VIII EXTRACTS FROM THE DIARIES OF OFFICERS OF THE ASTROLABE
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VIII
EXTRACTS FROM THE DIARIES OF OFFICERS OF THE ASTROLABE 1
From the Diary of M. de Sainson.
ON THE 15TH OF JANUARY the anchor was raised at daybreak; there was no force in the winds and the corvette, all her sails spread, had scarcely moved, when we noticed two canoes that had set out from shore and were making great efforts to row out to us. Each of these light craft was manned by eight or ten men, one of them standing up in the middle, while the others plied their paddles. When they got near the ship, they stopped and remained for some time looking at us. We had to make a lot of signs and friendly gestures to them before they made up their minds to come close to the corvette; finally, the Commander's voice, inviting them in their own language to come on board, put an end to their hesitation. We threw them a rope to tie their canoes alongside the ship and they came up on deck straightaway.
The presence of these men in our midst excited a keen curiosity among the whole crew. Thanks to the tales told by travellers, the warriors of New Zealand always come before Europeans enhanced by the terrible reputation for repeated acts of barbarism which they have acquired with only too much justification. These very parts that we were visiting exacted from the earliest explorers a terrible price for their discovery. A short distance to the east, we had Queen Charlotte Sound, the bloody scene of the horrible deaths of Furneaux's companions [1793], behind us, scarcely a mile or two away, stretched Massacre Bay, whose name, of sinister memory, still speaks of the cruelty of the natives and the horrible end of Tasman's sailors [1642]. But however powerful these memories may have been, our impression at first sight was not unfavourable to our guests. If their rather fierce eyes and formidable rows of dazzling white teeth suggested a few tragic scenes to our minds, we also had to agree that the expression of their faces, their attitude and demeanour seemed to reveal a certain frankness and decision of character and a pride conscious of its strength.
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Gathered on deck and surrounded by our men, they did not seem the least embarrassed and some even indulged in noisy bursts of gaiety. They shook hands with us affectionately, repeating over and over again the word kapai, which in their idiom means good or fine; the next moment they burst out laughing, then they shouted to one another and went running and leaping all over the ship. Anything and everything excited their astonishment. This was probably the first time that these natives, living at the head of an enormous bay that had not been discovered by any expedition before our own, had seen a ship so near their shores; and so the whole time their admiration was excited by a crowd of new objects; but their wonder was as short-lived as it was intense. It has often been pointed out, that our arts, the result of a very advanced civilization, can only appeal to the external organs of men living in the savage state; their minds seldom inquire about the causes behind a mechanism, though their senses are struck by its effect. This is why they attach the same degree of importance to objects which we should place very far apart in the scale of our inventions. For example, our masts and the handling of the sails aroused the keenest interest in these savages; at those moments when the course was being changed, it seemed as if nothing would distract their attention; but as soon as the master's whistle was heard, everything was forgotten and they crowded round this marvellous instrument, which had no doubt a peculiar charm for their ears, for nearly all of them wanted to try to draw some sounds from it and they were delighted if their attempt was the least successful.
They showed great interest in what was happening below deck, perhaps all the more because they were not allowed to go down into the ship. They stood in groups round the hatchways and gazed with curiosity at the internal arrangement which might well astonish a civilized man if he looked on the scene for the first time. They did not seem altogether ignorant of the use of firearms; they may have seen them in the hands of their fellow-countrymen of the North, who now attach great importance to the possession of firearms and get them by means of barter with the whaling vessels. No doubt the use of this speedy means of destruction will some day have the greatest influence on the customs and the fate of these fighting cannibals. It may be that the importation of these murderous weapons will lead them in the distant future to enjoy the benefits of civilization; but meanwhile, how many victims will succumb to the new type of contest, a hundred times more deadly than
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the old methods of fighting, when, to settle their quarrels, these races depended on the blind courage and physical strength with which nature has endowed them! As a rule the Zealanders are tall and well-built; without being at all stout, their firm, well-developed muscles show that they cultivate strength as well as agility. They hold their heads high and their shoulders well back, and their carriage would not lack a measure of dignity, if it were not for their habit of living in a crouching position in their huts. This accustoms them to keep their knees bent and so makes it impossible for their movements to be graceful.
These men have very pronounced features and in several cases they seemed to me to show some resemblance to that unmistakable type, which in our regions denotes the Jewish race. Most of their faces are tattooed all over with a symmetrical design showing admirable artistry and delicacy. These scars, of which they are very proud, are evidence of military valour; and we noticed that only men of mature age were adorned with the complete tattoo, whereas the younger men had nothing but a few slight marks on the nostrils or above the chin. Warriors wear their hair drawn up and tied in a tuft on the top of the head. This imposing coiffure is often adorned with feathers of sea birds. They like to wear earrings or necklaces usually made of little human bones or a few teeth, the trophies of a sanguinary victory.
These islanders have a brown skin and the ochre that they rub themselves with often gives them a reddish tint that is not at all unpleasing; the cloaks that they wear take on a similar shade from contact with the skin. These garments, woven from the silky flax which the soil of these regions produces in abundance, are wonderful works of art and of patience, if one considers the very simple means that the natives use in making them.
