John Earle – Microcosmography

“A Young Raw Preacher”

He’s only fit to be a preacher because he’s bold and keeps a table-book, but this doesn’t make him fit to lead people in prayer. He writes more than he reads, and his prayers become conceited. I take this as he doesn’t even read the bible maybe? The sermons are long, too long, and only serve to exercise his lungs. He takes against the pope (so obviously pointing to the catholic/protestant divide.) You’ll recognize him by his clothes and he’ll likely marry a chambermaid (or perhaps just sleep with her?)

“A Player”

Life is all action and he has to be careful because he is always watched. He is contradictorily liked and hated for his profession. Seldom in his own face or clothes. Even on the street he “plays the part” of the gentleman. Speaks about the way theaters cannot be open during Lent, and that parliament has produced laws that discredit theaters and players.

“A tobacco-seller”

Where men rendezvous spitting and dialogue with noses and communicate in smoke. Spain commended before England. None better acquainted with humours.

“A Skeptick in Religion”

The contrariness of religions scares him away and none persuades him. He is part Christian except for the atheist part and vice versa. He finds reason in all opinions but truth in none. He uses the “lands religion” because it is next to him? He doesn’t like the connection between the commonwealth and divinity. “He cannot think so many wise men should be in error, nor so many honest men out of the way, and his wonder is double when he sees these oppose one another.” He hates authority as the tyrant of reason, his whole life is a question.

“A Prison”

“Is the grave of the living.” Lice, drink, and tobacco abound. Its indecorous to not be in thread-bare clothes. A spectacle of pity more than executions. If they’re in prison because of debt are more bitter about their lawyers. “He that deceives time best, best spends it.”

A Briefe and True Report of the New Found Land of Virginia – Thomas Hariot

Hariot starts by saying that some of the reports that came out previously had been slanderous. He calls the indigenous the “natural inhabitants”. His report is in “three parts” First, commodities that are already found or raised by planters which can be traded, second the commodities that are natural to the country that are useful for life, and third commodities that are useful for building. So sellable, edible, and buildable. So his “true report” is only about the STUFF that can be used in the country.

First: Sellable

Silk of grass that is easy to sow and plant.

Worm silk – probably easy to grow here by adding mulberry trees.

Flax and hemp – tons here.

Allum – A huge vein of it along the coast (white copper, nitrum)

Wapeih – a kind of earth like terra sigillata, used by surgeons and physicians? From medieval times apparently, it was seen as a proof against poisons.

Pitch, tar, rosin, and turpentine – many trees that have this

Sassafrass – useful for physic

Cedar – good timber and sweet wood

Wine – two kinds of good grapes.

Oil – walnut oil

Furs – lots of otters

Deer skins – lots of deer

Civet cat – native of asia so maybe he meant a skunk?

Iron – found all over

Copper – two towns found with diverse copper plates, and maybe also silver

Pearl – lot of variety of mussels

Sweet gums

Dyes – many different kinds and new to England

Oade and madder – useful for dyers

Sugar cane – it wasn’t preserved well so they couldn’t tell if it would grown. Same with oranges and lemons

Second: Victuals and sustenance

Maize – lots of sweet and mild flavored corn, useful for beer.

Beans – more diverse in color than English beans

Peas

Melons and gourds – several forms and are very good

The ground is very easy to plant, “so much small labor and pain is needed…One many may prepare and husband much ground with less than four and twenty hours of labor, as shall yield him victual in a large proportion for a twelve month”. (page 19)

Tobacco – called “Uppowoc” but called tobacco by Spaniards – The leaves are dried and turned to powder then used to smoke. He writes that it purges the sueperfluous and other gross humors, opens the pores and passages of the body and is seen as being healthy and will prevent many grievous diseases. (Note that this is in the sustenance part, not the sellable part)

He has a section on roots that are useful for ropes or to eat

Then a section on “fruit” included which are chestnuts, walnuts, medlars, grapes, strawberries, mulberries, applecrabs, sacquennummener (?) and a reed that you can eat.

