35 



*A M E %1 C J. 



Chap. XVIII. 



Rcptilffs. 



Infeftf.' 



ri/hcs. 



Dffcription 

 €>f the Sea- 

 Unicorn. 





of Or'moca, Tdanftenys, Colibrys, befides what are common araongftus, as Herons, Coots, 

 or Moor-bens, Slack- birds, Feldivars, Tbrufies, Turtles, Wood quijls, Pintados, Sec. 



The Reptiles are, Jnotis, Zoauets, and Maboujats (of which farther mention will 

 occur in the Iile of St. Qbriflopher) Olobemouches , nam'd by the Car ibbeeanSjOuWcoums,, 

 Scorfwns, and feveral forts of Lizards, call'd by the Caribbeeans, Ouamayaca ; by the 

 Srajilians, Senembi • and by other Lidians, Jaquanas. 



The Infects are, befides thefe common with us, as Glowworms , Palmer* worms , Spi- 

 ders, Sees, Sec. the Cucuyos, mentioned in. Hifpaniola, and the flying Tyger. 



The Fifhes are, Sea-Parrots, the Dorada, by fome call'd The SeaSjeam, by others, 

 The Jmber-pfl> } the (Bonite, the Needle-fifr, the Epadon, or Smrd-fijl?, the MarfoVin, the 

 Requiem, the femora, the Lamaritin, the Becune, the SeaAlrcbin, the Sea-Woodcock, be- 

 fides Whales, and a cettan Fifti call'd, for its hideous fliape, The Sea.DeYtl, and laftly, 

 the Sea»Unicorn, with a particular Defcription of which we fhall conclude, as ha- 

 ving it from Monfieur du Montel, who was an Eycwitnefsther«of. 



" This Unicom (faith he) waspurfuinga Carangue, or fome other lefTer Fifh, with 

 u fuch carneftnefs and impetuofity, that not considering that it needed a greater 

 " depth of Water than the other, it ftuck with half the Body dry on a Sandbank, 

 11 whence it could not recover the deeper Waters ere it was deftroy'd by the Inha- 

 €C bitants: It was about eighteen Foot in length, being at the largeft part of its 

 '" Body about the bignefs of a Barrel: It had fix great Fins like the ends of Galley. 

 " Oars, whereof two were plac'd near the Gills, and the other four on the fides of 

 " the Belly at equal diftances . they were of a Vermilion red colour : All the up- 

 u per part of the Body was cover'd with great Scales, about the bignefs of a 

 " Crown-Piece, which were of a blue colour, intermix'd with feveral Spangles of 

 ," Silver j near the Neck the Scales were clofer, and of a dark colour, fceming as 

 " it were a Collar ; the Scales under the Belly were yellow, the Tail forked, the 

 u Head fomewhat bigger than that of a Horfe, and near the fame figure : Ic was 

 " cover'd with a hard and dark-colour'd Skin ; and as the Land-Unicorn hath one 

 u Horn in his Fore-head, fo this Sea*Mwcor» had a very fair one ifluing out of the 

 u fore-part of his Head, about nine Foot and a half in length ,• it was as ftrcight 

 " as could be, and from the place whence it came out it grew fmaller and fmaller 

 " to the very Point, which was fo fliarp, that being thruft hard, it would enter in- 

 " to Wood or Stone, or fome more folid Subftance ; it was at the place where it 

 et came out of the Head, about fixtcen Inches about, and from thence to two thirds 

 €c of the length it was like a Screw, or, to fay better, made waving like a wreath'd 

 , 4£ Pillar, favethat the Channels grew fmaller and fmaller, till they gently ended in 

 " a Point, which was two Inches beyond the fourth Foot : All the lower part had 

 " over it an Afli-colour'd Skin, which was all over cover'd with a fmall foft Hair, 

 €i ftiort as Plufli, and of the colour of a wither'd Leaf, but under that it was as 

 €C white as Ivory : As to the other part, which feem'd naked, it was naturally po- 

 " lifli'd, of a fliining Black, mark'd with certain fmall white and yellow Strokes, 

 €i and of fuch folidity, that a ftiarp File could hardly get a little fmall Powder from 

 " it : It had no Ears (landing up, but two fpacious Gills, as the other Fifties 5 the 

 " Eyes were about the bignefs of a Hens Egg j the Ball, which was of a Skye-colouc 

 <c Enamell'd with Yellow, was encompalVd with a certain Vermilion, which had 

 <c beyond it another as clear as Cryftal : The Mouth was wide enough, and fur* 

 "nifh'd with feveral Teeth, whereof thofe before were extreamly ftiarp, and thole 

 " towards the Throat in both Jaws were broad, and a little knobbed : The 

 " Tongue was of a length and thicknefs proportionable, and cover'd with a rough 

 Z Skin of a Vermilion colour. What was further remarkable, is, that this Fifti 



had 



