of Mexico on the South Mare del Zur on the East Jucatan and Chiapa which is one of the Provinces of Guatimala on the West Tlascalla The Countrey extendeth it self upon the South Sea about an hundred Leagues in length but from the Sea to the Borders of Tlascalla one hundred and twenty Eastward not above half so much having a good Air and a Soil no less fruitful especially in Mulberry-Trees and abundance of Silks which the Countrey affordeth more than any other Province of America besides nor is it less rich in Mines of Gold and Silver there being scarce a River in the whole Countrey but the Sands of it are said to be Tinctur'd more or less with that yellow Metal also Crystal and Copperess It yieldeth likewise great plenty of Cassia and Cochinele two rich Commodities and the People generally if they would take pains might be the wealthiest 't is thought of any other in America But whether it be through any voluntary contempt of Riches or through any natural sloathfulness as yet they seem to Pine in the midst of plenty living for the most part of them little better than from Hand to Mouth nevertheless exceeding liberal of what they have especially to such as bear the Habit of Religion and attend the service of their Souls maintaining in a plentiful and good manner as 't is said no less than one hundred and twenty Convents of Religious Men of several Orders in this onely Province besides Hospitals Schools for the training up of Youth and other places of publick Charity it is said also to have three hundred and fifty Villages and near as many brave Countrey Houses Division It is sub-divided into many particular Provinces which because they are many and but small in comparison of some other we may call Wapentakes or Hundreds
which stood on the Altar to the Priests Cells who by that time were to have Fasted five days this done the People came all to the Temple again to be present at the end of the Feast then a Slave who had represented the Idol a whole year appear'd to whom every one having shew'd Reverence the chief Priest cutting open his Breast tore the Slave's Heart reaking out of his Body and shew'd it to the Sun then the Consecrated Youths and Maids made a great noise with Drumming Singing and Dancing about the Body till Sun-set after which the Virgins going up to the upper Chappel plac'd Bread and Fruit made up like dead Mens Bones and Heads before the Idol where after it had stood a little while the Servants went up and fetch'd it down whilst the Youths and Maids went to their several Cloysters Much after the same manner and with such like brutish Ceremonies not worth mentioning was also celebrated the Feast of Quetzatcoalt In the inner part of the Temple stood a Stage on which upon Festival Days the People Acted Drolls in which they sometimes feign'd themselves deaf blind lame and the like and begg'd to be cur'd of their Idols sometimes were dress'd like Serpents Adders Crocodiles or other ravenous Beasts in which postures they fought one with another Computation of Time amongst the Mexicans Those Feasts were all kept on certain times according to the Mexican Almanack in which the Year was divided into eight Moneths and each Moneth into forty five Days which together made three hundred and sixty The five remaining Days to compleat the Year they kept apart on which all Affairs whatsoever were laid aside as Selling Buying Offerings c. nothing else being thought on but Feasting one another for the passing away of the time The first Day of their Year was on the twenty sixth of February Each Moneth had a peculiar Name and Sign Moreover they divided the Year into four parts by as many Representations viz. a House a Rabbet a Cane and a Flint to strike Fire with and Figur'd it out by a Wheel with four Spikes jutting out round about it colour'd green red blue and yellow and in the middle thereof a Sun each Spike signifi'd thirteen years wherefore it had thirteen Divisions distinguish'd by the four fore-mention'd Representations At each Division of the Wheel they set down what remarkable things should happen that year by certain Characters as a Man in red Apparel typifi'd that Year when Ferdinand Cortesius clad in Red conquer'd Mexico When the Wheel was fill'd with fifty two years Prognostication then on the last Night they broke all their Pots and Vessels in pieces and blew out their Candles because they believ'd that at the end of the said fifty two years the World would be at an end and therefore they had no need of Housholdstuff or ought else But so soon as the Day appear'd again they play'd on Pipes Trumpets and Drums rejoycing that God had deferr'd the destruction of the World fifty two years longer then they bought new Utensils and Candles and made solemn Processions Art of Writing Concerning the Art of Writing amongst the Inhabitants of New Spain Joseph Acosta tells us That some old Books containing ancient Passages the Course of the Heavens nature of Beasts and Plants were found in Jucatan according to the Relation of a Learned Indian but were all burnt by Command of a Spanish Bishop because he suppos'd them to be full of Matter touching the Black Art Their Histories they describ'd with the Representations of the Things Rhetorick and Poetry the Children were taught by Rote in the Schools so that they never forgot what they had once learnt But at present they use Spanish Letters or Characters Ancient Government Moreover the Government of Mexico hath ever been kept in a good Order the King's Power being exactly limited that nothing might be lost of the common Priviledges The fourth King Icoath made Earls who next to the Lords of Tezcuco and Tacuba had right to the Crown which was like a Mitre turn'd up behind and rising before with a Point According as they increas'd in Power so they advanc'd in Royal Dignity in which Muteczuma the Second exceeded all others And to manifest his splendor his House for all sorts of Creatures and many other things might serve for a sufficient testimony for in it he kept sea-Sea-Fish in salt Water river-River-Fish in fresh Water and all manner of Beasts in peculiar places The Birds were kept in great Aviaries surrounded with golden Rails Next to the Kings follow'd four Earls call'd Atlacohecalcatl which signifies Princes of the Throne Launces a Weapon much us'd amongst the Mexicans The next in Degree were the Tlacatecatl or Man-cleavers Esauahuacatl or Blood-shedders Tsallancalqui or Lords of Blackness without all which the King durst not take any Business in hand High and lesser Courts of Judicatory where Matters of Life and Death were try'd were in most Cities and other Courts also for petty Quarrels Controversies and the like The Collectors brought their Revenues to the Court every Moneth The chief thing which preferr'd both Rich and Poor to Places of Honor consisted in Valour and heroick Exploits Their Arms were chiefly sharp pieces of Flint made fast to a Stick with which they could at one Blow chop off a Horses Head They also us'd Pikes Clubs and Lances and sometimes Slings For defensive Armour they had Helmets and Shields made of Tygers Leopards and Lyons Skins They always fell upon their Enemies unawares their Design being generally to take Prisoners rather than to kill them for they reserv'd them for Offerings to their Idols Muteczuma made several Commanders over his Armies giving them a Power one above the other which were to be distinguish'd by several Marks for the chiefest ty'd the Hair on the top of their Heads with a red String betwixt which stuck a brave Plume of Feathers at the end whereof hung as many Tassels as they had done noble Exploits To this Order belong'd also the King who wore one of the same Marks with which King Muteczuma and his Son stand Carv'd on a Rock The Ayulas or The Order of the Eagle consisted of valiant Men. The Grey Knights were of less Quality and wore Collars which reach'd up to their Ears the lower part of their Body being naked Persons of greater Dignity when going to the War were Arm'd from Head to Foot Which Order was also permitted to wear Cotton-Clothes and Shoes richly embroider'd with Gold and Silver they us'd painted Vessels and had Lodgings provided for them at Court Their Education of Youth Moreover it is worthy of obesrvation what great care the Mexicans took in the bringing up of their Children to which purpose they had Schools near to their Temples in which Youth was taught to Sing Dance Morality Obedience and also Martial Discipline Children of noble Extract had Learned Men for their Tutors Their Punishments for Transgressions were very severe the
Great age of the Caribbeeans The Caribbeeans attain to an exceeding great Age Charles de Rotchfort witnesseth That in his time there liv'd Men who remembred the first Arrival of the Spaniards under the Command of Christopher Columbus which consider'd they could not be less than each of them a hundred and sixty years old Many Women also were found thcre who bare Children after they were eighty years of age yet nevertheless they are not free from Sicknesses and Distempers which cannot justly be attributed to the Climate that being extraordinary healthful but to their ill Diet. Besides the troublesom Disease call'd Pyans which makes their Bodies swell full of great Knobs they have been much troubled with pestilential Sores occasion'd by the eating of Crabs and poysonous Tortoises Lamantins and Hedg-hogs Against which Evils they wanted not Medicines consisting of Herbs Roots Gums and Oyl The bitter Bark of the Chipiou-Tree steep'd in Water and mix'd with Lanbys hath a soveraign operation The like vertue is in the Juyce of the Myby-Tree which they us'd to take inwardly and for outward Means they us'd a Salve made of burnt Caneashes temper'd with a Water press'd out of a certain Tree To draw the Matter out of the Sores they us'd the Juice of Junipa Letting Blood was never customary amongst them but to cut and scratch the sore part was to them in stead of Phlebotomy But if all the fore-mention'd Medicines would not help them they fled for aid to the Boyez who immediately order'd the Hut wherein the Patient lay to be made clean the Table call'd Matoutou to be over-spread with Cassave Ouycou and Garden Fruits for an Offering to the evil Spirit Maboya and as many Stools to be plac'd about the same as there were People to be present at the Ceremony and after that all the Fire and Candles were put out the Boye enter'd into the Hut about Midnight with a Lighted Roll of Tobacco then muttering some words to himself stamp'd with his left Foot and blew the Smoak of the Tobacco up into the Air which done and tearing the Tobacco in pieces he threw the same over the Hut and call'd up his Spirit who shaking the Roof of the House made a terrible noise then the Boye drew near to the Patient suck'd his Sores and anointed them with the Juice of Junipa after which if the sick Person recover'd he made a great Feast and an Offering to the aforesaid Spirit But if the Distemper were mortal then the Boye inform'd the Patient's Relations That his Spirit had compassion upon the Sick and was resolv'd to carry him above the Stars to accompany the other Gods which reside there Thus much in general of the Inhabitants of the Isles that lie before Northern America it will next be requisite to give you an Account of them in particular The number of the Caribbee Island There are generally reckon'd of these Islands twenty eight by Name though there are many more in number for besides that there are a multitude of small obscure Islands that are not nam'd there are of the more considerable sometimes two or three that go under one Name Their several Names the twenty eight are these following Anegada Sombrero Las Virgines Anguilla Saba St. Crux St. Martin St. Bartholomew Barbouthos or Barboude Rotonda Nevis Eustathius Antego Montserrat Guadalupe Deseado Marigalanta Todos Sanctos De Aves Dominco Martinego St. Lucia Barbados St. Vincent Bekia Granada Tabago St. Christopher SECT II. Anegada and Sombrero Situation of Anegada and Sombrero TOwards the North-East of Porto Rico at eighteen Degrees and thirteen Minutes lies Anegada seven Leagues long surrounded with Shoals and Banks as also the neighboring Sombrero being in the same Latitude with the other and so call'd by the Spaniard because it appears like a Hat Both of them being uninhabited The Mansfeny harbor abundance of Birds amongst which is the Mansfeny a little Eagle and the remarkable Colibry whose Body being a little bigger than a Wren The Colibry is adorn'd with divers colour'd Feathers resembling a Rain-bowe about its Neck is a Carbuncle red Circle the Belly and ends of the Feathers are of a Golden colour the Sides of an Emerauld green the Bill and Legs black like polish'd Ebony the Eyes glittering like Diamonds on the Head a curious green tuft of Feathers the Cocks far exceed the Hens in beauty they flie swifter than any Bird whatsoever and the fluttering of their Wings makes a noise like a Whirlwind they live upon the Juice of Flowers and especially of Cotton-Flowers they smell like Amber and build their Nests amongst the thick Leaves of a little Bough where they cannot easily be found the Nest it self open towards the South is curiously made of the fine Fibres of the Plant Pite surrounded with pieces of Bark and within fill'd with Cotton douny Feathers and Silk the Eggs oval are somewhat bigger than an ordinary Pearl In the Moneth of May that sort of Crabs call'd Painted Crabs for some have Violet-colour'd Shells others yellow full of purple Specks and others tawny Painted Crabs with red Streaks come creeping down the Hills in good order eat up all the Herbs and Plants and go four times one after another into the Water to wash themselves which done they return to the Woods but the Females at a set-time betake themselves to the Sea in which they Lay their Eggs which afterwards being cast on the sandy Shore and warm'd by the Beams of the Sun produce young Crabs in a short time which no sooner come out of the Shell but creep towards the Woods when grown somewhat bigger they climb up the Rocks where the old ones keep in vast multitudes and stop up the Entrance of their Holes in such a manner that they cannot be found out whilest they cast off their Shell creeping out backward through an opening at the Tail scarce discernable thus for a certain time they lie bare and stript of their Shells being onely cover'd with a thin Skin which growing harder and harder becomes at last a firm Shell like the former These Crabs are a wholsom Meat unless they feed under the Mancheneel Trees which commonly are poysonous SECT III. Las Virgines Situation of Las Virgines NEar Sombrero at eighteen Degrees lie also the two Isles Las Virgines surrounded by ten others and flat Shelves without Trees or fresh Water but the Sea thereabouts abounds with Fish and chiefly with the Perroket which hath Scales like a Carp but greenish the Eyes surrounded with Silver Circles shine very bright in stead of Teeth they have strong Jaw-bones wherewith they Grind all manner of Shell-fish which are their Prey These Fish have an excellent Rellish and weigh generally twenty Pound The Fish Dorade Here is likewise great plenty of the Dorade which is a very large Fish and about five Foot long full of little Scales with a prickly Back two Fins at the parting of the Head and as many under the
according to the Pope's Gift belong'd to his Master Philip and insisting upon that Allegation he commanded them to quit their Right to the Place to which purpose he restor'd them six of the nine Ships taken at Nevis on Condition that they should immediately set Sail for England onely those whom the six Vessels were not able to carry were permitted to stay on the Island till the next opportunity After which Toledo weighing Anchor was scarce out of sight when the English began to take new Courage and gathering together to repair their ruin'd Works as well as possibly they could with what Forces they had left for besides those who went for England in the six Ships being near two thousand the Spanish Admiral took six hundred choice English which he distributed amongst his Fleet whilest Desambuc suffer'd a great deal of hardship not onely through ill Weather at Sea but also for want of Provisions Having during this time been on the Islands St. Martin Montserrat and Antego thinking to have possess'd himself of some or other of them in stead of St. Christophers but not finding such a fruitful Soil and convenient Situation as what he had been forc'd to forsake he was not forward to fix there but rather judg'd it convenient to enquire concerning the Condition of St. Christophers and at last being inform'd by a Ketch that the Enemy was gone to Havana and the English were busie in Tilling their Lands he return'd to his old Station where nevertheless their Endeavors to repair what was ruin'd had been in vain by reason of the scarcity of Provisions and want of other Necessaries had not in their greatest extremity some Netherland Vessels arriving there furnish'd them with Provisions Clothes and other Necessaries on bare promises of payment But not long after growing rich with Tobacco Sugars Ginger and Indigo they made Satisfaction to all their Creditors and at last attain'd to the Condition before mention'd In the late War between Us and the Dutch the French taking advantage of our Engagement endeavor'd to destroy our Plantations there and to make themselves Masters of the whole Island but the Matter being at last brought to some Agreement Sir Charles Wheeler hath been very lately sent over thither by His Majesty to re-settle Affairs there and order the Capitulations between the French and English CHAP. XIX The Islands Sotavento and the Isle Trinidado IN the Division we found to be made of the Islands that lie between Florida and New Spain and Southern America the last are the Isles of Sotavento which are reckon'd to be these three Margareta Cubagua and Tabago but the last is by most accounted and hath been mention'd amongst the Caribbees Situation of Margareta Margareta so call'd from the abundance of Pearls of which the Spanish Appellation comes near the Latine Margaritae found there by the Spaniards at their first Discovery lies about the twelfth Degree of Northern Latitude over against the Main Land of Cumana from which it is distant about seven Leagues It is accounted sixteen Leagues long and half as much in breadth and was discover'd by Columbus in his third Voyage in the Year of our Lord 1498. and was at first in great reputation in regard of the rich Pearl-fishing upon its Coasts wherein the Spaniards more favorable it seems to the Natives of this Place than usual because of their readiness to discover their Treasures employ'd Negro's brought from the Coast of Guinee whom by severe Punishments inflicted they forc'd to such excessive Labor that many of them though excellent Divers were drown'd others either devour'd or lam'd by the ravenous great Fish thereabouts and by destroying the very Seed through their insatiable greediness after Pearl brought the Trade of Pearl-fishing in a short time to a very small Account in respect of what it might have been had it been well husbanded Nor hath this Island of late Years been much frequented only in the Year 1601. Captain Parker with a Fleet of English put on Shore here and took as many Prisoners as he had five hundred pounds of Pearl for the Ransom of and at his coming away took a Ship he met from off the Coast of Angola with three hundred and seventy Negro's aboard her who were going to be sold for Slaves The Soil is not unfruitful bringing forth several sorts of Fruit and store of Maiz and probably if improv'd would as well bear Wheat and other usual kinds of Grain but there is great want of Water which the Inhabitants are troubled to fetch from the neighboring Continent Towns and Places of chief note The Places of chief note are 1. Monpater a Fort built by the Spaniards in a Nook of the Island lying Eastward to secure the Pearl-fishing Trade and to defend the Town where the Governor resides as also the Treasurer of the King of Spain's Customs of Pearl which have been formerly valu'd at 50000 l. yearly 2. El valle de Santa Lucia two Leagues from this Town and as much from the Sea a Spanish Colony Macanao the onely noted Place belonging to the Natives SECT II. Cubagua Situation of Cubagua CUbagua lies South-West of Margarita about the eleventh Degree of North-Latitude a League or thereabouts distant from Margarita and six Leagues from the nearest Continent and about three Leagues in circumference This is also a very great Place for Pearl-fishing the benefit whereof hath been so considerable that the King of Spain's Fifths are said to have amounted some years to fifteen thousand Ducats but otherwise of a poor and barren Soil not onely destitute of Water but of Fruit Grain Herbage and all manner of Cattel and eatable Beasts except a few lean Coneys nevertheless in respect of the Pearl-fishing Trade the Spaniards have Planted here a Colony which they call'd New Cadiz having plenty of Provisions brought them from the adjoining Coasts and soon after their first Planting grew in a short time so powerful that they became Masters of one of the best Ports of those Seas call'd Maracapana Venezuela but upon an Alarm of the Salvages of Cumana for a while deserted the Island and betook themselves to Hispaniola from whence nevertheless being remanded back with fresh Supplies under the Command of James de Castellon they soon re-instated themselves in their former Plantation and made it more strong and flourishing than before in which state they remain'd as long as the Pearl-fishing Trade continu'd but that decaying the splendor also of this Colony declin'd so that at present the onely thing which makes the Place remarkable is a Fountain on the East part of the Island not far from the Sea yielding a liquid bituminous Water of singular use in Medicine and sometimes found floating on the Sea at two or three Leagues distance The Island Coche About four Leagues distant from Cubagua there is an Island call'd Coche about three Miles in compass It was discover'd in the Year 1529. and was formerly little less considerable for
