This Migwol, Or Palm-
Wine, Is An Exceedingly Pleasant Drink, Which Intoxicates Like Wine
Unless Mixed With Water.
Immediately after it is drawn from the tree it
is as sweet as any wine whatever; but the luscious taste goes off more
and more as it is kept, and at length it becomes sour.
It drinks better
than at first after three or four days, as it depurates by keeping, and
is not so sweet. I have often drank of it, indeed every day that I
remained in the country, and liked it better than the wines of Italy.
This liquor is not so abundant as that every one may have it at
discretion; yet all may have some, especially the chiefs, as the trees
are not planted in gardens, like vines and fruit trees in Europe, but are
found wild in the forests, and are consequently accessible to all.
In this country there are several sorts of fruit which resemble those of
Europe, though not exactly the same, and which are very good, though they
grow wild; and, were they to be cultivated as ours are, would prove much
better than such as are produced in the northern climates, the quality of
the soil and air in this part of Africa being more nutritive. The whole
country is plain and fertile, abounding in good pasture, and is covered
by an infinite number of large and beautiful trees, that are not known in
Europe. It contains several lakes of fresh water, none of them large, but
very deep, and full of excellent fish, which differ much from those that
are caught in Italy, and many water serpents, which the natives call
_Kalkatrici_. They use a kind of oil with their victuals, which tastes
like oil of olives, has a pleasant flavour of violets, and tinges the
food even better than saffron, but I could not learn what it was produced
from[1]. There is likewise a plant which produces large quantities of
small kidney-beans.
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