1.767. alfo wrapped up in the leaves o f the plantain ; over thefe
Ju'y:' they fpread the remainder of the embers,- mixing among
them feme o f the hot Hones, with more- cocoa-nut-tree
leaves upon them, and then elofe all up with earth, fo that
the heat-is kept in. After a time proportioned to the fize o f
what is drefling,-the oven is opened, and the- meat taken
out, which is. tender-, full o f gravy; and-; in my opinion,
better in every refpeCt than when it is drefTed any other way.
Excepting the-fruit, they have no fauce but fait water, nor
> any knives but fhells, with which they carve- very dexte-
rotifly, always cutting from them-. It is impoffible to
defcribe the-aflonifement they exprefled when they, faw the
Gunner; who, while he kept the. market, ufed to dine on
fcore, drefs his pork and poultry by boiling, them in a pet,
having, as 1 have before-obferved, no ve flH that would hear
the- fire, they had no idea o f hot water or its< efledts; but
ft'om the time that>the old man was in pofle-ffion of an iron
pot, he and his friends eat boiled meat every day. The iron
pots which I: afterwards gave, to the. queen, and feveral o f
the Chiefs., were alfo in.conftant. ufe, and brought as many
people together, as amonfleror.a puppet-feow in a country
fair. They appeared to have no liquor for drinking but
water, and to b.e happily ignorant o f the art of fermenting;
the juice of any. vegetable, fo as. to give, it an.intoxicating
q u a lity th e y , have, ashas been alreadyobferved, the fugar-
cane, but, they feemed tp. make no other ufe o f it than to
chew, which they do not. do habitually, but- only-break.a,
piece off when,they happen to pafs by a place where it is-
growing.
• O f their domeftic life and'amuftments, we had not fuffi-
cient opportunity to obtain much knowlege, but they appear
fometimes to have wars with each other, not only from their
weapons, but the fears with which many o f them were
marked,
3
marked, and fome o f which appeared to be the remains of
very confiderable wounds, made with Hones, bludgeons, or
fome other obtufe weapon: by thefe fears alfo they appear to
be no inconfiderable proficients in furgery, of which indeed
we happened to have more direft evidence. One o f our fea-
men, when he was on fhore, run a large fplinter into his
foot, and the Surgeon being on hoard, one of his comrades
endeavoured to take it out with a penknife; but after
putting the poor fellow to a good deal o f pain, was obliged
to give it over. Our good old Indian, who happened to be
prefent, then called over one o f his countrymen that was
Handing on the oppofite fide of the river, who having looked
at the Teaman’ s foot, went immediately down to the beach,
and- taking up a feell, broke it to a point with his- teeth; with
this inflrument, in little more than a minute, he laid open
the, place, and extracted the fplinter; in the mean time the
old man, who, as foon as he had called the other over, went a
little way into the wood, returned with fome gum, which
he applied to the wound upon a piece o f the cloth that was
wrapped round him, and in two days time it was perfectly
healed.. We afterwards learned that this gum was produced
by the apple-tree, and our Surgeon procured feme of it, and
ufed it as a vulnerary balfam with greatfuccefs.
The habitations o f thefe happy people I have deferibed
a lready; and befides thefe, we faw feveral feeds inclofed
within a wall, on the outfide o f which there were feveral
uncouth figures of men, women, hogs, and dogs, carved on
pofis, that were driven into the ground. Several of the natives
were from time to time feen to enter thefe places, with
a flow pace and dejefted countenance, from which we conjectured
that they were repofitories o f the dead. The area
(within the walls o f thefe places, was generally well paved
yot,. L M m with