AUCKLAND PRICE CURRENT,

New Zealand Herald and Auckland Gazette, Volume I, Issue 60, 16 March 1842, Page 4

AUCKLAND PRICE CURRENT,

SEW ZEALAUD IIEBAIB AID AUCKMAB GAZETTE. SCR4FS AN© SKETCHES. [by crayon.] The writer of these Sketches, in offering them to the perusal of the public, feels that their merit or attraction consists merely in the local interest of their descriptions; and he having for a long time travelled and lived amongst the natives, is and when that occurred slaves took to then heels in all directions ; for I have heard, he made but little of putting a ball in them when the angry mood crossed him, and they were fool hardy enough to brave him. The chief turned, on leaving the canoe, to the girl, who sat in the stern ; he addressed a few words to her, she landed, and immediately seated herself on the beach. Several women came to embrace her, and this mark of welcome seemed to stir up all the softer feelings of her breast. She cried—not the hackneyed cry of the Maori on such occasions ; for hers, poor girl, seemed playmate from infancy, he has plucked the sweetest Karelia’s for my use, and when food was failing, he threaded the intricacies of our forest, so that he, and he alone, might bring me the cool and refreshing tawarrah; he lightened my labour when it was the work of women alone —and when my limbs trembled under me, as I returned to 1LUCKLAHD PSLICE CUEH£Tt Corrected up to Tuesday Evening, March 1 1842. IMPORTS WHOLESALE. Wines. £ s. d. i s. d. Sherry, per dozen quarts ... 1 8 0 to 2 5 0 Ditto nints .... 1 On lift ft the pah, he would support me with his arm, and Port, per dozen quarts T . .. 1 ft 0 ,. <? 5 O I forgot my weariness. Besides, I was his betrothed wife, but with your powerful influence you have broken that sacred tie, and dispelled the sweetest hope I had in life—and why may I not weep ? You laugh at my tears and my misery—but I heed it not! I will starve where I am —you cannot force me to swallow your food! and I may at least continue my sorrow : it is the only tribute I can offer to him from whom I have been torn.—And in those feelings wi 1 I die ; —for never shall Moki say, I flew willingly to the arms of another.’’ Ditto pints......... probably acquainted with more peculiarities in their domestic character, than the public have hitherto been familiarised with. They were comSauterne, per dozen quarts Barsac, Ditto quarts Claret, per dozen quarts Bucella, Ditto .. 2 10 0 .. 3 0 0 .. 2 10 0 .. 3 0 0 .. 2 10 0 .. 3 0 0 2 00.. 2 5 0 Hock. Ditto .. 3 5 0 .. 3 15 O menced at the request of a friend, and the interest Moselle. Ditto ,, „ 2’10 0 .. 3 0 0 more than she could subdue. The heaving of Chamnasme Ditto attaching itself to a newly adopted country, must serve as an apology for their appearance. Long preambles to a tale may be said to tire the reader, but in these descriptions the writer has endeavoured to introduce nothing but ideas taken from nature. her frame were deep and troubled ; the reflections of her home, her companions, and 1 m/' jr/r, all rushed upon her recollection ; she gave: ;y to their united force in uncontrolable bursts of >rief, wrapping her mat around her head, and biffing it in her lap. The tangi was general in all factions, both in the pah and on the beach, for/ -ends and relations had returned, their chie .had Spirits. Brandy in Bond, 1st quality per Gallon 0 8 0 .. 0 10 0 Ditto 2nd ditto ditto 0 6 0 .. 0 7 6 Rum ditto 1st ditto ditto 0 3 0 .. 0 6 0 Ditto 2nd ditto ditto 0 1 9 .. 0 2 6 Gin ditto ditto 0 3 6 .. 0 5 0 Wrack ditto per gallon ............ 0 10.. 0 1 6 THE NEW ZEALAND PETRUCHIO. “ Enough, Enough, my girl, I will not trifle with vour grief; I love vou more than ever for Beer. Ale, per Hogshead (63 gallons) ..6 O O .. 6 10 0 (A fact.) brought back his bride, and their cires wer ords of joy and welcome. your beauty and spirit,—but we will live by ourselves for a time ; and then you must remain with my tribe as the sacred bride of Apanui.” “ Without there, sleepers,—at day light, per barrel (30 gallons) ...... per dozen .. 4 0 0 .. 5 0 O Dunbar’s ditto .. o 17 n n tft e It was in the height of summer, the sun’s heat agreeably tempered by a north-easterly breeze which crept up steadily and smoothly to the distant hills. Parties of natives were spread in all The remaining part or iiiw day noP lexPorter and Blown Stout per hogshead .6 00..7 0 l) citement to all the inhabitants ot trie se,p .it; Cider, per dozen -t 1 5 0 ,, 1 j5 0 there was much to tell of their ex peel'.fv, ;ind every little incident was related with all the esticulations imaginable, and the conversation and speeches of the people they had visited told again to their friends with the greatest i^cushould there be a propitious sky, we start to sea, and land me on the desolate lizard’s rock. My bride will go. Our mutual vows shall be pledged amidst the roaring surf, and the reptile race Syrups. Lemon, per dozen .. i 1 a n 9 ft ft directions on the Kumera