New Englands Prospect / A true, lively, and experimentall description of that part of America, commonly called New England: discovering the state of that Countrie, both as it stands to our new-come English Planters; and to the old Native Inhabitants

by active 1629-1635 William Wood

Of their Language.

Of their Language which is onely peculiar to themselves, not inclining to any of the refined tongues. Some have thought they might be of the dispersed Iewes, because some of their words be neare unto the Hebrew; but by the same rule they may conclude them to be some of the gleanings of all Nations, because they have words which sound after the Greeke, Latine, French, and other tongues: Their Language is hard to learne; few of the English being able to speake any of it, or capable of the right pronunciation, which is the chiefe grace of their tongue. They pronounce much after the Diphthongs, excluding L and R, which in our English Tongue they pronounce with as much difficulty, as most of the Dutch doe T and H, calling a Lobster a Nobstann. Every Countrey doth something differ in their Speech, even as our Northerne people doe from the Southerne, and Westerne from them; especially the Tarrenteens, whose Tongues runne so much upon R, that they wharle much in pronunciation. When any ships come neare the shore, they demand whether they be King Charles his Torries, with such a rumbling sound, as if one were beating an unbrac't Drumme. In serious discourse our Southerne Indians use seldome any short Colloquiums, but speake their minds at large, without any interjected interruptions from any: The rest giving diligent audience to his utterance; which done, some or other returnes him as long an answere, they love not to speake multa sed multum, seldome are their words, and their deeds strangers. According to the matter in discourse, so are their acting gestures in their expressions. One of the English Preachers in a speciall good intent of doing good to their soules, hath spent much time in attaining to their Language, wherein he is so good a proficient, that he can speake to their understanding, and they to his; much loving and respecting him for his love and counsell. It is hoped that he may be an instrument of good amongst them. They love any man that can utter his minde in their words, yet are they not a little proud that they can speake the English tongue, using it as much as their owne, when they meete with such as can understand it, puzling stranger Indians, which sometimes visite them from more remote places, with an unheard language.

Chap. XIX.

Of their deaths, burials, and mourning.

Although the Indians be of lusty and healthfull bodies, not experimentally knowing the Catalogue of those health-wasting diseases which are incident to other Countries, as Feavers, Pleurisies, Callentures, Agues, Obstructions, Consumptions, Subfumigations, Convulsions, Apoplexies, Dropsies, Gouts, Stones, Tooth-aches, Pox, Measels, or the like; but spinne out the thread of their dayes to a faire length, numbering three-score, foure-score, some a hundred yeares, before the worlds universall summoner cite them to the craving Grave: But the date of their life expired, and Deaths arestment seazing upon them, all hope of recovery being past, then to behold and heare their throbbing sobs and deepe-fetcht sighes, their griefe-wrung hands, and teare-bedewed cheekes, their dolefull cries, would draw teares from Adamantine eyes, that be but spectators of their mournefull Obsequies. The glut of their griefe being past, they commit the corpes of their diceased friends to the ground, over whose grave is for a long time spent many a briny teare, deepe groane, and Irish-like howlings, continuing annuall mournings with a blacke stiffe paint on their faces: These are the Mourners without hope, yet doe they hold the immortality of the never-dying soule, that it shall passe to the South-west Elysium, concerning which their Indian faith jumps much with the Turkish Alchoran, holding it to be a kinde of Paradise, wherein they shall everlastingly abide, solacing themselves in odoriferous Gardens, fruitfull Corne-fields, greene Medows, bathing their tawny hides in the coole streames of pleasant Rivers, and shelter themselves from heate and cold in the sumptuous Pallaces framed by the skill of Natures curious contrivement; concluding that neither care nor paine shall molest them, but that Natures bounty will administer all things with a voluntary contribution from the overflowing store-house of their Elyzian Hospitall, at the portall whereof they say, lies a great Dogge, whose churlish snarlings deny a Pax intrantibus, to unworthy intruders: Wherefore it is their custome, to bury with them their Bows and Arrows, and good store of their Wampompeage and Mowhackies; the one to affright that affronting Cerberus, the other to purchase more immense prerogatiues in their Paradise. For their enemies and loose livers, whom they account unworthy of this imaginary happines, they say, that they passe to the infernall dwellings of Abamocho, to be tortured according to the fictions of the ancient Heathen.

