Page:Journal of the Right Hon. Sir Joseph Banks.djvu/324

266 at them, whereupon the elder threw one more lance and ran away, as did the other. We went up to the houses, in one of which we found the children hidden behind the shield, and a piece of bark.

We were conscious, from the distance the people had been from us when we fired, that the shot could have done them no material harm; we therefore resolved to leave the children upon the spot without even opening their shelter; we therefore threw into the house to them some beads, ribbons, cloth, etc., as presents, and went away. We, however, thought it no improper measure to take away with us all the lances which we could find about the houses, amounting in number to forty or fifty. They varied in length from 6 to 15 feet. Both those which were thrown at us, and all we found, except one, had four prongs headed with very sharp fish bones, which were besmeared with a greenish-coloured gum, that at first gave me some suspicion of poison.

The people were blacker than any we have seen on the voyage, though by no means negroes; their beards were thick and bushy, and they seemed to have a redundancy of hair upon those parts of the body where it commonly grows. The hair of their heads was bushy and thick, but by no means woolly like that of a negro. They were of a common size, lean, and seemed active and nimble; their voices were coarse and strong. Upon examining the lances we had taken from them, we found that most of them had been used in striking fish; at least we concluded so from the seaweed which was found stuck in among the four prongs.

At night many moving lights were seen at different parts of the bay; such we had been used to see at the Islands, from hence we supposed that the people here strike fish in the same manner.

29th. The fishing fires, as we supposed them to be, were seen during the greater part of the night. In the morning we went ashore at the houses, but found not the least good effect from our presents yesterday. No signs of people were to be seen; and in the house where the children were yesterday, was left everything which we had thrown to them.