Selected quad for the lemma: land_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
land_n	degree_n	latitude_n	minute_n	5,380	5	11.8773	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

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

difficulty over the Mountains where if 3 men are placed they may keep down as many as come against them on any side This was partly experienced by 5 Englishmen that Captain Davis left here who defended themselves against a great body of Spaniards who landed in the Bays and came here to destroy them and though the second time one of their Consorts deserted and fled to the Spaniards yet the other 4 kept their ground and were afterward taken in from hence by Captain Strong of London We remained at John Fernando's 16 days our sick men were ashore all the time and one of Captain Eaton's Doctors for he had 4 in his Ship tending and feeding them with Goat and several Herbs whereof here is plenty growing in the Brooks and their Diseases were chiefly Scorbutick CHAP. V. The Author departs from John Fernando's Of the Pacifick Sea Of the Andes or high Mountains in Peru and Chili A Prize taken Isle of Lobos Penguins and other Birds there Three Prizes more The Islands Gallapago's The Dildo tree Burton wood Mammet trees Guanoes Land Tortoise their several kind Green Snakes Turtle-Doves Tortoise or Turtle-grass Sea Turtle their several kinds The Air and Weather at the Gallapago's Some of the Islands describ'd their Soil c. The Island Cocos describ'd Cape Blanco and the Bay of Caldera the Sevanahs there Captain Cook dies Of Nicoya and a Red Wood for Dying and other Commodities A narrow Escape of 12 Men. Lance-wood Volean Vejo a burning Mountain on the Coast of Ria Lexa A Tornado The Island and Harbor of Ria Lexa The Gulph of Amapalla and Point Casivina Isles of Mangera and Amapalla The Indian Inhabitants Hog-plumb tree Other Islands in the Gulph of Amapalla Captain Eaton and Captain Davis careen their Ships here and afterwards part THE 8th of April 1684. we sailed from the Isle of John Fernando with the Wind at S. E. We were now 2 Ships in Company Captain Cook 's whose Ship I was in and who here took the Sickness of which he dy'd a while after and Captain Eaton's Our passage lay now along the Pacifick Sea properly so called For though it be usual with our Map-makers to give that Name to this whole Ocean calling it Mare Australe Mar del Zar or Mare Pacificum yet in my opinion the Name of the Pacifick Sea ought not to be extended from South to North farther than from 30 to about 4 degrees South Latitude and from the American Shore Westward indefinitely with respect to my Observation who have been in these parts 250 Leagues or more from Land and still had the Sea very quiet from Winds For in all this Tract of Water of which I have spoken there are no dark rainy Clouds though often a thick Horizon so as to hinder an Observation of the Sun with the Quadrant and in the morning hazy weather frequently and thick Mists but scarce able to wet one Nor are there in this Sea any Winds but the Trade-wind no Tempests no Tornado's or Hurricans though North of the Equator they are met with as well in this Ocean as in the Atlantick yet the Sea it self at the new and full of the Moon runs with high large long Surges but such as never break out at Sea and so are safe enough unless that where they fell in and break upon the shore they make it bad landing In this Sea we made the best of our way toward the Line till in the lat of 24. S. where we fell in with the main Land of the South America All this course of the Land both of Chili and Peru is vastly high therefore we kept 12 or 14 leagues off from shore being unwilling to be seen by the Spaniards dwelling there The Land especially beyond this from 24 deg S. Lat. to 17 and from 14 to 10 is of a most prodigious heighth It lies generally in ridges parallel to the Shore and 3 or 4 ridges one within another each surpassing other in heighth and those that are farthest within Land are much higher than the others They always appear blue when seen at Sea sometimes they are obscured with Clouds but not so often as the high Lands in other parts of the world for here are seldom or never any Rains on these Hills any more than in the Sea near it neither are they subject to Fogs These are the highest Mountains that ever I saw far surpassing the Pike of Tenariffe or Santa Martha and I believe any Mountains in the world I have seen very high Land in the Lat. of 30 South but not so high as in the Latitudes before described In Sir John Narborough's Voyage also to Baldivia a City on this Coast mention is made of very high Land seen near Baldivia and the Spaniard with whom I have discoursed have told me that there is very high Land all the way between Coquimbo which lies in about 30 deg S. Lat. and Baldivia which is in 40 South so that by all likelihood these ridges of Mountains do run in a continued Chain from one end of Peru and Chili to the other all along this South Sea Coast called usually the Andes or Sierra Nuevada des Andes The excessive heighth of these Mountains may possibly be the reason that there are no Rivers of note that fall into these Seas Some small Rivers indeed there are but very few of them for in some places there is not one that comes out into the Sea in 150 or 200 Leagues and where they are thickest they are 30 40 or 50 Leagues asunder and too little and shallow to be navigable Besides some of these do not constantly run but are dry at certain seasons of the year as the River of Ylo runs flush with a quick Current at the latter end of January and so continues till June and then it decreaseth by degrees growing less and running slow till the latter end of September when it fails wholly and runs no more till January again This I have seen at both seasons in two former Voyages I made hither and have been informed by the Spaniards that other Rivers on this Coast are of the like nature being rather Torrents or Land-floods caused by their Rains at certain seasons far within Land than Perennial Streams We kept still along in sight of this Coast but at a good distance from it encountring with nothing of Note till in the lat of 9 deg 40 min. South on the 3d of May we descried a Sail to the Northward of us She was plying to Windward we chaced her and Captain Eaton being a head soon took her she came from Guiaquil about a month before laden with Timber and was bound to Lima. Three days before we took her she came from Santa whither she had gone for Water and where they had news of our being in these Seas by an Express from Baldivia for as we afterwards heard Captain Swan had been at Baldivia to seek a Trade there and he having met Captain

are Markets duly kept all over Tonquin one in a week in a neighbourhood of 4 or 5 Villages and held at each of them successively in its order so that the same Village has not the Market return'd to it till 4 or 5 weeks after These Markets are abundantly more stor'd with Rice as being their chief subsistence especially of the poorer sort than either with Flesh or Fish yet wants there not for Pork and young Pigs good store Ducks and Hens plenty of Eggs Fish great and small fresh and salted Balachaun and Nuke-Mum with all sorts of Roots Herbs and Fruits even in these Country Markets But at Cachao where there are markets kept every day they have besides these Beef of Bullocks Buffaloes Flesh Goats Flesh Horse Flesh Cats and Dogs as I have been told and Locusts They dress their food very cleanly and make it savory for which they have several ways unknown in Europe but they have many sorts of dishes that wou'd turn the Stomach of a stranger which yet they themselves like very well as particularly a dish of raw Pork which is very cheap and common This is only Pork cut and minced very small fat and lean together which being afterwards made up in balls on rolls like Sausages and prest very hard together is then neatly wrapt up in clean leaves and without more ado served up to the Table Raw Beef is another dish much esteemed at Cachao When they kill a Bullock they singe the hair off with Fire as we singe Bacon Hogs in England Then they open it and while the Flesh is yet hot they cut good Collops from off the lean parts and put them into very tart Vinegar where it remains 3 or 4 hours or longer till it is sufficiently soaked and then without more trouble they take it out and eat it with great delight As for Horseflesh I know not whether they kill any purposely for the Shambles or whether they only do it when they are not likely to live as I have seen them do their working Bullocks at Galicia in Old Spain where the Cattel falling down with labour and being so poor and tired that they cannot rise they are slaughtered and sent to market and I think I never eat worse Beef than at the Groin The Horseflesh comes to Market at Cachao very frequently and is