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There are upon this Island, very few obnoctious Beasts, Insects, or Plants.
Here is the Manchonele,* 1.1 which is a king of a Crab, so common in all the Caribbee Isles.
Here are Snakes,* 1.2 and Guianas, but no poysonous quality is ob∣served in them.
In many of the Rivers, and Land-Ponds, are Alligators,* 1.3 which are very voracious Creatures, yet seldome do they prey upon a Man, as being very easy to be avoided,
for he can only move forwards, and that he doth with great Swiftness and Strength, and is as slow in tur∣ning. Some are 10, 15, or 20 foot long, their backs are scaly and impenetrable, so that they are hardly to be killed, except in the Belly or Eye. They have four Feet or Finns with which they go or swim. They are observed to make no kind of Noise: and the usual course for the getting their Prey, is to lie on the banks of Ri∣vers, and as any Beast or Fowle com∣eth to drink, they suddenly seize on them; and the rather, for that they do so much resemble a long peece of dry wood, or some dead thing. And as these Allegators are thus obnoctious on the one hand, so are they found to be useful on the other, for their Fat is a Sove∣reign Oyntment for any internal
Ach or Pain in the Joynts, or Bones. They have in them Musk-codds, which are stronger scented then those of the East-Indies, and by this their strong smell, they are discovered, and avoyded; which ••s supposed the Cattle by in∣stinct of Nature, are also sencible of, and do by that means often shun them. They lay Eggs in the Sand lay the water-side, which are no bigger than a Turkeys, which they ••over, and by the heat of the Sun, the young ones are hatched, who naturally creep into the water.
Here are also Muskettoes and Merry-wings,* 1.4 a sort of stinging Flies that are troublesome in some parts of the Isle,* 1.5 but are seldome found in the English Plantations.
Mancho∣nele.
Snakes, Guianas.
Alliga∣tors.
Musket∣toes.
Merry-wings.