OLD DESCRIPTION OF NEW YORK AND ITS INHABITANTS. 173 



with a large store of the new found mineral, being cast away 

 also, it has always remained a mystery to the present time if it 

 was really gold, and the exact place from where it came. 



The inhabitants, though divided into several nations, agree 

 in many things, as also in painting their bodies. Their shields, 

 clubs, and other utensils are alike. They obtain the colours 

 wherewith they paint themselves from a small plant, not unlike 

 the myrtle, or of certain stones, ground into very hue powder. 



The forests are inhabited by a large variety of animals, 

 as hogs, black bears, harts and stags, deers, lions, musk-cats, 

 beavers, otters, etc., etc. Towards the south of New Amster- 

 dam are many buffaloes. 



Fowls, turkeys, geese, ducks, pigeons, hawks, kites, 

 cranes, storks, ravens, owls, swallows, goldfinches, quails, 

 pheasants, and the like, are very abundant. Moreover, New 

 Amsterdam breeds a strange bird, about a thumb long, full of 

 glittering feathers ; it lives by sucking of flowers, like the 

 bee. (This is the humming bird Trochilus colubris) . 



The rivers and lakes produce sturgeon, salmon, carp, 

 perch, barbils, all sorts of eels, and many other. The sea 

 affords crabs, with and without shells ; sea-cocks, sea-horses, 

 cod, whiting, ling, herring, mackerel, flounders, turbots, 

 tortels, and oysters, of which some are one foot long, and 

 have pearl, but these are a little brownish. 



Amongst the poisonous creatures which infest New 

 Amsterdam, the chief and most dangerous is the Rattlesnake. 



The inhabitants have their hair black as jet, coarse like 

 horse-hair ; they are broad shouldered, small waisted, have 

 brown eves, their teeth exceedingly white. With water they 

 chiefly quench their thirst ; their general food is flesh, fish, 

 and Indian wheat, which stamped, is boiled to a pap, by them 

 called sappaen. They eat at any time when they have 

 appetite. Beavers tails are amongst them accounted a great 

 dainty. When they go to hunt, they live several days on 

 parched corn, which they carry in little bags tied about 

 their middle, a little of that corn thrown into water swells 

 exceedinglv." 



Henrv Hudson relates : — " That sailing- in the river 

 mountains he saw the Indians make strange gestures in their 

 dancing and singing ; he observed that they carried darts 

 pointed with sharp stones soddered into the wood, that they 

 slept under the sky on mats or leaves, took much tobacco and 

 this very strong, and that though courteous and friendly they did 

 not inspire him with confidence. Farther up he met with an old 



