CoLenso.—IJgnorance of Ancient New Zealander of Use of Projectiles, 107 
monly used as weapons of attack in the South Sea Islands, which Cook and 
his companions had but lately left. While the use of the bow and arrow, 
for sport, was also known to some of those islanders. 
Captain Wallis, who discovered Tahiti in 1767 (two years before Cook’ 
first visited it and New Zealand), was fiercely attacked by the Tahitians, who 
surrounded his ship with “a fleet of more than 800 canoes, carrying 2,000 
men.” On that occasion (when Wallis was in danger, and only saved by 
his big guns), the islanders commonly used powerful slings, with which 
they did some execution even in a ship of war. Captain Wallis says :— - 
“ The canoes pulled towards the ship's stern, and began again to throw stones 
with great force and dexterity, by the help of slings, from a considerable dis- 
tance; each of these stones weighed about 2lbs., and many of them 
wounded the people on board, who would have suffered much more if an 
awning had not been spread over the whole deck to keep out the sun, and 
the hammocks placed in the nettings." Their bows and arrows, however, 
they did not use on that occasion during the fight. Further on Captain 
Wallis adds :—** Their principal weapons are stones, thrown either with the 
hand or sling, and bludgeons; for though they have bows and arrows, the 
arrows are only fit to knock down a bird, none of them being pointed, but 
headed only with a round stone.” 
Sydney Parkinson, who was with Cook on his first voyage, gives a 
drawing of the Tahitian sling (Pl. 13, fig. 1), and a description of it, He 
says :—“ Their sling is about four feet long, made of plaited twine, formed 
from the fibres of the bark of a tree; the part which holds the stone is 
woven very close, and looks like oleih, o which the string gradually 
tapers to a point.” } 
Captain Cook, in 1769, thus speaks of the use of the bow and arrow by 
those Tahitians :—“ Their bows and arrows have not been mentioned before, 
nor were they often brought down to the fort. This day, however, Tupurahi 
Tamaiti brought down his, in consequence of a challenge he had received 
from Mr. Gore. The chief supposed it was to try who could send the 
arrow farthest; Mr. Gore, who best could hit a mark, and as Mr. Gore did 
not value himself upon shooting to a great distance, nor the chief upon 
hitting a mark, there was no trial of skill between them. Tupurahi, 
however, to show us what he could do, drew his bow and sent an arrow, 
none of which are feathered, 274 yards, which is something more than a 
seventh and something less than a sixth part of a mile. Their manner of 
shooting is somewhat singular ; they kneel down, and ee moment the 
arrow is discharged drop the bow.” 
* Wallis’ s Voyage; Cook’s Voyages, Vol, L, pp. 444-448, i 
t crea 75. $ Cook's Voyages, Vol. IL, p. 147, - 
