Cocoa-Nuts, Sweet Potatoes, An Occasional Sago
Cake, And The Refuse Nut After The Oil Has Been Extracted By
Boiling,
Form the chief sustenance of these people; and the
effect of this poor and unwholesome diet is seen in the
Frequency
of eruptions and scurfy skin diseases, and the numerous sores
that disfigure the faces of the children.
The villages are situated on high and rugged coral peaks, only
accessible by steep narrow paths, with ladders and bridges over
yawning chasms. They are filthy with rotten husks and oil refuse,
and the huts are dark, greasy, and dirty in the extreme. The
people are wretched ugly dirty savages, clothed in unchanged
rags, and living in the most miserable manner, and as every drop
of fresh water has to be brought up from the beach, washing is
never thought of; yet they are actually wealthy, and have the
means of purchasing all the necessaries and luxuries of life.
Fowls are abundant, and eggs were given me whenever I visited the
villages, but these are never eaten, being looked upon as pets or
as merchandise. Almost all of the women wear massive gold
earrings, and in every village there are dozens of small bronze
cannon lying about on the ground, although they have cost on the
average perhaps £10 a piece. The chief men of each village came
to visit me, clothed in robes of silk and flowered satin, though
their houses and their daily fare are no better than those of the
ether inhabitants.
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