Their eyes continually flew from object to object; and, by the wildness of their looks and gestures, they fully manifested their entire ignorance with relation to every thing they saw, and strongly marked to our navigators, that, till this time, they had never been visited by Europeans, or been acquainted with any of our commodities, excepting iron.

Even with respect to iron, it was evident that they had only heard of it, or at most, had known it in some small quantity, brought to them at a distant period; for all they understood concerning it was, that it was a substance much better adapted to the purpose of cutting, or boring of holes, than any thing their own country produced.

Their ceremonies on entering the ship, their gestures and motions, and their manner of singing, were similar to those which our voyagers had been accustomed to see in the places lately visited.

There was, likewise, a farther circumstance in which these people perfectly resembled the other islanders: and that was, in their endeavouring to steal whatever came within their reach; or rather to take it openly, as what would either not be resented or not hindered.

The English soon convinced them of their mistake, by keeping such a watchful eye over them that they afterwards were obliged to be less active in appropriating to themselves every object that struck upon their fancy and excited the desire of possession.
One order given by Captain Cook at this island was that none of the boats' crews should be permitted to go on shore; the reason of which was, that he might do every thing in his power to prevent the importation of a fatal disease, which unhappily had already been communicated in other places.