CAPTAIN TUCKEY’S NARRATIVE. 157 
The only appearance of metals is in the ferruginous clay 
and stones near the river, which the natives grind, and 
of these form their pots for boiling (their only cooking uten- 
sil); these small stones rounded to the size of a pea, 
serve them for small shot. Small particles of copper were 
observed by Dr. Smith in some of the specimens of mine- 
rals he collected. 
During my absence the seine was hauled, but not a single 
fish was taken. The only implements of fishing seen with 
the natives were the scoop-net, already spoken of, and 
a kind of fish pot of reeds. The fish we could procure from 
them are all very small, with the exception of one which I 
bought, and whose skin Mr. Cranch preserved. It appears 
to be of the genus Murena. 'Testaceous fish are extremely 
few; a single shell (Helv) found on the summit of one 
of the hills near a fishing hut, and an oyster taken up by 
the dredge, are all we have been able to procure. 
On the banks we have found snares for taking beach 
birds, nearly resembling those used in Ireland to catch 
snipes, being an elastic twig with a bit of line and noose, 
which catches the bird’s neck. 
The higher we proceed the fewer European articles the 
natives possess; the country grass-cloth generally forms 
the sole clothing of the mass of the people, and gourds are 
