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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A36106	A new voyage round the world describing particularly the isthmus of America, several coasts and islands in the West Indies, the isles of Cape Verd, the passage by Terra del Fuego, the South Sea coasts of Chili, Peru and Mexico, the isle of Guam one of the Ladrones, Mindanao, and other Philippine and East-India islands near Cambodia, China, Formosa, Luconia, Celebes, &c., New Holland, Sumatra, Nicobar Isles, the Cape of Good Hope, and Santa Hellena : their soil, rivers, harbours, plants, fruits, animals, and inhabitants : their customs, religion, government, trade, &c. / by William Dampier ; illustrated with particular maps and draughts.	Dampier, William, 1652-1715.	1697 (1697)	Wing D161; Wing D165; ESTC R9942	710,236	1,112

The Females with their young Ones are much troubled to leap after the Males for they have commonly two one she carries under one of her Arms the other sits on her Back and clasps her two fore Paws about her Neck These Monkies are the most sullen I ever met with for all the Art that we could use would never tame them It is a hard matter to shoot one of them so as to take it for if it gets hold with its Claws or Tail it will not fall as long as one breath of Life remains After I have shot at one and broke a Leg or an Arm I have pittied the poor Creature to see it look on and handle the wounded Limb and turn it about from side to side These Monkies are very rarely or as some say never on the Ground The Ant-Bear is a four-footed Beast as big as a pretty large Dog with rough black-brown Hair It has short Legs a long Nose and little Eyes a very little Mouth and a slender Tongue like an Earth-worm about 5 or 6 Inches long This Creature feeds on Ants therefore you always find them near an Ants Nest or Path. It takes its Food thus It lays its Nose down flat on the Ground close by the Path that the Ants travel in whereof here are many in this Country and then puts out its Tongue athwart the Path the Ants passing forwards and backwards continually when they come to the Tongue make a stop and in two or three Minutes time it will be covered all over with Ants which she perceiving draws in her Tongue and then eats them and after puts it out again to trapan more They smell very strong of Ants and taste much stronger for I have eaten of them I have met with these Creatures in several Places of America as well as here i. e. in the Sambaloes and in the South Seas on the Mexican Continent The Sloth is a four-footed hairy sad-coloured Animal somewhat less than the Ant-Bear not so rough its Head is round its Eyes small it has a short Nose and very sharp Teeth short Legs but extraordinary long sharp Claws This Creature feeds on Leaves whether indifferently of all sorts or only on some particular kinds I know not They are very mischievous to the Trees where they come and are so slow in motion that when they have eaten all the Leaves on one Tree before they can get down from that and climb another and settle themselves to their fresh Banquet which takes them up 5 or 6 days though the Trees stand near They are nothing but skin and bones altho' they came down plump and fat from the last Tree They never descend till they have stript every Limb and Bough and made them as bare as Winter It takes them up 8 or 9 Minutes to move one of their feet 3 Inches forward and they move all their four feet one after another at the same slow Rate neither will stripes make them mend their pace which I have tryed to do by whipping them but they seem insensible and can neither be frighted or provoked to move faster The Armadillo so called from its Suit of Armour is as big as a small sucking Pig the body of it pretty long This Creature is inclosed in a thick Shell which guards all its back and comes down on both sides and meets under the belly leaving room for the four Legs the Head is small with a Nose like a Pig a pretty long Neck and can put out its Head before its Body when it walks but on any danger she puts it in under the shell and drawing in her Feet she lies stock still like a Land-Turtle And though you toss her about yet she will not move her self The Shell is joynted in the middle of the back so that she can turn the fore-part of her body about which way she pleases The Feet are like those of a Land-Turtle and it has strong Claws wherewith it digs holes in the ground like a Cony The flesh is very sweet and tasts much like a Land-Turtle The Porcupin being a Creature well known I 'll pass it in silence The Beasts of Prey that are bred in this Country are Tigre-Cats and as is reported by our Men Lions The Tigre-Cat is about the bigness of a Bull-Dog with short Legs and a truss Body shaped much like a Mastiff but in all things else viz. its Head the colour of its Hair and the manner of its Preying much resembling the Tigre only somewhat less Here are great numbers of them They prey on young Calves or other Game whereof here is plenty And because they do not want Food they are the less to be feared But I have wisht them farther off when I have met them in the Woods because their Aspect appears so very stately and fierce I never did see any Lion in this Country but I have been informed by two or three persons that they did see Lions here But I am assured that they are not numerous Here are a great many poisonous Creatures in this Country more particularly Snakes of divers sorts some yellow some green and others of a dun Colour with black and yellowish spots The yellow Snake is commonly as big as the small of a Man's Leg and 6 or 7 seven foot long These are a lazy sort of Creatures for they lye still and prey on Lizards Guanoes