The history of the Caribby-islands, viz, Barbados, St Christophers, St Vincents, Martinico, Dominico, Barbouthos, Monserrat, Mevis, Antego, &c in all XXVIII in two books : the first containing the natural, the second, the moral history of those islands : illustrated with several pieces of sculpture representing the most considerable rarities therein described : with a Caribbian vocabulary / rendred into English by John Davies ...

THE HISTORY OF THE Caribby-Islands. (Book 2)

THE SECOND BOOK. Comprehending the MORAL History of those ISLANDS. (Book 2)

CHAPTER I. Of the Establishment of those Inhabitants who are Stran∣gers in the Islands of S. Christopher, Mevis, Garde∣loupe, Martinico, and some other Islands of the Ca∣ribbies.

IN the precedent Discourse we have given a full account of whatever might relate to the Natural History of the Caribby-Islands; our design leads us now to that part of the History which we call the MORAL, wherein we are to treat of the Inhabitants of the said Islands, of whom we have oc∣casionally made mention in the Description we have given of those places in the precedent Book. In the first place we shall speak of those Inhabitants thereof who are Strangers, or Euro∣peans,

yet only so far as the prosecution of our Design requires; which having dispatch'd, we shall descend to a more large and particular consideration of the Indians, the natural and origi∣nary Inhabitants of the Country; a task which requires a more ample deduction, and a more exact and curious disquisition, upon this presumption, that there hath yet been very little publish'd upon that subject.

The Spaniards, grounding their Title upon the Donation of Pope Alexander the sixth, and some other apparent Rea∣sons and Pretences, presume that the right of Navigation into the late discover'd part of the World, which is call'd America, and of establishing and setling Colonies there, whether it be in the Continent, or in any of the Islands, properly belongs to them, exclusively to all others. But not to urge that the vani∣ty of that arrogant presumption is sufficiently discover'd of it self, and that it would prove a great digression from the design of our History to engage our selves in a particular disquisition of that Controversie, we need only say, that Bergeron, a learn∣ed and curious Authour, hath so exactly handled this Question, and so cleerly shewn the absurdity of that chimerical pretence, in his Treatise of Navigations, that it would be lost labour for us to insist upon it, or to think of any thing new that can be produc'd upon that account. Accordingly all Christian Kings and Princes have always disputed thar pretended Right with the King of Spain, as unanimously concluding that he had un∣justly attributed the same to himself: Nor have they engag'd against him only by words and writings, but have effectually prosecuted their own pretensions, and from time to time sent Fleets into America to setle Plantations there, and to take into their possession several parts of that new World; wherein the most successful have been the English, the French, and the Dutch.

But it is to be observ'd, that of all the Colonies which these three European Nations have planted in America, those that setled themselves in the Caribby-Islands are of greatest account, and the most frequented by Merchants, as being the most ad∣vantageous upon the score of Trade. The English and French, as may have been noted in the first Book of this History, are the most considerable in those parts, and have divided between them the greatest, the richest, and the most populous of all those Islands.

We may further affirm it as a thing generally known, that these Nations have not in their several establishments follow'd the inhumane and barbarous maximes of the Spaniards, nor after their example unmercifully exterminated the originary Inhabitants of the Country; for if they found any of them in actual possession of the Lands where they liv'd, they have for the most part preserv'd them therein, and contracted alliances

with them. Yet must it be acknowledg'd that the the Carib∣bians have had very great differences with the English, and that the said differences have continu'd a long time; but the ground of their quarrels proceeded from some occasions of discontent which the Caribbians receiv'd from some particular persons of that Nation, which represented in a Body hath dis∣approv'd their procedure, and upon all emergencies hath ex∣press'd it self so far dissatisfi'd therewith, as to desire that they should be treated with the same humanity, moderation, and Christian mildness, as those greater and flourishing Colonies of Virginia and New-England, that are under the jurisdiction of the said English, have hitherto us'd towards the natural Inhabi∣tants of that part of America which lies more Northerly, where they have establish'd themselves; for it is known that the Eng∣lish hold so sacred and perfect a correspondence with them, as hath opened a way for their instruction in the Mysteries of Christian Religion, and the planting of a great number of fair Churches amongst those poor Barbarians.

But above all, this is most certain, that when the French establish'd themselves in the Islands▪ of Martinico, Gardeloupe, and Granada, it was done with the consent of the most consi∣derable persons among the Caribbians, who thereupon dis∣own'd those of their Country-men who would have obstructed the said establishment: Nay such was their earnestness therein, that they employ'd all their Forces and Councils to oppose the designs of the others, and to secure the French in the peaceable possession of what they had before granted them. This pro∣ceeding absolutely clears the French of being guilty of the same violences which are charg'd upon the Spaniards, and makes it appear, that the setlement of the former in those Islands was not like that of the latter in those places where they have the opportunities to establish themselves. And if it be objected to the French, that they have forc'd the natural In∣habitants out of S. Christophers and Gardeloupe, and that even at this present there is a War between the said Nation and those of Martinico; it may be answer'd, that when the French peo∣pled these Islands, they propos'd to themselves no other design then the edification and instruction of those poor Barbarians, and that if contrary to their first intention they had been forc'd to use a severe hand towards some particular persons, and to treat them as enemies, they were themselves the occasion of their own misfortune, by being the first Aggressors, and guil∣ty of previous violations of the sacred Laws of Alliance, which they had contracted with them, and engaging themselves in sanguinary counsels, such as would have smother'd their Colo∣nies ere they were fully setled, had there not been a timely dis∣covery made thereof.

The English and French Colonies had their beginning at the

same time, which was in the year One thousand six hundred twenty and five: Monsieur Desnambuc, a French Gentleman, of the ancient House of Vauderop, and a Captain under the King of France in the Western Seas, and Sir Thomas Warner, an English Gentleman, joyntly took possession of the Island of S. Christophers on the same day, in the names of the Kings of France and Great Britain, their Masters, that they might have a place of safe retreat, and a good Haven for the recepti∣on of such Ships of both Nations as should be bound for Ame∣rica; that Island being furnish'd with all the advantages whereof we have given a full account in the Chapter particu∣larly design'd by us for the description of it; upon which score it was visited by the Spaniards, who often put in there for re∣freshments, both as they were inward and outward bound in their long Voyages: Nay sometimes they left their si••k there to be look'd to by the Caribbians, with whom they had made a peace upon those terms.

These two Gentlemen therefore considering with them∣selves, that if they were posses'd of that Country they might the better incommodate their common enemy in America, the Spaniard, and have withall a convenient and secure habitation, in order to the establishment of the Colonies they intended for those Islands, became Masters of it, and left men therein to keep it: But before they parted thence, having some grounds to fear that there might be some secret intelligence between the Indians and the Spaniards, or that in their absence they might execute the resolution, which by the perswasion of certain Sor∣cerers (a sort of people in great esteem among the Indians) they had undertaken, which was to put to death all the Strang∣ers who were come into their Country, they in one night rid their hands of all the most factious of that Nation, and not long after forc'd all the rest, who had got together into seve∣ral Bodies, and intended to stand upon their guard, to retire to some other places, and to leave that to their disposal.

Things being thus order'd, Desnambuc returns into France, and Sir Thomas Warner into England, where their conquest and all their proceedings thereupon were approved by the Kings their Masters; and having obtained a permission to carry over some recruits of men, they came back to the Island in the qua∣lity of Governours and Lieutenants, under the Kings of France and Great Britany.

But Desnambuc before he went over to cultivate and prose∣cute his conquest imagin'd to himself, that the most likely way to have a powerful support in France, such as should con∣cern it self in the preservation of that Island, and so to secure and promote his designs, would be to get together a Company of persons of Authority, which should have the direction and signiory of the said Island, and what others might afterwards

be conquer'd and reduc'd under the jurisdiction of the King of France; upon this provision, that the said Company should have a care, and make it their earnest business to supply the Co∣lony with men for the keeping and cultivation of it; as also with Ecclesiasticks to be maintain'd by allowances from the said Company; and lastly to build certain Forts there for the security of the Inhabitants, and to furnish them with Canon, Powder, and all sorts of Ammunition; in a word, to main∣tain a sufficient Arsenal, wherein should be all things in readi∣ness to oppose the Enemy.

This Company, or Society, was establish'd in the moneth of October, in the year of our Lord, one thousand six hundred twenty and six, as well for the Government of S. Christophers, as those other Islands which are adjacent thereto, and was ap∣prov'd by the King of France. Since that time it hath been further confirm'd, and favour'd with some new Concessions, and very advantageous priviledges obtain'd from his most Chri∣stian Majesty the eighth of March, one thousand six hundred forty and two, for all the Islands of America lying between the tenth and thirtieth degree on this side the Equator.

Desnambuc having thus order'd his affairs in France, returns to S. Christophers with a recruit of three hundred men, which the Gentlemen of the Company newly erected had raised, in order to the advancement of that Colony: He brought over a••••o along with him a considerable number of gallant Volun∣teers, who look'd on it as no small honour to run fortunes with so famous an Adventurer, and to participate of his honourable hazards, out of a confidence in process of time of reaping the fruit of his Conquests. They got all safely to S. Christophers, about the beginning of the year, M. DC. XXVII. and though they had suffered much during their Voyage, and were most of them either sick or much weakned, yet were they not discou∣rag'd by those difficulties, but reflecting that the noblest enter∣prises are many times attended by great inconveniences, and that Roses cannot be gather'd without thorns, they immedi∣ately fell to work, and having in a short time learn'd of those whom they found in the Isle what they were to do in order to their further establishment, they behav'd themselves answera∣bly to the generous designs of their Captain, who on his part more and more encourag'd them by words and example.

How the Island was to be divided between the two Nations had been design'd before that Voyage; but the particular Ar∣ticles of the Division were solemnly agreed to and concluded on the 13th of May, in the said year, M. DC. XXVII. For to the end that every one might employ himself with some assur∣ance upon his own stock, and that no differences might arise between the French and the English, M. Warner being return'd from England some time before the arrival of Desnambuc,

where he had also recommended his affairs to the direction of a Company which undertook the advancement of his enterprises, they divided the whole Island between them, and set those Boundaries to their several divisions, which are remaining to this day, but with this particular provision that Fishing and Hunting should be equally free to the Inhabitants of both Nati∣ons, and that the Salt-ponds, the more precious kinds of Tim∣ber fit for Dying, or Joyners-work, Havens and Mines should in like manner be common.

Nay it was further agreed upon by certain Articles con∣cluded on both sides, that a good correspondence should be maintain'd between them, as also for the preventing of all jea∣lousies, and avoiding the occasions of disputes and contestati∣ons, which might easily arise between people of different hu∣mours: They further made a Defensive League for the mu∣tual relief of each other, if occasion should require, against the attempts of the common Enemy, or any other who should en∣deavour to disturb the peace and quiet which they hoped to en∣joy together in those parts of the Country where they had planted themselves.

These things thus setled, the two Governours betray'd a certain emulation in carrying on the establishment of their Co∣lonies; in the prosecution whereof it is most certain the English had very considerable advantages above the French to compass their designs: For besides that that Nation, which is as it were nurs'd up in the bosom of the Sea, can better endure the hard∣ship and inconveniences of long Voyages, and is better vers'd in the making of new Plantations; the Company which was establish'd at London for the management of that of S. Christo∣phers, made such generous provisions, that at its first setlement it might be supply'd with Men and Provisions, such as should be necessary for their subsistence, and took so particular a care of all things, that it was from time to time refresh'd with new re∣cruits, and whatever it might stand in need of at the begin∣ning, that it visibly prosper'd and advanc'd while the French, which was unfurnish'd with all those assistances, seem'd to pine and languish, nay indeed would have quite fallen away if the affection which it had for its chief Director, and the high esteem it had conceiv'd of his valour had not kept it up.

While therefore the French Colony was reduc'd to these ex∣tremities, and in a manner subsisted only by its courage, that of the English being in a good plight and condition, spred it self into a new one, which planted it self in the Island of Me∣vis, which is divided from S. Christophers only by a small arm of the Sea, as we have said elsewhere: But if the small number whereto the French were reduc'd permitted them not to make the like progres••es, their Governour Desnambuc had in the mean time the opportunity to make several useful regulations

for the better setlement of it: Of these we shall not think it besides our design to insert here some few of the principal Arti∣cles, to the end the memory of them may be preciously pre∣serv'd for the instruction of posterity.

In the first place, taking it into his consideration, that by peace and concord small things come to be great, and that di∣vision distracts and disperses the greatest, he ordered that all the Inhabitants of the Island who were subject to his jurisdicti∣on should maintain a perfect union among themselves, and that he press'd and recommended to them upon all occasions as the Pillar of their little State, and the sacred Channel through which they were to expect the blessings both of Heaven and Earth abundantly to flow upon them: And whereas it is impos∣sible that in mutual conversation there should not happen many things which might oftentimes offer some violence to that ami∣cable correspondence, if some present provision be not made to the contrary, he desired that such differences might be with the soonest either decided or smother'd, and all be recon∣cil'd with meekness, and that if possible before the setting of the Sun.

Another command of his was, that his people should be faith∣ful to their trust, and free, and sincere in all their affairs; ob∣liging and charitable towards their Neighbours, and as religi∣ous and punctual in the observance of the promises they had made, as if they had been put into writing, and seal'd and de∣liver'd before witnesses, or Publick Notaries.

And that their being continually employ'd about their Plan∣tations might not cause them to forget the business of War, and out of a distrust they would degenerate in point of cou∣rage, through a long and undisturbed quiet; and that if occa∣sion should require they might be able to handle their Arms, and make use of them with dexterity, he appointed certain days for the exercising of them, that they might thereby be minded of the Rules of Military Discipline, and order'd, that though all profess'd the cultivation of the earth, yet that they should have the generous looks and demeanors of Souldiers, and that they should at all times have about them the Badges and Liveries of that kind of Life, and so never be seen out of their Quarters without Fire-arms, or at least a Sword.

But if he requir'd them to be thus qualifi'd, to the end that when occasion serv'd they might make their enemies sensible of their valour and courage; he on the other side oblig'd them to be mild and courteous one towards another, and that the stronger should not take their advantages of the weaker. Thence it came that he made this commendable order, which is still in force in all those Islands; to wit, that Masters should not take Servants for any longer term then three years, during which time they should be oblig'd to treat them with all gentle∣ness

and moderation, and exact of them only such services as were rational and answerable to their strength.

Nay his care and tenderness was very remarkable towards such as were newly brought into the Country: To the end therefore that at their arrival they might be supply'd with all things requisite to secure them against the injuries of the air, and that their labour might not be hindred through want of convenient lodging, he desir'd, that as soon as the place which they had design'd for their building was uncover'd, all the Neighbourhood should help them in the raising of it up: This commendable Institution was so well receiv'd, and so carefully practised, that all the Inhabitants generally acknowledg'd the equity of it, and took a certain pleasure in making a volunta∣ry contribution of their pains and cares upon that occasion: Some went to cut down such Timber as might be necessary; others were to find Reeds and Palm-leaves for palizadoes and covering; the ablest Architects planted the forkes, rais'd the couples, and fasten'd the covering, and all seem'd to be kindly concern'd in the work, so as that the narrow structure was in a few days become tenantable, yet without any charge to the owner, save only to see those charitable assistants supply'd with the ordinary drink of the Country, as long as they were at work upon his account.

In fine, he had a particular aversion against those idle per∣sons who are basely content to live by the sweat and labour of others, as the Drones do on the Hony which the laborious Bee had brought into the common Treasury. But to retrive in our days a little glimpse of the Golden Age, so much celebrated by the Ancients, he incited all the Inhabitants to be liberal, and apt to communicate to one another the goods which God had plentifully bestow'd on them, and to express their charity and hospitality towards all those who came to visit them, that so there might afterwards be no occasion to setle Inns and Vi∣ctualling-houses among them, as being places which for the most part serv'd only for retreats to slothful, debauch'd, and di••••••lute persons; and the disorders and excesses committed therein were so great, as in time might hasten the desolation and ruine of the whole Colony.

But while the French Governor was thus taken up with the ordering of his little Republick, and kept up the spirits of his people with the expectation of sudden recruits, the Gentlemen of the Company not much differing in constitution from many of that Nation who think of reaping as soon as they have dis∣pos'd the seed into the ground, were for their parts in a conti∣nual expectation of some Ships loaden with the richest and most precious Commodities of America, that so they might be re∣imburs'd with interest what they had laid out upon the first embarquing, and till that return were come, they thought of

nothing less then running themselves into new charges. The Governor having seriously taken it into consideration, that all the Letters he had sent to those Gentlemen upon that occasion had not obtain'd any favourable answers from them, thought it would be his best course, ere the Colony were reduc'd to greater extremities, to come over to them in person, and by a second Voyage undertake the sollicitation of that relief, upon which the safety of their first advancements, and the subsistence of the French in that Island wholly depended. This good design, which the zeal he had for the glory of his Nation had inspir'd him withall, prov'd as fortunate as he could have wish'd it: For being come to Paris, he was so prevalent in representing the importance and necessity of that Recruit to the Gentlemen of the Company, that they granted him three hundred men, and Ships furnish'd with all necessary Provisions for their trans∣portation to S. Christophers.

This Recruit so impatiently expected by the Colony, happi∣ly arriv'd about the beginning of August, M. DC. XXIX. and it was receiv'd with so great joy by them who had so long stood in need of it, that now they thought nothing should obstruct the execution of their designs. But it seems the prosperities of this life are of a short continuance; they had hardly solac'd themselves two months in the enjoyments of that happiness, ere there comes upon them a powerful Fleet from Spain; Dom Frederick de Toledo, who had the command of it, had receiv'd express order from his Catholick Majesty, that before he fell down to the Havanna, Carthagena, and the other more emi∣nent Ports of America, he should touch at S. Christophers, and force thence all the English and French, who had planted them∣selves there some years before.

The first act of hostility committed by this Naval force, which consisted of four and twenty great Ships of burthen, and fifteen Frigots, was the seisure of some English Ships then lying at Anchor neer the Island of Mevis; which done, it came and cast Anchor in the Road of S. Christophers, within Cannon∣shot of the Basse-terre, where Mons. de Rossey had the command in chief. The Forts of both the Colonies were not yet in such a condition as to stand out a siege, they were unfurnish'd with Provisions, and all the Ammunition, as to Powder and Shot, in the whole Island could not amount to much; nay though both the Nations should have joyn'd all their forces together, yet could they not have oppos'd so great an Army: But their cou∣rage in some measure supply'd all those defects; for that the Enemy should not brag of his having compass'd his designs without some opposition, Desnambuc dispatch'd out of the Cabes-terre, where he began to fortifie himself, all his most ex∣perienc'd Souldiers, in order to the relief of the place which was threatned by the Enemy, and the English sent thither four of their best Companies.

These Forces being come to the appointed Rendezvouz, were joyntly employ'd with the Inhabitants of that Quarter to intrench themselves along the Sea-coast, to make a more vi∣gorous resistance against the Enemy, and oppose his landing; and no doubt they would have put him to some trouble, had they been well commanded, and that first earnestness had not receiv'd some remission by the fright which so seiz'd the heart of de Rossey that he would have suffer'd them to land, and make their approaches without any resistance, if a young Gentleman, Nephew to Mons. Desnambuc, and elder Brother to Mons. Par∣quet the present Governour of Martinico, had not get leave to pass over the Works, and to engage the first Company of the Enemy that appear'd upon the sands: He was seconded by some Volunteers, who would needs participate of the glory of that action; but he went before them all, both as to courage and resolution; for he so gallantly engag'd him who had the com∣mand of the party, that he kill'd him, and several others of the most valiant about him, who had the confidence to make tryal of his valour: But being afterwards forsaken by those who had follow'd him in that encounter, he was over-power'd by number, knock'd down, and carry'd into one of the enemies Ships, where after all remedies apply'd in order to his recove∣ry he dy'd, to the great regret of both sides, as bemoaning the misfortune of such a miracle of generosity and resolution.

During this encounter, which should have been maintain'd with more gallantry by those who were in actual possession of the Island, the General of the Spanish Fleet immediately gave order, that all the Ships should at the same time send out their Shallops full of Souldiers well arm'd, which got a shore in very good order: This added not a little to the fright de Rossey was in before, inasmuch as being far from entertaining any thoughts of opposition, out of a fear of being oppress'd by that multi∣tude, he thought it his only way to make an honourable re∣treat before his people were encompass'd of all sides. This re∣solution tumultuously taken was grumbled at by those who wish'd the Enemy had more dearly bought the desolation of their Colony; but such a general consternation was there in that fatal conjuncture, that it was carried, they should take their way towards the Cabes-terre, and that there it should be taken into futher consideration what were best to be done in order to the common safety.

The Spaniard perceiving that the French had quitted their Fort and their Works without making any great resistance, imagin'd there might be some design in that retreat, and that it had been made purposely to draw him into some Ambuscado laid for him in the Woods. This suspicion kept him from pro∣secuting his victory, and so occasion'd his stay in the Quarter of the Basse-terre till he had a better account brought him of

the state of the whole Island, and himself had consider'd what was most expedient for him to do, in order to a more sudden and punctual execution of his Commission.

While the Enemy continu'd in this suspence, and consider'd with himself how to compass his designs with least danger, Desnambuc extreamly surpriz'd at so sudden a change, and so unexpected success, endeavour'd to comfort his own people, and to encourage them to express their constancy in the sup∣porting of that miscarriage. He thereupon took occasion to remonstrate to them, That the disgrace was not past remedy; That it was not to be imagin'd the enemy would stay in the Island so long as to force all the Inhabitants out of it; That he had affairs of greater weight, which call'd him elsewhere; That he would not easily be drawn into the Forests, which it was ab∣solutely necessary he should pass through ere he could come in∣to his Quarter; That they might put themselves into such a po∣sture of defence as should not only give a check to his progress, but also force him to signalize his invasion with his own blood; And lastly, that there were in his way some places so fortifi'd by Nature, that a few men might force him to find his way back again.

This advice was very solid, and might have prevail'd some∣what with those to whom it was given, but the terror where∣with their spirits were prepossess'd, and the consternation was so general, that it was not weigh'd as it deserv'd. The busi∣ness therefore being taken into deliberation, it was concluded, that the Island should be deserted, and that the Colony should transport it self to some other place which might give less occa∣sion of jealousie to the Spaniard, and lye more out of the or∣dinary course of his Fleets. Desnambuc foreseeing that what pretencesoever might be made for the taking of that resoluti∣on, it would still be chargeable with somewhat of cowardice and baseness, such as should blast the opinion conceiv'd of the gallantry of the French, and of a sudden smother the great hopes which some had of the advancement of their Colony, could not be perswaded to give his approbation thereto. How∣ever, though he were of a contrary sentiment, that it might not be said he forsook in so sad a conjuncture those whom he had brought thither through so many Seas and dangers, he comply'd with their humor, and embarqu'd himself with them in certain Ships which chanc'd to be in the Haven; and so to avoid a greater disorder, doing his own inclinations a violence, he only assur'd them that he should one day reproach them with the little esteem they made of his remonstrances.

The Quarters where the English had themselves were also in a great disorder; they had intelligence brought them, that the enemy was become master of all the Basse-terre; That he had demolish'd the Fortress of the French, after he had re∣mov'd

the pieces that were in it; That he had already burnt all their Huts, and made havock of all the Plantations of the Quar∣ter. They were in perpetual expectation when he should come, and fall on them with all his forces, and in that appre∣hension some endeavour'd to make their escape by Sea, or shel∣ter themselves in the Mountains, while others somewhat more courageous were consulting how to send Deputies to Dom Fre∣deric, to entreat him to admit of some accommodation: But all the Answer they receiv'd, was an express command imme∣diately to depart the Island, which if they did not, they should be treated with all the rigour which the Law of Arms permits to be used towards those who against all right possess them∣selves of what belongs not to them.

To facilitate the departure which Dom Frederic had so impe∣riously commanded, he gave order that those Ships which his Fleet had taken away from the English neer the Island of Mevis should be restor'd to them, and that they should embarque without any delay, and immediately set sail for England. But whereas it was impossible those Vessels should contain so great a number of people, he permitted the supernumerary to conti∣nue in the Island till they had a favourable opportunity for their transportation.

These things dispatch'd, Dom Frederic weigh'd Anchor, in order to the continuation of his Voyage, but as soon as the Fleet was out of sight, the English who had been left behind in the Island began to rally, and took a resolution courageously to carry on the setlement of their Colony.

While these things were in agitation at S. Christophers, the French who had left it at the beginning of the distraction had suffer'd so many inconveniences at Sea, partly through want of Provisions, and partly by reason of contrary Winds, that they were forc'd to put in at the Islands of S. Martin and Montserrat, after they had by the way touch'd at that of Antego. They wish'd themselves so happy, as that they might have setled in any of those places; but they look'd on them as dreadful De∣sarts in comparison of that out of which they had been so un∣happily forc'd: The pleasant Idea of that was still before their eyes, it was the continual subject of their regret; and the de∣lightful remembrance of that pleasant abode, to the recovery whereof they were by Divine Providence re-invited by ways unknown to them, rais'd in them a desire to be inform'd what condition the Spaniard had left it in, since they were then so neer it: To satisfie that commendable curiosity, they sent one of their Ships to S. Christophers, which returning gave them an account, that the Enemies Fleet was gone; and that the En∣glish who were left behind were courageously employ'd in re∣building their Hutts, planting Provisions, and repairing their desolations.

This unexpected good News reviv'd their decay'd hopes, and heightned the courage of those who were most cast down, so that there needed not many arguments ro perswade them to a return into that delightful Country which was already pos∣sess'd of their hearts and tenderest affections.

Being arrived there, every one resum'd his former place, with a resolution to make an absolute setlement; but the Fa∣mine, which press'd hard upon them, would no doubt have check'd the progress of all these promising designs, and they would have been crush'd by the extraordinary labours which they were at the same time oblig'd to undergo, as well in re∣building their houses, as planting things necessary for their subsistence, if in those pressing extremities God had not dire∣cted thither for their relief some Ships belonging to the Uni∣ted Provinces, which, finding what a deplorable condition they were in, generously supply'd them with provisions, cloaths, and all things necessary; nay to put an absolute obligation upon them, they had no other security for their satisfaction then their bare words.

The French, having thus s••••sonably overcome the inconve∣niences which they had ••••••uggled with from the first begin∣ning of their establishment, employ'd themselves so earnestly afterwards in their Plantations, that, through the blessing of God on their l••bours, the Earch furnish'd them with Provisi∣ons, and Tobacco in such abundance, that they honestly satis∣fy'd their charitable Creditors, and in a short time were better accomm••dated with all things then they had b•••••• before their d••f••at by the Spaniards: Yet were they still in wa•••• of Men to carry on their Enterprizes, and the Commerce which b•••••••• to be establish'd among them. To remedy that, Desnambuc, who found his constancy attended with so good success, thought it the surest and most likely expedient, to per••••t the principal Inhabitants of the ••••••••ny to return into France to make Levies there, and to bring over what numbers they should raise on their own charge. This prudent advice being accordingly put in execution, the Island was in a few years supply'd with abundance of gallant persons, who brought it into reputation.

The English Colony made also a shift in a short time to make up all the b••eaches it had receiv'd by the invasion of the Spani∣ards: The Company at London, which had undertaken the di∣rection of it, sending over continual supplies of Men and re∣freshments, the two Quarters whereof the English were pos∣sess'd in the Island of S. Christophers became too narrow to maintain so great a multitude, insomuch that besides the Island of Mevis, which they had peopled before their defeat by the Spaniards, they grew so powerful, as in less then four years to spread themselves into new Plantations in the Islands of ••he

Barbouthos, Mountserrat, Antego, and the Barbados, which are grown very numerous there, and famous for the Trade of the rich Commodities they are furnish'd with, as may be seen by the particular descriptions we have given thereof in the prece∣dent Book of this History.

What Colonies the Dutch have in the Caribby-Islands were establish'd some time after those of the French and English, and their establishments were not upon the account of the States, but upon that of some particular Companies of Merchants, who, the better to carry on the Trade which they have in all the Islands whereof the English and French are possess'd, were desirous to have some places of safe retreat for the refreshment of their Ships. The most ancient of those Colonies which have any dependence on the States-General of the United Pro∣vinces, is that in the Island of S. Eustace: It was establish'd much about the same time that Sir Thomas Warner setled that of Mont-serrat, which was in the Year M. DC. XXXII. It is considerable upon this account, that it is a place naturally well fortify'd; as also for the number and quality of the Inhabi∣tants, the abundance of good Tobacco which it still yields; and for several other remarkable advantages, whereof we have given an account in the fifth Chapter of the former Book.

Monsieur Desnambuc express'd no less earnestness and genero∣sity in the dilatation of his Colony then other Nations did in that of theirs; but having not been so seasonably reliev'd as was requisite at the beginning, and his designs having been many times check'd by several unhappy obstructions, he had this further displeasure, to see divers of the most considerable Islands possess'd by others before he was in a condition to put in for a share, and dilate his Conquest beyond the limits of S. Christophers. He had a long time before cast his eye on that of Gardeloupe, as being one of the noblest and greatest Islands of all the Caribbies; but while he was taking order for the transporting of men thither, he was prevented in his design by Monsieur de l' Olive, one of the principal Inhabitants of his own Colony, who making his advantage of a Voyage he had made into France about some private affairs of his own, as he pretended, joyn'd with Monsieur du Plessis, and some Mer∣chants of Dieppe, for the establishment of a Colony there by Commission from the Company which had the direction of the Islands of America.

These two Gentlemen being made joint Governours of the Island of Gardeloupe, and invested with equal authority, ar∣riv'd there the 28^th of June, M. DC. XXXV. with a Company of five hundred men, who presently after their arrival were press'd with a famine, and divers diseases, which took away a great number of them. It is conceiv'd that the former mis∣fortune

happen'd to them upon this occasion, that they had planted themselves at their first landing in those parts of the Island where the soil was most barren, and unfit for cultivati∣on of any in it, and that they had upon too light grounds en∣ter'd into a War with the Caribbians, the originary Inhabitants of the place, who might have plentifully furnish'd them with most of the provisions necessary for their subsistence at the be∣ginning, till the earth and their own industry had supply'd them better. Diseases were the consequences of that unwhol∣some nourishment which hunger forc'd them to make use of for want of better: whereto this may be added, that the ground being not reduc'd to culture, the air was the more ea∣sily corrupted.

Du Plessis reflecting on the misfortunes and inconveniences which daily fell one in the neck of another upon that unsetled Colony, and having just grounds to fear that other yet great∣er might happen to it, took it so much to heart, that he dyed out of pure grief, in the seventh month after his arrival. The loss of him was much regretted by all the French, who had always express'd a great submission to his advice, and much love and respect to his person. He was a man of singular pru∣dence, of so affable and obliging a disposition, that he gain'd the affections of all that treated with him.

After the departure of Monsieur du Plessis, de l' Olive be∣came sole Governour. This latter was a Person of an humour as active and stirring as that of his Collegue was gentle and moderate; and he so much harkned to the violent counsels of some restless spirits, who like so many pestilent Ear-wigs were continually putting him upon new projects, that he soon after engag'd himself in that fatal War against the Caribbians, which had almost prov'd the destruction of that newly-planted Co∣lony. True it is, that at first he press'd so hard upon them, as to force them to leave him the absolute possession of Gar∣deloupe; but in regard that to compass the designs which he had fram'd to himself from the time of his arrival he was ne∣cessitated to commit several cruelties, such as the very Barba∣rians themselves would not have exercis'd upon their greatest enemies, it prov'd such a blast to his reputation, that the ap∣provers of his conduct were only some sanguinary persons and Desperadoes.

The poor Caribbians which the Governour had forc'd out of the Island of Gardeloupe retreated into that of Dominico: Those of the same Nation who were possess'd of the latter entertain'd them kindly, and to give them a greater assurance how much they were sensible of their misfortune, they prof∣fer'd to joyn with them to revenge by the way of Arms the injury which had been done them; a proffer too obliging to be refus'd. Their forces being thus united, they made

several incursions into Gardeloupe, and became such goads and thorns in the sides of the French, that they were forc'd to give over the culture of Tobacco, nay indeed the planting of those provisions which were necessary for their subsistence, to the end they might always be in Arms, to prevent the attempts and designs of those subtle enemies, whom they had by their own imprudence so much exasperated against them.

This cruel War, which lasted neer four years, reduc'd the Colony to great extremities, and brought it to so deplora∣ble a condition, that it was out of repute in all places; and upon its being continually pester'd by the incursions and de∣predations of the irreconcileable Caribbians, it was conclu∣ded to be at no great distance from its utter destruction. The French being brought to this lowness, it pleas'd God that the Governour de l' Olive lost his sight, whereupon the Gentlemen of the Company sent over Monsieur Auber to be Governour of it, who remedied all the precedent disorders, appeas'd all troubles, and setled that Peace which afterwards brought in Trading and plenty of all things; as we shall shew more at large in the third Chapter of this Moral History.

As soon as M. Desnambuc had receiv'd intelligence that Gar∣deloupe was inhabited, he resolv'd with the first convenience to setle himself in some other of the best Islands which were yet at his choice; and to prevent a second supplantation, find∣ing that he had about him a considerable number of resolute persons, and furnish'd with all provisions of War, and what was necessary for the belly, and all things requisite for the prosecution of such enterprizes, he went in person to take possession of the Island of Martinico, which having done, he left there for his Lieutenant Mr. du Pont, and for Command∣er in chief Mr. de la Vallee. Not long after dying at S. Chri∣stophers, he left all his Estate, and Titles of what kind soe∣ver, which he had in Martinico, which he had peopled at his own charge, to M. Parquet his Nephew, who is the pre∣sent Lord and Governour of it, as we have said elsewhere.

This Gentleman was a person of much gallantry, of easie access, familiar with all, and master of a happy kind of in∣sinuation, such as gently forc'd the love and obedience of those who were under him. It is related of him, that the English having gone a little beyond the boundaries which by the mutual agreement concluded between both Nations had been set for the distinction of their several Quarters, he went to those of the English, attended by a small number of persons, and spoke with the English Governour, who expected him with a considerable number of Souldiers: But he behav'd himself with so much courage and resolution, and gave such good reasons, intermixt with menaces, for what he did, that the English Governour granted him what he desir'd. That ac∣cident

shews how careful he was to preserve the Rights and Priviledges of his Nation; and what he did then had this fur∣ther consequence, that the two Governours were ever after∣wards very good friends.

CHAP. II. Of the Establishments of the French in the Islands of S. Bartholomew, S. Martin, and Sante-Cruce.

AFter the death of Monsieur Desnambuc, one Monsieur du Halde, who was his Lieutenant in that Government, was nominated to be Governour in Chief by the Gentlemen of the Company: But not long after, the said du Halde coming over into France, Cardinal Richelieu, whose care extended to the most remote places where the French had any thing to do, un∣dertook the conservation and advancement of that Colony in America, out of an endeavour to render the name of France as glorious in that part of the new World, as it was here. To carry on that design he thought it requisite that the Islands should be supply'd with a Governour accordingly: Having therefore some while sought for a person fit for that Employ∣ment, one eminent for his conduct, prudence, generosity, and the experience requisite for so great a charge, he at last pitch'd upon Monsieur de Lonvilliers Poincy Knight, a Gentleman of a very ancient House.

The Cardinal presented this excellent Person to King Lewis the XIII. who approving the choice, invested him with the Charge of Governour, and Lieutenant-General under his Ma∣jesty in the Islands of America: Whereupon Letters Patents were granted him in September M. DC. XXXVIII. That qua∣lity had not been given to any of those who had preceded him in the Government of those Islands.

In the Year M. DC. XXXIX. the said new Governour setting sail from Diep about the midst of January, arriv'd about a month after at the Caribbies, and was first receiv'd at Martini∣co by the Inhabitants in Arms. He afterwards went to Garde∣loupe and S. Christophers; but his noblest reception was at the latter: All the French Inhabitants being in Arms receiv'd him in the quality of General with universal applause, and he was conducted to the Church, attended by his Gentlemen and Guards, where Te Deum was sung.

Immediately upon his reception the Island began to put on a new face, and within a short time after things were visibly chang'd from better to better; insomuch that he not only an∣swer'd

but exceeded the expectations of his Majesty and the Cardinal. One of the first things he did, was to give order for the building of Churches in several Quarters of the Island: He took care that the Priests should be well lodg'd and main∣tain'd, that they might not be diverted from the employments of their Function: He made such provisions in the administra∣tion of justice, as rendred it expeditious, and without Fees, by means of a Council consisting of the most prudent and experi∣enc'd among the Officers of the Island: His vigilance reform'd and prevented the disorders which easily creep in among per∣sons shuffled together from divers places, and of different hu∣mours: His prudence in composing and setling matters of greatest difficulty was equally admir'd by those who were un∣der his Government, and his Neighbours of other Nations. That greatness of mind, which successfully guided him to the accomplishment of all his designs, made him dreadful to all restless and dis-satisfy'd spirits: His affability, easiness of ac∣cess, and his kind entertainment towards Strangers, brought Trading and plenty into the Island; and his goodness and libe∣rality justly gain'd the hearts and affections of the French: In a word, his Generosity signaliz'd in many occurrences as well in France, during the noble Employments he had in his Majesties Armies, as in America since his Government there, in the pre∣servation, dilatation, and reduction of so many considerable places, wrought such a terrour in the Spaniard, that he never since proffer'd to oppose his glorious Enterprizes.

Having setled S. Christophers in good order as to Trading, and all other Concerns, and made it the most flourishing I∣sland of all the Caribbies, as we have represented it in the fourth Chapter of the precedent Book, he afterwards ex∣tended the French Colony into those of S. Bartholomew, S. Martins, and Santa Cruce, whereof we have given an account in their proper places, yet so as we still have many conside∣rable circumstances to deliver concerning the Conquest of the Island of Santa Cruce, which we shall here take occasion to insert.

The Island of Santa Cruce hath been subject to many Ma∣sters in a short time, and for many years together the English and Dutch had some contestations about the propriety of it: At last they made a division of it between them; but in the Year M. DC. XLIX. the English having observ'd that they much exceeded the Dutch in number, forc'd them to depart the Island. But they also continu'd not long Masters of it; for soon after the Spaniards who were Inhabitants of the Island of Porto-Rico made an incursion into it, burnt their houses, put to the sword all the English they found in Arms, and or∣der'd the rest with their baggage and wives to be transport∣ed to the Barbouthos.

Having thus laid the Island desolate, as they were setting things in order for their returning aboard their Vessels, and to take their course back to Porto-Rico, there arrives thither a Ship from the Islands of S. Eustace and S. Martins, wherein there were a considerable number of men, who having re∣ceiv'd intelligence of the defeat of the English, and imagining that the Spaniards were gone, would have reviv'd the preten∣sions of the Dutch to that Island: but the Spaniards having the advantage, as being ten to one, the Dutch were forc'd to ac∣cept of such terms of accommodation as the others were pleas'd to give them. The crafty Spaniards had indeed pro∣mis'd them good quarter, but their design was to transport them to Porto-Rico to their Governour, who, according to the Spanish humour, would not have treated them over-christianly.

But as good fortune would have it, just as the Spaniards were preparing for their return with the Dutch Prisoners, who had so unfortunately fallen into their hands, two French Ships well mann'd, and furnish'd with all sorts of Provisions and Ammunition, arriv'd in the Island, sent thither by the French General de Poincy, to send the Spaniard packing thence, and take possession of it for the King of France. This relief came in very seasonably for the deliverance of the surpriz'd Dutch; for the Spaniards, perceiving the French landing cheerfully and in good order, and making a considerable Body of gallant men, and ready to fight, immediately let go their Prisoners; and after a short capitulation, the French sent them an express order to be gone aboard their Ships, with a menace that if they did not, they would fall upon them as Enemies, and that they were not to expect any Quarter. The Spaniards thought it their best course rather to comply then stand to the hazard of an engagement, though they much exceeded the French in number.

The French General taking it into his consideration, of what importance the Island in time might be, especially in order to the facilitation of other acquests of greater concernment, thought it worthy his endeavours to secure what he had so for∣tunately possess'd himself of, and thereupon sent a prudent and experienc'd Governour to command there under him: The person he pitch'd on for that Employment was Monsieur Auber, Major of the Island of S. Christophers, who had exercis'd that Charge with great approbation for many years together; but now he was advanc'd to the quality of Governour of that Island: He died in the exercise of that Charge, to the great regret of all the Inhabitants, after he had setled the Island in good order, recover'd its ruines, and laid the foundations of a Fort which he had design'd himself for the security of such Ships as should afterwards come into the Haven, and to defeat the hopes of the Spaniards to make any more incursions there,

This reduction of the Island under the power of the French, as we have describ'd it, happen'd in the Year M. DC. L.

The Dutch had built a very fair Church upon a pleasant as∣cent of this Island, in the form of a Cross, which may still be standing, if the Spaniards, who should have a respect for that sacred Sign which was on the top of the Steeple, have not ru∣in'd it. The French are oblig'd for that House of Prayer to the devotion and zeal of a certain Company of Merchants be∣longing to Flushing, who first peopled the Island by a Com∣mission from the States-General.

The present King of France being inform'd of all the glori∣ous actions done in those parts by Monsieur de Poincy, and considering how necessary his continual residence in America was, granted him new Letters Patents, whereby he confirm'd him in the Charge of Governour and Lieutenant-General in those places; and the Queen, during her Regency, gave him a great commendation for his noble Enterprizes, and Fidelity to the Kings service.

In the Year M. DC. LI. the French Governour, with the Kings consent, treated with the Gentlemen of the Company we mentioned before, and having re••mburs'd them all the charges they had been a•• in the establishment of that Colony, purchas'd to himself the Seigniory and Fee-simple of the Islands of the Christophers, S. Bartholomew, S. Martin, Santa-cruce, and 〈…〉〈…〉 Islands, and that in the name, and for the bene∣fit of ••is Order of Malta; and it is one of the noblest, richest, and most honourable S••••g••iories of any that Order enjoys un∣der the Sovereignty of his Majesty of France: And since that time the said King hath made an absolute bequest of all those Islands to the Order of Malta, reserving to himself the Sove∣reignty thereof, and the homage of a Crown of Gold, to be presented at every change of King, of the value of a thousand Crowns; as it appears by the Letters Patents dated in March, M. DC. LIII.

Monsieur du Parquet, Governour of Martinico, did the like for the Islands of Martinico, Granada, and Sainta••ousia: Mon∣sieur d' ••••well, Governour of Garacloupe, did the same thing for the Islands of Gardeloupe, Marigalanta, Desirado, and the Saints. The two last mentioned are not yet inhabited•• but he hath purchas'd the Seigniory of those places by way of ad∣vance, that others might not without b••each of civility possess themselves thereof: For it is to be observ'd, that the Company which had the direction of the Islands of America, but is now dissolv'd, had obtain'd of the King all the Islands of the Carib∣bies, as well those then inhabited, as those in process of time to be so: So that these Gentlemen, who have treated with the Company, would needs have mentioned in their Grant, some Islands which are not yet inhabited, yet lye neer and very con∣venient

for them, insomuch as when they shall have men e∣nough in their other Islands, they will be the more easily trans∣planted into those, unless the English or Dutch chance to be be∣fore-hand with them: For it is a general Rule, That a Coun∣try destitute of Inhabitants belongs to him who first possesses himself of it; so that neither the King of France's Grant, nor yet that of the Company does any thing more then secure those Gentlemen against the pretentions of such of their own Nati∣on as might oppose their designs.

Thus of all the Islands which the French are possess'd of in America the King of France reserves to himself the Sovereign∣ty, and M. M. de Poincy, du Parquet, and d' Houel have the Seigniory thereof, without any acknowledgment of the Com∣pany, which hath absolutely quitted all its pretentions to the said Gentlemen.

As for the English Governours of S. Christophers, Sir Thomas Warner dying, after he had gloriously establish'd his Country∣men in the Caribbies, and left the Island of S. Christophers inha∣bited by twelve or thirteen thousand English, Mr. Rich, who was the principal Captain in the Island, was advanc'd to that Charge; and this latter also dying, Mr. Everard was advanc'd to the Government, which he still exercises with general ap∣probation, as we had occasion to shew when we treated of the Island of S. Christophers.

At the first coming of the forreign Nations into the Islands, they were lodg'd much after the same manner as the natural Inhabitants of the Country, in little cotts and hutts made of the wood they had fell'd upon the place as they clear'd the ground. There are still to be seen, in several of the newly∣planted Colonies, many of those weak structures, which are sustain'd only by four or six forks planted in the ground, and instead of walls are encompass'd and palizado'd only with reeds, and cover'd with Palm or Plantane▪ leaves, Sugar-canes, or some such material: But in all the other Islands, where these Nations are better setled and accommodated, there▪ are many very fair houses of Timber, Stone, and Brick, built af∣ter the same manner as those in their own Countries, save that for the most part they are but one or two Stories high at the most, that they may the more easily resist the winds, which sometimes blow in those parts with extraordinary violence. Of these Edifices we have spoken already in several places of the precedent Book, when we gave a particular account of the several Islands.

But we have this particularly to adde here, that the English▪ are the best accommodated for Lodgings of any of the Inhabi∣tants of those Islands, and have their houses well furnish'd, which is to be attributed to their constant abode in their Colo∣nies, where they endeavour to get all conveniences as much

as if they were the places of their birth: They are also most of them married, whence it comes that they take greater pains to supply themselves with all things requisite, then those are apt to do who lead single lives, as most of the French do.

We had an intention to conclude this Chapter with the course taken by M. Auber to make up a peace with the Caribbi∣ans, upon his taking possession of the Government of Garde∣loupe; but in regard the discourse is somewhat long, and may conduce much to the discovery of the humours and dispositi∣ons of those Indians, of whom we are to treat more at large in this second Book, we thought it better dispos'd into a Chapter apart.

CHAP. III. Of the Establishment of the French Colony in the Island of Gardeloupe, consequently to the Peace concluded with the Caribbians of Dominico, in the Year M. DC. XL.

THe first among the French who took possession of the Island of Gardeloupe, landed there in the Year 1635. by order from a Company of Merchants of the City of Deep, which, under the Authority of the General Company of the Islands of America constituted at Paris, sent thither two Gen∣tlemen, du Plessis and de l' Olive, to command there upon their account: But the former dying some few months after his establishment, and the other becoming unfit for the govern∣ment of a new-planted Colony, through the loss of his sight, and his continual indispositions, as we have mentioned in the precedent Chapters, the French Governour-General took or∣der that the Inhabitants of that Island should be supply'd with all things necessary: For it is probable they would have abso∣lutely forsaken it, had not the said Governour sent over re∣cruits of Auxiliaries to them, under the conduct of Vernade and Sabouilly, to oppose the designs of the Caribbians, who with much animosity disputed the possession of it with them: So that if that Colony is not oblig'd for its establishment to the General de Poincy, this at least must be acknowledg'd, that its preservation and subsistence was the effect of his care. He accordingly approv'd and confirm'd, in the Kings name, the nomination which the Company of the Islands had made of M. Auber to be Governour of that Island.

This new Governour took the Oath of Allegeance before the General, the 20^th of October M. DC. XL. but before he fell

down to S. Christophers, the Ship which had brought him out of France into America casting Anchor neer Dominico, many of the Savages, who had observ'd the Ship at a distance, and concluded from the expressions of friendship which had been made to them, that they had no enemies in that Vessel, grew so confident as to come into it. It fortunately happen'd, that those who had come out upon the discovery were some of the chiefest Captains of the Island: M. Auber resolv'd to make all the advantage he could of that opportunity, imagining it might conduce very much to the making of an alliance with that people, which had been exasperated and incens'd against the French by the violences and cruel usage of de l' Olive, one of his Predecessors in that Charge, as also by the ill conduct of those who commanded the Recruits which the General had sent over for the security of the Island: And having withal an inkling that those of that Nation are easily drawn in by kind∣nesses and little Presents, he omitted nothing which he con∣ceiv'd might promote his design.

He thereupon acquainted them, that he was newly come from France, and that he was sent over to be Governour of Gardeloupe; that he had been▪ much troubled to hear of the, differences which for some years had continued between them and the French; that he was come with an intention to make a friendly composure thereof; and that he would be their Companion and good Neighbour, and live with them, as their late old friend M. du Plessis had done. These proffers were interrupted now and then with glasses of Aqua-vitae, which he order'd ever and anon to be presented to them.

These Savages finding so free and cordial a reception, after they had discours'd a while among themselves, in the Language they speak, concerning their military affairs, which is under∣stood only by the most ancient Conductors of their Enterpri∣zes, resolv'd to accept of the proffer which had been made them, and to renew the ancient amity, by renouncing what∣ever might tend to the prosecution of that bloody War which had so much incommodated both parties. But before they would promise any thing, they ask'd Monsieur Auber, whether l' Olive, Sabouilly, and all those who had follow'd their violent courses, should be forc'd to depart the Island? Whereto it be∣ing answer'd that they should, they reply'd, that it must ne∣cessarily be so, and that otherwise they should still have an animosity against the French, saying, l' Olive and Sabouilly are not good for the Caribbians: Those were their words. Where∣upon M. Auber having assur'd them that their desires should be satisfy'd, and that for his part he would be good to them, if they on their parts would be good; which they promis'd to be. These things concluded, he gave them a very noble treatment, bestow'd some Presents among them, and dismiss'd

them the most satisfy'd people in the world.

From the road of Dominico M. Auber went to Gardeloupe, where having dispos'd his equipage he return'd to S. Christo∣phers, to give the General an account of what had past, who was well satisfy'd with the choice which the Company had made of him for that Employment.

Being return'd to his Government, he was gallantly receiv'd by all the Inhabitants, who esteem'd him for his experience in whatever might contribute to the advancement of newly∣planted Colonies, as also out of a perswasion, that his prudence would remedy the disorders past, and his generosity oppose the present difficulties, and undertake all things requisite for the quiet and welfare of the Island; and his mildness and af∣fability would gain him the affections of all there, as they had done at S. Christophers, where he had been accounted one of their best Captains. His Commission was read and publish'd two Sundays together, at the head of all the Companies of the Island.

The War which had been fomented between the Savages and the French by the ill counsel of some restless spirits, and the credulity of the precedent Governour who had harkned thereto, together with the differences, jealousies and animosi∣ties which those boutefeus had rais'd among the principal In∣habitants of the Island, had rendred it the most desolate of all the Colonies of America: Want of provisions had reduc'd many to so great extremities, that life grew wearisom to them, and death was the object of their wishes: The continual fear they were in of being surpriz'd by the Savages, oblig'd them to be always in Arms, and to leave their Gardens and Plantations uncultivated; and the insupportable treatment they receiv'd from some Officers who abus'd their Authority, had brought them to the threshold of inevitable destruction.

But assoon as M. Auber had assum'd the Government, by the unanimous acclamations of all the Inhabitants, and brought them the news of an assured peace, which he had concluded with the Savages their neighbours, and hop'd very suddenly to see confirm'd by all the assurances could be expected from a Nation so unciviliz'd as that of the Caribbians, the disturbers of the publick tranquillity were dispers'd, and the well-affe∣cted found themselves in safety under the prudent conduct of so worthy a Governour, who us'd all possible endeavours to bring the Island to a perfect setlement: Insomuch that the Co∣lony seem'd to have put on a new face; Justice began to flou∣rish; the unity and labours of the Inhabitants retriv'd the plenty, trading, and peace, which had been forc'd thence be∣fore; and the pious example of the Commander in chief had the expected influence over all the members of that Colony.

Though he had motion'd a Treaty of peace with the Sava∣ges,

yet did he conceive it expedient, for fear of a surprize, that the Inhabitants should still keep their Guards: Accord∣ingly he planted Sentinels in all those places where the Ca∣ribbians might most easily land without being discover'd: He chang'd the Guards, and plac'd them in other more ad∣vantagious places; and he thought it prudence to keep under those who would have ruin'd the first foundations he had laid of the firm peace and alliance with those reconciled enemies, charging the former by express prohibitions to forbear all acts of hostility, that they might not by their particular animosi∣ties obstruct the general agreement wherein all the Inhabitants were so much concern'd.

The said Governour taking further into his consideration, that the Islands were to subsist by Trading; that nothing puts a greater slurre upon them then the bad Commodities vented therein; and that Tobacco was the only Commodity at that time of any esteem at Gardeloupe; and that several persons put off what was not merchantable, which procedure had caus'd the Island to be slighted by Forreigners, who upon that account had forborn sending any Ships thither; he ap∣pointed certain persons who well understood the management of Tobacco, and these carefully examin'd the making up of it, and had order to cast into the Sea what was decay'd, or wanted those qualities it ought to have to be allowable.

This good order taken, as well in order to military affairs as policy, brought the Island in a short time into a flourishing condition; and the report of its amendment occasion'd the coming thither of many Merchants, and invited a great num∣ber of considerable families to setle themselves there.

But to return to the Savages who had visited M. Auber in his Ship at his first arrival, and had treated with him about a peace, upon the conditions before-mentioned; they were no sooner got home into their Country, where they were expect∣ed with much impatience, upon this score, that they had con∣tinu'd a great while in the Ship, but they celebrated all over the Island the noble entertainment they had receiv'd from the Governour newly come from France. The considerable Pre∣sents he had bestow'd on them was an authentick assurance of his goodness and liberality. To this they added, that their enemies, l' Olive and Sabouilly, being ordered to depart Garde∣loupe, they had made a peace with that brave Companion, who had treated them so kindly, that he was worthy of their alli∣ance. That he might take no further occasion of distrust, they urg'd the necessity there was that they should forbear making those incursions into Gardeloupe which they had been wont to make in the time of War: And that when certain news came that the new Governour was fully establish'd in his Government, they would give him a visit, carry him Presents,

and solemnly confirm that peace which was likely to prove so advantagious for the future. The Caribbians, who had lost many of their men in the former engagements against the French, and grew weary of dealing with such expert enemies, were glad to hear what was propos'd to them by the principal Captains in their Country: So that they approv'd all that had pass'd between them and the French Governour, and behav'd themselves as they should do in order to the confirmation of the peace.

