, A S T 
< Chap. II. of the 
1 * This tempts fome of them to a very bafe Practice, 
{ which is throwing a poifonous Drug into the Sea, near 
the Banks where the beft Fiffi lie ; upon which they 
Immediately remove to another Coaft, where fuch as 
; are in the Secret fiffi for them, and become rich before 
their Roguery is found out* 5 . There are now feveral 
; Pearl- fifheries eftabliffied in the Weft-Indies and in other 
I Parts of the World, as we fhall drew in their proper 
Places. But, as the Value of thofe Pearls arife from their 
i approaching in their Colour and Water to the Oriental 
] Pearl, this fufficiently ffiews that the Excellence attributed 
I to them by ancient Writers, is not at all prejudiced by the 
\ Difcoveries made in later Times, to which the Policy of 
the Indian Princes contributes not a little ; for by pur- 
; chafing the faireft Pearls at high Rates, they keep up 
their Price to the Europeans , fo that there never came 
i fuch Numbers into this Part of the World as to fink them 
much in their Value ; hence it is whatever becomes of the 
Pearls of other Countries/ thofe of the Eaft Hill keep up 
: their Credit, and a Pearl of the Weight of four Carrats, 
Is worth ten or twelve Pounds, and of a larger Size and 
, ! well ffiaped much more. c . 
6. As the Pearl-fifh and the Pearl-oifter were defervedly 
admired for their Value and Price, fo the Indian-Se as 
afforded other Fiffi that were held extremely remarkable 
for their extraordinary Properties. Amongft thefe the Fly- 
Ing-fiffi were thought none of the leaft extraordinary. 
I The Flying- fiffi. that are common in the Weft- Indies, 
are of the Size of a Herring, with a round Head, and a 
iSort of large Fins, which ferve them for Wings, and 
with which they fly about the Height of a Pike from 
ithe Sea, and are then forced to drop again into that 
/Element, becaufe their Wings become dry i ; but thefe 
no way refemble the Flying-fiffi in the Eaft- Indies, or at 
leaft thofe mentioned by the Ancients ; for they came out 
of the Sea, or out of Rivers, at certain Seafons, and 
leaped about in the Meadows like Grafs-hoppers e . The 
f Story is ftrange, and we have it told in very fuccindt and 
[.general Terms by Athenaus , who is the only Author 
■who reports it f . But Marco Polo , one of our moft anci- 
ent Travellers, mentions fomething of the like Nature, 
and fays, that from its living in this Manner, the Crea- 
ture is called the Sea-locuft z . 
Martinius , who has written as copioufly, and with as 
igreat Reputation of the Empire of China , as any Author 
whatever, confirms this ; and informs us, that the Chine fe 
call it Hoangcioqu ; but he is very ffiort in his Defcrip- 
tion j for he tells us only that it is a yellow Fiffi, or, 
rather a Bird *, for in the Summer, fays he, it flies on the 
Mountains, but towards the End of Autumn, it throws 
itfelf into the Sea, and becomes a Fiffi of a moft exquiflte 
iTafte*. He tells us, like wife, of another Creature that 
he faw, that had the Head of a Bird and the Tail of a 
Tiffi, which it was reported had fome very Angular 
| Qualities \ 
" It appears from thefe Citations, that we ought not, 
abfolutely , to reject the ftrange Things told us by 
iancient Authors, without Examination ; becaufe, though 
the Fadts they relate cannot be verified, yet, as in this 
Inftance, it may be plainly made appear, that they are 
mot pure Inventions j and, therefore, it is better to pre- 
serve even what feems incredible in their Writings, in 
/order to encourage Enquiries that may, in Time, bring 
out the Truth. It may not be amifs to obferve, that, in 
•Japan, they have likewife a Flying-fiffi of about a Foot 
[long, which, in their Language, is called Tobiwo \ and 
is faid to be very fcarce, but excellent Eating k . 
It were to be wiffied, that fuch as travel in thefe 
(Countries, would be more careful in examining the Ani- 
mals they meet with upon the Spot, and in committing 
Their Defcriptions to Writing immediately j becaufe, we 
dhould not then be fo much at a Lofs as we now are,. what 
to make of their Defcriptions, 
Indies. 483 
7 . The Tortoife, though it cannot be faid to be a Crea- 
ture peculiar to the Indies , yet the Indian Tortoifes are 
fo much larger than any others, that, in this refpedt, they 
deferve to be particularly confidered. Of thefe Creatures 
there are three different Sorts. The firft live entirely on 
Land ; the fecond in the Sea f and the third in freffi 
Waters. The Figure of this Creature is very extraordi- 
nary. It has a Head fo very final! that it feems to bear no 
Proportion to its Body. They have not either Teeth or 
Tongue, and yettheTortoife not only breaks to Pieces the 
hardeft Shells, but even Stones with its Lips , which, by 
their exceffive Hardnefs, very effectually fupply the feeming' 
Want of Teeth. The Feet of this Animal are very 
ffiort, and its Motion remarkably flow. It has, on its 
Back, a Lump of Fleffi, which communicates with its 
Shell, by which it is entirely covered, and it even extends 
beyond its Body, when the Animal withdraws itfelf into 
it, and thereby proves a fure Defence againft all Dangers 
from without ; and are fo ftrong that a Waggon well 
laden, may pafs over them as over a Stone, without any 
Injury either to the Shell, or the Creature within it. 
