194 ' ♦ : A VOYAGE TO 
177S. fearches ; and we fpent it standing off and on. The next 
«_'!' ir -. dr/ ‘_y morning, weftood in for the land, and were met with feve- 
Toefday 20, ral canoes filled with people ; fome of whom took courage, 
and ventured on board. 
In the courfe of my feveral voyages, I never before met 
with the natives of any place fo much aftonifhed, as thefe 
people were, upon entering a fhip. Their eyes were con¬ 
tinually flying from object to objedt; the wildnefs of their 
looks and geftures fully exprefling their entire ignorance 
about every thing they faw, and flrongly marking to us, 
that, till now, they had never been vifited by Europeans, 
nor been acquainted with any of our commodities, except 
iron; which, however, it was plain, they had only heard 
of, or had known it in fome fmall quantity, brought to 
them at fome diftant period. They feemed only to under¬ 
hand, that it was a fubftance, much better adapted to the 
purpofes of cutting, or of boring of holes, than any thing 
their own country produced. They afked for it by the name 
of hamaite , probably referring to fome inflrument, in the 
making of which iron could be ufefully employed; for they 
applied that name to the blade of a knife, though we 
could be certain that they had no idea of that particular in¬ 
flrument ; nor could they, at all, handle it properly. For 
the fame reafon, they frequently called iron by the name 
of toe, which, in their language, fignifies a hatchet, or ra¬ 
ther a kind of adze. On afking them what iron was, they 
immediately anfwered, u We do not know; you know what 
it is, and we only underhand it as toe, or hamaite .” When 
we fhewed them fome beads, they afked firfl, 66 What they 
were; and then, whether they fhould eat them.” But on 
their being told, that they were to be hung in their ears, 
they returned them as ufelefs. They were equally indif¬ 
ferent 
