The floor is laid with dry grass, and here and there
mats are spread, for the principal people to sleep or sit on.
In most of
them we found two fire-places, and commonly a fire burning; and, as there
was no vent for the smoke but by the door, the whole house was both smoky
and hot, insomuch that we, who were not used to such an atmosphere, could
hardly endure it a moment. This may be the reason why we found these people
so chilly when in the open air, and without exercise. We frequently saw
them make little fires any where, and hustle round them, with no other view
than to warm themselves. Smoke within doors may be a necessary evil, as it
prevents the musquitoes from coming in, which are pretty numerous here. In
some respects their habitations are neat; for, besides the ornaments at
top, I saw some with carved door-posts. Upon the whole, their houses are
better calculated for a cold than a hot climate; and as there are no
partitions in them, they can have little privacy.
They have no great variety of household utensils; the earthen jars before
mentioned being the only article worth notice. Each family has at least one
of them, in which they bake their roots, and perhaps their fish, &c. The
fire, by which they cook their victuals, is on the outside of each house,
in the open air. There are three or five pointed stones fixed in the
ground, their pointed ends being about six inches above the surface. Those
of three stones are only for one jar, those of five stones for two. The
jars do not stand on their bottoms, but lie inclined on their sides. The
use of these stones is obviously to keep the jars from resting on the fire,
in order that it may burn the better.
They subsist chiefly on roots and fish, and the bark of a tree, which I am
told grows also in the West Indies. This they roast, and are almost
continually chewing. It has a sweetish, insipid taste, and was liked by
some of our people. Water is their only liquor, at least I never saw any
other made use of.
Plantains and sugar-canes are by no means in plenty. Bread-fruit is very
scarce, and the cocoa-nut trees are small and but thinly planted; and
neither one nor the other seems to yield much fruit.
To judge merely by the numbers of the natives we saw every day, one might
think the island very populous; but I believe that, at this time, the
inhabitants were collected from all parts on our account. Mr Pickersgill
observed, that down the coast, to the west, there were but few people; and
we knew they came daily from the other side of the land, over the
mountains, to visit us. But although the inhabitants, upon the whole, may
not be numerous, the island is not thinly peopled on the sea-coast, and in
the plains and valleys that are capable of cultivation.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 412 of 461
Words from 213815 to 214339
of 239428
