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Chapter XVIII
(PLATE 84. AVA OR KAVA (Macropiper methysticum), TAHITI.)
TAHITI AND NEW ZEALAND.
Pass through the Low Archipelago.
Tahiti.
Aspect.
Vegetation on the mountains.
View of Eimeo.
Excursion into the interior.
Profound ravines.
Succession of waterfalls.
Number of wild useful plants.
Temperance of the inhabitants.
Their moral state.
Parliament convened.
New Zealand.
Bay of islands.
Hippahs.
Excursion to Waimate.
Missionary establishment.
English weeds now run wild.
Waiomio.
Funeral of a New Zealand woman.
Sail for Australia.
OCTOBER 20, 1835.
The survey of the Galapagos Archipelago being concluded, we steered
towards Tahiti and commenced our long passage of 3200 miles. In the
course of a few days we sailed out of the gloomy and clouded
ocean-district which extends during the winter far from the coast
of South America. We then enjoyed bright and clear weather, while
running pleasantly along at the rate of 150 or 160 miles a day
before the steady trade-wind. The temperature in this more central
part of the Pacific is higher than near the American shore. The
thermometer in the poop cabin, by night and day, ranged between 80
and 83 degrees, which feels very pleasant; but with one degree or
two higher, the heat becomes oppressive. We passed through the Low
or Dangerous Archipelago, and saw several of those most curious
rings of coral land, just rising above the water's edge, which have
been called Lagoon Islands. A long and brilliantly-white beach is
capped by a margin of green vegetation; and the strip, looking
either way, rapidly narrows away in the distance, and sinks beneath
the horizon. From the mast-head a wide expanse of smooth water can
be seen within the ring. These low hollow coral islands bear no
proportion to the vast ocean out of which they abruptly rise; and
it seems wonderful that such weak invaders are not overwhelmed by
the all-powerful and never-tiring waves of that great sea,
miscalled the Pacific.
NOVEMBER 15, 1835.
At daylight, Tahiti, an island which must for ever remain classical
to the voyager in the South Sea, was in view. At a distance the
appearance was not attractive. The luxuriant vegetation of the
lower part could not yet be seen, and as the clouds rolled past,
the wildest and most precipitous peaks showed themselves towards
the centre of the island. As soon as we anchored in Matavai Bay, we
were surrounded by canoes. This was our Sunday, but the Monday of
Tahiti: if the case had been reversed, we should not have received
a single visit; for the injunction not to launch a canoe on the
Sabbath is rigidly obeyed. After dinner we landed to enjoy all the
delights produced by the first impressions of a new country, and
that country the charming Tahiti. A crowd of men, women, and
children, was collected on the memorable Point Venus, ready to
receive us with laughing, merry faces. They marshalled us towards
the house of Mr. Wilson, the missionary of the district, who met us
on the road, and gave us a very friendly reception. After sitting a
short time in his house, we separated to walk about, but returned
there in the evening.
The land capable of cultivation is scarcely in any part more than a
fringe of low alluvial soil, accumulated round the base of the
mountains, and protected from the waves of the sea by a coral reef,
which encircles the entire line of coast. Within the reef there is
an expanse of smooth water, like that of a lake, where the canoes
of the natives can ply with safety and where ships anchor. The low
land which comes down to the beach of coral-sand is covered by the
most beautiful productions of the intertropical regions. In the
midst of bananas, orange, cocoa-nut, and bread-fruit trees, spots
are cleared where yams, sweet potatoes, the sugar-cane, and
pine-apples are cultivated. Even the brushwood is an imported
fruit-tree, namely, the guava, which from its abundance has become
as noxious as a weed. In Brazil I have often admired the varied
beauty of the bananas, palms, and orange-trees contrasted together;
and here we also have the bread-fruit, conspicuous from its large,
glossy, and deeply digitated leaf. It is admirable to behold groves
of a tree, sending forth its branches with the vigour of an English
oak, loaded with large and most nutritious fruit. However seldom
the usefulness of an object can account for the pleasure of
beholding it, in the case of these beautiful woods, the knowledge
of their high productiveness no doubt enters largely into the
feeling of admiration. The little winding paths, cool from the
surrounding shade, led to the scattered houses; the owners of which
everywhere gave us a cheerful and most hospitable reception.
I was pleased with nothing so much as with the inhabitants. There
is a mildness in the expression of their countenances which at once
banishes the idea of a savage; and an intelligence which shows that
they are advancing in civilisation. The common people, when
working, keep the upper part of their bodies quite naked; and it is
then that the Tahitians are seen to advantage. They are very tall,
broad-shouldered, athletic, and well-proportioned. It has been
remarked that it requires little habit to make a dark skin more
pleasing and natural to the eye of a European than his own colour.
A white man bathing by the side of a Tahitian was like a plant
bleached by the gardener's art compared with a fine dark green one
growing vigorously in the open fields. Most of the men are
tattooed, and the ornaments follow the curvature of the body so
gracefully that they have a very elegant effect. One common
pattern, varying in its details, is somewhat like the crown of a
palm-tree. It springs from the central line of the back, and
gracefully curls round both sides. The simile may be a fanciful
one, but I thought the body of a man thus ornamented was like the
trunk of a noble tree embraced by a delicate creeper.
Many of the elder people had their feet covered with small figures,
so placed as to resemble a sock. This fashion, however, is partly
gone by, and has been succeeded by others. Here, although fashion
is far from immutable, every one must abide by that prevailing in
his youth. An old man has thus his age for ever stamped on his
body, and he cannot assume the airs of a young dandy. The women are
tattooed in the same manner as the men, and very commonly on their
fingers. One unbecoming fashion is now almost universal: namely,
shaving the hair from the upper part of the head, in a circular
form, so as to leave only an outer ring. The missionaries have
tried to persuade the people to change this habit; but it is the
fashion, and that is a sufficient answer at Tahiti, as well as at
Paris. I was much disappointed in the personal appearance of the
women: they are far inferior in every respect to the men. The
custom of wearing a white or scarlet flower in the back of the
head, or through a small hole in each ear, is pretty. A crown of
woven cocoa-nut leaves is also worn as a shade for the eyes. The
women appear to be in greater want of some becoming costume even
than the men.
