706 
CHRONOLOGY. 
and become quite naturalized, growing everywhere in the 
greatest abundance, and affording an inexhaustible supply 
of excellent vegetables. There is a saying, which I fear is 
not so much to Goofs credit, as it intimates that he gave 
them rum — “ Te wai tohi a rangi ” — (Goofs sweet water of 
heaven,) which passed into a proverb for anything sweet. 
It is interesting to know that the natives regarded Tupaia, 
the Tahaitian chief, as the captain ; he must, therefore, have 
passed himself off as being such when he acted as interpreter. 
Marion has also left some remembrance of himself, showing 
how different the French taste is from that of the English, 
he sowed garlick, which has quite taken possession of the 
Bay of Islands ; the milk and butter there is all more or less 
flavored with that delicious root. A better gift, was, I 
believe, the Kowai-ngutu-kaka, ( CUanthus Puniceus), which 
most probably was introduced by his ship. The Taranaki 
slaves, when released by the Nga-puhi on their embracing 
Ghristianity, took the seed with them as a remembrance 
of the land of their captivity. The natives of Goofs Straits 
have a tradition that some vessel arrived at Arapawa, Queen 
Charlotte^s Sound, before Captain Cook ; they call the cap- 
tain Bongo tute ; the crew committed such excesses, that 
the natives became exasperated, and took the vessel, killing 
the entire crew, and eating them ; having stripped the 
vessel they left the hull on the beach ; amongst the plunder 
were a number of dinner plates, which from their pattern 
were called Te upoko o Bewarewa ; as this is the name of a 
disease which many years ago broke out amongst them, and 
destroyed great numbers, it may have been given, from 
its being a spotted pattern, the disease appearing to have 
resembled the small pox, leaving marks all over their 
bodies ; these plates were broken up, and having drilled holes 
through the fragments, they wore them as ear and breast 
ornaments ; one thing taken is said to have been shaped like 
a mere, and was therefore very highly prized ; it is still in 
the possession of some one belonging to the Nga-te-hine 
tribe ; the natives say this was the first time they ever saw 
iron, and adzes were made of the spike nails. 
