WILD MAORIS ON THE WEST COAST.

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1464, 14 April 1873, Page 2

WILD MAORIS ON THE WEST COAST.

The Riverton correspondent of the Southland News' gives '"si full 1 account of the eight months' cruising of the sealing, * boats, whose arrival at JEtiv.erton, and jre-, pprted; discovery. of, jjbhe., traces .of . .wlldi Maoris., on : the. West -.Coast, ..has already; been, noticed in. ourtelegraphintelligence^ He says : — _ . ; ];*■ i :.Aft§r r ;a : brief rstay at ...the Maori se.ttle--1 "merit of Maiheta, the boats v^tarted for ' the southward, working every creek and | cave, but in vain. ■' Not a seal could be seen ; "they supposed the diggers wofling ' along ; the coast have driven them away — ' at all events, the' old haunts of the seals [ were deserted. Arriving -at^Jackson's ! Bay, they were detained ; many weeks by a continuance of terrible gales from N.E. to 1 iN.W, Eventually-they took 'the largest | boat (schoorter-rigged; 10 tons ■- burden) | into Jackson V.River^ and, leaving her ' at anchor, the dealers proceeded with the,, other (open) one ' to, work '■I the "rookeries"' at : Cascade Poihti: This is jthe, most dapgerpus point for lan^ingran d ' iWorking.thie.caves^and gulches of iany on £he coast— it is very seldom the weather '- is &uitable, and at the best of times a | heavy .swell runs iv. They- had repeatedly L ito run for Barn Bay and Refuge Cove and L " Try Again. Once they had to make for - Milford Sound, and, tucker being short, L theyAwent .up, the, right-hand branch of !•'' [the river : that' flows infco it, hauled the -. jbpatj up,..and ; w.ent up,,tp the.lak.e. at its W -head to catch eels,-. ;They soon, tpot about ' jhalfra tonjnand.'prepared tQ.-camp>fQriithe * jnighj. > i Wh«n >. engaged rin: these prepara- : > jtions, they saw a fire on the opposite side i > iof tthe-lake — about-a - mile across—and- ' Remarked that:it was extinguished as soon; 1 jas theirs was lighted. Towards morning. ! a heaVy storm? 'came 6n';:and,iasSiflddked [ Ilikely that the creeks -would soon be impassably flooded, an immediate start was \ : jmade, each man carrying- about^ 1001 b of : jeelsi >' Therain continued for three days^" . iWhen the weather 'cleared up a trip was' K. 'maiJe to the lnke to try and find out 'who' ! , ni'ade 'the fire ; they imagined it would" ■ turn, put ,to be some diggers; On' ii ! reaching ' s toe spPt 'the* remains" of/'. a ! small r fire and r tracks ,pf thre,e or" ; -fpur persons: were,- seen, on- the^s.a^ndy r the/la^e,..-,,'Er6 i .in' ( lihe appearance,: :i the.;party" came.. ; to/ t.lio conclusion that> they were those- jot the wild Maoris -that ' : were seen by some of +heir;number.-while» [ hunting for moulting ducks many seasons ; ago jat the.;head, of BlighsSoiind. .Afcthat : time,fthey> chased.; them;.for --someciiniies' " inland, andi followed. a: beaten; trMk^^lX.raax,njenjtmMßJilis^^^ 1 :that Captain Ho well, some 25 years ago, : while whaling, in >, thei -schoefie^ Amazon, " ran into Bligh Sound one dark night for lf shelter 'from ;a; heavygalejof winjd^ and . off Aweas Cove sawa fire on shore, wMclf ; he imagined 4 would be afc. at sealer's camp. $ In letting go the anchor 90 fathoms ;of ■ chain ran out before rbottonv was reached, icausinga sound like thunder; At dajr-, 1 jlight the crew went ashqreV.but instead '/ of ni;eeiring.%ith -old^cp'topajliionl .tKeyJ 1 found .only '.[ihfi ". jabbers, 6i J a T \j|rej;' r with! ! mats) .ii^e.