A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 13Kerr, Robert
History
A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 13
Kerr, Robert
Voyages and travels
In the evening, the weather having become fair and moderate, the boats
were again ordered out, and I landed, accompanied by Mr Banks and Dr
Solander. We were received with great expressions of friendship by the
natives, who behaved with a scrupulous attention not to give offence. In
particular, they took care not to appear in great bodies: One family, or
the inhabitants of two or three houses only, were generally placed
together, to the number of fifteen or twenty, consisting of men, women,
and children. These little companies sat upon the ground, not advancing
towards us, but inviting us to them, by a kind of beckon, moving one
hand towards the breast. We made them several little presents; and in
our walk round the bay found two small streams of fresh water. This
convenience, and the friendly behaviour of the people, determined me to
stay at least a day, that I might fill some of my empty casks, and give
Mr Banks an opportunity of examining the natural produce of the country.
In the morning of the 21st, I sent Lieutenant Gore on shore, to
superintend the watering, with a strong party of men; and they were soon
followed by Mr Banks and Dr Solander, with Tupia, Tayeto, and four
others.
The natives sat by our people, and seemed pleased to observe them; but
did not intermix with them: They traded, however, chiefly for cloth, and
after a short time applied to their ordinary occupations, as if no
stranger had been among them. In the forenoon, several of their boats
went out a-fishing, and at dinner time every one repaired to his
respective dwelling; from which, after a certain time, he returned.
These fair appearances encouraged Mr Banks and Dr Solander to range the
bay with very little precaution, where they found many plants, and shot
some birds of exquisite beauty. In their walk, they visited several
houses of the natives, and saw something of their manner of life; for
they showed, without any reserve, every thing which the gentlemen
desired to see. They were sometimes found at their meals, which the
approach of the strangers never interrupted. Their food at this season
consisted of fish, with which, instead of bread, they eat the root of a
kind of fern, very like that which grows upon our commons in England.
These roots they scorch over the fire, and then beat with a stick, till
the bark and dry outside fall off; what remains is a soft substance,
somewhat clammy and sweet, not unpleasing to the taste, but mixed with
three or four times its quantity of strings and fibres, which are very
disagreeable; these were swallowed by some, but spit out by the far
greater number, who had baskets under them to receive the rejected part
of what had been chewed, which had an appearance very like that of
tobacco in the same state. In other seasons they have certainly plenty
of excellent vegetables; but no tame animals were seen among them except
dogs, which were very small and ugly. Mr Banks saw some of their
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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