Artechoques or prick-peares.
One other fruit we found, very pleasant in taste, in fashion of an artechoque, but lesse; on the outside of colour redd, within white, and compassed about with prickles; our people called them pricke-pears;[122] no conserve is better. They grow upon the leaves of a certaine roote, that is like unto that which we call semper viva[122] and many are wont to hang them up in their houses; but their leaves are longer and narrower, and full of prickes on either side. The fruit groweth upon the side of the leafe, and is one of the best fruites that I have eaten in the Indies. In ripening, presently the birds or vermine are feeding on them; A good note to take or refuse unknowne fruits. a generall rule to know what fruit is wholesome and good in the Indies, and other parts. Finding them to be eaten of the beastes or fowles, a man may boldly eate of them.
The water of these ilands is not good: the one, for being a standing water, and full of venemous wormes and serpents, which is neare a butt-shot from the sea shore; where we found a great tree fallen, and in the roote of it the names of sundry Portingalls, Frenchmen, and others, and amongst them, Abraham Cockes; with the time of their being in this island.
Contagious water.
The other, though a running water, yet passing by the rootes of certaine trees, which have a smell as that of garlique, taketh a certaine contagious sent of them. Here two of our men dyed with swelling of their bellies. The accident we could not attribute to any other cause, then to this suspitious water. It is little, and falleth into the sand, and soketh through it into the sea; and therefore we made a well of a pipe, and placeth it under the rocke from which it falleth, and out of it filled our caske: but we could not fill above two tunnes in a night and day.
SECTION XXV.
So after our people began to gather their strength, wee manned our boates, and went over to the mayne, where presently we found a great ryver of fresh and sweete water, and a mightie marish countrie; which in the winter[123] seemeth to be continually over-flowne with this river, and others, which fall from the mountaynous country adjacent.
We rowed some leagues up the ryver, and found that the further up we went, the deeper was the river, but no fruit, more then the sweate of our bodies for the labour of our handes.
At our returne, wee loaded our boate with water, and afterwardes from hence wee made our store.