Pearl-fishing than the other two SECT III. Trinidado Situation of Trinidado THe Island of Trinidado was first discover'd by Columbus Anno 1447. in his third Voyage and by him so call'd as some guess from its three Points or Promontories but that seems not so probable in regard it is otherwise call'd La Trinidad or Insula Sanctae Trinitatis and therefore is likely to have been denominated upon a religious Account It lieth nine Degrees or thereabouts distant from the Line at the Mouth of the River Orenoque and is separated from the Coast of Paria over against which it lies by a Straight that is three Miles over and which for the dangerousness of passing it Columbus the first Discoverer of it call'd Bocca del Draco the length thereof from the most Southern Angle call'd Punta del Andrada to the North-East call'd Punta del Galera is reckon'd twenty five Leagues those that reckon fifty may be suppos'd to mistake Leagues for Miles and the breadth about eighteen Chief Commodities of the Island The Air of this Place is so impure that it is accounted the unwholsomest Island of all the Indies nevertheless the Soil is not unfertile as bringing forth Sugar-Canes Cotton Maize Tobacco of the best kind with other Commodities of the general growth of the West-Indies besides store of good Fruit and Cattel and one part of the Island call'd Terra de Bea produceth great plenty of Pitch but not of the best kind and there have been discover'd several Veins of Gold and other Metals The Natives some say were antiently call'd Cairi or Carai and were distinguish'd into several Clans or Tribes each under the Government of a Casique or petty Prince but most of them dreading the Spaniards Cruelty deserted the Island and Setled themselves in Guiana and at present both this Place Guiana and El Dorado have of Custom one and the same Governor whose Place of Residence here is St. Josephs the chief if not onely Town of the Island it stands Southward upon the Carone Here most of that Tobacco is made which is sold amongst us for Spanish In the Year 1595. Sir Walter Raleigh possess'd himself of it being then but a petty Village of about forty Houses and took Prisoner the then Governor Antonio Berreo who in all probability to ingratiate himself with him gave him some light towards the discovery of Guiana On the North-East of Trinidado and not above eight Miles distant from it Tabago lies the Island of Tabago which hath been already treated of as one of the Caribbees though some will have it one of the Sotavento it is otherwise call'd New Walcheren from a Town of that Name in Zealand from whence a Colony of Netherlanders was sent to Plant it Amongst others of the small obscure Islands hereabouts is Virgin Gorda Virgin Gorda which is sometimes reckon'd amongst the Caribbee Islands but since there is nothing considerable to be spoken of it it is sufficient that it hath been mention'd though not punctually in its proper place CHAP. XX. California California how distinguish'd HAving before made mention of California as it is by some taken for that large portion of Northern America which lies most Southward and also utmost West of all that is known of the New World and having treated of those several Provinces which are generally reckon'd to be comprehended in it excepting California strictly taken as it is generally granted to be an Island viz. Quivira Cibola and Nova Albion lying on the Continent though there want not those who make Nova Albion onely the North part of California we shall close up our Discourse of these Islands that lie Northward of the Equinoctial Line with the aforesaid California specially so call'd which was by many thought and describ'd to be but a Peninsula or half Island by reason that the Bay which divides it from Quivira and New Gallicia towards the North runneth much narrower than it doth Southerly 〈…〉 that some where or other at the North it waâ— joyn'd to the 〈…〉 been â—aid have â—â—und it to bâ—â—◠〈…〉 â—aâ—e from the Continent for about the Yâ—◠〈…〉 upon those Coasts Northward accidentally 〈…〉 fell upon a Straight the Waters whereof ran with such 〈…〉 â—hat they brought them into Mar Vermiglio whether they 〈…〉 no and before they knew it and by that means discover'd that California was an Island and that the Waters which were observ'd to fall so violently unto that Sea towards the North were not the Waters of any River emptying it self into the Bay from the Main Land as was formerly thought but the Waters of the North-West Sea it self violently breaking into the Bay and dividing it wholly from the Continent It lieth North and South extending it self in a vast length full twenty Degrees of Latitude viz. from twenty two to forty two but the breadth nothing answerable The most Northern Point of it is call'd Cape Blanche that to the South Cape St. Lucas memorable for that rich and gallant Prize which Captain Cavendish in the Year 1587. being then in his Voyage about the World took from the Spaniards near to this Place As for the Island it self it is at present little if at all inhabited by the Spaniards whether it be that they want Men to furnish new Plantations or that they find no matter of invitation and encouragement from the Countrey or perhaps that the access thither be not so easie for 't is reported to be wonderfully well peopled by the Natives and that there were found onely upon the Coasts and along the Shore of Mar Vermiglio twenty or twenty three Nations all of different Languages though from the particular Narrations that have been made of the Voyages of several eminent Persons into these Parts it appears that the Spaniards have taken great pains in the discovery thereof and also from the several Spanish Names of Places that they have had Plantations here formerly however neglected at present The Customs and Manners of the Natives The Countrey is abundantly well stor'd with Fish and Fowl as appears partly by the Natives who take a huge pride in making themselves gay with the Bones of the one with which they load their Ears and sometimes their Noses also and with the Feathers of the other which ordinary People wear onely sticking about their Wastes but Great Persons and such as will be fine indeed beset their Heads strangely with them and have commonly one Bunch of them bigger than ordinary hanging down behind them like a Tail Having no knowledge of the true God they worship what the Devil will have them that is the Sun attributing to it onely the increase of their Plants healthful Seasons and most of the other good things they enjoy or are sensible of Their Government is said to be onely Oeconomical Their Government each Father ordering the Affairs of his Family apart without subjection to any other Superior yet so well manag'd that they live in good
Peace one with another not without many good Laws and Customs viz. That they allow but one Wife to one Man That they punish Adultery with Death That they suffer not Maids to talk or converse with Men till they be Married That Widows may not Marry till they have Mourn'd at least one half year for their Husbands deceased and divers others of like nature which perhaps if the truth were known do more properly belong to the Natives of Utopia or New Atlantis than to these of California Placs of note The Places therein as yet observ'd are onely upon the Sea-coasts 1. The Capes of St. Clara and St. Lucas the one at the South-East end of the Island looking towards New Gallicia the other at the South-West looking into the Sea and towards Asia 2. St. Cruce so nam'd from its being first discover'd on Holy-Rood-Day being a large and convenient Haven not far from Cape St. Clara. 3. Cabo de las Playas so call'd from a company of little bare Hillocks appearing from the Sea and is more within the Bay 4. Cabo Baxo so term'd as lying towards the bottom of the Gulf. 5. St. Andrews another convenient Haven upon an Island of the same Name 6. St. Thomas an Island at the Mouth of the Gulf or Bay of about twenty five Leagues in compass rising Southerly with an high mountainous Point under which is a convenient Road for Shipping and twenty five Fathoms of Water On the other side of the Island towards the Main Sea there is 1. St. Abad a good Haven and almost surrounded with a pleasant and fruitful Countrey 2. Cape Trinidado a noted Promontory 3. Cape de Cedras so call'd together with a small Island near it from the store of Cedars growing thereabouts 4. Enganno 5. Puebla de las Canoas so nam'd from the abundance of those little Boats which the Americans generally use and do call Canoos whereof perhaps some store are made there 6. Cabo de Galera from its resemblance to a Rat. It is believ'd there are many more Promontories and Bays on both sides of this Island besides Rivers and Islets yet not nam'd and altogether unknown Moreover Dr. Heylin hath well observ'd that those above-mention'd are the Names onely of Places and not of Towns and Villages though doubtless there must needs have been some scatter'd Houses built formerly by the Spaniards in so many Expeditions Cortez the first Discoverer of these Parts The first Discoverer of these Parts was Ferdinando Cortez who having in the Year 1534. set out two Ships to that purpose from St. Jago a Haven of New Spain and not finding the Success answerable to his Expectation went next Year himself in Person and pass'd a good way up the Gulf but for want of Provisions was forc'd to return without having done any thing to the purpose In 1539. one Francisco a Companion of Cortez in the former Expedition Set out upon his own Charges and having Coasted all about both upon the Eastern and Western Shores he at last Landed but not without notable opposition from the Natives who with much clamour and many antique Gestures set upon his Men so furiously with Stones and Arrows that they had met with a shrew'd Repulse had it not been for the Valor of their Auxiliaries the Mastiff Dogs which it seems they us'd to carry along with them in those kind of Voyages but at last he got footing so far that he took possession in the Name of the King of Spain with the usual Formalities and following the Example of Columbus set up a Cross in the Place for a Memorial and Testimony of his having been there Marco de Nisa his Relation of these Parts Much about the same time Marco de Nisa a Franciscan undertaking a Voyage into these Parts reported Wonders at his Return of the plenty of golden Mines stately Cities set out with magnificent Buildings the very Gates whereof were enrich'd with Turquoises and other Precious Stones and whose meanest Inhabitants went glittering in Gold and Mother of Pearl and of the flourishing Condition of the Kingdoms of Acu Tonteac and Marata whereupon the Governor of New Gallicia was sent by the then Vice-Roy of Mexico with great hopes of bringing back a Confirmation of these Reports but whether out of spite to be deceiv'd in his Expectation or having real cause so to do he represented all things as mean and despicable as the Fryer had proclaim'd them rich and glorious De Alarcon his Voyage The next that went upon this Design was Ferdinando de Alarcon who is reported to have Sail'd many Leagues up a River call'd Buena Guia and there to have receiv'd Homage of Naguacatus one of the Heads of the Californian Tribes Cabrillo his Expedition One more Attempt was made in the Year 1642. by Roderico Cabrillo who discover'd the Island of St. Luke and another call'd The Island of Possession and this was the last we hear of that thought it worth while to go an Undertaker to these Coasts and ever since all Undertakings hither have been so wholly laid aside that what-ever was once discover'd in these Parts seems rather to be lost and forgotten than any way improv'd As for Nova Albion whereas many determine it to be onely the utmost Northern part of California though it doth not absolutely appear to be so from the Relation of Sir Francis Drake's Discovery of it we judge it agreeable to Method and Decorum not wholly to omit the mention of it in this place though it hath been already spoken of and the aforesaid Relation deliver'd at large amongst the rest of those Provinces of largely-taken California which were taken for granted to be upon the Continent Drake's Account of the Countrey Drake and his Company brought home this Description of the Countrey and its Inhabitants viz. That the Countrey was exceedingly well stor'd with Deer Grazing up and down the Hills by thousands in a company That the Men generally went naked all over the Women using onely a piece of a Mat or some such thing in stead of an Apron That their Houses were built onely of Turf and Osier yet so wrought together that they serv'd very well to keep out the Cold in the midst of it was their Hearth where they made their Fire and lay all round about it together upon several Beds of Bull-Rushes What their Towns were or whither they had any is altogether unknown The Third Book CONTAINING A DESCRIPTION OF PERUANA OR Southern America CHAP. I. Situation and Form of Southern America HAving compleated our Description of Mexicana or Northern America being that great Peninsula which lies Northward of the Isthmus or Straight of Darien together with all the Islands on the North side of the Equinoctial Line we come now to the Southern Part otherwise call'd Peruana from Peru the chief Kingdom thereof being the other great Peninsula which lies Southward of the aforesaid Straight It is generally resembled to the form of
Division of Regions and Territories must give place to the Modern The Nature and Customs of the antient Inhabitants The antient Inhabitants of these Parts were a very warlike People the Women always accompanying their Husbands in the Wars They us'd to hang on the tops of their Standards the Bones of their greatest Heroes thereby to animate their Soldiers Their Arms consisted of poysonous Arrows Stone Swords and Pikes made of the Palm-Trees They also carried with them the Idol Chiapa to whom they Offer'd living Children at the beginning of their Wars and afterwards making Merry with the Flesh anointed the Image with the Blood Moreover if they return'd home Conquerors they spent several days in all manner of Debaucheries as Drinking Singing Dancing Cutting their Prisoners Throats with their Blood also anointing their Image But if they were conquer'd then they invented new Offerings to reconcile themselves with their Idol Towns and Places of chief note The chief Towns and Places which the Spaniards inhabit here are 1. Panama the chief City of the Province being also a Bishop's See which is Suffragan to the Arch-bishop of Lima and the ordinary Residence of the Governor and Courts of Justice for these Parts It is seated likewise upon the South Sea and so near that at High-water the Ships are said to Ride even under the Walls Through this Town the Wealth both of Peru and Spain passeth once every Year from Spain by Nombre de Dios and Porto Bello from whence whatsoever Merchandise or other Commodities come from Spain are Transported to Panama by Land and from thence by Sea to all the Parts of Peru and by Panama whatsoever comes from Peru is sent into Spain It hath commonly a strong Garrison of Soldiers in it and is doubtless a Place otherwise well fortifi'd being of so great importance From the Haven Pericos three Ways lead to Panama the first along a Bridge over a River whose Banks are great Fortifications to the City the rather because the River is deep and next it a Pool over-grown with Weeds The Way from Nombre de Dios plain and without Woods is wash'd by the Brook Levendero The third runs along over a Stone Bridge and Champain Grounds that extend from the Haven Pericos to the City Eastward from Panama appear seven Royal Houses on a Rock wherein the Courts of Judicature are kept Five hundred Rods into the Sea lies an Island resembling a Half-Moon and the Haven wherein the Ships when they unlade cast Anchor there being else not Water enough for laden Barques and all lie dry the Tide being out At the Mouth thereof stands a woodden Sconce The Places Venta de Cruze Chagre Quebrada and Ballano are also fortifi'd against any Invasion where else an Enemy might easily Land But the strictest Watch is kept at the River Chagre which Westward below Nombre de Dios falling into the Northern Ocean brings the Ships up to Venta de Cruze from whence a Way scarce five Leagues long leads to Panama The Spanish Commodities consisting most in Meal Oyl Biskets Cloth and Silk are all brought from Nombre de Dios along the same Way or else in Winter when they cannot stem the Current of the River Chagre then they bring their Goods by Land not without great danger of being taken by the run-away Negro's who set upon them out of the Woods with poyson'd Darts and Arrows and as many Spaniards as they take so many several ways they put them to death because they formerly in the time of their Servitude were us'd with all imaginable Cruelties The Provisions sold here at a reasonable Rate are Maiz Peruan-Meal Poultrey Honey Cattel Swine Oranges Lemmons Cabbage and all manner of Garden Herbs or Plants Round about the fore-mention'd Royal Houses lie Bulwarks with a strong Castle on one side A fair Cathedral denotes the Place to be a Bishop's See And the Franciscans Dominicans and Monks of the Order De la Merced inhabit several fair Cloysters here Two Leagues Westward is the Haven Pericos which being secur'd from all Winds by three high Isles that lie before it is the chief Harbor in which the Peruan Plate-Fleet consisting most in small Barques comes to an Anchor before they touch at Panama The Countrey is for the most part Mountainous and in many places sends forth stinking Damps out of muddy Pools yet in some places are Savanna Grounds for Cattel to Graze in The Air would also be more unhealthful if it were not clear'd by the Winds which blow from the Sea From July to October there fall continual Rains mix'd with terrible claps of Thunder The Inhabitants often recreate themselves in Hunting wild Hogs with Nets made of the Brambles call'd Nequen or Henachen and that after a strange manner for they set on fire the Bushes all about the place where they suppose the Game to lie which to shun the Fire runs into their Nets so that the same Bushes are both their shelter and destruction as affording Material to make the Nets wherein they are taken Besides other Birds the Woods also abound with Pheasants and Turtle-Doves and amongst Beasts those that carry their Young about them in a Bag as also wild Cats The Sea abounds with Fish and produces Crocodiles of a large size by the Spaniards call'd Lagartos The Trees are seldom without Leaves but bear little or no Fruit. 2. Nombre de Dios which hath broad Streets high woodden Houses and a fair Church It extends from East to West along the Northern Ocean in the middle of a great Wood on Moorish Ground having a great Fen on the West being situate under an unwholsom Climate it hath occasion'd the death of many People The Merchants which dwelt here had also Habitations in Panama the rest of the Houses being most of them Inns for Strangers from whence as soon as they had gotten an Estate they went to Spain The Countrey round about lies under Water in many places The Oranges Cassada-Roots and the like which grow here occasion many Distempers to those that eat of them In the Harbor which hath on each side a Ridge of Rocks on which lies decay'd Forts the Sea is often-times so turbulent that the Ships are forc'd to Ride at six Anchors apiece Eastward from the City a fresh-Water River falls into the Haven on whose Banks stand several Garden-Houses and Orchards Anno 1595. Sir Francis Drake arriving here found a Mill beyond the City not far from which on a Hill stood a Watch-house of which having made himself Master he set fire on the Town Nombre de Dios as also on all the Vessels that were in the Harbor The original of the Name Nombre de Dios was on this occasion viz. Diego Niquesa setting Sail with three Ships out of the Haven Carthagena to the Golden Countrey Veragua was surpris'd by a violent Storm in which two Ketches Commanded by Lupus de Olano and Peter Umbria were driven out of sight whilest he suffer'd shipwrack and getting
