live without the help of any other Countrey for their Clothing for Tradesmen there are none but live happily there as Carpenters Blacksmiths Masons Taylors Weavers Shoemakers Tanners Brickmakers and so any other Trade Them that have no Trade betake themselves to Husbandry get Land of their own and live exceeding well We shall conclude our Discourse of this Countrey with a notable Character given thereof by a late Writer as to the great advantage of happy living in all respects for whosoever shall be pleas'd to betake himself thither to live The Character of a happy Countrey IF there be any terrestrial happiness saith he to be had by any People especially of an inferior rank it must certainly be here Here any one may furnish himself with Land and live Rent-free yea with such a quantity of Land that he may weary himself with walking over his Fields of Corn and all sorts of Grain and let his Stock amount to some hundreds he needs not fear there want of Pasture in the Summer or Fodder in the Winter the Woods affording sufficient supply where you have Grass as high as a Man's Knees nay as high as his Waste interlac'd with Pea-Vines and other Weeds that Cattel much delight in as much as a Man can pass through And these Woods also every Mile or half-Mile are furnish'd with fresh Ponds Brooks or Rivers where all sorts of Cattel during the heat of the day do quench their thirst and cool themselves These Brooks and Rivers being inviron'd of each side with several sorts of Trees and Grape-Vines Arbor-like interchanging places and croding these Rivers do shade and shelter them from the scorching beams of the Sun Such as by their utmost Labors can scarcely get a Living may here procure Inheritances of Lands and Possessions stock themselves with all sorts of Cattel enjoy the benefit of them whilst they live and leave them to their Children when they die Here you need not trouble the Shambles for Meat nor Bakers and Brewers for Beer and Bread nor run to a Linnen-Draper for a supply every one making their own Linnen and a great part of their woollen Cloth for their ordinary wearing And how prodigal if I may so say hath Nature been to furnish this Countrey with all sorts of wild Beasts and Fowl which every one hath an interest in and may Hunt at his pleasure where besides the pleasure in Hunting he may furnish his House with excellent fat Venison Turkies Geese Heath-hens Cranes Swans Ducks Pigeons and the like and wearied with that he may go a Fishing where the Rivers are so furnish'd that he may supply himself with Fish before he can leave off the Recreation Here one may travel by Land upon the same Continent hundreds of Miles and pass through Towns and Villages and never hear the least complaint for want nor hear any ask him for a Farthing Here one may lodge in the Fields and Woods travel from one end of the Countrey to another with as much security as if he were lock'd within his own Chamber And if one chance to meet with an Indian Town they shall give him the best Entertainment they have and upon his desire direct him on his Way But that which adds happiness to all the rest is the healthfulness of the Place where many People in twenty years time never know what Sickness is where they look upon it as a great Mortality if two or three die out of a Town in a years time Besides the sweetness of the Air the Countrey it self sends forth such a fragrant smell that it may be perceiv'd at Sea before they can make the Land No evil Fog or Vapor doth any sooner appear but a North-West or Westerly Wind immediately dissolves it and drives it away Moreover you shall scarce see a House but the South-side is begirt with Hives of Bees which increase after an incredible manner So that if there be any terrestrial Canaan 't is surely here where the Land floweth with Milk and Honey Noua TERRA-MARIAE tabula This Northerne part of Virginia the limitts whereof extend farther Southwards is heere inserted for the better description of the entrance into the Bay of Chesapeack A NEW DESCRIPTION OF MARY-LAND SECT III. BEfore We proceed to the Description of this Countrey it will be first requisite to relate the true occasion and means whereby this part of America came to be erected into a Province and call'd mary-Mary-land In the Year of our Lord 1631. George Lord Baltimore obtain'd of King Charles the First of Great Brittain c. a Grant of that part of America first discover'd by the English which lies between the Degrees of thirty seven and fifty Minutes or thereabouts and forty of Northerly Latitude which is bounded on the South by Virginia on the North by New England and New Jersey The situation part of New York lying on the East side of Delaware Bay on the East by the Ocean and on the West by that part of the Continent which lies in the Longitude of the first Fountains of the River call'd Patomeck In pursuance of this Grant to his said Lordship a Bill was prepar'd and brought to His Majesty to Sign who first ask'd his Lordship what he should call it there being a Blank in the Bill designedly left for the Name which his Lordship intended should have been Crescentia but his Lordship leaving it to His Majesty to give it a Name the King propos'd to have it call'd Terra-Mariae in English Mary-land in honor of his Queen whose Name was Mary which was concluded on and inserted into the Bill which the King then Sign'd and thereby the said Tract of Land was erected into a Province by that Name His Lordship somewhat delaying the speedy passing of it under the Great Seal of England dy'd in the interim before the said Patent was perfected whereupon a Patent of the said Province was shortly afterwards pass'd to his Son and Heir who was Christen'd by the Name of Coecil but afterwards confirm'd by the Name of Coecilius the now Lord Baltemore under the Great Seal of England bearing Date June 20. 1632. in the eighth Year of His said Majesties Reign with all Royal Jurisdictions and Prerogatives both Military and Civil in the said Province as Power to Enact Laws Power of pardoning all manner of Offences Power to confer Honors c. to be held of His said Majesty His Heirs and Successors Kings of England in common Soccage as of His Majesties Honor of Windsor in the County of Berks in England yielding and paying yearly for the same to His Majesty and to His Heirs and Successors for ever two Indian Arrows of those parts at the Castle of Windsor aforesaid on Tuesday in Easter Week and the fifth part of all Gold and Silver Oar which shall happen to be found in the said Province The Bounds By the said Patent is Granted to his Lorship his Heirs and Assigns all that part of a Peninsula lying
extent mention'd in the beginning The first Colony to be undertaken by certain Knights Gentlemen and Merchants in and about the City of London The second to be undertaken and advanc'd by certain Knights Gentlemen and Merchants and their Associates in or about the City of Bristol Exon Plymouth and other parts At the first Colonies Request in the seventh year of the same King a second Patent was Granted to several Noblemen and Gentlemen including Sir Thomas Gates and some of his former Fellow-Patentees bearing Date May 23. 1610. whereby they were made a Corporation and Body Politique and stil'd The Treasurer and Company of Adventurers and Planters of the City of London for the first Colony of Virginia And by this Patent there was Granted to them their Successors and Assigns two hundred Miles to the Southward from a Cape of Land in Virginia call'd Point Comfort and two hundred Miles to the Northward of the said Cape along the Sea-shore and into the Land from Sea to Sea And on March 12. 1612. the said King in the ninth year of his Reign Grants them a third Patent of all Islands lying in the Sea within two hundred Miles of the Shore of that Tract of Land on the Continent granted to them by the said former Patent Jac. 7. In the Year 1615. Captain Smith procur'd by his Interest at Court and the King's Favor a Recommendation from His Majesty and divers of the Nobility to all Cities and Corporations to Adventure in a standing Lottery which was erected for the benefit of this Plantation which was contriv'd in such a manner that of 100000. Pounds which was to be put in 50000. onely or one half was to return to the Adventurers according as the Prizes fell out and the other half to be dispos'd of for the Promotion of the Affairs of Virginia in which though it were three years before it was fully accomplish'd he had in the end no bad Success In the eighteenth Year of the said King's Reign at the Request of the second Colony a Patent was Granted to several Noblemen and Gentlemen of all that Tract of Land lying in the parts of America between the Degrees of forty and forty eight of Northerly Latitude and into the Land from Sea to Sea which was call'd by the Patent New England in America For the better Government whereof one Body-Politick and Corporate was thereby appointed and ordain'd in Plymouth consisting of the said Noblemen Gentlemen and others to the number of forty Persons by the Name of The Council establish'd at Plymouth in the County of Devon for the Planting Ruling Ordering and Governing of New England im America The Patent of Virginia made void The Miscarriages and Misdemeanors of the aforesaid Corporation for the first Colony of Virginia were so many and so great that His said Majesty was forc'd in or about October 1623. to direct a Quo Warranto for the calling in of that former Patent which in Trinity Term following was legally Evinc'd Condemn'd and made Void by Judgment in the Court of the then Kings-Bench as also all other Patents by which the said Corporation claim'd any Interest in Virginia Thus this Corporation of the first Colony of Virginia was dissolv'd and that Plantation hath been since Govern'd and Dispos'd of by Persons Constituted and Impower'd for that purpose from time to time by immediate Commissions from the Kings of England The Patent of Mary-land granted to the Lord Baltem re In the Year of our Lord 1631. the Right Honorable George Lord Baltemore obtain'd a Grant of King Charles the First of Great Britain c. of part of that Land to the Northward which is now call'd Mary-land but this Patent of Mary-land was not perfected till 1632. as you may understand more fully by the precedent Discourse of Mary-land which by express words in the said Patent is separated from and thereby declar'd not to be reputed for the future any part of Virginia The Patent Carolina granted to several Noble Persons And in the fifteenth Year of the Reign of King Charles the Second of Great Britain c. on March 24. 1663. Edward Earl of Clarendon then High-Chancellor of England George Duke of Albemarle William now Earl of Craven John Lord Berkley Anthony Lord Ashley Sir George Carterett Knight and Baronet Sir William Berkley Knight and Sir John Colleton Knight and Baronet obtain'd a Patent from His Majesty of the Province of Carolina which lies to the Southward of Virginia in which is included some part of that Land which formerly belong'd to the said dissolv'd Company of Virginia So that Virginia at present extendeth it self onely and is situated between thirty six and thirty seven Degrees and fifty Minutes or thereabouts of Northern Latitude and is bounded on the North by mary-Mary-land on the South by Carolina on the East by the Ocean and on the West by the South-Seas The Entrance by Sea into this Countrey is the same with that of Mary-land between Cape Henry and Cape Charles plac'd on each side of the Mouth of the Bay of Chesapeak Rivers of Virginia on the West side whereof you first meet with a pleasant and commodious River call'd James-River about three Miles wide at its Entrance and Navigable a hundred and fifty Fourteen Miles from this River Northward lies York-River which is Navigable sixty or seventy Miles but with Ketches and small Barques thirty or forty Miles farther Passing hence to the North you discover a third stately River call'd Rappahanock which is Navigable about a hundred and thirty Miles from whence following the Shore to the North you enter into Patomeck-River which is already describ'd in the precedent Discourse of Mary-land to which Province this River belongs whose Southerly Bank gives Bounds to that part of Virginia and Mary-land To these Rivers many other Inland Branches and Rivulets are reduc'd the chief of which are hereafter specifi'd Nature of the Countrey The Countrey is generally even the Soil fruitful the Climate healthful and agreeable with English Constitutions especially since the increase of Inhabitants and accommodation of good Diet and Lodging which the first Planters found great want of heretofore For many years till of late most New-comerâ— had the first Year in July and August a Disease which is call'd A Seasoning whereof many died like to what is mention'd before in the Description of Mary-land though more mortal and common than in Mary-land because Virgina is a lower Countrey and somewhat hotter insomuch that formerly divers ill of that Distemper have come purposely from Virginia to Mary-land to recover their Health but now since the Countrey is more open and clear from Wood few die of it and many have no Seasonings at all This Countrey affordeth generally all such Roots Herbs Gums and Balsoms as are express'd before in the Relation of Mary-land All sorts of Trees for Building and Husbandry Trees Fruit-Trees Vines c. are found in both Countreys equal in goodness