or other small Animals that come in their way It is reported That sometimes they lurk in Trees and that they are so mighty in strength as to hold a Bullock fast by one of his Horns when they happen to come so near as that she can twist her self about the Limb of the Tree and the Horn at once These are accounted very good Meat by some and are eaten frequently I my self have tryed it for curiosity but cannot commend it I have heard some Bay-men report that they have seen some of this kind here as big as an ordinary Man's Wast but I never saw any such The green Snakes are no bigger about than a Man's Thumb yet 4 or 5 foot long The Backs are of a very lively green Colour but their Bellies inclining to yellow These are commonly in Bushes among the green Leaves and prey upon small Birds This I have often seen and was once in danger to be bit by one before I saw it For I was going to take hold of a Bird that fluttered and cryed out just by me yet did not fly away neither could I imagin the reason till reaching out my hand I perceived the head of a Snake close by it and looking more narrowly I saw the upper part of the Snake about two or three Inches from his head twisted about the poor Bird. What they feed on besides Birds I know not but they are said to be very venemous The dun coloured Snake is a little bigger than the green Snake but not above a foot and a half or two foot long these we should often see

largest Apple-trees It hath a spreading head full of branches and dark leaves The Fruit grows on the boughs like Apples it is as big as a Penny Loaf when VVheat is at 5 Shillings the Bushel It is of a round shape and hath a thick tough ●…ind VVhen the Fruit is ripe it is yellow and soft and the taste is sweet and pleasant The Natives of this Island use it for Bread they gather it when full grown while it is green and hard then they bake it in an Oven which scorcheth the rind and makes it black but they scrape off the outside black crust and there remains a tender thin crust and the inside is soft tender and white like the crumb of a Penny Loaf There is neither seed nor stone in the inside but all is of a pure substance like Bread it must be eaten new for if it is kept above 24 hours it becomes dry and eats harsh and choaky but 't is very pleasant before it is too stale This Fruit lasts in season 8 months in the year during which time the Natives eat no other sort of food of Bread kind I did never see of this Fruit any where but here The Natives told us that there is plenty of this Fruit growing on the rest of the Ladrone Islands and I did never hear of any of it any where else They have here some Rice also but the Island being of a dry soil and therefore not very proper for it they do not sow very much Fish is scarce about this Island yet on the Shole that our Bark came over there was great plenty and the Natives commonly go thither to fish The natives of this Island are strong bodied large limb'd and well shap'd They are Copper-coloured like other Indians their hair is black and long their Eyes meanly proportioned they have pretty high Noses their Lips are pretty full and their Teeth indifferent white They are long visaged and stern of countenance yet we found them to be affable and courteous They are many of them troubled with a kind of a Leprosie This distemper is very common at Mindanao therefore I shall speak more of it in my next Chapter They of Guam are otherwise very healthy especially in the dry season but in the wet season which comes in in June and holds till October the air is more thick and unwholsome which occasions Fevers but the rains are not violent nor lasting For the Island lyes so far Westerly from the Philippine Islands or any other Land that the Westerly winds do seldom blow so far and when they do they do not last long but the Easterly Winds do consiantly blow here which are dry and healthy and this Island is found to be very healthful as we were informed while we lay by it The natives are very ingenious beyond any people in making Boats or Proes as they are called in the East Indies and therein they take great delight These are built sharp at both ends the bottom is of one piece made like the bottom of a little Canoa very neatly dug and left of a good substance This bottom part is instead of a Keel It is about 26 or 28 foot long the under part of this Keel is made round but inclining to a wedge and smooth and the upper part is almost flat having a very gentle hollow and is about a foot broad From hence both sides of the Boat are carried up to about 5 foot high with narrow plank not above 4 or 5 inches broad and each end of the Boat turns up round very prettily But what is very singular one side of the Boat is made perpendicular like a Wall while the other side is rounding made as other Vessels are with a pretty full belly Just in the middle it is about 4 or 5 foot broad aloft or more according to the length of the Boat The Mast stands exactly in the middle with a long Yard that peeksup and down like a Mizen-yard One end of it reacheth down to the end or head of the Boat where it is placed in a notch that is made there purposely to receive it and keep it fast The other end hangs over the stern To this yard the sail is fastened At the foot of the sail there is another small yard to keep the sail out square and to roll up the sail on when it blows hard for it serves instead of a reef to take up the sail to what degree they please according to the strength of the Wind. Along the belly-side of the Boat parallel with it at about 6 or 7 foot distance lies another small Boat or Canoa being a Log of very light Wood almost as long as the great Boat but not so wide being not above a foot and an half wide