In Modern Maps, The Bay Of Vingora Is Placed On
The West Side Of Madagascar, Its Mouth Being In Lat.
13 deg.
41' S. and E.
long. 49 deg. 28'. - E.]
At this place I particularly remarked two singular kinds of trees. One
of these yields from its leaves and boughs a yellow sap of so fat a
nature, that when fire is put to it standing quite green, the fire
blazes up immediately over all the leaves and branches. Its wood is
white and soft. The other kind has white wood with a small brown heart,
but nearly as hard as lignum vitae. The trees which we of the
Pepper-corn cut for fire-wood, hung all full of green fruit called
Tamerim, [tamarinds,] as large as an English bean-cod, having a very
sour taste, and reckoned good against the scurvy. The men of our
admiral, having more leisure than ours, gathered some of this fruit for
their own use. We saw likewise here abundance of a plant, hardly to be
distinguished from the sempervivum of Socotora, whence the Socotrine
aloes is made; but I know not if the savage natives of this island have
any knowledge of its use. The natives, for what reason I know not, came
not near us, so that we got not here any beef or mutton, though oxen
used to be had here for a dollar a-piece. But we were told the
disorderly fellows of the Union had improvidently given whatever the
savages asked, so that scarcely any are now to be had even for ten
shillings each.
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