as much esteemed as Beef Elephants they eat also and the Trunk of this Beast is an acceptable present for a Nobleman and that too tho the beast dyes with Age or Sickness For here are but few wild Elephants and those so shy that they are not easily taken But the King having a great number of tame Elephants when one of these dyes 't is given to the poor who presently fetch away the Flesh but the Trunk is cut in pieces and presented to the Mandarins Dogs and Cats are killed purposely for the Shambles and their Flesh is much esteemed by people of the best fashion as I have been credibly informed Great yellow Frogs also are much admired especially when they come fresh out of the Pond They have many other such choice dishes and in all the Villages at any time of the day and be it market day or not there are several to be sold by poor people who make it their Trade The most common sorts of Cookeries next to boil'd Rice is to dress little bits of Pork spitted 5 or 6 of them at once on a small skiver and roasted In the Markets also and daily in every Village there are Women sitting in the Streets with a Pipkin over a small Fire full of Chau as they call it a sort of very ordinary Tea of a reddish brown colour and 't is their ordinary drink The Kingdom of Tonquin is in general healthy enough especially in the dry season when also it is very delightsom For the seasons of the year at Tonquin and all the Countries between the Tropicks are distinguished into Wet and Dry as properly as others are into Winter and Summer But as the alteration from Winter to Summer and vice versa is not made of a sudden but with the interchangeable Weather of Spring and Autumn so also toward the end of the dry season there are some gentle showers now and then that precede the violent wet months and again toward the end of these several fair days that introduce the dry time These seasons are generally much alike at the same time of the year in all places of the Torrid Zone on the same side of the Equator but for 2 or 3 degrees on each side of it the weather is more mixt and uncertain tho inclining to the wet extreme and is often contrary to that which is then settled on the same side of the Equator more toward the Tropick So that even when the wet Season is set in in the Northern parts of the Torrid Zone it may yet be dry weather for 2 or 3. degrees North of the Line and the same may be said of the contrary Latitudes and Seasons This I speak with respect to the driness or moisture of Countries in the Torrid Zone but it may also hold good of their Heat or Cold generally for as to all these qualities there is a further difference arises from the make or situation of the Land or other accidental causes besides what depends on the respective latitude or regard to the Sun Thus the Bay of Compeachy in the West Indies and that of Bengal in the East in much the same latitude are exceeding hot and moist and whether their situation being very low Countries and the scarcity and faintness of the Sea-breezes as in most Bays may not contribute hereunto I leave others to judge Yet even as to the Latitudes of these places lying near the Tropicks they are generally upon that account alone more inclined to great Heats than places near the Equator This is what I have experienc'd in many places in such Latitudes both in the East and West Indies that the hottest parts of the World are these near the Tropicks especially 3 or 4 Degrees within them sensibly hotter than under the Line itself Many reasons may be assign'd for this beside the accidental ones from the make of the particular Countries Tropical Winds or the like For the longest day at the Equator never exceeds 12 hours and the night is always of the same length But near the Tropicks the longest day is about 13 hours and an half and an hour and an half being also taken from the night what with the length of the day and the shortness of the night there is a difference of three hours which is very cousiderable Besides which at such places as are about 3 degrees within the Tropicks or in the Lat. of 20 Deg. N. the Sun comes within 2 or 3 degrees of the Zenith in the beginning of May and having past the Zenith goes not above 2 or 3 degrees beyond it before it returns and passeth the Zenith once more and by

We were 2 Ships and 3 Barks in Company viz. Captain Davis Captain Swan a Fireship and 2 small Barks as Tenders one on Captain Davis his Ship the other on Captain Swan's We weighed before day and got out all but Captain Swan's Tender which never budged for the men were all asleep when we went out and the Tide of flood coming on before they waked we were forced to stay for them till the next day The 8th day in the morning we descried a sail to the West of us the Wind was at South and we chased her and before noon took her She was a Ship of about 90 Tun laden with Flower she came from Truxillio and was bound to Panama This Ship came very opportunely to us for Flower began to grow scarce and Captain Davis his men grudg'd at what was given to Captain Swan who as I said before had none but what he had from Captain Davis We jogged on after this with a gentle gale towards Gorgonia an Island lying about 25 leagues from the Island Gallo The 9th day we anchored at Gorgonia on the West side of the Island in 38 fathom clean ground not 2 Cables length from the shore Gorgonia is an uninhabited Island in lat about 3 degrees North It is a pretty high Island and very remarkable by reason of 2 saddles or risings and fallings on the top It is about 2 leagues long and a league broad and it is 4 leagues from the Main At the West-end is another small Island The Land against the Anchoring place is low there is a small sandy Bay and good landing The Soil or Mold of it is black and deep in the low ground but on the side of the high Land it is a kind of a red clay This Island is very well cloathed with large Trees of several sorts that are flourishing and green all the year It 's very well watered with small Brooks that issue from the high Land Here are a great many little black Monkeys some Indian Conies and a few Snakes which are all the Land Animals that I know there It is reported of this Island that it rains on every day in the year more or less but that I can disprove however it is a very wet Coast and it rains abundantly here all the year long There are but few fair days for there is little difference in the seasons of the year between the wet and dry only in that season which should be the dry time the rains are less frequent and more moderate than in the wet season for then it pours as out of a Sieve It is deep water and no anchoring any where about this Island only at that West side The Tyde riseth and falleth 7 or 8 foot up and down Here are a great many Perewincles and Muscles to be had at low water Then the Monkeys come down by the Sea side and catch them digging them out of their Shells with their Claws Here are Pearl-Oysters in great plenty They grow to the loose Rocks in 4 5 or 6 fathom water by beards or little small roots as a Muscle These Oysters are commonly flatter and thinner than other Oysters otherwise much alike in shape The fish is not sweet nor very wholsome it is as slimy as a Shell-Snail they taste very copperish if eaten raw and are best boyl'd The Indians who gather them for the Spaniards hang the meat of them on strings like Jews-ears and dry them before they eat them The Pearl is found at the head of the Oyster lying between the meat and the shell Some will have 20 or 30 small Seed-Pearl some none at all and some will have 1 or 2 pretty large ones The inside of the shell is more glorious than the Pearl itfelf I did never see any in the South Seas but here It is reported there are some at the South end of Callifornia In the West Indies the Rancho Rejs or Rancheria spoken of in Chap. 3. is the place where they are found most plentifully 'T is said there are some at the Island Margarita near St. Augustin a Town in the Gulf of Florida c. In the East Indies The Island Ainam near the South end of China is said to have plenty of these Oysters more productive of large round Pearl than those in other other places They are found also in other parts of the East Indies on the Persian Coast. At this Island Gorgona we rummaged our Prize and found a few Boxes of Marmalade and 3 or 4 Jars of Brandy which were equally shared between Captain Davis Captain Swan and their Men. Here we fill'd all our Water and Captain Swan furnished himself with Flower afterward we turned ashore a great many Prisoners but kept the chiefest to put them ashore in a better place The 13th day we sailed from hence toward the Kings Islands We were now 6 Sail 2 Men of War 2 Tenders a Fireship and the Prize We had but little Wind but what we had was the common Trade at South The Land we sailed by on the Main is very low towards the Sea side but in the Country there