1872 - Ward, R. Life among the Maories of New Zealand - CHAPTER I. THE DISCOVERY.

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LIFE AMONG THE MAORIES
OF
NEW ZEALAND.

CHAPTER I.

NEW ZEALAND has engaged the attention of the British public, not only as a field for scientific research, and as an appropriate sphere for Christian Missions, but on account of its flourishing colony. In addition to immigration from Great Britain and Ireland, hundreds of families from the continent of Europe and the northern parts of America have found a home on its

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shores, and have been naturalized as the subjects of our Queen. Additional interest has been felt in the colony through the war, occasioned by the efforts of several native tribes to throw off their allegiance to the Queen, and to form themselves into an independent kingdom. The evils of the war have fallen most heavily upon the Maori race; but the colony has suffered the loss of life and property to a fearful extent. Yet the energy of the settlers has risen with the trial to which they have been exposed, and instead of folding their arms in despair, they are encouraging hopes of a bright and prosperous future.

Much has been written about New Zealand by men who have spent only a few months in the country. Some of these works are respectable publications, and we know of some which are worthy of all confidence; but many of them fail in the attempt to portray real colonial life--its trials and hopes, its joys and sorrows. Such persons are obliged to collect their information from whatever sources may be within their reach, whether reliable or otherwise; and from books, the value of which they are not always prepared to determine. They may have walked a few miles into the dense forest, and ridden over a few thousands of acres of open land; they may have conversed with the farmer in the country, and mingled with society for a few weeks in the town; the native people may have attracted their attention, as they disposed of their produce to the settlers; and, possibly, they may have entered a Maori pah, and slept in a raupo whare; but their experience and observations are too crude, with rare exceptions, to enable them to give a fair view of New Zealand and its inhabitants. Other books on the same subject have been compiled by

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persons who never left the shores of Great Britain. Many of these are open to many objections; for while much valuable information is embodied, a good deal will be found calculated to mislead. We do not insinuate that a false impression is intended to be made; but such an impression is certainly the natural consequence of loose, defective, and one-sided information. But other books, altogether trustworthy, and replete with intelligence on the subjects discussed by their respective authors, have been published. Of these the present writer has endeavoured to make a proper use, so far as they have been within his reach. And a residence of twenty-six years in the colony--in a suitable post for observation, especially during the late native insurrection--has secured advantages which it is hoped will prevent him from presenting fiction for facts, and from misleading the public mind in its estimate of New Zealand, past and present.

The object which we propose is to present such a view of New Zealand as may illustrate the grace and providence of God towards both its aboriginal people and the race which is destined to shed the blessings of civilization and Christianity from the North Cape to Stewart's Island. The Missionary enterprise, conducted in its early stages amidst heavy trials and fearful risks, and followed in numerous instances by decisive and satisfactory results, shall be properly exhibited. The colony, in its formation, growth, and prospects, together with its claims upon the attention of intending emigrants, shall be described. The native race, as they were made known to the world by the early circumnavigators of the globe; their progress in the appropriation of useful arts; their connexion with the colonists, and their recent unhappy attempt to

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maintain their nationality by an appeal to arms, and the war to which this attempt has given rise--shall be fairly treated. And the whole will be considered as a part of the plan by which God intends the waste places of the earth to be cultivated, and by which those tribes of mankind who have, till a recent period, been living beyond the reach of the Churches of Christ, are to be gathered into the fold of the Great Shepherd.

At the time the Old Testament was completed, the civilized world lay within a comparatively narrow compass. The Mediterranean was the only "great sea" with which they were familiar; the Atlantic ocean was scarcely known, and the wider Pacific was to them a total blank. There was total ignorance of the great American continent, extending from the North Polar Sea to Cape Horn, which faces the wintry blasts from the Antarctic Circle; and of the numerous groups of islands which beautifully studded the bosom of the South Sea, and perhaps at that time supported a numerous population. Geographical knowledge was improved at the time the events transpired which are recorded in the New Testament; but even then, Britain was spoken of as being separated from the whole world, and more remote countries were little more than terra incognita. But nearly three thousand years ago the veil was occasionally lifted by the hand of inspiration, and glances of the future history of distant lands were obtained. The prophets taught that the "ends of the earth" were to "see the salvation of our God;" the isles were to "wait for His law;" and all nations were to serve Him. The commission which Christ gave to His Apostles embraced the whole world; and the effects which have been produced by the Gospel in every part of the earth,

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among men crushed beneath the heaviest curses, and groaning under the most cruel and revolting forms of heathenism, show that the provisions of Divine grace were calculated to meet the wants of all mankind.

