CJC: Next morning early, I sent Lieutenant King to the east side of the bay, with two parties, one to cut wood and the other grass, under the protection of the marines. For although, as yet, none of the natives had appeared, there could be no doubt that some were in our neighbourhood. I also sent the launch for water; and afterwards visited all the parties myself. In the evening, we drew the seine at the head of the bay, and, at one haul, caught a great quantity of fish. Most of them were of that sort known to seamen by the name of elephant fish.

In the afternoon, next day, we were agreeably surprised, at the place where we were cutting wood, with a visit from some of the natives - eight men and a boy. They approached us from the woods, without betraying any marks of fear, for none of them had any weapons except one, who held in his hand a stick about two feet long, and pointed at one end.

They were of common stature, but rather slender. Their skin was black, and also their hair, which was as woolly as that of any native of Guinea; but they were not distinguished by remarkably thick lips, nor flat noses. On the contrary, their features were far from being disagreeable. Most of them had their hair and beards smeared with a red ointment; and some had their faces also painted with the same composition.

They received every present we made to them without the least appearance of satisfaction. When some bread was given, as soon as they understood that it was to be eaten, they either returned it or threw it away, without even tasting it. They also refused some elephant fish, both raw and dressed, which we offered to them. But upon giving them some birds, they did not return these, and easily made us comprehend that they were fond of such food. I had brought two pigs ashore, with a view to leave them in the woods. The instant these came within their reach, they seized them as a dog would have done, by the ears, and were for carrying them off immediately, with no other intention, as we could perceive, but to kill them.

Being desirous of knowing the use of the stick which one of our visitors carried in his hand, I made signs to them to show me; and so far succeeded, that one of them set up a piece of wood as a mark, and threw at it, at the distance of about twenty yards. But we had little reason to commend his dexterity; for, after repeated trials, he was still very wide from the object. Omai, to show them how much superior our weapons were to theirs, then fired his musket at it, which alarmed them so much, that, notwithstanding all we could do or say, they ran instantly into the woods.

Thus ended our first interview with the natives. Immediately after their final retreat, I ordered the two pigs, being a boar and a sow, to be carried about a mile within the woods, at the head of the bay. I saw them left there, by the side of a fresh water brook. A young bull and a cow, and some sheep and goats, were also, at first, intended to have been left by me as an additional present to Van Diemen's Land. But I soon laid aside all thought of this, from a persuasion that the natives, incapable of entering into my views of improving their country, would destroy them.

The morning of the 29th we had a dead calm, which continued all day, and effectually prevented our sailing. I therefore sent a party over to the east point of the bay to cut grass, and another to cut wood. I accompanied the latter. We had observed several of the natives this morning sauntering along the shore, which assured us that though their consternation had made them leave us so abruptly the day before, they were convinced that we intended them no mischief, and were desirous of renewing the intercourse. It was natural that I should wish to be present on the occasion.

We had not been long landed before about twenty of them, men and boys, joined us, without expressing the least sign of fear or distrust. There was one of this company conspicuously deformed; and who was not more distinguishable by the hump on his back, than by the drollery of his gestures, and the seeming humour of his speeches; which he was very fond of exhibiting, as we supposed, for our entertainment. His language appeared to me to be different from that spoken by the inhabitants of the more northern parts of this country, whom I met with in my first voyage, which is not extraordinary, since those we now saw, and those we then visited, differ in many other respects.

Some of our present group wore, loose, round their necks, three or four folds of a small cord, made of the fur of some animal; and others of them had a narrow slip of the kangaroo skin tied round their ankles. I gave to each of them a string of beads and a medal, which I thought they received with some satisfaction. They seemed to set no value on iron or on iron tools. They were even ignorant of the use of fish-hooks, if we might judge from their manner of looking at some of ours which we showed to them - though it is certain they derive no inconsiderable part of their subsistence from the sea. We saw, however, no vessel in which they could go on the water. Their habitations were little sheds or hovels built of sticks, and covered with bark.

After staying about an hour with the wooding party and the natives, I went over to the grass-cutters. Having seen the boats loaded, I returned on board to dinner, where, some time after, Lieutenant King arrived.

