or sometimes with a black or white colour, the last of which gives them a ghastly and disgusting aspect: they also strew the brown martial mica upon the paint, which makes it glitter. The ears of many of them are perforated in the lobe, where they make a pretty large hole, and two others higher up on the outer edge. In these holes they hang bits of bone, quills fixed upon a leathern thong, small shells, bunches of woollen tassels, or pieces of thin copper, which the beads now brought to market were not able to supplant. The septum of the nose in many was also perforated, through which they draw a piece of soft cord; and others wear at the same place small thin pieces of iron, brass or copper, shaped almost like a horse-shoe, the narrow opening of which receives the septum, so as that the two points may gently pinch it: and the ornament thus hangs over the upper lip. The rings and brass buttons, which they eagerly purchased, were appropriated to this use. About their wrists they wear bracelets, or bunches of white bugle-beads, made of a conic shelly substance; and about their ankles they also frequently wear many folds of leathern thongs, or the sinews of animals twisted to a considerable thickness. Though encrusted in filth, and the prey of vermin, yet the idea of adorning their persons, in conformity to the notions of elegance and taste which prevail, produces coxcombs even among this rude race of men; for we are told by Ellis, that one of their greatest beaux frequently came on board the ships; and, in order to observe the manner of painting their faces, a looking-glass was shown him, which he no sooner found the use of, than he sat down to dress his face, which employed him full two hours; for he no

sooner put on one face than he disliked it, and demolished the whole, and continued rubbing out and painting, till he made one that pleased him.

Notwithstanding the dirty and forbidding appearance of the women, some few gentlemen of the ships so far laid aside their delicacies as to admit them to their beds, in which case the poor stinking creatures always underwent the ceremony of the mop and pail, and their hair was as well combed as time would permit, in order to dislodge the disagreeable attendants who resided there. It was a prevailing opinion, that the women brought on this occasion were not of their own tribe, but belonged to some other, which they had overcome in battle. What led to this supposition was, the different manner in which these were treated from such women as were not so exposed and prostituted. The former were mute, did not dare to look up, appeared quite dejected, and were totally under the command of those who brought them: the latter, on the contrary, were as full of conversation as the men, behaved with ease, and seemed under no degrading control.

Their houses are disposed in three ranges or rows, rising gradually behind each other, those in front being the largest. The whole range of these houses may be seen at once, the separation between one house and another being very slight: so that the whole may be compared to a long stable, with a double range of stalls, and a broad passage in the middle. Close to the sides, in each of these parts, is a little bench of boards, raised five or six inches higher than the rest of the floor, and covered with mats, on which the family sit and sleep. These benches are commonly seven or eight feet long, and four or five broad; in the middle of the floor,

between them, is the fire-place, which has neither hearth nor chimney. In one house, which was at the end of a middle-range, almost quite separated from the rest by a high close partition, and the most regular as to design of any that were seen, there were four of these benches, each of which held a single family at a corner, but without any separation by boards; and the middle part of the house appeared common to them all. In these. houses every thing lies in the utmost confusion, and their nastiness and stench are at least equal to their confusion; being as filthy as hog-sties, and every thing in and about them stinking of fish, train-oil and smoke. Their manner of eating is exactly consonant to the nastiness of their houses and persons; for the troughs and platters in which they put their food, appeared never to have been washed from the time they were first made: and the dirty remains of a former meal are only swept away by a succeeding one. They also tear every thing, solid or tough, to pieces with their hands and teeth; for, though they make use of their knives to cut off the larger portions, they have no thought of reducing these to smaller pieces and mouthfuls, by the same means, though obviously more convenient and cleanly. But they seem to have no idea of cleanliness, for they eat the roots which they dig from the ground, without so much as shaking off the soil which adheres to them.

They make use of a thick leathern mantle, formed of the skin of an elk or a buffalo tanned; this, by being doubled, is rendered proof not only against arrows, but even spears. Whilst the natives were showing their guests the efficacy of this leathern armour, a gentleman on board shot a musket-ball

through one of them, which was folded six times, at which they were so much staggered, that they plainly discovered their ignorance of the effect of fire-arms, of which they afterwards knew more from seeing birds shot, which evidently confounded them; and the explanations which they received of the use of shot and ball, produced the most significant marks of their having no previous idea of this matter. When they go on warlike expeditions, they sometimes wear a kind of leathern cloak, covered with rows of dried hoofs of deer, disposed horizontally, appended by leathern thongs, covered with quills, which, when they move, make a loud rattling noise, almost equal to that of so many small bells. It seems, doubtful, however, whether this part of their garb be intended to strike terror in war, or is to be considered as merely belonging to their eccentric ornaments on ceremonious occasions; for one of their musical entertainments was conducted by a man dressed in this sort of cloak, with his mask on, and shaking his rattle.

Many of the houses here are decorated with images, which are the trunks of very large trees, four or five feet high, set up singly or by pairs at the upper end of the apartment, with the front carved into a human face, the arms and hands cut out upon the sides, and variously painted; so that the whole is a truly monstrous figure. The general name given by the natives to these images is Klumma, and the particular names of two, which were set up in one of the houses, were Natchkoa and Matseeta. A mat, by way of curtain, is for the most part hung before them, which the natives were not always willing to remove. It should seem, that they are accustomed at times to make offerings to

them, as they made signs which were interpreted. to mean, that the visiters should give something to these images, when they drew aside the mats which concealed them: this led to a conclusion, that they were representations of their gods, or symbols of some religious or superstitious objects; and yet they parted with them readily for a small quantity of brass or iron: and it seems to be highly probable, upon the whole, that they are not idols, but the representations of some of their ancestors, whose memories they particularly venerate.

Their largest canoes are formed of one tree, although they carry twenty people or more. Many of them are forty feet long, seven broad, and about three deep. On these little ornament is bestowed: they are very light, and their breadth and flatness enable them to swim firmly without an outrigger, which none of them have, nor even sails, the whole of their navigation being effected by paddles. For catching fish they have an instrument like an oar, about twenty feet long, four or five inches broad, and about half an inch thick: each edge, for about two-thirds of its length, the other third being its handle, is set with sharp bone-teeth, about two inches long. Herrings and sardines, and such other small fish as come in shoals, are attacked with this instrument, which is stuck into the shoal, and the fish are caught either upon or between the teeth. The harpoon, with which they strike the whales and lesser sea-animals, shows a great reach of contrivance. It is composed of a piece of bone, cut into two barbs, in which is fixed the oval blade of a large muscle shell, in which is the point of the instrument. To this is fastened about two or three fathoms of rope; and to throw this harpoon, they