394 VASCONCELLOS-D. BERNARDO-CARVER-GUMILLA, ETC. could have no sin imputed to them.-Vida de que llamaban a esta ciudad el Paraiso de MahoAlneida, vol. 1, p. 5, § 7. [Iroquois Festival.] "AMONG the Iroquois there was a particular kind of festival at which all the food was to be eaten."-CHARLEVOIX, P. FRANCIS, t. 2, p. 85. [Indian Histories painted on Trees.] "NEAR our hut on the sides of large trees peeled for that purpose, were various representations of men going to, and returning from the wars, and of some killed in battle, this being a path heretofore used by warriors. Those Indian histories were painted mostly in red, but some in black."-JOHN WOOLMAN'S Journal, p. 134. [Sword of the Suyzaros-What?] D. BERNARDO DE VARGAS MACHUCA, 1599, says that the sword then in use was that which the Suyzaros invented. Does he mean the Swiss, and did they introduce a shorter sword which caused the estoque to be disused? A natural consequence when the chivalrous mode of war was growing obsolete, and battles were decided by infantry.-Milicia Indiana, ff. 2. [Iron sold by the Spaniards to the Indians, and used against them.] BERNARDO DE VARGAS MACHUCA, who was settled at Santa Fe de Bogota, complains that the Spaniards sold iron to the Indians, which thus got round to the warlike tribes, and was used to their own destruction, many lives having been lost in consequence. The traffic, he says, is Cosa bien digna de castigo exemplar, que casi es traycion, o especie della.-Ibid., ff. 3. ma; nombre infame, que manifiesta bien la dissolucion que reynaba.”—Vol. 1, p. 3, § 17. [Santiago del Estero, or Mahomet's Paradise.] SANTIAGO DEL ESTERO, by a play upon words which holds good only in Spanish, was called Mahomet's Paradise, the Mahoma women being favourites with the first ruffians who settled in that country. LOZANO says, "El partido de Venus estaba en especial tan valido y poderoso, | 195. "It was the custom of these Indian kings, always to undertake some hostile expedition, immediately after their accession, against rebels, or enemies, or if they had neither to make new nations tributary."-TORQUEMADA, vol. 1, p. PHYSICA; OR, REMARKABLE FACTS IN NATURAL HISTORY. [Jay Feathers.] THE blue feathers of the jay's wing were at one time fashionable in France, and four thousand jays are said to have been stript to furnish trimming for a single dress. [Albatrosses.] "AN immense number of albatrosses were swimming like geese about the ship; as soon as a shot was fired they flew away. They seemed to raise themselves with difficulty from the water, and made a vast circle in it before they had wind enough to fill their long wings and begin their ascent."-Langsdorff, vol. 1, p. 83. [The Albatross.] "THEY have very great strength in their large bills, and make a noise not unlike the bleating of a goat or sheep. It is probably from hence that they are called by the French Moutons du Cap. In February one of them was brought to me upon which I could not discover the slightest wound. On enquiry how it was caught, I was answered, by the hand. Upon a farther investigation into the matter, I was assured by the Aleutians unanimously, that in the calms, which commonly succeed to a violent gale of wind, they cannot fly; if pursued by land, they will run to the water, endeavouring to escape by swimming; but it is then easy to follow them with the boidarkas, when they may be taken with the hand, or killed by a spear or the stroke of an oar. "It seems easily to be comprehended, that such a bird, whose gigantic wings spread out to a breadth of ten or twelve feet, should not be able to fly in a dead calm."-Ibid., vol. 2, p. 105-6. [Power of the Conger Eel.] THE power of these snakes may, in some degree, be estimated from a circumstance related of a conger eel, in the Star for March 30, 1808. This eel, measuring six feet in length, and twenty-two inches in girth, and weighing three stone and a half, was taken in Yarmouth Wash. Finding no way for escape, it rose erect, and knocked the fisherman down before he could take it. many days; in times of great abundance, therefore, it is cut into small pieces, when a hole is made in the ground about eight feet long by four broad, and five and six feet deep, which is paved with large stones, and the pieces of fruit thrown into it. A strong fermentation ensues, and forms a leaven, which will then keep for months. This food is called popoi. When it is mixed with water, it makes a drink which has very much the appearance and taste of buttermilk, and is extremely cooling and refreshing."