1838 - Polack, J. S. New Zealand [Vol.I] [Capper reprint, 1974] - Chapter I

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NEW ZEALAND

IN

1837.

CHAPTER I.

THE very existence of the Pacific Ocean was unknown to Europeans, until early in the sixteenth century, when the Spanish commander, Basco Nunez de Balboa, crossed the narrow ridge of the Andes, at the Isthmus of Darien.

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MAGALHAENS.

Magalhaens, the most intrepid navigator of his day, succeeded in discovering the southern limits of the American continent in 1526, and accomplished the passage through the straits that bear his name. He is said to have shed tears of joy as the expansive element burst upon his view, which promised to gratify, to the fullest extent, the ardent ambition he possessed for discovery. But he was made to feel the nothingness of human wishes; like the celebrated Almeida, who ingloriously fell by the assagais of a ruthless horde of South Africans in Saldanha Bay, the unfortunate Magalhaens fell in a similar manner by the hostile savages of the Moluccas. His successor in the command returned laden with treasures of nature and art.

Magalhaens' voyage has been supposed as the earliest undertaken to the South Seas; and, at the time, it produced an excitement in commercial Europe, that displayed itself in various expeditions, attended with more or less success: so that, in those early days, the extensive islands in this hemisphere were described in a tolerably accurate manner. England, even at this early period, was determined not to be outdone in her own peculiar element; and the hardy adventures of her truculent sons, in every portion of the globe, proved, however her energies in the pro-

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DRAKE -- DE GONVILLE.

gress of discovery had lain dormant, it was but for a short period; and, like the noble lion, whose effigy she had emblazoned on her escutcheon, she contended for mastery with her hitherto successful opponents, and, after a tediously contested warfare with the kingdoms of the Peninsula, France, and Holland, became at once the mistress of those seas previously discovered by her enemies. Drake, in 1578, found the open sea south of the islands off Tierra del Fuego; but it was unknown to the public until 1628, when the "Worlde Encompassed" was published. The Abbe de la Borde, in his "Histoire Abrege de la Mer du Sud" (published in 1791), states his conviction that the Capitaine Sieur de Gonville, in the month of June 1503, touched at New Zealand. His words are: -- "Storms, near the Cape of Good Hope, caused them to lose their route, and in the end abandoned them to a wearisome calm, in an unknown sea; they were consoled by the sight of many birds, which were observed to come from, and return to, the southward: steering in that direction, they came to a great country, and anchored in a river. The Europeans were received with veneration, and treated with respect and friendship. Here they sojourned six months, as the crew refused to return in the vessel, from

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DE GONVILLE.

her weakness and bad condition." The land they discovered was situated between 50 deg. and 60 deg. south latitude.

Gonville took his departure from the land on the 3d of July, 1504, taking with him a native, named Essemoric, who willingly accompanied the French. De Gonville and his officers drew up a declaration of his discovery, and lodged the document in the Admiralty, at Paris. Essemoric never had an opportunity of returning: he was admitted into the Catholic Church, and married into De Gonville's family. The Abbe Jean Paulmier, the compiler of the voyage, was a descendant of this chieftain; and, in his book, claims to himself the honour of being the elder branch of the first Christian of the Terre Australe. The description given by this obsolete writer appears to relate to the New Zealanders only. Captain de Gonville observes of the people, "Gens simples, ne demandans qu'a mener joyeuse vie sans grand travail" (a simple people, desiring to lead a life of happiness without much labour).

No other country has yet been found to answer the description given by Juan Fernandez, in a voyage performed by him in 1576, when he states that he sailed some six weeks towards the south-west from Cape Horn, and

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JUAN FERNANDEZ -- HERTOGE.

discovered a land hitherto unknown, whose inhabitants, customs, habits, and dress, &c., leave no room for doubting the truth of his account. (See Note 1.) After the discovery of the western coast of Australia by Frederick Hertoge, in the year 1616, the several voyageurs from the United Provinces endeavoured to obtain further knowledge of the Great South Land, and many of their vessels from Europe, outward bound, purposely visited various parts of the coast of New Holland. The names of many of these early adventurers are transmitted to us, by being borne on the several "landts" at the present day. The western and northern coasts were well known (Note 2), being near to the track of the Dutch to the Indian Ocean; but the rest of the coast was unknown and unvisited until the presidentship of Antony Van Dieman, governor-general for the Dutch in India, who determined, in a council held at Batavia in 1642, to prosecute the further discovery of the extent of the Terra Australis. The command of the expedition was given to Captain Abel Janszen Tasman, and his voyage proved one of the most important ever undertaken, from the first circumnavigation of the globe, to the time of Cook. This celebrated navigator, whose name is adopted by every born

