Oi" NORTH ^CAROLINA. 341 



Indians, where they are of great value ; but never 

 near the sea, by reason they are common, there- 

 fore not esteemed. Besides, the youth and Indi- 

 an boys go in the night, and one holding a light- 

 wood torch, the other has a bow., and arrows, and 

 the fire directing him to see the fish, he shoots 

 them with the arrows ; and thus they kill a great- 

 many of the smaller fry, and sometimes pretty 

 large ones. It is an established custom amongst 

 all these natives, that the young hunter never eats 

 of that buck, bear, fish, or any other game, which 

 happens to be the first they kill of that sort ; be- 

 cause they believe, if he should eat thereof, he 

 would never after be fortunate in hunting. The 

 like foolish ceremony they hold, when they have 

 made a ware to take fish withal ; if a big bellied 

 woman eat of the first dish that is caught in it, they 

 say, that ware will never take much fish ; and as 

 for killing of snakes, they avoid it, if they lie in 

 their way, because their opinion' is, that some of 

 the serpents kindred would kill some of the sav- 

 ages' relations, that should destroy him. They 

 have thousands of these foolish ceremonies and 

 beliefs, which they are strict observers of. More- 

 over, several customs are found in some families, 

 which others keep not ; as for example, two fami- 

 lies of the Machapunga Indians, use the jo- 

 custom of circumcision, and the rest do not, nei- 

 ther did I ever know any others amongst the In- 

 dians that practiced any such thing, and perhaps, 

 if you ask them, what is the reason they do .so. 