About the space of five months the Savages punctually observ'd the promise they had made to M. Auber, of not giving any further disturbance to the French: Imagining that time sufficient to let all the Inhabitants of Gardeloupe know what alliance had been contracted at the road of Dominico, they resolv'd to send thither a solemn Deputation, to con∣firm the peace, and wish the Governour all prosperity. There was a great competition among the Savages who should be ho∣nour'd with a Commission of so great importance: They re∣solv'd then, to satisfie the most eminent among them who were competitors for that Embassie, to pitch upon two of their most ancient and most renowned Captains, and to give each of them a considerable Convoy, consisting of the choice of their bravest Officers and Souldiers: And that there might be no jealousie among the Captains, they thought it fit they should depart in two several Piragas, each of them with his retinue, and in such order as that one should precede the other by one day.

The chiefest of these Embassadours was call'd Captain Ami∣chon, a person very considerable among them, and he was ac∣company'd by thirty of the most active and most expert of Do∣minico. M. Auber was wont to say, that he had never seen any Savages so well shap'd and active as they were. These Savages therefore, relying on the promise he had made them in the Road, landed at Gardeloupe, where hearing by the Guards that M. Auber was in the Island, and in good health, they confidently landed, and desired to see him, having in the mean time left some of the less considerable of their party to look to the Piraga. While some went to acquaint the Governour with the arrival of these Deputies of Dominico, Captain Amichon, who was to be the Speaker, dispatch'd a∣way two of his retinue loaden with the best fruits of their Country, which they had brought along with them for a Present.

The French Governour was extremely glad to hear of their arrival, and having immediately commanded all those of his houshold and the whole Quarter not to give them the least occasion to fear any ill treatment, he would needs go himself to meet them, with a countenance which suffici∣ently

express'd how welcome they were. We shall not trou∣ble our selves to insert here the Speech and Complements made by Captain Amichon at this first interview: He was one of those who had visited M. Auber in his Ship, so that he easi∣ly knew him again. He immediately gave him to understand, that he was come to confirm what they had resolv'd together at the Road of Dominico concerning the peace; and that all the Caribbians of his Country were desirous of it. The French Governour in answer thereto, made them sensible as well by his Interpreter as his countenance, that for his part he would inviolably observe that union, provided they were not the first breakers of it. Having afterwards brought them to his house, and knowing that good cheer was the best seal could be put to that Treaty of peace, he call'd for some Aqua-vitae, and order'd to be brought what was most delicious in the Island: At last he crown'd the Entertainment with Presents of all the curiosities most in esteem among the Savages. And that all the Deputies might participate of the good cheer and liberality of the Governour, those who had been treated went to relieve those who were left behind to look to the Piraga, who also in their turn receiv'd the same treatment and Pre∣sents which the others had had. Captain Amichon forgot not, according to the custom they observe towards their friends, to take M. Auber's name, and to give him his own.

Having been thus civilly receiv'd and treated, they return'd very joyfully to their Piraga, and set sail towards their own Island: They met at a certain rendezvouz, which they had agreed upon before they had left Dominico, with the other Piraga, which brought over the other Embassadour, whose name was Captain Baron, with his retinue. This second Captain understanding from the former what reception he and his retinue had at Gardeloupe, got thither the next day. This Baron had been a great friend of M. du Plessis, who dy••d Governour of Gardeloupe, but having equal authority with M. de l' Olive, his Collegue, who after du Plessis death impru∣dently engag'd the French into a War with the Savages.

This Captain then, who had often visited M. du Plessis, and remembred the friendship he had born him, being satisfy'd of the generosity of the French, went ashore with his Company, and was conducted to the Governour's, who treated him with the same ceremonies as he had done the former: But when he came to hear that the Captain had been intimately acquainted with M. du Plessis, and that there had been a familiar corre∣spondence between them, he treated him with greater testi∣monies of affection then he had done the others, and en∣ter'd into a particular friendship with him, receiving his name, and giving him his own. Thus was the latter Depu∣tation dismiss'd with greater satisfaction then the former,

and promis'd to continue their visits for the future: But both of them gave a large account at their Carbetts, of the civilities and good entertainment of the new Governour.

Captain Baron, who had been so kindly receiv'd at his first visit, staid not long ere he made a second: At the latter the Governour shew'd him one of M. du Plessis Sons, to whom the Captain made a thousand caresses, in remembrance of his Fa∣ther, whom he call'd his Companion, and the Friend of his Nation. True it is, that Gentleman had insinuated himself into the affection of those Barbarians; who had a respect for his merits and excellent endowments.

After this visit, and several others which the Caribbians dai∣ly made, M. Auber would be assur'd of them by Hostages, that they would observe the alliance: To that purpose he apply'd himself to Captain Baron, with whom he had contracted a greater friendship then with the others, and whom he call'd his Companion, as succeeding to the alliance there had sometime been between him and M. du Plessis. M. Auber ask'd him one day, whether he thought it not rational, that, to be assur'd of those of his Nation, he should require some of their children to be deliver'd up to him as Hostages? The Captain, who was of a judgment and understanding much beyond the ordinary rate of Savages, immediately reply'd, that the mutual safety was to be procur'd upon equal conditions; and that if they deliver'd up some of their children to the French, it was but just the French should do the like with them. He thereupon presented to M. Auber some of his own children who had ac∣company'd him; and the other accepting of the proffer, made choice of one of them, a young lad, whose countenance and demeanour was somewhat more pleasing and attractive, in a word, one who was in several respects more amiable then any of his brethren: The Father was content to part with his Son, and the Son was content to stay with M. Auber; an accident that seldom happens among the Savages. His name was Ima∣labouy. From that day M. Auber treated him as his Son, and always call'd him so; and the young Fellow call'd him Fa∣ther. When he was put into cloaths, he made a shift to be∣have himself well enough; nor did he find it any hard mat∣ter to enure himself to the European course of life. Captain Baron desir'd to have as a counter-hostage one of Mistress Au∣ber's Sons, who had been first wife to M. du Plessis, and was then married to M. Auber: But M. Auber having represented to the Captain, that young du Plessis was of too soft a na∣ture to endure the hardship of a Caribbian life, prevail'd with him to accept by way of Hostage, instead of him, one of his Servants, who willingly proffer'd to follow him. That young man being of a strong constitution, continu'd some moneths among the Savages, who treated him with much

kindness; but whether the change of air, or nourishment caus'd some alteration in him, he fell sick some time after: Which Captain Baron hearing of, and fearing he might dye among them, he brought him back to M. Auber, and requir'd not any other person in his stead, saying that he would have no other Hostage then the word of his Companion. True it is, he would have perswaded his own Son to return along with him, but he could not prevail with him, the Youth tell∣ing him, that he thought himself in a better condition with M. Auber then with his Father.

Captain Baron having left at Gardeloupe so precious an en∣gagement, took occasion to make frequent visits to M. Auber, and by that means to see his Son: And finding himself ex∣tremely oblig'd to M. Auber for the many favours he receiv'd from him, especially for the tender affection he bore his Son, he bethought himself to find out some occasions whereby he might express his acknowledgments thereof: He resolv'd therefore to make a discovery to him, that during the Wars between those of his Nation and the French, who were com∣manded by l' Olive, he had taken a young French-man Priso∣ner, and had given him his life only upon this score, that he had sometime been a Servant to M. du Plessis, his old Compa∣nion: And that it was neer three years that he had him, and gave him more then ordinary liberty, though it had been in his power to put him to death, because he was taken in Arms, and in the heat of the Engagement: But that he had not us'd extremity, remembring the ancient friendship between him and M. du Plessis, in whose attendance he had seen that French∣man. M. Auber compassionating the young mans condition, entreated the Captain to deliver him up; which he promis'd, and not many days after was as good as his word; and he whose good fortune it was to be thus retriv'd, staid a long time after at Gardeloupe.

The generous Captain, not thinking it enough to have thus oblig'd M. Auber, and parted with his Prisoner, told him of another Captain of Dominico who also had a French-man in his house, a Prisoner at War, and proffer'd to sollicite that Cap∣tain to set him at liberty. He prevail'd, and some days after brought over that other Prisoner, whose name was Jean Jardin. This being a subtle young fellow had gain'd the affe∣ctions not only of the Captain, whose Prisoner he was, but also of all the Caribbians, who had as much kindness for him as if he had been of their own Nation: And he had such an excellent memory, that he had got their Language in per∣fection.

M. Auber desirous to make some return of these good offices and expressions of affection, besides the Presents he daily made the Captain, would needs oblige his whole Nation▪

It was when the Captain was engag'd for the War against the Arouagues, who inhabit Trinity-Island, and to that pur∣pose had made extraordinary preparations. For this nobly∣minded Savage coming to take leave of M. Auber before he went upon that expedition, he bestow'd on him, to be put in∣to his party, one of his menial Servants, who was his Fowler, named Des Serissiers, who had a long time wish'd himself pre∣sent at the Engagements of those Savages; and he furnish'd him with good fire-arms, and all things requisite to make use thereof.

Captain Baron was much astonish'd at that favour, and having joyfully accepted of it, made extraordinary declarati∣ons thereof among those of his own Nation. This Volunteer very cheerfully follow'd the Captain, and was at the Engage∣ment with the Arouagues of Trinity-Island, to which there came a powerful Army of Savages from all the Caribby-Islands. The French-man did as much upon that occasion as could be expected from a gallant Souldier; and being a good marks∣man, he hurt and wounded so many of the Arouagues, who were not accustomed to feel the effect of fire-arms, that at last they took the rout, and retreated into the mountains, leaving the spoil to the victorious Caribbians. From that time Se∣rissiers was ever look'd upon by those of that Nation as a great Captain; and they could not sufficiently admire the kindness of the French Governour, who voluntarily depriv'd himself of that young mans service, and lent him to them. All the particulars of this relation we have from very good hands, especially M. Auber's.

During all the time of M. Auber's government of Garde∣loupe, the peace made with the Caribbians was inviolably ob∣serv'd on both sides, to the great advantage of both Nati∣ons: For the Savages by that agreement had the opportunity to treat with the French for wedges, hooks, knives, and several other instruments and commodities which they look upon as the most necessary: And the French receiv'd from them in ex∣change, Swine, Lizards, Sea-Turtles or Tortoises, and an infi∣nite number of other fishes, and other refreshments, whereof they made a good advantage. So that the Caribbians were as it were the Pourvoyers of the French, who in the mean time labour'd in their Plantations without any disturbance.

CHAP. IV. Of the Trading and Employments of the Forreign Inha∣bitants of the Country; and first, of the culture and ordering of Tobacco.

IN the Caribbies Money is not us'd in order to the carrying on of ordinary Traffick, but this is perform'd by the ex∣changing of those Commodities which are of the growth of the Country for such as are brought out of Europe, whether they consist in Cloaths, Linnen, Ammunition, or Provisions, and other necessaries requisite for the better conveniences and enjoyments of life. And this was the common course of all Nations before the use of Money, and is to this day practis'd in divers savage Countries, and particularly in Colchida, where every one brings to the Market what he hath superfluous, to supply himself with what he wants.

The Store-houses and Magazines of these Islands are com∣monly well furnish'd with all sorts of Commodities which are brought out of England, France, Holland, and Zealand, nay as plentifully as in any place in the world. The price of eve∣ry Commodity is not left to the choice of the Merchants who keep the Store-houses, but set upon it by the Gover∣nours, with the advice of their Council. The Commodities which the Inhabitants bring in exchange for those before∣mentioned, are reducible to five species; to wit, Tobacco, Sugar, Ginger, Indico, and Cotton.

At the beginning all the forreign Inhabitants of the Ca∣ribbies apply'd themselves wholly to the culture of Tobac∣co, whereby they made a shift to get a competent livelihood; but afterwards the abundance that was made bringing down the price of it, they have in several places employ'd them∣selves in the planting of Sugar-canes, Ginger, and Indico: And it hath pleas'd God so to prosper their designs, that it is almost a miracle to see with what improvement all these Commodities grow in most of the Islands. And forasmuch as many who see them in Europe know not how they are or∣der'd, it will be a great satisfaction to their curiosity, to give a short account of each of them; whereto we shall adde somewhat concerning Cotton.

True it is, that divers Authors have already treated of them; but in regard our History would be defective, if no∣thing should be said concerning them, we are in the first place to assure the Reader, that the whole discourse we in∣tend to make thereof is not a Copy or Extract out of any other, but a true Original naturally taken with much care

and fidelity: So that if we say the same things as others have done before us, those who shall peruse our work will not be much troubled to find here the confirmation of a truth which comes from so remote a part of the world, and whereof they cannot have too great an assurance: And if they find any thing that seems to clash with some precedent relations, they are to look on it as a discovery of the falshood of those which are contrary thereto: Or at least ours will make it apparent, that in all places the Planters do not so exactly follow the same method in the ordering of these Commodities, but that sometimes some alteration may be observ'd therein. Besides, we have this further hope, that some will find in the following descriptions a certain exactness and cleerness which they will think not unacceptable to them; nay they may haply meet with something therein that is new, and such as hath not been observ'd by any other Authors: But if there be any who shall think there is not any thing in this and the next Chapter which they know not already, that is, nothing which may either instruct or divert them, they are desir'd not to blame our diligence, and imagine them written for others who may receive some instruction or divertisement thereby, and acknowledge themselves oblig'd to us for our care.

For the getting of good and merchantable Tobacco, the first thing to be done, is, in the proper season to prepare the beds in several places of the Gardens, such as have good shel∣ter from the winds; then they sow in them the seed which had been gather'd from the stalks of the precedent year, which they suffer to grow and ripen for that purpose: They mix ashes with the seed when it is sown, that it may not fall too thick in some places: When it begins to appear above ground, it is carefully cover'd with the leaves of the prickly Palms, or with branches of Orange, or Citron-trees, to secure it from the excessive heat of the Sun, the coolness of the night, and the spoil which tame Fowl and Birds might make in it.

While the Plant is growing up to a condition that it may be transplanted, the place into which it is to be remov'd is pre∣pared. If the Plantation be but newly establish'd, it is requi∣site that it should have been cleer'd of wood some considerable time before, and that the branches should be burnt upon the ground, and over the beds: And if after all that there be any thing remaining, whatever is not burnt must be convey'd quite away, that the place may be free. True it is, there's no need of digging the earth of turning it up, nor yet of delv∣ing, hut only of cleering it of all weeds, so as that there re∣main not any wood, nor bark, nor leaf, nor so much as the least grass. To do that, they make use of a kind of broad and sharp Hoes, which pare and take off the surface of the ground,

and if need be, carry along with them the roots of the weeds, whose after-growth they would prevent.

The ground being thus prepar'd, it is divided into several ridges or beds distant one from the other two or three foot. To do this, they make use of long cords, which at the distance of every two foot, or thereabouts, are marked with a little piece of cloth, which is sew'd thereto; and then they place little sticks at all the places answerable to those marks; to the end, that when the time of transplanting the young Tobacco is come, which is immediately after it hath pleas'd God to send a good shower of rain, they should have nothing else to do but to plant, and not lose time in making those divisions of the Garden or Plantation.

The Tobacco-plant is ready for its removal out of the bed where it had been first sown, when it hath four or five leaves strong and thick enough, and about the bredth of a mans hand; for then, if it happen that the ground is softned by a pleasant shower of rain, all those who are desirous of having good Tobacco with the first season matter not much the incon∣venience of being wet, so they can but set a good quantity of it in the ground. At that time there is an emulation among the good husbands, every one endeavouring to outvye the other in working: Some are employ'd in chusing and taking off the Plants from the beds, and disposing them into baskets; others carry them to those whose work it is to plant them ex∣actly at the places which had been before marked by the cord, as we said elsewhere.

Those who are employ'd about the planting of them make a hole in the ground with a sharp stick, into which they set the root of the Tobacco; then they thrust the earth pretty hard about, yet so as that the upper part of the Plant be not co∣ver'd: And thus they do all along every rank, and assoon as they have finish'd one they begin another. Having performed that exercise, at the next meeting of the Neighbours together their common discourse is, to enquire one of another how ma∣ny thousands of Plants they have set in the ground, and thence calculate the hopes of the future harvest.

The Plant being thus set in the ground, which is commonly done in several intervalls, in regard it seldom happens that there is so plentiful a fall of rain as that it might be done at once, or haply because the ground is not all prepar'd at the same time, or that there are not Plants enough, is not there∣upon neglected; on the contrary, this is but the beginning of the pains and care which the ordering of it requires; for the Planters must be very careful to visit it often, and assoon as they have perceiv'd that it hath taken root, there must be a special care taken that the Caterpillars and other mischie∣vous Insects, whereof there are abundance in those Countries, do not gnaw it, and hinder its growth.

The next work is, at least once every month, to weed away whatever might endanger the smothering of it, diligently to grub up and rake the earth all about it, and to carry away the weeds to the extremities of the Plantation; for if they be left in the place where they are laid upon their being taken out of the ground, the least rain would make them take root afresh, and they would require a second weeding. The most troublesom herb of any, and that which causes most trouble to get out of the Plantations, is Purslane, which in these parts of the world grows not without the pains and industry of Gardeners. This exercise is continu'd till such time as the Tobacco-plant hath cover'd all the adjacent ground, and that the shade of it keeps down all other weeds.

But though all this be done, yet are not the Planters at rest, inasmuch as answerably to the growth of the Plant in height and bredth, some must be continually employ'd in cutting off the superfluous leaves, taking away those that are dry'd up, rotten or decay'd, cleering it of all those shoots and suckers which might hinder its coming to perfection, by diverting the sap from the larger leaves: In fine, when the stalk is grown to a convenient height, it must be check'd, by cutting off the top of every Plant, those only excepted which are reserv'd for seed. After all this ordering, the Plant is to continue some weeks in the ground ere it comes to maturity, during which there is a little cessation of labour and attendance about it.

But if the laborious Planter be exempted from the great pains he had bestow'd about it, he shall not want work; for there must be a place prepar'd, where it is to be dispos'd as soon as it is ripe. Care must be taken, that the Grange or Store-house, where it ought to be dry'd to a certain medio∣crity, be well cover'd and close of all sides; that it be furnish'd with good store of poles fit for it to be laid upon; that provi∣sion be made of a certain thin bark taken from a tree called Mahot, to fasten every Plant to the poles; and that the place design'd for the making of it up into rolls or pricks should have all things requisite for that work.

While all these preparations are made, if the Tobacco∣leaves lose ever so little of their first verdure, and withal begin to bow down more then ordinary towards the ground, and if the scent of them grows stronger, it is a sign that the Plant is come to maturity: And then, taking a very fair day, after the dew is fallen off, it is to be cut about an inch a∣bove ground, and left upon the place till the evening, turning it once or twice, that the Su•• may take away somewhat of its moisture: In the evening it is carry'd by armfuls into the house. It is fasten'd by the lower end of the stalk to the poles, so that the leaves hang downwards: It is also requisite that they should not be laid too close one to the other, lest they

be corrupted, or be not dry enough, for want of air.

This first cutting down of the Tobacco being over, they often visit the Plants which are hung up a drying, while the rest which had been left growing comes to ripeness; and when they find the leaves fit to be made up into rolls, that is, when they are neither too dry (for in that case they would not be able to endure the wheel), nor yet too moist (for then they would corrupt in a short time), they are taken off the poles, they are laid in heaps at the end of the Grange, and every stalk is stript of its leaves, after this manner.

In the first place, they lay aside all the longest and all the broadest leaves, and they take away the great stalk which runs through the midst of them; the lesser leaves are also laid by themselves, to be dispos'd within the roll, and the greater serve for coverings and shrowds for them. These leaves thus dispos'd are ranked on planks or tables, close by him who is to make them up into rolls, which he makes big∣ger or smaller, as may be seen by those brought over into these parts.

There is a certain art in making up the rolls, and those who can do it with expedition and dexterity are highly esteem'd, and get much more then those who are employ'd about order∣ing the ground: They must have their hands and arms ex∣tremely supple and nimble, to make the wheel turn with such speed, and still to observe the same proportion, that so the roll may be equally big in all parts.

There is a particular artifice, in the business of Tobacco, to dispose and lay it after the winding so as that it may be the more easily put up on the sticks, which are all to be of a cer∣tain bigness and length, to avoid deceit.

When the Tobacco is thus made up, it is convey'd to the Store-house, and cover'd with Bananas or some other leaves, that it may not be prejudic'd by taking wind, and be of a good fair colour. That which cuts somewhat unctuously, is black∣ish and shining, and hath a pleasant and strong scent, and burns easily in the Pipe, is accounted the best.

We told you, that the Tobacco-plant was cut almost even with the ground, and not pluck'd up by the roots; and it is purposely so cut, that it may shoot forth new stalks: And in∣deed it produces a second Plant, but such as is neither so strong nor so fair as the former; nor is the Tobacco made thereof so much esteem'd, nor will keep so well: It is call'd by some Shoot-Tobacco, or Sucker-Tobacco, or Tobacco of the second cutting or growth: Nay some will have three shoots from the same stalk; and that humour hath brought the Tobacco which comes from some Islands into dis-esteem.

Now since we have express'd our selves so much at large concerning the manufacture of Tobacco, we shall not think

it improper to insert in this place what is practis'd by some cu∣rious persons, whereby it is made more excellent then that which commonly goes under the name of Virinus-Tobacco, keeps well, and hath a scent which fortifies the brain. After they have set aside the Plants of the first cutting, and while they are drying on the poles, they gather together all the cast leaves, the small shoots, as also the filaments which are taken out of the midst of the leaves which have been already cleer'd; and after they have pounded them in a mortar, all is put into a bag, which is put into a press to force out the juice, which is afterwards boil'd over a soft fire till it be reduc'd to the con∣sistency of a Syrup: That done, there is put into that decocti∣on a little Copal, which is an aromatick gum, the virtue where∣of is to fortifie the brain. This gum distills from a tree of the same name, which is common in the Continent of America, and in the Islands about the gulf of Hondures.

After this drug is put into the composition aforesaid, it must be well stirr'd, that its sweet scent and other qualities may be communicated and diffus'd through the whole decoction: Then it must be taken off the fire, and when it is cold it is set in a vessel neer the person who makes up the roll of To∣bacco, and as often as he takes a handful of the leaves to feed the roll, he must wet his hand in that liquor, and wipe it with the leaves. This secret hath an admirable effect to make the Tobacco keep well, and derives to it a virtue which extremely heightens its price.

The Tobacco thus order'd is to be made up into a roll, at least as big as a mans thumb, and be afterwards divided into little rolls not weighing above ten pound at the most, and then sent in little vessels or close baskets made for that purpose, to keep it the better. Some Inhabitants of the Islands having made tryal of this secret, have put off theirs for right Virinus-Tobacco, and sold it at the same rate.

Those who imagine that Tobacco grows without any trou∣ble; and that rolls of it are, as they say, found growing on Trees in America, and that there is no more to be done but to shake them down; or haply are perswaded that it requires no great trouble to bring them to perfection, will be unde∣ceiv'd when they come to read this relation of the culture and preparation of Tobacco; whereto we have only this to adde, that if they had themselves seen the poor Servants and Slaves, who are employ'd about this painful work, expos'd the greatest part of the day to the scorching heat of the Sun, and spending one half of the night in reducing it to that posture wherein it is transported into Europe, no doubt they would have a greater esteem for, and think much more precious that herb, which is procur'd with the sweat and labours of so ma∣ny miserable creatures.

We shall not need to insert here what Physitians write of the miraculous effects of Tobacco, but leave the more curi∣ous to consult their Books, wherein they give a strange ac∣count thereof: Only this we shall affirm, that the virtues of it must needs be very great, since it hath its course all over the world, and that in a manner all Nations upon Earth, as well those that are civiliz'd as those that still continue in their Barbarism, have afforded it a kind reception, and have ad∣vis'd the taking of it: And though some Princes have prohi∣bited the use of it in their Territories, out of a fear that the money of their Subjects, which is rare and precious, should be turn'd into smoak, and slip out of their hands for a thing which seems not to be so necessary to life; yet is there not any but will allow it a place among the drugs and remedies of Physick.

The more delicate and curious among those Nations who are dispos'd into hot Countries, qualifie it with Sage, Rose∣mary, and certain Perfumes, which give it a very pleasant scent; and having reduc'd it to powder, they take it in at the nostril. Those Nations who inhabit cold Countries, forbid not Persons of Quality the use of it; nay it is a perfection and certain gallantry in the Ladies of those Parts, gracefully to handle a Pipe, whereof the boal is of Coral or Amber, and the head of Silver or Gold, and to puff out the smoak of this herb without the least wrinkle or wry face, and to let it out of the mouth after several little intervalls, which raising so many little vapours of a brownish colour, seems a kind of foil to set off the cleerness of their complection. The com∣position we have before described, which heightens the good scent of Tobacco, will no doubt be kindly receiv'd by those persons who place the smoking of a pipe of Tobacco among the pleasures and enjoyments of this life.

To conclude, it is not easie to affirm what quantities of To∣bacco are sent away every year, only from the Island of S. Chri∣stophers; and it is almost a miracle to see what numbers ••f Ships come over out of England, France, Holland, and especi∣ally Zealand, and yet none returns empty: nay the sole tra∣ding which the last named Province maintain'd with this and the neighbouring Islands, rais'd the greatest and wealthiest houses at Middleborough and Flushing: nay to this day the principal commerce of those two Cities, which are the most considerable of all Zealand, is from these Islands, which are to them what the Mines of Peru are to the Kingdom of Spain.

CHAP. V. Of the manner how Sugar is made; and of the prepara∣tion of Ginger, Indico, and Cotton.

WHen the great plenty of Tobacco made at S. Christo∣phers and the other Islands had brought down the price of it so low, that it did not turn to accompt, it pleas'd God to put it into the heart of the French General de Poincy, to find out some other ways to facilitate the subsistence of the Inhabitants, and carry on some Trade: He thereupon em∣ploy'd his Servants and Slaves about the culture of Sugar-Canes, Ginger, and Indico; and the design met with a success beyond what was expected.

Though it may be granted, that the Plant of the Sugar-Cane was known to the Ancients, yet is the invention of ma∣king the Sugar but of late years: The Ancients knew no more of it then they did of Sena, Cassia, Ambergreece, Musk, Civet, and Benjamin: They made no other use of this precious Reed, then in order to drink and Physick. And therefore we may well oppose all these things, with much advantage, as also our Clocks, the Sea-Compass, the Art of Navigation, Prospective-glasses, Printing. Artillery, and several other ex∣cellent Inventions of the last Ages, against their right way of dying Purple, their malleable Glass, the subtle Machines of their Archimedes, and some such like.

Having in the precedent Book given a description of the Sugar-Cane, our business here will only be to represent the manner how Sugar is gotten out of it.

That work is performed by a Machine or Mill, which some call an Ingenio, whereby the juice within the Canes is squeez'd out. These Mills are built of very solid and lasting wood, and are more convenient in these Islands then those used to the same purpose at Madera and Brasil: Nor is it to be fear'd in the former, as many times in the latter, that the fire should get to the boiling Coppers, and set all into a flame, to the de∣struction of those who are employ'd about the work; for the Coppers in these Islands are seen to boil, yet the fire that causes it is made and kept in on the outside by furnaces, which are so well cemented, that neither the flame nor the smoak does any way hinder those who are at work, which they may follow without any fear of danger or inconvenience.

The ordinary way of turning the Mills is by Horses or Oxen; but the French Governour hath one which is turn'd by water, which falling on a wheel sets the whole Machine going.

When the Sugar-Canes are ripe, they are cut somewhat neer the ground, above the first knot which is without any juice; and having cut off the tops, and taken away certain little, long, and very thin leaves, which encompass them; they are made up into bundles, and carry'd to the Mills to be there press'd and squeez'd between two rollers, turning one upon the other.

The juice which is squeez'd out of them falls into a great Cistern, whence it is convey'd through long pipes or channels into the vessels appointed for the boiling of it. In great Su∣gar-works there are at least six Coppers, whereof three very large ones are of copper, about the bredth and depth of those us'd by Dyers, and are to clarifie the juice, which is to be boil'd with a gentle fire, putting in ever and anon a small quantity of a certain very strong Lye, made of water and ash∣es, commonly call'd Temper, which makes all the filth to boil up, which as it appears is taken off with a great brass skim∣mer. When the juice is well purify'd in these three Coppers, into which it had been convey'd alternately one after another, it is strain'd through a cloth, and afterwards pour'd into three other Coppers of some other mettal, which are very thick, broad enough, and about a foot and a half deep. In these Coppers the Sugar receives its last boiling; for then there is a more violent fire made, and it is continually stirr'd, and when it bubbles up so as that it may be fear'd it should boil over the Coppers, it is allay'd by the casting in of a little sallet-oil; and as it begins to grow thick, it is pour'd into the last of those Coppers, from whence, as it inclines to a consistency, it is dis∣pos'd into vessels of wood or earth, and so carry'd into the Curing-house, where it is whiten'd with a kind of fat earth mixt with water, which is spred upon it; then they open the little hole in the bottom of every vessel or pot, that all the filth or dregs that is about the Sugar may fall into ano∣ther channel, which conveys it into a vessel prepar'd for that purpose.

The first skimmings which had been taken off the great Coppers is laid aside only for Cattle, but the other serves well enough to make a certain drink for the Servants and Slaves. The juice which is drawn from the Cane will conti∣nue good but one day, insomuch that if within that time it be not boil'd, it grows sharp and turns to vinegar. There must also be a very great care taken, that the Reservatory into which the squeezed juice falls, and the pipes or channels whereby it is thence convey'd into other places, be often wash'd; for if they contract ever so little sharpness, the juice cannot be reduc'd to Sugar: The whole work would also miscarry, if any butter or oil chance to be cast into any of the three greater Coppers, which are to be wash'd with Lye; or

in like manner, if ever so little Lye fall into the three lesser ones, where the juice is form'd into a Syrup, and curdles by the violence of the fire, and the continual agitation and stir∣ring of it with a skimmer. But above all things there must be a great care taken, that there fall not any juice of Citron in∣to the Coppers; for that would absolutely hinder the coagula∣tion of the Sugar.

Many of the Inhabitants who are not able to get so many Coppers, nor furnish themselves with those great Engines whereby the Canes are squeez'd, have little Mills made like Presses, which are wrought by two or three men, or driven about by one horse; and with one or two Coppers they purifie the juice gotten out of them, reduce it to the consi∣stence of Syrup, and make good Sugar without any further trouble.

The greatest secret in the business of making good Sugar consists in the whitening of it: Those who have it are very loth to communicate it. From what hath been said, it may be easily inferr'd what extraordinary advantages accrue to the Inhabitants of that Island by means of this sweet and precious Commodity, and what satisfaction it brings to their Corre∣spondents in other parts of the world, who have it at so easie rates.

This plenty of Sugar hath put the Inhabitants upon the pre∣serving of abundance of excellent fruits of the growth of the Island, as Oranges, Lemons, Citrons, and others, especially Ginger, whereof we shall give an account anon, and the fruit call'd Ananas, and the flowers of Oranges and Citrons.

As concerning the preparation of Ginger, when the root is come to maturity it is taken out of the ground; then it is dry'd in places well air'd, and it is often stirr'd to prevent corruption. Some make no more ado then to expose it to the Sun in order to the drying of it; but others think it re∣quisite to cast lime on it, the more to facilitate the drawing a∣way of the moisture. This root, which is one of the most considerable among Spices, is transported all over the world; but it is most sought after in cold Countries.

The French do sometimes take it out of the ground be∣fore it is fully ripe, and preserve it whole with such arti∣fice, that it becomes red, and transparent as glass. The pre∣serv'd Ginger which is brought over from Brazil and the Le∣vant is commonly dry, full of filaments or little strings, and too biting to be eaten with any delight; but that which is prepar'd at S. Christophers hath no fibres or strings at all, and it is so well order'd, that there remains nothing that is unplea∣sant to the tooth when it is eaten.

It hath a singular property to fortifie the breast, when it is weakned by a confluence of cold humours; as also to

clear the voice, to sweeten the breath, to cause a good co∣lour in the face, to take away the crudities of the stomach, to promote digestion, to sharpen the appetite, and to con∣sume that waterishness and phlegm which puts the body in∣to a languishing condition; nay it is affirm'd by some, that it preserves and wonderfully fortifies the memory, by dis∣persing the cold humours, or the phlegm of the Brain. This root may also be reduc'd into a paste, of which there may be made a Conserve, or cordial Electuary that hath the same ef∣fects.

We come now to give a short account of Indico. The Plant being cut is bound up into little bundles or fagots, and left to rot in cisterns of stone or wood full of fair water, on which there is cast a certain quantity of oil, which according to its nature covers all the surface of it: They lay stones upon the fagots, that they may the better keep under the water; and after three or four days that the water hath been boiling, which it does by the meer virtue of the Plant, without any assistance of fire, the leaf being rotted and dissolv'd by that natural heat which is in the stalk, they take great stakes and stir the whole mass that is within the cisterns, so to get out all the substance of it; and after it is setled again, they take out of the cistern that part of the stalk which is not rotted: that done, they several times stir what is left in the cistern, and af∣ter they have left it to setle, they let out the water at a cock; and the lees or dregs which remains at the bottom of the cistern, is put into molds, or left to dry in the Sun. These dregs is that which is so much esteem'd by Dyers, and commonly known by the name of Indico.

There are some make use of Presses, whereinto having put little bundles of the rotted Plant, they by that means get out all the juice of it: But in regard they are the leaves of the Plant that the foresaid Commodity is made of, those who are desirous to have it of the highest price, think it enough to have the dregs which remains after the corruption of those leaves, and is found, after so many stirrings, at the bottom of the ci∣stern.

The French Inhabitants of the Caribbies were there a long time ere they drove any trade in that Commodity, by reason that the Plant whereof it is made, being of it self of a very strong scent, exhales an insupportable stink when it is rot∣ted: But since Tobacco came to so low a rate, and that in some places the ground would not bring forth that which was good, as it had done some time before, they apply'd themselves to the culture of Indico, whereof they now make a considerable advantage.

Lastly, as concerning Cotton, the French make it not much their business to gather it, though they have many of the trees

that bear it in the hedges of their Plantations: But all put to∣gether amounts but to little in comparison of what is said of a certain Quarter of the Province of China; for a certain Au∣thour named Trigaut, in the xvii. chap. of the fifth Book of his History, affirms, that there grows so much Cotton there as finds work enough for two hundred thousand Weavers.

The English who are the Inhabitants of the Barbouthos drive a great trade in this Commodity, as also those who liv'd formerly in the Island of Santa-cruce. There is no great trou∣ble in the making of Cotton fit for the market; for all to be done, is to get out of the half-open'd button that matter which in a manner forces its way out it self: And whereas it is full of the seed of the tree that bears it, which are like little beans intangled within the Cotton, in the midst where∣of they had their production, there are a sort of little En∣gines made with such artifice, that by the turning of a wheel, whereby they are put into motion, the Cotton falls on the one side, and the seed on the other: That done, the Cotton is thrust up as close as may be into bags, that so it may take up the less room.

Thus have we given a brief account of the principal Em∣ployments which keep up the Commerce of the Islands, and the Commodities wherein the Inhabitants do ordinarily trade.

CHAP. VI. Of the more honourable Employments of the European Inhabitants of the Caribbies; their Slaves; and their Government.

THe European Colonies which have planted themselves in the Caribbies, do not consist only of a sort of Vaga∣bonds and persons of mean condition, as some fondly imagine, but there are also among them many of Quality, and descend∣ed from noble Families: So that the Employments we menti∣oned in the precedent Chapter, are design'd only for the most inconsiderable of the Inhabitants, and such whose necessities have forc'd them to earn their bread with the labour of their hands, and the sweat of their brows: But the others, who are able to hire people to oversee their Servants and Slaves, and to see that they do their work, lead pleasant lives, and want not those enjoyments thereof which are to be had in other Countries. Their employments and divertisements, besides the frequent visits they make and receive with extraordinary expressions of civility, are Hunting, Fishing, and other com∣mendable

exercises; nay they endeavour to outvye one the other in their entertainments, wherein they are magnificent, there being a sufficient plenty of Beef, Mutton, Pork, wild and tame Fowl of all kinds, Fish, Pastry, and excellent Conserves, all in as great abundance as at the best Tables in the European parts of the world. And these mutual demonstrations of kind∣ness are deriv'd from the Officers and those of the better rank to the meanest Inhabitants, who think it a great want of civi∣lity to dismiss any one from their houses, before they have pre∣sented them with somewhat to eat and drink.

Wine, Beer, Brandy, and Aqua-vitae, and such drinks, are seldom wanting in these Islands; and if there should chance to be a scarcity of these, the Inhabitants have the art of making a delicious drink of that sweet liquor which is got out of the Sugar-canes, and that being kept for certain days becomes as strong as any Sack: Of the same liquor they also make an excellent kind of Aqua-vitae, not much unlike that which is brought thither out of France; only this inconvenience it hath, that they who drink excessively of it are apt to fall dangerously sick. Moreover, they make several kinds of Beverage with the juice of Oranges, Figs, Bananas, and Ana∣nas, which are all very delicious and pleasant to the taste, and may be ranked among Wines: They also make a sort of Beer of the Cassava and the roots of Potatoes, which is as pleasant, nourishing, and refreshing as that which is brought out of the Low-Countries.

As concerning those Employments which are equally ho∣nourable and necessary in order to the welfare of the Inhabi∣tants of these Islands, it is to be observ'd, that all are taught the use of Arms, and the Heads of Families seldom walk abroad without their Swords. Every Quarter is dispos'd under the command of certain Captains and other Officers, who have the oversight thereof. They are all well-arm'd, and they of∣ten muster and are exercis'd even in the times of deepest peace; so that they are always in readiness, at the first beat of D••um, to march to the places where the Captains appoint their Ren∣dezvouz. In the Island of S. Christophers, besides twelve Com∣panies of Foot, there are also some Troops of Horse, as we said elsewhere.

And whereas all persons of Quality, whereof there is a considerable number in those Islands, have Servants and Slaves who are employ'd about the works before-mentioned, and that in most parts of Europe they do not make use of Slaves, there being only the Spaniards and the Portuguez who go and buy them up at the places of their birth, such as are Angola, Cap-vert, and Guinny, it will be but requisite that we here give a short account of them: But we shall in the first place speak of those who are hired Servants, and to conti∣nue such only for a certain time.

As for the French who are carried over out of France into America, to serve there, they commonly deliver obligatory acts to their Masters, which is done before publick Notaries; by which writings they oblige themselves to serve them du∣ring the space of three years, conditionally to receive from them so many pounds of Tobacco, according to the agree∣ment they have made during that term. These French Ser∣vants, by reason of the three years service they are engag'd to, are commonly called the Thirty-six-months-men, according to the Language of the Islands. There are some so simple as to imagine, that if they be not oblig'd to their Masters in wri∣ting before their departure out of France, they are so much the less oblig'd when they are brought into the Islands; but they are extremely mistaken; for when they are brought be∣fore a Governour to complain that they were carried aboard against their wills, or to plead that they are not oblig'd by writing, they are condemn'd for the space of three years to serve either him who hath paid for their passage, or such other as it shall please the Master to appoint. If the Master hath promis'd his Servant no more then the ordinary recompence of the Islands, he is oblig'd to give him for his three years ser∣vice but three hundred weight of Tobacco, which is no great matter to find himself in linnen and cloaths; for the Master is not engag'd to supply him with any thing but food: But he who before his departure out of France promises to give three hundred weight of Tobacco to him whom he receives into his service, is oblig'd exactly to pay it, nay though he had pro∣mis'd him a thousand: It is therefore the Servants best course to make his bargain sure before he comes out of his Coun∣try.

As concerning the Slaves, and such as are to be perpetual Servants, who are commonly employ'd in these Islands, they are originally Africans, and they are brought over thither from the Country about Cap-vert, the Kingdom of Angolae, and other Sea-ports which are on the Coasts of that part of the world; where they are bought and sold after the same manner as Cattle in other places.

Of these, some are reduc'd to a necessity of selling them∣selves, and entring into a perpetual slavery, they and their children, to avoid starving; for in the years of sterility, which happen very frequently, especially when the Grass∣hoppers, which like clouds spread themselves over the whole Country, have consum'd all the fruits of the earth, they are brought to such a remediless extremity, that they will submit to the most rigorous conditions in the world, provided they may be kept from starving. When they are reduc'd to those exigencies, the Father makes no difficulty to sell his children for bread; and the children forsake Father and Mother with∣out any regret.

Another sort of them are sold after they have been taken Prisoners in War by some petty neighbouring Prince; for it is the custom of the Princes of those Parts to make frequent in∣cursions into the Territories of their Neighbours, purposely for the taking of Prisoners, whom they afterwards sell to the Portuguez, and other Nations with whom they drive that bar∣barous Trade: They receive in exchange for them Iron (which is as precious with them as Gold), Wine, Aqua-vitae, Brandy, or some poor Clothing: They make Slaves of the women as well as the men, and they are sold one with another, at a higher or lower rate, according to their youth, age, strength, or weakness, handsomness, or deformity of body. They who bring them over to the Islands make a second sale of them, at fifteen or sixteen hundred weight of Tobacco every head, more or less, as the parties concern'd can agree.

If these poor Slaves chance to fall into the hands of a good Master, one who will not treat them with too much severity, they prefer their present slavery before their former liberty, the loss whereof they never afterwards regret: And if they are permitted to marry, they multiply extremely in those hot Countries.

They are all Negroes, and those who are of the brightest black are accounted the fairest: Most of them are flat-nos'd, and have thick lips, which goes among them for beauty; nay there are some affirm, that in their Country the Midwives do purposely crush down their noses, that they may be flat, assoon as they come into the world: The hair of their heads is all frizl••d, so that they can hardly make use of Combs; but to prevent the breeding of vermine, they rub their heads with the oil of that shrub which is called Palma-Christi: They are very strong and hardy, but withal so fearful and unwieldy in the handling of Arms, that they are easily reduc'd under sub∣jection.

They are naturally susceptible of all impressions, and the first that are deriv'd into them among the Christians, after they have renounc'd their Superstitions and Idolatry, they pertina∣ciously adhere unto; wherein they differ much from the In∣dians of America, who are as unconstant as Cameleons. Among the French Inhabitants of the Caribbies there are some Negroes who punctually observe abstinence all the time of Lent, and all the other Fasting-days appointed by the Church, without any remission of their ordinary and continual labour.

They are commonly proud and insolent; and whereas the Indians are desirous to be gently treated, and are apt to dye out of pure grief, if they be put to more then ordinary hard∣ship, these on the contrary are to be kept in awe by threats and blows; for if a man grow too familiar with them, they are presently apt to make their advantages of it, and to abuse

that familiarity; but if they be chastiz'd with moderation when they have done amiss, they become better, more submis∣sive, and more compliant, nay will commend and think the bet∣ter of their Masters: But on the other side, if they be treated with excessive severity, they will run away, and get into the Mountains and Forests, where they live like so many Beasts; then they are call'd Marons, that is to say, Savages: or haply they will grow so desperate as to be their own Executioners. It is therefore requisite, that in the conduct of them there should be a mean observ'd between extream severity and too much indulgence, by those who would keep them in awe, and make the best advantage of them.

They are passionate Lovers one of another; and though they are born in different Countries, and sometimes, when at home, Enemies one to another, yet when occasion requires they mutually support and assist one another, as if they were all Brethren: And when their Masters give them the liberty to recreate themselves, they reciprocally visit one the other, and pass away whole nights in playing, dancing, and other pastimes and divertisments; nay, sometimes they have some little Enter∣tainments, every one sparing what he can to contribute to the common repast.

They are great Lovers of Musick, and much pleas'd with such Instruments as make a certain delightful noise, and a kind of harmony, which they accompany with their voices. They had heretofore in the Island of S. Christophers a certain Ren∣dezvouz in the midst of the Woods, where they met on Sun∣days and Holidays after Divine Service, to give some relaxati∣on to their wearied bodies: There they sometimes spent the remainder of that day, and the night following, in dancing and pleasant discourses, without any prejudice to the ordinary la∣bours impos'd upon them by their Masters: nay, it was com∣monly observ'd, that after they had so diverted themselves, they went through their work with greater courage and chearful∣ness, without expressing any weariness, and did all things bet∣ter than if they had rested all night long in their huts. But it being found, that the better to enjoy themselves in these pub∣lick Meetings, they many times stole the Poultry and Fruits of their Neighbours, and sometimes those of their Masters, the French General thought fit to forbid these nocturnal assem∣blies: So that now if they are desirous to divert themselves, they are enjoyn'd to do it within their own Neighbourhoods, with the permission of their Masters, who are willing enough to allow them convenient liberty.

As to the Advantages accrewing from the labours of these Slaves, he who is Master of a dozen of them may be account∣ed a rich man: For besides that these are the People who cul∣tivate the ground in order to its production of all necessary

provisions for the subsistence of their Masters and themselves; being well order'd and carefully look'd after, they promote the making of several other Commodities, as Tobacco, Sugar, Ginger, Indico, and others, which bring in great profit. Add to this, that their service being perpetual, their number in∣creases from time to time by the Children that are born of them, which have no other Inheritance than that of the sla∣very and subjection of their Parents.

All the Forreign Inhabitants who have planted themselves in those Islands are govern'd according to the Laws and Customs of their own Countries.

Among the French Inhabitants of S. Christophers Justice is ad∣ministred by a Council consisting of the principal Officers who have the oversight of the Militia of the Island, of which Coun∣cil the General is President: And though there are certain places appointed for that Administration, yet is the Council many times assembled as the General thinks fit, and occasion requires, under a kind of great Fig-tree, which is about the bigness of a large Elm, neer the Court of Guard of the Basse∣terre, not far from the Haven.

In this Council, abating all the Formalities which have been invented to make Suits immortal, all differences that happen between the Inhabitants are amicably compos'd, and decided most commonly at the first sitting, without any charge to the Parties, save only that he which is found guilty of the wrong is to make satisfaction according to the Custom, whereof part goes to the relief of the Poor, and maintenance of the Church, and the rest for the satisfaction of the party concern'd. This Council doth also pass sentence of death, without appeal to any other Power.

The Governours of the other Islands do also administer Ju∣stice every one in his Government: So that no man should be guilty of so great a weakness as to imagine that people live in those Countries without any order or rule, as many do: Nay, it is rather to be look'd on as a kind of Miracle, that (the Inha∣bitants of those Countries being a confluence of people from so many several Countries, and consequently of different hu∣mors and constitutions) disorders should not creep in, and that all are kept in awe and subjection to the Laws established.

Thus much of the Forreign Inhabitants of the Caribbies; we come now to treat of the Natural and Originary.

CHAP. VII. Of the Origine of the Caribbians, the natural Inhabitants of the Country.

THe Method we had propos'd to our selves for the profe∣cution of this History requires that henceforth we treat of the Indians, the natural Inhabitants of the Caribbies. And here we conceive it not to be our business to bring upon the Stage that great and difficult Question, to wit, How the race of Men came to spread it self into America, and whence they came into that new World? There are some eminent Persons have treated of this matter with so much sufficiency, exactness, and solidity, that it were a tedious and superfluous Work at the present to trouble the Reader with any thing concerning it. Besides, the History of the Originals of our Savage Inhabitants of the Caribbies requires not that we should descend so low to find them.

The ancient and natural Inhabitants of the Caribbies are those who have been called by some Authors Cannibals, Anthro∣pophagi, or Eaters of Men; but most others who have written of them, commonly call them Caribbians or Caribes: But their primitive and originary Name, and that which is pronounc'd with most gravity is, as the French Writers would have it, that of Caraïbes: Nay, if we may credit these last mentioned Au∣thors, not only the Caribbians themselves of the Islands do so pronounce their name, but also those of their Nation who live in the Continent of America, both the Septentrional and Meri∣dional: So that that being the most common appellation of them among the French Inhabitants of the Islands, we shall al∣so have occasion to use it sometimes in the sequel of this History, in regard the present Work is render'd out of that Language.

Some are of opinion, that this word Caraibes (or Caribbians) is not natural to the savage Inhabitants of the Caribbies, but that it was impos'd upon them by the Spaniards, as they had given the same denomination to many Savages of the Meridi∣onal Continent, who are known thereby; as also that of Calibis, or Calibites, to their allies the Inhabitants of the same Continent.

Those who maintain this opinion affirm, that the Spaniards might well give to those People that name of Caraibes, in regard they over-ran all the Quarters of the Southerly part of Ameri∣ca; and that having made the first Maps thereof, they set down those Nations under that Name, which hath stuck to them ever since. To prove this they alledge, that they are never call'd Caraibes or Caribbians among themselves, but only when they are drunk, and that having their heads full of Wine they

leap up and down and rejoyce, saying in their corrupt Lan∣guage, Moy bonne Caraibe, I am an honest Caribbian: That otherwise they only make use of that word when they are amongst Strangers, and that in their trading and their commu∣nication with them, to make a certain discovery of themselves, as being sensible that the said name is known to them: But that when they are among themselves, not only they, but also those of their Nation Inhabiting the Continent, and the Calibites, call themselves by the name of Calinago, which is the name of the Men, and Calliponan, which is that of the Women. And they further affirm, that they are called Oubao-bonon, that is, In∣habitants of the Islands, or Islanders; as the call those of the Continent Batoüe-bonon, that is, Inhabitants of the Firm Land.

But all this presuppos'd as probable, there is but little likeli∣hood that the word Caribbians should have been impos'd upon them by the Spaniards, and that our Islands should not have had it before they were known by them. The first reason we give of this assertion is, that before either the Spaniards or Portu∣guez had found a passage into Brazil, there were in those Parts certain men more subtle and ingenious then the rest, whom the Brasilians call'd Caraibes, or Caribbians, as Johannes de Lery hath observ'd in his History. Secondly, it is a thing out of all con∣troversie that there are certain Savages who bear the name of Caribbians in some Quarters of the Southerly part of America, where the Spaniards never had any Commerce: For not only those of the same Nation with our Islanders, who inhabit along those Coasts of the Meridional America, and are neer Neigh∣bours to the Dutch Colonies of Cayenna and Berbica, but those also who live far within that Meridional Continent, beyond the sources of the most remarkable Rivers, call themselves Caribbi∣ans. Moreover, we shall find in the sequel of this Chapter, that there is in the Septentrional Continent a powerful Nation consisting for the most part of certain Families, who at this present take a great pride in being called Caribbians, and stand upon it, that they had receiv'd that name long before America was discover'd. Add to this, that though it were granted that the Spaniards would have impos'd that name on all those Nati∣ons, how can it be prov'd that they were as willing to accept of it from People unknown and Enemies to them? Now it is cer∣tain, that not only all those people do call themselves Caribbi∣ans, but also that they withal think it a glory, and derive an advantage from that name, as Monsieur du Montel hath heard it from their own mouths: How then is it to be imagin'd that they should triumph in a name which they had receiv'd from their Enemies? Nay if it be urg'd further, as we shall see anon, that the Ancestors of our Savage Inhabitants of the Islands receiv'd from the Apalachites the name of Caribbians, instead of that of Cofachites, under which they went before; it may be replyed,

That they took it from such as were their friends and confede∣rates, and that as an Elogy of honour. In fine, we also af∣firm, that it is not only in their drunkenness and debauches, that our Indian Inhabitants of the Islands call themselves Carib∣bians, but they do it also when they are sober and in cold blood; And as to their calling themselves Calinago, it is pos∣sible they may have many different names, whence it does not ever the more follow, that they had received any of them from the Europaeans. For the denomination of Oubao-bonon; the signification of the word sufficiently shews, that it is not particular to them, and that it may be generally applyed to any Inhabitants of Islands. And whereas they make use of the name of Caribbians rather than of any other, when they speak to strangers, it is because they are apprehensive enough that that name is best known to them: but it is not to be conclu∣ded thence, that they received it from the Spaniards, nay it might be more probably affirmed that the Spaniards themselves having learnt it of them, should afterwards have communica∣ted it to other Europaeans. But as to our design, it matters not much whether opinion be embrac'd, and every one may fol∣low which sentiment liketh him best; only we have taken the liberty to propose what we conceived most probable.

As to the originals of the insulary Caribbians, those who have hitherto given any account of them, have had so little light to guide themselves by in that obscure piece of Antiqui∣ty, that they may be said to have grop'd all their way: some imagine that they are descended from the Jews, grounding their conjecture, among other things, on this, that the Carib∣bians are obliged to marry those Kinswomen of theirs that are next of kin to them, and that some among them eat no swines flesh nor Tortoises: But this is to fetch a thing too far off, and to ground an imagination on too weak conjectures. There are others who would have them to come over from the Haven of Caribana, and pretend that they were transported thence: But this opinion is grounded only on the clinching of the words Caribana and Caribbians, without any other con∣firmation.

There are yet others who affirm, and that upon a simple conjecture, that these Savages are the originary Inhabitants of the greater Islands, and that it is not long since they came into those now called the Caribbies, where they took refuge as the remainders of the horrid Massacres committed by the Spaniards, when they possess'd themselves of St. Domingo, Cu∣ba, Jamaica, and Porto-Rico: But this is confuted by the cer∣tainty of History, which assures us, that at the first beginning of the discovery of America, the Caribbies were possessed and inhabited by the Caribbians; that at first they were surprized and ill-entreated by the Spaniards; but that afterwards these

last being beaten off with disadvantage, and meeting with ma∣ny inconveniences in the prosecution of that war, made a kind of agreement with some among them, as we shall see more particularly hereafter in the Chapter of their Wars. Add to this, that the Indians of Corassao, who, without all dispute, are some of those persons who escaped the Massacres, and who have among them some yet living, who lived in the Port called at the present, the Port of the Kow-Island, or as the French call Le port de l' Isle à vache, in the Island of Hispaniola, when the first Spaniards landed there, have not a word of the Ca∣ribbian Language in theirs, nor any thing of Carriage; whence it may be deduc'd, that there never was any communication or correspondence between them and the Caribbians. Besides, those of the greater Islands who might have fled to avoid the tyranny of the Spaniards, would have had greater encourage∣ment to retreat into the Territories which were below them, and whereto the regular winds lay more fit to carry them, than to direct their course against the wind, and so retarding their flight, expose themselves to a thousand hazards by Sea, and engage themselves in a voyage twenty times as long: For it is almost a miracle, that such Vessels as theirs are can advance a league in a day against the wind; nay it many times hap∣pens that very great vessels are in their ascent forc'd back more in three hours than they had advanc'd in six daies: For we have it from very skilful Pilots, that they have been three months getting up from the Cul-de-Sac of St. Domingo to St. Christophers; whereas to fall down from St. Christophers to St. Domingo, there needs commonly not above four or five days at most.

