Chap. I. 
Commodore R o 
g o e w E I N. 
foon intoxicated himfelf to a'degree of Madnefs. This Liquor 
made him quarrelfome, and in this Condition he ran diredtly 
into the Cook-room, where he threw down a Pan of Greafe: 
The Cook, not dreaming that the Fellow was drunk, faid 
in a pretty quick Tone, You Rafcal , I have a great mind 
to break your Neck. Say you fo? replied the Swabber; and 
I will cut your Throat, if you /peak another Word , drawing 
his Knife as he fpoke to him, and ruffling upon him with- 
out the lead Notice. Some of the Crew gathered about 
immediately, and endeavoured, as foon as it was poffible, 
to get the Knife out of the Fellow’s Hands, which at laft 
they did, but not before he had drawn it twice or thrice 
acrofs the Cook’s Face. For this they drubbed the Fellow 
heartily, which he refented to fuch a degree, that, as loon 
as he got loofe, he took up a Knife, and gave himfelf 
three or four Stabs in the Belly* The utmoft Care was 
taken of him, till his Wounds were cured, in order to make 
him a public Example to the Ship’s Crew, that fuch Ac- 
cidents might be prevented for the future. After his Re- 
covery, he was treated in the following manner. In the 
firfl Place, he was declared infamous at the Foremaft, he 
was then thrice Keel- haled; then he had 300 Strokes upon 
the Buttocks ; and, laft of all, his Right-hand was faftened 
to the Maft with his own Knife. When he had ftood in 
this Condition fome Minutes, he was carried to the Fore- 
caftle, and chained ; where; for a certain Number of Days, 
he was allowed only Bread and Water, and, after all, put 
in Irons, till he could be fet on fhore in the firft barren 
uninhabited Ifland they came to. 
There happened nothing very remarkable befides, in this 
Paffage, except that they faw feveral of the Cape de Verde 
Hands, in fome of which, it is faid, it never rains ; and 
yet the Dew falls fo copioufly, that the Soil produces abun- 
dance of Herbs, and excellent Fruits. I cannot, adds the Au- 
thor, fay much as to this, but I think it fo much the more 
probable, becaufe we are acquainted with other Countries, 
where, it is certain, it never rains. For Inftance, about the 
Rio de Lagao , on the Coaft of Africa, near the Tropic of 
Capricorn , where the Chrifiians, who inhabit in that Neigh- 
bourhood, never remember to have feen Rain. In like 
manner, it never, or at leaft very rarely, rains in Peru , 
from Cape Plane 0 to Goguimbo . In Egypt alfo it rains very 
feldom ; which, in my Opinion, is owing to the North-eaft 
and South-eaft Winds blowing conftantly in their Turns. 
Thefe Winds, as I apprehend, do not bring Vapours fo 
humid, as thofe that attend a Weft Wind, but rather fuch 
as fall in Dew. It is very rare, on this Side the Line, that 
a South-eaft W'ind brings any Rain; and, on the other Side, 
the North Wind blowing along the Line is warm, and 
has exaftly the fame Effefts that a South Wind has with 
us. It is alfo obferved throughout all Afia, that the Mon- 
foons reign conftantly the whole Year through ; that is to 
fay, the North-weft blows fix Months, and the other fix 
Months the South-eaft ; and it is alfo obfervable, that it 
is the Weft Wind that brings Rain. This Rain is often 
intermixed with Thunder and Lightning ; from all which 
it feems reafonable to infer, that the South-eaft blowing 
conftantly towards the North Pole, and the North-eaft 
blowing as conftantly towards the South Pole, is the true 
and certain Caufe why in fome Parts of the World it never 
rains. But to leave thefe Speculations, which are, how- 
ever, far from being ufelefs, let us now return to the 
Thread of our Relation. 
4 - „ Tlle y continued their Voyage, till they approached 
the Line : I he nequent Hinting of the Wind incommoded 
them exceedingly ; their Thirft increafing exceffively at 
the fame time, many of the Ship’s Crew were down of the 
Scurvy ; and when they met, as they fometimes did, with 
a Calm, when the Heat of the Sun was greater than ordi- 
nary, fome of the Crew were quite diftrafted, others fell 
into high Fevers, and fome had Fits like the Falling Sick- 
nefs ; moft 01 them loft tneir Appetite through an excef- 
llve Thirft. 1 heii frefh W ater, as it grew low, not only 
flunk abominably, but was alfo full of Worms : Their 
fait Provisions were, in a manner, quite fpoiled, and forved 
only to tin n their Stomachs, and increafe their Drought. 
