nieuhoff's brazil. 701 



looked upon as a fovereign remedy againft the ftone in the bladder, the flefii being of 

 an oily tafte. 



The 24th we faw great quantities of fmall birds about our veffel, and catched one 

 not unlike a crane, but fomewhat fmaller, it being a very fair day. 



The :26th, being under the fifth degree forty-feven minutes, we were fo becalmed 

 that we could not perceive the Ihip to move, and fpent our time in catching of filh, of 

 which we had fuch plenty, that we chofe only the beft for our eating ; among the reft 

 we met with a fifh called the king*s-fifh : for by reafon of the impenetrable depth of 

 the fea in this place, the waters are fo clear and tranfparent in ftill weather, that you 

 may fee the fi(h in vafl numbers fwimming near two feet deep ; fo that you need but 

 fallen a crooked nail or any thing elfe like a hook to a ftring, and hanging it in the 

 fea, you may catch as many fifh as you pleafe. This calm was followed by a moft 

 violent florm of rain. 



The 30th we found ourfelves under the fourth degree forty-one minutes, where we 

 faw abundance of flying-fifh. 



The 3d of December we came under the firll degree thirty minutes, where we met 

 with millions of lilh, and did catch as many as we thought fit : fome we put in fait, 

 others we rubbed in the belly with pepper and fait, and hung them up by the tail in 

 the fun. 



The 4th, by break of day, being very clear weather, we faw the ifland of St. Paulo, 

 as it is called by the Portuguefe, which at a diftance reprefents a fail, which as you 

 approach nearer to it, proves five high rocks. About noon we found ourfelves at fifty- 

 three minutes of northern latitude, taking our courfe five leagues to the weft. Here 

 at feveral times we catched fome fea-gulls ; thofe birds make a fhew as if they would 

 bite you, but remain immoveable in the place, till they are caught or killed. 



The 5th^ about eleven o'clock we paffed the equinodial line, fo that in the after- 

 noon we found ourfelves at five minutes fouthern latitude, where we had but little reafon 

 to complain of cold ; it being often fo calm here, that fhips are forced to fpend a con- 

 fiderable time in paffing this traft. It is extremely hot here, and great fcarcity of good 

 and fweet water, the rain-water being not wholefome, but caufmg the fcurvy, by rea- 

 fon of its being corrupted by the violent heat of the fun. 



About three years after my arrival in Brazil, a certain Portuguefe fhip was found 

 adrift under the equinoctial line, without any living creature in it, which, according 

 to the journal, had been fix whole weeks under the line. We had a very good paf- 

 fage, and catched abundance of fifh, and among the reft a certain fifh called the 

 blower, which fwallow a confiderable quantity of water in their guts, and then at once 

 fpout it forth again. They will follow the fhips for a long time. 



The 8th we paffed by the ifle called Ilha Ferdinando of Neronha ; it being very 

 ferene weather, we faw vaft numbers of birds, and whole fhoals of flying fifh, which 

 were followed by the Bonytes and Korets. 



The ifland of Ferdinando of Neronha, fituated under the fourth degree of fouthern 

 latitude, about fifty leagues from the coaft of Brazil, was about the year 1 630 inha- 

 bited by the Dutch, but by reafon of the vaft number of rats, which confumed all the 

 fruits of the earth, deferted by them a few years after ; it being other wife a very fruit- 

 ful ifland, and abounding with fifh, the inhabitants of Receif being ufed to fend their 

 fifher-boats thither, which return commonly well freighted with fifh. The council 

 of Brazil did afterwards fend a certain number of negroes thither, under the conduft 

 of one Gellis Vepant, to cultivate the ground for their fubfiftence, who likewife ftayed 

 there for fome time. About a-year and a half after, the council of juftice banifhed 



feveral 