generally computed to be from the utmost South of Terra Magellanica to the farthest North of Estotiland about six thousand English Miles reaching from about sixty Degrees of Northern to fifty three of Southern Latitude the breadth from St. Michael or Piura Westward to Parabaya a Town on the Coast of Brasile Eastward three thousand nine hundred Miles and the whole compass thirty thousand SECT II. Estotiland THat the English have been very great Undertakers of Voyages and Discoveries towards the North-West appears by the Denomination of divers Places both from the Persons which have Sail'd thitherward and also from such of our own Countrey Names as were thought fit to be there fix'd as beyond the Arctick Circle are Sir James Lancaster's Sound Sir Dudley Diggs's Cape Queen Annes Foreland Cumberland Isles Davis 's Straight c. on this side toward the Arctick Circle Button's and Brigg's Bay Hudson's Sea otherwise term'd Mare Christianum out of which more Westerly runs a narrow Sea call'd Hudson's Straight beyond Hudson's Sea towards the Arctick Circle is a place call'd New North-Wales and on this side answerable to it between Button's Bay and the Christian Sea lies New South-Wales all which places we find generally set down in the American Hemisphere but in the Geographical Discourses thereof little is said of them if so much as nam'd The farthest part of Land Northward between Hudson's Gulph and Hudson's Straight betwixt fifty seven and sixty Degrees of Northern Latitude goes generally by the Name of Estotiland I mean that properly so call'd for Estotiland is by some as largely taken as Canada by Cluverius Golnitzius Peter du Val and others namely for all that Tract of Land extending from that supposed Straight of Ansan which divides America from Asiatick Tartary as far as the utmost point of Land that shoots toward the Atlantick Ocean which Southerly towards Terra Laboratoris is bounded with a River vulgarly call'd Rio Nevado or The Snowy River Estotiland seems to have deriv'd its Name from its lying more Easterly than the rest of the Provinces and according as Nova Britannia is plac'd in some Charts might very well be taken for the same though it hath not been so term'd by any Author but rather Terra Laboratoris Cortereatis and Nova Britannia are generally receiv'd to be all one First discovery of Estotiland This Province is affirm'd by Matthias Quadus and J. Antonius Maginus to have been the first discover'd Countrey of the new World and that by Antonius Zeno a Patrician of Venice in the Year of our Lord 1390. which was long before the Expedition of Columbus through the encouragement of Zichmus King of the Isle of Friezland but by whomsoever found out or at whatsoever time it is commonly affirm'd to be not ill furnish'd with Provisions of all sorts as Beasts Birds Fish Fowl and Fruits having a Soil indifferent fertile in respect of the coldness of the Climate The Nature of the People The People in general for some there are that live wild and salvage up and down the Woods and go naked whereas the Clothing of the Countrey is the Skins of Beasts and of Sea-Calves call'd Morses are reported not onely tolerably civil but also ingenious and expert both in mechanick Arts and other necessary Faculties insomuch that the first Voyagers to this place are said to have observ'd of them upon this first Discovery That they sow'd Corn brew'd Beer and Ale and Traded by Sea to Greenland Friezland and other places to the distance of fifteen hundred Miles and that they were not altogether void of the use of Letters but that their Character was onely proper to themselves and not intelligible by any other Nation Moreover there is a certain Tradition that there was here and there some little knowledge of the Latine Tongue amongst them and that there were found divers Latine Books in a Library of one of their Kings the reason of which if true is conjectur'd to be from certain Europeans who understood that Language having in Ages past suffer'd shipwrack upon those Coasts where chancing to abide either through constraint or choice they might haply at their Decease leave behind them some Books and other Monuments of the Latine Tongue They were observ'd to use such a kind of Javelin or short Dart as was known to be us'd by the People of Java and some other Islands of the East-Indies whereupon it seems not wholly improbable that they might for a long time have entertain'd Traffick and Correspondence with them Description of the Morses The Morses or Sea-Calves before mention'd are about the bigness of a young Heifer the Hunting of which by the Natives who take them in great numbers is to them in the stead of Whale-fishing which is not there so good for they draw a great quantity of Train-Oyl out of them On each side of the Jaw of this amphibious Creature for it is said to live very much on the Land as well as in the Water there sticks out a crooked Tusk winding downward like an Elephants Proboscis above a Cubit in length and as white and hard as Ivory It is esteem'd of great venue at least it passes for such among those who take it for other than what it is for it is frequently vended for Unicorns-horn of which imposture Dr. Brown takes notice and gives a Caution against in his Vulgar Errors This Countrey is suppos'd and that probably enough to have store of Brass and Iron Mines but for the Mines of Gold and Silver which some have imagin'd there the Northerly Situation of the Countrey and by consequence the coldness of the Climate give sufficient cause to question the truth of any such assertion What chief Towns Cities Rivers and Mountains there are in this Province is not yet deliver'd by any onely Maginus and Quadus make mention of four principal Rivers which disperse themselves through the Countrey and take their source out of a great Mountain in the midst thereof SECT III. Terra Laboratoris TErra Laboratoris Situation by some call'd Nova Britannia by others Corterealis though there are some who make Laboratoris and Corterealis two distinct Countreys comprehended according to Peter du Val under Nova Britannia as the more general Province or according to Cluverius under Canada lies from about fifty four to fifty seven Degrees of Northern Latitude between Estotiland and the River Canada which Maginus and some others though for what reason is not express'd name Fretum trium Fratrum The Bay of the three Brethren others The River of St. Laurence and is according to the said Author of so vast a bigness that the Mouth of it extends it self thirty five Italian Miles wide likewise of such a length as to have been navigated a continu'd Voyage of eight hundred Miles The denomination of Terra de Laborador or Laboratoris seems probably enough conjectur'd to be from the cultivability if one may so term it of the Soil or its
in the parts of America between the Ocean on the East and the Bay of Chesapeack on the West and divided from the other part thereof by a right Line drawn from the Promontory or Cape of Land call'd Watkin's-Point situate in the aforesaid Bay near the River of Wigcho on the West unto the main Ocean on the East and between that bound on the South unto that part of Delaware Bay on the North which lies under the fortieth Degree of Northerly Latitude from the Equinoctial where New England ends and all that Tract of Land between the bounds aforesaid that is to say passing from the aforesaid Bay call'd Delaware Bay in a right Line by the Degree aforesaid unto the true Meridian of the first Fountains of the River of Patomeck and from thence stretching towards the South unto the furthest Bank of the said River and following the West and South side thereof unto a certain place call'd Cinquack near the Mouth of the said River where it falls into the Bay of Chesapeack and from thence by a streight Line unto the aforesaid Promontory or place call'd Watkins-Point which lies in thirty seven Degrees and fifty Minutes or thereabouts of Northern Latitude By this Patent his Lordship and his Heirs and Assigns are Created the true and absolute Lords and Proprietaries of the said Province Title saving the Allegiance and Soveraign Dominion due to His Majesty His Heirs and Successors so that he hath thereby a Soveraignty Granted to him and his Heirs dependant upon the Sovereignty of the Crown of England The first Seating His Lordship in the Year 1633. sent his second Brother Mr. Leonard Calvert and his third Brother Mr. George Calvert with divers other Gentlemen of Quality and Servants to the number of two hundred Persons at least to settle a Plantation there who set Sail from the Cowes in the Isle of Wight in England on Novemb. 22. in the same Year having made some stay by the way at the Barbadoes and St. Christophers in America they arriv'd at Point Comfort in Virginia on February 24. following from whence shortly after they Sail'd up the Bay of Chesapeack and Patomeck River And having review'd the Country and given Names to several places they pitch'd upon a Town of the Indians for their first Seat call'd Yoacomaco now Saint Maries which the then Governor Mr. Leonard Calvert freely Purchas'd of the Natives there for the Lord Proprietaries use with Commodities brought from England That which facilitated the Treaty and Purchase of the said place from the Indians was a resolution which those Indians had then before taken to remove higher into the Countrey where it was more Populous for fear of the Sansquehanocks another and more Warlike People of the Indians who were their too near Neighbors and inhabit between the Bays of Chesapeack and Delaware there being then actual Wars between them insomuch that many of them were gone thither before the English arriv'd And it hath been the general practice of his Lordship and those who were employ'd by him in the Planting of the said Province rather to purchase the Natives Interest who will agree for the same at easie rates than to take from them by force that which they seem to call their Right and Inheritance to the end all Disputes might be remov'd touching the forcible Incroachment upon others against the Laws of Nature or Nations Thus this Province at the vast Charges and by the unweary'd Industry and endeavor of the present Lord Baltemore the now absolute Lord and Proprietary of the same was at first Planted and hath since been supply'd with People and other Necessaries so effectually The number of Inhabitants that in this present Year 1671. the number of English there amounts to fifteen or twenty thousand Inhabitants for whose Encouragement there is a Fundamental Law establish'd there by his Lordship whereby Liberty of Conscience is allow'd to all that Profess to believe in Jesus Christ so that no Man who is a Christian is in danger of being disturb'd for his Religion and all Persons being satisfi'd touching his Lordships Right as Granted by his Superior Soveraign the King of Great Brittain and possess'd by the consent and agreement of the first Indian Owners every Person who repaireth thither intending to become an Inhabitant finds himself secure as well in the quiet enjoyment of his Property as of his Conscience Mr. Charles Calvert his Lordships onely Son and Heir was in the Year 1661. sent thither by his Lordship to Govern this Province and People who hath hitherto continu'd that Charge of his Lordships Lieutenant there to the general satisfaction and encouragement of all Persons under his Government or otherwise concern'd in the Province The precedent Discourse having given you a short Description of this Province from its Infancy to this day together with an account of his Lordships Patent and Right by which he holds the same we will here speak something of the Nature of the Countrey in general and of the Commodities that are either naturally afforded there or may be procur'd by Industry The Climate is very healthful and agreeable with English Constitutions but New-comers have most of them heretofore had the first year of their Planting there in July and August a Sickness which is call'd there A Seasoning but is indeed no other than an Ague with cold and hot Fits whereof many heretofore us'd to die for want of good Medicines and accommodations of Diet and Lodging and by drinking too much Wine and Strong-waters though many even in those times who were more temperate and that were better accommodated never had any Seasonings at all but of late years since the Countrey hath been more open'd by the cutting down of the Woods and that there is more plenty of English Diet there are very few die of those Agues and many have no Seasonings at all especially those that live in the higher parts of the Country and not near to the Marshes and Salt-water In Summer the heats are equal to those of Spain but qualifi'd daily about Noon at that time of the Year either with some gentle Breezes or small Showres of Rain In Winter there is Frost and Snow and sometimes it is extremely cold insomuch that the Rivers and the Northerly part of the Bay of Chesapeack are Frozen but it seldom lasts long and some Winters are so warm that People have gone in half Shirts and Drawers only at Christmas But in the Spring and Autumn viz. in March April and May September October and November there is generally most pleasant temperate Weather The Winds there are variable from the South comes Heat Gusts and Thunder from the North or North-West cold Weather and in Winter Frost and Snow from the East and South-East Rain The Soyl is very fertile and furnish'd with many pleasant and commodious Rivers Creeks and Harbors The Country is generally plain and even and yet distinguish'd with some pretty small Hills and Risings with variety
