Smith. — Captain D'JJrville^s Visit to Toloya Bay 135 



and it succeeded. Despite this treachery, and anxious as to the conse- 

 quences it might have, I rebuked those who had invented the story, and 

 hastened to disabuse the strangers, and asked them to come aboard again. 

 They appeared to phvce faith in my protestations ; but, seeing that they 

 had been deceived, they were exceedingly furious with the Natives on board, 

 and although the latter were three or four times as numerous they defied 

 them by words and the most outrageous gestures, and I saw that they 

 challenged them to go ashore and render account for this insult. Those 

 on board, gloomy and confused, hardly offered any words in reply. 



The strangers would not return on board, but demanded some hatchets 

 of me in a tone of authority. I replied calmly that if they would bring 

 some hogs on board they should not want what they desired. On that 

 they moved off without further communication with us. I felt a sincere 

 regret, for it would have been easy to have cjuestioiied them and learnt 

 the reason of their superiority over our first guests. 



My first thought was that they belonged to a tribe at enmity ; but they 

 had presented themselves in too few a number to have dared to defy the 

 others on board as they- had done. Beyond that, the latter constantly 

 denied that the former were their enemies ; they ended, indeed, by saying, 

 on the contrary, that they were friends and relatives. I observed that my 

 (juestions in regard to this matter did not please them — generally they 

 eluded them — above all, Shaki, who did all he could to turn the conversation 

 to another subject. 



In consequence of what I thoi learned of the manners and political 

 constitution of these people, the following appears to me the most probable 

 theory : As in all other parts of New Zealand, the Natives of Houa-Houa 

 [Uawa] live in small independent groups, under the direction — or, rather, 

 under the protection — of their own particular chiefs. Without doubt those 

 who first arrived belonged to some feeble tribe, whilst those of the later 

 canoe belonged to one more powerful, commanded perhaps by some redoubt- 

 able ariki like Shougui [Hongi] at the Bay of Islands, and Poro on the north 

 part of the Ika-na-Mawi [Te Ika-a-Maui]. The first-comers, fearing to see 

 their neighbours take from them, in consequence of their credit and opulence, 

 the treasures of Europe, and wishing to obviate loss, tried to avoid this by 

 at first engaging us to fire on them, and afterwards by persuading them 

 that my intention was to destroy them. Thus may be explained the arro- 

 gance of the strangers, as well as the surprising patience with which the 

 others listened to their reproaches and provocations. Among this people, 

 as everywhere, a too-powerful ally is often more feared than an enemy that 

 one might oppose with equal arms. 



Tlie only prepared head (nioko niohai) which we saw here was brought 

 in that canoe, and purchased for a little silver, valued at about the price of 

 a few beads of coloured glass. It had Ijeen well prepared and conserved, 

 and had belonged to some distinguished person. It is a pity that it has not 

 been taken to France, for it very well illustrated the fine type of the people, 

 and the design of a complete tattoo. 



Here we mad the acquaintance of the Pihc [D'Urville had learnt this 

 well-known funeral dirge on his previous visit to the Bay — it is printed in 

 Kendall's "Grammar"], though Shaki could only recite some portions, 

 M^hich he repeated uniformly, and often twenty or thirty times following. 

 But Rau-Tangui [Rau-tangi], a very sprightly young woman of twelve 

 or thirteen years, and who was singularly attached to me, recited it almost 

 completely, as it is found in the grammar of the missionaries. Both 



