that very weakly in comparison of the brightness it sheds being at liberty it hath no sting nor any claw for its defence The Indians are glad to have of them in their houses for they serve them instead of Lamps but indeed of their own accord in the night time they come into those rooms which are not kept too close There are in these Islands certain shining Worms which also flie All parts of Italy and all the other parts of the Levant are also full of them But how famous soever these little Stars of the East may be yet are they but small sparkles in comparison of the great fire which these flying Torches of America cast forth For they do not only guide the Traveller by shewing him his way in the night but with the assistance of this light a man may easily write and read the smallest Print that may be A Spanish Historian relates that the Indians of Hispaniola having these Flies fasten'd to their hands and feet they serv'd them instead of Torches to go a hunting in the night time it is affirmed also by others that some other Indians extract that luminous liquor which these Flies have in their eyes and under their wings and that they rub their faces and breasts therewith in their nocturnal meetings which makes them appear in the dark to the beholders as if they were covered with flames and like dreadful apparitions These Flies are easily taken in the night time and that is done by turning a lighted stick in the air For as soon as those which at the close of the evening are ready to come out of the woods perceive that fire imagining it to be one of their companions they immediately flye to the place where that light appears to them and so they may be either struok down with a Hat or flying of themselves against the lighted stick they fall to the ground not knowing where they are Nor will it be amiss to insert in this place what a learned and curious French Gentleman one Mons du Montel from whose generous liberality came several other remarks which enrich this History lately writ to a friend of his concerning these Flies Being in the Island of Hispaniola saith he I have often at the beginning of the night walk'd about the little Huts we had set up for our abode there while our Ship was repairing to consider how that the Air was in some places enlightned by those little wandring Stars But the most pleasant sight of all was when they came neer those great Trees which bear a kind of Figs and were not far from our Huts for sometimes they flew about them sometimes they would be within the thick boughs which for a time obscur'd and eclips'd those little Luminaries yet so as that their beams might ever and anon be seen to break through though weakly the interposed leaves those pretty interruptions of light came to us sometimes obliquely sometimes in a straight line and perpendicularly Afterwards those glittering Flies extricating themselves out of the obscurity of those Trees and coming neerer us we had our pleasure heightned by seeing them on the adjacent Orange-trees which they seem'd to set a fire gilding those beautiful fruits enamelling their flowers and giving such a lustre to their leaves that their naturally delightful verdure was extreamly encreas'd by the pleasant combination of so many little lights I wish'd my self at that time the Art of Painting or Drawing that I might represent a night enlightned and as it were turn'd into day by so many fires and so pleasant and luminous a piece of Landskip Think it not much that I am so long about the story of a Fly since Du Bartas sometime gave it a place among the Birds and in the fifth Day of his first Week speaks very nobly of it in these terms New-Spain's Cucuyo in his forehead brings Two burning Lamps two underneath his wings Whose shining rays serve oft in darkest night Th' Embroiderer's hand in royal works to light Th' ingenious Turner with a wakeful eye To polish fair his purest Ivory Th' Usurer to count his glist'ring Treasures The learned Scribe to limne his golden measures If five or six of these Flies were put into a vessel of fine Crystal no doubt the light of them would be answerable to the Poets description and be a living and incomparable Tortch But it is to be noted that these Flies shine not at all when once they are dead their light being extinguish'd with their lives PHALANGES TO come to the other kinds of great Flies to be seen in these Islands and which some call Phalanges besides the Cucuyos there are some that be much bigger and of a strange figure There are some have two snouts like that of an Elephant one turning upwards the other downwards Some others have three horns one rising out of the back and the other two out of the head The rest of their body as also their horns is black and shines like Jet There are some have one great horn about four inches in length much after the fashion of a Wood-cocks bill very smooth on the upper side and covered with a certain downiness on the lower which horn rising out of their back reaches in a direct line to the head on which there is another horn like that of the horned Beetle which is as black as Ebony and transparent as glass The whole body is of the colour of a wither'd leaf smooth and flourished like Damask their head and mouth are like those of an Ape they have two large yellow and firm eyes a wide mouth and teeth like a little Saw Hear what account our curious Traveller gives of it I have seen saith he one kind of these great Flies which I thought extreamly beautiful It was about three inches in length the head of it was azure not unlike that of a Grass-hopper save that the two eyes were as green as an Emerald and encompass'd by a small white streak the upper side of the wings was of a bright violet colour damask'd with several compartiments of carnation heightned by a small natural thread of silver the compartiments were dispos'd with such an exact observance of Symmetry that a man would think that the Compass and the Pencil had in the doing of it employ'd all the rules of Perspective and the Shadows of Painting The neather part of the body was of the same colour with the head save that there were six black feet neatly bending towards the belly When the wings which were hard and solid were spread abroad there might be seen two other lesser wings which were thinner then any silk and as red as Scarlet This kind of Fly I saw in the Island of S. Croix in the custody of an English Gentleman and I immediately writ down this description of it I thought at first it had been artificial because of that lively Carnation colour and the string of silver but having taken it into my hands I acknowledg'd that
What was further remarkable is that this fish had upon the head a kind of crown rising above the skin about two inches and made oval-wise the extremities whereof ended in a point Above three hundred persons of that Island did eat of the meat of it and that plentifully and thought it extremely delicate It was interlarded with a white fat and being boiled it came up in fleaks like fresh Cod but it had a much more excellent taste Those who had seen this rare fish alive and had with great Levers broken the back of it affirmed that he had made prodigious attempts to thrust them with his horn which he turned with an inexpressible dexterity and nimbleness and that if he had had as much water under him as would have born him up he would have been too hard for them all When the entrails were taken out it was found that he liv'd by prey for there were within him the scales of several kinds of fish What could be preserv'd of this miraculous Animal especially the head and the precious horn fasten'd in it hung up neer two years at the Guard-house of the Island till Monsieur Le Vasseur the Governour of it presented one Monsieur des Trancarts a Gentleman of Xaintonge who had given him a visit with the Horn. Not long after coming over in the same Ship with the Gentleman who had that precious rarity put up in a long Chest our Ship was cast away neer the Island of Fayala one of the Assores and all the Goods were lost but nothing so much regretted as the loss of that Chest There is in the Northern Seas another kind of Unicorns which are many times by the Ice carried to the Coast of Iseland They are of so prodigious a length and bulk that most Authors who have written of them rank them among Whales They are not cover'd with scales as the formentioned describ'd by us was but with a hard black skin like the Lamantin They have but two fins on both sides and a large plume upon the back which being narrower in the midst then at either end makes as it were a double crest rising up for the more convenient dividing of the waters they have three vent-holes a little below their necks at which they cast up the superfluous water they had swallow'd as the Whales do their heads are sharp and on the left side of the upper jaw there comes out a horn white all over as the tooth of a young Elephant which horn is sometimes fifteen or sixteen foot in length It is wreath'd in some places and streaked all over with small