^,,'.fishing r li'nes, .. ,bpne .hppks, , several "'stone' impiemeiits^ and Bomef clpthipg made. of. and feat'|iers,lying laroupd. thpae*Qiiiatfvfis,'and were follawed about two milesnp' a steepmountainfgorge, but nothnigi; : w.^i r seen of the owners of the abandoned property,j Captain Howell and hi^jc^ew camji tp;th,e conclusion: they, were: wild >Minris,i and that the noise made in letting go' .the snehor had suddenly awakened and - frightened fthem^ so thiat'thdy did not take 'time carry away anything. ' : One of ; the. ! party whose cruise I r am ; npw! ; i'elatin*g|' \ from' information fuifnishediby theniSelves, - was With ■CapVfiowfcll at'th^trr&el"]. After. ' remaining jten week's. a.t Milford Sound We' .party re- visit;ed /(Cascade, 'having by this : fcime-.wjorJk^d...^y.ery. -Sound,pn^&~Wmfc •Coast, from Dusky to^ Jaok«)n Say, with ithe exception 'of NancyV *' Here they only ; tried the iookeries at the h*ea9, ancTfiiuillv" , deterinineH "to' start for (t homei^VbWfnjj' : by the way, v »)s)n. reaching? "Piisky/Bay the provisions ran. put, and, it took all their 'time in the f fin'e i leather" ' (squalls and ■ storms prevailed) to catch "tucker." On Friday, 1 the 21st!," they left Dusky ' With a fitie northerly breeze, "and ran "as fa? ? 'as the Green Islands, and made Riverton as stat&abov'eV M •^'V"-'-"-'. • • I^;N r^ ii , During the time these Maoris "were I away I was well convinced they had gone

lorthifo^ provisions, and wa3 not at all urpriked at,jfir,Hector's not seeing them vhe& l lie!*^at-''round in the Luna. The act is the steamer only put into the most requented Sounds, while it is in the least mown that sealers hare to look for their ys^^cagf^arfßrnret' mat if-iinajteu' sired to add ,tcj our knowledge of tha. resources, Mineral f 'a&d pkatoralj T 'df » the West-Coaat, aßyfuture expedition should md explore the epmp&ratively untrodden country. It should be accompanied by nen who are conversant with every look and corner, and wi|h the inland akes and rivgrs. j^-ijpiis means the geologists and botanists would be brought nto contact with something new,- ipataadr >f -merely reviewing what Captain Ccf^fc^ md- his staff wrote exhaustively., abpflt P LOO yearsi- ago. Such; an expedition,-; jf know, some of the, .Maoris here would willingly join, if only for the' sake of Ddeetirig with their' "lpsttfibe.' rfv;Hdrotnona Patu would, some ftnW'agoy have3tartdd.with.six; other natives -pn^a -^p from the TeAnau Lake to Bligh Sound,, and southward through to the lake and open^ountfy at the head ; of Bi^ Biye^Tif the Government had ex^eh'dedsoinfe^assw« tance, and sent scientific men to record their discoveries.- '< -■'' •■•.•or^v.--? »>i!n:*s One' ofjthP sealera relates' that many* yeaia ag6'i' l iti r: Gharrps ! sound>' he waS'senti' ashore by Captai'n' ! H6weUv'w'Ko' r wattie'd r^ with' thei boat for.' his return, r^alk^ag albngjith'e beach-; barefooted j he . shortly » cake'" 1 dpori' w ffot^ 'jplace^o^ hbt' i Jtfia*f<he' had to jaln'p- r aboiii f! preity^siiJ"aTtly^to>? avoid being scalded: ""The captain was highly amusel 'witHth&^uriwdntetf-dx'tiibP tio.niO.fe^ctim[y v and: callejdj^u^jto know what the. native .had. found. The reply jwa^dihati-.MheiJhadiigQt-into.rhpt waijeK 1 ' [And sure enough he had,.fbr,thete: waa^a--, [boiling spring bubbling up a few yards ofi-ZA i?i l Ali<-st-ii''i •/;;•= :;t -'.-fv'^on i .-■■/ ■,.<:>.<•<. i {.