Among the men we had on board, three or four seemed to belong to a different race. Thin, of poor physique and dirty, they were not tattooed; their features were of the lowest type, their hair matted together; and a few scraps of roughly plaited flax formed their only covering. We assumed that the fortunes of war had left them in the hands of the tribe living on the neighbouring beach. The poor wretches had no possessions whatever and the things that we offered in exchange to their fellow countrymen incited them to envy; they kept on asking us to let them share in our generosity. If they were refused, they returned to the charge looking so pathetic and poverty stricken, that we yielded to their importunity. We saw how in all
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countries misery resorts to the same means to arouse pity and also that everywhere it degrades the human race and creates a cringing and abject attitude.
Our sailors showed themselves very eager round a young man whose beautiful face and lovely gentle eyes made them take him for a woman. His long hair, tied on the top of his head, made the resemblance even more striking. At the same moment, the natives had fallen into a similar error with regard to one of our young servants, who, in spite of his protests, had some difficulty in escaping from the attentions of those who remained incredulous.
Soon after the arrival of the savages, barter was started and it went on with much good faith on both sides. Those who visited us had not brought any foodstuffs, but they willingly gave us cloaks, belts, admirably made fishing lines, in exchange for knives, handkerchiefs, and hooks. The last article seemed to be specially welcome. These people, who live by fishing, must feel the need of using something better than the clumsy hooks that they make out of pearl or fishbones. They are so rough that it is surprising that anything can be caught by means of them.
While the commander tried to get some information about local geography from our guests, M. Gaimard set to work on his vocabulary with good results, and took exact measures of the limbs of the natives, so as to have data for the physiological records of man in these regions. I also tried to sketch one or two portraits; but the continual movement of my models made it rather difficult for me to finish them. What I was doing caused a lot of laughter; every minute they tried to escape me, but I put them back into position immediately. They did not seem to lend themselves at all willingly to such work, which demanded that they should be still for a few minutes and I suppose that the words they addressed to me in their impatience would have had somewhat peculiar equivalents in French.
One thing that struck us as being very impressive was the dance or rather the rhythmic song of the savages, an exercise in which they seemed to take great delight. One of them gave the recognized signal, and on the instant all his companions ran up taking their places in a single line beside him. Some threw their cloaks on to the deck, others merely arranged them so as to leave the movements of the arms free; then in a silence which was almost a solemn hush, they gave a prelude to their song by stamping their feet
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one after the other in perfect time and at the same time striking the top of their thighs with the palm of the hand. After a moment, one man, in a guttural voice and a tone which has a touch of melancholy, begins a sort of chant on one note, all the harmony coming from the rhythm of the words which have a distinct scansion. To begin with, long notes are dominant, then little by little, they grow faster and faster without any change in the rhythm; soon the chorus has become general and the singers put more feeling into their tone. Little by little their bodies are thrown back, their knees strike together, the muscles of their necks swell, and the head is shaken by movements which look like convulsions; their eyes turn up, so that, with horrible effect, their pupils are absolutely hidden under the eyelids, while at the same time they twist their hands with outspread fingers very rapidly before their faces. Now is the time when this strange melody takes on a character that no words can describe, but which fills the whole body with involuntary tremors. Only by hearing it can anyone form an idea of this incredible crescendo, in which each one of the actors appeared to us to he possessed by an evil spirit; and yet what sublime and terrible effects are produced by this savage music! When by a final effort, the delirium of howls and contortions is borne to a climax, suddenly the whole group utters a deep moan and the singers, now overcome by fatigue, all let their hands drop at the same moment back on to their thighs, then breaking the line they had made, they seek the few moments' rest which they desperately need.
Was it a battle song that they performed for us? The solemn, profound character of their music might lead us to think so; yet some of the movements seemed to be appropriate to a rendering of a lovers' contest. Be that as it may, whatever their intention, whether it be victory or love that they celebrate in this manner, the fact remains that they have a music of overwhelming force. None could say of such music that it enfeebles men by being effeminate.
Seeing how delighted we were by the spectacle, our savage guests within less than two hours gave us several performances, each time with the same degree of precision and energy....
Towards evening we sailed very close to shore round the rocks that form the tip of the island and a moment later dropped anchor in six fathoms, in a splendid roadstead which we called Astrolabe Bight.
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From the Diary of M. Gaimard
21st January--Although we were anchored not far from the Bay of Murderers, where Tasman lost several of his companions, our dealings with the Zealanders of Tasman Bay were very frequent and always friendly. We showed every confidence in them; and what is always very gratifying, we had no cause to regret it. As Messrs. de Sainson and Faraguet accepted the suggestion I made to them to go and spend the night with the big tribe that was living for the moment on Astrolabe Bight, we landed unarmed at seven o'clock in the evening of the 20th of January. It meant putting ourselves in their power, but also having an opportunity to study them. It is true that a few of them had stayed on our ship. They gave us an extremely friendly but noisy welcome, shouting vociferously, throwing themselves in contortions, performing dances and battle songs, several of which were really ferocious. We responded with some of our fine patriotic songs which they applauded vigorously. Les Enfants de France [Sons of France] and Le Choeur des Chasseurs de Robin des Bois [The Hunting Song of Robin of the Forest] also called forth their approval in no uncertain manner.
We were soon the best of friends and a few gifts offered to the leaders of the canoes and to the maidens caused a marked increase in the general satisfaction. We slept on the beach in their midst, near a big fire that they were careful to keep up almost throughout the night. They gave us a fair number of words from their vocabulary; and the next morning we left our hosts, very pleased with the hospitality they had shown us.
