A Narrative of a Nine Months' Residence in New Zealand in 1827 Part 7

It was the custom of all the Europeans settled here, on the beach at Kororarika, to refrain from all kinds of work on the Sabbath; to shave, and dress themselves in their best habiliments; and if any of the missionaries came over, they went forth to meet them, and hear divine service. Several of the natives generally a.s.sembled and witnessed the ceremony; and as they observed it came every seventh day, they called it "the white taboo'd day, when the pakeha (or white men) put on clean clothes, and leave off work;" and, strange to say, the natives also abstained from working on that day. Nothing could induce them to the contrary; not that we wished to persuade them to work, but merely endeavoured so to do to ascertain the strength of their politeness. Not a bit of work would they do upon a Sunday, although it was a critical time with them; for all the chiefs were unprepared with their war canoes for the approaching expedition. At length we discovered that their cunning was as conspicuous as their politeness. They had observed we generally lay longer in bed on a Sunday morning than any other; they accordingly were up by break of day, and had completed many hours' work before we made our appearance; but the moment one of us did appear the work was instantly left off. This degree of outward respect, though craftily managed, was infinitely more than could be reasonably expected from a rude and turbulent savage. It is mere respect than we Europeans pay to any religious ceremony we do not understand. Even their taboo'd grounds would not be so respected by us, if we were not quite certain they possessed the power instantly to revenge any affront offered to their sacred places.

Of all animals introduced by the Europeans, the most unserviceable, and indeed injurious, have been the dogs. They have increased rapidly; every spot was crowded with poor half-starved curs, that were all night long committing depredations on the poultry, pigs, and goats; and if some effectual means of diminis.h.i.+ng this pernicious breed is not soon resorted to, the island will be cleared of every other quadruped. Goats were beginning to increase, and the craggy heights round the bays formed a favourite retreat for these interesting wanderers. Captain Duke put himself to great expense and trouble, and effected the importation of some sheep from Van Diemen's Land; but the dogs soon destroyed them all.

THE Ma.s.sACRE OF THE FRENCH NAVIGATOR MARION AND PARTY.

Our friend George generally paid us a visit after the business of the day was over, and took a cup of tea; wine or grog he detested: so, while he sipped his beverage, we lit our pipes, and managed, with our slight knowledge of his language, together with his imperfect English, to keep up a sort of conversation. Sometimes this was rather wearisome; but occasionally it became interesting in the extreme. He told us that, when Captain Cook touched here, he was a little child; but that his mother (old Turero, who was then with him) remembered his coming well. The French navigator, Marion, he recollected perfectly, and made one of the party that murdered him and his people. His observation was, "They were all brave men; but they were killed and eaten."

He a.s.sured us that the catastrophe was quite unpremeditated. Marion's entire ignorance of the customs of the New Zealanders occasioned that distressing event: as I have before observed, that strangers, not acquainted with their religious prejudices, are likely to commit some fatal error; and no action is more likely to lead a party into danger than an incautious use of the seine, for most of the beaches (best suited for that purpose) are taboo'd. This led to the dreadful fate of Marion and his party. I understood from George, that when Marion's men a.s.sembled to trail their net on the sacred beach, the natives used every kind of entreaty and remonstrance to induce them to forbear, but, either from ignorance or obstinacy, they persisted in their intentions, and drew their net to land.

The natives, greatly incensed by this act of impiety, vowed revenge; and the suspicions of the French not being roused, an opportunity soon presented itself of taking ample retaliation. The seine being very heavy, the French required the a.s.sistance of the natives in drawing it on sh.o.r.e.

These wily fellows instantly consented to the task, and placed themselves alternately between each Frenchman, apparently, to equalise the work.

Consequently, in the act of pulling, each native had a white man before him; and, on an appointed signal, the brains of each European were knocked out by a tremendous blow of the stone hatchet.

Captain Marion, who, from his s.h.i.+p, was an eye-witness of these horrid murders, instantly hastened on sh.o.r.e with the remainder of his crew to avenge the slaughter of his countrymen. Led on more by ardour than prudence, he suffered himself to be surrounded; was overpowered by numbers, defeated, and every one was put to death!

This account of George's does not, I acknowledge, exactly agree with the published narrative of that unfortunate event, nor does his age agree with the dates. Only a few years elapsed between the time of Cook and Marion, yet he declares himself to have been a child at the death of the navigator, and a man at the murder of the latter; but as it was voluntary on his part to give me the above detail, and even if he were not present himself, he most probably had the facts from one who was, I thought it worth inserting, as tending to throw light on one of the most melancholy events which ever took place on these coasts.

