these are 6 small Islands in lat 23 d. 11 m. a little to the South of the Tropick of Cancer and about 3 leagues from the Main where a Salt-Lake hath its out-let into the Sea These Isles are of an indifferent heighth Some of them have a few shrubby bushes the rest are bare of any sort of Wood. They are rocky round by the Sea only one or two of them have sandy Bays on the North side There is a sort of Fruit growing on these Islands called Penguins and 't is all the Fruit they have The Penguin Fruit is of two sorts the yellow and the red The yellow Penguin grows on a green stem as big as a Man's Arm above a foot high from the ground The leaves of this stalk are half a foot long and an inch broad the edges full of sharp prickles The Fruit grows at the head of the stalk in 2 or 3 great clusters 16 or 20 in a cluster The Fruit is as big as a Pullets Egg of a round form and in colour yellow It has a thick skin or rind and the inside is full of small black seeds mixt among the Fruit. It is a sharp pleasant Fruit. The red Penguin is of the bigness and colour of a small dry Onion and is in shape much like a Nine-pin for it grows not on a stalk or stem as the other but one end on the ground the other standing upright 60 or 70 grow thus together as close as they can stand one by another and all from the same root or cluster of roots These Penguins are encompast or fenced with long leaves about a foot and an half or 2 foot long and prickly like the former and the Fruit too is much alike They are both wholsom and never offend the stomach but those that eat many will find a heat or tickling in their Fundament They grow so plentifully in the Bay of Campeachy that there is no passing for their high prickly leaves There are some Guanoes on these Islands but no other sort of Land Animal The Bays about the Islands are sometimes visited with Seal and this was the first place where I had seen any of these Animals on the North side of the Equator in these Seas For the Fish on this sandy Coast lye most in the Lagunes or Salt-lakes and mouths of Rivers but the Seals come not so much there as I judge for this being no rocky Coast where Fish resort most there seems to be but little food for the Seals unless they will venture upon Cat fish Captain Swan went away from hence with 100 Men in our Canoas to the Northward to seek for the River Coolecan possibly the same with the River of Pastla which some Maps lay down in the Province or Region of Cullacan This River lieth in about 24 d. N. lat We were informed that there is a fair and rich Spanish Town seated on the East side of it with Savannahs about it full of Bulls and Cows and that the Inhabitants of this Town pass over in Boats to the Island California where they fish for Pearl I have been told since by a Spaniard that said he had been at the Island California that there are great plenty of Pearl-Oysters there and that the Native Indians of California near the Pearlfishery are mortal Enemies to the Spaniards Our Canoas were absent 3 or 4 days and said they had been above 30 leagues but found no River that the Land by the Sea was low and all sandy Bay but such a great Sea that there was no landing They met us in their return in the lat 23 d. 30 m. coasting along shore after them towards Cullacan so we returned again to the Eastward This was the farthest that I was to the North on this Coast. 6 or 7 leagues N. N. W. from the Isles of Chametly there is a small narrow entrance into a Lake which runs about 12 leagues Easterly parallel with the shore making many small low Mangrove Islands The mouth of this Lake is in lat about 23 d. 30 m. It is called by the Spaniards Rio de Sal for it is a Salt Lake There is Water enough for Boats and Canoas to enter and smooth landing after you are in On the West side of it there is an House and an Estantion or Farm of large Cattel Our Men went into the Lake and landed and coming to the House found 7 or 8 Bushels of Maiz but the Cattle were driven away by the Spaniards yet there our Men took the Owner of the Estantion and brought him aboard He said that the Beefs were driven a great way into the Country for fear we should kill them While we lay here Captain Swan went into this lake again and landed 150 Men on the N. E. side and marched into the Country About a mile from the landing place as they were entring a dry Salina or Salt-pond they fired at two Indians that crost the way before them one of them being wounded in the thigh fell down and being examined he told our Men that there was an Indian Town 4 or 5 leagues off and that the way which they were going would bring them thither While they were in discourse with the Indian they were attacqued by 100 Spanish Horsemen who came with a design to scare them back but wanted both Arms and Hearts to do it Our Men past on from hence and in their way marched through a Savannah of long dry Grass This the Spaniards set on fire thinking to burn them but that did not hinder our Men from marching forward though it did trouble them a little They rambled for want of Guides all this day and part of the next before they came to the Town the Indian spake of There they found a company of Spaniards and Indians who made head against them but were driven out of the Town after a short dispute Here our Chirurgeon and one Man more were wounded with Arrows but none of the rest were hurt When they came into the Town they found 2 or 3 Indians wounded who told them that the Name of the Town was Massaclan that there were a few Spaniards living in it and the rest were Indians that 5 leagues from this Town there were 2 rich Gold Mines where the Spaniards of Compostella which is the chiefest Town in these parts kept many Slaves and Indians at work for Gold Here our Men lay that night and the next morning packt up all the Maiz that they could find and brought it on their backs to the Canoas and came aboard We lay here till the 2d of February and then Captain Swan went away with about 80 Men to the River Rosario whâ—…re they landed and marched to an Indian Town of the same Name They found it about 9 mile from the Sea the way to it fair and even This was a fine little Town of about 60 or 70 Houses with a fair Church and it was chiefly inhabited with Indians They took Prisoners there which
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 qâ—…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
from all parts But Panama as it is not overcharg d with men so unreasonably as the other tho very full so it enjoys a good air lying open to the Sea wind which riseth commonly about 10 or 11 a clock in the morning and continues till 8 or 9 a clock at night then the Land wind comes and blows till 8 or 9 in the morning There are no Woods nor Marshes near Panama but a brave dry Champain land not subject to fogs nor mists The wet season begins in the latter end of May and continues till November At that time the Sea breezes are at S. S. W. and the Land winds at N. At the dry season the winds are most betwixt the E. N. E. and the North Yet off in the Bay they are commonly at South but of this I shall be more particular in my Chapter of Winds in the Appendix The rains are not so excessive about Panama it self as on either side of the Bay yet in the months of June July and August they are severe enough Gentlemen that come from Peru to Panama especially in these months cut their hair close to preserve them from Fevers for the place is sickly to them because they come out of a Country which never hath any Rains or Fogs but enjoys a constant serenity but I am apt to believe this City is healthy enough to any other people Thus much for Panama The 20th day we went and anchored within a league of the Islands Perico which are only 3 little barren rocky Islands in expectation of the President of Panama s Answer to the Letter I said we sent him by Don Diego treating about exchange of Prisoners this being the day on which he had given us his Parole to return with an Answer The 21st day we took another Baâ—…k laden with Hogs Fowl Salt Beef and Molossoes she came from Lavelia and was going to Panama In the afternoon we sent another Letter ashore by a young Mostiso a mixt brood of Indians and Europeans directed to the President and 3 or 4 Copies of it to be dispersed abroad among the common People This Letter which was full of Threats together with the young Man's managing the business wrought so powerfully among the common People that the City was in an uproar The President immediately sent a Gentleman aboard who demanded the Flower Prize that we took off of Gallo and all the Prisoners for the Ransom of our two Men but our Captains told him they would exchange Man for Man The Gentleman said he had not orders for that but if we would stay till the next day he would bring the Governours answer The next day he brought aboard our two Men and had about 40 Prisoners in exchange The 24th day we run over to the Island Tabago Tabago is in the Bay and about 6 leagues South of Panama It is about 3 mile long and 2 broad a high mountainous Island On the North side it declines with a gentle descent to the Sea The Land by the Sea is of a black Mold and deep but toward the top of the Mountain it is strong and dry The North side of this Island makes a very pleasant shew it seems to be a Garden of Fruit inclosed with many high Trees the chiefest Fruits are Plantains and Bonana's They thrive very well from the foot to the middle of it but those near the top are but small as wanting moisture Close by the Sea there are many Coco Nut Trees which make a very pleasant sight Within the Coco Nut Trees there grow many Mammet Trees The Mammet is a large tall and streight-bodied Tree clean without Knots or Limbs for 60 or 70 foot or more The Head spreads abroad into many small Limbs which grow pretty thick and close together The Bark is of a dark grey colour thick and rough full of large chops The Fruit is bigger than Quince it is round and covered with a thick Rind of a grey colour When the Fruit is ripe the Rind is yellow and tough and it will then peel off like Leather but before it is ripe it is brittle the Juice is then white and clammy but when ripe not so The ripe Fruit under the Rind is yellow as a Carret and in the middle are two large rough Stones flat and each of them much bigger than an Almond The Fruit smells very well and the taste is answerable to the smell The S. W. end of the Island hath never been