Story of Captain James Cook of the British Navy and his explorations of the South Seas including Tahiti around 1760. Ballantype called some of the islands the Cannibal Islands due to reports of cannibalism. This short book contains some discussions of things like breadfruit, and how it was prepared. Captain Cooks arrival was to essentially to stone age societies, that did not have iron or copper or brass or the other industrial metals. Theft was a problem, as the natives would steal knives and other things that attracted their attention. (Amazon)
Robert Michael Ballantyne (24 April 1825 – 8 February 1894) was a Scottish author of juvenile fiction who wrote more than 100 books. He was also an accomplished artist, and exhibited some of his water-colours at the Royal Scottish Academy. (Wikipedia)