J0URNAL

New Zealander, Volume 6, Issue 471, 19 October 1850, Page 3

J O U R N A L

Of ah Expedition Overland from Auckland Co Taranaki 1 by way of Jlotorua, 'J'nupo, and the West Coast undertaken in the Hummer of 1849 — 50, by His Excellency the OoviJtNoß-IN-Cim-r of New Zealand. [From the " Maoiii Mi.ssENOi;n."J [Coiilimicil.j Having partaken an early dinner we set out, with our old friend Malachi ai guide, to vmit the once renowned fortress of Matamala, distant about three quarters of a mi'e from the present settlement. Malachi ''oil not belong to Ngatihnua, but cooks from Hau-

i tiki, and is I believe a chief of the Wakatolieu tribe. He had been engaged in the lute wnr at the head of one of the parties composing the attacking force, ami it was reully amusing to hear the old man (who u now a Christian and a renowned preacher) deoci ibinjc the vanous incidents of the attack of the pa, and how lie himself w»» fired at several times uml missed while the people were (ailing around him in ull direction!, and to ice him point out the spot where a great chief fell, and where 10 and so repelled a sonic of the enemy The old suvago ripresiion lit up and animated his usually serene and thoughtful features, and one would hardly have believed tlmt he was the lame person who had edified us eveiy morning and evening on our Wny up ihe river with an extempore sermon of about thirtyfive to forty minutes' durations. We found however that he was of no use as a guide to the interior of the p,i, and wo icturncd to our camp quite disappointed, having first consoled ourselves as well ai we could by eating quantities of wild chciries and raspberries, with which the old pa abounds. Our Natives this evening evinced much anxiety to remain at Matatuata for a few days longei, as Ngati* haua were preparing a fetist of eels for them, a luxu y which— ai they were not likely again to taste it on the journey— they were by no menus willing to part with to soon After some hesitation, as we could but ill afford the time after loiing 10 many days on the Thi met, the Governor at length contented — upon their urgent entreaty, to which was added that of the Ngatihiua people who wished to have a conference with His Excellency— to remain till Tuesday morning ; wherea\ although they at first w tinted us to remain over We 'ncsday, they all teemed much pleased, inc'uding Te Ht'uhpu, who seemed in no hurry to quit the scenes of eel-feasts for ihe precarious diet of a long overland journey, and accordingly exprct'ed as much satisfaction at the delay us any of them ; betides he is n chief of much impoituncc and he piobuhly I'eaied it would lower him in the eyes of his countrymen if he appealed to he tiavelliug in haste, nothing being in the t'yes of a Native moio infra dig, than any appearance of huiry about anything that they do. A. number of tick people, principally (hildren were brought this evening to Symomis, who it appears has a great reputation amongst ihe native* as a doc'or, mid it vvaH highly amusing to hear come of their ridiculous complaints. One old woman wanted a cure for blindness, tor which Synionds recommended a pair of upectaclet, but the went away rather disgusted ut finding he hud none to (jive her. They have all a most incomprehensible liking for that, to Europeans, most nauseous of all physics, castor oil; to the maoiiuß how* ever it is by no nu-uns " hard to tuke," they invuiiably aik for it when they arc unwell and when they get it swallow it with the greatest yout, cleaning the spoon of every particle and smacking their lips as though it were the pkasantest food immaginublc. Symonds very kindly administered doses of sncli medicines as he was provided with to all those to whom he thought they woull he or any service ; but] there is really v t ry in tie lalibfuctiou in physicking the natives, for as they f ncy that every pakeha is by uuture a doctor, and never travels without a medicine chest, they receive the atsiiiance almost as a matter of course, und those therefore whose maladies are relieved, aie, except in a Itw chsci seldom grateful for it ; whilst those fur whom nothing can be done, go away grumbling and growling and abusing you, ut if they really had been seriously injured, One of our own natives came for a cure for ascveie cough from which he was suffering and Symnnds told him he should certainly have some medicine if he liked, hut thin he must, consent to last all the next day. This was a dreadful pober to th' poor mun, and it took him a long time to make up his mind, b dancing between the inconvenience ofihecou^h on the one hand, and the fotli coming feast on the other, in the ceremonies of which, as he was a mimoftjome consideration, he would have to take a pominent part. At length however, a breeze of wind brought the smell of some roasted eels from a fire near at hand, and com pletcly turned the scale, by giving him a sort of foietaste of the good cheer he was.to enjoy on the monow, to he determined to let the cough take its chance, and go away as il had come, without any medicinal assistance. Monday, December I7tl\ — We went over to the pa this morning, iiccompatued by some young thiefs ol Ngatihuu.i a^ guides. As we walked along the road tliey pointed out leverul places, marked by holes dug in the gr. und, where various men of had been ki'led, all of whom tiny named with the gnaiest pcrciiion and exactness; nlso where those who had shot them had stood ; where a concealed party of N«!itiwhakuue had been surprised and twenty out of fifty killed-, where uvo men hud been overtaken carrying off a wo man of the p,i, whom they ha>l taken out of the chapel whither uho had fled for refuge; where a man had been shot from inside of the pa with a musket, at an almost incredible distance, and finally where the matanjohi. or fust person kilted, wan slain ; hete they stopped and performed (in patomime of course) the ceremony of cutting out the heart of the matangohi and offenngitto Tv, the deity of war. They also explained that the matangohi is sacred, his Iksh is never eaten, neither is his head exposed, but the body is hung up in a tree and rut up bomuthing like that of a pig, after which hit remains are placed on a jataka or stage in a high tree and there left. We had now urrived at the entrance of the pa whrre (he two huge gate posts of totara wood are still standing, and near to which lies the canoe of Te Wuharou They *ook us into the pa and allowed ut where the dead bodies of the enemies had been cooked ; where the palm had hung ; the grave of Te Waharoa (Irona which however the bone* 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 breadlli, on which the heads of their enemies used to be exposed. This portion of the pa is held very sacred, and the fence sunounding it is still in good preservation; so tiered is it, that though they allowed us Ireely to enter ihe enclose, not u single native would do so; at leufct they would have been obliged to strip themselves of all their clothes, a trouble which it was not necessary for them to take, us they could explain everything well enough from outside thd fence. They did not, however, show us the greatest curiosity of all, or tather that which they hold in the greatest veneration aud sanctity, namely, the tomahawk, of Te Waharoa, with which the bodies of their enemas used to be directed preparatory to their being cooked, and which had been used to cut off the heads of their own chiefß aftr edeath for the purpose of preserving them. They had shown this axe to the Governor yesterday, and one of the young men gave it to him, but 6aid it was wry sacred in his eyes, living been used to decapitate his own lather for t lie puipoie of his head being dried, and he therefore almost feared u being taken uway, as that might have the effect of destroying the tapu, for which reaton hu Excellency dt cmed it moie prudent to decline the gift. One of I hem eocretely gave this axe to byuiOiidi m thi eTi'tiing, who hid it, but on going to io,)k foi it ugain, he lound it had been taken uway, and we heiud niching more of it afterwards. About ih.ee o'clock in the. afternoon, the feast, consisting ol hundreds of small kits of potatois, aud innumerable roasted eels, which had been cooking all day, was biought into the camp, and was divided into heap* for nil the diffoient tribei of the atrangeis ; this oner-