cleared but is full of Fire-wood and Trees of divers sorts There is a very fine small Brook of fresh Water that springs out of the side of the Mountain and gliding through the Grove of Fruit-trees falls into the Sea on the North side There was a small Town standing by the Sea with a Church at one end but now the biggest part of it is destroyed by the Privateers There is good anchoring right against the Town about a mile from the shore where you may have 16 or 18 fathom Water soft oazy ground There is a small Island close by the N. W. end of this called Tabogilla which is a small Channel to pass between There is another woody Island about a mile on the N. E. side of Tabago and a good Channel between them this Island hath no Name that ever I heard While we lay at Tabago we had like to have had a scurvy trick plaid us by a pretended Merchant from Panama who came as by stealth to traffick with us privately a thing common enough with the Spanish Merchants both in the North and South Seas notwithstanding the severe Prohibitions of the Governours who yet sometimes connive at it and will even trade with the Privateers themselves Our Merchant was by agreement to bring out his Bark laden with Goods in the night and we to go and anchor at the South of Perico Out he came with a Fireship instead of a Bark and approached very near haling us with the Watch word we had agreed upon We suspecting the worst call d to them to come to an anchor and upon their not doing so fired at them when immediately their Men going out into the Canoas set fire to their Ship which blew up and burnt close by us so that we were forced to cut our Cables in all haste and scamper away as well as we could The Spaniard was not altogether so politick in appointing to meet us at Perico for there we had Sea-room whereas had he come thus upon us at Tabago the Land-wind bearing hard upon us as it did we must either have been burnt by the Fireship or upon loosing our Cables have been driven ashore But I suppose they chose Perico rather for the Scene of their Enterprize partly because they might there best sculk among the Islands and partly because if their Exploit fail d they could thence escape best from our Canoas to Panama but 2 leagues off During this Exploit Captain Swan whose Ship was less than ours and so not so much
Canby particularly who hath sailed as a Mate in a great many Voyages from Cape Lopez on the Coast of Guinea to Barbadoes and is much esteem d as a very sensible man hath often told me that he constantly found the distance to be between 60 and 62 degree whereas 't is laid down in 68 69 70 and 72 degrees in the common draughts As to the supposition it self which our Seamen make in the allowing but 60 miles to a degree I am not ignorant how much this hath been canvased of late years especially and that the prevailing opinion hath been that about 70 or upwards should be allowed But till I can see some better grounds for the exactness of these tryals that have been made on Land by Mr. Norwood and others considering the inequality of the Earths surface as well as the obliquity of the way in their allowing for which I am somewhat doubtful of their measures upon the whole matter I cannot but adhere to the general Sea-Calculation confirmed as to the main by daily experience till some more certain estimate shall be made than those hitherto attempted For we find our selves when we sail North or South to be brought to our intended place in a time agreeable enough with what we expect upon the usual supposition making all reasonable allowance for the little unavoidable deviations East or West and there seems no reason why the same estimate should not serve us in crosing the Meridians which we find so true in sailing under them As to this course of ours to Guam particularly we should rather increase than shorten our estimate of the length of it considering that the Easterly Wind and Current being so strong and bearing therefore our Log after us as is usual in such cases should we therefore in casting up the run of the Log make allowance for so much space as the Log it self drove after us which is commonly 3 or 4 miles in 100 in so brisk a gale as this was we must have reckoned more than 125 degrees but in this Voyage we made no such allowance though it be usual to do it so that how much soever this computation of mine exceeds the common Draughts yet is it of the shortest according to our experiment and calculation But to proceed with our Voyage The Island Guam or Guahon as the Native Indians pronounce it is one of the Ladrone Islands belongs to the Spaniards who have a small Fort with 6 Guns in it with a Governour and 20 or 30 Soldiers They keep it for the relief and refreshment of their Philippine Ships that touch here in their way from Acapulco to Manila but the Winds will not so easily let them take this way back again The Spaniards of late have named Guam the Island Maria it is about 12 leagues long and 4 broad lying N. and S. It is pretty high Champion Land The 21st day of May 1686 at 11 a clock in the evening we anchored near the middle of the Island Guam on the West side a mile from the shore At a distance it appears flat and even but coming near it you will find it stands shelving and the East side which is much the highest is fenced with steep Rocks that oppose the violence of the Sea which continually rage against it being driven with the constant Trade-wind and on that side there is no anchoring The West side is pretty low and full of small sandy Bays divided with as many rocky points The Soil of the Island is reddish dry and indifferent fruitful The Fruits are chiesly Rice Pine-apples Water-melons Musk-melons Oranges and Limes Coco-nuts and a sort of Fruit called by us Bread-fruit The Coco-nut Trees grow by the Sea on the Western side in great groves 3 or 4 miles in length and a mile or 2 broad This Tree is in shape like the Cabbage-tree and at a distance they are not to be known each from other only the Coco-nut Tree is fuller of Branches but the Cabbage-tree generally is much higher though the Coco-nut Trees in some places are very high The Nut or Fruit grows at the head of the Tree among the Branches and in clusters 10 or 12 in a cluster The Branch to which they grow is about the bigness of a mans arm and as long running small towards the end It is of a yellow colour full of knots and very tough The Nut is generally bigger than a mans head The outer Rind is near 2 inches thick before you come to the Shell the Shell it self is black thick and very hard The Kernel in some Nuts is near an inch thick sticking to the inside of the Shell clear round leaving a hollow in the middle of it which contains about a pint more or less according to the bigness of the Nut for some are much bigger than others This Cavity is full of sweet delicate wholsom and refreshing Water While the Nut is growing all the inside is full of this Water without any Kernel at all but as the Nut grows towards its maturity the Kernel begins to gather and settle round on the inside of the Shell and is soft like Cream and as the Nut ripens it increaseth in substance and becomes hard The ripe Kernel is sweet enough but very hard to digest therefore seldom eaten except by strangers who know not the effects of it but while it is young and soft like pap some men will eat it scraping it out with a spoon after they have drunk the water that was within it I like the Water best when the Nut is almost ripe for it is then sweetest and briskest When these Nuts are ripe and gathered the outside Rind becomes of a brown rusty colour so that one would think that they were dead and dry yet they will sprout out like Onions after they have been hanging in the Sun 3 or 4 months or thrown about in a House or Ship and if planted afterward in the Earth they will grow up to a Tree Before they thus sprout out there is a small spungy round knob grows in the inside which we call an Apple This at first is no bigger than the top of ones finger but increaseth daily sucking up the Water till it is grown so big as to fill up the Cavity of the Coco-nut and then it begins to sprout forth By this time the Nut that was hard begins to grow oily and soft thereby giving passage to the sprout that springs from the Apple which Nature hath so contrived that it points to the hole in the Shell of which there are 3 till it grows ripe just where it 's fastened by its Stalk to the Tree but one of these holes remains open even when it is ripe through which it creeps and spreads forth its Branches You may let these teeming Nuts sprout out a foot and half or 2 foot high before you plant them for they will grow a great while like an Onion out of their own substance Beside the Liquor or Water in the
Savannah with some large Palmeto-Trees growing in it The North side of the VVest end is full of Coco-Plum-Bushes and some Grapes The Coco-Plum-Bush is about 8 or 9 Foot high spreading out into many Branches It s Rind black and smooth the Leaves oval and pretty large and of a dark Green The Fruit is about the bigness of a Horse-Plum but round some are black some white others redish The Skin of the Plum is very thin and smooth the inside white soft and woolly rather fit to suck than bite inclosing in the middle a large soft Stone This Fruit grows commonly in tho Sand near the Sea and I have tasted some that have been saltish but they are commonly sweet and pleasant enough and accounted very wholsom The Body of the Grape-Tree is about two or three Foot in Circumference growing 7 or 8 Foot high then sends forth many Branches whose Twigs are thick and gross the Leaves are shaped much like an Ivy Leaf but broader and more hard the Fruit is as big as an ordinary Grape growing in Bunches or Clusters among the Twigs all over the Tree it is black when ripe and the inside redish with a large hard Stone in the middle This Fruit is very pleasant and wholsom but of little substance the Stones being so large The Body and Limbs of the Tree are good Fewel making a clear strong fire therefore often used by the Privateers to harden the Steels of their Guns when faulty The Animals of this Island are Lizards Guanoes Snakes and Dear Beside the Common small Lizard there is another sort of a large kind called a Lyon-Lizard This Creature is shaped much like the other but almost as big as a Man's Arm and it has a large Comb on its head when it is assaulted it sets its Comb up an end