CHAP. VII.
THE PASSAGE FROM VAN DIEMEN’S LAND TO NEW ZEALAND.—EMPLOYMENTS IN QUEEN CHARLOTTE’S SOUND.—TRANSACTIONS WITH THE NATIVES THERE.—INTELLIGENCE ABOUT THE MASSACRE OF THE ADVENTURE’S BOAT’S CREW.—ACCOUNT OF THE CHIEF WHO HEADED THE PARTY ON THAT OCCASION.—OF THE TWO YOUNG MEN WHO EMBARK TO ATTEND OMAI.—VARIOUS REMARKS ON THE INHABITANTS.—ASTRONOMICAL AND NAUTICAL OBSERVATIONS.
At eight o’clock in the morning of the 30th of January, a light breeze springing up at W., we weighed anchor, and put to sea from Adventure Bay. Soon after, the wind veered to the southward, and increased to a perfect storm. Its fury abated in the evening, when it veered to the E. and N. E.
This gale was indicated by the barometer, for the wind no sooner began to blow, than the mercury in the tube began to fall. Another remarkable thing attended the coming on of this wind, which was very faint at first. It brought with it a degree of heat that was almost intolerable. The mercury in the thermometer rose, as it were instantaneously, from about 70° to near 90°. This heat was of so short a continuance, that it seemed to be wafted away before the breeze that brought it; so that some on board did not perceive it.
We pursued our course to the eastward, without meeting with any thing worthy of note, till the night between the 6th and 7th of February, when a marine belonging to the Discovery fell over board, and was never seen afterward. This was the second misfortune of the kind that had happened to Captain Clerke since he left England.
On the 10th, at four in the afternoon, we discovered the land of New Zealand. The part we saw proved to be Rock’s Point, and bore S. E. by S., about eight or nine leagues distant. During this run from Van Diemen’s Land, the wind, for the first four or five days, was at N. E., N., and N. N. W., and blew, for the most part, a gentle breeze. It afterward veered to S. E., where it remained twenty-four hours. It then came to W. and S. W.; in which points it continued, with very little deviation, till we reached New Zealand.
After making the land, I steered for Cape Farewell, which at day-break, the next morning, bore S. by W., distant about four leagues. At eight o’clock, it bore S. W. by S., about five leagues distant; and, in this situation, we had forty-five fathoms’ water over a sandy bottom. In rounding the Cape we had fifty fathoms, and the same sort of bottom.
I now steered for Stephen’s Island, which we came up with at nine o’clock at night; and at ten, next morning, anchored in our old station, in Queen Charlotte’s Sound. [157] Unwilling to lose any time, our operations commenced that very afternoon, when we landed a number of empty water-casks, and began to clear a place where we might set up the two observatories, and tents for the reception of a guard, and of such of our people whose business might make it necessary for them to remain on shore.
We had not been long at anchor before several canoes, filled with natives, came along-side of the ships; but very few of them would venture on board; which appeared the more extraordinary, as I was well known to them all. There was one man in particular amongst them, whom I had treated with remarkable kindness, during the whole of my stay when I was last here. Yet now, neither professions of friendship, nor presents, could prevail upon him to come into the ship. This shyness was to be accounted for only upon this supposition, that they were apprehensive we had revisited their country, in order to revenge the death of Captain Furneaux’s people. Seeing Omai on board my ship now, whom they must have remembered to have seen on board the Adventure when the melancholy affair happened, and whose first conversation with them, as they approached, generally turned on that subject, they must be well assured that I was no longer a stranger to it. I thought it necessary, therefore, to use every endeavour to assure them of the continuance of my friendship, and that I should not disturb them on that account. I do not know whether this had any weight with them; but certain it is, that they very soon laid aside all manner of restraint and distrust.
On the 13th we set up two tents, one from each ship; on the same spot where he had pitched them formerly. The observatories were at the same time erected; and Messrs. King and Bayly began their operations immediately, to find the rate of the time-keeper, and to make other observations. The remainder of the empty water-casks were also sent on shore, with the cooper to trim, and a sufficient number of sailors to fill them. Two men were appointed to brew spruce beer; and the carpenter and his crew were ordered to cut wood. A boat, with a party of men, under the direction of one of the mates, was sent to collect grass for our cattle; and the people that remained on board were employed in refitting the ship, and arranging the provisions. In this manner, we were all profitably busied during our stay. For the protection of the party on shore, I appointed a guard of ten marines, and ordered arms for all the workmen; and Mr. King, and two or three petty officers, constantly remained with them. A boat was never sent to any considerable distance from the ships without being armed, and under the direction of such officers as I could depend upon, and who were well acquainted with the natives. During my former visits to this country, I had never taken some of these precautions; nor were they, I firmly believe, more necessary now than they had been formerly. But after the tragical fate of the Adventure’s boat’s crew in this Sound, and of Captain Marion du Fresne, and of some of his people, in the Bay of Islands [158] , it was impossible totally to divest ourselves of all apprehension of experiencing a similar calamity.
