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 houses of Savu are all built upon the same plan, and differ only in
size, being large in proportion to the rank and riches of the
proprietor. Some are four hundred feet long, and some are not more than
twenty: they are all raised upon posts, or piles, about four feet high,
one end of which is driven into the ground, and upon the other end is
laid a substantial floor of wood, so that there is a vacant space of
four feet between the floor of the house and the ground. Upon this floor
are placed other posts or pillars, that support a roof of sloping sides,
which meet in a ridge at the top, like those of our barns: the eaves of
this roof, which is thatched with palm leaves, reach within two feet of
the floor, and overhang it as much: the space within is generally
divided lengthwise into three equal parts; the middle part, or centre,
is inclosed by a partition of four sides, reaching about six feet above
the floor, and one or two small rooms are also sometimes taken off from
the sides, the rest of the space under the roof is open, so as freely to
admit the air and the light: the particular uses of these different
apartments, our short stay would not permit us to learn, except that the
close room in the center was appropriated to the women.
The food of these people consists of every tame animal in the country,
of which the hog holds the first place in their estimation, and the
horse the second; next to the horse is the buffalo, next to the buffalo
their poultry, and they prefer dogs and cats to sheep and goats. They
are not fond of fish, and, I believe, it is never eaten but by the poor
people, nor by them, except when their duty or business requires them to
be upon the beach, and then every man is furnished with a light casting
net, which is girt round him, and makes part of his dress; and with this
he takes any small fish which happen to come in his way.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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