How they strike fire.
The order of dyet. {MN}
Their fire they kindle presently by chafing a dry pointed sticke in a hole of a little square peece of wood, that firing it selfe, will so fire mosse, leaves, or any such like dry thing, that will quickly burne. {MN} In March and Aprill they live much upon their fishing wires; and feed on fish, Turkies, and Squirrels. In May and June they plant their fields, and live most of Acornes, Walnuts, and fish. But to amend their dyet, some disperse themselves in small companies, and live upon fish, beasts, crabs, oysters, land Tortoises, strawberries, mulberries, and such like. In June, July, and August, they feed upon the rootes of Tocknough berries, fish, and greene wheat. It is strange to see how their bodies alter with their dyet, even as the deere & wilde beasts they seeme fat and leane, strong and weake. Powhatan their great King, and some others that are provident, rost their fish and flesh upon hurdles as before is expressed, and keepe it till scarce times.
How they make their bowes and arrowes.
Their knives. {MN}
For fishing, hunting, and warres they use much their bow and arrowes. They bring their bowes to the forme of ours by the scraping of a shell. Their arrowes are made some of straight young sprigs, which they head with bone, some 2 or 3 ynches long. These they use to shoot at Squirrels on trees. Another sort of arrowes they use made of Reeds. These are peeced with wood, headed with splinters of christall, or some sharpe stone, the spurres of a Turkey, or the bill of some bird. {MN} For his knife he hath the splinter of a Reed to cut his feathers in forme. With this knife also, he will joynt a Deere, or any beast, shape his shooes, buskins, mantels, &c. To make the noch of his arrow he hath the tooth of a Beaver, set in a sticke, wherewith he grateth it by degrees. His arrow head he quickly maketh with a little bone, which he ever weareth at his bracert, of any splint of a stone, or glasse in the forme of a heart, and these they glew to the end of their arrowes. With the sinewes of Deere, and the tops of Deeres hornes boyled to a jelly, they make a glew that will not dissolve in cold water.
Their Targets and Swords.
For their warres also they use Targets that are round and made of the barkes of trees, and a sword of wood and at their backes, but oftentimes they use for swords the horne of a Deere put through a peece of wood in forme of a Pickaxe. Some a long stone sharpned at both ends, used in the same manner. This they were wont to use also for hatchets, but now by trucking they have plentie of the same forme of yron. And those are their chiefe instruments and armes.
Their boats
How they spin. {MN-1}
Their fish hookes. {MN-2}
Their fishing is much in Boats. These they make of one tree by burning and scratching away the coales with stones and shels, till they have made it in forme of a [II.32.] Trough. Some of them are an elne deepe, and fortie or fiftie foote in length, and some will beare 40 men, but the most ordinary are smaller, and will beare 10, 20, or 30. according to their bignesse. In stead of Oares, they use Paddles and stickes, with which they will row faster then our Barges. {MN-1} Betwixt their hands and thighes, their women use to spin the barkes of trees, Deere sinewes, or a kind of grasse they call Pemmenaw, of these they make a thread very even and readily. This thread serveth for many uses. As about their housing, apparell, as also they make nets for fishing, for the quantitie as formally braded as ours. They make also with it lines for angles. {MN-2} Their hookes are either a bone grated as they noch their arrowes in the forme of a crooked pinne or fish-hooke, or of the splinter of a bone tyed to the clift of a little sticke, and with the end of the line, they tie on the bait. They use also long arrowes tyed in a line, wherewith they shoote at fish in the rivers. But they of Accawmack use staves like unto Javelins headed with bone. With these they dart fish swimming in the water. They have also many artificiall wires, in which they get abundance of fish.
How they hunt.
In their hunting and fishing they take extreame paines; yet it being their ordinary exercise from their infancy, they esteeme it a pleasure and are very proud to be expert therein. And by their continuall ranging, and travell, they know all the advantages and places most frequented with Deere, Beasts, Fish, Foule, Roots, and Berries. At their huntings they leave their habitations, and reduce themselves into companies, as the Tartars doe, and goe to the most desert places with their families, where they spend their time in hunting and fowling up towards the mountaines, by the heads of their rivers, where there is plentie of game. For betwixt the rivers the grounds are so narrowe, that little commeth here which they devoure not. It is a marvell they can so directly passe these deserts, some 3 or 4 dayes journey without habitation. Their hunting houses are like unto Arbours covered with Mats. These their women beare after them, with Corne, Acornes, Morters, and all bag and baggage they use. When they come to the place of exercise, every man doth his best to shew his dexteritie, for by their excelling in those qualities, they get their wives. Fortie yards will they shoot levell, or very neare the marke, and 120 is their best at Random. At their huntings in the deserts they are commonly two or three hundred together. Having found the Deere, they environ them with many fires, & betwixt the fires they place themselves. And some take their stands in the midsts. The Deere being thus feared by the fires, and their voyces, they chase them so long within that circle, that many times they kill 6, 8, 10, or 15 at a hunting. They use also to drive them into some narrow poynt of land, when they find that advantage; and so force them into the river, where with their boats they have Ambuscadoes to kill them. When they have shot a Deere by land, they follow him like blond-hounds by the bloud, and straine, and oftentimes so take them. Hares, Partridges, Turkies, or Egges, fat or leane, young or old, they devoure all they can catch in their power. In one of these huntings they found me in the discovery of the head of the river of Chickahamania, where they slew my men, and tooke me prisoner in a Bogmire, where I saw those exercises, and gathered these Observations.