and never went on Land but when the Female Wonderful-Bird laid her Eggs she mounts up out of sight and so lays her Eggs one at a time as she mounts up after this Egg comes down tossing in the Air which is very hot in that Country before it falls into the Sea 't is Hatch'd after which the Sea nourisheth it which I found to be very wonderful and rare in Nature The 26th of May 1609. we arrived Arrival at Goa in the Indies at Goa the Old as they call it and the 27th went on Land being Ascension-Eve to Dine at Pangin before we should come to Goa As soon as the Fleet arrived there the Kings Packet was published which Andre Furtano Elected Vice-roy was to be opened no where but at Goa containing that in case the Vice-roy chanced to Die by the way Senior Andre Furtado de Mandoze should be Elected and if he was not there at that time they should send for the Governor of the Isle of Seilan Andre Furtado having thus been received Reys-Magos or the Church of the three Kings for Vice-roy I went to Reys-Magos which is the Church of the Cordelieres where the Vice-roys commonly reside whilst Preparations are made for his Reception to speak with him and desire him to help me in my necessity He made me answer that I should come to him when he was setled in his Government But all this signified nothing for I could never speak with him until such time as he sent for me to go with him to Portugal being relieved of his Charge by Ruy de Talbe who came the next year to Goa He sent for me then by his Cup-Bearer to come and speak with him at the Pass of Madre de Dios half a League from Madre de Dioâ— or the Mother of God Goa the which I did and told me if I would go along with him to Portugal he would content me to which I willingly agreed I went to live in his House till we Embarkt which was in January following It was in November when he sent for me to this Pass where there was a Captain who kept the Passage so that none could go into the Main-Land without being marked in the Hand except those of the Country and the Portugals who must have the Licence of the Coregidor I desired then this Captain from Andre Furtado to give me an Almadie with Mariners and a Naique for Guide which he willingly did and recommended me mightily to this Naique telling him that I went to look for Herbs for Andre Furtado which was true and accordingly brought some which served him for Fomentation of the Opelation of the Spleen Passing then to the Main-Land we went by these Places in the Habitations of the Gentlemen Bramenis and having demanded some Water to drink at the House of one of these People he gave me some but stayed to see if I drank without touching the sides of the Cup the which I knew not and Drank without any Ceremony which the Son of this Gentleman seeing cried out as loud as he could to his Father who was in a little place behind the House who presently came running in great Ange so that I was constrained to march of and make clean the Cup by my Naique to appease them After that I passed by a Pagod or Temple very well built and entering therein I found one of the Natives stark-naked adorning their Idol with Flowers which had a Head like a Calf when presently an old Woman amongst them cried out to me Why I came in there with my Shooes my Naique excused me in telling her that I knew not the Custom As for the Pay-gods they have several Paygods sorts of them Some for War others for Peace and for Love where the Maids coming to be Married are brought to be Desâ—oured and their Idol hath the Privy Parts like a Man The Damsels who serve these Pay-gods like the Vestal-Virgins continue there from 10 to 20 years of Age and Dance all night long carrying lighted Lamps in their Hands and go to Sleep round about their Idols I saw there very beautiful Girls and Women They Marry their Daughters at 8 or 9 years of Age when they are once past 12 or 13 they are not regarded because they believe them to continue no longer Maids considering the heat of the Country At the end of 20 years these Religious Women that Indian Women Religious have thus served the Pay-gods are kept in a certain place the rest of their Lives After I had gathered some Herbs which I had occasion for we went to a little Habitation of Gentiles where I demanded by my Truch-man if they had any Victuals to give us for our Money for there is no Inns or Taverns there but there were some little Shops where they sold Fruit and other things fit to Eat These Gentiles having Compassion on me there was a Woman who put me under a Gallery of her House where there was a Napkin full of Leaves and Plantane accommodated with Thorns then she threw me some Rice thereupon with a certain Sauce which they call Caril I Eat all this and when I was about to Drink out of a little Vessel of Copper that they had given me full of Water they began to cry out upon me because I touched it in Drinking for they never touch the Cup in Drinking only heaving it up with the Server whereon it stands and so Drink The Floor and Pavement of their Houses are composed with Cow-Dung Ants troublesome which they make look exceeding bright and think that it keeps away the Ants which are there in abundance and they can keep nothing free from being destroy'd by these little Animals to prevent which they have also Cupboards bore upon Piles set in Vessels full of Water where the Ants drown themselves by thinking to mount up Near to this Habitation I found a great Tree laden with Tamarins of which I gathered a few Tamarins They had yet nothing but a sower Taste I carried away the Husk which are almost like French-Beans but larger and greater Now as I returned by a very Desart Place I saw some of these Gentiles running in great haste and having caused my Truch-man to ask what ailed them they answered that their Father was gone to Drown himself a little after I saw them return bringing back their Father and Comforting him after the best manner they could He was troubled for some Misfortune that had happened to him It is a common thing with these People to Drown or Poison themselves or to Indians subject to Dispair Die after some such way when any Accident happens to them As for the Women 't is the Custom that when the Body of their Dead Husbands are Burnt they cast themselves into the Funeral Pile and Burn Women who burn themselves themselves after being first adorned with their richest Accoutrements and Jewels Dancing at the Sound of Instruments and
