ve however some reason to believe
that the bark canoes are also used where the wooden ones are
constructed, for upon one of the small islands where the natives had
been fishing for turtle, we found one of the little paddles which had
belonged to such a boat, and would have been useless on board any other.

By what means the inhabitants of this country are reduced to such a
number as it can subsist, is not perhaps very easy to guess; whether,
like the inhabitants of New Zealand, they are destroyed by the hands of
each other in contests for food; whether they are swept off by
accidental famine, or whether there is any cause which prevents the
increase of the species, must be left for future adventurers to
determine.[95] That they have wars, appears by their weapons; for
supposing the lances to serve merely for the striking of fish, the
shield could be intended for nothing but a defence against men; the only
mark of hostility, however, which we saw among them, was the perforation
of the shield by a spear, which has been just mentioned, for none of
them appeared to have been wounded by an enemy. Neither can we determine
whether they are pusillanimous or brave; the resolution with which two
of them attempted to prevent our landing, when we had two boats full of
men, in Botany Bay, even after one of them was wounded with small shot,
gave us reason to conclude that they were not only naturally courageous,
but that they had acquired a familiarity with the dangers of hostility,
and were, by habit as well as nature, a daring and warlike people; but
their precipitate flight from every other place that we approached,
without even a menace, while they were out of our reach, was an
indication of uncommon tameness and timidity, such as those who had only
been occasionally warriors must be supposed to have shaken off, whatever
might have been their natural disposition. I have faithfully related
facts, the reader must judge of the people for himself.[96]

[Footnote 95: Some remarks on this very interesting subject will be
given hereafter.--E.]

[Footnote 96: The reader may wait a little till he has received some
information destined to his use. What has been now given is too scanty
evidence to justify a final decision in the matter.--E.]

From the account that has been given of our commerce with them, it
cannot be supposed that we should know much of their language; yet as
this is an object of great curiosity, especially to the learn