but otherways it lyes down flat Here are two or three sorts of Snakes some very large as I have been told At the West end of the Island close by the Sea you may dig in the Sand 5 or 6 Foot deep and find good fresh Water There are commonly VVells ready made by Seamen to water their Ships but they soon fill up if not cleared and if you dig too deep your VVater will be salt This Island was seldom clear of Inhabitants when the English visited the Bay for Logwood for the biggest Ships did always ride here in 6 or 7 Fathom Water close by the Shore but smaller Vessels ran up 3 Leagues farther to One-Bush-Key of which in my former Chapter The second Mouth or Entrance into this Lagune is between Trist and Beef-Island and is about 3 Mile wide It is shoal without and only two Channels to come in The deepest Channel on a Spring Tide has 12 Foot Water It lyes near the middle of the Mouth hard Sand on the Barr the West Channel is about 10 Foot Water and lies pretty near Beef-Island You run in with the Sea-Breez and sound all the way taking your Sounding from Beef-Island shore The bottom is soft Oaz and it shoots gradually Being shot in within Beef-Island Point you will have three fathom then you may stand over towards Trist till you come near the Shore and there Anchor as you please There is good Anchoring any where within the Bar between Trist and Beef-Island but the Tide is much stronger than at Port-Royal This is the other Mouth or opening to the Salt Lagune before-mentioned This Lagune is call'd by the Spaniards Laguna Termina or the Lagune of Tides because they run very strong here Small Vessels as Barks Periagoes or Canoas may sail thro' this Lagune from one Mouth to the other or into such Creeks Rivers or smaller Lagunes as empty themselves into this of which here are many The first of Note on the East part of this Lagune as you come in at Port-Royal is the River Summasenta This River though but small yet it is big enough for Pereagoes to enter It disembogues on the South side near the middle of the Lagune There was formerly an Indian Village named Summasenta near the Mouth of the River and another large Indian Town called Chucquebul 7 or 8 Leagues up in the Country This latter was once taken by the Privateers by whom I have been informed that there were about 2000 Families of Indians in it and two or three Churches and as many Spanish Friers though no white Men beside The Land near this River yields plenty of Logwood From Summasenta River to One-Bush-Key is 4 or 5 Leagues the shore running West I have described One-Bush-Key and the Creek against it which as I said is very narrow and not above a Mile long before it opens into another wide Lake lying nearest N. and S. called the East Lagune It is about a League and half wide and 3 Leagues long encompassed with Mangrove-Trees At the S. E. corner of it there is another Creek about a Mile wide at the Mouth running 6 or 7 Mile into the Country on both sides of it grows plenty of Logwood therefore it was inhabited by Englishmen who lived in small Companies from three to ten in a Company and settled themselves at their best Convenience for Cutting At the Head of the Creek they made a path leading into a large Savanah full of black Cattle Horses and Deer which was often visited by them upon occasion At the North end and about the middle of the East Lagune there is another small Creek like that which comes out against One-Bush-Key but less and shallower which dischargeth it self into Laguna Termina against a small sandy Key called by the English Serles's Key from one Captain Serles who first carried his Vessel here and was afterwards killed in the Western Lagune by one of his company as they were cutting Logwood together This Captain Serles was one of Sir Henry Morgans Commanders at the Sacking of Panama who being sent out to cruise in a small Vessel in the South Seas happened to surprize at Toboca the Boatswain and most of the Crew belonging to the Trinity a Spanish Ship on Board which were the Friers and Nuns with all the old Gentlemen and Matrons of the Town to the number of 1500 Souls besides an immense Treasure in Silver and Gold as I was informed by Captain Peralta who then Commanded her as he did afterwards when she was taken by Captain Sharp all which he might have taken in the Ship had he pursued her On the West side of the East Lagune there is a small Skirt of Mangroves that separates it from another running Parallel with it called the East Lagune which is about the bigness of the former Towards the North end of this Laguue runs a small Creek coming out of the East Lagune deep enough for small Barks to pass through At the South end of this Lagune there is a Creek about a Mile wide at its Mouth and half a Mile from thence it divides into two Branches one called the East the other the West Branch both deep
with their Wings They don't swallow the Fish whole as all other fishing Fowls that ever I saw do but tear it with their Bills and eat it Piece-Meal The Lagunes Creeks and Rivers are plentifully stored with great variety of Fish viz. Mullets Snooks Tenpounders Tarpoms Cavallies Parricootas Garr-fish Stingrays Spanish Mackril with many others Tenpounders are shaped like Mullets but are so full of very small stiff Bones intermixt with the Flesh that you can hardly eat them Parricootas are long Fish with round Bodies like Mackril They have very long Mouths and sharp Teeth they are about 8 or 10 Inches round and three Foot and half long They commonly haunt in Lagunes among Islands or in the Sea near the shore They are a floating Fish and greedily take the Hook and will snap at Men too in the Water We commonly take them when we are under sail with a Hook towing after our Stern They are firm well-tasted Fish but 't is dangerous eating them for some Men have been poisoned with them Divers Persons are of Opinion that these Creatures are poysonous in some Places only and that but at some times of the Year I know that in many Parts of the West-Indies some have been injured by eating them and that at different Seasons of the Year therefore Seamen commonly taste the Liver before they venture any further and if that has a biting taste like Pepper they esteem the fish unwholsom but if not they eat it and yet I have found even this Rule fail too I judge the Head and the Parts near it to be chiefly venomous Garr-fish are round but neither so big nor long as the former but what is more peculiar they have long bony Snouts like the Sword-fish only as the Sword-fishes Snout is flat and indented like a Saw on each side so on the contrary these have their Snouts like a spear round smooth and sharp at the end and about a foot long These are a sort of floaty or Flying Fish for they skip along a Foot or two above the Water for the length of twenty or thirty Yards then they just touch the edge of the Water and spring forward so much farther and then touch the Water and spring forward again a great many times before they cease They dart themselves with such a force that they strike their Snout through the sides of a Cotton-Tree Canoa and we often fear that they will strike quite through our very Bodies They are extraordinary sweet Fish Spanish Mackril are in shape and colour like our Mackril but larger They are three Foot or three and half long and nine or ten Inches about and they also are generally esteeemed very excellent Fish The Ray is a flat Fish like Skate and I have seen three sorts of them viz. the Stingray the Raspray and the Whipray The Stingray and Raspray are much alike in shape but the former has three or four strong sharp Prickles near two Inches long at the Root of its Tail which are said to be very venomous but the rest of his Skin is smooth The Raspray has a rough knotty Skin wherewith Rasps are made the Skins of the largest are so rough that the Spaniards in some Places grate their Cassavy with them which is a Root very common all over the West Indies and of which the Spaniards and English frequently make their Bread but the fairest Skins are useds to cover Surgeons Instrument Cases and other uch fine Things but of late they are counterfeited I have been told that in Turkey Asses Skins are stamped with small hard Seeds which gives them Impressions like Raspray The Whipray differs from the other two sorts having a small but longer Tail and ending with a Knob shaped like a Harpoon All these three sorts are much about a Foot and half broad There is yet another sort of these flat Fish of the Whipray kind but of a prodigious bigness viz. three or four Yards square and their Tails as long these we call Sea-Devils they are very strong Fish and are sometimes Gamesom but they make an odd Figure when they leap out of the Water tumbling over and over Neither are Turtle and Manatee wanting in this Lagune Here are some Hawks-bill-Turtle but the green Turtle is most plentiful They are of a middle size yet here was once a very large one taken as I have mentioned in my Voyages round the World Here are abundance of Manatee which are both large and sweet Alligators are also in great numbers in all the Creeks Rivers and Lagunes in the Bay of Campeachy and I think that no part of the Universe is better stock'd with them The Alligator is a Creature so well known every where that I should not describe it were it not to give an Account of the difference between it and the Crocodile for they resemble each other so nearly in their shape and bulk as also in their Natures that the yare generally mistaken for the same Species only the one supposed to be the Male the other the Female Whether they are so or not the World may judge by the following Observations As to their bulk and length I never saw any so large as some I have heard and read of but according to my best Judgment though I have seen Thousands I never met with any above sixteen or seventeen Foot long and as thick as a large Colt He is shaped like a Lizard of a dark-brown colour with a large head and very long Jaws with great strong Teeth especially two of a Remarkable Length that grow out of and at the very end of the under Jaw in the smallest part on each side one there are two holes in the upper Jaw to receive these otherways he could not shut his Mouth It has 4 short Legs and Broad Claws with a long Tail The Head Back and Tail is fenced with pretty hard Scales joyned together with a very thick tough Skin Over its Eyes there are two hard scally Knobs as big as a Mans Fist and from the Head to the Tail along the Ridge of his Back 't is full of such knotty hard Scales not like Fish-Scales which are loose but so united to the Skin that it is all one with it and can't be taken asunder but with a sharp Knife From the Ridge of the Back down on the Ribs towards the Belly which is of a dusky yellow colour like a Frog there are many of these Scales but not so substantial nor so thick placed as the other These Scales are no hindrance to him in turning for he will turn very quick considering his length When he goes on Land his Tail drags on the Ground The Flesh smells very strong of Musk especially four Kernels or Cods that are always found about them two of which grow in the Groin near each Thigh the other two at the Breast one under each fore Leg and about the bigness of a Pullets Egg therefore when we kill an Alligator we take out these and having
