The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques, and Discoveries of The English Nation — Volume 12: America, Part IHakluyt, Richard
History
The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques, and Discoveries of The English Nation — Volume 12: America, Part I
Hakluyt, Richard
Discoveries in geography -- English; Voyages and travels
Islands, and two of them came so neere the shoare where we were, that they
talked with vs, the other being in their boats a prety way off. Their
pronunciation was very hollow thorow the throat, and their speech such as
we could not vnderstand: onely we allured them by friendly imbracings and
signes of courtesie. At length one of them pointing vp to the Sunne with
his hand, would presently strike his breast so hard that we might heare the
blow. This hee did many times before hee would any way trust vs. Then Iohn
Ellis the Master of the Mooneshine was appointed to vse his best policie to
gaine their friendship; who strooke his breast, and pointed to the Sunne
after their order: which when he had diuers time done, they beganne to
trust him, and one of them came on shoare, to whom we threw our cappes,
stockings, and gloues, and such other things as then we had about vs,
playing with our musicke, and making signes of ioy, and dauncing. So the
night comming, we bade them farewell, and went aboord our barks.
[Sidenote: Thirty seuen Canoas. Their musicke.] The next morning being the
30. of Iuly there came 37 Canoas rowing by our ships, calling to vs to come
on shoare: we not making any great haste vnto them, one of them went vp to
the toppe of the rocke, and leapt and daunced as they had done the day
before, shewing vs a seales skinne, and another thing made like a timbrell,
which he did beat vpon with a sticke, making a noise like a small drumme.
Whereupon we manned our boats and came to them, they all staying in their
Canoas: we come to the water side where they were: and after we had sworne
by the Sunne after their fashion, they did trust vs. [Sidenote: Great
familiarity with the Sauages.] So I shooke hands with one of them, and he
kissed my hand, and we were very familiar with them. We were in so great
credit with them vpon this single acquaintance, that we could haue any
thing they had. We bought fiue Canoas of them: we bought their clothes from
their backs, which were all made of seales skinnes and birds skinnes; their
buskins, their hose, their gloues, all being commonly sowed and well
dressed: so that we were fully perswaded that they haue diuers artificers
among them. We had a paire of buskins of them full of fine wool like beuer.
Their apparell for heat was made of birds skinnes with their feathers on
them. We saw among them leather dressed like Glouers leather, and thicke
thongs like white leather of a good length. We had of their darts and
oares, and found in them that they would by no meanes displease vs, but
would giue vs whatsoeuer we asked of them, and would be satisfied with
whatsoeuer we gaue them. They tooke great care of one another: for when we
had bought their boats, then two other would come and cary him away
betweene them that had solde vs his. They are very tractable people, void
of craft or double dealing, and easie to be brought to any civility or good
order: but we iudge them to be idolaters and to worship the Sunne.
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