they perceive a fish lying even with the water they fail not yet as it were only sporting themselves to seise it and immediately devour it They have a strange dexterity in taking the flying Fishes for as soon as they perceive that that delicate prey makes the water to rise and bubble a little and is just upon the taking of its flight to avoid the cruel pursuits of its Sea-enemies they place themselves so directly on that side on which they should make their sally that as soon as they are out of the water they receive them into their Beaks or Claws So these innocent and unfortunate fishes to avoid the teeth of one enemy many times fall into the claws of another who gives them no better quarter The Rocks which are in the Sea and the little un-inhabited Islands are the places where these Birds make their abode and their nests The meat of them is not much esteem'd but their fat is carefully kept it having been found by experience that it helpeth the Palsey and all sorts of cold Gouts FAUVES THe Birds which the French call Fauves that is Fallow by reason of the colour of their back are white under the belly they are about the bigness of the Poule d'eau but for the most part so lean that they are valued only for their feathers their feet are like those of Wild-Ducks and their beaks sharp as those of Wood-cocks they live on small fishes as the Frigots do but they are the most stupid of any Sea or Land-Fowl in the Islands for whether it be that they are soon weary of flying or take the Ships for moving rocks as soon as they perceive any one especially if it be neer night they immediately light in them and suffer themselves to be taken without any trouble HERONS and several other Sea and River-Fowl THere are seen neer these Islands and sometimes at a great distance from them in the Sea certain Birds perfectly white whose beaks and feet are as red as Coral they are somewhat bigger then Crows they are conceiv'd to be a kind of Herons because their tails consist of two long and precious feathers by which they are distinguish'd from all other Birds frequenting the Sea Among the Birds frequenting Rivers and Ponds there are found in these Countries Plovers Duckers Moore-hens or Coots Wild-Ducks and Wild Geese as also a kind of Ducks which having the whole body as white as snow have their beaks and feet as black as may be and a kind of Herons of an admirable whiteness about the bigness of a Pigeon but beaked like a Wood-cock they live on fish and delight in sandy places and on rocks They are much sought after for that precious Plume of fine Feathers soft as any silk which is had from them but inasmuch as all these are common in other places we may forbear the descriptions thereof CRAW-FOWL THere is in all these Islands a large Bird which lives only on fish it is about the bigness of a great Duck and the feathers are of an Ash-colour and hideous to the eye it hath a long and flat beak a great head small eyes deep set in his head and a neck short enough under which hangs a kind of craw or bag so big that it may contain a great pale of water From which description we may call him the Craw-Fowl as the French have properly termed him Grand-gosier These Birds are commonly found upon Trees on the Sea-side where they lye in ambush to discover their prey for as soon as they perceive a fish as it were between wind and water so as that they have them at advantages they fall upon it and seise it they will swallow down great fishes whole they are also so attentive on their fishing that having their eye continually fixt on the Sea whence they expect their prey they are easily shot and become it themselves to others they are a stupid and melancholy kind of Bird suitably to their employment they are so excellently well sighted that they discover fish at a great distance in the Sea and above a fathom under water but they stay till they be come up almost even with it before they offer at them their flesh is not to be eaten COOT THe Islands called the Virgins are of the Caribbies the best furnished with abundance of Sea and Land-Fowl for besides the forementioned whereof they have good store there is a kind of Coot or Moor-hen admirable for the beauty of its feathers they are no bigger then Pigeons but have a much longer beak of a yellow colour are higher set and their legs and feet are of a bright red the feathers of the back wings and tail are of a shining carnation intermixt with green and black which serves for a foil to set off the beauty of the other colours Under the wings and on the belly their feathers are of a golden yellow their neck and breasts are adorned with a delightful mixture of all the colours they have about their bodies and their head which is very small and beset with two little sparkling eyes is crowned with a tuft of several little feathers of several pleasant colours FLAMMANS THe Ponds and fenny places which are not much frequented are the retreats of several great and beautiful Birds about the bigness of wild Geese and of the same figure with those which the Dutch call Lepelaer from the form of their beak which hath the resemblance of a spoon They have long necks and their legs are of such length that their bodies are about three foot from the ground But they differ as to colour inasmuch as when they are young their feathers are white as they grow it becomes of a murrey colour and when they are old of a bright carnation from which colour the French took occasion to call them Flammans There are of these Birds seen neer Montpelier in France which have the lower part of their body and under their wings of a carnation colour the upper part black there are in like manner in these Islands some that have a mixture of black and white feathers in their wings They are seldom seen but in great companies and their hearing and smelling is so perfect that they smell the Huntsmen and Fire-arms at a great distance To avoid all surprises they pitch in open places and in the midst of Fens whence they may at a great distance perceive their enemies and there is always one of the party upon the guard while the rest are searching in the waters for their livelihood and as soon as he hears the least noise or perceives a man he takes his flight and gives a cry for a signal to the rest to follow him when the Hunts-men who frequent Hispaniola would kill some of these Birds which are there very common they take the wind of them that the smell of the powder may not easily be carry'd to them then they cover themselves with an Ox-hide and creep on their hands and feet
this Chapter with a thing worthy observation which yet happens not in other parts unless haply in Ch 16. p 94. Flying fishes Ch 16. Sea Parrat p 98 A Rock-fish p 100 Bonite p 99 CHAP. XVI Of the Sea and River-Fish of the Caribbies WE shall not promise so exact and full a History of the Fish of these Islands as so ample a subject might require but having already given an account of the accommodations of these happy Countries as to the Land the order of our Design requires that we should now speak of the productions of the Sea which encompass them and the Rivers that run through them The business therefore of this Chapter shall be to give a short description of the most excellent Fishes wherewith they are plentifully furnish'd in order to the subsistance of men that the consideration thereof may work in us the deepest acknowledgments imaginable of that Providence which hath display'd its miracles in the deep waters as well as on the dry land and consequently that it is just that the Heavens and the Earth should praise him the Sea and whatever moves therein FLYING-FISHES THere are some who think what is said of the Flying-Fishes a pure fiction though confirmed by the relations of many famous Travellers But what opinion soever they may have thereof who believe only what they have seen it is a certain truth that as soon as Ships have pass'd the Canaries thence to the Islands of America there are often seen rising out of the Sea great numbers of Fishes which flye about the height of a Pike above the water and neer a hundred paces distance but no more in regard their wings are dried by the Sun They are somewhat like Herrings but have a rounder head and they are broader on the back their wings are like those of a Bat which begin a little below the head and reach almost to the tail It happens many times that in their flight they strike against the sails of Ships and fall even in the day time upon the Deck Those who have dress'd and eaten of them think them very delicate Their forsaking the Sea their proper Element is occasion'd upon their being pursu'd by other greater Fishes which prey on them and to avoid meeting with them they quit their proper Element making a sally into the air and changing theâ—â— finnes into wings to eschew the danger but they meet with enemies in the air as well as in the water for there are certain Sea-fowls living only by prey which have an open hostility against them and take them as they flye as was said in the precedent Chapter SEA-PARROTS THere are also in these parts certain Fishes scaled like a Carp but as to colour are as green as a Parrot whence they are by some called Sea-Parrots They have beautiful and sparkling eyes the balls clear as Chrystal encompass'd by a circle argent which is enclos'd within another as green as an Emerald of which colour are the scales of their backs for those under the belly are of a yellowish green They have no teeth but jaws above and below of a solid bone which is very strong of the same colour as their scales and divided into little compartiments very beautiful to the eye They live on Shell-Fish and with those hard jaw-bones they crush as between two mill-stones Oysters Muscles and other Shell-fish to get out the meat They are an excellent kind of fish to eat and so big that some of them have weigh'd above twenty pounds Ch 16 Dorada p 99 rock-Rock-fish p 100. Ch 17 Espadon Shark-fish p 102. Lamantin p 103 Sea Cock p 106. Becune p 106. DORADO THe Dorado by some called the Sea-Bream by others the amber-Amber-Fish is also common in these parts it is called Dorado because in the water the head of it seems to be of a green gilt and the rest of the body as yellow as gold and azur'd as a clear sky It takes a pleasure in following the ships but swims so swiftly that the must be very dextrous that shall take it either with the iron-hook or long staff with the casting-net at the end of it which are the instruments wherewith Sea-men are wont to take great fishes Nor can a man imagine a fish better furnish'd for swimming then this for he hath the fore-part of the head sharp the back bristled with prickles reaching to the tail which is forked two fins of each side of the head and as many under the belly small scales and the whole body of a figure rather broad then big all which give him a strange command of the waters some of them are about five foot in length Many account the meat of this fish though a little dry as pleasant to the taste as that of a Trout or Salmon so the dryness of it be corrected with a little good sauce When the Portuguez see these Dorados following their Ships they stand on the Bow-sprit with a line in their hand at the end whereof there is only a piece of white linen fasten'd to the hook without any other bait BONITE THere is another Fish which commonly follows the Ships called a Bonite It is big and hath much meat about it and about two foot in length The skin of it seems to be of a very dark green and whitish under the belly It hath scales only on both sides and there only two ranks of very little ones along a yellowish line reaching from one side to the other beginning at the head to the tail which is forked It is taken with great hooks cast out on the sides of the Ship which may be done without any hindrance to the Voyage This Fish is as greedy as the Cod and taken with any baits even with the entrails of other fish He is more common in the main Sea then on the Coasts and very good meat eaten fresh but much more delicate having lain a little while in Pepper and Salt before it be dress'd Some conceive this to be the same fish with another call'd by the French Thon which is common on all the Coasts of the Mediterranean Sea NEEDLE-FISH THere is a Fish without scales four foot or thereabouts in length called the Needle-Fish The head of it is sharp a foot or better in length the eyes large and shining and encompass'd with a red circle The skin of his back is streaked with blew and green lines and that under the belly is white intermixt wiâ—h red It hath eight fins which somwhat incline to yellow and a very sharp tail whence probably it came to be so called as the figure of the head gave the Dutch occasion to name it Tabac-pype that is Tobacco-pipe The Coasts of these Islands are furnished also with Carangues and Mullets which come sometimes into the fresh waters and are taken in the Rivers as also Rock-Fishes which are red intermixt with several other colours They are called Rock-Fishes because they are taken neer the Rocks There are also a kind of fish
