NORTHERN OCEAN, 
| women in the world. Though they wear their 
hair at full length, and never tie it up, like the 
Southern Indians ; and though not one in fifty of 
| them is ever poffefled of a comb, yet by a won- 
derful dexterity of the fingers, and a good deal 
of patience, they make fhift to ftroke it out fo as 
| not to leave two hairs entangled ; but when their 
| heads are infefted with vermin, from which very 
| few of either fex are free, they mutually affift each 
other in keeping them under. 
A {corbutic diforder, refembling the worft ftage 
of the itch, confumptions, and fluxes, are their 
chief diforders. The firft of thefe, though very 
_troublefome, is never known to prove fatal, un- 
| Jefs it be accompanied with fome inward com- 
‘plaint ; but the two latter, with a few accidents, 
| carries off great numbers of both fexes and all 
| ages: indeed few of them live to any great age, 
probably owing to the great fatigue they under 
go from their youth up, in procuring a fubfi- 
| ftence for themfelves and their offspring. 
Though the fcorbutic diforder above mention 
| ed does appear to be infectious, it is rare to fee 
one have it without the whole tent’s crew being 
_more or lefs affected with it; but this is by no 
_ means a proof of its being contagious; I rather 
| attribute it to the effects of fome bad water, or 
‘the unwholefomenefs of fome fith they may 
catch in particular places, in the courfe of their 
wandering manner of life. Were it otherwife, 
_2fingle family would in a fhort time communi- 
| Z cate 
337 
