Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
. . . the best aid which can be rendered them is not even to touch the
bedclothes . . . the upper and lower gums of the mouth in the inside of
the mouth and outside the teeth, become swollen to such a size that
neither the teeth nor the molars can be brought together. The teeth be-
come so loose and without support that they move while moving the
head . . . With this they cannot eat anything but food in liquid form or
drinks, . . . they come to be so weakened in this condition that their nat-
ural vigour fails them, and they die all of a sudden, while talking.
2
Recommended 'cures' ranged from dilute sulphuric acid and
mercury to giving up smoking. But the Dutch East India captains
were great believers in the efficacy of fresh fruit and vegetables.
Thanks to their reports, the Company ordered gardens to be estab-
lished by their factors at regular ports of call. They even experimen-
ted with miniature kitchen gardens aboard their ships but wind and
wave soon put an end to such horticultural ambitions. However, the
comparative success of the Dutch in warding off the worst ravages
of scurvy seems to have made little impact on the policies of other
maritime nations and no systematic medical research was done until
the mid-eighteenth century. Thus it was almost two hundred years
before it was realised that the anti-scorbutic element was most plen-
tifully supplied by citrus fruits and certain vegetables such as onions
and sauerkraut.
It was 4 November 1599 before the ships reached Cape Virgins
and then the currents and violent, changeable winds prevented
them entering the straits for three weeks. On his way through to the
South Sea Van Noort met the remnants of Van Weert's expedition,
limping home, having failed to battle their way through the straits
against contrary winds. Van Noort pressed on but it took him ten
weeks to reach the Pacific. Privation, the sight of their homeward
bound countrymen, the loss of thirty-five of their number in a skir-
mish with some Patagonians, the monotonous burials of the victims
