As soon as we were settled in our new habitations, I sent out parties to discover the haunts of the cattle, some of which were found, but at a great distance from the tents, and the beasts were so shy that it was very difficult to get a shot at them. Some of the parties which, when their haunts had been discovered, were sent out to kill them, were absent three days and nights before they could succeed; and when a bullock had been dragged seven or eight miles through such woods and lawns as have just been described, to the tents, it was generally full of fly-blows, and stunk so as to be unfit for use: nor was this the worst, for the fatigue of the men in bringing down the carcass, and the intolerable heat they suffered from the climate and the labour, frequently brought on fevers which laid them up. Poultry however we procured upon easier terms: there was great plenty of birds, and they were easily killed; but the flesh of the best of them was very ill-tasted, and such was the heat of the climate that within an hour after they were killed it was as green as grass, and swarmed with maggots. Our principal resource for fresh meat, was the wild hog, with which the island abounds. These creatures are very fierce,

Voyaging Accounts