From him I learnt that I had but just left the shore when several women and children made their appearance. These females wore a kangaroo skin tied over the shoulders, and round the waist. But its only use seemed to be to support their children when carried on their backs, for it did not cover their persons, being in all other respects as naked as the men, and as black, and their bodies tattooed in the same manner. But in this they differed from the men, that though their hair was of the same colour, some of them had their heads completely shorn, in others this operation had been performed only on one side, while the rest of them had all the upper part of the head shorn close, leaving a circle of hair all round, somewhat like the tonsure of the Romish ecclesiastics. Many of the children had fine features, and were thought pretty; but of the persons of the women, especially those advanced in years, a less favourable report was made.

The only animal of the quadruped kind we got, was a sort of opossum, about twice the size of a large rat. It is of a dusky colour above, tinged with a brown or rusty cast, and whitish below. About a third of the tail towards its tip is white, and bare underneath, by which it probably hangs on the branches of trees, as it climbs these, and lives on berries. The kangaroo, another animal found farther northward in New Holland, without doubt also inhabits here, as the natives we met with had some pieces of their skins; and we several times saw an animal, though indistinctly, run from the thickets when we walked in the woods, which, from the size, could be no other...

Insects, though not numerous, are here in considerable variety. Among them are grasshoppers, butterflies, and several sorts of small moths, finely variegated. There are two sorts of dragon-flies, gad-flies, camel-flies, several sorts of spiders; and some scorpions; but the last are rather rare. The most troublesome, though not very numerous tribe of insects, are the mosquitoes; and a large black ant, the pain of whose bite is almost intolerable, during the short time it lasts.

The inhabitants, whom we met here, had little of that fierce or wild appearance common to people in their situation; but, on the contrary, seemed mild and cheerful, without reserve or jealousy of strangers. This, however, may arise from their having little to lose or care for. With respect to personal activity or genius, we can say but little of either. They do not seem to possess the first in any remarkable degree; and as for the last, they have, to appearance, less than even the half-animated inhabitants of Terra del Fuego, who have not invention sufficient to make clothing for defending themselves from the rigour of their climate, though furnished with the materials. Their colour is a dull black, and not quite so deep as that of the African negroes. Their hair, however, is perfectly woolly, and is clotted or divided into small parcels, like that of the Hottentots, with the use of some sort of grease, mixed with a red paint or ochre, which they smear in great abundance over their heads; and they wear their beards long, and clotted with paint, in the same manner as the hair on their heads.

At eight o'clock in the morning of the 30th of January, a light breeze springing up at west, we weighed anchor and put to sea from Adventure Bay. We pursued our course to the eastward, without meeting with any thing worthy of note, till the night between the 6th and 7th of February, when a marine belonging to the Discovery fell overboard, and was never seen afterward. This was the second misfortune of the kind that had happened to Captain Clerke since he left England.

New Zealand: On the 10th, at four in the afternoon, we discovered the land of New Zealand; and the next morning anchored at our old station, in Queen Charlotte Sound. Here several canoes, filled with natives, came alongside of the ships; but very few of them would venture on board; which appeared the more extraordinary, as I was well known by them all. There was one man in particular amongst them, whom I had treated with remarkable kindness during the whole of my stay when I was last here. Yet now, neither professions of friendship nor presents could prevail upon him to come into the ship. This shyness was to be accounted for only on this supposition, that they were apprehensive we had revisited their country in order to revenge the death of Captain Furneaux's people.

On the 13th we set up two tents, one from each ship, on the same spot where we had pitched them formerly. The observatories were at the same time erected; and Messrs. King and Bayly began their operations immediately, to find the rate of the time-keeper, and to make other observations. For the protection of the party on shore, I appointed a guard of ten marines, and ordered arms for all the workmen; and Mr. King, and two or three petty officers constantly remained with them. A boat was never sent to any considerable distance from the ships without being armed, and under the direction of such officers as I could depend upon, and who were well acquainted with the natives. During my former visits to this country, I had never taken some of these precautions; nor were they, I firmly believe, more necessary now than they had been formerly. But after the tragical fate of the Adventure's boat's crew in this Sound, and of Captain Marion du Fresne, and of some of his people, in the Bay of Islands, it was impossible totally to divest ourselves of all apprehension of experiencing a similar calamity. If the natives entertained any suspicion of our revenging these acts of barbarity, they very soon laid it aside. For, during the course of this day, a great number of families came from different parts of the coast, and took up their residence close to us, so that there was not a spot in the cove where a hut could be put up, that was not occupied by them, except the place where we had fixed our little encampment. This they left us in quiet possession of; but they came and took away the ruins of some old huts that were there, as materials for their new erections.