The Divine Sovereignty is distinctly seen in the history of our race. Several thousand years passed away before man was able to make an intelligent survey of the earth which he was commanded to subdue and replenish. During that time extensive countries, full of inhabitants, held no intercourse with the known world. Their wants were comparatively few; they roamed in the primeval forests, drank the water from the unbridged rivers and brooks, procured food either by rudely cultivating the ground, or by the chase of the wild animals which came within their reach, and died without knowing whence they came, or whither they were going. Why was it that so many centuries elapsed, after the Christian Church had received her commission to go into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature, before many of the lands which have recently been the scene of Gospel triumphs, remarkable for their grandeur and extent, were discovered? We can only reply--"Even so, Father; for so it seemed good in Thy sight."

But when the period arrived in which the Church was to enlarge her boundaries, according to her great commission, both the agents and the instruments were prepared. The discovery of the magnet, the construction of the chronometer, the invention of printing, the desire to search unknown seas, and the anxiety of the Christian Church to carry the Gospel into distant countries, were the signs of the times--tokens that God was about to pour upon all nations the blessings of saving grace. The first voyage round the earth was

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a great event, not only as a demonstration of science, and as a novel and dangerous enterprise, but because of the blessings which were designed to follow in its wake. Commerce, with its well-appointed fleets; the Christian missionary, with the glad tidings of salvation; and the adventurous colonist, with the seeds of a civilized state--owe a debt of gratitude to the early circumnavigators of the globe, as pioneers in their path.

The honour of fitting out a ship for the first voyage of discovery in modern times, belongs to Portugal. This occurred in 1412, under the auspices of Don Henry, Duke of Viseo, son of John I. In the course of the next seventy-four years the Madeiras were discovered and colonized, and settlements were formed along the coast of Africa. Under the direction of John II., an expedition, consisting of three ships, was prepared for a voyage of discovery in the South. The command was given to Commodore Diaz, who sailed in August, 1486. He doubled the Cape of Good Hope, and sailed several hundred miles along the Eastern coast of Africa. The stormy weather which Diaz encountered off that great promontory, led him to call it "Il Cabo dos Tormentos"--the Cape of Storms; but on his return to Portugal, the King was so delighted with the grandeur of the discovery, and the prospect of reaching India by that route, that he called it, "Il Cabo del Bueno Esperanza"--the Cape of Good Hope. About six years afterwards the indomitable energy and plodding perseverance of Columbus were rewarded by the discovery of the West Indian Islands, and then of America, along whose coast he sailed as far as the Isthmus of Darien. A southern ocean occupied the thoughts of Columbus; its existence appeared extremely probable, but he was not permitted to gaze upon its waters.

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The following lines, illustrative of the growing intelligence of this period, may be quoted from a poet of Florence, who flourished in the latter part of the fifteenth century. The general idea that had been entertained was, that the Pillars of Hercules--Gibraltar--were the utmost limits of the world, and to this the poet thus refers:--

In those days Spain was a great maritime nation, and attracted by the report of gold being found in abundance in America, she planted colonies there. Adventurous persons, from the highest rank to the lowest plebeian, sought the land of gold. A man of good family and cultivated mind, but of profligate habits, was appointed Governor. This was Vasco Nunez de Balboa, to whom the honour was given of making known to the world the Pacific Ocean. The existence of this ocean was related to him by the natives of the country, and taking some of them as guides, he prepared for a journey across

