They Feed Also On Cockles And Oysters, Of Which There
Are Vast Quantities On The Rocks And Trees By The Sea-Side, But These
Have Rather An Insipid Taste; And They Catch Plenty Of Excellent Fish,
By Means Of Wears And Other Devices.
They also feed on herbs and roots,
cultivating about their dwellings many plantains, gourds, pumpkins,
potatoes, and guinea pepper.
Tobacco likewise is planted by every one,
and seems to constitute half their food. The hole of their tobacco pipe
is very large, and made of clay well burnt into the lower end of which
they thrust a small hollow cane eighteen inches long, through which they
suck the smoke, both men and women swallowing most of it. Every man
carries a small bag called a tuffio, in his knapsack, in which is his
pipe and tobacco, and the women have their tuffio in their wrappers,
carrying their pipes in their hands. They prepare their tobacco for
smoking by straining out its juice while quite green, and they informed
us by signs that it would otherwise make them drunk. They afterwards
shred it very small, and dry it on an earthen dish over the embers. On
an island in the bay we saw about half a dozen goats, and no where else
in this country.
They have innumerable kinds of fruits growing wild in the woods, in
which are whole groves of lemon trees, especially near the town and
watering-place, and some few orange trees. Their drink is mostly water,
yet the men use great quantities of palmito wine, which they call
moy, giving little or none to the women.
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