THE HISTORY OF THE Caribby-Islands VIZ. BARBADOS St CHRISTOPHER'S St VINCENTS MARTINICO DOMINICO BARBOUTHOS MONSERRAT MEVIS ANTEGO etc. in all XXVIII IN TWO BOOKS The First containing the NATURAL The Second the MORAL HISTORY of those Islands Illustrated with several Pieces of Sculpture representing the most considerable Rarities therein Described WITH A CARIBBIAN-VOCABULARY Rendered into English By JOHN DAVIES of Kidwelly LONDON Printed by J. M. for Thomas Dring and John Starkey and are to be sold at their Shops at the George in Fleetstreet near Clifford's-Inn and at the Mitre between Middle Temple-Gate and Temple-Bar 1666. Whitehall June 2. 1665. By Permission and Licence from the Right Honourable Mr. Secretary Morice this Book may be Printed Jo. Cook To the Right Worshipful Sir EDWARD BYSCHE Most honoured Sir YOu have sufficiently satisfied the World of the Curiosity you have for whatever in any measure deserves it You were pleased to give me a hint of the Piece I here present you withal and your recommendation of the Original might well raise in me a hope of your readier acceptance of the Translation It is the noblest of humane Actions to vouchsafe a kind Entertainment to the Distressed whether Nature or Fortune hath made them Calamitous The equality of Misery makes the Endurers of it most commonly the more compassionate so far as that those who have been first relieved charitably direct others to the same Almoners Thus do I bring to your doors a company of poor Caribbians to offer you their Respects and Submissions in the name of all those Islands whereof their Ancestors have been heretofore possessed in the Ocean of America They are in hopes that neither the obscurity of their Origine nor the harshness of their Language nor the barbarism of their Manners nor their strange course of Life nor the cruelty of their Wars nor their ancient Poverty nor lastly the unconstancy of their Fortune will hinder your favourable Reception of them And what heightens this hope of theirs is an imagination that you who find leisure to bestow your Eye and Thoughts on so infinite a Multitude of Volumes as press from all parts of the World into your Library may be pleased with something that is done among them and that the History of the Caribbies may entertain you not only with a delightful Variety as to the divertisement of the Sight but also with many occurrences capable of exciting your Admiration What may be further said on their behalf I leave to be expressed in their own natural Rhetoric and bethink me of making some Apology for myself which is only this That the presumption of the present Address is in some measure the effect of your Goodness and Candour and that it had been but a necessary expression of my Gratitude had I many years since professed how much I am Most honoured Sir Your most humble and much obliged Servant J. DAVIES THE PREFACE Giving an account of both the Original and English Edition of this Work THE Relations we have from remote Countries for the most part come attended with this misfortune that many times they are written by Persons who being concerned therein for some Reasons and Considerations only known to themselves make it their business to disguise the Truth and represent things otherwise than they are Sometimes also we have to do with certain Writers who in cold blood and to gratify their own humour would impose upon our credulity as it were out of a defiance of being disproved And lastly it is our fate to receive Pieces of this nature from men little versed in study and so such as are not able to lay down things with the requisite exactness inasmuch as upon many occasions they take one thing for another and relate not things truly and naturally though they have not any intention to deceive us On the contrary it is a great advantage when such Works are composed by Authors in whom these three conditions are found combining together to wit That they are unconcerned That they dally not with Truth and That they have all the Requisites for the right framing of their Relations Those who shall cast their Eyes on the present History are to expect therein these advantages For as to the two first of the forementioned Conditions that is to comprehend them under one word Sincerity the Authors of this Work presume to attribute it to themselves since it is an Elegy any one may innocently assume to himself if his own Conscience give him not a check for so doing But for the third which relates to the ability of the mind though an over-earnest pretention thereto may seem to proceed from a certain vanity and self-confidence yet when all circumstances shall be considered the ingenuous will easily be induced to allow them even that also For 1. The Relations they had to work upon came from Persons who had been Eye-witnesses of what they delivered disinteressed and of known integrity and endued with the abilities requisite to manage such a Work 2. There was a design of this History drawn at Paris some years before it came abroad and then thought worthy publishing by divers intelligent men to whom it was communicated who carefully read it over and honoured it with their Remarks Yet that it might come forth with greater exactness it was laid aside till the observations of afterVoyages had added much to its perfection So that if the Public receive any satisfaction from this History it will have reason rather to congratulate than quarrel at its delay since it comes out now more enriched and exact than it would have been at the first proffer of it to the Press For besides that many Observations and Relations came since to hand the Authors made also great advantages of the private Discourses they had with one Father Raymond especially as to the Moral part of the Caribbian History For this man having lived many years in those Islands and had much conversation with the Caribbians of Dominico came by that means to be acquainted with their Language their Manners and the most particular Customs of that Nation From the same F. Raymond they had also the Caribbian Vocabulary which may be seen at the end of the Book They thought fit to divide the History into two Parts the Natural and the Moral in imitation of that of the excellent Josephus Acosta and they hope the Piece will be found such as to answer the Title comprehending in the former whatever is of the natural growth of the Country as Plants Fruits Flowers Birds Beasts etc. and under the latter whatsoever relates to their Manners Customs Religion Virtues Vices etc. Not that they would have it inferred thence that this Treatise should contain whatover might be written on the subject of the Caribbies nay they acknowledge that both the Natural and Moral part of this History might be much enlarged but with this advertisement that if every part of the New-world were so diligently examined by Historians as this hath been the Old-world would have a much more particular account thereof than it hath at the present They have also thought it not beside their purpose especially in the Moral part of the History to cite the Writings of divers other well-known Authors not out of any design to enlarge the Volume as some might haply imagine but to make a certain parallel between the Morality of our Caribbians and that of divers other yet Barbarous Nations which they conceived would not be undelightful to some even though they looked on them as so many digressions from or interruptions of the Carribbian History But what censure soever may be passed on them they hope that if any shall think them not necessarily relating to the main design of the Draught they may nevertheless view them with a certain pleasure as the Drapery consisting of Flowers and Fruits etc. for the greater ornament of the Piece Discourse is the image of the thought but the Draught of a thing by way of Painting or Graving represents the thing itself From this consideration it came that this Piece is further adorned with several pieces of Sculpture to the end that the Ideas of the things particularly treated of might be the more throughly imprinted in the Readers mind by a sensible demonstration thereof Thus much as to the Authors and Directors of the Original Edition The Publisher of the English hath only these few Remarks to trouble the Reader withal 1. That possibly those of the English Nation who are inhabitants in the Caribbies may have peculiar names for divers of the Plants Beasts Birds Fishes etc. mentioned in this Treatise much different from those which the Publisher hath used Some of them upon consolation with such as had lived in those parts he made a shift to get and in all likelihood might have gotten most of the rest had not the breaking forth of the lâst years Contagion caused most of the Inhabitants of London to retire to their Country Habitations and Friends 2. The Reader is to note that where some accident is said to have happened four or five or some other number of years since as for instance pag. 14. where it is said in these words that two years since they were forced to quit their Villages etc. it is to be referred to the coming forth of the Original Edition which was in the year M. DC LVIII 3. That whereas there might well be expected before this Work a Map of the Caribby-Islands in general as also particular ones of the most eminent Islands the Reader is to content himself with this satisfaction from the Stationers that if an accurate one of the whole that is such a one as might have been suitable to the other Embellishments of the present Work could have been procured it should not have been wanting With this further assurance that if what is done at the present meet with the reception expected the next Impression shall be furnished not only with the forementioned Map but also some other Pieces of Ornament whereof the last years distraction and want of time now have obstructed the insertion Lastly whereas many persons of worth though more in the Original then in the Translation are mentioned in several places as Inhabitants of the foresaid Colonies there is only this to be said that as the instancing of them adds somewhat to the certainty of the Relations so it may likewise serve to undeceive many Europaeans who are either so ill-informed of those Islands or so prejudiced against them as to be persuaded that for the most part they are only the refuges and receptacles of Bankrupts and debauched persons the contrary being most certain to wit that they are inhabited by an infinite number of Families of good repute which live civilly and in the fear of God J. D. THE HISTORY OF THE Caribby Islands THE FIRST BOOK containing the NATURAL History of those ISLANDS CHAPTER I. Of the Situation of the Caribbies in general the Temperature of the Air the Nature of the Country and its Inhabitants BEtween the Continent of that part of America which lies Southward and the Eastern Quarter of the Island of St John Porto-Rico there are certain Islands making up together the Figure of a Bow and so disposed that they cross the Ocean as it were by an oblique line They are by some called the Antilles of America probably upon this account that they make a kind of bar before the greater Islands which are called the Islands of America If so the word should be Ant-Isles as being composed of the Greek word which signifies opposite and Isles or Isles But the English commonly call them the Caribby-Islands and the Caribbies There are also who call them the Cannibal-Islands from the names of the ancient Inhabitants and they are read in some under the name of the Camerçane Islands These Islands were first discovered by Christopher Columbus under the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabel King and Queen of Castille and Leon in the year of our Lord One thousand four hundred ninety and two There are numbered of them in all twenty eight lying under the Torrid Zone acounting from the eleventh degree of the Aequator to the nineteenth Northward Some Authors as Linscot in his History of America taking the name of the Antilles in a more general signification attribute it to the four greater Islands to wit Hispaniola Cuba Jamaica and Porto-Rico as well as to these twenty eight The Air of all these Islands is temperate and healthy enough especially to such as have lived any time in them The Plague heretofore was not known in these Parts no more than it was in China and some other places of the East But some years since most of these Islands were much troubled with malignant Fevers which the Physicians held to be contagious That corruption of the Air was occasioned by some Ships which came from the Coast of afric but now there is no talk of any such Diseases The heats are not greater in these parts than they are in France during the Months of July and August and through a particular care of Divine Providence between eight and nine in the morning there rises a gentle East-wind which many times continues till four in the afternoon refreshing the Air and allaying the soultriness of the heat Josephus Acosta affirms That in the greater Islands of America this cooling wind blows about Noon Thus through all the compass of the Torrid Zone the wise Disposer of humane concernments hath ordered cool and regular Winds to alleviate the scorching heats of the Sun It is never cold in the Caribbies and Ice is a thing was never seen in those parts nay it would be accounted a kind of prodigy to find that where All things are clad in a perpetual green And Winter only in the Snow of Lilies seen But the Nights there are extremely cool and if a Man be uncovered during that time he is apt to catch Colds and great and dangerous pains in the Chest and Stomach Nay it hath been observed That those who have exposed themselves uncovered to that pleasing coolness if they have escaped pains and gripe in the Stomach have turned pale yellowish and swelled up and in a short time lost the lively vermilion Complexions they had before There are indeed others attribute these effects to their feeding on Cassava which is commonly eaten in these Islands instead of bread and may possibly have some quality not consistent with the natural constitution of the Inhabitants of our Climates There is the same temperature in the night time at Peru and in the Maldivas And those who have travelled to Jerusalem and through all the hot Countries do affirm That the greater the heats are in the day time so much the colder are the nights the reason whereof is that the great Vapours raised by the Sun in the day time being condensed at night and falling down in Dew do extremely cool and refresh the Air. The Aequinox lasts in these Islands near one half of the year and all the rest of it the longest days are fourteen hours and the shortest nights ten And thus hath the Divine Wisdom bestowed on those Parts of the World which lie most exposed to the scorching beams of the Sun long and cool nights to recover and restore to vigour what the too near approaches of that Planet had dried up and almost blasted in the day Nor can the Year be here divided into four equal and distinct parts as we do in Europe But the Rains which are very frequent there from April to November and the great Droughts which reign all the rest of the Year make the only difference which may be observed between the Seasons Now how these different Constitutions and Temperatures of the Air should be called there is a great diversity of Opinions Some considering that as in these Parts there is in a manner no Crepusculum or Twilight which is a certain competion of or something between night and day so neither is there any Spring or Autumn to make a certain connexion between Summer and a kind of Winter which they admit there Others maintain on the contrary That there is no just reason that that part of the Year which goes under the name of Winter should be so called in regard the Earth there is never covered with Frost or Snow which are the  attendants of Winter but at all times clothed with a delightful Verdure and almost in all seasons crowned with Flowers and Fruits though in a different measure whence they conclude That the Year may be distinguished into three different and equal parts and those be called Spring Summer Autumn though not so easily distinguishable as haply they may be in several parts of the World But the common expression of those people who make up the Colonies now planted in these Islands is not consistent with this distinction for they take the season of the reins to be Winter and that of the droughts which is fair clear and pleasant to be Summer 'T is true * Lib. 2. c. 3. Acosta quarrels at the Spaniards for expressing themselves in that manner and taking those rainy months for Winter He affirms that the time of the drought and fair weather is the true Winter in all the Torrid Zone because then the Sun is at the greatest distance from that Region and on the contrary that the season of Rains and Mists ought there to be called Summer by reason of the nearness of that Planet To speak properly and rigorously there is some reason we should comply with the sentiment of Acosta yet inasmuch as not only the Spaniards but also many other Nations express themselves otherwise we shall keep to their terms rather especially in a thing of so little consequence But how rainy soever this Season may be in the Carribies those who have lived there several years affirm that there hardly passes a day but the Sun is seen The same thing is said of the Island of Rhodes whence Antiquity dedicated it to the Sun out of an imagination that that Star had a particular care of it The Ebbing and Flowing of the Sea is regulated in these Countries as in our parts but it rises not above three or four foot at most The greatest part of these Islands are covered with several sorts of excellent Woods which being green at all times afford a very delightful prospect and represent a perpetual Summer The Soil in most places is as rich and as pregnant as in any part of France Insomuch that all those Islands that are inhabited give not the Inhabitants any occasion to repent them of the pains they take In which particular they differ much from those Countries of New-France where the poor Savages are so put to it to get their subsistence that their Children going out of their Huts in the morning and finding their Parents a hunting are wont to cry out as loud as they can Come Tatous come Castor's come Orignacs calling thus to the relief of their necessities those creatures which yet come not in their sight as often as they stand in need thereof The same inhabited Islands are also furnished with good sources of fresh Water Springs Lakes Brooks Wells and Cisterns and some of them have fair Rivers There are further in several places Mineral-waters which are successfully used in order to the curing of divers Diseases Brimstone is got out of the bowels of the Mountains in divers places and the bright silver spangles which the Torrents and Rivers bring down along with them and are found in the sand and the froth of their waters after they have been overflown are certain indicia and discoveries that there is Crystal to be had in them and that there are also Mines of those precious Metals which are so much sought after by most men Those running waters which deserve the name of Rivers are never dried up even in the greatest droughts and extremely well stored with Fish for the most part different from those seen in Europe But there is such abundance on the Seacoasts that the Inhabitants will hardly take the pains to fish in the Rivers The Vine thrives very well in these Islands and besides a wild kind of Vine they have which grows naturally in the Woods and bears a very fair and large Grape there are in all the Inhabited ones great Gardens with the Walks set about with Vines nay in some places perfect Vine-yards as those in France which bear twice a year and sometimes oftener according to the cultivation bestowed on them with respect had to the Moon and conveniency of the Seasons The Grape is excellent good but the Wine made of it will not keep many days and therefore there is but little of it made As for Wheat which grows in New-Spain as well as in any place of the World it grows no further than the blade in the Caribbies and is only for the making of Green-sauce in regard that Grain requires winter and the soil there being too rank it shoots forth too much at first and there is not strength enough left in the root to force it to staulk and knit in the ear But if trial were made of the sowing of Barley and Rye and other Grains which require heat its probable they would thrive well And yet should they come to maturity and with great increase the Inhabitants being at little trouble to get Manyoc Potatoes Turkey-wheat and several kinds of Pulse would not take the pains to put them into the ground All the natural Provisions of these Islands are light and of easy digestion in regard the Country being hot the stomach ought not to be burdened as may be presumed in colder Climates Upon this account it is that such as are newly come into these parts are advised to eat little and often Nor doth what is eaten breed much blood and therefore Phlebotomy is not much used These Islands are inhabited by four different Nations whereof the first are the Indigenae or Originary Inhabitants who have lived there time out of mind and these are the Caribbians or Cannibals of whom we shall give a perfect account in the Second Book of this History The other three are the English the French and the Dutch The establishment of these foreign Nations in those parts happened about the year of our Lord one thousand six hundred twenty five since which time they have so increased that the English and French are now become a very numerous people as will be seen more at large in the sequel of this History CHAP. II. Of each of the Caribby-Islands in particular THat we may observe some order in the Description we intent of each of these Islands in particular we shall divide them into three Classes whereof the first shall comprehend those which lie towards the South and are nearest the Line the second those which lie Northward and the last those which are commonly called the Lee-ward Islands which reach Westward from St. Christopher's the best known of them all TABAGO THe first and most Southerly of all the Caribbies is Tabago or Tabac distant from the Equinoctial Northward eleven degrees and sixteen minutes It is about eight leagues in length and four in breadth There are in it several pleasant Mountains out of which arise eighteen Springs or small Rivers which having drenched the Plains fall into the Sea It is conceived the air of it would be healthy enough if the Trees were cut down and the ground opened The extraordinary height of the Trees growing in this Island argue the fruitfulness of its soil There are in this the five kinds of four footed creatures whereof there are but one or two in any of the other Islands As 1. a kind of Swine not much furnished with bristles which have a certain hole on their backs 2. Tatous 3. Agoutis 4. Opassums and 5. Musk-Rats all which we shall describe in their proper place Not to mention the Woodquists Turtles Partridges and Parrots which are commonly seen there it affords abundance of other Birds not known in Europe The Sea which encompasses this Island is abundantly furnished with all sorts of excellent Fish Sea-Tortoises come in multitudes to hide their Eggs in the sand which lies on the shores On the West and North side of it there are Bays where Ships may safely Anchor About sixteen years since a Company of Burghers of Walcre in Zealand sent thither 200 men to plant a Colony there under the States-General of the United Provinces and called the Island the New-Walcre But the natural Inhabitants of the Country fearing the Neighbourhood of those Foreigners massacred some of them which forced the rest who were troubled with sickness and feared the treatment their companions had received to retire elsewhere Whereupon the Island was along time destitute of Inhabitants and frequented only by some Caribbians who coming and going to their Wars struck in there to get necessary refreshments as also by some French of the Islands of Martinico and Gardeloupe who came thither to fish for Lamantine and Tortoises at certain seasons of the year But now the Zealanders are re-established there and about three years since Lampsen an ancient Burgomaster of Flushing and one of the States-General ventured to people the Island anew He brought thither in his own Ships several gallant persons who are likely restore the Colony which his Countrymen had planted there before This Island lying next to the Continent of that part of America which lies Southward lies very convenient for a Commerce with the Arovagues the Calibis the Caribbians and several other Indian Nations and the keeping together of a considerable force of men which might be easily sent over into the Continent and lay the foundations of a powerful Colony GRANADA THe Island of Granada lying at twelve degrees and sixteen scruples on this side of the Line does properly begin the Semicircle of the Antilles It is in length about seven leagues the breadth not the same in all places reaching North and South like a Crescent The French became masters of it about six years since They had at the beginning great contestations with the Caribbians who for some months disputed the possession of it with them by force of arms But at last Monsieve Parquet Governor of Martinico who had resolved at his own charge to make an establishment there obliged them out of a consideration of their own concernments grounded principally on the great advantages they received from the Neighbourhood of the French to leave him quietly possessed of it The ground produces all manner of the Country provisions as Sugarcanes Ginger and excellent Tobacco The air is very healthy It is well furnished with Springs of fresh water and places of good Anchorage for Ships It hath also abundance of fair Trees some excellent for their fruit others for their fitness for building There is good Fishing all about it and the Inhabitants have also good Fishing and Hunting in and about three little Islands called the Granadines lying North-East from it The first Governor of this place was Monsieur Le Comte Governor of Martinico who was succeeded by Mon. dela Vaumeniere It hath since been bought by the Count of Serillas of Mons Parquet BEKIA THe Island of Bekia is distant from the Line twelve degrees and 25 scruples It is ten or twelve leagues about and would be fruitful enough if it were cultivated There is in it a good Haven for Ships but inasmuch as it is not furnished with fresh water it is not much frequented unless it be by some Caribbians of St. Vincent's who sometimes go thither a fishing or to dress some small Gardens they have up and down there for their diversion St VINCENT THe Island of St. Vincent is the most populous of any possessed by the Caribbians It 's Altitude is sixteen degrees North from the Line Those who have seen the Island Ferro or Fietro one of the Canaries affirm that this is much of the same figure It may be about eight leagues in length and six in breadth There are in it several high Mountains between which are very fruitful Plains if they were cultivated The Caribbians have many fair Villages where they live pleasantly and without any disturbance And though they have a jealously of the strangers that live about them and stand on their Guard when they come to their Roads yet do they not deny them the Bread of the Country which is Cassava Water Fruits and other Provisions growing in their Country if they want them taking in exchange Wedges Hooks and other implements of Iron which they much esteem BARBADOS THe Barbados which is the same that is called by the French Barboude lies between the 13 and 14 degree North from the Equator and Eastward from St. Alousie and St. Vincent The English who planted a Colony there in the year M. DC XXVII allow it to be about 25 leagues in compass but greater in length then breadth There is in the whole Island but one River which truly deserves that name but the Country lying low and even there are in several places Pools and Reservatories of fresh water which supply the scarcity of Springs and Rivers Most houses have also Cisterns and Wells which are never dry At the first Cultivation the Earth promised not much but experience hath evinced the contrary it plentifully producing Tobacco Ginger Cotten and especially Sugarcanes insomuch that next to St. Christopher's it is the most frequented by Merchants and the most populous of all the Antilles About the year 1646. they accounted in it about twenty thousand Inhabitants not comprehending in that number the Negro-Slaves who were thought to amount to a far greater There are many places in this Island which may justly be called Towns as containing many fair long and spacious Streets furnished with a great number of noble Structures built by the principal Officers and Inhabitants of this flourishing Colony Nay indeed taking a full prospect of the whole Island a man might take it for one great City inasmuch as the houses are at no great distance one from another that many of those are very well built according to the rate of Building in England that the Shops and Storehouses are well furnished with all sorts of Commodities that there are many Fairs and Markets and lastly that the whole Island as great Cities are is divided into several Parishes which have very fair Churches The most considerable of the Inhabitants think themselves so well that it is seldom seen they ever remove thence This Island is very famous in all parts by reason of the great abundance of excellent Sugar it hath afforded these many years 'T is true it is not so white as that which comes from other parts but it is better esteemed by Refiners because it hath fairer grain and yields more when it is purified St LUCY's S T Lucy's Island lies at 13 deg. 40 scr on this side the Line It was heretofore frequented only by a small number of Indians who came to fish thereabouts But some time since the French of Martinico came and kept them company There are two high Mountains in the Island which are very cold They are seen at a great distance and are called by the French Les Pitons de St. Alousie At the descent of these Mountains there are pleasant Valleys covered with great Trees and watered with Springs The air is conceived to be healthy and that the soil will be fruitful when it shall be a little better discovered than it is yet MARTINICO THe Island of Martinico which the Indians called Madanina lies at the altitude of fourteen degrees and thirty scruples on this side the Line It is about sixteen leagues in length of an unequal breadth and about forty five in compass The Soil of it is pleasant which makes it at this day one of the most populous of all the Caribbies The French and Indians are jointly possessed of it and have lived a long time in very good correspondence Mons Parquet is the present French Governor of it Of all the Caribbies this is the most uneven Island that is the most full of Mountains which are very high and intermixed with inaccessible Rocks The fruitful parts of it consist in certain round Hills or eminences as also in very delightful skirts of Mountains and some Plains or Valleys which are extremely pleasant The Mountains of it are not to be inhabited and serve for the feeding and retreat of wild Beasts Serpents and Snakes whereof there is great abundance Yet are these Mountains well furnished with wood which in bigness and length exceed any in Europe and bears fruit and food for the wild Boars and Birds As for the Hills and skirts of Mountains they are for the most part inhabitable and of a good soil but very troublesome to manure For some of them are so high and steepy that people can hardly work on them without danger or at least without holding by a Tobacco-stalk or some Tree with one hand that they may work with the other The Tobacco which grows on these eminent places is ever the best and esteemed above that which grows in the Valleys and bottoms which have not so much presence of the Sun For the Tobacco which grows in bottoms and places encompassed with Woods is ever full of yellow-spots as if it were burnt and neither takes well nor keeps well These enclosed places are also unhealthy and those who work in them contract an ill colour and the newcomers who are not accustomed to that air do sooner in these then in any other places catch that griping of the Belly which is so common in these Islands There being two different Nations in this Island it is accordingly divided between them to wit the Indians the natural Inhabitants of the Country and the French who laid the foundations of this Colony in July in the year 1635. under the Conduct of Mons Desnambuc who brought them from St. Christopher's and left them in quiet possession of this place That part of the Island which is inhabited by the Indians is comprehended in one quarter which is called the Cabes-terre without any other distinction The part occupied by the French and called Basse-terre is divided into five quarters which are by them called La Case du Pilot La Case Capot Le Carbet Le Fort St. Pierre and Le Prescheur In each of these Quarters there is a Church or at least a Chapel a Court of Guard and a Magazine for Arms about which are built several large and fair Storehouses both for the Commodities that are imported and those of the growth of the Island The Quarter of the Case du Pilot is so called from a Savage Captain who had sometimes lived there and gloried much in the name Pilot which the French had given him He discovered to Mons Parquet the engagements which those of his Nation entered into against him In the Quarter of Case Capot there is a very noble Savanna thus they call in the Islands pleasant Meadows and Pastures which hath on the one side the River called Capot and on the other many fair Edifices The Carbet Quarter hath its name from the ancient Inhabitants who sometime had there one of their greatest Villages and a public House which they called Carbet a name yet common to those places where they have their meetings The French Governor lived in this Quarter a long time having built a noble Brick-house near the Haven in a pleasant bottom refreshed by a considerable River which falls down out of the Mountains The Indians who never had seen Structure of any such material looked on it at first with a great astonishment and having attempted to shake it by the strength of their shoulders but not stirring it they were forced acknowledge that if all Houses were so built the Tempest which they call the Hurricane would not prejudice them But since the Governor not having his health perfectly there he made a present of it to the Jesuits together with the Gardens about it as also the rarities and curiosities of the Country and several other habitations dependent on it and a great number of Negro-slaves who cultivate them Fort St. Pierre or St. Peter's Fort is the place where the Governor now lives There are in it several great pieces of Cannon some of Brass some of Iron This Fort commands all the Haven About a stones cast from the Governors stands the fair College of the Jesuits situate on a pleasant River which is thence called The Jesuits River This Structure is of Freestone and Brick very delightful to the eye The Avenues also want not their temptation and all about it are Gardens and Orchards producing whatever is most delicious of the growth of the Islands as also several Plants Herbs Flowers and Fruits brought thither from France There is also a Vine-yard which yields yearly good store of Wine The Le Prescheur or the Preachers Quarter contains an even low part of the Country very considerable for its extent and several high Mountains upon the skirts whereof there are a good number of fair Habitations Between the Cabes-terre and the Basse-terre there is a kind of bottom where is abundance of that Wood by which the Tobacco climbs up There they have also the Reeds wherewith the Huts are Palisadoed as also the wild Mahot the bark whereof serves for several things about the house Most of the Houses in this Island are of wood very convenient and delightful to the eye The most considerable are built on certain eminences That advantageous situation contributes much to their health who live in them for the air is clearer than that of the Valleys It also adds much to the beauty of those pleasant Structures and causes a very divertive prospect The best Haven of this Island lies between Carbet and St. Peter's Fort. It is more safe than any of the neighbouring Islands as being encompassed with high Mountains which secure the Ships lying in it from the violence of all winds Between Case du Pilot and a bottom called Culde Sac des Salines there is a Rock running about half a league into the Sea which is called the Diamond from its figure and is a retreat for an infinite number of Birds and among others Woodquists which breed in it It is hard getting up to it yet some visit it as they pass by when the young ones are fit to eat There is another place on the same side as the Diamond into which Ships are brought to be refreshed and mended The Sea there is always calm but the air not healthy in regard the Seamen commonly catch Fevers which yet are not very dangerous inasmuch as they shake them off as soon as they depart thence Besides the Torrents which in times of rains fall down with great violence and the inundations of this Island there are nine or ten considerable Rivers which are never dry Their sources are at the ascent or foot of the highest Mountains and having watered the Valleys they fall into the Sea They are prejudicial to the places near them in regard that when they overflow they root up Trees undermine rocks and make a desolation over the Fields and Gardens carrying along with them the houses which lie in the plain Country and whatever opposes the impetuosity of their course This inconvenience hath obliged the Inhabitants of this Colony to take up their habitations on the tops of those little Mountains wherewith their Island is richly furnished for they secure them from these inundations But what is most considerable in this Island is the multitude of the Inhabitants possessing it who are thought to amount to nine or ten thousand persons not comprehending in that number the Indians and Negro who are near as many The mildness of the Government and the advantageous situation of the Island contribute much to the advancement of it and the multiplication of its Inhabitants For most of the French and Dutch Ships bound for America so order their course that they may touch here rather than at any other of the Islands and as soon as they have cast Anchor in any of the Havens to take in the refreshments necessary for them they set a shore their Passengers if they be not expressly obliged to bring them to some other place Nay it hath often happened that whole Families which had left France with a design to pass over into some of the other Islands which lie beyond this and are not inferior to it either as to Air or Soil being wearied out with the inconveniences of a long Voyage have settled here to avoid exposing themselves to the same again Among the great multitude of people which make up this Colony there are many persons of worth and quality who after their honourable employments in other parts of the world have at last made choice of this place for their repose and retirement Among these are particularly to be mentioned Mons Courcelas Lieutenant-General under the Governor a person who by his excellent conduct hath gained the affections of both Inhabitants and Strangers Mons Le Comte and Mons de L' Oubiere as being the principal Officers At the beginning of our Description of this Island we said that the French and Indians lived there a long time together in good correspondence But the Letters that came thence lately giving an account of the state of it affirm that about four years since the Caribbians made an insurrection and have continued a War with the French ever since that since that time those Barbarians had done great mischiefs in the French Quarters and that neither the height of the Mountains nor depth of the precipices nor yet the horror of vast and dreadful solitudes which till then had been accounted an impenetrable wall lying between the several divisions of both the Nations hindered not their falling upon them and filling their habitations with fire massacres desolation and whatever the implacable spirit of revenge could suggest to them of greatest cruelty to feed their rage and satisfy their brutality Of the occasions of this Rupture there are several accounts given Some attribute it to Mons Parquet's establishing of French Colonies in the Islands of Granada and St. Lucy without the consent of the Caribbians who thereupon took occasion of discontent Others affirm that they took up Arms to revenge the deaths of some of their Nation Inhabitants of the Island of S. Vincent whom they believe to have come to their end by drinking some poisoned Strong-water which had been brought them from Martinico Immediately upon the breaking forth of this War and the first devastations made by the Caribbians in one of the French Quarters which according to their custom was by a base surprise those who envied the glory of those Colonies and their progress and establishment in those Islands scattered their malicious reports That the French would never be able to keep under those Barbarians That those of the same Nation who live in Dominico and S. Vincent's had secretly applied themselves to all their Allies of the Continent to incite them to engage in an unanimous War against the French That the more easily to effectuate that design and make their Party stronger they had gone so far as to treat of a Peace with the Arovagues their ancient Enemies And That they had so far engaged all these Savages in their Quarrel that they were resolved with a joynt-force to fall upon the French and overrun them with their multitude It is not certainly known whether there were really any such Association against them or not but certain it is that the effects ●of it appeared not and that after the first Eruptions of the Caribbians of Martinico into the French Quarters which were indeed with some advantage of the Barbarians they have been so unsuccessful in their Enterprises since and worsted so with the loss of the chief amongst them that about two years since they were forced to quit their Villages and leave their Gardens to the disposal of the Victorious and retire for safety into Woods and inaccessible Rocks and Mountains So that the World is now persuaded of the contrary viz. That if those Barbarians shall make any further attempt to recover themselves out of that wretched Consternation in which they live by the force of Arms they will in all likelihood be forced either to quit the absolute possession of the Island to the French or accept of such Conditions of Peace as they can obtain to renew the ancient Alliance which they have been but too forward to break CHAP. III. Of the Islands which lie towards the North. THe Islands we intent to describe in this Chapter lying more towards the North are consequently more temperate They are also more frequented than those of Tabago Granada and S. Alousia in regard the Ships which have refreshed themselves at Martinico and fall down thence to S. Christopher's may visit them one after another without any diversion out of their Course DOMINICO THe Island of Dominico lies at the altitude of 15 degrees and 30 minutes It is conceived to be in length about 13. Leagues and not much less in breadth where it is at the greatest There are in the midst of it several high Mountains which encompass an inaccessible bottom where may be seen from the tops of certain rocks an infinite number of Reptiles of a dreadful bulk and length This Island is inhabited by the Caribbians who are very numerous in it They have a long time entertained those who came to visit them with a story of a vast and monstrous Serpent which had its abode in that bottom They affirmed that there was on the head of it a very sparkling stone like a Carbuncle of inestimable price That it commonly veiled that rich Jewel with a thin moving skin like that of a man's eyelid but that when it went to drink or sported himself in the midst of that deep bottom he fully discovered it and that the rocks and all about received a wonderful lustre from the fire issuing out of that precious Crown The supreme Person of this Island was heretofore one of the most considerable among those of the same Nation For when all their Forces marched out to Battle against the Arovagues their common Enemies of the Continent he had the conduct of the Vanguard and was known by a particular mark which he had about him When any French Ships come near this Island there are immediately seen several Canoes in each whereof there are three or but four Indians at the most who come to direct them to the Havens where they may safely Anchor They commonly bring along with them some of the Country Fruits whereof having presented the Captains and other Officers with the choicest they proffer the rest in exchange for Fishing-hooks grains of Crystal and such trifles as they account precious MARIGALANTA THe Island of Marigalanta lies at the altitude of 15 deg. and 40 minutes It is a flat Country and well furnished with wood which argues it would be fertile enough if it were once reduced to culture It hath always been frequented by the Indians as well in order to Fishing as for some small Gardens which they have in it The last Letters from the Carribies brought news that Mons d'Howel Governor of Gardeloupe had lately peopled this Island and built a Fort in it to keep under certain Indians who would have opposed his design and had killed twenty of those whom he had sent thither at first to discover the Country and that upon that accident he had sent over thither three hundred men who retreated in the night time to a great Vessel they had in the road till such time as the Fort was made tenable The Caribbians of Dominico the better to continue the good correspondence there is between them and the Inhabitants of Gardeloupe who are their next Neighbours affirm they had no hand in that Massacre and excused themselves to Mons d' Howel imputing it to those of their Nation who live in the other Islands SAINTS BEtween Dominico and Gardeloupe there are three or four small Islands very near one another commonly called the Saints They are at the same Altitude as Marigalanta West from which they lie and are as yet desert and habited The Island of Birds lies more West than the forementioned at fifteen degrees and forty five minutes It hath that name from the infinite number of Birds which breed in it making their Nests even on the Seashore They are for the most part easily taken with the hand not fearing men in regard they seldom see any This Island lies very low and is hardly perceived till one be very near it DESIRADO THe Island Desirado was so called by Christopher Columbus as being the first discovered by him of all the Caribbies in his second Voyage into America And as he called the first place he discovered of this new World San Salvador whereas before it was called Guanahani which is one of the Lucayos at the altitude of 25 degrees and some minutes so he called this Desirado from the obtaining of his Desire It lies ten Leagues from Gardeloupe North-east and from the Line 16 degrees and 10 minutes The soil of this Island is good and consequently it will not be long ere it be Inhabited GARDELOUPE GArdeloupe is one of the greatest and noblest Islands of any possessed by the French in the Caribbies It was heretofore called by the Indians Carucueïra but the Spaniards gave it the name by which it is now known Some would have it precisely at 16 Degrees others add thereto 16 minutes The Circumference of it is about 60 Leagues and where broadest about nine or ten in breadth It is divided into two parts by a little Arm of the Sea which separates the Grand'terre from that which is properly called Gardeloupe The more Easterly part of this latter is called by the French Caebes-Terre and that towards the West Basse-Terre That part of it which is called the Grand'-Terre hath two Salt-pits where the Sea-water is converted into Salt as in several other Islands by the force of the Sun without assistance of Art That part which is inhabited hath in several places especially towards the middle of it divers high Mountains whereof some are full of bare and dreadful Rocks rising out of a Bottom encompassed with many inaccessible Precipices others are covered with delightful Trees which are to them at all times a kind of pleasant Garland At the foot of these Mountains there are several Plains of a vast extent which are refreshed by a great number of pleasant Rivers which occasioned heretofore the Spanish Ships to touch there to take in fresh water for the continuance of their Voyage Some of these Rivers when they are overflown bring down pieces of Wood that have passed through the Sulphur-mines that are in one of the most remarkable Mountains in the Island which continually casts up smoke whence it is called the Sulphur-Mountain There are also in it Springs of hot water which have been found by experience good for the Dropsy and all Indispositions proceeding from a cold cause There are between these two parts of the Land two great Gulfs whence those Inhabitants who delight in Fishing may at any time take Tortoises and several other excellent Fish The French first planted themselves in this Island in the year M. DC XXXV M. M. du Plessis and l' Olive were the first Governors of it with equal authority but the former dying seven months after his arrival and the other becoming unfit for Government by the loss of his sight there was sent over Mons Auber one of the Captains of St. Christopher's who chanced to be then at Paris This Colony owes its conservation and welfare since to the prudence and conduct of this worthy Governor who signalised his entrance into that Charge by the Peace he made with the Carribians and several good Constitutions in order to the welfare of the Inhabitants whereof we shall give a more particular account in the second Book of this History Monsieur d' Howel is now Lord and Governor of this Island which is yet better since his establishment for the number of the Inhabitants is much increased and they have built very fair Houses and brought such Trading thither that now it is one of the most flourishing and most considerable Islands of the Caribbies There are in it very fair Plains wherein the ground is ordered by the Plough a thing not to be seen in any of the other Islands And after the Plough it bears Rice Turky-wheat the Manioc whereof Cassava is made Potatoes nay in some places Ginger and Sugarcanes with great increase The reformed Jacobins or White-friar's are possessed of some part of the best Land in this Island on which they have many delightful Plantations The good condition wherein they are is to be acknowledged an effect of the care of the R. Father Raymond Breton who amidst many great difficulties preserved them to his Order In that part of the Island which is called Basse-terre there is a little Town which grows daily bigger It hath already several Streets adorned with many handsome houses of Timber most of two Stories of a convenient structure and delightful to the eye Besides a fair Parish-Church there are in it a College of Jesuits and a Monastery of Carmelites brought thither lately by the Governor's means as also several Storehouses well furnished with Provisions and Commodities requisite for the subsistence of the Colony The Governor lives in a Castle not far from the Town It is built foursquare having at each corner Spurs and Redoubts of Mason's work of such thickness as to bear the weight of several great Pieces of Brass which are mounted there A little beyond the Castle there is a very high Mountain which might somewhat incommodate it but the Governor not omitting any thing that might contribute to the ornament or security of the Island hath planted some great Pieces there and to prevent surprise of an Enemy he hath made a kind of Citadel there which is at all times furnished with Provisions and Ammunition The Cabes-terre hath also a considerable Fort which secures the whole Quarter it is called St. Mary's Fort. Many persons of quality have made their retirement into this Island and have set up a great number of Sugar-Mills ANTEGO THe Island of Antego lies at the Altitude of 16 degrees and 11 minutes between the Barbados and the Desirado It is in length about six or seven leagues the breadth not the same in all places The access of it is dangerous for Shipping by reason of the rocks which encompass it It was conceived heretofore that it was not to be inhabited upon this presumption that there was no fresh water in it but the English who have planted themselves in it have met with some and have made Ponds and Cisterns which might supply that defect This Island is abundant in Fish most sorts of wild Fowl and in all of tame  It is inhabited by seven or eight hundred men MONT-SERRAT THe Island of Mont-Serrat received that name from the Spaniards upon the account of a certain resemblance there is between a Mountain in this and that of Mont-Serrat which is not far from Barcelona and it hath kept the name ever since It lies at the Altitude of 27 degrees It is about three Leagues in length and almost as much in breadth so that it seems to be almost of a round figure 'T is conceived there are in it between six and seven hundred men What is most considerable in this Island is a very fair Church of a delightful Structure built by the contributions of the Governor and Inhabitants The Pulpit the Seats and all the Joiner's and Carpenter's work within it are of the most precious and sweet-scented-wood growing in the Country BARBOUTHOS THe Island which the English call the Barbouthos lies at the Altitude of 17 degrees and 30 minutes It lies very low and is in length about five leagues lying North-East from Mont-Serrat The English are the Inhabitants of it and the Colony may amount to between four and five hundred men who find whereupon to subsist conveniently It is subject to this annoyance which is also common to the Islands of Antego and Mont-Serrat that the Caribbians of Dominico and other places do many times commit great spoils in it The enmity and aversion which those Barbarians have conceived against the English Nation in general is come to that height that there hardly passes a year but they make one or two eruptions in the night time into same one of the Islands it is possessed of and then if they be not timely discovered and valiantly opposed they kill all the men they meet ransack the Houses and burn them and if they can get any of the Women or Children they carry them away Prisoners into their own Territories with all the Booty they have a mind to ROTONDA THe Island called Redonda or Rotonda from its round figure lies at the altitude of 17 degrees and 10 minutes It is a very little one and at a distance seems to be only a great Tower and taking a prospect of it one way a man might say it were a great Ship under sail It is of easy access on all sides by reason the Sea about it is deep and without rocks or shelves which might be dangerous to shipping NIEVES THe Island called Nieves otherwise Mevis lies at the altitude of 27 degrees and 19 minutes Northward It is not above six leagues about and in the midst of it there is but one only Mountain which is very high and covered with great Trees up to the very top The Plantations are all about the Mountain beginning from the Seaside till you come to the highest part of it the ascent being commodious enough This Island may easily be compassed either by land or water There are in it divers springs of fresh water whereof some are strong enough to make their way to the Sea Nay there is one spring whereof the waters are hot and mineral Not far from the source there are Baths made which are frequented with good success in order to the curing of those diseases for which the waters of Bourbon are recommended The English who planted themselves there in the year M. DC XXVIII are still the Inhabitants of this Island and they are now thought to be between three and four thousand men who subsist and live handsomely by the trade they drive in Sugar Ginger and Tobacco This Island is the best governed of any in the Caribbies Justice is there administered with great prudence by a Council consisting of the most eminent and most ancient Inhabitants of the Colony Swearing Thieving Drunkenness Fornication and all dissolutions and disorders are severely punished In the Year M. DC XLIX Mr. Lake a knowing person and fearing God had the Government of it He is since departed this life There are in this Island three Churches which have nothing extraordinary as to Structure but are very convenient as to the performing of Divine Service For the security of the Vessels that are in the Road and to prevent the invasion of an Enemy there is a Fort built wherein are several great Pieces which command as far as the Sea It secures also the public Storehouses into which all the Commodities that are imported and necessary for the subsistence of the Inhabitants are disposed And thence it is that they are afterwards distributed to those private persons who stand in need thereof provided those who have the oversight of them think them solvent persons according to the time and price agreed upon and ordered by the Governor and Council A further recommendation of this Island is that it is divided only by a small arm of the Sea from that of St. Christopher's the noblest and most famous of all the Caribbies Having given but a short Description of the other Islands what we shall give of this as being the chiefest will be somewhat larger For which reason we shall assign it a Chapter by itself CHAP. IU. Of the Island of St. Christopher ST Christopher's was so called by Christopher Columbus who finding it very pleasant would needs give it his own name He was engaged to give it this name from a consideration of the figure of its Mountains the Island having on its upper part as it were upon one of its shoulders another lesser Mountain as St Christopher is painted like a Giant carrying our Saviour upon his as it were a little Child It 's altitude is at 17 degrees 25 minutes It is about 25 leagues in compass The Soil being light and sandy is apt to produce all sorts of the Country Fruits as also many of the choicest growing in Europe It lies high in the midst by reason of some very high Mountains out of which arise several Rivers which sometimes are so suddenly overflown through the reins falling on the Mountains so as that there is none seen at the extremities of them or in the Plains that the Inhabitants are many times surprised by those Torrents The whole Island is divided into four Cantons or Quarters two whereof are possessed by the English the other two by the French but in such sort as that people cannot cross from one quarter to the other without passing over Lands of one of the two Nations The English have in their part a greater number of little Rivers than the French but in requital the latter have more of the plain Country and Lands fitter for cultivation The English also exceed the French in number but the latter have more fortified places and are better armed The French have four Forts well furnished with great Pieces which carry a great way into the Sea and one of them hath regular works like a Citadel The most considerable next that lies at the Haven or Anchoring-place called Basse-terre There is in both a constant Guard kept And to prevent the differences which might happen between two different Nations each of them upon the Avenues of their Quarters hath a Guard which is renewed every day The English have two fortified places whereof one commands the great Haven and the other a Descent not far from Point de Sable This Island is furnished with a fair Salt-pit lying on the Seaside which the Inhabitants commonly call Cul-de-Sac Not far thence there is a small Point of Land which reaches out so far towards the Island of Nieves that it is not above half a league of Sea between the two insomuch that there have been those who have swum from one to the other It is conceived there is a Silvermine in St. Christopher's but in regard the Salt-pits Woods Havens and Mines are common to both Nations no body looks after it Besides such an enterprise would require a great stock and an infinite number of Slaves The true Silvermine of this Island is Sugar A man may easily compass the whole Island by Land but cannot pass through the midst of it by reason of several great and steepy Mountains between which there are dreadful precipices and springs of hot water Nay there are some springs of Sulphur which hath occasioned one of them to be called the Sulphur-Mountain Taking the Circumference from without the body of the Island seems to extend itself by a gentle descent down to the Seaside and is of an unequal breadth according as the Mountains dilate their skirts more or less towards the Sea or the more the Sea advances and forces the land against the Mountains The Soil as far as it is cultivated that is to the steepy ascent of the Mountains is divided in a manner about into several stages or stories through which there are drawn fair and spacious ways in a strait-line as much as the places would permit The first of these lines of communication begins at about a hundred paces from the Seaside another three or four hundred paces higher and so ascending to the third or fourth whence a man may take a very pleasant prospect of all the Plantations from thence downwards Every Stage which makes a kind of girdle or enclosure greater or lesser about the Mountains according to the greater or lesser distance of it from the Mountains hath also its ways which like so many crossing streets afford an easy access to those who live higher or lower and this with such a noble symmetry that when a man compasses the Island by Sea he cannot imagine any thing more delightful then to see that pleasing verdure of so many Trees which are planted along the highways and are the divisions between the several Plantations The prospect is such that the eye can hardly be wearied with it If it be directed upwards it is terminated by those high Mountains which are crowned with a perpetual verdure and clothed with precious Woods If downwards it is entertained by the delightful prospect of Gardens which taken in from those places where the Mountains are inaccessible are thence by a gentle and easy descent continued to the Seaside The delightful bright-green of the Tobacco planted exactly by the line the pale-yellow of the Sugarcanes when come to maturity and the dark-green of Ginger and Potatoes make so delightful a Landscape as must cause an extraordinary recreation to the unwearied eye What very much adds to this delight is that in the midst of every Plantation or Garden there may be seen several fair houses of different structures particularly those which are covered with red or glazed slate contribute a greater lustre to that pleasant perspective And in regard there is a perpetual ascent in the Island the lower stage or story deprives not the sight of the pleasure arising from the prospect of that which lies at a greater distance but a man may at one grasp of the eye as it were in an instant behold all those delightful divisions all those ways which look like so many walks of an Orchard planted with several sorts of Trees all those Gardens regularly beset with divers Fruits and all those Edifices which for the most part are not distant one from another above a hundred paces In a word so many agreeable objects offer themselves to the eye at the same intuition that it is at a kind of loss on which most to fasten itself There is indeed a certain necessity for the greater convenience of the Inhabitants and easier managing of their employments that their houses should be distinct one from another and placed in the midst of that piece of ground which they have to manure The French besides the houses they have thus disposed at certain distances have in their Quarter of Basse-terre a Town which grows bigger daily and whereof the Houses are of Brick and Timber It lies near the Haven where commonly Ships lie at Anchor The most considerable of the Inhabitants and Foreign-Merchants have Storehouses there The French and Dutch Merchants who reside there constantly are well furnished with excellent Wines Aquavitae and Beer all sorts of Stuffs of Silk or Wool fit for the Country and generally all the refreshments which being not of the growth of the Island are yet necessary for the better accommodation of the Inhabitants All is sold at a reasonable rate and in exchange for the Commodities growing in the Country In the same place live several sorts of Tradesmen whose employments are necessary to Commerce and civil Society There is also a Hall for the administration of Justice and a fair Church able to contain a very great Congregation The Structure is of wood raised on a foundation of Freestone Instead of Glass-windows there are only turned Pillars after the fashion of a Balcony It is covered with red Slate The Capuchins for some years had the oversight of the said Church and the charge of the Souls as to the French over the whole Island but in the year one thousand six hundred forty and six they were disengaged from that employment by the unanimous consent of the Inhabitants who civilly dismissed them and received in their stead Jesuits and Carmelites who have very fair Houses and Plantations which are manured by a great number of Slaves belonging to them through whose means they are very handsomely maintained The R. F. Henry du Vivier was the first Superior of the Jesuitical Mission His Excellency the General hath also built a very fair Hospital in a very healthy place where such sick persons as are unable to effect their recovery at their own houses are attended and maintained and visited by Physicians and Surgeons till they are restored to their former health Strangers also who fall sick in the Island are received in there Order is also taken that Orphans be disposed into convenient houses where they are brought up and instructed There are many noble Structures built both by the the English and French but the most magnificent of any is the Castle of the French General the particular Description whereof we shall nevertheless forbear in regard it makes not much to the Natural History oft he Caribbies Of the English building the most considerable are those of the late Mr. Warner first Governor General of this Nation Mr. Riches his successor Mr. Everard's and Col. Geffreyson's which may well be ranked among the most noble and best accomplished of any in the Caribbies The English have also built in this Island five very fair Churches well furnished within with Pulpits and Seats of excellent Joiner's work of precious wood Till the late Times the Ministers were sent thither by the Archbishop of Canterbury to whose Diocese it belongs CHAP. V. Of the Lee-ward Islands ALL the Islands lying West from St. Christopher's are commonly called the Lee-ward Islands inasmuch as the constant wind of the Caribbies is an East-wind with some point of the North and that there is seldom any West or Southwind Of these there are nine principal ones whereof we shall give an account in this Chapter according to the order they are placed in the Map St EUSTACE THe Island of St. Eustace lies North-West from St. Christopher's at the altitude of seventeen degrees and forty minutes It is about five leagues in compass To speak properly it is but a Mountain rising up in the midst of the Ocean much like a Sugar-loaf which is thought to be the figure of Mount Tabor and the Picinino of Teneriffe save that the last named is incomparably higher The Colony inhabiting it consisting of about sixteen hundred men acknowledge the Sovereignty of the States-General who have granted the Government of it to Mons Van Ree and his Associates Merchants of Flushing in Zealand This Island is the strongest as to situation of all the Caribbies for there is but one good descent which may be easily defended so that a few men might keep off a great Army But besides this natural Fortification there is in it a strong Fort which commands the best Haven the Guns of it carrying a good distance into the Sea The Inhabitants have neat houses and those well furnished as their Countrymen have in Holland Only the very top of the Mountain is covered with Wood all the compass is manured It can hardly be credited what quantities of Tobacco it hath heretofore and still doth yield Though the top of this Mountain seems to be very picked yet is there a kind of bottom of a large extent affording a retreat to a great number of wild Beasts The Inhabitants are very industrious in keeping on their Lands all sorts of Poultry as also Swine and Coneys which breed exereamly There are no Springs in this Island but there are now few Houses but have a good Cistern to supply that defect There are also Storehouses so well furnished with all things requisite to life and the accommodation of the Inhabitants that many times they have wherewith to pleasure their Neighbours The Inhabitants live decently and Christianly and cannot justly be reproached with those crimes which some have imposed upon them There is in the Island one Church which hath from time to time been supplied with very able Pastors of whom one was Mr May who among other Writings put out a Learned Commentary on the most difficult places of the five Books of Moses wherein there are many curious Observations of Nature St BARTHOLOMEW THe Island of S. Bartholomew lies North-east from S. Christopher's at the 16. degree of Altitude It hath but little ground fit for manuring though it be it be a considerable compass The Governor-general of the French de Poincy peopled it at his own Charge about fifteen years since It affords several sorts of excellent Trees which are much esteemed an infinite number of Birds of several kinds and a kind of Limestone which is fetched thence by the Inhabitants of the other Islands There is no safe coming in for Ships of great burden by reason of the many Rocks which encompass it Such persons as are inclined to solitude cannot dispose themselves to a fitter place for it than this is SABA THe Island of Saba lies Northwest from S. Eustace's at the altitude of 17 degrees and 35 minutes A man would think it at a distance to be only a Rock but the Colony of S. Eustace which sent over men to manure ●t hath found in it a pleasant Valley able to employ many Families who live contentedly in that delightful retirement Only Shallops can come near it The Fishing about it is very plentiful Nor is there any want of other Refreshments that are necessary St MARTIN THe Island of S. Martin lies at the Altitude of 18. degrees and 16 minutes It is about seven Leagues in length and four in breadth There are in it excellent Salt-ponds which had obliged the Spaniard to build a Fort in it the better to secure the possession of it but about nine years since he demolished the Fort and quitted the Island Which being observed by Monsieur de Ruyter who commanded one of the Ships which Monsieur Lampsen commonly sends into America and who then sailed by this Island he went to S. Eustace's to raise men whom he brought thither and took possession of it in the name of the States-General The news of the Spaniards departure thence coming at the same time to the French General he presently dispatched thither a Ship very well manned to recover the right and pretensions of the French who had been possessed of the said Island before the usurpation of the Spaniard Since the French and Dutch have divided it and live very friendly together The French have there about 300 men The Salt-ponds are in the Dutch-Quarter The Dutch are more in number than the French Lampsen and Van Ree are the Directors of the Colony They have very fair Houses large Storehouses and a considerable number of Negroes who are their perpetual Slaves There is no fresh water in this Island but what when it reins is received into Cisterns which are common enough There are several little Islands about this very convenient for the divertisements of the Inhabitants There are also Ponds of salt water which run up far into the Land in which are taken abundance of good Fish especially Sea-Tortoises There are in the Woods Wild-Swine Quists Turtles and an infinite number of Parrots There are also several Trees out of which distil several sorts of Gums but the Tobacco which grows here being esteemed beyond that of any of the other Islands the Commerce of it is so much the more considerable The French and Dutch have their distinct Churches in their several Jurisdictions Monsieur des Camps the present Pastor of the Dutch Church was sent thither in September 1655. by the Synod of the Walloon Churches of the United Provinces under whose spiritual inspection this Colony is SNAKE THe Island named the Snake is so called from its figure for it is a long tract of earth but very narrow winding almost about near S. Martin's Island whence it is very plainly perceived There is not any Mountain in it the ground lying low and even Where it is broadest there is a Pond about which some English families planted themselves about seven or eight years since and where they plant Tobacco which is highly esteemed of those who are good judges in that Commodity The Island lies at 18 degrees and 20 minutes on this side the Line SOMBRERO THe Island Sombrero lies in the midst of those Banks which lie about the Channel through which the Ships bound for Europe do pass It lies at 18 degrees and 30 minutes The Spaniards called it Sombrero from its having the figure of a Hat It is not inhabited ANEGADO A Negado which lies under the same degree as Sombrero is also desert and of dangerous access VIRGINS THe Virgins greater and lesser comprehend several Islands marked in the Map by that name There are numbered in all twelve or thirteen of them They reach Eastward from St. John de Porto-Rico at the altitude of 18 degrees North of the Line Between these Islands there are very good Anchoring places for several Fleets The Spaniards visit them often in order to Fishing which is there plentiful There are also in them an infinite number of rare both Land and Seafowl They afford so little good ground that after a trial made thereof in several places it was concluded that they deserved not Inhabitants S te CROIX THe last of all the Caribbies of the Lee-ward Islands is the Island of Sante Croix or the Holy Cross It lies at 18 degrees and some minutes The Caribbians who were forced thence by the Spaniards call it Ayay It was much esteemed among them because it was the first Island that Nation possessed themselves of when they came from the North to seek a convenient habitation to lay the foundations of their Colonies as shall be represented particularly in the Second Book of this History The Soil of this Island returns with good interest whatever is sown in it there are in it fair and spacious Plains of a black earth and easy to be manured there are also several fair and precious kinds of Trees good for Dying and Joiner's work The Air is good but the Waters not so wholesome if drunk immediately after they are drawn To take away the ill quality they have they are put to rest a certain time in earthen vessels which makes them good and thence it is conceived that the bad quality proceeds from their mud as is observed in those of the Nile This Island is now possessed by the French who have raised it to a great height after its several changes of former Masters The French General supplies it with Inhabitants at his own charge It may be nine or ten Leagues in length and near as much in breadth where it is broadest The Mountains are neither so high nor shuffled so near together but that people may get up to the tops of them and that there is good ground enough besides to find work for many thousands of men CHAP. VI Of Trees growing in these Islands whose Fruit may be eaten OF the Trees growing in these Islands some bear good Fruits which contribute to the nourishment of the Inhabitants others are fit for Building Joiner's work or Dying There are some also very successfully used in Medicine and some which only delight the Smelling by their sweet scent and the Sight by their ever verdant Boughs and Leaves Of those which bear Fruits fit for Food and may be seen in Europe there are only here Orange-trees Pomegranate-trees Citron-trees and Lemon-trees the bulk and goodness whereof far exceeds those of the same kinds growing elsewhere ORANGE OF Oranges there are two kinds yet of the same figure and distinguishable only by the taste some are sweet others sharp both extremely delicate The sharp are a great convenience to housekeeping for they are used instead of Verjuice and Vinegar but the sweet excel in goodness Some indeed call the China-Orange the Queen of Oranges and real Musk-balls under the colour and figure of Oranges But however some may celebrate the delightful sweetness of the China-Oranges there are others prefer the excellent taste and picquancy of our American-Oranges POMEGRANATE THe Pomegranate-trees grow also excellently well in all these Islands and bear Fruits fair to the Eye and pleasant to the Taste In many places these Trees serve for Palisadoes about Courts borders of Gardens and the Avenues of Houses CITRONS OF Citrons there are three kinds different as to bigness and which consequently are not all called Citrons The first kind which is the fairest and largest is called Lime it is only good to be preserved having very little juice but preserved it is excellent The second kind is the Lemon about the bigness of the Citron brought from Spain but its juice is little in comparison of its bulk The little Citron which makes the third kind is the best and most esteemed it hath a very thin skin or pellicle and is full of a very sharp juice which gives an excellent taste to Meats and a picquancy to several Sauces it is a particular Fruit of America Some curious persons have in their Gardens a kind of very sweet Citrons both as to their peel and juice which as to bigness and taste come not behind those which grow in Portugal All other Trees growing in the Caribbies have their Leaves Flowers Fruit and Bark of a Figure Taste and Colour different from those of our Countries GOYAVIER TO begin with the Fruit-Trees there is some account made of the Goyavier which comes near the figure of the Laurel save that the Leaves are softer of a brighter green and more cottened on the lowerside The Bark of this Tree is very thin and smooth It shoots forth at the roots several suckers which if not taken away will in time make a thick wood about it as far as there is any good ground Its branches which are thick and well furnished with leaves are loaden twice a year with little white Flowers which are followed by several green Apples which become yellow and of a good smell when they are ripe This Fruit hath on the top a little posy like a Crown and the meat within is either white or red full of little kernels like those of a Pomegranate whence the Dutch call it the sweet Pomegranate It is about the bigness of a Pearmain and ripens in one night Being eaten green it is astringent whence it is used by many against Bloody-Fluxes but being ripe it hath a quite contrary effect PAPAYER THe Papayer is a Tree which grows without boughs about 15 or 20 foot high big proportionably to its height hollow and spongious within whence it is used to convey Springs and Rivulets to divers places There are two kinds of it one commonly found in all the Islands The leaves of it are divided into three points much like the leaf of the Figtree They are fastened to long tails as big as a man's thumbs and hollow within They shoot out of the top of the Tree and bending downwards they cover several round fruits about the bigness of the great Quince-pear which grow round the boal to which they are fastened The other kind is particular to the Island of Sante Croix It is fairer and hath more leaves then the former but what causes it to be more esteemed is its Fruit which is about the bigness of a Melon and of the figure of a woman's breast whence the Portughese call it Mamao There is this particularly remarkable in these Trees that they bring forth new fruits every month in the year The flower of both kind is of good scent and comes near that of Jessemine The Fruit of the latter is accounted among the choicest entertainments of the Islands in as much as being come to perfection it hath a firm substance and may be cut in pieces like a Melon and is of a very pleasant taste The rind is yellow intermixed with certain green lines and within it is full of little seeds round viscous and soft of a piquant taste and approaching that of Spice This fruit fortifies the stomach and helps digestion MOMIN THe Momin is a Tree grows up to the bigness of an Appletree and bears a large fruit of the same name 'T is true the Islanders commonly call it Corasol because the seeds of those they have was brought from Corasol an Island possessed long since by the Dutch who have there a good Fort and a numerous Colony which hath spread itself into several other Islands near it This Fruit is like a little Cucumber not fully ripe the rind of it is always green and enameled with several small partitions like scales if it be gathered in its maturity it is within as white as cream and of a mixture of sweetness and sharpness which much heightens the taste of it This Fruit is extremely cooling and pleasant to the palate In the midst of it lies the seed which is of the bigness and figure of a Bean very smooth and of the colour of a Touchstone on which a piece of gold had been newly tried for it seems to sparkle with little golden veins JUNIPA JUnipa or Jenipa being the same Tree which the Brasilians call Janipaba and the Portuguez Jenipapo grows up to the bigness of a Chestnut-tree the boughs of it bowing down towards the ground and making a pleasant shade The leaves of it are long like those of a Wallnut-tree It bears a kind of flower like those of Narcissus and they are of a good scent The wood of it is solid and in colour of a pearly grey The Inhabitants cut down these Trees while they are yet young to make stocks for Muskets and Firelocks in regard the wood being easy to be wrought may be excellently polished Every month it is clothed with some new leaves It bears a kind of Apples which being ripe seem to have been baked in an Oven about the bigness of an ordinary Apple Falling from the Tree they make a noise like that of a gun discharged which proceeds hence that certain winds or spirits penned up in the thin pellicles which enclose the seed being stirred by the fall force their way out with a certain violence Whence it may be concluded that it is the same Fruit which the Indians in New-Spain by a barbarous name call Quant la Lazin These Junipa apples eaten without taking away the little skin within them are extremely binding This Fruit is much sought after by Huntsmen in regard that being sourish it quenches thirst and comforts such as are wearied by travelling The juice of it dies a very dark Violet though itself be as clear as rockwater nay when it is applied twice to the same part of the body which a man would die it makes the place appear black The Indians use it to fortify the body and to make it more supple before they go to the wars They are also of a persuasion that this colour renders them more terrible to their enemies The tincture this Fruit gives cannot be taken away with Soap but after nine or ten days it disappears of itself The Swine which eat of this fruit when it falls off the Tree have the flesh and fat of a violet colour as hath been found by experience The same thing hath been observed in the flesh of Parrots and other Birds when they have eaten of it There may be made of these Apples a drink pleasant enough yet such as is only used among the Indians and Huntsmen who have no settled habitation RAISIN THe Raisin-tree or Vine which the Caribbians call Ouliem grows up to a middling height and creeps in a manner along the ground on the Seaside but in good ground it grows up high as one of the most delightful Trees of the Forest The leaves of it are round and thick intermixed with red and green Under the bark of the trunk having raised a white soft substance about two inches thick a man finds a wood of a violet colour solid and fit for excellent pieces of Joiner's work It bears in its branches such fruits as when they are ripe might be taken for great violet Grapes but in stead of kernels every Grape hath under a tender pellicle and under a very small substance which is a little sowrish cooling and of a good taste a hard stone like that of a Plumb ACAJOV THere are three kinds of Trees known by the name of Acajou but of those only that we shall here describe bears any fruit 'T is a Tree of no great height spreading its branches down towards the ground The leaves of it are fair and large closing to a roundness before and divided by certain veins The flowers of it at the first shooting forth are white but afterwards they become incarnate and of a purple colour They grow in tuffes and bushes and they send forth so sweet a scent that it is easy to distinguish the Tree which bears them These flowers fall not till they are thrust off by a kind of Chestnut much after the form of an Ear or a Hare's kidney When this Chestnut is come to its growth there is framed under it a very fair Apple somewhat long which is crowned with that as a crest which as it ripens becomes of an Olive-colour while the Apple puts on a thin delicate skin of a lively Vermilion Within it is full of certain spongious filaments which yield a kind of sweet and sharp juice extremely good to quench thirst and accounted very good for the stomach as also in swound and fainting being qualified with a little Sugar But if it chance to fall on any Linen it makes a red stain therein which continues till such time as the Tree brings forth new flowers The Indians make an excellent drink of this fruit which being kept some days inebriates as soon as the best French-wine would The Nut which is above burnt yields a caustick oil which is successfully used to mollify nay to take away Corns and the callousness of the feet If it be cracked there is within a kernel covered with a thin pellicle which being taken away it is of an excellent taste and its virtue is to warm and extremely to fortify the Stomach This Tree bears but once a year whence the Brasilians number their age by the Nuts growing on this Apple laying up one for every year which they keep very carefully in a little basket for that purpose If an incision be made at the foot of this Tree there will come forth a clear and transparent Gum which many have taken for that which is brought out of Arabia The seed of the Tree is in the Nut which put into the ground grows without any trouble ICACO THe Icaco is a kind of small Plumb-tree which grows after the form of a Briar the branches of it are at all times loaden with small long leaves Twice a year they are dressed with abundance of pretty white or violet flowers which are followed by a little round fruit about the bigness of a Damsin and that being ripe grows either white or violet as the flower had been before This fruit is very sweet and so loved by some Savages living near the Gulf of Hondures that they are called Icacoes from their much feeding on these Plumbs Those who have travelled among them have observed that when these fruits are ripe they carefully secure the propriety thereof to themselves and to prevent their Neighbours who have none in their Quarters from spoiling the Trees have Guards set on the Avenues of their Country who with Club and Dart oppose such as should attempt their disturbance MONBAIN THe Monbain is a Tree grows very high and bears long and yellowish Plumbs which are of a scent good enough But the stone being bigger than all the meat about it they are not much esteemed unless it be of some who mix them in the drinks of Ouïcou and Maby to give them a better taste The Swine feeding in the Woods are always fat when these fruits are ripe for there falls abundance of them under the Trees as they ripen which are greedily devoured by those creatures This Tree yields a yellow Gum which casts a stronger scent than the fruit The branches thrust into the ground easily take root whence it comes that they commonly set those Closes with them where they keep Cattle The Courbary for the most part grows higher more leavy and bigger than the Monbain It bears a fruit the shell whereof can hardly be broken and it is about four fingers long two broad and one thick Within the shell there is two or three stones covered with a soft meat as yellow as Saffron It is of a good taste but if much of it be taken it extremely clogs the stomach and hinders respiration The Savages in case of necessity make a drink of it which well ordered is not unpleasant that is when it is well boiled with water The wood of this Tree is solid of a colour inclining to red The Tree being old yields a Gum which is hardened by the Sun and will continue clear transparent as yellow Amber and of a good scent Some Indians make Buttons of it of several fashions of which they make Bracelets Necklaces and Pendants which are handsome glittering and of a good scent INDIAN FIGTREE THere is in most of these Islands a great Tree which the Europeans have called the Indian Figtree because it bears a small fruit without any stone which in figure and taste comes near the French Fig Otherwise it hath no resemblance to our Figtrees for besides that the leaf is of a different figure and much narrower it grows in some places to such an excessive bulk that there are of them such as many men put together cannot encompass in regard the Trunk which commonly is not even in its circumference shoots forth on the sides from the very root to the place where the boughs begin certain excrescencies which reach four or five foot about and which by that means make deep cavities standing like so many Niches These Excrescencies which are of the same substance with the body of the Tree are also enclosed with the same bark as covers it and they are seven or eight inches thick proportionably to the Trunk they encompass The wood of this Tree within is white and soft and there are commonly cut out of those long pieces which shoot forth out of the Trunk Planks for Flooring Doors and Tables without any fear that the Tree should die For in a short time it so easily recovers the prejudice it had received that it can hardly be perceived there was any thing taken from it All those who have lived in the Island of Tortoises which lies North from Hispaniola have seen in the way which leads from the Plains of the Mountain to the Village which the French call Milplantage one of these Trees which may well afford shelter to two hundred men under the shade of its branches which are always loaden with leaves very thick and bushy SERVICE-TREE THere is in these Islands a kind of Service-tree much different from that in France for it is of an excessive height pleasant to the eye and adorned with fair leaves and branches It bears a pleasant fruit round as a Cherry of a yellowish colour spotted with little round spots when it is ripe it falls off of itself It tastes like a Sorb-apple and thence it came to be so called It is much sought after by the Birds The PRICKLY-PALM ALL these Islands have Palms nay some have four several sorts of them One is called the Prickly or Thorny-Palm having that name from the prickliness of it the boal branches and leaves being furnished with prickles very sharp and so dangerous that whoever is pricked thereby will be troubled a long time if a present remedy be not applied Those which encompass the trunk are flat about the length of a man's finger of the figure of a Toothpick smooth and of a tawny colour inclining to black The Negroes before they come near it make a fire about the foot of the Tree to burn up the prickles which are as so much armour to it It 's fruit consists in a great tuft which contains several greyish hard and round Nuts within which are kernels good to eat Of this kind of Palms some Negroes get a sort of Wine by making incisions in the branches It is probably the same Tree which the Brasilians call Ayri FRANC-PALM THe second kind is the Franc-Palm It is a straight Tree of extraordinary height The roots of this Tree are above ground round about the stock two or three foot high and about the bigness of a Hogshead These roots are small proportionably to the height of the Tree they sustain but they are so confusedly shuffled one within another that they afford it a substantial support One thing particular to this Tree is that it is bigger above than below While it is young the bark is tender of a dark-grey colour and marked at every foot 's distance with a circle which discovers very near how many years it hath been in the ground But when it is come to its full growth it is all over so solid and smooth that there is nothing to be seen The top of it is adorned with several fair branches chanelled and smooth which have on each side an infinite number of leaves green long narrow and very thin which add much to its beauty The tenderest of these branches which are not yet fully blown start up directly from the middle of the Tree while the others which bend downwards all about make it as 't were a rich and beautiful crown This Tree disburthens itself every month of some one of its branches as also of a bark which is loosened from below which is four or five foot long about two broad and of the thickness of tanned leather The Inhabitants of the Islands call this bark Attach and they use it for the covering of their Kitchens and other places belonging to their habitations as they make use of the leaves neatly tied together in little sheaves to cover their houses We have purposely ranked the Palms among the Fruit-trees of these Islands in regard all of them the Latanier only excepted contribute somewhat to the nourishment of men For if the Prickly-Palm before described afford Wine this bears on the top of its trunk and as it were in its heart a whitish marrow or pith very tender and savoury tasting like a small Nut if eaten raw and being boiled and seasoned with the thin and white leaves which encompass it and are as it were so much linen about it it may be numbered among the most delicious dishes of the Caribbies The French call that marrowy substance and the leaves enclosing it Chou de Palmiste Palm-Cabbage for they put it into the Pot instead of Cabbage and other Herbs Cleave the trunk of this Tree in two and take away as may easily be done a certain filiamental and soft matter which lies within the remaining wood which is by that means made hollow and a good inch thick makes excellent long gutters which will last a great while They are used also to cover with one piece only the roof of the Cazes and to convey water to any place Turner's and Joiner's make of this wood which is almost black and easily polished several excellent pieces which are naturally marbled Pliny writes of Trees so prodigiously high that an arrow could not be shot over them and the Author of the General History of the Indies speaks of a Tree so high that a man could not cast a stone over it But though the Palm we now describe much exceeds all the other Trees of the Caribbies yet dare we not affirm it to be of such an extraordinary height since that from the foot of the Tree there may be easily observed a fair branch which rising out of the top of the trunk is always turned towards the Sunrising It is renewed every year and when it is come out of its case it is enameled with an infinite number of little yellow flowers like golden buttons which afterwards falling their places are supplied by certain round fruits about the bigness of a small Hen's egg They are fastened together as it were in one cluster and that these flowers and fruits might be secured against the injuries of the weather they are covered above by a thick bark which on the outside is hard and of a greyish colour but within of a kind of Vermilion-guilt closing upwards like a Pyramid This precious fan is nothing else but the case which kept in the flowers before they were fully blown and being opened below spreads itself into a hollow figure in the midst and pointed at the extremities the better to cover both the flowers and the fruit LATANIER THe third kind of Palm is called the Latanier This grows up to a considerable height but not very big In stead of branches it hath only long leaves round above and spread at the extremity like a fan They are fastened to certain great stalks which come out of certain filaments that encompass the top of the trunk like a thick piece of Canvas red and very clear These leaves tied up in little bundles serve to cover the Cazes and of the rind which is raised from above the tails or stalks may be made Sives Baskets and several other little curiosities which the Indians account the best of their Householdstuff Of the wood of this Tree as also of that of the Franc-Palm they make Bows the Clubs they use in fight in stead of Swords Azagayes a kind of little sharp Lances which they dart at their enemies with the hand and they sharpen therewith the points of their Arrows which by that means are as piercing as if they were of Steel COCOS THe fourth kind of Palm and the most excellent of all is that which is called Cocos that famous fruit of which Historians tell such miracles But it is to be observed that the Cocos of the West-Indies grow not near to the height of those in the East-Indies the trunk commonly not exceeding twenty or twenty five foot in height of a bigness proportionable thereto It is better furnished with branches and leaves then the Franc-Palm The Islands of Monaca and Routam at the Gulf of Hondures are famous for their abounding with these Trees The Island of S. Bartholomew of the Caribbies have also of them and thence they were brought to S. Christopher's The fruit grows upon the very trunk at the shooting forth of the branches It hath the form of a Nut but is without comparison much bigger for one of them sometimes weighs about ten pound From the first bearing the Tree is never found without fruit for it bears new every month The shell is so hard and thick that it may be polished and figures engraved upon it and made into Cups Bottles and other Vessels It is encompassed with a thick covering which is all of filaments When the Cocoanut is opened there is first met with a meat white as snow which is extremely nourishing and tastes like an Almond There is so much of this marrowy substance in every fruit as may well fill an ordinary dish It is very firmly fastened within the shell and in the midst of it there is a large glass full of liquor clear and pleasant as perfumed Wine so that a man may be well satisfied with one of these fruits at a meal It is only this water which is turned into seed and among other virtues hath that of clearing the face of all wrinkles and giving it a bright and Vermilion colour so it be washed therewith as soon as the fruit is fallen from the Tree Who desires a particular account of the Cocos and its uses as well in Physic as Housekeeping may read the large description of it made by Francis Pyrard in his Treatise of the Animals Trees and Fruits of the East-Indies Some from the nearness of the names do sometimes confound the Cocos with the Cacao which grows in the Province of Guatimala near New-Spain which is also a famous fruit all over America for its being the principal ingredient in the composition called Chocolate This drink taken moderately causeth Venery Procreation and Conception and facilitates Delivery preserves Health and impinguates It helpeth Digestion Consumption and Cough of the Lungs Plague of the Guts and other Fluxes the Green-Sickness Jaundice and all manner of Imflammations and Oppilations It cleanseth the Teeth and sweeteneth Breath provokes Urine cures Stone and Strangury expels Poison and preserves from all infectious Diseases all which virtues are attributed to it by several creditable Authors The Cacao which was to be seen in the Caribbies in the year one thousand six hundred forty nine in a Garden of an Inhabitant of the Island of Sante Croix which was then in the hands of the English is a Tree much like an Orange-tree save that it grows not up so high and that it hath larger leaves It is commonly planted in shady places even under other Trees that they may keep off the heat of the Sun from it which might otherwise occasion the withering of its leaves It 's fruit is about the bigness and near the figure of an Acorn or a middle sized Olive and grows in great long cod or husks which are streaked in several places with little partitions along the sides CHAP. VII Of Trees fit for Building Joyners-Work and Dying WE have hitherto given an account of those Trees whose Fruits contribute to the subsistence and refreshment of the Inhabitants we shall now treat of the most considerable in order to the Building of Houses and Furnishing of them by the help of the Joiner Which done we shall speak of all those other Trees of several colours whereof the Dyer may make use in his Profession ACAJOU THere are few of the Islands but afford good Trees for the Carpenters and Joyners-Work Of these one of the most considerable is the Acajou which grows to that excessive height that the Caribbians will of one trunk make those long Shallops called Pyrages which are able to carry fifty men It shoots forth many branches which grow very close together by reason of the abundance of leaves they are loaden with The shade of this Tree is very delightful nay some affirm that it contributes to their Health who repose themselves under it There are two sorts of Acajou which differ only in the height of the trunk and colour of the wood The wood of the most esteemed is red light of a good scent and easily wrought It hath been found by experience that it receives no prejudice from the Worm that it rots not in the water when it hath been cut in season and that the Chests and Cabinets made of it communicate a good scent too and secure the  kept in them from Vermin which either breed in or get into those made of other wood Hence some have imagined it to be a kind of Cedar There are also made of it Shingles for the covering of Houses Some Masters of Ships who Trade to the Caribbies many times bring thence Planks of this wood which are of such length and breadth that there needs but one to make a fair and large Table The other kind of Acajou is of the same figure as to the outside as that before described but it grows not up so high and the bark and pith taken away the wood is white Newly felled it is very easily wrought but left abroad in the air it grows so hard that there can hardly be any use made of it The Inhabitants use it only for want of other because it is subject to worms and putrifies in a short time If an incision be made in the trunks of these Trees they will yield abundance of Gum whereof there might be a good use made if any trial had been made of it ACOMAS THe Acomas is a Tree grows up to the height and bulk of the Acajou and is no less esteemed by Carpenters and Joiner's Its leaves are smooth and long enough It bears a fruit of the bigness of a Plumb which come to maturity is of a yellow colour pleasant to the eye but too bitter to be mans-meat The Woodquists grow fat on it at a certain time of the year and during that time their flesh is of the same taste as the fruit they have eaten The bark is of an Ash-colour and very rough the wood heavy and easily polished and according to the places where it grows the heart of it is red or yellowish or inclining to violet If the bark be opened there will come forth a milky liquor which grows hard like Gum. ROSE-WOOD THe wood called Rose-wood is ●it not only for the Carpenter but also for the Joiner and therefore is numbered among the most considerable And here we cannot but acknowledge that if the ancient Inhabitants of the Caribbies had any design to make a firm setlement of themselves there they might find not only things requisite for their subsistence but also delicacies and curiosities as well in order to their nourishment and clothing as to the building of their Houses and the furnishing of them when they are built But the flattering imaginations of a return into the place of their birth whereof most have their hearts full induce them to a neglect of all those considerable advantages which these Islands present them withal and an indifferency if not a contempt for that abundance of precious things which they so liberally produce For not to say any thing at present how easily they might makes Stuffs of the Cotton growing here how they might keep all sorts of Fowl and tame  which breed there as abundantly as in any place in the World they might no doubt every themselves very much by several sorts of precious wood through the Trade they might drive into several parts of Europe since they think not fit to make use of them in order to the better accommodation of their habitations The description we shall make of some of these rare Trees in this and the next Chapter will make good this Proposition Of these as we said before the Rose-wood is to be ranked among the chiefest This Tree grows to a height proportionable to its bigness The trunk of it is commonly so straight that it is one of the greatest ornaments of the Caribbian Forests It is covered with many fair boughs and those loaden with soft leaves downy on one side and near as long as those of a Wallnut-tree During the season of the Rains it bears white flowers of a good scent which growing in bushes or as it were Posies add very much to the natural beauty of the Tree These flowers are followed by a small blackish and smooth seed The bark of the boal is of a whitish-grey The wood within is of the colour of a dead leaf and when the Smoothing-plane and Polisher hath passed upon it there may be seen several veins of different colours waving up and down which gives it a lustre as if it were marbled But the sweet scent it casts forth while it is handled and wrought causes it to be the more esteemed and procured it the name it is now known by Some have imagined that that sweet scent which indeed is more pleasant than that of a Rose should have given it the name of Cyprian-wood and indeed in some parts of the Caribbies it passes under that denomination This Tree grows in all the Islands after the same fashion as to the external figure but the wood of it is marbled with divers colours according to the difference of the soil where it had its production and growth INDIAN-WOOD THE Indian-wood is also a precious Tree and of good scent Of this there is such abundance in the Island of S. Croix and several others that there are in them whole Forests of it It is not inferior to the Rose-wood but grows bigger and higher when it meets with good ground The roots of it spread themselves very deep into the ground and the trunk is very straight The bark is smooth thin and even all over of a bright silver-grey colour and in some places inclining to yellow which is a distinction between this Tree and all others It flourishes once a year in the season of the Rains and then it renews some part of its leaves The wood of it is very solid and weighty whence it comes that it may be polished and some Savages make their Clubs of it Having taken off a Vermilion-pith which is under the bark there appears the heart of the tree which is extreme hard and of a Violet colour for which it is much esteemed by the curious The good scent of this tree consists particularly in its leaves they are of the same figure with those of the Guava-tree and when they are handled they perfume the hands with a sweeter scent than that of the Laurel they derive to Meat and Sauces so delicate a gusto as might be attributed rather to a composition of several Spices then to a simple leaf It is used also in the Baths prescribed by Physicians to fortify bruised Nerves and dry up the swelling which remains in their Legs who have been in malignant Fevers Besides the Acajou before spoken of there are in these Islands several sorts of trees whereof the wood is red solid weighty and not subject to worms and putrefaction They are excellent for both Carpenter and Joyner IRON-WOOD BUt above all there is a particular account made of the Iron-wood so called because in solidity weight and hardness it exceeds all those we have yet described This tree which may be ranked among the highest and best proportioned of any in these Islands is well furnished with branches and those with little leaves with sharp points and divided near the stalk It flourishes twice a year to wit in March and September The flowers of it which are of a Violet colour are succeeded by a small fruit about the bigness of a Cherry which as it ripens grows black and is much sought after by the Birds The bark of the trunk is of a brownish colour The wood is of a very bright red being newly felled but lying abroad in the air it loses much of its liveliness and lustre The heart of the Tree is of a very dark red like that of Brasil and of such hardness that the wedges must be very sharp and well tried before to bring it to the ground But the wood of it being fair to the eye solid easy to be polished and more incorruptible than either Cedar or Cypress it abundantly requites by all these excellent qualities the pains is taken about it before there can be any use made thereof There is also another Tree known by the same name but it is not comparable to the former It bears only small leaves and when it flourisheth it is loaden with abundance of Posies as it were rising up above the branches like so many Plumes of Feathers which give it an extraordinary ornament It is of a great height and the inner-bark is yellowish or white according to the places where it grows All the wood of this Tree the heart only excepted which is very small very hard and inclining to black is subject to worms whence it comes that it is not commonly used but for want of other There are in the Caribbies many Trees fit for Dying The most esteemed and best known are the Brasil-wood the Yellow-wood the Green-Ebony and the Roucou BRASIL-WOOD THe Brasil-wood is so called because the first brought into Europe came from the Province of Brasil where it grows more abundantly then in any other part of America Of this kind of Tree there are not many in the Caribbies and what there is is only in those Islands which are most furnished with dry rocks The trunk of it is not straight as that of other Trees but crooked uneven and full of knots like the White-Thorn When it is loaden with flowers there comes from it a sweet scent which fortifies the Brain The wood of it is much sought after by Turner's but the principal use of it is for Dying YELLOW-WOOD THe Island of S. Croix is the most famous of all the Islands for its abundance in rare and precious Trees There is one very much esteemed for its usefulness in Dying It grows up to a great height and the wood is perfectly yellow When the English had the Island they sent much of it to their own Country It is called the Yellow-wood from its colour GREEN-EBONY THe Green-Ebony is commonly used in some excellent pieces of Joyners-work because it easily takes the colour and lustre of the true Ebony But the best use of it is for Dying for it colours a fair Grass-green The Tree is very bushy by reason its root shoots forth a great number of Suckers which hinder it from growing so high and big as it might if the sap were directed only to the trunk The leaves are smooth and of a bright-green colour Within the outer-bark there is about two inches of white inner-bark and the rest of the wood to the heart is of so dark a green that it inclines to black but when it is polished there appear certain yellow veins which make it look as if it were marbled ROUCOU THe Roucou is the same Tree which the Brasilians call Urucu It grows no higher than a small Orange-tree Its leaves which are pointed at one end have the figure of a heart It bears flowers in colour white mixed with Carnation they consist of five leaves in form like a Star and about the bigness of a Rose They grow in little bushes at the extremities of the branches These flowers are succeeded by little husks in which are enclosed several seeds about the bigness of a small Pea which being come to ripeness are of the most bright and lively Vermilion colour that can be imagined This rich Dying-Commodity which is enclosed in the said husk is so soft and viscous that it sticks to one's fingers as soon as it is touched To get this precious liquor they shake in an earthen vessel the seeds unto which it is fastened then there is poured thereto warm water in which they are washed till such time as they have lost their Vermilion colour and then when this water hath rested a while they dry in the shade the dregs or thick Lie which is at the bottom of the vessel and then it is made up into Lozenges or little Balls which are very much esteemed by Painters and Dyers when they are pure and without mixture as those are whereof we have now given the description The wood of this Tree is easily broken It is very good for firing and if the fire should be quite out it is only rubbing for a certain time two pieces one against another and they will east forth sparks like a Firelock which will set fire on the Cotton or any other matter susceptible thereof that is laid near to receive it Of the Bark of it are made Lines which last a long time The Root of it gives a delicate gusto to Meats and when there is any of it put into Sauces it communicates to them the colour and scent of Saffron The Caribbians have of these Trees in all their Gardens are very careful in the ordering and keeping of them and esteem them very highly because from them they have the bright Vermilion with which they make their Bodies red they use it also in Painting and to give a lustre and handsomeness to those vessels which they make use of in their houses There might well be numbered among the Trees fit for Dying most of those which yield any Gums For those who have had the curiosity to make a trial thereof have found by experience that being mixed in Dying they heighten the darkest and dullest colours by a certain liveliness and lustre which they communicate thereto CHAP. VIII Of Trees useful in Medicine and some others whereof the Inhabitants of the Caribbies may make great advantages THe great disposer of all things having assigned all Nations the limits of their several habitations hath left no Country destitute of means requisite for the convenient subsistence of the men placed therein and that they might be eye-witnesses of the in-exhaustible treasure of his ever to be adored Providence he hath impregnated the Earth with the virtue of producing not only the Provisions necessary for their nourishment but also several Antidotes to secure them against the infirmities whereby they might be assaulted and divers sovereign Remedies for their recovery when they are fallen into them Not to make mention of any other part of the World we may affirm it of the Caribbies that they have all these rare advantages in a very great measure For they do not only entertain their Inhabitants with a delightful variety of Fruits Roots Herbs Pulse Wildfowl Fish and other delicacies for the Table but they also supply them with a great number of excellent Remedies to cure them of their indispositions And this the judicious Reader may easily observe all through this Natural History and particularly in this Chapter where we shall describe the Trees which are very useful in Medicine CASSIA-TREE