The eyes of the Deer or other Cattle first appear to them glittering like Stars of light or Diamonds:  and by their long experience they will distinguish one Beast from another by their eyes.  All Creatures, as Deer, Hares, Elephants, Bears, &c. excepting onely wild Hogs, will stand still, wondering at this strange sight, till the people come as near as they do desire, and so let fly their Arrows upon them.  And by this means they seldom go, but they catch something.  The blades of their hunting-Arrowes are at least a foot or a foot and an half long, and the length of the staff of their Arrowes is a Rian, that is about two cubits.

Again, they will observe where a Deers haunt is to break over their Hedges into the Corn Grounds.  There they will set a sharp pole like a Spear full against the Haunt.  So that the Deer when she leaps over thrusts her self upon the point of it.

If a Tyger chance to come into their Grounds and kill a Cow, they will take notice of the place thro which he passed, and set a Cross-bow there ready charged.  The Tyger coming that way again touches something that is fastned to the tricker of the Cross-bow, and so it discharges upon him.

[How they take the Wild Boar.] The wild Hog is of all other the hardest to be caught; and ’tis dangerous to attempt the catching of him.  For the people make valour to consist in three things, one is to fight against the Enemy, another to hunt the Elephant, and the third to catch Hoggs.  Yet sometimes by their art they entrap them.  And that they do after this manner.  They dig an hole in the Earth of a convenient depth, and fix divers sharp stakes in the bottom of it.  Then they cover it over lightly with Earth and Leaves, and plant thereupon roots which the Hog loves, as Potatoes or such like, which will grow there.  And the pit remains, it may be sometimes months or half a year, till at last an Hog comes, and while he is rooting his weight betrayes him and in he falls.

Again, sometimes they will set a falling trap of an exceeding weight, and under it plant Roots and such like things, which the Hog delights in.  There are contrivances under the weeds and leaves, which when he goes to eat by touching or treading upon something fastned to the trap, it falls down upon him.  These are made so artificially, that people sometimes have been caught and destroyed by them.  Once such a trap in my remembrance fell upon three women and killed them.  Who having been stealing Cotton in a Plantation, and fearing to be catched went to creep out at a hole, where this Trap stood.

And thus I have related some of their ways of taking wild Cattel.  They are good also at catching Birds and Vermin; In fine, they are the cunningest people in the World for such kind of traps and gins.  And all of them they make onely by the help of their Knives with green sticks and withs that grow in the Woods.  And so much of their Beasts.

CHAP.  VII.