[Plates 1-20]
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PLATE I.
HEKI AND PATUONE.
THE renowned warrior, Honi Heki, has, within the past three years, become celebrated throughout the civilized world for his determined and resolute opposition to the British power, and his defeat of the troops at the Bay of Islands.
His first acts of hostility were those of cutting down the flag-staff at Kororarika; he afterwards destroyed that settlement in the early part of last year, and in conjunction with his allies, Pomare and Kowiti, he has held out against the British army, in his impregnable "Pahs," or fortifications, up to the present moment. Heki, when a lad of seventeen, resided with Archdeacon Williams, one of the Missionaries at Pahia; on a certain day, a woman had been ill-used by a chief--Heki heard of it, and walking after him, coolly tomahawked him, and brought back the offender's head in his hand.
Heki subsequently became E Hongi's fighting man, during that warrior's decline, and married his only daughter--he belongs to the great northern tribe of the Nga-puis, and has long embraced Christianity.
Patuone is the elder brother of Nene, the Chief of Hokianga; though equally distinguished for his attachment to Europeans, and his loyalty to the Government, with his renowned brother, he has less strength and energy of mind. Patuone's character is one of amiability; in former days, when quarrels between different tribes were frequently marked with deeds of violence and blood--Patuone was the indefatigable peacemaker--travelling from place to place, he would, by his persuasive voice, soothe the irritated passions of the excited disputants, and win them over to amity and peace.
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PLATE II.
TARANAKI, OR MOUNT EGMONT.
THIS lofty mountain rears its snow-clad summit as a mighty beacon over the blue Pacific-- it is an extinct volcano, and its height, as estimated by Dr. Dieffenbach, is 8839 feet--the lowest point at which the snow is perpetual, is calculated at 1635 feet from the summit.
Mount Egmont, like the volcano of Tongariro, and other high mountains, is made "tapu," or sacred, by the New Zealanders, who have some strange tales and legends respecting it: they affirm that Tongariro and Taranaki are brother and sister, but that, to avoid the wrath of her angry relative, Taranaki removed farther south, and stationed herself at the entrance of Cook's Straits; they look on the mountain with dread, and people it with ngarara, or crocodiles; and they say that mysterious birds dwell amidst its recesses.
Nothing can exceed the loveliness of the country surrounding Taranaki--the Settlement of New Plymouth is at its base, with a rodstead, inside the Sugar Loaf Islands.
The effect represented in the plate is one of early day, when the morning clouds are frittered into delicate tracery by the fresh east wind, and drawn up like a curtain, revealing the snowy mountain in bold relief against the sky.
A war-canoe, with a sail made of reeds, is introduced into the picture--some of their war-canoes are very large, and hold from one hundred to one hundred and fifty men; they are designated by particular names, such as "Marutuahi," which means literally "a slaying or devouring fire."
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PLATE III.
NGEUNGEU, AND HER SON JAMES MAXWELL.
NGEUNGEU is the daughter of Tara, the principal chief of the Nga-ti-tai tribe, and was married to Thomas Maxwell, an industrious and enterprising settler, who resided for many years at the Island of Waiheke, situated in the frith of the Thames, near the entrance of the river Waitemata, on the banks of which the Town of Auckland is built.
She is the mother of several interesting children, besides the one delineated in the plate. About three years ago, she lost her husband, who was drowned at sea; he had built a small schooner, which he called the "Sarah Maxwell," and after taking his departure from Auckland, on his first voyage, was never again heard of. A very heavy gale of wind from N. E., set in shortly after he left port, and it is supposed his vessel foundered with all on board. Mrs. Maxwell was deeply affected with her loss, and although solicited by more than one European to re-enter the marriage state, she has declined every offer, and still remains a widow. She possesses a considerable estate in land, which circumstance, no doubt, rendered an alliance with her an object of ambition to those who aspired to her hand.
Since her husband's death, she has generally resided at Omupuia, her native village. She is highly respected for the propriety of her conduct, and is very neat in her habits.
