NOTES FROM A JOURNAL

New Zealander, Volume 3, Issue 151, 10 November 1847, Page 3

NOTES FROM A JOURNAL

Kept during an excursion to the Boiling Springs of Rotorua and Rotomahana, by way of the Watkato and Wai-pa countries, in Ike Summer of Eighteen Hundred and Forty-sin, and Seven. (Continued.)

Jan. 1, 1847 —We would willingly have accepted the pressing invitation of our esteemed aud agreeable host, to have spent New Year's Day with him, but our time was United, and we were under the necessity of hurrying on, bui we found great difficulty in procuring two Natives to accompany us, unleis we submitted to an extortionate charge for their services. In fact the Natives of this district are very independent, their labour furnishing them with abundance of food, and their clothing and luxuries being easily obtained by carrying pigs for sale, at Auckland, which they are enabled to do easily, by means of the rivers. At length we engaged a harum-scarum sort of a fellow named Peter, who agreed to accompany us, from a love of wandering rather than from any other reason, upon promise of receiving a Sovereign, when we reached Auckland, and food and tobacco & discretion, and we got a lad to go as far as Maungatautan. Peter had found his way to Kororanka three years ago, and urged by a spirit of adventure, had shipped onboard a whaler, where be had served for two years, and had visited Sydney. He was there seized with the mat du pays, where he left his berth, and after, sailorlike, spending all his wages with his countrymen who are employed in the pilot-boats, he worked his passage to Auckland, and returned to Rangaiwhia, as poor and ragged as he had left it. He spoke a little English, but so garnished with whaling slang, that we requested him to use the vernacular tongue whenever he favored us with his conversation. The path after passing Rangaiwhia, lies over fern bills of good soil for three miles, beyond which it becomes light and very inferior, being as usual in such cases, covered with dwarf-fern and manuka, and we had to cross an extensive swamp, through which the Maungapiko winds, it was however comparatively dry, and we had only to wade in one or two spots, crossing the river by means of a rude And slippery bridge, formed of a single tree. An extensive lorcst, chiefly kahikatea, coveted the sides of the val'ey and the adjacent hills to the north, on the skirts of which is situated the ancient pa of Barevva, famous for the tomb of Te Wherowhero's daughter, 1 which is most elaborately carved, ami which contains many other relics of New Zealand art. We regretted that we bad not time to visit it, as these sculptures are becoming rarej and being of wood, they will soon perish The figures indeed are often monstrous in proportion, and tb n attitudes not very decent, but the connecting orname D ts, consisting of (eaves and flowers, forming a specimen of tracery within a volute, are often arranged with an elegance, and chisseled out with an elaborate finish that would not disgrace a Cellini. Beyond the swamp, we agaiu crossed rauges of low hills of the same light soil, occupying the centre of the valley or plain through which we were passiug, its boundaries being elongations of spurs from Maun gatautari, whose peaked summits and wood-clothed ravines, now opened out glowingly under the brilliant summer sun, but we saw no signs of human habitations, nor of cultivation in the large extent of country under view— i few wild pigs were its only occupants. Walkingfthui for several]miles,Jthe bills were lost.in a large plain, which extended to the base of Maungatautari, containing many thousands acres, covered with a good deal of grass, and swampy only in the course of the Maungapiko, which winds through it, whose overflow, however, evidently lays it under water in the winter, yet a judicious series of embankments and drains would even then Keep it dry, and

