MDPOD - Masson du Parc Online Database

Memory for Martinique. When does turtle fishing begin? If it is done there all year round or only in particular seasons? (Answer in the margins) Turtles are only caught in Martinique by chance and that is why fishermen go to catch them in the Grenadines and Tabac (Tobago?) and bring them here where they sell them for 10 sols per pound. In what various ways is this fishing done and what species of turtles are we most likely to see in Martinique?(Answer in the margins). Same as in the attached memo. Are there any that are covered with leather at the corners and have no scales?(Answer in the margins) No. If land turtles are seen in large numbers and of what size? (Answerin the margins) Few. The largest are a foot wide by 18 (inches) long. If manatee is caught a few times and if it is rare or ordinary. Give an exact description of this fish since the figures we see of it do not agree with what we write about it elsewhere. If there are several species or just one, how many females have babies at a time?(Answer in the margins) Not at all. If we still import salted manatee flesh to Martinique as we did in the past before the trade in salted beef and meat from Europe?(Answer in the margins) Not at all.

If we also bring turtle flesh and where does this kind of cured meat come from?(Answerin the margins) Sometimes, they come from Cape Verde and Tabac (Tobago?) but rarely.What fish species do we see in Martinique for which there is fishing of some importancefor the food of the inhabitants? Make a list of the names of all the fish such as thazard, sardes, beaumes, dorades, etc. and mark those which are most common and in greatest number.(Answer in the margins) The same as in Guadeloupe.If there are a lot of crocodiles and lizards?(Answer in the margins) No crocodiles, a few lizards.If the first are dangerous and if they leave the waters to come ashore to find their food? If we sell lizards publicly to eat them and make stews or in what other ways do we prepare them?
(Answer in the margin)
We rarely sell them, there are few large ones that can be eaten, but there
are large quantities of small ones called anolis of which houses are full even though cats destroy them. We prepare them like chickens, in fricassee.
If green and dry cod are brought to Martinique and where does it come from? (Answer in the margins)
Some green comes from Canada and around 2000 quintals per year of dry cod which is not enough for a quarter of what would be consumed.
If other kinds of salted fish are brought there, what are they and where do they come from?
(Answer in the margins)
We sometimes bring thazard,vieille and other fish from Cape Verde.
If we sometimes find ambergris on the coast and in what season and after what time?
(Answer in the margins)
None. If calves or sea wolves, oxen or sea cows are seen and their uses and if they are there in large
numbers?
(Answer
in the margins)
None.
If sea lions are seen and which are of the same species
and in this case, give a description?
(Answer
in the margins)
None.
If sometimes whales appear on the coast and if you catch them?
(Answer in the margins)
Sometimes mulardes or blowers but rarely and we take none.
If sea bears are seen there and if merman
(tritons) or mermaids (sir?nes) were caught a few times?
(Answer
in the margins)
None.
If porpoises are sometimes or often caught there and what color are they?
(Answer in the margins)
We often see them but we very rarely take them. They are like those
in Europe.
If there are a large number of shellfish on the coast and what species?
(Answer
in the margins)
Same as in Guadeloupe.

The second way to take turtles is to turn them. The fishermen stand waiting in coves then when the turtle arrives and has climbed onto the sand they run there and turn them on their back then leave it there to go to others. The third way is with the varre but you don't take ten in a year this way. It is only by chance that we use this instrument. There are four kinds of turtles in the Windward Islands, namely, brown turtles (tortue franche), which are very good to eat. It is the only species commonly eaten. The caret is the only turtle that produces scale, flesh and is red. And if you eat it then you have warts, you will soon be covered in pustules and abscesses. The turtle called loggerhead, this one has a very bad taste. We turn it into burning oil. There are few of them and they are different from the brown turtle whose head is larger. The fourth is called a clapboard turtle(tortue ? clin). We haven't seen them on the islands for a long time. It is still fished towards the island of Saint-Martin and Saint-Barth?lemy. This turtle is very large. It takes ten men to turn it. Its shell is soft and this turtle is only good for making burning oil. Tortoises are not natural to the Windward Islands. We sometimes bring them from Testigue(?) where there are a lot of them. We don't eat them much though lack of habit as they are rare. The biggest ones I saw were about six inches wide and ten inches long.We no longer fish for manatee in the Windward Islands. It's been more than thirty years since we last saw one there. No salted manatee meat is brought to the Windward Islands and nothing can replace the beef and pork meat that comes from Europe. Salted turtles are also rarely brought there. We see in Martinique thazard, carengue of two species, namely, big-eyed and green. These are the best and are worth excellent shad, sardes in some places, parques, bracheto, mulets of the Portuguese, surgeons?fish, moonsfish, cofferfish, vives, beaumes, saury mothers, saurys, trumpets, bananafish, small soles which are worth nothing, cups, dog food(manger ? chien), some excellent vieilles

