A.D. THE ENGLISH VOYAGES 



1555. 



barre where our ship knocked her keele at her entrie: 

 and there our ship rid before the towne, where wee 

 went on land, & refreshed our selves 16. dayes, where 

 we found no bread made of wheat, but biscuit brought 

 out of Spaine, and out of the bay of Mexico : for 

 the countrey it selfe doeth yeelde no kinde of bread 

 to make graine withall. But the bread they make there, 

 is certaine cakes made of rootes called Cassavi, which 

 is something substantiall, but it hath but an unsavorie 

 taste in the eating thereof. Flesh of beefe and mutton 

 they have great store : for there are men that have loooo. 

 head of cattell, of oxen, bulles and kine, which they 

 doe keepe onely for the hides : for the quantitie of 

 flesh is so great, that they are not able to spend the 

 hundreth part. Hogs flesh is there good store, very 

 sweete and savorie, and so holsome, that they give it 

 to sick folkes to eat in stead of hennes and capons, 

 although they have good store of poultrie of that sort, 

 [III. 449.] as also of Guinycocks & Guinyhens. At the time of 

 our being there, the citie of S. Domingo was not of 

 above 500. housholds of Spaniards, but of the Indians 

 dwelling in the suburbs there were more. The country 

 is most part of the yere very hot, & very ful of a 

 kind of flies or gnats with long bils, which do pricke 

 & molest the people very much in the night when 

 they are asleepe, in pricking their faces and hands, 

 and other parts of their bodies that lie uncovered, & 

 Many of our make them to swel wonderfully. Also there is another 

 men died of Y\n^ of small worme which creepeth into the soles 

 at the taking ^^ niens feet & especially of the black Moores and 

 of Puerto rico. children which use to go barefoot, & maketh their 

 feet to grow as big as a mans head, & doth so ake 

 that it would make one run mad. They have no 

 remedy for the same, but to open the flesh sometimes 

 3. or 4. inches & so dig them out. The countrey yeeldeth 

 great store of suger, hides of oxen, buls and kine, 

 ginger, Cana fistula & Salsa perillia : mines of silver 

 & gold there are none, but in some rivers there is 



342 