Nearly all the natives understand a little English--that is, they
know the names of common things; and by the aid of this, together
with signs, a lame sort of conversation could be carried on. In
returning in the evening to the boat, we stopped to witness a very
pretty scene. Numbers of children were playing on the beach, and
had lighted bonfires which illumined the placid sea and surrounding
trees; others, in circles, were singing Tahitian verses. We seated
ourselves on the sand, and joined their party. The songs were
impromptu, and I believe related to our arrival: one little girl
sang a line, which the rest took up in parts, forming a very pretty
chorus. The whole scene made us unequivocally aware that we were
seated on the shores of an island in the far-famed South Sea.
NOVEMBER 17, 1835.
This day is reckoned in the log-book as Tuesday the 17th, instead
of Monday the 16th, owing to our, so far, successful chase of the
sun. Before breakfast the ship was hemmed in by a flotilla of
canoes; and when the natives were allowed to come on board, I
suppose there could not have been less than two hundred. It was the
opinion of every one that it would have been difficult to have
picked out an equal number from any other nation, who would have
given so little trouble. Everybody brought something for sale:
shells were the main article of trade. The Tahitians now fully
understand the value of money, and prefer it to old clothes or
other articles. The various coins, however, of English and Spanish
denomination puzzle them, and they never seemed to think the small
silver quite secure until changed into dollars. Some of the chiefs
have accumulated considerable sums of money. One chief, not long
since, offered 800 dollars (about 160 pounds sterling) for a small
vessel; and frequently they purchase whale-boats and horses at the
rate of from 50 to 100 dollars.
After breakfast I went on shore, and ascended the nearest slope to
a height of between two and three thousand feet. The outer
mountains are smooth and conical, but steep; and the old volcanic
rocks, of which they are formed, have been cut through by many
profound ravines, diverging from the central broken parts of the
island to the coast. Having crossed the narrow low girt of
inhabited and fertile land, I followed a smooth steep ridge between
two of the deep ravines. The vegetation was singular, consisting
almost exclusively of small dwarf ferns, mingled, higher up, with
coarse grass; it was not very dissimilar from that on some of the
Welsh hills, and this so close above the orchard of tropical plants
on the coast was very surprising. At the highest point which I
reached trees again appeared. Of the three zones of comparative
luxuriance, the lower one owes its moisture, and therefore
fertility, to its flatness; for, being scarcely raised above the
level of the sea, the water from the higher land drains away
slowly. The intermediate zone does not, like the upper one, reach
into a damp and cloudy atmosphere, and therefore remains sterile.
The woods in the upper zone are very pretty, tree-ferns replacing
the cocoa-nuts on the coast. It must not, however, be supposed that
these woods at all equal in splendour the forests of Brazil. The
vast number of productions, which characterise a continent, cannot
be expected to occur in an island.
(PLATE 85. EIMEO AND BARRIER-REEF.)
From the highest point which I attained there was a good view of
the distant island of Eimeo, dependent on the same sovereign with
Tahiti. On the lofty and broken pinnacles white massive clouds were
piled up, which formed an island in the blue sky, as Eimeo itself
did in the blue ocean. The island, with the exception of one small
gateway, is completely encircled by a reef. At this distance, a
narrow but well-defined brilliantly white line was alone visible,
where the waves first encountered the wall of coral. The mountains
rose abruptly out of the glassy expanse of the lagoon, included
within this narrow white line, outside which the heaving waters of
the ocean were dark-coloured. The view was striking: it may aptly
be compared to a framed engraving, where the frame represents the
breakers, the marginal paper the smooth lagoon, and the drawing the
island itself. When in the evening I descended from the mountain, a
man, whom I had pleased with a trifling gift, met me, bringing with
him hot roasted bananas, a pine-apple, and cocoa-nuts. After
walking under a burning sun, I do not know anything more delicious
than the milk of a young cocoa-nut. Pine-apples are here so
abundant that the people eat them in the same wasteful manner as we
might turnips. They are of an excellent flavour--perhaps even
better than those cultivated in England; and this I believe is the
highest compliment which can be paid to any fruit. Before going on
board, Mr. Wilson interpreted for me to the Tahitian who had paid
me so adroit an attention, that I wanted him and another man to
accompany me on a short excursion into the mountains.
NOVEMBER 18, 1835.
In the morning I came on shore early, bringing with me some
provisions in a bag, and two blankets for myself and servant. These
were lashed to each end of a long pole, which was alternately
carried by my Tahitian companions on their shoulders. These men are
accustomed thus to carry, for a whole day, as much as fifty pounds
at each end of their poles. I told my guides to provide themselves
with food and clothing; but they said that there was plenty of food
in the mountains, and for clothing, that their skins were
sufficient. Our line of march was the valley of Tia-auru, down
which a river flows into the sea by Point Venus. This is one of the
principal streams in the island, and its source lies at the base of
the loftiest central pinnacles, which rise to a height of about
7000 feet. The whole island is so mountainous that the only way to
penetrate into the interior is to follow up the valleys. Our road,
at first, lay through woods which bordered each side of the river;
and the glimpses of the lofty central peaks, seen as through an
avenue, with here and there a waving cocoa-nut tree on one side,
were extremely picturesque. The valley soon began to narrow, and
the sides to grow lofty and more precipitous. After having walked
between three and four hours, we found the width of the ravine
scarcely exceeded that of the bed of the stream. On each hand the
walls were nearly vertical; yet from the soft nature of the
volcanic strata, trees and a rank vegetation sprung from every
projecting ledge. These precipices must have been some thousand
feet high; and the whole formed a mountain gorge far more
magnificent than anything which I had ever before beheld. Until the
mid-day sun stood vertically over the ravine, the air felt cool and
damp, but now it became very sultry. Shaded by a ledge of rock,
beneath a facade of columnar lava, we ate our dinner. My guides had
already procured a dish of small fish and fresh-water prawns. They
carried with them a small net stretched on a hoop; and where the
water was deep and in eddies, they dived, and like otters, with
their eyes open followed the fish into holes and corners, and thus
caught them.
The Tahitians have the dexterity of amphibious animals in the
water. An anecdote mentioned by Ellis shows how much they feel at
home in this element. When a horse was landing for Pomarre in 1817,
the slings broke, and it fell into the water; immediately the
natives jumped overboard, and by their cries and vain efforts at
assistance almost drowned it. As soon, however, as it reached the
shore, the whole population took to flight, and tried to hide
themselves from the man-carrying pig, as they christened the horse.
