others which are forfeited to him for want of paying their Fines or other penalties imposed for some fault they have committed and both of them sent commonly to be sold at the place set apart for the Trucking of Slaves The Kings Slaves are distinguishable from other men only by this that they have no hats but go alwayes naked with their heads The Inhabitants will not be called Mores which is an appellation they say belongs more properly to their Slaves but Pretos which is as much as Negroes They generally use their Slaves very well seldome or never giving them any correction Though they have not so many diseases amongst them as we yet they are not without their share those as troublesome as ours the most frequent are the Neapolitan disease pains in the head burning Feavers which for the most part are occasion'd by their women the Chollick and worms which grow betwixt the flesh and the skin to which strangers also being subject I shall speak a word or two anon For the Neapolitan disease which is not infamous amongst them they use only Salseparilla which they boyl in a Skillet to such a height and then straining it they use it as a diet-drink and as they say themselves with very great success Their pains in their head they cure by fomentations made of certain herbs which they lay upon the Patients face and it takes the pain away immediately Sometimes they raise little blisters upon it which then applying to them a certain kind of Earth they have amongst them it asswages and cures them also The Chollick and Wind in the Stomach is not over frequent amongst the Natives but all Strangers are much subject to them till they be accustomed to the air of that Countrey To prevent and fortifie ones self against them it is good to bind about the Stomach very hard to keep ones self warm in the night with a Waste-coat or some other thing and if notwithstanding all this it be not prevented it is not amiss to take 4 or 5 drops of balm of Sulphur in a little Strong-water cover ones self well and sweat the next day let blood then purge two dayes after and 't is odds but he will be well 'T is very dangerous sleeping upon the ground in three days many times they are dead of an incurable cold Sometimes they bath them with Mallows Marsh Mallows Pellitory of the Wall Powder of Cassia each half an ounce then they boyl it upon the fire to a certain degree and put ten or twelve drops of Oyl of Anniseeds amongst it which makes it sovereign but the best way of all is to keep the Stomack warm and have a great care of sleeping upon the ground As to the worms which grow betwixt the skin and the flesh Foreigners are as much subject to them as they they breed over all the body but principally in the thighs legs and most fleshy parts Sometimes they have them two years together and never perceive it till about a fortnight before they come out By the report of those who have had them there is no torment like them it exceeds the most violent pain in the teeth There has been great inquisition into the cause of it some attribute it to their Palm-wine others to the Fish which is eaten upon that Coast others to their Water every one arguing according to his fancy but all of them wide of the Mark for those Mores who live but forty leagues up higher into the Countrey know nothing of it at all nor are in any danger of the Evening dew The most probable cause is the dew which falls in the Evening upon the Coast occasioned by the Breezes from the Sea which being very cold the Mores do constantly make fires at their feet when they go to sleep and indeed nothing is of more importance to ones health than to keep off the chilness of that Air and to preserve ones self as warm as one can The ill water they drink together with the nastiness of their diet may add something but 't is the nipping Winds and Rains which fall upon the Coast and makes those parts so subject to worms in June July and August which are the most rainy months amongst them experience tells us those worms are most apt to engender In short every drop of their Rain is bigger than a large Pea if in a shower of that nature one be wet never so little and lets his clothes dry upon his back besides that in three dayes his clothes shall be rotten if he has no worms he shall be sure of a distemper that will be very dangerous We may affirm therefore 't is the rain as well as the dew which produces these worms how or which way I leave to the Philosopher and Physician to resolve but this I am sure having many times put out a bit of flesh in the rain or in the evening dew I found as soon as the beams of the Sun glanced but upon it it turned all into Worms which experiment I made very often am convinced by it that they come but those two ways either by the rain or the dew Of those Worms which grow in the body there are two sorts one lesser the other greater and some of them as slender as a hair the least are half a foot long the larger a foot and some there are of an ell but very rarely When you are once plagued with them there is nothing to be done till they are out which is evident by the tumours they raise in the flesh and the swelling of the part where they lie There is nothing like keeping ones bed and opening the corner of the skin gently with a knife to give them free passage if they perceive them advancing they may hasten their journey and pull them out by little and little if they find any stop or reluctance in the Worm they must let them alone lest they break them and tye a hair or piece of silk about them to keep them from going back sometimes several of them will come out at one hole but they must have patience for their motion is but slow above all things they must have a care of breaking them for they are of so venemous a quality there is no way to preserve the person against its virulence but by cutting off the part When they are out they usually rub the place with butter and salt and wash it with Sea-water which in that case is soveraign Their best way to secure themselves against them is to put file-dust into their breeches and shooes to keep their feet dry and if at any time they be wet to change their clothes and their drawers immediately by no means to sleep upon the ground to have a care of the Seraine or evenings dew to bind themselves up close and keep their stomachs warm to abstein from Women to use confection of Hyacinth Alkermes or Clarie to keep ones self clean avoid the raine which
