I Observed The People To Be Straight,
Well-Limbed, And Able-Bodied Men, Of A Very Dark Tawny Colour.
Most of
the men, and all the women, were entirely naked, except merely enough to
hide their parts of shame.
Some few of the men wore long garments, after
the fashion of the Arabs, whose language they spoke, and were likewise
of the Mahometan religion, and so rigid, that they would not suffer us
to come near their places of worship. They have good convenient
dwellings, and fair sepulchres for their dead.
They scorned to live under strict obedience to a king, whose residence
was some miles up the country, as they required to have his leave, which
was sent for, before they would sell us any provisions. When informed of
our arrival, their king sent a message of welcome to our commander,
together with a present of beeves, goats, and choice fruits; in return
for which, he was well recompensed and contented, by a present of paper,
and other English toys. We saw some Spanish money among them, of which
they made so small account, that some of our men got rials of eight, in
exchange for a little paper, or a few beads. What use they made of the
paper, we could not guess. The cocoa-nut tree, of which this island has
abundance, may have the pre-eminence of all trees, in my opinion, by its
universal usefulness. Without the help of any other, one may build and
furnish out a ship for sea, with every thing requisite.
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