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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
end_n	leaf_n	small_a	yellow_a	1,452	5	9.7612	5	false

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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

had its production and growth INDIAN-WOOD THE Indian-wood is also a precious Tree and of good scent Of this there is such abundance in the Island of S. Croix and several others that there are in them whole Forests of it It is not inferior to the Rose-wood but grows bigger and higher when it meets with good ground The roots of it spread themselves very deep into the ground and the trunk is very strait The bark is smooth thin and even all over of a bright silver-grey colour and in some places inclining to yellow which is a distinction between this Tree and all others It flourishes once a year in the season of the Rains and then it renews some part of its leaves The wood of it is very solid and weighty whence it comes that it may be polish'd and some Savages make their Clubs of it Having taken off a Vermilion-pith which is under the bark there appears the heart of the tree which is extream hard and of a Violet colour for which it is much esteemed by the curious The good scent of this tree consists particularly in its leaves they are of the same figure with those of the Guava-tree and when they are handled they perfume the hands with a sweeter scent then that of the Laurel they derive to Meat and Sauces so delicate a gusto as might be attributed rather to a composition of several Spices then to a simple leaf It is used also in the Baths prescrib'd by Physicians to fortifie bruised Nerves and dry up the swelling which remains in their Legs who have been in malignant Fevers Besides the Acajou before spoken of there are in these Islands several sorts of trees whereof the wood is red solid weighty and not subject to worms and putrefaction They are excellent for both Carpenter and Joyner IRON-WOOD BUt above all there is a particular account made of the Iron-wood so called because in solidity weight and hardness it exceeds all those we have yet described This tree which may be ranked among the highest and best proportioned of any in these Islands is well furnish'd with branches and those with little leaves with sharp points and divided neer the stalk It flourishes twice a year to wit in March and September The flowers of it which are of a Violet colour are succeeded by a small fruit about the bigness of a Cherry which as it ripens grows black and is much sought after by the Birds The bark of the trunk is of a brownish colour The wood is of a very bright red being newly fell'd but lying abroad in the air it loses much of its liveliness and lustre The heart of the Tree is of a very dark red like that of Brasil and of such hardness that the wedges must be very sharp and well try'd before to bring it to the ground But the wood of it being fair to the eye solid easie to be polish'd and more incorruptible then either Cedar or Cypress it abundantly requites by all these excellent qualities the pains is taken about it before there can be any use made thereof There is also another Tree known by the same name but it is not comparable to the former It bears only small leaves and when it flourisheth it is loaden with abundance of Posies as it were rising up above the branches like so many Plumes of Feathers which give it an extraordinary ornament It is of a great height and the inner-bark is yellowish or white according to the places where it grows All the wood of this Tree the heart only excepted which is very small very hard and inclining to black is subject to worms whence it comes that it is not commonly used but for want of other There are in the Caribbies many Trees fit for Dying The most esteemed and best known are the Brasil-wood the Yellow-wood the Green-Ebony and the Roucou BRASIL-WOOD THe Brasil-wood is so called because the first brought into Europe came from the Province of Brasil where it grows more abundantly then in any other part of America Of this kind of Tree there are not many in the Caribbies and what there is is only in those Islands which are most furnished with dry rocks The trunk of it is not strait as that of other Trees but crooked uneven and full of knots like the White-Thorn When it is loaden with flowers there comes from it a sweet scent which fortifies the Brain The wood of it is much sought after by Turners but the principal use of it is for Dying YELLOW-WOOD THe Island of S. Croix is the most famous of all the Islands for its abundance in rare and precious Trees There is one very much esteem'd for its usefulness in Dying It grows up to a great height and the wood is perfectly yellow When the English had the Island they sent much of it to their own Country It is called the Yellow-wood from its colour GREEN-EBONY THe Green-Ebony is commonly used in some excellent pieces of Joyners-work because it easily takes the colour and lustre of the true Ebony But the