George also related to me the dreadful tragedy of the s.h.i.+p Boyd, and, horrible as these relations were, I felt a particular interest, almost amounting to pleasure, in hearing them related by an eye-witness; one who had been an actor in those b.l.o.o.d.y scenes which I had before read of: narratives which from my very childhood had always possessed particular charms for me; and at this time I was not only looking on the very spot the hero of my imagination, Cook, had trod, but was hearing the tale from one who had actually seen him; and was listening to every particular concerning the transactions of Marion and his men, as though they had just taken place.

Even in the dreadful destruction of the Boyd, George laid the blame entirely on the English, and spoke with great bitterness of the ill-treatment of Philip, the native chief, who came as pa.s.senger in the s.h.i.+p. He described and mimicked his cleaning shoes and knives; his being flogged when he refused to do this degrading work; and, finally, his speech to his countrymen when he came on sh.o.r.e, soliciting their a.s.sistance in capturing the vessel, and revenging his ill-treatment. Over and over again our friend George, having worked up his pa.s.sion by a full recollection of the subject, went through the whole tragedy. The scene thus portrayed was interesting although horrible. No actor, trained in the strictest rules of his art, could compete with George's vehemence of action. The flexibility of his features enabled him to vary the expression of each pa.s.sion; and he represented hatred, anger, horror, and the imploring of mercy so ably that, in short, one would have imagined he had spent his whole life in practising the art of imitation.

CHAPTER x.x.xIV.

THE MAORI VIEW OF CHRISTIANITY.

I frequently conversed with George upon the subject of religion, and from what he told me I found that the natives had not formed the slightest idea of there being a state of future punishment. They refuse to believe that the good Spirit intends to make them miserable after their decease.

They imagine all the actions of this life are punished here, and that every one when dead, good or bad, bondsman or free, is a.s.sembled on an island situated near the North Cape, where both the necessaries and comforts of life will be found in the greatest abundance, and all will enjoy a state of uninterrupted happiness. A people of their simple habits, and possessing so little property, have but few temptations to excesses of any kind, excepting the cruelties practised by them in war, in which they fancy themselves perfectly justified, and the tyranny exercised by them over their slaves, whom they look upon as mere machines. There is, in fact, but little crime among them, for which reason they cannot imagine any man wicked enough to deserve eternal punishment. This opinion of theirs we saw an ill.u.s.tration of one Sunday, when one of the missionaries paid us a visit.

The ceremony of all a.s.sembling to public wors.h.i.+p astonished the natives greatly, though they always behaved with the utmost decorum when admitted into the house where the ceremony takes place. On the day in question the minister endeavoured to explain the sacred mysteries of our religion to a number of the chiefs who were present. They listened attentively to all he said, and expressed no doubts as to its truth, only remarking that "as all these wonderful circ.u.mstances happened only in the country of the white men, the great Spirit expected the white men only to believe them."

The missionary then began to expatiate on the torments of h.e.l.l, at which some of them seemed horrified, but others said "they were quite sure such a place could only be made for the white faces, for they had no men half wicked enough in New Zealand to be sent there;" but when the reverend gentleman added with vehemence that "all men" would be condemned, the savages all burst into a loud laugh, declaring "they would have nothing to do with a G.o.d who delighted in such cruelties; and then (as a matter of right) hoped the missionary would give them each a blanket for having taken the trouble of listening to him so patiently."

I cannot forbear censuring the missionaries, inasmuch as they prevent the natives, by every means in their power, from acquiring the English language. They make a point of mastering the native tongue as quickly as possible, and being able to give their whole time and attention to it, this is easily accomplished. It is of importance that they should do so, otherwise they could not carry on the duties of the mission; but by thus engrossing the knowledge, they obtain great influence over the minds of the natives. We ourselves were sadly puzzled by a correspondence we had with two native chiefs, who had been taught to read and write by some of the Society; but their acquirements being in their native language, were of no possible use. The difficulty of teaching them English would not have been greater, and then what stores of information and improvement might not their instructors have laid open to them.

CHAPTER x.x.xV.

THREATENED INVASION BY HONGI.

We had pa.s.sed some months here, and were beginning to look out for the return of our brig, to take us again into civilised society, when we were once more thrown into alarm by a threatened invasion. A rumour was circulated in the village that Hongi, who now lay at the point of death, had declared that he would make one last glorious effort before he expired. He was resolved (it was reported) to collect his warriors, overcome George and his followers, possess himself of Kororarika, and die upon the conquered territory of his enemy; and I had no doubt that in his moment of delirium such had been his exclamations, as it had always been one of his favourite projects. When this was reported to George, he immediately came to us, and with a most doleful countenance told us we must take care of ourselves; for, if the report proved true, he was much too weak to protect us. This certainly caused us some alarm, but, fortunately for us, a good-sized whaler, the Marianne, was then lying at anchor in the port, having arrived but a few days previously. The presence of a s.h.i.+p, all over the world, is felt as a protection to Europeans, as in case of danger it is a sure place of refuge.

