A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 10 - Arranged in systematic order: Forming a complete history of the origin and progress of navigation, discovery, and commerce, by sea and land, from the earliest ages to the present time. by Robert Kerr
page 257 of 662 (38%)
page 257 of 662 (38%)
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[Footnote 134: Cucumis Colocynthis, a plant of the cucumber family,
producing a fruit about the size of an orange, the medullary part of which, when ripe, dried, and freed from the seeds, is a very light, white, spongy substance, composed of membranous leaves, excessively bitter, nauseous, and acrid.] The island of St Antonio is inhabited by about 500 negroes, including men, women, and children, who subsist chiefly on goats, and also cultivate a small quantity of cotton. On the sea-side they have extensive plantations of lemons and oranges, whence they gather great quantities every year. These were very readily supplied to the Dutch by the negroes in exchange for mercery goods, but they saw neither hogs, sheep, nor poultry in the island. Sailing from St Vincent's on the 25th July, they anchored in the road of Sierra Leona on the 11th August. Here on the 15th some of the crew being on shore, eat freely of certain nuts resembling nutmegs, which had a fine taste, but had scarcely got on board when one of them dropt down dead, and before he was thoroughly cold he was all over purple spots. The rest recovered by taking proper medicines. Sierra Leona is a mountain on the continent of Africa, standing on the south side of the mouth of the river Mitomba, which discharges itself into a great bay of the sea. The road in which ships usually anchor is in the lat. of 8° 20' N. This mountain is very high, and thickly covered with trees, by which it may be easily known, as there is no mountain of such height any where upon the coast. There grow here a prodigious number of trees, producing a small kind of lemons called _limasses_, (limes?) resembling those of Spain in shape and taste, and which are very agreeable and wholesome, if not eaten to excess. The Dutch fleet arrived here at the season when this fruit was in perfection, and having full leave from the natives, |
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