, ACROSS THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS, ETC. 199 



poe, which is made by beating the baked roots of the taro, 

 (^Aruni esculentum,) on a sort of wooden trencher, with a large 

 oval stone. The mass so prepared is mixed with a small quan- 

 tity of water, and set aside for several days to ferment, when 

 it becomes about of the consistence of paper hanger's paste. 

 This, with fish, either raw or baked, constitutes almost the sole 

 food of the common people. Give a Sandwich Islander plenty of 

 poe, with a raw fish or two, at each meal, and he asks for nothing 

 more ; deprive him of his dear loved sour paste, and he loses his 

 spirits, and is miserable. I have seen this strikingly shown in 

 the case of the Islanders at the Columbia. The poor Kanakas 

 tried their utmost to manufacture a sort of poe — sweet potatoes, 

 Irish potatoes, and even wappatoos, were operated upon, but all 

 to no purpose ; and when our brig left the river, their farewell's 

 to us were mingled with desires loudly expressed, that on our 

 return, we would bring them each a calabash of poe. >/ 



The manner in which an islander takes his food is primitive 

 to the last degree. He seats himself cross-legged upon the 

 ground with his calabash before him, and a fish and a little pile 

 of salt on a wooden dish by his side. His two first fingers are 

 immersed in the paste, and stirred round several times until 

 enough adheres to coat them thickly, when they are carried by a 

 quick motion to the mouth, which is open to receive them, and are 

 sucked clean — a little pinch with the fingers is then taken of 

 the fish which is perhaps floundering beside him, followed by a 

 similar pinch of salt, to season the whole repast. 



The principal beauty of the islanders, in their own estimation, con- 

 sists in their being enormously fat, some of them weighing upwards 

 of three hundred pounds, and measures are consequently resorted 

 to, that will successfully and expeditiously produce this much 

 desired result. With this view, the chiefs take but little exercise, 

 and eat enormously of the nutritive paste before spoken of. 

 After they have stuffed as much as their stomachs will contain. 



