First then (because beefe being the greatest rarity in the Iland, especially such as this is) I will begin with it, and of that sort there are these dishes at either messe, a Rompe boyl’d, a Chine roasted, a large piece of the brest roasted, the Cheeks bak’d, of which is a dish to either messe, the tongue and part of the tripes minc’t for Pyes, season’d with sweet Herbs finely minc’t, suet, Spice and Currans; the legges, pallets and other ingredients for an Olio Podrido to either messe, a dish of Marrow bones, so here are 14 dishes at the Table and all of beef: and this he intends as the great Regalio, to which he invites his fellow planters; who having well eaten of it, the dishes are taken away, and another Course brought in, which is a Potato pudding, a dish of Scots Collips of a legge of Porke, as good as any in the world, a fricacy of the same, a dish of boyl’d Chickens, a shoulder of a young Goate drest with his bloud and tyme, a Kid with a pudding in his belly, a sucking pig, which is there the fattest whitest & sweetest in the world, with the poynant sauce of the brains, salt, sage, and Nutmeg done with Claret wine, a shoulder of mutton which is there a rare dish, a Pasty of the side of a young Goate, and a side of a fat young Shot upon it, well season’d with Pepper and salt, and with some Nutmeg, a loyne of Veale, to which there wants no sauce being so well furnisht with Oranges, Lymons, and Lymes, three young Turkies in a dish, two Capons, of which sort I have seen some extreame large and very fat, two henns with egges in a dish, four Ducklings, eight Turtle doves, and three Rabbets; and for cold bak’t meats, two Muscovie Ducks larded, and season’d well with pepper and salt: and these being taken off the Table, another course is set on, and that is of Westphalia or Spanish bacon, dried Neats Tongues, Botargo, pickled Oysters, Caviare, Anchoves, Olives, and (intermixt with these) Custards, Creams, some alone, some with preserves of Plantines, Bonano, Guavers, put in, and those preserv’d alone by themselves, Cheese-cakes, Puffes, which are to be made with English flower, and bread; for the Cassavie will not serve for this kind of Cookerie; sometimes Tansies, sometimes Froizes, or Amulets, and for fruite, Plantines, Bonanoes, Guavers, Milons, prickled Peare, Anchove Peare, prickled Apple, Custard Apple, water Milons, and Pines worth all that went before. To this meat you seldome faile of this drink, Mobbie, Beveridge, Brandy, kill-Divell, Drink of the Plantine, Claret wine, White wine, and Renish wine, Sherry, Canary, Red sack, wine of Fiall, with all Spirits that come from England; and with all this, you shall finde as cheerfull a look, and as hearty a welcome, as any man can give to his best friends. And so much for a Feast of an inland Plantation.
Now for a Plantation neer the Sea, which shall be Collonell Walrond’s, he being the best seated for a Feast, of any I know: I must say this, that though he be wanting in the first Course, which is Beefe; yet, it will be plentifully supplyed in the last, which is Fish; and that the other wants. And though Collonell Walrond, have not that infinite store of the provisions Collonell Drax abounds in; yet, he is not wanting in all the kinds he has, unlesse it be Sheep, Goats, and Beefe, and so for all the sorts of meats, that are in my Bill of Fare, in Collonell Drax his Feast, you shall finde the same in Collonell Walrond, except these three, and these are supplied with all these sorts of fish I shall name, to wit, Mullets, Maquerells, Parrat fish, Snappers, red and gray, Cavallos, Terbums, Crabs, Lobsters, and Cony fish, with divers sorts more, for which we have no names. And having these rare kinds of fishes, ’twere a vain superfluity, to make use of all those dishes I have named before, but only such as shall serve to fill up the Table; and when he has the ordering it, you must expect to have it excellent; his fancy and contrivance of a Feast, being as far beyond any mans there, as the place where he dwells is better scituate, for such a purpose. And his Land touching the Sea, his House being not halfe a quarter of a mile from it, and not interposed by any unlevell ground, all rarities that are brought to the Iland, from any part of the world, are taken up, brought to him, and stowed in his Cellars, in two hours time, and that in the night; as, Wine, of all kinds, Oyl, Olives, Capers, Sturgeon, Neats tongues, Anchoves, Caviare, Botargo, with all sorts of salted meats, both flesh and fish for his Family; as, Beefe, Pork, English Pease, Ling, Haberdine, Cod, poor John, and Jerkin Beef, which is husled, and slasht through, hung up and dryed in the Sun; no salt at all put to it. And thus ordered in Hispaniola, as hot a place as Barbadoes, and yet it will keep longer then powdred Beefe, and is as drie as Stock-fish; and just such meat for flesh, as that is for fish, and as little nourishment in it; but it fills the belly, and serves the turne, where no other meat is. Though some of these may be brought to the inland Plantations well conditioned; yet, the Wines cannot possibly come good; for the wayes are such, as no Carts can passe; and to bring up a But of Sack, or a Hogshead of any other Wine, upon Negres backs, will very hardly be done in a night, so long a time it requires, to hand it up and down the Gullies; and if it be carried in the day-time, the Sun will heat and taint it, so as it will lose much of his spirit and pure taste; and if it be drawn out in bottles at the Bridge, the spirits flie away in the drawing, and you shall finde a very great difference in the taste and quicknesse of it. Oyle will endure the carriage better then Wine, but over much heat will abate something of the purity, and excellent taste it has naturally. And for Olives, ’tis well known, that jogging in the carriage causes them to bruise one another; and some of them being bruised, will grow rotten, and infect the rest. So that Wine, Oyle, and Olives, cannot possibly be brought to such Plantations, as are eight or ten miles from the Bridge; and from thence, the most part of these commodities are to be fetch’d. So that you may imagine, what advantage Collonell Walrond has, of any inland Plantation, having these materialls, which are the main Regalia’s in a Feast, and his own contrivance to boot, besides all I have formerly nam’d, concerning raw and preserv’d fruits, with all the other Quelquechoses. And thus much I thought good to say for the honour of the Iland, which is no more then truth; because I have heard it sleighted by some, that seem’d to know much of it.
