Page:Journal of the Right Hon. Sir Joseph Banks.djvu/303

1770 sharp: with these they chop at the heads of their antagonists when an opportunity offers.

The patoo-patoos, as they called them, are a kind of small hand bludgeon of stone, bone, or hard wood, most admirably adapted for the cracking of skulls; they are of different shapes, some like an old-fashioned chopping-knife, others like this, or ; always however, having sharp edges, and sufficient weight to make a second blow unnecessary if the first takes effect. In these they seemed to put their chief dependence, fastening them by a long strap to their wrists, lest they should be wrenched from them. The principal people seldom stirred out without one of them sticking in their girdle, generally made of bone (of whales as they told us) or of coarse, black, and very hard jasper, insomuch that we were almost led to conclude that in peace as well as war they wore them as a warlike ornament, in the same manner as we Europeans wear swords. The darts are about eight feet long, made of wood, bearded and sharpened, but intended chiefly for the defence of their forts, when they have the advantage of throwing them down from a height upon their enemy. They often brought them out in their boats when they meant to attack us, but so little were they able to make use of them against us, who were by reason of the height of the ship above them, that they never but once attempted it; and then the dart, though thrown with the utmost strength of the man who held it, barely fell on board. Sometimes I have seen them pointed with the stings of sting-rays, but very seldom; why they do not oftener use them I do not know. Nothing is more terrible to a European than the sharp-jagged beards of those bones; but I believe that they seldom cause death, though the wounds made by them must be most troublesome and painful. Stones, however, they use much more dexterously, though ignorant of the use of slings. They throw by hand a considerable distance; when they have pelted us with them on board the ship, I have seen our people attempt to throw them back, and not be able to reach the canoes, although they had so manifest an advantage in the height of their situation.