A New Voyage to Carolina
by
John Lawson

Part 4 out of 6



as the Bulfinch is, I believe, would prove very docible.

{East-India Bats.}
East-India Bats or Musqueto Hawks, are the Bigness of a Cuckoo,
and much of the same Colour. They are so call'd, because the same sort
is found in the East-Indies. They appear only in the Summer,
and live on Flies, which they catch in the Air, as Gnats, Musquetos, &c.

{Martins.}
Martins are here of two sorts. The first is the same as in England;
the other as big as a Black-Bird. They have white Throats and Breasts,
with black Backs. The Planters put Gourds on standing Poles,
on purpose for these Fowl to build in, because they are a very Warlike Bird,
and beat the Crows from the Plantations.

{Swift.}
The Swift, or Diveling, the same as in England.

{Swallow.}
Swallows, the same as in England.

{Humming-Bird.}
The Humming-Bird is the Miracle of all our wing'd Animals;
He is feather'd as a Bird, and gets his Living as the Bees,
by sucking the Honey from each Flower. In some of the larger sort of Flowers,
he will bury himself, by diving to suck the bottom of it, so that
he is quite cover'd, and oftentimes Children catch them in those Flowers,
and keep them alive for five or six days. They are of different Colours,
the Cock differing from the Hen. The Cock is of a green, red,
Aurora, and other Colours mixt. He is much less than a Wren,
and very nimble. His Nest is one of the greatest Pieces of Workmanship
the whole Tribe of wing'd Animals can shew, it commonly hanging
on a single Bryar, most artificially woven, a small Hole being left
to go in and out at. The Eggs are the Bigness of Pease.

{Tom-Tit.}
The Tom-Tit, or Ox-Eyes, as in England.

{Owls.}
Of Owls we have two sorts; the smaller sort is like ours in England;
the other sort is as big as a middling Goose, and has a prodigious Head.
They make a fearful Hollowing in the Night-time, like a Man,
whereby they often make Strangers lose their way in the Woods.

{Scritch Owls.}
Scritch Owls, much the same as in Europe.

{Baltimore-Bird.}
The Baltimore-Bird, so call'd from the Lord Baltimore,
Proprietor of all Maryland, in which Province many of them are found.
They are the Bigness of a Linnet, with yellow Wings, and beautiful
in other Colours.

{Throstle.}
Throstle, the same Size and Feather as in Europe, but I never could hear
any of them sing.

{Weet Bird.}
The Weet, so call'd because he cries always before Rain;
he resembles nearest the Fire-tail.

{Cranes and Storks.}
Cranes use the Savannas, low Ground, and Frogs; they are above five Foot-high,
when extended; are of a Cream Colour, and have a Crimson Spot
on the Crown of their Heads. Their Quills are excellent for Pens;
their Flesh makes the best Broth, yet is very hard to digest.
Among them often frequent Storks, which are here seen, and no where besides
in America, that I have yet heard of. The Cranes are easily
bred up tame, and are excellent in a Garden to destroy Frogs, Worms,
and other Vermine.

{Snow-Birds.}
The Snow-Birds are most numerous in the North Parts of America,
where there are great Snows. They visit us sometimes in Carolina,
when the Weather is harder than ordinary. They are like the Stones Smach,
or Wheat-Ears, and are delicate Meat.

{Yellow Wings.}
These Yellow-Wings are a very small Bird, of a Linnet's Colour,
but Wings as yellow as Gold. They frequent high up in our Rivers, and Creeks,
and keep themselves in the thick Bushes, very difficult to be seen
in the Spring. They sing very prettily.

{Whippoo-Will.}
Whippoo-Will, so nam'd, because it makes those Words exactly.
They are the Bigness of a Thrush, and call their Note under a Bush,
on the Ground, hard to be seen, though you hear them never so plain.
They are more plentiful in Virginia, than with us in Carolina;
for I never heard but one that was near the Settlement, and that was hard-by
an Indian Town.

{Red Sparrow.}
This nearest resembles a Sparrow, and is the most common Small-Bird we have,
therefore we call them so. They are brown, and red, cinnamon Colour, striped.

{Water Fowl.}
Of the Swans we have two sorts; the one we call Trompeters;
because of a sort of trompeting Noise they make.

{Swans.}
These are the largest sort we have, which come in great Flocks in the Winter,
and stay, commonly, in the fresh Rivers till February,
that the Spring comes on, when they go to the Lakes to breed.
A Cygnet, that is, a last Year's Swan, is accounted a delicate Dish,
as indeed it is. They are known by their Head and Feathers,
which are not so white as Old ones.

{Hooper.}
The sort of Swans call'd Hoopers, are the least. They abide more
in the Salt-Water, and are equally valuable, for Food, with the former.
It is observable, that neither of these have a black Piece of horny Flesh
down the Head, and Bill, as they have in England.

{Wild Geese.}
Of Geese we have three sorts, differing from each other only in size.
Ours are not the common Geese that are in the Fens in England,
but the other sorts, with black Heads and Necks.

{Gray Brants.}
The gray Brant, or Barnicle, is here very plentiful, as all
other Water-Fowl are, in the Winter-Season. They are the same
which they call Barnicles in Great-Britain, and are a very good Fowl,
and eat well.

{White Brant.}
There is also a white Brant, very plentiful in America.
This Bird is all over as white as Snow, except the Tips of his Wings,
and those are black. They eat the Roots of Sedge and Grass
in the Marshes and Savannas, which they tear up like Hogs.
The best way to kill these Fowl is, to burn a Piece of Marsh, or Savanna,
and as soon as it is burnt, they will come in great Flocks to get the Roots,
where you kill what you please of them. They are as good Meat as the other,
only their Feathers are stubbed, and good for little.

{Sea-Pie, or Curlue.}
The Sea-Pie, or gray Curlue, is about the Bigness of a very large Pigeon,
but longer. He has a long Bill as other Curlues have,
which is the Colour of an English Owsel's, that is, yellow; as are his Legs.
He frequents the Sand-beaches on the Sea-side, and when kill'd,
is inferiour to no Fowl I ever eat of.

{Will Willet.}
Will Willet is so called from his Cry, which he very exactly
calls Will Willet, as he flies. His Bill is like a Curlue's, or Woodcock's,
and has much such a Body as the other, yet not so tall. He is good Meat.

{Great gray Gull.}
The great gray Gulls are good Meat, and as large as a Pullet.
They lay large Eggs, which are found in very great Quantities,
on the Islands in our Sound, in the Months of June, and July.
The young Squabs are very good Victuals, and often prove a Relief
to Travellers by Water, that have spent their Provisions.

{Old Wives.}
Old Wives are a black and white pied Gull with extraordinary long Wings,
and a golden colour'd Bill and Feet. He makes a dismal Noise, as he flies,
and ever and anon dips his Bill in the Salt-Water. I never knew him eaten.

{Sea-Cock.}
The Sea-Cock is a Gull that crows at Break of Day, and in the Morning,
exactly like a Dunghil Cock, which Cry seems very pleasant
in those uninhabited Places. He is never eaten.

{Curlues. Coots, Kingfisher, Loons, two sorts.}
Of Curlues there are three sorts, and vast Numbers of each.
They have all long Bills, and differ neither in Colour, nor Shape,
only in Size. The largest is as big as a good Hen, the smaller
the Bigness of a Snipe, or something bigger.

{Bitterns, three sorts.}
We have three sorts of Bitterns in Carolina. The first is the same
as in England; the second of a deep brown, with a great Topping,
and yellowish white Throat and Breast, and is lesser than the former;
the last is no bigger than a Wood-cock, and near the Colour of the second.

{Herns.}
We have the same Herns, as in England.

{White-Herns.}
White Herns are here very plentiful. I have seen above thirty
sit on one Tree, at a time. They are as white as Milk, and fly very slowly.

{Water-Pheasant.}
The Water-Pheasant (very improperly call'd so) are a Water-Fowl
of the Duck-Kind, having a Topping, of pretty Feathers, which sets them out.
They are very good Meat.

{Little gray Gull.}
The little Gray-Gull is of a curious gray Colour, and abides near the Sea.
He is about the Bigness of a Whistling-Plover, and delicate Food.

{Dipper.}
We have the little Dipper or Fisher, that catches Fish so dexterously,
the same as you have in the Islands of Scilly.

{Duck and Mallard.}
We have of the same Ducks, and Mallards with green Heads, in great Flocks.
They are accounted the coarsest sort of our Water-Fowl.

{Black Duck.}
The black Duck is full as large as the other, and good Meat.
She stays with us all the Summer, and breeds. These are made tame by some,
and prove good Domesticks.

{Summer Duck.}
We have another Duck that stays with us all the Summer.
She has a great Topping, is pied, and very beautiful. She builds her Nest
in a Wood-pecker's Hole, very often sixty or seventy Foot high.

{Whistling Duck.}
Towards the Mountains in the hilly Country, on the West-Branch
of Caip-Fair Inlet, we saw great Flocks of pretty pied Ducks,
that whistled as they flew, or as they fed. I did not kill any of them.

{Scarlet Ey'd Duck.}
We kill'd a curious sort of Ducks, in the Country of the Esaw-Indians,
which were of many beautiful Colours. Their Eyes were red,
having a red Circle of Flesh for their Eye-lids; and were very good to eat.

{Blue-Wings.}
The Blue-Wings are less than a Duck, but fine Meat. These are the first Fowls
that appear to us in the Fall of the Leaf, coming then in great Flocks,
as we suppose, from Canada, and the Lakes that lie behind us.

{Widgeon.}
Widgeons, the same as in Europe, are here in great Plenty.

{Teal two sorts.}
We have the same Teal, as in England, and another sort
that frequents the Fresh-Water, and are always nodding their Heads.
They are smaller than the common Teal, and dainty Meat.

{Shovellers.}
Shovellers (a sort of Duck) are gray, with a black Head.
They are a very good Fowl.

{Whistlers.}
These are called Whistlers, from the whistling Noise they make, as they fly.

{Black-Flusterers, or Bald-Coot.}
Black Flusterers; some call these Old Wives. They are as black as Ink.
The Cocks have white Faces. They always remain in the midst of Rivers,
and feed upon drift Grass, Carnels or Sea-Nettles. They are the fattest Fowl
I ever saw, and sometimes so heavy with Flesh, that they cannot rise
out of the Water. They make an odd sort of Noise when they fly.
What Meat they are, I could never learn. Some call these the great bald Coot.

{Turkeys.}
The wild Turkeys I should have spoken of, when I treated of the Land-Fowl.
There are great Flocks of these in Carolina. I have seen about five hundred
in a Flock; some of them are very large. I never weigh'd any myself,
but have been inform'd of one that weigh'd near sixty Pound Weight.
I have seen half a Turkey feed eight hungry Men two Meals.
Sometimes the wild breed with the tame ones, which, they reckon,
makes them very hardy, as I believe it must. I see no manner of Difference
betwixt the wild Turkeys and the tame ones; only the wild are ever
of one Colour, (viz.) a dark gray, or brown, and are excellent Food.
They feed on Acorns, Huckle-Berries, and many other sorts of Berries
that Carolina affords. The Eggs taken from the Nest, and hatch'd
under a Hen, will yet retain a wild Nature, and commonly leave you,
and run wild at last, and will never be got into a House to roost,
but always pearch on some high Tree, hard-by the House,
and separate themselves from the tame sort, although (at the same time)
they tread and breed together. I have been inform'd, that if you take
these wild Eggs, when just on the point of being hatch'd,
and dip them (for some small time) in a Bowl of Milk-warm Water,
it will take off their wild Nature, and make them as tame and domestick
as the others. Some Indians have brought these wild Breed hatch'd at home,
to be a Decoy to bring others to roost near their Cabins,
which they have shot. But to return to the Water-Fowl.