If the natives entertained any suspicion of our revenging these acts of barbarity, they very soon laid it aside. For, during the course of this day, a great number of families came from different parts of the coast, and took up their residence close to us; so that there was not a spot in the cove where a hut could be put up, that was not occupied by them, except the place where we had fixed our little encampment. This they left us in quiet possession of; but they came and took away the ruins of some old huts that were there, as materials for their new erections.
It is curious to observe with what facility they build these occasional places of abode. I have seen above twenty of them erected on a spot of ground, that, not an hour before, was covered with shrubs and plants. They generally bring some part of the materials with them; the rest they find upon the premises. I was present when a number of people landed, and built one of these villages. The moment the canoes reached the shore, the men leaped out, and at once took possession of a piece of ground, by tearing up the plants and shrubs, or sticking up some part of the framing of a hut. They then returned to their canoes, and secured their weapons, by setting them up against a tree, or placing them in such a position, that they could be laid hold of in an instant. I took particular notice that no one neglected this precaution. While the men were employed in raising the huts, the women were not idle. Some were stationed to take care of the canoes; others to secure the provisions, and the few utensils in their possession; and the rest went to gather dry sticks, that a fire might be prepared for dressing their victuals. As to the children, I kept them, as also some of the more aged, sufficiently occupied in scrambling for beads, till I had emptied my pockets, and then I left them.
These temporary habitations are abundantly sufficient to afford shelter from the wind and rain, which is the only purpose they are meant to answer. I observed that, generally, if not always, the same tribe or family, though it were ever so large, associated and built together; so that we frequently saw a village, as well as their larger towns, divided into different districts, by low pallisades, or some similar mode of separation.
The advantage we received from the natives coming to live with us, was not inconsiderable. For, every day, when the weather would permit, some of them went out to catch fish; and we generally got, by exchanges, a good share of the produce of their labours. This supply, and what our own nets and lines afforded us, was so ample, that we seldom were in want of fish. Nor was there any deficiency of other refreshments. Celery, scurvy-grass, and portable soup, were boiled with the peas and wheat, for both ships’ companies, every day during our whole stay; and they had spruce-beer for their drink. So that, if any of our people had contracted the seeds of the scurvy, such a regimen soon removed them. But the truth is, when we arrived here, there were only two invalids (and these on board the Resolution) upon the sick lists in both ships.
Besides the natives who took up their abode close to us, we were occasionally visited by others of them, whose residence was not far off; and by some who lived more remote. Their articles of commerce were, curiosities, fish, and women. The two first always came to a good market; which the latter did not. The seamen had taken a kind of dislike to these people; and were either unwilling, or afraid, to associate with them; which produced this good effect, that I knew no instance of a man’s quitting his station, to go to their habitations.
A connection with women I allow, because I cannot prevent it; but never encourage, because I always dread its consequences. I know, indeed, that many men are of opinion, that such an intercourse is one of our greatest securities amongst savages; and perhaps they who, either from necessity or choice, are to remain and settle with them, may find it so. But with travellers and transient visitors, such as we were, it is generally otherwise; and, in our situation, a connection with their women betrays more men than it saves. What else can be reasonably expected, since all their views are selfish, without the least mixture of regard or attachment? My own experience, at least, which hath been pretty extensive, hath not pointed out to me one instance to the contrary.