Unicorns horn before described The upper-part is flat and even and cover'd with leather as the rest and the lower part is fashion'd like the belly of a great fish so that they are very swift upon the water they have but one overture or open place which is just in the midst of the whole structure It is rais'd a little about with a small ledge of Whale-bone and it is made fit for the reception of one man so as that being in it his waste fills the hole When the Savages who invented these kinds of Boats would make use of them either to go a fishing or to divert themselves on the water they thrust down their feet and thighs in at the hole and then sitting down they so fasten the short Coat they have about them to the ledge which is about the hole that they seem to be graffed into the little vessel and to be part of it Thus much of the figure and materials of these little vessels let us now consider the accoutrement of the men who have the conduct of them When they intend to go to Sea they put over their other cloths a certain short coat which is kept only for that purpose This Sea-coat consists of several skins having the hair taken off which are well dress'd and set together that a man would think it to be all of a piece It reaches from the crown of the head to the Navel it is rubb'd over with a blackish gum which is not dissolved in the water and keeps it from passing through That Capuchon or part of it which comes over the head comes so close under the neck and upon the forehead that it leaves nothing but the face open The sleeves are ty'd at the wrist and the lower part of the coat is fasten'd to the ledge about the hole of the vessel with so much care and industry that the body thus covered is always dry in the midst of the waves which with all their tossing can wet only the face and the hands Though they have neither Sail nor Mast nor Rudder nor Compass nor Anchor nor any thing of all those conveniences which are requisite to make our Ships fit for the Sea yet will they undertake long voyages with these small vessels upon which they seem to be sewn they have an experienc'd knowledg of the Stars and need no other guide in the night time The Oars they use are broad at both ends like a Chirurgeons palet and that they may the more easily make their way through the waves and last the longer they tip them with a white bone which covers the edges of the wood which ornament they fasten with pins of horn which they use instead of nails The middle of these Oars is beautifi'd with a bone or precious horn as well the ends and by that place they hold them that they may not slip out of their hands They handle these double Oars with such dexterity and nimbleness that these small vessels will out-run Ships that have all the advantages of sails wind and tide They are so confident in them and so vers'd in the guiding of them that they shew a thousand tricks in them for the divertisement of the beholders Nay sometimes they will raise such waves that the water will be all foamy as if there had been a great tempest and then they seem rather like Sea-monsters coursing one another then men And to make it appear they fear not dangers and that they hold a good correspondence with that Element which feeds them they shew severall tricks diving and rouling themselves in the Sea three or four times together so that they may be taken for perfect Amphibia When they intend to take voyages longer then ordinary or are afraid to be driven far into the Sea by some Tempest they take with them in the hollow place of their vessel a bladder full of fair water to quench their thirst and fish dry'd in the Sun or Frost to eat instead of fresh meat But they are seldom reduc'd to the necessity of using those provisions For they have certain Darts like little Lances which are fasten'd to their Boats these they so dextrously cast at the fish they meet with that they are very seldom destitute of these refreshments They need no fire to dress their meat for on the Land as well as at Sea they are wont to eat it raw They also carry along with them the teeth of certain great fishes or pieces of sharp bones which serve them for knives to dress and cut the fish they take Besides another advantage of these vessels is that there can happen no mutiny in them since one and the same person is Master Mariner Purser and Pilot of it who may stop it when he pleases or let go with the wind water when he would take the rest necessary to retrive his spent forces In this case he fastens his Oar to certain straps of Hart-skin design'd for that purpose which are fastened to the Boat or else he ties it to a buckle which hangs before on his coat The Women have not the use of these little Boats but that they may also sometimes divert themselves on the water their husbands who are very fond of them bring them abroad in other vessels which are about the bigness of our Shallops or Long-boats and such as may carry fifty persons They are made of Poles ty'd together and cover'd with Sea-Dogs skins as the former When it is calm they go with Oars when there is any wind they fasten the Mast to certain Sails of Leather The Reader may see among the Sculps of this Chapter a Cut of one of these Boats with the person that conducts it sitting therein which may render the description we have given of it more intelligible and compleat As to the Country where these excellent Navigators are bred the degrees under which we have placed it shew it to be of a very cold constitution T is true in the moneths of June and July which make the Summer of those parts and are but one continu'd day as December and January make but one night the air is warm pleasant and clear but between those two seasons the days growing alternately longer and shorter are attended with thick Mists Snow or Icy-rains which are extream cold and tedious That part of the Country which lyes neer the Sea is dry and full of rough and dreadful rocks and when the Snow melts it is overflown in many places by certain impetuous torrents lying between them But when a man hath travell'd one league of very bad way he comes into pleasant fields especially in the Summer time There are also mountains cover'd with little Trees which extreamly recreate the eye and feed abundance of Fowl and Wild-beasts and there are Valleys through which there run many clear and pleasant Rivers of fresh water which have strength enough to make their way into the Sea The Captain who commanded the Flushinger from whose late
the aliment Some learned Physicians who are also of the same opinion fortifie it with what is affirmed by Josephus Acosta a very creditable Writer to wit that the Slaves who fish for Pearls dive sometimes twelve fathom deep in the Sea to take the Oysters which are commonly fastened to the Rocks that they get them thence by violence and come up loaden with them Whence they conclude that it cannot be well maintained that those Oysters which are fasten'd to the rocks suck in the dew and that thence comes the generation of Pearls But not to enter into any contestation with these Gentlemen nor yet absolutely to reject their opinion which hath its grounds we may affirm that the true account given by Acosta of the fishing for Pearls makes nothing against the opinion commonly receiv'd of their generation for it is not impossible but that the Mother-Pearls which have conceived of the Dew feeling themselves burthened with that precious fruit have no great inclination to appear ever afterwards on the surface of the waters and being satisfi'd with the treasure they are possess'd of they from thenceforth fasten themselves to the rocks whence they cannot be gotten off without violence Of several other sorts of Shells THose who living in populous Cities would counterfeit Deserts Rocks and solitary Places or in their Gardens raise little Hills under which there should be Grotts encompass'd with all the most curious spoils of Sea and Land might find in most of these Islands what may satisfie their humor This only is to be feared that abundance and diversity would puzzle their choice and occasion a certain contempt of them There are on the Coasts of these Islands an infinite multitude of several sorts of Shells especially those of the Sea-tops Whelks c. which have no names among us whereof some are of a silver-colour some full of stars some sanguine some green some streaked with carnation some checquer'd with several sorts of colours which make them shine along the sands like so many precious stones The Sun extreamly heightens their lustre and beauty and when after an extraordinary tempest the Sea hath enrich'd the surface of those shores with these little sparkling gems the eye is so dazzled at it that a man cannot but acknowledg that Nature loves to make different demonstrations of her power and shews what she can do when she bestows so much beauty and so many rich ornaments on these little inconsiderable Creatures The Savage Islanders sometimes gather these little play-games of the Sea only for diversion sake and having made holes in them put them on strings for Neck-laces and Bracelets But most of the Southern part of America have a far greater esteem for them for they drive a Trade with them and they are in some places the current Money and those who have most shells are accounted the richest The Shells used for this purpose are of a pretty bigness solid and of extraordinary lustre and to be current Money they must be marked by certain Officers who ascertain the value thereof by certain little Characters engraved on them MUSICK-SHELL THere is a very considerable Shell which Mons du Montel thinks may be found in some of the Caribby-Islands though he never saw any of that kind but only at Corassao It differs not much as to figure from the Venus-shells It may be called the Musical-shell because on the out-side of it there are blackish lines full of notes which have a kind of key for the singing of them so that it might be said there wants only the letter to that natural pricking The forementioned Gentleman relates that he saw some that had five Lines a Key and Notes which made good Musick Some person had added the Letter which it seems Nature had forgotten and caus'd it to be sung and the Musick was not undelightful This might afford the ingenious many excellent reflections They might say among other things that if according to the opinion of Pythagoras the Heavens have their Harmony the sweetness whereof cannot be heard by reason of the noise made upon Earth if the Air resound with the melody of an infinite number of Birds who sing their several parts there and if Men have invented a kind of Musick after their way which by the Ears recreates the Heart it were but just that the Sea which is not always toss'd and troubled should have within its territories certain Musicians to celebrate by a Musick particular to them the praises of their Sovereign Maker The Poets might adde that these natural tablatures are the same which the Syrens had in their hands when they had their melodious Consorts and that being perceiv'd by some eye which came to disturbe their recreations they let them fall into the water where they have been carefully kept ever since But leaving these imaginations to those they belong to let us pursue our design EYE-STONE THere is a little Stone found in these Islands most commonly neer the Sea-side and sometimes at a good distance from the Sea which from its vertues may be termed the Eye-stone but in regard the more common opinion will have it to be a production of the waters we shall treat of it in this place Some of these Stones are about the bigness of the larger sort of Brass-farthings but the least are most esteem'd A man would think looking on them in the Sun that they were of those Pearls called Barroques cut in two they are so cleer transparent and smooth Some of them have red or blewish veins which give them a very delightful lustre according to the several aspects are cast on them They have the figure of a Snail engrav'd on that side which is even Being put under the eye-lid they roll about the ball of the eye and it is affirmed that they strengthen and cleer the sight and force thence the motes or trash which might have fallen into it SEA-EGGES THere is found in the Island of S. Martins a production of the Sea called Sea-egges or Sea-Apples full of sharp prickles rising out of a dark-coloured skin But when the fish which rouls them is dead they lose all those prickles which become afterwards of no use and quitting that hard crustiness which had encompass'd them they discover the whiteness of their shells which are intermixt with so many compartiments and little windings that the needle of the most ingenious Embroiderer would be much troubled to imitate them These Egges should rather be called Sea-Urchins or Sea-Chestnuts for while they are living they have the figure and colour of a little Urchin which formes it self like a ball and is arm'd of all sides the better to deal with his enemy Or they are like those rough prickles which encompass the Chestnut while it is upon the Tree SEA-STAR TO consider narrowly all the rarities to be seen in the Sea it might be said that of whatever is excellent in the Heavens there is a certain resemblance in the Sea which is as it