{Fishermen.}
Fishermen are like a Duck, but have a narrow Bill, with Setts of Teeth.
They live on very small Fish, which they catch as they swim along.
They taste Fishy. The best way to order them, is, upon occasion,
to pull out the Oil-Box from the Rump, and then bury them five or six Hours
under Ground. Then they become tolerable.

{Divers.}
Of Divers there are two sorts; the one pied, the other gray; both good Meat.

{Raft-Fowl.}
Raft-Fowl includes all the sorts of small Ducks and Teal,
that go in Rafts along the Shoar, and are of several sorts,
that we know no Name for.

{Bull-Necks.}
These are a whitish Fowl, about the Bigness of a Brant;
they come to us after Christmas, in very great Flocks, in all our Rivers.
They are a very good Meat, but hard to kill, because hard to come near.
They will dive and endure a great deal of Shot.

{Red-Heads.}
Red-Heads, a lesser Fowl than Bull-Necks, are very sweet Food,
and plentiful in our Rivers and Creeks.

{Tropick-Birds.}
Tropick-Birds are a white Mew, with a forked Tail. They are so call'd,
because they are plentifully met withal under the Tropicks, and thereabouts.

{Pellican.}
The Pellican of the Wilderness cannot be the same as ours;
this being a Water-Fowl, with a great natural Wen or Pouch under his Throat,
in which he keeps his Prey of Fish, which is what he lives on.
He is Web-footed, like a Goose, and shap'd like a Duck,
but is a very large Fowl, bigger than a Goose. He is never eaten as Food;
They make Tobacco-pouches of his Maw.

{Cormorant.}
Cormorants are very well known in some Parts of England;
we have great Flocks of them with us, especially against the Herrings run,
which is in March and April; then they sit upon Logs of dry Wood
in the Water, and catch the Fish.

{Gannet.}
The Gannet is a large white Fowl, having one Part of his Wings black;
he lives on Fish, as the Pellican. His Fat or Grease,
is as yellow as Saffron, and the best thing known, to preserve Fire-Arms,
from Rust.

{Shear-Water.}
Shear-Waters are a longer Fowl than a Duck; some of them lie on the Coast,
whilst others range the Seas all over. Sometimes they are met
five hundred Leagues from Land. They live without drinking any fresh Water.

{Pied-Gull.}
We have a great pied Gull, black and white, which seems to have a black Hood
on his Head; these lay very fair Eggs which are good; as are the young ones
in the Season.

{Marsh-Hen.}
Marsh-Hen, much the same as in Europe, only she makes another sort of Noise,
and much shriller.

{Blue-Peters.}
The same as you call Water-Hens in England, are here very numerous,
and not regarded for eating.

{Sand-Birds.}
The Sand-Birds are about the Bigness of a Lark, and frequent our Sand-Beaches;
they are a dainty Food, if you will bestow Time and Ammunition to kill them.

{Runners.}
These are called Runners; because if you run after them,
they will run along the Sands and not offer to get up;
so that you may often drive them together to shoot as you please.
They are a pleasant small Bird.

{Tutcocks.}
A sort of Snipe, but sucks not his Food; they are almost the same
as in England.

{Swaddle-Bills.}
Swaddle-Bills are a sort of an ash-colour'd Duck, which have
an extraordinary broad Bill, and are good Meat; they are not common
as the others are.

{Mew.}
The same Mew as in England, being a white, slender Bird, with red Feet.

{Shel-Drakes.}
The same as in England.

{Bald-Faces.}
The bald, or white Faces are a good Fowl. They cannot dive,
and are easily shotten.

{Water-Witch.}
Water-Witch, or Ware-Coots, are a Fowl with Down and no Feathers;
they dive incomparably, so that no Fowler can hit them.
They can neither fly, nor go; but get into the Fish-wares,
and cannot fly over the Rods, and so are taken.

Thus have we given an Account of what Fowl has come to our Knowledge,
since our Abode in Carolina; except some that, perhaps,
have slipt our Memory, and so are left out of our Catalogue.
Proceed we now to treat of the Inhabitants of the Watry Element,
which tho' we can as yet do but very imperfectly; yet we are willing
to oblige the Curious with the best Account that is in our Power
to present them withal.



The Fish in the salt, and fresh Waters of Carolina, are,

Whales, several sorts.
Thrashers.
Divel-Fish.
Sword-Fish.
Crampois.
Bottle-Noses.
Porpoises.
Sharks, two sorts.
Dog-Fish.
Spanish-Mackarel.
Cavallies.
Boneto's.
Blue-Fish.
Drum, red.
Drum-Fish, black.
Angel-Fish.
Bass, or Rock-Fish.
Sheeps-Heads.
Plaice.
Flounder.
Soles.
Mullets.
Shad.
Eat-Backs.
Guard, white.
Guard, green.
Scate or Stingray.
Thornback.
Congar-Eels.
Lamprey-Eels.
Eels.
Sun-Fish.
Toad-Fish.
Sea-Tench.
Trouts of the Salt Water.
Crocus.
Herring.
Smelts.
Shads.
Breams.
Taylors.


Fresh-Water Fish are,

Sturgeon.
Pike.
Trouts.
Gudgeon.
Pearch English.
Pearch, white.
Pearch, brown, or Welch-men.
Pearch, flat, and mottled, or Irishmen.
Pearch small and flat, with red Spots, call'd round Robins.
Carp.
Roach.
Dace.
Loaches.
Sucking-Fish.
Cat-Fish.
Grindals.
Old-Wives.
Fountain-Fish.
White-Fish.


The Shell-Fish are.

Large Crabs, call'd Stone-Crabs.
Smaller flat Crabs.
Oysters great and small.
Cockles.
Clams.
Muscles.
Conks.
Skellop.
Man of Noses.
Periwinkles, or Wilks.
Sea-Snail-Horns.
Fidlars.
Runners.
Spanish or Pearl-Oysters.
Flattings.
Tortois and Terebin, accounted for among the Insects.
Finger-Fish.
Shrimps.

Fresh Water.
Craw-Fish.
Muscles.


{Whale.}
Whales are very numerous, on the Coast of North Carolina,
from which they make Oil, Bone, &c. to the great Advantage of those
inhabiting the Sand-Banks, along the Ocean, where these Whales come ashore,
none being struck or kill'd with a Harpoon in this Place,
as they are to the Northward, and elsewhere; all those Fish being found dead
on the Shoar, most commonly by those that inhabit the Banks, and Sea-side,
where they dwell, for that Intent, and for the Benefit of Wrecks,
which sometimes fall in upon that Shoar.

Of these Monsters there are four sorts; the first, which is most
choice and rich, is the Sperma Caeti Whale, from which the Sperma Caeti
is taken. These are rich Prizes; but I never heard but of one found
on this Coast, which was near Currituck-Inlet.

The other sorts are of a prodigious Bigness. Of these the Bone and Oil
is made; the Oil being the Blubber, or oily Flesh, or Fat of that Fish boil'd.
These differ not only in Colour, some being pied, others not,
but very much in shape, one being call'd a Bottle-Nosed Whale,
the other a Shovel-Nose, which is as different as a Salmon from a Sturgeon.
These Fish seldom come ashoar with their Tongues in their Heads,
the Thrasher (which is the Whale's mortal Enemy, wheresoever he meets him)
eating that out of his Head, as soon as he and the Sword-Fish have kill'd him.
For when the Whale-catchers (in other Parts) kill any of these Fish,
they eat the Tongue, and esteem it an excellent Dish.

There is another sort of these Whales, or great Fish,
though not common. I never knew of above one of that sort,
found on the Coast of North Carolina, and he was contrary, in Shape,
to all others ever found before him; being sixty Foot in Length,
and not above three or four Foot Diameter. Some Indians in America
will go out to Sea, and get upon a Whales Back, and peg or plug up his Spouts,
and so kill him.

{Thrashers.}
The Thrashers are large Fish, and mortal Enemies to the Whale,
as I said before. They make good Oil; but are seldom found.

{Divel-Fish.}
The Divel-Fish lies at some of our Inlets, and, as near as I can describe him,
is shap'd like a Scate, or Stingray; only he has on his Head
a Pair of very thick strong Horns, and is of a monstrous Size, and Strength;
for this Fish has been known to weigh a Sloop's Anchor,
and run with the Vessel a League or two, and bring her back, against Tide,
to almost the same Place. Doubtless, they may afford good Oil;
but I have no Experience of any Profits which arise from them.

{Sword-Fish.}
The Sword-Fish is the other of the Whale's Enemies, and joins
with the Thrasher to destroy that Monster. After they have overcome him,
they eat his Tongue, as I said before, and the Whale drives ashoar.

{Crampois.}
Crampois is a large Fish, and by some accounted a young Whale;
but it is not so; neither is it more than twenty five or thirty Foot long.
They spout as the Whale does, and when taken yield good Oil.

{Bottle-Noses.}
Bottle-Noses are between the Crampois and Porpois, and lie near the Soundings.
They are never seen to swim leisurely, as sometimes all other Fish do,
but are continually running after their Prey in Great Shoals,
like wild Horses, leaping now and then above the Water. The French
esteem them good Food, and eat them both fresh and salt.

{Porpoises.}
Porpoises are frequent, all over the Ocean and Rivers that are salt;
nay, we have a Fresh-Water Lake in the great Sound of North Carolina
that has Porpoises in it. And several sorts of other unknown Fish,
as the Indians say, that we are wholly Strangers to. As to the Porpoises,
they make good Oil; they prey upon other Fish as Drums, yet never are known
to take a Bait, so as to be catch'd with a Hook.

{Sharks.}
Of these there are two sorts; one call'd Paracooda-Noses;
the other Shovel-Noses; they cannot take their Prey before
they turn themselves on their Backs; wherefore some Negro's,
and others, that can swim and dive well, go naked into the Water,
with a Knife in their Hand, and fight the Shark, and very commonly kill him,
or wound him so, that he turns Tail, and runs away. Their Livors make
good Oil to dress Leather withal; the Bones found in their Head
are said to hasten the Birth, and ease the Stone, by bringing it away.
Their Meat is eaten in scarce times; but I never could away with it,
though a great Lover of Fish. Their Back-Bone is of one entire Thickness.
Of the Bones, or Joints, I have known Buttons made, which serve well enough
in scarce Times, and remote Places.

{Dog-Fish.}
The Dog-Fish are a small sort of the Shark Kind; and are caught
with Hook and Line, fishing for Drums. They say, they are good Meat;
but we have so many other sorts of delicate Fish, that I shall hardly ever
make Tryal what they are.

{Spanish-Mackarel.}
Spanish Mackarel are, in Colour and Shape, like the common Mackarel,
only much thicker. They are caught with Hook and Line at the Inlets,
and sometimes out a little way at Sea. They are a very fine hard Fish,
and of good Taste. They are about two Foot long, or better.

{Cavallies.}
Cavallies are taken in the same Places. They are of a brownish Colour,
have exceeding small Scales, and a very thick Skin; they are as firm a Fish
as ever I saw; therefore will keep sweet (in the hot Weather) two days,
when others will stink in half a day, unless salted. They ought to be scaled
as soon as taken; otherwise you must pull off the Skin and Scales,
when boiled; the Skin being the choicest of the Fish. The Meat,
which is white and large, is dress'd with this Fish.

{Boneto's.}
Boneto's are a very palatable Fish, and near a Yard long.
They haunt the Inlets and Water near the Ocean; and are killed
with the Harpoon, and Fishgig.

