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A52852
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The Isle of Pines, or, A late discovery of a fourth island near Terra Australis Incognita by Henry Cornelius van Sloetten.
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Neville, Henry, 1620-1694.
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1668
(1668)
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Wing N506; ESTC R27644
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20,690
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34
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adjudged to death and thrown off a steep Rock into the Sea the only way they have of punishing any by death except burning And now at last we took our solemn leaves of the Governour and departed from thence having been there in all the space of three weeks and two dayes we took with us good store of the flesh of a Beast which they call there Reval being in tast different either from Beef or Swines-flesh yet very delightful to the Pallate and exceeding nutrimental We took also with us alive divers Fowls which they call Marde about the bigness of a Pullet and not different in taste they are very swift of flight and yet so fearless of danger that they will stand still till such time as you catch them We had also sent us in by the Governour about two bushels of eggs which as I conjecture were the Mards eggs very lussious in taste and strenthening to the body Iune 8. We had a sight of Cambaia a part of the East Indies but under the Government of the great Cham of Tartary here our Vessel sprinâ—ing a leak we vvere forced to put to shore receiving 〈…〉 in some of our Commodities vve vvere forced to â—â—y the Pump for eighteen hours together vvhich had that miscarried vve had inevitably have perished here vve stai' d five dayes mending our Ship and drying some of our Goods and then hoising Sail in four days time more vve came to Calecute This Calecute is the chief Mart Tovvn and Staple of all the Indian Traffique it is very populous and frequerted by Merchants of all Nations Here vve unladed a great part of our Goods and taking in others vvhich caused us to stay there a full Moneth during vvhich space at leisure times I vvent abroad to take a survey of the City vvhich I found to be large and populous lying for three miles together upon the Sea-shore Here is a great many of those persons vvhom thy call Brachmans being their Priests or Teachers vvhom they much reverence It is a custome here for the King to give to some of those Brachmain the hanselling of his Nuptial Bed for which cause not the Kings but the Kings sisters sons succeed in the Kingdom as being more certainly known to be of the true Royal blood And these sisters of his choose what Gentleman they please on whom to bestow their Virginities and if they prove not in a certain time to be with child they betake themselves to these Brachman Stalions who never fail of doing their work The people are indifferently civil and ingenious both men and women imitate a Majesty in their Train and Apparel which they sweeten with Oyles and Perfumes adorning themselves with Jewels and other Ornaments befitting each Rank and Quality of them They have many odd Customs amongst them which they observe very strictly as first not knowing their Wives after they have born them two children Secondly not accompanying them if after five years cohabition they can raise no issue by them but taking others in thei◠〈◊〉 Thirdly never being rewarded for any Military 〈◊〉 unless they bring with them an enemies Head in their Hand but that which is strangest and indeed most barbarous is that when any of their friends falls sick they will rather chuse to kill him then that he should be withered by sickness Thus you see there is little employment there for Doctors when to be sick is the next wa n for to be slain or perhaps the people may be of the mind rather to kill themselves then to let the Doctors do it Having dispatched our business and fraighted again our Ship we left Calecute and put forth to Sea and coasted along several of the Islands belonging to India at Camboia I met with our old friend Mr. David Prire who was overjoyed to see me to whom I related our Discovery of the Island of Pines in the same manner as I have related it to you he was then but newly recovered of a Feaver the Air of that place not being agreeable to him here we took in good store of Aloes and some other Commodities and victualled our Ship for our return home After four dayes sailing we met with two Portugal Ships which came from Lisbon one whereof had in a storm lost its Top-mast and was forced in part to be towed by the other We had no bad weather in eleven dayes space but then a sudden storm of Wind did us much harm in our Tacklings and swept away one of our Sailors off from the Fore Castle November the sixth had like to have been a fatal day unto us our Ship striking twice upon a Rock and at night was in danger of being fired by the negligence of a Boy leaving a Candle carelesly in the Gun-room the next day we were chased by a Pyrate of Argiere but by the swiftness of our Sails we out ran him December the first we came again to Madagascar where we put in for a fresh recruit of Victuals and Water During our abode here there hapned a very great Earthquake which tumbled down many Houses The people of themselves are very Unhospitable and Treacherous hardly to to be drawn to Traffique with any people and now this calamitie happening upon them so enraged them against the Christians imputing all such calamities to the cause of them that they fell upon some Portugals and wounded them and we seeing their mischievous Actions with all the speed we could put forth to Sea again and sailed to the Island of St. Hellens Here we stayed all the Christmas Holy-dayes which was vere much celebrated by the Governour there under the King of Spain Here we furnished our selves with all necessaries which we wanted but upon our departure our old acquaintance Mr. Petrus Ramazina coming in a Skiff out of the Isle del Principe or the Princes Island retarded our going for the space of two dayes for both my self and our Purser had Emergent business with him he being concerned in those Affairs of which I wrote to you in April last Indeed we cannot but acknowledge his Courtesies unto us of which you know he is never sparing Ianuary the first we again hoised Sail having a fair and prosperous gail of Wind we touched at the Canaries but made no tarriance desirous now to see our Native Countrey but the Winds was very cross unto us for the space of a week at last we were favoured with a gentle Gale which brought us on merrily though we were on a sudden stricken again into a dump a Sailor from the main Mast discovering five Ships which put us all in a great fear we being Richly Laden and not very well provided for Defence but they bearing up to us we found them to be Zealanders and our Friends after many other passages concerning us not so much worthy of Note we at last safele arrived at home May 26. 1668. Thus Sir have I given you a brief but true Relation of our Voyage Which I was the more willing to do to prevent false Copies which might be spread of this nature As for the Island of Pines it self which caused me to Write this Relation I suppose it is a thing so strange as will hardly be credited by some although perhaps knowing persons especially considering our last age being so full of Discoveries that this Place should lie Dormant for so long a space of time Others I know such Nullifidians as will believe nothing but what they see applying that Proverb unto us That Travelors may lye by authority But Sir in writing to you I question not but to give Credence you knowing my disposition so hateful to divulge Falsities I shall request you to impart this my Relation to Mr. W.W. and Mr. P.L. remembring me very kindly unto them not forgetting my old acquaintance Mr. I. P. and Mr. I. B. no more at present but only my best respects to you and your second self I rest Yours in the best of friendship Henry Cornelius Van Sloetten Iuly 22. 1668. POST-SCRIPT ONe thing concerning the Isle of Pines I had almost quite forgot we had with us an Irish man named Dermot Conelly who had formerly been in England and had learned there to play on the Bag-pipes which he carried to Sea with him yet so un-Englished he was that he had quite forgotten your Language but still retained his Art of Bagpipe-playing in which he took extraordinary delight being one day on Land in the Isle of Pines he played on them but to see the admiration of those naked people concerning them would have striken you into admiration long time it was before we could perswade them that it was not a living creature although they were permitted to touch and feel it and yet are the people very intelligible retaining a great part of the Ingenuity and Gallantry of the English Nation though they have not that happy means to express themselves in this respect we may account them fortunate in that possessing little they enjoy all things as being contented with what they have wanting those alurements to mischief which our European Countries are enriched with I shall not dilate any further no question but time will make this Island known better to the world all that I shall ever say of it is that it is a place enriched with Natures abundance deficient in nothing conducible to the sustentation of mans life which were it Manured by Agri-culture and Gardening as other of our European Countries are no question but it would equal if not exceed many which now pass for praise worthy FINIS