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TASMAN.

subject in Van Dieman's Laud (a Tasmanian), and who occupies so honourable a place among the earlier discoverers, wrote a journal of the voyage, which was published in the Dutch language, entitled "Een Rort uer hael nyt bet Journael, van den Kommander Abel Janszen Tasman, int' ontdekken van t'oube Kende Suit-landt, int jare 1642" (A Short Relation from the Journal of the Commander, A. J. Tasman, in the Discovery of the Unknown South Land, in the year 1642). Its value was instantly acknowledged by a translation into various European languages. (See Note 3.)

They left Batavia on the 24th of August, 1642, in two vessels -- viz., the yacht "Heems-kirk," and the fly-boat "Zeehaen" (Seahen); and, after casting anchor at the Mauritius, they stood to sea on the 8th September; "for which," adds Tasman, "the Lord be praised." A council was held on board the commodore's vessel, in which it was resolved to keep watch continually at the mast-head; "and," adds this munificent commander, "whoever first discovers laud, sand, or banks under water, shall receive a reward of three reals and (last, not least, in the Dutchman's love) a pot of arrack." On the 24th they were gratified with the sight of land, which was named after

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TASMAN DISCOVERS STATEN ISLAND.

the governor-general, Antony Van Dieman's Land. Various headlands were named in honour of the council at Batavia.

On the 29th, the vessels, previously to anchoring, were driven from a bay, which was called Stoorme Bay; a remarkably appropriate name, as I have experienced. The river Derwent, on whose banks Hobart Town is situated, disembogues itself into this bay. They made the land again and anchored, but finally quitted it on the 5th of December; not before the gallant bachelor named an island in the above bay after his betrothed lady, Maria, daughter to the governor, his patron. On the 13th of December, land was seen bearing S. S. E., distant fifteen miles. The next day the vessels anchored two miles from the shore. The following day the vessels got under weigh and steered to the northward, and several fires and smoke were seen on the land. On the 18th they stood into a bay (in Cook's Strait), preceded by a shallop and boat of the "Zeehaen," in search of a favourable anchorage for wooding and watering. "At sunset," says the journal, "it was calm, and we cast anchor in fifteen fathoms water. An hour after we saw several lights on the land, and four vessels coming from the shore towards us. Two of these were our own boats -- the people in the other boats called to us in a loud, strong, rough voice; what

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TASMAN -- STATEN ISLAND.

they said we did not understand; however, we called to them again in place of an answer. They repeated their cries several times, but did not come near us; they sounded also an instrument like a Moorish trumpet, and we answered by blowing our trumpet. Guns were ready prepared, and small arms, for an emergency, and strict watch kept." The master of the "Zeehaen," Gerard Janzoon, ordered his boat, with a quarter-master and six men, to carry directions on board the "Heemskirk" not to allow too many persons to enter the ship at a time, as several canoes had put off from the shore. When the boat had cleared the ship, the canoes of the natives paddled furiously towards her. The foremost of the natives, with a blunt-pointed pike, gave the quarter-master, Cornelius Joppe, a blow on his neck that made him fall overboard; a scuffle ensued, and four of the Europeans were killed. Joppe, and two seamen, swam to the vessel, and were taken up; the canoes made hastily for the shore, carrying one of the dead seamen with them. In vain were the guns discharged, for the natives had paddled out of reach. As no refreshments could be peaceably had at this anchorage, the two vessels were got under weigh. At the time, when twenty-two canoes, crowded with natives, made towards them, some guns were discharged, without suc-

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TASMEN----STATEN ISLAND.

cess. The shot was heard to rattle among the canoes; the effect was not known, otherwise than the hasty retreat of the fleet. Tasman called the place Moordenaer's Bay (i.e. Murderer's Bay),

