tance, abandoned to their wretched
fate. From what we could learn, it generally terminates fatally in ten or
twelve months; but I am led to believe, that in many cases it originates
from the venereal disease.[117-1]

The voice of humanity honour, and justice, calls upon us as a nation to
remedy those evils, by sending some intelligent surgeon to live amongst
them. They at present pant for the pruning-hand of civilization and the
arts; love and adore us as beings of a superior nature, but gently
upbraid us with having left them in the same abject state they were at
first discovered.

We had buoyed many of them up with the hopes of carrying them to England
with us, in order to secure their fidelity and honesty, especially those
who were most useful in our domestic concerns; but on explaining to them
that even bread was not to be obtained in England without labour, they
lost hopes of their favourite voyage.

Large presents were now brought us for our sea-store; and notwithstanding
Mr. Bentham our purser having most liberally supplied the ship with four
pounds of fresh pork per man each day, it made no apparent scarcity;
beside salting some thousand weight, and a prodigious number of goats,
fowls, and other things. Could we have made it convenient to have staid
another week, some cows were promised to have been sent us from a
neighbouring island. Capt. Cook had left with them a horse and mare, a
cow with calf, and a bull; but, from some mistake, they killed a horse
instead of one of the cows, and found it very tough, disagreeable eating,
by which means they were disgusted with all the horned cattle, and drew
an unfavourable conclusion that their meat was all of the same texture.
Had some pains been taken with them, to get the better of a dislike they
have to milk, and explained to them how variously it might be employed as
food, I have no doubt but they would have paid more attention to the
horned cattle. They used to persist in saying that milk was urine; but on
pointing to a woman that was suckling her child, and pushing their own
argument, they seemed convinced of their error. We have left them a goose
and a gander, which they take a great delight in.

Edea, the Queen, endeavoured to conquer that absurd dislike, and at last
became fond of milk in her tea.

A painting of Capt. Cook, done in oil by Webber, which had been delivered
to Capt. Edwards on his first landing, was now returned to them. It is
held by them in t