lines of a pearl-colour which are not only on the superficies of it but run through the substance The horn is hollow to the third part and all over as solid as the hardest bone Some will have this prominency to be rather a tooth then a horn because it rises not out of the forehead as that we have spoken of nor yet from the upper part of the head as those of Bulls and Rams but out of the upper jaw in which it is set as the teeth are in their proper places Those who are of this opinion say further that it is not to be wondred these fishes should have but one such tooth when the substance out of which others should be produced is quite exhausted in the making of that one which is of such a prodigious length and bigness as might suffice to make a hundred But whether this strange defensive wherewith these monstrous fish are armed be called Tooth or Horn certain it is that they use it in their engagements with the Whales and to break the Ice of the Northern Seas wherewith they are oftentimes encompassed Whence it came that some times there have been seen of them such as by reason of the violent service they have been in in disingaging themselves out of those icy mountains have not only had their horns blunted at the point but also shattered and broken off The figures of both this kind and that cast ashore in the Tortoise Island may be seen among the Sculps While we were ordering the foregoing story for the satisfaction of the Publick a Ship of Flushing commanded by Nicholas Tunes wherein M. Lampsen one of the Deputies of that Province in the Assembly of the States-General and other considerable Merchants of the same Town were concern'd coming in from Davis-streight brought thence among other rarities several excellent pieces of the Unicorns of the Northern Seas of that kind we spoke of before and in regard the Relation sent us of that Voyage may very much clear up the matter we treat of we conceive the Reader will take it kindly to be entertain'd with it assuring himself he hath it with the same sincerity as it was communicated to us The Captain of whom we have this Relation leaving Zealand at the end of the Spring 1656. with a design to discover some new Commerce in the Northern parts arrived at the end of June following in Davis-streight whence having entred into a River which begins at the sixty fourth degree and ten minutes of the Line Northward he sailed to the seventy second under which the Country we intend to describe lyes As soon as the Inhabitants of the Country who were then a fishing perceived the Ship they came towards it with their little Boats which are so made as that they carry but one person The first who attempted it occasion'd the joyning of so many others to them that in a short time there was a squadron of seventy of those little vessels which parted not from the foreign Ship till it had cast Anchor in the best Haven where by their acclamations and all the signs of friendship and good will that could be expected from a Nation so far unacquainted with civility they express'd the extraordinary joy they conceived at its happy arrival These little vessels are so admirable whether we consider their materials or the strange industry in the making of them or the incomparable dexterity whereby they are conducted that they may well be allow'd a place among the descriptions which this delightful digression shall furnish us with They consist of little thin pieces of wood whereof most are cleft like Hoops These pieces of wood are fasten'd one to another with strong cords made of the guts of fishes which keep them together in a figure fit for the uses to which they are design'd They are cover'd on the out-side with the skins of Sea-Dogs which are so neatly sewn together and so artificially done over with Rozin about the seams that the water cannot make the least entrance into them These little Boats are commonly about fifteen or sixteen foot in length and they may be in the midst where they are biggest about five foot circumference from that place they grow smaller and smaller so that the ends or extremities of them are very sharp and plated as it were with a white bone or a piece of the
they are lodg'd It is more sharp and grating to the ear then that of Frogs and Toads and they change their notes according to the variety of the places where they lurk they are seldom seen but a little before night and when any of them are met in the day time their motion which is such as we before described it is apt to frighten the unwary beholder SCORPIONS and other dangerous Reptiles THere are also in these parts Scorpions like those commonly seen in France and other places but they have not so dangerous a venom they are yellow grey or dark-colour'd according to the different soils in which they are bred Some who have broken up fenny places for Wells or receptacles for water have often met with a most hideous kind of Lizzards They are in length about six inches the skin of their back is black and beset with small grey scales which by their extraordinary shining a man would think were oyl'd their bellies are also scaly as well as their backs but the skin which covers it is of a pale yellow their heads are small and picked their mouths are wide enough and furnish'd with several teeth which are extreamly sharp they have two little eyes but not able to endure the light of the day for as soon as they are taken out of the ground they immediately endeavour to make a hole in it with their pawes which have each of them five hard and crooked clawes wherewith they break the ground just as the Moles do and so make their way whither they please they are very destructive in Gardens gnawing the roots of Trees and Plants their biting is also as venemous as that of the most dangerous Serpent CHAP. XIV Of the Insects commonly seen in the Caribbies NOt only the Heavens and other vast and more excellent parts of Nature declare the glory of their Almighty Maker but even the least and most despicable of his productions do also discover the work of his hands and raise their minds who attentively consider them to a grateful admiration of the greatness of his power and an humble acknowledgment of his Sovereignty Out of a perswasion therefore that there are some who delightfully search into the secrets of Nature and contemplate the wonders of God who out of his inexhaustible treasures hath endued the most inconsiderable of his creatures with so many rich ornaments occult qualities and rare beauties we shall bestow this Chapter on the consideration of certain Insects commonly seen in these Islands all which have some peculiar properties as so many beams of glory to raise them from their natural lowness into some esteem SNAILES Ch 14. p 78. Soldier p 77. Land pike p 83 Palme worme p 89 Horned fly p 76 Fly Catcher A Monstrous spider p 83 p 84. Flying Tyger They are commonly seen in the shells of Periwincles or great Sea-Snails which they find on the shore whither they are cast by the waves upon the death of the fish which had been the first inhabitant thereof but indeed these little Souldiers are found in all sorts of other shells cast up by the Sea nay even the shells of the Liene-nuts and some have took up their quarters in the clawes of great dead Crabs They have this further industry that as they grow bigger they shift shells according to the proportion of their bodies and take a larger into which they enter quitting the former so that they are of several forms and figures according to the diversity of the shells they possess themselves of It is probably of these Souldiers that Pliny speaks under the name of a kind of small Crab to which he attributes the same properties their bodies are very tender except their heads and clawes they have instead of a foot and for a defensive weapon some instrument that is like the claw of a great Crab wherewith they close the entrance of their shells and secure their whole body it is all jagged within and it holds so fast whatever it fastens on that it takes away the piece with it This Insect marches faster then the common Snail and fouls not with its foam or sliminess the place over which it hath pass'd When this Souldier is taken he grows angry and makes a noise to make him quit the habitation he hath taken up there needs only to set him neer the fire and immediately he forsakes his Quarters if it be presented to him to get into it again he goes in backwards when there are many of them met together with an intention at the same time to quit their former lodgings and to take up new ones which they are all much inclin'd to do they enter into a great contestation there happens a serious engagement which is manag'd with the said clasping instrument till at length the weaker is forc'd to submit to the victorious who presently possesses himself of the shell which he afterwards peaceably enjoys as a precious conquest Some of the Inhabitants eat of them as the common Snails are eaten in some parts among us but they are more fit for Physick then Food for being got out of their shells