1777 ' THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 12? 



the time that the iron tools, of which they are now 

 possessed, are worn out, they will have almost lost 

 the knowledge of their own. A stone hatchet is, at 

 present, as rare a thing amongst them, as an iron 

 one was eight years ago ; and a chissel of bone, or 

 stone, is not to be seen. Spike-nails have supplied 

 the place of the last ; and they are weak enough to 

 fancy, that they have got an inexhaustible store of 

 them ; for these were not now at all sought after. 

 Sometimes, however, nails, much smaller than a 

 spike, would still be taken in exchange for fruit. 

 Knives happened, at present, to be in great esteem 

 at Ulietea ; and axes and hatchets remained unri- 

 valled by any other of our commodities at all the 

 islands. With respect to articles of mere ornament, 

 these people are as changeable as any of the polished 

 nations of Europe ; so that what pleases their fancy, 

 while a fashion is in vogue, may be rejected, when 

 another whim has supplanted it. But our iron tools 

 are so strikingly useful, that they will, we may con- 

 fidently pronounce, continue to prize them highly ; 

 and be completely miserable, ifj neither possessing 

 the materials, nor trained up to the art of fabricating 

 them, they should cease to receive supplies of what 

 may now be considered as having become necessary 

 to their comfortable existence. 



Otaheite, though not comprehended in the num- 

 ber of what we have called the Society Islands, be- 

 ing inhabited by the same race of men, agreeing in 

 the same leading features of character and manners* 

 it was fortunate that we happened to discover this 

 principal island before the others, as the friendly and 

 hospitable reception we there met with, of course, 

 led us to make it the principal place of resort, in our 

 successive visits to this part of the Pacific Ocean. 

 By the frequency of this intercourse, we have had 

 better opportunities of knowing something about it 

 and its inhabitants, than about the other similar, but 

 less considerable islands in its vicinity. Of these, 



