toxieate, by fermentation, being happily unknown among
them1; neither have they any narcotic which they chew, as.
the natives of fome other countries do opium, beetle-root,
and tobacco: Some o f them drank, freely of our liquors, and
in a few iuftances became, very drunk; but the perfons to
whom this happened were fo far from defiring to repeat the
debauch, that they would nevertouch any of our liquors afterwards.
We were however informed, that they became drunk
b y drinking a juice that is expreffed from the leaves of a plant
which they call A*ya A-va. This plant was not in feafon when
we were there, fo that we faw no inflances of its effcdts; and
as they confidered drunkennefs as a difgrace, they probably
would have concealed from us any inflances which might
have happened during our flay. This vice is almoft peculiar
to the Chiefs, and confiderable perfons, who vie with each
other in drinking the greateft number of draughts, each
draught being about a pint. They keep this intoxicating
juice with great care from their women.
Table they have none ; but their apparatus for eating is
fet out with great neatnefs, though the articles are toofimple
and too few to allow any thing for fhow: and they commonly
eat alone; but when a ftranger happens to vifit them, he fome-
times makes a fecond in their mefs. Of the meal of one of
itheir principal people I fhall give a particular defeription.
He- fits down under the fhade of the next tree, or on the
fhady fide of his houfe, and a large quantity of leaves, either
of the bread-fruit or banana, are neatly fpread before him
upon the ground as a table-cloth ; a baffcet is then fet by him
.that contains his provifion, which, i f fifh or flefh, is ready
drelled, and wrapped up in leaves, and two cocoa-nut fhells,
one full of fait water and the other of frelh : his attendants,
which are not few, feat themfelves round him, and when all
is ready, he begins by wafiling his hands and his mouth
thoroughly
thoroughly with the frefh water, and this he repeats almoft t »769- _
continually throughout the whole meal; he then takes part
of his provifion out of the bafket, which generally confifts
of a fmall fifh or two, two or three bread-fruits, fourteen
or fifteen ripe bananas, or fix or feven apples: he fir ft takes
half a bread-fruit, peels off the rind, and takes out the core
■ with his nails; of-this he puts as much into his mouth as it
can hold, and while lie chews it, takes the fifh out o f the
leaves, and breaks one of them into the fait water, placing
the other, and what remains o f the bread-fruit, upon tire
leaves that have been fpread before him. When this is done,
He takes up a fmall piece o f tire fifh that has been broken
into the falt-water, with all the fingers of one hand, and
fucks it into his mouth, fo as to get with it as much of. the
falt-water as poffible; in the fame manner he takes the veil
by different morfels, and between each, at leaft very frequently,
takes a fmall fup of thelalt-wateiyeither out o f fhe '
cocoa-nut1 fhell, or the palm of his hand : in the mean
time one of his attendants has prepared a young cocoa-nut,
by peeling off the outer rind with his teeth, an operation
which to an European appears very furprifmg ; but it de--
pends fo much upon flight, that many of us were able to do •
it before we left thi ifland, and Tome that could fcarcel-y-
crack, a filbert: the mailer, when he chufes to drinkj takes
the cocoa-nut thus prepared, and boring a hole through the
fhell with Iris finger, or breaking it with a flone, he fucks
out the liquor. When he has eaten his bread-fruit and fifh,
he begins with his plantains, one of which makes but a-
mouthful, though if be as big as a black-pudding; if in-
ftead of plantains he has apples; he never taftes them till
they have been pared; to -clb this- a fhell is picked up fiorh -
the ground, where they are always in plenty, and tofied to
him by an attendant: he immediately begins to cut or ferape
offf