Boa The F oyages and Obfervations of ]. A. de Mandelfloe, Book I 
and Almond-trees here: They thrive well enough, but 
bear no Fruit. 
This Xfle alfo affords a fort of Land-Crabs, which live 
under Ground, and work like Moles ; Partridges, Quails, 
^Black-birds, Parrots, and other Birds in abundance. The 
Sea produces vaft Quantities of moft excellent Fifh, and, 
among the reft. Whales of a vaft Bulk. In the very 
Centre of the Me is a Mountain, covered on the Top 
with a Cloud, which furnifties Water fufficient for the 
conftant watering the Sugar-Canes ; and what is moft ob- 
fervable is, that the higher the Sun comes above the Ho- 
rizon, the more Water falls from the Cloud. The Na- 
tives are Negroes, but fuch Foreigners as fettle there con- 
tinue their natural Colour to the third and fourth Genera- 
tion. They affirm, that Lice and Fleas, wherewith the 
Negroes are much peftered, never afflicft any Stranger. 
At thirty-five Leagues Diftance from the Illand of St, 
' Thonias to the South, you fee another Bland, called Relies 
Me by the Portuguese . It produces fuch Plenty of Oran- 
ges, Citrons, Bananas, Ananas, Ginger, Poultry, Hogs, 
and other frefh Provifions, that it is one of the moft con- 
venient Places for Ships to refrefh themfelves in ; its Ha- 
ven, being very commodious, at ten Fathom Water. 
1 he Me of Carifco lies clofe to the Continent, and af- 
fords nothing but frelh Water. The 25th a S. E. Wind 
advanced us thirty-two Leagues on our Courfe to the N. 
N. W. It was very rainy, and we were frequently trou- 
bled with the Travados, or Whirlwinds, which are fo often 
met with on the Coaft of Guinea , from whence we might be 
an hundred and fifty Leagues diftant. The 26th the Wind 
continued the fame, and we made twenty-five Leagues to 
the 7 0 Lat.N. We obferved here the Heats to be morein- 
tenfe than we had felt them on the other Side of the Equi- 
nodlial, notwithftanding the Sun was io° farther from our 
Hemifphere ; the Reafon of which I conceived to be, that 
the Sun-beams, which had fo lately warmed the Septen- 
trional Hemifphere, had not had fufficient Time to pro- 
duce the fame Eifedl in the Meridional. The 27th the 
W^ind changing to the N. and by E. we were alfo obliged 
to alter our Courfe, and made only thirteen Leagues that 
Day. About Noon we found ourfelves at 7 0 50' Latitude, 
and it was obfervable, that the further we fleered from 
the Coaft of Guinea , the lefs we were troubled with bad 
W eather, which had fufficiently affiidled us for fome Days 
paft. The 28th the Wind turned to the N. E. which is 
the ordinary Wind between the 10 and 20°, which after- 
wards changes, as it does in our Seas. We made thirty 
Leagues that Day ; and on the 29th thirty Leagues more 
with the fame Wind, in io° Lat. about Noon. On the 
50th we made twenty -eight Leagues with the fame 
Wind and Courfe to n 0 13' Lat. and the 31ft twenty- 
three Leagues with the fame Wind, and rainy Weather. 
On the 1 ft of November the Wind continued the fame, 
and carried us twenty-fix Leagues forward ; the 2d we 
made twenty-four Leagues with the fame Wind, fleering 
our Courfe to the N. W. The 3d we continued our 
Courfe with the fame Wind, which ■ brought us about 
Noon into 14 0 41', and confequently near the Cape Verde , 
being a Point of Land ftretching out into the Sea from the 
African Continent between the Rivers of Gambia and Sena- 
ga : Ptolemy calls it Promontorium Arfinarium. The Inha- 
bitants here are Moors , large fized, and not ill fhaped, but 
very mifehievous and treacherous. They are Pagans , 
worffiiping the Moon and the Devil ; fome among them 
call themfelves Mohammedans ; but fetting afide Circumci- 
fion, they have no Marks of that Religion, or any other. 
They are embroiled in continual Wars with their Neigh- 
bours, and very good Horfemen, their Horfes, which 
are very fwi ft, being brought thither from Barbary. Their 
Arms are only Bows and Arrows, and a kind of Lance or 
Pike, which they manage with marvellous Dexterity. The 
Privy-parts of their Enemies are the Trophies they moft 
efteem ; thofe they prefen t to their Wives, who make 
Necklaces ot them, and wear them as the greateft Orna- 
ment. They allow Polygamy, and their Wives are forc’d 
to do all their Work, both at home and abroad. 
