140 GENERAL ACCOUNT OF SOUTH SEA ISLANDS CH. vn 



broken into the salt water in the ends of all the fingers in 

 one hand, and sucks it into his mouth to get as much salt 

 water as possible, every now and then taking a small sup 

 of it, either out of the palm of his hand or out of the 

 cocoanut-shell. 



In the meanwhile one of the attendants has prepared 

 a young cocoanut by peeling off the outer rind with his 

 teeth, an operation which at first appears very surprising 

 to Europeans, but depends so much upon a knack, that 

 before we left the island, many of us were ourselves able 

 to do it, even myself, who can scarce crack a nut. When 

 he chooses to drink, the master takes this from him, and, 

 boring a hole through the shell with his finger, or breaking 

 the nut with a stone, drinks or sucks out the water. When 

 he has eaten his bread-fruit and fish, he begins with his 

 plantains, one of which makes no more than a mouthful, 

 if they are as big as black puddings. If he has apples a 

 shell is necessary to peel them ; one is picked off the ground, 

 where there are always plenty, and tossed to him ; with 

 this he scrapes or cuts off the skin, rather awkwardly, as he 

 wastes almost half the apple in doing it. If he has any 

 tough kind of meat instead of fish, he must have a knife, 

 for which purpose a piece of bamboo is tossed to him, of 

 which he in a moment makes one, by splitting it transversely 

 with his nail. With this he can cut tough meat or tendons 

 at least as readily as we can with a common knife. All 

 this time one of his people has been employed in beating 

 bread-fruit with a stone pestle and a block of wood ; by 

 much beating and sprinkling with water, it is reduced to 

 the consistence of soft paste ; he then takes a vessel like a 

 butcher's tray, and in it lays his paste, mixing it with 

 either bananas, sour paste, or making it up alone, according 

 to the taste of his master ; to this he adds water, pouring it 

 on by degrees, and squeezing it often through his hand till 

 it comes to the consistence of a thick custard. A large 

 cocoanut-shell full of this he then sets before his master, 

 who sups it down as we should a custard, if we had not a 

 spoon to eat it with. His dinner is then finished by 