Then beasts, like deer, conies (rabbits/hares), saquennckot and maquowoct (smaller than rabbits—maybe mice/voles/etc?), squirrels, bears, lions, wolves (not good meat), fowls like cockes and hens, partridges, cranes, swans, and geese. Also parrots, falcons, and hawks (not good meat)

Fish: sturgeons, trouts, porpoises, rays, oldwines, mullets, plaice, and many other sorts that have no names. Seacrabs, oysters, muscles, scallops, periwinkles, and crevises, turtles.

Building materials:

Walnots, oaks, firs, rakiock (used to make canoes), cedar,  maple, witch-hazel, holly, willows, beech, ash, elm, sassafras, ascopo (like a laurel), and many others that have no English names.

Stones, bricks, lime

Then he writes about the nature and manners of the people. He writes, “they shall have cause both to fear and love us”. They are “poor” because the “want…skill, judgment in the knowledge and use of our things” and “esteem our trifles before things of greater value”. They have some religion “far from the truth” though they may be reformed.

The temperature is excellent, warmer than England, but not as hot as the tropics.

Origin Myth of Acoma

First, there were two female human beings, born underground. There was no light, so they could only feel each other and grow slowly. The Spirit, called, Tsichtinako, spoke to them and gave them nourishment, and learned language from it. They asked what they were, and it replied they were “nuk’timi” (under the earth) until everything was ready for them. It gave them a present of seeds and little images of all the different animals to be in the world. They were tasked with planting the trees and then use the trees to get into the light. The trees were of different sorts, but the tallest, lanye grew fastest, but didn’t let in enough light. Tsichtinako advised them to find the image of the dyu’p (badger) and tell it to become alive. They instructed Badger to climb up the pine tree and bore a hole in the earth. The locust is then brought to life and told to plaster the sides of the hole but to not go out into the light. The locust disobeys, and is punished by living a short life and having to return to its home when the weather was bad. They then go to the light and are told to worship the sun. Tsichtinako tells them it is not their father, their father is Uchtsiti, who made the world and many other things. He made the sisters to rule and bring life to the rest of the things. Uchtisiti made the world by throwing a clot of his own blood into space and it grew into the Earth. Then Uchtisiti planted the sisters in the earth and nourished them, but now that they are above the earth they must nourish themselves. They’ll never see Uchtisit because he is in the “four skies above” The sisters are named Nautsiti and Iatiku and Iatiku calls her clan the “Corn clan” and Nautsiti is “sun clan”. They then plant the rest of the seeds and are given fire, and told how to make fire to cook food. They then are told to give life to the Ba’shya (kangaroo mouse) to be used as food and they are taught a song to sing to animals in order to make the animals come to life. After planting the trees and grasses, and bringing the small animals to life, Tsichtinako tells them to make mountains. Then they plant more wild fruits and bring the larger animals to life. The snake came to life on its own after the baskets were dropped and tempts Nautsiti and causes them to fight with each other and compete. Even though Tsichtinako had told them that their father forbade them to have children, the snake Pishuni, tells Nautsiti to go ask a rainbow how to make a child. The rain drips into her and conceives twin sons. She gives one she doesn’t like to Iatiku, and then the sisters decide to separate. Nautsiti, on leaving, wants to share her basket items, sheep and cattle, but Iatiku thinks they will be too hard to care for. The same for wheat and vegetables. Also, precious metals and writing, but Iatiku didn’t want any of it. The son Iatiku raises becomes her husband, Tia’muni and they bore many children. Iatiku is “Mother” and instructs her people and names each child after a clan “badger, antelope, red corn, blue corn,” etc. Iatiku also makes the spirits of the seasons, Sha-k’ak (Winter), Morityema (Spring), Maiyochina (Summer), and Shrui’sthia (Fall). She made several other sprits and prayer sticks, to which she told the gods, “this is how the humans will call for you.” She also makes the first house and tells them this is what they will live in. Various rituals are described and the proper building of the medicine hut. Hunting methods and rules are also prescribed.