The Three Voyages of Captain Cook Round the World. Vol. II. Being the Second of the First VoyageCook, James
History
The Three Voyages of Captain Cook Round the World. Vol. II. Being the Second of the First Voyage
Cook, James
Cook, James, 1728-1779 -- Travel; Explorers -- Great Britain -- Biography; Voyages around the world -- History -- 18th century
The horses are from eleven to twelve hands high, but though they are
small, they are spirited and nimble, especially in pacing, which is
their common step: the inhabitants generally ride them without a saddle,
and with no better bridle than a halter. The sheep are of the kind which
in England are called Bengal sheep, and differ from ours in many
particulars. They are covered with hair instead of wool, their ears are
very large, and hang down under their horns, and their noses are arched;
they are thought to have a general resemblance to a goat, and for that
reason are frequently called _cabritos_: their flesh we thought the
worst mutton we had ever eaten, being as lean as that of the buffalo’s,
and without flavour. The hogs, however, were some of the fattest we had
ever seen, though, as we were told, their principal food is the outside
husks of rice, and the palm syrup dissolved in water. The fowls are
chiefly of the game breed, and large, but the eggs are remarkably small.
Of the fish which the sea produces here, we know but little: turtles are
sometimes found upon the coast, and are by these people, as well as all
others, considered as a dainty.
The people are rather under, than over the middling size; the women
especially are remarkably short and squat-built: their complexion is a
dark brown, and their hair universally black and lank. We saw no
difference in the colour of rich and poor, though in the South Sea
islands, those that were exposed to the weather were almost as brown as
the New Hollanders, and the better sort nearly as fair as the natives of
Europe. The men are in general well-made, vigorous, and active, and have
a greater variety in the make and disposition of their features than
usual: the countenances of the women, on the contrary, are all alike.
The men fasten their hair up to the top of their heads with a comb, the
women tie it behind in a club, which is very far from becoming. Both
sexes eradicate the hair from under the arm, and the men do the same by
their beards, for which purpose, the better sort always carry a pair of
silver pincers hanging by a string round their necks; some however
suffer a very little hair to remain upon their upper lips, but this is
always kept short.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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