ANIMAL FOOD. 91 



circinalis as a sago-yieldincf plant ■} we learn, however, from Dr. 

 Seemann, that its sago is reserved for the use oi the chiefs.^ .... 

 I may here refer to the fact that the Treasury Islanders, although 

 acquainted with the common Caryota palm (" eala") as yielding a 

 kind of sago, do not often avail themselves of it. 



Fish,^ opossums [Cuscus), and pigs supply the natives of Bougain- 

 ville Straits with the more nitrogenous elements of food. But as 

 with vegetable so with animal food, the term " kai-kai "^ is a very 

 comprehensive one with the Solomon Islander. Shellfish furnish 

 occasional sustenance. Amongst them I may mention Ti'idacna gigas, 

 and species of Hippopus, Cardium, Turho, and of many other marine 

 genera. The Cyrenw, that lie sunk in the black mud of the man- 

 grove swamps, are much esteemed : and those natives who have 

 their homes in these gloomy and unwholesome regions employ as 

 food Pyrazus palustris which thrives in little clusters on the mud, 

 and in the puddles around the mangrove roots. The Unios and the 

 freshwater Nerites are also eaten. The flesh of the large monitor- 

 lizard, Varanus indicus, is much prized. The crocodile is not 

 rejected ; and, as the following anecdote will show, the past misdeeds 

 of all its tribe are heaped upon it, whilst the victors at the same 

 time satisfy their sense of hunger, and glut their feelings of revenge. 

 «... The freshwater lake of Wailava in Santa Anna is frequented 

 by crocodiles which occasionally attack natives fishing on the banks. 

 At the end of 1882, one of these animals was shot by Mr. Charles 

 Sproul, an American resident. The news of its death caused great 

 rejoicing amongst the people of the village; and Mr. Sproul, who 

 was looked upon as a great hero, received presents of yams as an 

 acknowledgment of his prowess. After he had skinned it, he gave 

 the carcase to the villao;e, and a feast was held. One old man, who 

 had been nearly carried oflf by a crocodile at the lake a few years 

 before and had had his leg broken, was positive that this was the 

 identical animal, and he was so delighted at its death, that, as Mr. 

 Sproul told me, there was nothing he would not have done for him. 

 The old man claimed as his share the portion of the head attached 



1 Home's "Fiji," p. 104. 



2 Seemann-s"Viti,"p. 289. 



3 I came upon some bushmen from the interior of Bougainville, who, although they were 

 staying some time at a village on the coast of Fauro, would not eat fish ; and I learned from 

 the Fauro natives that the Bougainville bushmen abstained from fish, even when they were 



able to get it. 



* " Kaikai " is a term for " food " : but, like " tambu," it has been introduce.l by traders. 