ashore rang'd up and down in a desolate Countrey where he found no other Food but Roots till at last he met with Olano when the Famine began to increase amongst them in such a nature that being scarce able to carry their Arms many of them were kill'd by the Inhabitants with poyson'd Arrows insomuch that of seven hundred there remain'd scarce ninety Niquesa shipp'd as many of them in a new Vessel which they had made as it could possibly carry and promis'd to fetch the rest off from Veragua as soon as he had discover'd a Place fit to be inhabited The first Place he Landed at was Puerto Bello from whence being necessitated by the Indians who gather'd together to Retreat Aboard not without the loss of several Men he set Sail to the Promontory Mormor beyond which he Anchor'd in a secure Haven where as he was going ashore he call'd to his Men saying Saltiamo in tierra al Nombre de Dios that is Let us Land in the Name of God and casting up a Fort against the Assaults of the Natives call'd it Nombre de Dios. 3. St. Philip or Puerto Bello so denominated by Christopher Columbus from its Haven lying along the North Sea wonderful convenient and secure by reason of the good Ground for Anchoring and a Creek in the same defended from all sorts of Winds and which being surrounded with Woods hath much over-flow'd Land about it as also abundance of good Gravel for Ballast for which and several other Reasons the famous Architect Baptista Antonelli advis'd the Spanish King to build this City for a Staple of Trade in stead of Nombre de Dios which was found unhealthy having pitch'd upon an excellent Situation for it viz. on a Plain at the Foot of a Hill where there are three fresh Rivulets meeting with a fruitful and hot Countrey wherefore his Advice being taken they first built a Fort at the Mouth of the Haven put five Guns into the same to defend the new City and on the Shore a strong Tower with eight Drakes Moreover the Rocks along the Shore and close Woods about the Haven prevent the Landing of an Enemy But at the very time that this City was just begun to be built Sir Francis Drake having burnt Nombre de Dios ran into the Haven Puerto Bello where he found ten Houses besides the Governors Palace and a Castle whose Breast-works which the Spaniards had lately rais'd of Timber Stone and Earth were all demolish'd by the English But the Spaniards have since re-built the same and fortifi'd the Haven with two strong Castles notwithstanding in the Year 1661. it was surpriz'd and taken by the English under the Command of Captain Parker and the Governor Petro Melendez taken Prisoner 4. Nata commonly call'd St. Jago de Nata situated on the West side of this Province upon Mare del Zur or The South Sea about thirty Leagues distant from Panama towards the Borders of Veragua 5. Acla a Town upon the same Coast but lying South-East of Nombre de Dios It was at first onely a Fort built by Peter de Arias but afterwards grew up into a small City of which at present there is nothing remaining but the remembrance of the famous Vasquez Nunnez Beheaded by his Father-in-law Arias 6. Lastly La Crux Real a few Leagues distant from Panama for the most part inhabited by a sort of Negro's call'd Simmerones Along the North Coast of Panama are two small woody Islands call'd Cattiva and Comagre lying low in the Water also the Isle De Pines which rises high out of the Sea near the Main Land The Isles of Pearls On the Southern Coast are Isole de las Perlas or The Isles of Pearls about twenty five in number but indeed rather Rocks than Islands excepting two viz. Taroreque and Del Rios where in former times the Indians took great store of Pearls by diving for them to the bottom of the Sea and they were esteem'd of greater value and excellence than those of Cubagua and great profit was made of them by the Spaniards till by their Cruelties exercis'd upon the Natives through excessive greediness they depopulated the Islands and lost that altogether of which before they were so insatiable they are now onely inhabited by a few Moors and other Slaves who keep Cattel there for their Masters Captain Oxenham's Expedition It will not seem amiss to conclude our Description of Panama with a short Account of the English Captain John Oxenham's Exploits in these Parts He being incited by the Treasure which Sir Francis Drake fetch'd from hence resolv'd to Steer for the Northern Coast of Panama where he hal'd his Ship of a hundred and twenty Tun on Shore and cover'd the same with Trees buried his Guns and march'd with two Field-Pieces and seven Men up into the Countrey and was by the Indians conducted to a River which falls into the South Sea where he built a Pinnace of forty five Foot long and Sailing into the South Sea Landed on Tararequi one of the Islands of Pearls where he soon after took a Peruan Barque with sixty thousand pieces of Gold store of Wine and Bread and the day following another which came from Lima loaden with a hundred thousand Pound in Silver Bars and some Pearls with which being enrich'd he return'd to the Main The Governor of Panama being inform'd of it put a hundred Soldiers into four Barques besides a considerable number of Negro Slaves over which Juan de Ortego having the chief Command was inform'd at Tararequi what Course the English had steer'd whereupon he pursu'd them to the River whither they were gone which falling with three Arms into the Sea they could not have known which way the English went unless they had seen some Feathers of Fowls driving in the Mouth of the least Branch by which they judg'd that they were not far off therefore Rowing up they found after four days Journey the Pinnace hal'd on Shore and watch'd by six Men who were order'd to stand Sentinel whereof one being shot by the Spaniards the other five fled whom Ortega pursuing found half a League from the Shore a Hut made of Boughs wherein the Booty lay which he speedily carried to his Barques but Captain Oxenham inform'd hereof fell with two hundred Indians up-the Spaniards who having a Wood on their Backs made such advantage thereof that eleven English were slain and seven taken and had not the rest fled they had all been either kill'd or taken Prisoners Those that were taken inform'd Ortega that they had been at difference amongst themselves about dividing the Booty which was the reason of their staying so long moreover they discover'd where and how their Ship lay all which the Governor of Panama writ to Nombre de Dios from whence four Sail were immediately sent to find out the Ship and the buried Guns as also to take all such English as they should find preparing of Boats or Barques and bring them to
from the fine Gold which is found there in great abundance Havens Isles and Points in Peru. Along the Sea-Coast of Peru belonging to the Jurisdiction of Los Reyos lie the following Havens Isles and Points South-East from the Promontory Aguya rises the Isle St. Roque out of the South-Sea Sea surrounded with Rocks and abounds with Birds of prey through the midst of it runs a River which divides the Island The Haven Malabrigo ill defended against the Winds cannot be entred by great Vessels unless in calm Weather Next follow the Harbors Guanape and Santa where the Ships us'd to furnish themselves with Water out of a fresh River Casuya and Guarmay both inhabited by Peruvians Near the Mouth of the Road Guara stands a large Salt-pan the Salt about which is found in great hard Pieces The Island Collao secures the Haven before Lima. Behind Cape Guarco lies the Lobos and not far from hence the Harbor Sangallan being so commodious that the Spaniards consider'd a long time whether they should build the City Los Reyos here The Promontory Nasca affords also good shelter for Ships and the Haven Hacari yields store of Refreshments Moreover the Streams Oconna Camana and Quilca discharge their Waters into the Sea The Haven Arequipa appears at its Mouth like a little Pool surrounded with Mountains Between Quilca and the River Tamboyalla lies the Isle Nuli and a little more Southward the Haven Paracca and Pisca and up in the Countrey the Village Yca where the most and best Peruvian Wine is to be had SECT VI. Los Charcas Situation and Description of Los Charcas LOs Charcas is the farthest Countrey Southward of the Kingdom of Peru reaching up as far as Chile with which on the South it is border'd having on the North Lima and Collao on the West Mare del Zur and on the East some Countreys not yet well discover'd which lie betwixt it and the Province of Paraguay or De la Plata The Countrey is said to be in length about a hundred and fifty Leagues measuring it directly or in a right Line from North to South but measuring it about along the Sea-Coast much about two hundred It is not very rich either in Corn or Cattel although in some parts it wanteth not good Pasturage but of unparalell'd Wealth in respect of the Mines of Gold and Silver which are here digg'd the principal whereof are those of Potosi and Parco The Mountains hereabouts are inhabited by the Cavinas who dwell in Stone Houses Their Neighbors the Canches are a subtile good natur'd and painful People breed many Sheep sowe Corn and catch plenty of Fish out of the Rivers Next comes in view the cold Countrey Conas On the right side towards the Southern Ocean the great Wilderness Parinacocha extends it self a vast way the Mountains round about are continually cover'd with Snow and the Dales have many deep Moors POTOSI 2. Oropesa a place of good Metal as a man may perceive by the Name It lieth in the rich and pleasant Valley Cochobamba twenty Leagues distant from La Plata 3. Potosi eighteen Leagues Westward from La Plata by the Spaniards call'd The Imperial City built at the Foot of a Mountain bearing the same Denomination on a barren Soil under a cold Climate though but twenty one Degrees to the South-ward of the Equinoctial Line the Cold proceeds from the high Lands which lie bare to the bleak and sharp Winds call'd Tomohavi which blow every year very fiercely from May till September But though the barren Countrey produces no Fruit yet no place in Peru hath greater plenty of all Provisions and Dainties than this the Markets being always full of Fruit Salt-Meat Maiz Papas Wheat Sugar Sweet-meats and all things that are requisite for the subsistence of Man-kind which are brought thither from all parts for the Silver which is there in such plenty As to what concerns the famous Mountain Potosi in the Countrey of Charcas it is of an Ash colour and rises above the adjacent Mountains in the form of a Sugar-Loaf on the top of it stands a Chappel to which leads a craggy Path which with a little care may be rid up with a Horse the heighth thereof is a thousand six hundred and twenty four Rods or a quarter of a League at the Foot thereof appears the Mine call'd Guaina Potosi that is The young Potosi near which the City Potosi stands being two Leagues in circumference and is adorn'd with a Church and Cloyster for the Dominicans and exceedingly resorted to by Traders In the time when the Ingas Govern'd Peru the Silver-Mines at Porco were very famous but it was not till after the arrival of the Spaniards that Silver was found in Guaina Potosi and by degrees the Silver Veins which lay hid in the great Potosi the manner of which Discovery was as followeth The occasion of the first Discovery of the Mines in Potosi A Peruvian call'd Gualpa who work'd in the Mines at Porco going a Hunting it chanc'd that the Game ran up the steep Mountain of Potosi which prevented his pursuing of it any farther but the Mountain being overgrown with Trees he got hold from one Bough to another to help himself up and at last taking hold of the Bramble call'd Quinua he pull'd the same out of the Ground and finding it heavy look'd upon it and espy'd a great lump of Silver hanging at the Root of it whereupon viewing the Hole he discover'd a rich Silver Vein of which taking some pieces home and melting them he found that it was the best Silver that ever he had known wherefore he privately got a greater quantity and by degrees grew extraordinary rich but though he carried his Design never so close yet he was at last suspected and especially by his Neighbor Guanca born in the Valley Xauxa who was the more jealous of him because he sold greater Bars of Silver than any were cast at Porco whereupon he resolv'd to speak to him and getting out the Secret it came to this Agreement between them That they should both be Partners and share the Booty Gualpa was to keep the Vein since call'd The Rich Vein and Guanca was to have another at present nam'd Diego Centeno but they agreed not long for Guanca finding much labor upon his Vein by reason of the hardness and that he could get no share in what Gualpa got acquainted his Spanish Master Vilaroel with it who rested not till he had found out the truth thereof for which Vilaroel obtain'd according to the Custom of Porco several Rods to work for himself onely paying the King one fifth part of what he got and so remain'd Owner of the Mine Centeno The Mine Potesi when discover'd This Discovery of the rich Mine Potosi is said to have hapned on the twenty fourth of April Anno 1545. Soon after which they found the Silver Vein Del Estanno which though it was very rich was difficult to be digg'd because of
the Sea The difference between Summer and Winter shorter and longer Days in the main part of Brasile is scarce discernable warm Weather lasting all the year round and for the length of the Day and Night the Sun being hid under the Horizon twelve hours shines for the most part just as long the greatest difference never being above an hour Three hours before Day-break the Dew makes it exceeding cold till Sun-rising wherefore the Brasilians make Fires in the Night near their Hammocks not onely to keep wild Beasts from them but also against the Cold. After the coldest Nights follow the fairest Days and the contrary after sultry Nights nevertheless except in the rainy Season which begins with March and ends about August the Skye is generally clear yet it Lightens much towards the Evening Rainbowes often appear in the Skye and bout the Mooon Halos The Rain generally falls in great Drops and with a mighty noise before which it is generally very sultry hot or else soon after The Dew which is fruitfuller than in Europe is saltish which makes it oft to rot things that lie in the open Air. During the rainy Moneths a South-East Winds blows from a cloudy Skye much stronger than the Northern in Summer The South-East Wind drives the Stream to the North as the North Wind drives it to the South And more than this there is little to be discern'd of the Seas ebbing and flowing hereabouts At the highest Tides the Brasilians go several Leagues from the Shore to Fish upon Planks made of the spungy Wood call'd Jangada fastned together The Sea which seems to burn in the Night is so clear in the Day that the Fish may be seen to swim above twenty Fathom deep A calm Ocean when the Days and Nights are of an exact length and especially when dark Clouds appear is a certain sign of a dreadful Storm At Full or New-Moon the Sea rises twelve Foot and continues either a longer or shorter time according as it is more or less turbulent and the Rivers fall stronger or more gently into the same Before most part of the Coast of Brasile lies a Stone Cliff of above twenty or thirty Paces broad which is never cover'd with Water though in the time of Spring-floods In this Cliff Nature in several places hath made a Gap through which the Ships sail near the Shore and ride safe at an Anchor The whole Countrey of Brasile is divided into thirteen Praefectures or Lordships and hath about as many Rivers which more or less empty themselves into every one of these Countreys The Eastern part hath several Brooks and Fountains which afford good Water both for Man and Beast In some parts the Water is so strong that the wild Beasts making themselves Drunk therewith are easily taken During the Winter Season the Rivers glide with great force and swell on a sudden overflowing all the neighboring Countrey onely the River San Francisco runs strongest and rises highest in the Summer Season whenas in the Winter it flows low and poures but little Water into the Ocean The original of this River is as yet unknown yet is by most believ'd to come out of a great Lake lying near the Peruvian Mountains The Hollanders who sail'd forty Leagues up the same found it every where broad and deep and scatter'd full of Isles and Rocks The Portuguese sailing ten Leagues farther discover'd the great Rocks Cocoeras from which the said River falls down with great violence and extends it self North-West In the other Brasilian Streams though wide at the Mouthes which generally are not above two or three hours walking from their Fountains or Springs no Barque is able to Row up they being exceeding shallow although much Rain falls into them the reason whereof is because the barren Mountains lying between Brasile and Peru discharge abundance of Water through the Rivers of Amazones Maranon Francisco La Plata and the Juaeiro with such force into the Ocean that they keep their sweetness for thirty Leagues Near the Sea side are several Lakes and Pits which are drinkable and others up in the Countrey that are brackish The Nature of the Soil The Countrey differs exceedingly for where it extends in Plains the Soil is fat and clayie and produces all sorts of Fruit but especially Sugar-Canes During the rainy Seasons the Trees flourish most after which the heat of the Sun and fertility of the Soil speedily ripen the Fruit wherefore they Dung not their Land but on the contrary endeavor to make it lean with Sand that the Plants might not have too many Leaves and wither before the Fruit can be ripened They Sowe in the beginning of the rainy Moneths and especially take care that the Seed lie not too deep in the Ground because then the Sun-beams being not able to come at it suffer it to perish in the cold Ground The high Cocoa and Palmito-Trees are transplanted all the year round the Roots being onely cover'd with a little Earth because they can endure no cold Several Trees here bear a cooling Fruit as if kind Nature took care to provide against excessive heat All manner of Plants and Herbs brought hither from Angola Portugal the Netherlands and the East-Indies grow here very plentifully But the Countrey generally would be much better if some way could be found out to destroy the innumerable company of Pismires which though three times bigger than the European resemble them very much and cover the Paths in Woods and Fields for three or four Miles together and raising Hillocks make them hollow and fill them with Corn in the Full of the Moon they gather an incredible quantity of Grain which they bite at each end because it should not sprout against the rainy Moneths they stop up their Holes Description of the Tamanda that the Water may not damnifie their Store But these Animals have a mortal Enemy of the Tamanda of which there are two sorts the bigger call'd Guaca the lesser Miri the Guaca notwithstanding it is no bigger than an ordinary Dog yet it destroys Tygers and other wild Beasts with such a raging fury that it never le ts go what once it hath got hold of but holds it fast so long till sometimes it dies of Hunger The Guaca differing from the Miri onely in bigness hath a broad Tail full of grey and black Bristles which sticks up when he is vex'd but when he goes to sleep covers himself with the same The Miri winds his long smooth Tail about the Boughs by which hanging he searches the Holes in the Trees with his Tongue which being thin and round hath a Gutter in the middle in which when it feels any Pismires it suddenly swallows them down If he perceives them to have their Nests under Ground then he scratches up the Earth and puts his Tongue in at the Holes Both the Guacu and Miri have a thick Skin and a broad black Streak from their Breasts on each side up half way their
