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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A57484	The history of the Caribby-islands, viz, Barbados, St Christophers, St Vincents, Martinico, Dominico, Barbouthos, Monserrat, Mevis, Antego, &c in all XXVIII in two books : the first containing the natural, the second, the moral history of those islands : illustrated with several pieces of sculpture representing the most considerable rarities therein described : with a Caribbian vocabulary / rendred into English by John Davies ...; Histoire naturelle et morale des iles Antilles de l'Amerique. English	Rochefort, César de, b. 1605.; Davies, John, 1625-1693.; Breton, Raymond, 1609-1679.	1666 (1666)	Wing R1740; ESTC R16877	340,702	386

have been extreamly prodigal of what was most rare and precious in her Treasury to this Plant. It grows on a stalk about a foot high encompassed by about 15 or 16 leaves as long as those of some kinds of Thistles broad as the Palm of a mans hand and in figure like those of Aloes they are pointed at the extremity as those of Corn-Gladen somewhat hollow in the midst and having on both sides little prickles which are very sharp The fruit which grows between these leaves strait up from the stalk is sometimes about the bigness of a Melon its figure is much like that of a Pine-Apple its rind which is full of little compartiments like the scales of fish of a pale-green colour border'd with Carnation upon a yellow ground hath on the out-side several small flowers which according to the different Aspects of the Sun seem to be of so many different colours as may be seen in the Rain-bow as the fruit ripens most of these flowers fall But that which gives it a far greater lustre and acquir'd it the supremacy among Fruit is that it is crown'd with a great Posie consisting of flowers and several leaves solid and jagged about which are of a bright red colour and extreamly add to the delightfulness of it The Meat or Pulp which is contained within the rind is a little fibrous but put into the mouth is turn'd all to juice it hath so transcendent a taste and so particular to it self that those who have endeavour'd to make a full description of it not able to confine themselves to one comparison have borrow'd what they thought most delicate in the Peach the Strawberry the Muscadine-grape and the Pippin and having said all they could been forc'd to acknowledg that it hath a certain particular taste which cannot easily be express'd The vertue or shoot by which this fruit may be perpetuated lyes not in its root nor yet in a small red seed which is many times found in its Pulp but in that Garland wherewith it is cover'd for as soon as it is put into the ground it takes root shoots forth leaves and at the years end produces new fruit It happens sometimes that these fruits are charg'd with three posies or crowns all which have the vertue of propagating their species but every stalk bears fruit but once a year There are three or four kinds of them which the Inhabitants distinguish by the colour figure or scent to wit the White-Ananas the Pointed and that called the Pippin or Renette This last is more esteem'd then the other two inasmuch as being ripe it hath as to the taste all the rare qualities before described it hath also a sweeter scent then the others and does not set the teeth so much on edge The natural Indians of the Country and the French who live in the Islands make of this fruit an excellent drink not much unlike Malmsey when it hath been kept a certain time there is also made of it a liquid Conserve which is one of the noblest and most delicate of any brought out of the Indies they also cut the rind into two pieces and it is preserv'd dry with some of the thinnest leaves and then the pieces are neatly joyn'd together again and they ice it over with Sugar by which means the figure of the fruit and leaves is perfectly preserv'd and there may be seen in those happy Countries notwithstanding the heats of the Torrid Zone a pleasant representation of the sad productions of Winter In Physick the Vertues of it are these The juice does admirably recreate and exhilarate the Spirits and comfort the Heart it also fortifies the Stomack cureth Queasiness and causeth Appetite it gives present ease to such as are troubled with the Stone or stoppage of Urine nay it destroys the force of Poyson If the fruit be not procurable the root will do the same effects The water extracted from it by distilling hath a quicker and more effectual operation but in regard it is too corrosive and offends the mouth palat and uretory vessels it must be very moderately used and with the advice of an able Physician who knows how to correct that Acrimony SUGAR-CANES THe Reed which by its delicious juice supplies that substance whereof Sugar is made hath leaves like those of other Reeds which grow in Marshes and neer Ponds but only they are a little longer and sharper for if they be not taken with a certain care and sleight they will cut a mans hands like a Rasour It is call'd the Sugar-Cane and grows up in height between five and six foot and two inches about it is divided by several knots which are commonly four or five inches distant one from another and the greater the distance is between the knots the more Sugar are the Canes apt to yield The leaves of it are long green and grow very thick in the midst whereof rises the Cane which also at the top is loaden with several pointed leaves and one kind of knot of them which contains the seed it is as full as it can be of a white and juicy pith out of which is drawn that liquor that makes the Sugar It thrives extreamly in a fat soil so it be light and somewhat moist it is planted in trenches made at equal distances one from another either with a Hoe or a Plow about half a foot deep Having there laid the Canes being ripe they cover them with earth and a little while after out of every knot shoots forth a root and out of that a stem which produces a new Cane As soon as it appears above ground it must be carefully weeded all about that the weeds choak it not but as soon as it hath cover'd the ground it secures it self and keeps its footing as well