CUBA. 75 



Noa/j's two fons covering him when drunk, and the other fcoffing at it j 

 addins:, that the Indians defcended from the latter, and therefore had no coats 

 rior cloaks ; but that the Spaniards defcending from the other that covered 

 him, were therefore cloathed, and had horfes. The true reafon, in all pro- 

 bability, why the Spaniards deftroyed, with fo little pity, fo vaft a number 

 of innocent people, was a covetous defire of polTeffing the whole ifland, and 

 all its real and fuppofed riches : for, at this time, they fancied that the parts 

 of the illand pofTeffed by the natives, were exceffively rich in gold, of which, 

 while they fuffered them to live, the Spaniards did really receive a very large 

 ihare ; but (ince their extirpation, there has been very little, and at prefent 

 there is fcarce any gold to be found. The gold was taken out of the rivers, 

 which required not only a great deal of time and patience, but many hands, 

 and a perfed: knowledge of the places where it was to be met with. This ac- 

 counts for the lofing diat precious metal with the people, and fhews how 

 weak a point of policy this doctrine of extirpation really is. 



There is no winter here : but in JunCy "July and AuguJI, when the fun is al- 

 moft vertical, then they have great rains, and often violent florms, which great- 

 ly mitigate the extreme heat of the climate. The fairell: feafon is when the fun 

 is fartheft from them, and then it is hottefl: in the morning; for towards noon 

 a fea-breeze fprings up, which blows pretty brifk till the evening. The 

 trade-wind in thofe feas blows from the E. and by N. At the full and 

 change of the moon, from OBober to April, they have brifk winds at N. 

 and N. W. which in December and 'January often turn into florms, though 

 this is called their fair feafon. 



It is faid to hav6 in general the beft land of any ifland in America, and is 

 capable of producing prodigious quantities of all the commodities furnifhed 

 by that quarter of the world j particularly ginger, long-pepper, and other 

 fpices, cafTia-fiftula, maftic, and aloes j large cedars, and other odoriferous 

 trees, oaks, pines, palm-trees, plenty of large vines, fine cotton trees, and ex- 

 cellent tobacco ; befides plenty of pine-apples, plantains, bananas, guavas, 

 and lemons. Here are alfo fome large walks of cacao trees, and good fugar- 

 works, worked by horfe and water mills, which are faid to make the heft fu- 

 gars in the Weji-lndies, though in no great quantity, for want of hands to 



L 2 cultivate 



