William Dampier

“ It is a fruit about the bigness of a musk-melon, hollow as that is, and much resembling it in shape and colour, both outside and inside: only in the middle, instead of flat kernels, which the melons have, these have a handful of small blackish seeds about the bigness of peppercorns; whose taste is also hot on the tongue somewhat like pepper. The fruit itself is sweet, soft and luscious, when ripe; but while green it is hard and unsavoury: though even then being boiled and eaten with salt-pork or beef, it serves instead of turnips and is as much esteemed. ”

“ These grow on bushes; but here are also a fruit like beans growing on a creeping sort of shrub-like vine. There was great plenty of all these sorts of cod-fruit growing on the sandhills by the seaside, some of them green, some ripe, and some fallen on the ground: but I could not perceive that any of them had been gathered by the natives; and might not probably be wholesome food.
The land farther in, that is lower than what borders on the sea, was so much as we saw of it very plain and even; partly savannahs, and partly woodland. The savannahs bear a sort of thin coarse grass. ”

“ The best and smoothest landing is in a small sandy cove, about a mile to the north-east of the road, where there is good water, with which ships that lade here are supplied; and many times ships that lade at Oratavia, which is the chief port for trade, send their boats hither for water. That is a worse port for westerly than this is for easterly winds; and then all ships that are there put to sea. Between this watering-place and Santa Cruz are two little forts; which with some batteries scattered along the coast command the road. ”

“ We saw of these birds, especially pintado-birds, all the sea over from about 200 leagues distant from the coast of Brazil to within much the same distance of New Holland. The pintado is a southern bird, and of that temperate zone; for I never saw of them much to the northward of 30 degrees south. The pintado-bird is as big as a duck; but appears, as it flies, about the bigness of a tame pigeon, having a short tail, but the wings very long, as most sea-fowls have; especially such as these that fly far from the shore, and seldom come nigh it; for their resting is sitting afloat upon the water ”

“ The land hereabouts was much like the part of New Holland that I formerly described, it is low but seemingly barricaded with a long chain of sandhills to the sea, that lets nothing be seen of what is farther within land. At high water, the tides rising so high as they do, the coast shows very low; but when it is low water it seems to be of an indifferent height. At low-watermark the shore is all rocky, so that then there is no landing with a boat: but at high water a boat may come in over those rocks to the sandy bay which runs all along on this coast. ”

“ Whatever the reason may be why Providence determines these creatures to this season of laying their eggs, rather than the dry, in fact it is so, as I have constantly observed; and that not only with the sea-turtle but with all other sorts of amphibious animals that lay eggs; as crocodiles, alligators, iguanas etc. The inhabitants of this island, even their governor and padres, are all negroes, wool-pated like their African neighbours; from whom it is like they are descended; though, being subjects to the Portuguese, they have their religion and language. ”

“ We kept on still to the eastward, with an easy sail looking out sharp: for by the many signs we had I did expect that we were near the land. At 12 o'clock in the night I sounded and had 45 fathom, coarse sand and small white shells. I presently clapped on a wind and stood to the south, with the wind at west, because I thought we were to the south of a shoal called the Abrolhos (an appellative name for shoals as it seems to me) which in a chart I had of that coast is laid down in 27 degrees 28 minutes latitude stretching about 7 leagues into the sea. ”

“ A great many merchants always reside at Bahia; for it is a place of great trade: I found here above 30 great ships from Europe, with 2 of the King of Portugal's ships of war for their convoy; beside 2 ships that traded to Africa only, either to Angola, Gambia, or other places on the coast of Guinea; and abundance of small craft that only run to and fro on this coast, carrying commodities from one part of Brazil to another. ”

“ Clocking-hens are much like the crab-catchers which I have described, but the legs are not altogether so long. They keep always in swampy wet places, though their claws are like land-fowls' claws. They make a noise or cluck like our brood-hens, or dunghill-hens, when they have chickens, and for that reason they are called by the English clocking-hens. There are many of them in the Bay of Campeachy (though I omitted to speak of them there) and elsewhere in the West Indies. ”

“ It has almost always been the fate of those who have made new discoveries to be disesteemed and slightly spoken of by such as either have had no true relish and value for the things themselves that are discovered, or have had some prejudice against the persons by whom the discoveries were made. ”

“ The richer sort, besides the slaves of both sexes whom they keep for servile uses in their houses, have men slaves who wait on them abroad, for state; either running by their horse-sides when they ride out, or to carry them to and fro on their shoulders in the town when they make short visits near home. Every gentleman or merchant is provided with things necessary for this sort of carriage. The main thing is a pretty large cotton hammock of the West India fashion, but mostly died blue, with large fringes of the same, hanging down on each side. ”

“ In the valley by the sea there is a straggling street, houses on each side, and a run of water in the bottom which empties itself into a fine small cove or sandy bay where the sea is commonly very smooth; so that here is good watering and good landing at any time; though the road be rocky and bad for ships. Just by the landing-place there is a small fort, almost level with the sea, where is always a court of guard kept. On the top of the hill, above the town, there is another fort which, by the wall that is to be seen from the road, seems to be a large place. ”