-LANGSDORFF, vol. 1, p. 125. New Marquesas or Washington Islands. The leaner the Monkey the greater the Value of his Fur. "LEAN foxes have better skins, and therefore the Ostiaks, who when they find cubs feed them with such care, that the women actually suckle them, break one of their legs some time before they are to be killed, that they may eat less and grow lean! Either of these customs is sufficiently shocking, but their co-existence renders them monstrous."-TOOKE's View of the Russian Empire, vol. 3, p. 44. [Olive Trees of the Morea.] "THE olive trees of the Morea are some of the finest to be found in any part of the world. The wespect of the people for these trees is such that they pay them a sort of veneration when they are loaded with fruit; to cut off a branch would be a crime against which the whole country would rise in arms. Every part of the province seems to suit this tree. Immense forests of wild olive trees had covered various districts before any attention was paid to them by the inhabitants. It was not till the country was occupied by the Venetians that the people became sensible of the treasure they possessed: these new guests instructed them in the art of grafting the trees, and since that time olives have become an article of the highest importance among them."-POUQUEVILLE, p. 201. [The Cayman.] DOBRIZHOFFER says that though the cayman would be good meat were it not for the odour of musk, none but the Payaguas eat them (vol. 1, p. 322. The Abate Jolis, on the contrary, says "THE ripe bread fruit will not keep good (p. 324) that many tribes eat them, first cutting [Bread Fruit.] 396 SAINT PIERRE-STEDMAN-THEVENOT-KUTTNER—ACERBI. out two glands in the mouth of the females, and off the land of the Indies. In the evening we the testicles of the males, which are the parts saw upon the water a great many little yellow from whence this musky odour proceeds. These snakes, a foot long, and as big as one's little finare sold to the Spaniards and Portugueze for med-ger, which made us know that we were near the ical uses, for keeping off reptiles and insects, and coast of Diu, along which the snakes are small, for preserving food. It is remarkable that parts for from thenceforward along the coast of the Inwhich are cut from the cayman, because their dies they are big."-THEVENOT. scent would affect it as meat, should be used for this purpose. [Liannes.] "A GREAT variety of shrubs, all comprized under the general name of liannes, some of which are as thick as a man's leg, and grow round the trees, making the trunks look like a mast furnished with rigging. They, however, support the trees against the hurricanes, of whose violence I have seen frequent proofs. When they fell timber in the woods, they cut about two hundred trees near the root, which remain upright till the liannes, which hold them, are cut down also. When this is done, one whole part of the forest seems to fall at once, making a most horrid crash. Cords are made of their bark, stronger than of hemp."-SAINT PIERRE, Voyage to the Isle of France. [Introduction of Indigo into Surinam.] INDIGO was introduced into Surinam by a M. Destrades, who called himself a French officer. "I myself," says STEDMAN, "was well acquainted with this poor fellow, who since shot himself through the head at Demerary. The circumstances of his death were somewhat remarkable. Having involved himself in debt, he turned to ready money his remaining effects and fled from Surinam; next setting up in the Spanish contraband trade, his all was taken. Deprived of every thing, he now applied for protection to a friend at Demerary, who humanely gave him shelter. At this time an abscess gathering in his shoulder, every assistance was offered, but in vain, M. Destrades refusing to let it be ever examined. His shoulder therefore grew worse, and even dangerous, but he persisted in not permitting it to be uncovered; till one day, having drest himself in his best apparel, the family were alarmed by the report of fire arms, when they found him weltering in his blood, with a pistol by his side; and then, to their surprize, having stript him, the mark of V, for voleur, or thief, was discovered on the very shoulder he had attempted to conceal. Thus ended the life of this poor wretch, who had for years at Paramaribo supported the character of a polite and well-bred gentleman, where he had indeed been universally respected."