Page:Diuers voyages touching the discouerie of America - Hakluyt - 1582.djvu/62

trees, and make their boates of one whole piece of wood, making it hollowe with great and wonderfull art, wherein 10. or 12. men may bee cõmodiously, their oares are shorte and broad at the ende, and they vse them in the sea without anye daunger, any by maine force of armes, with as great speedinesse as they liste them selues. We sawe their houses made in circuler or rounde fourme 10. or 12. foote in compasse, made with halfe circles of timber, seperate one from another without any order of building, couered with mattes of strawe wrought cunningly together, which saue them from the winde and raine, and if they had the order of building and perfect skil of workmãship as we haue: there were no doubt but yͭ they would also make eftsoones great and stately buildings. For all the sea coastes are full of cleare and glistering stones, and alablaster, and therefore it it full of good hauens and harbarours for ships. They mooue the foresaide houses from one place to another according to the commoditie of the place and season wherein they will make their aboade, and only taking of the couer, they haue other houses builded incontinent. The father and the whole familie dwell together in one house in great number: in some of them we sawe 25. or 30. persons. They feede as the other doe aforesaide of pulse whiche doe growe in that countrey with better order of husbandry thẽ in the others. They obserue in their sowing the course of the Moone and the rising of certaine starres, and diuers other customes spoken of by antiquitie. Moreouer, they liue by hunting and fishing, they liue long, and are seldome sicke, and if they chaunce to fall sicke at any time, they heale them selues with fire without any phisition, and they say that they die for very age. They are very pitiful and charitable towardes their neighbours, they make great lamentations in their aduersitie & in their miserie, the kinred recken vp all their felicitie, at their departure out of life, they vse mourning mixt wͭ singing, wͨ continueth for a lõg space. This is asmuch as wee coulde learne of them. This lande is situated in the Paralele of Rome, in 41. degrees & 2. terces:but