**■; ■; - ■..v,\:yh'< THJE. PRESENT vMINI.STERUL, ! .POLICY. ;,:/ l ■ jjiVJir Gl who. way..re)i^n^"a' •candidate for election as membJ^ T ipr jDunedin, in the course of one of. his speeches, said :—^ Wiffi; regard to the ;Public Works and;Ttrimigti^ion Act, upon 'which our proßpjE^g^e^^ded, there wta^. !no .doubt that it was the first beginiiunc sol a nStiSnai^ebt: L He'himkelf %rf^6f ' fectly satisfied on that point, and he wa» free to acknowledge and recogpiaeTt. He did so with pleasure', 1 "although in saying - so he* waatopposed to manyyiwho; ithat the! old/style: bf^bdllock-drayArand iwaggpns; was enough* in these times there must be advance, especiallyin a young cPuntry, -otherwise; it wof4ctj{o |backwards. : ; Th"6 national debt had been really what wai| Imeantj'ljy tlie Joan. t PosMbly in'ten/.y^ark' Et iwould amount to .twenty millions ; po'r 'should he be ''sorry. The colonists had jedrnje to' a ! new v country 'atid ? found. i^ a Tnlderiiessr. • TKeife 'was ■Ad r «racjc 'thMtJ^ and: we 7 wpre' ; hpw " making' ; ' : railroads/ '. jTownships/ yiliages, ( jand r "ciue^ h^d built, and was it reasonable; that ajLtJjijai should lie upon the shoulders of the'presemi generation? For his partj he'thdu^nt as posterity Would ; bhjoy^th¥ fruit of our laborsj posterity should help us. To argue otherwise was absurd. A good big estate would be^ansmitted^posWn^'^J it was only reasonable [they should pay jsoniething ! lo Varilff - iid ' improvement. (Cheers.) Comparing* the present inIdebtedness of'the Golbny-withlwhatitwks ten years ago, he had no hesitationin siywf ing thatthe Pr,oy;ince.of jOtagp wj^ better able to pay the whole debt of New Zealand, thari Ji W#%ealand ) WWpay its jdebt ten years agp. And so it would be in kno'thfer ien'^ears. ' 'It was>n^ t^SeVot idered at that our Ddnald Reids, Master* (Humphreys^ Sir ' David Monroa 1 , M#/jStafjfords, and people like them ppu"ld not see jhow the coriiniunity was benefited by the {outlay., ; , when; some] pf ,the,gi;eates l t,inen jwere of tl^e. . same > opinion „^ n /past jages. We were but a nigmy by the side of the old co'uritry— Great — and what applied 'to it'applied to us. There would be, np , .question . thaX'wherr""the" national'debt of England was first. liegun, iDavjd.Hume and Adam Smith, men jY^I were phUos^p^ers. .|n, ; . theurj , ; *TCaj 4 ,-wrojp ! works and articles to prove that as soon las England contracted a debt amounting jto. L2OjPQO,QOOj ., she .cquld^.^ ne^er, r grise ( jagajn^; ,that .in f^t'.^.^pu^Wb^AMl^^ jbe conquered by another nation -traK' r "tlfr |L2p> 000,000, in tdebfc , iTheriate '.Wd ! Macaul ay alluded to that in! fine language, r IHe said : — .. „,.,. ,-. I "Suctf^tfieorigin offhat debt which i has"' since ? 'b ? §3bme the greatest prodigy • I tiia't*" r e'vei*™"yerpißxed"'"the* 1 " Ha^jacily, ' "aud iconfounded thevprid^;pf,j statesmen and [philosophers. 'At every stage in the [growth of .that, debt the. nation has set un ! the sa'me'cry of .aiigntsh ;and^despair. every stage in the growth of that debt, i! ihas, beerj^eriously' asserted- ;by . .wisp paep Ithat bankruptcy and luiu were at hand. Yet still jthe debt^w^ntjpn^gro^jngj and still bankruptcy and' ruin were as remote as >f eyjer. And, that:, debt, was ; epjDs|d^red not 'merely by the.ruiie:.mtiliitudef»;npt merely by fox-hunting squires and coffee? hou^e. orators, but by acute, and -profound thinkers as an, incutnb^ancej f which wo"0^ permanently' cripple the tody jpolitic.. ]Sfev : erthM6sfe; trade floansHed j'yfeSrth'fn-' creased ; the nation- Became richer and richer. . . . . ..'