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GEORGES ISLAND MANNERS
Platted [....] thicker than common thread of this I can safely Affirm that I have seen pieces near a Mile in length worked upon one end with.t a Knott, these are made & wore only by the Woman 5 or 6 such Peices[sic] of which they will sometimes wound round the Heads, the effect of which if done with taste is very becoming, They have Earings by way of Ornament, but wear them only at one Ear, these are made of Shells, Stone[s] Berries, red pease & some small pearls which they wear 3 Tied together, but our Bead[s] Buttons &tc. very soon supply'd[sic] their places~
MANNERS & CUSTOMS~
After their Meals in the Heat of the day they often Sleep middle Aged people espec[ially] the better sort of whom seem to spend most of their time in eating & sleeping, diversions they have but few, shooting with the Bow & Wrestling are the Chief the first of which is confin'd almost wholy to the Chiefs, they shoot for distance only kneeling upon a knee & dropping the Bow the instant of the Arrows parting from it I have seen one of them shoot an Arrow 274 yards yet he looked upon it as no Great shot. Musick is little known to them & yet they are very fond of it they have only 2 Instruments the flute & the Drum the former is made of hollow Bamboo about 15 Inches lo[ng] in which are 3 Holes into one of them they blow with one Nostril stoping[sic] the othe[r] with the thumb of the left hand, the other 2 Holes they stop & unstop with their fing[ers] & by this means produce 4 Notes of which they have made one Tune w.ch serve[s] them upon all Occasions to which they sing number of Songs generally consisting of 2 Lines & generally in Rhime,[sic] at any time of the day when they are Lazy they amuse themselves by singing these Couplets, but especially after dark when their candles are lighted which are made of the Kernels of a Nutt abou[nd]ing much in Oil these are stuck upon a Skewer of Wood one upon another & ar[e] a very tolerable light which they often keep burning an hour after dark & if they have strangers in the House much longer, Their drums are made of a hollow bl[ack]wood cover'd with Sharks Skin & instead of Drum sticks they use their Hands, of these they make out 5 or 6 Tunes, & accompany the flutes, the drums are Chiefly us[ed] at their Heiva's which are a set of Musicians 2 or 3 Drums for instance as many flutes & singers which go about from House to House & play & are always received & rewarded by the Master of the family who gives them a Peice of Cloth or whatever he can spare, for which they will stay 3 or 4 Hours during w.ch time hi[s] house will be crowded full for the people are Extravagantly fond of this diversion. The Young Girls when ever they can collect 8 or 10 Together dance a very indecent Dance, which they call Timorodee singing most indecent songs & using mo[st] indecent actions in the practice of which they are brought up from their earliest childhood in doing this they keep time to a great nicety, this exercise is however generally left off as soon as they arrive at Years of Maturity for as soon as they have form'd a connection with man they are expected to leave off dancing - Timorodee one amusement or custom more I must mention tho' I confess I do not expect to be believed as it is founded upon a Custom so inhuman & contrary to the first principals of human nature, it is this that of the better sort of the inhabitants have enter'd into a resolut[ion] of enjoying free liberty in Love without being Troubled or disturbed by it's consequences, these mix & Cohabit together with the Utmost freedom & the