1768. HOUND THE WORLD. 23 



of two kinds, sea-bream, and some of the fish which, 

 in the West Indies, are called Welshmen. Mr. Banks 

 had taken Spanish silver with him, which he ima- 

 gined to be the currency of the Continent, but to 

 his great surprise the people asked him for English 

 shillings ; he gave them two, which he happened to 

 have about him, and it was not without some dispute 

 that they took the rest of the money in pistereens. 

 Their business seemed to be to catch large fish at a 

 good distance from the shore, which they salted in 

 bulk, in a place made for that purpose in the middle 

 of their boat : of this merchandize they had about 

 two quintals on board, which they offered for about 

 16 shillings, and would probably have sold for half 

 the money. The fresh fish, which was bought for 

 about nineteen shillings and sixpence, served the 

 "whole ship's company : the salt was not wanted. 



The sea-provision of these fishermen consisted of 

 nothing more than a cask of water, and a bag of 

 Cassada flour, which they called Farinha de Pao, or 

 wooden flour ; which, indeed, is a name which very 

 well suits its taste and appearance. Their water- 

 cask was large, as wide as their boat, and exactly 

 fitted a place that was made for it in the ballast ; it 

 was impossible therefore to draw out any of its con- 

 tents by a tap, the sides being, from the bottom to 

 the top, wholly inaccessible ; neither could any be 

 taken out by dipping a vessel in at the head, for an 

 opening sufficiently wide for that purpose would have 

 endangered the loss of great part of it by the rolling 

 of the vessel : their expedient to get at their water, 

 so situated, was curious ; when one of them w^anted 

 to drink, he applied to his neighbour, who accom- 

 panied him to the water-cask with a hollow cane 

 about three feet long, which was open at both ends j 

 this he thrust into the cask through a small hole in 

 the top, and then, stopping the upper end with the 

 palm of his hand, drew it out ; the pressure of the 

 air against the other end keeping in the water which 



c 4 



