The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume 38, 1674-1683: Explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the islands and their peoples, their history and records of the Catholic missions, as related in contemporaneous books and manuscripts, showing the political, economic, commercial and religious conditions of those islands from their earliest relations with European nations to the close of the nineteenth century
History
The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume 38, 1674-1683: Explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the islands and their peoples, their history and records of the Catholic missions, as related in contemporaneous books and manuscripts, showing the political, economic, commercial and religious conditions of those islands from their earliest relations with European nations to the close of the nineteenth century
Demarcation line of Alexander VI; Missions -- Philippines; Philippines -- Discovery and exploration; Philippines -- History -- Sources
Of the venemous kind of Creatures here are Scorpions, whose sting
is in their Tail; and Centapees, call'd by the English 40 Legs,
both which are also common in the West-Indies, in Jamaica, and
elsewhere. These Centapees are 4 or 5 Inches long, as big as a
Goose-Quill, but flattish; of a Dun or reddish colour on the Back,
but Belly whitish and full of Legs on each side the Belly. Their
Sting or bite is more raging than the Scorpion. They lie in old
Houses, and dry Timber. There are several sorts of Snakes, some
very Poisonous. There is another sort of Creature like a Guano both
in colour and shape, but four times as big, whose Tongue is like a
small Harpoon, having two beards like the Beards of a Fishook. They
are said to be very venemous, but I know not their Names. I have seen
them in other places also, as at Pulo Condore, or the Island Condore,
and at Achin, and have been told that they are in the Bay of Bengal.
The Fowls of this Country are Ducks and Hens: Other tame Fowl I
have not seen nor heard of any. The wild Fowl are Pidgeons, Parrots,
Parakits, Turtle Doves, and abundance of small Fowls. There are Bats
as big as a Kite.
There are a great many Harbours, Creeks, and good Bays for Ships
to ride in; and Rivers navigable for Canoas, Proes or Barks, which
are all plentifully stored with Fish of divers sorts, so is also the
adjacent Sea. The chiefest Fish are Bonetas, Snooks, Cavally's Bremes,
Mullets, 10 Pounders, &c. Here are also plenty of Sea Turtle, and small
Manatee, which are not near so big as those in the West-Indies. The
biggest that I saw would not weigh above 600 Pound, but the flesh
both of the Turtle and Manatee are very sweet.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account