at the upper part and very sharp like a wedge at each end And there are two Bamboas of about 8 or 10 foot long and as big as ones Leg placed over the great Boats side one near each end of it and reaching about 6 or 7 foot from the side of the Boat by the help of which the little Boat is made firm and contiguous to the other These are generally called by the Dutch and by the English from them Outlagers The use of them is to keep the great Boat upright from over-setting because the Wind here being in a manner constantly East or if it were at West it would be the same thing and the Range of these Islands where their business lies to and fro being mostly North and South they turn the flat side of the Boat against the Wind upon which they sail and the belly-side consequently with its little Boat is upon the Lee and the Vessel having a Head at each end so as to sail with either of them foremost indifferently they need not tack or go about as all our Vessels do but each end of the Boat serves either for head or stern as they please When they ply to windward and are minded to go about he that steers bears away a little from the Wind by which means the stern comes to the Wind which is now become the head only by shifting the end of the yard This Boat is steered with a broad Paddle instead of a Rudder I have been the more particular in describing these Boats because I do believe they sail the best of any Boats in the world I did here for my own satisfaction try the swiftness of one of them sailing by our Log we had 12 knots on our reel and she run it all out before the half minute glass was half out which if it had been no more is after the rate of 12 mile an hour but I do believe she would have run 24 mile an hour It was very pleasant to see the little Boat running along so swift by the others side The Native Indians are not less dexterous in managing than in building these Boats By report they will go from hence to another of the Ladrone

Land I have seen of them also at Mindanea one of the Philippine Islands and on the Coast of New-Holland This Creature is about the bigness of a Horse and 10 or 12 foot long The mouth of it is much like the mouth of a Cow having great thick lips The Eyes are no bigger than a small Pea the Ears are only two small holes on each side of the Head The Neck is short and thick bigger than the Head The biggest part of this Creature is at the Shoulders where it hath two large Fins one on each side of its Belly Under each of these Fins the Female hath a small Dug to suckle her young From the Shoulders towards the Tail it retains its bigness for about 2 foot then groweth smaller and smaller to the very tail which is flat and about 14 inches broad and 20 inches long and in the middle 4 or 5 inches thick but about the edges of it not above 2 inches thick From the head to the tail it is round and smooth without any Fin but those two before mentioned I have heard that some have weighed above 1200 l. but I never saw any so large The Manatee delights to live in brackish Water and they are commonly in Creeks and Rivers near the Sea 'T is for this reason possibly they are not seen in the South Seas that ever I could observe where the Coast is generally a bold Shore that is high Land and deep Water close home by it with a high Sea or great Surges except in the Bay of Panama yet even there is no Manatee Whereas the West-Indies being as it were one great Bay composed of many smaller are mostly low Land and shoal Water and afford proper pasture as I may say for the Manatee Sometimes we find them in salt Water sometimes in fresh but never far at Sea And those that live in the Sea at such places where there is no River nor Creek fit for them to enter yet do commonly come once or twice in 24 hours to the mouth of any fresh Water River that is near their place of abode They live on Grass 7 or 8 inches long and of a narrow blade which grows in the Sea in many places especially among Islands near the Main This Grass groweth likewise in Creeks or in great Rivers near the sides of them in such places where there is but little tide or current They never come ashore nor into shallower water than where they can swim Their flesh is white both the fat and the lean and extraordinary sweet wholsome meat The tail of a young Cow is most esteemed but if old both head and tail are very tough A Calf that sucks is the most delicate meat Privateers commonly roast them as they do also great pieces cut out of the Bellies of the old ones The Skin of the Manatee is of great use to Privateers for they cut them out into straps which they make fast on the sides of their Canoas through which they put their Oars in rowing instead of tholes or pegs The Skin of the Bull or of the back of the Cow is too thick for this use but of it they make Horse-whips cutting them 2 or 3 foot long at the handle they leave the full substance of the Skin and from thence cut it away tapering but very even and square all the four sides While the Thongs are green they twist them and hang them to dry which in a weeks time become as hard as Wood. The Moskito-men have always a small Canoa for their use to strike Fish Tortoise or Manatee which they keep usually to themselves and very neat and clean They use no Oars but Paddles the broad part of which doth not go tapering towards the staff pole or handle of it as in the Oar nor do they use it in the same manner by laying it on the side of the Vessel but hold it perpendicularly griping the staff hard with both hands and putting back the water by main strength and very q●…ick strokes One of the Moskitoes for there go but two in a Canoa sits in the stern the other kneels down in the head and both paddle till they come to