c h a p , or dreams, during which they frequently biirft oM into
^ ‘ j immtiderate fits : of. daughter.. They'greatly deh^ht; ia
bathing, which .they do . twice act le aft eydcy, ! day* • men,
wörhën, boys, and girls, promifdaasufly together. They
are îfll èxceîieât fwimraersi without exception Ambng
thefé parties, not the: fûiaHeffc indecency is; eommilfeted* in
either words or kólionS. 4;
The emftoyfnentsi of the: men are, as; I hâve dated, frat
■very few, and, indeed, may] be eómprizeddn two^wortis*
hunting and fiftiing. : at both of thefe exefçifesi they aafö
indifputably moré expert than any: other. nation whatever.
For the fixft tlieyaje pfovided with bdws and
arrows of their own manufadhiring, the arrows heihg
of different kinds for different p n r^ fm o t'P ^ s Jödyii
bows are all made' of the hardeft and toujghe® kind
of wood, abolit five^or fix feet in length,C and
derfully well polifhed; and this is . effected bygnjeafis
of acftqne; ^ In thçjpiddle. they arê; wound found with
fcottön, and flrung with chords madé.of filfegrtfg. The
arrows are,generally about foi» feet Iong, .ftii«3e óf a
very draight and d ro hgkind of reed, to the tend of
which is fixedva thin twig about onéi footi Jong, to
balance thèm% 1 this is r armed with a point made of: déél
n r of fifh-bone, generally barbed. Some of the Indian
arrows are pointed like a lance, others, are doubly alnd
trebly barbed, and fo contrived as to dick in the wound
■when the reedy part is pulled back. Thefe are ufed
modlÿ for game and filh; for though they be not mortal,
they
they encumber the fird, and being buoyant bring the chap .
latter to the furface, till both are taken. Thefe arrows, xv*
like ad others, are duck with feathers fix or feven inches
ldng. r-So,me arrows have blunted heads indead of points,
* about the fize of a large1 chefnut, like what our anceftors
called hols; with thefe they do not kill, but dun the
macaws, parrots, and fmall monkeys,'fo that!they can
take them with their hands, loon after which they recover,
and are ferit alive to Paramaribo. Some of the arrow's
for killing filh have the appearance of a trident,
three and fom'etimes five barbed dicks being fixed tó the
reed indead of one, which enables them to'lhoot fifh
even at random: A few óf the above arrówS’ are frequently
dipped in the ivoorara poifon*, which is in-4
dantancoufly fatal: but when intent*, on certain deJ
druótion, this : people make ufe $ of fanother kind óf
arrow that is not above ten of twelve inches lohg,
extremely thin, and made of the hard fplinters of the
palm - tréë hark, having, indead of feathers, one end
wound round with a tuft of raw cottony fo/astofill up a
hollow tqjbe made of feed near fix feet in length, through
which they blow them with theif breath. Thefe .little
implements, of; death will carry rto the didance:of fofty
paces, and "with fo much certainty, that the intended
* The bark of a tree fo called, mixed refer the reader to Dr. Sancroft, and the
" with othersj but for a very particular .d?- repeated experiments yriiicb t^at gentle-
feriptiori of this a^tépbiïbri, itiz. óf its man has made to afeertain Its inftant fa-'
compofition, and of its dire effeds, I tality.
Vol. I. 3 E a Viétims