plantations, and occasionally the hum of voices broke the stillness of the heights above them, or more audibly the shout Raspberry, ditto „ 1 15 0 0 2 0 0 Provisions. Beef, best Hambro’, per lb.. ..ft ft 4 .. O ft ft alone shall form the bridal train.” American ditto .. ft ft 4 , „ ft ft ft of a war dance, or a chorus of singers, lightened racy. It was relation and re-relation ; groups of listeners to some one or other of the lately retnrned, might be seen in all directions ; and that peculiar preface the natives have in relating a conversation with another, “ Katai ka Id rahi,” The morning was splendid; the land’breeze was sufficient to carry the canoe rapidly through the water, and our Maori Petruchio with his Katherine were landed at their destination. A fit New South Wales ditto...... .. 0 0 4 .. ft ft ft the tedium of their occupation. Each hand and eye was in active pursuit of that enemy to the Kumera, the green grub, and heaps of them were already accumulating, to the extent of half a bushel in Indian ditto .. 0 ft 3 , ft 0 0 Pork ditto Hams, American, per lb . . () ft ft ft o 0 English ditto Westphalia ditto.... .. O 1 6 .. 0 0 0 .. O ft Q ft 1 3 each. Day after day, and week after week, do they devote thus, to the protection of their favorite food ; everything else is of minor importance. was the resource of every orator, and the commencement of every striking sentence. The ladies of the tribe had been busily engaged, bond of sullenness had evidently taken possession of the girl—for she spoke to no one, or seemed to notice any thing. A basket or two of dried kumeras were left by the people of the canoe ; and Flour, per lOOlbs .. 1 1ft ft 9 ft ft .. O O 9 O fl Sutrar. brown, tier lb . ft ft A ft 0 7 White - - o 1 3 0 16 Indeed, such is their superstitious fear of acciand free, in ministering to the capacious appetites of their lords and masters’ Pipis, potatoes, and fish, succeeded each other rapidly ; as evening approached, they listlessly resigned themselves to the enjoyment of a pipe, or more, perhaps overcome by repletion, sank to rest and Tea , dents, that a man who had purchased a new red blanket, raised a violent outcry against him from the old women of his tribe, for attempting to walk amongst the Kumera plantations whilst he was wearing it, for they said if would turn the flesh of the vegetable red. During this important proceeding, there were few idlers ; some children who had escaped trom restraint, were splashing in the water on the banks of the river, which lay polished and even as a steel mirror. A few wild ducks sat lazily on the sand, outflanked by two watchful shags, who occasionally raised their wings in the act of flight, as the sports of the children seemed likely to tnreaten an invasion of their own retirement ; serious apDrehensions after a crying farewell, she dashed through the waves, speeding her course homewards. . ft I 3 ft 1 fl Cheese, English, per lb. Colonial, ditto .. 0 1 3 .. 0 2 o . 0 O 1(1 O 1 Q Two days afterwards, some of the tribe went off with the intention of persuading them to return, when to their great surprise, the first thing they saw on approaching the rock, was the lady sitting with her arm very lovingly placed round the neck of her husband ; both were smiling — and no doubt, the blood rushed to her cheeks at meeting the party, though her skin might not be sufficiently transparent to admit of its being seen. The tale is pleasantly told by old gossips of the tribe, and goes on to say, that the terrors arising from the close vicinity of the lizards, crawling Butter, (scarce) Pickles, assorted, per doztn Mustard, ease, per lb Botile .0 1 6 .. 0 2 0 .. 0 18 0 .. 1 1 0 .. 0 1 6 .. 0 0 0 . ft I Q ft 9 ft Night had approached, and all was silence without, for even the boys and girls took to the smoky houses of their parents, forsook the huka, to listen again to an often repeated tale. Here is one of these buildings before us, an angular frame of wood, reaches within three feet of the ground at both extremities ; it is grotesquely Tobacco, Negrohead, per lb 0 1 6 .. 0 2 0 Cigars, per thousand 1 50..5 5 0 Miscellaneous. Candles, Sperm (scaice) per lb 0 3 0 .. 0 4 0 Mould ditto 0 1 0 .. 0 1 <J Oil ... ..Sperm, per gallon 0 8 0 .. 0 10 O Black, ditto 0 3 0 .. 0 4 0 Linseed, ditto 0 8 0 .. 0 10 0 carved, the figures of rats and lizards connected and entwined in the most inextricable confusion. The ap°x of the angle is surmounted by the figure of a tuniwa, or sea god, who has very little idea of English • 0 0 5 .. 0 0 7 seemed immediately after to have arisen, as a large about in ail directions, the threatening sound of Black • 0 O 6 .. 