She is represented wearing a garland of the pendulous blossoms of the Red Kowai (Clianthus pumiceas) called by the natives Kowai ngutu Kaka, or Parrot's Bill; and her dress is one of the finer kinds of flax garments, made by herself, and ornamented with tufts of scarlet wool.
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PLATE IV.
RANGIHAEATA'S HOUSE ON THE ISLAND OF MANA,
CALLED "KAI TANGATA" (EAT MAN).
THE houses of the New Zealanders are generally collected into villages, fortified with high wooden fences, and supported at intervals by huge carved posts, some of which bear grotesque representations of the human figure; within the enclosure, which, when thus fortified, is termed "E Pa," the houses are grouped about, each family having a court-yard of their own, divided with a slight fence, and connected by stiles leading from the narrow ways that run between the various compartments. Great skill and taste are displayed in the carving and ornaments of the more important buildings, which are generally raised by some chief, either to commemorate a battle, or to shew his proficiency in the art of carving; they are always painted red with Kokowai, an ochre from Taranaki, and the ridge pole, and boards that support the roof, are richly covered with spiral arabesques, in red, white and black. In the specimens of New Zealand architecture still remaining, considerable analogy may be traced to that of ancient Mexico and Hindustan; the doorways are invariably Egyptian in their forms.
The House represented in the Plate is designated by the cannibal name of "Kai tangata," or "eat man;" it was built many years ago by Rangihaeata, the formidable warrior of the Nga-ti-toa tribe, who massacred the Europeans at Wairau Valley. It stands on the small Island of Mana, or Table Island, in Cook's Straits, and is one of the finest specimens of elaborately ornamented dwellings yet extant; most of the carving was executed by Rangihaeata's own hand, and the image supporting the ridge pole is intended to represent himself
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PLATE V.
TE AWAITAIA AND TE MOANAROA:
WAINGAROA.
TE Awaitaia, baptized Wiremu Nera (William Naylor) is the principal chief of the Ngatimahanga's, one of the numerous tribes generally known as the Waikato. He resides at the picturesque little harbour of Waingaroa, on the west coast, at the foot of the mountainous cape, designated on the charts as "Woody Head"
From the present mild and quiet demeanour of this chief, it would hardly be imagined that his name as a warrior, once struck terror into the breasts of his enemies. In conjunction with Te Wherowhero, he was actively engaged in the long and sanguinary conflicts, which were carried on for many years between Waikato and Taranaki, and which terminated in the destruction and captivity of the tribes of the latter district. So highly was the prowess of this chief esteemed by Te Wherowhero, that on Awaitaia's embracing Christianity, he exclaimed, in the figurative language common to the New Zealanders, "I have lost my right arm."
Fifteen years ago, he led the expedition against the Taranakians, and which effected the bold destruction of the great Pah "Pukerangiora," in which one thousand eight hundred natives were assembled during the siege.
His countenance exhibits a shade of melancholy, which at once awakens the interest of the beholder, and unless in moments of unusual excitement, when the kindling of his eye betrays the latent embers of a daring spirit, there is nothing in his appearance calculated to point out a man whose name was a very terror to his foes.
He has proved himself the invariable friend of the Colonist, and since the disturbances in the north, has offered his services to the Government to defend the Capital with the power of his tribe.
The other portrait is that of Te Moanaroa, or Tepene (Stephen), likewise a Chief of Waingaroa: he is an intelligent and enlighted man, and a friend of the Europeans,
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PLATE VI.
SCENE IN A NEW ZEALAND FOREST.
THERE is no country in the world so rich in ferns as New Zealand--the variety and elegance of their forms from the most minute species, to the giant tribe, is astonishing-- some attain a height of forty feet, whilst others of exquisite beauty are extremely small.
Two examples of the tree-ferns are figured in the accompanying scene--the Cyathea medullaris, and the Cyathea dealbata; the pulp of the former, at certain seasons of the year, is used as food by the natives, and when boiled, resembles apple sauce.