They are five or fix -Foot long, which is a monftrous 
Size, confidering the Bulk of thefe Creatures in other 
Countries and yet fome ancient Writers fpeak of Tor- 
toifes in the Indies of a much larger Size, the Shells of 
which are faid to be big enough to cover a fimall Cabin ; 
and it is faid, that in the Ifland of Haprobana they made 
ufe of no other Covering for their Houfes K 
There were various Methods pradtifed in taking thefe 
Creatures ; for fometimes they gorged themfelves to fuch 
a Degree in the Meadows, that they were not able to 
retire ; and then, whoever found them, turned them on 
their Backs. Sometimes the Sea-tortoifes were, in like 
manner, left on Shore at the Time of Ebb ; and fome- 
times they placed round Sticks in their Road to the Mea- 
dows ; and as foon as they fet their fore Feet upon them, 
thofe who watched for that Purpofe, laid hold of one End of 
the Stick, lifting it fuddenly up, turned the Creature over. 
Their Fleffi is both wholefome and pleafant, and their 
Eggs, which in Size refemble thofe of a Hen, are 
excellent m . 
Pliny reports, that their Fleffi, their Blood, and even 
their Excrements, are very medicinal. Among other Re- 
ceipts from this Creature, he gives us that which follows. 
Take, fays he, three Land-tortoifes, he means thofe of 
the fmaller Kind, throw them on a Fire made of Vine- 
twigs ; and as foon as their Shells begin to part from each 
other, pull them out immediately ; and having taken their 
Shells off, boil them in a Gallon of Water, with a final! 
Quantity of Salt, till a third Part of the Liquor be con- . 
fumed ; the Broth will be then, fays he, a fovereign Me- 
dicine for fuch as are troubled with the Palfy, the Gout, or 
Rheumatifm n . 
But that, for which this Creature is chiefly valued, is, his 
Shell, of which, over all the Indies , but particularly in 
China, they make a Multitude of ufeful Things, as well as 
many beautiful Toys. Thefe were Arts far from being 
unknown to the Ancients ; for, as we learn from Pliny, 
Carbilius Pollio, a Man of a wonderful Invention, was 
the firft who introduced the Ufe of Tortoife-ffiell-plateg 
for In-laying all Sorts of Houffiold Furniture. It is 
reported, that the Portuguefe fettled in the Eaft- Indies, 
place Sea-tortoifes near the Fire till their Shells begin to 
rife ; and then taking them off in an Inftant with a flat 
Knife, they afterwards throw the Creature back into the 
Sea, where, they affirm, that, in a Angle Year, they 
gather a new Shell, as firm and as beautiful as the 
former •. 
Befides the Ufes that have been already mentioned, there 
is another to which thofe Tortoifes are applied, the Fleffi 
pf which is not fit for eating, and that is boiling it into* 
Oil, which Oil not only ferves for Lamps, but alfo for 
many phyfical Ufes j and more efpecially for reftoring 
a Voyages de le Blun, p. 330. b Voyage de Tbevevot, Tom. Iii. lib. ii. cap. 1 1. e Tavernier, ubi fup. Vide etiam Hijl. Nat. des bides de f o- 
epb. Acoft a lib. vi. Hzjl. Gen. des Indes de Lopez Gomara, lib . vi. d Hift . des Antilles, p. 183. e Theophraft. apud Athenaeum, lib. viii. p. 
332. Voyages Arab es dimes par l' Abbe Ren audof, p. 15. f Deipn. Sophift. p. 332. » Lib. iii. cap . 1 8. h Atlas Sin. p. 171° 
5 Idem , ibid . p. 173. , k Hift. du J abort. Tom. ii. p. 582. 1 Pltn. Nat. Hift. lib, vi. cap. 2 Z. m Strabo , lib. xvi. p. 773. 
JElian, lib. xvi. cap. 14 ■& ij, Pliny , lib. ix. cap. 10, 11. n Hift. Nat. lib. xxxii. cap. 4, ® Voyages aux bides par P, 
Gtilin, p. 195. 
wafted 
