NEW ZEALAND. 123 



Victoria. It is not a pleasant location, nor is the anchorage 

 as good as some others in the bay. 



The Aborigines of New Zealand are of good size, well 

 formed, and have fine eyes, but their noses are inclined to be 

 flat, the nostrils large and thin, and their mouths wide. Both 

 men and women have their faces elaborately tattooed, which 

 gives them a striking appearance. Their hair is straight, 

 coarse, and black. The complexion varies from dark olive to 

 copper-color. Their dress formerly consisted of mats made 

 of flax and skins, but now they generally wear trowsers and 

 jackets ; some wear hats, but we saw none who made use of 

 shoes. The females wear a loose petticoat made of blue nan- 

 keen or calico. They all have their ears bored, and wear ear- 

 rings made of sharks' teeth, tipped with small bright-colored 

 feathers. The chiefs and their wives wear round their necks 

 what is termed "heitiki,"* an ornament which the common 

 people are not permitted to use, and which is handed down 

 from father to son. Fish, potatoes and shells constitute the 

 chief articles of their diet. Meat they seldom or never use, 

 except on important occasions. Their fishing-tackle does not 

 differ materially from that which is used by the Tahitians and 

 Samoa people. When a party has fixed upon a place where they 

 intend to haul the seine, they taboof it — that is, they prohibit 

 others from fishing upon the same place. When they take a 

 greater number of fish than they can consume at once, they 



with them, which made a cession of their lands, authority and persons to Queen 

 Victoria. We were told by the French and American residents that at first a large 

 number of chiefs were opposed to the treaty, but had been gained over by presents 

 of powder and rum. 



Since the above was writen, the whole island has passed into the hands of England, 

 and Lord Derby's administration conferred upon the colonists a free constitution. 



* The Heitiki is made of a stone of a green color found on the borders of a small 

 lake, called Terrai Pounamu. 



f The Taboo laws are strictly observed, even among those who have become Chris, 

 tians, and are always resorted to, to protect their property. 



