seemed unwilling to suffer them to advance; for we had frequently
observed, that they took particular care upon every occasion to
keep the women at a distance, and I believe wholly from an idea
of danger. They desired to have the presents for the women, and
they would carry and deliver them, but to this proposal I
positively refused to agree, and made them understand, that
unless they were allowed to come forward, they should not have
any. Finding I was determined, an old man, who seemed to have the
principal authority, directed the women to advance, which they
did immediately, with much good humour; and, during the whole
time that we were decorating them with beads, rags of white
linen, and some other trifles, they laughed immoderately,
although trembling at the same time, through an idea of danger.
Most of those we saw at this time were young women, who I judged
were from eighteen to twenty-five years of age; they were all
perfectly naked, as when first born.

The women in general are well made, not quite so thin as the
men, but rather smaller limbed. As soon as the women were ordered
to approach us, about twenty men, whom we had not before seen,
sallied from the wood, compleatly armed with lance and shield;
they were painted with red and white streaks all over the face
and body, as if they intended to strike terror by their
appearance: some of them were painted with a little degree of
taste, and although the painting on others appeared to be done
without any attention to form, yet there were those who, at a
small distance, appeared as if they were accoutred with
cross-belts: some had circles of white round their eyes, and
several a horizontal streak across the forehead: others again had
narrow white streaks round the body, with a broad line down the