1 



Mr. W AF E R 's Yoyjtges, Sec. 3 97 



juft going to ftrike among them, the whole Herd 

 jump'd into the Sea, leaving the Men in Amaze- 

 ment, and forely vex'd at their Difappointment. 

 But at another Time they fhot and brought on, 

 Board two of them which eat like Land-pork, ex- 

 cept fome fifhy Tafte it had. They were lhap'd 

 much like Swine, and had fhort Hair more briftly 

 than that of Seals ; and like them had finny Stumps 

 to fwim with, and were of a black Colour. The 

 Country hereabouts is well water'd, but without 

 any Inhabitants. Here is notwithftanding Abun- 

 dance of black Cattle, of which for feveral Scores 

 of Leagues we obferv'd many Herds ; with Deer 

 alfo and Eftridges. 



We faw a great many of thefe Eftridges, and Eftrttges^. 

 found Abundance of their Eggs on the Sand : For 

 there Ihe drops her Eggs upon the Ground, and 

 'tis faid fhe never takes any farther Care of them ; 

 but that they are hatched by the Sun, and the 

 young one fo foon as hatched follows the firft Crea- 

 ture it meets with. I my felf had fometimes a great 

 many young Eftridges following me. They are a 

 foolifh Bird and will follow a Deer or any Crea- 

 ture. The old Birds are here very large: I mea- 

 fur'd the Thigh of one of them, and thought it 

 little lefs than my own. We have had feveral of 

 them on Board, and fome we eat but the old 

 ones were very rank, coarfe Food. Some fancy 

 that the Eftridge eats Iron: I believe juft as truly as 

 Poultry eat^ebble Stones, not as Food, but for 

 Digeftion, and to ferve as Mill-ftones, or Grinders, 

 to macerate their Food in the Maw. The Eftridge 

 will indeed fwallow Nails or Stones, or any thing 

 you throw to it ; but they pafs through the Body as 

 whole as they went in. 



Putting off to Sea again, we coafted along Brajil, Brafil. \ 

 and thence toward© the Caribbee-IQands ; where 

 tneeting with one Mr. Edwin Carter, in a Barba- 



does 



