4.50 cook's VOYAGK TO JULY, 



neatly carved ; and they shape bones into small 

 figures of men, birds, and other things, which must 

 be very difficult, as their carving instrument is only 

 a shark's tooth. 



Yams, plantains, and cocoa-nuts, compose the 

 greatest part of their vegetable diet. Of their 

 animal food, the chief articles are hogs, fowls, fish, 

 and all sorts of shell-fish; but the lower people 

 eat rats. The two first vegetable articles, with, 

 bread-fruit, are what may be called the basis of 

 their food, at different times of the year, with fish 

 and shell-fish ; for hogs, fowls, and turtle, seem only 

 to be occasional dainties reserved for their chiefs. 

 The intervals between the seasons of these vegetable 

 productions must be, sometimes, considerable, as 

 they prepare a sort of artificial bread from plantains, 

 which they put under ground before ripe, and suffer 

 them to remain, till they ferment, when they are 

 taken out, and made up into small balls; but so sour 

 and indifferent, that they often said our bread was 

 preferable, though somewhat musty. 



Their food is generally dressed by baking, in 

 the same manner as atOtaheite; and they have the 

 art of making, from different kinds of fruit, several 

 dishes, which most of us esteemed very good. I 

 never saw them make use of any kind of sauce; 

 nor drink any thing at their meals but water, or the 

 juice of the cocoa-nut; for the kava is only their 

 morning draught. I cannot say that they are cleanly 

 either in their cookery or manner of eating. The 

 generality of them will lay their victuals upon the 

 first leaf they meet with, however dirty it may be; 

 but when food is served up to the chiefs, it is com- 

 monly laid upon green plantain leaves. When the 

 king made a meal, he was, for the most part, attended 

 upon by three or four persons. One cut large pieces 

 of the joint, or of the fish; another divided it into 

 mouthfuls; and others stood by with cocoa-nuts, and 

 whatever else he might want. I never saw a large 