form extensive meadows. In its present state, howe ever, it would feed several hundred head of cattlduring the summer. We had to cross the Maungapiko several times in its windings, and observed in its course many of those weirs called 'pate tuna'— eel houses, which the Natives ingeniously construct . for catching that fish. They are made of stout stakes driven in closely together, forming aY, with the limbs resting on either bank, the apex, which is truncated, pointing down the stream, and they are further strengthened by interlacing them with branches of shrubs. At the narrow aperture the Natives attach a net, and they thus enclose immense numbers of eels, on their annual passage down the river. This right of fishing, is often a source of quarrel, even among families of the same tribe, and has given nsc to many bloody encounters, and it makes them set a value on land, which to all appearance is useless. After traversing the plain, we ascended a little valley running into a ridge, which stretches northward, from Maungatautari, to the banks of the Waikato, down which a clear mountain-stream, one of the tributaries to the Maungapiko, brawled over a pebbly bed, and after fording it we kept along a path on the south side of the valley, the bate of the hills on the opposite side being sustained by a bare wall of a pumice-conglomerate, the first rock of the kind I had seen, but which gave evidence of our being about to cuter on a new geological region. Here tupakihi bushes, which I had scarce seen in the Waipa country, though so common iv other parts of New 2/ealand, were dotted over the hills. The valley terminated in a wooded ravine, emerging from which, we stood on a plateau, or neck of land, which lies between the valley we had just passed and a corresponding one t6 the eastward, and which forms a pass into the great valley of the upper Waikato. As this spot is the lowest point in the range I have described as projecting northward, from Maungatautari to the banks of the river, it has been selected as the grand route, between the Waipa and upper Waikato countries. A small settlement with surroundiug potatoe grounds, occupy it, which serves as> a sort of half-way.house to travellers passing from either of the above-mentioned districts, and where the customary hospitality of a pot of potatoes, is always at the service of wayfaring parties, which is generally requited by filling the pipes of the host and family, and retailing the news of the day, but Europeans always give a few figs of tobacco. The above-mentioned hospitality being extended to our party, we ate our New Year' 3 day 'dinner in the open air, in front of one of thebuts, and Peter regaled the inhabitants with the gossip of Rangiawhia. There is a magnificent view from this spot, on one hand the rolling plains of the Waipa are brought under view, bounded by the coast-range, extending from Taupiri to the Mokau Hills, from where the Rangitoto Mountains branch off to the Eastward, in the centre of which towered Pirongia, and its vis a vis Kokapuka, the windings of the Maungapiko being visible till lost in the distance On the other hand, the Valley of the Waikato, stretched Eastward for thirty miles, bounded to the south by Maungatautari, and to the north by the Maungakaua hills, which are wooded to the summits, and from which extended along the course of the river, the bare serrated ridges that divide the valley of the Waiho from the Waikato — behind these, were dimly seen, the level summits of the long mountain wall which bounds the former valley and separates it from the East coast, while the level rays of the evening sun, by the mingled effect of light and shade, permitted those singular terraces which run parallel to the Waikato, to be distinctly traced. It was truly a magnificent prospect, and yet this vast extent of country, which is only in* habited by about four thousand louls, might easily maintain a thousand times that number. Noble forests bound either side of the pass, through which we descended by a very steep path, until we reached the base of the rauge, and commenced cross, ing fern-covered spurs, descending from Maunatautari, divided from each other by clear mountain streams, across one of which I observed a basaltic dyke, and boulders of the same rock scattered over the hills, from which I inferred that the mountain was of the same formation. After a walk of five miles we reached the settlement and pa of Tje Whera-atua, just before sunset, estimating our day's journey at twenty five miles. i On approaching the pa, we saw what we conceived to be hedges, surrounding large enclosures, but they proved to be lines of tehori, planted- both for use and shelter. The Ngatikoroko, who inhabit the pa, which is slightly stockaded, received us very civilly, offering us a house for our accommodation, and furnishing us with potatoes and eggs, and Peter spread a bed of fern, which like every other apparently simple operation, requires practice in the disposal of the leaves and stems, to make it easy. We passed a comfortable night after our loug day's walk under a burning sun. The pa of Te Whera atua, is situated on one of those sloping spurs which radiate almost symmetrically, round the base of Maungatautari, generally about a quarter of a mile in breadth, and of various lengths, sometimes terminating abruptly, after run ning for a mile towards the Waikato, and occasioially stretching down almost to the banks of the river, three or four miles distant. - The soil is a deep friable loam, on which I remarked some of the finest maize I had seen in my journey, nor had the potatoe crop suffered so much from drought, as in other parts of the countty. There were also some fine peach-orchards in full bearing. The timber was magnificent, though much destroyed in the course of cultivation, yet noble trees were still standing, which were, probably, too large to destroy. I measured a fallen rimu, and found it one hundred and four feet in length, and five feet in diameter. Indeed such shrubs as the porpora, the tupakihi, and the koromiko, here became trees. If this district was in the hands of Europeans, it would be the finest and most productive in New Zealandeach of these plateaus might be divided into several farms, and being separated by ravines, with gentlysloping sides, through which run streams, are admirably adapted to the growth of the hop, and probably the vine, as they are sheltered from the south and south-west wind by the overhanging mountain, which would also afford an inexhaustible supply of firewood, together with fencing and building materials. Roads might easily be constructed down to the Waikato, which is navigable up tp this point, though impeded by rapids beyoud it, and thus permit the produce to be conveyed to the Mauukao, aud thence to Auckland or foreign ports. Indeed the Natives of this pa carry annually to Auckland, flax of fine quality from their te hori fences, aud a number of pigs, and are among the most wealthy in the island. Their Kangitira nue, or principal Chief is a Christian, and is known by his baptismal name of William Marsh, and roost of his people are Mihinari, under the spiritual guidance of Mr. Morgan. „ This district was formerly possessed by the Ngati raukaua under the chief Rauparahu who has risen in to bloody notoriety in the Colonial annals of New