there may be extracted from them an oyl which is excellent for the curing of cold Gouts and is very successfully used to mollifie the hard and callous parts of the body There are besides two other sorts of small Snails which are very beautiful One is flat after the fashion of a Scotchmans Bonnet and of a dark colour The other is sharp and turned like the Vice of a Press and hath small red yellow or blew streaks or lines for which they are much esteemed by the curious GLO-WORMES THere are in these Islands several kinds of great Flies of divers figures and colours but we must assign the first place to those which the French call Mouches Lumincuses and we may English Glo-wormes Some Savages call them Cucuyos and the Caribbians by a name not much differing from it Coyouyou This Fly is not recommendable for its beauty or figure as having nothing extraordinary as to either but only for its luminous quality they are of a dark colour and about the bigness of a Locust it hath two hard and strong wings under which are two lesser wings very thin which appear not but when it flies and it is then also it may be observ'd that under those lesser wings there is a brightness like that of a Candle which enlightens all about it besides the eyes of this Insect are so luminous that be it ever so dark it flies any where in the night which is the time that this glittering light may be seen It makes no noise flying and lives only on flowers which it gathers off the Trees Being taken between ones fingers it is so smooth and slippery that by the little endeavours it makes to recover its liberty it insensibly gets away Being kept in captivity it conceals all the light it hath under the wings and communicates only that of its eyes but even
till they come to a place whence they may be sure to kill By this sleight these Birds who are accustomed to see the wild Oxen that come out of the Mountains to the watering-places below become the prey of the Hunts-men They are commonly fat and a delicate meat Their skins are kept which are cover'd with a soft down to be put to the same uses as those of Swans and Vultures SWALLOW of America SOme years since there was brought to a curious Person living at Rochel a Bird about the bigness of a Swallow and like it saving that the two great feathers of the tail were a little shorter and the beak turn'd downwards like a Parrot's and the feet like a Duck's It was black save only that under the belly there was a little white like our Swallows in fine it was so like them that it may well be called the Swallow of America We have assign'd it a place among the Sea and River-fowl inasmuch as its feet discover its subsistence by the waters And in regard it is so rare a Bird that no Author that we know of hath spoken of it we thought fit to give a Sculp of it the draught whereof was taken from the living Bird. LAND-FOWL BEsides all these Birds which have their subsistence out of the Sea Rivers and Ponds there are in these Islands abundance of Partridges Turtles Ravens and Wood-quists which make a strange noise in the Woods There are also three sorts of Hens some ordinary Hens such as are in these parts others like Turkies others a kind of Pheasants which are called Pintadoes because they are as it were painted with colours and have about them small points like so many eyes on a dark ground-work There are also Black-birds Feldivars Thrushes and Hortolans in a manner like those of the same name among us As to the other Birds which are peculiar to the Forests of the Caribbies there are so many kinds and those so richly adorned that it must be acknowledg'd that if they are not comparable to those of Europe as to their singing they very much excell them in the bravery of their feathers as will appear by the descriptions we shall make of some of the more considerable ARRAS THe Arras are a kind of Birds extremely beautiful about the bigness of a Pheasant but as to the figure of the body they are like Parrots They have all heads big enough sprightly and stedfast eyes crooked beaks and a long tail consisting of very fine feathers of several colours according to the difference of the Islands where they are bred There are some have their heads the upper part of the neck and the back of a bright sky-colour the belly the lower part of the neck and the wings of a pale yellow and the tail all red Others have almost all the body of a flame-colour save that they have in their wings some feathers which are yellow azure and red There are yet others have all their parts diversify'd with a mixture of red white blew green and black that is five lively colours making a delightful enamell They commonly flye in companies A man would think them very daring and confident for they are not startled at the discharging of guns and if the first shot hath not hurt them they will continue in the same place for a second but this confidence is attributed rather to a natural stupidity then courage They are easily tam'd and may be taught to speak but their tongues are too thick to do it so plainly as the other kinds of Parrots to wit the Canides and ordinary sort of Parrots call'd by the French Perrigues They are such enemies to cold that they are hardly brought over Sea alive CANIDES THe Canides are much about the same bigness with the precedent but of a much more beautiful plumage and therefore the more esteem'd Monsieur du Montell who hath made many Voyages into America and visited all the Islands and saw one of them in that of Corassao gives us this account of it It deserves to be numbred saith he among the most beautiful Birds in the world I took so particular notice of it having had of them in my hands many times that I have the Idaeas of it still fresh in my memory Under the belly wings and neck it was of a waving Aurora-colour the back and one half of the wings of a very bright sky-colour the tail and greater feathers of the wings were mixt with a sparkling carnation diversify'd with a sky-colour as upon the back a grass-green and a shining black which very much added to the gold and azure of the other plumage But the most beautiful part was the head cover'd with a murrey down checquer'd with green yellow and a pale blew which reach'd down wavingly to the back The eye-lids were white and the apple of the eye yellow and red as a Ruby set in Gold it had upon the head a certain tuft or cap of feathers of a Vermilion red sparking like a lighted coal which was encompass'd by several other lesser feathers of a pearl colour If it were recommendable for all these extraordinary ornaments it was much more for its familiarity and innocency for though it had a crooked beak and that the claws with which he held his meat and brought it to his beak were so sharp as to take away whatever it fastened on yet was it so tame as to play with little Children and never hurt them and when one took him into his hand he so contracted his claws that the sharpness of them could not be felt He had this quality of a dog that he would lick with his short and thick tongue those who made much of him and gave him something he liked put his head to their cheeks to kiss and caress them and expressing his acknowledgments by a thousand pretty insiouations he would suffer himself to be put into what posture one would and took a certain pleasure in diverting those he thought his friends But as he was mild and tractable to those who were kind to him so was he as mischievous and irreconcileable to such as had injur'd him and he could distinguish them from others and make them feel the sharpness of his beak and claws He spoke the Dutch Spanish and Indian Language and in the last he sung Airs as a natural Indian He also imitated the cries of all sorts of Poultry and other creatures about the house he call'd all his friends by their names and sirnames flew to them as soon as he saw them especially when he was hungry If they had been absent and that he had not seen them a long time he express'd his joy at their return by certain merry notes when he had sported himself till they were weary of him he went away and perch'd himself on the top of the house and there he talk'd sung and play'd a thousand tricks laying his feathers in order and dressing and cleaning himself with his beak He was
