JOURNAL

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 553, 20 November 1850, Page 4

JOURNAL

*0f an Expedition overland from Auckland to Taranaki, byway of ßotorua, Taupo, and the West Coast, undertaken in the summer of 1849 — 50, by His Excellency the Gover-nor-in- Chief of New Zealand. [From the Maori Messenger.] (Continued.) Having partaken of an early dinner we set out, with our old friend Malachi as guide, to visit the once renowned fortress of Mataraata, distant about three quarters of a mile from the present settlement. Malachi does not belong to Ngatihaua, but comes from Hauraki, and is I believe a chief of the Wakatohea tribe. He had been engaged in the late war at the head of one of the parties composing the attacking force, and it was really amusing to hear the old man (who is now a Christian and a renowned preacher) describing the various incidents of the attack of the pa, and how he himself was fired at several times and missed while the people were falling around him in all directions, and to see him point out the spot where such a chief fell, and where so and so repelled a sortie of the enemy. The old savage expression lit up and animated bis usually serene and thoughtful features, and one would hardly have believed that he was the same person who had edified us every morning and evening on our way up the river with an extempore sermon of about thirty-five to forty minutes 1 duration. We found however that he was of no use as a guide to the interior of the pa, and we returned to our camp quite disappointed, having first consoled ourselves as well as we could by eating quantities of wild cherries and raspberries, with which the old pa abounds. Our natives this evening evinced much anxiety to remain at Matamata for a few days longer, as Ngatihaua were preparing a feast of eels for them, a luxury which — as they were not likely again to taste it on the journey — they were by no means willing to part with so soon. After some hesitation, as we could but ill afford the time after losing so many days on the Thames, the Governor at length consented — upon their urgent entreaty, (to which was added that of the Ngatihaua people who wished to have a conference with bis Excellency), to remain till Tuesday morning ; whereat, although they at first wanted us to remain over Wednesday, they all seemed much l pleased, including Te Heuheu who seemed in no hurry to quit the scenes of eelfeasts for the precarious diet of a long overland journey.and accordingly expressed as much satisfaction at the delay as any of them ; besides he is a chief of much importance and be probably feared it would lower him in the eyes of his countrymen if he appeared to be tra_

veiling in haste, nothing being in the eyes of a native more infra dig. than any appearance of hurry about anything that they do. A number of sick people, principally children, were brought this evening to Symonds, i who it appears has a great reputation amongst i the natives as a doctor, and it was highly amusing to hear some of their ridiculous complaints. One old woman wanted a cure For blindness, for which Syraonds recommended a pair of spectacles, but she went away rather disgusted at finding he bad none to give her. They have all a most incomprehensible liking for that, to Europeans, most nauseous of all physics, castor oil ; to the maories however it is by no means " hard to take," they invariably ask for it when they are unwell, and wheu they get it swallow it with the greatest gout, cleaning the spoon of every particle and smacking their lips as though it were the pleasantest food imaginable. Symonds very kindly administered doses of such medicines as he was provided with to all those to whom he thought they would be of any service ; but there is really very little satisfaction in physicking the natives, for as they fancy that every pakeha is by nature a doctor, and never travels without a medicine chest, they receive the assistance almost as a matter of course, and those therefore whose maladies are relieved, are, except in a few cases, seldom grateful for it; whilst those for whom nothing can be done, go away grumbling and abusing you, as if they really had been seriously injured. One of our own natives came for a cure for a severe cough from which he was suffering, and Symonds told him he should certainly have some medicine if he liked, but then he must content to fast all the next day. This was a dreadful poser to the poor man, and it took him a long time to make up his mind, balancing between the inconvenience of the cough, on the one hand, and the forthcoming feast on the other, in the ceremonies of which, as he was a man of some consideration, he would have to take a prominent part. At leugth however, a Lreeze of wind brought the smell of some roasted eels from a fire near at hand, and completely turned the scale, by giving him a sort of foretaste of the good cheer he was to enjoy on the morrow, so he determined to let the cough take its chance, and go away as it had come, without any medicinal assistance. Monday, December 17th. — We went over to the pa this morning, accompanied by some young chiefs of Ngatihaua as guides. As we walked along the road tiny pointed out several places, marked by holes dug in the ground, where various men of note had been killed, all of whom they named with the greatest precision and exactness ; also where those who had shot them stood ; where a concealed party of Ngatiwhakaue had been surprised and twenty out of fifty killed; where two men had been overtaken carrying off a woman of the pa whom they had taken out of a chapel, whither she had fled for refuge; where a man had been shot from inside the pa with a musket, at an almost incredible distance, and finally where the matangohi, or first person killed, was slain x here they stopped and performed (in pantomime of course) the ceremony of cutting out the heart of the matangohi and offering it to Tv, the deity of war. They also explained that the matangohi is sacred, his flesh is never eaten, neither is his head exposed, but the body is hung up in a tree and cut up something like that of a pig, after which his remains are placed on a pataka or stage in a high tree and there left. We had now arrived at the entrance of the pa, where the two huge posts of totara wood are still standing, and near to which lies the canoe of Te Waharoa. They took us into the pa and shewed us where the dead bodies of the enemies had been cooked ; where the pahu had hung ; the grave of Te Waharoa (from which however the bones have been removed), at the 'foot of which is a post with a board on the top about three feet long by ten or twelve inches in breadth, on which the heads of their enemies used to be exposed. This portion of the pa is held very sacred, and the fence surrounding it is still in good preservation ; so sacred is it, that though they allowed ns freely to enter the enclosure, not a single native would do so ; at least they would have been obliged to strip themselves of all their clothes, a trouble which it was not necessary for them to take, as they could explain everything well enough from outside the fence. They did not, however, show us the greatest curiosity of all, or rather that which they hold in the greatest veneration and sanctity, namely, the tomahawk of Te Waharoa, with which the bodies of their enemies used to be dissected preparatory to their being cooked, and which had been used to cut off the heads of their own chiefs after death for the purpose of preserving them. They had shewn this axe to the Governor yesterday, and one of the young men gave it to him, but said it was very sacred in his eyes, having been used to decapitate his own father for the purpose of his head being dried, and he therefore almost feared its being taken away, as that might have the effect of dcs-

