That had set me thinking also, then I remembered the photographs of the trees in the WWI battlefields. They had been subjected to high explosives, shrapnel and bullets, and although many branches went the stumps still stood. It reminded me how resiliant wood can be - and I had little doubt that the very tough woods used in West Polynesian clubs would withstand the impact of a musket ball.
However, in my prosaic imagination I imagine somebody firing the balls at a club that was laid down or propped against a wall (rather than fending them off in a fight). There could be reasons to do this other than mere vandalism: to show how the old technology could be "stronger" than the new for instance or in some way to reinforce the mana of the club.
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