this Chapter with a thing worthy observation which yet happens not in other parts unless haply in Ch 16. p 94. Flying fishes Ch 16. Sea Parrat p 98 A Rock-fish p 100 Bonite p 99 CHAP. XVI Of the Sea and River-Fish of the Caribbies WE shall not promise so exact and full a History of the Fish of these Islands as so ample a subject might require but having already given an account of the accommodations of these happy Countries as to the Land the order of our Design requires that we should now speak of the productions of the Sea which encompass them and the Rivers that run through them The business therefore of this Chapter shall be to give a short description of the most excellent Fishes wherewith they are plentifully furnish'd in order to the subsistance of men that the consideration thereof may work in us the deepest acknowledgments imaginable of that Providence which hath display'd its miracles in the deep waters as well as on the dry land and consequently that it is just that the Heavens and the Earth should praise him the Sea and whatever moves therein FLYING-FISHES THere are some who think what is said of the Flying-Fishes a pure fiction though confirmed by the relations of many famous Travellers But what opinion soever they may have thereof who believe only what they have seen it is a certain truth that as soon as Ships have pass'd the Canaries thence to the Islands of America there are often seen rising out of the Sea great numbers of Fishes which flye about the height of a Pike above the water and neer a hundred paces distance but no more in regard their wings are dried by the Sun They are somewhat like Herrings but have a rounder head and they are broader on the back their wings are like those of a Bat which begin a little below the head and reach almost to the tail It happens many times that in their flight they strike against the sails of Ships and fall even in the day time upon the Deck Those who have dress'd and eaten of them think them very delicate Their forsaking the Sea their proper Element is occasion'd upon their being pursu'd by other greater Fishes which prey on them and to avoid meeting with them they quit their proper Element making a sally into the air and changing theâ—â— finnes into wings to eschew the danger but they meet with enemies in the air as well as in the water for there are certain Sea-fowls living only by prey which have an open hostility against them and take them as they flye as was said in the precedent Chapter SEA-PARROTS THere are also in these parts certain Fishes scaled like a Carp but as to colour are as green as a Parrot whence they are by some called Sea-Parrots They have beautiful and sparkling eyes the balls clear as Chrystal encompass'd by a circle argent which is enclos'd within another as green as an Emerald of which colour are the scales of their backs for those under the belly are of a yellowish green They have no teeth but jaws above and below of a solid bone which is very strong of the same colour as their scales and divided into little compartiments very beautiful to the eye They live on Shell-Fish and with those hard jaw-bones they crush as between two mill-stones Oysters Muscles and other Shell-fish to get out the meat They are an excellent kind of fish to eat and so big that some of them have weigh'd above twenty pounds Ch 16 Dorada p 99 Rock-fish p 100. Ch 17 Espadon Shark-fish p 102. Lamantin p 103 Sea Cock p 106. Becune p 106. DORADO THe Dorado by some called the Sea-Bream by others the Amber-Fish is also common in these parts it is called Dorado because in the water the head of it seems to be of a green gilt and the rest of the body as yellow as gold and azur'd as a clear sky It takes a pleasure in following the ships but swims so swiftly that the must be very dextrous that shall take it either with the iron-hook or long staff with the casting-net at the end of it which are the instruments wherewith Sea-men are wont to take great fishes Nor can a man imagine a fish better furnish'd for swimming then this for he hath the fore-part of the head sharp the back bristled with prickles reaching to the tail which is forked two fins of each side of the head and as many under the belly small scales and the whole body of a figure rather broad then big all which give him a strange command of the waters some of them are about five foot in length Many account the meat of this fish though a little dry as pleasant to the taste as that of a Trout or Salmon so the dryness of it be corrected with a little good sauce When the Portuguez see these Dorados following their Ships they stand on the Bow-sprit with a line in their hand at the end whereof there is only a piece of white linen fasten'd to the hook without any other bait BONITE THere is another Fish which commonly follows the Ships called a Bonite It is big and hath much meat about it and about two foot in length The skin of it seems to be of a very dark green and whitish under the belly It hath scales only on both sides and there only two ranks of very little ones along a yellowish line reaching from one side to the other beginning at the head to the tail which is forked It is taken with great hooks cast out on the sides of the Ship which may be done without any hindrance to the Voyage This Fish is as greedy as the Cod and taken with any baits even with the entrails of other fish He is more common in the main Sea then on the Coasts and very good meat eaten fresh but much more delicate having lain a little while in Pepper and Salt before it be dress'd Some conceive this to be the same fish with another call'd by the French Thon which is common on all the Coasts of the Mediterranean Sea NEEDLE-FISH THere is a Fish without scales four foot or thereabouts in length called the Needle-Fish The head of it is sharp a foot or better in length the eyes large and shining and encompass'd with a red circle The skin of his back is streaked with blew and green lines and that under the belly is white intermixt wiâ—h red It hath eight fins which somwhat incline to yellow and a very sharp tail whence probably it came to be so called as the figure of the head gave the Dutch occasion to name it Tabac-pype that is Tobacco-pipe The Coasts of these Islands are furnished also with Carangues and Mullets which come sometimes into the fresh waters and are taken in the Rivers as also Rock-Fishes which are red intermixt with several other colours They are called Rock-Fishes because they are taken neer the Rocks There are also a kind of fish
they say it is very good for such as are troubled with the Stone or Gravel Some Nations call this Monster Tiburon and Tuberon But the French and Portuguez commonly call it Requiem that is to say Rest haply because he is wont to appear in fair weather as the Tortoises also do or rather because he soon puts to rest whatever he can take His Liver being boiled yields a great quantity of oyl very good for Lamps and the Skin of it is used by Joyners to polish their work REMORA BEsides the Pilots before mentioned the Requiems are many times accompany'd by another kind of little fishes called by the Dutch Sugger because they stick so close to the bellies of the Requiems as if they would suck them The French account it a kind of Remora which name they have because they stick to the Ship as if they would stop their course They are about two foot in length and proportionably big They have no scales but are covered with an Ash-colour'd skin which is as glutinous as those of Eeles Their upper-jaw is a little shorter then the lower instead of teeth they have little risings strong enough to break what they would swallow Their eyes are very small of a yellow colour They have â—ins and a certain plume as some other Sea-fishes have but what 's most remarkable in them is that they have on their heads an oval piece made somewhat like a crown it is flat and streaked above with several lines which make it look bristly It is by this part that these fish stick so closely to the Ships and Requiems that sometimes they must be kill'd ere they can be gotten off They are eaten sometimes but in case of necessity when other better fish cannot be had LAMANTIN OF all the Sea-monsters that are good to eat and kept for Provision as Salmon and Cod are in Europe the most esteemed in these Islands is a certain fish by the French called Lamantin by the Spaniards Namantin and Manaty It is a Monster that in time grows to that bulk that some of them are eighteen foot in length and seven in bigness about the middle of the body His head hath some resemblance to that of a Cow whence some took occasion to call him the Sea-Cow He hath small eyes and a thick skin of a dark colour wrinkled in some places and stuck with some small hairs Being dried it grows so hard that it may serve for a Buckler against the Arrows of the Indians nay some of the Savages use it to ward off the blows of their enemies when they go to fight They have no fins but instead thereof they have under their bellies two short feet each whereof hath four fingers very weak to support the weight of so heavy a body nor hath he any other defensive This Fish lives on the grass and herbage that grows about the Rocks and on the shallow places that have not much above a fathom of Sea-water The Females are disburthen'd of their young ones much after the same manner as Cows are and they have two teats wherewith they suckle them They bring forth two at a time which forsake not the old one till such time as they have no longer need of milk and can feed on the grass as she does Of all Fishes there is not any hath so much good meat as the Lamantin for many times there needs but two or three to load a great Canow and this meat is like that of a Land creature eating short of a Vermilion colour not cloying or fulsom and mixt with fat which