THe Cassia-tree grows up to the bigness and comes near the figure of a Peach-tree the leaves of it being somewhat long and narrow They fall off once a year in the time of the great Droughts and when the season of the Rain comes in it puts forth new ones They are preceded by several Posies of of yellow flowers which are succeeded by long Pipes or Cod about the bigness of a man's thumb and sometimes a foot and a half or two foot in length They contain within them as in so many little Cells that Medicinal Drug so well known to the Apothecaries called Cassia which the Caribbians call Mali Mali Before the fruit is grown to its full bigness and length it is always green but as it advances to perfection and ripeness it becomes of a brownish or Violet colour and so continues hanging at the branches When the Fruit is ripe and dry and the Trees which bear it are shaken by great winds the noise caused by the collision of those hard and long Cod striking one against another is heard at a great distance This frightens the Birds and keeps them from coming near it nay such men as are ignorant of the cause of that confused sound if they see not the Trees shaking and stirring their branches and fruits imagine themselves near the Seaside and think they hear the agitation of it or take it for the clashing of Arms in an Engagement of Soldiers 'T is the observation of all those who have visited that part of St. Domingo where there are whole Plains and those of a large extent full only of these Trees It is thence in all probability that the seed of those growing in the Caribbies was brought Those sticks of Cassia which are brought from America are fuller and more weighty than those which come out of the Levant and the Drug within them hath the same effects and virtues The Flowers of the Cassia-tree preserved with Sugar gently purge not only the Belly but also the Bladder The sticks of Cassia conserved while they are green have also the same virtue But the pulp taken out of the ripe fruit operates sooner and more effectually Many of the Inhabitants use it with good success once a month a little before meals and they have found by experience that this gentle Medicine contributes much to the continuance of their good constitution MEDICINAL NUTS THe Medicinal Nuts which are so common in all the Islands grow on a small Tree which is for the most part used to partitions between the Gardens and Plantations If it were not hindered from growing it would come up to the height of an ordinary Figtree which it somewhat resembles in figure The wood of it is very tender and pithy and it shoots forth several bracnhes which scamble confusedly about the trunk They are loaden with pretty long leaves green and soft round below and ending in three points Out of the wood and leaves of this Tree there comes a milky juice which stains Linen nay there is no pleasure in being near it when it reins for the drops which fall from the leaves have the same effect as the juice It bears several yellow flowers consisting of five leaves which when they are fully blown look like so many stars The flowers falling there come in the places of some of them little Nuts which at first are green then turn yellow and at last black and a little open when they are ripe Within every Nut there are three or four stones in so many little cells the rind whereof is blackish in bigness and figure somewhat like a bean The rind being taken away there is in every one of them a white kernel of an oily substance which is enclosed and divided in the midst by a thin film or pellicle These kernels are of a taste pleasant enough not much different from that of Small-Nuts but if they be not moderately eaten they will violently purge both upwards and downwards especially if the skin which encloses them and the pellicle dividing them in the midst be swallowed To moderate their quality and that they may be taken with less danger the way is to cleanse them of those skins and pellicles and put them for a little while upon the coals then being beaten or bruised four or five of them may be taken in a little Wine as a vehicle or corrective The boughs of this Tree being cut off and thrust into the ground do easily take root The Portuguez extract an oil out of the kernels which is good enough for the uses of the Kitchen and may also be useful in Medicine CINNAMON THe Tree which bears that kind of Cinnamon which is so common in all the Islands may be ranked among those which are useful in Medicine since its Aromatic Bark is sought after by all those who are troubled with cold distempers and successfully used to disburden the chest of the viscous and phlegmatic humours which oppress it The sweet scent and perpetual verdure of this delightful Tree have persuaded some that it was a kind of Laurel but it grows much higher its trunk is also bigger its branches larger and its leaves which are not altogether so long are much softer and of a more lively green The bark of it which is covered by an Ash-coloured skin is thicker and of a whiter colour than the Cinnamon which comes from the Levant It is also of a sharper and more biting taste but being dried in the shade it gives a pleasant taste to Meats The Islands Tabago Barbados and Sante Croix are accounted to be better furnished then any of the rest with several sorts of wood which experience hath found very useful in Medicine For they afford Sandalwood Guaiacum and Sassafras all which are so well known that we need not in this place make any particular descriptions thereof COTTON-TREE THere are several other Trees very common in all these Islands whereof the Inhabitants may make very considerable advantages The Cotton-tree called by the Savages Manoulouakecha may be ranked among the chiefest as being the most profitable It grows up to the height of a Peach-tree the bark is of a brownish colour the leaves small divided into three parts It bears a flower about the bigness of a Rose under which there are three little green and sharppointed leaves by which it is encompassed This flower consists of five leaves which are of a bright yellow colour having towards the stem small lines of a purple colour and a yellow button or crown encompassed with little filaments of the same colour The flowers are succeeded by a fruit of an oval figure about the bigness of a small Nut with its shell when it is come to maturity it is all black on the outside and opens in three several places at which appears the whitness of the Cotton lying within that rough covering there are in every of the fruit seven little beans which are the seed of the Tree There is another kind of Cotton-tree which creeps along the ground like an unsupported Vine this bears the best and most esteemed Cotton Of both there are made clothes and several cheap Stuffs very useful in Housekeeping SOAP-TREE THere are two sorts of Trees which the Islanders use instead of Soap one of them hath this quality in its fruit which grows in clusters round yellowish and about the bigness of a small Plumb which hath also a hard black stone within it that may be polished It is commonly called the Soapfruit the other hath the same virtue in its root which is white and soft both of them lather as well as any Soap but the former used too frequently burns the Linen These Trees are called the Soap-trees from the virtue they have to whiten  The ARCHED-INDIAN-FIG-TREE THe Arched-Indian-Fig-Tree is a Tree thrives best in fenny places and on the Seaside Its leaf is green thick and of a good length the branches which bend down to the ground no sooner touch it but they take root and grow up into other Trees which afterwards produce others so that in time they spread over all the good ground they meet with which is by that means so hardly reducible to bear other things that it will yield no profit under these Trees the wild Boars and other beasts are securely lodged They are also in many places the lurking-holes of the Inhabitants of the Islands who having garrisoned themselves within these Trees defy all enemies There is further this great advantage made of them that there being no Oaks in these Islands their bark is good for Tanners GOURD-TREE NOr may we forget the Gourd-tree of which are made the greatest part of the Household-vessels used not only by the Indians but the Foreigners who are Inhabitants of these Islands 't is a Tree grows up to the height and bigness of a great Appletree its branches are commonly well-loaden with leaves which are long narrow and round at the extremity fastened by bushes to the branches and sometimes shooting out of the trunk itself It bears flowers and fruits most months of the year the flowers are of a greyish colour mixed with green and full of small black spots and sometimes violet they are succeeded by certain Apples whereof there can hardly be found two on the same Tree of equal bigness and the same figure and as a Potter shows the excellency of his Art by making on the same wheel and of the same mass of clay Vessels of different forms and capacity so Nature shows here a miraculous industry by loading the same Tree with fruits different in their form and bigness though the productions of the same substance These fruits have this common that they have all a hard woody bark of such a thickness and solidity that Bottles Basins Cups Dishes Platters and several other Vessels necessary to Housekeeping may be made thereof they are full of a certain pulp which being ripe becomes of a Violet-colour though before it had been white amidst this substance there are certain small flat and hard grains which are the seeds of the Tree Those of the Inhabitants who are most addicted to Hunting in case of necessity quench their thirst with this fruit and they say it hath the taste of burnt-wine but is too astringent The Indians polish the bark and give it so delightful an enamel with Roucou Indigo and several other pleasant colours that the most nice may eat and drink out of the vessels they make thereof Nay some are so curious as to think them worthy a place among the Rarities of their Closets MAHOT OF the Tree called Mahot there are two kinds Mahotfranc and Mahot-d'herbe the former is the more sought after as being the stronger it grows not very big in regard the branches creep along the ground the bark is very thick and easily taken from the Tree there are made of it long Laces or Points which are stronger than the Lines of Teil which are used in many places they are commonly used to make up Rolls of Tobacco and to fasten things about the House as for the latter Mahot it is used where the former is wanting but it easily rots and is not comparable to the other as to strength In a word there are in these Islands several other Trees not known in Europe whereof some only delight the eye such as are that which is called Mappou and divers kinds of thorny wood others only satisfy the smelling by their sweet scents others have venomous qualities as the Milkie-tree as also that whose root reduced to powder and cast into rivers inebriates the Fish the Mancenilier which we shall describe in its proper place and an infinite number of others the wood whereof is white soft and of no use and have yet got no names among the foreign Inhabitants of those parts CHAP. IX Of other Trees growing in these Islands whose Fruits or Roots contribute to the subsistence of the Inhabitants or serve for some other uses IT hath pleased the great Contriver of all things to divide that Element which we call Earth into several Countries each whereof he hath endued with certain advantages and conveniences not to be found in other places that by such a delightful variety of things he might make a more distinct and remarkable demonstration of his own all-cherishing Providence But it must be acknowledged that in the distribution which the Divine Wisdom hath made of its bounties the Caribby-Islands have had a very large portion For to confine ourselves to the design we intent to prosecute not only the greater sorts of Trees which we have described in the former Chapters contribute to the Shelter Nourishment Clothing Health and several other accommodations of the Inhabitants but there are also divers shrubs or lesser Trees which either shoot forth Roots or bear Fruits conducing to the same purpose as shall be seen in the perusal of this Chapter MANYOC INstead of Wheat the Inhabitants make use of the root of a small Tree called Manyoc by some Manyot and by others Mandioque of which is made a kind of Bread delicate enough called Cassava whence it is also sometimes called the Cassava-tree This root is so fruitful that a small parcel of ground planted therewith will feed more persons than six times as much sown with the best Wheat could do It shoots forth crooked branches about the height of five or six foot easy to be broken and full of small knots the leaf is narrow and somewhat long at nine month's end the root comes to its maturity Nay it is reported that in Brasil it grows to the bigness of a man's thigh in three or four months If the ground be not too moist the root may continue in it three years without corrupting so that there needs no Storehouse o● Garret to put it up in for it is taken out of the ground as it is spent To propagate this Root you must take of the branches and cut them in pieces about a foot in length then make trenches in your Garden with a Ho and thrust in three of those sticks trianglewise into the earth which had been taken out of the trenches and wherewith a little hill or tump had been raised this is called Planting by the trench But there is another way of planting Manyoc much more expeditious and more easy but the Manyoc is neither so fair nor so much esteemed as the other The way is only thus to make a hole in the ground with a stick and to thrust the Manyoc straight into it care must be had in the planting of it that the knots be not set downwards for if they should the Manyoc sticks would not grow The Indians never plant it otherwise but that it may ripen in its season they observe a certain time of the Moon and see that the ground be not too moist There are several kinds of these shrubs differing one from the other only in the colour of the bark of their wood and of their root Those which have the bark greyish or white or green make a very good tasted bread and grow up in a short time but the roots they produce do not keep so well nor thrive comparably to those of the red or violet Manyoc which is the most common the most esteemed and the most advantageous in housekeeping The juice of this root is as cold as Hemlock and so effectual a poison that the poor Indians of the greater Islands being persecuted with fire and sword by the Spaniards to avoid a more cruel death made use of this poison to destroy themselves There is to this day to be seen in the Island of Hispaniola otherwise called S. Domingo a place called the Cave of the Indians where there are the bones of above four hundred persons who ended their lives there with this poison to avoid the cruelties of the Spaniards But let this juice which is so venomous to all sorts of living creatures rest four and twenty hours after it is taken from the root and it loses that malignant and dangerous quality PALMA-CHRISTI THere are in these Islands an infinite number of the shrubs called Palma-Christi or Ricinus and they grow up so high and so big in some places that they would be taken for a different kind from those commonly seen in Europe The Negroes gather the seed and extract an oil from it wherewith they rub their hair to keep themselves clear from vermin The qualities attributed to it by Galen and Dioscorides confirm the use these Barbarians make of it the leaf of this shrub is sovereign for the healing of some kinds of Ulcers as being very attractive There grow in all these Islands two kinds of shrubs or rather great Reeds spongy within growing of themselves in fat ground near little rivulets or in Valleys not annoyed by winds They are commonly called Banana-trees or Planes and Figtrees or Appletrees of Paradise These two kinds of shrubs have this common to both 1 That they grow of equal height to wit about twelve or fifteen foot above ground 2 That their stalks which are of a green colour shining spongious and very full of water shoot out of a great Onion like a Pear encompassed with many little white roots which fasten it to the ground 3 That they have shooting forth at the foot of the stems certain Scyons which bear fruit at the years end 4 That when one stem is cut off for the getting of the fruit the most forward next that succeeds in its place and so the shrub is perpetuated and multiplies so exceedingly that in time it spreads over all the good ground near it 5 That the substance of both is very soft and reducible into water which though extremely clear yet hath the quality of dying Linen and white Stuffs into a dark brownish colour 6 That their Fruits lie at the top of the stem like great clusters or posies And lastly that their leaves which are about four foot or more in length and a foot and a half in breadth may serve for Napkins and Towels and being dried make a soft kind of Couch or Bed to lie upon These two shrubs have this further resemblance that which way soever their fruit be cut when it is come to maturity the meat of them which is white as snow represents in the middle the form of a Crucifix especially when it is cut in thin slices Hence the Spaniards are so superstitious as to think it a kind of mortal sin to use a knife about it and are scandalised to see any thing employed about it but the teeth But there is this to be said particularly of the Banana-tree 1 That its fruit is in length about twelve or thirteen inches a little bending towards the extremity much about the bigness of a man's arm whereas that of the Figtree is but half as big and about six inches in length 2 The Banana-tree hath not in its posy or cluster above 25 or 30 Bananas at the most which do not lie over-close one to another but the Figtree hath many times 120 Figs which lie so close together that they can hardly be gotten asunder 3 The meat of the Bananas is firm and solid and may be dressed either by roasting it under the embers or boiling it in a Pot with meat or preserved and dried in an Oven or in the Sun and afterwards easily kept But the ●ig being of a soft substance hath not the same conveniences To get in these fruits the trees which it seems bear but once are cut at the very foot and the great cluster is supported by a ●ork that it may not be bruised in the falling But they are seldom cut till some of the fruits of each cluster be turned a little yellowish for that is a sign of their maturity and then being carried into the house those which were green ripen by degrees and so they have every day new fruit The cluster is commonly as much as a man can well carry nay sometimes it is laid on a Leaver and carried upon their shoulders between two as that bunch of Grapes which the Spies of the Israelites brought out of the Land of Canaan Some have thought this fruit so excellent and delicate that they have imagined it to be the same which God forbade our first Parents to eat of in Paradise accordingly they have named it Adam's Figtree or the Fruit-tree of Paradise the leaf of these Reeds being of the largeness we have before described may indeed be allowed very fit to cover the nakedness of our first Parents and as to the figure of the Crucifix which may be seen within the fruit when it is cut we leave it to find work for their profound speculations who busy their thoughts in searching out the secrets of Nature There are some who affirm that the figure of a Cross is also marked in the seed of the Herb commonly called Rue The small Gentiana or Cruciata hath the leaves disposed in the form of a Cross upon its stalk and it is to be acknowledged that Nature as it were sporting herself hath been pleased to make several such representations in Plants and Flowers Hence it comes that some have the resemblance of Hair others of Eyes others of Ears others of a Nose a Heart a Tongue a Hand and some other parts of the Body There are in like manner divers famous Plants which seem to represent several other things as Eagles Bees Serpents Cats-clawes Coxcombs Bears-ears Harts-horns Darts and the like whence many times those Plants derive their names from the said resemblance But of these it is besides our design to give any account CORAL-WOOD THere is also in several of the Islands a little shrub which bears a seed as red as any Coral it grows in bunches at the extremity of its branches which derive an extraordinary lustre from it But these little seeds have a small black spot at one end which disfigures them and abates much of their esteem with some others on the contrary affirm that that diversity of colours makes them more delightful to the Eye This may be called the Coral-tree The seeds are used for Bracelets JASMIN and CANDLE-WOOD THe shrubs called by some Jasmin and Candle-wood may be numbered among those that are considerable in these Islands The former bears a small white flower which perfumes all about it with its sweet scent and thence it had the name The other casts forth so pleasant and sweet a scent when its wood is burnt dry and does so easily take fire and gives so clear a flame by reason of a certain Aromatic Gum lying within it that it is with reason sought after by the Inhabitants for their firing and to serve them for a Candle or Torch in the night time CHAP. X. Of the Plants Herbs and Roots growing in the Caribbies HAving in the former Chapters represented the Trees and Shrubs wherewith these Islands are richly furnished we come now to the Description of several rare Plants Herbs and Roots whereby they are also abundantly supplied PYMAN THe Plant called by the French and others Pyman or American Pepper is the same which the natural Inhabitants of the Country call Axi or Carive it grows close like a little Briar without any prickles the stem of it is covered with an Ash-coloured rind and bears several little boughs loaden with an infinite multitude of leaves which are pretty long full of jags and of a grass-green colour Of these there are three kinds differing only in the figure of the husk or cod or the fruit they bear One bears only a little red button somewhat long like a Clove within which there are very small seeds much hotter than the Spices brought from the Levant and in a manner caustick which easily communicates that piquant quality to all things wherein it is used The second kind hath a much larger and longer Cod which when ripe is of a perfect Vermilion colour and being used in Sauces it makes them yellow as Saffron would do The third hath yet a larger Cod than the precedent which is thick enough red as any Coral and not smooth in all parts The seed which is not so biting nor so spicy as those of the other two kinds lies in the midst of it Being ripe it is one of the most delightful fruits that may be The seed hath been brought over into France and other parts and hath come to perfection but the fruit is not so big as that of America This cod and the seed within it is used instead of pepper because it communicates a certain picquancy to things like that spice But the operations of them differ much for after it hath bitten the tongue and by its acrimony inflamed the  instead of fortifying and warming the stomach it weakens it and causes coldness in it or rather according to the opinions of some Physicians it overheats it and by its caustick virtue weakens it causing coldness in it only by accident inasmuch as it disperses the radical moisture which is the seat of heat Whence it is observed in the Islands that those who ordinarily use it in their meat are subject to pains in the chest and apt to contract a yellow colour TOBACCO THe Plant called Tobacco from the Island Tabago where as some affirm it was first discovered by the Spaniards had also the name Nicotianum from one Nicot a Physician who first used it in Europe and sent it from Portugal into France It was also called Queen-herb hence that being brought from America it was presented to the Queen of Spain as a rare Plant and of extraordinary virtues The Spaniards give it further the title of Holy-herb for the excellent effects they have experienced from it as Garcilasso in his Royal Commentary of the Tncas of Peru lib. 11. ch. 25. affirms Lastly the French call it Petun though the Lery is much displeased at the name affirming that the Plant he saw in Brasil and which the Topinambous call Petun differs very much from our Tobacco The Caribbians in their natural Language call it Youly Heretofore there were known in the Islands but two kinds of Tobacco-Plants commonly called by the Inhabitants Green-Tobacco and Tongu'd-Tobacco from the figure of its leaf but since there have been brought from the Continent the seeds of Virinus and the Tobacco of the Amazons they are divided into four kinds The two former are of a great produce but the two others are more esteemed by reason of their sweet scent All these kinds of Tobacco-Plants grow in the Islands to the height of a man and higher if their growth be not checked by cutting off the tops of their stems They bear good store of leaves which are green long downy on the lower side and seem in the handling as if they were oiled Those which grow towards the stock of the Plant are larger and longer as deriving more nourishment from the moisture of the root At the tops they shoot forth little branches which bear a flower like a small Bell which is of a clear violet colour And when that flower is dry there comes into its place a little button wherein is contained the seed which is of a brownish colour and very small There are sometimes found under the leaves and branches of this Plant the nests of the little Birds called Colibris which we shall describe in its proper place INDIGO THe material of which is made the Dying commodity called Indigo is got from a Plant which grows not above two foot and a half above the ground It hath but a small leaf of a grass-green colour inclining to yellow when it is ripe The flower is reddish It grows from the seed which is sown by trenches in a straight line It hath a very bad scent quite contrary to that growing in Madagascar which bears small flowers of a purple colour mixed with white which smell well GINGER OF all the Spices of the Levant that have been planted in America only Ginger hath thrived and come to perfection 'T is the root of a Plant which grows not much above ground having green long leaves like those of Reeds and Sugarcanes The root spreads itself not in depth but in breadth and lies near the surface like a hand encompassed by many fingers whence the Inhabitants of the Islands call it a Paw This Plant may be propagated by the seed or as is most commonly done by certain small roots which grow like so many strings all about the old stem and the greater roots as there do about Skirretts It grows with ease in all the Islands especially at S. Christopher's many Inhabitants of which Island have planted it and traded in it with advantage since Tobacco came to so low a rate POTATO THe Potato is a root much like the Saligots growing in Gardens which are called Topinambous or Jerusalem Artichokes but of a much more excellent taste and more wholesome Those Topinambous or Artichokes which are now not only very common in most parts but cheap and slighted as being a tteatment for the poorer sort were heretofore accounted delicacies For in some extraordinary Entertainments made at Paris by the Princes to certain Ambassadors in the Year M. DC XVI they were served up among the most exquisite dishes But the Potato is infinitely beyond it It thrives best in a light ground somewhat moist and well ordered It shoots forth abundance of soft leaves of a very dark green in figure like those of spinach They spring from certain fibres which creep along the ground and in a short time overrun the place where it is sown And if the ground be well ordered these fibres within a certain time frame divers roots by the means of certain whitish filaments which shoot forth below the knots and easily fasten into the earth It bears a flower near the same colour with the root and like a bell within which lies the seed But commonly to propagate this fruit they take only of these strings or fibres which lie scattered all over the ground as we said and thrust them into ground prepared for them and at the end of two or three months they will have produced their root which hath this further virtue that being cut into small pieces and thrust into the ground it produceth its root and leaf as effectually as if the seed lay in each of its least parts These roots are of several colours and in the same piece of ground there will be some white ones which are the most ordinary some of a violet colour some red as beetroots some yellow and some marbled They are all of an excellent taste For provided they be not full of water and grew in a ground moderately moist and dry that is participating of both they taste like Chest-nuts and are a better nourishment than the Cassava which dries up the body for they are not so dry Some as particularly the English use these roots instead of bread and Cassava and to that purpose bake them under the Embers or upon the coals For being so prepared they are of a better taste and are cleared of that windy quality which is commonly observed to be in most roots But for the most part they are boiled or stewed in a great iron pot into which there is a little water put to keep the bottom from burning then the potlid is set on as close as may be that they may stew by that smothered heat This is the ordinary treatment of the Servants and Slaves of the Country who eat them out of the pot with a sauce made of Pyman and juice of Oranges If this root were not so common it would be more esteemed The Spaniards think it a delicacy and dress it with butter sugar nutmeg and cinnamon Others make a pottage of it and putting into it some fat pepper and ginger account it an excellent dish But most of the Inhabitants of the Islands trouble not themselves so much about the dressing of it There are some will gather the tender extremities of the aforesaid strings and having boiled them eat them as a Salad like the tops of Asparagus or Hops ANANAS' THe Ananas or Pineapple is accounted the most delicious fruit not only of these Islands but of all America It is so delightful to the eye and of so sweet a scent that Nature may be said to have been extremely prodigal of what was most rare and precious in her Treasury to this Plant. It grows on a stalk about a foot high encompassed by about 15 or 16 leaves as long as those of some kinds of Thistles broad as the Palm of a man's hand and in figure like those of Aloes they are pointed at the extremity as those of Corn-Gladen somewhat hollow in the midst and having on both sides little prickles which are very sharp The fruit which grows between these leaves straight up from the stalk is sometimes about the bigness of a Melon its figure is much like that of a Pineapple its rind which is full of little compartments like the scales of fish of a pale-green colour bordered with Carnation upon a yellow ground hath on the outside several small flowers which according to the different Aspects of the Sun seem to be of so many different colours as may be seen in the Rainbow as the fruit ripens most of these flowers fall But that which gives it a far greater lustre and acquired it the supremacy among Fruit is that it is crowned with a great Posy consisting of flowers and several leaves solid and jagged about which are of a bright red colour and extremely add to the delightfulness of it The Meat or Pulp which is contained within the rind is a little fibrous but put into the mouth is turned all to juice it hath so transcendent a taste and so particular to itself that those who have endeavoured to make a full description of it not able to confine themselves to one comparison have borrowed what they thought most delicate in the Peach the Strawberry the Muscadine-grape and the Pippin and having said all they could been forced to acknowledge that it hath a certain particular taste which cannot easily be expressed The virtue or shoot by which this fruit may be perpetuated lies not in its root nor yet in a small red seed which is many times found in its Pulp but in that Garland wherewith it is covered for as soon as it is put into the ground it takes root shoots forth leaves and at the years end produces new fruit It happens sometimes that these fruits are charged with three posies or crowns all which have the virtue of propagating their species but every stalk bears fruit but once a year There are three or four kinds of them which the Inhabitants distinguish by the colour figure or scent to wit the White-Ananas the Pointed and that called the Pippin or Renette This last is more esteemed than the other two inasmuch as being ripe it hath as to the taste all the rare qualities before described it hath also a sweeter scent than the others and does not set the teeth so much on edge The natural Indians of the Country and the French who live in the Islands make of this fruit an excellent drink not much unlike Malmsey when it hath been kept a certain time there is also made of it a liquid Conserve which is one of the noblest and most delicate of any brought out of the Indies they also cut the rind into two pieces and it is preserved dry with some of the thinnest leaves and then the pieces are neatly joined together again and they ice it over with Sugar by which means the figure of the fruit and leaves is perfectly preserved and there may be seen in those happy Countries notwithstanding the heats of the Torrid Zone a pleasant representation of the sad productions of Winter In Physic the Virtues of it are these The juice does admirably recreate and exhilarate the Spirits and comfort the Heart it also fortifies the Stomach cureth Queasiness and causeth Appetite it gives present ease to such as are troubled with the Stone or stoppage of Urine nay it destroys the force of Poison If the fruit be not procurable the root will do the same effects The water extracted from it by distilling hath a quicker and more effectual operation but in regard it is too corrosive and offends the mouth  and uretory vessels it must be very moderately used and with the advice of an able Physician who knows how to correct that Acrimony SUGARCANES THe Reed which by its delicious juice supplies that substance whereof Sugar is made hath leaves like those of other Reeds which grow in Marshes and near Ponds but only they are a little longer and sharper for if they be not taken with a certain care and sleight they will cut a man's hands like a Razor It is called the Sugar-Cane and grows up in height between five and six foot and two inches about it is divided by several knots which are commonly four or five inches distant one from another and the greater the distance is between the knots the more Sugar are the Canes apt to yield The leaves of it are long green and grow very thick in the midst whereof rises the Cane which also at the top is loaden with several pointed leaves and one kind of knot of them which contains the seed it is as full as it can be of a white and juicy pith out of which is drawn that liquor that makes the Sugar It thrives extremely in a fat soil so it be light and somewhat moist it is planted in trenches made at equal distances one from another either with a Ho or a Blow about half a foot deep Having there laid the Canes being ripe they cover them with earth and a little while after out of every knot shoots forth a root and out of that a stem which produces a new Cane As soon as it appears above ground it must be carefully weeded all about that the weeds choke it not but as soon as it hath covered the ground it secures itself and keeps its footing as well as any Copse-wood might do and it may last fifty years without being renewed so the main root be sound and not injured by the worm for if there be any jealousy of that the remedy is to take up the whole Plant as soon as may be and to order it all anew Though the Canes be ripe at the end of nine or ten months yet will they not be any way prejudiced if continued in the ground two years nay sometimes three after which they decay But the best and surest way is to cut them every year as near the ground as may be and below the last knot or joint Those who cross the Fields when these Canes are come to maturity may refresh themselves with the juice of them which is an excellent beverage and hath the same taste with the Sugar But if it be taken immoderately it may occasion fluxes and looseness especially to such as are newly come into the Country for those who by a long abode there are in a manner naturalised are not so subject to that inconvenience There grow also in some of these Islands those neat and precious Canes which are used in walking naturally marbled and enameled with several figures The sides of great Ponds and all Fenny and Marshy places are also furnished with a big sort of Reeds which grow up very high and very strait whereof the Inhabitants commonly make the partitions of their Houses and use them instead of Lats for the covering of them The Indians also make use of the tops of these Canes in the making of their Arrows CHAP. XI Of some other rare Productions of the Caribbies and several sorts of Pulse and Flowers growing in those Islands HAving spoken of the Plants Herbs and Roots considerable for their Leaves Fruits or Virtues we now come to treat of some other rare Productions of these Islands for the most part not known in Europe RAQVETTES THat which the French call Raquettes from the figure of its leaves which are like a Racket is a great thorny bush creeping along the earth and not able to raise itself to any height in regard the stem which is only a leaf grown big in process of time grows not much more than half a foot above ground and though it be big enough yet is it not to be seen till the leaves which are green heavy ill-shaped and about an inch thick and fastened one to another encompassing it be first taken up they are armed with prickles extremely sharp and small and upon some of these long and prickly leaves there grows a fruit about the bigness of a Date-plumb which hath also on the outside several very small prickles which prick their fingers who would gather them being ripe it is read within and without of a Vermilion colour the Huntsmen of these Islands think it very delicate and refreshing but it hath this property that it colours a man's Urine as red as blood as soon as he hath eaten it insomuch that such as are ignorant of this secret imagine they have broken a vein Nay some perceiving that alteration in themselves have taken their Beds out of an imagination that they were very sick Some report that in Peru there is a kind of Plumb which works the same effect nay there are who affirm that they have observed as much after the eating of a Jelly of red Goose-berries Those who have described Tunal which is so much esteemed for the precious Scarlet-dye lying in its leaves make it like the Plant we now describe save that they assign it no fruit Some others have ranked it among those Thistles which bear Figs because the fruit is of that figure and when it is open instead of a stone it hath only small seeds like those of the Fig. There is also another kind of this Plant whereof the fruit is white and of a sweeter and more savoury taste then the red we spoke of before nay there is yet another which no doubt is a kind of Tunal on which there have been seen certain little worms in colour like a Ruby which die Linen or Woollen-Cloth whereon they are crushed into a very fair and lively Scarlet-colour TORCH THe Plant called by the Caribbians Akoulerou some of the European Inhabitants of these Islands call the Torch it is a kind of great Thistle growing like a great bushy Briar furnished of all sides with prickles extremely sharp and small there shoot forth in the midst of it nine or ten stalks without either branches or leaves growing up to the height of nine or ten foot straight and channelled like so many Torches they have also very sharp prickles like so many small Needles which so secure them that they cannot be touched of any side the rind and what is within it is soft and spongy enough Every Torch bears at a certain season of the year between the channels of the stalk certain yellow or violet flowers which are succeeded by a fruit like a great Fig good to eat and delicate enough The Birds love it well but they can only peck at it flying because the prickles hinder them from lighting on any part of the Plant. The Indians get off the fruit with little forks or sticks cleft at one end LIENES THere are several kinds of Plants which creep along the ground or are fastened to Trees nay some which very much obstruct people's passage through the Forests The Inhabitants call them Lienes some are like a great Cable others bear flowers of several colours nay some are loaden with great brownish husks a foot or better in length four or five inches thick and as hard as Oak-bark wherein are contained those curious fruits called Sea-Chestnuts which have the figure of a heart and the pulp taken out are made into Boxes to keep Sneezing powder or any other sweet powder The fruit called by the Inhabitants Lienes-Apples grows on a kind of Willow which is fastened to the greater sort of Trees like Ivy it is about the bigness of a Tennis-ball and covered with a hard shell and a green outside containing within it a substance which being ripe hath the figure and taste of Gooseberries SEMPER-VIVUM THere are in these Islands several kinds of Herbs that never die or wither whereof some grow on trunks of old Trees as Missletoe does on the Oak others grow on the ground and upon rocks They have so much natural moisture that being plucked and hung with their roots upwards in the midst of rooms where they are many times kept as rarities and to recreate the eye they lose nothing of their verdure SENSITIVE PLANTS THere is in the Island Tabago a kind of Herb which besides its perpetual growing is also sensible whence it is called the Sensitive Plant it grows up about a foot and a half in height encompassed with a many leaves in length a foot or better in breadth three fingers jagged almost like those of Fern being at the extremities of a green colour chequered with little brownish or red spots In the season of fruits there grows out of the midst of this Plant a round flower consisting of several leaves standing much after the same order as those of the Marigold but they are of a bright violet colour and being handled have a good scent the nature of this Plant is such that if one pluck off the leaves of it or so much as touch them the whole Plant withers and all the other leaves fall to the ground as if it had been trod under feet and according to the number of the leaves that had been plucked off it will be a longer or shorter time ere it recover that loss There grows such another at Madagascar which the Inhabitants call Haest-vel that is the Living-herb but it is not the same kind as that which may be seen in the King's Garden at Paris for that hath a much lesser leaf and it is neither spotted nor jagged and which is more it bears no flowers besides its leaves being touched close together by a certain kind of contraction whereas that we describe sheds its leaves on the ground There is also another kind of living or sensitive Plant in some of the other Islands it grows sometimes to the height of a shrub it hath many little branches which are at all times loaden with an infinite number of long and narrow leaves which during the rains are enameled with small golden flowers like so many stars But what makes this Plant esteemed one of the rarest and most admirable of any in the world is that as soon as one would fasten on it with his hand it draws back its leaves and wriggles them under its little branches as if they were withered and when the hand is removed and the party gone away some distance from it it spreads them abroad again Some call this Plant the Chaste Herb because it cannot endure to be touched without expressing its resentment of the injury Those who have passed by the Isthmus from Nombre de Dios to Panama relate that there are whole Woods of a Tree called the Sensitive-tree which being touched the branches and leaves start up making a great noise and close together into the figure of a Globe Some years since there was to be seen in the King's Garden at Paris a Sensitive-shrub valued at a very great rate But some body having advised the putting of it in the bottom of a Well to keep it from the cold and the sharpness of Winter it there miserably perished to the great regret of the Curious Of several sorts of PEASE THese Islands are also fruitful in bearing all sorts of Pulse such as are several sorts of Pease and Beans The Savages call them by the general name of Manconti The Pease are in a manner of the same kinds as those growing in Europe those only excepted which are gathered from a little shrub which is about the height of Broom and hath small green and narrow leaves it bears Pease in cod or husks which are fastened to its branches they are green and less than the ordinary ones of an excellent taste and so easily boiled that they need but a walm or two they are called in the Islands The Pease of Angola probably because the seed was brought from that Country There is another kind known by the name of Pease which yet have the figure of Beans they are small enough and of this kind there are some white some black some red or brown all very excellent and are ripe in three months These in S. Christopher's are called English Pease BEANS OF Beans and Fasels there grow in the Caribbies several kinds not to be seen in the Western parts of Europe The most common are white to which the first Inhabitants gave an undecent name by reason of their figure their fruit may be eaten six weaks after they are planted others are of several pretty colours as those which are called Roman-Beans or Lombardy-Beans But the most considerable for their rarity are those called the Sevenyears Beans because the same stalk bears seven years one after another and spreads itself over Trees Rocks and whatever it can fasten on and what is to be yet further admired is that at all times during the said term of years it bears flowers green fruit and ripe fruit So that he who sees it may well admire Spring Summer Autumn in one bough conspire The same thing is affirmed of a certain Tree in Egypt called Pharaohs Figtree on which there may be seen at all time's fruit fully ripe fruit ripening and fruit newly knit Orange-trees have the same advantage Plants useful in Physic OF Plants useful in Physic there are many kinds in these Islands whereof the virtues and temperament are not yet well known and some others which are also to be had from other places Such as are Scolopendria and a kind of Aloes and several sorts of Maidenhair There are also some whereof trial hath been made and they have been endued with great virtues among which the most esteemed are the Sweet-Rush the Balisier and the Dart-Herb SWEET-RUSH THe Sweet-Rush is like other Rushes which grow near Ponds and Rivers but it hath a round root about the bigness of a Small-nut which casts a sweet scent like that of the Flower-de-luce and being dried in the shade and beaten to powder hath a miraculous virtue to help Women in Labour if they take but a small dose of it BALISIER THe Balisier grows bigger and higher according to the soil it meets with but it thrives best in moist places The leaves of it are so large that the Caribbians in case of necessity cover their little Huts therewith They are also applied to abate and mollify the inflammations of wounds and to make baths for such as have had their Nerves crushed or have contracted any other weakness The flower of it which grows like a Plume of Feathers consisting of several yellow or red cups are succeeded by certain buttons which are full of seeds as big as Pease and so smooth and hard that Beads are made of them DART-HERB THe Dart-Herb is a sad kind of Herb for in the day time the leaves lie close together and in the night they are spread abroad its leaves which are of a bright-green are about six or seven inches long and three broad the root of it pounded and applied on the wound takes away the venom of poisoned Darts POTHERBS MOst of the Potherbs growing in several parts of Europe grow also in these Islands 'T is true there are some as Cabbages and Onions will not bear seed yet is there no want of them The Cabbages being ripe shoot forth many slips which transplanted produce others which come to be as fair and as large as if they grew from the seed And for Onions there are good store brought in the Ships which produce abundance of Chibols and those only are commonly used in Pottage and with Pease MELONS THere is also abundance of ordinary Melons the seed whereof is brought thither from these parts but by reason of the heat of the Country they grow more easily ripe the meat is firmer and of a better taste and they have a sweeter scent And what is a greater advantage they are to be had at any time in the year WATER-MELONS THere grows in these Countries another kind of Melons which are common in Italy but must needs be incomparably better in Egypt and the Levant There grow of them also in some parts of France but they are naught they are called Water-Melons because they are full of a sugared water intermingled with their meat which ordinarily is of a Vermilion colour and red as blood about the heart wherein are contained their seed which is also of the same colour and sometimes black their rind continues always green and without any scent so that it is rather by the stalk then the fruit that their ripeness is to be discovered they are sometimes bigger than a man's head either round or oval they are eaten without Salt and though a man feed liberally on them yet do they not offend the stomach but in those hot Countries they are very cooling and cause appetite They plant also in these Island Mays otherwise called Spanish-Wheat or Turkey-Wheat all sorts of Millet Cucumbers Citrulls Red-Parsnips and other Roots all which are of an excellent taste LILIES NOr is it to be doubted but that the flowers of these Countries are very beautiful and admirable for their scent Among others there is a kind of White-Lilly that smells extremely well for the scent of it is like that of Jessemine but so communicative of itself that there needs but one flower to perfume a whole Room The round top and the leaves are like those of the Lilies of France but the flower hath its leaves dispersed and divided into little Labels as if they had been cut with a pair of Scissors there are also other Lilies which differ in nothing from our Yellow and Orange-colour Lilies PASSION-FLOWER THere is another Plant in these Islands famous for the beauty of its leaves the sweet scent of its flowers and the excellency of its fruit The Spaniards call it Grenadile the Dutch Rhang-Appel and the French La Fleur de la Passion that is The Passion-Flower because it bears that rare flower wherein may be seen not without admiration some of the Instruments of our Blessed Saviour's Passion plainly represented 'T is true some curious Persons who have attentively considered it do affirm that they have observed therein a certain resemblance of the Crown of Thorns the Scourges the Nails the Hammer and the Pillar but they add withal that most of those things are therein represented or figured much after the same manner as Virgins Lions and Bears are seen among the Celestial Bodies so that to find all these representations of the Passion in those flowers they say with Acosta in his History Lib. 4. Ch. 27. that there is some piety requisite to help on the belief of some of them There are several sorts of them all which have this common that if they meet not with some Tree to fasten themselves too they creep along the ground as Ivy doth that their flowers are displayed after Sunrising and close again before it sets and that they bear a delicate and very refreshing fruit but the leaves flowers and fruits of some are so different as to their outward figure that it is not to be wondered if the Authors who treat of this Plant imagining there had been but one kind agree not in their descriptions thereof The Inhabitants of Brasil number seven kinds thereof but in the Caribbies there are but those two known which are represented among the Sculps of this Chapter One hath very large leaves which are divided into five lesser leaves whereof that in the midst is round at the top and the four others pointed its flower being fully blown is bigger than a Rose it is enclosed near the stem in three little green leaves the body consists of several other beautiful leaves whereof some are of a Sky-colour chequered with little red pricks which have the figure of a Crown and others are of a purple colour All this fair flower is encompassed with an infinite number of small waving filaments which are as it were the beams of this little Sun among the flowers they are enameled with White Red Blue Carnation and several other lively colours which contribute an admirable grace thereto The other kind hath also its leaves divided into five parts as the former but its flower which is like a little bowl bordered above with little white and red strings is not so large within it is adorned with white pointed leaves there shoots as it were out of the heart of both these kinds of Passion-Flowers a small round Pillar which hath on its chapter a button beset with three grains somewhat like Cloves From this Pillar there issue out also five white strings which support little yellow knobs like those which may be seen in the cavity of the Lilies and these they say represent our Saviour's five wounds These flowers which are of a sweet scent falling off the button that is on the pillar grows so big that it comes to be a fair yellow fruit smooth and about the bigness of an ordinary Apple The rind of it is as thick as that of a Pomegranate and it is full of a certain juice very delicious to the taste among which there is a great number of kernels which are black and extremely hard This fruit is prescribed as a sovereign refreshment to such as are in Fevers and it hath been found by experience that it hath a singular virtue to retrieve lost Appetite to comfort the vital Spirits and to abate the heat of the Stomach The Inhabitants of Brasil are very careful in the cultivation of this Plant using it as a singular ornament for the covering of their Arbours and other places in their Gardens for its leaves and flowers make a very delightful shade and they make of the fruit a cordial syrup which is highly esteemed among them upon this account that besides the properties assigned it in our description it hath also this remarkable quality that those who are once accustomed to use it shall never have an aversion against it The rind of this fruit and its flowers being preserved work the same effects as the juice MUSK-HERB THere is also an Herb called the Musk-Herb the stalk of it is of a considerable height and it grows very thick and close together as a little Briar or Bush without prickles its leaves are long enough and rough the flowers are yellow very delightful to the eye after the form of a Chalice or little Bell which afterwards becomes a button of a pretty bigness and when it is ripe is of a white Satin colour within and of a Musk-colour without the seed contained within this button is also of the same brownish colour it hath the perfect scent Ch 12. Opassum p 69. p 70 Tatous javaris p 70 Rocquet p 75 p 71. Musk rat p 74 A great lizzard p 75. Anolis of Musk when it is newly gathered And thence is it called Musk-grain and it keeps that scent a long time provided it be kept in a dry place and in some vessel where it may take no air In like manner several other Herbs several Shrubs nay most of those Lienes or Withies which creep among the bushes and fasten for their support on the Trees growing in the Caribbies bear flowers as fair and delightful to the eye as they are sweet and acceptable to the nostril insomuch that many times as a man crosses through the Fields he may come to places where the Air is perfumed all about CHAP. XII Of five kinds of fourfooted Beasts found in these Islands BEfore the Spaniards and Portuguez had planted Colonies in America there were not in those parts any Horses Kine Oxen Sheep Goats Swine or Dogs But for the better convenience of their Navigations and supply of their Ships in case of necessity they left some of these creatures in several parts of that newfound World where they have since multiplied so exceedingly that now they are more common there then in any part of Europe Besides these Foreign kinds of Cattle there were before in these Islands certain sorts of fourfooted beasts such as are the Opassum the Javaris the Tatau the Agouty and the Musk-Rat whereof we shall here give the several descriptions OPASSUM THe Opassum is the same creature which the Brasilians call Carigueya about the bigness of a Cat it hath a sharp Snout the nether Jaw being shorter than the upper as a Pigs the Ears long broad and straight and the Tail long Hairless towards the extremity and turning downwards the Hair on the Back is black intermixed with grey and under the Belly and about the Throat it is yellowish it hath very sharp Claws and thence doth easily climb up Trees he feeds on Birds and loves a Hen as well as the Fox does but for want of prey he can make a shift to live on fruits What is particular in this Creature is that by a remarkable difference it hath a purse or bag of its own skin folded together under its Belly in which it carries its young ones which it leaves upon the ground when it pleases by opening that natural purse when he would leave that place he opens it again and the young ones get in and so he carries them with him wherever he goes The Female su●kleses them without setting them on the ground for her Teats lie within that purse which on the inside hath a much softer skin than that which appears without The Female commonly brings six young ones but the Male who hath such another natural purse under his Belly carries them in his turn to ease the Female but cannot suckle them These creatures are common in Virginia and New-Spain Nature having not thought fit to bestow on the Whale the convenience of such a bag gave her the invention of hiding her young ones in her Throat as Philostratus affirms And the Weasil is so fond of her young ones that out of a fear they might be taken from her she also takes them into her mouth and removes them from one place to another JAVARIS THere is also in some of these Islands as at Tabago a kind of wild Swine which are to be seen in like manner in Brasil and Nicaragua they are in most things like the wild Boars in our Forests but have very little fat they have short Ears almost no Tail and their Navels are on their Backs some of them are all black others have certain white spots their grunting is also more hideous than that of tame Swine they are called Javaris This Venison is of a taste good enough but very hardly taken in regard the Boar having a kind of vent or hole on the Back by which he refreshes his Lungs is in a manner indefatigable and if he beforced to stop and be pursued by the Dogs he is armed with such sharp and cutting defensives that he tears to pieces all those that shall set upon him TATOUS THe Tatous or Hedgehogs which also are to be seen in Tabago are armed with a hard skaly coat wherewith they cover and secure themselves as with armour They have a Head and Snout like a Pig and with the latter they turn up the ground they have also in every Paw five very sharp Claws which they use the more readily to thrust away the earth and discover the roots wherewith they are fattened in the night time Some affirm that their flesh is a very delicate meat and that there is a small bone in their Tails which helps Deafness It hath been confirmed by experience that it helps the Noise or Humming and cures the pain of the Ear being thrust into it in a little Cotton some of these are as big as Foxes but those which are in Tabago are much less When these creatures are pursued and when they take their rest which they commonly do in the day time they close together like a bowl and so dextrously get in their feet head and ears under their hard scales that all parts of their body are by that natural armour secured against all the attempts of both Huntsmen and Dogs and if they are near some precipice they roll themselves down without fear of receiving any hurt thereby Linscot relates that in the East-Indies in the river of Goa there was a Sea-monster taken which was covered all over with scales as hard as any Iron and when it was touched it closed together as it were into a ball AGOUTY THe Agouty is of a dark colour inclining to black having a rough light hair and a little tail without any hair it hath two teeth in the upper jaw and as many in the nether It holds its meat in the two fore-pawes like a Squirrel the cry of it is as if it distinctly pronounced the word Coüye 'T is hunted with Dogs and its flesh though tasting somewhat rank is by many preferred before that of Coneys When it is hunted it gets into hollow Trees out of which it is forced by smoke made after it hath cried strangely if it be taken young it is easily tamed and when he is angered the hair on his back stands up and he strikes the ground with his hind-feets as Coneys do He is much about the same bigness but his ears are short and round and his teeth as sharp as a Razor MUSK-RAT THe Musk-Rats have commonly their abode in Holes or Berries in the ground like Coneys and they are much about their bigness but as to their figure it differs not from that of the great Rats which are to be seen elsewhere save that most of them have the hair of their belly white like Dormice and that of the rest of their bodies black or tawny there comes from them a scent sweet as Musk which causes a certain dejection of spirit and makes such a strong perfume about their holes that it is very easy to find them out The Continent of America hath many kinds of fourfooted Beasts which are not to be found in any of the Islands CHAP. XIII Of the Reptiles found in these Islands WE come now to treat of the Reptiles which being naturally enemies to cold must needs exceedingly multiply in these hot Countries Besides the vast Woods and the Rocks of these Islands very much advance their production in regard they afford them secure retreats Several kinds of Serpents and Snakes THere are indeed very few venomous Beasts in the Caribbies though there be many Serpents and Snakes of several colours and figures There are some nine or ten foot long and as big as a man's arm or thigh Nay there hath been heretofore killed one of these Snakes which had in her belly a whole Hen feathers and all and above a dozen eggs the Hen having been surprised as she was sitting Another was found that had devoured a Cat whence a guess may be made at their bigness But how prodigious soever they are as to their bulk yet are they not venomous in most of these Countries Nay some Inhabitants having of them on the thatch of their houses which is commonly of Palm-leaves or Sugarcanes drive them not thence because they force away and devour the rats But we must acknowledge withal that there is an hostility between them and the Poultry It hath been observed that some of them have been so subtle as having surprised a Hen sitting not to meddle with her during that time but assoon as the chickens are hatched they devour them and kill the Hen if they be not able to swallow her down whole There are others very fair and delightful to the eye for they are green all over save that under the belly they are of a very light grey They are about an ell and a half in length and sometimes two but proportionably to that length they are very small as being at most not above an inch about They feed either on Frogs which they find near some brooks or on Birds which they surprise on the Trees or in their nests when they meet with them Accordingly this kind of Snake is accounted noble in comparison of the others for it subsists by its fishing and hunting Some of the Inhabitants who have been used to see all these kinds of Snakes handle them without any fear and carry them in their bosoms Those who have travelled into Asia and Africa affirm that they have there met with somewhat of the like nature For they relate that in Great Tartary there are mountains where may be seen Serpents of a prodigious bulk but not venomous at all nay they are good meat And that in the Kingdom of Sir some of these Creatures have been seen playing with children who fed them with bread It is said also that in the Provinces of the Ants in the Kingdom of Peru there are dreadful Snakes between 25 and 30 foot in length which never hurt any body As to the Islands of Martinico and S. Alousia it is otherwise for there some are not dangerous at all others are very much so Those which are not are bigger and longer than the others whence it comes that those who know them not are more afraid of them then of such as should really be feared Yet do they not any harm nay assoon as they perceive any body they make all the haste they can away which hath occasioned their being called the fugitive Snakes They are also easily distinguished from the others by the black and white spots on their backs Of the dangerous Snakes there are two kinds Some are grey on the back and to the feeling like velvet others are all yellow or red and dreadful to look upon by reason of that colour though they be not more dangerous nay haply less than the former Both kinds are great lovers of rats as well as those without venom and when a Cott is much pestered with rats 't is strange if there be not also Snakes about it They are of different bigness and length and it is conceived the shortest are most to be feared Their heads are flat and broad their jaws extremely wide and armed with eight teeth and sometimes ten whereof some are forked like a Crescent and so sharp that it is impossible to imagine any thing more And these being all hollow it is by that small channel that they disperse their poison which lies in little purses on both sides of their throat just at the very roots of their teeth They never chew any thing they eat but swallow it down whole after they have crushed and made it flat Some affirm that if they did chew their food they would poison themselves and that to prevent that they cover their teeth with their gums when they take their nourishment These creatures are so venomous in those two Islands that when they have stung any one if there be not a present remedy immediately applied the wound within two hours will be incurable All the commendation can be given them is this that they never sting any one if he do not touch either them or something on which they repose themselves LIZZARDS THere are also in these Islands several kinds of Lizzards The greatest and most considerable are those which some Indians call Iguanas the Brasilians Senembi and our Caribbians Onayamaca Being come to their full growth they are about five foot in length measuring from the head to the extremity of the tail which is as long as all the rest of the body and for their bigness they may be a foot about their skins are of several colours according to the different soils they are bred in Hence it is probably that the Portuguez have called them Cameleons out of an imagination that they were a species of that creature In some Islands the Females are of a light green chequered with black and white spots and the Males are grey In others these last are black and the Females of a light grey intermixed with black and green Nay in some places both Males and Females have all the little scales of their skin so glittering and as it were studded that seen at a distance one would think them clothed in rich cloth of gold or silver They have on their backs prickles like combs which they force up and let down as they please and appear less and less from the head to the end of the tail They go on four feet each whereof hath five claws which have very sharp nails They run very fast and are excellent at the climbing of Trees But whether it be that they love to look on men or are of a stupid unapprehensive nature when they are perceived by the Huntsmen they patiently expect without stirring till they are shot Nay they suffer to be put about their necks that gi'en with a running knot which is fastened to the end of a pole that is often used to get them off the Trees where they rest themselves when they are angry a certain craw they have under their throat swells and makes them seem the more formidable Their jaws are very wide their tongues thick and they have some very sharp teeth they will hardly let go what they have once fastened on with their teeth but they are not venomous at all The Females lay eggs about the bigness of those of Woodquists but the shell is soft they lay them deep enough under the sand on the Seaside and leave them to be hatched by the Sun whence some Authors have ranked them among the Amphibious creatures The Savages taught the Europaeans the way to take these Lizzards and by their own examples encouraged them to eat thereof They are very hard to kill insomuch that some having received three shots of a Gun and thereby lost some part of their entrails would not fall And yet if a small stick be thrust into their noses or a pin between their eyes where there is a little hole into which the pin easily enters they presently die The Caribbians are very dextrous in the taking of them by a Gin with a running knot which they cunningly get about their necks or having overtaken them by running they lay hold on them with one hand by the tail which being very long gives them a good hold and before they can turn back to bite them they take them by the chine-piece of the neck and then having turned their paws on their backs they bind them and so keep them alive above fifteen days without giving them any sustenance Their flesh is white and in some places over-laid with fat Those who are accustomed to it think it very delicate especially the luscious taste it naturally is of being taken away by good Spices and some piquant sauce yet is it not safe to eat often thereof because it over-dries the body and abates somewhat of the good constitution thereof the eggs have no white but are all yolk which makes the Pottage they are used in as excellent as our Hens-egges might do Besides these greater forts of Lizzards there are in these Islands four others which are much less and these are called Anolis Roquets Maboujats and Gobe-monches or Flycatchers ANOLIS THe Anolis are very common in all the Plantations they are about the bigness and length of the Lizzards seen in France but they have a longer head the skin yellowish and on their backs they have certain blue green and grey streaks drawn from the top of the head to the end of the tail their abode is in holes under ground whence in the night time they make a very loud and importunate noise In the day time they are in perpetual exercise and they only wander about Cottages to get somewhat to subsist on ROQUETS THe Roquets are less than the Anolis their skin is of the colour of a withered leaf marked with little yellow or blackish points they go on four feet whereof the fore-feets are high enough their eyes are very lively and sparkling their heads are always lifted up and they are so active that they perpetually leap up and down like Birds when they would not make use of their wings their tails are so turned up towards their backs that they make a circle and a half They love to see men and if they stay where they are they will ever and anon be staring on them when they are a little pursued they open their mouths and put out their tongues like little Hounds MABOUJATS THe Maboujats are of several colours those which have their abode in rotten Trees and fenny places as also in deep and narrow Valleys into which the Sun pierces not are black and extremely hideous which no doubt occasioned their being called by the same name the Savages give the Devil their bigness commonly is little more than an inch their length six or seven the skins of them all are as if they were oiled COBE-MOUCHES THose which the French call Gobe-Mouches that is in English Fly-cathers from their most ordinary exercise and the Caribbians Oulleouma are the least of all the Reptiles in these Islands they are in figure like those the Latins call Stel●●oneses some of them seem to be covered with fine gold or silver Brocado others with a mixture of green gold and several other delightful colours they are so familiar that they come boldly into rooms where they do no mischief nay on the contrary they clear them of Flies and such Vermin This employment they perform with such dexterity and nimbleness that the sleights and designs of Huntsmen are nothing compared to those of this little Beast for he skulks down and stand as it were Sentinel on a plank or some other thing that is higher than the floor where he hopes the Fly will light and perceiving his prey he keeps his eye always fixed upon it putting his head into as many different postures as the Fly shifts places and standing up on his fore-feets and gaping after it he half opens his little wide mouth as if he already devoured and swallowed it by hope Nay though there be a noise made in the room and some body come near him he is so attentive on his game that he quits not his post and having at last found his advantage he starts so directly on his prey that he very seldom misses it It i● an innocent divertisement to consider with what earnestness and attention these little creatures shift for their livelihood Besides they are so tame that they will come upon the Table while people are eating and if they perceive a Fly they will attempt the taking of it even upon their Trenchers who sit at Table nay upon their hands or  and they are suffered to do so because they are so smooth and cleanly that their passing over the meat creates no aversion to those who are to eat of it in the night time they bear a part in the Music made by the Anolis and other little Lizzards And to propagate their species they lay small Eggs as big as Pease which having covered with a little earth they leave to be hatched by the Sun as soon as they are killed which is very easy by reason of their attention in pursuit of their game they immediately lose all their lustre the gold and azure and all the sparkling beauty of their skin vanishes and they become pale and earthy If any one of these Reptiles we have described might be accounted a kind of Chameleon it should be this last named because it easily assumes the colours of those things on which it makes its ordinary residence for those which are seen about young Palm-trees are all green as the leaves of that Tree are those which frequent Orange-trees are yellow as their fruit ● nay there have been some who having much used a Chamber where there was a Bed with Curtains of changeable Taffeta had afterwards an infinite number of young ones which had their bodies enameled with several colours suitably to the furniture of the place to which they had so often had access some haply would have this effect attributed to the force of their little imagination but we leave that speculation to the more addicted to such curious disquisitions LAND-PIKES THere are also in several of these Islands certain creatures which have the perfect figure skin and head of the Fish we call a Pike and therefore may be termed the Land-Pikes but instead of Finns they have four feet which are so weak that they can only crawl along the ground and wind their bodies as Snakes or to keep to our former comparison stir as Pikes after they are taken out of the water The largest are not above fifteen inches in length and proportionably big their skin is covered with little scales which shine extremely and are of a silver-grey colour Some lovers of curiosities have young ones in their Closets which they were persuaded to receive for Salamanders In the night time they make a hideous noise from under the rocks and the bottoms of hollow places where they are lodged It is more sharp and grating to the ear than that of Frogs and Toads and they change their notes according to the variety of the places where they lurk they are seldom seen but a little before night and when any of them are met in the day time their motion which is such as we before described it is apt to frighten the unwary beholder SCORPIONS and other dangerous Reptiles THere are also in these parts Scorpions like those commonly seen in France and other places but they have not so dangerous a venom they are yellow grey or dark-coloured according to the different soils in which they are bred Some who have broken up fenny places for Wells or receptacles for water have often met with a most hideous kind of Lizzards They are in length about six inches the skin of their back is black and beset with small grey scales which by their extraordinary shining a man would think were oiled their bellies are also scaly as well as their backs but the skin which covers it is of a pale yellow their heads are small and picked their mouths are wide enough and furnished with several teeth which are extremely sharp they have two little eyes but not able to endure the light of the day for as soon as they are taken out of the ground they immediately endeavour to make a hole in it with their paws which have each of them five hard and crooked claws wherewith they break the ground just as the Moles do and so make their way whither they please they are very destructive in Gardens gnawing the roots of Trees and Plants their biting is also as venomous as that of the most dangerous Serpent CHAP. XIV Of the Infects commonly seen in the Caribbies NOt only the Heavens and other vast and more excellent parts of Nature declare the glory of their Almighty Maker but even the least and most despicable of his productions do also discover the work of his hands and raise their minds who attentively consider them to a grateful admiration of the greatness of his power and an humble acknowledgement of his Sovereignty Out of a persuasion therefore that there are some who delightfully search into the secrets of Nature and contemplate the wonders of God who out of his inexhaustible treasures hath endued the most inconsiderable of his creatures with so many rich ornaments occult qualities and rare beauties we shall bestow this Chapter on the consideration of certain Infects commonly seen in these Islands all which have some peculiar properties as so many beams of glory to raise them from their natural lowness into some esteem SNAILS Ch 14. p 78. Soldier p 77. Land pike p 83 Palm worm p 89 Horned fly p 76 Fly Catcher A Monstrous spider p 83 p 84. Flying Tiger They are commonly seen in the shells of Periwinkles or great Sea-Snails which they find on the shore whither they are cast by the waves upon the death of the fish which had been the first inhabitant thereof but indeed these little Soldiers are found in all sorts of other shells cast up by the Sea nay even the shells of the Liene-nuts and some have took up their quarters in the claws of great dead Crabs They have this further industry that as they grow bigger they shift shells according to the proportion of their bodies and take a larger into which they enter quitting the former so that they are of several forms and figures according to the diversity of the shells they possess themselves of It is probably of these Soldiers that Pliny speaks under the name of a kind of small Crab to which he attributes the same properties their bodies are very tender except their heads and claws they have instead of a foot and for a defensive weapon some instrument that is like the claw of a great Crab wherewith they close the entrance of their shells and secure their whole body it is all jagged within and it holds so fast whatever it fastens on that it takes away the piece with it This Insect marches faster than the common Snail and fouls not with its foam or sliminess the place over which it hath passed When this Soldier is taken he grows angry and makes a noise to make him quit the habitation he hath taken up there needs only to set him near the fire and immediately he forsakes his Quarters if it be presented to him to get into it again he goes in backwards when there are many of them met together with an intention at the same time to quit their former lodgings and to take up new ones which they are all much inclined to do they enter into a great contestation there happens a serious engagement which is managed with the said clasping instrument till at length the weaker is forced to submit to the victorious who presently possesses himself of the shell which he afterwards peaceably enjoys as a precious conquest Some of the Inhabitants eat of them as the common Snails are eaten in some parts among us but they are more fit for Physic then Food for being got out of their shells there may be extracted from them an oil which is excellent for the curing of cold Gouts and is very successfully used to mollify the hard and callous parts of the body There are besides two other sorts of small Snails which are very beautiful One is flat after the fashion of a Scotchmans' Bonnet and of a dark colour The other is sharp and turned like the Vice of a Press and hath small read yellow or blue streaks or lines for which they are much esteemed by the curious GLOW-WORMS THere are in these Islands several kinds of great Flies of divers figures and colours but we must assign the first place to those which the French call Mouches Lumincuses and we may English Glow-worms Some Savages call them Cucuyos and the Caribbians by a name not much differing from it Coyovyou This Fly is not recommendable for its beauty or figure as having nothing extraordinary as to either but only for its luminous quality they are of a dark colour and about the bigness of a Locust it hath two hard and strong wings under which are two lesser wings very thin which appear not but when it flies and it is then also it may be observed that under those lesser wings there is a brightness like that of a Candle which enlightens all about it besides the eyes of this Insect are so luminous that be it ever so dark it flies any where in the night which is the time that this glittering light may be seen It makes no noise flying and lives only on flowers which it gathers off the Trees Being taken between one's fingers it is so smooth and slippery that by the little endeavours it makes to recover its liberty it insensibly gets away Being kept in captivity it conceals all the light it hath under the wings and communicates only that of its eyes but even that very weakly in comparison of the brightness it sheds being at liberty it hath no sting nor any claw for its defence The Indians are glad to have of them in their houses for they serve them instead of Lamps but indeed of their own accord in the night time they come into those rooms which are not kept too close There are in these Islands certain shining Worms which also fly All parts of Italy and all the other parts of the Levant are also full of them But how famous soever these little Stars of the East may be yet are they but small sparkles in comparison of the great fire which these flying Torches of America cast forth For they do not only guide the Traveller by showing him his way in the night but with the assistance of this light a man may easily write and read the smallest Print that may be A Spanish Historian relates that the Indians of Hispaniola having these Flies fastened to their hands and feet they served them instead of Torches to go a hunting in the night time it is affirmed also by others that some other Indians extract that luminous liquor which these Flies have in their eyes and under their wings and that they rub their faces and breasts therewith in their nocturnal meetings which makes them appear in the dark to the beholders as if they were covered with flames and like dreadful apparitions These Flies are easily taken in the night time and that is done by turning a lighted stick in the air For as soon as those which at the close of the evening are ready to come out of the woods perceive that fire imagining it to be one of their companions they immediately fly to the place where that light appears to them and so they may be either struok down with a Hat or flying of themselves against the lighted stick they fall to the ground not knowing where they are Nor will it be amiss to insert in this place what a learned and curious French Gentleman one Mons du Montel from whose generous liberality came several other remarks which every this History lately writ to a friend of his concerning these Flies Being in the Island of Hispaniola saith he I have often at the beginning of the night walked about the little Huts we had set up for our abode there while our Ship was repairing to consider how that the Air was in some places enlightened by those little wand'ring Stars But the most pleasant sight of all was when they came near those great Trees which bear a kind of Figs and were not far from our Huts for sometimes they flew about them sometimes they would be within the thick boughs which for a time obscured and eclipsed those little Luminaries yet so as that their beams might ever and anon be seen to break through though weakly the interposed leaves those pretty interruptions of light came to us sometimes obliquely sometimes in a strait line and perpendicularly Afterwards those glittering Flies extricating themselves out of the obscurity of those Trees and coming nearer us we had our pleasure heightened by seeing them on the adjacent Orange-trees which they seemed to set a fire gild those beautiful fruits enamelling their flowers and giving such a lustre to their leaves that their naturally delightful verdure was extremely increased by the pleasant combination of so many little lights I wished myself at that time the Art of Painting or Drawing that I might represent a night enlightened and as it were turned into day by so many fires and so pleasant and luminous a piece of Landscape Think it not much that I am so long about the story of a Fly since Du Bartas sometime gave it a place among the Birds and in the fifth Day of his first Week speaks very nobly of it in these terms New-Spain's Cucuyo in his forehead brings Two burning Lamps two underneath his wings Whose shining rays serve oft in darkest night Th' Embroiderer's hand in royal works to light Th' ingenious Turner with a wakeful eye To polish fair his purest Ivory Th' Usurer to count his glistering Treasures The learned Scribe to limne his golden measures If five or six of these Flies were put into a vessel of fine Crystal no doubt the light of them would be answerable to the Poet's description and be a living and incomparable Torch But it is to be noted that these Flies shine not at all when once they are dead their light being extinguished with their lives PHALANGES TO come to the other kinds of great Flies to be seen in these Islands and which some call Phalanges besides the Cucuyos there are some that be much bigger and of a strange figure There are some have two snouts like that of an Elephant one turning upwards the other downwards Some others have three horns one rising out of the back and the other two out of the head The rest of their body as also their horns is black and shines like Jet There are some have one great horn about four inches in length much after the fashion of a Woodcocks bill very smooth on the upper side and covered with a certain downiness on the lower which horn rising out of their back reaches in a direct line to the head on which there is another horn like that of the horned Beetle which is as black as Ebony and transparent as glass The whole body is of the colour of a withered leaf smooth and flourished like Damask their head and mouth are like those of an Ape they have two large yellow and firm eyes a wide mouth and teeth like a little Saw Hear what account our curious Traveller gives of it I have seen saith he one kind of these great Flies which I thought extremely beautiful It was about three inches in length the head of it was azure not unlike that of a Grass-hopper save that the two eyes were as green as an Emerald and encompassed by a small white streak the upper side of the wings was of a bright violet colour damasked with several compartments of carnation heightened by a small natural thread of silver the compartments were disposed with such an exact observance of Symmetry that a man would think that the Compass and the Pencil had in the doing of it employed all the rules of Perspective and the Shadows of Painting The nether part of the body was of the same colour with the head save that there were six black feet neatly bending towards the belly When the wings which were hard and solid were spread abroad there might be seen two other lesser wings which were thinner than any silk and as red as Scarlet This kind of Fly I saw in the Island of S. Croix in the custody of an English Gentleman and I immediately writ down this description of it I thought at first it had been artificial because of that lively Carnation colour and the string of silver but having taken it into my hands I acknowledged that Nature must certainly have been in an excellent good humour and had a mind to divert herself when she bestowed such sumptuous robes on that little Queen among the Infects PALMER-WORM THere is a Worm or Vermin in English called a Palmer in French Millepied thousand footed from the almost infinite multitude of its feet which are as bristles under his body and help him to creep along the ground with incredible swiftness especially when he finds himself pursued This kind of Insect in the Caribbies is about six inches long The upper part of his body is covered all over with swarthy scales which are hard and jointed one within another like the Tiles of a House but what 's dangerous in this creature is that he hath a kind of claws both in his head and tail wherewith he twitches so home and so poisons the place wounded that for the space of four and twenty hours and sometimes longer the party hurt feels a very sharp pain SPIDERS THere are in several of the Islands certain great Spiders which some have ranked among the Phalanges by reason of their monstrous figure and bigness which is so great that when their legs are spread abroad they take up a larger place than the Palm of a man's hand their whole body consists of two parts whereof one is flat and the other of a round figure smaller at one end like a Pigeons egg They have all of them a hole on their back which is as it were their Navel their mouth cannot easily be discerned because it is in a manner covered over with hair which commonly is of a light grey but sometimes intermixed with red it is armed with two sharp tusks which are of a solid matter and of a black colour so smooth and shining that some curious persons have them set in gold for Toothpicks and are highly esteemed by those who know they are endued with a virtue to preserve from pain and all corruption those parts that have been rubbed therewith When these Spiders are grown old they are covered all over with a swarthy Down which is as soft and as close as Velvet their body is supported by ten feet which are a little hairy on the sides and have below certain small points like bristles which help them to fasten more easily on those places up which they would climb All these feet issue out of the forepart of the Insect having each of them four joints and at the ends they are armed with a black and hard horn which is divided into two parts like a fork They every year shift off their old skin as the Serpents do as also the two tusks which serve them for teeth and are their defensive arms those who meet with these precious exuviae may therein observe the perfect figure of their body such as it is represented among the Sculps of this Chapter Their eyes are very little and lie so deep in their heads that they seem to be only two small points they feed on Flies and such vermin and it hath been observed that in some places their Webs are so strong that the little Birds caught in them have had much ado to get away the same thing is affirmed of the Spiders which are found in the Bermudez Islands inhabited by the English It is probable they are of the same kind FLYING-TYGER THere is another Insect called by some the Flying-Tyger because its body is chequered with spots of several colours as the Tiger is It is about the bigness of the horned Beetle The head is sharp and hath two great eyes as green and sparkling as an Emerald his mouth is armed with two hard hooks extremely sharp with which he holds fast his prey while he gets out the substance of it The whole body is covered with a hard and swarthy crustiness which serves him for armour Under his wings which are also of a solid matter there are four lesser wings which are as thin as any silk It hath six legs each whereof hath three joints and they are bristled with certain little prickles In the day time he is continually catching other Infects and in the night he sits on the Trees whence he makes a noise like that of the Cigales BEES and some other Infects THe Bees which are in the Islands differ not much from those of the Southern part of America but both kinds Ch 15. American Swallow p 89. Eagle p 93. Flammant p 88 The Colibry or Humming bird p 93 Craw-fowle p 87 Caat p 88 Pintado p 89. There are also in these Islands horned Beetles or Bull-flies and an infinite number of Grass-hoppers and Butterflies the sight whereof very much delights the eye There are withal both on the ground and in the air several very troublesome and dangerous Infects which extremely annoy the Inhabitants But of these and some other inconveniences we shall give an account in the two last Chapters of this first Book CHAP. XV. Of the more considerable kinds of Birds which may be seen in the Caribbies ALL the works of God speak the magnificence of the Worker the disposal of them declares his wisdom the Earth is full of his productions but we must acknowledge that of all the Creatures not endued with any thing above a sensitive life the Birds do more loudly than any publish his goodness and Providence and by the sweet harmony of their singing the activity of their flight and by the lively colours and beauty of their feathers excite us to praise and glorify that Sovereign Majesty which hath so advantageously adorned and embellished them with so many rare perfections Having therefore in the precedent Chapters treated of the Trees Plants Herbs  Beasts Reptiles and Infects which the Caribby Islands do plentifully produce to furnish the Earth we shall in this Chapter describe the rare Birds which inhabit the Air of these pleasant Countries and enrich the perpetual Verdure of so many precious Trees wherewith they are crowned FRIGATES AS soon as any Ships come near these Islands several Birds which frequent the Sea come to them as if they had been sent to inquire whence they came When the Seamen perceive these Visitants they are satisfied that it will not be long ere they shall see Land Yet are they not to flatter themselves with that hope till they see them coming in great Companies for there is one kind of them which many times fly above two hundred leagues from Land The French have bestowed on them the name of Frigates Frigates because of the continuance and lightness of their flight Their body is about the bigness of a wild Drake's but their wings are very much larger and they make their way through the air with such swiftness that in a very short time they will be out of sight There are several kinds as to their feathers for some are all black others all grey save only the belly and wings in which there are some white feathers They are excellent good at fishing and when they perceive a fish lying even with the water they fail not yet as it were only sporting themselves to seize it and immediately devour it They have a strange dexterity in taking the flying Fishes for as soon as they perceive that that delicate prey makes the water to rise and bubble a little and is just upon the taking of its flight to avoid the cruel pursuits of its Sea-enemies they place themselves so directly on that side on which they should make their sally that as soon as they are out of the water they receive them into their Beaks or Claws So these innocent and unfortunate fishes to avoid the teeth of one enemy many times fall into the claws of another who gives them no better quarter The Rocks which are in the Sea and the little un-inhabited Islands are the places where these Birds make their abode and their nests The meat of them is not much esteemed but their fat is carefully kept it having been found by experience that it helpeth the Palsy and all sorts of cold Gouts FAUVES THe Birds which the French call Fauves that is Fallow by reason of the colour of their back are white under the belly they are about the bigness of the paul d'eau but for the most part so lean that they are valued only for their feathers their feet are like those of Wild-Ducks and their beaks sharp as those of Woodcocks they live on small fishes as the Frigates do but they are the most stupid of any Sea or Land-Fowl in the Islands for whether it be that they are soon weary of flying or take the Ships for moving rocks as soon as they perceive any one especially if it be near night they immediately light in them and suffer themselves to be taken without any trouble HERONS and several other Sea and River-Fowl THere are seen near these Islands and sometimes at a great distance from them in the Sea certain Birds perfectly white whose beaks and feet are as red as Coral they are somewhat bigger than Crows they are conceived to be a kind of Herons because their tails consist of two long and precious feathers by which they are distinguished from all other Birds frequenting the Sea Among the Birds frequenting Rivers and Ponds there are found in these Country's Plovers Duckers Moore-hens or Coats Wild-Ducks and Wild Geese as also a kind of Ducks which having the whole body as white as snow have their beaks and feet as black as may be and a kind of Herons of an admirable whiteness about the bigness of a Pigeon but beaked like a Woodcock they live on fish and delight in sandy places and on rocks They are much sought after for that precious Plume of fine Feathers soft as any silk which is had from them but inasmuch as all these are common in other places we may forbear the descriptions thereof CRAW-FOWL THere is in all these Islands a large Bird which lives only on fish it is about the bigness of a great Duck and the feathers are of an Ash-colour and hideous to the eye it hath a long and flat beak a great head small eyes deep set in his head and a neck short enough under which hangs a kind of craw or bag so big that it may contain a great pale of water From which description we may call him the Craw-Fowl as the French have properly termed him Grand-gosier These Birds are commonly found upon Trees on the Seaside where they lie in ambush to discover their prey for as soon as they perceive a fish as it were between wind and water so as that they have them at advantages they fall upon it and seize it they will swallow down great fishes whole they are also so attentive on their fishing that having their eye continually fixed on the Sea whence they expect their prey they are easily shot and become it themselves to others they are a stupid and melancholy kind of Bird suitably to their employment they are so excellently well sighted that they discover fish at a great distance in the Sea and above a fathom under water but they stay till they be come up almost even with it before they offer at them their flesh is not to be eaten COOT THe Islands called the Virgins are of the Caribbies the best furnished with abundance of Sea and Land-Fowl for besides the forementioned whereof they have good store there is a kind of Coot or Moorhen admirable for the beauty of its feathers they are no bigger than Pigeons but have a much longer beak of a yellow colour are higher set and their legs and feet are of a bright red the feathers of the back wings and tail are of a shining carnation intermixed with green and black which serves for a foil to set off the beauty of the other colours Under the wings and on the belly their feathers are of a golden yellow their neck and breasts are adorned with a delightful mixture of all the colours they have about their bodies and their head which is very small and beset with two little sparkling eyes is crowned with a tuft of several little feathers of several pleasant colours FLAMMANS THe Ponds and fenny places which are not much frequented are the retreats of several great and beautiful Birds about the bigness of wild Geese and of the same figure with those which the Dutch call Lepelaer from the form of their beak which hath the resemblance of a spoon They have long necks and their legs are of such length that their bodies are about three foot from the ground But they differ as to colour inasmuch as when they are young their feathers are white as they grow it becomes of a murrey colour and when they are old of a bright carnation from which colour the French took occasion to call them Flammans There are of these Birds seen near Montpelier in France which have the lower part of their body and under their wings of a carnation colour the upper part black there are in like manner in these Islands some that have a mixture of black and white feathers in their wings They are seldom seen but in great companies and their hearing and smelling is so perfect that they smell the Huntsmen and Fire-arms at a great distance To avoid all surprises they pitch in open places and in the midst of Fens whence they may at a great distance perceive their enemies and there is always one of the party upon the guard while the rest are searching in the waters for their livelihood and as soon as he hears the least noise or perceives a man he takes his flight and gives a cry for a signal to the rest to follow him when the Huntsmen who frequent Hispaniola would kill some of these Birds which are there very common they take the wind of them that the smell of the powder may not easily be carried to them than they cover themselves with an Oxhide and creep on their hands and feet till they come to a place whence they may be sure to kill By this sleight these Birds who are accustomed to see the wild Oxen that come out of the Mountains to the watering-places below become the prey of the Huntsmen They are commonly fat and a delicate meat Their skins are kept which are covered with a soft down to be put to the same uses as those of Swans and Vultures SWALLOW of America SOme years since there was brought to a curious Person living at Rochel a Bird about the bigness of a Swallow and like it saving that the two great feathers of the tail were a little shorter and the beak turned downwards like a Parrot's and the feet like a Duck's It was black save only that under the belly there was a little white like our Swallows in fine it was so like them that it may well be called the Swallow of America We have assigned it a place among the Sea and River-fowl inasmuch as its feet discover its subsistence by the waters And in regard it is so rare a Bird that no Author that we know of hath spoken of it we thought fit to give a Sculp of it the draught whereof was taken from the living Bird. LAND-FOWL BEsides all these Birds which have their subsistence out of the Sea Rivers and Ponds there are in these Islands abundance of Partridges Turtles Ravens and Woodquists which make a strange noise in the Woods There are also three sorts of Hens some ordinary Hens such as are in these parts others like Turkeys others a kind of Pheasants which are called Pintadoes because they are as it were painted with colours and have about them small points like so many eyes on a dark groundwork There are also Blackbirds Feldivars Thrushes and Hortolans in a manner like those of the same name among us As to the other Birds which are peculiar to the Forests of the Caribbies there are so many kinds and those so richly adorned that it must be acknowledged that if they are not comparable to those of Europe as to their singing they very much excel them in the bravery of their feathers as will appear by the descriptions we shall make of some of the more considerable ARRAS THe Arras are a kind of Birds extremely beautiful about the bigness of a Pheasant but as to the figure of the body they are like Parrots They have all heads big enough sprightly and steadfast eyes crooked beaks and a long tail consisting of very fine feathers of several colours according to the difference of the Islands where they are bred There are some have their heads the upper part of the neck and the back of a bright skye-colour the belly the lower part of the neck and the wings of a pale yellow and the tail all red Others have almost all the body of a flame-colour save that they have in their wings some feathers which are yellow azure and red There are yet others have all their parts diversified with a mixture of red white blue green and black that is five lively colours making a delightful enamel They commonly fly in companies A man would think them very daring and confident for they are not startled at the discharging of guns and if the first shot hath not hurt them they will continue in the same place for a second but this confidence is attributed rather to a natural stupidity than courage They are easily tamed and may be taught to speak but their tongues are too thick to do it so plainly as the other kinds of Parrots to wit the Canides and ordinary sort of Parrots called by the French Perrigues They are such enemies to cold that they are hardly brought over Sea alive CANIDES THe Canides are much about the same bigness with the precedent but of a much more beautiful plumage and therefore the more esteemed Monsieur du Montell who hath made many Voyages into America and visited all the Islands and saw one of them in that of Corassao gives us this account of it It deserves to be numbered saith he among the most beautiful Birds in the world I took so particular notice of it having had of them in my hands many times that I have the Ideas of it still fresh in my memory Under the belly wings and neck it was of a waving Aurora-colour the back and one half of the wings of a very bright skye-colour the tail and greater feathers of the wings were mixed with a sparkling carnation diversified with a skye-colour as upon the back a grass-green and a shining black which very much added to the gold and azure of the other plumage But the most beautiful part was the head covered with a murrey down chequered with green yellow and a pale blue which reached down wavingly to the back The eyelids were white and the apple of the eye yellow and red as a Ruby set in Gold it had upon the head a certain tuft or cap of feathers of a Vermilion red sparking like a lighted coal which was encompassed by several other lesser feathers of a pearl colour If it were recommendable for all these extraordinary ornaments it was much more for its familiarity and innocency for though it had a crooked beak and that the claws with which he held his meat and brought it to his beak were so sharp as to take away whatever it fastened on yet was it so tame as to play with little Children and never hurt them and when one took him into his hand he so contracted his claws that the sharpness of them could not be felt He had this quality of a dog that he would lick with his short and thick tongue those who made much of him and gave him something he liked put his head to their cheeks to kiss and caress them and expressing his acknowledgements by a thousand pretty insiovations he would suffer himself to be put into what posture one would and took a certain pleasure in diverting those he thought his friends But as he was mild and tractable to those who were kind to him so was he as mischievous and irreconcilable to such as had injured him and he could distinguish them from others and make them feel the sharpness of his beak and claws He spoke the Dutch Spanish and Indian Language and in the last he sung Airs as a natural Indian He also imitated the cries of all sorts of Poultry and other creatures about the house he called all his friends by their names and surnames flew to them as soon as he saw them especially when he was hungry If they had been absent and that he had not seen them a long time he expressed his joy at their return by certain merry notes when he had sported himself till they were weary of him he went away and perched himself on the top of the house and there he talked sung and played a thousand tricks laying his feathers in order and dressing and cleaning himself with his beak He was easily kept for not only the bread commonly used in that Island but all the fruits and roots growing there were his ordinary food and when he had more given him then he needed he carefully laid up the remainder under the leaves wherewith the house was covered and took it when he had need In a word I never saw a more loving or more amiable Bird 'T was a Present for any Prince if he could have been brought over the Sea This Bird had been brought from the Caribby Islands to Mons Rodenborck then Governor of the Fort and Dutch Colony which is in the Island of Corassao PARROTS IN all these Islands almost there are Parrots which the Indians in their Language call Koulehuec and they are seen in companies like Starelings The Huntsmen rank them among the Wildfowl and think not their pains and powder ill spent to kill them for they are as good and as fat as any Pullet especially when they are young and have corn and fruits to feed upon their bigness and plumage differs according to the difference of the Islands insomuch that the ancient Inhabitants know by their bulk and feathers what places they were bred in There is an admirable kind of them in one of the Islands called the Virgins they are no bigger than that Bird which the Latins call Upupa the English a Whoop and almost of the same figure But their feathers are of such a strnnge diversity of colours as extremely pleases the eye they are apt to speak very distinctly and imitate whatever they hear PARAQUEETOES THe Paraqueetoes are a small kind of Parrots no bigger than Blackbirds nay some exceed not the bulk of a Sparrow They are all green save that under the belly and the extremities of the wings and tails they are a little yellowish they are taught to speak and whistle but retain somewhat of their wildness for they will bite hard if they be angered If they can get loose they will into the Woods where they starve for being taken young and kept in Cages where they have their meat made ready for them they cannot pitch on those Trees which bear food fit for them TREMBLO IN some Islands especially Gardeloupe there is a little Bird called Tremblo from its perpetual trembling or shaking of the wings which it a little opens it is about the bigness of a Quail the feathers of a darker grey than the Lark SPARROW of America THe Islands of Tabago and Barboudos being the more Southerly of all the Caribbies are furnished with several sorts of beautiful Birds not to be found in the more Northerly Among the rest there is one no bigger than a Sparrow is very remarkable for the beauty of its plumage for his head neck and back are of so bright and sparkling a red that when a man hath him fast in his hand and shows only his neck or back he might be taken even at a small distance for a lighted coal Under the wings and belly he is of Sky-colour and the feathers of the wings and tail are of a dark red chequered with little white points disposed at an equal distance one from another which have the figure of the apple of his eye he hath also the beak and note of the Sparrow and therefore we thought fit to call him the Sparrow of America EAGLE of Orinoca THere crosses over from the Continent a kind of large Bird which may be ranked among the chiefest of the Birds of Prey that are in the Caribbies The first Inhabitants of Tabago called him the Eagle of Orinoca because he is about the bigness and differs not much in figure from the Eagle and that this Bird who is but a Passenger in that Island is commonly seen near the great River of Orinoca in the Southerly part of America All his feathers are of a light grey marked with black spots save that the extremities of his wings and tail are yellow he hath a quick and piercing sight his wings are very long his flight steady and swift considering the weight of his body he feeds on other Birds on which he furiously fastens his talons and having mastered them he tears them in pieces and devours them yet doth he show so much generosity that he never sets upon the weaker sort and such as are not able to defend themselves but he engages only against the Arras the Parrots and all those which as himself are armed with crooked beaks and sharp talons Nay it hath been observed that he falls not on his game while it is on the ground or lodged in a Tree but stays till it hath taken its flight that he may engage it in the open air with equal advantage MANSFENY THe Mansfeny is also a kind of small Eagle which as the other lives by prey but hath not the courage of the forementioned for his hostility is only against Woodquists Doves Chickens and other lesser Birds which are not able to oppose him There are moreover in these Islands abundance of other Birds of different kinds whereof most have yet no names among the foreign Inhabitants of those parts COLIBRY WE will conclude this story of the Caribbian Fowl with an account of the Colibry or as it is otherwise commonly called by English Writers the Hummingbird a Bird admirable for its beauty bulk sweet scent and manner of life for being the least of all Birds he gloriously confirms the saying of Pliny that Natura nusquam magis quam in minimis tota est Nature is ever greatest in its least productions Some of these Birds are no bigger bodied than some of the greater sorts of Flies Some are of so beautiful a plumage the neck wings and back represent the Rainbow which the Ancients called Iris the Daughter of Admiration There are others have such a bright red under their neck that at a distance one would think it were a Carbuncle The belly and under the wings are of a gilt-yellow the thighs as green as an Emerald the feet and beak as black as polished Ebony and the two little eyes are two Diamonds set in an oval of the colour of burnished steel The head is of a grass-green which gives it such a lustre that it looks as if it were gilded The Male hath a little tuft in which may be seen all the colours which enamel that little body the miracle of the feathered Commonwealth and one of the rarest productions of Nature He le 's fall and raises up when he pleases that little crest of feathers wherewith the Author of Nature hath so richly crowned him nay all his plumage is more beautiful and shining then that of the Female If this Bird be miraculous as to his bulk and plumage he is no less as to the activity of his flight which is such that proportionably the greatest Birds make not their way through the air with so much force and make not so loud a noise as this little Colibry does by the agitation of wings for a man would think it a little whirlwind raised of a sudden in the air and blowing in his ears And in regard he takes a pleasure to fly near those who pass by he sometimes by his sudden surprisal frightens those who hear him before they see him He lives only on the Dew which he sucks from the Flowers of Trees with his tongue which is much longer than his beak and hollow