{Blue-Fish.}
The Blue Fish is one of our best Fishes, and always very fat.
They are as long as a Salmon, and indeed, I think, full as good Meat.
These Fish come (in the Fall of the Year) generally after
there has been one black Frost, when there appear great Shoals of them.
The Hatteras Indians, and others, run into the Sands of the Sea,
and strike them, though some of these Fish have caused
Sickness and violent Burnings after eating of them, which is found
to proceed from the Gall that is broken in some of them, and is hurtful.
Sometimes, many Cart-loads of these are thrown and left dry on the Sea side,
which comes by their eager Pursuit of the small Fish,
in which they run themselves ashoar, and the Tide leaving them,
they cannot recover the Water again. They are called Blue-Fish,
because they are of that Colour, and have a forked Tail,
and are shaped like a Dolphin.

{Red-Drum.}
The Red Drum is a large Fish much bigger than the Blue-Fish. The Body of this
is good firm Meat, but the Head is beyond all the Fish I ever met withal
for an excellent Dish. We have greater Numbers of these Fish,
than of any other sort. People go down and catch as many Barrels full
as they please, with Hook and Line, especially every young Flood,
when they bite. These are salted up, and transported to other Colonies,
that are bare of Provisions.

{Black-Drum.}
Black Drums are a thicker-made Fish than the Red Drum,
being shap'd like a fat Pig; they are a very good Fish,
but not so common with us as to the Northward.

{Angel-Fish.}
The Angel-Fish is shaped like an English Bream. He is so call'd,
from his golden Colour, which shines all about his Head and Belly.
This is accounted a very good Fish, as are most in these Parts.
The Bermudians have the same sort of Fish, and esteem them very much.

{Rock-Fish.}
Bass or Rock is both in Salt and Fresh-Water; when young,
he much resembles a Grayling, but grows to the size of the large Cod-Fish.
They are a very good firm Fish. Their Heads are souced,
and make a noble Dish, if large.

{Sheeps-Head.}
Sheeps-Head has the general Vogue of being the choicest Fish in this Place.
Indeed, it is a very delicate Fish, and well relish'd; yet I think,
there are several others full as good as the Sheeps-Head.
He is much of the Bigness of the Angel-Fish, and flat as he is;
they sometimes weigh two or three Pound Weight. This Fish hath Teeth
like a Sheep, and is therefore so call'd.

{Plaice.}
Plaice are here very large, and plentiful, being the same as in England.

{Flounder.}
Flounders should have gone amongst the Fresh-Water Fish,
because they are caught there, in great Plenty.

{Soles.}
Soles are a Fish we have but lately discover'd; they are as good,
as in any other Part.

{Mullets.}
Mullets, the same as in England, and great Plenty in all Places
where the Water is salt or brackish.

{Shads.}
Shads are a sweet Fish, but very bony; they are very plentiful
at some Seasons.

{Fat-Backs.}
Fat-Backs are a small Fish, like Mullets, but the fattest ever known.
They put nothing into the Pan, to fry these. They are excellent sweet Food.

{White Guard-Fish.}
The white Guard-Fish is shaped almost like a Pike, but slenderer;
his Mouth has a long small Bill set with Teeth, in which he catches
small Fish; his Scales are knit together like Armour. When they dress him,
they strip him, taking off Scales and Skin together. His Meat is very white,
and rather looks like Flesh than Fish. The English account them
no good Fish; but the Indians do. The Gall of this Fish is green,
and a violent Cathartick, if taken inwardly.

{Green-Guard.}
The green Guard is shaped, in all respects, like the other,
save that his Scales are very small and fine. He is indifferent good Meat;
his Bones, when boil'd or fry'd, remain as green as Grass.
The same sort of Fish come before the Mackarel in England.

{Scate.}
Scate, or Stingray, the same as in England, and very common;
but the great Plenty of other Fish makes these not regarded;
for few or none eat them in Carolina, though they are almost
at every ones Door.

{Thornback.}
Thornbacks are the same as in England. They are not so common
as the Scate and Whip-Rays.

{Congar-Eels.}
Congar-Eels always remain in the Salt-Water; they are much more known
in the Northward Parts of America, than with us.

{Lamprey.}
Lampreys are not common; I never saw but one, which was large,
and caught by the Indians, in a Ware. They would not eat him,
but gave him to me.

{Eels.}
Eels are no where in the World better, or more plentiful, than in Carolina.

{Sun-Fish.}
Sun-Fish are flat and rounder than a Bream, and are reckon'd
a fine-tasted Fish, and not without Reason. They are much
the size of Angel-Fish.

{Toad-Fish.}
Toad-Fish are nothing but a Skin full of Prickles, and a few Bones;
they are as ugly as a Toad, and preserv'd to look upon,
and good for nothing else.

{Sea-Tench.}
They are taken by a Bait, near the Inlet, or out at Sea a little way.
They are blackish, and exactly like a Tench, except in the Back-fins,
which have Prickles like a Pearch. They are as good, if not better
than any Tench.

{Salt-Water Trouts.}
Trouts of the Salt-Water are exactly shaped like the Trouts in Europe,
having blackish, not red Spots. They are in the Salts,
and are not red within, but white, yet a very good Fish. They are so tender,
that if they are in or near fresh Water, and a sudden Frost come,
they are benumm'd, and float on the Surface of the Water, as if dead;
and then they take up Canoe-Loads of them. If you put them into warm Water,
they presently recover.

{Crocus.}
The Crocus is a Fish, in Shape like a Pearch, and in Taste like a Whiting.
They croke and make a Noise in your Hand, when taken with Hook or Net.
They are very good.

{Herring.}
The Herrings in Carolina are not so large as in Europe.
They spawn there in March and April, running up the fresh Rivers
and small fresh Runs of Water in great Shoals, where they are taken.
They become red if salted; and, drest with Vinegar and Oil,
resemble an Anchovy very much; for they are far beyond an English Herring,
when pickled.

{Smelts.}
The same as in England; they lie down a great way in the Sound,
towards the Ocean, where (at some certain Seasons) are a great many
very fine ones.

{Breams.}
The fresh Water affords no such Bream as in England, that I have
as yet discover'd; yet there is a Sea-Bream, which is a flat and thin Fish,
as the European Breams are.

{Taylors.}
The Taylor is a Fish about the Bigness of a Trout, but of
a bluish and green Colour, with a forked Tail, as a Mackarel has.
They are a delicate Fish, and plentiful in our Salt-Waters.
Infinite numbers of other Species will be hereafter discover'd
as yet unknown to us; although I have seen and eaten of several other
sorts of Fish, which are not here mention'd, because, as yet,
they have no certain Names assign'd them. Therefore, I shall treat no farther
of our Salt-Water Fish, but proceed to the Fresh.

{Fresh Water Sturgeon.}
The first of these is the Sturgeon, of which we have Plenty,
all the fresh Parts of our Rivers being well stor'd therewith.
The Indians upon and towards the Heads and Falls of our Rivers,
strike a great many of these, and eat them; yet the Indians
near the Salt-Waters will not eat them. I have seen an Indian
strike one of these Fish, seven Foot long, and leave him on the Sands
to be eaten by the Gulls. In May, they run up towards
the Heads of the Rivers, where you see several hundreds of them in one day.
The Indians have another way to take them, which is by Nets
at the end of a Pole. The Bones of these Fish make good Nutmeg-Graters.

{Pike.}
The Jack, Pike, or Pickerel, is exactly the same, in Carolina,
as they are in England. Indeed, I never saw this Fish so big and large
in America, as I have in Europe, these with us being seldom
above two Foot long, as far as I have yet seen. They are very plentiful
with us in Carolina, all our Creeks and Ponds being full of them.
I once took out of a Ware, above three hundred of these Fish, at a time.

{Trouts.}
The same in England as in Carolina; but ours are a great way up
the Rivers and Brooks, that are fresh, having swift Currents,
and stony, and gravelly Bottoms.

{Gudgeon.}
The same Gudgeons as in Europe are found in America.

{First Pearch.}
The same sort of Pearch as are in England, we have likewise in Carolina,
though, I think, ours never rise to be so large as in England.

{Second Pearch.}
We have a white Pearch, so call'd, because he is of a Silver Colour,
otherwise like the English Pearch. These we have in great Plenty,
and they are preferable to the red ones.

{Third Pearch.}
The brown Pearch, which some call Welch-men, are the largest
sort of Pearches that we have, and very firm, white and sweet Fish.
These grow to be larger than any Carp, and are very frequent
in every Creek and Pond.

{Fourth flat.}
The flat or mottled Pearch are shaped almost like a Bream.
They are called Irish-men, being freckled or mottled with black,
and blue Spots. They are never taken any where, but in the fresh Water.
They are good Fish; but I do not approve of them, no more
than of the other sorts of Pearch.

{Fifth Pearch, or Round Robin.}
We have another sort of Pearch, which is the least sort of all,
but as good Meat as any. These are distinguish'd from the other sorts,
by the Name of Round-Robins; being flat, and very round-shap'd;
they are spotted with red Spots very beautiful, and are easily caught
with an Angle, as all the other sort of Pearches are.

{Carp.}
We have the same Carp as you have in England.

{Roach.}
And the same Roach; only scarce so large.

{Dace.}
Dace are the same as yours too; but neither are these so large nor plentiful,
as with you.

{Loach.}
The same as in England.

{Sucking-Fish.}
Sucking-Fish are the nearest in Taste and Shape to a Barbel,
only they have no Barbs.

{Cat-Fish.}
Cat-Fish are a round blackish Fish, with a great flat Head, a wide Mouth,
and no Scales; they something resemble Eels in Taste. Both this sort,
and another that frequents the Salt Water, are very plentiful.

{Grindals.}
Grindals are a long scaled Fish with small Eyes; and frequent Ponds, Lakes,
and slow-running Creeks and Swamps. They are a soft sorry Fish,
and good for nothing; though some eat them for good Fish.

{Old-Wives.}
These are a bright scaly Fish, which frequent the Swamps, and fresh Runs;
they seem to be between an English Roach and a Bream, and eat much like
the latter. The Indians kill abundance of these, and barbakue them,
till they are crisp, then transport them, in wooden Hurdles,
to their Towns and Quarters.

{Fountain-Fish.}
The Fountain-Fish are a white sort which breed in the clear Running Springs
and Fountains of Water, where the Clearness thereof makes them very difficult
to be taken. I cannot say how good they are; because I have not as yet
tasted of them.

{White-Fish.}
The white Fish are very large; some being two Foot and a half long and more.
They are found a great way up in the Freshes of the Rivers; and are firm Meat,
and an extraordinary well-relish'd Fish.

{Barbouts Millers Thumbs.}
Barbouts and Millers-Thumbs, are the very same here, in all respects,
as they are in England. What more are in the fresh Waters
we have not discover'd, but are satisfied, that we are not acquainted
with one third part thereof; for we are told by the Indians,
of a great many strange and uncouth shapes and sorts of Fish,
which they have found in the Lakes laid down in my Chart.
However as we can give no farther Account of these than by Hear-say;
I proceed to treat of the Shell-Fish that are found in the Salt-Water,
so far as they have already come to our Knowledge.

{Large Crabs.}
The large Crabs, which we call Stone-Crabs, are the same sort
as in England, having black Tips at the end of their Claws.
These are plentifully met withal, down in Core Sound,
and the South Parts of North-Carolina.

{Small flat Crabs.}
The smaller flat Crabs I look upon to be the sweetest of all the Species.
They are the Breadth of a lusty Man's Hand, or rather larger.
These are innumerable, lying in most prodigious quantities,
all over the Salts of Carolina. They are taken not only to eat,
but are the best Bait for all sorts of Fish, that live in the Salt-Water.
These Fish are mischievous to Night-Hooks, because they get away all the Bait
from the Hooks.

{Oysters.}
Oysters, great and small, are found almost in every Creek
and Gut of Salt-Water, and are very good and well-relish'd.
The large Oysters are excellent, pickled.

