pieces o f fhells, and pearls: the pearls are worn chiefly by
the women, from whom I purchafed about two dozen of a
fmall f i zethey were of a good colour, but were all fpoiled
by boring. Mr. Furneaux faw feveralin his excurfion to the
wed, but he could purchafe none with any thing he had to
offer. I obferved, that it was here a univerfal cudom both
for men and women to have the hinder part o f their thighs
and loins marked very thick with black lines in various
forms. Thefe marks were made by driking the teeth o f an
indrument, fomewhat like a comb, juft through the fkin,
and rubbing into the punftures a kind o f pafte made o f foot
and oil, which leaves an indelible ftain. The boys and girls
under twelve years o f age, are not marked; but we obferved
a few o f the men whofe legs were marked in chequers
by the fame method, and they appeared to be perfons
o f fuperior rank and authority. One o f the principal attendants
upon the queen, appeared much more difpofed to imitate
our manners than the reft; and our people, with whom
he foon became a favourite, diftinguifhed him by the name
of Jonathan. This man, Mr. Furneaux clothed completely
in an Englifh drefs, and it fat very eafy upon him. Our
officers were always carried on fhore, it being fhoal water
where we landed, and Jonathan, affuming new ftate with
his new finery, made fome o f his people carry him on fhore
in the fame manner. He very foon attempted to ufe a knife
and fork at his meals, but at firft, when he had ftuck a mor-
fel upon his fork, and tried to feed himfelf with that inftru-
ment, he could not guide it, but by the mere force o f habit
his hand came to his mouth, and the victuals at the end o f
the fork went away to his ear.
Their food confifts o f pork, poultry, dog’s flefh, and fifh,
bread-fruit, bananas, plantains, yams, apples, and a four
fruit, which, though not pleafant by itfelf, gives an agreeable
ablerelifh to roafted bread-fruit, with which it is frequently
beaten up. They have abundance o f rats, but, as far as I
could difcover, thefe make no part o f their food. The river
affords them good mullet, but they are neither large nor in
plenty. They find conchs, mufcles, and other fhell-fifh on
the reef, which they gather at low water, and eat raw with
bread fruit before they come on fhore. They have alfo very
fine cray-fifh, and they catch with lines, and hooks of
mother o f pearl, at a little diftance from the fhore, parrot-
fifh, groopers, and many other forts, o f which they are fo
fond that we could feldom prevail upon them to fell us a
few at any price. They have alfo nets o f an enormous fize,
with very fmall mefhes, and with thefe they catch abundance
of fmall filh about the fize o f fardines; but while they
were ufing both nets and lines with great fuccefs, we could
not catch a Angle fifh with either. We procured fome of
their hooks and lines, but for want of their art we were ftill
difappointed.
The manner in which they drefs their food is this: they
kindle a fire by rubbing the end of one piece of dry wood
upon the fide o f another, in'the fame manner as our carpenters
whet a duffel; then they dig a pit about half a foot deep,
and two or three yards in circumference: they pave the
bottom with large pebble ftones, which they lay down very
fmooth and even, and then kindle a fire in it with dry wood,
leaves, and the hulks o f the cocoa nut. When the ftones
are fufficiently heated, they take out the embers, and rake
up the allies on every fide; then they cover the ftones with a
layer of green cocoa-nut tree leaves, and wrap up the animal
that is to be drefied in the leaves of the plantain ; i f it is a
fmall hog they wrap it up whole, i f a large one they fplit it.
When it is placed in the pit, they cover it with the hot embers,
and lay upon them bread-fruit and yams, which are
alfo