in those Northern Parts is Mexico or Temistitan opulent in Riches and all manner of Delights Before she was subject to the Spaniards she contain'd as they say above 70000 Houses with an exceeding great and glorious Temple where they sacrificed Men Women and Children of all Ages and Sex to their Idols in cleaving them down the Breast and plucking out their Hearts whilst they were beating which they cast into the Faces of these Idols and sometimes they thus open'd Women with Child but especially Virgins tho' how beautiful soever were not exempt and whom they used in a most shameful manner in exposing that which Nature hath hid from the Eyes of all the World For this their great Cruelty and horrible Tyranny they acquir'd a very bad Name amongst the People their Neighbours who would never become their Friends but by Force and what was the most strange they spared not their nearest Kindred for these abominable Sacrifices and when any Man of Authority came to die they interred with him their Slaves alive to bear him Company in the other World When they had offer'd in Sacrifice their Enemies they cut the Bodies into pieces and then roast them to feast with their Friends therewith The Caribes another People towards the South do the same of which we will speak in its proper place Ferdinand Cortez who conquer'd Mexico had no small Trouble to make them quit this abominable Custom also the Hatred which their Neighbours bore them was cause of their total Destruction For they rais'd such great Numbers for the Assistance of Cortez that at last by their Help after a great Slaughter of 'em he got the Victory and took their City to the extream Joy and Contentment of these neighbouring Indians their ever sworn Enemies The Septentrional or North Part of America comprehends the Countries America of Mexico or New-Spain Florida Virginia Canada New France Estotiland the Countries of Labradâ—r and Cortereal and several other Countries towards the North to the Straights of Anian who are not yet discover'd Towards the North of New Spain were several Countries discover'd by the Spaniards in the Year 1583. as the Land of Conquas Passaguates Tiquas Toboses Jumans Quires Pattarabives Cumanes Quivora and others The Meridional or South Part of America contains several Provinces as Peru Chile Los Patagons Brazile Cariabane Cumana Dariena Vraba Castâ—llia d'Oro New-Granadae and others besides the Isles as well in the North Sea as Cuba Hispaniola and others as those in he South-Sea of Solomon and others unknown Brazil has for Limits towards the North the great River of the Amazons and towards the South Rio di la Platâ— or the River of Silver This Country is very pleasant and agreeable with a good Air and temperate for the most part hot and moist abounding in several sorts of wild Fruits and in Raisins Potato's and Cassaves of which the Inhabitants live There are a great Number of terrestrial and watry Animals which feed upon these Fruits and Serpents Wonderful Serpents of such a strange and monstrous sort that the colour of the Skin only is enough to cause Horror and Amazement They frequently eat the Armadilla which is a Creature armed with a Coat as also the Crocodile and Gouana's which is a sort of a Lizard with very long Feet The Flesh of these are savoury enough tho' sweetish and insipid The People of Brazil are great Enemies Brazilians great Enemies to the Portuguese to the Portuguese and when they can catch any of 'em they eat them without Intermission and what is most admirable they know how to find out by the sandy and dirty Ways the Portuguese above all other Nations whatsoever and can discover them by their Tract like as the Hunts-man does the wild Beasts They once took a Portugal Woman Miserable End of a young Woman young and very beautiful whom the French who were there could not save from being eaten and which was done in a strange manner for assembling a Company of them together in a Ring in the midst of whom was set this poor young Woman then having stript her stark naked not at all regarding her Modesty they viewed her from Head to Foot and after having well consider'd her Delineaments some commending one thing and some another they fell to howling and yelling like so many Devils whereupon immediately like a Company of hunger-starv'd Dogs they fell upon this poor innocent Creature and in less than two Minutes tore her into above a Thousand pieces which they as suddenly swallow'd down They are very Vindictive never pardoning but by force and not of Good-will When the French arrive there they give them their Daughters to lie withal hoping they will give them something at their Departure The Third Continent is Terra-Australis not yet discover'd which is otherwise call'd the Land of Fire of Parrots and New Guiney There towards the calm Sea and the Archipelago of St. Lazarus are the Isles of Solomon not yet fully discover'd Some Years since a Portugal Captain named Pedro Fernandes di