are very high Mountains The 16th day we passed by Cape Corrientes This Cape is in lat 5 d. 10 m. it is high bluff Land with 3 or 4 small Hillocks on the top It appears at a distance like an Island Here we found a strong current running to the North but whether it be always so I know not The day after we passed by the Cape we saw a small white Island which we chased supposing it had been a Sail till coming near we found our error The 21st day we saw Point Garrachina This Point is in lat 7 d. 20 m. North it is pretty high Land rocky and destitute of Trees yet within Land it is Woody It is fenced with Rocks against the Sea Within the Point by the Sea at low Water you may find store of Oysters and Muscles The Kings Islands or Pearl Keys are about 12 leagues distant from this Point Between Point Garqchina and them there is a small low flat barren Island called Gallera at which Captain Harris was sharing with his Men the Gold he took in his pillaging Sancta Maria which I spake of a little before when on a sudden 5 Spanish Barks fitted out on purpose at Panama came upon him but he fought them so stoutly with one small Bark he had and some few Canoas boarding their Admiral particularly that they were all glad to leave him By this Island we anchored and sent our Boats to the Kings Islands for a a good careening place The Kings Islands are a great many low woody Islands lying N. W. by N. and S. E. by S. They are about 7 leagues from the Main and 14 leagues in length and from Panama about 12 leagues Why they are called the Kings Islands I know not they are sometimes and mostly in Maps called the Pearl Islands I cannot imagin wherefore they are called so for I did

to the Island Otoque This is another inhabited Island in the Bay of Panama not so big as Tabago yet there are good Plantain Walks on it and some Negroes to look after them These Negroes rear Fowls and Hogs for their Masters who live at Panama as at the Kings Islands It was for some Fowls or Hogs that our Men went thither but by accident they met also with an Express that was sent to Panama with an account that the Lima Fleet was at Sea Most of the Letters were thrown over board and lost yet we found some that said positively that the Fleet was coming with all the strength that they could make in the Kingdom of Peru yet were ordered not to fight us except they were forced to it though afterwards they chose to fight us having first landed their Treasure at Lavelia and that the Pilots of Lima had been in consultation what course to steer to miss us For the satisfaction of those who may be curious to know I have here inserted the Resolutions taken by the Commitee of Pilots as one of our company translated them out of the Spanish of two of the Letters we took The first Letter as follows SIR HAving been with his Excellency and heard the Letter of Captain Michael Sanches de Tena read wherein he says there should be a meeting of the Pilots of Panama in the said City they say t is not time putting for objection the Gallapagoes to which I answered that it was fear of the Enemy and that they might well go that way I told this to his Excellency who was pleased to command me to write the Course which is as follows The day for sailing being come go forth to the West South West from that to West till you are forty leagues off at Sea then keep at the same distance to the N. W. till you come under the Line from whence the Pilot must shape his Course for Moro de Porco and for the Coast of Lavelia and Natta where you may speak with the people and according to the information they give you may keep the same Course for Otoque from thence to Tabago and so to Panama this is what offers as to the Course The Letter is obscure but the Reader must make what he can of it The Directions in the other Letter were to this Effect THE surest Course to be observed going forth from Malabrigo is thus you must sail W. by S. that you may avoid the sight of the Islands of Lobos and if you should chance to see them by reason of the Breezes and should fall to Leeward of the Lat. of Malabrigo keep on a Wind as near as you can and if necessary go about and stand in for the shore then tack and stand off and be sure keep your Latitude and when you are 40 leagues to the Westward of the Islands Lobos keep that distance till you come under the Line and then if the general Wind follows you farther you must sail N. N. E. till you come into 3 degrees North. And if in this Lat. you should find the breezes make it your business to keep the Coast and so sail for Panama If in your course you should come in sight of the Land before you are abrest of Cape St. Francisco be sure to stretch off again out of sight of Land that you may not be discovered by the Enemy The last Letter supposes the Fleet 's setting out from Malabrigo in about 8 deg South Lat. as the other doth its going immediately from Lima 4 deg further South and from hence is that caution given of avoiding Lobos as near Malabrigo in their usual way to Panama and hardly to be kept out of sight as the Winds are thereabouts yet to be avoided by the Spanish Fleet at this time because as they had twice before heard of the Privateers lying at Lobos de la Mar they knew not but at that time we might be there in expectation of them The 10th day we sailed from Tabago towards the Kings Islands again because our Pilots told us that the Kings Ships did always come this way The 11th day we anchored at the place where we careen'd Here we found Captain Harris who had gone a second time into the River of Santa Maria and fetched the body of Men that last came over land as the Indians had informed us but they fell short of the number they told us of The 19th day we sent 250 Men in 15 Canoas to the River Cheapo to take the Town of Cheapo The 21st day all our Ships but Captain Harris who staid to clean his Ship followed after The 22d day we arrived at the Island Chepelio Chepelio is the pleasantest Island in the Bay of Panama It is but 7 leagues from the City of Panama and a league from the Main This Island is about 2 mile long and almost so broad it is low on the North side and riseth by a small ascent towards the South side The Soil is yellow a kind of clay The high side is stony the low Land is planted with all sorts of delicate Fruits viz. Sapadilloes Avogato-pears Mammees Mammee-Sappota's Star-apples c. The middle of the Island is planted with Plantain Trees which are not very large but the Fruit extraordinary sweet The Sapadillo Tree is as big as a large Pear-tree The Fruit much like a Bergamo-pear both in colour shape and size but on some Trees the Fruit is a little longer When it is green or first gathered the juice is white and clammy and it will stick like glew then the Fruit is hard but after it hath been gathered 2 or 3 days it grows soft and juicy and then the juice is clear as Spring-water and very sweet In the midst of the Fruit are 2 or 3 black stones or seeds about the bigness of the Pumkin seed This is an excellent Fruit. The Avogato Pear-tree is as big as most Pear-trees and is commonly pretty high the skin or bark black and pretty smooth the leaves large of an oval shape and the Fruit as big as a large Lemon It is of a green colour till it is ripe and then it is a little yellowish They are seldom fit to eat till they have been gathered 2 or 3 days then they become soft and the skin or rind will peel off The substance in the inside is green or a little yellowish and as soft as Butter Within the substance there is a stone as big as a Horse-plumb This Fruit hath no taste of its self and therefore 't is usually mixt with Sugar and Lime-juice and beaten together in a Plate and this is an excellent dish The ordinary way is to eat it with a little Salt and a rosted Plantain and thus a man that 's hungry may make a good meal of it It is very wholsome eaten any way It is reported that this Fruit provokes to lust and therefore is said to be much esteemed by the Spaniards and I do believe they are

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