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the Isthmus of Darien, for the purpose of verifying the Indians' report. A powerful chief opposed his progress, but having a strong escort, the effect of his fire-arms was seen in the destruction of several hundreds of natives. It is painful to reflect on the fact, that, in numerous instances, the advancement of science and civilization have been attended with a great loss of human life. His heart throbbing with excitement, Balboa climbed the mountains of the Isthmus, and on the 26th of September, 1513, the great Southern ocean opened before him. "He fell on his knees, and amid floods of joyful tears, extending his arms to the ocean, and lifting up his eyes to heaven, he offered a prayer of thanksgiving to the Most High, that on him, of all Europeans, had been conferred the signal honour of first beholding the Great Pacific. He then beckoned the approach of his attendants, who advanced, and, on beholding the wondrous sight, a priest of the company struck up the Te Deum, in which the whole united on their bended knees." 1 With buoyant step Balboa hastened to the beach, and, while the tide laved his feet, took possession of the newly-discovered ocean, and of all the lands washed by its waters, in the name of the King of Spain.

Six years later, a fleet, consisting of five ships and two hundred and thirty-six men, left Spain on the first voyage round the globe. Magellan, a Portuguese by birth, offered his services for this hazardous undertaking to Charles V., and was appointed the commander. The horrors which the crews sustained from disease and want of provisions, cannot be described. Insubordination contributed to the general distress. But Magellan was

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equal to the emergency; and had his conduct towards the natives whose lands he visited been governed by the proper feelings of humanity, he would not only have deserved a place among the greatest benefactors of mankind, but, probably, would have returned to Europe to reap the honours which he had so nobly earned. He passed through the strait which bears his name, lying between the most southern part of the American continent and Tierra del Fuego, in October, 1520, and entered into the Great South Sea. Months of suffering were yet before him and his brave companions; but in the following March they reached the Ladrone Islands, where they met with abundance of provisions. The thievish propensity of the natives determined the name by which that group of islands is still known, and was the occasion of a severe punishment which was inflicted on them by the crews of Magellan. The Philippines were soon after discovered. The number of inhabitants, their tattooed decorations, their well-finished and strange instruments of war, and their loquacious and easy habits, made a favourable impression on the Commander, which was increased by the beautiful scenery, abundant provisions, and delightful climate, peculiarly refreshing to men who had been so many months upon the bosom of unknown seas. This led to a so-called Christian exhibition, in which a company from the ships went on shore, for the purpose of saying Mass, and erecting a cross, which was "garnished with nails, and mounted by a crown of thorns." When Mass was said, a volley of musketry was fired, and the cross was offered to the bewildered natives as an object of worship, with a promise of immunity from all extraordinary evils so long as they continued to

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adore it! This was the first time that the attention of the South Sea Islanders was drawn towards Christianity; but it was nothing better than an endeavour to substitute one form of idolatry for another. An attempt to christianize the natives of another island was made a few days afterwards. A temporary chapel was built, Mass was said, and guns were fired, and many of the natives, without understanding the object, submitted to baptism. The influence of Magellan appears to have been immense, for a little time. Then a reaction took place; his demands on the people brought him into collision with their warriors, when he fell a prey to their ferocity. Eight men fell dead with him, and twenty-two more were wounded. It is to be deeply regretted that a man who had done so much for the advancement of science, and the progress of society, in opening the way for colonizing those remote parts of the earth, and introducing the religion of Christ (but not by the efforts which he made in erecting crosses, as so many idols) in its purity and power, should come to such an untimely end. Several captains and chief officers also were killed; but the ships, notwithstanding, proceeded on their course of discovery. Other countries were visited, and other dangers befell them. Five ships comprised the expedition, but only one returned to Spain; and of two hundred and thirty-six persons who sailed on this dangerous enterprise, not more than sixteen saw their native country again. "This handful of survivors, on reaching Seville, walked to Church in their shirts, barefooted, with burning tapers in their hands, to return thanks to the Most High for their wondrous preservation." 2 They sailed from San Lucar September 20th, 1519, and

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returned September 6th, 1522, after sailing, in the course of these three years, about forty thousand miles.

