“Cannibal Jack”

Gisborne Times, Volume LV, Issue 6270, 24 December 1921, Page 1 (Supplement)

“Cannibal Jack”

A Pioneer Pakeha-Maori.

Amazing Adventures of John iarmon.

Quo of the easiest Europeans to arrive in New Zealand that we have a record of was a sailor named John Marmon, afterwards known as ‘‘Cannibal Jack.” At the age of ten he joined in Sydney the schooner “Ccnnmerce,” a Captain Sirone, and sailed from that port on November 6th, 1807.

“Our destination,” }ie says, “was the Auckland Islands. The Sydney merchants having heard of the vast numbers of seals to be got there, fitted her out for this trade. We had a selected crew of 30 men, some of whom were experienced sealers. A large quantity of stores and gear were shipped. On the twelfth day out we sighted the North Capo of New Zealand, and the next land sighted was the Chatham Islands, then the Bountys, and next the Aucklands, where we arrived on Dec. 20th. We found we were not the first here, as there were two other sealing gangs on the ground. before us. Thev seemed to look upon this Enderby ' Island as their - exclusive property, and as all is fair in love and war, our skipper had to resort to strategy. Accompanied by a single, sailor he went ashore and said he was looking out for a missing r vessel, the Fanny Morris, Captain Adams, which had been eight months out, and no word from her. At the same time, he invited the gangs to come aboard and get some grog. Not being suspicious, the men came aboard and settled down for a good carouse, not having had any for some time. The grog had been previously drugged, so they were soon on their beam ends. Then down went our boats and ouif sealing party went ashore. In this transactions I was nowhere, as the skipper, not putting much faith in my ten years’ experience in the world, had locked me up in his cabin lest I should be ‘pumped’ as to our mission. After being here a few weeks, friendly relations were established between the rival gangs.

VISIT TO THE CHATHAM ISLANDS'.

“We were very successful on this trip, and set - sail on our homeward journey. After sighting the Laps off the South-East coast of New Zealand, we bare up for the Chatham Islands, where we cast anchor and proceeded to trade for seal skins. j There were several sealing gangs stationed here and a considerable number of Natives known as Morions/ who seemed in dialect, colour, and* customs to resemble the Maotn, as ,1 afterwards found out. One thin" I observed here was that ffn many places the Island was on fire—not a mere surface conflagration, but a steady • underground combustion One of the sealers told me they were peat fires and had been burning for ■years.” The “Commerce” arrived back in Sydney, July 10th, 1908. with a cargo of 3000 skins. Marmon made three trips to New hack in Sydney, July 10th, 1808 he left his ship and settled amongst the Maoris. There were a lew otliei white men about the Bay ot Islands at this time, and he mentions meeting Ben Turner and John Cowall, lo quote Marmon’s own words, he says: A MUSKET FOR A WIFE. “On our way to Utukura, some natives belonging to the kainga there asked us to stop and have some kai. After the kai the natives bothered me to take one of their nirls for a wife. This I declined, as I had seen one that I thought I should like at Pukunae. A chief I had known at liokiangi Heads named Murawai came up that night and I agreed to be his pakclia. They kept j on bothering me about a wahine, so j that at last I said: ! Let my chief decide, and if he says I am to have j a wife that will be all right.’ oo the . chief decided that it would be best to have one, so I took the daughter j of John King. Her name was Hawauru (westerly wind)—a very pretty o-irl with beautiful long black hair. Next morning I paid for the wife one musket. Jim, the boy was too poor to buy one for himself, so the Natives made him a present or one. Soon after this we went down to visit some of my wife’s friends at the kainga a short time, and then on to Pukanuc to visit my wife s relations. The Natives built a house for us and I passed my time shooting ducks and walking about. I was quite happy and comfoitable, plenty of pigs, shell-fish, and potatoes. Tliere was not white man nearer than the missionaries at Kerilieu. LIFE AT THE BAY OF ISLANDS. “Soon after this I was. at the Bay of Islands, but I have never told vou what the Bay was ike in those days. A lot of people have wnAen - 'Mont it and called it by a name, hut it meant hell in Lng lish. Well, that’s just what it vas. Grog shops kept by convicts-weU I can’t say exactly what it was, Uit iust fancy all and everything that is downright bad, and then you would . have a good idea of Koioiareka at the timeTspeah of. niissionar•ies did what they could, but aha was the good of -their blankets Bibles against the rum and muskets of the whaling and trading vessels. There was no law. It was awd sort of time. The missionaries told, the Natives it was wrong to get musLte and powder to kill one anotbe, with but the traders sold them to them all the same. • “There was a . big trade denc in Maori heads in those days. J have seen sixteen heads stuck on sticks with mats round them and the heads feathered. You would think they were a lot of. chiefs sitting yarning. I may as well tell you how they .used to dry-the heads. They mado a small hole,‘put in some stones and wood, the sameSsas making a liangi. When the stones• were hot, the hole was t

