Free The Explorers by Tim Flannery

still they would often or almost always with their hand or something they held in it hide them in some measure at least, seemingly doing that as if by instinct. They painted themselves with white and red, the first in lines and bars on different parts of their bodies, the other in large patches. Their ornaments were few: necklaces prettily enough made of shells, bracelets wore around the upper part of their arms, consisting of strings lapped round with other strings as what we call gimp in England, a string no thicker than a pack thread tied round their bodies which was sometimes made of human hair, a piece of bark tied over their forehead, and the preposterous bone in their noses which I have before mentioned were all that we observed. One had indeed one of his ears bored, the hole being big enough to put a thumb through, but this was peculiar to that one man and him I never saw wear in it any ornament.
    Their language was totally different from that of the islanders; it sounded more like English in its degree of harshness though it could not be called harsh neither. They almost continually made use of the word chircau , which we conceived to be a term of admiration as they still used it whenever they saw anything new; also cherr, tut tut tut tut tut , which probably have the same signification.
    Their canoe was not above ten feet long and very narrow built, with an outrigger fitted much like those at the islands only far inferior; they in shallow waters set her on with poles, in deep paddled her with paddles about four feet long; she just carried four people so that the six who visited us today were obliged to make two embarkations. Their lances were much like those we had seen in Botany Bay, only they were all of them single-pointed, and some pointed with the stings of stingrays and bearded with two or three beards of the same, which made them indeed a terrible weapon; the board or stick with which they flung them was also made in a neater manner.
    After having stayed with us the greatest part of the morning they went away as they came. While they stayed two more and a young woman made their appearance upon the beach; she was to the utmost that we could see with our glasses as naked as the men…
    14 July—Our second lieutenant who was a shooting today had the good fortune to kill the animal that had so long been the subject of our speculations. To compare it to any European animal would be impossible as it has not the least resemblance to any one I have seen. Its forelegs are extremely short and of no use to it in walking, its hind again as disproportionally long; with these it hops seven or eight feet at each hop in the same manner as the jerboa, to which animal it bears much resemblance except in size, this being in weight thirty-eight pounds and the jerboa no larger than a common rat.
    15 July—The beast which was killed yesterday was today dressed for our dinners and proved excellent meat…
    18 July—Indians were over with us today and seemed to have lost all fear of us and became quite familiar; one of them at oúr desire threw his lance which was about eight feet in length—it flew with a degree of swiftness and steadiness that really surprised me, never being above four feet from the ground and stuck deep in at the distance of fifty paces. After this they ventured on board the ship and soon became our very good friends, so the captain and me left them to the care of those who stayed on board and went to a high hill about six miles from the ship. Here we overlooked a great deal of sea to leeward, which afforded a melancholy prospect of the difficulties we were to encounter when we came out of our present harbour. In whichever direction we turned our eyes shoals innumerable were to be seen and no such thing as any passage to sea but through the winding channels between them, dangerous to the last degree.

A RTHUR P HILLIP
    One of the Finest Harbours in the World, 1788

    Soon after the arrival