state of their year yet are not these various Seasons so exact in the returns but that there may sometimes be the difference of a month or more Neither yet are the several Seasons when they do come altogether alike in all years For sometimes the Rains are more violent and lasting at other times more moderate and some years they are not sufficient to produce reasonable Crops or else they come so unseasonably as to injure and destroy the Rice or at least to advance it but little For the Husbandry of this Country and other Countries in the Torrid Zone depends on the Annual Floods to moysten and fatten the Land and if the wet season proves more dry than ordinary so as that the Rice Land is not well dranched with the overflowings of the Rivers the Crops will be but mean and Rice being their Bread the staff of Life with them if that failes such a populous Country as this cannot subsist without being beholding to its Neighbours But when it comes to that pass that they must be supplyed by Sea many of the poorer sort sell their Children to relieve their wants and so preserve their Lives whilst others that have not Children to sell may be famished and dye miserable in the Streets This manner of Parents dealing with their Children is not peculiar to this Kingdom alone but is customary in other places of the East Indies especialy on the Coasts of Malabar and Coromandel There a famine happens more frequently and rages sometimes to a degree beyond belief for those Countries are generally very dry and less productive of Rice then Tonquin Neither are there such large Rivers to fatten the Land but all their Crop depends on Seasons of Rains only to moisten the earth and when those seasons fail as they do very often then they can have no Crop at all Sometimes they have little or no rain in 3 or 4 years and then they perish at a lamentable rate Such a Famine as this happen'd 2 or 3 years before my going to Fort St. George which raged so sore that thousands of people perished for want and happy were they that cou'd hold out till they got to the Sea-port Towns where the Europeans lived to sell themselves to them tho they were sure to be transported from their own Country presently But the famine does never rage so much at Tonquin neither may their greatest scarcity be so truly called a Famine for in the worst of times there is Rice and 't is thro the poverty of the meaner people that so many perish or sell their Children for they might else have Rice enough had they money to buy it with and when their Rice is thus dear all other provisions are so proportionably There is a further difference between the Countries of Malabar and Coromandel and this of Tonquin that there the more Rain they have there the greater is their blessing but here they may have too much rain for the lower part of the Kingdom but that is rare When this happens they have Banks to keep in the Rivers and Ditches to drain the Land tho sometimes to little purpose when the floods are violent and especially if out of season For if the floods come in their seasons tho they are great and drown all the Land yet are they not hurtful but on the contrary very beneficial because the mud that they leave behind fattens the Land And after all if the low Land should be injured by the floods the dry Champion Land yields the better increase and helps out the other as that does them also in more kindly seasons In the dry seasons the low Lands have this advantage that Channels are easily cut out of the River to water them on each side So that let the Seasons be wet or dry this Country seldom suffers much Indeed considering the number of its inhabitants and the poverty of the major part it is sometimes here as in all populous Countries very hard with the poor especially the Trades people in the large Towns For the Trade is very uncertain and the people are imployed according to the number of Ships that come thither to fetch away their Goods and if but few Ships come hither as sometimes it happens then the poor are ready to famish for want of work whereby to get a subsistance And not only this but most Silk Countries are stockt with great multitudes of poor people who work cheap and live meanly on a little Rice which if it is not very cheap as it commonly is here the poor people are not able to maintain themselves CHAP III. Of the Natives of Tonquin Their Form Disposition Capacity Cloaths Buildings Villages Groves Banks Ditches and Gardens Of Cachao the Capital City Ovens to secure goods from Fire and other precautions against it The Streets of the City the Kings Palaces and English and Dutch Factories An Artificial Mole above the City to break the force of the Land floods Of their Wives and Common women Feasts at the Graves of the Dead and Annual Feasts their entertaining with Betle and Arek c. Their Religion Idols Pagods Priests Offerings and Prayers Their Language and Learning Their Mechanick Arts Trades Manufactures Commodities and Traffick TOnquin is very populous being thick set with Villages and the Natives in general are of a middle stature and clean limb'd They are of a Tawny Indian colour but I think the fairest and clearest that I ever saw of that Complexion for you may perceive a blush or change of colour in some of their faces on any sudden surprize of passion which I could never discern in any other Indians Their faces are generally flattish and of an oval form Their noses and lips are proportionable enough and altogether graceful Their hair is black long and lank and very thick and they wear it hanging down to their shoulders Their teeth are as black as they can make them for this being accounted a great ornament they dye them of that colour and are 3 or 4 days doing it They do this when they are about 12 or 14 years old both Boys and Girls and during all the time of the operation they dare not take any nourishment besides Water Chau or some liquid thing and not much of that neither for fear I judge of being poyson'd by the Dye or Pigment So that while this is doing they undergo very severe Penance but as both Sexes so all Qualities the poor as well as the rich must be in this fashion they say they should else be like Brutes and that 't would be a great shame to them to be like Elephants or Dogs which they compare those to that have white teeth They are generally dextrous nimble and active and ingenious in any Mechanick science they profess This may be seen by the multitude of fine Silks that are made here and the curious Lackerwork that is yearly transported from thence They are also laborious and diligent in their Callings but the Country being

August By which means some Ships if they go any of these three ways now cautioned against spend more time in going from the Bite to Cape Verd than another Ship will do if it cross the Line in the right Places before mentioned in going to the Barbadoes Sometimes unexperienced Guinea Masters in their return from thence after they have cross'd the Line from N. to S. and are in a fair way to gain a speedy Passage will be so obstinate in their Opinions after they have run 26 28 or 30 d. West from Old Callabar with a fair Wind to steer away W. by N. or W. N. W. it being the directest Course they can steer for Barbadoes then they must of necessity keep within a degree of the Line while they are running 2 or 300 Leagues which may prove to be a long time in doing because of the uncertainty of the Winds near the Equator therefore they that cross it near the middle between both Promontories or near the American Coast when they are minded to fall away to the Northward steer away N. W. or N. W. by N. and so depress or raise a degree in running 28 Leagues at most therefore which is best they are but a short time near the Equator And besides in thus crossing it in the middle between both Promontories they seldom miss of a Wind for the Wind in these Seas has no other Passage but between these two Promontories What I have said already on this Head has been chiefly of the Atlantick and of that too mostly about the Line because it is the most difficult Place to pass in going to the Southward In other Seas as in the East Indian Sea and the Great South Sea there is no such difficulty to pass any way because there is Sea-room enough without coming into such Inconveniencies as we meet with in the Atlantick and as to the Winds between the Line and the Tropicks in the East Indian Sea and the South Sea they are in their Latitudes as I said before viz. in South Latitude at E. S. E. and in North Lat. at E. N. E. blowing constantly fresh Breezes especially in the South Seas even from within a degree or two of the Line on each side to the Tropick or to 30 degrees of Lat. And this I may truly say That neither the Atlantick nor the East Indian Seas have the true Trade-Winds so constant nor brisk at all times of the Year and in all Latitudes as they are here For being once got into the Trade I mean without the verge of the coasting Trade-Wind it blows a very brisk gale all over the Ocean Capt. Eaton experienced this in sailing from the Gallapagos Islands to the Ladrones In the latter end of the Year 1685. VVe had the like experience sailing from Cape Corientes to Guam the Year after as appears by my Journal of that Run in my Voyage round the World Chap. 10. Pag. 185. And as for the Wind to the Southward of the Line I had great Experience of it in my ramble there with Capt. Shearp and since that Capt. Davis in his return out of the South Sea had greater experience because he took his departure from the Gallapagos Islands also and steering W. S. W. from thence till he met the True Trade at E. S. E. he steered directly South clear from the Line till he got to the Southward of the Tropick of Capricorn and so