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A paddle used by the natives of Morris's Island

Object Status:

Unlocated

Accession Date:

December 11, 1788

Primary Source Reference:

Pennsylvania Packet (Philadelphia), 11 Dec 1788

Notes:

Robert Morris (1734-1806), the "Financier of the Revolution," owned the merchant ship Alliance (formerly USS Alliance), which on its trading voyage to China, June 1787 to Sep 1788, took a new route through the Dutch East Indies and the Solomon Islands and returned with objects given to the Museum. While passing through the Caroline Islands, the ship's captain, Thomas Read, named one of two that were not on his charts Morris Island (probably the island now known as Pohnpei). (Wikipedia, s.v. USS Alliance [1778]