Within the thirty-six years preceding the conclusion of this voyage, an immense addition was made to geographical knowledge. The whole of the Western coast of Africa was traced; the much-dreaded Cape was doubled, and the eastern coast was visited. Vasco de Gama sailed in command of a fleet fitted out by Emmanuel of Portugal, for the purpose of finding a passage to India by the Cape of Good Hope. With the usual amount of suffering incident to long voyages in those days, arising from scurvy and the want of wholesome provisions, this intrepid commander reached Calicut, on the Malabar coast, on the 20th May, 1498, and returning by the same course, arrived in Portugal after an absence of more than two years. But of the one hundred and eight men who left their home under his command, only fifty were permitted to return to enjoy the honours, and still more substantial favours, of their king and country, in return for the advantages which were expected in consequence of their successful voyage. The southern extremity of America had then been explored, and a passage found into the vast ocean which washed the eastern coast of that continent. The sails had been freely spread, and the ship's course directed into the heart of the great Pacific, where group after group of beautiful islands, full of inhabitants, were discovered. During the same period, the great discoveries of Columbus had been made, and settlements formed, not only on some of the West Indian islands, but also on the continent of America. We see much to deplore in the hardships which were endured by those adventurous sons of the ocean, and in the cruelties which

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were sometimes inflicted upon the astonished people whom they visited; but we must never forget the debt of gratitude which all succeeding generations owe to them, and the high honour which God has put upon them, in appointing them to be His agents to prepare His way, that the ends of the earth may rejoice in His salvation.

While thus God was preparing a highway across the oceans, to the most distant parts of the earth, His providence at the same time was raising up agents, through whose instrumentality the sacred Scriptures were to be freed from the fables and superstitions, which had long perverted and corrupted them. Martin Luther was a little child when Bartholomew Diaz first saw the Cape of Good Hope; and no connexion could then be traced between that great discovery, and the little German child. While De Gama was rejoicing at the success which attended his efforts to reach India by doubling the African Cape, and partaking of the hospitality of eastern monarchs, Luther was a student, so poor that he was often seen in the streets of Isenach singing in front of the houses, for a morsel of bread to appease his hunger. No connexion was then discernible between the heroic navigator, and the hunger-bitten student. Just as Columbus, rich in real honours, but crushed beneath a nation's neglect, and the foul tongue of obloquy, was approaching the grave, Luther found a Bible. It was the first he ever saw; its contents aroused his whole soul, and throbbings of a great purpose were soon felt. It is not difficult now to see a close connexion between the discoveries of the great seamen, and that of the student of Erfurt; theirs, exhibited the works of God spread out on the broad bosom of nature, his displayed

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the grace of God spread out in a divine revelation; the records of one revealed extensive countries, which were destined to be covered with the arts and comforts of civilization, while those of the other proclaimed the doctrines of grace, through which the earth is to be covered with the beauty of holiness. While Magellan was recruiting the health of his crews at the Philippine Islands, where he ingloriously fell, Martin Luther was summoned before the Diet of Worms, to answer the charge of writing books of heresy. There stood Luther before Charles, "whose dominion embraced two worlds, surrounded by six electors of the Empire, eighty dukes, eight margraves, thirty prelates of various rank, seven ambassadors, the deputies of five cities, a number of princes and sovereigns, counts and barons, with the Pope's nuncios and a few others." The question submitted to Luther was, "Will you, or will you not retract?" His noble reply can never be forgotten: "Since your most Serene Majesty, and your High Mightinesses, demand a simple, clear, and explicit answer of me, I will give it. I cannot submit my faith either to pope or councils, since it is as clear as the day, that they have often fallen into error, and even into great contradictions with themselves. If, then, I am not convinced by testimonies from Scripture or by evident reasons, if I am not persuaded by the very passages I have cited, and if my conscience be not thus made captive by the Word of God, I can and will retract nothing; for it is not safe for the Christian to speak against his conscience. HERE I AM; I CANNOT DO OTHERWISE; GOD HELP ME. AMEN!" 3

The voyages we have already described were followed

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by several others, in which further discoveries of importance were made; but it is remarkable that the Islands of New Zealand were not known till 1642; except the country visited by Juan Fernandez, in 1575, was, as some suppose, a part of the New Zealand coast. He describes the country which he saw as being fertile and well cultivated, and the inhabitants as being of a brown colour, and wearing fine clothing; but the identity of the island cannot now be satisfactorily determined. As the dog and pig were found in New Zealand at the time when the earliest accounts of it were penned, it is not improbable that the land in question was some part of its coast, and that a few animals of these kinds were put ashore at that time. This accords with a tradition which is held by the Maories, that their ancestors did not bring the dog and pig from the country whence they emigrated, but that they came from a ship which visited their coast a very long time ago.