not hurt them for we had our Bags rotten lying in the bottom of our Ship and yet the Nuts never the worse They raise the young Trees of Nuts set with the great end downward in fine black Mould and in the same places where they are to bear which they do in 4 or 5 years time without the trouble of transplanting There are ordinarily of these Trees from 500 to 2000 and upwards in a Plantation or Cacoa-walk as they call them and they shelter the young Trees from the weather with Plaintains set about them for 2 or 4 years destroying all the Plantains by such time the Cacoa-Trees are of a pretty good body and able to endure the heat which I take to be the most pernicious to them of any thing for tho these Valleys lye open to the North winds unless a little shelter'd here and there by some groves of Plaintain Trees which are purposely set near the Shores of the several Bays yet by all that I could either observe or learn the Cacao's in this Country are never blighted as I have often known them to be in other places Cacoa-Nuts are used as Money in the Bay of Campechy The chief Town of this Country is called Caraccos a good way within Land 't is a large wealthy place where live most of the Owners of these Cacao-walks that are in the Valleys by the shore the Plantations being managed by Overseers and Negro's It is in a large Savanah Country that abounds with Cattle and a Spaniard of my acquaintance a very sensible man who hath been there tells me that 't is very populous and he judges it to be 3 times as big as Coruma in Gallicia The way to it is very steep and craggy over that ridge of of Hills which I said closes up the Valleys and partition Hills of the Cacao Coast. In this Coast it self the chief place is La Guiare a good Town close by the Sea and though it hath but a bad Harbour yet it is much frequented by the Spanish shipping for the Dutch and English anchor in the sandy Bays that lye here and there in the mouths of several Valleys and where there is very good riding The Town is open but hath a strong Fort yet both were taken some years since by Captain Wright and his Privateers 'T is seared about 4 or 5 leagues to the Westward of Cape Blanco which Cape is the Eastermost boundary of this Coast of Caraccos Further Eastward about 20 leagues is a great lake or branch of the Sea called La Laguna de Vallensuella about which are many rich Towns but the mouth of the Lake is shallow that no Ships can enter Near this mouth is a place called Comana where the Privateers were once repulsed without daring to attempt it any more being the only place in the North Seas they attempted in vain for many years and the Spaniards since throw it in their teeth frequently as a word of reproach or defiance to them Not far from the place is Verina a small Village and Spanish Plantation famous for its Tobacco reputed the best in the world But to return to Caraccos all this Coast is subject to dry winds generally North-east which caused us to have scabby Lips and we always found it thus and that in different seasons of the year for I have been on this Coast several times In other respects it is very healthy and a sweet clear Air. The Spaniards have Look-outs or Scouts on the Hills and Breast-works in the Valleys and most of their Negro's are furnished with Arms also for defence of the Bays The Dutch have a very profitable Trade here almost to themselves I have known 3 or 4 great Ships at a time on the Coast each it may be of 30 or 40 Guns They carry hither all sorts of European Commodities especially Linnen making vast returns chiefly in Silver and Cacao And I have often wondred and regretted it that none of my own Countrymen find the way thither directly from England for our Jamaica-men Trade thither indeed and find the sweet of it though they carry English Commodities at second or third hand While we lay on this Coast we went ashore in some of the Bays and took 7 or 8 Tun of Cacoa and after that 3 Barks one laden with Hides the second with European Commodities the third with Earthen ware and Brandy With these 3 Barks we went again to the Islands of Roca's where we shar'd our Commodities and separated having Vessels enough to transport us all whither we thought most convenient Twenty of us for we were about 60 took one of the Vessels and our share of the goods and went directly for Virginia In our way thither we took several of the Sucking-fishes for when we see them about the Ship we cast out a Line and Hook and they will take it with any manner of Bait whether Fish or Flesh. The Sucking-fish is about the bigness of a large Whiting and much of the same shape towards the Tail but the Head is flatter From the Head to the middle of its Back there groweth a sort of flesh of a hard gristly substance like that part of the Limpit a Shell-fish tapering up Pyramidically which sticks to the Rocks or like the head or mouth of a Shell-Snail but harder This excrescence is of a flat oval form about 7 or 8 inches long and 5 or 6 broad and rising about half an inch high It is full of small ridges with which it will fasten it self to any thing that it meets with in the Sea just as a Snail doth to a Wall When any of them happen to come about a Ship they seldom leave her for they will feed on such filth as is daily thrown overboard or on meer excrements When it is fair weather and but little wind they will play about the Ship but in blustring weather or when the Ship sails quick they commonly fasten themselves to the Ships bottom from whence neither the Ships motion though never so swift nor the most tempestuous Sea can remove them They will likewise fasten themselves to any other bigger Fish for they never swim fast themselves if they meet with any thing to carry them I have found them sticking to a Shark after it was hal'd in on the deck though a Shark is so strong and boisterous a Fish and throws about him so vehemently for half an hour together it may be when caught that did not the Sucking-fish stick at no ordinary rate it must needs be cast off by so much violence It is usual also to see them sticking to Turtle to any old Trees Planks or the like that lye driving at Sea Any knobs or inqualities at a Ships bottom are a great hinderance to the swiftness of its sailing and 10 or 12 of these sticking to it must needs retard it as much in a manner as if its bottom were foul So that I am inclined to think that this Fish is the Remora of which
Cotton and Cabbage-trees whereof there is great plenty and they are as large of their kinds as ever I saw There are two sorts of Cotton-trees one is called the Red the other the White Cotton-tree The white Cotton-tree grows like an Oak but generally much bigger and taller than our Oaks The body is streight and clear from knots or boughs to the very head there it spreads forth many great limbs just like an Oak The Bark is smooth and of a grey colour the Leaves are as big as a large Plumb Leaf jogged at the edge they are oval smooth and of a dark green colour Some of these Trees have their bodies much bigger 18 or 20 foot high than nearer the ground being big-bellied like Nine-pins They bear a very fine sort of Cotton called Silk Cotton When this Cotton is ripe the Trees appear like our Apple-trees in England when full of Blossoms If I do not mistake the Cotton falls down in November or December then the ground is covered white with it This is not substantial and continuous like that which grows upon the Cotton-shrubs in Plantations but like the Down of Thistles so that I did never know any use made of it in the West Indies because it is not worth the labour of gathering it but in the East Indies the Natives gather and use it for Pillows It hath a small black Seed among it The Leaves of this Tree fall off the beginning of April while the old Leaves are falling off the young ones spring out and in a weeks time the Tree casts off her old Robes and is cloathed in a new pleasant garb The red Cotton-tree is like the other but hardly so big it bears no Cotton but its Wood is somewhat harder of the two yet both sorts are soft spungy Wood fit for no use that I know but only for Canoas which being streight and tall they are very good for but they will not last long especially if not drawn ashore often and tarred otherwise the Worm and the Watersoon rot them They are the biggest Trees or perhaps Weeds rather in the West Indies They are common in the East and West Indies in good fat Land As the Cotton is the biggest Tree in the Woods so the Cabbage-tree is the tallest The Body is not very big but very high and streight I have measured one in the Bay of Campeachy 120 feet long as it lay on the ground and there are some much higher It has no Limbs nor Boughs but at the head there are many Branches bigger than a mans Arm. These Branches are not covered but flat with sharp edges they are 12 or 14 foot long About 2 foot from the Trunk the Branches shoot forth small long leaves about an inch broad which grow so regularly on both sides of the Branch that the whole Branch seems to be but one Leaf made up of many small ones The Cabbage Fruit shoots out in the midst of these Branches from the top of the Tree It is invested with many young Leaves or Branches which are ready to spread abroad as the old Branches droop and fall down The Cabbage it self when it is taken out of the Leaves which it seems to be folded in is as big as the small of a mans Leg and a foot long It is as white as Milk and as sweet as a Nut if eaten raw and it is very sweet and wholesom if boiled Besides the Cabbage it self