The Three Voyages of Captain Cook Round the World. Vol. I. Being the First of the First Voyage.Cook, James
History
The Three Voyages of Captain Cook Round the World. Vol. I. Being the First of the First Voyage.
Cook, James
Cook, James, 1728-1779 -- Travel; Explorers -- Great Britain -- Biography; Voyages around the world -- History -- 18th century
The inhabitants of this town were a small tribe, not more than fifty in
number, of both sexes and of every age. Their colour resembles that of
the rust of iron mixed with oil, and they have long black hair: the men
are large, but clumsily built: their stature is from five feet eight to
five feet ten: the women are much less, few of them being more than five
feet high. Their whole apparel consists of the skin of a guanicoe, or
seal, which is thrown over their shoulders, exactly in the state in
which it came from the animal’s back; a piece of the same skin, which is
drawn over their feet, and gathered about the ancles like a purse, and a
small flap, which is worn by the women as a succedaneum for a fig-leaf.
The men wear their cloak open, the women tie it about their waist with a
thong. But although they are content to be naked, they are very
ambitious to be fine. Their faces were painted in various forms: the
region of the eye was in general white, and the rest of the face adorned
with horizontal streaks of red and black; yet scarcely any two were
exactly alike. This decoration seems to be more profuse and elaborate
upon particular occasions; for the two gentlemen who introduced Mr.
Banks and the Doctor into the town were almost covered with streaks of
black in all directions, so as to make a very striking appearance. Both
men and women wore bracelets of such beads as they could make themselves
of small shells or bones; the women both upon their wrists and ancles,
the men upon their wrists only: but to compensate for the want of
bracelets on their legs, they wore a kind of fillet of brown worsted
round their heads. They seemed to set a particular value upon any thing
that was red, and preferred beads even to a knife or a hatchet.
Their language in general is guttural, and they express some of their
words by a sound exactly like that which we make to clear the throat
when any thing happens to obstruct it; yet they have words that would be
deemed soft in the better languages of Europe. Mr. Banks learnt what he
supposes to be their name for beads and water. When they wanted beads,
instead of ribbons or other trifles, they said _hallĕcă_; and when they
were taken on shore from the ship, and by signs asked where water might
be found, they made the sign of drinking, and pointing as well to the
casks as the watering-place, cried _Oodâ_.
We saw no appearance of their having any food but shell-fish; for though
seals were frequently seen near the shore, they seemed to have no
implements for taking them. The shell-fish is collected by the women,
whose business it seems to be to attend at low water, with a basket in
one hand, and a stick, pointed and barbed, in the other, and a satchel
at their backs: they loosen the limpets, and other fish that adhere to
the rocks with the stick, and put them into the basket, which, when
full, they empty into the satchel.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account