Amongst our occasional visitors, was a chief named Kahoora, who, as I was informed, headed the party that cut off Captain Furneaux’s people, and himself killed Mr. Rowe, the officer who commanded. To judge of the character of Kahoora, by what I heard from many of his countrymen, he seemed to be more feared than beloved amongst them. Not satisfied with telling me that he was a very bad man, some of them even importuned me to kill him; and, I believe, they were not a little surprised that I did not listen to them; for, according to their ideas of equity, this ought to have been done. But if I had followed the advice of all our pretended friends, I might have extirpated the whole race; for the people of each hamlet or village, by turns, applied to me to destroy the other. One would have almost thought it impossible, that so striking a proof of the divided state in which this miserable people live, could have been assigned. And yet I was sure that I did not misconceive the meaning of those who made these strange applications to me; for Omai, whose language was a dialect of their own, and perfectly understood all that they said, was our interpreter.
On the 15th, I made an excursion in my boat to look for grass, and visited the Hippah, or fortified village, at the south-west point of Motuara, and the places where our gardens had been planted on that island. There were no people at the former; but the houses and pallisades had been rebuilt, and were now in a state of good repair; and there were other evident marks of its having been inhabited not long before. It would be unnecessary, at present, to give a particular account of this Hippah, sufficient notice having been taken of it in the Account of my first Voyage, to which I refer. [159]
When the Adventure arrived first at Queen Charlotte’s Sound, in 1773 [160] , Mr. Bayly, fixed upon this place for making his observations; and he, and the people with him, at their leisure hours, planted several spots with English garden seeds. Not the least vestige of these now remained. It is probable that they had been all rooted out to make room for buildings, when the village was re-inhabited; for, at all the other gardens then planted by Captain Furneaux, although now wholly over-run with the weeds of the country, we found cabbages, onions, leeks, purslain, radishes, mustard, &c. and a few potatoes. These potatoes, which were first brought from the Cape of Good Hope, had been greatly improved by change of soil; and, with proper cultivation, would be superior to those produced in most other countries. Though the New Zealanders are fond of this root, it was evident that they had not taken the trouble to plant a single one (much less any other of the articles which we had introduced); and if it were not for the difficulty of clearing ground where potatoes had been once planted, there would not have been any now remaining.
On the 16th, at day-break, I set out with a party of men, in five boats, to collect food for our cattle. Captain Clerke, and several of the officers, Omai, and two of the natives, accompanied me. We proceeded about three leagues up the Sound, and then landed on the east side, at a place where I had formerly been. Here we cut as much grass as loaded the two launches.
As we returned down the Sound, we visited Grass Cove, the memorable scene of the massacre of Captain Furneaux’s people. Here I met with my old friend Pedro, who was almost continually with me the last time I was in this Sound, and is mentioned in my History of that Voyage. [161] He, and another of his countrymen, received us on the beach, armed with the pa-too and spear. Whether this form of reception was a mark of their courtesy or of their fear, I cannot say; but I thought they betrayed manifest signs of the latter. However, if they had any apprehensions, a few presents soon removed them, and brought down to the beach two or three more of the family; but the greatest part of them remained out of sight.
Whilst we were at this place, our curiosity prompted us to inquire into the circumstances attending the melancholy fate of our countrymen; and Omai was made use of as our interpreter for this purpose. Pedro, and the rest of the natives present, answered all the questions that were put to them on the subject, without reserve, and like men who are under no dread of punishment for a crime of which they are not guilty. For we already knew that none of them had been concerned in the unhappy transaction. They told us, that while our people were sitting at dinner, surrounded by several of the natives, some of the latter stole, or snatched from them, some bread and fish, for which they were beat. This being resented, a quarrel ensued, and two New Zealanders were shot dead, by the only two muskets that were fired. For before our people had time to discharge a third, or to load again those that had been fired, the natives rushed in upon them, overpowered them with their numbers, and put them all to death. Pedro and his companions, besides relating the history of the massacre, made us acquainted with the very spot that was the scene of it. It is at the corner of the cove on the right hand. They pointed to the place of the sun, to mark to us at what hour of the day it happened; and, according to this, it must have been late in the afternoon. They also showed us the place where the boat lay; and it appeared to be about two hundred yards distant from that where the crew were seated. One of their number, a black servant of Captain Furneaux, was left in the boat to take care of her.
We were afterward told that this black was the cause of the quarrel, which was said to have happened thus: One of the natives stealing something out of the boat, the negro gave him a severe blow with a stick. The cries of the fellow being heard by his countrymen at a distance, they imagined he was killed, and immediately began the attack on our people; who, before they had time to reach the boat, or to arm themselves against the unexpected impending danger, fell a sacrifice to the fury of their savage assailants.
