New English Canaan or New Canaan. Written by Thomas Morton
Printed at Amsterdam by Jacob Fredericck Stam In the Yeare 1637.
Of the Indians apparrell.
The Indians in these parts do make their apparrell of the skinnes of severall sortes of beastes, and commonly of those that doe frequent those partes where they doe live; yet some of them, for variety, will have the skinnes of such beasts that frequent the partes of their neighbors, which they purchase of them by Commerce and Trade.
These skinnes they convert into very good lether, making the same plume and soft. Some of these skinnes they dresse with the haire on, and some with the haire off; the hairy side in winter time they weare next their bodies, and in warme weather they weare the haire outwardes: they make likewise some Coates of the Feathers of Turkies, which they weave together with twine of their owne makinge, very prittily: these garments they weare like mantels knit over their shoulders, and put under their arme: they have likewise another sort of mantels, made of Mose skinnes, which beast is a great large Deere so bigge as a horse; these skinnes they commonly dresse bare, and Indians ingenious workemen for their garments. make them wondrous white, and stripe them with size round about the borders, in forme like lace set on by a Taylor, and some they stripe with size in workes of severall fashions very curious, according to the severall fantasies of the workemen, wherein they strive to excell one another: And Mantels made of Beares skinnes is an usuall wearinge, among the Natives that live where the Beares doe haunt: they make shooes of Mose skinnes, which is the principall leather used to that purpose; and for want of such lether (which is the strongest) they make shooes of Deeres skinnes, very handsomly and commodious; and, of such deeres skinnes as they dresse bare, they make stockinges that comes within their shooes, like a stirrop stockinge, and is fastned above at their belt, which is about their middell; Every male, after hee The modesty of the Indian men. attaines unto the age which they call Pubes, wereth a belt about his middell, and a broad peece of lether that goeth betweene his leggs and is tuckt up both before and behinde under that belt; and this they weare to hide their secreats of nature, which by no meanes they will suffer to be seene, so much modesty they use in that particular; those garments they allwayes put on, when they goe a huntinge, to keepe their skinnes from the brush of the Shrubbs: and when they have their Apparrell one they looke like Irish in their trouses, the Stockinges joyne so to their breeches. A good well growne deere skin is of great account with them, and it must have the tale on, or else they account it defaced; the tale being three times as long as the tales of our English Deere, yea foure times so longe, this when they travell is raped round about their body, and, Indians travaile with materials to strike fire at all times. with a girdle of their making, bound round about their middles, to which girdle is fastned a bagg, in which his instruments be with which hee can strike fire upon any occasion.
Thus with their bow in their left hand, and their quiuer of Arrowes at their back, hanging one their left shoulder with the lower end of it in their right hand, they will runne away a dogg trot untill they come to their journey end; and, in this kinde of ornament, they doe seeme to me to be hansomer then when they are in English apparrell, their gesture being answerable to their one habit and not unto ours.
Their women have shooes and stockinges to weare likewise when they please, such as the men have, but the mantle they use to cover their nakednesse with is much longer then that which the men use; for, as the men have one Deeres skinn, the women have two soed together at the full lenght, and it is so lardge that it trailes after them like a great Ladies trane; and in time I thinke they may have their Pages to beare them up; and where the men use but one Beares skinn for a Mantle, the women have two soed together; and if any of their women would at any time shift one, they take that which they intend to make use of, and cast it over them round, before they shifte away the other, for modesty, being unwilling to be seene to discover The Indians ashamed of their nakednesse. their nakednesse; and the one being so cast over, they slip the other from under them in a decent manner, which is to be noted in people uncivilized; therein they seeme to have as much modesty as civilized people, and deserve to be applauded for it.