“ Our nation drives here a great trade for salt, and have commonly a man-of-war here for the guard of our ships and barks that come to take it in; of which I have been informed that in some years there have not been less than 100 in a year. It costs nothing but men's labour to rake it together, and wheel it out of the pond, except the carriage: and that also is very cheap; the inhabitants having plenty of asses for which they have little to do besides carrying the salt from the ponds to the seaside at the season when ships are here. ”

“ A ship ought therefore to have its glasses very exact; and besides, an extraordinary care ought to be used in heaving the log, for fear of giving too much stray line in a moderate gale; and also to stop quickly in a brisk gale, for when a ship runs 8, 9 or 10 knots, half a knot or a knot is soon run out, and not heeded: but to prevent danger, when a man thinks himself near land, the best way is to look out betimes, and lie by in the night, for a commander may err easily himself ”

“ As for the westerly winds on that side the Cape, we like them never the worse for being violent, for they drive us the faster to the eastward; and are therefore the only winds coveted by those who sail towards such parts of the East Indies as lie south of the equator; as Timor, Java, and Sumatra; and by the ships bound for China, or any other that are to pass through the Straits of Sunda. Those ships having once passed the Cape keep commonly pretty far southerly, on purpose to meet with these west winds, which in the winter season of these climates they soon meet with ”

“ Mericasahs are an excellent fruit, of which there are 2 sorts; one growing on a small tree or shrub, which is counted the best; the other growing on a kind of shrub like a vine, which they plant about arbors to make a shade, having many broad leaves. The fruit is as big as a small orange, round and green. When they are ripe they are soft and fit to eat; full of white pulp mixed thick with little black seeds, and there is no separating one from the other till they are in your mouth; when you suck in the white pulp and spit out the stones. ”

“ There is a salt-water lake runs 40 leagues, as I was told, up the country, north-west from the sea, leaving the town and Dutch fort on the starboard side. The country all around about is for the most part a pretty flat even ground, not high, nor yet very low: it is well watered with rivers, brooks and springs; neither wants it for good harbours, navigable creeks, and good bays for ships to ride in. The soil in general is good, naturally producing very large trees of divers sorts, and fit for any uses. The savannahs also are loaded with grass, herbs, and many sorts of smaller vegetables ”

“ The wind continued very strong till 12, then it began to abate: I have seldom met with a stronger breeze. These strong seabreezes lasted thus in their turns 3 or 4 days. They sprang up with the sunrise; by 9 o'clock they were very strong, and so continued till noon, when they began to abate; and by sunset there was little wind, or a calm till the land-breezes came; which we should certainly have in the morning about 1 or 2 o'clock. The land-breezes were between the south-south-west and south-south-east. The seabreezes between the east-north-east and north-north-east. ”

“ In the road ships must ride in 30, 40, or 50 fathom water, not above half a mile from the shore at farthest: and if there are many ships they must ride close one by another. ”

“ The twigs are slender and tough; and so is the stem of the fruit. This fruit grows also both in the East and West Indies.
The cashew is a fruit as big as a pippin, pretty long, and bigger near the stem than at the other end, growing tapering. The rind is smooth and thin, of a red and yellow colour. The seed of this fruit grows at the end of it; it is of an olive colour shaped like a bean, and about the same bigness, but not altogether so flat. The tree is as big as an apple-tree, with branches not thick, yet spreading off. ”

“ They are stout, lusty, well-limbed people, both men and women, fat and fleshy; and they and their children as round and plump as little porpoises; though the island appears so barren to a stranger as scarce to have food for its inhabitants. I enquired how many people there might be on the isle; and was told by one of the padres that here were 230 souls in all. The negro governor has his patent from the Portuguese governor of St. Jago. He is a very civil and sensible poor man; and they are generally a good sort of people. He expects a small present from every commander that lades salt here ”

“ Noddies are seen in most places between the tropics, as well in the East Indies, and on the coast of Brazil, as in the West Indies. They rest ashore a-nights, and therefore we never see them far at sea, not above 20 or 30 leagues, unless driven off in a storm. When they come about a ship they commonly perch in the night, and will sit still till they are taken by the seamen. They build on cliffs against the sea, or rocks, as I have said. ”

“ Here are also porpoises, and a small sort of whales that commonly visit this road every day. I have already said that the months of May, June, July and August (that is, the wet season) are the time when the green-turtle come hither and go ashore to lay their eggs. I look upon it as a thing worth taking notice of that the turtle should always, both in north and south latitude, lay their eggs in the wet months. It might be thought, considering what great rains there are then in some places where these creatures lay, that their eggs should be spoiled by them. ”

“ Sometimes they are forced to do so 2 or 3 times before they can take in their lading; which it is hard to do here in the fairest weather: and for fresh water they send, as I have said, to Santa Cruz. Verdona is green, strong-bodied wine, harsher and sharper than canary. It is not so much esteemed in Europe, but is exported to the West Indies, and will keep best in hot countries; for which reason I touched here to take in some of it for my voyage. This sort of wine is made chiefly on the east side of the island, and shipped off at Santa Cruz. ”