On this occasion we were able to realize what a passion these men, women, and children have for dancing and singing. If occasionally some of them do not take any active part, one always sees how the sight moves them and how they follow with a keen eye the different movements of the performers. A cloak made from New Zealand flax constitutes their usual costume. Hair reddened with ochre, often tied behind and adorned with a few black feathers, is their ceremonial headdress. Their arms are, as a rule, clubs of very hard wood, in which human teeth are embedded. They also have very fine green jade axes, which are of inestimable value in their eyes because of the scarcity of the stone and its extreme hardness. They had no knowledge of the bow or of arrows, and so far they have not received the sinister gift of firearms. Their commonest food is the root of the tree fern [bracken], to which must
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be added fish and sweet potatoes. Their huts, roughly constructed with branches of trees, are scarcely three or four feet high.
The chief birds that we have found during our stay in Astrolabe Bight are the following: The orange wattled crow,... the black oyster catcher, the pied oyster catcher, and the small penguin, as well as several new species-the morepork, the south island thrush, the grey warbler, the tit, the rifleman, the fernbird, and the yellowhead. The molluscs, which were more numerous, were painted while still alive by M. Quoy....
From the Diary of M. de Sainson.
21st January--Now that the natives drawn by our presence had set up a sort of village on the nearest long sandy beach, our dealings with them were very active, but they always came to an end with the last rays of the sun. Shut up on board every evening, we could see a lot of activity on shore. As darkness gathered, several big fires blazed. A great many circles were formed round the fires, and no doubt these evening gatherings were very lively, for borne by the wind, the laughter, shouting, and singing from the beach often reached us on board. M. Gaimard confided to me the desire he felt to know more exactly the nocturnal habits of our neighbours; I felt the same eager curiosity. M. Faraguet joined us, and the Commander having put the small whaleboat at our disposal, we were taken ashore on the 20th of January at nightfall. We took no weapons with us, nothing that might rouse the fear or excite the greed of the natives; except that funnily enough M. Gaimard happened to have with him a fancy candle, and we had already laughed at the idea of lighting in the open air on this faraway beach a candle made in Paris as a drawing-room luxury. As we landed on the sandy beach, we were greeted by shouts of joy and the most extraordinary caresses, especially when the savages saw the boat put out to sea again and leave us to our fate in their midst. They struggled with one another to shake us by the hand, saying kapai, and we had to undergo a great deal of nose pressing which nearly crushed our own noses; for this is the way people kiss in New Zealand. More than a hundred natives swarmed round us and after a few minutes we were separated. They gradually drew us away from the village and the groups surrounding us carried us towards the edge of the forest, to the spot where a pretty stream, flowing from the heart of the woods,
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crossed the sand to enter the sea. I could no longer see those who had got hold of M. Gaimard: M. Faraguet, too, had disappeared. For my part, pushed along by my noisy escort, I was already a little way in under the trees, where it was perceptibly darker, when a venerable looking man raised his hand to my neck and calmly removed the silk tie that was round it. In my position I had no thought of protesting against the old man's free ways; I was even resolved to let every article of my clothing pass into his possession, one thing after another, if such was his fancy; but how I regretted having judged an honest savage too hastily! Far from intending to rob me, as I might have expected, he immediately offered me in exchange for the tie an object of some value to him, I suppose, for that object was his daughter.
His daughter was very young; black curly hair fell over her forehead and hid her big eyes dancing with vivacity. Her still childish grace owed nothing to any art; her only garment consisted of a few leaves of flax, taken from the plant on the shore; not a very effective covering. Her father insisted and my position became really serious; but as I took the girl's hand, I saw that she was crying. The Graces, it is said, are made more beautiful by tears; this was not at all the case with this young savage. From that moment all I thought of was the abominable misuse of his power that the father was guilty of; I even tried to scold him, but I saw no sign that my admonition had much effect on his mind, for he redoubled his requests to me, and, I must admit, his threats to his daughter. Seeing, however, that I would not yield, he then offered to give me back the precious tie for which he had been willing to pay such a price. This proof of his honesty secured the tie for him: I gave it to him as a token of esteem and he accepted it with delight. Thereupon his daughter began to laugh and they both made off through the wood. Then I found myself alone, for during my discussion with the old man, all the other natives had been so discreet as to withdraw.
They were not always so discreet, for not far from the stream that I mentioned, a big crowd of natives indulged in much noisy gaiety, with laughter and approving gestures. It was like the joyful noise that once rose on Olympus, when Vulcan's jealous nets caught two lovers and exposed them to the laughter of the assembled gods. Apart from the nets and the angry husband, the strange scene that was being enacted recalled in every detail
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the scandal so famous in mythology. 2 The candle from the Astrolabe, held by a solemn warrior, lit up twenty expressive heads with its flickering flame and produced fantastic figures in a picture worthy of Callot or our own Charlet. 3 But suddenly everything was once again lost in darkness. The man who was holding the candle, delighted by such a charming invention, could not resist his desire to keep it for himself: so, blowing on it, he had rushed off into the forest leaving the curious in a state of extraordinary disappointment. Meanwhile, on the beach, fires were lighted and preparations for supper were being made on every hand. All three of us went up to one circle of natives where they made room for us and soon our presence attracted most of the others who wanted to have a good look at us. The natives sat crouched on the sand; some were eating raw fish dried in the sun, others were crushing bracken roots in little wooden troughs. When they have broken this root up into a lot of shreds, they make them into balls, which they keep in their mouths until they have extracted all the juice. Our hosts did not fail to offer to us our share of this frugal meal, and on seeing that we were none too eager to accept, several of them carried their thoughtfulness so far as to chew bits of fish first and then offer them to us in the hollow of their hands.