As concerning the opinion the Caribbians themselves have of their origine, we find, that, being as ignorant of all Monu∣ments of Antiquity, as free from all curiosity of enquiring af∣ter things to come, they believe for the most part, that they are descended from the Calibites or Calibis, their Allyes and great friends, the Inhabitants of the Meridional part of America, & the neighbouring people of the Arouagues or Alouagues, in that Country or Province which is commonly called Guyana, or the Savage-Coast. And those who adhere to this opinion, ground their perswasion on the conformity of Language, Religion and Manners, observable between the Caribbian Inhabitants of the Islands, and the Calibites; though it may as well be presum'd that the said resemblance might partly proceed from the allyance and particular friendship there was between them; partly from the Neighbourhood of the Caribbians of the Meridional Continent and those Calibites; and partly from some other causes, whereof we shall give an account here∣after.

But these poor Savages of the Islands agree not among

themselves in the particular relation they make of their Extra∣ction, and the occasion that brought them into those Islands; nor can they give any account of the time of their coming thi∣ther. We shall here set down what those of S. Vincent and some others have related to Monsieur du Montel concerning themselves, which we have taken out of his curious Collections.

All the Caribbians were heretofore subject to the Arouagues, and obey'd their Prince; but some among them not able to en∣dure that yoke, broke out into a Rebellion: And that they might the better live undisturb'd, and at a distance from their Enemies, they retreated to the Caribby-Islands, which were not at that time inhabited; and their first landing was in the Island of Tabago, which is one of the neerest to the Continent: Afterwards the other Calibites shook of the Domination of the Arouagues; but finding themselves strong enough, or not ha∣ving the same inclination with the former, they continu'd in their Country; and what they had at the time of their revolt they have kept ever since, and live free in the Country, but Enemies to the Arouagues, having a Captain-General of their own Nation, by whom they are commanded. They have also continu'd to this present Friends and Confederates to the Ca∣ribbians.

Upon this Relation it is that some ground the explication they make of the word Caribbians, as if it signified Rebells; whether it was impos'd upon them by the Arouagues, or that those people assum'd it of themselves by way of triumph, as deriving a certain glory from their noble Insurrection, and the generous Rebellion which establish'd them in peace and liber∣ty: But there needs no more to shew that the word Caribbian does not signifie Rebel, as among others a certain Journal of a Dutch-man, than that there are many Colonies in several parts of the Continent of America, both the Septentrional and Me∣ridional, which no body pretends or can pretend were ever un∣der the power of the Arouagues, which yet are known by the name of Caribbians. And as to the being among them any that have rebell'd against other Sovereigns, only this may be inferr'd thence, That being since reconcil'd to them, and living to this day in the midst of them, under the said name of Carib∣bians, as we shall see more particularly anon, there is no like∣lihood that it should signifie Rebels, since it were a blasting of their Reputation, and a mark of Infamy to them.

But those who have convers'd a long time together among the Savages of Dominico relate, that the Caribbian Inhabitants of that Island are of opinion, that their Ancestors came out of the Continent, from among the Calibites, to make a War against a Nation of the Arouagues, which inhabited the Islands, which Nation they utterly destroy'd, excepting only the Wo∣men, whom they took to themselves, and by that means re∣peopled

the Islands: Whence it comes that t••e Wives of the Ca∣ribbian Inhabitants of the Islands have a language different from that of the Men in many things, and in some consonant to that of the Arouagues of the Continent. He who was the Comman∣der in chief in that Enterprise bestow'd the conquer'd Islands on his Confidents; and he to whose lot the Island of Dominico fell was called Ouboutou-timani, that is to say, King, and caused himself to be carried on the shoulders of those whom the Islan∣ders call Labouyou, that is, Servants.

There is so little certainty and so much variety in all these Relations, and others of the like nature, which these poor igno∣rant people make upon this occasion, that the most prudent sort of people conceive there cannot any judgment be ground∣ed thereon: And indeed these Savages themselves speak not thereof but at adventure, and as people tell stories of what they had seen in their dreams; so careless have they been in preserving the tradition of their Origine; and they palpably contradict and confute one the other by the difference of their Relations: However, we shall find at the end of this Chapter what seems most probable to have given occasion to most to believe that they are descended from the Calibites.

In all the several sentiments whereof we have given an ac∣count, either out of the Writings or Discourses of divers others, there is this that's commendable, That those who ad∣vance them, proceed consequently to the discoveries they had made, and that they do all that lies in their power to unravel and disengage ancient and unknown Truths. But if the Re∣lation we are about to give of the Origine of the Caribbian In∣habitants of the Islands, be the most ample, the most particular, the most full of Curiosities, and the best circumstanc'd of any that hath hitherto appear'd, it is but just we should think it accordingly the truest and most certain; yet with this caution, that we still leave the judicious Reader at liberty to follow that sentiment which shall seem most rational to him. And where∣as we ought to render every one the commendation he justly deserves, we are to acquaint the Publick, that it is oblig'd for these Particularities and Discoveries to the obliging Communi∣cation we have receiv'd thereof from one Master Brigstock an English Gentleman, one of the most curious and inquisitive Persons in the World, who, among his other great and singu∣lar accomplishments, hath attained the perfection of the Virgi∣nian and Floridian Languages, as having in his noble Travels seen all the Islands, and a great part of the Septentrional Ame∣rica: By that means it was that he came exactly to understand, upon the very place whereof we shall make mention, and from such intelligent Persons as could give him an account thereof with some certainty, the ensuing History of the Origine of our Savages, the truth whereof he will make good whenever occa∣sion shall require.

The Caribbians were originary Inhabitants of the Septentri∣onal part of America, of that Country which is now called Flo∣rida: They came to Inhabit the Islands after they had departed from amidst the Apalachites, among whom they lived a long time; and they left there some of their people, who to this day go under the name of Caribbians: But their first origine is from the Cofachites, who only chang'd their denomination, and were called Caribbians in the Country of the Apalachites, as we shall see anon.

The Apalachites are a powerful and generous Nation, which continues to this present planted in the same Country of Flo∣rida: They are the Inhabitants of a gallant and spacious Country called Apalacha, from which they have received their name, and which begins at the altitude of thirty three de∣grees and twenty five minutes, North of the Equinoctial Line, and reaches to the thirty seventh degree. This people have a communication with the Sea of the great Gulf of Mexico or New Spain, by the means of a River, which taking its source out of the Apalachaean Mountains, at the foot whereof they inhabit, after it hath wandred through many rich Campagnes, disembogues it self at last into the Sea neer the Islands of Ta∣cobago: The Spaniards have called this River Riu del Spirito Santo; but the Apalachites call it still by its ancient name of Hitanachi, which in their Language signifies fair and pleasant. On the East-side they are divided from all other Nations by high and far-spreading Mountains, whose tops are cover'd with snow most part of the year, and which separate them from Vir∣ginia: on the other sides they abjoin to several inconsiderable Nations, which are all their friends and confederates.

These Apalachites make it their boast, that they had propa∣gated certain Colonies a great way into Mexico: And they show to this day a great Road by land, by which they affirm that their Forces march'd into those parts. The Inhabitants of the Country, upon their arrival gave them the name of Tlatuici, which signifies Mountaineers or High-Landers, for they were more hardy and more generous than they. They planted themselves in a quarter like that from which they came, scituate at the foot of the Mountains, in a fertile soil, where they built a City, as neer as they could like that which they had left behind them, whereof they are possess'd to this day. They are so united there by inter-marriages and other bonds of peace, that they make up but one people with them; nor indeed could they well be discern'd one from the other, if they had not retain'd several words of their originary language, which is the only observable difference between them.

After the Apalachites had planted this Colony, the Cofachites, who liv'd more towards the north of America, in a fenny and

somewhat barren Country, and who had continu'd till then in good correspondence with them, knowing that they were then far from their best and most valiant men, took an advan∣tageous opportunity to fall upon their Neighbours the Apala∣chites, and to force them out of their habitations, or at least to participate with them of the land where they had setled themselves, after they should become Masters thereof. This design having been carried on very cunningly among the chief∣est of the Cofachites, they afterwards publish'd it in all their Villages, and got it approv'd by all the heads of Families, who instead of minding the business of Husbandry and setting things in order for the sowing of Corn at the beginning of the Spring, as they were wont to do other years, prepar'd their Bows, Ar∣rows, and Clubs; and having set their habitations on fire, and furnish'd themselves with some little provisions out of what was left of the precedent Winter, they took the field, with their wives and children, and all the little baggage they had, with a resolution either to conquer or dye, since they had cut off all hopes of returning to a place which they had destroy'd and despoil'd of all manner of conveniences.

In this equipage they in a short time got to the frontiers of their Neighbours: The Apalachites who thought of nothing less than having an enemy so neer them, were then very busie about the planting of their Mais, and the roots from which they derive their ordinary sustenance: Those who liv'd about the great Lake at the foot of the Mountains, which they call in their Language Theomi, having perceiv'd this powerful Army ready to fall on them, immediately made their retreat into the neigh∣bouring Mountains, and left their villages and cattel to the di∣sposal of the enemy; thence they took their march through the woods; to carry intelligence of this erruption to the Cities which are in the vallies among the first mountains, where re∣sided the Paracoussis, who is the King of the Country, with all the considerable forces thereof. Upon this so unexpected news, the said Prince, while he was making his preparations to go against the Enemy, posted those who were most in a rea∣diness for the expedition in the Avenues of the mountains, and placed Ambuscadoes in several parts of the great Forests, which lye between the great Lake and the Mountains, and through which there was a necessity of passing to get into that pleasant and spacious valley, which is above sixty leagues in length, and about ten in bredth; where are the habitations of the chiefest Inhabitants of the Country, and the most con∣siderable Cities in the Kingdom.

While the Cofachites were busie about the plundering and pillaging the houses they had found neer the great Lake, the Apalachites had the opportunity to prepare themselves for the reception of them: But the former, instead of taking the or∣dinary

Roads and ways which led to the flat Country, which, as we said, lie between the Mountains, having left their Wives and Children neer the great Lake, under the guard of some Forces they had drawn off from the main Body, and being guided by some of the Apalachites, whom they had surprized fishing in the great Lake, cross'd through the woods, and made their way over mountains and precipices, over and through which the Camels could hardly have pass'd, and by that means got into the heart and centre of the Country, and found themselves of a sudden in a Province, called that of the Amanites: They without any resistance surpriz'd the chiefest places of it, wherein they found to guard them only Women, Children, and some old men, such as were not able to follow their King, who with his people lay expecting the Enemy at the ordinary descents which led into the Country.

The Cofachites perceiving that their design had prov'd so successful, and that there was a great likelihood that in a short time they should become Masters of the whole Country, since they had met with so good fortune immediately upon their first appearance, prosecuted their conquests further, and having Cities for their retreat, where they had left good strong Gar∣risons, they marched towards the King of Apalacha, with a resolution either to fight him, or at least oblige him to allow them the quiet possession of some part of the Country. The Apalachite was extreamly surpriz'd, when he understood that the Enemy, whom he had all this while expected on the Fron∣tiers, and at the known avenues of the Country, had already possess'd himself of a Province that lay in the centre of his Dominions, and that he had left Garrisons in the Cities and most considerable places thereof: However, being a magnani∣mous and gallant Prince, he would try whether the chance of Arms would prove as favourable to him, as he thought his cause good and just; he thereupon came down with his people out of the Mountains, where he had encamped himself; and having encourag'd those that were about him to do their ut∣most, he confidently set upon the van-guard of the Cofachites, which was come out to observe his motion: having on both sides spent all their arrows, they came to a close fight, and ha∣ving taken their Clubs, there was a great slaughter in both Ar∣mies, till that night having separated them, the Cofachites ob∣serv'd that they had lost a great number of theirs in the en∣gagement, and found that they had to do with a people that behav'd themselves more valiantly than they had imagined to themselves they would have done; and consequently that their best course would be to enter into a friendly treaty with them, rather than venture another hazard of their Forces in a strange Country.

Upon this they resolv'd, that the next morning they would

send Embassadours to the King of the Apalachites, with certain Overtures of Peace, and in case of a refusal (dissembling the loss they had receiv'd in the former Engagement) to declare open War, and to challenge him to be immediately ready to receive their Charge, which should be much more violent then what they had met withal the day before; and that then all their Forces were come together.

The Paracousses of the Apalachites having given audience to these Embassadours, desir'd that days time to consider of the Propositions which had been made to him; and thereupon having requir'd of them the Articles and Conditions under which they would Treat with him, in case he might be inclin'd to Peace, they told him, That they had left their own Country with a resolution to plant themselves either by friendship or by force in that good and fat Country whereof he was possess'd; and that if he would condescend to the former of those means, they desired to become one People with the Apalachites, to dwell in their Country, and to cultivate it, and so to supply the empty places of those who not long before had gone from among them to plant a new Colony in some remote parts of the World.

The Apalachite assembled his Council upon these considera∣tions, and having acquainted them therewith, he represented, That the Army of the Cofachites hindred the coming in of the Assistances which they might receive from the other Provinces that had not been ready to come in to them at the beginning of the War; That by the same means the passage of Provisions was absolutely obstructed; That the Enemy was Master of the Field, and that without any resistance he had got into one of the best Provinces of the whole Country, where he had al∣so possess'd himself of places of Importance; and, That though in the precedent Engagement he had taken particular notice of the incomparable fidelity and gallantry of his People, in setting upon and fighting against the Enemies, over whom they had very considerable Advantages, yet had that good Success been bought with the loss of his most valiant Captains, and the best of his Souldiers; and consequently it concern'd them to bethink themselves of some means to preserve the rest of the Kingdom, by sparing what was then left of the choicest Men: And since the Enemies were the first Proposers of the Conditions of Peace, it would be the safest way to hearken thereto, if it might be done without any derogation from their Glory, and the great Reputation they had acquir'd before; inasmuch as there was waste grounds enough in several places, and that the Country, by reason of the transplantation of some part of their Inhabitants, was spacious and fertile enough to sustain them all.

All the chief Commanders of the Apalachites having heard

what had been propos'd by their King, and concluding it was not fear that oblig'd him to hearken to an Accommodation with the Cofachites, since that the day before he had ventur'd his Person among the most forward; but that it proceeded purely from the desire he had that they might not be rashly expos'd to further danger, and his care of preserving his People, which was already at the mercy of the Enemy, who had possess'd him∣self of one of the richest Provinces; and having also under∣stood by some Spies who were come into the Kings Army by some secret ways, and made their escape out of the Cities where the Cofachites had their Garisons, that they treated with great mildness and respect the women and old men whom they had found there; having, I say, taken all these things into conside∣ration, they unanimously subscribed to the sentiments of their Prince, and made answer, That there was a necessity of condes∣cending to an Accommodation, and making some Agreement upon the most advantageous Conditions they could, according to the present posture of their Affairs: And after they had confirm'd this resolution by their Ha Ha, which is the sign of the applause and ratification wherewith they are wont to conclude their Deliberations, they signified the same to the Embassadors of the Cofachites, who expected it with impatience.

This news being carried over to the Camp of the Cofachites, was receiv'd with great joy, as being consonant to the end they had propos'd to themselves when they first undertook the War and left their Country: They thereupon immediately deputed some of the chiefest among them to agree with the Apalachites about the absolute conclusion of that Peace, and to sign the Ar∣ticles of the Treaty. These Deputies being come to the place where the Prince of the Apalachites expected them, attended by the most considerable Persons about his Court, sitting on a Seat somwhat higher then any of the rest, and cover'd with a rich Fur, were very kindly receiv'd; and having taken their Seats, the King drank to them of a certain Beverage call'd Cassina, out of a Bowl of which he first tasted himself: All that were present at the Council drank afterwards in order; which done, they fell upon the business of the Treaty, which was con∣cluded upon these Conditions;

That the Cofachites should inhabit promiscuously in the Cities and Towns of the Apalachites; That in all respects they should be esteem'd and accounted as the natural Inhabitants of the Country; That they should absolutely enjoy the same Priviledges; That they should be subject to the King, as the others were; That they should embrace the Religion, and ob∣serve the Customs of the Country: Or if they would rather, the Apalachites would resign up to them the rich and great Province of Amana, to be enjoy'd only by them, according to the limits which should be agreed upon: Provided nevertheless,

That they should acknowledge the King of the Apalachites for their Sovereign, and that from thence forward they should render him reasonable homage.

This Agreement being thus reciprocally concluded, was at∣tended with mutual acclamations: Not long after, the Deputies of the Cofachites having given an account of their negotiation to their Commander in chief and his Councel, and represented to them the choice which had been left them either of living promiscuously among the Apalachites, or being sole possessors of the Province into which they were entered; they unani∣mously accepted of the latter, and so became absolute Ma∣sters of that Province of Amana, whereof the King of the A∣palachites put them himself into quiet possession: The Wo∣men, Children, and Old men, who had been left behind, when all s as were able to bear arms had follow'd their Prince, were transported into some of the other Provinces, where the King appointed a setled habitation for them, and all the gal∣lant men of that Province who had ventur'd their lives against the Enemy, and for the preservation of their Country.

All things being thus setled, both parties laid down their arms, and the Cofachites went to fetch their Wives, Children, Cattel, Baggage, and the Souldiers they had left neer the great Lake of Theomi; and being safely return'd, they dispos'd themselves into the Cities appointed them, congratulating their good fortune in the conquest of so noble a Country, an∣swerably to their expectation at the first undertaking of the War.

From that time the Apalachites gave the name of Caribbians, or as the French would have it, Caraibes, to those new comers, who of a sudden, and contrary to their expectation, forc'd them∣selves upon them, to repair the breach which had been made by the transplantation of some of their people into another Country of America: so that this word Caraibes signifies, in their language, a sort of people added, or suddenly and unexpe∣ctedly coming in, strangers, or stout and valiant men; as if they would express, that a generous people, whom they expected not, were come upon them, and had been added to them: and this denomination continu'd to these new comers instead of that of Cofachites, which hath been kept up only in some weak and wretched Families which liv'd more towards the north of Florida, and after the departure of the true Cofachites, possess'd themselves of their habitations, and would also have pass'd under the name of those who had preceded them in the possession of that Country: Whereas on the other side, these true Cofachites were known by the name of Caribbians in the Province of Amana; and therefore henceforward we shall speak of them, and the Colonies which they have since sent abroad, only under that name.

These two Nations being thus united by the determination of their differences, and the period they put to a cruel war which might have ruin'd them both, liv'd afterwards in good correspondence for many years. But in process of time, the Caribbians finding themselves multiply'd in the Country which they had conquer'd by their arms, would not embrace the Re∣ligion of the Apalachites, who ador'd the Sun, as shall be shewn hereafter, nor be present at their Ceremonies in the Temple they had in the Province of Bemarin, where the Court was; nor in fine render the King the homages that were due to him for the Province they were possess'd of, according to their promise, and the Articles of the Treaty.

This breach of promise on the part of the Caribbians, and that unjustiafiable act, prov'd the occasion of many bloudy Wars which happen'd afterwards between the two Nations: the Caribbians were surrounded of all sides by their adversaries, who kept them in so, that they could not any way enlarge their quarters; and on the other side the Apalachites had in the bow∣els of their Country a cruel and irreconcileable enemy, who kept them perpetually in alarms, and oblig'd them to be al∣ways in arms; during which, both the one and the other, sometimes victorious, sometimes beaten, as the uncertain chance of war was pleas'd to carry it, liv'd a very sad life; in∣somuch that, many times, either for want of cultivating the ground, or by reason of the waste committed in the fields of one another, a little before the Harvest, they were reduc'd to such an extreme Famine, as destroy'd more people than the Sword.

Above an age was spent in these contests, during which the Caribbians, who had for their Commander in chief and King of their Nation, one of their most valiant Captains, whom they called Ragazim, added to their former acquests another Province, which lay next to them on the South side, and is called Matica, which reaching through the Mountains by an interval that receives a torrent descending from the same Mountains, afterwards extends towards the West, as far as the River, which taking its source at the great Lake, after it hath made several Islands, and flown through divers Provinces, falls at lasst into the Ocean: This is the famous River which the French have called the River of May; but the Apalachites name it Basainim, which signifies in their language, the delici∣ous River, or abounding in fish. The Caribbians having thus dilated their territories, and forc'd their Enemies to retreat, made for some years a truce with the Apalachites, who being wearied out with the Wars, and discourag'd by the loss of a considerable Province, willingly hearkned to that cessation of arms, and all acts of hostility.

But these Apalachites being exasperated to see their Country

grown less by one of the best Provinces belonging to it, taking the advantage of the opportunity of that Truce, secretly con∣sulted several times among themselves how they might carry on their designs more successfully against the Caribbians then they had done before; and having found by sad experience, that they had not advanc'd their affairs much by assaulting their Enemies openly, and by setled Engagements, they resolv'd to supplant them by subtlety, and to that end to think of all ways imaginable to make a division among them, and insensibly to engage them in a Civil War within their own Country. This advice being receiv'd and generally approv'd of all their Priests, who are in very great esteem among them, and have Voices in their most important Assemblies, immediately fur∣nish'd them with expedients, and suggested to them the means, which were to this effect.

They had observ'd that those people who came in so slily and surpriz'd them in their own Country, were without Religion, and made no acknowledgment of any Divinity, whereto they conceiv'd themselves oblig'd to render any publick Service, and that they stood in fear only of a certain evil Spirit which they called Mabouya, because he sometimes tormented them; yet so as that in the mean time they did not do him any homage: Thence it came that for some years after their arrival, during which they had liv'd in good correspondence with them, they endeavour'd to induce them by their example to acknow∣ledge the Sun to be the sovereign Governour of the World, and to adore him as God. These Exhortations and Instructions had a great influence over the Spirits of the chiefest among the Caribbians, and had made strong impressions in them; so that having receiv'd the first Principles of that Religion while the time of their mutual correspondence continu'd, many left the Province of Amana wherein they had their habitations, and went into that of Bemarin, the principal Province of the Apa∣lachites, whence they ascended into the Mountain of Olaimi, upon which the Apalachites made their solemn Offerings; and upon their invitation the Caribbians had participated of those Cermonies and that Service: These Priests, whom the Apala∣chites call Jaouas, which is as much as to say, Men of God, knew that the seeds of Religion are not so easily smother'd in the hearts of men; and that, though the long Wars they had had with the Caribbians had hinder'd the exercise thereof, yet would it be no hard matter for them to blow up, as we may say, those sparks in them which lay hid under the ashes.

The Truce and Cessation of all acts of Hostility, which had been concluded between the two Nations, presented the Apa∣lachites with a favourable opportunity to prosecute their de∣sign; whereupon the Priests of the Sun advis'd, with the Kings Consent, that there should be a publication made among the

Caribbians, that at the beginning of the Month of March, which they call Naarim in their language, they would render a solemn Service in honour of the Sun, on the high Mountain; and that the said Service should be attended with Divertisements, Feast∣ing, and Presents, which they should liberally give to such as were present thereat. This Ceremony was no new thing among the Apalachites, so that the Caribbians could not suspect any circumvention, nor fear any surprise; for it was a very ancient custom among them to make extraordinary Prayers to the Sun at the beginning of the Month of Naarim, which is precisely the time that they have done sowing their Mais. That which they desire in this Service is, That the Sun would be pleas'd to cause that which they had recommended to his care, to spring, grow, and come to maturity. They have also the same solemnity in the Month of May, at which time they have got in their first Harvest, to render him thanks for the fruits they conceive that they have receiv'd from his hands. Besides, the Caribbians knew well enough, that during these Festivals the Apalachites hung up their Bows and Arrows; that it was accounted a hainous crime among them to go arm'd into their Temple, and to raise the least dispute there; and that during those days of Selemni∣ty, the greatest Enemies were commonly reconcil'd, and laid aside all enmity. In fine, they made not the least doubt but that the Publick Faith, and the promise solemnly made, would be inviolably observ'd.

Upon this assurance they dispose themselves to pass over into the Province of Bemarin at the time appointed; and that they might be thought to contribute somwhat on their part to the publick Solemnity, they dress themselves with all the brave∣ry and magnificence they could; and though that even then they were wont to go very lightly clad, and expose their bo∣dies almost naked, yet the more to accommodate themselves to the humours of their Neighbours, whom they were going to vi∣sit, they caused▪ all the Furs, spotted Skins, and Stuffs that they had, to be made into Cloaths: They forgot not also to cause their faces, their hands, and all those places of their bodies which lay expos'd to be seen, to be painted with a bright red; and they crown themselves with their richest Garland, interwo∣ven with the different plumage of several rare Birds of the Country. The Women for their parts, desirous to participate of this Solemnity, leave nothing undone that might contribute any thing to the adorning of themselves; the Chains of Shells of several colours, the Pendants, and the high Coifs enrich'd with the precious and glittering Stones which the Torrents bring down along with them out of the high Mountains, made them appear with extraordinary lustre. In this equipage the Caribbians, partly out of curiosity, partly out of the vanity to shew themselves, and some out of certain motives of Religon,

undertake that Pilgrimage: And that they might not raise any jealousie in those who had so kindly invited them, they leave their Bows, Arrows, and Clubs at the last Village within their Jurisdiction, and enter into the Province of Bemarin only with a walking stick, singing and dancing, as they are all of a merry and divertive disposition.

On the other side, the Apalachites expected them with great devotion, and answerably to the Orders they had to that pur∣pose receiv'd from their King, whose name was Teltlabin, and whose race commands at present among that people; they kindly entertain'd all those who came to the Sacrifice; nay, from the first entrance of the Caribbians into their Province, they treated them at all places as cordially as if they had been their Brethren, and that there had never been any difference between them: They feasted them all along the way, and conducted them up to the Royal City, which to this day they call Melilot, that is, the City of Councel, inasmuch as it is the habi∣tation of the King and his Court: The chiefest of the Caribbians were magnificently entertain'd at the Palace-Royal, and those of the common sort were receiv'd and treated by the Inhabi∣tants of the City, who spar'd no cost to heighten the satisfaction of their Guests.

The day dedicated to the sacrifice of the Sun being come, the King of the Apalachites with his Court, which was very much encreased by the arrival of the Caribbians, and a great number of the Inhabitants of the other Provinces, who were come up to the Feast, went up very betimes in the morning to the top of the Mountain of Olaimi, which is not a full league distant from the City: This Prince, according to the custome of the Country, was carried in a chair, on the shoulders of four tall men, attended by four others of the same height, who were to relieve the former when they were weary: There marched before him several persons playing on Flutes and o∣ther musical Instruments; with this pomp he came to the place appointed for the Assembly; and when the Ceremony was over, he made a great distribution of Cloaths and Furs, more than he had been accustomed to do upon such occasions be∣fore: But above all, his liberality was remarkable towards the most considerable persons among the Caribbians; and in imi∣tation of the Prince, the wealthiest of his people made pre∣sents in like manner to those of that Nation who had vouchsafed their solemn Sacrifice with their presence; so that most of the Caribbians return'd home well satisfy'd, and in better Liveries than they had brought thence with them: After they were come down from the Mountain, they were again treated and entertain'd with the greatest expressions of good will, in all the houses of the Apalachites, through whose habitations they were to return into their quarters: In fine, to encourage them

to a second visit, there were solemn protestations made to them from the King and his Officers, that they should be at all other times receiv'd with the like demonstrations of affection, if they were desirous to accompany them four times in the year to the celebration of the same Ceremonies.

The Caribbians being return'd into their Province could not make sufficient acknowledgments of the kind entertainment they had receiv'd: Those who had stay'd at home being ra∣vish'd to see the rich presents which their Country-men had brought home, immediately resolv'd to undertake the same pilgrimage at the next ensuing Feast: And the day on which it was to be drawing neer, there was so great a contestation a∣mong them who should go, that if their Cacick, or chief Cap∣tain, had not taken some course therein, the Province would have been destitute of Inhabitants: The Apalachites on the o∣ther side continu'd their entertainments and liberalities; and there was a certain emulation among them who should be most kind to the Caribbians: Their Priests, who knew what would be the issue of all this imposture, recommended nothing so much to them, as the continuation of those good Offices, which they said were very acceptable to the Sun.

Three years slipp'd away in these visits; at the end whereof the Apalachites, who had exhausted themselves in liberalities towards their Neighbours, perceiving they had gain'd extream∣ly upon their affections, and that the greatest part of them were grown so zealous for the service of the Sun, that nothing would be able to force out of their apprehensions the deep sen∣timents they had conceiv'd of his Divinity; resolv'd, upon the instigation of their Priests, for whose advice the King and all the people had great respects and submissions, to take oc∣casion from the expiration of the Truce to renew the war against the Caribbians, and to forbid them access to their Ce∣remonies, if they would not, as they did, make a publick pro∣fession of believing the Sun to be God, and perform the pro∣mise they had sometime made of acknowledging the King of the Apalachites for their Sovereign, and do homage to him for the Province of Amana, upon which account they had been admitted to be the Inhabitants thereof.

The Caribbians were divided about these proposals: For all those who were inclin'd to the adoration of the Sun, were of opinion, that satisfaction should be given to the Apalachites, affirming, that, though they were not oblig'd thereto by their promise, yet would there be an engagement to do it, though it were only to prevent their being depriv'd of the free exer∣cise of their Religion, and debar'd their presence at the sacri∣fices made to the Sun, which they could not abandon without much regret: The Cacick or chief Commander, and a great number of the most considerable among the Caribbians alledged

on the contrary, that they would not blast their reputation, and the glory of all their precedent Victories, by so shameful a peace, which, under pretence of Religion, would make them subject to the Apalachites; That they were free-born, and that, as such, they had left the place of their birth, and transplanted themselves into a better Country than their own, by force of Arms; That their greatest concernment was to endeavour the continuance of that precious liberty, and to cement it with their own blood, if occasion requir'd; That they were the same men who had sometime forc'd the Apalachites to resign upto them the most considerable of their Provinces, such a one as was the centre, and as it were the eye of their Country; That they had not remitted any thing of that generosity, and that that valour was so far from being extinguish'd, that on the contrary they had enlarg'd their jurisdiction by the acquest of a noble and spacious Country, which gave them passage beyond the Mountains, whereby they were surrounded before; That having thus remov'd out of the way whatever might obstruct their designs, it would be thought an insupportable cowardice in them, only under pretence of Religion, and out of pure curiosity of being present at Sacrifices, to quit the possession of what they had reduc'd under their power with so much trouble and bloodshed: In fine, that if any were desirous to adore the Sun, they needed not to go out of their own Terri∣tories to do it, since he shined as favourably in their Provinces as those of the Apalachites, and look'd on them every day as gra∣ciously as on any other part of the world; and if there were any necessity of consecrating a Mountain to him, or a Grot, they might find among those which separated their Country from the great Lake, some that were as high and as fit for those mysteries as that of Olaimi.

Those who maintained the service of the Sun, and were against engaging in a new war, which must be the sequel of refusing conditions which were as advantageous to them as to the Apalachites, made answer; that since they had for some years enjoy'd the sweetness of peace, and experienc'd upon so many occasions the kind entertainments and generosity of their Neighbours, it would be the greatest imprudence in the world to run themselves into new troubles, which they might avoid upon such easie terms, and that without any loss of the reputation they had acquir'd; That the acknowledgments which the Apalachites requir'd for the Province they were pos∣sessed of, might be such, and of so little importance, that it would not be any diminution of their Honour, or prejudice to their Authority; That as to what concern'd the Service and Sacrifices of the Sun, they were not furnish'd with such Priests as were instructed in that Science, and acquainted with the Ceremonies thereof; That it was much to be fear'd that if they

should undertake to imitate the Jaoüas of the Apalachites, they would, by the miscarriages likely to be committed therein, draw upon themselves the indignation of the Divinity which they would serve, instead of gaining its favour; That they had found upon enquiry, that there was not any Mountain in the whole Country so kindly look'd upon by the Sun, and so pleasant as that of Olaimi: Nor was there any other that had a Temple naturally made in the Rock, after so miraculous a manner, which was such, that all the art and industry of man could never bring to that perfection, and that it could be no other than the work of the beams of that Divinity which was there ador'd; That though it were suppos'd they might find out a Mountain and a Cave that came somewhat neer the other, which yet they thought impossible, it was questiona∣ble whether those Birds who were the Sun's Messengers would make their habitation there; And that the Fountain conse∣crated in honour of him, which wrought admirable effects, and unheard of cures, would be found there; And conse∣quently, that they should expose themselves to the derision of the Apalachites, who would still have occasion to make their brags of an infinite number of prerogatives peculiar to their ancient Temple and Service, which the new one they preten∣ded to build would never have. From all which considera∣tions the Religious party concluded, that their best course was to make a firm peace, that so they might have the conve∣nience of participating of the same Ceremonies for the fu∣ture, which they had frequented during the Truce.

But those who were resolv'd on the contrary side were so obstinate, that all those remonstrances prevail'd nothing upon them, nor could in the least divert them from the resolution they had taken never to acknowledge the Apalachites for their Sovereigns, nor lose their liberty under pretence of Re∣ligion and way of Worship, which their fore-fathers had been ignorant of: So that, in fine, this contrariety of sentiments made an absolute rupture among the Caribbians, so as to di∣vide them into two factions, as the Priests of the Apalachites had foreseen; whereupon being divided also in their Coun∣cels, they could not return an unanimous answer to the pro∣positions of peace or war which had been made to them by the Apalachites: But either party growing stronger and stronger daily, that which voted for an allyance with the Apalachites, and stood for the adoration of the Sun, became so powerful as to be in a condition to oblige the other either to embrace their opinion, or quit the Province.

It would be too tedious a Relation to set down here all the mischiefs and miseries which that Civil War brought among the Caribbians, who mutually destroy'd one the other, till at last, after many fights, the Apalachites joyning with that party

which carried on their Interest, the other was forced to quit the Provinces of Amana and Matica, and to find out a more setled habitation elsewhere.

The victorious Caribbians having, by the assistance of the Apalachites, rid themselves of those who were the disturbers of their Peace, fortified their Frontiers, and placed up and down on the avenues the most valiant and most generous of their Forces, to deprive the Banish'd of all hope of ever returning: That done, they contracted a most strict Alliance with the Apa∣lachites, submitting themselves to their Laws, embracing their Religion, and so making themselves one people with them; and that incorporation continues to this day; yet not so, but that those Caribbians do still retain their ancient name, as we have already observ'd in the beginning of this Chapter; as also many words which are common between them and the Inhabi∣tants of the Caribbies: Of this kind are, among an infinite number of others, the terms of Cakonnes, to express the little curiosities which are preserv'd for their rarity; that of Bouttou, to signifie a Club of a weighty kind of wood; that of Taumali, to express a certain picquancy or delightfulness of taste; that of Banaré, to signifie a familiar Friend; that of Etoutou, to de∣note an Enemy: They also call a Bow, Allouba; Arrows, Al∣louani; a great Pond, Taonaba; the evil Spirit, Mabouya; and the Soul of a Man, Akamboué; which are the proper terms which the Caribbian Inhabitants of the Islands make use of at the present to signifie the same things.

As concerning the Caribbians forc'd out of their Country by those of their own Nation, and driven out of the limits of their ancient Habitation, and all the places they had Conquer'd; having straggled up and down a while neer the River which derives its source from the great Lake, and endeavour'd to no purpose to enter into some Accommodation with the Inhabi∣tants of either side of it, they at last resolv'd to make their way through their Country, either by fair means or foul, and so to get into some place where they might perpetuate themselves, and make a secure establishment of what was left of them: With this resolution they made a shift to get to the Sea-side, where having met with a people which took compassion on their misery, they winter'd among them, and pass'd over that disconsolate Season in much want: And while they spent their time in continual regrets, for their loss of a Country so pleasant and fertile as that which they had liv'd in, and considered that they should never enjoy themselves in that whereto their mis∣fortune had cast them as Exiles, there arrived where they were, at the beginning of the Spring, two little Vessels, which came from the Islands called the Lucayos, and had been driven by the Winds into the Road neer which our Caribbians had pass'd over the Winter: There were in those two Vessels, which they call

Canows or Piragos, about thirteen or fourteen persons, Inhabi∣tants of Cigateo, one of the Lucayan Islands, who being got ashore, related to the natural Inhabitants of the Country how they had been forc'd thither by a Tempest; and among other things, they told wonders of the Islands where they liv'd, ad∣ding, that there were yet divers others beyond them, towards the Aequator, which lay desart, and were not inhabited, and those such as were accounted better then the others whereof they had given them an account: That for their parts, all they desired of the Inhabitants of the Country was only some Pro∣visions, and a little fresh Water, to enable them to get home to their own Country, from which they conceiv'd themselves to be distant not above four or five days Sailing.

The Caribbians, who were studying where to find out some new habitation, and extreamly troubled that they had no setled place, where they might no longer be expos'd to the in∣conveniences of a wandring kind of life, having heard so much of these Islands, and that they were not far from the Lucayas, resolv'd to make their advantage of the opportunity of those Guides, whom they had met with by so extraordinary a good fortune, to follow them, when they should depart thence, and after their arrival at home, to plant themselves in some of those desart Islands whereof they had given so advantagious an ac∣count.

They doubted not but that the execution of this enterprize would put a period to all their miseries: But there was yet a great obstacle lay in their way, which at firsst they knew not how to overcome, to wit, the want of Vessels to cross the Sea, and bring them to the places whereof they desir'd to possess themselves: The first Proposals were to fell down Trees, and to make them hollow with fire, as other Nations did, nay that among whom they then were: But that expedient requir'd a long time to compass it, while in the interim, those whom they hoped to have for their Conductors would be gone: Where∣upon they thought it the surest way to find out Vessels ready made: To that end they resolv'd in the night time to seize on all those which the Nations of the neighbouring Creeks, and and such as liv'd neer the Rivers which fall thereabouts into the Sea, had ready in their Ports, and in condition fit for the Sea. The day being come for the departure of the Lucayans, who were to be their Guides, our Caribbians who had furnish'd themselves before-hand with all necessary provisions, met toge∣ther the most secretly they could, along the River-sides and neer the Ports, and having possess'd themselves of all the Ca∣nows or Vessels they met with, joyn'd with the Lucayans, with whom, without taking any leave of their Hosts, they set Sail for the Lucayas.

The Wind having prov'd favourable to these Fugitives, they

got in a few days to Cigateo, where they were very civilly en∣tertain'd by the Inhabitants, who, having supply'd them with all necessary refreshments, conducted them to the most remote of their Islands, and thence gave them a Convoy to bring them to the next of the desart Islands whereof they had given them a relation, which they call'd Ayay, but it is now call'd Santa Cruz: In their passage they sail'd by the Island of Boriquen, now call'd Porto-Rico, which was inhabited by a very powerful Nation.

It was then in the said Island of Ayay that our Caribbians laid the first foundations of their Colony, and where enjoying an undisturbed Peace, which made them forget all precedent mis∣fortunes, they multipli'd so, that within a few years they were forc'd to spread themselves into all the other Islands now known by the name of the Caribbbies: And some Ages after, having possess'd themselves of all the inhabitable Islands, they transported themselves into the Continent of the Meridional part of America, where they have at this day many great and nu∣merous Colonies, wherein they are so well setled, that though the Yaos, the Sappayos, the Paragotis, the Arouacas or Arouagues, who are their Neighbours in the Island of Trinity, and the Pro∣vinces of Orinoca, have often attempted to force them out of their habitations, and engag'd against them with all their For∣ces, yet do they still continue in them in a flourishing conditi∣on, and entertain so good a correspondence and so perfect a friendship with our Caribbians, the Inhabitants of the Islands, that these latter march out once or twice a year to their relief, joyning all together with the Calibites, their Friends and Con∣federates, against the Arouagues, and other Nations, their com∣mon Enemies.

There is yet another Story concerning the origine of the In∣sulary Caribbians, which is, That they are descended from their Confederates the Calibites; and we are apt to believe somwhat of it may be true, as being the only account which most of them can give of themselves: For these Caribbians being less pow∣erful then the Calibites, when they first came among them into the Continent, and having afterwards enter'd into Alliance with them by Marriages and common concernments, they made up together but one people, and so there ensu'd a mutual com∣munication of Language and particular Customs: And thence it comes that a great part of the Caribbians, having forgot their first origine, would have it believ'd that they are descended from the Calibites: And it is to be presum'd, that it being out of all memory of man, when their Predecessors came from the Northern parts into these Islands, they have not any knowledg of their Native Country, which having cast them out of her bosom, and treated them as Rebels, was not so far regretted by those poor Fugitives, as that they should be over-careful

to preserve the memory of it. On the contrary, it is credible, that the sooner to forget the miseries they had suffer'd, they ef∣fac'd the sad ideas therof as much as they could, and were glad of any other Origine: It may be also, that when the Caribbians first enter'd the Islands, upon their coming from the North, they were not so destitute of Inhabitants, but that there were here and there some Families which might have pass'd over thither from the Islands of Hispaniola or Porto-Rico, which they de∣stroy'd, reserving only the Women, whom they might make use of for the propagation of their Colony: And of this there is yet a greater probability, in that these Caribbians being banish'd from among the Apalachites, and by War forc'd to leave the Country to the victorious Party, many of their Wives staid behind among the Apalachites, and the rest of their own Nati∣on who had joyn'd with them: And thence possibly may pro∣ceed the difference there is between the Language of the Men and that of the Women amongst the Caribbians.

But to give a more particular account of those Colonies of the Caribbians which are in the Meridional Continent of America, in the first place, the Relations of those who have entred into the famous River of Orenoca, distant from the Line, Northward, eight degrees and fifty minutes, affirm, that at a great distance within the Country, there live certain Ca∣ribbians who might easily have pass'd over thither from the Island of Tabago, which, of all the Caribbies, is the neerest to that Continent.

The Dutch Relations acquaint us, that, advancing yet fur∣ther towards the Aequator, there lies, at seven degrees from that Line, the great and famous River of Essequeba, neer which are planted first the Aroüagues, and next to them the Caribbians, who are continually in war with them, and have their habita∣tions above the falls of that River, which descend with great violence from the Mountains; and thence these Caribbians reach to the source of the same River, and are very numerous, and possess'd of a vast territory.

The same Travellers relate, that within six degrees of the Line lies the River Sarname, or Suriname, into which falls ano∣ther River named Ikouteca, all along which there are many Villages inhabited by Caribbians.

There is besides a numerous people of the same Nation, Inhabitants of a Country which reaches a great way into the Continent, the coasts whereof extend to the fifth and sixth degree North of the Aequator, scituate along a fair and great River named Marouyne, about eighteen Leagues distant from that of Sarname, which from its source crosses up and down above two hundred leagues of Country, in which there are ma∣ny Villages inhabited by Caribbians; who, observing the same custome with the Islanders, make choice of the most valiant

among them for their Cacicks, or Commanders in chief, and are somewhat of a higher stature than those Inhabitants of the Caribbies, yet not differing much from them, save only that some of them cover their privy parts with a piece of cloth, but ra∣ther for ornament, than out of any consideration of shame or modesty: Those therefore who have travell'd into those Countries affirm, that, from the mouth of the River Marouyne, which lies at five degrees and forty five minutes of the Line to the North, to the source of it, there are twenty days sail, and that all along it the Caribbians have their Villages like those of our Islanders.

We observe further out of the Voyages of some Dutch, that the Inhabitants of that Continent, through which the River of Cayenna makes its passage into the Ocean, are naturally Caribbians.

In fine, it is not impossible but that these Caribbians might cross those Countries as far as Brasil; for those who have made voyages thither, affirm, that among the Provinces, which lie along the coasts of the South-Sea, there are some people, com∣monly known by the name of Caribbians; and that being of a more hardy and daring constitution, as also more apprehensive and subtle than the other Indians, Inhabitants of Brasil, they are so highly esteemed among them, that they conceive them to be endu'd with a more excellent kind of knowledge than the others; whence it comes that they have a great submission for their Counsels, and desire them to preside at all their Festi∣vals and rejoicings, which they seldom celebrate without the presence of some one of these Caribbians, who upon that ac∣count take their progress up and down the Villages, where they are receiv'd with acclamations, entertainments and great kindness, as John de Lery hath observ'd.

Were it necessary to produce any further confirmation to prove that these Caribbians, scattered into so many places of the Continent of the Meridional part of America, are of the same Nation with the Islanders, we might alledge what is una∣nimously affirm'd by the two Dutch Colonies planted in those coasts, to wit, those of Cayenna and Berbica, both neighbours to the Caribbians of the Continent, to shew the conformity and resemblance there is in many things, as constitution, man∣ners, customs, &c. between them and the Indian Inhabitants of the Caribbies, of whom we shall give an account hereafter: But it is time we conclude this chapter, which is already grown to a great length; yet could it not be divided, by reason of the uniformity and connexion of the matter.

Yet have we a word further to add, in answer to a question, which the curiosity of some person might haply take occasion to start, which is, How long it may be since the Caribbians came out of Florida into these Islands? We must acknowledge

there can no certain account be given of it, inasmuch as these Nations have commonly no other Annals than their own me∣mories: But in regard those people ordinarily live two hun∣dred years, it is not to be thought strange that the occurrences happening among them, should be transmitted to posterity to three or four Generations. And to confirm this, we may aver that there are many men and women among them who can give an exact account of the first arrival of the Spaniards in America, as if it had happened but yesterday: So that the re∣membrance of the departure of the Caribbians out of Florida, and the wars they have had there, being yet fresh among the Apalachites, those who have heard them discourse, conjecture that it may be about five hundred years since those things came to pass. But if it be further question'd, why they did not en∣deavour to make their way back again into Florida, to be re∣veng'd of the Apalachites, and those of their own Nation, who had forc'd them thence, especially after they had multiply'd and recruited themselves so powerfully in the Islands? it may be answered, That the difficulty of Navigation, which is very easie from the Caribbies to Florida, but very dangerous from Florida to the Caribbies, the winds being commonly contrary, chill'd the earnestness they might have to make any such at∣tempt. In the next place it is to be noted, that the air of the Islands being warmer, and the soil as good, and in all appea∣rance more suitable to their constitution than that of Florida, they apprehended, that those who had forc'd them thence, had, contrary to their intentions, procur'd them a greater hap∣piness than they could have desir'd, and, thinking to make them miserable, had made them fortunate in their exile.

CHAP. VIII. By way of Digression giving an account of the Apala∣chites, the Nature of their Country, their Manners, and their ancient and modern Religion.

SInce we have had occasion to speak so much concerning the Apalachites, and that above one half of the ancient Caribbi∣ans, after the expulsion of those among them who would not adore the Sun, have to this present made up one people and one Common-wealth with those Apalachites, it will be conso∣nant to our design, especially since the subject thereof is rare and little known, if we give some account of the nature of their Country, and the most remarkable things that are in it; as also of the manners of the Inhabitants, the Religion they

have had heretofore, and that which they profess at this day, as we have the particulars thereof from the English, who have traded among them, and have not long since laid the founda∣tions of a Colony in the midst of the noblest, and best known of their Provinces.

The Territories of the Apalachites consist of six Provinces, whereof three are comprehended within that noble and spaci∣ous Vale which is encompass'd by the Mountains of the Apa∣lates, at the foot whereof these people inhabit: The most considerable of those Provinces, and which lies towards the East, wherein the King keeps his Court; is called Bemarin: That which is in the midst, and as it were in the centre of the three, is called Amani or Amana: And the third of those which are within that Vale, is known by the name of Matica. True it is, that this last, which begins in the Vale, reaches a great way into the Mountains, nay goes yet much beyond, even to the South-side of the great Lake, which they call Theomi: The other Provinces are Schama and Meraco, which are in the Apalatean Mountains; and Achalaques, which is partly in the Mountains, and partly in the Plain, and com∣prehends all the Marshes and Fenny places, confining on the great Lake Theomi, on the North-side.

The Country under the King of the Apalachites being thus divided into six Provinces, there are in it some Mountains of a vast extent and prodigious height, which are for the most part inhabited by a people living only upon what they get by hunting, there being great store of wild beasts in those Wil∣dernesses: Besides which, there are also certain Vales, which are peopled by a Nation that is less barbarous, such as addicts it self to the cultivation of the earth, and is sustain'd by the fruits it produces: And lastly, there are abundance of Marshes and Fenny places, and a great Lake, whereof the Inhabitants are very numerous, maintaining themselves by fishing, and what the little good ground they have furnishes them with∣all.

The three Provinces which are within the Vale, which, as we said in the precedent Chapter, is sixty leagues in length, and about ten more in bredth, lie as it were in a Champion Country, save only, that in some places there are certain ri∣sings and eminences, on which the Towns and Villages are commonly built; many little Rivers, which descend from the Mountains, and abound in Fish, cross it up and down in seve∣ral places: That part of it which is not reduc'd to culture is well furnish'd with fair trees of an excessive height: For in∣stance, there are Cedars, Cypress, Pines, Oaks, Panamas, which the French call Saxafras, and an infinite variety of others which have no proper names among us.

As concerning the Fruit-trees of this Country, besides Chest∣nut

and Walnut-Trees, which grow naturally there, the En∣glish who have planted themselves in those parts, as we shall relate more at large towards the end of this Chapter, have planted Orange-trees, sweet and sharp Citrons, Lemons, se∣veral sorts of Apples and Pears, and divers Stones, as of Plumbs, Cherries, and Apricocks, which have thriv'd and multi∣plied so, that in some places of this Country there are more Eu∣ropean fruits then in any other part of America.

There is also good store of those lesser sort of Trees which bear leaves or flowers of sweet scent, such as Laurel, Jessemine, Roses, Rosemary, and all those others that are so ornamental in the Garden: Nor is there any want of Pinks, Carnations, Tu∣lips, Violets, Lillies, and all the other Flowers which adorn Knots and Borders.

Pot-herbs also, and all sorts of Pulse and Roots, thrive very well there: Citruls, Cucumbers, and Melons are common all Summer long, and as well tasted as those which grow in any part of the Caribbies.

Strawberries and Raspberries grow in the Woods without any culture: They have also Small-nuts, Gooseberries, and an infinite variety of other small Fruits, which in their degree contribute to the delight and refreshment of the Inhabitants.

The Wheat, Barly, Rie, and Oats which some sow'd there at several Seasons, and in different Soils, hath grown only to the blade; but in requital, there grows every where such abun∣dance of small Millet, Lentils, Chick-pease, Fetches, and Mais, or Turkish Wheat, which are sown and harvested twice a year, that the Inhabitants of the Plain Country have enough to supply those who live towards the Mountains, who bring them in exchange several sorts of Furs. The Lands that are sown with Turkish Wheat are enclos'd with Quick-set Hedges, planted on both sides with Fruit-trees, most whereof are co∣ver'd with wild Vines, which grow at the foot of the Trees.

As to the Volatiles of this Country, there are Turkeys, Pintadoes, Parrots, Woodquists, Turtles, Birds of prey, Eagles, Geese, Ducks, Herons, white Sparrows, Tonatzuli, a kind of bird that sings as sweetly as the Nightingal, and is of an excellent plumage; and abundance of other Birds commonly seen neer Rivers and in the Forests, quite different from those that are seen in other parts of the World.

The Apalachites have no knowledge at all of Sea-fish, as be∣ing at too great a distance from the Coasts; but they take abun∣dance in the Rivers and Lakes, which are extreamly nourish∣ing, of an excellent taste, and much about the bigness and in figure somwhat like our Pikes, Carps, Perches, and Barbels: They also take Castors and Bevers neer the great Rivers, Lakes, and Pools; they eat the flesh of them, and make Furs of the Skins, for Winter-caps and other uses.

There is no venemous creature nor any wild beast in the lower part of the Country; for the Inhabitants of the Moun∣tains, who are expert Huntsmen, drive them into the Forests, where they find them continual work and sport: So that the flocks of sheep, and herds of cattel and swine graze up and down the skirts of the Mountains without any body to look after them. But within the woods, and in the desarts, which are not much frequented by men, there are divers Monstrous and dangerous Reptiles, as also Bears, Tygers, Lions, Wolves, and some other kinds of cruel Beasts, which live by prey, and are particular to those Countries.

The men in these Countries are for the most part of high stature, of an Olive-colour, and well proportion'd, their hair black and long: Both men and women are very neat and cu∣rious in keeping their hair clean and handsomely order'd: The women tie up theirs about the crown of the head after the form of a Garland; and the men dispose theirs behind the ears: But upon days of publick rejoicing, all have their hair loose, dishevel'd, and dangling over their shoulders; a fashion becomes them well. The Inhabitants of those Provinces that lie towards and among the Mountains, cut off all the hair on the left side of the head, that so they may the more easily draw their Bows, and they order that which grows on the other side, so as to make a crest standing over the right ear: Most of them wear neither Caps nor any thing instead of Shoes, but they cover the body with the skins of Bears or Tygers, neatly sown together, and cut after the fashion of close coats, which reach down to their knees, and the sleeves are so short that they come not over the elbow.

The Inhabitants of the other Provinces which are seated in the Vales and Plains, went heretofore naked from the Na∣vel upwards, in the Summer-time, and in Winter, they wore garments of Furrs; but now both men and women are clad all the year long: In the hottest seasons, they have light cloaths, made of cotton, wooll, or a certain herb, of which they make a thred as strong as that of Flax: The women have the art of spinning all these materials; and weaving them into several kinds of stuffs, which are lasting; and delightful to the eie. But in the winter, which many times is hard enough, they are all clad in several kinds of skins, which they have the skill to dress well enough: They leave the hair on some, and so make use of them as Furs: They have also the art of tanning Ox-hides, and other skins, and making Shoes and Boots of them.

The men wear Caps made of Otter-skins, which are perfectly black and glittering, pointed before, and set out behind with some rich feathers, which hanging down over their shoulders make them look very gracefully: but the women have no

other ornament about the head, but what is deriv'd from the several dresses of their hair: They make holes in their ears, and wear pendants of Chrystal, or made of a certain smooth stone they have, which is of as bright a green as that of an Emrald: Of the same materials they also make great Neck∣laces, which they wear when they would appear in state: They make great account of Corral, Chrystal, and yellow Am∣ber, which are brought to them by Strangers; and they are only the Wives of the principal Officers that have Bracelets and Necklaces made of them: Though there be some Spanish and English Families among them, yet have they not alter'd any thing either as to their Cloaths or course of Life.

The ordinary sort of people wear only a close coat without sleeves, over a thin garment of Goat-skins, which serves them for shirts: The Coat which comes down to the calf of the leg, is ty'd about the wast with a leathern girdle, which is set out with some little embroidery: But the Officers and Heads of Families wear over that a kind of short Cloak, which co∣vers only the back and the arms, though behind it falls down to the ground: This Cloak is fasten'd with strong leathern points, which make it fast under the neck, and lye close to the shoulders: The womens garments are of the same fashion with those of the men, save that those of the former come down to the ankles, and the Cloak hath two open places on the sides, through which they put forth their arms.

