New South Wales
Index
Search
Contact us
with which they throw them in the other; these serve them in the double capacity of defending them from their enemies and striking any animal or fish that they may meet with. Besides these each has a small bag about the size of a moderate Cabbage net which hangs loose upon his back fas[t]ned to a small string which passes over the crown of his head; this seems to contain all their worldly treasures, each man hardly more than might be containd in the crown of a hat-a lump or two of Paint, some fish hooks and lines, shells to make them of, Points of Darts and resin and their usual ornaments were the general contents.
Thus live these I had almost said happy people, content with little nay almost nothing, Far enough removd from the anxieties attending upon riches, or even the possession of what we Europeans call common necessaries: anxieties intended maybe by Providence to counterbalance the pleasure arising from the Posession of wishd for attainments, consequently increasing with increasing wealth, and in some measure keeping up the balance of hapiness between the rich
 |
Voyaging Accounts |  |
© Derived from State Library of NSW Transcription of Banks's Journal page (vol. 2) *291, February 2004
Published by kind permission of the Library
To cite this page use: https://paulturnbull.org/project/southseas/journals/-banks_remarks-295.html