THE SANDWICH ISLANDERS. 173 



always treated with the greatest friendship) had 

 a great desire for knowledge, an admirable na- 

 tural understanding and a vivacity of mind 

 seldom met with amongst uncultivated nations. 

 He made innumerable inquiries concerning our 

 manners and customs, our King, our form of 

 government, the population and produce of our 

 countr}-, and the manner in which our ships and 

 houses were built. He wished to know if we 

 waged wars, with whom, and for what cause, 

 what God we worshipped, and many other things; 

 which showed an extensive range of thought.'' 



This testimony of Captain King to the good 

 disposition of the Sandwich Islanders becomes 

 the more worthy of credit, when w^e consider that 

 the English always treated them with great se- 

 verity, and that Captain Cook only fell a sacri- 

 fice to his own error. King has also defended 

 them from the imputation of being cannibals, 

 of which Anderson and several of Cook's com- 

 panions had accused them. 



The propensity to theft was as common 

 among the lower classes here, as on the other 

 South Sea islands ; and this it was which occa- 

 sioned the thoughtless severity of Cook, who 