The first of these accounts, was confirmed by the testimony of many of the natives, whom we conversed with, at different times, and who, I think, could have no interest in deceiving us. The second manner of relating the transaction, rests upon the authority of the young New Zealander, who chose to abandon his country and go away with us, and who, consequently, could have no possible view in disguising the truth. All agreeing that the quarrel happened when the boat’s crew were sitting at their meal, it is highly probable that both the accounts are true, as they perfectly coincide. For we may very naturally suppose, that while some of the natives were stealing from the man who had been left in the boat, others of them might take the same liberties with the property of our people who were on shore.
Be this as it will, all agree, that the quarrel first took its rise from some thefts, in the commission of which the natives were detected. All agree, also, that there was no premeditated plan of bloodshed, and that, if these thefts had not been, unfortunately, too hastily resented, no mischief would have happened. For Kahoora’s greatest enemies, those who solicited his destruction most earnestly, at the same time confessed that he had no intention to quarrel, much less to kill, till the fray had actually commenced. It also appears that the unhappy victims were under no sort of apprehension of their fate; otherwise they never would have ventured to sit down to a repast at so considerable a distance from their boat, amongst people who were the next moment to be their murderers. What became of the boat I never could learn. Some said she was pulled to pieces and burnt; others told us that she was carried, they knew not whither, by a party of strangers.
We stayed here till the evening, when, having loaded the rest of the boats with grass, celery, scurvy-grass, &c. we embarked to return to the ships. We had prevailed upon Pedro to launch his canoe, and accompany us; but we had scarcely put off from the shore, when the wind began to blow very hard at north-west, which obliged him to put back. We proceeded ourselves, but it was with a good deal of difficulty that we could reach the ships; where some of the boats did not arrive till one o’clock the next morning; and it was fortunate that they got on board then, for it afterward blew a perfect storm, with abundance of rain, so that no manner of work could go forward that day. In the evening the gale ceased, and the wind having veered to the east, brought with it fair weather.
The next day we resumed our works; the natives ventured out to catch fish; and Pedro, with all his family, came and took up his abode near us. This chief’s proper name is Matahouah; the other being given him by some of my people during my last voyage, which I did not know till now. He was, however, equally well known amongst his countrymen by both names.
On the 20th, in the forenoon, we had another storm from the north-west. Though this was not of so long continuance as the former, the gusts of wind from the hills were far more violent, insomuch that we were obliged to strike the yards and top-masts to the very utmost; and, even with all this precaution, it was with difficulty that we rode it out. These storms are very frequent here, and sometimes violent and troublesome. The neighbouring mountains, which at these times are always loaded with vapours, not only increase the force of the wind, but alter its direction in such a manner, that no two blasts follow each other from the same quarter; and the nearer the shore, the more their effects are felt.
The next day we were visited by a tribe or family, consisting of about thirty persons, men, women, and children, who came from the upper part of the Sound. I had never seen them before. The name of their chief was Tomatongeauooranuc; a man of about forty-five years of age, with a cheerful open countenance. And, indeed, the rest of his tribe were, in general, the handsomest of the New Zealand race I had ever met with.
By this time more than two-thirds of the inhabitants of the Sound had settled themselves about us. Great numbers of them daily frequented the ships, and the encampment on shore: but the latter became, by far, the most favourite place of resort, while our people there were melting some seal blubber. No Greenlander was ever fonder of train-oil, than our friends here seem to be. They relished the very skimmings of the kettle, and dregs of the casks; but a little of the pure stinking oil was a delicious feast, so eagerly desired, that I supposed it is seldom enjoyed.
Having got on board as much hay and grass as we judged sufficient to serve the cattle till our arrival at Otaheite, and having completed the wood and water of both ships, on the 23d we struck our tents, and carried every thing off from the shore; and next morning we weighed anchor, and stood out of the cove. But the wind not being very fair, and finding that the tide of ebb would be spent before we could get out of the Sound, we cast anchor again a little without the island Motuara, to wait for a more favourable opportunity of putting into the strait.
