[July 1820]
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July 2d, Sunday. Several of the men went to Teperree's pah, to amuse themselves: they were received in the most friendly manner by the natives; and such as chose to return on board before a boat was sent, were brought off by them in their canoes. Either in consequence of the badness of the weather, or because the ship was no longer attractive from its novelty, few trading people came near her during the week, and the supply of vegetables was scanty.
During the whole of the day, the woman, who had been the cause of the disturbance, and who had again returned, remained along-side in a canoe, begging to be admitted on board, and declaring that the whole business, on the part of the tribe, was a shenerica, or
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hoax; but it was thought prudent, in order to prevent any future misunderstanding, not to yield to her solicitations, and late in the evening she went away with apparent reluctance.
July 3d, Monday. Frosts in the morning were now pretty frequent, and ice was found as thick as a shilling.
Shooting, which hitherto had been an occasional amusement, began to be considered, by those who had time to attend to it, as an essential occupation. The delay of the ship at New Zealand had so far exceeded the general calculation, that every species of refreshment had been consumed; and scarcely any pork, which is the only kind of fresh meat to be procured, could be obtained from the natives for the articles of trade with which we were provided. There were many wild ducks and curlews in the creeks and rivers about the harbour, and the woods abounded with pigeons, which, besides being of a singularly handsome kind, are large and good to eat. They are found with difficulty by the Europeans, on account of the thickness of the
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foliage; but the natives, whose sight is singularly acute, and who for a trifling reward attended us on our shooting parties, pointed them out with remarkable facility.
In a shooting excursion this morning, though our success was trifling, we had an opportunity, by extending our walk over the hills in a north-easterly direction, of discovering a very considerable quantity of cowry, belonging to Teperree's tribe, which grew on that side of the harbour; and a few days after, when following a similar pursuit, we discovered a creek to the west of our anchorage, which terminated in rather a large river. We pursued its course about three miles, when we found ourselves at the edge of a very extensive wood abounding in cowry, and another very fine species of timber called demo ; but the river now became so narrow that the boat could proceed no further. It was obvious, however, from the short distance between the place where the trees grew and the navigable part of the stream, that with the assistance of a road, they might be got down to the water's edge without much difficulty.
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This wood also belonged to Teperree; and situated as we were, the discovery afforded much pleasure; for even in the event of a rupture with George, which his conduct gave us frequent reason to fear, we should not be altogether deprived of the means of attaining the object of our voyage.
In these excursions, as in most others, no inhabitants were seen, except on the shores close to the sea. Houses and traces of temporary residences were constantly met with, but for the present they had been universally abandoned.
At noon a boat returned from the Kameemy, and one of the people in her brought a message from George, stating, that understanding it to be the intention of the captain of the ship to land some empty water-casks upon the neighbouring beach, in the tract belonging to Teperree, he requested they might be set on shore in his own district, which was at a considerable distance from our anchorage, and that in the event of a non-compliance with this injunction, he would never come near the Dromedary, nor would he give her a single spar.
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In the evening Tippooi arrived, attended by the woman who had caused the quarrel, and by his son. He requested that the former might be admitted into the ship, and with regard to the latter, he remarked, that, as George's boy had got European clothes, he expected that his own son would receive a similar present. What his object could be in endeavouring, after what had happened, to force this woman to remain with our people, it would be difficult to say; but it appeared to many that he intended by this act to show that he was above the control of his tribe, and that he considered himself lowered by having submitted to their interference on a former occasion. Though his wishes in both instances were complied with, he still seemed sulky and dissatisfied, but never mentioned the subject of the casks. At a late hour, the natives reported a ship in sight; and a boat having been sent the next morning to the heads, which returned, being unable to discover one, they said she had stood for the Bay of Islands during the night. A conjecture
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prevailed that she was the Catherine whaler, which was expected about this time.
July 4th, Tuesday. The morning was ushered in by one of those acts of violence so common to George and his brother. The former protector of the woman, whom Tippooi had brought on board, having refused to receive her again from him, the chief, when about to take his departure, ordered her into his canoe, and upon her showing some reluctance to obey the command, he instantly knocked her down upon the deck. The unfortunate girl took an early opportunity of escaping below, while he retired sullen and dissatisfied.