The first reliable account which we have of this country is given by the Dutch navigator, Abel Jansen Tasman. Two ships, the Heemskirk and the Zeehaan, were placed under his command in 1642, and from his account of the voyage, the special object which he had in view may be perceived. It commences as follows:--"Journal or Description by me, Abel J. Tasman, of a voyage from Batavia, for making discoveries of the unknown south land, in the year 1642. May God Almighty be pleased to give His blessing to this voyage. Amen."

The pious and manly manner in which he commenced his voyage is very commendable, and that the blessing sought was obtained is what all Christian minds will fully credit. He gave the name to the New Zealand

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Islands, by which they will probably always be known; and from his own name, the large and beautiful island, formerly known as Van Dieman's Land, with its flourishing colony, is now called Tasmania.

Tasman reached New Zealand, but supposed that it was part of the great southern Continent. His description of the natives is peculiarly interesting, as being the first account which we have of them. He anchored in a small bay and wrote as follows:--"We found here abundance of inhabitants; they had hoarse voices, and were very large made people. They durst not approach the ships nearer than a stone's throw; and we often observed them playing on a kind of trumpet, to which we answered with the instruments that were on board our vessel. These people were of a colour between brown and yellow, their hair long and black, and almost as thick as the Japanese, combed up and fixed on the top of their heads with a quill, or some such thing, that was thickest in the middle, and with a white feather stuck upright in the knot. These people cover the middle of their bodies, some with a kind of mat, others with a sort of woollen cloth; but as for their upper and lower parts, they leave them altogether naked."

The natives came alongside the ships in double canoes, from which Tasman was apprehensive of danger. Being on board the Zeehaan, and seeing several of those canoes full of men approach the Heemskirk, and some natives go on board, he sent a quartermaster and six men in a shallop to apprise the crew of that vessel of their danger, with orders not to let many canoes go alongside. But as soon as the boat got clear of the ship, an attack was made by the natives; the quartermaster and three of the men were killed, and another mortally wounded,

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and one of the bodies was taken ashore by the natives. From this painful occurrence the place was called Massacre Bay. 4 In Tasman's Journal a drawing is given of this attack, with the two ships lying at anchor. This unhappy event determined him to leave the bay, and though he afterwards saw different parts of the coast, he says in his Journal--"As for New Zealand, we never set foot on it."

Painfully interesting as the foregoing account is, it supplies but little information, besides the fact that New Zealand was inhabited by a robust and fierce people; and one hundred and twenty-seven years passed away before we have any further reliable information concerning it. There is a tradition among the Maories, that a large ship visited the southern part of the North Island about the year 1740, and that the natives killed the crew, and plundered the ship; but we know not what credit is to be given to this story. A singular fact is related by the Rev. E. Taylor, of the Church of England Mission, concerning a bell which was found by some natives under the roots of a large tree, which was blown down in a storm. Mr. Taylor saw the bell. It had a legend around it in square characters, which he supposed to be Japanese. The bell was used by the natives to boil their potatoes; but on account of its singular history, it was purchased by a gentleman belonging to the Church Mission. Has this bell any connection with the ship, said to have been plundered by the natives more than a century ago? 5

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The man to whom we are indebted for the first intelligent account of New Zealand, is Captain James Cook; and owing to the valuable information which he collected, the familiar terms on which he and his crew lived among the natives, the animals which he landed, the wholesome vegetables which he introduced, and the consequences which flowed from his voyages, the following historical remarks will be found interesting.