While we were unmooring and getting under sail, Tomatongeauooranuc, Matahouah, and many more of the natives, came to take their leave of us, or rather to obtain, if they could, some additional present from us before we left them. These two chiefs became suitors to me for some goats, and hogs. Accordingly, I gave to Matahouah two goats, a male and female with kid; and to Tomatongeauooranuc two pigs, a boar, and a sow. They made me a promise not to kill them; though I must own I put no great faith in this. The animals which Captain Furneaux sent on shore here, and which soon after fell into the hands of the natives, I was now told were all dead; but I could get no intelligence about the fate of those I had left in West Bay, and in Cannibal Cove, when I was here in the course of my last voyage. However, all the natives whom I conversed with agreed, that poultry are now to be met with wild in the woods behind Ship Cove; and I was afterward informed, by the two youths who went away with us, that Tiratou, a popular chief amongst them, had a great many cocks and hens in his separate possession, and one of the sows.
On my present arrival at this place, I fully intended to have left not only goats and hogs, but sheep, and a young bull, with two heifers, if I could have found either a chief powerful enough to protect and keep them, or a place where there might be a probability of their being concealed from those who would ignorantly attempt to destroy them. But neither the one nor the other presented itself to me. Tiratou was now absent; and Tringoboohee, whom I had met with during my last voyage [162] , and who seemed to be a person of much consequence at that time, had been killed five months ago, with about seventy persons of his tribe; and I could not learn that there now remained in our neighbourhood any tribe, whose numbers could secure to them a superiority of power over the rest of their countrymen. To have given the animals to any of the natives who possessed no such power, would not have answered the intention. For, in a country like this, where no man’s property is secure, they would soon have fallen a prey to different parties, and been either separated or killed; but most likely both. This was so evident, from what we had observed since our arrival, that I had resolved to leave no kind of animal, till Matahouah and the other chief solicited me for the hogs and goats. As I could spare them, I let them go, to take their chance. I have, at different times, left in New Zealand no less than ten or a dozen hogs, besides those put on shore by Captain Furneaux. It will be a little extraordinary, therefore, if this race should not increase and be preserved here, either in a wild or in a domestic state, or in both.
We had not been long at anchor near Motuara, before three or four canoes, filled with natives, came off to us from the south-east side of the Sound; and a brisk trade was carried on with them for the curiosities of this place. In one of these canoes was Kahoora, whom I have already mentioned as the leader of the party who cut off the crew of the Adventurer’s boat. This was the third time he had visited us, without betraying the smallest appearance of fear. I was ashore when he now arrived, but had got on board just as he was going away. Omai, who had returned with me, presently pointed him out, and solicited me to shoot him. Not satisfied with this, he addressed himself to Kahoora, threatening to be his executioner, if ever he presumed to visit us again.
The New Zealander paid so little regard to these threats, that he returned, the next morning, with his whole family, men, women, and children, to the number of twenty and upwards. Omai was the first who acquainted me with his being along-side the ship, and desired to know if he should ask him to come on board. I told him he might; and accordingly he introduced the chief into the cabin, saying, “There is Kahoora; kill him!” But, as if he had forgot his former threats, or were afraid that I should call upon him to perform them, he immediately retired. In a short time, however, he returned; and seeing the chief unhurt, he expostulated with me very earnestly, saying, “Why do you not kill him? You tell me, if a man kills another in England, that he is hanged for it. This man has killed ten, and yet you will not kill him; though many of his countrymen desire it, and it would be very good.” Omai’s arguments, though specious enough, having no weight with me, I desired him to ask the chief, why he had killed Captain Furneaux’s people? At this question, Kahoora folded his arms, hung down his head, and looked like one caught in a trap; and, I firmly believe, he expected instant death. But no sooner was he assured of his safety, than he became cheerful. He did not, however, seem willing to give me an answer to the question that had been put to him, till I had, again and again, repeated my promise that he should not be hurt. Then he ventured to tell us, that one of his countrymen having brought a stone-hatchet to barter, the man to whom it was offered took it, and would neither return it nor give any thing for it; on which the owner of it snatched up the bread as an equivalent; and then the quarrel began.
The remainder of Kahoora’s account of this unhappy affair differed very little from what we had before learned from the rest of his countrymen. He mentioned the narrow escape he had during the fray, a musket being levelled at him, which he avoided by skulking behind the boat; and another man, who stood close to him, was shot dead. As soon as the musket was discharged, he instantly seized the opportunity to attack Mr. Rowe, who commanded the party, and who defended himself with his hanger (with which he wounded Kahoora in the arm), till he was overpowered by numbers.
