that these ladies were
probably all of the lower class of the people; for I am strongly inclined
to believe, that excepting the few whose names are mentioned in the course
of our narrative, we did not see any woman of rank during our stay amongst
them.

Their natural capacity seems, in no respect, below the common standard of
mankind. Their improvements in agriculture, and the perfection of their
manufactures, are certainly adequate to the circumstances of their
situation, and the natural advantages they enjoy. The eager curiosity with
which they attended the armourer's forge, and the many expedients they had
invented, even before we left the islands, for working the iron they had
procured from us, into such forms as were best adapted to their purposes,
were strong proofs of docility and ingenuity.

Our unfortunate friend, Kaneena, possessed a degree of judicious curiosity,
and a quickness of conception, which was rarely met with amongst these
people. He was very inquisitive after our customs and manners, asked after
our king, the nature of our government, our numbers, the method of building
our ships, our houses, the produce of our country, whether we had wars,
with whom, and on what occasions, and in what manner they were carried on,
who was our God, and many other questions of the same nature, which
indicated an understanding of great comprehension.

We met with two instances of persons disordered in their minds; the one a
man at Owhyhee, the other a woman at Oneeheow. It appeared, from the
particular attention and respect paid to them, that the opinion of
their being inspired by the Divinity, which obtains among most of the
nations of the east, is also received here.

Though the custom of eating the bodies of their enemies be not known, by
positive evidence, to exist in any of the South Sea islands, except New
Zealand, yet it is extremely probable, that it was originally prevalent in
them all. The sacrificing human victims, which seems evidently to be a
relic of this horrid practice, still obtains universally amongst these
islanders; and it is easy to conceive, why the New Zealanders should retain
the repast, which was probably the last act of these shocking rites, longer
than the rest of their, tribe, who were situated in more mild and fruitful
climates. As the inhabitants of the Sandwich islands certainly bear a
nearer resemblance to those of New Zealand, both in their persons and
disposition, than to any other