After supper came the natives' solemn monotonous songs; we responded by a few French airs and the chorus of Robin of the Forest. They appeared to be very pleased with us. We also tested their organs of speech in making them pronounce a great many proper nouns in French; most were terribly mutilated, but a few were repeated correctly. It gave us a thrill of delight to hear repeated to the echoes of New Zealand, illustrious names which are the glory of the army, the law courts, or the theatre at home. No one can have any idea of the charm that men in our position find in the slightest memory that recalls our fatherland.
The evening went gaily by. When it was time for sleep, the savages invited us to go into their huts, but we were careful not to accept their invitation. New Zealand huts are not more than three or four feet high; you have to crawl in and there is nearly always an extremely foul smell in them. We
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preferred to lie down on the sand at the foot of a small tree on the edge of the beach, but we could get very little rest. To our great regret, a certain number of natives came to keep us company and we had the pleasure of serving as pillows to these gentlemen, who found it very convenient to rest their heads on our outstretched limbs. How could we sleep amid the snores and restless movements of such neighbours? Nor must I forget to add that tormented by the insects with which they are plentifully provided, they scratched themselves in a most disgusting manner. A sybarite would have died from grief in our position.
About two o'clock heavy rain made us leave the spot and we took shelter under the sides of a canoe that had been dragged up on shore. The sea was rough and the wind was blowing fairly hard; we waited for daylight a little more peacefully, for the savages had left us to seek a better shelter than ours. At five o'clock a boat was sent for us; as it drew near to the shore, a wave filled it, the sailors were knocked over and fell into the water. We had some difficulty in emptying the boat and getting it ashore; the savages helped us most willingly to do this, in spite of the torrents of rain that were falling. Finally we got back on board ship at six o'clock and our appearance caused much amusement among our comrades. Drenched with rain, covered in sand and mud, we needed a few hours' rest to recover from the fatigue of a night spent in a way which we did not, however, regret in the least.
From the Diary of M. Gaimard.
5th February--A few hours' halt in the small Bay of Houa-Houa (Cook's Tolaga Bay) was useful in more than one respect. Our trip to Cook's watering place gave us the New Zealand plover and a few Haliotis [ear-shells]. The natives who came to visit us in their elegant canoes, brought us flax cloaks, pigs, and potatoes that they bartered for axes, knives, materials of various kinds, fish-hooks, and powder. The last-named is sufficient indication that firearms are known here: they are, in fact, the most highly-valued objects of barter. Pigs were so plentiful that sometimes it was possible to get one weighing about sixty pounds for an old knife only worth a few coppers.
Their daughters and sometimes even their wives constituted another means of barter and one no less important perhaps; these they offer to
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foreigners in exchange for necklaces, handkerchiefs, and powder. Several of the women spent the night on board trading their charms. What characterized them particularly was that they delighted in stealing anything that they could lay hands on, especially when chance took them into one of the bedrooms of the senior officers. Watches, sheets, pillows, etc., they took everything. One must add that whatever one gives them and whatever they manage to steal immediately becomes the property of the chief; and they count themselves fortunate when he is content to despoil them without ill-treating them.
The drawing that M. de Sainson made of Cook's watering place gives an excellent idea of the place.
From the Diary of M. Quoy.
5th February--This little bay [Tolaga] is too exposed to be highly populated. We were surrounded by quite a number of canoes, among them some very fine ones manned by about thirty men. The way they paddle sitting down gives an elegance as well as a dignity to these boats. They have no outriggers and the bottom is made from one tree trunk. In exchange for axes and fish-hooks we bought potatoes and more pigs than we could feed. Some men even got them in exchange for knives. The women for their part sold their favours for necklaces and handkerchiefs but never otherwise and the one idea of all of them was simply the desire to procure what was offered and to take in addition whatever they could steal: for they are dreadful thieves. For example, in those moments when most people were not paying much attention to what was happening round them, they, on the contrary, were busy unfastening the curtain rings that happened to be overhead so as to carry them off, and snatching everything they could lay their hands on--towels, caps, sheets, even huge feather pillows that one of them tried to hide under her arm. One of our gentlemen had his valuable watch stolen; happily he found it in the hands of a chief; for these are the people who in the end take possession of everything these wretched women get, both what is given to them and what they steal.
From the Diary of M. Lottin.
6th February--The calm that reigned made it possible for the two boats to advance rapidly towards the bay [Tolaga]. Our passengers looked at each
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of the things in the whaleboat with keen curiosity, explained their use to each other, and talked eagerly about them. Our long oars were the first thing to attract their attention; they kept time with their heads to their rhythmic motion, shouting out to urge on the sailors, and very soon, taking a hand in the work while indulging in shouts of delight; indeed they plied the oars so violently, that fearing to see them break in pieces I begged the natives to be content to look on quietly. One of them, by means of expressive signs, then undertook to demonstrate the superiority of paddles over oars; the latter seemed to him to be inconveniently long and to make it necessary to have several men to man a boat, whereas one paddle can make a canoe fly, if it is passed alternately from side to side. A second native pointed out that each of the sailors turned his back to the place to which he wanted to go and this made them all roar with laughter; then their attention was attracted to other objects. They were impressed by the rudder; they talked seriously of how it worked, with frequent signs of approval; I had to let the spokesman take the helm for a moment and the ease with which he made the boat change its direction, at the speed at which it was going, filled them with delight and admiration.
