Joseph Banks's Descriptions of Places, South Sea Islands, page 113

Page 113

Joseph Banks's Descriptions of Places

South Sea Islands

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South Sea Islands (continued)

when I say he has eat 3 bread fruits each bigger than two fists, 2 or 3 fish and 14 or 15 plantains or Bananas, each if they are large 6 or 7 inches long and 4 or 5 round, and conclude his dinner with about a quart of a food as substantial as the thickest unbaked custard; but this I do affirm that it is but few of the many of them I was acquainted with that eat less and many a great deal more. But I shall not insist that any man who may read this should beleive it as an article of faith; I shall be content if politeness makes him think as Joe Millers freind said, 'Well Sir as you say so I beleive it but by g-d had I seen it myself I should have doubted it excedingly'.

I have said that they seldom eat together the better sort hardly ever, even two brothers or sisters have each their respective baskets one of which contains victuals the other cocoa nut shells &c. for furniture of their seperate tables. These were brought every day to our tents to those of our freinds who having come from a distance chose to spend the whole day or sometimes 2 or 3 in our company; these two relations would go out and setting

Voyaging Accounts

© Derived from State Library of NSW Transcription of Banks's Journal page (vol.1) 358, February 2004
Published by kind permission of the Library
To cite this page use: https://paulturnbull.org/project/southseas/journals/-banks_remarks-113.html