NINETY YEARS AGO.

Press, Volume LXVII, Issue 20274, 27 June 1931, Page 15

NINETY YEARS AGO.

SPECIAL article.

♦ WATKIN'S DIARY. the first settlement AT WAIKOUAITI. IfgMOBIES OF TE RAITARAHA. [tl'LlSiVik TO Til£■ riil£Sß.j (No.-I II.) June 21st, 1840. This day have conducted the usual Igßglifii services. I wish 1 could report jjjai I had < oiiductcd services in tho jjmguage of the people of the land, %SS at present I have to mourn my iaftbil'ty to do so. I have been given ta understand that tlie Atua of Koroko, an old chief and priest, is vory aflgrv with him for visiting at my Jujese, a thing ho is very fond of doing. I shall seo whether tho anger of this deity will prevent his visits. I opine that it will riot. Thero are jnoijcroufc gods in New Zealand, more, J«faoold think, than the men, women, gai children ail together. I am still pleased with tho natives for their objgrrano© ot the lord's Day. Yester-

day evening one of them, a chief, came to me to say that he was about to go (9 Moeraki in his boat the followiu;; <!»y- "What, I said, you goinj; i« Mocraki to-morrow? Te raki tabu." (it is the Lord's Day). Upon hearing which ho tmid: "E nohu aau" (1 vßi stay liere). And so ho did. Tile natives, in the respect of ab- I jtaiaio g from work, set an exei«p!« to the whites living among them, «sh> jrnrsuo their worldly avocations «n tie Lord's Day, despite their better Ipeoerlcdgv. this putting a stumbling block iu the way of ».he natives, and 1 fear some of my ungodly countrymen <kllghi iu doing it. June 22nd. 1840. We arc a good deal annoyed at prompt by the visit to this place of sorn© 4t tba Otago- native.?. They are a itfry barbarous set, no ivise improved ' their commerce with shipping, I should think, made worse, &v j# their connexion with English, ijperie*!), afrid French shipping. We ■ )pll be glad when they are. gone. 1 ■jm getting on with the language, r ISSteu able to speak it shall be -'.'■■oo to manage them, I think. June 23rd, 1840. ! "Ibis dav have had an interesting '• werereatwn with Kurakura, otherwise Wrjnioutlj, about man's immortality , & future state. As well as I could Iteidhim of Heaven ("To kaika pai") ■ lyt bell "Te kaika kino"), and was %'WKtt asucli pleased with his attention. little doubt but that he will '-.LTok about these things, and m more ;jgS«««MA Maori than I can command, ZTtfiod will come of it- '"l n the tow thy seed and in the event 3S£hc*ld not thy hand." !}■ lifcSfi.Uf of the place to which 1 '" " '"WrWff'bv the committee is a dreaded here—Taraupala by name. He and the JLJBiM. island are mortal enemies.* WjjXhas been, a great warrior, W'lSif worsted, from what I ■ can SggflL-fil the last engagement. The - 557swl»nder living with us as serving went to the war, and gives- a description of that horrid j/Mt, From his account the Kapiti itifwlMt a hundred men, whilst that bf Ab lud lost but twenty. The prinBX ekief of this island is called by Tfojiuh "Bloody' Jack"; his native ' Tnhovaiki. I hope that wars «M*d in this end of the world, tkire are few enough of the New ; fttbiujerv without their killing and «96nf one another. June 24th, 1840. Ii good deal startled to-day by tapan jaw with its teeth servpendant to a man's ear. Upon : found it had belonged to one re children, and wa» kept by Eeetifiß towards the deceaseditives appear to have many on t, and to know no good or ; deity, Maui, the chief of among them, being more ian loved. May they soon t blessed God Who is good to Vhose tender mercies, are over rorks. July 13th, 1840. lay was very stormy, prhich I my going in the morning,to h. In the afternoon it cleared j I had a service which was j •ell attended.' I had an ineonversation in the evening rakura, an intelligent native nearest neighbour, respecting former state of New Zealand and jlilf fpnner populousness. The present PpPMiM of its inhabitants is a sorrowful Mt in its history. Places formerly sMljr Inhabited have not now a ainglo WfaUtaat, and this has been effected gjjriedpany by wars. The race is now iSflimr in number that I fear it will Ht (tally, but that others will come fgjjft take away their place and nation. p-" July 27th, 1840.. m'<l have learned that the rTriton H|j( sot visit me this trip, having gone Sp'to the islands. I do not expect to Ml often visited, nor is it necessary !is»t I should be as far as bringing Sjwwm nr supplies goes, but I should Hst» aometimes to see the face of \a tJTie Triton was the "Wesleyan ship.—M.A.B'.P. ] August Ist, 1840. j&jjV lav* been in some _ measure emtaiifid during the week in printing alIJpj&et# with the pen, which I must MRtjaue to do until I can get aid from l$M The natives are anxious to »j|ra, which cheers mo in my, efforts ms**eh them. To-night our kitchen I[yNroi#hed a scene which might have for a painter, but which would •leased the philosopher and gjadthe Christian—a considerable r of young men with their books >ir hands conning over their n, etc., and, while- I was teaching, others of them would be solithc instruction of one of my wvs with "E ha tene, William« is this, William?) Some ot IHpfe learn rapidly, and before they Wit away could say many of the let--1 if*U Oh, that I had books! jji' August 10th, 1840. Ik tte person in charge of the agriculPfWlil settlement bought a load of timWlMfr Sunday. Mr Watkin remonext day, when th 6 excuse was Pthat it was doufi without Mr Watkin expressed his beit was sheer malignity

August! Utb, 1840. The natives still manifest their desire to learn, and though X have no books, if I could get native house built as a school 'I would begin. lam greatly retarded by want of' accommodation. ' - , August 17th, 1840T Went through my usual Sunday duties yesterday at the usual places. I hope to see the "Word of the, Lord glorified in the conversion of some o*f my countrymen. They need that change as much as the heafthen by whom they are surrounded. ' , . The whaling gang for the first time this season took whales, on the Lord's Day. August 20th, 1-840. Last evening, I commenced day service, and had our little house more than full. I, sang and prayed, then remarked- upon a chapter in the Bible and concluded with singing and prayer. I trust good will be done. August 24tb, jB4O. Yesterday preached twice, as usual I have no place tQ hold nativo services. Onr new house will be ready shortly, and I shall then have part of our present one for the purpose of learning their language myself and teaching them the Truth of God, which -will banish from their minds thp superstitions by which they'are at present enslaved, and restrain them from acts of bloodshed for whieh they have so strange an inclination. ' , . , A short time before my arrival a creat warrior among this people, his native name Kahu (Hawk) .[took ill]. The ruling passion was in his case strong in death, for when in the very article of death itself, be caused himself to be raised on. his mat, and sipported in a sitting posture, he gave his last advice and parting address in this wise: "You stay, you stay, I am going to the clouds. lam dying a mean death in my house and not an honourable death in tho fight, but you, when I am dlad, away to the war; kill plenty of your enemies as a payment for my death." . ' , , Soon after he died. ;He had been a great warrior in his time, and during the last war porformed some surprising feats of valour. It is said that in one battle he killed ten with his own hand. One hundred of the northerners fell at that time, many of whom were eaten. Ten of the most handsome heads—i.e., completely tattooed—were preserved and brought-here, whore they were disposed of to American ships, the price being one keg of gunpowder or two muskets aP Whe» a New died his wife was taken by his brotherThe rainbow is considered to do a go The bodies of chiefs are burned e% The US Ncw Zealanders are afraid of the dark. August 27th, 1840. Had a service last night and had a full house. gfo be j