0 0 y war canoe swept round the point, dashing its couse up the river, paddled by thirty muscular natives ; no sooner had they opened the pah, than the reports from several muskets startled the birds from their repose, and the people from their work, for they ran flocking to the beach. Three other canoes came in succession, each firing two or three salutes, and the sharp crack of sethe surf thundering against the rocks, completely Green ,, dispelled ail her repugnance to her lord ; an amicable conversation commenced, which continued with a mutual interchanging of civilities till the canoe reached the island, when both immediately sprang in, and the bride’s exertions with the paddle were soon conspicuous, and her voice loudest in animating the crew to speed the becoming addition of garments ; the ends are supported by two figures of the same description, The entrance to the body of the dwelling is low, and shaded by the roof, which is intended as Copal 6 8 0 .. 0 15 0 Gunpowder, barrel, per lb 0 0 10.. 0 1 2 Manufactured Goods. Blankets.9-4 per pair 0 15 0 .. 1 1 0 a species of verandah, being carried three or four 10-4 per pair feet beyond the door, reeds neatly placed together, and fastened at intervals of every six inches, by colored flax, In the shape of a diamond, form the front; a black spear, twenty feet long, hangs over the door, which is about two feet and a half high, and there are two or three muskets on the raupo, their polished barrels glittering with 11-4 ditlo 12-4 ditlo veral double-barrel guns in the pah answered the compliment. The first canoe which reached the land, had the their return to a home she had so soon learnt to anticipate with pleasure. They may both be seen at this day as pleasant, and obliging a couple as you can find in the tribe ; one thing I particuShirts .* Regatta per dozen Check, ditto 1 10 0 .. 2 0 U l 4 0 .. 1 6 0 •2 0 0 .. 2 10 0 head and stern handsomely carved in that continuous circular figure, which indicates their rude and natural conceptions of the true line of beauty ; these parts were profusely decorated with the feathers of the tui and the ka ka, which were larly remarked, that although years have passed • a y # # 4 U D away, there is more tendresse in their ordinary intercourse, with a playfulness of manner to each other, that would tell of a courtship not yet the reflection of the moon, The inside of the building is also neatly reeded ; the rafters and the uprights are neatly squared with the adze, and have been painted with ochre in graceful curves, but the continued smoke from the fire within, Timber. Hardwood—Scantling per 100 feet... • 0 18 0 .. 1 2 6 also continued at regular distances, in bunches tastefully arranged along the sides of the canoe. Before they reached the beach, twenty young men ended, or of a married couple living still on most excellent terms. Kauri—Scantling • » 18 0 .. 1 2 6 . 9 6 1 1ft ft makes it a difficult matter to distinguish anything of their original proportions. There was light sufficient from the fire burning inside to shew the figures seated around it; three elderly women, and the girl who was crying In visiting poor Mold’s tribe, curiosity led me to enquire for him : I iound he had consoled himself for the loss of his first love, and had taken to himself two handsome wives, who cultivate potatoes, kumeras, and taro, sufficient to enable . i 0 fl 15 0 were balancing themselves in different parts of tlie frail structure, brandishing their paddles, and shouting a mock defiance, which soon ended in uproarous laughter, and all seated themselves again. The groups in all the canoes now became Kaikatia—Scantling Boards Shingles Stive Stock Pigs (scarce) • b 15 0 .. 1 0 0 • 018 0 .. 1 2 0 • 013 0 .. 1 0 0 • 0 0 4 .. 0 0 ft t e: fi i n highly amusing ; many were thickly painted with kokowai in grotesque patches on the face, while several old men and women were actually daubed witli it from head to foot; here were two preparing fire for their pipes, another might be seen cleaning the touchhole of his musket, while more reclined in those unrestrained and occasionally graceful attitudes so frequently seen in the savage, and so difficult to pourtray/ft/kn flife ’ 1 m luimuuwic -siceicues irom nature. on the beach in the morning—she still retal \ed him to live a life of New Zealand ease and luxury. Slander will out —but I have heard, bis ears are . ft Q ft 2 6 a melancholy expression injm- and a s ] ! ° me of violent altercation have in whf c ' l * n er husband atm*-- , _ lia i-,pa on whtefim-*. a - b . stretched at fullen . of " So tell* -e you have' a jour..fund you whom you dearly love,’"" rtcl continuing with an air of irony, “ of i elcr se .6 o 0 0 0 occasionally dinned by some little jealous differences between the ladies. tuff and having some connexion with peculiar link to tracing > ''f*,§§ary to observe, as a volcanic action in this interest .vff" *d°-H made by there are several rocks at a a-.ij count ry, that main land, which are perfectly barren of°7W. he . o mi n n ft M utten (none). Cows and Calf, each - • 0 00 .. o o 0 15 01 ..20 0 0 10 0 ..15 0 0 12 0 t.. 16 0 0 16 0 0..20 0 0 0 15 0. 1 0 0 30 0 0 ,60 0 0 20 0 0 . 0 0 0 Fat Bullocks Sheep Working Bullocks, per pair Hay, Van Diemen’s Land,per ton...