this and that, they say, Tkoschs ko, aguweechon Kajingahaga kouaane
Jountuckcha Othkon; that is, "Really all the Mohawks are very cunning
devils." They make their houses of the bark of trees, very close and
warm, and kindle their fire in the middle of them. They also make of
the peeling and bark of trees, canoes or small boats, which will carry
four, five and six persons. In like manner they hollow out trees, and
use them for boats, some of which are very large. I have several times
sat and sailed with ten, twelve and fourteen persons in one of these
hollowed logs. We have in our colony a wooden canoe obtained from the
Indians, which will easily carry two hundred schepels of wheat. Their
weapons in war were formerly a bow and arrow, with a stone axe and
mallet; but now they get from our people guns, swords, iron axes and
mallets. Their money consists of certain little bones, made of shells
or cockles, which are found on the sea-beach; a hole is drilled through
the middle of the little bones, and these they string upon thread, or
they make of them belts as broad as a hand, or broader, and hang them
on their necks, or around their bodies. They have also several holes in
their ears, and there they likewise hang some. They value these little
bones as highly as many Christians do gold, silver and pearls; but they
do not like our money, and esteem it no better than iron. I once
showed one of their chiefs a rix-dollar; he asked how much it was worth
among the Christians; and when I told him, he laughed exceedingly at
us, saying we were fools to value a piece of iron so highly; and if he
had such money, he would throw it into the river. They place their
dead upright in holes, and do not lay them down, and then they throw
some trees and wood on the grave, or enclose it with palisades. They
have their set times for going to catch fish, bears, panthers, beavers
and eels. In the spring, they catch vast quantities of shad and
lampreys, which are exceedingly large here; they lay them on the bark
of trees in the sun, and dry them thoroughly hard, and then put them in
notasten, or bags, which they plait from hemp which grows wild here,
and keep the fish till winter. When their corn is ripe, they take it
from the ears, open deep pits, and preserve it in these the whole
winter. They can also make nets and seines in their fashion; and when
they want to fish with seines, ten or twelve men will go together and
help each other, all