During night, the forests frequently present a most beautiful appearance--the decaying and fallen trees, and the whole surface of the ground, covered with decomposed vegetable matter, sparkles with phosphorescence in every direction.
So exuberant is vegetable life in these damp and gloomy forests, that it is difficult to find a single space, even on the trunks of the largest trees, not covered with plants; the warm and silent dells, eternally shaded from the sunbeams, by their lofty canopy of foliage, and fed with the ceaseless moisture that drops from every spray, are filled with palms, ferns, and countless parasites--all luxuriant to excess; and amid the gloom of these Antipodeal forests, there reigns a solemn and almost unbroken stillness. A vast portion of New Zealand, is covered with forest-clad mountains, yielding some of the finest timber, and the most ornamental and elegant woods in the world.
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PLATE VII.
TOENGA.
TOENGA is the only daughter of the once celebrated Waraurangi, the most powerful chief of the Nga-ti-maru tribe, formerly inhabiting the Great Barrier Island, which is situated at the mouth of Hauraki Gulf, near the frith of the Thames.
The tribe to which Toenga belongs was almost entirely extirpated a few years since by the Nga Puis from the Bay of Islands, who waged war against the Nga ti Paoa tribe, of which the Nga ti Maru were a subdivision; those who still remain, live about Coromandel Harbour, and at various Pahs situated near the mouth of the river Thames.
Toenga is represented wearing a garland of the Clematis, the piki arero of the natives, a plant indigenous to the forests of New Zealand, where it climbs to the tops of the lofty trees, forming graceful festoons, which are covered with its star-like blossoms. The hat is of foreign manufacture, but has of late become fashionable amongst the gay damsels who visit Auckland to spend their money at the stores of the Europeans; and who, instead of manufacturing their native costumes from the fibres of the Phormium, prefer purchasing muslins, and even satins, with which to adorn themselves on state occasions. Toenga, like many of her sex, is an inveterate letter writer, and I remember on one occasion, to have seen her despatch a native messenger with upwards of a dozen letters, some on paper, and others on flax-leaves to her friends and relatives at the Thames.
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PLATE VIII.
TONGARIRO from ROTO-AIRE LAKE.
MOTUPOI PAH IN THE DISTANCE.
THE mountain of Tongariro must be regarded as the centre of volcanic action in the Northern Island of New Zealand; it is situated in the very heart of the interior, amidst a cluster of snow clad peaks, elevating its vast truncated cone, like a huge cauldron, from which volumes of steam, and jets of scalding water and mud, are constantly issuing.
The height of this boiling volcano has never been correctly ascertained: it is supposed to exceed 7000 feet. Mr. Bidwell is the only person who has ascended the cone from which the aqueous eruptions burst forth; but there is a still higher summit, which is not visible from the Lake, on which human foot has never trod. Te Heuheu, the principal chief of the neighbouring Taupo Lakes, has laid a strict "tapu" upon the mountain, so as to prevent any one from ascending it--so rigid is this law, that neither presents nor any other means will induce him to grant permission. Indeed, so much is the Tongariro dreaded by the natives, that many of them are afraid to look upon it, and cover their faces as they pass a certain angle of the road, where the crater suddenly presents itself to view.
The strongly fortified Pah of Motupoi stretches into the Lake of Roto-aire, at the base of the mountain: it covers a neck of land, surrounded on each side by water, and its approach is guarded by a double palisade, with trenches and embankments; at the period of my visit, the occupants were employed in repairing the fortifications, as they daily expected an attack from a party of the Waikato tribes. a canoe is represented landing in the surf, with another crossing the lake, in which a native is holding up his blanket to serve the purpose of a sail. A squall is passing over the mountain; and the Kaka, a species of parrot of a brown colour, which is domesticated by the New Zealanders, is figured sitting upon a stick fastened at the head of the canoe.
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PLATE IX.
E WAI AND KAHOKI, NIECES of RAUPARAHA.