{Cockles.}
One Cockle in Carolina is as big as five or six in England.
They are often thrown upon the Sands on the Sound-Side, where the Gulls
are always ready to open and eat them.

{Clams.}
Clams are a sort of Cockles, only differing in Shell,
which is thicker and not streak'd, or ribb'd. These are found throughout
all the Sound and Salt-Water-Ponds. The Meat is the same for Look and Taste
as the Cockle. These make an excellent strong Broth, and eat well,
either roasted or pickled.

{Muscles.}
The Muscles in Carolina have a very large Shell, striped with Dents.
They grow by the side of Ponds and Creeks, in Salt-Water,
wherein you may get as many of them as you please. I do not like them so well
as the English Muscle, which is no good Shell-Fish.

{Conks.}
Some of the Shells of these are as large as a Man's Hand,
but the lesser sort are the best Meat, and those not extraordinary.
They are shap'd like the end of a Horses Yard. Of their Shells,
the Peak or Wampum is made, which is the richest Commodity
amongst the Indians. They breed like a long Thing shap'd like a Snake,
but containing a sort of Joints, in the Hollowness whereof
are thousands of small Coaks, no bigger then small Grains of Pepper.

{Skellops.}
The Skellops, if well dress'd, are a pretty Shell-Fish;
but to eat them only roasted, without any other Addition, in my Judgment,
are too luscious.

{Man of Noses.}
Man of Noses are a Shell-Fish commonly found amongst us. They are valued
for increasing Vigour in Men, and making barren Women fruitful;
but I think they have no need of that Fish; for the Women in Carolina
are fruitful enough without their Helps.

{Wilks.}
Wilks, or Periwinkles, are not so large here, as in the Islands of Scilly,
and in other Parts of Europe, though very sweet.

{Snail-Horn.}
The Sea-Snail-Horn is large, and very good Meat; they are exactly shaped
as other Snail-Horns are.

{Fidlar.}
Fidlars are a sort of small Crabs, that lie in Holes in the Marshes.
The Raccoons eat them very much. I never knew any one try,
whether they were good Meat or no.

{Runner.}
Runners live chiefly on the Sands, but sometimes run into the Sea.
They have Holes in the Sand-Beaches and are a whitish sort of a Crab.
Tho' small, they run as fast as a Man, and are good for nothing
but to look at.

{Spanish-Oysters.}
Spanish Oysters have a very thin Shell, and rough on the outside.
They are very good Shell-Fish, and so large, that half a dozen
are enow to satisfy an hungry Stomach.

{Flattings.}
The Flattings are inclosed in a broad, thin Shell, the whole Fish being flat.
They are inferiour to no Shell-Fish this Country affords.

{Finger-Fish.}
Finger-Fish are very plentiful in this Country; they are
of the Length of a Man's Finger, and lie in the Bottom of the Water
about one or two Foot deep. They are very good.

{Shrimps.}
Shrimps are here very plentiful and good, and are to be taken
with a Small-Bow-Net, in great Quantities.

{Small-Cockles.}
The small Cockles are about the Bigness of the largest English Cockles,
and differ nothing from them, unless in the Shells, which are striped
cross-wise as well as long-wise.

The Fresh-Water Shell-Fish are,

{Muscles.}
Muscles, which are eaten by the Indians, after five or six hours Boiling,
to make them tender, and then are good for nothing.

{Craw-Fish.}
Craw-Fish, in the Brooks, and small Rivers of Water,
amongst the Tuskeruro Indians, and up higher, are found very plentifully,
and as good as any in the World.

And thus I have gone through the several Species of Fish,
so far as they have come to my Knowledge, in the eight Years
that I have lived in Carolina. I should have made a larger Discovery,
when travelling so far towards the Mountains, and amongst the Hills,
had it not been in the Winter-Season, which was improper to make any Enquiry
into any of the Species before recited. Therefore, as my Intent was,
I proceed to what remains of the Present State of Carolina, having already
accounted for the Animals, and Vegetables, as far as this Volume
would allow of; whereby the Remainder, though not exactly known,
may yet be guess'd at, if we consider what Latitude Carolina lies in,
which reaches from 29 to 36 deg. 30 min. Northern Latitude,
as I have before observ'd. Which Latitude is as fertile and pleasant,
as any in the World, as well for the Produce of Minerals,
Fruit, Grain, and Wine, as other rich Commodities. And indeed,
all the Experiments that have been made in Carolina,
of the Fertility and natural Advantages of the Country,
have exceeded all Expectation, as affording some Commodities,
which other Places, in the same Latitude, do not. As for Minerals,
as they are subterraneous Products, so, in all new Countries,
they are the Species that are last discover'd; and especially,
in Carolina, where the Indians never look for any thing
lower than the Superficies of the Earth, being a Race of Men
the least addicted to delving of any People that inhabit so fine a Country
as Carolina is. As good if not better Mines than those
the Spaniards possess in America, lie full West from us; and I am certain,
we have as Mountainous Land, and as great Probability of having rich Minerals
in Carolina, as any of those Parts that are already found
to be so rich therein. But, waving this Subject, till some other Opportunity,
I shall now give you some Observations in general, concerning Carolina,
which are, first, that it lies as convenient for Trade
as any of the Plantations in America; that we have Plenty of Pitch, Tar,
Skins of Deer, and Beeves, Furs, Rice, Wheat, Rie, Indian Grain,
sundry sorts of Pulse, Turpentine, Rozin, Masts, Yards, Planks and Boards,
Staves and Lumber, Timber of many common sorts, fit for any Uses;
Hemp, Flax, Barley, Oats, Buck-Wheat, Beef, Pork, Tallow, Hides,
Whale-Bone and Oil, Wax, Cheese, Butter, &c. besides Drugs, Dyes,
Fruit, Silk, Cotton, Indico, Oil, and Wine that we need not doubt of,
as soon as we make a regular Essay, the Country being adorn'd
with pleasant Meadows, Rivers, Mountains, Valleys, Hills, and rich Pastures,
and blessed with wholesome pure Air; especially a little backwards
from the Sea, where the wild Beasts inhabit, none of which are voracious.
The Men are active, the Women fruitful to Admiration, every House
being full of Children, and several Women that have come hither barren,
having presently prov'd fruitful. There cannot be a richer Soil;
no Place abounding more in Flesh and Fowl, both wild and tame,
besides Fish, Fruit, Grain, Cider, and many other pleasant Liquors;
together with several other Necessaries for Life and Trade,
that are daily found out, as new Discoveries are made. The Stone and Gout
seldom trouble us; the Consumption we are wholly Strangers to,
no Place affording a better Remedy for that Distemper,
than Carolina. For Trade, we lie so near to Virginia,
that we have the Advantage of their Convoys; as also Letters from thence,
in two or three Days at most, in some Places in as few Hours.
Add to this, that the great Number of Ships which come within those Capes,
for Virginia and Maryland, take off our Provisions,
and give us Bills of Exchange for England, which is Sterling Money.
The Planters in Virginia and Maryland are forc'd to do the same,
the great Quantities of Tobacco that are planted there,
making Provisions scarce; and Tobacco is a Commodity oftentimes so low,
as to bring nothing, whereas Provisions and Naval Stores
never fail of a Market. Besides, where these are raised,
in such Plenty as in Carolina, there always appears good Housekeeping,
and Plenty of all manner of delicate Eatables. For Instance,
the Pork of Carolina is very good, the younger Hogs fed on Peaches, Maiz,
and such other natural Produce; being some of the sweetest Meat
that the World affords, as is acknowledged by all Strangers
that have been there. And as for the Beef, in Pampticough,
and the Southward Parts, it proves extraordinary. We have not only
Provisions plentiful, but Cloaths of our own Manufactures, which are made,
and daily increase; Cotton, Wool, Hemp, and Flax, being of our own Growth;
and the Women to be highly commended for their Industry in Spinning,
and ordering their Houswifry to so great Advantage as they generally do;
which is much more easy, by reason this happy Climate,
visited with so mild Winters, is much warmer than the Northern Plantations,
which saves abundance of Cloaths; fewer serving our Necessities,
and those of our Servants. But this is not all; for we can go out
with our Commodities, to any other Part of the West-Indies,
or elsewhere, in the Depth of Winter; whereas, those in New-England,
New-York, Pensylvania, and the Colonies to the Northward of us,
cannot stir for Ice, but are fast lock'd into their Harbours.
Besides, we can trade with South-Carolina, and pay no Duties or Customs,
no more than their own Vessels, both North and South being under
the same Lords-Proprietors. We have, as I observ'd before,
another great Advantage, in not being a Frontier, and so continually alarm'd
by the Enemy; and what has been accounted a Detriment to us,
proves one of the greatest Advantages any People could wish; which is,
our Country's being faced with a Sound near ten Leagues over in some Places,
through which, although there be Water enough for as large Ships
to come in at, as in any part hitherto seated in both Carolinas;
yet the Difficulty of that Sound to Strangers, hinders them from attempting
any Hostilities against us; and, at the same time, if we consider
the Advantages thereof, nothing can appear to be a better Situation,
than to be fronted with such a Bulwark, which secures us from our Enemies.
Furthermore, our Distance from the Sea rids us of two Curses,
which attend most other Parts of America, viz. Muskeetos,
and the Worm-biting, which eats Ships Bottoms out; whereas at Bath-Town,
there is no such thing known; and as for Muskeetos, they hinder us
of as little Rest, as they do you in England. Add to this,
the unaccountable Quantities of Fish this great Water, or Sound,
supplies us withal, whenever we take the Pains to fish for them;
Advantages I have no where met withal in America, except here.
As for the Climate, we enjoy a very wholsome and serene Sky,
and a pure and thin Air, the Sun seldom missing to give us his daily Blessing,
unless now and then on a Winters Day, which is not often; and when cloudy,
the first Appearance of a North-West Wind clears the Horizon,
and restores the Light of the Sun. The Weather, in Summer, is very pleasant;
the hotter Months being refresh'd with continual Breezes of cool reviving Air;
and the Spring being as pleasant, and beautiful, as in any Place
I ever was in. The Winter, most commonly, is so mild,
that it looks like an Autumn, being now and then attended
with clear and thin North-West Winds, that are sharp enough to regulate
English Constitutions, and free them from a great many dangerous Distempers,
that a continual Summer afflicts them withal, nothing being wanting,
as to the natural Ornaments and Blessings of a Country,
that conduce to make reasonable Men happy. And, for those that are otherwise,
they are so much their own Enemies, where they are, that they will scarce ever
be any ones Friends, or their own, when they are transplanted;
so, it's much better for all sides, that they remain as they are.
Not but that there are several good People, that, upon just Grounds,
may be uneasy under their present Burdens; and such I would advise
to remove to the Place I have been treating of, where they may enjoy
their Liberty and Religion, and peaceably eat the Fruits of their Labour,
and drink the Wine of their own Vineyards, without the Alarms
of a troublesome worldly Life. If a Man be a Botanist,
here is a plentiful Field of Plants to divert him in; If he be a Gardner,
and delight in that pleasant and happy Life, he will meet with
a Climate and Soil, that will further and promote his Designs,
in as great a Measure, as any Man can wish for; and as for
the Constitution of this Government, it is so mild and easy,
in respect to the Properties and Liberties of a Subject,
that without rehearsing the Particulars, I say once for all,
it is the mildest and best establish'd Government in the World,
and the Place where any Man may peaceably enjoy his own,
without being invaded by another; Rank and Superiority ever giving Place
to Justice and Equity, which is the Golden Rule that every Government
ought to be built upon, and regulated by. Besides, it is worthy our Notice,
that this Province has been settled, and continued the most free
from the Insults and Barbarities of the Indians, of any Colony
that was ever yet seated in America; which must be esteem'd
as a particular Providence of God handed down from Heaven, to these People;
especially, when we consider, how irregularly they settled North-Carolina,
and yet how undisturb'd they have ever remain'd, free from any foreign
Danger or Loss, even to this very Day. And what may well be look'd upon
for as great a Miracle, this is a Place, where no Malefactors are found,
deserving Death, or even a Prison for Debtors; there being no more
than two Persons, that, as far as I have been able to learn,
ever suffer'd as Criminals, although it has been a Settlement
near sixty Years; One of whom was a Turk that committed Murder;
the other, an old Woman, for Witchcraft. These, 'tis true,
were on the Stage, and acted many Years, before I knew the Place;
but as for the last, I wish it had been undone to this day;
although they give a great many Arguments, to justifie the Deed,
which I had rather they should have a Hand in, than myself;
seeing I could never approve of taking Life away upon such Accusations,
the Justice whereof I could never yet understand.