as any Copse-wood might do and it may last fifty years without being renew'd so the main root be sound and not injured by the worm for if there be any jealousie of that the remedy is to take up the whole Plant as soon as may be and to order it all anew Though the Canes be ripe at the end of nine or ten moneths yet will they not be any way prejudic'd if continu'd in the ground two years nay sometimes three after which they decay But the best and surest way is to cut them every year as neer the ground as may be and below the last knot or joynt Those who cross the Fields when these Canes are come to maturity may refresh themselves with the juice of them which is an excellent beverage and hath the same taste with the Sugar But if it be taken immoderately it may occasion fluxes and looseness especially to such as are newly come into the Country for those who by a long abode there are in a manner naturaliz'd are not so subject to that inconvenience There grow also in some of these Islands those neat and precious Canes which are us'd in walking naturally marbled and enamell'd with several

Nature must certainly have been in an excellent good humor and had a mind to divert her self when she bestow'd such sumptuous robes on that little Queen among the Insects PALMER-WORM THere is a Worm or Vermine in English called a Palmer in French Millepied thousand footed from the almost infinite multitude of its feet which are as bristles under his body and help him to creep along the ground with incredible swiftness especially when he finds himself pursu'd This kind of Insect in the Caribbies is about six inches long The upper part of his body is cover'd all over with swarthy scales which are hard and joynted one within another like the Tiles of a House but what 's dangerous in this creature is that he hath a kind of claws both in his head and tail wherewith he twitches so home and so poysons the place wounded that for the space of four and twenty hours and sometimes longer the party hurt feels a very sharp pain SPIDERS THere are in several of the Islands certain great Spiders which some have ranked among the Phalanges by reason of their monstrous figure and bigness which is so great that when their legs are spread abroad they take up a larger place then the Palm of a mans hand their whole body consists of two parts whereof one is flat and the other of a round figure smaller at one end like a Pigeons egge They have all of them a hole on their back which is as it were their Navel their mouth cannot easily be discern'd because it is in a manner cover'd over with hair which commonly is of a light grey but sometimes intermixt with red it is armed with two sharp tushes which are of a solid matter and of a black colour so smooth and shining that some curious persons have them set in gold for Tooth-picks and are highly esteemed by those who know they are endued with a vertue to preserve from pain and all corruption those parts that have been rubbed therewith When these Spiders are grown old they are covered all over with a swarthy Down which is as soft and as close as Velvet their body is supported by ten feet which are a little hairy on the sides and have below certain small points like bristles which help them to fasten more easily on those places up which they would climb All these feet issue out of the fore-part of the Insect having each of them four joynts and at the ends they are armed with a black and hard horn which is divided into two parts like a fork They every year shift off their old skin as the Serpents do as also the two tushes which serve them for teeth and are their defensive arms those who meet with these precious exuviae may therein observe the perfect figure of their body such as it is represented among the Sculps of this Chapter Their eyes are very little and lye so deep in their heads that they seem to be only two small points they feed on Flies and such vermine and it hath been observ'd that in some places their Webs are so strong that the little Birds caught in them have had much ado to get away the same thing is affirmed of the Spiders which are found in the Bermudez Islands inhabited by the English It is probable they are of the same kind FLYING-TYGER THere is another Insect called by some the Flying-Tyger because its body is chequer'd with spots of several colours as the Tyger is It is about the bigness of the horned Beetle The head is sharp and hath two great eyes as green and sparkling as an Emerald his mouth is arm'd with two hard hooks extreamly sharp with which he holds fast his prey while he gets out the substance of it The whole body is cover'd with a hard and swarthy crustiness which serves him for armor Under his wings which are also of a solid matter there are four lesser wings which are as thin as any silk It hath six legs each whereof hath three joynts and they are bristled with certain little prickles In the day time he is continually catching other Insects and in the night he sits on the Trees whence he makes a noise like that of the Cigales BEES and some other Insects THe Bees which are in the Islands differ not much from those of the Southern part of America but both kinds Ch 15. American Swallow p 89. Eagle p 93. Flammant p 88. The Colibry or Humming bird p 93 Craw-fowle p 87 Caat p 88. Pintado p 89. There are also in these Islands horned Beetles or Bull-flies and an infinite number of Grass-hoppers and Butter-flies the sight whereof very much delights the eye There are withall both on the ground and in the air several very troublesome and dangerous Insects which extreamly annoy the Inhabitants But of these and some other inconveniences we shall give an account in the two last Chapters of this first Book CHAP. XV. Of the more considerable kinds of Birds which may be seen in the Caribbies ALL the works of God speak the magnificence of the Worker the disposal of them declares his wisdom the Earth is full of his productions but we must acknowledg that of all the Creatures not endued with any thing above a sensitive life the Birds do more loudly then any publish his goodness and Providence and by the sweet harmony of their singing the activity of their flight