IN THE OLDEN TIME.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19124, 19 March 1924, Page 7

IN THE OLDEN TIME.

A CANNIBAL FEAST. (Fbom Our Own Correspondent.) WELLINGTON, March 18. A letter given to tho Prim© Minister during his recent visit to England, written by one Frederick; Dickinson, from thp Bay of Islands in 1539 to an undo in England, describes a cannibal feast which tho writer saw. Tho Ngapuhis, from Auckland, came down and attacked tho Natives of the Bay of Plenty. Both sides were armed with muskets, and did not; come to close quarters, the Ngapuhis retreating after having lost 75 killed and 30 prisoners. Tho writer says: — “There was another brig and ship lying in the bay, so y.'e all agreed to go qn and of all the horrible sights I over witnessed this was the most horrible. They

were baking ten of their enemies for a feast, and one of die old chiefs, going up to a prisoner, actually plucked out his eyes while ho was alive and ate them. You will wonder how we dared go among them. In fact I did not like it, for there had been a ship’s crew murdered about four months before, but as this tribe was friendly to the white man we ventured, the captain and some of the passengers taking presents of powder and ball and a few muskets, which pleased the savages very much, all shouting “Caby Caby Pu” (Kapai, kapai, very good, very good the gun). They gave us to understand after a short stay that we had better be going as they did not like us to see them eat their victims, so we took tho hint and went aboard.” Describing Ihe Natives of the country the writer says:— “The New Zealanders arc a fine, powerfully made race of men, and some of the

women are very pretty. I think in the course of a short time that New Zealand will be a very flourishing colony. It is a fine corn covmtrv. and is likely to become the granary of New Holland.” The Prime Minister has given the letter to the Turnbull Library.