ation win pei formed by the women and slave*, under tho direction of a second rate chic', who acted as master of the ceremonies. He wm a little active man, airl kept hopping about in every direction with a rod in ti is hund, giving orders and counter-orders with the greatest volubility, seeming in khort never to ceaso chattering and jumping about, till it was arranged to his sutisfiiclion. During the preparation, Te Waharoa and the chiefs of Ngatiliaua sat by themselves, watch* ing all the proceeding! with the greatest gravity, as did also our fiieiid Te Ilerhen, who maintained all the while the dignified, compo«ed, anil really gentlemanly dqjoi tmcut of an oIJ Maoi i chief of rank. The rest of the guests looked on, with very varied exprcsiions of countenance, some, with their lips evidently watering and faces indicating the greateit impatience, followed every motion of those who were preparing the feast with anxious eyes ; others again were chatting and joking, and trying to look aa if the motions of the other party were mutter of perfect indiffeience 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 preliminaries were finally arrangod, and the food divided into heaps for all the difleient tribes of the visitors, the largest being for the Governor and his pukchas (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 hcup was for Te Ileuhru 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 shoit space of lime, the empty kits were all (hut remained of the once munificent repast. Doutless Muories me blessed with wonderful appetites and stupendous digestion ; they are never at a loss to find stowage for any amount of provisions, but follow out, on every possible occasion, the principle of good Captain Dugald Dalgctty, imd lay in three or four days' stock at a time, whenever they have a chmice.

I'J'o be continued. J