J^otices of the Floridasj Sfc. 133 



three thousand, who are sociably grouped in small villages, 

 principally in the secondary or rolling districts, uniting the 

 hunter, pastoral, and agricultural states of society. The 

 men hunt, erect dwellings, and attend to their cattle. 

 They have many dogs of European species, but rarely use 

 them in pursuit of game. On hunting excursions, they 

 often lie in ambush with their rifles, on the border of a 

 thicket, and arrest the deer with unerring aim, as they is- 

 sue forth at dusk to graze on verdant prairies. Fire 

 hunting with torches is sometimes resorted to at night — 

 the game remains stationary, and is easily killed : this 

 mode is prohibited among the whites as dangerous. For- 

 tunate hunters supply their less successful neighbours. 



The Seminoies formerly possessed large herds of fine 

 cattle, but lost many during the late civil war. They 

 have hogs and poultry. The male Indians regard agricul- 

 tural labour as degrading,— but every settlement has its 

 enclosed and cultivated field, often extensive. The 

 ground is prepared, planted, and tended, by females, with 

 hoes, raising good crop^ of corn, sweet potatoes, pump- 

 kins, beans, roots, and tobacco, on fertile hills, and rice in 

 swamps. They milk, make butter, procure wood and 

 water, and do all the drudgery. The wives and daughters 

 of chiefs are not exempted from labour; some of the 

 principal Indians, following the example of their civilized 

 neighbours, are proprietors of blacks, mostly born in the 

 Indian region, and occupy separate villages. They are 

 well treated, being rarely required to do much labour, ex- 

 cept in pressing seasons of tillage, have acquired the erect 

 independent bearing and manners of the aborigines, and 

 are faithful. There is a mixed race, in form and intelli- 

 gence superior to the Indian and negro. 



The male Indians, in warm weather, are almost divest- 

 ed of clothing, but females are modestly dressed, ordinari- 

 ly with short gown and petticoat, imitating the fashions of 

 the whites, from whom the materials are procured in ex- 

 change for skins, furs, mocasins, leather, venis6n, nut oil, 

 &c. Females have ornaments of silver in their ears, and 

 around their necks and arms ; married women wear plates 

 of silver on their breasts, sometimes suspended by small 

 silver chains — they behave with modesty and propriety : 

 long slits are sometimes observed in the ears of both sex- 