It is curious to observe with what facility they build these occasional places of abode. I have seen above twenty of them erected on a spot of ground that, not an hour before, was covered with shrubs and plants. They generally bring some part of the materials with them; the rest they find upon the premises. I was present when a number of people landed, and built one of these villages. The moment the canoes reached the shore, the men leaped out, and at once took possession of a piece of ground, by tearing up the plants and shrubs, or sticking up some part of the framing of a hut. They then returned to their canoes, and secured their weapons, by setting them up against a tree, or placing them in such a position, that they could be laid hold of in an instant. I took particular notice that no one neglected this precaution. While the men were employed in raising the huts, the women were not idle. Some were stationed to take care of the canoes; others to secure the provisions, and the few utensils in their possession; and the rest went to gather dry sticks, that a fire might be prepared for dressing their victuals. As to the children, I kept them, as also some of the more aged, sufficiently occupied in scrambling for beads, till I had emptied my pockets, and then I left them.

Besides the natives who took up their abode close to us, we were occasionally visited by others of them, whose residence was not far off; and by some who lived more remote. Their articles of commerce were, curiosities, fish, and women.

Amongst our occasional visitors was a chief named Kahoora, who, as I was informed, headed the party that cut off Captain Furneaux's people, and himself killed Mr. Rowe, the officer who commanded. To judge of the character of Kahoora by what I heard from many of his countrymen, he seemed to be more feared than beloved amongst them. Not satisfied with telling me that he was a very bad man, some of them even importuned me to kill him; and I believe they were not a little surprised that I did not listen to them; for, according to their ideas of equity, this ought to have been done. But if I had followed the advice of all our pretended friends, I might have extirpated the whole race; for the people of each hamlet or village, by turns, applied to me to destroy the other.

On the 15th I made an excursion in my boat to look for grass, and visited the Hippah, or fortified village, at the south-west point of Motuara, and the places where our gardens had been planted on that island. There were no people at the former; but the houses and palisades had been rebuilt, and were now in a state of good repair; and there were other evident marks of its having been inhabited not long before.

When the Adventure arrived first at Queen Charlotte's Sound, in 1773, Mr. Bayly fixed upon this place for making his observations; and he and the people with him, at their leisure hours, planted several spots with English garden-seeds. Not the least vestige of these now remained. It is probable that they had been all rooted out to make room for buildings, when the village was re-inhabited; for, at all the other gardens then planted by Captain Furneaux, although now wholly overrun with the weeds of the country, we found cabbages, onions, leeks, purslane, radishes, mustard, &c., and a few potatoes. These potatoes, which were first brought from the Cape of Good Hope, had been greatly improved by change of soil; and, with proper cultivation, would be superior to those produced in most other countries. Though the New Zealanders are fond of this root, it was evident that they had not taken the trouble to plant a single one (much less any other of the articles which we had introduced); and if it were not for the difficulty of clearing ground where potatoes had been once planted, there would not have been any now remaining.

On the 16th, at daybreak, I set out with a party of men, in five boats, to collect food for our cattle. Captain Clerke, and several of the officers, Omai, and two of the natives, accompanied me. We proceeded about three leagues up the Sound, and then landed on the east side, at a place where I had formerly been. Here we cut as much grass as loaded the two launches. As we returned down the Sound, we visited Grass Cove, the memorable scene of the massacre of Captain Furneaux's people. Whilst we were at this place, our curiosity prompted us to inquire into the circumstances attending the melancholy fate of our countrymen; and Omai was made use of as our interpreter for this purpose. The natives present, answered all the questions that were put to them on the subject, without reserve, and like men who are under no dread of punishment for a crime of which they are not guilty. For we already knew that none of them had been concerned in the unhappy transaction. They told us, that while our people were sitting at dinner, surrounded by several of the natives, some of the latter stole, or snatched from them, some bread and fish, for which they were beat. This being resented, a quarrel ensued, and two New Zealanders were shot dead, by the only two muskets that were fired. For before our people had time to discharge a third, or to load again those that had been fired, the natives rushed in upon them, overpowered them with their numbers, and put them all to death. Besides relating the history of the massacre, they also made us acquainted with the very spot that was the scene of it, and also showed us the place where the boat lay; which appeared to be about two hundred yards distant from that where the crew were seated. One of their number, a black servant of Captain Furneaux, was left in the boat to take care of her. We were afterwards told that this black was the cause of the quarrel, which was said to have happened thus: One of the natives stealing something out of the boat, the negro gave him a severe blow with a stick. The cries of the fellow being heard by his countrymen at a distance, they imagined he was killed, and immediately began the attack on our people; who, before they had time to reach the boat, or to arm themselves against the unexpected impending danger, fell a sacrifice to the fury of their savage assailants.