run along by the shore till we came to the 16 degrees at which time we began to descry the coasts of Africk and to observe them sandy and low The 14 at sun-rising we found our selves at the mouth of the river of Senegal about 15 degrees where the wind falling we endured a calm so as that day nor the night following we made no progress at all On the 15th we discover'd Cap-Verd which at a distance resembled two Brests but in respect it was environed with Rocks and not approachable without danger we steer'd to the North-West and on the 16 we doubled the Cap in our passage to Rio-Fresco a Town upon the coasts of Africk about 6 leagues from the Cap a place where they usually take in fresh water and somtimes trade but with little security the Fort and Island of Goure which belongs to the Hollander being too near CAP-VERD SO called from a perpetual verdure which embellishes it is one of the pleasantest and most agreeable places in the world It is a Promontory which throws it self a long way from East to West into the Sea the North part of it is Mountanous and covered always with green Trees its point towards the East is about a Mile over it is a Rock very steep and sharp towards the Sea which with great gentleness bathes and washes the feet of it after it has been broken and discust by several smaller and conceal'd rocks that incompass it and seem to be plac'd there by nature on no other purpose but to oppose themselves in the behalf of so delicate a place against the fury of so impetuous an Element The 2 points advancing like mountains and making as it were a verdant terras or rampart walk betwixt them yeilds a most incomparable perspective thorough the trees on the East-side and is no less beautiful on the South though the country lies low by reason of the Trees which one would think were planted by a line if he considers with what exactness and regularity they grow But the same wind which being gentle had indulg'd our curiosity and given us a grateful and compleat prospect of this Cape removed us almost insensibly and brought us to Goure Goure is a little Island about a League in circumference and three Leagues distant from Cap-Verd 't is separated from the Terrasirma by a little arm of the Sea about half a League over At present it belongs to the Hollander who on a mountain on the west-side has built a Fort on the East it is low has a good Port on the South and good Ankorage We saluted the Fort with five pieces of Canon and received as many from them we gave them 3. more by way of thanks and that they might not seem to be behind us in civility they return'd us one more and set up the Dutch Standard A while after the Governor sent out his Boat to inquire what we were and what news he that commanded it spake very good French and it fell to my share to entertain him a good while Our discourse was about Cap-Verd and Le-Segnal which he cry'd up to me as the most pleasant part of the world and the best for trade and told me that at long run the French would carry it from every body For Cap-Verd that they whch loved hunting might abundantly divert themselves there that there was plenty of game as Partridge Hares Harts Roe-Bucks and several other Animals very good meat though utterly unknown in Europe That the Moors were not to be fear'd and that there was excellent fishing After Dinner he return'd to the Fort desiring us to go on to Gambay where the English had a small Fort with eight pieces of Canon planted and the Government worth 2000 l. per ann Rio-Fresca is a Town in Africk near which we came to Anchor in the Bay de France which is firm and gravelly at the bottome and is six Fathoms deep at low water After Dinner our Secretary was sent on Shore to carry the Alcair or Governor his Presents which were Knives and Brandy and to take a view of what Commodities they had there and to procure fresh meat At his return he told us the Alcair had receiv'd him very civilly in his own house which is built in the midst of several others that he made him sit down by him upon a very neat Mat and regal'd him with such Wine and Fruits as the Countrey did afford That as to Commodities the coast was at present unfurnish'd but if we would have patience for a fortnight he would give notice to the Marchants of the Country who would doubtless supply us especially several Portugals which they then had amongst them and as to fresh Victuals he would furnish us next day Whilst our Notary was a shore there came a Canoe aboard us from the Alcair but so mann'd as surprized me very much they were exceedingly black their Mine not much better than our Beggars in France and naked as they were born except a little linnen before They demanded what we were we told them French they ask'd if we were come to stay or had put in only for Provisions we reply'd for Provisions but we would return to continue to which they answer'd Bon Bon the French are more worth than all the rest of the World There came several other Canoes to us with great quantity of fish which they barter'd for knives and strong waters which they fancy exceedingly That night we stood to our arms apprehending some attempt from Goure to surprise us The next morning the Alcair himself called Abdonsech came aboard us in our Shallop accompany'd with his Officers and the principal of the Town He was a person of about 35. or 40. years of age well proportion'd and understood his interest well enough He was in a long white Robe made of Cotton which came no lower than his knees the sleeves long and wide like a Surplice only gather'd close at the hands about his neck great quantity of locks of Red Wool with a Callecon of the same he had a Cap upon his head not much unlike the Capuches worn in Hungaria The Officers had all of them old Mantles of stript Cotton about them partly white and part blew not unlike our Gipsies We made them sit and dine with us after which they desir'd the Officers of the Vessel that they would return thither and continue which we promising they enter'd into a Contract of allyance which was sign'd and seal'd on both sides We ask'd them where their King was they reply'd three days journey up into the Countrey That he was call'd Damel Biram and his kingdom Caillor that he loved the French best as being more frank and liberal and less addicted to their interest and profit It 's a wonder to see these people they can neither write nor read and yet all of them spoke Portugais but the Alcair French English and Dutch as perfectly as those that were born there about Noon he took
themselves houses with high and lofty roofes several appartments with one chamber opening into another and usually at the door of their chamber 2 Slaves constantly attending with darts in their hands in the nature of guards which are releived at certain hours All their houses are made of earth but the common people have their walls so low they seldome exceed the height of a man Their beame and rafters and the whole frame of the house resting only upon them the houses of the Grandees as well as the commons are all thatch'd and have all of them but one little square hole which serves for a door to which they fasten a piece of board without either lock or hinges like the poor Peasants in the Countrey to their Garden-doors and are contented to fasten them only with a rope either without or within Their windows are small the earth they make their floors with very close and compact they have at least two chambers to a house and this character must be given them that they are very curious in keeping them neat and paint them very frequently both without and within Amongst the common sort there is nothing of houshould-stuff or what is us'd commonly about the house to be seen all is locked up in their Coffers which they buy of the Whites except they be Merchants or great men and then their Tables and Chairs appear sometimes but never no Beds for they lye alwayes upon Skins spread upon the ground or else upon Mattresses made of Rushes covering themselves with the Skins of Oxen or some other Beast without any Boulster except they be of the Nobles and then they have Pillows under their heads and a good fire in the middle of their Room but not the least hole for a Chimney Every woman has her appartment or little house joyning to her Husbands