with courage in war, and a contempt of suffering and death; and, above all things, they instilled into their minds an hereditary hatred, and implacable thirst of revenge towards the Arrowauks *,

The condition of the women was truly wretched: though frequently bestowed as a prize of successful courage, the wife thus honourably obtained, was soon considered of as little value as the captive. They sustained every species of drudgery: they ground the maize, prepared the cassavi, gathered in the cotton, and wove the hammock; nor were they allowed the privilege of eating in the presence of their husbands †.

The arts and manufactures of these people, though few, displayed a degree of ingenuity which could scarcely have been expected in a race so lit-tle removed from a state of mere animal nature, as to reject all dress as superfluous. Columbus observed an abundance of substantial cotton cloth in all the islands which he visited, and the natives possessed the art of staining it with various colours, though the Caribbees delighted in red. Of this

The Arrowauks, a name given to the ancient inhabitants of Hispaniola, Cuba, Jamaica, and Porto Rico, as well as Trinadad, who were a mild and comparatively cultivated people, and who seem to have had one common origin, as they spoke the same language, possessed the same institutions, and practised similar superstitions.

Brutality towards wives was not peculiar to the Caribbees: it prevailed in all ages and countries among the uncivilized part of mankind; and the first visible proof that a people is emerging from savage manners, is a display of tenderness towards the female sex. A fuil display of the manners of all nations the youthful reader will find in GOLDSMITH's GEOGRAPHY, a work which abounds with information, and at the same time is free from every indelicacy.

cloth they made hammocks, such as are used at sea by Europeans, who not only copied the pattern, but preserved also the original name. They possessed likewise the art of making vessels of clay for domestic uses; baskets composed of the fibres of the palmetto leaves; bows and arrows, such as the most skilful European artist would have found it difficult to have excelled.

With regard to their religion little can be said: they certainly did not believe that death was the final extinction of being, but pleased themselves with the idea that their departed relations were the secret spectators of their actions; that they still participated in their sufferings, and were anxious for their welfare: and considering the departed soul as susceptible of the same impressions and obnoxious to the same passions, as when allied to the body; it was thought a religious duty to sacrifice, at the funerals of their deceased heroes, some captives which had been taken in battle. It has been said by some writers, that these people entertained also an awful sense of one great universal cause, invisible, but possessing an irresistible power; and that subordinate to him were a multitude of inferior divinities. Others, however, have denied this, and maintain that they had not even a name for the deity. It is certain that in every cottage a rustic altar was raised, composed of banana leaves and rushes, on which they occasionally placed the earliest of their fruits and the choicest of their viands, as humble peace offerings, through the mediation of their inferior deities to incensed omnipotence: for here, as in other parts of America, their devotions consisted less in gratitude, than in deprecations of wrath. "We can all forget benefits, though we implore mercy."

A darker superstition likewise prevailed among all the unenlightened inhabitants of these climates; for they not only believed in the existence of dæmons and evil spirits, but offered them worship by the hands of pretended magicians. A minute detail of these rites and ceremonies is not necessary, nor would the picture be pleasing if we could find room to fill it up.

The inhabitants of Hispaniola, Cuba, Jamaica, and Porto Rico, are evidently of one common origin; they speak the same language and possess the same institutions. They are a mild, and, compared with the Caribbees, a cultivated people. When they were first discovered, both men and women wore nothing more than a slight covering of cotton cloth round the waist; in the females it extended to the knees. In stature they are taller than the Caribbees; in colour of a deeper brown: their hair was uniformly black; their countenance was open and honest. With this happy people, love was not only a transient and youthful passion; it was the source of all their pleasures, and the chief business of life. Their limbs were pliant and active, and in their motions they displayed both gracefulness and ease Their agility was eminently conspicuous in their dances, in which they delighted and excelled, devoting the cool hours of night to this employment. It was their custom, when these islands were first discovered, to dance from evening till the dawn; and though fifty thousand men and women have been known to assemble on these occasions, they seemed to be actuated by one common impulse, keeping time by the responsive motions of their hands, feet, and bodies, with a surprising exactness. These public dances were appropriated to particular solemni

ties, and being accompanied with historical songs, were called arietos. Besides the amusement of dancing they made use of athletic exercises, with considerable force and dexterity.

The submissive and respectful deportment of these placid people towards their superiors, and those they considered as such, was probably derived from the nature of their government, which was monarchical and absolute. The sympathy which they manifested towards the distress of others, shows that they were not wretched themselves; for in a state of absolute slavery and misery, men are commonly devoid both of virtue and pity. The power of their caziques was hereditary, to whom were subordinate a great number of inferior chieftains and nobles, whose situation and importance seemed to resemble the ancient barons of Europe.

The whole island of Hispaniola was divided into five great kingdoms. Cuba and Jamaica were likewise divided into separate principalities; but the whole extent of Porto Rico was subject to a single cazique. The principal cazique was always distinguished by regal ornaments and numerous attendants. In travelling, he was borne on the shoulders of his subjects. He was regarded with awful reverence, and his commands were instantly obeyed without murmur or reluctance.

Nor did their veneration terminate with the life of the prince; it was extended to his memory after death, a proof that his authority had been seldom or never abused. If a cazique were slain in battle, and the body could not be recovered, they composed songs in his praise, which they taught to their children as incitements to honourable actions. These heroic effusions constituted a branch

of the solemnities called arietos, consisting of hymns and public dances, accompanied with loud sounding music, that might be heard at a vast distance.

Like other unenlightened nations, these Indians were the slaves of superstition. Their notions of future happiness were narrow and sensual. They supposed that the spirits of good men were conveyed to a pleasant valley, a place of indolent tranquillity, abounding with every thing that they esteemed delicious; and where the greatest enjoyment would arise from the company of their departed virtuous ancestors. They believed in a Supreme Being, to whom they assigned parents distinguished by proper names, and whose residence they supposed was in the sun or moon.

Their

system of idol-worship was truly deplorable; they paid honours to stocks and stones converted into rude images, which they called Zemi. These were universally hideous and frightful in appearance, objects of terror, not of admiration and love. Priests also were appointed to conduct their devotions, who claimed also the privilege of educating the children of the people of the first rank. Hence the power of the priesthood was very great; religion was made in several instances, the instrument of civil despotism, and the will of the cazique, if confirmed by the priest, was impiously pronounc ed the decree of heaven.

Having described those things which are common to most of the West-India islands, it is time that we come to particulars relating to such of the principal ones as we shall have an opportunity of considering.

Although the islands under the English government are not the largest, yet they merit our chief