LIFE IN NEW ZEALAND OVER A CENTURY AGO. (Written by G. J. Black.)

I made funnel-shape—they would take | out the brains of the bead, then the eyes, which they would eat, sew the j eyelids together, then the lips, put , little sticks up the nostril to keep j them from shrivelling up, take the bones out. of the throat and sew the skin tightly round a small hoop. Then, the head was placed oyer the small hole, the hot stones being underneath, and there left to dry. { TALK OF TRIBAL WAR. ' “There was a good deal of talk going on at this time about the great Chief Hongi—he meant to go to war with the Kaipara tribes. I did not Lake much nGVce at first. My own occupation was doing nothing, so I [ got the hoy Jir-x to help me to saw i some boards to build a wooden house. As I have said, I did not live with the Maoris at any time of my life, and although I had a whare, ,1 wanted a proper house and I got one, too. I made a fence round it and lived as much as possible to myself. The talk ended in the Waihou and other tribes belonging to the Ngapuhi making up their minds to join Hongi and proceed against the Kaipara natives, hut what reason they had, I don’t, know. One of the wives belonging to Morengi had fallen in love with one of Hongi’s men and went off with him. At the next stopping place Hongi heard of it, and not wanting to- get into a row, sent the woman back to her people. She started, walked along the beach and returned to her relations, who beat her for running away. They then killed her and put her in the oven, leaving the body there all night. Ihe next day they pretended to rush the pah and had the war dance. When the party that had been dancing had gone, the Chief Morenga gave a few of the chiefs and me something in a kit. He said it was a small present for Muriwai. We did not look at it until we got down to the canoes. Muriwai ordered the present to he brought out and divided among the chiefs—it was human flesh. I had never seen anything like it before, and it had the appearance of dried bacon. The chiefs devoured it like cats. 1 was horrified and after abusing them as hard as I could, I walked off. I could not help wondering if one of these days I too should be eaten by these cannibal friends of mine. Muriwai was a great chief, next in rank to Hongi. and would not eat of the flesh, as he was tapu —had the flesh been that of anyone killed in war it would have been different. He would have had his share with the others, hut this woman had been treacherously killed, so he was forbidden on that score. A CANNIBAL FEAST.