best use of it is for Dying for it colours a fair Grass-green The Tree is very bushy by reason its root shoots forth a great number of Suckers which hinder it from growing so high and big as it might if the sap were directed only to the trunk The leaves are smooth and of a bright-green colour Within the outer-bark there is about two inches of white inner-bark and the rest of the wood to the heart is of so dark a green that it inclines to black but when it is polish'd there appear certain yellow veins which make it look as if it were marbled ROUCOU THe Roucou is the same Tree which the Brasilians call Urucu It grows no higher then a small Orange-tree Its leaves which are pointed at one end have the figure of a heart It bears flowers in colour white mixt with Carnation they consist of five leaves in form like a Star and about the bigness of a Rose They grow in little bushes at the extremities of the branches These flowers are succeeded by little huskes in which are enclosed several seeds about the bigness of a small Pea which being come to ripeness are of the most bright and lively Vermilion colour that can be imagined This rich Dying-Commodity which is enclos'd in the said husk is so soft and viscous that it sticks to ones fingers as soon as it is touch'd To get this precious liquor they shake in an earthen vessel the seeds unto which it is fastened then there is poured thereto warm water in which they are wash'd till such time as they have lost their Vermilion colour and then when this water hath rested a while they dry in the shade the dregs or thick Lye which is at the bottom of the vessel and then it is made up into Lozenges or little Balls which are very much esteem'd by Painters and Dyers when they are pure and without mixture as those are whereof we

called Mappou and divers kinds of thorny wood others only satisfie the smelling by their sweet scents others have venemous qualities as the Milkie-tree as also that whose root reduced to powder and cast into rivers inebriates the Fish the Mancenilier which we shall describe in its proper place and an infinite number of others the wood whereof is white soft and of no use and have yet got no names among the foreign Inhabitants of those parts CHAP. IX Of other Trees growing in these Islands whose Fruits or Roots contribute to the subsistance of the Inhabitants or serve for some other uses IT hath pleased the great Contriver of all things to divide that Element which we call Earth into several Countries each whereof he hath endued with certain advantages and conveniences not to be found in other places that by such a delightful variety of things he might make a more distinct and remarkable demonstration of his own all-cherishing Providence But it must be acknowledg'd that in the distribution which the Divine Wisedome hath made of its bounties the Caribby-Islands have had a very large portion For to confine our selves to the design we intend to prosecute not only the greater sorts of Trees which we have described in the former Chapters contribute to the Shelter Nourishment Cloathing Health and several other accommodations of the Inhabitants but there are also divers shrubs or lesser Trees which either shoot forth Roots or bear Fruits conducing to the same purpose as shall be seen in the perusal of this Chapter MANYOC INstead of Wheat the Inhabitants make use of the root of a small Tree called Manyoc by some Manyot and by others Mandioque of which is made a kinde of Bread delicate enough called Cassava whence it is also sometimes called the Cassava-tree This root is so fruitful that a small parcel of ground planted therewith will feed more persons then six times as much sown with the best Wheat could do It shoots forth crooked branches about the height of five or six foot easie to be broken and full of small knots the leaf is narrow and somewhat long at nine moneths end the root comes to its maturity Nay it is reported that in Brasil it grows to the bigness of a mans thigh in three or four moneths If the ground be not too moist the root may continue in it three years without corrupting so that there needs no Store-house o● Garret to put it up in for it is taken out of the ground as it is spent To propagate this Root you must take of the branches and cut them in pieces about a foot in length then make trenches in your Garden with a Hoe and thrust in three of those sticks triangle-wise into the earth which had been taken out of the trenches and wherewith a little hill or tump had been rais'd this is called Planting by the trench But there is another way of planting Manyoc much more expeditious and more easie but the Manyoc is neither so fair nor so much esteemed as the other The way is only thus to make a hole in the ground with a stick and to thrust the Manyoc strait into it care must be had in the planting of it that the knots be not set downwards for if they should the Manyoc sticks would not grow The Indians never plant it otherwise but that it may ripen in its season they observe a