NEW GUINEA.
Captain Cook describes the men of a part of the coast of this island, on which, he landed, as making much the same appearance as the New Hol ander being naked and having ih-'ir hair cropped short. They showed so hostile u dispusitiuu t'uat t'nc captain and his lar.ty leimucd, immediately to hi 3 bo;.t and rowed along the shore, the savages to the amount of nearly one hundred all the while shouting definite, and throwing out of the ,r hau'is something that burned exactly like gun-powder hut made no rcpoit. Whin these lire) were, or for what purpose intended, could not be guessed at. Those who discharged them ha.l in their hands a short piece of stick possibly a hollow cane which they swung sideways from them, and lire and smoke in>in. di.iti-Iy issued exactly resembling the charge of a musket and of no longer duration. This singular phenomenon wns observed also liom (he ship, and (he deception was so great that thu p?ople on boatd conceived they had lire aruH and even the crew of the boit, had they not been so near that they must have heiril the report if there had been any, would have thought that they had hcrfii firm" volleys.
On examining some weapons which the natives had shown, they Here found to he light darts about lour feet long, very ill made of reed or ham boo cane and pointed with hard wood, in which there were many barbs. Thty were discharged with o rca t force ; for at the distance of sixty yards they went beyond the party. Jn what manner thoy were thrown could not be exactly seen, but the general opinion was that they were discharged with a stick in the manner practised by the New Hollanders.— Thr. World in Miniature,
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/MMTKM18511218.2.11
Bibliographic details
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Maori Messenger : Te Karere Maori, Volume 3, Issue 78, 18 December 1851, Page 3
Word count
Tapeke kupu
303NEW GUINEA. Maori Messenger : Te Karere Maori, Volume 3, Issue 78, 18 December 1851, Page 3
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