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pronounced it when they shook hands with us, and when, by signs, they asked us to give them any thing. When they were spoken to in English, they repeated the words after us as plainly as we could do; and they soon got by heart the words "Englishmen come on Shore." Every one had a missile weapon of a singular kind, tucked into the girdle. It consisted of two round stones, covered with leather, each weighing about a pound, which were fastened to the two ends of a string about eight feet long. This is used as a sling, one stone being kept in the hand, and the other whirled round the head till it is supposed to have acquired sufficient force, and then discharged at the object. They are so expert in the management of this double-headed shot, that they will hit a mark, not bigger than a shilling, with both the stones at the distance of fifteen yards; ic is not their custom, however, to strike either the guanico or the ostrich with them in the chace, but they discharge them so that the cord comes against the legs of the ostrich, or two of the legs of the guanico, and is twisted round them by the force and swing of the balls, so that the animal being unable to run, becomes an easy prey to the hunter.
While we stayed on shore, we saw them eat some of their flesh meat raw, particularly the paunch of an ostrich, without any other preparation or cleaning than just turning it inside out, and shaking it. We observed among them several beads, such as I gave them, and two pieces of red baize, which we supposed had been left there, or in the neighbouring country, by Commodore Byron.
After l had spent about four hours with these people, I made signs to them that I was going on board, and that I would take some of them with me if they were desirous to go. As soon as I had made myself understood, above an hundred
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Voyaging Accounts |  |
© Derived from Volume I of the London 1773 Edition: National Library of Australia call no. FERG 7243, page 375, 2004
Published by kind permission of the Library
To cite this page use: https://paulturnbull.org/project/southseas/journals/hv01/375.html