bout as thick as a man's
finger, in the form of an oven, by sticking the two ends into the
ground, and then covering them with palm-leaves, and broad pieces of
bark: The door is nothing but a large hole at one end, opposite to which
the fire is made, as we perceived by the ashes. Under these houses, or
sheds, they sleep, coiled up with their heels to their head; and in
this position one of them will hold three or four persons. As we
advanced northward, and the climate became warmer, we found these sheds
still more slight: They were built, like the others, of twigs, and
covered with bark; but none of them were more than four feet deep, and
one side was entirely open: The close side was always opposed to the
course of the prevailing wind, and opposite to the open side was the
fire, probably more as a defence from the musquitos than the cold. Under
these hovels it is probable, that they thrust only their heads and the
upper part of their bodies, extending their feet towards the fire. They
were set up occasionally by a wandering horde in any place that would
furnish them for a time with subsistence, and left behind them when,
after it was exhausted, they went away: But in places where they
remained only for a night or two, they slept without any shelter, except
the bushes or grass, which is here near two feet high. We observed,
however, that though the sleeping huts which we found upon the main,
were always turned from the prevailing wind, those upon the islands were
turned towards it; which seems to be a proof that they have a mild
season here, during which the sea is calm, and that the same weather
which enables them to visit the islands, makes the air welcome even
while they sleep.

The only furniture belonging to these houses that fell under our
observation, is a kind of oblong vessel made of bark, by the simple
contrivance of tying up the two ends with a withy, which not being cut
off serves for a handle; these we imagined were used as buckets to fetch
water from the spring, which may be supposed sometimes to be at a
considerable distance. They have however a small bag, about the size of
a moderate cabbage-net, which is made by laying threads loop within
loop, somewhat in the manner of knitting used by our ladies to make
purses. This bag the man carries loose upon his back by a small string
which passes over his head; it generally contains a lump or two of paint
and resin, some fish-books and lines, a shell or two, out