THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 



laft voyage*. To that narrative I mud alfo refer f, for 

 fuch particulars concerning the inhabitants, their manners, 

 and arts, as I had obferved then, and about which I faw no 

 reafon to change my judgment. At prefent, I fliall confine 

 myfelf to fuch interefting particulars, as either were not 

 mentioned in that narrative, or were imperfectly and incor- 

 redlly reprefented there ; and to fuch as may ferve to ex- 

 plain fome pafTages in the foregoing account of our tranf- 

 a(.T:ions with the natives. 



It may, indeed, be expedled, that, after fpending between 

 two and three months amongft them, I fliould be enabled 

 to clear up every difficulty, and to give a tolerably fatisfac- 

 tory account of their cuftoms, opinions, and inftitutions, 

 both civil and religious ; efpecially as we had a perfon on 

 board, who might be fuppofed qualified to ad the part of 

 an interpreter, by underilanding their language and ours. 

 But poor Omai was very deficient. For unlefs the objecft or 

 thing we wanted to inquire about, was adlually before us, 

 we found it difficult to gain a tolerable knowledge of it, 

 from information only, without falling into a hundred 

 mifiakes ; and to fuch miftakes Omai was more liable than 

 we v/ere. For, having no curiofity, he never gave himfelf 

 the trouble to make remarks for himfelf; and, when he 

 was difpofed to explain matters to us, his ideas appeared to 

 be fo limited, and, perhaps, fo diiferent from ours, that his 

 accounts were often fo confafed, as to perplex, inftead of 

 inflrucfting us. Add to this, that it was very rare that we 

 found, amongft the natives, a perfon, v/ho united the abi- 

 lity and the inclination to give us the information we 

 wanted ; and, Vv^e found, that moft of them hated to be 



* Cook's Vopge, \'ol. i. p. 2!i. 213. f IbiJ. p. 213. 225. 



3 C « troubled 



379 