quite without the Trade In the East Indian Sea between the Lat. of 30 d. and 4 degrees South of the Equator the true Breez is at E. S. E. or S. E. by E. yet not so constant nor brisk as in the South Seas besides that part of it which lyes to the Northward of the Line has not such a constant steady Breez but is more subject to Calms and near the shoar to shifting Winds according to the Seasons of the Year CHAP. II. Of the constant coasting Trade-Winds A Parallel of the South Part of Africa and Peru. The Trade-Winds blow with an acute Angle on any Coast. The Winds about Angola and in the South Seas alike as also at Mexico and Guinea The Winds shift not in some Places Sand blown from the Shoar about Cape Blanco in Guinea An Account of the Trade-Winds from thence to Cape Lopos THE Trade-Winds which blow on any Coast are either Constant or Shifting The Coasts that are subject to constant Trade-Winds are the South Coast of Africa and Peru and part of the Coast of Mexico and part of Guinea The South part of Africa and Peru are in one Lat. both Coasts trending North and South both on the West side of their Continents both in South Lat. and tho' they do not lye exactly parallel by Reason of some Capes or Bendings in the Land yet are the Winds much alike on both Coasts all the Year long On the Coast of Angola the Winds are between the S. W. and S. And on the Coast of Peru we reckon them between the S. S. W. and S. S. E. But this the Reader must take notice of That the Trade-Winds that blow on any Coast except the North Coast of Africa whether they are constant and blow all the Year or whether they are shifting Winds do never blow right in on the Shoar nor right along Shoar but go slanting making an accute Angle of about 22 degrees Therefore as the Lands trends more Easterly or Westerly from the North or South on these Coasts so the Winds do alter accordingly as for example Where the Land lies N. and S. the Wind would be at S. S. W. but where the Land lies S. S. W. the Trade would be at S. W. But if the Land lyes S. S. E. then the Wind would be at South This is supposed of Coasts lying on the West side of any Continent and on the South side of the Equator as the two Coasts of Africa and Peru are but the North part of Africa has the Trade blowing off from the shoar two or three Points These Southerly Winds do blow constantly all the Year long on both the Coasts of Peru and Africa they are brisk and blow farther off from the Coasts than any shifting Winds On the Coast of Peru these Winds blow 140 or 150 Leagues off Shore before you can perceive them to alter But then as you run farther off so the Wind will come about more Easterly and at about 200 Leagues distance it settles at E. S. E. which is the true Trade Between Angola and Brazil the Winds are much as they are in the South Seas on the West side of the Peruvian Coast only near the Line within 4 degrees of it in South Lat. the Wind holds in the S. S. W. or S. W. for 28 or 30 d. of Longitude and so it may in the same Lat. in the South Seas for ought I know for it was at South as far as any of us were which was near 200 Leagues As the Coasts of Peru and Angola have their constant

Trade-Winds so has the Coast of Mexico and Guinea And as the Coast of Peru lies North and South so those lye nearest East and West According to the Course of the general Trade the Winds should be Easterly on these Coasts but here we meet with the quite contrary for from the Lat. of 10 d. North to 20 d. North on the Coast of Mexico the Winds are constantly near the West on all the Coast except check'd sometimes with Tornadoes which do commonly rise against the Wind the same is observed on the Coast of Angola where there are Tornadoes also But the Coast of Peru is not subject to any yet on that Coast there are sometimes Calms two or three days together off of the Bay of Arica between the Lat. of 16 and 23. In the Lat. of 19 you shall have Calms 30 or 40 Leagues off Shore but not so far on either side the Bay neither are such Calms usual on the Coasts of Angola and Mexico only after a Tornado as is common in other Places As the Coasts of Angola and Peru do in most things run parallel each with other so do the Coasts of Mexico and Guinea And if I am not mistaken the Winds on both these Coasts are much alike Both these Coasts do begin at the Bite or Bending of the Land where the other two Parallel Lands do end for as the Mexican Continent begins at or near Panama which is 8 or 9 degrees North of the Equator so that part of Guinea which I speak of begins about Old Callabar in about 4 or 5 degrees of North Lat. The Land trends away Westerly from both these Places some hundreds of Leagues and though not on one Point of the Compass because of the small Points Bays and Bending in the Land yet the Winds that on more regular Shores keep their constant Course and blow in upon the Shore about two Points from the Sea do also here on the Guinea Coast blow on the Shore from the West Quarter and as the Land lies Pointing in on the Shore even from Cape Mount to Old Callabar which is above 400 Leagues and that with such constancy that the East part of that Coast is called the Leeward Coast and the West part the Wind-ward Coast And yet this is so contrary to the general Opinion of Seamen concerning the Course of the Winds that nothing but their own experience will convince them of the Truth of it for thus they generally reason Barbardoes is the Easter-most of the Carribe Islands therefore the rest are said to be to Leeward of it and so of any other Island as indeed it usually holds true because the Winds there are commonly at East but this Counter Wind on the Coast of Guinea astonishes most Seamen that have seen nothing like what they meet with here There are other Coasts where the Winds shift very little as on the Coast of Carraccos and the South side of the Bay of Mexico i. e. in the Bay of Compechy and all the Carribe Islands Indeed there may be sometimes some small flurts of a Westerly Wind on these Coasts but neither constant certain nor lasting And indeed this was the great stumbling Block that we met with in running from the Gallapagos Islands for the Island Cocos mentioned in my former Book Chap. 5. Pag. 111. But that part of Africa which lies between Cape Verd in 14 d. North and Cape Bayedore in 27. has commonly Northerly Winds or between the N. and N. E. very fresh gales therefore our Guinea Ships bound to Guinea strive to keep near that Shore and oft times make the Capes And being to the Southward of Cape Blanco which lyes in Lat. about 21. they are sometimes so troubled with the Sand which the Wind brings off Shore that they are scarce able to see one another Their Decks are all strewed with it and their Sails all red as if they were tann'd with the Sand that sticks to them it being of a reddish colour From Cape Verd to Cape St. Anns which is about 6 degrees North the Trade is between the E. and S. E. from Cape St. Anns to Cape Palmas in about 4 d. North the Trade is at S. W. from Cape Palmas to the Bite of Guinea which is at the bending of the Coast the Wind is at W. S. W. from this bending the Land begins to turn about to the South and from thence to Cape Lopos which is to the South of the Line the Trade is at S. S. W. as it is on all that Coast even to 30 degrees South This last Account I had from Mr. Canby who has made many Voyages to Guinea CHAP. III. Of the coasting Trade-Winds that shift The Coasts where the Winds shift Of the Winds between Gratia de Dios and Cape La Vela Of those on the Coast of Brazil At Panama About Natal And Cape Corientes And the Red-Sea From the Gulph of Persia to Cape Comorin Of the Monsoons in India Their Benefit for sailing from Place to Place Sea and Land Breezes serviceable for the same purpose By what helps long Voyages are made in an open Sea THE Coasts where the Winds do usually shift are some in the West Indies as that part of the Coast between Cape Gratia de Dios and Cape La Vela chiefly The Coast of Brazil the Bay of Panama in the South Seas and all the Coast of the East Indies even from the River Natal which is in the Lat. of 30 d. South on the East side of Africa beyond the Cape of good Hope to the North East Parts of China comprehending all the Bays between The Islands also have their Annual changes Of all these I shall treat in their order beginning first with that Coast which lyes between Cape Gratia de Dios and Cape La Vela And I the rather begin with this part first because this part of the West Indies is all that is subject to change neither is the change altogether so orderly or certain as the Monsoones in the East Indies or the shifting Winds on the Coast of Brazil The Common Trade-Wind on this Coast is between the N. E. and the East This Trade blows constantly from March till November but is often check'd with Tornadoes in the Months of May June July and August especially between the River of Darien and Costarica but to Wind-ward there is a more serene Air and a brisker Wind From October till March there are Westerly Winds not constant norviolent but blowing moderately sometimes 2 or 3 Days or a Week and then the Breez may blow again as long These Winds are most in December and January before and after these two Months the Trade-Wind is only check'd a Day or two near the full or change of the Moon and when the Westerly Winds blow longest and strongest on the Coast the Easterly Trade-Wind blows off at Sea as at other times Near Cape La Vela the true Trade blows within 8 or 10 Leagues off the Shore when the Westerly

