The Pirates of Panama: or, The Buccaneers of America; a True Account of the Famous Adventures and Daring Deeds of Sir Henry Morgan and Other Notorious Freebooters of the Spanish MainExquemelin, A. O. (Alexandre Olivier)
History
The Pirates of Panama: or, The Buccaneers of America; a True Account of the Famous Adventures and Daring Deeds of Sir Henry Morgan and Other Notorious Freebooters of the Spanish Main
Exquemelin, A. O. (Alexandre Olivier)
Buccaneers; Pirates; Spanish Main; West Indies -- History
As to the wood that grows here, we have already said that the trees are
exceeding tall, and pleasing to the sight; whence no man will doubt, but
they may be applied to several uses. Such is the yellow saunder, which
by the inhabitants is called bois de chandel, or, in English,
candle-wood, because it burns like a candle, and serves them with light
while they fish by night. Here grows, also, lingnum sanctum, or
guaiacum: its virtues are very well known, more especially to those who
observe not the Seventh Commandment, and are given to impure
copulations!--physicians drawing hence, in several compositions, the
greatest antidote for venereal diseases; as also for cold and viscous
humours. The trees, likewise, which afford gummi elemi, grow here in
great abundance; as doth radix Chinae, or China root: yet this is not so
good as that of other parts of the western world. It is very white and
soft, and serves for pleasant food to the wild boars, when they can find
nothing else. This island, also, is not deficient in aloes, nor an
infinite number of the other medicinal herbs, which may please the
curiosity of such as are given to their contemplation: moreover, for
building of ships, or any other sort of architecture, here are found
several sorts of timber. The fruits, likewise, which grow here
abundantly, are nothing inferior, in quantity or quality, to what other
islands produce. I shall name only some of the most ordinary and common:
such are magnoit, potatoes, Abajou apples, yannas, bacones, paquays,
carosoles, mamayns, annananes, and divers other sorts, which I omit to
specify. Here grow likewise, in great numbers, those trees called
palmitoes, or palmites, whence is drawn a certain juice which serves the
inhabitants instead of wine, and whose leaves cover their houses instead
of tiles.
In this island aboundeth, also, the wild boar. The governor hath
prohibited the hunting of them with dogs, fearing lest, the island being
but small, the whole race of them, in a short time, should be destroyed.
The reason why he thought convenient to preserve these wild beasts was,
that, in case of any invasion, the inhabitants might sustain themselves
with their food, especially were they once constrained to retire to the
woods and mountains. Yet this sort of game is almost impeded by itself,
by reason of the many rocks and precipices, which, for the greatest
part, are covered with little shrubs, very green and thick; whence the
huntsmen have oftentimes fallen, and left us the sad remembrance of many
a memorable disaster.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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