6th, Thursday. The indecisive conduct of Tippooi and George, relative to loading the ship, -- their frequent declarations to the contrary, on the ground that if they did, other vessels full of troops would come from Europe to take every thing from them, and ultimately destroy them, -- was so distressing to those whose duty put them in immediate contact with the brother-chiefs, that it became necessary to enter into a final and
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decided explanation; and for this, the arrival of Mr. Hall, who spoke the language very well, afforded a favourable opportunity. It was therefore determined to get them on board as soon as possible, and to make the necessary stipulations with them as to what they were to supply, and how they were to be paid.
July 7th, Friday. For this purpose the carpenter and Mr. Hall went up the Kameemy to bring Tippooi and George on board the following day; and in the afternoon the boat returned with the chiefs. They had shown the greatest reluctance to visit the Dromedary, declaring, "that they were certain that a plot was formed to hang them when they got on board;" nor would they enter the boat until Mr. Hall had pledged himself to answer for their safety with his life.
The necessary explanations having been gone into as to the payment they were to receive, and every assurance given that as long as they conducted themselves properly no injury should be offered to them either now or
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hereafter, they seemed perfectly satisfied, agreeing to provide the cargo, and to use every exertion to complete their engagement as soon as possible.
From the 9th to the 14th of July, the weather was extremely bad. The making of the road went on slowly; and nothing of any importance occurred, save that the main-top was brought down upon deck, and found to be so rotten, that it was necessary to construct a new one.
15th, Saturday. In the evening George came on board, having brought down four spars, and the next day he took his departure. His visit was attended with the disagreeable circumstance of his taking offence at something that one of the men had said to him, which produced a paroxysm of anger like that noticed a few days before.
18th, Tuesday. At noon three canoes filled with people who had got some potatoes to dispose of, were swamped alongside. The prompt assistance that was given by the ship not only saved the lives of the sufferers, but also their property, which seemed to them a
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matter of much greater consideration. In the evening George came on board.
July 19th, Wednesday. Early in the morning George ran upon the deck in a most furious passion, with a musket in his hand, to shoot one of his cookees, who, he said, had stolen some bread from him: the musket fortunately was not loaded, otherwise there is little doubt that he would have carried his murderous intention into execution.
20th, Thursday. In the forenoon George took his departure in high spirits. A canoe had arrived the preceding evening from the Bay of Islands, where we learned the Catherine whaler was at anchor, with gunpowder to barter for potatoes. George was fortunate enough to make an agreement with the people possessing the treasure; and they all set off to his village to complete the bargain.
21st, Friday. Mr. Kent, the commander of the Prince Regent schooner, arrived with dispatches from the Governor of New South Wales, having come over-land from the Bay of Islands. The Prince Regent had encoun-
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tered dreadful weather during her passage to New Zealand; she had been fourteen days between the Three Kings and the Bay of Islands, where she ultimately arrived with the loss of all her sails.
Mr. Kent was accompanied by some of the gentlemen of the ship, who had gone to the Bay of Islands some days before, where they had been received in the most friendly and hospitable manner by the natives.
They found them in the greatest alarm in consequence of the expected invasion of that part of the country by a chief of Kaiperra, a district on the western coast. This man was described as far excelling his countrymen in size and personal strength, and as the leader of a very numerous and powerful tribe. His expected approach was a subject of more than common consternation; the male population of the Bay of Islands were all in arms; and every precaution had been taken to ascertain the point upon which the descent was to be made, and to guard against a surprise.
During the stay of the gentlemen of the Dromedary at the Bay of Islands, two cookees,
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belonging to a chief of the Rangehoo tribe, were killed for some alleged crime. The body of one was thrown into the sea, while that of the other, after having lain buried one day, was taken up and devoured.
The gentlemen happening to pass through the village of Rangehoo at the time of this cannibal feast, observed the natives particularly active in throwing their mats over some object round which they were sitting, when they saw the strangers approach. The gentlemen, of course, continued their walk without appearing to notice what they had seen; but a sailor belonging to the Catherine, who followed at some distance, and in whom the natives probably thought that the horrible spectacle would excite less disgust than in his superiors, was not only an eye-witness of their eating the body, but was invited to partake of the repast.
