A VOYAGE TO 
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1777. but it is doubtful whether this be ornamental, or intended 
1 Fe ^ ar ^ as a mark of particular diftindtion; and the women, who 
are marked fo, have the pundture only on their lips, or a 
fmall fpot on their chins. Both fexes often befmear their 
faces and heads with a red paint, which feems to be 
a martial ochre mixed with greafe; and the women 
fometimes wear necklaces of ftiark’s teeth, or bunches 
of long beads, which feem to be made of the leg-bones 
of fmall birds, or a particular fhell. A few alfo have 
fmall triangular aprons adorned with the feathers of par¬ 
rots, or bits of pearl hi ells, furnifhed with a double or treble 
fet of cords to fallen them about the waift. I have fome¬ 
times feen caps or bonnets made of the feathers of birds, 
which may be reckoned as ornaments; for it is not their 
cuftom to wear any covering on their heads. 
They live in the fmall coves formerly defcribed, in com¬ 
panies of forty or fifty, or more ; and fometimes in fingle 
families, building their huts contiguous to each other; 
which, in general, are miferable lodging-places. The bell 
I ever faw was about thirty feet long, fifteen broad, and fix 
high, built exadtly in the manner of one of our country 
barns. The infide was both ftrong and regularly made of 
lupporters at the fides, alternately large and fmall, well 
fattened by means of withes, and painted red and black. 
The ridge pole was ftrong; and the large bull-ruflies, 
which compofecl the inner part of the thatching, were laid 
with great exactnefs parallel to each other. At one end 
was a fmall fquare hole, which ferved as a door to creep in 
at; and near it another much fmaller, feemingly for let¬ 
ting out the fmoke, as no other vent for it could be feen. 
This, however, ought to be confidered as one of the beft, 
and the refidence of fome principal perfon; for the greateft 
part 
