PAUL'S TOWN.
In the sea upon this coast there is great store and diversity of fish,
namely jew-fish for which there is a great market at Bahia in Lent:
tarpon, mullet, grouper, snook, garfish (called here goolions) gorasses,
barramas, coquindas, cavallies, cachoras (or dogfish) conger eels,
herring (as I was told) the serrew, the olio-de-boy (I write and spell
them just as they were named to me) whales, etc.
Here is also shellfish (though in less plenty about Bahia than on other
parts of the coast) namely lobsters, crawfish, shrimps, crabs, oysters of
the common sort, conches, wilks, cockles, mussels, periwinkles, etc. Here
are three sorts of sea-turtle, namely hawksbill, loggerhead, and green:
but none of them are in any esteem, neither Spaniards nor Portuguese
loving them: nay they have a great antipathy against them, and would much
rather eat a porpoise, though our English count the green turtle very
extraordinary food. The reason that is commonly given in the West Indies
for the Spaniards not caring to eat of them is the fear they have lest,
being usually foul-bodied and many of them poxed (lying, as they do, so
promiscuously with their negrines and other she-slaves) they should break
out loathsomely like lepers; which this sort of food, it is said, does
much incline men to do, searching the body, and driving out any such
gross humours: for which cause many of our English valetudinarians have
gone from Jamaica (though there they have also turtle) to the island
Cayman, at the laying time, to live wholly upon turtle that then abound
there; purposely to have their bodies scoured by this food, and their
distempers driven out; and have been said to have found many of them good
success in it.
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