On leaving this bay, the country was named Staaten Land, in honour of the States-General of the United Provinces. Tasman observes, "It is possible this land joins to the Staten Land (to the eastward) of Tierra del Fuego, discovered by Shouten and Le Maire, and afterwards found to be an inconsiderable island by Heindric Brower; but it is certain it is a very fine country, and we hope it is part of the unknown continent." The vessels made but little progress up to the 25th, when they entered a bight, or bay, expecting to sail through into the great South Sea: they with difficulty returned to their station, having to beat up against a strong breeze from the north-west, and a strong current setting into the bay. They found anchorage, and weathered some heavy gales, that nearly drove the "Zeehaen" from her anchors. On the 27th they saw Puki Aupapa, the high mountain of Teranaki, called Cape Egmont by Cook, said to be 14,000 feet above the level of the sea. The Dutchmen were disappointed in not finding a passage through the land. On

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TASMAN----STATEN ISLAND.

the 31st they made the sand-hills of Hokianga, three miles distant from the shore. This coast is deservedly lauded in the journal as being free from sandbanks or rocks, but a heavy surf lining the shore. On the 4th January, they made a cape which was named after the peerless Maria Van Dieman. On the 6th, some small islands and rocks were discovered, and named Drie Koningen Eijlandt (Three Kings' Islands), it being the anniversary of the Epiphany. The shallop was sent to the largest island to search for refreshments, and they returned in the evening, reporting that they had found an abundance of water descending from a mountain; but the heavy surf on the beach rendered it a work of danger, and about forty natives were seen with clubs, which added to the insecurity of the undertaking. The vessels anchored that night on the north side of the largest island; and early the next day they got under weigh and quitted the coast, arriving at Batavia on the 14th June, 1643.

This ancient journal is written in a plain, intelligible manner, abounding in traits of the nautical usages of that early period. In this voyage, Tasman discovered Van Dieman's Land, New Zealand, the Friendly Islands, Annamuka, Pylstaarts, Prince William's Islands, and several

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COOK.

portions of New Guinea. We first read of the name Staaten Land being changed to that of New Zealand in the instructions given to Tasman previously to setting out on a second voyage of discovery, dated 1644, in which Nova Zealandia is substituted. The reason why their High Mightinesses, the States General, in the profundity of their sagacious dictums, should have done so, cannot be solved at this distance of time; for there is no greater resemblance between the old Zealand and the newly discovered islands than there is, to use a simile of the learned Knickerbocker, in the forms between the flat Dutch cheese and the pinnacled one, called the pine-apple.

Tasman did not visit his late discovery on bis second expedition. The sketch of Tasman's route is to be found in a chart of Australasia, in Thevenot's "Divers curious Voyages, 1696," wherein an account of this voyage is found. "Route de Abel Tasman, autour de la Terre Australe avec le Decouverte de la Nouvelle Zelande et de la Terre de Van Dieman," tom. ii.

Though, doubtless, the coast of this country was seen by several vessels bound on discovery in those seas, yet no published account is preserved until Cook visited the country in 1769, when he first discovered land bearing W. by N.

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COOK'S FIRST VOYAGE.

That vessels have been seen in the straits that divide the two islands has been handed down to the present people; but to the Dutch must be ascribed the merit of being the first discoverers, in a number of crazy ships, if they deserve the name, that would not be accounted sea-worthy to undertake a coasting voyage at the present day, much less to double the Cape of Good Hope or Cape Horn, pursuing their route through unknown seas, studded with rocks and reefs of coral.

From Tasman's time to that of Cook, one hundred and twenty-seven years, it had been a cherished opinion of geographers that New Zealand was part of a southern continent, running N. and S. from 33 deg. to 64 deg. of south latitude, and its northern coast stretching across the South Pacific to an immense distance, where Juan Fernandez, some fifty years previously, had seen the eastern boundary. The result of Cook's first voyage in the "Endeavour" totally dissipated these suppositions. That intrepid navigator spent nearly six months on its coasts between 1769 and 1770, during which period he entirely circumnavigated the islands, ascertained the extent of each, and barely escaped shipwreck on a reef of rocks, which, from their position to catch unwary strangers, were named the Traps,

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COOK'S FIRST VOYAGE.

in 46 deg. 27' S. Heavy gales induced the navigators to stand away to the westward, naming an island. near the northern extremity of the smallest of the three islands, but supposed by Cook to be joined to the largest of the islands, after Dr. Solander, generally known as Cod-fish Island, from the quantity of that fish abounding in the vicinity.

It is distinctly notated among the natives, that a ship put into the straits named after Cook during the period that elapsed between his first and second voyage. The people, in addition to other causes, have one that is to be regretted to this day. On this subject I have often put the question to the southern people; but they had never heard of any except the Kaipuki no te Kuri, or "the Dog Ship," which first brought that companionable animal to these shores. It has been supposed the vessel was destroyed, with the crew, by the natives; but this may be reasonably doubted, as the destination of many of the early commercial voyages was kept a profound secret from the world, and this very likely was one of them. On Cook making the land, it gave rise to much controversy among the officers, many stating their conviction that the country in sight was part of the unknown Australian continent;

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COOK'S FIRST VOYAGE.