To keep themselves clear of Vermine, they often wash their bodies with the juice of a certain root, which is of as sweet a scent as the Flower-de-luce of Florence, and hath this further vertue, that it makes the nerves more supple, and fortifies and causes a smoothness all over the body, and communicates an extraordinary delightful scent thereto.

The Cities of the three Provinces that are in the spacious Plain, which is at the foot of the Mountains, are encompassed on the outside by a large and deep Moat, which on the inside, instead of wals, is all planted with great posts pointed at the top, thrust a good depth into the ground; or sometimes with quick-set hedges intermixt with very sharp thorns; they are commonly about five or six foot in bredth: The Gates are small and narrow, and are made fast with little pieces of wood, which lie cross between small ramperts of earth that are on both sides, and which command the avenues: There are commonly but two Gates to every City; to enter in at them, a man must pass over a bridge so narrow, that two men cannot well march on a front upon it: The Bridge is built upon piles, which sustain certain planks, which they draw up in the night when they fear the least trouble.

It is seldom seen that there is above one City in every Pro∣vince; nay there are some that have not above eight hundred

houses in them: The Metropolis of the Country, which is cal∣led Melilot, hath above two thousand; they are all built of pieces of wood planted into the ground and joined one to ano∣ther: The covering is for the most part of the leaves of reeds, grass, or rushes: Those of the Captains are done over with a certain Mastick, which keeps off the rain, and preserves the thatch from decaying in many years: The floors of all the houses is of the same material, whereto they add a certain gol∣den sand which they get out of the neighbouring Mountains, and which gives such a lustre as if they were sown with little spangles of Gold.

The Rooms of the ordinary sort of people are hung only with a kind of Mat, made of Plantane-leaves and rushes, which they have the art of dying into several colours; those of persons considerable among them, are hung with pre∣cious Furs, or Deer-skins painted with divers figures, or with a kind of Tapistry made of Birds-feathers, which they so in∣dustriously intermingle, that it seems to be embroidered: Their Beds are about a foot and a half from the ground, and are co∣ver'd with skins that are dress'd, and as soft as can be wish'd: These skins are commonly painted with Flowers, Fruits, and a hundred such inventions, and their colours are so well set on and so lively, that at a distance one would take them for rich Tapistry: The wealtheir sort in the winter time have their beds covered with the skins of Martins, Beavers, or white Foxes, which are so well dress'd, and perfum'd with such artifice, that they never admit any thing of ordure: The Officers and all the most considerable Inhabitants lie on Mattresses fill'd with a certain down that grows on a little plant, and is as soft as silk; but the common people take their rest on dry'd sern, which hath the property of taking away the weariness of the body, and retriving the forces exhausted by hunting, gardening, and all the other painful exercises consequent to their course of life.

The Vessels they use in their houses are either of wood or earth, enamel'd with divers colours, and very delightfully painted: They sharpen upon stones the teeth of several wild beasts, and therewith arm their Arrows and Lances: Before strangers came among them and traded in their Country, they knew not there was such a thing as Iron; but they made use of extraordinary hard and sharp stones instead of wedges, and certain smooth and cutting bones, instead of knives.

They all live very amicably together under the conduct of a King, who keeps his Court at Melilot, the Metropolis of the Kingdome: In every City there is a Governour, and other subordinate Officers, who are appointed by him, and chang'd at his pleasure, as he thinks most convenient: The Villages also have Captains and heads of Families, by whom they are

governed. All immoveable goods are common among these people, and excepting only their houses, and the little gardens belonging to them, they have no propriety in any thing: they carry on the business of Agriculture in common, and they share the fruits of the earth among themselves: At sowing-time the Governors and their Officers oversee the work; and at that time all those who are of age to do any thing abroad, go out be∣times in the morning to their work, and continue there till the evening, at which time they return to their Towns and Villages to take their rest: While they are at work, it is the business of their Chiefs to provide them somewhat extraordi∣nary in meat and drink: They dispose their Harvest into the publick Granaries, which are in the midst of their Towns and Villages; and at every full Moon, and at every new Moon, those who are entrusted with the distribution thereof, supply every Family, according to the number of persons whereof it consists, with as much as will suffice.

They are a temperate people, and hate all kind of voluptu∣ousness, and whatever tends to effeminacy: And though Vines grow naturally in their Country, yet do they not make any wine but what is requisite for the divine service: Fair water is their ordinary drink, but at great entertainments, they make use of a pleasant kind of Beer, which is made of Turkey wheat: They also have the art of making an excellent kind of Hydro∣mel, or Mead, which they keep in great earthen vessels: The great abundance of honey which they find among the Rocks, and in the clefts of hollow trees, supplies them with that whereof they make that delicious drink, which is such as may well pass for Sack, especially after it hath been kept a long time.

Those of the same Family live so lovingly together, that there are among them some houses where an old man hath his children, and his children's children, to the third, nay some∣times to the fourth generation, all living under the same roof, to the number of a hundred persons, and sometimes more. Most of the other Nations of the Septentrional part of Ame∣rica who inhabit along the Sea-coast, are so slothful, that in the winter time they are in great want, because they had not sown any thing when the time served, or had consumed the fruits of the precedent harvest in extraordinary entertain∣ments and debauches: But the Apalachites hate nothing so much as idleness, and they are so addicted to pains-taking, that the fruits of the earth, being answerable to their labour, and be∣ing distributed with prudence and moderation, maintain them plentifully, nay so that they can, in case of necessity, assist their Neighbours the Inhabitants of the Mountains: Both men and women are perpetually employ'd, after seed-time and harvest, in spinning of Cotton, Wooll, and a certain Herb, which is soft

and strong, for the making of cloth, and several ordinary sorts of stuffs, wherewith they cover themselves: Some among them employ themselves in making of earthen ware; others in ma∣king Tapistry of the plumage of Birds; others, in making of Baskets, Panniers, and other little pieces of houshold-stuff, which they do with a strange industry.

They are of a very loving and obliging disposition: And whereas their distance from the Sea exempts them from being subject to receive any displeasure from Strangers, they are in like manner ignorant what entertainments to make them, when they chance to visit them, and are never weary of expressing all manner of friendship towards them: They are docible and susceptible of all sorts of good disciplines; but they have this discommendable in them, that they are very obstinate in their opinions, easily angred, and much addicted to revenge, when they are convinc'd that they have been injur'd: They are ex∣treamly apt to give credit to their dreams, and they have some old dotards among them, who openly make it their business to interpret them, and foretell what things shall happen after them.

They have had a long continuance of peace; however they think it prudence to stand always upon their guard, and they have always Sentinels at the avenues of their Cities, to prevent the incursions of a certain savage and extreamly cruel people, which hath no setled habitation, but wander up and down the Provinces with an incredible swiftness, making havock where-ever they come, especially where they find no resi∣stance.

The Arms of the Apalachites are, the Bow, the Club, the Sling, and a kind of great Javelin, which they dart out of their hands, when they have spent all their Arrows: And whereas those that inhabit towards the woods and in the Mountains, live only by hunting, continual exercise makes them so expert in shooting with the Bow, that the King, who alwaies hath a Company of them about his person, hath no greater diversion than to see them shoot at a mark for some prize, which he gives him who in fewest shots came to the place assign'd, or hath shot down a Crown set up upon the top of a Tree.

They are passionate lovers of Musick, and all instruments that make any kind of harmony, insomuch that there's very few among them but can play on the Flute, and a kind of Hawboy, which being of several bigness, make a passably good harmo∣ny, and render a sound that is very melodious: They are migh∣tily given to dancing, capering, and making a thousand postures, whereby they are of opinion they disburthen themselves of all their bad humours, and that they acquire a great activity and suppleness of body, and a wonderful swiftness in running. They heretofore celebrated solemn dances at the end of every

harvest, and after they had made their Offerings to the Sun upon the Mountain of Olaimi; but now they have no set and appointed time for these divertisements.

Their voice is naturally good, mild, flexible, and pleasant; whence it comes that many among them make it their endea∣vour to imitate the singing and chirping of Birds; wherein they are for the most part so fortunate, that like so many Or∣pheus's they entice out of the woods to follow them, those Birds which think they hear only those of their own species: They do also by singing alleviate the hard labour they are ad∣dicted unto, and yet what they do, seems to be done rather out of divertisement, and to avoid idleness, than out of any consideration of advantage that they make thereof.

Their Language is very smooth, and very plentiful in com∣parisons: That spoken by the Captains and all persons of quality, is more elegant and fuller of flourishes than that of the common sort of people: Their expressions are very precise, and their periods short enough: While they are yet children, they learn several songs, made by the Jaouas in honour and commendation of the Sun; they are also acquainted with se∣veral other little pieces of Poetry, wherein they have com∣prehended the most memorable exploits of their Kings, out of a design to perpetuate the memory thereof among them, and the more easily transmit it to their posterity.

All the Provinces which acknowledge the King of Apala∣cha for their Sovereign, understand the language commonly spoken in his Court; yet does not this hinder but that each of them hath a particular dialect of its own, whence it comes that the language of some, is in some things different from that of others of the Inhabitants: The Provinces of Amana and Matica, in which there are to this day many Caribbian Fami∣lies, have retained to this present many words of the ancient idiome of these people, which confirms what we have laid down for a certain assertion, to wit, that being known by the same name, and having many expressions common to them with the Inhabitants of the Caribby-Islands, those Families have also the same origine with them, as we have represented in the pre∣cedent chapter.

They heretofore adored the Sun, and had their Priests, whom they called Jaouas, who were very superstitious in ren∣dring to him the service which they had invented in honour of him: their perswasion was, that the raies of the Sun gave life to all things; that they dried up the earth; and that once the Sun having continued four and twenty hours under an eclipse, the earth had been overflown; and that the great Lake which they call Theomi, was rais'd as high as the tops of the highest Mountains that encompass it; but that the Sun having reco∣vered the eclipse, had, by his presence, forc'd the waters to

return into their abysses; that only the Mountain dedicated to his honour, and wherein his Temple was, was preserv'd from that deluge; and that their Predecessors, and all the beasts which are at present in the woods and upon the earth, having retir'd to the said Mountain, were preserv'd for the repopulation and recruit of the whole earth: So that they conceive themselves to be the most ancient people of the world; And they affirm, that from that time they have ac∣knowledg'd the Sun for their God.

They were of opinion, that thé Sun had built himself the Temple which is in the Mountain of Olaimi, the ascent where∣of is distant from the City of Melilot somewhat less than a league; and that the Tonatzuli (which are certain little birds about the bigness of a Quail, and whose bellies and wings are of a bright yellow, the back of a sky-colour, and the head of a plumage, partly red, and partly white) are the messen∣gers and children of the Sun, which alwaies celebrate his praises.

The service they rendred the Sun consisted in saluting him at his rising, and singing hymns in honour of him: They ob∣served the same Ceremonies also in the evening, entreating him to return, and to bring the day along with him: And be∣sides this daily service which every one performed at the door of his house, they had also another publick and solemn service, which consisted in sacrifices and offerings, and was perform'd by the Jaouas, four times in the year, to wit, at the two seed-times, and after the two harvests, upon the Mountain of Olaimi, with great pomp, and a general concourse of all the Inhabitants of the six Provinces.

This Mountain of Olaimi is seated, as we said before, in the Province of Bemarin, about a league distant from the Royal City of Melilot; but there is about another league of ascent and winding from the foot of it, ere a man can get to the top of it: It is certainly one of the most pleasant and most mira∣culous Mountains in the world: Its figure is perfectly round, and the natural descent extream steepy; but to facilitate the access thereof to such as are to go up, they have cut a good broad way all about it, and there are here and there several resting places gain'd out of the Rock, like so many neeches: All the circumference of it, from the foot to within two hundred paces of the top, is naturally planted with goodly trees of Saxafras, Cedar, and Cypress, and several others from which there issue Rosins, and Aromatick gums, of a very delightful scent: On the top of it there is a spacious plain, smooth and eaven all over, and somewhat better than a league in compass; it is covered with a delightful green livery of a short and small grass, which is intermixt with Thyme, Marjoram, and other sweet smelling herbs: And it was upon the top of this Moun∣tain,

and upon this pleasant verdure that the people stood, while the Priests of the Sun performed the divine service.

The place which serv'd them for a Temple, is a large and spacious Grott, or Cave, which is naturally cut in the Rock, on the East-side of the Mountain: It hath a vast and large mouth, as the entrance of a magnificent Temple: As soon as the Sun is risen, he darts his rays on that entrance, which hath before it a fair and spacious square place, which a man would say were made by art in the Rock: And there it is that the Jaouas, the Priests of the Sun, stay expecting his rising to begin their or∣dinary Ceremonies on Festival days. This Cave within is oval, two hundred foot in length, and proportionably broad: The Vault, which is naturally cut in the Rock, rises up circu∣larly from the ground to about a hundred foot high: There is just in the midst of it a great hole, or Lanthorn, which en∣lightens it from the top of the Mountain: This Lanthorn is encompass'd with great stones, laid close together to prevent peoples falling in: The Vault on the inside is perfectly white, and the surface cover'd with a certain Salt-peter, which a man might take for white Coral diverfy'd into several different figures; the whole compass of it is of the same lustre: The floor of it is also extreamly eaven and smooth, as if it were all of one piece of marble. In fine, the greatest ornament of this Temple consists in its perfect whiteness: At the bottom of it there is a great Basin or Cistern, just over against the entrance, which is full of a very clear water, which perpetually distilling out of the Rock, is receiv'd into that place. Just in the mid∣dle of this Temple, directly under the Lanthorn which en∣lightens it, there is a great Altar all of one stone, of a round figure, three foot in height from the floor, and sustain'd by a short pillar, which Altar and the Pedestal seem to have been cut out of the place where it stands, that being in all probabi∣lity a piece of a Rock which jutted out upon the floor of that miraculous Cave.

The Sacrifices which the Jaouas offered to the Sun, consisted not in the effusion of mans blood, or that of some certain beasts; for they were of a perswasion, that the Sun, giving life to all things, would not be pleas'd with a service that should deprive those creatures of the life which he had bestow'd on them; but the Sacrifice consisted only in Songs, which they had com∣pos'd in honour of him, as also in the perfumes of certain aro∣matical drugs, which they appointed to be burnt on his Altar, and in the offerings of garments, which the rich presented by the hands of the Priests, to be afterwards distributed among the poorer sort of people.

All this Ceremony, which was performed four times a year, lasted from Sun-rising till noon, at which time the Assembly was dismiss'd: The Priests went up to the Mountain on the

Eve of every Festival, to prepare themselves for that solemn Action; and the people, which came thither from all the Pro∣vinces, were there present some time before Sun-rising. The way which led up to the Mountain was enlightned by great Fires, which were kept in all that Night, for the convenience of those who went thither to adore. All the people remain'd without upon the Mountain, and none but the Priests durst come neer the Grot, which serv'd them for a Temple. Those who brought any Garments to be distributed to the poor, presented them to the Priests who stood at the entrance, and they hung them on the Poles which were on both sides of the Portal, where they remained till after the Service, and then they were distributed among the poor, as were also the other presents which the rich offered, and which were in like manner kept till the same time: Those also who brought Perfumes to burn on the Altar, deliver'd their presents to the Priests.

As soon as the Sun began to appear, the Priests who stood be∣fore the Temple began their Songs and Hymns, adoring him several times on their knees; then they went one after another to cast the Incense and Perfume which they had in their hands upon the Fire, which they had before kindled on the Altar, as also upon a great Stone which stood before the entrance of the Grot: This Ceremony being ended, the chiefest of the Priests powr'd some Honey into a hollow Stone, made somwhat like those Stones wherein the Holy-water stands in some places, which Stone stood also before this Temple; and into another, which was of the same figure and the same matter, he put some corns of Turkey-wheat a little bruis'd, and destitute of their outward Shell, as also some other small grains, which the Birds consecrated to the Sun, called the Tonatzuli, do greedily feed upon: These Birds, whereof there are great numbers in the Woods which lie round about this Mountain, were so ac∣customed to find these. Treatments which were prepar'd for them in that place, that they fail'd not to come there in great companies as soon as the Assembly was retir'd.

While the Priests continu'd burning the perfume, and cele∣brating the praises of the Sun, the People who were upon the Mountain having made several bowings at the rising of the Sun, entertain'd themselves afterwards in some kinds of recreation, dances, and songs, which they sung in honour of him; and af∣terwards sitting down on the grass, every one fell to what he had brought along with him for his Viaticum.

Thus they continu'd there till noon; but when it came neer that time, the Priests, quitting the gate of the Temple, went into the body of it, and disposing themselves about the Altar, which stood in the midst, they began to sing afresh: Then as soon as the Sun began to cast his golden beams on the border of the opening or Lanthorn, under which the Altar was ere∣cted,

they put Incense and other perfumes upon the fire which they had kindled the night before, and very carefully kept in upon that Altar: Having ended their Songs, and consum'd all their Perfumes, they all retir'd to the entrance of the Temple, before the Gate, excepting only six, who remain'd neer the Al∣tar; and while those who stood at the entrance lift up their Voices more then ordinary, the others who remain'd at the Al∣tar let go out of their hands, at the same time, every one six of the Tonatzuli, which they had brought thither, and kept in Cages for that purpose: These Birds having flown about the Temple, and finding the entrance possessed by the Priests, who were at the Gate with Boughs in their hands, and frighted them with their Voices, took their flight out at the open place in the midst of the Temple; and after they had flown about a while, the Assembly which was upon the Mountain entertain'd them with loud cries of rejoycing, as accounting them to have put a period to the Ceremony, and looking on them as the Children and Messengers of the Sun, they immediately got into the Woods.

As soon as these Birds were gone the people march'd down in order from the Mountain, and passing neer the Temple, the Priests, who were still in their Office, caus'd them to enter into it; and after they had washed their hands and their faces in the Fountain, they order'd them to go out at the same en∣trance, which was divided by a small partition, purposely made there to prevent confusion and disorder: Then at their coming out they took another way, which led them into the Road that conducted to the Mountain, and was the same by which they had ascended; and so every one made towards his own home.

The poor, whereof the Priests had a Catalogue, staid till all the rest were gone, and receiv'd from their hands the Gar∣ments, and all the other Presents which the rich had made to the Sun, to be distributed among them; which done, all left the Mountain, and there was an end of the Ceremony.

But now, since the greatest and most considerable part of the people who are Inhabitants of the Provinces of Bemarin and Matica, and particularly the King and City of Melilot, have embraced the Christian Religion, this Mountain and its Temple are not much frequented, unless it be out of curiosity: Nor does the King permit his Subjects of the other Provinces, who have not receiv'd Baptism, to go up thither to perform their Sacrifices and all their ancient Superstitions.

They believ'd the immortality of the Soul; but they had so disguis'd this Truth with Fables, that it was in a manner smother'd thereby. They embalm'd the bodies of their de∣ceased Relations with several sorts of Gums and Aromatical Drugs, which had the virtue of preserving them from corrup∣tion;

and after they had kept them sometimes above a year in their houses, they buried them in their Gardens, or in the neighbouring Forests, with great lamentations and ceremo∣nies. They shew to this day at the foot of the pleasant Moun∣tain of Olaimi, the Sepulchres of several of their Kings, which are cut in the Rock; there is planted before every one of them a fair Cedar, for the better observation of the place, and more exact continuance of their memories.

To make a greater expression of their mourning, and to shew how much they bewail'd the death of their Friends and Kinred, they cut off some part of their hair; But when any King died they shav'd the whole head, and suffer'd not their hair to grow again, till they had bewail'd him for the space of fifteen months.

The Knowledge which the Apalachites have of God, they have attain'd to by several degrees: For, to go to the bottom of the business, it is about an Age since that the first Seeds of Christian Religion were sown in that part of Florida, by a French Colony consisting of several Persons of Quality, which was brought thither and establish'd there by one Captain Ri∣bauld in the time of Charles the Ninth King of France: The first thing he did was to build a Fort, which he named Carolina, in honour of His Christian Majesty: He impos'd also on the Capes, Ports, and Rivers of that Country, the names they are at the present known by; so that along the Coast a man finds a place called the Port Royal, the French Cape, the Rivers of Seine, Loyre, Charante, Garonne, Daufins, May, Somme, and several other pla∣ces, which have absolute French names, and consequently are a manifest argument that the said Nation have heretofore had some command there.

But what is more worthy observation, and conduces more to our purpose, is, that at this first Expedition for Florida, there went along with the Adventurers two Learned and Religious Persons, who immediately upon their arrival in the Country made it their business, by all sorts of good offices, to insinuate themselves into the affections of the Inhabitants, and to learn their Language, that so they might give them some knowledge of God, and the sacred mysteries of his Gospel. The Memo∣rials which Captain Ribauld left behind him as to that particu∣lar, shew how that the King Saturiova, who govern'd the Quarter where the French had establish'd themselves, and who had for Vassals to him several little Kings and Princes who were his Neighbours, receiv'd those Preachers very kindly, and recommended it to all his Subjects, that they should have a singular esteem for them; so that the affection those poor peo∣ple bore them, and the fidelity and zeal the others express'd for the advancement of their Conversion, rais'd even then very great hopes that the work of the Lord would prosper in their

hands, and that that little portion of his Vineyard being care∣fully dress'd, would in time bring forth many good and preci∣ous fruits, to the praise of his grace.

These happy beginnings and first-fruits of the Gospel of our Saviour Jesus, were afterwards augmented and advanc'd by the cares of Monsieur the Admiral de Coligny, who gave a Com∣mission to one de Laudoniere, to carry over thither a conside∣rable supply of Soldiers and all sorts of Tradesmen, which ar∣riv'd in the year One thousand five hundred sixty and four: But these last Adventurers had hardly taken the air in the Country after their arrival thither, ere the Spaniard, who ima∣gines that all America belongs to him, and who hath ever been jealous of the French Nation, made his advantage of the dis∣orders which were then in that Country, to traverse the gene∣rous designs of the Directors of that hopeful Colony, and smother it as 'twere in the Cradle: To that purpose he sent thither Peter Melandez with six great ships full of men and am∣munition, who fell upon it on the nineteenth of September, M D LXV.

Monsieur de Laudoniere and Captain Ribauld, who had not long before brought the Colony a small recruit of men, con∣sidering that it would be madness to think to oppose such a powerful force, resolv'd, with the advice of most of the Offi∣cers, to capitulate and deliver up the place to the stronger party, upon such honourable conditions as people besieg'd are wont to demand. Peter Melandez granted them most of the Articles they had propos'd; but assoon as he was got into the Fort, and had secur'd the Guards, he broke the promise he had made them, and violating the Law of Nations, he cru∣elly massacred not only the Soldiery, but also all the women and children, whom he found within the place, and who could not make their escape by flight.

Captain Ribauld fell in the Massacre; but de Laudoniere made a shift to escape, through the Fenns, to the ships newly come from France, which by good fortune were still in the Road: Some others of the Inhabitants, who, upon the first arrival of the Spaniards, had foreseen the danger likely to fall upon them, got in time into the woods, and in the night time came to the Village of their good friend Saturiova, who, hating the Spaniard, gave them protection, and supply'd them with provisions for a competent subsistance, till the year M D LXVII. when Captain de Gorgues, coming to Florida with three stout ships full of resolute men and all sorts of Ammu∣nition, severely punished the cruelty of the Spaniards, and being assisted by Saturiova, and all his Neighbours and Allies, he reveng'd the publick injuries of the French, putting to the sword all the Spaniards he met with, not only in the Fort of Carolina, which they had repair'd and fortified after their usur∣pation

of it, but also those he found in two other Forts which they had built along the Coast, which he burnt and demolish'd, as may be seen in the xii. Chapter of the fourth Book of the Description of the West-Indies, writ by John de Laet.

The Memorials which Captain de Gorgues caused to be printed, giving an account of his Expedition into Florida, tell us of a certain French-man named Peter du Bre, who having made his escape to King Saturiova, to avoid the cruelty of the Spaniards, related to him, that there escaped of that Massa∣cre but ten men, of which number he was one; that they all met with a safe retreat in the territories of the said Prince, who liv'd not far from their desolated Colony; that three of the escaped persons dy'd there some months after that defeat; that of the seven remaining, there were six were so charm'd with the advantageous relation which the subjects of Saturiova made to them daily of the Treasures of King Mayra, of the powerfulness of another whose name was Ollaca, who com∣manded forty Princes, and of the generosity and prudent conduct of the King of Apalacha, who govern'd many fair and large Provinces seated at the foot of the Mountains, and reaching into several delightful Vales which they encom∣pass'd; that they importun'd Saturiova, who had entertain'd them so kindly, that he would be pleas'd to allow them guides, to conduct them to the Frontiers of the Kingdom of the last named, of whom they had heard so many miracles, and had particularly this recommendation, that he was a lover of Strangers, and that his Subjects were the most civilly govern'd of all the Septentrional part of America; that Saturiova, wil∣ling to add that favour to all those they had receiv'd from him before, gave them a good convoy, consisting of the most vali∣ant of his subjects, to conduct them with all safety to all his Allies, and to the Dominions of the King of Apalacha, if they were desirous to visit him.

The relation of the success of this Progress, which these few French-men undertook to satisfie their curiosity, and to make the best use they could of this interval of their misfortune, as∣sures us, that after they had visited Athorus, the Son of Satu∣riova, and most of his Allies, who had their Villages all along a delightful River which in their Language they call Seloy, to avoid meeting any of the subjects of Timagoa, who was then engag'd in a War against Saturiova, there was a necessity they should cross Rivers upon boughs of trees fasten'd together, climb up Mountains, and make their way through Fens and thick Forests, where they met with several cruel beasts; that before they came within the Dominions of the King of Apala∣cha, they were many times set upon by Troops of Savages, who scout up and down among those vast desarts; that two of their Guides were kill'd in those encounters, and most of the rest

dangerously wounded; that the subjects of King Timagoa, ha∣ving observ'd their march, had follow'd them for several days, and not being able to overtake them, they laid ambushes for them, thinking to have met with them in their return; that after they had run through abundance of dangers, and many times endur'd much hunger and thirst, they got at last to the Province of Matica, which is under the jurisdiction of the King of Apalacha; that the Governor of the City of Akoveka, which is the Metroprolis of that Country, caus'd them to be brought to the King, who was then gone to visit the Province of Amana; that that Prince entertain'd them with so much kindness, and express'd so much friendship towards them, that they resolv'd to send back their Guides into their Country, and to setle themselves amongst the Apalachites, since they found them answerable to the account they had received of them.

The remembrance of the dangers they had run through ere they could get into the Province of Matica; the lively appre∣hension they had of the difficulties which were unavoidable in their return; the little hope there was that the French would ever undertake the re-establishment of their Colony; the pleasantness and fertility of the Country into which divine Providence had brought them; and the good natures of the Inhabitants, besides several other considerations, prevail'd with them to resolve on that setlement. But the Guides whom Saturiova had given them, obstructed their resolution so much, and so earnestly remonstrated to them, that they durst not pre∣sent themselves before their Lord without them, that to com∣pose the difference, and prevent the reproach they were afraid of at their return into their own Country, they prevail'd so far, that two of those Travellers should come back along with them to Saturiova, to testifie their care and fidelity in the exe∣cution of the Commission he had given them.

The same Relation adds further, that those four French-men who voluntarily stay'd among the Apalachites, being well in∣structed in the ways of God, left them some knowledge of his Sovereign Majesty: And the English, who have some years since found the way into those Provinces, write, that the Inhabi∣tants of the Province of Bemarin do still talk of those stran∣gers, and it is from them that they have learnt several words of the French Language, such as are among others those that signifie God, Heaven, Earth, Friend, the Sun, the Moon, Para∣dise, Hell, Yea, No. Besides which there are many other words common among those people, and are us'd by them to express the same thing which they signifie in French.

After the death of all these French-men, who were very much lamented by all the Apalachites, excepting only the Priests of the Sun, who bore them an irreconcileable hatred, because they turned the People from Idolatry, and inclined

them to the knowledge of the true God who created the Sun, whom they adored as God, the Provinces which are seated in the Vales of the Apalachaean Mountains, and had been en∣lightned but by a very weak ray of coelestial light, would ea∣sily have returned to the darkness of their ancient superstition, if God, by a remarkable disposal of his Providence, had not sent to them some English Families, which at their arrival thither blew up that little spark, which lay hid under the embers, into a weak flame.

These Families came out of Virginia in the year M DC XXI. with an intention to go to New-England, to avoid the frequent incursions and massacres committed there by the Savages; but the wind proving contrary to their design, they were cast on the Coasts of Florida, whence they pass'd into the Province of Matica, and thence into those of Amana and Bemarin, and in the last they setled themselves, and have drawn thither a considerable number of Ecclesiasticks and persons of quality, who have there laid the foundations of a small Colony. Most of those who are retir'd into those places so remote from all commerce in the world, undertook that generous design, in the midst of the great revolutions which happen'd in England during the late troubles, and the main business they propos'd to themselves at that time, was only to make their advantage of so seasonable a retreat, that they might the more seriously, and with less distraction, mind the attainment of their own sal∣vation, and dilate the limits of Christianity among those poor people, if God gave them the means.

We understand also by the last papers that have been sent us from America, that, God blessing the endeavours of the first In∣habitants of this small Colony, they have within these twelve or thirteen years baptiz'd most of the Officers and the most considerable Heads of Families in the Provinces of Bemarin and Amana; That at the present, they have a Bishop and many learned and zealous Ecclesiasticks among them, who carry on the work of the Lord; and the more to advance it, they have built Colledges in all those places where there are Churches, that the Children of the Apalachites may be instructed in the mysteries of Christian Religion and true piety.

The same Papers add further, that though the King of Apa∣lacha hath received Baptism, and seems to have much affection for these Strangers, who have procur'd him that happiness; yet hath he of late entertain'd some jealousie of them, out of an apprehension, as it was represented to him by some of his Councel, that if he suffer'd them to grow more numerous, they might in time become Masters of the Country: He thereupon in the first place dispers'd them into several Cities, that they might not be able to make any considerable body, or foment any factions; and afterwards, there was an order pass'd, that

all those who have at the present any setlement in the bosom of his Country, might peaceably continue in their habitati∣ons, and participate of the same priviledges with the Natives, provided they held no correspondence with any abroad, to the prejudice of the publick tranquillity; but that hencefor∣ward no other strangers shall be permitted to make any fur∣ther establishments there.

Those who are acquainted with the Nature of the Country, affirm, that the King of the Apalachites hath no just cause to fear that either the English or any other strangers should be guilty of any design against him, as to the mastering of his Country: For, besides the necessity there is of having a very powerful Army, ere any such enterprise can be undertaken, and that the English who are establish'd there, are no more amongst that great Nation, than a handful of sand on the Sea∣side; this Country being so remote from all the rest of the world, and destitute of Gold, Silver, precious Stones, and in a manner all rich Commodities, whereby Commerce is kept up and continu'd; it is most certain, that it will never be much sought after or envy'd by any Europaean Nations, which send out Colonies only to those places, where there is hope of ma∣king some considerable advantage by way of Trade. Where∣to may be added this further consideration, that, though these Provinces were possess'd of as great Treasures and Rarities, as they are destitute thereof; yet lying at a great distance from Sea-Ports, and having no navigable Rivers falling into it, by means whereof there might in time be some correspondence between them and other parts, there is no likelihood that there should be many persons either in England or any where else, who would be perswaded to cross over so many Seas, to go and end their days in a Country which is destitute of all those conveniences, and cannot receive those refreshments which are brought out of Europe, and contribute much to the comfortable subsistance of all the other Colonies of America; and in a word, a Country, which can give its Inhabitants no∣thing but clothing and nourishment.

Some time after the English had establish'd themselves in this Country, as we have represented before, the Spaniards (who as it were keep the keys of one part of Florida, by means of the Forts they have built near the most eminent Havens, and along the most considerable Rivers) brought in there a com∣pany of religious men of the Order of the Minimes, whom Pope Urban the eighth had sent into the Septentrional America, in the quality of Apostolical Missionaries, and endow'd with most ample priviledges, for their better encouragement in the carrying on of that work: They arriv'd in those Provinces in the year, One thousand six hundred forty and three; and since that time they have taken their progress through most of

the Villages that lie about the great Lake, and upon the descent of the Mountains which look towards the Country of the Cofachites: It is reported, that they have baptized with great pomp the Paracoussis of the Province of Achalaca, and a great number of his Subjects.

When these religious men return from their Missions, they live in a solitary, yet delightful place, which lies upon the descent of a high Mountain, not above a quarter of a league distant from the great Lake, and about as much from the greatest Village of the Province of Achalaca. Before a man comes to their habitation, he must cross through several fair Gardens, in the midst whereof there is a pleasant walk, plant∣ed with trees on both sides, which reaches to the skirt of the Mountain: And though they have seated themselves on an eminent place, yet they have many springs, which, falling down from the upper part of the Mountains, are receiv'd into great Cisterns and great Ponds, where they have abundance of good Fish: The Lord of the Country visits them often, and hath a great respect for them; for the most part, he hath some one of them about his person, who serves him as a Chap∣lain.

In the year One thousand six hundred fifty and three, in which Mr. Brigstock, that most inquisitive English Gentleman, from whom we have receiv'd all the account we have given of the Apalachites, arriv'd in that Province of Achalaca, the fore∣mention'd Religious men entertain'd him very kindly, and did him all the good offices lay in their power: From them it was, that, during his aboad in the Country, he learnt all the particulars we are now going to describe, and which he hath liberally communicated to us.

They show'd him an admirable Flower, which grows abun∣dantly in the Mountains of those parts: The figure of this Flower is much like that of a Bell, and there are as many co∣lours observable in it as in the Rain-bow; the under leaves, which being fully blown, are much larger than those of our greatest Roses, are charged with a great many other leaves, which appear still less and less to the lower part or bottom of the Bell: Out of the midst of them there rises a little button, like a heart, which is of a very delicious taste: The Plant hath a little bushiness at the top, much like Sage: The leaves and the flower smell like a Violet: It is also a kind of sensitive Plant, for it cannot be touch'd, either in its leaves or flower, but it immediately withers.

These Religious men carryed the said English Gentleman to a Village of the Indians, who inhabit in the Mountains, where there is a miraculous Grott or Cave, wherein the waters have fashion'd all the most delightful rarities, that a man can desire from a divertisment of that kind: They shew'd him particu∣larly

one place in the said Grott, where the waters falling up∣on a bare stone, and distilling drop after drop, of a different bigness, make so exact a musick, that there is no harmony can well be preferr'd before it.

There is found in the Mountains, on the East-side of the Pro∣vince of Achalaca, some Rock-Christal, and certain red and bright stones, which have such a lustre as that they might pass for right Rubies: 'Tis possible there may be some Copper∣mines in those parts; but they are not yet discovered, only what confirms this opinion is, that they find a kind of golden sand there, which is wash'd down by the torrents, and hath a wonderful lustre: Mr. Brigstock having given of it to some Goldsmiths to make a test thereof, it was in a manner quite con∣sum'd by the fire, and the little that remained in the Crucible might well pass for very fine Copper.

These same Religious men shew'd the said Gentleman, as they pass'd through the woods, several sorts of trees which yielded Gums of excellent scent, as also many other Rarities, a particular account whereof would require a considerable Vo∣lume: But above all, they show'd him the tree, whereof the Floridians make that excellent drink which they call Casina, the description whereof may be seen in the History of de Laet. It is absolutely conformable to the Relation of Mr. Brigstock.

Before the Inhabitants of Achalacha were converted to Chri∣stianity, they took several Wives; but now their Marriages are regulated, and they content themselves only with one: They interr'd their Lords as the Apalachites do, in the Caves that are at the foot of the Mountains: then they made up the entrance thereof with a stone-wall: they hung before the Cave the most considerable Vessels which those Princes had made use of at their Tables: And all the Captains fasten'd all about the place, their Bows, Arrows, and Clubs, and mourn∣ed for several days at the Sepulchre: They worshipped the Sun, and held the immortality of the Soul as well as their Neighbours: They believ'd also that such as had liv'd well, and serv'd the Sun as they ought, and made many presents to the poor, in honour of him, were hapyy, and that after death they were chang'd into Stars: But on the contrary, that those who had led a wicked life, were carried into the precipices of the high Mountains, whereby they were surrounded, and there endur'd extream want and misery, amongst the Lions, Tygers, and other beasts of prey, which hunt after their sustenance therein.

The Inhabitants of this Country are all long-liv'd, insomuch that there are many among them, both men and women, who are neer two hundred years of age.

This curious digression we receiv'd from the forementioned English Gentleman, Mr. Brigstock, and we have inserted it

here, out of a presumption that it will not be undelightful to those, who shall make it their divertisement to read this Histo∣ry; at least while we are yet in expectation that that excellent person will give us a perfect accompt of the state of the Apala∣chites, and some others of the Neighbouring Nations, as he puts us in hope that he will.

CHAP. IX. Of the Bodies of the Caribbians, and their Ornaments.

WE are now to re-assume our former discourse, and re∣turn from Florida to the Caribby-Islands, to consider there, with all the exactness imaginable, what concerns those Inhabitants thereof on whom we intend to bestow the remain∣ing part of this History, and particularly what relates to their Bodies, Minds, Dispositions, Manners, Religion, Customs, and other remarkable occurrences concerning the savage Caribbi∣ans or Cannibals, of whose origine we have already given so large an account.

And whereas some of the Caribbians who inhabit in the same Islands wherein the French and other Europaean Nations have planted Colonies, or at least come often among them, accom∣modate themselves in many things to their manner of life, and that they may be the more kindly received by them, they quit many of their old Customs; those who are desirous to be ac∣quainted with the ancient manners of the Caribbians, are not to learn them of the Caribbians who live in Martinico, or those who converse most with the Europaeans; but from those of St. Vincent, who of all others have held least correspondence with any Forreigners: It is accordingly from them that we have re∣ceiv'd what we shall hereafter relate concerning the Caribbi∣ans: But before we enter into the relation, we shall make some general observations, to prevent the astonishment which the Reader might conceive at the difference there is between the account we give of them, and what he may receive from others, either by word of mouth or writing.

In the first place, it is to be acknowledged a thing almost im∣possible, that the Relations of Countries and Customs at so great a distance from us, should agree in all things, especially since we find that those of neighbouring Countries are for the most part differing among themselves.

Secondly, it is to be observed, that since the Caribbians be∣came familiar, and have conversed with forreign Nations, they have remitted much of their ancient Customs, and quited many

things which they practis'd before with an inviolable strictness: So that there may be seen in them now a remarkable change from what they were heretofore: That the case stands thus with them now, is to be attributed partly to the conversation of the Europaeans, who in some things have oblig'd them to abate somewhat of their originary simplicity, and in others have made them worse than they were, as to our own shame we cannot but acknowledge: Hence it comes that Monsieur du Montel tells us in his Relations, that two ancient Caribbians, considering that degeneration of their Country-men, took oc∣casion to entertain him with a discourse to this purpose:

Our people are become in a manner like yours, since they came to be acquainted with you; and we find it some difficulty to know our selves, so different are we grown from what we have been heretofore: It is to this alteration that our peo∣ple attribute the more frequent happening of Hurricanes than they were observ'd to be in the days of old; and conclude thence, that Maboya (that is to say, the evil spirit) hath reduc'd us under the power of the French, English, Spaniards and others, who have driven us out of the best part of our Country.

Thirdly, it is possible they may have different Customs, according to the diversity of the Islands, though they all make up but one people; as may be observed in the diversity of the Customs of one and the same Kingdom, according to the se∣veral Quarters and Provinces of it: Whence it may have pro∣ceeded, for example, that those that have conversed most at Dominico will give an account of the Opinions, Customs, and Ceremonies of the Caribbians, much different from what shall be related thereof by those persons who shall have frequented other places; and yet the Relations of either side shall be true.

Fourthly, as in the Continent of America, the Caribbians, who inhabit a good way within the Country, and consequent∣ly seldom see any forreigners, retain much more of their anci∣ent Customs, and their old course of life, than those who living neer the Dutch Colonies of Cayenna and Berbica, drive on an ordinary trade with the Christians; so among our Caribbians, the Inhabitants of the Islands, those who converse least with the Europaeans, such as are those of St. Vincent's, are more strict observers of their ancient course of life, than are, for exam∣ple, those of Martinico or Dominico, who are oftner seen among them.

Fifthly, thence it proceeds that those persons who have seen them only in these last mentioned places, or have heard of them only from such as have been acquainted with them only in those places, will haply find many things in the prosecution of our History, which may clash with the Relations they had recei∣ved of them from others; which if they do, they are not to won∣der

thereat, since most of our Observations relate to the Ca∣ribbians of St. Vincents.

Lastly, we desire our Readers to take this further adver∣tisement, that it is our design to give a description of the anci∣ent Manners and Customs of these Caribbians, to the end that no body may think it strange, if their present demeanour be not in all things answerable thereto: These advertisements be∣ing thus premis'd, we proceed to give the Reader satisfaction consequently to the title of this Chapter.

Most of those people whom we call Barbarians and Savages, have some thing hideous and deformed or defective, either in their Countenances or some other part of the body, as Hi∣storians affirm of the Maldiveses, the Inhabitants about the Magellane streights, and several others which we need not name here.

But the Caribbians are a handsome well-shap'd people, well proportion'd in all parts of their bodies, gracefull enough, of a smiling countenance, middle stature, having broad shoulders, and large buttocks, and they are most of them in good plight, and stronger than the French: Their mouths are not over large, and their teeth are perfectly white and close: True it is their complexion is naturally of an Olive-colour, and that colour spreads even into the whites of their Eyes, which are black, somewhat little like those of the Chineses and Tartars, but very piercing: Their foreheads and noses are flat, not naturally, but by artifice: For their mothers crush them down at their birth, as also continually during the time they suckle them, imagining it a kind of beauty and perfection; for were it not for that, their noses would be well shap'd, and they would have high foreheads as well as we: They have large and thick feet, because they go barefoot, but they are withall so hard, that they defie Woods and Rocks.

Among those of the Country a man cannot meet with any wanting either one or both eyes, lame, crook-back'd, or bald, or having any other deformity naturally; as is in like manner affirmed of the Brasilians, the Floridians, and most Nations of* 1.1 America; whereas those who have walked through Grand* 1.2 Cairo relate, That in the Streets they have met with many one∣eyed, and many stark blind people; those infirmities being so frequent and so popular in that Country, that of ten persons five or six are subject thereto: But if any among the Caribbi∣ans are thus deformed, or have lost, or are maimed in any limb, it hapned in some Engagement against their Enemies; and so those scars or deformities being so many demonstrations of their Valour, they glory in them; so far are they from being in any danger of mischief, or being cast into a furnace by their Coun∣try-men, as those poor Children were among the people of Guyana, and among the Lacedemonians in the time of Lycurgus,

who came out of their Mothers wombs imperfect and deformed. Nay, there are some handsom Maids and Women amongst the Savage Caribbians, witness Madamoiselle de Rosselan, wife to the Governour of Saintalousia.

All the Caribbians are black-hair'd, as the Chineses are, who* 1.3 for that reason are sometimes call'd the Black-hair'd People: The hair of the Caribbians is not curl'd or frizzled, as that of the Moors, but streight and long, as those of the Maldiveses: And the Women attribute the highest perfection of Beauty to this black colour, as to what concerns the hair. It is reported* 1.4 also, That the Indian Women of Peru are so enamour'd of black hair, that to make their own of that colour by artifice, when Nature does it not, they are willing to endure incredible pains and torments: On the contrary, in Spain many Ladies, to make their hair seem to be of a golden yellow colour, per∣fume it with Sulphur, steep it in Aqua-fortis, and expose it to the Sun in the heat of the day, nay in the very Dog-days: And in Italy the same colour is much affected.

The Caribbians are very careful in combing themselves, and they think it commendable so to do: They anoint their hair with Oil, and have certain Receipts to advance the growth thereof: The Women commonly comb their Husbands and their Children: Both Men and Women tie up their hair to∣wards the hinder part of the head, winding it about so as that it stands up like a horn on the Crown; on both sides they leave locks hanging down like so many Mustachioes, according to natural liberty. The Women part their hair so as that it falls down on both sides of their heads; but the men part theirs the quite contrary way, so as that one half falls down behind, the other before, which obliges them to cut off the fore-part of it, otherwise it would fall down over their eyes: This they did heretofore with certain sharp Herbs, before they had the use of Scissers; not to mention, that they were also accustomed to cut off their hair when they were in mourning; whereas on the contrary, in Madagascar the Men never cut off their hair, but the Women shave it clear off; a custom contrary to that of those people among whom S. Paul liv'd.

The Caribbians seem not to have any Beards at all, but as soon as they grow they pluck them off by the roots, as the Bra∣silians,* 1.5 the Cumaneses, and certain Nations subject to the Em∣pire of the Tartars do, who have always an iron instrument in their hands, wherewith they pluck out the hair of their Beards as soon as they come out: But the Caribbians are seldom seen to put themselves to that trouble, insomuch that it is conceiv'd they have a secret to prevent the growth of hair when it is once gotten off; an invention which would have been of great con∣venience to the ancient Romans: For it is affirm'd, that they would not suffer their Beards to grow till after the time of the

Emperour Adrian, who first suffer'd his to grow; before that time it was thought among them so honourable a thing to wear no beard, that there was a prohibition made that Slaves should not shave theirs: The same prohibition extended also to all persons charg'd with any Crime, as it were to set a mark of infamy on them, till such time as they were clear'd, as Aul••••* 1.6 Gellius affirms; which proceeding was contrary to what is pra∣ctis'd in the Grand Seignior's Territories, who causes the Beard to be shaven, as a mark of ignominy: In the year One thou∣sand six hundred fifty two, that hapned to the French Consul at Alexandria, being charg'd with having done some unhandsom things in his Employment; his Beard had such a natural graceful curl, and was of so fair a flaxen colour, that some Turks would have given him a considerable sum of money for it, and kept it for a Rarity; but he chose rather to bring it along with him into France.

The Caribbians wonder very much to see our Europeans suf∣fer their Beards to grow so long, and think it a great defor∣mity to wear any, as they account it a perfection in themselves to have none; but they are not the only Savages who are fan∣tastick in matter of gracefulness and beauty: All barbarous Nations, nay some that are civiliz'd, are wedded to their par∣ticular sentiments, as to that point: For instance, among the* 1.7 Maldiveses it is accounted an accomplishment of Beauty to have the body all over hairy, which among us would be thought more becoming a Bear then a Man: Among the Mexicans, to have a little narrow forehead, and that full of hair: Among the Japoneses, not to have any hair at all; whence it comes, that they are ever employ'd in the plucking of it off, leaving only a little tuft on the crown of the head: Among the Tar∣tarian Women it is thought a piece of Beauty to be flat-nos'd, but to heighten the attractions of their noses, they rub them with a very black unguent: Among the Inhabitants of Guinny they make the same account of great nails and flat noses; and thence it comes that assoon as the children are come into the world, they crush down their noses with their thumbs, as do also the Brasilians: Among those of the Province of Cusco in Peru, and some oriental Inhabitants of the Indies, as also among the Calecutians, and the Malabars, it is thought very graceful to have extraordinary large ears, hanging down over their shoulders; insomuch that some among them use divers artifi∣ces to make them such: Among the Aethiopians, great lips and a skin black as Jet, are thought beautiful: The Negroes of Mosambico are extreamly pleas'd to have their teeth very sharp, so that some use Files to make them such: Among the Maldiveses they are no less desirous to have them red, and to that end, they are continually chewing of Petel: Among the Japoneses and the Cumaneses, they are industrious to have

them black, and they purposely make them such: And among the latter, it is accounted beauty to have a long face, lean cheeks, and excessively big legs: And hence it is that they squeeze the heads of their children between two cushions as soon as they are born, and that after the example of the Inha∣bitants about the River of Essequebe, they bind the legs very hard a little below the knee, and a little above the ankle, that so the calf may swell: Among some Peruvians, to have the face cut and chequer'd, as it were with Lancets, and to have flat and broad heads, huge foreheads, and the head very narrow from the forehead to the nape of the neck, is accounted beau∣tiful: And to reduce it to this comely shape, they kept their childrens heads press'd between two thin boards, from the time of their birth till they were four or five year old. To be short, among some oriental Nations, and some Africans, it is account∣ed a great perfection in the Women, to have their breasts hanging down over their shoulders; and among the Chineses, it is the principal part of beauty to have the foot extreamly little and thin; and the better to have it so, while they are yet children they bind their feet so hard, that they are in a manner lam'd, and it is with much ado that they are able to stand: It were a hard matter to make a description of beauty, according to the different opinions of all these nations: But to return to the Caribbians.

They go stark-naked, both men and women, as many other Nations do: And if any one among them should endeavour to hide the privy parts, all the rest would laugh at it: Though the Christians have conversed very much among them, yet have all the perswasions that have hitherto been used to induce them to cover themselves been to no purpose: And whereas sometimes, when they come to visit the Christians, or to treat with them, they have comply'd so far with them, as to cover themselves, by putting on a shirt, drawers, a hat, and such cloaths as had been given them, yet assoon as they were re∣turn'd to their own habitations, they strip themselves, and put up all in their Closets, till some such other occasion should ob∣lige them to put them on again: To requite this compliance of the Caribbians, some among the French, having occasion to go among them, made no difficulty to strip themselves after their example: This defiance of cloaths reigns in all places under the Torrid Zone, as every one knows.

When the Brasilians are reproach'd with their nakedness,* 1.8 they reply, that we came naked into the world, and that it were a mad thing for us to hide the bodies bestowed on us by na∣ture. The Inhabitants of the Kingdom of Benin in Africa,* 1.9 are to be commended, that they cover themselves when they are to be married, and would do it sooner if their King would permit it: The women of the Lucayan Islands ought also to

participate of that commendation, for they were wont to co∣ver themselves when they came to be marriageable, and so∣lemnized that action with great rejoicing: But now that cu∣stome is abrogated, for that poor Nation hath been utterly de∣stroy'd by the Spaniards, or carryed away and made slaves to work in the Mines, and there are not in any of the Islands known under that name, any of the natural Inhabitants, but only some few English who were transported thither out of the Island of Bermudez. But come we to the Ornaments of our Savages.

They change their natural colour by dying their bodies with some composition which makes them red all over: For living neer Rivers and Springs, the first thing they do every morn∣ing is to go and wash themselves all over: And this was the* 1.10 practice of the ancient Germans, as Tacitus affirms. Assoon as the Caribbians have wash'd themselves, they return to their houses, and drie themselves by a little fire; being dry'd, the Wife, or some one of the houshold takes a gourd full of a cer∣tain red composition which they call Roucou, from the name of the tree which produces it, and whereof we have given an ac∣count in its proper place in the precedent Book: With this colour mixt with oil, they rub the whole body and the face; the better to apply this paint, they make use of a spunge in∣stead of a Pencil; and to appear more gallant, they many times make black circles about the eyes, with the juice of Ju∣nipa Apples.

This red painting serves them both for Ornament and for a Covering; for besides the Beauty they imagine to themselves therein, they affirm that it makes them more supple and active; which may be the more likely to be true, for that the ancient Wrestlers were wont to rub themselves with oil for the same end: They affirm further, That by rubbing themselves thus with Roucou, they secure themselves against the coldness of the night and rains, the stinging of the Mesquitos and the Marin∣goins, and the heat of the Sun, which otherwise would cause risings and ulcers in the skin. This Unction hardens their skins, and withal gives it an extraordinary lustre and smoothness, as all know who have seen and felt them.

Most Savages do thus paint and trick up themselves after a strange manner; but they do not all use the same colours, nor observe the same fashion: For there are some who paint their Bodies all red, as our Inhabitants of the Caribbies do; as for* 1.11 instance, those of the Cape de Lopes Gonsalvez; but others make use of other colours, as Black, White, Chestnut, Gingioline, Blew; Yellow, and the like. Some use only one particular co∣lour; others paint themselves with several colours, and repre∣sent divers figures on their bodies: Some others, without apply∣ing any colour, rub themselves all over with the oil of Palm∣trees:

Some anoint themselves with the oil of Balm, and then cast on it a small powder, which seems as if it were the filings of Gold. In fine, there are some who anoint their bodies with a glewy oil, and blow on that the downe or smallest Feathers of divers Birds; or haply they cover themselves with a kind of gummy paste, which is of a very sweet scent, and fasten there∣on the most delightful Flowers growing in their Country. There is sufficient choice of all these modes; and it were a pleasant sight to see a company of these Morris-dancers dancing together. We might add thereto, to make the divertisement the more compleat, those Turkish Pilgrims who commonly go in long Garments made of thousands of pieces of all sorts of co∣lours.

But this is to be noted, That the painting of the body is a very ancient kind of Ornament; and among other Monuments of this piece of Antiquity, Pliny and Herodian affirm, that cer∣tain* 1.12 people of Great Brittany, not using any kind of cloathing, painted their bodies with divers colours, and represented there∣on the figures of certain living Creatures, whence they were called Picti, that is, Painted people. But among all the Sava∣ges who at this day paint themselves, the Caribbians have this advantage, that they adorn themselves with a colour which the Ancients honour'd most of any; for it is reported, that the Goths made use of Vermilion to make their faces red; and the ancient Romans, as Pliny affirms, painted their bodies with* 1.13 Minium upon the day of their Triumph; and he particularly tells us that Camillus did so: and he further adds, that upon Festival days they so painted the face of the Statue of their Jupiter; and that heretofore the Aethiopians made so great ac∣count of this Vermilion colour, that their principal Lords ap∣ply'd it all over their bodies, and that their Gods wore it in their Images.

Our Caribbians do for the most part content themselves with this ordinary dress of red painting, which serves them instead of Shirts, Cloths, Cloaks and Coats: But on solemn days and times of publick rejoicing, they add to the red divers other colours, spreading them fantasticallly over the face and the whole body.

But this kind of painting is not the only ornament in use among them; they adorn the crown of the head with a little Hat made of birds feathers, of different colours, or with a Plume of Herons feathers, or those of some other Bird: They also sometimes wear a crown of feathers, which covers their heads, so that there may be seen among them a great many crowned heads, though there be no Kings: And yet they may be better look'd upon as Kings with their feather Crowns, than the Lord of the Gulf of Antongil be taken for a Sovereign Prince, when he hath for his Scepter and the badge of his

Royal dignity, but a great Gardiner's Pruning-hook, which he always carries about him.