the place where they expect their game Then they lye still or paddle very softly looking well about them and he that is in the head of the Canoa lays down his paddle and stands up with his striking staff in his hand This staff is about 8 foot long almost as big as a mans Arm at the great end in which there is a hole to place his Harpoon in At the other end of his staff there is a piece of light Wood called Bobwood with a hole in it through which the small end of the staff comes and on this piece of Bobwood there is a line of 10 or 12 fathom wound neatly about and the end of the line made fast to it The other end of the line is made fast to the Harpoon which is at the great end of the staff and the Moskito man keeps about a fathom of it loose in his hand When he strikes the Harpoon presently comes out of the staff and as the Manatee swims away the line runs off from the bob and although at first both staff and bob may be carried under water vet as the line runs off it will rise again Then the Moskito men paddle with all their might to get hold of the bob again and spend usually a quarter of an hour before they get it When the Manatee begins to be tired it lyeth still and then the Moskito men paddle to the bob and take it up and begin to hale in the line When the Manatee feels them he swims away again with the Canoa after him then he that steers must be nimble to turn the head of the Canoa that way that his consort points who being in the head of the Canoa and holding the line both sees and feels which way the Manatee is swimming Thus the Canoa is towed with a violent motion till the Manatee's strength decays Then they gather in the line which they are often forced to let all go to the very end At length when the Creatures strength is spent they hale it up to the Canoas side and knock it on the head and tow it to the nearest shore where they make it fast and seek for another which having taken they go ashore with it to put it into their Canoa For it is so heavy that they cannot lift it in but they hale it up in shoal water as near the shore as they can and then overset the Canoa laying one side close to the Manatee Then they roll it in which brings the Canoa upright again and when they have heav'd out the water they fasten a line to the other Manatee that lieth afloat and tow it after them I have known two Moskito men for a week every day bring aboard two Manatee in this manner the least of which hath not weighed less than 600

in them as we were informed by all the Spaniards that ever we converst with in these parts They told us also that in these wrecks most of the men were drowned and that the Chinese did never go thither to take up any of the Treasure that was lost there for fear of being lost themselves But the danger of the place did not daunt us for we were resolved to try our fortunes there if the Winds would permit and we did beat for it 5 or 6 days but at last were forced to leave that design also for want of Winds for the S. E. Winds continuing forced us on the Coast of China It was the 25th day of June when we made the Land and running in towards the shore we came to an Anchor the same day on the N. E. end of St. John's Island This Island is in Lat. about 2 d. 30 min. North lying on the S. Coast of the Province of Quantung or Canton in China It is of an indifferent heighth and pretty plain and the Soil fertile enough It is partly woody partly Savannahs or Pasturage for Cattle and there is some moist arable Land for Rice The skirts or outer part of the Island especially that part of it which borders on the main Sea is woody The middle part of it is good thick grassy Pasture with some groves of Trees and that which is cultivated Land is low wet Land yielding plentiful Crops of Rice the only grain that I did see here The tame Cattle which this Island affords are China Hogs Goats Buffaloes and some Buslocks The Hogs of this Island are all black they have but small Heads very short thick Necks great Bellies commonly touching the ground and short Legs They eat but little food yet they are most of them very fat probably because they sleep much The tame Fowls are Ducks and Cocks and Hens I saw no wild Fowl but a few small Birds The Natives of this Island are Chinese They are subject to the Crown of China and consequently at this time to the Tartars The Chinese in general are tall strait-bodied raw boned men They are long Visaged and their Foreheads are high but they have little Eyes Their Noses are pretty large with a rising in the middle Their Mouths are of a mean size pretty thin Lips They are of an ashy complexion their Hair is black and their Beards thin and long for they pluck the hair out by the roots suffering only some few very long straggling Hairs to grow about their Chin in which they take great pride ofren combing them and sometimes tying them up in a knot and they have such Hairs too growing down from each side of their upper Lip like Whiskers The ancient Chinese were very proud of the Hair of their Heads letting it grow very long and stroking it back with their Hands curiously and then winding the plats all together round a Bodkin thrust through it at the hinder part of the Head and both Men and Women did thus But when the Tartars conquer'd them they broke them of this custom they were fond of by main force insomuch that they resented this imposition worse than their subjection and rebelled upon it but being still worried were forc'd to acquiesce and to this day they follow the fashion of their Masters the Tartars and shave all their Heads only reserving one Lock which some tye up others let it hang down to a great or small length as they please The Chinese in other Countries still keep their old