there grow out between the Cabbage and the large Branches small â—…wigs as of a Shrub about two foot long from their Stump At the end of those Twigs which grow very thick together there hang Berries hard and round and as big as a Cherry These the Tree sheds every year and they are very good for Hogs for this reason the Spaniards fine any who shall cut down one of these in their Woods The body of the Tree is full of rings round it half a foot asunder from the bottom to the top The Bark is thin and brittle the Wood is black and very hard the heart or middle of the Tree is white pith They do not climb to get the Cabbage but cut them down for should they gather it off the Tree as it stands yet its head being gone it soon dies These Trees are much used by Planters in Jamaica to board the sides of the Houses for it is but splitting the Trunk into 4 parts with an Axe and there are so many Planks These Trees appear very pleasant and they beautifie the whole Wood spreading their green Branches above all other Trees All this Country is subject to very great Rains so that this part of Peru pays for the dry weather which they have about Lima and all that Coast. I believe that is one reason why the Spaniards have made such small discoveries in this and other Rivers on this Coast. Another reason may be because it lies not so directly in their way for they do not Coast it a long in going from Panama to Lima but first go West-ward as far as to the Keys or Isles of Cobaya for a Westerly wind and from thence stand over towards Cape St. Francisco not touching any where 〈◊〉 till they come to Manta near Cape St. Lorenzo In their return indeed from Lima to Panama they may keep along the Coast hereabouts but then their Ships are always laden whereas the light Ships that go from Panama are most at leasure to make discoveries A third reason may be the wildness and enmity of all the Natives on this Coast who are naturally fortified by their Rivers and vast Woods from whence with their Arrows they can easily annoy any that shall land there to assault them At this River particularly there are no Indians live within 6 leagues of the Sea and all the Country so far is full of impassible Woods so that to get at the Indians or the Mines and Mountains there is no way but by rowing up the River and if any who are Enemies to the Natives attempt this as the Spaniards are always hated by them they must all the way be exposed to the Arrows of those who would lye purposely in Ambush in the Woods for them These wild Indians have small Plantations of Maiz and good Plaintain-gardens for Plantâ—… are their chiefest food They have also a few Fowls and Hogs It was to this River that we were bound to seek for Canoas therefore the 26th supposing our selves to be abrest of it we went from our Ships with 4 Canoas The 27th day in the morning we entered at half Flood into the smaller Branch of that River and rowed up 6 leagues before we met any inhabitants There we found two small Huts thatched with Palmeto Leaves The Indians seeing us rowing towards their Houses got their Wives and little ones with their Houshold-stuff into their Canoas and paddled away faster than we could row for we were forced to keep in the middle of the River because of our Oars but they with their
shore and saw no Land till the 14th day but then being in lat 12 d. 50 m. the Volcan of Guatimala appeared in sight This is a very high Mountain with two peeks or heads appearing like two Sugar-loaves It often belches forth Flames of Fire and Smoak from between the two heads and this as the Spaniards do report happens chiefly in tempestuous weather It is called so from the City Guatimala which stands near the foot of it about 8 leagues from the South Sea and by report 40 or 50 leagues from the Gulf of Matique in the Bay of Honduras in the North Seas This City is famous for many rich Commodities that are produced thereabouts some almost peculiar to this Country and yearly sent into Europe especially 4 rich Dies Indico Otta or Anatta Silvester and Cochineel Indico is made of an Herb which grows a foot and half or two foot high full of small branches and the branches full of leaves resembling the leaves which grow on Flax but more thick and substantial They cut this Herb or Shrub and cast it into a large Cistern made in the ground for that purpose which is half full of Water The Indico Stalk or Herb remains in the Water till all the leaves and I think the skin rind or bark rot off and in a manner dissolve but if any of the leaves should stick fast they force them off by much labour tossing and tumbling the mass in the water till all the pulpy substance is dissolved Then the Shrub or woody part is taken out and the Water which is like Ink being disturbed no more settles and the Indico falls to the bottom of the Cistern like Mud. When it is thus settled they draw off the Water and take the Mud and lay it in the Sun to dry which there becomes hard as you see it brought home Otta or Anatta is a red sort of Dye It is made of a red Flower that grows on Shrubs 7 or 8 foot high It is thrown into a Cistern of Water as the Indico is but with this difference that there is no stalk nor so much as the head of the Flower but only the Flower it self pull d off from the head as you peel Rose-leaves from the bud This remains in the Water till it rots and by much jumbling it dissolves to a liquid substance like the Indico and being settled and the Water drawn off the red Mud is made up into Rolls or Cakes and laid in the Sun to dry I did never see any made but at a place called the Angels in Jamaica at Sir Tho. Muddiford's Plantations about 20 years since but was grubb'd up while I was there and the ground otherwise employed I do believe there is none any where else on Jamaica and even this probably was owing to the Spaniards when they had that Island Indico is common enough in Jamaica I observed they planted it most in sandy ground they sow great Fields of it and I think they sow it every year but I did never see the Seeds it bears Indico is produced all over the West Indies on most of the Caribbee Islands as well as the Main yet no part of the Main yields such great quantities both of Indico and Otta as this Country about Guatimala I believe that Otta is made now only by the Spaniards for since the destroying that at the Angels Plantation in Jamaica I have not heard of any improvement made of this commodity by our Countrymen any where and as to Jamaica I have since been informed that 't is wholy left off there I know not what quantities either of Indico or Otta are made at Cuba or Hispaniola but the place most used by our Jamaica Sloops for these things is the Island Porto Rico where our Jamaica Traders did use to buy Indico for 3 Rials and Otta for 4 Rials the pound which is but 2 s. 3 d. of our Money and yet at the same time Otta was worth in Jamaica 5 s. the pound and Indico 3 s. 6 d. the pound and even this also paid in Goods by which means alone they got 50 or 60 per Cent. Our Traders had not then found the way of trading with the Spaniards in the Bay of Honduras but Captain Coxon went thither as I take it at the beginning of the year 1679. under pretence to cut Logwood and went into the Gulf of Matique which is in the bottom of that Bay There he landed with his Canoas and took a whole Store-house full of Indico and Otta in Chests piled up in several parcels and marked with different marks ready to be shipt off aboard two Ships that then lay in the road purposely to take it in but these Ships could not come at him it being shole-water He opened some of the Chests of Indico and supposing the other Chests to be all of the same species ordered his Men to carry them away They immediately set to work and took the nearest at hand and having carried out one heap of Chests they seized on another great pile of a different mark from the rest intending to carry them away next But a Spanish Gentleman their Prisoner knowing that there was a great deal more than they could carry away desired them to take only such as belonged to the Merchants whose Marks he undertook to shew them and to spare such as had the same Mark with those in that great Pile they were then entring upon because he said those Chests belonged to the Ship-Captains who following the Seas as themselves did he hoped they would for that reason rather spare their Goods than the Merchants They consented to his Request but upon their opening their Chests which was not before they came to Jamaica where by connivance they were permitted to sell them they found that the Don had been too sharp for them the few Chests which they had taken of the same Mark with the great Pile proving to be Otta of greater value by far than the other whereas they might as well have loaded the whole Ship with Otta as with Indico The Cochineel is an Insect bred in a sort of Fruit much like the Prickle Pear The Tree or Shrub that bears it is like the Prickle Pear-tree about 5 foot high and so prickly only the Leaves are not quite so big but the Fruit is bigger On the top of the Fruit there grows a red Flower This Flower when the Fruit is ripe falls down on the top of the Fruit which then begins to open and covers it so that no Rain nor Dew can wet the inside The next day or 2 days after its falling down the Flower being then scorched away by the heat of the Sun the Fruit opens as broad as the mouth of a pint pot and the inside of the Fruit is by this time full of small red insects with curious thin wings As they were bred here so here they would dye for want of food and rot in their husks having by this time eaten
