2o6 



Travels in India. 



Part. 11. 



one of the Souldiers Arms, which the Serjeant perceiving, immediately (hot the 

 Lion with his Carbine ; but when he was dead, they had much ado to open the 

 Lions mouth, to get out the Souldiers Arm. Thus it appears a vulgar ercor, 

 to believe that Lions will not come near the fire. As for the Souldier, the Ca- 

 fres cur'd his Arm in twelve days. There are in the Fort abundance of Lions 

 and Tigers Skins ; among the reft, there was the Skin of a Horfe which the Ca- 

 fres had kill'd ; it was white, crofs'd with black itreaks, fpotted like a Leopard, 

 without a Tail. Two or three Leagues from the Hollanders Fort, there was a 

 Lion found dead, with four Porcupines Quils in his body, the third part where- 

 of had piere'd his flefh. So that it was judg'd, that the Porcupine had kill'd 

 the Lion. The Skin, with the Quils in it, is kept in the Fort. 



A League from the Fort, is a fair Town, that grows bigger and bigger every 

 day. When the Holland Company arrives there with their Ships, if any Soul- 

 dier or Mariner will live there,they are very glad of it. They have as much ground 

 as they can mannage ; where they have all forts of Herbs, and Puffe, and as 

 much Rice, and as many Grapes as they can defire. They have alfo young 

 Oftridges, Beef, Sea-fifh, and fweet water. To catch the Oftridges when they 

 pleafe, they got their Nefts when they are young, and driving a ftake in the 

 ground, tye the Birds by one Leg to the ftake, and when they are old enough 

 they come and take them out of the Neft, from whence it is impoffible to fly 

 away. 



When the Hollanders began to inhabit the Cape, they took a young Girl from 

 lier ; ,Mother, as foon as me was born ; fhe is white, only her Nofe is a little flar. 

 A French man got her with Child, and would have marry'd her ; but the Com- 

 pany were fo far from permitting him, that they took away above a hundred 

 Livres of the Maids wages from her, to puniiTi her for the mifdemeanour, which 

 was fomewhat hard. ê 



There are great numbers of Lions and Tigers, which the Hollanders have a 

 pretty invention to take ; they faften a Carbine to a ftake, driv'n into the Earth, 

 and lay meat round about the Gun, which meat is faften'd with a ftring to the 

 Trigger. So that when the Beaft fnatches the meat, the ftring pulls the Trig- 

 ger, and the Gun going off, hits the Lion either in the throat or the breaft. 



The Cafres feed upon a Root like our Skerrets, which they roaft and make 

 bread of. Sometimes they grin'd it into flower, and then it rafts like a Wal- 

 nut. For their food they eat the lame Root raw, with raw Fifh ; with the En- 

 trails of Beafts, out of which they only fqueeze the ordure. As for the bowels 

 of the wild Beafts, the women wear them dry'd about their Legs, efpecially 

 the bowels of thofe Beafts which their Husbands kill, which they look upon as 

 a kind of Ornament. They alfo feed upon Tortoifes, when they have fo far heat- 

 ed them at the fire,as to make the Shells come off. They are very expert in darting 

 their Aaagaya's ; and thofe that have none, make ufe of pointed fticks, which 

 they will lance a great way. With thefe they go down to the Sea-fide, and as 

 foon as ever they fpy a Fifh near the top of the water, they will not fail to 

 ftrike him. 



As for their Birds, which are like our Ducks, whofe Eggs are without any 

 Yolk ; they breed in fuch great quantities in the Countrey , that in a Bay about 

 eighteen Miles from the Cape, you may knock them on the head with a ftick. 



The Hollanders once carried a young Cafre to the General at Batavia, who 

 bred him carefully up, teaching him to underftand the Dutch and Portugal Lan- 

 guages perfectly well! At length being defirous to return into his Country, the 

 General gave him very good Cloaths,and good Linnen, hoping that he would have 

 îiv'd among the Hollanders , and bin ferviceable to them in the difcovery of the 

 Country ; but fo foon as he got home, he flung his Cloa^hs i' the Sea, and return'd 

 wild among his fellow Natives, eating raw flefh as he did before, and quite for- 

 getting his Benefa&ors. 



When the Cafres go a hunting, they go a great number together, and make 

 fuch a prodigious howling and yelling, that they fright the very Beafts them- 

 felves, and in that affright with eafe deftroy them 5 and I have been affur'd, 

 that their cries do terrifie the Lions themfelves. 



The women are of fo hot a conftitution of Body, that at the times that their 



monthly 