“We were now bound for homo and went by way of Horihori, and there found that a cannibal feast had taken place: everywhere round about were the remains of the killed—such parts as they had not cared to eat. It was a most horrible sight. I found out afterwards that a party of Waima natives had followed us from Hokiangi, intending to join the main body. On their way they fell_ in with a small number of the Ivaiparas, their enemies, about sixteen of them. The.se they killed and ate and then passed on. It was the most awful sight I ever beheld. Nert morning we went on, passing heads stuck on stumps. They belonged to those that had been eaten. I saw the heads of four Kaipara chiefs stuck on poles; they had been dried and, feathered—they had feathers stuck in their hair. Charlie, Hongi, the great Hongi’s son, had been. killed and his body lay in a canoe alongside. Muriwai’s mob, to which I belonged, camped about a mile from the main body. “It was a native custom to go and look for food. One of our lot came across a place that was tapu—there was a dead man in it. The native brought it to our camp, hut we chased him out. There was an old feud existing between the two tribes about something done to or by their great-grandfathers possibly. This served as an excuse to attack them. Hongi sent a message to those he wished to save and they started off at once for Hokianga. Next .morning Hongi commenced his massacre, ■shooting down all lie could find of the Ngatapo, killing a great number and eating them. Some got away and lied towards Mangamuku. Hongi and some of his mob followed them, and in a skirpiish lie got severely wounded in the chest. His mob made a hand-barrow and carried him back to Whangaroa. Hongi’s tribe at the Waimate, who bad taken no notice of the affront that had been offered to him, now started off in a hurry to Whangaroa., and the Ngatapo who had escaped Hongi were killed and eaten by this fresh mob—men, women and children. • MISSIONARIES FLY FOR THEIR LIVES.

“There was a Wesleyan Mission at Whangaroa, and Messrs Turner, Hobbs and Stack, with their families were obliged to fly to the Kerikeri Church Mission station. They had nothing saved but a few clothes for the children, which they carried over. Patuone, Nene, and other chiefs belonging to Hokiangi, hearing what had happened, started off at once and on their way fell in with the Wesleyan Missioners and their families who were Hying from Hongi’s mob to the Kerikeri. The Hokianga chiefs tried to persuade them to return and they would protect them, but the whole party were too frightened to do that. Thef missioncr asked the chiefs to try any’ save as much of their property as they could, and this they promised to do'. When the chiefs reached Whaifgaroa they saw Homo of • Hdngi’s m£n carrying down property that lodongcd to the Mission. They were ju/st in time to pre-

vent the tilings liemg put into canoes. Te Hokianga mob fell on them and took possession of the property, which they returned, except what they took a fancy to for themselves. 'The Mercury, a whaler, wanted wood and water and put into Whangaroa. Jt was a very calm day and the crew were towing her up to the anchorage. They had taken a few natives on board, who were veryquiet and civil. When they got abreast of one of the points on the liver, they saw a lot of natives singing and jumping about—about thirty or forty of them. They were making a great noise and were pleased to see a vessel so far up the river, the first to come in since the “Boyd” i was taken in 1809. The natives ! on board answered back by another dance on deck. This so frightened the men who were pulling that they cut the tow rope liad made for the mouth of the river, intending to get to the Bay' of Islands. The captain, who was on hoard, also got- frightened, and lowered a boat, and with the remainder of the crew, followed the other boat. The natives shouted for them to come back, but the captain was afraid they would serve him the same as they did the crew of the Boyd. They all got safe to the Bay of Islands. The captain went to Pallia and saw Mr Williams, the Church of England missionary, and told him what had happened. As soon as the vessel was deserted, the natives began to pilfer her, and the chiefs, when the missionaries came, agreed to give her up to them. The mission consisted of Messrs Turner, White and Hobbs. Mr White was supposed to be the best sailer of the three, and he started with a few natives to work the Mercury down to the Bay of Islands. When they got | outside’ he found he was unable to 1 manage her, finding that if lie ' did not leave the ship she would take him where she pleased. So he and the natives lowered the whale boat, and, taking a few valuables belongj ing to the ship, which he' put in a J portmanteau, pulled for the shore, j where he saw some natives fishing. ' These' fellows robbed the whale-boat, j but Mr White and his men got off j and next day reached Whangaroa ! with the news. • i BAUPABAHA’S CLOSE SHAVE. | “About 1826, I was the means, I with the helji of Muriwai, of saving the brig Glory, Captain Swindle. (This brig was afterwards .wrecked on Pitt’s Island, at the Chathams, in 1827. at Glory- Bay. The vessel had come in .for water and anchored opposite Taumatiwiwi, out in the middle of the stream. Whilst the crew were filling the casks, the captain thought he would go up the river and see his friend, Captain Clarke, who lived at the Koreke. Captain Swindle had on board • two j great chiefs from the South (Kapiti Island).\ Both were famous. fighting chiefs. Whilst Captain Swindle was in the house drinking with Captain Clarke and the rest of us, Muriwai called me out and told me somehow or other the natives had heard that Bauparaha was on board the Glory and that they were going down to kill and eat him as payment for ; some old debt of revenge. They said they would kill both these chiefs as they had killed and eaten some Bay of Island chiefs. I went in and told j Captain Swindle, who was ready- to start at once. J Went with him in. his boat. „ We got clown just as it was getting daylight. While we were having breakfast and 1 was talking to Bauparaha. ho looked up suddenly at the skylight and said ‘Ngapuhi’ and there, sure enough, was Muriwai looking down on us. In the c-ahin besides Hiko and Bauparaha were Moetara and one or two chiefs belonging to the Heads. I went up on deck and Muriwai told me that the 'natives were cooking their kai | ashore, and as soon as they were | finished they were coming aboard. [ Muriwai then went below. He nosed ! the chiefs belonging to the river. : Then lie went up to Bauparaha and : taking his hand, hold it fast for sev-

