The Hijlory of° 



Book II 



CHAP. XVII. 



Of the Employments and Divertifements of the 

 Caribbians. 



Plut. in his \ Lexander the Great accouuted Labour to be a thing truly 

 Life. x\ Royal 5 and there are to be feen at this day in the Se- 



Des Hayes raglio at Adrianople^ the Tools which Amurath made ufe of to 

 Travels to ma k e the Arrows he fent to fome of his principal Officers .* The 

 C ^Com PerHvians are much to be commended as to this particular 3 for 

 Royal Ki°gs of Tern had made Laws, and appointed particular 



c. 1 1 !& 1.6. J u< ^g es for tne regulation of Idle perfons and Vagabonds, info- 

 c. 35. much that it was ordered, That Children or five years of age 

 mould be employ'd in fome Work fuitable to their age 5 nay, 

 they fpared not the blind, the lame, and the dumb, but em- 

 ploy'd them in divers things, wherein they might do fomthing 

 Herod. /.$. with their hands : But there are fome people fo lazy, that they 

 D Laets tmn K Idlenefs a thing very commendable 3 and the Hiftorians 

 Hi(l of Ame- nave wr i tten °* tne Weft-Indies tell us of certain ftupid 

 rica. ar) d brutifti Indians of New-Spain and Brafl, who pafs away the 



whole day fnoring in their Cots, while their Wives go abroad 

 to get in certain Roots for their fuftenance. 



But our Caribbians are not like thefe laft 3 for they are found 

 taking pains and their pleafure in feveral forts of exercifes: 

 The chiefeir, and thofe which are moft ordinary among them 

 are Hunting and Fifhing, wherein they beftow the greateft part 

 of their time, but efpecially in Filhing .* They are feldom feen 

 to go out of their Houfes without their Bows and Arrows 5 and 

 they are wonderfully expert in the ufe of them, being accufto- 

 med to that exercife from their Infancy, as the Turks alfoare^ 

 whence it comes, that in time they come to be fo excellent at 

 the Bow, that within a hundred paces they will hardly ever fail 

 ftriking a half-Crown piece 3 nay, as they are making their Re- 

 treat they can do execution on their Enemies, as the Parthians 

 were fomtimes wont to do .* How much therefore are we the 

 Judg.20.16. more to wonder at thofe left-handed Benjamites, who ceuld 

 fling Jiones at an hairs-breadth^ and not mifs <? - 



When the Caribbians go abroad a hunting or a riming, they 

 ' do not take their Wives along with them, as fome Braftlians do, 

 who caufe theirs to walk before them, fo great is their jealoufie^ 

 but when they have taken any thing, they leave it upon the 

 ' place, and the Women were heretofore oblig'd to go and bring 

 it home, as we have already hinted .* It is reported that the Ca- 

 nadians do the fame. 



Among the Caribbiam of the Iflands there is no diftin&ion of 



quality 



