Iff^ ADVENTURE IN NEW ZEALAND. Chap. VI. 
with the natives. We had, of course, now no dread 
of his interference, as he was not even known in Cook's 
Strait, where the more important part of our pur- 
chases and friendly relations with the aborigines were 
already firmly established. 
About the middle of January, the Guide brig 
arrived, bringing letters from Colonel Wakefield to 
Dr. Dorset and myself. Mr. John Blackett, formerly 
a mate in the navy, who had obtained a passage in the 
brig from my uncle in order to join the Navarino here 
on her voyage to England, was the bearer of these. 
He had been travelling about much in the interior of 
the island for some months, chiefly in the Tf^aikato 
and Thames districts. He expressed a strong interest 
in our proceedings; and hoped, as Captain Warming 
had promised to accompany the Tory as far as Port 
Nicholson when her repairs were completed, to get a 
glimpse of the first operations of the settlers before he 
should return to England. 
Colonel Wakefield informed us, shortly, that he 
had reached Port Hardy on the 11th of January, with- 
out finding any ship from England ; and he instructed 
Dr. Dorset to put some goods on board the Guide and 
proceed to TaranaJd, in order to complete the pur- 
chase there, and bring Barrett and Dr. Dieffenbach to 
Port Nicholson. If we reached the latter place before 
liim, we were to get the natives to build plenty of tem- 
porary huts, in readiness for the emigrants. He had 
chartered the Guide by the month. 
This brig was an old whaler belonging to Sydney ; 
originally a Calcutta pilot-brig, teak-built, of about 
150 tons burden, and swarming with cockroaches. 
A crew had been collected by the great personal ex- 
ertions of Colonel Wakefield and Mr. Blackett, at the 
Bay of Islands, and consisted of the worst class of run- 
