1773.
April.
in our coops particularly attracted their attention; a handsome cat, was likewise much courted, but they always stroked it the wrong way, so as to make the hair stand upright, though we showed them to do it in a contrary direction; probably they admired the richness of the furr. The man looked upon every new object with surprize, but as his attention could not be fixed to any one object for more than a single moment, many of our works of art must have appeared to him as incomprehensible, as those of nature. However, the number and strength of our decks and of other parts of our vessel engrossed his admiration more than any thing else. The girl, seeing Mr. Hodges, whose pencil she had much admired, made him a present of a piece of cloth, of the same kind as those which the man had given to captain Cook and my father. This custom of making presents is not so usual in other parts of New Zeeland, as in the tropical islands: but it appears on the whole, that this family were not always guided by national customs, but took such measures as prudence and integrity suggested in their situation, which left them at the mercy of a greater force. We desired them to come into the cabin, and after a long debate among themselves, they accepted the invitation, and descended by the ladder. Here they admired every thing, and were particularly pleased to learn the use of chairs, and that they might be removed from place to place. They were presented with hatchetsby