The second way to take turtles is to turn them. The fishermen stand waiting in coves then when the turtle arrives and has climbed onto the sand they run there and turn them on their back then leave it there to go to others. The third way is with the varre but you don't take ten in a year this way. It is only by chance that we use this instrument. There are four kinds of turtles in the Windward Islands, namely, brown turtles (tortue franche), which are very good to eat. It is the only species commonly eaten. The caret is the only turtle that produces scale, flesh and is red. And if you eat it then you have warts, you will soon be covered in pustules and abscesses. The turtle called loggerhead, this one has a very bad taste. We turn it into burning oil. There are few of them and they are different from the brown turtle whose head is larger. The fourth is called a clapboard turtle(tortue ? clin). We haven't seen them on the islands for a long time. It is still fished towards the island of Saint-Martin and Saint-Barth?lemy. This turtle is very large. It takes ten men to turn it. Its shell is soft and this turtle is only good for making burning oil. Tortoises are not natural to the Windward Islands. We sometimes bring them from Testigue(?) where there are a lot of them. We don't eat them much though lack of habit as they are rare. The biggest ones I saw were about six inches wide and ten inches long.We no longer fish for manatee in the Windward Islands. It's been more than thirty years since we last saw one there. No salted manatee meat is brought to the Windward Islands and nothing can replace the beef and pork meat that comes from Europe. Salted turtles are also rarely brought there. We see in Martinique thazard, carengue of two species, namely, big-eyed and green. These are the best and are worth excellent shad, sardes in some places, parques, bracheto, mulets of the Portuguese, surgeons?fish, moonsfish, cofferfish, vives, beaumes, saury mothers, saurys, trumpets, bananafish, small soles which are worth nothing, cups, dog food(manger ? chien), some excellent vieilles

The fish when sprinkled with salt 24 hours, it's worth green cod. The bad thing is that it is very rare. Sardines different in shape, size and taste from European sardines or the frank sardine (franche) also called cailleux. There are night sardines similar to those of Europe except that they have a small golden stripe from the head to the tail. There is no fish that takes effect more quickly than these sardines. They come in an hour. There are also stingrays similar in the body to the European rays which are not curly and dull as those from the coast of Brittany. The tail of this one is sometimes two fathoms long, thick at the end which sticks to the body like the tip of the little finger and tapers down to the other end. It is a compound of small knots like the edge of a fish covered with a black and very hard film. In addition to the stingray of which I spoke above with a large tail, there is another species which has a little tail. There is above the tail of this stingray a stinger-shape bone which is very poisonous. Those who are stung suffer severe pain, onthe injured part, for nearly 24 hours. There are also fish called captains of two species. There is a species that is fished on the shallows of Grande Terre whose head is better than a calf's head. The captain fished in Martinique are worthless. There are also parrots fish, niggers? food fish? (Manger? n?gre) (There is also a fish called garfish? (orphie). This fish is the aiguille of the Brittany coast, but it is less good here. Satroux, a type of cuttlefish without any bones. Finally, I know several other species of useless fish, but it would take too long to give an exact description of them. A few of these fish above do some harm. There is a species in Guadeloupe called white beard(barbe blanche)which has a good taste, but you mustbe hungry and have nothing to eat to dare to try it because this fish kills wonderfully. To test it, we cook the head, part of the body as well as the liver, which is more dangerous, then we give this head to a dog. If immediately after eating it does not die, we eat it. There are no crocodiles in the Windward Islands. There used to be plenty of lizards there. There are few now.The lizards are made like those in France.The largest are about as big as the arm for the largest of the body and long from the nose to the end of the

