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An.1687
The Product and Inhabitants of the Bashee Isles.
Hills are very rocky : The Valleys are well wa- tered with Brooks of fresh water, which run into the Sea in many different places. The Soil is in- different fruitful, especially in the Valleys ; pro- ducing pretty great plenty of Trees (tho not very big) and thick Grafs. The sides of the Mountains have also short Grafs ; and some of the Mountains have Mines within them, for the Natives told us, that the yellow Metal they shew'd us, (as I shall speak more particularly) came from these Moun- tains ; for when they held it up they would point towards them.
The fruit of the Islands are a few Plantains, Bonanoes, Pine-apples, Pumkins, Sugar-canes, &c. and there might be more if the Natives would, for the ground seems fertile enough. Here are great plenty of Potatoes, and Yames, which is the common food for the Natives, for bread kind: for those few Plantains they have, are only used as Fruit. They have some Cotton growing here of the small plants.
Here are plenty of Goats, and abundance of Hogs ; but few Fowls either wild or tame. For this I have always observed in my Travels, both in the East and West Indies, that in those places where there is plenty of Grain, that is, of Rice in the one, and Maiz in the other, there are also found great abundance of Fowls; but on the contrary, few Fowls in those Countries, where the Inhabitants feed on Fruits and Roots only. The few wild Fowls that are here, are Parakites, and some other small Birds. Their tame Fowl are only a few Cocks and Hens.
Monmouth and Grafton Islands are very thick in- habited : and Bashee Island hath one Town on it. The Natives of these Islands are short squat people; they are generally round visaged, with low Fore- heads, and thick Eye-brows ; their Eyes of a ha- zel