This Island Enjoys A Fine Wholesome Air,
Insomuch That Out Of Seventy Of Us, Who Remained Here Five Months And
Eleven days, not one among us had an hour's sickness, though we fed upon
such foul diet, without bread or
Salt; so that we had no complaints
among us, except an incessant craving appetite, and the want of our
former strength and vigour. As for myself, from being corpulent, and
almost crippled by the gout, I lost much of my flesh, but became one of
the strongest and most active men on the island, walking much about,
working hard, and never in the least afflicted with that distemper. The
soil is fertile, and abounds with many large and beautiful trees, most
of them aromatic. The names of such as we knew were the Pimento, which
bears a leaf like a myrtle, but somewhat larger, with a blue blossom,
the trunks being short and thick, and the heads bushy and round, as if
trained by art. There is another tree, much larger, which I think
resembles that which produces the jesuit bark. There are plains on the
tops of some of the mountains, on which are groves of the Indian
laurel, mentioned by Frezier in his description of Chili. These have a
straight slender body, from which sprout small irregular branches all
the way from the root to the top, bearing leaves like the laurel, but
smaller. Palm-trees are found in most parts of the island, growing in
smooth joints, like canes, some thirty and some forty feet high. Their
heads resemble the cocoa-nut tree, except that their leaves are of a
paler green, and bear large bunches of red berries, bigger than sloes,
which taste like haws, and have stones as large as those of
heart-cherries. That which we call the palm-cabbage is the very
substance of the head of the tree; which being cut off and divested of
its great spreading leaves, and all that is hard and tough, consists of
a white and tender young shoot or head, having its leaves and berries
perfectly formed, and ready to replace the old one. When in search of
these, we were forced to cut down a lofty tree for each individual
cabbage.
One good property of the woods which cover this island is, that they are
every where of easy access, as there is no undergrowth, except in some
of the deepest valleys, where the fern grows exceedingly high, and of
which there are very large trees, with trunks of considerable
solidity.[270] Some of the English who had been formerly here, had sowed
turnips, which have spread much, as have also two or three plantations
of small pompions; but my men never had patience to let any of these
come to maturity. We found also plenty of water-cresses and wild sorrel.
Some of the hills are remarkable for a fine red earth, which I take to
be the same with that of which the inhabitants of Chili make their
earthenware, which is almost as beautiful as the red porcelain of China.
The northern part of the island is well watered by a great many streams
which flow down the narrow valleys; and we found the water to keep well
at sea, and to be as good as any in the world.
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