I set the course towards the northerly point of the bay. This took us along by the reef that runs out N. E. for a mile and a quarter from Motou Heka; it is a series of rocks close to which the water has a depth of seven to twelve fathoms; we passed along, a few feet away from them. These surface reefs were covered with barnacles of various kinds and I was sorry not to have time to land there. As I hadn't more than a few minutes to spend on shore, I took out of its case Rochon's micrometer 4 that I wanted to use. The bright colour of the copper suddenly attracted the attention of the natives. I placed a piece of coloured glass in front of the lens and bringing it near to my neighbour's eye, I succeeded with some difficulty in making him see the face of the sun; immediately he explained to his companions that he had seen the sun turned red and had not been dazzled by it. I then substituted a green glass; another surprise; then I turned the crystal prism, and when the disc appeared double, he shouted with astonishment. Each of them wanted to hold the telescope in his hands, but we were getting close to the shore and their curiosity could not be satisfied.
I wanted to land our passengers in front of a small village; twenty huts
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and eight canoes pulled up on the beach indicated about a hundred inhabitants. They all came running out to greet us, quite unarmed. Some rocks lying along the shore prevented us from running on to the beach. They offered to pull our boat up and the action probably implies a compliment in this land, for our native guests greeted the suggestion with shouts of joy. But I had no wish to put myself into the hands of fifty or so fine strapping fellows who were already up to their waists in the water. Seeing that they were going to insist, I used a trick to rid myself of them. I crossed a rather shallow cove at a good speed, landed the natives straight away, took the micrometric distances that I wanted and jumped back into the boat, to the intense disappointment of the crowd, who had been forced to run right round the cove and had got there just in time to see us leaving. A few young fellows defied us by chanting their war song, but now we were quite safe; there was not a single loose stone on those rocks that the tide sweeps over every day.
I fired a shot to warn the second boat that our task was completed: they joined me and we made for the corvette. M. Dudemaine, who was in command of it, had been worried by natives. In great numbers and bearing arms, they had surrounded the boat with their canoes, doing all they could to steal anything they could reach and absolutely refusing to give up any of their arms; our guns especially excited their greed. The corvette being at a distance made them more daring and there is no doubt that if there had been only the one boat, they would have resorted to violence.
Also from the Diary of M. Lottin.
26th February--A calm having forced us to drop anchor again very soon after we had got underway, the Commander was anxious to make good use of the time we had to spend in these unknown regions. The natives in their canoes seemed to have nothing but peaceful intentions. Their chief, who was on board, told us of his exploits, his recent victory over the unfortunate Pomare, and described with ferocious energy the delight he had found in devouring the corpse of this formidable enemy. He readily consented to spend the day on the corvette, thus becoming a guarantee that no harm would befall the boats sent out of sight of the ship.
At half past nine, I set off in the whaleboat with Messrs. Guilbert, Gaimard, and Faraguet. We were to go up the Wai-Mogoia and verify the
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statement made by the natives, who affirmed that at this spot it was possible to cross the country of New Zealand in a few moments and to reach the sea that washes its western shores.
At eleven o'clock we entered the river itself. Above its mouth, which is partly closed by a sandbank, it spread out to form a vast basin of brackish water one and a half miles wide and two miles long. On the far side, the sea at low tide had left uncovered the sandbanks which obstruct its bed so that it becomes nothing more than a winding channel varying from one hundred to four hundred yards in width and only navigable for small craft.
By noon we had crossed the first basin; the water was safe for drinking purposes, the twists in the river brought us to the foot of a village or "resting place" (moe-moe) situated on the left bank and called Ourouroa. An enormous quantity of fish was stretched on poles to dry in the air and gave off an intolerable stench. The natives came running to the top of the cliff, drawn by curiosity. They shouted remarks to our guide as far as our speed allowed them and several children ran along the beach after us.
As we went on, the land became flat, covered with tall grass and traversed by little streams of almost stagnant water; several detached little hills stood up in the plain reminding one of tumuli in Greece.
At ten minutes to one, the river suddenly came to an end in a basin four hundred yards wide, with nothing on the other side but a mere trickle of water. We landed on the mud and M. Faraguet was left in charge of the boat. We were then seven miles from the corvette and about three and a half miles as the crow flies from the mouth of the Mogoia, which flows in the main from S. by W. to N. by E.
At five minutes to one we took a track through the tall grass, that appeared to be used regularly by the natives; the lie of the land made it impossible to see far ahead and at one fifty we found ourselves on the seashore on the other side. So in fifty-five minutes we had crossed New Zealand, which is perhaps two miles wide at this point. We gazed down on what looked like ah enormous lake. We tasted the water, which was salt, and noticing a hill not far away, we went in that direction hoping to get a more exact idea of the general situation. A canoe was out fishing; the keen eyes of the natives did not take long to discover us; immediately they rowed towards the shore and in no time we were surrounded by a crowd of armed men. After a few moments' conversation with our guide, they escorted us with much shouting to the presence of the local chief.