He was born at Marton in Yorkshire, on the 27th of October, 1728, his father being a village labourer. His youth was spent on board vessels engaged in the coal trade; but in 1755 he entered on the service of a man-of-war. His devotedness to his profession led to an appointment, four years after, as master of the Mercury, which was engaged within a little time at the siege of Quebec. His next employment was to survey the river St. Lawrence and the coast of Newfoundland. About this time he appears to have entered very earnestly upon the study of mathematics, astronomy, and other branches of science; and a paper, describing some observations which he made on an eclipse of the sun, August 5th, 1766, was approved by the Royal Society, made him known as an able astronomer, and led to the appointment which was followed by such splendid results. In 1768 he was made a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy, and appointed to the command of an expedition to Tahiti, for the purpose of observing the transit of the

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planet Venus over the sun's disc. Mr. Green, Mr. Banks (afterwards Sir Joseph Banks), Dr. Solander, and other scientific gentlemen, formed part of the expedition. The voyage was made in the Endeavour, four hundred and fifty tons measurement, and carrying altogether seventy-two persons. After staying at Tahiti three months, during which time their astronomical observations were satisfactorily made, they left Matavai Bay in search of other lands.

On October 7th, 1769, the expedition reached the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The Captain mentions the country as being agreeable beyond description, and the streams of water as being extremely good. The attention of the gentlemen was attracted by beautiful parrots, and by a bird whose note resembled the English blackbird. Pahs, with fences round them; houses built of reeds, and covered with thatch; stages for drying fish; crops in regular plantations; and ugly dogs, with long, tapering ears--formed the picture of the Maori homesteads of that time. A canoe, sixty-seven feet long, six feet wide, and four feet deep, with its sides and head curiously carved, lay on the beach. Tattoed men and women, anointed with red ochre and fish oil, were numerous--the former carrying wooden spears, and weapons formed of stone, with a string through the handle. Several canoes came alongside the Endeavour, bringing abundance of fish and other articles for the purpose of barter. Some of the natives tried to cheat while trading, and others were detected while in the act of stealing, which led to the discharge of muskets; but as the Maories were not sufficiently intimidated by this course, some of the men were fired at with small shot. Several attempts were made to attack the ship's crew;

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but by the discharge of a four-pounder, loaded with grape-shot, and the firing of muskets, by which some were killed, their design was frustrated. After about a month's cruising off the coast, Captain Cook, on the 15th November, took formal possession of the newly-discovered country in the name of George III., weighed anchor, and again stood out to sea.

The account which the Maories have preserved of this visit, which will be read with interest, is as follows:--"They saw, with wonder and fear, first a white speck on the horizon, which, rapidly increasing in size, seemed to glide as a cloud, silently but rapidly, into the bay. Anon, the phenomenon became stationary; by degrees it folded its snowy wings. Their wonder grew with every change in its appearance, and reached its climax when they discerned forms resembling human beings, now rapidly mounting upwards, and again, to all appearance, swinging in mid-air. Soon a bark, not unlike their own canoes, was seen approaching the shore, followed by another, and yet another. Consternation reigned throughout the pah. With trembling eagerness the warriors snatched up their rude weapons, and prepared for the defence of their homes; matrons raised their discordant cry above the din and hubbub of voices, as they gathered their respective offspring ready for flight, while yet, impelled by womanly curiosity, they lingered to gaze upon the novel danger; maidens and children rushed hither and thither, now clinging to lover, to brother, or parent, now rending the air with their 'aue!'--that thrilling, piercing cry of mental agony and despair which none who have once heard can ever forget. Suddenly, amidst the uproar, the startling blast of the Putata--conch-shell trumpet--was heard, as the signal

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for deadly strife. In stentorian tones their leader shouted a war-cry, too often heard in those troublous times, 'He whakaariki! He whakaariki!' The spell was broken. The courage of one man inspired the rest, and with headlong speed they rushed out to meet the foe. Nearer and nearer the strangers drew, their barks impelled onwards by rowers who, strange to relate, sat with their backs to the prow. A form rose in the stern of the foremost one; he waved his hand; yes, unmistakeably, he was a man; but with what a complexion! Verily he was a korako (albino), perchance one of the patupaiarehe whom Maori fable represented as rivalling the snows of Hikurangi in whiteness. By his side stood another, not unlike a Maori, but fairer--fair as the far-famed Hinekikoia. Waving his hand gracefully, he addressed them: Taiao! (friends; the customary Tahitian salutation). No response was heard from the savage band who, their awe and anticipation of a supernatural visitation being overcome, glared with hideous ferocity upon him and his companions. . . . . . When the foreigners attempted a landing, they showed so bold a front that the intruders were compelled to retire. . . One warrior in particular strove to out-rival his fellows in shewing his contempt for the enemy. A weapon was levelled at him. Supposing that his antagonist was about to hurl a spear, he threw up his left arm, covered with a heavy mat, to parry the stroke. A jet of flame burst from the weapon, followed by a loud ringing report, and he felt through the garment a concussion like that occasioned by a handful of gravel thrown with great force. For an instant he was paralyzed; wonder and fear by turns took possession of his mind; but finding himself unhurt, he became still more insolent. Again