consisting of one or two Chambers where she manages her own affairs by her self seldome eating or drinking together Some of them go a Gossipping to their Neighbours and carry such as they have along with them The good man takes the same course and he visits his Merchant not so much as concerning himself how squares go at home the women being alwayes very punctual to accommodate them with every thing necessary and to bring up their Children carefully yet sometimes on their Festivals or upon some great occasion their Stomachs come down and they feed very lovingly together As the women have the charge of the house and the money so they make it their whole business that neither of them miscarry in their hands The men employ themselves constantly abroad either in matters of Trade or in making of Palm-wine or fishing as every mans genius inclines him when they have got any money they give it still to their wives who order it so well they never make the least unnecessary disbursement they go every night themselves into the granaries delivering out such a proportion of corn as they judge will be necessary for the whole family the next day By break of day the young girles are up and at work beating their Rice and their Mays which is called Turky wheat amongst us in a wooden Mortar and when it is bruis'd they grind it as the Painters do their colours betwixt two stones and so reduce it to powder then kneading it with water and salt they divide it into a kind of penny loaves and put it into a great earthen pot that stands upon the fire with a little earthen lid they throw embers upon it 't is done if it be well bak'd 't is very good and without any ill relish at all Their food generally is fish though they have great store of flesh also which they boyl or roast as they think good but their fish is most commonly bak'd being season'd first with water and pepper and salt the great Merchants who have Slaves to wait on them at the Table do eat a l' Europeenne and have their Ragousts as well made as in France which they learn'd of us and the Cook at the Fort of Denmark yet there are some Mores will make a Pottage or a Ragoust with the best Cuisinier in Paris They eat great store of fruit of Peas Beans and such like they make usually but two meals a day that is at Sun-rising and Sun-setting where they feed like Cormorants and when they have eat never so much are hungry still which I impute to nothing but an excessive heat within them which gives them a Canine and perpetually insatiable appetite insomuch that I have observed them when they have been at dinner a Ship-board one Black has eat as much as six of us could do Their Mornings draught is either of water or a kind of small beer which they call Poitou and is made of Mays but 't is night before they drink any Wine and the reason is because the Peasant never brings it to the Market till after dinner The Palm-Wine comes out of a Tree not unlike our Date-trees the Mores make a hole at the top of the tree to which they fasten a pott like one of the Monks pitchers and the next day or the day after they find it full of a kind of juice like Milk sweet and very pleasant but with a quality to inebriate The Mores have got a trick of late to sophisticate it and put water amongst it for their gain but 't is no hard matter to discover it This Wine cannot be kept till next day but will grow sower in a nights time upon which grounds the Merchants and other good fellows do meet and drink smartly many times but with this ceremony alwayes that they leave a little in the bottome which they throw upon the ground in honour of their Fetiches Those who have no provision nor means to make any are forc'd to buy what they want at a little Market hard by with what they have got by fishing by making Palme-Wine by building or repairing of houses carrying home what the Merchants have bought on Ship-board and such other servile imployments as our Mechanicks in France live by to which Market the Whites go also sometimes when their Stomach hangs after fish Of their Markets their manner of buying and selling with a description of their Measures and Weights THe best Market in all Africk is held every day at Cape-Corse but we being at wars with England I could have no sight of that and therefore must be contented with the Market at Frederisbourg which is not indeed so bigg but there is the same thing observed in a place designed for the same use and that is that it be ordinarily in the midst of the Town By break of day the Peasants come in with their Sugar-canes bound up like Fagots their fruits of all sorts Plums Potatoes Turnips Carrets Citrons Oranges Rice Mays Malaguette Bread Pullets Fish Eggs and whatever is necessary for the life of man after Dinner their Palme-wine comes in and what Fish is taken since the morning
making to our men with their weapons in their hands but the man I left behind me having his musquet with him stopt their proceedings and the rest defended themselves so well with their Axes that there was none wounded or kil'd of the whole company only one antient man received a scratch in one of his arms We sail'd immediately towards them but as soon as we came within musquet shot and they perceived our Guns in our hands they run strait into the woods where they lay close all day long but at night we could hear them making great noise about the fountain aforesaid The next day being the 29 December the Clerk the Pilots Mate several servants and about 20 of our Seamen went a shore in our shallop for fresh water and wood At their landing the Mores abandoned the fountain and betook themselves to the Woods where they made a great noise likewise but without any attempt for our men having run towards them and fired 5 or 6 musquets at a venture into the woods they took their heels and from that time we heard no more of Mounsieur Thomas nor any of his crew After dinner our Embassadors returned from the King of Boure's Court having stayed there with his most August Majesty but one night but they brought most of the Canoes thereabout along with them laden with Ivory which was bought off indifferent cheap The next day the King of Boure's Brother came aboard us and brought with him a Portugais which we had seen before and is imployed in the affaires of that Prince we know it was some person of quality as soon as we discerned his Canoe which we distinguished by the sound of his Trumpets and immediately sent out our boat to receive him into which he entred with his Trumpet and Drum and at his coming aboard our Ship was saluted with a volley from the great Guns The Brother of the King of Sierra-Leone is a person of about fifty or threescore years of age and begins now to grow gray his stature is but indifferent but grave and intelligent enough in his affairs His habit was not much unlike that of the Alcair of Rio-Fresca unless it be that the Alcair's habit was of white cloth and this of cloth strip'd with black and blew he had a gray hat upon his head a stick like a musquet rest in his hand his Attendants had all of them Robes of Cotton cloth only the Portugal was drest ala Portugaise Whilest we were treating him we gave him an accompt of the story of John Thomas to which he answered that he was a mutineer and a rebel and that in case wee should catch him we should not only have his pardon but thanks After he had dined