1^2 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF THE 



because of the poisons which they are said to prepare, and to 

 make use of for revenging an insult. If any one has been 

 injured in the chastity of his wife, he hides the most mortal 

 hatred under an outside of friendship ; the injurer is invited to 

 a banquet, and a fatal poison is cunningly mingled with his 

 drink, which slowly but surely kills him. By means of their 

 poisons, they also protect themselves from the attacks of those 

 tribes upon which they have made incursions. Sharp pieces 

 of wood, poisoned and driven into the earth, are placed in all 

 the passages which lead to their houses, one only excepted, 

 which is kept secret among themselves. But these relations 

 resemble the oby stories of the negroes, and must be received 

 with hesitation. Their articles of commerce are, slaves, 

 monkeys, parrots, ebony, and other curious woods, arnotto, 

 winter's bark, wild nut-meg, wild cinnamon, balsam capivi, &c. 



The Arrowauks are the next and last of the tribes I shall 

 describe. It has been said that the Worrows inhabit the 

 marshy sea coast between Demerary and Surinam, the Arro- 

 wauks live at the back of their settlements, where the land is 

 higher and more dry; about twenty leagues from the coast. 

 They arc of the middle size, well made, and of a lighter 

 colour than the three former tribes. Their features are re- 

 gular, their teeth very white, their eyes black and piercing, 

 and the whole expression of the face is very agreeable. They 

 have hardly any beard, for those parts of the body which are 