Chap. XIX.

Of their women, their dispositions, employments, usage by their husbands, their apparell, and modesty.

To satisfie the curious eye of women-readers, who otherwise might thinke their sex forgotten, or not worthy a record, let them peruse these few lines, wherein they may see their owne happinesse, if weighed in the womans ballance of these ruder Indians, who scorne the tuterings of their wives, or to admit them as their equals, though their qualities and industrious deservings may justly claime the preheminence, and command better usage and more conjugall esteeme, their persons and features being every way correspondent, their qualifications more excellent, being more loving, pittifull, and modest, milde, provident, and laborious than their lazie husbands. Their employments be many: First their building of houses, whose frames are formed like our garden-arbours, something more round, very strong and handsome, covered with close-wrought mats of their owne weaving, which deny entrance to any drop of raine, though it come both fierce and long, neither can the piercing North winde finde a crannie, through which he can conveigh his cooling breath, they be warmer than our English houses; at the top is a square hole for the smoakes evacuation, which in rainy weather is covered with a pluver; these bee such smoakie dwellings, that when there is good fires, they are not able to stand upright, but lie all along under the smoake, never using any stooles or chaires, it being as rare to see an Indian sit on a stoole at home, as it is strange to see an English man sit on his heeles abroad. Their houses are smaller in the Summer, when their families be dispersed, by reason of heate and occasions. In Winter they make some fiftie or threescore foote long, fortie or fiftie men being inmates under one roofe; and as is their husbands occasion these poore tectonists are often troubled like snailes, to carrie their houses on their backs sometime to fishing-places, other times to hunting-places, after that to a planting place, where it abides the longest: an other work is their planting of corne, wherein they exceede our English husband-men, keeping it so cleare with their Clamme shell-hooes, as if it were a garden rather than a corne-field, not suffering a choaking weede to advance his audacious head above their infant corne, or an undermining worme to spoile his spurnes. Their corne being ripe, they gather it, and drying it hard in the Sunne, conveigh it to their barnes, which be great holes digged in the ground in forme of a brasse pot, seeled with rinds of trees, wherein they put their corne, covering it from the inquisitive search of their gurmandizing husbands, who would eate up both their allowed portion, and reserved feede, if they knew where to finde it. But our hogges having found a way to unhindge their barne doores, and robbe their garners, they are glad to implore their husbands helpe to roule the bodies of trees over their holes, to prevent those pioners, whose theeverie they as much hate as their flesh. An other of their employments is their Summer processions to get Lobsters for their husbands, wherewith they baite their hookes when they goe a fishing for Basse or Codfish. This is an every dayes walke, be the weather cold or hot, the waters rough or calme, they must dive sometimes over head and eares for a Lobster, which often shakes them by their hands with a churlish nippe, and bids them adiew. The tide being spent, they trudge home two or three miles, with a hundred weight of Lobsters at their backs, and if none, a hundred scoules meete them at home, and a hungry belly for two dayes after. Their husbands having caught any fish, they bring it in their boates as farre as they can by water, and there leave it; as it was their care to catch it, so it must be their wives paines to fetch it home, or fast: which done, they must dresse it and cooke it, dish it, and present it, see it eaten over their shoulders; and their loggerships having filled their paunches, their sweete lullabies scramble for their scrappes. In the Summer these Indian women when Lobsters be in their plenty and prime, they drie them to keepe for Winter, erecting scaffolds in the hot sun-shine, making fires likewise underneath them, by whose smoake the flies are expelled, till the substance remain hard and drie. In this manner they drie Basse and other fishes without salt, cutting them very thinne to dry suddainely, before the flies spoile them, or the raine moist them, having a speciall care to hang them in their smoakie houses, in the night and dankish weather.

