ve been communicated by gentlemen who
were present on this occasion. It is right to add that their names are
not mentioned. So much at present for these monsters.--E.]

These people, however, were not wholly strangers to European
commodities, for upon a closer attention, I perceived among them one
woman who had bracelets either of brass, or very pale gold, upon her
arms, and some beads of blue glass, strung upon two long queues of hair,
which being parted at the top, hung down over each shoulder before her:
She was of a most enormous size, and her face was, if possible, more
frightfully painted than the rest. I had a great desire to learn where
she got her beads and bracelets, and enquired by all the signs I could
devise, but found it impossible to make myself understood. One of the
men shewed me the bowl of a tobacco-pipe, which was made of a red earth,
but I soon found that they had no tobacco among them; and this person
made me understand that he wanted some: Upon this I beckoned to my
people, who remained upon the beach, drawn up as I had left them, and,
three or four of them ran forward, imagining that I wanted them. The
Indians, who, as I had observed, kept their eyes almost continually upon
them, no sooner saw some of them advance, than they all rose up with a
great clamour, and were leaving the place, as I supposed to get their
arms, which were probably left at a little distance: To prevent
mischief, therefore, and put an end to the alarm, which had thus
accidentally been spread among them, I ran to meet the people who were,
in consequence of my signal, coming from the beach, and as soon as I was
within hearing I hallooed to them, and told them that I would have only
one come up with all the tobacco that he could collect from the rest. As
soon as the Indians saw this, they recovered from their surprise, and
every one returned to his station, except a very old man, who came up to
me, and sung a long song, which I much regretted my not being able to
understand: Before the song was well finished, Mr Cumming came up with
the tobacco, and I could not but smile at the astonishment which I saw
expressed in his countenance, upon perceiving himself, though six feet
two inches high, become at once a pigmy among giants; for these people
may indeed more properly be called giants than tall men. Of the few
among us who are full six feet high, scarcely any are broad and muscular
in proportion to their stature, but look rather l