and by the lively colours and beauty of their feathers excite us to praise and glorifie that Sovereign Majesty which hath so advantageously adorn'd and embellish'd them with so many rare perfections Having therefore in the precedent Chapters treated of the Trees Plants Herbs Four-footed Beasts Reptiles and Insects which the Caribby Islands do plentifully produce to furnish the Earth we shall in this Chapter describe the rare Birds which inhabit the Air of these pleasant Countries and enrich the perpetual Verdure of so many precious Trees wherewith they are crowned FREGATES AS soon as any Ships come neer these Islands several Birds which frequent the Sea come to them as if they had been sent to enquire whence they came When the Sea-men perceive these Visitants they are satisfi'd that it will not be long ere they shall see Land Yet are they not to flatter themselves with that hope till they see them coming in great Companies for there is one kind of them which many times flye above two hundred leagues from Land The French have bestow'd on them the name of Fregates Frigots because of the continuance and lightness of their flight Their body is about the bigness of a wild Drake's but their wings are very much larger and they make their way through the air with such swiftness that in a very short time they will be out of sight There are several kinds as to their feathers for some are all black others all grey save only the belly and wings in which there are some white feathers They are excellent good at fishing and when

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

Historians as this hath been the Old-world would have a much more particular account thereof than it hath at the present They have also thought it not beside their purpose especially in the Moral part of the History to cite the Writings of divers other well-known Authours not out of any design to enlarge the Volume as some might haply imagine but to make a certain parallel between the Morality of our Caribbians and that of divers other yet Barbarous Nations which they conceiv'd would not be undelightful to some even though they looked on them as so many digressions from or interruptions of the Carribbian History But what censure soever may be passed on them they hope that if any shall think them not necessarily relating to the main design of the Draught they may nevertheless view them with a certain pleasure as the Drapery consisting of Flowers and Fruits c. for the greater ornament of the Piece Discourse is the image of the thought but the Draught of a thing by way of Painting or Graving represents the thing it self From this consideration it came that this Piece is further adorn'd with several pieces of Sculpture to the end that the Idaeas of the things particularly treated of might be the more throughly imprinted in the Readers mind by a sensible demonstration thereof Thus much as to the Authours and Directors of the Original Edition The Publisher of the English hath only these few Remarks to trouble the Reader withal 1. That possibly those of the English Nation who are inhabitants in the Caribbies may have peculiar names for divers of the Plants Beasts Birds Fishes c. mentioned in this Treatise much different from those which the Publisher hath used Some of them upon consulation with such as had lived in those parts he made a shift to get and in all likelihood might have gotten most of the rest had not the breaking forth of the lâst years Contagion caus'd most of the Inhabitants of London to retire to their Country Habitations and Friends 2. The Reader is to note that where some accident is said to have happened four or five or some other number of years since as for instance pag. 14. where it is said in these words that two years since they were forced to quit their Villages c. it is to be referred to the coming forth of the Original Edition which was in the year M. DC LVIII 3. That whereas there might well be expected before this Work a Map of the Caribby-Islands in general as also particular ones of the most eminent Islands the Reader is to content himself with this satisfaction from the Stationers that if an accurate one of the whole that is such a one as might have been suitable to the other Embelishments of the present Work could have been procured it should not have been wanting With this further assurance that if what is done at the present meet with the reception expected the next Impression shall be furnished not only with the forementioned Map but also some other Pieces of Ornament whereof the last years distraction and want of time now have obstructed the insertion Lastly whereas many persons of worth though more in the Original then in the Translation are mentioned in several places as Inhabitants of the foresaid Colonies there is only this to be said that as the instancing of them adds somewhat to the certainty of the Relations so it may likewise serve to undeceive many Europaeans who are either so ill-informed of those Islands or so prejudic'd against them as to be perswaded that for the most part they are only the refuges and receptacles of Bankrupts and debauched persons the contrary being most certain to wit that they are inhabited by an infinite number of Families of good repute which live civilly and in the fear of God J. D. THE HISTORY OF THE Caribby Islands THE FIRST BOOK ●ontaining the NATURAL History of those ISLANDS CHAPTER I. Of the Scituation of the Caribbies in general the Temperature of the Air the Nature of the Country and its Inhabitants BEtween the Continent of that part of America which lies Southward and the Eastern Quarter of the Island of St John Porto-Rico there are certain Islands making up together the Figure of a Bow and so dispos'd that they cross the Ocean as it were by an oblique line They are by some called the Antilles of America probably upon this account that they make a kind of bar before the greater Islands which are called the Islands of America If so the word should be Ant-Isles as being compos'd of the Greek word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifies opposite and Isles or Iles But the English commonly call them the Caribby-Islands and