Mr. Burney, who was sent by Captain Furneaux the next day [163] with an armed party, to look for his missing people, upon discovering the horrid proofs of their shocking fate, had fired several vollies amongst the crowds of natives who still remained assembled on the spot, and were, probably, partaking of the detestable banquet. It was natural to suppose that he had not fired in vain; and that, therefore, some of the murderers and devourers of our unhappy countrymen had suffered under our just resentment. Upon enquiry, however, into this matter, not only from Kahoora, but from others who had opportunities of knowing, it appeared that our supposition was groundless, and that not one of the shot fired by Mr. Burney’s people had taken effect, so as to kill, or even to hurt, a single person.
It was evident, that most of the natives we had met with since our arrival, as they knew I was fully acquainted with the history of the massacre, expected I should avenge it with the death of Kahoora. And many of them seemed not only to wish it, but expressed their surprise at my forbearance. As he could not be ignorant of this, it was a matter of wonder to me, that he put himself so often in my power. When he visited us while the ships lay in the Cove, confiding in the number of his friends that accompanied him, he might think himself safe. But his two last visits had been made under such circumstances, that he could no longer rely upon this. We were then at anchor in the entrance of the Sound, and at some distance from any shore; so that he could not have any assistance from thence, nor flatter himself he could have the means of making his escape, had I determined to detain him. And yet, after his first fears, on being interrogated, were over, he was so far from entertaining any uneasy sensations, that, on seeing a portrait of one of his countrymen hanging up in the cabin, he desired to have his own portrait drawn; and sat till Mr. Webber had finished it, without marking the least impatience. I must confess, I admired his courage, and was not a little pleased to observe the extent of the confidence he put in me. For he placed his whole safety in the declarations I had uniformly made to those who solicited his death, that I had always been a friend to them all, and would continue so, unless they gave me cause to act otherwise; that as to their inhuman treatment of our people, I should think no more of it, the transaction having happened long ago, and when I was not present; but that, if ever they made a second attempt of that kind, they might rest assured of feeling the weight of my resentment.
For some time before we arrived at New Zealand, Omai had expressed a desire to take one of the natives with him to his own country. We had not been there many days, before he had an opportunity of being gratified in this; for a youth about seventeen or eighteen years of age, named Taweiharooa, offered to accompany him; and took up his residence on board. I paid little attention to this at first, imagining that he would leave us when we were about to depart, and after he had got what he could from Omai. At length, finding that he was fixed in his resolution to go with us, and having learnt that he was the only son of a deceased chief, and that his mother, still living, was a woman much respected here, I was apprehensive that Omai had deceived him and his friends, by giving them hopes and assurances of his being sent back. I therefore caused it to be made known to them all, that if the young man went away with us, he would never return. But this declaration seemed to make no sort of impression. The afternoon before we left the Cove, Tiratoutou, his mother, came on board, to receive her last present from Omai. The same evening, she and Taweiharooa parted, with all the marks of tender affection that might be expected between a parent and a child, who were never to meet again. But she said she would cry no more; and, sure enough, she kept her word. For when she returned the next morning, to take her last farewell of him, all the time she was on board she remained quite cheerful, and went away wholly unconcerned.
That Taweiharooa might be sent away in a manner becoming his birth, another youth was to have gone with him as his servant; and, with this view, as we supposed, he remained on board till we were about to sail, when his friends took him ashore. However, his place was supplied, next morning, by another, a boy of about nine or ten years of age, named Kokoa. He was presented to me by his own father, who, I believe, would have parted with his dog with far less indifference. The very little clothing the boy had, he stripped him of, and left him as naked as he was born. It was to no purpose that I endeavoured to convince these people of the improbability, or rather of the impossibility, of these youths ever returning home. Not one, not even their nearest relations, seemed to trouble themselves about their future fate. Since this was the case, and I was well satisfied that the boys would be no losers by exchange of place, I the more readily gave my consent to their going.