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the weapon was levelled at him; again he threw up his heavy mat; again the flash; again the report--but not again was he scatheless. With a wild, piercing cry he bounded in the air, and, with a heavy plash, fell writhing in the waters which laved the rock on which he had stood. His comrades gathered round him. The weapon itself had not been projected; no, the stranger still held it in his hand; but from a small orifice the warrior's life-blood was pouring forth, dyeing the waters around him. Revenge, the darling passion of the savage mind in all countries, overcame fear. Again they rushed on the intruders; and the foremost fell with a heavy groan. Fear fell upon them, and with even greater speed than they had sallied forth, the panic-stricken warriors retired within their pah. The strangers also withdrew, and ere long the discomfited Maories saw a cloud of smoke issue from the strange object--the motu tawhiti (foreign island)--then a sound like the roar of whatitiri, followed by a heavy crash, and large splinters of rock, from an island near their pah, were hurled into the air. To their great satisfaction, they soon perceived a movement in the motu tawhiti. It spread its wings abroad, and was wafted out of their sight." 6 The rock which was struck is still pointed out to the traveller as a memorial of the first visit of the white man to the country of the Maori.

It is probable that there is now no native living who witnessed the first contact of the white man and the Maori; but its history is written, and will never be forgotten. Events such as no man then living could foresee have taken place in the country, and given increasing interest to the incidents of the discovery.

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Some of the old men delight to talk on this subject. Taniwha, a very old chief, who died near Auckland a few years ago, took a pleasure in relating the circumstances of Captain Cook's first visit to Mercury Bay. The chief says, that when they saw the boats approaching the shore, they thought the men had eyes behind their heads, as they paddled with their backs in the direction of their course. The natives received from the ships, as articles of barter, nails, pieces of iron, axes, knives, and calico. Two handfuls of potatoes were given them for seed. Some of these were planted by Taniwha's father, and after tapuing them for three years, they had a feast, at which the first potatoes were eaten. A spike nail was given to Taniwha--then a boy of twelve years--who wore it round his neck for several years, and found it very useful as a carving instrument. A native, called Marutu-ahu, endeavoured to steal a piece of calico; but while he was paddling away with it, a gun was fired, and killed him. The death of Marutu-ahu caused a great consternation, and a public meeting was convened. The facts of the case being ascertained, the theft was acknowledged by the friends of the delinquent, and the punishment inflicted was considered as an act of justice. The stolen calico was, of course, tapued, and became the winding sheet of the corpse. This unpleasantness soon passed away, and the white men landed, and spent some time on friendly terms with the natives. At the request of the Captain, the natives drew a chart of the coast with a piece of charcoal; and a copy of the chart, with the names of the principal places, were written in a book. Supposing Taniwha's story to be correct--and we know no reason why we should doubt it--Captain Cook and

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the gentlemen who sailed with him little thought of the altered state of the country, in which an account of their visit would be narrated by one who then, as a little boy, stood looking on in fear and wonder.

Captain Cook continued to cruise along the New Zealand coast, naming its principal bays and headlands, till he had sailed round the two large islands. And after a long time spent in unknown waters, and having passed through dangers both seen and unseen, this remarkable voyage was brought to a close on June 13th, 1771, having been conducted through the space of nearly three years.

His second great voyage was commenced July 13th, 1772, with two ships, the Resolution and the Adventure--the latter being commanded by Captain Furneaux. Several gentlemen of great scientific attainments, with instruments of all kinds for their use, were on board, and no expense was spared by George III. to make the voyage beneficial to the maritime interests of the world. The principal object of this expedition was to determine the existence of a southern continent--the grand problem which previous voyages had failed to solve.