the Caribbies There are also who call them the Cannibal-Islands from the names of the ancient Inhabitants and they are read in some under the name of the Camerçane Islands These Islands were first discovered by Christopher Columbus under the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella King and Queen of Castile and Leon in the year of our Lord One thousand four hundred ninety and two There are numbred of them in all twenty eight lying under the Torrid Zone acounting from the eleventh degree of the Aequator to the nineteenth Northward Some Authors as Linscot in his History of America taking the name of the Antilles in a more general signification attribute it to the four greater Islands to wit Hispaniola Cuba Jamaica and Porto-Rico as well as to these twenty eight The Air of all these Islands is temperate and healthy enough especially to such as have lived any time in them The Plague heretofore was not known in these Parts no more than it was in China and some other places of the East But some years since most of these Islands were much troubled with malignant Fevers which the Physitians held to be contagious That corruption of the Air was occasion'd by some Ships which came from the Coast of Africk but now there is no talk of any such Diseases The heats are not greater in these parts than they are in France during the Months of July and August and through a particular care of Divine Providence between eight and nine in the morning there rises a gentle East-wind which many times continues till four in the afternoon refreshing the Air and allaying the soultriness of the heat Josephus Acosta affirms That in the greater Islands of America this cooling wind blows about Noon Thus through all the compass of the Torrid Zone the wise Disposer of humane concernments hath ordered cool and regular Winds to alleviate the scorching heats of the Sun It is never cold in the Caribbies and Ice is a thing was never seen in those parts nay it would be accounted a kind of prodigy to find that where All things are clad in a perpetual green And Winter only in the Snow of Lillies seen But the Nights there are extreamly cool and if a Man be uncovered during that time he is

Fietro one of the Canaries affirm that this is much of the same figure It may be about eight leagues in length and six in breadth There are in it several high Mountains between which are very fruitful Plains if they were cultivated The Caribbians have many fair Villages where they live pleasantly and without any disturbance And though they have a jealously of the strangers that live about them and stand on their Guard when they come to their Roads yet do they not deny them the Bread of the Country which is Cassava Water Fruits and other Provisions growing in their Country if they want them taking in exchange Wedges Hooks and other implements of Iron which they much esteem BARBADOS THe Barbados which is the same that is called by the French Barboude lyes between the 13 and 14 degree North from the Equator and Eastward from St. Alousie and St. Vincent The English who planted a Colony there in the year M. DC XXVII allow it to be about 25 leagues in compass but greater in length then breadth There is in the whole Island but one River which truely deserves that name but the Countrey lying low and even there are in several places Pools and Reservatories of fresh water which supply the scarcity of Springs and Rivers Most houses have also Cisterns and Wells which are never dry At the first Cultivation the Earth promised not much but experience hath evinc'd the contrary it plentifully producing Tobacco Ginger Cotten and especially Sugar-Canes insomuch that next to St. Christophers it is the most frequented by Merchants and the most populous of all the Antilles About the year 1646. they accounted in it about twenty thousand Inhabitants not comprehending in that number the Negro-Slaves who were thought to amount to a far greater There are many places in this Island which may justly be called Towns as containing many fair long and spacious Streets furnish'd with a great number of noble Structures built by the principal Officers and Inhabitants of this flourishing Colony Nay indeed taking a full prospect of the whole Island a man might take it for one great City inasmuch as the houses are at no great distance one from another that many of those are very well built according to the rate of Building in England that the Shops and Store-houses are well furnish'd with all sorts of Commodities that there are many Fairs and Markets and lastly that the whole Island as great Cities are is divided into several Parishes which have very fair Churches The most considerable of the Inhabitants think themselves so well that it is seldom seen they ever remove thence This Island is very famous in all parts by reason of the great abundance of excellent Sugar it hath afforded these many years 'T is true it is not so white as that which comes from other parts but it is better esteemed by Refiners because it hath fairer grain and yields more when it is purifi'd St LUCY's S T Lucy's Island lyes at 13 deg 40 scr on this side the Line It was heretofore frequented only by a small number of Indians who came to fish thereabouts But some time since the French of Martinico came and kept them company There are two high Mountains in the Island which are very cold They are seen at a great distance and are called by the French Les Pitons de St. Alousie At the descent of these Mountains there are pleasant Valleys cover'd with great Trees and water'd with Springs The air is conceiv'd to be healthy and that the soil will be fruitful when it shall be a little better discover'd then it is yet MARTINICO THe Island of Martinico which the Indians call'd Madanina lyes at the altitude of fourteen degrees and thirty scruples on this side the Line It is about sixteen leagues in length of an unequal breadth and about forty five in compass The Soil of it is pleasant which makes it at this day one of the most populous of all the Caribbies The French and Indians are joyntly possess'd of it and have liv'd a long time in very good correspondence Mons Parquet is the present French