238 LOSS OF A SPANISH FRIGATE. 
half an hour without being able to catch more than four. But, 
to' compensate for the loss of them, having observed a great 
number of parrots on some neighboring trees, I had recourse 
to my musket, of which we had hitherto made no use, and 
killed six, which furnished us an excellent meal. They were 
of a species, the flesh of which, though hard and black, is ex- 
tremely delicious; when young, and consequently more ten- 
der, they are a dish fit for a king. We again set off and pass- 
ed the night near a cape, where we found abundance of the 
fruit called Icacos. We ate those raw which were the ripest, 
and broiled the others. 
With the morning's dawn commenced our fifth day's jour- 
ney. We passed two rivers on rafts, without meeting with 
any thing to eat till six in the evening, when I killed a pea- 
cock that perched on the summit of a tree, at the foot of which 
I was sitting to rest myself. We regaled upon, it and ate as if 
it had been the most delicious morsel we had yet met with. 
At noon the following day we arrived at a deserted hut, Avhere 
we found a great quantity of ripe plantains. We ate half ot 
them, carrying the remainder with us, not without apprehen- 
sions of being surprised in the fact, or afterward pursued by 
the owner of the cottage and all his family. But we were so 
fortunate as to see nobody. We continued our march till night, 
which we passed on the banks of a river, after making a sup- 
per on the plantains we had stolen. Though we had eaten a 
great quantity of them during the day, and this kind of fruit 
is pernicious on account of its excessive coldness, yet none of 
us experienced any inconvenience. 
The following day four of our company went to a moun- 
tain, at the distance of two leagues, to fetch wood proper for 
making a raft in order to cross the river. They left one man 
behind with me. I could scarcely stand, but was obliged to 
rise soon after their departure. The occasion was certainly 
worth the trouble ; it was to fire at a flock of ring-doves which 
came and perched on a tree about fifty paces from me. I crawl- 
ed almost on all fours nearly to the foot of the tree, as much 
from weakness as from fear of scaring them away. I fired 
with such success as to kill eighteen at one shot ; so that my 
comrades, on their return, found a banquet they did not ex- 
pect. Their joy on this occasion was so great that they scarce- 
ly perceived that they wanted wine to make the entertainment 
complete. The dates which they brought from the wood served 
for bread. 
After such an excellent repast we recommenced our march; 
