Chap, II. through the great eft Part 
who has left us fo confufed an Account of the African 
Coaft, fhould have any Knowledge of thofe Ides, at fo great 
a Diftance. They are in all ten, extending from the 1 5 0 
to the 19° of N. L. The Portuguese have given them the 
Name of Green Wands, either from the Cape , or elfe 
from a certain green Weed, called by them Sargajfo , which 
is like our Water-Creffes *, of this you fee fuch prodigious 
Quantities, floating upon the Surface of the Sea, from 
the 20 0 to the 24 0 , that without a ftrong Gale, Ships are 
fometimes flopped in their PafTage ; but what is molt fur- 
prizing is, that the Sea having no Bottom here, and this 
Herb not being feen in any other Part of the Sea, at leafl 
not within 150 Leagues of th t African Shore, how fhould 
this Verdure come to this particular Trad! Some al- 
ledge, that it is wafhed from the Rocks in the Weft- In- 
dies^ and forced thither by the Winds j but as the N. E. 
Winds reign here all the Year round, there is but little 
Probability in this Opinion. 
When thefe Wands were firft difcovered by the Portu- 
guese , they were without Inhabitants, but now produce 
Rice, Millet, Turkey Wheat, Oranges, Citrons, Banana’s, 
Anana’s, Potatoes, Melons, Citruls, Cucumbers, Figs, and 
Raifins, twice a Year. And the three Illands of Mayo , 
de Sal , and Boa Vifta , have fuch plenty of Cattle, that 
the Portuguese fend whole Ships Loads of them thence to 
the Braftls. The confiderable Quantity of Salt thefe Wands 
produce, has made the Dutch give them the Name of 
the Salt Wands. The Portuguese have alfo taken care to 
itock thefe Wands with all forts of tame and wild Fowl, 
which are multiplied at fuch a Rate, that they may be had 
almoft for nothing. They have a peculiar kind of Bird 
here called Flamenco by the Portuguese . They are as big, 
and white ail over their Bodies, as our Swans, but their 
Wings are of a bright Red. Rabbits are here in vaft 
Numbers, and the Sea furnifhes them with incredible 
Store of Fifh, which is the Reafon you fee here at all 
Times a confiderable Number of Portuguese Fifher-Boats 
who carry what they catch to Brafil. Thefe Wands are ex- 
treamly commodious for fuch Ships as trade to the Indies , 
inafmuch as going thither they take in Refrefhments, at a 
very eafy Rate, in the We of Mayo, and, in their Return, at 
that of St. Anthony , the Portuguese Inhabitants being not 
in a Condition to prevent it. The We of Jago, as it is 
the Chief, fo there the Governor and Archbifhop keep 
their ordinary Refidence : The fpiritual Jurifdidlion of the 
laft extends not only over thefe Wands, but alfo over all 
the African Coafts, as far as it is in the Poffeftion of the 
Portuguese. 
27. November the 4th we continued our Voyage for 
twenty-four Leagues with a N. E. Wind, fleering our 
Courfe to the N. N. W. and found ourfelves at 16 0 T 
Lat. The 8th the Wind coming to the E. N. E. we 
failed thirty-two Leagues to 22 0 3 5b Here we were much 
peflered with the Sargojfa , or Green Weed which we men- 
tioned before, which, upon Examination, I found very 
like our Water-Creffes, only thefe were of a paler Green, 
and had a fmall Seed like thofe of green Goofe-berries. 
The nth the Wind turning in the Morning to E. S. E. 
and loon after to the South, we made but eight Leagues, 
and were becalmed before Night, the Wind at N. W. 
Our Courfe was to the W. at 26° 40' Lat. We took that 
Day a Hay, as the Dutch call it (a Shark) which is account- 
ed a Rarity in thofe Seas, tho’ they are frequent in the 
Indies. The 2 2d the Wind being at W. S. W. we fleer- 
ed our Courfe for forty Leagues to the N. N. E. in 3 5° 
20' Lat. The 23d a S. W. Wind carried us thirty-four 
Leagues to the E. N. E. And the 24th thirty-five Leagues 
further. The 2.5th we had a N. E. Wind, fo fleering 
our Courfe to the N. E. we made thirty-three Leagues in 
38° Lat. The 26th being becalmed, we got but ten 
Leagues, and the 27th but twelve more, taking our Courfe 
E. N. E. in 38° 40' Lat. The 28th the Wind turning 
to the S. S. E. we took our Courfe to the E. S. E. for 27 
Leagues. And the 29th the fame Wind continuing, we 
made twenty-four Leagues, taking the fame Courfe, and 
at Noon in 33 0 30', got Sight of the Hands of Corvo and 
Flores , which fome but erroneoufly number among the 
Hands called by the Spaniards Azores , from the many 
Hawks found here. 