called Negroes or Sea-Devils which are large and have a black scale but their meat is white and excellent good and an infiâ—ite number of Fish which for the most part differ from those seen in Europe and have yet no names among us Nor are the Rivers behind hand in supplying the Inhabitants of these Islands with abundance of excellent Fish and if we may bring small things into competition with great they are proportionably to their extent as plentiful thereof as the Sea it self 'T is true there are not any Pikes or Carpes nor some other fish which are common in these parts but there is great store of others which are known only to the Indians and whereof some are not much different as to figure from ours CHAP. XVII Of the Sea-Monsters found in these Islands THose who have writ the History of Fish have ranked among the Whales all such as are of extraordinary bigness as they have comprehended under the name of Monsters all those that are of a hideous shape or living by prey are the destructive Inhabitants of the Waters as Lyons Bears Tygers and other wild beasts are of the Earth We shall treat in this Chapter of both that is of all those which are of a prodigious bulk or dreadful as to their ugly shapes or to be feared by reason of the mischief done by them So that we must for a time descend into the abysses of the Main where there are creeping things innumerable as the royal Prophet saith and both small and great Beasts and after we have contemplated the works of the Lord therein rise up again to celebrate his mercy towards the Children of Men. ESPADON or SWORD-FISH AMong the Sea-Monsters that which the French call L'Espadon a word signifying a short sword is one of the most remarkable it hath at the end of the upper jaw a defensive weapon about the breadth of a great Courtelas which hath hard and sharp teeth on both sides These defensives in some of them are about five foot in length and about six inches broad at the lower end and palizadoed with twenty seven white and solid teeth in each rank and the bulk of their bodies bears a porportion thereto The head of this monster is flat and hideous to behold being of the figure of a heart They have neer their eyes two vents at which they cast out the water which they had swallowed They have no scales but a greyish skin on the back and a white under the belly which is rough like a file They have seven fins two of each side two on the back and that which serves them for a tail Some call them saw-Saw-fishes some Emperors because there is an hostility between them and the Whale which they many times wound to death MARSOUINS THe Marsoüins are the Sea-Hogs or Porposes which go together in great companies and sporting themselves leap up above the water and following all of them as many as are together the same course They many times of themselves come neer enough to the ships and such as are dextrous do now and then take some of them Their meat is of a dark colour the fattest have not above an inch or two of fat They have a sharp snout a very broad tail greyish skin and a hole upon the top of their heads through which they breathe and cast out water They grunt almost like the Land-Swine Their blood is hot and their entrails like those of a Pig and they are much of the same taste but their meat is of hard digestion There is another kind of Porposes which have the snout round and hollow and from the resemblance there is between their heads and the frocks of Friers some call them Monksheads and Sea-Monks REQUIEM THe Requiem otherwise called the Shark-Fish is a kind of Sea-Dog or Sea-Wolf the most devouring of all Fishes and the most greedy of mans flesh He is much to be feared by such as go a swimming He lives altogether by prey and commonly follows the ships to feed on the filth cast out of them into the sea These Monsters seem to be of a yellowish colour in the water Some of them are of an unmeasurable length and bigness and such as are able to cut a man in two at one bite Their skin is rough and there are made of it soft files to polish wood Their heads are flat and the opening of their mouth is not just before the snout but under it Whence it comes that to fasten on their prey they are forc'd to turn their bellies almost upwards Their teeth are very sharp and very broad being jagged all about like a Saw Some of them have three or four ranks of these in each jaw-bone These teeth lye within the gums but they make them sufficiently appear when there is occasion These cruel Sea-Dogs are attended by two or three small fishes and sometimes more which go before them with such swiftness and so regular a motion that they either advance or halt more or less according as they perceive the Requiems do Some call them Rambos and Pilgrims and the French Mariners the Requiems Pilots inasmuch as those small fishes seem to be their convoys They are not much above a foot in length and of a proportionable bigness But their scales are beautified with so many pretty and lively colours that it might be said they were encompass'd which chains of Pearl Coral Emerald and other precious stones A man can hardly be weary of looking on them in the water It is in like manner affirmed that the Whale where-ever she goes hath marching before her a little fish like a Sea-Gudgeon which from that service is called her Guide The Whale follows him suffering her self to be led and turn'd as easily as the Rudder causes the Ship to turn about and in requital of this service whereas whatever else enters into the horrid Chaos of this Monsters throat is immediately lost and devour'd this little fish makes it his retiring and his resting place and while he lyes there a sleep the Whale stirs not but as soon as he gets out she presently follows him and if it happen the said fish should be a little out of the way she wanders up and down striking many times against the Rocks as a Ship without a Rudder which thing Plutarch affirms that himself was an eye-witness of in the Island of Anticyra There is such another friendship between the little Bird called the Wren and the Crocodile and that Shell-fish called the Naker lives in the same manner with the Pinnothere and other Shell-fish not much unlike a Crab as is affirmed by Montagne lib. 2. ca. 12. The meat of the Requiem is not good and therefore not eaten unless it be in case of great necessity yet is it conceiv'd by some that while they are young they may be tolerable meat Some curious persons do carefully save the Brains found in the heads of the old ones and being dried they keep it and
they say it is very good for such as are troubled with the Stone or Gravel Some Nations call this Monster Tiburon and Tuberon But the French and Portuguez commonly call it Requiem that is to say Rest haply because he is wont to appear in fair weather as the Tortoises also do or rather because he soon puts to rest whatever he can take His Liver being boiled yields a great quantity of oyl very good for Lamps and the Skin of it is used by Joyners to polish their work REMORA BEsides the Pilots before mentioned the Requiems are many times accompany'd by another kind of little fishes called by the Dutch Sugger because they stick so close to the bellies of the Requiems as if they would suck them The French account it a kind of Remora which name they have because they stick to the Ship as if they would stop their course They are about two foot in length and proportionably big They have no scales but are covered with an Ash-colour'd skin which is as glutinous as those of Eeles Their upper-jaw is a little shorter then the lower instead of teeth they have little risings strong enough to break what they would swallow Their eyes are very small of a yellow colour They have â—ins and a certain plume as some other Sea-fishes have but what 's most remarkable in them is that they have on their heads an oval piece made somewhat like a crown it is flat and streaked above with several lines which make it look bristly It is by this part that these fish stick so closely to the Ships and Requiems that sometimes they must be kill'd ere they can be gotten off They are eaten sometimes but in case of necessity when other better fish cannot be had LAMANTIN OF all the Sea-monsters that are good to eat and kept for Provision as Salmon and Cod are in Europe the most esteemed in these Islands is a certain fish by the French called Lamantin by the Spaniards Namantin and Manaty It is a Monster that in time grows to that bulk that some of them are eighteen foot in length and seven in bigness about the middle of the body His head hath some resemblance to that of a Cow whence some took occasion to call him the Sea-Cow He hath small eyes and a thick skin of a dark colour wrinkled in some places and stuck with some small hairs Being dried it grows so hard that it may serve for a Buckler against the Arrows of the Indians nay some of the Savages use it to ward off the blows of their enemies when they go to fight They have no fins but instead thereof they have under their bellies two short feet each whereof hath four fingers very weak to support the weight of so heavy a body nor hath he any other defensive This Fish lives on the grass and herbage that grows about the Rocks and on the shallow places that have not much above a fathom of sea-Sea-water The Females are disburthen'd of their young ones much after the same manner as Cows are and they have two teats wherewith they suckle them They bring forth two at a time which forsake not the old one till such time as they have no longer need of milk and can feed on the grass as she does Of all Fishes there is not any hath so much good meat as the Lamantin for many times there needs but two or three to load a great Canow and this meat is like that of a Land creature eating short of a Vermilion colour not cloying or fulsom and mixt with fat which being melted never grows musty It is much more wholsom eaten two or three days after it hath been laid in salt then fresh These Fish are more commonly taken at the entrance of fresh-water Rivers then in the Sea Some highly value certain small stones found in the heads of these Monsters as having the vertue reduc'd to powder to clear the Reins of Gravel and dissolve the Stone bred there But the Remedy being violent I should not advise any to use it without the prescription of an experienc'd Physitian WHALES and other Sea-Monsters SUch as Sail into these Islands do sometimes in their Course meet with Whales which cast up water by their Vent to a Pikes height and commonly shew but a little of their back which looks like a rock above the water The Ships are also many times attended for a good way by certain Monsters about the bigness of a Shallop which seem to take a pleasure in shewing themselves Some Sea-men call them Souffleurs that is Blowers for that ever and anon these prodigious fishes put up some part of their head above water to take breath and then they blow and cause a great agitation of the waters with their sharp snouts Some hold them to be a kind of Porposes SEA-DEVILS ON the Coasts of these Islands there is sometimes taken by the Fishers a Monster which is ranked among the kinds of Sea-Devils by reason of its hideous figure It is about four foot long and proportionably big it hath on the back a great bunch full of prickles like those of a Hedg-Hog The skin of it is hard uneven and rugged like that of the Sea-dog and of a black colour The head of it is flat and on the upper part hath many little risings among which may be seen two little very black eyes The mouth which is extreamly wide is arm'd with several very sharp teeth two whereof are crooked and bent in like those of a wild Boar it hath four fins and a tail broad enough which is forked at the extremity But what got it the name of Sea-Devil is that above the eyes there are two little black horns sharp enough which turn towards his back like those of a Ram Besides that this Monster is as ugly as any thing can be imagin'd the meat of it which is soft and full of strings is absolute poyson for it causes strange vomiting and such swoonings as would be follow'd by death if they be not soon prevented by the taking of a dose of good Mithridate or some other Antidote This dangerous creature is sought after only by the curious who are glad to have any thing that comes from it to adorn their Closets And so it comes to pass that this Devil who never brought men any profit while it lived gives a little satisfaction to their eyes after his death There is another kind of Sea-Devil no less hideous then the precedent though of another figure The largest of this kind are not much above a foot in length from the head to the tail They are almost as much in bredth but when they please they swell themselves up so as that they seem to be round as a bowl Their wide mouths are arm'd with many little but very sharp teeth and instead of a tongue they have only a little bone which is extreamly hard Their eyes are very sparkling and so small and deep set in the head