It is generally faid, that, of all Torments, Hunger is the 
greateft ; but theie People apprehended that Maxim to be 
- ill-founded ; and that, inftead of Hunger, we ought to 
infort Thirft, if we would be thoroughly acquainted with 
the utmoft Mifery incident to human Nature. About this 
time, their Cares were fomewhat diverted, by an Accident 
which very much furprifed them : They obferved often, 
towards Evening, that the Sea appeared to be all on Fire, 
as if covered with flaming Brimftone : They took up fe- 
veral Buckets of Water when it was in this Condition, in 
order to examine it more clofely ; they then found it to be 
full of an infinite Number of little Globules, of the Size, 
Form, and Colour of Pearls : They obferved farther, that 
they retained their Luftre for fome time after they were 
held in their Hand ; but that, when preffed between the 
Fingers, they difeovered themfelves to be nothing more 
than an earthy fat Subftance like Mud: The moft experienced 
Mariners on board confeffed, that they had never feen any 
thing like it j and withal owned, they knew not what to 
make of it. The Author fays, that he leaves it to fuch 
as are skilled in Phyfics, to explain and account for this Phe- 
nomenon ; and, in order to give them fome Affiftance, 
he delivers this as his own Opinion, viz. that thefe Globules 
contain nothing, either of Sulphur or Salt-petre, as at firfl 
Sight they feemed to do ; but are, in reality, nothing more 
than the phlegmatic and groffer Part of the Salts contained 
in the Water, concreted by the exceffive Heat of the Sun 
in calm Weather, and again broken and difperfed among 
the Water, by the Motion of the Winds and Waves ; to 
which, perhap s, the Current of the Coaft of Guiney , in the 
Height of which they faw the fame Thing, might in fome 
mealure contribute. 
At length they paffed the Line, with the Lofs only of 
a fingle Man, who died of an high Fever. When they ar- 
rived in the Latitude of 3 0 South, they met with the true 
Monfoon, before which they bore away at a great Rate. 
In the Latitude of 5 0 , they had the Sun direftly over 
their Heads ; which calling then no Shadow, they were 
for fome Days without making an Obfervation. In the 
Latitude of 6° South, they caught a great Number of 
Dorados and Dolphins. Our Author fays, that, ftrfelly 
fpeaking, thefe are the fame Fiffi ; that the Dolphin is the 
Male, and tne Dorado the Female. There are fome of 
them fix Feet in Length, but not at all proportionable in 
Bulk ; they appear in the Water exceffively beautiful, their 
Skins ffiining as if ftreaked with Gold, but they lofe all 
thefe fine Colours as foon as they are taken out of that Ele- 
ment. Theit Fielh is very fweet and well-tafted, fo that the 
Seamen always feaft, fo long as Plenty of this Sort of Fifh 
is to be had. They likewife faw abundance of Sharks, 
many of which were ten Feet long ; the Fleffi of thefe 
Creatures is hard, ftringy, and of a very difagreeable 
Tafte ; notwithftanding which, the Seamen very frequently 
hang them up for a Day or two in the Air, and then eat 
them ; which Compliment the Sharks never fail to return, 
if, by any Accident, a Seaman comes in their Way, either 
dead or alive ; and feem to attend their Ships for that 
Purpofe. 
They now drew near the Coaft of Brafil, and paffed by, 
though at a pretty good Diftance, fome of the uninhabited 
Hands that lie on the Coaft, fuch as Trinity Ifland , and 
fome others. Their Defign was to have anchored at the 
Coaft of the Ifland Grande ; but, finding they were paft 
it, they continued their Route, till they arrived off Porto , 
in the Latitude of 24 0 South, where they came to an An- 
chor. As foon as they arrived in Sight of Porto , fome of 
the Ship’s Company, of whom our Author was one, got 
into the Shallop, in order to go afhore, as well for the fake 
of getting Water, Wood, and other Refrefhments, as in 
order to bury one of their Seamen. Before they could get 
on fhore, they faw a Body of Portuguefe well armed, move- 
ing along the Coaft, and who appeared to have no other 
Defign than to keep them from landing ; and, as they 
drew nearer, they beckoned to the Dutch to keep off, 
threatening to fire upon them, if they attempted to land : 
But, upon fhewing them the dead Body, they fuffered them 
to land, and even fliewed them a Place where they might 
interr it. 
As the Dutch were very defirous of gaining fome Intel- 
ligence, they afked a good many Queftions about the 
Country ; to which they could obtain no other Anfwer 
than this, that Porto was an Advance-port to St. Sehafiian , 
out 
