152 A SURPRISING DISCOVERY.

I searched for the cassava root, which the Indians in all that
climate make their bread of; but I could find none. I saw large
plants of aloes, but did not then understand them. I saw several
sugar canes, but wild, and, for want of cultivation, imperfect. I
contented myself with these discoveries for this time, and came
back musing with myself what course I might take to know the
virtue and goodness of any of the fruits or plants which I should
discover, but could bring it to no conclusion; for, in short, I had
made so little observation while I was in the Brazils, that I knew
little of the plants in the field, at least very little that might serve
me to any purpose now in my distress.

The next day, the 16th, I went up the same way again, and
after going something further than I had gone the day before,
T found the brook, and the savannas began to cease, and the country
became more woody than before. In this part I found different
fruits, and, particularly, I found melons upon the ground in great
abundance, and grapes upon the trees; the vines had spread in-
deed over the trees, and the clusters of grapes were just now in
their prime, very ripe and rich. This was a surprising discovery,
and I was exceeding glad of them; but I was warned by my
experience to eat sparingly of them, remembering that, when I
was ashore in Barbary, the eating of grapes killed several of our
Englishmen, who were slaves there, by throwing them into fluxes
and fevers. But I found an excellent use for these grapes, and
that was to cure or dry them in the sun, and keep them as dried
grapes or raisins are kept; which I thought would be, as indeed
they were, as wholesome as agreeable to eat, when no grapes
might be to be had.

I spent all that evening there, and went not back to my habita-
tion, which, by the way, was the first night, as I might say, I had
lain from home. In the night I took my first contrivance, and
got up into a tree, where I slept well; and the next morning pro-
ceeded upon my discovery, travelling nearly four miles, as I might
judge by the length of the valley, keeping still due north, with a
ridge of hills on the south and north side of me.

At the end of this march I came to an opening, where the
country seemed to descend to the west, and a little spring of fresh