rest of the Colony Lands will be alienable onely with this difference that it cannot be parcell'd out but if fold it must be altogether 4. There is to be a Biennial Parliament consisting of the eight Proprietors the Landgraves and Casiques and one out of every Precinct that is the six neighboring Colonies for the People chosen by the Freeholders these are to sit and Vote altogether for the making of Laws which shall be in force no longer than sixty years after their Enacting the great mischief of most Governments by which not onely the People are mightily entangled by multiplicity of Rules and Penalties and thereby laid open to the Malice and Designs of troublesom Men and cunning Projectors but which is far worse the whole frame of the Government in tract of time comes to be remov'd from its original Foundation and thereby becomes more weak and tottering 5. There are eight supream Courts for the dispatch of all publick Affairs the first consists of the Palatine who is the eldest of the Proprietors and hath power to call Parliaments and dispose of publick Offices The other seven supream Courts are 1. The chief Justices for the determining of Controversies of Meunt and Tuum and judging of Criminals 2. The Chancellors for passing of Charters and managing the State Matters of the Province 3. The High-Constables for Military Affairs 4. The Admirals for Maritime Affairs 5. The High-Stewards for Trade 6. The Treasurers for the publick Stock and 7. The Chamberlains for Ceremonies Fashions Marriages Burials c. These are the seven supream Courts to whom lies the ultimate Appeal in all Causes belonging to them Each of these Courts consists of one Proprietor and six other Councellors whereof two are chosen by the Nobility and two by the People All the number of these eight Courts joyn'd together make the Grand Council which are in the nature of a Council of State and are entrusted with the management of Affairs of greatest concernment There is also in every County a Court and in every Precinct another from the Precinct Court there lies an Appeal to the County Court and from the County Court to the Proprietors Court to which the Matter in question belongs and there is the last decision and determination thereof without any farther Appeal And to keep the People from the Charges and vexation of long Suits to the enriching of Men cunning in Words care is taken that no Cause shall be Try'd more than once in any one Court and that profess'd Pleaders for Money shall not be allow'd Liberty of Conscience is here also allow'd in the greatest latitude but yet so that neither Atheists or Men of no Religion are permitted Atheism Irreligion and vicious Lives being condemn'd as disagreeable to humane Nature inconsistent with Government and Societies and destructive to all that is useful to or becoming of Mankind as on the other hand rigorous Imposing of and hot Contentions about the Ceremonies and Circumstances of Religion is an occasion of perpetual Strife Faction and Division keeps Men from sedate and temperate Enquiries after Truth eats out the great Cement of humane Conversation Charity and cannot be found in any one who hath but modesty enough to think himself less than a Pope and short of Infallibility There is also to be a Register of all Grants and Conveyances of Land to prevent even the occasions of Controversies and Law-Suits There are several other less considerable Particulars in this Government all contriv'd and design'd for the good and welfare of the People all which are so well put together and in such equal proportion ballance each other that some judicious Men who have seen it say it is the best and fairest Frame for the well-being of those who shall live under it of any they have seen or read of CHAP. III. Florida Situation and Bounds SOuth-West of Virginia lieth the spacious Countrey of Florida remarkable hitherto rather by the great pains which the Spaniards have taken and the ill Successes they have met with in the discovery and search of this Province than by any thing else they have discover'd in it answerable to their desires On the East it hath the Atlantick Ocean or Mare del Nordt on the South and South-West the Gulph of Mexico and Mare Virginium and full West part of New Gallicia and some other Countreys not yet perfectly known This Countrey is also one of those said to have been first of all discover'd by Sir Sebastian Cabot at the Charges of the King of England about the Year 1497. but afterwards more throughly search'd into by John some de Leon a Spaniard Ponce's Expedition who in the Year 1511. set Sail with three Ships out of the Haven St. German in Porto Rico North-West to the Isles Del Veio Caycos Yaguna Amaguyao Manegua and Guanahani first discover'd by Christopher Colonus and call'd St. Salvador After that Steer'd North-West by a Coast which because of its pleasant prospect was call'd Florida or according to the more common Opinion because it was on Palm-Sunday which the Spaniards call Pascha de Flores or Pascha Florida that he Landed here And to find out a Haven he kept sight of the Shore which appear'd South-West from him Here the Ships met with so strong a Tide that notwithstanding they had a fresh Gale of Wind yet could they not stem it one of the Ships was driven to Sea out of sight the other two casting Anchor which raking drove toward the Shore whither being beckned by the Indians they immediately went when no sooner he Landed but they ran in great Companies to make themselves Masters of the Vessels kill'd one Spaniard wounded two more the Night approaching put an end to the Fight From hence Sailing to the River La Cruix for Wood and Water they were resisted by sixty Natives which they put to flight with their Guns and took one Prisoner after which they erected a Stone Cross The Promontory by which glides the strong Current lies in twenty Degrees north-North-Latitude and call'd Cabo de Corrientes as the Row of Isles before the Main Land Los Martyres because the Cliffs at a distance appear like Men standing on Poles Lastly after some small Encounters with the Floridans Ponce return'd home Water to make old People look young being onely inform'd falsly by the Indians that in Florida was a River and on the Isle Bimini a Fountain whose Waters made old People young On the King's Command the Spaniards were permitted to make inspection into the Countrey in which they were every where courteously Entertain'd and not without Gold and Silver Presents Treachery of Vasquez Returning Aboard Vasquez invited the. Indians to go with him under pretence of returning them thanks for the Favours which they had bestowed upon him but no sooner had he gotten a considerable number in his Ships but he set Sail and losing one Ship arriv'd with the other safe at Hispaniola with a few Indians Indians misused
there Captain Francis Drake set Sail from Plymouth Anno 1577. and after much hardship getting through the Straights of Magellan arriv'd in the Haven Guatulco having before his coming thither taken as many rich Spanish Ships in the Southern Ocean as he could possibly have wish'd for so that his onely care now needed to have been how to get safe home yet he put on a Resolution not to come short of Ferdinandus Magellanus who Saild about the World Which brave Resolution of Drake's was approv'd of by all his Sea-men whereupon he set Sail along the North of California the fifth of June being gotten into forty two Degrees which was the farthest that Cabrillo went he came on a sudden out of a warm Air into so frigid a Climate that the Sea-men were almost kill'd with Cold and the farther they went the colder it grew wherefore falling down three Degrees more Southerly they got into a convenient Haven where the Natives who liv'd along the Shore brought them Presents which Drake left not unrequited by returning them others that were to them more novel and not unuseful Nature and Habit of the People These People are exceeding hardy for notwithstanding the extraordinary coldness of the Climate the Men go naked but the Women wear Garments of pleited Flags or Rushes which being put about their Middle hang down to their Ancles on their Stomachs hang the ends of a hairy Skin ty'd together which hanging also over their Shoulders cover their hinder Parts They shew great Respect and Obedience to their Husbands Each House is surrounded with an Earthen Wall and all the Corners thereof being close stopp'd and Fires made in the midst of them they are very warm Rushes and Flags strow'd thick on the Ground near the Walls serve them in stead of Beds Drake's Entertainment by the King of the Countrey The rumour of these Strangers arrival spreading all over the Countrey made the Inhabitants far and near desirous to see them the King himself sending Ambassadors to Drake to inform him that he was on the Way coming to see him all which the Agents related at large and desir'd some Presents as a testimony that their King should be welcome which he being assur'd of came with a Retinue of above twelve thousand Men before whom walk'd one of a Gygantick size carrying a costly Scepter on which by three long Chains made of Bones hung a great and a small Crown made of Feathers next follow'd the King himself in a Sute of Cony-Skins then came a great confus'd company of People each of them carrying a Present whereupon Drake putting his Men into good order march'd to meet the King at which the Mace-bearer made a long Preamble and when he had done Danc'd to the Tune of a Song which he Sung himself then the King and his whole Retinue also fell a Singing and Dancing so long till being weary the King went to Drake and humbly desir'd of him that he would accept of the Realm assuring him that all the People should be under his Obedience which said he put the fore-mention'd Crown on his Head and hanging three double Chains about his Neck call'd him Hioh whereupon Drake took possession of the Countrey in Queen Elizabeths Name The King staying alone with Drake his Retinue went amongst the English every one looking very earnestly upon them and to those whom they lik'd best being the youngest they falling down and crying proffer'd Offerings as to Gods and held their Cheeks to draw Blood out of them which the English refusing they desisted but shew'd them great Wounds and desir'd some Plaisters of them which they suppli'd them with The English going up into the Countrey found the same well grown with Woods which abounded with Coneys whose Heads differ'd little from the European but having Feet like Moles long Tails like Rats and in their Sides a Bag wherein when they had fill'd their Bellies they put the remainder They also saw numerous Herds of Deer with whose Flesh having been courteously Entertain'd in several Villages they return'd to the Fleet. Drake just before he weighed Anchor caus'd a Pillar to be set in the Ground with a Silver Plate on the same A Monument