From my own observations, and from the information of Taweiharooa and others, it appears to me that the New Zealanders must live under perpetual apprehensions of being destroyed by each other; there being few of their tribes that have not, as they think, sustained wrongs from some other tribe, which they are continually upon the watch to revenge. And, perhaps, the desire of a good meal may be no small incitement. I am told that many years will sometimes elapse before a favourable opportunity happens, and that the son never loses sight of an injury that has been done to his father. Their method of executing their horrible designs is by stealing upon the adverse party in the night; and if they find them unguarded, (which, however, I believe, is very seldom the case,) they kill every one indiscriminately, not even sparing the women and children. When the massacre is completed, they either feast and gorge themselves on the spot, or carry off as many of the dead bodies as they can, and devour them at home, with acts of brutality too shocking to be described. If they are discovered before they can execute their bloody purpose, they generally steal off again; and sometimes are pursued and attacked by the other party, in their turn. To give quarter, or to take prisoners, makes no part of their military law; so that the vanquished can only save their lives by flight. This perpetual state of war, and destructive method of conducting it, operates so strongly in producing habitual circumspection, that one hardly ever finds a New Zealander off his guard, either by night or by day. Indeed no other man can have such powerful motives to be vigilant, as the preservation both of body and of soul depends upon it. For, according to their system of belief, the soul of the man whose flesh is devoured by the enemy is doomed to a perpetual fire, while the soul of the man whose body has been rescued from those who killed him, as well as the souls of all who die a natural death, ascend to the habitations of the gods. I asked, whether they ate the flesh of such of their friends as had been killed in war, but whose bodies were saved from falling into the enemy’s hands? They seemed surprised at the question, which they answered in the negative, expressing some abhorrence at the very idea. Their common method of disposing of their dead is by depositing their bodies in the earth; but if they have more of their slaughtered enemies than they can eat, they throw them into the sea.
They have no such thing as morais, or other places of public worship; nor do they ever assemble together with this view. But they have priests, who alone address the gods in prayers for the prosperity of their temporal affairs; such as an enterprise against a hostile tribe, a fishing party, or the like.
Whatever the principles of their religion may be, of which we remain very ignorant, its instructions are very strongly inculcated into them from their very infancy. Of this I saw a remarkable instance, in the youth who was first destined to accompany Taweiharooa. He refrained from eating the greatest part of the day, on account of his hair being cut; though every method was tried to induce him to break his resolution, and he was tempted with the offer of such victuals as he was known to esteem the most. He said, if he ate any thing that day, the Eatooa would kill him. However, towards evening, the cravings of nature got the better of the precepts of his religion, and he ate, though but sparingly. I had often conjectured, before this, that they had some superstitious notions about their hair, having frequently observed quantities of it tied to the branches of trees near some of their habitations; but what these notions are, I never could learn.
Notwithstanding the divided and hostile state in which the New Zealanders live, travelling strangers, who come with no ill design, are well received and entertained during their stay; which, however, it is expected, will be no longer than is requisite to transact the business they come upon. Thus it is that a trade for poenammoo, or green talc, is carried on throughout the whole northern island. For they tell us, that there is none of this stone to be found, but at a place which bears its name, somewhere about the head of Queen Charlotte’s Sound, and not above one or two days’ journey, at most, from the station of our ships. I regretted much that I could not spare time sufficient for paying a visit to the place; as we were told a hundred fabulous stories about this stone, not one of which carried with it the least probability of truth, though some of their most sensible men would have us believe them. One of these stories is, that this stone is originally a fish, which they strike with a gig in the water, tie a rope to it, and drag it to the shore, to which they fasten it, and it afterward becomes stone. As they all agree, that it is fished out of a large lake, or collection of waters, the most probable conjecture is, that it is brought from the mountains, and deposited in the water, by the torrents. This lake is called by the natives Tavai Poenammoo; that is, the water of Green Talc; and it is only the adjoining part of the country, and not the whole southern island of New Zealand, that is known to them by the name which hath been given to it on my chart.
Polygamy is allowed amongst these people; and it is not uncommon for a man to have two or three wives. The women are marriagable at a very early age; and it should seem that one who is unmarried is but in a forlorn state. She can with difficulty get a subsistence; at least she is, in a great measure, without a protector, though in constant want of a powerful one.
The New Zealanders seem to be a people perfectly satisfied with the little knowledge they are masters of, without attempting, in the least, to improve it; nor are they remarkably curious, either in their observations or their enquiries. New objects do not strike them with such a degree of surprise as one would naturally expect; nor do they even fix their attention for a moment. Omai, indeed, who was a great favourite with them, would sometimes attract a circle about him; but they seemed to listen to his speeches like persons who neither understood, nor washed to understand, what they heard.