The fish when sprinkled with salt 24 hours, it's worth green cod. The bad thing is that it is very rare. Sardines different in shape, size and taste from European sardines or the frank sardine (franche) also called cailleux. There are night sardines similar to those of Europe except that they have a small golden stripe from the head to the tail. There is no fish that takes effect more quickly than these sardines. They come in an hour. There are also stingrays similar in the body to the European rays which are not curly and dull as those from the coast of Brittany. The tail of this one is sometimes two fathoms long, thick at the end which sticks to the body like the tip of the little finger and tapers down to the other end. It is a compound of small knots like the edge of a fish covered with a black and very hard film. In addition to the stingray of which I spoke above with a large tail, there is another species which has a little tail. There is above the tail of this stingray a stinger-shape bone which is very poisonous. Those who are stung suffer severe pain, onthe injured part, for nearly 24 hours. There are also fish called captains of two species. There is a species that is fished on the shallows of Grande Terre whose head is better than a calf's head. The captain fished in Martinique are worthless. There are also parrots fish, niggers? food fish? (Manger? n?gre) (There is also a fish called garfish? (orphie). This fish is the aiguille of the Brittany coast, but it is less good here. Satroux, a type of cuttlefish without any bones. Finally, I know several other species of useless fish, but it would take too long to give an exact description of them. A few of these fish above do some harm. There is a species in Guadeloupe called white beard(barbe blanche)which has a good taste, but you mustbe hungry and have nothing to eat to dare to try it because this fish kills wonderfully. To test it, we cook the head, part of the body as well as the liver, which is more dangerous, then we give this head to a dog. If immediately after eating it does not die, we eat it. There are no crocodiles in the Windward Islands. There used to be plenty of lizards there. There are few now.The lizards are made like those in France.The largest are about as big as the arm for the largest of the body and long from the nose to the end of the

The fish when sprinkled with salt 24 hours, it's worth green cod. The bad thing is that it is very rare. Sardines different in shape, size and taste from European sardines or the frank sardine (franche) also called cailleux. There are night sardines similar to those of Europe except that they have a small golden stripe from the head to the tail. There is no fish that takes effect more quickly than these sardines. They come in an hour. There are also stingrays similar in the body to the European rays which are not curly and dull as those from the coast of Brittany. The tail of this one is sometimes two fathoms long, thick at the end which sticks to the body like the tip of the little finger and tapers down to the other end. It is a compound of small knots like the edge of a fish covered with a black and very hard film. In addition to the stingray of which I spoke above with a large tail, there is another species which has a little tail. There is above the tail of this stingray a stinger-shape bone which is very poisonous. Those who are stung suffer severe pain, onthe injured part, for nearly 24 hours. There are also fish called captains of two species. There is a species that is fished on the shallows of Grande Terre whose head is better than a calf's head. The captain fished in Martinique are worthless. There are also parrots fish, niggers? food fish? (Manger? n?gre) (There is also a fish called garfish? (orphie). This fish is the aiguille of the Brittany coast, but it is less good here. Satroux, a type of cuttlefish without any bones. Finally, I know several other species of useless fish, but it would take too long to give an exact description of them. A few of these fish above do some harm. There is a species in Guadeloupe called white beard(barbe blanche)which has a good taste, but you mustbe hungry and have nothing to eat to dare to try it because this fish kills wonderfully. To test it, we cook the head, part of the body as well as the liver, which is more dangerous, then we give this head to a dog. If immediately after eating it does not die, we eat it. There are no crocodiles in the Windward Islands. There used to be plenty of lizards there. There are few now.The lizards are made like those in France.The largest are about as big as the arm for the largest of the body and long from the nose to the end of the