The women among the Maldeveses, make about a dozen holes in each ear, at which they fasten little gilt nails, and sometimes Pearls and Precious Stones: The Ladies of Mada∣gascar and Brasil make a hole as big as that a man may thrust his thumb through it in the lower part of the ear, at which they hang pendants of wood and bone: And the Peruvians, under the reign of their Kings the Yncas, were accustomed to make in their ears a hole of an incredible bigness, at which they fastened chains of a quarter of an Ell in length, with Pendants of Gold at the bottom, of an extraordinary big∣ness: But our Caribbians▪ are content with a small hole, accor∣ding to the European mode, in the softest part of the ear, through which they put the bones of certain Fishes very smooth, pie∣ces of that kind of Tortoise shells which they call Carets; and since the Christians came among them, Buckles of Gold, Sil∣ver, Latten, at which they hang very fair Pendants: They know how to distinguish between those that are right and the counterfeit, but they are most taken with such as are made of Chrystal, Amber, Coral, or some other rich material, provi∣ded the buckle, and all the other workmanship be of Gold: Some have endeavoured to put upon them such as were only Copper gilt, and would have perswaded them they were Gold; but they refused them, saying that they intended to de∣ceive them, and that it was but Kettle-gold: and to make a tryal thereof, they were wont to put them into their mouths: So great is their experience in these things beyond those of Madagascar, who when the Hollanders coming thither in the year MDC XLV. offered them a Silver-spoon, put it between their teeth, and finding it was hard refus'd it, desiring one of Tin: Whence it may easily be imagined what account they made of Tin, since they gave a young maid in exchange for a Spoon of that mettal. Herodotus affirms that heretofore among the Aethiopians, Copper was in better esteem than Gold, the use whereof was so vile, that they bound Malefactors with chains of Gold.

The Caribbians do sometimes also make holes through their lips, and put through them a kind of little Bodkin, which is made of the bone of some beast or fish: Nay they bore through the space between the Nostrils, that they may hang there some Ring, a grain of Chrystal, or some such toy: The necks and arms of our Caribbians have also their respective ornaments; for they have their Neck-laces and Bracelets of Amber, Coral, or some other glittering material: The men wear Bracelets on the brawny part of the arm, neer the shoulder; but the wo∣men wear theirs about the wrists: They adorn also their legs with Chains of Rassada, instead of Garters: Those among

them who have no acquaintance with the Europaeans, commonly wear about their necks Whistles made of the bones of their enemies, and great chains made of the teeth of Agoutys, Ty∣gers, wild Cats, or little shells bor'd through and fasten'd toge∣ther with a thread of fine Cotton of a red or violet colour. And when they would make the greatest show they can, they add to all this a kind of Caps, certain Bracelets, which they fasten under their armpits, Scarfs, and Girdles of Feathers ve∣ry industriously dispos'd together by a delightful intermixture, which they suffer to hang down over their shoulders, or from the navel to the middle of the thigh.

But the most considerable of all their Ornaments, are cer∣tain large Medals of fine Copper extreamly well polished, with∣out any graving on them, which are made after the figure of a crescent, and enchac'd in some kind of solid and precious wood▪ these in their own language they call Caracolis: They are of different largeness, for there are some so small that they hang them at their ears like Pendants, and others about the bigness of the palm of a mans hand, which they have hanging about their necks, beating on their breasts: They have a great esteem for these Caracolis, aswell by reason the material whereof they are made, which never contracts any rust, glisters like Gold, as that it is the rarest and most precious booty they get in the incursions they make every year into the Country of the Arou∣agues their Enemies; and that it is the livery or badge, where∣by the Captains and their Children are distinguish'd from the ordinary sort of people: Accordingly those who have any of these jewels make so great account of them, that when they die, they have no other inheritance to leave their Children and intimate Friends: Nay there are some among them who have of these Caracolis which had been their Grandfathers, wherewith they do not adorn themselves but on extraordinary occasions.

The women paint the whole body, and adorn themselves much after the same manner as the men do, excepting only those differences we have mentioned before, and that they wear no Crowns on their heads: There is this also particular∣ly observable in them, that they wear a kind of buskins, which fall no lower than the ankle: This kind of ornament is very neatly wrought, and edg'd above and below with a certain intertexture of rushes and cotton, which lying streight on the calf of the leg makes it seem more full.

CHAP. X. Certain Remarks upon the Caribbian Language.

IT is our intention at the end of this History, for the satisfaction of the more curious Reader, to add a large Vo∣cabulary of the Caribbian Language; and therefore, in this Chapter, we shall only make some principal remarks upon it, such as may in some measure discover the grace, the smooth∣ness, and the proprieties thereof.

1. The Caribbians have an ancient and natural Language, such as is wholly peculiar to them, as every Nation hath that which is proper to it.

2. But besides that ancient Language, they have fram'd ano∣ther bastard-speech, which is intermixt with several words taken out of forreign Languages, by the commerce they have had with the Europaeans: But above all they have borrowed many words of the Spaniards, for they were the first Christians that came among them.

3. Among themselves, they alwaies make use of their anci∣ent and natural Language.

4. But when they have occasion to converse or negotiate with the Christians, they always make use of their corrupt Language.

5. Besides that, they have also a very pleasant intermixture of words and expressions when they would undertake to speak in some forreign Language: As for example, when they use this expression to the French, saying, Compere Governeur, that is, Gossip Governour, using the word Compere generally to∣wards all those who are their Friends or Allies: In like manner they would say, without any more ceremony, Compere Roy, that is, Gossip, or Friend King, if there were any occasion to do it: It is also one of their ordinary complements to the French, when they say with smiling countenance, Ah si toy bon pour Caraibe, moy bon pour France, If thou art good for the Caribbian, I am good for France: And when they would com∣mend, and express how much they are satisfy'd with those of the same Nation, they say, Mouche bon France pour Caraibe, France is very good for the Caribbian; they say also, Maboya mouche fache contre Caraibe, Maboya doth much against the Ca∣ribbian, when it thunders, or in a Hurricane; and, Moy mouche Lunes, I have lived many Moons, to signifie that they are very ancient: They have also these words often in their mouths, when they find that the French would abuse their simplicity, Compere, toy trompe Caraibe, Friend thou deceivest the Caribbian:

And they are often heard to say when they are in a good hu∣mour, Moy bonne Caraibe, I am an honest Caribbian.

6. Yet is it to be observ'd, that though the Caribbians of all the Islands do generally nnderstand one another, yet is there in several of them some dialect different from that of the others.

7. There is no great use made of the letter P. in their Lan∣guage; but that only excepted, there is no want of letters, as there is in the Language of Japan, Braseel and Canada, which want the letters F. L. R. Or in that of Peru, wherein B. D. F. G. J. consonant and X are wanting, as Historians affirm.

8. The Language of the Caribbians is extreamly smooth, and for the most part pronounced with the lips, some few words with the teeth, and in a manner nothing at all from the throat. For though the words we shall set down hereafter, seem to be rough, as they are written, yet when they pronounce them, they make elisions of certain letters, and give such an air thereto as renders their discourse very delightful to the ear: Whence it came, that Monsieur du Montel hath given this testi∣mony of them:

I took great pleasure, said he, in hearkning unto them when I was among them, and I could not suffici∣ently admire the grace, the fluency, and the sweetness of their pronunciation, which they commonly accompany with a lit∣tle smiling, such as takes very much with those who converse with them.

9. The Caribbians who are Inhabitants of the Islands have a sweeter pronunciation than those of the Continent: but otherwise they differ only in a dialect.

10. By the same word, according as it is diversly pronounced they signifie several things: For example, the word Anhan sig∣nifies, 1. Yes, 2. I know not, 3. Thine, or take it, according to the pronunciation that is given it.

11. The Europaeans cannot pronounce the Caribbian Lan∣guage with the grace and fluency natural thereto, unless they have learnt it very young.

12. They hear one another very patiently, and never in∣terrupt one the other in their discourse: But they are wont to give a little hem at the end of every three or four periods, to express the satisfaction they have to hear what is spoken.

13. What advantage soever the Europaeans may imagine they have over the Caribbians, either as to the natural faculties of the mind, or the easiness of pronunciation of their own Lan∣guages, in order to the more easie attainment of theirs, yet hath it been found by experience, that the Caribbians do sooner learn ours than we do theirs.

14. Some among the French have observ'd, that the Carib∣bians have a kind of aversion for the English tongue, nay so far, that some affirm they cannot endure to hear it spoken

where they are, because they look on them as their Enemies. And whereas there are in their corrupt Language many words taken out of the Spanish, a people whom they also account their Enemies, it proceeds hence, that they learn'd them during the time they held a fair correspondence with that Nation, and be∣fore they began to treat them as they afterwards did.

15. They are very shie in communicating their Language, out of a fear the secrets of their Wars might be discovered; nay, those among them who have embrac'd the Christian Reli∣gion, would not be perswaded to reveal the grounds of their Language, out of a belief it might prejudice their Nation.

16. We shall here set down some of the most particular proprieties of their Language: In the first place, the men have many expressions proper only to themselves, which the wo∣men understand well enough, but never pronounce: And the women have also their words and phrases, which if the men should use they would be laugh'd at; whence it comes, that in this Discourse one would think the women spoke a Language dif∣ferent from that of the men, as will be seen in our Vocabulary, by the difference of expressions which the men and women make use of to signifie the same thing: The Savages of Domi∣nico affirm, that it proceeds hence, that when the Caribbians came to inhabit these Islands, they were possess'd by a Nation of the Arouagues, whom they absolutely destroy'd, save only the Women, whom they married for the re-peopling of the Country; so that those Women having retain'd their own Lan∣guage, taught it their Daughters, and brought them to speak as they did; which being practis'd to the present by the Mo∣thers towards their Daughters, their Language came to be different from that of the Men in many things: But the male Children, though they understand the speech of their Mothers and Sisters, do nevertheless imitate their Fathers and Brethren, and accustom themselves to their Language when they are five or six years old. To confirm what we have said concerning the cause of this difference of Language, it is alledg'd, That there is some conformity between the Language of the Aroua∣gues who live in the Continent, and that of the Caribbian Wo∣men: But it is to be observ'd, That the Caribbians of the Con∣tinent, as well Men as Women, speak the same Language, as having not corrupted it by inter-marriages with strange Wo∣men.

17. The old men have also some terms particular to them∣selves, and certain affected expressions, not at all us'd by the younger sort of people.

18. The Caribbians have also a certain Language which they make use of only among themselves, when they entertain any warlike Resolutions; it is a very hard kind of fustian-language: The Women and Maids know nothing of that mysterious Lan∣guage,

nor yet the young Men, till they have given some assu∣rances of their generosity, and the zeal they have for the com∣mon Quarrel of their Nation against their Enemies: This is to prevent the discovery of their designs before the appointed time.

19. For the variation of their Cases, Persons, Moods, and Genders, they have no distinct particles as we have, but they lengthen their words by certain syllables or letters at the begin∣ning or end of the word, and sometimes by the change of the letters: Thus they say in the Imperative, Bayoubaka, Go; but in the Indicative, Nayoubakayem, I go: In like manner, Babinaka, dance; Nabinakayem, I dance; much like the formation of the Hebrew Verbs.

20. Indefinite and absolute Nouns are not much in use among them, especially the names of the parts of the body; but they are always in a manner restrain'd to a first, second, or third person.

21. The first person is commonly express'd by the Letter N; at the beginning of a word, as Nichic, my Head; the second by a B, as Bichic, thy Head; and the third by an L, as Lichic, his Head.

22. The neuter and absolute Gender is express'd by a T, as Tichic, the Head; but this is not much in use.

23. They have different names in speaking to persons when they are present, and others when they speak of them; thus they say Baba, Father, speaking to him, and Youmaan, speaking of him; Bibi, Mother, speaking to her, and Ichanum, speaking of her; which, with the difference there is between the Language of the Men and the Women, the young and the old, their or∣dinary Discourse, and that us'd by them when they are engag'd in Military Deliberations, must needs cause a great multiplica∣tion of words in their Language.

24. Their proper Names are many times deriv'd from certain Accidents, as we shall see more particularly in the Chapter of the Birth and Education of their Children.

25. They never name any one when the party is present; or at least, out of respect, they do but half name him.

26. They never pronounce the whole Name of either Man or Woman; but they do those of Children; so that they will say, the Father or Mother of such a one; or else they say half the Name; as for instance, Mala, insteed of saying Mala∣kaali, and Hiba for Hibalomon.

27. The Uncles and Aunts, as many as are of the collateral Line, are called Fathers and Mothers by their Nephews; so that the Uncle is called Baba, that is to say, Father: But when they would expresly signifie the true and proper Father, they many times add another word, saying, Baba tinnaca.

28. Consequently to the precedent appellation, all the He∣Cousins

are also called Brothers, and all the She-Cousins, Si∣sters.

29. But between He-Cousin and She-Cousin, the former calls the latter Youëilleri, that is to say properly, My Female, or my betrothed; for naturally among them the She-Cousins become Wiyes to the He-Cousins.

30. The Months they call Lunes, that is, Moons; and the Years ••oussinieres, that is, the Seven Stars.

31. We shall now give a taste of the naturalness and ele∣gance of their Language, setting down the signification of their words, without expressing the words themselves, so to avoid the setting of them down twice, as reserving that for our Vo∣cabulary.

32. To signifie, that a thing is lost or broken, they commonly say it is dead.

33. They call a Capuchin Friar, Father Aïoupa; and the word Aïoupa signifies in their Language a Covering or a Penthouse; as if they said, It is a man by whom one may be cover'd, by reason of his great Capouche: By the same name they also ironically call an Ape or Monkey, by reason of his long Beard.

34. A Christian, a Man of the Sea; because the Christians came to them in Ships.

35. A Lieutenant, the track of a Captain, or that which ap∣pears after him.

36. My Son in Law, he who makes me little Children.

37. My younger Brother, my half.

38. My Wife, my heart.

39. A Boy, A little Male.

40. A Girl, A little Female.

41. The Spaniards and English, Deformed Enemies, Etoutou noubi; because they are cloath'd, in opposition to their Ene∣mies who are naked, whom they call simply Etoutou, that is to say, Enemies.

42. A Fool, Him who sees nothing, or who hath no light.

43. The Eye-lid, The Covering of the Eye.

44. The Eye-brows, The Hair of the Eye.

45. The Ball of the Eye, The Kernel of the Eye.

46. The Lips, The Borders of the Mouth.

47. The Chin, The prop of the Teeth.

48. The Neck, The prop of the Head.

49. The Arm and a Wing are express'd by the same word.

50. The Pulse, The Soul of the Hand: The Germans make such another composition, when they call the Glove the Shooe of the Hand.

51. The Fingers, The little ones, or Children of the Hand.

52. The Thumb, The Father of the Fingers, or that which is opposite to them: Of that kind is the 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 of the Greeks.

53. A Joint, A thing added; they call also by that name a piece set on a Garment.

54. The Bladder, The Urine Vessel.

55. The Ham, That which draws the Leg.

56. The Sole of the Foot, The inside of the Foot.

57. The Toes, The little ones, or children of the Foot.

58. The number Ten, All the Fingers of both hands.

59. Twenty, The Fingers of the Hands, and Toes of the Feet.

60. A Pocket-pistol, A little Arquebusse.

61. A Candlestick, That which holds somthing.

62. Thorns, The hair of the Tree, or the eyes of the Tree.

63. The Rainbow, Gods Plume of Feathers.

64. The noise of Thunder, Trerguetenni.

65. This Language hath also in its abundance and its natu∣ralness some imperfections which are particular thereto; yet are they such as that some of them do not so much deserve blame as commendation.

66. The Caribbians in their natural Language have very few words of injury or abuse; and what they say that is most offen∣sive in their Railleries is, Thou art not good, or thou hast as much wit as a Tortoise.

67. They have not so much as the names of several Vices; but the Christians have sufficiently supplied them therewith. Some have admir'd that in the Language of Canada there is no word answerable to Sin▪ but they might have observ'd withal, that there is not any whereby to express Virtue.

68. They have no words to express Winter, Ice, Hail, Snow, for they know not what they are.

69. They are not able to express what does not fall under the Senses, save that they have certain names for some both good and evil Spirits; but that excepted, they have no word to sig∣nifie Spiritual things, as Understanding, Memory, Will; as for the Soul, they express it by the word Heart.

70. Nor have they the names of Virtues, Sciences, Arts, Trades, nor those of most of our Arms and Tools, save only what they have learn'd since their Commerce with the Christians.

71. They can name but four Colours, whereto they make all the rest to relate; to wit, White, Black, Yellow, and Red.

72. They cannot express any number above Twenty; & their expression of that is pleasant, being oblig'd, as we said elswhere, to shew all the Fingers of their Hands, and Toes of their Feet.

73. When they would signifie a great Number, which goes beyond their Arithmetick, they have no other way then to shew the hair of their Heads, or the sand of the Sea; or they repeat several times the word Mouche, which signifies Much; as when they say in their Gibberish, Moy mouche mouche Lunes, to shew that they are very ancient.

74. In fine, They have neither Comparatives nor Superla∣tives; but for want thereof, when they would compare things together, and prefer one before all the rest, they express their

sentiment by a demonstration which is natural and pleasant enough: Thus, when they would represent what they think of the Europaean Nations which they are acquainted withall, they say of the Spaniards and the English, that they are not good at all; of the Dutch, that they have as much goodness as a mans hand, or as far as the elbow; and of the French, that they are as both the arms, which they stretch out to shew the greatness thereof: This last Nation they have a greater affe∣ction for than for any other, especially those of it who have gone along with them to their wars; for they give those part of their booty: And as often as they return from their wars, though the French had not gone along with them, yet do they send them part of the spoil.

CHAP. XI. Of the Dispositions of the Caribbians, and their Manners.

THE Caribbians are naturally of a pensive and melancho∣ly temperament, fishing, sloth, and the temperature of the air contributing much to the continuance of that humour: but having found by experience, that that uncomfortable con∣stitution was prejudicial to their health, and that the mind ore-press'd dries up the bones, they for the most part do so great violence to their natural inclination, that they appear chearful, pleasant, and divertive in their conversation, especi∣ally when they have got a little wine in their heads: Nay they have brought themselves to such a pass, that, as the Brasilians,* 1.14 they can hardly endure the company of such as are melancho∣ly: and those who have conversed much with them have al∣waies found them very facetious, and loth to let slip any occa∣sion of laughing, without making their advantage of it: nay sometimes they have burst out into laughter, at what the most inclin'd thereto among us would hardly have smil'd.

Their discourses among themselves are commonly concern∣ing their hunting, their fishing, their gardening, or some other innocent subjects; and when they are in strange company, they are never troubled if any body laugh in their presence, so far are they from thinking it done as any affront to them: And yet, they are so far from the simplicity of a certain Nation of New-France, who acknowledge themselves to be Savages, not knowing what that denomination signifies, that they think themselves highly injur'd when any one gives them that name:

for they understand what the word means, and say that term belongs only to the wild beasts, the Inhabitants of the woods: Nor do they take it well to be called Cannibals, though they eat the flesh of their Enemies, which they say they do to sa∣tisfie their indignation and revenge, and not out of any deli∣cacy they find in it more than in any thing else whereby they are sustain'd: But they are extreamly pleas'd when any one calls them Caribbians, because it is a name they pride them∣selves much in, as being a certain acknowledgment of their ge∣nerosity and courage: For they are not only the Apalachites, from amongst whom they came, who by that word signifie a Warlike and valiant man, endu'd with force and a particular dexterity in military affairs; but even the Aronagnes themselves their irreconcileable Enemies, having often experienc'd their valour, understand thereby the same thing, though by the same word they would also denote a Cruel person, by reason of the miseries the Caribbians have occasioned them. But howere it be, this is certain, that our Savages of the Caribbies are so much pleased with that name, that speaking to the French they have this perpetually in their mouths, Toy Francois, moy Caraibe, Thou art a French-man, I am a Caribbian.

In all other things they are of a good and tractable disposi∣tion; and they are so great Enemies to severity, that if the Europaean or other Nations who have any of them slaves (as among others the English have some, cunningly trapan'd and carryed away by them from the places of their birth) treat them with any rigour, they many times die out of pure grief: But by fair means they will do any thing, contrary to the Ne∣groes, who must be roughly dealt with, otherwise they grow insolent, slothful, and perfidious.

They commonly reproach the Europaeans with their avarice, and their immoderate industry in getting of wealth together for themselves and their Children, since the earth is able to find sufficient sustenance for all men, if so be they wil take ever so little pains to cultivate it: as for themselves, they say they are not perplex'd with caring for those things whereby their lives are preserv'd; and indeed it must be acknowledged, that they are incomparably fatter, and have their health better than those that fare deliciously: Most certain it is, that they live without ambition, without vexation, without disquiet, having no de∣sire of acquiring honours or wealth, slighting Gold and Silver, as the ancient Lacedemonians, and the Peruvians, and content∣ing themselves with what Nature had made them, and what the earth supplies them withall for their sustenance: And when they go a hunting, or a fishing, or root up trees for ground to make a little Garden, or to build houses, which are innocent employments, and suitable to the nature of man, they do all without eagerness, and as it were by way of divertisement and recreation.

But it raises a particular astonishment in them when they see how much we esteem Gold, considering we are so well furnish'd with Glass and Chrystal, which in their judg∣ment are more beautiful, and consequently ought to be more highly prized: To this purpose, Benzoni a Milanese Historian, relates a strange story of the New-world, how that the Indi∣ans detesting the insatiable avarice of the Spaniards, who sub∣du'd them, took a piece of Gold in their hands, and said,

Be∣hold the God of the Christians; for this they come from Ca∣steel into our Country; for this they have made us slaves, ba∣nish'd us out of our habitations, and committed horrid things against us; for this they are engag'd in wars amongst them∣selves; for this they kill one the other; for this they are alwaies in disquiet, they quarrel, rob, curse and blaspheme: In fine, there is no villany, no mischief but they will commit for this.

In like manner, our Caribbians, when they see the Christians sad and perplext at any thing, are wont to give them this gen∣tle reprehension: ``Compere (a word they have learnt of the French, and commonly use to express their affection, as the wo∣men do also call our Europaeans Commeres, as a mark of their friendship; both words signifying in English Gossip, or familiar friend)

how miserable art thou, thus to expose thy person to such tedious and dangerous Voyages, and to suffer thy self to be orepress'd with cares and fears! The inordinate desire of acquiring wealth puts thee to all this trouble, and all these inconveniences; and yet thou art in no less disquiet for the Goods thou hast already gotten, than for those thou art desi∣rous to get: Thou art in continual fear lest some body should rob thee either in thy own Country or upon the Seas, or that thy Commodities should be lost by shipwrack, and devour'd by the waters: Thus thou growest old in a short time, thy hair turns gray, thy forehead is wrinkled, a thousand incon∣veniences attend thy body, a thousand afflictions surround thy heart, and thou makest all the haste thou canst to the grave: Why art thou not content with what thy own Coun∣try produces?

Why dost not thou contemn riches as we do?* 1.15 And to this purpose, the great Traveller Vincent le Blanc hath a remarkable discourse of some Brasilians:

That wealth which you Christians pursue with so much earnestness, do they any way promote your advancement in the grace of God? Do they prevent your dying? Do you carry them along with you to the grave?

To the same purpose was their discourse to J. de Lery, as he relates in his History.* 1.16

The Caribbians have this further reproach to make to the Europaeans, to wit, that of their usurpation of their Country, and they stick not to do it as a manifest injustice:

Thou hast driven me, says this poor people, out of St. Christophers, Mevis, Montserrat, St. Martins, Antego, Gardeloupe, Barbou∣thos,

St. Eustace's, &c. neither of which places belonged to thee, and whereto thou couldest not make any lawful pre∣tence: And thou threatnest me every day to take away that little which is left me: What shall become of the poor mise∣rable Caribbian? Must he go and live in the Sea with the fishes? Thy Country must needs be a wretched one, since thou leavest it to come and take away mine: Or thou must needs be full of malice, thus to persecute me out of a frolick.

This complaint may well exempt them from the opprobrious denomination of Savages.

Lycurgus would not permit his Citizens to travel, out of a fear they might learn the manners of forreign Countries: But our Savages stand in need of much travel to unbarbarize them∣selves, if we may use such an expression: And yet they are not only free from that insatiable covetousness, which makes the Christians undertake so great and so dangerous voyages, but also from the curiosity of seeing any other Country in the world, as being enamoured of their own more than any other. And thence it comes, that, imagining we should not be more curious than they are, nor less lovers of our Countries, they are astonish'd at our Voyages; wherein they have the honour to be like Socrates, of whom Plato gives this testimony, that he had no more design to leave Athens, with any intention to travel, than the lame and the blind; and that he desired not to see other Cities, nor to live under other Laws; being, as to this particular, as far as our Caribbians, from the opinion of the Persians, among whom it is come into a Proverb, that he who hath not travell'd the world may be compared to a Bear.

But we are to note further, that our Caribbians of the Islands have not only an aversion from travelling into any other parts of the world, but they would not also willingly suffer any of theirs to be carried away into a strange Country, without an absolute promise within a short time to bring them back again: But if it happens through some misfortune that any one of them dies by the way, there is no thinking of any return among them, for there is no hope of reconciliation.

But if they have no curiosity for things at a great distance from them, they have much for those that are neerer hand, in∣somuch that if a man open a chest in their presence, he must shew them all that is in it, otherwise they will think themselves dis-obliged: And if they like any thing of what they see therein, though it be of ever so little value, they will give the most precious thing they have for it, that so they may satisfie their inclination.

As concerning Traffick, true it is, that having treated about something, they will fall off from what they have promised: But the secret to make them stand to their bargain, is to tell

them, that a Merchant ought to be as good as his word: For when they are press'd upon in point of honour, and reproached with inconstancy as if they were children, they are ashamed of their lightness.

Theft is accounted a great crime amongst them; wherein it must be acknowledged they shew themselves more rational* 1.17 than Lycurgus, who allowed that vice in the Lacedaemonian children, as a very commendable employment, provided they did their business cleaverly, and Hocus-pocus-like: But the Caribbians have so natural and so great an aversion for that sin, that there is no such thing found among them, which is very rare among Savages: For most of them are Theeves; and* 1.18 thence it is that some of their Islands have their name thence.

But for the Caribbians, as they are are not of their own na∣ture any way inclined to thieving, so they live without any di∣strust one of another: So that their Houses and Plantations are left without any body to look to them, though they have neither doors nor inclosures, after the same manner as some Hi∣storians relate of the Tartars: But if the least thing in the* 1.19 world be taken from them, such as may be a little knife, where∣with they do strange things in Joyner's work, they so highly prize what is useful to them, that such a loss is enough to set them a weeping, and grieving for the space of eight days after it, nay will engage them in combinations with their friends to get reparations, and to be reveng'd on the person whom they suspect guilty of the theft: Accordingly in those Islands where they have their habitations neer those of the Christi∣ans, they have often revenged themselves of those who had, as they said, taken away any of their little houshould-stuff: And in those places when they find something wanting in their hou∣ses, they presently say, Some Christian hath been here: And among the grievances and complaints which they make to the Governours of the French Nation, this comes alwaies in the front, Compere Governour, thy Mariners (so they call all the forreign Inhabitants) have taken away a knife out of my Cot, or some other piece of houshold-stuff of that kind. The Inha∣bitants of Guinny would not make any such complaints: For if they chance to lose something, they are of a perswasion that some of their deceased Relations, having occasion for it in the other world, came and took it away.

The Caribbians are a people as it were associated in one com∣mon interest, and they are of all people the most loving one to another; being in that particular far from the humour of those Astaticks of Java, who speak not to their own Brothers without a dagger in their hands, so distrustful are they one of another: From this affection which our Savages mutually bear one another, does it proceed that there are few quarrels and animosities among them.

But if they are once injur'd, either by a Stranger or one of their own Countrymen, they never forgive, but contrive all the waies they can to be revenged: Thus when any of those Imposters, whom they call Bogez, makes them believe that one of those whom they account Sorcerers is author of the mischief that hath happened to them, they endeavour all they can to kill him, saying, Yaraliatana, he hath bewitched me; Ne∣banebouibatina, I will be revenged of him: And this furious passion and desire to be revenged, is that which makes them so brutish, as we said before, as to eat the very flesh of their Enemies, whereof we shall give the particulars in their pro∣per place: This implacable animosity is the vice generally reigning among them; and it exercises the same Tyranny, without any exception, over all the Savages of America: The revenge of the Inhabitants of Canada is sometimes very plea∣sant; for they eat their own lice, because they have bitten them: If the Brasilians hurt themselves against a stone, to be* 1.20 revenged they bite it as hard as they can; It is observed also that they bite the Arrows which light upon them in fight∣ing.

Without any obligation to Lycurgus, or his Laws, the Carib∣bians, by a secret law of nature, bear a great respect to anci∣ent people, and hear them speak with much attention, expres∣sing by their gesture, and a little tone of the voice, how much they are pleas'd with their discourses: And in all things the younger sort comply with the sentiments of the ancient, and* 1.21 submit to their wills: It is reported they do the same in Brasil and China.

The Young men among the Caribbians have no conversation either with the Maids or married Women: And it hath been observed, that the men are less amorous in this Country than the women, as they are in several other places under the Tor∣rid Zone: Both the men and women among the Caribbians are naturally chast, a quality very rare among Savages: And when those of other Nations look over-earnestly upon them, and laugh at their nakedness, they are wont to say to them, Friends, you are to look on us only between both the eyes; a vertue worthy admiration in a people that go naked, and are as barbarous as these.

It is related of Captain Baron, that in one of the incursions made by him and his party into the Island of Montserrat, then possest by the English, he made great waste in the Plantations that lay neerest to the Sea, so that he carried a great booty, and that among the Prisoners there being a young Gentlewo∣man, Wife to one of the Officers of the Island, he caused her to be brought to one of his houses in Dominico: this Gentle∣woman being big with child when she was carried away, was very carefully attended during the time of her lying in, by

the Savage women of the same Island: And though she liv'd there a good while after among them, neither Captain Baron nor any other ever touched her; a great example of reserved∣ness in such people.

Yet must it be acknowledged, that some of them have since degenerated from that chastity, and many other vertues of their Ancestors: But we must withall make this acknowledg∣ment, that the Europaeans by their pernicious examples, and the unchristian-like treatment they have us'd towards them, base∣ly deceiving them, perfidiously upon all occasions breaking their promises with them, unmercifully rifling and burning their houses and villages, and ravishing and debauching their Wives and Daughters, have taught them (to the perpetual in∣famy of the Christian name) dissimulation, lying, treachery, perfidiousness, luxury, and several other vices, which were un∣known in those parts, before they had any Commerce with them.

But as to other concerns, these Savages are remarkable for their civility and courtesie, beyond what can be imagined in Savages: Not but that there are some Caribbians very brutish and unreasonable; but for the greater part of them their judgment and docility is observable upon many occasions, and those who have conversed long with them, have found several experiences of their fair dealing, gratitude, friendship and ge∣nerosity: But of this we shall speak more particularly in the Chapter where we shall treat of their Reception of such Stran∣gers as come to visit them.

They are also great lovers of cleanliness (a thing extraordi∣nary among Savages) and have such an aversion for all nasti∣ness, that if one should ease himself in their Gardens where their Cassava and Potatoes are planted, they will pre∣sently forsake them, and not make use of any thing growing therein: Of this their neatness in this and other things, we shall have occasion to say more in the Chapter Of their Habitations, and their Repasts.

CHAP. XII. Of the natural simplicity of the Caribbians.

ADmiration being the Daughter of Ignorance, we are not to think it strange that the Caribbians, who have so little knowledge of those excellent things which study and experi∣ence have made familiar amongst civiliz'd Nations, should be

so much astonish'd when they meet with any thing whereof the cause is unknown to them, and that they should be brought up in so great simplicity, that it might be taken in most of these poor people for a brutish stupidity.

This simplicity is remarkable, among other things, in the extraordinary fear they conceive at the sight of Firearms, which they look on with a strange admiration; but their astonish∣ment is greatest at Fire-locks, much beyond what they have for great Guns and Muskets, because they see Fire put to them; but for Fire-locks, they are not able to conceive how it is pos∣sible they should take Fire; and so they believe it is the evil Spirit Maboya who does that Office: But this fear and astonish∣ment is common to them with divers other Savages, who have not found any thing so strange in their encounters with the Europaeans, as those Arms which spit Fire, and at so great a di∣stance wound and kill those whom they meet with: This was* 1.22 it, together with the Prodigy of seeing Men fighting on Horse∣back, which principally made the Peruvians think the Spaniards to be Gods, and occasioned their submission to them with less resistance. It is reported also that the Arabians, who make Incursions along the River Jordan, and should be more accu∣stomed to War, are not free from this fear and astonishment.

Among the several discoveries of the simplicity of our Ca∣ribbians, we shall here set down two very considerable ones. When there happens an Eclipse of the Moon, they believe that Maboya eats her, and they dance all night, making a noise with Gourds, wherein there are many small Pebbles: And when they smell any thing of ill scent, they are wont to say, Maboya cayeu eu, that is, The Devil is here; Caima Loary, Let us be gone because of him, or for fear of him: Nay they attribute the name of Maboya, or Devil, to certain Plants of ill scent, such as may be Mushrooms, and to whatever is apt to put them into any fright.

Some years since, the greatest part of the Caribbians were perswaded that Gun-powder was the Seed of some Herb; nay, there were those who desir'd some of it to sow in their Gar∣dens; nay, some were so obstinate, that, though disswaded from it, they put it into the ground, out of a perswasion that it would bring forth somwhat, as well as other Seeds: Yet was not this Imagination so gross as those of certain Brutes of Guinny, who, the first time they saw Europaeans, thought the Commodities they brought them, such as Linnen, Cloathes, Knives, and Fire-arms, grew on the Earth so prepar'd, as the Fruits did on Trees, and that there was no more to be done than to gather them: That certainly is not so pardonable a piece of simplicity as that of the Caribbians: And we may fur∣ther alledg, to excuse that simplicity, or at least to render it the* 1.23 more supportable, the stupidity of those Inhabitants of Ameri∣ca,

who, upon the first Discovery of the New-World, imagin'd that the Horse and the Rider made up one Creature, like the imaginary Centaurs of the Poets: And that of those others, who* 1.24 after they were subdu'd, coming to desire peace and pardon of the Men, and to bring them Gold and Provisions, went and made the same Presents to the Horses, with a Speech much like that which they had made to the Men, interpreting the neighing of those Creatures for a Language of composition and truce: And to conclude these instances, we shall add only the childish sot∣tishness* 1.25 of those same Indians of America, who roundly be∣liev'd, that the Letters which the Spaniards sent one to another were certain Messengers and Spies, speaking, and seeing, and discovering the most secret actions; and upon this perswasion, fearing one day the eye and tongue of one of these Letters, they hid it under a stone, that they might freely eat some Me∣lons of their Masters. In fine, there will be no cause to think it so strange that the Caribbians should take Gun-powder, a thing absolutely unknown to them, for some seed that might be sown, when there were some people living in France, whose habitations being at a great distance from the places where Salt was made, thought out of a like imagination that it was ga∣ther'd in Gardens. It hapned also, not many years since, that a Woman, an Inhabitant of Martinico, having sent several pounds of Caret-shells and Tobacco to a She-Merchant of S. Ma∣lo's,* 1.26 when this latter had put off the Commodity, she gave an account thereof to her Correspondent at Martinico, and ad∣vis'd to plant Carets in her Garden rather then Tobacco, for that the former was much dearer in France, and that there was no danger of its rotting in the Ship, as there was of Tobacco. But let us consider what there is yet to be said concerning the natural simplicity of our Savages of the Caribbies.

It is a pleasant thing to consider that these poor people should be so simple, as that though they have many places fit for the making of Salt, yet dare they not make use of it, as accounting Salt extreamly prejudicial to health, and the preservation of life; thence it proceeds that they never either eat of it, or sea∣son their meat therewith; and when at any time they see our people make use of it, they say to them, out of a compassion worthy compassion, Compere, thou hastenest thy own death: But instead of Salt, they season all their messes with Pyman, or Ame∣rican Pepper.

Nor is there any Swines-flesh eaten among them, which they call Coincoin, and Bouïrokou; nor yet Tortoise, (or as some call them Turtles) which they call Catallou, though there be abun∣dance of those Creatures in their Country: Of this their absti∣nence they give the simplest reasons imaginable: For as to the Swine, they are afraid to taste of it, lest they should have small eyes like those of that Beast; now in their judgment it is the

greatest of all deformities to have small eyes, and yet there are few among them but have them such. As for the Tortoise, the reason of their abstinence from that is no less ridiculous; they will not feed on that, say they, out of a fear lest if they did, they should participate of the laziness and stupidity of that Creature.

Most of those people who are known by the name of Savages are also full of strange and fantastical imaginations concerning the matter and manner of eating: For example, the Canadi∣ans* 1.27 abstain from Muscles, only out of a pure fancy; but they are such Beasts that they cannot give any reason for that abstinence: They will not cast the Beavers bones to the Dogs, lest the soul of that Beast should go and tell the other Beavers, and so oblige them to leave the Country: It is reported also, That they do not eat the marrow of the back-bone of any Creature, for fear of having any pain in the back. The Brasi∣lians eat no hens egges, out of an opinion they are poison: They* 1.28 abstain also from the flesh of Ducks, and that of every Crea∣ture that goes slowly, as also from Fishes that do not swim swiftly, for fear of participating of the slowness of those Crea∣tures. The Maldiveses forbear the meat of Tortoises, as the* 1.29 Caribbians do; but it is because of the conformity there is, in their judgment, between them and Man. The Calecutians, and some others who live more towards the East, never taste of the flesh of wild Oxen, Cows, and Bulls, out of a perswa∣sion that mens Souls, when they depart out of their Bodies, go and animate those of the said Beasts. In fine, certain Pe∣ruvians of the Province of Pastu abstain from all kinds of flesh whatsoever; and if they are intreated to taste thereof, their answer is, That they are not Dogs. All these Instances are brought upon the Stage, to shew that the aversion of the Caribbians to eat Salt, Swines-flesh, and Tortoises, should not cause them to be accounted the most self-will'd and most extravagant of all the Savages.

Besides the discoveries we have already made of their sot∣tishness and simplicity, there is this yet to be added, That they are so stupid, that they cannot count a number exceeding that of the Fingers of their Hands and the Toes of their Feet, which they shew to express the said number, what exceeds it surpas∣sing with them all Arithmetick; so that they would be very unfit for Bankiers; an humour contrary to that of the Chine∣ses,* 1.30 who are such excellent Accomptants, that in a moment they cast up such Sums as it would trouble us much to do, and that with greater certainty.

But the Caribbians have the priviledge not to be the only Nation in the World which may be reproach'd with this igno∣rance; for it is as great among the people of Madagascar and Guinny, to cite no more; nay, some ancient Historians affirm,

That there were some people who could not count above five, and others who could not exceed four.

The Inhabitants of Guinny having counted to Ten, were wont to set a mark, and then begin again. Certain Savages of the Septentrional part of America, to express a great number, which it was impossible for them to name, make use of an easie kind of demonstration, taking their hair or some sand in their hands; a sort of comparisons which are frequent in holy Scri∣pture. The Inhabitants of the Caribby-Islands have also their invention to supply the defect of Arithmetick; for when they are to go to the Wars, and are to be ready at their general Rendezvouz on a certain day, they take each of them one af∣ter another an equal number of Pease, in their solemn Assem∣bly; as for instance, thrice or four times Ten, and some certain number under Ten, if need be, according as they are resolv'd to advance their Enterprise; they put up these Pease in a little Gourd, and every morning they take out one, and cast it away, till there are none left, and then the appointed time for their departure is come, and the next day they are to be upon their march: Another way they have is this, every one of them makes so many knots on a little Cord, and every day they unty one, and when they are come to the last they make ready for the Rendezvouz: Somtimes also they take little pieces of Wood, upon which they make so many notches as they intend to spend days in their preparation; every day they cut off one of the notches, and when they come to the last, they take their march towards the place appointed.

The Captains, the Boyez, and the most ancient among them, have more understanding than the common sort, and by long experience, join'd to what they had receiv'd by tradition from their Ancestors, they have acquir'd a gross knowledge of divers Stars; whence it comes that they count the Months by Moons, and the Years by the Seven Stars, taking particular notice of that Constellation: Thus some Peruvians regulated their Years by their Harvests: Those Inhabitants of Canada who live in the Mountains observe the number of the Nights and Winters; and the Soriqueses count by Suns. But though the more judicions among the Caribbians discern the Months, and the Years, and observe the different Seasons, yet have they not any Monu∣ments of Antiquity, and cannot tell how long it is since the first of their Nation left the Continent, and setled themselves in the Islands; but all the account they are able to give of it is, That neither themselves, nor their Fathers, nor their Grandfa∣thers could remember any thing of it; nor can they tell what age they are of, nor give any precise account of the time when the Spaniards came into their Country, nor of several other things of that nature; for they take no notice of ought of this kind, and make no account of knowing what is done in the World.

CHAP. XIII. Of that which may be called Religion among the Caribbians.

THere is no Nation so savage, no People so barbarous, but they have some opinion and perswasion of a Divinity, said Cicero; nay, Nature her self seems to have been so indul∣gent* 1.31 to Mankind, as to make some impression of a Divinity in the minds of Men; for what Nation, what kind of Men are there, but have, without any previous learning it from others, a natural sentiment of the Divinity? We may with just reason admire these noble Illuminations proceeding out of the mouth of a man groping in the darkness of Paganism: But things are come to that pass now, that it will be a hard matter to make good the famous words of that incomparable Orator and Prince of Roman Eloquence: For the poor Savages of the ancient People of the Antes in Peru, and of the two Provinces of the Chirrhuanes or Cheriganes, those of most of the Countries of New-France, New-Mexico, New-Holland, Brasil, New-Nether∣lands, Terra del Fuego, the Arouagues, the Inhabitants about the River Cayenna, the Islands of Robbers, and some others, if we may credit Historians, have not any kind of Religion, and do not adore any Sovereign Power.

Those also who have convers'd among the Originary Inha∣bitants of the Caribby-Islands, are forc'd to acknowledge, That they have, by the violence of their brutish passions, smother'd all the apprehensions Nature had bestow'd on them of a Divi∣nity; that they have rejected all the Directions and Instructi∣ons which might guide them to the knowledge thereof; and consequently, that by the just judgment of God they are sur∣rounded by so dreadful a night, that there is not to be seen among them either Invocation, or Ceremonies, or Sacrifices, or, in fine, any Exercise or Assembly whatsoever in order to Devotion: nay, they are so far from having any of these things, that they have not so much as a name to express the Divinity, so far are they from serving it; so that when any one would speak to them concerning God, he must use these circumlocutions; He who hath created the World, who hath made all things, who gives life and sustenance to all living Creatures, or somthing of that kind: They are accordingly so blinded and brutish, that they do not make any acknowledgment of the Lord of Nature, in that admirable work of the Universe; wherein he hath been pleas'd to represent himself in a thousand immortal colours, and make his adorable Omnipotency as it were visible to the

eye: Thence comes it that they are deaf to the voices of an infinite number of creatures which continually preach unto them the presence of their Creator: And so they daily use the benefits of their Sovereign Master, without ever reflecting that he is the Author thereof, and making any acknowledg∣ment of his goodness, who hath so liberally supplyed them therewith.

They say that the Earth is the indulgent Mother, who fur∣nishes them with all things necessary to life: But their terre∣strial minds are not raised to any apprehension of that Almigh∣ty and all-merciful Father who fram'd the Earth, and by the continual influence of his Divinity impregnates it with the ver∣tue of producing all things for the nourishment of man: If any one speak to them concerning that Divine Essence, and di∣scourse with them of the mysteries of Faith, they will hearken to all that is said with much patience: But when the discourse is at an end, they answer as it were in jest, Friend thou art very elo∣quent, thou art very subtle, I would I could talk as well thou dost: Nay sometimes they say as the Brasilians do, that if they should suffer themselves to be perswaded by such discourses, their Neighbours would laugh at them.

A certain Caribbian being at work on a Sunday, Monsieur du Montel relates how that he said to him,

Friend, he who hath made Heaven and Earth will be angry with thee for working on this day; for he hath appointed this day for his service: And I, reply'd very bluntly the Savage, am already very angry with him; for thou sayest he is the Master of the world and of the seasons: He it is therefore who hath forborn to send rain in due time, and by reason of the great drought hath caused my Manioc and my Potatoes to rot in the ground: since he hath treated me so ill, I will work on every Sunday, though 'twere purposely to vex him.

See here a pregnant example of the brutality of this wretched people. This di∣scourse is much like that of those senceless people among the Topinambous, who, when it was told them that God was the Author of the Thunder, argued, that it followed he was not good, since he took such pleasure in frighting them after that manner. But to return to the Caribbians.

Those of the same Nation who live in the Meridional Con∣tinent of America, have no more Religion than the Inhabitants of the Caribbies: Some among them have a certain respect for the Sun and the Moon, and imagine that they are animated; yet do they not adore them, nor offer, nor sacrifice any thing to them: It is probable they have retain'd that veneration for those two great Luminaries from the remembrance of the Apalachites, among whom their Predecessors had sometimes sojourned. Our Islanders have not preserved any thing of that Tradition; but we shall here set down all that may be called

Religion among them, and what bears a gross representation thereof.

They have a natural sentiment of some Divinity, or some su∣perior and obliging power, which hath its residence in the Hea∣vens; They say,

That the said power is content quietly to enjoy the delights of its own felicity, without being offended at the ill actions of men, and that it is endued with so great goodness, that it does not take any revenge even of its Ene∣mies:

whence it comes that they render it neither honour nor adoration, and that they interpret those Treasures of cle∣mency, whereof it is so liberal towards them, and that long∣suffering whereby it bears with them, either to weakness or the indifference it hath for the conduct of mankind.

Their perswasion therefore is, that there are two kinds of spi∣••its, some good, others evil: The good spirits are their Gods; ••nd they call them in general Akamboue, which is the word used ••y the men; and Opoyem, which is that of the Women: True ••t is, the word Akambouè signifies simply a Spirit, and thence ••t comes that it is also called the spirit of man; but this appel∣••ation they never attribute to the evil spirits: These good spi∣rits, which are their Gods, are more particularly express'd by ••he men under the word Icheiri, and by the women under ••hat of Chemiin, which we cannot render otherwise than by that of God, and Chemiignum, the Gods: And every one speaking particularly of his God, says Icheirikou, which is the word of the men, and Nechemerakou, which is that of the women: But both men and women call the evil spirit, which is their De∣vil, Mapoya, or Maboya, as all the French pronounce it; but the Caribbians in that word pronounce the B according to the Ger∣man pronunciation.

They believe that there is a great number of these good Spirits, or Gods, and every one imagines that there is one of them particularly design'd for his conduct: They say there∣fore, that these Gods have their abode in Heaven, but they know not what they do there, and of themselves they never propose to themselves the making of any acknowledgment of them as Creators of the world, and the things contained there∣in: But only when it is said to them, that the God we adore is he who hath made Heaven and Earth, and that it is he who causeth the Earth to bring forth things for our nourishment; they answer; True, thy God hath made the Heaven and the Earth of France (or some other Country, which they name) and causes thy Wheat to grow there: But our Gods have made our Country, and cause our Manioc to grow.

It is affirmed by some, that they call their false Gods des Rio∣ches; but that word is not of their Language, but is derived from the Spanish: The French affirm the same thing after the Spaniards; and if the Caribbians make use of it, they do it not

among themselves but only among Strangers: So that from what hath been said it is apparent, that though these Barbari∣ans have a natural sentiment of some Divinity, or some supe∣rior Power, yet it is intermixt with so many extravagances, and involv'd in so great darkness, that it cannot be said those poor people have any knowledge of God: For the Divinities they acknowledge, and to whom they render a certain homage, are so many Devils, by whom they are seduc'd and kept in the chains of a damnable slavery, though they make a certain di∣stinction between them and the evil Spirits.

They have neither Temples nor Altars particularly dedica∣ted to these pretended Divinities which they acknowledge, and so they do not sacrifice to them any thing that hath had life; but they only make them offerings of Cassava, and of the first of their Fruits; and when they think they have been healed by them of some disease, they make a kind of wine or a feast in honour of them, and by way of acknowledgment, and as it were to express their gratitude, they offer them some Cassava, and Ouïcou; all these offerings are called by them Ana∣cri. Their Houses being made after on oval figure, and the roof reaching to the ground, they set at one end of the Hut their Offerings in Vessels according to the nature of the thing, upon one or more Matoutous, or little Tables made of Bull-rushes and the leaves of the tree called the Latanier: Every one may make his Offerings to his God in his own House, or Cot; but when it is done in order to invocation, there must be one of the Boyez present: All these Offerings are not accompa∣ny'd with any adoration, or Prayers, and they consist only in the bare presentation of those gifts.

They also invocate their false Gods when they desire their presence; but that is to be done by the interposition of the Boyez, that is to say, their Priests, or to say better, their Ma∣gicians; and this they do especially upon four occasions.

• 1. To demand revenge on some body who hath done them any mischief, and to bring some punishment upon him.
• 2. To be healed of some disease wherewith they are trou∣bled, and to know what will be the issue thereof: And when they are recovered, they make Wines, as they are called in the Islands, that is, Assemblies of rejoycing and congratulation, and debauches in honour of them, as it were by way of acknow∣ledgment of their favour: And their Magicians do also per∣form the office of Physitians among them, by an association of Magick and Medicine, never doing any cure, or applying any remedies but what are accompany'd by some act of super∣stition.
• 3. They consult them also to know the event of their wars.
• ...

• 4. Lastly, they invocate those spirits by the means of their Boyez, to obtain of them that they would drive away Maboya, or the evil Spirit: But they never invocate Maboya himself, as some have imagined.

Every Boyé hath his particular God, or rather his familiar Devil, which he invocates by the singing of certain words, ac∣companied with the smoke of Tobacco, which they cause to be burnt before that Devil, as a perfume which is very delight∣ful to him, and the scent whereof is able to make him ap∣pear.

When the Boyez invocate their familiar Devil, it is alwaies done in the night-time, and great care must be taken that there be no light neer, nor any fire in the place where they exercise their abominations; for these spirits of darkness perfectly ab∣hor all light: And when several Boyez invocate their Gods at the same time, as they speak, those Gods, or rather Devils, rail one at another, and quarrel, attributing to one another the causes of every ones evil, and they seem to fight.

These Demons shelter themselves sometimes in the bones of dead men taken out of their graves and wrapt in Cotton, and thereby give Oracles, saying it is the soul of the deceased per∣son: They make use of them to bewitch their Enemies, and to that end the Sorcerers wrap up those bones together with something that belongs to their Enemy. These Devils do also sometimes enter into the bodies of Women, and speak by them: When the Boyé or Magician hath by his Charms obliged his fa∣milar Spirit to appear, he bids him appear under different shapes, and those who are about the place where he exercises his damnable superstitions, say, that he clearly answers the que∣stions made to him, that he foretels the event of a war or dis∣ease, and after the Boyé is retired, that the Devil stirs the Vessels, and makes a noise with his jaws, as if he were eating and drinking the presents prepared for him: but the next day they find he hath not meddled with any thing: These profane offerings which have been defiled by these unhappy Spirits, are accounted so holy by the Magicians and the poor people whom they have abused, that only the most ancient and most consi∣derable persons among them, have the liberty to taste of them; nay they durst not do that, unless they have that cleanness of body which they say is requisite in all those that are to be ad∣mited thereto.

Assoon as these poor Savages are troubled with any sickness or pain, they believe that they are sent upon them by the Gods of some of their Enemies; and then they make their ap∣plications to the Boyé, who consulting his Daemon, tells them it is the God of such a one, or such a one, who hath caus'd chose mischiefs to them: And this raises in those who consult, enmity and a desire to be revenged of those whose Gods have treated them in that manner.

Besides the Boyez or Magicians who are highly respected and honoured among them, they have also Sorcerers, at least they think them such, who, as they say, send charms upon them, and dangerous and fatal enchantments; and those whom they account such, they kill, if ever they light on them: 'Tis ma∣ny times a plausible pretence to be rid of their Enemies.

The Caribbians are subject to some other mischiefs, which they say proceed from Maboya, and they often complain that he beats them: True it is, that some persons of worth, who have conversed a certain time among this poor people, are per∣swaded that they are neither molested, nor effectually beaten by the Devil; and that all the complaints and dreadful relations they make as to that, are grounded only on this, that being of a very melancholick constitution, and having for the most part their spleens swell'd and inflam'd, they are many times subject to terrible dreams, wherein they imagine the Devil appears to them, and beats them: whereupon they start up frighted out of their wits, and when they are fully awake, they say that Maboya hath beaten them; and having the imagination thus hurt, they are perswaded that they feel the pain.

But it is manifest by the testimonies of several other persons of quality and exquisite knowledge, who have sojourned a long time in the Island of St. Vincent, which is inhabited only by the Caribbians, and such as have also seen those of the same Nation who live in the Continent of the Meridional part of America, that the Devils do effectually beat them, and that they often shew on their bodies the visible marks of the blows they had received: We are assured further by the Re∣lations of divers of the French Inhabitants of Martinico, that going into the Quarter of these Savages, who live in the same Island, they have many times found them making horrid com∣plaints that Maboya had immediately before their coming thi∣ther treated them ill, and saying that he was Mouche fache con∣tre Caraibes, mightily incens'd against▪ the Caribbians; so that they accounted the French happy, that their Maboya did not beat them.

Monsieur du Montel, who hath often been present at their as∣semblies, and conversed very familiarly and a long time toge∣ther with those of that Nation who inhabit in the Island of St. Vincents, as also with those of the Meridional Continent, gives this testimony upon this sad occasion:

Notwithstanding the ig∣norance and irreligion wherein our Caribbians live, they know by experience, and fear more than death the evil Spirit, whom they call Maboya; for that dreadful Enemy doth ma∣ny times appear to them under most hideous shapes: And what is particularly observable, that unmerciful and bloudy executioner, who is an insatiable murtherer from the begin∣ing of the world, cruelly wounds and torments those mise∣rable

people, when they are not so forward as he would have them to engage themselves in wars; so that when they are reproached with that over-eager passion which hurries them to the shedding of mans blood, their answer is, that they are forced thereto against their wills by the Ma∣boya.