THE sitting figure is a portrait of E Wai, the young wife of Tuarau, son of Na Horua, or "Tom Street," who is the elder brother of the crafty Rauparaha. She resides with her husband at Taupo Pah, on the northern shores of Cooks Straits, near Porirua Harbour, and close to the strongly fortified stockade lately erected by Rangihaeata, as a place of refuge, should he be attacked by the Europeans for his atrocious deeds at the Wirau Valley. Her husband, who was my guide amongst the Nga-ti-toa tribe, is an intelligent and good natured lad, and appears extremely fond of his dark-eyed bride. E Wai is modest, bashful, and retiring, and it was only at her husband's earnest solicitation that she could be persuaded to sit for her portrait--the red handkerchief twisted about her head is a sign of mourning, and denotes that she is lamenting the decease of one of her friends.
Kahoki presents a character in striking contrast with that of her cousin E Wai. She is a woman of strong mind, with a proud and queenly bearing, and by her powerful talents, combined with her high birth, possesses an almost unlimited influence amongst her people. I met her on a visit to her friends at Te Aro Pah, near Wellington, in company with Kutia, the wife of Rauparaha, and a large party of her attendants from the Roturua Lakes, whither she offered to accompany me for the purpose of sketching and obtaining portraits of the principal chiefs, adding that her introduction would be an immediate passport throughout the entire district.
Kahoki is the daughter of Te Wehiarangi, the chief of Roturua Lakes.
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PLATE X.
MONUMENT to TE WHERO WHERO'S DAUGHTER, AT RAROERA PAH.
IT is customary in New Zealand, when any person of rank dies, to erect a mausoleum or monument of carved and ornamented wood to the memory of the deceased. The dead body being placed in an upright position within the building, until the ceremony of lifting and depositing the bones takes place: this monument is called papatupapaku and is variously decorated according to the taste of the Tohunga. The most elaborate of these structures still remaining, is the one raised by Te Wherowhero, the head chief of the Waikato tribes, in memory of his favorite daughter, at the now deserted Pah of Raroera; the old Pah was laid under a strict "tapu" by the chief Te Waro, and has not since been inhabited, the people leaving their arms and provisions exactly as they remained at the moment of the "tapu" being pronounced. At the period of my visit to the decaying ruins of this once magnificent Pah, I found the monument in a tolerable state of preservation: it is about twelve or fourteen feet high, and the carving which displays exquisite skill, was entirely executed by one man, his only instrument being an old bayonet; this person is lame, and still lives at Ngahuruhuru, where I had the satisfaction of meeting him; on seeing the fac-simile of his handiwork, he was so much astonished, that he at once said I was " Ka nui Tohunga" or "a great priest." It is reported of Te Whero whero, that on the occasion of his daughter's death, he was so exasperated, as to pronounce a curse on all the surrounding chiefs: Tariki, the principal chief of Mokau, resented the insult, and demanded utu or payment: in compromise, Te Whero whero presented the latter chief with the original suit of armour given by George IV. to E. Hongi when he visited England. On Tariki's death, the armour passed into the possession of Taonui, the present chief of Mokau, in whose hands I found it, rusty and unused, at the secluded village of Pari-pari.
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PLATE XI.
HONGI HONGI.
THE Pah of Ngahuruhuru, which is situated about four miles from Otawhao, in the Waipa district, is inhabited by a portion of the Nga ti hinetu tribe; one of their principal fighting men is the warrior Hongi Hongi, or Nga Toki, whose portrait is given on the accompanying plate. At the taking of Taranaki, Hongi Hongi captured sixty slaves, and drove them before him with his green-stone meri, like a flock of sheep, over mountains and through forests, for a distance of one hundred and eighty miles. Hongi Hongi is a man of the most determined courage and bravery, and though looked upon with dread by his inferiors, he is courteous and polite to strangers.
After I had painted Kahawai, the old chief of Ngahuruhuru, the Taranaki warrior put on his choicest mats, and flourishing his meri of greenstone in his hand, insisted upon my taking his portrait also, and refused to let me leave the Pah until I had complied with his desire, saying that he also was a Rangatira, or great man, and he would make the Pakeha (stranger) paint him, that his name might go to England to the Queen, with that of Kahawai.