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We passed close to some huts from which came the stench of rotten fish; there wasn't any fence to protect them, it was a sort of mobile camp ready to be abandoned at the first sign of the enemy. Several girls came out and joined our procession; a crowd of children stared at us eagerly, braving the blows from the muskets dealt by some of their fellow-countrymen, proud to possess such arms. At last we caught sight of the chief. It was Inaki, one of the finest men in New Zealand. He ruled this part of the island, under the chief who had remained on board, and he had the title of rangatira para-paroa, commander-in-chief of the warriors. He had taken up an excellent position at the top of the incline, standing at the head of a double line of his warriors, clad in a magnificent cloak of dogskin and leaning on a spear adorned with feathers and fur. I presented him with some pieces of material and also a medal of the expedition, which M. d'Urville had given me for this purpose. The guide explained our intentions to him, and he gave us permission to go up the hill, which was sacred, and up which, in fact, not one of the natives dared to follow us.
When we reached the top, we were disappointed not to see the gap leading to the open sea. At the point indicated by the natives towards the west there was a distinct break in the mountains which blocked our view, but an island, lying between us and them, made it impossible to see right through it to the sea. The enormous bay seemed to be absolutely safe; only, near the shore, a few sandbanks were visible, showing the character of the bottom which should be good for anchors. We took a few observations to make our sketch accurate and went down again, forced to hurry because it was getting late; we were thus unable to make a very interesting trip in a canoe.
The natives call this bay Manoukao; they maintained a hundred times that it was connected with the open sea and I no longer have the least doubt about it. It is quite probably the head of Cook's False Bay.
We distributed various pieces of ironware and a few small French coins and we set off with Inaki, who expressed a wish to see the commander.
We quickly crossed the narrow isthmus lying between ourselves and the boat; and battling against the end of the tide, we descended the Mogoia rather slowly. Crowds of natives were looking for shellfish in the mud, and the rocks at the entrance were covered with men fishing.
It was dark when we again set foot on board the Astrolabe.
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From the Diary of M. Gaimard
On the 26th [February] Messrs. Lottin, Guilbert, Bertrand, Faraguet and I, accompanied by Simonet with his gun and a Zealand guide, went by boat up to the source of a saltwater river, the Wai-Mogoia. On its left bank we saw the village of Ourouroa, a number of canoes and a great many inhabitants. After crossing an isthmus about two miles in extent, we reached the west coast of New Zealand at a village called Manoukao. The chief, Inaki, a fine tall man, surrounded by his warriors, received us in ceremonial dress and with an air of splendour. We presented one or two gifts to him; among other things he received one of the medals of the expedition that M. Lottin gave him, and a blue handkerchief that I asked him to accept. A war dance, which was really impressive, was performed in our honour by about a hundred Zealanders armed with rifles, axes, spears, and patous-patous [clubs]. As a general rule the men we had before us were tall, well-proportioned and strongly built. They have fine regular features and a martial air and the faces of the chiefs and distinguished warriors are adorned with the deep tattoo which is achieved by very painful incisions and is authentic testimony to their high rank and military glory. They have aquiline noses with slightly spreading nostrils, rather yellow whites to their eyes, wonderfully white teeth, long black hair, generally straight, but occasionally curly, black beards and moustaches.
The women who are usually short and well-built have slightly flattened noses; only the wives of chiefs have any tattoo, a special design on their lips and shoulders. Women of the lower orders and maids are not allowed to change the natural red of their lips to the dark blue that comes from tattooing; this blue is, in their eyes, the loveliest of shades and its use is the exclusive privilege of the patrician class. In their habits they were just the same as the Tolaga women. One of the youngest of them, named Ietoutou, remarkable for her beauty and the charming lines of her figure, struck us as being more graceful than any we had seen in our previous calls. A cambric handkerchief, which one of our people had given her, delighted her and she showed her joy in the most striking manner.
This expedition proved without any doubt that this part of New Zealand is in fact an extensive peninsula to which the Bay of Islands belongs, as several whaling captains had already informed M. de Blosseville. 5
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Shouraki Bay has excellent harbours which sooner or later will become the sites of European settlements. The Zealanders with whom we have been brought in contact seem to be a very warlike people. They love firearms above anything else. The most important chief we have seen in this district, Terangui, boasted of having defeated, killed, and eaten Pomare, a redoubtable rangatira or leading chief. He showed us with much pride the booty he had taken, and told us all about his own wonderful exploits. He now hopes to defeat and then eat in the same way Shongui, who at the moment is the most powerful rangatira in the Bay of Islands.