Quieros sailed round some Parts thereof and tells Wonders of those Countries how that they abound in Beauty and Goodness insomuch that they resemble an Earthly Paradise But we ought to wait for a more certain and ample Discovery The Geographers and Portugal Pilots tell us That these Countries of Terra-Australis are greater than Europe and part of Asia This Captain Pedro-Fernandes found out there the Bays of St. Philip and St. James and the Port of Vera Crux which as they say is capable of above a Thousand Ships in the Altitude of Fifteen Degrees and a half JOHN MOCQVET THE CONTENTS Of this BOOK THE First Book of the Travels and Voyages of John Mocquet to Libia the Canaries and Barbary Page 1. The Second Book of the Travels and Voyages to the West-Indies as into the River of the Amazons the Country of the Caripous and Caribes and other Countries of the West p. 39 The Third Book of the Travels and Voyages to Morocco and other Places of Africa p. 139 The Fourth Book of the Travels and Voyages to Aethiopia Mozambique Goa and other Places of Africa and the East-Indies p. 197 The Fifth Book of the Travels and Voyages to Syria Jerusalem and the Holy-Land The Sixth and Last Book of the Travels and Voyages to Spain with an Intention to pass farther and what was the Hindrance thereof THE TRAVELS AND VOYAGES OF John Mocquet INTO Lybia the Canaries and BARBARY BOOK I. ACcording to the desire I had of a Long time to Travel about the World I had a mind to begin with Africa having occasionally found a Ship bound for Lybia I parted then from St. Malo the 9th Parting from St. Malo 16â—1 Encounter with a Ship of October 1601. and embarqued in the Ship called the Serene Laden with Salt and very well furnished with Victuals and munition of War we were 25. men in all and having born to the S-West and the
some Beads with which they decked their Bodies and in their Ears they had long pieces of Wood and round Stones They had brought a thousand Trifles as Gumbs Egrets Feathers and Parrots Tobacco and other Things which the Country afforded I did my Duty in Exchanging and took as much of their Merchandize as I possibly could We made our Bargains without speaking Merchandize of the Country shewing by signs what we would have or give The King of this Country of Yapoco named Anacajoury was then making ready Cannoe's to go against the Caribes This was the cause that we could not then make much Bartering in thâ—s place For they were all busie at work some at the Cannoes others to make Arms for their Visage and others to prepare Victuals which was the Women's Province we saw all those People mighty busie at that Wine of the Country Amongst others they made a certain Wine or Drink of Fruits which inebritates like Beer or Citre They chaw a certain Root then Boil it and after Strain it There is another sort of it more thick which is made of Fruits and Palms as big as a Gall-Nut they bruise only the Bark which is upon them it 's as yellow as an Orange for they make nothing of the Nut after that they Boil and Strain it They have another sort which might be taken for clear Milk mixed with soft Cheese I had a great mind to Taste of it besides being desired by them to Drink I would not refuse for fear they should have thought that I intended 'em any harm insomuch that they were mightily pleased to see me Drink of it They do not love Melancholly and green Persons and if you make sport with them in Jest it must be Nature and Manners of those Indians in Laughing I clapped them sometimes upon the Back with my Hand in Jest but they would always return again the like in Laughing They are very hardy and warlike courteous and liberal and have very cheerful Looks The Caribes are not so for they would give us as the saying is not so much as a * Patato Patatte This is a Root like a Turnip but longer and of a red and yellow colour It is of a very good taste and they Eat it boiled or roasted upon the Coals but if it is often Eat of it is very Disrellishing and Windy As for Fruits they have several Fruits sorts of 'em good to Eat but wild and unknown to us except the Ananana's or Figs which are very long and as big as a great Pudding They have Plantanes or Fig-Trees which the Spaniards call Plantins They make small thin Cakes of Casavâ— which is a Root that they Grate upon a Stone or a piece of Wood made in the form of a File not having any Mortar to bruise it in Then they put 〈◊〉 it into a great Basket made of little Twigs like Willows These Roots also yield a juice which is poisonous After having well pressed it dried it and sop'd it in Water they make it 〈◊〉 into a Paste spread it upon a great flat Stone that is upon the Fire which gives it the form of a very thin Cake When it is done so it may be kept three or four years or more so it be laid in a dry place I tasted of it but it did not relish as our Bread and I believe that one would soon be weary of Eating it often They make several other sorts of things to Eat but very course and grosly which is not very pleasant to those who are not accustomed vvith them I saw them make their preparations in the Lodgings of their King Anacajoury to Victual the Cannoes which were to go to the War but they put all these Casaves or Cakes which I spoke of into a Pile in the middle of the House and their Drink in Gourd Bottles which hold more than a Pail For these Gourd Bottles are of a wonderful greatness in comparison to ours I saw at the House of this King a Caribe-Slave whom they made to work to get ready these Victuals for the War This little Naval Army was about 35 Cannoes with 25 or 30 men in each But to return again to our arrival in this place of Yapaco as soon as we King Anacajoury were entered