“I did not perceive that they did worship anything.  These poor creatures have a sort of weapon to defend their weir, or fight with their enemies, if they have any that will interfere with their poor fishery.  They did at first endeavour with their weapons to frighten us, who, lying ashore, deterred them from one of their fishing-places.  Some of them had wooden swords, others had a sort of lances.  The sword is a piece of wood shaped somewhat like a cutlass.* The lance is a long straight pole, sharp at one end, and hardened afterwards by heat.  I saw no iron, nor any sort of metal; therefore it is probable they use stone hatchets, as some Indians in America do, described in Chapter 4.

(Footnote.  Probably a boomerang.  See volume 1.)

“How they get their fire I know not; but probably as Indians do, out of wood.  I have seen the Indians of Bon-Airy do it, and have myself tried the experiment.  They take a flat piece of wood that is pretty soft, and make a small dent in one side of it, then they take another hard, round stick, about the bigness of one’s little finger, and sharpened at one end like a pencil, they put that sharp end in the hole or dent of the flat soft piece, and then rubbing or twirling the hard piece between the palm of their hands, they drill the soft piece till it smokes, and at last takes fire.

“These people speak somewhat through the throat; but we could not understand one word that they said.  We anchored, as I said before, January the 5th, and seeing men walking on the shore, we presently sent a canoe to get some acquaintance with them; for we were in hopes to get some provision among them.  But the inhabitants, seeing our boat coming, run away and hid themselves.  We searched afterwards three days in hopes to find their houses, but found none; yet we saw many places where they had made fires.  At last, being out of hopes to find their habitations, we searched no farther; but left a great many toys ashore, in such places where we thought they would come.  In all our search we found no water, but old wells on the sandy bays.

“At last we went over to the islands, and there we found a great many of the natives; I do believe there were forty on one island, men, women, and children.  The men on our first coming ashore, threatened us with their lances and swords; but they were frightened by firing one gun, which we fired purposely to scare them.  The island was so small that they could not hide themselves; but they were much disordered at our landing, especially the women and children; for we went directly to their camp.  The lustiest of the women snatching up their infants ran away howling, and the little children run after squeaking and bawling; but the men stood still.  Some of the women, and such people as could not go from us, lay still by a fire, making a doleful noise, as if we had been coming to devour them:  but when they saw we did not intend to harm them, they were pretty quiet, and the rest that fled from us at our first coming, returned again.  This their place of dwelling was only a fire, with a few boughs before it, set up on the side the winds was of.