Numb. 54. 
of the EAST-INDIES. 805 
Thefe are generally called by the Dutch Flemijh 
Hands, becaufe the firft Inhabitants of the He of Fay at 
(one of the Azores ) were Natives of the Low-Countries * 
who fettled themfelves on that little River called by the 
Portuguese Ribera dos Flamencos , and their Poflerity live 
to this Day here, according to the Cuftoms of their own 
Country. The feven Ifles known by the Name of Azores , 
are Tercera , St. Michael , Santa Maria , San. Georges , G ra- 
ti ofa, Pico , and Fayal Tercera , being fifteen or fixteen 
Leagues in Compafs, is the biggeft amongfl them, being 
a Congeries of Mountains, which make it almoft inaccef- 
fible, there being no fafe Road or Harbour here, except 
at the City of Angra , being the Metropolis of this, as 
well as the other fix Hands, and the ordinary Refidence 
of the Governors of thofe Ifles, and of the Bifhops them- 
felves. This Road is not fo fafe at all Times, tho* the 
Port is inclofed like a Crefcent by two Mountains advanc- 
ing very deep into the Sea. They call thefe Mountains 
Brefil^ and may be feen thirteen or fourteen Leagues off 
at Sea. About three Leagues from the City of Angra> is 
a Town called Villa dePraya , theHoufes whereof are very 
well built; but as it is a Place of no Trade, fo it is not 
very populous. The City of Angra has obtained its Name 
from its Situation, in the Form of a Crefcent, this Word 
being ufed by the Portuguese to exprefs the Figure of the 
New-moon. It is defended by two Forts, one of which 
is built upon the Afcent of the Mountain, the other upon 
one of the Points of Land which cover the Haven, and 
confequently for the Defence of its Entrance, the oppo- 
fite Point having too high Towers, whence by a certain 
Signal they give Notice to the Inhabitants, what Veffels 
they fpy at Sea, and whether they come from Europe , or 
Brafil Side. 
All thofe Ifles are fubjeft to the Crown of Portugal 
now, though the Caftilian Governor, Don Alvero de Viza- 
ros y defended himfelf very bravely in the two Forts of 
the City of Angra , after the Revolution in Portugal , and 
did not furrender the Caftle upon the Mountain till May 
the 6th 1642, after he was reduced to the laft Extremity 
by Famine. It is almoft furprizing to behold, that the 
bare Rocks here, which are not fo much as covered with 
Earth, Ihould produce good ftore of Vines, which thrive bet- 
ter there than in the Vallies, tho’ it muft be confeffed, that 
their Wine does not come near in Goodnefs to thofe of the 
Maderas , and the Canaries. Thefe Hands produce eve- 
ry thing that is either neceffary or convenient for human 
.Life (except Oil or Salt) for they have Wheat in Plenty, 
Pears, Apples, Citrons, Oranges, and Peaches, in great 
Plenty, befides Cherries, Plumbs, Walnuts, Chefnuts, and 
Pot-Herbs of all forts. They have alfo Potatoes, but 
thefe are more efteemed in Portugal than in the Hands ; 
and a peculiar Shrub, which growing up to the Height of 
five or fix Feet, fpreads its Roots by an infinite Number 
of Branches, as fmall as the Hair of a Man’s Head, of a 
yellowifh Colour. They are ufed chiefly for their Quilts 
and Beds inftead of Feathers, tho’ there is not the leaft 
Queftion, but if they were fpun into Thread, they would 
afford Materials for a very good Stuff. Cattle, and all 
forts of tame Fowl, as well as fmall Birds, multiply here 
beyond what can be imagined ; but they have neither 
Wild-Fowl nor Venifon. 
Their Wheat is exceeding good, but will not keep, un~ 
lefs it be put under Ground ; for which Reafonj each Fa- 
mily has its peculiar Vault, the Entrance whereof is no 
bigger than is fufficient for one Man ; thence they carry it, 
after Chriftmas , to their Houfes, where they keep it in 
Chefts of Bull-ruffies, the remaining Part of the Year, 
without ever ftirring it. The Oxen of the Me of Terce- 
ra are the biggeft and faireft of all Europe , and very re- 
markable for the exceflive Bignefs of their Horns ; they 
are as tame as our Dogs, and will go and come as they 
are bid. The Noife that is perceived when People go 
over the Rocks here, fufficiently demonftrates their Hol- 
lownefs within *, whence arifes the Earthquakes which are fo 
frequent in this, as well as the other Azore Hands : Thus on 
the 24th of May 1614, eleven Churches and nine Chapels, 
befides private Houfes, were ruined by an Earthquake ; the 
City of Angra , and the City of Praya, were almoft laid de- 
folate at the fame Time, and the whole He of St. Michael 
9 T ' was 