nothing they met with for they murther and destroy all things where e're they come Brasile by whom possess'd at present The several Nations that now possess Brasile besides its native Inhabitants are Portuguese English Hollanders Germans and French which the Brasilians by a general Name call Ajuru-juba otherwise they call all Strangers Caraiba or Pero But from the commixing of several Nations proceeds a fifth sort for one that is born of European Parents in Brasile is call'd Mozombo of an European Father and Brasilian Mother Mameluc of an European Father and a Moor Mulatto of a Brasilian and Moor Curiboca or Cabocles of two Negro's Criolo But above all others the Portuguese are the strongest along the Sea-Coast who when first they began to settle on Brasile found great resistance and had not the Natives been at Wars amongst themselves they could never have got so much footing but now they are sufficiently Masters for they have either slain all the old Inhabitants or driven them up into the Inland however the Brasilians are so valiant that they will Encounter a great Army being brought up in the Wars from their Cradle When they Engage one with another they shoot their Arrows exceeding thick Hooting Hollowing and Leaping from one side to the other to shun the Arrows with a wonderful dexterity The Conquerors spare none but kill all and Feast on the slain Bodies but some they hale away Prisoners with a Rope about their Necks to each of whom they allot a young Maid who cherishes and fattens them up for five Moneths at the end of which they make a great Feast and drink to a pitch beyond Sense or Reason having first fill'd their Bellies with the Flesh of the slain Prisoners roasted If the Woman be got with Child by the Slain they imagine that they can take no greater revenge of their Enemy than to devour the Child as soon as it comes into the World but it often happens that the Woman really loving her Husband the Prisoner runs away with him and so bereaves her Friends of a Banquet SECT II. St. Vincent THe continual Wars which the Portuguese have maintain'd against the Brasilians have hindred them from Setling any where but along the Sea-side where their Residences are divided into thirteen Praefectures or Lordships by them call'd Capitanias the Southermost whereof being 1. St. Vincent Places of note in the Praefecture of St. Vincent hath a City of the same Denomination which lies near a River that coming out of the Ocean runs round in the Countrey and so returns into the Sea 2. Sanctos los Leyes which reckons four hundred Houses and three Sugar-Mills Here great Ships take in their Lading in the middle of the City 3. Hitauhacin the most Southern is inhabited by the Portuguese Twelve Leagues from thence up into the Countrey the Jesuits have built the Village St. Paulo near the Gold-Mines that lie in the Mountains extending from East to West thirty Leagues This Village long since containing eighty Houses is inhabited by Brasilians and a mix'd People the Way thither is troublesom over rough Mountains and Ways overgrown with Brambles On the Island Britioga at a sandy Inlet which makes a good Harbor lies a Fort for defence of the Haven St. Vincent and since the English Anno 1582. sunk a Ship there a second Fort hath been built to prevent the coming in up the River yet notwithstanding Captain Thomas Candish ran by both the Forts and burnt St. Vincent but spar'd Sanctos Before the River which washes St. Vincent appears the Island Sebastian pretty large wooddy and well stor'd with Venison It hath wholsom Water good Herbage and a secure Road for Ships against all Winds Farther into the Sea appears the high and rocky Isles Alcatraces as also Victorio des Busires Porto des Castellanos Monte de Frigo Muella and Queimadas The Nature of the Tupinikinsi Natives of St. Vincent The Natives of St. Vincent which are in League with the Portuguese are call'd Tupinikinsi inhabiting the Mountains which extend above twenty eight Leagues up into the Countrey They maintain continual Wars against the Carioes a civiliz'd People and white of Complexion as also against the Cupin-Imbas on the North and a nameless People bordering on Peru. Moreover the Miramumins a very wild People range all the Countrey over but are much lessen'd since the Portugueses Arrival SECT III. Rio de Janeiro First Discovery and Possesion of Rio de Janeiro THe second Lordship Rio de Janeiro formerly by the French call'd Ganabara was discover'd Anno 1515. by Juan Dias de Solis but the French first Setled themselves here forty years after Dias de Solis for setting Sail from Havre de Grace with three well Mann'd Ships Commanded by Nicholas Durandus Villegagnon they arriv'd at Rio Janeiro in November and at the Entrance into the River which is about half a League broad built a woodden Fort of a hundred Foot long and sixty broad and giving it the Name of the French Admiral Coligni put several Guns into the same to secure the Entrance inclos'd on each side by two steep Mountains In the River which is very broad lie several wooddy Isles on one of which near the Fort Coligni Villegagnon Setling himself suffer'd great Inconveniences for want of Water because he durst not Land on the Main for fear of being surpris'd by the Natives Here he stay'd a year and a half in a deplorable Condition when Philip Corguileray and Du Pont set Sail with three Ships from the Haven Honfleurs but they also though they had many Men yet were ill stor'd with Provisions insomuch that Hunger increas'd amongst them daily wherefore Villegagnon return'd home without any farther Exploits Jean Leri who went with Corguileray describes Rio Janeiro after this manner Jean Leri his Description thereof The River saith he lies twenty three Degrees Southward of the Equinoctial Line the Inlet of the Sea twenty fourthousand Paces broad and in some places broader is hemm'd in by hills the Mouth of the Inlet is somewhat dangerous by reason of three rocky Isles beyond the large Bay is a narrow Channel on the left-hand whereof there rises a high Mountain which the French call'd Le Pot de Beure because it resembles a Butter-pot Somewhat farther lies the Rock Ratier where Villegagnon thought to build a Fort but the Water in stormy Weather washing over the Rock he was forc'd to give over his Design Half a League farther is an Island a thousand Paces in length and a hundred and fifty in breadth surrounded with Rocks on which the French resided at each end of the Isle rises a Hill and from the middle a Rock sixty Foot high on the Hill Villegagnon pitcht his Tent till he had built him a handsom House on a Rock the other Houses were built in the Valley Three Leagues and a half farther lies a fruitful Isle nine Miles in circumference inhabited by a salvage People call'd Touoebinambauti there
noise and though they cannot run fast yet they dive and swim extraordinary quick The Tapiirete The Tapiirete also resembles a Hog especially in its Head and Feet but is as big as a Heifer of six Moneths old hath a Snout hanging over its under Lip a Mouth full of Teeth and on its Skin short and dark colour'd Hair This Beast is very libidinous and in the Nights spoils the Fruit-Trees especially the Sugar-Canes but in the Day-time it sleeps in Thickets The Flesh of a young Tapiierete tastes like Beef Lastly the Inhabitants of Porto Seguro are plentifully supply'd with Rabbets and the more because there being divers sorts of them some say five they are taken in great abundance either in Traps Snairs or Gins or by discovering their Holes for the Hunters stopping the entrance of them dig a Hole directly over the place where the Coneys lodge and so kill them with long Pike-staves in the Ground Five sorts of Rabbets in Brasile Of these five sorts of Rabbets in Brasile the chiefest call'd Paca hath a thick Head little Ears their fore-Feet bigger than their hind-Feet short hard and brown Hair speckled grey on the Sides but no Tail The Flesh of this sort of Rabbets is very delicate The second sort is the Tupesi which being like a Hare amongst us may as well be accounted of that kind The Aguti resembles our Rabbets onely it hath harsh brown Hair round Ears bald Feet gruntles like a Hog hath two Toes more on their hind-Legs than on the foremost The Cavia Cobaya though less than the European Rabbets excell them in soft and divers-colour'd Hair distinguish'd by white red and black Spots their Head and Teeth resemble those of a Rat but it hath no Tail No Rabbets can be made tamer than these and if carry'd to any remote Countrey breed as well there as in Brasile The last of all is the Aparea which differs little in running from a Hare as also in respect of the Head and Beard harbors more in rent Cliffs than in sandy Ground The Tree Tucum The Soil of Porto Seguro bears two sorts of Palm-Trees viz. the Tucum and Airi the Tucum hath small Boughs full of prickly Leaves and a fruit not unlike the Damask Prune hanging in Clusters of three or four hundred together and being excellent Food to fatten Hogs and Apes also when press'd yielding a clear Oyl which is highly esteem'd the Fruit when ripe grows black without and within hath a white Kernel of the Leaves the Brasilians spin fine and strong Thred The Airi grows much higher than the Tucum and hath also longer Leaves a Body full of sharp Thorns and a round Fruit full of white and oylie Pulp but not eatable the Wood hard heavy and black sinks in the Water and the Brafilians make their Clubs of the same The Bird Cocoi Along the Rivers flie the Birds Cocoi resembling Herons though in beauty they far exceed them they have but little Flesh long sharp Bills of a yellowish green colour and curious Crests of Feathers on their Heads which fall back over their Necks their Flesh when young is delicate SECT VI. Los Isleos Situation and Description of Los Isleos NExt Porto Seguro borders the Countrey Los Isleos so call'd from its chief Town which consists of a hundred and fifty Houses or perhaps by this time many more eight Sugar-Mills a Cloyster for the Jesuits and a Church The Inhabitants live by Tillage and Transporting of Provisions in little Barks to Pernambuco Seven Leagues farther in the Countrey beyond the Town of Isleos lies a nameless Lake three Leagues long as many broad and above ten Fathom deep and full of the Fish Manati which are very large and well tasted besides abundance of Crocodiles and in windy Weather the Water is as rough as if it were in the Ocean Out of this Lake flows a River by a Passage so narrow that a Boat can scarce pass through the same Round about this River live the Guaymures the most salvage People of all America they are of a Gigantick size have white Skins carry exceeding great Bowes and Arrows live without Houses like Beasts devour Mans-flesh like Tygers never Fight in Companies or Armies but watch to surprize a single Man or Beast they also eat their own Children and possess'd formerly all the Land from the River St. Francisco to the Promontory Frio but beaten from thence by the Tupinambas and Tupinachias they went to the County Los Isleos which they Invaded in such a manner that the Portuguese were not onely forc'd to leave several Sugar-Mills but also the whole Countrey SECT VII Bahia de Todos los Sanctos When Sosa Landed on the fore-mention'd Shore the Portuguese had but little footing on America for their Plantations at Isleos St. Vincent Pernambuco Villa Veja Itamaraca and Porto Seguro discover'd by Pedro Alvares Capralis Anno 1500. were run all to ruine Beside the City St. Salvador and the decay'd Town Villa Veja the City Paripe lies three Leagues farther into the Countrey consisting of three thousand Families and eighteen Sugar-Mills The Countrey about the same produces plenty of Cotton The Island Taperica which is pretty large hath a fertile Soil for the production of Tobacco and Grass to fatten Cattel The Inhabitants boyl much Train-Oyl of the Whales which come ashore there in considerable numbers Twelve Leagues Southward from St. Salvador appears the Village Cacocheira formerly belonging to a rich Portuguese who took great pains in reforming the salvage People Guaymures to a civil Life but seeing he profited but little he caus'd great Companies of them to be remov'd to Taperica that they might do less mischief where the unusual and unwholsom Air kill'd them all in a short time The Lordship Bahia hath abundance of Sugar-Mills which are either turn'd by the Water or drawn by Oxen. OLINDA DE PHERNAMBUCO A. Narale B. Nonasterium in Insula Antonic vace C. Hospitium domini Presiotuâ— H. C. Lonck D. Ecclesia Pagi Povo E. Promptuaria Sacâ—aro Aâ— Hispanen ique delecâ—â— F. Vallum ferrestre cum nonnuâ—â—is fortulitus G. Monasterium Sancti Benedicti dictum Bento H. Sancti Antoni I. S â—i Francisci K. Ecclesia Magaâ— L. Ecclesia Jesuitarum N. Promontorium ex virgultis â—â—â—stium SECT VIII Pernambuco Description of Pernambuco NOrthward from Bahia de Todos los Sanctos lies Pernambuco which extends along the Coast above seventy Leagues between the River St. Francisco and the Countrey of Hamaraca Pernambuco which signifies Hells-Mouth is on the East wash'd by the Northern Ocean in which grows a Weed much like an Oaken Leaf and so thick that unless it be cut to make their Way impedes the Sailing of Ships Several sorts of Fish The Sea is also very full of Fish which in calm Weather are visible sixty Fathom deep and are taken in greater abundance than they are able to spend for they no sooner let down a Bait cover'd with Feathers
and Tallow but the Fish immediately swallowing the same are taken Here are in the first place abundance of Hays a Fish so rank and oylie that they are not eatable but their Brains are accounted good against the Stone There are also hereabouts a sort of flying Fish like Herrings but not so big they have Wings like Bats which carry them above Water whilest they are wet they swim in shoals and are chased by all other Fishes which endeavoring to escape by flight out of the Water they become a prey to the Sea-pies The Sea-Breams are as well tasted as the flying Fish the Mariners cover them in Salt or stuff them within full of Salt and Pepper and so hang them to dry in the Sun Pernambuco it self lying in five Degrees Southward from the Equinox produces abundance of Brasile Wood and Sugar-Canes which last is no proper Brasilian Plant for the first Plants thereof were by the Portuguese first transplanted thither from the Canary Islands First Discovery This Countrey was first discover'd by Americus Vesputius who being sent thither by Emanuel King of Portugal to discover the Coast between the Promontory before Olinda and the Island Itamaraca and finding a split Rock and some Brasilian Huts Landed and ask'd the Denomination of the Coast which he was inform'd was call'd Pernambuco which he found full of steep Mountains inaccessible Woods and in some places Plains and pleasant Valleys but the chiefest thing he could find to lade his Ship with was Brasile Wood but being inform'd that the Soil would bear Sugar-Canes he caus'd Canary Sugar-Plants to be Set there Chief Towns and Places of note Olinda formerly the chief City of Pernambuco had according to Lopez above three thousand Houses and seventy Sugar-Mills It is built on several Hills which on the North-side are steep and overgrown with Brambles betwixt which in many places grow Orange-Trees John Newhof who arriv'd at Olinda Anno 1642. found a few Netherlanders and Spaniards there who dwelt in the ruin'd Houses The Land-side of the City is strengthned by Hills overgrown with Brambles and Thorns and towards the Sea-side with Earthen Walls fortifi'd by fourteen Bulwarks and a Stone Castle able to withstand a considerable force The Out-works towards the South were maintain'd by Jews who from the fore-mention'd Hills could see not onely a great way into the Ocean but also the River Biberibi which hath a Stone Bridge leading to the City and Northerly and Westward the Way lies through great Woods and Forrests Olinda it self is divided into twenty seven large Streets besides lesser Lanes and several Avenues and five chief Churches viz. Misericordia Nostra Sennora del Emparo and Nostra Sennora de Guadalupe San Salvador and San Pedro besides two others of lesser note On the highest Hill stands the Jesuits Cloyster built square and high and surrounded with Walls on which Sebastian King of Portugal by the perswasion of his Uncle Cardinal Henry spent a great sum of Money and endow'd it with annual Revenues Anno 1571. The Capuchins also built a stately Cloyster towards the East The Franciscans moreover inhabited a magnificent Building near which stood the Governors Palace The Carmelites had also a stately Edifice whose former lustre still appears by the Ruines where now Cattel graze from the Hills about which may be exactly discern'd Reciffa the Promontory of St. Augustine and the Castle before the Road of Reciffa Along the Shore stood the Dominican Cloyster and in the upper part of the City the Minster Consecrated to St. Bento exceeding strong both by Nature and Art near which stood Conceptio de nostra Sennora The Fort Juan de Albuquerque stood on the South-side from whence a Way leads you along the Shore to Reciffa where hard by the Potter's House stood a Beacon But since Olinda fell into the hands of the Netherland East-India Company they built a strong Fortress on the North near the Sea-side where formerly a great Trade was driven with Sugar insomuch that forty Ships have been fraighted in a day therewith from Olinda and still as much more remain'd in the Store-houses The Sugar cannot be made without the help of African Slaves and that in great numbers for Angola alone provided fifteen thousand four hundred and thirty Moors for the Sugar-Mills about Olinda In the Years 1601 1602 and 1623. there was sent to surprize this City Henrick Loncque who a little before with Peter Peterszoon Hein took the Spanish Plate-Fleet and brought it away from Matanca The Expedition of Loncque In the middle of June Anno 1629. Loncque weighed Anchor from the Goerean Road and between great Canary and Teneriff he was Engag'd having but eight Sail with forty Spanish Ships Commanded by Frederick de Toledo fought his way through the midst of them and near St. Vincent the rest of his Fleet being come up to him which in all made up twenty seven he stay'd for a farther promis'd Supply of Ships to assist him and the longer because the Men rais'd by the Netherland West-India Company were taken into the States Service to oppose the Spanish and Imperial Forces who at that time had gain'd some advantage upon them But not long after Hartogen-bosch being taken by the Hollanders the rest of the expected Fleet with the promis'd Aid arriv'd at St. Vincent from whence Loncque after four Moneths stay set Sail with these additional Forces his Fleet then consisting of fifty Sail of Ships which carry'd above seven thousand Soldiers befides Seamen but he was forc'd to lie a considerable time under the Line being either becalm'd or beaten back by contrary Winds insomuch that many of his Men perish'd or were disabled with the Scurvey At last his Fleet being come to an Anchor upon the Coast of Pernambuco the first that Landed about two Leagues Northward of Olinda was Colonel Diederik van Waerdenberg who by Day-break divided his Men into three Divisions the Forlorn-Hope consisting of nine hundred and thirty four Men march'd towards Olinda along the Shore led by Adolf van der Eltz the second being a thousand and forty nine by Stein Callenfels the third consisting of nine hundred and sixty five was led by Fouke Honx thus drawn out and marching on they met with no resistance till they came to the River Dolce where eight hundred Portuguese Charg'd on them from behind a new Sconce but Waerdenberg wading up to the Middle through the River with two Field-Pieces the Enemy left his Works and ran into the Wood the Forlorn-Hope approaching the City march'd up towards the right side up a Way through the Woods Scal'd the Walls near which the Jesuits Cloyster stood over which he got after some resistance The second Party march'd in a narrow Path along the Shore Olinda taken by the Hollanders and broke into the City between the Franciscans and Jesuits Cloyster towards the Cathedral Salvador from whence they discharg'd several Guns as also from the Castle which they had taken
