164 



ZEALAND, NEW. 



6sh, which Cook says was both larger and finer 

 than any he had seen before, and was in the opinion 

 of most on board, the highest luxury the ea afforded 

 them ; the herring, the flounder, and a fish resem- 

 bling the salmon. To these may be added, besides 

 many other species of shell-fish, mussels, cockles, 

 and oysters. The seas in the neighbourhood of 

 New Zealand also, we ought not to forget to add, 

 are much frequented by whales, which, besides the 

 value of their blubber, are greatly prized by the 

 natives for the sake of their flesh, which they con- 

 sider a first-rate delicacy. The New Zealanders are 

 extremely expert in fishing. They are also admi- 

 rable divers, and will bring up live fish from the 

 deepest waters, with the greatest certainty. The 

 hooks and other implements for fishery, which they 

 make of bone, are of various forms. 



The first and most conspicuous quality in the 

 character of the New Zealanders, is their inordinate 

 passion for war. The wars of these savages are 

 maintained and perpetuated both by their love of 

 contention and bloodshed, and by that spirit of re- 

 venge which seems to be more implacable in them 

 than in almost any other people on earth. The law 

 of retaliation in its most rigorous literality is their 

 only rule for reconcilement of differences ; and so 

 long as the demands of this inexorable principle re- 

 main unsatisfied, the two parties can only know 

 each other as enemies. " When we ask the chiefs," 

 writes one of the missionaries in 1827, " when their 

 wars with each other will terminate, they reply, 

 ' never ; because it is the custom of every tribe 

 which loses a man, not to be content without satis- 

 faction : and nothing less than the death of one in- 

 dividual can atone for the death of another.'" Many 

 other barbarous nations continue in a state of war, 

 for no weightier reasons. And in truth many of the 

 wars among civilized nations have originated in no 

 more rational object ; and whether the pretext has 

 been to maintain a tottering dynasty, or to keep 

 possession of a useless territory, the real object has 

 been the indulgence of national animosity. 



The courage of the New Zealanders, though, in 

 a fair field, of the most fearless description, and 

 implying extraordinary indifference to danger and 

 death, it is nevertheless mixed up with a spirit of 

 bravado, which may seem to our notions nearly as 

 inconsistent an accompaniment of that quality, as 

 the ferocity and cruelty by which, among this peo- 

 ple, its lustre is also so considerably impaired. But 

 we must not expect from savages the refinement, 

 either in this or any other feeling, which can only 

 be taught by a long habit of subduing natural emo- 

 tion and of withholding their expression, by reflec- 

 tions, and out of deference to the customs and sen- 

 timents of a polished state of society. In the New 

 Zealand warrior the hatred or contempt for his ene- 

 my, of which his heart is full, speaks out in every 

 word, tone, and gesture. He defies him to the 

 combat with every contortion of limb and counte- 

 nance that he can think of most significant of mock- 

 ery and insult ; and after he has vanquished and 

 slain him he vents the residue of his rage and scorn 

 in a profusion of indignities on his dead body. His 

 notion of strength and courage expresses itself with 

 the same coarse frankness on every occasion. If he 

 deems himself to be more powerful or more valor- 

 ous than another man, he is very likely to insult 

 him for the mere sake of displaying his superiority. 



The .New Zealanders, as is well known, eat those 

 enemies who are slain or taken in battle, all but the 

 head, which is smoked and preserved as a trophy of 



war. The eating of human flesh nmong this peo- 

 pie is not merely an occasional excess, prompted 

 only by the phrenzy of revenge, but it is actually 

 resorted to as a gratification of appetite, as well as 

 of passion. It is very probable, however, that the 

 practice may have had its origin in those vindictive 

 feelings which mix, to BO remarkable a degree, in 

 all the enmities and wars of these savages. This is 

 a much more likely supposition than that it origin- 

 ated in the difficulty of procuring other food ; in 

 which case, as has been remarked, it could not well 

 have, at any time, sprung up cither in New Zealand 

 or in almost any other of the countries in which it 

 is known to prevail. Certain superstitious notions, 

 besides, which are connected with it nnion. 

 people, sufficiently indicate the motives whidi 

 have first led to it ; for they believe that, by eating 

 their enemies, they not only dishonour their bodies, 

 but consign their souls to perpetual misery. 

