400 



NARRATIVE OF AN 



CHAP, are repeated for the lail time, and the whole neighhour- 



hood look out for another fettlement. Some tribes of 

 Indians, having put their deceafed friends in the above 

 pofture, place them naked for a few days under water, 

 where the bones being picked clean by the piree and other 

 fifli, the fkeleton is dried in the fun, and hung up to 

 the ceilino; of their houfes or wip-wams : and this is done 

 as the ftrongeft inftance of their great regard for their 

 departed friend. 



When thefe Indians travel by land, their canoe, which 

 is made of a large tree hollowed by means of fire, is al- 

 ways carried along v/ith them to tranfport their Inggage 

 acrofs fwamps, creeks, and rivers ; it is, like themfelves, 

 all over befmeared with arnotta. If they travel in the 

 rivers, they generally paddle againft the tide, to have a 

 better opportunity of fliooting fuch game as they fee in 

 the trees or on the banks ; whereas, if they v/ent with 

 the current, the rapidity of the ftream would often make 

 them run pafl it. When travelling on the coafb, it fre- 

 quently happens that thefe canoes fhip a fea which fills 

 them, but no fuch thing as a fliipwreck is heard of : b^oth 

 fexes immediately leaping over-board ; then with one 

 hand they hang by the canoe, with the otlier, and by 

 means of calibaflies, they throw out the water. 



Notwithftanding the Guiana Indians are upon the 

 whole a peaceable people, they fometimes go to war 

 among themfelves, purely for the fake of capturing pri- 

 foners, to which they are too much encouraged by the 

 § ■ ' ■ Chriftians, 