Commodities Exported.
About a hundred sail of Ships yearly visit this Iland, and receive, during the time of their stay in the Harbours, for their sustenance, the native Victualls growing in the Iland, such as I have already named; besides what they carry away, and what is carried away by Planters of the Ile, that visit other parts of the world. The commodities this Iland trades in, are Indico, Cotten-wool, Tobacco, Suger, Ginger, and Fustick-wood.
Commodities Imported.
The Commodities these Ships bring to this Iland, are, Servants and Slaves, both men and women; Horses, Cattle, Assinigoes, Camells, Utensills for boyling Sugar, as, Coppers, Taches, Goudges, and Sockets; all manner of working tooles for Trades-men, as, Carpenters, Joyners, Smiths, Masons, Mill-wrights, Wheel-wrights, Tinkers, Coopers, &c. Iron, Steel, Lead, Brasse, Pewter, Cloth of all kinds, both Linnen and Wollen; Stuffs, Hatts, Hose, Shoos, Gloves, Swords, knives, Locks, Keys, &c. Victualls of all kinds, that will endure the Sea, in so long a voyage. Olives, Capers, Anchoves, salted Flesh and Fish, pickled Maquerells and Herrings, Wine of all sorts, and the boon Beer, d’Angleterre.
What Buildings we found at our first comming upon the Iland.
I had it in my thought before I came there, what kinde of Buildings would be fit for a Country, that was so much troubled with heat, as I have heard this was; & did expect to find thick walls, high roofes, and deep cellers; but found neither the one nor the other, but clean contrary; timber houses, with low roofes, so low, as for the most part of them, I could hardly stand upright with my hat on, and no cellars at all; besides, another course they took, which was more wonder to me than all that; which was, stopping, or barring out the winde, which should give them the greatest comfort, when they were neer stifled with heat. For, the winde blowing alwaies one way, which was Eastwardly, they should have made all the openings they could to the East, thereby to let in the cool breezes, to refresh them when the heat of the day came. But they, clean contrary, closed up all their houses to the East, and opened all to the West; so that in the afternoones, when the Sun came to the West, those little low roofed rooms were like Stoves, or heated Ovens. And truly, in a very hot day, it might raise a doubt, whether so much heat without, and so much tobacco and kill-devill within, might not set the house a fire; for these three ingredients are strong motives to provoke it, and they were ever there.
But at last I found by them, the reasons of this strange preposterous manner of building, which was grounded upon the weakest and silliest foundation that could be: For they alledged, that at the times of rain, which was very often, the wind drave the rain in at their windowes so fast, as the houses within were much annoyed with it; for having no glasse to keep it out, they could seldome sit or lie drie; and so being constrained to keep out the ayer on that side, for fear of letting in the water, would open the West ends of their houses so wide, (as was beyond the proportion of windows to repair that want) and so let in the fire; not considering at all, that there was such a thing as shutters for windowes, to keep out the rain that hurt them, and let in the winde to refresh them, and do them good at their pleasure. But this was a consideration laid aside by all, or the most part of the meaner sort of Planters. But at last I found the true reason, was their poverty and indigence, which wanted the means to make such conveniences; and so, being compelled by that, had rather suffer painfully, and patiently abide this inconvenience, than sell or part with any of their goods, to prevent so great a mischiefe: So loath poor people are to part with that, which is their next immediate help, to support them in their great want of sustenance. For, at that lock they often were, and some good Planters too, that far’d very hard, when we came first into the Iland. So that hard labour, and want of victualls, had so much deprest their spirits, as they were come to a declining and yielding condition. Nor can this be called slothfulnesse or sluggishnesse in them, as some will have it, but a decay of their spirits, by long and tedious hard labour, sleight feeding, and ill lodging, which is able to wear out and quell the best spirit of the world.
What materialls grow in the Iland fit to build with, which may be call’d the Elements of Architecture. And first, for Timber.