South America - A General History And Collection Of Voyages And Travels - Volume 7 - By Robert Kerr
 - 

[Footnote 295: It is not said how he had got away from the negroes. - E.]

While between Cape Verd and - Page 269
South America - A General History And Collection Of Voyages And Travels - Volume 7 - By Robert Kerr - Page 269 of 441 - First - Home

Enter page number    Previous Next

Number of Words to Display Per Page: 250 500 1000

[Footnote 295:

It is not said how he had got away from the negroes.

- E.]

While between Cape Verd and Bonavista on the 26th, we saw many flying fishes of the size of herrings, two of which fell into the boat which we towed at our stern. The 28th we fell in with Bonavista, one of the Cape de Verd islands, which is 86 leagues from that cape. The north side of that island is full of white sandy hills and dales, being somewhat high land. That day we came to anchor about a league within the western point, in ten fathoms upon fine sand, but it is quite safe to go nearer in five or six fathoms, as the ground is every where good. The 30th we went into a bay within a small island about a league from our first anchorage, where we took plenty of various kinds of fish. Whoever means to anchor in this bay may safely do so in four or five fathoms off the south point of the small island; but must beware of the middle of the bay, where there is a ledge of rocks on which the sea breaks at low water, although then they are covered by three fathoms water. The last day of January, our general went on shore in the bay to some houses, where he found twelve Portuguese, the whole island not having more than 30 inhabitants, who were all banished men, some condemned to more years of exile and some to less, and among them was a simple man who was their captain. They live on goat's flesh, cocks and hens, with fresh water, having no other food except fish, which they do not care for, neither indeed have they any boats wherewith to catch them. They told us that this island had been granted by the king of Portugal to one of his gentlemen, who had let it at 100 ducats of yearly rent, which was paid by the profit on goats skins, of which 40,000 had been sent from that island to Portugal in one year. These men made us very welcome, entertaining us as well as they could, giving us the carcasses of as many he-goats as we pleased, and even aided us in taking them, bringing them down for us from the mountains on their asses. They have great store of oil procured from tortoises, which are _fishes_ that swim in the sea, having shells on their backs as large as targets. It only rains in this island for three months in every year, from the middle of July to the middle of October; and the climate is always very hot. Cows have been brought here, but owing to the heat and drought they always died.

We left Bonavista, or Buenavista, on the 3d February, and fell in the same day with another island called Mayo, 14 leagues distant; there being a danger midway between the two islands, but it is always seen and easily avoided.

Enter page number   Previous Next
Page 269 of 441
Words from 140765 to 141269 of 230997


Previous 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 Next

More links: First 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
 110 120 130 140 150 160 170 180 190 200
 210 220 230 240 250 260 270 280 290 300
 310 320 330 340 350 360 370 380 390 400
 410 420 430 440 Last

Display Words Per Page: 250 500 1000

 
Africa (29)
Asia (27)
Europe (59)
North America (58)
Oceania (24)
South America (8)
 

List of Travel Books RSS Feeds

Africa Travel Books RSS Feed

Asia Travel Books RSS Feed

Europe Travel Books RSS Feed

North America Travel Books RSS Feed

Oceania Travel Books RSS Feed

South America Travel Books RSS Feed

Copyright © 2005 - 2022 Travel Books Online