era l minutes, ami looking mm steadily in the face, began to taunt him • with having eaten his relations, the j Bay of Island chiefs. Rauparaha j said, ‘My name is great, but I was I not at that fight.’ ‘ ‘Your people ! were,’ said Muriwai, ‘and my people j are coming aboard now.’ liauparaha never spoke a word to'all this abuse. ! He stood quiclty wafting to see what | would happen. Muriwai said suddenly, ‘Hide yourself.’ and left the I cabin with the Hokianga chiefs. I These chiefs had not spoken. Rau- ! paraha went into the state room and 1 shut the door. ! “NEVER MIND MY BLOOD.” | “When the chiefs reached the deck Muriwai turned round, and closing the companion, sat down on the top. The canoes came from the shore and the natives wore soon swarming up the sides of the ' vessel. There were about seventy of them. Some were naked and all were armed with muskets. They commenced running backwards and forwards, and making a great noise and taunting. Muriwai for trying to save the lives of the men who had eaten their relations, the Bay of Island chiefs. They tried all they could to get Muriwai off the companion, but lie never stirred or spoke a word. They dared not force hini to move, as lie was too big a chief. He was tapu. and they dare not touch him. It was a dreadful sight, and J. thought every moment they would lay hands on him and compel him to move from the seat he had taken. At last, Muriwai sprang up to answer them, and in doing so struck his forehead against.the cleet and the blood began to How. This appeared to enrage the natives still more.' ‘Never mind my blood,’ said Muriwai, ‘thes’e Southern chiefs belong to the pakeha, and are their guests on this kaipuka, and they shall not he hurt. Had you fallen in with them ashore I would have helped you to kill and eat them, hut now it is different, and you shall mot harm either them or the kaipuka. The chiefs are the‘.captain’s friends whilst they are on the vessel.’ After a time his quiet, sensible words got the better of their rage and by degrees they began to calm down. When all seemed safe, Muriwai opened the companion and Captain Swindle and some of the chiefs went boIpw. Muriwai pointed to. his forehead, from which l the blood was still flowing, and asked me to tell the captain his people would want payment for his blood. „ I told the captain, and he readily gave him a cask of powder. Then all was over. We found

out afterwards that when Rauparaha turned to go into the stateroom, he took with him a 501 b cask of powder, intending if ‘the natives had forced their way in, to blow up the vessel, himself and all—-rather a close shave that time! RAUPARAHA’S ATTACK AT AKAROA.