he pulled out about twenty little stones out of a little purse which he threw upon the Table demanding so many Barres as they call them in discharge of their Kings duties as well for the business they had negotiated with him as for their fresh water and wood Though these people can neither read nor write yet they make use of this way of gathering their Rights and the frequency of their Commerce with the Portugals has brought them to talk altogether by Barres which is the word they do most ordinarily use According to their demand the 20 Barres were payed him that is to say in Iron 12 Barres a little Barrel of Strong-waters at 4 Barrs a Kettle at 2 Barres a Hat at 2 Barres and so on He was himself upon his own score presented with 2 Bottles of Brandy and his Retinue with Knives at the close of the evening he returned well stuft and well satisfied as the greatest part of his Attendants were also at his departure he had several Guns given him and was dismist with all possible civility He is in great respect among the people his Trumpet and Drum are always carryed along with him even when he goes about his most natural affairs During these three days we had several Portugals came aboard us with their Commodities of whom I endeavoured what I could to inform my self of the manners of that Country The Description of Sierra-Leone or the Mountain of the Lyons THe Countrey of Sierra-Leone is called Boulombel by the Mores which in their language is as much as the large Countrey In respect of the extraordinary height of the Mountaines towards the South which are much higher then either the Pyrenaean or Alps and the multitude of Lyons which are constantly to be seen there it was called Sierra Leone by the Portugals which in our Language amounts to no more then the Mountain of Lyons Their Countrey begins a great way up in the land Eastward and ends Northwest with the Cap-Ledo which throws it self into the Sea from the point of that Cape as on passes up the River there are several Bayes the fourth of which is the Bay de France either because the French were formerly possessed of this Coast or that they burn'd a Town there heretofore and this is the only Bay in that River where they can take in fresh water I had one day the curiosity to trace one of the three Fountaines which are there and having followed it a league to the foot of the Mountaines observing the tracks and Print of the wild beasts which are very strange and dreadful I returned as I went and have been since informed by one of the Portugals that it rises in the midst of the woods which are above 15 leagues over and that if I had pursued my design and traced it to its spring I must never have expected to come back as well for the vast number of Lyons as for the Tygars Elephants and Crocodiles which are there and would probably have devoured me Those Mountains are covered with Trees very full of Gumme always green and for the most part not unlike our Laurel The Northen parts of this Sierra-Leone lye very low and are in the possession of the King of Boulom as the Southern parts are of the King of Boure The Kingdom of Boulom is not overwell known either to the French or Hollander their affections being principally inclin'd to the English and Portugals of which last there are several that inhabit there The River which bears the name of Sierra-Leone likewise runs a great way Eastward up into the Countrey is about 3 leagues over at the mouth and one about 14 or 15 leagues higher The Harbour is not above two fathoms deep insomuch that in entring into it we were fain to come as neer the Mountains as we could where we found 10 12 and 16 fathoms water It has several little Islands in its channel the most of them inhabited and covered with green Trees especially Palm trees of which they make great quantities of Wine It is very full of Fish and breeds Crocodiles near the head of its Fountain The borders of these Islands are set with certain Trees whose branches do never extend themselves further out one then another but
possible diligence but could not perswade them to come in till we fired 3 or 4 times into their boat They were two young Slaves belonging to a Portugal that was with the English Man but we could not make them confess any thing by all the interrogations we could use Those of the English party observing what was past fired at us with their Canon and 3 of their bullets fell within ten paces of our boat We put our selves out of the reach of their Guns for the present and came to an anchor attending the comming in of the tide to accommodate our return The weather being calme about half an hour after there appear'd two Mores belonging to one of the neighbouring Islands in a Canoe which made directly up to us and came within pistol shot but would by no means be perswaded on board whereupon we shot off 2 or 3 Guns not with intention of doing them harm but to instruct them of the truth They no sooner heard the noise of our Guns but they run away immediately plying their cars as fast as they could and stooping upon sight of our fire so low they seem'd to us no higher then Cats In the mean time the Canon of the English were not idle playing still upon us though they saw we were out of their reach which they did not so much to do any execution as to let the Natives see they had undertaken their defence and desired their friendship However the tide comming in we pass'd by several little Islands and made our retreat We found several Mores and Portugals aboard our Vessel and amongst the rest the King of Bouloms Son called Bombo who was a person of about 30 or 40 years old well proportioned and bating his complexion a very handsom man his aire was courteous and majestick he was an intimate friend of Abrahams but knew nothing till supper of his imprisonment He no sooner understood it but he interceded for his ransome and went immediately with the Portugal that manages the affairs of the King of Boure to procure it On Munday at noon they came aboard again with a 100 Elephants teeth weighing 900 pound weight and two live Civet Cats upon the delivery of which he was dismist and went home after dinner we giving him a little barrel of Strong-waters a rowl of Tobacco a Cheese and a Salvo of 3 Guns when he went off Some sew Portugals stay'd behind till they made up their Markets and having dispatch'd them the fisth they returned out of hand That day we intended to have been gone but happening upon a calm and to have a tide against us too we were forc'd to attend a little longer then we designed About noon there came a Canoe aboard us with two Mores which pretended to belong to Boulom who brought us fruit but having no Ivory we lookt upon them but as spies and sent them back again about five That night we set sail and having past Cap-Ledo we steer'd a South South-East course to avoid the the Banks of Saint Anne and the next morning discry'd a little Vessel of Holland coasting upon the shore as we did to make the Cap de Monte which is about 60 leagues distant from the Sierra-Leone On Friday the 7th of January we past by the mouth of the River of Madre-Bomba where the English have a house also and not inferior to that at Sierra-Leone In the afternoon we came within sight of the Rio de Gallines so called by the Portugals from the multitude of Hens there and the cheapness of them the people giving