as a small reed and about the bigness of a small needle He is very seldom seen on the ground nor yet standing on the Trees but suspended in the air near the Tree whence he hath his nourishment He is born up by a gentle agitation of his wings and in the mean time he draws to him the dew which stays longest at the bottom of the flowers half-blown 'T is pleasant to look on him in that posture For spreading abroad his little crest a man would think he had on his head a crown of Rubies and all sorts of precious stones and the Sun adding somewhat to the natural lustre of his plumage makes him look as if he were a composition of precious stones animated and flying in the air In those places where there are most Cotton-trees is commonly the greatest store of Colibris Though his plumage lose much of its beauty when he is dead yet is there so much left that some Ladies have worn them for Pendants Nay some have imagined they became them better than any other This miraculous Bird is not only extremely delightful as to his colours but there is one kind of it which having recreated the eye satisfies also the nostril by the sweetness of his scent which is like that of the finest Musk and Amber He commonly makes his nest under a small branch of some Orange-tree or Cotton-tree and as it must be proportionable to the smallness of his bulk he so covers it among the leaves and so industriously secures it against the injuries of the weather that it is in a manner imperceptible he is such an excellent Architect that to prevent his being exposed to the Easterly and Northerly Winds which are the ordinary winds in those parts he places his nest towards the South It consists on the outside of little strings taken from a Plant called Pite and wherewith the Indians make their cordage These little strings or filaments are as small as a man's hair but much stronger He ties them and weaves them one into another so closely about the little forked branch which he hath chosen for the perpetuation of his species that the nest being thus among the leaves and hanging under the branch is as we said before both out of sight and out of danger Having made it strong and fortified it on the outside with these filaments and by some little bits of bark and small herbs interlaced one within another by a miraculous artifice he furnishes it within with the finest Cotton and the Down of certain little feathers softer than any silk The Female commonly lays but two eggs which are oval about the bigness of a Pea or small Pearl To what is abovesaid we shall add the account given of it by our noble Traveller du Montel in his familiar Relations to a friend of his There are saith he sometimes found the nests of the Colibris under the branches of those Plants of Tobacco which are suffered to grow as high as they can for seed I remember a Negro of ours showed me one of them which was very neatly fashioned under one of those branches Nay being in S. Christopher's an Englishman showed me one of them which was fastened to one of the Reeds that sustained the covering of a Hut I saw also one of these nests together with the eggs which was fastened to a branch that had been cut off to adorn the Closet of a curious person who had also the Male and Female dried and preserved entire and there it was that I attentively considered both the Nest and Bird and having admired the operations of Divine Providence in that little creature how could I less than be astonished at the miraculous Architecture of the Nest which though built with an unexpressible artificel was nevertheless performed only with his little beak There are of these Birds seen in most of the Caribby Islands but according to the diversity of the Islands they also differ as to bigness and plumage The most beautiful and least as to bulk are in the Island of Aruba which depends on the Dutch Colony at Corassao It might haply be here expected we should speak of the singing of this Bird and that having entertained the sight with its beauty and the smelling with its scent it should also satisfy the ear with its harmonious music Some affirm that there is a kind of them that sings at a certain season of the year But it is probable that what is called the singing of the Colibry is only a little noise like that of the Cigale which is always the same note But though it should not sing at all it is endued with so many other extraordinary advantages of Nature that it may be ranked among the most beautiful and most excellent of Birds Those who have lived at Brasil do unanimously affirm that there is in those parts a little Bird called Gonambuch of a shining white colour whose body is no bigger than that of a Hornet and as to a clear and distinct note is nothing inferior to the Nightingale It 's possible it may be a kind of Colibry as indeed some do make it yet is it not comparable either as to beauty of feathers or scent and other transcendent qualities to that whose description we have here made Those have come nearer the mark who have affirmed that this masterpiece of Nature is a kind of those little Birds which some Indians call Guaraciaba or Guacariga that is to say Sunbeam and Guaracigaba that is Hair of the Sun The Spaniards call it Tomineios forasmuch as having put one of them with his nest into a pair of Scales wherewith gold is weighed it commonly weighs not above two of those little weights which the same Spaniards call Tominos that is four and twenty grains Some have been of opinion that some of these excellent Colibris were at first Flies which were afterwards transformed into Birds Others have written that the Caribbians called these Birds Renati or Newborn because they sleep one half of the year as the Dormice do and that they awake in the Spring recovering as it were a new life with that delightful season of the year Nay there are some affirm that when the leaves fall they thrust their little beaks into the trunks of the Trees and there remain  and as it were dead for six months till the earth puts on a new livery of flowers But these are frivolous stories grounded on conjectures which may be touched by the way but not admitted to any competion with the true account we give of our Colibry We will conclude this Chapter with a thing worthy observation which yet happens not in other parts unless haply in Ch 16. p 94. Flying fishes Ch 16. Sea Parrot p 98 A Rock-fish p 100 Bonite p 99 CHAP. XVI Of the Sea and River-Fish of the Caribbies WE shall not promise so exact and full a History of the Fish of these Islands as so ample a subject might require but having already given an account of the accommodations of these happy Countries as to the Land the order of our Design requires that we should now speak of the productions of the Sea which encompass them and the Rivers that run through them The business therefore of this Chapter shall be to give a short description of the most excellent Fishes wherewith they are plentifully furnished in order to the subsistence of men that the consideration thereof may work in us the deepest acknowledgements imaginable of that Providence which hath displayed its miracles in the deep waters as well as on the dry land and consequently that it is just that the Heavens and the Earth should praise him the Sea and whatever moves therein FLYING-FISH THere are some who think what is said of the Flying-fish a pure fiction though confirmed by the relations of many famous Travellers But what opinion soever they may have thereof who believe only what they have seen it is a certain truth that as soon as Ships have passed the Canaries thence to the Islands of America there are often seen rising out of the Sea great numbers of Fishes which fly about the height of a Pike above the water and near a hundred paces distance but no more in regard their wings are dried by the Sun They are somewhat like Herrings but have a rounder head and they are broader on the back their wings are like those of a Bat which begin a little below the head and reach almost to the tail It happens many times that in their flight they strike against the sails of Ships and fall even in the day time upon the Deck Those who have dressed and eaten of them think them very delicate Their forsaking the Sea their proper Element is occasioned upon their being pursued by other greater Fishes which prey on them and to avoid meeting with them they quit their proper Element making a sally into the air and changing the●● fins into wings to eschew the danger but they meet with enemies in the air as well as in the water for there are certain Sea-fowls living only by prey which have an open hostility against them and take them as they fly as was said in the precedent Chapter SEA-PARROTS THere are also in these parts certain Fishes scaled like a Carp but as to colour are as green as a Parrot whence they are by some called Sea-Parrots They have beautiful and sparkling eyes the balls clear as Crystal encompassed by a circle argent which is enclosed within another as green as an Emerald of which colour are the scales of their backs for those under the belly are of a yellowish green They have no teeth but jaws above and below of a solid bone which is very strong of the same colour as their scales and divided into little compartments very beautiful to the eye They live on Shellfish and with those hard jawbones they crush as between two millstones Oysters Muscles and other Shellfish to get out the meat They are an excellent kind of fish to eat and so big that some of them have weighed above twenty pounds Ch 16 Dorada p 99 Rock-fish p 100 Ch 17 Espadon Sharkfish p 102. Lamantin p 103 Sea Cock p 106. Becune p 106. DORADO THe Dorado by some called the Sea-Bream by others the Amber-Fish is also common in these parts it is called Dorado because in the water the head of it seems to be of a green gilt and the rest of the body as yellow as gold and azured as a clear sky It takes a pleasure in following the ships but swims so swiftly that the must be very dextrous that shall take it either with the iron-hook or long staff with the casting-net at the end of it which are the instruments wherewith Seamen are wont to take great fishes Nor can a man imagine a fish better furnished for swimming then this for he hath the forepart of the head sharp the back bristled with prickles reaching to the tail which is forked two fins of each side of the head and as many under the belly small scales and the whole body of a figure rather broad then big all which give him a strange command of the waters some of them are about five foot in length Many account the meat of this fish though a little dry as pleasant to the taste as that of a Trout or Salmon so the dryness of it be corrected with a little good sauce When the Portuguez see these Dorados following their Ships they stand on the Bow-sprit with a line in their hand at the end whereof there is only a piece of white linen fastened to the hook without any other bait BONITE THere is another Fish which commonly follows the Ships called a Bonite It is big and hath much meat about it and about two foot in length The skin of it seems to be of a very dark green and whitish under the belly It hath scales only on both sides and there only two ranks of very little ones along a yellowish line reaching from one side to the other beginning at the head to the tail which is forked It is taken with great hooks cast out on the sides of the Ship which may be done without any hindrance to the Voyage This Fish is as greedy as the Cod and taken with any baits even with the entrails of other fish He is more common in the main Sea then on the Coasts and very good meat eaten fresh but much more delicate having lain a little while in Pepper and Salt before it be dressed Some conceive this to be the same fish with another called by the French Thon which is common on all the Coasts of the Mediterranean Sea NEEDLE-FISH THere is a Fish without scales four foot or thereabouts in length called the Needle-Fish The head of it is sharp a foot or better in length the eyes large and shining and encompassed with a red circle The skin of his back is streaked with blue and green lines and that under the belly is white intermixed wi●h red It hath eight fins which somewhat incline to yellow and a very sharp tail whence probably it came to be so called as the figure of the head gave the Dutch occasion to name it Tabac-pype that is Tobacco-pipe The Coasts of these Islands are furnished also with Carangues and Mullets which come sometimes into the fresh waters and are taken in the Rivers as also Rock-fish which are red intermixed with several other colours They are called Rock-fish because they are taken near the Rocks There are also a kind of fish called Negroes or Sea-Devils which are large and have a black scale but their meat is white and excellent good and an infinite number of Fish which for the most part differ from those seen in Europe and have yet no names among us Nor are the Rivers behind hand in supplying the Inhabitants of these Islands with abundance of excellent Fish and if we may bring small things into competition with great they are proportionably to their extent as plentiful thereof as the Sea itself 'T is true there are not any Pikes or Carp nor some other fish which are common in these parts but there is great store of others which are known only to the Indians and whereof some are not much different as to figure from ours CHAP. XVII Of the Sea-Monsters found in these Islands THose who have writ the History of Fish have ranked among the Whales all such as are of extraordinary bigness as they have comprehended under the name of Monsters all those that are of a hideous shape or living by prey are the destructive Inhabitants of the Waters as Lions Bears Tigers and other wild beasts are of the Earth We shall treat in this Chapter of both that is of all those which are of a prodigious bulk or dreadful as to their ugly shapes or to be feared by reason of the mischief done by them So that we must for a time descend into the abysses of the Main where there are creeping things innumerable as the royal Prophet saith and both small and great Beasts and after we have contemplated the works of the Lord therein rise up again to celebrate his mercy towards the Children of Men. ESPADON or SWORDFISH AMong the Sea-Monsters that which the French call L'Espadon a word signifying a short sword is one of the most remarkable it hath at the end of the upper jaw a defensive weapon about the breadth of a great Courtelas which hath hard and sharp teeth on both sides These defensives in some of them are about five foot in length and about six inches broad at the lower end and palizadoed with twenty seven white and solid teeth in each rank and the bulk of their bodies bears a porportion thereto The head of this monster is flat and hideous to behold being of the figure of a heart They have near their eyes two vents at which they cast out the water which they had swallowed They have no scales but a greyish skin on the back and a white under the belly which is rough like a file They have seven fins two of each side two on the back and that which serves them for a tail Some call them Saw-fish some Emperors because there is an hostility between them and the Whale which they many times wound to death MARSOVINS THe Marsoüins are the Sea-Hogs or Porpoises which go together in great companies and sporting themselves leap up above the water and following all of them as many as are together the same course They many times of themselves come near enough to the ships and such as are dextrous do now and then take some of them Their meat is of a dark colour the fattest have not above an inch or two of fat They have a sharp snout a very broad tail greyish skin and a hole upon the top of their heads through which they breathe and cast out water They grunt almost like the Land-Swine Their blood is hot and their entrails like those of a Pig and they are much of the same taste but their meat is of hard digestion There is another kind of Porpoises which have the snout round and hollow and from the resemblance there is between their heads and the frocks of Friars some call them Monksheads and Sea-Monks REQUIEM THe Requiem otherwise called the Sharkfish is a kind of Sea-Dog or Sea-Wolf the most devouring of all Fishes and the most greedy of man's flesh He is much to be feared by such as go a swimming He lives altogether by prey and commonly follows the ships to feed on the filth cast out of them into the sea These Monsters seem to be of a yellowish colour in the water Some of them are of an unmeasurable length and bigness and such as are able to cut a man in two at one by't Their skin is rough and there are made of it soft files to polish wood Their heads are flat and the opening of their mouth is not just before the snout but under it Whence it comes that to fasten on their prey they are forced to turn their bellies almost upwards Their teeth are very sharp and very broad being jagged all about like a Saw Some of them have three or four ranks of these in each jawbone These teeth lie within the gums but they make them sufficiently appear when there is occasion These cruel Seadogs are attended by two or three small fishes and sometimes more which go before them with such swiftness and so regular a motion that they either advance or halt more or less according as they perceive the Requiems do Some call them Rambos and Pilgrims and the French Mariners the Requiems Pilots inasmuch as those small fishes seem to be their convoys They are not much above a foot in length and of a proportionable bigness But their scales are beautified with so many pretty and lively colours that it might be said they were encompassed which chains of Pearl Coral Emerald and other precious stones A man can hardly be weary of looking on them in the water It is in like manner affirmed that the Whale wherever she goes hath marching before her a little fish like a Sea-Gudgeon which from that service is called her Guide The Whale follows him suffering herself to be led and turned as easily as the Rudder causes the Ship to turn about and in requital of this service whereas whatever else enters into the horrid Chaos of this Monster's throat is immediately lost and devoured this little fish makes it his retiring and his resting place and while he lies there a sleep the Whale stirs not but as soon as he gets out she presently follows him and if it happen the said fish should be a little out of the way she wanders up and down striking many times against the Rocks as a Ship without a Rudder which thing Plutarch affirms that himself was an eye-witness of in the Island of Anticyra There is such another friendship between the little Bird called the Wren and the Crocodile and that Shellfish called the Naker lives in the same manner with the Pinnothere and other Shellfish not much unlike a Crab as is affirmed by Montagne lib. 2. ca 12. The meat of the Requiem is not good and therefore not eaten unless it be in case of great necessity yet is it conceived by some that while they are young they may be tolerable meat Some curious persons do carefully save the Brains found in the heads of the old ones and being dried they keep it and they say it is very good for such as are troubled with the Stone or Gravel Some Nations call this Monster Tiburon and Tuberon But the French and Portuguez commonly call it Requiem that is to say Rest haply because he is wont to appear in fair weather as the Tortoises also do or rather because he soon puts to rest whatever he can take His Liver being boiled yields a great quantity of oil very good for Lamps and the Skin of it is used by Joiner's to polish their work REMORA BEsides the Pilots before mentioned the Requiems are many times accompanied by another kind of little fishes called by the Dutch Sugger because they stick so close to the bellies of the Requiems as if they would suck them The French account it a kind of Remora which name they have because they stick to the Ship as if they would stop their course They are about two foot in length and proportionably big They have no scales but are covered with an Ash-coloured skin which is as glutinous as those of Eels Their upper-jaw is a little shorter than the lower instead of teeth they have little risings strong enough to break what they would swallow Their eyes are very small of a yellow colour They have ●inss and a certain plume as some other Sea-fish have but what 's most remarkable in them is that they have on their heads an oval piece made somewhat like a crown it is flat and streaked above with several lines which make it look bristly It is by this part that these fish stick so closely to the Ships and Requiems that sometimes they must be killed ere they can be gotten off They are eaten sometimes but in case of necessity when other better fish cannot be had LAMANTIN OF all the Sea-monsters that are good to eat and kept for Provision as Salmon and Cod are in Europe the most esteemed in these Islands is a certain fish by the French called Lamantin by the Spaniards Namantin and Manaty It is a Monster that in time grows to that bulk that some of them are eighteen foot in length and seven in bigness about the middle of the body His head hath some resemblance to that of a Cow whence some took occasion to call him the Sea-Cow He hath small eyes and a thick skin of a dark colour wrinkled in some places and stuck with some small hairs Being dried it grows so hard that it may serve for a Buckler against the Arrows of the Indians nay some of the Savages use it to ward off the blows of their enemies when they go to fight They have no fins but instead thereof they have under their bellies two short feet each whereof hath four fingers very weak to support the weight of so heavy a body nor hath he any other defensive This Fish lives on the grass and herbage that grows about the Rocks and on the shallow places that have not much above a fathom of Sea-water The Females are disburdened of their young ones much after the same manner as Cows are and they have two teats wherewith they suckle them They bring forth two at a time which forsake not the old one till such time as they have no longer need of milk and can feed on the grass as she does Of all Fishes there is not any hath so much good meat as the Lamantin for many times there needs but two or three to load a great Canow and this meat is like that of a Land creature eating short of a Vermilion colour not cloying or fulsome and mixed with fat which being melted never grows musty It is much more wholesome eaten two or three days after it hath been laid in salt then fresh These Fish are more commonly taken at the entrance of freshwater Rivers then in the Sea Some highly value certain small stones found in the heads of these Monsters as having the virtue reduced to powder to clear the Reins of Gravel and dissolve the Stone bred there But the Remedy being violent I should not advise any to use it without the prescription of an experienced Physician WHALES and other Sea-Monsters SUch as Sail into these Islands do sometimes in their Course meet with Whales which cast up water by their Vent to a Pikes height and commonly show but a little of their back which looks like a rock above the water The Ships are also many times attended for a good way by certain Monsters about the bigness of a Shallop which seem to take a pleasure in showing themselves Some Seamen call them Souffleurs that is Blowers for that ever and anon these prodigious fishes put up some part of their head above water to take breath and then they blow and cause a great agitation of the waters with their sharp snouts Some hold them to be a kind of Porpoises SEA-DEVILS ON the Coasts of these Islands there is sometimes taken by the Fishers a Monster which is ranked among the kinds of Sea-Devils by reason of its hideous figure It is about four foot long and proportionably big it hath on the back a great bunch full of prickles like those of a Hedgehog The skin of it is hard uneven and rugged like that of the Sea-dog and of a black colour The head of it is flat and on the upper part hath many little risings among which may be seen two little very black eyes The mouth which is extremely wide is armed with several very sharp teeth two whereof are crooked and bend in like those of a wild Boar it hath four fins and a tail broad enough which is forked at the extremity But what got it the name of Sea-Devil is that above the eyes there are two little black horns sharp enough which turn towards his back like those of a Ram Besides that this Monster is as ugly as any thing can be imagined the meat of it which is soft and full of strings is absolute poison for it causes strange vomiting and such swound as would be followed by death if they be not soon prevented by the taking of a dose of good Mithridate or some other Antidote This dangerous creature is sought after only by the curious who are glad to have any thing that comes from it to adorn their Closets And so it comes to pass that this Devil who never brought men any profit while it lived gives a little satisfaction to their eyes after his death There is another kind of Sea-Devil no less hideous than the precedent though of another figure The largest of this kind are not much above a foot in length from the head to the tail They are almost as much in breadth but when they please they swell themselves up so as that they seem to be round as a bowl Their wide mouths are armed with many little but very sharp teeth and instead of a tongue they have only a little bone which is extremely hard Their eyes are very sparkling and so small and deep set in the head that the ball thereof can hardly be discerned They have between the eyes a little horn which turns up and before it a pretty big string that hath at the end of it a little button Besides their tail which is like the broad end of an Oar they have two plumes one on the back which stands as it were upright and the other under the belly They have also two ●inss one of each side over against the midst of the belly having at the extremities somewhat like little paws each whereof is divided into eight claws which are armed with sharp nails their skin is rough and prickly all over like that of the Requiem save only under the belly It is of a dark red colour and marked with black spots the meat of them is not to be eaten They may be easily flayed and the skin being filled with Cotton or dried leaves finds a place among rarities but it loses much of its lustre when the fish is dead BECUNE AMong the ravenous Monsters that are greedy of man's flesh found on the Coasts of these Islands the Becune is one of the most dreadful It is in figure much like a Pike but in length seven or eight foot and proportionably big He lives by prey and furiously fastens like a Bloodhound on the men he perceives in the water He carries away whatever he once fastens on and his teeth are so venomous that the least touch of them becomes mortal if some sovereign remedy be not immediately applied to abate and divert the poison SEA-WOOD-COCKS THere is another kind of Becunes by some called Sea-Wood-Cocks from the figure of the beak which is somewhat like a Woodcocks bill saving that the upper part is much longer than the lower and that this fish moves both jaws with like facility Some of them are so big and long that they are above four foot between the head and the tail and twelve inches broad near the head measuring side-wise The head is somewhat like that of a Swine but enlightened by two large eyes which are extremely shining It hath two fins on the sides and under the belly a great plume rising higher and higher by degrees like a Coxcomb reaching from the head almost to the tail which is divided into two parts Besides the long and solid beak it hath for which it is remarkable among all fishes it hath two sorts of horns hard black and about a foot and a half in length which hang down under his throat and are particular to this kind of fish and these he can easily hide in a hollow place under his belly which serves them for a sheath It hath no scales but is covered with a rough skin which on the back is black on the sides greyish and under the belly white It may be eaten without any danger though the meat of it be not so delicate as that of several other fishes SEA-URCHIN THe Fish found on these Coasts and called the Sea-Urchin well deserves that name It is round as a ball and full of sharp prickles for which it is feared Some call it the Armed Fish They who take of them having dried them send them as Presents to the Curious who for rarity hang them up in their Closets Ch 18. p 109. Sea Unicorns p 112 Changed 18 p 115 CHAP. XVIII A particular Description of the Sea-Unicorn which was cast ashore at the Haven of the Tortoise-Island in the Year 1644. and a pleasant Relation by way of Digression of several beautiful and rare Horns brought lately from Davis-streight with an account of the Country and the Dispositions of the Inhabitants WE cannot better conclude the Account we had to give of the Sea-monsters then with a description of so remarkable and miraculous a Fish as may justly deserve a particular Chapter to treat of it It is the Sea-Unicorn which is sometimes seen in those parts There was cast ashore in the year 1644. a prodigious one on the Coast of the Tortoise-Island near Hispaniola Monsieur d● Montel having been an eye-witness thereof gives us this curious description of it This Unicorn saith he was pursuing a Carangue or some other lesser fish with such earnestness and impetuosity that not considering that it needed a greater depth of water then the other it stuck with half the body dry on a sand-bank whence it could not recover the deeper waters ere it was destroyed by the Inhabitants It was about eighteen foot in length being at the largest part of its body about the bigness of a great Barrel It had six great fins like the ends of Galley-oars whereof two were placed near the gills and the other four on the sides of the belly at equal distances they were of a Vermilion red colour all the upper part of the body was covered with great scales about the bigness of a Crown-piece which were of a blue colour intermixed with certain spangles of silver near the neck the scales were closer and of a dark colour seeming as it were a collar The scales under the belly were yellow the tail forked the head somewhat bigger than that of a horse and near the same figure It was covered with a hard and dark coloured skin and as the Land-Unicorn hath one horn in his forehead so this Sea-Unicorn had a very fair one issuing out of the forepart of his head about nine foot and a half in length it was as straight as could be and from the place whence it came out it grew smaller and smaller to the very point which was so sharp that being thrust hard it would enter into wood or stone or some more solid substance It was at the place where it came out of the head about sixteen inches about and from thence to two thirds of the length it was like a screw or to say better made waving like a wreathed pillar save that the channels grew smaller and smaller till they gently ended in a point which was two inches beyond the fourth foot All that lower part had over it an ash-coloured skin which was all over covered with a small soft hair short as plush and of the colour of a withered leaf but under that it was as white as Ivory As to the other part which seemed naked it was naturally polished of a shining black marked with certain small white and yellow strokes and of such solidity that a sharp file could hardly get a little small powder from it It had no ears standing up but two spacious gills as the other fishes The eyes were about the bigness of a Hen's egg the Ball which was of a skye-colour enameled with yellow was encompassed with a certain vermilion which had beyond it another as clear as Crystal The mouth was wide enough and furnished with several teeth whereof those before were extremely sharp and those towards the throat in both jaws were broad and a little knobbed The tongue was of a length and thickness proportionable and covered with a rough skin of a vermilion colour What was further remarkable is that this fish had upon the head a kind of crown rising above the skin about two inches and made ovalwise the extremities whereof ended in a point Above three hundred persons of that Island did eat of the meat of it and that plentifully and thought it extremely delicate It was interlarded with a white fat and being boiled it came up in fleaks like fresh Cod but it had a much more excellent taste Those who had seen this rare fish alive and had with great Levers broken the back of it affirmed that he had made prodigious attempts to thrust them with his horn which he turned with an inexpressible dexterity and nimbleness and that if he had had as much water under him as would have born him up he would have been too hard for them all When the entrails were taken out it was found that he lived by prey for there were within him the scales of several kinds of fish What could be preserved of this miraculous Animal especially the head and the precious horn fastened in it hung up near two years at the Guard-house of the Island till Monsieur Le Vasseur the Governor of it presented one Monsieur des Trancarts a Gentleman of Xaintonge who had given him a visit with the Horn. Not long after coming over in the same Ship with the Gentleman who had that precious rarity put up in a long Chest our Ship was cast away near the Island of Fayala one of the Assores and all the Goods were lost but nothing so much regretted as the loss of that Chest There is in the Northern Seas another kind of Unicorns which are many times by the Ice carried to the Coast of Iseland They are of so prodigious a length and bulk that most Authors who have written of them rank them among Whales They are not covered with scales as the formentioned described by us was but with a hard black skin like the Lamantin They have but two fins on both sides and a large plume upon the back which being narrower in the midst then at either end makes as it were a double crest rising up for the more convenient dividing of the waters they have three ventholes a little below their necks at which they cast up the superfluous water they had swallowed as the Whales do their heads are sharp and on the left side of the upper jaw there comes out a horn white all over as the tooth of a young Elephant which horn is sometimes fifteen or sixteen foot in length It is wreathed in some places and streaked all over with small lines of a pearl-colour which are not only on the superficies of it but run through the substance The horn is hollow to the third part and all over as solid as the hardest bone Some will have this prominency to be rather a tooth then a horn because it rises not out of the forehead as that we have spoken of nor yet from the upper part of the head as those of Bulls and Rams but out of the upper jaw in which it is set as the teeth are in their proper places Those who are of this opinion say further that it is not to be wondered these fishes should have but one such tooth when the substance out of which others should be produced is quite exhausted in the making of that one which is of such a prodigious length and bigness as might suffice to make a hundred But whether this strange defensive wherewith these monstrous fish are armed be called Tooth or Horn certain it is that they use it in their engagements with the Whales and to break the Ice of the Northern Seas wherewith they are oftentimes encompassed Whence it came that some times there have been seen of them such as by reason of the violent service they have been in in disingaging themselves out of those icy mountains have not only had their horns blunted at the point but also shattered and broken off The figures of both this kind and that cast ashore in the Tortoise Island may be seen among the Sculps While we were ordering the foregoing story for the satisfaction of the Public a Ship of Flushing commanded by Nicholas Tunes wherein M. Lampsen one of the Deputies of that Province in the Assembly of the States-General and other considerable Merchants of the same Town were concerned coming in from Davis-streight brought thence among other rarities several excellent pieces of the Unicorns of the Northern Seas of that kind we spoke of before and in regard the Relation sent us of that Voyage may very much clear up the matter we treat of we conceive the Reader will take it kindly to be entertained with it assuring himself he hath it with the same sincerity as it was communicated to us The Captain of whom we have this Relation leaving Zealand at the end of the Spring 1656. with a design to discover some new Commerce in the Northern parts arrived at the end of June following in Davis-streight whence having entered into a River which begins at the sixty fourth degree and ten minutes of the Line Northward he sailed to the seventy second under which the Country we intent to describe lies As soon as the Inhabitants of the Country who were then a fishing perceived the Ship they came towards it with their little Boats which are so made as that they carry but one person The first who attempted it occasioned the joining of so many others to them that in a short time there was a squadron of seventy of those little vessels which parted not from the foreign Ship till it had cast Anchor in the best Haven where by their acclamations and all the signs of friendship and good will that could be expected from a Nation so far unacquainted with civility they expressed the extraordinary joy they conceived at its happy arrival These little vessels are so admirable whether we consider their materials or the strange industry in the making of them or the incomparable dexterity whereby they are conducted that they may well be allowed a place among the descriptions which this delightful digression shall furnish us with They consist of little thin pieces of wood whereof most are cleft like Hoops These pieces of wood are fastened one to another with strong cords made of the guts of fishes which keep them together in a figure fit for the uses to which they are designed They are covered on the outside with the skins of Seadogs which are so neatly sewn together and so artificially done over with Rozin about the seams that the water cannot make the least entrance into them These little Boats are commonly about fifteen or sixteen foot in length and they may be in the midst where they are biggest about five foot circumference from that place they grow smaller and smaller so that the ends or extremities of them are very sharp and plated as it were with a white bone or a piece of the Unicorns horn before described The upper-part is flat and even and covered with leather as the rest and the lower part is fashioned like the belly of a great fish so that they are very swift upon the water they have but one overture or open place which is just in the midst of the whole structure It is raised a little about with a small ledge of Whale-bone and it is made fit for the reception of one man so as that being in it his waste fills the hole When the Savages who invented these kinds of Boats would make use of them either to go a fishing or to divert themselves on the water they thrust down their feet and thighs in at the hole and then sitting down they so fasten the short Coat they have about them to the ledge which is about the hole that they seem to be graffed into the little vessel and to be part of it Thus much of the figure and materials of these little vessels let us now consider the accoutrement of the men who have the conduct of them When they intent to go to Sea they put over their other clothes a certain short coat which is kept only for that purpose This Sea-coat consists of several skins having the hair taken off which are well dressed and set together that a man would think it to be all of a piece It reaches from the crown of the head to the Navel it is rubbed over with a blackish gum which is not dissolved in the water and keeps it from passing through That Capuchon or part of it which comes over the head comes so close under the neck and upon the forehead that it leaves nothing but the face open The sleeves are tied at the wrist and the lower part of the coat is fastened to the ledge about the hole of the vessel with so much care and industry that the body thus covered is always dry in the midst of the waves which with all their tossing can wet only the face and the hands Though they have neither Sail nor Mast nor Rudder nor Compass nor Anchor nor any thing of all those conveniences which are requisite to make our Ships fit for the Sea yet will they undertake long voyages with these small vessels upon which they seem to be sewn they have an experienced knowledge of the Stars and need no other guide in the night time The Oars they use are broad at both ends like a Surgeons palet and that they may the more easily make their way through the waves and last the longer they tip them with a white bone which covers the edges of the wood which ornament they fasten with pins of horn which they use instead of nails The middle of these Oars is beautified with a bone or precious horn as well the ends and by that place they hold them that they may not slip out of their hands They handle these double Oars with such dexterity and nimbleness that these small vessels will outrun Ships that have all the advantages of sails wind and tide They are so confident in them and so versed in the guiding of them that they show a thousand tricks in them for the divertisement of the beholders Nay sometimes they will raise such waves that the water will be all foamy as if there had been a great tempest and then they seem rather like Sea-monsters coursing one another then men And to make it appear they fear not dangers and that they hold a good correspondence with that Element which feeds them they show several tricks diving and rolling themselves in the Sea three or four times together so that they may be taken for perfect Amphibia When they intent to take voyages longer than ordinary or are afraid to be driven far into the Sea by some Tempest they take with them in the hollow place of their vessel a bladder full of fair water to quench their thirst and fish dried in the Sun or Frost to eat instead of fresh meat But they are seldom reduced to the necessity of using those provisions For they have certain Darts like little Lances which are fastened to their Boats these they so dextrously cast at the fish they meet with that they are very seldom destitute of these refreshments They need no fire to dress their meat for on the Land as well as at Sea they are wont to eat it raw They also carry along with them the teeth of certain great fishes or pieces of sharp bones which serve them for knives to dress and cut the fish they take Besides another advantage of these vessels is that there can happen no mutiny in them since one and the same person is Master Mariner Purser and Pilot of it who may stop it when he pleases or let go with the wind & water when he would take the rest necessary to retrieve his spent forces In this case he fastens his Oar to certain straps of Hart-skin designed for that purpose which are fastened to the Boat or else he ties it to a buckle which hangs before on his coat The Women have not the use of these little Boats but that they may also sometimes divert themselves on the water their husbands who are very fond of them bring them abroad in other vessels which are about the bigness of our Shallops or Long-boats and such as may carry fifty persons They are made of Poles tied together and covered with Seadogs skins as the former When it is calm they go with Oars when there is any wind they fasten the Mast to certain Sails of Leather The Reader may see among the Sculps of this Chapter a Cut of one of these Boats with the person that conducts it sitting therein which may render the description we have given of it more intelligible and complete As to the Country where these excellent Navigators are bred the degrees under which we have placed it show it to be of a very cold constitution 't is true in the months of June and July which make the Summer of those parts and are but one continued day as December and January make but one night the air is warm pleasant and clear but between those two seasons the days growing alternately longer and shorter are attended with thick Mists Snow or Icy-rains which are extreme cold and tedious That part of the Country which lies near the Sea is dry and full of rough and dreadful rocks and when the Snow melts it is overflown in many places by certain impetuous torrents lying between them But when a man hath travelled one league of very bad way he comes into pleasant fields especially in the Summer time There are also mountains covered with little Trees which extremely recreate the eye and feed abundance of Fowl and Wild-beasts and there are Valleys through which there run many clear and pleasant Rivers of fresh water which have strength enough to make their way into the Sea The Captain who commanded the Flushinger from whose late Voyage we have this Relation being landed with some part of his men and having made a diligent observation thereof he found there among other things worth his notice a vein of a certain brownish earth full of shining spangles as it were of silver wherewith he caused a barrel to be filled that trial might be made thereof But having been in the crucible it was found fit only to be put on the covers of Boxes and such pieces of Joynery to which it adds much beauty and lustre Yet is there some hope derived from this discovery that upon further trial there may be Silver-Mines found in these parts Though this Country be very cold yet are there in it many beautiful and large Birds of a black and white plumage and some of divers other colours which the Inhabitants flay that they may have their flesh to eat and their skins to  themselves withal There are also Hearts Elks Bears Foxes Hares Coneys and abundance of other fourfooted beasts whose Furs are either black or of a dark grey very thick long soft and besides the uses may be made thereof as Furs excellent for Hats Our Relation tells us that the Country is inhabited by two sorts of Inhabitants who live together in perfect friendship and good correspondence Some are of a very high stature well-shaped in their bodies of a pretty clear complexion and very swift in running The others are much lower of a dark Olive-coloured complexion and well proportioned as to their members save that they have short and big legs The former spend their time in Hunting whereto their activity naturally inclines them while the latter employ themselves in Fishing Both kinds have their teeth very white and close black hair lively eyes and their faces such as that there can no remarkable deformity be observed in them They are all of them so vigorous and of so healthy a constitution that many of them being above a hundred years of age are very active and laborious In their ordinary conversation they seem to be of a cheerful humour courageous and confident They love those strangers who visit them because they bring them Needles Fishing-hooks Knives Hedge-bills Wedges and all the other Implements of Iron they have need of which they so highly esteem that they will give their clothes and what they account most precious for them but they have such an aversion from all novelty as to feeding and clothing that it were hard to induce them to admit of any change in either nay though they are one of the poorest and most barbarous Nations under the Sun yet do they think themselves the most happy and best provided for of any and they are so well conceited of their manner of life that the civilities of all other people are accounted by them unbeseeming savage and extremely ridiculous actions This high esteem they have conceived of their condition contributes not a little to that satisfaction and tranquillity of mind which is legible even in their countenances besides that they are not disturbed by any vain designs which might interrupt their quiet They know nothing of those gnawing cares and pinching distractions wherewith the inordinate desire of wealth torments the greatest part of mankind The conveniences of fair and sumptuous buildings the fame attending gallant actions the delights of great entertainments the knowledge of excellent things and what we think most advances the pleasure and enjoyments of life having not yet found the way into these Countries their thoughts accordingly are not troubled about the acquisition thereof but to get those things which are precisely necessary for their subsistence and clothing with as little trouble as may be is the end of all their consultatations and designs Their ordinary Exercises nay indeed Employments are Fishing and Hunting and though they have no Fire-arms nor Nets yet ingenious and inventive Necessity hath inspired them with other ways whereby they effect their desires They eat whatsoever they feed on without any dressing or any other sauce then hunger nay they laugh at those who boil fish or flesh affirming that the fire takes away the natural taste thereof and what makes them acceptable to them Though they need no fire to dress their meat yet they very much commend the use of it and their Caves are not destitute of it in the winter time both by its light to abate somewhat of the tediousness of that long night which reigns in their Country and by its heat the cold whereby they are besieged of all sides But when they take their rest or are forced to go out of their Caves they put on a certain Fur which by the excellent disposal of Divine Providence secures them against the injuries of the cold though they lay in the midst of the snow The men's clothes are a Shirt a pair of Breeches a short Coat and a kind of Buskins The Shirt comes but a little below the Waste It hath a Capuchon or Cap annexed to it to come over the head and neck It is made of the bladders of great fishes cut into long pieces of equal breadth and very neatly sewn together It hath no opening at the breast as ours have but that it may not rend when it is put on the ends of the sleeves the head-piece and the bottom of it are hemmed Ch 18. p. 115 p. 116 The rest of their clothes even their Buskins are of several pieces cut proportionably one to another as their Shirts are but they are of a stronger stuff to wit Harts-skins or Sea-dogsskins very well dressed with the hair on The  of the Savage whose portrait is to be seen among the Sculps taken by the Original were of Leather of two several colours the pieces were cut of the same breadth and put together so handsomely that a white piece was sewn between two dark coloured pieces which showed very prettily The hair which was on the outside was as smooth and as soft as Velvet and the several pieces were so neatly joined together that a man would think by the outside that the Garment was all made of the same skin As to the fashion of the Coat and the external ornaments of the Savage the Graver hath so naturally represented them in the Sculp that we need not trouble the Reader with any further description thereof The Savages inhabiting about the foresaid Streight never go abroad into the Country but they have at their back a Quiver full of Arrows and a Bow or a Lance in their hands Their Arrows are of several kinds some are for the kill of Hares Foxes great Birds and all sorts of small Game others for Hearts Elks Bears and other greater Beasts The former are not above two or three foot in length and instead of iron at the top they put a small sharp bone which on one of the sides hath three or four little hooks so that it cannot be taken out of the place wounded without widening the wound The latter which are at least four or five foot long have also at the end a sharp bone jagged like the teeth of a Saw They cast these latter with the hand but to give them the greater force and make them do execution at a greater distance they fasten to their right arm a piece of wood a foot and a half long which on one side hath a deep channel into which they put the butt-end of the Javelin which being cast thence goes off with a greater violence They sometimes also carry in their hands a kind of Lance of a tough and heavy wood which is tipped at the smaller end with a round bone the point whereof had been sharpened on a stone or they strengthen it with the horns or teeth of the fish before described These Lances are seven or eight foot in length and beautifis d at the butt-end with two little wings of wood or Whale-bone which make them a little more sightly than they would be otherwise Besides the several sorts of hooks wherewith they take the smaller fishes frequenting their Coasts they have divers kinds of Javelins which with a wonderful dexterity they dart at the great and monstrous fishes they take in the Sea And that those they have hurt with these Darts may not sink to the bottom and elude their expectation there is fastened to the butt-end of them a thong of Harts-leather 25 or 30 fathom in length and at the end of that thong or line of leather there is a bladder which keeping above water shows where the fish is and so they draw it to them or gently drag it to land after it hath spent itself in struggling The young women differ not much in their  from the men but the more ancient are commonly clad with the skins of certain great Birds whose feathers are white and black and very ordinary in those parts These women have the art to flay them so neatly that the feathers stay in the skin These  reach but to half the leg They are girt with a thong of leather at which instead of keys there hang a great many little bones as sharp as any bodkins and about that length They wear neither Bracelets nor Necklaces nor Pendants nor mind any ornament save that they make a gash in each cheek and fill it with a certain black colour which as they think adds very much to their beauty While the men are a hunting or fishing they stay at home and employ themselves in making of clothes Tents Baskets and such things as are necessary about the house They are extremely fond of their little ones and if they be forced to change their habitations or to accompany their husbands in some journey they either carry or lead them wherever they go and to recreate them by the way and quiet them when they cry they have little drums covered with fishes bladders on which they can make as good Music as any on the Taber They also beat them to frighten away the Bears and other wild Beasts which wander up and down near the Caves where these Savages pass over the Winter with their families and about the Tents where they are lodged in the Summer Among the Sculps of this Chapter there is the portraiture of one of these women to which we refer the Reader for further satisfaction Though these poor Barbarians cannot be imagined to study much Policy yet have they among them petty Kings and Captains who preside in all their Assemblies They advance to these dignities those who have the handsomest bodies are the best Huntsmen and the most valiant These wear the richest Skins and more precious Furs than their Subjects and as a badge of their Supremacy they have a certain badge which is sown before on their Coats and when they go abroad they are always attended by certain young men armed with Bows and Arrows who punctually execute their commands They have not the invention of building houses but in the Summer they live in the fields under Tents of Leather which they carry along with them to be pitched where they think it most convenient and in Winter their abode is in Caves which are naturally made in the Mountains or they have taken the pains to make such They neither Sow nor Reap any kind of Grain in order to their subsistence Nor have they any Trees or Plants bearing fruits fit to eat unless it be some Strawberries and a kind of Raspices but indeed their livelihood depends wholly on their Fishing and Hunting Fair water is their ordinary drink and their most delicate entertainment as to drink is the blood of Seadogs and that of Deer and other Land-creatures which they either kill or take in Traps at the setting of which they have an admirable industry The Winter being so long and hard in this Country the Inhabitants must needs suffer great inconveniences during that season especially that tedious night which keeps them in two whole months But besides that in case of necessity they endure hunger a long time they have this foresight that in the Summer they dry some part of their fishing and hunting and lay it up with as much Fat and Suet as they can get together in order to their subsistence during that comfortless time Nay some affirm they are so successful in their hunting by Moonlight that they are seldom destitute of fresh meat even during this long Eclipse They desire not to see any other Country besides that they were born in and if a tempest or other accident chance to cast them upon some other they perpetually sigh after their own and are never quiet in their minds till they have recovered it If they are denied or too long delayed that favour they will attempt it with the hazard of their lives exposing themselves to the Sea in their little Vessels without any other guide then the Stars by which they regulate their course Their Language hath nothing common with any other in the World there is a Vocabulary of it but not to be published till there be a further discovery made of these parts what is said here thereof being only by way of digression Nor hath it been yet observed what Religion they have among them but from their looking towards the Sun and their pointing at him with a certain admiration lifting up their hands on high it is inferred that they account him a God The Ship from which we have this Relation brought from Davis-streight several considerable Commodities whereof we shall here give a List to show that the cold which reigns in that Country is not so insupportable as to freeze up all manner of Commerce in those parts 1. Nine hundred Seadogs skins most of them between seven and eight foot long spotted and waved with black read yellow tawny and several other colours which heightened their price beyond those commonly seen in Holland 2. Many rich Hides of Hearts Elks Bears as also the skins of Foxes Hares and Coneys whereof most were perfectly white 3. A great number of precious Furs of divers kinds of fourfooted Beasts particular to that Country and not known yet by any name among us 4. Several Packs of Whale-bone of extraordinary length 5. Some complete suits of clothes of the Inhabitants of the Country whereof some were of the skins of Beasts others of those of Birds of the fashion before represented 6. Many of their Shirts made of Fishes Bladders very neatly sewed as also Caps Gloves and Buskins Quivers Arrows Bows and other Arms used by them as also some of their Tents Bags Baskets and other little pieces of Householdstuff 7. A great number of those small Vessels made to carry only one man A great Boat or Shallop forty five foot in length which might conveniently carry fifty persons 8. But the most rare and precious Commodity was a very considerable quantity of the Teeth or Horns of the fishes called Sea-Unicorns which are thought to be the largest the fairest and the most exactly proportioned of any that have yet been seen Some of them were sent to Paris and other parts of Europe where they were well received Nor is it unlikely but that they will be much more highly esteemed when the admirable virtues they have in Physic are known For though their beauty and rarity may procure them the best places in the Closets of the Curious yet will they be more kindly received there when some others have found true what many famous Physicians and Apothecaries of Denmark and Germany who have made trial thereof upon several occasions unanimously affirm of them to wit that they expel poison and have all the properties commonly attributed to the Land-Unicorn's Horn. Ch 19 Musical shell 125 Burgau p 120 Sea-Trumpet p 122 Venus shell p 121. Lambis p 121. Casque p 121. Ch 19 Sea egg p 126 Sea egg opened p 126 Sea-starre CHAP. XIX Of certain Shellfish rare Shells and other remarkable productions of the Sea found on the Coasts of the Caribbies TO dive into the deep Secrets of the Waters to take a view of all the excellent Creatures sporting themselves therein and observe the virtues and occult qualities wherewith they are endowed is a work might be expected from that Wisdom which was communicated to Solomon who treated of Trees from the Cedar in Libanon to the Hyssop growing on the Wall For the watery Element is furnished with such a miraculous plenty that it abundantly produces not only Fishes of several kinds fit for the sustenance of man and those of extraordinary bulk and monstrous figures as hath been shown in the precedent Chapters but also such a multitude of precious Shells and other Rarities that we may well acknowledge that the Divine Wisdom hath displayed all these rich beauties of its inexhaustible Treasures to show its Omnipotency in the midst of the Waves and gently to win us into an admiration of his Goodness and adorable Providence which humbles itself to descend into the Abysses of the Sea to people them with some excellent Creatures not to be seen elsewhere and an infinite number of others bearing the Characters and Ideas of the most considerable Bodies that either adorn the Heavens fly in the Air or embellish the Earth Hence it comes that there are found in the Waters Stars Cornets Trumpet's Purcelains Trees Apples Chest-nuts and all the delightful curiosities which are so highly esteemed among men But to begin with the Shellfish there are in the Seas about and in the Rivers of the Caribbies several kinds of them The more particularly esteemed are the Homars the Sea-Spiders and the Crabs HOMARS THe Homars are a kind of Crevices of the same figure as those of our Rivers but they are so big that there needs but one to make a good large dish Their meat is white and of a good taste but a little hard of digestion The Inhabitants of the Islands take them in the night time upon the sands or in the Shallows near the low-water-mark and with the assistance of a Torch or Moonlight they catch them with a little iron fork SEA-SPIDER THe Sea-Spider is by some conceived to be a kind of Crab It is covered with two very hard scales whereof the uppermost is somewhat ● rough and the lowermost is more smooth and jagged with sharp points It hath many legs or claws and a strong tail sometimes about a foot in length They are much sought after by some of the Savages to be employed about their Arrows When this fish is dried in the Sun the scale or shell of it becomes glistering and in a manner transparent though naturally it be of an Ash-colour CRABS THe ordinary Crabs of the Caribbies are of the same figure as those taken in these parts There is a great difference among them as to bigness but the rarest are those which live by prey They are very common in most of the Islands but above all in those called the Virgins They lurk under the stumps and stocks of the Trees growing on the Seaside and as it were imitating a kind of Frogs called the Fishing-Frogs they discover from their lurking-holes the Oysters and Muscles which they prey upon and the sleight they use in the taking of them is worth our notice Having found by experience that their Mordants or Claws are not strong enough to break the shells wherein those delicate fishes are contained and having observed that several times of the day they open their shells to take the air they diligently watch the time and having furnished themselves with a little round pebble they hold it ready in one of their claws and coming to the Oyster or Muscle let it fall so cunningly into the half-opened shell that not being able to close again the fish becomes the prey of these subtle Crabs As to the Shells found in these Islands in the Creeks and Nooks into which they are cast by the Sea there are abunof them and of several kinds The most sought after and most considerable are these BURGAU THe Burgau which is of the figure of a Snail being uncased out of the outermost coat presents to the eye a silver shell intermixed with spots of a bright black a lively green and so perfect and shining a grey that no Enameller could come near it with all the assistances of his art As soon as the fish which had been lodged within this precious little Mansion hath been disseized thereof there is immediately seen a magnificent entry beset with pearls ' and afterwards several rich appartements so clear so neat and enameled all over with so bright a silver-colour that there cannot in matter of shell any thing be imagined more beautiful CASK THe Cask or Head-piece is of a different bigness proportionably to the heads of so many fishes as had worn it and it is so named from its figure It is lined within and at the edges which are thick flat and jagged of a Satin carnation colour extremely bright and shining and on the outside it is fashioned like a neat Country-building having many little risings which are interlaced with a thousand compartments on which there may be seen a waving pannache or feather of divers rare colours LAMBIS THe Lambis hath haply received that name because the fish which makes it move hath the figure of a great Tongue which licks that glutinous moisture lying on the rocks against which the waves of the Sea beat This is one of the largest sized shells that are One of the sides is turned up as it were to make the greater discovery of the fair purple colour wherewith it is beautified within But it must be acknowledged that the shape being none of the handsomest and the outer coat prickled with several rough and sharp risings it would hardly be received into the Closets of the Curious if Art taking off that outer coat did not discover the beauty and smoothness of the diverse-coloured shell which lay within that course shag The fish which is lodged within the clefts of this little moving rock is so big that one of them will make a pretty round dish It may be served up to the Tables of the daintiest Palates so it be well dressed with good store of Pepper to correct its indigestion The shells burnt to powder and mixed with sand make a cement which defies rain and all other injuries of the weather The Lambis yields a sound like that of a Huntsman's horn and is heard at a great distance whence some of the Inhabitants of the Islands use them to bring their people together to meals UENUS-SHELLS THe Venus-shells may justly be numbered among the rarest productions of the Sea whether we consider the delightful smoothness wherewith they are glazed both within and without or the diversity and liveliness of their colours Their jagged edges are turned inwards and though all are not equally beautiful yet are they all of the same oval figure gaping in the midst and turning in a little But they are very different as to bigness and colour The ordinary ones are of a gilt-yellow chequered with little white or red spots so as that at a distance a man would think them little Pearls or grains of Coral Of the rest some are bluish some as it were beset with stars some greyish some like Crystal and some coloured like Agats which are all delightful to the eye But the most esteemed by the Curious are on the outside of a colour between coral and carnation and of a silver-colour or of a bright skye-colour within and a rich porphyry with small golden streaks Those also are with reason well esteemed which on the upper part are of a bright green like an Emerald and within on the edges and in the distances of a pearl-colour The same account is made of those which on the back are black as Jet and all elsewhere of a pale blew intermixed with little purple veins In fine there are some have such a delightful mixture of colours as if the Rainbow had communicated some of its beauties to these little creatures Nay there are abundance of them so diversified with odd figures and characters that it may be imagined Nature was in a very pleasant humour when she was delivered of these miracles But the mischief of it is that the Sea which is possessed of them as her most precious jewels never parts with them but against her will For if the Winds did not enrage her and shaking her bowels search into the bottom of her Treasures and force them thence she alone would enjoy these beauties and never let us have any of them The Curious to heighten their lustre place them according to their value and esteem in several Cabinets lined with green Plush or some other rich stuff And after the example of the Flowrists who call their Tulips and Gillyflowers by the names of the Caesars and most illustrious Heroes they in like manner give them the titles of Emperors and Princes SEA-CORNETS THere are also seen in the Caribbies two sorts of those great Shells called Sea-Cornets which are turned at the end like a screw Some are white as Ivory and not inferior to it in lustre Others are within of a shining pearl-colour and without of several fair and lively colours which are sometimes like scales sometimes waving falling one upon another from the edge of the wide opening to the turned end where they cease If a little hole be made at the small end of these Cornets they become a kind of musical Instrument which makes a sharp and piercing sound and forced through the windings of the shell may be heard at as great distance as the smallest kind of Trumpet might be But there is a great secret in the sounding of it MOTHER of PEARL SHells do not only afford a pleasant divertisement which may excite men by a consideration of those small but admirable works of Nature to bless the Author thereof but having cloyed the eye they find somewhat to satisfy the taste and increase wealth For Oysters and other shellfish are welcome to the greatest Tables and the Naker or Mother of Pearl is big with that Pearl which enriches the Crowns of Kings 'T is true there is seen only the seeds of these Pearls in the Caribbies and that they are to be had in perfection only at S. Margaret's Island and the South-part of America But though this seed is not hardened into great Pearls in the Caribbies yet are not the shells wherein it is found without their advantages for the meat within them is for food and the two parts of the silver she 'll make so many Spoons which may creditably appear upon the Table It is not easy to determine whether the dew which falls in the Caribbies be not fruitful enough to make the Mother-Pearl produce its fruit in perfection or whether after it hath received that seed from the Heavens they miscarry and have not natural force enough to retain it But not to inquire whence the defect proceeds it is most certain they have as strong an inclination to avoid the reproach of sterility as those fished for on the Coasts of S. Margaret's For he who will be at the curiosity to observe their secret Loves from the rocks at the foot whereof they most delight to be shall find that at the break of day they start up several times to the surface of the water as it were to do homage to the Rising-Sun then of a sudden they open themselves upon that soft bed expecting the first beams of that all-enlivening Star If they be so happy as to receive some drops of the dew he causes to distil from the Heavens at his rising they immediately close their shells lest any touch of salt-water come in and corrupt that celestial sperm And then they cheerfully return to their deep cells A certain Author named Fragosus conceives that the Pearls engender in the meat of the Oyster as the stone does in some living creatures of a thick and viscous moisture which remains of the aliment Some learned Physicians who are also of the same opinion fortify it with what is affirmed by Josephus Acosta a very creditable Writer to wit that the Slaves who fish for Pearls dive sometimes twelve fathom deep in the Sea to take the Oysters which are commonly fastened to the Rocks that they get them thence by violence and come up loaden with them Whence they conclude that it cannot be well maintained that those Oysters which are fastened to the rocks suck in the dew and that thence comes the generation of Pearls But not to enter into any contestation with these Gentlemen nor yet absolutely to reject their opinion which hath its grounds we may affirm that the true account given by Acosta of the fishing for Pearls makes nothing against the opinion commonly received of their generation for it is not impossible but that the Mother-Pearls which have conceived of the Dew feeling themselves burdened with that precious fruit have no great inclination to appear ever afterwards on the surface of the waters and being satisfied with the treasure they are possessed of they from thenceforth fasten themselves to the rocks whence they cannot be gotten off without violence Of several other sorts of Shells THose who living in populous Cities would counterfeit Deserts Rocks and solitary Places or in their Gardens raise little Hills under which there should be Grotts encompassed with all the most curious spoils of Sea and Land might find in most of these Islands what may satisfy their humour This only is to be feared that abundance and diversity would puzzle their choice and occasion a certain contempt of them There are on the Coasts of these Islands an infinite multitude of several sorts of Shells especially those of the Sea-tops Whelks etc. which have no names among us whereof some are of a silver-colour some full of stars some sanguine some green some streaked with carnation some chequered with several sorts of colours which make them shine along the sands like so many precious stones The Sun extremely heightens their lustre and beauty and when after an extraordinary tempest the Sea hath enriched the surface of those shores with these little sparkling gems the eye is so dazzled at it that a man cannot but acknowledge that Nature loves to make different demonstrations of her power and shows what she can do when she bestows so much beauty and so many rich ornaments on these little inconsiderable Creatures The Savage Islanders sometimes gather these little play-games of the Sea only for diversion sake and having made holes in them put them on strings for Necklaces and Bracelets But most of the Southern part of America have a far greater esteem for them for they drive a Trade with them and they are in some places the current Money and those who have most shells are accounted the richest The Shells used for this purpose are of a pretty bigness solid and of extraordinary lustre and to be current Money they must be marked by certain Officers who ascertain the value thereof by certain little Characters engraved on them MUSICK-SHELL THere is a very considerable Shell which Mons du Montel thinks may be found in some of the Caribby-Islands though he never saw any of that kind but only at Corassao It differs not much as to figure from the Venus-shells It may be called the Musical-shell because on the outside of it there are blackish lines full of notes which have a kind of key for the singing of them so that it might be said there wants only the letter to that natural pricking The forementioned Gentleman relates that he saw some that had five Lines a Key and Notes which made good Music Some person had added the Letter which it seems Nature had forgotten and caused it to be sung and the Music was not undelightful This might afford the ingenious many excellent reflections They might say among other things that if according to the opinion of Pythagoras the Heavens have their Harmony the sweetness whereof cannot be heard by reason of the noise made upon Earth if the Air resound with the melody of an infinite number of Birds who sing their several parts there and if Men have invented a kind of Music after their way which by the Ears recreates the Heart it were but just that the Sea which is not always tossed and troubled should have within its territories certain Musicians to celebrate by a Music particular to them the praises of their Sovereign Maker The Poets might add that these natural tablatures are the same which the Sirens had in their hands when they had their melodious Consorts and that being perceived by some eye which came to disturb their recreations they let them fall into the water where they have been carefully kept ever since But leaving these imaginations to those they belong to let us pursue our design EYE-STONE THere is a little Stone found in these Islands most commonly near the Seaside and sometimes at a good distance from the Sea which from its virtues may be termed the Eye-stone but in regard the more common opinion will have it to be a production of the waters we shall treat of it in this place Some of these Stones are about the bigness of the larger sort of Brass-farthings but the least are most esteemed A man would think looking on them in the Sun that they were of those Pearls called Barroques cut in two they are so clear transparent and smooth Some of them have red or bluish veins which give them a very delightful lustre according to the several aspects are cast on them They have the figure of a Snail engraved on that side which is even Being put under the eyelid they roll about the ball of the eye and it is affirmed that they strengthen and clear the sight and force thence the motes or trash which might have fallen into it SEA-EGGES THere is found in the Island of S. Martin's a production of the Sea called Sea-egges or Sea-Apples full of sharp prickles rising out of a dark-coloured skin But when the fish which rolls them is dead they lose all those prickles which become afterwards of no use and quitting that hard crustiness which had encompassed them they discover the whiteness of their shells which are intermixed with so many compartments and little windings that the needle of the most ingenious Embroiderer would be much troubled to imitate them These Eggs should rather be called Sea-Urchins or Sea-Chestnuts for while they are living they have the figure and colour of a little Urchin which forms itself like a ball and is armed of all sides the better to deal with his enemy Or they are like those rough prickles which encompass the Chestnut while it is upon the Tree SEA-STAR TO consider narrowly all the rarities to be seen in the Sea it might be said that of whatever is excellent in the Heavens there is a certain resemblance in the Sea which is as it were the others looking-glass Hence it comes that there are Stars to be seen in it having five points or beams somewhat of a yellowish colour This Star is somewhat better than a foot diametre and an inch thick the skin is hard enough and full of little risings which add much to its beauty If these Sea-Stars may not enter into any competition with those of the Heavens as to magnitude and light they exceed them in this that they are animate and that their motion is not forced and that they are not fixed nor confined to the same place For the fish which hath taken up its abode in this starry mansion moves which way it pleases on the azure plains of the waters while the weather is calm but as soon as it foresees any tempest out of a fear to be forced to the Land which is not fit to entertain Stars it casts out two little anchors out of its body whereby it is so firmly fastened to the Rocks that all the violent agitations of the incensed waves cannot force it thence It is preserved alive by the means of the nourishment it takes by a little hole which is as it were its mouth and lies just in the centre of its body Some curious persons remove these Stars out of their watery Element and having dried them in the Sun make them the ornaments of their Closets SEA-TREES NOr can the sandy shelves or shoals of those Rocks which are covered with water endure the reproach of barrenness For notwithstanding the saltness whereby they are always enclosed they make a shift to produce among the grass which is upon them certain Trees which are immediately glazed with a salt-peter which renders them extremely white Some conceive them to be a kind of Coral There are taken up of them of several figures and so neatly made that the eye cannot be cloyed with considering the odness of their shapes SEA-FANS THere are also certain Pannaches or Sea-Fans or Sea-Feathers which are to speak by way of resemblance as it were the borders of that spacious liquid Garden which never needs watering They are woven very finely and according to the quality of the Rocks whereon they are rooted they are of different colours This only were to be wished that they had solidity enough to endure a transportation from those Islands into these parts CHAP. XX. Of Ambergris its Origine and the marks of that which is good and without mixture Ambergris is found in greatest abundance on the Coasts of Florida beyond what is had of it in any other Country of America Whence it comes that the Spaniards have built Forts there to keep possession of the Land and entertain with the Indians who inhabit it the Commerce of that rich Commodity which they carefully gather since they have been acquainted with the value of it There hath sometimes been taken up of it after extraordinary tempests on the Coasts of Tabago Barboudos and some other of the Caribbies as we have received by very authentic Relations Upon which assurance it will be no digression from the Natural History we treat of if we perfume this Chapter with the sweet scent of this Aromatic Drug which certainly is the rarest and most precious of all those productions which the Ocean hath yet cast up out of its vast and unexhausted bosom to enrich that new world The Maldives call Ambergris Panahambar that is Amber of gold by reason of its worth The Inhabitants of Fez Morocco and the Aethiopians call it by the same name as they do the Whale whence it is probably conjectured that they thought it proceeded from the Whale Most certain it is that neither Hypocrates Dioscorides nor Galen ever heard any thing of Ambergris no more than they had of the Bezoar-stone Guayacum Sassafras Sassaparilla Rhubarb Mechoachan and many other Drugs Ambergris therefore is one of those whereof the knowledge is wholly modern and the origine not well known Some have imagined that this Amber not known among the Ancients is an excrement of the Whales Others are of opinion that it comes from the Crocodiles in regard their flesh is perfumed Some others are persuaded that they are pieces of Islands and fragments of Rocks concealed in the Sea and carried away by the violence of the waves forasmuch as there are sometimes found pieces of this Amber which weigh a hundred pound and of the length of sixty handsbredths and that as is affirmed by Linscot in the Year M. D. L. V. there was a piece found near Cape Comorin which weighed thirty hundred weight There are also those who conceive it to be a kind of Sea-foam which gathers together and grows thick after a certain time by the agitation of the Sea-water and is hardened by the heat of the Sun But the most probable conjecture is that it is a kind of Bitumen engendered at the bottom of the Sea and when it comes to be extremely agitated by some extraordinary tempest it lets go this Bitumen and forces it towards the shores for indeed it is commonly found only after some great tempest Philostratus in the life of Apollonius affirms that the Panthers which are near the Mount Caucasus are very much delighted with the sweet scent of that place But certain it is that of all creatures the Birds are very great lovers of this Ambergris and that they will scent it at a great distance Wherefore as soon as the tempest is laid it must be sought after and taken away otherwise it will be devoured Nor is it the sweet scent of it but the ill which causes the Birds to flock to it for this precious and admirable perfume when it is fresh and soft and newly come out of the Sea smells very strong and those creatures which run to it do but as they would do to some carrion for the scent of it is like that of rusty bacon and 't is likely for that reason that it was so long ere 't was known and used The Ancients judged of its virtue by its ill scent fit rather to injure the heart then refresh it and so they rejected it as unprofitable nay hurtful Besides it is not so commonly nor in so great quantities found towards the Coasts of Greece nor yet in Europe and there were but very few Voyages heretofore made into the Indies The Foxes do also think it a good dish and eat much of it In those Countries where much of it is gathered these creatures wait at the Seaside and having discovered any they immediately devour it But having kept it a while in their bellies they cast it up again before it be any way digested yet does it lose some of its virtue and sweet scent Whence it comes that this kind of Ambergris is less esteemed than the other and used only in perfumes It will not be amiss hereto give the marks whereby the true Ambergris is to be distinguished from the adulterate since those who have written of it as Garcias Monard Scaliger Ferdinand Lopez Clusius and others speak very little thereof and assign not the essential marks of it It is in the first place to be observed that Ambergris is generally distinguished into that which comes from the Levant Seas and that which comes from the Western Sea That which is taken up on the Coasts of the Levant especially on those of Barbary where there is much and in great pieces had is for the most part black and cannot be dried so well as to be reduced to powder as that of the West let what will be added to promote the pulverization of it It is also more easily melted by the fire hath not so sweet a scent and is of a lower value There is little of the Amber brought into these parts in regard it is not much esteemed and not very useful either as to Physic or Perfumes The Ambergris of the West whereof the best is that found on our Coasts is commonly of an ash-coloured grey looking as if ashes were mixed with wax yet so as that the ashes appear distinctly and are not perfectly mixed with the wax The upper part of it having raked along the shore and lain more open to the air is commonly of a tawny colour or at least not so white as it is within hard and solid like a crust and sometimes full of sand and little shells which happens hence that being soft as Bitumen or Pitch such filth easily sticks to it and that abates somewhat of its price but not of its goodness To know whether this Amber which is of the best kind be good in the first place consider the figure of it which for the most part should incline to roundness inasmuch as all things that are any way soft being tossed to and fro by the Sea are reduced to a certain roundness It should be also somewhat smooth and of a dark colour between a dark-grey and tawny If it be very dry it should be the lighter proportionably to the bigness of the piece Hereby it may be judged whether there be any mixture of Scamony Bitumen Wax Pitch or Rozin all these adding much to its weight By the same trial it may be known whether there be any mixture of sand as also whether it be not the black Ambergris of the Levant If the Owners of it are unwilling to have the piece broken take a needle heated and thrust it into the piece and if it enter easily conclude there are no stones within it and if you smell at the liquor which will come forth by the heat of the needle whereby the Amber is melted you will find it of a scent not unlike that of gummed wax but at last will end in an odour sweet enough But the surest way is having agreed about the price of the piece of Amber conditionally it be good to break it so you will find whether there be any small pebbles in it The Amber as we said before must be of an ash-colour having small specks as our Water-nuts When it is fresh it is of a darker colour than when it is very dry but if it differ not much from that colour and be not too black nor too white it matters not above all it should appear of a mixed colour Take also a little out of the middle of the piece or from that part which you think worst and put it on a knife heated in the fire and it will presently melt like wax and if the knife be very hot what was put upon it will be quite consumed When you have thus melted it observe whether it hath the scent we mentioned which cannot be well known but only to such as have made trial thereof because it is particular thereto and by that means you will also discover whether there be any mixture in the Amber You may also while it is melting put a little upon your hand and spreading it you may see whether there be any mixture It should stick so fast to your hand that it can hardly be got off When it melts it becomes all of one colour though before it seemed to be mixed and inclines to that of some kind of Rozin It should not dissolve in either water or oil not but that there is a way to dissolve it in either of them by the addition of a certain ingredient which those who know it would not have discovered Nor should it be reduced to powder unless being very dry it may be scraped or grated and be mixed with some fine powder It also sticks much to the Mortar which therefore must be often made clean The black will never be reduced to powder neither this nor any other way The difference between the black and the grey consists chiefly in the colour which inclines to that of black pitch and not mixed with whitish-grey seeds but all over alike The black is also softer and more weighty and smells more like Bitumen Ch 21. Tortoise p 133 Crocodile p 13● Sea Feather p 127. Sea Tree p 127. There is a third kind of Ambergris which is white the rarest as Ferdinand Lopez affirms but not the best as he accounts it On the contrary it is the most inconsiderable of any and there being no account made of it there is very little transported But this is indeed some of the other kinds of Ambergris which having been devoured and digested by Birds that have very hot stomaches turns white as most of the excrements of Birds are That which hath been devoured by Fishes as it happens many times is not much altered either as to colour or substance which proceeds hence that their stomaches are not so hot as those of the Birds and perhaps finding the Ambergris hotter than their ordinary sustenance and burdened therewith they soon cast it up again But what had been eaten by the Fox is in a manner corrupted and of little value by reason of the heat of his stomach This white Ambergris is like salted or pickled Suet easily melted and smells like tallow whence some conceive it is but some kind of suet so ordered Having given the marks of the right Ambergris we shall omit the adulterations of it because they are almost infinite Nor shall we treat of its use in Physic its excellent qualities and especially the sweet scent it gives to liquid Conserves and all other things wherein it is used Of these some other Books lately come forth and experience may satisfy the curious Reader CHAP. XXI Of certain Creatures living partly on Land partly in the Waters commonly called Amphibia which may be found in the Caribby-Islands WE shall begin with the Crocodile by the Islanders called Cayeman It is a very dangerous Monster which sometimes grows to an extraordinary bulk and length The Skeletons of several of them being frequently brought into these parts we shall not be so large in our description thereof as otherwise we might This Creature keeps in or near the Sea and in the Rivers of the Islands that are not inhabited and sometimes on the Land among the Reeds very hideous to look on It is conceived to live a long time and that its body increaseth in all its dimensions to the very last day Whence it is not to be wondered if there have been seen of them some which were eighteen foot in length and as big about as a Hogshead It hath four feet well armed with crooked claws The skin which is covered all over with scales is so hard on the back that a bullet from a Musket shot at him shall hardly make any impression on it but if he be hurt under the belly or in the eyes he is soon gone His lower jaw is  but hath so wide a mouth and so well set with sharp teeth that he makes nothing to divide a man in two He runs fast enough on land but the weight of his body causes him to make so deep a tract in the sand as a Coach-horse might do and having no vertebrae in the backbone no more than the Hyaena's he goes straight forwards not being able to turn his vast body but with much difficulty so that the better to avoid his pursuit a man need only turn several times a side Those which are bred in fresh water do so smell of Musk while they are alive that the air is perfumed a hundred paces about the place where they are nay the water retains somewhat of the same smell This observation of the sweet scent of the Crocodile may by the way discover the error of Pliny who imagined that of all living creatures only the Panther had a sweet scent with it as he somewhere affirms though in another place he writes that the entrails of the Crocodile smell very sweet and that proceeds from the odoriferous flowers on which he feeds Now this musky scent of the Crocodile of America is enclosed in certain glandules in the Emunctories which he hath under the thighs and which being taken thence keep the said smell a long time It may be imagined that God hath bestowed this scent on them that men and other creatures which many times become the prey of these cruel Monsters might by the scent discover the place where they lurk and avoid them Those which have their abode in the Sea have no smell of musk but both kinds are very dangerous and to be dreaded by such as either go to wash themselves or are forced to cross some river by swimming This dreadful Monster hath a strange sleight to make his prey of Oxen and Cows One of them will lie lurking at those places of the Ponds and Rivers where those creatures are wont to water and finding one at his advantage he half-shuts his eyes and floats on the face of the water as if it were a piece of rotten wood by which means getting nearer and nearer to the poor beast which is a drinking and is not aware of him he immediately fastens on him taking him by the lips and forcing him under water he drowns him and then feeds on him He taketh men also by the same sleight as is affirmed by Vincent le Blanc who hath a Relation of the servant of a Consul of Alexandria who going to take one of these cruel beasts thinking it had been a piece of wood was drawn by it to the bottom and never seen afterwards There are abundance of these monstrous Crocodiles in those Islands which from them are called the Islands of Cayeman and not frequented but only in the time of Tortoise-fishing For having picked out the best meat out of the Tortoise and a great deal cast away the Crocodiles come in great numbers in the night time to feed on the entrails and carcases left on the sand So that those who are watching for the Tortoises are obliged to carry about them great wooden Levers to keep off those Cayemans' which they many times kill having first broken their backs with those Levers These creatures have a whitish fat which was heretofore used by Physicians in fluxions proceeding from a cold cause it being hot and consisting of subtle parts Upon the same account were such as had Fevers rubbed therewith upon the approach of their fits to cause sweeting Many other properties are attributed to the Crocodile by Pliny in order to the curing of diseases Some are very desirous to get certain little stones like little bones which are in his head and having reduced them to powder they use them to clear the Reins of Gravel Some also affirm that the sharpest teeth of this Animal which are on the side of each jaw cure the Toothache and preserve the teeth from corruption being only rubbed every day therewith There are in like manner in the heads of Dragons and Toads stones good against several diseases So the cruel Requiems by us before described afford a remedy against the Stone and Gravel Thus hath it pleased the wise Author of Nature that we should have some advantages from those creatures which are otherwise most pernicious The Chineses have a way to take and tame these Crocodiles as some Historians affirm And when they have bred them a certain time and made them fat enough they kill them and feed on them But the Europeans who have tasted thereof affirm their flesh though white and delicate is not pleasant to the taste as being too luscious sweetish and retaining much of the musk TORTOISES THere are taken in these Islands several sorts of Tortoises for there are Land-Tortoises Sea-Tortoises and Fresh-water-Tortoises which are of different figures The Caribbians call them all by the name of Catallou but when they speak of the Land-Tortoises they add the word Nonum which in their Language signifies the Earth or that of Tona that is to say of the River or Water The Sea-Tortoises are commonly divided by the Islanders into three kinds that which the French call Tortue Franche that called Caovanne and the Carats They are all of them almost of the same figure but the meat only of the first kind is good to be eaten unless it be in case of necessity and for want of other provision so that of the two last only the shell is of value The Tortue-Franche and the Caovannes' are commonly of so vast a bulk that the upper shell is about four foot and a half in length and four in breadth Which is not to be much admired since that in Maurice-Island there are some which having four men on their backs are nevertheless able to go Aelian relates that the Inhabitants of Taprobana cover their houses therewith And if we may credit Diodorus Siculus certain Nations of the East-Indies convert them into Boats in which they will cross a great arm of the Sea that lies between them and the Continent These Amphibious creatures seldom come to Land but only to dispose of their Eggs in order to propagation To that end they make choice of a very light sand which they find on the Seaside in some place not much frequented and to which they may have easy access The Islanders who at a certain season of the year go to the Cayeman-Islands to make provision of the meat of Tortoises which come to land there in infinite numbers affirm that they make their recourse thither from all parts within a hundred leagues and more to lay their eggs by reason of the easiness of the access the shore being flat and covered with a soft sand The Tortoises come to land about the latter end of April and their landing continues till September and then may they be taken in abundance which is thus performed At the close of the evening some men are set ashore who lying on the sands without making any noise watch the Tortoises when they come out of the Sea to lay their eggs in the sand and when they perceive that they are got a good way from the Seaside and hear them making a deep hole in the sand with their claws into which being a foot and a half deep and sometimes more they lay the eggs they come and surprise them at that employment and turn them upsidedown and being in that posture they are not able to recover themselves but continue so till the next day that they are brought thence in Shallops to the Ships When they are thus turned upsidedown they are observed to shed tears and are heard to sigh 'T is generally known that the Stag weeps when he is put to his extremities And it is almost incredible what cries and groans proceed from the Crocodiles about the Nile and what tears they shed when they find themselves taken The Seamen of those Ships which go to the Cayeman-Islands to take in their loading of Tortoises may every night in less than three hours turn forty or fifty of them the least whereof weighs a hundred and fifty pound and the ordinary ones two hundred pound nay some of them will have two great pails full of eggs in their bellies These eggs are round and about the bigness of a Tennis-ball they have white and yolk like Hens-egges but the shell is not so hard but soft feeling as if it were wet parchment The Fricasseys and Omeletts made of them are good enough but a little drier than those made with Hens-egges There is so much meat about one Tortoise as may well maintain sixty persons a whole day When they are desirous to eat of them they cut off the shell which is under the belly from that on the back unto which it is joined by certain gristles which are easily cut What Tortoises are taken by the Seamen in the night finds them work all day to cut into pieces and salt them Most of the Ships which come to these Cayeman-Islands after they have taken in their loading that is after six weeks or two month's continuance there return to the Caribbies where they sell that salted Tortoise and it becomes the sustenance of the ordinary sort of people and the slaves But the Tortoises that have escaped having laid their eggs at two or three several times return to the place whence they came the eggs which they have covered with sand on the Seaside being about six weeks after hatched by the heat of the Sun and not by their looking on them as Pliny and some of the Ancients imagined as soon as the young Tortoises have broken the shells wherein they were enclosed they make their way through the sand and get out of the grave which gave them birth and by an instinct of nature go straight to the Sea to the old ones The meat of this kind of Tortoise is as dainty as any Veal so it be fresh and kept but one day It is intermixed with fat which when it is dressed is of a greenish yellow It is of easy digestion and very wholesome whence it comes that those sick persons who cannot recover in the other Islands are carried to that purpose to the Cayemen in the Ships that go for Tortoises and commonly having refreshed and purged themselves with that diet they return thence perfectly recovered The fat of this kind of Tortoise yields an oil which while it is fresh is good enough to fry withal being stale it is employed in Lamps CAOVANNE THe Tortoise called the Caovanne is of the same figure as the precedent save that the head of it is a little bigger This stands upon the defensive when people come near to turn it but the meat of it being black full of strings and of ill taste there is no account made of it but only where other is not to be had the oil also got from it is good only for Lamps CARATS THe third kind of Sea-Tortoise called by the French Caret differs from the two others in bigness as being much less and that it lays not its eggs in the sand but in a kind of gravel which is mixed with small pebbles The meat of this Tortoise is not pleasant but the eggs more delicate than those of the other two kinds It would be as little regarded as the Caovanne were it not sought after for its precious shell It consists of fifteen greater and lesser leaves or pieces ten whereof are flat and even four a little bending and that which covers the neck made trianglewise hollow like a little buckler All the shells of an ordinary Caret may weigh three or four pound but there have been some taken whose shells have been so large and so thick that all together have weighed about six or seven pounds Of the shell of this kind of Tortoise are made Combs Cups Boxes Cases Cabinets and so many excellent things of great price It also enriches Householdstuff the borders of Looking-glasses and Pictures and is used now in the covering of Pocketbooks of Devotion To get this precious shell they put a little fire under the upper shell which consists of so many pieces and as soon as they feel the heat they are easily taken off with the point of a knife Some affirm that this kind of Tortoise is so vigorous that its shell being taken away it will get another if it be immediately cast into the Sea The most plentiful fishing for these Tortoises is at the Peninsula of Jucatan and several little Islands within the Gulf of Hondures So that honest Pirard was ill-informed who in his Treatise of the Animals and Fruits of the East-Indies Chap. 2. affirms that this kind of Tortoise is to be found only in the Maldivos and the Philippine-Islands It is affirmed by some that the oil of this kind of Tortoise helpeth all kinds of Gouts proceeding from cold causes It is also very successfully used to strengthen the Sinews to take away the pain of the Reins and cure all cold Fluxions and Distempers Having given so particular an account of the Tortoises it will not be amiss to add thereto the manner how they are fished for and how all the great fishes of the Caribbies are taken How the Tortoises and other great Fishes are taken in the Caribbies THe Sea-Tortoises are not only taken upon the sand as we showed before but also by means of an Instrument which is a pole about the length of a half-pike at the end whereof there is fastened a nail pointed at both ends which is square in the midst and about the bigness of a man's little finger Some make notches on that side of it which stands out of the wood that it may take faster hold when it is entered into the shell of the Tortoise In the night time the Moon shining and the Sea calm the Master-fisher being in a little boat with two others one at the oar to turn it of any side as fast as ever he can that the boat may go much faster and with less noise than if it were rowed the other is in the midst of the Canow or Boat holding the line which is fastened to the nail and in a readiness to draw it it as soon as the instrument hath done execution on the Tortoise Being thus provided they go where they think to find of them and when the Master-fisher who stands up on the forepart of the Canow perceives one of them by the glittering of the Sea which by getting up ever and anon to the face of the water it causeth to foam he directs him who guides the little vessel to make to the place where he would have him and being gently got near the Tortoise he violently darts the instrument into its back The nail piercing the shell gets also a good way into the flesh and the wood keeps up above the water As soon as the fish finds itself hurt it sinks down to the bottom with the nail sticking fast in the shell And the more it strives and struggles the more it is entangled At last having wearied itself and spent its forces in striving by reason of its loss of blood it suffers itself to be easily taken and is either taken into the Canow or drawn to the shore After the same manner they also take Lamantins and several other great fishes but instead of the nail there is put into the wooden instrument a great hook or a small dart of iron made like that of a sharp lance On one side of that piece of iron there is a hole through which there passeth a line which is also wound about the dart so that when it is darted into the fish the line easily is let loose that it may have the liberty to tumble up and down in the water and when it hath spent its forces and reduced to extremity if it cannot be gotten into the Canow it is easily drawn to the shore where they divide it into quarters Land-Tortoises and Fresh-water-Tortoises THe Land-Tortoises are found in some Islands near the freshwater Rivers which are least subject to inundations or in the ponds and fenny places that are farthest from the Sea They are covered all over with a hard and solid shell which is not to be raised by several pieces or leaves as those of the Sea-Tortoises and it is so thick in all parts that it secures the Animal living within it from any hurt and will not be broken even though the wheels of a loaden Cart should go over it But what is yet more strange is that the creature never finds this moving lodging too narrow for him for it grows larger proportionably as the body of the possessor grows bigger The upper covering is in some of them about a foot and a half in length it is of an oval figure somewhat hollow like a Buckler and on the outside hath several streaks which as it were divide it into so many compartments with a certain observance of Symmetry All these intermixtures are laid on a black ground which in several places is enameled with white and yellow This kind of Tortoise hath a very ugly head like that of a Serpent It hath no teeth but only jaws which are strong enough to break what it would swallow down It is supported by four feet somewhat weak to sustain the weight of its body nor does it upon pursuit trust much to them For if he be not near some river or pond into which he may cast himself he places all refuge and safety in the covering of his mansion under which like a Hedgehog he immediately draws in his head feet and tail upon the first apprehension of any danger The Female lays eggs about the bigness of those of Pigeons but a little longer Having covered them with sand she leaves them to be hatched by the Sun Though there be some who hold that the meat of these Land-Tortoises is of hard digestion yet those who have eaten thereof rank it among the most delicate dishes of America The Physicians of the Country advise those who are inclined to Dropsies to use it often for a preventive They have also found by experience that the blood of these Tortoises dried and reduced to powder takes away the poison of Vipers and Scorpions being applied to the wound It is also certain that the ashes of their shells mixed with the white of an egg cures the chaps in Nursing-womens' nipples and if the head be powdered therewith it prevents the falling of the Hair CHAP. XXII Containing the particular Descriptions of several sorts of Crabs or Crabfish commonly found in the Caribbies THere are found in all the Caribby-Islands certain Crabs or Crabfish which are a kind of amphibious Crevices and very good meat whereas those of Brasil are unpleasant in as much as they smell of the Juniper-root Accordingly the Indian Inhabitants very highly esteem theirs and make them their ordinary entertainment They are all of an oval figure having the tail turning in under the belly Their bodies which are covered all over with a shell hard enough is supported by several feet which are all full of little prickles which facilitate their climbing up to those places whither they would get up The two fore-feets are very big and of those one is somewhat bigger than the other The French call these two fore feet or claws Mordants significantly enough forasmuch as with these they twitch and secure whatsoever they have fastened on The forepart which is somewhat broader and stands up higher than the other hath standing a little out two eyes which are solid transparent and of several colours Their mouths are armed with two little white teeth disposed on each side like a pair of sharp pincers wherewith they cut the leaves of Fruits and the roots of Trees on which they feed TOURLOUROU THere are three kinds of them differing in bigness and colour of which the least are those commonly called Tourlourous They have a red shell marked with black-spots they are pleasant enough to the taste but in regard there is much picking work about them and but little to be gotten from them and that it is conceived they incline people to the bloody flux they are used only in case of necessity WHITE-CRABS THere are others all white and have their abodes at the foot of Trees on the Seaside in certain holes which they make in the ground into which they retreat as the Coneys do into their Clappers or Hutches These are the biggest of all the kinds nay there have been those taken which have had in one of their claws as much meat as an egg might contain and as delicate as that of the River-Crevices They are seldom seen in the day time but in the night they come in multitudes out of their holes to feed under the Trees and it is then that they are taken with the help of a Lantern or Torches They delight very much to be under the Arched-Indian-Fig-tree and other Trees which are on the Seaside and in the most fenny places If a man shall search into the ground or in the sand to get them out of their lurking places he shall always find half their bodies in water as most of the other amphibious creatures are PAINTED-CRABS BUt those of the third kind which as to bulk is between the two others before mentioned are the most beautiful the most to be admired and the most esteemed of all They are indeed much of the same figure with the precedent but according to the several Islands and different soils wherein they are bred they are painted with so many colours and those so beautiful and lively that there cannot be a greater divertisement then to see these creatures at midday creeping under the Trees where they seek for their sustenance Of some of them the bodies are of a violet colour intermixed with white others are of a bright yellow interlaced with several small greyish and purple lines which begin at the mouth and are drawn down over the back Nay there are some which upon a dark-coloured ground are streaked with red yellow and green which makes the richest mixture of colours that can be imagined looking on them at a little distance a man would think that all those delightful colours wherewith they are naturally enameled were not yet fully dry such is their brightness or that they were newly varnished over to give them the greater lustre These Painted Crabs are not like the white ones which dare not appear in the day time for these are to be seen morning and evening and after the reins under the Trees where they recreate themselves in great companies together They will also suffer a man to come near enough to them but as soon as they perceive him make any attempt to take them which is best done with a little wand it being too dangerous to employ the hands they make their retreat without turning their backs on those that pursue them and as they go back they show their teeth and opening their defensives which are those two Claws or Mordants they have in their feet they therewith defend their whole body and they ever and anon strike them one against another to frighten their enemies And in that posture they get into their forts which are commonly under the root or in the cleft of some rotten Tree or that of some rock These Crabs have this natural instinct to go every year about May in the season of the rains to the Seaside to wash themselves and disburden themselves of their eggs in order to the perpetuation of their species They come down from the Mountains in such multitudes that the highways and woods are covered with them and they have this strange direction given them that they take their way towards that part of the Island where there are Creeks and descents whereby they may the more easily come to the Sea The Inhabitants are at that time very much annoyed by them in regard they fill their Gardens and with their little Mordants they cut the Pease and young Plants of Tobacco They observe such an order in this descent that they look like an Army marching in rank and file they never break their ranks and whatever they meet with by the way Houses Mountains Rocks or other obstacles they attempt to get over them that they may go on still in a straight line Twice a day they make a halt during the greatest heat both to feed and rest themsleves a while But they make greater journeys in the night then in the day till at last they get to the Seaside When they are upon this expedition they are fat and good to eat the Males being full of meat and the Females of eggs And indeed during that time a man may have of them at his door Nay sometimes they come into the houses if the palisadoes be not close enough and that they meet with a place to get in at The noise they make in the night time is greater than that of the Mice and keeps people from sleeping When they are come to the Seaside having rested themselves a little and considered the Sea as the nurse of their young ones they approach so near it that they wash themselves three or four times in the little waves which gently rise and fall on the sand then having retired into the Woods or neighbouring Plains to recover their weariness the Females return a second time to the Sea and having washed themselves