On the 8th October, 1769, Cook first cast anchor in the bay of Turunga, opposite a small river called Turunganui, near the small island of Tua Motu, about two miles from the shore. The same evening Cook, accompanied by Mr. Banks (afterwards Sir Joseph), and Dr. Solander, went on shore, but had scarcely put foot on the beach when they were attacked by a portion of the natives. In relating Cook's transactions in this bay, I must also mention the account given me by Manutai, grandson of Te Ratu, a principal chief, who headed the attack on the Englishmen, and was the first native killed by Europeans, which was done in self-defence. It appears that the tribes who now assaulted Cook had not been long in possession of the laud, as they were originally a party of strangers from the southward, who had made war on the inhabitants of the place, and had defeated and destroyed them. This decisive battle had taken place but a very few years previously to the arrival of Cook, and Te Ratu had been one of the principal warriors. Another chief was shot in the shoulder; this man recovered, and had died within a few years previously to my visiting those localities in 1836. I saw the son of this wounded warrior, an elderly man, who pointed out to me, on his body, the spot where the ball had passed through the

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COOK'S FIRST VOYAGE.

shoulders of his father. Cook's ship was at first taken for a bird by the natives; and many remarks passed among them as to the beauty and size of its wings, as the sails of this novel specimen in ornithology were supposed to be. But on seeing a smaller bird, unfledged (without sails), descending into the water, and a number of party-coloured beings, but apparently in the human shape, also descending, the bird was regarded as a houseful of divinities. Nothing could exceed the astonishment of the people.

Cook almost despaired of having any intercourse with the natives, who lamented, with anxious terror and grief, the inanimate body of their leader, which lay dead before them. The manner of his unseen death was ascribed as a thunderbolt from these new gods; and the noise made by the discharges of the muskets was represented as the Watitiri, or thunder, which accompanies the sublime phenomena.

To revenge themselves was the dearest wish of the tribe; but how to accomplish it with divinities, who could kill them at a distance without even approaching to them, was difficult to determine. Many of these natives observed, that they felt themselves taken ill by only being particularly looked upon by these Atuas. It

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COOK'S FIRST VOYAGE.

was therefore agreed, that, as these new comers could bewitch with a single look, the sooner their society was dismissed, the better it would be for the general welfare.

The next day Cook traversed the bay in his boats in search of wood and water, as the sea rushes over the sand-bars of the small rivers, and mingles with them to some distance. While thus engaged, he met with a fishing canoe entering the bay from sea, bending round the Kuri, or Young Nick's Head, the south-east head of the bay. Cook was almost up with them before he was perceived, when the fishermen took to their paddles as fast as they could, and would have escaped, but a musket was discharged over their heads to make them surrender. This, however, had a contrary effect, for the paddling was stopped, and, regardless of the odds against them, they hastily doffed off their mats, and, as soon as the boats made up, commenced a furious attack, and resisted being captured until four men who were in the canoe were killed; and three lads, who also formed the number of the crew, were made prisoners. Few commanders equalled Cook in humanity, and none exceeded him; and he apologises for this unfortunate transaction by saying, "he had tried presents in vain, which were valueless, as their use was unknown, and the nature of his

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TUPIA.

service required that he should not only gain admittance into the country, but also procure a knowledge of its inhabitants." On the boys being taken out of the water, whither they had flung themselves, they expected instant death; but kind treatment, and a present of some of the seamen's clothes, soon restored their good temper, and they quickly appeared to forget the friends they had lost. On board the ship food was presented to them, and they ate with a voracity that is pandemic to the nation. They viewed the surrounding objects with apathy; but not so the supper, on which they recommenced eating with an avidity, that, but for the ocular demonstration furnished to the officers of the ship at dinner, it would have been supposed the lads had fasted for the previous week. Tupia, the favourite Tahitean of Cook, was soon enabled to speak the language of these people with sufficient facility to be understood by them; and he exerted himself to entertain the new comers, and prevent their thoughts from harbouring on the loss of their companions who had fallen in the skirmish. The next morning, at breakfast, they again set to with increased appetite, devouring an enormous quantity of food. They were then decorated with trinkets from head to foot, and descended into the boats with

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TUPIA.

great joy, to be put on shore. The boats were to have landed near a small village, close to a river with a bar at its mouth, called Wero-wero, on the south side of Turunga; but the lads entreated not to be put on shore at that place, or they would be killed and eaten. Landing afterwards with Cook, and some of the crew, they perceived one of their uncles among the crowd. Notwithstanding the relationship, they preferred returning with their new acquaintances.