-Vol. 2, p. 316. [Snakes at Sea a Sign of Land.] "NEXT morning we saw two snakes upon the water, which occasioned great joy in the ship, for when they begin to see snakes it is an infallible mark that they are not above forty leagues [The Trollhätta Falls.] "Or the rocky islands situated in the river near Trollhätta, two or three are quite inaccessi ble. One of them is overgrown with trees which have never been touched by human hands. A dog which attempted to swim across the river at some distance above, being carried away by the rapidity of the current, was cast upon this island. He there lived several days, but not having cour age to plunge again into the impetuous torrent, he perished of hunger."-KUTTNER. [The Rein-Deer Moss.] "THE country around offered a scene very uncommon, and to us quite new. The moss on which the rein-deer feeds covers the whole ground, which is flat, and only skirted by hills at some distance; but these hills also are clothed with this moss. The colour of the moss is a pale yellow, which, when dry, changes to white: the regularity of its shape, and the uniform manner in which the surface of the ground is decked with it, appears very singular and striking: it has the semblance of a beautiful carpet. These plants grow in a shape nearly octagonal, and approaching to a circle; and as they closely join each other, they form a kind of mosaic work, or embroidery. The white appearance of the country, which thence arises, may for a moment make you imagine that the ground is covered with snow; but the idea of a winter scene is done away by the view of little thickets in full green, which you perceive scattered here and there, and still more by the presence of the sun and the warmth of his rays. As this moss is very dry, nothing can possibly be more pleasant to walk upon, nor can there be anything softer to serve as a bed. Its cleanness and whiteness is tempt ing to the sight; and when we had put up our tent, we found ourselves in every respect very comfortably lodged. I had many times before met with this moss, but in no place had I found it so rich. It was the only produce here which nature seemed to favour and support: no other herb was growing near it, nor any other vegeta ble on the spot, except a few birch trees, with their underwood, and some firs, dispersed on the hill by the river side. All these seemed to veg. etate with difficulty, as if deprived of their nourishment by the moss, and appeared withering and stunted. Some trees, indeed, which grow very near the water, had the appearance of being in a flourishing state, perhaps owing to the moisture they derived from the river: but, in short, this moss appeared to be the royal plant, which ruled absolute over the vegetable kingdom of the PEREZ-THUNBERG-BARROW-PONTOPPIDAN-BRUCE. 397 country, and distributed its bounty and influence | the inseparable companion of all the rivers and amongst a particular race of men and animals." -ACERBI's Travels. [Aurora Borealis.] "On the 30th of March, towards midnight, we were still upon the road, suffering from a cold of thirteen degrees of Celsius, when an Aurora Borealis presented us with a magnificent spectacle, which served to relieve the irksome monotony of our journey. The heavens began to appear illuminated in the north; presently it assumed a bright ruby colour, such as we have on a fine evening in Italy with the setting sun, when, as Virgil says, and as experience has often proved, a lively red as the sun goes down prognosticates fine weather for to-morrow. This phenomenon had just fixed our attention, when behold a luminous arch rose over the pole. This was accompanied by various other light and fleeting arches, which shifted from place to place every instant: they were bounded here and there by vivid flames and torches, which issued in rapid succession from the skies, communicating fire to the clouds in their vicinity, tinging their gilded edges, and exhibiting a picture highly interesting to us, unaccustomed as we were to such appearances."-Ibid. [Antipathy of Snakes and Vipers to the Beech Tree.] "THEN it was a marvellous thing to see with what unconcern he would lie down to sleep in places where snakes and vipers abounded, and other poisonous animals, surrounding himself with boughs of the beech, from the shade of which tree we saw by experience, that those animals strangely fly. He did another thing in our presence, that we might see the enmity they have to this tree, for he made a circle, half of fire and half of Beech boughs, and threw a viper into the middle, which being only able to get out through the boughs or through the fire, to avoid them, chose the fire."