when he sitteth at meat, or in presenting
himself to any straungers, one sittetn on his right hand, and another on
his leaft." And here we have the picture of the great Powhatan, sitting
pipe in hand, "the very moral," feather-head-dress and all, of the
protecting genius of the tobacconist's shop, with a rather pretty-looking
wife on each side and twenty more, laughingly huddled round a huge fire,
at his feet. His family was rather patriarchal; consisting at this time
of twenty sons and ten daughters, besides "a young one, a great darling,"
and Pocahontas, "now married to a private captain." Some of his
"weroances," or under governors, took somewhat of kingly state on them,
and so did their favorite wives. One, a very handsome "savadge woman,"
took on her "a shewe of greatnes" in this manner.--

"I was once early at her howse (yt being sommer tyme), when she was layed
without dores, under the shadowe of a broad-leaved tree, upon a pallet of
osiers, spred over with four or five fyne gray matts, herself covered
with a fare white drest deare skynne or two; and when she rose, she had a
mayd who fetcht her a frontall of white currall, and pendants of great
but imperfect couloured and worse drilled pearles, which she put into her
eares, and a chayne, with long lyncks of copper, which they call
Tapoantaminais, and which came twice or thrice about her neck, and they
accompt a jolly ornament; and sure thus attired, with some variety of
feathers and flowers stuck in their haires, they seeme as _debonaire_
quaynt, and well pleased as (I wis) a daughter of the howse of Austria
behune [decked] with all her jewells; likewise her mayd fetcht her a
mantell, which, they call puttawus, which is like a side cloak, made of
blew feathers, so arteficyally and thick sewed togither, that it seemed
like a deepe purple satten, and is very smooth and sleeke; and after she
brought her water for her hands, and then a braunch or twoo of fresh
greene asshen leaves, as for a towell to dry them. I offend in this
digression the willinger, since these were ceremonyes which I did little
looke for, carrying so much presentetnent of civility."

The description of the Indian dress does not differ from the modern
accounts; the style of the "ear-rings," however, seems to have interested
Strachey greatly,--especially the "wild beast's claws" stuck in, and,
above all, "a small greene and yellow-colored live snake, neere half a
yard in length, crawling and lappin