being melted never grows musty It is much more wholsom eaten two or three days after it hath been laid in salt then fresh These Fish are more commonly taken at the entrance of fresh-water Rivers then in the Sea Some highly value certain small stones found in the heads of these Monsters as having the vertue reduc'd to powder to clear the Reins of Gravel and dissolve the Stone bred there But the Remedy being violent I should not advise any to use it without the prescription of an experienc'd Physitian WHALES and other Sea-Monsters SUch as Sail into these Islands do sometimes in their Course meet with Whales which cast up water by their Vent to a Pikes height and commonly shew but a little of their back which looks like a rock above the water The Ships are also many times attended for a good way by certain Monsters about the bigness of a Shallop which seem to take a pleasure in shewing themselves Some Sea-men call them Souffleurs that is Blowers for that ever and anon these prodigious fishes put up some part of their head above water to take breath and then they blow and cause a great agitation of the waters with their sharp snouts Some hold them to be a kind of Porposes SEA-DEVILS ON the Coasts of these Islands there is sometimes taken by the Fishers a Monster which is ranked among the kinds of Sea-Devils by reason of its hideous figure It is about four foot long and proportionably big it hath on the back a great bunch full of prickles like those of a Hedg-Hog The skin of it is hard uneven and rugged like that of the Sea-dog and of a black colour The head of it is flat and on the upper part hath many little risings among which may be seen two little very black eyes The mouth which is extreamly wide is arm'd with several very sharp teeth two whereof are crooked and bent in like those of a wild Boar it hath four fins and a tail broad enough which is forked at the extremity But what got it the name of Sea-Devil is that above the eyes there are two little black horns sharp enough which turn towards his back like those of a Ram Besides that this Monster is as ugly as any thing can be imagin'd the meat of it which is soft and full of strings is absolute poyson for it causes strange vomiting and such swoonings as would be follow'd by death if they be not soon prevented by the taking of a dose of good Mithridate or some other Antidote This dangerous creature is sought after only by the curious who are glad to have any thing that comes from it to adorn their Closets And so it comes to pass that this Devil who never brought men any profit while it lived gives a little satisfaction to their eyes after his death There is another kind of Sea-Devil no less hideous then the precedent though of another figure The largest of this kind are not much above a foot in length from the head to the tail They are almost as much in bredth but when they please they swell themselves up so as that they seem to be round as a bowl Their wide mouths are arm'd with many little but very sharp teeth and instead of a tongue they have only a little bone which is extreamly hard Their eyes are very sparkling and so small and deep set in the head
to prevent the incursions of a certain savage and extreamly cruel people which hath no setled habitation but wander up and down the Provinces with an incredible swiftness making havock where-ever they come especially where they find no resistance The Arms of the Apalachites are the Bow the Club the Sling and a kind of great Javelin which they dart out of their hands when they have spent all their Arrows And whereas those that inhabit towards the woods and in the Mountains live only by hunting continual exercise makes them so expert in shooting with the Bow that the King who alwaies hath a Company of them about his person hath no greater diversion than to see them shoot at a mark for some prize which he gives him who in fewest shots came to the place assign'd or hath shot down a Crown set up upon the top of a Tree They are passionate lovers of Musick and all instruments that make any kind of harmony insomuch that there 's very few among them but can play on the Flute and a kind of Hawboy which being of several bigness make a passably good harmony and render a sound that is very melodious They are mightily given to dancing capering and making a thousand postures whereby they are of opinion they disburthen themselves of all their bad humours and that they acquire a great activity and suppleness of body and a wonderful swiftness in running They heretofore celebrated solemn dances at the end of every harvest and after they had made their Offerings to the Sun upon the Mountain of Olaimi but now they have no set and appointed time for these divertisements Their voice is naturally good mild flexible and pleasant whence it comes that many among them make it their endeavour to imitate the singing and chirping of Birds wherein they are for the most part so fortunate that like so many Orpheus's they entice out of the woods to follow them those Birds which think they hear only those of their own species They do also by singing alleviate the hard labour they are addicted unto and yet what they do seems to be done rather out of divertisement and to avoid idleness than out of any consideration of advantage that they make thereof Their Language is very smooth and very plentiful in comparisons That spoken by the Captains and all persons of quality is more elegant and fuller of flourishes than that of the common sort of people Their expressions are very precise and their periods short enough While they are yet children they learn several songs made by the Jaouas in honour and commendation of the Sun they are also acquainted with several other little pieces of Poetry wherein they have comprehended the most memorable exploits of their Kings out of a design to perpetuate the memory thereof among them and the more easily transmit it to their posterity All the Provinces which acknowledge the King of Apalacha for their Sovereign understand the language commonly spoken in his Court yet does not this hinder but that each of them hath a particular dialect of its own whence it comes that the language of some is in some things different from that of others of the Inhabitants The Provinces of Amana and Matica in which there are to this day many Caribbian Families have retained to this present many words of the ancient idiome of these people which confirms what we have laid down for a certain assertion to wit that being known by the same name and having many expressions common to them with the Inhabitants of the Caribby-Islands those Families have also the same origine with them as we have represented in the precedent chapter They heretofore adored the Sun and had their Priests whom they called Jaouas who were very superstitious in rendring to him the service which they had invented in honour of him their perswasion was that the raies of the Sun gave life to all things that they dried up the earth and that once the Sun having continued four and twenty hours under an eclipse the earth had been overflown and that the great Lake which they call Theomi was rais'd as high as the tops of the highest Mountains that encompass it but that the Sun having recovered the eclipse had by his presence forc'd the waters to return into their abysses that only the Mountain dedicated to his honour and wherein his Temple was was preserv'd from that deluge and that their Predecessors and all the beasts which are at present in the woods and upon the earth having retir'd to the said Mountain were preserv'd for the repopulation and recruit of the whole earth So that they conceive themselves to be the most ancient people of the world And they affirm that from that time they have acknowledg'd the Sun for their God They were of opinion that thé Sun had built himself the Temple which is in the Mountain of Olaimi the ascent whereof is distant from the City of Melilot somewhat less than a league and that the Tonatzuli which are certain little birds about the bigness of a Quail and whose bellies and wings are of a bright yellow the back of a sky-colour and the head of a plumage partly red and partly white are the messengers and children of the Sun which alwaies celebrate his praises The service they rendred the Sun consisted in saluting him at his rising and singing hymns in honour of him They observed the same Ceremonies also in the evening entreating him to return and to bring the day along with him And besides this daily service which every one performed at the door of his house they had also another publick and solemn service which consisted in sacrifices and offerings and was perform'd by the Jaouas four times in the year to wit at the two seed-times and after the two harvests upon the Mountain of Olaimi with great pomp and a general concourse of all the Inhabitants of the six Provinces This Mountain of Olaimi is seated as we said before in the Province of Bemarin about a league distant from the Royal City of Melilot but there is about another league of ascent and winding from the foot of it ere a man can get to the top of it It is certainly one of the most pleasant and most miraculous Mountains in the world Its figure is perfectly round and the natural descent extream steepy but to facilitate the access thereof to such as are to go up they have cut a good broad way all about it and there are here and there several resting places gain'd out of the Rock like so many neeches All the circumference of it from the foot to within two hundred paces of the top is naturally planted with goodly trees of Saxafras Cedar and Cypress and several others from which there issue Rosins and Aromatick gums of a very delightful scent On the top of it there is a spacious plain smooth and eaven all over and somewhat better than a league in compass it is covered