But, to return to the Subject in Hand; we there make extraordinary good Bricks
throughout the Settlement. All sorts of Handicrafts, as Carpenters, Joiners,
Masons, Plaisterers, Shooemakers, Tanners, Taylors, Weavers, and most others,
may, with small Beginnings, and God's Blessing, thrive very well
in this Place, and provide Estates for their Children, Land being sold
at a much cheaper Rate there, than in any other Place in America, and may,
as I suppose, be purchased of the Lords-Proprietors here in England,
or of the Governour there for the time being, by any that shall have a mind
to transport themselves to that Country. The Farmers that go thither
(for which sort of Men it is a very thriving Place) should take with them
some particular Seeds of Grass, as Trefoil, Clover-grass all sorts,
Sanfoin, and Common Grass, or that which is a Rarity in Europe; especially,
what has sprung and rose first from a warm Climate, and will endure the Sun
without flinching. Likewise, if there be any extraordinary sort of Grain
for Increase or Hardiness, and some Fruit-Trees of choice Kinds,
they will be both profitable and pleasant to have with you,
where you may see the Fruits of your Labour in Perfection,
in a few Years. The necessary Instruments of Husbandry
I need not acquaint the Husbandman withal; Hoes of all sorts,
and Axes must be had, with Saws, Wedges, Augurs, Nails, Hammers,
and what other Things may be necessary for building with Brick,
or Stone, which sort your Inclination and Conveniency lead you to.
For, after having look'd over this Treatise, you must needs be acquainted
with the Nature of the Country, and therefore cannot but be Judges, what it is
that you will chiefly want. As for Land, none need want it for taking up,
even in the Places there seated on the Navigable Creeks, Rivers, and Harbours,
without being driven into remoter Holes and Corners of the Country,
for Settlements, which all are forced to do, who, at this day,
settle in most or all of the other English Plantations in America;
which are already become so populous, that a New-Comer cannot get
a beneficial and commodious Seat, unless he purchases, when,
in most Places in Virginia and Maryland, a thousand Acres of good Land,
seated on a Navigable Water, will cost a thousand Pounds; whereas, with us,
it is at present obtain'd for the fiftieth Part of the Money.
Besides, our Land pays to the Lords, but an easy Quit-Rent,
or yearly Acknowledgement; and the other Settlements pay
two Shillings per hundred. All these things duly weighed,
any rational Man that has a mind to purchase Land in the Plantations
for a Settlement of himself and Family, will soon discover
the Advantages that attend the Settlers and Purchasers of Land in Carolina,
above all other Colonies in the English Dominions in America.
And as there is a free Exercise of all Persuasions amongst Christians,
the Lords-Proprietors, to encourage Ministers of the Church of England,
have given free Land towards the Maintenance of a Church, and especially,
for the Parish of S. Thomas in Pampticough, over-against the Town,
is already laid out for a Glebe of two hundred and twenty three Acres
of rich well-situated Land, that a Parsonage-House may be built upon.
And now I shall proceed to give an Account of the Indians,
their Customs and Ways of Living, with a short Dictionary of their Speech.





An
ACCOUNT
of the
INDIANS
of
NORTH-CAROLINA.



The Indians, which were the Inhabitants of America, when the Spaniards
and other Europeans discover'd the several Parts of that Country,
are the People which we reckon the Natives thereof; as indeed they were,
when we first found out those Parts, and appear'd therein.
Yet this has not wrought in me a full Satisfaction, to allow these People
to have been the Ancient Dwellers of the New-World, or Tract of Land
we call America. The Reasons that I have to think otherwise,
are too many to set down here; but I shall give the Reader a few,
before I proceed; and some others he will find scatter'd
in my Writings elsewhere.

In Carolina (the Part I now treat of) are the fairest Marks of a Deluge,
(that at some time has probably made strange Alterations,
as to the Station that Country was then in) that ever I saw,
or, I think, read of, in any History. {Wood under Ground.}
Amongst the other Subterraneous Matters, that have been discover'd,
we found, in digging of a Well that was twenty six foot deep,
at the Bottom thereof, many large Pieces of the Tulip-Tree,
and several other sorts of Wood, some of which were cut and notch'd,
and some squared, as the Joices of a House are, which appear'd
(in the Judgment of all that saw them) to be wrought with Iron Instruments;
it seeming impossible for any thing made of Stone, or what they were found
to make use of, to cut Wood in that manner. It cannot be argu'd,
that the Wood so cut, might float from some other Continent;
because Hiccory and the Tulip-Tree are spontaneous in America,
and in no other Places, that I could ever learn. {Shells some Fathoms
in the Earth, the Sea probably has thrown up in part of this Country.}
{Mexico Buildings.} It is to be acknowledg'd, that the Spaniards
give us Relations of magnificent Buildings, which were raised
by the Indians of Mexico and other Parts, which they discover'd,
and conquer'd; amongst whom no Iron Instruments were found:
But 'tis a great Misfortune, that no Person in that Expedition was so curious,
as to take an exact Draught of the Fabricks of those People,
which would have been a Discovery of great Value, and very acceptable
to the Ingenious; for, as to the Politeness of Stones, it may be effected
by Collision, and Grinding, which is of a contrary Nature,
on several Accounts, and disproves not my Arguments, in the least.

{Earthen Pots under Ground.}
The next is, the Earthen Pots that are often found under Ground,
and at the Foot of the Banks where the Water has wash'd them away. They are
for the most part broken in pieces; but we find them of a different sort,
in Comparison of those the Indians use at this day, who have had no other,
ever since the English discover'd America. The Bowels of the Earth
cannot have alter'd them, since they are thicker, of another Shape,
and Composition, and nearly approach to the Urns of the Ancient Romans.

{Indian Peaches.}
Again, the Peaches, which are the only tame Fruit, or what is Foreign,
that these People enjoy, which is an Eastern Product, and will keep and retain
its vegetative and growing Faculty, the longest of any thing of that Nature,
that I know of. {The Stone. Water-Melon and Gourds the Indians
have always had.} The Stone, as I elsewhere have remark'd, is thicker
than any other sort of the Peaches in Europe, or of the European sort,
now growing in America, and is observed to grow if planted,
after it has been for several Years laid by; and it seems very probable,
that these People might come from some Eastern Country; for when you ask them
whence their Fore-Fathers came, that first inhabited the Country,
they will point to the Westward and say, `Where the Sun sleeps,
our Forefathers came thence', which, at that distance, may be reckon'd
amongst the Eastern Parts of the World. And to this day,
they are a shifting, wandring People; for I know some Indian Nations,
that have chang'd their Settlements, many hundred Miles;
sometimes no less than a thousand, as is prov'd by the Savanna Indians,
who formerly lived on the Banks of the Messiasippi, and remov'd thence
to the Head of one of the Rivers of South-Carolina; since which,
(for some Dislike) most of them are remov'd to live in the Quarters
of the Iroquois or Sinnagars, which are on the Heads of the Rivers
that disgorge themselves into the Bay of Chesapeak. I once met
with a young Indian Woman, that had been brought from beyond the Mountains,
and was sold a Slave into Virginia. She spoke the same Language,
as the Coranine Indians, that dwell near Cape-Look-out,
allowing for some few Words, which were different, yet no otherwise,
than that they might understand one another very well.

{Indian well shap'd People.}
The Indians of North-Carolina are a well-shap'd clean-made People,
of different Statures, as the Europeans are, yet chiefly inclin'd
to be tall. They are a very streight People, and never bend forwards,
or stoop in the Shoulders, unless much overpower'd by old Age.
Their Limbs are exceeding well-shap'd. As for their Legs and Feet,
they are generally the handsomest in the World. Their Bodies are
a little flat, which is occasion'd, by being laced hard down to a Board,
in their Infancy. This is all the Cradle they have, which I shall
describe at large elsewhere. Their Eyes are black, or of a dark Hazle;
The White is marbled with red Streaks, which is ever common to these People,
unless when sprung from a white Father or Mother. Their Colour is of a tawny,
which would not be so dark, did they not dawb themselves with Bears Oil,
and a Colour like burnt Cork. This is begun in their Infancy,
and continued for a long time, which fills the Pores, and enables them better
to endure the Extremity of the Weather. They are never bald on their Heads,
although never so old, which, I believe, proceeds from their Heads
being always uncover'd, and the greasing their Hair (so often as they do)
with Bears Fat, which is a great Nourisher of the Hair, and causes it
to grow very fast. Amongst the Bears Oil (when they intend to be fine)
they mix a certain red Powder, that comes from a Scarlet Root which they get
in the hilly Country, near the Foot of the great Ridge of Mountains,
and it is no where else to be found. They have this Scarlet Root
in great Esteem, and sell it for a very great Price, one to another.
The Reason of its Value is, because they not only go a long way for it,
but are in great Danger of the Sinnagars or Iroquois,
who are mortal Enemies to all our Indians, and very often
take them Captives, or kill them, before they return from this Voyage.
The Tuskeruros and other Indians have often brought this Seed
with them from the Mountains; but it would never grow in our Land.
With this and Bears Grease they anoint their Heads and Temples,
which is esteem'd as ornamental, as sweet Powder to our Hair.
Besides, this Root has the Virtue of killing Lice, and suffers none
to abide or breed in their Heads. For want of this Root,
they sometimes use Pecoon-Root, which is of a Crimson Colour,
but it is apt to die the Hair of an ugly Hue.

Their Eyes are commonly full and manly, and their Gate sedate and majestick.
They never walk backward and forward as we do, nor contemplate
on the Affairs of Loss and Gain; the things which daily perplex us.
They are dexterous and steady both as to their Hands and Feet, to Admiration.
They will walk over deep Brooks, and Creeks, on the smallest Poles,
and that without any Fear or Concern. Nay, an Indian will walk
on the Ridge of a Barn or House and look down the Gable-end,
and spit upon the Ground, as unconcern'd, as if he was walking
on Terra firma. In Running, Leaping, or any such other Exercise,
their Legs seldom miscarry, and give them a Fall; and as for letting
any thing fall out of their Hands, I never yet knew one Example.
They are no Inventers of any Arts or Trades worthy mention;
the Reason of which I take to be, that they are not possess'd
with that Care and Thoughtfulness, how to provide for the Necessaries of Life,
as the Europeans are; yet they will learn any thing very soon.
I have known an Indian stock Guns better than most of our Joiners,
although he never saw one stock'd before; and besides, his Working-Tool
was only a sorry Knife. I have also known several of them that were Slaves
to the English, learn Handicraft-Trades very well and speedily. {No Dwarf.}
I never saw a Dwarf amongst them, nor but one that was Hump-back'd.
Their Teeth are yellow with Smoaking Tobacco, which both Men and Women
are much addicted to. They tell us, that they had Tobacco amongst them,
before the Europeans made any Discovery of that Continent.
It differs in the Leaf from the sweet-scented, and Oroonoko,
which are the Plants we raise and cultivate in America. {Indian Tobacco.}
Theirs differs likewise much in the Smell, when green, from our Tobacco,
before cured. They do not use the same way to cure it as we do;
and therefore, the Difference must be very considerable in Taste;
for all Men (that know Tobacco) must allow, that it is the Ordering thereof
which gives a Hogoo to that Weed, rather than any Natural Relish it possesses,
when green. Although they are great Smokers, yet they never are seen
to take it in Snuff, or chew it.