the tail about two feet. It is a dish that we eat in fricassee like chickens and toads, a type of frog that we catch in the woods but without being delicate. We can say that it is not very good to carefully examine the flesh of these insects. They are strictly made of colored mucus and more condensed than ordinary mucus. We bring dried cod to Martinique. It comes from Cape Briton Island. We also bring, but rarely, green cod. This cod is the species that is dried and not the species that is caught on the GreatBank. No other kind of salted fish is brought to these islands than sometimes some vieille, thazard and other fish from Cape Verde. There is no ambergris found in the Windward Islands. We do not see in the Windward Islands sea calves, wolves, oxen and cows in the sense that we understand. We don't see any sea lions there either. We sometimes see whales on these coasts, but they are small. We didn't catch any. Some blowers were stranded there by chance.We never heard of sea bears, and we see neither merman (triton) nor mermaid (sir?ne). There are some porpoises there. We catch few of them and they are such as those we see in the European seas. There are several kinds of shells among others, oysters which reproduce to tree branches called mangles. These oysters taste great. There are wonderfully hard clams. There are no mussels. There used to be a lot of crabs growing in the Windward Islands, but they have been so depopulated that they are now stopped there except on the islands inhabited by the Caribbean. There are three types of land crabs. Whites whose season is from April to mid-December. After which, they retreat into their holes to change scales. We then call them bourdi?re and they are big and very good. The red ones appear towards the end of December and retreat towards the end of April into their holes. They are not as esteemed as whites for eating boiled in water and salt but, for fricassees andbisque (soup). The reds are better than the whites. The red crab bisques are as good as the crayfish bisques in France. The third is the paletonier crab. They are purple and have very full paws

the tail about two feet. It is a dish that we eat in fricassee like chickens and toads, a type of frog that we catch in the woods but without being delicate. We can say that it is not very good to carefully examine the flesh of these insects. They are strictly made of colored mucus and more condensed than ordinary mucus. We bring dried cod to Martinique. It comes from Cape Briton Island. We also bring, but rarely, green cod. This cod is the species that is dried and not the species that is caught on the GreatBank. No other kind of salted fish is brought to these islands than sometimes some vieille, thazard and other fish from Cape Verde. There is no ambergris found in the Windward Islands. We do not see in the Windward Islands sea calves, wolves, oxen and cows in the sense that we understand. We don't see any sea lions there either. We sometimes see whales on these coasts, but they are small. We didn't catch any. Some blowers were stranded there by chance.We never heard of sea bears, and we see neither merman (triton) nor mermaid (sir?ne). There are some porpoises there. We catch few of them and they are such as those we see in the European seas. There are several kinds of shells among others, oysters which reproduce to tree branches called mangles. These oysters taste great. There are wonderfully hard clams. There are no mussels. There used to be a lot of crabs growing in the Windward Islands, but they have been so depopulated that they are now stopped there except on the islands inhabited by the Caribbean. There are three types of land crabs. Whites whose season is from April to mid-December. After which, they retreat into their holes to change scales. We then call them bourdi?re and they are big and very good. The red ones appear towards the end of December and retreat towards the end of April into their holes. They are not as esteemed as whites for eating boiled in water and salt but, for fricassees andbisque (soup). The reds are better than the whites. The red crab bisques are as good as the crayfish bisques in France. The third is the paletonier crab. They are purple and have very full paws

the tail about two feet. It is a dish that we eat in fricassee like chickens and toads, a type of frog that we catch in the woods but without being delicate. We can say that it is not very good to carefully examine the flesh of these insects. They are strictly made of colored mucus and more condensed than ordinary mucus. We bring dried cod to Martinique. It comes from Cape Briton Island. We also bring, but rarely, green cod. This cod is the species that is dried and not the species that is caught on the GreatBank. No other kind of salted fish is brought to these islands than sometimes some vieille, thazard and other fish from Cape Verde. There is no ambergris found in the Windward Islands. We do not see in the Windward Islands sea calves, wolves, oxen and cows in the sense that we understand. We don't see any sea lions there either. We sometimes see whales on these coasts, but they are small. We didn't catch any. Some blowers were stranded there by chance.We never heard of sea bears, and we see neither merman (triton) nor mermaid (sir?ne). There are some porpoises there. We catch few of them and they are such as those we see in the European seas. There are several kinds of shells among others, oysters which reproduce to tree branches called mangles. These oysters taste great. There are wonderfully hard clams. There are no mussels. There used to be a lot of crabs growing in the Windward Islands, but they have been so depopulated that they are now stopped there except on the islands inhabited by the Caribbean. There are three types of land crabs. Whites whose season is from April to mid-December. After which, they retreat into their holes to change scales. We then call them bourdi?re and they are big and very good. The red ones appear towards the end of December and retreat towards the end of April into their holes. They are not as esteemed as whites for eating boiled in water and salt but, for fricassees andbisque (soup). The reds are better than the whites. The red crab bisques are as good as the crayfish bisques in France. The third is the paletonier crab. They are purple and have very full paws