one two and somtimes three for a knife of a penny The Hollanders had a house there formerly The Natives gave us a sign to approach and put in but the neighbourhood of the English would not suffer us to hear on that ear but we continued our coast to the East till Saturday morning at which time by the assistance of a clear day we discover'd the Cap de Monte at about ten leagues distance CAP DE MONTE and its Description THe wind being but little we came not to an anchor till night and then about half a league from the shore at twelve fathom low water and upon a sand The Cap de Monte is so called from a point of ground which gives it that figure and rising just by the Sea formes its self into a round Mountain all the rest of that coast lying very low We could not descry either house or cabane all along yet on the 19th we went on shore and found 4 or 5 houses at some distance where the Blacks made their Salt They appeared very joyful at our arrival they told us their King lived three days journey up into the Countrey that they would give notice to their neighbours of our coming that night and that if we thought good to return the next morning we might find such store of Ivory as could be suddenly got That if we intended to keep our promise when we came on board we should give them two great Guns as a signal and they would make fires to confirm us on their side which was agreed and performed accordingly The tenth and the eleventh days were spent entirely in bartring I being on board the 12th I went on shore though with some difficulty the Sea breaking off so abruptly our shallop was left some 20 paces upon ground and the Seamen forc'd to go out of the boat and land the Officers upon their backs where we found the Mores had made a large Arbor covered over with leaves and branches of trees to keep our commodities dry and shelter us from the violence of the Sun Whilst we were Negotiating our affairs we heard a great noise on a sudden and saw the Mores in a great hurry running Pell-mell from their houses and merchandise both we apprehended we might be surprized and took up our arms immediately but being got out into the air we understood it was only their King was coming to us whereupon some of our men went to meet him and saluted him with a volley of five or six of our firelocks Before him marched his Drum and his Trumpet 8 or 10 of his kindred and friends and the rest were his Officers his Wives and his Daughters marched on his side behind him his Slaves followed and a certain number of women carrying his dinner in bowls of Wood and of Tyn which they held up as high as they could possibly By him he had four Slaves marching two of them covering him with two large Bucklers and the other carrying his bow and arrows and javelin As he approached the Mores divided themselves the Men on one side the Women on the other singing and dancing and leaping up and down and testifying their joy in a thousand different postures The King took a dart and pretended to throw it at them upon which they threw themselves immediately upon the ground and at the same time they which came along with his Majesty took their turn both
generation of people they call Muletto's or Olive-couler'd and have by that means acquired such an interest amongst them as have been the cause we have made no farther discoveries there and that they doe to this day go away with the whole Island Trade he that should endeavour to share with them being certain to be destroyed by their great influence and authority with the Nigros So that they have ingross'd that whole commerce to them selves passing up and down every where as they please and running up the Niger as far as Benin which is more then 800 leagues They it is that have been the loss of Cantozi to the Danes which is a little Island upon the Niger two hvndred leagues above the mouth of the Gambie Their authority over the Mores upon the Coasts is so great they manage them as thy think good and we can never read that they have at any time rebelled against them as they have frequently done against the rest of the Europeans Nay so absolute is their Empire they are many times served at the table by the Sons of that King which is so superlative a command there can be nothing beyond it Yet if any other European does but quarrel or affront any of their Grandees there is nothing but they will attempt which may contribute to their revenge One of them who came to traffick with us at Sierra-Leone told me he did use every year to go to Senegal which is two hundred leagues from Sierra-Leone and that where he had not the conveniency of a river both himself and his Commodities were carryed up into the Countrey on the backs of the Mores They have all of them little Chappels built near their houses in which they use all possible means for the conversion of those people and when they have had any success and made a prosilite they hang Chappelets about his neck and have a particular care of them ever after THE COAST OF GRAIVES CALLED MALAGUETTE UPon the three and twentieth of January the same day we set sayle from Rio-Sextos we came to an anchor before Rio-Sanguin where the Coast of Malaguette or Manigette begins and extends it self sixty leagues to the Cape de Palmes about three degrees and forty minutes of Northern latitude comprehending all these places Riâ—-Sanguin Cestre-Crou Brova Bassou Zino Crou Crousestre Wapo Batou Grand-Sester Petit-Sester and Goiane all which places we visited in ninteen days which we dedicated to our traffick in those parts Rio-Sanguin runs into the Sea South South-East and will carry a Petach about twelve leagues and no more upon its bank it has a Town of about a hundred houses and large Trees on both sides of it but is not five hundred paces broad at the widest part of it That night there came a Canoe aboard us with three Mores one of them was the Kings Brother who having been three years in Holland spake very good Dutch he sent back his Company and his Canoe and supp'd and lodged with us that night At supper he told us that above a Month before there was a Flemish Ship put in at Rio-Sanguin for fresh water and wood but that discovering an English Vessel makeing towards them he weigh'd anchor 〈…〉 being a good sayler got off and that the Vessel that chaced them returned and steer'd his old course for Rio-Sextos He described the bulk of it so well we concluded it was the Ship we had seeing crusing up the Coast of Petit Dieppe He told us moreover that a while since the English had a house at Rio-Sanguin but for four years last past they had none and that a little Vessel going by lately had surprized about a douzen Mores near Crousester and carryed them away As we were hoisting sayle on the five and twentieth the King of Rio-Sanguin came aboard us attended with two other Canoes and about ten or twelve Mores He was an ancient man very grave and venerable his hair very white yet his person large and lusty his habit blew like their habits at Cap de Monte. That which was most remarkable was he drank neither Wine nor Strong-water nor Palme-Wine nothing but pure water he and his Brother both stayed with us till night and having received some presents they departed We had passed the place abovesaid as far as from Rio-Sanguin to Wapo where being at anchor the third of February about Sun-rising we discryed a Vessel at Sea