174 DESCRIPTION OF THE NATIVES OF NEW YORK. 



Indian commander of forty men and seventeen women, dwelling 

 in one house, artificially built of the bark of oak trees, round 

 about it. lay above three ship-loads of corn and Indian beans 

 to dry, besides the plants which grew in the fields. No 

 sooner had Hudson entered the house than he was received on 

 two mats spread on the ground, and two men immediately 

 were sent to shoot venison or fowls, and instantly returning 

 brought two pigeons and a fat hog, which they nimbly fleeced 

 with shells, and was also laid down to the fire. They also made 

 other preparations for Hudson's entertainment, but not willing 

 to venture himself amongst them that night, tasted not of it, 

 notwithstanding the Indians breaking their darts, threw them 

 into the fire, that thereby they might drive away all fears and 

 jealousies from him. 



The women are more neat than the men, and though the 

 winter pinches them with excessive cold, yet they go naked 

 till their thirteenth year. Both men and women wear a girdle 

 of whale-fins and sea-shells ; the men put a piece of cloth, 

 half an ell long and three quarters broad, between their 

 legs, so that a square piece hangs behind below, and 

 another before the belly. The women wear a coat, which 

 comes half way down their legs, so curiously wrought with 

 sea-shells that one coat sometimes cost many pounds. More- 

 over, their bodies are covered with deer-skins, the lappets or 

 ends of which hang full of points, a large skin buttoned on 

 the right shoulder, and tied about the middle serves for an 

 upper garment, and in the night for a blanket. Both men and 

 women go for the most parts bare headed ; the women tie 

 their hair behind in a tuft, over which they wear a square cap 

 wrought with sea-shells, with which they adorn their foreheads, 

 and also wear the same about their necks and hands, and 

 some about their middle. Before the arrival of the Hollanders, 

 they wore shoes and stockings of buffalo-skins, some likewise 

 made shoes of wheaten-straw. The men grease their bodies 

 and paint their faces with several colours, black, white, red, 

 yellow, or blue ; the women put here and there a black spot ; 

 both of them are very reserved. Their houses are most of 

 them built of one fashion, only differing in length. They 

 build after this manner : They set peeled boughs of nut- 

 trees on the ground, according to the size of the place which 

 they intend to build, then joining the tops of the boughs 

 together, they cover the walls and the top with bark of cypress, 

 ashen and chestnuts trees, which are laid one upon another, 

 the smallest side being turned inwards according to the size 



