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person of the natives
The inhabitants of this Island are Troubled with a sort of Leprosy or Scab all over their bodys. I have seen men Women & Children but not many who have had this distemper to that degree as not to be able to walk this distemper I believe runs in familys, because I have seen both mother & Child have it __________.
Both sexes paint their Bodys, Tattow as it is called in their Language this is done by inlaying the Colour of Black under their Skins in such a manner as to be indelible, some have ill design'd figures of men, birds or dogs, the women generally have this figure Z simply on every joint of their fingers & toes, the men have it likewise & both have other different figures such as Circles, Crescents etc which they have on their Arms & Legs, in short they are so various in the application of these figures that both the quantity & Situation of them seem to depend intirely upon the humour of each individual. yet all agree in having all their buttocks cover'd with a Deep black, over these most have Arches drawn one over another as high as their short ribs which are near a Quarter of an inch broad these Arches seem to be their [indecipherable], as both men & women show them with great pleasure.
Their method of Tattowing I shall now describe the colour they use is Compl black prepar'd from the Smoak of a [Kind of Oily?] but used by them instead of Candles, the instrument for pricking them under the Skin is made of very thin flatt peices of bone or Shell from a Quarter of an inch to an inch & a half broad according to the purpose it is to be used for & about an inch & a half long one end is cut into sharp teeth & the other fastened to a handle, the teeth dip'd into black Liquor & then drove by quick sharp blows struck upon the handle with a Stick for that purpose into the Skin so deep that every stroke is followed with a small quantity of Blood, the part so marked remains sore for some days before it heals, as this is a painful operation especially the Tattowing their Buttocks it is performed but once in their Lifetimes, it is never done until they are 12 or 14 Years of Age ___
Their Clothing are either of Cloth or Matting of several different sorts, the dress of both Men & Women are much the same which is a peice of Cloth or Matting wrapp'd 2 or 3 times around their waist, & hangs down below their knees both behind & before like a pettycoat another [indecipherable] sometimes 2 or 3 about 2 Yards or 21/2 Yards long with a hole in the Middle thro' which they put their heads, this hangs over their Shoulders down behind & before& is tied round their waist with a long peice of thin Cloth & being open at the sides gives free Liberty to their Arms this is the common dress of all ranks of people, & there are few without such a one except the Children who go quite naked, the Boys until they are 6 or 7 Years of Age & the Girls until 3 or 4 at these ages they begin to cover what nature teaches them to hide, besides the dress I have mentioned some of the better sorts such as can afford it, but more especially the Women will one way or other wrap round them several peices of Cloth each 8 or 10 Yards long & 2 or 3 broad, so much that I have often wondered how they could bear it in so hot a Climate again on the other hand many of the inferior sort during the heat of the Day go almost naked, the women wearing nothing but the petticoat aforemention'd & sometimes [barely?] that. the Men wear a piece of Cloth like a Sack which goes between their thighs & [indecipherable] up before & behind & then wrapped round their Waist this every man always wears without exception & it is no uncommon thing to see many of the better sort have nothing else on as it is reckon'd no shame for any part of the body to be exposed to View except those which all mankind hides both sexes sometimes shade their faces from the Sun with little Bonnets made of Cocoa Nut leaves, some have them of fine Matting, but this is less common they sometimes wear Turbands, but their Chief Head dress is what they call Tamou which is human Hair