132 
A VOYAGE TO 
1779. Though the cuftom of eating the bodies of their ene- 
mies, be not known, by pofitive evidence, to exift in any 
of the South Sea Illands, except New Zealand, yet it is ex¬ 
tremely probable, that it was originally prevalent in them 
all. The facrificing human victims, which feems evidently 
to be a relick of this horrid practice, ftill obtains univerfally 
amongft thefe illanders; and it is eafy to conceive, why 
the New Zealanders fhould retain the repait, which was 
probably the laid a6t of thefe blocking rites, longer than 
the reft of their tribe, who were fituated in more mild 
and fruitful climates. As the inhabitants of the Sandwich 
Illands certainly bear a nearer refemblance to thofe of New 
Zealand, both in their perfons and difpolition, than to any 
other people of this family, lb it was ftrongly fufpedled, by 
Mr. Anderfon, that, like them, they ftill continue to feaft 
on human ftelh. The evidence, on which he founds this 
opinion, has been ftated very fully in the tenth chapter 
of the third book *; but, as I always entertained great 
doubts of the juftice of his conclufions, it may not be im¬ 
proper to take this occalion of mentioning the grounds 
on which I venture to differ from him. With refpedt to 
the information derived from the natives themfelves, I 
lhall only obferve, that great pains were taken, by almoft 
every officer on board, to come at the knowledge of fo 
curious a circumftance; and that, except in the two in- 
ftances mentioned by Mr. Anderfon, we found them in¬ 
variably denying the exiftence of any fuch cuftom amongft 
them. It muft be allowed, that Mr. Anderfon’s knowledge 
of their language, which was fuperior to that of any other 
perfon in either fhip, ought certainly to give his opinion 
great weight; at the fame time, I muft beg leave to re- 
* See Vol. II. p. 209, 210—214. 
mark, 