But these are not the only people whom that implacable Enemy of Mankind treats as his slaves: There are several other barbarous Nations who can alwaies show on their bodies the bloudy marks of his cruelties: For it is reported, that the Brasilians shake and sweat with horrour at the remembrance of his apparitions, and many times out of the pure apprehen∣sion they have of the cruel treatment they are wont to receive from him: Thence it proceeds that some of those Nations flat∣ter that old Dragon, and by adorations, offerings, and sacrifi∣ces, endeavour to abate his rage and appease his fury; as among others, not to mention the people of the Eastern part of the World, some of the Inhabitants of Florida and Canada: For that is the only reason they can give for the service they do him: Nay it is affirmed that the Nation of the Jews was here∣tofore inclin'd to make offerings to that Devil, to be delivered out of his temptations and snares: And one of their own Au∣thors cites this Proverb as used among them; Make a present to* 1.32 Samael, on the day of expiation.

But how great soever the apprehensions which the Caribbians have of their Maboya may be, and how ill soever they may be treated by him, yet do they not honour him with any offer∣ings, prayers, adorations, or sacrifices: All the remedy they use against his cruel vexations, is, the best they can, to make little Images of wood, or some other solid matter, in imitati∣on of the shape under which that wicked spirit hath appeared to them: These Images they hang about their necks, and say they find ease thereby, and that Maboya does not torment them so much when they have those about them: Sometimes also in imitation of the Caribbians of the Continent, they make use of the mediation of the Boyez to appease him, and they there∣upon consult their Gods, as, upon the like occasions those of the Continent have recourse to their Sorcerers, who are highly esteemed among them.

For though the Caribbians of those parts are all generally subtle enough, yet have they among them a sort of crafty companions, who to gain greater authority and reputation among the rest, make them believe that they hold a secret correspondence with the evil Spirits whom they call Maboya, as our Islanders do, whereby they are tormented, and that they learn of them things absolutely unknown to others: These Impostors are looked upon among this poor people that have no knowledge of God, as Oracles, and they consult them in

all things, and superstitiously give credit to their Answers: This occasions irreconcileable Enmities among them, and ma∣ny times Murthers; for when any one dies, his Friends and Relations are wont to consult the Sorcerer how he came to his death; if the Sorcerer answers, that such or such a one was the cause of it, they will never rest till they have dispatch'd him whom the Piais (so they call the Sorcerer in their Language) hath nam'd to them. The Caribbians of the Islands do also in this follow the custom of their Country men of the Continent, as we have represented before.

But this is most certain, and a thing which all the Savages daily acknowledg themselves by experience, That the wicked one hath no power to do them any hurt in the company of any Christians; hence it comes, that in those Islands where the Christians live jointly with the Caribbians, those wretched peo∣ple being persecuted by the Adversary, make all the haste they can to the next houses of the Christians, where they find a cer∣tain refuge against the violent assaults of that furious Oppres∣sor.

It is also a manifest truth, confirm'd by daily experience all over America, That the holy Sacrament of Baptism being conferr'd on these Savages, the Divel never beats nor tor∣ments them afterwards as long as they live.

A man would think, that this seriously consider'd, these people should earnestly desire to embrace the Christian Reli∣gion, that so they might be deliver'd out of the jaws of that roar∣ing Lion. True it is, that while they feel the cruel pricks in the Flesh, they wish themselves Christians, and promise to become such; but as soon as the pain is over, they laugh at Christian Re∣ligion and its Baptism. The same brutish stupidity is found* 1.33 among the people of Brasil.

CHAP. XIV. A Continuation of that which may be called Religion among the Caribbians: Of some of their Traditi∣ons; and of the Sentiment they have of the Immor∣tality of the Soul.

WE have seen in the precedent Chapter how the Spirits of darkness take occasion in the night-time, by hide∣ous apparitions and dreadful representations, to frighten the miserable Caribbians; and how to continue them in their Er∣rors,

and a servile fear of their pretended power, they punish them if they be not so forward as they would have them to comply with their wicked suggestions; and how they charm their Senses by Illusions and strange Imaginations, pretend∣ing to the Authority of revealing to them things to come, healing them of their Diseases, revenging them of their Enemies, and delivering them out of all the dangers whereto they shall be expos'd: All this well consider'd, is it to be admir'd that these Barbarians, who knew not, nor in the least reflected on the honour which God had done them, in making a discovery of himself to them in the many delightful Creatures he hath set before their eyes, to conduct them to the light of their in∣structions, should be deliver'd up to a reprobate sense, and that at this present they should be destitute of all understanding to perceive the true way of Life, and without hope, and without God in the World?

We have also represented, That what indeavours soever they might use to smother all the sentiments of Divine Justice and its Jurisdiction in their Consciences, yet hath there still remain'd in them some spark of that Knowledge, which awakens them, and raises in them from time to time divers fears and apprehen∣sions of that Vengeance which their Crimes might bring upon them: But instead of lifting up their eyes to heaven, to im∣plore the assistance thereof, and by confidence and amendment of life to appease the Sovereign Majesty of the true God, whom they had offended, they descend to the abysses of Hell, to invocate the Devil by the sacrilegious Superstitions of their Magicians, who after they have render'd them those fatal offi∣ces, involve them, by those infamous Contracts, in the deplo∣rable slavery of those cruel Tyrants.

These poor Barbarians are so transported and besotted by those furious passions, that to obtain some favour from those enemies to all goodness, and to appease those Tygers, they render them several small Services; for they not only conse∣crate to them the first of their fruits, but they also devote to them the most sumptuous Tables of their Feasts; they cover them with the most delicate of their Meats, and the most de∣licious of their Drinks; they consult them in their affairs of greatest importance, and are govern'd by their wicked coun∣sels; they expect, in their Sickness, the Sentence of their Life or Death from those detestable Oracles, which they receive by the means of those Puppets of Cotton, wherein they wrap up the worm-eaten Bones of some wretched Carcass taken out of the Grave; and to free themselves from the weight of their blows, and divert their rage, they burn in honour of them the leaves of Tobacco; and somtimes they paint their ugly shapes in the most considerable place of their Vessels which they call Piragas, or they wear hanging about their necks a little Image

representing some one of those cursed Spirits, in the most hide∣ous posture in which they had sometime appear'd unto them, as we have hinted in the precedent Chapter.

It is also conceiv'd, That it is out of the same design of insi∣nuating themselves into the favour of those Monsters, that many times they macerate their Bodies by many bloody incisions and superstitious abstinences, and that they have so great a venera∣tion for the Magicians, who are the infamous Ministers of these infernal Furies, and the Executioners of their enraged Passi∣ons: Yet have not these abus'd wretches any Laws determining the precise time of all these damnable Ceremonies; but the same wicked Spirit which inclines them thereto, finds them occasions enough to exercise them, either by the ill treatment they re∣ceive from him, or their own curiosity to know the event of some military Enterprise, or the success of some Disease, or lastly to find out the means of revenging themselves of their Enemies.

But since those who have liv'd many years in the midst of that Nation unanimously affirm, That in their greatest distres∣ses they never saw them invocate any of those Spirits, we are perswaded, that all those little Services, which fear forces from them rather then reverence or love, ought not to be account∣ed a true Worship, or acts of Religion; and that we shall give those fooleries their right denomination, if we call them Super∣stitions, Enchantments, Sorceries, and shameful productions of that Art which is as black as are those Spirits of darkness whom their Boyez consult: And we may conclude also, that the meat and drink which they present to those counterfeit Di∣vinities, cannot be properly called Sacrifices, but express Com∣pacts between the Divels and the Magicians, obliging them to appear when they call for them.

So that it is not to be thought strange, that in all these weak sentiments which most of the Caribbians have of whatever hath any appearance of Religion, they should among themselves laugh at the Ceremonies of the Christians, and think the worse of those of their Nation who express any inclination to be Ba∣ptised: The surest way therefore for those whose hearts God should open to believe the holy Gospel, would be to leave their Country and Friends, and to go into some of those Islands which are inhabited only by Christians: For though they are not so superstitious as the people of the Kingdom of Calecut, who think it a horror only to touch a person of a contrary perswasion to theirs, as if they were thereby defil'd; nor yet so rigorous as they are in the Kingdom of Pegu, where when a man embra∣ces the Christian Religion, the wife celebrates his Funeral as if he were dead, and erects a Tomb, at which having made her Lamentations, she is at liberty to marry again, as if she were effectually a Widow; yet he among the Caribbians who should

embrace Christianity, would expose himself to thousands of reproaches and affronts, if he continu'd his aboad among them.

When they see the Assemblies and Service of the Christians, they are wont to say, is is pretty and divertive, but it is not the fashion of their Country; not expressing in their presence either hatred or aversion to the Ceremonies, as did the poor Savages who liv'd in the Island of Hispaniola, and the neighbouring Islands, who would not be present at the Service of the Spani∣ards, much less embrace their Religion, because, as they said, they could not be perswaded that persons so wicked and so cru∣el, whose unmerciful barbarism they had so much experienc'd, could have any good belief.

Some Priests and Religious men, who had been heretofore in that Country, having been over-forward in the baptizing of some before they had instructed them in that Mystery, have been the cause that that Sacrament is not in such reputation among the Caribbians as otherwise it might have been: And whereas their Godfathers and Godmothers gave them new Cloathes, and made them some other little Presents on the day of their Baptism, and treated them very sumptuously, within eight days after they had received that Sacrament they desired to receive it again, that they might have other Presents and good cheer.

Not many years since, some of those Gentlemen took into their charge a young Caribbian, their Catechumen, born in Dominico, whose name was Ya Marabouy, a Son of that Cap∣tain whom the French call the Baron, and the Indians Orachora Caramiana, out of a design to shew him one of the greatest and most magnificent Cities in the World, which was Paris; they brought him over-Sea, and after they had shewn him all the Ra∣rities of that great City, he was baptiz'd there with great so∣lemnity, in the presence of many Persons of Honour, and na∣med Lewis: Having sojourn'd a while in those Parts, he was sent back into his own Country, loaden indeed with Presents, but as much a Christian as when he came out of it, because he had not been fully instructed in the Mysteries of Christian Re∣ligion: As soon as he had set foot in his own Island he laugh'd at all he had seen, as if it had been but a May-game, and saying the Christians were an extravagant sort of people, he return'd into the Company of the other Savages, put off his Cloathes, and painted his Body over with Roucou, as he had done before.

To shew the inconstancy and lightness of the Caribbians in the Christian Religion, when they have once embrac'd it, there is a Story, how that while M. Auber was Governour of Garde∣loupe he was often visited by a Savage of Dominico, who had liv'd a long time at Sevil in Spain, where he had been baptiz'd; but being return'd into his Island, though he made as many Signs of the Cross as one would desire, and wore a great pair

of Beads about his Neck, yet he liv'd like a Savage, went na∣ked among his own people, and retain'd nothing of what he had seen and been taught at Sevil, save that he put on an old Spanish Habit, the more to ingratiate himself when he came to visit the Governour.

They have a very ancient Tradition among them, which shews that their Ancestors had some knowledg of a Superior Power which took a care of their Persons, and whose favou∣rable assistance they were sensible of; but this Light their bru∣tish Children have suffer'd to be extinguish'd, and through their ignorance never reflected on it: They say then, That their Ancestors were poor Savages, living like Beasts in the midst of the Woods, without Houses or places where they might re∣treat, living on the Herbs and Fruits which the Earth produc'd of it self without manuring; whilst they were in this misera∣ble condition, an old man among them, extreamly weary of that brutish kind of life, wept most bitterly, and, orewhelm'd with despair, deplor'd his wretched condition; whereupon a Man all in white appear'd to him descending from Heaven, and coming neer, he comforted the disconsolate old man, telling him, That he was come to assist him and his Countrymen, and to shew them the way to lead a more pleasant life for the fu∣ture; That if any one of them had sooner made his complaints to Heaven, they had been sooner relieved; That on the Sea∣shore there was abundance of sharp Stones, wherewith they might ••••ll down Trees to make Houses for themselves; And, That the Palm and Plantine Trees bore Leaves fit to cover the Roofs of them, and to secure them against the injuries of the Weather; That to assure them of the particular care he had of them, and the great affection he bore their species, beyond those of other Creatures, he had brought them an excellent Root, wherewith they might make Bread, and that no Beast should dare to touch it when it was once planted; and that he would have them thence-forward make that their ordinary su∣stenance: The Caribbians add further, That thereupon the charitable unknown person broke a stick he had in his hand in∣to three or four pieces, and that giving to the old man, he com∣manded him to put them into the ground, assuring him that when he should come a while after to dig there, he should find a great Root; and that any part of what grew above-ground, should have the virtue of producing the same Plant: he after∣wards taught him how it was to be used, telling him the Root was to be scraped with a rough and spotted Stone, which was to be had at the Sea-side; that the juice issuing by means of that scraping, was to be laid aside as a most dangerous poison; and then with the help of fire a kind of savory Bread might be made of it, on which they might live pleasantly enough. The old man did what had been enjoin'd him, and at the end of nine

Moons (as they say) being extreamly desirous to know the suc∣cess of the Revelation, he went to see the pieces he had plant∣ed in the ground, and he found that each of them had produ∣ced many fair and great roots, which he disposed of as he had been commanded: Those of Dominico who tell this story, say further, that if the old man had visited the pieces at the end of three days, instead of nine months, he would have found the roots grown to the same bigness, and that they had been pro∣duc'd in that time: But in regard he went not to look what became of them, till after the expiration of so long a time, the Manioc continues to this present all that time in the ground, before it be fit to make Cassava of.

This is all we could get from the Caribbian Tradition, and we conceiv'd it might well be set here at length, since it is the only one that is related among this ignorant people, who trou∣ble themselves not to know the Name and Quality of that kind and heavenly Benefactor who hath obliged them so much, nor to render him any acknowledgment or honour: The Pagans were much more grateful in honouring Ceres, from whom they said they received Corn, and the invention of making bread: And the Peruvians, though they knew not the great Pachaca∣mac, that is, him whom they held to be the soul of the Universe, and the Sovereign Author of their lives and all they had, yet did they adore him in their hearts with much respect and vene∣ration, and rendring him externally by their gestures and words great expressions of their submission and humility, as to the unknown God.

The Caribbians believe they have every one of them so ma∣ny souls as they feel beatings of Arteries in their bodies, be∣sides that of the heart: Now of all these souls the principal, as they say, is in the heart, and after death it goes to Heaven with its Icheiri, or its Chemiin, that is, with its God, who carries it thither to live there in the company of the other Gods: And they imagine that it lives the same kind of life as man lives here below: Thence it comes that to this day they kill slaves on the Tomb of the dead, if they can meet with any that had been in the service of the deceased, to go and wait upon him in the other world: For it is to be observed, that they do not think the Soul to be so far immaterial as to be invisible; but they affirm it to be subtile, and of thin substance as a purified body; and they have but the same word to signifie heart and soul.

As for the other souls, which are not in the heart, they believe some go after death and live on the Sea-side, and that they cause Vessels to turn: They call them Oumekou; the others, as they conceive, go and live in the Woods and Forests, and they call them Maboyas.

Though most of this poor people believe the immortality

of the soul, as we have represented it, yet they speak so con∣fusedly, and with so much uncertainty of the state of the soul separated from the body, that we should sooner have done to say they were absolutely ignorant thereof, than set down their extravagant Relations. Some affirm, that the most valiant of their Nation are carried after their death into certain Fortu∣nate Islands, where they have all things at their wish, and that the Arouagues are there their slaves; that they swim unwearied in great Rivers; that they live deliciously, and spend the time in dancing, playing, and feasting, in a land which produces in abundance all sorts of excellent fruits without any cultiva∣tion: On the contrary they hold, that those who were cowardly & afraid to go to the wars against their▪ Enemies, do after death serve the Arouagues, who inhabite barren and desart Countries beyond the Mountains: But others who are more brutish ne∣ver trouble themselves about their condition after death, nor ever think or speak of it: And if any question be put to them concerning it, they know not what answer to make.

Yet they have all had heretofore a certain belief of the im∣mortality of the Soul, but after a very gross manner, as may be deduc'd from the Ceremonies of their Interrments, and the prayers they make to the dead, that they would return to life, as we shall represent more at large in the last Chapter of this History; as also from this, that the most polite among them are at present of that perswasion, that after death they shall go to Heaven, to which place they say their Ancestors are gone before them; but they never enquire after the way they are to take to attain that happy abode. Accordingly, when their Boyez, who also act the part of Physitians, despair of curing their diseases, and that the Devils have foretold by their mouths that there is no further hopes of life, they give them this com∣fort, that their Gods will conduct them to Heaven, where they shall live at ease without any fear of sickness.

The belief of the Calecutians as to this Article is worse than* 1.34 that of our Caribbians, and their transmigration is an extrava∣gant kind of immortality: For they believe that their souls at the departure out of their bodies are lodg'd in those of wild Oxen, or some other beast. The Brasilians are in this point more rational; for they conceive that the souls of the wicked go after death to the Devil, who beats and torments them, but that the souls of the just are entertain'd with dancing and good cheer in delightful plains beyond the Mountains: And it is* 1.35 pleasant to think that most of the Savages of America place the sovereign felicity of the other life in dancing.

The Resurrection of the body is by the Caribbians account∣ed a pure foolery; their Theology is too obscure to receive so* 1.36 great an illumination: We may therefore well wonder at a small glimpse of this sacred truth in the poor Virginians, since it is

a point wherein the ancient Pagans saw as little as our Caribbi∣ans: There is also a small spark of it among the Indians of Pe∣ru, as most Authors affirm.

But though the Caribbians have so little knowledge and fear of God, as we have represented, yet are they extreamly afraid of his voice, that is Thunder; that dreadful voice which makes such a stir in the clouds, which is attended by such flames of fire, which shakes the foundations of the Mountains, and makes the Neroes and Caligulaes of this world to tremble: Our Sava∣ges therefore assoon as they perceive the approaches of the Tempest, which commonly comes along with that voice, make all the haste they can to their little houses, and sit down on low stools about the fire, covering their faces and resting their heads on their hands and knees; and in that posture they fall a weeping, and say in their Gibberish, Maboya mouche fache contre Caraibe, that is, Maboya is very angry with them: and they say the same when there happens a Hurricane: They give not over that la∣menting exercise, till the Hurricane is quite over; and they are extreamly astonish'd, that the Christians should express so so little affliction and fear upon those occasions. Thus the Grand Tartars are mightily afraid of Thunder, and when they* 1.37 hear it, they drive all strangers out of their houses, and wrap themselves up in Garments of coarse cloth, which they put not off till the noise be over: And divers other barbarous Na∣tions are no less frighted than the Caribbians upon the like occa∣sions: Nay it is reported that the Peruvians, the Cumaneses, the Chineses, and the Moluckeses imitate them in lamentations and frights, when there happens an Eclipse.

Yet is it true, that since the Caribbians have conversed fami∣liarly with the Christians, some of them are grown so resolute as not to be afraid of the Thunder: for some have been seen to laugh when it thundred most, and others counterfeited the noise, pronouncing a word which is not easily written, and whereof the sound comes somewhat neer these letters, Trtrque∣tenni: But it is very certain withall, that they do their natu∣ral inclination a great violence when they pretend that they are not afraid of the Thunder, and it is pure vanity which eggs them on to personate that confidence, to perswade those who see them, that upon those emergencies their generosity is as great as that of the Christians: For some of the French In∣habitants of Martinico who have surpriz'd them in their Quar∣ters when it thundred and lightned, affirm that they found the most resolute among them shivering with fear in their poor Huts.

Now this trouble and these disturbances which they discover at the hearing of that coelestial voice, are they not a visible effect of the sentiment they have of an infinite and sovereign Power, imprinted by Nature on the minds of all men, and a pregnant

proof, that though these wretches endeavour all they can to smother the stings of their Consciences, yet can they not do it so fully but that they prick and torment them, though against their wills? And is not this enough to make good the saying of Cicero, at the begining of the precedent Chapter? For though all men do not in words acknowledge that Divinity, yet are they convinc'd in themselves, by a secret but irresista∣ble hand, which writes this first of all Truths in their hearts with the point of a Diamond: So that to conclude, we shall say with that great man, whose words will put an excellent pe∣riod to this discourse, as they have begun it, That it is innate,* 1.38 and as it were graven in the minds of men, that there is a Divinity.

CHAP. XV. Of the Habitations and House-keeping of the Caribbians.

HIstorians relate, that heretofore some of the ancient Inha∣bitants* 1.39 of Peru liv'd scattered up and down the Moun∣tains and Plains, like savage beasts, having neither Villages nor Houses; That others made their retreat into Caves, and de∣sart and solitary places; and others took up their quarters in ditches and hollow trees: But the Caribbians at the present are in a condition much different from this savage and brutish kind of life: True it is we shall find it no great task to give a description of their Habitations, for they are at no great trou∣ble about the architecture of them; for they require only a tree and a hedge-bill to build themselves a lodging.

Their Habitations are somewhat neer one to another, and dispos'd at certain distances, after the manner of a Village; and for the most part they plant themselves upon some little ascent, that so they may have better air, and secure themselves against those pestilent Flies which we have elsewhere called Mesquitos and Maringoins, which are extreamly troublesome, and whereof the stinging is dangerous in those parts where there is but little wind stirring: The same reason it is that ob∣liges the Floridians, beyond the Bay of Carlos and Tortugues, to lodge themselves for the most part at the entrance of the Sea, in Huts built on Piles or Pillars: The Inhabitants of the Ca∣ribbies are also desirous to be somewhat neer Springs, Brooks, and Rivers, because of their washing of themselves every morn∣ing before they put the red paint on their bodies.

Among us, and several other Nations of this part of the world, the Architects break their brains in studying to make

such strong and sumptuous Edifices, as if they would have their duration to be equal with that of the world: The Chi∣neses, at the late coming of the Christians among them, expres∣sed* 1.40 a certain astonishment thereat, and charged us with Vani∣ty: For their parts they measure the continuance of their Houses by that of their short lives: But our Savages of the Ca∣ribbies are willing to abate much of that term, and order their structures so as that they are oblig'd to build often in their lives: Their little Huts are made in an oval form, of pieces of wood planted in the ground, over which they put a Roof of Plantane-leaves or Sugar-canes, or some herbs which they can so dispose and intermix one among another, that under that covering which reaches to the ground, they are secured against rain and all injuries of the weather: And this Roof, as weak as it seems to be, makes a shift to last three or four years, without being much the worse, unless there happens to be a Hurricane: Pliny affirms, that some Northerly people made use of Reeds* 1.41 for the covering of their houses; and they are used to this day in the Low-Countries, France, and other parts: The Cari∣bians do also make use of small Reeds fasten'd across for the Pa∣lisadoes, which are instead of walls to their Habitations; under every covering they have as many partitions made as they would have Rooms: A simple piece of Mat does among them the office of our doors, bolts, and locks: There's nothing above their heads but the roof it self, and under their feet on∣ly the bare earth; but they are so careful in keeping of it clean, that they sweep it as often as they see the least filth upon it: This they observe in their private houses; for commonly their Carbet, or publick house, where they meet upon some rejoicing account, is not kept over-clean, insomuch that many times the place is full of Chegoes.

Besides the little room where they take their rest, and enter∣tain their friends, every considerable family hath two other little rooms: One serves for a Kitchin, and the other for a kind of Store-house, where they put up their Bows, their Ar∣rows, and their Boutous, which are Clubs of a heavy and smooth wood, which they use in their wars instead of swords, when they have spent all their Arrows: There they also put up their Baskets, their supernumerary beds, with all the toys and ornaments they make use of at publick meetings and upon days of Triumph: All that trumpery they call by the name of Caconnes.

As to furniture, our Savages have only a kind of hanging beds, which they call Amais, which are as it were great Co∣verlets made of Cotton, very nearly woven, and folded toge∣ther at both ends, that they may join the two corners of the bredth: Then they fasten the Amais by the two folded ends, to the principal pillars of their Edifice: Those who have no

Cotton-beds, make use of another kind of Bed, which is called Cabane; and this is made of several small sticks laid across, on which they put a good quantity of Banana-leaves; this Cabane is hung up and sustain'd by the four corners with great cords of Mahot: They have also little Stools or Chairs made all of a piece, of a red or yellow Wood, and as smooth as Marble: There are also some among them who have little Tables, which have four wooden Pillars, and those cover'd with the leaves of that kind of Palm which is called the Latanier.

Their Vessels, as well of the Kitchin as others, are all of Earth, as those of the Maldiveses; or of certain Fruits like our Gourds, but which have a thicker and harder rind, cut after divers figures, and made smooth and painted as well as they are able to do it: of these they make such Vessels as serve instead of Platters, Porringers, Basins, Trenchers, Drinking-cups, and Dishes: All these Vessels made of Fruits, they call Cois or Couis; and it is the same name which the Brasilians give theirs made of the same materials: Their earthen Vessels they make use of as we do of our Kettles and Cauldrons; among others they have one kind which they call Canary; of these Canarys there are some very large, others little; the little ones serve on∣ly for the making of sawces or haut-gousts, which they call Taumalis; but the great ones are employ'd about the making of that kind of Drink which they call Oui••ou: The Caribbians of Martinico do often bring some of these little Canarys to the Quarter of the French, who give them in exchange certain Ca∣eonnes, that is, some toys or other, wherewith they are pleas'd: Those little Vessels are the more esteem'd, because they are not so easily broken as our earthen Pots: These Vessels which we have described, as wretched as they are, are preserv'd by them with as much curiosity and care as can be imagined.

The Caribbians have also, at a pretty distance from their houses, a place for the easing of their natural necessities, to which when they have need they resort, carrying along with them a sharp stiok, wherewith they make a hole in the ground, into which having put their Ordure, they afterwards cover it with earth; so that there is never any thing of that kind seen among them: We take the more particular notice of this Cu∣stom of theirs, because it is consonant to what was done by the Army of Israel as long as they were in the Field: To the same* 1.42 may also be referred the Custom of the Turks, who in that case make a pit with a piece of Iron to cover their Excrements, which keeps their Camp very clean when they are in the Field. An ancient Author affirms, that in the East-Indies a certain Bird named Iusta does somwhat of this kind, burying its own Ordure so as that it may not be seen; but this smells too much of the Fable to be credited. The Tartars, as some affirm, will* 1.43 not so much as make water within the inclosures of their Habi∣tations, as accounting it a sin.

But to return to our Savages: There are to be seen within the inclosures of their houses a great number of Poultry and Turkeys, which they breed not so much for their own Tables, as to make Presents to their Friends the Christians who come to visit them, or to be exchang'd for Hedg-bills, Wedges, Hoes, and other Instruments of Iron which they stand in need of.

They have also about their habitations good store of Orange-Trees, Citron-Trees, Guavas, Fig-Trees, Bananas, and other Fruit-Trees; many of those little Trees which bear the Pyman, and the Shrubs and Simples whereof they have any acquain∣tance, to be us'd when they have any need of them; and with these their little Gardens are bordered; but within they are full of Manioc, Potatoes, and several sorts of Pulse, as Pease of di∣vers kinds, Beans, Mais, small Millet, and some others: They have also Melons of all sorts, excellent Citruls, and a kind of Cabbage called the Caribbian-Cabbage, which are of a very delicious taste: But they bestow their greatest pains about the culture of the Ananas, which they prefer before all other Fruits.

But though they have no Villages, nor movable Houses, such as may be remov'd from one place to another, as is reported of the Bedovins a poor people of Aegypt, certain Moors inhabitants on the South-side of Tunis in Africa, and certain Nations of Great-Tartary; yet do they often change their Habitations, as the humour takes them; for as soon as they take the least dis∣gust to their Habitations, they immediately transplant them∣selves to some other place; and this is done of a sudden, and without desiring any permission of the Cacick, as the ancient Peruvians were oblig'd to do of their King upon such occasions.

Among the occasions of this change of habitation among the Caribbians of the Islands, one is a perswasion that they shall have their health better in some other place; the same cause occasions many times a removal of house-keeping among the Brasilians: Sometimes it is caus'd by some nastiness done in their Habitations, for which they conceive a certain horrour; and somtimes the death of one of the house, which causing in them an apprehension of going the same way, obliges them to take up their Quarters in some other place, as if death could not as easily meet with them there; but this foolish apprehension is much more prevalent with the Caribbians of the Continent, who upon such occasions will be sure to burn their habitations, and march to some other place: This pleasant Superstition is observable also among the Indians of the Island of Corassao, though those poor people have receiv'd Baptism; for Mons. du Montel relates, That being in the great Village of those Indians named the Ascension, and having observed in two or three pla∣ces some houses without any Inhabitants, though they were not

deficient in ought, and others quite ruined, he asked how those houses came to be so; whereto the Cacick, or Captain, made answer, That it was because some persons had dy'd in those pla∣ces. The ancient Peruvians put themselves to the trouble of such a removal, if their habitations receiv'd any prejudice by Thunder; for then they conceiv'd such an abomination there∣at, that they made up the doors thereof with stones and dirt, that no body might ever enter there any more.

It is reported, That heretofore the men of the Province of Quito in Peru thought it no shame to employ themselves in all things relating to house-keeping, while their Wives went abroad walking at their pleasures: And the ancient Aegyptians did the like, if we may credit Herodotus: And we are to acknowledg,* 1.44 that the employment of dressing Meat in the Kitchen was ac∣counted honourable in ancient Greece; for honest Homer in* 1.45 his Iliad represents Achilles making a Hash, and spitting the Meat, and all his Courtiers busie in the Kitchen for the enter∣tainment of the Embassadors of Agamemnon: And as to Fish, it hath always had this priviledge, that Persons of Quality have thought it no disparagement to have a finger in the ordering of it.

But among the Caribbians the men think all these employ∣ments below and unbefitting them; they for the most part spend the time abroad, but their Wives keep at home, and do all that is requisite about the house: True it is, the men fell down Timber for the building of their Houses, and when they are built it is their business to keep them in repair; but the women take care for all things necessary for the subsistence of the Fami∣ly: The men go a hunting and a fishing, as we shall declare more at large elswhere; but the women fetch home the Veni∣son from the place where it was kill'd, and the Fish from the Water-side: It is the womens work, in fine, to get in Manioc, to prepare the Cassava, and the Ouïcou, which is their ordinary Drink, to dress all the Meat, to set the Gardens, and to keep the house clean, and all the houshold-stuff in good order; not not to mention the pains they take in painting their Husbands with Roucou, and spinning Cotton for the use of the Family: so that they are continually employ'd, and their work is never at an end, while their Husbands divert themselves abroad; and so they are rather to be accounted Slaves then Companions.

In the Islands of S. Vincent and Dominico there are some Ca∣ribbians who have many Negroes to their Slaves, as the Spani∣ards and some other Nations have; some of them they got from the English Plantations, and some from Spanish Ships here∣tofore cast away on their Coasts; and they call them Tamons, that is, Slaves: They are so well ordered, that they serve them in all things about which they are employ'd with as much obe∣dience, readiness, and respect, as if they were the most civiliz'd people in the World.

Now that we are treating of the Houses and Housekeeping of the Caribbians, some might take occasion to ask, Whether, as we have the use of Lamps, Candles, and Torches, they do not also make use of some light, and some artifice in the night-time, to supply the want of the days light? True it is, they have learnt of the Christians to make use of the Oil of Fishes, and to put Cotton into Lamps, to light them in the night-time; but most of them have no other light in the night than a kind of wood very apt to take fire, which they have ready in the house for that purpose, whence we call it Candle-wood; it is full of an unctuous Gum, which makes it burn like a Candle, and being once lighted, it gives a sweet scent: In like manner the Inhabi∣tants of Madagascar, instead of Candles and Torches, in the night time make use of certain Gums which easily take fire, and they put them into earthen Creusets, where they make a delightful and sweet smelling Fire: And if the Fire chance to go out among the Caribbians, they have the secret of supplying that want by rubbing two pieces of Mahot one against the other, and by that collision they take fire, and in a short time burn into a clear flame: Thus the Brasilians, insteed of a Steel and* 1.46 Stone, the use whereof they have not, make use of two several kinds of Wood, whereof one is almost as tender as if it were half rotten, and the other, on the contrary, very hard; and by that friction and agitation the fire takes in the former: The same thing is affirm'd of some sorts of Canes, which may be seen in the Cabinets of the Curious.

Those who have sail'd to the mouth of the River of the Amazones relate, that they there saw some Indians strike fire with two sticks, but after a manner different from that of our Caribbians; for in that part of the World they have also two pieces of Wood, one soft, which they make flat and even like a Busk, and the other very hard, like a stick sharpened at the end, which they thrust into the soft, which they keep close to the ground under their feet; and they turn the other with both hands so swiftly, that at last the fire takes in that below, and sets it of a flame: And whereas it many times happens one person may be weary of that exercise, another immediately takes the stick in hand, and turns it with the same swiftness, till they have got fire. Some may imagine, that these ways of lighting fire are modern; but there are some marks thereof in Antiquity, as may be seen in Theophrastus.* 1.47

CHAP. XVI. Of the ordinary Repasts of the Caribbians.

MOst of those people who have the denomination of Sa∣vages and Barbarians are gluttonous and beastly in their Repasts: The Brasilians eat and drink excessively, nastily, and* 1.48 at all hours, nay they rise many times in the night to that em∣ployment: The Canadians are such gluttons, that they eat till* 1.49 they are ready to burst; nay they are so ravenous, that they will not lose so much as the skimmings of the Pot: They are ne∣ver seen either to wash their hands, or the meat they eat: They have no other napkins than the hair of their own heads, or that of their dogs, or the first thing they meet with: The Grand-Tartars do the like: They never wash their Dishes or Kettles,* 1.50 but with the pottage made in them, and are so nasty that what they do is not be related: The other Tartars come not much* 1.51 short of them in nastiness and gluttony, using their hands in∣stead of spoons to take up their pottage, and eating the flesh of dead horses, without any other dressing than setting of it an hour or two between their saddles and horses-backs. In like* 1.52 manner (to make an end of these slovenly instances) the Inha∣bitants of Guinny, those of the Cape of Good Hope, and certain other Savages eat raw and stinking flesh, together with the hair and feathers, guts and garbage, like so many dogs: But we are to give our Caribbians this commendation, that they are temperate and cleanly in their ordinary Repasts, as well as those of the Continent, though some among them deserve not this elogy, as there is no rule so general but may have some ex∣ception. Monsieur du Montel, a worthy and faithful witness, gives this testimony of sobriety and cleanliness to those whom he had seen at St. Vincents and elsewhere: But as we said be∣fore, they are not all such; for those who have seen them at Dominico give them not the same Character.

This people eat many times together in a publick house, as we shall see more particularly hereafter, either upon the ac∣count of divertisement and to be more than ordinarily merry, or to discourse concerning their wars and common affairs, as the Lacedaemonians were heretofore wont to do: The women, according to the custome of some other barbarous Countries, eat not till their husbands have done, and they have no set time for their Repasts: Their stomacks are their Clocks and Re∣membrancers: They so patiently endure hunger, that after they are returned from fishing they will have the patience to broil their fish over a soft fire on a wooden frame made like a

Gridiron, about two foot high, under which they kindle so small a fire, that sometimes it requires a whole day to make ready their fish as they would have it: Some of the French affirm, that have eaten some of their dressing, they have lik'd it very well: It is observable generally in all their meat, that they dress all with a very gentle fire.

They commonly eat sitting on low stools, and every one hath his little table by himself, which they call Matoutou, as Tacitus affirms, that it was practised among the ancient Germans, and as it is reported at this day to be done in Japan: Sometimes also they eat their meat on the ground, kneeling round one by another: For Table-cloths, they have no linnen, as we have, nor skins, as the Canadians; nor Mats as the Maldiveses, nor Carpets as the Turks and some other Nations, but fair and large Banana-leaves newly gathered, which are very fit for Table∣cloths, being so large as we have represented elsewhere: the same serve also for Napkins, and they wipe their hands there with: They are alwaies very careful to wash their hands before meals: And when they are about the dressing of any meat, they never touch any thing that is to be eaten, ere they make their hands clean: In fine, in all their ordinary Repasts, their sobriety and cleanliness is so observable as can hardly be imagined among Savages.

We have said elsewhere that their ordinary bread is a thin Cake which they call Cassava, made of the Manioc-root: Other Writers have set down the manner how it is made; yet that our History may not be thought imperfect, we shall here give a de∣scription of the composition thereof: The root, though it be sometimes about the bigness of a mans thigh, is easily got out of the ground: Assoon as it is taken out it is scraped with a knife to take off a little hard skin which covers it, and then it is scraped or filed with with a Rasp or flat File of Iron or Cop∣per, of a good bigness; and they press the meal which comes from it in a linnen bag, or in a long kind of pokes, which they call in the Islands, Snakes, neatly woven of Rushes or Latanier leaves by the Caribbians, that the juice may be squeezed out of it: The Savages before they knew the use of those Rasps, made use instead thereof, of certain hard and sharp stones which are to be found on the sea-shore: They are somewhat like our Pumice-stones: When the moisture of the Manioc is got out, the meal is sifted through a coarse cloth, and without mixing it with any liquor, it is put upon an Iron Plate, or Plank, and sometimes on a broad stone, under which there is fire; when it is baked on one side, they turn it on the other; and when it is fully baked, it is exposed to the Sun to make it har∣der, that it may keep the better: It is commonly made no thicker than a mans little finger, and sometimes thinner, ac∣cording to the fancy of the Inhabitants: It will keep many

months; but it eats best after a day or two making; there are some who would rather eat of it than of our ordinary bread: And the greatest miracle is, that of a root so dange∣rous of it self people should by artifice get so excellent nou∣rishment: Thus the Moors drying a kind of poisonous Apri∣cocks which grow in their Country, in the Sun, and after∣wards boiling them over a fire, make a certain drink thereof, which is pleasant and may be drunk without any danger.

But the Cassava which the Caribbians make is very delicate; for they have so much patience to go through with any thing they undertake, that they do better than the French, who are so hasty, that they would make an end of any thing assoon as they have begun it: But the Caribbians go leasurely to work, and never consider the time spent, so the business be done to their minds.

And whereas some Europaeans who have used Cassava, com∣plain that it is no good nourishment, that it injures the sto∣mack, corrupts the blood, changes the colour, weakens the nerves, and dries the body; it is to be considered, that as cu∣stom is a second nature, so that many things, though bad in themselves, do not prejudice health when one is accustomed thereto; so on the contrary, those which are good and inno∣cent, nay the best of their own nature, if a man be not accu∣stomed thereto, are many times prejudicial and hurtful: To confirm this truth, it is to be attributed to want of custom, what is related by some Historians of certain Brasilians, who being shut up with the Dutch in St. Margarets Fort, could not brook the bread and other provisions distributed to them as Soldiers, and on which it was necessary they should subsist, and complained that they made them sick, and were the occasions of their death: To this purpose there is a remarkable passage in the Travels of Monsieur des Hayes into the Levant; to wit that the said person entertaining some Tartars at his Table, who knew not what bread was, caused them to eat some; for within two hours after, they thought they should have dyed when the bread they had eaten began to swell, and to cause them great pains.

There is another kind of bread among the Caribbians made of the Spanish wheat which they call Mais: The English Inha∣bitants of the Barmouthos use no other: There are some also who instead of bread eat the root called Potatoe, whereof we have given a description elsewhere.

As concerning the other provisions used by the Caribbians, their most ordinary dishes, and which are used also by the Ca∣ribbians of the Continent, are Lizards, Fish of all sorts, Tortoi∣ses only excepted; and Pulse, as Pease, Beans, &c. but their ordinary food (contrary to the Inhabitants of Madagascar, who have a horrour for that kind of sustenance) is Crabs, got very

clean out of their shells, and fryed with their own fat, juice of Citron, and Pyman, which they are great lovers of, and which they put abundantly into all their sawces: And yet when they entertain the French, or other Europaeans, they are not so pro∣digal thereof, and then they accomodate themselves to their palates, out of a compliance and discretion, which argues them to be somewhat better than Savages. They call the in∣ner part of the Crab Taumaly; and of that it is they make their ordinary Ragoust with water, the fine flower of Manioc, and good store of Pyman. In the last course they bring in fruits as we do; and ordinarily they content themselves with Figs, Bananas, or Ananas: If they eat flesh or any thing that is salt∣ed, it is only out of compliance with strangers, to avoid being troublesome to those who entertain them, and so they accom∣modate themselves to their humours who come to visit them; for then they order most of their meat to please them: And to this must be referred what we have said concerning their not eating of salt, Swines-flesh, Tortoises, and Lamantin.

True it is, there are among this people certain men extreamly slothful and melancholy, who lead a wretched kind of life: For they live only upon Burgaus, Shell-fish, Crabbes, Soldier•• and such like Insects: They never eat any Pottage, nor Flesh, un∣less it be that of certain birds which they broil on the coals with their Feathers about them, and their Guts within them; and all the Sawce they use consists of the water of Manioc (which be∣ing boiled loses its venemous quality) fine flower of the same Manioc, and good store of Pyman.

Sometimes they have a detestable kind of seasoning for their meats, and that is the fat of the Arouagues their irreconcileable Enemies: But this hath no place in their ordinary Repasts, as be∣ing used only on solemn days of debauches and rejoicing.

As to their drink, as they do in several parts of America, the same grains of Mais which serve to make bread, are used for the composition of a Drink which is accounted as good as Wine; and as among us the Wheat which makes Bread will also make Beer; so in these Islands, of the Roots of Potatoes and Manioc, which serve to make Bread, there are made two seve∣ral sorts of Drinks, which are ordinary in the Country: The former and most common, which is made of Potatoes boiled with water, is called Maby: It is excellent good to refresh and quench thirst, and it hath also an appetitive vertue, which cau∣ses an evacuation of the sandiness, and all the viscosities of the lower parts: Whence it comes, that those who make use of that Drink, never complain of the Stone or Gravel: The other Drink is called Ouïcon (from a name coming neer the Caouin of the Brasilians) and is made of the Cassava it self, boiled in like manner with water: It is strained through a coarse cloth, which the Savages call Hibichet: This Drink is more ex∣cellent

than the Maby and differs not much from Beer, either as to colour o•• strength: The Indians make it very pleasant, but 〈…〉〈…〉 withall▪ that much drunk it into••••cates, as 〈…〉〈…〉 They make it of Cassava well and throughly bak•••• on the plan•••• then chew••d by the Women, and put into Vessel•• full of Water▪ or, after it hath been infus'd, and boil∣ed for 〈…〉〈…〉 the space of two days by its own vertue, with∣〈…〉〈…〉 fire, as new Wine does, the infusion is strain'd through the coarse or 〈…〉〈…〉; and the juice which is gotten from it by that 〈…〉〈…〉 being kept two daies more, is ready for drink∣ing▪ 〈…〉〈…〉 ••a••e this composition boil the better they put into the Vessel two or three Roots of Potatoes, scraped very small. It must indeed be acknowledged that this custom which the Savages observe in ••••••wing the Cassava before it be put into the Vessel, is enough to turn the stomachs of some; but it is most certain withall, that the Drink made after that manner is in∣comparably better than that which is made otherwise.

The Ouicou is also made after another manner, without the Roo••e of Potatoes▪ which is this; after the Cassava is taken off the Plank, 〈…〉〈…〉 laid somewhere about the house and cover∣ed with the leaves of Manioc, and some heavy stones laid thereon to set it into a heat; and this is done for the space of three or four days: That done, it is broken into several pieces which are spread on Banana-leaves, and then they are lightly sp••inkled with water, and so left: When the Cassava hath re∣mained so for the space of one night, it becomes all red: and then it is good to make Ouicou, and will make its water boil with out the Roots of Potatoes.

Besides these two sorts of Drinks which are the most ordina∣ry in the Caribbies, there are also made in divers places seve∣ral sorts of delicious▪ Wines: The Negroes, who are slaves in these Islands, make incisions in the prickly Palms, out of which there distils a certain liquor like White-wine, which they ga∣ther in several little Gourds fasten'd to the overtures of those trees, whereof each will yield two pints every day, and some∣times more: The most ancient Authors assure us, that among the East-Indians, the Wine of Palms was very much in use, as indeed it is at this day: It is also used in some parts of Africk, as at Mo∣nomotapa.

Moreover there is in the Caribbies another kind of Drink made of Bananas, which is also in other parts, and by some cal∣led Couscou: But in regard this sort of Wine, though very pleasant and strong, causes great ventosities, it is not much used.

To conclude, there is made in these Islands an excellent kind of Wine of those precious Reeds out of which the Sugar is gotten: And this is the most esteemed Drink of any made in the Caribbies: It is called by some Cane-wine, and there is a

particular secret in the making of it: There is more made at S. Christophers then any where else, by reason of the abundance of Canes planted there: The juice of these Canes is got out by a Mill made purposely for that use; afterwards it is purified by fire in great Caldrons: It may be kept a long time in its perfe∣ction, and it hath a sweetness, and withal a certain picquancy, which might make it pass for Sack. Of the same Canes there is also made a certain Aquavitae called Cane-Aquavitae, which keeps better then the Wine of those same Reeds.

There is not any thing in the substance of these ordinary Re∣pasts of our Caribbians, which seem to savour of the Savage, unless it be haply the Lizards; But why may not they be as good Meat as the Frogs and Snails eaten in some parts of France? And who knows not that in Spain they eat abundance of young Asses? Nay, compare the sustenance of our Caribbi∣ans with that of the Canadians, who, besides the skimmings of the Pot, which we said they eat, do commonly drink filthy and nasty grease, and prefer the flesh of Bears before any other; with that of the Inhabitants of the Island of Good-fortune, one of the Canaries, who eat abundance of Suet; with that of the Tartars, the Persians, the Chineses, the Huancas, a Nation of Peru, of the Negroes of Angola, who commonly live on the flesh of Horses, Cammels, Mules, Wolves, Foxes, Asses, Dogs, and drink the Blood of those Creatures; with that of the East-Indians, who think the Flesh of Bats and Mice as de∣licious as that of Partridges; with that of the Brasilians, who feed on Toads, Rats, and Worms; or, lastly, with that of the Tapuyes, and some other Barbarians, who eat hair minc'd very small, and mix'd with wild honey, and season all their Meat with the ashes of the burnt Bodies of their deceas'd Relations, and mix them with the meal they bake, which causes horrour only to represent, much more to do: Let there be, I say, a comparison made between all these infamous Ragouts, and those of the Caribbian Nation, and it will be found, that in their or∣dinary Commons there is nothing barbarous: Yet are we not to dissemble what some of the French relate, to wit, That they have seen the Caribbians eating the Lice and Chegoes they had taken; as it is reported of the Mexicans and Cumaneses: but they do not make their Ordinary out of them, and it is parti∣cular only to some among them; besides that they do it not out of any delicacy they find in those Vermine, but only to be revenged of them.

Moreover, the horrour which the Caribbians conceiv'd here∣tofore at the eating of Swines-flesh, Tortoises, and Lamantin, for the pleasant reasons before alledged, was so great, that if any of the Europaeans had got them to eat any of them by sur∣prize, and they came afterwards to know it, they would be reveng'd of them one time or other; witness what happened to

a person of some note among the French: This person receiving a Visit from the Cacick or Captain of the Savages of the Island where he liv'd, entertain'd him in jest with Lamantin, disguis'd in the fashion of a Hash; the Cacick mistrusting what indeed afterwards happened to him, intreated the Gentleman not to deceive him; and upon the assurance given him thereof, he made no difficulty to eat: after Dinner the Gentleman disco∣ver'd the abuse to the Cacick and his Company, that he might have the pleasure of their Discourses thereupon, and see what faces they would make after such a Treatment; but they had at that time so much power over themselves as to smother their indignation, and the Cacick only said to him smiling, Well Friend we shall not dye of it: Some time after the Gentleman went to return him his Visit; he receiv'd him with great civility, and made him extraordinary cheer; but he had given his people order to put into all the Sauces some fat of the Arouagues, whereof the principal Indians are always well provided: After this infamous Repaste was ended, the Cacick, glad in his heart, ask'd the Gentleman and his Company how they lik'd his Treatment; whereupon they commending it very much, and giving him thanks for it, he acquainted them with the trick he had put upon them; most of them were so troubled at the thought of it, and had such an inclination to cast up all they had eaten, that they grew very sick; but the Indian laughing at the spectacle, told them that he was then reveng'd.

Those who have lately been among the Caribbians of Domi∣nico and Martinico affirm, That now most of them make no difficulty to eat Lamantin, Tortoises, and Swines-flesh, nay, all other Meats in use among the Europaeans; and that they laugh at the simplicity which oblig'd them to abstain from them, for fear of participating of the nature and qualities of those Ani∣mals.

They have also remitted much of that severity which they used towards their Wives; for now they are seldom seen to fetch home the Fish their Husbands had taken: And when they have been a fishing, the Husband and Wife eat together: The Women go also oftener to the Carbet, to participate of the Feast and the publick rejoycing there made, then they did be∣fore their Husbands became so familiarly acquainted with Strangers.

CHAP. XVII. Of the Employments and Divertisements of the Caribbians.

ALexander the Great accouuted Labour to be a thing truly* 1.53 Royal; and there are to be seen at this day in the Se∣raglio at Adrianople, the Tools which Amurath made use of to make the Arrows he sent to some of his principal Officers: The Peruvians are much to be commended as to this particular; for the Kings of Peru had made Laws, and appointed particular Judges for the regulation of Idle persons and Vagabonds, inso∣much that it was ordered, That Children of five years of age should be employ'd in some Work suitable to their age; nay, they spared not the blind, the lame, and the dumb, but em∣ploy'd them in divers things, wherein they might do somthing with their hands: But there are some people so lazy, that they* 1.54 think Idleness a thing very commendable; and the Historians* 1.55 who have written of the West-Indies tell us of certain stupid and brutish Indians of New-Spain and Brasil, who pass away the whole day snoring in their Cots, while their Wives go abroad to get in certain Roots for their sustenance.

But our Caribbians are not like these last; for they are found taking pains and their pleasure in several sorts of exercises: The chiefest, and those which are most ordinary among them are Hunting and Fishing, wherein they bestow the greatest part of their time, but especially in Fishing: They are seldom seen to go out of their Houses without their Bows and Arrows; and they are wonderfully expert in the use of them, being accusto∣med to that exercise from their Infancy, as the Turks also are; whence it comes, that in time they come to be so excellent at the Bow, that within a hundred paces they will hardly ever fail striking a half-Crown piece; nay, as they are making their Re∣treat they can do execution on their Enemies, as the Parthians were somtimes wont to do: How much therefore are we the more to wonder at those left-handed Benjamites, who could* 1.56 sling stones at an hairs-breadth, and not miss?

When the Caribbians go abroad a hunting or a fishing, they do not take their Wives along with them, as some Brasilians do, who cause theirs to walk before them, so great is their jealousie; but when they have taken any thing, they leave it upon the place, and the Women were heretofore oblig'd to go and bring it home, as we have already hinted: It is reported that the Ca∣nadians do the same.

Among the Caribbians of the Islands there is no distinction of

quality as to Hunting; but the exercise of it is as free to the meanest as to the greatest among them: The case is the same among all the other Indians of the West-Indies.

As in their private Repasts they never use no kind of Flesh, if they have not Strangers to entertain, so ordinarily their hunt∣ing is only for Lizards; and if they engage themselves in any other kind of hunting, it is upon some extraordinary occasions, when they would treat some of their Friends among the Euro∣paeans, or when they intend to visit them, and would get som∣thing of them in exchange for what they had taken.

They are extreamly expert in fishing with the Hook, and in taking of Fish with the Dart; and a man cannot sufficiently admire their patience in that Exercise; for they would be con∣tent to continue half a day in the same place, without betray∣ing any weariness: And when, after they have waited a long time for the Fish, they come at length to perceive some great one to their mind, and within their reach, they cast the Dart at it, as the Brasilians do; which having fastned, they imme∣diately leap into the water after the Dart, to seize their prey: But besides the Hook and Dart wherewith they take Fish, they are also very excellent in diving neer the Rocks, and forcing them out of the holes where they shelter themselves; as being in that particular equally expert with the Floridians, who, not* 1.57 expecting that the Fish should come and shew themselves, go and find them out in the bottom of the water, and there kill them with their Clubs; so that they are seen coming up again with the Fish in one hand, and the Club in the other. 'Tis a common thing among the Savages to be excellent Swimmers and Divers; and it is particularly affirm'd of the Brasilians, the Maldiveses, some Peruvians, and the Inhabitants of the Islands of Robbers, that they may pass for a kind of amphibious Crea∣tures.

But if the other inventions for fishing should fail our Carib∣bians, they have their recourse to a certain wood, which they bruise after they have cut it into little pieces; which done, they cast it into Ponds, or those places where the Sea is quiet and calm; and this is as it were a Sovereign Mummy, wherewith they take as much Fish as they please; but they are so prudent as not to make use of this last expedient but only in case of ne∣cessity, for fear of making too great a waste among the Fish.

After Hunting and Fishing, they apply themselves to several kinds of Works, as to make Beds of Cotton, very neatly wo∣ven, which they call Amaes: The Women spin the Cotton on the knee, and commonly they make use of neither Distaff nor Spindle; but some of them in the Island of Martinico have learn'd the use thereof of the French: They have also the per∣fect Art of twisting it; but in some Islands the Men weave the Beds: Besides this, they make Baskets of Bull-rushes, and Grass,

of divers colours; wooden chairs all of one piece; little Ta∣bles, which they call Matoutou, weav'd of the leaves of the Latanier-tree; the straining-cloths called Hibichets; the Cato∣lis, which are a kind of great baskets to carry things on the back; several sorts of Vessels fit for eating and drinking, which are polish'd, painted, and adorn'd with abundance of pretty figures delightful to the eye: They make also some other little ornaments, as Girdles, Hats, and Crowns of fea∣thers, wherewith they set out themselves on solemn days: And the women make for themselves a kind of Buskins, or half-stockings of Cotton. But above all they take abundance of pains in ordering and polishing their Arms, that is, their Bows, their Arrows, and their Boutous or Clubs, which are of a hard and smooth wood, and neatly wrought about the han∣dles with wood and bones of divers colours.