Governour of it Of all the Caribbies this is the most uneven Island that is the most full of Mountains which are very high and intermixt with inaccessible Rocks The fruitful parts of it consist in certain round Hills or eminences as also in very delightful skirts of Mountains and some Plains or Valleys which are extreamly pleasant The Mountains of it are not to be inhabited and serve for the feeding and retreat of wild Beasts Serpents and Snakes whereof there is great abundance Yet are these Mountains well furnish'd with wood which in bigness and length exceed any in Europe and bears fruit and food for the wild Boars and Birds As for the Hills and skirts of Mountains they are for the most part inhabitable and of a good soil but very troublesome to manure For some of them are so high and steepy that people can hardly work on them without danger or at least without holding by a Tobacco-stalk or some Tree with one hand that they may work with the other The Tobacco which grows on these eminent places is ever the best and esteem'd above that which grows in the Valleys and bottoms which have not so much presence of the Sun For the Tobacco which grows in bottoms and places encompass'd with Woods is ever full of yellow-spots as if it were burnt and neither takes well nor keeps well These enclosed places are also unhealthy and those who work in them contract an ill colour and the new-comers who are not accustomed to that air do sooner in these then in any other places catch that griping of the Belly which is so common in these Islands There being two different Nations in this Island it is accordingly divided between them to wit the Indians the natural Inhabitants of the Country and the French who laid the foundations of this Colony in July in the year 1635. under the Conduct of Mons Desnambuc who brought them from St. Christophers and left them in quiet possession of this place That part of the Island which is inhabited by the Indians is comprehended in one quarter which is called the Cabes-terre without any other distinction The part occupied by the French and called Basse-terre is divided into five quarters which are by them called La Case du Pilote La Case Capot Le Carbet Le Fort St. Pierre and Le Prescheur In each of these Quarters there is a Church or at least a Chappel a Court of Guard and a Magazine for Arms about which are built several large and fair Store-houses both for the Commodities that are imported and those of the growth of the Island The Quarter of the Case du Pilote is so called from a Savage Captain who had sometimes lived there and glory'd much in the name Pilot which the French had given him He discover'd to Mons Parquet the engagements which those of

was upon the Mountain entertain'd them with loud cries of rejoycing as accounting them to have put a period to the Ceremony and looking on them as the Children and Messengers of the Sun they immediately got into the Woods As soon as these Birds were gone the people march'd down in order from the Mountain and passing neer the Temple the Priests who were still in their Office caus'd them to enter into it and after they had washed their hands and their faces in the Fountain they order'd them to go out at the same entrance which was divided by a small partition purposely made there to prevent confusion and disorder Then at their coming out they took another way which led them into the Road that conducted to the Mountain and was the same by which they had ascended and so every one made towards his own home The poor whereof the Priests had a Catalogue staid till all the rest were gone and receiv'd from their hands the Garments and all the other Presents which the rich had made to the Sun to be distributed among them which done all left the Mountain and there was an end of the Ceremony But now since the greatest and most considerable part of the people who are Inhabitants of the Provinces of Bemarin and Matica and particularly the King and City of Melilot have embraced the Christian Religion this Mountain and its Temple are not much frequented unless it be out of curiosity Nor does the King permit his Subjects of the other Provinces who have not receiv'd Baptism to go up thither to perform their Sacrifices and all their ancient Superstitions They believ'd the immortality of the Soul but they had so disguis'd this Truth with Fables that it was in a manner smother'd thereby They embalm'd the bodies of their deceased Relations with several sorts of Gums and Aromatical Drugs which had the virtue of preserving them from corruption and after they had kept them sometimes above a year in their houses they buried them in their Gardens or in the neighbouring Forests with great lamentations and ceremonies They shew to this day at the foot of the pleasant Mountain of Olaimi the Sepulchres of several of their Kings which are cut in the Rock there is planted before every one of them a fair Cedar for the better observation of the place and more exact continuance of their memories To make a greater expression of their mourning and to shew how much they bewail'd the death of their Friends and Kinred they cut off some part of their hair But when any King died they shav'd the whole head and suffer'd not their hair to grow again till they had bewail'd him for the space of fifteen months The Knowledge which the Apalachites have of God they have attain'd to by several degrees For to go to the bottom of the business it is about an Age since that the first Seeds of Christian Religion were sown in that part of Florida by a French Colony consisting of several Persons of Quality which was brought thither and establish'd there by one Captain Ribauld in the time of Charles the Ninth King of France The first thing he did was to build a Fort which he named Carolina in honour of His Christian Majesty He impos'd also on the Capes Ports and Rivers of that Country the names they are at the present known by so that along the Coast a man finds a place called the Port Royal the French Cape the Rivers of Seine Loyre Charante Garonne Daufins May Somme and several other places which have absolute French names and consequently are a manifest argument that the said