erected by Drake before his departure with an Inscription mentioning the Day of his Arrival Name and Arms of Queen Elizabeth and free delivering of that Realm to him by the Indians he also nail'd a Sixpence with the Queens Effigies on the Plate under which he caus'd his own Name to be Engraven THE ISLANDS OF Northern America CHAP. XI Terra Nova or New-found Land with the Island of Assumption HAving treated at large of all the several Regions and Provinces of the North part of the Continent of America we come now to those Islands that lie within the same Degrees of Northern Latitude with that part of the Continent The first is Terre Neuve or New-found Land discover'd together with several other Parts upon the Continent before mention'd by Sir Sebastian Cabott by the Countenance and Charge of King Henry the Seventh of England whereupon a rightful Claim thereunto and Interest therein hath been own'd by the succeeding Kings of England as hereafter shall be more particularly related Situation and bound of New-found Land New-found Land is situated betwixt the Degrees of forty six and fifty three of Northern Latitude and is divided from the Continent of America by an Arm of the Sea in like distance as England is from France The Island is as large as England in length greater in breadth and lies near the Course that Ships usually hold in their Return from the West-Indies and is near the mid-way between Ireland and Virginia INSULAE AMERICANAE IN OCEANO SEPTENTRIONALI cum Terris adiacentibus We shall not much need to commend the wholsom temperature of this Countrey Temperature seeing the greatest part thereof lieth above three Degrees nearer to the South than any part of England doth so that even in the Winter it is pleasant and healthful as England is Nature of the Inhabitants The natural Inhabitants of the Countrey as they are but few in number so are they something a rude and salvage People having neither knowledge of God nor living under any kind of Civil Government In their Habits Customs and Manners they resemble the Indians of the Continent from whence it is to be suppos'd they come they live altogether in the North and West part of the Countrey which is seldom frequented by the English but the French and Biscainers who resort thither yearly for the Whale-fishing and also for the Cod-fish report them to be an ingenuous and tractable People being well us'd and very ready to assist them with great labour and patience in the killing cutting and boyling of Whales and making the Trayn-Oyl without expectation of other Reward than a little Bread or some such small Hire It hath the most commodious Harbours in the World Commodious Harbors and the most safe
Seas to Sail to it there being not any Islands Rocks or Sands between the Lands-End in England and New-found Land and for the most part it is not above three or four Weeks Sail thither and less coming back and is the most commodiously situated for the discovering of the North-West Passage and other Inlets into the South Sea whereby the ordinary Voyages to China Japan and the East-Indies are much eas'd in the expence of Time and Charge and the most open to Trade to all Parts of any Island of the West-Indies On the East side of the Land are the Bays of Trinity and Conception which stretch themselves towards the South-West Tor-Bay and Capelin-Bay lying also on the East stretch themselves towards the West The Bays of Trespassey St. Mary Borrel and Plaisance on the South part of the Land extend their Arms towards the North. The great Bay of St. Peters lying on the South-West side of the Land and Southerly from the great River of Canada being about twenty Leagues distant the same stretcheth toward the East Trinity Harbour lies in near forty nine Degrees of North Latitude being very commodiously seated to receive Shipping in seasonable Weather both to Anchor in and from thence to Sail towards either the East West or South It hath three Arms or Rivers long and large enough for many hundred Sail of Ships to moare fast at Anchor near a Mile from the Harbours Mouth Close adjoyning to the Rivers side and within the Harbour is much open Land well stor'd with Grass sufficient Winter and Summer to maintain great store of ordinary Cattel besides Hogs and Goats if such Beasts were carried thither and it standeth North most of any Harbor in the Land where our Nation practiseth Fishing It is near unto a great Bay lying on the North side of it call'd The Bay of Flowers to which Place no Ships repair to Fish in regard of sundry Rocks and Ledges lying even with the Water and full of danger The bottom of the Bay of Trinity lieth within four Leagues through the Land South-West Southerly from Trinity as by experience is found and it comes near unto the Bay of Trespassey and the bottom of some other Bays Trespassey in like manner is as commodious a Harbour lying in a more temperate Climate almost in forty six Degrees of North Latitude and is both fair and pleasant and a wholsom Coast free from Rocks and Shelves so that of all other Harbours it lies the most South of any in the Land and most conveniently to receive our Shipping passing to and from Virginia and the Bermuda Islands and also any other Shipping that shall pass to and from the River of Canada and the Coast thereof because they usually pass and so return in the sight of the Land of Trespassey and also for some other purposes as shall be partly declar'd in the following Discourse The Soil of this Countrey in the Valleys and sides of the Mountains is so fruitful Fruitful Soil as that in divers places the Summer naturally produceth without Tillage great plenty of green Pease and Fitches fair round full and as wholsom as ours in England Berries and Fruits Of Berries and Fruits there grows Strawberries red and white and as fair Raspice-berries and Goose-berries as there be in England as also Bilberries which are call'd by some Whortes and many other delicate Berries peculiar to the Countrey in great abundance Likewise small Pears Cherries Filberds c. Herbs and Flowers There are also Herbs for Sallets and Broth as Parsly Alexander Sorrel c. and also Flowers as the red and white Damask Rose with other kinds which are most beautiful and delightful both to the sight and smell And questionless the Countrey is stor'd with many Physical Herbs though their Vertues are not known When Corn was first Sow'n here it was observ'd to grow very fair the increase was great and the Grain very good and several sorts of Kitchin Plants that have been Set here have prov'd very well In divers parts of the Countrey there is great store of Deer Beasts and some Hares many Foxes Squerrils Beavers Martins and Otters yielding excellent Furrs Wolves and Bears with other sorts of Beasts serving as well for Necessity as for Profit and Delight Variety both of Land and Water-Fowl is in this Countrey infinite Birds The chief Land-Fowl besides a great number of small Birds that live by scraping their Food from the Earth in the hardest Winter are Hawks great and small Partridges Thrush and Thrussels abundance very fat as also Filladies Nightingales and such like which sing most pleasantly There are also Birds that live by prey as Ravens Gripes Crows c. For Water-Fowl there is certainly so good and as much variety as in any part of the World as Geese Ducks Pigeons Gulls Penguins and many other sorts These Penguins are as big as Geese but do not flye for they have but a little short Wing and they multiply so infinitely upon a certain flat Island that men drive them from thence upon a Board into their Boats by hundreds at a time as if God had made the innocency of so poor a Creature to become such an admirable Instrument for the sustentation of Man And also Godwits Curlews and such like which Fowl do not onely serve those that Trade thither for Food but also they are a great furthering to divers Ships Voyages because the abundance of them is such that the Fisher-men do bait their Hooks with the quarters of Sea-Fowl on them and therewith some Ships do yearly take a great part of their Fishing Voyages with such Bait before they can get others The fresh Waters and Springs of that Countrey are many in number Springs and withall so very pleasant delightful and wholsom that no Countrey in the World hath better And Fewel for Fireing no where more plentiful In like manner there is great abundance of Trees fit to be employ'd in other serviceable uses Trees There are Fir and Spruce-Trees sound good and fit to Mast Ships with and as commodious for Boards and Buildings as those of Norway and out of these come abundance of Turpentine Moreover the Pine and Birch-Trees here are scarce to be compar'd for heighth and greatness The Rivers also and Harbours are generally stor'd with delicate Fish as Salmons Peals Eels Herrings Mackrel Flounders Launce Capelin Cod and Trouts the fairest fattest and sweetest that ever were seen in these Parts The like for Lobsters Cra-fish Mussles and other variety of Shell-fish The Seas likewise all along the Coast do plentifully abound in other sorts of Fish as Whales Spanish Mackrel Dorrel Pales Herrings Hogs Porposes Seals and such like Royal Fish c. But the chief Commodity of New found Land yet known and which is grown to be a setled Trade and that it may be much better'd by an ordinary Plantation there if the Traders thither will take some better course than formerly they have
done as shall be declared is the Cod-fishing upon that Coast by which our Nation and many other Countreys are enrich'd Almost incredible is the benefit of the Fish which the French Biscainers and Portuguese fetch yearly from this Coast of New-found Land and the Bank which lieth within twenty five Leagues from the South Cape of that Countrey where the French use to Fish Winter and Summer usually making two Voyages every year thither To which Places and to the Coast of Canada which lieth near unto it are yearly sent from those Countreys more than four hundred Sail of Ships This Island of Terra Nova belongs properly and justly to the Crown of England having been under the sole Jurisdiction of the English from the first Discovery thereof which was by Sir Sebastian Cabot Employ'd by King Henry the Seventh to find out some other part of America than what had been discover'd by Columbus as hath been above declar'd in several places Afterwards King Henry the Eighth continu'd the English Interest there and Employ'd one Rutt into that Island in order to the Plantation thereof Queen Elizabeth no less careful to preserve that Plantation sent Sir Humphrey Gilbert a Devonshire Knight to plant a Colony there the better to secure the same and to increase Trading there and accordingly the said Sir Humphrey with two good Ships and a Pinnace in her Name took possession of that Countrey in the Harbour of St. Johns He Sail'd from thence towards Virginia and by reason of some unhappy direction in his Course the greatest Ship he had struck upon Shelves on the Coast of Canada and was there lost with most part of the Company in her and he himself being then in a small Pinnace of twenty Tun in the company of his Vice-Admiral Captain Hays returning towards England in a great Storm was overwhelm'd in the Sea and so perish'd In the Year 1608. it was undertaken anew by John Guy a Merchant of Bristol and with so good success that the Colony in a short time were well furnish'd with Wheat Rye Barley and other Grain of their own Sowing with Turnips Coleworts and abundance of other necessary things not without some probable hopes of Metals a certain and plentiful Trade of Sables Musk and other rich Commodities The Province of Avalon in New-found Lands In the Year 1620. Sir George Calvert Knight then principal Secretary of State and a Privy Councellor to King James the First of England c. purchas'd a part of New-found Land which was afterwards in the Year 1623. granted to him and his Heirs by Patent from the said King under the Great Seal of England bearing Date the seventh of April in the One and twentieth Year of his Reign by which means the said Tract of Land was erected into a Province and at the Instance of the said Sir George Calvert call'd Avalon from Avalon in Sommerset-shire where Christianity was first Planted in England This Province lies in the forty seventh Degree of Northern Latitude and is thus bounded It begins Southerly from the middle part of a certain Neck of Land or Promontory situate between the two Harbours Fermose and Aquafort and from thence following the Shore towards the North unto the middle part or half way over a little Harbour call'd in that regard Petit Port or Petit Harbour which boundeth upon the South part of the Plantation