into this Country the King Anacajoury gave us two of his Nephews in Hostage if by chance any of ours should there loose himself or his way The Grandchild of this King led me about the Woods for all the Coast is covered with Trees and there was some Indians with him This little Boy was very brisk and mighty witty for a Savage and shewed me the Fruits which Mancenille Fruâ—t were good to Eat and which not Amongst others they have a Fruit called Mancenille of the bigness of an Orange very yellow and beautiful to look upon but yet so venomous that they say if it is put never so little to the Mouth it kills immediately and the Fish themselves which are all along the Coast who suck this Fruit are carried by the Sea to Land for the Tree which bears it is near to Sea which comes up into these Woods and drags along with it a thousand sorts of Fruits as we saw in the River of the Amazons The Fish who suck this Fruit peel and loose their Scales Whosoever Eats of this Fish loose all their Epiderme or Upper-Skin like the Lepers who Eat the Flesh of Vipers As soon as any one finds himself seiz'd with such an accident they presently conjecture they have Eat of the Poison of Mancenâ—lle as the Spaniards have named it who inhabit these Indies This King's Grand-Child shewed me several Herbs which they make use of and one amongst others which Antidote against Poison serves them for an Antidote when they are struck with Poisoned Arrows I took some of the Leaves of this Herb to compound an Unguent which is an excellent remedy for Wounds and other Sores I would also have plucked up some of the Root but this little Boy would not suffer it And besides the Indians who were with him seemed to be very angry he had shewed me this Plant which they prised and esteemed above all others I would not insist any more thereupon for fear his Grand-Father should be displeased with me After I had gathered a great quantity of Plants Fruits and other Rarities I returned on board the Ship to lock them up On Tuesday the 11th of April I went to their Habitations to see if I could get any more Curiosities taking some Knives and other Pedlars-Ware to exchange with them Our Piloâ— being with me we went into a Cabin where there were a great number of Indians Men and Women and there were amongst the rest some about 17 or 18 years of Age pounding in a Mortar made of a hollow piece of Wood with a long Stick I also took a Stick to help her to Pound of which she was very
the Pirates towards England he found means afterwards to return into France and went to find out Madam de la Ravardiere in Poictou where he had been before the other Voyage and told her News of her Husband who tarried behind at Brasil It happened that one day a Hog falling into the Castle Ditch this Lady commanded her Servants and among the rest Yapoco to help to draw him out but he though born in the Country of the Savages disdaining a piece of work so vile and base told her plainly that he would not do it upon which the Lady giving him some harsh Language he out of Anger went away without a farewel and came streight to Rochelle where he found some Hablois who brought him to the Havre and from thence he went to Paris When I had thus met with him and Caressed him I carried him to my Lodging where I treated him as well as I could After that I took him to the King who desired to see him I caused him to Kneel before the King who commanded me to speak to him in his own Language for I understood a little of it Then he ordered some Money to be given him After that he was carried to the Havre where Madam de la Ravardiere sent for him by her Servants and since I heard no more News of him Such was the Fortune of this young Yapoco But to return to these People Savage Good Nature of the Caripous as they are they are great Friends to Honour and of all that which is just and true which they reverence from their Infancy abhorring all wicked Men and Cheats as much as they are Friends to the good and vertuous They do not Love a Coward or a Pultron but Honour such as are Valiant and Couragious But since we are still near the River of the Amazons before we part from thence it will not be much amiss to say something of it from what I was able to learn in those Parts Some have taken the River of the Amazons or Oregliane for that of Maragnan but others will make two of them and say that their Mouths are distant some hundred Leagues that of Maragan making the limits of Brasil on the Northen Coast as the River of Plate or Silver makes the other Bounds on the South All these Rivers come from the Mountains of Peru the highest and of the difficultest access of any others in the whole World The River of the Amazons is very River of the Amazons broad in its Mouth some 50 Leagues or thereabouts from one Shore to the other and contains several great Islands The Sea there runs at the hours of the Tide being very swift in its Ebbing and Flowing and carries along with it many Trees and Plants it plucks up by the Roots all along the Coasts which are like great Forests for there the Coast being low the Sea easily enters far up into the Country The colour of this River inclines to a dark grey We found the Water of it Sweet 30 Leagues within the Sea Within this River about 30 or 40 Leagues up are some Islands where these Warlike Women the Amazons Amazons Warlike Women inhabit who make War upon those of the Continent of the Coast of Brasil and on the other side where the Indians inhabit towards the Cape of Voyanpouc are their Friends and constant Confederates These Women for Propagation have to do every year with the said Indians in the month of April and give them notice when they desire to have them come