learn but two of their words: hallécá, which signifies beads, at least so they always said when they wanted them, instead of the ribbons or other trifles which I offered them; and ooudá, which signifies water, for so they said when we took them ashore from the ship and by signs asked where water was; they at the same time made the sign of drinking and pointed to our casks, as well as to the place where we put them ashore, where we found plenty of water.
Of civil government I saw no signs; no one seemed to be more respected than another; nor did I ever see the least appearance of quarrelling between any two of them. Religion also they seemed to be without, unless those people who made the strange noises I have mentioned before were priests or exorcists; but this is merely conjectural.
Their food, so far as we saw, was either seals or shell-fish. How they took the former we never knew, but the latter were collected by the women, whose business it seemed to be to attend at low water with a basket in one hand, a stick with a point and a barb in the other, and a satchel on their backs. They loosened the limpets with the stick, and put them into the basket, which, when full, was emptied into the satchel.
Their arms consisted of bows and arrows, the former neatly enough made, the latter more neatly than any I have seen, polished to the highest degree, and headed either with glass or flint; this was the only neat thing they had, and the only thing they seemed to take any pains about.
That these people have before had intercourse with Europeans was very plain from many instances, first, from the European commodities, of which we saw sail-cloth, brown woollen cloth, beads, nails, glass, etc., especially the last (which they used for pointing their arrows in considerable quantity), and also from the confidence they immediately put in us at our first meeting, though well acquainted with our superiority, and from the knowledge they had of the use of our guns, which they very soon showed by making signs to me to shoot a seal. They
