67fJ 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. 



(luras. Tlie women are in tlie 

 habit of decorating their persons 

 with a profusion of beads, to 

 which species of finery they are 

 passionately attached, and very 

 commonly paint their faces and 

 necks with a kind of red ochre, 

 which is found in their country. 

 Their children go entirely naked ; 

 and, when young, are always 

 borne on the back of the mother. 

 Amongst these people, all the 

 offices of the domestic kind are 

 exclusively performed by the fe- 

 male : the male would be de- 

 graded by such services. 



Their dwellings are formed in a 

 style of the rudest simplicity, 

 being little more than a number of 

 rough poles placed perpendicu- 

 larly in the ground, and roofed 

 with the leaves of the palmetto 

 tree. They are usually large, and 

 left entirely open at the sides. 

 The floor is of clay, and in the 

 centre of it is the fire-place. These 

 habitations seldom contain more 

 than one apartment, and this com- 

 monly nftbrds accommodation to 

 several families. The bed of each, 

 a mat, is placed on what is called 

 a barbecu, a frame made of sticks, 

 and raised a few feet from the 

 ground. This, with a few earthen 

 pots for cookery, are the chief ar- 

 ticles of furniture. 



The government of the Mos- 

 quito Indians is hereditary ; and a 

 very exact and perfect idea of the 

 British law of succession is enter- 

 tained by them. It is a subject 

 which engages much of their at- 

 tention, from its having long been 

 one of close imitation amongst 

 themselves. Indeed, it would per- 

 haps be found, that many points of 

 our doctrine of primogeniture are 

 much more accurately understood 



by these people than by some who 

 aremore immediately interested in 

 such discussions. It certainly is not 

 unfrequent to find Indians in this 

 nation, at least those of the supe- 

 rior class, capable of discoursing 

 on such topics with a precision 

 that might reflect no discredit on 

 a civilian. 



The late king, George, was 

 murdered, and his death attributed 

 very openly to the designs of his 

 brother, Prince Stephen. The 

 former was unalterably attached 

 to the English ; the latter, it is 

 confidently pronounced, has been 

 seduced by bribery to very oppo- 

 site interests, and with which he 

 has sedulously attempted to infect 

 his countrymen. The schemes of 

 Prince Stephen, however, have 

 met with little success ; which has 

 principally arisen from the unre- 

 mitted and active vigilance of ge- 

 neral Robinson, one of the next 

 persons in point of consequence to 

 the royal family, and who con- 

 trives to preserve a kind of re- 

 gency until the son and heir of 

 the late king shall become of age 

 to take upon himself the business 

 of government. The present king 

 is but a youth, and some years 

 ago was sent to Jamaica to be edu- 

 cated underthedirectionand guid- 

 ance of the governor of that island. 

 The laws of these people are 

 simple and concise. The legisla- 

 tive and judicial power, as it usu- 

 ally happens in nations where no 

 fixed principlesof either havebeen 

 acquired, resides exclusively in 

 the will of him who governs. The 

 king, or chief, is completely de- 

 spotic. Whenever he dispatc'ies a 

 messenger, his commands are al- 

 ways accompanied by his cane : 

 this token establishes the credibi- 