Also from the Diary of M. Gaimard
On the 15th of March, after a visit to the mission station, Messrs. d'Urville, Lottin, and myself, accompanied by Mr. Williams junior, the brother of the leader of the missionaries in New Zealand, went up the Kawa-Kawa river by boat. We saw some good husbandry, fields of sweet potatoes, which are tabou or sacred (which means that it is absolutely forbidden to cross the fields); so by forcing us to make a great many detours, this prohibition added a great deal to the distance we had to walk. We had frequent cause to praise the helpfulness of the natives; if we came upon an arm of the river, they seized us immediately and either they carried us on their backs, or they gave us a ride on their shoulders and our clothes took the yellowish stain with which these New Zealanders paint their bodies. Often, as we approached, we saw half-naked girls who ran together holding hands and then sang love songs and with a charming gaiety gave themselves up to dances full of grace and passion. We delighted in walking through the fine forests that Marion 6 found so useful. There we heard a few details about the murder of our unhappy fellow countryman. It seems that he was slain by the inhabitants of Oudoudou Bay, who had had so much cause of complaint against Surville 7 and who came to the Bay of Islands expressly to commit this act of revenge. The Zealanders who live on the banks of the river Kawa-Kawa called us Marions too, which shows that they have not forgotten the visit and the sinister fate of that fine navigator. On the swampy banks of the river we gathered several hundreds of pretty shells, all of the same type, which the naturalists know under the name of Ampullaire aveline.
In the course of our visit to Pomare's village, with M. d'Urville, we
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noticed that the various carvings which adorn the houses of the natives are in no way inferior in elegance of design and perfection of workmanship to those seen on the prows of their canoes. We shall make no attempt to describe them as we are convinced that to get a good idea of them it is much better to look at the careful drawings which have been made rather than read the most detailed description.
Also from the Diary of M. Gaimard
On the 17th of March, we climbed up to the pa of the Toui tribe. This stronghold, which had just been abandoned, stands on the top of a very high rock. It is quite inaccessible from the sea, and on the land side it can only be reached by a very narrow exposed path. A deep ditch and a double line of high palisades of great strength and placed close together which defend the entrance, must have made the fort really impregnable before the introduction of firearms. The houses built within it are very low and very numerous. In time of war they would hold great quantities of arms and provisions such as were required to withstand those long memorable sieges that, according to Zealand folklore, took place and became the occasion of so many glorious deeds, which one can easily believe when one knows the physical strength and the extraordinary valour of these brave islanders. But splendid deeds are not enough for a race to gain the renown that it deserves; there must also be the historian to save their story from oblivion.
While we were in the Bay of Islands most of the warriors had gone on a military expedition; we were told that they were to attack the inhabitants of Shouraki. No doubt it was this force, consisting of some forty war canoes each carrying from twenty to forty men, that we had seen on the 4th of March, when we were off Cape Kokako (Cook's Cape Brett). To make slaves of all the prisoners and to eat all the foes killed in the fight; such is the twofold object of these expeditions, which are frequent and eagerly desired. A Zealander, belonging to the tribe in whose midst the missionaries live, was put to death a few days before our arrival simply because he expressed disapproval of this latest war.
This is not the place in which to speak of the language of the inhabitants of New Zealand; but one cannot resist one remark about the Bay of Islands, viz:--that in counting, the Zealanders reckon by elevens instead of by tens.
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From the Diary of M. Quoy
After visiting about half the coastline of New Zealand and seeing a good many of its inhabitants, we must now record what we have to say about it. By virtue of its size as well as its large population, this land is without doubt one of the most important regions of the Southern Ocean, in spite of its extreme southerly position. Its climate, which has no extremes of heat or cold, is very healthy and is suited to the cultivation of all European products. In one or two respects, its vegetation, characterized by bracken as tall as trees and Dracaena [dragon trees] that look like palms, equals that of the tropics in abundance and vigour; and in spite of the absence of those plants that furnish an ample food supply for man, the favourable conditions that we have just mentioned have contributed to the development of one of the finest races in Polynesia. Explorers have, in fact, remarked that as a general rule Zealanders are tall, strongly built, with pleasant faces, although they disfigure them, particularly the chiefs, by deeply incised tattooing; the designs used tending to give the impression that they all have aquiline noses, a feature which is, in fact, fairly common among them and is found with widespread nostrils. Their hair is long, black and smooth, their beards the same and they have excellent teeth. Their facial characteristics are as varied as they are in Europe and, to put it briefly, we found among these islanders men whose features resembled those of Brutus, Socrates, etc., as these have been passed down to us. People of the lower orders are shorter and not so good looking; few of them are tattooed, as this privilege is reserved for warriors and consequently for the chiefs, who are all warriors. It is necessary to see this decoration to have any idea of how painful a process must be involved. The women are nothing like so good looking as the men. They are nearly all quite short and they lack altogether the natural grace that is sometimes found among uncivilized peoples and that we have often met with in the Sandwich Islands. Only the wives of chiefs are tattooed; they have a special design on the lips and shoulders.
The little that is known about how the Zealanders are governed is of the greatest interest to those who like inquiring into such primitive civilizations. These two great islands have no one chief exercising authority over a large area. The land is divided into innumerable tribes, each with its own chief who is independent of his neighbours. This chief, far from
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having absolute power over those he governs, appears to have no authority beyond what public opinion accords him; and in any case, cannot force a free man to do anything against his will, in something of the same way that Caesar records of the Gauls, who followed their princes to war by consent rather than under duress. Thus each tribe constitutes a sort of little republic, which will sometimes join with others in a federation of a temporary character, when all will obey one chief for purposes of war, as we shall show later. Would it not appear that here we find in miniature the little republics of ancient Greece? I have just spoken of free men; the fact is that, apart from slaves taken in war and left over after as many captives as possible have been eaten, there exist among the tribes men and women who do not enjoy full liberty. Are these servants or slaves? This we do not know, and the missionaries who understand the language and customs of these races are the only people who could tell us. M. d'Urville has in his possession a number of somewhat important documents on the subject, which he received from Mr. Marsden, the clergyman at Port Jackson. Mr. Marsden is a man of great discernment, who spent a considerable time in New Zealand.
