EARLY DAYS

Evening Star, Issue 19274, 12 June 1926, Page 4

EARLY DAYS

No. VII.

ffiWay, 'April 27, 1849—Sailed .Alaa 4 o’clock for Wellington, . A rough passage of two days. Went into Cloudy Bay and anchored about 5 o'clock on the evening of Monday. In the gloom that surrounded us, and ■which is a remarkable characteristic of the atmosphere in this harbor, wo could not avoid being impressed with the fitness of tho name bestowed_on it by the "rcat navigator, Cook. Next morning (ho sky 'continued hazy, though not overcast. Cloudy Bay is an almost open roadstead, having at the bottom, on a flat, a vast grove of thicklyplanted trees. Mist hangs upon the hilltops, concealing their outline, and seemingly not to bo dissipated by the advancing day Steamed out soon after hrcnkfast°for Wellington, and came-to at oar usual place of anchorage. T.ijft Wellington on June 30 (Sunday) and steamed' for Port Underwood.

WAiRAU MASSACRE RECALLED

The owner of tho Wit, a white man, had assisted in burying the victims of the Wairau massacre, and saw Captain ■Wakefield’s body under the circumstances of indignity desftibed before the coroner’s jury. Abundant# of mutton fish all around the beach. The brilliant prismatic colors of its shell have led to- their being manufactured into buttons at Home. I n Wellington £ls per ton is given by the merchants for exportation. Hero codfish, both of the rock and «omon sort, abound. Port Underwood was once an important whaling station. A hundred boats

AM HISTORIC TREE

Thursday, August 4.—Left Port Underwood and sailed into Queen Charlotte Sound, and anchored in Ship Cove, where Cook also lay during his visits to this part of New Zealand. A canoe filled with wild-looking Natives soon came alongside. The women seemed to have mistaken the ship, as they crowded up the ladder shouting “ Gapi the Drii or, Capi the Driver a vessel formerly stationed in New Zealand. One of the men, as soon as lie got on deck, pointed with his arm towards a small bay, exclaiming: “You like see Capiny Cook’s tree?” having preserved the tradition of their fathers that the English circumnavigator secured his ship by a hawser carried ashore there. They brought with them their decoy parrots for sale, each shackled by a ring of human bone to the perch on which he sat. Being mostly ill clad, they seemed to feel tho cold much, and earnestly hug jed permission that they might light tlied pipes and warm themselves at the galley fire. Then all sat down to smoke. A youngster pn hoard, taking a fancy to the embroidered mat worn

f THE SITE OF PIGTOH

Friday.—Weighed and steamed about pixiean miles up tho Sound. Cast anchor for a time in Wai Tohi Bay (afterwards Pioton), A large canoe filled with Maoris, male and female, crossed our bows, nailing us with shouts of “ Aremai, aremai!” and many grotesque gestures. Another canoe was seen creeping along towards a low, level indentation of tie shore whereon stands Waitold Pa. At 4 p.m. set out on our return. and about dark again anchored in Ship Cove. Blue herons, crested shags, pigeons, kakas, wood hens seen here. 0 Saturday.—Sailed, for Port Gore. Patches of cultivation, but no houses visible. The only European resident hero came off in a whaleboat as we were going out. No bottom at fortytwo fathoms. Steamed into Admiralty Bay. Seven fathoms within stone’s throw of the shore, which has a beach of hard yellow

TALE OF A PIG

Abundance of pigs. But stoker says: “ A stop will doubtless be put to this abundance forthwith.” An evening or two since the cutter came aboard from duty, bringing, among other miscellaneous items, a beautiful white hirron pig, originally with white tip to lbs tail. Those, however, who shot him cut away this distinguishing mark of his identity, and hugged themselves on the impossibility that even his own master could recognise him. The delusion was quickly dissipated. The owner had been an unobserved spectator of file whole transaction, hid amongst the flax bushes. Ho beheld his grunter receive the fatal bullets and afterwards dragged into the boat. Our Maori was alongside almost as soon as tho perpetrators, -“.Where Capiny Toko? You

WHERE TASMAII ANCHORED

Sailed about 9 a.m. for tlio Croizolles. As the vessel passed out the great ffikoras gradually exposed themselves to view like a great panorama. Entered Currant Harbor, a small and nearly circular basin, _ surrounded with wood except on one side, where a line of steep cliffs terminate- at an arm of the sso, having a bar across the entrance, and forming a salt-water lagoon at ebb tide. A triangle loft by some whaling party, the remains of a Native hut, and a great balk of timber showed

