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sharpned, but intended cheifly for the defence of their forts where they have the advantage of throwing them from a hight down 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 hight of the ship above them that they never but once attempted it, and that dart tho thrown with the utmost effort of the man who held it barely fell on board. Sometimes I have seen them pointed with the stings of stingrays but very seldom: why they do not oftener use them I do not know, nothing is more terrible to a Europae[a]n than the sharp Jagged beards of those bones, but I beleive they seldom cause death tho the wounds made by them must be most troublesome and painfull. Stones however they use much more dextrou[s]ly. Tho 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, tho they had so manifest an advantage in the hight of their situation.
These are all that can properly be calld arms. But besides these the cheifs when they came
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Voyaging Accounts |  |
© Derived from State Library of NSW Transcription of Banks's Journal page (vol. 2) 204, February 2004
Published by kind permission of the Library
To cite this page use: https://paulturnbull.org/project/southseas/journals/-banks_remarks-234.html