a little they open their tails which are commonly thrust up under the belly and shake out the eggs fastened thereto into the water After which having once more washed themselves they return in the same order in which they came thither The strongest of them soon recover the Mountains every one making to the quarter from whence he came and by the same way through which he had passed before But then that is in their return they are for the most part so weak and lean that they are forced to make some stay in the next fields they come at to refresh themselves and retrieve their former vigour before they can get up to the tops of Mountains As to the Eggs thus committed to the Sea having been cast up by it on the softer kind of sand and warmed some time by the beams of the Sun they are at last hatched and become little Crabs whereof there may be seen millions about the bigness of a large farthing getting into the neighbouring bushes till such time as they are strong enough to get to the old ones in the Mountains Another considerable thing in these Crabs is that once a year to wit after their return from the Sea they are under ground for the space of six weeks so that there is not one of them to be seen During this time they change their skin or shell and become wholly new They work out the earth so neatly at the entrance of their retreats that there is no hole to be seen which they do to prevent their taking of any air for when they put off their old coat their whole body is as it were naked being only covered with a very thin pellicle which grows thicker and harder by degrees till it come to the solidity of the shell they had put off Monsieur du Montel relates that he purposely caused some places to be digged where it was likely there were of them hidden Having met with them he found them wrapped in leaves of Trees which no doubt was their sustenance and served them for a nest during that retirement but they were so weak and unable to endure the air that they seemed as it were half dead though fat enough and excellent meat and as such highly esteemed by the Inhabitants Close by them he found the shell they had put off which seemed to be as entire as if the animal had been still within it And what was strange though he looked very narrowly yet hardly could he find any hole or cleft at which the body of it might get out of that prison But having viewed it very exactly he found a little disjunction near the tail at which the Crab had slipped out They are commonly dressed as the Crevices in these parts are but the more delicate will take the time and pains after they are boiled to pick out all that is good in the claws and to extract a certain oily substance which is in the body and by some called Taumaly and to fry all together with the eggs of the female putting thereto a little of the Country Pepper and some juice of Oranges and this makes it one of the most dainty dishes in the Caribbies In these grounds where there are many of the Trees called Manchenilloes the Crabs which feed under them or eat of the fruit have a venomous quality insomuch that those who eat thereof fall dangerously sick But in other parts they are wholesome enough and as the Crevices in Europe are numbered among the delicacies Such as are careful of their health open them them before they eat thereof and if they be black within they think them dangerous and use them not CHAP. XXIII Of Thunder Earthquakes and the Tempests sometimes happening in the Caribbies AS there is hardly any face so beautiful but that it may be subject to some defect spot or mole so these Islands having all the excellencies and advantages before represented have also some imperfections and defects which take off much of their lustre and abate of the enjoyments and pleasures they might otherwise afford We shall give a short account of the principal inconveniences happening there and the remedies which may be applied thereto THUNDER OF those Thunder may be named in the first place which though never heard on the Coasts of Peru is in these Islands so frequent and in many places so dreadful that by its terrible claps it forces the most confident into terror and astonishment EARTHQUAKES Earthquakes do also sometimes produce very sad effects and shake the very foundations of the Earth so violently that they make a man reel in those places where he might think himself most safe But through God's goodness these happen very seldom and in some places the agitation is not so great HURRICANE WHat is most to be feared is a general conspiracy of all the Winds which goes about the Compass in the space of 24 hours and sometimes in less This is that which is called a Hurricane and happens commonly in the months of July August or September at other times there is no fear of it Heretofore it happened but once in seven years and sometimes seldomer but within these few years it hath happened once every two years nay in one year there happened two of them Nay not long after Monsieur Auber was sent to command in chief at Gardeloupe there were three Hurricanes in one year This kind of Tempest is so violent that it breaks and unroots Trees deprives those it takes not away of all verdure makes desolate whole Forests removes Rooks from the tops of Mountains and casts them into the Valleys overthrows Houses carries away the Plants it hath forced out of the Earth into the Sea makes a general waste of all it meets with in the Fields and in a word leaves famine all over the Country which groans a long time after that disaster and will be a long time ere it recovers the ruins occasioned thereby Nor does the Hurricane all this mischief only by Land but it raises withal such a tempest on the Sea that it seems to be mixed and confounded with the Air and the Sky It breaks to pieces the Ships that happen to be on the Coasts at that time casting some upon the shores and swallowing others into the Abysses of the Deep So that those which escape shipwreck at such a time are extremely obliged to acknowledge the great mercy of God towards them Those who observe the signs preceding this Tempest have particularly noted these That a little before it happens the Sea becomes of a sudden so calm and even that there appears not the least wrinkle on her face That the Birds by a natural instinct come down in multitudes from the Mountains where they make their ordinary abode to retire into the Plains and Valleys where they keep on the ground to secure themselves against the injuries of the cruel weather which they foresee coming And that the Rain which falls a little before is bitter and salt as the Sea-water It is not many years since that there happened a memorable example of this Tempest upon several Ships lying in the Road of S. Christopher's loaden with Tobacco and ready to set sail For they were all broken to pieces and cast away and the Commodities wholly lost Whereof there followed another strange and unexpected accident which was that most of the fish upon the Coast was poisoned by the Tobacco The Sea seemed in a manner covered with those poor creatures which turned upsidedown and languishing floated on the face of the water and came to die on the shore Nor are these disasters particular only to the New-World but there have been seen in France and other places such dreadful Tempests as might well be accounted Hurricanes In the year M. D. XCIX there rose near Bourdeaux such a violent wind that it broke and unrooted most of the great Trees which were able to resist especially the Wall-nut-trees whose boughs are commonly very large and transported some of them above five hundred paces from the place where they grew But the weaker Trees which gave way were spared The Palace of Poitiers received much hurt divers Steeples were battered and that of Cangres near Saumur quite blown down Some persons on horseback in the fields were carried above sixty paces out of their way For the space of six or seven leagues as far as it blew there was nothing but ruin and confusion To this place may be reduced among others that Tempest which happened here in England at the removal out of this world of the late Usurper Oliver Cromwell the mischiefs whereof are yet fresh in men's minds as also that in February 1661. To give an example of a Hurricane that showed its malice here in Europe particularly on the Sea we shall add the Copy of a Letter from a Merchant of Rochel to a Correspondent of his at Roven dated January the 30th M. DC XLV We have been in a very sad condition these two days by reason of the extraordinary Tempest which began Saturday night last the 28th of this month and continues yet We see from our Walls between thirty and forty Ships cast a way and forced to the shore most English bottoms and abundance of Merchandise lost One of these Ships of 200 Tun burden was cast near a Windmill which is twelve foot higher than any tide was ever seen for the Tempest was not only in the Air but it also forced the Sea much beyond its ordinary limits insomuch that the spoil it hath done by Land very much exceeds the loss of the Ships All the Salt on the low Marshes was carried away all the Wheat on the lower grounds and reduced marches overflown And in the Isle of Ree the Sea crossed it from one side to the other spoiled abundance of Vineyards and drowned much  In the memory of man the Sea never came up so high nay it came to some places almost a league within the Land So that those who have been at S. Christopher's affirm that the Hurricanes happening there are not more dreadful than this Tempest was here The wind was Northwest The loss both on Sea and Land is valued at five hundred thousand Crowns 'T is conceived there is as much Salt lost as would have freighted two hundred Ships of three hundred Tun a piece There are also lost some Dutch Ships near the Isle of Ree at Bourdeaux and Bayonne which were very richly laden Whence it appears that these Tempests are as violent in Europe as those so much feared in the Caribbies But in those parts some to secure themselves from these Storms forsake their houses out of a fear to be overwhelmed in their ruins and make their abode in Caves and the clefts of Rocks or lie flat on the ground in the open fields till they be over Others run to some house near them which they think so strongly built as that it may elude the shocks of that Tempest for now there are in the Caribbies many structures that in a manner defy the violence thereof Nay there are some will get into the little Huts built by the Negroes in imitation of those of the Caribbians for it hath been found by experience that these Hurts being round and having no place open but the door and whereof the Rafters stand upon the ground are commonly spared when the highest houses are removed from one place to another if not quite overthrown by the impetuous agitation of the winds raising this Tempest CHAP. XXIV Of some other Inconveniences of the Country and the remedies thereof BEsides the Thunder Earthquakes and Hurricanes which shake the very foundations and blast the beauty of the Caribby-Islands there are some other Inconveniences which much annoy the Inhabitants though not so much to be feared as the precedent These we have reserved to be the subject of this last Chapter wherein out of the desire we have to contribute all lies in us to the well-being and satisfaction of those amiable Colonies we shall propose the remedies which the experience of the ancient Inhabitants and the judgement of several eminent Physicians have found most proper and effectual to secure them from those dangerous consequences MOUSTICOES and MARINGOINS THere is then in the first place a sort of very small Flies by some called Mousticoes which are felt commonly before they are seen But in that little weak body there is so sharp and venomous a sting as causing an importunate itch that will not be satisfied till the skin be scratched off the wound degenerates into a dangerous Ulcer if some remedy be not applied There is another kind somewhat bigger and making a noise like that of the Flies seen in these parts near ponds and fenny places by some of the Inhabitants of the Caribbies called Maringoins They do the same effect with the former being armed with a little sting which pierces through  nay through the Hammocks or hanging-beds on which people rest themselves But both kinds have this particular to them that they never do any mischief but they beforehand proclaim a war and sound a charge with their little Trumpet which many times does more frighten then their stinging hurts To avoid the annoyance of these two little Infects the Inhabitants place their houses on a little eminency give them air on all sides and cut down all the Trees which may hinder the East-wind which is the ordinary wind blowing in those Islands and which drives away these wicked and importunate enemies Those also who have their lodgings and beds very close are not so much troubled therewith But if notwithstanding these precautions any be annoyed thereby they need only take Tobacco in the room or make a fire that shall smoke much and these disturbers of men's rest will be gone And if they have stung any one and he be desirous to be rid of the itch which follows let him only wet the place stung with Vinegar or the juice of the lesser kind of Citron and he shall have ease WASPS and SCORPIONS Wasps also and Scorpions are common in most of these Islands These Vermin are of the same figure and as dangerous as those of the same kinds in most parts of Europe The stinging of Wasps are helped by the juice of Rue-leaves and perfectly cured by a fomentation of the sovereign remedy against all sorts of poisons which is given out under the famous name of Orvictan and that of Scorpions hath its remedy in the beast itself which must be crushed upon the place affected or for want thereof recourse must be had to the oil called Scorpion-oyl which should be common in all those parts where these Infects are so MANCHENILLO IN most of these Islands there grow certain Trees called by some Manchenillo-trees beautiful to the eye bearing leaves like those of Crabtrees and a fruit called Manchenillo like an Appius-apple for it is streaked with red extremely fair and of a pleasant scent insomuch that one can hardly forbear tasting it if he be not beforehand acquainted with its dangerous quality for though it be sweet in the mouth yet is it so fatal that being eaten it sends a man to sleep not for 24 hours as a certain seed of Peru and an herb in the East whereof Linscot speaks at large but so as never to awake again so that it is much worse than those Almonds of Mexico which smell like musk but being eaten leave a taste of rottenness behind them as also then the fair Apples of Sodom which being opened yield only soot and ashes for if a man have the mischance to be deceived in them it is without any hazard of his life But these venomous Apples may be compared to the Indian-nut which grows in Java It is somewhat like a Gall and at the first eating thereof it tastes like a small Nut but afterwards it causeth mortal gripe and is a most dangerous poison There is also in afric a Tree called Coscoma which bears deadly Apples The Tree of the Maldivas named Ambou bears a fruit no less deceitful and pernicious And near Tripoli in Syria there are certain large Apricocks which are fair to the eye and very savoury to the  but the subsequent qualities of them are many times mortal or at best cause long and painful diseases to such as have eaten of them There grow Manchenillo-Trees on the Seaside and the banks of Rivers and if the fruit fall into the water the fish eating thereof will certainly die nay though it continue long in the water yet will it not rot but is covered with salt-peter which gives it a solid crustiness as if it were petrified In those Islands where this Tree grows in abundance the Snakes are venomous it being supposed by some that they sometimes suck the fruit of it Nay the Crabs which feed under these Trees contract a dangerous quality from them as we said elsewhere and many have been sick after the eating thereof Whence it comes that when these fruits fall to the ground such as are careful of their health will forbear the eating of Crabs Yet do not the Snakes or Crabs wholly live on this fruit but feeding under the Tree they draw the infection thereof to themselves especially if they suck the venom of its fruit It may well be that what is mortal to some creatures is not so to all and that these Infects often feeding on this poison do by custom and continuance turn it into their sustenance as is reported of Mithridates And so they may infect such as eat thereof receiving themselves no hurt thereby Under the bark of the trunk and boughs of these Trees there is contained a certain glutinous water which is white as milk extremely malignant and dangerous There being many of them along the highways if one should carelessly break one of their branches that milk or rather poison comes forth and falls upon him If it light on his shirt it makes an ugly stain as if it were burnt if on the skin and the place be not immediately washed it will be all blistered but if it should chance that a drop of this caustick and venomous water should fall into the eye it will cause an insupportable inflammation and the party shall lose his sight for nine days after which he will have some ease The dew or rain-water having continued a while on the leaves of these Trees produces the same effect and if it should light on the skin it would scorch it like Aquafortis So that it is almost as bad as the drops of rain falling under the Line which are so contagious as those who have felt them affirm that if they fall on the hands face or any uncovered part of the body there immediately rise up bladders and blisters with much pain and if the party do not presently shift his clothes his body will be full of wheals all over not to mention the worms which are bred in the clothes Nay the very shade of these Trees is prejudicial to men and if a man rest himself under them the whole body swells after a strange manner Pliny and Plutarch mention a Tree of Arcadia no less dangerous and those who have travelled into the East-Indies affirm that there is an herb named Sapony which causes their death who lie upon it But what heightens the ill quality of the Manchenillo-Tree is that the meat dressed with a fire made of its wood derives a certain malignity from it which burns the mouth and throat Nor are the Savages of these Islands ignorant of the nature of the Manchenillo for the composition wherewith they are wont to poison their arrows hath in it among other ingredients the milk of this Tree and the dew falling from it and the juice of the fruit To cure in a short time the swelling and blisters rising on the body after sleeping under the shade of these Trees or receiving the rain or dew falling from their branches as also those occasioned by the milk within the bark recourse must be immediately made to a kind of Snails whereof we have spoken before under the name of Soldiers and let the party take a certain clear water which is contained within their shell and apply it to the place affected this remedy immediately allays the venom of that scorching liquor and puts the party out of all danger The oil extracted without fire from the same Snail operates the same effect But if any shall happen to eat of the fruit of these venomous Trees he must use the remedies prescribed hereafter to expel the venom of Serpents and all other poisons WOOD-LICE THere is also a kind of Ant or worm which hath a little black spot on the head all the rest of the body being white They are bred of rotten wood and thence some call them Wood-lice Their bodies are softer than those of our ordinary Ants and yet their tooth is so sharp that they gnaw wood and get into such coffers as lie near the ground And in less than two days if they be not destroyed there will get in such abundance that linen  paper and whatever is within them will be eaten and devoured nay they gnaw and eat the posts which sustain the ordinary huts insomuch that if some course be not taken they will at last fall down To prevent the breeding of these Infects and the mischief done by them there are these cautions At the building of houses not to leave any wood on the ground to rot out of which they may breed To burn the ends of those pieces of wood that are planted in the ground As soon as any of them are perceived to cast scalding water into the holes which they have made To hang up Chests and Coffers in the air with cords as they are forced to do in several parts of the East-Indies that they may not touch the ground And lastly to keep the rooms very clean and leave nothing on the ground It hath also been observed that the rubbing of their haunts with the oil of that kind of Palma-Christi wherewith the Negroes rub their heads to avoid vermin hath prevented their coming any more that way The oil of Lamantin hath the same effect and if it be poured on their rendezvouz which is a kind of Anthill made up of their own ordure and fastened about the forks which sustain the huts they immediately forsake it RAVETS ANother dangerous vermin are the Ravets of which there are two kinds The bigger are almost like Locusts and of the same colour the others are not half as big Both kinds have their walks in the nighttime get into Chests if they be not very close foul all things wherever they come and do mischief enough yet not so much nor in so short a time as the Wood-lice They are called Ravets because like Rats they gnaw whatever they come at They are no doubt the same which de Lery calls Aravers according to the Language of the Brasilians This vermin hath a particular malice to Books and their covers The Wood-lice are as good if they can get at them but they are to be commended in this particular that they have a respect for the letters and only nibble about the margins for whether they cannot away with the ink or for some other reason it must be an extraordinary famine that shall force them to feed on the impression or writing But they are very great lovers of linen above any thing and if they can get into a Chest they will desire but one night to make work enough for many Sempstresses for a month As to the Ravets though they be not so quick at their work yet they spare nothing but silk and cotton-stuffs nay they have no stomach to silk or cotton even while it is raw insomuch that if the Chests be hung up in the air and the cords be done about with cotton as soon as they find their little feet fastened in it they immediately endeavour to get away and turn somewhere else Such as dwell in houses of brick or stone are not troubled with the Wood-lice but with all their care they have much ado to avoid the mischief done by the Ravets Yet hath it been found by experience that they cannot endure sweet scents and that they would not willingly get into Chests made of Cedar and those excellent sweet woods which are common in all these Islands At Cairo they put the pedestals of Cabinets in vessels full of water to prevent the creeping up of the Ants. This easy secret might produce the same effect in the Caribbies to keep off the Wood-lice and Ravets nay also the Ants which are there also extremely troublesome CHEGOES BUt what is most to be feared in all these Islands is a certain kind of little worm no bigger than a hand-worm which breeds in the dust in the sweep cast out into the dunghill and such unclean places These are commonly called Chegoes They get into people's feet and under the nails of their toes but if they get any further and are not taken away in time they will get into all the other parts of the body At first they only cause a little itching but having once got through the skin they cause an inflammation in the place affected and though very little when they entered it come in time to be as big as a pea and produce abundance of nits which may breed others and so many times ulcers are bred in the places whence they are taken The Savages as they relate who have lived among them have a certain gum wherewith having rubbed their feet especially under the nails they are not annoyed with this vermin But such as know not that secret are advised to have their feet searched by those who have the skill to discover and take out those dangerous Infects as soon as they feel the least itching at which work the Indians are very expert and fortunate Those who take out these Chegoes must have a care that they break not the bag wherein they are enclosed which if they do some of their little eggs will remain behind which will infallibly breed others It is conceived also that the Roucou which the Caribbians use to make themselves more beautiful more nimble and more active to run hath a secret virtue to keep off all these vermin It is also a good remedy often to sprinkle salt-water about the room not to go barefoot to wear stockings of Goats-leather and to keep one's self very clean For commonly only such as are careless of themselves and slovenly are much troubled with them These little worms are the same with those which the Brasilians call Tons and some other Indians Nigas Those who have Ulcers caused by these little worms either for want of taking them out skilfully or in time are among the French called Malingres These Ulcers come also many times after some little scratching which at first seems to be little or nothing But afterwards the party may well wonder to see it as big as the palm of a man's hand for the Ulcer must have its course Nay some of them though little yet are very hard to be cured Of these Ulcers there are two kinds one round the other uneven The round Ulcer is harder to cure then the other for it is encompassed with dead flesh which makes it the worse for till that dead and loose flesh be removed the Ulcer cannot be cured Therefore as often as the wound is dressed that dead flesh must be quite cut away which causes extraordinary pains Among the remedies for the healing of these Ulcers there are used Verdigreece Aquafortis the spirit of Vitriol and burned Allom which eat away the dead flesh They use to the same end the juice of the lesser Citron which is extremely sharp and when the wound is foul it makes it clean and look well True it is the pain which the party feels when the wound is rubbed therewith is so great that he would rather pitch on any of the other remedies but they do not heal so soon There is also an Unguent made of common honey a little sharp Vinegar and the powder of Verdigreece which cures Ulcers in a short time And to prevent them let not any one make slight of the least hurt or scratch that happens in any part of the body whatsoever especially the feet or legs but to apply a plaster thereto to take away the heat which may be in the wound and in case there be no other remedy procurable to put some Tobacco-leaves to it and to use the juice of Citron and Vinegar to take away the itch which remains after the stinging of the Mousticoes and the Maringoins rather than to make use of the nails In the sixth Chapter of this History we said there were Serpents and Snakes in the Islands of Martinico and St. Alousia which have a dangerous venom We shall here assign the Remedies which may be successfully used in order to the taking away thereof In the first place be it observed that they are to be used both inwardly and outwardly Inwardly to comfort the heart and dissipate the venomous quality which might prevail over it there are successfully used Treacle Mithridate the Confection of Alkermes Egyptian-Balm Peru-Balm Rue Scordium Scorzonera Vipers-grass Angelico and Contrahierva But above all the party stung must take down in a little Burrage-water Bugloss-water or some other liquor the powder of the Liver and Heart of Vipers the weight of a Crown-piece In a word he must use all those things which fortify the heart and revive and refresh the spirits Outwardly there are to be applied all the Remedies which have the virtue to draw and disperse all manner of venom Such are Cupping-glasses applied upon the scarified wound as also all hot and attractive Medicaments such as are Galbanum Ammoniacum the fomentation of wine boiled with the root of Dragon-wort or the leaves of Mug-wort Garlic Onions Pigeons dung the blood of Land-Tortoises dried and reduced to powder and the like It is also not only requisite but very safe as soon as may be to bind up the member affected a little above the place where the party was stung and immediately to make an incision nay indeed to take away the piece or at least as soon as it is scarified to apply thereto the outermost feather of a Chicken or Pigeons wing to take away the venom and that Chicken or Pigeon being dead to take another till there be no venom left to be drawn It were also to be wished that all the Inhabitants of the Caribbies were furnished with that excellent Antidote approved in so many places in France which is known under the famous name of Orvietan and sold at Paris at the New-bridge end in the street called Rue Dauphine at the sign of the Sun For that admirable secret among many other rare qualities hath the virtue to drive away the venom of all sorts of Serpents and to allay the force of the strongest poisons Such as have been stung by venomous Serpents are to use it thus Take of it about the bigness of a Bean dissolved in wine and after scarification made on the place stung and drawing blood by the Cupping-glass apply thereto a little Orvietan and let care be taken that the Patient be kept awake at least for twelve hours after This sovereign remedy loses nothing of its goodness though it be kept many years so it be put up in a place not too hot where it may be dried up and if it be it may be reduced to its consistence with Mel rosatum it may be also had in powder As to the diet to be observed during the use of this remedy the Patient must abstain from all meats that inflame the blood or cause melancholy He must also forbear purging and bleeding for fear of drawing the venom inward unless some of the nobler parts be in danger in which case he may purge abundantly and use baths and things good to open the pores and cause sweeting If a person be reduced to such an extremity as that none of the forementioned Antidotes can be procured let him make use of this which is very common and easily got Let him who hath been bitten or stung by any venomous creature immediately eat the rind of a raw Citron for it hath the virtue to secure the heart from the venom if it may be done the place hurt must be bound as hard as can be endured a little above the biting or stinging than it must be scarified and let there be often applied thereto a man's fasting spittle and if the beast which hath done the mischief can be had cut off the head of it and pound it till it be reduced to a kind of Unguent which must be applied hot to the wound This is the ordinary remedy used by the natural Inhabitants of Brasil to free themselves from the violent poison of that dangerous and monstrous Serpent which in their Language they call Boicinininga and the Spaniards Cascavel The last Letters we received from Martinico assure us that some considerable families lately come from Brasil with their Negroes to live in that Island acquainted the inhabitants with several Herbs and Roots growing in the Caribbies as well as Brasil which are excellent to allay the venom of all kinds of Serpents and poisoned Arrows The forementioned remedies may also be used against the venom of the Becune and all the other dangerous fishes They may also be successfully employed to prevent the pernicious effects of the juice of Manyoc the Manchenillo-tree and the stinging of Wasps Scorpions and all other venomous Infects SEA-FOAM THose who go a fishing or to wash themselves in the Sea do sometimes meet with a certain foam which the wind blows to and fro like a little bladder of a purple colour of a different figure and beautiful to the eye but what part soever of the body it shall stick to it immediately causes in it a very grievous pain extremely sharp and burning The readiest remedy that can be apylyed to alleviate that stinging pain is to anoint the place affected with the oil of the Acajou-nut mixed with a little good Aquavitae for one heat takes away the other RATS MIce and Rats were creatures heretofore unknown to the Caribbians but now since the coming in of so many Ships to those Islands and the casting away of divers of them in the very Roads where they afterwards rot they have got to land and are so multiplied that in some places they do abundance of mischief among the Potatoes Pease Beans and particularly that kind of Wheat which is called Turkey-wheat Nay did not the Snakes destroy them and search for them in their holes under ground in the clefts of rocks nay even in the cover of houses which consist of Palm-leaves or Sugarcanes it would no doubt be a very hard matter to secure Provisions from them Now indeed there are Cats in these Islands which give them no quarter nay Dogs are taught to hunt them and it is no small diversion to see how subtle they are to find them out and expert in the hunting and killing of them Nor is this inconvenience particular to the Caribbies nay it is much worse in Peru for Garcilasso in his Royal Commentary affirms that these pestilent creatures being extremely numerous in those parts commit very great spoils ransacking the places through which they pass making the Fields desolate and gnawing the Fruits even to the stalks and roots of the Trees The Inhabitants of the Islands have an invention which they call Balan to keep the Rats from eating their Cassava and other Provisions This Balan is a kind of round hurdle or haply square consisting of several stakes on which they place the Cassava after it hath been dried in the Sun It is fastened at the top of the Hut hanging down by a With or Cord and that the Rats may not come down along the Cord and so get to the Balan they put the Cord through a smooth gourd which hangs loose in the midst of it so that the Rats being come to that place being not able to fasten their feet in it and fearing the motion of the Gourd are afraid to venture any further Were it not for this secret the Inhabitants would find it a hard task to keep their provisions Thus hath the wise Author of Nature been pleased by an admirable equipollence of perfections and imperfections that those Countries which have some advantages above others should also be subject to those inconveniences that are not to be found elsewhere Thus hath the Divine Providence whose business it is liberally to supply the exigencies of his Creatures placed the preservative near the poison the Remedy walking as it were hand in hand with the Disease and so laid open to Man the inexhaustible Treasures of Grace and Nature to secure him against the injuries of Air the outrages of the Seasons the violence of Poisons and whatever the Earth produces that is most dangerous since it became envenomed by the first Transgression The End of the First Book THE HISTORY OF THE Caribby-Islands THE SECOND BOOK Comprehending the MORAL History of those ISLANDS CHAPTER I. Of the Establishment of those Inhabitants who are Strangers in the Islands of S. Christopher Mevis Gardeloupe Martinico and some other Islands of the Caribbies IN the precedent Discourse we have given a full account of whatever might relate to the Natural History of the Caribby-Islands our design leads us now to that part of the History which we call the MORAL wherein we are to treat of the Inhabitants of the said Islands of whom we have occasionally made mention in the Description we have given of those places in the precedent Book In the first place we shall speak of those Inhabitants thereof who are Strangers or Europeans yet only so far as the prosecution of our Design requires which having dispatched we shall descend to a more large and particular consideration of the Indians the natural and originary Inhabitants of the Country a task which requires a more ample deduction and a more exact and curious disquisition upon this presumption that there hath yet been very little published upon that subject The Spaniards grounding their Title upon the Donation of Pope Alexander the sixth and some other apparent Reasons and Pretences presume that the right of Navigation into the late discovered part of the World which is called America and of establishing and settling Colonies there whether it be in the Continent or in any of the Islands properly belongs to them exclusively to all others But not to urge that the vanity of that arrogant presumption is sufficiently discovered of itself and that it would prove a great digression from the design of our History to engage ourselves in a particular disquisition of that Controversy we need only say that Bergeron a learned and curious Author hath so exactly handled this Question and so clearly shown the absurdity of that chimerical pretence in his Treatise of Navigations that it would be lost labour for us to insist upon it or to think of any thing new that can be produced upon that account Accordingly all Christian Kings and Princes have always disputed thar pretended Right with the King of Spain as unanimously concluding that he had unjustly attributed the same to himself Nor have they engaged against him only by words and writings but have effectually prosecuted their own pretensions and from time to time sent Fleets into America to settle Plantations there and to take into their possession several parts of that new World wherein the most successful have been the English the French and the Dutch But it is to be observed that of all the Colonies which these three European Nations have planted in America those that settled themselves in the Caribby-Islands are of greatest account and the most frequented by Merchants as being the most advantageous upon the score of Trade The English and French as may have been noted in the first Book of this History are the most considerable in those parts and have divided between them the greatest the richest and the most populous of all those Islands We may further affirm it as a thing generally known that these Nations have not in their several establishments followed the inhuman and barbarous maxims of the Spaniards nor after their example unmercifully exterminated the originary Inhabitants of the Country for if they found any of them in actual possession of the Lands where they lived they have for the most part preserved them therein and contracted alliances with them Yet must it be acknowledged that the the Caribbians have had very great differences with the English and that the said differences have continued a long time but the ground of their quarrels proceeded from some occasions of discontent which the Caribbians received from some particular persons of that Nation which represented in a Body hath disapproved their procedure and upon all emergencies hath expressed itself so far dissatisfied therewith as to desire that they should be treated with the same humanity moderation and Christian mildness as those greater and flourishing Colonies of Virginia and New-England that are under the jurisdiction of the said English have hitherto used towards the natural Inhabitants of that part of America which lies more Northerly where they have established themselves for it is known that the English hold so sacred and perfect a correspondence with them as hath opened a way for their instruction in the Mysteries of Christian Religion and the planting of a great number of fair Churches amongst those poor Barbarians But above all this is most certain that when the French established themselves in the Islands of Martinico Gardeloupe and Granada it was done with the consent of the most considerable persons among the Caribbians who thereupon disowned those of their Countrymen who would have obstructed the said establishment Nay such was their earnestness therein that they employed all their Forces and Councils to oppose the designs of the others and to secure the French in the peaceable possession of what they had before granted them This proceeding absolutely clears the French of being guilty of the same violences which are charged upon the Spaniards and makes it appear that the setlement of the former in those Islands was not like that of the latter in those places where they have the opportunities to establish themselves And if it be objected to the French that they have forced the natural Inhabitants out of S. Christopher's and Gardeloupe and that even at this present there is a War between the said Nation and those of Martinico it may be answered that when the French peopled these Islands they proposed to themselves no other design then the edification and instruction of those poor Barbarians and that if contrary to their first intention they had been forced to use a severe hand towards some particular persons and to treat them as enemies they were themselves the occasion of their own misfortune by being the first Aggressors and guilty of previous violations of the sacred Laws of Alliance which they had contracted with them and engaging themselves in sanguinary counsels such as would have smothered their Colonies ere they were fully settled had there not been a timely discovery made thereof The English and French Colonies had their beginning at the same time which was in the year One thousand six hundred twenty and five Monsieur Desnambuc a French Gentleman of the ancient House of Vauderop and a Captain under the King of France in the Western Seas and Sir Thomas Warner an English Gentleman jointly took possession of the Island of S. Christopher's on the same day in the names of the Kings of France and Great Britain their Masters that they might have a place of safe retreat and a good Haven for the reception of such Ships of both Nations as should be bound for America that Island being furnished with all the advantages whereof we have given a full account in the Chapter particularly designed by us for the description of it upon which score it was visited by the Spaniards who often put in there for refreshments both as they were inward and outward bound in their long Voyages Nay sometimes they left their si●k there to be looked to by the Caribbians with whom they had made a peace upon those terms These two Gentlemen therefore considering with themselves that if they were possessed of that Country they might the better incommodate their common enemy in America the Spaniard and have withal a convenient and secure habitation in order to the establishment of the Colonies they intended for those Islands became Masters of it and left men therein to keep it But before they parted thence having some grounds to fear that there might be some secret intelligence between the Indians and the Spaniards or that in their absence they might execute the resolution which by the persuasion of certain Sorcerers a sort of people in great esteem among the Indians they had undertaken which was to put to death all the Strangers who were come into their Country they in one night rid their hands of all the most factious of that Nation and not long after forced all the rest who had got together into several Bodies and intended to stand upon their guard to retire to some other places and to leave that to their disposal Things being thus ordered Desnambuc returns into France and Sir Thomas Warner into England where their conquest and all their proceedings thereupon were approved by the Kings their Masters and having obtained a permission to carry over some recruits of men they came back to the Island in the quality of Governors and Lieutenants under the Kings of France and Great Brittany But Desnambuc before he went over to cultivate and prosecute his conquest imagined to himself that the most likely way to have a powerful support in France such as should concern itself in the preservation of that Island and so to secure and promote his designs would be to get together a Company of persons of Authority which should have the direction and signiory of the said Island and what others might afterwards be conquered and reduced under the jurisdiction of the King of France upon this provision that the said Company should have a care and make it their earnest business to supply the Colony with men for the keeping and cultivation of it as also with ecclesiastics to be maintained by allowances from the said Company and lastly to build certain Forts there for the security of the Inhabitants and to furnish them with Canon Powder and all sorts of Ammunition in a word to maintain a sufficient Arsenal wherein should be all things in readiness to oppose the Enemy This Company or Society was established in the month of October in the year of our Lord one thousand six hundred twenty and six as well for the Government of S. Christopher's as those other Islands which are adjacent thereto and was approved by the King of France Since that time it hath been further confirmed and favoured with some new Concessions and very advantageous privileges obtained from his most Christian Majesty the eighth of March one thousand six hundred forty and two for all the Islands of America lying between the tenth and thirtieth degree on this side the Equator Desnambuc having thus ordered his affairs in France returns to S. Christopher's with a recruit of three hundred men which the Gentlemen of the Company newly erected had raised in order to the advancement of that Colony He brought over a●●o along with him a considerable number of gallant Volunteers who looked on it as no small honour to run fortunes with so famous an Adventurer and to participate of his honourable hazards out of a confidence in process of time of reaping the fruit of his Conquests They got all safely to S. Christopher's about the beginning of the year M. DC XXVII and though they had suffered much during their Voyage and were most of them either sick or much weakened yet were they not discouraged by those difficulties but reflecting that the noblest enterprises are many times attended by great inconveniences and that Roses cannot be gathered without thorns they immediately fell to work and having in a short time learned of those whom they found in the Isle what they were to do in order to their further establishment they behaved themselves answerably to the generous designs of their Captain who on his part more and more encouraged them by words and example How the Island was to be divided between the two Nations had been designed before that Voyage but the particular Articles of the Division were solemnly agreed to and concluded on the 13th of May in the said year M. DC XXVII For to the end that every one might employ himself with some assurance upon his own stock and that no differences might arise between the French and the English M. Warner being returned from England some time before the arrival of Desnambuc where he had also recommended his affairs to the direction of a Company which undertook the advancement of his enterprises they divided the whole Island between them and set those Boundaries to their several divisions which are remaining to this day but with this particular provision that Fishing and Hunting should be equally free to the Inhabitants of both Nations and that the Salt-ponds the more precious kinds of Timber fit for Dying or Joyners-work Havens and Mines should in like manner be common Nay it was further agreed upon by certain Articles concluded on both sides that a good correspondence should be maintained between them as also for the preventing of all jealousies and avoiding the occasions of disputes and contestations which might easily arise between people of different humours They further made a Defensive League for the mutual relief of each other if occasion should require against the attempts of the common Enemy or any other who should endeavour to disturb the peace and quiet which they hoped to enjoy together in those parts of the Country where they had planted themselves These things thus settled the two Governors betrayed a certain emulation in carrying on the establishment of their Colonies in the prosecution whereof it is most certain the English had very considerable advantages above the French to compass their designs For besides that that Nation which is as it were nursed up in the bosom of the Sea can better endure the hardship and inconveniences of long Voyages and is better versed in the making of new Plantations the Company which was established at London for the management of that of S. Christopher's made such generous provisions that at its first setlement it might be supplied with Men and Provisions such as should be necessary for their subsistence and took so particular a care of all things that it was from time to time refreshed with new recruits and whatever it might stand in need of at the beginning that it visibly prospered and advanced while the French which was unfurnished with all those assistances seemed to pine and languish nay indeed would have quite fallen away if the affection which it had for its chief Director and the high esteem it had conceived of his valour had not kept it up While therefore the French Colony was reduced to these extremities and in a manner subsisted only by its courage that of the English being in a good plight and condition spread itself into a new one which planted itself in the Island of Mevis which is divided from S. Christopher's only by a small arm of the Sea as we have said elsewhere But if the small number whereto the French were reduced permitted them not to make the like progres●eses their Governor Desnambuc had in the mean time the opportunity to make several useful regulations for the better setlement of it Of these we shall not think it besides our design to insert here some few of the principal Articles to the end the memory of them may be preciously preserved for the instruction of posterity In the first place taking it into his consideration that by peace and concord small things come to be great and that division distracts and disperses the greatest he ordered that all the Inhabitants of the Island who were subject to his jurisdiction should maintain a perfect union among themselves and that he pressed and recommended to them upon all occasions as the Pillar of their little State and the sacred Channel through which they were to expect the blessings both of Heaven and Earth abundantly to flow upon them And whereas it is impossible that in mutual conversation there should not happen many things which might oftentimes offer some violence to that amicable correspondence if some present provision be not made to the contrary he desired that such differences might be with the soon either decided or smothered and all be reconciled with meekness and that if possible before the setting of the Sun Another command of his was that his people should be faithful to their trust and free and sincere in all their affairs obliging and charitable towards their Neighbours and as religious and punctual in the observance of the promises they had made as if they had been put into writing and sealed and delivered before witnesses or Public Notaries And that their being continually employed about their Plantations might not cause them to forget the business of War and out of a distrust they would degenerate in point of courage through a long and undisturbed quiet and that if occasion should require they might be able to handle their Arms and make use of them with dexterity he appointed certain days for the exercising of them that they might thereby be minded of the Rules of Military Discipline and ordered that though all professed the cultivation of the earth yet that they should have the generous looks and demeanours of Soldiers and that they should at all times have about them the Badges and Liveries of that kind of Life and so never be seen out of their Quarters without Fire-arms or at least a Sword But if he required them to be thus qualified to the end that when occasion served they might make their enemies sensible of their valour and courage he on the other side obliged them to be mild and courteous one towards another and that the stronger should not take their advantages of the weaker Thence it came that he made this commendable order which is still in force in all those Islands to wit that Masters should not take Servants for any longer term than three years during which time they should be obliged to treat them with all gentleness and moderation and exact of them only such services as were rational and answerable to their strength Nay his care and tenderness was very remarkable towards such as were newly brought into the Country To the end therefore that at their arrival they might be supplied with all things requisite to secure them against the injuries of the air and that their labour might not be hindered through want of convenient lodging he desired that as soon as the place which they had designed for their building was uncovered all the Neighbourhood should help them in the raising of it up This commendable Institution was so well received and so carefully practised that all the Inhabitants generally acknowledged the equity of it and took a certain pleasure in making a voluntary contribution of their pains and cares upon that occasion Some went to cut down such Timber as might be necessary others were to find Reeds and Palm-leaves for palisadoes and covering the ablest Architects planted the forks raised the couples and fastened the covering and all seemed to be kindly concerned in the work so as that the narrow structure was in a few days become tenantable yet without any charge to the owner save only to see those charitable assistants supplied with the ordinary drink of the Country as long as they were at work upon his account In fine he had a particular aversion against those idle persons who are basely content to live by the sweat and labour of others as the Drones do on the Honey which the laborious Bee had brought into the common Treasury But to retrieve in our days a little glimpse of the Golden Age so much celebrated by the Ancients he incited all the Inhabitants to be liberal and apt to communicate to one another the goods which God had plentifully bestowed on them and to express their charity and hospitality towards all those who came to visit them that so there might afterwards be no occasion to settle Inns and Victualling-houses among them as being places which for the most part served only for retreats to slothful debauched and dissolute persons and the disorders and excesses committed therein were so great as in time might hasten the desolation and ruin of the whole Colony But while the French Governor was thus taken up with the ordering of his little Republic and kept up the spirits of his people with the expectation of sudden recruits the Gentlemen of the Company not much differing in constitution from many of that Nation who think of reaping as soon as they have disposed the seed into the ground were for their parts in a continual expectation of some Ships loaden with the richest and most precious Commodities of America that so they might be reimbursed with interest what they had laid out upon the first embarquing and till that return were come they thought of nothing less than running themselves into new charges The Governor having seriously taken it into consideration that all the Letters he had sent to those Gentlemen upon that occasion had not obtained any favourable answers from them thought it would be his best course ere the Colony were reduced to greater extremities to come over to them in person and by a second Voyage undertake the solicitation of that relief upon which the safety of their first advancements and the subsistence of the French in that Island wholly depended This good design which the zeal he had for the glory of his Nation had inspired him withal proved as fortunate as he could have wished it For being come to Paris he was so prevalent in representing the importance and necessity of that Recruit to the Gentlemen of the Company that they granted him three hundred men and Ships furnished with all necessary Provisions for their transportation to S. Christopher's This Recruit so impatiently expected by the Colony happily arrived about the beginning of August M. DC XXIX and it was received with so great joy by them who had so long stood in need of it that now they thought nothing should obstruct the execution of their designs But it seems the prosperities of this life are of a short continuance they had hardly solaced themselves two months in the enjoyments of that happiness ere there comes upon them a powerful Fleet from Spain Dom Frederick de Toledo who had the command of it had received express order from his Catholic Majesty that before he fell down to the Havanna Carthagena and the other more eminent Ports of America he should touch at S. Christopher's and force thence all the English and French who had planted themselves there some years before The first act of hostility committed by this Naval force which consisted of four and twenty great Ships of burden and fifteen Frigates was the seizure of some English Ships then lying at Anchor near the Island of Mevis which done it came and cast Anchor in the Road of S. Christopher's within Canonshot of the Basse-terre where Mons de Rossey had the command in chief The Forts of both the Colonies were not yet in such a condition as to stand out a siege they were unfurnished with Provisions and all the Ammunition as to Powder and Shot in the whole Island could not amount to much nay though both the Nations should have joined all their forces together yet could they not have opposed so great an Army But their courage in some measure supplied all those defects for that the Enemy should not brag of his having compassed his designs without some opposition Desnambuc dispatched out of the Cabes-terre where he began to fortify himself all his most experienced Soldiers in order to the relief of the place which was threatened by the Enemy and the English sent thither four of their best Companies These Forces being come to the appointed Rendezvouz were jointly employed with the Inhabitants of that Quarter to entrench themselves along the Sea-coast to make a more vigorous resistance against the Enemy and oppose his landing and no doubt they would have put him to some trouble had they been well commanded and that first earnestness had not received some remission by the fright which so seized the heart of de Rossey that he would have suffered them to land and make their approaches without any resistance if a young Gentleman Nephew to Mons Desnambuc and elder Brother to Mons Parquet the present Governor of Martinico had not get leave to pass over the Works and to engage the first Company of the Enemy that appeared upon the sands He was seconded by some Volunteers who would needs participate of the glory of that action but he went before them all both as to courage and resolution for he so gallantly engaged him who had the command of the party that he killed him and several others of the most valiant about him who had the confidence to make trial of his valour But being afterwards forsaken by those who had followed him in that encounter he was overpowered by number knocked down and carried into one of the enemy's Ships where after all remedies applied in order to his recovery he died to the great regret of both sides as bemoaning the misfortune of such a miracle of generosity and resolution During this encounter which should have been maintained with more gallantry by those who were in actual possession of the Island the General of the Spanish Fleet immediately gave order that all the Ships should at the same time send out their Shallops full of Soldiers well armed which got a shore in very good order This added not a little to the fright de Rossey was in before inasmuch as being far from entertaining any thoughts of opposition out of a fear of being oppressed by that multitude he thought it his only way to make an honourable retreat before his people were encompassed of all sides This resolution tumultuously taken was grumbled at by those who wished the Enemy had more dearly bought the desolation of their Colony but such a general consternation was there in that fatal conjuncture that it was carried they should take their way towards the Cabes-terre and that there it should be taken into further consideration what were best to be done in order to the common safety The Spaniard perceiving that the French had quitted their Fort and their Works without making any great resistance imagined there might be some design in that retreat and that it had been made purposely to draw him into some Ambuscado laid for him in the Woods This suspicion kept him from prosecuting his victory and so occasioned his stay in the Quarter of the Basse-terre till he had a better account brought him of the state of the whole Island and himself had considered what was most expedient for him to do in order to a more sudden and punctual execution of his Commission While the Enemy continued in this suspense and considered with himself how to compass his designs with least danger Desnambuc extremely surprised at so sudden a change and so unexpected success endeavoured to comfort his own people and to encourage them to express their constancy in the supporting of that miscarriage He thereupon took occasion to remonstrate to them That the disgrace was not past remedy That it was not to be imagined the enemy would stay in the Island so long as to force all the Inhabitants out of it That he had affairs of greater weight which called him elsewhere That he would not easily be drawn into the Forests which it was absolutely necessary he should pass through ere he could come into his Quarter That they might put themselves into such a posture of defence as should not only give a check to his progress but also force him to signalise his invasion with his own blood And lastly that there were in his way some places so fortified by Nature that a few men might force him to find his way back again This advice was very solid and might have prevailed somewhat with those to whom it was given but the terror wherewith their spirits were prepossessed and the consternation was so general that it was not weighed as it deserved The business therefore being taken into deliberation it was concluded that the Island should be deserted and that the Colony should transport itself to some other place which might give less occasion of jealousy to the Spaniard and lie more out of the ordinary course of his Fleets Desnambuc foreseeing that what pretencesoever might be made for the taking of that resolution it would still be chargeable with somewhat of cowardice and baseness such as should blast the opinion conceived of the gallantry of the French and of a sudden smother the great hopes which some had of the advancement of their Colony could not be persuaded to give his approbation thereto However though he were of a contrary sentiment that it might not be said he forsook in so sad a conjuncture those whom he had brought thither through so many Seas and dangers he complied with their humour and embarked himself with them in certain Ships which chanced to be in the Haven and so to avoid a greater disorder doing his own inclinations a violence he only assured them that he should one day reproach them with the little esteem they made of his remonstrances The Quarters where the English had themselves were also in a great disorder they had intelligence brought them that the enemy was become master of all the Basse-terre That he had demolished the Fortress of the French after he had removed the pieces that were in it That he had already burnt all their Huts and made havoc of all the Plantations of the Quarter They were in perpetual expectation when he should come and fall on them with all his forces and in that apprehension some endeavoured to make their escape by Sea or shelter themselves in the Mountains while others somewhat more courageous were consulting how to send Deputies to Dom Frederic to entreat him to admit of some accommodation But all the Answer they received was an express command immediately to depart the Island which if they did not they should be treated with all the rigour which the Law of Arms permits to be used towards those who against all right possess themselves of what belongs not to them To facilitate the departure which Dom Frederic had so imperiously commanded he gave order that those Ships which his Fleet had taken away from the English near the Island of Mevis should be restored to them and that they should embark without any delay and immediately set sail for England But whereas it was impossible those Vessels should contain so great a number of people he permitted the supernumerary to continue in the Island till they had a favourable opportunity for their transportation These things dispatched Dom Frederic weighed Anchor in order to the continuation of his Voyage but as soon as the Fleet was out of sight the English who had been left behind in the Island began to rally and took a resolution courageously to carry on the setlement of their Colony While these things were in agitation at S. Christopher's the French who had left it at the beginning of the distraction had suffered so many inconveniences at Sea partly through want of Provisions and partly by reason of contrary Winds that they were forced to put in at the Islands of S. Martin and Montserrat after they had by the way touched at that of Antego They wished themselves so happy as that they might have settled in any of those places but they looked on them as dreadful Deserts in comparison of that out of which they had been so unhappily forced The pleasant Idea of that was still before their eyes it was the continual subject of their regret and the delightful remembrance of that pleasant abode to the recovery whereof they were by Divine Providence reinvited by ways unknown to them raised in them a desire to be informed what condition the Spaniard had left it in since they were then so near it To satisfy that commendable curiosity they sent one of their Ships to S. Christopher's which returning gave them an account that the Enemy's Fleet was gone and that the English who were left behind were courageously employed in rebuilding their Huts planting Provisions and repairing their desolations This unexpected good News revived their decayed hopes and heightened the courage of those who were most cast down so that there needed not many arguments ro persuade them to a return into that delightful Country which was already possessed of their hearts and tenderest affections Being arrived there every one resumed his former place with a resolution to make an absolute setlement but the Famine which pressed hard upon them would no doubt have checked the progress of all these promising designs and they would have been crushed by the extraordinary labours which they were at the same time obliged to undergo as well in rebuilding their houses as planting things necessary for their subsistence if in those pressing extremities God had not directed thither for their relief some Ships belonging to the United Provinces which finding what a deplorable condition they were in generously supplied them with provisions  and all things necessary nay to put an absolute obligation upon them they had no other security for their satisfaction then their bare words The French having thus seasonably overcome the inconveniences which they had struggled with from the first beginning of their establishment employed themselves so earnestly afterwards in their Plantations that through the blessing of God on their l●bours the Earch furnished them with Provisions and Tobacco in such abundance that they honestly satisfied their charitable Creditors and in a short time were better accommodated with all things than they had b●●● before their defeat by the Spaniards Yet were they still in wa●● of Men to carry on their Erterprises and the Commerce which b●●●● to be established among them To remedy that Desnambuc who found his constancy attended with so good success thought it the surest and most likely expedient to per●●t the principal Inhabitants of the ●●●●ny to return into France to make Levies there and to bring over what numbers they should raise on their own charge This prudent advice being accordingly put in execution the Island was in a few years supplied with abundance of gallant persons who brought it into reputation The English Colony made also a shift in a short time to make up all the b●eaches it had received by the invasion of the Spaniards The Company at London which had undertaken the direction of it sending over continual supplies of Men and refreshments the two Quarters whereof the English were possessed in the Island of S. Christopher's became too narrow to maintain so great a multitude insomuch that besides the Island of Mevis which they had peopled before their defeat by the Spaniards they grew so powerful as in less than four years to spread themselves into new Plantations in the Islands of ●he Barbouthos Mountserrat Antego and the Barbados which are grown very numerous there and famous for the Trade of the rich Commodities they are furnished with as may be seen by the particular descriptions we have given thereof in the precedent Book of this History What Colonies the Dutch have in the Caribby-Islands were established some time after those of the French and English and their establishments were not upon the account of the States but upon that of some particular Companies of Merchants who the better to carry on the Trade which they have in all the Islands whereof the English and French are possessed were desirous to have some places of safe retreat for the refreshment of their Ships The most ancient of those Colonies which have any dependence on the States-General of the United Provinces is that in the Island of S. Eustace It was established much about the same time that Sir Thomas Warner settled that of Mont-serrat which was in the Year M. DC XXXII It is considerable upon this account that it is a place naturally well fortified as also for the number and quality of the Inhabitants the abundance of good Tobacco which it still yields and for several other remarkable advantages whereof we have given an account in the fifth Chapter of the former Book Monsieur Desnambuc expressed no less earnestness and generosity in the dilatation of his Colony then other Nations did in that of theirs but having not been so seasonably relieved as was requisite at the beginning and his designs having been many times checked by several unhappy obstructions he had this further displeasure to see divers of the most considerable Islands possessed by others before he was in a condition to put in for a share and dilate his Conquest beyond the limits of S. Christopher's He had a long time before cast his eye on that of Gardeloupe as being one of the noblest and greatest Islands of all the Caribbies but while he was taking order for the transporting of men thither he was prevented in his design by Monsieur de l' Olive one of the principal Inhabitants of his own Colony who making his advantage of a Voyage he had made into France about some private affairs of his own as he pretended joined with Monsieur du Plessis and some Merchants of Dieppe for the establishment of a Colony there by Commission from the Company which had the direction of the Islands of America These two Gentlemen being made joint Governors of the Island of Gardeloupe and invested with equal authority arrived there the 28th of June M. DC XXXV with a Company of five hundred men who presently after their arrival were pressed with a famine and divers diseases which took away a great number of them It is conceived that the former misfortune happened to them upon this occasion that they had planted themselves at their first landing in those parts of the Island where the soil was most barren and unfit for cultivation of any in it and that they had upon too light grounds entered into a War with the Caribbians the originary Inhabitants of the place who might have plentifully furnished them with most of the provisions necessary for their subsistence at the beginning till the earth and their own industry had supplied them better Diseases were the consequences of that unwholesome nourishment which hunger forced them to make use of for want of better whereto this may be added that the ground being not reduced to culture the air was the more easily corrupted Du Plessis reflecting on the misfortunes and inconveniences which daily fell one in the neck of another upon that unsettled Colony and having just grounds to fear that other yet greater might happen to it took it so much to heart that he died out of pure grief in the seventh month after his arrival The loss of him was much regretted by all the French who had always expressed a great submission to his advice and much love and respect to his person He was a man of singular prudence of so affable and obliging a disposition that he gained the affections of all that treated with him After the departure of Monsieur du Plessis de l' Olive became sole Governor This latter was a Person of an humour as active and stirring as that of his Colleague was gentle and moderate and he so much hearkened to the violent counsels of some restless spirits who like so many pestilent Ear-wigs were continually putting him upon new projects that he soon after engaged himself in that fatal War against the Caribbians which had almost proved the destruction of that newly-planted Colony True it is that at first he pressed so hard upon them as to force them to leave him the absolute possession of Gardeloupe but in regard that to compass the designs which he had framed to himself from the time of his arrival he was necessitated to commit several cruelties such as the very Barbarians themselves would not have exercised upon their greatest enemies it proved such a blast to his reputation that the approvers of his conduct were only some sanguinary persons and Desperadoes The poor Caribbians which the Governor had forced out of the Island of Gardeloupe retreated into that of Dominico Those of the same Nation who were possessed of the latter entertained them kindly and to give them a greater assurance how much they were sensible of their misfortune they proffered to join with them to revenge by the way of Arms the injury which had been done them a proffer too obliging to be refused Their forces being thus united they made several incursions into Gardeloupe and became such goads and thorns in the sides of the French that they were forced to give over the culture of Tobacco nay indeed the planting of those provisions which were necessary for their subsistence to the end they might always be in Arms to prevent the attempts and designs of those subtle enemies whom they had by their own imprudence so much exasperated against them This cruel War which lasted near four years reduced the Colony to great extremities and brought it to so deplorable a condition that it was out of repute in all places and upon its being continually pestered by the incursions and depredations of the irreconcilable Caribbians it was concluded to be at no great distance from its utter destruction The French being brought to this lowness it pleased God that the Governor de l' Olive lost his sight whereupon the Gentlemen of the Company sent over Monsieur Auber to be Governor of it who remedied all the precedent disorders appeased all troubles and settled that Peace which afterwards brought in Trading and plenty of all things as we shall show more at large in the third Chapter of this Moral History As soon as M. Desnambuc had received intelligence that Gardeloupe was inhabited he resolved with the first convenience to settle himself in some other of the best Islands which were yet at his choice and to prevent a second supplantation finding that he had about him a considerable number of resolute persons and furnished with all provisions of War and what was necessary for the belly and all things requisite for the prosecution of such erterprises he went in person to take possession of the Island of Martinico which having done he left there for his Lieutenant Mr. du Pont and for Commander in chief Mr. de la Vallee Not long after dying at S. Christopher's he left all his Estate and Titles of what kind soever which he had in Martinico which he had peopled at his own charge to M. Parquet his Nephew who is the present Lord and Governor of it as we have said elsewhere This Gentleman was a person of much gallantry of easy access familiar with all and master of a happy kind of insinuation such as gently forced the love and obedience of those who were under him It is related of him that the English having gone a little beyond the boundaries which by the mutual agreement concluded between both Nations had been set for the distinction of their several Quarters he went to those of the English attended by a small number of persons and spoke with the English Governor who expected him with a considerable number of Soldiers But he behaved himself with so much courage and resolution and gave such good reasons intermixed with menaces for what he did that the English Governor granted him what he desired That accident shows how careful he was to preserve the Rights and Privileges of his Nation and what he did then had this further consequence that the two Governors were ever afterwards very good friends CHAP. II. Of the Establishments of the French in the Islands of S. Bartholomew S. Martin and Sante-Cruce AFter the death of Monsieur Desnambuc one Monsieur du Halde who was his Lieutenant in that Government was nominated to be Governor in Chief by the Gentlemen of the Company But not long after the said du Halde coming over into France Cardinal Richelieu whose care extended to the most remote places where the French had any thing to do undertook the conservation and advancement of that Colony in America out of an endeavour to render the name of France as glorious in that part of the new World as it was here To carry on that design he thought it requisite that the Islands should be supplied with a Governor accordingly Having therefore some while sought for a person fit for that Employment one eminent for his conduct prudence generosity and the experience requisite for so great a charge he at last pitched upon Monsieur de Lonvilliers Poincy Knight a Gentleman of a very ancient House The Cardinal presented this excellent Person to King Lewis the XIII who approving the choice invested him with the Charge of Governor and Lieutenant-General under his Majesty in the Islands of America Whereupon Letters Patents were granted him in September M. DC XXXVIII That quality had not been given to any of those who had preceded him in the Government of those Islands In the Year M. DC XXXIX the said new Governor setting sail from Diep about the midst of January arrived about a month after at the Caribbies and was first received at Martinico by the Inhabitants in Arms. He afterwards went to Gardeloupe and S. Christopher's but his noblest reception was at the latter All the French Inhabitants being in Arms received him in the quality of General with universal applause and he was conducted to the Church attended by his Gentlemen and Guards where Te Deum was sung Immediately upon his reception the Island began to put on a new face and within a short time after things were visibly changed from better to better insomuch that he not only answered but exceeded the expectations of his Majesty and the Cardinal One of the first things he did was to give order for the building of Churches in several Quarters of the Island He took care that the Priests should be well lodged and maintained that they might not be diverted from the employments of their Function He made such provisions in the administration of justice as rendered it expeditious and without Fees by means of a Council consisting of the most prudent and experienced among the Officers of the Island His vigilance reformed and prevented the disorders which easily creep in among persons shuffled together from divers places and of different humours His prudence in composing and settling matters of greatest difficulty was equally admired by those who were under his Government and his Neighbours of other Nations That greatness of mind which successfully guided him to the accomplishment of all his designs made him dreadful to all restless and dissatisfied spirits His affability easiness of access and his kind entertainment towards Strangers brought Trading and plenty into the Island and his goodness and liberality justly gained the hearts and affections of the French In a word his Generosity signalised in many occurrences as well in France during the noble Employments he had in his Majesty's Armies as in America since his Government there in the preservation dilatation and reduction of so many considerable places wrought such a terror in the Spaniard that he never since proffered to oppose his glorious Erterprises Having settled S. Christopher's in good order as to Trading and all other Concerns and made it the most flourishing Island of all the Caribbies as we have represented it in the fourth Chapter of the precedent Book he afterwards extended the French Colony into those of S. Bartholomew S. martin's and Santa Cruse whereof we have given an account in their proper places yet so as we still have many considerable circumstances to deliver concerning the Conquest of the Island of Santa Cruse which we shall here take occasion to insert The Island of Santa Cruse hath been subject to many Masters in a short time and for many years together the English and Dutch had some contestations about the propriety of it At last they made a division of it between them but in the Year M. DC XLIX the English having observed that they much exceeded the Dutch in number forced them to depart the Island But they also continued not long Masters of it for soon after the Spaniards who were Inhabitants of the Island of Porto-Rico made an incursion into it burnt their houses put to the sword all the English they found in Arms and ordered the rest with their baggage and wives to be transported to the Barbouthos Having thus laid the Island desolate as they were setting things in order for their returning aboard their Vessels and to take their course back to Porto-Rico there arrives thither a Ship from the Islands of S. Eustace and S. Martin's wherein there were a considerable number of men who having received intelligence of the defeat of the English and imagining that the Spaniards were gone would have revived the pretensions of the Dutch to that Island but the Spaniards having the advantage as being ten to one the Dutch were forced to accept of such terms of accommodation as the others were pleased to give them The crafty Spaniards had indeed promised them good quarter but their design was to transport them to Porto-Rico to their Governor who according to the Spanish humour would not have treated them over-christianly But as good fortune would have it just as the Spaniards were preparing for their return with the Dutch Prisoners who had so unfortunately fallen into their hands two French Ships well manned and furnished with all sorts of Provisions and Ammunition arrived in the Island sent thither by the French General de Poincy to send the Spaniard packing thence and take possession of it for the King of France This relief came in very seasonably for the deliverance of the surprised  for the Spaniards perceiving the French landing cheerfully and in good order and making a considerable Body of gallant men and ready to fight immediately let go their Prisoners and after a short capitulation the French sent them an express order to be gone aboard their Ships with a menace that if they did not they would fall upon them as Enemies and that they were not to expect any Quarter The Spaniards thought it their best course rather to comply than stand to the hazard of an engagement though they much exceeded the French in number The French General taking it into his consideration of what importance the Island in time might be especially in order to the facilitation of other acquests of greater concernment thought it worthy his endeavours to secure what he had so fortunately possessed himself of and thereupon sent a prudent and experienced Governor to command there under him The person he pitched on for that Employment was Monsieur Auber Major of the Island of S. Christopher's who had exercised that Charge with great approbation for many years together but now he was advanced to the quality of Governor of that Island He died in the exercise of that Charge to the great regret of all the Inhabitants after he had settled the Island in good order recovered its ruins and laid the foundations of a Fort which he had designed himself for the security of such Ships as should afterwards come into the Haven and to defeat the hopes of the Spaniards to make any more incursions there This reduction of the Island under the power of the French as we have described it happened in the Year M. DC L. The Dutch had built a very fair Church upon a pleasant ascent of this Island in the form of a Cross which may still be standing if the Spaniards who should have a respect for that sacred Sign which was on the top of the Steeple have not ruined it The French are obliged for that House of Prayer to the devotion and zeal of a certain Company of Merchants belonging to Flushing who first peopled the Island by a Commission from the States-General The present King of France being informed of all the glorious actions done in those parts by Monsieur de Poincy and considering how necessary his continual residence in America was granted him new Letters Patents whereby he confirmed him in the Charge of Governor and Lieutenant-General in those places and the Queen during her Regency gave him a great commendation for his noble Erterprises and Fidelity to the King's service In the Year M. DC LI. the French Governor with the King's consent treated with the Gentlemen of the Company we mentioned before and having reimbursed them all the charges they had been a● in the establishment of that Colony purchased to himself the signory and Fee-simple of the Islands of the Christopher's S. Bartholomew S. Martin Santa-cruce and 〈…〉 Islands and that in the name and for the benefit of ●is Order of Malta and it is one of the noblest richest and most honourable Signories of any that Order enjoys under the Sovereignty of his Majesty of France And since that time the said King hath made an absolute bequest of all those Islands to the Order of Malta reserving to himself the Sovereignty thereof and the homage of a Crown of Gold to be presented at every change of King of the value of a thousand Crowns as it appears by the Letters Patents dated in March M. DC LIII Monsieur du Parquet Governor of Martinico did the like for the Islands of Martinico Granada and Sainta●ousia Monsieur d' ●●well Governor of Garacloupe did the same thing for the Islands of Gardeloupe Marigalanta Desirado and the Saints The two last mentioned are not yet inhabited● but he hath purchased the signory of those places by way of advance that others might not without b●each of civility possess themselves thereof For it is to be observed that the Company which had the direction of the Islands of America but is now dissolved had obtained of the King all the Islands of the Caribbies as well those then inhabited as those in process of time to be so So that these Gentlemen who have treated with the Company would needs have mentioned in their Grant some Islands which are not yet inhabited yet lie near and very convenient for them insomuch as when they shall have men enough in their other Islands they will be the more easily transplanted into those unless the English or Dutch chance to be beforehand with them For it is a general Rule That a Country destitute of Inhabitants belongs to him who first possesses himself of it so that neither the King of France's Grant nor yet that of the Company does any thing more than secure those Gentlemen against the pretensions of such of their own Nation as might oppose their designs Thus of all the Islands which the French are possessed of in America the King of France reserves to himself the Sovereignty and M. M. de Poincy du Parquet and d' Hovel have the signory thereof without any acknowledgement of the Company which hath absolutely quitted all its pretensions to the said Gentlemen As for the English Governors of S. Christopher's Sir Thomas Warner dying after he had gloriously established his Countrymen in the Caribbies and left the Island of S. Christopher's inhabited by twelve or thirteen thousand English Mr. Rich who was the principal Captain in the Island was advanced to that Charge and this latter also dying Mr. Everard was advanced to the Government which he still exercises with general approbation as we had occasion to show when we treated of the Island of S. Christopher's At the first coming of the foreign Nations into the Islands they were lodged much after the same manner as the natural Inhabitants of the Country in little cotts and huts made of the wood they had felled upon the place as they cleared the ground There are still to be seen in several of the newly-planted Colonies many of those weak structures which are sustained only by four or six forks planted in the ground and instead of walls are encompassed and palizadoed only with reeds and covered with Palm or Plantain leaves Sugarcanes or some such material But in all the other Islands where these Nations are better settled and accommodated there are many very fair houses of Timber Stone and Brick built after the same manner as those in their own Countries save that for the most part they are but one or two Stories high at the most that they may the more easily resist the winds which sometimes blow in those parts with extraordinary violence Of these Edifices we have spoken already in several places of the precedent Book when we gave a particular account of the several Islands But we have this particularly to add here that the English are the best accommodated for Lodgings of any of the Inhabitants of those Islands and have their houses well furnished which is to be attributed to their constant abode in their Colonies where they endeavour to get all conveniences as much as if they were the places of their birth They are also most of them married whence it comes that they take greater pains to supply themselves with all things requisite than those are apt to do who lead single lives as most of the French do We had an intention to conclude this Chapter with the course taken by M. Auber to make up a peace with the Caribbians upon his taking possession of the Government of Gardeloupe but in regard the discourse is somewhat long and may conduce much to the discovery of the humours and dispositions of those Indians of whom we are to treat more at large in this second Book we thought it better disposed into a Chapter apart CHAP. III. Of the Establishment of the French Colony in the Island of Gardeloupe consequently to the Peace concluded with the Caribbians of Dominico in the Year M. DC XL. THe first among the French who took possession of the Island of Gardeloupe landed there in the Year 1635. by order from a Company of Merchants of the City of Deep which under the Authority of the General Company of the Islands of America constituted at Paris sent thither two Gentlemen du Plessis and de l' Olive to command there upon their account But the former dying some few months after his establishment and the other becoming unfit for the government of a new-planted Colony through the loss of his sight and his continual indispositions as we have mentioned in the precedent Chapters the French Governor-general took order that the Inhabitants of that Island should be supplied with all things necessary For it is probable they would have absolutely forsaken it had not the said Governor sent over recruits of Auxiliaries to them under the conduct of Vernade and Sabovilly to oppose the designs of the Caribbians who with much animosity disputed the possession of it with them So that if that Colony is not obliged for its establishment to the General de Poincy this at least must be acknowledged that its preservation and subsistence was the effect of his care He accordingly approved and confirmed in the King's name the nomination which the Company of the Islands had made of M. Auber to be Governor of that Island This new Governor took the Oath of Allegiance before the General the 20th of October M. DC XL. but before he fell down to S. Christopher's the Ship which had brought him out of France into America casting Anchor near Dominico many of the Savages who had observed the Ship at a distance and concluded from the expressions of friendship which had been made to them that they had no enemies in that Vessel grew so confident as to come into it It fortunately happened that those who had come out upon the discovery were some of the chiefest Captains of the Island M. Auber resolved to make all the advantage he could of that opportunity imagining it might conduce very much to the making of an alliance with that people which had been exasperated and incensed against the French by the violences and cruel usage of de l' Olive one of his Predecessors in that Charge as also by the ill conduct of those who commanded the Recruits which the General had sent over for the security of the Island And having withal an inkling that those of that Nation are easily drawn in by kindnesses and little Presents he omitted nothing which he conceived might promote his design He thereupon acquainted them that he was newly come from France and that he was sent over to be Governor of Gardeloupe that he had been much troubled to hear of the differences which for some years had continued between them and the French that he was come with an intention to make a friendly composure thereof and that he would be their Companion and good Neighbour and live with them as their late old friend M. du Plessis had done These proffers were interrupted now and then with glasses of Aquavitae which he ordered ever and anon to be presented to them These Savages finding so free and cordial a reception after they had discoursed a while among themselves in the Language they speak concerning their military affairs which is understood only by the most ancient Conductors of their Erterprises resolved to accept of the proffer which had been made them and to renew the ancient amity by renouncing whatever might tend to the prosecution of that bloody War which had so much incommodated both parties But before they would promise any thing they asked Monsieur Auber whether l' Olive Sabovilly and all those who had followed their violent courses should be forced to depart the Island Whereto it being answered that they should they replied that it must necessarily be so and that otherwise they should still have an animosity against the French saying l' Olive and Sabovilly are not good for the Caribbians Those were their words Whereupon M. Auber having assured them that their desires should be satisfied and that for his part he would be good to them if they on their parts would be good which they promised to be These things concluded he gave them a very noble treatment bestowed some Presents among them and dismissed them the most satisfied people in the world From the road of Dominico M. Auber went to Gardeloupe where having disposed his equipage he returned to S. Christopher's to give the General an account of what had passed who was well satisfied with the choice which the Company had made of him for that Employment Being returned to his Government he was gallantly received by all the Inhabitants who esteemed him for his experience in whatever might contribute to the advancement of newly-planted Colonies as also out of a persuasion that his prudence would remedy the disorders past and his generosity oppose the present difficulties and undertake all things requisite for the quiet and welfare of the Island and his mildness and affability would gain him the affections of all there as they had done at S. Christopher's where he had been accounted one of their best Captains His Commission was read and published two Sundays together at the head of all the Companies of the Island The War which had been fomented between the Savages and the French by the ill counsel of some restless spirits and the credulity of the precedent Governor who had hearkened thereto together with the differences jealousies and animosities which those boutefeus had raised among the principal Inhabitants of the Island had rendered it the most desolate of all the Colonies of America Want of provisions had reduced many to so great extremities that life grew wearisome to them and death was the object of their wishes The continual fear they were in of being surprised by the Savages obliged them to be always in Arms and to leave their Gardens and Plantations uncultivated and the insupportable treatment they received from some Officers who abused their Authority had brought them to the threshold of inevitable destruction But assoon as M. Auber had assumed the Government by the unanimous acclamations of all the Inhabitants and brought them the news of an assured peace which he had concluded with the Savages their neighbours and hoped very suddenly to see confirmed by all the assurances could be expected from a Nation so uncivilised as that of the Caribbians the disturbers of the public tranquillity were dispersed and the well-affected found themselves in safety under the prudent conduct of so worthy a Governor who used all possible endeavours to bring the Island to a perfect setlement Insomuch that the Colony seemed to have put on a new face Justice began to flourish the unity and labours of the Inhabitants retrieved the plenty trading and peace which had been forced thence before and the pious example of the Commander in chief had the expected influence over all the members of that Colony Though he had motioned a Treaty of peace with the Savages yet did he conceive it expedient for fear of a surprise that the Inhabitants should still keep their Guards Accordingly he planted Sentinels in all those places where the Caribbians might most easily land without being discovered He changed the Guards and placed them in other more advantageous places and he thought it prudence to keep under those who would have ruined the first foundations he had laid of the firm peace and alliance with those reconciled enemies charging the former by express prohibitions to forbear all acts of hostility that they might not by their particular animosities obstruct the general agreement wherein all the Inhabitants were so much concerned The said Governor taking further into his consideration that the Islands were to subsist by Trading that nothing puts a greater slur upon them then the bad Commodities vented therein and that Tobacco was the only Commodity at that time of any esteem at Gardeloupe and that several persons put off what was not merchantable which procedure had caused the Island to be slighted by Foreigners who upon that account had forborn sending any Ships thither he appointed certain persons who well understood the management of Tobacco and these carefully examined the making up of it and had order to cast into the Sea what was decayed or wanted those qualities it ought to have to be allowable This good order taken as well in order to military affairs as policy brought the Island in a short time into a flourishing condition and the report of its amendment occasioned the coming thither of many Merchants and invited a great number of considerable families to settle themselves there But to return to the Savages who had visited M. Auber in his Ship at his first arrival and had treated with him about a peace upon the conditions  they were no sooner got home into their Country where they were expected with much impatience upon this score that they had continued a great while in the Ship but they celebrated all over the Island the noble entertainment they had received from the Governor newly come from France The considerable Presents he had bestowed on them was an authentic assurance of his goodness and liberality To this they added that their enemies l' Olive and Sabovilly being ordered to depart Gardeloupe they had made a peace with that brave Companion who had treated them so kindly that he was worthy of their alliance That he might take no further occasion of distrust they urged the necessity there was that they should forbear making those incursions into Gardeloupe which they had been wont to make in the time of War And that when certain news came that the new Governor was fully established in his Government they would give him a visit carry him Presents and solemnly confirm that peace which was likely to prove so advantageous for the future The Caribbians who had lost many of their men in the former engagements against the French and grew weary of dealing with such expert enemies were glad to hear what was proposed to them by the principal Captains in their Country So that they approved all that had passed between them and the French Governor and behaved themselves as they should do in order to the confirmation of the peace About the space of five months the Savages punctually observed the promise they had made to M. Auber of not giving any further disturbance to the French Imagining that time sufficient to let all the Inhabitants of Gardeloupe know what alliance had been contracted at the road of Dominico they resolved to send thither a solemn Deputation to confirm the peace and wish the Governor all prosperity There was a great competition among the Savages who should be honoured with a Commission of so great importance They resolved then to satisfy the most eminent among them who were competitors for that Embassy to pitch upon two of their most ancient and most renowned Captains and to give each of them a considerable Convoy consisting of the choice of their bravest Officers and Soldiers And that there might be no jealousy among the Captains they thought it fit they should depart in two several Piragas each of them with his retinue and in such order as that one should precede the other by one day The chiefest of these Ambassadors was called Captain Amichon a person very considerable among them and he was accompanied by thirty of the most active and most expert of Dominico M. Auber was wont to say that he had never seen any Savages so well shaped and active as they were These Savages therefore relying on the promise he had made them in the Road landed at Gardeloupe where hearing by the Guards that M. Auber was in the Island and in good health they confidently landed and desired to see him having in the mean time left some of the less considerable of their party to look to the Piraga While some went to acquaint the Governor with the arrival of these Deputies of Dominico Captain Amichon who was to be the Speaker dispatched away two of his retinue loaden with the best fruits of their Country which they had brought along with them for a Present The French Governor was extremely glad to hear of their arrival and having immediately commanded all those of his household and the whole Quarter not to give them the least occasion to fear any ill treatment he would needs go himself to meet them with a countenance which sufficiently expressed how welcome they were We shall not trouble ourselves to insert here the Speech and Compliments made by Captain Amichon at this first interview He was one of those who had visited M. Auber in his Ship so that he easily knew him again He immediately gave him to understand that he was come to confirm what they had resolved together at the Road of Dominico concerning the peace and that all the Caribbians of his Country were desirous of it The French Governor in answer thereto made them sensible as well by his Interpreter as his countenance that for his part he would inviolably observe that union provided they were not the first breakers of it Having afterwards brought them to his house and knowing that good cheer was the best seal could be put to that Treaty of peace he called for some Aquavitae and ordered to be brought what was most delicious in the Island At last he crowned the Entertainment with Presents of all the curiosities most in esteem among the Savages And that all the Deputies might participate of the good cheer and liberality of the Governor those who had been treated went to relieve those who were left behind to look to the Piraga who also in their turn received the same treatment and Presents which the others had had Captain Amichon forgot not according to the custom they observe towards their friends to take M. Auber's name and to give him his own Having been thus civilly received and treated they returned very joyfully to their Piraga and set sail towards their own Island They met at a certain rendezvouz which they had agreed upon before they had left Dominico with the other Piraga which brought over the other Ambassador whose name was Captain Baron with his retinue This second Captain understanding from the former what reception he and his retinue had at Gardeloupe got thither the next day This Baron had been a great friend of M. du Plessis who dy●d Governor of Gardeloupe but having equal authority with M. de l' Olive his Colleague who after du Plessis death imprudently engaged the French into a War with the Savages This Captain then who had often visited M. du Plessis and remembered the friendship he had born him being satisfied of the generosity of the French went ashore with his Company and was conducted to the governor 's who treated him with the same ceremonies as he had done the former But when he came to hear that the Captain had been intimately acquainted with M. du Plessis and that there had been a familiar correspondence between them he treated him with greater testimonies of affection than he had done the others and entered into a particular friendship with him receiving his name and giving him his own Thus was the latter Deputation dismissed with greater satisfaction than the former and promised to continue their visits for the future But both of them gave a large account at their Carbetts of the civilities and good entertainment of the new Governor Captain Baron who had been so kindly received at his first visit stayed not long ere he made a second At the latter the Governor showed him one of M. du Plessis Sons to whom the Captain made a thousand caresses in remembrance of his Father whom he called his Companion and the Friend of his Nation True it is that Gentleman had insinuated himself into the affection of those Barbarians who had a respect for his merits and excellent endowments After this visit and several others which the Caribbians daily made M. Auber would be assured of them by Hostages that they would observe the alliance To that purpose he applied himself to Captain Baron with whom he had contracted a greater friendship then with the others and whom he called his Companion as succeeding to the alliance there had sometime been between him and M. du Plessis M. Auber asked him one day whether he thought it not rational that to be assured of those of his Nation he should require some of their children to be delivered up to him as Hostages The Captain who was of a judgement and understanding much beyond the ordinary rate of Savages immediately replied that the mutual safety was to be procured upon equal conditions and that if they delivered up some of their children to the French it was but just the French should do the like with them He thereupon presented to M. Auber some of his own children who had accompanied him and the other accepting of the proffer made choice of one of them a young lad whose countenance and demeanour was somewhat more pleasing and attractive in a word one who was in several respects more amiable than any of his brethren The Father was content to part with his Son and the Son was content to stay with M. Auber an accident that seldom happens among the Savages His name was Imalabovy From that day M. Auber treated him as his Son and always called him so and the young Fellow called him Father When he was put into  he made a shift to behave himself well enough nor did he find it any hard matter to enure himself to the European course of life Captain Baron desired to have as a counter-hostage one of Mistress Auber's Sons who had been first wife to M. du Plessis and was then married to M. Auber But M. Auber having represented to the Captain that young du Plessis was of too soft a nature to endure the hardship of a Caribbian life prevailed with him to accept by way of Hostage instead of him one of his Servants who willingly proffered to follow him That young man being of a strong constitution continued some months among the Savages who treated him with much kindness but whether the change of air or nourishment caused some alteration in him he fell sick some time after Which Captain Baron hearing of and fearing he might die among them he brought him back to M. Auber and required not any other person in his stead saying that he would have no other Hostage than the word of his Companion True it is he would have persuaded his own Son to return along with him but he could not prevail with him the Youth telling him that he thought himself in a better condition with M. Auber then with his Father Captain Baron having left at Gardeloupe so precious an engagement took occasion to make frequent visits to M. Auber and by that means to see his Son And finding himself extremely obliged to M. Auber for the many favours he received from him especially for the tender affection he bore his Son he bethought himself to find out some occasions whereby he might express his acknowledgements thereof He resolved therefore to make a discovery to him that during the Wars between those of his Nation and the French who were commanded by l' Olive he had taken a young Frenchman Prisoner and had given him his life only upon this score that he had sometime been a Servant to M. du Plessis his old Companion And that it was near three years that he had him and gave him more than ordinary liberty though it had been in his power to put him to death because he was taken in Arms and in the heat of the Engagement But that he had not used extremity remembering the ancient friendship between him and M. du Plessis in whose attendance he had seen that Frenchman M. Auber compassionating the young man's condition entreated the Captain to deliver him up which he promised and not many days after was as good as his word and he whose good fortune it was to be thus retrieved stayed a long time after at Gardeloupe The generous Captain not thinking it enough to have thus obliged M. Auber and parted with his Prisoner told him of another Captain of Dominico who also had a Frenchman in his house a Prisoner at War and proffered to solicit that Captain to set him at liberty He prevailed and some days after brought over that other Prisoner whose name was Jean Jardin This being a subtle young fellow had gained the affections not only of the Captain whose Prisoner he was but also of all the Caribbians who had as much kindness for him as if he had been of their own Nation And he had such an excellent memory that he had got their Language in perfection M. Auber desirous to make some return of these good offices and expressions of affection besides the Presents he daily made the Captain would needs oblige his whole Nation It was when the Captain was engaged for the War against the Arovagues who inhabit Trinity-Island and to that purpose had made extraordinary preparations For this nobly-minded Savage coming to take leave of M. Auber before he went upon that expedition he bestowed on him to be put into his party one of his menial Servants who was his Fowler named Des Serissiers who had a long time wished himself present at the Engagements of those Savages and he furnished him with good fire-arms and all things requisite to make use thereof Captain Baron was much astonished at that favour and having joyfully accepted of it made extraordinary declarations thereof among those of his own Nation This Volunteer very cheerfully followed the Captain and was at the Engagement with the Arovagues of Trinity-Island to which there came a powerful Army of Savages from all the Caribby-Islands The Frenchman did as much upon that occasion as could be expected from a gallant Soldier and being a good marksman he hurt and wounded so many of the Arovagues who were not accustomed to feel the effect of fire-arms that at last they took the rout and retreated into the mountains leaving the spoil to the victorious Caribbians From that time Serissiers was ever looked upon by those of that Nation as a great Captain and they could not sufficiently admire the kindness of the French Governor who voluntarily deprived himself of that young man's service and lent him to them All the particulars of this relation we have from very good hands especially M. Auber's During all the time of M. Auber's government of Gardeloupe the peace made with the Caribbians was inviolably observed on both sides to the great advantage of both Nations For the Savages by that agreement had the opportunity to treat with the French for wedges hooks knives and several other instruments and commodities which they look upon as the most necessary And the French received from them in exchange Swine Lizards Sea-Turtles or Tortoises and an infinite number of other fishes and other refreshments whereof they made a good advantage So that the Caribbians were as it were the Pourvoyers of the French who in the mean time laboured in their Plantations without any disturbance CHAP. IU. Of the Trading and Employments of the Foreign Inhabitants of the Country and first of the culture and ordering of Tobacco IN the Caribbies Money is not used in order to the carrying on of ordinary Traffic but this is performed by the exchanging of those Commodities which are of the growth of the Country for such as are brought out of Europe whether they consist in  Linen Ammunition or Provisions and other necessaries requisite for the better conveniences and enjoyments of life And this was the common course of all Nations before the use of Money and is to this day practised in divers savage Countries and particularly in Colchida where every one brings to the Market what he hath superfluous to supply himself with what he wants The Storehouses and Magazines of these Islands are commonly well furnished with all sorts of Commodities which are brought out of England France Holland and Zealand nay as plentifully as in any place in the world The price of every Commodity is not left to the choice of the Merchants who keep the Storehouses but set upon it by the Governors with the advice of their Council The Commodities which the Inhabitants bring in exchange for those  are reducible to five species to wit Tobacco Sugar Ginger Indigo and Cotton At the beginning all the foreign Inhabitants of the Caribbies applied themselves wholly to the culture of Tobacco whereby they made a shift to get a competent livelihood but afterwards the abundance that was made bringing down the price of it they have in several places employed themselves in the planting of Sugarcanes Ginger and Indigo And it hath pleased God so to prosper their designs that it is almost a miracle to see with what improvement all these Commodities grow in most of the Islands And forasmuch as many who see them in Europe know not how they are ordered it will be a great satisfaction to their curiosity to give a short account of each of them whereto we shall add somewhat concerning Cotton True it is that divers Authors have already treated of