which places I have travelled over from Sea to Sea yet because these are but small Tracts of Land in comparison with the two main Bodies of Land of Mexico and Peru and those vast Regions in Asia and Africa lying within the Tropicks I cannot determine whether the Land-Winds are there as I have found them in my small Travels therefore I shall only confine this particular Discourse to these and other Places within my own Observations I shall begin first with the Isthmus of Darien there I have found the Land-Winds in the middle of the Country blowing all Night and till 10 or 11 a Clock in the Morning before I could perceive the Sea-Breeze to arise and that not discernable many times but by the flying of the Clouds especially if I was in a Valley and it was in Vallies that I did chiefly perceive the Land-Winds which blew in some places one way in others contrary or side ways to that according as the Vallies lay pend up between the Mountains and that without any respect to either the North or the South Seas but indeed near either side of the Land they always bent their course towards the nearest Sea unless there was any Hill between them and the Sea and then they took their Course along in the Vallies but from both shores as well from the North as the South they blow right forth into the Sea In the Island of Jamaica these Land-Winds are in the middle of the Country also I have found them so as I travelled from one side of the Island to the other having lain 2 Nights by the way as I had before observed them when I liv'd at 16 Miles Walk where I continued about 6 Months but there and in other Islands the Land-Winds do blow towards the nearest shores and so from thence off to Sea whether the shore's lye East West North or South These Winds blow off to Sea a greater or less distance according as the Coast lies more or less exposed to the Sea-Winds For in some Places we find them brisk 3 or 4 Leagues off shore in other Places not so many Miles and in some Places they scarce peep without the Rocks or if they do sometimes in very fair Weather make a sally out a Mile or 2 they are not lasting but suddenly vanish away though yet there are every Night as fresh Land-Winds ashore at those Places as in any other part of the World Places most remarkable for the fewest or faintest Land-Winds are those that lye most open to the Common Trade-Winds as the East ends of any Islands where the Trade-Winds do blow in upon the Shore or the Head-Lands on Islands or Continents that are open to the Sea-Breez especially where the Trade-Wind blows down side-ways by the Coast for there such Head-Lands as stretch farthest out to Sea are most exposed to Winds from the Sea and have the less benefit of the Land-Breezes I shall give a few Instances of either And first of all begin with the N. E. and S. E. Points of the Island of Jamaica These Points are at the East end of the Island one is at the very Extreme of the North side towards the East the other on the South Extreme towards the same Point at these two Places we seldom light of a Land-Wind nor very often at the end of the Island between them except near the shore For that Reason the Sloop-men of Jamaica that Trade round the Island are commonly put to their Trumps when they come there in their Voyages For if they meet no Land-Wind they are obliged to beat about by turning to wind-ward against the Sea-Breez in the Day time they then curse these Points of Land and are foolishly apt to believe that some Daemon haunts there And if they are 2 or 3 Days in beating about as sometimes they are when they return to Port Royal they will talk as much of their Fatigues as if they had been beating a Month to double the Cape of good Hope though indeed the Men are brisk enough and manage their sloops very well which also are generally very good Boats to sail on a Wind. I think they are the best small Trading-Boats in the King's Dominions Point Pedro on the South-side of the Island is another very bad Point to double if a Ship come from the West-end of the Island This Point runs out far into the Sea and is not only destitute of the Common Land-Winds But if there is any Current setting to Leeward here the Sloop-men meet it Therefore they are many times longer beating about it then about the two former Points of the South East and the North East and not without bestowing some Curses upon it Nay some Captains of Privateers when they have been beating about it have stood close in to the Point and fired their Guns to kill the old Daemon that they say inhabits there to disturb poor Seamen I have related these odd Passages to shew how ignorant Men are that cannot see the Reason of it And because I am not willing to leave my Reader in the dark I shall give a few Instances more on this subject The North side of Jucatan at the entrance into the Bay of Campeachy gives us another Instance of bad Land-Winds and commonly where the Land-Winds are scanty the Sea-Breezes are but indifferent neither This will partly appear by what I have observed of them on this Coast between Cape Catoach and Cape Condeseado at the entrance of the Bay of Campeachey which two places are about Eighty Leagues distant for there the Land trends East and West It is a streight Coast and lies all of it equally exposed to the Trade-VVind which is commonly there at E. N. E. To the W. of these Places the Sea and Land-VVinds do as duly succeed each other as on any other Coast but here they are each of them of a Bastard kind for the Sea-Breezes are at N. E. by E. which is no better than a Coast Trade-VVind and the Land-VVind is at E. S. E. or S. E. by E. whereas if the VVinds were as true there as on other Coasts the Sea-Breez would be at N. N. E. sometimes at N. and the Land-VVinds would be at S. S. E. and S. as they are indeed close under the shore which if they do at any time come off from they are very faint The Land on this Coast is low and even and the Land-VVinds ashore are pretty brisk The Capes on the Peruvian Coast in the South Seas will more fully make it appear that head-Head-Lands do seldom afford any Land-VVinds I shall only Instance in Cape Passao in Lat. 8 Minutes South Cape St. Laurence in Lat. 1 d. South and Cape Blanco in 3 d. South I have pass'd by them all several times and at different Seasons yet did never find any Land-winds there though between these Places there are very good Land-winds Therefore Ships that sail to the Southward against the Breez must beat it about by hard Labour

as the Sun comes nearer the sky grows more cloudy and the Weather more moist for the Rains follow the Sun and begin on either side of the Equator within a little while after the Sun has crost the Equinox and so continue till after his return back again The wet Season on the North side of the Equator in the torrid Zone begins in April or May and so continues till September or October The dry Weather comes in November or December and continues till April or May. In South Latitudes the Weather changes at the same times but with this difference that the dry Months in South Latitude are wet Months in North Latitude and the contrary as I have said before Yet neither doe the wet or dry Seasons set in or go out exactly at one time in all Years neither are all places subject to wet or dry VVeather alike For in some places it rains less than in others and consequently there is more dry VVeather But generally Places that lye under the Line or near it have their greatest Rains in March and September Head-Lands or Coasts that lye most exposed to the Trade-winds have commonly the best share of dry Weather On the contrary deep Bays or bendings of the Land especially such as lye near the Line are most subject to Rains Yet even among Bays or Bendings there is a great deal of difference in the Weather as to dry or wet for the VVeather as well as the Winds seem to be much influenced by accidental Causes and those Causes themselves whatever they are seem to be subject to great variation But to proceed with Matter of Fact I shall begin with the dryest Coasts and first with that of Peru from 3 d. South to 30 d. South There it never Rains neither at Sea for a good distance off shore as for 250 or 300 Leagues no nor on the shore for a considerable