FAMOUS MAORI CHIEFS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 9040, 21 September 1907, Page 2

FAMOUS MAORI CHIEFS.

LEADERS OF A GREAT RACE.

{By E. M. DUNLOP.)

No. IL HONG!.

[AH. Rights Resbbved.]

Prominent among those lovers of New Zealand and its people who have undertaken the task of keeping alive the fascinating study of the past, Stands Dean Jacobs, late of Christchurob,. Ho writes thus of Hongi :— How shall I picture Hongi, gruesome chief? yrha* deeds of blood he nurtured in his VThv dreams of wild ambition, past belief! Yet he concealed them with the. subtlest art Baneath a guise of gentleman; some part Of Che true hero bore he 'neath that veiL In appearance Hongi was no remarkable specimen of his race, for he was jmall and spare, but hie brains were , evidenced by his large .forehead .and , keen eyes, sparkling with indomitable , spirit or veiled in cunning. . He could plot end plan and conceal schemes . ©rer periods of years, and he had skill , to carry out his plans ; in short, ne had | by nature the qualities wluch make & j successful general. He was a chief of the great Ngapubi tribe in the neighbourhood of the Bay of Islands, and be lived in the early part of the last .j sentury. In thosei days a DESPERATE STRUGGLE was taking place on New Zealand's shores, between the forces of light and darkness: between savagery, cruelty ( and cannabalism on the one hand, and ; industry and the ways of peace on tne I Other, and none took a more stirring j part than Hongi, chief of the Ngapiihi. j foe spirit thrills at the etudy of the: TOcords of these old MaoVi warriors, J whose earthly lot was cast in the midst \ of great and perplexing changes, and | who stood on the borderland between ! a coming era of all that is understood by oar Christian civilisation, and a j period in which bloodshed and moral darkness reigned supreme. Grim his lot, finA atamed with blood and horror; human nead Urged him to cruelties which seemed to him He only human virtues ; yet his soul Know gentler instincts, stirrings vague . within, „ Beyond his knowledge, hopes of better things, Hongi and his fellows stood in amaze j before forces which would have quelled leas mighty spirits, and he, above them aIL understood the value of cunning and reticence, and endeavoured by means of these to cope with the prob- ; lems of his time. . He recognised the advantages promised to nis people by the advent of the white man, with his Boperior arms, dress and skill, and determined early that he, Hongi, at least should benefit by the new order which his keen insight warned him would scon replace tfie old. Hie curiosity was wont to feaet on the marvellous doings of the white strangers, during the whole of his youth and early manhood, and 3ie fully realised the possible benefits of accommodating himself to the new regime. ' CRADLED IN BLOODSHED j and warfare, his natural instincts urged him to slaughter and vengeance, but he often evinced surprising qualities of gentleness and family affection. Restless, ambitious and inquisitive, he was ever on the watch for opportunities for ; the gratification of his instincts. In | his early days he Jed his tribe to battle, j and spread ruin and slaughter far and near, providing cannibal feasts for his people. . At the time when the missionaries first came to New Zealand Hongi was suffering a lapse from hi 6 usual occupation, and he appeared to them in an attractive light, he was then about thirty-four years of age, of mild, unassuming manners and ingratiating appearance. He listened attentively to. the religion of love taught by Marsden, sad appeared impressed. He was so, indeed, out in a different sense from that understood by Marsden, for Hongi was, in reality, turning over in his mind the advantages of encouraging the white j man's advance. He easily perceived that one armed with the weapons, and skill of the stranger could become a terror to the whole of New Zealand, and, a 6 power had a great attraction for him, he resolved to acquire it by subtlety and by studying the white man's methods. His ancient feuds were by no means forgotten, but he was capable of holding hate and revenge in abeyance until the proper opportunity for a fuix gratification of sach instincts should arrive. Ho therefore professed himself the friend and patron of the white man, whom he recognised as the coming power in the land. He made great friends with Marsden, wTiom he contrived to visit in Sydney. There Jie aaw much of European power and skill, and he determined to go farther afield and to visit the great King George, of whose mana he heard on all sides. He eet sail with a kindred spirit named To Waikato in the ship New Zealander, and did indeed reach London and visit the court of KING GEORGE THE FOURTH. The two Maori chiefs excited great ouriosity in England, and were feted and courted on all sides, receiving many handsome presents. They, with tho dignity and reserve natural to Maoris, showed little surprise, and if i£ey were disappointed with the -state and presence of the King they made no eign. One dominating idea Teally ruled the mind of Hongi, and when he witnessed the military displays and saw the weapons of the British soldiery his soul was stirred with admiration and desire. He pictured himself with a handful of kindred spirits sweeping bis foes before him and conquering all the land could he but obtain a supply of the deata-dealing implements which he saw in use. Slyly ne sold many of the handsome and valuable presents given him by his new friends and by the members of the Church Missionary Society. With the proceed© he secretly purchased firearms, which he packed in chests and shipped as curios he had collected to take home to his people. Thu6 prepared, he awaited the fulfilment of- his dreams. On leaving England he returned to Sydney and again visited Marsden, to whom he promised his protection should he come to New Zealand to prrach the white man's God of Love and Pity. Encouraged thus Mareden and his party came and made their great historic venture, settling among a heathen anu cannibal people to endeavour to lead them to better things. Hor-gi was an attentive listener and adherent, and with Ruatara made arrangements for the 6afety and comfort of the missionary party. „ , „ The, instinctive feplings of the savage were, ho.vever, only concealed for a very brief period, for, ac soon ss his preparations wore completed, Hongi set out on a terrific raid to try the power of tho weapons lie had acquired, and fox many years the whole countryside was DRENOHED IN MAORI BLOOD.