They have no Hairs on their Faces (except some few) and those but little,
nor is there often found any Hair under their Arm-Pits.
They are continually plucking it away from their Faces, by the Roots.
As for their Privities, since they wore Tail-Clouts,
to cover their Nakedness, several of the Men have a deal of Hair thereon.
It is to be observ'd, that the Head of the Penis is cover'd
(throughout all the Nations of the Indians I ever saw)
both in Old and Young. Although we reckon these a very smooth People,
and free from Hair; yet I once saw a middle-aged Man, that was hairy
all down his Back; the Hairs being above an Inch long.

{Few Cripples.}
As there are found very few, or scarce any, Deformed, or Cripples,
amongst them, so neither did I ever see but one blind Man;
and then they would give me no Account how his Blindness came.
They had a Use for him, which was, to lead him with a Girl, Woman, or Boy,
by a String; so they put what Burdens they pleased upon his Back,
and made him very serviceable upon all such Occasions. {Indians good Eyes.}
No People have better Eyes, or see better in the Night or Day,
than the Indians. Some alledge, that the Smoke of the Pitch-Pine,
which they chiefly burn, does both preserve and strengthen the Eyes;
as, perhaps, it may do, because that Smoak never offends the Eyes,
though you hold your Face over a great Fire thereof. This is occasion'd
by the volatile Part of the Turpentine, which rises with the Smoke,
and is of a friendly, balsamick Nature; for the Ashes of the Pine-Tree
afford no fix'd Salt in them.

{Not pair their Nails.}
They let their Nails grow very long, which, they reckon,
is the Use Nails are design'd for, and laugh at the Europeans
for pairing theirs, which, they say, disarms them of that which Nature
design'd them for.

{Indians not robust.}
They are not of so robust and strong Bodies, as to lift great Burdens,
and endure Labour and slavish Work, as the Europeans are;
yet some that are Slaves, prove very good and laborious:
{No hard Workers.} But, of themselves, they never work as the English do,
taking care for no farther than what is absolutely necessary to support Life.
In Travelling and Hunting, they are very indefatigable;
because that carries a Pleasure along with the Profit.
I have known some of them very strong; and as for Running and Leaping,
they are extraordinary Fellows, and will dance for several Nights together,
with the greatest Briskness imaginable, their Wind never failing them.

{Indians Dance of War. On what Account they make War.}
Their Dances are of different Natures; and for every sort of Dance,
they have a Tune, which is allotted for that Dance; as,
if it be a War-Dance, they have a warlike Song, wherein they express,
with all the Passion and Vehemence imaginable, what they intend to do
with their Enemies; how they will kill, roast, sculp, beat, and make Captive,
such and such Numbers of them; and how many they have destroy'd before.
All these Songs are made new for every Feast; nor is one and the same Song
sung at two several Festivals. {Indian Poet.} Some one of the Nation
(which has the best Gift of expressing their Designs) is appointed
by their King, and War-Captains, to make these Songs.

{Dance of Peace.}
Others are made for Feasts of another Nature; as, when several Towns,
or sometimes, different Nations have made Peace with one another;
then the Song suits both Nations, and relates, how the bad Spirit
made them go to War, and destroy one another; but it shall never be so again;
but that their Sons and Daughters shall marry together, and the two Nations
love one another, and become as one People.

They have a third sort of Feasts and Dances, which are always
when the Harvest of Corn is ended, and in the Spring. The one,
to return Thanks to the good Spirit, for the Fruits of the Earth;
the other, to beg the same Blessings for the succeeding Year.
And, to encourage the young Men to labour stoutly, in planting
their Maiz and Pulse, they set a sort of an Idol in the Field,
which is dress'd up exactly like an Indian, having all the Indians Habit,
besides abundance of Wampum, and their Money, made of Shells,
that hangs about his Neck. {Plantation Idol.} The Image
none of the young Men dare approach; for the old ones will not suffer them
to come near him, but tell them, that he is some famous Indian Warriour,
that died a great while ago, and now is come amongst them,
to see if they work well, which if they do, he will go to the good Spirit,
and speak to him to send them Plenty of Corn, and to make the young Men
all expert Hunters and mighty Warriours. All this while,
the King and old Men sit round the Image, and seemingly pay
a profound Respect to the same. One great Help to these Indians,
in carrying on these Cheats, and inducing Youth to do what they please,
is, the uninterrupted Silence, which is ever kept and observ'd,
with all the Respect and Veneration imaginable.

{Masquerade.}
At these Feasts, which are set out with all the Magnificence
their Fare allows of, the Masquerades begin at Night, and not before.
There is commonly a Fire made in the middle of the House, which is the largest
in the Town, and is very often the Dwelling of their King, or War-Captain;
where sit two Men on the Ground, upon a Mat; one with a Rattle,
made of a Gourd, with some Beans in it; the other with a Drum,
made of an earthen Pot, cover'd with a dress'd-Deer-Skin,
and one Stick in his Hand to beat thereon; and so they both begin
the Song appointed. {Indian Musicians.} At the same time, one drums,
and the other rattles, which is all the artificial Musick of their own making
I ever saw amongst them. To these two Instruments they sing,
which carries no Air with it, but is a sort of unsavoury Jargon;
yet their Cadences and Raising of their Voices are form'd
with that Equality and Exactness, that (to us Europeans) it seems admirable,
how they should continue these Songs, without once missing to agree,
each with the others Note and Tune.

{Dancing.}
As for their Dancing, were there Masters of that Profession amongst them,
as there are with us, they would dearly earn their Money;
for these Creatures take the most Pains at it, that Men are able to endure.
I have seen thirty odd together a dancing, and every one
dropp'd down with Sweat, as if Water had been poured down their Backs.
They use those hard Labours, to make them able to endure Fatigue,
{Indians long winded.} and improve their Wind, which indeed
is very long and durable, it being a hard matter, in any Exercise,
to dispossess them of it.

At these Feasts, they meet from all the Towns within fifty or sixty
Miles round, where they buy and sell several Commodities, as we do
at Fairs and Markets. {Indian Gaming.} Besides, they game very much,
and often strip one another of all they have in the World; and what is more,
I have known several of them play themselves away, so that they have
remain'd the Winners Servants, till their Relations or themselves
could pay the Money to redeem them; and when this happens,
the Loser is never dejected or melancholy at the Loss, but laughs,
and seems no less contented than if he had won. They never differ at Gaming,
neither did I ever see a Dispute, about the Legality thereof,
so much as rise amongst them.

{Indian Cards.}
Their chiefest Game is a sort of Arithmetick, which is managed
by a Parcel of small split Reeds, the Thickness of a small Bent;
these are made very nicely, so that they part, and are tractable
in their Hands. They are fifty one in Number, their Length
about seven Inches; when they play, they throw part of them
to their Antagonist; the Art is, to discover, upon sight, how many you have,
and what you throw to him that plays with you. Some are so expert
at their Numbers, that they will tell ten times together,
what they throw out of their Hands. Although the whole Play is carried on
with the quickest Motion it's possible to use, yet some are so expert
at this Game, as to win great Indian Estates by this Play.
A good Sett of these Reeds, fit to play withal, are valued and sold
for a dress'd Doe-Skin.

{Indian Dice.}
They have several other Plays and Games; as, with the Kernels or Stones
of Persimmons, which are in effect the same as our Dice,
because Winning or Losing depend on which side appear uppermost,
and how they happen to fall together.

{Indian Trap-Ball.}
Another Game is managed with a Batoon and a Ball, and resembles our Trap-ball;
besides, several Nations have several Games and Pastimes,
which are not used by others.

{Indian Cabins.}
These Savages live in Wigwams, or Cabins built of Bark, which are made round
like an Oven, to prevent any Damage by hard Gales of Wind. They make the Fire
in the middle of the House, and have a Hole at the Top of the Roof
right above the Fire, to let out the Smoke. These Dwellings
are as hot as Stoves, where the Indians sleep and sweat all Night.
The Floors thereof are never paved nor swept, so that they have always
a loose Earth on them. {Fleas.} They are often troubled
with a multitude of Fleas, especially near the Places where
they dress their Deer-Skins, because that Hair harbours them;
yet I never felt any ill, unsavory Smell in their Cabins,
whereas, should we live in our Houses, as they do, we should be poison'd
with our own Nastiness; {Indians a sweet People.} which confirms
these Indians to be, as they really are, some of the sweetest People
in the World.

The Bark they make their Cabins withal, is generally Cypress,
or red or white Cedar; and sometimes, when they are a great way
from any of these Woods, they make use of Pine-Bark, which is the worser sort.
{Making Cabins.} In building these Fabricks, they get very long Poles,
of Pine, Cedar, Hiccory, or any Wood that will bend; these are
the Thickness of the Small of a Man's Leg, at the thickest end,
which they generally strip of the Bark, and warm them well in the Fire,
which makes them tough and fit to bend; afterwards, they stick
the thickest ends of them in the Ground, about two Yards asunder,
in a Circular Form, the distance they design the Cabin to be,
(which is not always round, but sometimes oval) then they bend the Tops
and bring them together, and bind their ends with Bark of Trees,
that is proper for that use, as Elm is, {Black Moss.} or sometimes the Moss
that grows on the Trees, and is a Yard or two long, and never rots;
then they brace them with other Poles, to make them strong; afterwards,
cover them all over with Bark, so that they are very warm and tight,
and will keep firm against all the Weathers that blow.
{Indians Store-Houses.} They have other sorts of Cabins without Windows,
which are for their Granaries, Skins, and Merchandizes;
and others that are cover'd over head; the rest left open for the Air.
{Indians Banqueting Houses.} These have Reed-Hurdles, like Tables,
to lie and sit on, in Summer, and serve for pleasant Banqueting-Houses
in the hot Season of the Year. The Cabins they dwell in have Benches
all round, except where the Door stands; on these they lay Beasts-Skins,
and Mats made of Rushes, whereon they sleep and loll. In one of these,
several Families commonly live, though all related to one another.

As to the Indians Food, it is of several sorts, which are as follows.

{Indian Food.}
Venison, and Fawns in the Bags, cut out of the Doe's Belly;
Fish of all sorts, the Lamprey-Eel excepted, and the Sturgeon
our Salt-Water Indians will not touch; Bear and Bever; Panther; Pole-cat;
Wild-cat; Possum; Raccoon; Hares, and Squirrels, roasted with their Guts in;
Snakes, all Indians will not eat them, tho' some do; All wild Fruits
that are palatable, some of which they dry and keep against Winter,
as all sort of Fruits, and Peaches, which they dry, and make Quiddonies,
and Cakes, that are very pleasant, and a little tartish;
young Wasps, when they are white in the Combs, before they can fly,
this is esteemed a Dainty; All sorts of Tortois and Terebins;
Shell-Fish, and Stingray, or Scate, dry'd; Gourds; Melons; Cucumbers;
Squashes; Pulse of all sorts; Rockahomine Meal, which is their Maiz,
parch'd and pounded into Powder; Fowl of all sorts, that are eatable;
Ground-Nuts, or wild Potato's; Acorns and Acorn Oil; Wild-Bulls, Beef,
Mutton, Pork, &c. from the English; Indian Corn, or Maiz,
made into several sorts of Bread; Ears of Corn roasted in the Summer,
or preserv'd against Winter.