certain time of the Moon and see that the ground be not too moist There are several kinds of these shrubs differing one from the other only in the colour of the bark of their wood and of their root Those which have the bark greyish or white or green make a very good tasted bread and grow up in a short time but the roots they produce do not keep so well nor thrive comparably to those of the red or violet Manyoc which is the most common the most esteem'd and the most advantageous in house-keeping The juice of this root is as cold as Hemlock and so effectual a poyson that the poor Indians of the greater Islands being persecuted with fire and sword by the Spaniards to avoid a more cruel death made use of this poyson to destroy themselves There is to this day to be seen in the Island of Hispaniola otherwise call'd S. Domingo a place called the Cave of the Indians where there are the bones of above four hundred persons who ended their lives there with this poyson to avoid the cruelties of the Spaniards But let this juice which is so venemous to all sorts of living creatures rest four and twenty hours after it is taken from the root and it loses that malignant and dangerous quality PALMA-CHRISTI THere are in these Islands an infinite number of the shrubs called Palma-Christi or Ricinus and they grow up so high and so big in some places that they would be taken for a different kind from those commonly seen in Europe The Negroes gather the seed and extract an oyl from it wherewith they rub their hair to keep themselves clear from vermine The qualities attributed to it by Galen and Dioscorides confirm the use these Barbarians make of it the leaf of this shrub is sovereign for the healing of some kinds of Ulcers as being very attractive There grow in all these Islands two kinds of shrubs or rather great Reeds spongy within growing of themselves in fat ground neer little rivulets or in Valleys not annoyed by winds They are commonly called Banana-trees or Planes and Fig-trees or Apple-trees of Paradise These two kinds of shrubs have this common to both 1 That they grow of equal height to wit about twelve or fifteen foot above ground 2 That their stalks which are of a green colour shining spongious and very full of water shoot out of a great Onion like a Pear encompass'd with many little white roots which fasten it to the ground 3 That they have shooting forth at the foot of the stems certain Scyons which bear fruit at the years end 4 That when one stem is cut off for the getting of the fruit the most forward next that succeeds in its place and so the shrub is perpetuated and multiplies so exceedingly that in time it spreads over all the good ground neer it 5 That the substance of both is very soft and reducible into water which though extreamly clear yet hath the quality of dying Linen and white Stuffs into a dark brownish colour 6 That their Fruits lye at the top of the stem like great clusters or posies And lastly that their leaves which are about four foot or more in length and a foot and a half in bredth may serve for Napkins and Towels and being dried make a soft kind of Couch or Bed to lye upon These two shrubs have this further resemblance that which way soever their fruit be cut when it is come to maturity the meat of them which is white as snow represents in the middle the form of a Crucifix especially when it

Casubyrs assure us that the Brasilians live no less nay that sometimes they exceed a hundred and sixty And in Florida and Jucatan some have gone beyond that age Nay it is reported that the French at the time of Laudoniere's voyage into Florida in the year MDLXIV saw there an old man who said he was three hundred years of age and Father of five Generations And if we may credit Maffaeus an Inhabitant of Bengala in the year 1557. made it his boast that he was three hundred thirty five years of age So that all this consider'd it is no incredible thing that our Caribbians should live so long Aselepiades as Plutarch relates was of opinion that generally the Inhabitants of cold Countries liv'd longer than those of hot giving this reason that the cold keeps in the natural heat and closes the pores to that end whereas that heat is easily dispersed in those Climates where the pores are kept open by the heat of the Sun But experience in the Caribbians and so many other Nations of the Torrid Zone who ordinarily live so long while our Europaeans commonly dye young destroies that argument When it happens that our Caribbians as sometimes it must are troubled with any indisposition they have the knowledge of abundance of Herbs Fruits Roots Oils and Gums by the assistance whereof they recover their health in a short time if the disease be not incurable They have also an infallible secret to cure the stinging of Snakes provided they have not touch'd a vein for then there is no remedy This is the juice of a certain Herb which they apply to the wound and in four and twenty hours they are infallibly cured The bad nourishment of Crabs and other