the tail about two feet. It is a dish that we eat in fricassee like chickens and toads, a type of frog that we catch in the woods but without being delicate. We can say that it is not very good to carefully examine the flesh of these insects. They are strictly made of colored mucus and more condensed than ordinary mucus. We bring dried cod to Martinique. It comes from Cape Briton Island. We also bring, but rarely, green cod. This cod is the species that is dried and not the species that is caught on the GreatBank. No other kind of salted fish is brought to these islands than sometimes some vieille, thazard and other fish from Cape Verde. There is no ambergris found in the Windward Islands. We do not see in the Windward Islands sea calves, wolves, oxen and cows in the sense that we understand. We don't see any sea lions there either. We sometimes see whales on these coasts, but they are small. We didn't catch any. Some blowers were stranded there by chance.We never heard of sea bears, and we see neither merman (triton) nor mermaid (sir?ne). There are some porpoises there. We catch few of them and they are such as those we see in the European seas. There are several kinds of shells among others, oysters which reproduce to tree branches called mangles. These oysters taste great. There are wonderfully hard clams. There are no mussels. There used to be a lot of crabs growing in the Windward Islands, but they have been so depopulated that they are now stopped there except on the islands inhabited by the Caribbean. There are three types of land crabs. Whites whose season is from April to mid-December. After which, they retreat into their holes to change scales. We then call them bourdi?re and they are big and very good. The red ones appear towards the end of December and retreat towards the end of April into their holes. They are not as esteemed as whites for eating boiled in water and salt but, for fricassees andbisque (soup). The reds are better than the whites. The red crab bisques are as good as the crayfish bisques in France. The third is the paletonier crab. They are purple and have very full paws

When does the season begin and how long does it last? Are all the turtles caught there eaten fresh, or are enough taken to make salted meat? Which species of turtle is most abundant, and how many different species are there? Whether the trade in salted turtles still exists today in Saint-Domingue and where they come from. Which sailors are involved in this trade and where do they prepare this type of salted meat. Is turtle fishing no longer practised in the Cayman Islands as it was in the past? If this fishing has ceased, for what reason? Are there land turtles in Saint-Domingue, and are they large and good to eat? Are manatees also brought in, as in the past, when they were fished in considerable numbers in the Amazon River? Is the same fishing still practised elsewhere, and who are the people involved in it? Are manatees sometimes fished in the course of Saint-Domingue? An accurate description of this fish, as the illustrations do not correspond with what has been written. If there are several species, note the external differences between males and females. If there are others besides those necessary for reproduction. How many young do females have at a time and how long do they carry them? If lizards are very common and very large, and the use made of them.

When does the season begin and how long does it last? Are all the turtles caught there eaten fresh, or are enough taken to make salted meat? Which species of turtle is most abundant, and how many different species are there? Whether the trade in salted turtles still exists today in Saint-Domingue and where they come from. Which sailors are involved in this trade and where do they prepare this type of salted meat. Is turtle fishing no longer practised in the Cayman Islands as it was in the past? If this fishing has ceased, for what reason? Are there land turtles in Saint-Domingue, and are they large and good to eat? Are manatees also brought in, as in the past, when they were fished in considerable numbers in the Amazon River? Is the same fishing still practised elsewhere, and who are the people involved in it? Are manatees sometimes fished in the course of Saint-Domingue? An accurate description of this fish, as the illustrations do not correspond with what has been written. If there are several species, note the external differences between males and females. If there are others besides those necessary for reproduction. How many young do females have at a time and how long do they carry them? If lizards are very common and very large, and the use made of them.