here being as I have said neither Boats Barks nor Ships that I could ever see unless only what come hither from other parts and some Boats near the S. E. end of California as I guess by the intercourse between that and the Main for Pearl-fishing The Ships that Trade hither are only 3 two that constantly go once a year between this and Manila in Luconia one of the Phillipine Islands and one Ship more every year to and from Lima. This from Lima commonly arrives a little before Christmas she brings them Quick-silver Cacao and pieces of Eight Here she stays till the Manila Ship arrives and then takes in a Cargo of Spices Silks Callicoes and Muzlins and other East India Commodities for the use of Peru and then returns to Lima. This is but a small Vessel of 20 Guns but the 2 Manila Ships are each said to be above 1000 Tun. These make their Voyages alternately so that one or other of them is always at the Manillas When either of them sets out from Acapulco it is at the latter end of March or the beginning of April she alwas touches to refresh at Guam one of the Ladrone Islands in about 60 days space after she sets out There she stays but 2 or 3 days and then prosecutes her Voyage to Manila where she commonly arrives some time in June By that time the other is ready to sail from thence laden with East India Commodities She stretcheth away to the North as far as 36 or sometimes into 40 degrees of North lat before she gets a wind to stand over to the American shore She falls in first with the Coast of California and then Coasts along the shore to the South again and never misses of a wind to bring her away from thence quite to Acapulco When she gets the length of Cape St. Lucas which is the Southermost point of California she stretcheth over to Cape Cortientes which is in about the 20th degree of North lat from thence she Coasts along till she comes to Sallagua and there she sets ashore Passengers that are bound to the City of Mexico From thence she makes her best way coasting still along shore till she arrives at Acapulco which is commonly about Christmas never more than 8 or 10 days before or after Upon the return of this Ship to the Manila the other which stayeth there till her arrival takes her turn back to Acapulco Sir John Narborough therefore was imposed on by the Spaniards who told him that there were 6 sail or more that used this Trade The Port of Acapulco is very commodious for the reception of Ships and so large that some hundreds may safely ride there without damnifying each other There is a small low Island crossing the mouth of the Harbour it is about a mile and a half long and half a mile broad stretching East and West It leaves a good wide deep Channel at each end where Ships may safely go in or come out taking the advantage of the Winds they must enter with the Sea-wind and go out with the Land-wind for these Winds seldom or never fail to succeed each other alternately in their proper seasons of the day or night The Westermost Channel is the narrowest but so deep there is no anchoring and the Manila Ships pass in that way but the Ships from Lima enters on the S. W. Channel This Harbour runs in North about 3 miles then growing very narrow it turns short about to the West and runs about a mile farther where it ends The Town stands on the N. W. side at the mouth of this narrow passage close by the Sea and at the end of the Town there is a Platform with a great many Guns Opposite to the Town on the East side stands a high strong Castle said to have 40 Guns of a very great bore Ships commonly ride near the bottom of the Harbour under the Command both of the Castle and the Platform Captain Townly who as I said before with 140 men left our Ships on a design to fetch the Lima Ship out of the Harbour had not rowed above 3 or 4 leagues before the Voyage was like to end with all their Lives for on a sudden they were encountered with a violent Tornado from the shore which had like to have foundered all the Canoas but they escaped that danger and the second night got safe into Port Marquis Port Marquis is a very good Harbour a league to the East of Acapulco Harbour Here they staid all the next day to dry themselves their Cloaths their Arms and Ammunition and the next night they rowed softly into Acapulco Harbour and because they would not be heard they hal'd in their Oars and paddled as softly as if they had been seeking Manatee They paddled close to the Castle then struck over to the Town and found the Ship riding between the Brestwork and the Fort within about 100 yards of each When they had well viewed her and considered the danger of the design they thought it not possible to accomplish it therefore they paddled softly back again till they were out of command of the Forts and then they went to land and fell in among a company of Spanish Soldiers for the Spaniards having seen them the day before had set Guards along the Coast who immediately fired at them but did them no damage only made them retire farther from the shore They lay afterwards at the mouth of the Harbour till it was day to take a view of the Town and Castle and then returned aboard again being tired hungry and sorry for their disappointment The 11th day we made sail again further on to the Westward with the Land-wind which is commonly at N. E. but the Sea Winds are at S. W. We passed by a long sandy Bay of above 20 leagues All the way along it the Sea falls with such force on the shore that it is impossible to come near it with Boat or Canoa yet it is good clean ground and good anchoring a mile or two from the shore The Land by the Sea is low and indifferent fertile producing many sorts of Trees especially the spreading Palm which grows in spots from one end of the Bay to the other The Palm-tree is as big as an ordinary Ash growing about 20 or 30 foot high The body is clear from boughs or branches till just at the head there it spreads forth many large green branches not much unlike the Cabbage-tree before described These branches also grow in many places as in Jamaica Darien the Bay of Campeachy c. from a stump not above a foot or two high which is not the remains of a Tree cut down for none of these sort of Trees will ever grow again when they have once lost their head but these are a sort of Dwarf-palm and the branches which grow from the stump are not so large as those that grow on the great Tree These smaller branches are used both in the East
Fruit there is also a sort of VVine drawn from the Tree called Toddy which looks like VVhey It is sweet and very pleasant but it is to be drunk within 24 hours after it is drawn for afterwards it grows sowre Those that have a great many Trees draw a spirit from the sowre Wine called Arack Arack is distill'd also from Rice and other things in the East Indies but none is so much esteemed for making Punch as this sort made of Toddi or the sap of the Coco-nut Tree for it makes most delicate Punch but it must have a dash of Brandy to hearten it because this Arack is not strong enough to make good Punch of it self This sort of Liquor is chiefly used about Goa and therefore it has the name of Goa Arack The way of drawing the Toddi from the Tree is by cutting the top of a Branch that would bear Nuts but before it has any Fruit and from thence the Liquor which was to feed its Fruit distils into the hole of a Callabash that is hung upon it This Branch continues running almost as long as the Fruit would have been growing and then it dries away The Tree hath usually 3 fruitful Branches which if they be all tapp'd thus then the Tree bears no Fruit that year but if one or two only be tapp'd the other will bear Fruit all the while The Liquor which is thus drawn is emptied out of the Callabash duly morning and evening so long as it continues running and is sold every morning and evening in most Towns in the East Indies and great gains is produced from it even this way but those that distil it and make Arack reap the greatest profit There is also great profit made of the Fruit both of the Nut and the Shell The Kernel is much used in making Broath When the Nut is dry they take off the husk and giving two good blows on the middle of the Nut it breaks in two equal parts letting the Water fall on the ground then with a small iron Rasp made for the purpose the Kernel or Nut is rasped out clean which being put into a little fresh Water makes it become white as Milk In this milky Water they boil a Fowl or any sort of Flesh and it makes very savory Broath English Seamen put this Water into boil'd Rice which they eat instead of Rice-milk carrying Nuts purposely to Sea with them This they learn from the Natives But the greatest use of the Kernel is to make Oyl both for burning and for frying The way to make the Oyl is to grate or rasp the Kernel and steep it in fresh water then boil it and scum off the Oil at top as it rises but the Nuts that make the Oyl ought to be a long time gathered so as that the Kernel may be turning soft and oily The Shell of this Nut is used in the East Indies for Cups Dishes Ladles Spoons and in a manner for all eating and drinking vessels 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 shaped Nuts are often brought home to Europe and much esteemed The husk of the Shell is of great use to make Cables for the dry husk is full of small strings and threads which being beaten become soft and the other substance which was mixt among it falls away like Saw-dust leaving only the strings These are afterwards spun into long yarns and twisted up into balls for convenience and many of these Rope-yarns joyned together make good Cables This Manufactory is chiefly used at the Maldive Islands and the threads sent in balls into all places that trade thither purposely for to make Cables I made a Cable at Achin with some of it These are called Coire Cables they will last very well But there is another sort of Coire Cables as they are called that are black and more strong and lasting and are made of strings that grow like Horse-hair at the heads of certain Trees almost like the Coco-nut-tree This sort comes most from the Island Timor In the South Seas the Spaniards do make Oakam to chalk their Ships with the husk of the Coco-nut which is more serviceable than that made of hemp and they say it will never rot I have been told by Captain Knox who wrote the Relation of Ceylon that in some places of India they make a sort of coarse Cloath of the husk of the Coco-nut which is used for Sails I my self have seen a sort of course Sail-cloath made of such a kind of substance but whether the same or no I know not I have been the longer on this subject to give the Reader a particular Account of the use and profit of a Vegetable which is possibly of all others the most generally serviceable to the conveniencies as well as the necessities of humane Life Yet this Tree that is of such great use and esteemed so much in the East Indies is scarce regarded in the West Indies for want of the knowledge of the benefit which it may produce And t is partly for the sake of my Countrymen in our American Plantations that I have spoken so largely of it For the hot Climates there are a very propersoil for it and indeed it is so hardy both in the raising it and when