NEW ZEALAND. 409 



cloak, the colours of which, like those of his under garments, were no 

 longer distinguishable. All the chiefs wore their dress so as to cover 

 their left arm, and leave the right bare, which Mr. Williams said was 

 for the purpose of concealing their meara, or stone cleaver, which is 

 constantly suspended to the left wrist, ready, at a moment's warning, 

 for use, and which they take particular care never to expose to view. 

 With Robolua was his principal warrior, Oranga-dieti, a fine specimen 

 of a savage chieftain, about fifty years of age, with a noble though 

 fierce cast of countenance, nearly six and a half feet in height, and as 

 straight as an arrow ; his long hair was tied up behind, a la Grecque, 

 the knot being secured by two long black feathers stuck through it ; 

 altogether he had more the appearance of a chief than Robolua ; the 

 latter, from the account Mr. Williams gave of him, owes his ascen- 

 dency more to his powers of persuasion in council, and his talents for 

 strategy in their system of warfare, than to his warlike achievements ; 

 and he seldom risks his person in battle. The chiefs, in their figurative 

 language, say, " The breath of Robolua can turn them round and 

 round, and his tongue is more powerful than any of their weapons." 

 He was originally a petty rangatira (landholder). Of late years his 

 power had very much declined: five or six years ago he could number 

 more than six thousand warriors, but now he has not over four hun- 

 dred. His rapid rise is imputed to the introduction of fire-arms, for 

 he was long the only chief who possessed any number of them ; and 

 the decay of his power is attributed to the acquisition of this weapon 

 by others, and the inactivity arising from his advancing age. Several 

 of the natives who were met here could read, and a portion of the 

 Testament was seen in their possession; two women in particular 

 were desirous of showing their accomplishments, and remarked that 

 the missionary religion was not made for New Zealanders ; it was too 

 good for them. Drunkenness and dishonesty prevail, by their own 

 confession, among the white men, who are at times entirely beyond 

 the control of their masters ; they all have native wives, who are taken 

 and discarded at pleasure. 



The whalers stated that the prevailing w 7 inds at Cloudy Bay in 

 summer and the beginning of autumn, from November to March, are 

 from the southeast and northwest, which usually succeed each other at 

 short intervals ; during the rest of the year, winds from south round to 

 west are more frequent, and bring with them wet weather. 



The general information which we obtained, and which has not 

 been included in the preceding portions of the chapter, is as follows : 



The climate of New Zealand is extremely changeable ; but although 

 it maybe considered as the cause of many diseases among the natives 



VOL. II. 2K 52 