A little higher up, the river divided itself into three little
streams. The two northern ones were impracticable, owing to a
succession of waterfalls which descended from the jagged summit of
the highest mountain; the other to all appearance was equally
inaccessible, but we managed to ascend it by a most extraordinary
road. The sides of the valley were here nearly precipitous; but, as
frequently happens with stratified rocks, small ledges projected,
which were thickly covered by wild bananas, liliaceous plants, and
other luxuriant productions of the tropics. The Tahitians, by
climbing amongst these ledges, searching for fruit, had discovered
a track by which the whole precipice could be scaled. The first
ascent from the valley was very dangerous; for it was necessary to
pass a steeply inclined face of naked rock by the aid of ropes
which we brought with us. How any person discovered that this
formidable spot was the only point where the side of the mountain
was practicable, I cannot imagine. We then cautiously walked along
one of the ledges till we came to one of the three streams. This
ledge formed a flat spot above which a beautiful cascade, some
hundred feet in height, poured down its waters, and beneath,
another high cascade fell into the main stream in the valley below.
From this cool and shady recess we made a circuit to avoid the
overhanging waterfall. As before, we followed little projecting
ledges, the danger being partly concealed by the thickness of the
vegetation. In passing from one of the ledges to another there was
a vertical wall of rock. One of the Tahitians, a fine active man,
placed the trunk of a tree against this, climbed up it, and then by
the aid of crevices reached the summit. He fixed the ropes to a
projecting point, and lowered them for our dog and luggage, and
then we clambered up ourselves. Beneath the ledge on which the dead
tree was placed, the precipice must have been five or six hundred
feet deep; and if the abyss had not been partly concealed by the
overhanging ferns and lilies my head would have turned giddy, and
nothing should have induced me to have attempted it. We continued
to ascend, sometimes along ledges, and sometimes along knife-edged
ridges, having on each hand profound ravines. In the Cordillera I
have seen mountains on a far grander scale, but for abruptness
nothing at all comparable with this. In the evening we reached a
flat little spot on the banks of the same stream which we had
continued to follow, and which descends in a chain of waterfalls:
here we bivouacked for the night. On each side of the ravine there
were great beds of the mountain-banana, covered with ripe fruit.
Many of these plants were from twenty to twenty-five feet high, and
from three to four in circumference. By the aid of strips of bark
for rope, the stems of bamboos for rafters, and the large leaf of
the banana for a thatch, the Tahitians in a few minutes built us an
excellent house; and with withered leaves made a soft bed.
(PLATE 86. FATAHUA FALL, TAHITI.)
(PLATE 87. TAHITIAN.)
They then proceeded to make a fire, and cook our evening meal. A
light was procured by rubbing a blunt pointed stick in a groove
made in another, as if with intention of deepening it, until by the
friction the dust became ignited. A peculiarly white and very light
wood (the Hibiscus tiliaceus) is alone used for this purpose: it is
the same which serves for poles to carry any burden, and for the
floating out-riggers to their canoes. The fire was produced in a
few seconds: but to a person who does not understand the art, it
requires, as I found, the greatest exertion; but at last, to my
great pride, I succeeded in igniting the dust. The Gaucho in the
Pampas uses a different method: taking an elastic stick about
eighteen inches long, he presses one end on his breast, and the
other pointed end into a hole in a piece of wood, and then rapidly
turns the curved part like a carpenter's centre-bit. The Tahitians
having made a small fire of sticks, placed a score of stones of
about the size of cricket-balls, on the burning wood. In about ten
minutes the sticks were consumed, and the stones hot. They had
previously folded up in small parcels of leaves, pieces of beef,
fish, ripe and unripe bananas, and the tops of the wild arum. These
green parcels were laid in a layer between two layers of the hot
stones, and the whole then covered up with earth, so that no smoke
or steam could escape. In about a quarter of an hour the whole was
most deliciously cooked. The choice green parcels were now laid on
a cloth of banana leaves, and with a cocoa-nut shell we drank the
cool water of the running stream; and thus we enjoyed our rustic
meal.
I could not look on the surrounding plants without admiration. On
every side were forests of bananas; the fruit of which, though
serving for food in various ways, lay in heaps decaying on the
ground. In front of us there was an extensive brake of wild
sugar-cane; and the stream was shaded by the dark green knotted
stem of the Ava,--so famous in former days for its powerful
intoxicating effects. I chewed a piece, and found that it had an
acrid and unpleasant taste, which would have induced any one at
once to have pronounced it poisonous. Thanks to the missionaries,
this plant now thrives only in these deep ravines, innocuous to
every one. Close by I saw the wild arum, the roots of which, when
well baked, are good to eat, and the young leaves better than
spinach. There was the wild yam, and a liliaceous plant called Ti,
which grows in abundance, and has a soft brown root, in shape and
size like a huge log of wood: this served us for dessert, for it is
as sweet as treacle, and with a pleasant taste. There were,
moreover, several other wild fruits, and useful vegetables. The
little stream, besides its cool water, produced eels and crayfish.
I did indeed admire this scene, when I compared it with an
uncultivated one in the temperate zones. I felt the force of the
remark that man, at least savage man, with his reasoning powers
only partly developed, is the child of the tropics.
As the evening drew to a close, I strolled beneath the gloomy shade
of the bananas up the course of the stream. My walk was soon
brought to a close by coming to a waterfall between two and three
hundred feet high; and again above this there was another. I
mention all these waterfalls in this one brook to give a general
idea of the inclination of the land. In the little recess where the
water fell, it did not appear that a breath of wind had ever blown.
The thin edges of the great leaves of the banana, damp with spray,
were unbroken, instead of being, as is so generally the case, split
into a thousand shreds. From our position, almost suspended on the
mountain-side, there were glimpses into the depths of the
neighbouring valleys; and the lofty points of the central
mountains, towering up within sixty degrees of the zenith, hid half
the evening sky. Thus seated, it was a sublime spectacle to watch
the shades of night gradually obscuring the last and highest
pinnacles.
Before we laid ourselves down to sleep, the elder Tahitian fell on
his knees, and with closed eyes repeated a long prayer in his
native tongue. He prayed as a Christian should do, with fitting
reverence, and without the fear of ridicule or any ostentation of
piety. At our meals neither of the men would taste food, without
saying beforehand a short grace. Those travellers who think that a
Tahitian prays only when the eyes of the missionary are fixed on
him, should have slept with us that night on the mountain-side.