King George sent off his messengers in every direction to inform his friends and dependants of the threats uttered against him by Hongi, and the next day eight large war canoes, filled with warriors, came to his a.s.sistance. They landed at some distance from the beach, and, as it was late in the day, they would not make their public _entree_ till the next morning; for the New Zealanders are very fond of giving a grand effect to all their public meetings. I determined to pay them a visit, to witness the ceremonies of the night bivouack, which proved a most picturesque scene, and wild and beautiful in the extreme. Their watch fires glanced upon the dark skins of these finely formed men, and on their bright weapons. Some groups were dancing; others were lying round a fire, chanting wild songs, descriptive of former wars; whilst the graver elders sat in a circle, and discussed the present state of affairs. All were delighted to see me, and each group offered to share their fire and provisions with the "white visitor," as they termed me.

The next morning these auxiliary forces were seen descending the hills to our village; and, in order to return the compliment, we all went in our best array to receive them. There were upwards of two hundred athletic, naked savages, each armed with his firelock, and marching with the utmost regularity. The chiefs took the lead. The alarm such a sight might have created was dissipated by the certainty that they came as our protectors.

I even imagined their countenances were not so ferocious as usual but as they approached near to our party, the usual sham fight began, accompanied by the war dance, and although I expected it, and indeed had come for the purpose of witnessing it, it was conducted with so much fury on both sides, that at length I became quite horrified, and for some time could not divest myself of the feeling that our visitors were playing false, so closely did this mock combat resemble a real one. The dreadful noises, the hideous faces, the screeching of the women, and the menacing gestures of each party, were so calculated to inspire terror, that stouter hearts than mine might have felt fear. When the tumult subsided, the elder chiefs squatted down, and had the long talk usual on these occasions.

I was much delighted to recognise among these chiefs one I had known at Sydney. During his residence in that city I had permitted him to remain in my house, and the few presents which he had requested on his return to his own country I had provided him with, and sent him off delighted and happy, and never expected to behold him again. The moment I approached he recollected me, jumped up from the "council," ran up to me, hugged me in his arms, and rubbed noses so forcibly with me that I felt his friends.h.i.+p for some time, besides being daubed all over most plentifully with red ochre, which he, being then on a war-like and ceremonious visit, was smeared with from head to foot.

When my savage friend (whom we used to call Mr. Tookee) had overcome his first burst of delight at seeing me, and had literally left off jumping for joy, he introduced me to his father, Mr. De Frookee, the chief of his tribe, a very fine specimen of an old New Zealander, who was (I found) highly respected for his integrity and benevolence. His eyes overflowed with tears when he heard I was the person who had shown such kindness to his son at Sydney. I soon felt quite "at home" with the old chief, and experienced the good effect of having kept my word with this uncultivated savage. I had, at the time I presented him with the gifts, been much laughed at by my acquaintances at Sydney for putting myself to such unnecessary expense; but, from the grat.i.tude he displayed for the trifling services I had then rendered him, I felt a.s.sured he and his companions would do all in their power to protect me from every danger.

A long discussion was now carried on, one speaker at a time occupying the oblong s.p.a.ce round which the warriors sat, and the more animated the debate, the faster ran the speaker to and fro, flouris.h.i.+ng his hatchet in a most dexterous manner. The instant one speaker finishes, another starts up to answer him; but previous to rising they throw a mat or blanket over their shoulders, and arrange it most tastefully around them; and, as their att.i.tudes are all striking and graceful, and a great part of the figure is left exposed, it forms a study for an artist, well worth his going many miles to witness, and invariably reminded me of the fine models of antiquity.

As a painter, I conceive that this must have been the great secret of the perfection to which the Greek and Roman sculptors brought their works; as they constantly contemplated the display of the human form in all its beauty in their various gymnastic exercises, which enabled them to transfer to marble such ease and elegance as we, living in an age of coats and breeches, never shall be able to rival.

After the important subjects had been settled by the elders, the young men a.s.sembled without their weapons, and began another kind of sham fight, one grappling with another, till hundreds of them were locked in each other's arms, and were flung in heaps in every direction. After they were tired of this pastime, a regular ring was formed, and a wrestling match began, which was carried on in as regular and fair a manner as a boxing match in our own country, and as much skill and cunning were displayed in the art of throwing as the greatest connoisseur would desire. I was pleased, also, to observe that, whatever happened (and some most severe throws and blows pa.s.sed), nothing could disturb their good humour.

