Page:American Historical Review, Volume 12.djvu/344

 334 Donimenis they Learn them in the use of the Gun. [ii] the woomen they Plant the Corne and waiter mellons and gett itt ready while the men Goe abroad in the woods Hunting affter other Game and so bring itt home for them to Dress and if they are so happy as to be masters of a Bottle Rum they Regaile and are as Merry as tho' they had all the Varieties that urope Could afford 'em. there are butt a few of 'em left now to what formerly they were, for they are gon more Norward amongst the Cannady Indians, butt those that are left are very servisable to the English come- ing downe amongst 'em in the winter and hunting for 'em and Live amonge them. Sometimes they kill Beares as I menconed which are very good food. I was att one Esq^ Bennetts who Lives att the mouth of Wey River upon the eastern shoare and some people had killed a Beare there which was verry fatt. itt was just affter Christmas, they Brest itt severall sorts of ways, some was Roasted some Boyled some Broyled like Griskins and they were so eager in the eating of itt that I thought they would have tore itt off the spitt before itt was halfe enough _sic'] butt att last I eate some my selfe off that that was roasted and doe assure you itt was exterordinary victuals. I thought itt as good as Roast Beeffe itt being verry juicey and harty food full of Gravey; the fatt of 'em is verry good in old strains or aches. I once eate part of a Young Cub butt I think it eates more flashy then the old ones that are fatt. they fead upon nothing butt what the woods affoard. they eat no manner of Carron or any thing butt Grass or Cheesenutts or acorns or the like. [12] I was att the killing of one once att one Major Courseyes' a servant Came into the house and told the Major that there was a Beare treed about a mile off. the Major asked him if he thought itt would stay while they came, the fellow told him yes he was sure itt would for he had puld off his Coat and left itt att the roote of the tree with a Dog that he had charged nott to stir, so wee tooke Guns and gott three Mastie Dogs, by the way, and when wee came wee saw the Beare att the top of a great Oake upon one of the uper most limbs, wee all charged our guns with a Brace of Balls, and the first that fired shott him thro the Body which made him Roare and groane sadly, the second that shott hitt him some where about the shoulders which vexed him more than the former which made him fall from some of the top limbs into the midle of the tree and had much adoe to keepe there he was so weeke with the loss of Blood, att last a third shott and hitt him in the head which brought him Downe from limb to limb and so att last to the ground where he had liked to have spoyled all our Dogs affter- wards, if in Case a Gentleman that was there had not tooke the mussle of his Gun and putt itt in his mouth and so shott him thro: the head, they afterwards Carried him home in tryumph and made mighty rejoyce- ing att the ffeastivall they made of him which was p'formed affter the same manner off the former by Boyleng Roasting and Broyling, for every boddy that heares of itt in the neighbour hood comes to take pan ' Major William Coursey, a meml.cr of the rONxrnor's council.