130 cook's voyage to march, 



principally of fish, and vegetables ; such as yams, 

 sweet potatoes, tarrow, plantains, sugar-canes, and 

 bread-fruit. To these, the people of a higher rank 

 add the flesh of hogs and dogs, dressed in the same 

 manner as at the Society Islands. They also eat 

 fowls of the same domestic kind with ours ; but 

 they are neither plentiful, nor much esteemed by 

 them. It is remarked by Captain Cook, that the 

 bread-fruit and yams appeared scarce amongst them, 

 and were reckoned great rarities. We found this 

 not to be the case on our second visit ; and it is 

 therefore most probable, that, as these vegetables 

 were generally planted in the interior parts of the 

 country, the natives had not had time to bring them 

 down to us, during the short stay we made in Wymoa 

 Bay. Their fish they salt, and preserve in gourd- 

 shells ; not, as we at first imagined, for the purpose 

 of providing against any temporary scarcity, but 

 from the preference they give to salted meats. For 

 we also found, that the Erees used to pickled pieces 

 of pork in the same manner, and esteemed it a great 

 delicacy. 



Their cookery is exactly of the same sort with that 

 already described, in the accounts that have been 

 published of the other South Sea islands : and though 

 Captain Cook complains of the sourness of their tar- 

 row puddings, yet, in justice to the many excellent 

 meals they afforded us in Karakakooa Bay, I must 

 be permitted to rescue them from this general cen- 

 sure, and to declare, that I never eat better, even 

 in the Friendly Islands. It is however remarkable, 

 that they had not got the art of preserving the bread- 

 fruit, and making the sour paste of it called Maihee, 

 as at the Society Islands ; and it was some satisfac- 

 tion to us, in return for their great kindness and hos- 

 pitality, to have it in our power to teach them this 

 useful secret. They are exceedingly cleanly at their 

 meals ; and their mode of dressing both their animal 

 and vegetable food, was universallv allowed to be 



