bigge enough without addition) they are ornified with long brasse
chaines, or hoopes, of Iron, such as Mariners affoord them.
Others make shift with Tortoise shels and legges, with greazie
thongs of leather, wreathes of grasse, birds guts, and some with Fea∣thers.
Their armes are loaden with pride, such make the Iron shackles,
beades, twigges of trees and brasse Rings. The women imitate (or
Ape) the men.
Both men and women hidiously cut and slash their flesh in sundry
formes, their browes, noses, cheeks, armes, breast, back, belly, thighes
and legs, are pinckt and cut in more admirable (then amiable) manner.
They contemne apparell, not comparable to the antiquitie of their
weare, Gold, they value not as Gold, but for its colour.
Their clothing at best is a stinking beast skinne, the haire inuerted,
reaching from head to wast▪ and as a couer to their modest parts, they
gird themselues with a piece of raw leather, and fasten a square peece
like the backe of a Gloue, to it, which almost hangs so low as their
pendants.
Most haue but one stone, the other is forced away in their infancie,
that Venus allure them not from Pallas.
Their hummes and legges are naked, some only haue a broad peece
of leather, which helped by a small string, is fastned to their feet, which
too, when they come into a strangers company, they vsually hold
them in their hands, whereby their feet may haue the greater liberty
to steale, which with their toes, they practise and can performe most
cunningly.
During the night, they sleepe round a fire in the open fields, the fire
secures them from their watchfull, and hungry Neighbours the Lions
(who are so familiar and bold, that one aduentured into our Tent, and
stole some of our Diet, though the Sentinell with his Musquet acrocke
was set to guard it) their stomackes, diet, enmitie, and policie are al∣most
equall.
In darke weather the Lions vse subtilty to catch and eat the Saua∣ges.
In the day time they digge pits, couer them with boughes, and
traine the couragious Lions thither, where they receiue destruction,
eating them to day, who perhaps were Sepulchres to their friends or
parents the day before.
These wel-bred people, descend each morning from the Mountains,
adorned with two or three raw guts of Cats or Lions, seruing for
chaines or neck-laces, and break-fast too: and in their actiue comple∣ments,
salute, eating and speaking both together.
They are very ceremonious in thanksgiuings, for, wanting requitals,
if you giue a woman a piece of bread, she will immediatly pull by her
flap, and discouer her pudenda. A curtesie commanded them, I sup∣pose,
by some Dutch-ill-bred Sayler, for taught it they are, they say, by
Christians. And English men, I know, haue greater modestie.