them but in regard our History would be defective if nothing should be said concerning them we are in the first place to assure the Reader that the whole discourse we intent to make thereof is not a Copy or Extract out of any other but a true Original naturally taken with much care and fidelity So that if we say the same things as others have done before us those who shall peruse our work will not be much troubled to find here the confirmation of a truth which comes from so remote a part of the world and whereof they cannot have too great an assurance And if they find any thing that seems to clash with some precedent relations they are to look on it as a discovery of the falsehood of those which are contrary thereto Or at lest ours will make it apparent that in all places the Planters do not so exactly follow the same method in the ordering of these Commodities but that sometimes some alteration may be observed therein Besides we have this further hope that some will find in the following descriptions a certain exactness and cleverness which they will think not unacceptable to them nay they may haply meet with something therein that is new and such as hath not been observed by any other Authors But if there be any who shall think there is not any thing in this and the next Chapter which they know not already that is nothing which may either instruct or divert them they are desired not to blame our diligence and imagine them written for others who may receive some instruction or divertisement thereby and acknowledge themselves obliged to us for our care For the getting of good and merchantable Tobacco the first thing to be done is in the proper season to prepare the beds in several places of the Gardens such as have good shelter from the winds then they sow in them the seed which had been gathered from the stalks of the precedent year which they suffer to grow and ripen for that purpose They mix ashes with the seed when it is sown that it may not fall too thick in some places When it begins to appear above ground it is carefully covered with the leaves of the prickly Palms or with branches of Orange or Citron-trees to secure it from the excessive heat of the Sun the coolness of the night and the spoil which tame Fowl and Birds might make in it While the Plant is growing up to a condition that it may be transplanted the place into which it is to be removed is prepared If the Plantation be but newly established it is requisite that it should have been cleared of wood some considerable time before and that the branches should be burnt upon the ground and over the beds And if after all that there be any thing remaining whatever is not burnt must be conveyed quite away that the place may be free True it is there 's no need of digging the earth of turning it up nor yet of delving but only of clearing it of all weeds so as that there remain not any wood nor bark nor leaf nor so much as the least grass To do that they make use of a kind of broad and sharp Ho's which  and take off the surface of the ground and if need be carry along with them the roots of the weeds whose after-growth they would prevent The ground being thus prepared it is divided into several ridges or beds distant one from the other two or three foot To do this they make use of long cords which at the distance of every two foot or thereabouts are marked with a little piece of cloth which is sewed thereto and then they place little sticks at all the places answerable to those marks to the end that when the time of transplanting the young Tobacco is come which is immediately after it hath pleased God to send a good shower of rain they should have nothing else to do but to plant and not lose time in making those divisions of the Garden or Plantation The Tobacco-plant is ready for its removal out of the bed where it had been first sown when it hath four or five leaves strong and thick enough and about the breadth of a man's hand for then if it happen that the ground is softened by a pleasant shower of rain all those who are desirous of having good Tobacco with the first season matter not much the inconvenience of being wet so they can but set a good quantity of it in the ground At that time there is an emulation among the good husbands every one endeavouring to outvie the other in working Some are employed in choosing and taking off the Plants from the beds and disposing them into baskets others carry them to those whose work it is to plant them exactly at the places which had been before marked by the cord as we said elsewhere Those who are employed about the planting of them make a hole in the ground with a sharp stick into which they set the root of the Tobacco then they thrust the earth pretty hard about yet so as that the upper part of the Plant be not covered And thus they do all along every rank and assoon as they have finished one they begin another Having performed that exercise at the next meeting of the Neighbours together their common discourse is to inquire one of another how many thousands of Plants they have set in the ground and thence calculate the hopes of the future harvest The Plant being thus set in the ground which is commonly done in several intervalls in regard it seldom happens that there is so plentiful a fall of rain as that it might be done at once or haply because the ground is not all prepared at the same time or that there are not Plants enough is not thereupon neglected on the contrary this is but the beginning of the pains and care which the ordering of it requires for the Planters must be very careful to visit it often and assoon as they have perceived that it hath taken root there must be a special care taken that the Caterpillars and other mischievous Infects whereof there are abundance in those Countries do not gnaw it and hinder its growth The next work is at least once every month to weed away whatever might endanger the smothering of it diligently to grub up and rake the earth all about it and to carry away the weeds to the extremities of the Plantation for if they be left in the place where they are laid upon their being taken out of the ground the least rain would make them take root afresh and they would require a second weeding The most troublesome herb of any and that which causes most trouble to get out of the Plantations is Purslane which in these parts of the world grows not without the pains and industry of Gardeners This exercise is continued till such time as the Tobacco-plant hath covered all the adjacent ground and that the shade of it keeps down all other weeds But though all this be done yet are not the Planters at rest inasmuch as answerably to the growth of the Plant in height and breadth some must be continually employed in cutting off the superfluous leaves taking away those that are dried up rotten or decayed clearing it of all those shoots and suckers which might hinder its coming to perfection by diverting the sap from the larger leaves In fine when the stalk is grown to a convenient height it must be checked by cutting off the top of every Plant those only excepted which are reserved for seed After all this ordering the Plant is to continue some weeks in the ground ere it comes to maturity during which there is a little cessation of labour and attendance about it But if the laborious Planter be exempted from the great pains he had bestowed about it he shall not want work for there must be a place prepared where it is to be disposed as soon as it is ripe Care must be taken that the Grange or Storehouse where it ought to be dried to a certain mediocrity be well covered and close of all sides that it be furnished with good store of poles fit for it to be laid upon that provision be made of a certain thin bark taken from a tree called Mahot to fasten every Plant to the poles and that the place designed for the making of it up into rolls or pricks should have all things requisite for that work While all these preparations are made if the Tobacco-leaves lose ever so little of their first verdure and withal begin to bow down more than ordinary towards the ground and if the scent of them grows stronger it is a sign that the Plant is come to maturity And then taking a very fair day after the dew is fallen off it is to be cut about an inch above ground and left upon the place till the evening turning it once or twice that the Su● may take away somewhat of its moisture In the evening it is carried by armfuls into the house It is fastened by the lower end of the stalk to the poles so that the leaves hang downwards It is also requisite that they should not be laid too close one to the other lest they be corrupted or be not dry enough for want of air This first cutting down of the Tobacco being over they often visit the Plants which are hung up a drying while the rest which had been left growing comes to ripeness and when they find the leaves fit to be made up into rolls that is when they are neither too dry for in that case they would not be able to endure the wheel nor yet too moist for then they would corrupt in a short time they are taken off the poles they are laid in heaps at the end of the Grange and every stalk is stripped of its leaves after this manner In the first place they lay aside all the longest and all the broadest leaves and they take away the great stalk which runs through the midst of them the lesser leaves are also laid by themselves to be disposed within the roll and the greater serve for cover and shrowds for them These leaves thus disposed are ranked on planks or tables close by him who is to make them up into rolls which he makes bigger or smaller as may be seen by those brought over into these parts There is a certain art in making up the rolls and those who can do it with expedition and dexterity are highly esteemed and get much more than those who are employed about ordering the ground They must have their hands and arms extremely supple and nimble to make the wheel turn with such speed and still to observe the same proportion that so the roll may be equally big in all parts There is a particular artifice in the business of Tobacco to dispose and lay it after the winding so as that it may be the more easily put up on the sticks which are all to be of a certain bigness and length to avoid deceit When the Tobacco is thus made up it is conveyed to the Storehouse and covered with Bananas or some other leaves that it may not be prejudiced by taking wind and be of a good fair colour That which cuts somewhat unctuously is blackish and shining and hath a pleasant and strong scent and burns easily in the Pipe is accounted the best We told you that the Tobacco-plant was cut almost even with the ground and not plucked up by the roots and it is purposely so cut that it may shoot forth new stalks And indeed it produces a second Plant but such as is neither so strong nor so fair as the former nor is the Tobacco made thereof so much esteemed nor will keep so well It is called by some Shoot-Tobacco or Sucker-Tobacco or Tobacco of the second cutting or growth Nay some will have three shoots from the same stalk and that humour hath brought the Tobacco which comes from some Islands into  Now since we have expressed ourselves so much at large concerning the manufacture of Tobacco we shall not think it improper to insert in this place what is practised by some curious persons whereby it is made more excellent than that which commonly goes under the name of Virinus-Tobacco keeps well and hath a scent which fortifies the brain After they have set aside the Plants of the first cutting and while they are drying on the poles they gather together all the cast leaves the small shoots as also the filaments which are taken out of the midst of the leaves which have been already cleared and after they have pounded them in a mortar all is put into a bag which is put into a press to force out the juice which is afterwards boiled over a soft fire till it be reduced to the consistency of a Syrup That done there is put into that decoction a little Copal which is an aromatic gum the virtue whereof is to fortify the brain This gum distils from a tree of the same name which is common in the Continent of America and in the Islands about the gulf of Hondures After this drug is put into the composition aforesaid it must be well stirred that its sweet scent and other qualities may be communicated and diffused through the whole decoction Then it must be taken off the fire and when it is cold it is set in a vessel near the person who makes up the roll of Tobacco and as often as he takes a handful of the leaves to feed the roll he must wet his hand in that liquor and wipe it with the leaves This secret hath an admirable effect to make the Tobacco keep well and derives to it a virtue which extremely heightens its price The Tobacco thus ordered is to be made up into a roll at least as big as a man's thumb and be afterwards divided into little rolls not weighing above ten pound at the most and then sent in little vessels or close baskets made for that purpose to keep it the better Some Inhabitants of the Islands having made trial of this secret have put off theirs for right Virinus-Tobacco and sold it at the same rate Those who imagine that Tobacco grows without any trouble and that rolls of it are as they say found growing on Trees in America and that there is no more to be done but to shake them down or haply are persuaded that it requires no great trouble to bring them to perfection will be undeceived when they come to read this relation of the culture and preparation of Tobacco whereto we have only this to add that if they had themselves seen the poor Servants and Slaves who are employed about this painful work exposed the greatest part of the day to the scorching heat of the Sun and spending one half of the night in reducing it to that posture wherein it is transported into Europe no doubt they would have a greater esteem for and think much more precious that herb which is procured with the sweat and labours of so many miserable creatures We shall not need to insert here what Physicians write of the miraculous effects of Tobacco but leave the more curious to consult their Books wherein they give a strange account thereof Only this we shall affirm that the virtues of it must needs be very great since it hath its course all over the world and that in a manner all Nations upon Earth as well those that are civilised as those that still continue in their Barbarism have afforded it a kind reception and have advised the taking of it And though some Princes have prohibited the use of it in their Territories out of a fear that the money of their Subjects which is rare and precious should be turned into smoke and slip out of their hands for a thing which seems not to be so necessary to life yet is there not any but will allow it a place among the drugs and remedies of Physic The more delicate and curious among those Nations who are disposed into hot Countries qualify it with Sage Rosemary and certain Perfumes which give it a very pleasant scent and having reduced it to powder they take it in at the nostril Those Nations who inhabit cold Countries forbid not Persons of Quality the use of it nay it is a perfection and certain gallantry in the Ladies of those Parts gracefully to handle a Pipe whereof the boal is of Coral or Amber and the head of Silver or Gold and to puff out the smoke of this herb without the least wrinkle or wry face and to let it out of the mouth after several little intervalls which raising so many little vapours of a brownish colour seems a kind of foil to set off the cleverness of their complexion The composition we have before described which heightens the good scent of Tobacco will no doubt be kindly received by those persons who place the smoking of a pipe of Tobacco among the pleasures and enjoyments of this life To conclude it is not easy to affirm what quantities of Tobacco are sent away every year only from the Island of S. Christopher's and it is almost a miracle to see what numbers ●f Ships come over out of England France Holland and especially Zealand and yet none returns empty nay the sole trading which the last named Province maintained with this and the neighbouring Islands raised the greatest and wealthiest houses at Middleborough and Flushing nay to this day the principal commerce of those two Cities which are the most considerable of all Zealand is from these Islands which are to them what the Mines of Peru are to the Kingdom of Spain CHAP. V. Of the manner how Sugar is made and of the preparation of Ginger Indigo and Cotton WHen the great plenty of Tobacco made at S. Christopher's and the other Islands had brought down the price of it so low that it did not turn to account it pleased God to put it into the heart of the French General de Poincy to find out some other ways to facilitate the subsistence of the Inhabitants and carry on some Trade He thereupon employed his Servants and Slaves about the culture of Sugarcanes Ginger and Indigo and the design met with a success beyond what was expected Though it may be granted that the Plant of the Sugar-Cane was known to the Ancients yet is the invention of making the Sugar but of late years The Ancients knew no more of it then they did of Sena Cassia Ambergris Musk Civet and Benjamin They made no other use of this precious Reed then in order to drink and Physic And therefore we may well oppose all these things with much advantage as also our Clocks the Sea-Compass the Art of Navigation Prospective-glasses Printing Artillery and several other excellent Inventions of the last Ages against their right way of dying Purple their malleable Glass the subtle Machine's of their Archimedes and some such like Having in the precedent Book given a description of the Sugar-Cane our business here will only be to represent the manner how Sugar is gotten out of it That work is performed by a Machine or Mill which some call an Ingenio whereby the juice within the Canes is squeezed out These Mills are built of very solid and lasting wood and are more convenient in these Islands than those used to the same purpose at Madera and Brasil Nor is it to be feared in the former as many times in the latter that the fire should get to the boiling Coppers and set all into a flame to the destruction of those who are employed about the work for the Coppers in these Islands are seen to boil yet the fire that causes it is made and kept in on the outside by furnaces which are so well cemented that neither the flame nor the smoke does any way hinder those who are at work which they may follow without any fear of danger or inconvenience The ordinary way of turning the Mills is by Horses or Oxen but the French Governor hath one which is turned by water which falling on a wheel sets the whole Machine going When the Sugarcanes are ripe they are cut somewhat near the ground above the first knot which is without any juice and having cut off the tops and taken away certain little long and very thin leaves which encompass them they are made up into bundles and carried to the Mills to be there pressed and squeezed between two rollers turning one upon the other The juice which is squeezed out of them falls into a great Cistern whence it is conveyed through long pipes or channels into the vessels appointed for the boiling of it In great Sugar-works there are at least six Coppers whereof three very large ones are of copper about the breadth and depth of those used by Dyers and are to clarify the juice which is to be boiled with a gentle fire putting in ever and anon a small quantity of a certain very strong Lie made of water and ashes commonly called Temper which makes all the filth to boil up which as it appears is taken off with a great brass skimmer When the juice is well purified in these three Coppers into which it had been conveyed alternately one after another it is strained through a cloth and afterwards poured into three other Coppers of some other metal which are very thick broad enough and about a foot and a half deep In these Coppers the Sugar receives its last boiling for then there is a more violent fire made and it is continually stirred and when it bubbles up so as that it may be feared it should boil over the Coppers it is allayed by the casting in of a little salad-oil and as it begins to grow thick it is poured into the last of those Coppers from whence as it inclines to a consistency it is disposed into vessels of wood or earth and so carried into the Curing-house where it is whitened with a kind of fat earth mixed with water which is spread upon it then they open the little hole in the bottom of every vessel or pot that all the filth or dregs that is about the Sugar may fall into another channel which conveys it into a vessel prepared for that purpose The first skimming which had been taken off the great Coppers is laid aside only for Cattle but the other serves well enough to make a certain drink for the Servants and Slaves The juice which is drawn from the Cane will continue good but one day insomuch that if within that time it be not boiled it grows sharp and turns to vinegar There must also be a very great care taken that the Reservatory into which the squeezed juice falls and the pipes or channels whereby it is thence conveyed into other places be often washed for if they contract ever so little sharpness the juice cannot be reduced to Sugar The whole work would also miscarry if any butter or oil chance to be cast into any of the three greater Coppers which are to be washed with Lie or in like manner if ever so little Lie fall into the three lesser ones where the juice is formed into a Syrup and curdles by the violence of the fire and the continual agitation and stirring of it with a skimmer But above all things there must be a great care taken that there fall not any juice of Citron into the Coppers for that would absolutely hinder the coagulation of the Sugar Many of the Inhabitants who are not able to get so many Coppers nor furnish themselves with those great Engines whereby the Canes are squeezed have little Mills made like Presses which are wrought by two or three men or driven about by one horse and with one or two Coppers they purify the juice gotten out of them reduce it to the consistence of Syrup and make good Sugar without any further trouble The greatest secret in the business of making good Sugar consists in the whitening of it Those who have it are very loath to communicate it From what hath been said it may be easily inferred what extraordinary advantages accrue to the Inhabitants of that Island by means of this sweet and precious Commodity and what satisfaction it brings to their Correspondents in other parts of the world who have it at so easy rates This plenty of Sugar hath put the Inhabitants upon the preserving of abundance of excellent fruits of the growth of the Island as Oranges Lemons Citrons and others especially Ginger whereof we shall give an account anon and the fruit called Ananas and the flowers of Oranges and Citrons As concerning the preparation of Ginger when the root is come to maturity it is taken out of the ground than it is dried in places well aired and it is often stirred to prevent corruption Some make no more ado then to expose it to the Sun in order to the drying of it but others think it requisite to cast lime on it the more to facilitate the drawing away of the moisture This root which is one of the most considerable among Spices is transported all over the world but it is most sought after in cold Countries The French do sometimes take it out of the ground before it is fully ripe and preserve it whole with such artifice that it becomes red and transparent as glass The preserved Ginger which is brought over from Brazil and the Levant is commonly dry full of filaments or little strings and too biting to be eaten with any delight but that which is prepared at S. Christopher's hath no fibres or strings at all and it is so well ordered that there remains nothing that is unpleasant to the tooth when it is eaten It hath a singular property to fortify the breast when it is weakened by a confluence of cold humours as also to clear the voice to sweeten the breath to cause a good colour in the face to take away the crudities of the stomach to promote digestion to sharpen the appetite and to consume that waterishness and phlegm which puts the body into a languishing condition nay it is affirmed by some that it preserves and wonderfully fortifies the memory by dispersing the cold humours or the phlegm of the Brain This root may also be reduced into a paste of which there may be made a Conserve or cordial Electuary that hath the same effects We come now to give a short account of Indigo The Plant being cut is bound up into little bundles or faggots and left to rot in cisterns of stone or wood full of fair water on which there is cast a certain quantity of oil which according to its nature covers all the surface of it They lay stones upon the faggots that they may the better keep under the water and after three or four days that the water hath been boiling which it does by the mere virtue of the Plant without any assistance of fire the leaf being rotten and dissolved by that natural heat which is in the stalk they take great stakes and stir the whole mass that is within the cisterns so to get out all the substance of it and after it is settled again they take out of the cistern that part of the stalk which is not rotten that done they several times stir what is left in the cistern and after they have left it to settle they let out the water at a cock and the lees or dregs which remains at the bottom of the cistern is put into moulds or left to dry in the Sun These dregs is that which is so much esteemed by Dyers and commonly known by the name of Indigo There are some make use of Presses whereinto having put little bundles of the rotten Plant they by that means get out all the juice of it But in regard they are the leaves of the Plant that the foresaid Commodity is made of those who are desirous to have it of the highest price think it enough to have the dregs which remains after the corruption of those leaves and is found after so many stir at the bottom of the cistern The French Inhabitants of the Caribbies were there a long time ere they drove any trade in that Commodity by reason that the Plant whereof it is made being of itself of a very strong scent exhales an insupportable stink when it is rotten But since Tobacco came to so low a rate and that in some places the ground would not bring forth that which was good as it had done some time before they applied themselves to the culture of Indigo whereof they now make a considerable advantage Lastly as concerning Cotton the French make it not much their business to gather it though they have many of the trees that bear it in the hedges of their Plantations But all put together amounts but to little in comparison of what is said of a certain Quarter of the Province of China for a certain Author named Trigaut in the xvii chap. of the fifth Book of his History affirms that there grows so much Cotton there as finds work enough for two hundred thousand Weavers The English who are the Inhabitants of the Barbouthos drive a great trade in this Commodity as also those who lived formerly in the Island of Santa-cruce There is no great trouble in the making of Cotton fit for the market for all to be done is to get out of the half-opened button that matter which in a manner forces its way out itself And whereas it is full of the seed of the tree that bears it which are like little beans entangled within the Cotton in the midst whereof they had their production there are a sort of little Engines made with such artifice that by the turning of a wheel whereby they are put into motion the Cotton falls on the one side and the seed on the other That done the Cotton is thrust up as close as may be into bags that so it may take up the less room Thus have we given a brief account of the principal Employments which keep up the Commerce of the Islands and the Commodities wherein the Inhabitants do ordinarily trade CHAP. VI Of the more honourable Employments of the European Inhabitants of the Caribbies their Slaves and their Government THe European Colonies which have planted themselves in the Caribbies do not consist only of a sort of Vagabonds and persons of mean condition as some fond imagine but there are also among them many of Quality and descended from noble Families So that the Employments we mentioned in the precedent Chapter are designed only for the most inconsiderable of the Inhabitants and such whose necessities have forced them to earn their bread with the labour of their hands and the sweat of their brows But the others who are able to hire people to oversee their Servants and Slaves and to see that they do their work lead pleasant lives and want not those enjoyments thereof which are to be had in other Countries Their employments and divertisements besides the frequent visits they make and receive with extraordinary expressions of civility are Hunting Fishing and other commendable exercises nay they endeavour to outvie one the other in their entertainments wherein they are magnificent there being a sufficient plenty of Beef Mutton Pork wild and tame Fowl of all kinds Fish Pastry and excellent Conserves all in as great abundance as at the best Tables in the European parts of the world And these mutual demonstrations of kindness are derived from the Officers and those of the better rank to the meanest Inhabitants who think it a great want of civility to dismiss any one from their houses before they have presented them with somewhat to eat and drink Wine Beer Brandy and Aquavitae and such drinks are seldom wanting in these Islands and if there should chance to be a scarcity of these the Inhabitants have the art of making a delicious drink of that sweet liquor which is got out of the Sugarcanes and that being kept for certain days becomes as strong as any Sack Of the same liquor they also make an excellent kind of Aquavitae not much unlike that which is brought thither out of France only this inconvenience it hath that they who drink excessively of it are apt to fall dangerously sick Moreover they make several kinds of Beverage with the juice of Oranges Figs Bananas and Ananas which are all very delicious and pleasant to the taste and may be ranked among Wines They also make a sort of Beer of the Cassava and the roots of Potatoes which is as pleasant nourishing and refreshing as that which is brought out of the Low-Countries As concerning those Employments which are equally honourable and necessary in order to the welfare of the Inhabitants of these Islands it is to be observed that all are taught the use of Arms and the Heads of Families seldom walk abroad without their Swords Every Quarter is disposed under the command of certain Captains and other Officers who have the oversight thereof They are all well-armed and they often muster and are exercised even in the times of deepest peace so that they are always in readiness at the first beat of D●um to march to the places where the Captains appoint their Rendezvouz In the Island of S. Christopher's besides twelve Companies of Foot there are also some Troops of Horse as we said elsewhere And whereas all persons of Quality whereof there is a considerable number in those Islands have Servants and Slaves who are employed about the works  and that in most parts of Europe they do not make use of Slaves there being only the Spaniards and the Portuguez who go and buy them up at the places of their birth such as are Angola Cap-vert and Guinny it will be but requisite that we here give a short account of them But we shall in the first place speak of those who are hired Servants and to continue such only for a certain time As for the French who are carried over out of France into America to serve there they commonly deliver obligatory acts to their Masters which is done before public Notaries by which writings they oblige themselves to serve them during the space of three years conditionally to receive from them so many pounds of Tobacco according to the agreement they have made during that term These French Servants by reason of the three years' service they are engaged to are commonly called the Thirty-six-months-men according to the Language of the Islands There are some so simple as to imagine that if they be not obliged to their Masters in writing before their departure out of France they are so much the less obliged when they are brought into the Islands but they are extremely mistaken for when they are brought before a Governor to complain that they were carried aboard against their wills or to plead that they are not obliged by writing they are condemned for the space of three years to serve either him who hath paid for their passage or such other as it shall please the Master to appoint If the Master hath promised his Servant no more than the ordinary recompense of the Islands he is obliged to give him for his three years' service but three hundred weight of Tobacco which is no great matter to find himself in linen and  for the Master is not engaged to supply him with any thing but food But he who before his departure out of France promises to give three hundred weight of Tobacco to him whom he receives into his service is obliged exactly to pay it nay though he had promised him a thousand It is therefore the Servants best course to make his bargain sure before he comes out of his Country As concerning the Slaves and such as are to be perpetual Servants who are commonly employed in these Islands they are originally Africans and they are brought over thither from the Country about Cap-vert the Kingdom of Angolae and other Seaports which are on the Coasts of that part of the world where they are bought and sold after the same manner as Cattle in other places Of these some are reduced to a necessity of selling themselves and entering into a perpetual slavery they and their children to avoid starving for in the years of sterility which happen very frequently especially when the Grass-hoppers which like clouds spread themselves over the whole Country have consumed all the fruits of the earth they are brought to such a remediless extremity that they will submit to the most rigorous conditions in the world provided they may be kept from starving When they are reduced to those exigencies the Father makes no difficulty to sell his children for bread and the children forsake Father and Mother without any regret Another sort of them are sold after they have been taken Prisoners in War by some petty neighbouring Prince for it is the custom of the Princes of those Parts to make frequent incursions into the Territories of their Neighbours purposely for the taking of Prisoners whom they afterwards sell to the Portuguez and other Nations with whom they drive that barbarous Trade They receive in exchange for them Iron which is as precious with them as Gold Wine Aquavitae Brandy or some poor Clothing They make Slaves of the women as well as the men and they are sold one with another at a higher or lower rate according to their youth age strength or weakness handsomeness or deformity of body They who bring them over to the Islands make a second sale of them at fifteen or sixteen hundred weight of Tobacco every head more or less as the parties concerned can agree If these poor Slaves chance to fall into the hands of a good Master one who will not treat them with too much severity they prefer their present slavery before their former liberty the loss whereof they never afterwards regret And if they are permitted to marry they multiply extremely in those hot Countries They are all Negroes and those who are of the brightest black are accounted the fairest Most of them are flat-nosed and have thick lips which goes among them for beauty nay there are some affirm that in their Country the Midwives do purposely crush down their noses that they may be flat assoon as they come into the world The hair of their heads is all frizl●d so that they can hardly make use of Combs but to prevent the breeding of vermin they rub their heads with the oil of that shrub which is called Palma-Christi They are very strong and hardy but withal so fearful and unwieldy in the handling of Arms that they are easily reduced under subjection They are naturally susceptible of all impressions and the first that are derived into them among the Christians after they have renounced their Superstitions and Idolatry they pertinaciously adhere unto wherein they differ much from the Indians of America who are as unconstant as Cameleons Among the French Inhabitants of the Caribbies there are some Negroes who punctually observe abstinence all the time of Lent and all the other Fasting-days appointed by the Church without any remission of their ordinary and continual labour They are commonly proud and insolent and whereas the Indians are desirous to be gently treated and are apt to die out of pure grief if they be put to more than ordinary hardship these on the contrary are to be kept in awe by threats and blows for if a man grow too familiar with them they are presently apt to make their advantages of it and to abuse that familiarity but if they be chastised with moderation when they have done amiss they become better more submissive and more compliant nay will commend and think the better of their Masters But on the other side if they be treated with excessive severity they will run away and get into the Mountains and Forests where they live like so many Beasts then they are called Marons that is to say Savages or haply they will grow so desperate as to be their own Executioners It is therefore requisite that in the conduct of them there should be a mean observed between extreme severity and too much indulgence by those who would keep them in awe and make the best advantage of them They are passionate Lovers one of another and though they are born in different Countries and sometimes when at home Enemies one to another yet when occasion requires they mutually support and assist one another as if they were all Brethren And when their Masters give them the liberty to recreate themselves they reciprocally visit one the other and pass away whole nights in playing dancing and other pastimes and divertisments nay sometimes they have some little Entertainments every one sparing what he can to contribute to the common repast They are great Lovers of Music and much pleased with such Instruments as make a certain delightful noise and a kind of harmony which they accompany with their voices They had heretofore in the Island of S. Christopher's a certain Rendezvouz in the midst of the Woods where they met on Sundays and Holidays after Divine Service to give some relaxation to their wearied bodies There they sometimes spent the remainder of that day and the night following in dancing and pleasant discourses without any prejudice to the ordinary labours imposed upon them by their Masters nay it was commonly observed that after they had so diverted themselves they went through their work with greater courage and cheerfulness without expressing any weariness and did all things better than if they had rested all night long in their huts But it being found that the better to enjoy themselves in these public Meetings they many times stole the Poultry and Fruits of their Neighbours and sometimes those of their Masters the French General thought fit to forbid these nocturnal assemblies So that now if they are desirous to divert themselves they are enjoined to do it within their own Neighbourhoods with the permission of their Masters who are willing enough to allow them convenient liberty As to the Advantages accrueing from the labours of these Slaves he who is Master of a dozen of them may be accounted a rich man For besides that these are the People who cultivate the ground in order to its production of all necessary provisions for the subsistence of their Masters and themselves being well ordered and carefully looked after they promote the making of several other Commodities as Tobacco Sugar Ginger Indigo and others which bring in great profit Add to this that their service being perpetual their number increases from time to time by the Children that are born of them which have no other Inheritance than that of the slavery and subjection of their Parents All the Foreign Inhabitants who have planted themselves in those Islands are governed according to the Laws and Customs of their own Countries Among the French Inhabitants of S. Christopher's Justice is administered by a Council consisting of the principal Officers who have the oversight of the Militia of the Island of which Council the General is Precedent And though there are certain places appointed for that Administration yet is the Council many times assembled as the General thinks fit and occasion requires under a kind of great Figtree which is about the bigness of a large Elm near the Court of Guard of the Basse-terre not far from the Haven In this Council abating all the Formalities which have been invented to make Suits immortal all differences that happen between the Inhabitants are amicably composed and decided most commonly at the first sitting without any charge to the Parties save only that he which is found guilty of the wrong is to make satisfaction according to the Custom whereof part goes to the relief of the Poor and maintenance of the Church and the rest for the satisfaction of the party concerned This Council doth also pass sentence of death without appeal to any other Power The Governors of the other Islands do also administer Justice every one in his Government So that no man should be guilty of so great a weakness as to imagine that people live in those Countries without any order or rule as many do Nay it is rather to be looked on as a kind of Miracle that the Inhabitants of those Countries being a confluence of people from so many several Countries and consequently of different humours and constitutions disorders should not creep in and that all are kept in awe and subjection to the Laws established Thus much of the Foreign Inhabitants of the Caribbies we come now to treat of the Natural and Originary CHAP. VII Of the Origine of the Caribbians the natural Inhabitants of the Country THe Method we had proposed to ourselves for the profecution of this History requires that henceforth we treat of the Indians the natural Inhabitants of the Caribbies And here we conceive it not to be our business to bring upon the Stage that great and difficult Question to wit How the race of Men came to spread itself into America and whence they came into that new World There are some eminent Persons have treated of this matter with so much sufficiency exactness and solidity that it were a tedious and superfluous Work at the present to trouble the Reader with any thing concerning it Besides the History of the Originals of our Savage Inhabitants of the Caribbies requires not that we should descend so low to find them The ancient and natural Inhabitants of the Caribbies are those who have been called by some Author's Cannibals Anthropophagis or Eaters of Men but most others who have written of them commonly call them Caribbians or Caribes But their primitive and originary Name and that which is pronounced with most gravity is as the French Writers would have it that of Caraïbes Nay if we may credit these last mentioned Authors not only the Caribbians themselves of the Islands do so pronounce their name but also those of their Nation who live in the Continent of America both the Septentrional and Meridional So that that being the most common appellation of them among the French Inhabitants of the Islands we shall also have occasion to use it sometimes in the sequel of this History in regard the present Work is rendered out of that Language Some are of opinion that this word Caraibes or Caribbians is not natural to the savage Inhabitants of the Caribbies but that it was imposed upon them by the Spaniards as they had given the same denomination to many Savages of the Meridional Continent who are known thereby as also that of Calibis or Calibites to their allies the Inhabitants of the same Continent Those who maintain this opinion affirm that the Spaniards might well give to those People that name of Caraibes in regard they  all the Quarters of the Southerly part of America and that having made the first Maps thereof they set down those Nations under that Name which hath stuck to them ever since To prove this they allege that they are never called Caraibes or Caribbians among themselves but only when they are drunk and that having their heads full of Wine they leap up and down and rejoice saying in their corrupt Language Moy bonne Caraibe I am an honest Caribbian That otherwise they only make use of that word when they are amongst Strangers and that in their trading and their communication with them to make a certain discovery of themselves as being sensible that the said name is known to them But that when they are among themselves not only they but also those of their Nation Inhabiting the Continent and the Calibites call themselves by the name of Calinago which is the name of the Men and Calliponan which is that of the Women And they further affirm that they are called Oubao-bonon that is Inhabitants of the Islands or Islanders as the call those of the Continent Batoüe-bonon that is Inhabitants of the Firm Land But all this presupposed as probable there is but little likelihood that the word Caribbians should have been imposed upon them by the Spaniards and that our Islands should not have had it before they were known by them The first reason we give of this assertion is that before either the Spaniards or Portuguez had found a passage into Brazil there were in those Parts certain men more subtle and ingenious than the rest whom the Brasilians called Caraibes or Caribbians as Johannes de Lery hath observed in his History Secondly it is a thing out of all controversy that there are certain Savages who bear the name of Caribbians in some Quarters of the Southerly part of America where the Spaniards never had any Commerce For not only those of the same Nation with our Islanders who inhabit along those Coasts of the Meridional America and are near Neighbours to the Dutch Colonies of Cayenna and Berbica but those also who live far within that Meridional Continent beyond the sources of the most remarkable Rivers call themselves Caribbians Moreover we shall find in the sequel of this Chapter that there is in the Septentrional Continent a powerful Nation consisting for the most part of certain Families who at this present take a great pride in being called Caribbians and stand upon it that they had received that name long before America was discovered Add to this that though it were granted that the Spaniards would have imposed that name on all those Nations how can it be proved that they were as willing to accept of it from People unknown and Enemies to them Now it is certain that not only all those people do call themselves Caribbians but also that they withal think it a glory and derive an advantage from that name as Monsieur du Montel hath heard it from their own mouths How then is it to be imagined that they should triumph in a name which they had received from their Enemies Nay if it be urged further as we shall see anon that the Ancestors of our Savage Inhabitants of the Islands received from the Apalachites the name of Caribbians instead of that of Cofachites under which they went before it may be replied That they took it from such as were their friends and confederates and that as an Elegy of honour In fine we also affirm that it is not only in their drunkenness and debauches that our Indian Inhabitants of the Islands call themselves Caribbians but they do it also when they are sober and in cold blood And as to their calling themselves Calinago it is possible they may have many different names whence it does not ever the more follow that they had received any of them from the Europaeans For the denomination of Oubao-bonon the signification of the word sufficiently shows that it is not particular to them and that it may be generally applied to any Inhabitants of Islands And whereas they make use of the name of Caribbians rather than of any other when they speak to strangers it is because they are apprehensive enough that that name is best known to them but it is not to be concluded thence that they received it from the Spaniards nay it might be more probably affirmed that the Spaniards themselves having learned it of them should afterwards have communicated it to other Europaeans But as to our design it matters not much whether opinion be embraced and every one may follow which sentiment liketh him best only we have taken the liberty to propose what we conceived most probable As to the originals of the insulary Caribbians those who have hitherto given any account of them have had so little light to guide themselves by in that obscure piece of Antiquity that they may be said to have groped all their way some imagine that they are descended from the Jews grounding their conjecture among other things on this that the Caribbians are obliged to marry those Kinswomen of theirs that are next of kin to them and that some among them eat no swine's flesh nor Tortoises But this is to fetch a thing too far off and to ground an imagination on too weak conjectures There are others who would have them to come over from the Haven of Caribana and pretend that they were transported thence But this opinion is grounded only on the clinching of the words Caribana and Caribbians without any other confirmation There are yet others who affirm and that upon a simple conjecture that these Savages are the originary Inhabitants of the greater Islands and that it is not long since they came into those now called the Caribbies where they took refuge as the remainders of the horrid Massacres committed by the Spaniards when they possessed themselves of St. Domingo Cuba Jamaica and Porto-Rico But this is confuted by the certainty of History which assures us that at the first beginning of the discovery of America the Caribbies were possessed and inhabited by the Caribbians that at first they were surprised and ill-entreated by the Spaniards but that afterwards these last being beaten off with disadvantage and meeting with many inconveniences in the prosecution of that war made a kind of agreement with some among them as we shall see more particularly hereafter in the Chapter of their Wars Add to this that the Indians of Corassao who without all dispute are some of those persons who escaped the Massacres and who have among them some yet living who lived in the Port called at the present the Port of the Kow-Island or as the French call Le port de l' Isle à vache in the Island of Hispaniola when the first Spaniards landed there have not a word of the Caribbian Language in theirs nor any thing of Carriage whence it may be deduced that there never was any communication or correspondence between them and the Caribbians Besides those of the greater Islands who might have fled to avoid the tyranny of the Spaniards would have had greater encouragement to retreat into the Territories which were below them and whereto the regular winds lay more fit to carry them than to direct their course against the wind and so retarding their flight expose themselves to a thousand hazards by Sea and engage themselves in a voyage twenty times as long For it is almost a miracle that such Vessels as theirs are can advance a league in a day against the wind nay it many times happens that very great vessels are in their ascent forced back more in three hours than they had advanced in six days For we have it from very skilful Pilots that they have been three months getting up from the Cul-de-Sac of St. Domingo to St. Christopher's whereas to fall down from St. Christopher's to St. Domingo there needs commonly not above four or five days at most As concerning the opinion the Caribbians themselves have of their origine we find that being as ignorant of all Monuments of Antiquity as free from all curiosity of enquiring after things to come they believe for the most part that they are descended from the Calibites or Calibis their Allies and great friends the Inhabitants of the Meridional part of America & the neighbouring people of the Arovagues or Alovagues in that Country or Province which is commonly called Guyana or the Savage-Coast And those who adhere to this opinion ground their persuasion on the conformity of Language Religion and Manners observable between the Caribbian Inhabitants of the Islands and the Calibites though it may as well be presumed that the said resemblance might partly proceed from the alliance and particular friendship there was between them partly from the Neighbourhood of the Caribbians of the Meridional Continent and those Calibites and partly from some other causes whereof we shall give an account hereafter But these poor Savages of the Islands agree not among themselves in the particular relation they make of their Extraction and the occasion that brought them into those Islands nor can they give any account of the time of their coming thither We shall here set down what those of S. Vincent and some others have related to Monsieur du Montel concerning themselves which we have taken out of his curious Collections All the Caribbians were heretofore subject to the Arovagues and obeyed their Prince but some among them not able to endure that yoke broke out into a Rebellion And that they might the better live undisturbed and at a distance from their Enemies they retreated to the Caribby-Islands which were not at that time inhabited and their first landing was in the Island of Tabago which is one of the nearest to the Continent Afterwards the other Calibites shaken of the Domination of the Arovagues but finding themselves strong enough or not having the same inclination with the former they continued in their Country and what they had at the time of their revolt they have kept ever since and live free in the Country but Enemies to the Arovagues having a Captain-General of their own Nation by whom they are commanded They have also continued to this present Friends and Confederates to the Caribbians Upon this Relation it is that some ground the explication they make of the word Caribbians as if it signified Rebels whether it was imposed upon them by the Arovagues or that those people assumed it of themselves by way of triumph as deriving a certain glory from their noble Insurrection and the generous Rebellion which established them in peace and liberty But there needs no more to show that the word Caribbian does not signify Rebel as among others a certain Journal of a Dutchman than that there are many Colonies in several parts of the Continent of America both the Septentrional and Meridional which no body pretends or can pretend were ever under the power of the Arovagues which yet are known by the name of Caribbians And as to the being among them any that have rebelled against other Sovereigns only this may be inferred thence That being since reconciled to them and living to this day in the midst of them under the said name of Caribbians as we shall see more particularly anon there is no likelihood that it should signify Rebels since it were a blasting of their Reputation and a mark of Infamy to them But those who have conversed a long time together among the Savages of Dominico relate that the Caribbian Inhabitants of that Island are of opinion that their Ancestors came out of the Continent from among the Calibites to make a War against a Nation of the Arovagues which inhabited the Islands which Nation they utterly destroyed excepting only the Women whom they took to themselves and by that means repeopled the Islands Whence it comes that t●e Wives of the Caribbian Inhabitants of the Islands have a language different from that of the Men in many things and in some consonant to that of the Arovagues of the Continent He who was the Commander in chief in that Enterprise bestowed the conquered Islands on his Confidents and he to whose lot the Island of Dominico fell was called Ouboutou-timani that is to say King and caused himself to be carried on the shoulders of those whom the Islanders call Labovyou that is Servant's There is so little certainty and so much variety in all these Relations and others of the like nature which these poor ignorant people make upon this occasion that the most prudent sort of people conceive there cannot any judgement be grounded thereon And indeed these Savages themselves speak not thereof but at adventure and as people tell stories of what they had seen in their dreams so careless have they been in preserving the tradition of their Origine and they palpably contradict and confute one the other by the difference of their Relations However we shall find at the end of this Chapter what seems most probable to have given occasion to most to believe that they are descended from the Calibites In all the several sentiments whereof we have given an account either out of the Writings or Discourses of divers others there is this that 's commendable That those who advance them proceed consequently to the discoveries they had made and that they do all that lies in their power to unravel and disengage ancient and unknown Truths But if the Relation we are about to give of the Origine of the Caribbian Inhabitants of the Islands be the most ample the most particular the most full of Curiosities and the best circumstanced of any that hath hitherto appeared it is but just we should think it accordingly the truest and most certain yet with this caution that we still leave the judicious Reader at liberty to follow that sentiment which shall seem most rational to him And whereas we ought to render every one the commendation he justly deserves we are to acquaint the Public that it is obliged for these Particularities and Discoveries to the obliging Communication we have received thereof from one Master Brigstock an English Gentleman one of the most curious and inquisitive Persons in the World who among his other great and singular accomplishments hath attained the perfection of the Virginian and Floridian Languages as having in his noble Travels seen all the Islands and a great part of the Septentrional America By that means it was that he came exactly to understand upon the very place whereof we shall make mention and from such intelligent Persons as could give him an account thereof with some certainty the ensuing History of the Origine of our Savages the truth whereof he will make good whenever occasion shall require The Caribbians were originary Inhabitants of the Septentrional part of America of that Country which is now called Florida They came to Inhabit the Islands after they had departed from amidst the Apalachites among whom they lived a long time and they left there some of their people who to this day go under the name of Caribbians But their first origine is from the Cofachites who only changed their denomination and were called Caribbians in the Country of the Apalachites as we shall see anon The Apalachites are a powerful and generous Nation which continues to this present planted in the same Country of Florida They are the Inhabitants of a gallant and spacious Country called Apalacha from which they have received their name and which begins at the altitude of thirty three degrees and twenty five minutes North of the Equinoctial Line and reaches to the thirty seventh degree This people have a communication with the Sea of the great Gulf of Mexico or New Spain by the means of a River which taking its source out of the Apalachaean Mountains at the foot whereof they inhabit after it hath wandered through many rich Campagnes disembogues itself at last into the Sea near the Islands of Tacobago The Spaniards have called this River Riu del Spirito Santo but the Apalachites call it still by its ancient name of Hitanachi which in their Language signifies fair and pleasant On the East-side they are divided from all other Nations by high and far-spreading Mountains whose tops are covered with snow most part of the year and which separate them from Virginia on the other sides they abjoin to several inconsiderable Nations which are all their friends and confederates These Apalachites make it their boast that they had propagated certain Colonies a great way into Mexico And they show to this day a great Road by land by which they affirm that their Forces marched into those parts The Inhabitants of the Country upon their arrival gave them the name of Tlatuici which signifies Mountaineers or High-Landers for they were more hardy and more generous than they They planted themselves in a quarter like that from which they came situate at the foot of the Mountains in a fertile soil where they built a City as near as they could like that which they had left behind them whereof they are possessed to this day They are so united there by intermarriages and other bonds of peace that they make up but one people with them nor indeed could they well be discerned one from the other if they had not retained several words of their originary language which is the only observable difference between them After the Apalachites had planted this Colony the Cofachites who lived more towards the north of America in a fenny and somewhat barren Country and who had continued till then in good correspondence with them knowing that they were then far from their best and most valiant men took an advantageous opportunity to fall upon their Neighbours the Apalachites and to force them out of their habitations or at least to participate with them of the land where they had settled themselves after they should become Masters thereof This design having been carried on very cunningly among the chiefest of the Cofachites they afterwards published it in all their Villages and got it approved by all the heads of Families who instead of minding the business of Husbandry and setting things in order for the sowing of Corn at the beginning of the Spring as they were wont to do other years prepared their Bows Arrows and Clubs and having set their habitations on fire and furnished themselves with some little provisions out of what was left of the precedent Winter they took the field with their wives and children and all the little baggage they had with a resolution either to conquer or die since they had cut off all hopes of returning to a place which they had destroyed and despoiled of all manner of conveniences In this equipage they in a short time got to the frontiers of their Neighbours The Apalachites who thought of nothing less than having an enemy so near them were then very busy about the planting of their Mais and the roots from which they derive their ordinary sustenance Those who lived about the great Lake at the foot of the Mountains which they call in their Language Theomi having perceived this powerful Army ready to fall on them immediately made their retreat into the neighbouring Mountains and left their villages and  to the disposal of the enemy thence they took their march through the woods to carry intelligence of this eruption to the Cities which are in the valleys among the first mountains where resided the Paracoussis who is the King of the Country with all the considerable forces thereof Upon this so unexpected news the said Prince while he was making his preparations to go against the Enemy posted those who were most in a readiness for the expedition in the Avenues of the mountains and placed Ambuscadoes in several parts of the great Forests which lie between the great Lake and the Mountains and through which there was a necessity of passing to get into that pleasant and spacious valley which is above sixty leagues in length and about ten in breadth where are the habitations of the chiefest Inhabitants of the Country and the most considerable Cities in the Kingdom While the Cofachites were busy about the plundering and pillaging the houses they had found near the great Lake the Apalachites had the opportunity to prepare themselves for the reception of them But the former instead of taking the ordinary Roads and ways which led to the flat Country which as we said lie between the Mountains having left their Wives and Children near the great Lake under the guard of some Forces they had drawn off from the main Body and being guided by some of the Apalachites whom they had surprised fishing in the great Lake crossed through the woods and made their way over mountains and precipices over and through which the Camels could hardly have passed and by that means got into the heart and centre of the Country and found themselves of a sudden in a Province called that of the Amanites They without any resistance surprised the chiefest places of it wherein they found to guard them only Women Children and some old men such as were not able to follow their King who with his people lay expecting the Enemy at the ordinary descents which led into the Country The Cofachites perceiving that their design had proved so successful and that there was a great likelihood that in a short time they should become Masters of the whole Country since they had met with so good fortune immediately upon their first appearance prosecuted their conquests further and having Cities for their retreat where they had left good strong Garrisons they marched towards the King of Apalacha with a resolution either to fight him or at least oblige him to allow them the quiet possession of some part of the Country The Apalachite was extremely surprised when he understood that the Enemy whom he had all this while expected on the Frontiers and at the known avenues of the Country had already possessed himself of a Province that lay in the centre of his Dominions and that he had left Garrisons in the Cities and most considerable places thereof However being a magnanimous and gallant Prince he would try whether the chance of Arms would prove as favourable to him as he thought his cause good and just he thereupon came down with his people out of the Mountains where he had encamped himself and having encouraged those that were about him to do their utmost he confidently set upon the vanguard of the Cofachites which was come out to observe his motion having on both sides spent all their arrows they came to a close fight and having taken their Clubs there was a great slaughter in both Armies till that night having separated them the Cofachites observed that they had lost a great number of theirs in the engagement and found that they had to do with a people that behaved themselves more valiantly than they had imagined to themselves they would have done and consequently that their best course would be to enter into a friendly treaty with them rather than venture another hazard of their Forces in a strange Country Upon this they resolved that the next morning they would send Ambassadors to the King of the Apalachites with certain Overtures of Peace and in case of a refusal dissembling the loss they had received in the former Engagement to declare open War and to challenge him to be immediately ready to receive their Charge which should be much more violent than what they had met withal the day before and that then all their Forces were come together The Paracousses of the Apalachites having given audience to these Ambassadors desired that days time to consider of the Propositions which had been made to him and thereupon having required of them the Articles and Conditions under which they would Treat with him in case he might be inclined to Peace they told him That they had left their own Country with a resolution to plant themselves either by friendship or by force in that good and fat Country whereof he was possessed and that if he would condescend to the former of those means they desired to become one People with the Apalachites to dwell in their Country and to cultivate it and so to supply the empty places of those who not long before had gone from among them to plant a new Colony in some remote parts of the World The Apalachite assembled his Council upon these considerations and having acquainted them therewith he represented That the Army of the Cofachites hindered the coming in of the Assistances which they might receive from the other Provinces that had not been ready to come in to them at the beginning of the War That by the same means the passage of Provisions was absolutely obstructed That the Enemy was Master of the Field and that without any resistance he had got into one of the best Provinces of the whole Country where he had also possessed himself of places of Importance and That though in the precedent Engagement he had taken particular notice of the incomparable fidelity and gallantry of his People in setting upon and fight against the Enemies over whom they had very considerable Advantages yet had that good Success been bought with the loss of his most valiant Captains and the best of his Soldiers and consequently it concerned them to bethink themselves of some means to preserve the rest of the Kingdom by sparing what was then left of the choicest Men And since the Enemies were the first Proposers of the Conditions of Peace it would be the safest way to hearken thereto if it might be done without any derogation from their Glory and the great Reputation they had acquired before inasmuch as there was waste grounds enough in several places and that the Country by reason of the transplantation of some part of their Inhabitants was spacious and fertile enough to sustain them all All the chief Commanders of the Apalachites having heard what had been proposed by their King and concluding it was not fear that obliged him to hearken to an Accommodation with the Cofachites since that the day before he had ventured his Person among the most forward but that it proceeded purely from the desire he had that they might not be rashly exposed to further danger and his care of preserving his People which was already at the mercy of the Enemy who had possessed himself of one of the richest Provinces and having also understood by some Spies who were come into the King's Army by some secret ways and made their escape out of the Cities where the Cofachites had their Garrisons that they treated with great mildness and respect the women and old men whom they had found there having I say taken all these things into consideration they unanimously subscribed to the sentiments of their Prince and made answer That there was a necessity of condescending to an Accommodation and making some Agreement upon the most advantageous Conditions they could according to the present posture of their Affairs And after they had confirmed this resolution by their Ha Ha which is the sign of the applause and ratification wherewith they are wont to conclude their Deliberations they signified the same to the Ambassadors of the Cofachites who expected it with impatience This news being carried over to the Camp of the Cofachites was received with great joy as being consonant to the end they had proposed to themselves when they first undertook the War and left their Country They thereupon immediately deputed some of the chiefest among them to agree with the Apalachites about the absolute conclusion of that Peace and to sign the Articles of the Treaty These Deputies being come to the place where the Prince of the Apalachites expected them attended by the most considerable Persons about his Court sitting on a Seat somewhat higher than any of the rest and covered with a rich Fur were very kindly received and having taken their Seats the King drank to them of a certain Beverage called Cassina out of a Bowl of which he first tasted himself All that were present at the Council drank afterwards in order which done they fell upon the business of the Treaty which was concluded upon these Conditions That the Cofachites should inhabit promiscuously in the Cities and Towns of the Apalachites That in all respects they should be esteemed and accounted as the natural Inhabitants of the Country That they should absolutely enjoy the same Privileges That they should be subject to the King as the others were That they should embrace the Religion and observe the Customs of the Country Or if they would rather the Apalachites would resign up to them the rich and great Province of Amana to be enjoyed only by them according to the limits which should be agreed upon Provided nevertheless That they should acknowledge the King of the Apalachites for their Sovereign and that from thence forward they should render him reasonable homage This Agreement being thus reciprocally concluded was attended with mutual acclamations Not long after the Deputies of the Cofachites having given an account of their negotiation to their Commander in chief and his Council and represented to them the choice which had been left them either of living promiscuously among the Apalachites or being sole possessors of the Province into which they were entered they unanimously accepted of the latter and so became absolute Masters of that Province of Amana whereof the King of the Apalachites put them himself into quiet possession The Women Children and Old men who had been left behind when all s as were able to bear arms had followed their Prince were transported into some of the other Provinces where the King appointed a settled habitation for them and all the gallant men of that Province who had ventured their lives against the Enemy and for the preservation of their Country All things being thus settled both parties laid down their arms and the Cofachites went to fetch their Wives Children  Baggage and the Soldiers they had left near the great Lake of Theomi and being safely returned they disposed themselves into the Cities appointed them congratulating their good fortune in the conquest of so noble a Country answerably to their expectation at the first undertaking of the War From that time the Apalachites gave the name of Caribbians or as the French would have it Caraibes to those new comers who of a sudden and contrary to their expectation forced themselves upon them to repair the breach which had been made by the transplantation of some of their people into another Country of America so that this word Caraibes signifies in their language a sort of people added or suddenly and unexpectedly coming in strangers or stout and valiant men as if they would express that a generous people whom they expected not were come upon them and had been added to them and this denomination continued to these new comers instead of that of Cofachites which hath been kept up only in some weak and wretched Families which lived more towards the north of Florida and after the departure of the true Cofachites possessed themselves of their habitations and would also have passed under the name of those who had preceded them in the possession of that Country Whereas on the other side these true Cofachites were known by the name of Caribbians in the Province of Amana and therefore henceforward we shall speak of them and the Colonies which they have since sent abroad only under that name These two Nations being thus united by the determination of their differences and the period they put to a cruel war which might have ruined them both lived afterwards in good correspondence for many years But in process of time the Caribbians finding themselves multiplied in the Country which they had conquered by their arms would not embrace the Religion of the Apalachites who adored the Sun as shall be shown hereafter nor be present at their Ceremonies in the Temple they had in the Province of Bemarin where the Court was nor in fine render the King the homages that were due to him for the Province they were possessed of according to their promise and the Articles of the Treaty This breach of promise on the part of the Caribbians and that unjustiafiable act proved the occasion of many bloody Wars which happened afterwards between the two Nations the Caribbians were surrounded of all sides by their adversaries who kept them in so that they could not any way enlarge their quarters and on the other side the Apalachites had in the bowels of their Country a cruel and irreconcilable enemy who kept them perpetually in alarms and obliged them to be always in arms during which both the one and the other sometimes victorious sometimes beaten as the uncertain chance of war was pleased to carry it lived a very sad life insomuch that many times either for want of cultivating the ground or by reason of the waste committed in the fields of one another a little before the Harvest they were reduced to such an extreme Famine as destroyed more people than the Sword Above an age was spent in these contests during which the Caribbians who had for their Commander in chief and King of their Nation one of their most valiant Captains whom they called Ragazim added to their former acquests another Province which lay next to them on the South side and is called Matica which reaching through the Mountains by an interval that receives a torrent descending from the same Mountains afterwards extends towards the West as far as the River which taking its source at the great Lake after it hath made several Islands and flown through divers Provinces falls at lasst into the Ocean This is the famous River which the French have called the River of May but the Apalachites name it Basainim which signifies in their language the delicious River or abounding in fish The Caribbians having thus dilated their territories and forced their Enemies to retreat made for some years a truce with the Apalachites who being wearied out with the Wars and discouraged by the loss of a considerable Province willingly harkened to that cessation of arms and all acts of hostility But these Apalachites being exasperated to see their Country grown less by one of the best Provinces belonging to it taking the advantage of the opportunity of that Truce secretly consulted several times among themselves how they might carry on their designs more successfully against the Caribbians than they had done before and having found by sad experience that they had not advanced their affairs much by assaulting their Enemies openly and by settled Engagements they resolved to supplant them by subtlety and to that end to think of all ways imaginable to make a division among them and insensibly to engage them in a Civil War within their own Country This advice being received and generally approved of all their Priests who are in very great esteem among them and have Voices in their most important Assemblies immediately furnished them with expedients and suggested to them the means which were to this effect They had observed that those people who came in so slily and surprised them in their own Country were without Religion and made no acknowledgement of any Divinity whereto they conceived themselves obliged to render any public Service and that they stood in fear only of a certain evil Spirit which they called Mabovya because he sometimes tormented them yet so as that in the mean time they did not do him any homage Thence it came that for some years after their arrival during which they had lived in good correspondence with them they endeavoured to induce them by their example to acknowledge the Sun to be the sovereign Governor of the World and to adore him as God These Exhortations and Instructions had a great influence over the Spirits of the chiefest among the Caribbians and had made strong impressions in them so that having received the first Principles of that Religion while the time of their mutual correspondence continued many left the Province of Amana wherein they had their habitations and went into that of Bemarin the principal Province of the Apalachites whence they ascended into the Mountain of Olaimi upon which the Apalachites made their solemn Offerings and upon their invitation the Caribbians had participated of those Cermonies and that Service These Priests whom the Apalachites call Jaovas' which is as much as to say Men of God knew that the seeds of Religion are not so easily smothered in the hearts of men and that though the long Wars they had had with the Caribbians had hindered the exercise thereof yet would it be no hard matter for them to blow up as we may say those sparks in them which lay hid under the ashes The Truce and Cessation of all acts of Hostility which had been concluded between the two Nations presented the Apalachites with a favourable opportunity to prosecute their design whereupon the Priests of the Sun advised with the King's Consent that there should be a publication made among the Caribbians that at the beginning of the Month of March which they call Naarim in their language they would render a solemn Service in honour of the Sun on the high Mountain and that the said Service should be attended with Divertisements Feasting and Presents which they should liberally give to such as were present thereat This Ceremony was no new thing among the Apalachites so that the Caribbians could not suspect any circumvention nor fear any surprise for it was a very ancient custom among them to make extraordinary Prayers to the Sun at the beginning of the Month of Naarim which is precisely the time that they have done sowing their Mais That which they desire in this Service is That the Sun would be pleased to cause that which they had recommended to his care to spring grow and come to maturity They have also the same solemnity in the Month of May at which time they have got in their first Harvest to render him thanks for the fruits they conceive that they have received from his hands Besides the Caribbians knew well enough that during these Festivals the Apalachites hung up their Bows and Arrows that it was accounted a heinous crime among them to go armed into their Temple and to raise the least dispute there and that during those days of Selemnity the greatest Enemies were commonly reconciled and laid aside all enmity In fine they made not the least doubt but that the Public Faith and the promise solemnly made would be inviolably observed Upon this assurance they dispose themselves to pass over into the Province of Bemarin at the time appointed and that they might be thought to contribute somewhat on their part to the public Solemnity they dress themselves with all the bravery and magnificence they could and though that even than they were wont to go very lightly clad and expose their bodies almost naked yet the more to accommodate themselves to the humours of their Neighbours whom they were going to visit they caused all the Furs spotted Skins and Stuffs that they had to be made into  They forgot not also to cause their faces their hands and all those places of their bodies which lay exposed to be seen to be painted with a bright red and they crown themselves with their richest Garland interwoven with the different plumage of several rare Birds of the Country The Women for their parts desirous to participate of this Solemnity leave nothing undone that might contribute any thing to the adorning of themselves the Chains of Shells of several colours the Pendants and the high Coifs enriched with the precious and glittering Stones which the Torrents bring down along with them out of the high Mountains made them appear with extraordinary lustre In this equipage the Caribbians partly out of curiosity partly out of the vanity to show themselves and some out of certain motives of Religion undertake that Pilgrimage And that they might not raise any jealousy in those who had so kindly invited them they leave their Bows Arrows and Clubs at the last Village within their Jurisdiction and enter into the Province of Bemarin only with a walking stick singing and dancing as they are all of a merry and divertive disposition On the other side the Apalachites expected them with great devotion and answerably to the Orders they had to that purpose received from their King whose name was Teltlabin and whose race commands at present among that people they kindly entertained all those who came to the Sacrifice nay from the first entrance of the Caribbians into their Province they treated them at all places as cordially as if they had been their Brethren and that there had never been any difference between them They feasted them all along the way and conducted them up to the Royal City which to this day they call Melilot that is the City of Council inasmuch as it is the habitation of the King and his Court The chiefest of the Caribbians were magnificently entertained at the Palace-Royal and those of the common sort were received and treated by the Inhabitants of the City who spared no cost to heighten the satisfaction of their Guests The day dedicated to the sacrifice of the Sun being come the King of the Apalachites with his Court which was very much increased by the arrival of the Caribbians and a great number of the Inhabitants of the other Provinces who were come up to the Feast went up very betimes in the morning to the top of the Mountain of Olaimi which is not a full league distant from the City This Prince according to the custom of the Country was carried in a chair on the shoulders of four tall men attended by four others of the same height who were to relieve the former when they were weary There marched before him several persons playing on Flutes and other musical Instruments with this pomp he came to the place appointed for the Assembly and when the Ceremony was over he made a great distribution of  and Furs more than he had been accustomed to do upon such occasions before But above all his liberality was remarkable towards the most considerable persons among the Caribbians and in imitation of the Prince the wealthiest of his people made presents in like manner to those of that Nation who had vouchsafed their solemn Sacrifice with their presence so that most of the Caribbians returned home well satisfied and in better Liveries than they had brought thence with them After they were come down from the Mountain they were again treated and entertained with the greatest expressions of good will in all the houses of the Apalachites through whose habitations they were to return into their quarters In fine to encourage them to a second visit there were solemn protestations made to them from the King and his Officers that they should be at all other times received with the like demonstrations of affection if they were desirous to accompany them four times in the year to the celebration of the same Ceremonies The Caribbians being returned into their Province could not make sufficient acknowledgements of the kind entertainment they had received Those who had stayed at home being ravished to see the rich presents which their Countrymen had brought home immediately resolved to undertake the same pilgrimage at the next ensuing Feast And the day on which it was to be drawing near there was so great a contestation among them who should go that if their Cacick or chief Captain had not taken some course therein the Province would have been destitute of Inhabitants The Apalachites on the other side continued their entertainments and liberalities and there was a certain emulation among them who should be most kind to the Caribbians Their Priests who knew what would be the issue of all this imposture recommended nothing so much to them as the continuation of those good Offices which they said were very acceptable to the Sun Three years slipped away in these visits at the end whereof the Apalachites who had exhausted themselves in liberalities towards their Neighbours perceiving they had gained extremely upon their affections and that the greatest part of them were grown so zealous for the service of the Sun that nothing would be able to force out of their apprehensions the deep sentiments they had conceived of his Divinity resolved upon the instigation of their Priests for whose advice the King and all the people had great respects and submissions to take occasion from the expiration of the Truce to renew the war against the Caribbians and to forbid them access to their Ceremonies if they would not as they did make a public profession of believing the Sun to be God and perform the promise they had sometime made of acknowledging the King of the Apalachites for their Sovereign and do homage to him for the Province of Amana upon which account they had been admitted to be the Inhabitants thereof The Caribbians were divided about these proposals For all those who were inclined to the adoration of the Sun were of opinion that satisfaction should be given to the Apalachites affirming that though they were not obliged thereto by their promise yet would there be an engagement to do it though it were only to prevent their being deprived of the free exercise of their Religion and debarred their presence at the sacrifices made to the Sun which they could not abandon without much regret The Cacick or chief Commander and a great number of the most considerable among the Caribbians alleged on the contrary that they would not blast their reputation and the glory of all their precedent Victories by so shameful a peace which under pretence of Religion would make them subject to the Apalachites That they were freeborn and that as such they had left the place of their birth and transplanted themselves into a better Country than their own by force of Arms That their greatest concernment was to endeavour the continuance of that precious liberty and to cement it with their own blood if occasion required That they were the same men who had sometime forced the Apalachites to resign upto them the most considerable of their Provinces such a one as was the centre and as it were the eye of their Country That they had not remitted any thing of that generosity and that that valour was so far from being extinguished that on the contrary they had enlarged their jurisdiction by the acquest of a noble and spacious Country which gave them passage beyond the Mountains whereby they were surrounded before That having thus removed out of the way whatever might obstruct their designs it would be thought an insupportable cowardice in them only under pretence of Religion and out of pure curiosity of being present at Sacrifices to quit the possession of what they had reduced under their power with so much trouble and bloodshed In fine that if any were desirous to adore the Sun they needed not to go out of their own Territories to do it since he shined as favourably in their Provinces as those of the Apalachites and looked on them every day as graciously as on any other part of the world and if there were any necessity of consecrating a Mountain to him or a Grot they might find among those which separated their Country from the great Lake some that were as high and as fit for those mysteries as that of Olaimi Those who maintained the service of the Sun and were against engaging in a new war which must be the sequel of refusing conditions which were as advantageous to them as to the Apalachites made answer that since they had for some years enjoyed the sweetness of peace and experienced upon so many occasions the kind entertainments and generosity of their Neighbours it would be the greatest imprudence in the world to run themselves into new troubles which they might avoid upon such easy terms and that without any loss of the reputation they had acquired That the acknowledgements which the Apalachites required for the Province they were possessed of might be such and of so little importance that it would not be any diminution of their Honour or prejudice to their Authority That as to what concerned the Service and Sacrifices of the Sun they were not furnished with such Priests as were instructed in that Science and acquainted with the Ceremonies thereof That it was much to be feared that if they should undertake to imitate the Jaoüas of the Apalachites they would by the miscarriages likely to be committed therein draw upon themselves the indignation of the Divinity which they would serve instead of gaining its favour That they had found upon enquiry that there was not any Mountain in the whole Country so kindly looked upon by the Sun and so pleasant as that of Olaimi Nor was there any other that had a Temple naturally made in the Rock after so miraculous a manner which was such that all the art and industry of man could never bring to that perfection and that it could be no other than the work of the beams of that Divinity which was there adored That though it were supposed they might find out a Mountain and a Cave that came somewhat near the other which yet they thought impossible it was questionable whether those Birds who were the Sun's Messengers would make their habitation there And that the Fountain consecrated in honour of him which wrought admirable effects and unheard of cures would be found there And consequently that they should expose themselves to the derision of the Apalachites who would still have occasion to make their brags of an infinite number of prerogatives peculiar to their ancient Temple and Service which the new one they pretended to build would never have From all which considerations the Religious party concluded that their best course was to make a firm peace that so they might have the convenience of participating of the same Ceremonies for the future which they had frequented during the Truce But those who were resolved on the contrary side were so obstinate that all those remonstrances prevailed nothing upon them nor could in the least divert them from the resolution they had taken never to acknowledge the Apalachites for their Sovereigns nor lose their liberty under pretence of Religion and way of Worship which their forefathers had been ignorant of So that in fine this contrariety of sentiments made an absolute rupture among the Caribbians so as to divide them into two factions as the Priests of the Apalachites had foreseen whereupon being divided also in their Counsels they could not return an unanimous answer to the propositions of peace or war which had been made to them by the Apalachites But either party growing stronger and stronger daily that which voted for an alliance with the Apalachites and stood for the adoration of the Sun became so powerful as to be in a condition to oblige the other either to embrace their opinion or quit the Province It would be too tedious a Relation to set down here all the mischiefs and miseries which that Civil War brought among the Caribbians who mutually destroyed one the other till at last after many fights the Apalachites joining with that party which carried on their Interest the other was forced to quit the Provinces of Amana and Matica and to find out a more settled habitation elsewhere The victorious Caribbians having by the assistance of the Apalachites rid themselves of those who were the disturbers of their Peace fortified their Frontiers and placed up and down on the avenues the most valiant and most generous of their Forces to deprive the Banished of all hope of ever returning That done they contracted a most strict Alliance with the Apalachites submitting themselves to their Laws embracing their Religion and so making themselves one people with them and that incorporation continues to this day yet not so but that those Caribbians do still retain their ancient name as we have already observed in the beginning of this Chapter as also many words which are common between them and the Inhabitants of the Caribbies Of this kind are among an infinite number of others the terms of Cakonnes to express the little curiosities which are preserved for their rarity that of Bouttou to signify a Club of a weighty kind of wood that of Taumali to express a certain picquancy or delightfulness of taste that of Banaré to signify a familiar Friend that of Etoutou to denote an Enemy They also call a Bow Allouba Arrows Allovani a great Pond Taonaba the evil Spirit Mabovya and the Soul of a Man Akamboué which are the proper terms which the Caribbian Inhabitants of the Islands make use of at the present to signify the same things As concerning the Caribbians forced out of their Country by those of their own Nation and driven out of the limits of their ancient Habitation and all the places they had Conquered having straggled up and down a while near the River which derives its source from the great Lake and endeavoured to no purpose to enter into some Accommodation with the Inhabitants of either side of it they at last resolved to make their way through their Country either by fair means or foul and so to get into some place where they might perpetuate themselves and make a secure establishment of what was left of them With this resolution they made a shift to get to the Seaside where having met with a people which took compassion on their misery they wintered among them and passed over that disconsolate Season in much want And while they spent their time in continual regrets for their loss of a Country so pleasant and fertile as that which they had lived in and considered that they should never enjoy themselves in that whereto their misfortune had cast them as Exiles there arrived where they were at the beginning of the Spring two little Vessels which came from the Islands called the Lucayos and had been driven by the Winds into the Road near which our Caribbians had passed over the Winter There were in those two Vessels which they call Canoes or Piragos about thirteen or fourteen persons Inhabitants of Cigateo one of the Lucayan Islands who being got ashore related to the natural Inhabitants of the Country how they had been forced thither by a Tempest and among other things they told wonders of the Islands where they lived adding that there were yet divers others beyond them towards the Aequator which lay desert and were not inhabited and those such as were accounted better than the others whereof they had given them an account That for their parts all they desired of the Inhabitants of the Country was only some Provisions and a little fresh Water to enable them to get home to their own Country from which they conceived themselves to be distant not above four or five days Sailing The Caribbians who were studying where to find out some new habitation and extremely troubled that they had no settled place where they might no longer be exposed to the inconveniences of a wand'ring kind of life having heard so much of these Islands and that they were not far from the Lucayas resolved to make their advantage of the opportunity of those Guides whom they had met with by so extraordinary a good fortune to follow them when they should depart thence and after their arrival at home to plant themselves in some of those desert Islands whereof they had given so advantageous an account They doubted not but that the execution of this enterprise would put a period to all their miseries But there was yet a great obstacle lay in their way which at firsst they knew not how to overcome to wit the want of Vessels to cross the Sea and bring them to the places whereof they desired to possess themselves The first Proposals were to fell down Trees and to make them hollow with fire as other Nations did nay that among whom they then were But that expedient required a long time to compass it while in the interim those whom they hoped to have for their Conductors would be gone Whereupon they thought it the surest way to find out Vessels ready made To that end they resolved in the night time to seize on all those which the Nations of the neighbouring Creeks and and such as lived near the Rivers which fall thereabouts into the Sea had ready in their Ports and in condition fit for the Sea The day being come for the departure of the Lucayans who were to be their Guides our Caribbians who had furnished themselves beforehand with all necessary provisions met together the most secretly they could along the River-sides and near the Ports and having possessed themselves of all the Canoes or Vessels they met with joined with the Lucayans with whom without taking any leave of their Hosts they set Sail for the Lucayas The Wind having proved favourable to these Fugitives they got in a few days to Cigateo where they were very civilly entertained by the Inhabitants who having supplied them with all necessary refreshments conducted them to the most remote of their Islands and thence gave them a Convoy to bring them to the next of the desert Islands whereof they had given them a relation which they called Ayay but it is now called Santa Cruz In their passage they sailed by the Island of Boriquen now called Porto-Rico which was inhabited by a very powerful Nation It was then in the said Island of Ayay that our Caribbians laid the first foundations of their Colony and where enjoying an undisturbed Peace which made them forget all precedent misfortunes they multiplied so that within a few years they were forced to spread themselves into all the other Islands now known by the name of the Caribbbies And some Ages after having possessed themselves of all the inhabitable Islands they transported themselves into the Continent of the Meridional part of America where they have at this day many great and numerous Colonies wherein they are so well settled that though the Yaos the Sappayos the Paragotis the Arovacas or Arovagues who are their Neighbours in the Island of Trinity and the Provinces of Orinoca have often attempted to force them out of their habitations and engaged against them with all their Forces yet do they still continue in them in a flourishing condition and entertain so good a correspondence and so perfect a friendship with our Caribbians the Inhabitants of the Islands that these latter march out once or twice a year to their relief joining all together with the Calibites their Friends and Confederates against the Arovagues and other Nations their common Enemies There is yet another Story concerning the origine of the Insulary Caribbians which is That they are descended from their Confederates the Calibites and we are apt to believe somewhat of it may be true as being the only account which most of them can give of themselves For these Caribbians being less powerful than the Calibites when they first came among them into the Continent and having afterwards entered into Alliance with them by Marriages and common concernments they made up together but one people and so there ensued a mutual communication of Language and particular Customs And thence it comes that a great part of the Caribbians having forgot their first origine would have it believed that they are descended from the Calibites And it is to be presumed that it being out of all memory of man when their Predecessors came from the Northern parts into these Islands they have not any knowledge of their Native Country which having cast them out of her bosom and treated them as Rebels was not so far regretted by those poor Fugitives as that they should be over-careful to preserve the memory of it On the contrary it is credible that the sooner to forget the miseries they had suffered they effaced the sad ideas thereof as much as they could and were glad of any other Origine It may be also that when the Caribbians first entered the Islands upon their coming from the North they were not so destitute of Inhabitants but that there were here and there some Families which might have passed over thither from the Islands of Hispaniola or Porto-Rico which they destroyed reserving only the Women whom they might make use of for the propagation of their Colony And of this there is yet a greater probability in that these Caribbians being banished from among the Apalachites and by War forced to leave the Country to the victorious Party many of their Wives stayed behind among the Apalachites and the rest of their own Nation who had joined with them And thence possibly may proceed the difference there is between the Language of the Men and that of the Women amongst the Caribbians But to give a more particular account of those Colonies of the Caribbians which are in the Meridional Continent of America in the first place the Relations of those who have entered into the famous River of Orenoca distant from the Line Northward eight degrees and fifty minutes affirm that at a great distance within the Country there live certain Caribbians who might easily have passed over thither from the Island of Tabago which of all the Caribbies is the nearest to that Continent The Dutch Relations acquaint us that advancing yet further towards the Aequator there lies at seven degrees from that Line the great and famous River of Essequeba near which are planted first the Aroüagues and next to them the Caribbians who are continually in war with them and have their habitations above the falls of that River which descend with great violence from the Mountains and thence these Caribbians reach to the source of the same River and are very numerous and possessed of a vast territory The same Travellers relate that within six degrees of the Line lies the River Sarname or Suriname into which falls another River named Ikouteca all along which there are many Villages inhabited by Caribbians There is besides a numerous people of the same Nation Inhabitants of a Country which reaches a great way into the Continent the coasts whereof extend to the fifth and sixth degree North of the Aequator situate along a fair and great River named Marovyne about eighteen Leagues distant from that of Sarname which from its source crosses up and down above two hundred leagues of Country in which there are many Villages inhabited by Caribbians who observing the same custom with the Islanders make choice of the most valiant among them for their Cacicks or Commanders in chief and are somewhat of a higher stature than those Inhabitants of the Caribbies yet not differing much from them save only that some of them cover their privy parts with a piece of cloth but rather for ornament than out of any consideration of shame or modesty Those therefore who have travelled into those Countries affirm that from the mouth of the River Marovyne which lies at five degrees and forty five minutes of the Line to the North to the source of it there are twenty days sail and that all along it the Caribbians have their Villages like those of our Islanders We observe further out of the Voyages of some Dutch that the Inhabitants of that Continent through which the River of Cayenna makes its passage into the Ocean are naturally Caribbians In fine it is not impossible but that these Caribbians might cross those Countries as far as Brasil for those who have made voyages thither affirm that among the Provinces which lie along the coasts of the South-Sea there are some people commonly known by the name of Caribbians and that being of a more hardy and daring constitution as also more apprehensive and subtle than the other Indians Inhabitants of Brasil they are so highly esteemed among them that they conceive them to be endued with a more excellent kind of knowledge than the others whence it comes that they have a great submission for their Counsels and desire them to preside at all their Festivals and rejoices which they seldom celebrate without the presence of some one of these Caribbians who upon that account take their progress up and down the Villages where they are received with acclamations entertainments and great kindness as John de Lery hath observed Were it necessary to produce any further confirmation to prove that these Caribbians scattered into so many places of the Continent of the Meridional part of America are of the same Nation with the Islanders we might allege what is unanimously affirmed by the two Dutch Colonies planted in those coasts to wit those of Cayenna and Berbica both neighbours to the Caribbians of the Continent to show the conformity and resemblance there is in many things as constitution manners customs etc. between them and the Indian Inhabitants of the Caribbies of whom we shall give an account hereafter But it is time we conclude this chapter which is already grown to a great length yet could it not be divided by reason of the uniformity and connexion of the matter Yet have we a word further to add in answer to a question which the curiosity of some person might haply take occasion to start which is How long it may be since the Caribbians came out of Florida into these Islands We must acknowledge there can no certain account be given of it inasmuch as these Nations have commonly no other Annals than their own memories But in regard those people ordinarily live two hundred years it is not to be thought strange that the occurrences happening among them should be transmitted to posterity to three or four Generations And to confirm this we may aver that there are many men and women among them who can give an exact account of the first arrival of the Spaniards in America as if it had happened but yesterday So that the remembrance of the departure of the Caribbians out of Florida and the wars they have had there being yet fresh among the Apalachites those who have heard them discourse conjecture that it may be about five hundred years since those things came to pass But if it be further questioned why they did not endeavour to make their way back again into Florida to be revenged of the Apalachites and those of their own Nation who had forced them thence especially after they had multiplied and recruited themselves so powerfully in the Islands it may be answered That the difficulty of Navigation which is very easy from the Caribbies to Florida but very dangerous from Florida to the Caribbies the winds being commonly contrary chilled the earnestness they might have to make any such attempt In the next place it is to be noted that the air of the Islands being warmer and the soil as good and in all appearance more suitable to their constitution than that of Florida they apprehended that those who had forced them thence had contrary to their intentions procured them a greater happiness than they could have desired and thinking to make them miserable had made them fortunate in their exile CHAP. VIII By way of Digression giving an account of the Apalachites the Nature of their Country their Manners and their ancient and modern Religion SInce we have had occasion to speak so much concerning the Apalachites and that above one half of the ancient Caribbians after the expulsion of those among them who would not adore the Sun have to this present made up one people and one Commonwealth with those Apalachites it will be consonant to our design especially since the subject thereof is rare and little known if we give some account of the nature of their Country and the most remarkable things that are in it as also of the manners of the Inhabitants the Religion they have had heretofore and that which they profess at this day as we have the particulars thereof from the English who have traded among them and have not long since laid the foundations of a Colony in the midst of the noblest and best known of their Provinces The Territories of the Apalachites consist of six Provinces whereof three are comprehended within that noble and spacious Vale which is encompassed by the Mountains of the Apalates at the foot whereof these people inhabit The most considerable of those Provinces and which lies towards the East wherein the King keeps his Court is called Bemarin That which is in the midst and as it were in the centre of the three is called Amani or Amana And the third of those which are within that Vale is known by the name of Matica True it is that this last which begins in the Vale reaches a great way into the Mountains nay goes yet much beyond even to the Southside of the great Lake which they call Theomis The other Provinces are Schama and Meraco which are in the Apalatean Mountains and Achalaques which is partly in the Mountains and partly in the Plain and comprehends all the Marshes and Fenny places confining on the great Lake Theomi on the North-side The Country under the King of the Apalachites being thus divided into six Provinces there are in it some Mountains of a vast extent and prodigious height which are for the most part inhabited by a people living only upon what they get by hunting there being great store of wild beasts in those Wildernesses Besides which there are also certain Vales which are peopled by a Nation that is less barbarous such as addicts itself to the cultivation of the earth and is sustained by the fruits it produces And lastly there are abundance of Marshes and Fenny places and a great Lake whereof the Inhabitants are very numerous maintaining themselves by fishing and what the little good ground they have furnishes them withal The three Provinces which are within the Vale which as we said in the precedent Chapter is sixty leagues in length and about ten more in breadth lie as it were in a Champion Country save only that in some places there are certain risings and eminences on which the Towns and Villages are commonly built many little Rivers which descend from the Mountains and abound in Fish cross it up and down in several places That part of it which is not reduced to culture is well furnished with fair trees of an excessive height For instance there are Cedars Cypress Pines Oaks Panamas which the French call Saxafras and an infinite variety of others which have no proper names among us As concerning the Fruit-trees of this Country besides Chestnut and Walnut-Trees which grow naturally there the English who have planted themselves in those parts as we shall relate more at large towards the end of this Chapter have planted Orange-trees sweet and sharp Citrons Lemons several sorts of Apples and Pears and divers Stones as of Plumbs Cherries and Apricocks which have thrived and multiplied so that in some places of this Country there are more European fruits then in any other part of America There is also good store of those lesser sort of Trees which bear leaves or flowers of sweet scent such as Laurel Jessemine Roses Rosemary and all those others that are so ornamental in the Garden Nor is there any want of Pinks Carnations Tulips Violets Lilies and all the other Flowers which adorn Knots and Borders Potherbs also and all sorts of Pulse and Roots thrive very well there Citruls Cucumbers and Melons are common all Summer long and as well tasted as those which grow in any part of the Caribbies Strawberries and Raspberries grow in the Woods without any culture They have also Small-nuts Gooseberries and an infinite variety of other small Fruits which in their degree contribute to the delight and refreshment of the Inhabitants The Wheat Barley Rye and Oats which some sowed there at several Seasons and in different Soils hath grown only to the blade but in requital there grows every where such abundance of small Millet Lentils Chick-pease Fetches and Mais or Turkish Wheat which are sown and harvested twice a year that the Inhabitants of the Plain Country have enough to supply those who live towards the Mountains who bring them in exchange several sorts of Furs The Lands that are sown with Turkish Wheat are enclosed with Quickset Hedges planted on both sides with Fruit-trees most whereof are covered with wild Vines which grow at the foot of the Trees As to the Volatiles of this Country there are Turkeys Pintadoes Parrots Woodquists Turtles Birds of prey Eagles Geese Ducks Herons white Sparrows Tonatzuli a kind of bird that sings as sweetly as the Nightingale and is of an excellent plumage and abundance of other Birds commonly seen near Rivers and in the Forests quite different from those that are seen in other parts of the World The Apalachites have no knowledge at all of Sea-fish as being at too great a distance from the Coasts