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Flinders's Providence Logbook Sep 7, 1792

Remarks Friday September 7th H.M.S. Providence

Remarks

Immediatley we brought to in the Morning of the sixth, we saw four Canoes coming towards us from A. two of them came tolerably near and made Signs of Friendship by clapping their Heads, holding up Cocoa nutts and waving their Hands, and we endeavoured to persuade them to come alongside by repeating their Signals and holding up a white Flag to them. one of them made Signs for us to veer him a rope astern to haul up by, but before that could be done they all four went to the Brig. at first we were afraid they had some hostile Intention, which their antecedent Proceedings with the Boat in some measure presaged. the People on board the Assistant had got themselves under Arms, but happily without a Cause, as the Indians behaved very amicably exchanging their Arms for Iron which they seemed to have some Knowledge of – When the Brig got under weigh they all left her and one of them paddled up alongside of us. The Canoe I suppose was near 50 Feet long, made of a single tree hollowed out; except the Gun whales which were lashed to the Body and seperate. – it had an Outrigger on each side, and a raft laid over the Center of the Canoe reaching nearly from one to the other – her Bows were not sharp like all other Canoes I had seen, but was cut off short and covered with coarse Matting which extended two or three Feet within the Canoe and fromed [formed] a kind of Place forward to put Cocoa nutts or any thing else in, out of the way – the Canoe contained about 10 Men black as the Guinea Negroes and stark naked. they clapped their Heads as we had seen before and called out with great Vehemence Whou, whou, whou, who, holding out their Arrows and other Arms and asking for tooree tooree tooree by which they meant Iron with great Eagerness. their Arrows were some of them pointed and barbed with Bone and carved rather curiously, but their common ones were a Cane with about ½ a foot length of hard pointed wood at the End, some thing like the Goah of Oteheite – and from four to six feet long – their Bows were made of a brown coloured Wood and appeared to be some kind of a Bamboo slit by the Joints and its being a little hollow but the outer part is nevertheless very thick and so strong that not one of us could bend it. their Bow strings are slit Cane, which is very strong – they have likewise Clubs made of the black Toah wood, one I saw had its heavy Part carved to the shape of a Parrots Head with a ruff round its Neck – Upon the whole the Arms of these People bespeak then ingenious and warlike and their Appearance perfect Savages whether they have the Custom of devouring their fellow creatures as some of the Inhabitants of New Guinea are said to have we had no Opportunity of informing ourselves – Out of the last Canoe that came on board we persuaded two to come in the Ship. in their Persons we observed that the Cartiladge of the Nose was entirely cut away and the Lobes of their Ears slit like the Inhabitants of Blighs Islands. they appeared much surprised but could not be persuaded to go below – in speaking to each other their Language was very distinct – they wore ornaments of small Shells strung like Beads

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