Captain Cook's Journal During His First Voyage Round the World: Made in H. M. Bark "Endeavour", 1768-71Cook, James
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Captain Cook's Journal During His First Voyage Round the World: Made in H. M. Bark "Endeavour", 1768-71
Cook, James
Oceania -- Discovery and exploration -- Early works to 1800; Voyages around the world -- Early works to 1800
The produce of this Island is Bread Fruit, Cocoa Nuts, Bonanoes,
Plantains, a fruit like an Apple, sweet Potatoes, Yams, a Fruit known by
the name of Eag Melloa, and reck'ned most delicious; Sugar Cane which the
inhabitants eat raw; a root of the Salop kind, called by the inhabitants
Pea; the root also of a plant called Ether; and a fruit in a pod like a
Kidney bean, which when roasted eats like a Chestnut, and is called Ahee;
the fruit of a Tree which they call Wharra, something like a Pine Apple;
the fruit of a Tree called by them Nano; the roots of a Fern and the
roots of a plant called Thive. All these Articles the Earth almost
Spontaniously produces, or, at least, they are raised with very little
Labour. In the Article of food these people may almost be said to be
exempt from the Curse of our Forefathers, scarcely can it be said that
they Earn their bread with the sweat of their brow; benevolent Nature
hath not only Supply'd them with necessarys, but with abundance of
Superfluities. The Sea coast supplies them with vast Variety of most
Excellent fish, but these they get not without some Trouble and
Perseverance. Fish seems to be one of their greatest Luxuries, and they
Eat it either raw or Dressed and seem to relish it one way as well as the
other. Not only fish but almost everything that comes out of the Sea is
Eat and Esteem'd by these People; Shell Fish, Lobsters, Crabs, and even
sea insects, and what is commonly called blubbers of many kinds, conduce
to their support.
For tame Animals they have Hogs, Fowls, and Dogs, the latter of which we
learned to Eat from them, and few were there of us but what allow'd that
a South Sea dog was next to an English Lamb. One thing in their favour is
that they live intirely upon Vegetables; probably our Dogs would not Eat
half so well. Little can be said in favour of their Fowles, but their
pork is most Excellent, they have no beasts of Prey of any Sort, and Wild
Fowls are scarce and confin'd to a few Species. When any of the Chiefs
kill a Hog it seems to be almost equally divided among all his
Dependents, and as these are generally very numerous, it is but a little
that come to each person's share, so that their chief food is Vegetables,
and of these they eat a large quantity.
Cookery seems to have been but little studied here; they have only 2
Methods of applying Fire--broiling and Baking, as we called it; the
method this is done I have before described, and I am of Opinion that
Victuals dressed this way are more juicy and more equally done than by
any of our Methods, large Fish in particular, Bread Fruit, Bananoes.
Plantains Cooked this way eat like boil'd Potatoes, and was much used by
us by way of bread whenever we could get them. Of bread Fruit they make 2
or 3 dishes by beating it with a Stone Pestle till it makes a Paste,
mixing Water or Cocoa Nut Liquor, or both, with it, and adding ripe
Plantains, Bananoes, Sour Paste, etc.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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