Feu SECT X. Maragnan MAragnan forty five Leagues in circumference Situation lies in two Degrees of Southern Latitude and a considerable distance from the Bay which appears between the Rivers Aperegha and Comajamu The Eastern Entrance into this Bay hath before the Promontory Arbres Secs the Isle St. Anna by the Brasilians call'd Upaonmiri Opposite to Maragnan about half way from the said Inlet fall three Rivers into the Sea the most Easterly call'd Mounin hath a Mouth a Mile wide and discharges its Water into the Sea the middlemost Taboucourou is five hundred Leagues long and ends with two Mouths half a League distant one from the other the most Westerly call'd Miary is about six Leagues broad so falling into the Sea The Stream Maracou falls into the Pinare and thus united they joyn both with the Miary which runs exceeding swift into the Sea Between the Capes Arbres Secs and De la Tortue the Coast lies full of sandy Banks some of which extend a League into the Ocean On the other side of the Promontory Tapoytapere near Maragnan towards the River of Amazones lie so many Isles along the Sea-shore that no Ship is able to approach the same because the Spaces between the Isles are overgrown with Trees call'd Apparituriers whose Boughs shooting down and rooting in the Sea produce other Trees which grow so close together that they seem one entire Tree with many Branches Besides this Inconvenience there is abundance of drift Sand when the Wind sits from the Shore which oftentimes swallows the Ships which lie upon the same Beyond Maragnan lie two Roads the first between the Promontory Arbres and the Isle St. Anna but dangerous the other discover'd some years since reaches to the Fort of Maragnan and is as dangerous as the first This Island hath twenty seven Villages by the Natives call'd Oc or Tave each Village consisting of four Houses made of great Stakes and cover'd with Palm-tree Leaves against the Rain each House being thirty Foot broad and from two hundred to five hundred Paces long according to the greater or lesser number of Inhabitants The first Village opposite to St. Anna is call'd Timbohu the second well known for two eminent Fishing-places is Itapara but the two biggest are Juniparan and Eussaouap each having about five or six hundred Inhabitants This Island of Maragnan lies under a temperate Climate being seldom troubled with excessive Colds Droughts pestilential Vapors Wind Hail or Thunder only it Lightens Morning and Evening in serene Weather When the Sun returns from the Tropick of Capricorn to the North then it Rains for six Weeks together but when he declines from Cancer towards the Southern Solstice the Trade-Wind or Eastern Breezes rise at seven of the Clock in the Morning but grow fainter towards Sun-setting Fruitful Soil and rich Coast of Maragnan The Soil of Maragnan is exceeding fruitful producing abundance of Brasile â—ood Sugar Cotton the red Colour Roucou Tobacco Balsam not inferior to 〈◊〉 Arabian Pepper and all manner of Fruits On the Coast is often found excellent Amber-greece and Jasper Stones which the Inhabitants wore in their Lips In some places along the Sea-shore appear Rocks of red and white Stone Diaphanous like Crystal which some say are as hard as Diamonds and call'd Allencon The Woods produce Timber and the Shore Stones and Shells of which they make Mortar There are also several pleasant Fields and Hills whose Feet are wash'd by delightful Brooks along which they pass in Canoos from one Village to another The Woods consist most of Palm-Trees amongst which breed all sorts of Fowls and Beasts Fruit-Trees The chiefest of the Fruit-Trees which grow here is the Accayou which being much bigger than our Pomewaters hath Leaves not unlike those of an Oak and also a Nut resembling a Sheeps Kidney cover'd with a hard Shell which incloses an oylie Pith. Out of these the Islanders press a very wholsom and pleasant Liquor as also out of the Pacoeira and Bannanas both excellent Plants which will grow in any Ground This Plant they pluck up by the Roots wild as soon as it hath put forth three Leaves which Leaves being rowl'd up hard together like a Twig are again Set and then sprout up each with ten green Leaves which when mov'd by the Wind rattle like Parchment and tear very easily the Stalk is an Inch thick from which spread several lesser Branches under the Leaves hang yellowish Flowers of a pleasant smell at whose Stalks are lesser Leaves resembling little Scoups full of Juice in taste like Honey and in colour like the White of an Egg after the Flower follows the Fruit very like a Cucumber onely they are three square and have a hardish Shell which incloses a well tasted and wholsom Pulp which commonly grows in Clusters This Plant when the Fruit is ripe is pluck'd up from whence another springs up immediately which bears the like Fruit the next year so that this Plant lives as it were by propagation continually The Bannanas bear Leaves of a Fathom long and two Foot broad the Fruit is very like that of the Pacoeira The Mangaa is very like the Apricock both in taste and form The Tree Jaracaha hath a spread Crown leaves like those of a Fig-Tree yellow Flowers and Pears with Shells and full of Kernels The Ouaieroua is an exceeding sweet-smelling Tree bears a Fruit much bigger than the greatest Melons The Junipap which is much taller hath Apples which whilest they are green are best yielding a Juice which Dyes Coal-black and therefore is us'd by the Natives to paint their Bodies with The Apples when ripe are yellow within and without very well tasted and melting in the Mouth Besides these fore-mention'd Fruit-Trees there are several others that grow on this Island amongst which is the Vua-pirup eminent for its Blossom which is yellow blue and red and bears delicate Apples which ripen best in the rainy Season Lastly the Pekey which three Men cannot Fathom bears a Fruit of two handfuls bigness having a hard thick Shell and within four Kidney-like Kernels each concealing a prickly Stone which hurts the Mouths of unwary Eaters The Plant Carouata hath Leaves an Ell long and two Inches broad they are very thick and thistly from the middle and about two Foot from the Ground grows an exceeding pleasant Fruit yellow without and within three square a Finger long and hanging oftentimes sixty in a Cluster Vua a sort of Melons green without and within full of white Pulp and black Kernels and hath a pleasant Juice dissolves to Water if cut in the middle sweeter than Sugar and very refreshing Manioch a thick Root of the Plant Manicup Leav'd like a Fig-Tree being ground to Meal it serves in stead of Bread Besides these already mention'd there are several other Plants the most usual are the great flat Beans call'd Commanda-ouassou and the long Pease Commanda-miry Strange Birds Here are variety of Birds of several sorts especially
of Parrots which flye in great Companies most beautiful to the Eye and very docible to speak and also good for Food The Partridges Nanbououassou in bigness no way inferior to a Capon have blue Feathers and also Lay blue Eggs. The Ourou resembling a Partridge hath a Combe like a Cock but mix'd with three Colours viz. red black and white The Bats nam'd Andheura have a mournful Note in the Night often biting those they find asleep and suck their Blood so hard that it can hardly be stopt The Ostriches here call'd Yandou being as tall as a middle-siz'd Man cannot flye but run as swift as a Greyhound Their Fowl call'd Falian with long Bills and Cranes Legs flies very low but runs so swift that a Horse can scarce overtake them Strange sorts of Fish The Ocean about Maragnan produces abundance of all sorts of Fish and amongst others the Pyraon six Foot long thicker than a Barrel and cover'd with black Scales of a hand-breadth The Fish Camouroupouy differs not much from the Pyraon onely in having fewer Scales The Ougry four Foot long hath a broad Head and two sharp Fins on the Back which wound terribly This Fish also swimming in the River smells of Musk whilest it stays therein The like length hath also the Camboury Ouassou whose Hog-like Head and yellow scal'd Tail makes it seem like a Monster The Yauebouyre is a Foot in thickness in length two Fathom and a Fathom in breadth and hath a Tail of half a Fathom long out of the middle of which sticks a sharp and great Bone which makes such dangerous Wounds that if any part of a Man's Body be touch'd therewith it must be cut off The Narinnary which is much lesser wounds with its Sting very dangerously The flat Fish Acaraiou hath the length of a Foot a green Head thick Scales a yellow Back and white Belly The Araououa hath a hard Skin is eight times bigger than the Acaraiou and hath a three-pointed Sword with which it kills other Fish Another sort of Sword-fish is the Panapans whose Sword is a Foot less than that of the Araououa The Picamo and Caramourou resemble the Pilchard and are taken in great abundance near the Rocks The Rivers and Brooks on Maragnan are also very full of Fish amongst which the Pourake four Foot long full of green blue red and white Specks and Streaks the Skin so hard that no Sword can penetrate it wherefore it regards not a blow but if it moves it causes such a pain on the Arm of him that strikes that he falls down on the Ground The Caurimata which is very like a Carp is the most delicious Fish that ever was tasted The Pyrain without Scales colour'd red and yellow hath sharp Teeth which cut sloapingly as also the Opean Tarehure Paraty and Jerou The red Crabs Oussa with hairy Legs breed about the Roots of the fore-mention'd Trees that grow in the Water The white Crabs Aouara-oussa carry the Amber-greece cast on the Shores to their Holes They have also good Mussles and well rellish'd Oysters sticking on the Boughs of the said Trees During the rainy Season there are generally standing Pools in which yearly breed many Fishes which are taken up by the Inhabitants when the Pools begin to dry Divers kinds of strange Beasts Moreover this Island feeds abundance of four-footed Beasts amongst which their wild Deer Rabbets and Hares differ little from the European They have also wild Swine call'd Taiassou who seem to have Navels on their Backs which cast a sweet Musky smell besides another sort of Swine not inferior to the former but of a stranger shape being Mouth'd like a Hare with two long Tusks in their upper Jaws and two beneath their Ears like a Mans the foremost Feet white and hoof'd like an Ass the hindermost part of their Body like a Bear and full of Bristles half white and half black three handfuls long when they creep in their Holes their staring Bristles fall they keep much amongst Brambles feed on Apples and Roots In the Winter Season they Stye themselves up in their Holes Here are also Pismire-eaters call'd Tamandua with a Boars Head Dogs Ears sharp Snout Horses Hair and Ox Feet The Tapiyre-ete differ little from wild Cows onely they have shorter Legs and Tails and wanting Horns are Arm'd in stead thereof with Teeth in their Heads are often found a Stone like the Bezoar Stone Several sorts of Armadillo's here differ much in form each from the other The wild Cats Margaia are caught for their curious Skin The Foxes Janovare and Leopards Sovassovaran both curiously mark'd are very ravenous Here is also a deform'd slow creeping Beast call'd Ai whose Head is like a Mans and cover'd with rough and grey Hair on each Foot three Claws close together and at least a Finger long sharp Teeth a smooth high black Nose little drowsie Eyes no Ears a Tail small above and broad at the bottom long Ash-colour'd Hair over all the Body and being about the bigness of a Fox it climbs slowly up the Trees and comes not down before it hath eaten off all the Leaves it feeds also on Earth and sometimes sits on a high Bough without Meat twenty days together it goes so softly that it will hardly clear fifty Paces in twenty four hours On this Island are likewise all sorts of Apes and Monkies amongst which is one most remarkable call'd The Zimme Cayon hairy all over with a long white Beard an old Mans Face bald Ears black Eyes and long Tail which they wind about a Bough and so hanging swing themselves from one Tree to another they are very fierce as well as subtile for being wounded with an Arrow they set upon their Enemy without the least fear when they climb up the Trees they carry their Mouths and Hands full of Stones to throw at Travellers and if any one of them chance to be wounded all the rest that are near come to help him and stop the Wound with Leaves and the like the young ones hang upon the Backs of their Dams who run very swift with them and leap from one Tree to another Juan Ardenois relates That the Coyons play at certain Games with the Natives for Money and spend what they win in publick Houses Joseph de Acosta tells us That one of these kind of Creatures being sent to a Tavern for Wine would not part with his Money before his Pot was fill'd which he defended from the Boys that offer'd to take it from him by throwing Stones at them and though it lov'd Wine very well yet brought it always home without tasting It is no less wonderful what Peter Martyr relates of one of these Creatures viz. That observing one ready to fire a Gun at him before he could discharge it leap'd from the Tree and snatch'd up a Child which he held as a Buckler before him The Sagovin The Sagovin resembles a Lyon in the fore-part of the Body with shaggy Hair they
towards the Fort whither they were pursu'd with such eagerness that those who were in the Fort lest the Hollanders might get in with them lock'd up the Avenues against their own Men at which they were so amaz'd that some of them climb'd up by the Walls of the Fort but were either kill'd by the Assailants or knock'd on the Head by their own People because several Hollanders went to climb up amongst the Portuguese the rest running about the Fort fell into the midst of the Netherlanders where they were all cut off being in number above a hundred The Hollanders also in this resolute Design had about twenty Men kill'd and fifty wounded after which they put lighted Matches on Sticks in their Enemy's Works as if they had never made any Attempt on the City Parayba Whilest this Expedition fell out so unfortunately Smient performing his Voyage found in the Inlet Trajiciaon a Portuguese Vessel hal'd near the Shore under the protection of two Pallisado's wherefore supposing it best not to make any Attempt on the same he ran to an Anchor before Ubranduba twenty Leagues below the River Grande where the Natives Marcial Tacou Ararova and Matauwe who had been in Holland Landing went to see and speak with their Countrey-men to joyn with the Netherland West-India Company and some days after the Seamen Landing again in the same place met with Tacou together with eight more stout Men and seventeen Women and Children who carry'd a slain Portuguese call'd Juan Perera to the River Grande about whom they had found Letters containing the whole Condition of Siara which the Brasilians imparting to Smient he sent a Ketch thither before and follow'd after himself they Steer'd along the Shore beyond the Shelves Guamare by the Mountains Sailinas and Porto de Mel the Haven De Onces and River Juaguarive to the White Point where the Brasilians Landing spake with their People and towards the Evening brought good tydings and desir'd that they might be Landed at Siara where they would put their Design in practice Smient following their Advice receiv'd them aboard the New Netherland and Sail'd along by the square Fort Siara towards a smooth Shore on each side hedg'd in by thick Woods where the Brasilians intended to Land but the Portuguese and Brasilians belonging to their Party being gotten into the Wood before fir'd so vehemently that they were forc'd to Retreat and Sail five Leagues farther beyond the Cape Opese made dangerous by the many blind Cliffs that lie about the same Smient anchoring here Landed the Brasilians on promise that they would return in two days but the Seamen seeing sometimes ten sometimes fifteen Arm'd Portugueses ashore judg'd that the Brasilians had been slain by them and therefore weighed Anchor to the great dislike of the West-India Company Since this unsuccessful Design on Parayba the Council at Reciffa were no whit discourag'd but resolv'd to make an Attempt on the River Grande with twelve Ships and two Sloops carrying ten Companies of Soldiers besides Seamen but by reason of the difficulty of Landing because the Coast being very Rocky makes the Sea go very hollow the strength of the Place both in respect of its Fortification and number of Defendants and the joyning of the Brasilians with them they were forc'd to return without effecting their Design The Expedition of Nekker Houte-been and others About the same time eight Sail arriv'd at Reciffa from Holland and Jonathan de Nekker Cornelis Corneliszoon alias Houte-been and Reinier Peterszoon set out with three Frigats from the Texel to the Isle Vacca where with Hunting Fishing and gathering of Fruit they refresh'd themselves and afterwards Steer'd to the River Magdalena discernable at three Leagues distance by the thick yellow Water it discharges into the Sea through three Mouths Between the Western and middlemost Mouth lies an Isle in the middle of the River behind which Houte-been came to an Anchor whilest Nekker and Peterszoon kept Guard near Punto Verde where though the Wind blew very fresh in the Night yet the Water remain'd smooth About Day-break Nekker discovering a Sail made chase after the same but not able to come up with her lost her the following Night and in the Morning saw a Barque which running ashore was set on fire by Peterszoon after which Nekker chased two other Ships which likewise getting from him he stood off at Sea out of sight of the Isles Zamba which are low on the West and Hilly at the East-end where the Sea beats vehemently against a Promontory and chased a Barque ashore whither he sent a Boat with eight Men which being beaten to pieces by the Waves drowned four of them and the rest getting ashore were kill'd by the Spaniards Soon after which four Spanish Ships set Sail after Nekker and Peterszoon and had not the Night favor'd them they had been but in a bad Condition for they were not able to get their Sea-men aboard who having taken some Wine ashore had made themselves Drunk about Day-break they descry'd the four Spnish Vessels which were gotten so far from them that they could but just discern them from the Main-top Not long after they took two Barques and came to an Anchor behind Zamba by Houte-been who being driven by a Storm out of the River Magdalena to Jamaica had chased a Barque ashore there and a Ship with four hundred Negro's against St. Martha and since took a rich laden Barque near the River Magdalena In like manner Nekker and Peterszoon took a Ship coming from Caraques leaving Houte-been alone before Magdalena who not long after discover'd eighteen Spanish Ships near the High-land St. Martha which were Steering to Carthagena one whereof belonging to Carthagena he made Prize of but was forc'd to forsake her in a great Storm after the ceasing of which he took another Frigat the Men whereof inform'd him That the Admiral Thomas de Caspure was going with eleven Ships from Cape Antonio to Porto Belo to lade the Peruvian Silver there The Ship with Angolan Negro's taken by Houte-been he set free but kept a Frigat laden with Tallow Hides Tobacco and Flesh which he had taken just before the Coast of Rio Grande and thus he went Privateering up and down when the Plate-Fleet from New Spain weighed Anchor from Juan de Lua the like of which in Riches had never set Sail before for it carry'd 2169340 Ryals of Eight for the Merchants an unvaluable Treasure for the King besides many rich Commodities which several bought upon their own Accounts that were not entred in the Custom-house all which Treasure laden in nine Gallions besides a considerable number of Frigats and small Vessels was committed to the Charge of Miguel de Echacareta but he dying before the Fleet set Sail Manuel Serano de Ribera was chosen Admiral but a dreadful Storm arising as they were Sailing before the Coast of Campeche in their Way to Havana the whole Fleet was in a manner utterly destroy'd with a most unvaluable Treasure The
when he went to visit sick or wounded Men. Their manner of curing the Sick and bewailing the Dead The Distempers in America differ much from the European not onely in the Signs of any Distemper but also in the Cure for when a Distemper cannot be cur'd by the prescribed Medicines a Father or Mother sends for the Neighbors to know if they can find any means to cure the Disease which Custom was anciently observ'd amongst the Greeks They also strictly observe a Rule in their Diet and take care to keep the Patient out of the Sun in the Day and cold Winds in the Night however if their Fathers and Mothers be sick nevertheless they leave not off their usual Dancing and Singing but if the sick Person die especially a Father they lament and cry over the Corps like Wolves calling to one another with a quavering Voice and uttering these Expressions The strong Man is deceas'd who carry'd so many Prisoners for a brave Dinner to his House Oh what a quick Hunter and subtil Fisher hath Death bereav'd us of we shall see him no more till our Souls are carry'd beyond the high Mountains where our valiant Predecessors Dance in Rings The Women make the greatest noise and in the midst of their howling embrace one another which lasts six hours and then they put the Body upright into a Grave made like a Hogshead hanging about it divers colour'd Feathers and other things in which the Deceased delighted most when living upon the Grave the nearest Relations place Dishes of Meat both Flesh and Fish and the Liquor Cauou-in that their evil Spirit call'd Aygnan may be reconcil'd by these Offerings and not carry away the Body but when they remove from thence they cover the Grave with the Herb Pindo This Custom is not observ'd by all Brasilians for some eat up their deceased Relations Sect. XIII Grave Maurice his Account of Brasile so far as it concern'd the West-India Company BRasile so far as it concerns the West-India Company extends from the River Real which divides Seregippa and the Lordship of St. Salvador to Maragnan Seregippa it self reaches along the Sea-Coast thirty two Leagues and was first brought under the King of Spain's Jurisdiction by Christovan de Barros Cardoso who being order'd by the King of Spain to Plant this new Countrey invited many People from St. Salvador who built four Sugar-Mills and a Town consisting of a hundred Houses and four hundred Sheds for Cattel but the Town being destroy'd hath nothing left but Heaps of Rubbish and the Cattel either fell into the Netherlanders hands or were devour'd by Tygers the Inhabitants fled back to St. Salvador Many troubles have prevented the re-building of it The fertility of Pernambuco Pernambuco may for its fruitfulness stand in competition with any Place in the World except in those parts where the Soil is sandy and stonie The Fields feed abundance of excellent Cattel the Woods Deer and Fowl the Ocean and Rivers all manner of good Fish It is inhabited but eight Leagues into the Countrey because the nearer the Sea the more convenient it is for Importing and Exporting of Goods neither could the Portuguese by reason of their small number spread themselves farther as also in regard they found great resistance from the Brasilians The Negro's that work in the Sugar-Mills between the River Grande and Francisco amount to four thousand The Cape Verde Mina Angola Ardra and Calabaria generally provide three thousand in a year to supply the number of the Sick or those that run away SECT XIV The Councellor Dussen's Relation of so much of Brasile as concerns the West-India Company THat part of Brasile which the West-India Company have subdu'd by force of Arms on the Continent of America is divided into six Counties viz. Seregippa Pernambuco Itamarica Parayba Rio Grande and Siara The Expedition undertaken by Gysseling and Schuppe made Seregippa desolate the Inhabitants wheof remov'd to the Coast Todos los Sanctos Also Siara which the Portuguese formerly possess'd was thinly inhabited and had a mean Fortress there whither some few Brasilians came now and then to the Netherlanders assistance Pernambuco lying between the Rivers Francisco and Tamarica excells the other Countrey in fruitfulness and pleasantness The Brasilians compare it to a hollow Rock under which fresh Water flows Havens of Pernâ—mbuco Moreover Pernambuco hath several Havens viz. the outermost Road before Reciffa which being in the open Sea is somewhat dangerous but the innermost is secure against all Storms also at the Promontory St. Augustine where the Mouth of the Haven is narrow and dangerous by reason of the Rocks and shallow Grounds the Island Alexio is very fit to Crain Ships in Barra Grande hath a large and safe Inlet convenient for all manner of Vessels yet it is inferior to Cororipa lastly the Havens Jaragoa and Franco are very eminent Amongst the Rivers the chief are Jangades Serinhain Formosa Porto Calvo Rivers Camarigibi Antonio Michael and Francisco Pernambuco also is divided into six Jurisdictions the first and most ancient is Igarazu the second and biggest Olinda the third Serinbain the fourth Porto Calvo the fifth the Alagoas and the sixth Rio Francisco which is the Boundary of Pernambuco on the South Towns of Pernambuco Pernambuco also boasts five Towns viz. Garasu Olinda Maurice-stadt to which also belongs Reciffa Bella Pojuca and Formosa The Villages Moribeca St. Laurence Antonio Amaro and others are also not inferior to little Towns The Countrey is for the most part Hilly but is exceeding fruitful in the Valleys and near the Rivers especially in Sugar-Canes Here are also a hundred and twenty Sugar-Mills of which a great number stand still for want of Negro's Next Pernambuco lies Tamarica which hath onely one Haven one City and twenty three Sugar-Mills of which thirty are onely employ'd This Island produces excellent Grapes and Melons yet is for the most part barren by reason of the Pismires The Countrey Parayba hath its Denomination from the River which washeth it being deep and without any Rocks or Sands on the Banks thereof stand twenty Sugar-Mills two of which are still standing In the Lordship of Rio Grande stands the Town Puntael whose Buildings were ruin'd in the Wars after which the Inhabitants had leave to build them another City on a fruitful Soil The Countrey hereabouts us'd formerly to be very full of Cattel but was not onely bereav'd thereof by the Hollanders and Portuguese but also for the most part made desolate The River which washes the Castle Ceulen affords a convenient and safe Harbor for all sorts of Vessels This Lordship of Rio Grande boasts onely two Sugar-Mills of which one is decay'd so that in all those Parts in Brasile which belong to the West-India Company are a hundred and sixty Sugar-Mills constantly employ'd besides forty six which are about repairing It is scarce to be reckon'd how much Sugar they make yearly in regard through the
