I

Bird.

1681.

on the head a Plume of black Feathers standing up. suppose, one may be the Cock, and the other the Hen. Here is a sort of Bird they call Carlo, which never [p. 28.] lighteth on the ground, but always sets on very high Trees. A strange He is as big as a Swan, the colour black, the Legs very short, the Head monstrous, his Bill very long, a little rounding like a Hawks, and white on each side of the head, like ears: on the top of the crown groweth out a white thing, somewhat like to the comb of a Cock; commonly they keep four or five of them together; and always are hopping from bough to bough. They are seldom silent, but continually make a roaring noyse, somewhat like the quacking of a Duck, that they may be heard at least a mile off; the reason they thus cry, the Chingulayes say, is for Rain, that they may drink. The bodies of these Fowls are good to eat.

Swans.

Here is a sort of Bird very much resembling a Duck, Water-Fowls but not very plentiful. And another sort of Fowl as big resembling as a Duck, cole black, which liveth altogether upon Fish. Ducks and It is admirable to see, how long they will remain under water, and at what a distance they will rise again. Besides these, there are many other kinds of Birds, much larger than Swans, which keep about the Ponds and Marshes to catch Fish, but the people eat them not: Nature hath endowed them with an admirable understanding, that they are not to be catched by the Allegators, tho there be many of them in those waters.

The Peacocks in rainy weather are sometimes hunted Peacocks. and caught by Dogs; for their Feathers being wet, they are uncapable of flying far.

The King hath Geese, Ducks, Turkeys, Pigeons, which The King he keeps tame, but none else may. Turkeys he delights keeps Fowl. not in, because they change the colour of their heads: Neither doth he kill any of these to eat, nor any other creature of what sort soever, and he hath many, that he keeps tame.

They have no want of Fish, and those good ones too. Their Fish. All little Rivers and Streams running thro the Valleys are

1681.

How they

catch them in Ponds.

How they catch Fish in

the River.

[P. 29.]

Fish kept and fed for the

Kings pleasure.

full of small Fish, but the Boyes and others wanting somewhat to eat with their Rice, do continually catch them before they come to maturity: nay all their Ponds are full of them, which in dry weather drying up, the people catch multitudes of them in this manner. They have a kind of a Basket made of small Sticks, so close that Fish cannot get thro; it is broad at bottom, and narrow at top, like a funnel, the hole big enough for a man to thrust his Arm in, wide at the mouth about two or three foot; these baskets they jobb down, and the ends stick in the mud, which often happen upon a Fish; when they do, they feel it by the Fish beating it self against the sides. Then they put in their hands and take them out. And rieve a Rattan thro their gills, and so let them drag after them. One end of this Rattan is stuck in the fisher's girdle, and the other knotted, that the fish should not slip off: which when it is full, he discharges himself of them by carrying them ashore. Nay every ditch and little plash of water but anckle deep hath fish in it.

The great River, Mavela-gonga, abounds exceedingly with them. Some of them as big as Salmons. But the people have little understanding in the way of taking them. In very dry weather, they stretch a With over the River, which they hang all full of boughs of Trees to scare the Fish. This With thus hung they drag down with the stream, and to Leeward they place Fish-pots between the Rocks, and so drive the Fish into them. Nets or other wayes they have few or none.

At a Passage-place near to the City of Candy, the Fish formerly have been nourished and fed by the Kings order, to keep them there for his Majesties pleasure; whither, having used to be thus provided for, notwithstanding Floods and strong Streams, they will still resort: and are so tame, that I have seen them eat out of mens hands; but death it is to them that presume to catch them. The people passing over here, will commonly feed them with some of their Rice, accounting it a piece of charity so to do, and pleasure to see them eat it. In many other places

also there are Fish thus fed and kept onely for the Kings Recreation: for he will never let any be catched for his

use.

1681.

Of Serpents, there are these sorts. The Pimberah, the Serpents. body whereof is as big as a mans middle, and of a length The Pimberah proportionable. It is not swift, but by subtilty will catch of a prodigious bigness. his prey; which are Deer or other Cattel; He lyes in the path where the Deer use to pass, and as they go, he claps hold of them by a kind of peg that growes on his tayl, with which he strikes them. He will swallow a Roe Buck whole, horns and all; so that it happens sometimes the horns run thro his belly, and kill him. A Stag was caught by one of these Pimberahs, which seised him by the buttock, and held him so fast, that he could not get away, but ran a few steps this way and that way. An Indian seeing the Stag run thus, supposed him in a snare, and having a Gun shot him; at which he gave so strong a jerk, that it pulled the Serpents head off, while his tayl was encompassing a Tree to hold the Stag the better.

There is another venomous snake called Polonga, the The Polonga. most venomous of all, that kills Cattel. Two sorts of them I have seen, the one green, the other of a reddish gray, full of white rings along the sides, and about five or six foot long.

Another poysonous Snake there is called Noya, of a The Noya. grayish colour, about four foot long. This will stand with half his body upright two or three hours together, and spread his head broad open, where there appears like as it were a pair of spectacles painted on it. The Indians call this Noy-Rodgerah, that is, a Kings-Snake, that will do no harm. But if the Polonga and the Noya meet together, they cease not fighting till one hath kill'd the other.

The reason and original of this fatal enmity between these two Serpents, is this, according to a Fable among the Chingulays. These two chanced to meet in a dry Season, when water was scarce. The Polonga being almost famished for thirst, asked the Noya, where he might go to find a little water.

The Noya a little before had met

The Fable of

the Noya and Polonga.

1681.

with a bowl of water in which a Child lay playing. As it is usual among this people to wash their Children in a bowl of water, and there leave them to tumble and play in it. Here the Noya quenched his thirst, but as he was drinking, the Child that lay in the bowl, out of his innocency and play, hit him on the Head with his hand, which the Noya made no matter of, but bare patiently, knowing it was not done out of any malice: and having drunk as much as sufficed him, went away without doing the Child any harm. Being minded to direct the Polonga to this bowl, but desirous withal to preserve the Child, he told him, That he knew of water, but that he was such a surly hasty creature, that he was fearful to let him know where it was, lest he might do some mischief; Making him therefore [p. 30.] promise that he would not, he then told him, that at such a place there was a bowl of water with a Child playing in it, and that probably the Child might, as he was tumbling give him a pat on the Head, as he had done to him before, but charged him nevertheless not to hurt the Child. Which the Polonga having promised went his way towards the water, as the Noya had directed him. The Noya knowing his touchy disposition, went after him, fearing he might do the Child a mischief, and that thereby he himself might be deprived of the like benefit afterwards. It fell out as he feared. For as the Polonga drank, the Child patted him on the head, and he in his hasty humour bit him on the hand and killed him. The Noya seeing this, was resolved to be revenged; and so reproaching him for his baseness, fought him so long till he killed him, and after that devoured him. Which to this day they ever do, always fight when they meet, and the Conquerour eats the body of the vanquished. Hence the Proverb among the Chingulayes, when they see two men irreconcileable, they compare them to the Polonga and Noya, and say, Noya Polonga waghe, like a Noya and Polonga.

The

Carowala.

There is the Carowala, about two foot in length very poysonous, that lurks in the holes and thatch of houses. The Cats will seize these and kill and eat them.