They take no less pains about their Piragas, or Vessels wherein they go to Sea, and whatever belongs to Peace or War. These Vessels are made of one great Tree, which they make hollow, smooth, and polish with an unimaginable dexte∣rity: The greater sort of Piragas are many times rais'd higher all about, especially towards the poop, with some planks: Sometimes they paint in them their Maboya; sometimes they represent Savages, or some other fantastick figures. These Shallops are so large as many times to carry fifty men with all their Arms. Before they had any acquaintance with the Chri∣stians, who furnish'd them with all sorts of Wedges, and other Carpenters and Joyners tools, they were put to a great deal of trouble to make their Vessels; for they were oblig'd, as the Virginians, and some other Savages were, to set fire at the foot* 1.58 of the Trees, and to compass them about a little above the foot with wet moss, to keep the fire from ascending; and so they undermin'd the Tree by little and little: Afterwards to pierce the wood they us'd certain hard stones sharpened at one end, wherewith they cut and made their Piragas hollow, but with so great trouble and expence of time, that they acknow∣ledge how much they are oblig'd to the Europeans, who have taught them easier ways to do it, by the iron-instruments wherewith they have supply'd them. Thence it came that the Peruvians thought it so great a happiness to have the tools* 1.59 which were brought them by the Europeans, that the use of Scissers being introduc'd into Peru by the means of the Spani∣ards, an Indian of Quality admiring the invention, said to one of them, That though the Spaniards did not furnish them with any thing but Rasors, Scissers, Combs and Looking-glas∣ses, it sufficiently oblig'd them liberally to bestow on them all the gold and silver they had.

The Caribbians employ themselves also in making earthen Pots of all sorts, which they bake in furnaces, as our Potters

do: And of the same material they also make those Plates or Planks on which they bake the Cassava.

The dexterity they express in these little Exercises, is a suf∣ficient discovery that they would easily learn other Trades, if they were taught them. They delight very much in handling the tools of Carpenters and Joyners; and though they have not been taught how they are to be us'd, yet are they able to do many things since the Europeans have supply'd them there∣with: So that it is to be presum'd, that if they had good Ma∣sters, they would do well at those Trades.

They are great Lovers of divertisements and recreation; and thence it comes they seek after whatever may keep them in a good humour, and divert melancholy: To that purpose they take a pleasure in keeping and teaching a great number of Parrots and Paraquitos.

To divert themselves they also make several Musical Instru∣ments, if they may be so called, on which they make a kind of harmony: Among others they have certain Tabours or Drums made of hollow Trees, over which they put a skin on∣ly at one end: To this may be added a kind of Organ which they make of Gourds, upon which they place a cord made of the string of a reed which they call Pite; and this cord being touch'd makes a sound which they think delightful. The con∣certs of divers other Savages are no better then theirs, and no less immusical to their ears who understand Musick. In the morning, as soon as they are up, they commonly play on the Flute or Pipe; of which Instrument they have several sorts, as well polish'd and as handsom as ours, and some of those made of the bones of their Enemies: And many among them can play with as much grace as can well be imagin'd for Savages. While they are playing on the Flute, the Wives are busie in making ready their breakfast.

Sometimes also they pass away the time in singing certain Airs, the burthens whereof are pleasant enough; and in that Exercise they sometimes spend half a day together, sitting on their low stools, and looking on their fish while it is broiling. They also put pease or small pebble-stones, as the Virginians do, into gourds, through the midst whereof they put a stick which serves for a handle, and then shaking them they make a noise: This is the invention the women have to quiet their children. Most of the Caribbian Songs consist of bitter raille∣ries against their Enemies; some they have also on Birds, and Fishes, and Women, commonly intermixt with some bawdery; and many of them have neither rhime nor reason.

Many times also the Caribbians of the Islands joyn Dancing to their Musick, but that Dancing is regulated according to their Musick. There are some Barbarians excessively addicted to that Exercise, as for instance the Brasilians, who, as de Lery

affirms, spend day and night in dancing: And we have said else∣where, that there are many Savages who make their imagina∣ry felicity of the other life to consist in dancing.

But the Caribbians use Dancing particularly at their solemn Entertainments in their Carbet, or publick house. These En∣tertainments are ordered after this manner: Some days before the meeting the Captain gives notice to every house, that all may appear at the Carbet at the day appointed: In the mean time the Women make a kind of strong drink of bak'd Cassa∣va, and better prepar'd then that which they ordinarily drink; and as they adde to the dose of the Ingredients, so is the drink the stronger, and more apt to intoxicate: The men go a fishing, or catching of Lizards; for as to other meat they seldom prepare any for their own Tables, unless they have Strangers to entertain: On the day appointed both men and women paint their bodies with divers colours and figures, and adorn themselves with their Crowns of Feathers, their richest Chains, Pendants, Bracelets, and other Ornaments: Those among them who would appear most gallant rub their bodies with a certain Gum, and blow the Down of diverse Birds upon it. In fine, they all put on their best faces, and endeavour to make the greatest shew they can at this solemnity, priding it in their Plumes, and all their other gallantry: The women bring thither the Drink and Messes they have prepared, and are ex∣treamly careful that nothing be wanting, which may contri∣bute to the solemn entertainment: Our Caribbians spend all that day and the best part of the night in eating and drinking, dancing, discoursing and laughing: And in this Debauch they drink much more than ordinary, that is, they make a shift to get drunk; and the women will not be much behind them, especially when they can get any Wine, or Aqua-vitae to pro∣mote the work: So that what we have said of their ordinary sobriety holds not at these Meetings; no more than it does at their going to their Wars, and at their return thence: and yet take them at the worst, their excesses come much short of those of the Brasilians, who in their Debauches drink three or four days without ceasing, and in their drunkenness engage them∣selves in all kind of Vices.

Their drunkennness and their debauches are frequent, as hapning upon these several occasions: 1. When there is any Coun∣cel held concerning their Wars: 2. When they return from their Expeditions, whether they have prov'd successful or not: 3. Upon the birth of their first Male Children: 4. When they cut their Childrens hair: 5. When they are at age to go to the Wars: 6. When they cut down trees, in order to the making of a Garden and building of a House: 7. When they launch a new Vessel: And lastly when they are recovered of some dis∣ease: They call these assemblies Ouïcou, and since they have conversed with the French, Vin, that is, Wine.

But on the contrary they have also their Fasts, wherein they betray the ridiculousness of their humour: For, 1. they fast when they enter into adolescency: 2. When they are made Captains: 3. At the death of their Fathers or Mothers: 4. At the death of the Husband or Wife: 5. When they have killed one of their Enemies the Arouagues; this last occasion of fast∣ing they glory very much in.

CHAP. XVIII. Of the Entertainment which the Caribbians make those who come to visit them.

HEre it is that our Caribbians triumph over all other Sava∣ges in point of civility: For they receive strangers, who come to their Islands to visit them, with all manner of kindness and testimonies of affection.

They have sentinels all along the Sea-side in most of those Islands whereof they are solely possessed: These sentinels are placed on the Mountains, or such eminent places whence they may see a good way into the Sea; and they are so dispos'd, that they overlook those places where there is good anchorage for Ships, and an easie descent for men to land: Assoon as ever these perceive a Ship or Shallop coming towards them, they give notice thereof to such of their people as are next to them: Whereupon of a sudden there come out together several Ca∣nows or Vessels, in each whereof there are not above three men at most, who are sent out to discover what they are, and call to them at a distance to declare themselves; for they trust not the Flagg, as having been often deceived thereby: and they know by their voices whether they be French, Spaniards, English or Dutch. Some affirm, that the Brasilians and the Pe∣ruvians are so exact in their smelling, that they will discern a French-man from a Spaniard by the scent.

When the Caribbians are not well-assured who they are who come towards them, and perceive that they intend them some mischief, they put themselves into a posture of defence, pos∣sess themselves of the narrowest avenues of their Country, place ambushes in the Woods, and without being perceiv'd keep an eye on their Enemies, retreating through obscure waies till they have found their advantage, and joined all their For∣ces together; and then they let flie a shower of Arrows on their Enemies: That done, they surround them, close with them, and cut them all off with their Clubs: In some Islands they make

up a body of fifteen hundred men and more, as may be guess'd by their appearance; for their number cannot be certainly known, inasmuch as they themselves not knowing how to reck∣on, cannot tell what numbers they are: But if they are pres∣sed by their Enemies, they get into the Woods, or climb up Rocks that are inaccessible to all others; or if they are neer the Sea, they leap in and dive, and rise up again at a hundred, nay sometimes two hundred paces from the place where they had been seen: And afterwards they rally together, at certain Rendezvouses known to themselves, and charge afresh when it is least expected, and when they were thought to be absolute∣ly routed.

But when they find those coming to them to be friends who come only to visit them, after they have cry'd to them that they are welcome, some cast themselves into the water and swim to them, enter into their Vessel, and when they come neer land proffer to carry them ashore on their backs, as an assurance of their affection: In the mean time the Captain himself, or his Lieutenant, expects them on the shore, and receives them in the name of the whole Island: Thence they are conducted by a considerable number of them to the Carbet, which is as it were the Town-House, where the Inhabitants of the Island, every one according to the age and sex of the New-comers, bid them welcome: The old Man complements and makes much of the old Man; the young Man and Maid do the like towards those of their age; and a man may read in their countenances how much they are satisfied with the visit.

But the first discourse they make to the Stranger is to ask him his name, and then to tell him theirs: And for an expres∣sion of great affection and inviolable friendship, they call them∣selves by the names of those whom they entertain: But to crown the Ceremony, they will have the person whom they re∣ceive in like manner to assume their name: Thus they make an exchange of names; and they have such excellent memo∣ries, that ten years after such a meeting they will remember the names of their friends, and relate some circumstance of what had passed at the former interview: And if they were presented with any thing, they will be sure to call it to mind; and if the thing be still in being, they will shew it to him who had bestowed it on them.

After all these complements which are passed at the first meeting, the next is to present their Guests with those pensile Beds which they call Amais, very clean and white, whereof they have store against such occasions: They desire them to rest themselves thereon, and then they bring in Fruits; and while some are busie preparing some treatment, others entertain them with discourse, observing still the conformity of age and sex.

This kind of entertainment may well be accounted more rational than that of the Caribbians of the Southerly part of Continent, who receive their Guests after a very odd fashion, not much unlike what is practised by the Canadians: For the Ca∣cick of those Caribbians conducts him who comes to see them to the Publick-house, without speaking at all to him: then he is presented with a stool and some Tobacco, and so they leave him for a time, without speaking a word to him, till he hath rested himself and taken his Tobacco: Then the Cacick comes and asks him, whether he be come? The other answering yes, he sits down by him and falls into discourse: Afterwards those of the common sort come asking him after the same manner, whe∣ther he be come? And having thereupon brought him some∣thing to eat, they also fall into discourse with him: True it is indeed, that our Insulary Caribbians, in the reception of their Guests, towards those of their own Nation, who are strangers in their Islands, practise the same thing as the Caribbians of the Continent: But when they entertain French and other Europ••∣ans who would be loth to keep silence so long, they speak to them, and fall immediately into discourse, as we said before, ac∣commodating themselves to their humour, and, to comply with them, crossing the rules of their own Ceremonies.

But the Banquet they intend them was prepared before hand, let us now see how it is ordered, and how they demean them∣selves therein: They give every one his little Table, and his* 1.60 Messes apart, as the Chineses do: Somebring in broil'd Lizards; others, fry'd Crabs; some, Pulse; and others, Fruits, and so of the rest: During the Repast, they discourse with them, and wait on them with the greatest care imaginable: They think it the greatest kindness can be done them to eat and drink hearti∣ly; and all their business is to fill the Cups, and see that every Table be furnished: When a man drinks he must take all off, otherwise they are disobliged; and if one cannot eat all the Cassava that is given him, he must put up the rest and carry it* 1.61 along with him, otherwise they will take it unkindly: Thus the Turks when they are at a friends Table, are wont to fill their Handkerchers, and sometimes the sleeves of their Garments with fragments of meat and bread, which they carry away with them. And among the Grand-Tartars, when a Guest cannot eat all* 1.62 that is presented to him, he must give the remainders to his Servant to lay up for him, or carry it away himself in his bag or pouch, wherein he puts up also the bones, if he hath not pick∣ed them clean enough, that he may afterwards do it at his lea∣sure: But among the Chineses, when the Guest goes home, the Servants of the person who invited him, carries along with him the dishes that were left.

After the Repast, the Caribbians conduct you to their pri∣vate Houses, and into their Gardens, shew you their Arms,

their curiosities and their trinkets, and present you with Fruits, or some little pieces of their own workmanship.

If any one be desirous to continue a while among them, they take it for a great favour, and are extreamly glad of it, and find the same treatment as at first: But if they are willing to be gone from them, they are troubled, and ask whether you dislike your entertainment, that you should be gone so soon. With that sad countenance they all re-conduct you to the Sea∣side, nay will carry you into your Shallops, if you will suffer it: And at that final parting they again present you with fruits, which they force you to accept, saying to those who would re∣fuse them, Friend, if thou hast no need of it thy self, thou mayst give it to thy Marriners; so they call all the Servants and Dome∣sticks of those to whom they speak. The Brasilians and the Cana∣dians, as some affirm, do also make presents upon the like occa∣sions: And Tacitus relates, that the ancient Germans made pre∣sents to the Strangers who came to visit them; but they reci∣procally demanded something of them: In this point the Ca∣ribbians shew themselves more generous, for they give, and re∣quire nothing back in lieu of it.

But it would be an incivility to go and visit these good peo∣ple and to receive their kindnesses, and not to present them with something: Whence it comes that the Strangers, who go to see them, never go without some grains of Chrystal, Fishing-hooks, Needles, Pins, or little Knives, or some such toies: And as∣soon as they have done eating, they set on the little Table, on which they have eaten, some of those things: Those who have prepared the Banquet think themselves requited a hundred-fold, and make extraordinary acknowledgments thereof.

We have hitherto represented what treatment the Caribbi∣ans have heretofore made to some of their friends, French and Dutch, who took occasion to visit them: But they use other Ceremonies at the reception of Strangers of their own Nation, or their Confederates, who chance to come into their Islands: There is in every Carbet a Savage, who hath a Com∣mission to receive Passengers, and is called Niouakaiti: If they are of the common sort, he presents them with Seats, and what is fit for them to eat, especially a Cassava-cake folded double, which signifies that they may eat as much as they can, and leave the rest behind them.

If those who come to see them, or pass by occasionally are considerable to them upon any other account, as being some way related to them, or Captains, they comb their hair both at their coming and their going away, they hang up Beds, and invite them to rest themselves, saying, En Bouekra, behold thy Bed: They also present them with Matoutous, which are little Tables made of Rushes, or the leaves of Palms or Lataniers,

as we said elsewhere, on which they set the meat and the Cassa∣va not folded, but as they come off the Plank: The women set them at their feet, and the men standing about, shew that which was brought, saying, En Yerebaili, behold thy meat: Af∣terwards the women bring in Gourds full of Ouïcou, and make them drink: Then having set them on the ground before them, the Husband who stands behind the women, says, En batoni, behold thy drink: And the other makes answer to these two complements, Yao, that is to say, very well, or I thank you. The Cassava unfolded signifies, eat thy fill and carry away the rest; which they fail not to do: When they have dined well without being interrupted by any one, they all come to salute them one after another, saying to him, Halea-tibou, that is, be welcome: But the women are not much concerned in this Ce∣remony. As for the Visitants when they would depart, they go and take leave of every one in particular; which they express by the word Huichan in their language.

CHAP. XIX. Of what may be accounted Polity amongst the Caribbians.

THere are in every Island of the Caribbies, inhabited by the Caribbians, several sorts of Captains: 1. The Captain of the Carbet, or of a Village, whom they name Tiouboutouli hauthe: This is when a man hath a numerous Family and re∣tires with it at a certain distance from others, and builds Hou∣ses or Huts for to lodge it in, and a Carbet, where all of the Fa∣mily meet to be merry, or to treat of the affairs which concern it in common; thence it is that he is named a Captain of a Fa∣mily, or of Houses.

2. A Captain of a Piraga, that is, either he to whom the Vessel belongs, or he who hath the command of it when they go to the Wars; and these are named Tiouboutouli Canaoa.

3. Amongst those who have every one the command of a Vessel in particular, they have also an Admiral or General at Sea, who commands the whole Fleet: Him they call Nhalenè. In fine, they have the grand Captain, or Commander in chief, whom they call Ouboutou, and in the plural number, Ouboutou∣num: This is the same whom the Spaniards call Cacique (and we in this History call Cacick) as some other Indians, and some∣times also our Savages do in imitation of them: He is during his life, from his first election to that charge, the General of

their Armies, and he is always highly respected among them: He appoints the meetings of the Carbet, either for merry-making or deliberations in order to a War: And he alwaies goes abroad attended by all of his own house, and some others who do him the honour to wait on him: Those who have the greatest retinue are the most highly honoured: If any one gives him not the respect due to him upon the account of his charge, it is in his power to strike him: Of these there are but two at the most in an Island, as at Dominico: They are also commonly the Admirals when a Fleet goes out: Or haply that charge is be∣stowed on some young man, who is desirous to signalize him∣self upon that occasion.

This charge is obtain'd by election: and commonly he who is advanced thereto must have killed divers of the Arouagues, or at least one of the most considerable persons among them. The Sons do not succeed their Fathers in that charge, if they be not worthy thereof. When the chief Captain speaks all others are silent: and when he enters into the Carbet, every one makes him way; he hath also the first and best part of the entertain∣ment: The Lieutenant to this Captain is called in their Lan∣guage Ouboutou maliarici, that is to say properly, the Track of the Captain, or that which appears after him.

None of these Chiefs hath any command over the whole Na∣tion nor any superiority over the other Captains: But when the Caribbians go to the Wars, among all the Captains they make choice of one to be General of the Army, who makes the first assault: and when the expedition is over, he hath no autho∣rity but only in his own Island: True it is, that if he hath behav'd himself gallantly in his enterprises, he is ever after highly re∣spected in all the Islands: But heretofore, before the commerce between the Caribbians and forreign Nations had alter'd the greatest part of their ancient Politie, there were many condi∣tions requisite to obtain that degree of honour.

It was in the first place requisite that he whom they advanc'd to that dignity, had been several times in the Wars, and that to the knowledge of the whole Island whereof he was to be chosen Captain, he had behaved himself couragiously and gal∣lantly: Next to this it was necessary, that he should be so active and swift in running, as to surpass all competitors in that exercise: Thirdly, he who stood for the Generalship of an Island, should excell all others in swimming and diving: A fourth condition was, that he should carry a burthen of such weight as his fellow-pretenders should not be able to stand un∣der: Lastly, he was obliged to give great demonstrations of his constancy: for they cruelly cut and mangled his shoulders and breasts with the tooth of an Agouty; nay his best friends made deep incisions in divers parts of his body: And the wretched person who expected that charge was to endure all this, with∣out

betraying the least sign of resentment and pain; nay, on the contrary, it was requisite that he receiv'd all with a smiling countenance, as if he were the most satisfied man in the World: We shall not wonder so much that these Barbarians should en∣dure such Torments, in order to the acquisition of some Dig∣nity, when it shall be considered, that the Turks do not shew themselves somtimes less cruel towards themselves, upon the account of pure gallantry, and as it were by way of divertise∣ments witness what is related by Busbequius in the fourth Book of his Embassies, which were too tedious to set down in this place.

To return to the Caribbians of the Islands: This ancient ce∣remony, which they observed in the election of their chief Go∣vernours, will no doubt be thought strange and savage; but there is somthing of the same kind observable in other Nations: For in the Kingdom of Chili they chuse for the Sovereign Captain him who is able longest to bear a great Tree upon his shoulders: In the Country of Wiapoco, towards the great River of the Amazons, to be advanc'd to the dignity of Captain, he must endure, without the least stirring of the Body, nine extra∣ordinary strokes with a Holly-wand from every Captain, and that three several times; but that is not all; he must also be put into a Bed of Cotton, over a Fire of green Leaves, the thick Smoke whereof ascending upwards, must needs be very trou∣blesom to the wretch who is so mad as to expose himself there∣to; and he is oblig'd to continue there till he be in a manner half dead; this speaks a strange desire to be Captain: Nay, heretofore among the Persians, those who were desirous to be admitted into the Fraternity of the Sun, were requir'd to give proofs of their Constancy in fourscore several sorts of Tor∣ments: The Brasilians, without any other ceremony, make choice of him for their General who hath taken and kill'd most Enemies: And now also in some of the Caribbies the Caribbians themselves laugh at their ancient Ceremonies at the election of their Captain; for having observ'd that their Neighbours think that kind of proceeding ridiculous, they now make choice of him for their Chief, who having behav'd himself valiantly in the Wars against their Enemies, hath acquir'd the reputation of a brave and gallant person.

As soon as the Cacick is receiv'd into his Charge, he is highly respected by all, insomuch that no man speaks if he do not ask or command him to do it; and if any one cannot forbear speak∣ing as he ought, all the rest immediately cry out, Cala la bocca, which they have learn'd from the Spaniard; But it suffices not to be silent in the presence of their Chief, but they are al∣so very attentive to his Discourse, look upon him when he speaks; and to shew that they approve of what he says, they are wont to smile, and that smile is accompanied by a certain Hun-Hun.

These expressions of respect are such as are not to be ac∣counted savage, as being us'd generally all over the World; but the Maldiveses have a particular way of honouring a per∣son;* 1.63 for as they think it a kind of disrespect to pass behind any one, so to express a great submission they take their passage just before him, and making a low obeisance, say as they go by, May it not displease you: The Yncas, a people of the Kingdom of Peru, to express the respect they bear their God, enter into his Temple backwards, and go out of it after the same manner; quite contrary to what we do in our ordinary Visits and Civi∣lities: The Turks account the left hand the more honourable among Military persons: The Inhabitants of Java think the covering of the Head is the greatest act of submission: The Japonneses think it a great incivility to receive those who would honour them standing; they take off their Shooes when they would express how much they honour any person: In the Kingdom of Gago in Africk all the Subjects speak to the King kneeling, having in their hands a Vessel full of Sand, which they cast on their Heads: The Negroes of the Country of An∣gola cover themselves with Earth when they meet with their Prince, as it were to signifie, that in his presence they are but dust and ashes: The Maronites of Mount Libanus meeting their Patriarch, cast themselves at his feet and kiss them; but he im∣mediately raising them up, presents them with his hand, which they taking in both theirs, and having kiss'd it, lay on their heads: But they who live about the Streight of Sunda have a very strange Custom, which is, that to honour their Superi∣ors they take them by the left foot, and gently rub the Leg from the Anckle-bone to the Knee; and that done, they in like man∣ner rub the Face, and the fore-part of the Head; an action which I doubt would be far from being thought respectful in these Parts.

From what hath been said it may be deduc'd, That this Worlds Honour, whatever it may be, Virtue excepted, con∣sists only in Opinion and Custom, which differ, and somtimes clash, according to the diversity of Mens humours.

But to return to the Captain of our Caribbians; It is his bu∣siness to take the Resolutions of War, to make all Preparati∣ons in order thereto, and to go upon any Expedition in the head of his Forces: He also appoints the Assemblies of his Island, and takes care for the reparations of the Carbet, which is the House where all Resolutions that concern the Publick are taken: In fine, he it is who in the name of the whole Island, as occasion serves, gives Answers, and appoints the days of diver∣tisement, as we mentioned before.

The administration of Justice among the Caribbians is not exercis'd by the Captain, nor by any Magistrate; but, as it is among the Tapinambous, he who thinks himself injur'd gets

such satisfaction of his adversary as he thinks fit, according as his passion dictates to him, or his strength permits him: The Publick does not concern it self at all in the punishment of Cri∣minals; and if any one among them suffers an injury or affront, without endeavouring to revenge himself, he is slighted by all the rest, and accounted a Coward, and a Person of no esteem; But, as we said before, there happen few quarrels or fallings out among them.

A Brother revenges his Brother and Sister, a Husband his Wife, a Father his Children; so that when any one is kill'd, they think it justly done, because it is done upon the account of revenge and retaliation: To prevent that, if a Savage of one Island hath kill'd another Savage, out of a fear of being kill'd by way of revenge by the Relations of the deceased, he gets into another Island and setles himself there. Those whom they think Sorcerers do not exercise that profession long among them, though for the most part they are rather imagin'd to be such, than that they are really so.

If the Caribbians suspect any one to have stollen somthing from them, they endeavour to lay hold on him, and to cut him over the Shoulders with a Knife or the Tooth of an Agouty, as a mark of his crime and their revenge: These Agoutys Teeth among the Caribbians supply the want of our Rasors, and indeed they are in a manner as sh••rp: Thus the ancient Peruvians and the Canarians, before they had the use of our Iron Instruments, made use of a certain kind of Flint instead of Scissers, Lancets, and Rasors.

The Husband suffers not his Wife to break her conjugal Faith towards him without punishment; but he himself acts the part of both Judge and Executioner, as we shall declare more par∣ticularly in the Chapter of their Marriages. They know not what it is to punish publickly, or to observe any form in the ex∣ecution of Justice; nay, they have no word in their Language to signifie Justice or Judgment.

CHAP. XX. Of the Wars of the Caribbians.

IT is commonly at their publick Feasts and Entertainments that the Caribbians take their Resolutions of engaging upon any War; which humour is not particular to their Nation; for the Brasilians and the Canadians do the like: And that it may not be thought this is found only among Savages, Herodo∣tus* 1.64

and Strabo affirm, That heretofore the Persians consulted* 1.65 concerning their most important affairs at their great Feasts, and when they had their heads well stor'd with Wine. And not only the Persians, but also several Grecian Nations held their Councels of War at Table, if we may believe Plutarch.* 1.66 The same thing is at this day practis'd among the Chineses, as some Historians affirm.

But to return to the Councels of War of our Caribbians: When they begin to have their brains warm'd with their drink, an old Woman comes into the Assembly with a sad countenance and deportment, and with tears in her eyes de∣mands audience; which being easily granted her, by reason of the respect and reverence they bear to her age, with a doleful voice, interrupted by sighs, she represents the injuries which the whole Nation hath receiv'd from the Arouagues, their an∣cient and inveterate Enemies: And having reckon'd up the greatest cruelties which they have heretofore exercis'd against the Caribbians, and the gallant men they have kill'd or taken in the Battels that were fought between them, she comes to particularize in those who were lately made Prisoners, massa∣cred, and eaten, in some later Engagements: And at last she concludes, that it were a shameful and an insupportable dis∣paragement to their Nation, if they should not revenge them∣selves, and generously imitate their Predecessors, those brave Caribbians, who minded nothing so much as to gain satisfacti∣on for the injuries they had receiv'd; and who after they had shaken off the yoke, which the Tyrants would have impos'd on them for the taking away of their ancient Liberty, have carried their victorious Arms into the Territories of their Enemies, whom they have pursu'd with darts and fire, and forc'd to make their retreats into their highest Mountains, the clefts of Rocks, and the dreadful recesses of their thickest Forests; and this with so great success, that at present they dare not appear at their own Sea-coasts, and can find no habi∣tation so remote where they think themselves secure from the assaults of the Caribbians; fear and astonishment having been their constant attendants after such signal Victories: That they are therefore couragiously to prosecute their advantages, and not to rest till that pestilent Enemy be utterly destroy'd.

As soon as the old Woman hath made an end of her dis∣course, the Captain makes a Speech to the same purpose, to make a greater impression in the minds of the Audience; which ended, the whole Assembly unanimously applauds the Proposition, and make all demonstrations imaginable of the justice of their Cause. From that time, being encourag'd by the words they had heard, they breathe nothing but blood and wounds. The Captain, concluding by the applause of the whole Assembly, and by their gestures and countenances, that

they are resolv'd for the War, though they do not say so much, immediately orders it, and appoints the time for the Enter∣prize by some of their ways of numbring, as we have hinted in the Chapter of their Natural Simplicity. In this place we are to make this particular Remark, That they take these bloody resolutions when they are well loaden with drink, and after the Divel hath tormented them to egge them on thereto, as we have said elsewhere.

The next day after the Assembly, nothing is seen or heard in all parts of the Island but preparations for the War: Some polish their Bows; others order their Clubs; others prepare, sharpen, and poison their Arrows; and others are employ'd to make ready the Piragas: The Women, for their parts, are busie about disposing and getting together the necessary provi∣sions for the Army: So that on the day appointed they all meet at the Sea-side with all things in a readiness to embarque.

They all furnish themselves with good Bows, and every one with a good sheaf of Arrows, which are made of a small smooth Reed, with a little piece of iron or some sharp bone at the point: The Arrows us'd by the Brasilians are made after the same manner; but the Caribbians adde to theirs, to make them more dreadful, a mortal poison made of the juice of the Manchenillo-trees, and other poisons; so that the least scratch made by them becomes a mortal wound. It hath hitherto been a thing impossible to get out of them the Receipt of that composition. They have also every one of them that wooden sword which they call Boutous, or to say better, that massy Club which they use instead of a sword, and wherewith they do miracles in point of fencing. These are all their Arms; for they have no Targets or Bucklers, as the Tapinambous, but* 1.67 their bodies are naked.

Next the care they take about their Arms, they also pro∣vide themselves sufficiently with belly-timber, and take along with them in their little vessels good quantities of Cassava, broil'd Fish, Fruits, and particularly Bananas, which keep a long time, and the meal of Manioc. The Icaqueses in their Wars never trouble themselves about any such thing; and what they do in this particular is so peculiar to them, that it deserves to be mentioned: for they are content with so little sontheir sustenance, and delight so much in living upon certain Plumbs which grow abundantly in their Parts, and from which they have their name, that when they go to the Wars they are never seen to carry any provisions for the belly along with them.

Our Savages of the Caribbies, as well as those of Brasil, take* 1.68 along with them to the Wars a certain number of Women, to dress their meat, and look to the Piragas when they are got ashore. Their Arms and Provisions are well fasten'd to these

Piragas; so that if the Vessel comes to overturn, which hap∣pens often, they set it right again without losing any thing of what was in it: And upon those occasions, being so good* 1.69 Swimmers as we have represented them, they are not troubled for their own persons, so far that they have sometimes laugh'd at the Christians, who, being neer them upon those occasions, endeavour'd to relieve them. Thus the Tapinambous laugh'd at some French men upon the like accident, as De Lery relates.* 1.70 The sails of the Caribbians are made of Cotton, or a kind of Mat of Palm-leaves: They have an excellent faculty of row∣ing with certain little Oars, which they move very fast. They take along with them also some Canows, which are their least kind of Vessels, to attend their Piragas.

Their custom is to go from Island to Island to refresh themselves, and to that end they have Gardens even in those which are desert, and not inhabited: They also touch at the Islands of their own Nation, to joyn their Forces, and take in as they go along all those that are in a condition to ac∣company them; and so their Army increases, and with that equipage they get with little noise to the Frontiers.

When they sail along the Coasts, and night comes upon them, they bring their Vessels ashore, and in half an hours time they make up their lodging-place under some Tree with Balisier and Latanier-leaves, which they fasten together on poles or reeds, sustain'd by forks planted in the ground, which serve for a foundation to this little structure, and to hang their beds on: These lodgings thus made in haste they call Aioupa.

The Lacedaemonian Law-giver had forbidden, among other* 1.71 things, that War should be always wag'd against the same Enemies, for fear they might thereby grow more experienc'd in Military Affairs: But the Caribbians follow not those Ma∣ximes, nor fear any such inconvenience; for they always make War against the same Nation: Their ancient and irreconcile∣able Enemies are the Arouacas, Arouaques or Arouagues, which is the name commonly given them in the Islands, though the Caribbians call them Alouagues, who live in that part of the Meridional America which is known in the Maps under the name of the Province of Guyana or Guayana, not far from the Rivers which fall down out of that Province into the Sea. The cause of this immortal enmity between our Insulary Ca∣ribbians and those people hath been already hinted in the Chapter of the Origine of the Caribbians, to wit, that those Arouagues have cruelly persecuted the Caribbians of the Conti∣nent, their Neighbours, the Relations of our Islanders, and of the same Nation with them; and that they have continually warr'd against them to exterminate them, or at least, to drive them out of their habitations. These Arouagnes then are the people whom our Islanders go and find out in their own Coun∣try,

commonly once or twice a year, to be reveng'd of them as much as they can: And it is to be observ'd on the other side, that the Arouagues never make any attempts on the Ca∣ribbians of the Islands, in the Islands where they live, but on∣ly stand on the defensive; whereas they are sure to have our Savages among them oftner then they wish, coasting along, as they are wont to do, all the other Islands wherein they have Gardens or Colonies, though the furthermost of the Caribby-Islands, which is Santa-Cruce, is distant from the Country of the Arouagues about three hundred Leagues.

It was Alexanders generosity made him use this expression,* 1.72 that a Victory was not to be stollen: but Philip of an humour different from his Son, thought there was no shame in a Con∣quest, howere it were obtain'd: Our Caribbians, with most of the old Inhabitants of America, are of the same opinion: For they carry on all their wars by surprize, and think it no disho∣nour to make their advantage of the night: Contrary to the Icaqueses, who would think their reputation blasted, if coming to the Territories of their Enemies, they did not send them notice of their arrival, and challenge them to come and receive them armed. The Arraucanes, next neighbour to the Chili, a warlike people, and whom the Spaniard hath not been yet able to overcome, nay was sometimes worsted by them, do much more: For when they are to engage against an Enemy, they have the War proclaim'd by Heraulds, and send this mes∣sage to them; We shall meet thee within so many Moons, be rea∣dy. And so the Yncas, the Kings of Peru, never undertook any* 1.73 war, till they had first advertis'd their Enemies thereof, and declar'd it two or three times: Whence it may be inferred by the way, that L' Escarbot is mistaken in his History of New-France,* 1.74 where he affirms, that all the West-Indians generally wage their wars by surprize.

The Caribbians have this imagination, that the War they should begin openly would not prosper: So that having landed in the Country of the Arouagues, if they are discovered before they give the first shock, or that a dog, as one would say, did bark at them, thinking it ominous, they immediately return to their Vessels, and so to their Islands, leaving the design to be prosecuted some other time.

But if they are not discovered, they fall upon their Ene∣mies even in their Houses: If they cannot easily come at them, or find them well fortified in some Houses that have good Pali∣sadoes, whence they play upon them with their Arrows with some advantage, they are wont to force them out by shooting fire to the Houses with their Arrows, at the points whereof they fasten lighted Cotton: And these arrows being shot on the roofs, which consist of Grass or Palm-leaves, they presently set them on fire: Thus the Arouagues are forced out of their

holes, and to fight in the open field, or run away: When our Savages have thus gotten them into the field, they presently shoot away all their arrows, which being spent they take their Boutous, and do strange things therewith; they are in perpetual motion all the time they are fighting, that the Enemy may have the less time to observe them: Fire-arms, especially great Guns, which make so great noise, and do such execution, espe∣cially when they are loaden with Nails, Chains, and other pie∣ces of old Iron, have abated much of their courage when they have had to do with Europaeans, and makes them afraid to come neer their Ships and Forts: But though they do not take Opi∣um, to make them less sensible of danger, before they go to* 1.75 fight, as the Turks and the East-Indians of Cananor do; nor yet feed on Tygers and Lions to make themselves more couragious, as the people of the Kingdom of Narsinga towards Malabar; yet when they fight equally armed with the Arouagues, and have begun the Battel, especially if they are animated with some good success, they are as bold as Lions, and will either over∣come or die. Thus did the warlike Savages of the Country of Carthagena, when they were assaulted by the Spaniards; for* 1.76 they fell in among them with such fury, both men and women, that a young maid laid several Spaniards upon the place ere she was killed her self. They say also that the Mexicans and* 1.77 Canadians will rather be cut to pieces than taken in fight.

If the Caribbians can take any one of their Enemies alive, they bind him and bring him away captive into their Islands; but if any one of theirs fall dead or wounded in the field, it would be an eternal and insupportable reproach to them to leave him in the power of the Enemy: That consideration makes them break furiously into the midst of the greatest dan∣gers, and resolutely make their way through whatever op∣poses them, to retrive the bodies of their Comrades; and ha∣ving gotten them by force from amongst the Enemies, they carry them to their Vessels.

When the fight is over, our Savages make their retreat to the Sea-side, or into some neighbouring Island; and if they have received some considerable loss by the death of some of their Chief Commanders, or their most valiant Soldiers, they fill the air with dreadful howling and crying before they get into their Vessels; and intermixing their tears with the blood of the deceased, they mournfully dispose them into their Piragas, and accompany them with their regrets and sighs to some of their own Territories.

But when they have had the Victory, they spend not the time in cutting off the heads of their slain Enemies, in carrying them in triumph, and in taking the skins of those poor bodies, to make Standards in their Triumphs, as the Canadians do, and as heretofore was the custom of the Scythians, as Herodotus af∣firms;* 1.78

nay, as was that of the ancient Gauls, if we believe Livy.* 1.79 The Caribbians think it enough to express their joy by outcries over the bodies of the Arouagues, and afterwards all along their Coasts, as it were to insult over that hateful Country before they leave it: But after they have sung in that strange Coun∣try some of their triumphal songs, they make what haste they can to their Vessels, to carry away the rest into the bosom of their native soil; and the poor Arouagues they have taken, they carry away chain'd, to be dealt with as shall be seen in the next Chapter.

The end they propose to themselves in these Expeditions, is not to become Masters of a new Country, or to load them∣selves with the spoils of their Enemies; but only the glory of subduing and triumphing over them, and the pleasure of sa∣tiating their Revenge for the injuries they have received from them.

Next the Arouagues, the greatest Enemies the Caribbians have are the English: this enmity took its rise hence, that the En∣glish, having under the Flags of other Nations got divers of the Caribbians aboard their Ships, where they had at first charmed them with kindness, and little presents, especially Aqua-vitae, which they extreamly love; when they saw their Vessel full of these poor people, who never dreamed of any such treachery, weighed anchor, and carried the Caribbians, men, women, and children into their Plantations, where they are still kept as slaves: It is reported that they did the like in several of the Islands, wherein they followed the example of the Spaniards: Whence it comes that they still bear a grudge to the English, and can hardly endure to hear their Language spoken: Nay, their dissatisfaction is so great, that if a French∣man, as some of that Nation affirm, chance to make use of some English expressions in his discourse, he runs the hazard of their enmity: Accordingly, in their turns, by the law of retaliation, they have often made incursions into the Islands of Montserrat, Antego, and others which are in the hands of the English; and after they had set some houses on fire, and taken some Goods, they carried away men, women, and children, whom they brought to Dominico and St. Vincents; but it was never heard that they did eat any of them, it seems they reserve that cruel∣ty for the Arouagues: Nay before the Caribbians had any war with the Inhabitants or Martinico, when the Parents or Friends of the English who had been carried away Prisoners of War by those Caribbians, employed the mediation of the French, they were easily enlarged and put into the hands of the French, who gave the Caribbians in exchange for them, some of those trifles which they highly value, or haply an Iron wedge, or some such necessary tool: Nay, upon the presenting them with some of those things they have delivered up some of the Arou∣agues

appointed to be eaten. They have at this present in the Island of St. Vineents some young Boys and Girls of the En∣glish Nation, who being carried away very young, have clearly forgot their Parents, and would hardly return with them, so well are they pleased with the humour of the Caribbians, who for their part treat them as mildly as if they were of their own Nation; they are now known only by the fairness and flax∣enness of their Hair, whereas the Caribbians are generally black-hair'd.

As for the Spaniards, at the first discovery of America, the Caribbians who were then possess'd of all the Caribby-Islands, were cruelly treated by them; they persecuted them with fire and sword, and pursu'd them even into the woods, as wild beasts, that they might carry them away Captives to work in the Mines: Which kind of procedure forc'd this people, which is valiant and generous, to oppose the violence, and to lay am∣bushes for their Enemies, nay to assault them in their Ships which lay in their Roads, which they borded without any fear of fire-Arms, making their way through Swords and Pikes: In which attempts they were many times so fortunate, that they became Masters of divers Ships richly loaden, dispatching all that oppos'd them, carrying away all the booty, and then set∣ing the Ships on fire: True it is, they pardoned the Negro-slaves they met with, and having brought them ashore put them to work in their Habitations; thence came the Negroes which which they have at present in St. Vincents and some other Islands.

The Spaniards being sensible of these losses, and perceiving they had a stubborn Enemy to deal with, and that when they had ruin'd that Nation, they should not advantage themselves; and considering further, that the Islands they were possessed of lay convenient for their Ships in their long Voyages, to take in refreshments of water, wood, and provisions if need were, and to leave such as were sick in their Fleet, they resolved to treat the Caribbians more kindly; and thereupon having set some of them at liberty whom they had Captives, and sent them back into their Country with presents, they made use of them to treat concerning a peace with that People, the conditions whereof being accepted by some of the Islands, they set ashore therein some swine which they had brought out of Europe; and afterwards they left there behind them the sick they had in their Ships, and took them in again recovered at their return. But the Caribbians of St. Vincents, and those who lived at Do∣minico would not consent to that agreement, but still persist in the aversion they had for the Spaniards, and the desire they have to be revenged of them.

As to what concerns their defensive wars, they have learnt by their acquaintance with the Christians, and the differences

they have had with them upon several occasions, to keep their ranks, and to encamp in advantagious places, and to make some kinds of fortifications in imitation of the others: The French found i•• so by experience, some years since, at the taking of Granada: They imagined that the Caribbians would not have made any resistance; but they found them in a defensive po∣sture, to prevent their landing, and contest their possession of that place; for besides the mischief they did them by an ex∣traordinary shower of Arrows, and the Barricadoes they pla∣ced in the avenues, they couragiously opposed their landing, and laid several ambushes for them; and when they saw that the French, notwithstanding their resistance, were resolv'd to come, and forced them to make their retreat into the woods, they rallied on an eminent place which they had fortified: and whereas it was somewhat steepy on all sides save only one, which had a spacious avenue, they had cut down certain trees, of the boals whereof they had made long Rollers, which being lightly fasten'd at the top of the Mountain, might be rolled down the descent, with a more than ordinary force and vio∣lence against the French, if they had attempted any assault: Out of this Fort they also made several sallies upon the Enemy, who was building one where they might safely expect the sup∣ply which was to be sent them from Martinico; there they kept them in as it were besieged for certain days, during which they had made hollow places in the earth to secure themselves from the Muskets; and thence shewing only their heads, they shot their Arrows at those who had the confidence to come without the Trenches; nay, in the night time they made a shift to get a pot full of burning coals, on which they had cast a hand∣ful of Pyman-seed, into the Hut which the French had set up at their first arrival in the Island, purposely to stifle them, if they could, by the dangerous fume, and the stupifying vapour of the Pyman: But their stratagem was discovered; and some time after the expected supply being come to the French, the Caribbians treated with them, and left them the absolute pos∣session of the Island; but the differences they have since had with the French Inhabitants of Martinico have occasioned ano∣ther War which lasts still.

CHAP. XXI. Of the Treatment which the Caribbians make their Prisoners of War.

WE are now going to dip our Pen in Blood, and to draw a Picture which must raise horrour in the beholder; in this there must appear nothing but Inhumanity, Barbarism, and Rage; We shall find rational Creatures cruelly devouring those of the same species with them, and filling themselves with their Flesh and Blood, after they had cast off Humane Nature, and put on that of the most bloody and furious Beasts: A thing which the Pagans themselves, in the midst of their darkness, heretofore thought so full of execration, that they imagin'd the Sun withdrew himself, because he would not shew his light at such Repasts.

When the Cannibals, or Anthropophagi, that is, Eaters of Men (for here it is that we are properly to call them by that Name, which is common to them with that of the Caribbians); when I say they bring home Prisoner of War from among the Arou∣agues, he belongs of right to him who either seiz'd on him in the Fight, or took him running away; so that being come in∣to his Island, he keeps him in his house; and that he may not get away in the night, he ties him in an Amac, which he hangs up almost at the roof of his dwelling; and after he has kept him fasting four or five days, he produces him upon some day of solemn debauch, to serve for a publick Victim to the immor∣tal hatred of his Country-men towards that Nation.

If there be any of their Enemies dead upon the place, they there eat them ere they leave it: They design for slavery only the young Maids and Women taken in the War: They do not eat the Children of their She-prisoners, much less the Children they have by them themselves: They have heretofore tasted of all the Nations that frequented them, and affirm, That the French are the most delicate, and the Spaniards of hardest di∣gestion; but now they do not feed on any Christians at all.

They abstain also from several cruelties which they were wont to use before they kill'd their Enemies; for whereas at present they think it enough to dispatch them at a blow or two with the Club, and afterwards cut them into pieces, and having broyl'd them, to devour them; they heretofore put them to several torments, before they gave them the mortal blow: We shall not think it besides our purpose to set down in this place some of the inhumanities which they exercis'd upon these sad occasions, as they themselves have given an account thereof to

those have had the curiosity to inform themselves from their own mouths.

The Prisoner of War who had been so unfortunate as to fall into their hands, and was not ignorant that he was design'd to receive the most cruel treatment which rage could suggest, arm'd himself with constancy, and, to express how generous a people the Arouagues were, march'd very chearfully to the place of execution, not being either bound or drag'd thereto, and presented himself with a smiling and steady countenance in the midst of the Assembly, which he knew desir'd nothing so much as his death.

As soon as he perceiv'd those people who express'd so great joy at the approach of him, who was to be the mess of their abominable Entertainment, not expecting their discourses and their bitter abuses, he prevented them in these termes;

I know well enough upon what account you have brought me to this place; I doubt not but you are desirous to fill your selves with my blood, and that you are impatient to exercise your teeth upon my body; but you have not so much reason to triumph to see me in this condition, nor I much to be troubled there∣at: My Country-men have put your Predecessors to greater miseries than you are now able to invent against me; and I have done my part with them in mangling, massacring, and devouring your people, your friends, and your fathers; be∣sides that I have Relations who will not fail to revenge my quarrel with advantage upon you and upon your Children, for the most inhumane treatment you intend against me: What torments soever the most ingenious cruelty can dictate to you for the taking away of my life, is nothing in compa∣rison of those which my generous Nation prepares for you in exchange: therefore delay not the utmost of your cruelty any longer, and assure your selves I both slight and laugh at it.

Somwhat of this nature is that brave and bloody Bra∣vado which may be read of a Brasilian Prisoner, ready to be* 1.80 devour'd by his Enemies;

Come on boldly, said be to them, and feast your selves upon me; for at the same time you will feed on your Fathers and Grandfathers, who serv'd for nourishment to my Body: These Muscles, this Flesh, and these Veins are yours, blind Fools as you are; you do not observe, that the substance of the Members of your Ance∣stors are yet to be seen in them; taste them well, and you will find the taste of your own Flesh.

But let us return to our Arouagues.

His soul was not only in his lips, but shew'd it self also in the effects which follow'd that Bravado; for after the Company had a while endur'd his menaces and arrogant defiances with∣out touching him, one among them came and burnt his sides with a flaming brand; another cut good deep pieces out of him,

and would have made them bigger, had it not been for the bones, in several parts of the body: Then they cast into his smarting wounds that sharp kind of Spice which the Caribbians call Pyman: Others diverted themselves in shooting Arrows at the poor Patient; and every one took a pleasure in tormenting him; but he suffer'd with the same countenance, and expres∣sed not the least sentiment of pain: After they had made sport thus a long time with the poor wretch, at last growing weary of insulting, and out-brav'd by his constancy, which seem'd still the same, one of them came and at one blow dispatch'd him with his Club. This is the Treatment which the Caribbi∣ans made heretofore to their Prisoners of War; but now they think it enough to put them to a speedy death, as we have al∣ready represented.

As soon as this unfortunate person is thus laid dead upon the place, the young men take the body, and having wash'd it cut it in pieces, and then boyl some part, and broil some upon wooden Frames, made for that purpose, like Gridirons: When this detestable Dish is ready, and season'd according to their palates, they divide it into so many parts as there are persons present, and joyfully devour it, thinking that the World can∣not afford any other repast equally delicious: The Women lick the very sticks on which the fat of the Arouague dropp'd; which proceeds not so much from the deliciousness they find in that kind of sustenance, and that fat, as from the excessive pleasure they conceive in being reveng'd in that manner of their chiefest Enemies.

But as they would be extreamly troubled that the enraged hatred they bear the Arouagues should ever end, so do they make it their main endeavour to foment and heighten it: thence it comes, that while this poor Carcass is a dressing, they care∣fully gather and save all the fat that comes from it; not to put into Medicines, as Chirurgeons sometimes do; or to make wild∣fire of it, to set their Enemies houses on fire, as the Tartars do; but they gather together that fat to be afterwards distributed among the chiefest of them, who carefully keep it in little Gourds, to pour some few drops thereof into their Sauces at their solemn Entertainments, so to perpetuate, as much as lies in their power, the motive of their Revenge.

I must needs acknowledge, the Sun would have more reason to withdraw himself from these Barbarians, than to be present at such detestable Solemnities; but it would be requisite that he withdrew himself at the same time from most of the Coun∣tries of America, nay from some parts of Africk and Asia, where the like and worse cruelties are daily exercis'd: For instance, the Tapinambous make in a manner the same treatment to their prisoners, as the Caribbians do to theirs; but they add thereto divers expressions of barbarism, which are not to be seen in the

Caribbies: They rub the bodies of their Children with the* 1.81 blood of those miserable Victims, to animate them to future Cruelties: He who had been the Executioner of the Captive caus'd himself to be mangled and flash'd, and cut in several parts of the body, as a Trophey of Valour, and a mark of Glory: And what is yet superlatively strange, is, That those Barbarians bestowing their Daughters for Wives on those Ene∣mies, as soon as they fall into their hands, when they come to cut them in pieces, the Wife her self eats first, if it be possible, of the flesh of her Husband; and if it happen that she hath any Children by him, they are serv'd in the like manner, kill'd, rosted, and eaten; somtimes as soon as they come into the World. The like Barbarism hath somtimes been observ'd in* 1.82 several Provinces of Peru.

Divers other barbarous Nations do also exceed the Caribbians in their inhumanity; but above all, the Inhabitants of the Country of Antis are more cruel then Tygers: If it happens* 1.83 that by right of War or otherwise, they make a Prisoner, and that they know him to be a person of small account, they im∣mediately quarter him, and bestow the Members on their Friends or Servants, that they may eat them if they please, or sell them in the Shambles; but if he be a person of quality, the chiefest among them meet together, with their Wives and Children, to be present at his death: Then these unmerciful people having strip'd him, fasten him stark naked to a post, and cut and slash him all over the body with a sort of Knives and Rasours made of a certain Stone, such as may be Flint: In this cruel Execution they do not presently dismember him, but they only take the flesh from the parts which have most, as the calf of the Leg, the Thighs, the Buttoeks, and the Arms; that done, they all pell-mell, Men, Women, and Children, dye themselves with the blood of that wretched person; and not staying for the rosting or boyling of the Flesh they had taken away, they devour it like so many Cormorants, or rather swallow it down without any chewing: Thus the wretch sees himself eaten alive, and buried in the bellies of his Enemies: The Women adding yet somwhat to the cruelty of the Men, though excessively barbarous and inhumane, rub the ends of their Breasts with the blood of the Patient, that so their Chil∣dren may suck it in with their Milk. And if these inhumane Executioners have observ'd, that amidst all the torments they put the miserable deceas'd person to, he express'd the least sence of pain, either in his countenance or other parts of his body; or that he so much as groan'd or sigh'd, then they break his bones, after they have eaten the flesh about them, and cast them into some nasty place, or into a River, with an extream contempt.

Thus also do several other Nations cruelly insult over the

wretched remainders of their murthered Enemies, and exercise their inhumane revenge and barbarous animosity on that which hath no feeling thereof: Thus some Inhabitants of Florida, to satiate their brutality, hang up in their houses, and carry about* 1.84 them, the skins and hair of their Enemies; the Uirginians wear about their necks a dry'd hand; some Savages of New-Spain hang about some part of their bodies, after the manner of a Medal, a piece of their flesh whom they had massacred: The* 1.85 Lords of the Island by the French call'd Belle-Iste neer China, wear a Crown made up of Deaths-heads, hideously dispos'd, and interlac'd with silk strings: The Chineses make drinking∣cups of the Spaniards skuls whom they have kill'd, as heretofore the Scythians were wont to do with their Enemies, as Herodo∣tus* 1.86 affirms: The Canadians and the Mexicans dance on their Festival days, wearing about them the skins of those whom they had fley'd and eaten: The Huancas, an ancient Nation of Peru,* 1.87 made Drums of such skins, affirming, that when they were bea∣ten they had a secret virtue to make those who fought against them to run away.

From all this Discourse it may be deduced, to what degree of rage and fury Hatred and the desire of Revenge may ascend: And in these Examples there are are many circumstances more bloody, and some more detestable discoveries of cruelty and barbarism, then there are in the treatment which our Cannibals make to their Prisoners of War, the Arouagues.

But to make this treatment appear the less horrid, it were easie to bring on the Stage divers Nations, who besides that fu∣rious animosity, and that unquenchable thirst of Revenge, do further discover a barbarous and insatiable gluttony, and an ab∣solutely brutish passion of feeding on Mans flesh.

And in the first place, whereas our Cannibals ordinarily feed only upon the Arouagues, their irreconcileable Enemies, sparing the Prisoners they take of any other Nation, some Floridians, who live neer the Streight of Bahama, cruelly devour all the Strangers they can get into their hands, what Nation soever they be of; so that if any people land in their Country, and that they chance to be the stronger party, they must infallibly expect to be their next days Commons: They think Mans flesh extreamly delicate, from what part soever of the Body it be ta∣ken; but they affirm, that the sole of the foot is the most deli∣cious bit of any; thence it comes, that the said part is ordina∣rily serv'd up to their Carlin, who is their Lord, whereas anci∣ently the Tartars cut off the breasts of young Maids, and reser∣ved* 1.88 them for their chief Commanders, whose ordinary food they were. To these Barbarians we may add those of the Pro∣vince of Hascala, and of the Region of the City of Darien in* 1.89 New-Spain, who did eat not only the flesh of their Enemies, but also that of their own Country-men: And Historians af∣firm,

that the Yncas, Kings of Peru, subdued divers Provinces,* 1.90 the Inhabitants whereof thought no Law so rigorous and insup∣portable, among all those which the said victorious Princes im∣posed on them, as those which prohibited the eating of mans flesh, so much were they addicted to that execrable diet; for not staying till he whom they had mortally wounded, had gi∣ven up the ghost, they drunk off the blood which issued out of his wound; and they did the like when they cut him up into quarters, greedily sucking it, lest a drop should be lost: They* 1.91 had publick Shambles for the selling of mans flesh, whereof they took pieces and mine'd them very small, and of the en∣trails they made puddings and saucages: And particularly the Cheriganes, or Chirrhuanes, a people inhabiting the Mountains, had so strange and so insatiable an appetite to mans flesh, that they gluttonously eat it raw, not sparing their neerest Relations when they dyed: The same thing is at this day affirmed of the Tapuyes, a certain other oriental Nation; and Herodotus assures* 1.92 us of such a thing in his time; nay it is averred, that the peo∣ple* 1.93 of Java are so barbarous and so great lovers of that abo∣minable nourishment, that, to satisfie their damnable appetite, they deprive their Parents of their lives, and toss the pieces of their flesh one to another like balls, to see who shall have most of them: The Amures, a people of Brasil, are yet more inhu∣mane and detestable; so that we need not feign Saturnes de∣vouring* 1.94 their own children; for if we may credit Historians, these Barbarians eat in effect their own Children, member after member, and sometimes opening the wombs of great belly'd women, they take out the fruit thereof, which they immedi∣ately devour, longing so strangely after the flesh of their own species, that they go a hunting of men, as they do beasts, and having taken them they tear them in pieces, and devour them after a cruel and unmerciful manner.

