The Exercises of the Men

After health, let us speak of exercises, which be the maintainers and protectors thereof. Our savages have no base exercise, all their sport being either the wars, or hunting (whereof we will speak severally), or in making implements fit for the same (as Cæsar witnesseth of the ancient Germans), or a-dancing (and of that we have already spoken) or in passing the time in play. They make then bows and arrows, bows which be strong and without fineness. As for the arrows it is an admirable thing how they can make them so long and so straight with a knife—yea, with a stone only where they have no knives. They feather them with the feathers of an eagle's tail, because they are firm, and carry themselves well in the air. And when they want them they will give a beaver's skin—yea, twain—for one of those tails. For the head, the savages that have traffic with Frenchmen do head them with iron heads which are brought to them. But the Armouchiquois and others more remote have nothing but bones, made like serpents' tongues, or with the tails of a certain fish called sicnau, ¹²² the which fish is also found in Virginia by the same name (at least, the English historian doth write it seekanauk). This fish is like to a crayfish lodged within a very hard shell, which shell is of the greatness of a dish, a long tail, likewise hard (for it is shell and sharp). His eyes are upon his back, and is very good meat.