SPANISH SEAMEN IN THE NEW WORLD 657 



the passengers and sailors, who in addition stole whatever food 

 they could lay hands upon; 131 for even the slaves who aided the 

 sailors in their necessities were not provided for by the king's 

 allowance of food and water. 132 For these reasons the sailors had 

 to spend their wages buying provisions for themselves and their 

 slaves. This was often the cause of overloading the ships, and 

 was responsible for failure to carry the proper kinds of food, 

 because of which the Indian common seamen suffered most, 

 since they were less used to provide for themselves than the 

 Spanish sailors. 133 The Indians were even permitted to die of 

 hunger and thirst aboard ship for lack of adequate provision and 

 care. 134 The various messes aboard stocked themselves as best 

 they could. Swine, hens, fruit, and an abundance of greens 

 were put on the deck until the ship looked like a floating garden. 



But these never lasted the entire voyage. If fish could be 

 caught en route the passengers and crew were fortunate, for the 

 food became corrupted, and the water gave out unless the 

 supply could be replenished from the rainfall. 



Gemelli Careri, who traveled as a cabin passenger, gives the 

 most graphic account of the hardships and fare aboard the gal- 

 leon. Eating at the boatswain's mess, he began with fresh 

 fowl, but ere long he found himself eating the king's allowance 

 of rations to the men, of which he gives us a description. 



. . . At last he depriv'd me of the satisfaction of gnawing a good 

 bisket, because he would spend no more of his own, but laid the king's 

 allowance on the table; in every mouthful whereof there went down 

 abundance of maggots and Gorgojos chew'd and bruis'd. On fish days 

 the common diet was old rank fish boil'd in fair water and salt; at 

 noon we had Mongos, something like kidney beans, in which there were 

 so many maggots, that they swam at the top of the broth, and the 

 quantity was so great, that besides the loathing they caus'd, I doubted 

 whether the dinner was fish or flesh. This bitter fare was sweeten'd 

 after dinner with a little water and sugar; yet the allowance was but a 

 small cocoa shell full, which rather increased than quenched drought. 



111 Los Rios, op. cit., in Blair and Robertson, XVIII. 301. 

 " 2 Ibid. 



*Ibid., p. 325. 

 184 Ibid., p. 300. 