-ALONSO PEREZ, in his Continuation of George of Montemor's Diana. [Finches' Nests.] all the periodical streamlets. Should a traveller happen to be in want of water, the appearance of the mimosa is a sure guide to the place where it occasionally, at least, is to be found."BARROW, [The Loss, or Goupe.] Lossen, som paa Norsk kaldes Goupe, &c.] "THE LOSS, which in Norway dialect is called Goupe, is something smaller than a wolf, but as fierce and dangerous: it bites and tears all to pieces that it can master. This creature's skin is of a light grey, or white, with dark spots. They are very cunning in undermining a sheepfold, where they help themselves very nobly. It happened lately in some of these, that a Goupe was found out by a sly he-goat, who perceived his subterraneous work, watched him narrowly, and as soon as his head came forth, before the body could be got out, butted him, and gave such home pushes, that he laid him dead in the grave of his own making."-PONTOPPIDAN, Nores Naturlige Historie, pt. 2, p. 33. [Water-pools for the Elephant and Rhinoceros.] "GREAT rivers falling from the high countreys with prodigious violence, during the tropical rains, have in the plains washed away the soil down to the solid rock, and formed large basons of great capacity, where, though the water becomes stagnant in pools when the currents fail above, yet, from their great depth and quantity, they resist being consumed by evaporation, being also thick covered with large shady trees, whose leaves never fall. These large trees, which in their growth, and vegetation of their branches, exceed any thing that our imagination can figure, are as necessary for food as the pools of water are for cisterns to contain drink for those monstrous beasts, such as the elephant and rhinoceros, who there make their constant residence, and who would die with hunger and thirst, unless they were thus copiously supplied with both food and water."-BRUCE. [The Trade Winds.] "NESTS of finches (loxia) made of the stalks "WE were in latitude 27° 49′, the thermomof grass, curiously interwoven, hung on the eter at 69°. The morning was mild; the sea branches of trees over ponds, with a long and still smooth as a lake all nature seemed hushnarrow neck, by which the bird used to enter. ed in silence, and no wind could be felt. We This neck prevented the birds of prey from get-rose early, and enjoyed a steady walk on the ting at the young ones, and the water over which now quiet deck. The sun, protruding from the the nest hung on low shrubs and bushes, kept off bosom of a tranquil ocean, softly stole above the foxes and other beasts of prey."-THUNBERG. horizon, and, swelling into globular forms, mildly assumed refulgent brightness, and spread his genial rays around. From excess of motion we had now lapsed into perfect rest. We contemplated the change with admiration and delight: yet wished enough of wind to carry us on our voyage. The timoneer left the helm; and the ship remained immoveable upon the water. Casting our eyes over the silver surface of the sea. to [The Mimosa Tree-the Guide to Water.] "THOUGH the surrounding country was destitute of vegetation, a thick forest of mimosas covered the banks of the Dwyka, and followed it through all its windings. This plant grows indeed on every part of the desert, on which it is the wide ocean and the weather, that, had not former sickness, with the torment of repeated gales, already confirmed my abhorrence of the sea, I know not but I might have been led into the belief that discomfort and a sailor's life were not strictly synonymous !"-PINCKARD'S Notes, vol. 1, p. 184. [The Acacia Vera, or, Egyptian Thorn.] THE Acacia vera, or Egyptian thorn, the tree which in the sultry parts of Africa produces the gum-arabic, is described by BRUCE. "These trees," he says, "grow seldom above fifteen or sixteen feet high, then flatten and spread wide at the top and touch each other, while the trunks are far asunder; and under a vertical sun, leave you, many miles together, a free space to walk in a cool, delicious shade." [Boiling Spring of Barbadoes.] AMIDST these shades we descended to a nar behold the beauteous rising of the sun, we offer- | duration, likewise enhanced its charms. So trued aspirations that fierce Eurus, in the placid hu- | ly delightful did we find it, and so pleasant were mour of milder Zephyr, might follow in his train. Two strange vessels were observed to be in sight -a brig and a schooner. The former was directly in our wake, and viewing this, amidst the universal stillness that prevailed, we observed, with