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Heere are many wilde buffes and elephants. Iamahey is a very faire and great towne, with faire houses of stone, well peopled, the streets are very large, the men very well set and strong, with a cloth about them, bare headed and bare footed: for in all these countreys they weare no shoes. The women be much fairer then those of Pegu. Heere in all these countreys they haue no wheat.
Those that uses to be where the buffes be are not so bigg, but about the bignesse of a coach horse. The wildmen call them the litle sort. As for the Buff, it is a furious animal. One must have a care of him, for every yeare he kills some Nadoneseronons. He comes for the most part in the plaines & meddows; he feeds like an ox, and the Oriniack so but seldom he galopps.
Of the Indian Elephants onely the males haue tuskes, but of them of Ethiopia and Libya both kindes are tusked: they are of diuers heights, as of twelue, thirteene, and fourteene dodrants, euery dodrant being a measure of nine inches. Some write that an Elephant is bigger then three wilde Oxen or Buffes.
Nowe againe, for Venison plentie, especially to the North about the grand baie, and in the South neere Cape Race, and Pleasance: there are many other kinds of beasts, as Luzarnes and other mighty beastes like to Camels in great likenesse, and their feete were clouen, I did see them farre off not able to discerne them perfectly, but their steps shewed that their feete were clouen, and bigger then the feete of Camels, I suppose them to bee a kind off Buffes which I read to bee in the countreyes adiacent, and very many in the firme land.
There are also wild beasts bred in those woods, as buffes, bears, and black wolves, and another kind of beast unknown to us, but called by them "roffomakka;" and the nature of the same is very rare and wonderful, for when it is great with young, and ready to bring forth, it seeketh out some narrow place between two stakes, and so going through them, presseth itself, and by that means is eased of her burden, which otherwise could not be done.
They hunt their buffes for the most part a-horseback, but their bears afoot, with wooden forks.
There we passed the winter & learned the particularitie that since wee saw by Experience. Heere I will not make a long discours during that time, onely made good cheere & killed staggs, Buffes, Elends, and Castors. The Christinos had skill in that game above the rest. The snow proved favourable that yeare, which caused much plenty of every thing.
There are birds whose bills are two and 20 thumbs long. That bird swallows a whole salmon, keeps it a long time in his bill. We saw alsoe shee-goats very bigg. There is an animal somewhat lesse then a cow whose meat is exceeding good. There is no want of Staggs nor Buffes. There are so many Tourkeys that the boys throws stoanes att them for their recreation.
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