to see them all the Days and Hours of that month and do not suffer the said Indians to enter into their Islands more strong than themselves setting some to guard the entrance whilst others pass away their time exchanging always these guards by their turn and so imploying all this Month of Love in the soft Caresses of Joy and Delight Month of Love At the end of the year when their Confederates return to them if they have Conceived in the mean time they keep the Females and give the Males to the Men not keeping them above a year And 't is probable that these Sons which they give to these Indians may afterwards have to do with their Sisters and near Kins-Women For they have a Custom always to seek out the Children of those they have had to do with Now though these Indians should be all Married in the Continent these Amazons serve them only for Friends and make Presents to one another for a sign of Mutual Love and Good Will As to that which some say that they wear but one Breast and Burn off the other according to the manner of the ancient Amazons who inhabited towards the Thanais and Thermodon they are nothing but Fables 'T is true that these Women do on purpose lose the Milk of one Breast that they may the better draw the Bow and so perhaps this saying of the Ancients is to be understood The Son of the King of Yapoco amongst other Things told me That these Women wear the Hair of their Privy-Parts very long Combing them like their Heads and that they are of a very great stature adding also that he had been in their Country with his Uncle Anacajoury We could not go to see them as we desired because the Streams there are too violent for Vessels and especially for our Ship and Patache who drew in already abundance of Water For the Streams run towards the Coast and 't is impossible to go there except it be with a Boat and Oars or with the Indians Cannoes which draw but one Foot of Water Behold what I was able to learn of these Amazons which makes me not to give credit to all that we find written of those antient Women so famous 'T is said that there are still some of them in Africa towards the Cape of Good Hope in the Kingdom of Monomotapa All the Country on the Left Hand at the entrance into the River of the Amazons is comprehended in the great Province of Brasil first discovered by Alvarez Cabral a Portugal Captain in the year 1500 and by John Vincent and Arias Pinco who in aâ—e year 1509. discovered the great River Maragnan reckoned the biggest in the World Since Americus Vespuceus and others made a fuller discovery of those Countries In the year 1542 the French Captain Oregliane sent by Gonzale-Pizarro the Spaniard found out the River which comes from the Province Atunquixo thirty Leagues from the South Sea He parted from Peru and followed this River descending above 400 Leagues in a streight Line to its Mouth and more than 1700 with the turnings and windings finding many Peopled Islands He was eight months in this Navigation with a thousand Perils and Incommodities and reported that he had found upon a certain Rivulet here Women Archers which are of the Amazons The Spaniards had Wars with them Before this Columbus in his second Voyage had discovered these Amazons in an Isle which the Indians call
thus Die with a wonderful Constancy speaking in the Fire to the very last Those who do not this are held Infamous so long as they live not daring to shew themselves before others nor to appear before their Friends and Kindred Such as have a weaker Courage Poison themselves seeing their Husband Dead and are Burnt together with him T is remarkable that the Body of the Woman hath such an Oyley Property that one Body will serve like Oil or Greese to consume the Bodies of 5 or 6 men The Moors and Mahometans who inhabit the Main-Land of Goa towards Pichelin do not allow this sort of Cruelty in the Women but when they see they cannot obtain this favour they Poison themselves This Custom of Burning themselves hath continued as they say ever since a certain Gentile King who reigned amongst them who seeing how all the Men of his Kingdom died and knowing that it was their Wives which Poisoned them to have other Husbands and that those who had Children should continue alive to take care of them but without Power ever to Marry again instituted this They observe this very strictly and do nothing but Groan Weep and Lament during the rest of their Life and at certain hours of the day and night howl and lament after so strange a manner that 't is a great pity to hear them As for my part I was sometimes Deafened with the clamours and noise of some or other who had lost Husband or Children I have heard a Bramin say who had turned Christian that they who have lost a Child mourn and lament 20 years entire He told me also that a certain Woman of those who us'd to serve the Pay-gods that after being retired into a House where they pass their time with Men she entertained one who heated himself so with her that he Died upon the spot Resolution of a Lover at which she was so afflicted that when they Burnt his Body she Burnt her self with him seeing he had Died for Love of her tho' she was no other than a good Friend As I returned from my little Voyage I passed by a Valley where there was a very neat and pleasant Fountain which came out from a â—ock flat and hollow and the Water which came out run through little holes in the Rock 'T was impossible to empty it though there was but very little Water therein For in taking out that which was there more runs out like a strong and active Spring After this I went to Embark at a Paygod which is in a certain place along by the River it being so deep that 't is impossible to find