Page:First Voyage Round the World.djvu/153

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page has been validated.
COCOA-NUT PALMS.
73

and very cordial, which, when it has rested a little, and settled, congeals and becomes like an apple.[1] When they wish to make oil they take this fruit, the coco, and let it get rotten, and they corrupt this marrow in the water, then they boil it, and it becomes oil in the manner[2] of butter. When they want to make vinegar, they let the water in the cocoa-nut get bad, and they put it in the sun, when it turns to vinegar like white wine. From this fruit milk also can be made, as we experienced, for we scraped this marrow and then put it with its water, and passed it through a cloth, and thus it was milk like that of goats. This kind of palm tree is like the date-palm,[3] but not so rugged. Two of these trees can maintain a family of ten persons: but they do not draw wine as above-mentioned always from one tree, but draw from one for eight days, and from the other as long. For if they did not, otherwise the trees would dry up. In this manner they last a hundred years.[4]

These people became very familiar and friendly with us, and explained many things to us in their language, and told us the names of some islands which we saw with our eyes before us. *The island where they dwelt is called Zuluam, and it is not large.*[5] As they were sufficiently agreeable and conversible we had great pleasure with them. The captain seeing that they were of this good condition, to do them greater honour conducted them to the ship, and showed them all his goods, that is to say, cloves, cinnamon, pepper, ginger, nutmeg, mace,[6]gold and all that was in the ship. He also had some shots fired with his artillery, at which they were so much afraid that they wished to jump

  1. Milan edition has: "Takes the consistency of honey."
  2. Milan edition has: "Thick as butter."
  3. Here the Milan edition adds: "But its trunk, without being smooth, is less knotty."
  4. Milan edition has: "We were told that one of these trees lasts," etc.
  5. Here omitted in Milan edition.
  6. "Matia.