The huge carved posts in the background are the usual supports for the railing or fence-work of the native pahs: they are hewn out of the trunks of the large forest trees, and are sunk several feet into the ground; the smaller paling is tied together with flax rope, or the stem of the wild vine.
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PLATE XII
ROPERTA and GEORGE THOMS.
Roperta, or "Bobby," is an orphan boy at the Rev. J. Whiteley's Mission Station at Ahuahu, near Kawhia Harbour, on the West Coast of New Zealand. His father was Ikemoki, a late chief of Kawhia, and his Uncle Rihia accompanied me as one of my guides through the interior, for a period of two months. Little "Bobby" sadly wishes to visit England, and he is one of those brilliant, enthusiastic young creatures, whose soul shews itself in every glance: his good natured countenance is always lightened by a smile, and he has no small share of natural gaiety and wit. Ahuahu is a happy place: the Missionary's home is one of peace, and "Bobby" is amongst the many Maori children who call the Missionary's wife by the endearing name of "mother."
George Thoms, is the eldest son of a master whaler, who, for thirty years has been resident amongst the fisheries of Cloudy Bay and Queen Charlotte's Sound; he is nephew of Rauparaha by his mother's side; he inherits large tracks of land near Porirua, and is a universal favourite amongst the powerful Nga-ti-toa tribe. His mother, who died several years since, is buried at Te Awa iti, in Tory Channel, beneath a splendid native mausoleum of ornamented wood, which is fast falling to decay. Thoms, at the present time, possesses two large and substantial houses, one at Te Awa iti, and the other near Porirua, on the opposite side of Cooks' Straits; at both these places he carries on a shore fishery for whales.
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PLATE XIII.
E RUA, E PARI, and E HOKI,
WOMEN OF THE NGA-TI-TOA TRIBE.
THE figures in the annexed plate are portraits of three females residing at Porirua, in the neighbourhood of Rangihaeata's Pah, on the northern shores of Cook's Straits. Two of them are dressed in garments of native manufacture; the third wears a red blanket, purchased from the European traders, a costume highly esteemed amongst the Maories, and displayed by them on festive occasions. All their native clothing is formed of the Phormium tenax, or New Zealand Flax: their mode of manufacturing it consists in interweaving perpendicular threads, with others placed horizontally, knotting every thread together at regular distances of about half an inch; the horizontal threads forming the groundwork of the intended garment, and stretched between upright poles, placed in the floor of the house, before which the women sit for hours together, busily employed in interweaving the flaxen threads with their slender fingers. When completed, these mats are remarkably beautiful and durable, and frequently occupy a period of twelve months in their fabrication. These mats are of various qualities and descriptions; the one worn by the women in the accompanying sketch is called E tatara; it is ornamented with a profusion of black strings, made of threads of flax, twisted, and dyed by an infusion of hinau bark. The red spots are tufts of scarlet wood, of which substance the natives are very covetous; formerly the red feathers from the breast of the Kaka were employed for this purpose.
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PLATE XIV.
E PU and HER CHILDREN.
ON the opposite plate we have E Pu, a woman of the Nga-ti-toa tribe, and wife of one of Rangihaeata's people, with her sons, E Roro, and E Toa, and her infant child seated at her back, wrapped in the flax garment that forms her outer dress. They reside at Porirua Pah.
The boy in a sitting posture, wears a coarse mat made of rough flax, called E Kakahu; his brother is clothed in a variety called E Mangaika, in which black and yellow strips of the leaves are inserted, and which is impervious to the weather. In the ear of the sitting figure is attached the skin of the fan-tailed fly-catcher, a small and very elegant bird that is frequent in the forests of New Zealand; birds are often used as ornaments for the ear amongst these people; occasionally the head with the breast feathers of the huia (Neomorpha Gouldii) forms an appendage which is highly valued; at other times the white feathers of the Albatross or the gull, are fastened into bunches, and worn in the ears. Besides these decorations, pieces of poonamu, or green jade, the mako taniwa, or tooth of the tiger shark, and occasionally a pipe, a key, a button, or a shell, are made use of as ornaments, and introduced into the ears of both sexes.
