216 cook's first voyage august, 



ness of a half-inch rope to the fineness of a hair, and 

 are made of some vegetable substance, but what in 

 particular we had no opportunity to learn. 



Their food is chiefly fish, though they sometimes 

 contrive to kill the kanguroo, and even birds of 

 various kinds ; notwithstanding, they are so shy that 

 we found it difficult to get within reach of them with 

 a fowling-piece. The only vegetable that can be 

 considered as an article of food is the yam ; yet 

 doubtless they eat the several fruits wiiich have been 

 mentioned among other productions of the country ; 

 and indeed we saw the shells and hulls of several of 

 them lying about the places where they had kindled 

 their fire. 



They do not appear to eat any animal food raw ; 

 but having no vessel in which water can be boiled, 

 they either broil it upon the coals, or bake it in a 

 hole by the help of hot stones, in the same manner 

 as is practised by the inhabitants of the islands in the 

 South Seas. 



Whether they are acquainted with any plant that 

 has an intoxicating quality, we do not know ; but 

 we observed that several of them held leaves of some 

 sort constantly in their mouths, as an European does 

 tobacco, and an East Indian betle : we never saw 

 the plant, but when they took it from their mouths 

 at our request ; possibly it might be a species of the 

 betle, but whatever it was, it had no effect upon the 

 teeth or the lips. 



As they have no nets, they catch fish only by 

 striking, or with a hook and line, except such as 

 they find in the hollows of the rocks and shoals, 

 which are dry at half ebb. 



Their manner of hunting we had no opportunity 

 to see ; but we conjectured by the notches which 

 they had every where cut in large trees in order to 

 climb them, that they took their station near the 

 tops of them, and there watched for such animals as 

 might happen to pass near enough to be reached 



