49 a- 
The Difcovery, Settlement, and Commerce 
Book I. 
ae among them forme which had Chickens, and I ob- 
46 ferved, that the Indians eat them eagerly, and they 
44 courted me to eat, but I could not endure to look at 
44 them, and it went againft my Stomach to fee other 
People eat them. Once they prefled me fo much, 
that at laft, not without great Averfion, I re- 
44 folved to tafte one ^ I did fo, and made an End of 
44 it, regretting very much that I had not eaten of 
44 them before. I muft own it, that, fince I was born, I 
44 never eat any Thing more pleafant and palatable, and 
44 I am convinced, there is nothing in the World to 
44 compare to it.” 
There may be, and doubtlefs there is, a great deal of 
Truth in this Relation j that is to fay, there is fuch a Bird, 
Its Eggs are very large, and they are eaten as the Author 
defcribes •, but then every thing is fo much exaggerated, that 
the whole has the Air of a Fable, which fhews plainly to 
how little Purpofe large Colledions are made of fuch kind 
of Writers, fince what they relate cannot either entertain 
or inftrudt, becaufe it is impoffible to read fuch Stories 
without fufpefting and difbelieving them. But to return 
to the remarkable Birds mentioned by the Moderns. 
All the Writers that have mentioned Macajfar inform us, 
that no Country in the World produces fo many fpeaking 
Birds. Amongft thefe there is none more extraordinary 
than the Lory , which is as big as a Parrot, but infinitely 
more beautiful in its Plumage ; its Breaft, which is very 
large and high, being covered with bright yellow Feathers •, 
the Wings are green, the Head black, and fhining with 
a yellow Bill. The Indians give fometimes thirty Crowns 
for fuch a Bird, becaufe they will learn and fpeak feveral 
Languages, and are very tame. There is another with large 
and long Tails, fometimes three Quarters of a Yard long; 
thefe are blue on the Back, and yellow under the Belly, and 
commonly called Kakkataws, or Indian Ravens. Another 
kind there is which is white all over, except a yellow Tuft 
on the Head, which they fet upright when they are vexed : 
They have alfo fome Refemblance both in Shape and Big- 
nefs to our Magpies, or Black-birds *, thefe imitate a Man’s 
Voice much more diftinctly than Parrots, they are of a 
blueifh Colour, mixed with dark purple Spots and Streaks ; 
they have a yellow Tuft on the Head, which is black, and 
as frnooth as Velvet w . 
The Kokoy, which is common in the Indies , is a kind 
of Heron, but much exceeding ours in Beauty, being yel- 
low before, and green over all the reft of its Body. On the 
Head he has a delicate Plume fpreading all over the Neck ; 
the young ones eat tolerably well, but the old ones eat 
tough, and tafte much ol Fifh. The Kolibry is the leaft 
of all Birds, being no bigger than a Horfe-Fly, it hath a 
very ftiarp Bill, with which it fucks its Suftenance out of 
the Flowers, though fome are of Opinion it feeds upon the 
Dew ; it has all the Colours of the Rainbow, and its Wings 
are not unlike thofe of Pigeons or Ducks. It builds a 
Very neat Neft to the South, under the Branches of Orange, 
Lemon, or Cotton Trees, to defend itfelf againft the Inju- 
ries of the North Winds. Its Eggs are no bigger than 
Peafe. There is another which fings exceedingly fine, but 
not fo beautifully coloured ; it weighs no more than 24 
Grains x . 
1 7. Thefe Obfervations plainly difeover, that no Part 
of the World was better flocked with ufeful, valuable, and 
beautiful Creatures, than the Indies. For Domeftick Ser- 
vice, befides the Horfe, and the Afs, which are common 
with us in Europe , they had the Elephant, the Camel, and 
the Dromedary, fitted in every refpedt for carrying on the 
inland Commerce of that Country, which was in all Ages 
very confiderable. They had for the Service of Agricul- 
ture a very ftrong Race-of black Cattle, and for the Plea- 
fure of Hunting, they had the fineft Dogs that we read 
of in Hiftory for Courage, Speed, and Strength. If 
their Woods were full of wild Beafts, they had it in their 
Power to leffen the Number of thefe Enemies ; and to turn 
this to their Profit, as well as to their Diverfion, the Skin, 
Horns, Teeth, or other Animal Productions, fuffidently 
compenfating the Trouble they took, and the Dangers to 
which they were expofed in the Chace. 
The Sea that wafhed their Coaft, and the Rivers that wa- 
tered their Country, were abundantly provided with Fifh, 
fo that no People had either better or greater Plenty, which 
to the lower fort was a great Relief ; they likewife drew a 
very confiderable Profit from their Fisheries, efpecially 
thofe of Purple and Pearl, and from the Sale of Tortoife- 
Shell, which was highly valued in thofe times for its admi- 
rable Clearnefs, and for the Beauty and Variety of its 
Colours. The Birds and Fowls in the Indies were likewife 
of all forts, and all of them the largeft and fineft in their 
refpedftive kinds. The Birds of Prey, and particularly the 
Pelican and the Cormorant, were of great Service ; for the 
former feeding naturally upon Snakes, Serpents, and other 
V ermin, cleared the Country of them in thofe Months when 
they were moft numerous and moft dangerous ; and as for 
the latter, they taught them in China, and other Parts of the 
Indies, to catch Fifh, and to bring them to fuch as kept: 
thofe Creatures, as we Iliall fee hereafter in its proper Place, 
As for Geefe, Ducks, Hens, and other Domeftick Fowl, 
they were, and are {till, as common and as cheap as in any 
Country in the World ; and of the beautiful Feathers of a 
Multitude of other Birds, they made Hats, Umbrellas, 
Screens, and other Utenfils of exquifite Workmanfhip, 
and at the fame time of great Price. 
There is no great Wonder therefore, that all the antient 
Writers, fuch as Strabo, Pliny, Arrian , Plutarch , Milan, 
and many others, fhould fo highly extol this Country, and 
fpeak of every thing found therein with Aftonifhment. But 
notwithftanding all this,' it muft appear fomewhat furpri- 
zing, that the Antients were acquainted with Animals, 
Trees, Fruits, and Precious Stones, of the moft diftant 
Parts of the Indies , to which without doubt they never 
penetrated at all, s notwithftanding what we find reported in 
their Writings of the Iflands of Laprobana, Panchaia , the 
Country of the Seres, and other Places, which renders it 
neceflary for us to give a clear Account of that Point, which 
fhall be done in the two fucceeding Sections, which will 
conclude our Labours with refpeCt to the ancient Hiftory 
of India. 
1 
w Hifioire de Macajfar , lib c. 4. 
x Coy ages de P, Vanden-Brcek. 
SECT. 
A 
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