‘This Rauparaha, - was, all the same, a blood-thirsty chief. 1 fell in with a Captain Stewart, who told me the story of taking him and about 100 of his warriors down to Aka■roa in the brig Elizabeth, to get reat Kaiapohi. Te Mai Haranui’s wife who killed a good many of his chiefs at Kaiapohi. Captain Stewart had a white man on board to act as interpreter, named John Cowall. Rauparaha told him to tell Stewart die would give him 50 tons of dressed flax if lie would take him and his gang down there. Captain Stewart thought the arrangement would suit him very well and agreed at once. Whilst Rauparaha and Stewart were below talking, natives had been com-' ing on board, and instead of 50, there were more than 100 in the hold. They sailed at once for Banks’ Peninsula and made Akaroa harbor in two days. When the brig got in and anchored in the hay, the natives were kept out of sight and a message sent to say a. trading vessel had arrived. The chief Te Mai Haramii was away at Waiwera getting dressed flax, and it -was two days before he got hack. When he got on hoard ho was taken below, and handcuffs and leg irons were put on him'. Rauparaha then came out ond taunted him with having killed his relatives at Kaiapohi. Te Ma Haranui’s wife and daughter, a girl of twelve, came on hoard', and on the voyage up the chief strangled the girl sooner than see her made a slave.

FATE OF A SOUTHERN CHIEF. “The natives on board then took the boats and* went ashore and killed most of the natives in the Takapuneke pa, the village was set fire to and about 20 slaves were brought on hoard and taken prisoner to Kapiti Island. Captqin Stewart was walking the deck when he saw a native slyly put something in a- kit into the cooking copper.*;, and afterwards wards found- out it {was human flesh. He could do nothing! as the vessel was crowded with natives, and from what had happened he was horribly frightened ; it was quite possible, that Rauparaha would take !tho vessel and murder him and his drew. When the brig reached Kapiti the chief and his wife were taken ashore. The chief’s head was beautifully dressed with feathers. He was given two days to sit and cry with his’friends. During this time Rauparaha’s mob were busy rigging up a sort of gallows about 60ft high. On the beach were several white men. At the end of two days they took the chief and pulled him up with ropes by the feet to the top of the gallows and let go the rope, and-the chief came crashing down on his head. This was repeated three, times. The body was then cut down, cooked, and eaten.

“Stewart sent his interpreter, Cowall to Rauparaha to ask for the 50 tons of flax promised, but all lie got was about 15 tons. From there the brig went to Sydney, and the dreadful affair get much talked about. Stewart was arrested and put in prison, but after about six months he was released for want of evidence. Captain Stewart told mo the story himself.

“The great chief Muriwai caught cold and was ill for about a fortnight and then died. The tribe built a house and covered it with fine carvings,, put his body inside to stop till the hones were ready to he scraped. At his tangi there were about 2000 natives, men, women and children, besides all the white men living around there. There were, 3000 kits of potatoes and kmneras, besides an immense number of pigs-, just killed and thrown across the kits. Muriwai’s two wives hanged themselves—the first wife because she wished to die with him, and the other, who was a slave, would have been killed to go with him, as was the custom, so she. hanged herself, too.

ECHO OF A’PEROUSE TRAGEDY. “In July, 1827, a barque called the ‘ Research ’ came into the Bay c.f Islands. She was commanded by. Captain Peter Dillon, who was seiit out i on an expedition to search for traces of La Perouse. Bill Johnston told the captain I was on shore, and lie sent for me to come aboard at once. Captain Dillon told me he had been to India, and on the way he had called at one of tho islands in the New Hebrides to look up a. shipmate he had left there about thirteen years before. His friend came off to see him, and while they were talking a canoe came alongside, and the . armourer bought a silver watch guard from a native for two spike-nails. Tho armourer could not make out what was engraved on the guard. He showed it to Captain Dillon, who found that it was La Perouse. He was, of course, much surprised, 'and enquired if they knew anything of any French vessels visiting the Islands. They said there had been some Frenchmen living e.n- one of tho islands, but thought they were all now dead. When Captain Dillon reported to tho Indian Government what, lie had heard, and which was confirmed by his old shipmate, the Indian Government had given him the ' Research ’ to go and see if he could find any Frenchmen alive, or find out any further particulars. Captain Dillon had called in at tho Bay of Islands for wood and water, and I ivas appointed interpreter whilst the vessel Jay there. I got 10s a day and Jots of grog. I told tho captain that soon after I came to Now Zealand an old chief told me about La Perouse having been at the Bay of Islands, ■but lie could not toll me how long ago it was.” . , . (Mannon gives a lengthy description of La Perouse- having been at the Bay of Islands, and of a light between him and the natives, in which 200 natives were killed. _ He must have been referring to Marion’s expedition, as we have no account of La Perouse ever Knving been, in the Bay of Islands. His expedition was in Bo,tally Bay in February, 1788, after which nil trace of him was lost, until 40 years later, when Dillon discovered that his two ships had been wrecked on the island of Manuicoln, in the New Hebrides group.) “When I saw Captain Dillon again he was much •better, and he ‘ 1-n e

