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Their love of ornaments is sufficiently illustrated by an extract from Strachey, which is in substance what Smith writes: "Their eares they boare with wyde holes, commonly two or three, and in the same they doe hang chaines of stayned pearle braceletts, of white bone or shreeds of copper, beaten thinne and bright, and wounde up hollowe, and with a grate pride, certaine fowles' legges, eagles, hawkes, turkeys, etc., with beasts clawes, bears, arrahacounes, squirrells, etc.
The number of linkes going to make one chaine is in a manner infinite; but of such estimation it is amongst them, that few be the persons that are admitted to weare the same; and euen they to whom its lawfull to use them, yet are stinted what number they shall vse, as some ten, some twelue, some twentie, and as they exceed in number of chaines, so thereby are they knowne to be the more honorable personages.
Of them they make beads, and weare them about their necks, euen as we doe chaines of gold and siluer, accounting it the preciousest thing in the world.
In the forefront came a man of a large body and goodly aspect, bearing the Scepter or royall mace, made of a certaine kind of blacke wood, and in length about a yard and a halfe, before the king. Whereupon hanged two crownes, a bigger and a lesser, with three chaines of a maruellous length, and often doubled, besides a bagge of the herbe Tabáh.
The Indians which the Christians did lead with them in chaines, had laid downe their burthens neere vnto the wall: and assoone as the Gouernour and his men were retired, the men of Mauilla laid them on the Indians backs againe, and tooke them into the towne, and loosed them presently from their chaines, and gaue them bowes and arrowes to fight withall.
Another gat vp with a lance to a left made of canes, which they build to keep their Maiz in, which they call a Barbacoa, and there hee made such a noise, as though tenne men had been there defending the doore: they slew him with a partisan. They were all subdued. And some of the youngest the Gouernour gaue to them which had good chaines, and were carefull to looke to them that they gat not away.
And so I waxed joyful, and wringing my selfe out of her company, as out of linkes or chaines, I bade her farewell, and departed toward the house of myne host Milo, by the way reasoning thus with my selfe: O Lucius now take heed, be vigilant, have a good care, for now thou hast time and place to satisfie thy desire, now shake off thy childishnesse and shew thy selfe a man, but especially temper thy selfe from the love of thyne hostesse, and abstain from violation of the bed of Milo, but hardly attempt to winne the maiden Fotis, for she is beautifull, wanton and pleasant in talke.
Moreouer, at the same instant they did appoint that worthy knight Sir Amias Preston, and some others in some conuenient Barkes, to transport ouer to the sayd Towne safely and in good order, a hundred or moe of the better sort of ancient gentlewomen, and marchants wiues, who were suffered to put vpon themselues, some of them two, yea, some three sutes of apparell, with some conuenient quantitie of many Iewels, Chaines, and other ornaments belonging to their estate and degree.
Of those which were taken prisoners, some principall men were set at libertie, whom the Cacique demanded: and euery one that had any, carried the rest in chaines like slaues, without letting them goe to their Countrie: neither did any returne, but some few, whose fortune helped them with the good diligence which they vsed to file off their chaines by night, or such as in their trauelling could slippe aside out of the way, seeing any negligence in them that kept them: some escaped away with the chaines, and with the burdens, and clothes which they carried.
Within foure daies iournie they came to a great Riuer: and they made a piragua or ferrie bote, and because of the great current, they made a cable with chaines, which they fastened on both sides of the Riuer; and the ferrie bote went along by it; and the horses swam ouer, being drawne with capstans. Hauing passed the Riuer, in a day and an halfe, they came to a towne called Capachiqui.
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