ACHERON’S JOURNAL CONTINUED . IN THE STEPS OF COOK Marlborough and Nelson Sounds

Habitations peeping out from every green recess along ,shore, which is steep and covered with bush. Boats came oft with Natives, among them ono handsome hall-caste female and scvcial hallcaste children, her progeny. in the course of halt a century this cross between the two races will exhibit in character and habits all. the energy and enterprise that distinguish their AngloSaxon progenitors. At one cluster of houses opposite our anchorage are some men and live Maori women, two of the latter having been deserted by their white protectors; and it speaks most favorably of the usage these poor savage women receive from the whalers that they prefer remaining there to rejoining their own tribe, which it is fully in their power to do. More, gentle treatment- good clothing, acrpiired habits of cleanliness, and better food are tho inducements.

have proceeded together in chase of their prey. Its decline is attributed to tlfo great number of vessels assembled there and tho disturbance consequent, which scared away the fish. Not one has been seen during the last eighteen months, but tho beach is strewed with their bones, attesting the wholesale destruction of other days. The European residents here depend at present for subsistence on their cattle and a little wheat sowing. More potatoes are grown than they consume, and the party visiting us offered their surplus stock for sale.

by one of the group, jokingly offered him a shilling for it. To our amusement and surprise ho replied at once, with good English: “Ah, who doubts yon? Wish you may get it.” Good water has been found by the party sent in search of it. More canoes off this morning,_ their owner tempted partly by_ curiosity, partly by the hope of a little traffic. One ‘man brings parrots’ eggs, light brown in color, and doubtless good eating. Another offers his tiaka, a carved baton, spear shaped, or his tomahawk of the intensely, hard ako ako wood. Mats and coarse grass maptles, stained a deep black, are hawked about the deck, their owners rivalling our Jews of Monmouth street in importunate attempts at extortion. One man had the cicatrice of a deep fracture on his forehead, doubtless the result of some bloody raid. He scorned a hardened old cannibal, and his countenance, deeply furrowed with tho tattoo, low, retreating forehead and overhanging brow, bespoke ferocity—a characteristic I have no doubt really belonged to him.

sand, etc. No signs of human dwelling. no cultivation. . . . Mr Evans, who was absent all day on duty, returned towards sunset with a groat black boar killed with a single ball at 70yds. Wednesday.—Sailed. _ Anchored in Rangitoto Harbor. Natives on hoard, dressed in coarse mats, selling fine red mullets caught here. Dr Forbes went ashore and procured some specimens of Troohus Tmperialis, Troohus Cookii, and beautiful snail shells. _ A few Natives here at entrance of this bay. Our visitors remained till nightfall. Wednesday.—Rangitoto Roads. Open roadstead. No white men. August 10.—Port Hardy. Not enough flat land to form a garden, much less a populous settlement. Curious angular pointed rock, nearly in the centre of entrance, and another with three remarkable indentations on its summit. , . ,

kill pig. I buy him from white man, white man kill him!” It was suggested that the animal belonged to a white breed originally placed on those shores by Captain Coo’k. Maori (half-frantic with passion) - . “No, no; he no Capiny Cook’s pig. He white man’s pig. Oh, oh!” Doubts were again expressed about the ancestry of tho unclean beast. Maori (with gesture of extreme contempt): “Tie pau!” (Hold your tongue). “You no pay me, ver’ well. You like I write to Governor. Governor make e pay?” His original demand of £3 was, after some wrangling, reduced to 30s, with which ho went over tho side much dissatisfied, and confident of His Excellency’s justice and impartiality had wo resisted a settlement of his claim.

the spot to be occasionally frequented. The timber was brought on board, to be claimed afterwards at Nelson. Friday, 16th August.—Loft Grevillo Harbor and anchored off a spit of sand at tha entrance of Coal Bay, tho first anchorage of the first European who visited New Zealand, by him named Staten Land. Passed to the eastern side and examined Massacre Bay, so called by Cook, but Murderer's Bay by Tasman, who anchored hero September 18, 1642. About sunset (an account of Tasman and the massacre follows).