Page 104

Cook's Descriptions of Places

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Savu (continued) chance and not design. But to return to this Island the Natives of which are of a dark brown Colour, with long lank hair, their cloathing is a peice of Calicoe or other Cotton cloth ^wraped about their Middle, the better sort have a nother peice which they wear over their Shoulders and the most of them wear Turbands or had kerchiefs ty'd round their heads. They eat of all the tame Animals they have got, viz, Hoggs, Horses, Buffaloes, Cocks and Hens, Dogs, Catts, Sheep and Goats, and are esteem'd much in the same order as I have mentioned, that is their Hogs flesh, which is certainly as good as any in the World, they prefer before any thing else next to Hoggs Horses and so on. Fish is not esteemd by them and is only eat by the Common or poor people who are allow'd little else of meat kind. They have acustom a mong them that when ever a King dies all the Cattle &Ca that are upon his Estate are kill'd with which the successor makes a feast to which is are invited all the principal people of the Island who stay untill all is consumed   After this they every one according to his abillitys make the Young King a present, by which mea[n]s he gets a fresh stock which he is obliged to husband for some time. The other principal men make also feasts which are as extraordinary as these, for Voyaging Accounts © Transcribed from National Library of Australia Manuscript 1 page 320, 2004 Published by South Seas To cite this page use: https://paulturnbull.org/project/southseas/journals/cook_remarks-104