Chap. I. Commodore R. 
Diet or Subfiftence, they draw it intirely from the Earth. 
Every thing with them is fown, and raifed by Cultivation. 
All their little Plantations were flaked out, and very 
neatly divided. At the Time the Dutch were there, almoft 
all their Fruits and Plants, Herbs and Roots, were in full 
Maturity ; and our Author allures us it was his Opinion, 
that, if they had fearched the Country throughly, they 
fhould have found abundance of good Things. In their 
Hordes, however, they had not many Moveables, and 
thofe they had were of no great Value, except fome red 
and white Coverlets, that ferved them, when walking, for 
Cloaths, and, when deeping, for Quilts. This Stuff was 
as foft to the Touch as Silk, and, in all Appearance, was 
abfo lately of their own Manufacture. Thefe Iflanders were, 
in general, brifk, dender, adtive. Well-made People, and 
very fwift of Foot. They were, in point of Temper, of 
a fweet, agreeable, and modeft Difpofitioft, but extremely 
timorous and faint-hearted. Whenever they brought the 
Dutch either Fowls, or any other kind of Provisions, they 
haftily threw themfelves on their Knees •, and, as foon as 
they had delivered them, retired as faff as their Legs could 
carry them. They were, generally fpeaking, of as brown 
a Complexion as Spaniards. There were, however, fome 
amongft them almoft black, and others again white. There 
was yet another kind of People, whofe Skins were perfectly 
red, as if they had been burnt by the Sun ; their Ears hung 
down to their Shoulders •, and fome of them had white 
Balls hanging at them, which they feemed to confider as a 
great Ornament. 
Their Bodies were painted all over with the Figures of 
Birds, and other Animals ; and fome were much better 
painted, than others. All their Women, in general, had 
an artificial Bloom upon their Cheeks, but of a Crimfon far 
furpaffing any thing known to us in Europe ; nor could the 
-Dutch difeover what it was, of which this Colour was com- 
pofed. On their Heads they wore a little Hat made of 
Reeds or Straw, and had no other Covering than the Quilts 
before-mentioned. Their Women were none of the mo- 
■ defied ; for, our Author fays, they beckoned them into 
their Houles, and, when they fat by them, would throw 
off their Mantles. It is very fmgular, with regard to thefe 
Iflanders, that they faw nothing that had the Appearance 
of Arms, amongft them •, but, whenever they were attacked, 
they fled for Shelter and Affiftance to their Idols, Numbers 
of which were erefted all along the Coaft. Thefe Statues 
were all of Stone, of the Figure of a Man, with great Ears, 
and his Head covered with a Crown, the Whole very nicely 
proportioned, and fo highly finifhed in every refpeCl, that 
the Dutch flood amazed. Round thefe Idols there were 
-Palifadoes of white Stone, at the Diftance of twenty or 
thirty Yards. There were many of the Inhabitants, who 
feemed to be more frequent and more zealous Worfhippers 
of thefe Idols, than the reft ; which made the Dutch believe 
■ they were their Priefts : And they were the rather inclined 
to think fo, becaufe they had many other Marks ofDiftin- 
Ction •, filch as large white Balls hanging at their Ears, and 
their Heads clean fhaven. Thefe Priefts wore a kind of 
Bonnet of black and white Feathers, which exaCtly refem- 
bled thofe of a Stork •, which induced the Dutch to conceive, 
that, when thefe Birds leave Europe , Part of them, at leaft, 
take up their Refidence here. 
However, fays our Author, upon more mature Reflec- 
tion, I am convinced, that thefe Conjectures are not well- 
founded. It is true, continues he, that, if the Storks fought 
only a warm Climate, they might certainly find it here, 
fince this Ifiand lies in the Height of 28° 3 of But Expe- 
rience -thews 11s tire contrary, this Bird being in Europe about 
the Beginning of the Spring. For my own Part, my Opi- 
nion is, that, when the Stork quits Europe , fhe flies to 
fome Place under the South Pole. The principal Motive, 
if I may be fo allowed to fpeak, which can induce this Bird 
thus to change her Climate, is her Fear of not finding in 
Europe her proper Food beyond the Autumn •, and there- 
fore fhe goes in Search of a Country, where fhe may find 
the Spring, at her Arrival, juft begun, and be in no Fear of 
meeting with Food for half the Year. It may be therefore, 
that, when the Stork leaves Europe , (lie goes in Search of 
Food into fome Climate under 40° or 50° of South Latitude, 
either in Countries totally unknown, or in that Land, which 
OGCEWEIN. 267 
was difeovered by Hernando G allego in the Year 1595 ; and 
that fhe remains there till Autumn, and then returns to Eu- 
rope again. Epiphanes , Heidelin , Guieciardin , Munjler , and 
other learned Men, have written very ingenioufly upon this 
SubjeCl ; but, perhaps, none of their Conjectures were at 
all better founded than thofe of our Author. Thefe Spe- 
culations appear to many light and trivial Things ; but, 
with refpeCt to natural Knowledge, there is fuch a Connec- 
tion between feeming Trifles and Things of real Import- 
ance, that it is no eafy Matter to fay, which are T rifles, 
and which not. The Loadftone Is a fufficient Proof of this. 
