Two Voyages to the Bay of Campeachy [extrait]

by William Dampier (1674-1678)

The cattle in this country are large and fat in February, March and April: at other times of the year they are fleshy, but not fat, yet sweet enough. When they have killed a beef, they cut it into four quarters, and taking out all the bones, each man makes a hole in the middle of his quarter, just big enough for his head to go through, then puts it on like a forck, and trudgeth home; and he chances to tire, he cuts off some of it, and flings it away. It is a diversion pleasant enough, though not without some danger, to hunt in a canoa; for then the cattle having no other feeding places than the sides of the savannahs, which are somewhat higher ground than the middle, they are forced sometimes to swim; so that we may easily come to shoot them, when they are thus in the water. The beast, when she is so hard pursued that she cannot escape, turns about and comes full tilt at the canoa, and striking her head against the prow, drives her back twenty or thirty paces; then she scampers away again: but if she has received a wound, she commonly pursues us till she is knocked down. Our chief care is to keep the head of the canoa towards her; for if she should strike against the broad-side, it would endanger over-setting it, and consequently wetting our arms and ammunition.

(...)

Some of them immediately went ot Beef Island to kill bullocks for their hides. First they turn the fleshy-side, and after the hair upwards, letting them lye so till they are very dry. Thirty-two strong pegs as big as a man's arm, are required to stretch the hide as it ought to be. Whey they are dry they fold them in the middle from head to tail, with the hair outward; and then hang them cross a strong pole, so high that the ends may not touch the ground, 40 or 50 one upon another, and once in three weeks or a month they beat them with great sticks, to strike off the worms that breed in the hair, and eat it off, which spoils the hide. When they are to be shipped off, they soak them in salt water to kill the remaining worms; and while they are yet wet they fold them in four folds, and afterwards spread them abroad again to dry. When they are fully dry, they fold them up again, and so send them aboard.

...in the dry season he used to come hither in a bark, wih six or seven servants, and spend two or three months in hocksing and killing cattle, only for their hides and tallow. (...) This way of hocksing bullocks seems peculiar to Spaniards; espacially to those who that live hereabouts, who are very dextrous at it. For this reason some of them are constantly employed in it all the year; and so become very expert. The hockser is mounted on a good horse, bred up to the sport; who knows so well when to advance or retreat upon occasion, that the rider has no trouble to manage him. His arms is a hocksing iron, which is made in the shape of a half-moon, and from on corner to the other is about six or seven inches; with a very sharp edge. This iron is fastned by a socket to a pole about fourteen foot long. When the hockser is mounted, he lays the pole over the head of his horse, with the iron forward, and then rides after his game; and having overtaken it, strikes the iron just above the hock, and hamstrings it. The horse presently wheels off to the left; for the wounded beast makes at him presently with all his force; but he scampers awat a good distance before he comes about again. If the Hamstring is not quite cut asunder with the stroke, yet the bullock by continual springing out his leg, certainly breaks it: and then can go but on three legs, yet still limps forward to be revenged on his enemy. Then the hockser rides up softly to him abd strikes his iron into the knee of one of his fore-legs; and then he imeediately tumbles down. He gets off his horse, and taking a sharp-pointed strong knife, strikes it into his pole, a little behind the horns, so dextrously that at one blow he cuts the string of his neck; and down falls his head. This they call poling. Then the hockser immediately mounts, and rides after more game, leaving the other to the skinners, who are at hand, and ready to take off his hide. The right ear of the hocksing-horse by weight of the pole lais constantly over it when on duty, hangs down always, by which you may know it from other horses. The Spaniards pick and chuse only the bulls and old cows, and leave the young cattle to breedl by which means they always preserve their stock entire. On the contrary, the English and French kill without distinction; yea, the young rather than the old; without regard of keeping up their stock. (...) The French (I think) are greater destroyers than the English. Had it not been for the great care of the Spaniards in stocking the West Indies with hogs and bullocks, the privateers must have starved. But now the Main, as well as the Island, is plentifully provided; particularly the bay of Campeachy, the Islands of Cuba, Pines, Hispaniola, Portarica, etc. Where, besides wild hogs, there are abundance of crawls or hog-farms; in some of which, I have heard, there are no less than 1500. This was the main subsistence of the privateers.

But to return again to Beef Island. Our English hunters have much lessened the numbers of the cattle there. And those that are left, by constant shooting now are grown so wild and desperate, that it is dangerous for a single man to fire at them, or to venture through the savannahs. For the old bulls that have been formerly shot, will make at him: and they will all drew up in battalia to defend themselves upon our approach; the old bulls in the front; behind them the cows, in the same manner; and behind them the young cattle. And if we strive to wheel about to get in the reer, and still present a front to us. Therefore we seldom strive to shoot any out of a great herd; but walk about in the woods, close by savannah; and there we light of our game. The beast makes directly at the hunter, if it be desperately wounded (as I have experienced myself) but if but slightly, they commonly run away. The old hunters tell us, that a cow is more dangerous of the two; because, they say, she runs at her enemy with her eyes open; but the bull shuts his, so that you may easily avoid him. But this I cannot affirm upon my own knowledge, and rather doubt the truth of it; for I knew one shrewdly gor'd by a bull. He was a consort with Mr. Baker, in the West Lagune; where having tir'd themselves with cutting of logwood, they took an occasion to go in their canoa to Beef Island, to refresh themselves there a fortnight or three weeks... They came to a place called the Salt Creek; and there built them a hut. About four o'clock, while Mr. Baker, lay down to sleep, his consort marched out into the savannah, about a mile form their hutsl and there coming within a shot of a bull, wounded him desperately; but yet the bull had still so much strength left as to pursue and overtake his adversary, trampling on him; and goring his thigh, so that he was not able to rise. The bull by this time was spent, and fell down dead by him: and there the man had also perished, if Mr. Baker had not come the next morning to seek him...