the bottom They have made there large and spacious Foolish Opinions of the Indians Steps along by the side and there the Gentiles come every year 2 or 300 Leagues distant to wash themselves at certain times and sometimes there are assembled there above a 100000 Men Women and Children casting abundance of Fruit in this River who believe that at the end of the year it comes again upon the Water Thus Satan deceives them for there are always some or other who tarry theâ— for security who sometimes drown themselves out of a Pond Devotion As I Embarked by these Steps I Another Voyage of the Author returned to the Madre di Dios from whence I set out about Dec. Then I made another little Voyage to the Main-Land of Pichelin to procure some Pichelin Drugs and other Rarities of the Country and took again my Truch-man with the Almadie and the Mariners which the Captain of the Passage had given me who having expresly commanded them to Obey me and to conduct me where I had a mind to go We departed in a very fine evening and travelled all night the Moon shining insomuch that we arrived at Pichelin a very pleasant City where is a great number of Gentile Merchants and belongs to Dealcan it being some 4 Leagues from Goa We went to the Lodging of one Manate a Gentile who received us kindly upon the Acquaintance he had with our Truch-man and put me to lie under a little Pent-House where an Indian Woman brought her Daughter to lie with me as this Manate had counselled her but this Girl not above 13 years of Age seeing I would not touch her sell to Weeping and Groaning thinking to force me to have to do with her and her Mother did all she could to appease her I understood not the ground of all this Mystery The next morning I saw a Jogue-Gentile who was all perfumed with Incense and stark Naked squat upon his Tail before a Fire of Cow Dung and with Ashes thereof all bepowered his Body having long Hair like a Woman which he held on the top of his Shoulders This was the most hideous and monstrous Spectacle that Strange fashion of the Jogues ever was seen For he remained still looking on the Fire without so much as turning his Head These sort of People are sometimes 4 or 5 days without any meat and use extraordinary Abstinence All these Gentiles and especially the Bramins never Eat any living thing or that has had life and will not taste of Red-Herbs saying that they have Blood in them They Eat Rice and Milk and call the Cow their Mother-Nurse About the Desarts they have Hospitals where they Feed the Pilgrims that pass that way When some rich Men Hospitals amongst the Indians Die they leave something to the Hospitals To this purpose I will relate what happened to one of my Friends coming from the Kingdom of Pegu to Cochin This was a Fleming who was Married at Lyons and had two Brothers Cochin Married at Goa to the Metices of Cochin These 3 were taken in the Ship Good Jesus by the Hollanders who put them on Shore And as they came along by the Sea-side they had but one pair of Shoes amongst them three the which they wore by turns He who wore the Shoes went upon Land and the two others bare-footed went in the Water along by the Shore not enduring the Soles of their Feet upon the Ground it was so hot and burning at that time They were ready to Die with Hunger and Thirst not finding any thing to subsist upon in these Desarts And being very weak and in great Distress they espied two Gentiles who ran towards them crying out to them to stay a little but they not knowing what they meant feared at first that it was to Rob them but having nothing to lose they resolved to tarry and these Gentiles being come to them courteously offered them Meat Courtesie of the Indians and Drink for which they thanked them saying they had no Money to pay for it They spake by Signs not being able to make them understand otherways But these Gentiles pointed towards Heaven as if they would have said 't was God who commanded them to do thus so that these 3 easily consented thereto and afterwards pursued their Voyage This shews how
discoursed with her of his amorous Passion she was no less enflamed than he being of an Age fitting to pass her time and in a Country so hot that where any Man can only have the means to speak with a Woman or Maid he is sure to obtain of them what he desires if the least occasion present it self In short they both resolved to fly away together in some clear night with the Woman Slave which they after perform'd and the young Woman taking her Rings Jewels and store of Silver they Embarked for Goa where being come and having taken a Lodging somewhat private they there for some time led a very pleasant Life But the Soldier who was mightily addicted to Gaming soon found an end of what his Mistress brought with her and beginning to be a weary of her he conspired the Death of these two Women seeing they had no longer wherewithal to keep him in his Rioting and having sent the Slave into the City he Strangled the Mistress and hid her and the Slave returning he did the same to her and Buried them in a private place in the Lodging These Murders continued a long time without being known until the same Wretch was taken for another Crime and Condemned to be Hanged as he was upon the Ladder he confessed this lamentable and cruel Tragedy which mightily astonished all the People and heaped an eternal Regret upon the Disconsolate Father who had made search in every place for his dearly Beloved Daughter I saw another at Goa who often came to the Lodging where I was who suspecting that his Wife had played a false trick with a Mate of a Ship so watched his opportunity basely disguising himself Another Tragical Act. that he caught the other