Vvhilft the Hufband is in his Hut he is attended by his 
Wives, and then goes. a hunting, or about fome other Sport, 
at his own Pleafure. Their Women are very hardy 5 they 
are no fooner delivered, but they wafh their Children 
themfelves in the Sea or next River. 1 he JVIen are gene- 
rally addidted to Drunkennefs to fuch a Degree, that fome 
of them will take off a whole Quart of Aqua Vita at a 
Draught. Their chief Times of Merriment are at the 
Funerals of their Friends and Relations, where they drink 
and howl by Turns,and that for four or five Days together, 
to the Sound of the Drum and Pipe. They believe thdlefur- 
redtion of the Dead, and fay they lhall then be white, like 
the Europeans. They have a confiderable Trade with the 
French , Spaniards , and Dutch, in Ox-Hides, Buffaloes, Elks, 
Elephants Teeth, Wax, Rice, and Ambergreece, which is 
to be found in its Perfedlion j for here one Mr. Peter 
Van Brouck, a Dutch Merchant, bought 1606 Pieces of 
Ambergreece of eighty Pound Weight. 
The Difcovery of this Coaft is likewife owing to the Por- 
tuguese in the Year 14 17 *, but this firft Voyage meeting 
but with indifferent Succefs, Anthony Gcnfales, in 1441* 
having difeovered the Cape del Cavelier 0, carried off cer- 
tain Negroes, who being fent by the Infant of Portugal 
to Pope Martin V. he was willing enough, under the- 
fpecious Pretence of planting Chriftianity in thofe 
Parts, to grant him all what he Ihould difeover on 
the African Coaft, under Condition, that after his Death, 
it Ihould be annexed to the Crown of Portugal. The 
Infant having already difeovered the whole Coaft be- 
twixt Cabo de Noam , and 100 Leagues beyond the Cabo 
Verde , happened to die in 1453; but King Alphonfo, in 
J 457 > granted all thofe Conquefts to D. Ferand, Duke of 
Vifio , Heir apparent of the Infant, and in 1461, ordered 
a Fort to be built in the Me of Argoin , for the Security 
of Commerce. It was in the fame Year farmed out to 
one Ferdinand Gomes , under Condition that he Ihould be 
obliged to difeover every Year one hundred Leagues on this 
Coaft i by which means the Portuguese had in 1497 difeo- 
vered the Ifles of Fernanda del Po, St. IChomas , Anno Beuno, 
thofe of del Principe , and the Cape of St. Katharine’s ! 
King John II. was no fooner come to the Crown, but he 
fent, in 1481, Diego dd Asambuja, who on the 19th of Ja- 
nuary 1482, made the firft Difcovery of Mina, calling 
Anchor near a Place called Aldea de dos Partes , then un- 
der the Command of a certain Prince named Coramanfa. 
This Place, unto which the Portuguese gave the Name 
of Mina, from the great Quantity of Gold found there, 
is fituate upon the Coaft of Guinea , in 5 0 40' S. of the 
Equinodtial Line, between the two Kingdoms of Ac hen 
and Cara, bordering to the N. W. upon Camana, and to 
the N. E. upon Afuto, fmall Countries under the Ju- 
risdiction of thofe of Abarambues. Hereabouts too, vis. 
within the Compafs of fifty Leagues, is managed the 
chief Trade of all this Coaft. They have built a Fort 
here, upon an Afcent, on a Point of Land which jets out 
into the Sea,, like a Demi- Me, having on one Side, vis. 
to the North, the Ethiopian Sea, and to the South a fmali 
River. The Town, which is fituate juft below the Foot 
of the Fort, has about 800 Inhabitants, and its Situation 
is fuch, that 1500 Men may maintain it againft a confi- 
derable Force, being fenny all about, and withal fo barren, 
that the Inhabitants are forced to be fupplied with Provi- 
fions from Camana, and Afuto. The Natives here are 
ingenious enough, and much more pliable than the Ne- 
groes, but are extreamly ignorant in Matters of Religion, 
for they adore every thing they fee, that is the lead furpriz- 
ing to them. At that Time they offered their daily Sa- 
crifices of Water and Meat by their Priefts, to a certain 
Tree, of an extraordinary Bignefs, enclofed for that Pur- 
pofe with a high Wall. They adored the Bones of a 
Whale, and paid Divine Worfhip to a certain Rock, be- 
caufe it exceeded all the reft in Height. They are ex- 
treamly addidled to Divination^ and therefore fet very high 
an Efteem upon thofe who profefs themfelves Sorcerers, 
but in Effedt are nothing elfe but Cheats, who improve 
the Weaknefs of thofe ignorant Wretches to their Ad- 
vantage. They are the moft religious People in the 
World in the Obfervance of their Oaths, it being 
their Opinion, that fuch as violate them, will be 
Matched away by a fudden Death. And hence it is, 
that their Law-Suits are determined in a few Hours, up- 
on a folemn Affirmation, or Denial of either of the Par- 
ties, 