In Summer they gather flagges, of which they make Matts for houses, and Hempe and Rushes, with dying stuffe of which they make curious baskets with intermixed colours and portractures of antique Imagerie: these baskets be of all sizes from a quart to a quarter, in which they carry their luggage. In winter time they are their husbands Caterers, trudging to the Clamm bankes for their belly timber, and their Porters to lugge home their Venison which their lazinesse exposes to the Woolves till they impose it upon their wives shoulders. They likewise sew their husbands shooes, and weave coates of Turkie feathers, besides all their ordinary household drudgerie which daily lies upon them, so that a bigge bellie hinders no businesse, nor a childebirth takes much time, but the young Infant being greased and sooted, wrapt in a Beaver skin, bound to his good behaviour with his feete up to his bumme, upon a board two foote long and one foot broade, his face exposed to all nipping weather; this little Pappouse travells about with his bare footed mother to paddle in the Icie Clammbankes after three or foure dayes of age have sealed his passeboard and his mothers recoverie. For their carriage it is very civill, smiles being the greatest grace of their mirth; their musick is lullabies to quiet their children, who generally are as quiet as if they had neither spleene or lungs. To heare one of these Indians unseene, a good eare might easily mistake their untaught voyce for the warbling of a well tuned instrument. Such command have they of their voices. These womens modesty drives them to weare more cloathes than their men, having alwayes a coate of cloath or skinnes wrapt like a blanket about their loynes, reaching downe to their hammes which they never put off in company. If a husband have a minde to sell his wives Beaver petticote, as sometimes he doth, shee will not put it off untill shee have another to put on: commendable is their milde carriage and obedience to their husbands, notwithstanding all this their customarie churlishnesse and savage inhumanitie, not seeming to delight in frownes or offering to word it with their lords, not presuming to proclaime their female superiority to the usurping of the least title of their husbands charter, but rest themselves content under their helplesse condition, counting it the womans portion: since the English arrivall comparison hath made them miserable, for seeing the kind usage of the English to their wives, they doe as much condemne their husbands for unkindnesse, and commend the English for their love. As their husbands commending themselves for their wit in keeping their wives industrious, doe condemne the English for their folly in spoyling good working creatures. These women resort often to the English houses, where pares cum paribus congregatæ, in Sex I meane, they do somewhat ease their miserie by complaining and seldome part without a releefe: If her husband come to seeke for his Squaw and beginne to bluster, the English woman betakes her to her armes which are the warlike Ladle, and the scalding liquors, threatning blistering to the naked runnaway, who is soone expelled by such liquid comminations. In a word to conclude this womans historie, their love to the English hath deserved no small esteeme, ever presenting them some thing that is either rare or desired, as Strawberries, Hurtleberries, Rasberries, Gooseberries, Cherries, Plummes, Fish, and other such gifts as their poore treasury yeelds them. But now it may be, that this relation of the churlish and inhumane behaviour of these ruder Indians towards their patient wives, may confirme some in the beliefe of an aspersion, which I have often heard men cast upon the English there, as if they should learne of the Indians to use their wives in the like manner, and to bring them to the same subjection, as to sit on the lower hand, and to carrie water, and the like drudgerie: but if my owne experience may out-ballance an ill-grounded scandalous rumour, I doe assure you, upon my credit and reputation, that there is no such matter, but the women finde there as much love, respect, and ease, as here in old England. I will not deny, but that some poore people may carrie their owne water, and doe not the poorer sort in England doe the same, witnesse your London Tankerd-bearers, and your countrie-cottagers? But this may well be knowne to be nothing, but the rancorous venome of some that beare no good will to the plantation. For what neede they carrie water, seeing every one hath a Spring at his doore, or the Sea by his house? Thus much for the satisfaction of women, touching this entrenchment upon their prerogative, as also concerning the relation of these Indian Squawes.

Because many have desired to heare some of the Natives Language, I have here inserted a small Nomenclator, with the Names of their chiefe Kings, Rivers, Moneths, and dayes, whereby such as have in-sight into the Tongues, may know to what Language it is most inclining; and such as desire it as an unknowne Language onely, may reape delight, if they can get no profit.