The former flies off from the dart the instant its velocity becomes greater
than that of the hand. But it remains on the finger ready to be used again.
With darts they kill both birds and fish, and are sure of hitting a mark,
within the compass of the crown of a hat, at the distance of eight or ten
yards; but, at double that distance, it is chance if they hit a mark the
size of a man's body, though they will throw the weapon sixty or seventy
yards. They always throw with all their might, let the distance be what it
will. Darts, bows and arrows are to them what musquets are to us. The
arrows are made of reeds pointed with hard wood; some are bearded and some
not, and those for shooting birds have two, three, and sometimes four
points. The stones they use are, in general, the branches of coral rocks
from eight to fourteen inches long, and from an inch to an inch-and-half in
diameter. I know not if they employ them as missive weapons; almost every
one of them carries a club, and besides that, either darts, or a bow and
arrows, but never both; those who had stones kept them generally in their
belts.

I cannot conclude this account of their arms without adding an entire
passage out of Mr Wales's journal. As this gentleman was continually on
shore amongst them, he had a better opportunity of seeing what they could
perform, than any of us. The passage is as follows: "I must confess I have
been often led to think the feats which Homer represents his heroes as
performing with their spears, a little too much of the marvellous to be
admitted into an heroic poem; I mean when confined within the strait stays
of Aristotle. Nay, even so great an advocate for him as Mr Pope,
acknowledges them to be _surprising_. But since I have seen what these
people can do with their wooden spears, and them badly pointed, and not of
a very hard nature, I have not the least exception to any one passage in
that great poet on this account. But, if I see fewer exceptions, I can find
infinitely more beauties in him; as he has, I think, scarce an action,