a good Disposition and go naked they catch Fish after a strange manner for they onely throw the strong smelling Wood Ayaw in the Water which works so upon the Fish that they suffer themselves to be caught with the Hand The well-known American Root Cassavi serves them for Bread being bak'd in round Cakes on hot Stones of the Cakes they also make the Liquor Perrinoe which tastes almost like stale Beer and is prepar'd by old Women and little Children which chew the Cassavi and spit the same into a Pot full of Water which having stood a while they strain the same through a Cloth and set it a working with Potato-Roots They are troubled with no Vermine not so much as the little Fleas Niquas by the Spaniards call'd Chigos which creep in between the Nails On the Sea-Coast are many Tortoises whose Flesh is of a delicious taste but heavy to digest Sheep and Oxen will not thrive here but Swine would thrive exceedingly if their Dugs were not bit off in the Night by the Bats The River Wiapoco hath many dangerous Water-falls the one much higher than the other a little way beyond the first of them the Stream Army falls into Wiapoco The Marashewaccas Three days Journey Westerly dwell the Marashewaccas whose Ears hang down on their Shoulders they worship for their Deity an Image representing a Man who sitting flat on the Ground with his Legs stretch'd out leans with his Elbows on his Knees and holding up his Hands gapes and stares up towards Heaven North-West from Wiapoco rises the Mountain Gomeribo which produces Maiz Tobacco Cotton-Trees and Vines In the same place the Creek Wainary runs Westwardly with fresh Water a days Journey into the Countrey and from the said Creek a high Mountain fit for the production of Sugar and Tobacco extends it self to the River Apurwaca where the Wiopocaries inhabit a great Tract of Land The Harrithiahans North-West from Wiapoco flows the River Aperwacque whose mountainous Shores bear Brasile Wood and wild Cinamon The Stream it self takes its original out of a large Lake in the middle whereof lies a three-corner'd Isle South-East from the Lake dwell the Harrithiahans beyond whose Countrey are the Rivers Cauwo Wia and Cajani On the Banks of the first dwelt Anno 1596. according to the Relation of Laurence Keymis a People call'd Jaos driven by the Spaniards from Moruga and who formerly possess'd the greatest part of Guiana they distinguish themselves from other People by pricking their Faces full of Holes with the Tooth of a Beast not unlike a Rat But at present the Jaos being departed from hence the Countrey lies desolate The Wia which springs a great way up in the Countrey hath a wide Mouth and near several Islands convenient Harbors The biggest of the Isles inhabited by the Shebaios is full of Provisions viz. Fowl Fish excellent Fruit wild Hogs and other Beasts The triangular Isles lying more Westerly are also very fruitful but not comparable to Gowatery So far as the Coast extends it self with high Mountains it is overgrown with Brasile Wood but the lower Grounds produce Cotton Pepper Silk Balsam and the Root Wiapassa tasting like Ginger and exceeding good against a Lask or the Head-ache Before the Mouth of Cajani appears the high Island Mattoory surrounded by the lesser Isles Sannawony Epenesari and Eponeregemerae Between the Rivers Cajani and Maccaria lies the low Island Muccumbro out of whose Center rise two Mountains and which is inhabited as the Main Coast by Caribbeeans whose General Arrawicary shew'd great friendship to the Netherlanders They observe no certain Laws for Government Adultery and Murder they punish with Death they are very tyrannical towards their Wives who for the least act of incivility have their Brains beat out they esteem one another according to the number of their Wives the eldest of which performs all Houshold-Offices Caribbeeans the Inhabitants of Guiana The Caribbeeans are accounted to have been the first Inhabitants of this Countrey for the Jaos Sappaios Arowaccas and Paragotos were driven hither by the Spaniards from Trinidad or Oronoque The wild Caribbeeans live farther up into the Countrey and often fall with great rage upon the other but since the Netherlanders have furnish'd them with Arms they have not been so much molested by them Beyond Macavia lies the River Caurora which is very narrow and deep Rivers and next in order the Rivers Manamonary Sinamary Cunanama Juraca Mawary Amana and Marawyny full of Isles and four Leagues broad at the Mouth along the Shore grow little Trees whose Leaves wither as soon as touch'd by Mankind but revives again within half an hour Next follow the Rivers Sorrenam Sorrenamme Copanama Marateca and Curetiny where the Netherlanders by virtue of a Patent granted by the States General drove a Trade for several years Somewhat farther the Berbice Apari Maycawini Mabeyca Mirara and Essekebe discharge their Waters into the Ocean twenty days Journey from their Spring-Head where a great Lake by the Jaos call'd The Roponowini and by the Caribbeeans Parime spreads it self a great way and on its Northern Shore hath the Town Manoa Along the River Essebeke is an excellent sort of Wood the Dye call'd Orellano and abundance of Cassavi In the Mouth of the River also lies the Isle Ottoma Lastly between Essebeke and the great River Orinoque glide the lesser Streams Iwapoi Pauroma Gayni Moruga Ammacoura and Parima before which lie several nameless Isles The Discovery of these Parts begun by Columbus Christopher Columbus in his third Voyage to the West-Indies discover'd the great Island Trinidad where before the Mouth of the Bay Vallena he was in great danger as also the Ship Commanded by Alonso de Ojeda by reason of the Waves with which the great River Yuyapar otherwise call'd Orinoque coming out of the High-lands of Paria falls into the Sea which made him call the said Mouth Bocca del Drago so that Columbus Anno 1599. discover'd the Main Coast of America to the Northward of Guiana as far as the Promontory De la Vela before Americus Vesputius whither Diego de Ordas Steer'd with three Ships Mann'd with four hundred Castilians Diego de Ordas his Expedition in the Year 1231. and before Guiana took four Caribbeeans Prisoners in a Canoo and finding an Emerauld about them as big as a Man's Hand they inform'd him that up the River was a Rock all of such Stones and a Mountain on which grew high Trees yielding store of Myrrh but the strong contrary Tides and Water-falls prevented Ordas from going thither and being troubled at the loss of one of his Ships he ran along the Shore to Paria and took the Fort which Antonio Sedenno Governor of Trinidad had cast up there and left the Command thereof to Juan Gonsalvez Ordas pretending that Sedenno had built it contrary to the Emperor's Order and that he had made Slaves of the Natives Martin Jannez Tafur stay'd in the
Death but not satisfi'd with that Revenge he over-run all the Countrey of Aromaia took Morequito's Uncle call'd Topiawari Prisoner who bought his Life for a hundred Plates of Gold and some Precious Stones That Listing many Men in Spain for the Gold which he sent thither he Row'd with Barques up the Rivers Barema Pattroma and Dessequebe where he barter'd Trifles for Men Women and Children of whom he made great Sums of Money on the Island Margareta This Information which Sir Walter Raleigh got from his Prisoner Berreo made him desirous to make an Expedition to Guiana to which purpose he sent Captain George Gifford with a Ketch and a Barque to the River Capuri where the Water fell before the Vessels could get beyond the Sands in the Mouth of the River John Douglas had better success being likewise sent out by Sir Walter Raleigh for he with his Boats found that Orinoque had nine Arms to the North Sea and seven to the South which embrace divers Isles of which those on the right side are call'd Pallamos and those on the left Horotomaca The Mouth of the River gapes a hundred Leagues On the fore-mention'd-Isles dwell the Titiriras a modest People who speak a bald Language in the Summer they live under the open Skie upon the bare Earth and in the Winter being there between May and September on the tops of the Trees because during that time the River Orinoque rising thirty Foot higher overflows all the Isles thereabouts which are very high and mountainous But Raleigh himself Rowing up the River Amana endur'd great hardship his Men being most of them sweltred with the Heat and great want of Provisions and had not their Indian Pilot shew'd them another Stream much easier to Navigate he would have been forc'd to return successless but being stor'd with Provision out of a Village built along the Shore he chased four Canoos of which he took one and also an Arwaccas which in fifteen days time brought him into the River Orinoque where he saw the high Mountains of Guiana afterwards Anchoring before a fair sandy Bank which lay near the Mouth of three Rivers he took abundance of Tortoises and was furnish'd with plenty of all sorts of Provisions sent him from the Governor Toparimaca who inhabited the pleasant Village Arowocay built on a little Hill surrounded with delightful Gardens and Fields till'd by the Negro's who accommodating Raleigh with an experienc'd Pilot he set Sail with a fresh Easterly Wind and Westward saw the Isles Assapana twenty five Leagues long and six broad and Iwana of the same bigness The River Orinoque hath here thirty Leagues in breadth and receives the Rivers Arrawopana and Europa He Sail'd next by the Isles Ocaywita and Putayma opposite to which on the Main Land appears the Mountain Oecope whose top reacheth the Clouds on the right side a Plain Countrey discover'd it self a vast way which the Pilot said was call'd The Plain of Sayma extending Northerly a hundred and twenty Leagues to Cumana and Caracas inhabited by four sorts of People viz. the Saymas Assaways Wikeries and Aroras which last being a Coal-black People us'd poyson'd Arrows Raleigh passing between the two Mountains Aroami and Aio came to an Anchor near the Island Murscolima and from thence into the Haven Morequito where the King Topiawari a hundred and ten years of age brought all sorts of Fruit Poultrey Fish and Flesh and gave him an Account of the Condition of Guiana viz. That the whole Countrey from the Mountains Waccarima to Emeria bore the Name of Guiana the Inhabitants calling themselves Orinoque Poni on the other side of the said Mountains lies the spacious Valley Amariocapana where the Guianiatas reside Southerly the Oreiones and Epuremei who coming out of a strange Countrey have destroy'd the ancient Inhabitants leaving onely the Awaaawaqueri and Cassipagoios The Epuremei built the stately City Macurewarai there But Raleigh going on his Journey saw the Island Caiama and came to the Mouth of the River Caroli whose strong Current he was not able to stem wherefore he desir'd Aid from Wanuretona Governor of Canuria who furnish'd him with Provisions and Men to Toe him up the fore-mention'd Stream and inform'd him that the River Caroli which sprung out of the Lake Cassipa was inhabited on one side by the Iwarawakeri and the Lake Cassipa by three powerful People viz. the Cassiapagotos Eparagotos and Arawogotos all mortal Enemies to the Spaniards whereupon Raleigh sent some of his Men thither who return'd with great hopes of finding rich Gold-Mines The fore-mention'd Lake also produces the Rivers Aroi Atoica and Caora near which dwell the Ewaipanoma who have neither Necks nor Chins but their Mouthes just upon their Shoulders Towards the North the River Cari falls into the Orinoque and on the West the Stream Limo between both which the Cannibals reside whose Metropolis call'd Acamacari is very famous for their strange way of Trading for there the Women are brought to Market and bought by the Arwaccas But because great Showers of Rain fell daily and the Stream Caroli glided down wards with extraordinary force Raleigh return'd to Morequito from whence Putima King of Warapana conducted him to a rich Golden Mountain in his Countrey and along the Rivers Mana Oiana and Cumaca to the place where the Orinoque divides it self into three excellent Streams the chiefest whereof call'd Cararoopana washes the Province Emeria out of whose Mountains the Rivers Waracayari Coirama Akaniri and Iparoma glide to the Northern Ocean as also the Araturi Amacura Barima Wana Morooca Paroma and Wyni all Branches of the River Orinoque from whence Raleigh return'd home to England Not long after he sent Laurence Keymes and Thomas Masham back to Guiana Keymes found out all the Rivers between the Amazones and the Orinoque and Masham the Stream Wiapoco from whence both return'd without any farther success Sir Walter Raleigh condemu'd for Treason After this the Business lay still for a while in regard Sir Walter Raleigh being together with Grey Cobham and the Romish Priests Watson and Clark found guilty of High Treason was Condemn'd to die but being Repriev'd by the King was kept a Prisoner in the Tower for the space of fourteen years during which time he wrote a Description of Guiana which the King perusing was so well pleas'd with it especially since he undertook to make out by several Reasons that England might make it self Master of divers Gold-Mines there to which Spain could lay no manner of Claim that he discharg'd him out of Prison He is Repriev'd and sent again to Guiana and permitted him to make a second Expedition Whereupon with ten Ships Anno 1617. he set Sail for Guiana again being toss'd with divers Storms he at last came with five Sail to the River Calliana where he fell dangerously sick and therefore sent Captain Keymes with five Sail to the River Orinoque to conduct the Men to the Gold-Mines each Ship carrying fifty
here as out of a Mine and gather it naturally made ready to their Hands not half a Mile from the Sea side on the back side of the Promontory or Cape by some call'd Punto de Araya and by others for this reason Cape de Salinas Towns and Places of note Places of chiefest consideration here are 1. Cumana it self a Colony of Spaniards seated on the Banks of a little River two Miles distant from the Sea where it hath a good Harbor 2. St. Jago a very strong Fortress which the Spaniards of late years have built for the defence and security of the Salt-works against the Dutch who began to Trade much that way and in the Year 1622. had a Design to have made themselves Masters of the Place 3. St. Michael de Neveri another Fortress of theirs standing upon a River bearing the same Name 4. Guaniba a Town of the Natives This Countrey of Cumana being generally infested with terrible Crocodiles hath a large Inlet call'd Cariaco which flows fourteen Leagues into the Countrey Manners and Customs of the People The Men of this Countrey wear Cotton Cloaks and anointing their Bodies with Gum stick the same full of Feathers When they go to Wars or to a general Feast then they shave their Hair off above their Ears pull out their Beards and black their Teeth with a certain Herb. Their Princes and Grandees take as many Wives as they please and give to those of their Guests whom they intend most to oblige their choice of the fairest of them to lie with Whoring is accounted no shame except amongst Marry'd Women who generally live very Chaste unless their Husbands consent to their Adultery The Women also Hunt Fish Shoot and Swim and are diligent in Tilling their Lands and other Houshold Affairs Most of them have sore Eyes occasion'd not so much as some wrongfully suppose by their drinking of the Water out of the Stream Cumana but proceeding rather from their unwholsom Food as Spiders and the like Amongst the several sorts of Trees that grow here there are some that yield a white well scented Gum or delicious Juice like Milk and produce a Fruit not unlike a Mulberry which may be boyl'd to an excellent Syrrup the Wood also strikes Fire There are others whose Timber is good for Shipping The Soil also produces Cassia-Fistula Roses and other strong smelling Flowers and Herbs For Beasts Beasts besides Lyons Tygers and wild Hogs there are several strange kinds here as the Cappa which is bigger than an Ass having shaggy and black Hair it runs away from Mankind but devours whasoever else it meets with The Aranata which hath a Goats Beard and is of the bigness of a Greyhound it howls very dreadfully and feeds on Fruits The wild Cats which breed here leap though great with Young from one Tree to another In the Evening a Beast like a lean Dog comes to their Huts cries like a Child and devours all those it meets abroad wherefore every one that goes out in the Night carries a lighted Stick with him for this Beast dreads the sight of Fire The Trees give Harbor to great numbers of Parrots and other fine Feather'd Birds The Bats here are very large and hurtful sucking the Blood from Men and Beasts The Muschito's also do very much plague and vex the Inhabitants The Spiders much bigger than those of Europe and of divers colours make very strong Cobwebs Along the Sea-Coast and in the Rivers is plenty of delicious Fish Anno 1513. two Dominican Fryers went over from Terra Firma to Cumana where the Natives kindly Entertain'd them till a Spanish Ship Anchoring there for the Pearl-Trade carry'd away by violence the Governor and seventeen of his Servants whereupon the Natives threatned that unless their Lord was restor'd they would put the two Dominicans to death the Spaniards promising restauration of him in four Moneths time inform'd the Council at Hispaniola of it who not consenting to his Releasement the two Monks were according the former threatning presently put to death Yet after this the Franciscans and Dominicans built each of them a Cloyster in the Province of Chiribichi where they kept friendly Correspondence with the Cumana's till Anno 1520. when Alonso de Ojeda coming to an Anchor before Maracapana under pretence of bartering Maiz for Spanish Goods with the Tagarez who came about fifty from the Mountains on which they liv'd being three Leagues up in the Countrey and brought Maiz down to the Shore the Spaniards took thirty six of them Prisoners and kill'd or wounded the rest Whereupon the Governor Gonzales being complain'd unto by the neighboring Prince Maraguey and his assistance desir'd in taking Revenge of the Dominicans and Franciscans who had urg'd and perswaded Ojeda to the fore-mention'd Act Gonzales hereupon made an Agreement with Maraguey that he should destroy the Monks whilest he himself would kill Ojeda which they accordingly perform'd The Council in St. Domingo inform'd hereof immediately sent three Ships Mann'd with three hundred Men under the Command of Gonzalo de Ocampo who Anchoring in the Haven of Maracapana feign'd as if he came newly from Spain and that he knew nothing of the Business between Ojeda and Gonzales that so he might entice the Natives into his Ship and accordingly when divers of them came aboard the Armed Spaniards started from under the Decks and hung them up at their Yard-arms burnt the Village Maracapana and ruin'd the Countrey far and near with Fire and Sword Ocampo also built the Town Toledo about half a League farther into the Countrey where the Bishop Bartholomew de las Casas making his Visitation commanded Ocampo to forbear his cruelty against the Natives he having daily either burnt hang'd beheaded or made Slaves of some or other of them Casas also caus'd a little Fort to be built at the Mouth of the River Cumana to be near to prevent the inhumane Murders and Oppressions committed by his Countrey-men but because the Inhabitants of Cubagua bereav'd him of his chief Builder his Fort was left half unfinish'd wherefore Casas leaving the Command of this Countrey to Francisco de Soto went back to Hispaniola where in St. Domingo he made his Complaints to the High Court of Justice of the Spaniards Cruelties but being little regarded he went into the Dominicans Cloyster till he was call'd out and made Bishop of Chiapa Mean while Soto contrary to Casas his order had fitted out two Ships to Trade along the Coast of Paria but the Expedition prov'd very unsuccessful Soto with all his Men destroyâ—d by the Indians for he and all his Men were destroy'd by the Natives not without just reason for the Spaniards according to the Relation of Casas from an Eye-witness destroy'd this Countrey after such a manner that a Ship Sail'd between Lucago and Hispaniola sixty Leagues without any Compass finding the Way onely by the floating of dead Bodies thrown out of the Spanish Ships Moreover the Prisoners fainting were
