with us; so, as the night was coming on and
the ships were anchored in an insecure place, we agreed to
leave there and go in search of some port or bay where we
could place our ships in safety.

"We sailed two days along the coast, and on the morning of
the third day, as dawn appeared, we saw on shore a great
number of men, with their wives and children, all laden
with provisions. Before we reached the land many of them
swam to meet us, the distance of a bow-shot into the sea (as
they are most excellent swimmers), and they treated us with
as much confidence as if we had had intercourse with them
for a long time, which gratified us much. All that we know
of their life and manners is that they go entirely naked,
not having the slightest covering whatever; they are of
middling stature and very well proportioned, and their flesh
is a reddish color, like the skin of a lion; but I think if
they had been accustomed to wear clothing they would have
been as white as we are. They have no hair on the body,
except very long hair on the head; but the women especially
derive attractiveness from this. Their countenances are not
handsome, as they have large faces, which might be compared
with those of the Tartars. Both men and women are very
agile, easy in their carriage, and swift in running or
walking, so that the women think nothing of speeding a
league or two, as we have many a time beheld.

"Their weapons are bows and arrows beautifully wrought, but
unfurnished with iron or any other hard metal, in place of
which they make use of the teeth of animals, or fish, or
sometimes a slip of hard-wood, made harder at the point by
fire. They are sure marksmen, who hit whatever they wish,
and in some parts the women also use the bow with dexterity.
They have other arms, such as lances and staves, with heads
finely wrought. When they make war they take their wives
with them--not to fight, but to carry provisions on their
backs, a woman frequently carrying a burden in this manner
for thirty or forty leagues, which the strongest man among
them could not do, as we have witnessed many times.

"These people have no captains, neither do they march in
order, but each one is his own master. The cause of their
wars is not a love of conquest, or of enlargi