Some of these vessels had topmasts, and the Caribs could rig out fleets of thirty sail at a time. After the French had been some years settled at Martinico, they were surprised one foggy morning by the appearance of a fleet on their coast. The whole island was instantly in alarm and commotion; every man seized his arms, thinking a large squadron from Europe was come to attack the island. But the fog cleared away, and there, close-hauled in shore, were twenty sail of becassas and piroques, filled with Caribs, who had come for a friendly trading visit.
The Caribs were usually rather above the middle stature, well proportioned, and their countenances were rather agreeable. Their foreheads had an extraordinary appearance, as they were flattened by having a board bound tight on the forehead when they were infants, and kept there till the head had taken the fashionable form. The forehead then continued flat, so that they could see perpendicularly when standing erect, and over their heads when lying down. These were the objects aimed at, and so they, at least, had a reason for their ridiculous custom; which is more than can be said of all the customs of modern refined society.
They had small black eyes, beautiful teeth, white and even, and long, glossy, black hair. The hair was always kept well anointed with oil of palmachristi. It was difficult to judge of the color of their skin, because they were always painted with rouco, which gave them the appearance of boiled lobsters. The coat of paint preserved their skins from the hot rays of the sun, and from the stings of the musquito and gnat. It was thus far a useful invention, but they also considered it highly ornamental. When they wished to appear exceedingly grand, they added black mustaches, and other black strokes on their red-painted faces, with the juice of the geripa apple.
The men wore ornaments, called caracolis, in their ears, noses, and the under lip. The metal of which these ornaments were formed came from the South American continent, but no one but an Indian could ever find it. It is exceedingly brilliant, and does not tarnish. A full-dressed Carib wore a caracolis in each ear. The ornament was in the form of a crescent, suspended by chains about two and a half inches long, which were fastened in the ear by a hook. Another caracoli of the same size was attached to the gristle which separates the nostrils, and hung over the mouth. The under part of the lower lip was pierced, and thence hung another caracoli, which reached to the neck; and in the last place, they had one six or seven inches long, enchased in a small board of black wood, and suspended from the neck by a small cord.
When they did not wear the caracolis, they inserted little pieces of wood in their ears, &c., that the holes might not grow up; sometimes they stuck the feathers of parrots in these holes, and thus looked very queerly. They had a habit of sticking the hair of their children full of feathers of different colors, which was done very prettily, and looked quite appropriate with their round, red faces, and bright, laughing eyes.
The women were smaller than the men, but equally well-formed. They had black hair and eyes, round faces, their mouths were small, and teeth beautiful. They had a gay and lively air, and their countenances were smiling and very agreeable; but they were in their behaviour perfectly modest.
Their hair was tied at the back of their heads, with a cotton fillet. They wore belts and a little apron called a camisa. It was made of cotton cloth, embroidered with beads, and had a bead fringe. They wore scarfs of cotton cloth, about half a yard wide, called a pagn. It was wrapped twice round the body under the armpits, and then was tied, and the ends hung down to the knee. They wore necklaces, composed of several strings of beads, and bracelets of the same. They had buskins also, which were ornaments for the legs, very tasteful, and in high fashion. The females performed most of the cooking, and made the hammocks; and they had likewise to carry all the burdens which were borne in baskets. A man would have been dishonored forever if he had spun or woven cotton, or painted a hammock, or carried a market-basket. But all the hard labor was performed by the men, and they were very kind to their wives and children.
They had some singular customs respecting deceased persons. When a Carib died, he was immediately painted all over with the red paint, and had his mustaches, and the black streaks on his face, made very deep and shining. He was next put into a hole surrounded with mats, and kept till all his relations could see and examine the body. No matter how distant they lived, if on another island, they must be summoned and appear, before the dead body could be buried. But the thick coat of paint preserved it from decay for a long time.
In their wars, I have told you, the Caribs were murderous and cruel. They often poisoned their arrows, and probably often eat their captives. They fought with bows and arrows, and clubs. But when their angry passions became cool, they treated their prisoners with humanity, and never tortured them like the northern savages.
In some instances these islanders were faithless and treacherous. In 1708 the English entered into an agreement with the Caribs in St. Vincents, to attack the French colonies in Martinico. The French governor heard of the treaty, and sent Major Coullet, who was a great favorite with the savages, to persuade them to break the treaty. Coullet took with him a number of officers and servants, and a good store of provisions and liquors. He reached St. Vincents, gave a grand entertainment to the principal Caribs, and after circulating the brandy freely, he got himself painted red, and made them a flaming speech. He urged them to break their connection with the English. How could they refuse a man who gave them brandy, and who was red as themselves? They abandoned their English friends, and burnt all the timber the English had cut on the island, and butchered the first Englishman who arrived. But their crimes were no worse than those of their christian advisers, who, on either side, were inciting these savages to war.