Nation have heretofore had some command there But what is more worthy observation and conduces more to our purpose is that at this first Expedition for Florida there went along with the Adventurers two Learned and Religious Persons who immediately upon their arrival in the Country made it their business by all sorts of good offices to insinuate themselves into the affections of the Inhabitants and to learn their Language that so they might give them some knowledge of God and the sacred mysteries of his Gospel The Memorials which Captain Ribauld left behind him as to that particular shew how that the King Saturiova who govern'd the Quarter where the French had establish'd themselves and who had for Vassals to him several little Kings and Princes who were his Neighbours receiv'd those Preachers very kindly and recommended it to all his Subjects that they should have a singular esteem for them so that the affection those poor people bore them and the fidelity and zeal the others express'd for the advancement of their Conversion rais'd even then very great hopes that the work of the Lord would prosper in their hands and that that little portion of his Vineyard being carefully dress'd would in time bring forth many good and precious fruits to the praise of his grace These happy beginnings and first-fruits of the Gospel of our Saviour Jesus were afterwards augmented and advanc'd by the cares of Monsieur the Admiral de Coligny who gave a Commission to one de Laudoniere to carry over thither a considerable supply of Soldiers and all sorts of Tradesmen which arriv'd in the year One thousand five hundred sixty and four But these last Adventurers had hardly taken the air in the Country after their arrival thither ere the Spaniard who imagines that all America belongs to him and who hath ever been jealous of the French Nation made his advantage of the disorders which were then in that Country to traverse the generous designs of the Directors of that hopeful Colony and smother it as 't were in the Cradle To that purpose he sent thither Peter Melandez with six great ships full of men and ammunition who fell upon it on the nineteenth of September M D LXV Monsieur de Laudoniere and Captain Ribauld who had not long before brought the Colony a small recruit of men considering that it would be madness to think to oppose such a powerful force resolv'd with the advice of most of the Officers to capitulate and deliver up the place to the stronger party upon such honourable conditions as people besieg'd are wont to demand Peter Melandez granted them most of the Articles they had propos'd but assoon as he was got into the Fort and had secur'd the Guards he broke the promise he had made them and violating the Law of Nations he cruelly massacred not only the Soldiery but also all the women and children whom he found within the place and who could not make their escape by flight Captain Ribauld fell in the Massacre but de Laudoniere made a shift to escape through the Fenns to the ships newly come from France which by good fortune were still in the Road Some others of the Inhabitants who upon the first arrival of the Spaniards had foreseen the danger likely to fall upon them got in time into the woods and in the night time

if we may use such an expression And yet they are not only free from that insatiable covetousness which makes the Christians undertake so great and so dangerous voyages but also from the curiosity of seeing any other Country in the world as being enamoured of their own more than any other And thence it comes that imagining we should not be more curious than they are nor less lovers of our Countries they are astonish'd at our Voyages wherein they have the honour to be like Socrates of whom Plato gives this testimony that he had no more design to leave Athens with any intention to travel than the lame and the blind and that he desired not to see other Cities nor to live under other Laws being as to this particular as far as our Caribbians from the opinion of the Persians among whom it is come into a Proverb that he who hath not travell'd the world may be compared to a Bear But we are to note further that our Caribbians of the Islands have not only an aversion from travelling into any other parts of the world but they would not also willingly suffer any of theirs to be carried away into a strange Country without an absolute promise within a short time to bring them back again But if it happens through some misfortune that any one of them dies by the way there is no thinking of any return among them for there is no hope of reconciliation But if they have no curiosity for things at a great distance from them they have much for those that are neerer hand insomuch that if a man open a chest in their presence he must shew them all that is in it otherwise they will think themselves dis-obliged And if they like any thing of what they see therein though it be of ever so little value they will give the most precious thing they have for it that so they may satisfie their inclination As concerning Traffick true it is that having treated about something they will fall off from what they have promised But the secret to make them stand to their bargain is to tell them that a Merchant ought to be as good as his word For when they are press'd upon in point of honour and reproached with inconstancy as if they were children they are ashamed of their lightness Theft is accounted a great crime amongst them wherein it must be acknowledged they shew themselves more rational than Lycurgus who allowed that vice in the Lacedaemonian children as a very commendable employment provided they did their business cleaverly and Hocus-pocus-like But the Caribbians have so natural and so great an aversion for that sin that there is no such thing found among them which is very rare among Savages For most of them are Theeves and thence it is that some of their Islands have their name thence But for the Caribbians as they are are not of their own nature any way inclined to thieving so they live without any distrust one of another So that their Houses and Plantations are left without any body to look to them though they