Before morning it rained very heavily; but the good thatch of
banana-leaves kept us dry.
NOVEMBER 19, 1835.
At daylight my friends, after their morning prayer, prepared an
excellent breakfast in the same manner as in the evening. They
themselves certainly partook of it largely; indeed I never saw any
men eat near so much. I suppose such enormously capacious stomachs
must be the effect of a large part of their diet consisting of
fruit and vegetables which contain, in a given bulk, a
comparatively small portion of nutriment. Unwittingly, I was the
means of my companions breaking, as I afterwards learned, one of
their own laws and resolutions: I took with me a flask of spirits,
which they could not refuse to partake of; but as often as they
drank a little, they put their fingers before their mouths, and
uttered the word "Missionary." About two years ago, although the
use of the ava was prevented, drunkenness from the introduction of
spirits became very prevalent. The missionaries prevailed on a few
good men who saw that their country was rapidly going to ruin, to
join with them in a Temperance Society. From good sense or shame,
all the chiefs and the queen were at last persuaded to join.
Immediately a law was passed that no spirits should be allowed to
be introduced into the island, and that he who sold and he who
bought the forbidden article should be punished by a fine. With
remarkable justice, a certain period was allowed for stock in hand
to be sold, before the law came into effect. But when it did, a
general search was made, in which even the houses of the
missionaries were not exempted, and all the ava (as the natives
call all ardent spirits) was poured on the ground. When one
reflects on the effect of intemperance on the aborigines of the two
Americas, I think it will be acknowledged that every well-wisher of
Tahiti owes no common debt of gratitude to the missionaries. As
long as the little island of St. Helena remained under the
government of the East India Company, spirits, owing to the great
injury they had produced, were not allowed to be imported; but wine
was supplied from the Cape of Good Hope. It is rather a striking,
and not very gratifying fact, that in the same year that spirits
were allowed to be sold in St. Helena, their use was banished from
Tahiti by the free will of the people.
After breakfast we proceeded on our journey. As my object was
merely to see a little of the interior scenery, we returned by
another track, which descended into the main valley lower down. For
some distance we wound, by a most intricate path, along the side of
the mountain which formed the valley. In the less precipitous parts
we passed through extensive groves of the wild banana. The
Tahitians, with their naked, tattooed bodies, their heads
ornamented with flowers, and seen in the dark shade of these
groves, would have formed a fine picture of man inhabiting some
primeval land. In our descent we followed the line of ridges; these
were exceedingly narrow, and for considerable lengths steep as a
ladder; but all clothed with vegetation. The extreme care necessary
in poising each step rendered the walk fatiguing. I did not cease
to wonder at these ravines and precipices: when viewing the country
from one of the knife-edged ridges, the point of support was so
small that the effect was nearly the same as it must be from a
balloon. In this descent we had occasion to use the ropes only
once, at the point where we entered the main valley. We slept under
the same ledge of rock where we had dined the day before: the night
was fine, but from the depth and narrowness of the gorge,
profoundly dark.
Before actually seeing this country, I found it difficult to
understand two facts mentioned by Ellis; namely, that after the
murderous battles of former times, the survivors on the conquered
side retired into the mountains, where a handful of men could
resist a multitude. Certainly half a dozen men, at the spot where
the Tahitian reared the old tree, could easily have repulsed
thousands. Secondly, that after the introduction of Christianity,
there were wild men who lived in the mountains, and whose retreats
were unknown to the more civilised inhabitants.
NOVEMBER 20, 1835.
In the morning we started early, and reached Matavai at noon. On
the road we met a large party of noble athletic men, going for wild
bananas. I found that the ship, on account of the difficulty in
watering, had moved to the harbour of Papawa, to which place I
immediately walked. This is a very pretty spot. The cove is
surrounded by reefs, and the water as smooth as in a lake. The
cultivated ground, with its beautiful productions, interspersed
with cottages, comes close down to the water's edge.
From the varying accounts which I had read before reaching these
islands, I was very anxious to form, from my own observation, a
judgment of their moral state,--although such judgment would
necessarily be very imperfect. First impressions at all times very
much depend on one's previously acquired ideas. My notions were
drawn from Ellis's "Polynesian Researches"--an admirable and most
interesting work, but naturally looking at everything under a
favourable point of view, from Beechey's "Voyage;" and from that of
Kotzebue, which is strongly adverse to the whole missionary system.
He who compares these three accounts will, I think, form a
tolerably accurate conception of the present state of Tahiti. One
of my impressions, which I took from the two last authorities, was
decidedly incorrect; namely, that the Tahitians had become a gloomy
race, and lived in fear of the missionaries. Of the latter feeling
I saw no trace, unless, indeed, fear and respect be confounded
under one name. Instead of discontent being a common feeling, it
would be difficult in Europe to pick out of a crowd half so many
merry and happy faces. The prohibition of the flute and dancing is
inveighed against as wrong and foolish;--the more than presbyterian
manner of keeping the Sabbath is looked at in a similar light. On
these points I will not pretend to offer any opinion, in opposition
to men who have resided as many years as I was days on the island.
On the whole, it appears to me that the morality and religion of
the inhabitants are highly creditable. There are many who attack,
even more acrimoniously than Kotzebue, both the missionaries, their
system, and the effects produced by it. Such reasoners never
compare the present state with that of the island only twenty years
ago; nor even with that of Europe at this day; but they compare it
with the high standard of Gospel perfection. They expect the
missionaries to effect that which the Apostles themselves failed to
do. Inasmuch as the condition of the people falls short of this
high standard, blame is attached to the missionary, instead of
credit for that which he has effected. They forget, or will not
remember, that human sacrifices, and the power of an idolatrous
priesthood--a system of profligacy unparalleled in any other part
of the world--infanticide a consequence of that system--bloody
wars, where the conquerors spared neither women nor children--that
all these have been abolished; and that dishonesty, intemperance,
and licentiousness have been greatly reduced by the introduction of
Christianity. In a voyager to forget these things is base
ingratitude; for should he chance to be at the point of shipwreck
on some unknown coast, he will most devoutly pray that the lesson
of the missionary may have extended thus far.
