Their. Religion and excellent Morals. 
and the length of the Ihuttle was equal to the breadth of the 
webb, fo that probably their work goes on. but flowly. That 
they dyed this cloth we full gueffed from its colour, and from, 
the indigo which we faw in their plantations; and our con- 
jecture was afterwards confirmed by Mr. Lange’s account. I 
have already obferved, that it is dyed in the yarn, and we 
once faw them dying what was faid to be girdles for»the wo- 
men, of a dirty red, but with what drug we did not think it 
worth while to enquire. 
The religion of thefe people, according to Mr. Lange’s in- 
formation, is an abfurd kind of paganifm, every man chufing 
his own god, and determining for himfelf how he Ihculd be 
worihipped ; fo that there are almoll as many go::s and modes 
of worihip as people. In their morals, however, they are faid 
to be irreproachable, even upon the principles of Chriffianity : 
no man is allowed more than one wife ; yet an illicit com- 
merce between the fexes is in a manner unknown among them: 
inllances of theft are very rare; and they are fo far from re- 
venging a fuppofed injury by murder, that if any difference 
arifes between them, they will not fo much as make it the fub- 
jeCl of debate, led they fhould be provoked to refentment and 
ill-will, but immediately and implicitly refer it to the deter- 
mination of their King. 
They appeared to be a healthy and long-lived people ; yet 
fome of them were marked with the fmall-pox, which Mr, 
Lange told us had feveral times made its appearance among 
them, and was treated with the fame precautions as the plague. 
As foon as a perfon was feized with the dillemper, he was re- 
moved to forne folitary place, very remote from any habita- 
tion, where the difeafe was left to take its courfe, and the pa- 
tient fuppiied with daily food by reaching it to him at the end 
of a long pole. 
Of their domedic ceconomy we could learn but little : in 
one indance however their delicacy and cleanlinefs are very 
remarkab'e. Many of us were alhore here three fuccefiive 
days, from a very early hour in the morning till it was dark ; 
yet we never faw the lead trace of an offering to Cloacina, 
nor could we fo much as guefs where they were made. In a 
country fo populous this is very difficult to be accounted fob, 
and perhaps there is no other country in the world where the 
fecret is fo effectually kept. 
The boats in ufe here are a kind of proa. 
Thisifland was fettled by the Portuguefe almod as foon as 
they fird found their way into this part of the ocean ; but they 
were in a fhort time fupplanted by the Dutch. The Dutch 
however did not take poffeffion of it, but only fent Hoops to 
trade with the natives, probably for provifions to fupport the 
inhabitants or their fpice iflands, who applying themfelvcs 
Q.3 ^ wholly 
