Extracts from Phillips' 's Account of New Holland, 



when taken. They have also small hoop nets in which 

 they catch Lobsters and other sea cray fish. Their canoes 

 are small and narrow, and sometimes joined together with 

 cross boards ; they also use a short paddle or oar, rounded 

 at the lower end and flattened. These savages are tall and 

 thin, their mouths large, of a visage dark and disgusting ; 

 they have few ornaments for their persons, except such as 

 are impressed upon the skin itself or laid on in the manner 

 of paint. The men keep their beards short, as it is thought 

 by scorching off the hair, and several of them at the first 

 arrival of our people, appear to take great delight in being 

 shaved. They sometimes hang in their hair the teeth of 

 dogs and other animals, the claws of lobsters, and several 

 small bones, which they fasten there by means of gum; but 

 such ornaments have never been seen upon the women, 

 though they seem not to make any rational attempt at 

 cloathirg themselves ; they are by no means insensible of 

 the cold, and appear very much to dislike rain. The 

 Governor therefore being convinced by these circumstances, 

 that cloathing would be very acceptable to them, if they 

 could be induced to come sufficiently amongst the English 

 to learn the use of it, ordered a supply of frocks and jackets 

 to be made long and loose to serve either for men or women. 

 The bodies of these people smell very strangely of oil, 

 and the natural darkness of their colour is much increased 

 by dirt. • But although in these points they shew so little 

 delicacy, they are not without emotion of disgust when 

 they meet with strong effluvia, to which their organs arc 

 unaccustomed. One of them having touched a piece of 

 pork, held out his finger for his companion to smell, with 

 strong marks of distaste. Bread and meat they seldom 

 refuse to take, but generally throw it away soon after. 

 Fish they always accept very eagerly. Whether they use 

 any particular rites of Burial is not yet known, but it seems 