shielded the missionaries, with the other he spread death and destruction among the tribes of his enemies, and revelled in slaughter and cannibalism. His enemies were completely at nis mercy, for he had firearms and they hail :ioue. In vain they fled before hiii! for Hongi's ingenuity was more thru a match for the most cunning. He sailed up the Waikato and Thames Rivers in his war canoes, desolating and ravaging the country ; he dragged his canoes across the Auckland isthmus and sailed down the Manukau, nnd slaughtered the inhabitants of the West Coa6t by many thousands. The approach of Hongi and his armed warriors is thus described: — "The unsuspecting people turned put in curiosity at the rattle of his musketry before they realised the nearness of a foe." Thus Hongi devastated all the land, and satisfied every old score of his tribe held against hereditary foes. One of his most astonishing feats was an attack on Mokoia Island, which stands isolated in the middle of Lake Rotorua. His foes had taken refuge there, and breathed defiance from what they considered * secure haven. They did not reckon with Hongi's strength and cunning, which scoffed at difficulty. He dragged his' war canoes across country launched them on the lake, and fell, with triumphant yells, upon the refugees, leaving none alive to teil the tale, and feasting on human flesh for days. Seven hundred warriors were SLAUGHTERED AND EATEN on this occasion, according to accounts given by the Rotorua native inhabitants. From such, a scene of slaughter, Hongi would return fco the Bay of Islands, often bringing prisoners. On these tire women of his tribe would fall, murdering without mercy. Such a. 6cene is described by an eye-witness : — " Hongi's prisoners were fastened by their wrists to the thwarts of the canoes, and the women, with fearsome yells, rushed into the surf to meet the returning fleet. Seizing any weapon, they went from one to another of the captives, knocking them on the head and slaying them with hideous accompaniments, drinking their blood and swallowing their eyes." One who was still living in recent years told a story of horrors 6een by European children. Escaping from their home one Sunday af+.ernoon^ these boys and girls, children of the missionaries, strayed to the outskirts of the Maori settlement, which was, to them, forbidden ground. Peeping through the palisading which surrounded the pa, they saw a group of Maori children seated m a circle on the ground. In the midst was a raw human head, fixed upon a stake and dripping with gore. The Maori children were feasting ca potatoes, which were contained «n •little kits, and even they dipped their potatoes in human blood, devouring ibe food with relish, garnished with this horrible accompaniment, and uttering meanwhile derisive taunts. The white children crept away in terror, and did not dare to relate what they had seen. Fresh from scenes of horror, Hongi would return to the missionaries and listen with intense interest to tLo stories they preached. He did not altogether profess Christianity, however, although countenancing the new religion and studying it with much interest, especially that part of the Old Testament dealing with tales of bloodshed and the vengeance of the Lord. He was of great assistance in translating the Maori language into English. At last, v - RETRIBUTION OVERTOOK HONGI, foT he was himself struck with a bullet from one of the weapons he had introduced so cleverly. The ball passed through hw= lungs, and left a peculiar ' hole in his side, through which the air i made a whistling sound. It had a soothing effect unon the old ruffian, and he led a quiet life for about a year before his death, which occurred in the year 1828. Hongi used to amuse his visitors by making the air whistle through his side, and he boasted greatly of his deeds of war. He exhorted his people ,to protect and encourage the white people, and especially the missionaries " They will do you good, and not evil," were his dying words ere with a last exhortation to his tribe, "Be brave ! Be strong!" he joined the shades of his warlike ancestors. It is very difficult for us to judge of Hongi, whose moral code was so different from our own, that perhaps his crimes were virtues, and his virtues, if he had any, crimes against the traditions of his race. Tenakoe 1 , Pakeha! Within this fortification Grows English grass. Tenakoe! Subtle conqueror of a nation Doomed to pass. All undisturbed the Fakeha's herds are creeping Along the hill; On lazy tides the Pakeha's sails are sweeping, And all is still.