The
Natives Appeared To Pay The Old Man Great Respect And Obedience Of Which
I Saw More Afterwards...I Admitted Some Of The Natives On Board But The
Old Man Could Not Be Prevailed On To Be Of The Party.
They all testified
much surprise at what they saw."
The natives of Jervis Bay seemed to be stronger and more athletic than
those at Sydney, and in the management of their canoes - they differed
from any Grant had ever seen, "particularly in paddling, sometimes making
use of an oval piece of bark, and at others, of their hands, sending the
canoe along very swiftly by either means. When paddling with the hand
they were apt to throw more or less water into the canoe, which, with a
small calabash, they dexterously threw out by a backward motion of the
other hand without turning their heads." At one end of their canoes he
observed two or three wooden pins which he thought were designed to
steady their fish-gigs or to receive the heads of their spears.
He tells how the sailors clipped their beards: "From observing the
smoothness of our chins, they all expressed a desire to have theirs the
same, which some of my people instantly set about, clipping them close
with scissors. Not seeing any of these people painted, I was desirous of
knowing if they were addicted to it. I accordingly got some red paint
which as soon as one of them saw, he immediately made signs for me to rub
his nose with it.
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