We were concerned to hear that the remains of the sailor that had been interred with every possible secrecy, near where the Dromedary lay at anchor in the Bay of Islands, had been discovered and taken up
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by the natives, merely for the clothes that had been buried with him. King George mentioned the circumstance, with apparent regret, to the gentlemen, when they went to see him; remarking, at the same time, "when the ship returns, if you do not find the body, or if you discover that it has been disturbed, I will then tell you who was the offender; but had you openly consigned it to my care, instead of clandestinely disposing of it, this violation should not have been attempted."
To ascertain the truth of King George's story, two of the gentlemen determined to visit the place where the sailor had been buried. They were attended by a young chief) named Gunna, and by two native boys, who paddled their canoe; but as they set out late upon this excursion, they did not arrive at the part of the bay where the man had been interred until dusk. Having left the two boys in the canoe, they walked into the wood with Gunna; but when they drew near the grave, he became so alarmed, that he shrunk behind them, and, bending almost to the ground to conceal himself, conjured them
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not to go farther lest they should meet the spirit of the white man.
The grave had evidently been disturbed; and when the gentlemen returned to the beach, they found that the boys had been so terrified at the apprehension of seeing a spectre, that they had pushed off from the shore, and it required some trouble and persuasion to induce them to return.
The belief in the re-appearance of the dead is universal among the New Zealanders: they fancy they hear their deceased relatives speaking to them, when the wind is high: whenever they pass the place where a man has been murdered, it is customary for each person to throw a stone upon it; and the same practice is observed by all those who visit a cavern at the North Cape, through which the spirits of departed men are supposed to pass on their way to a future world.
In alluding to their superstitions, it may not be irrelevant to observe, that they ascribe the most fatal consequences to the act of eating in their houses.
A daughter of King George being very
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ill, food was occasionally carried to her from the ship; and her parents were urged on no account to permit her to expose herself to the open air; but the injunction could not be complied with; and in the most inclement weather she was obliged to abandon her hut whenever she had occasion to eat.
Consequences no less calamitous are supposed to await those who enter a house where any article of animal food is suspended over their heads. A dead pigeon, or a piece of pork hung from the roof) was a better protection from molestation than a sentinel; and, latterly, this practice has been followed by our people, who lived on shore, with great success, whenever they wished to be free from the intrusion of the natives.
Though all their superstitions were inviolably respected by themselves, when on shore, the moment a New Zealander came on board, he considered himself absolved from them, and he at once conformed to our manners and customs.
The Catherine, not having seen the ship Echo in an appointed latitude, had serious
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apprehensions of her having met with some calamity during the very bad weather that all the whalers had this year encountered.
July 23d, Sunday. The soldiers off duty went on shore into the native villages, to amuse themselves. The road was reported to be getting on well; the attendance of the canoes during the week was numerous; the supply of vegetables was tolerable; and the sportsmen were very successful.
24th, Monday. Early in the morning, Mr. Kent, with some of the gentlemen of the ship, set out to walk to the Bay of Islands.
29th, Saturday. In the evening, the carpenter and George came on board: the badness of the weather had suspended all work, and there had been little intercourse with the shore during the week.
30th, Sunday. Long after dusk a canoe full of people was observed close to the ship; they were apparently using every precaution to conceal themselves: when hailed, and ordered to go away, one of them said they had come from a distance, and had hogs to dispose of, which they would bring the next
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day. This was evidently a fabrication: the canoe was not seen afterwards, nor could it be ascertained that any strangers had arrived in the harbour.
George, who remained on board during the whole of the day, was observed counting the men, when assembled for muster, and afterwards the hammocks. Having been allowed to sleep in the ward-room, where several of the ship's muskets were, he was heard to get up during the night, and, after having wandered about that part of the vessel for some time, he went upon the deck, evidently for no object but curiosity. He examined, with marked scrutiny, the sentinels upon it; and at last walked up to the officer of the watch, and asked him "what he did there?"
July 31st, Monday. In the morning George went away; and in the course of the forenoon the new main-top was got up.
The natives having heard that the ship was about to be moored higher up the harbour, and, of course, nearer to George's district, Teperree and his tribe lost no opportunity of pointing out the danger attendant upon such
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a step, and declaring that it was George's intention, on the following Sunday, when more men were on shore than usual, to massacre them, and afterwards get possession of the vessel.
