i66 CAPTAIN COOK 



the natives had no knowledge of Iron. As for 

 cloth, they had no use for it, since the warmth of 

 the climate allowed them to dispense with 

 clothes. 



The islanders were of pleasing physique and 

 remarkable agility. They confessed to Cook 

 that they ate human flesh. The young women 

 were pretty, the elder ones made up for their lost 

 looks with quantities of bracelets and queer orna- 

 ments. The men of the country lacked gallantry 

 towards the fair sex, for they left the hard work 

 to the women and made them carry their loads. 

 This idea of the servitude of women was in- 

 grained in them to such an extent that they 

 thought for the moment that the servant who 

 carried John Forster's plants was of the female 

 sex. 



Cook and his companions were most forcibly 

 struck by the incomparable splendour of the 

 giant vegetation. Trees, plants and flowers all 

 seemed enlarged beyond reason in this green 

 island, whose volcanic soil was of amazing fer- 

 tility. Nature, as though by some huge fantasy, 

 had transplanted the Eden of the Bible to this 

 corner of the ocean. 



A volcano emitted clouds of fire and smoke, 

 and each eruption was accompanied by formi- 

 dable rumblings. Cook wished to explore the 

 sides of it, but the natives opposed him. Being 