While this method of dividing and subdividing the inhabitants insures their independence and prevents them from falling under the domination of any one chief, it holds back the progress of civilization and perpetuates rivalries and never-ending wars. It is not too much to say that these natives are in a perpetual state of conflict. Each tribe has its fortress, called a pa or hepa, 8 placed on an island or in a more or less inaccessible spot, guarded by a group of inhabitants. In time of danger everyone takes refuge in it. I saw the deserted pa belonging to the Toui tribe; it was perched on top of a rock which was inaccessible from the sea. On the land side it was cut off by a deep ditch, guarded by two lines of palisades twenty feet high, formed from whole trunks of trees placed side by side; our own are not better constructed. A single narrow path led up to it; the interior, which was on a slope, held a great many deserted dwelling-houses; most of them intact. They were very low, with rounded roofs, having a small peristyle and a door that looked like a window, but was so narrow that anyone wishing to get inside would have been forced to wriggle in on his stomach. European cabbages and various creepers covered the thatched roofs of this Sparta of the South. Once upon a time, before the Zealanders had met Europeans, they showed their
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courage on these impregnable heights and withstood sieges of inordinate length, which only needed a Homer to become as famous as the Siege of Troy. But since we have taught them to use firearms and the English whalers keep them well supplied, these citadels no longer offer the same resistance; and as the guns are unequally distributed, the result is that certain more favoured tribes exterminate the others. More than any other Polynesians, they are addicted to the revolting custom of eating their prisoners after the battle and there seems to be a religious idea attached to it, which is carried so far that any chiefs who die in action desire this honour for themselves. Their heads are carefully preserved by a method of drying and these are the ones seen fairly frequently in Europe. I do not know anything about their religious opinions. The absence of any external signs would seem to indicate that their ideas had reached a higher degree of development than those of their neighbours. The heads with protruding tongues carved on the prow and other parts of their canoes, those they wear round their necks inlaid with jade, the statues showing the phallus, are only emblems. Very seldom did we see any carving in wood on the tombs.
The only arts they know are those required for constructing their huts and their canoes, which they carve with great care and charm, and for making their flax cloaks which are very beautiful and quite warm enough for this country. A great deal of time and care are required to make their clubs and axes of fine green jade; for that reason they value them highly and will only part with them in exchange for firearms. It should be noted that the bow and arrow do not figure among the weapons found in the Southern Seas; which always means at least one less rapid means of destruction. So far we have only seen them in the Sandwich Islands, but poor specimens and only used for amusement.
The Zealanders are noisy people, who talk a lot and always as if they were quarrelling; the chiefs alone are grave. Indeed it would be possible to recognize them by this characteristic. The people delight in dancing and singing; they sing in chorus with a precision and even a charm that we have not found anywhere else among these races. As soon as the dance begins, men, women, and children all run together into lines and carry it through with wonderful harmony; and yet their best known dance demands contortions and frightful shrieks. Any present, who by chance are not taking part with the others, dance by themselves and follow the rhythm.
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Their costume consists of cloaks of different kinds that they adjust very cleverly; some of them are very thick, covered with long strands of flax. When they sit on their haunches under this garment, they look like hives with heads stuck on top. Some tie their hair back and adorn it with two black feathers; others plaster it down in front with red ochre. They did this as a ceremonial act before coming out to our ship. To put a cloak over their shoulders is also a mark of respect and one that they showed towards us. They live on fish and sweet potatoes. When the plant is young, any approach is forbidden to the fields which are consecrated or tabou. Anyone who ignored this prohibition would run the risk of being done to death. These people eat the roots of the bracken that covers the land, a food that is always at hand but not very substantial; to this must be added the pigs and cabbages that they owe to Europeans, and no doubt to Surville and Marion, chiefly to the latter, who spent a long time in the Bay of Islands, where, unfortunately, he was assassinated in revenge for the abominable act committed some time earlier by Surville, in carrying off a chief from whom he had received all kinds of help. The inhabitants of the Bay of Islands, who seem well aware of what happened, assured M. d'Urville that it was members of the tribe from where Surville had stayed, who had suddenly appeared and fallen on Marion without anyone being able to stop them; which appears very probable in the circumstances when one remembers what proofs of esteem and affection Marion received to the very last moment from the people of the Bay of Islands....
If on the one hand Europeans have brought their diseases and their weapons of destruction to these people, they have also introduced useful products, among which the potato takes first place. Its value has been realized very quickly for we found potatoes everywhere round their dwellings. To these must be added peaches, onions, etc. Does the good outweigh the evil? We do not think so. Until New Zealand is governed by one or two chiefs, which, given its political condition, will be a very long and difficult process, its inhabitants will only have acquired greater facility in mutual destruction.
Every day the chiefs brought on board several women who were passed to everyone in turn, without any desire at all on their part, but always for payment that had to be handed over to the chief, when he himself was not
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waiting at the door for it. Several men reaped terrible consequences from their intercourse with these women.
The fact that a large part of the native population had left the Bay of Islands prevented us from securing the provisions we had counted on. We did not even get any fish, which the inhabitants know how to catch.
We shall not go into any details relating to natural history here, as that is to be dealt with elsewhere.