way within Land though exactly how far I know not yet there are small Mists sometimes in a Morning for two or three Hours but seldom continuing after 10 a Clock and there are Dews also in the Night This Coast lyes N. and S. it has the Sea open to the VVest and a chain of very high Mountains running a long shore on the East the VVinds constantly Southerly as I said before in the second Chapter of VVinds. In which Head I have made a Comparison as well of the VVinds on the Coast of Africa in the same Latitude as of the lying of the Coasts Only there is this difference that the coasting Trade-winds on the American side do blow further from the Land than those on the African side VVhich difference may probably arise from the disproportion of the Mountains that are in the two Continents for 't is known that the Andes in America are some of the highest Mountains in the VVorld but whether there are any on the Continent of Africa in those Latitudes so high I know not I have not heard of any at least none such are visible to Seamen I come now to speak of the Weather on the African Coast which though 't is not so dry as the Coast of Peru yet is it the next to it The Weather there is very dry from March till October which is the dry Season The rainy Season which is from October till March is moderate without that excess that is in most other Places in those Latitudes so that the wettest Season can only be called so from some gentle showers of Rain There are some Tornadoes but not so many as are in any other Places both of the East or West Indies the Peruvian Coast excepted And if the height of the Andes are the cause that the true East Breez does not take place in the Pacifick Sea within 200 Leagues distance from the shore when yet the Trade blows within 40 Leagues of the African Coast that Coast may perphaps be supposed to want such high Mountains And if those American Mountains do stop the VVinds from their Career why may they not as well break the Clouds before they reach near the shore and be the cause of the dry VVeather there And seeing both Coasts do lye alike and the VVind is alike why should not the VVeather be the same were it not for the disproportion between the Mountains of these Coasts For the East side of those Mountains are supplied with Rain enough as may be known by the great Rivers that disembogue from thence into the Atlantick Sea whereas the Rivers on the South Sea-Coast are but very few and small some of which do wholly dry away for a good part of the Year But yet they constantly break-out again in their Seasons when the Rains in the Country do come which always fall on VVest side of those Mountains and this is about February As I have spoken before of dry Coasts so now I shall speak of rainy ones I shall begin with the Coast of Guinea from Cape Lopos which lies one degree South taking in the Bite or Bending of the Land and all the Coast VVest from thence as far as Cape Palmas This is a very wet Coast subject to violent Tornadoes and excessive Rains especially in July and August In those Months there is scarce any fait Day This Coast lies all of it very near the Equator and no where above 6 or 7 degrees distance so that from its nearness to the Equator only we might probably conjecture that it is a rainy Coast for most places lying near the Line are very subject to Rains yet some more than others and Guinea may be reckoned among the wettest Places in the World There may be Places where the Rains continue longer but none are more violent while they last And as its nearness to the Line may be a great cause of its moisture so by its situation also one would guess that it should be subject to a great deal of Rain because there is a great Bite or Bending in of the Land a little to the North of the Line and from thence the Land stretcheth West parallel with the Line And these Circumstances singly taken according to my observations do seldom fail but more especially where they both meet Yet there may be other causes that may hinder those Effects or at least serve to allay the violence of them as they do on some other Coasts I shall only instance in the opposite Coast of America between the North Cape which lies North of the Equator and Cape Blanco on Brazil in South Latitude Now this Land lyes much after the Form of the Coast of Guinea with this difference that one Coast lies in South Lat. the other lies North of the Equator both of these Promontories lay paralel with the Equator there 's not much difference in their distance from it but that which makes the difference is that one juts out Westward the other Eastward and so one is the very Westermost Land of the Continent of Africa the other is

small Tree or Shrub of a green Bark and the Leaf is long and broader than a Willow They are packt up to sell into parts that have them not to chew with the Betel The Betel-nut is most esteem'd when it is young and before it grows hard and then they cut it only in two pieces with the green husk or shell on it It is then exceeding juicy and therefore makes them spit much It tastes rough in the mouth and dies the Lips red and makes the Teeth black but it preserves them and cleanseth the Gums It is also accounted very wholesom for the Stomach but sometimes it will cause great giddiness in the head of those that are not use to chew it But this is the effect only of the old Nut for the young Nuts will not do it I speak of my own experience This Island produceth also Durians and Jacks The Trees that bear the Durians are as big as Apple Trees full of Boughs The Rind is thick and rough the Fruit is so large that they grow only about the Bodies or on the Limbs near the Body like the Cacao The Fruit is about the bigness of a large Pumkin covered with a thick green rough Rind When it is ripe the Rind begins to turn yellow but it is not fit to eat till it opens at the top Then the Fruit in the inside is ripe and sends forth an excellent scent When the Rind is opened the Fruit may be split into 4 quarters each quarter hath several small cells that inclose a certain quantity of the Fruit according to the bigness of the cell for some are larger than others The largest of the Fruit may be as big as a Pullets Egg T is as white as Milk and as soft as Cream and the taste very delicious to those that are accustomed to them but those who have not been used to eat them will dislike them at first because they smell like roasted Onions This Fruit must be eaten in its prime for there is no eating of it before it is ripe and even then 't will not keep above a day or two before it putrifies and turns black or of a dark colour and then it is not good Within the Fruit there is a stone as big as a small Bean which hath a thin shell over it Those that are minded to eat the Stones or Nuts roast them and then a thin shell comes off which incloses the Nut and it eats like a Chasenut The Jack or Jaca is much like the Durian both in bigness and shape The Trees that bear them also are much alike and so is their manner of the Fruits growing But the inside is different for the Fruit of the Durian is white that of the Jack is yellow and fuller of Stones The Durian is most esteemed yet the Jack is very pleasant Fruit and the Stones or Kernels are good roasted There are many other sorts of Grain Roots and Fruits in this Island which to give a particular description of would fill up a large Volume In this Island are also many sorts of Beasts both wild and tame as Horses Bulls and Cows Buffaloes Goats Wild-hogs Deer Monkies Guano's Lizards Snakes c. I never saw or heard of any Beasts of Prey here as in many other places The Hogs are ugly Creatures they have all great Knobs growing over their Eyes and there are multitudes of them in the Woods They are commonly very poor yet sweet Dear are here very plentiful in some places where they are not disturbed Of the venemous kind of Creatures here are Scorpions whose sting is in their Tail and Centapees call'd by the English 40 Legs both which are also common in the West Indies in Jamaica and elsewhere These Centapees are 4 or 5 inches long as big as a Goose quill but flattish of a dun or reddish colour on the Back but Belly whitish and full of Legs on each side the Belly Their sting or bite is more raging than the Scorpion They lye in old Houses and dry Timber There are several sorts of Snakes some very poisonous There is another sort of Creature like a Guano both in colour and shape but 4 times as big whose Tongue is like a small Harpoon having two beards like the beards of a Fishook They are said to be very venemous but I know not their names I have seen them in other places also as at Pulo Condore or the Island Condore and at Achin and have been told that they are in the Bay of Bengal The Fowls of this Country are Ducks and Hens Other tame Fowl I have not seen nor heard of any The wild Fowl are Pidgeons Parrots Parakits Turtle-dove