In the good old times of Conquest and Colonization (I like to be particular about my dates and places), the civilized nations of the day followed a simple policy in regard to the savage races with whom they came in contact, which may be roughly described as going their own way, and punishing the natives if they didn't conform to it, without troubling themselves much about what the aforesaid natives thought or felt on the subject. If they understood the meaning of it so much the better for them,

To the English reader, and to most of those who have arrived in New Zealand within the last thirty years, it may be necessary to state that the descriptions of Maori life and manners of past times found in these sketches owe nothing to fiction. The different scenes and incidents are given exactly as they occurred, and all the persons described are real persons. Contact with the British settlers has of late years effected a marked and rapid change in the manners and mode of life of the natives, a

Introductory. — First view of New Zealand. — First sight of the natives, and first sensations experienced by a mere Pakeha. — A Maori chief's notions of trading in the old times. — A dissertation on "courage." — A few words on dress. — The chief's soliloquy. — The Maori cry of welcome. Ah! those good old times, when first I came to New Zealand, we shall never see their like again. Since then the world seems to have gone wrong somehow. A dull sort of world this now. The very sun does not seem to

The market price of a Pakeha. — The value of a Pakeha "as such." — Maori hospitality in the good old times. — A respectable friend. — Maori mermaids. — My notions of the value of gold. — How I got on shore. Here I must remark that in those days the value of a pakeha to a tribe was enormous. For want of pakehas to trade with, and from whom to procure gunpowder and muskets, many tribes or sections of tribes were about this time exterminated or nearly so by their more fortunate neighbours who got p

A wrestling match. — Beef against melons. — The victor gains a loss. — "Our chief." — His speech. — His status in the tribe. — Death of "Melons." — Rumours of peace and war. — Getting the Pa in fighting order. — My friend the "relation eater." — Expectation and preparation. — Arrival of doubtful friends. — Sham fight. — The "taki." — The war dance. — Another example of Maori hospitality. — Crocodile's tears. — Loose notions about heads. — Tears of blood. — Brotherly love. — Capital felony. — Pea

A little affair of "flotsam and jetsam." — Rebellion crushed in the bud. — A Pakeha's house sacked. — Maori law. — A Maori lawsuit. — Affair thrown into Chancery. Pakehas, though precious in the good old times, would sometimes get into awkward scrapes. Accidents, I have observed, will happen at the best of times. Some time after the matters I have been recounting happened, two of the pakehas who were "knocking about" Mr. ——'s premises, went fishing. One of them was a very respectable old man-of-

Every Englishman's house is his castle. — My estate and castle. — How I purchased my estate. — Native titles to land, of what nature. — Value of land in New Zealand. — Land commissioners. — The triumphs of eloquence. — Magna Charta. "Every Englishman's house is his castle," "I scorn the foreign yoke," and glory in the name of Briton, and all that. The natural end, however, of all castles is to be burnt or blown up. In England it is true you can call the constable, and should any foreign power at

How I kept house. — Maori freebooters. — An ugly customer. — The "suaviter in modo." — A single combat to amuse the ladies. — The true Maori gentleman. — Character of the Maori people. I never yet could get the proper knack of telling a story. Here I am now, a good forty years ahead of where I ought to be, talking of "title deeds" and "land commissioners," things belonging to the new and deplorable state of affairs which began when this country became "a British colony and possession," and also

Excitement caused by first contact with Europeans. — The two great institutions of Maori land. — The Muru. — The Tapu. — Instances of legal robbery. — Descriptions and Examples of the Muru. — Profit and loss. — Explanation of some of the workings of the law of Muru. The natives have been for fifty years or more in a continual state of excitement on one subject or another, which has had a markedly bad effect on their character and physical condition, as I shall by-and-by take occasion to point ou

The Muru falling into disuse. — Why? — Examples of the Tapu. — The personal Tapu. — Evading the Tapu. — The undertaker's Tapu. — How I got tabooed. — Frightful difficulties. — How I got out of them. — The war Tapu. — Maori war customs. The law of muru is now but little used, and only on a small scale. The degenerate men of the present day in general content themselves with asking "payment," and after some cavilling as to the amount, it is generally given; but if refused, the case is brought befo

The Tapu Tohunga. — The Maori oracle. — Responses of the oracle. — Priestcraft. Then came the tapu tohunga , or priest's tapu , a quite different kind or form of tapu from those which I have spoken of. These tohunga presided over all those ceremonies and customs which had something approaching to a religious character. They also pretended to the power, by means of certain familiar spirits, to foretell future events, and even in some cases to control them. The belief in the power of these tohunga