One day, on our enquiring of Taweiharooa how many ships, such as ours, had ever arrived in Queen Charlotte’s Sound, or in any part of its neighbourhood? he began with giving an account of one absolutely unknown to us. This, he said, had put into a port on the north-west coast of Teerawitte, but a very few years before I arrived in the Sound in the Endeavour, which the New Zealanders distinguish, by calling Tupia’s ship. At first, I thought he might have been mistaken as to the time and place; and that the ship in question might be either Monsieur Surville’s, who is said to have touched upon the north-east coast of Eaheinomauwe, the same year I was there in the Endeavour, or else Monsieur Marion du Fresne’s, who was in the Bay of Islands, on the same coast, a few years after; but he assured us that he was not mistaken, either as to the time or as to the place of this ship’s arrival; and that it was well known to every body about Queen Charlotte’s Sound and Teerawitte. He said, that the captain of her, during his stay here, cohabited with a woman of the country; and that she had a son by him still living, and about the age of Kokoa; who, though not born then, seemed to be equally well acquainted with the story. We were also informed by Taweiharooa, that this ship first introduced the venereal disease amongst the New Zealanders. I wish that subsequent visitors from Europe may not have their share of guilt, in leaving so dreadful a remembrance of them amongst this unhappy race. The disorder now is but too common here, though they do not seem to regard it, saying, that its effects are not near so pernicious at present as they were at its first appearance. The only method, as far as I ever heard, that they make use of as a remedy, is by giving the patient the use of a sort of hot bath, which they produce by the steam of certain green plants laid over hot stones.
I regretted much that we did not hear of this ship while we were in the Sound; as, by means of Omai, we might have had full and correct information about her from eye-witnesses. For Taweiharooa’s account was only from what he had been told, and therefore liable to many mistakes. I have not the least doubt, however, that his testimony may so far be depended upon, as to induce us to believe that a ship really had been at Teerawitte prior to my arrival in the Endeavour, as it corresponds with what I had formerly heard. For in the latter end of 1773, the second time I visited New Zealand, during my last voyage, when we were continually making enquiries about the Adventure, after our separation, some of the natives informed us of a ship’s having been in a port on the coast of Teerawitte. But, at that time, we thought we must have misunderstood them, and took no notice of the intelligence.
The arrival of this unknown ship has been marked by the New Zealanders with more cause of remembrance than the unhappy one just mentioned. Taweiharooa told us, their country was indebted to her people for the present of an animal, which they left behind them. But as he had not seen it himself, no sort of judgment could be formed, from his description, of what kind it was.
We had another piece of intelligence from him, more correctly given, though not confirmed by our own observations, that there are snakes and lizards there of an enormous size. He described the latter as being eight feet in length, and as big round as a man’s body. He said, they sometimes seize and devour men; that they burrow in the ground; and that they are killed by making fires at the mouths of the holes. We could not be mistaken as to the animal; for with his own hand he drew a very good representation of a lizard on a piece of paper; as also of a snake, in order to show what he meant.
Though much has been said, in the narratives of my two former voyages, about this country and its inhabitants, Mr. Anderson’s remarks, as serving either to confirm or to correct our former accounts, may not be superfluous. He had been three times with me in Queen Charlotte’s Sound, during my last voyage; and, after this fourth visit, what he thought proper to record, may be considered as the result of sufficient observation. The reader will find it in the next chapter; and I have nothing farther to add, before I quit New Zealand, but to give some account of the astronomical and nautical observations made during our stay there.
The longitude of the Observatory in Ship Cove, by a mean of 103 sets of observations, each set consisting of six or more observed distances, was
174°
25ʹ
15ʺ
east.
By the time-keeper, at Greenwich rate, it was
175
26
30
By ditto, at the Cape rate, it was
174
56
12
Variation of the compass, being the mean of six needles, observed on board the ship
12
40
0
east.
By the same needles on shore, it was
13
53
0
The dip of the south end, observed on shore, was
63
42
0
By a mean of the results of eleven days observations, the time-keeper was too slow for mean time, on February 22. at noon, by 11h 50ʹ 37ʺ, 396; and she was found to be losing, on mean time, at the rate of 2ʺ, 913 per day. From this rate the longitude will be computed, till some other opportunity offers to ascertain her rate anew. The astronomical clock, with the same length of pendulum as at Greenwich, was found to be losing on sidereal time 40ʺ, 239 per day.
It will not be amiss to mention, that the longitude, by lunar observations, as above, differs only 6ʹ 45ʺ from what Mr. Wales made it during my last voyage; his being so much more to the W., or 174° 18ʹ 30ʺ.
The latitude of Ship Cove is 41° 6ʹ 0ʺ, as found by Mr. Wales.