In the afternoon they again requested to be put on shore. Their desires were complied with; but, on landing, they felt the compunction they had experienced in the morning. On the boat leaving the beach, they waded in the water after it, entreating to be taken in; but Cook had given orders to the contrary. Previously to quitting the bay, Tupia demanded of the lads the name of the place, pointing around with his hand. He was answered, Te One roa, or the long sand, which entirely surrounds the bay. Cook named it as such in his chart, but the name of the bay is Turunga; any sandy spot, having the appellation of One or Oni attached to it, signifying sand; but Cook, disappointed in getting supplies, of which he was now in much need, called the place Poverty Bay; but, from the valuable agricultural nature of the

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TUPIA.

country in the vicinity of this bay, it merits any other name than "poverty."

The next day the "Endeavour" was under weigh, sailing south as far as Cape Turnagain, in lat. 40 deg. 34' S. Cook then steered north, naming several places in his route. Among other presents bestowed by Cook on the people at Turunga, a tomahawk and axe was thrown to them (as they admitted not of any near approach), and some large nails, which were cast into the sea by them.

In describing the simplicity of their ancestors, the chiefs would tell me that their fathers were fools, who knew nothing. "Ah!" said Rakou, the son of the chief who had been wounded by Cook, "I wish I had been sufficiently old at the time; would I have thrown away an axe or a nail? try me!" It also appears the venerable priests were much puzzled (a circumstance not of very rare occurrence), as to what cause they should ascribe the arrival of the white men. They knew it would never answer to say they had procured their arrival by their incantations, as they would have had to pay for the death of Te Ratu, and the four chiefs killed in the canoe. They contented themselves by stating, that their supplications to the Taniwoa, or native Neptune, had alone been instrumental

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COOK.

in causing the disappearance of these new Atuas, who so materially differed from the native theo-gony; the latter only appearing in the form of the humble Tui bird, or giving a wink to their followers by the twinkling of a star, whereas the former had presumed to embody themselves in the human form.

Cook, after touching at various parts of the coast, sailed north until he rounded the North Cape. His principal views being directed to ascertain if the country was insulated or not, he kept some distance from the shore, and sailed down the entire west coast, which, from its barren appearance from the sea, he named the Desert coast; but one mile only inland, the face of the country is materially improved. He met with nothing worthy of observation until he arrived at the bay where Tasman had anchored, and, much to his surprise, found the supposed bight of that early discoverer to be a wide strait that divided the northern island from the southern, and which he left unnamed; but it was afterwards justly called by geographers after this celebrated man, who had sailed round the island on again sighting Cape Turnagain, whence he had taken his departure. Cook now sailed to the south island, the coast of which he had partly seen when in the strait; and con-

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SURVILLE.

tinued his course down the eastern coast. In lat. 42 deg. 20' S. four double canoes were seen, with fifty-seven men on board of them. Mr. Banks, who was out of the ship in a boat, a calm prevailing at the time, had a narrow escape from being taken by them. They approached close to the vessel and then laid on their paddles, gazing with perfect astonishment. Tupia addressed them in vain. Cook here remarks on the various emotions expressed by the inhabitants of the country on first beholding a ship. He says, "These kept aloof with a mixture of timidity and wonder; others had immediately commenced hostilities by pelting us with stones. The gentleman whom we found alone, fishing in his canoe, seemed to think us entirely unworthy of his notice; and some, almost without an invitation, had come on board with an air of confidence and perfect good-will." The point was called "The Lookers-on." I must refer the reader to the account of the voyage, which is highly interesting. Cook entirely circumnavigated the land, and took his departure from the north-west cape of the largest island, naming it Cape Farewell, on 31st March, 1770.

On the 12th December, 1769, a French ship, called the "St. Jean Baptiste," commanded by Captain Surville, arrived off the east coast of the

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SURVILLE.

country, and came in sight of a bay which Cook had called Doubtless Bay, and actually passed in the "Endeavour" early the very same morning. This singular coincidence resembled a similar occurrence that took place in 1788, on the founding of the colony of New South Wales, which followed consequent on the researches of Cook in that quarter, during this same voyage.

