A relation of ten years in Europe, Asia, Affrique, and America all by way of letters occasionally written to divers noble personages, from place to place, and continued to this present year / by Richard Fleckno.

Of the Salvages, or Natives of Brasil.

Of the Natives or Inhabitants what shall I

say, but if, as Iohn Baptista de porta says, every Nation has resemblance to some certain beast or Animal, certainly these Brasilians are most like Asses, dull and phlegmatick, in servitutem nati, and only fit for to••l and druggery, which is the reason Nature perhaps provided that Country with neither Horse nor Asse, nor a∣ny beast of carriage or burthen besides them∣selves, yet are they rather squat than robust, with broad Bodies, and little Leggs, small Eyes, of sallow, sickly complexion, ill fea∣tured, with black and greezy hair, nor curl'd nor dangling, but flagging Ill-favouredly a∣bout their Ears, going for the most part all naked both Men and Women, with only some rag to hide their privy parts, which you would never desire to see, you ar so disgusted with the rest, they being all Christians, but such, as put me in mind of that sentence of Holy Scripture, Homines et Iumenta salvabis Domine, that the Lord will save both Man and Beast; for surely they are both, having not wit enough to commit ingenious Vices, nor Temperance enough to abstain from brutal ones; and thus much for those who live among the Portugals, betwixt which and the other Savag's I imagin there is as much difference as between wild Beast and tame; neither can I believe what is reported of their fiercenesse, though all that is reported of their ferity I do, as their eating one the other, and having not so much as a word in their language, signifying nor

God, nor King, nor Law, for were they so fierce as 'tis reported, certainly they would ne∣ver have yeelded their Country up so tamely to the Portugal, nor suffer them to enjoy it so quietly as they do; But to return to my tame Salvages, I hired 4 of them for a journey I made by Land, to carrry my Hamatta, whilst tother two ran Lacqueying by, which was on this manner. Your Hamatta is a certain cot∣ton Net about the bignesse of a Blancket, drawn together at each end, and fastned by a strong Line to a Cane as big and long as a Colstaff, carryed on their Shoulders, where you sit or lye in what posture you please on a Boulster or Pillow, far more easily than in a∣ny Licter (the Portuguez men having a Negro carrying a Parasol or Umbrella to shadow them from the Sun, whilst the Women are shadowed and defended from publique sight, by some rich coverture thrown over the Ha∣matta, with two Negro Maids going by their sides, to help them up, and put on their ••hop∣pinas when the Net's laid down, and they rise to go out of it to any place. In one of these was I carryed some twenty miles a day, more or lesse, •• according as the way was more plain or mountainous, covenanting with my Sa∣vages for a small matter in money, besides my finding them dyet, which was only a little fa∣rina de pan (or bread made of the root of a certain Tree, as we have said before) for the rest they rather finding me, for to our Fari∣na

we had ordinarily no other meat but Fish, of which at every plash of water where they came (but casting in their hooks) they took enough for twenty men, when we presently made fires upon the place, and broyl'd them, eating them aftewards with the juyce of wild Lymons, growing every where in the woods; and this, with water for our drink▪ was all our sustenance, and for our lodging at night, we hung up our Hamattas betwixt two Trees, and there slept till morning, only along the Coast, in that tract which the Portug••ls have made to travel by Land from place to place, you sail not every second day at most to find some R••ss or Country Farm of the Portuguez where for your money you are well accommo∣dated with all sorts of pullen and fruit. One pleasure I had in passing through the woods, was to see the Trees full of Apes and Parats, (as if they had born no other fruit) one cha∣sing another with such noise and chattering, you could not hear one another speak, and you should see those Apes which had young, with 2 or 3 claspt about their neck, or hanging on their back, which they went thus lug∣gering, till they waxed big, to catch which, the Natives would shoot the old ones with their Arrows (with which they are the best mark men in the world, considering what clouterly Bows and Arrows they shoot with∣all) when the old one tumbling down, the young for want of exercizing their Legs,

had not th' addresse to runne away.