about Ixis voyage. We had been to the New Hebrides and had got four guns belonging to one of La Pc rouse’s ships, his sword, a silver wash-hand basin, and the carved work of the stem of one of his ships. All these things Captain Dillon said proved that La- Peronse had either been lost or killed somewhere among the islands of that group. (For full particulars see “Dillon’s Voyage in Search of La Perouse.”)

DANCED LIKE A LOT OF DEVILS. •‘There had been a terrible fight between a lot of the Bay of Island natives and some Waikatos. I was not there; it happened when I was busy with Captain Dillon at the Thames, and I, of course, heard a great deal about it, so I got Macquarrie, the chief of cur mob, to tell me what he knew. Hongi next heard that a small number of Kaipnra natives had settled at Waitemata, where Epsom now stands, 'about 300, with their chief Itewharewa. Hongi and his friend ‘ King George ’ thought it a first rate chance to go and kill them off. By some means Itewharewa heard of this and dragged his canoes overland to the Manakau and made for the Waikato. Hongi and his mob had come in canoes from the Bay of Islands. When they reached Waitemata they found the enemy gone. By means of spies, Hongi found out where they had fled to, and followed close on them. He found out that Rewharewha intended to take refuge in a pa belonging to a chief named Rauroa. He knew that if he and his mob were overtaken before they veached the pa, they would be killed and eaten. Rewharewha got to Ngacuaw»hi and walked to Iloroko. In the meantime Hongi had got to some of his friends among the Waikatos and persuaded about 1000 to join with him, so that, with his own mob. he had an army of 1300 men. They started afresh and marched until they reached Raurou’s pa, where they found Rewharewha and his mob safe inside. The mob outside danced the war cry like a lot of devils. They were niad with rage and shouted to Raurou that if lie did not turn out the Kaipara men, they would attack the pa. Determined to kill someone before he himself was killed, the chief faced the mob boldly, shouting'out for Hongi, thinking that the Ngapuhi chief would save his life if he asked him to do so. Hongi was at the time in the rear, following with his own mob: but when he .reached the pa, Rewharewha- was killed. Ho received five wounds before he dropped. After this the mob rushed the pa and brought out the Kaiparas. A large number of these were killed and eaten. Pomare’s daughter saved a child, and the others were to be kept- as slaves. Hongi went home with his mob, dragging their canoes the same way as they had come. ‘King George’s’ mob dragged their cances by way of Marumaru, at. the bight of the Thames, and did not-reach home until two months afterwards. CONVICTS STEAL A BRIG. - “About 1827 the brig ‘ Wellington ’ came into the Bay of Islands. She had 70 convicts on board who were to be taken to Norfolk Island from Botany Bay. On the trip down she had been seized by the convicts, who intended to go to South America. They had called in at the Bay for wood and water. The Rev. Mr. Williams, of the Church Mission, went on hoard, thinking she was a trader, and he did not suspect anything. The real captain was kept below, and he was told that he was a passenger. The officers and- crew were all convicts. While Mr W T illiams was on hoard the true contain contrived to slip a letter in Mr Williams’ pocket without his know edge. After bo got home that evening, Mr Williams found the note, telling him all about the affair. The next morning Mr Williams went on board one of the two whalers that were lying in the Bay, the ' Sisters,’ Captain Duke, and the ’ Emily,’ Captain Brin. After hearing what Mr Williams had. to tell, they made up their minds to retake the vessel. Captain Duke got his vessel broadside on and then fired into the convict ship and then hoarded her with their whaleboats. The convicts offered no resistance, as they * were without guns. Some of the con- . victs got ashore and wore soon re- , captured, but a few got- safely away j {into the bush. Captain Duke and "Tapsell took the Wellington back to j Sydney- “ About two months after this, I lost my wife. She died and I was very sorry. Her death was sudden, happening in this way. My wife had very long and beautiful hair, and one day she and some chiefs’ daughters were sitting combing their hair, the girls using mv wife’s comb. Presently a slave woman, whom they called Russ, came up and took my wife’s comb and combed her own hair. My wife, who was a very quiet woman, took no notice, thinking some of the girls would see that a slave was using the tapu fiomb ; but they said nothing, neither did my wife.. That night my wife was sitting beside me and said she felt very ill. and that the slaves having used her comb had made her sick, and she was sure she was ‘makctu’ (bewitched). ‘Stuff!’ says I; ‘ you have caught a cold, . that’s what’s the matter with, you.’ Some of the old women belonging to the tribe said, ‘ Yet, it is quite true. She is maketu.’ However, she got j worse and worse, and three weeks after she died. I was very loud of her. Besides being a handsome woman she was quiet and very honest, and her death made me very miserable. Her little daughter was only nine months old at the time. The natives would not let me bury her j in the ground, but built a. house to put her in (whare tapu). The Maori priests were not going te lot me see them put her in the coffin, but my chief insisted that I should be present.. The Maoris had a sort of tradition of a sort of purgatory some- ; where under ground. I wonder if that is why they did not bury their j dead? |