but they take abundance in the Rivers and Lakes which are extremely nourishing of an excellent taste and much about the bigness and in figure somewhat like our Pikes Carp Perches and Barbels They also take Castor's and Bevers near the great Rivers Lakes and Pools they eat the flesh of them and make Furs of the Skins for Winter-caps and other uses There is no venomous creature nor any wild beast in the lower part of the Country for the Inhabitants of the Mountains who are expert Huntsmen drive them into the Forests where they find them continual work and sport So that the flocks of sheep and herds of  and swine graze up and down the skirts of the Mountains without any body to look after them But within the woods and in the deserts which are not much frequented by men there are divers Monstrous and dangerous Reptiles as also Bears Tigers Lions Wolves and some other kinds of cruel Beasts which live by prey and are particular to those Countries The men in these Countries are for the most part of high stature of an Olive-colour and well proportioned their hair black and long Both men and women are very neat and curious in keeping their hair clean and handsomely ordered The women tie up theirs about the crown of the head after the form of a Garland and the men dispose theirs behind the ears But upon days of public rejoicing all have their hair loose dishevelled and dangling over their shoulders a fashion becomes them well The Inhabitants of those Provinces that lie towards and among the Mountains cut off all the hair on the left side of the head that so they may the more easily draw their Bows and they order that which grows on the other side so as to make a crest standing over the right ear Most of them wear neither Caps nor any thing instead of Shoes but they cover the body with the skins of Bears or Tigers neatly sown together and cut after the fashion of close coats which reach down to their knees and the sleeves are so short that they come not over the elbow The Inhabitants of the other Provinces which are seated in the Vales and Plains went heretofore naked from the Navel upwards in the Summertime and in Winter they wore garments of Furs but now both men and women are clad all the year long In the hottest seasons they have light  made of cotton wool or a certain herb of which they make a thread as strong as that of Flax The women have the art of spinning all these materials and weaving them into several kinds of stuffs which are lasting and delightful to the eye But in the winter which many times is hard enough they are all clad in several kinds of skins which they have the skill to dress well enough They leave the hair on some and so make use of them as Furs They have also the art of tanning Ox-hides and other skins and making Shoes and Boots of them The men wear Caps made of Otter-skins which are perfectly black and glittering pointed before and set out behind with some rich feathers which hanging down over their shoulders make them look very gracefully but the women have no other ornament about the head but what is derived from the several dresses of their hair They make holes in their ears and wear pendants of Crystal or made of a certain smooth stone they have which is of as bright a green as that of an Emerald Of the same materials they also make great Necklaces which they wear when they would appear in state They make great account of Coral Crystal and yellow Amber which are brought to them by Strangers and they are only the Wives of the principal Officers that have Bracelets and Necklaces made of them Though there be some Spanish and English Families among them yet have they not altered any thing either as to their  or course of Life The ordinary sort of people wear only a close coat without sleeves over a thin garment of Goatskins which serves them for shirts The Coat which comes down to the calf of the leg is tied about the waist with a leathern girdle which is set out with some little embroidery But the Officers and Heads of Families wear over that a kind of short Cloak which covers only the back and the arms though behind it falls down to the ground This Cloak is fastened with strong leathern points which make it fast under the neck and lie close to the shoulders The women's garments are of the same fashion with those of the men save that those of the former come down to the ankles and the Cloak hath two open places on the sides through which they put forth their arms To keep themselves clear of Vermin they often wash their bodies with the juice of a certain root which is of as sweet a scent as the Flower-de-luce of Florence and hath this further virtue that it makes the nerves more supple and fortifies and causes a smoothness all over the body and communicates an extraordinary delightful scent thereto The Cities of the three Provinces that are in the spacious Plain which is at the foot of the Mountains are encompassed on the outside by a large and deep Moat which on the inside instead of walls is all planted with great posts pointed at the top thrust a good depth into the ground or sometimes with quickset hedges intermixed with very sharp thorns they are commonly about five or six foot in breadth The Gates are small and narrow and are made fast with little pieces of wood which lie cross between small ramperts of earth that are on both sides and which command the avenues There are commonly but two Gates to every City to enter in at them a man must pass over a bridge so narrow that two men cannot well march on a front upon it The Bridge is built upon piles which sustain certain planks which they draw up in the night when they fear the least trouble It is seldom seen that there is above one City in every Province nay there are some that have not above eight hundred houses in them The Metropolis of the Country which is called Melilot hath above two thousand they are all built of pieces of wood planted into the ground and joined one to another The covering is for the most part of the leaves of reeds grass or rushes Those of the Captains are done over with a certain Mastic which keeps off the rain and preserves the thatch from decaying in many years The floors of all the houses is of the same material whereto they add a certain golden sand which they get out of the neighbouring Mountains and which gives such a lustre as if they were sown with little spangles of Gold The Rooms of the ordinary sort of people are hung only with a kind of Mat made of Plantane-leaves and rushes which they have the art of dying into several colours those of persons considerable among them are hung with precious Furs or Deer-skins painted with divers figures or with a kind of Tapestry made of Birds-feathers which they so industriously intermingle that it seems to be embroidered Their Beds are about a foot and a half from the ground and are covered with skins that are dressed and as soft as can be wished These skins are commonly painted with Flowers Fruits and a hundred such inventions and their colours are so well set on and so lively that at a distance one would take them for rich Tapestry The wealtheir sort in the winter time have their beds covered with the skins of Martin's beaver's or white Foxes which are so well dressed and perfumed with such artifice that they never admit any thing of ordure The Officers and all the most considerable Inhabitants lie on Mattresses filled with a certain down that grows on a little plant and is as soft as silk but the common people take their rest on dried sern which hath the property of taking away the weariness of the body and retriving the forces exhausted by hunting gardening and all the other painful exercises consequent to their course of life The Vessels they use in their houses are either of wood or earth enamelled with divers colours and very delightfully painted They sharpen upon stones the teeth of several wild beasts and therewith arm their Arrows and Lances Before strangers came among them and traded in their Country they knew not there was such a thing as Iron but they made use of extraordinary hard and sharp stones instead of wedges and certain smooth and cutting bones instead of knives They all live very amicably together under the conduct of a King who keeps his Court at Melilot the Metropolis of the Kingdom In every City there is a Governor and other subordinate Officers who are appointed by him and changed at his pleasure as he thinks most convenient The Villages also have Captains and heads of Families by whom they are governed All  goods are common among these people and excepting only their houses and the little gardens belonging to them they have no propriety in any thing they carry on the business of Agriculture in common and they share the fruits of the earth among themselves At sowing-time the Governors and their Officers oversee the work and at that time all those who are of age to do any thing abroad go out betimes in the morning to their work and continue there till the evening at which time they return to their Towns and Villages to take their rest While they are at work it is the business of their Chiefs to provide them somewhat extraordinary in meat and drink They dispose their Harvest into the public Granaries which are in the midst of their Towns and Villages and at every full Moon and at every new Moon those who are entrusted with the distribution thereof supply every Family according to the number of persons whereof it consists with as much as will suffice They are a temperate people and hate all kind of voluptuousness and whatever tends to effeminacy And though Vines grow naturally in their Country yet do they not make any wine but what is requisite for the divine service Fair water is their ordinary drink but at great entertainments they make use of a pleasant kind of Beer which is made of Turkey wheat They also have the art of making an excellent kind of Hydromel or Mead which they keep in great earthen vessels The great abundance of honey which they find among the Rocks and in the clefts of hollow trees supplies them with that whereof they make that delicious drink which is such as may well pass for Sack especially after it hath been kept a long time Those of the same Family live so lovingly together that there are among them some houses where an old man hath his children and his child's children to the third nay sometimes to the fourth generation all living under the same roof to the number of a hundred persons and sometimes more Most of the other Nations of the Septentrional part of America who inhabit along the Sea-coast are so slothful that in the winter time they are in great want because they had not sown any thing when the time served or had consumed the fruits of the precedent harvest in extraordinary entertainments and debauches But the Apalachites hate nothing so much as idleness and they are so addicted to painstaking that the fruits of the earth being answerable to their labour and being distributed with prudence and moderation maintain them plentifully nay so that they can in case of necessity assist their Neighbours the Inhabitants of the Mountains Both men and women are perpetually employed after seedtime and harvest in spinning of Cotton Wool and a certain Herb which is soft and strong for the making of cloth and several ordinary sorts of stuffs wherewith they cover themselves Some among them employ themselves in making of earthen ware others in making Tapestry of the plumage of Birds others in making of Baskets Panniers and other little pieces of householdstuff which they do with a strange industry They are of a very loving and obliging disposition And whereas their distance from the Sea exempts them from being subject to receive any displeasure from Strangers they are in like manner ignorant what entertainments to make them when they chance to visit them and are never weary of expressing all manner of friendship towards them They are docible and susceptible of all sorts of good disciplines but they have this discommendable in them that they are very obstinate in their opinions easily angered and much addicted to revenge when they are convinced that they have been injured They are extremely apt to give credit to their dreams and they have some old dotards among them who openly make it their business to interpret them and foretell what things shall happen after them They have had a long continuance of peace however they think it prudence to stand always upon their guard and they have always Sentinels at the avenues of their Cities to prevent the incursions of a certain savage and extremely cruel people which hath no settled habitation but wander up and down the Provinces with an incredible swiftness making havoc wherever they come especially where they find no resistance The Arms of the Apalachites are the Bow the Club the Sling and a kind of great Javelin which they dart out of their hands when they have spent all their Arrows And whereas those that inhabit towards the woods and in the Mountains live only by hunting continual exercise makes them so expert in shooting with the Bow that the King who always hath a Company of them about his person hath no greater diversion than to see them shoot at a mark for some prize which he gives him who in fewest shots came to the place assigned or hath shot down a Crown set up upon the top of a Tree They are passionate lovers of Music and all instruments that make any kind of harmony insomuch that there 's very few among them but can play on the Flute and a kind of Hawboy which being of several bigness make a passably good harmony and render a sound that is very melodious They are mightily given to dancing capering and making a thousand postures whereby they are of opinion they disburden themselves of all their bad humours and that they acquire a great activity and suppleness of body and a wonderful swiftness in running They heretofore celebrated solemn dances at the end of every harvest and after they had made their Offerings to the Sun upon the Mountain of Olaimi but now they have no set and appointed time for these divertisements Their voice is naturally good mild flexible and pleasant whence it comes that many among them make it their endeavour to imitate the singing and chirping of Birds wherein they are for the most part so fortunate that like so many Orpheus' they entice out of the woods to follow them those Birds which think they hear only those of their own species They do also by singing alleviate the hard labour they are addicted unto and yet what they do seems to be done rather out of divertisement and to avoid idleness than out of any consideration of advantage that they make thereof Their Language is very smooth and very plentiful in comparisons That spoken by the Captains and all persons of quality is more elegant and fuller of flourishes than that of the common sort of people Their expressions are very precise and their periods short enough While they are yet children they learn several songs made by the Jaovas' in honour and commendation of the Sun they are also acquainted with several other little pieces of Poetry wherein they have comprehended the most memorable exploits of their Kings out of a design to perpetuate the memory thereof among them and the more easily transmit it to their posterity All the Provinces which acknowledge the King of Apalacha for their Sovereign understand the language commonly spoken in his Court yet does not this hinder but that each of them hath a particular dialect of its own whence it comes that the language of some is in some things different from that of others of the Inhabitants The Provinces of Amana and Matica in which there are to this day many Caribbian Families have retained to this present many words of the ancient idiom of these people which confirms what we have laid down for a certain assertion to wit that being known by the same name and having many expressions common to them with the Inhabitants of the Caribby-Islands those Families have also the same origine with them as we have represented in the precedent chapter They heretofore adored the Sun and had their Priests whom they called Jaovas' who were very superstitious in rendering to him the service which they had invented in honour of him their persuasion was that the rays of the Sun gave life to all things that they dried up the earth and that once the Sun having continued four and twenty hours under an eclipse the earth had been overflown and that the great Lake which they call Theomis was raised as high as the tops of the highest Mountains that encompass it but that the Sun having recovered the eclipse had by his presence forced the waters to return into their abysses that only the Mountain dedicated to his honour and wherein his Temple was was preserved from that deluge and that their Predecessors and all the beasts which are at present in the woods and upon the earth having retired to the said Mountain were preserved for the repopulation and recruit of the whole earth So that they conceive themselves to be the most ancient people of the world And they affirm that from that time they have acknowledged the Sun for their God They were of opinion that the Sun had built himself the Temple which is in the Mountain of Olaimi the ascent whereof is distant from the City of Melilot somewhat less than a league and that the Tonatzuli which are certain little birds about the bigness of a Quail and whose bellies and wings are of a bright yellow the back of a skye-colour and the head of a plumage partly red and partly white are the messengers and children of the Sun which always celebrate his praises The service they rendered the Sun consisted in saluting him at his rising and singing hymns in honour of him They observed the same Ceremonies also in the evening entreating him to return and to bring the day along with him And besides this daily service which every one performed at the door of his house they had also another public and solemn service which consisted in sacrifices and offerings and was performed by the Jaovas' four times in the year to wit at the two seed-times and after the two harvests upon the Mountain of Olaimi with great pomp and a general concourse of all the Inhabitants of the six Provinces This Mountain of Olaimi is seated as we said before in the Province of Bemarin about a league distant from the Royal City of Melilot but there is about another league of ascent and winding from the foot of it ere a man can get to the top of it It is certainly one of the most pleasant and most miraculous Mountains in the world Its figure is perfectly round and the natural descent extreme steepy but to facilitate the access thereof to such as are to go up they have cut a good broad way all about it and there are here and there several resting places gained out of the Rock like so many niches All the circumference of it from the foot to within two hundred paces of the top is naturally planted with goodly trees of Saxafras Cedar and Cypress and several others from which there issue Rosins and Aromatic gums of a very delightful scent On the top of it there is a spacious plain smooth and even all over and somewhat better than a league in compass it is covered with a delightful green livery of a short and small grass which is intermixed with Thyme Marjoram and other sweet smelling herbs And it was upon the top of this Mountain and upon this pleasant verdure that the people stood while the Priests of the Sun performed the divine service The place which served them for a Temple is a large and spacious Grott or Cave which is naturally cut in the Rock on the East-side of the Mountain It hath a vast and large mouth as the entrance of a magnificent Temple As soon as the Sun is risen he darts his rays on that entrance which hath before it a fair and spacious square place which a man would say were made by art in the Rock And there it is that the Jaovas' the Priests of the Sun stay expecting his rising to begin their ordinary Ceremonies on Festival days This Cave within is oval two hundred foot in length and proportionably broad The Vault which is naturally cut in the Rock rises up circularly from the ground to about a hundred foot high There is just in the midst of it a great hole or Lantern which enlightens it from the top of the Mountain This Lantern is encompassed with great stones laid close together to prevent people's falling in The Vault on the inside is perfectly white and the surface covered with a certain Saltpetre which a man might take for white Coral diverfyed into several different figures the whole compass of it is of the same lustre The floor of it is also extremely even and smooth as if it were all of one piece of marble In fine the greatest ornament of this Temple consists in its perfect whiteness At the bottom of it there is a great Basin or Cistern just over against the entrance which is full of a very clear water which perpetually distilling out of the Rock is received into that place Just in the middle of this Temple directly under the Lantern which enlightens it there is a great Altar all of one stone of a round figure three foot in height from the floor and sustained by a short pillar which Altar and the Pedestal seem to have been cut out of the place where it stands that being in all probability a piece of a Rock which jutted out upon the floor of that miraculous Cave The Sacrifices which the Jaovas' offered to the Sun consisted not in the effusion of man's blood or that of some certain beasts for they were of a persuasion that the Sun giving life to all things would not be pleased with a service that should deprive those creatures of the life which he had bestowed on them but the Sacrifice consisted only in Songs which they had composed in honour of him as also in the perfumes of certain aromatical drugs which they appointed to be burnt on his Altar and in the offerings of garments which the rich presented by the hands of the Priests to be afterwards distributed among the poorer sort of people All this Ceremony which was performed four times a year lasted from Sunrising till noon at which time the Assembly was dismissed The Priests went up to the Mountain on the Eve of every Festival to prepare themselves for that solemn Action and the people which came thither from all the Provinces were there present some time before Sunrising The way which led up to the Mountain was enlightened by great Fires which were kept in all that Night for the convenience of those who went thither to adore All the people remained without upon the Mountain and none but the Priests durst come near the Grot which served them for a Temple Those who brought any Garments to be distributed to the poor presented them to the Priests who stood at the entrance and they hung them on the Poles which were on both sides of the Portal where they remained till after the Service and then they were distributed among the poor as were also the other presents which the rich offered and which were in like manner kept till the same time Those also who brought Perfumes to burn on the Altar delivered their presents to the Priests As soon as the Sun began to appear the Priests who stood before the Temple began their Songs and Hymns adoring him several times on their knees then they went one after another to cast the Incense and Perfume which they had in their hands upon the Fire which they had before kindled on the Altar as also upon a great Stone which stood before the entrance of the Grot This Ceremony being ended the chiefest of the Priests poured some Honey into a hollow Stone made somewhat like those Stones wherein the Holy-water stands in some places which Stone stood also before this Temple and into another which was of the same figure and the same matter he put some corns of Turkey-wheat a little bruised and destitute of their outward Shell as also some other small grains which the Birds consecrated to the Sun called the Tonatzuli do greedily feed upon These Birds whereof there are great numbers in the Woods which lie round about this Mountain were so accustomed to find these Treatments which were prepared for them in that place that they failed not to come there in great companies as soon as the Assembly was retired While the Priests continued burning the perfume and celebrating the praises of the Sun the People who were upon the Mountain having made several bowing at the rising of the Sun entertained themselves afterwards in some kinds of recreation dances and songs which they sung in honour of him and afterwards sitting down on the grass every one fell to what he had brought along with him for his Viaticum Thus they continued there till noon but when it came near that time the Priests quitting the gate of the Temple went into the body of it and disposing themselves about the Altar which stood in the midst they began to sing afresh Then as soon as the Sun began to cast his golden beams on the border of the opening or Lantern under which the Altar was erected they put Incense and other perfumes upon the fire which they had kindled the night before and very carefully kept in upon that Altar Having ended their Songs and consumed all their Perfumes they all retired to the entrance of the Temple before the Gate excepting only six who remained near the Altar and while those who stood at the entrance lift up their Voices more than ordinary the others who remained at the Altar let go out of their hands at the same time every one six of the Tonatzuli which they had brought thither and kept in Cages for that purpose These Birds having flown about the Temple and finding the entrance possessed by the Priests who were at the Gate with Boughs in their hands and frighted them with their Voices took their flight out at the open place in the midst of the Temple and after they had flown about a while the Assembly which was upon the Mountain entertained them with loud cries of rejoicing as accounting them to have put a period to the Ceremony and looking on them as the Children and Messengers of the Sun they immediately got into the Woods As soon as these Birds were gone the people marched down in order from the Mountain and passing near the Temple the Priests who were still in their Office caused them to enter into it and after they had washed their hands and their faces in the Fountain they ordered them to go out at the same entrance which was divided by a small partition purposely made there to prevent confusion and disorder Then at their coming out they took another way which led them into the Road that conducted to the Mountain and was the same by which they had ascended and so every one made towards his own home The poor whereof the Priests had a Catalogue stayed till all the rest were gone and received from their hands the Garments and all the other Presents which the rich had made to the Sun to be distributed among them which done all left the Mountain and there was an end of the Ceremony But now since the greatest and most considerable part of the people who are Inhabitants of the Provinces of Bemarin and Matica and particularly the King and City of Melilot have embraced the Christian Religion this Mountain and its Temple are not much frequented unless it be out of curiosity Nor does the King permit his Subjects of the other Provinces who have not received Baptism to go up thither to perform their Sacrifices and all their ancient Superstitions They believed the immortality of the Soul but they had so disguised this Truth with Fables that it was in a manner smothered thereby They embalmed the bodies of their deceased Relations with several sorts of Gums and Aromatical Drugs which had the virtue of preserving them from corruption and after they had kept them sometimes above a year in their houses they buried them in their Gardens or in the neighbouring Forests with great lamentations and ceremonies They show to this day at the foot of the pleasant Mountain of Olaimi the Sepulchers of several of their Kings which are cut in the Rock there is planted before every one of them a fair Cedar for the better observation of the place and more exact continuance of their memories To make a greater expression of their mourning and to show how much they bewailed the death of their Friends and Kindred they cut off some part of their hair But when any King died they shaved the whole head and suffered not their hair to grow again till they had bewailed him for the space of fifteen months The Knowledge which the Apalachites have of God they have attained to by several degrees For to go to the bottom of the business it is about an Age since that the first Seeds of Christian Religion were sown in that part of Florida by a French Colony consisting of several Persons of Quality which was brought thither and established there by one Captain Ribald in the time of Charles the Ninth King of France The first thing he did was to build a Fort which he named Carolina in honour of His Christian Majesty He imposed also on the Capes Ports and Rivers of that Country the names they are at the present known by so that along the Coast a man finds a place called the Port Royal the French Cape the Rivers of Seine Loire Charante Garonne Daufins May some and several other places which have absolute French names and consequently are a manifest argument that the said Nation have heretofore had some command there But what is more worthy observation and conduces more to our purpose is that at this first Expedition for Florida there went along with the Adventurers two Learned and Religious Persons who immediately upon their arrival in the Country made it their business by all sorts of good offices to insinuate themselves into the affections of the Inhabitants and to learn their Language that so they might give them some knowledge of God and the sacred mysteries of his Gospel The Memorials which Captain Ribald left behind him as to that particular show how that the King Saturiova who governed the Quarter where the French had established themselves and who had for Vassals to him several little Kings and Princes who were his Neighbours received those Preachers very kindly and recommended it to all his Subjects that they should have a singular esteem for them so that the affection those poor people bore them and the fidelity and zeal the others expressed for the advancement of their Conversion raised even then very great hopes that the work of the Lord would prosper in their hands and that that little portion of his Vineyard being carefully dressed would in time bring forth many good and precious fruits to the praise of his grace These happy beginnings and first-fruits of the Gospel of our Saviour Jesus were afterwards augmented and advanced by the cares of Monsieur the Admiral de Coligny who gave a Commission to one de Laudoniere to carry over thither a considerable supply of Soldiers and all sorts of Tradesmen which arrived in the year One thousand five hundred sixty and four But these last Adventurers had hardly taken the air in the Country after their arrival thither ere the Spaniard who imagines that all America belongs to him and who hath ever been jealous of the French Nation made his advantage of the disorders which were then in that Country to traverse the generous designs of the Directors of that hopeful Colony and smother it as 't were in the Cradle To that purpose he sent thither Peter Melandez with six great ships full of men and ammunition who fell upon it on the nineteenth of September M D LXV Monsieur de Laudoniere and Captain Ribald who had not long before brought the Colony a small recruit of men considering that it would be madness to think to oppose such a powerful force resolved with the advice of most of the Officers to capitulate and deliver up the place to the stronger party upon such honourable conditions as people besieged are wont to demand Peter Melandez granted them most of the Articles they had proposed but assoon as he was got into the Fort and had secured the Guards he broke the promise he had made them and violating the Law of Nations he cruelly massacred not only the Soldiery but also all the women and children whom he found within the place and who could not make their escape by flight Captain Ribald fell in the Massacre but de Laudoniere made a shift to escape through the Fens to the ships newly come from France which by good fortune were still in the Road Some others of the Inhabitants who upon the first arrival of the Spaniards had foreseen the danger likely to fall upon them got in time into the woods and in the night time came to the Village of their good friend Saturiova who hating the Spaniard gave them protection and supplied them with provisions for a competent subsistence till the year M D LXVII when Captain de Gorgues coming to Florida with three stout ships full of resolute men and all sorts of Ammunition severely punished the cruelty of the Spaniards and being assisted by Saturiova and all his Neighbours and Allies he revenged the public injuries of the French putting to the sword all the Spaniards he met with not only in the Fort of Carolina which they had repaired and fortified after their usurpation of it but also those he found in two other Forts which they had built along the Coast which he burned and demolished as may be seen in the xii Chapter of the fourth Book of the Description of the West-Indies writ by John de Laet. The Memorials which Captain the Gorgues caused to be printed giving an account of his Expedition into Florida tell us of a certain Frenchman named Peter du Bre who having made his escape to King Saturiova to avoid the cruelty of the Spaniards related to him that there escaped of that Massacre but ten men of which number he was one that they all met with a safe retreat in the territories of the said Prince who lived not far from their desolated Colony that three of the escaped persons died there some months after that defeat that of the seven remaining there were six were so charmed with the advantageous relation which the subjects of Saturiova made to them daily of the Treasures of King Mayra of the powerfulness of another whose name was Ollaca who commanded forty Princes and of the generosity and prudent conduct of the King of Apalacha who governed many fair and large Provinces seated at the foot of the Mountains and reaching into several delightful Vales which they encompassed that they importuned Saturiova who had entertained them so kindly that he would be pleased to allow them guides to conduct them to the Frontiers of the Kingdom of the last named of whom they had heard so many miracles and had particularly this recommendation that he was a lover of Strangers and that his Subjects were the most civilly governed of all the Septentrional part of America that Saturiova willing to add that favour to all those they had received from him before gave them a good convoy consisting of the most valiant of his subjects to conduct them with all safety to all his Allies and to the Dominions of the King of Apalacha if they were desirous to visit him The relation of the success of this Progress which these few Frenchmen undertook to satisfy their curiosity and to make the best use they could of this interval of their misfortune assures us that after they had visited Athorus the Son of Saturiova and most of his Allies who had their Villages all along a delightful River which in their Language they call Seloy to avoid meeting any of the subjects of Timagoa who was then engaged in a War against Saturiova there was a necessity they should cross Rivers upon boughs of trees fastened together climb up Mountains and make their way through Fens and thick Forests where they met with several cruel beasts that before they came within the Dominions of the King of Apalacha they were many times set upon by Troops of Savages who scout up and down among those vast deserts that two of their Guides were killed in those encounters and most of the rest dangerously wounded that the subjects of King Timagoa having observed their march had followed them for several days and not being able to overtake them they laid ambushes for them thinking to have met with them in their return that after they had run through abundance of dangers and many times endured much hunger and thirst they got at last to the Province of Matica which is under the jurisdiction of the King of Apalacha that the Governor of the City of Akoveka which is the Metroprolis of that Country caused them to be brought to the King who was then gone to visit the Province of Amana that that Prince entertained them with so much kindness and expressed so much friendship towards them that they resolved to send back their Guides into their Country and to settle themselves amongst the Apalachites since they found them answerable to the account they had received of them The remembrance of the dangers they had run through ere they could get into the Province of Matica the lively apprehension they had of the difficulties which were unavoidable in their return the little hope there was that the French would ever undertake the re-establishment of their Colony the pleasantness and fertility of the Country into which divine Providence had brought them and the good natures of the Inhabitants besides several other considerations prevailed with them to resolve on that setlement But the Guides whom Saturiova had given them obstructed their resolution so much and so earnestly remonstrated to them that they durst not present themselves before their Lord without them that to compose the difference and prevent the reproach they were afraid of at their return into their own Country they prevailed so far that two of those Travellers should come back along with them to Saturiova to testify their care and fidelity in the execution of the Commission he had given them The same Relation adds further that those four Frenchmen who voluntarily stayed among the Apalachites being well instructed in the ways of God left them some knowledge of his Sovereign Majesty And the English who have some years since found the way into those Provinces write that the Inhabitants of the Province of Bemarin do still talk of those strangers and it is from them that they have learned several words of the French Language such as are among others those that signify God Heaven Earth Friend the Sun the Moon Paradise Hell Yea No. Besides which there are many other words common among those people and are used by them to express the same thing which they signify in French After the death of all these Frenchmen who were very much lamented by all the Apalachites excepting only the Priests of the Sun who bore them an irreconcilable hatred because they turned the People from Idolatry and inclined them to the knowledge of the true God who created the Sun whom they adored as God the Provinces which are seated in the Vales of the Apalachaean Mountains and had been enlightened but by a very weak ray of celestial light would easily have returned to the darkness of their ancient superstition if God by a remarkable disposal of his Providence had not sent to them some English Families which at their arrival thither blew up that little spark which lay hid under the embers into a weak flame These Families came out of Virginia in the year M DC XXI with an intention to go to New-England to avoid the frequent incursions and massacres committed there by the Savages but the wind proving contrary to their design they were cast on the Coasts of Florida whence they passed into the Province of Matica and thence into those of Amana and Bemarin and in the last they settled themselves and have drawn thither a considerable number of ecclesiastics and persons of quality who have there laid the foundations of a small Colony Most of those who are retired into those places so remote from all commerce in the world undertook that generous design in the midst of the great revolutions which happened in England during the late troubles and the main business they proposed to themselves at that time was only to make their advantage of so seasonable a retreat that they might the more seriously and with less distraction mind the attainment of their own salvation and dilate the limits of Christianity among those poor people if God gave them the means We understand also by the last papers that have been sent us from America that God blessing the endeavours of the first Inhabitants of this small Colony they have within these twelve or thirteen years baptised most of the Officers and the most considerable Heads of Families in the Provinces of Bemarin and Amana That at the present they have a Bishop and many learned and zealous ecclesiastics among them who carry on the work of the Lord and the more to advance it they have built Colleges in all those places where there are Churches that the Children of the Apalachites may be instructed in the mysteries of Christian Religion and true piety The same Papers add further that though the King of Apalacha hath received Baptism and seems to have much affection for these Strangers who have procured him that happiness yet hath he of late entertained some jealousy of them out of an apprehension as it was represented to him by some of his Council that if he suffered them to grow more numerous they might in time become Masters of the Country He thereupon in the first place dispersed them into several Cities that they might not be able to make any considerable body or foment any factions and afterwards there was an order passed that all those who have at the present any setlement in the bosom of his Country might peaceably continue in their habitations and participate of the same privileges with the Natives provided they held no correspondence with any abroad to the prejudice of the public tranquillity but that henceforward no other strangers shall be permitted to make any further establishments there Those who are acquainted with the Nature of the Country affirm that the King of the Apalachites hath no just cause to fear that either the English or any other strangers should be guilty of any design against him as to the mastering of his Country For besides the necessity there is of having a very powerful Army ere any such enterprise can be undertaken and that the English who are established there are no more amongst that great Nation than a handful of sand on the Seaside this Country being so remote from all the rest of the world and destitute of Gold Silver precious Stones and in a manner all rich Commodities whereby Commerce is kept up and continued it is most certain that it will never be much sought after or envied by any European Nations which send out Colonies only to those places where there is hope of making some considerable advantage by way of Trade Whereto may be added this further consideration that though these Provinces were possessed of as great Treasures and Rarities as they are destitute thereof yet lying at a great distance from Seaports and having no navigable Rivers falling into it by means whereof there might in time be some correspondence between them and other parts there is no likelihood that there should be many persons either in England or any where else who would be persuaded to cross over so many Seas to go and end their days in a Country which is destitute of all those conveniences and cannot receive those refreshments which are brought out of Europe and contribute much to the comfortable subsistence of all the other Colonies of America and in a word a Country which can give its Inhabitants nothing but clothing and nourishment Some time after the English had established themselves in this Country as we have represented before the Spaniards who as it were keep the keys of one part of Florida by means of the Forts they have built near the most eminent Havens and along the most considerable Rivers brought in there a company of religious men of the Order of the Minims whom Pope Urban the eighth had sent into the Septentrional America in the quality of Apostolical Missionaries and endowed with most ample privileges for their better encouragement in the carrying on of that work They arrived in those Provinces in the year One thousand six hundred forty and three and since that time they have taken their progress through most of the Villages that lie about the great Lake and upon the descent of the Mountains which look towards the Country of the Cofachites It is reported that they have baptised with great pomp the Paracoussis of the Province of Achalaca and a great number of his Subjects When these religious men return from their Missions they live in a solitary yet delightful place which lies upon the descent of a high Mountain not above a quarter of a league distant from the great Lake and about as much from the greatest Village of the Province of Achalaca Before a man comes to their habitation he must cross through several fair Gardens in the midst whereof there is a pleasant walk planted with trees on both sides which reaches to the skirt of the Mountain And though they have seated themselves on an eminent place yet they have many springs which falling down from the upper part of the Mountains are received into great Cisterns and great Ponds where they have abundance of good Fish The Lord of the Country visits them often and hath a great respect for them for the most part he hath some one of them about his person who serves him as a Chaplain In the year One thousand six hundred fifty and three in which Mr. Brigstock that most inquisitive English Gentleman from whom we have received all the account we have given of the Apalachites arrived in that Province of Achalaca the forementioned Religious men entertained him very kindly and did him all the good offices lay in their power From them it was that during his abode in the Country he learned all the particulars we are now going to describe and which he hath liberally communicated to us They showed him an admirable Flower which grows abundantly in the Mountains of those parts The figure of this Flower is much like that of a Bell and there are as many colours observable in it as in the Rainbow the under leaves which being fully blown are much larger than those of our greatest Roses are charged with a great many other leaves which appear still less and less to the lower part or bottom of the Bell Out of the midst of them there rises a little button like a heart which is of a very delicious taste The Plant hath a little bushiness at the top much like Sage The leaves and the flower smell like a Violet It is also a kind of sensitive Plant for it cannot be touched either in its leaves or flower but it immediately withers These Religious men carried the said English Gentleman to a Village of the Indians who inhabit in the Mountains where there is a miraculous Grott or Cave wherein the waters have fashioned all the most delightful rarities that a man can desire from a divertisement of that kind They showed him particularly one place in the said Grott where the waters falling upon a bare stone and distilling drop after drop of a different bigness make so exact a music that there is no harmony can well be preferred before it There is found in the Mountains on the East-side of the Province of Achalaca some Rock-Christal and certain red and bright stones which have such a lustre as that they might pass for right Rubies 'T is possible there may be some Coppermines in those parts but they are not yet discovered only what confirms this opinion is that they find a kind of golden sand there which is washed down by the torrents and hath a wonderful lustre Mr. Brigstock having given of it to some Goldsmiths to make a test thereof it was in a manner quite consumed by the fire and the little that remained in the Crucible might well pass for very fine Copper These same Religious men showed the said Gentleman as they passed through the woods several sorts of trees which yielded Gums of excellent scent as also many other Rarities a particular account whereof would require a considerable Volume But above all they showed him the tree whereof the Floridians' make that excellent drink which they call Casina the description whereof may be seen in the History of de Laet. It is absolutely conformable to the Relation of Mr. Brigstock Before the Inhabitants of Achalacha were converted to Christianity they took several Wives but now their Marriages are regulated and they content themselves only with one They interred their Lords as the Apalachites do in the Caves that are at the foot of the Mountains then they made up the entrance thereof with a stone-wall they hung before the Cave the most considerable Vessels which those Princes had made use of at their Tables And all the Captains fastened all about the place their Bows Arrows and Clubs and mourned for several days at the Sepulchre They worshipped the Sun and held the immortality of the Soul as well as their Neighbours They believed also that such as had lived well and served the Sun as they ought and made many presents to the poor in honour of him were happy and that after death they were changed into Stars But on the contrary that those who had led a wicked life were carried into the precipices of the high Mountains whereby they were surrounded and there endured extreme want and misery amongst the Lions Tigers and other beasts of prey which hunt after their sustenance therein The Inhabitants of this Country are all long-lived insomuch that there are many among them both men and women who are near two hundred years of age This curious digression we received from the forementioned English Gentleman Mr. Brigstock and we have inserted it here out of a presumption that it will not be undelightful to those who shall make it their divertisement to read this History at least while we are yet in expectation that that excellent person will give us a perfect account of the state of the Apalachites and some others of the Neighbouring Nations as he puts us in hope that he will CHAP. IX Of the Bodies of the Caribbians and their Ornaments WE are now to reassume our former discourse and return from Florida to the Caribby-Islands to consider there with all the exactness imaginable what concerns those Inhabitants thereof on whom we intent to bestow the remaining part of this History and particularly what relates to their Bodies Minds Dispositions Manners Religion Customs and other remarkable occurrences concerning the savage Caribbians or Cannibals of whose origine we have already given so large an account And whereas some of the Caribbians who inhabit in the same Islands wherein the French and other European Nations have planted Colonies or at least come often among them accommodate themselves in many things to their manner of life and that they may be the more kindly received by them they quit many of their old Customs those who are desirous to be acquainted with the ancient manners of the Caribbians are not to learn them of the Caribbians who live in Martinico or those who converse most with the Europaeans but from those of St. Vincent who of all others have held least correspondence with any Foreigners It is accordingly from them that we have received what we shall hereafter relate concerning the Caribbians But before we enter into the relation we shall make some general observations to prevent the astonishment which the Reader might conceive at the difference there is between the account we give of them and what he may receive from others either by word of mouth or writing In the first place it is to be acknowledged a thing almost impossible that the Relations of Countries and Customs at so great a distance from us should agree in all things especially since we find that those of neighbouring Countries are for the most part differing among themselves Secondly it is to be observed that since the Caribbians became familiar and have conversed with foreign Nations they have remitted much of their ancient Customs and quited many things which they practised before with an inviolable strictness So that there may be seen in them now a remarkable change from what they were heretofore That the case stands thus with them now is to be attributed partly to the conversation of the Europaeans who in some things have obliged them to abate somewhat of their originary simplicity and in others have made them worse than they were as to our own shame we cannot but acknowledge Hence it comes that Monsieur du Montel tells us in his Relations that two ancient Caribbians considering that degeneration of their Countrymen took occasion to entertain him with a discourse to this purpose Our people are become in a manner like yours since they came to be acquainted with you and we find it some difficulty to know ourselves so different are we grown from what we have been heretofore It is to this alteration that our people attribute the more frequent happening of Hurricanes than they were observed to be in the days of old and conclude thence that Maboya that is to say the evil spirit hath reduced us under the power of the French English Spaniards and others who have driven us out of the best part of our Country Thirdly it is possible they may have different Customs according to the diversity of the Islands though they all make up but one people as may be observed in the diversity of the Customs of one and the same Kingdom according to the several Quarters and Provinces of it Whence it may have proceeded for example that those that have conversed most at Dominico will give an account of the Opinions Customs and Ceremonies of the Caribbians much different from what shall be related thereof by those persons who shall have frequented other places and yet the Relations of either side shall be true Fourthly as in the Continent of America the Caribbians who inhabit a good way within the Country and consequently seldom see any foreigners retain much more of their ancient Customs and their old course of life than those who living near the Dutch Colonies of Cayenna and Berbica drive on an ordinary trade with the Christians so among our Caribbians the Inhabitants of the Islands those who converse least with the Europaeans such as are those of St. Vincent's are more strict observers of their ancient course of life than are for example those of Martinico or Dominico who are oftener seen among them Fifthly thence it proceeds that those persons who have seen them only in these last mentioned places or have heard of them only from such as have been acquainted with them only in those places will haply find many things in the prosecution of our History which may clash with the Relations they had received of them from others which if they do they are not to wonder thereat since most of our Observations relate to the Caribbians of St. Vincents Lastly we desire our Readers to take this further advertisement that it is our design to give a description of the ancient Manners and Customs of these Caribbians to the end that no body may think it strange if their present demeanour be not in all things answerable thereto These advertisements being thus premised we proceed to give the Reader satisfaction consequently to the title of this Chapter Most of those people whom we call Barbarians and Savages have some thing hideous and deformed or defective either in their Countenances or some other part of the body as Historians affirm of the Maldiveses the Inhabitants about the Magellane straits and several others which we need not name here But the Caribbians are a handsome well-shaped people well proportioned in all parts of their bodies graceful enough of a smiling countenance middle stature having broad shoulders and large buttocks and they are most of them in good plight and stronger than the French Their mouths are not over large and their teeth are perfectly white and close True it is their complexion is naturally of an Olive-colour and that colour spreads even into the whites of their Eyes which are black somewhat little like those of the Chinese and Tartars but very piercing Their foreheads and noses are flat not naturally but by artifice For their mothers crush them down at their birth as also continually during the time they suckle them imagining it a kind of beauty and perfection for were it not for that their noses would be well shaped and they would have high foreheads as well as we They have large and thick feet because they go barefoot but they are withal so hard that they defy Woods and Rocks Among those of the Country a man cannot meet with any wanting either one or both eyes lame crook-backed or bald or having any other deformity naturally as is in like manner affirmed of the Brasilians the Floridians' and most Nations of De Lery c. 8. America whereas those who have walked through Grand Voyage de Breves Cairo relate That in the Streets they have met with many one-eyed and many stark blind people those infirmities being so frequent and so popular in that Country that of ten persons five or six are subject thereto But if any among the Caribbians are thus deformed or have lost or are maimed in any limb it happened in some Engagement against their Enemies and so those scars or deformities being so many demonstrations of their Valour they glory in them so far are they from being in any danger of mischief or being cast into a furnace by their Countrymen as those poor Children were among the people of Guyana and among the Lacedæmonians in the time of Lycurgus who came out of their Mother's wombs imperfect and deformed Nay there are some handsome Maids and Women amongst the Savage Caribbians witness Madamoiselle de Rosselan wife to the Governor of Saintalousia All the Caribbians are black-haired as the Chineses are who Trigaut Hist. Chin. l. 1. c. 8. for that reason are sometimes called the Black-haired People The hair of the Caribbians is not curled or frizzled as that of the Moors but straight and long as those of the Maldiveses And the Women attribute the highest perfection of Beauty to this black colour as to what concerns the hair It is reported Garcilasso l. 8. c. 13. also That the Indian Women of Peru are so enamoured of black hair that to make their own of that colour by artifice when Nature does it not they are willing to endure incredible pains and torments On the contrary in Spain many Ladies to make their hair seem to be of a golden yellow colour perfume it with Sulphur steep it in Aquafortis and expose it to the Sun in the heat of the day nay in the very Dog-days And in Italy the same colour is much affected The Caribbians are very careful in combing themselves and they think it commendable so to do They anoint their hair with Oil and have certain Receipts to advance the growth thereof The Women commonly comb their Husbands and their Children Both Men and Women tie up their hair towards the hinder part of the head winding it about so as that it stands up like a horn on the Crown on both sides they leave locks hanging down like so many Mustachios according to natural liberty The Women part their hair so as that it falls down on both sides of their heads but the men part theirs the quite contrary way so as that one half falls down behind the other before which obliges them to cut off the forepart of it otherwise it would fall down over their eyes This they did heretofore with certain sharp Herbs before they had the use of Scissors not to mention that they were also accustomed to cut off their hair when they were in mourning whereas on the contrary in Madagascar the Men never cut off their hair but the Women shave it clear off a custom contrary to that of those people among whom S. Paul lived The Caribbians seem not to have any Beards at all but as soon as they grow they pluck them off by the roots as the Brasilians Carpin in Bergeron the Cumanese and certain Nations subject to the Empire of the Tartars do who have always an iron instrument in their hands wherewith they pluck out the hair of their Beards as soon as they come out But the Caribbians are seldom seen to put themselves to that trouble insomuch that it is conceived they have a secret to prevent the growth of hair when it is once gotten off an invention which would have been of great convenience to the ancient Romans For it is affirmed that they would not suffer their Beards to grow till after the time of the Emperor Adrian who first suffered his to grow before that time it was thought among them so honourable a thing to wear no beard that there was a prohibition made that Slaves should not shave theirs The same prohibition extended also to all persons charged with any Crime as it were to set a mark of infamy on them till such time as they were cleared as Aul●● L. 3. c. 4. Gellius affirms which proceeding was contrary to what is practised in the Seignior's Territories who causes the Beard to be shaved as a mark of ignominy In the year One thousand six hundred fifty two that happened to the French Consul at Alexandria being charged with having done some unhandsome things in his Employment his Beard had such a natural graceful curl and was of so fair a flaxen colour that some Turks would have given him a considerable sum of money for it and kept it for a Rarity but he chose rather to bring it along with him into France The Caribbians wonder very much to see our Europeans suffer their Beards to grow so long and think it a great deformity to wear any as they account it a perfection in themselves to have none but they are not the only Savages who are fantastic in matter of gracefulness and beauty All barbarous Nations nay some that are civilised are wedded to their particular sentiments as to that point For instance among the This is affirmed by divers Historians too many to be cited Maldiveses it is accounted an accomplishment of Beauty to have the body all over hairy which among us would be thought more becoming a Bear then a Man Among the Mexicans to have a little narrow forehead and that full of hair Among the Japonese not to have any hair at all whence it comes that they are ever employed in the plucking of it off leaving only a little tuft on the crown of the head Among the Tartarian Women it is thought a piece of Beauty to be flat-nosed but to heighten the attractions of their noses they rub them with a very black unguent Among the Inhabitants of Guinny they make the same account of great nails and flat noses and thence it comes that assoon as the children are come into the world they crush down their noses with their thumbs as do also the Brasilians Among those of the Province of Cusco in Peru and some oriental Inhabitants of the Indies as also among the Calecutians and the Malabars it is thought very graceful to have extraordinary large ears hanging down over their shoulders insomuch that some among them use divers artifices to make them such Among the Aethiopians great lips and a skin black as Jet are thought beautiful The Negroes of Mosambico are extremely pleased to have their teeth very sharp so that some use Files to make them such Among the Maldiveses they are no less desirous to have them red and to that end they are continually chewing of Petel Among the Japonese and the Cumanese they are industrious to have them black and they purposely make them such And among the latter it is accounted beauty to have a long face lean cheeks and excessively big legs And hence it is that they squeeze the heads of their children between two cushions as soon as they are born and that after the example of the Inhabitants about the River of Essequebe they bind the legs very hard a little below the knee and a little above the ankle that so the calf may swell Among some Peruvians to have the face cut and chequered as it were with Lancets and to have flat and broad heads huge foreheads and the head very narrow from the forehead to the nape of the neck is accounted beautiful And to reduce it to this comely shape they kept their children's heads pressed between two thin boards from the time of their birth till they were four or five year old To be short among some oriental Nations and some Africans it is accounted a great perfection in the Women to have their breasts hanging down over their shoulders and among the Chinese it is the principal part of beauty to have the foot extremely little and thin and the better to have it so while they are yet children they bind their feet so hard that they are in a manner lamed and it is with much ado that they are able to stand It were a hard matter to make a description of beauty according to the different opinions of all these nations But to return to the Caribbians They go starknaked both men and women as many other Nations do And if any one among them should endeavour to hide the privy parts all the rest would laugh at it Though the Christians have conversed very much among them yet have all the persuasions that have hitherto been used to induce them to cover themselves been to no purpose And whereas sometimes when they come to visit the Christians or to treat with them they have complied so far with them as to cover themselves by putting on a shirt drawers a hat and such  as had been given them yet assoon as they were returned to their own habitations they strip themselves and put up all in their Closets till some such other occasion should oblige them to put them on again To requite this compliance of the Caribbians some among the French having occasion to go among them made no difficulty to strip themselves after their example This defiance of  reigns in all places under the Torrid Zone as every one knows When the Brasilians are reproached with their nakedness Vin. Le Blanc par 3. c. 16. they reply that we came naked into the world and that it were a mad thing for us to hide the bodies bestowed on us by nature The Inhabitants of the Kingdom of Benin in Africa Dutch Relations are to be commended that they cover themselves when they are to be married and would do it sooner if their King would permit it The women of the Lucayan Islands ought also to participate of that commendation for they were wont to cover themselves when they came to be marriageable and solemnised that action with great rejoicing But now that custom is abrogated for that poor Nation hath been utterly destroyed by the Spaniards or carried away and made slaves to work in the Mines and there are not in any of the Islands known under that name any of the natural Inhabitants but only some few English who were transported thither out of the Island of Bermudez But come we to the Ornaments of our Savages They change their natural colour by dying their bodies with some composition which makes them red all over For living near Rivers and Springs the first thing they do every morning is to go and wash themselves all over And this was the Lib. de mor. German practice of the ancient Germans as Tacitus affirms Assoon as the Caribbians have washed themselves they return to their houses and dry themselves by a little fire being dried the Wife or some one of the household takes a gourd full of a certain red composition which they call Roucou from the name of the tree which produces it and whereof we have given an account in its proper place in the precedent Book With this colour mixed with oil they rub the whole body and the face the better to apply this paint they make use of a sponge instead of a Pencil and to appear more gallant they many times make black circles about the eyes with the juice of Junipa Apples This red painting serves them both for Ornament and for a Covering for besides the Beauty they imagine to themselves therein they affirm that it makes them more supple and active which may be the more likely to be true for that the ancient Wrestlers were wont to rub themselves with oil for the same end They affirm further That by rubbing themselves thus with Roucou they secure themselves against the coldness of the night and rains the stinging of the Mesquitoes and the Maringoins and the heat of the Sun which otherwise would cause risings and ulcers in the skin This Unction hardens their skins and withal gives it an extraordinary lustre and smoothness as all know who have seen and felt them Most Savages do thus paint and trick up themselves after a strange manner but they do not all use the same colours nor observe the same fashion For there are some who paint their Bodies all red as our Inhabitants of the Caribbies do as for This is affirmed by divers Historians instance those of the Cape de Lopes Gonsalvez but others make use of other colours as Black White Chestnut Gingioline Blew Yellow and the like Some use only one particular colour others paint themselves with several colours and represent divers figures on their bodies Some others without applying any colour rub themselves all over with the oil of Palm-trees Some anoint themselves with the oil of Balm and then cast on it a small powder which seems as if it were the filings of Gold In fine there are some who anoint their bodies with a glewy oil and blow on that the down or smallest Feathers of divers Birds or haply they cover themselves with a kind of gummy paste which is of a very sweet scent and fasten thereon the most delightful Flowers growing in their Country There is sufficient choice of all these modes and it were a pleasant sight to see a company of these Morris-dancers dancing together We might add thereto to make the divertisement the more complete those Turkish Pilgrims who commonly go in long Garments made of thousands of pieces of all sorts of colours But this is to be noted That the painting of the body is a very ancient kind of Ornament and among other Monuments of this piece of Antiquity Pliny and Herodian affirm that certain Lib. 22. c. 1. In the life of Severus people of Great Britain not using any kind of clothing painted their bodies with divers colours and represented thereon the figures of certain living Creatures whence they were called Picti that is Painted people But among all the Savages who at this day paint themselves the Caribbians have this advantage that they adorn themselves with a colour which the Ancients honoured most of any for it is reported that the Goths made use of Vermilion to make their faces red and the ancient Romans as Pliny affirms painted their bodies with Lib 33. c. 7. Minium upon the day of their Triumph and he particularly tells us that Camillus did so and he further adds that upon Festival days they so painted the face of the Statue of their Jupiter and that heretofore the Aethiopians made so great account of this Vermilion colour that their principal Lords applied it all over their bodies and that their Gods wore it in their Images Our Caribbians do for the most part content themselves with this ordinary dress of red painting which serves them instead of Shirts clothes Cloaks and Coats But on solemn days and times of public rejoicing they add to the red divers other colours spreading them fantasticallly over the face and the whole body But this kind of painting is not the only ornament in use among them they adorn the crown of the head with a little Hat made of birds feathers of different colours or with a Plume of Herons feathers or those of some other Bird They also sometimes wear a crown of feathers which covers their heads so that there may be seen among them a great many crowned heads though there be no Kings And yet they may be better looked upon as Kings with their feather Crowns than the Lord of the Gulf of Antongil be taken for a Sovereign Prince when he hath for his Sceptre and the badge of his Royal dignity but a great Gardiner's Pruning-hook which he always carries about him The women among the Maldeveses make about a dozen holes in each ear at which they fasten little gilt nails and sometimes Pearls and Precious Stones The Ladies of Madagascar and Brasil make a hole as big as that a man may thrust his thumb through it in the lower part of the ear at which they hang pendants of wood and bone And the Peruvians under the reign of their Kings the Yncas were accustomed to make in their ears a hole of an incredible bigness at which they fastened chains of a quarter of an Ell in length with Pendants of Gold at the bottom of an extraordinary bigness But our Caribbians are content with a small hole according to the European mode in the softest part of the ear through which they put the bones of certain Fishes very smooth pieces of that kind of Tortoise shells which they call Carats and since the Christians came among them Buckles of Gold Silver Latin at which they hang very fair Pendants They know how to distinguish between those that are right and the counterfeit but they are most taken with such as are made of Crystal Amber Coral or some other rich material provided the buckle and all the other workmanship be of Gold Some have endeavoured to put upon them such as were only Copper gilt and would have persuaded them they were Gold but they refused them saying that they intended to deceive them and that it was but Kettle-gold and to make a trial thereof they were wont to put them into their mouths So great is their experience in these things beyond those of Madagascar who when the Hollanders coming thither in the year MDC XLV offered them a Silver-spoon put it between their teeth and finding it was hard refused it desiring one of Tin Whence it may easily be imagined what account they made of Tin since they gave a young maid in exchange for a Spoon of that metal Herodotus affirms that heretofore among the Aethiopians Copper was in better esteem than Gold the use whereof was so vile that they bound Malefactors with chains of Gold The Caribbians do sometimes also make holes through their lips and put through them a kind of little Bodkin which is made of the bone of some beast or fish Nay they bore through the space between the Nostrils that they may hang there some Ring a grain of Crystal or some such toy The necks and arms of our Caribbians have also their respective ornaments for they have their Necklaces and Bracelets of Amber Coral or some other glittering material The men wear Bracelets on the brawny part of the arm near the shoulder but the women wear theirs about the wrists They adorn also their legs with Chains of Rassada instead of Garters Those among them who have no acquaintance with the Europaeans commonly wear about their necks Whistles made of the bones of their enemies and great chains made of the teeth of Agouties Tigers wild Cats or little shells bored through and fastened together with a thread of fine Cotton of a red or violet colour And when they would make the greatest show they can they add to all this a kind of Caps certain Bracelets which they fasten under their armpits Scarves and Girdles of Feathers very industriously disposed together by a delightful intermixture which they suffer to hang down over their shoulders or from the navel to the middle of the thigh But the most considerable of all their Ornaments are certain large Medals of fine Copper extremely well polished without any graving on them which are made after the figure of a crescent and enchased in some kind of solid and precious wood these in their own language they call Caracolis They are of different largeness for there are some so small that they hang them at their ears like Pendants and others about the bigness of the palm of a man's hand which they have hanging about their necks beating on their breasts They have a great esteem for these Caracolis aswell by reason the material whereof they are made which never contracts any rust glisters like Gold as that it is the rarest and most precious booty they get in the incursions they make every year into the Country of the Arovagues their Enemies and that it is the livery or badge whereby the Captains and their Children are distinguished from the ordinary sort of people Accordingly those who have any of these jewels make so great account of them that when they die they have no other inheritance to leave their Children and intimate Friends Nay there are some among them who have of these Caracolis which had been their Grandfathers wherewith they do not adorn themselves but on extraordinary occasions The women paint the whole body and adorn themselves much after the same manner as the men do excepting only those differences we have mentioned before and that they wear no Crowns on their heads There is this also particularly observable in them that they wear a kind of buskins which fall no lower than the ankle This kind of ornament is very neatly wrought and edged above and below with a certain intertexture of rushes and cotton which lying straight on the calf of the leg makes it seem more full CHAP. X. Certain Remarks upon the Caribbian Language IT is our intention at the end of this History for the satisfaction of the more curious Reader to add a large Vocabulary of the Caribbian Language and therefore in this Chapter we shall only make some principal remarks upon it such as may in some measure discover the grace the smoothness and the proprieties thereof 1. The Caribbians have an ancient and natural Language such as is wholly peculiar to them as every Nation hath that which is proper to it 2. But besides that ancient Language they have framed another bastard-speech which is intermixed with several words taken out of foreign Languages by the commerce they have had with the Europaeans But above all they have borrowed many words of the Spaniards for they were the first Christians that came among them 3. Among themselves they always make use of their ancient and natural Language 4. But when they have occasion to converse or negotiate with the Christians they always make use of their corrupt Language 5. Besides that they have also a very pleasant intermixture of words and expressions when they would undertake to speak in some foreign Language As for example when they use this expression to the French saying Compeer Governeur that is Gossip Governor using the word Compeer generally towards all those who are their Friends or Allies In like manner they would say without any more ceremony Compeer Roy that is Gossip or Friend King if there were any occasion to do it It is also one of their ordinary compliments to the French when they say with smiling countenance Ah si toy bon pour Caraibe moy bon pour France If thou art good for the Caribbian I am good for France And when they would commend and express how much they are satisfied with those of the same Nation they say Mouche bon France pour Caraibe France is very good for the Caribbian they say also Maboya mouche fache contre Caraibe Maboya doth much against the Caribbian when it thunders or in a Hurricane and Moy mouche Lunes I have lived many Moons to signify that they are very ancient They have also these words often in their mouths when they find that the French would abuse their simplicity Compeer toy trump Caraibe Friend thou deceivest the Caribbian And they are often heard to say when they are in a good humour Moy bonne Caraibe I am an honest Caribbian 6. Yet is it to be observed that though the Caribbians of all the Islands do generally nnderstand one another yet is there in several of them some dialect different from that of the others 7. There is no great use made of the letter P. in their Language but that only excepted there is no want of letters as there is in the Language of Japan Braseel and Canada which want the letters F. L. R. Or in that of Peru wherein B. D. F. G. J. consonant and X are wanting as Historians affirm 8. The Language of the Caribbians is extremely smooth and for the most part pronounced with the lips some few words with the teeth and in a manner nothing at all from the throat For though the words we shall set down hereafter seem to be rough as they are written yet when they pronounce them they make elisions of certain letters and give such an air thereto as renders their discourse very delightful to the ear Whence it came that Monsieur du Montel hath given this testimony of them I took great pleasure said he in harkening unto them when I was among them and I could not sufficiently admire the grace the fluency and the sweetness of their pronunciation which they commonly accompany with a little smiling such as takes very much with those who converse with them 9 The Caribbians who are Inhabitants of the Islands have a sweeter pronunciation than those of the Continent but otherwise they differ only in a dialect 10. By the same word according as it is diversely pronounced they signify several things For example the word Anhan signifies 1. Yes 2. I know not 3. Thine or take it according to the pronunciation that is given it 11. The Europaeans cannot pronounce the Caribbian Language with the grace and fluency natural thereto unless they have learned it very young 12. They hear one another very patiently and never interrupt one the other in their discourse But they are wont to give a little hem at the end of every three or four periods to express the satisfaction they have to hear what is spoken 13. What advantage soever the Europaeans may imagine they have over the Caribbians either as to the natural faculties of the mind or the easiness of pronunciation of their own Languages in order to the more easy attainment of theirs yet hath it been found by experience that the Caribbians do sooner learn ours than we do theirs 14. Some among the French have observed that the Caribbians have a kind of aversion for the English tongue nay so far that some affirm they cannot endure to hear it spoken where they are because they look on them as their Enemies And whereas there are in their corrupt Language many words taken out of the Spanish a people whom they also account their Enemies it proceeds hence that they learned them during the time they held a fair correspondence with that Nation and before they began to treat them as they afterwards did 15. They are very  in communicating their Language out of a fear the secrets of their Wars might be discovered nay those among them who have embraced the Christian Religion would not be persuaded to reveal the grounds of their Language out of a belief it might prejudice their Nation 16. We shall here set down some of the most particular proprieties of their Language In the first place the men have many expressions proper only to themselves which the women understand well enough but never pronounce And the women have also their words and phrases which if the men should use they would be laughed at whence it comes that in this Discourse one would think the women spoke a Language different from that of the men as will be seen in our Vocabulary by the difference of expressions which the men and women make use of to signify the same thing The Savages of Dominico affirm that it proceeds hence that when the Caribbians came to inhabit these Islands they were possessed by a Nation of the Arovagues whom they absolutely destroyed save only the Women whom they married for the repeopling of the Country so that those Women having retained their own Language taught it their Daughters and brought them to speak as they did which being practised to the present by the Mothers towards their Daughters their Language came to be different from that of the Men in many things But the male Children though they understand the speech of their Mothers and Sisters do nevertheless imitate their Fathers and Brethren and accustom themselves to their Language when they are five or six years old To confirm what we have said concerning the cause of this difference of Language it is alleged That there is some conformity between the Language of the Arovagues who live in the Continent and that of the Caribbian Women But it is to be observed That the Caribbians of the Continent as well Men as Women speak the same Language as having not corrupted it by intermarriages with strange Women 17. The old men have also some terms particular to themselves and certain affected expressions not at all used by the younger sort of people 18. The Caribbians have also a certain Language which they make use of only among themselves when they entertain any warlike Resolutions it is a very hard kind of fustian-language The Women and Maids know nothing of that mysterious Language nor yet the young Men till they have given some assurances of their generosity and the zeal they have for the common Quarrel of their Nation against their Enemies This is to prevent the discovery of their designs before the appointed time 19 For the variation of their Cases Persons Moods and Genders they have no distinct particles as we have but they lengthen their words by certain syllables or letters at the beginning or end of the word and sometimes by the change of the letters Thus they say in the Imperative Bayoubaka Go but in the Indicative Nayoubakayem I go In like manner Babinaka dance Nabinakayem I dance much like the formation of the Hebrew Verbs 20. Indefinite and absolute Nouns are not much in use among them especially the names of the parts of the body but they are always in a manner restrained to a first second or third person 21. The first person is commonly expressed by the Letter N at the beginning of a word as Nichic my Head the second by a B as Bichic thy Head and the third by an L as Lichic his Head 22. The neuter and absolute Gender is expressed by a T as Tichic the Head but this is not much in use 23. They have different names in speaking to persons when they are present and others when they speak of them thus they say Baba Father speaking to him and Youmaan speaking of him Bibi Mother speaking to her and Ichanum speaking of her which with the difference there is between the Language of the Men and the Women the young and the old their ordinary Discourse and that used by them when they are engaged in Military Deliberations must needs cause a great multiplication of words in their Language 24. Their proper Names are many times derived from certain Accidents as we shall see more particularly in the Chapter of the Birth and Education of their Children 25. They never name any one when the party is present or at least out of respect they do but half name him 26. They never pronounce the whole Name of either Man or Woman but they do those of Children so that they will say the Father or Mother of such a one or else they say half the Name as for instance Mala instead of saying Malakaali and Hiba for Hibalomon 27. The Uncles and Aunts as many as are of the collateral Line are called Fathers and Mothers by their Nephews so that the Uncle is called Baba that is to say Father But when they would expressly signify the true and proper Father they many times add another word saying Baba tinnaca 28. Consequently to the precedent appellation all the He-Cousins are also called Brothers and all the She-Cousins Sisters 29. But between He-Cousin and She-Cousin the former calls the latter Youëilleri that is to say properly My Female or my betrothed for naturally among them the She-Cousins become Wiyes to the He-Cousins 30. The Months they call Lunes that is Moons and the Years ●oussinieress that is the Seven Stars 31. We shall now give a taste of the naturalness and elegance of their Language setting down the signification of their words without expressing the words themselves so to avoid the setting of them down twice as reserving that for our Vocabulary 32. To signify that a thing is lost or broken they commonly say it is dead 33. They call a Capuchin Friar Father Aïoupa and the word Aïoupa signifies in their Language a Covering or a Penthouse as if they said It is a man by whom one may be covered by reason of his great Capouche By the same name they also ironically call an Ape or Monkey by reason of his long Beard 34. A Christian a Man of the Sea because the Christians came to them in Ships 35. A Lieutenant the tract of a Captain or that which appears after him 36. My Son in Law he who makes me little Children 37. My younger Brother my half 38. My Wife my heart 39 A Boy A little Male 40. A Girl A little Female 41. The Spaniards and English Deformed Enemies Etoutou noubi because they are clothed in opposition to their Enemies who are naked whom they call simply Etoutou that is to say Enemies 42. A Fool Him who sees nothing or who hath no light 43. The Eyelid The Covering of the Eye 44. The Eyebrows The Hair of the Eye 45. The Ball of the Eye The Kernel of the Eye 46. The Lips The Borders of the Mouth 47. The Chin The prop of the Teeth 48. The Neck The prop of the Head 49. The Arm and a Wing are expressed by the same word 50. The Pulse The Soul of the Hand The Germans make such another composition when they call the Glove the Shoe of the Hand 51. The Fingers The little ones or Children of the Hand 52. The Thumb The Father of the Fingers or that which is opposite to them Of that kind is the of the Greeks 53. A Joint A thing added they call also by that name a piece set on a Garment 54. The Bladder The Urine Vessel 55. The Ham That which draws the Leg. 56. The Sole of the Foot The inside of the Foot 57 The Toes The little ones or children of the Foot 58. The number Ten All the Fingers of both hands 59 Twenty The Fingers of the Hands and Toes of the Feet 60. A Pocket-pistol A little Arquebusse 61. A Candlestick That which holds something 62. Thorns The hair of the Tree or the eyes of the Tree 63. The Rainbow God's Plume of Feathers 64. The noise of Thunder Trerguetenni 65. This Language hath also in its abundance and its naturalness some imperfections which are particular thereto yet are they such as that some of them do not so much deserve blame as commendation 66. The Caribbians in their natural Language have very few words of injury or abuse and what they say that is most offensive in their Railleries'  Thou art not good or thou hast as much wit as a Tortoise 67. They have not so much as the names of several Vices but the Christians have sufficiently supplied them therewith Some have admired that in the Language of Canada there is no word answerable to Sin but they might have observed withal that there is not any whereby to express Virtue 68 They have no words to express Winter Ice Hail Snow for they know not what they are 69. They are not able to express what does not fall under the Senses save that they have certain names for some both good and evil Spirits but that excepted they have no word to signify Spiritual things as Understanding Memory Will as for the Soul they express it by the word Heart 70. Nor have they the names of Virtues Sciences Arts Trades nor those of most of our Arms and Tools save only what they have learned since their Commerce with the Christians 71. They can name but four Colours whereto they make all the rest to relate to wit White Black Yellow and Red. 72. They cannot express any number above Twenty & their expression of that is pleasant being obliged as we said elsewhere to show all the Fingers of their Hands and Toes of their Feet 73. When they would signify a great Number which goes beyond their Arithmetic they have no other way then to show the hair of their Heads or the sand of the Sea or they repeat several times the word Mouche which signifies Much as when they say in their Gibberish Moy mouche mouche Lunes to show that they are very ancient 74. In fine They have neither Comparatives nor Superlatives but for want thereof when they would compare things together and prefer one before all the rest they express their sentiment by a demonstration which is natural and pleasant enough Thus when they would represent what they think of the European Nations which they are acquainted withal they say of the Spaniards and the English that they are not good at all of the Dutch that they have as much goodness as a man's hand or as far as the elbow and of the French that they are as both the arms which they stretch out to show the greatness thereof This last Nation they have a greater affection for than for any other especially those of it who have gone along with them to their wars for they give those part of their booty And as often as they return from their wars though the French had not gone along with them yet do they send them part of the spoil CHAP. XI Of the Dispositions of the Caribbians and their Manners THE Caribbians are naturally of a pensive and melancholy temperament fishing sloth and the temperature of the air contributing much to the continuance of that humour but having found by experience that that uncomfortable constitution was prejudicial to their health and that the mind ore-pressed dries up the bones they for the most part do so great violence to their natural inclination that they appear cheerful pleasant and divertive in their conversation especially when they have got a little wine in their heads Nay they have brought themselves to such a pass that as the Brasilians De Lery c. 12 they can hardly endure the company of such as are melancholy and those who have conversed much with them have always found them very facetious and loath to let slip any occasion of laughing without making their advantage of it nay sometimes they have burst out into laughter at what the most inclined thereto among us would hardly have smiled Their discourses among themselves are commonly concerning their hunting their fishing their gardening or some other innocent subjects and when they are in strange company they are never troubled if any body laugh in their presence so far are they from thinking it done as any affront to them And yet they are so far from the simplicity of a certain Nation of New-France who acknowledge themselves to be Savages not knowing what that denomination signifies that they think themselves highly injured when any one gives them that name for they understand what the word means and say that term belongs only to the wild beasts the Inhabitants of the woods Nor do they take it well to be called Cannibals though they eat the flesh of their Enemies which they say they do to satisfy their indignation and revenge and not out of any delicacy they find in it more than in any thing else whereby they are sustained But they are extremely pleased when any one calls them Caribbians because it is a name they pride themselves much in as being a certain acknowledgement of their generosity and courage For they are not only the Apalachites from amongst whom they came who by that word signify a Warlike and valiant man endued with force and a particular dexterity in military affairs but even the Aronagnes themselves their irreconcilable Enemies having often experienced their valour understand thereby the same thing though by the same word they would also denote a Cruel person by reason of the miseries the Caribbians have occasioned them But howe'er it be this is certain that our Savages of the Caribbies are so much pleased with that name that speaking to the French they have this perpetually in their mouths Toy Francois moy Caraibe Thou art a Frenchman I am a Caribbian In all other things they are of a good and tractable disposition and they are so great Enemies to severity that if the European or other Nations who have any of them slaves as among others the English have some cunningly trapaned and carried away by them from the places of their birth treat them with any rigour they many times die out of pure grief But by fair means they will do any thing contrary to the Negroes who must be roughly dealt with otherwise they grow insolent slothful and perfidious They commonly reproach the Europaeans with their avarice and their immoderate industry in getting of wealth together for themselves and their Children since the earth is able to find sufficient sustenance for all men if so be they will take ever so little pains to cultivate it as for themselves they say they are not perplexed with caring for those things whereby their lives are preserved and indeed it must be acknowledged that they are incomparably fatter and have their health better than those that fare deliciously Most certain it is that they live without ambition without vexation without disquiet having no desire of acquiring honours or wealth slighting Gold and Silver as the ancient Lacedæmonians and the Peruvians and contenting themselves with what Nature had made them and what the earth supplies them withal for their sustenance And when they go a hunting or a fishing or root up trees for ground to make a little Garden or to build houses which are innocent employments and suitable to the nature of man they do all without eagerness and as it were by way of divertisement and recreation But it raises a particular astonishment in them when they see how much we esteem Gold considering we are so well furnished with Glass and Crystal which in their judgement are more beautiful and consequently aught to be more highly prized To this purpose Benzoni a Milanese Historian relates a strange story of the New-world how that the Indians detesting the insatiable avarice of the Spaniards who subdued them took a piece of Gold in their hands and said Behold the God of the Christians for this they come from Casteel into our Country for this they have made us slaves banished us out of our habitations and committed horrid things against us for this they are engaged in wars amongst themselves for this they kill one the other for this they are always in disquiet they quarrel rob curse and blaspheme In fine there is no villainy no mischief but they will commit for this In like manner our Caribbians when they see the Christians sad and perplexed at any thing are wont to give them this gentle reprehension `` Compeer a word they have learned of the French and commonly use to express their affection as the women do also call our Europaeans Commeres as a mark of their friendship both words signifying in English Gossip or familiar friend how miserable art thou thus to expose thy person to such tedious and dangerous Voyages and to suffer thyself to be orepressed with cares and fears The inordinate desire of acquiring wealth puts thee to all this trouble and all these inconveniences and yet thou art in no less disquiet for the Goods thou hast already gotten than for those thou art desirous to get Thou art in continual fear lest some body should rob thee either in thy own Country or upon the Seas or that thy Commodities should be lost by shipwreck and devoured by the waters Thus thou growest old in a short time thy hair turns grey thy forehead is wrinkled a thousand inconveniences attend thy body a thousand afflictions surround thy heart and thou makest all the haste thou canst to the grave Why art thou not content with what thy own Country produces Why dost not thou contemn riches as we do Part. 3. c. 16. And to this purpose the great Traveller Vincent le Blanc hath a remarkable discourse of some Brasilians That wealth which you Christians pursue with so much earnestness do they any way promote your advancement in the grace of God Do they prevent your dying Do you carry them along with you to the grave To the same purpose was their discourse to J. de Lery as he relates in his History Ch. 13. The Caribbians have this further reproach to make to the Europaeans to wit that of their usurpation of their Country and they stick not to do it as a manifest injustice Thou hast driven me says this poor people out of St. Christopher's Mevis Montserrat St. martin's Antego Gardeloupe Barbouthos St. Eustace's &c. neither of which places belonged to thee and whereto thou couldst not make any lawful pretence And thou threatnest me every day to take away that little which is left me What shall become of the poor miserable Caribbian Must he go and live in the Sea with the fishes Thy Country must needs be a wretched one since thou leavest it to come and take away mine Or thou must needs be full of malice thus to persecute me out of a frolic This complaint may well exempt them from the opprobrious denomination of Savages Lycurgus would not permit his Citizens to travel out of a fear they might learn the manners of foreign Countries But our Savages stand in need of much travel to unbarbarize themselves if we may use such an expression And yet they are not only free from that insatiable covetousness which makes the Christians undertake so great and so dangerous voyages but also from the curiosity of seeing any other Country in the world as being enamoured of their own more than any other And thence it comes that imagining we should not be more curious than they are nor less lovers of our Countries they are astonished at our Voyages wherein they have the honour to be like Socrates of whom Plato gives this testimony that he had no more design to leave Athens with any intention to travel than the lame and the blind and that he desired not to see other Cities nor to live under other Laws being as to this particular as far as our Caribbians from the opinion of the Persians among whom it is come into a Proverb that he who hath not travelled the world may be compared to a Bear But we are to note further that our Caribbians of the Islands have not only an aversion from travelling into any other parts of the world but they would not also willingly suffer any of theirs to be carried away into a strange Country without an absolute promise within a short time to bring them back again But if it happens through some misfortune that any one of them dies by the way there is no thinking of any return among them for there is no hope of reconciliation But if they have no curiosity for things at a great distance from them they have much for those that are nearer hand insomuch that if a man open a chest in their presence he must show them all that is in it otherwise they will think themselves dis-obliged And if they like any thing of what they see therein though it be of ever so little value they will give the most precious thing they have for it that so they may satisfy their inclination As concerning Traffic true it is that having treated about something they will fall off from what they have promised But the secret to make them stand to their bargain is to tell them that a Merchant ought to be as good as his word For when they are pressed upon in point of honour and reproached with inconstancy as if they were children they are ashamed of their lightness Theft is accounted a great crime amongst them wherein it must be acknowledged they show themselves more rational Pluto in his Life than Lycurgus who allowed that vice in the Lacedaemonian children as a very commendable employment provided they did their business cleaverly and Hocus-pocus-like But the Caribbians have so natural and so great an aversion for that sin that there is no such thing found among them which is very rare among Savages For most of them are Thiefs and Islands of Robbers thence it is that some of their Islands have their name thence But for the Caribbians as they are are not of their own nature any way inclined to thieving so they live without any distrust one of another So that their Houses and Plantations are left without any body to look to them though they have neither doors nor enclosures after the same manner as some Historians relate of the Tartars But if the least thing in the Carpins' Travels into Tartary world be taken from them such as may be a little knife wherewith they do strange things in Joyner's work they so highly prise what is useful to them that such a loss is enough to set them a weeping and grieving for the space of eight days after it nay will engage them in combinations with their friends to get reparations and to be revenged on the person whom they suspect guilty of the theft Accordingly in those Islands where they have their habitations near those of the Christians they have often revenged themselves of those who had as they said taken away any of their little houshould-stuff And in those places when they find something wanting in their houses they presently say Some Christian hath been here And among the grievances and complaints which they make to the Governors of the French Nation this comes always in the front Compeer Governor thy Mariners so they call all the foreign Inhabitants have taken away a knife out of my Cot or some other piece of householdstuff of that kind The Inhabitants of Guinny would not make any such complaints For if they chance to lose something they are of a persuasion that some of their deceased Relations having occasion for it in the other world came and took it away The Caribbians are a people as it were associated in one common interest and they are of all people the most loving one to another being in that particular far from the humour of those Astaticks of Java who speak not to their own Brothers without a dagger in their hands so distrustful are they one of another From this affection which our Savages mutually bear one another does it proceed that there are few quarrels and animosities among them But if they are once injured either by a Stranger or one of their own Countrymen they never forgive but contrive all the ways they can to be revenged Thus when any of those Impostors whom they call Bogez makes them believe that one of those whom they account Sorcerers is author of the mischief that hath happened to them they endeavour all they can to kill him saying Yaraliatana he hath bewitched me Nebanebovibatina I will be revenged of him And this furious passion and desire to be revenged is that which makes them so brutish as we said before as to eat the very flesh of their Enemies whereof we shall give the particulars in their proper place This implacable animosity is the vice generally reigning among them and it exercises the same Tyranny without any exception over all the Savages of America The revenge of the Inhabitants of Canada is sometimes very pleasant for they eat their own louse because they have bitten them If the Brasilians hurt themselves against a stone to be De Lery c. 11. & 14. revenged they by't it as hard as they can It is observed also that they by't the Arrows which light upon them in fight Without any obligation to Lycurgus or his Laws the Caribbians by a secret law of nature bear a great respect to ancient people and hear them speak with much attention expressing by their gesture and a little tone of the voice how much they are pleased with their discourses And in all things the younger sort comply with the sentiments of the ancient and Linscot & Semedo submit to their wills It is reported they do the same in Brasil and China The Young men among the Caribbians have no conversation either with the Maids or married Women And it hath been observed that the men are less amorous in this Country than the women as they are in several other places under the Torrid Zone Both the men and women among the Caribbians are naturally chaste a quality very rare among Savages And when those of other Nations look over-earnestly upon them and laugh at their nakedness they are wont to say to them Friend's you are to look on us only between both the eyes a virtue worthy admiration in a people that go naked and are as barbarous as these It is related of Captain Baron that in one of the incursions made by him and his party into the Island of Montserrat then possessed by the English he made great waste in the Plantations that lay nearest to the Sea so that he carried a great booty and that among the Prisoners there being a young Gentlewoman Wife to one of the Officers of the Island he caused her to be brought to one of his houses in Dominico this Gentlewoman being big with child when she was carried away was very carefully attended during the time of her lying in by the Savage women of the same Island And though she lived there a good while after among them neither Captain Baron nor any other ever touched her a great example of reservedness in such people Yet must it be acknowledged that some of them have since degenerated from that chastity and many other virtues of their Ancestors But we must withal make this acknowledgement that the Europaeans by their pernicious examples and the unchristianlike treatment they have used towards them basely deceiving them perfidiously upon all occasions breaking their promises with them unmercifully rifling and burning their houses and villages and ravishing and debauching their Wives and Daughters have taught them to the perpetual infamy of the Christian name dissimulation lying treachery perfidiousness luxury and several other vices which were unknown in those parts before they had any Commerce with them But as to other concerns these Savages are remarkable for their civility and courtesy beyond what can be imagined in Savages Not but that there are some Caribbians very brutish and unreasonable but for the greater part of them their judgement and docility is observable upon many occasions and those who have conversed long with them have found several experiences of their fair dealing gratitude friendship and generosity But of this we shall speak more particularly in the Chapter where we shall treat of their Reception of such Strangers as come to visit them They are also great lovers of cleanliness a thing extraordinary among Savages and have such an aversion for all nastiness that if one should ease himself in their Gardens where their Cassava and Potatoes are planted they will presently forsake them and not make use of any thing growing therein Of this their neatness in this and other things we shall have occasion to say more in the Chapter Of their Habitations and their Repasts CHAP. XII Of the natural simplicity of the Caribbians ADmiration being the Daughter of Ignorance we are not to think it strange that the Caribbians who have so little knowledge of those excellent things which study and experience have made familiar amongst civilised Nations should be so much astonished when they meet with any thing whereof the cause is unknown to them and that they should be brought up in so great simplicity that it might be taken in most of these poor people for a brutish stupidity This simplicity is remarkable among other things in the extraordinary fear they conceive at the sight of Firearms which they look on with a strange admiration but their astonishment is greatest at Firelocks much beyond what they have for great Guns and Muskets because they see Fire put to them but for Firelocks they are not able to conceive how it is possible they should take Fire and so they believe it is the evil Spirit Maboya who does that Office But this fear and astonishment is common to them with divers other Savages who have not found any thing so strange in their encounters with the Europaeans as those Arms which spit Fire and at so great a distance wound and kill those whom they meet with This was Garcilasso's Commentary Royal l. 3. c. 8 Des Hays Travels into the Levant it together with the Prodigy of seeing Men fight on Horseback which principally made the Peruvians think the Spaniards to be Gods and occasioned their submission to them with less resistance It is reported also that the Arabians who make Incursions along the River Jordan and should be more accustomed to War are not free from this fear and astonishment Among the several discoveries of the simplicity of our Caribbians we shall here set down two very considerable ones When there happens an Eclipse of the Moon they believe that Maboya eats her and they dance all night making a noise with Gourds wherein there are many small Pebbles And when they smell any thing of ill scent they are wont to say Maboya cayeu eu that is The Devil is here Caima Loary Let us be gone because of him or for fear of him Nay they attribute the name of Maboya or Devil to certain Plants of ill scent such as may be Mushrooms and to whatever is apt to put them into any fright Some years since the greatest part of the Caribbians were persuaded that Gunpowder was the Seed of some Herb nay there were those who desired some of it to sow in their Gardens nay some were so obstinate that though dissuaded from it they put it into the ground out of a persuasion that it would bring forth somewhat as well as other Seeds Yet was not this Imagination so gross as those of certain Brutes of Guinny who the first time they saw Europaeans thought the Commodities they brought them such as Linen clothes Knives and Fire-arms grew on the Earth so prepared as the Fruits did on Trees and that there was no more to be done than to gather them That certainly is not so pardonable a piece of simplicity as that of the Caribbians And we may further allege to excuse that simplicity or at least to render it the Garcilasso l. 9 c. 16. more supportable the stupidity of those Inhabitants of America who upon the first Discovery of the New-World imagined that the Horse and the Rider made up one Creature like the imaginary Centaurs of the Poets And that of those others who Montagne's Essays l. 1. c. 8. after they were subdued coming to desire peace and pardon of the Men and to bring them Gold and Provisions went and made the same Presents to the Horses with a Speech much like that which they had made to the Men interpreting the neighing of those Creatures for a Language of composition and truce And to conclude these instances we shall add only the childish sottishness De Lery c. 16 Garcilasso l. 9 c. 29. of those same Indians of America who roundly believed that the Letters which the Spaniards sent one to another were certain Messengers and Spies speaking and seeing and discovering the most secret actions and upon this persuasion fearing one day the eye and tongue of one of these Letters they hid it under a stone that they might freely eat some Melons of their Masters In fine there will be no cause to think it so strange that the Caribbians should take Gunpowder a thing absolutely unknown to them for some seed that might be sown when there were some people living in France whose habitations being at a great distance from the places where Salt was made thought out of a like imagination that it was gathered in Gardens It happened also not many years since that a Woman an Inhabitant of Martinico having sent several pounds of Caret-shells and Tobacco to a She-Merchant of S. Malo's Caret is a kind of Tortoise-shell when this latter had put off the Commodity she gave an account thereof to her Correspondent at Martinico and advised to plant Carats in her Garden rather than Tobacco for that the former was much dearer in France and that there was no danger of its rotting in the Ship as there was of Tobacco But let us consider what there is yet to be said concerning the natural simplicity of our Savages of the Caribbies It is a pleasant thing to consider that these poor people should be so simple as that though they have many places fit for the making of Salt yet dare they not make use of it as accounting Salt extremely prejudicial to health and the preservation of life thence it proceeds that they never either eat of it or season their meat therewith and when at any time they see our people make use of it they say to them out of a compassion worthy compassion Compeer thou hastenest thy own death But instead of Salt they season all their messes with Pyman or American Pepper Nor is there any Swines-flesh eaten among them which they call Coincoin and Bouïrokou nor yet Tortoise or as some call them Turtles which they call Catallou though there be abundance of those Creatures in their Country Of this their abstinence they give the simplest reasons imaginable For as to the Swine they are afraid to taste of it lest they should have small eyes like those of that Beast now in their judgement it is the greatest of all deformities to have small eyes and yet there are few among them but have them such As for the Tortoise the reason of their abstinence from that is no less ridiculous they will not feed on that say they out of a fear lest if they did they should participate of the laziness and stupidity of that Creature Most of those people who are known by the name of Savages are also full of strange and fantastical imaginations concerning the matter and manner of eating For example the Canadians P. Junius in his Relations of New-Fra abstain from Muscles only out of a pure fancy but they are such Beasts that they cannot give any reason for that abstinence They will not cast the Beavers bones to the Dogs lest the soul of that Beast should go and