214" cook's voyage to feb. 



about to sail, when his friends took him ashore. 

 However, his place was supplied, next morning, by 

 another, a boy of about nine or ten years of age, 

 named Kokoa. He was presented to me by his own 

 father, who, I believe, would have parted with his 

 dog with far less indifference. The very little cloth- 

 ing the boy had, he stripped him of, and left him as 

 naked as he was born. It was to no purpose that I 

 endeavoured to convince these people of the impro- 

 bability, or rather of the impossibility, of these 

 youths ever returning home. Not one, not even 

 their nearest relations, seemed to trouble themselves 

 about their future fate. Since this was the case, and 

 1 was well satisfied that the boys would be no losers 

 by exchange of place, I the more readily gave my 

 consent to their going. 



From my own observations, and from the informa- 

 tion of Taweiharooa and others, it appears to me that 

 the New Zealanders must live under perpetual appre- 

 hensions of being destroyed by each other ; there 

 being few of their tribes that have not, as they think, 

 sustained wrongs from some other tribe, which they 

 are continually upon the watch to revenge. And, 

 perhaps, the desire of a good meal may be no small 

 incitement. I am told that many years will some- 

 times elapse before a favourable opportunity hap- 

 pens, and that the son never loses sight of an injury 

 that has been done to his father. Their method of 

 executing their horrible designs is by stealing upon 

 the adverse party in the night ; and if they find them 

 unguarded, (which, however, I believe, is very seldom 

 the case,) they kill every one indiscriminately, not 

 even sparing the women and children. When the 

 massacre is completed, they either feast and gorge 

 themselves on the spot, or carry off as many of the 

 dead bodies as they can, and devour them at home, 

 with acts of brutality too shocking to be described. 

 If they are discovered before they can execute their 

 bloody purpose, they generally steal off again 5 and 



19 