of St. Johns including the one half of a certain fresh River that falleth into the said Port of Petit Harbour and so tending along the South Border of the said Colony of St. Johns extendeth it self to a certain little Bay commonly call'd Salmon Cove lying on the South side of the Bay of Conception including the one half of the River that falleth into the said Cove as also one half of the Cove it self from whence passing along the Shore of the said Bay towards the South and reaching unto the bottom thereof where it meets with the Lands of the fore-mention'd John Guy nam'd Sea Forrest is bounded with a certain River or Brook which there falleth into the Sea and from the Mouth of the said Brook ascendeth unto the farthest Spring or Head thereof from thence passing towards the South for six Miles together along the Borders of the said John Guy's Plantation and there crossing over Westward in a right Line reacheth unto the Bay of Placentia and the space of one League within the said Bay from the Shore thereof whence turning again towards the South passeth along the Harbour of Placentia with the like distance from the Shore and descending unto New Falkland towards the North and West part thereof stretcheth it self in a right Line Eastward continuing the whole Southerly length upon the Bounds of the said New Falkland unto the middle part or Point of the Promontory or Neck of Land before mention'd between the Ports Fermose and Aquafort at which place is describ'd and finish'd the Perambulation of the whole Precinct whose Extent may be thus computed commencing from the Promontory between the Ports Fermose and Aquafort which is fifty or sixty Miles from South to North distant from Petit Harbour from whence crossing Westward to the Bay of Placentia is judg'd to be sixty Miles more or upwards from East to West And thereby was also granted to the said Sir George Calvert and his Heirs all Islands and Islets within ten Leagues of the Eastern Shore of the said Region towards the East together with the Fishing of all sorts of Fish saving unto the English free liberty of Fishing as well in the Seas as in the Ports and Creeks of the Province aforesaid and the Priviledges of salting and drying their Fish upon the Shores of the said Province as heretofore they reasonably us'd and enjoy'd the same so as they do no injury or notable loss or detriment unto the Lord Proprietary his Heirs and Assigns or to the Inhabitants of the said Province in the Ports Creeks and Shores aforesaid and especially in the Woods growing within the said Province And by the said Patent all Royal Jurisdictions and Prerogatives both Military and Civil within the said Province and Islands thereunto belonging were farther granted to the said Sir George Calvert and his Heirs and he and they thereby created the true and absolute Lords and Proprietaries of the said Province saving the Allegiance due to His Majesty His Heirs and Successors to be held of them in Capite yielding and paying unto them therefore a white Horse when and as often as any of them shall come into the said Province and the fifth part of all Gold and Silver Oar which should be found there Sir George Calvert before the obtaining of this Patent had caus'd a fair House and Fort to be built in the said Province at a place call'd Ferryland and in the Year 1624. having obtain'd a Dismission from his Employment of Secretary of State and being then created Lord Baltemore of Baltemore in Ireland he did in the Year 1627. Transport
according to the Pope's Gift belong'd to his Master Philip and insisting upon that Allegation he commanded them to quit their Right to the Place to which purpose he restor'd them six of the nine Ships taken at Nevis on Condition that they should immediately set Sail for England onely those whom the six Vessels were not able to carry were permitted to stay on the Island till the next opportunity After which Toledo weighing Anchor was scarce out of sight when the English began to take new Courage and gathering together to repair their ruin'd Works as well as possibly they could with what Forces they had left for besides those who went for England in the six Ships being near two thousand the Spanish Admiral took six hundred choice English which he distributed amongst his Fleet whilest Desambuc suffer'd a great deal of hardship not onely through ill Weather at Sea but also for want of Provisions Having during this time been on the Islands St. Martin Montserrat and Antego thinking to have possess'd himself of some or other of them in stead of St. Christophers but not finding such a fruitful Soil and convenient Situation as what he had been forc'd to forsake he was not forward to fix there but rather judg'd it convenient to enquire concerning the Condition of St. Christophers and at last being inform'd by a Ketch that the Enemy was gone to Havana and the English were busie in Tilling their Lands he return'd to his old Station where nevertheless their Endeavors to repair what was ruin'd had been in vain by reason of the scarcity of Provisions and want of other Necessaries had not in their greatest extremity some Netherland Vessels arriving there furnish'd them with Provisions Clothes and other Necessaries on bare promises of payment But not long after growing rich with Tobacco Sugars Ginger and Indigo they made Satisfaction to all their Creditors and at last attain'd to the Condition before mention'd In the late War between Us and the Dutch the French taking advantage of our Engagement endeavor'd to destroy our Plantations there and to make themselves Masters of the whole Island but the Matter being at last brought to some Agreement Sir Charles Wheeler hath been very lately sent over thither by His Majesty to re-settle Affairs there and order the Capitulations between the French and English CHAP. XIX The Islands Sotavento and the Isle Trinidado IN the Division we found to be made of the Islands that lie between Florida and New Spain and Southern America the last are the Isles of Sotavento which are reckon'd to be these three Margareta Cubagua and Tabago but the last is by most accounted and hath been mention'd amongst the Caribbees Situation of Margareta Margareta so call'd from the abundance of Pearls of which the Spanish Appellation comes near the Latine Margaritae found there by the Spaniards at their first Discovery lies about the twelfth Degree of Northern Latitude over against the Main Land of Cumana from which it is distant about seven Leagues It is accounted sixteen Leagues long and half as much in breadth and was discover'd by Columbus in his third Voyage in the Year of our Lord 1498. and was at first in great reputation in regard of the rich Pearl-fishing upon its Coasts wherein the Spaniards more favorable it seems to the Natives of this Place than usual because of their readiness to discover their Treasures employ'd Negro's brought from the Coast of Guinee whom by severe Punishments inflicted they forc'd to such excessive Labor that many of them though excellent Divers were drown'd others either devour'd or lam'd by the ravenous great Fish thereabouts and by destroying the very Seed through their insatiable greediness after Pearl brought the Trade of Pearl-fishing in a short time to a very small Account in respect of what it might have been had it been well husbanded Nor hath this Island of late Years been much frequented only in the Year 1601. Captain Parker with a Fleet of English put on Shore here and took as many Prisoners as he had five hundred pounds of Pearl for the Ransom of and at his coming away took a Ship he met from off the Coast of Angola with three hundred and seventy Negro's aboard her who were going to be sold for Slaves The Soil is not unfruitful bringing forth several sorts of Fruit and store of Maiz and probably if improv'd would as well bear Wheat and other usual kinds of Grain but there is great want of Water which the Inhabitants are troubled to fetch from the neighboring Continent Towns and Places of chief note The Places of chief note are 1. Monpater a Fort built by the Spaniards in a Nook of the Island lying Eastward to secure the Pearl-fishing Trade and to defend the Town where the Governor resides as also the Treasurer of the King of Spain's Customs of Pearl which have been formerly valu'd at 50000 l. yearly 2. El valle de Santa Lucia two Leagues from this Town and as much from the Sea a Spanish Colony Macanao the onely noted Place belonging to the Natives SECT II. Cubagua Situation of Cubagua CUbagua lies South-West of Margarita about the eleventh Degree of North-Latitude a League or thereabouts distant from Margarita and six Leagues from the nearest Continent and about three Leagues in circumference This is also a very great Place for Pearl-fishing the benefit whereof hath been so considerable that the King of Spain's Fifths are said to have amounted some years to fifteen thousand Ducats but otherwise of a poor and barren Soil not onely destitute of Water but of Fruit Grain Herbage and all manner of Cattel and eatable Beasts except a few lean Coneys nevertheless in respect of the Pearl-fishing Trade the Spaniards have Planted here a Colony which they call'd New Cadiz having plenty of Provisions brought them from the adjoining Coasts and soon after their first Planting grew in a short time so powerful that they became Masters of one of the best Ports of those Seas call'd Maracapana Venezuela but upon an Alarm of the Salvages of Cumana for a while deserted the Island and betook themselves to Hispaniola from whence nevertheless being remanded back with fresh Supplies under the Command of James de Castellon they soon re-instated themselves in their former Plantation and made it more strong and flourishing than before in which state they remain'd as long as the Pearl-fishing Trade continu'd but that decaying the splendor also of this Colony declin'd so that at present the onely thing which makes the Place remarkable is a Fountain on the East part of the Island not far from the Sea yielding a liquid bituminous Water of singular use in Medicine and sometimes found floating on the Sea at two or three Leagues distance The Island Coche About four Leagues distant from Cubagua there is an Island call'd Coche about three Miles in compass It was discover'd in the Year 1529. and was formerly little less considerable for
white Bears with red Patches on their Heads also white Hawks and all sorts of Fish There are moreover in the Countrey divers Rivers frozen up for the most part of the Year and cover'd with Ice yet it is generally affirm'd that it is not so cold there as in Norway or Iseland On the Hills are said to grow Acorns and Nuts very well tasted and as big as Apples also as good Wheat as is commonly produc'd in other Parts An Account of Groenland from Dithmar Blefkens his Journal In the Journal of Dithmar Blefkens's Voyage mention is made of a certain blind Monk brought up in the Monastery of St. Thomas who reported several memorable things concerning this Countrey as that it was call'd Groenland antiphrastically or by contrariety of Speech as appearing seldom or never green and that it abounded with Bears and white Foxes and was not without Pygmies and Unicorns which never appear'd till after the Sun was entred into Aries that in the said Monastery of St. Thomas there was a Fountain of scalding Water which was convey'd through Pipes of Stones to the Monks several Cells and serv'd them not onely for Stoves but for the dressing of their Meat which was as well boyl'd by means of this Water as if it had been over a real Fire and that the Walls of the Monastery were made of a kind of Pumice-stone upon which if Water were pour'd it would produce a slimy Matter commonly us'd in stead of Lime for Mortar like the Stone of Mount Hecla in Iseland that two of these Pygmies a Male and a Female were kept by the Abbot and were both endu'd with perfect humane Shape and overgrown with Hair even to the outermost Joynts of their Fingers the Male especially who had a Beard reaching down to his Knees but that they seem'd wholly devoid of Reason and Understanding nor had any distinct use of Speech onely made a semblance of Hissing of the manner of Geese lastly he reported the duration of the Lives of these Creatures to be answerable to the shortness of their Stature but that concerning their Wars with the Cranes he had no other knowledge than by Tradition From Mr. James Hall's Description The Description of Groenland left by Mr. James Hall renders it a high mountainous and craggy Region sufficiently water'd with Rivers and provided with good Harbors of a Soil not unfertile in all places where