Series 03: Joseph Banks - Endeavour journal, 25 August 1768 - 12 July 1771 (vol. 2) - No. 0418
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[Page 418]
314
New Guinea
Near them was a small shed hardly half coverd with Cocoa nut leaves in & about which were infinite Cocoa nut shells some quite fresh we stayd under these trees some time admiring & wishing for the fruit but as none of us could climb it was impossible to get even one so we even left them & proceeded in search of any thing else which might occur we soon found Plantains & a single Bread fruit tree but neither of these had any fruit on them so we proceeded & had got about a quarter of a mile from the boat when on a sudden 3 Indians rushd out of the woods with a hideous shout about 100 yards beyond us & running towards us the formost threw something out of his hand which flew on one side of him & burnd exactly like gunpowder the other two immediately threw two darts at us on which we fird the most of our guns were loaded with small shot which at the distance they were from us I suppose they hardly felt for they movd not at all but