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at every place we came into, I confess I was very loth to give credit to till I by accident found the bones of men well pick’d in the very baskets where these people keep their provision: so convincing a proof I could not withstand, so I proceeded to inquire as well as I could with the small knowledge of their language which I had and the Assistance of Tupia what were their customs upon this occasion. They told us that a few days before a canoe of their enemies had been surprizd by them and that out of her they killd 7 persons, to one of whoom the bones in the basket had belongd, that now all the flesh of these people was eat up and most of the bones thrown away, which we found to be true for in almost every cove where we landed fresh bones of Men were found near the places where fires had been made. The whole was still more confirmd by the old man who we supposd to be the cheif of an Indian town which was very near us, coming a few days afterwards and at our desire bringing with him in his Canoe 6 or 7 heads of men preservd with the flesh on. These it seems these people keep after having eat the brains as trophies of their victories in the same manner
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Voyaging Accounts |  |
© Derived from State Library of NSW Transcription of Banks's Journal page (vol. 2) 208, February 2004
Published by kind permission of the Library
To cite this page use: https://paulturnbull.org/project/southseas/journals/-banks_remarks-238.html