ned,
and renewed his former practice, continuing it till I had parted with
every single button; and when he saw that he had completely stripped
me, I met with no farther obstruction."--D.]

The chief employment of the men seems to be that of fishing, and
killing land or sea animals for the sustenance of their families; for
we saw few of them doing any thing in the houses; whereas the women
were occupied in manufacturing their flaxen or woollen garments, and
in preparing the sardines for drying; which they also carry up from
the beach in twig-baskets, after the men have brought them in their
canoes. The women are also sent in the small canoes to gather muscles,
and other shell-fish, and perhaps on some other occasions; for they
manage these with as much dexterity as the men; who, when in the
canoes with them, seem to pay little attention to their sex, by
offering to relieve them from the labour of the paddle; nor indeed
do they treat them with any particular respect or tenderness in other
situations. The young men appeared to be the most indolent or idle set
in this community; for they were either sitting about, in scattered
companies, to bask themselves in the sun, or lay wallowing in the sand
upon the beach, like a number of hogs, for the same purpose, without
any covering. But this disregard of decency was confined to the men.
The women were always properly clothed, and behaved with the utmost
propriety; justly deserving all commendation for a bashfulness and
modesty becoming their sex; but more meritorious in them, as the men
seem to have no sense of shame. It is impossible, however, that we
should have been able to observe the exact mode of their domestic
life and employments, from a single visit (as the first was quite
transitory) of a few hours. For it may be easily supposed, that, on
such an occasion, most of the labour of all the inhabitants of the
village would cease upon our arrival, and an interruption be given
even to the usual manner of appearing in their houses, during their
more remiss or sociable hours, when left to themselves. We were much
better enabled to form some judgment of their disposition, and, in
some measure, even of their method of living, from the frequent visits
so many of them paid us at our ships in their canoes; in which, it
would seem, they spend a great deal of time, at least in the summer
season. For we observed, that they not only eat and sleep frequently
in them, but strip off thei