are they not venemous in most of these Countries Nay some Inhabitants having of them on the thatch of their houses which is commonly of Palm-leaves or Sugar-Canes drive them not thence because they force away and devour the rats But we must acknowledge withal that there is an hostility between them and the Poultry It hath been observ'd that some of them have been so subtle as having surpriz'd a Hen sitting not to meddle with her during that time but assoon as the chickens are hatch'd they devour them and kill the Hen if they be not able to swallow her down whole There are others very fair and delightful to the eye for they are green all over save that under the belly they are of a very light grey They are about an ell and a half in length and sometimes two but proportionably to that length they are very small as being at most not above an inch about They feed either on Frogs which they find near some brooks or on Birds which they surprize on the Trees or in their nests when they meet with them Accordingly this kind of Snake is accounted noble in comparison of the others for it subsists by its fishing and hunting Some of the Inhabitants who have been us'd to see all these kinds of Snakes handle them without any fear and carry them in their bosoms Those who have travell'd into Asia and Affrick affirm that they have there met with somewhat of the like nature For they relate that in Great Tartary there are mountains where may be seen Serpents of a prodigious bulk but not venemous at all nay they are good meat And that in the Kingdom of Syr some of these Creatures have been seen playing with children who fed them with bread It is said also that in the Provinces of the Antes in the Kingdom of Peru there are dreadful Snakes between 25 and 30 foot in length which never hurt any body As to the Islands of Martinico and S. Alousia it is otherwise for there some are not dangerous at all others are very much so Those which are not are bigger and longer then the others whence it comes that those who know them not are more afraid of them then of such as should really be feared Yet do they not any harm nay assoon as they perceive any body they make all the haste they can away which hath occasion'd their being call'd the fugitive Snakes They are also easily distinguish'd from the others by the black and white spots on their backs Of the dangerous Snakes there are two kinds Some are grey on the back and to the feeling like velvet others are all yellow or red and dreadful to look upon by reason of that colour though they be not more dangerous nay haply less then the former Both kinds are great lovers of rats as well as those without venome and when a Cott is much pester'd with rats 't is strange if there be not also Snakes about it They are of different bigness and length and it is conceiv'd the shortest are most to be feared Their heads are flat and broad their jaws extreamly wide and arm'd with eight teeth and sometimes ten whereof some are forked like a Crescent and so sharp that it is impossible to imagine any thing more And these being all hollow it is by that small channel that they disperse their poyson which lies in little purses on both sides of their throat just at the very roots of their teeth They never chew any thing they eat but swallow it down whole after they have crush'd and made it flat Some affirm that if they did chew their food they would poyson themselves and that to prevent that they cover their teeth with their gums when they take their nourishment These creatures are so venemous in those two Islands that when they have stung any one if there be not a present remedy immediately apply'd the wound within two hours will be incurable All the commendation can be given them is this that they never sting any one if he do not touch either them or something on which they repose themselves LIZZARDS THere are also in these Islands several kinds of Lizzards The greatest and most considerable are those which some Indians call Iguanas the Brasilians Senembi and our Caribbians Onayamaca Being come to their full growth they are about five foot in length measuring from the head to the extremity of the tail which is as long as all the rest of the body and for their bigness they may be a foot about their skins are of several colours according to the different soils they are bred in Hence it is probably that the Portuguez have call'd them Cameleons out of an imagination that they were a species of that creature In some Islands the Females are of a light green chequer'd with black and white spots and the Males are grey In others these last are black and the Females of a light grey intermixt with black and green Nay in some places both Males and Females have all the little scales of their skin so glittering and as it were studded that seen at a distance one would think them cloth'd in rich cloth of gold or silver They have on their backs prickles like combs which they force up and let down as they please and appear less and less from the head to the end of the tail They go on four feet each whereof hath five claws which have very sharp nails They run very fast and are excellent at the climbing of Trees But whether it be that they love to look on men or are of a stupid unapprehensive nature when they are perceiv'd by the Huntsmen they patiently expect without stirring till they are shot Nay they suffer to be put about their necks that gin with a running knot which is fasten'd to the end of a pole that is often us'd to get them off the Trees where they rest themselves when they are angry a certain craw they have under their throat swells and makes them seem the more formidable Their jaws are very wide their tongues thick and they have some very sharp teeth they will hardly let go what they have once fasten'd on with their teeth but they are not venemous at all The Females lay egges about the bigness of those of Woodquists but the shell is soft they lay them deep enough under the sand on the Sea-side and leave them to be hatch'd by the Sun whence some Authors have rank'd them among the Amphibious creatures The Savages taught the Europaeans the way to take these Lizzards and by their own examples encourag'd them to eat thereof They are very hard to kill insomuch that some having receiv'd three shots of a Gun and thereby lost some part of their entrails would not fall And yet if a small stick be thrust into their noses or a pin between their eyes where there is a little hole into which the pin easily enters they presently dye The Caribbians are
very dextrous in the taking of them by a Gin with a running knot which they cunningly get about their necks or having overtaken them by running they lay hold on them with one hand by the tail which being very long gives them a good hold and before they can turn back to bite them they take them by the chine-piece of the neck and then having turn'd their paws on their backs they bind them and so keep them alive above fifteen days without giving them any sustenance Their flesh is white and in some places over-laid with fat Those who are accustomed to it think it very delicate especially the lushious taste it naturally is of being taken away by good Spices and some picquant sauce yet is it not safe to eat often thereof because it over-dries the body and abates somewhat of the good constitution thereof the egges have no white but are all yolk which makes the Pottage they are used in as excellent as our Hens-egges might do Besides these greater forts of Lizzards there are in these Islands four others which are much less and these are called Anolis Roquets Maboujats and Gobe-monches or Fly-catchers ANOLIS THe Anolis are very common in all the Plantations they are about the bigness and length of the Lizzards seen in France but they have a longer head the skin yellowish and on their backs they have certain blew green and grey streaks drawn from the top of the head to the end of the tail their abode is in holes under ground whence in the night time they make a very loud and importunate noise In the day time they are in perpetual exercise and they only wander about Cottages to get somewhat to subsist on ROQUETS THe Roquets are less then the Anolis their skin is