State Library of NSW
page number 97
GEORGES ISLAND June 1769 and was with difficulty prevailed upon to go to her Canoe atho' no one took the least notice of her. In the morning she bought her Canoe with everything she had to the Gate of the Fort after which we could not help admiring her for her Courage & the Confidence she seemed to place in us & thought that we could do no less than to receive her into favour & except the present she had brought us which consisted of a Hog, a Dog, some Bread Fruit & plantains we refused to except of the Dog as being an Animal we had no use for at which she seemd a little surprised & told us it was very good eating & we very soon had an opportunity to find it was so, for Mr Banks having bought a Basket of Fruit in which was the thigh of a Dog ready dressed, of this several of us tasted & found that it was Meat not to be despised & therefore took Obaria's Dog & had him immediately dressed by some of the Natives in the following manner. They first made a hole in the Ground about a foot Deep in which they made a fire & heated some small stones while this was doing the Dog was strangled & the Hair was got off by being laying him frequently on the Fire & as clean as if he had been scalded off with hot water his Intrails was taken out & the whole washed Clean as soon as the Stones & Hole was suffienciently heated the Fire was put out & part of the Stones were left in the bottom of the hole upon these stones were laid green leaf upon them the Dog together with the Intrails thse were likewise covered with green leaves & over them hot stones & then the hole was closed cover'd with mould after he had laid here about 4 hours the Oven/for so I must call it/was opened & the dog taken out whole & well done & it was the Opinion of everyone who tasted it that they never eat sweater meat therefore we resolved for the future never to dispise Dogs flesh It is in their manner that the Natives dress or Bake all their Victuals that requires it Flesh fish & Fruit - I was gave over all thought of recovering any of the things the Natives had stolen from us & therefore intend to give them up their Canoes when ever they apply for them - Wednesday 21st Employ'd drying the Powder getting onboard Food, Water & I confin'd Rob[er]t Anderson, Seaman for refusing to obey the orders of the Mate when at work in the Hold - This morning a Chief whose Name is Oiamo & one we had not seen before came to the Post there came with him a boy about 7 years of Age & a Young Woman of about 18 or 20, at the Time of their coming. Obaria & several others were in the Fort they went out to meet them having first uncover'd their Hands & Bodies as low a their Waists & the same thing was done by all those that were on the outside of the Fort, as we looked upon this as a Ceremonial respect & had not seen it paid to any one before we thought that this Oamo must be some extraordinary person & wonder'd to see so little notice taken of him after the Ceremony was over, the young woman that came along with him could not be prevailed upon to come into the Fort & the Boy was Carried upon a Mans back, altho' he was as able to walk as the Man who carried him, this lead us to inquire who they were & we was informed that the Boy was Heir Apparent to the Sovereignty of the Island & the Young Woman was his Sister & as such the respect was paid them which was due to no one else except the Arsecdehi which was not Tootaha from what we could learn but some other person who we had not seen, or like to do for they say that he is no Friend of ours & therefore will not come near us. The Young Boy above mentioned is into Oamo by Obaria, but Oamo & Obaria do not [?] live together as Man & Wife she not being able to endure with her troublesome disposition I mention this beacuse it shows that separation in the Marriage state is not unknown to these people Thursday 22nd This morning I released Robt Anderson from Confinement at the intonation
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