custom but if any of the Chinese is found wearing long Hair in China he forfeits his Head and many of them have abandoned their Country to preserve their liberty of wearing their Hair as I have been told by themselves The Chinese have no Hats Caps or Turbans but when they walk abroad they carry a small Umbrello in their hands wherewith they fence their heads from the Sun or the Rain by holding it over their heads If they walk but a little way they carry only a large Fan made of Paper or Silk of the same fashion as those our Ladies have and many of them are brought over hither one of these every man carries in his hand if he do but cross the street skreening his head with it if he hath not an Umbrello with him The common apparrel of the men is a loose Frock and Breeches They seldom wear Stockings but they have Shoes or a sort of Slippers rather The mens Shoes are made diversly The women have very small Feet and consequently but little Shoes for from their Infancy their Feet are kept swathed up with bands as hard as they can possibly endure them and from the time they can go till they have done growing they bind them up every night This they do purposely to hinder them from from growing esteeming little Feet to be a great Beauty But by this unreasonable custom they do in a manner lose the use of their Feet and instead of going they only stumble about their Houses and presently squat down on their Breeches again being as it were confined to sitting all days of their lives They seldom stir abroad and one would be apt to think that as some have conjectured their keeping up their fondness for this fashion were a stratagem of the mens to keep them from gadding and gossipping about and confine them at home They are kept constantly to their work being fine Needle-Women and making many curious Embroideries and they make their own Shoes but if any Stranger be desirous to bring away any for Novelty's sake he must be a great Favourite to get a pair of Shoes of them tho he give twice their value The poorer sort of Women trudge about streets and to the Market without Shoes or Stockings and these cannot afford to have little feet being to get their living with them The Chinese both Men and Women are very ingenious as may appear by the many curious things that are brought from thence especially the Porcelaine or China Earthen Ware The Spaniards of Manila that we took on the Coast of Luconia told me that this Commodity is made of Conch-shells the inside of which looks like Mother of Pearl But the Portuguese lately mentioned who had lived in China and spoke that and the neighbouring Languages very well said that it was made of a fine sort of Clay that was dug in the Province of Canton I have often made enquiry about it but cou'd never be well satisfied in it but while I was on the Coast of Canton I forgot to inquire about it They make very fine Lacquer Ware also and good Silks and they are curious at painting and Carving China affords Drugs in great abundance especially China Root but this is not peculiar to that Country alone for there is much of this Root growing in Jamaica particularly at 16 mile walk and in the Bay of Honduras it is very plentiful There is a great store of Sugar made in this Country and

in and about our Huts but did not kill them because they destroyed the Mice and are very nimble in chacing those Creatures Besides Snakes here are Scorpions and Centapes in abundance Here are also Galliwasps These are Creatures somewhat resembling Lizards but larger their bodies about the thickness of a Man's Arm having four short Legs and small short Tails their colour a dark brown These Creatures live in old hollow Trunks of Trees and are commonly found in wet swampy ground and are said to be very poisonous Here are also a sort of Spiders of a prodigious size some near as big as a Man's Fist with long small Legs like the Spiders in England they have two Teeth or rather Horns an Inch and a half or two Inches long and of a proportionable bigness which are black as Jett smooth as Glass and their small end sharp as a Thorn they are not strait but bending These Teeth we often preserve Some wear them in their Tobacco-pouches to pick their Pipes Others preserve them for Tooth-Pickers especially such as were troubled with the Tooth-ach for by report they will expel that pain tho' I cannot justifie it of my own knowledge The backs of these Spiders are covered with a dark yellowish Down as soft as Velvet Some say these Spiders are venemous others not whether is true I cannot determine Tho' this Country be so often over-flown with Water yet it swarms with Ants of several sorts viz. great small black yellow c. The great black Ant stings or bites almost as bad as a Scorpion and next to this the small yellow Ants bite is most painful for their Sting is like a spark of fire and they are so thick among the boughs in some places that one shall be covered with them before he is aware These Creatures have Nests on great Trees placed on the body between the Limbs some of their Nests are as big as a Hogshead this is their Winter Habitation for in the wet Season they all repair to these their Cities Here they preserve their Eggs. Ants-Eggs are as much esteemed by the Planters in the West-Indies for seeding their Chickens as Great Oat-meal with us in England In the dry Season when they leave their Nests they swarm over all the Woodland for they never trouble the Savannahs You may then see great Paths made by them in the Woods of three or four Inches broad beaten as plain as the Roads in England They go out light but bring home heavy Loads on their backs all of the same substance and equal in bigness I never observed any thing besides pieces of green