. ",".._ „ . . Men of theo^^^and men; of business^^almoßt unajiimpuely pronounced that the' '|»{al day * baa "n'o|w "' .nearly, arri^ecl; ' ; . David Hume, undoubtedly pnp of;^the most pro? foundeconomistj-ofihis time, declared that our^majdneashadr exceeded the m»dnesi*o| the Crusaders. . . .«•*>•. And yet- this great phildsophfer-^f or such •he wa^taKa^ only? to open hi8 f eyjßßto : "see improVeTflcfnf all around him— cities increasing;- fcultNaV tion extending, marts tpo pmm.f^or the crowd of buyers ana sellers, naTDors insufficient, to contain the shipping, artificial pivera . jjoining 'tjl^' pMe^.uilajid. , jwaj^lqf , industry to the chief seappxts,r,^tr^.§tS( ' better lighted, houses better furniahed, richer w^res exppßedi.tp)salft ,ip shops, ssuSiesi^. carriagea_ rollipg along smoother roads; . . . . It was in >, truth 'la gigantic,' ! a fabUlous deJbj^ and we can hardly wonder that thfe-Jry-of despair shoiUdh^yevbjeea louder than aver. But again that cry was found to ftveiZi :i I if. The beggared, the bankrupt society not only proved able- 1 tfc'irieet its obligations, but while meeting those obligations grew richer and richer* so fast, thatfthe growffi sould almost be discerned by the eye* ofi Bvety. county » wei M^'^watifces^W^iJUy turned Mjto u .garctena.- X In t s\eiy pity -#c saw neWjSfargets, an.4 squares and; j»taketß, more brilliant lamps, more abundant supplies of water. In the suburbs of

every great, seat of industry we saw villas multiplying fast, .each embosomed in its own gay little paradise of lilacs and roses. While shallow politicians were repeating that the energies of the people were borne down' by the- weight of the public burdens, the first journey was performed by steam dtfliifc«hvay. n> >■'. ■-'<■■ ■■-.•■ , ■"' iGdiild theyi's^e' no .growth in Otago? (Voice: "Yes."). Look back two years, and' if so much had been done in two Jrdap^ "what .would lie I ;th'e ; growth in ten years. ' Why,' hi another ten years Dunedin would have one hundred thousandinhabitants. This was what our statesmen like Sir David Monro, Mr Stafford, and others amongst, us who were generally crying the Colony down, should read and think over :— "It can hardly be doubted that there must have been some great fallacy in the notions of those who uttered and of those who believed that long succession of conBdent predictions, so signally falsified by j a lpng succession of indisputable facts. : . . . They were under an error not; less serious touching the resources of the i country. They made no allowance for the effect produced by the constant pro-; gress of every experimental science, and by the incessant efforts of every man to get on in life. They saw that the debt grew; and they forgot that the other j things grew as well as the debt. . . . ; 'X can perceive the burden as well as he ; ; but I cannot avoid contemplating alsoj the strength that supports it. From; thence I draw the most comfortable assu- ' ranees of the future vigor and the ample! /resources of this great, misrepresented; country."' , . j Thfe'iiebt of the Colony was growing, but i the ability to pay it was also growing. A : national. debt was fast being formed, but, he not think it would involve the; Colony in ruin. With regard to the present Executive, he might repeat what he stated on the hustings, that unless it was ; pointed out clearly to him that they were not fit for their position, he should support them, if elected.