3 8 4 
A VOYAGE TO 
1777. But they are, at the fame time, frank, cheerful, and good- 
Jl ^' , humoured; though, fometimes, in the prefence of their 
Chiefs, they put on a degree of gravity, and fuch a ferious 
air as becomes ftiff and awkward, and has an appearance 
of referve. 
Their peaceable difpofition is fufficiently evinced, from 
the friendly reception all ftrangers have met with, who have 
vilited them. Inftead of offering to attack them openly, or 
clandeftinely, as has been the cafe with molt of the inha¬ 
bitants of thefe feas, they have never appeared, in the 
fmalleft degree, hoflile; but, on the contrary, like the moft 
civilized people, have courted an intercourfe with their vi- 
hters, by bartering, which is the only medium that unites 
all nations in a fort of friendfhip. They underhand barter 
(which they call fukkatou ) fo perfedfly, that, at firft, we 
imagined they might have acquired this knowledge of it by 
commercial intercourfe with the neighbouring iflands; but 
we were afterward affured, that they had little or no traffic, 
except with Feejee, from which they get the red feathers, 
and the few other articles, mentioned before. Perhaps, no 
nation in the world traffic with more honefty and lefs 
diflruft. We could always fafely permit them to examine 
our goods, and to hand them about, one to another; and 
they put the fame confidence in us. If either party repent¬ 
ed of the bargain, the goods were re-exchanged with mu¬ 
tual confent and good-humour. Upon the whole, they 
leem poffeffed of many of the moft excellent qualities that 
adorn the human mind ; fuch as induftry, ingenuity, per- 
feverance, affability, and, perhaps, other virtues which our 
ffiort flay with them might prevent our obferving. 
The only defeat fullying their character, that we know 
of, is a propenfity to thieving ; to which, we found, thofe 
of 
