Human Heads among the New Zealanders. 221 



chased and brought by a colonial vessel to Sydney, New South 

 Wales. One of the chiefs at the river Thames, from whom I 

 made the inquiry, whether he had ever eaten of the flesh of 

 white men, and whether it was better tasted than that of a 

 New Zealander, replied, that ' he had tasted of the flesh of 

 Europeans : sometimes he found it good, sometimes bad, but 

 generally very salt.' It is a curious circumstance that the 

 natives of New Zealand always express a dislike to salt. It 

 is customary, if a chief is ill, for a slave to be killed, as an 

 offering to the spirits, but the body is not eaten ; but if a chief 

 is slain, or deeply offended by the chief of any particular dis- 

 trict, and his relations should have any slaves in their possession 

 belonging to that district, they are killed and eaten from revenge. 

 During my visit to New Zealand, in June 1829, 1 was ram- 

 bling on shore at Wyshaki Cove, River Thames, on a botanical 

 excursion, when, among some rushes which grew on the bor- 

 ders of a rivulet, I observed some bones protruding, and, on a 

 closer examination, found a heap of human bones, apparently 

 belonging to one person. I thought there had been a cannibal 

 banquet at this place, and I brought away several of them 

 with me ; but on showing them to a chief, he said they were 

 those of a person who died a natural death ; had they been 

 those of a person who had been killed and eaten, they would 

 not be in so perfect a state ; and on mentioning that I had 

 found them collected together in a heap, confirmed him in his 

 opinion. He also said of the lower jaw, that if it had been 

 that of an enemy, it would have been cut down, and used as 

 a fish-hook (matau). 



At the village of Kororadeka, Bay of Islands, which is much 

 frequented by whalers and other vessels for refreshments, and 

 which is situated opposite to the missionary station of Paihia, 

 several cannibal banquets have taken place on the beach. 



Some of the notions which persons in this country entertain 

 on the subject of cannibalism are very erroneous ; since my 

 arrival in England, I have had several curious questions asked 

 me : among numerous others this was one Whether a child, 

 which I brought from Erromanga, one of the New Hebrides 

 group (where they are cannibals), could eat our food ? Sur- 

 prised at the question, I asked why not? ' Because,' was the 