near the Church of Misericordia and Stab'd him with a Kniâ—e in the Groin when he was not at all thinking of him tho' he had notice enough of the other's intention and for this cause wore a Coat of Mail with two Pistols but that stood him in no stead For the Indian was more nimble in Stabing than he to avoid it and from thence went straight home to his House to do as much to his Wife also who was soon advertised of the Death of her Friend and seeing no way to save her self her Husband being already come to the Door out of Dispair she cast her self out of the Window where he receiving her upon the point of his Sword left her stark-dead on the place then he retired into the Main-Land until they had need of Soldiers at Goa for there are Edicts and Proclamations of Pardon made for all those who are accused of any Crime whatsoever so that they may return securely to their Houses Such is the Justice of those Countries where they kill one another for every small trifle If they have a Quarrel with any one of low Condition and but little Credit they take not the trouble to be Revenged upon them themselves but send their Slaves to Slash or Cudgel with a Bamboo those who have not saluted them very low or unawares have not taken of his Hat before them They are Covetous of such Vanities with which they feed themselves very much To this I will add that of the Daughter of the King of Siam who having a White Elephant a thing very rare in the Indies the King of Pegu his Neighbour made cruel War upon him to have him and had him in the end overcoming Adventure of the Daughter of the King of Siam this King of Siam whose Daughter was taken in the War and carried Captive to Goa where I have often seen her she being then not very young and came to see my Hostess who was a Chinese for they were great Friends and commonly Eat with us comforting her self at the recital of her Miseries and how she had been sold to a great Portugal Lord by one of those of Pegu who had first taken away from her all her Jewels and precious Stones she not being then above 8 or 9 years of Age altho' great search had been every where made for her but that the Soldier not having a mind to discover her for fear of being constrained to restore all these Riches had come to sell her to the Portugals her Father 's great Enemies who also uses them no better when he can catch them For some of them he causes to be put stark-naked Cruelties of the King of Siam in Frying-Pans of Copper upon the Fire and thus to be roasted by little and little Others he causes to be put betwixt two great Fires and set down and thus to Die in Torments others he exposes in the Park of his Elephants to be crushed and knocked down by by them and a thousand sorts of barbarous Cruelties which he exercises upon these poor Portugals This King of Siam once having a mind to make War upon another King his Enemy was resolved to send for some of the greatest Lords of his Kingdom to be Commanders of his Army But some making shew as if they were Sick by the Counsel of their Wives who could not endure them out of their sight of which the King being advertised sent for these Women and having caused their Privy Parts to be cut off and to be fastned upon their Husbands â—trange Cruelties Foreheads he caused them thus to walk about all the City and then to have their Heads choped of This same King hearing that his Concubines exercised amongst them the Sin against Nature with Counterfeit Members he commanded them to come before him and having caused every one to have a Viril-Member to be painted upon their Thigh forced them thus to go about the Streets and than commanded them all to be burnt Thus you may see what cruel Punishments these Gentile Kings exercise without Pity upon those whom they have a mind to be Revenged on It was a Chinese named Joan-Pay Secretary to Don Andre Furtado who related to me all these Histories to which I will add what was told me in those Countries of the Kingdom of Pegu next to that of Siam where had happened some years since the most strange and prodigious thing in the world Some Sorcerers and Witches so ordered the matter with the King of Pegu that he took such a hatred against his Subjects that he was resolved utterly to root out and extirpate them to bring this to pass he expresly commanded that none on pain of Death should either Plough or Sow the Land for the space of 2 or 3 years The Ground having thus continued Incultivated for some years without Reaping any thing there fell out such scarcity and necessity amongst these poor People of Pegu that having consumed all their Victuals and all Horrible Famine other things fit to be eaten they were forced after the manner of the Anthropophages to Eat one another And what was most prodigious and terrible and never before heard of to keep publick Shambles of the Flesh of those they
