The Indians who were in my service, occasionally requested leave to dance in front of my dwelling; I usually complied, and was often much amused. A large fire was made, that we might the better see what was going on; and that the evening might be rendered more entertaining, I frequently invited some of my neighbours. The dance commenced by two men stepping forwards, and walking round and round, taking a circuit of a few yards; one of them singing, or rather reciting in a low voice some ditty of his own language, and the other playing upon a shrill pipe; and as they went on, at intervals they gave a hop or a skip; soon, a woman joined them, and walked after them, and then another man came forwards, and so forth, until a large ring was formed and the pace was quickened. It was always expected that some liquor should be prepared for them, and each of these persons, as they felt inclined to take any of it, stepped out of the ring, and returned again as soon as they had drank. They continued dancing as long as any rum was produced, the women as well as the men relishing this, their means of inspiration; for as the quantities were increased, some new song was introduced, the tones became louder, and their articulation more rapid. The free people of colour too would sometimes dance; but they only asked permission of me, and held their merry-making at the door of one of their own huts. Their dances were like those of the African negroes. A ring was formed; the guitar player sat down in a corner, and began a simple tune, which was accompanied by some favourite song, of which the burthen was often repeated, and frequently some of the verses were extempore, and contained indecent allusions. One man stepped out into the centre of the ring, and danced for some minutes, making use of lascivious attitudes, until he singled out a woman, who then came forwards, and took her turn in movements not less indecent, and thus the amusement continued sometimes until day-break. The slaves would also request to be permitted to dance; their musical instruments are extremely rude: one of them is a sort of drum, which is formed of a sheep skin, stretched over a piece of the hollowed trunk of a tree; and another is a large bow with one string, having half of a coco-nut shell or of a small gourd strung upon it. This is placed against the abdomen, and the string is struck with the finger, or with a small bit of wood. When two holidays followed each other uninterruptedly, the slaves would continue their noise until day-break.