The first of these accounts was confirmed by the testimony of many of the natives, whom we conversed with at different times, and who, I think, could have no interest in deceiving us. The second manner of relating the transaction rests upon the authority of the young New Zealander, who chose to abandon his country and go away with us, and who, consequently, could have no possible view in disguising the truth. All agreeing that the quarrel happened when the boat's crew were sitting at their meal, it is highly probable that both the accounts are true, as they perfectly coincide. For we may very naturally suppose, that while some of the natives were stealing from the man who had been left in the boat, others of them might take the same liberties with the property of our people who were on shore.

Be this as it will, all agree that the quarrel first took its rise from some thefts, in the commission of which the natives were detected. All agree, also, that there was no premeditated plan of bloodshed, and that, if these thefts had not been, unfortunately, too hastily resented, no mischief would have happened. For Kahoora's greatest enemies, those who solicited his destruction most earnestly, at the same time confessed that he had no intention to quarrel, much less to kill, till the fray had actually commenced. It also appears that the unhappy victims were under no sort of apprehension of their fate; otherwise they never would have ventured to sit down to a repast at so considerable a distance from their boat, amongst people who were the next moment to be their murderers. What became of the boat I never could learn. Some said she was pulled to pieces and burnt; others told us that she was carried, they knew not whither, by a party of strangers.

We stayed here till the evening, when, having filled the rest of the boats with grass, celery, and scurvy-grass, we embarked to return to the ships, where some of the boats did not arrive till one o'clock the next morning; and it was fortunate that they got on board then, for it afterwards blew a perfect storm. In the evening the gale ceased, and the wind having veered to the east, brought with it fair weather.

By this time more than two-thirds of the inhabitants of the Sound had settled themselves about us. Great numbers of them daily frequented the ships, and the encampment on shore: but the latter became, by far, the most favourite place of resort, while our people there were melting some seal blubber. No Greenlander was ever fonder of train-oil, than our friends here seem to be. They relished the very skimmings of the kettle, and dregs of the casks; but a little of the pure stinking oil was a delicious feast, so eagerly desired, that I supposed it is seldom enjoyed.

Having got on board as much hay and grass as we judged sufficient to serve the cattle till our arrival at Otaheite, and having completed the wood and water of both ships, on the 23rd we struck our tents, and carried everything off from the shore; and next morning we weighed anchor, and stood out of the cove. But the wind not being very fair, and finding that the tide of ebb would be spent before we could get out of the Sound, we cast anchor again a little without the island Motuara, to wait for a more favourable opportunity of putting into the strait. While we were unmooring and getting under sail, many of the natives came to take their leave of us, or rather to obtain, if they could, some additional present from us before we left them. Accordingly, I gave to two of their chiefs a male and female goat with kid; and two pigs, a boar and a sow. They made me a promise not to kill them; though I must own I put no great faith in this. The animals which Captain Furneaux sent on shore here, and which soon after fell into the hands of the natives, I was now told were all dead; but I could get no intelligence about the fate of those I had left in West Bay, and in Cannibal Cove, when I was here in the course of my last voyage. However, all the natives whom I conversed with agreed, that poultry are now to be met with wild in the woods behind Ship Cove; and I was afterward informed, by the two youths who went away with us, that Tiratou, a popular chief amongst them, had a great many cocks and hens in his separate possession, and one of the sows.

