Two Native Americans are shown in the act of making a canoe. There is a fire in the middle of the canoe and another fire in the background where a large tree has been felled.
In the English translation of this text, Thomas Hariot describes this image: "XII. The manner of makinge their boates. THe manner of makinge their boates in Virginia is verye wonderfull. For wneras they want Instruments of yron, or other like vnto ours, yet they knowe howe to make them as handsomelye, to saile with whear they liste in their Riuers, and to fishe with all, as ours. First they choose some longe, and thicke tree, accordinge to the bignes of the boate which they would frame, and make a fyre on the grownd abowt the Roote therof, kindlinge the same by little, and little with drie mosse of trees, and chipps of woode that the flame should not mounte opp to highe, and burne to muche of the lengte of the tree When yt is almost burnt thorough, and readye to fall they make a new fyre, which they suffer to burne vntill the tree fall of yt owne accord. Then burninge of the topp, and bowghs of the tree in suche wyse that the bodie of thesame may Retayne his iust lengthe, they raise yt vppon potes laid ouer cross wise vppon forked posts, at suche a reasonable heighte as rhey may handsomlye worke vppó yt. Then take they of the barke with certayne shells: thy reserue the, innermost parte of the lennke, for the nethermost parte of the boate. On the other side they make a fyre accordinge to the lengthe of the bodye of the tree, sauinge at both the endes. That which they thinke is sufficientlye burned they quenche and scrape away with shells, and makinge a new syre they burne yt agayne, and soe they continne somtymes burninge and sometymes fcrapinge, vntill the boate haue sufficient bothowmes. This god indueth thise sauage people with sufficient reason to make thinges necessarie to serue their turnes." Source: Thomas Hariot, "A Briefe and True Report of the New Found Land of Virginia." Frankfort: Theodore De Bry, 1590.
[America. pt. 1. German] Wunderbarliche, doch warhafftige Erklärung, von der Gelegenheit vnd Sitten der Wilden in Virginia ... Erstlich in engelländischer Sprach beschrieben durch Thomam Hariot, vnd newlich durch Christ. P. in Teutsch gebracht. Franckfort am Mayn, Gedruckt bey J. Wechel, in Verlegung D. Bry, 1590. North Carolina Collection call number FVCC970.1 H28w.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. North Carolina Collection.
Host
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
path
\ncc\debry\
Local Identifier
FVCC970.1 H28w
Citation
In "Wunderbarliche, doch warhafftige Erklärung, von der Gelegenheit vnd Sitten der Wilden in Virginia . . ." [America, pt. 1, German], Frankfort: Theodore De Bry, 1590, p. 59. North Carolina Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Related Resource
The full text of Thomas Hariot's "A Briefe and True Report of the New Found Land of Virginia" is available online through Documenting the American South at http://docsouth.unc.edu/nc/hariot/menu.html