that the ball thereof can hardly be discerned They have between the eyes a little horn which turns up and before it a pretty big string that hath at the end of it a little button Besides their tail which is like the broad end of an Oar they have two plumes one on the back which stands as it were upright and the other under the belly They have also two â—ins one of each side over against the midst of the belly having at the extremities somewhat like little paws each whereof is divided into eight claws which are armed with sharp nails their skin is rough and prickly all over like that of the Requiem save only under the belly It is of a dark red colour and marked with black spots the meat of them is not to be eaten They may be easily flayed and the skin being fill'd with Cotton or dry'd leaves finds a place among rarities but it loses much of its lustre when the fish is dead BECUNE AMong the ravenous Monsters that are greedy of mans flesh found on the Coasts of these Islands the Becune is one of the most dreadful It is in figure much like a Pike but in length seven or eight foot and proportionably big He lives by prey and furiously fastens like a Blood-Hound on the men he perceives in the water He carries away whatever he once fastens on and his teeth are so venemous that the least touch of them becomes mortal if some sovereign remedy be not immediately apply'd to abate and divert the poyson SEA-WOOD-COCKS THere is another kind of Becunes by some called Sea-Wood-Cocks from the figure of the beak which is somewhat like a Wood-Cocks bill saving that the upper part is much longer then the lower and that this fish moves both jaws with like facility Some of them are so big and long that they are above four foot between the head and the tail and twelve inches broad neer the head measuring side-wise The head is somewhat like that of a Swine but enlightned by two large eyes which are extreamly shining It hath two fins on the sides and under the belly a great plume rising higher and higher by degrees like a Cocks-comb reaching from the head almost to the tail which is divided into two parts Besides the long and solid beak it hath for which it is remarkable among all fishes it hath two sorts of horns hard black and about a foot and a half in length which hang down under his throat and are particular to this kind of fish and these he can easily hide in a hollow place under his belly which serves them for a sheath It hath no scales but is cover'd with a rough skin which on the back is black on the sides greyish and under the belly white It may be eaten without any danger though the meat of it be not so delicate as that of several other fishes SEA-URCHIN THe Fish found on these Coasts and called the Sea-Urchin well deserves that name It is round as a ball and full of sharp prickles for which it is feared Some call it the Armed Fish They who take of them having dried them send them as Presents to the Curious who for rarity hang them up in their Closets Ch 18. p 109. Sea Unicornes p 112 Ch 18 p 115 CHAP. XVIII A particular Description of the Sea-Unicorn which was cast ashore at the Haven of the Tortoise-Island in the Year 1644. and a pleasant Relation by way of Digression of several beautiful and rare Horns brought lately from Davis-streight with an account of the Country and the Dispositions of the Inhabitants WE cannot better conclude the Account we had to give of the Sea-monsters then with a description of so remarkable and miraculous a Fish as may justly deserve a particular Chapter to treat of it It is the Sea-Unicorn which is sometimes seen in those parts There was cast ashore in the year 1644. a prodigious one on the Coast of the Tortoise-Island neer Hispaniola Monsieur dâ— Montel having been an eye-witness thereof gives us this curious description of it 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 then 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 great Barrel It had six great fins like the ends of Galley-oars whereof two were placed neer 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 blew colour intermixt with certain spangles of silver neer 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 then that of a horse and neer 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 forehead so this Sea-Unicorn had a very fair one issuing out of the forepart of his head about nine foot and a half in length it was as strait 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 that 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 seemed naked it was naturally polish'd of a shining black marked with certain small white and yellow stroaks 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 egge the Ball which was of a sky-colour enamell'd with yellow was encompass'd with a certain vermilion which had beyond it another as clear as Chrystal The mouth was wide enough and furnished with several teeth whereof those before were extremely 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 covered 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 extremely delicate It was interlarded with a white fat and being boiled it came up in fleaks like fresh Cod 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 affirmed that he had made prodigious attempts to thrust them with his horn which he turned 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 fasten'd in it hung up neer two years at the Guard-house of the Island till Monsieur Le Vasseur the Governour 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 neer the Island of Fayala one of the Assores and all the Goods were lost but nothing so much regretted as the loss of that Chest There is in the Northern Seas another kind of Unicorns which are many times by the Ice carried to the Coast of Iseland They are of so prodigious a length and bulk that most Authors who have written of them rank them among Whales They are not cover'd with scales as the formentioned describ'd by us was but with a hard black skin like the Lamantin They have but two fins on both sides and a large plume upon the back which being narrower in the midst then at either end makes as it were a double crest rising up for the more convenient dividing of the waters they have three vent-holes a little below their necks at which they cast up the superfluous water they had swallow'd as the Whales do their heads are sharp and on the left side of the upper jaw there comes out a horn white all over as the tooth of a young Elephant which horn is sometimes fifteen or sixteen foot in length It is wreath'd in some places and streaked all over with small lines of a pearl-colour which are not only on the superficies of it but run through the substance The horn is hollow to the third part and all over as solid as the hardest bone Some will have this prominency to be rather a tooth then a horn because it rises not out of the forehead as that we have spoken of nor yet from the upper part of the head as those of Bulls and Rams but out of the upper jaw in which it is set as the teeth are in their proper places Those who are of this opinion say further that it is not to be wondred these fishes should have but one such tooth when the substance out of which others should be produced is quite exhausted in the making of that one which is of such a prodigious length and bigness as might suffice to make a hundred But whether this strange defensive wherewith these monstrous fish are armed be called Tooth or Horn certain it is that they use it in their engagements with the Whales and to break the Ice of the Northern Seas wherewith they are oftentimes encompassed Whence it came that some times there have been seen of them such as by reason of the violent service they have been in in disingaging themselves out of those icy mountains have not only had their horns blunted at the point but also shattered and broken off The figures of both this kind and that cast ashore in the Tortoise Island may be seen among the Sculps While we were ordering the foregoing story for the satisfaction of the Publick a Ship of Flushing commanded by Nicholas Tunes wherein M. Lampsen one of the Deputies of that Province in the Assembly of the States-General and other considerable Merchants of the same Town were concern'd coming in from Davis-streight brought thence among other rarities several excellent pieces of the Unicorns of the Northern Seas of that kind we spoke of before and in regard the Relation sent us of that Voyage may very much clear up the matter we treat of we conceive the Reader will take it kindly to be entertain'd with it assuring himself he hath it with the same sincerity as it was communicated to us The Captain of whom we have this Relation leaving Zealand at the end of the Spring 1656. with a design to discover some new Commerce in the Northern parts arrived at the end of June following in Davis-streight whence having entred into a River which begins at the sixty fourth degree and ten minutes of the Line Northward he sailed to the seventy second under which the Country we intend to describe lyes As soon as the Inhabitants of the Country who were then a fishing perceived the Ship they came towards it with their little Boats which are so made as that they carry but one person The first who attempted it occasion'd the joyning of so many others to them that in a short time there was a squadron of seventy of those little vessels which parted not from the foreign Ship till it had cast Anchor in the best Haven where by their acclamations and all the signs of friendship and good will that could be expected from a Nation so far unacquainted with civility they express'd the extraordinary joy they conceived at its happy arrival These little vessels are so admirable whether we consider their materials or the strange industry in the making of them or the incomparable dexterity whereby they are conducted that they may well be allow'd a place among the descriptions which this delightful digression shall furnish us with They consist of little thin pieces of wood whereof most are cleft like Hoops These pieces of wood are fasten'd one to another with strong cords made of the guts of fishes which keep them together in a figure fit for the uses to which they are design'd They are cover'd on the out-side with the skins of Sea-Dogs which are so neatly sewn together and so artificially done over with Rozin about the seams that the water cannot make the least entrance into them These little Boats are commonly about fifteen or sixteen foot in length and they may be in the midst where they are biggest about five foot circumference from that place they grow smaller and smaller so that the ends or extremities of them are very sharp and plated as it were with a white bone or a piece of the
were the others looking-glass Hence it comes that there are Stars to be seen in it having five points or beams somewhat of a yellowish colour This Star is somewhat better then a foot diametre and an inch thick the skin is hard enough and full of little risings which adde much to its beauty If these Sea-Stars may not enter into any competition with those of the Heavens as to magnitude and light they exceed them in this that they are animate and that their motion is not forc'd and that they are not fix'd nor confin'd to the same place For the fish which hath taken up its abode in this starry mansion moves which way it pleases on the azure plains of the waters while the weather is calm but as soon as it foresees any tempest out of a fear to be forc'd to the Land which is not fit to entertain Stars it casts out two little anchors out of its body whereby it is so firmly fastened to the Rocks that all the violent agitations of the incens'd waves cannot force it thence It is preserv'd alive by the means of the nourishment it takes by a little hole which is as it were its mouth and lies just in the centre of its body Some curious persons remove these Stars out of their watery Element and having dryed them in the Sun make them the ornaments of their Closets SEA-TREES NOr can the sandy shelfs or sholes of those Rocks which are covered with water endure the reproach of barrenness For notwithstanding the saltness whereby they are always enclos'd they make a shift to produce among the grass which is upon them certain Trees which are immediately glaz'd with a salt-peter which renders them extremely white Some conceive them to be a kind of Coral There are taken up of them of several figures and so neatly made that the eye cannot be cloy'd with considering the odness of their shapes SEA-FANS THere are also certain Pannaches or Sea-Fans or Sea-Feathers which are to speak by way of resemblance as it were the borders of that spacious liquid Garden which never needs watering They are woven very finely and according to the quality of the Rocks whereon they are rooted they are of different colours This only were to be wish'd that they had solidity enough to endure a transportation from those Islands into these parts CHAP. XX. Of Amber-greece its Origine and the marks of that which is good and without mixture AMber-greece is found in greatest abundance on the Coasts of Florida beyond what is had of it in any other Country of America Whence it comes that the Spaniards have built Forts there to keep possession of the Land and entertain with the Indians who inhabit it the Commerce of that rich Commodity which they carefully gather since they have been acquainted with the value of it There hath sometimes been taken up of it after extraordinary tempests on the Coasts of Tabago Barboudos and some other of the Caribbies as we have received by very authentick Relations Upon which assurance it will be no digression from the Natural History we treat of if we perfume this Chapter with the sweet scent of this Aromatick Drug which certainly is the rarest and most precious of all those productions which the Ocean hath yet cast up out of its vast and unexhausted bosom to enrich that new world The Maldives call Amber-greece Panahambar that is Amber of gold by reason of its worth The Inhabitants of Fez Morocco and the Aethiopians call it by the same name as they do the Whale whence it is probably conjectur'd that they thought it proceeded from the Whale Most certain it is that neither Hippocrates Dioscorides nor Galen ever heard any thing of Amber-greece no more then they had of the Bezoar-stone Guayacum Sassafras Sassaparilla Rhubarb Mechoachan and many other Drugs Amber-greece therefore is one of those whereof the knowledge is wholly modern and the origine not well known Some have imagin'd that this Amber not known among the Ancients is an excrement of the Whales Others are of opinion that it comes from the Crocodiles in regard their flesh is perfum'd Some others are perswaded that they are pieces of Islands and fragments of Rocks conceal'd in the Sea and carried away by the violence of the waves forasmuch as there are sometimes found pieces of this Amber which weigh a hundred pound and of the length of sixty handsbredths and that as is affirmed by Linscot in the Year M. D. L. V. there was a piece found neer Cape Comorin which weigh'd thirty hundred weight There are also those who conceive it to be a kind of Sea-foam which gathers together and grows thick after a certain time by the agitation of the sea-Sea-water and is hardned by the heat of the Sun But the most probable conjecture is that it is a kind of Bitumen engendred at the bottom of the Sea and when it comes to be extremely agitated by some extraordinary tempest it lets go this Bitumen and forces it towards the shores for indeed it is commonly found only after some great tempest Philostratus in the life of Apollonius affirms that the Panthers which are neer the Mount Caucasus are very much delighted with the sweet scent of that place But certain it is that of all creatures the Birds are very great lovers of this Ambergreece and that they will scent it at a great distance Wherefore as soon as the tempest is laid it must be sought after and taken away otherwise it will be devoured Nor is it the sweet scent of it but the ill which causes the Birds to flock to it for this precious and admirable perfume when it is fresh and soft and newly come out of the Sea smells very strong and those creatures which run to it do but as they would do to some carrion for the scent of it is like that of rusty bacon and 't is likely for that reason that it was so long ere 't was known and used The Ancients judg'd of its vertue by its ill scent fit rather to injure the heart then refresh it and so they rejected it as unprofitable nay hurtful Besides it is not so commonly nor in so great quantities found towards the Coasts of Greece nor yet in Europe and there were but very few Voyages heretofore made into the Indies The Foxes do also think it a good dish and eat much of it In those Countries where much of it is gather'd these creatures wait at the Sea-side and having discover'd any they immediately devour it But having kept it a while in their bellies they cast it up again before it be any way digested yet does it lose some of its vertue and sweet scent Whence it comes that this kind of Amber-greece is less esteem'd then the other and us'd only in perfumes It will not be amiss hereto give the marks whereby the true Amber-greece is to be distinguish'd from the adulterate since those who have written of it as Garcias Monard