We had not been long at anchor near Motuara, before three or four canoes, filled with natives, came off to us from the south-east side of the Sound; and a brisk trade was carried on with them for the curiosities of this place. In one of these canoes was Kahoora, whom I have already mentioned as the leader of the party who cut off the crew of the Adventure's boat. This was the third time he had visited us, without betraying the smallest appearance of fear. I was ashore when he now arrived, but had got on board just as he was going away. Omai, who had returned with me, presently pointed him out, and solicited me to shoot him. Not satisfied with this, he addressed himself to Kahoora, threatening to be his executioner, if ever he presumed to visit us again. The New Zealander paid so little regard to these threats, that he returned, the next morning, with his whole family, men, women, and children, to the number of twenty and upwards. Omai was the first who acquainted me with his being alongside the ship, and desired to know if he should ask him to come on board. I told him he might; and accordingly he introduced the chief into the cabin, saying, "There is Kahoora; kill him!" But, as if he had forgot his former threats, or were afraid that I should call upon him to perform them, he immediately retired. In a short time, however, he returned; and seeing the chief unhurt, he expostulated with me very earnestly, saying, "Why do you not kill him? You tell me, if a man kills another in England, that he is hanged for it. This man has killed ten, and yet you will not kill him; though many of his countrymen desire it, and it would be very good". Omai's arguments, though specious enough, having no weight with me, I desired him to ask the chief, why he had killed Captain Furneaux's people? At this question, Kahoora folded his arms, hung down his head, and looked like one caught in a trap; and I firmly believe, he expected instant death. But no sooner was he assured of his safety, than he became cheerful. He did not, however, seem willing to give me an answer to the question that had been put to him, till I had, again and again, repeated my promise that he should not be hurt. Then he ventured to tell us, that one of his countrymen having brought a stone hatchet to barter, the man to whom it was offered took it, and would neither return it nor give anything for it; on which the owner of it snatched up the bread as an equivalent; and then the quarrel began.

The remainder of Kahoora's account of this unhappy affair differed very little from what we had before learned from the rest of his countrymen. He mentioned the narrow escape he had during the fray, a musket being levelled at him, which he avoided by skulking behind the boat; and another man, who stood close to him, was shot dead. As soon as the musket was discharged, he instantly seized the opportunity to attack Mr. Rowe, who commanded the party, and who defended himself with his hanger (with which he wounded Kahoora in the arm) till he was overpowered by numbers.

Mr. Burney, who was sent by Captain Furneaux the next day with an armed party, to look for his missing people, upon discovering the horrid proofs of their shocking fate, had fired several volleys amongst the crowds of natives who still remained assembled on the spot, and were, probably, partaking of the detestable banquet. It was natural to suppose that he had not fired in vain; and that, therefore, some of the murderers and devourers of our unhappy countrymen had suffered under our just resentment. Upon inquiry, however, into this matter, not only from Kahoora, but from others who had opportunities of knowing, it appeared that our supposition was groundless, and that not one of the shot fired by Mr. Burney's people had taken effect, so as to kill, or even to hurt, a single person.

It was evident, that most of the natives we had met with since our arrival, as they knew I was fully acquainted with the history of the massacre, expected I should avenge it with the death of Kahoora. And many of them seemed not only to wish it, but expressed their surprise at my forbearance. As he could not be ignorant of this, it was a matter of wonder to me that he put himself so often in my power. When he visited us while the ships lay in the Cove, confiding in the number of his friends that accompanied him, he might think himself safe. But his two last visits had been made under such circumstances, that he could no longer rely upon this. We were then at anchor in the entrance of the Sound, and at some distance from any shore; so that he could not have any assistance from thence, nor flatter himself he could have the means of making his escape, had I determined to detain him. And yet, after his first fears, on being interrogated, were over, he was so far from entertaining any uneasy sensations, that, on seeing a portrait of one of his countrymen hanging up in the cabin, he desired to have his own portrait drawn; and sat till Mr. Webber had finished it, without marking the least impatience. I must confess, I admired his courage, and was not a little pleased to observe the extent of the confidence he put in me. For he placed his whole safety in the declarations I had uniformly made to those who solicited his death, that I had always been a friend to them all, and would continue so, unless they gave me cause to act otherwise; that as to their inhuman treatment of our people, I should think no more of it, the transaction having happened long ago, and when I was not present; but that, if ever they made a second attempt of that kind, they might rest assured of feeling the weight of my resentment.