he came having between the Mountains fruitful Valleys and pleasant Plains abounding with several sorts of Fowl as Partridges Pheasants Sea-mews Gulls Crows c. but of Beasts chiefly black Foxes and as was conjectur'd by the plenty of Harts-horns found about their Tents Rein-Deer yet not destitute of other Beasts the Vestigium of one whereof was found to be not less than eight Inches over As for the Manners and Customs of the Natives they are by the said Description represented to be a kind of Samoid or wandring People still moving from place to place warlike and active using Slings and Darts with marvellous dexterity of a brown Complexion for the most part and of an indifferent Stature eating their Meat either quite raw or onely a little parboyl'd Clothing themselves with the Skins of such Beasts or other Creatures as they kill especially Seals or some of the largest size of Fowls which they Dress very smooth and soft turning the Feather or Hair side outwards in Summer and inward in Winter Their Weapons Bowes Slings and Bone or Iron-headed Darts their Religion Idolatrous but chiefly Sun-Worship as was gather'd from their manner of Accost when any of the English first approach'd them for they us'd to point up to the Sun as chief Author of their felicity and then beat their Breasts crying Iliont which seem'd to signifie as much as I mean no harm and would not come near till those that met them did the like Their Houses built of Whales Bones and the Baulks thereof with Whales Ribs and cover'd with Earth but the best sort with Seal-Skins having Vaults or Rooms under Ground four-square and two Yards deep in the Earth Their manner of Burial a Pile of Stones thrown over the Corps being first wrapt up in Seal-Skins First Discovery of Spilbergia or Greenland Spilbergia so call'd by the Hollanders from Spilbergen whom probably they reckon to have been the first Discoverer of it is the same that we vulgarly call Greenland and which Sir Hugh Willoughby if not the first of all yet at least the first of the English that discover'd any thing of these Parts nam'd King James's New-Land The said Sir Hugh Willoughby set forth Anno 1553. in the Bona Esperanza accompany'd with two Ships more viz. the Bonaventure Richard Challoner Captain and the Bona Confidentia and after some time of Coasting up and down those Northern Seas he Landed with his Company upon the Place where staying a few days he sent three Men three days Journey into the Countrey South-West and three more as far full West who all after much hardship in their Travelling return'd without having met any People by the Way or seen the least appearance of any Habitation Sailing hence back for Lapland they were all frozen to death in the Haven Arzina Fotherby's Description of Greenland A Description of Greenland by one Mr. Robert Fotherby represents the Nature of this Place contradictory to its Name as before was observ'd of Groenland For certainly saith he no part of the World yet known and discover'd is less Green than this both the Mountains and Low-lands being cover'd with Snow till the beginning of June The Countrey which is for the most part mountainous bearing neither Grass nor Tree save onely Heath or Ling as it is call'd in the North parts of England which grows upon the Moors or Heathy Grounds when the Snow begins to melt and on which in Summer the Deer feed themselves fat in one Moneth but how they live in the Winter is a thing beyond any Man's skill to comprehend especially during the Sun's absence under the Horizon which in the Latitude of seventy seven Degrees continues from the eighteenth of October to the fourth of February This Countrey is by many suppos'd never to have been inhabited by Men yet not altogether uncapable of affording Habitation to such as would bring with them sufficient defensive Weapons against Hunger and Cold For other Animals it is found by the testimony of those that have been upon the Place not to be destitute for besides Deer before mention'd there have been seen Bears and Foxes and of wild Fowl Cuthbert Ducks Willocks Stints Sea-Pigeons Sea-Parrots Gulls Noddies c. The Southermost part of Greenland call'd Point Look-out stands in seventy six Degrees and thirty Minutes The West side of the Land was discover'd by the first Voyagers Northward as far as eighty Degrees and odd Minutes and in that compass six or eight good Harbors for the Whale-fishing the East side as far as seventy eight Degrees with divers Islands
Robert Gore Shares 3 11 S. Edwards Sackvile Shares 1 11 S. Iohn Davers Shares 1 12 M. Robert Gore Shares 2 13 M. Iohn Delbridge Shares 1 14 M. Iohn Wroth Esq Shares 1 15 M. Rich. Chamberl. Esq Shares 10 Ad Communem agram in singu lis Tribubus quol attinet in quot portiones dividatur et ibi inceat quemadmodum partim in Mappa Choragraphica exprimitur Ita eti am claribus liquet ex Libre Geo desiae Virginianae Societati tradito After the granting of the Patent aforesaid of 13 Car. 1. Sir David Kirk's great Pains there and constant Endeavours were beyond expectation bless'd with a continuance and preservation of Trade in that Place in the carrying on of which he had always a special regard to the real Advantage of this Kingdom and the particular Service of His Majesty The wonderful Bank of Terra Nova Before this Island right over against Cape Ray at the distance of twenty four Leagues or more there lieth an huge Bank or Ridge of Land extending it self in length out of the Sea above a hundred Leagues but in breadth not above four or five and twenty when it is broadest and in other parts much less sharpning towards each end into a Conus or narrow Point It is accounted one of the Wonders of the Sea which round about at some distance is very deep and hardly to be sounded especially betwixt the Bank for so they commonly call it and Cape Ray but drawing nearer it grows by degrees more and more shallow insomuch that nigh the Land there is not much more Water than is necessary for the Ships to Ride in It runneth out in length as was said from North to South from forty one Degrees of Latitude to fifty two and round about it there lie scatter'd a multitude of lesser Islands which Sir Sebastian Cabot when he first discover'd the Place call'd by one common Name Los Baccaloos or The Islands of Cod-fish The Baccaloos from the great quantity of that sort of Fish he there found which was such that they hindred the passage of his Ships and lay in such multitudes upon the Coasts that the very Bears would come and catch them in their Claws and draw them to Land The Isle of Assumption IN the Gulf of St. Laurence towards the Mouth of the River Canada is another less considerable Island said to have been first discover'd by Quartier and by him call'd The Island of Assumption by John Alphonso The Island of Ascension by the Natives Natistcotec It extends it self from the forty eighth to the fiftieth Degree between the South-East and North-West Quartier makes mention of a strange kinde of Fish found in the River of Canada like unto a Sea-Hog but having the Head of a Hare it is call'd by the Natives Adhothuys Not far from this is a little Island call'd by the French Isle de Sable or The Sandy Island and another on the West of Terra Nova call'd Isle de Bretons or The Island of St. Laurence besides several little scatter'd Islands in the Gulf of St. Laurence as Menego and The Three Islands of Birds in which are found a kind of amphibious Animal call'd by the French Cualrus and by the Russians Morsh somewhat like a Sea-Calf but more monstrous CHAP. XII The Bermudas or Summer-Islands Situation of the Bermudas THe Bermudas or Summer-Islands probably so term'd as to the first Appellation from certain black Hogs by the Spaniards call'd Bermudas which from a Ship bound with them to some other parts of the West-Indies and cast away upon that Coast swam ashore and there increased or as others say from John Bermudes a Spaniard who is said to have been the first Discoverer or as to the second from one George Summers an English-man who there suffer'd shipwrack are situated in thirty two Degrees and twenty five Minutes of Northern Latitude about sixteen hundred Leagues from England twelve hundred from Madera four hundred from Hispaniola and three hundred from the nearest Coast of Virginia The first that endeavour'd to settle Plantations here was a Spaniard nam'd Hernando Camelo being design'd Conductor in this Expedition And this Undertaking was so much the more eagerly prosecuted upon consideration that the Plate-Fleet Sailing from Havana through the Straights of Bahama might here have a convenient Harbour but those who were invited to become Adventurers with proffers of great Advantage shewing themselves very slack in the Business and Charles the Fifth being at that time intangled in War and other troublesom Affairs the Design came to nothing and for above sixty years after no farther Attempt was made by any for the Planting of these Islands till at last the French made a Voyage thither under Captain Barboriere but by Shipwrack were frustrated of their hopes nor made they any more Preparations in this Design In which nevertheless the English were not so easily discourag'd for first Captain Gosnol and Smith set forth at the Charges of Mr. Edward Wingfield next Captain Nelson then successively West Gates Argal and Wyat but all with little or no success till at length in the Year 1612. a Company was establish'd in London by the King's Letters Patents who sent one Mr. Richard Moor with sixty Men to the Bermudas where he spent three years in fortifying those Islands but that which put a little stop to this good beginning was a kind of Misfortune that hapned for the Rats which were gotten ashore from a Shipwrack increas'd so exceedingly that they devour'd all the Plants in the Field and the Provision in the Houses insomuch that a great Famine proceeded from thence all means to destroy the Vermine being in vain till at last Providence sent a Disease amongst them which â—â—ill'd them all in a very short time Mean while Moor went on in the fortification of the Island and was ere long supply'd with fresh People Mr. Barlet was sent over with sixty Men and carried from thence with him eighty Pound of Ambergreece And soon after three Ships more viz. the Blessing the Star and the Margaret convey'd thither four hundred and ten Men and Women As soon as Moor was call'd away Daniel Tuckard coming from Virginia to succeed him bestirr'd himself very much Planting all places full of Trees fetch'd from the West-Indian Islands as also Tobacco with which he fraighted a Ship to London Moreover the Countrey was divided into Acres that every Planter might have an equal share and know his own Lands Anno 1619. Tuckard was succeeded by Nathaniel Butler who in four Ships brought thither five hundred Men and Women to supply the first Plantation which was much decay'd since the Rats had devour'd their Provisions so that it was little look'd after by the Company in London But now they built a Church and erected a Court of Judicature and all things were order'd conveniently for the publick good After which many Noble Persons set Sail thither in the Magazine Frigat and the Planters being now
