cutaneous eruptions, which is the more to be wondered at as their diet confflfc
principally of vegetables. They often move from one part to another in, their canoes,
carrying with them all their houfehold ftuff. Sometimes they deep all night
in their canoes *, but thole ufed for that purpofe are made double» and have
thatched awnings over them..
Tobiah, Obereah's favourite, being at dinner with us, and' not feeming to- like
our provifion,. which was pork-pie, remembering that we had a large cuttle-fiih,.
we ordered it to be brought ;■ Ttibbra Tumaida coming in the mean time, although,
he faid his belly was full, immediately feized on it as if it had been a dainty morfel,.
and, with another man, ate much of it quite raw; and having the reft roafted,
he áte the greateft pan of it i the remainder he put into two cocoa nuts, and lent,
it home with great cate j fo that, to. all. appearance,, they value this filh, as much,
as fome EngliHimen do turtle, or a haunch of venifon. When this fiih was dreffed
it ate like ftewed oyfters, but not fo tender. I have been told that this fiih makes
excellent foup. Thefe people alfo are fond, of dog’s-flelh, and reckon.it delicious
food which we difcoveredby, their bringing the leg-of atdogroafted to fell. Mr.
Banks ate a piece of it, and admired it much. He went out immediately and
boughtone, and gave it to fome Indians to kill and drefs it in their manner, which
they did accordingly. After having held, the dog's mouth down to the pit of hrs
ftomach till he was.ftifled, they made a, parcel of ftones hot upon the ground, laid
him upon diem, and finged.off the hair, then fcraped hiaikin with a cocoa Ihel „
and rubbed it with, coral; after which they took out the entrails, laid them all.
carefolly on the ftones, and after they were broiled ate them with great gofit; nor
did-Xome o f our peopfe fcrupte-to partake with them of this indelicate repaft. Having
fcraped and walhed the dog’s body clean, they prepared an oven of hot ftones,.
covered them with bread-fruit leaver» and laid it upon them,, with liver, heart and
lunes pouting a cocoa-nut full of blood upon them, eOVering-them too with more
leaves and hot ftones, and inclofed the whole with earth pattedtdown very clofe to
keep in the heat. It was about four hours in the oven, and at night it was ferved-
m> for {upper: 1 ate a little of it; it had'the tafte of cenarle-Beef, and a ftrong dif-
avreeahle fmell; but Captain Cook, Mr. Banks,, and Dr. Solander, commended it
histhly faying it was the fweeteft meat they had ever tailed; but the reft of our
people’ cool'd not. be prevailed on to ate any of it. We have invented a ncwddk.
* The women fametimes ro.W- the canoes*.
which is as much difliked by the natives, as any of theirs is by us. Here is a
ipecies of rats, of which there are great numbers in this ifland j we caught fome of
them, and had them fried} moll of the gentlemen in the bell-tent ate of them,
and commended them much} and- fome of the inferior officers ate them in a
morning for breakfaih.
On the 27th',. we faw a-very odd ceremony performed } Tiropoa, one of Tubora
Tumaida’s wives, after weeping,, and expreffing fome emotions of forrow, took-a
ihark’s tooth from under her cloaths, and llruck it againft her head feveral times,
which produced a copious difcharge of blood} then, lamenting moil- bitterly, ihe
articulated fome words in-a mournful tone, and covered the blood with fome pieces
oilcloth}, and, haying Wed about a pint, ihe gathered up as much of it as ihe
could, threw it into thefea, and thenaffumed achearful countenance,.as if nothing,
had happened. This, it feems, is a ceremony generally performed by widows
after the deceafe of their huibands.
This morning a woman, a fat, bouncing, good-looking dame,, whom we found
the queen, having a great quantity;of their cloth of all colours,..made us a vilit, and:
a prefenU
Tootahau,-the king, of the ifland, whom we-caited Hercules, too, and all hk-
family, came and. brought us prefents, which we kindly accepted.
On the 30th, the weather being fair, \ye made a-, tour in ‘the country, which
was very pleafant, and met with ieveral rare plants*- which, afforded muchhagree—
able amufement to our botanical gentlemen.-
©n the 2d'of M’ay-, we milled theaftronomical quadrant, it havingb’een brought
on ihore the day before, in order.to make obfervation of -the traniit o f Venus: feveral;;
men were immediately, difpatched into the country to fearch'for i t }, and they were
informed, by fome of the natives* that its had been carried through the woods to
the eailward. The captain, Mr. Banks, and Mt. Green, with - fome- other of our
men,. Tubora Tumaida/. and a few of the natives, all armed,, fet out in purfuit
of it. Tootahau, the king, and feveral canoes,! were, detained till they returned.
While they, were on this ^expedition,. I. walked out to the. eailx. in- the evening,-and
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