For some time before we arrived at New Zealand, Omai had expressed a desire to take one of the natives with him to his own country. We had not been there many days, before he had an opportunity of being gratified in this; for a youth, about seventeen or eighteen years of age, named Taweiharooa, offered to accompany him, and took up his residence on board. I paid little attention to this at first, imagining that he would leave us when we were about to depart, and after he had got what he could from Omai. At length, finding that he was fixed in his resolution to go with us, and having learnt that he was the only son of a deceased chief, and that his mother, still living, was a woman much respected here, I was apprehensive that Omai had deceived him and his friends, by giving them hopes and assurances of his being sent back. I therefore caused it to be made known to them all, that if the young man went away with us, he would never return. But this declaration seemed to make no sort of impression. The afternoon before we left the cove, Tiratoutou, his mother, came on board, to receive her last present from Omai. The same evening, she and Taweiharooa parted, with all the marks of tender affection that might be expected between a parent and a child who were never to meet again. But she said she would cry no more; and, sure enough, she kept her word. For, when she returned the next morning, to take her last farewell of him, all the time she was on board she remained quite cheerful, and went away wholly unconcerned.

That Taweiharooa might be sent away in a manner becoming his birth, another youth was to have gone with him as his servant; and, with this view, as we supposed, he remained on board till we were about to sail, when his friends took him ashore. However, his place was supplied, next morning, by another, a boy of about nine or ten years of age, named Kokoa. He was presented to me by his own father, who, I believe, would have parted with his dog with far less indifference. The very little clothing the boy had, he stripped him of, and left him as naked as he was born. It was to no purpose that I endeavoured to convince these people of the improbability, or rather of the impossibility, of these youths ever returning home. Not one, not even their nearest relations, seemed to trouble themselves about their future fate. Since this was the case, and I was well satisfied that the boys would be no losers by exchange of place, I the more readily gave my consent to their going.

From my own observations, and from the information of Taweiharooa and others, it appears to me that the New Zealanders must live under perpetual apprehensions of being destroyed by each other; there being few of their tribes that have not, as they think, sustained wrongs from some other tribe, which they are continually upon the watch to revenge. And, perhaps, the desire of a good meal may be no small incitement. I am told that many years will sometimes elapse before a favourable opportunity happens, and that the son never loses sight of an injury that has been done to his father. Their method of executing their horrible designs, is by stealing upon the adverse party in the night; and if they find them unguarded (which, however, I believe, is very seldom the case), they kill every one indiscriminately, not even sparing the women and children. When the massacre is completed, they either feast and gorge themselves on the spot, or carry off as many of the dead bodies as they can, and devour them at home, with acts of brutality too shocking to be described. If they are discovered before they can execute their bloody purpose, they generally steal off again; and sometimes are pursued and attacked by the other party in their turn. To give quarter, or to take prisoners, makes no part of their military law; so that the vanquished can only save their lives by flight. This perpetual state of war, and destructive method of conducting it, operates so strongly in producing habitual circumspection, that one hardly ever finds a New Zealander off his guard, either by night or by day. Indeed, no other man can have such powerful motives to be vigilant, as the preservation both of body and of soul depends upon it.

I asked whether they ate the flesh of such of their friends as had been killed in war, but whose bodies were saved from falling into the enemy's hands? They seemed surprised at the question, which they answered in the negative, expressing some abhorrence at the very idea. Their common method of disposing of their dead, is by depositing their bodies in the earth; but if they have more of their slaughtered enemies than they can eat, they throw them into the sea.

Nothwithstanding the divided and hostile state in which the New Zealanders live, travelling strangers, who come with no ill design, are well received and entertained during their stay; which, however, it is expected will be no longer than is requisite to transact the business they come upon. Thus it is that a trade for poenammoo, or green talc, is carried on throughout the whole northern island. For they tell us, that there is none of this stone to be found, but at a place which bears its name, somewhere about the head of Queen Charlotte's Sound, and not above one or two days' journey, at most, from the station of our ships. I regretted much that I could not spare time sufficient for paying a visit to the place; as we were told a hundred fabulous stories about this stone, not one of which carried with it the least probability of truth, though some of their most sensible men would have us believe them. One of these stories is, that this stone is originally a fish, which they strike with a gig in the water, tie a rope to it, and drag it to the shore, to which they fasten it, and it afterwards becomes stone. As they all agree that it is fished out of a large lake, or collection of waters, the most probable conjecture is, that it is brought from the mountains, and deposited in the water, by the torrents. This lake is called by the natives Te-wai-poenamu; that is, the Water of Green Talc.