that if any of the Europaeans had got them to eat any of them by surprize and they came afterwards to know it they would be reveng'd of them one time or other witness what happened to a person of some note among the French This person receiving a Visit from the Cacick or Captain of the Savages of the Island where he liv'd entertain'd him in jest with Lamantin disguis'd in the fashion of a Hash the Cacick mistrusting what indeed afterwards happened to him intreated the Gentleman not to deceive him and upon the assurance given him thereof he made no difficulty to eat after Dinner the Gentleman discover'd the abuse to the Cacick and his Company that he might have the pleasure of their Discourses thereupon and see what faces they would make after such a Treatment but they had at that time so much power over themselves as to smother their indignation and the Cacick only said to him smiling Well Friend we shall not dye of it Some time after the Gentleman went to return him his Visit he receiv'd him with great civility and made him extraordinary cheer but he had given his people order to put into all the Sauces some fat of the Arouagues whereof the principal Indians are always well provided After this infamous Repaste was ended the Cacick glad in his heart ask'd the Gentleman and his Company how they lik'd his Treatment whereupon they commending it very much and giving him thanks for it he acquainted them with the trick he had put upon them most of them were so troubled at the thought of it and had such an inclination to cast up all they had eaten that they grew very sick but the Indian laughing at the spectacle told them that he was then reveng'd Those who have lately been among the Caribbians of Dominico and Martinico affirm That now most of them make no difficulty to eat Lamantin Tortoises and Swines-flesh nay all other Meats in use among the Europaeans and that they laugh at the simplicity which oblig'd them to abstain from them for fear of participating of the nature and qualities of those Animals They have also remitted much of that severity which they used towards their Wives for now they are seldom seen to fetch home the Fish their Husbands had taken And when they have been a fishing the Husband and Wife eat together The Women go also oftener to the Carbet to participate of the Feast and the publick rejoycing there made then they did before their Husbands became so familiarly acquainted with Strangers CHAP. XVII Of the Employments and Divertisements of the Caribbians ALexander the Great accouuted Labour to be a thing truly Royal and there are to be seen at this day in the Seraglio at Adrianople the Tools which Amurath made use of to make the Arrows he sent to some of his principal Officers The Peruvians are much to be commended as to this particular for the Kings of Peru had made Laws and appointed particular Judges for the regulation of Idle persons and Vagabonds insomuch that it was ordered That Children of five years of age should be employ'd in some Work suitable to their age nay they spared not the blind the lame and the dumb but employ'd them in divers things wherein they might do somthing with their hands But there are some people so lazy that they think Idleness a thing very commendable and the Historians who have written of the West-Indies tell us of certain stupid and brutish Indians of New-Spain and Brasil who pass away the whole day snoring in their Cots while their Wives go abroad to get in certain Roots for their sustenance But our Caribbians are not like these last for they are found taking pains and their pleasure in several sorts of exercises The chiefest and those which are most ordinary among them are Hunting and Fishing wherein they bestow the greatest part of their time but especially in Fishing They are seldom seen to go out of their Houses without their Bows and Arrows and they are wonderfully expert in the use of them being accustomed to that exercise from their Infancy as the Turks also are whence it comes that in time they come to be so excellent at the Bow that within a hundred paces they will hardly ever fail striking a half-Crown piece nay as they are making their Retreat they can do execution on their Enemies as the Parthians were somtimes wont to do How much therefore are we the more to wonder at those left-handed Benjamites who could sling stones at an hairs-breadth and not miss When the Caribbians go abroad a hunting or a fishing they do not take their Wives along with them as some Brasilians do who cause theirs to walk before them so great is their jealousie but when they have taken any thing they leave it upon the place and the Women were heretofore oblig'd to go and bring it home as we have already hinted It is reported that the Canadians do the same Among the Caribbians of the Islands there is no distinction of quality as to Hunting but the exercise of it is as free to the meanest as to the greatest among them The case is the same among all the other Indians of the West-Indies As in their private Repasts they never use no kind of Flesh if they have not Strangers to entertain so ordinarily their hunting is only for Lizards and if they engage themselves in any other kind of hunting it is upon some extraordinary occasions when they would treat some of their Friends among the Europaeans or when they intend to visit them and would get somthing of them in exchange for what they had taken They are extreamly expert in fishing with the Hook and in taking of Fish with the Dart and a man cannot sufficiently admire their patience in that Exercise for they would be content to continue half a day in the same place without betraying any weariness And when after they have waited a long time for the Fish they come at length to perceive some great one to their mind and within their reach they cast the Dart at it as the Brasilians do which having fastned they immediately leap into the water after the Dart to seize their prey But besides the Hook and Dart wherewith they take Fish they are also very excellent in diving neer the Rocks and forcing them out of the holes where they shelter themselves as being in that particular equally expert with the Floridians who not expecting that the Fish should come and shew themselves go and find them out in the bottom of the water and there kill them with their Clubs so that they are seen coming up again with the Fish in one hand and the Club in the other 'T is a common thing among the Savages to be excellent Swimmers and Divers and it is particularly affirm'd of the Brasilians the Maldiveses some Peruvians and the Inhabitants of the Islands of Robbers that they may pass for a
precious and sweet-scented-wood growing in the Country BARBOUTHOS THe Island which the English call the Barbouthos lyes at the Altitude of 17 degrees and 30 minutes It lyes very low and is in length about five leagues lying North-East from Mont-Serrat The English are the Inhabitants of it and the Colony may amount to between four and five hundred men who find whereupon to subsist conveniently It is subject to this annoyance which is also common to the Islands of Antego and Mont-Serrat that the Caribbians of Dominico and other places do many times commit great spoils in it The enmity and aversion which those Barbarians have conceiv'd against the English Nation in general is come to that height that there hardly passes a year but they make one or two irruptions in the night time into same one of the Islands it is possess'd of and then if they be not timely discover'd and valiantly oppos'd they kill all the men they meet ransack the Houses and burn them and if they can get any of the Women or Children they carry them away Prisoners into their own Territories with all the Booty they have a mind to ROTONDA THe Island called Redonda or Rotonda from its round figure lyes at the altitude of 17 degrees and 10 minutes It is a very little one and at a distance seems to be only a great Tower and taking a prospect of it one way a man might say it were a great Ship under sail It is of easie access on all sides by reason the Sea about it is deep and without rocks or shelves which might be dangerous to shipping NIEVES THe Island called Nieves otherwise Mevis lyes at the altitude of 27 degrees and 19 minutes Northward It is not above six leagues about and in the midst of it there is but one only Mountain which is very high and cover'd with great Trees up to the very top The Plantations are all about the Mountain beginning from the Sea-side till you come to the highest part of it the ascent being commodious enough This Island may easily be compass'd either by land or water There are in it divers springs of fresh water whereof some are strong enough to make their way to the Sea Nay there is one spring whereof the waters are hot and mineral Not far from the source there are Bathes made which are frequented with good success in order to the curing of those diseases for which the waters of Bourbon are recommended The English who planted themselves there in the year M. DC XXVIII are still the Inhabitants of this Island and they are now thought to be between three and four thousand men who subsist and live handsomly by the trade they drive in Sugar Ginger and Tobacco This Island is the best governed of any in the Caribbies Justice is there administred with great prudence by a Council consisting of the most eminent and most ancient Inhabitants of the Colony Swearing Thieving Drunkenness Fornication and all dissolutions and disorders are severely punish'd In the Year M. DC XLIX Mr. Lake a knowing person and fearing God had the Government of it He is since departed this life There are in this Island three Churches which have nothing extraordinary as to Structure but are very convenient as to the performing of Divine Service For the security of the Vessels that are in the Road and to prevent the invasion of an Enemy there is a Fort built wherein are several great Pieces which command as far as the Sea It secures also the publick Store-houses into which all the Commodities that are imported and necessary for the subsistance of the Inhabitants are disposed And thence it is that they are afterwards distributed to those private persons who stand in need thereof provided those who have the over-sight of them think them solvent persons according to the time and price agreed upon and ordered by the Governor and Council A further recommendation of this Island is that it is divided only by a small arm of the Sea from that of St. Christophers the noblest and most famous of all the Caribbies Having given but a short Description of the other Islands what we shall give of this as being the chiefest will be somewhat larger For which reason we shall assign it a Chapter by it self CHAP. IV. Of the Island of St. Christopher ST Christophers was so called by Christopher Columbus who finding it very pleasant would needs give it his own name He was engag'd to give it this name from a consideration of the figure of its Mountains the Island having on its upper part as it were upon one of its shoulders another lesser Mountain as St Christopher is painted like a Gyant carrying our Saviour upon his as it were a little Child It s altitude is at 17 degrees 25 minutes It is about 25 leagues in compass The Soil being light and sandy is apt to produce all sorts of the Country Fruits as also many of the choicest growing in Europe It lyes high in the midst by reason of some very high Mountains out of which arise several Rivers which sometimes are so suddenly overflown through the rains falling on the Mountains so as that there is none seen at the extremities of them or in the Plains that the Inhabitants are many times surpriz'd by those Torrents The whole Island is divided into four Cantons or Quarters two whereof are possess'd by the English the other two by the French but in such sort as that people cannot cross from one quarter to the other without passing over Lands of one of the two Nations The English have in their part a greater number of little Rivers then the French but in requital the latter have more of the plain Country and Lands fitter for cultivation The English also exceed the French in number but the latter have more fortified places and are better armed The French have four Forts well furnish'd with great Pieces which carry a great way into the Sea and one of them hath regular works like a Citadel The most considerable next that lyes at the Haven or Anchoring-place called Basse-terre There is in both a constant Guard kept And to prevent the differences which might happen between two different Nations each of them upon the Avenues of their Quarters hath a Guard which is renew'd every day The English have two fortifi'd places whereof one commands the great Haven and the other a Descent not far from Pointe de Sable This Island is furnish'd with a fair Salt-pit lying on the Sea-side which the Inhabitants commonly call Cul-de-Sac Not far thence there is a small Point of Land which reaches out so far towards the Island of Nieves that it is not above half a league of Sea between the two insomuch that there have been those who have swam from one to the other It is conceiv'd there is a Silver-mine in St. Christophers but in regard the Salt-pits Woods Havens and Mines are common to both Nations no body looks after it
