NEW GiriKEA. 
tants of this village. The narrative of his voyage through 
the Moluecan Archipelago and along the south-west coast 
of New Guinea, which appeared in 1828, was translated 
by the writer during the passage from England of Her 
Majesty's ships ' Alligator ' and ' Britomart" to form the 
and having their hair short-cropped ; like them also they were all 
stark naked, but we thongilt the colour of tlieir skin was not quite 
so dark ; this, however, might perhaps be merely the effect of their 
not being quite so dirty. All this while they were shouting 
defiance, and letting off their fires by four or five at a time. 'What 
these fires were, or for wliat purpose intended, we could not 
imagine ; tiiose who discharged them had in theu- hands a abort 
piece of stick — possibly a hollow eane — ^which they swung sideways 
from them, and we immediately saw fire and smoke, esActly re- 
sembling those of a musket, and of no longer duration. This 
wonderful pbenomenon was ohserred from. "the ship, and the de- 
ception was so great tliat tbc people on board thought they had 
fire-arms ; and in the boat, if we had not been so near as tliat we 
must have heard the report, we should have thoug-iit they had been 
firing volleys. 
"After we had looked at them atteotively some tirae^ without 
taking any notiee of their flashing aiid. vociferation, we fired some 
muskets over their lieads j upon hearing the balls rattle among the 
trees they walked leisurely away, and we returned to the ship. 
Upon examining the weapons they had tltrown at us we found tbcni 
to be light darts, about four feet long, very ill-made, of a reed or 
bamboo-cane, and pointed with hard wood, iu which there were 
many barbs. These were dbcUai^ed with great force, for though 
we were at sixty yards distanee they went beyond us, but in what 
manner we could not exiictlj sec ; possibly they might be shot with 
a Ik)w, but we saw no bows among them wheu we surveyed 
them from the boat, and we were in general of opiniou that 
they were throvm with a stick, in the manner practised by the 
New HoEanders." — " Captain Cook's Fhrst Voyage," book in, 
eliapter vii. 
