Joseph Banks - Endeavour Journal, 25 August 1768 - 12 July 1771 - No. 0328
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[Page 328]
Otahite
the arrow however went 274 yards.
12. In my mornings walk today I met a company of traveling musicians they told me where they should be at night so after supper we all repaird to the place there was a large concourse of people round this band which consisted of 2 flutes & three drums the drummers acompanying their musick with their voices they sung many songs generaly in praise of us for these gentlemen like Homer of old must be poets as well as musicians the Indians seeing us entertaind with their musick askd us to sing them an English song which we most readily agreed to & receivd much applause so much so that one of the musicians became desirous of going to England to learn to sing. These people by what we can learn go about from house to house the master of the house & the audience paying them for their musick in cloth meat beads or any thing else which the one wants & the other can spare
13. Mr Monkhouse our surgeon met to day with an insult from an Indian the first that has been met with by any of us he was pulling a flower from a tree which grew on a burying ground & consequently was I suppose sacred when an Indian came behind him & struck him he seiz'd hold of him & attempted to beat him but was prevented by two more who coming up seizd hold of his hair & rescued their companion after which they all ran away
14. I lay in the woods last night as I very often did at day break I was calld up by Mr Gore & went with him shooting