four or five foot long have also at the end a sharp bone jagged like the teeth of a Saw They cast these latter with the hand but to give them the greater force and make them do execution at a greater distance they fasten to their right arm a piece of wood a foot and a half long which on one side hath a deep channel into which they put the butt-end of the Javelin which being cast thence goes off with a greater violence They sometimes also carry in their hands a kind of Lance of a tough and heavy wood which is tipp'd at the smaller end with a round bone the point whereof had been sharpened on a stone or they strengthen it with the horns or teeth of the fish before described These Lances are seven or eight foot in length and beautifi d at the butt-end with two little wings of wood or Whale-bone which make them a little more sightly then they would be otherwise Besides the several sorts of hooks wherewith they take the smaller fishes frequenting their Coasts they have divers kinds of Javelins which with a wonderful dexterity they dart at the great and monstrous fishes they take in the Sea And that those they have hurt with these Darts may not sink to the bottom and elude their expectation there is fasten'd to the butt-end of them a thong of Harts-leather 25 or 30 fathom in length and at the end of that thong or line of leather there is a bladder which keeping above water shews where the fish is and so they draw it to them or gently drag it to land after it hath spent it self in strugling The young women differ not much in their cloaths from the men but the more ancient are commonly clad with the skins of certain great Birds whose feathers are white and black and very ordinary in those parts These women have the art to flay them so neatly that the feathers stay in the skin These cloaths reach but to half the leg They are girt with a thong of leather at which instead of keys there hang a great many little bones as sharp as any bodkins and about that length They wear neither Bracelets nor Neck-laces nor Pendants nor mind any ornament save that they make a gash in each cheek and fill it with a certain black colour which as they think adds very much to their beauty While the men are a hunting or fishing they stay at home and employ themselves in making of Cloths Tents Baskets and such things as are necessary about the house They are extreamly fond of their little ones and if they be forc'd to change their habitations or to accompany their husbands in some journey they either carry or lead them where-ever they go and to recreate them by the way and quiet them when they cry they have little drums cover'd with fishes bladders on which they can make as good Musick as any on the Taber They also beat them to frighten away the Bears and other wild Beasts which wander up and down neer the Caves where these Savages pass over the Winter with their families and about the Tents where they are lodg'd in the Summer Among the Sculps of this Chapter there is the pourtraiture of one of these women to which we refer the Reader for further satisfaction Though these poor Barbarians cannot be imagin'd to study much Policy yet have they among them petty Kings and Captains who preside in all their Assemblies They advance to these dignities those who have the handsomest bodies are the best Hunts-men and the most valiant These wear the richest Skins and more precious Furs then their Subjects and as a badge of their Supremacy they have a certain badge which is sown before on their Coats and when they go abroad they are always attended by certain young men arm'd with Bows and Arrows who punctually execute their commands They have not the invention of building houses but in the Summer they live in the fields under Tents of Leather which they carry along with them to be pitch'd where they think it most convenient and in Winter their abode is in Caves which are naturally made in the Mountains or they have taken the pains to make such They neither Sow nor Reap any kind of Grain in order to their subsistence Nor have they any Trees or Plants bearing fruits fit to eat unless it be some Straw-berries and a kind of Raspices but indeed their livelihood depends wholly on their Fishing and Hunting Fair water is their ordinary drink and their most delicate entertainment as to drink is the blood of Sea-dogs and that of Deer and other Land-creatures which they either kill or take in Traps at the setting of which they have an admirable industry The Winter being so long and hard in this Country the Inhabitants must needs suffer great inconveniences during that season especially that tedious night which keeps them in two whole moneths But besides that in case of necessity they endure hunger a long time they have this foresight that in the Summer they dry some part of their fishing and hunting and lay it up with as much Fat and Suet as they can get together in order to their subsistence during that comfortless time Nay some affirm they are so successful in their hunting by Moon-light that they are seldom destitute of fresh meat even during this long Eclipse They desire not to see any other Country besides that they were born in and if a tempest or other accident chance to cast them upon some other they perpetually sigh after their own and are never quiet in their minds till they have recover'd it If they are deny'd or too long delay'd that favour they will attempt it with the hazard of their lives exposing themselves to the Sea in their little Vessels without any other guide then the Stars by which they regulate their course Their Language hath nothing common with any other in the World there is a Vocabulary of it but not to be publish'd till there be a further discovery made of these parts what is said here thereof being only by way of digression Nor hath it been yet observed what Religion they have among them but from their looking towards the Sun and their pointing at him with a certain admiration lifting up their hands on high it is inferr'd that they account him a God The Ship from which we have this Relation brought from Davis-streight several considerable Commodities whereof we shall here give a List to shew that the cold which reigns in that Country is not so insupportable as to freeze up all manner of Commerce in those parts 1. Nine hundred Sea-dogs skins most of them between seven and eight foot long spotted and wav'd with black red yellow tawny and several other colours which heightned their price beyond those commonly seen in Holland 2. Many rich Hides of Harts Elks Bears as also the skins of Foxes Hares and Conies whereof most were perfectly white 3.
A great number of precious Furs of divers kinds of four-footed Beasts particular to that Country and not known yet by any name among us 4. Several Packs of Whale-bone of extraordinary length 5. Some compleat suits of Cloths of the Inhabitants of the Country whereof some were of the skins of Beasts others of those of Birds of the fashion before represented 6. Many of their Shirts made of Fishes Bladders very neatly sew'd as also Caps Gloves and Buskins Quivers Arrows Bows and other Arms used by them as also some of their Tents Bags Baskets and other little pieces of Houshold-stuff 7. A great number of those small Vessels made to carry only one man A great Boat or Shallop forty five foot in length which might conveniently carry fifty persons 8. But the most rare and precious Commodity was a very considerable quantity of the Teeth or Horns of the fishes called Sea-Unicorns which are thought to be the largest the fairest and the most exactly proportion'd of any that have yet been seen Some of them were sent to Paris and other parts of Europe where they were well receiv'd Nor is it unlikely but that they will be much more highly esteemed when the admirable vertues they have in Physick are known For though their beauty and rarity may procure them the best places in the Closets of the Curious yet will they be more kindly received there when some others have found true what many famous Physicians and Apothecaries of Denmark and Germany who have made trial thereof upon several occasions unanimously affirm of them to wit that they expell poyson and have all the properties commonly attributed to the Land-Unicorn's Horn. Ch 19. Musical shell 125 Burgau p 120 Sea-Trumpet p 122 Venus shell p 121. Lambis p 121. Casque p 121. Ch 19. Sea egge p 126 Sea egge opened p 126 Sea-starre CHAP. XIX Of certain Shell-Fish rare Shells and other remarkable productions of the Sea found on the Coasts of the Caribbies TO dive into the deep Secrets of the Waters to take a view of all the excellent Creatures sporting themselves therein and observe the vertues and occult qualities wherewith they are endow'd is a work might be expected from that Wisdom which was communicated to Solomon who treated of Trees from the Cedar in Libanon to the Hyssop growing on the Wall For the watery Element is furnished with such a miraculous plenty that it abundantly produces not only Fishes of several kinds fit for the sustenance of man and those of extraordinary bulk and monstrous figures as hath been shewn in the precedent Chapters but also such a multitude of precious Shells and other Rarities that we may well acknowledg that the Divine Wisdom hath display'd all these rich beauties of its inexhaustible Treasures to shew its Omnipotency in the midst of the Waves and gently to win us into an admiration of his Goodness and adorable Providence which humbles it self to descend into the Abysses of the Sea to people them with some excellent Creatures not to be seen elsewhere and an infinite number of others bearing the Characters and Idaeas of the most considerable Bodies that either adorn the Heavens flye in the Air or embellish the Earth Hence it comes that there are found in the Waters Stars Cornets Trumpets Purcelains Trees Apples Chest-nuts and all the delightful curiosities which are so highly esteemed among men But to begin with the Shell-fish there are in the Seas about and in the Rivers of the Caribbies several kinds of them The more particularly esteemed are the Homars the Sea-Spiders and the Crabs HOMARS THe Homars are a kind of Crevices of the same figure as those of our Rivers but they are so big that there needs but one to make a good large dish Their meat is white and of a good taste but a little hard of digestion The Inhabitants of the Islands take them in the night time upon the sands or in the Shallows neer the low-water-mark and with the assistance of a Torch or Moon-light they catch them with a little iron fork SEA-SPIDER THe Sea-Spider is by some conceiv'd to be a kind of Crab It is cover'd with two very hard scales whereof the uppermost is somewhat â— rough and the lowermost is more smooth and jagged with sharp points It hath many legs or claws and a strong tail sometimes about a foot in length They are much sought after by some of the Savages to be employ'd about their Arrows When this fish is dried in the Sun the scale or shell of it becomes glistering and in a manner transparent though naturally it be of an Ash-colour CRABS THe ordinary Crabs of the Caribbies are of the same figure as those taken in these parts There is a great difference among them as to bigness but the rarest are those which live by prey They are very common in most of the Islands but above all in those called the Virgins They lurk under the stumps and stocks of the Trees growing on the Sea-side and as it were imitating a kind of Frogs called the Fishing-Frogs they discover from their lurking-holes the Oysters and Muscles which they prey upon and the sleight they use in the taking of them is worth our notice Having found by experience that their Mordants or Claws are not strong enough to break the shells wherein those delicate fishes are contain'd and having observed that several times of the day they open their shells to take the air they diligently watch the time and having furnish'd themselves with a little round pebble they hold it ready in one of their claws and coming to the Oyster or Muscle let it fall so cunningly into the half-open'd shell that not being able to close again the fish becomes the prey of these subtle Crabs As to the Shells found in these Islands in the Creeks and Nooks into which they are cast by the Sea there are abunof them and of several kinds The most sought after and most considerable are these BURGAU THe Burgau which is of the figure of a Snail being uncas'd out of the outermost coat presents to the eye a silver shell intermixt with spots of a bright black a lively green and so perfect and shining a grey that no Enameller could come neer it with all the assistances of his art As soon as the fish which had been lodg'd within this precious little Mansion hath been disseiz'd thereof there is immediately seen a magnificent entry beset with pearls ' and afterwards several rich appartements so clear so neat and enamell'd all over with so bright a silver-colour that there cannot in matter of shell any thing be imagin'd more beautiful CASK THe Cask or Head-piece is of a different bigness proportionably to the heads of so many fishes as had worn it and it is so named from its figure It is lin'd within and at the edges which are thick flat and jagged of a Satin carnation colour extreamly bright and shining and on the out-side it is fashion'd like a