of the colour of a wither'd leaf marked with little yellow or blackish points they go on four feet whereof the fore-feet are high enough their eyes are very lively and sparkling their heads are always lifted up and they are so active that they perpetually leap up and down like Birds when they would not make use of their wings their tails are so turn'd up towards their backs that they make a circle and a half They love to see men and if they stay where they are they will ever and anon be staring on them when they are a little pursu'd they open their mouths and put out their tongues like little Hounds MABOUJATS THe Maboujats are of several colours those which have their abode in rotten Trees and fenny places as also in deep and narrow Valleys into which the Sun pierces not are black and extreamly hideous which no doubt occasion'd their being called by the same name the Savages give the Devil their bigness commonly is little more then an inch their length six or seven the skins of them all are as if they were oyl'd COBE-MOUCHES THose which the French call Gobe-Mouches that is in English Fly-cathers from their most ordinary exercise and the Caribbians Oulleouma are the least of all the Reptiles in these Islands they are in figure like those the Latines call Stelâ—â—ones some of them seem to be cover'd with fine gold or silver Brocado others with a mixture of green gold and several other delightful colours they are so familiar that they come boldly into rooms where they do no mischief nay on the contrary they clear them of Flies and such Vermine This employment they perform with such dexterity and nimbleness that the sleights and designs of Hunts-men are nothing compar'd to those of this little Beast for he sculks down and stand as it were Sentinel on a plank or some other thing that is higher then the floor where he hopes the Fly will light and perceiving his prey he keeps his eye always fixt upon it putting his head into as many different postures as the Fly shifts places and standing up on his fore-feet and gaping after it he half opens his little wide mouth as if he already devour'd and swallow'd it by hope Nay though there be a noise made in the room and some body come neer him he is so attentive on his game that he quits not his post and having at last found his advantage he starts so directly on his prey that he very seldom misses it It iâ— an innocent divertisement to consider with what earnestness and attention these little creatures shift for their livelihood Besides they are so tame that they will come upon the Table while people are eating and if they perceive a Fly they will attempt the taking of it even upon their Trenchers who sit at Table nay upon their hands or cloaths and they are suffered to do so because they are so smooth and cleanly that their passing over the meat creates no aversion to those who are to eat of it in the night time they bear a part in the Musick made by the Anolis and other little Lizzards And to propagate their species they lay small Egges as big as Pease which having cover'd with a little earth they leave to be hatch'd by the Sun as soon as they are kill'd which is very easie by reason of their attention in pursuit of their game they immediately lose all their lustre the gold and azure and all the sparkling beauty of their skin vanishes and they become pale and earthy If any one of these Reptiles we have described might be accounted a kind of Chamelion it should be this last named because it easily assumes the colours of those things on which it makes its ordinary residence for those which are seen about young Pâ—lâ—-trees are all green as the leaves of that Tree are those which frequent Orange-trees are yellow as their fruit â— nay there have been some who having much us'd a Chamber where there was a Bed with Curtains of changeable Taffata had afterwards an infinite number of young ones which had their bodies enamell'd with several colours suitably to the furniture of the place to which they had so often had access some haply would have this effect attributed to the force of their little imagination but we leave that speculation to the more addicted to such curious disquisitions LAND-PIKES THere are also in several of these Islands certain creatures which have the perfect figure skin and head of the Fish we call a Pike and therefore may be termed the Land-Pikes but instead of Finns they have four feet which are so weak that they can onely crawl along the ground and wind their bodies as Snakes or to keep to our former comparison stir as Pikes after they are taken out of the water The largest are not above fifteen inches in length and proportionably big their skin is cover'd with little scales which shine extreamly and are of a silver-grey colour Some lovers of curiosities have young ones in their Closets which they were perswaded to receive for Salamanders In the night time they make a hideous noise from under the rocks and the bottoms of hollow places where
called Negroes or Sea-Devils which are large and have a black scale but their meat is white and excellent good and an infiâ—ite number of Fish which for the most part differ from those seen in Europe and have yet no names among us Nor are the Rivers behind hand in supplying the Inhabitants of these Islands with abundance of excellent Fish and if we may bring small things into competition with great they are proportionably to their extent as plentiful thereof as the Sea it self 'T is true there are not any Pikes or Carpes nor some other fish which are common in these parts but there is great store of others which are known only to the Indians and whereof some are not much different as to figure from ours CHAP. XVII Of the Sea-Monsters found in these Islands THose who have writ the History of Fish have ranked among the Whales all such as are of extraordinary bigness as they have comprehended under the name of Monsters all those that are of a hideous shape or living by prey are the destructive Inhabitants of the Waters as Lyons Bears Tygers and other wild beasts are of the Earth We shall treat in this Chapter of both that is of all those which are of a prodigious bulk or dreadful as to their ugly shapes or to be feared by reason of the mischief done by them So that we must for a time descend into the abysses of the Main where there are creeping things innumerable as the royal Prophet saith and both small and great Beasts and after we have contemplated the works of the Lord therein rise up again to celebrate his mercy towards the Children of Men. ESPADON or SWORD-FISH AMong the Sea-Monsters that which the French call L'Espadon a word signifying a short sword is one of the most remarkable it hath at the end of the upper jaw a defensive weapon about the breadth of a great Courtelas which hath hard and sharp teeth on both sides These defensives in some of them are about five foot in length and about six inches broad at the lower end and palizadoed with twenty seven white and solid teeth in each rank and the bulk of their bodies bears a porportion thereto The head of this monster is flat and hideous to behold being of the figure of a heart They have neer their eyes two vents at which they cast out the water which they had swallowed They have no scales but a greyish skin on the back and a white under the belly which is rough like a file They have seven fins two of each side two on the back and that which serves them for a tail Some call them Saw-fishes some Emperors because there is an hostility between them and the Whale which they many times wound to death MARSOUINS THe Marsoüins are the Sea-Hogs or Porposes which go together in great companies and sporting themselves leap up above the water and following all of them as many as are together the same course They many times of themselves come neer enough to the ships and such as are dextrous do now and then take some of them Their meat is of a dark colour the fattest have not above an inch or two of fat They have a sharp snout a very broad tail greyish skin and a hole upon the top of their heads through which they breathe and cast out water They grunt almost like the Land-Swine Their blood is hot and their entrails like those of a Pig and they are much of the same taste but their meat is of hard digestion There is another kind of Porposes which have the snout round and hollow and from the resemblance there is between their heads and the frocks of Friers some call them Monksheads and Sea-Monks REQUIEM THe Requiem otherwise called the Shark-Fish is a kind of Sea-Dog or Sea-Wolf the most devouring of all Fishes and the most greedy of mans flesh He is much to be feared by such as go a swimming He lives altogether by prey and commonly follows the ships to feed on the filth cast out of them into the sea These Monsters seem to be of a yellowish colour in the water Some of them are of an unmeasurable length and bigness and such as are able to cut a man in two at one bite Their skin is rough and there are made of it soft files to polish wood Their heads are