making towords us with all the sayle she could make We thought at first it had been the English Piqueroon we had been told of for which reason we stood all that night to our armes but the next day the hopes we had of over-powring and takeing her vanished with the Vessel which we could never see more Till Saturday the fifth we spent our time wholly in traffick on which day having come to an anchor at Batou we discovered another Vessel coming towards us also with full sayles The number of Mores who were then aboard us hindered us from discovering them perfectly but coming nearer we could discry the Vessel to be as bigg as ours whereupon we dismist our Merchants weigh'd anchor and stood towards them directly resolved not only to defend our selves but to venture upon them When we were come within a league of him he hung out his Dutch colours and clapt his Cornette upon his Sprit-sayle and we hung out our French When we came nearer we knew the Ship to be a Frigat of Amsterdam of about 400 Tunn and 36 pieces of Ordnance set out by a private person and by the authority and consent of the East-Indy Company sent to Ardres The Captain called Wilere having boasted when we were in the Texel that if he found us upon these Coasts he would either sink or take us we took down our French colours and put up a red flagg endeavouring and tacking three hours together to get the wind of him he had all his sayles out and his caps up and yet sayled worse than we About Sun-setting he furled his sayles and having lost the wind and we within 20 paces of him he made signes with his hat to know if we were not the Europe he told us his name and calling for a glass of Wine began a good soup to our healths and we did him reason in our turn After which he took his leave continued his course to the Mine and we came that night to an anchor before Grand Sestre called formerly by the French Paris where the rest of our time we spent in our Negotiations and Trade This Coast is called the Coast of Malaguette in respect of the Pepper which I have mentioned before at Rio-Sextos which amongst the French is called Malaguette or Maniguette which commodity is more profitable than can be imagined especially if Pepper be dear and the Indy Fleet comes not unluckily in but if that falls out it sells not altogether so well This is the principal Commodity of this Coast and is sharper and hotter than the
his men whilst they were fishing and that the same Portugals we had traded withall had assisted them whereupon he thought himself obliged to vindicate himself and did it so effectually that he beat the house down with his great Guns killed several of the Mores which defended it and rescued his nine men paying three thousand weight of Ivory for their Ransome which had not been done had not the Mores upon the approach of these two Ships carryed them all into the Woods we gave him a Collation and then he took his leave About midnight the Captain himself came aboard us to drink and be merry with our Officers but he told us no more then his Lieutenant only this that the Mores who were by us when we weigh'd anchor to meet him had come to him and told him in these words If you be English you must run for it but if Dutch you are safe enough After which they all clapt themselves down close in their Canoes to attend what would follow and in case we had fought and one of us been sunk to have had the benefit of the pillage At his departure we gave him three Guns for a farewell which he repayed exactly when he got aboard we gave him a Cheese two Barrels of Powder and four Bullets he told us he was bound for the Mine from thence to Ardres to Capolopo and Gonsalves and that if he met with no prize there he would go unto the Isles but we heard afterwards at the Isle of S. Thomas that he pass'd by there with 400 Negroes which he had taken about the Cap de Lopes out of 2 Vessels which had put in there for fresh first water the first yeilded without any resistance the other having lost his maine mast he sunk to the bottom The same day the Mores perceiving we were friends came aboard us again to finish their Markets which being done the next we set sayle for the Golden Coast This Countrey produces a great quantity of Rice Pease Beans Berrys Citrons Oranges Cochonuts c. Besides which the Natives brought us Suger-Canes aboard of a very considerable bigness 'T is one of the best Countreys in Guinee the Hills and the Valleys are admirable the great Rocks of Mountains which are red with the constant verdure of the Trees wherewith they are covered by the variation of Colours make delicious prospect But even of these places the Grand Drouin and the Rio S. Andre are the best The Grand Drouin is situate in the midst of a little River which winds about a little Island betwixt 2 Mountains it is encompass'd with excellent Meadows and is wash'd so gently by the water you would think it was affraid to come near it Rio S. Andre of all Africk t s the properest place for building the River of the same name runs up far into the Countrey and not far from the place where it falls into the Sea it divides its self into two branches one running North-West and the other East It is bordered on both sides with very fair Trees environed with fine Meadows and Fields and is deep enough to carry a Yacht an indifferent way up The Rock at the Sea side at the mouth of the River is three hundred paces in circumference the top which being flat commands all the Countrey about it without any contest 'T is very steep towards the Sea and on the East-side and indeed inaccessible unless by the River on the West which makes it so near being an Island that the cutting but of 15 paces of earth would make it one entirely On all other sides it is encompass'd with Rocks under water upon which even a shallop would be lost The fresh water which comes out of a Fountain at the foot of a large Mountain which covers this Rock on the North-side may be defended from thence with the shot of a Faucon and the Towns of Petit-Drouin Tao and Groua are at no greater distance then the Grand-Drouin which is only one league and no more From the top of this Rock Giron may be discerned on the East built upon the side of a delicate large Meadow and Tabo on the West at the end of a fair Campagnia planted up and down with curious Woods which run up a good way into the Countrey and terminate at the foot of several great Mountains which are visible from thence Saturday the 9th of February we came to an anchor and took in fresh water all the rest of the day as well as on the Sunday and Munday following which gave me opportunity of considering these following observations The water we took in at this place served us almost till we came at the Isle of S. Thomas The Fountain is very pure but being shadow'd by a large Tree at the fall of the leave when they fall into the Fountain they render it something black for a time Upon these Coasts they have great quantities of Bullocks Goats Kids Hoggs and Dear which are so cheep one may buy a good Beef of them for a douzain of knives of about twenty pence and a good Roe Buck for the same price The People are well made strong lusty their limbs large and fat but their looks austere and dreadfull and 't is reported they do eat the Whites I never heard of any house built by the Europeans in these parts where they land but very rarely