in the Caribbies THe Sea-Tortoises are not only taken upon the sand as we shew'd before but also by means of an Instrument which is a pole about the length of a half-pike at the end whereof there is fasten'd a nail pointed at both ends which is square in the midst and about the bigness of a mans little finger Some make notches on that side of it which stands out of the wood that it may take faster hold when it is entred into the shell of the Tortoise In the night time the Moon shining and the Sea calm the Master-fisher being in a little boat with two others one at the oar to turn it of any side as fast as ever he can that the boat may go much faster and with less noise then if it were row'd the other is in the midst of the Canow or Boat holding the line which is fasten'd to the nail and in a readiness to draw it it as soon as the instrument hath done execution on the Tortoise Being thus provided they go where they think to find of them and when the Master-fisher who stands up on the forepart of the Canow perceives one of them by the glittering of the Sea which by getting up ever and anon to the face of the water it causeth to foam he directs him who guides the little vessel to make to the place where he would have him and being gently got neer the Tortoise he violently darts the instrument into its back The nail piercing the shell gets also a good way into the flesh and the wood keeps up above the water As soon as the fish finds it self hurt it sinks down to the bottom with the nail sticking fast in the shell And the more it strives and struggles the more it is entangled At last having wearied it self and spent its forces in striving by reason of its loss of blood it suffers it self to be easily taken and is either taken into the Canow or drawn to the shore After the same manner they also take Lamantins and several other great fishes but instead of the nail there is put into the wooden instrument a great hook or a small dart of iron made like that of a sharp lance On one side of that piece of iron there is a hole through which there passeth a line which is also woond about the dart so that when it is darted into the fish the line easily is let loose that it may have the liberty to tumble up and down in the water and when it hath spent its forces and reduc'd to extremity if it cannot be gotten into the Canow it is easily drawn to the shore where they divide it into quarters Land-Tortoises and Fresh-water-Tortoises THe Land-Tortoises are found in some Islands neer the fresh-water Rivers which are least subject to inundations or in the ponds and fenny places that are farthest from the Sea They are cover'd all over with a hard and solid shell which is not to be rais'd by several pieces or leaves as those of the Sea-Tortoises and it is so thick in all parts that it secures the Animal living within it from any hurt and will not be broken even though the wheels of a loaden Cart should go over it But what is yet more strange is that the creature never finds this moving lodging too narrow for him for it grows larger proportionably as the body of the possessor grows bigger The upper covering is in some of them about a foot and a half in length it is of an oval figure somewhat hollow like a Buckler and on the outside hath several streaks which as it were divide it into so many compartiments with a certain observance of Symmetry All these intermixtures are laid on a black ground which in several places is enamell'd with white and yellow This kind of Tortoise hath a very ugly head like that of a Serpent It hath no teeth but only jaws which are strong enough to break what it would swallow down It is supported by four feet somewhat weak to sustain the weight of its body nor does it upon pursuit trust much to them For if he be not neer some river or pond into which he may cast himself he places all refuge and safety in the covering of his mansion under which like a Hedg-hog he immediately draws in his head feet and tail upon the first apprehension of any danger The Female lays egges about the bigness of those of Pigeons but a little longer Having cover'd them with sand she leaves them to be hatch'd by the Sun Though there be some who hold that the meat of these Land-Tortoises is of hard digestion yet those who have eaten thereof rank it among the most delicate dishes of America The Physicians of the Country advise those who are inclin'd to Dropsies to use it often for a preventive They have also found by experience that the blood of these Tortoises dried and reduc'd to powder takes away the poyson of Vipers and Scorpions being apply'd to the wound It is also certain that the ashes of their shells mixt with the white of an egge cures the chaps in Nursing-womens nipples and if the head be powder'd therewith it prevents the falling of the Hair CHAP. XXII Containing the particular Descriptions of several sorts of Crabs or Crab-fish commonly found in the Caribbies THere are found in all the Caribby-Islands certain Crabs or Crab-fish which are a kind of amphibious Crevices and very good meat whereas those of Brasil are unpleasant in asmuch as they smell of the Juniper-root Accordingly the Indian Inhabitants very highly esteem theirs and make them their ordinary entertainment They are all of an oval figure having the tail turning in under the belly Their bodies which are cover'd all over with a shell hard enough is supported by several feet which are all full of little prickles which facilitate their climbing up to those places whither they would get up The two fore-feet are very big and of those one is somewhat bigger then the other The French call these two fore feet or claws Mordants significantly enough forasmuch as with these they twitch and secure whatsoever they have fastened on The fore-part which is somewhat broader and stands up higher then the other hath standing a little out two eyes which are solid transparent and of several colours Their mouths are armed with two little white teeth dispos'd on each side like a pair of sharp pincers wherewith they cut the leaves of Fruits and the roots of Trees on which they feed TOURLOUROU THere are three kinds of them differing in bigness and colour of which the least are those commonly called Tourlourous They have a red shell marked with black-spots they are pleasant enough to the taste but in regard there is much picking work about them and but little to be gotten from them and that it is conceived they incline people to the bloody flux they are used only in case of necessity WHITE-CRABS THere are others all white
put off Monsieur du Montel relates that he purposely caused some places to be digg'd where it was likely there were of them hidden Having met with them he found them wrapp'd in leaves of Trees which no doubt was their sustenance and serv'd them for a nest during that retirement but they were so weak and unable to endure the air that they seemed as it were half dead though fat enough and excellent meat and as such highly esteemed by the Inhabitants Close by them he found the shell they had put off which seem'd to be as entire as if the animal had been still within it And what was strange though he look'd very narrowly yet hardly could he find any hole or cleft at which the body of it might get out of that prison But having view'd it very exactly he found a little disjunction neer the tail at which the Crab had slipped out They are commonly dress'd as the Crevices in these parts are but the more delicate will take the time and pains after they are boiled to pick out all that is good in the claws and to extract a certain oily substance which is in the body and by some called Taumaly and to fry all together with the egges of the female putting thereto a little of the Country Pepper and some juice of Oranges and this makes it one of the most dainty dishes in the Caribbies In these grounds where there are many of the Trees called Manchenillos the Crabs which feed under them or eat of the fruit have a venemous quality insomuch that those who eat thereof fall dangerously sick But in other parts they are wholsom enough and as the Crevices in Europe are numbred among the delicacies Such as are careful of their health open them them before they eat thereof and if they be black within they think them dangerous and use them not CHAP. XXIII Of Thunder Earth-quakes and the Tempests sometimes happening in the Caribbies AS there is hardly any face so beautiful but that it may be subject to some defect spot or mole so these Islands having all the excellencies and advantages before represented have also some imperfections and defects which take off much of their lustre and abate of the enjoyments and pleasures they might otherwise afford We shall give a short account of the principal inconveniences happening there and the remedies which may be apply'd thereto THUNDER OF those Thunder may be named in the first place which though never heard on the Coasts of Peru is in these Islands so frequent and in many places so dreadful that by its terrible claps it forces the most confident into terrour and astonishment EARTH-QUAKES EArth-quakes do also sometimes produce very sad effects and shake the very foundations of the Earth so violently that they make a man reel in those places where he might think himself most safe But through Gods goodness these happen very seldom and in some places the agitation is not so great HURRICANE WHat is most to be feared is a general conspiracy of all the Winds which goes about the Compass in the space of 24 hours and sometimes in less This is that which is called a Hurricane and happens commonly in the moneths of July August or September at other times there is no fear of it Heretofore it happened but once in seven years and sometimes seldomer but within these few years it hath happened once every two years nay in one year there happened two of them Nay not long after Monsieur Auber was sent to command in chief at Gardeloupe there were three Hurricanes in one year This kind of Tempest is so violent that it breaks and unroots Trees deprives those it takes not away of all verdure makes desolate whole Forests removes Rooks from the tops of Mountains and casts them into the Valleys overthrows Houses carries away the Plants it hath forc'd out of the Earth into the Sea makes a general waste of all it meets with in the Fields and in a word leaves famine all over the Country which groans a long time after that disaster and will be a long time ere it recovers the ruines occasion'd thereby Nor does the Hurricane all this mischief only by Land but it raises withall such a tempest on the Sea that it seems to be mixt and confounded with the Air and the Sky It breaks to pieces the Ships that happen to be on the Coasts at that time casting some upon the shores and swallowing others into the Abysses of the Deep So that those which escape shipwrack at such a time are extreamly oblig'd to acknowledg the great mercy of God towards them Those who observe the signs preceding this Tempest have particularly noted these That a little before it happens the Sea becomes of a sudden so calm and even that there appears not the least wrinkle on her face That the Birds by a natural instinct come down in multitudes from the Mountains where they make their ordinary abode to retire into the Plains and Valleys where they keep on the ground to secure themselves against the injuries of the cruel weather which they foresee coming And that the Rain which falls a little before is bitter and salt as the Sea-water It is not many years since that there happen'd a memorable example of this Tempest upon several Ships lying in the Road of S. Christophers loaden with Tobacco and ready to set sail For they were all broken to pieces and cast away and the Commodities wholly lost Whereof there follow'd another strange and unexpected accident which was that most of the fish upon the Coast was poysoned by the Tobacco The Sea seem'd in a manner cover'd with those poor creatures which turn'd upside-down and languishing floated on the face of the water and came to dye on the shore Nor are these disasters particular only to the New-World but there have been seen in France and other places such dreadful Tempests as might well be accounted Hurricanes In the year M. D. XCIX there rose neer Bourdeaux such a violent wind that it broke and unrooted most of the great Trees which were able to resist especially the Wall-nut-trees whose boughs are commonly very large and transported some of them above five hundred paces from the place where they grew But the weaker Trees which gave way were spared The Palace of Poictiers receiv'd much hurt divers Steeples were batter'd and that of Cangres neer Saumur quite blown down Some persons on horse-back in the fields were carried above sixty paces out of their way For the space of six or seven leagues as far as it blew there was nothing but ruine and confusion To this place may be reduced among others that Tempest which happen'd here in England at the removal out of this world of the late Usurper Oliver Cromwel the mischiefs whereof are yet fresh in mens minds as also that in February 1661. To give an example of a Hurricane that shew'd its malice here in Europe particularly on the