flat and the opening of their mouth is not just before the snout but under it Whence it comes that to fasten on their prey they are forc'd to turn their bellies almost upwards Their teeth are very sharp and very broad being jagged all about like a Saw Some of them have three or four ranks of these in each jaw-bone These teeth lye within the gums but they make them sufficiently appear when there is occasion These cruel Sea-Dogs are attended by two or three small fishes and sometimes more which go before them with such swiftness and so regular a motion that they either advance or halt more or less according as they perceive the Requiems do Some call them Rambos and Pilgrims and the French Mariners the Requiems Pilots inasmuch as those small fishes seem to be their convoys They are not much above a foot in length and of a proportionable bigness But their scales are beautified with so many pretty and lively colours that it might be said they were encompass'd which chains of Pearl Coral Emerald and other precious stones A man can hardly be weary of looking on them in the water It is in like manner affirmed that the Whale where-ever she goes hath marching before her a little fish like a Sea-Gudgeon which from that service is called her Guide The Whale follows him suffering her self to be led and turn'd as easily as the Rudder causes the Ship to turn about and in requital of this service whereas whatever else enters into the horrid Chaos of this Monsters throat is immediately lost and devour'd this little fish makes it his retiring and his resting place and while he lyes there a sleep the Whale stirs not but as soon as he gets out she presently follows him and if it happen the said fish should be a little out of the way she wanders up and down striking many times against the Rocks as a Ship without a Rudder which thing Plutarch affirms that himself was an eye-witness of in the Island of Anticyra There is such another friendship between the little Bird called the Wren and the Crocodile and that Shell-fish called the Naker lives in the same manner with the Pinnothere and other Shell-fish not much unlike a Crab as is affirmed by Montagne lib. 2. ca. 12. The meat of the Requiem is not good and therefore not eaten unless it be in case of great necessity yet is it conceiv'd by some that while they are young they may be tolerable meat Some curious persons do carefully save the Brains found in the heads of the old ones and being dried they keep it and
like a Gall and at the first eating thereof it tastes like a small Nut but afterwards it causeth mortal gripings and is a most dangerous poyson There is also in Africk a Tree called Coscoma which bears deadly Apples The Tree of the Maldivas named Ambou bears a fruit no less deceitful and pernicious And neer Tripoly in Syria there are certain large Apricocks which are fair to the eye and very savoury to the palat but the subsequent qualities of them are many times mortal or at best cause long and painful diseases to such as have eaten of them There grow Manchenillo-Trees on the Sea-side and the banks of Rivers and if the fruit fall into the water the fish eating thereof will certainly dye nay though it continue long in the water yet will it not rot but is cover'd with salt-peter which gives it a solid crustiness as if it were petrify'd In those Islands where this Tree grows in abundance the Snakes are venemous it being supposed by some that they sometimes suck the fruit of it Nay the Crabs which feed under these Trees contract a dangerous quality from them as we said elsewhere and many have been sick after the eating thereof Whence it comes that when these fruits fall to the ground such as are careful of their health will forbear the eating of Crabs Yet do not the Snakes or Crabs wholly live on this fruit but feeding under the Tree they draw the infection thereof to themselves especially if they suck the venome of its fruit It may well be that what is mortal to some creatures is not so to all and that these Insects often feeding on this poyson do by custom and continuance turn it into their sustenance as is reported of Mithridates And so they may infect such as eat thereof receiving themselves no hurt thereby Under the bark of the trunk and boughs of these Trees there is contained a certain glutinous water which is white as milk extremely malignant and dangerous There being many of them along the high-ways if one should carelesly break one of their branches that milk or rather poyson comes forth and falls upon him If it light on his shirt it makes an ugly stain as if it were burnt if on the skin and the place be not immediately wash'd it will be all blistered but if it should chance that a drop of this caustick and venemous water should fall into the eye it will cause an insupportable inflammation and the party shall lose his sight for nine days after which he will have some ease The dew or rain-water having continu'd a while on the leaves of these Trees produces the same effect and if it should light on the skin it would scorch it like Aqua-fortis So that it is almost as bad as the drops of rain falling under the Line which are so contagious as those who have felt them affirm that if they fall on the hands face or any uncover'd part of the body there immediately rise up bladders and blisters with much pain and if the party do not presently shift his cloths his body will be full of wheals all over not to mention the worms which are bred in the cloths Nay the very shade of these Trees is prejudicial to men and if a man rest himself under them the whole body swells after a strange manner Pliny and Plutarch mention a Tree of Arcadia no less dangerous and those who have travell'd into the East-Indies affirm that there is an herb named Sapony which causes their death who lye upon it But what heightens the ill quality of the Manchenillo-Tree is that the meat dress'd with a fire made of its wood derives a certain malignity from it which burns the mouth and throat Nor are the Savages of these Islands ignorant of the nature of the Manchenillo for the composition wherewith they are wont to poyson their arrows hath in it among other ingredients the milk of this Tree and the dew falling from it and the juice of the fruit To cure in a short time the swelling and blisters rising on the body after sleeping under the shade of these Trees or receiving the rain or dew falling from their branches as also those occasion'd by the milk within the bark recourse must be immediately made to a kind of Snails whereof we have spoken before under the name of Souldiers and let the party take a certain cleer water which is contain'd within their shell and apply it to the place affected this remedy immediately allays the venome of that scorching liquour and puts the party out of all danger The oyl extracted without fire from the same Snail operates the same effect But if any shall happen to eat of the fruit of these venemous Trees he must use the remedies prescribed hereafter to expell the venome of Serpents and all other poysons WOOD-LICE THere is also a kind of Ant or worm which hath a little black spot on the head all the rest of the body being white They are bred of rotten wood and thence some call them Wood-lice Their bodies are softer then those of our ordinary Ants and yet their tooth is so sharp that they gnaw wood and get into such coffers as lye neer the ground And in less then two days if they be not destroy'd there will get in such abundance that linen cloaths paper and whatever is within them will be eaten and devoured nay they gnaw and eat the posts which sustain the ordinary hutts insomuch that if some course be not taken they will at last fall down To prevent the breeding of these Insects and the mischief done by them there are these cautions At the building of houses not to leave any wood on the ground to rot out of which they may breed To burn the ends of those pieces of wood that are planted in the ground As soon as any of them are perceiv'd to cast scalding water into the holes which they have made To hang up Chests and Coffers in the air with cords as they are forc'd to do in several parts of the East-Indies that they may not touch the ground And lastly to keep the rooms very clean and leave nothing on the ground It hath also been observ'd that the rubbing of their haunts with the oyl of that kind of Palma-Christi wherewith the Negroes rub their heads to avoid vermine hath prevented their coming any more that way The oyl of Lamantin hath the same effect and if it be poured on their rendezvouz which is a kind of Ant-hill made up of their own ordure and fasten'd about the forks which sustain the hutts they immediately forsake it RAVETS ANother dangerous vermine are the Ravets of which there are two kinds The bigger are almost like Locusts and of the same colour the others are not half as big Both kinds have their walks in the night-time get into Chests if they be not very close foul all things wherever they come and do mischief enough yet not so much nor in