grown that it will thrive as well in dry sandy ground as in rich land I have found them growing very well in low sandy Islands on the West of Sumatra that are over-flowed with the Sea every Spring-tide and though the Nuts there are not very big yet this is no loss for the Kernel is thick and sweet and the Milk or VVater in the inside is more pleasant and sweet than of the Nuts that grow in rich ground which are commonly large indeed but not very sweet These at Guam growing in dry ground are of a middle size and I think the sweetest that I did ever taste Thus much for the Coco-nut The Lime is a sort of bastard or Crab-limon The Tree or Bush that bears it is prickly like a Thorn growing full of small boughs In Jamaica and other places they make of the Lime-Bush Fences about Gardens or any other Inclosure by planting the seeds close together which growing up thick spread abroad and make a very good Hedge The Fruit is like a Lemon but smaller the rind thin and the inclosed substance full of juice The juice is very tart yet of a pleasant taste if sweetned with Sugar It is chiefly used for making Punch both in the East and West Indies as well ashore as at Sea and much of it is for that purpose yearly brought home to England from our West India Plantations It is also used for a particular kind of Sauce which is called Pepper-Sauce and is made of Cod-pepper commonly called Guinea-pepper boiled in Water and then pickled with Salt and mixt with Lime-juice to preserve it Limes grow plentifully in the East and West Indies within the Tropicks The Bread-fruit as we call it grows on a large Tree as big and high as our
split the 2 halves again as near the middle as they can This they leave in the Sun 2 or 3 days in which time part of the juicy substance of the Tree dries away and then the ends will appear full of small threads The women whose employment it is to make the Cloath take hold of those threads one by one which rend away easily from one end of the Trunk to the other in bigness like whited brown thread for the threads are naturally of a determinate bigness as I observed their Cloath to be all of one substance and equal fineness but 't is stubborn when new wears out soon and when wet feels a little slimy They make their pieces 7 or 8 yards long their wasp and woof all one thickness and substance There is another sort of Plantains in that Island which are shorter and less than the others which I never saw any where but here These are full of black Seeds mixt quite through the Fruit. They are binding and are much eaten by those that have Fluxes The Country people gave them us for that use and with good success The Bonano Tree is exactly like the Plantain for shape and bigness nor easily distinguishable from it but by its Fruit which is a great deal smaller and not above half so long as a Plantain being also more mellow and soft less luscious yet of a more delicate taste They use this for the making drink oftner than Plantains and it is best when used for drink or eaten as Fruit but it is not so good for Bread nor doth it eat well at all when roasted or boiled so 't is only necessity that makes any use it this way They grow generally where Plantains do being set intermixt with them purposely in their Plantain-walks They have plenty of Clove-bark of which I saw a Ship-load and as for Cloves Raja Laut whom I shall have occasion to mention told me that if the English would settle there they could order matters so in a little time as to send a Ship load of Cloves from thence every year I have been informed that they grow on the boughs of a Tree about as big as a Plumb-tree but I never happened to see any of them I have not seen the Nutmeg-trees any where but the Nutmegs this Island produces are fair and large yet they have great store of them being unwilling to propugate them or the Cloves for fear that should invite the Dutch to visit them and bring them into subjection as they have done the rest of the Neighbouring Islands where they grow For the Dutch being seated among the Spice-Islands have monopolized all the Trade into their own hands and will not suffer any of the Natives to dispose of it but to themselves alone Nay they are so careful to preserve it in their own hands that they will not suffer tâ—…e Spice to grow in the uninhabited Islands but send Soldiers to cut the Trees down Captain Rofy told me that while he lived with the Dutch he was sent with other men to cut down the Spice Trees and that he himself did at several times cut down 7 or 800 Trees Yet altho the Dutch take such care to destroy them there are many uninhabited Islands that have great plenty of Spice-trees as I have been informed by Dutch-men that have been there particularly by a Captain of a Dutch Ship that I met with at Achin who told me that near the Island Banda there is an Island where the Cloves falling from the Trees do lye and rot on the ground and they are at the time when the Fruit falls 3 or 4 inches thick under the Trees He and some others told me that it would not be a hard matter for an English Vessel to purchase a Ships Cargo of Spice of the Natives of some of these Spice Islands He was a free Merchant that told me this For by that name the Dutch and English in the East Indies distinguish those Merchant who are not Servants to the Company The free Merchants are not suffered to Trade to the Spice Islands nor to many other places where the Dutch have Factories but on the other hand they are suffered to Trade to some places where the Dutch Company themselves may not Trade as to Achin particularly for there are some Princes in the Indies who will not Trade with the Company for fear of them The Sea-men that go to the Spice Islands are obliged to bring no Spice from thence for themselves except a small matter for their own use about a pound or two Yet the masters of those Ships do commonly so order their business that they often secure a good quantity and send it ashore to some place near Batavia before they come into that Harbour for it is always brought thither first before it 's sent to Europe and if they meet any Vessel at Sea that will buy their Cloves they will sell 10 or 15 Tuns out of 100 and yet seemingly carry their complement to Batavia for they will pour water among the remaining part of their Cargo which will swell them to that degree that the Ships hold will be as full again as it was before any were sold. This trick they use whenever they dispose of any clandestinely fot the Cloves when they first take them in are extraordinary dry and so will imbibe a great deal of moisture This is but one instance of many hundreds of little deceitful arts the Dutch Seamen in these parts have among them of which I have both seen and heard several I believe there are no where greater Thieves and nothing will perswade them to discover one another for should any do it the rest would certainly knock him on the head But to return to the products of Mindanao The Betel Nut is much esteemed here as it is in most places of the East Indies The Betel-tree grows like the Cabbage-tree but it is not so big nor so high The body grows streight about 12 or 14 foot high without Leaf or Branch except at the head There it spreads forth long Branches like other Trees of the like nature as the Cabbage-tree the Coco-nut Tree and the Palm These Branches are about 10 or 12 foot long and their stems near the head of the Tree as big as a mans Arm. On the top of the Tree among the Branches the Betel-nut grows on a tough stem as big as a mans Finger in clusters much as the Coco-nuts do and they grow 40 or 50 in a cluster This Fruit is bigger than a Nutmeg and is much like it but rounder It is much used all over the East Indies The way is to cut it in four pieces and wrap one of them up in an Areck leaf which they spread with a soft paste made of Lime or Plaister and then chew it altogether Every man in these parts carries his Lime box by his side and dipping his finger into it spreads his Betel and Arek leaf with it The Arek is a
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
over-board some into their Boats others into the Sea and they all made away for the shore But when we perceived their fright we made much of him that was in hold who stood trembling all the while and at last we gave him a small piece of Iron with which he immediately leapt overboard and swam to his Consorts who hovered about our Ship to see the issue Then we beckned to them to come aboard again being very loth to lose a commerce with them Some of the Boats came aboard again and they were always very honest and civil afterwards We presently after this sent a Canoa ashore to see their manner of living and what Provision they had The Canoas Crew were made very welcom with Bashee drink and saw abundance of Hogs some of which they bought and returned aboard After this the Natives brought aboard both Hogs and Goats to us in their own Boats and every day we should have 15 or 20 Hogs and Goats in Boats aboard by our side These we bought for a small matter we could buy a good fat Goat for an old Iron Hoop and a Hog of 70 or 80 pound weight for 2 or 3 pound of Iron Their Drink also they brought off in Jars which we bought for old Nails Spikes and Leaden Bullets Beside the forementioned Commodities they brought aboard great quantities of Yams and Potatoes which we purchased for Nails Spikes or Bullets It was one Man's work to be all day cutting out Bars of Iron into small pieces with a cold Chisel and these were for the great purchases of Hogs and Goats which they would not sell for Nails as their Drink and Roots We never let them know what store we have that they may value it the more Every morning assoon as it was light they would thus come aboard with their Commodities which we bought as we had occasion We did commonly furnish our selves with as many Goats and Roots as served us all the day and their Hogs we bought in large quantities as we thought convenient for we salted them Their Hogs were very sweet but I never saw so many meazled ones We filled all our Water at a curious Brook close by us in Graftons Isle where we first anchored We stayed there about 3 or 4 days before we went to other Islands We sailed to the Southward passing on the East side of Grafton Island and then passed thro between that and Monmouth Island but we found no anchoring till we came to the North end of Monmouth Island and there we stopt during