698 



NIEUHOFF S BRAZIL. 



As to his perfon, I will only add thus much : he was born at Uffen, in the earldom 

 of Benthem, (where his father, brother, and brother-in-law, were all three Burgo- 

 mafters) of a good family, the 22d of July 161 8. He was a comely perfon, of a 

 good underftanding, good humoured, .and agreeable in converfation ; a great admirer 

 of poefy, drawing, and mufic : as he delighted in travelling, fo he was thereby be- 

 come mafter of divers languages : in what ftation he lived during his abode in Brazil, 

 and the Eaft Indies, will befl appear by the two following treatifes.* 



Henry Nieuhoff. 



VOYAGES AND TRAVELS INTO BRAZIL. 



IN the year 1 640, I entered into the fervice of the Weft India company, and on the 

 24th of Odober went in the quality of merchant-fupercargo, aboard the fhip called 

 the Roebuck, of twenty-eight guns and one hundred and thirty men, commanded by 

 Nicholas Selles of Durkendam. We fet fail out of the Texel the fame day, in com- 

 pany of feveral other vefTels bound for France, Spain, and the Streights ; and purfued 

 our voyage the 28th, with a favourable gale, through the channel betwixt France and 

 England. 



On the 29th we were overtaken with a moft violent tempeft, which obliged us to 

 take in all our great fails; it continued from morning to night, when the fury of the 

 winds being fomewhat allayed, we found that we had efcaped without any confiderable 

 damage ; but the fea continued very turbulent all that night. The next day following, 

 our feamen catched a wood-fnipe, a wild pigeon, and feveral other fmall birds, which 

 were forced into the fea by the violence of the ftorm. 



On the 31ft we found ourfelves under the forty-fifth degree of northern latitude. 

 The next morning, being the firft of November, fome of our feamen catched a fea-hog, 

 by means of a harpoon : it was fo big, that four men could fcarce lift it into the fhip. 

 Its tafte was not very agreeable, but rankifh, which was the reafon our men did not 

 catch any more of them, though they fwam in vaft numbers round about our vefTel. 

 By fun-fet, the wind beginning to increafe, we parted from the other fhips bound 

 for Spain and the Streights, which were not feparated from us in the laft ftorm, fteering 

 our courfe fouth-weft. The 2d and 3d it blew very hard, with thunder and lightning, 

 fo that we were forced to take in all our great fails, and the fhip being very leaky 

 ever ftnce the laft tempeft, to ply the pump with all our might. 



The 4th V7e found ourfelves under 40° 30', when, about midnight, the wind increafed 

 with fo much violence, that the air which furrounded us appeared no otherwife than 

 one continual fire, occafioned by the lightning, which fcarce ever ceafed all that night. 

 During this calamity we perceived certain fmall fires or lights, fixed to the maft : 

 they are called Peaceable*s Fires by the feamen. Thefe fires are fuppofed to be certain 

 fulphureous vapours, forced by the violence of the winds from the fhore into the fea, 

 where, being lightened by the violent agitation of the air, they burn till their oily 



* The Voyage to the Eaft Indies is omitted. 



, I fubftance 



