FOOD OF THE ABORIGINES. 99 



of several of their dishes. As w^s nearly the universal custom 

 throughout the tropical Pacitic, they cooked in pits in the earth in 

 which they built tires and heated stones, covering- their food with 

 hot stones and leaves somewhat after the manner of a New England 

 chimbake. Cooking in this manner the}' called "chahan."" To cook 

 on the embers they called "peha.'" Few articles of their food could 

 be eaten raw. Fish called '"'manahag"" were caught in great quanti- 

 ties at certain periods, dried in the sun, and stored for future con- 

 sumption. Breadfruit was cut into thin slices and dried. It could be 

 kept for a long time and eaten during the season when the fresh fruit 

 was lacking. The dried slices could be eaten without further prepara- 

 tion, or the}' could be prepared in various ways for food. At their 

 feasts a sort of broth or stew Avas made of rice. Taro was not made 

 into poi, as in the Hawaiian Islands. 



•They did not eat to excess nor did they use wine or other intoxicat- 

 ing li((uor. It was not until the Spaniards brought Filipinos to Guam 

 that the natives learned to feiinent tuba from the sap of the coconut 

 and to distill it into aguardiente. Water was their only beverage^ 

 besides the milk of unripe coconuts. 



Narcotics. — The custom of betel chewing was universal, and has 

 survived to the present day. Around a fragment of the nut of the 

 betel palm {Areca catJiecu) is wrapped a fresh leaf of betel pepper 

 {Piper hetle) and a pinch of lime burned from coral rock is added. This 

 stains the saliva red and discolors the teeth. An aromatic fragrance 

 is imparted to the breath, which is not disagreeable. Kava, an infu- 

 sion of the root of Piper tnethysticum^ of wide use throughout the 

 greater part of the Pacific islands was, unknown to them. 



Fire. — It was asserted bv the earlv missionaries that the al)origines 

 of Guam were ignorant of tire before the advent of the Spaniards.^ 



« See list of fishes, p. 83. 



& "Their drink is water," says one of the early missionaries, "and consequently 

 their most usual infirmity is hydropsy." Garcia, Vida y Marty rio de Sanvitores, 

 p. 198, 1685. 



cThis statement was first made hy Garcia, who says: "It need not 1)e asked 

 whether they had any knowledge of letters, science, or art I'oncerning those who 

 were ignorant of one of the elements and knew not that there was fire in the world 

 until they saw it kindled by the Spaniards in the shipwreck of the year 1638." 

 (Garcia, note b, p. 198.) The assertion was probably made in consequence of the 

 yarns of some of the shipwrecked sailors, who also recounted a number of miraculous 

 hap])enings. Using Padre Garcia's statement as a theme, Pere Charles le Gobien, 

 repeats it with elaborate variations, though he does not give his authority for his 

 information. Having read Pigafetta's narrative of INIagellan's exjiedition, Le Gobien 

 dates back their introduction to fire to the time of his discovery of the ishind, when 

 he caused a number of liouses and boats to })e burned. " What is most astonishing," 

 says Le Gobien, "and what one will tind liard to believe, is that they had never 

 seen fire. This element so necessary was entirely unknown to them. They knew 

 neither the use of it nor its qualities; and never were they more surprised than when 