In point of morality, the virtue of the women, it has been often
said, is most open to exception. But before they are blamed too
severely, it will be well distinctly to call to mind the scenes
described by Captain Cook and Mr. Banks, in which the grandmothers
and mothers of the present race played a part. Those who are most
severe, should consider how much of the morality of the women in
Europe is owing to the system early impressed by mothers on their
daughters, and how much in each individual case to the precepts of
religion. But it is useless to argue against such reasoners;--I
believe that, disappointed in not finding the field of
licentiousness quite so open as formerly, they will not give credit
to a morality which they do not wish to practise, or to a religion
which they undervalue, if not despise.
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 1835.
The harbour of Papiete, where the queen resides, may be considered
as the capital of the island: it is also the seat of government,
and the chief resort of shipping. Captain Fitz Roy took a party
there this day to hear divine service, first in the Tahitian
language, and afterwards in our own. Mr. Pritchard, the leading
missionary in the island, performed the service. The chapel
consisted of a large airy framework of wood; and it was filled to
excess by tidy, clean people, of all ages and both sexes. I was
rather disappointed in the apparent degree of attention; but I
believe my expectations were raised too high. At all events the
appearance was quite equal to that in a country church in England.
The singing of the hymns was decidedly very pleasing, but the
language from the pulpit, although fluently delivered, did not
sound well: a constant repetition of words, like "tata ta, mata
mai," rendered it monotonous. After English service, a party
returned on foot to Matavai. It was a pleasant walk, sometimes
along the sea-beach and sometimes under the shade of the many
beautiful trees.
About two years ago, a small vessel under English colours was
plundered by some of the inhabitants of the Low Islands, which were
then under the dominion of the Queen of Tahiti. It was believed
that the perpetrators were instigated to this act by some
indiscreet laws issued by her majesty. The British government
demanded compensation; which was acceded to, and a sum of nearly
three thousand dollars was agreed to be paid on the first of last
September. The Commodore at Lima ordered Captain Fitz Roy to
inquire concerning this debt, and to demand satisfaction if it were
not paid. Captain Fitz Roy accordingly requested an interview with
the Queen Pomarre, since famous from the ill-treatment she has
received from the French; and a parliament was held to consider the
question, at which all the principal chiefs of the island and the
queen were assembled. I will not attempt to describe what took
place, after the interesting account given by Captain Fitz Roy. The
money, it appeared, had not been paid; perhaps the alleged reasons
were rather equivocal; but otherwise I cannot sufficiently express
our general surprise at the extreme good sense, the reasoning
powers, moderation, candour, and prompt resolution, which were
displayed on all sides. I believe we all left the meeting with a
very different opinion of the Tahitians from what we entertained
when we entered. The chiefs and people resolved to subscribe and
complete the sum which was wanting; Captain Fitz Roy urged that it
was hard that their private property should be sacrificed for the
crimes of distant islanders. They replied that they were grateful
for his consideration, but that Pomarre was their Queen, and that
they were determined to help her in this her difficulty. This
resolution and its prompt execution, for a book was opened early
the next morning, made a perfect conclusion to this very remarkable
scene of loyalty and good feeling.
After the main discussion was ended, several of the chiefs took the
opportunity of asking Captain Fitz Roy many intelligent questions
on international customs and laws, relating to the treatment of
ships and foreigners. On some points, as soon as the decision was
made, the law was issued verbally on the spot. This Tahitian
parliament lasted for several hours; and when it was over Captain
Fitz Roy invited Queen Pomarre to pay the "Beagle" a visit.
NOVEMBER 25, 1835.
In the evening four boats were sent for her majesty; the ship was
dressed with flags, and the yards manned on her coming on board.
She was accompanied by most of the chiefs. The behaviour of all was
very proper: they begged for nothing, and seemed much pleased with
Captain Fitz Roy's presents. The Queen is a large awkward woman,
without any beauty, grace or dignity. She has only one royal
attribute: a perfect immovability of expression under all
circumstances, and that rather a sullen one. The rockets were most
admired, and a deep "Oh!" could be heard from the shore, all round
the dark bay, after each explosion. The sailors' songs were also
much admired; and the queen said she thought that one of the most
boisterous ones certainly could not be a hymn! The royal party did
not return on shore till past midnight.
NOVEMBER 26, 1835.
In the evening, with a gentle land-breeze, a course was steered for
New Zealand; and as the sun set, we had a farewell view of the
mountains of Tahiti--the island to which every voyager has offered
up his tribute of admiration.
DECEMBER 19, 1835.
In the evening we saw in the distance New Zealand. We may now
consider that we have nearly crossed the Pacific. It is necessary
to sail over this great ocean to comprehend its immensity. Moving
quickly onwards for weeks together, we meet with nothing but the
same blue, profoundly deep, ocean. Even within the archipelagoes,
the islands are mere specks, and far distant one from the other.
Accustomed to look at maps drawn on a small scale, where dots,
shading, and names are crowded together, we do not rightly judge
how infinitely small the proportion of dry land is to the water of
this vast expanse. The meridian of the Antipodes has likewise been
passed; and now every league, it made us happy to think, was one
league nearer to England. These Antipodes call to one's mind old
recollections of childish doubt and wonder. Only the other day I
looked forward to this airy barrier as a definite point in our
voyage homewards; but now I find it, and all such resting-places
for the imagination, are like shadows, which a man moving onwards
cannot catch. A gale of wind lasting for some days has lately given
us full leisure to measure the future stages in our homeward
voyage, and to wish most earnestly for its termination.
DECEMBER 21, 1835.
Early in the morning we entered the Bay of Islands, and being
becalmed for some hours near the mouth, we did not reach the
anchorage till the middle of the day. The country is hilly, with a
smooth outline, and is deeply intersected by numerous arms of the
sea extending from the bay. The surface appears from a distance as
if clothed with coarse pasture, but this in truth is nothing but
fern. On the more distant hills, as well as in parts of the
valleys, there is a good deal of woodland. The general tint of the
landscape is not a bright green; and it resembles the country a
short distance to the south of Concepcion in Chile. In several
parts of the bay little villages of square tidy-looking houses are
scattered close down to the water's edge. Three whaling-ships were
lying at anchor, and a canoe every now and then crossed from shore
to shore; with these exceptions, an air of extreme quietness
reigned over the whole district. Only a single canoe came
alongside. This, and the aspect of the whole scene, afforded a
remarkable, and not very pleasing contrast, with our joyful and
boisterous welcome at Tahiti.
