Series 03: Joseph Banks - Endeavour journal, 25 August 1768 - 12 July 1771 (vol. 2) - No. 0127
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[Page 127]
123.
Janry. 1770. Totara nue
head dress which in some measure resembles their high foretops I was forward to declare it as my opinion that these were much the hansomest women we had seen upon the coast but upon their nearer aproach I was convincd that nothing but the head dress had misled me as I saw not one who was even tolerably hansome
After dinner we went in the boat towards a cove about a mile from the ship as we rowd along something was seen floating upon the water which we took to be a dead seal we rowd up to it & it provd to our great surprize to be the body of a Woman who seemd to have been dead some time we left it & proceeded to our cove where we found a small family of Indians who were a little afraid of us as they all ran away but one they soon however returnd except an old woman man & a child who staid in the woods but not out of sight of us of these people we inquird about the body we had seen they told Tupia that the woman was a relation of theirs & that instead of Burying their dead their custom was to tie a stone to them & throw them into the sea which stone