surprise, that she was moving towards us, with sails. At this moment the sky darkened; the thermometer fell to 64°; a gentle rippling spread, lightly, over the still surface of the water, and, almost imperceptibly, brought us—a favourable breeze! It was from the north-east; and so soft and steady that scarcely did we feel the vessel in motion, ere we were advancing at the rate of five knots an hour! What we had so long and anxiously sought, was now arrived, and we most cordially hailed-the trade wind! The sailors announced it in loud greetings: need I say that we partook in their liveliest joy. You will readily conceive, without expecting me to describe, our feelings upon the occasion. Never was a happier moment. All sense of our long sufferings vanished, and we were in perfect raptures on this glad event. Indeed we had much cause to think ourselves fortunate on being salut-row gully, between two mountains, to see one ed by the favouring trades in their very earliest latitude. This was a most grateful period of our passage, and, together with the weather we have since experienced, has, in some degree, compensated former evils. The temperature grew cooler than it had been during the few days of calm. The breeze freshened, and all hands were busily occupied in preparing and setting all possible sail, to obtain the full benefit of this great and constant trader's friend. Quickly new canvass stretched from every point of the ship, which winged with five additional sails, widely spread her expanded pinions to embrace the breeze. What a change! transported, at once, from the perils of severe tempest to the finest, smoothest sailing! During seven tedious weeks we had not known the wind from the point we wished; and we had been perpetually beset with all the dangers of a raging storm. Now the breeze was all we could desire! Sickness, and other uneasy feelings were dispersed; we exercised freely upon the deck, and sailed on our passage almost without perceiving the vessel move. So rapid, indeed, was our progress, that the ship seemed to feel no resistance, but to fly, uninterrupted, through the water! "The crowded sails now remained night and day. No change; no new arrangement-occasional bracing only was required! We stood before the wind, and, in all the delight of fair weather and fine sailing, made from 160 to 200 knots within the sailors' day, from noon to noon. In such seas, and with such a wind, the ship's company might have slept; leaving the helmsman only to steer the vessel's course. The delay, the difficulties and dangers we had met with, served but to augment the value of the ever-constant trades, and to render them even more enchanting than we had hoped. The steadiness of this friendly breeze, and its certainty of of the great curiosities-one of the reported phenomena of Barbadoes-' a boiling spring!' On approaching the spot, we came to a small hut in which an old black woman, who employed herself as a guide to exhibit, under a kind of necromantic process, all the details of this boiling and burning fountain. The old dame, bearing in her hand a lighted taper, and taking with her a calabash, and all the other necessary apparatus of her office, led the way from the hut down to the spring. "In a still, and most secluded situation, we came to a hole, or small pit filled with water, which was bubbling up in motion, and pouring, from its receptacle, down a narrow channel of the gully. "Here our sable sorceress, in all the silence and solemnity of magic, placing the light at her side, fell down upon her knees, and, with her calabash, emptied all the water out of the hole, then immersing the taper in the deep void, she suddenly set the whole pit in a flame; when she instantly jumped upon her legs, and looked significantly round, as if anxious to catch the surprise expressed upon our countenances from the workings of her witchcraft. The taper being removed, the empty space continued to burn with a soft lambent flame, without the appearance of any thing to support the combustion. "We observed fresh water slowly distilling into the pit, from the earth at its sides, and dropping to the bottom; and as this increased in quantity, it raised the flame higher and higher in the pit, supporting it upon its surface, and conveying the appearance of the water itself being on fire; although it was very clear and pure, and not spread with any oily or bituminous matter. When the water had risen to a certain height, the flame became feeble, then gradually declined, and presently was extinct. The water was now |