the superintendent I spoke of, who has a certain sum of money for every ship that careens by her.  He also provides firing and other necessaries for that purpose:  and the ships do commonly hire of the merchants here each 2 cables to moor by all the time they lie here, and so save their own hempen cables; for these are made of a sort of hair that grows on a certain kind of trees, hanging down from the top of their bodies, and is very like the black coir in the East Indies, if not the same.  These cables are strong and lasting:  and so much for the European ships.

The ships that use the Guinea trade are small vessels in comparison of the former.  They carry out from hence rum, sugar, the cotton cloths of St. Jago, beads, etc. and bring in return gold, ivory, and slaves; making very good returns.

The small craft that belong to this town are chiefly employed in carrying European goods from Bahia, the centre of the Brazilian trade, to the other places on this coast; bringing back hither sugar, tobacco, etc.  They are sailed chiefly with negro slaves; and about Christmas these are mostly employed in whale killing:  for about that time of the year a sort of whales, as they call them, are very thick on this coast.  They come in also into the harbours and inland lakes where the seamen go out and kill them.  The fat of them is boiled to oil; the lean is eaten by the slaves and poor people:  and I was told by one that had frequently eaten of it that the flesh was very sweet and wholesome.  These are said to be but small whales; yet here are so many, and so easily killed, that they get a great deal of money by it.  Those that strike them buy their licence for it of the king:  and I was informed that he receives 30,000 dollars per annum for this fishery.  All the small vessels that use this coasting traffic are built here; and so are some men of war also for the king’s service.  There was one a-building when I was here, a ship of 40 or 50 guns:  and the timber of this country is very good and proper for this purpose.  I was told it was very strong, and more durable than any we have in Europe; and they have enough of it.  As for their ships that use the European trade some of them that I saw there were English built, taken from us by the French, during the late war, and sold by them to the Portuguese.

Of the inhabitants of Bahia; their carrying in hammocks:  Their artificers, crane for goods, and negro slaves.

Besides merchants and others that trade by sea from this port here are other pretty wealthy men, and several artificers and tradesmen of most sorts, who by labour and industry maintain themselves very well; especially such as can arrive at the purchase of a negro slave or two.  And indeed, excepting people of the lowest degree of all, here are scarce any but what keep slaves in their houses.  The richer sort, besides the