4000003871

BooK

Royal

CommentarieSJ

begot upon thofe Women whom tbey had taken Captives in theWar, but bree.

ding rhem with füch care and éliet as might rnake them fat; fo foon as they carne

ro be twelve years of age, and rhat they were plump and tender, they dreffed rhem

for their Table, and devour~d theni with .théir Mothers, unleís they were with

Child; for then they referved them till they \\·ere deli\'ered, and had nur[ed up

their brood. Moreover to chofe Men ,vhom they took in the War they gave

Women, and their breed chey nourifhed .md fatned, with intent to eat them, as

do Lambs~and Calves, and the young ones- of our heards and flocks, wirhouc

regard

B!oud or Paremage, which even in bruce beafl:s hath fome effett: of !ove

and tenderneís. Bue what was rnoíl: abominable g.bove-aJI, was a cuíl:ome amongíl;

fome

Jndians

to eat che Flefh of their Parents,

foon as they were dead; accoun–

ting it a pare of their re[pett: aríd duty to bury and·intomb the'm withfo their mn:r

Eotrails, wlúch they boiled, or roaíl:ed, according

the quantity; if the body

was lean, and extenuated, rhey boiled c

he _A

e!h to make it ;he more render,, and

it wert gtofs and fleílly, chen ic was

'oa.fi

~cl;

and for:the P,ones, they bu)·ied

them

with fome Ceremony, eicher in c

he ha

les óf Rock~; 0nhe hollO\v Tr'ees:

but

chis

forc ofPeople know no Gods, nor jdote any thing ai;id inhabit for che

moíl: pare

the.hotter, and not in colder,R:egi0t1s of chis Continenr:

the more

·'20Jd

and·l;>arven Goumries, where the eáJith is not

fruitfull, necefiicy i:o¡npells

·them ro ÍO\.v Mayi, which is tneír

lndian

Wheat, and other.ferts of pul[e or gtaín;

·bue

they dHl:ingµiíh neither tiines, nor feáfons for ic; and in their fifhing and

fowling, a11d >in all ocher things the like barbarity of manners pre<lominates.

their ma'nner of€loa:thing, the modéfl:y of an Hifl:onan obligeth _mé ra·–

tlier to

p1fs

by,

than

d~fcribe it, left I íhould feen1 offen/ive to chaíl:·and

mode!l: Ears:- büt to expréfs it with as much decency as I am able;, we are to

know, that th~

Indians

in the

fii'fl:

ages wóre no other covering than the S_kins

which Nature gave them.

So111e

perhaps

oí

them for curiofity ; or affett:ation,

.girt

themfulv~ abouc che Waíl'é with a clout of cóurfe thread, wbich chey e!lee–

cIIled

a Cloa,thing fufficie11t for rhem.

I rerne'mber, that in the Year

po.

when

carne inco

NwSpain,

thát-I r'n€t in thej

íl:reetn~f

<:;artagena

with five

Jndians,

all

ilaked, wa1kít1g one áfrer thé ·~r!1er,

Hke

many

Crnnes,

little

had che conver·,

útion and focíet'(of the

Spani-ards

long a time prevailed- tó the alteration of

their Hmnours, Manners or Barbarity,

TheWort1en wear no orher garments th¡¡n th€ Men; onely the rnatTied \i\Tives

gire

ll:ring

,ibonc thern to

hiéh they faílén a clout of Cotton, a yard fqu-at'e,

Jike

-Aprot1,

ahd where rhey cannoc or

will

-hot learr'l to weave, théy, cover'

their

nakednefs wich rhe rine or broad leayes of trees. ·The Maidens alfo weat

fome(hing girt about chem, 'to.\~·hich they add foine other mark, as a fign oÚheir

Vi~ginicy.

M@Helly forbids us to enlarg@ farthet on tbis Suqjeét, it being fuffici,

ent

whac we h:tve declared ; J'hat in hot Count¡·ies they went naked, without

ocher covering, or omameat, ,1:han rhat wh_ich Nature furniíhes

brute Beátls;

whence ~{'. may imagine how,barbarous tbofe ·

1ndia111

were befare the times

iri

which che :i'nw_gained a Sovér~ignty 0v~r theni. . .

, ·

colder <!ountries they ofed G:irments, nótfor modeíl:y, or decency, but

for

tecefficy to defend chem

frqm

che cold: their cloathing was commonly with ch~

Skins

of beaíls, and with

.fort of Matt; ·which they wove wich ílraw or tufhfs.

· Other Nations of them, who had more ingenuity, .wore a forc of Mantles ,

ill–

made, and fpun with a courfe thread, and worfe·woven with wool, or wild heín¡:,;·

which they call

Chahuar;

and fome ornamenc abouc rheir micks, á-nd a-c'overing–

ábout the~r waíl:es,. was ali the cloathing which tlieir cuíl:oms ¡¡tl'd rrmmers req"t&ed

and in chis habit the Spaniards found thofe

Jndians,

over whom the

IncM

l:iad noc

extended their Dominion ; and vvhich even to rh1s .day continues amongíl thern :

for they have fuch an averfton ro garmencs, that even thofe who live fami:liarly

with the Spaniards, and·are their domefl:ick Servancs, are rather forced by irn–

poi:tunicy

ufe them, than that they chti(e them out of inclination, or any con/i–

deracion ofdecency or modefl:y; che like hurnour is alfo comrnon to thé Women ;

that the

Spaniards

u[e

in je(t to tell theril that they were bad Spinílers, and

ask chem wnether ~hey would not cloath themfelves becaufe they would not [pin,

or would not fpin; beea:ufe rhey would not be cloathed.

CHA~