In the afternoon we went on shore to one of the larger groups of
houses, which yet hardly deserves the title of a village. Its name
is Pahia: it is the residence of the missionaries; and there are no
native residents except servants and labourers. In the vicinity of
the Bay of Islands the number of Englishmen, including their
families, amounts to between two and three hundred. All the
cottages, many of which are whitewashed and look very neat, are the
property of the English. The hovels of the natives are so
diminutive and paltry that they can scarcely be perceived from a
distance. At Pahia it was quite pleasing to behold the English
flowers in the gardens before the houses; there were roses of
several kinds, honeysuckle, jasmine, stocks, and whole hedges of
sweetbriar.
DECEMBER 22, 1835.
In the morning I went out walking; but I soon found that the
country was very impracticable. All the hills are thickly covered
with tall fern, together with a low bush which grows like a
cypress; and very little ground has been cleared or cultivated. I
then tried the sea-beach; but proceeding towards either hand, my
walk was soon stopped by salt-water creeks and deep brooks. The
communication between the inhabitants of the different parts of the
bay is (as in Chiloe) almost entirely kept up by boats. I was
surprised to find that almost every hill which I ascended had been
at some former time more or less fortified. The summits were cut
into steps or successive terraces, and frequently they had been
protected by deep trenches. I afterwards observed that the
principal hills inland in like manner showed an artificial outline.
These are the Pas, so frequently mentioned by Captain Cook under
the name of "hippah;" the difference of sound being owing to the
prefixed article.
That the Pas had formerly been much used was evident from the piles
of shells, and the pits in which, as I was informed, sweet potatoes
used to be kept as a reserve. As there was no water on these hills,
the defenders could never have anticipated a long siege, but only a
hurried attack for plunder, against which the successive terraces
would have afforded good protection. The general introduction of
firearms has changed the whole system of warfare; and an exposed
situation on the top of a hill is now worse than useless. The Pas
in consequence are, at the present day, always built on a level
piece of ground. They consist of a double stockade of thick and
tall posts, placed in a zigzag line, so that every part can be
flanked. Within the stockade a mound of earth is thrown up, behind
which the defenders can rest in safety, or use their firearms over
it. On the level of the ground little archways sometimes pass
through this breastwork, by which means the defenders can crawl out
to the stockade and reconnoitre their enemies. The Reverend W.
Williams, who gave me this account, added that in one Pas he had
noticed spurs or buttresses projecting on the inner and protected
side of the mound of earth. On asking the chief the use of them, he
replied, that if two or three of his men were shot their neighbours
would not see the bodies, and so be discouraged.
These Pas are considered by the New Zealanders as very perfect
means of defence: for the attacking force is never so well
disciplined as to rush in a body to the stockade, cut it down, and
effect their entry. When a tribe goes to war, the chief cannot
order one party to go here and another there; but every man fights
in the manner which best pleases himself; and to each separate
individual to approach a stockade defended by firearms must appear
certain death. I should think a more warlike race of inhabitants
could not be found in any part of the world than the New
Zealanders. Their conduct on first seeing a ship, as described by
Captain Cook, strongly illustrates this: the act of throwing
volleys of stones at so great and novel an object, and their
defiance of "Come on shore and we will kill and eat you all," shows
uncommon boldness. This warlike spirit is evident in many of their
customs, and even in their smallest actions. If a New Zealander is
struck, although but in joke, the blow must be returned; and of
this I saw an instance with one of our officers.
At the present day, from the progress of civilisation, there is
much less warfare, except among some of the southern tribes. I
heard a characteristic anecdote of what took place some time ago in
the south. A missionary found a chief and his tribe in preparation
for war;--their muskets clean and bright, and their ammunition
ready. He reasoned long on the inutility of the war, and the little
provocation which had been given for it. The chief was much shaken
in his resolution, and seemed in doubt: but at length it occurred
to him that a barrel of his gunpowder was in a bad state, and that
it would not keep much longer. This was brought forward as an
unanswerable argument for the necessity of immediately declaring
war: the idea of allowing so much good gunpowder to spoil was not
to be thought of; and this settled the point. I was told by the
missionaries that in the life of Shongi, the chief who visited
England, the love of war was the one and lasting spring of every
action. The tribe in which he was a principal chief had at one time
been much oppressed by another tribe from the Thames River. A
solemn oath was taken by the men that when their boys should grow
up, and they should be powerful enough, they would never forget or
forgive these injuries. To fulfil this oath appears to have been
Shongi's chief motive for going to England; and when there it was
his sole object. Presents were valued only as they could be
converted into arms; of the arts, those alone interested him which
were connected with the manufacture of arms. When at Sydney,
Shongi, by a strange coincidence, met the hostile chief of the
Thames River at the house of Mr. Marsden: their conduct was civil
to each other; but Shongi told him that when again in New Zealand
he would never cease to carry war into his country. The challenge
was accepted; and Shongi on his return fulfilled the threat to the
utmost letter. The tribe on the Thames River was utterly
overthrown, and the chief to whom the challenge had been given was
himself killed. Shongi, although harbouring such deep feelings of
hatred and revenge, is described as having been a good-natured
person.
In the evening I went with Captain Fitz Roy and Mr. Baker, one of
the missionaries, to pay a visit to Kororadika: we wandered about
the village, and saw and conversed with many of the people, both
men, women, and children. Looking at the New Zealander, one
naturally compares him with the Tahitian; both belonging to the
same family of mankind. The comparison, however, tells heavily
against the New Zealander. He may, perhaps be superior in energy,
but in every other respect his character is of a much lower order.
One glance at their respective expressions brings conviction to the
mind that one is a savage, the other a civilised man. It would be
vain to seek in the whole of New Zealand a person with the face and
mien of the old Tahitian chief Utamme. No doubt the extraordinary
manner in which tattooing is here practised gives a disagreeable
expression to their countenances. The complicated but symmetrical
figures covering the whole face puzzle and mislead an unaccustomed
eye: it is moreover probable that the deep incisions, by destroying
the play of the superficial muscles, give an air of rigid
inflexibility. But, besides this, there is a twinkling in the eye
which cannot indicate anything but cunning and ferocity. Their
figures are tall and bulky; but not comparable in elegance with
those of the working-classes in Tahiti.
Both their persons and houses are filthily dirty and offensive: the
idea of washing either their bodies or their clothes never seems to
enter their heads. I saw a chief, who was wearing a shirt black and
matted with filth, and when asked how it came to be so dirty, he
replied, with surprise, "Do not you see it is an old one?" Some of
the men have shirts; but the common dress is one or two large
blankets, generally black with dirt, which are thrown over their
shoulders in a very inconvenient and awkward fashion. A few of the
principal chiefs have decent suits of English clothes; but these
are only worn on great occasions.
