454 CHARLES DARWIN 



dred yards, the whole party thought better of it, and stopped 

 short. With perfect indifference, however, they allowed us 

 to examine the whole place. At this village we rested some 

 hours, during which time there was a long discussion with 

 Mr. Bushby, concerning the right of sale of certain lands. 

 One old man, who appeared a perfect genealogist, illustrated 

 the successive possessors by bits of stick driven into the 

 ground. Before leaving the houses a little basketful of 

 roasted sweet potatoes was given to each of our party; and 

 we all, according to the custom, carried them away to eat 

 on the road. I noticed that among the women employed in 

 cooking, there was a man-slave : it must be a humiliating 

 thing for a man in this warlike country to be employed in 

 doing that which is considered as the lowest woman's work. 

 Slaves are not allowed to go to war; but this perhaps can 

 hardly be considered as a hardship. I heard of one poor 

 wretch who, during hostilities, ran away to the opposite 

 party; being met by two men, he was immediately seized; 

 but as they could not agree to whom he should belong, each 

 stood over him with a stone hatchet, and seemed determined 

 that the other at least should not take him away alive. The 

 poor man, almost dead with fright, was only saved by the 

 address of a chief's wife. We afterwards enjoyed a pleasant 

 walk back to the boat, but did not reach the ship till late in 

 the evening. 



December joth. In the afternoon we stood out of the 

 Bay of Islands, on our course to Sydney. I believe we were 

 all glad to leave New Zealand. It is not a pleasant place. 

 Amongst the natives there is absent that charming simplicity 

 which is found in Tahiti ; and the greater part of the English 

 are the very refuse of society. Neither is the country itself 

 attractive. I look back but to one bright spot, and that is 

 Waimate, with its Christian inhabitants. 