 This is stated by Cook. Other accounts, which 

 we have from more recent authorities, concur in 

 showing that the person who eats any part of the 

 body of another whom he has slain in battle, fan- 

 cies he secures to himself thereby a portion of the 

 valour or good fortune, which had hitherto belonged 

 to his dead enemy. The most common occasion, 

 too, on which slaves are slain and eaten, is by way 

 of an offering to the manes of a chief or any of his 

 family who may have been cut off in battle.* All 



* It was my lot (says Mr Earle) to behold cannibalism in all 

 its horrors. One morning about eleven o'clock, after I had 

 just returned from a long walk, captain Duke informed me ho 

 had heard, from very good authority (though the native-, 

 wished to keep it a profound secret), that in the adjoining vil- 

 lage, a female slave named Matowe had been put !> dntt, and 

 that the people were at that very time preparing her flesh for 

 cooking. At the same time he reminded me of a circunistaiic < 

 which had taken place the evening before. Atoi had been pa\ 

 ing us a visit, and, when going away, he recognised a girl who 

 he said, was a slave that had run away from him; he imineili- 

 ately seized hold of her, and gave her in charge to son 

 people. The girl had been employed in carryin 

 Atoi's laving claim to her had caused u- no alarm for her life, 

 and we Yiad thought no more mi the subject , but now to my 

 surprise and horror, I heard this poor girl was the victim they 

 were preparing for the oven ! Captain Duke and m\>elf were 

 resolved to witness this dreadful scene. \Ve therefore kept 

 our information as secret as possible, well knowing that if we h:ui 

 manifested our wir-hes, they would have denied the whole atiair. 

 We set out, taking a circuitous rout towards the village ; and 

 being well acquainted with the road, we came upon them sud- 

 denly, and found them in the midst of their abominable cere- 

 monies. On a spot of rising ground, just outside the village, 

 we saw a man preparing a native oven, wliich is done in the 

 following simple manner : A hole is made in the pround. and 

 hot stones are put within it, and then all is covered up don- 

 As we approached we saw evident signs of the murder which 

 had been perpetrated; bloody mats were strewed around, and 

 a boy was standing by them actually laughing ; he put his lin- 

 ger to his head, and th'en pointing towards a bush. I approached 

 the bush, and there discovered a human head. My feelings of 

 horror may be imagined as I recognised the features of the un- 

 fortunate girl I had seen forced from our village the preceding 

 evening ! We ran towards the fire, and there stood a man oc- 

 cupied in a way few would wish to see. He was preparing the 

 four quarters of a human body for a feast; the large bone-. 

 having been taken out, were thrown aside, and the flesh being 

 compressed, he was in the act of forcing it into the oven. 

 Wilde we stood transfixed by this terrible sight, a large do-r. 

 which lay before the fire, rose up, seized the bloody head, and 

 walked off with it into the bushes ; no doubt to hide it there 

 for another meal ! The man completed his task with the most 

 perfect composure, telb'ng us. at the same time, that the repast 

 would not be ready for some hours ! Here stood captain Duke 

 and myself, both witnesses of a scene which many travellers 

 have related, and their relations have invariably been treated 

 with contempt ; indeed, the veracity of those who had the teme- 

 rity to relate such incredible events, has been every where 

 questioned. In this instance it was no warrior's flesh to be eaten; 

 there was no enemy's blood to drink, in order to infuriate them. 

 They had no revenge to gratify ; no plea could they make of 

 their passions having been roused by battle, nor the excuse that 

 they eat their enemies to perfect their triumph. This wa.- an 

 action of unjustifiable cannibalism. * j: toi, the chief, who had 

 given orders for this cruel feast, had only the night before sold 

 us four pigs for a few pounds of powder ; so that he had not 

 even the excuse of want of food. After captain Duke and 

 myself bad consulted with each other, we walked into the vil- 

 lage, determined to charge Atoi with ( hi brutality. Atoi re- 

 ceived us in his usual manner; and his handsome opencouu- 





