It must be allowed, that Mr. Anderson's knowledge of their language, which was superior to that of any other person in either ship, ought certainly to give his opinion great weight; at the same time, I must beg leave to remark, that being present when he examined the man who had the small piece of salted flesh wrapped in cloth, it struck me very forcibly, that the signs he made use of meant nothing more, than that it was intended to be eat, and that it was very pleasant or wholesome to the stomach. In this opinion I was confirmed, by a circumstance which came to our knowledge, after the death of my worthy and ingenious friend, viz. that almost every native of these islands carried about with him, either in his calibash, or wrapped up in a piece of cloth, and tied about his waist, a small piece of raw pork, pork, highly salted, which they considered as a great delicacy, and used now and then to taste of. With respect to the confusion the young lad was in, (for he was not more than sixteen or eighteen years of age,) no one could have been surprised at it, who had seen the eager and earnest manner in which Mr. Anderson questioned him. The argument drawn from the instrument made with sharks' teeth, and which is nearly of the same form with those used at New Zealand for cutting up the bodies of their enemies, is much more difficult to controvert. I believe it to be an undoubted fact, that this knife, if it may be so called, is never used by them in cutting the flesh of other animals. However, as the custom of offering human sacrifices, and of burning the bodies of the slain, is still prevalent here, it is not improbable that the use of this instrument is retained in those ceremonies. Upon the whole, I am strongly inclined to think, and particularly from this last circumstance, that the horrid practice in question, has but lately ceased amongst these and other islands of the South Sea. Omai, when pressed on this subject, confessed that in the rage and fury of revenge, they would sometimes tear the flesh of their enemies that were slain with their teeth; but positively denied that they ever eat it. This was certainly approaching as near the fact as could be; but, on the other hand, the denial is a strong proof that the practice has actually ceased; since in New Zealand, where it still exists, the inhabitants neyer made the smallest scruple of confessing it.[7]