from the fine Gold which is found there in great abundance Havens Isles and Points in Peru. Along the Sea-Coast of Peru belonging to the Jurisdiction of Los Reyos lie the following Havens Isles and Points South-East from the Promontory Aguya rises the Isle St. Roque out of the South-Sea Sea surrounded with Rocks and abounds with Birds of prey through the midst of it runs a River which divides the Island The Haven Malabrigo ill defended against the Winds cannot be entred by great Vessels unless in calm Weather Next follow the Harbors Guanape and Santa where the Ships us'd to furnish themselves with Water out of a fresh River Casuya and Guarmay both inhabited by Peruvians Near the Mouth of the Road Guara stands a large Salt-pan the Salt about which is found in great hard Pieces The Island Collao secures the Haven before Lima. Behind Cape Guarco lies the Lobos and not far from hence the Harbor Sangallan being so commodious that the Spaniards consider'd a long time whether they should build the City Los Reyos here The Promontory Nasca affords also good shelter for Ships and the Haven Hacari yields store of Refreshments Moreover the Streams Oconna Camana and Quilca discharge their Waters into the Sea The Haven Arequipa appears at its Mouth like a little Pool surrounded with Mountains Between Quilca and the River Tamboyalla lies the Isle Nuli and a little more Southward the Haven Paracca and Pisca and up in the Countrey the Village Yca where the most and best Peruvian Wine is to be had SECT VI. Los Charcas Situation and Description of Los Charcas LOs Charcas is the farthest Countrey Southward of the Kingdom of Peru reaching up as far as Chile with which on the South it is border'd having on the North Lima and Collao on the West Mare del Zur and on the East some Countreys not yet well discover'd which lie betwixt it and the Province of Paraguay or De la Plata The Countrey is said to be in length about a hundred and fifty Leagues measuring it directly or in a right Line from North to South but measuring it about along the Sea-Coast much about two hundred It is not very rich either in Corn or Cattel although in some parts it wanteth not good Pasturage but of unparalell'd Wealth in respect of the Mines of Gold and Silver which are here digg'd the principal whereof are those of Potosi and Parco The Mountains hereabouts are inhabited by the Cavinas who dwell in Stone Houses Their Neighbors the Canches are a subtile good natur'd and painful People breed many Sheep sowe Corn and catch plenty of Fish out of the Rivers Next comes in view the cold Countrey Conas On the right side towards the Southern Ocean the great Wilderness Parinacocha extends it self a vast way the Mountains round about are continually cover'd with Snow and the Dales have many deep Moors POTOSI 2. Oropesa a place of good Metal as a man may perceive by the Name It lieth in the rich and pleasant Valley Cochobamba twenty Leagues distant from La Plata 3. Potosi eighteen Leagues Westward from La Plata by the Spaniards call'd The Imperial City built at the Foot of a Mountain bearing the same Denomination on a barren Soil under a cold Climate though but twenty one Degrees to the South-ward of the Equinoctial Line the Cold proceeds from the high Lands which lie bare to the bleak and sharp Winds call'd Tomohavi which blow every year very fiercely from May till September But though the barren Countrey produces no Fruit yet no place in Peru hath greater plenty of all Provisions and Dainties than this the Markets being always full of Fruit Salt-Meat Maiz Papas Wheat Sugar Sweet-meats and all things that are requisite for the subsistence of Man-kind which are brought thither from all parts for the Silver which is there in such plenty As to what concerns the famous Mountain Potosi in the Countrey of Charcas it is of an Ash colour and rises above the adjacent Mountains in the form of a Sugar-Loaf on the top of it stands a Chappel to which leads a craggy Path which with a little care may be rid up with a Horse the heighth thereof is a thousand six hundred and twenty four Rods or a quarter of a League at the Foot thereof appears the Mine call'd Guaina Potosi that is The young Potosi near which the City Potosi stands being two Leagues in circumference and is adorn'd with a Church and Cloyster for the Dominicans and exceedingly resorted to by Traders In the time when the Ingas Govern'd Peru the Silver-Mines at Porco were very famous but it was not till after the arrival of the Spaniards that Silver was found in Guaina Potosi and by degrees the Silver Veins which lay hid in the great Potosi the manner of which Discovery was as followeth The occasion of the first Discovery of the Mines in Potosi A Peruvian call'd Gualpa who work'd in the Mines at Porco going a Hunting it chanc'd that the Game ran up the steep Mountain of Potosi which prevented his pursuing of it any farther but the Mountain being overgrown with Trees he got hold from one Bough to another to help himself up and at last taking hold of the Bramble call'd Quinua he pull'd the same out of the Ground and finding it heavy look'd upon it and espy'd a great lump of Silver hanging at the Root of it whereupon viewing the Hole he discover'd a rich Silver Vein of which taking some pieces home and melting them he found that it was the best Silver that ever he had known wherefore he privately got a greater quantity and by degrees grew extraordinary rich but though he carried his Design never so close yet he was at last suspected and especially by his Neighbor Guanca born in the Valley Xauxa who was the more jealous of him because he sold greater Bars of Silver than any were cast at Porco whereupon he resolv'd to speak to him and getting out the Secret it came to this Agreement between them That they should both be Partners and share the Booty Gualpa was to keep the Vein since call'd The Rich Vein and Guanca was to have another at present nam'd Diego Centeno but they agreed not long for Guanca finding much labor upon his Vein by reason of the hardness and that he could get no share in what Gualpa got acquainted his Spanish Master Vilaroel with it who rested not till he had found out the truth thereof for which Vilaroel obtain'd according to the Custom of Porco several Rods to work for himself onely paying the King one fifth part of what he got and so remain'd Owner of the Mine Centeno The Mine Potesi when discover'd This Discovery of the rich Mine Potosi is said to have hapned on the twenty fourth of April Anno 1545. Soon after which they found the Silver Vein Del Estanno which though it was very rich was difficult to be digg'd because of
Schouten found the same Anno 1616. who Sailing from Porto Desire left the Straights of Magellan on the right-hand and Sail'd Southerly through whitish Water and in fifty four Degrees discover'd a Channel eight Leagues broad through which ran a strong Current The Coast rose with high Mountains whose tops were cover'd with Snow The utmost Point was call'd Mauritius from the Prince of Orange the broken Coast on the other side The States-Island and the Straights it self Le Maire upon the Request of the Merchant Jacob Le Maire whose Father Isaac was chief owner of the two Ships of which Schouten was Commander who found so many Whales here that he could scarce Steer clear of them they swimming by hundreds in a Shoal The Sea-pies much bigger than Swans suffer'd themselves to be caught by the Hands of the Sea-men Moreover he call'd the barren grey Rocks and others lesser lying North-East from the Promontory Hoorn Barnevields Isles Sailing beyond the Point Hoorn he was toss'd by the vast Billows that came rowling out of the West It was no sooner nois'd abroad that the Netherlanders had found the Straights Le Maire but the Spanish King Philip immediately sent two Carvels thither under the Command of Garcias de Nodal who took an exact Account of the Heads Roads and Inlets belonging to the fore-mention'd Straights and return'd without performing any other Exploits Diego Flores his unsuccessful Voyage to the Straigts of Magellan Diego Flores Steer'd four years before Candish to the Straights of Magellan with twenty three Sail of Ships Mann'd with three thousand five hundred Seamen besides five hundred old Netherland Soldiers with which he unhappily weigh'd Anchor from Cales for before he got out of sight of the Spanish Coast he lost five of his Ships and eight hundred Men yet prosecuting his Voyage he stay'd during the Winter Season on the Coast of Brasile and was surpris'd by so vehement a Storm near the Island Catalina that a company of Women sent under the Charge of Peter Sarmiento to Settle in the Straights of Magellan were all cast away with the greatest part of the Ammunition and Provisions The English Admiral Fenton took three Ships of this Fleet from Flores two were cast away in the River La Plata and one ran back to Spain whilest Flores came into the Straights of Magellan on the last day of March at which time the whole Countrey lay cover'd with Snow wherefore seeing no hopes of finding out any place to Settle Sarmiento upon he stood back with eight Sail to Brasile and in his Return burnt three French Ships took two more and Sail'd home But his Lieutenant Diego Ribera and the Governor Peter Sarmiento Landed the Year after Flores his departure with four hundred Men thirty Women and Provisions for eight Moneths in the Straights of Magellan from whence Ribera Sail'd back whilest Sarmiento built on the North side of the Mouth of the Straights the Town Nombre de Jesus and fifty Leagues farther in the narrowest place Philip-stadt with four Bulwarks the Inhabitants of which as is before related were destroy'd by Famine Description of Terra del Fugo Terra del Fuego already mention'd opposite to the Countrey of the Patagones lyin the South between the Straights of Magellan is a broken Countrey with high Mountains full of Trees and wash'd by pleasant Rivulets four Foot deep in the Ground it begins to be all Rocky The Air is troubled with exceeding great Winds out of the West The Inhabitants are pale Countenanc'd but Paint their Bodies with divers Colours they have long thick and black Hair and very sharp Teeth the Men go stark naked the Women cover their secret Parts with a piece of Leather and wear Strings full of Shells about their Necks some also Mantle themselves with the Skins of wild Beasts which affords but little warmth against the Cold that is here in Winter Their Huts consist of Trees and are made round at bottom and sharp on the top like a Tent having onely a Hole for the Smoak to go out at they are digg'd three Foot deep into the Ground and also heap'd round with Earth within the Huts nothing is to be found but Baskets with Fishing Utensils and Stone Hooks Their offensive Arms the Men always carry about with them because they always maintain Wars with their Neighbors They handle a Quarter-staff very dexterously are good Slingers and Bowemen they also use Lances with sharp Stone Points Moreover they make Boats of the Bark of Trees which they first cut out into a Form then sewing it together bow the same after the manner of a Boat which rises before and behind and being fifteen or sixteen Foot long can carry eight Men going exceeding swift These People are not onely beastial in their Practices but also Murderers Lastly besides the Straights of Le Maire Henrick Brewer hath found a new Passage to the Eastward above the States-Island out of the Northern Ocean to the South Sea CHAP. IV. The unknown South-Land THe unknown South-Land extends with several Points to the Southern Ocean which have been more seen than discover'd by divers Nations Opposite to the East-India Island Gilolo lies Terra des Papous to which Jacob Le Maire gave the Denomination of New Guinee The English Commander Richard Hawkins Sailing to the Southward behind Papou found the Inhabitants black like Negro's round about appear several Isles and convenient Harbors Herrera places here on the East the Countrey Agnada the Road St. Jago the Island Los Crespos the Haven Andreas the River Virginum and the little Isle La Vellena before the Mouth of the Stream Augustine Next you meet Easterly with the Rivers St. Peter and St. Paul the Havens Hieronymus the Isles Punta Salida Abrigo Malagente and Maure de Dios inhabited by white People Discoveries in Terra Australis Incognâ—a The first that discover'd New Guinee Anno 1529. was Alvares de Savedra who as also several others besides him suppos'd that some of the Islands Solomons border New Guinee Eighteen of the many Solomon Isles exceed the rest of which some are three hundred Leagues in circumference some two hundred others one hundred and some fifty All that are inhabited have a fruitful Soil producing all manner of Provisions particularly Hogs and Poultrey The Natives differ very much one from another for some are black others white or tawny The fore-mention'd Hawkins in his Voyage towards the Straights of Magellan supposing it by estimation to be fifty Leagues from the Main Coast of America discover'd forty Degrees to the Southward of the Equinoctial Line with a Westerly Wind the unknown south-South-Land which he found to consist of low Land and to be inhabited by reason of the many Fires which he saw ashore in the Night The Spanish Commander Peter Fernandes de Quiro and the Admiral Lodowick Paes de Torres have made a farther Discovery of this Countrey for Landing on the South-Land they met with several People some whereof were