the same manner he dealt with the neighboring People Alcoholados of whom he got much Gold but not without unheard of Cruelties for he burnt all their Villages and Houses ruin'd the Countrey with Fire and Sword from Thamaleque to the River Lebrixa carry'd away many of the Natives coupled together with Chains about their Necks and each of them loaded with at least a hundred pound weight of pillag'd Goods and as soon as any of them began to faint under their Burthens for want of refreshment their Heads were immediately cut off But Alfinger coming to certain cold Mountains was resisted by a valiant People in which Conflict he receiv'd a Wound of which he dy'd at his return to Coro Anno 1532. Upon which the Welsares sent John Aleman to succeed him but he also dying made place for George de Espoira and Nicholas Federman of which two Espoira being the chief spent three years in ranging up and down the Countrey without any remarkable Transactions being continually at variance with his Lieutenant Federman The afore-mention'd City Venezuela otherwise call'd Caro and by the Natives Corana was Anno 1539. taken and burnt by the English The Provinces Paragoana and Bariquicimeto Northward from the City the Promontory St. Roman in the Province of Paragoana runs into the Sea opposite to the Islands Aruba and Quuracao The Countrey Paragoana is low and full of Venison out of the middle of it rises a high Mountain the Inhabitants whereof are very hospitable and courteous The Lyons that breed in this Countrey run away from Men but on the contrary the Tygers are exceeding cruel From Coro there leads a Way up into the Countrey over the Mountain Xizaezaras to the Province Bariquicemeto Between both these Provinces very fruitful Valleys which produce Maiz in great abundance are surrounded by wooddy Mountains inhabited by Man-eaters call'd Axaguas Anno 1552. Juan de Villegas discovering the Province Tucuyo he found several rich Gold-Mines near the Mountain Pedro out of which springs the River Burio Near this place he built the Town Segovia which by reason of the unwholsom Air Segovia built by Juan de Villegas was soon after transplanted and built on the Shore of the River Bariquicimeto so call'd because the Water when touch'd turns to an Ash-colour The Plain Countrey round about would be intolerable hot did not the cool Winds that blow from the Mountains temper the same The Natives of the Province Bariquicemeto their manner of Living The Natives divided into Tribes that understand not one another live on Callibashes Deers flesh Rabbets and the Juice of the Cocuy In the Rivers Hacarigua and Boraute they throw the stamp'd Root Barbasco which causes the Fish to appear above the Water and suffer themselves to be caught with the Hand In the Summer they all store themselves with Venison which they catch after this manner They set the dry Bushes and Brambles on fire which makes the wild Hogs Goats Deer Armadillo's Tygers the great Serpents Bobas and other wild Creatures to leap forth from their Holes and Receptacles to shun the same whilest the Hunters standing ready with their Bowes and Arrows seldom miss one of them In the hollow Trees near the Rivers the Bees make abundance of Honey for them Most of the Rivers here fall into the Stream Huriapari which glides from the Peruvian Mountains to the Northern Ocean The Province Chioas produces plenty of Gold Also of the Natives about Segovia The Natives about Segovia go naked are very ignorant and much addicted to Drunkenness in which humor they kill one another They live without care feeding on Roots till their Maiz is ripe which in some places comes to its full maturity in forty days time and in others in three Moneths Close by Segovia glides the Rivulet Claro whosse clear Water goes but a small Course from its Fountain Head before it sinks into the Ground in the Summer it is very high and in the Winter almost destitute of Water The Commodities of the Countrey hereabouts This Countrey breeds all sorts of Fowls but especially Quails and Turtle-Doves Cattel Sheep Goats and Hogs increase wonderfully here insomuch that many of them are driven to be sold at New Granada The Cotton-Clothes that are woven here also turn to a good account From Segovia runs a Way through a Valley twelve Leagues long to the Town Tucuyo which stands low but in a healthful Climate and surrounded with Mountains The Countrey hereabouts produces plenty of Corn Pot-herbs Sugar and Cotton and feeds Oxen Cowes Horses Sheep Deer and Goats to which the Tygers and Lyons do great mischief Here are Gold-Mines but they are not open'd by reason of the great want of Men. There is likewise plenty of the Bezoar-Stones to be had here The Cuycas in whose Countrey stands the Town Truxillo are a valiant but very cruel People The Lake Maracabo running forty Leagues up into the Countrey is ten Leagues broad Ebbs and Flows and feeds the great Fish Manati Westward dwell the Pocabuyes and Alcoholados both quiet and rich People The Province Xuruara The Province Xuruara lies towards the South behind high Mountains inhabited by the valiant Coromochos and towards the North from Xuruara the Bobures hard by the City Merida the Countrey about which is unhealthful and Morassy and the Inhabitants exceedingly plagu'd by the Muschito's Havens of Venezuela The Haven Maracapana is the best in Venezuela and lies in the Eastern part of the Province where the Mountains are inhabited by the wild Chiugotos who kill and eat all the Spaniards they can get The other Havens Westward not comparable to Maracapana are Flechado Sardinas and Burburute where some Spanish Families have a Salt-pit Islands and Promontories Six Leagues up in the Countrey you come to the fresh Lake Tocarigua full of little inhabited Isles the People whereof live quietly and barter Gold Towards the North-West the Ocean makes the great Inlet Triste before which lies the Island Bonaire very full of Cattel and on each side appear the Aves and Quaraco which abound with Fowl The Promontory St. Roman runs twenty Leagues into the Sea and the Cape Coquibocoa extends farther Between both these runs the Channel of Venezuela which touches the Lake Maracapabo Before Coquibocoa are seen the four low Islands Monjes with white sandy Creeks and full of Trees out of the middlemost rises a high Mountain On the Main Continent also the Mountains De Azieyto appear with scraggy tops beyond the Point And the Bay Honda affords a safe Road. The Cape De la Vela hath on one side the Inlet Portete and on the other the Villages Rancheria and Nostra Sennora de los Remedios between both which runs the Stream La Hacha The German Commander Nicholas Federman intended to have built a City on Cape Vela Anno 1535. but finding the Ground too low and unfruitful the Pearls hereabouts very small and the Natives living onely on Fish and wild Herbs
Ignazu which falls into the Parana and at last came to the River Paraguay along whose Shore he found a People of a gigantick Stature call'd The Agazes who regarded no manner of Husbandry but went out continually a robbing in their Canoos These People as Martin del Barco relates were not long after all destroy'd by the Spaniards Not far from the Agazes dwell the Guaycurues a valiant People and somewhat farther the Cacoves whose Countrey produces Gold and Silver and yet farther in the Countrey reside the Guaxarapos who remove yearly to the Paraguay to Fish there when the Water is low for in the beginning of January the River swells so exceedingly that the Countrey about it being overflow'd is cover'd with above six Fathom Water The Paraguay discharges its Waters into the great Lake Xarayes full of Islands Amongst other Rivers that spring out of the Mountains Andes the Ignazu along whose Shore the People Xacoaes Xaquesses and Chanesses dwell falls also into the foremention'd Lake Somewhat farther lies a great piece of drown'd Land beyond which the Xarayes have convenient Habitations plant Maiz and spin Cotton Their Countrey borders a great Wilderness which ends about the Province Tapuaguazu the Inhabitants whereof call'd Tarapecocies are furnish'd with plenty of all sorts of Provisions The Payzunoes dwelling on one side of them are not well known as yet Beyond the Town Assumption dwell the Mayaes in the Way to Peru and border at he Tamacoaes both which possess Silver-Mines Between Buenos Ayres and Corduba lies the Plain-Countrey Despoplado ninety Leagues long without Trees or Houses but is most Pasture-Ground which feed many thousands of wild Horses From hence glide the Streams Luchan Los Arrechivos Arreca Zaracaranna and others into La Plata It is very dangerous for a small Company to travel through this Countrey because the ranging Juries spare none alive they meet with Moreover the River Grande flows with a wide Mouth into the Sea and spreads it self within against the Countrey Patos Also the Rivers Tamandabug Ararungo and the Lake Alagoa disembogue into the Ocean North-East beyond Alagoa lie the Islands Catharina and Gale and in the Bay Tojuqua appear several Isles The Streams Tajahu and Ytabuca spring out of high Mountains inhabited by the People Anniriri and Cipopoy Lastly the Countrey wash'd by the Stream Ararapira produces all sorts of Provisions CHAP. II. Chili THere are in this Countrey both tame and wild Sheep The Cammel-Sheep the tame ones are call'd Cammel-Sheep being cover'd with long fine Wool having Necks four Foot long their fore Feet cloven into four parts their hindermost into two their Mouths very wide which they open at those that vex them and make such a stink that no body is able to abide near them when tir'd they fall under their Burdens and will not rise though beaten never so much Their Flesh is tough like that of Horses The wild Mountain-Sheep are red and have soft glossy Wool which makes a Stuff like that of a Chamlet These Sheep run swifter than a Horse the Chileses lead them by a Rope put through their Ears The Grain Teca This Countrey of Chili not onely produces Wheat Barley Maiz and all manner of Fruit but also the Teca which growing half a Yard high is not unlike Barley the Grain thereof being dry'd in the Sun is thresh'd and parch'd in hot Sand then ground on a square flat Stone with a round Rowler This Meal which is both exceeding wholsom and very nourishing for a small Measure thereof sufficeth a Man a whole Week serves also both for Meat and Drink for being infus'd in a greater quantity of Water it becomes a pleasant Drink and kneaded with a lesser proportion it is made into Cakes or Loaves The Fruit Vnni The Fruit Unni by the Spaniards call'd Murtilla is like a little red Grape and hath a tart taste The Wine press'd out of this Fruit is clear to the Eye pleasing to the Palate and good for the Stomach never causing any Head-ache It also makes good Vinegar But the chiefest Benefit of Chili is the rich Gold-Mines The Countrey for the most part lies desolate occasion'd by the continual Wars which the valiant People Arauco maintain'd against the Spaniards after such a manner that in no place of America they met with such resistance or sustain'd such Losses They speak an elegant Language according to the testimony of Elias Herkmans who having committed to Wirting all the most significant Words thereof which were taught him by the Chileses it will not be altogether amiss to set down some of them which are these following A View of the Chilesian Language TEpanto A Year Tien A Moneth or the Moon Toninco A Week Ante The Day or Sun Paun The Night Tabuyo The Evening Eppoun The Morning Rangiante Noon Eppoe The next Day after to Morrow Vya Yesterday Putey The Day before Yesterday Buchiante To Day Mintay Now. Weytiva At that time Wantarulei In the Morning betimes Biliante Always Chumel When. Chemchuem Also Hueno The Heavens Quereb The Air or Wind. Tomo The Clouds Wangelen The Stars Pillan Thunder Gualio Lightning Puta que quereb A Storm Maoni Rain Piren Snow Veaquumao Dew Pillingei Ice Quetal Fire Ko Water Tue The Earth Mappo The Land Pele Clay Cura Stone Maviel Wood. Aluven Timber Millia Gold Lien Silver Paila Brass Titi Tin Pavillue Iron Quatal-cura A Pebble-stone Chadi Salt Lyl A Rock Milla-mappen A Golden Vein Aliquen A Tree Cahu Herbs Nebo Nuts Pino Grass Cayron Hay Wento A Man Domo A Wife Quiduugen A Youth Yecho A Maiden Penien A Boy Domo-penien A Girl Chou A Father Nenque A Mother Cheche A Grandfather Domo-cheche A Grandmother Wenco Mothers Brother Mama Mothers Sister Pelchuchan A Stepfather Caulla A Stepmother Botum A Son Neaque A Daughter Penu A Brother Lamoen A Sister Guempo A Father-in-law Vilca A Mother-in-law Choupa A Son-in-law Weuro-pencho A Kinsman Buytha An old Man Cude An old Woman Cunewa An Hospital Child Peneinboe A Guardian Apo-curaca A Governor Curaca A Lord. Apo A supream Commander Nentoque A Ruler Ulmen A Person of Quality Pulmen A Gentleman Machi A Chirurgeon Cona A Soldier Retave-caman A Smith Guito-wok A Weaver Challo-acaman A Fisher-man Nilla-caboe A Merchant Turnitave A Dyer Chumpiro-caman A Cap-maker Tultunca-caman A Drummer Inchetaniweni A Servant Voerquin A Messenger Langamcheboe A Murderer Chiquiboe A Thief Illuiboe A Beggar Alvee The Devil Ruca A House Ullin A Door Chaquana A pair of Stairs Pylca A Wall Wana-ruca The Roof Pithe-ruca A Hut Colcura A Cupboard Cawyto A Bedstead Depotuarica A Prison Weltelve A Gibbet Pengal A Grave Lonquen The Sea Leva The River Buta-wampo A Ship Aliwen A Mast Mou Ropes Dolio A Canoo Wampo A Boat Vela Sails Wyta An Oar. Tubquen Ashes Cuju A dead Coal Ale The Flame Aypel A burning Coal Wietum Smoak Catila a Candle Wyno A Knife Witi A Spoon Guidi A Pot. Lepoboruwe A Tooth-picker Pavilla-lonco An Helmet Waiqui A Pike
though sunk never so deep in the Wound Moreover the Juice of Culen is also very healing if us'd for an Ointment or pour'd on any Wound This Herb by the Spaniards call'd Albaciga hath sweet-smelling Leaves and a tall Body In some places also grows an Herb not unlike Grass which boyl'd in Water immediately cures the Feaver and Spleen and cleanses the Blood There are likewise Medicines here which dissolving the Stone in the Bladder or Kidneys cause it to be urin'd forth The Plant Luce which grows out of rented Rocks which are often overflow'd by the Sea makes a sort of well tasted Bread The Wilderness Atacama which makes a Boundary betwixt Peru and Chili extends Northward ninety Leagues is dry and barren in Summer and in the Winter exceeding cold and cover'd with Snow No Provision is to be found upon it except a few wild Sheep call'd Guanacos About the middle thereof the Brook La Sal rising in the Eastern Mountains flows Westward through a deep Valley to the Southern Ocean Troublesom Passage from Peru to Chili The Water of the fore-mention'd Brook put into any Vessel immediately turns to Salt and all along the Shore lie greater or lesser pieces of Salt so that the Way from Peru to Chili through Atacama is very troublesom but that which leads thither over the snowy Mountains Andes is much worse because it is farther about and threatens the Traveller with Destruction if he observe not the right Season of the Year for in the Winter there blows such a cold Wind on these Mountains that a Man being suddenly benumm'd falls down dead on the Ground and grows stiff against all putrefaction Joseph de Acosta tells us that Bodies have been found there as firm and sound as if they had been living which had some years before breath'd their last on the said Mountains But Diego Almagro who first discover'd Chili Anno 1536. went thither with two Companies of Horse and five hundred Foot through the Countreys Charcas Chicas Xuxayes and Chaquana and having pass'd over a craggy Soil and the snowy Mountains Andes he entred into the first Chilean Valley Capayapo having lost no small number of Men and Horses with Hardship and Cold the inconvenience therefore of both the fore-mention'd Ways between Peru and Chili forc'd Travellers to go along the Shore wash'd by the Southern Ocean The Valley Copayapo Copayapo bears that Denomination from the Turkoises which a Mountain produces there in great abundance The Valley it self is the fruitfullest of all Chili for in no place the Maiz grows better and in greater abundance than here the Ears being half a Yard long and the Stalks the length of a Lance each Grain that is Sow'n yields at least three hundred in Harvest All Spanish Fruits grow better here than in Spain Through the midst of Copayapo runs a River of the same Denomination and twenty Leagues in length from the Andes and at its Mouth hath a convenient Harbor before the South Sea The South part of Copayapa borders the Valley Guasco which is less fruitful than the first but hath a convenient Haven into which falls a fresh River penn'd in by Sluces for the watering of the Cane-Fields Moreover there are plenty of Partridges also wild Sheep and grey Squirrel-skins are of a great value To the Southward flow also the Rivers Maypo Chacha Pool Loro and Moule Beyond these Streams Eastward the Promonca's dwell near the Mountains Andes In the Valley Chili which gives Denomination to the whole Countrey were formerly the famous Gold-Mines Quillatas from whence Valdivia Anno 1544 carry'd an invaluable Treasure The South Sea makes here a large and convenient Harbor for all manner of Vessels built two Leagues below the City Serena at a little River which so moistens the low Countrey that it produces all manner of Plants It rains here not above three times ayear From the Entertainment which Sir Francis Drake met withal here may sufficiently be conjectur'd the Power of Serena for when the English Landed here for Water they were driven away not without great loss by three hundred Castilian Horse and two hundred Foot that Sally'd out of the City The Mines though they inclose much Gold yet they produce but little because the Spaniards according to the testimony of a Chilean Pilot whom Oliver van Noort took Prisoner destroy'd all the ancient Inhabitants that should have help'd them to dig the Gold The City St. Jago lying near the Stream Topocalma receives great benefit by the Haven Valparayso which makes the fore-mention'd River because in that Haven all Goods that come from Lima are unladen and the Goods shipp'd aboard The Countrey about the same produces plenty of Wines Apples Corn and all sorts of Cattel and especially Horses in such abundance that thousands of them run wild In Valparayso Sir Francis Drake took a Ship from Valdivia laden with two thousand five hundred Bars of fine Gold But the Netherland Admiral Joris Spilbergen had not such good success who Sailing thither with five Ships Anno 1615. discover'd a Spanish Ship in the Harbor where sending his Boats well Mann'd to fetch off a Vessel that lay hal'd on the Shore they found it burning and thereupon Steer'd their Course into a little Inlet full of Rocks which serv'd the Spaniards in stead of Breast-works for lying behind them they fir'd continually on the Hollanders yet Spilbergen Landing with two hundred Men met a considerable number of Spanish Soldiers and Horses drawn out on the Shore from whom they soon fled Before the City La Conception lies the Island Quiriquyna whose Straw Huts Spilbergen laid in Ashes At the time when Oliver van Noort came to an Anchor here the Governor Franciscus de Quinones Commanded seven hundred Spanish Soldiers to reduce the revolted Chileses Four Leagues from Conception lie the rich Gold-Mines Quilacoya which formerly produc'd great Riches Over against the Valley Arauco which rises out of the Sea lies the Island Maria in a large Inlet made by the force of the Waves Here grows abundance of Wheat and Barley The Rivers also afford plenty of Fish amongst which there is one call'd The Lake-Spider in whose Eyes are to be seen little Specks which would exceed Pearl if they were but hard enough Two Spaniards Command forty Natives on Maria and keep them in such slavery that they may neither eat Apples Pears Grapes Poultrey or Sheep though they are there in great abundance Elias Herkmans was once in probability to have taken possession of this Island for the Netherland State had he not been prevented by an extraordinary occasion Between the Towns Conception and Imperial lie the Provinces Arauco Tucapel and Puren inhabited by a valiant People that often alarm the Spaniards In each Province Valdivia built a Fort in the Year 1551. eight Leagues distant from one another He also discover'd the rich Gold-Mines De Ongol and built the Fort Confines there The Natives hereabouts being exceedingly opprest by the Spaniards fell