and have as little to do with them as they can 'T is not above thirteen or fourteen years ago since fourteen Hollanders were killed and eaten at Rio S. Andre as they were taking in fresh water without any occasion of quarrel for which reason we went alwayes well armed and were alwayes upon our guard The common people wear only a linnen cloth before but the Grandees and Nobles of the Countrey are conspicuous by a kind of Mantle they wrap about them and a Ponyard by their sides They are great lovers of great heads of hair which they breid for one another very handsomly and then bind them up upon their heads but the Womens hair they usually cut The women of Giron and Petit-Drouin had the curiosity to come and look upon us as we were takeing in water and to bring their daughters along with them the liniaments and features of their faces were so just and regular that bate them the unhappiness of their complexion they were absolute beauties Amongst fifty of them which I saw there was not any fat or tall wheras on the contrary not one of a hundred amongst the men but are both The women have only a cloth before and the least covered I observed any where upon those Coasts if there be any thing besides their colour amiss in their faces it is that they threaten revenge and mischief a little too much When they come aboard any Ship the Captain of it must come to them and it is their custom whilst they have one foot upon their Canoe and the other upon the Ship holding by one hand upon the
Rope they dip the other in the Sea and throw their handfull upon his head which is intended as a great instance of kindness and amity and in this they are so pertinatiously superstitious that without it they will never be forc'd nor perswaded to enter any Ship and when they would affirm any thing with more vehemence than ordinary they use the same ceremony They are so diffident and distrustfull they will never begot with all the art can be used either under deck or into any of the Cabains which the Mores of all other parts would do very freely They have a great fancy for bracelets of Iron with rings and bells upon them with which kind of Gallantry most of their arms and legs are plentifully furnish'd they have great store of Mulettoes among them We could not understand their language nor they speak one word of Portugais When they came first aboard us they cryed Qua Qua Qua which we found afterwards to be as much as you are welcome or good morrow for which reason the Hollanders have given the name of Quaqua to a good part of this Coast they made great use of that word especially if their Gutts had been filled The Commodities which this Countrey yeilds are Elephants teeth so large sometimes that they weigh 200 weight a piece and then they are worth 10000 livers If we may credit those that live on the Gold Coast which are their Neighbours they have so great number of Elephants that they are forc'd for their security against them to make their houses under ground They kill as many of them as they can but that which accommodates them with so many teeth is that the Elephants doe shed them every three year as the Staggs doe their Horns This Countrey affords likewise good store of Cotton of which they make a pritty sort of stuff strip'd with white and blew about three quarters broad and three or four ells long which is much valued amongst them and sold afterwards at a good rate upon the Gold Coast to cover their Pesantry there They have Gold amongst them likewise undoubtedly for without any Commerce or communication with their Neighbours they bind up their hair for the most part with hair laces of Gold very curiously made I made a sign to one of them to know which way they came by it and he show'd me the great Mountaines up the Countrey afar off and sign'd to me from thence for which reason he that should make further discovery of these parts would questionless encounter many rarities and without any great difficulties in regard the Countrey consists for the most part of Plaines The Inhabitants here are more afraid off fire armes then of all the inventions in Guinee The 26 of February we weigh'd anchor and continuing our course all Sunday about evening we made the Golden Coast and stood to it directly COSTE D' OR OR THE GOLD COAST With a Relation of our occurrences there MVnday the last of February we came to an anchor at sixteen fathom low water at Asbini the first place upon the Gold Coast The Countrey thereabouts is very low the Town is seate'd upon the mouth of a River of that name which runs up North-West amongst the Hills and South into the Sea we stay'd there 3 days bartring for Gold-Sand The 4th of March we past before Albiani Tabo and other Towns upon that Coast The Countrey there is but low likewise very full of Trees but no River at all Those Canoes which came aboard us having assured us they had no Gold we gave them the go by and past on We thought to have doubled the Cape of Apollonia that night but two of their Canoes coming up to us and promising fair we beleived them and cast anchor The next day some of their Canoes brought some Gold which we bought of them though it was not much This Cape throws it self a far into the Sea and raising it self by degrees into Hills and then into a Mountain makes no unpleasant prospect But it is of no good access the Sea beating so violently upon it there is great danger in approching We weigh'd anchor again that night but the weather being calme we could not reach Axime before Sunday in the afternoon at which time we came to an anchor Axime is a Fort belonging to the Hollanders some twelve leagues distant from the Cape Apollonia situate upon the side of a River which runs up Northward also into the Countrey and abounds with Gold-Sand which is esteem'd the best of all that Coast Its banks are higher than either Asbini or Cape Apollonia Before this place we stay'd all Sunday and Munday but perceiving the Dutch obstructed the Mores coming aboard us we weigh'd anchor on Tuesday and doubled the Cape de Tres-Puntas so called from three Mountains which appear so at a distance and by the convenience of their position do make two little but convenient Bayes In the afternoon we appear'd before Botrou which is another little Fort belonging to the Hollander situate beyond the Cape upon an eminence at whose foot runs a brook that is not unpleasant We stay'd here as long as we had any Trade and departed the 11th being Friday We weigh'd anchor at that time and came to anchor again betwixt Saconde and Takorai about six leagues distant from Botrou they are seated amongst the Mountains which lean as it were upon the banks of the River they lye so near it at which place we received Letters from the Governour of Frederisbourg not far from Cape Corse offring us his road if we pleased in consideration of the alliance betwixt France and Denmark desiring us also to secure some of his Merchandise for him We remained there Friday and Saturday and it was no small trouble to me to see an antient Fort which had been formerly ours in its ruines and rubbish it was at Takorai upon a Mountain which commanded the whole Countrey the sides of it spake it but barren being quite naked of either Trees or Grass and the stone of a reddish complexion On Sunday the 23th we weigh'd anchor and in two hours appear'd in the road de Comendo whose Inhabitants are greater lovers of the French than of any other Europeans The Town that may consist of about a hundred houses is built on the Sea-side and watered by a Rivulet which falling into the Sea likewise on the South forms a pritty Channel and Harbour for Canoes and Shallops The East-side lyes low but the West rises into a hill which being flat a top is very convenient to build upon The house appertaining formerly to the French stands upon the North-end of the Town which runs up into the Countrey and raises it self into little hills by degrees at whose feet there are very fair Fields and Meadows planted up and down with variety of fruit The Mores which came aboard us were in great anxiety and disorder to resolve which way they should signifie their joy Their King held