several People with Sticks on which hung white Cloths some of them came aboard and brought with them what Provisions the Island afforded The Inhabitants barter'd Clappes Pisang Fowls Hogs Mother-of-Pearl Fish-hooks Stone Axes little Stools great Clubs with a black Point as long as a Man's Arm and hooked against Trifles The Hollanders were also stor'd here with fresh Water The People both in Language Habit rud Customs were very like those of the first Island but were not altogether so courteous One of the Southlanders stealing a Half-pike out of the Boat was forc'd by his Companions to restore the same The fore-mention'd Haelbos relates That going ashore with some Soldiers he saw their Houses which he found to be built after a strange manner viz. some of them were round like Towers Wider at top than at bottom and without any Holes for Air but all built close of Canes which were stuck in the Ground other Huts were cover'd with a long Roof of Pisang or Clappes Leaves resting on Posts under which kind of Building Haelbos shelter'd himself against a mighty Shower of Rain found divers young Men and Women sitting on Mats and an old Woman blind through Age lying by them on the Ground and Fanning her self with Pisang Leaves The Men going away signifi'd thereby a kind of Invitation to the Hollanders to go to the Women who not receiving the Entertainment they expected rose altogether on a sudden and Singing Danc'd about the Hollanders The Men had on their Shoulders and Breasts Scars of half an Inch deep and an Inch long upon some of which being fresh and bleeding the Flyes sat They eat after a strange manner for stripping off the outmost Rinds of the Clappes with their Teeth and breaking the hard Shell against their Elbows they pull out the Kernel and eat the same Whatever Flesh-meat they eat they never throughly boyl or roast it but make it onely just warm They sleep on the Ground upon Mats and lay their Heads on a little woodden Cricket with four Feet They take great pride in their Hair and those that have not long Hair of their own use Perukes Tasman steering his Course towards the high Coast that lay before this Island was follow'd by several small Vessels from the adjacent Shore of which some carry'd a Bough of Clappes or Pisang with white Veins at the ends but seeing the Ships Sail from them they threw the same overboard Tasman standing Westerly discover'd three Isles near the last whereof the Sea broke exceedingly which the Hollanders not without great danger had approached in the Night after which they discover'd to Leeward of them a high Coast which extended it self a great way but the Sea went so rough that they durst not venture near the Land besides the Sea went very high on a Bank first ten then five three and a half and again ten fourteen and seven Fathom deep and oftentimes a Man might see the Ground insomuch that they kept out the Boats belonging to the Hemskerk which was in most danger to carry them aboard of the Sea-Cock if the first should chance to split Lastly getting over the Bank they saw very high Land to Windward and many hilly Isles to Leeward the Sea also was full of blind Rocks and Shelves so that they were in danger every hour and the rather because the Wind blew hard every day yet at last losing sight of Land they steer'd their Course Westerly in five Degrees Southward of the Line towards New Guinee On the two and twentieth of March they discover'd low Land full of Woods of tall Trees surrounded with a company of Isles against some of which the Sea brake with great violence insomuch that they were again in great danger especially when they were got amongst eighteen Isles between which the Water being shallow and the Current running very strongly drove the Ships towards the Shore Whilest they were Tacking to and again to get beyond the Shelves a little Vessel carrying a great Weather-cock on her Star-board came from the Shore Row'd by seven Men who sat on Boards which lay over the same they were of a brown Complexion onely girt about with a hairy Girdle made fast on the top of their Heads under their Feet they also wore something in stead of Shoes about their Necks hung Flowers and their Bodies were Painted black Among the seven one who was very fat and whose Head was adorn'd with two Feathers stood up and proffer'd the Seamen two Clappes in return whereof Tasman gave them a Box of Nails and a piece of Sail-cloth which sinking under Water an aged Man div'd for the same and bringing it up gave it to his six Companions who made no shew of thankfulness Their Arms consisted in Bowes and Arrows Their Clappes they call'd Anieuw as the other Islanders had done Sailing from hence they discover'd two low Islands full of Trees and three Leagues from them on their Star-board a high Coast and on the other side a great Island whither they drove with a small Gale approaching the same two very small Boats came towards the Hemskerk the biggest of the two carry'd six Men and the least three all of them very deform'd they went stark naked onely their Yards were ty'd up with a String on their Bellies and about their Arms hung Chains of Mother-of-Pearl they were Coal-black onely red about the Mouth which redness was occasion'd by the chewing of Pisang in their Hair stuck woodden Combs and on their Foreheads green Leaves but in each Boat was one who had a bruised Reed made fast in his Neck like a Plume the biggest Vessel was Painted with strange Shapes of Men and Beasts they us'd red Bowes and Arrows and having call'd to the Seamen they Row'd back again to the Shore which Tasman left a Stern of him and ran between the Main Coast by all suppos'd to be New Guinee and several great Islands that lay scatter'd along before the Main Coast from whence came four small Boats adorn'd with Imagery like Serpents but kept without Gun-shot from the Ships at last one leaping overboard swam to the smallest Boat out of which one swam back in his stead to the other and afterwards came to the Hemskerks side he was a black Man wore Leaves before his Privities and Armlets about his Elbows through the Gristle of his Nose stuck a white Bone Bodkin sharp at the ends and of a Fingers length and about his Neck a String full of Cockle-shells Tasman Sailing on along the Main Coast met with eighteen Boats more the Rowers whereof laid their Oars upon their Heads and not without strange Gestures call'd aloud and invited the Hollanders to come ashore On the Sterns and Heads of these Boats were likewise divers Shapes Painted upon a white Ground in some were two and in others three four and five Men eight of them going into the Hollanders Boats were made Drunk with Arrack These Southlanders went stark naked some onely covering their secret Parts
both great and small yielding good Harbors and store of Whales and Sea-Horses The Voyages of Jonas Pool and others to Greenland In the Year 1610. Jonas Pool Master of the Amity fell in with this Land in May and continu'd upon the Coast discovering of Harbors and killing of Morses till June following and he is said to have been the first that gave this Countrey the Name of Greenland The next year he set out again accompany'd with Thomas Edge Commander of the Mary Margaret And since many other Voyages have been made as to a Place known and a great Trade driven in catching of Whales not without several Contests with the Dutch and Danes but nothing of late discover'd considerable more than in the first Voyages The Harbors Sounds and Coastings most taken notice of are Fair Foreland Cape Cold Black-Point Horn-Sound Knotty-Point Bell-Sound Lowness Cross-Road Deer-Sound Fowl-Sound Close-Cove Gurnet-Nose Ice-Sound and Green-Haven There are few that have Sail'd to Greenland Cherry-Island but make great mention of Cherry Island so call'd as having been first discover'd at the Charges of Sir Francis Cherry an eminent Merchant by others Bear-Island from the multitude of Bears found there it lies in the Latitude of seventy four Degrees and is noted for store of Fowl Foxes like Dogs and upon the Coasts great store of Whales Sea-Horses and Morses It is also said to be furnish'd with Lead-Mines and Pits of Sea-Coal Situation and first Discovery of Iseland Iseland so call'd from the continual Ice which is upon it is a craggy mountainous Countrey and not onely the Hills but a great part of the Low-land cover'd with perpetual Snow It is of a Form somewhat oblong lying between the fifty fourth and fifty ninth Degree of Northern Latitude having Norway on the East the Orcades and Scotland on the South Grenland on the West and the Hyperborean or frozen Sea on the North. It is by Olaus Magnus suppos'd to be twice as big as Sicily that is to say about a hundred Leagues in length It is the most known and most througly discover'd of all the Countreys of the Artick Region and is said to have been first found out and peopled in the Year of our Lord 900. by certain of the Nobility of East-Frisia in the Countrey of Breme in the time of Alebrand Bishop of that Countrey but whether or no utterly unpeopled till that time is a Question not easie to be determin'd though in all probability so obvious a Place to be found out could not lie so long totally uninhabited Not long after several Colonies of Norwegians Setled themselves some in Hitland some in Ferow others following the Example of these Bremers in Iseland The Countrey is full of Rocks and Stones and as is credibly reported not a cultivated Field or Garden in the whole Island and by consequence no sort of Corn yet the People living without either Bread or Salt are very strong and of a good Complexion Neither is there a Tree to be seen except the Birch which likewise grows but in one place and exceeds not the heighth of a Man by reason of the violence of the Winds yet there is said to be great plenty of Butter the Grass being so fat that the Oxen are not suffer'd to stay long at a time in the Pastures for fear of bursting Till of late there was neither Town nor any thing that could be call'd a Village in the whole Island but stragling Cottages here and there not above three or four together in a place most by the Sea side for the convenience of Fishing they were built pretty deep in the Ground but artificially fram'd of Whales Bones with Seats Benches and other Utensils of the same now sometimes they use Fir to the same purpose which is cast upon the Coast by the force of the Sea from Tartary or elsewhere For want of Vessels they lay their Butter in Heaps in the Corners of their Houses like Mortar In the Winter wanting Fodder they feed their Cattel with Fish Besides these Cattel which are Kine without Horns Horses onely fit for carrying of Burthens and very large Sheep there are store of white Foxes and huge Bears of the same colour and a sort of rough Dogs very well known and frequent amongst us by the Name of Shocks which the Islanders esteem not a little and will part with their Children at a far easier rate They keep neither Hogs nor Poultrey for want of Grain to feed them Many Rivers in Iseland The Rivers belonging to this Island are many and those not unpleasant affording to the Inhabitants plenty of Fish especially Sturgeon Trouts and Salmons and one is especially remarkable for a Bridge made over it which being the onely Bridge of the Countrey is made of the great Bones of a Whale The whole Island is one continu'd Desart without any trodden Path or Road from one end to the other so that all that have occasion to travel to any part thereof by Land make use of the Compass as if they were Voyaging by Sea Strange Fish on the Coast of Iseland The Coast of Iseland hath many strange and monstrous Fish worth observation as first the Orca which though nothing near so big as the Whale yet is able to be the death of it for being of the shape of a Ship turn'd upside-down and having sharp long Fins on its Back it pricks the Belly of the Whale therewith till it kills The next is the Hackfall which is very fat and about twelve Inches long Then the Dog-Fish which lifting up its Head out of the Sea Barks and letting forth its young ones receives them into her Belly again when they have sported a while in the Sea Lastly another Monster of a most frightful shape mention'd by Olaus Magnus but not by any particular Name Strange Fountains In divers parts of the Island are Fountains of scalding Water which as soon as taken from the Fountain begins to cool and when cold hath a sulphury Substance swimming on the top At the West end is a smoaky Fountain very cold and turning all that is cast into it into Stone At the place upon the Sea call'd Turlocks Haven are two Fountains of different quality the one hot the other cold which by Pipes being brought together into one place make a Bath of an excellent temperature and of a medicinal Vertue Not far from Haven Halneford is a Cliff in a Rock of an unknown depth and no Water to be discern'd by those that look down into it but if a Stone be cast in it shall make a noise for half an hour together as if it were striking against a Brazen Vessel and all this while the Water will be rising till it comes up to the brim and then will be so long sinking again as the Stone was falling Mountains of Iseland There are also three Mountains in Iseland not to be left unmention'd the Mountain of the Cross the Moutain Snenelstockel