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 
Palmetto tree, the Prickle peare, sufficient fish, plentie of Tortoises and 
diuers other kinds which sufficed to sustaine 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 I have seene a bushell of egges in one of their 
bellies, which are sweeter than any Henne egge: and the Tortoise itselfe 
is all very good meate, and yieldeth great store of oyle, which is as 
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 ys very 
great pleasure, it being very sweete nourishing and wholesome.” 
William Strachy’s account of this event is still more complete. It is 
strange he makes no mention of the lizards in his enumeration of the 
animals: 
‘““Wormes I neuer saw any, nor any venomous thing, as Toade, or 
Snake, or any creeping beast hurtfull, onely some Spiders, which as 
many affirme are signes 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 moneths sooner, true it is the Hogs 
grew poore, 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. I 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 absolutely 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 fiue 
hundred at a time in the opening of a shee Turtle) in the Sand by the 