Leaves so big that I could scarce see the Insect for his Burthen yet they would march stoutly and so many still pressing after that it was a very pretty sight for the Path lookt perfectly green with them There was one sort of Ants of a black Colour pretty large with long Legs these would march in Troops as if they were busie in seeking somewhat they were always in hast and followed their Leaders exactly let them go whither they would these had no beaten Paths to walk in but rambled about like Hunters Sometimes a Band of these Ants would happen to march through our Huts over our Beds or into our Pavilions nay sometimes into our Chests and there ransack every part and where-ever the foremost went the rest all came after We never disturbed them but gave them free liberty to search where they pleased and they would all march off before night These Companies were so great that they would be two or three hours in passing by though they went very fast The Fowls of this Country are Humming Birds Black Birds Turtle Doves Pigeons Parrots Parakites Quames Corresoes Turkies Carrion Crows Subtle Jacks Bill Birds Cockrecoes c. The Humming Bird is a pretty little feather'd Creature no bigger than a great over-grown Wasp with a black Bill no bigger than a small Needle and his Legs and Feet in proportion to his body This Creature does not wave his Wings like other Birds when it flies but keeps them in a continued quick motion like Bees or other Insects and like them makes a continual humming Noise as it flies It is very quick in motion and haunts about Flowers and Fruit like a Bee gathering Hony making many near addresses to its delightful Objects by visiting them on all sides and yet still keeps in motion sometimes on one side sometime on the other as often rebounding a foot or two back on a sudden and as quickly returns again keeping thus about one Flower five or six minutes or more There are two or three sorts of them some bigger than others but all very small neither are they coloured alike the largest are of a blackish colour The Black Bird is somewhat bigger than ours in England it has a longer Tail but like them in Colour They are sometimes called Chattering Crows because they chatter like a Magpy There are three sorts of Turtle Doves viz. white breasted Doves dun coloured Doves and ground Doves The white breasts are the biggest they are of a blewish grey Colour with white breasts these are fine round and plump and almost as big as a Pigeon The next sort are all over of a dun lesser than the former and not so round The ground Dove much bigger than a Sky-Lark of a dull grey very round and plump and commonly run in pairs on the ground and probably thence have their name The other two sorts flie in pairs and feed on Berries which they commonly gather themselves from the Trees where they grow and all three sorts are very good Meat Pigeons are not very common here they are less than our Wood Quests and as good food The Quam is as big as an ordinary Hen Turkey of a blackish dun Colour its Bill like a Turkeys it flies about among the Woods feeds on Berries and is very good meat The Correso is a larger Fowl than the Quam The Cock is black the Hen is of a dark brown The Cock has a Crown of black Feathers on his Head and appears very stately These live also on Berries and are very good to eat but their Bones are said to be poisonous therefore we do either burn or bury them or throw them into the Water for fear our Dogs should eat them Carrion Crows are blackish Fowls about the bigness of Ravens they have bald Heads and redish bald Necks like Turkeys and therefore by Strangers that come newly from Europe are often mistaken for such These live wholly on flesh and are therefore called Carrion Crows There are great numbers of them They are heavy dull Creatures and by their pearching long at one place they seem to be very lazy yet they are quick enough to find out their Prey for when we hunt in the Woods or Savannahs as soon as we have killed a Beast they will immediately flock about us from all parts and in less than an hours time there will be two or

three hundred though at first there was not one to be seen I have sometimes admired from whence so many came so suddenly for we never see above two or three at a place before they come to feast on a Carkass Some of the Carrion Crows are all over white but their Feathers look as if they were sullied They have bald Heads and Necks like the rest they are of the same bigness and make without any difference but in Colour and we never see above one or two of these white ones at a time and 't is seldom also that we see a great number of the black ones but we see one white one amongst them 1. The Logwood-Cutters call the white ones King Carrion Crows and say that they are much bigger than the others and that when a great number are assembled about a Carkass if a King Carrion Crow be among them he falls on first and none of the others will tast the least Morsel till he has filled his belly and is withdrawn nay that they will sit pearching on the Trees about him without approaching the Carkass till he flies away and then in an instant they fall on all together I have seen of the King Carrion Crows but could not perceive them to be bigger than the rest neither were the black ones their Companions so unmannerly as to let them eat without company They are very voracious and will dispatch a Carkass in a trice For that reason the Spaniards never kill them but fine any one that shall And I think there is also an Act in Jamaica that prohibits their destruction and the Logwood-Cutters tho' under no such obligation yet are so zealously superstitious that none will hurt them for fear of receiving some damage