REPTILES OF BERMUDA. 291 



George Summers, July 28, 1609, among other things upon which his 

 party subsisted, says: '^Lastly they found the berries of Cedar, the 

 Pahuetto tree, the Prickle peare, sufiicieut fish, plentie of Tortoises and 

 diucrs other kinds which sufficed to sustains nature." Sylvanus Jour- 

 dan's narrative of the same occurrence adds : 



"There are also great store of Tortoises (which some call turtles), 

 and those so great, that 1 have scene a bushell of egges in one of treir 

 bellies, which are sweeter than any Henne egge: and the Tortoise itpc '^e 

 is all very good meate, and yieldeth great store of oyle, which i- a^ 

 sweete as any butter: and one of them will suffice fifty men a meale at 

 least: and of these hath beene taken great store, with two boates at 

 the least forty in one day. . . . We carried with vs also a good 

 portion of Tortoise oyle, which either for frying or baking did vs very 

 great pleasure, it being very sweete nourishing and wholesome." 



William Strachy's account of this event is still more comi^lete. It is 

 strange he makes no mention of the lizards in his enumeration of the 

 animals: 



" Wormes 1 neuer saw any, nor any venomous thing, as Toade, or 

 Snake, or any creeping beast hurtfull, onely some Spiders, which as 

 many affirme are sigues of great store of Gold. . . . And when 

 there was any fret of weather (for vpon euery increase of wind the 

 billow would be so great, as it was no putting out with our Gundall or 

 Canow) that we could not fish nor take Tortoyses, then wee killed our 

 Hoggs. But in February when the Palme Berries began to be scant or 

 dry, and the Cedar berries failed two moueths sooner, true it is the Hogs 

 grew i)oore, and being taken so, wee could not raise them to be better, 

 for besides those Berries we had nothing wherewith to franke them: 

 but euen then the Tortoyses came in againe, of which wee daily both 

 turned vp great store, finding them on Land, as also sculling after them 

 in our Boate strooke them with an Iron goad, and sod, baked, and 

 roasted them. The Tortoyse is reasonable toothsom (some say) whol- 

 some meate. 1 am sure our Company liked the meate of them verie 

 well, and one Tortoyse would goe further amongst them then three 

 Hogs. One Turtle (for so we called them) feasted well a dozen Messes, 

 appointing sixe to euery Messe. It is such a kind of meat as a man 

 can neither absolutelj" call Fish nor Flesh, keeping most what in the 

 water, and feeding vpon Sea-grasse, like a Heifer, in the bottom of the 

 Coues and Bayes, and laying their Egges (of which wee should finde flue 

 hundred at a time in the opening of a shee Turtle) in the Sand by the 



