140 GENERAL ACCOUNT OF SOUTH SEA ISLANDS cu. vir 
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 
