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quors which the Europeans have fupplied them 

 with,. and for which they entertain a paffion, or 

 rather a fury which exceeds all expreflion, and 

 which they never drink but on purpofe to get 

 drunk, have almoft ruined them, and have not a 

 little contributed to the depopulation of all the 

 Indian nations, who are at prefent reduced to lefs 

 than the twentieth part of what they were one 

 hundred and fifty years ago. If this continues we 

 lhall certainly fee them entirely difappear. 



Their bodies are not conftrained in the cradle like 

 ours, and nothing is more proper to render them 

 agile, and to give them that fupplenefs in all their 

 members, which we fo much admire in them, 

 than this liberty, and the exercifes which they arc . 

 accuftomed from their earliefl: infancy ; the mo- 

 thers fuckie them a great while, and we fometimes 

 fee children of fix or feven years of age which ftill 

 fuck their mothers ; this hinders not their giving 

 them all forts of nourifhment from the firft years : 

 laftly, the free and open air to which they are con- 

 ftantly expofed ; the fatigues they are made to un- 

 dergo, but by gentle degrees and in a manner pro- 

 portioned to their age ; their food which is fimple 

 and natural ; all thefe contribute to form bodies 

 capable of doing and fuffering incredible things, 

 but which are puttied to an extravagance which I 

 have already faid, carries off not a few before the 

 age of maturity. Some have been known, after 

 having their ftomachs ftretched four fingers with 

 eating, ftill to eat on with as voracious an appetite 

 as if they had only juft begun ; when they find 

 themfelves overloaded they fall to fmoaking, and 

 afterwards fall afleep, and at their waking find 

 their digeftion compleated ; fometimes they only 

 fet themfelves a vomiting, after which they return 

 to the combat quite frefh. 



In 