When does the season begin and how long does it last? Are all the turtles caught there eaten fresh, or are enough taken to make salted meat? Which species of turtle is most abundant, and how many different species are there? Whether the trade in salted turtles still exists today in Saint-Domingue and where they come from. Which sailors are involved in this trade and where do they prepare this type of salted meat. Is turtle fishing no longer practised in the Cayman Islands as it was in the past? If this fishing has ceased, for what reason? Are there land turtles in Saint-Domingue, and are they large and good to eat? Are manatees also brought in, as in the past, when they were fished in considerable numbers in the Amazon River? Is the same fishing still practised elsewhere, and who are the people involved in it? Are manatees sometimes fished in the course of Saint-Domingue? An accurate description of this fish, as the illustrations do not correspond with what has been written. If there are several species, note the external differences between males and females. If there are others besides those necessary for reproduction. How many young do females have at a time and how long do they carry them? If lizards are very common and very large, and the use made of them.

If there are many crocodiles. If they are dangerous and freely leave the water to come ashore in search of food. If green and dried cod, salted salmon, and other types of prepared fish are brought to Saint-Domingue from their places of origin. If there is any trade in fishery products. If ambergris is sometimes found on the coast before, during, or after storms. If sea bears, calves, and cows are seen there and their use. If these fish are common there. If sea lions of the same species are seen there, give an accurate description. If whales sometimes appear on the coast and if any are stranded there. If porpoises are sometimes or often caught there and what colour they are. If there are large numbers of shellfish on the coast and what species they are. If some species are collected for food by the inhabitants and what they are. If conch, helmet shells and other large shellfish are good to eat. If there are oysters and mussels, of what species. Whether mother-of-pearl or pearl oysters are found there. Whether they are fertilised. Whether there are large numbers of land crabs and soldier crabs, and in what season of the year they come to the coast to lay their eggs or spawn. At what time and how they change their shells. A list of the most common seabirds and maritime birds around the island.

If there is an annual turtle fishery in St. Christopher. When and where does this fishery take place, in what season and with what instruments. What are the different species of turtles that can be found there and which are the most abundant. Whether the inhabitants go beyond their coasts to engage in this fishery. Do the English carry it out in the Cayman Islands and do they have a significant presence there? Do others besides the English also carry out the same fishing as on other occasions? Is salted turtle meat brought to St. Kitts and where does it come from and who are the people involved in this trade? If manatee is brought there, where is it fished and who are the people who prepare it? If manatee is sometimes fished around the island and if it is caught regularly and often. What kind of small fishing is done in St. Christopher during the year and how do the fishermen who work there do it, whether with nets, Varre, Brasin, fire or dormant bait. A list of the names of common fish and those that are sometimes caught as Bonites, Sea bream, sardines, trevally & [...]

Another list of seabirds seen around the Isle. Whether whales are seen there and whether they are sometimes caught. Whether porpoises are fished there and what colour they are. Whether green and dried cod, salted salmon and other species of fish are brought to St Christopher and where they come from. If bears, wolves, cows and sea lions are sometimes caught. If ambergris is sometimes found on the coast or in the sea around the island, and in what circumstances it is most commonly found. The coast is covered with a large number of shellfish. What species are they, and which are the best to eat? Whether there are mussels and oysters and of what species. Whether mother-of-pearl is found there and whether it is fertile. Whether there are many land crabs and soldier crabs, and in what season they come to lay their eggs on the coast and the latter to change their shells. Whether there are many crocodiles and whether they are very dangerous.Many lizards are caught and the use made of them, whether they are eaten and how they are prepared.

Another list of seabirds seen around the Isle. Whether whales are seen there and whether they are sometimes caught. Whether porpoises are fished there and what colour they are. Whether green and dried cod, salted salmon and other species of fish are brought to St Christopher and where they come from. If bears, wolves, cows and sea lions are sometimes caught. If ambergris is sometimes found on the coast or in the sea around the island, and in what circumstances it is most commonly found. The coast is covered with a large number of shellfish. What species are they, and which are the best to eat? Whether there are mussels and oysters and of what species. Whether mother-of-pearl is found there and whether it is fertile. Whether there are many land crabs and soldier crabs, and in what season they come to lay their eggs on the coast and the latter to change their shells. Whether there are many crocodiles and whether they are very dangerous.Many lizards are caught and the use made of them, whether they are eaten and how they are prepared.