The Victuals is common, throughout the whole Kindred Relations,
and often to the whole Town; especially, when they are in Hunting-Quarters,
then they all fare alike, whichsoever of them kills the Game.
{Feasts of Charity. Indians discern not between fat and lean Meat.}
They are very kind, and charitable to one another, but more especially
to those of their own Nation; for if any one of them has suffer'd any Loss,
by Fire or otherwise, they order the griev'd Person to make a Feast,
and invite them all thereto, which, on the day appointed, they come to,
and after every Man's Mess of Victuals is dealt to him, one of their Speakers,
or grave old Men, makes an Harangue, and acquaints the Company,
That that Man's House has been burnt, wherein all his Goods were destroy'd;
That he, and his Family, very narrowly escaped; That he is every Man's Friend
in that Company; and, That it is all their Duties to help him,
as he would do to any of them, had the like Misfortune befallen them.
After this Oration is over, every Man, according to his Quality,
throws him down upon the Ground some Present, which is commonly Beads,
Ronoak, Peak, Skins or Furs, and which very often amounts to treble
the Loss he has suffer'd. The same Assistance they give to any Man
that wants to build a Cabin, or make a Canoe. They say, it is our Duty
thus to do; for there are several Works that one Man cannot effect,
therefore we must give him our Help, otherwise our Society will fall,
and we shall be depriv'd of those urgent Necessities which Life requires.
{Indians no Fences.} They have no Fence to part one anothers Lots
in their Corn-Fields; but every Man knows his own, and it scarce ever happens,
that they rob one another of so much as an Ear of Corn,
which if any is found to do, he is sentenced by the Elders
to work and plant for him that was robb'd, till he is recompensed
for all the Damage he has suffer'd in his Corn-Field;
and this is punctually perform'd, and the Thief held in Disgrace,
that steals from any of his Country-Folks. {Indians Charity to Widows.}
It often happens, that a Woman is destitute of her Husband,
and has a great many Children to maintain; such a Person they always help,
and make their young men plant, reap, and do every thing
that she is not capable of doing herself; yet they do not allow any one
to be idle, but to employ themselves in some Work or other.

{Indian Women no Scolds.}
They never fight with one another, unless drunk, nor do you ever hear
any Scolding amongst them. They say, the Europeans are always
rangling and uneasy, and wonder they do not go out of this World, since they
are so uneasy and discontented in it. All their Misfortunes and Losses
end in Laughter; for if their Cabins take Fire, and all their Goods
are burnt therein, (indeed, all will strive to prevent farther Damage,
whilst there is any Possibility) yet such a Misfortune ends
in a hearty Fitt of Laughter, unless some of their Kinsfolks and Friends
have lost their Lives; but then the Case is alter'd, and they become
very pensive, and go into deep Mourning, which is continued
for a considerable Time; sometimes longer, or shorter, according to
the Dignity of the Person, and the Number of Relations he had near him.

The Burial of their Dead is perform'd with a great deal of Ceremony,
in which one Nation differs, in some few Circumstances, from another,
yet not so much but we may, by a general Relation, pretty nearly account
for them all.

{Indian Burial of their Dead.}
When an Indian is dead, the greater Person he was, the more expensive
is his Funeral. The first thing which is done, is, to place
the nearest Relations near the Corps, who mourn and weep very much,
having their Hair hanging down their Shoulders, in a very forlorn manner.
After the dead Person has lain a Day and a Night, in one of their
Hurdles of Canes, commonly in some Out-House made for that purpose,
those that officiate about the Funeral, go into the Town, and the first
young Men they meet withal, that have Blankets or Match Coats on,
whom they think fit for their Turn, they strip them from their Backs,
who suffer them so to do, without any Resistance. In these
they wrap the dead Bodies, and cover them with two or three Mats,
which the Indians make of Rushes or Cane; and last of all,
they have a long Web of woven Reeds, or hollow Canes, which is
the Coffin of the Indians, and is brought round several times,
and tied fast at both ends, which indeed, looks very decent and well.
Then the Corps is brought out of the House, into the Orchard of Peach-Trees,
where another Hurdle is made to receive it, about which comes
all the Relations and Nation that the dead Person belong'd to,
besides several from other Nations in Alliance with them;
all which sit down on the Ground, upon Mats spread there, for that purpose;
where the Doctor or Conjurer appears; and, after some time,
makes a Sort of `O-yes', at which all are very silent; then he begins
to give an Account, who the dead Person was, and how stout a Man
he approv'd himself; how many Enemies and Captives he had kill'd and taken;
how strong, tall, and nimble he was; that he was a great Hunter,
a Lover of his Country, and possess'd of a great many beautiful
Wives and Children, esteem'd the greatest of Blessings among these Savages,
in which they have a true Notion. {Indian Funeral Sermon.}
Thus this Orator runs on, highly extolling the dead Man,
for his Valour, Conduct, Strength, Riches, and Good-Humour;
and enumerating his Guns, Slaves and almost every thing
he was possess'd of, when living. After which, he addresses himself
to the People of that Town or Nation, and bids them supply
the dead Man's Place, by following his steps, who, he assures them,
is gone into the Country of Souls, (which they think lies a great way off,
in this World, which the Sun visits, in his ordinary Course)
and that he will have the Enjoyment of handsome young Women,
great Store of Deer to hunt, never meet with Hunger, Cold or Fatigue,
but every thing to answer his Expectation and Desire.
This is the Heaven they propose to themselves; but, on the contrary,
for those Indians that are lazy, thievish amongst themselves,
bad Hunters, and no Warriours, nor of much Use to the Nation,
to such they allot, in the next World, Hunger, Cold, Troubles, old ugly Women
for their Companions, with Snakes, and all sorts of nasty Victuals to feed on.
Thus is mark'd out their Heaven and Hell. {Indian Traditions.}
After all this Harangue, he diverts the People with some of their Traditions,
as when there was a violent hot Summer, or very hard Winter;
when any notable Distempers rag'd amongst them; when they were at War
with such and such Nations; how victorious they were; and what were
the Names of their War-Captains. To prove the times more exactly,
he produces the Records of the Country, which are a Parcel of Reeds,
of different Lengths, with several distinct Marks, known to none
but themselves; by which they seem to guess, very exactly,
at Accidents that happen'd many Years ago; nay two or three Ages or more.
The Reason I have to believe what they tell me, on this Account,
is, because I have been at the Meetings of several Indian Nations;
and they agreed, in relating the same Circumstances, as to Time,
very exactly; {A hard Winter.} as, for Example, they say,
there was so hard a Winter in Carolina, 105 years ago,
that the great Sound was frozen over, and the Wild Geese came into the Woods
to eat Acorns, and that they were so tame, (I suppose, through Want)
that they kill'd abundance in the Woods, by knocking them on the Head
with Sticks.

But, to return to the dead Man. When this long Tale is ended,
by him that spoke first; perhaps, a second begins another long Story;
so a third, and fourth, if there be so many Doctors present;
which all tell one and the same thing. At last, the Corps is brought away
from that Hurdle to the Grave, by four young Men, attended by the Relations,
the King, old Men, and all the Nation. {Interment in the Grave.}
When they come to the Sepulcre, which is about six Foot deep,
and eight Foot long, having at each end (that is, at the Head and Foot)
a Light-Wood, or Pitch-Pine Fork driven close down the sides of the Grave,
firmly into the Ground; (these two Forks are to contain a Ridge-Pole,
as you shall understand presently) before they lay the Corps into the Grave,
they cover the bottom two or three times over with Bark of Trees,
then they let down the Corps (with two Belts, that the Indians
carry their Burdens withal) very leisurely, upon the said Barks;
then they lay over a Pole of the same Wood, in the two Forks, and having
a great many Pieces of Pitch-Pine Logs, about two Foot and a half long,
they stick them in the sides of the Grave down each End,
and near the Top thereof, where the other Ends lie on the Ridge-Pole,
so that they are declining like the Roof of a House. These being
very thick-plac'd, they cover them (many times double) with Bark;
then they throw the Earth thereon, that came out of the Grave,
and beat it down very firm; by this Means, the dead Body lies in a Vault,
nothing touching him; so that when I saw this way of Burial,
I was mightily pleas'd with it, esteeming it very decent and pretty,
as having seen a great many Christians buried without
the tenth Part of that Ceremony and Decency. {Quiogozon Idols.}
Now, when the Flesh is rotted and moulder'd from the Bone,
they take up the Carcass, and clean the Bones, and joint them together;
afterwards, they dress them up in pure white dress'd Deer-Skins,
and lay them amongst their Grandees and Kings in the Quiogozon,
which is their Royal Tomb or Burial-Place of their Kings and War-Captains.
This is a very large magnificent Cabin, (according to their Building)
which is rais'd at the Publick Charge of the Nation, and maintain'd
in a great deal of Form and Neatness. {Idols at the Beds.}
About seven foot high, is a Floor or Loft made, on which lie
all their Princes, and Great Men, that have died for several hundred Years,
all attir'd in the Dress I before told you of. No Person is to have
his Bones lie here, and to be thus dress'd, unless he gives
a round Sum of their Money to the Rulers, for Admittance.
If they remove never so far, to live in a Foreign Country,
they never fail to take all these dead Bones along with them,
though the Tediousness of their short daily Marches keeps them never so long
on their Journey. They reverence and adore this Quiogozon,
with all the Veneration and Respect that is possible for such a People
to discharge, and had rather lose all, than have any Violence or Injury
offer'd thereto. These Savages differ some small matter in their Burials;
some burying right upwards, and otherwise, as you are acquainted withal
in my Journal from South to North Carolina; {Mourning for the Dead.}
Yet they all agree in their Mourning, which is, to appear every Night,
at the Sepulcre, and howl and weep in a very dismal manner, having their Faces
dawb'd over with Light-wood Soot, (which is the same as Lamp-black)
and Bears Oil. This renders them as black as it is possible
to make themselves, so that theirs very much resemble
the Faces of Executed Men boil'd in Tar. {Indians hired to mourn.}
If the dead Person was a Grandee, to carry on the Funeral Ceremonies,
they hire People to cry and lament over the dead Man. Of this sort
there are several, that practise it for a Livelihood, and are very expert
at Shedding abundance of Tears, and howling like Wolves,
and so discharging their Office with abundance of Hypocrisy and Art.
The Women are never accompanied with these Ceremonies after Death;
and to what World they allot that Sex, I never understood,
unless, to wait on their dead Husbands; but they have more Wit,
than some of the Eastern Nations, who sacrifice themselves to accompany
their Husbands into the next World. It is the dead Man's Relations, by Blood,
as his Uncles, Brothers, Sisters, Cousins, Sons, and Daughters,
that mourn in good earnest, the Wives thinking their Duty is discharg'd,
and that they are become free, when their Husband is dead;
so, as fast as they can, look out for another, to supply his Place.