have neither doors nor inclosures after the same manner as some Historians relate of the Tartars But if the least thing in the world be taken from them such as may be a little knife wherewith they do strange things in Joyner's work they so highly prize what is useful to them that such a loss is enough to set them a weeping and grieving for the space of eight days after it nay will engage them in combinations with their friends to get reparations and to be reveng'd on the person whom they suspect guilty of the theft Accordingly in those Islands where they have their habitations neer those of the Christians they have often revenged themselves of those who had as they said taken away any of their little houshould-stuff And in those places when they find something wanting in their houses they presently say Some Christian hath been here And among the grievances and complaints which they make to the Governours of the French Nation this comes alwaies in the front Compere Governour thy Mariners so they call all the forreign Inhabitants have taken away a knife out of my Cot or some other piece of houshold-stuff of that kind The Inhabitants of Guinny would not make any such complaints For if they chance to lose something they are of a perswasion that some of their deceased Relations having occasion for it in the other world came and took it away The Caribbians are a people as it were associated in one common interest and they are of all people the most loving one to another being in that particular far from the humour of those Astaticks of Java who speak not to their own Brothers without a dagger in their hands so distrustful are they one of another From this affection which our Savages mutually bear one another does it proceed that there are few quarrels and animosities among them But if they are once injur'd either by a Stranger or one of their own Countrymen they never forgive but contrive all the waies they can to be revenged Thus when any of those Imposters whom they call Bogez makes them believe that one of those whom they account Sorcerers is author of the mischief that hath happened to them they endeavour all they can to kill him saying Yaraliatana he hath bewitched me Nebanebouibatina I will be revenged of him And this furious passion and desire to be revenged is that which makes them so brutish as we said before as to eat the very flesh of their Enemies whereof we shall give the particulars in their proper place This implacable animosity is the vice generally reigning among them and it exercises the same Tyranny without any exception over all the Savages of America The revenge of the Inhabitants of Canada is sometimes very pleasant for they eat their own lice because they have bitten them If the Brasilians hurt themselves against a stone to be revenged they bite it as hard as they can It is observed also that they bite the Arrows which light upon them in fighting Without any obligation to Lycurgus or his Laws the Caribbians by a secret law of nature bear a great respect to ancient people and hear them speak with much attention expressing by their gesture and a little tone of the voice how much they are pleas'd with their discourses And in all things the younger sort comply with the sentiments of the ancient and submit to their wills It is reported they do the same in Brasil and China The Young men among the Caribbians have no conversation either with the Maids or married Women And it hath been observed that the men are less amorous in this Country than the women as they are in several other places under the Torrid Zone Both the men and women among the Caribbians are naturally chast a quality very rare among Savages And when those of other Nations

things they have no knowledge at all of FINIS A TABLE Of the CHAPTERS Of the first Book of this History CHAP. I. OF the Scituation of the Caribbies in general the Temperature of the Air the Nature of the Country and its Inhabitants pag. 1. CHAP. II. Of each of the Caribby-Islands in particular p. 6. CHAP. III. Of the Islands which lie towards the North. p. 14. CHAP. IV. Of the Island of St. Christopher p. 21. CHAP. V. Of the Lee-ward Islands p. 24. CHAP. VI. Of Trees growing in these Islands whose Fruit may be eaten p. 28. CHAP. VII Of Trees fit for Building Joyners-Work and Dying p. 39. CHAP. VIII Of Trees useful in Medicine and some others whereof the Inhabitants of the Caribbies may make great advantages p. 44. CHAP. IX Of other Trees growing in these Islands whose Fruits or Roots contribute to the subsistence of the Inhabitants or serve for some other uses p. 50. CHAP. X. Of the Plants Herbs and Roots growing in the Caribbies p. 54. CHAP. XI Of some other rare Productions of the Caribbies and several sorts of Pulse and Flowers growing in those Islands p. 61. CHAP. XII Of five kinds of four-footed Beasts found in these Islands p. 69. CHAP. XIII Of the Reptiles found in these Islands p. 72. CHAP. XIV Of the Insects commonly seen in the Caribbies p. 78. CHAP. XV. Of the more considerable kinds of Birds which may be seen in the Caribbies p. 85. CHAP. XVI Of the Sea and River-Fish of the Caribbies p. 97. CHAP. XVII Of the Sea-Monsters found in these Islands p. 100. 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 p. 107. CHAP. XIX Of certain Shell-Fish rare Shells and other remarkable productions of the Sea found on the Coasts of the Caribbies p. 119. CHAP. XX. Of Amber-greece its Origine and the marks of that which is good and without mixture p. 127. CHAP. XXI Of certain Creatures living partly on Land partly in the Waters commonly called Amphibia which may be found in the Caribby-Islands p. 131. CHAP. XXII Containing the particular Descriptions of several sorts of Crabs or Crab-fish commonly found in the Caribbies p. 139. CHAP. XXIII Of Thunder Earth-quakes and the Tempests sometimes happening in the Caribbies p. 143. CHAP. XXIV Of some other inconveniences of the Country and the remedies thereof p. 146. A Table of the Chapters of the second Book of this History CHAP. I. OF the Establishment of those Inhabitants who are Strangers in the Islands of S. Christopher Mevis Gardeloupe Martinico and some other Islands of the Caribbies