tell the other Beavers and so oblige them to leave the Country It is reported also That they do not eat the marrow of the backbone of any Creature for fear of having any pain in the back The Brasilians eat no hens eggs out of an opinion they are poison They De Lery c. 11 abstain also from the flesh of Ducks and that of every Creature that goes slowly as also from Fishes that do not swim swiftly for fear of participating of the slowness of those Creatures The Maldiveses forbear the meat of Tortoises as the Pirard of the Animals of the East-Indies c. 2. Vin. le Blanc Garcilasso l. 8. c. 7. Caribbians do but it is because of the conformity there is in their judgement between them and Man The Calecutians and some others who live more towards the East never taste of the flesh of wild Oxen Cows and Bulls out of a persuasion that men's Souls when they depart out of their Bodies go and animate those of the said Beasts In fine certain Peruvians of the Province of Pastu abstain from all kinds of flesh whatsoever and if they are entreated to taste thereof their answer is That they are not Dogs All these Instances are brought upon the Stage to show that the aversion of the Caribbians to eat Salt Swines-flesh and Tortoises should not cause them to be accounted the most self-willed and most extravagant of all the Savages Besides the discoveries we have already made of their sottishness and simplicity there is this yet to be added That they are so stupid that they cannot count a number exceeding that of the Fingers of their Hands and the Toes of their Feet which they show to express the said number what exceeds it surpassing with them all Arithmetic so that they would be very unfit for Bankiers an humour contrary to that of the Chinese Voyage to the East Indies 1630. who are such excellent Accomptants that in a moment they cast up such Sums as it would trouble us much to do and that with greater certainty But the Caribbians have the privilege not to be the only Nation in the World which may be reproached with this ignorance for it is as great among the people of Madagascar and Guinny to cite no more nay some ancient Historians affirm That there were some people who could not count above five and others who could not exceed four The Inhabitants of Guinny having counted to Ten were wont to set a mark and then begin again Certain Savages of the Septentrional part of America to express a great number which it was impossible for them to name make use of an easy kind of demonstration taking their hair or some sand in their hands a sort of comparisons which are frequent in holy Scripture The Inhabitants of the Caribby-Islands have also their invention to supply the defect of Arithmetic for when they are to go to the Wars and are to be ready at their general Rendezvouz on a certain day they take each of them one after another an equal number of Pease in their solemn Assembly as for instance thrice or four times Ten and some certain number under Ten if need be according as they are resolved to advance their Enterprise they put up these Pease in a little Gourd and every morning they take out one and cast it away till there are none left and then the appointed time for their departure is come and the next day they are to be upon their march Another way they have is this every one of them makes so many knots on a little Cord and every day they untie one and when they are come to the last they make ready for the Rendezvouz Sometimes also they take little pieces of Wood upon which they make so many notches as they intent to spend days in their preparation every day they cut off one of the notches and when they come to the last they take their march towards the place appointed The Captains the Boyez and the most ancient among them have more understanding than the common sort and by long experience joined to what they had received by tradition from their Ancestors they have acquired a gross knowledge of divers Stars whence it comes that they count the Months by Moons and the Years by the Seven Stars taking particular notice of that Constellation Thus some Peruvians regulated their Years by their Harvests Those Inhabitants of Canada who live in the Mountains observe the number of the Nights and Winters and the Soriqueses count by Suns But though the more juditions among the Caribbians discern the Months and the Years and observe the different Seasons yet have they not any Monuments of Antiquity and cannot tell how long it is since the first of their Nation left the Continent and settled themselves in the Islands but all the account they are able to give of it is That neither themselves nor their Fathers nor their Grandfathers could remember any thing of it nor can they tell what age they are of nor give any precise account of the time when the Spaniards came into their Country nor of several other things of that nature for they take no notice of aught of this kind and make no account of knowing what is done in the World CHAP. XIII Of that which may be called Religion among the Caribbians THere is no Nation so savage no People so barbarous but they have some opinion and persuasion of a Divinity said Cicero nay Nature herself seems to have been so indulgent Tusc Quoest to Mankind as to make some impression of a Divinity in the minds of Men for what Nation what kind of Men are there but have without any previous learning it from others a natural sentiment of the Divinity We may with just reason admire these noble Illuminations proceeding out of the mouth of a man groping in the darkness of Paganism But things are come to that pass now that it will be a hard matter to make good the famous words of that incomparable Orator and Prince of Roman Eloquence For the poor Savages of the ancient People of the Ants in Peru and of the two Provinces of the Chirrhuanes or Cheriganes those of most of the Countries of New-France New-Mexico New-Holland Brasil New-Netherlands Terra del Fuego the Arovagues the Inhabitants about the River Cayenna the Islands of Robbers and some others if we may credit Historians have not any kind of Religion and do not adore any Sovereign Power Those also who have conversed among the Originary Inhabitants of the Caribby-Islands are forced to acknowledge That they have by the violence of their brutish passions smothered all the apprehensions Nature had bestowed on them of a Divinity that they have rejected all the Directions and Instructions which might guide them to the knowledge thereof and consequently that by the just judgement of God they are surrounded by so dreadful a night that there is not to be seen among them either Invocation or Ceremonies or Sacrifices or in fine any Exercise or Assembly whatsoever in order to Devotion nay they are so far from having any of these things that they have not so much as a name to express the Divinity so far are they from serving it so that when any one would speak to them concerning God he must use these circumlocutions He who hath created the World who hath made all things who gives life and sustenance to all living Creatures or something of that kind They are accordingly so blinded and brutish that they do not make any acknowledgement of the Lord of Nature in that admirable work of the Universe wherein he hath been pleased to represent himself in a thousand immortal colours and make his adorable Omnipotency as it were visible to the eye Thence comes it that they are deaf to the voices of an infinite number of creatures which continually preach unto them the presence of their Creator And so they daily use the benefits of their Sovereign Master without ever reflecting that he is the Author thereof and making any acknowledgement of his goodness who hath so liberally supplied them therewith They say that the Earth is the indulgent Mother who furnishes them with all things necessary to life But their terrestrial minds are not raised to any apprehension of that Almighty and all-merciful Father who framed the Earth and by the continual influence of his Divinity impregnates it with the virtue of producing all things for the nourishment of man If any one speak to them concerning that Divine Essence and discourse with them of the mysteries of Faith they will hearken to all that is said with much patience But when the discourse is at an end they answer as it were in jest Friend thou art very eloquent thou art very subtle I would I could talk as well thou dost Nay sometimes they say as the Brasilians do that if they should suffer themselves to be persuaded by such discourses their Neighbours would laugh at them A certain Caribbian being at work on a Sunday Monsieur du Montel relates how that he said to him Friend he who hath made Heaven and Earth will be angry with thee for working on this day for he hath appointed this day for his service And I replied very bluntly the Savage am already very angry with him for thou sayest he is the Master of the world and of the seasons He it is therefore who hath forborn to send rain in due time and by reason of the great drought hath caused my Manioc and my Potatoes to rot in the ground since he hath treated me so ill I will work on every Sunday though 't were purposely to vex him See here a pregnant example of the brutality of this wretched people This discourse is much like that of those senseless people among the Topinambous who when it was told them that God was the Author of the Thunder argued that it followed he was not good since he took such pleasure in frighting them after that manner But to return to the Caribbians Those of the same Nation who live in the Meridional Continent of America have no more Religion than the Inhabitants of the Caribbies Some among them have a certain respect for the Sun and the Moon and imagine that they are animated yet do they not adore them nor offer nor sacrifice any thing to them It is probable they have retained that veneration for those two great Luminaries from the remembrance of the Apalachites among whom their Predecessors had sometimes sojourned Our Islanders have not preserved any thing of that Tradition but we shall here set down all that may be called Religion among them and what bears a gross representation thereof They have a natural sentiment of some Divinity or some superior and obliging power which hath its residence in the Heavens They say That the said power is content quietly to enjoy the delights of its own felicity without being offended at the ill actions of men and that it is endued with so great goodness that it does not take any revenge even of its Enemies whence it comes that they render it neither honour nor adoration and that they interpret those Treasures of clemency whereof it is so liberal towards them and that long-suffering whereby it bears with them either to weakness or the indifference it hath for the conduct of mankind Their persuasion therefore is that there are two kinds of spirit's some good others evil The good spirits are their Gods ●nd they call them in general Akambove which is the word used ●y the men and Opoyem which is that of the Women True ●t is the word Akambouè signifies simply a Spirit and thence ●t comes that it is also called the spirit of man but this appellation they never attribute to the evil spirits These good spirits which are their Gods are more particularly expressed by ●he men under the word Icheiri and by the women under ●hat of Chemiin which we cannot render otherwise than by that of God and Chemiignum the Gods And every one speaking particularly of his God says Icheirikou which is the word of the men and Nechemerakou which is that of the women But both men and women call the evil spirit which is their Devil Mapoya or Maboya as all the French pronounce it but the Caribbians in that word pronounce the B according to the Germane pronunciation They believe that there is a great number of these good Spirits or Gods and every one imagines that there is one of them particularly designed for his conduct They say therefore that these Gods have their abode in Heaven but they know not what they do there and of themselves they never propose to themselves the making of any acknowledgement of them as Creators of the world and the things contained therein But only when it is said to them that the God we adore is he who hath made Heaven and Earth and that it is he who causeth the Earth to bring forth things for our nourishment they answer True thy God hath made the Heaven and the Earth of France or some other Country which they name and causes thy Wheat to grow there But our Gods have made our Country and cause our Manioc to grow It is affirmed by some that they call their false Gods des Rioches but that word is not of their Language but is derived from the Spanish The French affirm the same thing after the Spaniards and if the Caribbians make use of it they do it not among themselves but only among Strangers So that from what hath been said it is apparent that though these Barbarians have a natural sentiment of some Divinity or some superior Power yet it is intermixed with so many extravagances and involved in so great darkness that it cannot be said those poor people have any knowledge of God For the Divinities they acknowledge and to whom they render a certain homage are so many Devils by whom they are seduced and kept in the chains of a damnable slavery though they make a certain distinction between them and the evil Spirits They have neither Temples nor Altars particularly dedicated to these pretended Divinities which they acknowledge and so they do not sacrifice to them any thing that hath had life but they only make them offerings of Cassava and of the first of their Fruits and when they think they have been healed by them of some disease they make a kind of wine or a feast in honour of them and by way of acknowledgement and as it were to express their gratitude they offer them some Cassava and Ouïcou all these offerings are called by them Anacri Their Houses being made after on oval figure and the roof reaching to the ground they set at one end of the Hut their Offerings in Vessels according to the nature of the thing upon one or more Matoutous or little Tables made of Bulrushes and the leaves of the tree called the Latanier Every one may make his Offerings to his God in his own House or Cot but when it is done in order to invocation there must be one of the Boyez present All these Offerings are not accompanied with any adoration or Prayers and they consist only in the bare presentation of those gifts They also invocate their false Gods when they desire their presence but that is to be done by the interposition of the Boyez that is to say their Priests or to say better their Magicians and this they do especially upon four occasions 1. To demand revenge on some body who hath done them any mischief and to bring some punishment upon him 2. To be healed of some disease wherewith they are troubled and to know what will be the issue thereof And when they are recovered they make Wines as they are called in the Islands that is Assemblies of rejoicing and congratulation and debauches in honour of them as it were by way of acknowledgement of their favour And their Magicians do also perform the office of Physicians among them by an association of Magic and Medicine never doing any cure or applying any remedies but what are accompanied by some act of superstition 3. They consult them also to know the event of their wars 4. Lastly they invocate those spirits by the means of their Boyez to obtain of them that they would drive away Maboya or the evil Spirit But they never invocate Maboya himself as some have imagined Every Boyé hath his particular God or rather his familiar Devil which he invocates by the singing of certain words accompanied with the smoke of Tobacco which they cause to be burnt before that Devil as a perfume which is very delightful to him and the scent whereof is able to make him appear When the Boyez invocate their familiar Devil it is always done in the nighttime and great care must be taken that there be no light near nor any fire in the place where they exercise their abominations for these spirits of darkness perfectly abhor all light And when several Boyez invocate their Gods at the same time as they speak those Gods or rather Devils rail one at another and quarrel attributing to one another the causes of every ones evil and they seem to fight These Demons shelter themselves sometimes in the bones of dead men taken out of their graves and wrapped in Cotton and thereby give Oracles saying it is the soul of the deceased person They make use of them to bewitch their Enemies and to that end the Sorcerers wrap up those bones together with something that belongs to their Enemy These Devils do also sometimes enter into the bodies of Women and speak by them When the Boyé or Magician hath by his Charms obliged his familiar Spirit to appear he bids him appear under different shapes and those who are about the place where he exercises his damnable superstitions say that he clearly answers the questions made to him that he foretells the event of a war or disease and after the Boyé is retired that the Devil stirs the Vessels and makes a noise with his jaws as if he were eating and drinking the presents prepared for him but the next day they find he hath not meddled with any thing These profane offerings which have been defiled by these unhappy Spirits are accounted so holy by the Magicians and the poor people whom they have abused that only the most ancient and most considerable persons among them have the liberty to taste of them nay they durst not do that unless they have that cleanness of body which they say is requisite in all those that are to be admitted thereto Assoon as these poor Savages are troubled with any sickness or pain they believe that they are sent upon them by the Gods of some of their Enemies and then they make their applications to the Boyé who consulting his Daemon tells them it is the God of such a one or such a one who hath caused chose mischiefs to them And this raises in those who consult enmity and a desire to be revenged of those whose Gods have treated them in that manner Besides the Boyez or Magicians who are highly respected and honoured among them they have also Sorcerers at least they think them such who as they say send charms upon them and dangerous and fatal enchantments and those whom they account such they kill if ever they light on them 'T is many times a plausible pretence to be rid of their Enemies The Caribbians are subject to some other mischiefs which they say proceed from Maboya and they often complain that he beats them True it is that some persons of worth who have conversed a certain time among this poor people are persuaded that they are neither molested nor effectually beaten by the Devil and that all the complaints and dreadful relations they make as to that are grounded only on this that being of a very melancholic constitution and having for the most part their spleens swelled and inflamed they are many times subject to terrible dreams wherein they imagine the Devil appears to them and beats them whereupon they start up frighted out of their wits and when they are fully awake they say that Maboya hath beaten them and having the imagination thus hurt they are persuaded that they feel the pain But it is manifest by the testimonies of several other persons of quality and exquisite knowledge who have sojourned a long time in the Island of St. Vincent which is inhabited only by the Caribbians and such as have also seen those of the same Nation who live in the Continent of the Meridional part of America that the Devils do effectually beat them and that they often show on their bodies the visible marks of the blows they had received We are assured further by the Relations of divers of the French Inhabitants of Martinico that going into the Quarter of these Savages who live in the same Island they have many times found them making horrid complaints that Maboya had immediately before their coming thither treated them ill and saying that he was Mouche fache contre Caraibes mightily incensed against the Caribbians so that they accounted the French happy that their Maboya did not beat them Monsieur du Montel who hath often been present at their assemblies and conversed very familiarly and a long time together with those of that Nation who inhabit in the Island of St. Vincents as also with those of the Meridional Continent gives this testimony upon this sad occasion Notwithstanding the ignorance and irreligion wherein our Caribbians live they know by experience and fear more than death the evil Spirit whom they call Maboya for that dreadful Enemy doth many times appear to them under most hideous shapes And what is particularly observable that unmerciful and bloody executioner who is an insatiable murderer from the beginning of the world cruelly wounds and torments those miserable people when they are not so forward as he would have them to engage themselves in wars so that when they are reproached with that over-eager passion which hurries them to the shedding of man's blood their answer is that they are forced thereto against their wills by the Maboya But these are not the only people whom that implacable Enemy of Mankind treats as his slaves There are several other barbarous Nations who can always show on their bodies the bloody marks of his cruelties For it is reported that the Brasilians shake and sweat with horror at the remembrance of his apparitions and many times out of the pure apprehension they have of the cruel treatment they are wont to receive from him Thence it proceeds that some of those Nations flatter that old Dragon and by adorations offerings and sacrifices endeavour to abate his rage and appease his fury as among others not to mention the people of the Eastern part of the World some of the Inhabitants of Florida and Canada For that is the only reason they can give for the service they do him Nay it is affirmed that the Nation of the Jews was heretofore inclined to make offerings to that Devil to be delivered out of his temptations and snares And one of their own Authors citys this Proverb as used among them Make a present to Elie eans son Thisbe Samael on the day of expiation But how great soever the apprehensions which the Caribbians have of their Maboya may be and how ill soever they may be treated by him yet do they not honour him with any offerings prayers adorations or sacrifices All the remedy they use against his cruel vexations is the best they can to make little Images of wood or some other solid matter in imitation of the shape under which that wicked spirit hath appeared to them These Images they hang about their necks and say they find ease thereby and that Maboya does not torment them so much when they have those about them Sometimes also in imitation of the Caribbians of the Continent they make use of the mediation of the Boyez to appease him and they thereupon consult their Gods as upon the like occasions those of the Continent have recourse to their Sorcerers who are highly esteemed among them For though the Caribbians of those parts are all generally subtle enough yet have they among them a sort of crafty companions who to gain greater authority and reputation among the rest make them believe that they hold a secret correspondence with the evil Spirits whom they call Maboya as our Islanders do whereby they are tormented and that they learn of them things absolutely unknown to others These Impostors are looked upon among this poor people that have no knowledge of God as Oracles and they consult them in all things and superstitiously give credit to their Answers This occasions irreconcilable Enmities among them and many times Murders for when any one dies his Friends and Relations are wont to consult the Sorcerer how he came to his death if the Sorcerer answers that such or such a one was the cause of it they will never rest till they have dispatched him whom the Piais so they call the Sorcerer in their Language hath named to them The Caribbians of the Islands do also in this follow the custom of their Country men of the Continent as we have represented before But this is most certain and a thing which all the Savages daily acknowledge themselves by experience That the wicked one hath no power to do them any hurt in the company of any Christians hence it comes that in those Islands where the Christians live jointly with the Caribbians those wretched people being persecuted by the Adversary make all the haste they can to the next houses of the Christians where they find a certain refuge against the violent assaults of that furious Oppressor It is also a manifest truth confirmed by daily experience all over America That the holy Sacrament of Baptism being conferred on these Savages the Devil never beats nor torments them afterwards as long as they live A man would think that this seriously considered these people should earnestly desire to embrace the Christian Religion that so they might be delivered out of the jaws of that roaring Lion True it is that while they feel the cruel pricks in the Flesh they wish themselves Christians and promise to become such but as soon as the pain is over they laugh at Christian Religion and its Baptism The same brutish stupidity is found De Lery c. 16 among the people of Brasil CHAP. XIV A Continuation of that which may be called Religion among the Caribbians Of some of their Traditions and of the Sentiment they have of the Immortality of the Soul WE have seen in the precedent Chapter how the Spirits of darkness take occasion in the nighttime by hideous apparitions and dreadful representations to frighten the miserable Caribbians and how to continue them in their Errors and a servile fear of their pretended power they punish them if they be not so forward as they would have them to comply with their wicked suggestions and how they charm their Senses by Illusions and strange Imaginations pretending to the Authority of revealing to them things to come healing them of their Diseases revenging them of their Enemies and delivering them out of all the dangers whereto they shall be exposed All this well considered is it to be admired that these Barbarians who knew not nor in the least reflected on the honour which God had done them in making a discovery of himself to them in the many delightful Creatures he hath set before their eyes to conduct them to the light of their instructions should be delivered up to a reprobate sense and that at this present they should be destitute of all understanding to perceive the true way of Life and without hope and without God in the World We have also represented That what endeavours soever they might use to smother all the sentiments of Divine Justice and its Jurisdiction in their Consciences yet hath there still remained in them some spark of that Knowledge which awakens them and raises in them from time to time divers fears and apprehensions of that Vengeance which their Crimes might bring upon them But instead of lifting up their eyes to heaven to implore the assistance thereof and by confidence and amendment of life to appease the Sovereign Majesty of the true God whom they had offended they descend to the abysses of Hell to invocate the Devil by the sacrilegious Superstitions of their Magicians who after they have rendered them those fatal offices involve them by those infamous Contracts in the deplorable slavery of those cruel Tyrants These poor Barbarians are so transported and besotted by those furious passions that to obtain some favour from those enemies to all goodness and to appease those Tigers they render them several small Services for they not only consecrate to them the first of their fruits but they also devote to them the most sumptuous Tables of their Feasts they cover them with the most delicate of their Meats and the most delicious of their Drinks they consult them in their affairs of greatest importance and are governed by their wicked counsels they expect in their Sickness the Sentence of their Life or Death from those detestable Oracles which they receive by the means of those Puppets of Cotton wherein they wrap up the wormeaten Bones of some wretched Carcase taken out of the Grave and to free themselves from the weight of their blows and divert their rage they burn in honour of them the leaves of Tobacco and sometimes they paint their ugly shapes in the most considerable place of their Vessels which they call Piragas or they wear hanging about their necks a little Image representing some one of those cursed Spirits in the most hideous posture in which they had sometime appeared unto them as we have hinted in the precedent Chapter It is also conceived That it is out of the same design of insinuating themselves into the favour of those Monsters that many times they macerate their Bodies by many bloody incisions and superstitious abstinences and that they have so great a veneration for the Magicians who are the infamous Ministers of these infernal Furies and the Executioners of their enraged Passions Yet have not these abused wretches any Laws determining the precise time of all these damnable Ceremonies but the same wicked Spirit which inclines them thereto finds them occasions enough to exercise them either by the ill treatment they receive from him or their own curiosity to know the event of some military Enterprise or the success of some Disease or lastly to find out the means of revenging themselves of their Enemies But since those who have lived many years in the midst of that Nation unanimously affirm That in their greatest distresses they never saw them invocate any of those Spirits we are persuaded that all those little Services which fear forces from them rather than reverence or love ought not to be accounted a true Worship or acts of Religion and that we shall give those fooleries their right denomination if we call them Superstitions Enchantments Sorceries and shameful productions of that Art which is as black as are those Spirits of darkness whom their Boyez consult And we may conclude also that the meat and drink which they present to those counterfeit Divinities cannot be properly called Sacrifices but express Compacts between the Devils and the Magicians obliging them to appear when they call for them So that it is not to be thought strange that in all these weak sentiments which most of the Caribbians have of whatever hath any appearance of Religion they should among themselves laugh at the Ceremonies of the Christians and think the worse of those of their Nation who express any inclination to be Baptised The surest way therefore for those whose hearts God should open to believe the holy Gospel would be to leave their Country and Friends and to go into some of those Islands which are inhabited only by Christians For though they are not so superstitious as the people of the Kingdom of Calcutta who think it a horror only to touch a person of a contrary persuasion to theirs as if they were thereby defiled nor yet so rigorous as they are in the Kingdom of Pegu where when a man embraces the Christian Religion the wife celebrates his Funeral as if he were dead and erects a Tomb at which having made her Lamentations she is at liberty to marry again as if she were effectually a Widow yet he among the Caribbians who should embrace Christianity would expose himself to thousands of reproaches and affronts if he continued his abode among them When they see the Assemblies and Service of the Christians they are wont to say is is pretty and divertive but it is not the fashion of their Country not expressing in their presence either hatred or aversion to the Ceremonies as did the poor Savages who lived in the Island of Hispaniola and the neighbouring Islands who would not be present at the Service of the Spaniards much less embrace their Religion because as they said they could not be persuaded that persons so wicked and so cruel whose unmerciful barbarism they had so much experienced could have any good belief Some Priests and Religious men who had been heretofore in that Country having been overforward in the baptising of some before they had instructed them in that Mystery have been the cause that that Sacrament is not in such reputation among the Caribbians as otherwise it might have been And whereas their Godfathers and Godmothers gave them new clothes and made them some other little Presents on the day of their Baptism and treated them very sumptuously within eight days after they had received that Sacrament they desired to receive it again that they might have other Presents and good cheer Not many years since some of those Gentlemen took into their charge a young Caribbian their Catechumen born in Dominico whose name was Ya Marabovy a Son of that Captain whom the French call the Baron and the Indians Orachora Caramiana out of a design to show him one of the greatest and most magnificent Cities in the World which was Paris they brought him over-Sea and after they had shown him all the Rarities of that great City he was baptised there with great solemnity in the presence of many Persons of Honour and named Lewis Having sojourned a while in those Parts he was sent back into his own Country loaden indeed with Presents but as much a Christian as when he came out of it because he had not been fully instructed in the Mysteries of Christian Religion As soon as he had set foot in his own Island he laughed at all he had seen as if it had been but a May-game and saying the Christians were an extravagant sort of people he returned into the Company of the other Savages put off his clothes and painted his Body over with Roucou as he had done before To show the inconstancy and lightness of the Caribbians in the Christian Religion when they have once embraced it there is a Story how that while M. Auber was Governor of Gardeloupe he was often visited by a Savage of Dominico who had lived a long time at Sevil in Spain where he had been baptised but being returned into his Island though he made as many Signs of the Cross as one would desire and wore a great pair of Beads about his Neck yet he lived like a Savage went naked among his own people and retained nothing of what he had seen and been taught at Sevil save that he put on an old Spanish Habit the more to ingratiate himself when he came to visit the Governor They have a very ancient Tradition among them which shows that their Ancestors had some knowledge of a Superior Power which took a care of their Persons and whose favourable assistance they were sensible of but this Light their brutish Children have suffered to be extinguished and through their ignorance never reflected on it They say then That their Ancestors were poor Savages living like Beasts in the midst of the Woods without Houses or places where they might retreat living on the Herbs and Fruits which the Earth produced of itself without manuring whilst they were in this miserable condition an old man among them extremely weary of that brutish kind of life wept most bitterly and o'erwhelmed with despair deplored his wretched condition whereupon a Man all in white appeared to him descending from Heaven and coming near he comforted the disconsolate old man telling him That he was come to assist him and his Countrymen and to show them the way to lead a more pleasant life for the future That if any one of them had sooner made his complaints to Heaven they had been sooner relieved That on the Seashore there was abundance of sharp Stones wherewith they might ●●ll down Trees to make Houses for themselves And That the Palm and Plantine Trees bore Leaves fit to cover the Roofs of them and to secure them against the injuries of the Wether That to assure them of the particular care he had of them and the great affection he bore their species beyond those of other Creatures he had brought them an excellent Root wherewith they might make Bread and that no Beast should dare to touch it when it was once planted and that he would have them thenceforward make that their ordinary sustenance The Caribbians add further That thereupon the charitable unknown person broke a stick he had in his hand into three or four pieces and that giving to the old man he commanded him to put them into the ground assuring him that when he should come a while after to dig there he should find a great Root and that any part of what grew aboveground should have the virtue of producing the same Plant he afterwards taught him how it was to be used telling him the Root was to be scraped with a rough and spotted Stone which was to be had at the Seaside that the juice issuing by means of that scraping was to be laid aside as a most dangerous poison and then with the help of fire a kind of savoury Bread might be made of it on which they might live pleasantly enough The old man did what had been enjoined him and at the end of nine Moons as they say being extremely desirous to know the success of the Revelation he went to see the pieces he had planted in the ground and he found that each of them had produced many fair and great roots which he disposed of as he had been commanded Those of Dominico who tell this story say further that if the old man had visited the pieces at the end of three days instead of nine months he would have found the roots grown to the same bigness and that they had been produced in that time But in regard he went not to look what became of them till after the expiration of so long a time the Manioc continues to this present all that time in the ground before it be fit to make Cassava of This is all we could get from the Caribbian Tradition and we conceived it might well be set here at length since it is the only one that is related among this ignorant people who trouble themselves not to know the Name and Quality of that kind and heavenly Benefactor who hath obliged them so much nor to render him any acknowledgement or honour The Pagans were much more grateful in honouring Ceres from whom they said they received Corn and the invention of making bread And the Peruvians though they knew not the great Pachacamac that is him whom they held to be the soul of the Universe and the Sovereign Author of their lives and all they had yet did they adore him in their hearts with much respect and veneration and rendering him externally by their gestures and words great expressions of their submission and humility as to the unknown God The Caribbians believe they have every one of them so many souls as they feel beat of Arteries in their bodies besides that of the heart Now of all these souls the principal as they say is in the heart and after death it goes to Heaven with its Icheiri or its Chemiin that is with its God who carries it thither to live there in the company of the other Gods And they imagine that it lives the same kind of life as man lives here below Thence it comes that to this day they kill slaves on the Tomb of the dead if they can meet with any that had been in the service of the deceased to go and wait upon him in the other world For it is to be observed that they do not think the Soul to be so far immaterial as to be invisible but they affirm it to be subtle and of thin substance as a purified body and they have but the same word to signify heart and soul As for the other souls which are not in the heart they believe some go after death and live on the Seaside and that they cause Vessels to turn They call them Oumekou the others as they conceive go and live in the Woods and Forests and they call them Maboyas Though most of this poor people believe the immortality of the soul as we have represented it yet they speak so confusedly and with so much uncertainty of the state of the soul separated from the body that we should sooner have done to say they were absolutely ignorant thereof than set down their extravagant Relations Some affirm that the most valiant of their Nation are carried after their death into certain Fortunate Islands where they have all things at their wish and that the Arovagues are there their slaves that they swim unwearied in great Rivers that they live deliciously and spend the time in dancing playing and feasting in a land which produces in abundance all sorts of excellent fruits without any cultivation On the contrary they hold that those who were cowardly & afraid to go to the wars against their Enemies do after death serve the Arovagues who inhabit barren and desert Countries beyond the Mountains But others who are more brutish never trouble themselves about their condition after death nor ever think or speak of it And if any question be put to them concerning it they know not what answer to make Yet they have all had heretofore a certain belief of the immortality of the Soul but after a very gross manner as may be deduced from the Ceremonies of their Interments and the prayers they make to the dead that they would return to life as we shall represent more at large in the last Chapter of this History as also from this that the most polite among them are at present of that persuasion that after death they shall go to Heaven to which place they say their Ancestors are gone before them but they never inquire after the way they are to take to attain that happy abode Accordingly when their Boyez who also act the part of Physicians despair of curing their diseases and that the Devils have foretold by their mouths that there is no further hopes of life they give them this comfort that their Gods will conduct them to Heaven where they shall live at ease without any fear of sickness The belief of the Calecutians as to this Article is worse than Pirard ' s Travels part 1. c. 27. that of our Caribbians and their transmigration is an extravagant kind of immortality For they believe that their souls at the departure out of their bodies are lodged in those of wild Oxen or some other beast The Brasilians are in this point more rational for they conceive that the souls of the wicked go after death to the Devil who beats and torments them but that the souls of the just are entertained with dancing and good cheer in delightful plains beyond the Mountains And it is De Lery c. 16 pleasant to think that most of the Savages of America place the sovereign felicity of the other life in dancing The Resurrection of the body is by the Caribbians accounted a pure foolery their Theology is too obscure to receive so Garcilasso l. 2. c. 7. De Laet l. 5. c. 7. great an illumination We may therefore well wonder at a small glimpse of this sacred truth in the poor Virginians since it is a point wherein the ancient Pagans saw as little as our Caribbians There is also a small spark of it among the Indians of Peru as most Authors affirm But though the Caribbians have so little knowledge and fear of God as we have represented yet are they extremely afraid of his voice that is Thunder that dreadful voice which makes such a stir in the clouds which is attended by such flames of fire which shakes the foundations of the Mountains and makes the Neroes and Caligulaes' of this world to tremble Our Savages therefore assoon as they perceive the approaches of the Tempest which commonly comes along with that voice make all the haste they can to their little houses and sit down on low stools about the fire covering their faces and resting their heads on their hands and knees and in that posture they fall a weeping and say in their Gibberish Maboya mouche fache contre Caraibe that is Maboya is very angry with them and they say the same when there happens a Hurricane They give not over that lamenting exercise till the Hurricane is quite over and they are extremely astonished that the Christians should express so so little affliction and fear upon those occasions Thus the Grand Tartars are mightily afraid of Thunder and when they Rubriques' in his Travels into Tartary hear it they drive all strangers out of their houses and wrap themselves up in Garments of corpse cloth which they put not off till the noise be over And divers other barbarous Nations are no less frighted than the Caribbians upon the like occasions Nay it is reported that the Peruvians the Cumanese the Chinese and the Moluckeses imitate them in lamentations and frights when there happens an Eclipse Yet is it true that since the Caribbians have conversed familiarly with the Christians some of them are grown so resolute as not to be afraid of the Thunder for some have been seen to laugh when it thundered most and others counterfeited the noise pronouncing a word which is not easily written and whereof the sound comes somewhat near these letters Trtrquetenni But it is very certain withal that they do their natural inclination a great violence when they pretend that they are not afraid of the Thunder and it is pure vanity which eggs them on to personate that confidence to persuade those who see them that upon those emergencies their generosity is as great as that of the Christians For some of the French Inhabitants of Martinico who have surprised them in their Quarters when it thundered and lightened affirm that they found the most resolute among them shivering with fear in their poor Huts Now this trouble and these disturbances which they discover at the hearing of that celestial voice are they not a visible effect of the sentiment they have of an infinite and sovereign Power imprinted by Nature on the minds of all men and a pregnant proof that though these wretches endeavour all they can to smother the stings of their Consciences yet can they not do it so fully but that they prick and torment them though against their wills And is not this enough to make good the saying of Cicero at the beginning of the precedent Chapter For though all men do not in words acknowledge that Divinity yet are they convinced in themselves by a secret but  hand which writes this first of all Truths in their hearts with the point of a Diamond So that to conclude we shall say with that great man whose words will put an excellent period to this discourse as they have begun it That it is innate De Nat. Dear lib. 2 and as it were graven in the minds of men that there is a Divinity CHAP. XV. Of the Habitations and Housekeeping of the Caribbians HIstorians relate that heretofore some of the ancient Inhabitants Garcil Com. Royal l. 2. c. 12. & l. 6. c. 11. of Peru lived scattered up and down the Mountains and Plains like savage beasts having neither Villages nor Houses That others made their retreat into Caves and desert and solitary places and others took up their quarters in ditches and hollow trees But the Caribbians at the present are in a condition much different from this savage and brutish kind of life True it is we shall find it no great task to give a description of their Habitations for they are at no great trouble about the architecture of them for they require only a tree and a hedge-bill to build themselves a lodging Their Habitations are somewhat near one to another and disposed at certain distances after the manner of a Village and for the most part they plant themselves upon some little ascent that so they may have better air and secure themselves against those pestilent Flies which we have elsewhere called Mesquitoes and Maringoins which are extremely troublesome and whereof the stinging is dangerous in those parts where there is but little wind stirring The same reason it is that obliges the Floridians' beyond the Bay of Carlos and Tortugues to lodge themselves for the most part at the entrance of the Sea in Huts built on Piles or Pillars The Inhabitants of the Caribbies are also desirous to be somewhat near Springs Brooks and Rivers because of their washing of themselves every morning before they put the red paint on their bodies Among us and several other Nations of this part of the world the Architects break their brains in studying to make such strong and sumptuous Edifices as if they would have their duration to be equal with that of the world The Chineses at the late coming of the Christians among them expressed Trigaut ' s History of China c. 4. a certain astonishment thereat and charged us with Vanity For their parts they measure the continuance of their Houses by that of their short lives But our Savages of the Caribbies are willing to abate much of that term and order their structures so as that they are obliged to build often in their lives Their little Huts are made in an oval form of pieces of wood planted in the ground over which they put a Roof of Plantane-leaves or Sugarcanes or some herbs which they can so dispose and intermix one among another that under that covering which reaches to the ground they are secured against rain and all injuries of the weather And this Roof as weak as it seems to be makes a shift to last three or four years without being much the worse unless there happens to be a Hurricane Pliny affirms that some Northerly people made use of Reeds L. 16. c. 38. for the covering of their houses and they are used to this day in the Low-Countries France and other parts The Caribians do also make use of small Reeds fastened across for the Palisadoes which are instead of walls to their Habitations under every covering they have as many partitions made as they would have Rooms A simple piece of Mat does among them the office of our doors bolts and locks There 's nothing above their heads but the roof itself and under their feet only the bare earth but they are so careful in keeping of it clean that they sweep it as often as they see the least filth upon it This they observe in their private houses for commonly their Carbet or public house where they meet upon some rejoicing account is not kept over-clean insomuch that many times the place is full of Chegoes Besides the little room where they take their rest and entertain their friends every considerable family hath two other little rooms One serves for a Kitchen and the other for a kind of Storehouse where they put up their Bows their Arrows and their Boutous which are Clubs of a heavy and smooth wood which they use in their wars instead of swords when they have spent all their Arrows There they also put up their Baskets their supernumerary beds with all the toys and ornaments they make use of at public meetings and upon days of Triumph All that trumpery they call by the name of Caconnes As to furniture our Savages have only a kind of hanging beds which they call Amais which are as it were great Coverlets made of Cotton very nearly woven and folded together at both ends that they may join the two corners of the breadth Then they fasten the Amais by the two folded ends to the principal pillars of their Edifice Those who have no Cotton-beds make use of another kind of Bed which is called Cabane and this is made of several small sticks laid across on which they put a good quantity of Banana-leaves this Cabane is hung up and sustained by the four corners with great cords of Mahot They have also little Stools or Chairs made all of a piece of a red or yellow Wood and as smooth as Marble There are also some among them who have little Tables which have four wooden Pillars and those covered with the leaves of that kind of Palm which is called the Latanier Their Vessels as well of the Kitchen as others are all of Earth as those of the Maldiveses or of certain Fruits like our Gourds but which have a thicker and harder rind cut after divers figures and made smooth and painted as well as they are able to do it of these they make such Vessels as serve instead of Platters Porringers Basins Trenchers Drinking-cups and Dishes All these Vessels made of Fruits they call Cois or Covis and it is the same name which the Brasilians give theirs made of the same materials Their earthen Vessels they make use of as we do of our Kettles and Cauldrons among others they have one kind which they call Canary of these Canaries there are some very large others little the little ones serve only for the making of sauces or haut-gousts which they call Taumalis but the great ones are employed about the making of that kind of Drink which they call Oui●ou The Caribbians of Martinico do often bring some of these little Canaries to the Quarter of the French who give them in exchange certain Caeonnes that is some toys or other wherewith they are pleased Those little Vessels are the more esteemed because they are not so easily broken as our earthen Pots These Vessels which we have described as wretched as they are are preserved by them with as much curiosity and care as can be imagined The Caribbians have also at a pretty distance from their houses a place for the easing of their natural necessities to which when they have need they resort carrying along with them a sharp stiok wherewith they make a hole in the ground into which having put their Ordure they afterwards cover it with earth so that there is never any thing of that kind seen among them We take the more particular notice of this Custom of theirs because it is consonant to what was done by the Army of Israel as long as they were in the Field To the same Deut. c. 13. Busbequius in his Embassies l. 3. Ctesias may also be referred the Custom of the Turks who in that case make a pit with a piece of Iron to cover their Excrements which keeps their Camp very clean when they are in the Field An ancient Author affirms that in the East-Indies a certain Bird named justa does somewhat of this kind burying its own Ordure so as that it may not be seen but this smells too much of the Fable to be credited The Tartars as some affirm will Carpin ' s Travels into Tartary not so much as make water within the enclosures of their Habitations as accounting it a sin But to return to our Savages There are to be seen within the enclosures of their houses a great number of Poultry and Turkeys which they breed not so much for their own Tables as to make Presents to their Friends the Christians who come to visit them or to be exchanged for Hedg-bills Wedges Ho's and other Instruments of Iron which they stand in need of They have also about their habitations good store of Orange-Trees Citron-Trees Guavas Figtrees Bananas and other Fruit-Trees many of those little Trees which bear the Pyman and the Shrubs and Simples whereof they have any acquaintance to be used when they have any need of them and with these their little Gardens are bordered but within they are full of Manioc Potatoes and several sorts of Pulse as Pease of divers kinds Beans Mais small Millet and some others They have also Melons of all sorts excellent Citruls and a kind of Cabbage called the Caribbian-Cabbage which are of a very delicious taste But they bestow their greatest pains about the culture of the Ananas which they prefer before all other Fruits But though they have no Villages nor movable Houses such as may be removed from one place to another as is reported of the Bedovins a poor people of Egypt certain Moor's inhabitants on the Southside of Tunis in Africa and certain Nations of Great Tartary yet do they often change their Habitations as the humour takes them for as soon as they take the least disgust to their Habitations they immediately transplant themselves to some other place and this is done of a sudden and without desiring any permission of the Cacick as the ancient Peruvians were obliged to do of their King upon such occasions Among the occasions of this change of habitation among the Caribbians of the Islands one is a persuasion that they shall have their health better in some other place the same cause occasions many times a removal of housekeeping among the Brasilians Sometimes it is caused by some nastiness done in their Habitations for which they conceive a certain horror and sometimes the death of one of the house which causing in them an apprehension of going the same way obliges them to take up their Quarters in some other place as if death could not as easily meet with them there but this foolish apprehension is much more prevalent with the Caribbians of the Continent who upon such occasions will be sure to burn their habitations and march to some other place This pleasant Superstition is observable also among the Indians of the Island of Corassao though those poor people have received Baptism for Mons du Montel relates That being in the great Village of those Indians named the Ascension and having observed in two or three places some houses without any Inhabitants though they were not deficient in aught and others quite ruined he asked how those houses came to be so whereto the Cacick or Captain made answer That it was because some persons had died in those places The ancient Peruvians put themselves to the trouble of such a removal if their habitations received any prejudice by Thunder for than they conceived such an abomination thereat that they made up the doors thereof with stones and dirt that no body might ever enter there any more It is reported That heretofore the men of the Province of Quito in Peru thought it no shame to employ themselves in all things relating to housekeeping while their Wives went abroad walking at their pleasures And the ancient Egyptians did the like if we may credit Herodotus And we are to acknowledge Lib. 2. that the employment of dressing Meat in the Kitchen was accounted honourable in ancient Greece for honest Homer in Lib. 9 his Iliad represents Achilles making a Hash and spitting the Meat and all his Courtiers busy in the Kitchen for the entertainment of the Ambassadors of Agamemnon And as to Fish it hath always had this privilege that Persons of Quality have thought it no disparagement to have a finger in the ordering of it But among the Caribbians the men think all these employments below and unbefitting them they for the most part spend the time abroad but their Wives keep at home and do all that is requisite about the house True it is the men fell down Timber for the building of their Houses and when they are built it is their business to keep them in repair but the women take care for all things necessary for the subsistence of the Family The men go a hunting and a fishing as we shall declare more at large elsewhere but the women fetch home the Venison from the place where it was killed and the Fish from the Waterside It is the women's work in fine to get in Manioc to prepare the Cassava and the Ouïcou which is their ordinary Drink to dress all the Meat to set the Gardens and to keep the house clean and all the householdstuff in good order not not to mention the pains they take in painting their Husbands with Roucou and spinning Cotton for the use of the Family so that they are continually employed and their work is never at an end while their Husbands divert themselves abroad and so they are rather to be accounted Slaves then Companions In the Islands of S. Vincent and Dominico there are some Caribbians who have many Negroes to their Slaves as the Spaniards and some other Nations have some of them they got from the English Plantations and some from Spanish Ships heretofore cast away on their Coasts and they call them Tamons that is Slaves They are so well ordered that they serve them in all things about which they are employed with as much obedience readiness and respect as if they were the most civilised people in the World Now that we are treating of the Houses and Housekeeping of the Caribbians some might take occasion to ask Whether as we have the use of Lamps Candles and Torches they do not also make use of some light and some artifice in the nighttime to supply the want of the days light True it is they have learned of the Christians to make use of the Oil of Fishes and to put Cotton into Lamps to light them in the nighttime but most of them have no other light in the night than a kind of wood very apt to take fire which they have ready in the house for that purpose whence we call it Candle-wood it is full of an unctuous Gum which makes it burn like a Candle and being once lighted it gives a sweet scent In like manner the Inhabitants of Madagascar instead of Candles and Torches in the night time make use of certain Gums which easily take fire and they put them into earthen Creusets where they make a delightful and sweet smelling Fire And if the Fire chance to go out among the Caribbians they have the secret of supplying that want by rubbing two pieces of Mahot one against the other and by that collision they take fire and in a short time burn into a clear flame Thus the Brasilians instead of a Steel and De Lery c. 19 Stone the use whereof they have not make use of two several kinds of Wood whereof one is almost as tender as if it were half rotten and the other on the contrary very hard and by that friction and agitation the fire takes in the former The same thing is affirmed of some sorts of Canes which may be seen in the Cabinets of the Curious Those who have sailed to the mouth of the River of the Amazons relate that they there saw some Indians strike fire with two sticks but after a manner different from that of our Caribbians for in that part of the World they have also two pieces of Wood one soft which they make flat and even like a Busk and the other very hard like a stick sharpened at the end which they thrust into the soft which they keep close to the ground under their feet and they turn the other with both hands so swiftly that at last the fire takes in that below and sets it of a flame And whereas it many times happens one person may be weary of that exercise another immediately takes the stick in hand and turns it with the same swiftness till they have got fire Some may imagine that these ways of lighting fire are modern but there are some marks thereof in Antiquity as may be seen in Theophrastus History of Plants 1. 7. c. 10. CHAP. XVI Of the ordinary Repasts of the Caribbians MOst of those people who have the denomination of Savages and Barbarians are gluttonous and beastly in their Repasts The Brasilians eat and drink excessively nastily and De Lery c. 9 at all hours nay they rise many times in the night to that employment The Canadians are such gluttons that they eat till Relation of New-France they are ready to burst nay they are so ravenous that they will not lose so much as the skimming of the Pot They are never seen either to wash their hands or the meat they eat They have no other napkins than the hair of their own heads or that of their dogs or the first thing they meet with The Grand-Tartars do the like They never wash their Dishes or Kettles Rubriques & Carpin but with the pottage made in them and are so nasty that what they do is not be related The other Tartars come not much Busbequius Des Hayes & Bergeron short of them in nastiness and gluttony using their hands instead of spoons to take up their pottage and eating the flesh of dead horses without any other dressing than setting of it an hour or two between their saddles and horses-backs In like Vin. leBlanc & Garcilasso manner to make an end of these slovenly instances the Inhabitants of Guinny those of the Cape of Good Hope and certain other Savages eat raw and stinking flesh together with the hair and feathers guts and garbage like so many dogs But we are to give our Caribbians this commendation that they are temperate and cleanly in their ordinary Repasts as well as those of the Continent though some among them deserve not this elegy as there is no rule so general but may have some exception Monsieur du Montel a worthy and faithful witness gives this testimony of sobriety and cleanliness to those whom he had seen at St. Vincents and elsewhere But as we said before they are not all such for those who have seen them at Dominico give them not the same Character This people eat many times together in a public house as we shall see more particularly hereafter either upon the account of divertisement and to be more than ordinarily merry or to discourse concerning their wars and common affairs as the Lacedæmonians were heretofore wont to do The women according to the custom of some other barbarous Countries eat not till their husbands have done and they have no set time for their Repasts Their stomaches are their Clocks and Remembrancers They so patiently endure hunger that after they are returned from fishing they will have the patience to broil their fish over a soft fire on a wooden frame made like a Gridiron about two foot high under which they kindle so small a fire that sometimes it requires a whole day to make ready their fish as they would have it Some of the French affirm that have eaten some of their dressing they have liked it very well It is observable generally in all their meat that they dress all with a very gentle fire They commonly eat sitting on low stools and every one hath his little table by himself which they call Matoutou as Tacitus affirms that it was practised among the ancient Germans and as it is reported at this day to be done in Japan Sometimes also they eat their meat on the ground kneeling round one by another For Table-cloths they have no linen as we have nor skins as the Canadians nor Mats as the Maldiveses nor Carpets as the Turks and some other Nations but fair and large Banana-leaves newly gathered which are very fit for Table-cloths being so large as we have represented elsewhere the same serve also for Napkins and they wipe their hands there with They are always very careful to wash their hands before meals And when they are about the dressing of any meat they never touch any thing that is to be eaten ere they make their hands clean In fine in all their ordinary Repasts their sobriety and cleanliness is so observable as can hardly be imagined among Savages We have said elsewhere that their ordinary bread is a thin Cake which they call Cassava made of the Manioc-root Other Writers have set down the manner how it is made yet that our History may not be thought imperfect we shall here give a description of the composition thereof The root though it be sometimes about the bigness of a man's thigh is easily got out of the ground Assoon as it is taken out it is scraped with a knife to take off a little hard skin which covers it and then it is scraped or filled with with a Rasp or flat File of Iron or Copper of a good bigness and they press the meal which comes from it in a linen bag or in a long kind of pokes which they call in the Islands Snakes neatly woven of Rushes or Latanier leaves by the Caribbians that the juice may be squeezed out of it The Savages before they knew the use of those Rasps made use instead thereof of certain hard and sharp stones which are to be found on the seashore They are somewhat like our Pumice-stones When the moisture of the Manioc is got out the meal is sifted through a corpse cloth and without mixing it with any liquor it is put upon an Iron Plate or Plank and sometimes on a broad stone under which there is fire when it is baked on one side they turn it on the other and when it is fully baked it is exposed to the Sun to make it harder that it may keep the better It is commonly made no thicker than a man's little finger and sometimes thinner according to the fancy of the Inhabitants It will keep many months but it eats best after a day or two making there are some who would rather eat of it than of our ordinary bread And the greatest miracle is that of a root so dangerous of itself people should by artifice get so excellent nourishment Thus the Moors drying a kind of poisonous Apricocks which grow in their Country in the Sun and afterwards boiling them over a fire make a certain drink thereof which is pleasant and may be drunk without any danger But the Cassava which the Caribbians make is very delicate for they have so much patience to go through with any thing they undertake that they do better than the French who are so hasty that they would make an end of any thing assoon as they have begun it But the Caribbians go leisurely to work and never consider the time spent so the business be done to their minds And whereas some Europaeans who have used Cassava complain that it is no good nourishment that it injures the stomach corrupts the blood changes the colour weakens the nerves and dries the body it is to be considered that as custom is a second nature so that many things though bad in themselves do not prejudice health when one is accustomed thereto so on the contrary those which are good and innocent nay the best of their own nature if a man be not accustomed thereto are many times prejudicial and hurtful To confirm this truth it is to be attributed to want of custom what is related by some Historians of certain Brasilians who being shut up with the Dutch in St. Margaret's Fort could not brook the bread and other provisions distributed to them as Soldiers and on which it was necessary they should subsist and complained that they made them sick and were the occasions of their death To this purpose there is a remarkable passage in the Travels of Monsieur des Hayes into the Levant to wit that the said person entertaining some Tartars at his Table who knew not what bread was caused them to eat some for within two hours after they thought they should have died when the bread they had eaten began to swell and to cause them great pains There is another kind of bread among the Caribbians made of the Spanish wheat which they call Mais The English Inhabitants of the Barmouthos use no other There are some also who instead of bread eat the root called Potato whereof we have given a description elsewhere As concerning the other provisions used by the Caribbians their most ordinary dishes and which are used also by the Caribbians of the Continent are Lizards Fish of all sorts Tortoises only excepted and Pulse as Pease Beans etc. but their ordinary food contrary to the Inhabitants of Madagascar who have a horror for that kind of sustenance is Crabs got very clean out of their shells and fried with their own fat juice of Citron and Pyman which they are great lovers of and which they put abundantly into all their sauces And yet when they entertain the French or other Europaeans they are not so prodigal thereof and then they accommodate themselves to their palates out of a compliance and discretion which argues them to be somewhat better than Savages They call the inner part of the Crab Taumaly and of that it is they make their ordinary Ragoust with water the fine flower of Manioc and good store of Pyman In the last course they bring in fruits as we do and ordinarily they content themselves with Figs Bananas or Ananas If they eat flesh or any thing that is salted it is only out of compliance with strangers to avoid being troublesome to those who entertain them and so they accommodate themselves to their humours who come to visit them for than they order most of their meat to please them And to this must be referred what we have said concerning their not eating of salt Swines-flesh Tortoises and Lamantin True it is there are among this people certain men extremely slothful and melancholy who lead a wretched kind of life For they live only upon Burgaus Shellfish Crabs Soldier● and such like Infects They never eat any Pottage nor Flesh unless it be that of certain birds which they broil on the coals with their Feathers about them and their Guts within them and all the Sauce they use consists of the water of Manioc which being boiled loses its venomous quality fine flower of the same Manioc and good store of Pyman Sometimes they have a detestable kind of seasoning for their meats and that is the fat of the Arovagues their irreconcilable Enemies But this hath no place in their ordinary Repasts as being used only on solemn days of debauches and rejoicing As to their drink as they do in several parts of America the same grains of Mais which serve to make bread are used for the composition of a Drink which is accounted as good as Wine and as among us the Wheat which makes Bread will also make Beer so in these Islands of the Roots of Potatoes and Manioc which serve to make Bread there are made two several sorts of Drinks which are ordinary in the Country The former and most common which is made of Potatoes boiled with water is called Maby It is excellent good to refresh and quench thirst and it hath also an appetitive virtue which causes an evacuation of the sandiness and all the viscosities of the lower parts Whence it comes that those who make use of that Drink never complain of the Stone or Gravel The other Drink is called Ouïcon from a name coming near the Caovin of the Brasilians and is made of the Cassava itself boiled in like manner with water It is strained through a corpse cloth which the Savages call Hibichet This Drink is more excellent than the Maby and differs not much from Beer either as to colour o● strength The Indians make it very pleasant but 〈…〉 withal that much drunk it intoxicate as 〈…〉 They make it of Cassava well and throughly bak●● on the plan●● then chewed by the Women and put into Vessel● full of Water or after it hath been infused and boiled for 〈…〉 the space of two days by its own virtue with 〈…〉 fire as new Wine does the infusion is strained through the coarse or 〈…〉 and the juice which is gotten from it by that 〈…〉 being kept two days more is ready for drinking 〈…〉 ●a●e this composition boil the better they put into the Vessel two or three Roots of Potatoes scraped very small It must indeed be acknowledged that this custom which the Savages observe in ●●●wing the Cassava before it be put into the Vessel is enough to turn the stomaches of some but it is most certain withal that the Drink made after that manner is incomparably better than that which is made otherwise The Ouicou is also made after another manner without the Roo●e of Potatoes which is this after the Cassava is taken off the Plank 〈…〉 laid somewhere about the house and covered with the leaves of Manioc and some heavy stones laid thereon to set it into a heat and this is done for the space of three or four days That done it is broken into several pieces which are spread on Banana-leaves and then they are lightly sprinkled with water and so left When the Cassava hath remained so for the space of one night it becomes all red and then it is good to make Ouicou and will make its water boil with out the Roots of Potatoes Besides these two sorts of Drinks which are the most ordinary in the Caribbies there are also made in divers places several sorts of delicious Wines The Negroes who are slaves in these Islands make incisions in the prickly Palms out of which there distils a certain liquor like White-wine which they gather in several little Gourds fastened to the overtures of those trees whereof each will yield two pints every day and sometimes more The most ancient Authors assure us that among the East-Indians the Wine of Palms was very much in use as indeed it is at this day It is also used in some parts of afric as at Monomotapa Moreover there is in the Caribbies another kind of Drink made of Bananas which is also in other parts and by some called Couscou But in regard this sort of Wine though very pleasant and strong causes great ventosities it is not much used To conclude there is made in these Islands an excellent kind of Wine of those precious Reeds out of which the Sugar is gotten And this is the most esteemed Drink of any made in the Caribbies It is called by some Cane-wine and there is a particular secret in the making of it There is more made at S. Christopher's then any where else by reason of the abundance of Canes planted there The juice of these Canes is got out by a Mill made purposely for that use afterwards it is purified by fire in great Caldrons It may be kept a long time in its perfection and it hath a sweetness and withal a certain picquancy which might make it pass for Sack Of the same Canes there is also made a certain Aquavitae called Cane-Aquavitae which keeps better than the Wine of those same Reeds There is not any thing in the substance of these ordinary Repasts of our Caribbians which seem to savour of the Savage unless it be haply the Lizards But why may not they be as good Meat as the Frogs and Snails eaten in some parts of France And who knows not that in Spain they eat abundance of young Asses Nay compare the sustenance of our Caribbians with that of the Canadians who besides the skimming of the Pot which we said they eat do commonly drink filthy and nasty grease and prefer the flesh of Bears before any other with that of the Inhabitants of the Island of Good-fortune one of the Canaries who eat abundance of Suet with that of the Tartars the Persians the Chinese the Huancas a Nation of Peru of the Negroes of Angola who commonly live on the flesh of Horses Camels Mules Wolves Foxes Asses Dogs and drink the Blood of those Creatures with that of the East-Indians who think the Flesh of Bats and Mice as delicious as that of Partridges with that of the Brasilians who feed on Toads Rats and Worms or lastly with that of the Tapuyes and some other Barbarians who eat hair minced very small and mixed with wild honey and season all their Meat with the ashes of the  Bodies of their deceased Relations and mix them with the meal they bake which causes horror only to represent much more to do Let there be I say a comparison made between all these infamous Ragouts and those of the Caribbian Nation and it will be found that in their ordinary Commons there is nothing barbarous Yet are we not to dissemble what some of the French relate to wit That they have seen the Caribbians eating the Lice and Chegoes they had taken as it is reported of the Mexicans and Cumaneses but they do not make their Ordinary out of them and it is particular only to some among them besides that they do it not out of any delicacy they find in those Vermin but only to be revenged of them Moreover the horror which the Caribbians conceived heretofore at the eating of Swines-flesh Tortoises and Lamantin for the pleasant reasons before alleged was so great that if any of the Europaeans had got them to eat any of them by surprise and they came afterwards to know it they would be revenged of them one time or other witness what happened to a person of some note among the French This person receiving a Visit from the Cacick or Captain of the Savages of the Island where he lived entertained him in jest with Lamantin disguised in the fashion of a Hash the Cacick mistrusting what indeed afterwards happened to him entreated the Gentleman not to deceive him and upon the assurance given him thereof he made no difficulty to eat after Dinner the Gentleman discovered the abuse to the Cacick and his Company that he might have the pleasure of their Discourses thereupon and see what faces they would make after such a Treatment but they had at that time so much power over themselves as to smother their indignation and the Cacick only said to him smiling Well Friend we shall not die of it Some time after the Gentleman went to return him his Visit he received him with great civility and made him extraordinary cheer but he had given his people order to put into all the Sauces some fat of the Arovagues whereof the principal Indians are always well provided After this infamous Repast was ended the Cacick glad in his heart asked the Gentleman and his Company how they liked his Treatment whereupon they commending it very much and giving him thanks for it he acquainted them with the trick he had put upon them most of them were so troubled at the thought of it and had such an inclination to cast up all they had eaten that they grew very sick but the Indian laughing at the spectacle told them that he was then revenged Those who have lately been among the Caribbians of Dominico and Martinico affirm That now most of them make no difficulty to eat Lamantin Tortoises and Swines-flesh nay all other Meats in use among the Europaeans and that they laugh at the simplicity which obliged them to abstain from them for fear of participating of the nature and qualities of those Animals They have also remitted much of that severity which they used towards their Wives for now they are seldom seen to fetch home the Fish their Husbands had taken And when they have been a fishing the Husband and Wife eat together The Women go also oftener to the Carbet to participate of the Feast and the public rejoicing there made than they did before their Husbands became so familiarly acquainted with Strangers CHAP. XVII Of the Employments and Divertisements of the Caribbians ALexander the Great accowted Labour to be a thing truly Plut. in his Life Des Hays Travels to the Levant Garc. Com. Royal li. 5. c. 11. & l. 6. c. 35. Royal and there are to be seen at this day in the Seraglio at Adrianople the Tools which Amurath made use of to make the Arrows he sent to some of his principal Officers The Peruvians are much to be commended as to this particular for the Kings of Peru had made Laws and appointed particular Judges for the regulation of Idle persons and Vagabonds insomuch that it was ordered That Children of five years of age should be employed in some Work suitable to their age nay they spared not the blind the lame and the dumb but employed them in divers things wherein they might do something with their hands But there are some people so lazy that they Herod l. 5. think Idleness a thing very commendable and the Historians De Laets Hist of America who have written of the West-Indies tell us of certain stupid and brutish Indians of New-Spain and Brasil who pass away the whole day snoring in their Cots while their Wives go abroad to get in certain Roots for their sustenance But our Caribbians are not like these last for they are found taking pains and their pleasure in several sorts of exercises The chiefest and those which are most ordinary among them are Hunting and Fishing wherein they bestow the greatest part of their time but especially in Fishing They are seldom seen to go out of their Houses without their Bows and Arrows and they are wonderfully expert in the use of them being accustomed to that exercise from their Infancy as the Turks also are whence it comes that in time they come to be so excellent at the Bow that within a hundred paces they will hardly ever fail striking a half-Crown piece nay as they are making their Retreat they can do execution on their Enemies as the Parthians were sometimes wont to do How much therefore are we the more to wonder at those lefthanded Benjamites who could Judg. 20. 16. sling stones at an hairs-breadth and not miss When the Caribbians go abroad a hunting or a fishing they do not take their Wives along with them as some Brasilians do who cause theirs to walk before them so great is their jealousy but when they have taken any thing they leave it upon the place and the Women were heretofore obliged to go and bring it home as we have already hinted It is reported that the Canadians do the same Among the Caribbians of the Islands there is no distinction of quality as to Hunting but the exercise of it is as free to the meanest as to the greatest among them The case is the same among all the other Indians of the West-Indies As in their private Repasts they never use no kind of Flesh if they have not Strangers to entertain so ordinarily their hunting is only for Lizards and if they engage themselves in any other kind of hunting it is upon some extraordinary occasions when they would treat some of their Friends among the Europaeans or when they intent to visit them and would get something of them in exchange for what they had taken They are extremely expert in fishing with the Hook and in taking of Fish with the Dart and a man cannot sufficiently admire their patience in that Exercise for they would be content to continue half a day in the same place without betraying any weariness And when after they have waited a long time for the Fish they come at length to perceive some great one to their mind and within their reach they cast the Dart at it as the Brasilians do which having fastened they immediately leap into the water after the Dart to seize their prey But besides the Hook and Dart wherewith they take Fish they are also very excellent in diving near the Rocks and forcing them out of the holes where they shelter themselves as being in that particular equally expert with the Floridians' who not De Lery c. 12. Acosta l. 3. c. 15. Fr. Pirard part 1. c. 2. expecting that the Fish should come and show themselves go and find them out in the bottom of the water and there kill them with their Clubs so that they are seen coming up again with the Fish in one hand and the Club in the other 'T is a common thing among the Savages to be excellent Swimmers and Divers and it is particularly affirmed of the Brasilians the Maldiveses some Peruvians and the Inhabitants of the Islands of Robbers that they may pass for a kind of amphibious Creatures But if the other inventions for fishing should fail our Caribbians they have their recourse to a certain wood which they bruise after they have cut it into little pieces which done they cast it into Ponds or those places where the Sea is quiet and calm and this is as it were a Sovereign Mummy wherewith they take as much Fish as they please but they are so prudent as not to make use of this last expedient but only in case of necessity for fear of making too great a waste among the Fish After Hunting and Fishing they apply themselves to several kinds of Works as to make Beds of Cotton very neatly woven which they call Amaes The Women spin the Cotton on the knee and commonly they make use of neither Distaff nor Spindle but some of them in the Island of Martinico have learned the use thereof of the French They have also the perfect Art of twisting it but in some Islands the Men wove the Beds Besides this they make Baskets of Bulrushes and Grass of divers colours wooden chairs all of one piece little Tables which they call Matoutou woven of the leaves of the Latanier-tree the straining-cloths called Hibichets the Catolis which are a kind of great baskets to carry things on the back several sorts of Vessels fit for eating and drinking which are polished painted and adorned with abundance of pretty figures delightful to the eye They make also some other little ornaments as Girdles Hats and Crowns of feathers wherewith they set out themselves on solemn days And the women make for themselves a kind of Buskins or half-stockings of Cotton But above all they take abundance of pains in ordering and polishing their Arms that is their Bows their Arrows and their Boutous or Clubs which are of a hard and smooth wood and neatly wrought about the handles with wood and bones of divers colours They take no less pains about their Piragas or Vessels wherein they go to Sea and whatever belongs to Peace or War These Vessels are made of one great Tree which they make hollow smooth and polish with an unimaginable dexterity The greater sort of Piragas are many times raised higher all about especially towards the poop with some planks Sometimes they paint in them their Maboya sometimes they represent Savages or some other fantastic figures These Shallops are so large as many times to carry fifty men with all their Arms. Before they had any acquaintance with the Christians who furnished them with all sorts of Wedges and other Carpenters and Joiner's tools they were put to a great deal of trouble to make their Vessels for they were obliged as the Virginians and some other Savages were to set fire at the foot De Lery c. 13. of the Trees and to compass them about a little above the foot with wet moss to keep the fire from ascending and so they undermined the Tree by little and little Afterwards to pierce the wood they used certain hard stones sharpened at one end wherewith they cut and made their Piragas hollow but with so great trouble and expense of time that they acknowledge how much they are obliged to the Europeans who have taught them easier ways to do it by the iron-instruments wherewith they have supplied them Thence it came that the Peruvians thought it so great a happiness to have the tools Comment Royal l. 1. c. 11. which were brought them by the Europeans that the use of Scissors being introduced into Peru by the means of the Spaniards an Indian of Quality admiring the invention said to one of them That though the Spaniards did not furnish them with any thing but Razors Scissors Combs and Looking-glasses it sufficiently obliged them liberally to bestow on them all the gold and silver they had The Caribbians employ themselves also in making earthen Pots of all sorts which they bake in furnaces as our Potters do And of the same material they also make those Plates or Planks on which they bake the Cassava The dexterity they express in these little Exercises is a sufficient discovery that they would easily learn other Trades if they were taught them They delight very much in handling the tools of Carpenters and Joiner's and though they have not been taught how they are to be used yet are they able to do many things since the Europeans have supplied them therewith So that it is to be presumed that if they had good Masters they would do well at those Trades They are great Lovers of divertisements and recreation and thence it comes they seek after whatever may keep them in a good humour and divert melancholy To that purpose they take a pleasure in keeping and teaching a great number of Parrots and Paraquitoes To divert themselves they also make several Musical Instruments if they may be so called on which they make a kind of harmony Among others they have certain Tabours or Drums made of hollow Trees over which they put a skin only at one end To this may be added a kind of Organ which they make of Gourds upon which they place a cord made of the string of a reed which they call Pite and this cord being touched makes a sound which they think delightful The concerts of divers other Savages are no better than theirs and no less immusical to their ears who understand Music In the morning as soon as they are up they commonly play on the Flute or Pipe of which Instrument they have several sorts as well polished and as handsome as ours and some of those made of the bones of their Enemies And many among them can play with as much grace as can well be imagined for Savages While they are playing on the Flute the Wives are busy in making ready their breakfast Sometimes also they pass away the time in singing certain Airs the burdens whereof are pleasant enough and in that Exercise they sometimes spend half a day together sitting on their low stools and looking on their fish while it is broiling They also put pease or small pebble-stones as the Virginians do into gourds through the midst whereof they put a stick which serves for a handle and then shaking them they make a noise This is the invention the women have to quiet their children Most of the Caribbian Songs consist of bitter railleries against their Enemies some they have also on Birds and Fishes and Women commonly intermixed with some bawdry and many of them have neither rhyme nor reason Many times also the Caribbians of the Islands join Dancing to their Music but that Dancing is regulated according to their Music There are some Barbarians excessively addicted to that Exercise as for instance the Brasilians who as de Lery affirms spend day and night in dancing And we have said elsewhere that there are many Savages who make their imaginary felicity of the other life to consist in dancing But the Caribbians use Dancing particularly at their solemn Entertainments in their Carbet or public house These Entertainments are ordered after this manner Some days before the meeting the Captain gives notice to every house that all may appear at the Carbet at the day appointed In the mean time the Women make a kind of strong drink of baked Cassava and better prepared then that which they ordinarily drink and as they add to the dose of the Ingredients so is the drink the stronger and more apt to intoxicate The men go a fishing or catching of Lizards for as to other meat they seldom prepare any for their own Tables unless they have Strangers to entertain On the day appointed both men and women paint their bodies with divers colours and figures and adorn themselves with their Crowns of Feathers their richest Chains Pendants Bracelets and other Ornaments Those among them who would appear most gallant rub their bodies with a certain Gum and blow the Down of divers Birds upon it In fine they all put on their best faces and endeavour to make the greatest show they can at this solemnity priding it in their Plumes and all their other gallantry The women bring thither the Drink and Messes they have prepared and are extremely careful that nothing be wanting which may contribute to the solemn entertainment Our Caribbians spend all that day and the best part of the night in eating and drinking dancing discoursing and laughing And in this Debauch they drink much more than ordinary that is they make a shift to get drunk and the women will not be much behind them especially when they can get any Wine or Aquavitae to promote the work So that what we have said of their ordinary sobriety holds not at these Meetings no more than it does at their going to their Wars and at their return thence and yet take them at the worst their excesses come much short of those of the Brasilians who in their Debauches drink three or four days without ceasing and in their drunkenness engage themselves in all kind of Vices Their drunkennness and their debauches are frequent as happening upon these several occasions 1. When there is any Council held concerning their Wars 2. When they return from their Expeditions whether they have proved successful or not 3. Upon the birth of their first Male Children 4. When they cut their children's hair 5. When they are at age to go to the Wars 6. When they cut down trees in order to the making of a Garden and building of a House 7. When they launch a new Vessel And lastly when they are recovered of some disease They call these assemblies Ouïcou and since they have conversed with the French Vincentio that is Wine But on the contrary they have also their Fasts wherein they betray the ridiculousness of their humour For 1. they fast when they enter into adolescency 2. When they are made Captains 3. At the death of their Fathers or Mothers 4. At the death of the Husband or Wife 5. When they have killed one of their Enemies the Arovagues this last occasion of fasting they glory very much in CHAP. XVIII Of the Entertainment which the Caribbians make those who come to visit them HEre it is that our Caribbians triumph over all other Savages in point of civility For they receive strangers who come to their Islands to visit them with all manner of kindness and testimonies of affection They have sentinels all along the Seaside in most of those Islands whereof they are solely possessed These sentinels are placed on the Mountains or such eminent places whence they may see a good way into the Sea and they are so disposed that they overlook those places where there is good anchorage for Ships and an easy descent for men to land Assoon as ever these perceive a Ship or Shallop coming towards them they give notice thereof to such of their people as are next to them Whereupon of a sudden there come out together several Canoes or Vessels in each whereof there are not above three men at most who are sent out to discover what they are and call to them at a distance to declare themselves for they trust not the Flagg as having been often deceived thereby and they know by their voices whether they be French Spaniards English or Dutch Some affirm that the Brasilians and the Peruvians are so exact in their smelling that they will discern a Frenchman from a Spaniard by the scent When the Caribbians are not well-assured who they are who come towards them and perceive that they intent them some mischief they put themselves into a posture of defence possess themselves of the narrowest avenues of their Country place ambushes in the Woods and without being perceived keep an eye on their Enemies retreating through obscure ways till they have found their advantage and joined all their Forces together and then they let fly a shower of Arrows on their Enemies That done they surround them close with them and cut them all off with their Clubs In some Islands they make up a body of fifteen hundred men and more as may be guessed by their appearance for their number cannot be certainly known inasmuch as they themselves not knowing how to reckon cannot tell what numbers they are But if they are pressed by their Enemies they get into the Woods or climb up Rocks that are inaccessible to all others or if they are near the Sea they leap in and dive and rise up again at a hundred nay sometimes two hundred paces from the place where they had been seen And afterwards they rally together at certain Rendezvouses known to themselves and charge afresh when it is least expected and when they were thought to be absolutely routed But when they find those coming to them to be friends who come only to visit them after they have cried to them that they are welcome some cast themselves into the water and swim to them enter into their Vessel and when they come near land proffer to carry them ashore on their backs as an assurance of their affection In the mean time the Captain himself or his Lieutenant expects them on the shore and receives them in the name of the whole Island Thence they are conducted by a considerable number of them to the Carbet which is as it were the Town-House where the Inhabitants of the Island every one according to the age and sex of the Newcomers bid them welcome The old Man compliments and makes much of the old Man the young Man and Maid do the like towards those of their age and a man may read in their countenances how much they are satisfied with the visit But the first discourse they make to the Stranger is to ask him his name and then to tell him theirs And for an expression of great affection and inviolable friendship they call themselves by the names of those whom they entertain But to crown the Ceremony they will have the person whom they receive in like manner to assume their name Thus they make an exchange of names and they have such excellent memories that ten years after such a meeting they will remember the names of their friends and relate some circumstance of what had passed at the former interview And if they were presented with any thing they will be sure to call it to mind and if the thing be still in being they will show it to him who had bestowed it on them After all these compliments which are passed at the first meeting the next is to present their Guests with those pensile Beds which they call Amais very clean and white whereof they have store against such occasions They desire them to rest themselves thereon and then they bring in Fruits and while some are busy preparing some treatment others entertain them with discourse observing still the conformity of age and sex This kind of entertainment may well be accounted more rational than that of the Caribbians of the Southerly part of Continent who receive their Guests after a very odd fashion not much unlike what is practised by the Canadians For the Cacick of those Caribbians conducts him who comes to see them to the Publick-house without speaking at all to him then he is presented with a stool and some Tobacco and so they leave him for a time without speaking a word to him till he hath rested himself and taken his Tobacco Then the Cacick comes and asks him whether he be come The other answering yes he sits down by him and falls into discourse Afterwards those of the common sort come ask him after the same manner whether he be come And having thereupon brought him something to eat they also fall into discourse with him True it is indeed that our Insulary Caribbians in the reception of their Guests towards those of their own Nation who are strangers in their Islands practise the same thing as the Caribbians of the Continent But when they entertain French and other Europ●anss who would be loath to keep silence so long they speak to them and fall immediately into discourse as we said before accommodating themselves to their humour and to comply with them crossing the rules of their own Ceremonies But the Banquet they intent them was prepared before hand let us now see how it is ordered and how they demean themselves therein They give every one his little Table and his Trigaut l. 1. c. 7. Messes apart as the Chineses do Somebring in broiled Lizards others fried Crabs some Pulse and others Fruits and so of the rest During the Repast they discourse with them and wait on them with the greatest care imaginable They think it the greatest kindness can be done them to eat and drink heartily and all their business is to fill the Cups and see that every Table be furnished When a man drinks he must take all off otherwise they are disobliged and if one cannot eat all the Cassava that is given him he must put up the rest and carry it Rusbequius lib. 4. along with him otherwise they will take it unkindly Thus the Turks when they are at a friends Table are wont to fill their Handkerchiefs and sometimes the sleeves of their Garments with fragments of meat and bread which they carry away with them And among the Grand-Tartars when a Guest cannot eat all Rubriques' in his Travels into Tartary that is presented to him he must give the remainders to his Servant to lay up for him or carry it away himself in his bag or pouch wherein he puts up also the bones if he hath not picked them clean enough that he may afterwards do it at his leisure But among the Chinese when the Guest goes home the Servants of the person who invited him carries along with him the dishes that were left After the Repast the Caribbians conduct you to their private Houses and into their Gardens show you their Arms their curiosities and their trinkets and present you with Fruits or some little pieces of their own workmanship If any one be desirous to continue a while among them they take it for a great favour and are extremely glad of it and find the same treatment as at first But if they are willing to be gone from them they are troubled and ask whether you dislike your entertainment that you should be gone so soon With that sad countenance they all re-conduct you to the Seaside nay will carry you into your Shallops if you will suffer it And at that final parting they again present you with fruits which they force you to accept saying to those who would refuse them Friend if thou hast no need of it thyself thou mayst give it to thy Mariners so they call all the Servants and Domestics of those to whom they speak The Brasilians and the Canadians as some affirm do also make presents upon the like occasions And Tacitus relates that the ancient Germans made presents to the Strangers who came to visit them but they reciprocally demanded something of them In this point the Caribbians show themselves more generous for they give and require nothing back in lieu of it But it would be an incivility to go and visit these good people and to receive their kindnesses and not to present them with something Whence it comes that the Strangers who go to see them never go without some grains of Crystal Fishing-hooks Needles Pins or little Knives or some such toys And assoon as they have done eating they set on the little Table on which they have eaten some of those things Those who have prepared the Banquet think themselves requited a hundred-fold and make extraordinary acknowledgements thereof We have hitherto represented what treatment the Caribbians have heretofore made to some of their friends French and Dutch who took occasion to visit them But they use other Ceremonies at the reception of Strangers of their own Nation or their Confederates who chance to come into their Islands There is in every Carbet a Savage who hath a Commission to receive Passengers and is called Niovakaiti If they are of the common sort he presents them with Seats and what is fit for them to eat especially a Cassava-cake folded double which signifies that they may eat as much as they can and leave the rest behind them If those who come to see them or pass by occasionally are considerable to them upon any other account as being some way related to them or Captains they comb their hair both at their coming and their going away they hang up Beds and invite them to rest themselves saying En Bovekra behold thy Bed They also present them with Matoutous which are little Tables made of Rushes or the leaves of Palms or Lataniers as we said elsewhere on which they set the meat and the Cassava not folded but as they come off the Plank The women set them at their feet and the men standing about show that which was brought saying En Yerebaili behold thy meat Afterwards the women bring in Gourds full of Ouïcou and make them drink Then having set them on the ground before them the Husband who stands behind the women says En batoni behold thy drink And the other makes answer to these two compliments Yao that is to say very well or I thank you The Cassava unfolded signifies eat thy fill and carry away the rest which they fail not to do When they have dined well without being interrupted by any one they all come to salute them one after another saying to him Halea-tibou that is be welcome But the women are not much concerned in this Ceremony As for the Visitants when they would depart they go and take leave of every one in particular which they express by the word Huichan in their language CHAP. XIX Of what may be accounted Polity amongst the Caribbians THere are in every Island of the Caribbies inhabited by the Caribbians several sorts of Captains 1. The Captain of the Carbet or of a Village whom they name Tiouboutouli hauthe This is when a man hath a numerous Family and retires with it at a certain distance from others and builds Houses or Huts for to lodge it in and a Carbet where all of the Family meet to be merry or to treat of the affairs which concern it in common thence it is that he is named a Captain of a Family or of Houses 2. A Captain of a Piraga that is either he to whom the Vessel belongs or he who hath the command of it when they go to the Wars and these are named Tiouboutouli Canaoa 3. Amongst those who have every one the command of a Vessel in particular they have also an Admiral or General at Sea who commands the whole Fleet Him they call Nhalenè In fine they have the grand Captain or Commander in chief whom they call Ouboutou and in the plural number Ouboutounum This is the same whom the Spaniards call Cacique and we in this History call Cacick as some other Indians and sometimes also our Savages do in imitation of them He is during his life from his first election to that charge the General of their Armies and he is always highly respected among them He appoints the meetings of the Carbet either for merry-making or deliberations in order to a War And he always goes abroad attended by all of his own house and some others who do him the honour to wait on him Those who have the greatest retinue are the most highly honoured If any one gives him not the respect due to him upon the account of his charge it is in his power to strike him Of these there are but two at the most in an Island as at Dominico They are also commonly the Admirals when a Fleet goes out Or haply that charge is bestowed on some young man who is desirous to signalise himself upon that occasion This charge is obtained by election and commonly he who is advanced thereto must have killed divers of the Arovagues or at least one of the most considerable persons among them The Sons do not succeed their Fathers in that charge if they be not worthy thereof When the chief Captain speaks all others are silent and when he enters into the Carbet every one makes him way he hath also the first and best part of the entertainment The Lieutenant to this Captain is called in their Language Ouboutou maliarici that is to say properly the Track of the Captain or that which appears after him None of these Chiefs hath any command over the whole Nation nor any superiority over the other Captains But when the Caribbians go to the Wars among all the Captains they make choice of one to be General of the Army who makes the first assault and when the expedition is over he hath no authority but only in his own Island True it is that if he hath behaved himself gallantly in his enterprises he is ever after highly respected in all the Islands But heretofore before the commerce between the Caribbians and foreign Nations had altered the greatest part of their ancient Polity there were many conditions requisite to obtain that degree of honour It was in the first place requisite that he whom they advanced to that dignity had been several times in the Wars and that to the knowledge of the whole Island whereof he was to be chosen Captain he had behaved himself courageously and gallantly Next to this it was necessary that he should be so active and swift in running as to surpass all competitors in that exercise Thirdly he who stood for the Generalship of an Island should excel all others in swimming and diving A fourth condition was that he should carry a burden of such weight as his fellow-pretenders should not be able to stand under Lastly he was obliged to give great demonstrations of his constancy for they cruelly cut and mangled his shoulders and breasts with the tooth of an Agouty nay his best friends made deep incisions in divers parts of his body And the wretched person who expected that charge was to endure all this without betraying the least sign of resentment and pain nay on the contrary it was requisite that he received all with a smiling countenance as if he were the most satisfied man in the World We shall not wonder so much that these Barbarians should endure such Torments in order to the acquisition of some Dignity when it shall be considered that the Turks do not show themselves sometimes less cruel towards themselves upon the account of pure gallantry and as it were by way of divertisements witness what is related by Busbequius in the fourth Book of his Embassies which were too tedious to set down in this place To return to the Caribbians of the Islands This ancient ceremony which they observed in the election of their chief Governors will no doubt be thought strange and savage but there is something of the same kind observable in other Nations For in the Kingdom of Chili they choose for the Sovereign Captain him who is able longest to bear a great Tree upon his shoulders In the Country of Wiapoco towards the great River of the Amazons to be advanced to the dignity of Captain he must endure without the least stirring of the Body nine extraordinary strokes with a Holly-wand from every Captain and that three several times but that is not all he must also be put into a Bed of Cotton over a Fire of green Leaves the thick Smoke whereof ascending upwards must needs be very troublesome to the wretch who is so mad as to expose himself thereto and he is obliged to continue there till he be in a manner half dead this speaks a strange desire to be Captain Nay heretofore among the Persians those who were desirous to be admitted into the Fraternity of the Sun were required to give proofs of their Constancy in fourscore several sorts of Torments The Brasilians without any other ceremony make choice of him for their General who hath taken and killed most Enemies And now also in some of the Caribbies the Caribbians themselves laugh at their ancient Ceremonies at the election of their Captain for having observed that their Neighbours think that kind of proceeding ridiculous they now make choice of him for their Chief who having behaved himself valiantly in the Wars against their Enemies hath acquired the reputation of a brave and gallant person As soon as the Cacick is received into his Charge he is highly respected by all insomuch that no man speaks if he do not ask or command him to do it and if any one cannot forbear speaking as he ought all the rest immediately cry out Cala la bocca which they have learned from the Spaniard But it suffices not to be silent in the presence of their Chief but they are also very attentive to his Discourse look upon him when he speaks and to show that they approve of what he says they are wont to smile and that smile is accompanied by a certain Hun-Hun These expressions of respect are such as are not to be accounted savage as being used generally all over the World but the Maldiveses have a particular way of honouring a person Pirard Linscot Garcilasso Des Hayes and others for as they think it a kind of disrespect to pass behind any one so to express a great submission they take their passage just before him and making a low obeisance say as they go by May it not displease you The Yncas a people of the Kingdom of Peru to express the respect they bear their God enter into his Temple backwards and go out of it after the same manner quite contrary to what we do in our ordinary Visits and Civilities The Turks account the left hand the more honourable among Military persons The Inhabitants of Java think the covering of the Head is the greatest act of submission The Japonneses think it a great incivility to receive those who would honour them standing they take off their Shoes when they would express how much they honour any person In the Kingdom of Gago in afric all the Subjects speak to the King kneeling having in their hands a Vessel full of Sand which they cast on their Heads The Negroes of the Country of Angola cover themselves with Earth when they meet with their Prince as it were to signify that in his presence they are but dust and ashes The Maronites of Mount Libanus meeting their Patriarch cast themselves at his feet and kiss them but he immediately raising them up presents them with his hand which they taking in both theirs and having kissed it lay on their heads But they who live about the Straight of Sunda have a very strange Custom which is that to honour their Superiors they take them by the left foot and gently rub the Leg from the Anckle-bone to the Knee and that done they in like manner rub the Face and the forepart of the Head an action which I doubt would be far from being thought respectful in these Parts From what hath been said it may be deduced That this World's Honour whatever it may be Virtue excepted consists only in Opinion and Custom which differ and sometimes clash according to the diversity of men's humours But to return to the Captain of our Caribbians It is his business to take the Resolutions of War to make all Preparations in order thereto and to go upon any Expedition in the head of his Forces He also appoints the Assemblies of his Island and takes care for the reparations of the Carbet which is the House where all Resolutions that concern the Public are taken In fine he it is who in the name of the whole Island as occasion serves gives Answers and appoints the days of divertisement as we mentioned before The administration of Justice among the Caribbians is not exercised by the Captain nor by any Magistrate but as it is among the Tapinambous he who thinks himself injured gets such satisfaction of his adversary as he thinks fit according as his passion dictates to him or his strength permits him The Public does not concern itself at all in the punishment of Criminals and if any one among them suffers an injury or affront without endeavouring to revenge himself he is slighted by all the rest and accounted a Coward and a Person of no esteem But as we said before there happen few quarrels or fall out among them A Brother revenges his Brother and Sister a Husband his Wife a Father his Children so that when any one is killed they think it justly done because it is done upon the account of revenge and retaliation To prevent that if a Savage of one Island hath killed another Savage out of a fear of being killed by way of revenge by the Relations of the deceased he gets into another Island and settles himself there Those whom they think Sorcerers do not exercise that profession long among them though for the most part they are rather imagined to be such than that they are really so If the Caribbians suspect any one to have stolen something from them they endeavour to lay hold on him and to cut him over the Shoulders with a Knife or the Tooth of an Agouty as a mark of his crime and their revenge These Agouties Teeth among the Caribbians supply the want of our Razors and indeed they are in a manner as sh●rp Thus the ancient Peruvians and the Canarians before they had the use of our Iron Instruments made use of a certain kind of Flint instead of Scissors Lancets and Razors The Husband suffers not his Wife to break her conjugal Faith towards him without punishment but he himself acts the part of both Judge and Executioner as we shall declare more particularly in the Chapter of their Marriages They know not what it is to punish publicly or to observe any form in the execution of Justice nay they have no word in their Language to signify Justice or Judgement CHAP. XX. Of the Wars of the Caribbians IT is commonly at their public Feasts and Entertainments that the Caribbians take their Resolutions of engaging upon any War which humour is not particular to their Nation for the Brasilians and the Canadians do the like And that it may not be thought this is found only among Savages Herodotus Lib. ● and Strabo affirm That heretofore the Persians consulted Lib. 15. concerning their most important affairs at their great Feasts and when they had their heads well stored with Wine And not only the Persians but also several Grecian Nations held their Counsels of War at Table if we may believe Plutarch Symp. 1. 