Cap. XVI. T^Caribby-lflands. zpp 



months ■■> but it eats beft after a day or two making} there 

 are fome who would rather eat of it than of our ordinary 

 bread: And the greateft miracle is, that of a root fo dange- 

 rous of it felf people fliould by artifice get fo excellent nou- 

 riftiment : Thus the Moors drying a kind of poifonous Apri- 

 cocks which grow in their Country, in the, Sun, and after- 

 wards boiling them over a fire, make a certain drink thereof, 

 which is pleafant and may be drunk without any danger. 



But the Cajfava which the Caribbiams make is very delicate $ 

 for they have fo much patience to go through with any thing 

 they undertake, that they do better than the French^ who are 

 fo hafty, that they would make an end of any thing alToon as 

 they have begun it: But the Caribbians go \ea(uve\y to work, 

 and never confider the time (pent, fo the bufinefs be done to 

 their minds. 



And whereas fome Europ£ans who have ufed Cajfava, com- 

 plain that it is no good nouriftiment, that it injures the fto* 

 mack, corrupts the blooq*» changes the colour,, weakens the 

 nerves, and dries the body 3 it is to be considered, that as cu^ 

 ftoxn is a fecond nature, fo that many things, though bad in 

 themfelves, do Hot prejudice health, when one is accuftomed 

 thereto 3 fo on the contrary, thofe which are good and inno- 

 cent, nay the beft of their own nature, if a man be not accu- 

 ftomed thereto, are many times prejudicial and hurtful: To 

 confirm this truth, it is to be attributed to want ot cuftom, 

 what is related by fome Hiftorians of certain Sraflians^^ who 

 being (hut up with the Dutch in Sts, Jlfargarets Fort, could not 

 brook the bread and other provisions distributed to them as 

 Soldiers, and on which it was neceffary they mould fubfift, and 

 complained that they made them fick, and were the oecafions 

 of their death : To this purpofe there is a remarkable paffage, 

 in the Travels of Monfieur des Haps into the Levant 5 to wit 

 that the faidperfon entertaining fome tartars at his Table,who 

 knew not what bread was, caufed them to eat fome$ for within 

 two hours after, they thought they fliould have dyed when the 

 bread they had eaten began to fwell , and to caufe them great 

 pains. . 



There is another kindof bread among the Caribbians made 

 of the Spanijh wheat which they call Mais: The Englijh Inha- 

 bitants of the Barmouthos ufe no other: There are fome i; alfo 

 whoinfteadof bread eat the root called Potatoe., whereof wg 

 have given a defcription elfewhere. 



As concerning the other provifions ufed by the Caribbians % 

 their moft ordinary dithes, and which are ufed alfo by the Ca- 

 ribbians of the Continent, are Lizards, Fifh of all forts, Tortoir 

 fes only excepted, and Pulfe, as Peafe, Beans, &c. but their 

 ordinary food (contrary to the Inhabitants of Madagafcar who 

 haveahorrour for that kind of fuftenance) is Crabs, got very 



Q q 2 dears 