Perhaps, if we throughly underftood the Nature of Birds 
of Paffage, we might be led thereby to Truths of great 
Confequence, that now lie hid, and out of Sight. But to 
return to the People in Pajch IJland : 
The Dutch could not diftinguifh among thefe Iflanders 
any Appearance of Government or Subordination, much 
lets any Prince or Chief, who had Dominion over the refL 
On the contrary, they all fpoke and aCted feemingly with 
equal Preedom. The old People among them wore on 
their Heads feathered Bonnets, which looked like the Down 
of Oftridges, and had Sticks in their Hands. They obferv- 
ed, indeed, in particular Hotifes, that the Father of the 
Family governed it, and was, with the greateft Readinefs, 
obeyed. The Author thinks, that this Ifland might be fet- 
tled to great Advantage, inafmuch as the Air is extremely 
wholfome, the Soil very rich and fruitful, proper for Corn 
in the low Lands, and, where it riles high, might be im- 
proved into Vineyards ; which, fuppofing it poflible, would 
be of infinite Confequence to fuch as took this Ifland in their 
Way, when bound tp difeover diftant Lands in the South- 
ern Part of the Globe. They had doubtlefs made much 
greater Difcoveries with refpeCt to this Ifland, and poflibly 
with regard to the Continent, from which, there is Reafon 
to believe, it cannot be far diftant, if they had not been 
obliged to leave it fuddenly, and when they leaft expeCted 
it. The thing happened thus : 
They had been in the Evening on fhore, and the Com- 
modore, on the Report of the Officers, determined to land 
the next Morning, with a Force fufficient to make a ftrift 
Examination of the whole Ifland ; but, before Morning, 
there arofe fo ftrong a Weft Wind, as drove them from 
both their Anchors •, fo that they were obliged to put to 
Sea, to avoid being fhipwrecked ; which, however, our 
Author thinks, would have been no great Misfortune, fince, 
if their Veffels had been loft, they might have palled their 
Days quietly and happily among the Indians , and have con- 
verted them to Chriftianity After this Misfortune, they 
cruifed fome time in the fame Latitude; and, having fought 
in vain to difeover Davis’s Land , they at length refolved 
to bear away to the Bad Sea of Schovten , fleering ftill a 
Weft Courfe, in hopes of difeovering fome new Country. 
In this, the Author thinks, the Commodore was to blame 5 
for he is of Opinion, that, inftead of fleering Weft, they 
ought to have fleered South, becaufe they foon fell in with 
a South-eaft Wind, which blew very ftrong; fo that thence- 
forward they faw no more Birds, which, he thinks, was a 
certain Proof, that they were driven farther and farther from 
the Land they were feeking ; whereas, if they had failed 
South-weft, they could not, in his Opinion, have failed of 
falling in with the Southern Continent. 
12. After leaving the Ifland of Pafcb, they were not 
long before they found themfelves in the Height of that 
Ifland called Badwater , difeovered by Schovten in the Year 
1615. and to which he gave that Name, becaufe all their 
Springs were brackifh. They were in hopes of difeovering 
at this Height fome Part alfo of the Southern Continent ; 
but, by changing their Courfe, they ran three hundred 
Leagues out of their Way, and at leaft one hundred and 
fifty Leagues farther than Schovten. That famous Seaman 
fays, in the Account of his Voyage, that he gave one Day 
Chace to a final] Veil'd, that bore away from him directly 
South ; from whence he concluded, and with great Reafon, 
that there mull certainly be Land on that Side. Indeed, 
from all the Lights that Reafon and Experience afford, I 
am more and more confirmed in my Opinion, that there is 
a Trad of Land on that Side, extending above two thou- 
fand Leagues : In order to come upon which Coaft, the 
proper Courfe from Europe is certainly South South- weft ; 
bill 