The men usually have their hair cut at stated periods; a few still adhere to the ancient custom of wearing it long and fastened up in a bunch at the crown of the head; the married women allow it to flow loosely over their shoulders; and unmarried girls invariably let it cover the forehead, and cut it in a straight line an inch above the eyebrows; boys and young girls generally wear it short
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PLATE XV.
KAITOTE.
TU Kaitote, on the banks of the Waikato river, is the principal abode of the celebrated Chief Te Werowero, who is the head of all the Waikato tribe. The district around Kaitote is famous for its fine kumera grounds, the soil being composed of a rich alluvial mould, and the native cultivations exhibit an unusual degree of care and attention. The scenery of the Waikato is here very picturesque; steep wooded hills descend towards the waters edge, and the high mountain of Taupiri (famous amongst the natives as a landmark of old renown,) rises abruptly in a pyramidal form, nearly opposite the Pah, on the other bank of the river. The site of an ancient fortified Pah occupies the hill to the right, some of the mounds and ditches of which are still discernable. Te Werowero and his tribe have embraced Christianity, and on the left of the sketch is represented a portion of the chapel, with the bell used for calling the inhabitants of the Pah to worship. The Rev. J. Ashwell, the Church Missionary at Pepepe, a station about two miles distant, usually conducts the services here. All the houses are built of raupo, a species of reed, and the roofs are fastened by means of the dried stems of a clematis. Some of the canoes, drawn up on the banks of the river outside the Pah, are of very large dimensions; I observed one, thatched over to preserve it from the weather, measuring nearly seventy-feet in length; it was gaily painted red, and ornamented with a profusion of feathers, the head and stern-post being richly carved; its name was "Marutuahi," which means literally, a "slaying, or devouring fire." The scene represented in the sketch is during a korero, or meeting of chiefs, for the purpose of delivering speeches on some subject of importance.
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PLATE XVI.
TE MUTU, WITH HIS SONS PATUONE AND TE KURI.
TE Mutu is the Chief of the Ihutai, a subdivision of the great tribe of the Nga Puis, residing near Hokianga River, in the west coast of the northern portion of the Island. Te Mutu is below the usual stature of the New Zealanders; he is lame, from a wound he received some years ago during one of the engagements with the Waikato Tribes; his character is frank and open, and his conversation full of pleasantry and wit. He is remarkably fond of his children, who usually travel with him. I met him at Waingaroa on the west coast, where he was staying on a visit to Awaitaia, or William Naylor.
Te Mutu is represented wearing a rich mat, called Tahi uru, made of dogs hair, fastened into a fabric of the finest flax, and beneath it is another, dyed black, and called wahinau, which is ornamented at the border with crimson wool; this latter is very beautiful and scarce. In his hand is his Meri poonamu, or weapon of greenstone, which is an article always possessed by a chief, and more highly prized than any other portion of his property. Many of the chiefs of the interior have very large meris, of the finest jade or greenstone, which are passed from father to son, and invested with an almost sacred value. The eldest son wears a Kaitaka mat of silk-like flax; and the younger one is wrapped in a kokahu, dyed black by the juice of the hinau; this garment is generally worn in the winter, or during wet weather, being impervious to the rain, which runs off it as from the thatched roof of a house.
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PLATE XVII.
NENE, or TAMITI WAKA.
NENE, or, as he is now more generally known by his baptized name--Thomas Walker--(Tamiti Waka,) is the principal man of the Nga-ti-toa Tribe, which, in common with many others, is comprised in the great northern division of tribes usually called Nga Pai.
The residence of this celebrated man is near the Wesleyan Mission Station, on the banks of the Hokianga River, where he fully established his character as the friend and protector of Europeans, long before the regular colonization of New Zealand.