3. qu. 2. Trigaut l. 1. c. 7. The same thing is at this day practised among the Chinese as some Historians affirm But to return to the Counsels of War of our Caribbians When they begin to have their brains warmed with their drink an old Woman comes into the Assembly with a sad countenance and deportment and with tears in her eyes demands audience which being easily granted her by reason of the respect and reverence they bear to her age with a doleful voice interrupted by sighs she represents the injuries which the whole Nation hath received from the Arovagues their ancient and inveterate Enemies And having reckoned up the greatest cruelties which they have heretofore exercised against the Caribbians and the gallant men they have killed or taken in the Battles that were fought between them she comes to particularise in those who were lately made Prisoners massacred and eaten in some later Engagements And at last she concludes that it were a shameful and an insupportable disparagement to their Nation if they should not revenge themselves and generously imitate their Predecessors those brave Caribbians who minded nothing so much as to gain satisfaction for the injuries they had received and who after they had shaken off the yoke which the Tyrants would have imposed on them for the taking away of their ancient Liberty have carried their victorious Arms into the Territories of their Enemies whom they have pursued with darts and fire and forced to make their retreats into their highest Mountains the clefts of Rocks and the dreadful recesses of their thickest Forests and this with so great success that at present they dare not appear at their own Seacoasts and can find no habitation so remote where they think themselves secure from the assaults of the Caribbians fear and astonishment having been their constant attendants after such signal Victories That they are therefore courageously to prosecute their advantages and not to rest till that pestilent Enemy be utterly destroyed As soon as the old Woman hath made an end of her discourse the Captain makes a Speech to the same purpose to make a greater impression in the minds of the Audience which ended the whole Assembly unanimously applauds the Proposition and make all demonstrations imaginable of the justice of their Cause From that time being encouraged by the words they had heard they breathe nothing but blood and wounds The Captain concluding by the applause of the whole Assembly and by their gestures and countenances that they are resolved for the War though they do not say so much immediately order it and appoints the time for the Enterprise by some of their ways of numbering as we have hinted in the Chapter of their Natural Simplicity In this place we are to make this particular Remark That they take these bloody resolutions when they are well loaden with drink and after the Devil hath tormented them to egg them on thereto as we have said elsewhere The next day after the Assembly nothing is seen or heard in all parts of the Island but preparations for the War Some polish their Bows others order their Clubs others prepare sharpen and poison their Arrows and others are employed to make ready the Piragas The Women for their parts are busy about disposing and getting together the necessary provisions for the Army So that on the day appointed they all meet at the Seaside with all things in a readiness to embark They all furnish themselves with good Bows and every one with a good sheaf of Arrows which are made of a small smooth Reed with a little piece of iron or some sharp bone at the point The Arrows used by the Brasilians are made after the same manner but the Caribbians add to theirs to make them more dreadful a mortal poison made of the juice of the Manchenillo-trees and other poisons so that the least scratch made by them becomes a mortal wound It hath hitherto been a thing impossible to get out of them the Receipt of that composition They have also every one of them that wooden sword which they call Boutous or to say better that massy Club which they use instead of a sword and wherewith they do miracles in point of fencing These are all their Arms for they have no Targets or Bucklers as the Tapinambous but De Lery c. 14. their bodies are naked Next the care they take about their Arms they also provide themselves sufficiently with belly-timber and take along with them in their little vessels good quantities of Cassava broiled Fish Fruits and particularly Bananas which keep a long time and the meal of Manioc The Icaqueses in their Wars never trouble themselves about any such thing and what they do in this particular is so peculiar to them that it deserves to be mentioned for they are content with so little sontheir sustenance and delight so much in living upon certain Plumbs which grow abundantly in their Parts and from which they have their name that when they go to the Wars they are never seen to carry any provisions for the belly along with them Our Savages of the Caribbies as well as those of Brasil take De Lery c. 14. along with them to the Wars a certain number of Women to dress their meat and look to the Piragas when they are got ashore Their Arms and Provisions are well fastened to these Piragas so that if the Vessel comes to overturn which happens often they set it right again without losing any thing of what was in it And upon those occasions being so good De Lery c. 13. Swimmers as we have represented them they are not troubled for their own persons so far that they have sometimes laughed at the Christians who being near them upon those occasions endeavoured to relieve them Thus the Tapinambous laughed at some French men upon the like accident as De Lery relates Chap. 12. The sails of the Caribbians are made of Cotton or a kind of Mat of Palm-leaves They have an excellent faculty of rowing with certain little Oars which they move very fast They take along with them also some Canoes which are their least kind of Vessels to attend their Piragas Their custom is to go from Island to Island to refresh themselves and to that end they have Gardens even in those which are desert and not inhabited They also touch at the Islands of their own Nation to join their Forces and take in as they go along all those that are in a condition to accompany them and so their Army increases and with that equipage they get with little noise to the Frontiers When they sail along the Coasts and night comes upon them they bring their Vessels ashore and in half an hours time they make up their lodging-place under some Tree with Balisier and Latanier-leaves which they fasten together on poles or reeds sustained by forks planted in the ground which serve for a foundation to this little structure and to hang their beds on These lodgings thus made in haste they call Aioupa The Lacedaemonian Lawgiver had forbidden among other Plut. in the Life of Lycurgus things that War should be always waged against the same Enemies for fear they might thereby grow more experienced in Military Affairs But the Caribbians follow not those Maxims nor fear any such inconvenience for they always make War against the same Nation Their ancient and irreconcilable Enemies are the Arovacas Arovaques or Arovagues which is the name commonly given them in the Islands though the Caribbians call them Alovagues who live in that part of the Meridional America which is known in the Maps under the name of the Province of Guyana or Guayana not far from the Rivers which fall down out of that Province into the Sea The cause of this immortal enmity between our Insulary Caribbians and those people hath been already hinted in the Chapter of the Origine of the Caribbians to wit that those Arovagues have cruelly persecuted the Caribbians of the Continent their Neighbours the Relations of our Islanders and of the same Nation with them and that they have continually warred against them to exterminate them or at least to drive them out of their habitations These Arovagnes then are the people whom our Islanders go and find out in their own Country commonly once or twice a year to be revenged of them as much as they can And it is to be observed on the other side that the Arovagues never make any attempts on the Caribbians of the Islands in the Islands where they live but only stand on the defensive whereas they are sure to have our Savages among them oftener than they wish coasting along as they are wont to do all the other Islands wherein they have Gardens or Colonies though the furthermost of the Caribby-Islands which is Santa-Cruce is distant from the Country of the Arovagues about three hundred Leagues It was Alexander's generosity made him use this expression Q. Curt. Justin l. 9 that a Victory was not to be stolen but Philip of an humour different from his Son thought there was no shame in a Conquest howe'er it were obtained Our Caribbians with most of the old Inhabitants of America are of the same opinion For they carry on all their wars by surprise and think it no dishonour to make their advantage of the night Contrary to the Icaqueses who would think their reputation blasted if coming to the Territories of their Enemies they did not send them notice of their arrival and challenge them to come and receive them armed The Arraucanes next neighbour to the Chili a warlike people and whom the Spaniard hath not been yet able to overcome nay was sometimes worsted by them do much more For when they are to engage against an Enemy they have the War proclaimed by Heralds and send this message to them We shall meet thee within so many Moons be ready And so the Yncas the Kings of Peru never undertook any Garcilas' l. 5. c. 12. war till they had first advertised their Enemies thereof and declared it two or three times Whence it may be inferred by the way that L' Escarbot is mistaken in his History of New-France Lib. 3. c. 25. where he affirms that all the West-Indians generally wage their wars by surprise The Caribbians have this imagination that the War they should begin openly would not prosper So that having landed in the Country of the Arovagues if they are discovered before they give the first shock or that a dog as one would say did bark at them thinking it ominous they immediately return to their Vessels and so to their Islands leaving the design to be prosecuted some other time But if they are not discovered they fall upon their Enemies even in their Houses If they cannot easily come at them or find them well fortified in some Houses that have good Palisadoes whence they play upon them with their Arrows with some advantage they are wont to force them out by shooting fire to the Houses with their Arrows at the points whereof they fasten lighted Cotton And these arrows being shot on the roofs which consist of Grass or Palm-leaves they presently set them on fire Thus the Arovagues are forced out of their holes and to fight in the open field or run away When our Savages have thus gotten them into the field they presently shoot away all their arrows which being spent they take their Boutous and do strange things therewith they are in perpetual motion all the time they are fight that the Enemy may have the less time to observe them Fire-arms especially great Guns which make so great noise and do such execution especially when they are loaden with Nails Chains and other pieces of old Iron have abated much of their courage when they have had to do with Europaeans and makes them afraid to come near their Ships and Forts But though they do not take Opium to make them less sensible of danger before they go to Travels of Villamont lib. 2. Paludanus in Linscot c. 76. & Vin. le Blanc fight as the Turks and the East-Indians of Cananor do nor yet feed on Tigers and Lions to make themselves more courageous as the people of the Kingdom of Narsinga towards Malabar yet when they fight equally armed with the Arovagues and have begun the Battle especially if they are animated with some good success they are as bold as Lions and will either overcome or die Thus did the warlike Savages of the Country of Carthagena when they were assaulted by the Spaniards for Linscot & de Laet. they fell in among them with such fury both men and women that a young maid laid several Spaniards upon the place ere she was killed herself They say also that the Mexicans and Accosta & le Jeune Canadians will rather be cut to pieces than taken in fight If the Caribbians can take any one of their Enemies alive they bind him and bring him away captive into their Islands but if any one of theirs fall dead or wounded in the field it would be an eternal and insupportable reproach to them to leave him in the power of the Enemy That consideration makes them break furiously into the midst of the greatest dangers and resolutely make their way through whatever opposes them to retrieve the bodies of their Comrades and having gotten them by force from amongst the Enemies they carry them to their Vessels When the fight is over our Savages make their retreat to the Seaside or into some neighbouring Island and if they have received some considerable loss by the death of some of their Chief Commanders or their most valiant Soldiers they fill the air with dreadful howling and crying before they get into their Vessels and intermixing their tears with the blood of the deceased they mournfully dispose them into their Piragas and accompany them with their regrets and sighs to some of their own Territories But when they have had the Victory they spend not the time in cutting off the heads of their slain Enemies in carrying them in triumph and in taking the skins of those poor bodies to make Standards in their Triumphs as the Canadians do and as heretofore was the custom of the Scythians as Herodotus affirms Lib. 4. nay as was that of the ancient Gauls if we believe Livy Lib. 10. The Caribbians think it enough to express their joy by outcries over the bodies of the Arovagues and afterwards all along their Coasts as it were to insult over that hateful Country before they leave it But after they have sung in that strange Country some of their triumphal songs they make what haste they can to their Vessels to carry away the rest into the bosom of their native soil and the poor Arovagues they have taken they carry away chained to be dealt with as shall be seen in the next Chapter The end they propose to themselves in these Expeditions is not to become Masters of a new Country or to load themselves with the spoils of their Enemies but only the glory of subduing and triumphing over them and the pleasure of satiating their Revenge for the injuries they have received from them Next the Arovagues the greatest Enemies the Caribbians have are the English this enmity took its rise hence that the English having under the Flags of other Nations got divers of the Caribbians aboard their Ships where they had at first charmed them with kindness and little presents especially Aquavitae which they extremely love when they saw their Vessel full of these poor people who never dreamt of any such treachery weighed anchor and carried the Caribbians men women and children into their Plantations where they are still kept as slaves It is reported that they did the like in several of the Islands wherein they followed the example of the Spaniards Whence it comes that they still bear a grudge to the English and can hardly endure to hear their Language spoken Nay their dissatisfaction is so great that if a Frenchman as some of that Nation affirm chance to make use of some English expressions in his discourse he runs the hazard of their enmity Accordingly in their turns by the law of retaliation they have often made incursions into the Islands of Montserrat Antego and others which are in the hands of the English and after they had set some houses on fire and taken some Goods they carried away men women and children whom they brought to Dominico and St. Vincents but it was never heard that they did eat any of them it seems they reserve that cruelty for the Arovagues Nay before the Caribbians had any war with the Inhabitants or Martinico when the Parents or Friends of the English who had been carried away Prisoners of War by those Caribbians employed the mediation of the French they were easily enlarged and put into the hands of the French who gave the Caribbians in exchange for them some of those trifles which they highly value or haply an Iron wedge or some such necessary tool Nay upon the presenting them with some of those things they have delivered up some of the Arovagues appointed to be eaten They have at this present in the Island of St. Vineents some young Boys and Girls of the English Nation who being carried away very young have clearly forgot their Parents and would hardly return with them so well are they pleased with the humour of the Caribbians who for their part treat them as mildly as if they were of their own Nation they are now known only by the fairness and flaxenness of their Hair whereas the Caribbians are generally black-haired As for the Spaniards at the first discovery of America the Caribbians who were then possessed of all the Caribby-Islands were cruelly treated by them they persecuted them with fire and sword and pursued them even into the woods as wild beasts that they might carry them away Captives to work in the Mines Which kind of procedure forced this people which is valiant and generous to oppose the violence and to lay ambushes for their Enemies nay to assault them in their Ships which lay in their Roads which they boarded without any fear of fire-Arms making their way through Swords and Pikes In which attempts they were many times so fortunate that they became Masters of divers Ships richly loaden dispatching all that opposed them carrying away all the booty and then setting the Ships on fire True it is they pardoned the Negro-slaves they met with and having brought them ashore put them to work in their Habitations thence came the Negroes which which they have at present in St. Vincents and some other Islands The Spaniards being sensible of these losses and perceiving they had a stubborn Enemy to deal with and that when they had ruined that Nation they should not advantage themselves and considering further that the Islands they were possessed of lay convenient for their Ships in their long Voyages to take in refreshments of water wood and provisions if need were and to leave such as were sick in their Fleet they resolved to treat the Caribbians more kindly and thereupon having set some of them at liberty whom they had Captives and sent them back into their Country with presents they made use of them to treat concerning a peace with that People the conditions whereof being accepted by some of the Islands they set ashore therein some swine which they had brought out of Europe and afterwards they left there behind them the sick they had in their Ships and took them in again recovered at their return But the Caribbians of St. Vincents and those who lived at Dominico would not consent to that agreement but still persist in the aversion they had for the Spaniards and the desire they have to be revenged of them As to what concerns their defensive wars they have learned by their acquaintance with the Christians and the differences they have had with them upon several occasions to keep their ranks and to encamp in advantageous places and to make some kinds of fortifications in imitation of the others The French found i● so by experience some years since at the taking of Granada They imagined that the Caribbians would not have made any resistance but they found them in a defensive posture to prevent their landing and contest their possession of that place for besides the mischief they did them by an extraordinary shower of Arrows and the Barricadoes they placed in the avenues they courageously opposed their landing and laid several ambushes for them and when they saw that the French notwithstanding their resistance were resolved to come and forced them to make their retreat into the woods they rallied on an eminent place which they had fortified and whereas it was somewhat steepy on all sides save only one which had a spacious avenue they had cut down certain trees of the boals whereof they had made long Rollers which being lightly fastened at the top of the Mountain might be rolled down the descent with a more than ordinary force and violence against the French if they had attempted any assault Out of this Fort they also made several sallies upon the Enemy who was building one where they might safely expect the supply which was to be sent them from Martinico there they kept them in as it were besieged for certain days during which they had made hollow places in the earth to secure themselves from the Muskets and thence showing only their heads they shot their Arrows at those who had the confidence to come without the Trenches nay in the night time they made a shift to get a pot full of burning coals on which they had cast a handful of Pyman-seed into the Hut which the French had set up at their first arrival in the Island purposely to stifle them if they could by the dangerous fume and the stupifying vapour of the Pyman But their stratagem was discovered and some time after the expected supply being come to the French the Caribbians treated with them and left them the absolute possession of the Island but the differences they have since had with the French Inhabitants of Martinico have occasioned another War which lasts still CHAP. XXI Of the Treatment which the Caribbians make their Prisoners of War WE are now going to dip our Pen in Blood and to draw a Picture which must raise horror in the beholder in this there must appear nothing but Inhumanity Barbarism and Rage We shall find rational Creatures cruelly devouring those of the same species with them and filling themselves with their Flesh and Blood after they had cast off Humane Nature and put on that of the most bloody and furious Beasts A thing which the Pagan's themselves in the midst of their darkness heretofore thought so full of execration that they imagined the Sun withdrew himself because he would not show his light at such Repasts When the Cannibals or Anthropophagis that is Eaters of Men for here it is that we are properly to call them by that Name which is common to them with that of the Caribbians when I say they bring home Prisoner of War from among the Arovagues he belongs of right to him who either seized on him in the Fight or took him running away so that being come into his Island he keeps him in his house and that he may not get away in the night he ties him in an Amac which he hangs up almost at the roof of his dwelling and after he has kept him fasting four or five days he produces him upon some day of solemn debauch to serve for a public Victim to the immortal hatred of his Countrymen towards that Nation If there be any of their Enemies dead upon the place they there eat them ere they leave it They design for slavery only the young Maids and Women taken in the War They do not eat the Children of their She-prisoners much less the Children they have by them themselves They have heretofore tasted of all the Nations that frequented them and affirm That the French are the most delicate and the Spaniards of hardest digestion but now they do not feed on any Christians at all They abstain also from several cruelties which they were wont to use before they killed their Enemies for whereas at present they think it enough to dispatch them at a blow or two with the Club and afterwards cut them into pieces and having broiled them to devour them they heretofore put them to several torments before they gave them the mortal blow We shall not think it besides our purpose to set down in this place some of the inhumanities' which they exercised upon these sad occasions as they themselves have given an account thereof to those have had the curiosity to inform themselves from their own mouths The Prisoner of War who had been so unfortunate as to fall into their hands and was not ignorant that he was designed to receive the most cruel treatment which rage could suggest armed himself with constancy and to express how generous a people the Arovagues were marched very cheerfully to the place of execution not being either bound or dragged thereto and presented himself with a smiling and steady countenance in the midst of the Assembly which he knew desired nothing so much as his death As soon as he perceived those people who expressed so great joy at the approach of him who was to be the mess of their abominable Entertainment not expecting their discourses and their bitter abuses he prevented them in these terms I know well enough upon what account you have brought me to this place I doubt not but you are desirous to fill yourselves with my blood and that you are impatient to exercise your teeth upon my body but you have not so much reason to triumph to see me in this condition nor I much to be troubled thereat My Countrymen have put your Predecessors to greater miseries than you are now able to invent against me and I have done my part with them in mangling massacring and devouring your people your friends and your fathers besides that I have Relations who will not fail to revenge my quarrel with advantage upon you and upon your Children for the most inhuman treatment you intent against me What torments soever the most ingenious cruelty can dictate to you for the taking away of my life is nothing in comparison of those which my generous Nation prepares for you in exchange therefore delay not the utmost of your cruelty any longer and assure yourselves I both slight and laugh at it Somewhat of this nature is that brave and bloody Bravado which may be read of a Brasilian Prisoner ready to be Montagn ' s Essays l. 1. c. 30. devoured by his Enemies Come on boldly said be to them and feast yourselves upon me for at the same time you will feed on your Fathers and Grandfathers who served for nourishment to my Body These Muscles this Flesh and these Veins are yours blind Fools as you are you do not observe that the substance of the Members of your Ancestors are yet to be seen in them taste them well and you will find the taste of your own Flesh But let us return to our Arovagues His soul was not only in his lips but showed itself also in the effects which followed that Bravado for after the Company had a while endured his menaces and arrogant defiances without touching him one among them came and burnt his sides with a flaming brand another cut good deep pieces out of him and would have made them bigger had it not been for the bones in several parts of the body Then they cast into his smarting wounds that sharp kind of Spice which the Caribbians call Pyman Others diverted themselves in shooting Arrows at the poor Patient and every one took a pleasure in tormenting him but he suffered with the same countenance and expressed not the least sentiment of pain After they had made sport thus a long time with the poor wretch at last growing weary of insulting and outbraved by his constancy which seemed still the same one of them came and at one blow dispatched him with his Club. This is the Treatment which the Caribbians made heretofore to their Prisoners of War but now they think it enough to put them to a speedy death as we have already represented As soon as this unfortunate person is thus laid dead upon the place the young men take the body and having washed it cut it in pieces and then boil some part and broil some upon wooden Frames made for that purpose like Gridirons When this detestable Dish is ready and seasoned according to their palates they divide it into so many parts as there are persons present and joyfully devour it thinking that the World cannot afford any other repast equally delicious The Women lick the very sticks on which the fat of the Arovague dropped which proceeds not so much from the deliciousness they find in that kind of sustenance and that fat as from the excessive pleasure they conceive in being revenged in that manner of their chiefest Enemies But as they would be extremely troubled that the enraged hatred they bear the Arovagues should ever end so do they make it their main endeavour to foment and heighten it thence it comes that while this poor Carcase is a dressing they carefully gather and save all the fat that comes from it not to put into Medicines as Surgeons sometimes do or to make wildfire of it to set their Enemy's houses on fire as the Tartars do but they gather together that fat to be afterwards distributed among the chiefest of them who carefully keep it in little Gourds to pour some few drops thereof into their Sauces at their solemn Entertainments so to perpetuate as much as lies in their power the motive of their Revenge I must needs acknowledge the Sun would have more reason to withdraw himself from these Barbarians than to be present at such detestable Solemnities but it would be requisite that he withdrew himself at the same time from most of the Countries of America nay from some parts of afric and Asia where the like and worse cruelties are daily exercised For instance the Tapinambous make in a manner the same treatment to their prisoners as the Caribbians do to theirs but they add thereto divers expressions of barbarism which are not to be seen in the Caribbies They rub the bodies of their Children with the De Lery c. 15. Ch. 8. blood of those miserable Victims to animate them to future Cruelties He who had been the Executioner of the Captive caused himself to be mangled and flashed and cut in several parts of the body as a Trophy of Valour and a mark of Glory And what is yet superlatively strange is That those Barbarians bestowing their Daughters for Wives on those Enemies as soon as they fall into their hands when they come to cut them in pieces the Wife herself eats first if it be possible of the flesh of her Husband and if it happen that she hath any Children by him they are served in the like manner killed roasted and eaten sometimes as soon as they come into the World The like Barbarism hath sometimes been observed in Garcilas' l. 1. c. 12. several Provinces of Peru. Divers other barbarous Nations do also exceed the Caribbians in their inhumanity but above all the Inhabitants of the Country of Antis are more cruel than Tigers If it happens Ibid. that by right of War or otherwise they make a Prisoner and that they know him to be a person of small account they immediately quarter him and bestow the Members on their Friends or Servants that they may eat them if they please or sell them in the Shambles but if he be a person of quality the chiefest among them meet together with their Wives and Children to be present at his death Then these unmerciful people having stripped him fasten him stark naked to a post and cut and slash him all over the body with a sort of Knives and Rasours made of a certain Stone such as may be Flint In this cruel Execution they do not presently dismember him but they only take the flesh from the parts which have most as the calf of the Leg the Thighs the Buttoeks and the Arms that done they all pellmell Men Women and Children die themselves with the blood of that wretched person and not staying for the roasting or boiling of the Flesh they had taken away they devour it like so many Cormorants or rather swallow it down without any chewing Thus the wretch sees himself eaten alive and buried in the bellies of his Enemies The Women adding yet somewhat to the cruelty of the Men though excessively barbarous and inhuman rub the ends of their Breasts with the blood of the Patient that so their Children may suck it in with their Milk And if these inhuman Executioners have observed that amidst all the torments they put the miserable deceased person to he expressed the least sense of pain either in his countenance or other parts of his body or that he so much as groaned or sighed than they break his bones after they have eaten the flesh about them and cast them into some nasty place or into a River with an extreme contempt Thus also do several other Nations cruelly insult over the wretched remainders of their murdered Enemies and exercise their inhuman revenge and barbarous animosity on that which hath no feeling thereof Thus some Inhabitants of Florida to satiate their brutality hang up in their houses and carry about De Laet. hist of America them the skins and hair of their Enemies the Uirginians wear about their necks a dried hand some Savages of New-Spain hang about some part of their bodies after the manner of a Medal a piece of their flesh whom they had massacred The Somedo hist. of China p. 1. c. 2. Lords of the Island by the French called Belle-Iste near China wear a Crown made up of Deaths-heads hideously disposed and interlaced with silk strings The Chineses make drinking-cups of the Spaniards skulls whom they have killed as heretofore the Scythians were wont to do with their Enemies as Herodotus Lib. 4. affirms The Canadians and the Mexicans dance on their Festival days wearing about them the skins of those whom they had fleyed and eaten The Huancas an ancient Nation of Peru Garcil l. 6. c. 10. made Drums of such skins affirming that when they were beaten they had a secret virtue to make those who fought against them to run away From all this Discourse it may be deduced to what degree of rage and fury Hatred and the desire of Revenge may ascend And in these Examples there are are many circumstances more bloody and some more detestable discoveries of cruelty and barbarism than there are in the treatment which our Cannibals make to their Prisoners of War the Arovagues But to make this treatment appear the less horrid it were easy to bring on the Stage divers Nations who besides that furious animosity and that unquenchable thirst of Revenge do further discover a barbarous and insatiable gluttony and an absolutely brutish passion of feeding on Man's flesh And in the first place whereas our Cannibals ordinarily feed only upon the Arovagues their irreconcilable Enemies sparing the Prisoners they take of any other Nation some Floridians' who live near the Straight of Bahama cruelly devour all the Strangers they can get into their hands what Nation soever they be of so that if any people land in their Country and that they chance to be the stronger party they must infallibly expect to be their next days Commons They think Man's flesh extremely delicate from what part soever of the Body it be taken but they affirm that the sole of the foot is the most delicious bit of any thence it comes that the said part is ordinarily served up to their Carlin who is their Lord whereas anciently the Tartars cut off the breasts of young Maids and reserved Bergeron's Treatise of the Tartars them for their chief Commanders whose ordinary food they were To these Barbarians we may add those of the Province of Hascala and of the Region of the City of Darien in Garcil the Laet & Linscot New-Spain who did eat not only the flesh of their Enemies but also that of their own Countrymen And Historians affirm that the Yncas Kings of Peru subdued divers Provinces Garcilas' Com. Royal. the Inhabitants whereof thought no Law so rigorous and insupportable among all those which the said victorious Princes imposed on them as those which prohibited the eating of man's flesh so much were they addicted to that execrable diet for not staying till he whom they had mortally wounded had given up the ghost they drunk off the blood which issued out of his wound and they did the like when they cut him up into quarters greedily sucking it lest a drop should be lost They Garcil l. 7. c. 17. Roulox Baro & Rubriques in their Travels Vin. le Blanc p. 1. c. 15. & 25. had public Shambles for the selling of man's flesh whereof they took pieces and mined them very small and of the entrails they made puddings and saucages And particularly the Cheriganes or Chirrhuanes a people inhabiting the Mountains had so strange and so insatiable an appetite to man's flesh that they gluttonously eat it raw not sparing their nearest Relations when they died The same thing is at this day affirmed of the Tapuyes a certain other oriental Nation and Herodotus assures Lib. 3. us of such a thing in his time nay it is averred that the people Vin. le Blanc p. 1. c. 24. of Java are so barbarous and so great lovers of that abominable nourishment that to satisfy their damnable appetite they deprive their Parents of their lives and toss the pieces of their flesh one to another like balls to see who shall have most of them The Amures a people of Brasil are yet more inhuman and detestable so that we need not feign Saturn's devouring De Laets History of America their own children for if we may credit Historians these Barbarians eat in effect their own Children member after member and sometimes opening the wombs of great bellied women they take out the fruit thereof which they immediately devour longing so strangely after the flesh of their own species that they go a hunting of men as they do beasts and having taken them they tear them in pieces and devour them after a cruel and unmerciful manner By these examples it is sufficiently apparent that our Cannibals are not so much Cannibals that is Eaters of men though they have the name particularly attributed to them as many other savage Nations and it were an easy matter to find yet elsewhere certain discoveries of Barbarism answerable to that of our Caribbian Cannibals nay such as far exceeds theirs But we have done enough let us draw the Curtains on these horrors and leaving the Cannibals of all other Nations return to those of the Caribbies to divert our eyes wearied with beholding so many inhumanities' and bloody Tragedies by a prospect of their Marriages CHAP. XXII Of the Marriages of the Caribbians THere are in America some Savages so savage and so brutish that they know not what Marriage is but go indifferently together like beasts This among others is affirmed of the ancient Peruvians and the Inhabitants of the Garcil l. 1. c. 14. & 15. & l. 7. c. 17. Islands of Robbers But the Caribbians with all their barbarism subject themselves to the Laws of this strict Alliance They have no set time of the Year appointed for their Marriages as the Persians who ordinarily marry in the Spring Strab. l. 11. nor yet are they obliged to do it at any certain age as several other Savages whereof some marry commonly at a In the East-Indies nine years others at b At Madagascar twelve some at c The Peruvians four and twenty and others only at d The Floridians' forty Nor is it the custom among the Caribbians as in a manner among all other Nations that the young Men should ordinarily make choice of the Maids according to their own minds and inclinations nor on the other side do the young Maids make choice of their Husbands as those of the Province of Nicaragua do at their public Feasts and Assemblies and as it was done heretofore in Candia as Historians affirm But when our Savages are desirous to marry they have a privilege to take all their Cousin-germen and have no more to say then that they take them to their Wives for they are naturally reserved for them and they may carry them to their houses without any other ceremony and then they are accounted their lawful Wives They may all take as many Wives as they please especially the Captain's pride it much in having a great number of them They build a particular Hut for every Wife They continue what time they please with her whom they fancy most yet so as that the others conceive no jealousy thereat She whom they most honour with their company waits on them with the greatest care and submission imaginable she prepares Cassava for them paints them and goes along with them in all their Expeditions Their Husbands love them all very well but this love is like a fire of straw since that many times they forsake them with as much ease as they take them yet are they seldom seen to leave their first Wives especially if they have had children by them If there chance to be among the She-prisoners of War any that they like they make them their Wives but though the children born of them are free yet are the Mothers for their parts still accounted Slaves All the Wives speak with whom they please but the Husband dares not discourse with the Relations of his Wife but upon extraordinary occasions When it happens that any one among them hath no Cousin-germen or that having stayed too long ere they took them to Wives their friends have disposed of them to others they may now marry such as are not of any kin to them but it is requisite that they demand them of their Fathers and Mothers and as soon as the Father or Mother hath granted their request they are their Wives and they carry them to their own habitations Before they had altered some part of their ancient Customs by reason of the converse they have had with the Christians they took none for their lawful Wives but their Cousins who were theirs by natural right as we said before or such young Maids as their Fathers and Mothers willingly proffered them at their return from the Wars This ancient Custom of theirs hath many particular circumstances worthy our remark and therefore we shall give an account of it at large as we have it from the most ancient of that Nation who have related it to show the great changes which have crept into their Manners and Customs since they became acquainted with foreign Nations When the Caribbians returned with success from their Wars and that there was a solemn reception made for them in their Islands and a great entertainment at their Carbet after that Solemnity which is still in use among them the Captain gave an account of the success of their Expedition and commended the generosity and gallantry of those who had behaved themselves valiantly But his main design was to recommend the valour of the young men the better to animate them to make future expressions of the same courage upon the like occasions It was ordinarily at the end of that discourse that Fathers of families who had Daughters marriageable took occasion to present them for Wives to those among the young men whose performances they had heard so much celebrated and whose courage and undauntedness in fight had been so highly commended There was an emulation among them who should get such for their Sons-in-law And he who had killed most Enemies had much ado that day to scape with one Wife so many would there be proffered to him But Cowards and persons of no worth met with no courtship to that purpose so that to be married among them there was a necessity of being courageous for a Wife in that Nation then was the reward of generosity Thus among the Brasilians the young men were not admitted to marry till they had killed some Enemy And in a Vin. le Blan. p. 1. c. 30. City of Grand-Tartary called Palimbrota those of highest quality could have no Wives till they had brought proof that they had killed three Enemies of their Prince It is reported also Alex. ab Alexandro l. 1. c. 24. that heretofore in Carmania if any one were desirous to marry it was requisite that he brought the King the head of an Enemy The same Custom in a manner was observed among a certain people near the Caspian Sea And who knows not that King Saul demanded of David the lives of an hundred Philistines for the dower of his Daughter before he gave her him in Marriage But happy did that Father think himself among our Caribbians who could first approach and seize about the body of some one of those valorous Sons-in-Law whom the Captain had commended for there was nothing to be expected for that time by him that came next and the marriage was concluded as soon as the other had said to the Youngman I bestow my Daughter on thee for thy Wife the like expression from a Mother was as effectual And the Youngman durst not refuse the Daughter when she was thus presented to him but it was requisite that whether she were handsome or unhandsome he took her to Wife Thus the Caribbians married not after previous courtships and Love-suits And if the young Caribbians after they were married continued the same gallantry in ensuing Wars they had accordingly other Wives bestowed on them at their return this Polygamy is still in use among them and it is indeed common among other Barbarians The Chileses' Inhabitants of the Island De Laets History of Mocha make no more ado but as often as they are desirous to have a new Wife they buy one for an Ox a Sheep or some other Commodity And there are some places where the number of Wives belonging to the same Husband is prodigious as in the Kingdom of Bennin the King whereof hath sometimes The Dutch Relations seven hundred Wives and Concubines and where the ordinary subjects as well as those of Mexico have each of them about a hundred or a hundred and fifty Wives On the other side there are some places where every Wife in like manner is permitted to have many husbands as among the Pelhuares a Nation of Brasil in the Kingdom of Calcutta and heretofore in some of the Canaries The Youngmen among the Caribbians do not to this day converse with either Maids or Women till they are married wherein certainly they are at a great distance from the humour De Laet Pirard p. 1. c. 27. Conquest of the Canaries by Berencourt Vin. le Blanc p. 1. c. 3. of the Peguans who are so passionately amorous that to make it appear that the violence of the secret fire which consumes them extinguishes in them the sentiment of all other ardours they sear their own arms in the presence of their Mistresses with a flaming Torch or suffer to die and be spent upon their flesh a piece of linen cloth all of a flame and dipped in Oil And to show that being wounded to death by Love all other wounds must needs be slight they cut and slash their bodies with Poniards The Turks do somewhat of the same kind as Villamont affirms for upon the like occasions Lib 3. they give themselves several cuts and great wounds with their knives in divers parts of their bodies The number of Wives among the Caribbians is not limited Pirard p. 1. c. 12. as it is among the Maldiveses where a man may have but three at the same time But as that number was heretofore proportioned to their courage and valour for as often as they returned from the wars with the commendation of gallant men they might pretend to & hope for a new Wife so at the present they have as many as they desire and can obtain so that among them as well as among the Topinambous he who hath most Wives De Lery c. 17. is accounted most valiant and the most considerable person in the whole Island And whereas in the Island of Hispaniola all History of Lopez the wives lay in the same Room with their Husbands the Caribbians as we said before to prevent all differences and jealousies keep their wives as the Turks and Tartars do theirs in distinct Habitations nay sometimes they dispose them into several Islands Or haply another reason of their ordering such a distance between the several abodes of their wives is that they may the more conveniently apply themselves to the culture of their Gardens which lie scattered up and down in divers places and it is upon the same account that some affirm the Caribbians of the Continent do the like their wives having this commendation that they are not troubled with jealousy Our Savages of the Islands if they have no more wives than one are very careful not to be far from them and if they have many they visit them by turns one after another But in this they observe the same Custom with the Floridians' that they meddle not with those who are with child It is somewhat to be wondered at that Lycurgus and Solon Plut. in their Lives those Lights of Greece should show themselves so blind and withal so dishonest as to open a gap for Adultery to get in among their Citizens for there is hardly any Nation so Barbarous and Savage but hath of itself light enough to read this Law drawn by the hand of nature that Adultery is a crime and that a certain horror ought to be had for it nay there is not any but expresses a certain detestation of it and severely punishes it The punishment of Adultery is pleasant enough among the Inhabitants of Guinny for the Wife if she hath a Dutch Relations mind to continue still with her Husband pays him by way of satisfaction some ounces of Gold But there is no jesting with those of Bengala and the Mexicans who cut off their wife's noses Linscot c. 16. and ears in that case Divers other barbarous Nations punish V. le Blanc p. 1. c. 32. this crime with death nay the Peguans are so severe upon these occasions and have so great a horror for this breach of conjugal love that both men and women who are found guilty thereof are buried alive Nor are the Caribbians the most indulgent and the least jealous of their honour in this case heretofore they knew not how to punish this Crime because it reigned not among them before their commerce with the Christians but now if the Husband surprises his Wife prostituting herself to some other or have otherwise any certain knowledge of it he does himself justice and seldom pardons her but dispatches her sometimes with his Club sometimes by ripping up the upper part downwards with a Razor or the tooth of an Agouty which is near as sharp This execution being done the Husband goes to his Father-in-law and tells him in cold blood I have killed thy Daughter because she proved unfaithful to me The Father thinks the action so just that he is so far from being angry with him that he commends him and conceives himself obliged Thou hast done well replies he she deserved no less And if he hath any more Daughters to dispose of he immediately proffers him one of them and promises to bestow her on him at the first opportunity The Father marries not his own Daughter as some have affirmed they abhor that crime and if there have been any incestuous Fathers among them they were forced to absent themselves for had they been taken by the rest they would have burnt them alive or torn them into a thousand pieces CHAP. XXIII Of the birth and education of Children among the Caribbians THere is hardly any Custom among these poor Indians so brutish as that which they use at the birth of their children their wives are delivered with little pain and if they feel any difficulty their recourse is to the root of a certain Rush out of which they get the juice and having drunk it they are immediately delivered Sometimes the very day of their delivery they go and wash themselves and the child at the next River or Spring and fall about their ordinary business The Peruvian the Japonnese and the Brasilian women Garcil Lincot & De Laet. do the like and it was ordinary among the Indians of Hispaniola and the ancient Lacedæmonians to wash their children in cold water immediately after their birth to harden their skins The Maldiveses wash theirs so for several days together and Pirard it is affirmed by some that the Cimbri were heretofore wont to put those little newly-born creatures into snow to accustom them to cold and hardship and to strengthen their members They make no feast at the birth of their Children save only at that of the firstborn and they observe no set time for that but every man according to his humour But when they assemble their friends to rejoice with them upon the birth of their firstborn they spare nothing that may contribute to the entertainment and merry-making of the invited whereas heretofore the Thracians accompanied with their tears the cries Herod l. 5. of those who came into the world reflecting on the miseries they were to suffer in this life But behold the brutality of our Savages in their enjoyments for the augmentation of their Family Assoon as the Wife is delivered the Husband goes to bed to bemoan himself there and act the part of the woman in that condition a custom which though savage and ridiculous is yet used as some affirm among the Peasants of a certain Province of France where they have this particular phrase for it fair la couvade But what is most troublesome to the poor Caribbian who hath put himself into bed instead of his newly-delivered Wife is that they oblige him to a certain diet for ten or twelve days together allowing him every day only a little piece of Cassava and a little water wherein there had been boiled a little of that root-bread afterwards his allowance is a little increased yet still continued in that same diet but he breaks the Cassava which is presented to him only in the middle for the space of about forty days leaving the extremities entire which he hangs up in his Hut to serve at the entertainment he afterwards intends to make for all his friends nay after all this he abstains sometimes for the space of ten months or a whole year from several kinds of meat as Lamantin Tortoises Swines-flesh hens Fish and delicious things being so pitifully simple as to fear that those things might prejudice the child but this great abstinence they observe only at the birth of their firstborn for at those of the rest their fasts are much less rigorous and shorter not lasting ordinarily above four or five days Among the Japonnese and the Brasilians the Husbands are De Laet & Maffaeus also subject to the same extravagance of personating the women delivered but they are not such fools as to fast in their beds on the contrary they are deliciously and plentifully treated with all things Some affirm that heretofore the same thing was observable among the Tibarians a people not far Alex. ab Alexandro Fran. Cauche from Cappadoeia and some others But the natural Inhabitants of Madagasear imitate this fast of the Caribbians when they would have their children circumcised Some of our Caribbians are yet guilty of another extravagance worst of all for the poor Father who hath a child born for at the expiration of his fast his shoulders are scarified and opened with the Tooth of an Agouty and it is requisite that the besotted wretch should not only suffer himself to be so ordered but he must also endure it without expressing the least sentiment of pain Their persuasion is that the more apparent the Father's patience shall be in these trials the more recommendable shall be the valour of his Son but this noble blood must not be suffered to fall to the ground since the effusion thereof contributes so much to future courage it is therefore carefully saved to rub the child's face withal out of an imagination he will be the more generous This is also done in some parts towards the Daughters for though they are not to be in their military engagements as the Amazons heretofore were yet do they go to the Wars with their Husbands to provide Victuals for them and look to their Vessels while they are engaged with the Enemy As●oon as the Children are born the Mothers make their foreheads flat and press them so that there is a descent backwards for besides that that form of the forehead is accounted one of the principal pieces of beauty among them they affirm that it facilitates their shooting up to the top of a tree standing at the foot of it wherein they are extremely expert as being brought up to it from their childhood They do not swath their children at all but leave them at liberty to turn themselves which way they will in their little Amacs or Beds of Cotton or upon little Couches of Bananaleaves laid on the ground in some corner of their Huts and yet their limbs are not any way distorted but the whole body is perfectly well-shaped Those who have lived among the Pirard ●a● 1 De Lery c. 17. Maldiveses and the Topinambous affirm the same thing of the children of those people though they never bind them up in any thing no more than the Caribbians are The Lacedæmonians Pl●t in the Life of Lycurgus heretofore did the like They do not impose Names on their children as soon as they are born but after twelve or fifteen days and then they call a Man and a Woman who stand as it were for Godfather and Godmother and make holes in the child's ears the under-lip and the space between the nostrils and put a thread through that there may be places to hang Pendants But if they conceive the children too weak to endure the boring of those parts they defer that ceremony till they are grown stronger Most of the Names the Caribbians give their children are derived from their Ancestors or from divers Trees which grow in their Islands or else from some accident that happened to the Father while his Wife was with child or during the time of his own lying in Thus ones Daughter in the Island of Dominico was called Ouliem-banna that is to say The leaf of the wild ●ine which is a Tree whereof we have given a description in its proper place Another of the same Island having been at S. Christopher's whilst his Wife was with child and having there seen the ●r●n●h General named the child he had at his return General upon remembrance of the kind entertainment he had received at the General 's Something of this kind is also observed among other Nations For instance the Canadians borrow Names from Fishes Lescarbot and Rivers The Virginians and Brasilians take theirs from the first thing they think of as from Bows Arrows living Creatures Trees Plants The Grand Seignors of Turkey are wont to give to the Eunuches who keep their Wives the Names of the fairest Flowers to the end that those Women calling them by the same Names there should proceed nothing out of their mouths but what were decent and delightful The Romans as may be seen in Plutarch sometimes took their Names from Fishes sometimes from their Country-divertisements sometimes from the marks and imperfections of their bodies and sometimes from their most Heroic Actions in imitation of the Greeks Nay the Holy Scriptures furnish us with abundance of examples of Names taken from divers accidents as among others those of Benoni Pharez Icabod and the like The Names which the Caribbians impose on their male children some time after their birth are not to be continued while they live for they change their Names when they come to the age requisite to be received into the number of Soldiers and when they have behaved themselves valiantly in the Wars and have killed one of the chief Commanders of the Arovagues they assume his Name as a mark of Honour Which Custom relates somewhat to what was practised among the Romans after their Victories when they assumed to themselves the Names of the Nations whom they had subdued as may be instanced in Scipio Africanus and divers others whom we need not cite These victorious Caribbians have also in their Wines or public rejoicing days some particular person chosen to give them a new Name to whom they say after they have taken a sufficient dose of drink Yeticlée y atec that is I would be named name me whose desire the other presently satisfies and in requital he receives some Present such as may be a knife or a grain of Crystal or some other trifle much esteemed among them The Caribbian Women suckle their own children and are very good Nurses and indulgent Mothers having all the care imaginable to bring them up nay when their neighbours are gone to the wars they look to their Children All the Peruvian Garcil & Lescarbot and the Canadian women and most of the West-Indians are also their own Nurses And in the East-Indies in the Kingdom of Transiana and the Maldivos the women of what quality Le Blanc & Pirard soever they be of are obliged to suckle their own Children And Tacitus affirms that all Mothers nursed their own Children De Mor German among the ancient Germans Nay it is reported that heretofore the Queens of Peru took the pains to bring up their own children And we have the examples of some Queens of Bergeron jam his Treatife of Navigations Era●ce who have not thought those maternal endeavours below them a Custom much contrary to that of those Canarian Women who commonly caused their Children to be suckled by Goats The same thing was also done by some Country-women of ●●●●●ne in Montaigne's time Essays l. 2. c. 3. The Mothers of our little Garibbians do not only give the breast to their Children but assoon as they are grown a little strong they chew the Potatoes Bananas and other fruits to feed them withal And though they suffer the little ones to tumble up and down stark naked ●pon the ground and that many they eat and lick the dust and other filth which they are apt to put into their mouths yet do they thrive extremely and for the most part become so strong that at six months they are able to go alone At two years of age their hair is cut and then there is a Feast made for the whole Family some Parents defer till that time the piercing or boring of their ears lips and the space between the nostrils yet is not this much in use but only when the weakness of the child will not permit it to be done sooner When they are a little more advanced in years the Boys eat with their Fathers and the Girls with their Mothers Fathers-in-Law and all Relations which are in the collateral line with their true Fathers they call by the general name of Fathers Though the Children of the Caribbians are not instructed to do any reverence to their Parents nor to express the respect and honour they owe them by any gestures of the body yet have they a natural affection for them and if any injury be done them they immediately espouse their quarrel and endeavour all the ways they can to be revenged For instance a Frenchman of Gardeloupe having cut the cords of the Amac wherein an old Caribbian lay by which means falling down he bruised himself and put his shoulder out of joint the old man's Son-in-Law immedately got together some young men who making an incursion into the Island of Marigalanta maslacred the French who were then beginning to plant themselves there But the main business which the Caribbians mind in the education of their Children is to teach them the use of the Bow And to bring them the better on assoon as they are able to go the Parents put their Breakfast on the branch of a tree whence they must strike it down with their Arrows before they eat if they cannot there is no compassion As the Children grow up their portion of meat is hung up higher Sometimes also they cut off a Banana-tree and plant it in the ground as a But to teach their Children to shoot at the Fruit by this means in process of time they come to be expert in that exercise Ancient Histories tell us of other people who not differing much from this Custom of the Caribbians obliged their Children to sling down their meat from the place where they set it They commonly design all their Sons to bear Arms and to revenge them of their Enemies in imitation of their Predecessors But before they are ranked among those who may go to the wars they are to be declared Soldiers in the presence of all their kindred and friends who are invited to be present at so solemn a Ceremony The manner of it is thus The Father who had before got all his Friends together causes his Son to sit on a low stool which is placed in the midst of the Hut or in the Carbet and after he hath represented to him the whole duty of a generous Caribbian Soldier and made him promise that he will never do any thing which may derogate from the glory of his Predecessors and that he will to the utmost of his power revenge the ancient quarrel of his Nation he takes by the feet a certain Bird of prey which they call Mansfennis in their language and which had been prepared long before for that purpose and with that he discharges several blows on his Son till such time as the bird is killed and the head of it crushed to pieces After this rough treatment which puts the young man as it were into a maze he scarifies his whole body with the tooth of an Agouty and to cure the wounds he hath made he puts the dead bird into an infusion of Pyman-seeds and he rubs all the wounded parts therewith which causes an extraordinary pain to the poor Patient but it is requisite he should suffer all this with a cheerful countenance without the least discovery of pain Then they make him eat the heart of the bird and to close the Ceremony he is laid into a kind of Amac where he is to continue stretched out to his full length till his strength be in a manner spent by reason of much fasting That done he is acknowledged by all to be a Soldier he is admitted into the Assemblies of the Carbet and may go along with the rest in all their military Expeditions which they undertake against their Enemies Besides the exercises of war which are common to all the young Caribbians who would live in any esteem among the Bravoes of their Nation their Fathers do many times design them to be Boyez that is Magicians and Physicians To that end they send them to some one of the best skilled in that damnable profession that is one who hath the reputation of invocating the evil Spirits instructing people how to be revenged of their enemies by sorceries and in curing divers diseases whereto those of that Nation are subject But it is requisite that the young man who is presented to the Boyez to be instructed in his Art should be consecrated thereto from his childhood by abstinence from several kinds of meat by rigorous Fasts and that to begin his apprenticeship there is blood drawn from all parts of his body with the tooth of an Agouty after the fame manner as those are to be treated who are received Soldiers The Caribbians do also teach their Children to fish swim make Baskets Clubs Bows Arrows Girdles Beds of Cotton and Pyragas But to have any care of cultivating their minds and instructing them in any thing of civility or virtue is more than could be expected from those poor Savages who have no other light than their own blinded understanding nor follow any other rule in all the actions of their lives than the sad disorder of vicious and corrupt nature CHAP. XXIV Of the ordinary Age of the Caribbians their Diseases the Remedies used by them in order to the Recovery of their Health their Death and Funeral Solemnities THe Caribbians being naturally of a very good temperament and endeavouring all they can to avoid trouble and disquiet and consequently to spend their lives with the greatest enjoyment of mind it is no wonder considering withal their ordinary temperance and sobriety that they should be free from an infinite number of inconveniences and indispositions whereto other Nations are subject and that they should come to their graves later than most other people The good air they live in does also in some measure contribute to their health and long life If therefore they do not die of violent deaths they all of them live to a very great age nay they are so vigorous in the extremities of age that at fourscore and ten they commonly get children There are many among them who being above a hundred years of age have not so much as a grey hair De Lery an Author worthy credit affirms that he seldom saw any grey hairs in the heads of the Tapinambous of the same age Ch. 8. Other Historians affirm that the wives of those Savages bear Children till they are fourscore years of age And De Laets Hist of America some French took notice of a Savage in the Country of Canada who had a better sight than any of them and the hair of the head absolutely black though he were above a hundred Lescarbot years of age The Caribbians live ordinarily a hundred and fifty years and sometimes longer For though they cannot number their years yet is the number thereof deduced from the account they give of certain accidents And among others there were not long since living among them some persons who remembered the first arrival of the Spaniards in America Whence it is to be concluded that they must be a hundred and sixty years of age at the least And indeed these are such a people as may pass for the shadow of a body and have nothing but the heart living being continually bedrid  and reduced to pure skeletons yet are they still observed to be in health And it is sufficiently apparent that their tongues are living as well as their hearts and that their Reason is not expired for they do not only speak with much ease but also their memory and judgement are not chargeable with any defect Nor is it much to be admired that the Caribbians should live so long since both ancient and modern Histories furnish us with Dutch Relations p. 1. c. 24. Lescarbot examples enough to confirm this truth and among others the Dutch who have traded to the Moluccoes affirm that in that Country the Inhabitants live ordinarily a hundred and thirty years Vincent le Blanc affirms that in Sumatra Java and the Part 1. c. 34. & p. 1. c. 26. neighbouring Islands they live to a hundred and forty as they do also among the Canadians and that in the Kingdom of Bergeron Lescarbot De Laet. they hold out to a hundred and fifty Pirard and some oath Casubyrs assure us that the Brasilians live no less nay that sometimes they exceed a hundred and sixty And in Florida and Jucatan some have gone beyond that age Nay it is reported that the French at the time of Laudoniere's voyage into Florida in the year MDLXIV saw there an old man who said he was three hundred years of age and Father of five Generations And if we may credit Maffaeus an Inhabitant of Bengala in the year 1557. made it his boast that he was three hundred thirty five years of age So that all this considered it is no incredible thing that our Caribbians should live so long Aselepiades as Plutarch relates was of opinion that generally Plac. Phil. l. 5. c. 30. the Inhabitants of cold Countries lived longer than those of hot giving this reason that the cold keeps in the natural heat and closes the pores to that end whereas that heat is easily dispersed in those Climates where the pores are kept open by the heat of the Sun But experience in the Caribbians and so many other Nations of the Torrid Zone who ordinarily live so long while our Europaeans commonly die young destroys that argument When it happens that our Caribbians as sometimes it must are troubled with any indisposition they have the knowledge of abundance of Herbs Fruits Roots Oils and Gums by the assistance whereof they recover their health in a short time if the disease be not incurable They have also an infallible secret to cure the stinging of Snakes provided they have not touched a vein for then there is no remedy This is the juice of a certain Herb which they apply to the wound and in four and twenty hours they are infallibly cured The bad nourishment of Crabs and other infects on which they commonly feed is the cause that they are most of them subject to a troublesome disease which in their language they call Pyans as the French call it a kind of small Pox When those who are fallen into this disease eat of the Fram-Tortoise or of Lamantin or of Caret which is another kind of Tortoise they are immediately full of little risings inasmuch as these meats force the disease out they have also many times great Impostumes Corns and Carbuncles in divers parts of the body To cure those which proceed for the most part from the bad nourishment they use they have the bark of a tree called Chipiou bitter as soot which they steep in water and having scraped into that infusion the inner part of a great shell called Lambys they drink up that potion They also sometimes pound the bark newly taken from certain trees of Miby or other Withyes which creep along the ground or fasten on trees and drink the juice gotten from it but they do not willingly make use of this remedy but when the trees are most full of sap Besides these Medicines wherewith they purge the ill humours within they also apply outwardly certain unguents and liniments which have a particular virtue of taking away the blisters and marks which commonly remain on their bodies who have been troubled with the Pyans They make up these Remedies with the ashes of  Reeds mixed with the water which they get out of the leaves at the top of the Balisier-tree They also use to the same end the juice of the Junipae fruit and they apply on the botches the husks of the same fruit which hath the virtue of drawing away the matter of the wounds and to close up the Ulcers They have not the use of Phlebotomy but they use scarifications upon the place affected by scratching or opening it with the Tooth of an Agouty and causing it to bleed a little And to take off somewhat of the astonishment which might be conceived at what we have represented elsewhere concerning the incisions which these Barbarians make on themselves upon divers occasions whereby it might be imagined their bodies should be as it were mangled and covered with scars it is to be noted that they have also certain secrets and infallible remedies to cure themselves presently and to close the wounds so that a man cannot easily observe the least scar about their bodies They also make use of artificial Baths and provoke sweat by a kind of stove wherein they enclose the Patient who receives his absolute cure by that remedy The Sorriqueses do also sweat their sick but sometimes they moisten them with their breath And for the cure of wounds they and the Floridians' Lescarbot & De Laet. suek out the blood as was practised by the ancient Physicians when any one had been bitten by a venomous beast causing him who was to do that office to be prepared for that purpose It is reported also that our Caribbians when they have been stung by some dangerous Serpent cause the wound to be sucked by their Wives after they have taken a drink which hath the virtue of abating the force of the venom The Topinambous do also suck the affected parts though there De Lery c. 20. Linscot c. 1. Villamont ' s Travels l. 3. be no wound which is also sometimes done in Florida And the Turks when they are troubled with any defluxion and pain either in the head or any other part of the body burn the part affected Some Barbarian Nations have much stranger remedies in their Diseases as may be seen in Histories It is reported that the Indians of Mechoacam and Tabasco in New-Spain to cure themselves of Fevers cast themselves starknaked into the River thinking thereby to drown the disease Some thing of the same kind hath also been seen among the Caribbians for Monsieur du Montel met there one day an old man washing his head in a very cold spring and having asked him the ●eason of it the man replied that it was to cure himself for he was much troubled with cold and yet contrary to all rules of our Medicine this strange remedy proved fortunate to the old man for the same Gentleman met him the next day very well and lusty and quite cured of his indisposition and the Savage failed not to brag of it and laugh at the Frenchman for pitying him the day before The Caribbians are very shy in communicating their secrets in Medicine especially the women who are very skilful in all those cures nay they are so careful in keeping to themselves the sovereign Remedies they have against the wounds made by poisoned Arrows that no rewards could yet prevail with them to discover them to the Christians But they are very willing to come and visit them and to dress them when they stand i● need of their assistance For a person of quality among the French having been dangerously bitten by a Serpent was happily recovered by their means Which kindness of theirs makes them differ much from those brutish people of Guinny and Dutch Relations & V. le Blanc p. 1. c. 24. Sumatra who have no compassion on their own sick but leave them to shift for themselves like so many poor beasts But the ancient people of the Province of Babylon concerned themselves so particularly in all Diseases that the sick were there disposed into a public place and every one was to teach them that remedy which he had tried upon himself Those who have made Voyages to Cambaya affirm that there is an Hospital there for the entertainment of birds that are troubled with any indisposition When the ordinary Remedies which our Caribbians are wont to make use of when occasion requires have not the success they had promised to themselves their recourse is to their Boyez that is their Magicians who also pretend to the profession of Physic and having sent for them they ask their advice concerning the event of their sickness These unhappy instruments of Satan have by their enchantments gained so great reputation among these poor besotted people that they are looked upon as the Judges of life and death and so dreaded by reason of their sorceries and the revenge they take on those who slight them that all think themselves obliged to express a compliance with their advice As concerning the Ceremonies observed by them upon these occasions we have already given some account thereof in the Chapter of their Religion It is requisite above all things that the House or Hut into which the Boyé is to enter should be very neatly prepared for his reception that the little Table which they call Matoutou should be furnished with Anakri for Maboya that is an offering of Cassava and Ouicou for the evil Spirit as also with the first-fruits of their Gardens if it be the season of fruits It is further requisite that at one end of the Hut there should be as many low stools or seats as there are to be persons present at that detestable action After these preparations the Boyé who never does this work but in the night time having carefully put out all the fire in and about the House enters into it and having found out his place by the weak light of a piece of Tobacco set on fire which he hath in his hand he first pronounces some barbarous words than he strikes the ground several times with his left foot and having put the end of Tobacco which he had in his hand into his mouth he blows upwards five or six times the smoke which comes out of it then rubbing the end of Tobacco between his hands he scatters it in the air Thereupon the Devil whom he hath invocated by these apish Ceremonies shaking very violently the roof of the house or making some other dreadful noise presently appears and answers distinctly to all the questions put to him by the Boyé If the Devil assures him that his disease for whom he is consulted is not mortal the Boyé and the Apparition which accompanies him come near the sick person to assure him that he shall soon recover his former health and to confirm him in that hope they gently touch those parts of his body where he feels most pain and having pressed them a little they pretend that there come out of them Thorns pieces of Bones splinters of Wood and Stone which were as these damnable Physicians affirm the cause of his sickness Sometimes also they moisten the part affected with their breath and having sucked it several times they persuade the Patient that by that means they have got out all the venom which lay in his body and caused him to languish In fine to put a period to this abominable Mystery they rub the sick person all over with the juice of the Junipa-fruit which dies his body of a very dark brown which is as it were the mark and seal of his cure He who is persuaded that he hath recovered his health by this damnable means is wont by way of acknowledgement to make a great feast at which the Boyé hath the chiefest place among those who are invited He is by no means to forget the Anakri for the Devil who fails not to be there But if the Boyé finds by the communication he hath had with his familiar that the sickness is to death he comes and comforts the sick person telling him that his God or to say better his familiar Devil having compassion upon him will take him into his company and carry him along with him to be delivered out of all his infirmities Certain people of old finding themselves unable to endure Aelian l. 3. c. 38 the trouble and inconveniences of decrepit age were wont to dispatch their wearied souls out of their infirm bodies with a glass of Hemlock And some others as Pliny affirms being Lib. 4. c. 12. weary of their lives cast themselves into the Sea But in other Ael l. 4. c. 1. Countries the Children thought it too long to stay till their Parents were come to so great age and so became their Executioners and this they were authorized to do by a public Law And even at this day the Sunshines upon some Provinces of Florida where there are people so cursed as upon a certain motive of Religion and Piety to put their Parents to death when they are old as persons useless in this world and chargeable to them But how old soever they may be among the Caribbians the Children are never troubled to see their Fathers and Mothers in that condition True it is that some Caribbians heretofore have hastened the death of their Parents and have killed their Fathers and Mothers out of a persuasion that they did a good work and rendered them a charitable office by delivering them out of many inconveniences and troubles which attend old age An old Captain among them whom the French called Le Pilot made it his boast that he had done that detestable service to many of his Ancestors But it is to be observed that the Caribbians did not practise that inhumanity but only towards those who desired to be delivered in that manner out of the miseries of this life and so it was a certain compliance with their earnest entreaties who were weary of their lives Moreover that piece of barbarism was never universally received among them and the more prudent sort do at the present detest it and maintain their Fathers and Mothers to the last gasp with all the care and all the expressions of love honour and respect that can be expected from a Nation which hath no other light for its direction than that of a corrupt Nature They patiently bear with their imperfections and the frowardness of their old age are never weary of ministering unto them and as much as they can keep near them to divert them as the French have observed in some of their Islands which demeanour of theirs is the more commendable in that it is done amongst Barbarians So that if any among them do not honour their Fathers and Mothers they have degenerated from the virtue of their Ancestors But when after all their care and pains they chance to lose any one of their Friends or Relations they make great cries and lamentations upon his death Wherein they differ much from the ancient Thracians and the Inhabitants of the Fortunate Herod l. 5. & Philost in the Life of Apollonius l. 5. c. 1. Islands who buried their dead with rejoicing dancing and singing as persons delivered out of the miseries of humane life After the Caribbians have wept over their dead they wash them paint the bodies with a red colour rub their heads with Oil comb their hair thrust up the legs to the thighs and the elbows between the legs and bend down the face upon the hands so that the whole body somewhat resembles the posture of the child in the mother's womb and then they wrap it up in a new bed till all things be ready to dispose it into the ground There have been some Nations who cast the bodies of the dead into Rivers as some Aethiopians did Others cast them Drake's Voyages part 2. to Birds and Dogs as the Parthians the Hyrcanians and such others who were somewhat of the same humour with Diogenes the Cynic Some others covered them with heaps of stones It is reported of some Inhabitants of afric that they disposed their dead in earthen Vessels and that others put them into glass Heraclitus who maintained that fire was the principle of all things would have the bodies of the dead burnt that they might return to their first origine And this Custom observed for several ages among the Romans is at this day practised among divers oriental Nations But Cyrus Xenoph. Cyropaed l. 8. at his death affirmed that there was nothing happier than to be disposed into the bosom of the earth the common Mother of all mankind The first Romen were of the same opinion for Plin. l. 7. c. 54. they interred their dead And of the several ways of disposing of the dead interring is that which is in use among the Caribbians They do not make their Graves according to our fashion but like those of the Turks Brasilians and Canadians that is about four or five foot deep and round like a Tun and at the bottom of it they set a little stool on which the Relations and Friends of the deceased place the body sitting leaving it in the same posture as they put it in immediately after the death of the party They commonly make the grave within the house of the deceased or if they bury him elsewhere they always make a covering over the place where the body is to be laid and after they have let it down into the grave and wrapped it in an Amac they make a great fire about it and all the more ancient both men and women kneel down The men place themselves behind the women and ever and anon they struck them with their hands over their arms to incite them to lament and weep Then singing and weeping they all say with a pitiful and lamenting voice Alas why didst thou die Thou hadst so much good Manioc good Potatoes good Bananas good Ananas Thou wert beloved in thy Family and they had so great care of thy person Why therefore wouldst thou die Why wouldst thou die If the party were a man they add Thou wert so valiant and so generous thou hast overthrown so many Enemies thou hast behaved thyself gallantly in so many fights thou hast made us eat so many Arovagues Alas who shall now defend us against the Arovagues Why therefore wouldst thou die And they repeat these expostulations several times over The Topinambous make in a manner the same lamentations over the graves of their dead He is dead say they that brave De Lery c. 5. Huntsman that excellent Fisher man that valiant Warrior that gallant eater of Prisoners that great Destroyer of Portuguez and Margajats that generous Defender of our Country he is departed this world And they often repeat the Dutch Relations l. 1. same expressions The Inhabitants of Guinny do also ask their deceased what obliged them to die and they rub their Faces with a wisp of straw to try if that will awake them And Busbequius in the Relation of his Embassies into Turkey relates that passing through a Town of Servia named Yagodena he heard the women and young maids lamenting over a deceased person and saying to him in their Funeral songs as if he had been able to hear them What have we deserved and wherein have we been deficient in doing thee service and comforting thee What cause of discontent have we ever given thee that should oblige thee to leave us Which somewhat relates to the complaints of our Caribbians The howl and expostulations of the Topinambous and the Virginians upon the like occasions last ordinarily a month The people of Egypt continued their lamentations seventy days And some Floridians' employ old women to bewail the deceased for the space of six months But Lycurgus limited mourning Plot. in his Life for the dead to eleven days and that is much about the time that our Caribbians took to do the same office before they put the dead body into the ground For during the space of ten days or thereabouts twice every day the Relations and the most intimate friends came to visit the deceased party at his grave and they always brought him somewhat to eat and drink saying to him every time Alas why wouldst thou die why wilt thou not return to life again say not at least that we refused thee wherewithal to live upon for we have brought thee somewhat to eat and drink And after they have made this pleasant exhortation to him as if he should have heard them they left the meat and drink they had brought with them at the brink of the grave till the next visit at which time they put it on his head since he thought it much to stretch forth his hand to take it The Peruvians the Brasilians the Canadians the Inhabitants Acosta De Lery P. Junius Fran. Cauche Th. Nicholas in Bergeron Carpin & Trigaut of Madagascar the Canarians the Tartars the Chinese do also bring certain dishes of meat to the graves of their nearest Relations And not to go to Countries at so great a distance is there not something of this kind done among us for during certain days they serve the Effigies of our Kings and Princes newly dead and they are presented with meat and drink as if they were living nay so far as to taste the meats and drinks before them The Caribbians of some Islands do still set meat at the graves of the deceased but they leave them not so long as they did heretofore ere they covered them with earth For after the Funeral lamentation is ended and that the women have wept as much as they can some friend of the deceased lays a plank over his head and the rest put the earth together with their hands till they have filled the grave that done they burn all that belonged to the deceased They also sometimes kill Slaves to attend the Ghosts of the deceased and to wait on them in the other world But these poor wretches get out of the way when their Masters die into some other Island We may justly conceive a horror at the relation of these inhuman and barbarous Funerals which are Acosta ' s Hist. of China De Laet Garcil Pirard Linscot etc. drenched with the blood of Slaves and divers other persons and among others women who have their throats cut are burnt and buried alive to go and accompany their Husbands into the other world whereof frequent examples may be found in divers Nations But our Caribbians think it enough upon these occasions to put to death only the Slaves of the deceased if they can catch them It was forbidden the Lacedæmonians to bury any thing with the deceased person but the contrary hath been and is still practised in divers Nations For not to mention the many precious Virgil Arian Tacitus things which were consumed with the Bodies that were burnt among the ancient Romans Macedonians Germans and other people we read in the History of Josephus that King Lib. 7. c. 12. Carpin De Lery Dutch Relations De Lactantio & Junius Solomon put up great wealth with the body of David his Father Thus the Tartars put into the grave with the dead person all his Gold and Silver And the Brasilians Virginians Canadians and several other Savages inter with the bodies the clothes and whatever else belonged to the deceased The same thing was also practised among the Caribbians in their Funerals before they conversed with the Christians For at the last visit they made to the deceased they brought along with them all the things he had used or worn about him in his life time to wit his Bow and arrows the Boutou or Club the Crowns of Feathers Pendants Chains Rings Bracelets Baskets Vessels and other things and buried all with him or burned them over the grave But now they are grown better Husbands for the Relations of the deceased reserve all those things for their own use or else they bestow them as presents on those who come to the Interment who keep them in remembrance of the deceased After the body is covered with earth the nearest Relations cut off their hair and fast very rigorously out of a persuasion that by that means they shall live longer and more happily Others forsake the houses and the place where they have buried any of their kindred and go and live elsewhere When the body is near rotten they make another assembly and after they have visited and sighing trampled on the Sepulchre they have a merry meeting at which they drown all their grief in Ouicou Thus the Ceremony is concluded and the poor Carcase is no further tormented FINIS A CARIBBIAN VOCABULARY ADVERTISEMENT We said elsewhere that the Men and Women among the Caribbians use several words to express the same thing so that the Men have a term peculiar to themselves and the Women another to them Those words therefore of this Vocabulary after which the letter M. is set are such as are properly used by the Men And those which have a W after them are the proper terms of the Women The accent denotes the syllable to be pronounced long Note also that ch is every where to be pronounced like sh in the Caribbian words I. The PARTS of MAN'S Body MY Body Nókobou Fat Takellé My skin Nora This signifies generally whatsoever serves for a covering My bones Nabo This signifies also a gristle and the tender sprig of a Plant. The Caribbians make no distinction between the Veins and the Nerves and they express both by the word Nillagra which signifies my Nerves or my Veins as Lillagra his Nerves or his Veins By the same name they also call the roots of trees My blood Nitta M. Nimoinalou W. The hair of my head or Body Nilibouri My head Nicheucke My Eyes Nakou The ball of my eye Nakoveuke that is properly the kernel of my Eye My eyelid Nakou-ora that is the skin of my eye My Eyebrow Nichicouchi properly a piece of my Eye The hair of the Eyelids Nakoviou properly the hair of the Eye My forehead Nérébé My face Nichibou My Nose Nichiri My mouth Niouma My lip Nioumarou My tooth Nari My cheek-teeths Nackeuke My jaws Nari-aregrick properly that which is next to my teeth My ear Narikae My Temples Nouboyoubou My cheeks Nitigné My chin Nariona My breast Nouri My bosom Narokou My shoulder Néché My arm Narreuna it signifies also a wing My elbow N●ugt●e●meuke My hands Noucabo My fingers Noucabo-raün as if you said the little ones or Children of my hand My thumb Noucabo-iteignum that is properly what is opposite to the fingers The pulse Noucabo-anichi that is properly the soul of the hand My nail Noubara My stomach Nanichirokou My heart Nioüanni M. Nanichi W. this word signifies also my soul My lungs Noara My Liver Noubana My Entrails Noulakae that signifies also the belly My Reins Nanagané My side Nauba The Spleen Couëmata The Bladder Ichicolou-akae My Navel Narioma The natural parts of the Man Yaloukouli M. Nehevera W. The natural parts of the Woman Touloukou My backparts Narioma-rokou My buttock Niatta My Thigh Nebovik My knee Nagagirik My Ham Nichaova-chaova My Leg Nourna My shin Nourna-aboulougou My joint Napataragoune that is a thing added which word they apply also to a piece set on a garment My ankle Noumourgouti My foot Nougouti My heel Nogouti-ona My toes Nougouti-raim that is properly the little ones of the foot The sole of my foot Nougoutirokou that is properly the inside of the foot Whereas they very seldom express themselves by the indefinite names especially when they speak of the parts of the body but restrain them to one of the three persons we have here set them down under the first Whoever therefore would put them under any of the other two needs only change the first letter of every word as may be seen in the chapter of their Language II. KINDRED and ALLIANCE MY Kinsman Nioumoulikou M. Nitoucke W. My marriage Youëlleteli My Husband Niraiti My Father speaking to him Baba M. and W. My Father speaking of him Youmaan M. Noukouchili W. My Grandfather Itamoulou M. Nargouti W. My Uncle by the Father's side they call him Father Baba And to signify the true and proper Father when they would expressly distinguish him they sometimes make this addition Baba tinnaka The Uncle by the Mother side Yao M. Akatobou W. My Son Imakou Imoulou Yamoinri M. Niraheu W. My Grandchild Hibali when there is but one But when there are more Nibagnem My Elder-Brother Hanhin M. Niboukayem W. My younger-Brother Ouanonë and Ibiri M. that is properly my half Namouleem W. My Brother-in-law and my Cousin-german by the Mother-side Ibamovy M. Nikeliri W. The Cousin not married to the Cousin-German Yapataganum My Nephew Yanantigané My Son-in-law Hibali moukou that is properly he who makes little ones My Wife Yenenery M. the women say Liani his Wife My Mother speaking to her both men and women say Bibi which word is also an exclamation A mother speaking of her Ichanum M. Noukouchourou W. My mother-in-law by a second marriage Noukouchorouteni My mother-in-law whose daughter I have married Imenouti My Grandmother Innouti M. Naguette W. My Aunt by the mothers-side is called mother Bibi The Aunt by the Fathers-side Naheupouli My Daughter Niananti M. Niraheu W. My Sister Nitou The elder sister Bibi-ouanovan The younger sister Tamoulelovan Step-daughter Daughter-in-law and Niece Nibaché My●she-Cousin-german Yovelleri M. that is to say my female or she who is promised me because naturally they are to be wives to their Cousins The women say Yovellou The Children of two Brothers are called brothers and sisters the children of Sisters the like III. CONDITIONS and QUALITIES A man or a male Ouekelli M. in the plural number Ouekliem Eyeri W. in the plural Eyerium A Woman or a Female Ouelle M. in the plural number Ouliem Inarou W. in the plural Innovyum A Child Niankeili A Boy Mouléke A Girl Niankeirou A little boy Ouekelli-raeu properly a little male A little girl Ouelle-raeu properly a little female An old man Ouaïali A Father of a Family Tiouboutouli authe A Widow and Widower Moincha A Comrade Banaré A Friend Ibaovanale M. Nitignon W. An Enemy Etoutou M. Akani W. An Enemy who goes clad in opposition to those who go naked Etoutou noubi Savage Maron The Caribbians attribute that name only to animals and wild fruits An Inhabitant Bonon An Islander or Inhabitant of the Islands Oubao-bonon An Inhabitant of the Continent Balouë-bonon A man come thither by Sea Balanaglé Thus they call the Christians because they come to their Country by Sea An Admiral or General of a naval Army Nhaléné A Captain of a Vessel Tiouboutouli Canaova A Commander in chief or General Ouboutou in the plural numb Ouboutounum A Lieutenant Tiouboutoumali arici that is properly the tract of the Captain or that which appears after him A Soldier or Warrior Netoukoviti A Sentinel or Spy Arikouti Nabara My Prisoner of war Nïovitouli Niovemakali He who hath the charge of entertaining Guests Niovakaiti My hired servant such as the Christians have Nabovyou A servant who is an absolute Slave Tamon A Huntsman Ekerouti Fat Tibouleli Lean Touleeli Great Mouchipeeli Big Ouboutonti Little Nianti racu Pretty little one Pikenine in the bastard Language High Inouti Low Onabouti Deep Ouliliti Anianliti Broad Taboubéreti Long Mouchinagouti Round Chiririti Square Patagouti Fair Bovitouti Deformed Nianti ichibou Soft Nioulouti Hard Téleti Dry Ouärrou Ouärrouti Moist Kouchakovali Heat and cold are expressed in the ix Section White Alouti Black Ouliti Yellow Houëreti Red Ponati They have no names but only for those four colours and they refer all the rest to them A Thief Yovalouti An incestuous person Kakovyoukovatiti An Adulterer Oulimateti A Fornicator Huereti Quarrelsome Oulibimekoali Koavaiti A treacherous person Nirobouteiti Evil Oulibati Nianovanti Good Iroponti Wise Kanichicoti Cunning Manigat A fool Leuleuti ao or Talovali ao that is properly he who hath no light Valiant Ballinumpti Cowardly Abaovati Joyful Aoverekova Liovani Sad Imovemeti Drunk Nitimaïnti Rich Katakobaiti Poor Matakobaiti Piquant Chouchouti Dead Neketali IU ACTIONS and PASSIONS HE puts his trust in him Moingatteti loné Stay for me Jacaba Noubara Hope expect Alliré Hope in him Emenichiraba Hope Ementchira My hope Nemenichiraeu My fear Ninonnoubouli My joy Naoveregon M. Niovanni W. My sadness Nitikaboué He is born Emeïgnovali You are welcome Halea tibou I am hungry Lamanatina I am thirsty Nacrabatina Give me to eat or give me some bread Yerebalium boman M. Nouboute 'em boman W. Give me some drink Natoni boman Eat in the Imperative Baika To eat in the Infinitive which is seldom used Aika I eat Naikiem Drink thou Kouraba I drink Natiem Natakayem I am warm with drinking or have drunk plentifully Nacharoüatina Come hither Hac-yeté Go thy ways Bayouboukaa Speak Ariangaba I speak Nanangayem Hold thy peace Maniba Sat down Niourouba Lie down on the ground Raoignaba Rise up Aganekaba Stand up Raramaba Look Arikaba Hear Akambabaë Blow Irimichaba Taste it Aochabaë Touch it Kourovabaë Go Bayoubaka I go Nayoubakayem Walk Babachiaka Run Hehemba Dance Babenaka I dance Nabinakayem Leap Choubakovaba I am going or about to leap Choubakova niabou Laugh Béérraka I laugh or am glad Naouërekoyem Weep Ayakovaba Sleep Baronka Awake Akakotouäba Watch Aromankaba Labour or painstaking Yovategmali M. Noumaniklé W. Rest Nemervoni A Fight Tibovikenoumali War Nainchoa M. Nihuctoukouli W. Peace Niuëmboulouli He is defeated Niovellemainti He is overcome Enepali Breathe Aouraba banichi that is properly refresh thy heart Blow Phoubaë Spit Chouëba Cough Hymba Wipe thy nose Nainraba To ease one's self Homoura Wash thyself Chibaba Moisten Touba boubara Go to wash thyself Akao bouka I swim Napouloukayem I swim well Capouloukatiti He was drowned Chalalaali He was choked Niarakouäli Open Talaba Shut it Taba Seek Aloukaba Find Ibikovabaë Fly Hamamba Thou fallest Batikeroyen Lose it Aboulekovabaë Sell it Kebeciketabaë Buy A mouliakaba He trades Haovanemeti Go a hunting Ekrekabouca That which I have taken in hunting Nekeren He shoots well with the Bow Kachienratiti Boukatiti He shoots well with a gun Katouratiti Go a fishing Tikabouka authe I fish Natiakayem What I have got a fishing Natiakani He is come into the Port Abourricaali I sing in the Church Nallalakayem I sing a song Naromankayem He is in love with her or makes much of her Ichoatoati tao Kiss me Chouba nioumolougou I would be named name me Yetikleé yatek He loves him Kinchinti loné Tibovinati He hates him Yerekati loné A quarrel Liovelébouli Drunkenness Livetimali Strike beat Baikoaba A whip or wand Abaichaglé Beat him Apparabaë Scratch Kiomba Kill him Chiovibae He is well Atovattienly He is sick Nanegaeti Nanneteiti Sickness Aneck He hath bewitched me Naraliatina I will be revenged Nibane bovibatina Revenge Nayouïbanabouli He hath bitten him Kerrelialo He is wounded Niboukabovali He is yet living Nouloukeili M. Kakekeïli W. Life Lakakechoni He is dead Aouéeli Nikotamainali M. Hilaali W. Bury him or it which is not said only of a man but generally of whatsoever is put into the ground as of a Plant Bonambaë Burial Tonamouli V. Things relating to HOUSEKEEPING and TRADE A Village Authe A Publick-House Karbet An ordinary house Toubana M. Touhonoko W. A Penthouse Covering or Hut suddenly erected Aïoupa A Garden Maina My Garden Imaïnali M. Nichali W. A Trench for the planting of Manioc Tomonack The Roof Toubana ora properly the covering of the House or Hut A Wall or Pallisado Kourara Floor of boards they have not any A Plank Iboutou A door Béna A Window Toullepen properly a Hole A Bed Amac and Akat M. Nekera W. A Table Matoutou A Seat Halaheu A Cage Tonoulou-banna A Vessel Takae which is generally applied to all Vessels A Vessel made of a Gourd Couï Half the Couï which serves for a dish Tauba this word signifies properly a side A Drinking-cup Ritta A Glass Flagon bottle Boutella from the Spanish The wooden frame which serves for a Gridiron and is by other Savages called Boucan Youla An Iron Pot or Kettle Touraë An Earthen Pot Taumali akaë and Canary A Candlestick or any thing that holds a thing Taketaklé A Candle Lamp Torch Touli which is a Sandalwood which yields a Gum. A pair of snuffers Tachackoutaglé A Hook Keouë A needle Akoucha A pin Alopholer A Coffer Arka A basket Alaovata Catoli The haircloth to sift the meal of the Manioc and to strain the Ouïcou Mouchache Flesh that may be eaten Tekeric Roast-meat Aribelet Acherouti Sauce Taomali or Taumali A dish of hash'd meat Natara A Feast Natoni Laupali Eletoak Poison Tiboukoulou M. Tibaukoura W. Merchandise Eberitina A Merchant Baovanemoukou A Piraga or great vessel of the Savages Canaoüa A little vessel of the Savages which we call Canow Couliala A Ship Kanabire this probably is derived from the French word Navire A Cord Ibitarrou A Cable Kaboya 't is a word no doubt framed by them since their acquaintance with strangers as are also some of the ensuing An Anchor Tichibani and Ankouroute A Knife Couchique Scissors Chirachi Much Mouche a word of the corrupt Language Ten Chonnoucabo raim that is all the fingers of both hands Twenty Chonnougouci raim that is all the fingers of both hands and all the toes of both feet they cannot number any farther Behold thy bed Bovekra Behold thy meat En yerebaili Behold thy drink En batoni Gramercy or well Tao Yes Anhan Nay Ouä To morrow Alouka Good morrow Mabouë Farewell Huican VI ORNAMENTS and ARMS Toys and trifles in general Cacones A Crown Tiamataboni A Ring Toukabouri A Chain or Necklace Eneka My Chain Yenekali A Bracelet Nournari Pendants for the ears Narikaela A Girdle Jeconti Niranvary Spanish Leather Tichepoulou A Comb brought out of Europe Baïna A Comb of Reeds Boulera A Handkerchief Naïnraglé A Looking-glass Chibouchi A Sword Echoubara An Arquebuss or Musket Rakabouchou A Pistol Rakabouchou raeu properly a little Musket Great Guns Kaloon A Pike Halberd Ranicha The point of it Lichibau M. Laboulougou W. The middle Lirana The end Tiona A bow Oullaba M. Chimala W. these two words signify also a tree The string of the bow Ibitarrou Arrows Alovani Bouleouä Hippé The Club which the Savages use instead of a sword Bouttou VII LIVING CREATURES A Dog Anly A Bitch Ouelle anly properly the female of the dog A swine Bovirokou sometimes they also call that creature Concoin An Ape or Monkey Alovata A Tortoise or Turtle Catallou and in the corrupt Language Tortillé The great Lizard Ouayamaka the same which other Indians call Iganas The little Lizard or Catch-flye Oulleouma A mouse Karattoni A Cat Mechou The Soldier a kind of Snail so called Makeré A Pismire Hagué A Spider Koulaëlé A Serpent Héhué A Snake Couloubera from the Spanish A Scorpion Akourou A Fish Authe and in the corrupt Language Pisket The shell of a Fish they name the fish and then add ora as much as to say the shell or covering of the fish Thus Ouatabovi-ora is that which we have elsewhere called a Lambis A Mesquito a kind of fly Aëtera Another kind of small flies commonly called Maringoins and known under that name Malu Kalabala It seems their feet are white A Fly Hueré-hueré The glittering fly Cogovyou not differing much from the Cocuyos of the other Indians A bird Tonoulou A Turkeycock Ouekelli-pikaka A Turkey-hen Ouelle-pikaka An ordinary hen Kayou A Duck Kanarou A Goose Iriria A Parrot Koulehuec A Pigeon Ouakoukova A Turtle Oulleou A Partridge Ouallami A Feather Toubanna this signifies also a leaf A wing or arm Tarreuna A beak or mouth Tiouma A foot or claw Tougouti VIII TREES and PLANTS A Tree Huëhuë A Plant Ninanteli A Flower Illehué Fruit or seed Tun. A leaf Toubanna this signifies also a feather A Branch Touribouri A Thorn a Cyon Huëhuëyou properly the hair of the tree or Huëhuëakou as if one would say the eyes of the tree A Forest Arabou Figs Bakoukou Oranges and Lemons or Citrons they call as we do because these fruits were brought thither out of Europe The Cassia-tree Malimali Cotton Manoulou The Cotton-tree Manoulovakecha The wild-Vine Ouliem Raquette a fruit so named by the French Batta A great kind of Thistle Akoulerou Tobacco Youli A Melon Battia Pease or Beans Manconti A Cane or Reed in general Maboulou Tikasket The Sugar-cane Kaniche The juice of the Canes or the wine thereof Kanichira Sugar Choucre a corrupt word An herb Kalao A root that may be eaten Torolé IX THINGS ELEMENTARY and IN ANIMATE THe Heavens Oubekou A white cloud Allirou A black cloud Ouällion Misty weather Kemerei A Star Ouäloukouma The Sun Huyeyou M. Kachi W. The Moon Nonum M. which word signifies also the earth Kati W. A day Lihuycouli Light Lalloukoné Lightsome Laguenani Night Ariabou Darkness Bourreli It is day Haloukaali It is night Boureokaali The air Naovaraglé The wind Bebeité it sometimes also signifies the air Fire Ouattou Ashes Ballissi Rain Konobovi Hail Ice Snow are things they are not acquainted withal Winter is also unknown to them Summer Liromouli Cold Lamoyenli Heat Loubacha Fair weather jeromonmééli They call it also by the name of Summer It is fair weather Hueoumeti It is foul weather Yehumeti Thunder Oualou ovyoulou The noise of Thunder Trtrguetenni A tempest Yovallou Bointara Ourogan which is the most common name The Rainbow Alamoulou or Youlouca as if they would say God's plume of feathers A Mountain Ouëbo A Valley Taralironne An ascent Tagreguin A plain Liromonobou Water a River Tona A Pond Taonaba A Spring or Fountain Taboulikani A Well Chiekati A Brook Tipouliri The Sea Balanna M. Balaova W. The earth Nonum M. that signifies also the Moon Mona W. Excrement Itika Sand Saccao A way Ema A Stone Tebou A Rock Emerali A Island Oubao The Continent Balouë Wood Huëhuë it signifies also a tree Iron Crabou Gold and silver Boulâta Brass Tialapirou Latin Kaovanam A hole Toullepen it signifies also a window A Haven Beya not much differing from the word Bay X. Things relating to RELIGION THe Soul is expressed by the same word which signifies the heart See before in the Section of the Parts of Man's Body A Spirit Akambouë M. Opoyem W. These names are general thence it comes that they are sometimes applied to the Spirit of Man But they are particularly attributed to good Spirits at least those whom the Caribbians account such and allow the place of Gods A Good Spirit which they hold to be a Divinity and whereof every one of them hath one peculiar to himself for his God is also called Icheiri which is the term of the men and Chemun which is that of the women and whereof the plural is Chemignum So that those words are answerable to God and Gods My good Spirit or my God Icheirikou M. Nechemerakou W. The evil Spirit or Devil both men and women call him Maboya as all the French pronounce the word but the Caribbians pronounce it as if it were written with a p Mapoya They also attribute the name of Maboya to certain Mushrooms and some other Plants of ill scent The Devil or evil Spirit is here let us get away from him Maboya kayeu eu kaima Loari They are wont to say so when they smell any ill scent The Offerings they make to the false Gods or Devils Anakri Invocations Prayers Ceremonies Adorations are things they have no knowledge at all of FINIS A TABLE Of the CHAPTERS Of the first Book of this History CHAP. I. OF the Situation of the Caribbies in general the Temperature of the Air the Nature of the Country and its Inhabitants pag. 1. CHAP. II. Of each of the Caribby-Islands in particular p. 6. CHAP. III. Of the Islands which lie towards the North. p. 14. CHAP. IU. Of the Island of St. Christopher p. 21. CHAP. V. Of the Lee-ward Islands p. 24. CHAP. VI Of Trees growing in these Islands whose Fruit may be eaten p. 28. CHAP. VII Of Trees fit for Building Joyners-Work and Dying p. 39 CHAP. VIII Of Trees useful in Medicine and some others whereof the Inhabitants of the Caribbies may make great advantages p. 44. CHAP. IX Of other Trees growing in these Islands whose Fruits or Roots contribute to the subsistence of the Inhabitants or serve for some other uses p. 50. CHAP. X. Of the Plants Herbs and Roots growing in the Caribbies p. 54. CHAP. XI Of some other rare Productions of the Caribbies and several sorts of Pulse and Flowers growing in those Islands p. 61. CHAP. XII Of five kinds of fourfooted Beasts found in these Islands p. 69. CHAP. XIII Of the Reptiles found in these Islands p. 72. CHAP. XIV Of the Infects commonly seen in the Caribbies p. 78. CHAP. XV. Of the more considerable kinds of Birds which may be seen in the Caribbies p. 85. CHAP. XVI Of the Sea and River-Fish of the Caribbies p. 97. CHAP. XVII Of the Sea-Monsters found in these Islands p. 100 CHAP. XVIII A particular Description of the Sea-Unicorn which was cast ashore at the Haven of the Tortoise-Island in the Year 1644. and a pleasant Relation by way of Digression of several beautiful and rare Horns brought lately from Davis-streight with an account of the Country and the Dispositions of the Inhabitants p. 107. CHAP. XIX Of certain Shellfish rare Shells and other remarkable productions of the Sea found on the Coasts of the Caribbies p. 119. CHAP. XX. Of Ambergris its Origine and the marks of that which is good and without mixture p. 127. CHAP. XXI Of certain Creatures living partly on Land partly in the Waters commonly called Amphibia which may be found in the Caribby-Islands p. 131. CHAP. XXII Containing the particular Descriptions of several sorts of Crabs or Crabfish commonly found in the Caribbies p. 139. CHAP. XXIII Of Thunder Earthquakes and the Tempests sometimes happening in the Caribbies p. 143. CHAP. XXIV Of some other inconveniences of the Country and the remedies thereof p. 146. A Table of the Chapters of the second Book of this History CHAP. I. OF the Establishment of those Inhabitants who are Strangers in the Islands of S. Christopher Mevis Gardeloupe Martinico and some other Islands of the Caribbies p. 157 CHAP. II. Of the Establishments of the French in the Islands of S. Bartholomew S. Martin and Sante-Cruce p. 173. CHAP. III. Of the Establishment of the French Colony in the Island of Gardeloupe consequently to the Peace concluded with the Caribbians of Dominico in the Year M. DC XL. p. 178. CHAP. IU. Of the Trading and Employments of the Foreign Inhabitants of the Country and first of the Culture and ordering of Tobacco p. 187. CHAP. V. Of the manner how Sugar is made and of the preparation of Ginger Indigo and Cotton p. 194. CHAP. VI Of the more honourable Employments of the European Inhabitants of the Caribbies their Slaves and their Government p. 198 CHAP. VII Of the Origine of the Caribbians the natural Inhabitants of the Country p. 204. CHAP. VIII By way of Digression giving an account of the Apalachites the Nature of their Country their Manners and their ancient and modern Religion p. 228 CHAP. IX Of the Bodies of the Caribbians and their Ornaments p. 249. CHAP. X. Certain Remarks upon the Caribbian Language p. 259. CHAP. XI Of the Dispositions of the Caribbians and their Manners p. 265. CHAP. XII Of the natural simplicity of the Caribbians p. 271. CHAP. XIII Of that which may be called Religion among the Caribbians p. 276. CHAP. XIV A continuation of that which may be called Religion among the Caribbians Of some of their Traditions and of the Sentiment they have of the Immortality of the Soul p. 283. CHAP. XV. Of the Habitations and Housekeeping of the Caribbians p. 291. CHAP. XVI Of the ordinary Repasts of the Caribbians p. 297. CHAP. XVII Of the Employments and Divertisements of the Caribbians p. 304 CHAP. XVIII Of the Entertainment which the Caribbians make those who come to visit them p. 309. CHAP. XIX Of what may be accounted Polity amongst the Caribbians p. 313. CHAP. XX. Of the Wars of the Caribbians p. 317. CHAP. XXI Of the Treatment which the Caribbians make their Prisoners of War p. 326 CHAP. XXII Of the Marriages of the Caribbians p. 332. CHAP. XXIII Of the birth and education of Children amongst the Caribbians p. 336. CHAP. XXIV Of the ordinary Age of the Caribbians their Diseases the Remedies used by them in order to the Recovery of their Health their Death and Funeral Solemnities p. 342 FINIS