Series 03: Joseph Banks - Endeavour journal, 25 August 1768 - 12 July 1771 (vol. 2) - No. 0406
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[Page 406]
302
Some account of New Holland
they had cut off from the under part & left part of the upper side overhanging. the inside also was not ill hollowd & the sides tolerably thin what burthen it was capable of carrying we had many times an opportunity to see 3 people or at most 4 were as many as dare venture in it & if any more wanted to come over the river which in that place was about a half a mile broad one of these would carry back the Canoe & fetch them
This was the only peice of workmanship which I saw among the New Hollanders that seemd to require tools how they had hollowd her out or cut the ends I cannot guess but upon the whole the work was not ill done Indian patience might do a great deal with shells &c. without the use of stone axes which if they had had they would probably have used to form her outside as well as inside that such a canoe takes them up much time & trouble in the making may be concluded from our seeing so few & still more from the moral certainty which we have of that the