The fleet of colonists had anchored at Botany Bay, with the intention of establishing the head-quarters of the colony in that place, when a sailor, named Jackson, by accident discovered in his rambles a splendid port, full of innumerable coves; which being reported to the governor, Captain Phillips, and the truth ascertained, the harbour was named after the discoverer, and called Port Jackson. On the fleet getting under weigh to sail for the newly discovered harbour and intended settlement, two ships were discovered approaching the land, which proved to be the French discovery vessels, under the command of the deservedly lamented La Perouse, whose subsequent hapless fate at Manikolo, one of the New Hebrides group, was made known to the world by Captain Dillon in 1827.

Captain Surville left the Ganges on the 3d March, 1769, in search of an El Dorado, or

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SURVILLE.

island said to have been just discovered by the English, some seven hundred leagues from the most southern point of South America. It was further stated that gold was to be had in abundance. Contrary winds prevented the "St. Jean Baptiste" from approaching the land; but, on the 17th of December, the vessel cast anchor in Doubtless Bay, called by the natives Paroa, but named by Surville, Lauriston Bay, after the governor-general of the French possessions in India. Had the French commander had an interpreter on board his ship, he would early have known that Cook was on the coast, as such news would be dispersed among all the natives. This account of Surville is taken from Captain Crozet's narrative, who is much embittered against his predecessor, as he attributes the misfortunes that fell on his own vessel solely to the heartless conduct of this commander. 1 On the day after anchoring, he went on shore, where he was kindly received by the natives, nocking around him with childish curiosity. As a proof of the dependence he could place on these people, a chief one day demanded the musket which Surville carried with him; he refused to

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SURVILLE.

comply; his sword was then requested, which he gave up: on this the chief who received it turned round to his countrymen, making a speech which was unintelligible to the French, flourished the weapon, and then returned it. The visitors procured refreshments in plenty, but the account does not state of what description.

On the 22d, Surville changed his anchorage, as being too much exposed, and entered further within the bay, opposite a small village called Parakiraki, which Surville named Cove Chevalier. He had scarcely dropped anchor, when a hurricane swept the coast with such fury that the ship was on the point of being wrecked, as the cove is unprotected, a low, flat, sandy beach, rendering it open to the wind from the north, A boat belonging to the ship attempted in vain to make the vessel; the people were obliged to return to the shore, after being nearly lost.

They were treated with much hospitality, for two days, by the natives, during which time the gales lasted; and when they abated, the sailors returned to the ship. This kindness was ill requited by Surville, who missed a small boat during the storm. Suspecting, without cause, that the natives had stolen it, he was determined on revenge, and invited Nahinui, the chief of the district, on board, and made him

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MARION AND CROZET.

a prisoner. The Frenchmen then went on shore, set fire to the villages where they had found shelter during the storm, and then returned on board, getting immediately under weigh, and bearing away with them the miserable chief. Nahinui died three months after of a broken heart. Surville did not long survive the unfortunate victim of his unfeeling conduct; for, on his arrival at Callao, in Peru, twelve days after the death of the chief, being anxious to obtain an early audience with the viceroy, he was hastily conveyed in a small boat towards the shore at the flood-tide, when the swell is most impetuous. The boat was capsized by a heavy roller, and Surville and the crew perished in the surf. One Malabar alone was saved.

The next visitors to New Zealand were the French, who arrived in two ships, called the "Mascarin" and "Marquis de Castries," under the command of Captain Marion du Fresne. Previous to the voyage, particular instructions were given to the commander to examine New Zealand, and to explore the South Pacific Ocean for new discoveries of islands or continents.

On the 24th of March, 1772, the west coast was discovered opposite Mount Egmont (Puke Haupapa), which Marion named Le Pic Mascarin, which was judged to be as high as the Pic

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MARION AND CROZET.

