1671 ] Relation of the Island of Bourbon, &c. 75 
A jfonche , or wild fig-tree. They make fires with this wood, 
provided that it be dry, by rubbing one piece of it against 
another; thus, by means of this wood, they can fire off a 
matchlock. 
There are many Springs, Rivers & Lakes, whose water 
is very good, very wholesome, & yet purgative. One can 
drink of it in quantity without apprehension that ’twill 
cause harm, on the contrary, it does good. All these 
Rivers & Lakes are fill’d with a quantity of good fish, of 
which I do not give a description. I shou’d say, never¬ 
theless, that there are monstrous Eels—I have caught 
them with line—which weigh’d more than sixty pounds, & 
also some Lubines. 
The air of this island is of the best which there is under 
Heaven in the knowledge of men. One does not see 
there any Inhabitants sick of unhappy maladies; the 
most common are slight fevers, but they are rare. Those 
who arrive sick in this Island quickly recover their health, 
if they have strength to resist for two or three days the 
subtle air of this land. 
The sick & those who are in health can drink & eat reason¬ 
ably of all that this island produces without apprehension 
that it will do harm. Nothing there is hurtful to man. 
If it had a port safe for Vessels, & if they cultivated it, 
people would derive from it good profit, & they could 
make of it one of the best & most abundant Islands of the 
world in proportion to its size. 
All this island is fill’d with an infinity of Game, of 
which I have describ’d part. The birds, of a quantity of 
species, are in great number, & so familiar that one catches 
them by the hand. Thus one has no need of fuzil, 
powder or lead, to go hunting. One goes out sometimes 
with a small switch with which one makes such a bag of 
birds as one can carry. 
There are in the woods some Bulls & Cows of the 