In common with most of his countrymen, Nene was, in his younger days, celebrated for his expertness in acts of petty pilfering; and he will himself laugh heartily if now reminded of his youthful tricks. On one occasion when visiting one of the Missionaries at Waimate, a fine gander attracted his attention, and he secretly ordered it to be seized and prepared for his dinner in a native oven--to prevent detection, the bird was cooked with the feathers on--however, it was soon missed, and a vigorous enquiry instituted by its owner, but without success, until certain savory steams rising from Nene's camp excited suspicion. To tax him with the theft would have been contrary to all rules of Maori etiquette, and the mystery of its disappearance was not unravelled until the following morning, when, after Nene's departure, the ill-fated gander was found concealed amongst the bushes, it having proved too tough even for a New Zealander's powers of mastication. But Nene is no longer the thoughtless, mischievous New Zealander; for many years he has been playing another part in the serious game of life, and his conduct has deservedly gained for him an undying reputation.
About the year 1839, the body of an European was discovered on the banks of one of the tributary streams of Hokianga, under circumstances which led to the suspicion that he had been murdered by a native called Kete, one of Nene's slaves; a large meeting was convened on the subject, and the guilt of Kete being fully established, Nene condemned him to die; he was accordingly taken to a small island in the river called Motiti, and there shot!--so
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rigid were Nene's ideas of justice. When Captain Hobson arrived, and assembled the chiefs at Waitangi, to obtain their acquiescence in the Sovereignty of the Queen over the Islands of New Zealand, he was received with doubt, and his proposals rejected, until Nene and his friends made their appearance; the aspect of affairs was then changed. Nene, by his eloquence, and by the wisdom of his remarks, turned the current of feeling, and the hitherto dissentient voices were hushed; and Nene stood recognized as the prime agent in effecting the treaty of Waitangi.
After the flagstaff at the Bay of Islands was cut down by Heki, Governor Fitzroy proceeded to the disaffected district, with a considerable body of military, thinking, by a display of power, to overcome the rebellious natives; a large concourse of chiefs was gathered, and many speeches were made, but amongst all of them the words of Nene were conspicuous for their energy." "If," said he, "another flagstaff is cut down, I shall take up the quarrel." Most nobly has he redeemed his pledge; during the whole course of the rebellion, up to the present period, he has steadily adhered to his purpose, and has, on numerous occasions, rendered the most essential services to the military; he has had several engagements with the rebels, and each time has proved himself as superior in courage and conduct in the field, as he is in wisdom and sagacity in the council. The settlers in the northern parts of New Zealand, are under the greatest obligations to this noble chief; but for him and his people, many a hearth at present the scene of peace and happiness, would have been desecrated, and defiled with blood; many a family now occupying their ancient homes, would have been driven from their abodes, and exposed to privation and misery. Those settlers living near the disaffected districts, but remote from the influence, and out of the reach of the protecting arm of Nene, have been driven as houseless wanderers to seek safety in the Town of Auckland; and such would probably have been the universal fate of the out-settlers, but for the courage and loyalty of this deserving chief.
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PLATE XVIII.
WAITAHANUI PAH.
ON the shores of Taupo Lake, in the very heart of the interior of the Northern Island of New Zealand stands the once celebrated Pah of Waitahanui, formerly the residence of the great Chief Te Heuheu and his people, who belong to the Nga-ti-tuaretoa tribe. Since the introduction of Christianity amongst the inhabitants, this extensive Pah, once the place of so much crime, and the scene of numerous cannibal feasts, has been deserted by its former occupants, who have settled on the beautiful slopes at the foot of Te Rapa, several miles further along the shores of Lake Taupo, and close to the boiling ponds, over which the natives cook their food. Waitahanui is situated on a neck of low swampy land, jutting into the lake, about six miles from Te Heuheu s present settlement: a broad and deep river, fed by the snows from the neighbouring volcano of Tongariro, mingled with the boiling streams that rise in the vicinity, empties itself into the lake at the extremity of the Pah.
