New Jerfiy, Raccoon. 3 9 



a canoe, they like wife employed fire. A 

 canoe was commonly between thirty and 

 forty feet long. The chief ufe of their 

 hatchets was, according to the unanimous 

 accounts of all the Swedes, to make good 

 fields for maize-plantations ; for if the 

 ground where they intended to make a 

 maize-field was covered with trees, they cut 

 off the bark all round the trees with their 

 hatchets, efpecially at the time when they 

 lofe their fap. By that means the tree be- 

 came dry, and could not take any more 

 nourifhment, and the leaves could no longer 

 obftruct the rays of the fun from paffing. 

 The fmaller trees were then pulled out by 

 main force, and the ground was a little 

 turned up with crooked or {harp branches. 



Instead of knives they were fatisfied 

 with little fhafp pieces of flint or quartz, 

 or elfe fome other hard kind of a ftone, or 

 with a (harp fhell, or with a piece of a 

 bone which they had marpened. 



At the end of their arrows they faf- 

 tened narrow angulated pieces of (tone; 

 they made ufe of them, having no iron to 

 make them {harp again, or a wood of fufi- 

 ficient hardnefs : thefe points were com- 

 monly flints or quartzes, but fometimes 

 likewife another kind of a {tone. Some 

 employed the bones of animals, or the 



C 4 claws 