Polygamy is allowed amongst these people; and it is not uncommon for a man to have two or three wives. The women are marriageable at a very early age; and it should seem, that one who is unmarried is but in a forlorn state. She can with difficulty get a subsistence; at least she is, in a great measure, without a protector, though in constant want of a powerful one.

Their public contentions are frequent, or rather perpetual; for it appears, from their number of weapons, and dexterity in using them, that war is their principal profession. Before they begin the onset, they join in a war-song, to which they all keep the exactest time, and soon raise their passions to a degree of frantic fury, attended with the most horrid distortion of their eyes, mouths, and tongues, to strike terror into their enemies; which, to those who have not been accustomed to such a practice, makes them appear more like demons than men, and would almost chill the boldest with fear. To this succeeds a circumstance, almost foretold in their fierce demeanour, horrid, cruel, and disgraceful to human nature, which is, cutting in pieces, even before being perfectly dead, the bodies of their enemies, and, after dressing them on a fire, devouring the flesh, not only without reluctance, but with peculiar satisfaction.

One day, on our inquiring of Taweiharooa how many ships, such as ours, had ever arrived in Queen Charlotte's Sound, or in any part of its neighbourhood? he began with giving an account of one absolutely unknown to us. This, he said, had put into a port on the north-west coast of Teerawitte, but a very few years before I arrived in the Sound in the Endeavour, which the New Zealanders distinguish by calling Tupia's ship. At first, I thought he might have been mistaken as to the time and place; and that the ship in question might be either Monsieur Surville's, who is said to have touched upon the north-east coast of Eaheinomauwe, the same year I was there in the Endeavour, or else Monsieur Marion du Fresne's, who was in the Bay of Islands, on the same coast, a few years after; but he assured us that he was not mistaken, either as to the time or as to the place of this ship's arrival, and that it was well known to everybody about Queen Charlotte's Sound and Teerawitte. He said, that the Captain of her, during his stay here, cohabited with a woman of the country; and that she had a son by him still living, and about the age of Kokoa; who, though not born then, seemed to be equally well acquainted with the story. We were also informed by Taweiharooa, that this ship first introduced the venereal disease amongst the New Zealanders. I wish that subsequent visitors from Europe may not have their share of guilt, in leaving so dreadful a remembrance of them amongst this unhappy race. The disorder now is but too common here, though they do not seem to regard it, saying, that its effects are not near so pernicious at present as they were at its first appearance. The only method, as far as I ever heard, that they make use of as a remedy, is by giving the patient the use of a sort of hot bath, which they produce by the steam of certain green plants laid over hot stones.

I regretted much that we did not hear of this ship while we were in the Sound; as, by means of Omai, we might have had full and correct information about her from eye-witnesses. For Taweiharooa's account was only from what he had been told, and therefore liable to many mistakes. I have not the least doubt, however, that his testimony may so far be depended upon, as to induce us to believe that a ship really had been at Terrawitte prior to my arrival in the Endeavour, as it corresponds with what I had formerly heard. For in the latter end of 1773, the second time I visited New Zealand, during my last voyage, when we were continually making inquiries about the Adventure, after our separation, some of the natives informed us of a ship's having been in a port on the coast of Teerawitte. But, at that time, we thought we must have misunderstood them, and took no notice of the intelligence. The arrival of this unknown ship has been marked by the New Zealanders with more cause of remembrance than the unhappy one just mentioned. Taweiharooa told us their country was indebted to her people for the present of an animal, which they left behind them. But as he had not seen it himself, no sort of judgment could be formed, from his description, of what kind it was. We had another piece of intelligence from him, more correctly given, though not confirmed by our own observations, that there are snakes and lizards there of an enormous size. He described the latter as being eight feet in length, and as big round as a man's body. He said, they sometimes seize and devour men; that they burrow in the ground; and that they are killed by making fires at the mouths of the holes. We could not be mistaken as to the animal; for with his own hand he drew a very good representation of a lizard on a piece of paper; as also of a snake, in order to show what he meant.

On the 25th of February we sailed from New Zealand, and had no sooner lost sight of the land than our two young adventurers repented heartily of the step they had taken. All the soothing encouragement we could think of availed but little. They wept both in public and private, and made their lamentations in a kind of song, which was expressive of their praises of their country. Thus they continued for many days, but at length their native country and their friends were forgot, and they appeared to be as firmly attached to us as if they had been born amongst us.

© 2000 Michael Dickinson

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