When viewed from the water, its front, a quarter of a mile in length, presents an imposing appearance, with a line of fortifications of wooden posts and stakes, fastened together by strong flax cords; on the top of many of the posts, are carved images of men, in attitudes of defiance, with enormous protruding tongues, of a size larger than life, which are usually coloured red. 1 The whole Pah is now in ruins; it is all "tapu" or sacred, and contains several fine examples of primitive and ornamental buildings, which are rapidly hastening to decay. During my visit I was fortunate enough to make drawings of most of these, which I obtained by stealth, Te Heuheu having forbidden me to represent any object that was tapu. Ruined carved houses, and many wahi tapu, or burial places, are scattered about within the enclosures, and at the back, a deep moat or trench, filled with water, has been dug the whole length of the Pah. Water is also conveyed within the fortifications by means of a canal, to supply the besieged during an attack.
Here I wandered alone over the scenes of many savage deeds--ovens, where human flesh had been cooked in heaps, still remained, with the stones scattered round, and blackened by fire--here and there, a whitened human scull lay on the ground, and the plover and the tern screamed mournfully through this desolate waste of ruins. The beach fronting the Pah, is composed entirely of pumice, and the view across the lake, towards the mountain of Tauhara embraces the most enchanting scenery it is possible to imagine.
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PLATE XIX.
NA HORUA, OR TOM STREET,
WITH HIS WIFE E WAI, AND HIS SON TUARAU OR KOPI.
NA Horua, who is more generally known in Cook's Straits as "Tom Street," is the elder brother of the celebrated Rauparaha, the principal chief of the Nga-ti-toa tribe.
Unlike his brother, Na Horua does not enter into the battles and warlike feuds that are constantly engaging the attention of the subtle and crafty Rauparaha; his occupation is that of a cultivator of the ground, and he is the most celebrated "Tohunga," or priest of the tribe, being consulted on all matters of importance, and regarded with respect by his family, who place unlimited confidence in his sage counsels. The heathen superstitions and the rites of tapu are strongly adhered to by this aged chief, who regards the innovations of European customs and the spread of Christianity with evident dislike. Tuarau or Kopi, is a younger son of Na Horua, and was lately married to E Wai, a portrait of whom is given in plate IX., in his ear is the mako taniwa, or shark's tooth, and his garment is a blanket of ample dimensions, purchased from the stores at Wellington. E Wai, the wife of Na Horua, was recovering from illness at the time of my visit, and had therefore been placed under a tapu so strict, that every spot of ground whereon she sat was rendered sacred for a certain number of days; one of these tapued places is represented in the accompanying plate, fenced round with twigs that its sanctity may not be infringed upon.
The scene lies in a potato ground, or clearing from the forest; in the distance is a cooking shed, thatched with nikau leaves. The chief is seated by the trunk of a tree-fern, and the bird sporting near the depending stems of the smilax is that elegant little species, the fan-tailed fly catcher.
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PLATE XX.
E PORI AND HER DAUGHTER E RANGI WAWA.
E PORI is wife of one of Rangihaeta's warriors; she is celebrated for her skill in the art of witchcraft, and is regarded as a priestess by the surrounding people. She resides at the small Pah of Porirua, near Taupo Pah, on the shores of Cook's Straits. Her dress is a simple kakahu, of coarse and unprepared flax; and in her ear is a bunch of the feathers of the albatross, worn as an ornament. The blue lines on her face, are the outward signs of mourning for her friends, having been cut with pepi shells during the paroxysms of grief to which the women yield themselves, on the death of a favorite individual belonging to their tribe.
E Rangi Wawa is regarded as a beauty amongst the inhabitants of Porirua; she is about seventeen years of age, modest and retiring in her manner, and displays that playful and child-like naivete, which is so characteristic amongst the girls of New Zealand. The dress is an ornamental variety of E Koroai, a white flax mat, with rolled and twisted strings. In the foreground is a calabash used for carrying water, and beyond is represented a portion of the fence-work of Porirua Pah, with a whata, or raised store-house for food, and a stile leading into a court-yard, the step to which is formed by one of the vertebrae of a whale.