and abundance of small Fowls There are Bats as big as a Kite There are a great many Harbours Creeks and good Bays for Ships to ride in and Rivers navigable for Canoas Proes or Barks which are all plentifully stored with Fish of divers sorts so is also the adjacent Sea The chiefest Fish are Bonetas Snooks Cavally's Bremes Mullets 10 Pownders c. Here are also plenty of Sea Turtle and small Manatee which are not near so big as those in the West Indies The biggest that I saw would not weigh above 600 l. but the flesh both of the Turtle and Manatee are very sweet The weather at Mindanao is temperate enough as to heat for all it lies so near the Equator and especially on the borders near the Sea There they commonly enjoy the breezes by day and cooling Land-winds at night The Winds are Easterly one part of the year and Westerly the other The Easterly winds begin to set in October and it is the middle of November before they are settled These Winds bring fair weather The Westerly Winds begin to blow in May but are not settled till a month afterwards The West Winds always bring Rain Tornadoes and very tempestuous Weather At the first coming in of these Winds they blow but faintly but then the Tornadoes rise one in a day sometimes two These are Thunder-showers which commonly come against the Wind bringing with them a contrary Wind to what did blow before After the Tornadoes are over the Wind shifts about again and the Sky becomes clear yet then in the Valleys and the sides of the Mountains there riseth a thick fog which covers the Land The Tornadoes continue thus for a week or more then they come thicker 2 or 3 in a day bringing violent gusts of Wind and terrible claps of Thunder At last they come so fast that the Wind remains in the quarter from whence these Tornadoes do rise which is out of the West and there it settles till October or November When these Westward Winds are thus settled the Sky is all in mourning being covered with black Clouds pouring down excessive Rains sometimes mixt with Thunder and Lightning that nothing can be more dismal The Winds raging to that degree that the biggest Trees are torn up by the Roots and the Rivers swell and overflow

their Banks and drown the low Land carrying great Trees into the Sea Thus it continues sometimes a week together before the Sun or Stars appear The fiercest of this weather is in the latter end of July and in August for then the Towns seem to stand in a great Pond and they go from one house to another in Canoas At this time the Water carries away all the filth and nastiness from under their Houses Whilst this tempestuous season lasts the weather is cold and chilly In September the weather is more moderate and the Winds are not so fierce nor the Rain so violent The Air thence-forward begins to be more clear and delightsome but then in the morning there are thick Fogs continuing till 10 or 11 a clock before the Sun shines out especially when it has rained in the night In October the Easterly Winds begin to blow again and bring fair weather till April Thus much concerning the natural state of Mindanao CHAP. XII Of the Inhabitants and Civil State of the Isle of Mindanao The Mindanayans Hilanoones Sologues and Alfoorees Of the Mindanayans properly so called Their Manners and Habits The Habits and Manners of their Women A Comical Custom at Mindanao Their Houses their Diet and Washings The Languages spoken there and transactions with the Spaniards Their fear of the Dutch and seeming desire of the English Their Handy crafts and peculiar sort of Smiths Bellows Their Shipping Commodities and Trade The Mindanao and Manila Tobacco A sort of Leprosie there and other Distempers Their Marriages The Sultan of Mindanao his Poverty Power Family c. The Proes or Boats here Raja Laut the General Brother to the Sultan and his Family Their way of fighting Their Religion Raja Laut's Devotion A Clock or Drum in their Mosques Of their Circumcision and the Solemnity then used Of other their Religious Observations and Superstitions Their abhorrence of Swines Flesh c. THis Island is not subject to one Prince neither is the Language one and the same but the People are much alike in colour strength and stature They are all or most of them of one Religion which is Mahometanism and their customs and manner of living are alike The Mindanao people more particularly so called are the greatest Nation in the Island and trading by Sea with other Nations they are therefore the more civil I shall say but little of the rest being less known to me but so much as hath come to my knowledge take as follows There are besides the Mindanayans the Hilanoones as they call them or the Mountaniers the Sologues and Alfoorees The Hilanoones live in the heart of the Country They have little or no commerce by Sea yet they have Proe's that row with 12 or 14 Oars apiece They enjoy the benefit of the Gold Mines and with their Gold buy foreign Commodities of the Mindanao people They have also plenty of Bees Wax which they exchange for other Commodities The Sologues inhabit the N. W. end of the Island They are the least Nation of all they Trade to Manila in Proe's and to some of the neighbouring Islands but have no commerce with the Mindanao people The Alfoorees are the same with the Mindanayans and were formerly under the subjection of the Sultan of Mindanao but were divided between the Sultan's Children and have of late had a Sultan of their own but having by Marriage contracted an alliance with the Sultan of Mindanao this has occasioned that Prince to claim them again as his Subjects and he made War with them a little after we went away as I afterwards understood The Mindanayans properly so called are men of mean statures small Limbs streight Bodies and little Heads Their Faces are oval their Fore heads flat with black small Eyes short low Noses pretty large Mouths their Lips thin and red their Teeth black yet very sound their Hair black and straight the colour of their Skin rawney but inclining to a brighter yellow than some other Indians especially the Women They have a custom to wear their Thumb-nails very long especially that on their left Thumb for they do never cut it but scrape it often They are indued with good natural Wits are ingenious nimble and active when they are minded but generally very lazy and thievish and will not work except forced by hunger This laziness is natural to most Indians but these people's laziness seems rather to proceed not so much from their natural inclinations as from the severity of their Prince of whom they stand in great awe For he dealing with them very arbitrarily and taking from them what they get this damps their industry so they never strive to have any thing but from hand to mouth They are generally proud and walk very stately They are civil enough to strangers and will easily be acquainted with them and entertain them with great freedom but they are implacable to their Enemies and very revengeful if they are injured frequently poisoning secretly those that have affronted them They wear but few Cloaths their Heads are circled with a short Turbat fringed or laced at both ends it goes once about the head and is tied in a knot the laced ends hanging down They wear Frocks and Breeches but no Stockings nor Shooes The Women are fairer than the Men and their Hair is black and long which they tie in a knot that hangs back in their poles They are more round vifaged than the Men and generally well featured only their Noses are very small and so low between their Eyes that in some of the Female Children the rising that should be between the Eyes is scarce discernable neither is there any sensible rising in their Foreheads At a distance they appear very well but being nigh these Impediments are very obvious They have very small Limbs They wear but two Garments a Frock and a sort of Petticoat the Petticoat is only a piece of Cloth sowed both ends together but it is made 2 foot too big for their Wastes so that they may wear either end uppermost that part that comes up to their Wastes because it is so much too big they gather it in their Hands and twist it till it sits close to their Wastes tucking in the twisted part between their Waste and the edge of the Petticoat which keeps it close The Frock sits loose about them and reaches down a little below the Waste The Sleeves are a great deal longer than their Arms and so small at the end that their Hands will scarce go through Being on the Sleeve sits in folds about the wrist wherein they take great pride The better sort of people have their garments made of long Cloath but the ordinary sort wear Cloth made of Plantain-tree which they call Saggen by which Name they call the Plantain They have neither Stocking nor Shooe and the Women have very small Feet The Women are very desirous of the company of Strangers especially of White Men and doubtless would be very