Zealand, by the tragic affair of the Weirair He a his tribe however were driven from it about twen years since, by the Waikatos and the Ngatihotta in der their warlike leader Waharoa and has since be inhabited by the present tribe. Rauparaba in li turn expelled the Ngatiawa From Kawhia, and after time proceeding southward made his way throug the Taranaki tribes, and driving the Ngalitoa froi Kapiti has since resided there. If the history of New Zealand for the last fifty year were chronicled, it would present a horrid catalogue of murder, treachery, and caunabalism. The smal portion of the island which I had traversed was th< arena on which many of those scenes were exhibited The tribes of the Waikato and Wai pa confederacy seemed only in alliance when joined to resist the attacks of some common enemy such as the Ngapuhi under Hongi and Pomare, who after ravaging the banks of both rivers, some twenty years since, compelled the inhabitants to take refuge in the pa of Motakitiki on the Waipa, which they stormed and as before mentioned, fifteen hundred men were killed and numbers carried into captivity. Pomare however was not so successful in a second inroad, for he was slain, his party defeated, and were pursued by the vicforious Waikatos with great slaughter as far as Mahurangi At other times, however, the Waikato tribes were in continual feud among themselves generally arising from disputes about land, or from quarrels among individuals, where one of the party was slain, and, as among the Jews, "life for life" was an unalterable law, it became imperative to obtain an "utu." In seeking redress by an appeal to arms, other than the guilty party were slain, this demanded a further atonement, and a sort of debtor and creditor accouut written in letters of blood was carried on and until an equal balance was strucki the feud , wai not stayed. Instances also of the basest treachery were common, we may adduce the case of the Ngatiwhatua, who lived on the banks of the Tamaki and Waitemata who were allies of the Waikatos, and who after their defeat and slaughter by Hongi had fled into the Waikato, and apparently received protection from, that tribe, but no sooner did the Waikatos hear that it was the intention of Hongi to pursue them into their territory, than either from fear or perhaps from recollection of some ancient quarrel, they fell upon, these unfortunates and nearly massacred the whole of them. The Ngatipo and Ngatitipa who live almost in juxta position on the banks of the Waikato were long at war, as also were the Ngatitipa and their neighbours the Ngatitiata who inhabit the southern shores of the Maoukao, and their former hostile feellings though apparently smothered, broke out in a dispute about land in the iate murderous fight at Ngatehine, where the Ngatipo and Ngatitiata were allies. Shortly after the period I have mentioned when Kauparaha was driven from Maungatautari, the Ngatipaua and other Hauraki tribes who had been surprised by Hongi in the pa of Totara at the mouth of the Waiho, where five hundred of them were slaughtered, deserted their country on the banks of that river, and flying inland were permitted to settle around a portion of Maungatautari, but they had only resided there a few years, when the Ngatihoua who then had their settlement on Maungakaua, attacked and drove them from their place of refuge, but in the meantime as the Hauraki tribesjhad.propitiatedHongi, they were permitted by him to return to their own ttfritories. They were no sooner established there, than in retaliation they surprised and slew a party ot the Ngatihona, and in diversion cutting off their heads and stuffing their mouths* with fern, threw them jnto the usual drinking place of the tribe, this gave rise to a nuraoer of retaliatory skirmishes in which numbers of both sides fell: About this time, the Ngatihona had| attacked and almost exterminated theNgatite* wahi who held the plain of Matamata, and quitting Maungakaua located themselves there aud built 'a strong pa. But they were not suffered to remain long in peace, for a joint force of the Ngapubi and Ngatipaua aud other Hauraki tribes, appeared before it and|attempted to take it byjstorm they wercjhowever repulsed with great slaughter, aud they remain at feud until this day, although since the arrival of the British no overt hostilities have takeu place, and a peace is about to be consummated between the hostile tribes, on the occasion of a feast, which is proposed to be given at Matamata in the ensuing summer. The Ngatihona are proverbially fierce and pugnacious for not content with waging war with heredi- | tary enemies. They some years since managed to pick aquarrell with|their kindred tribcs|the Ngatihinatu, and Ngatiapakura at Rangiawhiu, and in a tight near that place killed a great number of them j and these again had often disputes ending in bloodshed with their neighbours the Ngatiaruru ana the Patukoko at Otawao, although mixed by intermarriages and living al* most within sight and hearing of each other. It is traneeessaryto lengthen this narrative of bloo d which is not a mere recital of the acts of buried warriors and of by-gone times, but has been listened to|from the mouths of the very actors themselves in many of those horrid tragedies, (for cannabalism always wound up the drama) with all the ferocious and disgusting details which many of the older chiefs have a pleasure in relating. The labours of the Missionaries, and the frequent intercourse which the tribes now hold with civilized men. have happily wrought a great change in this respect. The minds of the rising generation are occupied with other pursuits than those which engaged theattention of their immediate ancestors, The means of carrying on a profitable trade with the British settlers, is now a common subject of conversation) rather thau dwelling as formerly on the warlike feats of their fathers, and laying plans for the destruction of their enemies ; iudved the ignoble subjects of pigs and po* tatos, blankets and tobacco, seem at present entirely to engross their attention. It may indeed he anticipated, as the intercourse with us becomes established by means of roads and by the extension of our settlements, that they will imitate us in the practice of pastoral and agri cultural pursuits, unless the government should think fit to proclaim and seiie upon all their uncultivated lands as demesne of the Crawy. which was reccoinmended by the Select Committee on New Zealand affairs. I feel assured that this will meet with the most determined opposition on the part of the natives, and never can be carried out (laying aside the injustice of the act) without a great expenditure of blood and treasure and could only terminate in the utter extermination of the Maori race(To be continued.)