p. 157 CHAP. II. Of the Establishments of the French in the Islands of S. Bartholomew S. Martin and Sante-Cruce p. 173. CHAP. III. Of the Establishment of the French Colony in the Island of Gardeloupe consequently to the Peace concluded with the Caribbians of Dominico in the Year M. DC XL. p. 178. CHAP. IV. Of the Trading and Employments of the Forreign Inhabitants of the Country and first of the Culture and ordering of Tobacco p. 187. CHAP. V. Of the manner how Sugar is made and of the preparation of Ginger Indico and Cotton p. 194. CHAP. VI. Of the more honourable Employments of the Europaean Inhabitants of the Caribbies their Slaves and their Government p. 198 CHAP. VII Of the Origine of the Caribbians the natural Inhabitants of the Country p. 204. CHAP. VIII By way of Digression giving an account of the Apalachites the Nature of their Country their Manners and their ancient and modern Religion p. 228 CHAP. IX Of the Bodies of the Caribbians and their Ornaments p. 249. CHAP. X. Certain Remarks upon the Caribbian Language p. 259. CHAP. XI Of the Dispositions of the Caribbians and their Manners p. 265. CHAP. XII Of the natural simplicity of the Caribbians p. 271. CHAP. XIII Of that which may be called Religion among the Caribbians p. 276. CHAP. XIV A continuation of that which may be called Religion among the Caribbians Of some of their Traditions and of the Sentiment they have of the Immortality of the Soul p. 283. CHAP. XV. Of the Habitations and House-keeping of the Caribbians p. 291. CHAP. XVI Of the ordinary Repasts of the Caribbians p. 297. CHAP. XVII Of the Employments and Divertisements of the Caribbians p. 304 CHAP. XVIII Of the Entertainment which the Caribbians make those who come to visit them p. 309. CHAP. XIX Of what may be accounted Polity amongst the Caribbians p. 313. CHAP. XX. Of the Wars of the Caribbians p. 317. CHAP. XXI Of the Treatment which the Caribbians make their Prisoners of War p. 326 CHAP. XXII Of the Marriages of the Caribbians p. 332. CHAP. XXIII Of the birth and education of Children amongst the Caribbians p. 336. CHAP. XXIV Of the ordinary Age of the Caribbians their Diseases the Remedies used by them in order to the Recovery of their Health their Death and Funeral Solemnities p. 342 FINIS * Lib. 2. c. 3. De Lery c. 8. Voyage de Breves Trigaut Hist Chin. l. 1. c. 8. Garcilasso l. 8. c. 13. Carpin in Bergeron L. 3. c. 4. This is affirmed by divers Historians too many to be cited Vin. Le Blanc par 3. c. 16. Dutch Relations Lib. de mor. German This is affirmed by divers Historians Lib. 22. c. 1. In the life of Severus Lib 33. c. 7. De Lery c. 12 Part. 3. c. 16. Ch. 13. Pluta in his Life Islands of Robbers Carpins Travels into Tartary De Lery c. 11. 14. Linscot Semedo Garcilasso's Commentary Royal l. 3. c. 8 Des Hayes Travels into the Levant Garcilasso l. 9. c. 16. Montagne's Essays l. 1. c. 8. De Lery c. 16 Garcilasso l. 9. c. 29. Caret is a kind of Tortoise-shell P. Junius in his Relations of New-Fra De Lery c. 11 Pirard of the Animals of the East-Indies c. 2. Vin. le Blanc Garcilasso l. 8. c. 7. Voyage to the East Indies 1630. Tusc Quoest Elie eans son Thisby De Lery c. 16 Pirard ' s Travels part 1. c. 27. De Lery c. 16 Garcilasso l. 2. c. 7. De Laet l. 5. c. 7. Rubriques in his Travels into Tartary De Nat. Deor lib. 2 Garcil Com. Royal l. 2. c. 12. l. 6. c. 11. Trigaut ' s History of China c. 4. L. 16. c. 38. Deut. c. 13. Busbequius in his Embassies l. 3. Ctesias Carpin ' s Travels into Tartary Lib. 2. Lib. 9. De Lery c. 19. History of Plants 1. 7. c. 10. De Lery c. 9. Relation of New-France Rubriques Carpin Busbequius Des Hayes Bergeron Vin. leBlanc Garcilasso Plut. in his Life Des Hayes Travels to the Levant Garc. Com. Royal li. 5. c. 11. l. 6. c. 35. Herod l. 5. De Laets Hist of America Judg. 20. 16. De Lery c. 12. Acosta l. 3. c. 15. Fr. Pirard part 1. c. 2. De Lery c. 13. Comment Royal l. 1. c. 11. Trigaut l. 1. c. 7. Rusbequius lib. 4. Rubriques in his Travels into Tartary Pirard Linscot Garcilasso Des Hayes and others Lib. ● Lib. 15. Symp. 1. 3. qu. 2. Trigaut l. 1. c. 7. De Lery c. 14. De Lery c. 14. De Lery c. 13. Chap. 12. Plut. in the Life of Lycurgus Q. Curt. Justin l. 9. Garcilas l. 5. c. 12. Lib. 3. c. 25. Travels of Villamont lib. 2. Paludanus in Linscot c. 76. Vin. le Blanc Linscot de Laet. Accosta le Jeune Lib. 4. Lib. 10. Montagn ' s Essays l. 1. c. 30. De Lery c. 15. Ch. 8. Garcilas l. 1. c. 12. Ibid. De Laet. hist of America Somedo hist of China p. 1. c. 2. Lib. 4. Garcil l. 6. c. 10. Bergeron's Treatise of the Tartars Garcil de Laet Linscot Garcilas Com. Royal. Garcil l. 7. c. 17. Roulox Baro Rubriques in their Travels Vin. le Blanc p. 1. c. 15. 25. Lib. 3. Vin. le Blanc p. 1. c. 24. De Laets History of America Garcil l. 1. c. 14. 15. l. 7. c. 17. Strab. l. 11. a In the East-Indies b At Madagascar c The Peruvians d The Floridians Vin. le Blan. p. 1. c. 30. Alex. ab Alexandro l. 1. c. 24. De Laets History The Dutch Relations De Laet Pirard p. 1. c. 27. Conquest of the Canarys by Berencourt Vin. le Blanc p. 1. c. 3. Lib 3. Pirard p. 1. c. 12. De Lery c. 17. History of Lopez Plut. in their Lives Dutch Relations Linscot c. 16. V. le Blanc p. 1. c. 32. Garcil Lincot De Laet. Pirard Herod l. 5. De Laet Maffaeus Alex. ab Alexandro Fran. Cauche Pirard ●a● 1 De Lery c. 17. Pl●t in the Life of Lycurgus Lescarbot Garcil Lescarbot Le Blanc Pirard De Mor German Bergeron ia his Treatife of Navigations Essays l. 2. c. 3. Ch. 8. De Laets Hist of America Lescarbot Dutch Relations p. 1. c. 24. Lescarbot Part 1. c. 34. p. 1. c. 26. Bergeron Lescarbot De Laet. Plac. Phil. l. 5. c. 30. Lescarbot De Laet. De Lery c. 20. Linscot c. 1. Villamont ' s Travels l. 3. Dutch Relations V. le Blanc p. 1. c. 24. Aelian l. 3. c. 38 Lib. 4. c. 12. Ael l. 4. c. 1. Herod l. 5. Philost in the Life of Apollonius l. 5. c. 1. Drake's Voyages part 2. Xenoph. Cyropaed l. 8. Plin. l. 7. c. 54. De Lery c. 5. Dutch Relations l. 1. Plot. in his Life Acosta De Lery P. Junius Fran. Cauche Th. Nicholas in Bergeron Carpin Trigaut Acosta ' s Hist of China De Laet Garcil Pirard Linscot c. Virgil Arian Tacitus Lib. 7. c. 12. Carpin De Lery Dutch Relations De Lact Junius