By these examples it is sufficiently apparent, that our Canni∣bals are not so much Cannibals, that is, Eaters of men, though they have the name particularly attributed to them, as many other savage Nations; and it were an easie matter to find yet elsewhere certain discoveries of Barbarism answerable to that of our Caribbian Cannibals, nay such as far exceeds theirs: But we have done enough, let us draw the Curtains on these hor∣rours, and leaving the Cannibals of all other Nations, return to those of the Caribbies, to divert our eyes, wearied with be∣holding so many inhumanities and bloudy Tragedies, by a pro∣spect of their Marriages.

CHAP. XXII. Of the Marriages of the Caribbians.

THere are in America some Savages so savage and so bru∣tish, that they know not what Marriage is, but go in∣differently together like beasts. This, among others, is af∣firm'd of the ancient Peruvians, and the Inhabitants of the* 1.95 Islands of Robbers: But the Caribbians, with all their barba∣rism, subject themselves to the Laws of this strict Alliance.

They have no set time of the Year appointed for their Mar∣riages, as the Persians, who ordinarily marry in the Spring;* 1.96 nor yet are they oblig'd to do it at any certain age, as several other Savages, whereof some marry commonly at a 1.97 nine years; others at b 1.98 twelve; some at c 1.99 four and twenty; and others on∣ly at d 1.100 forty: Nor is it the custom among the Caribbians, as in a manner among all other Nations, that the young Men should ordinarily make choice of the Maids according to their own minds and inclinations; nor on the other side, do the young Maids make choice of their Husbands, as those of the Pro∣vince of Nicaragua do, at their publick Feasts and Assemblies; and as it was done heretofore in Candia, as Historians affirm.

But when our Savages are desirous to marry, they have a priviledge to take all their Cousin-germans, and have no more to say, then that they take them to their Wives; for they are naturally reserv'd for them, and they may carry them to their houses without any other ceremony, and then they are ac∣counted their lawful Wives. They may all take as many Wives as they please; especially, the Captains pride it much in having a great number of them: They build a particular Hut for every Wife: They continue what time they please with her whom they fancy most, yet so as that the others con∣ceive no jealousie thereat. She whom they most honour with their company, waits on them with the greatest care and sub∣mission imaginable; she prepares Cassava for them, paints them; and goes along with them in all their Expeditions.

Their Husbands love them all very well; but this love is like a fire of straw, since that many times they forsake them with as much ease as they take them; yet are they seldom seen to leave their first Wives, especially if they have had children by them.

If there chance to be among the She-prisoners of War any that they like, they make them their Wives; but though the children born of them are free, yet are the Mothers, for their parts, still accounted Slaves. All the Wives speak with whom they please; but the Husband dares not discourse with the Re∣lations

of his Wife, but upon extraordinary occasions.

When it happens that any one among them hath no Cousin∣germans, or that having staid too long ere they took them to Wives, their friends have dispos'd of them to others, they may now marry such as are not of any kin to them: but it is requi∣site that they demand them of their Fathers and Mothers, and as soon as the Father or Mother hath granted their request, they are their Wives, and they carry them to their own habi∣tations.

Before they had alter'd some part of their ancient Customs, by reason of the converse they have had with the Christians, they took none for their lawful Wives but their Cousins, who were theirs by natural right, as we said before, or such young Maids as their Fathers and Mothers willingly proffer'd them at their return from the Wars. This ancient Custom of theirs hath many particular circumstances worthy our remark; and therefore we shall give an account of it at large, as we have it from the most ancient of that Nation who have related it, to shew the great changes which have crept into their Manners and Customs, since they became acquainted with forreign Na∣tions.

When the Caribbians return'd with success from their Wars, and that there was a solemn reception made for them in their Islands, and a great entertainment at their Carbet, after that Solemnity, which is still in use among them, the Captain gave an account of the success of their Expedition, and commended the generosity and gallantry of those who had behav'd them∣selves valiantly: But his main design was to recommend the valour of the young men, the better to animate them to make future expressions of the same courage upon the like occasions. It was ordinarily at the end of that discourse that Fathers of families, who had Daughters marriageable, took occasion to present them for Wives to those among the young men whose performances they had heard so much celebrated, and whose courage and undauntedness in fighting had been so highly com∣mended: There was an emulation among them who should get such for their Sons-in-law: And he who had kill'd most Ene∣mies, had much ado that day to scape with one Wife, so many would there be proffer'd to him: But Cowards and persons of no worth met with no courtship to that purpose; so that, to be married among them, there was a necessity of being cou∣ragious; for a Wife in that Nation then was the reward of ge∣nerosity. Thus among the Brasilians, the young men were not admitted to marry till they had kill'd some Enemy: And in a* 1.101 City of Grand-Tartary, called Palimbrota, those of highest qua∣lity could have no Wives till they had brought proof that they had kill'd three Enemies of their Prince. It is reported also,* 1.102 that heretofore in Carmania, if any one were desirous to marry,

it was requisite that he brought the King the head of an Ene∣my. The same Custom in a manner was observ'd among a certain people neer the Caspian Sea. And who knows not that King Saul demanded of David the lives of an hundred Phili∣stines, for the dower of his Daughter, before he gave her him in Marriage?

But happy did that Father think himself among our Carib∣bians, who could first approach and seize about the body of some one of those valorous Sons-in-Law whom the Captain had commended; for there was nothing to be expected for that time by him that came next; and the marriage was con∣cluded as soon as the other had said to the Young-man, I be∣stow my Daughter on thee for thy Wife; the like expression from a Mother was as effectual: And the Young-man durst not re∣fuse the Daughter when she was thus presented to him; but it was requisite, that whether she were handsome or unhandsome, he took her to Wife. Thus the Caribbians married not after previous courtships and Love-suits.

And if the young Caribbians, after they were married, con∣tinued the same gallantry in ensuing Wars, they had according∣ly other Wives bestowed on them at their return: this Poli∣gamy is still in use among them, and it is indeed common among other Barbarians. The Chileses, Inhabitants of the Island* 1.103 of Mocha, make no more ado, but as often as they are desirous to have a new Wife, they buy one for an Ox, a Sheep, or some other Commodity: And there are some places where the num∣ber of Wives belonging to the same Husband is prodigious, as in the Kingdom of Bennin, the King whereof hath sometimes* 1.104 seven hundred Wives and Concubines; and where the ordina∣ry subjects, as well as those of Mexico, have each of them about a hundred, or a hundred and fifty Wives. On the other side there are some places where every Wife in like manner is per∣mitted to have many husbands, as among the Pelhuares, a Na∣tion of Brasil, in the Kingdom of Calecut; and heretofore in some of the Canaries.

The Young-men among the Caribbians do not to this day converse with either Maids or Women till they are married; wherein certainly they are at a great distance from the humour* 1.105 of the Peguans, who are so passionately amorous, that to make it appear, that the violence of the secret fire which consumes them, extinguishes in them the sentiment of all other ardors, they sear their own arms in the presence of their Mistresses with a flaming Torch, or suffer to die and be spent upon their flesh, a piece of linnen cloth all of a flame, and dipped in Oil: And to shew that being wounded to death by Love, all other wounds must needs be slight, they cut and slash their bodies with Ponyards. The Turks do somewhat of the same kind, as Villamont affirms; for upon the like occasions* 1.106

they give themselves several cuts and great wounds with their knives, in divers parts of their bodies.

The number of Wives among the Caribbians is not limited,* 1.107 as it is among the Maldiveses, where a man may have but three at the same time: But as that number was heretofore propor∣tioned to their courage and valour, (for as often as they return∣ed from the wars with the commendation of gallant men, they might pretend to & hope for a new Wife) so at the present, they have as many as they desire and can obtain; so that among them, as well as among the Topinambous, he who hath most Wives* 1.108 is accounted most valiant, and the most considerable person in the whole Island. And whereas in the Island of Hispaniola all* 1.109 the wives lay in the same Room with their Husbands, the Carib∣bians as we said before, to prevent all differences and jealou∣sies, keep their wives, as the Turks and Tartars do theirs, in di∣stinct Habitations; nay, sometimes they dispose them into se∣veral Islands: Or haply another reason of their ordering such a distance between the several aboads of their wives, is that they may the more conveniently apply themselves to the cul∣ture of their Gardens, which lie scattered up and down in di∣vers places: and it is upon the same account that some affirm the Caribbians of the Continent do the like, their wives having this commendation, that they are not troubled with jealousie. Our Savages of the Islands, if they have no more wives than one, are very careful not to be far from them; and if they have many, they visit them by turns one after another: But in this they observe the same Custom with the Floridians, that they meddle not with those who are with child.

It is somewhat to be wondred at, that Lycurgus and Solon* 1.110 those Lights of Greece, should shew themselves so blind and withal so dishonest, as to open a gap for Adultry to get in among their Citizens; for there is hardly any Nation so Barbarous and Savage, but hath of it self light enough to read this Law drawn by the hand of nature; that Adultery is a crime, and that a certain horrour ought to be had for it; nay there is not any but expresses a certain detestation of it, and severely pu∣nishes it. The punishment of Adultery is pleasant enough among the Inhabitants of Guinny; for the Wife, if she hath a* 1.111 mind to continue still with her Husband, pays him by way of satisfaction, some ounces of Gold. But there is no jesting with those of Bengala, and the Mexicans, who cut off their wives no∣ses* 1.112 and ears in that case: Divers other barbarous Nations pu∣nish* 1.113 this crime with death; nay, the Peguans are so severe upon these occasions, and have so great a horrour for this breach of conjugal love, that both men and women who are found guil∣ty thereof are buried alive.

Nor are the Caribbians the most indulgent, and the least jea∣lous of their honour in this case; heretofore they knew not

how to punish this Crime, because it reigned not among them before their commerce with the Christians: but now if the Husband surprises his Wife prostituting her self to some other, or have otherwise any certain knowledge of it, he does himself justice, and seldom pardons her, but dispatches her, sometimes with his Club, sometimes by ripping up the upper part down∣wards with a Rasor or the tooth of an Agouty, which is neer as sharp.

This execution being done, the Husband goes to his Father∣in-law, and tells him in cold blood, I have killed thy Daughter because she proved unfaithful to me: The Father thinks the acti∣on so just, that he is so far from being angry with him, that he commends him, and conceives himself oblig'd: Thou hast done well, replies he, she deserved no less: And if he hath any more Daughters to dispose of, he immediately proffers him one of them, and promises to bestow her on him at the first oppor∣tunity.

The Father marries not his own Daughter, as some have af∣firmed; they abhor that crime, and if there have been any in∣cestuous Fathers among them, they were forc'd to absent them∣selves; for had they been taken by the rest, they would have burnt them alive, or torn them into a thousand pieces.

CHAP. XXIII. Of the birth and education of Children among the Caribbians.

THere is hardly any Custom among these poor Indians so brutish, as that which they use at the birth of their chil∣dren; their wives are delivered with little pain, and if they feel any difficulty, their recourse is to the root of a certain Rush, out of which they get the juice, and having drunk it, they are immediately delivered: Sometimes the very day of their delivery, they go and wash themselves and the child at the next River or Spring, and fall about their ordinary busi∣ness: The Peruvian, the Japonneses, and the Brasilian women* 1.114 do the like; and it was ordinary among the Indians of Hispa∣niola, and the ancient Lacedemonians to wash their children in cold water, immediately after their birth, to harden their skins. The Maldiveses wash theirs so for several daies together; and* 1.115 it is affirmed by some, that the Cimbri were heretofore wont to put those little newly-born creatures into snow, to accustom them to cold and hardship, and to strengthen their members.

They make no feast at the birth of their Children, save on∣ly at that of the first-born, and they observe no set time for that, but every man according to his humour: But when they assemble their friends to rejoice with them upon the birth of their first-born, they spare nothing that may contribute to the entertainment and merry-making of the invited; whereas heretofore the Thracians accompanied with their tears the cries* 1.116 of those who came into the world, reflecting on the miseries they were to suffer in this life.

But behold the brutality of our Savages in their enjoyments, for the augmentation of their Family! Assoon as the Wife is delivered the Husband goes to bed, to bemoan himself there, and act the part of the woman in that condition; a custome, which, though savage and ridiculous, is yet used, as some af∣firm among the Peasants of a certain Province of France, where they have this particular phrase for it, faire la couvade: But what is most troublesome to the poor Caribbian, who hath put himself into bed instead of his newly-delivered Wife, is, that they oblige him to a certain diet for ten or twelve days toge∣ther, allowing him every day only a little piece of Cassava, and a little water, wherein there had been boiled a little of that root-bread; afterwards his allowance is a little encreased, yet still continued in that same diet; but he breaks the Cassava which is presented to him only in the middle, for the space of about forty days, leaving the extremities entire, which he hangs up in his Hut, to serve at the entertainment he afterwards intends to make for all his friends; nay after all this, he ab∣stains, sometimes for the space of ten months, or a whole year, from several kinds of meat, as Lamantin, Tortoises, Swines-flesh, hens, Fish, and delicious things, being so pitifully simple as to fear that those things might prejudice the child: but this great ab∣stinence they observe only at the birth of their first-born; for at those of the rest, their fasts are much less rigorous, and shorter, not lasting ordinarily above four or five days.

Among the Japonneses and the Brasilians, the Husbands are* 1.117 also subject to the same extravagance of personating the wo∣men delivered; but they are not such fools as to fast in their beds; on the contrary, they are deliciously and plentifully treated with all things: Some affirm, that heretofore the same thing was observable among the Tibarians, a people not far* 1.118 from Cappadoeia, and some others: But the natural Inhabitants of Madagasear imitate this fast of the Caribbians, when they would have their children circumcis'd.

Some of our Caribbians are yet guilty of another extrava∣gance, worst of all for the poor Father who hath a child born; for at the expiration of his fast, his shoulders are scarified and open'd with the Tooth of an Agouty; and it is requisite that the besotted wretch should not only suffer himself to be

so ordered, but he must also endure it without expressing the least sentiment of pain: Their perswasion is that the more ap∣parent the Fathers patience shall be in these tryals, the more recommendable shall be the valour of his Son; but this noble blood must not be suffered to fall to the ground, since the effu∣sion thereof contributes so much to future courage; it is there∣fore carefully sav'd to rub the childs face withall, out of an imagination he will be the more generous: This is also done in some parts towards the Daughters; for though they are not to be in their military engagements, as the Amazons hereto∣fore were, yet do they go to the Wars with their Husbands, to provide Victuals for them, and look to their Vessels while they are engaged with the Enemy.

As••oon as the Children are born, the Mothers make their foreheads flat, and press them so that there is a descent back∣wards, for besides that that form of the forehead is accounted one of the principal pieces of beauty among them, they affirm, that it facilitates their shooting up to the top of a tree stand∣ing at the foot of it, wherein they are extreamly expert as be∣ing brought up to it from their child-hood.

They do not swathe their children at all, but leave them at liberty to turn themselves which way they will in their little Amacs, or Beds of Cotton, or upon little Couches of Banana∣leaves laid on the ground in some corner of their Huts; and yet their limbs are not any way distorted, but the whole body is perfectly well-shap'd. Those who have liv'd among the* 1.119 Maldiveses and the Topinambous, affirm the same thing of the children of those people, though they never bind them up in any thing, no more then the Caribbians are. The Lacedaemo∣nians* 1.120 heretofore did the like.

They do not impose Names on their children as soon as they are born, but after twelve or fifteen days, and then they call a Man and a Woman, who stand as it were for Godfather and Godmother, and make holes in the child's ears, the under-lip, and the space between the nostrils, and put a thred through, that there may be places to hang Pendants: But if they con∣ceive the children too weak to endure the boring of those parts, they defer that ceremony till they are grown stronger.

Most of the Names the Caribbians give their children, are deriv'd from their Ancestors, or from divers Trees which grow in their Islands, or else from some accident that happen'd to the Father while his Wife was with child, or during the time of his own lying in: Thus ones Daughter, in the Island of Dominico, was called Ouliem-banna, that is to say, The leaf of the wild ••ine, which is a Tree whereof we have given a description in its proper place. Another of the same Island, having been at S. Christophers whilst his Wife was with child, and having there seen the ••r••n••h General, nam'd the child he

had at his return, General, upon remembrance of the kind en∣tertainment he had receiv'd at the General's.

Something of this kind is also observ'd among other Nati∣ons: For instance, the Canadians borrow Names from Fishes* 1.121 and Rivers: The Virginians and Brasilians take theirs from the first thing they think of, as from Bows, Arrows, living Crea∣tures, Trees, Plants: The Grand Seignors of Turkey are wont to give to the Eunuchs who keep their Wives, the Names of the fairest Flowers; to the end that those Women calling them by the same Names, there should proceed nothing out of their mouths but what were decent and delightful: The Romans, as may be seen in Plutarch, sometimes took their Names from Fishes, sometimes from their Country-divertise∣ments, sometimes from the marks and imperfections of their bodies, and sometimes from their most Heroick Actions, in imitation of the Greeks: Nay the Holy Scriptures furnish us with abundance of examples of Names taken from divers ac∣cidents, as among others those of Benoni, Pharez, Icabod, and the like.

The Names which the Caribbians impose on their male chil∣dren some time after their birth, are not to be continu'd while they live; for they change their Names when they come to the age requisite to be receiv'd into the number of Souldiers: and when they have behav'd themselves valiantly in the Wars, and have kill'd one of the chief Commanders of the Arou∣agues, they assume his Name, as a mark of Honour: Which Custom relates somewhat to what was practis'd among the Ro∣mans after their Victories, when they assum'd to themselves the Names of the Nations whom they had subdu'd; as may be instanc'd in Scipio Africanus, and divers others whom we need not cite. These victorious Caribbians have also, in their Wines or publick rejoycing days, some particular person chosen to give them a new Name, to whom they say, after they have taken a sufficient dose of drink, Yeticlée y atec▪ that is, I would be named, name me; whose desire the other presently satisfies: and in requital he receives some Present, such as may be a knife, or a grain of Chrystal, or some other trifle much esteem'd among them.

The Caribbian Women suckle their own children, and are very good Nurses and indulgent Mothers, having all the care imaginable to bring them up; nay when their neighbours are gone to the wars they look to their Children. All the Peruvian* 1.122 and the Canadian women, and most of the West-Indians are also their own Nurses: And in the East-Indies, in the Kingdom of Transiana and the Maldivos, the women, of what quality* 1.123 soever they be of, are obliged to suckle their own Children: And Tacitus affirms, that all Mothers nurs'd their own Children* 1.124 among the ancient Germans: Nay it is reported that hereto∣fore

the Queens of Peru took the pains to bring up their own children: And we have the examples of some Queens of* 1.125 Era••ce, who have not thought those maternal endeavours be∣low them; a Custom much contrary to that of those Canarian Women, who commonly caus'd their Children to be suckled by Goats: The same thing was also done by some Country-wo∣men of ••••••••••ne, in Montaigne's time.* 1.126

The Mothers of our little Garibbians do not only give the b••east to their Children, but assoon as they are grown a little strong, they chew the Potatoes, Bananas and other fruits, to feed them withall: And though they suffer the little ones to tumble up and down stark naked ••pon the ground, and that many they eat and lick the dust, and other filth which they are apt to put into their mouths, yet do they thrive extream∣ly, and for the most part become so strong, that at six months they are able to go alone.

At two years of age their hair is cut, and then there is a Feast made for the whole Family; some Parents defer till that time the piercing or boring of their ears, lips, and the space be∣tween the nostrils; yet is not this much in use, but only when the weakness of the child will not permit it to be done sooner. When they are a little more advanc'd in years, the Boys eat with their Fathers, and the Girls with their Mothers: Fathers∣in-Law, and all Relations which are in the collateral line with their true Fathers, they call by the general name of Fa∣thers.

Though the Children of the Caribbians are not instructed to do any reverence to their Parents, nor to express the respect and honour they owe them, by any gestures of the body; yet have they a natural affection for them, and if any injury be done them, they immediately espouse their quarrel, and en∣deavour all the ways they can to be revenged: For instance, a French-man of Gardeloupe having cut the cords of the Amac wherein an old Caribbian lay, by which means falling down he bruised himself and put his shoulder out of joint, the old man's Son-in-Law immedately got together some young men, who making an incursion into the Island of Marigalanta, maslacred the French who were then beginning to plant themselves there.

But the main business which the Caribbians mind in the edu∣cation of their Children, is to teach them the use of the Bow: And to bring them the better on, assoon as they are able to go the Parents put their Breakfast on the branch of a tree, whence they must strike it down with their Arrows before they eat; if they cannot there is no compassion: As the Children grow up, their portion of meat is hung up higher: Sometimes also they cut off a Banana-tree, and plant it in the ground as a But, to teach their Children to shoot at the Fruit: by this means

in process of time they come to be expert in that exercise. An∣cient Histories tell us of other people, who not differing much from this Custom of the Caribbians, obliged their Children to sling down their meat from the place where they set it.

They commonly design all their Sons to bear Arms, and to revenge them of their Enemies, in imitation of their Prede∣cessors: But before they are ranked among those who may go to the wars, they are to be declared Souldiers in the pre∣sence of all their kindred and friends, who are invited to be present at so solemn a Ceremony: The manner of it is thus; The Father, who had before got all his Friends together, causes his Son to sit on a low stool, which is placed in the midst of the Hut, or in the Carbet; and after he hath represented to him the whole duty of a generous Caribbian Soldier, and made him promise that he will never do any thing which may derogate from the glory of his Predecessors, and that he will to the utmost of his power revenge the ancient quarrel of his Nation, he takes by the feet a certain Bird of prey, which they call Mansfennis in their language, and which had been prepared long before for that purpose, and with that he dis∣charges several blows on his Son, till such time as the bird is killed, and the head of it crushed to pieces: After this rough treatment, which puts the young man as it were into a maze, he scarifies his whole body with the tooth of an Agouty, and to cure the wounds he hath made, he puts the dead bird into an infusion of Pyman-seeds, and he rubs all the wounded parts therewith, which causes an extraordinary pain to the poor Pa∣tient; but it is requisite he should suffer all this with a cheer∣ful countenance, without the least discovery of pain: Then they make him eat the heart of the bird; and to close the Ce∣remony, he is laid into a kind of Amac, where he is to conti∣nue stretched out to his full length, till his strength be in a man∣ner spent, by reason of much fasting: That done, he is acknow∣ledged by all to be a Souldier; he is admitted into the Assem∣blies of the Carbet, and may go along with the rest in all their military Expeditions which they undertake against their Enemies.

Besides the exercises of war, which are common to all the young Caribbians who would live in any esteem among the Bravos of their Nation, their Fathers do many times design them to be Boyez, that is Magicians, and Physitians: To that end they send them to some one of the best skill'd in that dam∣nable profession, that is, one who hath the reputation of in∣vocating the evil Spirits, instructing people how to be re∣venged of their enemies by sorceries, and in curing divers dis∣eases whereto those of that Nation are subject: But it is re∣quisite that the young man who is presented to the Boyez to be instructed in his Art, should be consecrated thereto from his

childhood by abstinence from several kinds of meat, by rigo∣rous Fasts, and that to begin his apprenticeship, there is blood drawn from all parts of his body with the tooth of an Agouty, after the fame manner as those are to be treated who are recei∣ved Souldiers.

The Caribbians do also teach their Children to fish, swim, make Baskets, Clubs, Bows, Arrows, Girdles, Beds of Cotton and Pyragas: But to have any care of cultivating their minds, and instructing them in any thing of civility, or vertue, is more than could be expected from those poor Savages, who have no other light than their own blinded understanding, nor follow any other rule in all the actions of their lives, than the sad dis∣order of vicious and corrupt nature.

CHAP. XXIV. Of the ordinary Age of the Caribbians; their Diseases; the Remedies used by them in order to the Recovery of their Health; their Death, and Funeral Solemnities.

THe Caribbians being naturally of a very good tempera∣ment, and endeavouring all they can to avoid trouble and disquiet, and consequently to spend their lives with the greatest enjoyment of mind; it is no wonder, considering with∣all their ordinary temperance and sobriety, that they should be free from an infinite number of inconveniences and indisposi∣tions whereto other Nations are subject, and that they should come to their graves later than most other people: The good air they live in does also in some measure contribute to their health and long life.

If therefore they do not die of violent deaths, they all of them live to a very great age; nay they are so vigorous in the extremities of age, that at fourscore and ten they commonly get children: There are many among them who being above a hundred years of age, have not so much as a grey hair: De Lery an Author worthy credit, affirms, that he seldom saw any grey hairs in the heads of the Tapinambous of the same age:* 1.127 Other Historians affirm; that the wives of those Savages bear Children till they are fourscore years of age: And* 1.128 some French took notice of a Savage in the Country of Cana∣da, who had a better sight than any of them, and the hair of the head absolutely black, though he were above a hundred* 1.129 years of age.

The Caribbians live ordinarily a hundred and fifty years,

and sometimes longer: For though they cannot number their years, yet is the number thereof deduced from the account they give of certain accidents: And among others, there were not long since living among them some persons who remembred the first arrival of the Spaniards in America: Whence it is to be concluded, that they must be a hundred and sixty years of age at the least: And indeed these are such a people as may pass for the shadow of a body, and have nothing but the heart living, being continually bed-rid, immoveable, and reduced to pure skeletons; yet are they still observed to be in health: And it is sufficiently apparent, that their tongues are living as well as their hearts, and that their Reason is not expir'd; for they do not only speak with much ease, but also their memory and judgment are not chargeable with any defect.

Nor is it much to be admired that the Caribbians should live so long, since both ancient and modern Histories furnish us with* 1.130 examples enough to confirm this truth; and among others the Dutch who have traded to the Moluccoes, affirm, that in that Country the Inhabitants live ordinarily a hundred and thirty years: Vincent le Blanc affirms, that in Sumatra Java, and the* 1.131 neighbouring Islands, they live to a hundred and forty, as they do also among the Canadians; and that in the Kingdom of* 1.132 they hold out to a hundred and fifty: Pirard and some otheCasubyrs assure us, that the Brasilians live no less, nay that some∣times they exceed a hundred and sixty: And in Florida, and Jucatan, some have gone beyond that age: Nay it is reported that the French, at the time of Laudoniere's voyage into Flo∣rida, in the year MDLXIV. saw there an old man, who said he was three hundred years of age, and Father of five Gene∣rations: And if we may credit Maffaeus, an Inhabitant of Ben∣gala, in the year 1557. made it his boast, that he was three hun∣dred thirty five years of age. So that all this consider'd, it is no incredible thing that our Caribbians should live so long.

Aselepiades, as Plutarch relates, was of opinion, that general∣ly* 1.133 the Inhabitants of cold Countries liv'd longer than those of hot, giving this reason, that the cold keeps in the na∣tural heat, and closes the pores to that end, whereas that heat is easily dispersed in those Climates where the pores are kept open by the heat of the Sun: But experience, in the Ca∣ribbians and so many other Nations of the Torrid Zone who ordinarily live so long, while our Europaeans commonly dye young, destroies that argument.

When it happens that our Caribbians, as sometimes it must, are troubled with any indisposition, they have the knowledge of abundance of Herbs, Fruits, Roots, Oils, and Gums, by the assistance whereof they recover their health in a short time, if the disease be not incurable: They have also an infallible secret to cure the stinging of Snakes, provided they have not

touch'd a vein; for then there is no remedy: This is the juice of a certain Herb which they apply to the wound, and in four and twenty hours they are infallibly cured.

The bad nourishment of Crabs, and other insects on which they commonly feed, is the cause that they are most of them subject to a troublesome disease, which in their language they call Pyans, as the French call it a kind of small Pox: When those who are fallen into this disease, eat of the Fram-Tortoise, or of Lamantin, or of Caret, which is another kind of Tor∣toise, they are immediately full of little risings, inasmuch as these meats force the disease out; they have also many times great Impostumes, Cornes, and Carbuncles, in divers parts of the body: To cure those, which proceed for the most part from the bad nourishment they use, they have the bark of a tree called Chipiou, bitter as soot, which they steep in water, and having scrap'd into that infusion the inner part of a great shell called Lambys, they drink up that potion: They also sometimes pound the bark newly taken from certain trees of Miby, or other Withyes which creep along the ground, or fa∣sten on trees, and drink the juice gotten from it: but they do not willingly make use of this remedy but when the trees are most full of sap.

Besides these Medicines wherewith they purge the ill hu∣mours within, they also apply outwardly certain unguents, and liniments, which have a particular vertue of taking away the blisters and marks which commonly remain on their bo∣dies who have been troubled with the Pyans: They make up these Remedies with the ashes of burnt Reeds, mixt with the water which they get out of the leaves at the top of the Bali∣sier-tree: They also use to the same end the juice of the Junipae fruit, and they apply on the botches the husks of the same fruit, which hath the vertue of drawing away the matter of the wounds, and to close up the Ulcers: They have not the use of Phlebotomy, but they use scarifications upon the place affected, by scratching or opening it with the Tooth of an Agouty, and causing it to bleed a little. And to take off some∣what of the astonishment, which might be conceived at what we have represented elswhere concerning the incisions which these Barbarians make on themselves upon divers occasions, whereby it might be imagin'd their bodies should be as it were mangled and covered with scars, it is to be noted, that they have also certain secrets, and infallible remedies to cure them∣selves presently, and to close the wounds so that a man cannot easily observe the least scar about their bodies.

They also make use of artificial Baths, and provoke sweat by a kind of stove, wherein they inclose the Patient, who receives his absolute cure by that remedy: The Sorriqueses do also sweat their sick, but sometimes they moisten them with

their breath: And for the cure of wounds, they and the Flo∣ridians* 1.134 suek out the blood, as was practis'd by the ancient Phy∣sitians, when any one had been bitten by a venemous beast, causing him who was to do that office to be prepar'd for that purpose: It is reported also that our Caribbians, when they have been stung by some dangerous Serpent, cause the wound to be sucked by their Wives, after they have taken a drink which hath the vertue of abating the force of the venome: The Topinambous do also suck the affected parts, though there* 1.135 be no wound; which is also sometimes done in Florida: And the Turks when they are troubled with any defluxion and pain; either in the head, or any other part of the body, burn the part affected.

Some Barbarian Nations have much stranger remedies in their Diseases, as may be seen in Histories▪ It is reported that the Indians of Mechoacam and Tabasco in New-Spain, to cure themselves of Fevers, cast themselves stark-naked into the River, thinking thereby to drown the disease: Some thing of the same kind hath also been seen among the Caribbians; for Monsieur du Montel met there one day an old man washing his head in a very cold spring, and having asked him the ••ea∣son of it, the man replyed, that it was to cure himself for he was much troubled with cold; and yet contrary to all rules of our Medicine, this strange remedy prov'd fortunate to the old man; for the same Gentleman met him the next day very well and lusty, and quite cur'd of his indisposition; and the Savage failed not to brag of it, and laugh at the French-man for pitying him the day before.

The Caribbians are very shye in communicating their secrets in Medicine, especially the women, who are very skilful in all those cures; nay they are so careful in keeping to themselves the sovereign Remedies they have against the wounds made by poisoned Arrows, that no rewards could yet prevail with them to discover them to the Christians: But they are very willing to come and visit them, and to dress them when they stand i•• need of their assistance: For a person of quality among the French having been dangerously bitten by a Serpent, was hap∣pily recovered by their means: Which kindness of theirs makes them differ much from those brutish people of Guinny and* 1.136 Sumatra, who have no compassion on their own sick, but leave them to shift for themselves like so many poor beasts▪ But the ancient people of the Province of Babylon concern'd themselves so particularly in all Diseases, that the sick were there dispo∣sed into a publick place, and every one was to teach them that remedy which he had try'd upon himself: Those who have made Voyages to Cambaya affirm, that there is an Hospital there for the entertainment of birds that are troubled with any indisposition.

When the ordinary Remedies which our Caribbians are wont to make use of when occasion requires, have not the suc∣cess they had promised to themselves, their recourse is to their Boyez, that is their Magicians, who also pretend to the profession of Physick, and having sent for them, they ask their advice concerning the event of their sickness: These unhap∣py instruments of Satan have by their enchantments gain'd so great reputation among these poor besotted people, that they are looked upon as the Judges of life and death, and so dread∣ed by reason of their sorceries, and the revenge they take on those who slight them, that all think themselves obliged to express a complyance with their advice.

As concerning the Ceremonies observed by them upon these occasions, we have already given some account thereof in the Chapter of their Religion: It is requisite above all things, that the House or Hut into which the Boyé is to enter, should be very neatly prepared for his reception; that the little Table, which they call Matoutou, should be furnished with Anakri for Maboya, that is, an offering of Cassava and Ouicou, for the evil Spirit, as also with the first-fruits of their Gardens, if it be the season of fruits: It is further requisite, that at one end of the Hut, there should be as many low stools or seats as there are to be persons present at that detestable action.

After these preparations, the Boyé, who never does this work but in the night time, having carefully put out all the fire in and about the House, enters into it, and having found out his place by the weak light of a piece of Tobacco set on fire, which he hath in his hand, he first pronounces some barbarous words, then he strikes the ground several times with his left foot, and having put the end of Tobacco which he had in his hand into his mouth, he blows upwards five or six times the smoke which comes out of it, then rubbing the end of Tobac∣co between his hands he scatters it in the air: Thereupon the Devil, whom he hath invocated by these apish Ceremonies, shaking very violently the roof of the house, or making some other dreadful noise presently appears, and answers distinctly to all the questions put to him by the Boyé.

If the Devil assures him, that his disease for whom he is consulted, is not mortal, the Boyé, and the Apparition which accompanies him, come neer the sick person to assure him that he shall soon recover his former health; and to confirm him in that hope, they gently touch those parts of his body, where he feels most pain, and having press'd them a little, they pre∣tend that there come out of them Thorns, pieces of Bones, splinters of Wood and Stone, which were, as these damnable Physitians affirm, the cause of his sickness: Sometimes also they moisten the part affected with their breath, and having suck'd it several times, they perswade the Patient that by that

means they have got out all the venome which lay in his bo∣dy, and caused him to languish: In fine, to put a period to this abominable Mystery, they rub the sick person all over with the juice of the Junipa-fruit, which dies his body of a very dark brown, which is as it were the mark and seal of his cure.

He who is perswaded that he hath recovered his health by this damnable means, is wont by way of acknowledgment to make a great feast, at which the Boyé hath the chiefest place among those who are invited: He is by no means to forget the Anakri for the Devil, who fails not to be there: But if the Boyé finds by the communication he hath had with his fami∣liar, that the sickness is to death, he comes and comforts the sick person, telling him that his God, or to say better his fami∣liar Devil, having compassion upon him, will take him into his company, and carry him along with him to be delivered out of all his infirmities.

Certain people of old finding themselves unable to endure* 1.137 the trouble and inconveniences of decrepit age, were wont to dispatch their wearied souls out of their infirm bodies with a glass of Hemlock: And some others, as Pliny affirms, being* 1.138 weary of their lives, cast themselves into the Sea: But in other* 1.139 Countries the Children thought it too long to stay till their Parents were come to so great age, and so became their Exe∣cutioners, and this they were authorized to do by a publick Law. And even at this day the Sunshines upon some Provinces of Florida, where there are people so cursed, as upon a certain motive of Religion and Piety, to put their Parents to death when they are old, as persons useless in this world, and charge∣able to them.

But how old soever they may be among the Caribbians, the Children are never troubled to see their Fathers and Mothers in that condition: True it is, that some Caribbians heretofore have hastened the death of their Parents, and have killed their Fathers and Mothers out of a perswasion that they did a good work, and rendred them a charitable office, by delivering them out of many inconveniences and troubles which attend old age. An old Captain among them, whom the French called Le Pilote, made it his boast that he had done that detestable service to many of his Ancestors: But it is to be observed that the Carib∣bians did not practise that inhumanity, but only towards those who desired to be delivered in that manner out of the miseries of this life; and so it was a certain compliance with their ear∣nest entreaties who were weary of their lives: Moreover that piece of barbarism was never universally received among them, and the more prudent sort do at the present detest it, and main∣tain their Fathers and Mothers to the last gasp, with all the care, and all the expressions of love, honour, and respect that can be expected from a Nation which hath no other light for

its direction, than that of a corrupt Nature: They patiently bear with their imperfections, and the frowardness of their old age, are never weary of ministring unto them, and as much as they can, keep neer them, to divert them, as the French have observ'd in some of their Islands; which demeanour of theirs is the more commendable, in that it is done amongst Barbari∣ans: So that if any among them do not honour their Fathers and Mothers, they have degenerated from the vertue of their An∣cestors.

But when after all their care and pains they chance to lose any one of their Friends or Relations, they make great cries and lamentations upon his death: Wherein they differ much from the ancient Thracians, and the Inhabitants of the Fortu∣nate* 1.140 Islands, who buried their dead with rejoicing, dancing, and singing, as persons delivered out of the miseries of humane life. After the Caribbians have wept over their dead, they wash them, paint the bodies with a red colour, rub their heads with Oil, comb their hair, thrust up the legs to the thighs, and the elbows between the legs, and bend down the face upon the hands, so that the whole body somewhat resem∣bles the posture of the child in the mothers womb; and then they wrap it up in a new bed, till all things be ready to dispose it into the ground.

There have been some Nations who cast the bodies of the dead into Rivers, as some Aethiopians did: Others cast them* 1.141 to Birds and Dogs, as the Parthians, the Hircanians, and such others, who were somewhat of the same humour with Dioge∣nes the Cynick: Some others covered them with heaps of stones. It is reported of some Inhabitants of Africk, that they disposed their dead in earthen Vessels; and that others put them into glass: Heraclitus, who maintained that fire was the principle of all things, would have the bodies of the dead burnt, that they might return to their first origine: And this Custom, observed for several ages among the Romans, is at this day practised among divers oriental Nations: But Cyrus* 1.142 at his death affirmed, that there was nothing happier than to be disposed into the bosom of the earth, the common Mother of all mankind: The first Romans were of the same opinion, for* 1.143 they interr'd their dead: And of the several ways of disposing of the dead, interring is that which is in use among the Carib∣bians: They do not make their Graves according to our fa∣shion, but like those of the Turks, Brasilians, and Canadians, that is about four or five foot deep, and round like a Tun: and at the bottom of it, they set a little stool, on which the Relati∣ons and Friends of the deceased place the body sitting, leaving it in the same posture as they put it in immediately after the death of the party.

They commonly make the grave within the house of the

deceased; or if they bury him elsewhere, they always make a covering over the place where the body is to be laid, and after they have let it down into the grave, and wrap'd it in an Amac, they make a great fire about it, and all the more ancient both men and women kneel down: The men place themselves be∣hind the women, and ever and anon they stroke them with their hands over their arms, to incite them to lament and weep: Then singing and weeping they all say with a pitiful and la∣menting voice:

Alas, why didst thou dye? Thou hadst so much good Manioc, good Potatoes, good Bananas, good Ana∣nas: Thou wert belov'd in thy Family, and they had so great care of thy person: Why therefore wouldst thou dye? Why wouldst thou dye? If the party were a man, they add, Thou wert so valiant and so generous; thou hast overthrown so many Enemies; thou hast behav'd thy self gallantly in so many fights; thou hast made us eat so many Arouagues; Alas! who shall now defend us against the Arouagues? Why therefore wouldst thou dye?

And they repeat these expo∣stulations several times over.

The Topinambous make in a manner the same lamentations over the graves of their dead:

He is dead, say they, that brave* 1.144 Huntsman; that excellent Fisher man; that valiant Warriour; that gallant eater of Prisoners; that great Destroyer of Por∣tuguez and Margajats; that generous Defender of our Coun∣try, he is departed this world:

And they often repeat the* 1.145 same expressions: The Inhabitants of Guinny do also ask their deceased what obliged them to dye, and they rub their Faces with a wisp of straw, to try if that will awake them: And Busbequius, in the Relation of his Embassies into Turkey relates, that passing through a Town of Servia, named Yagodena, he heard the women and young maids lamenting over a deceased person, and saying to him in their Funeral songs, as if he had been able to hear them:

What have we deserved, and where∣in have we been deficient in doing thee service, and com∣forting thee? What cause of discontent have we ever given thee that should oblige thee to leave us?

Which somewhat relates to the complaints of our Caribbians.

The howlings and expostulations of the Topinambous and the Virginians upon the like occasions last ordinarily a month: The people of Aegypt continu'd their lamentations seventy dayes: And some Floridians employ old women to bewail the decea∣sed for the space of six months: But Lycurgus limited mourn∣ing* 1.146 for the dead to eleven days; and that is much about the time that our Caribbians took to do the same office, before they put the dead body into the ground: For during the space of ten dayes or thereabouts, twice every day the Relations, and the most intimate friends came to visit the deceased party at his grave; and they always brought him somewhat to eat and

drink, saying to him every time:

Alas! why wouldst thou dye? why wilt thou not return to life again? say not at least that we refused thee wherewithall to live upon; for we have brought thee somewhat to eat and drink:

And after they have made this pleasant exhortation to him, as if he should have heard them, they left the meat and drink they had brought with them at the brink of the grave till the next visit, at which time they put it on his head, since he thought it much to stretch forth his hand to take it.

The Peruvians, the Brasilians, the Canadians, the Inhabitants* 1.147 of Madagascar, the Canarians, the Tartars, the Chineses, do al∣so bring certain dishes of meat to the graves of their neerest Relations. And not to go to Countries at so great a distance, is there not something of this kind done among us? for during certain dayes they serve the Effigies of our Kings and Princes newly dead, and they are presented with meat and drink, as if they were living, nay so far as to taste the meats and drinks before them.

The Caribbians of some Islands do still set meat at the graves of the deceased, but they leave them not so long as they did heretofore, ere they covered them with earth: For after the Funeral lamentation is ended, and that the women have wept as much as they can, some friend of the deceased laies a plank over his head, and the rest put the earth together with their hands till they have filled the grave; that done, they burn all that belonged to the deceased.

They also sometimes kill Slaves to attend the Ghosts of the deceased, and to wait on them in the other world: But these poor wretches get out of the way when their Masters dye, in∣to some other Island. We may justly conceive a horrour at the relation of these inhumane and barbarous Funerals, which are* 1.148 drench'd with the blood of Slaves, and divers other persons, and among others women, who have their throats cut, are burnt and buried alive, to go and accompany their Husbands into the other world, whereof frequent examples may be found in divers Nations: But our Caribbians think it enough upon these occasions to put to death only the Slaves of the deceased, if they can catch them.

It was forbidden the Lacedaemonians to bury any thing with the deceased person; but the contrary hath been and is still practised in divers Nations: For not to mention the many pre∣cious* 1.149 things which were consumed with the Bodies that were burnt among the ancient Romans, Macedonians, Germans and other people, we read in the History of Josephus, that King* 1.150 Solomon put up great wealth with the body of David his Fa∣ther: Thus the Tartars put into the grave with the dead per∣son all his Gold and Silver: And the Brasilians, Virginians, Ca∣nadians and several other Savages inter with the bodies, the cloths and whatever else belonged to the deceased.

The same thing was also practised among the Caribbians in their Funerals, before they conversed with the Christians: For at the last visit they made to the deceased, they brought along with them all the things he had used or worn about him in his life time, to wit, his Bow and arrows, the Boutou, or Club, the Crowns of Feathers, Pendants, Chains, Rings, Bracelets, Bas∣kets, Vessels, and other things, and buried all with him, or burnt them over the grave: But now they are grown better Husbands; for the Relations of the deceased reserve all those things for their own use, or else they bestow them as presents on those who come to the Interment, who keep them in re∣membrance of the deceased.

After the body is covered with earth, the nearest Relations cut off their hair, and fast very rigorously, out of a perswasion that by that means they shall live longer and more happily: Others forsake the houses and the place where they have bu∣ried any of their kinred, and go and live elsewhere: When the body is neer rotted, they make another assembly, and after they have visited, and sighing trampled on the Sepulchre, they have a merry meeting, at which they drown all their grief in Ouicou. Thus the Ceremony is concluded, and the poor Car∣cass is no further tormented.

FINIS.

Notes

• * 1.1

  De Lery c. 8.
• * 1.2

  Voyage de Breves.
• * 1.3

  Trigaut. Hist. Chin. l. 1. c. 8.
• * 1.4

  Garcilasso, l. 8. c. 13.
• * 1.5

  Carpin in Bergeron.
• * 1.6

  L. 3. c. 4.
• * 1.7

  This is af∣firmed by di∣vers Histori∣ans, too ma∣ny to be cited▪
• * 1.8

  Vin. Le Blanc. par. 3. c. 16.
• * 1.9

  Dutch Rela∣tions.
• * 1.10

  Lib. de mor. German.
• * 1.11

  This is af∣firmed by di∣vers Histori∣ans.
• * 1.12

  Lib. 22. c. 1. In the life of Severus.
• * 1.13

  Lib 33. c. 7.
• * 1.14

  De Lery c. 12
• * 1.15

  Part. 3. c. 16.
• * 1.16

  Ch. 13.
• * 1.17

  Pluta. in his Life.
• * 1.18

  Islands of Robbers.
• * 1.19

  Carpins Travels into Tartary.
• * 1.20

  De Lery c. 11. & 14.
• * 1.21

  Linscot & Semedo.
• * 1.22

  Garcilasso's Commentary Royal, l. 3. c. 8 Des Hayes Travels into the Levant.
• * 1.23

  Garcilasso, l. 9. c. 16.
• * 1.24

  Montagne's Essays, l. 1. c. 8.
• * 1.25

  De Lery, c. 16 Garcilasso, l. 9. c. 29.
• * 1.26

  Caret is a kind of Tor∣toise-shell.
• * 1.27

  P. Junius in his Relations of New-Fra.
• * 1.28

  De Lery, c. 11
• * 1.29

  Pirard of the Animals of the East-In∣dies, c. 2. Vin. le Blanc. Garcilasso, l. 8. c. 7.
• * 1.30

  Voyage to the East Indies, 1630.
• * 1.31

  Tusc. Quoest.
• * 1.32

  Elie eans son Thisby.
• * 1.33

  De Lery, c. 16
• * 1.34

  Pirard's Travels part 1. c. 27.
• * 1.35

  De Lery, c. 16
• * 1.36

  Garcilasso, l. 2. c. 7. De Laet, l. 5. c. 7.
• * 1.37

  Rubriques in his Tra∣vels into Tartary.
• * 1.38

  De Nat. De∣or. lib. 2▪
• * 1.39

  Garcil. Com. Royal, l. 2. c. 12. & l. 6. c. 11.
• * 1.40

  Trigaut's History of China, c. 4.
• * 1.41

  L. 16. c. 38.
• * 1.42

  Deut. c. 13. Busbequius in his Em∣bassies, l. 3. Ctesias.
• * 1.43

  Carpin's Travels into Tartary.
• * 1.44

  Lib. 2.
• * 1.45

  Lib. 9.
• * 1.46

  De Lery, c. 19.
• * 1.47

  History of Plants, 1. 7. c. 10.
• * 1.48

  De Lery, c. 9.
• * 1.49

  Relation of New-France.
• * 1.50

  Rubriques & Carpin.
• * 1.51

  Busbequius, Des Hayes, & Bergeron
• * 1.52

  Vin. leBlanc. & Garci∣lasso.
• * 1.53

  Plut. in his Life. Des Hayes Travels to the Levant. Garc. Com. Royal, li. 5. c. 11. & l. 6. c. 35.
• * 1.54

  Herod. l. 5.
• * 1.55

  De Laets Hist of Ame∣rica.
• * 1.56

  Judg. 20. 16.
• * 1.57

  De Lery, c. 12. Acosta, l. 3. c. 15. Fr. Pirard, part 1. c. 2.
• * 1.58

  De Lery, c. 13.
• * 1.59

  Comment. Royal, l. 1. c. 11.
• * 1.60

  Trigaut, l. 1. c. 7.
• * 1.61

  Rusbequius, lib. 4.
• * 1.62

  Rubriques in his Tra∣vels into Tartary.
• * 1.63

  Pirard, Lin∣scot, Garci∣lasso, Des Hayes, and others.
• * 1.64

  Lib. ••.
• * 1.65

  Lib. 15.
• * 1.66

  Symp. 1. 3. qu. 2. Trigaut, l. 1. c. 7.
• * 1.67

  De Lery, c. 14.
• * 1.68

  De Lery, c. 14.
• * 1.69

  De Lery, c. 13.
• * 1.70

  Chap. 12.
• * 1.71

  Plut. in the Life of Ly∣curgus.
• * 1.72

  Q. Curt. Ju∣stin. l. 9.
• * 1.73

  Garcilas. l. 5. c. 12.
• * 1.74

  Lib. 3. c. 25.
• * 1.75

  Travels of Villamont lib. 2. Paludanus in Linscot. c. 76. & Vin. le Blanc.
• * 1.76

  Linscot & de Laet.
• * 1.77

  Accosta & le Jeune
• * 1.78

  Lib. 4.
• * 1.79

  Lib. 10.
• * 1.80

  Montagn's Essays, l. 1. c. 30.
• * 1.81

  De Lery, c. 15. Ch. 8.
• * 1.82

  Garcilas. l. 1. c. 12.
• * 1.83

  Ibid.
• * 1.84

  De Laet. hist. of America.
• * 1.85

  Somedo hist. of China, p. 1. c. 2.
• * 1.86

  Lib. 4.
• * 1.87

  Garcil. l. 6. c. 10.
• * 1.88

  Bergeron's Treatise of the Tartars.
• * 1.89

  Garcil▪ de Laet, & Linscot.
• * 1.90

  Garcilas. Com. Royal.
• * 1.91

  Garcil. l. 7. c. 17. Rou∣lox, Baro, & Rubriques in their Tra∣vels. Vin. le Blanc. p. 1. c. 15. & 25.
• * 1.92

  Lib. 3.
• * 1.93

  Vin. le Blanc. p. 1. c. 24.
• * 1.94

  De Laets Hi∣story of Ame∣rica.
• * 1.95

  Garcil. l. 1. c. 14. & 15. & l. 7. c. 17.
• * 1.96

  Strab. l. 11.
• a 1.97

  In the East-Indies.
• b 1.98

  At Mada∣gascar.
• c 1.99

  The Peru∣vians.
• d 1.100

  The Flori∣dians.
• * 1.101

  Vin. le Blan. p. 1. c. 30.
• * 1.102

  Alex. ab A∣lexandro, l. 1. c. 24.
• * 1.103

  De Laets History.
• * 1.104

  The Dutch Relations.
• * 1.105

  De Laet, Pi∣rard, p. 1. c. 27. Conquest of the Canarys by Beren∣court. Vin. le Blanc. p. 1. c. 3.
• * 1.106

  Lib 3.
• * 1.107

  Pirard. p. 1. c. 12.
• * 1.108

  De Lery, c. 17.
• * 1.109

  History of Lopez.
• * 1.110

  Plut. in their Lives.
• * 1.111

  Dutch Re∣lations.
• * 1.112

  Linscot, c. 16.
• * 1.113

  V. le Blanc. p. 1. c. 32.
• * 1.114

  Garcil. Lin∣cot. & De Laet.
• * 1.115

  Pirard.
• * 1.116

  Herod. l. 5.
• * 1.117

  De Laet, & Maffaeus.
• * 1.118

  Alex. ab A∣lexandro. Fran. Cau∣che.
• * 1.119

  Pirard, ••a••. 1 De Lery, c. 17.
• * 1.120

  Pl••t. in the Life of Ly∣curgus.
• * 1.121

  Lescarbot.
• * 1.122

  Garcil. & Lescarbot.
• * 1.123

  Le Blanc & Pirard.
• * 1.124

  De Mor▪ Ger∣man.
• * 1.125

  Bergeron ia his Trea∣tife of Navi∣gations.
• * 1.126

  Essays, l. 2. c. 3.
• * 1.127

  Ch. 8.
• * 1.128

  De Laets Hist. of Ame∣rica.
• * 1.129

  Lescarbot.
• * 1.130

  Dutch Rela∣tions. p. 1. c. 24. Lescarbot.
• * 1.131

  Part 1. c. 34. & p. 1. c. 26.
• * 1.132

  Bergeron, Lescarbot, De Laet.
• * 1.133

  Plac. Phil. l. 5. c. 30.
• * 1.134

  Lescarbot & De Laet.
• * 1.135

  De Lery, c. 20. Linscot, c. 1. Villamont's Travels, l. 3.
• * 1.136

  Dutch Rela∣tions, & V. le Blanc. p. 1. c. 24.
• * 1.137

  Aelian, l. 3. c. 38
• * 1.138

  Lib. 4. c. 12.
• * 1.139

  Ael. l. 4. c. 1.
• * 1.140

  Herod. l. 5. & Philost in the Life of Apollonius, l. 5. c. 1.
• * 1.141

  Drake's Voy∣ages, part 2.
• * 1.142

  Xenoph. Cy∣ropaed. l. 8.
• * 1.143

  Plin. l. 7. c. 54.
• * 1.144

  De Lery, c. 5.
• * 1.145

  Dutch Rela∣tions, l. 1.
• * 1.146

  Plot. in his Life.
• * 1.147

  Acosta, De Lery, P. Ju∣nius, Fran. Cauche, Th. Nicholas in Bergeron, Carpin, & Trigaut.
• * 1.148

  Acosta's Hist. of China, De Laet, Garcil. Pirard, Lin∣scot, &c.
• * 1.149

  Virgil, Ari∣an, Tacitus.
• * 1.150

  Lib. 7. c. 12. Carpin. De Lery, Dutch Rela∣tions, De La∣ct, & Junius.