Acores of Teneriffe. On the 4th of April they made Cape Maria Van Dieman, and sent a boat on shore for water. A severe storm suddenly arising, it was with difficulty they regained the vessel, which was driven from the land. Many days were lost in regaining the position whence they were driven. Early in May they sighted Cape Brett, the south head of the Bay of Islands: it was renamed Cape Quarre. A boat was despatched to the shore; several canoes came alongside the vessels; but the people in them, after much persuasion, were induced to go on board. They ate with great voracity every thing that was offered them: some clothing was also given, with which they were delighted. They appeared to understand the use of such tools as were shewn to them, which was evidently learnt from Cook, who was the only navigator that had hitherto entered this bay. Several natives slept on board the "Mascarin," among whom was a chief called Tacouri (doubtless Te Kuri, or dog, a name common among the natives). On the llth, in consequence of the harmony that subsisted between the French and the natives, Marion got under weigh and stood into Paroa, an inner anchorage, within the islands, and opposite to Korokoua, a village in the bay belonging to Kuri. The infirm and sick

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MARION AND CROZET.

were landed on the 12th at a village on Motu Roa, or Long Island, without Paroa. Crozet, first-lieutenant of the "Mascarin," tells us, he was enabled to converse with the natives by having, par accident, discovered the resemblance of the Tahitean language to that of New Zealand, a vocabulary of which was on board. The natives, with national penetration, soon discovered that Marion was invested with the command; they in consequence treated him with a warmth and liberality that entirely lulled any suspicions that might have arisen from Cook's observation, "Never trust a New Zealander," The French and natives lived in perfect confidence with each other -- excursions were taken far into the interior by the officers of the two ships, accompanied by certain natives who had individually attached themselves to the Europeans--every attention was shewn by this race of savages, who seemed to realise the affable customs of the ancient Arcadians, whose natural, guileless manners abounded in the sentimental writings of Rousseau and a host of Gallic writers of the day.

Crozet remarks, that he was the only person who did not permit himself to forget the character invariably given of these sans culottes; he adds, he often mentioned the same to Captain Marion, who politely listened, without the com-

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MARION AND CROZET.

munication troubling his attention. Affairs thus amicably stood until the 8th of June, when Marion was received on shore with an enthusiasm that made him wholly forget all precaution. He allowed himself to be dressed in feathers, as is the wont of the people in beautifying their persons, and he returned on board perfectly delighted with them.

It was observed, but not until too late, that the people on shore absented themselves much from the vessel--the young friends of the officers discontinued their visits; Crozet remarked the change, especially in the native who had attached himself to his service. On the 12th of May, Marion went on shore with a crew of sixteen persons, among whom were four superior officers. As the evening set in, it caused some surprise that the boat did not return; but it was known that Marion intended to spend the day in fishing near a village belonging to Kuri, and not a suspicion was entertained for a moment that any accident had befallen them, as it was thought probable they might have accepted the hospitable invitation of passing the night in the village.

The following morning a boat had been sent on shore from the "Marquis de Castries" for the purpose of fetching wood and water. It had been absent about four hours; when, to the sur-

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prise of the watch on the deck of the vessel, one of the seamen was observed swimming towards her. A boat was immediately sent to his assistance. On arriving on board this man had a dreadful tale to unfold. It appeared, when the boat had reached the shore in the morning, the natives came up to the party with their usual show of affection, and carried them on shore, to prevent the feet of their intended victims getting wet in stepping from the boat. After debarking, the seamen dispersed to gather wood for the boat, and, while each was busy in the work before him, unarmed, and surrounded by numbers of the hostile natives, at a given signal, in the space of a second, six or seven of these treacherous savages seized hold of each of the Frenchmen, bearing them down to the ground, and beating out their brains with a stroke of their stone hatchets. Eleven were thus quickly despatched; the narrator had alone escaped, having been assaulted by a fewer number of natives, from whom he escaped by plunging with speed into a contiguous thicket, where he lay concealed, and saw the murdered bodies of his comrades cut up and divided among those cannibals, who shortly after left the place, carrying with them their portions of human flesh, and thus gave the survivor a chance of swimming for his life.

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This dreadful tale was sufficient to disclose the fate of Marion and his people. The longboat of the "Mascarin" was immediately despatched, well armed, to ascertain their fate, of which not a doubt now existed; and the first thing that presented itself was the boat, lying on the strand, which had conveyed the unfortunate commander and his companions: it was crowded with natives. A party of sixty men, under Lieutenant Crozet's own command, were employed on shore, cutting down trees, close to this place. On Crozet hearing the information, he, with much tact, ordered the tools to be gathered together, and inarched to the boats, without imparting to his people the fate of their comrades. His orders were instantly obeyed; but, on their approach to the boats, the natives followed them in great numbers, using their usual contemptuous gestures to their enemies, trying to inflame each other, and shouting that Tekuri had killed and devoured Marion.