DECEMBER 23, 1835.
At a place called Waimate, about fifteen miles from the Bay of
Islands, and midway between the eastern and western coasts, the
missionaries have purchased some land for agricultural purposes. I
had been introduced to the Reverend W. Williams, who, upon my
expressing a wish, invited me to pay him a visit there. Mr. Bushby,
the British resident, offered to take me in his boat by a creek,
where I should see a pretty waterfall, and by which means my walk
would be shortened. He likewise procured for me a guide. Upon
asking a neighbouring chief to recommend a man, the chief himself
offered to go; but his ignorance of the value of money was so
complete, that at first he asked how many pounds I would give him,
but afterwards was well contented with two dollars. When I showed
the chief a very small bundle which I wanted carried, it became
absolutely necessary for him to take a slave. These feelings of
pride are beginning to wear away; but formerly a leading man would
sooner have died than undergone the indignity of carrying the
smallest burden. My companion was a light active man, dressed in a
dirty blanket, and with his face completely tattooed. He had
formerly been a great warrior. He appeared to be on very cordial
terms with Mr. Bushby; but at various times they had quarrelled
violently. Mr. Bushby remarked that a little quiet irony would
frequently silence any one of these natives in their most
blustering moments. This chief has come and harangued Mr. Bushby in
a hectoring manner, saying, "A great chief, a great man, a friend
of mine, has come to pay me a visit--you must give him something
good to eat, some fine presents, etc." Mr. Bushby has allowed him
to finish his discourse, and then has quietly replied by some
answer such as, "What else shall your slave do for you?" The man
would then instantly, with a very comical expression, cease his
braggadocio.
Some time ago Mr. Bushby suffered a far more serious attack. A
chief and a party of men tried to break into his house in the
middle of the night, and not finding this so easy, commenced a
brisk firing with their muskets. Mr. Bushby was slightly wounded,
but the party was at length driven away. Shortly afterwards it was
discovered who was the aggressor; and a general meeting of the
chiefs was convened to consider the case. It was considered by the
New Zealanders as very atrocious, inasmuch as it was a night
attack, and that Mrs. Bushby was lying ill in the house: this
latter circumstance, much to their honour, being considered in all
cases as a protection. The chiefs agreed to confiscate the land of
the aggressor to the King of England. The whole proceeding,
however, in thus trying and punishing a chief was entirely without
precedent. The aggressor, moreover, lost caste in the estimation of
his equals; and this was considered by the British as of more
consequence than the confiscation of his land.
As the boat was shoving off, a second chief stepped into her, who
only wanted the amusement of the passage up and down the creek. I
never saw a more horrid and ferocious expression than this man had.
It immediately struck me I had somewhere seen his likeness: it will
be found in Retzch's outlines to Schiller's ballad of Fridolin,
where two men are pushing Robert into the burning iron furnace. It
is the man who has his arm on Robert's breast. Physiognomy here
spoke the truth; this chief had been a notorious murderer, and was
an arrant coward to boot. At the point where the boat landed, Mr.
Bushby accompanied me a few hundred yards on the road: I could not
help admiring the cool impudence of the hoary old villain, whom we
left lying in the boat, when he shouted to Mr. Bushby, "Do not you
stay long, I shall be tired of waiting here."
We now commenced our walk. The road lay along a well-beaten path,
bordered on each side by the tall fern which covers the whole
country. After travelling some miles we came to a little country
village, where a few hovels were collected together, and some
patches of ground cultivated with potatoes. The introduction of the
potato has been the most essential benefit to the island; it is now
much more used than any native vegetable. New Zealand is favoured
by one great natural advantage; namely, that the inhabitants can
never perish from famine. The whole country abounds with fern: and
the roots of this plant, if not very palatable, yet contain much
nutriment. A native can always subsist on these, and on the
shell-fish which are abundant on all parts of the sea-coast. The
villages are chiefly conspicuous by the platforms which are raised
on four posts ten or twelve feet above the ground, and on which the
produce of the fields is kept secure from all accidents.
On coming near one of the huts I was much amused by seeing in due
form the ceremony of rubbing, or, as it ought to be called,
pressing noses. The women, on our first approach, began uttering
something in a most dolorous voice; they then squatted themselves
down and held up their faces; my companion standing over them, one
after another, placed the bridge of his nose at right angles to
theirs, and commenced pressing. This lasted rather longer than a
cordial shake of the hand with us, and as we vary the force of the
grasp of the hand in shaking, so do they in pressing. During the
process they uttered comfortable little grunts, very much in the
same manner as two pigs do, when rubbing against each other. I
noticed that the slave would press noses with any one he met,
indifferently either before or after his master the chief. Although
among these savages the chief has absolute power of life and death
over his slave, yet there is an entire absence of ceremony between
them. Mr. Burchell has remarked the same thing in Southern Africa
with the rude Bachapins. Where civilisation has arrived at a
certain point, complex formalities soon arise between the different
grades of society: thus at Tahiti all were formerly obliged to
uncover themselves as low as the waist in presence of the king.
The ceremony of pressing noses having been duly completed with all
present, we seated ourselves in a circle in the front of one of
the-hovels, and rested there half an hour. All the hovels have
nearly the same form and dimensions, and all agree in being
filthily dirty. They resemble a cow-shed with one end open, but
having a partition a little way within, with a square hole in it,
making a small gloomy chamber. In this the inhabitants keep all
their property, and when the weather is cold they sleep there. They
eat, however, and pass their time in the open part in front. My
guides having finished their pipes, we continued our walk. The path
led through the same undulating country, the whole uniformly
clothed as before with fern. On our right hand we had a serpentine
river, the banks of which were fringed with trees, and here and
there on the hill-sides there was a clump of wood. The whole scene,
in spite of its green colour, had rather a desolate aspect. The
sight of so much fern impresses the mind with an idea of sterility:
this, however, is not correct; for wherever the fern grows thick
and breast-high, the land by tillage becomes productive. Some of
the residents think that all this extensive open country originally
was covered with forests, and that it has been cleared by fire. It
is said, that by digging in the barest spots, lumps of the kind of
resin which flows from the kauri pine are frequently found. The
natives had an evident motive in clearing the country; for the
fern, formerly a staple article of food, flourishes only in the
open cleared tracks. The almost entire absence of associated
grasses, which forms so remarkable a feature in the vegetation of
this island, may perhaps be accounted for by the land having been
aboriginally covered with forest-trees.