Captain Cook spent some time on different parts of the New Zealand coast, landed sheep, goats, pigs, and fowls, and supplied the natives with various kinds of valuable seeds, among which were potatoes, wheat, beans, peas, cabbage, turnips, onions, carrots, and parsnips. In Queen Charlotte's Sound, Captain Furneaux lost a boat's crew of ten men, who were killed and eaten by the Maories. Having ascertained that there is no southern continent, except too near the pole to be of any service to mankind, the Resolution returned to England; and such were the intelligent measures made

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use of by Captain Cook for the preservation of his crew, that in the course of a voyage which extended from fifty-two degrees north to seventy-one degrees south, and which was continued more than three years, only one man died through disease.

On July 12th, 1776, the last voyage of this great navigator was commenced, in command of two ships, the Resolution and the Discovery. A distinguished officer in the previous, voyage, Mr. Clarke, was appointed Master of the Discovery. The principal object of this equipment was to find a north-west passage out of the Pacific into the Atlantic ocean. This enterprise has been long pursued, at a great cost of life and property. It is now, we suppose, set at rest for ever; but not until the loss of Sir John Franklin and his noble crews has added painful interest to its history. That there is a water-passage from the Pacific into the Atlantic ocean, is now placed beyond a doubt; but being in such high latitudes, it is of no use for the purposes of traffic. Captain Cook again visited New Zealand, and put ashore pigs and goats, and received, to his enjoyment, the produce of the garden seeds which were sown on his previous visit to Queen Charlotte's Sound. This renowned navigator subsequently fell a victim to the turbulence of the natives of Hawaii, one of the group of islands which he had discovered a little time before, and named the Sandwich Islands, in honour of the Earl of Sandwich. The circumstances--those preceding his death, and those immediately connected therewith--are of such a painfully interesting character, and teach us lessons of so much importance, that we will briefly relate them. When the ships anchored in a pleasant bay, on the west side of the island called Hawaii--written

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in Cook's voyages, Owhyhee--the people were wild with excitement and joy. They covered the ships' sides, decks, and rigging; large numbers swam around the vessels, and the beach was lined with spectators. The voyagers were surprised, as they had seen nothing like it before. But an explanation may be found in a tradition which the natives had long preserved--that their god Rono, who had left the country, gave a promise that he would return on a floating island, and bring with him everything necessary for their happiness and grandeur. The fulfilment of this promise had been long and anxiously expected, and when the ships sailed into the bay, the people concluded that the floating island--the object of promise- was before them, and that Captain Cook was their God Rono, and by this name he was generally called.

The idols of this people were carved wooden images, with distorted features, and wrapped round with pieces of red cloth. Soon after the Resolution was anchored, an old native priest approached Captain Cook in the cabin with great veneration, covered the Captain's shoulders with a piece of red cloth, presented the offering of a small pig, and delivered a long address. On going ashore with some of his officers, the Captain was conducted to a morai--a sacred inclosure, containing idols, which were covered partly with red cloth, and a number of human skulls. He was then placed on a high stage, with red cloth wrapped around him, and a baked pig was presented to him, the men who brought it prostrating themselves with all reverence. After this he was led to the chief image, and at the priest's request, prostrated himself and kissed it! Offerings of fruit and a baked hog were presented by other companies of natives,

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accompanied by chants in regular responses, the burden of which seemed to be the praise of Rono; and groups of worshippers prostrated themselves as he and his companions left the morai to return to the ship.

This is the great blot on the memory of this truly great man. Nothing can be said to justify those proceedings, and but little in palliation of them. It is a subject of deep regret; but it need not excite our astonishment, that the people whose worship he received should be permitted to become his murderers. On Sunday, Feb. 14th, 1779, in less than a month from his first arrival in the fatal bay, Captain James Cook, the chief of British navigators, fell at Hawaii beneath the blows of the infuriated natives.

The name of Captain Cook will always be associated with that of New Zealand. His ship was the first which sailed round its coasts; he introduced useful animals and vegetables into the country, presented to the world a clear and faithful description of its inhabitants, and was the pioneer of Christian missions and British colonization, through which the whole country of these splendid islands will, we trust, be covered with the blessings of civilization and true religion.