.3®
Member. as Slafs refembles a diamond ; the value which we fet upon
friia/7i ' a rïiamond> therefore, is more capricious than the value
which they fet upon glafs. The love o f ornament feems to
be a univerfal principle in human nature, and the fplendid
tranfpareney o f glafs, and the regular figure of a bead, are
among the qualities that by the conftitution o f our nature
excite pleafing ideas ; and although in one of thefe qualities
the diamond excels glafs, its value is much more than in
(proportion to the difference : the pleafure which it gives
among us is, principally, by conferring diftindlion, and
.gratifying vanity, whichis independant o f natural tafte, that
=is gratified by certain hues and figures, to which for that
reafon we give the name of beauty: it muft be remembered
alfo, that an Indian is more diftinguifhed by a glafs button
•or a bead, than any individual among us by a diamond
though perhaps the fame facrifice is not made to his vanity,
as the poffellion o f his finery is rather a teftimony o f his
good fortune, than o f his influence or power in confequence
o f his having what, as the common medium o f all earthly
pofle fiions, is fuppofed to confer virtual fuperiority, and in-
trinfic advantage. The people, however, whom I had now
.adorned, were not wholly firangers to European commodities,
for upon a clofer attention, I perceived among them one
woman who had bracelets either o f brafs, or very pale gold,
aipon her arms, and fome beads o f blue glafs, ftrung upon
two long queues o f hair, which being parted at the top,
hung down over each fhoulder before her: fhe was o f a
•moft enormous fize, and her face was, i f poflible, more
frigh tfully painted than the reft. I had a great defire to
learn where fhe got her beads and bracelets, and enquired
by all the figns I could devife, but found it impoflible to
make myfelf underftood. One o f the men fliewed me the
bowl of a tobacco pipe, which was made o f a red earth, but
I loom
T foon found that they had no tobacco among them; and 1764.
this perfon made me underftand that he wanted fome: upon DgcemberJ
this I beckoned to my people, who remained upon the Friday 21’
beach, drawn up as I had left them, and three or four of
them ran forward, imagining that I wanted them. The
Indians, who, as I had obferved, kept their eyes almoft continually
upon them, no fooner faw fome o f them advance;
than they all rofe up with a great clamour, and were leaving;
the place, as I fuppofed to get their arms, which were probably
left at a little diftance: to prevent mifchief, therefore,,
and put an end to the alarm, which had thus accidentally
been fpread among them, I ran to meet the people who.
were, in confequence of my fignal, coming from the beach,
and as. foon as I was within hearing I hallooed to them, and-
told them that I would have only one come up with all the
tobacco that he could colled from the reft. As foon as the-
Indians faw this, they recovered from their furprize, and
every one returned to his ftation, except a. very old man,
who came up to me, and fung a long fong, which I much regretted
my not being able to underftand: before the fong,
was well finifhed, Mr. Cumming came up with the tobacco, ,
and I could not but fmile at the aftoniftiment which 1 faw
exprefied in his countenance, upon perceiving himfelf,»
though fix feet two inches- high,- become at once a pigmy
among giants y for thefe people may indeed more properly
be called giants than tall men: o f the few among us who
are full fix. feet high, fcarcely any are broad and mufcular
in proportion to their ftature, but look rather like men o f
the common bulk, run up accidentally to an unufuab
height ; an d am an who fliould meafure only fix feet two •
inches, and equally exceed a«ftout well-fet man of the common
ftature in breadth and mufcle, would ftrikeus rather as-
be in go f a. gigantic race, than as an individual accidentallyanomalous;;