insects on which they commonly feed is the cause that they are most of them subject to a troublesome disease which in their language they call Pyans as the French call it a kind of small Pox When those who are fallen into this disease eat of the Fram-Tortoise or of Lamantin or of Caret which is another kind of Tortoise they are immediately full of little risings inasmuch as these meats force the disease out they have also many times great Impostumes Cornes and Carbuncles in divers parts of the body To cure those which proceed for the most part from the bad nourishment they use they have the bark of a tree called Chipiou bitter as soot which they steep in water and having scrap'd into that infusion the inner part of a great shell called Lambys they drink up that potion They also sometimes pound the bark newly taken from certain trees of Miby or other Withyes which creep along the ground or fasten on trees and drink the juice gotten from it but they do not willingly make use of this remedy but when the trees are most full of sap Besides these Medicines wherewith they purge the ill humours within they also apply outwardly certain unguents and liniments which have a particular vertue of taking away the blisters and marks which commonly remain on their bodies who have been troubled with the Pyans They make up these Remedies with the ashes of burnt Reeds mixt with the water which they get out of the leaves at the top of the Balisier-tree They also use to the same end the juice of the Junipae fruit and they apply on the botches the husks of the same fruit which hath the vertue of drawing away the matter of the wounds and to close up the Ulcers They have not the use of Phlebotomy but they use scarifications upon the place affected by scratching or opening it with the Tooth of an Agouty and causing it to bleed a little And to take off somewhat of the astonishment which might be conceived at what we have represented elswhere concerning the incisions which these Barbarians make on themselves upon divers occasions whereby it might be imagin'd their bodies should be as it were mangled and covered with scars it is to be noted that they have also certain secrets and infallible remedies to cure themselves presently and to close the wounds so that a man cannot easily observe the least scar about their bodies They also make use of artificial Baths and provoke sweat by a kind of stove wherein they inclose the Patient who receives his absolute cure by that remedy The Sorriqueses do also sweat their sick but sometimes they moisten them with their breath And for the cure of wounds they and the Floridians suek out the blood as was practis'd by the ancient Physitians when any one had been bitten by a venemous beast causing him who was to do that office to be prepar'd for that purpose It is reported also that our Caribbians when they have been stung by some dangerous Serpent cause the wound to be sucked by their Wives after they have taken a drink which hath the vertue of abating the force of the venome The Topinambous do also suck the affected parts though there be no wound which is also sometimes done in Florida And the Turks when they are troubled with any defluxion and pain either in the head or any other part of the body burn the part affected Some Barbarian Nations have much stranger remedies in their Diseases as may be seen in Histories It is reported that the Indians of Mechoacam and Tabasco in New-Spain to cure themselves of Fevers cast themselves stark-naked into the River thinking thereby to drown the disease Some thing of the same kind hath also been seen among the Caribbians for Monsieur du Montel met there one day an old man washing his head in a very cold spring and having asked him the ●eason of it the man replyed that it was to cure himself for he was much troubled with cold and yet contrary to all rules of our Medicine this strange remedy prov'd fortunate to the old man for the same Gentleman met him the next day very well and lusty and quite cur'd of his indisposition and the Savage failed not to brag of it and laugh at the French-man for pitying him the day before The Caribbians are very shye in communicating their secrets in Medicine especially the women who are very skilful in all those cures nay they are so careful in keeping to themselves the sovereign Remedies they have against the wounds made by poisoned Arrows that no rewards could yet prevail with them to discover them to the Christians But they are very willing to come and visit them and to dress them when they stand i● need of their assistance For a person of quality among the French having been dangerously bitten by a Serpent was happily recovered by their means Which kindness of theirs makes them differ much from those brutish people of Guinny and Sumatra who have no compassion on their own sick but leave them to shift for themselves like so many poor beasts But the ancient people of the Province of Babylon concern'd themselves so particularly in all Diseases that the sick were