troyiag the tapu, for which reason his Excellency deemed it more prudent to decline tb< gift. One of them secretly gave this axe U Symonds in the evening, who hid it, but or going to look for it again he found it had beei taken away, and we heard nothing more of ii afterwards. About three o'clock in the afternoon, the feast, consisting of hundreds of small kits ol potatoes, and innumerable roasted eels, which had been cooking all day, was brought in to the camp, and was divided into heaps for all the different tribes of the strangers ; this operation was performed by the women and slaves under the direction of a second rate chief, who acted as master of the ceremonies. He was a little active man, and kept hopping about in every direction with a rod in his hand, giving orders and counter- orders with the greatest volubility, seeming in short never to cease chattering and jumping about till all was arranged to his satisfaction. Daring the preparation, Te Waharoa and the chiefs of Ngatihaua sat by themselves, watching all the proceedings with the greatest gravity, as did also our friend Te Heubeu, who maintained all the while the dignified, composed, and really gentlemanly deportment of an old Maori chief of rank. The rest of the guests looked on, with very varied expressions of countenance, some, with their lips evidently watering, aDd faces indicating the greatest impatience, followed every motion of those who were preparing the feast with anxious eyes; others again were chatting and joking, and trying to look as if the motions of the other party were matter of perfect indifference to them ; whilst a few, who were, or fancied themselves to be, persons of some consequence, attempted, with various success, to imitate the dignified gravity of the elder chiefs. At length the prelinjinaries were finally arranged, and the food divided into heaps for all the different tribes of the visitors, the largest being for the Governor and his pakehas (this, it is hardly necessary to say, was but a French compliment, as the food was very willingly given up to be divided amongst our hungry friends) ; the next heap was for Te Heuheu and his followers, and then came a separate heap for | each tribe of which our party was composed. They then fell to, tooth and nail, and in an incredibly short space of time, the empty kits were all that remained of the once munificent repast. Doubtless maories are blessed with wonderful appetites and stupendous digestion ; they are never at a loss to find stowage for any amount of provi-ions, but follow out, on every possible occasion, the principle of good Captain Dugald Dalgetty, and lay in their three or four days' stov k at a time, whenever they have a chance. When the feast was over the korero began and lasted for about three hours. The principal subject discusseJ was the erection of a mill, for which they wanted the Governor to send them a European mill-wright and miller ; this of course could not be acceded to, but his Excellency promised to advertise for oae for them, and to render such assistance as he could, without creating any invidious distinction between them and other native tribes. He also promised that if they would send some young men to Mr. Morgan's industrial school and model farm at Rangiawhia, near Otawbao, he would — as soon as he received a certificate of their being able to plough — send them a present of a plough and a horse, for which they seemed to be tolerably thankful, but tried very hard to obtain a promise of two horses, to which, however, the Governor would not consent, as they have already several of their own, which only require a little training. Their next request was to have a separate wing of the new market place in Mechanic's Bay, at Auckland, set apart for Ngatibaua, and their name painted over the door, as they said their tribe bore so bad a character amongst the 'other natives, that they would not associate with them in a place of that kind, lest Ngatihaua should steal their things. This request, however, was so manifestly absurd, that of course it coirid not be entertained for a moment, the Governor telling them that all Mechanic's Bay would scarcely hold the buildings that would be required if each tribe had a separate winsf, and if Ngatihaua got it, of course other tribes would expect it too. The conference was at last broken up by the ringing of the bell, and we all adjourned to the chapel to attend evening service. (To he continued.)