Few turtles are caught in Saint Christophe. No more than twenty are caught in a year with a net that we call folle that the inhabitants put to the sea in the Canaries district. Sometimes in the months of July and August when the turtles strand at night on beaches to lay their eggs, the inhabitants run up to them and turn them on their backs to prevent them from walking away. The turtles are commonly two feet in diameter and weigh 150 pounds. Their scales are not suitable for anything. But we sometimes catch in these same nets another species of turtle called caret whose shell is suitable for fashioning. They sell to Europeans for 5 to 6 pounds per pound. There are some residents of Saint Christophe who equip boats to go to Turtle Island to fish for turtles where they are abundant. They salt them for food for the negroes and bring some alive. This animal can go 4 to 5 weeks without eating. They rarely do this fishing in the Cayman Islands where there are a lot of turtles because it is too far from Saint Christophe. Great and Little Cayman are located west of Saint Domingue near the island of Cuba. The Caymans are small desert islands and the English have no establishment there, but they have 14 leagues to windward of Saint Christophe a small, very flat and sandy island called Barbuda where they fish a lot of turtles. This island, which is only a league around, belongs to the heirs of General Codrington. There are horses, lots of sheep, deer and guinea fowl chickens. There is a tower equipped with some cannon guarded by 20 men hired by the Codrington. We don't take manatee...

[?] in Saint-Christophe or in any Windward Islands. This fish has moved away and we no longer see them. We catch a lot of sardines in Saint Christophe. There are two kinds. One which is as big as those in Royan. It has a golden collar and head, a white belly and a green back. It is dangerous to eat and causes death to foreigners and new negroes who are not aware of it. It is only caught in the Windward Islands in the Cayenne and Canaris neighborhoods. The other species is called cayeux and is very good to eat. It is caught down wind of the island along the coast with baskets. It is smaller than the first and less golden. We salt them for Negro food. The English of this island are negligent about fishing and when some French of Saint Christophe come, they bring their fish to sell in the English neighborhoods. Our Frenchmen had several small local canoes equipped with two to three men and went a league away to the town of Basseterre on a bank near Nioeul to line fish for excellent fish, namely sardes, thazards, beaumes and vieilles. These last ones have been seen weighing up to 150 pounds. It is an excellent fish and when it is well sprinkled with salt twice in 24 hours, it equals the green cod, thazard and beaumes that are caught on the bank. They are not harmful but when we take them on the side of the Anse ? Louvet, towards the bottom of Basseterre, they are as dangerous as the golden sardine. Some French inhabitants have nets called senne that they use to catch, apart the above-mentioned fish, some carangues along the coast which are good fish. We see some of the latter weighing up to two hundred pounds. They also go on dark nights with their canoes along the rocks with lit torches to take lobsters which is a large sea crayfish. They also took king thazards, couronn?s, sardes, orphies, otherwise aiguilles. There is a small shrub in Saint Christophe as in the other islands called drunken wood. We plunder the branch and the leaf, which we enclose in small bags made of bad nets and in the lowlands of Basseterre near the Anse ? Louvet, negroes with water up to their shoulders beat water with these bags which intoxicate the fish which come to the surface of the water. Those in the canoes take them by hand or with small baskets and in very large quantities. The locals do these fishing trips more for pleasure than for utility. Bream (dorades) are rarely caught in all of the above-mentioned fisheries. Many seabirds are commonly seen around the island: mauves (Stern), gray and white egrets (Egretta), herons, great gullets, fous (Northern Gannet?), frigates (Frigate bird), sparrows. And in the months of July, August and September, there are plenty of of marine game, in such a large quantity in the salt fish district that in one day a hunter kills up to 500, namely, ducks, sarcelles (Eurasian teal), pluviers (Plover), sandpipers, snipe and sea larks. We see a few whales along the coast, and we have never heard of one being caught. No porpoises are caught there but sailing vessels going from one island to another sometimes harpoon them. They are of the same shape, color and size as those of the seas of Europe. No bears, cows, wolves or sea lions are taken there, and never ambergris along the coast...