The priest evokes a spirit. — The consequences. — A Maori tragedy. — The "Tohunga" again. These priests or tohunga would, and do to this hour, undertake to call up the spirit of any dead person, if paid for the same. I have seen many of these exhibitions, but one instance will suffice as an example. A young chief, who had been very popular and greatly respected in his tribe, had been killed in battle, and, at the request of several of his nearest friends, the tohunga had promised on a certain ni

The local Tapu. — The Taniwha. — The battle on Motiti. — The death of Tiki Whenua. — Reflections. — Brutus, Marcus Antonius, and Tiki Whenua. — Suicide. A story-teller, like a poet or a pugilist, must be born , and not made , and I begin to fancy I have not been born under a story-telling planet, for by no effort that I can make can I hold on to the thread of my story, and I am conscious the whole affair is fast becoming one great parenthesis. If I could only get clear of this tapu I would "try

The Tapa. — Instances of. — The storming of Mokoia. — Pomare. — Hongi Ika. — Tareha. — Honour amongst thieves. There was a kind of variation on the tapu , called tapa , of this nature. For instance, if a chief said, "That axe is my head," the axe became his to all intents and purposes, except, indeed, the owner of the axe was able to break his "head," in which case, I have reason to believe, the tapa would fall to the ground. It was, however, in a certain degree necessary to have some legal reas

"My Rangatira." — The respective duties of the Pakeha and his Rangatira. — Public opinion. — A "Pakeha Kino." — Description of my Rangatira. — His exploits and misadventures. — His moral principles. — Decline in the numbers of the natives. — Proofs of former large population. — Ancient forts. — Causes of decrease. When I purchased my land the payment was made on the ground, and immediately divided and subdivided amongst the different sellers. Some of them, who, according to their own representat

Trading in the old times. — The native difficulty. — Virtue its own reward. — Rule Britannia. — Death of my chief. — His dying speech. — Rescue. — How the world goes round. From the years 1822 to 1826, the vessels trading for flax had, when at anchor, boarding nettings up to the tops. All the crew were armed, and, as a standing rule, not more than five natives, on any pretence, allowed on board at one time. Trading for flax in those days was to be undertaken by a man who had his wits about him;

Mana. — Young New Zealand. — The law of England. — "Pop goes the weasel." — Right if we have might. — God save the Queen. — Good advice. In the afternoon I went home musing on what I had heard and seen. "Surely," thought I, "if one half of the world does not know how the other half live, neither do they know how they die." Some days after this a deputation arrived to deliver up my old friend's mere . It was a weapon of great mana , and was delivered with some little ceremony. I perceive now I ha

This little tale is an endeavour to call back some shadows from the past: a picture of things which have left no record but this imperfect sketch. The old settlers of New Zealand—my fellow pioneers—will, I hope, recognize the likeness. To those who have more recently sought these shores, I hope it may be interesting. To all it is respectfully presented. HISTORY OF THE WAR IN THE NORTH OF NEW ZEALAND AGAINST THE CHIEF HEKE. Many years ago, Hongi Ika, the great warrior chief of New Zealand, was dy

Next morning my friend the chief got up, and shook himself into shape, and begged a shirt and a pound of tobacco, neither of which I dare refuse him, and he then took himself off quietly. I have not seen him since, but received a letter from him the other day, beginning with, "Great is my love to you," and ordering me to send him by bearer one red blanket, and one cloth cap with a gold band, as he is going to Auckland to see the Governor, who he hopes to "talk" a horse and twenty pounds from, on

Page 2. No hea —Literally, from whence? Often used as a negative answer to an inquiry, in which case the words mean that the thing inquired for is not, or in fact is nowhere. Page 3. Mana —As the meaning of this word is explained in the course of the narrative, it is only necessary to say that in the sense in which it is used here, it means dominion or authority. Tangi —A dirge, or song of lamentation for the dead. It was the custom for the mourners, when singing the tangi , to cut themselves se

1 : They made cartridges of them. These were the Hau Haus, a sect of Maories who, when the prestige of Christianity first began to wane in the native mind, abolished the New Testament, retained the Old, which was more to their taste, and by mixing with it a large quantity of their old heathenism, produced a religion entirely devoted theoretically and practically to plunder and blood. 2 : I regret to say that the strict propriety (according to the received code of that day) with which the Poverty