one Tide The Tide runs very strong here and sometimes makes a short chopping Sea Its course amongst these Islands is S. by E. and N. by W. The flood sets to the North and ebb to to the South and it riseth and falleth 8 foot When we went from hence we coasted about 2 leagues to the Southward on the West side of Monmouth Island and finding no anchor ground we stood over to Bashee Island and came to an anchor on the North East part of it against a small sandy Bay in 7 fathom clean hard sand and about a quarter of a mile from the shore Here is a pretty wide Channel between these two Islands and anchoring all over it The depth of Water is 12 14 and 16 fathom We presently built a Tent ashore to mend our Sails in and stay'd all the rest of our time here viz. from the 13th day of August till the 26 day of September In which time we mended our Sails and scrubbed our Ships bottom very well and every day some of us went to their Towns and were kindly entertained by them Their Boats also came aboard with their Merchandise to sell and lay aboard all day and if we did not take it off their hands one day they would bring the same again the next We had yet the Winds at S. W. and S. S. W. mostly fair weather In October we did expect the Winds to shift to the N. E. and therefore we provided to sail as soon as the Eastern Monsoon was settled to cruise off of Manila Accordingly we provided a stock of Provision We salted 70 or 80 good fat Hogs and bought Yams and Potatoes good store to eat at Sea About the 24th day of September the Winds shifted about to the East and from thence to the N. E. fine fair weather The 25th it came at N. and began to grow fresh and the Sky began to be clouded and the Wind freshned on us At 12 a clock at night it blew a very fierce storm We were then riding with our best Bower a head and though our Yards and Top-mast were down yet we drove This obliged us to let go our Sheet Anchor veering out a good scope of Cable which stopt us till 10 or 11 a clock the next day Then the Wind came on so fierce that she drove again with both Anchors a head The Wind was now at N. by W. and we kept driving till 3 or 4 a clock in the afternoon and it was well for us that there were no Islands Rocks or Sands in our way for if there had we must have been driven upon them We used our utmost endeavours to stop her being loath to go to Sea because we had 6 of our Men ashore who could not get off now At last we were driven out into deep Water and then it was in vain to wait any longer Therefore we hove in our Sheet Cable and got up our Sheet Anchor and cut away our best Bower for to have heav'd her up then would have gone near to have foundred us and so put to Sea We had very violent weather the night ensuing with very hard Rain and we were forced to scud with our bare poles till 3 a clock in the morning Then the Wind slacken'd and we brought our Ship to under a mizen and lay with our head to the Westward The 27th day the Wind abated much but it rained very hard all day and the night ensuing The 28th day the Wind came about to the N. E. and it cleered up and blew a hard gale but it stood not there for it shifted about the Eastward thence to the S. E. then to the South and at last it settled at S. W. and then we had a moderate gale and fair weather It was the 29th day when the Wind came to the S. W. Then we made all the sail we could for the Island again The 30th day we had the Wind at West and saw the Islands but could not get in before night Therefore we stood off to the Southward till 2 a clock in the morning then we tackt and stood in all the morning and about 12 a clock the 1st day of October we anchored again at the place from whence we were driven Then our 6 men were brought aboard by the Natives to whom we gave 3 whole bars of Iron for their kindness and civility which was an extraordinary Present to them Mr. Robert Hall was one of the
When they had a little refresh'd him with Brandy and Water he told them how his Company had fainted for Thirst and drop'd down one after another though he still incouraged them to be chearful and rest themselves a while till he got some supplies of Water for them that they were very patient and that two of his Men held out till five a Clock in the Afternoon and then they fainted also but he himself proceeded in quest of his way till Night and then fell down in the place where they then found him The two Seamen carried the Captain Aboard while Mr. Cane searched about for the rest but to no purpose for he returned without them and could neve hear of them afterwards This was a warning to me never to straggle from my Consorts in our Hunting But to proceed When my Months Service was up in which time we brought down all the Wood to the Creeks side I was presently pay'd my Tun of Logwood with which and some more that I borrow'd I bought a little Provision and was afterwards entertained as a Companion at Work with some of my former Masters for they presently broke up Consort-ships letting the Wood lye till either Mr. West came to fetch it according to his Contract or else till they should otherwise dispose of it Some of them immediately went to Beef-Island to kill Bullocks for their Hides which they preserve by pegging them out very tite on the Ground First they turn the fleshy side and after the hair upwards letting them lye so till they are very dry 32 strong Pegs as big as a Man's Arm are required to stretch the Flide as it ought to be When they are dry they fold them in the middle from Head to Tail with the Hair outward and then hang them cross a strong Pole so high that the ends may not touch the Ground 40 or 50 one upon another and once in 3 Weeks or a Month they beat them with great Sticks to strike off the Worms that breed in the Hair and eat it off which spoils the Hide When they are to be ship'd off they soak them in salt Water to kill the remaining Worms and while they are yet wet they fold them in 4 folds and afterwards spread them Abroad again to dry When they are fully dry they fold them up again and so send them Aboard I was yet a Stranger to this Work therefore remained with 3 of the old Crew to cut more Logwood My Consorts were all three Scotch-men one of them named Price Morrice had lived there some Years and was Master of a pretty large Periago for without some sort of Boat here is no stirring from one place to another The other two were young Men that had been bred Merchants viz. Mr. Duncan Campbell and Mr. George These two not liking either the Place or Employment waited an opportunity of going away by the first Ship that came hither to take in Logwood Accordingly not long after the above-mentioned Capt. Hall of Boston came hither on that design and was fraighted by them with 40 Tun. It was agreed that George should stay behind to cut Logwood but Campbell should go to New-England to sell this Cargo and bring back Flower and such other Commodities that were proper to purchase Hides and Logwood in the Bay This retarded our business for I did not find Price Morrice very intent at Work for 't is like he thought he had Logwood enough And I have particularly observed there and in other Places that such as had been well-bred were generally most careful to improve their Time and would be very industrious and frugal when there was any probability of considerable Gain But on the contrary such as had been inur'd to hard Labour and got their Living by the sweat of their Brows when they came to have plenty would extravagantly squander away their Time and Money in Drinking and making a Bluster To be short I kept to my Work by my self till I was hindred by a hard red and angry Swelling like a Boyl in my right Leg so painful that I was scarce able to stand on it but I was directed to roast and apply the Roots of White Lillies of which here is great plenty growing by the Creek sides to draw it to a head This I did three or four Days without any benefit At last I perceived two White Specks in the middle of the Boil and squeezing it two small white Worms spurted out I took them both up in my Hand and perceived each of them to be invested with three Rows of black short stiff Hair running clear round them one Row near each end the other in the middle each Row distinct from other and all very regular and uniform The Worms were about the bigness of a Hens Quill and about three fourths of an Inch long I never saw Worms of this sort breed in any Man's Flesh. Indeed Guinea Worms are very frequent in some Places of the West Indies especially at Curasao They breed as well in Whites as Negroes And because that Island was formerly a Magazin of Negroes while the Dutch drove that Trade with the Spaniards and the Negroes were most subject to them 't was therefore believed that other People took them by Infection from them I rather judge that they are generated by drinking bad Water and 't is as likely that the Water of the other Island of Aruba and Bonairy may produce the same Effects for many of those that went with me from thence to Virginia mentioned in my former Volume were troubled with them after our arrival there particularly I my self had one broke out in my Ancle after I had been there five or six Months These Worms are no bigger than a large brown Thread but as I have heard five or six Yards long and if it breaks in drawing out that part which remains in the Flesh will putrifie and be very painful and indanger the Patients Life or at least the use of that Limb and I have known some that have been scarified and cut strangely to take out the Worm I was in great torment before it came out my Leg and Ancle swell'd and look'd very red and angry and I kept a Plaister to it to bring it to a Head At last drawing off my Plaister out came about three Inches of the Worm and my pain abated presently Till then I was ignorant of my Malady and the Gentlewoman at whose House I was took it for a Nerve but I knew well enough what it was and presently roll'd it up on a small Stick After that I opened it every Morning and Evening and strained it out gently about two Inches at a time not without some pain till at length I had got out about two Foot Riding with one Mr. Richardson who was going to a Negro to have his Horse cured of a gall'd Back I ask'd the Negro if he could undertake my Leg which he did very readily and in the mean time I
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 â—…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