see that they had any canoes to
come in, so that we suspected the Portuguese had spoiled their boats, as
we saw half their town in ruins. Wherefore, having tarried a good while,
and seeing that they did not come to us, and as we were well armed, we
run the heads of both boats on shore. Upon this the captain of the town
came towards us with his dart in his hand, followed by six tall men each
of whom had a dart and target. Their darts were all headed with iron
well-fashioned and sharp. After this party came another negro carrying
the captains stool. We all saluted the captain respectfully, pulling off
our caps and bowing to him; but he, seeming to consider himself as a man
of consequence, did not move his cap in return, and gravely sat down on
his stool, hardly inclining his body in return to our salute: All his
attendants however, took off their caps and bowed to us.

[Footnote 244: Called St Johns twice before; and we shall see that they
came to another town afterwards called Don Johns, more to the east,
whence it appears that the Don John of the text here is an error for St
John.--E.]

[Footnote 245: Probably musketoons or blunderbusses, and certainly some
species of gun or fire-arm.--E.]

This chief was clothed from the loins downwards, with a cloth of the
country manufacture, wrapped about him and made fast with a girdle round
his waist, having a cap of the country cloth on his head, all his body
above the loins with his legs and feet being bare. Some of his
attendants had cloths about their loins, while others had only a clout
between their legs, fastened before and behind to their girdles; having
likewise caps on their heads of their own making, some made of
basket-work, and others like a large wide purse of wild beast skins. All
their cloth, girdles, fishing lines, and other such things, are made
from the bark of certain trees, very neatly manufactured. They fabricate
likewise all such iron implements as they use very artificially; such as
the heads of their darts, fish-hooks, _hooking_ irons, _ironheads_, and
great daggers, some of these last being as long as a bill hook, or
woodcutters knife, very sharp on both sides and bent like a Turkish
cymeter, and most of the men have such a dagger hanging on their left
side. Their targets are made of the same materials with their cloths,
very closely wrought, very large and of an oblong square form, somewhat
longer than broad, so that when they kneel on the ground the t