Page:Economic History of Virginia Vol 1.djvu/210

 green snakes, still alive, were secured to the strings, and permitted to twist and twine themselves around the necks of the wearers.

The werowance wore on the left side of his head a chaplet of deer skin which had been dyed crimson, and on the right, a broad plate of thin and flexible copper; two large feathers were stuck in the centre of his crown, which from their leaning in different directions resembled the horns of an animal. From the necks of werowance, warrior, and squaw, pearls in strings and copper in chains of many small links were suspended. When Newport visited Opechancanough, he observed that the neck of that chief was encircled with triple strings of pearls, and that many of these pearls were as large as a pea in size. The wives of Powhatan, also, wore double and triple strings of pearl, not only around their necks, but also over the left shoulder and under the right arm. The bracelets were composed of copper and pearl. The Indians used both oil and paint on their bodies. It was their occasional habit to smear the skin with oil, and then to apply to the whole surface the soft down of bluebirds, red-birds, and white herons; which gave them the appearance of being clothed in a great variety of laces. In painting, they had several purposes in view; by this means they sought either to keep off the swarms of troublesome insects, or to increase the charms of their personal aspect, or to render themselves more terrible to their foes in battle. If the end to be gained was simply adornment, the head, neck, and shoulders were painted red, but if a war was in progress, the body was colored black or yellow, while the forehead, cheek, and right side of the head were