both great and small yielding good Harbors and store of Whales and Sea-Horses The Voyages of Jonas Pool and others to Greenland In the Year 1610. Jonas Pool Master of the Amity fell in with this Land in May and continu'd upon the Coast discovering of Harbors and killing of Morses till June following and he is said to have been the first that gave this Countrey the Name of Greenland The next year he set out again accompany'd with Thomas Edge Commander of the Mary Margaret And since many other Voyages have been made as to a Place known and a great Trade driven in catching of Whales not without several Contests with the Dutch and Danes but nothing of late discover'd considerable more than in the first Voyages The Harbors Sounds and Coastings most taken notice of are Fair Foreland Cape Cold Black-Point Horn-Sound Knotty-Point Bell-Sound Lowness Cross-Road Deer-Sound Fowl-Sound Close-Cove Gurnet-Nose Ice-Sound and Green-Haven There are few that have Sail'd to Greenland Cherry-Island but make great mention of Cherry Island so call'd as having been first discover'd at the Charges of Sir Francis Cherry an eminent Merchant by others Bear-Island from the multitude of Bears found there it lies in the Latitude of seventy four Degrees and is noted for store of Fowl Foxes like Dogs and upon the Coasts great store of Whales Sea-Horses and Morses It is also said to be furnish'd with Lead-Mines and Pits of Sea-Coal Situation and first Discovery of Iseland Iseland so call'd from the continual Ice which is upon it is a craggy mountainous Countrey and not onely the Hills but a great part of the Low-land cover'd with perpetual Snow It is of a Form somewhat oblong lying between the fifty fourth and fifty ninth Degree of Northern Latitude having Norway on the East the Orcades and Scotland on the South Grenland on the West and the Hyperborean or frozen Sea on the North. It is by Olaus Magnus suppos'd to be twice as big as Sicily that is to say about a hundred Leagues in length It is the most known and most througly discover'd of all the Countreys of the Artick Region and is said to have been first found out and peopled in the Year of our Lord 900. by certain of the Nobility of East-Frisia in the Countrey of Breme in the time of Alebrand Bishop of that Countrey but whether or no utterly unpeopled till that time is a Question not easie to be determin'd though in all probability so obvious a Place to be found out could not lie so long totally uninhabited Not long after several Colonies of Norwegians Setled themselves some in Hitland some in Ferow others following the Example of these Bremers in Iseland The Countrey is full of Rocks and Stones and as is credibly reported not a cultivated Field or Garden in the whole Island and by consequence no sort of Corn yet the People living without either Bread or Salt are very strong and of a good Complexion Neither is there a Tree to be seen except the Birch which likewise grows but in one place and exceeds not the heighth of a Man by reason of the violence of the Winds yet there is said to be great plenty of Butter the Grass being so fat that the Oxen are not suffer'd to stay long at a time in the Pastures for fear of bursting Till of late there was neither Town nor any thing that could be call'd a Village in the whole Island but stragling Cottages here and there not above three or four together in a place most by the Sea side for the convenience of Fishing they were built pretty deep in the Ground but artificially fram'd of Whales Bones with Seats Benches and other Utensils of the same now sometimes they use Fir to the same purpose which is cast upon the Coast by the force of the Sea from Tartary or elsewhere For want of Vessels they lay their Butter in Heaps in the Corners of their Houses like Mortar In the Winter wanting Fodder they feed their Cattel with Fish Besides these Cattel which are Kine without Horns Horses onely fit for carrying of Burthens and very large Sheep there are store of white Foxes and huge Bears of the same colour and a sort of rough Dogs very well known and frequent amongst us by the Name of Shocks which the Islanders esteem not a little and will part with their Children at a far easier rate They keep neither Hogs nor Poultrey for want of Grain to feed them Many Rivers in Iseland The Rivers belonging to this Island are many and those not unpleasant affording to the Inhabitants plenty of Fish especially Sturgeon Trouts and Salmons and one is especially remarkable for a Bridge made over it which being the onely Bridge of the Countrey is made of the great Bones of a Whale The whole Island is one continu'd Desart without any trodden Path or Road from one end to the other so that all that have occasion to travel to any part thereof by Land make use of the Compass as if they were Voyaging by Sea Strange Fish on the Coast of Iseland The Coast of Iseland hath many strange and monstrous Fish worth observation as first the Orca which though nothing near so big as the Whale yet is able to be the death of it for being of the shape of a Ship turn'd upside-down and having sharp long Fins on its Back it pricks the Belly of the Whale therewith till it kills The next is the Hackfall which is very fat and about twelve Inches long Then the Dog-Fish which lifting up its Head out of the Sea Barks and letting forth its young ones receives them into her Belly again when they have sported a while in the Sea Lastly another Monster of a most frightful shape mention'd by Olaus Magnus but not by any particular Name Strange Fountains In divers parts of the Island are Fountains of scalding Water which as soon as taken from the Fountain begins to cool and when cold hath a sulphury Substance swimming on the top At the West end is a smoaky Fountain very cold and turning all that is cast into it into Stone At the place upon the Sea call'd Turlocks Haven are two Fountains of different quality the one hot the other cold which by Pipes being brought together into one place make a Bath of an excellent temperature and of a medicinal Vertue Not far from Haven Halneford is a Cliff in a Rock of an unknown depth and no Water to be discern'd by those that look down into it but if a Stone be cast in it shall make a noise for half an hour together as if it were striking against a Brazen Vessel and all this while the Water will be rising till it comes up to the brim and then will be so long sinking again as the Stone was falling Mountains of Iseland There are also three Mountains in Iseland not to be left unmention'd the Mountain of the Cross the Moutain Snenelstockel
return to the Sea till they have cast their Spawn Clamms or Clamps Clamms or Clamps are a Shell-fish not much unlike a Cockle they lie under the Sand and have every one of them a round hole to take Air and receive Water at When the Tide ebbs and flows a Man running over these Clamm banks will presently be made all wet by their spouting of Water out of those small holes These Fishes are in great plenty in most places of the Countrey which is a great Commodity for the feeding of Swine both in Winter and Summer for being once us'd to those places they will repair to them as duly every Ebb as if they were driven to them by Keepers In some places of the Countrey there be Clamms as big as a Peny white Loaf which are great Dainties amongst the Natives and would be in great esteem amongst the English were it not for better Fish Other Commodities which this Countrey is said to yield are in down-right Prose Furrs Flax Linnen Iron Pitch Masts Cables and some quantity of Amber so that if what many Authors have consented to assert concerning New England be not a meer Fiction what e're hath been affirm'd of the unfruitfulness of the Country will demonstrably be found invalid There are also to be found here some hurtful Creatures Noxious Creatures of which that which is most injurious to the Person and Life of a Man is the Rattle-Snake which is generally a yard and a half long as thick in the middle as the small of a Mans Leg she hath a yellow Belly her Back being spotted with black russet yellow and green colours plac'd like Scales at her Tail is a Rattle with which she makes a noise when she is molested or when she seeth any approach near her her Neck seems to be no thicker than a Mans Thumb yet she can swallow a Squirril having a great wide Mouth with Teeth as sharp as Needles wherewith she biteth such as tread upon her her Poyson lyeth in her Teeth for she hath no Sting When any Man is bitten by any of these Creatures the Poyson spreads so suddenly through the Veins and so runs to the Heart that in one hour it causeth Death unless he hath the Antidote to expel the Poyson which is a Root call'd Snake-weed which must be champ'd the Spittle swallow'd and the Root apply'd to the Sore this is present Cure against that which would be present death without it This Weed is rank Poyson if it be taken by any man that is not bitten whosoever is bitten by these Snakes his flesh becomes as spotted as a Leopard until he be perfectly cur'd It is reported that if the Party live that is bitten the Snake will die and if the Party die the Snake will live This is a most Poysonous and dangerous Animal yet nothing so bad as the report goes of it in England for whereas it is said to kill a Man with its breath and that it can flie there is no such matter for it is naturally the most sleepy and unnimble Creature that lives never offering to leap or bite any Man if it be not trodden on first and it is their desire in hot weather to lie in Paths where the Sun may shine on them where they will sleep so soundly that I have known four Men stride over one of them and never awake it five or six Men have been bitten by them which by using of Snake-weed were all cur'd never any yet losing his life by them Cows have been bitten but being cut in divers places and this Weed thrust into their flesh were cur'd A small Switch will easily kill one of these Snakes In many places of the Country there be none of them as at Plymouth New-town Igowamme Nahant c. In some places they will live on one side of the River and swimming but over the Water as soon as they are come into the Woods they turn up their yellow Bellies and die Up into the Countrey Westward from the Plantations is a high Hill which is call'd Rattle-Snake-Hill where there are great store of these Poysonous Creatures There are likewise troublesome Flies First there is a wild Bee or Wasp which commonly guards the Grape building by Cobweb habitation amongst the Leaves Secondly a great green Flie not much unlike our Horse-Flies in England they will nipp so sore that they will fetch Blood either of Man or Beast and are most troublesome where most Cattel are which brings them from out of the Woods to the Houses this Flie continues but for the Moneth of June The third is Gurnipper which is a small black Flie no bigger than a Flea her biting causeth an itching upon the Hands or Face which provoketh scratching which is troublesome to some this Flie is busie but in close Mornings or Evenings and continues not above three Weeks the least Wind or heat expels them The fourth is a Musketor which is not unlike to our Gnats in England in places where there is no thick Woods or Swamps there are none or very few In the new Plantations they are troublesome for the first year but the Wood decaying they vanish These Flies cannot endure Wind heat or cold so that these are only troublesome in close thick Weather and against Rain many that are bitten will fall a scratching whereupon their Faces and Hands swell The nature of the ancient Inhabitants As touching the Nature of the ancient Inhabitants they are to be consider'd according to their several Shires or Divisions those that inhabit to the East and North-East bore the name of Churchers and Tarrenteens these in the Southern parts were call'd Pequods and Narragansets those Westward Connectacuts and Mowhacks to the North-West of whom were the Aberginians The nature of the Mowhacks The Mowhacks were ever accounted a cruel bloudy People which were wont to come down upon their poor Neighbors with more than bruitish Savageness spoiling their Corn burning their Houses slaying Men ravishing Women yea very Canibals they were sometimes eating on a Man one part after another before his Face and while yet living insomuch that the very Name of a Mowhack would strike the Heart of a poor Aberginian dead till they had the English on their sides to succor them for these inhumane Homicides confess that they dare not meddle with a white Fac'd Man accompany'd with his hot-mouth'd Weapon These Indians are a People of tall Stature long grim Visages slender Wasted and having exceeding great Arms and Thighs wherein they say their strength lieth which is such that one of them hath been known to kill a Dog with a fillip of his Finger and afterwards to have flead and sod him and eat him to his Dinner They are so hardy that they can eat such things as would make other Indians sick to look upon being destitute of Fish and Flesh they suffice Hunger and maintain Nature with the use of Vegetatives but that which they most hunt after is the
made prodigious Attempts to thrust them with his Horn which he turn'd with an inexpressible dexterity and nimbleness and that if he had had as much Water under him as would have born him up he would have been too hard for them all When the Entrails were taken out it was found that he liv'd by Prey for there were within him the Scales of several kinds of Fish What could be preserv'd of this miraculous Animal especially the Head and the precious Horn fastned in it hung up near two years at the Guard-house of the Island till Monsieur Le Vasseur the Governor of it presented one Monsieur Des Trancarts a Gentleman of Xaintonge who had given him a Visit with the Horn. Not long after coming over in the same Ship with the Gentleman who had that precious Rarity put up in a long Chest our Ship was cast away near the Island of Payala one of the Assores and all the Goods were lost but nothing so much regretted as the loss of that Chest The Natives how call'd The Natives call themselves Cubao-bonon that is Inhabitants of the Islands and Caribbeeans which last Denomination was not onely receiv'd amongst the American Isles but also on the Main Continent of the Northern and Southern America long before the Spaniards coming thither Concerning the original of these People there are several Opinions Their Original for those who make them to be Extracted from the Jews have no other testimony but that they abstain from Swines-flesh Those that take them for a People fled from the great Islands Hispaniola Jamaica Cuba and Porto Rico to save themselves from the Spaniards Cruelty dispute against a known Truth for who knows not that the Indians who escap'd the Spanish Slaughter have not the least resemblance either in Language or Customs with the Cannibals nay more they are mortal Enemies to them besides that the Cannibals at that time when Columbus first arriv'd possess'd those Places which they now inhabit The Cannibals seem ignorant themselves in this Point for they affirm their Extraction to be from Guyana where the Calibites speak the same Language and also observe the same Customs and Religion The occasion of their removal they ascribe to the King of the Arovages who made all the adjacent People about his Court Slaves to him which to prevent they first went to Tabago where being strengthned by new Comers they resolv'd to take revenge on him and Engaging with him in a Field-Battel utterly defeated him and spat'd none of his Party alive except the Women whence it proceeds that the Arovage Women have the same Customs and Language with the Caribbeans But Bristock an English Knight by long Conversation experienc'd in the severall American Tongues saith That the Caribbeeans have their Original from the Apalachites in Florida who being a valiant People destroy'd many of the Natives that inhabited Mexico that so they might Settle themselves there to which purpose they built a City like that of Apalache The Cofachites inhabiting Northerly and spred over a barren and Rocky Countrey made use of this opportunity to conquer their deserted Habitation for on a set-time they set fire to all the Villages and spoyl'd all things which they could not carry away with them that not the least hopes of returning might be left them therefore they must either Conquer or Die which resolv'd upon they fell unawares on the Apalachites whose King had nevertheless so much time that he Guarded the usual Paths which directed to the inhabited Villages But the Apalachites leaving the common Roads climb'd over almost inaccessible Mountains and so got into the heart of the Countrey which exceedingly amaz'd Paracousis for so that King was call'd who lay Encamp'd at the Foot of a Mountain whether the Van of the Apalachites were marching whereupon he sending his Army to meet them they began a most fierce Combat when at last both Parties wanting Arrows they fell upon one another with Clubs till the Night parted them The Cofachites come to Terms of Agreement with the Apalachites and neither could boast of the Victory At last this War was turn'd into Peace and the Articles of Agreement were these viz. That the Cofachites should for ever possess the Province Amana and become one People with the Apalachites and acknowledge the King of Apalache for their Chief Governor After which the Cofachites were call'd Caribbeeans which signifies Accidental Subjects But these two sorts of People did not long agree They fall off for the Caribbeeans sleighted the Customs of the Apalachites in the Countrey Bemarin and at the same time threw off their Obedience to the King chose one Ragazin for their Governor subdu'd the neighboring Province Matika and at last defi'd the Apalachites who inferior to them in Strength and making use of subtilty suppos'd it the best way to make a Difference amongst the Caribbeeans themselves to which the Priests freely proffer'd their Assistance and their Design prov'd also successful for the Caribbeeans regarding no Religion onely dreading the angry Deity Mabouya the Apalachite Priests call'd Jaova's Are brought to worship the Sun took great pains to perswade their Neighbors to the worshipping of the Sun which so prevail'd that a considerable number of them ascending the Mountain Olaimi fell down and shew'd Reverence to that celestial Luminary which Opportunity Paracousis taking notice of caus'd the Jaova's to publish amongst the Caribbeeans That in the beginning of the Maairims or March a great Feast should be held in Reverence to the Sun on the usual place where the King would Entertain and give Presents to all the Worshippers thereof The Sun generally worshipp'd by the antient Heathens How great a Religion this Sun-worship was antiently amongst the Gentiles appears from the Writings of several authentick Authors The Syrians whose Idolatry the Israelites learn'd honor the Sun by the Name of Bahal which signifies Lord. The Phenicians call'd the Sun Beel-samen Lord of the Heavens and the Citizens of Accaron Baal-zebahim Lord of the Offerings but God chang'd the Name to Baalzebub or The God of Flyes Moloch or Milcom also signifi'd the Sun amongst the Ammonites in honor of which Children were carried by their Parents and set between two great Fires or else by the Priests upon pretence of cleansing them and sometimes parch'd to death in an Image of Moloch which had seven Cavities heated like Ovens Macrobius tells us That the Assyrians ascrib'd the supream Command to the Sun under the Name of Adad and to the Goddess Adargatis representing the Image of Adad with Beams darting downwards and Adargatis with those that shot upwards by the first they express'd that the celestial Power consisted in Sun-beams which shooting downwards warm the Earth and by the second that all things by those Beams were cherish'd and enliven'd The most magnificent Temple which Syria Apamena boasted was Consecrated to the Sun The Arabians Offer'd Myrrhe on the tops of their Houses at the Rising of