Of the Aberginians or Indians Northward.

First of their Stature, most of them being betweene five or six foote high, straight bodied, strongly composed, smooth skinned, merry countenanced, of complexion something more swarthy than Spaniards, black hair'd, high foreheaded, blacke ey'd, out-nosed, broad shouldred, brawny arm'd, long and slender handed, out brested, small wasted, lanke bellied, well thighed, flat kneed, handsome growne leggs, and small feete: In a word, take them when the blood briskes in their veines, when the flesh is on their backs, and marrow in their bones, when they frolick in their antique deportments and Indian postures; and they are more amiable to behold (though onely in Adams livery) than many a compounded phantasticke in the newest fashion. It may puzzle beliefe, to conceive how such lustie bodies should have their rise and daily supportment from so slender a fostering; their houses being meane, their lodging as homely, commons scant, their drinke water, and Nature their best cloathing; in them the old proverbe may well be verified: (Natura paucis contenta) for though this be their daily portion, they still are healthfull and lusty. I have beene in many places, yet did I never see one that was borne either in redundance or defect a monster, or any that sickneffe had deformed, or casualitie made decrepit, saving one that had a bleared eye, and an other that had a wenne on his cheeke. The reason is rendred why they grow so proportionable, and continue so long in their vigour (most of them being 50 before a wrinkled brow or gray haire betray their age) is because they are not brought downe with suppressing labour, vexed with annoying cares, or drowned in the excessive abuse of overflowing plenty, which oftentimes kils them more than want, as may appeare in them. For when they change their bare Indian commons for the plenty of Englands fuller diet, it is so contrary to their stomacks, that death or a desperate sicknesse immediately accrews, which makes so few of them desirous to see England. Their swarthinesse is the Sun's livery, for they are borne faire. Their smooth skins proceede from the often anoynting of their bodies with the oyle of fishes, and the fat of Eagles, with the grease of Rackoones, which they hold in summer, the best antidote to keepe their skinne from blistering with the scorching Sunne; and it is their best armour against the Musketoes, the surest expeller of the hairy excrement, and stops the pores of their bodies against the nipping winters cold. Their black haire is naturall, yet it is brought to a more jetty colour by oyling, dying, and daily dressing. Sometimes they weare it very long, hanging down in a loose dishevel'd womanish manner; otherwhile tied up hard and short like a horse taile, bound close with a fillet, which they say makes it grow the faster: they are not a little phantasticall or custom-sick in this particular; their boyes being not permitted to weare their haire long till sixteene yeares of age, and then they must come to it by degrees; some being cut with a long foretop, a long locke on the crowne, one of each side of his head, the rest of his haire being cut even with the scalpe: the young men and souldiers weare their haire long on the one side, the other side being cut short like a screw; other cuts they have as their fancie befooles them, which would torture the wits of a curious Barber to imitate. But though they be thus wedded to the haire of their head, you cannot wooe them to weare it on their chinnes, where it no sooner growes, but it is stubbed up by the rootes, for they count it as an unuseful, cumbersome, and opprobrious excrement, insomuch as they call him an English mans bastard that hath but the appearance of a beard, which some have growing in a staring fashion, like the beard of a cat, which makes them the more out of love with them, choosing rather to have no beards than such as should make them ridiculous.