Travels in India (Tavernier) 158.3

158.3

While those who are on land occupy themselves with this sport, those who remain in the vessel employ the time in fishing ; for there is a great abundance of fish around this island, especially mackerel. Each sailor and soldier is given a measure of salt, with which they salt the fish, and then hang them to dry in the wind. They feed themselves upon this dried fish after leaving the island, and generally have sufficient for thirty or forty days, and each receives only a little oil and rice cooked in water ; this saves the Company a quantity of food. All the pigs, sheep, geese, ducks, and hens which were on board were sent on shore, and as soon as these animals had eaten the sorrel, which purges them as well as it does men, in a few days they became so fat that when we approached Holland it was almost impossible to eat them, especially the geese and ducks, on account of the fat.