MAORIS AND- RELIGION

“The Wesleyan Missionaries bought a nice place on the Hokianga and lived there; tho Natives took very ! tfcle notice of them. They used to pi- and trade for blankets, spades, hot* or anything they had; they useft to pay with potatoes. *Mr. St.k would ' wander about amongst them, and when he saw a few sitting i* tether, would ‘ talk- about their

souls. The Maoris wanted to know how ho knew anything about it, who told him, and that sort of thing, and when he spoke of their false gods, they would get very angry and toil him to hold his tongue or talk about something else. The Natives had no gods that over I heard of, only a good and a had spirit, and I never knew one Maori who was what they call ‘converted.’ They would say they were on purpose to get into favor with the missionaries or to get something out of them that they wanted, and then have a good laugh behind their backs. There was a Native lad taken to Rome by a Catholic Bishop and brought back to New Zealand to he made into a priest, hut he was such a bad lot they turned him out of the school in Auckland. He believed in nothing he had been taught, and died a thoroughly had man, and yet he was taken almost as a child to he made a Christian. MARMON PRIZED BY THE MAORIS. “A vessel named the Enterprise had been built at the Horeke and Captain Clarke was given command of her. Three of the convicts who had escaped from the Wellington were hiding amongst the Natives, and Captain Clarke got the men given up to him on payment of a musket and a cask of powder. He delivered them to the Government at Sydney and got £5 a head for them. The vessel took over a load of timber. She came - hack and took over another load, and returning from that trip, she was lost with all hands about three miles from the North Head. News of the wreck was brought to us and we were told the Natives had murdered the crew, but this was not correct, as we heard afterwards that the crew had been drowned.” Marmon was married a second time, to a daughter of the Chief Raumata, whose name was Ihipera. There was no family by the second marriage. He was at the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, and" in ! “Thompson’s Story of "New Zea- 1 land,” it is mentioned there was considerable opposition to the signing of the treaty, led by the French Catholic Missionaries who employed for this purpose a cannibal European called Marmon. However, the Maoris prized Marmon’s services and gave him a fine block of land at- the junction of the Waihou Creek with the Hokianga River. He died in Sept., IBSO, at the age of SI years.