like a Gall and at the first eating thereof it tastes like a small Nut but afterwards it causeth mortal gripings and is a most dangerous poyson There is also in Africk a Tree called Coscoma which bears deadly Apples The Tree of the Maldivas named Ambou bears a fruit no less deceitful and pernicious And neer Tripoly in Syria there are certain large Apricocks which are fair to the eye and very savoury to the palat but the subsequent qualities of them are many times mortal or at best cause long and painful diseases to such as have eaten of them There grow Manchenillo-Trees on the Sea-side and the banks of Rivers and if the fruit fall into the water the fish eating thereof will certainly dye nay though it continue long in the water yet will it not rot but is cover'd with salt-peter which gives it a solid crustiness as if it were petrify'd In those Islands where this Tree grows in abundance the Snakes are venemous it being supposed by some that they sometimes suck the fruit of it Nay the Crabs which feed under these Trees contract a dangerous quality from them as we said elsewhere and many have been sick after the eating thereof Whence it comes that when these fruits fall to the ground such as are careful of their health will forbear the eating of Crabs Yet do not the Snakes or Crabs wholly live on this fruit but feeding under the Tree they draw the infection thereof to themselves especially if they suck the venome of its fruit It may well be that what is mortal to some creatures is not so to all and that these Insects often feeding on this poyson do by custom and continuance turn it into their sustenance as is reported of Mithridates And so they may infect such as eat thereof receiving themselves no hurt thereby Under the bark of the trunk and boughs of these Trees there is contained a certain glutinous water which is white as milk extremely malignant and dangerous There being many of them along the high-ways if one should carelesly break one of their branches that milk or rather poyson comes forth and falls upon him If it light on his shirt it makes an ugly stain as if it were burnt if on the skin and the place be not immediately wash'd it will be all blistered but if it should chance that a drop of this caustick and venemous water should fall into the eye it will cause an insupportable inflammation and the party shall lose his sight for nine days after which he will have some ease The dew or rain-water having continu'd a while on the leaves of these Trees produces the same effect and if it should light on the skin it would scorch it like Aqua-fortis So that it is almost as bad as the drops of rain falling under the Line which are so contagious as those who have felt them affirm that if they fall on the hands face or any uncover'd part of the body there immediately rise up bladders and blisters with much pain and if the party do not presently shift his cloths his body will be full of wheals all over not to mention the worms which are bred in the cloths Nay the very shade of these Trees is prejudicial to men and if a man rest himself under them the whole body swells after a strange manner Pliny and Plutarch mention a Tree of Arcadia no less dangerous and those who have travell'd into the East-Indies affirm that there is an herb named Sapony which causes their death who lye upon it But what heightens the ill quality of the Manchenillo-Tree is that the meat dress'd with a fire made of its wood derives a certain malignity from it which burns the mouth and throat Nor are the Savages of these Islands ignorant of the nature of the Manchenillo for the composition wherewith they are wont to poyson their arrows hath in it among other ingredients the milk of this Tree and the dew falling from it and the juice of the fruit To cure in a short time the swelling and blisters rising on the body after sleeping under the shade of these Trees or receiving the rain or dew falling from their branches as also those occasion'd by the milk within the bark recourse must be immediately made to a kind of Snails whereof we have spoken before under the name of Souldiers and let the party take a certain cleer water which is contain'd within their shell and apply it to the place affected this remedy immediately allays the venome of that scorching liquour and puts the party out of all danger The oyl extracted without fire from the same Snail operates the same effect But if any shall happen to eat of the fruit of these venemous Trees he must use the remedies prescribed hereafter to expell the venome of Serpents and all other poysons WOOD-LICE THere is also a kind of Ant or worm which hath a little black spot on the head all the rest of the body being white They are bred of rotten wood and thence some call them Wood-lice Their bodies are softer then those of our ordinary Ants and yet their tooth is so sharp that they gnaw wood and get into such coffers as lye neer the ground And in less then two days if they be not destroy'd there will get in such abundance that linen cloaths paper and whatever is within them will be eaten and devoured nay they gnaw and eat the posts which sustain the ordinary hutts insomuch that if some course be not taken they will at last fall down To prevent the breeding of these Insects and the mischief done by them there are these cautions At the building of houses not to leave any wood on the ground to rot out of which they may breed To burn the ends of those pieces of wood that are planted in the ground As soon as any of them are perceiv'd to cast scalding water into the holes which they have made To hang up Chests and Coffers in the air with cords as they are forc'd to do in several parts of the East-Indies that they may not touch the ground And lastly to keep the rooms very clean and leave nothing on the ground It hath also been observ'd that the rubbing of their haunts with the oyl of that kind of Palma-Christi wherewith the Negroes rub their heads to avoid vermine hath prevented their coming any more that way The oyl of Lamantin hath the same effect and if it be poured on their rendezvouz which is a kind of Ant-hill made up of their own ordure and fasten'd about the forks which sustain the hutts they immediately forsake it RAVETS ANother dangerous vermine are the Ravets of which there are two kinds The bigger are almost like Locusts and of the same colour the others are not half as big Both kinds have their walks in the night-time get into Chests if they be not very close foul all things wherever they come and do mischief enough yet not so much nor in
the Manioc and to strain the Ouïcou Mouchache Flesh that may be eaten Tekeric Roast-meat Aribelet Acherouti Sauce Taomali or Taumali A dish of hash'd meat Natara A Feast Natoni Laupali Eletoak Poison Tiboukoulou M. Tibaukoura W. Merchandise Eberitina A Merchant Baouanemoukou A Piraga or great vessel of the Savages Canaoüa A little vessel of the Savages which we call Canow Couliala A Ship Kanabire this probably is derived from the French word Navire A Cord Ibitarrou A Cable Kaboya 't is a word no doubt fram'd by them since their acquaintance with strangers as are also some of the ensuing An Anchor Tichibani and Ankouroute A Knife Couchique Scissers Chirachi Much Mouche a word of the corrupt Language Ten Chonnoucabo raim that is all the fingers of both hands Twenty Chonnougouci raim that is all the fingers of both hands and all the toes of both feet they cannot number any farther Behold thy bed Bouekra Behold thy meat En yerebaili Behold thy drink En batoni Gramercy or well Tao Yes Anhan Nay Ouä To morrow Alouka Good morrow Mabouë Farewel Huican VI. ORNAMENTS and ARMES TOyes and trifles in generall Cacones A Crown Tiamataboni A Ring Toukabouri A Chain or Necklace Eneka My Chain Yenekali A Bracelet Nournari Pendants for the ears Narikaela A Girdle Jeconti Niranvary Spanish Leather Tichepoulou A Comb brought out of Europe Baïna A Comb of Reeds Boulera A Handkercher Naïnraglé A Looking-glass Chibouchi A Sword Echoubara An Arquebuss or Musket Rakabouchou A Pistol Rakabouchou raeu properly a little Musket Great Guns Kaloon A Pike Halberd Ranicha The point of it Lichibau M. Laboulougou W. The middle Lirana The end Tiona A bow Oullaba M. Chimala W. these two words signifie also a tree The string of the bow Ibitarrou Arrows Alouani Bouleouä Hippé The Club which the Savages use instead of a sword Bouttou VII LIVING CREATURES A Dog Anly A Bitch Ouelle anly properly the female of the dog A swine Bouirokou sometimes they also call that creature Concoin An Ape or Monkey Alouata A Tortoise or Turtle Catallou and in the corrupt Language Tortillé The great Lizard Ouayamaka the same which other Indians call Iganas The little Lizard or Catch-flye Oulleouma A mouse Karattoni A Cat Mechou The Soldier a kind of Snail so called Makeré A Pismire Hagué A Spider Koulaëlé A Serpent Héhué A Snake Couloubera from the Spanish A Scorpion Akourou A Fish Authe and in the corrupt Language Pisket The shell of a Fish they name the fish and then add ora as much as to say the shell or covering of the fish Thus Ouataboui-ora is that which we have elsewhere called a Lambis A Mesquito a kind of flye Aëtera Another kind of small flyes commonly called Maringoins and known under that name Malu Kalabala It seems their feet are white A Flye Hueré-hueré The glittering flye Cogouyou not differing much from the Cocuyos of the other Indians A bird Tonoulou A Turkey-cock Ouekelli-pikaka A Turkey-hen Ouelle-pikaka An ordinary hen Kayou A Duck Kanarou A Goose Iriria A Parrat Koulehuec A Pigeon Ouakoukoua A Turtle Oulleou A Partridge Ouallami A Feather Toubanna this signifies also a leaf A wing or arm Tarreuna A beak or mouth Tiouma A foot or claw Tougouti VIII TREES and PLANTS A Tree Huëhuë A Plant Ninanteli A Flower Illehué Fruit or seed Tun. A leaf Toubanna this signifies also a feather A Branch Touribouri A Thorn a Cyon Huëhuëyou properly the hair of the tree or Huëhuëakou as if one would say the eies of the tree A Forrest Arabou Figs Bakoukou Orenges and Lemons or Citrons they call as we do because these fruits were brought thither out of Europe The Cassia-tree Malimali Cotton Manoulou The Cotton-tree Manoulouakecha The wild-Vine Ouliem Raquette a fruit so named by the French Batta A great kind of Thistle Akoulerou Tobacco Youli A Melon Battia Pease or Beans Manconti A Cane or Reed in general Maboulou Tikasket The Sugar-cane Kaniche The juice of the Canes or the wine thereof Kanichira Sugar Choucre a corrupt word An herb Kalao A root that may be eaten Torolé IX THINGS ELEMENTARY and IN ANIMATE THe Heavens Oubekou A white cloud Allirou A black cloud Ouällion Misty weather Kemerei A Star Ouäloukouma The Sun Huyeyou M. Kachi W. The Moon Nonum M. which word signifies also the earth Kati W. A day Lihuycouli Light Lalloukoné Lightsome Laguenani Night Ariabou Darkness Bourreli It is day Haloukaali It is night Boureokaali The air Naouaraglé The wind Bebeité it sometimes also signifies the air Fire Ouattou Ashes Ballissi Rain Konoboui Hail Ice Snow are things they are not acquainted withall Winter is also unknown to them Summer Liromouli Cold Lamoyenli Heat Loubacha Fair weather Ieromonmééli They call it also by the name of Summer It is fair weather Hueoumeti It is foul weather Yehumeti Thunder Oualou ouyoulou The noise of Thunder Trtrguetenni A tempest Youallou Bointara Ourogan which is the most common name The Rain-bow Alamoulou or Youlouca as if they would say God's plume of feathers A Mountain Ouëbo A Valley Taralironne An ascent Tagreguin A plain Liromonobou Water a River Tona A Pond Taonaba A Spring or Fountain Taboulikani A Well Chiekati A Brook Tipouliri The Sea Balanna M. Balaoua W. The earth Nonum M. that signifies also the Moon Mona W. Excrement Itika Sand Saccao A way Ema A Stone Tebou A Rock Emerali A Island Oubao The Continent Balouë Wood Huëhuë it signifies also a tree Iron Crabou Gold and silver Boulâta Brass Tialapirou Latten Kaouanam A hole Toullepen it signifies also a window A Haven Beya not much differing from the word Bay X. Things relating to RELIGION THe Soul is expressed by the same word which signifies the heart See before in the Section of the Parts of Man's Body A Spirit Akambouë M. Opoyem W. These names are general thence it comes that they are sometimes applyed to the Spirit of Man But they are particularly attributed to good Spirits at least those whom the Caribbians account such and allow the place of Gods A Good Spirit which they hold to be a Divinity and whereof every one of them hath one peculiar to himself for his God is also called Icheiri which is the term of the men and Chemun which is that of the women and whereof the plural is Chemignum So that those words are answerable to God and Gods My good Spirit or my God Icheirikou M. Nechemerakou W. The evil Spirit or Devil both men and women call him Maboya as all the French pronounce the word but the Caribbians pronounce it as if it were written with a p Mapoya They also attribute the name of Maboya to certain Mushrooms and some other Plants of ill scent The Devil or evil Spirit is here let us get away from him Maboya kayeu eu kaima Loari They are wont to say so when they smell any ill scent The Offerings they make to the false Gods or Devils Anakri Invocations Prayers Ceremonies Adorations are