Regarding foodstuff at Cape Mount, Villaut noted citrons, oranges, berries, melons, gourds and “a sort of plums, not much unlike our Brugnons,” but not as tasty. He noted the presence of rice and millet and said maize was “more plentifull, and grows in greater quantity, than in any other part of Guinee whatsoever.”
A wide variety of fowl was available and cheap, including hens, pidgeons, ducks and mallards. In addition to tortoises that yielded “excellent meat” but worthless shells, there was a “great store” of both saltwater and freshwater fish. He also noted a good supply of goats, hogs and apes, “but ugly ones.”
Villault was struck by how careful the local people were in roasting meat over wooden spits, “turning them with great care, and observing very curiously least one side be more roasted then the other. He also pronounced them “very neat in their feeding.”
Footnote: Villault, 1670, pp. 61-62.
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