This party, having remained for seven days on our beach, and not hearing anything more of our intended invaders, their provisions also becoming rather scarce, took leave in order to return to their own district, placing scouts to give them quick intelligence of the movements of the enemy.

CHAPTER x.x.xVI.

ARRIVAL OF A WARs.h.i.+P.

A few days after the departure of this friendly tribe, a "King's s.h.i.+p" of eighteen guns arrived in the Bay; consequently all our fears of an immediate invasion were over. No sooner had she cast anchor than our friend George came to us, expressing the greatest anxiety to visit King George of England's wars.h.i.+p, and requesting we would accompany him, which we readily agreed to do; and he left us to adorn himself for the occasion. Soon after he reappeared in great state. A very splendid war-mat was thrown over his shoulders; his hair was dressed, oiled, and decorated with feathers, and his person was plentifully covered with red ochre: he appeared a very fine-looking fellow: his mother, his three wives, and all his sons and daughters were dressed in equal magnificence, and accompanied him.

In this state we went off to visit the vessel; but the moment I came alongside, I repented my being there, for the rude and churlish manner in which we were received distressed me considerably. In the first place, an order was given that none but the chief himself should be allowed to come on board; consequently his wives and daughters were obliged to remain in the canoe. The captain spoke only a few words to George, who was allowed to remain but a few minutes in the cabin; on getting up to take leave, George took off his fine war-mantle and presented it to the captain; but, receiving no other covering in return for his gift, he went on sh.o.r.e naked! The officers of the vessel behaved differently: they conducted us all down into the gun-room, where they treated us most kindly, and paid every attention to our friend George, whose dignity was deeply wounded by the cool and contemptuous behaviour of the captain.

How greatly is it to be regretted that some arrangements are not made by our Government at Home, and that there are not orders given to commanders of s.h.i.+ps of war touching here to pay attention to the chiefs, and to make some trifling presents amongst them; for there never were a people more anxious to cultivate a friendly intercourse with British subjects than the inhabitants of New Zealand: and yet there is scarcely a Government vessel that puts into port here but the natives receive some insult, though they are sent for the express purpose of supporting the dignity of the English nation, and to cultivate the amicable feelings of the chiefs.

When a "King's s.h.i.+p" comes to anchor, the chiefs (with all the glee of children going to a fair) collect together their wives, children, and friends, and pay a visit to the "fighting s.h.i.+ps," to see King George's warriors (as they call them): when they come alongside they are kept off by an armed sentry; and, after a long parley, they are informed the chief may come, but his family and friends must not. In this case, the natives generally spit at the vessel, and, uttering execrations on their inhospitality, return on sh.o.r.e.

One of the savage chieftains who accompanied us to the vessel in question, on our way back remarked, "that the white warriors were _afraid_ of admitting them, though they were unarmed and but a few; while the warriors in the s.h.i.+ps were many, and armed with their great guns."

Living entirely amongst these people so long as I had done, I felt the absurdity of such conduct, and the folly of treating them so harshly. If ever individuals are so situated as to need either the esteem or the confidence of savages, they must bear with their prying and childish curiosity, and not be afraid of treating them too kindly; by this means they become the quietest and gentlest creatures in the world; but, if treated with contumely, and their wives and families repulsed from your s.h.i.+p, they become dangerous, vindictive, and cruel neighbours, as many a dreadful deed which has taken place in this vicinity will fully prove.

CHAPTER x.x.xVII.

THE WHALERS AND THE MISSIONARIES.

The South Sea whalers are the s.h.i.+ps the natives are the most anxious to see on their coasts; and it is the crews of those vessels who have, in a manner, civilised these hardy islanders. Captain Gardiner, of the Marianne (the vessel now in the harbour), is the oldest person in that trade; and he informed me, that not longer than twenty years back scarcely any vessel would dare to touch at New Zealand; and when, from particular circ.u.mstances, they were obliged so to do, they kept their boarding-nettings up, and kept a strict guard night and day: their fears arose from a want of knowledge of the disposition of the people. The vessels frequenting the island use no precautions now: hundreds of natives are permitted to crowd on board each s.h.i.+p; and no accident has ever occurred from this mode of treatment. But when a s.h.i.+p of war arrives here for the first time, the precautions taken are, to arm the row-guard with cutla.s.ses and pistols, and to hara.s.s the crew with constant watching, while the only enemy that exists is in their own imaginations.

To the courage and enterprise of the commanders of whalers all credit is due for working the rapid change in these once b.l.o.o.d.y-minded savages, and forming safe and commodious harbours for their vessels to refit in: this have they done in a part of the world lately looked upon with horror.