afterwards Subtle Jacks are Birds as big as Pigeons they are mostly blackish the tips of their Wing Feathers are yellowish as are also their Bills They have a peculiar and wonderful cunning way of building different from any others Their Nests hang down from the boughs of lofty Trees whose bodies are clean without limbs for a considerable height The branches to which they fasten them are those that spread farthest out from the body and the very extremities of those boughs are only used by them On Trees that grow single by themselves at some distance from others they build clear round but if they joyn to others they make choice of such only as are bordering upon a Savannah Pond or Creek and hang down their Nests from those limbs that spread over those Savannahs c. neglecting such as are near other Trees Their Nests hang down two or three foot from the twigs to which they are fastned and look just like Cabbage-Nets stuft with Hey The Thread that fastens the Nest to the twig is made of long Grass as is also the Nest it self very ingeniously twisted together It is but small at the twig but near the Nest grows thicker The Nest has a hole in the side for the Bird to enter at and 't is very pretty to see twenty or thirty of them hanging round a Tree They are called by the English Subtle Jacks because of this uncommon way of building There are two or three sorts of Bill-Birds so called by the English because their Bills are almost as big as themselves The largest I ever saw are about the size of English Wood-peckers and much like them There are others of a smaller sort but they are not often met with and I never saw many of them Cockrecoes are short winged Birds coloured like Partridges but somewhat lesser neither are they so plump and round They have long Legs delighting to run on the Ground among Woods in swampy Places or near Creeks They make a loud Noise Mornings and Evenings and Answer one another very prettily and they are extraordinary sweet Meat The Water-Fowls are Duck and Mallard Curlews Herons Crabcatchers Pelicans Cormorants Fishing-Hawks Men-of-War-Birds Boobies c. There are three sorts of Ducks viz. The Muscovy the Whistling and the Common Duck. Muscovy Ducks are less than ours but otherwise exactly alike They pearch on old dry Trees or such as have no Leaves on them and seldom light on the Ground but to feed Whistling Ducks are somewhat less than our Common Duck but not differing from them in shape or Colour In flying their Wings make a pretty sort of loud whistling Noise These also pearch on Trees as the former The other sort are like our Common Ducks both in bigness and colour and I have never observed them to pitch upon Trees All three sorts are very good Meat Here are two sorts of Curlews different in bigness and colour the greater are as big as Turkeys with long Legs and long crooked Bills like a Snipes in length and bigness proportionable to the Bulk of their Bodies They are of a dark colour their Wings black and white their Flesh black but very sweet and wholesom They are call'd by the English double Curlews because they are twice as big as the other sort The small Curlews are of a dusky brown with long Legs and Bills like the former their Flesh is most esteemed as being the sweetest Herons are like ours in England in bigness shape and colour Crabcatchers are shaped and coloured like Herons but they are smaller They feed on small Crabs no bigger than ones Thumb of which there is great plenty Pelicans are large flat-footed Fowls almost as big as Geese and their Feathers in colour like them They have short Legs long Necks and their Bills are about two Inches broad and 17 or 18 long the sore-part of their Necks or Breasts is bare and covered with a soft smooth yet loose Skin like that about the Necks of Turkies This Skin is of the colour of their Feathers mixt with a dark and light grey so exactly interwoven that it appears very beautiful They are a very heavy Bird and seldom fly far or very high from the Water They commonly sit on Rocks at some distance from the shore where they may look about them They seem to be very melancholly Fowls by their perching all alone They sit as if they were sleeping holding their Heads upright and resting the ends of their Bills on their Breasts they are better Meat than Boobies or Men-of-War-Birds Cormorants are just like young Ducks in shape having such Feet and Bills They are black with white Breasts and live on small Fish which they take near the shore or on Worms which they get out of the Mud at low Water They taste very fishy yet are indifferent good Meat they being very fat Fishing Hawks are like our smallest sort of Hawks in colour and shape with such Bills and Talons They pearch upon stumps of Trees or dry Limbs that hang over the Water about Creeks Rivers or against the Sea and upon sight of any small Fish near them they skim along just over them and snatching up the prey with their Talons presently rise again without touching the VVater

