and are supposed to be the original inhabitants of that Countrey they are in general thought to be very few as I have been told not Exceeding 500 in number but why that should be imagind I cannot tell as we Know nothing at all of the Interior Parts of the Island nor Ever had the Least Connextion with them tho the french we are told had
The only Part of the Island that I have heard of their inhabiting is in the neighbourhood of Fogo where they are said to be as near the coast as 4 miles
Our People who fish in those Parts Live in a continual State of warfare with them firing at them whenever they meet with them & if they chance to find their houses or wigwams as they call them Plundering them immediately tho a Bow and arrows & what they call their Pudding is generally the whole of their furniture.
They in return Look upon us in exactly the same Light as we Do them Killing our people whenever they get the advantage of them & Stealing or Destroying their nets wheresoever they find them
The Pudding which I mentioned in the Last Paragraph is our People say always found in their hutts made of Eggs & Dears hair to make it hang together as we put hair into our mortar and Bakd in the Sun our People beleive it to be Part of their Food – but do not seem Certain whether it is intended for that or any other use They are said to fetch Eggs for this Composition as far as fung or Penguin Island ten Leagues from the nearest Land.
They are Extreemly Dextrous in the use of the Bows and arrows & will when Pressed by an Enemy take 4 arrows 3 between the Fingers of the Left hand with which they hold the Bow & the fourth notchd in the string & Discharge them as quick as they Can draw the bow & with great Certainty
Their Canoes by the Gentlemans account from whom I have all this are made like the Canadians of Birch Bark sewd together with Deers sinews or some other material but Differ from the Canadians Essentially in that they are made to shut up by the sides Closing together for the Convenient Carriage of them through the woods which they are obligd to do on account of the many Lakes that abound all over the Island.
Their Method of scalping to is very different from the Canadian they not being content with the Hair but skinning the whole face at Least as far as the upper Lip
I have a scalp of this Kind which was taken from one Sam Frye a fisherman10 who they shot in the water as he attempted to swim off to his ship from them they Kept the Scalp a year but the features were so well Preservd that when upon a Party of them being Pursued the next summer they Dropd it it was immediately Known to be the scalp of the Identical Sam Frye who was Killd the year before.
So much for the Indians if half of what I have wrote about them is true it is more than I expect tho I have not the Least reason to think But that the man who told it to me beleivd it & had heard it all from his own people & those of the neighbouring Planters & fishermen
It is time that I should give Some account of the Fishery both French & English as they differ much in their methods of Fishing and have Each their Different merits the Englishman indeed has the advantage as he catches considerably a larger quantity of Fish and his Fish fetch more money at Foreign markets being better Cured.
This Banks did, conscientiously and at some length, following the whole process through from the catching by handline to the heading and gutting, the splitting, the salting, the washing out of the salt, the drying, the sweating and the drying again; and coming to the end of the English way of fishing he says
Lastly Let us remember their Train Oyl for by that name they distinguish it from Whale or Seal Oyle Which they Call Fat Oyle which is sold at a Lower Price being only usd for the Lighting of Lamps than the train oyl which is usd by the Curriers They make it thus they Take a half tub & boring a hole Through the Bottom Press hard down into it a Layer of Spruce boughs upon which they Lay the Livers & place the whole apparatus in as sunny a Place as Possible as the Livers Corrupt the Oyl runs from them and strains itself clear through the Spruce Boughs is caught by a Vessel set under the hole in the tubs bottom
So much For the English Fishery I shall now mention the methods of the French which are Different from ours in some of which as I said before they Excell us but more in their neatness & manner of Carrying on Business among their People than in any Superiority in Point of Curing
Their Boats are not much more than half as Large as ours much more Clumsily Built & Less adapted for sailing
Yet on the other hand their officers had talents of no common order:
The Seconde or mate of the French ships the Major or surgeon occasionaly the Captain are the People who split the Fish by which means it is never Carelessly or ill Done as is too often the Case among our People where splitting is done by the Common People the too first of these officers are not qualified for their office unless they can sing which they Do to amuse the People who occasionally all join the chorus the whole time of their Splitting I remember Coming into a french Stage & hearing Voi amante as agreeably sung as Ever I heard it by the Major & seconde the first of whoom had a remarkably good voice
These Officers being of some Consequence among the People & commonly going Pretty well Dressd have an Ingenious way of Keeping themselves Clean in the Dirty operation of Splitting they have a Case made of Bark to Cover them from their chins to their heels which Constantly stands over their Stools in the splitting table into this they Creep & Putting on sleeves & Large woolen gloves split the fish in a manner without touching it
Their Oyl they also make in a much neater manner than we do if neatness is an excellence in so nasty a thing they certainly excell us much theirs is all straind through a thin Cloth not unlike the Canvas that Ladies work Carpeting upon strechd on the upper side of a Vessel made with Poles Placd in the shape of a Pyramid Reversd under which is Placd a trough for the receiving it as it strains out
After having said so much about Fishing it will not be improper to say a little about the Fish that they catch & of the Dish they make of it Calld Chowder which I believe is Peculiar to this Country tho here it is the Cheif food of the Poorer & when well made a Luxury that the rich Even in England at Least in my opinion might be fond of It is a Soup made with a small quantity of salt Pork cut into Small Slices a good deal of fish and Biscuit Boyled for about an hour unlikely as this mixture appears to be Palatable I have scarce met with any Body in this Country Who is not fond of it whatever it may be in England Here it is certainly the Best method of Dressing the Cod which is not near so firm here as in London whether or not that is owing to the art of the fishmongers I cannot pretend to say Salmon & herrings we also have in Plenty but neither of them near so rich & fat as they are in England Halibuts are the only fish common To both places in which this Country Excells
He goes on to speak of birds from the culinary point of view, curlew, golden plover, ducks and teal, geese and partridges:
these are all good to Eat but Some birds there are that I must mention tho they have not that Excellence Particularly one Known here by the name of Whobby he is of the Loon Kind & an Excellent Diver but Very Often amuses himself especially in the night by flying high in the air and making a very Loud & alarming noise at least to those who do not know the Cause of it as the following circumstance will shew
In August 1765 as Commodore Paliser in the Guernsey a 50 gun ship Lay in this Harbour Expecting the Indians one Dark night in a thick fog the Ships Company were alarmed by a noise they had not heard before Every one awoke Conjecturd what it could Possibly be it came nearer & nearer grew louder & louder the first Lieuftenant was calld up he was the only man in the Ship Who had Ever seen the Esquimaux immediately as he heard the noise he declard he rememberd it well it was the war whoop of the Esquimaux who were certainly Coming in their Canoes to board the Ship & Cut all their throats