the shutes or siences growing downwards as soon as they touch the water or the earth they take new root and by that means make a Hedge sometimes of 10 or 12 yards broad The Inhabitants of this Countrey are very well made I observ'd very few of them Camous'd the men much more civil than at Cap-Verd they are always clothed and for the most part more modest In the Town of Boure there cannot be above 300 houses according to the estimation of some of our men who were there and told me among other things that the Pallace of their King is built likewise in the middle of the Town and would not make a good residence for a Justice of Peace Their Women are generally common every man has as many of them as he pleaseth and prostitutes them to Strangers as he thinks good except only the first which are kept with great jealousy and circumspection all along these Coasts so as properly the other are nothing but Concubines According to the computation of every body I spake with there may be in Boure about 4 or 500 men besides women and children Their King is a Roman Catholick his name Philippes and has a Capuchin and a Jesuit in his Court. In an Island called Saint Andrew I entred into one of their houses and found it built of sticks and dirt on one side a little window covered with leaves a hole for the dore and a small fire in the middle they lye upon matts made of great rushes which they place in a corner and have their Arms by their sides which for the most part are swords daggers darts bows and arrows the head of which they impoison with fruit of a certain tree whose poison is so inconceiveably subtil and quick it runs immediatly into the blood and affects it so suddenly it is no easy matter either to prevent or cure it Which fruit is long like a raddish and green Some of them have their Guns which they all of them are fond of and do use with great dexterity Their Religion also is various the great Commerce the Portugals have in this place and the great numbers that inhabit there already have converted many of them the rest being Mahumetans and Idolators They pay a reverence extraordinary to certain extravigant figures which they call Fetiches worship them as Gods pray to them punctually Morning and Night and when at any time they have any thing better then ordinary either Meat or fish or their Palm-Wine they throw it all down upon the ground in honour to their Gods As I went a shore one day in the Canoe of a certain More I heard him muttering to himself and having distinguish'd these words Abraham Isaac and Jacob I asked him what he was doing he told me he was giving thanks to his Fetiche for having preserved him at Sea and that the rest of the Mores as they had occasion did always the same They all of them carry their Fetiches in little baggs either upon their hearts or their shoulders tendring them meat Night and Morning constantly they trim them up with Rasade or little grains of glass of all colours which they take to be the greatest Ornament in the world This Country produces great quantity of Rice of Millet and Mays which is a kind of Turkish Corne they make their bread off and is not very ill Some of them having wash'd their Rice in Sea water will eat it raw and without any ill effect Their common diet is fish and great store of fruits as Berrys Figgs Pears Prunes Oranges Citrons and a kind of Chestnut not altogether so good as in Europe but it has the virtue to quench the thirst though one be never so dry These Mountains produce great quantities of Goats Hoggs Lyons Tygres Elephants wild Bores Harts and Roebucks which last are so numerous they bring them on Ship board and truck them for little or nothing But the Serpents if we may believe either the Mores or the Portugals doe increase so unmeasurably that some of them will swallow a Man at a gulpe The Mores are perpetually at wars with them and doe use a certain herbe which is admirably good against poison against the bites of all the Beasts they encounter The Apes run up and down every where in great Troops destroying their plants where ever they come upon which score the Mores are their implacable enemies as well as the Elephants hunting and persuing them perpetually and sometimes eating them when they have done I have tasted of their flesh which is not bad and in my judgement comes very near our Beef All of them speak Portugais and are very apprehensive of being drunk for which reason especially amonst us they drank but little strong water The Merchandise this Countrey affords is Rice excellent Ivory Civet and some Amber Greece Of all the Coasts this is one of the best for matter of trade seldome yeilding less profit then Cent pour Cent But the Portugals gain is much greater they buying their Ivory up higher in the Countrey and afterwards selling it again at the Sea side to other Merchants Four or five men might live in one of the little Isles in this River and be very well susteined by the labour of two or three Slaves The English have a Ware-house in one of those Islands and the Factor thereof writ to us several times to desire he might come to us and trade we told him he might doe it with safety and on the last of December upon our parole when we had finish'd our bargains for Ivory with the Portugals and Natives the said Englishman called Abraham came aboard us in his shallop rowed by three Slaves accompany'd by a certain Hollander and two others which belonged to him he was well received but after Supper contrary to the advice of all the rest the Captain made him a prisoner and the three Mores which were with him to their no small astonishment and on the first of January 1667. the great shallop was mann'd out with 30. men the Captain the Chyrurgion and my self with one piece of ordnance to besiege and plunder his house It is built of Brick and free stone defended with four pieces of Canon carrying a four pound bullet and incompass'd with a fair wood of Palm-trees which supplyed him with Wine On one side there are fifteen or twenty Cabines for the Natives and on the other a spring of very good water This Island is the best and most beautiful upon the River As we were about to land we discovered some 200 Mores got together about the house with their firelocks and a greater number up the woods at farther distance which obliged us to make a show of passing on higher as being the weaker and by consequence in more need of the advantage of the wind They imagined we had been going to Boure and immediately dispatch'd a Canoe to give Boulom the alarm and to advise him to come to them we persued this Canoe with all