{Indian Women handsome.}
As for the Indian Women, which now happen in my Way; when young,
and at Maturity, they are as fine-shap'd Creatures (take them generally)
as any in the Universe. They are of a tawny Complexion;
their Eyes very brisk and amorous; their Smiles afford the finest Composure
a Face can possess; their Hands are of the finest Make,
with small long Fingers, and as soft as their Cheeks; and their whole Bodies
of a smooth Nature. They are not so uncouth or unlikely, as we suppose them;
nor are they Strangers or not Proficients in the soft Passion.
They are most of them mercenary, except the married Women, who sometimes
bestow their Favours also to some or other, in their Husbands Absence.
For which they never ask any Reward. {Married Women unconstant.}
As for the Report, that they are never found unconstant, like the Europeans,
it is wholly false; for were the old World and the new one put into
a Pair of Scales (in point of Constancy) it would be a hard Matter to discern
which was the heavier. {Trading Girls.} As for the Trading Girls,
which are those design'd to get Money by their Natural Parts,
these are discernable, by the Cut of their Hair; their Tonsure differing
from all others, of that Nation, who are not of their Profession;
which Method is intended to prevent Mistakes; for the Savages of America
are desirous (if possible) to keep their Wives to themselves,
as well as those in other Parts of the World. When any Addresses are made
to one of these Girls, she immediately acquaints her Parents therewith,
and they tell the King of it, (provided he that courts her be a Stranger)
his Majesty commonly being the principal Bawd of the Nation he rules over,
and there seldom being any of these Winchester-Weddings agreed on,
without his Royal Consent. He likewise advises her what Bargain to make,
and if it happens to be an Indian Trader that wants a Bed-fellow,
and has got Rum to sell, be sure, the King must have a large Dram for a Fee,
to confirm the Match. These Indians, that are of the elder sort,
when any such Question is put to them, will debate the Matter
amongst themselves with all the Sobriety and Seriousness imaginable,
every one of the Girl's Relations arguing the Advantage or Detriment
that may ensue such a Night's Encounter; all which is done
with as much Steadiness and Reality, as if it was the greatest Concern
in the World, and not so much as one Person shall be seen to smile,
so long as the Debate holds, making no Difference betwixt
an Agreement of this Nature, and a Bargain of any other. If they comply
with the Men's Desire, then a particular Bed is provided for them,
either in a Cabin by themselves, or else all the young people turn out,
to another Lodging, that they may not spoil Sport; and if the old People
are in the same Cabin along with them all Night, they lie as unconcern'd,
as if they were so many Logs of Wood. If it be an Indian of their own
Town or Neighbourhood, that wants a Mistress, he comes to none but the Girl,
who receives what she thinks fit to ask him, and so lies all Night with him,
without the Consent of her Parents.

{Indian Traders what.}
The Indian Traders are those which travel and abide amongst the Indians
for a long space of time; sometimes for a Year, two, or three.
{Indian Wives.} These Men have commonly their Indian Wives,
whereby they soon learn the Indian Tongue, keep a Friendship
with the Savages; and, besides the Satisfaction of a She-Bed-Fellow,
they find these Indian Girls very serviceable to them,
on Account of dressing their Victuals, and instructing 'em
in the Affairs and Customs of the Country. Moreover, such a Man gets
a great Trade with the Savages; for when a Person that lives amongst them,
is reserv'd from the Conversation of their Women, 'tis impossible for him
ever to accomplish his Designs amongst that People.

But one great Misfortune which oftentimes attends those that converse
with these Savage Women, is, that they get Children by them,
which are seldom educated any otherwise than in a State of Infidelity;
for it is a certain Rule and Custom, amongst all the Savages of America,
that I was ever acquainted withal, to let the Children always fall
to the Woman's Lot; {Children go with the Women.} for it often happens,
that two Indians that have liv'd together, as Man and Wife,
in which Time they have had several Children; if they part,
and another Man possesses her, all the Children go along with the Mother,
and none with the Father. And therefore, on this Score,
it ever seems impossible for the Christians to get their Children
(which they have by these Indian Women) away from them;
whereby they might bring them up in the Knowledge of the Christian Principles.
Nevertheless, we often find, that English Men, and other Europeans
that have been accustom'd to the Conversation of these savage Women,
and their Way of Living, have been so allur'd with that careless sort of Life,
as to be constant to their Indian Wife, and her Relations,
so long as they liv'd, without ever desiring to return again
amongst the English, although they had very fair Opportunities of Advantages
amongst their Countrymen; of which sort I have known several.

As for the Indian Marriages, I have read and heard of a great deal
of Form and Ceremony used, which I never saw, nor yet could learn
in the Time I have been amongst them, any otherwise than I shall here
give you an Account of; which is as follows.

{Indian Marriage.}
When any young Indian has a Mind for such a Girl to his Wife,
he, or some one for him, goes to the young Woman's Parents, if living;
if not, to her nearest Relations; where they make Offers of the Match
betwixt the Couple. The Relations reply, they will consider of it,
which serves for a sufficient Answer, till there be a second Meeting
about the Marriage, which is generally brought into Debate
before all the Relations (that are old People) on both Sides;
and sometimes the King, with all his great Men, give their Opinions therein.
If it be agreed on, and the young Woman approve thereof, (for these Savages
never give their Children in Marriage, without their own Consent)
{Indians buy their Wives.} the Man pays so much for his Wife;
and the handsomer she is, the greater Price she bears. Now, it often happens,
that the Man has not so much of their Money ready, as he is to pay
for his Wife; but if they know him to be a good Hunter, and that he can raise
the Sum agreed for, in some few Moons, or any little time, they agree,
she shall go along with him, as betroth'd, but he is not to have
any Knowledge of her, till the utmost Payment is discharg'd;
all which is punctually observ'd. Thus, they lie together under one Covering
for several Months, and the Woman remains the same as she was
when she first came to him. I doubt, our Europeans would be apt
to break this Custom, {Indian Men not vigorous.} but the Indian Men
are not so vigorous and impatient in their Love as we are.
Yet the Women are quite contrary, and those Indian Girls
that have convers'd with the English and other Europeans,
never care for the Conversation of their own Countrymen afterwards.

They never marry so near as a first Cousin; and although there is nothing
more coveted amongst them, than to marry a Woman of their own Nation,
yet when the Nation consists of a very few People (as now adays
it often happens) so that they are all of them related to one another,
then they look out for Husbands and Wives amongst Strangers.
For if an Indian lies with his Sister, or any very near Relation,
his Body is burnt, and his Ashes thrown into the River, as unworthy
to remain on Earth; yet an Indian is allow'd to marry two Sisters,
or his Brothers Wife. Although these People are call'd Savages,
yet Sodomy is never heard of amongst them, and they are so far
from the Practice of that beastly and loathsome Sin, that they have
no Name for it in all their Language.

The Marriages of these Indians are no farther binding,
than the Man and Woman agree together. Either of them has Liberty
to leave the other, upon any frivolous Excuse they can make;
yet whosoever takes the Woman that was another Man's before,
and bought by him, as they all are, must certainly pay to her former Husband,
whatsoever he gave for her. Nay, if she be a Widow, and her Husband
died in Debt, whosoever takes her to Wife, pays all her Husband's Obligations,
though never so many; yet the Woman is not required to pay any thing
(unless she is willing) that was owing from her Husband, so long as she
keeps Single. But if a Man courts her for a Nights Lodging, and obtains it,
the Creditors will make him pay her Husband's Debts, and he may,
if he will, take her for his Money, or sell her to another for his Wife.
{Selling Wives.} I have seen several of these Bargains driven in a day;
for you may see Men selling their Wives as Men do Horses in a Fair,
a Man being allow'd not only to change as often as he pleases,
but likewise to have as many Wives as he is able to maintain.
{Indian many Wives.} I have often seen, that very old Indian Men
(that have been Grandees in their own Nation) have had three or four
very likely young Indian Wives, which I have much wondered at, because to me
they seem'd incapacitated to make good Use of one of them.

{Night Rambles.}
The young Men will go in the Night from one House to another, to visit
the young Women, in which sort of Rambles they will spend the whole Night.
In their Addresses they find no Delays, for if she is willing
to entertain the Man, she gives him Encouragement and grants him Admittance;
otherwise she withdraws her Face from him, and says, I cannot see you,
either you or I must leave this Cabin, and sleep somewhere else this Night.

They are never to boast of their Intrigues with the Women. If they do,
none of the Girls value them ever after, or admit of their Company
in their Beds. This proceeds not on the score of Reputation,
for there is no such thing (on that account) known amongst them;
and although we may reckon them the greatest Libertines and most extravagant
in their Embraces, yet they retain and possess a Modesty
that requires those Passions never to be divulged.

{Trading Girls marry at last.}
The Trading Girls, after they have led that Course of Life, for several Years,
in which time they scarce ever have a Child; (for they have an Art
to destroy the Conception, and she that brings a Child in this Station,
is accounted a Fool, and her Reputation is lessen'd thereby)
at last they grow weary of so many, and betake themselves to a married State,
or to the Company of one Man; neither does their having been common to so many
any wise lessen their Fortunes, but rather augment them.

{Women not punish'd for Adultery.}
The Woman is not punish'd for Adultery, but 'tis the Man that makes
the injur'd Person Satisfaction, which is the Law of Nations
practis'd amongst them all; and he that strives to evade such Satisfaction
as the Husband demands, lives daily in Danger of his Life;
yet when discharg'd, all Animosity is laid aside, and the Cuckold
is very well pleased with his Bargain, whilst the Rival is laugh'd at
by the whole Nation, for carrying on his Intrigue with no better Conduct,
than to be discover'd and pay so dear for his Pleasure.

The Indians say, that the Woman is a weak Creature, and easily drawn away
by the Man's Persuasion; for which Reason, they lay no Blame upon her,
but the Man (that ought to be Master of his Passion) for persuading her to it.

{Never Love-mad.}
They are of a very hale Constitution; their Breaths are as sweet as the Air
they breathe in, and the Woman seems to be of that tender Composition,
as if they were design'd rather for the Bed than Bondage. Yet their Love
is never of that Force and Continuance, that any of them ever runs Mad,
or makes away with themselves on that score. They never love
beyond Retrieving their first Indifferency, and when slighted,
are as ready to untie the Knot at one end, as you are at the other.

Yet I knew an European Man that had a Child or two by one of these
Indian Women, and afterwards married a Christian, after which
he came to pass away a Night with his Indian Mistress;
but she made Answer that she then had forgot she ever knew him,
and that she never lay with another Woman's Husband, so fell a crying,
and took up the Child she had by him, and went out of the Cabin
(away from him) in great Disorder.

{Indian Women what they do.}
The Indian Womens Work is to cook the Victuals for the whole Family,
and to make Mats, Baskets, Girdles of Possum-Hair, and such-like.
They never plant the Corn amongst us, as they do amongst the Iroquois,
{Iroquois great Warriours.} who are always at War and Hunting;
therefore, the Plantation Work is left for the Women and Slaves to perform,
and look after; whilst they are wandring all over the Continent
betwixt the two Bays of Mexico and St. Laurence.

{Mats how made.}
The Mats the Indian Women make, are of Rushes, and about five Foot high,
and two Fathom long, and sew'd double, that is, two together;
whereby they become very commodious to lay under our Beds,
or to sleep on in the Summer Season in the Day-time, and for our Slaves
in the Night.

There are other Mats made of Flags, which the Tuskeruro Indians make,
and sell to the Inhabitants.

{Baskets.}
The Baskets our Neighbouring Indians make, are all made of a very fine
sort of Bulrushes, and sometimes of Silk-grass, which they work
with Figures of Beasts, Birds, Fishes, &c.

A great way up in the Country, both Baskets and Mats are made
of the split Reeds, which are only the outward shining Part of the Cane.
Of these I have seen Mats, Baskets, and Dressing-Boxes,
very artificially done.

{Indian Wives.}
The Savage Women of America, have very easy Travail with their Children;
sometimes they bring Twins, and are brought to bed by themselves,
when took at a Disadvantage; not but that they have Midwives amongst them,
as well as Doctors, who make it their Profession (for Gain)
to assist and deliver Women, and some of these Midwives are very knowing
in several Medicines that Carolina affords, which certainly expedite,
and make easy Births. Besides, they are unacquainted with those severe Pains
which follow the Birth in our European Women. Their Remedies
are a great Cause of this Easiness in that State; for the Indian Women
will run up and down the Plantation, the same day, very briskly,
and without any sign of Pain or Sickness; yet they look very meager and thin.
Not but that we must allow a great deal owing to the Climate,
and the natural Constitution of these Women, whose Course of Nature
never visits them in such Quantities, as the European Women have.
And tho' they never want Plenty of Milk, yet I never saw an Indian Woman
with very large Breasts; neither does the youngest Wife ever fail of proving


 


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