On the French arriving at their boats, the savage fury of the mob broke forth, as unwilling to be deprived of their prey, now on the eve of escaping their grasp. They, with discordant yells and shouts, pressed every moment closer to the retiring Europeans, and were on the point of commencing a general attack, when Crozet

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stepped forward, and, raising his musket, commanded the rabble, in a tone of authority, to stand back; and hastily marking a line on the sand, as Cook had previously done on this very same beach, threatened to shoot the first person that overstepped the boundary. This was supposed by the natives to be the incantations of the European priesthood, which it would be impiety to pass. They even sat down, to a man, on being further commanded so to do by Crozet, and listened in silence to what he further said to them. This conduct, on the part of the natives, will be readily credited by any person acquainted with the character of this people. But no sooner had the last man hastily jumped into the boat, than they quickly rose with deafening shouts, maddened at their own folly and infatuation, in allowing their prey thus to escape them. They rushed into the water to haul the boats on shore; but now was come the moment when the French could, without hazard, reward the treacherous confidence of the perfidious people who had destroyed their companions. Shower after shower of bullets were poured upon the dense mass of beings; who, paralysed with fear and astonishment, had not the power of stirring from the spot to avoid the volleys of musketry that mowed their ranks.

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Crozet put a stop to this fearful requital, and steered his course to Motu Roa, to remove the sick stationed there. As no wood or water could be procured at Paroa, an attempt was made next day to procure these supplies at Motu Roa, as to proceed to sea without them would be useless. In performing this duty, the village, which lies on the west side of the island, was attacked; the natives having shewn a determination to prevent them, many were killed. Previously to leaving this disastrous scene, the French destroyed many other natives, whom they observed dressed in the clothes of their murdered comrades. They also paid another visit to the village where the lamentable scene took place, and perceived the execrable Kuri, the leader in the massacre, dressed in the red cloak that had belonged to Marion, and saw several pieces of human flesh, on which the marks of teeth were visible. The vessels then put to sea, on the 14th of July, 1772, after having been nearly four months on the coast, and having done less to ascertain its geographical position than any other voyage of discovery to the country.

Crozet named the country France Australe, and nominated Paroa as the Bay of Treachery; but these names have never been attached to the country by the French geographers. It

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was also taken possession of in the name of the king of France. Crozet succeeded to the command, and turned his thoughts homewards, as the force of the ships was much reduced, especially in the loss of five superior officers. On his arrival in France, his conduct was fully approved of, and he was promoted capitaine de vaisseau. His work contains a quantity of interesting matter respecting the habits and customs of the people; but the results are such as might naturally be expected of a person who understood the language superficially, and had not resided among the people. No cause has been assigned, why they were at first kindly treated for upwards of a month, and then suddenly maltreated. Even the traditionary cause is lost among the natives. Some have observed, that a sailor was guilty of connecting himself with a female that was tapued; other natives give a different version to the story. Crozet justly lauds his own moderation in putting a stop to the massacre; which otherwise would have annihilated the crowds before them. The effect was such, that though from 3000 to 4000 ships have since anchored in the Bay of Islands at different periods, yet the antipathy to the French nation continues unabated. They are known only by

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the designation of Te Hevi no Mariou (the tribe of Marion), throughout the country. Perhaps the recent deaths of their comrades did not provoke the fierce passions of the French to such an extent as the insults that were afterwards offered. Junius justly observes, "Injuries may be atoned for and forgiven, but insults admit of no compensation. They degrade the mind in its own esteem, and force it to recover its level by revenge." Crozet, whose prudence and ability has been testified by our Cook, had a distrust of these people from the earliest accounts he had read of them. He says, "Malgre les caresses des sauvages, je n'oubliai jamais que notre devancier, Abel Tasman, avoit nomme Baie des Meurtriers, celle ou il avoit attere dans la Nouvelle Zelande. Nous ignorions que M. Cook 1'eut visitee depuis, et reconnue toute entiere: nous ignorions qu'il y avoit trouve des anthropophages et qu'il avoit failli etre tue dans la meme port ou nous etions mouilles." The attack on Marion took place while both parties were engaged hauling in a large seine; when between every Frenchman several natives placed themselves, in apparently the best of humour, and, at a given signal, the hapless people were murdered with stone hatchets, that were concealed about the savages.

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My first purchase in the country was a house on the spot where the massacre was perpetrated; the proprietor was Te Kouai, grandson to the principal actor in the tragedy. Nearly the whole country around has been purchased by Europeans.