The soil is volcanic; in several parts we passed over slaggy lavas,
and craters could clearly be distinguished on several of the
neighbouring hills. Although the scenery is nowhere beautiful, and
only occasionally pretty, I enjoyed my walk. I should have enjoyed
it more, if my companion, the chief, had not possessed
extraordinary conversational powers. I knew only three words:
"good," "bad," and "yes:" and with these I answered all his
remarks, without of course having understood one word he said.
This, however, was quite sufficient: I was a good listener, an
agreeable person, and he never ceased talking to me.
At length we reached Waimate. After having passed over so many
miles of an uninhabited useless country, the sudden appearance of
an English farm-house, and its well-dressed fields, placed there as
if by an enchanter's wand, was exceedingly pleasant. Mr. Williams
not being at home, I received in Mr. Davies's house a cordial
welcome. After drinking tea with his family party, we took a stroll
about the farm. At Waimate there are three large houses, where the
missionary gentlemen, Messrs. Williams, Davies, and Clarke, reside;
and near them are the huts of the native labourers. On an adjoining
slope fine crops of barley and wheat were standing in full ear; and
in another part fields of potatoes and clover. But I cannot attempt
to describe all I saw; there were large gardens, with every fruit
and vegetable which England produces; and many belonging to a
warmer clime. I may instance asparagus, kidney beans, cucumbers,
rhubarb, apples, pears, figs, peaches, apricots, grapes, olives,
gooseberries, currants, hops, gorse for fences, and English oaks;
also many kinds of flowers. Around the farmyard there were stables,
a thrashing-barn with its winnowing machine, a blacksmith's forge,
and on the ground ploughshares and other tools: in the middle was
that happy mixture of pigs and poultry, lying comfortably together,
as in every English farmyard. At the distance of a few hundred
yards, where the water of a little rill had been dammed up into a
pool, there was a large and substantial water-mill.
All this is very surprising when it is considered that five years
ago nothing but the fern flourished here. Moreover, native
workmanship, taught by the missionaries, has effected this
change;--the lesson of the missionary is the enchanter's wand. The
house had been built, the windows framed, the fields ploughed, and
even the trees grafted, by the New Zealander. At the mill a New
Zealander was seen powdered white with flower, like his brother
miller in England. When I looked at this whole scene I thought it
admirable. It was not merely that England was brought vividly
before my mind; yet, as the evening drew to a close, the domestic
sounds, the fields of corn, the distant undulating country with its
trees, might well have been mistaken for our fatherland: nor was it
the triumphant feeling at seeing what Englishmen could effect, but
rather the high hopes thus inspired for the future progress of this
fine island.
Several young men, redeemed by the missionaries from slavery, were
employed on the farm. They were dressed in a shirt, jacket, and
trousers, and had a respectable appearance. Judging from one
trifling anecdote, I should think they must be honest. When walking
in the fields, a young labourer came up to Mr. Davies and gave him
a knife and gimlet, saying that he had found them on the road, and
did not know to whom they belonged! These young men and boys
appeared very merry and good-humoured. In the evening I saw a party
of them at cricket: when I thought of the austerity of which the
missionaries have been accused, I was amused by observing one of
their own sons taking an active part in the game. A more decided
and pleasing change was manifested in the young women, who acted as
servants within the houses. Their clean, tidy, and healthy
appearance, like that of the dairy-maids in England, formed a
wonderful contrast with the women of the filthy hovels in
Kororadika. The wives of the missionaries tried to persuade them
not to be tattooed; but a famous operator having arrived from the
south, they said, "We really must just have a few lines on our
lips; else when we grow old, our lips will shrivel, and we shall be
so very ugly." There is not nearly so much tattooing as formerly;
but as it is a badge of distinction between the chief and the
slave, it will probably long be practised. So soon does any train
of ideas become habitual, that the missionaries told me that even
in their eyes a plain face looked mean, and not like that of a New
Zealand gentleman.
Late in the evening I went to Mr. Williams's house, where I passed
the night. I found there a large party of children, collected
together for Christmas Day, and all sitting round a table at tea. I
never saw a nicer or more merry group; and to think that this was
in the centre of the land of cannibalism, murder, and all atrocious
crimes! The cordiality and happiness so plainly pictured in the
faces of the little circle appeared equally felt by the older
persons of the mission.
DECEMBER 24, 1835.
In the morning prayers were read in the native tongue to the whole
family. After breakfast I rambled about the gardens and farm. This
was a market-day, when the natives of the surrounding hamlets bring
their potatoes, Indian corn, or pigs, to exchange for blankets,
tobacco, and sometimes, through the persuasions of the
missionaries, for soap. Mr. Davies's eldest son, who manages a farm
of his own, is the man of business in the market. The children of
the missionaries, who came while young to the island, understand
the language better than their parents, and can get anything more
readily done by the natives.
A little before noon Messrs. Williams and Davies walked with me to
part of a neighbouring forest, to show me the famous kauri pine. I
measured one of these noble trees, and found it thirty-one feet in
circumference above the roots. There was another close by, which I
did not see, thirty-three feet; and I heard of one no less than
forty feet. These trees are remarkable for their smooth cylindrical
boles, which run up to a height of sixty, and even ninety feet,
with a nearly equal diameter, and without a single branch. The
crown of branches at the summit is out of all proportion small to
the trunk; and the leaves are likewise small compared with the
branches. The forest was here almost composed of the kauri; and the
largest trees, from the parallelism of their sides, stood up like
gigantic columns of wood. The timber of the kauri is the most
valuable production of the island; moreover, a quantity of resin
oozes from the bark, which is sold at a penny a pound to the
Americans, but its use was then unknown. Some of the New Zealand
forests must be impenetrable to an extraordinary degree. Mr.
Matthews informed me that one forest only thirty-four miles in
width, and separating two inhabited districts, had only lately, for
the first time, been crossed. He and another missionary, each with
a party of about fifty men, undertook to open a road, but it cost
them more than a fortnight's labour! In the woods I saw very few
birds. With regard to animals, it is a most remarkable fact, that
so large an island, extending over more than 700 miles in latitude,
and in many parts ninety broad, with varied stations, a fine
climate, and land of all heights, from
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