there was no Property each Man destroyed as fast as he could The French I think are greater Destroyers than the English Had it not been for the great care of the Spaniards in Stocking the West Indies with Hogs and Bullocks the Privateers must have starved But now the Main as well as the Islands is plentifully provided particularly the Bay of Campeachy the Islands of Cuba Pines Hispaniola Portarica c. Where besides wild Hogs there are abundance of Crawls or Hog-farms in some of which I have heard there are no less than 1500. This was the main Subsistence of the Privateers But to return again to Beef-Island Our English Hunters have much lessened the numbers of the Cattle there And those that are left by constant shooting are now grown so wild and desperate that it is dangerous for a single Man to fire at them or to venture through the Savannahs For the old Bulls that have been formerly shot will make at him and they will all draw up in Battalia to defend themselves upon our approach the old Bulls in the Front behind them the Cows in the same manner and behind them the young Cattle And if we strive to wheel about to get in the Reer the Balls will certainly face about that way and still present a Front to us Therefore we seldom strive to shoot any out of a great Herd but walk about in the Woods close by the Savannah and there we light of our Game The Beast makes directly at the Hunter if it be desperately wounded as I have experienced my self but if but slightly they commonly run away The old Hunters tell us that a Cow is more dangerous of the two because they say she runs at her Enemy with her Eyes open but the Bull shuts his so that you may easily avoid him But this I cannot affirm upon my own knowledge and rather doubt the truth of it for I knew one shrewdly gor'd by a Bull. He was a Consort with Mr. Barker in the West Lagune where having tir'd themselves with cutting Logwood they took an occasion to go in their Canoa to Beef-Island to refresh themselves there a Fortnight or three Weeks because here were several sorts of Fruits and plenty of Cabbage to eat with their fresh Beef which they could not fail to meet with They came to a Place call'd the Salt Creek and there built them a Hut About 4 a Clock while Mr. Barker lay down to sleep his Consort march'd out into the Savannah about a Mile from their Huts and there coming within shot of a Bull wounded him desperately but yet the Bull had still so much strength left as to pursue and overtake his Adversary trampling on him and goring his Thigh so that he was not able to rise The Bull by this time was spent and fell down dead by him And there the Man had also perished if Mr. Barker had not come the next Morning to seek him who finding him by the dead Beast took him on his Back and lug'd him home to their Hut The next day he put him in his Canoa and delivered him aboard a Ship into the hands of a Surgeon who cured him in a little time I told you we left Capt. Chandler with a design of going to Beef-Island to spend some time in Hunting at Pies Pond before mentioned But before we came thither we went ashore to kill a Beef for Supper where I was surprized with an odd accident Passing through a small Savannah about 2 or 3 Foot deep we smell'd a strong scent of an Alligator and presently after I stumbled over one and fell down immediately I cry'd out for help but my Consorts instead of assisting me ran away towards the Wood. I had no sooner got up to follow them but I stumbled on him a second time and a third time also expecting still when I fell down to be devoured Yet at last I got out safe but so frighted that I never cared for going through the Water again as long as I was in the Bay CHAP. IV. The River St. Peter St. Paul The Mountain-Cow and Hippopotamus Tobasco Island Guavers Tobasco River Manatee Villa de Mosa Estapo Halapo Tacatalpo de Sierra Small Bees Indians Tartillos Posole Cotton Garments Early Marriages Towns Festivals Shape and Features THE River St. Peter St. Paul springs from the high Mountains of Chiapo about 20 Leagues within the Country which are so called from a City not far distant Its first Course is Easterly for a considerable length till it meets with Mountains on that side then it turns short about Northward till within 12 Leagues of the Sea And lastly it divides its self into two Branches The Western Branch falls into the River Tobasco the other keeps its Course till within 4 Leagues of the Sea then divides it self again The Eastermost of these Branches separates Beef-Island from the Main and falls into Man-of-War Lagune as is before related The other keeps it Course and Name till it falls into the Sea between Beef-Island and Tobasco-Island where it is no broader than the Thames at Gravesend There is a Bar at its Entrance but of what depth I know not over which small Vessels may pass well enough by the Benefit of the Tide It is both deeper and broader after you are in for there it is 15 or 16 Foot Water and very good Riding By Report of the Privateers who have been up this River it is very broad before it parts beyond that farther in the Country has divers large Indian Towns built on its Banks the chief of which is called Summasenta and many large Cacao and Plantain-walks the Soil on each side being very Fruitful The unmanur'd Land is overgrown with lofty Trees of many sorts especially the Cotton or Cabbage of the latter there are whole Groves and in some Places especially a little way from the Rivers side great Savannahs full of Bullocks Horses and other Animals amongst which the Mountain Cow called by the Spaniards Ante is most remarkable This Beast is as big as a Bullock of two Years old It is shaped like a Cow in Body but her Head much bigger Her Nose is short and the Head more compact and round She has no Horns Her Eyes are round full and of a prodigious size She has great Lips but not so thick as the Cows Lips Her Ears are in proportion to the Head rather broader than those of the Common Cow Her Neck is thick and short Her Legs also shorter than ordinary She has a pretty long Tail thin of Hairs and no Bob at the end She has course thin Hair all over her Body Her Hide is near two Inches thick Her Flesh is red The Grain of it very fine The Fat is white and altogether it is sweet wholsom Meat One of them will Weigh 5 or 600 Weight This Creature is always found in the Woods near some large River and feeds on a sort of long thin Grass or Moss which grows plentifully on the