to lie along upon the ground as the Portugals do to their Slaves and others then caused him to have three blows with a Cane slâ—t in two and then was let go Now when there arrives any Ships in the Ports of China to put off their Merchandise the Chineses coming for the custom take the length and the breadth of the Ship then after that they know within a very small matter what the Ship carries they pay accordingly without regarding what the Merchandize is As for the Chineses at their meat they eat like Gluttons and with an ill grace as I have often taken notice of in eating and drinking with them They have this custom never to touch the meat they eat but have two little spatules of hard wood very neatly made like forks which they hold betwixt their fingers they eat the flesh of Dogs which is a great dish amongst them they are also mightily used to Rice and little Bread As for their Houses they are very sumptuous and adorned with all sortâ— of pretty Devices They also are very Voluptuous as well Men as Women But to return to Goa I think it not much amiss to relate what a Portugal Gentleman told me of their Adventures which was that once going to War towards the South Sea with the Naval Army of Galiots which every year go out against the Malabars about the middle of September when their Winter is past and at the same time another Army goes out to the North Sea which is towards the Red Sea The Captains of the Army held Council together to go into a Habitation of the Gentiles along by the Coast near to Cochin to take away by force a Golden Pagod very great with other little ones who were in a certain Temple there But forasmuch as these Gentiles were Confederates with the Portugals they would not do this enterprise in the day-time but went one night to go ashore in this little City not far from the Sea where the Pagod was and setting foot on Land they set Fire in every place to fright these poor People and so went straight to the Pagod but the Fire passed so quickly that before they had Power to take the Idol it forced them to retire a little faster than they came and had no more time than only to snatch the Pendants and Rings from the Ears and Fingers of these poor Religious Women who were shut up Dancing all the night in their Pagod according to their Custom They were near 500 and seeing the Enemy entering they all assembled themselves together fastening their Legs and Arms one within another that 't was impossible for the Portugals to draw so much as one of them out But seeing the Fire at their Heels they only snatched away the Jewels from their Ears their Fingers they cruelly cut off to have the Rings and they made such a lamentable noise that 't was a great pity to hear them The Portugals flying away from the Iâ—ire left all these Religious young Women to be Burnt none being able to succour them and thus cruelly do the Portugals treat their best Friends and Confederates He who related to me this pitious History was named Don Louts Lobe who was of this enterprise and told me that this uproar moved him from his very Heart to Pity As for what concerns the City of Goa and the Country round about I pretend not here to make an exact and ample Discription yet I desire the Reader to take notice that that little which I speak is no more than what my Memory was able to furnish me withall for being upon the places I was so carefully watched as are all Strangers and especially the French that I could put nothing in Writing And this was the principal cause of my Imprisonment at Mosambique being accused of having made a Ruttier of the Sea which thing the Portugals fear the most not being willing that the French English or Hollanders should know any thing of those Countries I will say of Goa in a few words that it is a City excellent well scituated in an Island environed with the River some part level and other mountainous and may be about as big as Tours but Peopled with all Nations of India It is very well built in its Churches Hospitals Colleges publick Palaces and particular Houses of the Portugals and Natives which are of a reddish Bastard Marble and Free-Stone The other Houses of the Indians are like Cabins built with Earth and some Stone They have a great number of Gardens with Tanques or great Ponds to Bath in and many Fruit Trees The Country is good and fertile bearing Rice twice a year The Gentiles have liberty of their Religion but are not suffered to have any Pagod or Temple within the City but only in the main-land and out of the Isle When these Gentiles and Idolaters come to Die if they leave little Children the Jesuits are careful to take and bring them up and instruct them in the Faith and therefore for their Pains they seize upon their Lands Inheritances and Goods My Host a Christian Indian told me that he had been served after this manner without being a jot the better instructed As for the Men of War they are about 1500 or 2000 according as the Fleets arrive I saw a General-Muster of all the Inhabitants bearing Arms as well the Portugals as Natives and Indians and were sound to be about 4000 They did that being that time in fear of the Hollanders who scowered the Sea with a great number of Vessels I neither knew nor met with any Frenchman there but a good Father Jesuit named Estienne de la Croix Native of Roan of whom I received no small kindness I also saw 3 others who had escaped from the Maldives amongst whom was one named Francois Pirard a Briton who has Writ the History of his Voyages I was told that 3 Months before I arrived at Goa there went away from thence a French Gentleman named de Feynes ho caused himself to be called the Count of Monsert He was mighty skillful in the Art of Blowing up places which was the cause of his Misfortune for coming from Persia to Ormus as he was discoursing there that he knew the way of Blowing up a Fortress was it never so strong he was presently laid hold of as a Prisoner and carried to Goa where he was kept in Prison for fear he would observe the Fortresses and the first Fleet that returned to Portugal he was sent therein and kept Prisoner at Lisbon until Monsieur du Mayne went into Spain who obtain'd his Deliverance As for what concerns the Fertility of the Land of Goa and what it produces I remit you to what has been written by the Portugals only I say that the Fruit most necessary for the life of Man is that of the Palm This Tree is Spongy having little Strings or Veins environed with a Pellicule and draws its substance from the Sandy-Earth from which it also draws